Book 60 Chapter 12 – The True Meaning of Love
Xu Ziling unleashed his footsteps along the Dragon Lake [Long Chi], striding in the direction of Hua E Lou. Due to Li Yuan withdrawing the patrolling guards in the southern area of the Xing Qing Palace, leaving only guards to guard the main gate to show respect to them, coming in and out was convenient, both to them and to the enemy, and naturally Hua E Lou itself had the Flying Cloud Guards elite troops under Wang Xuanshu’s command taking turn to guard it.
Xu Ziling suddenly stopped. Actually, the alarm already went off in his heart early on, only because he did not know whether it was a friend or a foe, he pretended that nothing had happened.
Ling Longjiao, wearing nightwalker outfit, flew in front of him, her expression grave, she said, “How could you guys come to Chang’an?”
Xu Ziling smiled and said, “Let me see your right hand palm.”
Stunned, Ling Longjiao said, “What’s so nice about the palm of my hand? You seem to be in a good mood?”
Xu Ziling mused inwardly that of course my mood is very good, not only that, it was the best, ever. He spoke softly, “Trust me, all right?”
Ling Longjiao hesitated slightly, but finally she spread her palm.
Xu Ziling took out the Five-Colored Stone from his bosom and put it in the palm of her hand.
Ling Longjiao showed a pleasantly-surprise look of disbelief, her other hand came out naturally, two palms held the Five-Colored Stone in a cherishing manner, her pink face exuded a sacred, clean and beautiful radiance, ‘Ah!’ crying tenderly, she could not take her gaze away from the Five-Colored Stone.
A gratified feeling of returning something to its rightful owner welled up in Xu Ziling’s heart, he spoke softly, “Chang’an has become a battleground for right and wrong, anything could happen. It’s not suitable for Jiao Xiaojie to stay here, Furthermore, don’t worry about us. Since we dare to come here, we have the confidence to leave with our lives. This moment Ma Ji is in Chang’an, and Meiyan Furen can’t possibly be resigned to have the Five-Colored Stone snatched by me. The most worrisome is that there is still the devious and intelligent Liexia. Jiao Xiaojie must listen to my advice.”
Ling Longjiao folded her hands, she held the Five-Colored Stone tightly in her hands. Raising her head to look up at him, she was so touched that tears were gushing out of her eyes, as she spoke in trembling voice, “Thank you very much, Ling Longjiao, on behalf of my fellow Cult members, thank Xu Gongzi for your great kindness, great virtue. Bosi Sheng Jiao [Persian Holy Religion] finally has the hope to be united again.”
Xu Ziling said, “This is Laotianye’s will, letting me to retrieve the holy stone by pure coincidence.”
Cautiously and solemnly, Ling Longjiao put the Five-Colored Stone inside her inner pocket, she said, “I came to look for you tonight, I never thought of getting the holy stone back. I was hesitating whether to enter the building or not, fortunately I saw you coming back.”
Xu Ziling understood that she was afraid of seeing Kou Zhong and hurt her own heart, hence she hesitated outside the building, only he hated it that in this regard he was unable to help however much he would like to [idiom]. Because of Shang Xiufang, Kou Zhong has been in so much pain that he wanted to kill himself, to destroy himself, how could he add to his emotional distress?
Ling Longjiao continued, “Dong Xiaojie still cares about you, hence she is very worried about your situation. After Qin Wang’s incident, she summoned me to talk, telling me to warn you that Qin Wang won’t live for long. You must immediately leave Chang’an.”
Instantly Xu Ziling’s eyebrows were deeply knitted, he asked, “Unexpectedly it was Dong Shuni who sent you here?”
Ling Longjiao said, “In the palace, it is difficult to move a single step. If she had not arranged it, I really would not be able to come here.”
Xu Ziling’s eyebrows were furrowed even deeper, he asked, “How are you going back to the palace then?”
Suspicious, Ling Longjiao replied, “Dong Xiaojie’s chief imperial guard is waiting for me outside the palace. Something’s wrong?”
Xu Ziling sighed, “I hope I’m just being paranoid, but if I didn’t guess incorrectly, this should be a trap. The purpose is to get the Five-Colored Stone back from my hand through you.”
Severely shaken, Ling Longjiao said, “Dong Xiaojie shouldn’t be that kind of person. Although she is crafty, unruly and willful, she never harms others.”
Xu Ziling said, “I want to be clear about two things first. Number one, how did Dong Xiaojie know that Qin Wang‘s life is at stake? Before summoning you to come, whom did she meet?”
Ling Longjiao replied, “Qin Wang’s affair, it should be Dugu Feng [phoenix] who told her. Before talking to me, as far as I know, they were talking for nearly half a sichen, and then Dong Xiaojie told me to go. What’s the second thing you want to know?”
Xu Ziling replied, “The second thing is, Dong Shuni’s chief imperial guard, is it the one they call Yan Li?”
Stunned, Ling Longjiao said, “How do you know? Yan Li was appointed by Li Yuan to be in charge of Dong Xiaojie’s protection only yesterday.”
Xu Ziling sighed and said, “Then my guess will be 80 to 90% accurate. This matter is planned by Yang Xuyan behind the scenes. The Five-Colored Stone will eventually be handed over to Liexia. Judging from this, the Dugu Family is already standing on Jiancheng, Yuanji’s side.”
Aghast, Ling Longjiao said, “What do I do then?”
Xu Ziling said decisively, “Jiao Xiaojie must leave Chang’an immediately, we will make the most appropriate arrangements for you.”
The four men left Xing Qing Palace on foot, they turned into Guangming Street, and strolled towards the Vermillion Bird Gate.
They were divided into two groups, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were at the front, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai took the rear.
Ling Longjiao was secretly escorted by the Flying Cloud Guards to the Situ Mansion, and then that very night she was sent out of the city via the secret road of the treasure house overnight, and escaped to faraway places.
Kou Zhong seemed to have a lot on his mind, he sighed and said to Xu Ziling walking beside him, “Tonight will be a very long and difficult night. I am really afraid that I will wake up tomorrow and regret my decision to come to Chang’an.”
Xu Ziling recalled Shi Qingxuan’s definition of happiness, he expressed his feelings, “Happiness is something that one must strive for, one must, by all means, not lose the will to fight. No matter how things develop, we must remain calm and collected in meeting the contingency, until we can get rid of our troubles, lie down and have a good sleep, furthermore, looking forward to a new day full of hope.”
Hearing that, Kou Zhong only knew one and understood half; he said in astonishment, “You seem to have more confidence than I do?”
Xu Ziling replied, “Since leaving Yangzhou, we have experienced countless howling wind and torrential rains [idiom: difficult, dangerous situation]. Each time, we were always able to stand up after the fall and became stronger than before. This time, although we are facing an unprecedented crisis, but as long as we struggle endlessly as before, in the end we will be able to reverse the situation. The facts will prove that I am right.”
Obviously Kou Zhong’s spirit was aroused, he leaned to his ears and said, “Tell me, was it because you have a feeling for the future that you said those words?”
Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, “I wish I could say something against my own convictions to increase your confidence, too bad I cannot bear to lie to you.”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “Just admit it honestly! I dare say that you yourself do not know whether it was a premonition of the future or excessive optimism? Therefore, we have at least 50% chance. Ay! His granny’s bear, as long as there is a sliver of hope, I am already perfectly contented, not to mention we have fifty-fifty chance. Ha! I feel much better now!”
And then he suddenly stopped, so that Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai following behind them, listening to their conversation – almost bump into him.
Hou Xibai muttered, “Those with less skill shouldn’t follow you, this fellow, too closely.”
Kou Zhong reached back to put his hand on Hou Xibai’s shoulder, he said, “Let’s go find someone to vent our bird anger first.”
Seeing him turning into a side street, the other three were unable to make any sense of the matter.
Ba Fenghan protested, “The one we are going to see now is Fu Cailin, you seem to be heading in the wrong direction?”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “It won’t take much time. Gentlemen, brothers, can you give me some of your precious time?”
The three were helpless, plus Hou Xibai was being ‘detained’ by him, they had no choice but to follow him.
At the northwest entrance of the East Market, there was a parked carriage, more than a dozen imperial guards under Yan Li’s leadership had been waiting impatiently. When they saw Kou Zhong, four men suddenly appear, none did not show bewildered, unsure expression.
The East Market had already closed a sichen ago, every house was closed. This segment of the bustling street, which was buzzing with activity during the day, was as quiet as a ghost domain, multiplying the four men’s momentum as they came straight to pursue them.
Kou Zhong purposedly opened wide the outer robe that Chuchu sewed for him, revealing the Moon in the Well hidden inside; laughing aloud, he said, “Unexpectedly we are coming across Yan Shiwei Zhang [Chief Imperial Bodyguard], what a coincidence! En Garde!”
Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai finally understood that Kou Zhong’s so-called vent bird anger was to look for Yan Li as a sacrificial banner, ‘Wonderful!’ they cried inwardly, because no matter what Yan Li suffered, if it was not fatal, then his limbs would be maimed – they were certain that he would have no choice but to swallow this resentment, he would not dare to bring it out into the open. Otherwise, how would he explain to Li Yuan that he was not on duty in the palace, but coming here to blow his air?
A person has a name, a tree has a shadow; when Kou Zhong said ‘En Garde!”, everybody, Yan Li included, none was not shocked. One after another they drew the weapons that they carried.
‘Qiang!’
This moment Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well left its scabbard, the man followed the saber, the three-zhang distance suddenly vanished, the saber light filling the air sprinkling toward Yan Li and the others.
Strangely, except for Yan Li, one person who was still rooted on the spot, the other imperial guards retreated one after another in an extremely sorry state.
Xu Ziling, three men praised secretly; they were not praising Kou Zhong, but Yan Li, because the most formidable part of Kou Zhong’s saber strike was what is true and what is false was difficult to distinguish. The saber qi shrouded every single one of the enemies, making every one of the enemies think that he was the first to bear the brunt. Only Yan Li, one person could see through what is true and what is false of this move, knowing that he must not retreat.
Yan Li roared, the lance made a circle in the air, suddenly the lance moved as if it was a stick, without-head-without-brain attacked Kou Zhong swiftly, the move exceeded all expectations.
Kou Zhong laughed aloud and said, “Turns out it is just a stick!”
The saber light suddenly held back, the Moon on the Well moved up at an angle to block, the tip of the saber hit the spearhead.
‘Qiang!’
Yan Li’s entire body shook violently, the lance was pulled back, followed by ‘Ceng! Ceng!’ he moved his legs two steps back.
Kou Zhong raised his saber midair, lightning fast, it slashed down in the middle, with ample might, abundant with impossible-to-resist courage.
The other imperial guards were intimidated by the saber qi, unexpectedly no one dared to lend a hand to help Yan Li. It is thus clear that this saber’s swiftness and fierceness was overwhelming.
Yan Li was outstanding as well, he fell back half a step, and changed his posture to holding the lance with both hands and charged up at an angle, taking advantage of the length of the lance, wanting to defeat Kou Zhong’s must-kill saber strike.
Kou Zhong laughed in delight, unexpectedly he changed move midway, from hacking straight to turning and slashing horizontally, without the slightest bit of trace of hatchet and chisel, everything was in line with nature and natural changes, the saber technique indeed has reached the state of perfection.
Immediately Yan Li fell into an extremely difficult situation, promptly he changed his move to deal with it.
‘Dang!’
Yan Li let out a muffled grunt, he staggered across and tumbled down in utter defeat.
If Kou Zhong followed up with another saber strike, it could be guaranteed that his blood would be splashed.
‘Qiang!’
The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard.
Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong tidied up his robes, his qi steady, his spirit relaxed, as if he had not fought at all. Looking at the struggling-to-stand-up-steadily Yan Li, he laughed and said, “Please forgive my offense! Please forgive my offense! But to be able to experience Yan Xiong’s brilliance, it is still worth offending Yan Xiong. Actually, Xiaodi meant well, I came to tell Yan Xiong that you don’t have to painstakingly wait for Jiao Xiaojie. If Dong Guifei wants her, please tell her to come to me, Kou Zhong! Ha! Let’s go!”
Arriving at the Vermilion Bird Gate, unexpectedly Wei Gonggong was waiting respectfully for their good-selves to take them to the Ling Yan Pavilion inside the Taiji Palace.
Feeling sorry to inconvenience him, Kou Zhong said, “How could we dare to trouble Wei Gonggong in everything, you could have just sent any little Gonggong [reminder: a term to address eunuch], it should be all right, we are accustomed to acting casual!”
Wei Gonggong was exchanging some pleasantries with his old acquaintance, Hou Xibai, hearing that, he respectfully replied, “This is Huangshang’s decree, to show Huangshang’s respect for Shaoshuai. We, as slaves, are used to working hard! Thank you Shaoshuai for showing care.”
Hou Xibai laughed and said, “Gonggong must be the one who sleeps the least in the palace.”
Wei Gonggong said, “Xiaoren never sleeps more than two sichen every night. One time I tried not to close my eyes for five consecutive days.”
Kou Zhong said, “Gonggong’s power is deeper than mine. If I haven’t slept for two days, I will definitely not be able to open my eyelids.”
Wei Gonggong lowered his head, the refined light in his pair of eyes flashing but disappeared instantly, obviously he was enraged by Kou Zhong, only he restrained himself and did not express it. He spoke in a low voice, “How could Xiaoren dare to compare with Shaoshuai?”
Kou Zhong laughed aloud and walked ahead.
In the middle of the night, the forbidden palace was tranquil and solemn, with only the sound of drum marking the night watches and the footsteps of patrolling guards echoing across the vast area of the imperial city.
With eight imperial guards ahead and behind, carrying lanterns to illuminate the road, they walked along the Heavenly Street, straight to the traversing square.
Xu Ziling’s mind, however, was bound to Shi Qingxuan. This beauty had enough power to make him forget everything, to be fully committed, and to forget the remaining pain due to Shi Feixuan’s departure.
Shi Qingxuan’s love toward him was without any reservation, she played with him wittily, even teasing him from time to time, embarrassing him, so that their relationship was brimming with lively fun.
What exactly is the love between a man and a woman? That is not important; what is important is that when he was with her, time has always been too short. It felt like an instant and then, although he was broken-hearted at having to leave, it was time for him to bid farewell.
He could touch her, kiss her, he could indulge in the sweet and intoxicating taste, to let her comfort his lonely heart, or to let her open her heart completely, so that two lonely people would no longer be lonely. In this callous world full of struggle, hypocrisy and hatred, if he was able to have a taste of the simple and happy future from her, they might be the best couple on earth.
Life had taken him this far, what is there to regret?
Happiness had already come into the hollow of his palm, and his happiness was linked to the suffering and happiness, the honor and disgrace of all the people of the world, therefore, no matter how difficult and hard-pressed he was, he would press on for others and for himself until happiness and peace arrived.
Kou Zhong stopped.
Xu Ziling was awakened from the intoxication and found that he had arrived at the entrance of the Ling Yan Pavilion.
Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin, what kind of person he was, actually?
A whiff of fresh and clean fragrance permeated out of the quiet, fast-asleep Ling Yan Pavilion, assaulting their sensitive nostrils.