The two boys strode over the courtyard gate and stepped into the street.
After the heavy rain, the sky was still overcast, the street was wet and slippery, there were accumulated water on the lower parts of the street. Evidently, this city, which mimicked Chang’an, had not finished apprenticeship in hydraulic engineering yet.
Warning signal went off in Xu Ziling’s heart, but on his face he revealed a relaxed expression. Actually, he felt dull ache on all the wounds on his body, big and small, so it was not pleasant at all. “We are being watched,” he spoke in low voice, “One of them is that homeless beggar asking for money, sitting across the street. After casting us a glance, he immediately hung down his head. There two other groups. One is at the feed store catty-corner from us, on the first table leaning against the door on the left. The other one is hiding inside the horse-drawn carriage parked to the left of the pedestrian lane on this side. I don’t know how many men.”
Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, “You are getting more and more formidable! I only caught those three fellows watching us inside that shop. This is convenience dropping by our door. We’ll start with that beggar, by killing the chicken to warn the monkey [idiom: to punish an individual as an example to others] as initial show of strength [orig. display of severity immediately on taking office]; otherwise, we will see Yucheng without our lives.”
Xu Ziling reached out to wrap his arm around Kou Zhong’s broad shoulders, together they crossed the vehicle and horse’s lane, walking straight toward the homeless man with tattered clothes, who had his hat so low that it could not be pushed any lower.
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “I wonder how we are going to lure Shen Mohuan out, and then using the Extinguished Sun Bow take his dog life. His Flying Cloud Bow will be yours.”
Xu Ziling spoke with a sneer, “His Flying Cloud Bow is stained full of innocent people’s blood, it is an ominous thing. We had better give it back to Jian Dashi as a sacrificial offering in front of his deceased wife’s tomb!”
The two arrived in front of the beggar sitting on the ground. Kou Zhong fished out a copper coin, which was in circulation in Longquan, an imitation of the Sui Dynasty’s Tongbao currency; he tossed it into the air, the copper coin spun in the air like a gyroscope, before landing on the ground in front of the beggar, right next to his coin bowl. It was still spinning for quite half a day before it finally stopped, producing a light, clear and melodious noise as it touched the ground.
Afraid that his disguise might be seen, the beggar did not dare to lift his head; he reached out to pick the copper coin, and with a hoarse voice he spoke in Han language, “Thank you very much two Renye [master, as in master-servant relationship]!”
His fingertips had just touched the copper coin, Kou Zhong’s foot moved, which seemed to be fast, yet seemed to be slow as well, to step on the back of his hand.
Xu Ziling’s arm on his shoulder sent out true qi, to give a small demonstration of one’s impressive skills [idiom] to help him overcoming the serious injury on the pit of his stomach. Otherwise, it would be strange indeed if by exerting such qi power, his wound would not burst open again.
The tramp wanted to pull his hand back but found out that Kou Zhong’s true qi was pressing down, so that his originally quick and nimble palm felt like it was under a thousand jin boulder, unexpectedly he was unable to move a single step.
His soul flew away and scattered, his palm was pinned under Kou Zhong’s foot. Naturally his other hand cut toward Kou Zhong’s leg, but Kou Zhong’s true qi already attacked. It flowed along the foot meridian to invade his body, so that the slashing hand only moved halfway and it already went limp.
The man looked up; his pair of eyes emitted vicious and cruel, as well as panic-stricken look. Applying his power, he jerked his hand away, who would have thought that he was unable to free himself at all? This struggle immediately stirred up a burst of stabbing-the-heart-splitting-the-lungs pain, so that cold sweats immediately appeared on his forehead, the bones of his hand felt like they were about to break.
Not only Kou Zhong was indifferent to his pain, he also seemed to be completely oblivious that his foot was stepping on someone else’s hand. As if nothing had happened, he turned to Xu Ziling, who still had his arm around his shoulders, and said with a laugh, “People say that the pain on the ten fingers is linked to the heart. If the palm is destroyed, won’t it resolve the pain linked to the heart problem once for all? At most, the five-finger pain linked to the heart is not as bad as ten fingers’ pain.”
Xu Ziling was a bit unable to bear to do this to the man, he said, “We are going to ask you a few questions, if you answer obediently and honestly, we will let you go immediately, I guarantee that your hands and feet will be intact.”
The two boys have been partners for a long time, since they were good-for-nothing delinquents, and had deep understanding of psychological warfare. Echoing one another, they destroyed the opposite side’s willpower to resist, layer by layer.
Kou Zhong acted as if he had just seen the man for the first time. Fixing his gaze on him, he said, “Where is Kunzhihuang? When we get a chance, I have to sit down with him to drink Xiangshui Rice wine, to chat about recent developments.”
The man was shaken all over, apparently he was shocked that Kou Zhong had seen the actual facts.
Only Xu Ziling knew that at most Kou Zhong only had fifty-percent confidence that he could control the enemy. But this kid was just like his Moon in the Well; he loved to win by surprise move the most, always acting with ample his mother’s brazenness, as if he had a hundred-percent confidence.
First of all, from his impure accent they could detect that he was a Qidan. Secondly, they knew that various Qidan tribes, none was not afraid of Tuli, only the Qidan grand chief Abaojia dared to disregard Tuli, together with Shen Mohuan and Tiefuyou, they ambushed them outside Hualin. Kunzhihuang was the high-ranking officer under Abaojia’s command in charge of this kind of affairs, so it was only logical that this man was sent by him to spy on them.
Kou Zhong completely loosened his foot’s pressure from the man’s hand. Although the man regained his freedom, he did not dare to pull his hand back. Fear was bursting out of his pair of eyes, a clear sign that his defensive embankment was on the brink of collapsing.
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “If you are a real man, you should just answer yes or no. As long as you speak out honestly, please say hello to Kunzhihuang for me.”
The man did not dare to pull [orig. to return the jade annulus to Zhao (idiom); fig. to return something intact to its rightful owner] his hand under Kou Zhong’s sole even more. Nodding his head dejectedly, he said, “Yes!”
Kou Zhong moved his big foot away, patted the man and the shoulder and said with a laugh, “Wouldn’t it be better if you speak up earlier?”
Pulling Xu Ziling back into the street, they walked over toward the group sitting at the feed store. Laughing in low voice, he said, “I have a bit of feeling that we are back to the memorable years in Yangzhou, where we did not have enough skill, and had to rely on stealing, cheating, and swindling to make a living.”
Xu Ziling laughed and said, “Cheating and swindling have nothing to do with me. I am just a little pickpocket.”
Sneering, Kou Zhong said, “I am afraid thinking of oneself as high and pure has become your chronic illness. I am an honest person, I can only speak honest words, please don’t take offense.”
Blurted out laughing, Xu Ziling said, “Thinking of oneself as high and pure chronic illness? In the end you are still pointing finger at me for being unwilling to help you strive for the world. Yet you still call yourself a brother! But everybody has his own aspiration. I do not blame you, because I know how to respect other people’s aspiration.”
Kou Zhong laughed freely and said, “While there is still a time, how about we go to the Sheng Guang Si to see Zhenxian [lit. true/real fairy]. Only in front of Zhenxian will you, Ling Shao, reveal your real face.”
The two boys stood outside the feed store’s door, looking inside. Occupying the first table by the door were three foreign tribe’s men, who were intimidated by their approach, unexpectedly they all averted their eyes.
Xu Ziling’s gaze fell on the tattoo on the back of one of the men’s hand; his heart was moved, he said, “Cui Wang is well?”
The three men were lightly shaken at the same time. Although it was imperceptible, but how could they conceal it from the two boys? They cried ‘what a pity’ inwardly, because if they could secretly follow these men’s track, there would be a great chance that they would be able to find Cui Wang’s nest. But now, although they had the will, they did not have the strength [idiom from Confucian Analects].
One of the men replied, “Xu Ye misunderstood. We are Lie Ye’s men. That day at Hualin we saw two Daye from a distance.”
The two boys had no doubt even more. Only people who had stayed in the Central Earth for a long time could speak Han language like this; moreover, it carried a northeaster accent.
Another Huihe man said, “Lie Ye told us to wait here for his orders.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “Let’s speak less nonsense. Three Xiongtai, please!”
The three men you looked at me I looked at you, and then as if they had just received imperial amnesty they slipped away with their tails between their legs.
Kou Zhong took Xu Ziling back into the street. The suspicious carriage already left far away. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, “This could be considered an unexpected gain. What do you think?”
Xu Ziling pondered, “Most likely Cui Wang’s men are also Liexia’s men? After meandering all over the place, we are always back to the original starting point. Not only Xu Kaishan is an important figure in the Da Ming Zun Jiao, he is also the mastermind behind the wolf-bandits.”
Kou Zhong spoke excitedly, “As long as we have the proof that Liexia is related to the wolf-bandits, we could publicly look for Liexia while wielding the banner. Ha! I wonder if it could be considered official authority used for private interests. But Old Ning [Daoqi] once said that in everything, we must attach most importance to the aftermath. After all is said and done, we can say that we rid the world of calamity.”
Xu Ziling laughed and said, “Whether inside or outside the Central Plains, we must follow reasons. One day you have not found conclusive evidence of guilt, based merely on conjectures, it is still difficult to condemn Liexia.”
The two boys turned into a side street, cutting across toward the Vermillion Bird Boulevard ahead.
“Any idiot following our track?” Kou Zhong asked in low voice.
Xu Ziling shook his head and replied, “Did not sense any.”
Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, “I have an idea on how to kill Shen Mohuan, but not sure if it is feasible?”
“Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention,” Xu Ziling responded indifferently.
Kou Zhong slyly said, “But it would take two assumptions to hold up before my assassination plan could be carried out. The first assumption is that for personal reason, Meiyan Furen keeps the Five-Colored Stone in her possession and has not handed it over to either Funantuo or Bai Ziting. The second assumption is that Shen Mohuan wants to get hold of the Five-Colored Stone for himself. If these two assumptions became a fact, we could use Meiyan as a bait to lure Shen Mohuan, this big fish out, and bestow him death using the Extinguished Sun Bow.”
Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “Meiyan and us are neither a relative nor a friend, how could she be willing to follow our arrangement? Besides, we practically do not know where she is hiding. Following Guan Ping’s track won’t be of any use either, because he can’t possibly go straight to her.”
They were still a couple of blocks away from the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, it was clear that the traffic volume was increasing, the atmosphere was bustling with noise and excitement.
Kou Zhong pushed Xu Ziling into a side street and stood still. This moment, anybody following them would have rushed over and thus could not hide from them. He laughed and said, “Leave the other things to me, but tell me first whether these two assumptions can be established.”
Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, “Very difficult to say; it really is hard to say.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “Why is it so difficult? Just find Meiyan and ask; won’t that work? If the Five-Colored Stone is still in her hands, it means she was not trying to get the Five-Colored Stone back for Funantuo or Bai Ziting, but for herself. If that’s the case, I have seventy-, eighty-percent confidence that I could convince her to be the bait for the big fish.”
Xu Ziling said, “Tonight, we still have Shi Zhixuan, this big problem that gives us headache. We don’t have the time to deal with it, we don’t have the power to defend ourselves even more. You still want to spare time to do this nearly impossible matter; don’t you think you are rejoicing in grandiose deeds and perhaps overestimating your capabilities?”
Kou Zhong denied, “I am just being proactive,” he said, “Who dares to harm my good brother Xu Ziling, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely not let him off. Besides, because Shen Mohuan and the others would never think that under this kind of inferior situation we could still take the initiative to strike back, this will be in deep agreement with the winning by a surprise move essence. You have to support me.”
Xu Ziling’s heart was touched; he understood that because his injury was more serious, Kou Zhong was really angry and thus did not hesitate to carryout a counterattack. Nodding his head, he said, “All right! How do you want me to support you?”
The sound of rapid hoof beats was heard from the distance and was coming closer, a rider was flitted across outside the alley like a whirlwind. Immediately he reined the horse and turned back and rushed into the alley. Flying off the horse, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Finally I found two Laoxiong.”
Surprisingly, it was the Tujue martial art master who shared the same fame as Ba Fenghan, Ke Dazhi.
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “Was it because you heard that we are seriously injured that you rushed over to kill us?”
Ke Dazhi pulled his horse along to come to the two boys. He greeted Xu Ziling first, and then he looked at the two boys up and down, before exclaiming in surprise, “On the surface I really cannot see it, except your complexion is a bit pale. But Bai Ziting said that the sword stab on the pit of Shaoshuai’s stomach nearly took Shaoshuai’s life away. Who dared to do this?”
Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong replied, “It was the good deed of Shen Mohuan and Han Chao’an. His granny’s bear, no matter what, this anger I cannot swallow.”
Ke Dazhi nodded and said, “From the despicable, shameless way they carried out the operation, I guessed a little bit that it was Shen Mohuan. If Shaoshuai needs anything from Xiaodi, please do not hesitate to give your instructions. Han Chao’an, that kid, I already saw that he is not pleasing to the eye.”
Astonished, Xu Ziling said, “Didn’t Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, always work for your Great Khan? Ke Xiong is unafraid that Great Khan might not be happy?”
Letting out a cold snort, Ke Dazhi said, “Just by looking at how he wanted to fight over the Five-Colored Stone, and how he colluded with Han Chao’an in the dark, two gentlemen ought to know what kind of trash he is.”
And then he smiled and said, “Haven’t we talked it over already? In Longquan, we are comrade-in-arms who fight side-by-side.”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; this was indeed beyond their expectation, but they also had some kind of strange feeling of enemies and friends difficult to tell.
Kou Zhong waited until a group of city residents walked past, and then he checked the streets outside both ends of the alley first, before speaking in heavy voice, “We are going to kill Shen Mohuan. Is Ke Xiong interested?”
Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, “Not concealing anything from two gentlemen, Xiaodi has just received order not to let Shen Mohuan returning to the Gobi Desert alive. Would you say I am interested or not?”
Inwardly, the two boys were shaken at the same time; waves and billows were surging in their hearts.
Killing Shen Mohuan might possibly be one of the conditions in the peace talks with Tuli, but it could also be Xieli’s intention all along, because as a matter of fact, this was the top strategy to kill two birds with one stone.
In the wake of Xieli and Tuli restoring their relationship, Shen Mohuan, husband and wife’s value in term of their usefulness has become lower and lower.
The sly rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked. Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, who had bad reputation – would definitely bring great negative impact on Xieli, weakening his prestige in the prairie. To put them to death not only would win favor with Tuli and show his good faith, but it could also rebuild his positive prestige among the various tribes.
Even more formidable, the Gunatai brothers, who were getting closer to success, were not allowed to win the honor alone.
Looking at it one layer deeper, after his defeat at the Rushing Wolf Plain, Xieli promptly made comprehensive changes to his strategy; he selected the making-friends-with-the-near, attacking-the-far tactics. He unified all powers of the prairie first, and then forming a coalition force to go down south on a large-scale invasion into the Central Plains. The beautiful name was that he wanted to support Li Shimin, but toward Tuli, he could say that he was helping Tuli’s brother, Kou Zhong to obtain the world.
Able to adapt with current situation and make decision accordingly, no wonder Xieli was able to become an overlord in the prairie.
In that instant, these thoughts flashed through the two boys’ mind; they were both feeling helpless and awkward.
Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Killing Shen Mohuan was absolutely necessary, thereupon he temporarily set everything else aside to be considered again after this matter has been accomplished. Nodding his head, he said, “Very well! Ke Xiong is a man whose one word worth nine sacred tripods; I trust you.”
Ke Dazhi solemnly said, “Dazhi will definitely not fail Shaoshuai’s confidence. How are we going to proceed?”
“Is Bai Ziting’s side aware of our current relationship with Ke Xiong?” Kou Zhong asked.
Ke Dazhi smiled and said, “Such a secret plus a hard-to-believe matter, how could Xiaodi be willing to uncover? Just now he looked for me to talk, he deliberately let me know that you have received serious injuries, precisely due to kill-with-a-borrowed-knife conspiracy.”
Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, while also guessed that about Xieli and Tuli, uncle and nephew’s reconciliation, Bai Ziting was still kept inside a drum [fig. completely in the dark].
“Did he mention the Five-Colored Stone?” Kou Zhong asked slowly.
Ke Dazhi replied, “That is the delusion that he yearns for even in his dreams, how could he pass it over and not mentioning it? Just now Shaoshuai did not immediately hand the Five-Colored Stone to him, he seemed to be very upset. But in the end he still did not want that after I get rid of you two, I would embezzle the Five-Colored Stone for myself.”
Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling wiped their cold sweats, realizing that at the courtyard house earlier Bai Ziting did indeed have the intention to kill the people and snatch the stone. It was only because he was unable to see what is true and what is false in Kou Zhong, plus he still had deep misgivings toward the two boys’ relationship with Tuli – that he did not dare to act blindly without thinking.
“What was Funantuo’s reaction?” Xu Ziling interjected.
Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi replied, “Since arriving in Longquan, I have never seen him.”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned.
Ke Dazhi spoke in low voice, “Funantuo’s action has always been secretive and unfathomable. My understanding is that his Tianzhu Mo Gong [Indian demonic power/skill] already reached the great height of transformation level, otherwise, with Bai Ziting’s headstrong, cruel, untamed character, how could he be willing to revere him as his master, to see, hear and obey him? Most probably this malicious plan of borrowing my saber to kill two gentlemen came from his devious mind.”
Kou Zhong said, “Ke Xiong’s intelligence is very useful; at least we know that the Five-Colored Stone has not fallen into Bai Ziting’s hands, our grand plan to kill Shen Mohuan can proceed according to the original plan.”
Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, “Isn’t the Five-Colored Stone in your hands?”
Kou Zhong explained briefly and then said, “Meiyan will be a key figure in our plan to deal with Shen Mohuan, even that repulsive kid Liexia. For the time being, we’ll let Liexia struggle on whilst at the death’s door for a few days. I wonder if Ke Xiong could find out clearly where Meiyan is staying? We have something that we need to do, let’s decide on a time and a place where we will meet again afterwards.”
“Leave this matter to me,” Ke Dazhi said, upright and unafraid, “In fact, I have been watching this woman, hence this is merely the exertion of lifting my hand.”
“Does Ke Xiong know Du Xing very well?” Xu Ziling asked suddenly.
Taken aback, Ke Dazhi looked at Xu Ziling, as if he wanted to see through what’s inside his heart. Nodding his head, he said, “You could say that. Ay! I have not been really honest to you! He and I have a very deep friendly relation. Before I made my name, he had done Xiaodi a favor; it was he who recommended Xiaodi to the Great Khan. Ha! For some reason I unexpectedly do not want to deceive you; looks like I somewhat love to make friends with you. I wonder if this is called heroes attach importance to other heroes?”
Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, “I hope we could be friends forever, but we all know that only in Longquan we will have this kind of good days.”
Ke Dazhi laughed and said, “No one can predict the future. Tomorrow’s worry, we’ll think about it tomorrow.”
Turning to Xu Ziling, he asked, “Why did Xu Xiong suddenly ask about Du Xing?”
Xu Ziling replied, “Because we suspect Du Xing’s sworn brother Xu Kaishan is an important figure within Da Ming Zun Jiao. If you could hide from Xu Kaishan but ask Du Xing to have a happy and sincere chat with us, perhaps it will help things.”
Ke Dazhi’s tiger-body slightly shook. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he said, “I’ll try to see whether I can find Du Xing and have him see two gentlemen. But gentlemen had better have some more solid evidence, otherwise it will be difficult to persuade Du Xing.”
‘Wonderful!’ Kou Zhong cried inwardly; Xu Ziling’s move was indeed brilliant. He said, “Although it was not a baseless conjecture, we have not really grasped any defect foundation on Xu Kaishan. However, to have a chat with Old Du will only bring benefit without any harm. Otherwise, if we are implicated by Xu Kaishan in the future, it is really not worth it.”
After agreeing on the time and place to meet again, Ke Dazhi mounted his ride and left.
Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said to Xu Ziling, “We guessed wrong again. Xieli did not order Shen Mohuan to carry out the attack toward us.”
Xu Ziling said, “Shen Mohuan did that, one, because of personal grudge, two, because of Han Chao’an. He himself wanted to unify Shiwei, hence he must get rid of us first, and then deal with Gunatai brothers with all his strength. It was because of this ambition that Xieli cannot let this hunting dog to go any further.”
Looking up at the sky, Kou Zhong said, “It’s almost time. We need to go see Duan Yucheng.”