Wearing a leather hat, Little Lingzhong was taking an afternoon nap on a mat on the floor. Under him the mattress was soft, over him the blanket was thin. Although the cold winter had just passed, the weather has not been back to warm yet, but because of the burning stove in the hall, such measure to defend against the cold, the air temperature was just perfect.
Therefore, a hint of sweet smile was hanging on the corner of Little Lingzhong’s mouth; it was such a picture of unspeakable peace and comfort.
Chuchu, his wet nurse, and two other young maids, were keeping Little Lingzhong company while doing needlework and chatting idly, giving Xu Ziling the nest-like warmth of ‘home’ feeling.
He never had a home. The broken-down house in the abandoned garden at Yangzhou was just a hideout where they lived in temporarily; it was very difficult for him to see it as his home.
Home should look like the one before his eyes.
Kou Zhong’s shock was not over yet.
The moment he crossed over the doorstep into the hall, he met the gaze that Chuchu sent to his direction. His heart, which was originally like a tranquil lake, suddenly rippled and boiled over because a rapidly flowing stream was rushing into it.
Chuchu’s eyes were like a magical ‘cupid’s arrow’, containing a pleasantly surprised, complicated and subtle mood, as well as endless expectation, which came from the depth of her fragrant heart; who could resist it?
Kou Zhong remembered the scene at the Da Longtou Mansion in the past, where Chuchu took the initiative to throw snowballs at him; he also recalled her enchanting beauty and charm when he pulled her gauzed sleeve, she was displeased and annoyed, and scolded him as ‘silly kid’.
The enchanting beauty of the past suddenly came back to life, becoming the reality before his eyes.
Kou Zhong immediately blamed the ‘cupid’s arrow’ because an unprecedented urge was welling up in his heart, an urge to embrace her, to cherish her, to comfort her, to make her happy and merry. Even toward Song Yuzhi he had never experienced this kind of hard-to-hold-back longing and desire. Perhaps it was because at the Da Longtou Mansion Chuchu has shown initiative and her brazen style, which exceptionally able to evoke the desire hidden deep within his heart.
The moment he made contact with her affectionate glance, all he could think about was to hold her inside his strong, powerful arms, to stroke he, to understand as much as possible the profound mystery in her fragrant heart.
Toward her, he was both familiar and unfamiliar. The familiarity gave him the feeling of intimacy. The unfamiliarity made him wanting to seek the hidden-away, to explore the mystery, the intensely stimulating taste.
Only it was a pity that this moment he must forcefully suppress this kind of genuine emotion in his heart, he must not let it out the slightest.
Two boys, with two different frames of mind, took off their boots and set their feet on the soft yet springy straw mat covering the entire floor of the hall. Chuchu came up to meet them. Gently, tenderly, delicately she used her clothes to brush off the dust from the two boys’ body, without saying even half a sentence.
Xu Ziling’s gaze fell onto the Little Lingzhong’s face, who was sleeping soundly without waking up on the mat on the floor; smiling, he said, “Chuchu Jie, no need to mind us, don’t wake Lingzhong up even more, we can only quietly look at him from the side. When he wakes up, then we can play with him.”
Chuchu gently said, “He has just fallen asleep, I am afraid he won’t wake up in less than a sichen. Even if we talk next to him, we don’t have to worry about waking him up.”
At the same time, heartache mixed with heartening feeling welled up in Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong’s heart, thinking that Little Lingzhong not only did not have a mother, he was like not having a father as well. Zhai Jiao’s temperament was irascible and she lacked patience, definitely not a good candidate for motherhood, so Chuchu was certainly the best choice.
The wet nurse and the others knew that it was time for them to temporarily take their leave, while Chuchu led the two boys to sit by Little Lingzhong’s side. Chuchu automatically sat next to Kou Zhong. She cheerfully said, “Did you notice that Xiao Shaoye has grown more like Su Jie?”
Kou Zhong caught her scent, the delicate fragrance that he knew so well, yet also appeared to belong to the distant past, he sensed that she was fondly attached to him and had great hope toward him, yet he knew that he simply must not be aroused to passion toward her, so he fought hard to suppress his feeling. Nodding his head, he said, “He inherits all of Su Jie’s good genes, not the least bit was left.”
Unable to take his eyes of Little Lingzhong, Xu Ziling sized him up and asked, “How old is he this year?”
Chuchu raised two fingers; she said, “He will be three soon.”
And then she stood up and said, “You stay here and look after Xiao Shaoye for me, Chuchu will be back soon.”
Stunned, the two boys watched as her figure disappeared outside the door; they were both unable to make any sense of the matter.
Kou Zhong looked back, his gaze fell on Little Lingzhong’s ruddy, healthy-looking little cheeks, and said with a sigh, “I just hope that he will never find out who his father is. If in the future Xiang Yushan is content with his lot [idiom: to know one’s place], his account with us can be wiped out. It’s a pity that I don’t see how it will happen, because the problem is on him.”
Full of tenderness, Xu Ziling gently fixed the hat and the thin blanket on Little Lingzhong, to prevent him from being invaded by the wind chill. Nodding in agreement, he smiled bitterly and said, “What we are facing right now is definitely a trap. Time and again we set ourselves against Xieli, we must have angered him, hence he exploited Xiang Yushan’s familiarity with us to eliminate us.”
The refined light in Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes flared out severely, he spoke in heavy voice, “I want to establish my prestige.”
Xu Ziling nodded and said, “I understand what you are thinking.”
Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Only you understand me well.”
After burying Zhen Sao and their archenemy Yuwen Huaji, the two boys’ enmity and gratitude and grudges toward the secular world became blurry, so much so that it was replaced by every-hope-turns-to-dust [idiom: completely disheartened] feeling.
Kou Zhong wanted to come with Xu Ziling to Leshou to visit Zhai Jiao and Little Lingzhong, practically it was some kind of escape.
However, receiving all kinds of irritants from the outside world, such as being deceived by Guan Ping, even to the snare set before their eyes, which showed clearly that it was laid out by powerful enemies from the foreign tribes under Xieli’s leadership, has finally shocked and woke Kou Zhong up, making him realize that he must rouse his diminishing and crumbling willpower, to make the enemies understand that he, Shaoshuai, was absolutely not a man with an undeserved reputation.
Compared to Song Que or Ning Daoqi, the martial art masters of grandmaster-of-this-generation level, who had become famous for several decades, yet were still standing without collapsing, whom no one dared to challenge, in terms of prowess and reputation, the two of them were still a notch below, simply because in the past, the two have always fought and escaped. If this situation continued, it would be difficult to establish unrivalled-martial-art-masters’ fame for fighting prowess.
Therefore, Kou Zhong decided to come to Xieli with open saber, open spear, in a hard battle. The target was to force Du Xing to spit out that batch of Zhai Jiao’s sheepskin, thereby establishing his prestige in the world, to make whoever wanted to provoke them in the future to think thrice before even starting to make their move.
This would be the only way to guarantee the survival of Zhai Jiao’s business.
It was really not ignorant people’s bravado or momentary show off anger, because formally it was really not one-sidedly benefitting them. In the northern territory, they had Tuli, the comrade-in-arms with whom they treat one another with absolute sincerity, who was sufficient to maintain the balance of forces on both sides. Hence the reason Kou Zhong must, by all means, take advantage of this opportunity to establish his prestige in the world.
Kou Zhong’s pair of tiger-eyes lit up, he said, “We must first find two best and capable-of-enduring-hardships warhorses, and then learn the skill to fight on horseback, and train from here all the way to the northern border. Ay! Whenever I think about determining victory and contending for supremacy against the enemy on the prairie and barren land beyond the Great Wall, my blood is boiling, I cannot control myself.”
Xu Ziling said, “We also have to learn archery. Riding and shooting always go hand-in-hand.”
Kou Zhong did not think that Xu Ziling would actually agree to his proposal. He patted Xu Ziling’s shoulder vigorously, but he was also afraid he might wake up Little Lingzhong, hence he lowered his voice as he said with a laugh, “You are indeed my good Xiongdi. This time we might as well do everything big, so that both inside and outside the Great Wall, everybody will know that whoever wants to provoke us, Yangzhou’s Twin Dragons, will have to pay a heavy price. There will come a day where we will surpass those his mother’s Three Grandmasters, because we are still young, the future is long.”
Xu Ziling’s pair of eyes emitted an emotional look; he spoke slowly, “This may be the last time that we fight side-by-side.”
Turning his gaze toward Little Lingzhong, he spoke heavily, “If we catch Xiang Yushan, what are we going to do?”
Kou Zhong stared blankly at Little Lingzhong for half a day. Smiling wryly, he said, “Both for common good and personal reason, we have to harden our heart and treat Xiang Yushan ruthlessly, but in the end he is still Lingzhong’s, this little darling’s father; we ought to give him the last advice, to tell him to give up everything. If his character cannot change, then don’t blame me, Kou Zhong, for treating him ruthlessly without any mercy. Leave this matter to me. Ling Shao can put aside everything, go on a scenic tour beyond the Great Wall, take the Persian beauty as your tender wife, ha …”
It was like Xu Ziling did not hear his teasing; the murderous intent in his tiger-eyes flaring greatly, he spoke coldly, “One word and it’s settled. We are going to give him one more chance. If he, Xiang Yushan, still obstinately persists in going about things the wrong way, even if Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin both acknowledge him as their son, we are still going to take his dog life.”
Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong asked, “What about the blood debt with Yin Gui Pai?”
Xu Ziling replied, “We will follow closely our intention to overthrow the scum-of-the-community demonic school, since it cannot exist together with the orthodox Wulin of the Central Plains. This matter is not only related to personal grievances. After a year I will certainly rush back to the Central Plains to see how formidable Shi Zhixuan, whose power has no flaw, is? At that time we can sweep away and flattened Yin Gui Pai at the same time. Question is what kind of stage our martial art skill will achieve.
Pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, “In that case this will not be the last time that we fight side by side! I don’t want you to say such thing in the future; I will take offense very much.”
Very cross, Xu Ziling said, “Let’s talk about that later when in the future you have time to talk.”
Kou Zhong stretched his hand to lightly touch Little Lingzhong’s puffy, pink and soft cheek; he praised, “Such a handsome baby. In the future he will grow into our Xu and Kou, two families; I guarantee that he will be even more formidable than us. Whatever it is that we are unable to accomplish, it will be completed by him.”
Giving him the cold shoulder, Xu Ziling said, “This is called you are giving him unnecessary burden. To be really alive, one must be free and unconstrained, be able to do what he wish to do; only then will one be able to really enjoy life.”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “I was just speaking without thinking the matter through, Ling Shao should not take it seriously.”
And then, revealing a thoughtful expression, he said, “Even if we have enough strength to deal with Du Xing head on, we still need superior strategy to match, and the most important condition to formulate the strategy is to know the enemy. Now it could be said that we know nothing at all about the enemy. In this aspect, we need Da Xiaojie to find us a way.”
Xu Ziling was about to answer when Chuchu came back, followed by two young maids carrying two bowls of something that looked like stew. Chuchu’s two hands were not empty either; she brought two exquisitely made sheepskin robes. She said with a laugh, “After you finish drinking the bear gall soup, try these robe that nujia made for you. Xiaojie said that you are going to Shanhai Pass. This will be very useful.”
The two hurriedly sprang up to express their thanks. The beauty was showing great kindness. A hundred emotions ran inside Kou Zhong’s mind, he said, “We will certainly have to try the new clothes that Chuchu sewed for us.”
Rolling her eyes at him, Chuchu smiled sweetly and said, “Shaoshuai is the best in showing off his clever mouth; why haven’t you untied your saber?”
Xu Ziling watched as Chuchu attentively helped Kou Zhong putting on the robe; remembering how Susu made them new clothes at the Da Longtou Mansion in the past, myriads of emotion grew in his heart, he stayed silent.
Wearing the new robe, upright and unafraid Kou Zhong twirled around in front of Chuchu and the two young maids, exuding a burst of intimidating might, stirring them up that three pairs of eyes lit up.
Chuchu blissfully said, “This robe even has a wind cap, it can block wind, sand, rain, and snow. You can even hide weapon inside, so you don’t need to hang the saber so conspicuously on your back.”
And then she turned around to help Xu Ziling trying on the new clothes. It was also tailored to fit him well, putting Xu Ziling’s elegant charm in full display.
This moment Zhai Jiao suddenly honored them with her presence. The two sat down on a table to the side to talk while drinking the bear gall soup. Seeing how she was walking with crutches, the two were even more determined to put Du Xing in order.
Zhai Jiao’s weary countenance could not cover her endless excitement as she said, “Just received new information. The ‘Dragon King’ Bai Ziting is going to hold the founding-of-a-country ceremony in ‘Little Chang’an’. It is estimated that everybody, whether in support or in opposition to the founding of this country, is going to attend this meeting. My guess is that Qidan’s Hu Yanjin, Gaoli’s Han Chao’an, and Du Xing are all going. You can get rid of them all at the same time, then you won’t need to rush about all over the place.”
The two boys were listening with blank face. Xu Ziling asked, “Who is Bai Ziting? What kingdom is he establishing?”
Putting her temper in check, Zhai Jiao explained, “Bai Ziting is the most powerful leader of the last division of Jie people. He is establishing the Jie Kingdom. Such a simple matter you don’t know? I never thought that your aptitude is this low and hopeless.”
Not knowing whether he ought to laugh or to cry, Kou Zhong resigned himself to be scolded. He spoke deferentially, “What kind of thing is Little Chang’an?”
Displeased, Zhai Jiao said, “Little Chang’an is not a thing, but the Long Quan Fu [lit. Dragon Spring Mansion] that Bai Ziting selected as the upper capital of his new kingdom. Ay! Chuchu, come here and explain these things to them.”
Chuchu had clearly received extreme trust from Zhai Jiao, and she was doted on her, and that she knew Zhai Jiao’s business very clearly. Coming over gracefully, she sat down by Zhao Jiao’s side and with a smile on her face, she said, “Long Quan Fu is located in the middle stretches of Mudan River, the city is linked with the tail of the Changbai mountain range, bordering the Jingbo [lit. mirror moor] Lake in the south. Jie people are originally nomadic tribe between Qidan and Gaoli, two countries. Since the ‘Dragon King’ Bai Ziting took the risk to raise arms, his fame and power rose up greatly, his power reaches to Bohai [Sea] in the east, Gaoli in the south, and the Qidan-Tujue border in the southwest. Bai Ziting admires the Central Earth civilization since his youth, hence Long Quan Fu was built entirely according to Chang’an’s style. The political system, written language, all the way to the attire and local custom, he emulates us in everything, hence Long Quan Fu is nicknamed ‘Little Chang’an’.”
Xu Ziling was greatly interested; he had never thought that unexpectedly there was such a place outside the Great Wall.
Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, “I did not expect Chuchu to be so experienced and knowledgeable. This is the first time we hear about such figure as Bai Ziting, and about Long Quan Fu, this Little Chang’an.”
Snorted coldly, Zhai Jiao said, “Would the person I cultivated be lacking in anything? It was after the information was received that Chuchu sorted out everything and only then did she explain it to those rice-bucket idiots.”
Seeing the two boys’ helpless expression as they were scolded as rice-bucket idiots, Chuchu struggled hard not to laugh as she said, “Long Quan Fu was built on the plain. Inside the Fu [Mansion] the water is clear and abundant, it is completely a hot spring. The land produces famous rice, the grain’s character is soft and wriggle in the mouth, crystal white and shiny, famous beyond the Great Wall. It has always been the fatty meat that the Qidan people glare like a tiger watching its prey. Luckily the Gaoli want to use it as a buffer between the Qidan and the Tujue, hence they are very supportive toward Bai Ziting. However, were it not for the internal strife between Tuli and Xieli, which greatly lessen the pressure on Bai Ziting, he would still not dare to found a country all of a sudden. The strongest opponents to this matter are the Eastern Tujue and the Qidan people. Therefore, the case of Bai Ziting founding a country will, naturally, not go smoothly. The result will be even more difficult to predict.”
Only this moment did the two boys have a little outline of the entire thing.
Zhai Jiao joined in, “That batch of furs of ours was acquired from the Huihe via Bai Ziting. He and I had seen each other once, the chat could be considered amiable, enough to strike friendship to do business. This man is quite ambitious; he himself –both in terms of intelligence and martial art skill are very much outstanding, definitely not a simple man.”
“What is Tuli’s position on this matter?” Kou Zhong asked.
Chuchu said, “He shouldn’t want to see another power suddenly rising on the east side, but currently he has no time to care about it; he is powerless to interfere.”
Zhai Jiao said, “The founding ceremony of the Jie Kingdom is going to be held at Long Quan Fu on the first day of the fourth month, less than two months away from now. The two of you must get things done for me by then.”
“How could Da Xiaojie grasp the situation outside the Great Wall this clearly?” Kou Zhong asked.
Zhai Jiao proudly replied, “By relying on friends. In doing business, I, Zhai Jiao, have always said one and meant just that [idiom: keeping one’s word]; other than people who are harboring malicious intentions, who would not be willing to make friends with me?”
“I wonder if Da Xiaojie has any friends that you specially trust on this side of the Great Wall?” Xu Ziling asked.
Chuchu replied, “On the northern territory, other than Bei Ba Bang, there are also two big gangs and one big sect. The common term is Three Gangs One Sect. The other two gangs are Wai Lian Bang [lit. Outside/External/Foreign Alliance Gang] and Sai Mo Bang [lit. Pass/Border Desert Gang]. The former has a man from the Xi Tribe Da Gonglang as its leader, the latter’s longtou [big boss] is a Han named Jing Kang. Jing Kang has a very serious friendly relations with Dou Ye, hence he is very supportive to us. Any wind blowing and grass moving outside the Pass, he would notify our branch office at Shanhai Pass, which then pass on the information via flying pigeon to us.”
Slapping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, “That will work! What we are lacking is the intelligence network concerning the area beyond the Great Wall; finally we get one.”
Xu Ziling asked, “Is the Changbai Pai’s [Changbai Sect] Paizhu [Sect Leader] ‘Zhi Shi Lang’ [the minister/official/youth who understood the world/lifetime/era, see Book 1 Chapter 10] Wang Bo?”
Snorting coldly, Zhai Jiao said, “Who else but that old fellow? He said he would renounce striving for the world, yet he clearly created wind and set up rain everywhere. Some times ago unexpectedly he leaned on Yuwen Huaji for help, but afterwards seeing his prestige in decline, he was forced to slip back to Changbai with his tail between his legs. Perhaps this time Wang Bo has a share in dealing with us.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “This is getting more and more interesting. Is it possible for Da Xiaojie to find us two of the best warhorses, highest quality bows and arrows, as well as a roll of road map with detailed geographic and terrain information? The two of us can guarantee that we won’t disappoint Da Xiaojie.”
Xu Ziling added, “And then whom should we contact at that time, please Da Xiaojie bestow the instruction.”
“Everything you are asking is readily available,” Zhai Jiao replied, “I just bought from the Tujue two best-quality purebred, high and flourishing ten thousand li horses [idiom: fine steed], unafraid of the bitter cold and the sandstorm outside the Great Wall.”
Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, “That will do! We will immediately set out tonight, to attack Bei Ba Bang and make them to be in a sorry state, along the way we’ll have a taste of the sweet, fragrant and delicious rice.”
“Ah!” Chuchu exclaimed, revealing a disappointed expression. Obviously she did not expect Kou Zhong to leave this quickly.
Even Xu Ziling did not understand why Kou Zhong was this anxious to leave. Only Kou Zhong had painstaking understanding of himself; because to him, Chuchu’s attractive power was simply too great, if he stayed one night longer, no one could tell what would happen.
Zhai Jiao wanted to say something but then hesitated; in the end she nodded her head and said, “Very well, you will leave tonight. I will arrange everything for you. Be careful, outside the Great Wall is unlike the Central Plains, there are not many places you can hide. All of a sudden you might fall into desperate situation due to lack of food supplies and water shortage.”
Ten thousand fathoms heroic feeling was surging in the two boys’ heart at the same time, thinking that they would finally gain first-hand knowledge of the foreign land and exotic customs that they heard from Old Ba’s mouth. When the time came, what would the scene look like?
