The speaker was the middle-aged scholar who looked like a master/teacher. With his hands behind his back, he leisurely got up and walked away from his table, which was located at the corridor, and came behind the three men. He walked around the three first before finally stopping in front of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling.
He squinted at Kou Zhong, and then turned his attention to Xu Ziling. Revealing a grim, harboring-evil-designs smile, he let out a cold snort and said, “I am Xiang Yuanhua, also known as Shiye [master/teacher] Hua, with specific responsibility of procurement within the Bei Ma Bang. I believe two gold ingots are enough to purchase two Xiongtai’s horses. Sao Niangzi, you’d better not meddle with our Bei Ma Bang’s business transaction.”
Auntie Qing laughed in low voice and said, “The officer in charge of the account indeed has good insight.”
Shiye Hua looked back and glowered at Auntie Qing, but his anger did not flareup. Turning back to the two boys, he said, “Two Xiongtai must not listen to other people’s interference. Whether we, Bei Ma Bang do business in gold or silver, anybody must give us a little bit of face.”
When he spoke, his mouth and facial movements were extremely exaggerated, his two strands of slanting-down beards were also moving up and down following the shape of his mouth; it was actually quite comical.
Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, “Whatever you are offering, I am not selling.”
The vicious light in Shiye Hua’s pair of eyes flaring greatly, he spoke heavily, “Let me ask you again, are you going to sell or not?”
That Lu Gongzi and the delicate and pretty lady showed a disdain look; evidently they did not approve Shiye Hua’s conduct.
From the Bei Ma Bang table, someone shouted, “Our Xiang Shiye looks upon your horses, you don’t know how much honor and glory that is for you. With our Bei Ma Bang taking care of you, you can come and go in the northern border without any fear. We are going out to wander the Jianghu, it’s nothing more than seeking wealth and looking for safety. Xiongdi must be a bit more sensible.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “Not selling.”
Shiye Hua nodded and said, “All right.”
Finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his table. But everybody knew that he would not give up; furthermore, not only he wanted the horse, he would not let the persons get away either.
Sao Niangzi cursed in low voice, “What a jerk.” And then she bloomed in smile toward the three and said, “Let’s get in first and talk about it later; nujia may find a way for you.”
“I’ll stay outside,” Ren Jun spoke in low voice.
Kou Zhong knew that he was afraid Bei Ma Bang people would seize the horses by force; he nodded and said, “Remember, don’t be afraid.”
Ren Jun nodded to indicate that it must be so, and then he left to take care of the horses.
Under the crowd’s attentive eyes, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed Sao Niangzi entering the main building. Unexpectedly it was a spacious dining hall, big enough to put several dozens of large round tables. Behind the main building was a big flower garden, the site for the famous Yin Ma Hot Spring. Steam was rising from irregular-shaped natural hot pond, filling the air with mist; immediately the simple and unadorned arrangement of the dining hall was elevated into a paradise in the world of the immortals.
Behind the smoke screen, they could see someone standing motionless.
The person’s figure was slender, tall and thin, with a long sword hanging on his back; there was an indescribable haughty loneliness in him, as if he was a man of the world of immortals.
In the dining hall, only one table was occupied with guest. Naturally, it was the Luo Daoren [Mule Taoist], bending his head over the table, chewing busily, acting as though there were nobody else present.
Seven waiters were standing on the side with nothing to do, seeing their lady boss personally ushering the guests inside, they lazily came over to greet them.
Luo Daren acted as if he realized only this moment that there were other guests coming; looking back, he saw the two boys, and immediately laughed aloud and said, “Chewing alone is no fun; come quickly to accompany Pindao. Laobanniang’s mutton steamed buns are certainly out of the common run. There’s also the treasured Hongmao wine, good for rectifying the qi and benefiting the lungs, nourishing the yin and mending the kidney, increasing the qi and soothing the spirit, pacifying the liver and invigorating the eyesight. The benefits are inexhaustible.”
Sao Niangzi laughed and cursed him, “Who needs you to advertise nujia’s benefits? As soon as the two gongzi try it, they will know.”
Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only shake their head. Sao Niangzi’s remarks were always related to, and not departing from, the affair between men and women.
After some commotion, the two finally sat on Luo Daoren’s table. Sao Niangzi personally poured wine for the three, while laughing and said, “Two Gongzi’s honorable surnames and great given names, I have not yet asked for guidance.”
Kou Zhong replied, “My name is Fu Xiong, he is Fu Jie; we are [paternal] cousins. Xiao Jun outside is our bodyguard.”
He raised the wine pot and took a sip, “So bitter?” he said with a frown.
Luo Daoren doubled up in laughter and said, “Don’t they say good medicine tastes bitter? This is clearly medicinal wine.”
With ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions Sao Niangzi sat down on Luo Daoren’s other side; she said in tender, affectionate voice, “Luo Daoren, you must help two Gongzi find a way, Bei Ma Bang’s Shiye Hua insists on buying their steeds. You, Senior, must act on their behalf.”
Luo Daoren cast the two boys a glance, he laughed and said, “Right or wrong is just a matter of opening the mouth more. When in distress and hard-pressed, one will be compelled to act. If Pindao’s discerning eyes do not err, two Xiao Xiongdi already have a way to deal with this matter.”
Staring blankly, Sao Niangzi said, “Turns out two gentlemen are martial art masters, sage who presents as ordinary person. Nujia did not see you carrying any weapon, you really make others anxious for you for nothing.”
Kou Zhong said, “We only trained a little bit of three-legged cat punching and kicking; the real martial art master is Xiao Jun.”
“Lying.”
All four were stunned at the same time, they turned their gaze toward the hot spring pond in the inner courtyard. The tall and thin swordsman walked out of the mist, his eyes flashing, he looked at the two boys up and down, his expression was grim without any trace of politeness.
Similar to his build, this man’s face was long, narrow, meatless. His cheeks appeared to be hollow, his nose long, his shoulders narrow, the distance between his eyebrows and eyes was wider than average, his countenance gloomy and cold, as if ever since he came out of his mother’s womb he had never smiled. He should have looked more like a Diao Si Gui [hanging ghost, ghost who died from hanging] than a human, but for some reason, his five sense organs combined together had a different kind of charm, a sense of beauty within the ugliness, forming some kind of haughty, icily arrogant lofty quality, leaving deep impression in people’s heart.
He looked to be around twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old, but he gave up the impression of an old man full of experience and the vicissitudes of life. The two boys only needed a glance and they knew that within Yin Ma Yi at this point of time, aside from they, two boys, who could be considered having the most brilliant martial art skill, next in line was Luo Daoren. But now unexpectedly they encountered another martial art master.
Frowning, Sao Niangzi asked, “What did Die Gongzi [(young) Master Butterfly] mean by that?”
Die Gongzi coldly replied, “I said they are lying.”
Kou Zhong spread his arms and said with a bitter smile, “I am just embarrassed to admit that my Kungfu is exceptional; could it be that modesty is a crime?”
Die Gongzi coldly said, “Modesty is not a crime, but lying indicates one is harboring unfathomable motives. What time is this? What place?”
Xu Ziling smiled and said, “We are just passing by, happen to be in time for the meeting. If Gongzi don’t believe us, there’s nothing we can do.”
Die Gongzi muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, he nodded and said, “I believe you.”
Finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to the mist.
The four looked at each other; no one could guess he came suddenly, he walked away even more suddenly.
Kou Zhong could not help lowering his voice when he asked, “Who is he?”
Luo Daoren replied, “Die Gongzi Yin Xianhe is the newly rising sword master of the northeast; cold-blooded and ruthless, vicious and merciless, reclusive in nature, but although there is no major wicked conduct, his reputation is not too good, because not many people like him.”
With a lot of trepidation, Sao Niangzi said, “Such a strange man. What is he doing here?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Luo Daoren said, “If he did not tell, who would know?”
Xu Ziling’s heart was moved; rising to his full height, he said, “I’ll go and ask him.”
Her countenance changed, Sao Niangzi said, “He is not messing with you, you are going to mess up with him?”
Kou Zhong understood inwardly, Yin Xianhe coming here must have something to do with the Anle Tragedy; trying to understand everything from him might be more reliable than asking anyone else. Thereupon he laughed and said, “Laobanniang, don’t worry. This Xiongdi of mine is the most outstanding lobbyist; I guarantee that Old Yin will open his golden mouth.”
Looking at Xu Ziling’s leisurely, elegant back, Luo Daoren giggled and said, “Looks like three gentlemen are not as simple as only passers-by.”
Kou Zhong frankly said, “I dare to swear by the Heaven that we are passing by your honorable land, just happen to be in time for the meeting. But we have also heard about the Anle Tragedy. Plus from Shao Niang [young lady] we saw injustice, so we determined to act on behalf of the Heavenly Road. This explanation ought to be satisfactory?”
His words stemmed from sincere heart, so that others could not doubt him.
A bit impatient, Sao Niangzi got up and said, “You two chat in here, I am going to see whether Xu Dangjia has arrived or not. Without any reason, why would Qiu Daren [title of respect toward superiors] and Shu Ye [master] be late?”
After Sao Niangzi left, Kou Zhong asked, “Who are Qiu Daren and Shu Ye?”
Luo Daoren replied, “They are the Zong Xunbu [Chief Constable] Qiu Nanshan and Anle Bang’s Er Dangjia Shu Dingtai. Both are men that Pindao does not like. Who do these men think they are that they want to seek justice for my chess buddy?”
It was only then did Kou Zhong realize that Luo Daoren was a close friend of the harmed Anle Bang’s Gang Leader, Lu Ping. His good impression could not help but to increase greatly.
Luo Daoren was a man who despised worldly conventions. With all smiles, he drank a full cup of bitter wine, and then sighed and said, “Other good name they did not pick, they selected the name Anle Bang [anle literally means peace and happiness]. Only in death one will obtain peace and happiness; I never thought the words have become a regret. It’s finished! Whether dying by violence or dying of old age, in the end it is death.”
Seeing that he was revealing the real situation, Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to ask, “Who are the people outside? They are just like a sheet of loose sand, how could they achieve big things?”
It was as if he was sobering up; Luo Daoren suddenly looked at him up and down several times before smiling and said, “Are you meddling in other people’s business out of your kindness, or are you harboring other evil intentions?”
The refined light in Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes appeared; but it was just a flash and died down immediately. Remaining tranquil and calm, he said, “Is it considered other people’s business?”
Luo Daoren’s astonished expression has not completely disappeared, he was startled by the exquisite, incomparably pure unusual light of mysterious power that appeared in Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes. Previously the divine light was held back; to Luo Daren, Kou Zhong’s skill in hiding it without revealing anything was even more shocking.
It was quite half a day later that Luo Daoren came to his senses; lowering his voice, he asked, “Who are you?”
After delivering the mutton steamed buns, nobody knew where the waiters went, but in the empty spacious dining hall, only the two of them remained.
Kou Zhong took off the knee-length sheepskin robe he was wearing, revealing the Moon in the Well hanging inside the right-hand pocket. He said, “Who does Daozhang [Taoist priest] think I am?”
Severely shaken, Luo Daoren said, “Isn’t that the appearing-to-be-unremarkable-on-the-outside treasured saber the Moon in the Well?”
Kou Zhong nodded and said, “Daozhang has good eyesight.”
Luo Daoren calmed down instead. Exhaling slowly, he said, “No wonder you guys don’t give those people outside a ; turns out you are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names shook the land under the heaven – in person. If I did not see your saber, I would surely be fooled by you.”
“I was wondering if we could work together sincerely,” Kou Zhong said.
Luo Daoren nodded and said, “With you guys willing to undertake the task to help, naturally it’s another thing altogether. Outside, there are altogether four groups of people, coming from Bei Ma Bang, Wai Lian Bang, Xian Xia Dong, and Dong Bei Bang, respectively [north horse gang, outside alliance gang, immortal red cloud cave, northeast gang]. The most upright are the man and woman Lu Shiqing and Lang Tingting, the proud disciples sent by Xian Xia Dong’s Dongzhu [cave master] Chen He. Xian Xia Dong is a prestigious school, upright sect of the northeast, barely second only to Changbai Pai. One of Lu Laodi’s [ol’ younger brother] son who was murdered actually paid obeisance to Chen He and became a disciple of his school. Therefore, although Chen He did not like to be drawn into Jianghu dispute, he simply can’t ignore this matter.”
“I wonder if Qing Gu is from Wai Lian Bang?” Kou Zhong asked.
Wai Lian Bang was ranked among the northern border’s three gangs, naturally Kou Zhong had to pay attention.
Luo Daoren replied, “Qing Gu’s name is Su Qing, her title is ‘Hooking the Spirit, Snatching the Soul’ [orig. hun, immortal soul, and po, mortal soul]. She is the Wai Lian Bang’s Longtou [big boss] Da Gonglang’s woman; therefore, although her martial art skill is not so great, she is able to occupy the position of Tangzhu [hall master] of the Phoenix Hall, one of the three external halls. As for Dong Bei Bang, they also have great interest. Their Bangzhu Bei Shuqun is Gao Kaidao’s sworn brother. Gao Kaidao rose in power, they are like the tide rises, the boat floats [idiom] – hoping to surpass Bei Ba Bang to become the biggest gang in the northern territory. This time, leading their troops here is the young gang leader Bei Chenfen. This man’s character is gloomy; just now he did not speak at all, he was only indulging his men to act willfully and make a scene, hence he did not attract Shaoshuai’s attention.”
Kou Zhong was going to delve deeply into the Anle Tragedy when suddenly from the outside came the intensely sharp and clear ringing noise of weapons clashing against each other, accompanied by the sound of people shouting and pushing-the-wave-and-adding-to-the-billows cheers and applause.
Kou Zhong stretched his limbs lazily and said, “The fight is starting. Those Bei Ma Bang’s people’s patience is not bad.”
Xu Ziling came behind the taller-than-him-by-about-a-cun, looking-more-like-a-bamboo-pole-than-a-human-being Yin Xianhe. The dense steam was rising from the hot spring, making people think that being able to soak in it must be a joy of life.
Yin Xianhe’s gaze was fixed on the hot spring. In his usual not-revealing-the-slightest-bit-of-emotion voice and intonation, he said, “Xiongtai better go back.”
Xu Ziling halted his steps. He spoke indifferently, “Xiaodi only want to say something. If Yin Xiong is unwilling to answer, Xiaodi will turn on my heels.”
Yin Xianhe was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke slowly, “Speak up.”
Xu Ziling spoke heavily, “Yin Xiong came here, is it to kill Xu Kaishan?”
Yin Xianhe spun around like a whirlwind, the murderous aura in his eyes flaring greatly, he stared at Xu Ziling and asked, “Who are you?”
For some reason, when he first saw this reclusive, haughty lone wanderer with a single sword, Xu Ziling felt that he had come across a friend. And now that he knew his guess was correct, his baseless idea had just been confirmed. Unwilling to conceal anything from him, he smiled and said, “Zaixia Xu Ziling.”
Shaken, Yin Xianhe said, “Then the one in the dining hall must be Kou Zhong.”
Xu Ziling nodded. “It is he,” he replied, “We are indeed just passing by this place on our way to Shanhai Pass to look for ‘Ba Wang’ Du Xing to settle an account; along the way we heard about this Anle Tragedy, and bumped into this great assembly called by Xu Kaishan to demand justice from Cui Wang. We feel there’s something suspicious in this matter, hence I came to Yin Xiong to ask for guidance.”
Yin Xianhe spoke disdainfully, “Du Xing, humph!”
Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to ask, “What kind of character is Du Xing?”
Murderous aura reappeared in Yin Xianhe’s eyes, but the tone of his voice remained quiet, cold, and calm. “Du Xing is a two-faced person,” he said, “Secretly he is doing all bad things, controlling gambling establishments and operating prostitution, building a kingdom of evil by smuggling and tax evasion, by means of violence, threat, bribe, wiping out dissidents, and all kinds of dirty method, opposing me you die, following me you live, until everybody succumb to his tyrannical abuse, dare to be angry but afraid to speak up. On the other hand, he put on Wulin’s heroic and proud face, presiding over righteousness, removing perils and solving disputes everywhere, recovering justice for people who are robbed by bullies, so much so that he set up the Righteous Hall where poor people can eat and drink free of charge. Xu Kaishan is precisely his hunting dog, the lackey who committed all kinds of offending-Heaven-and-reason things for him, so as not to damage his reputation.”
Xu Ziling gained a sudden understanding, “Turns out Yin Xiong has the heart to rid the world of evil,” he said.
‘Pei!’ Yin Xianhe spat in disdain and said, “I am not interested in that kind of things. This world has always been like this, it won’t change in the future. I want to kill Xu Kaishan, because I owe a debt of gratitude toward Lu Dangjia. And now is the time to repay that debt.”
“What makes Yin Xiong believe that Xu Kaishan is Cui Wang?” Xu Ziling asked.
Instead of answering, Yin Xianhe asked, “What makes Xu Xiong believe that I want to kill Xu Kaishan?”
Xu Ziling frankly said, “It’s just my preliminary speculation; I still do not dare to be certain. Based on Xu Kaishan’s rapid rise, plus his relationship with Du Xing, and they way he does business, he ought to be the greatest suspect. It seems to me that Yin Xiong is not someone who might be interested in any Wulin matters, hence I try to confront you directly.”
Yin Xianhe suddenly sighed and said, “I rarely speak so much to anybody; even more, it is not my habit to work together with anybody. Were it not for both Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong are the men I hold in high regard, I would have saved these words. Xu Xiong, please do not pay attention to this case, paying a debt of gratitude is my, Yin Xianhe, one person’s business.”
The sound of clashing weapons came from far away precisely this moment.
Kou Zhong and Luo Daoren stepped outside the terracotta building. Unexpectedly Ren Jun was fighting against seven or eight men from the Dong Bei Bang, instead of Bei Ma Bang, which single-mindedly wanted to seize the horses away.
One of the Dong Bei Bang men was sitting by the pond, blood was flowing out of his shoulder like a flood; one of his companions was helping him taking care of the injury.
Without even need to guess, Kou Zhong knew that one of Dong Bei Bang men must have challenged Ren Jun for a fight. After that person proved to be no match for him and sustained injuries, the other men saw how brilliant Ren Jun’s saber technique was, they disregarded Jianghu rules by charging together to besiege him.
Lu Shiqing of Xian Xia Dong stood up; it seemed like righteous indignation grew in his heart, hence he was about to go down the arena to intervene.
Ren Jun was charging and retreating, his left arm was dyed red with blood. Because the opposite side had many men, a great force, he was falling into the disadvantageous position.
Wai Lian Bang and Bei Ma Bang’s people were cheering for the Dong Bei Bang men, acting like they were wishing for the whole world to be in chaos.
Kou Zhong swept his gaze around at the unconcerned Dong Bei Bang crowd shouting themselves hoarse for their companions. One of those men was a young man with deathly pale countenance that looked to be around twenty years old, who was stealing a glance toward him with calm expression. He mused that this young man must be the Dong Bei Bang’s young gang leader Bei Chenfen.
Su Qing and Shiye Hua also cast a glance toward him. Kou Zhong smiled at them in return, and then he shouted, “Back off three cun!”
Somebody had just slashed the back of Ren Jun’s left shoulder, drawing a line of blood from him, provoking his anger. Hearing Kou Zhong, his spirit was greatly aroused instantly; he believed Kou Zhong firmly without any doubt, although saber light was assaulting his face and he was unable to see the enemy’s saber incoming momentum, he still retreated slightly three cun backward. The saber blade chopped down in front of the tip of his nose. It was precisely this hairsbreadth difference that enabled him to turn peril into safety. The other men completely misread his retreating momentum, so that all the sabers and swords hit the empty air.
Ren Jun’s saber’s light flashed. As the saber wielder right in front of him was hitting the empty air, immediately blood splashed from the upper part of his body as he was hit by the saber and fell down.
Kou Zhong shouted again, “No clouds, no rain, ten thousand li one fold, flip to the left.”
Everybody, including Lu Shiqing, martial brother and sister, Su Qing, Shiye Hua, Bei Chenfen, and the others, none did not reveal astonished expression.
Ren Jun’s martial art skill was brilliant, he was able to fight seven men undefeated, it was already greatly beyond their expectation. But now, as long as they were neither deaf nor blind, anybody would know that Kou Zhong was an even more formidable martial art master.
Hearing the instruction, Ren Jun obeyed without question; he flipped to the left, and leisurely escaped from the besieging net.
His heart completely calmed down. The strict training he received from Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling along the way proved to be exceptionally effective. He felt an enormous confidence, as if he was able to see through the enemy’s every single intention and change.
Dong Bei Bang’s men’s acute spirit had already been drained, momentarily they did not know whether they should do their utmost to continue fighting, or stay on the spot and stop.
Bei Chenfen suddenly stood up and said, “Stop!”
Kou Zhong threw his head back and roared in laughter; he said, “You think you just say stop and we stop? Xiao Jun, kill them all for me.”
Ren Jun was about to pounce on the enemy, a voice came from the main gate, saying, “Who dares to be this arrogant and aggressive?”
Kou Zhong turned to look at the main gate, wondering if Xu Kaidao has arrived.
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