Book 25 Chapter 1 – Intimate Talks in Moonlit Night
Even with all the language in the world, it is still not possible to describe even one of ten thousand feeling and imagination that the sound of Shi Qingxuan’s flute bestowed.
This time the music she played was completely different from the one at Wang Tong’s mansion or inside the bat cave. If the former ones could be said as extraordinary flute art out-of-this-world-nearing-becoming-an-arhat level, then this time it was evolving-from-the-infinite-depth-of-the-heart-and-spirit level. Especially after Xu Ziling knew her lot in life, which was written out of without-choice-and-blood-hatred.
Shi Qingxuan’s suave, dreary and fuzzy flute music was completely unaffected by any known musical composition or limited by any old clichés; rather, it was close to instinctively linked to the heavenly melody, wonderful sound that stemmed from the bottom of the heart of all whose heart was touched, the supernaturally fine craft that will draw you into the sorrowful, bewildering world of her music.
It also allowed the listeners to set foot in the usually forbidden, or perhaps did not dare to set foot on, the restricted area of the heart. The fluctuating and rich flute sound came from the windowsill where she placed herself like a stem after stem of fresh flower blooming one by one, completely shattering any barrier between the rooms, inside and outside, of the small building. Reverberating, uplifting, irresolute as if it was outside the Ninth Heaven, faintly came through; swirling low as if it was lurking under water of the abyss and the ocean, so deep that it was out of touch. The sound of the flute was like the destiny tightly wrapped around Xu Ziling’s mind. Each note seared deep into a certain place of his innermost being.
The notes were joined together as if made by the Heaven. There was absolutely no flaw. In contrast to the sound of her flute, all languages have become vague and general, lacking in strength. The sound of the music absorbing the soul, bringing out the hidden-deep emotion like a crop of bird responding to a call, which was hard to suppress.
Staring blankly, Xu Ziling watched her playing her flute solo, just like she possessed all the touchingly beautiful sunset scenery outside the window; his heart was filled with unceasing tenderness and adoration toward her, he could not help lamenting his own confused and solitary life, soaring in a certain lost wasteland.
On the boundless, wide earth, the mysterious and longwinded musical Pure Land [in Buddhism, usually refers to Amitabha Buddha's Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhavati in Sanskrit)], Xu Ziling’s imagination was infinitely stretched out by eager expectation. For a moment it was as if he had just stepped across the boundary between life and death. For a moment it was as if he could never get away from the labyrinth of emotion.
From the death of Fu Junchuo to the passing of Susu, life was like an endless nightmare. Scene after scene of memories emerged in his mind. His state of mind and the flute sound seemed like martial art masters exchanging blows in close quarters, each move matched the other’s, going forward side by side, bravely charging out of the unbounded depth of the spirit.
The touching melody was coming out little by little, outstandingly pure and limpid like drop after drop of dew on the lotus leaf, followed by the heaven and the earth darkening down, until finally it wiped out the last streak of the setting sun from the flat earth in distant place outside the window, when the flute sound finally ended.
Yet it also seemed like it could go on forever.
Shi Qingxuan slowly put the jade flute back into her bosom. Her expression tranquil, as if the flute melody just now had absolutely nothing to do with her.
The after-the-Mid-Autumn-night moonlight passing through the small cracks among the forest trees, sprinkling its light onto the windowsill, illuminating the side of her face, which was facing outward – that it shone brightly, while the side facing Xu Ziling remained in the dark, emphasizing her graceful silhouette and posture. The rectangular window frame created a strong contrast to her tender and soft, touching feminine figure, forming an absolutely beautiful picture of her portrait melting together with the gentle and soft moonlight.
The sad, serene, and touching flute sound still lingering on in his mind, his heart was so full that he had to suppress the unceasingly singular sentiment; unable to restrain his emotions, he sighed in admiration and said, “Qingxuan’s song, I will never forget it in all my life!”
In his heart he was thinking of her name, unconsciously he just blurted it out.
Hanging down her small cicada head, Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, “Let’s just say that you still have a little bit of conscience! It was the first time that I, with my heart and soul – offer my skill to another person. Although the listeners are not limited to you alone, but in my heart I was playing for you alone.”
Xu Ziling was slightly startled; immediately he remembered that there must be other people in the castle, naturally they would also hear the flute sound wafting out of the small building, and this realization has given him another feeling.
Shi Qingxuan looked at him. Without any concern she said, “Xie Hui and his household have been asking me to play them a tune, but all along Qingxuan has been unwilling to comply. Today, relying on the most favorable method, nujia has fulfilled my promise to you, as well as their cherished desire; won’t that be one move, two virtues? I hope you don’t mind?”
The tone of her voice was gentle, elegant, warm and pure. The breathing in between the words was irresolute like a ripple of wave brushing the shore; her sweet voice itself carried an intense musical nuance, to say nothing of that it was spoken under this kind of warm moonlit night. Of course Xu Ziling did not care whether he was not the only one enjoying the immortal song. Besides, he was not a narrow-minded person. “Your singing voice must be equally pleasant to listen to,” he blurted without thinking.
Shi Qingxuan laughed in spite of herself. “Turns out Xu Ziling is so greedy,” she said, “After obtaining Long [short name for Gansu province] you still hope for Shu [short name for Sichuan]. Come! How about sitting in front of me? I want to look carefully what kind of man are you?”
Xu Ziling rose up to his full height; smiling calmly, he said, “Are you thinking of a tooth for a tooth? After giving me a glimpse of the exceptional beauty, you want to take a look at me. But please don’t look too carefully; I have shortcomings everywhere. As soon as you pay a bit more attention, you will be able to see everything.”
While saying that, he moved toward the windowsill. Shi Qingxuan raised her head. Her fragrant lips lightly pursed, she said, “You are using the wrong words! It should be an eye for an eye. You are unable to take your eyes off me; staring at nujia like that, I have never felt so unnatural. You nearly made me jump down from the window sill, and then walk back straight to the secluded forest of the small valley.”
Xu Ziling stood by the windowsill; he only needed to move forward a little bit, and then he would be able to touch her fragrant body. Looking down, he saw her jade countenance, which seemed to blend the light and darkness perfectly – was even more lucid and elegant; something that was definitely out-of-this-world. Her bright eyes, under the slender, curved eyebrows, looked even more beautiful. When her cinnabar lips were opening and closing, two pleasant pear-shaped dimples naturally appeared at the side of her cheeks. Her long, elegant, clean and beautiful neck looked even more like a thread, which suddenly pulled people in. Her snow-white skin was exposed.
Hearing her talking in such a close distance, it felt as if she was breathing and whispering directly into his ear, or like a burst of cool breeze from a distance, gently and softly brushing the light muslin clothe. For the first time in his life an urge to embrace a woman into his bosom and lightly kiss her lips was welling up in Xu Ziling’s heart. Unexpectedly he was momentarily lost.
And then, when he least expected it, Shi Qingxuan suddenly stretched out her delicate hand to push his abdomen down, and spoke a bit impatiently, “Quickly take off your shoes, you bird-head!”
Xu Ziling’s heart was shaken, he came to his senses, and clumsily took off his boots. And then, sitting cross-legged on the other side of the windowsill, he leaned his back against the window frame, and said with a sigh, “I never thought it would be this comfortable.”
The bright moon was hanging in the vast, empty night sky, high above the tip of the trees; it was so big and round. The natural world was so mysterious and boundless; when did all these start? When would everything end? Perhaps it has no beginning and no end?
Shi Qingxuan’s fairy-like gentle and soft, simple and neat voice entered his ears, saying, “I like nights; I don’t like going to sleep. I love to see the sadness of the twilight, when the day turns into night, and then it enters the constant deep stillness. It could be a brilliant starry sky, or it could be a dark night with bleak wind and icy rain, or perhaps it’s like tonight, the moon is coming right into our face, drawing us to reflect on the beautiful scenery. That kind of feeling is so beautiful.”
Xu Ziling pulled his gaze away from the bright moon, and turned it toward her. He saw her staring fixedly at the night sky. The moon shed its light on her face. His heart severely shaken, he blurted out, “You are really beautiful!”
Shi Qingxuan calmly met his eyes, gazed deeply at him, and sighed lightly while saying, “This is the second time you are speaking frivolous talk toward me!”
Although she was saying ‘frivolous’, her intonation and expression did not carry the slightest implication of criticism or blame; instead, it made Xu Ziling feel that when he blurted out his praise without thinking in the bat cave that day, she treasured it in the depth of her fragrant heart.
Yet he did not know how to respond.
Shi Qingxuan lowered her pretty face to stare at the jade flute lying across her knees. With a tiny, barely audible voice, she said, “I am very scared!”
Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, “What are you afraid of?”
Shi Qingxuan raised her face and cast him a sidelong glance, slightly pouting, she said, “Of course I am afraid of myself; could it be that I am scared of you? Idiot!”
Although Xu Ziling was unlike Hou Xibai, who was a veteran of a hundred battles in term of man-woman relationship, he was a keen and sensitive young man; how could he not hear the abundant affection in Shi Qingxuan’s voice? His heart warmed up, he nearly wanted to exploit the opportunity to reach out and deeply kiss her on the mouth. But as soon as he remembered this beauty’s distinct style and her unpredictable action, if his feeling was unexpectedly just a misunderstanding, certainly he would feel embarrassed and aggravatingly uncomfortable!
Hastily suppressing this strong attraction, his eyes burning, he asked, “Why are you afraid of yourself?”
Shi Qingxuan smiled sweetly; the dimples on her jade cheeks were growing deeper and more enchanting. A bit playfully, she said, “Please forgive Qingxuan for holding off the climax for a bit; let me ask Ziling Xiong a question first. If you are willing to own up to the facts, perhaps Qingxuan would also be willing to tell you a secret.”
Xu Ziling was enjoying her intoxicating flirtatious expressions, but at the same time he was wary inwardly. Shi Qingxuan was quick-witted and crafty; he has had first hand experience on it. However, on the surface he remained calm and collected, as he spoke indifferently, “Miss Shi, please bestow your instruction!”
Shi Qingxuan stared at him for half a day before appearing to be casual as she said, “Is your heart moved by Shi Feixuan?”
Caught off-guard, Xu Ziling blurted out, “What?”
Shi Qingxuan’s eyes were flashing with sharp light; her pretty eyebrows knitted lightly, she said, “Just by looking at how you pretended not to hear clearly and stalling for time, Qingxuan already know the answer. Ziling Xiong does not need to answer!”
Xu Ziling’s old face blushed deep red. Smiling bitterly, he said, “Miss Shi [Qingxuan] really should not raise this issue, because I really never associate Miss Shi [Feixuan] with the feeling between a man and a woman in the secular world; therefore, I lost my head when I heard the question. Hey! Why do you want to know?”
Shi Qingxuan replied indifferently, “Shi Feixuan is just like my Niang in the past. The more she did not eating the food of common mortals [fig. placing oneself above the common populace], too high to reach, the more those who think too much of themselves greedily approached her; they thought that obtaining her favor is the paramount honor. Precisely because there was Niang’s example that in this respect, Shi Feixuan is outwardly very careful. But that does not mean that she has more self-control than Niang.”
Xu Ziling took a deep breath and calmly said, “If I say that my heart is not moved, I am being pretentious and lying. But that does not necessarily mean that it is related to the feeling between a man and a woman. On the plank walkway on my way to Sichuan, I saw a waterfall pouring down in torrents from the opposite cliff, so I stopped to watch; my heart was bewitched, my spirit intoxicated. It was only an appreciation of beautiful things, without any presumptuous demands to own it. Just like the bright moon in the sky, it is impossible to possess it alone.”
Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, “You spent so much effort in explaining it, I wonder if you want to state your true feelings clearly to me, or do you want to know the secret on why I am afraid of myself?”
Facing her aggressive, sharp rhetoric, Xu Ziling was flustered; he tried to ward off by saying, “Hey! I was just using analogy to explain it. Ay! Miss, how do you exactly want me to answer?”
“Pfft!” Shi Qingxuan broke into tender giggle and said, “I was wondering if you have unrequited love toward Shi Feixuan. I practically don’t care. Qingxuan has already made up my mind to spend my last years at the small valley, to accompany Niang in her grave forever. Other things I will not seek.”
Xu Ziling felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been dumped onto his head. Coming to his senses, he smiled ruefully and said, “Thank you Miss for warning me; I nearly forget.”
Shi Qingxuan hung down her head and said with a soft sigh, “All living things suffer simply because of love; there is no cliff on the ocean of passion, the sea of bitterness knows no bound. Has Ziling Xiong thought about it?”
Staring blankly, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, “I don’t know; I don’t even want to know. Miss, please keep in mind that I will only stay in Sichuan for seven days. About luring the ‘Heavenly Lord’ Xi Ying to kill him, shouldn’t we start the preparation as early as possible?”
Kou Zhong came with Bu Tianzhi to the stern. Following his raised hand pointing out ahead, he already saw the shadow of a sail under the light of the dawn; knitting his brows, he asked, “Whose ship is that?”
After sailing at top speed for one day and one night, one side of them was the desert mountain of the south, while on the other side was the boundless ocean. The ocean stretched out to east as far as the dark hue of color where the ocean meets the sky.
Bu Tianzhi shook his head and said, “One or two sichen since we left Chang Jiang and entered the sea, that boat has been on our tail. At that time there was a lot of traffic, so our brothers did not pay attention. But now of course it is an irksome presence.”
Kou Zhong said, “Could it be that it is because we are adopting the same route?”
Bu Tianzhi replied, “Originally I thought so too; thereupon I instructed the captain to steer away from the coast. Who would have thought that the other side not only also changed their course to follow, they even used some kind of peculiar sailing method, by exploiting the changing of direction to capture the wind and speed up; thereupon they are much closer now.”
Kou Zhong turned his eyes toward the land on their left; in the early morning fog he barely saw the vague silhouette. Nodding his head, he said, “It appears that the boat is going straight toward us. Does Zhi Shu have any way to throw them off?”
Bu Tianzhi replied with heavy voice, “If this ship is Jukun Flagship, I have a way to make the opposite side could only eat the wind. But currently our boat is just a medium sized sailboat that was designed to especially sail on the river. Compared to the opponent’s seagoing ship, we have great disadvantage; in terms of stability, capturing the wind and long distance navigation, we are a few notches under them. Moreover, the other side must have an expert in sea navigation on board in charge of their ship. With the current speed, they are going to catch up with us within five sichen.”
Racking his brains, Kou Zhong thought aloud, “Who might they be? One boat against one boat, why are they so confident?”
It should be noted that Kou Zhong has become a world famous martial art master; if they did not have a bit of weight, they would not have dared to come to capture his tiger whisker. Conversely, with Kou Zhong’s current strength, even if the other person has not seen him yet, he could more or less guess. This is what is called ‘He who comes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning will come’. The one dared to come must have done self-introspection to determine if he had enough strength to deal with Kou Zhong.
Bu Tianzhi said, “As I see it, that huge warship must be, more or less, related to Li Zitong. Only his side would know that we have ships around the Chang Jiang, and only those who guard tightly the estuary of the Chang Jiang would have the greatest opportunity to intercept us.”
Shaken, Kou Zhong said, “Zhi Shu is absolutely correct. They originally wanted to ambush us on our way out to the sea. At that time there may be more than one warship; however, unexpectedly we did not go up north to return to the East [China] Sea, but sailed to the south instead, which disturbed their plan greatly. Their well-laid plan ended up useless, only this huge ship with an expert in charge, albeit with difficulty, is able to follow and catch up with us. Oh! The ship’s style is a bit weird; it does not look like the ships we are accustomed to see in the Central Earth, it is also different from the Nanyang [Southeast Asia/southern seas] ships that moor outside Yangzhou. Could it be Khitan’s Ku Ge, that ‘muddled egg’ ship?”
Amazed, Bu Tianzhi asked, “It’s still very far, unexpectedly Shao Shuai is able to see clearly?”
Kou Zhong was focusing his power on his eyes; nodding, he said, “I have no problem seeing. The only problem I have is how to describe it to you.”
“Can you start by describing the shape of the ship?” Bu Tianzhi suggested.
Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if he were able to see Ku Ge going back and forth on the ship, he would not have to waste too much time explaining; too bad the people on the ship that he saw were only moving about a little bit. Without any better option, he tried his best to explain, “This guy’s bottom is pointy and its top wide, its bow raised up and its tail towering. It has three-story deck, there are only three sail masts, proportionately, they ought to be twice as high as our masts.”
Smiling wryly, Bu Tianzhi said, “Every other ship’s structure is more or less like Shao Shuai’s description just now; to brave the waves and ride a boat, they must be so. Ay! Is there any other distinctive feature?”
Kou Zhong suddenly shook; he said, “I can see their flag! The character on the top is definitely not a Han character; it looks a bit like the amulet that the Taoist priests write. Out of three characters, two have circles inside them; could it be Khitan text?”
Sneering, Bu Tianzhi said, “How could Khitan people have such a giant seagoing ship? Oh, I know!”
Kou Zhong looked at him. “Whose boat is it?” he asked.
Bu Tianzhi’s expression became grave; he stared at the ship without blinking, and said heavily, “If I am guessing correctly, that must be Gaoli multi-decked flying warship.”
“What?” Kou Zhong cried out involuntarily.
In the afternoon, Xu Ziling hurriedly left the city, and urgently traveled to the east for more than thirty li, to see Shi Feixuan on a small hill.
Shi Feixuan happily said, “Let Feixuan represents all the Dashi [big stone] Temple’s Dashi [great master] to express gratitude on Xu Xiong’s willingness to undertake the task of upholding justice first.”
“Did Miss Shi plan this in advance?” Xu Ziling asked.
Shi Feixuan modestly replied, “I only had a rough plan, which still include a bit of risk; therefore, I must deliberate with Xu Ziling first.”
“Miss, please explain,” Xu Ziling respectfully replied.
Astounded, Shi Feixuan said, “Why is it that only after one day, Xu Xiong’s attitude and expression toward Feixuan are like ‘going out many times and repeatedly distant (or aloof)’ [not sure, perhaps a Chinese saying? 多出几重隔膜], so polite and regard me as an outsider, making me feel uncomfortable?”
Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. It could be said that last night he had his true love moved by a woman whom he truly admired; who would have thought that he bumped his nose on the ash? There is a common saying, ‘after seeing ghost, afraid of the dark’. And now, facing another woman of unmatched beauty that was able to move his heart, how could he not advance gradually and entrench himself at every step, being prudent and cautious, to avoid stepping on the wrong path?
He said apologetically, “I am just afraid to offend Miss; please forgive me, Miss.”
After looking deep into his eyes, Shi Feixuan said, “Right now, other than me and Miss Qingxuan, everybody, including Xie Hui, thought that you have left Chengdu and are rushing back to the east. Therefore, if you shake your body and become Yue Shan, nobody would suspect you.”
Xu Ziling said, “The first step ought to be: let the people know that Yue Shan’s honorable self has come. This matter, if you say it’s difficult then it’s not, but if you say it’s easy, it’s not either. Among the younger generations, not many knew than Yue Shan existed. Not only that, I have just left, and then Yue Shan arrives; won’t people suspect it is too much of a coincidence?”
Shi Feixuan smiled and said, “Feixuan is starting to understand why you and Kou Zhong are able to move unhindered across the world! The fact is: that is precisely the first difficulty. Although in his later years Yue Shan crossed over the secluded forest of the small valley, but for the last several decades he never left the valley even for half a step. On top of that, after he became famous, he had never been to Chengdu. It could be said that nobody knew him. Fortunately, you, this fake Yue Shan, had once appeared in Luoyang. To some extent, the affair of that Shang Cainu [talented woman] trying to track you down is also heard in here; therefore, Feixuan might be able to do a little bit of work to make the Chengdu Wulin know that Yue Shan’s honorable self has honor them with his presence.”
Xu Ziling suddenly said, “Will Miss trust me, Xu Ziling?”
Startled, Shi Feixuan replied, “Of course! Does Xu Xiong have some other suggestion?”
Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, “As a matter of fact, I do! After we part company, I am asking Miss Shi not to do anything for me, in fact, don’t even mind me. I have a way to lure ‘Heavenly Lord’ Xi Ying out and have him eliminated.”
Shi Feixuan’s pretty eyes lit up with astonished bright light; she spoke softly, “Xi Ying is absolutely not an easy man to deal with. If he had really mastered the ‘Ziqi Tian Luo’ [lit. purple cloud (auspicious portent in astrology) heavenly gauze (sifter)] of the ‘Mie Qing Dao’ [lit. the way to extinguish feeling/emotion/passion], his power could possibly be above An Long’s. Will Xu Xiong still have the confidence?”
Calmly, Xu Ziling laughed and said, “If I die, I will have to trouble Miss to tell Kou Zhong. While you are doing that, please also tell him it would be best for him to return to his hometown and open a cake shop! This will be Xiaodi’s last words.”
Laughing aloud, he floated away.
Shi Feixuan waited until his shadow disappeared in the forest on the slope before letting out a faint sigh and left in the opposite direction.