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The sails have been lowered, the ship was relying entirely on the eighteen oars on each side, pushing the water to move it forward.

Wind lanterns were hanging along the side of the ship at one step intervals, so close together so that the lanterns practically outlining the contours of the whole ship, creating a surreptitious, indescribable impression.

Above the main deck was a two-story bridge; the top level had the helm and the observation platform, on which more than a dozen men and women were standing at random. But Kou Zhong and the others, three men, only saw one person.

Because this man was like a crane in a flock of chicken, all at once he attracted their attention so that they had no time to take notice of the other people.

This lordly gentleman looked to be around thirty, wearing barbarian attire, with long bushy beard on his face, tall and majestic; compared to the people around him, he was at least half a head taller, he was perhaps of the same height with Kou Zhong, three men.

Although he was standing with his hands behind his back, he was able to make people feel that he had a lofty mountain, high peak, outstanding, out of the ordinary, spirit, a heroic, overbearingly imposing style.

His face, surrounded by the bushy beard, was actually clear, amazing, and heroic. Although his cheekbones were high, his nose was big, grand and powerful. His eyes were surprisingly thin, but the pupils inside them were bright and flashing with clear, deep, and intelligent radiance, as he was sizing up Xu and the others, three men, from a distance.

Both on his left and right stood two beautiful women, but in the eyes of the three men, they were not as attractive as this dragon-bearded man brimming with masculine charm.

Facing the huge boat that was still twenty zhang away but fast approaching them, Kou Zhong shouted, “Who’s there? If you come for us, report your name. I, Kou Zhong, am not interested in killing an unnamed nobody.”

The last sentence was, naturally, the bold, visionary words that Ba Fenghan spoke toward Hou Xibai, and indeed it showed aggressiveness.

Ba Fenghan smiled.

Xu Ziling was silent, but he was circulating his breathing to treat his injury.

Shi Feixuan’s sword qi was a rare, innate qi. If not for his foundation came from Taoist School’s secret treasure, the ‘Secret to Long Life’, plus his meridians have undergone transformation by the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s special power, perhaps he could not fully recover for the rest of his life.

At that time he felt that at the last moment Shi Feixuan withdrew some of her true qi; supposing it were not so, perhaps he would have to suffer for several days.

Since the engagement began, although Shi Feixuan appeared to send swift and severe offensive, the fact was that the attacks were well-measured, purely to test him out, without any intention to harm him.

This woman had a not-eating-the-food-of-common-mortals kind of noble character. Compared to Princess Dong Ming, Shang Xiuxun, women of high position and status, she had different noble air, making her towering above those other women, making her extremely unique.

A long laugh awakened Xu Ziling from his deep contemplation, so that he could not help shivering inwardly.

He had never given any woman this much thought.

The dragon-bearded man’s voice rose up, “Kou Zhong must be joking! Xiaodi Fu Qian; coming with specific purpose of making friends with three gentlemen and paying my respect!”

He spoke perfect Chinese with very articulate pronunciation and vocalization, paying particular attention to the tone of each word, so that he could be considered half a notch above Ba Fenghan, who had left home to make his way in the world for many years.

From his appearance and his dragon-beard trademark, the three had already guessed who he was, hence hearing his response, they were not surprised at all. The only thing they did not expect was that he would look this formidable and overbearing, his heroic aura covered the sky.

The huge ship’s speed was decreasing, otherwise the mast, which came out to two zhang above the bridge, would shake and break the bridge, and even the lid of the top level of the bridge would not survive.

His deep, manly, and sweet-sounding voice vanished, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “Fu Xiong’s great name is like thunder piercing the ear, ol’ Ba admire it very much. But there is one thing I am not clear; I want to ask for guidance!”

“Hai!”

Thunderous shout boomed from the belly of the ship. At precisely the same time, thirty-six men cried out as if it came from one person’s mouth.

Thirty-six oars reversed direction at the same time; the giant ship miraculously stopped on the surface of the River, maintaining about three zhang distance between the bow and the bridgehead. Fu Qian and the other dozen or so people happened to stand at the same elevation as the bridgehead, so that as they spoke, neither side was put in an awkward position of one was higher or lower than the other.

On the surrounding area, the lanterns were dim; only this section by the Tianjin Bridge the Luo River was ablaze with light, even the moon and the stars in the sky were eclipsed.

Due to the movement of the giant ship, bigger waves slapped the embankments, creating louder rustling noise.

Other than that, everything else was so quiet and harmonious.

The oars kept moving in such an ingenious way that the huge ship stayed unmoving in the middle of the river.

Fu Qian calmly replied, “Ba Xiong need not be hesitant to ask, Xiaodi won’t hide anything I know, I won’t stop before I have said it through.”

Ba Fenghan’s eyes flashed with cold rays; he spoke coldly, “Fu Xiong hid the ship nearby, and suddenly appeared. Your timing is accurate, I wonder what do you intend to do?”

These words bore no trace of politeness, but Ba Fenghan could not be blamed. Because Fu Qian and Wang Bo were intimately related, it would be easy to make an associative connection that Fu Qian came with malicious motive.

The people standing around Fu Qian revealed a displeased expression on their faces. The two Tuyuhun women by Fu Qian’s sides even showed disdain, as if they were blaming Ba Fenghan for failing to appreciate their kindness.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were accustomed to Ba Fenghan’s no nonsense attitude toward anybody; they did not feel it strange at all.

Surprisingly, Fu Qian did not take offense as well; laughing aloud, he said, “There are three reasons: one, Xiaodi loves to join in the fun. This time I came to the Central Plains, this is the main reason.”

The three did not expect him to be this forthcoming. He said clearly that while the Central Plains was in chaos, he came to take this advantage of fishing in troubled water.

Kou Zhong scanned the entourage standing by his side, the oldest looked no more than forty years old, every single one of them had bulging taiyang acupoints [on the temples], their eyes were flickering brightly; obviously Fu Qian’s martial art masters were as numerous as the cloud, his strength must not be scorned. Only Kou Zhong did not know whether Xing Mofei, who spoke in public at the Man Qing Yuan the other night, was one of them. Thereupon he said with a cold snort, “Joining the fun sometimes requires that you pay the price. I wish Fu Xiong to have propitious wind throughout your journey!”

From Song Yuzhi, he knew that Fu Qian had ‘special interest’ toward them. And with Song Yuzhi’s shrewdness, if she said so, she must have strong reason, and not something that she shot without aiming.

A young man standing behind Fu Qian was about to open his mouth in retort, but this martial art master from the Tuyuhun King’s Clan signaled him to stop, and then, remaining tranquil and calm, he laughed and said, “Xiaodi came to the Central Plains, from the beginning I haven’t had the enjoyment of roaming the mountains and playing in the waters; many thanks for Kou Xiong’s concern. As for the second reason, Xiaodi wants to destroy Tiele people’s conspiracy; I don’t want Qu Ao, Tuli’s crafty scheme prevails. And the last reason: I want to see if three gentlemen have time to spare to have your honorable selves onto my humble boat to drink and chat until daybreak?”

Ba Fenghan threw his head back and laughed aloud; he said, “Fu Xiong’s two good intentions, we appreciate very much! Right now we only want to find a place to stay for the night and have a good sleep. Please!”

A thin smile appeared on the corner of Fu Qian’s mouth; nodding, he said, “Three gentlemen are indeed exceptional heroes, ol’ Fu admires you.”

The oars moved, the huge ship went in reverse.

And then the lanterns went off, as the ship disappeared in the dark river bend.

※ ※ ※

The sound of turning wheels against the flagstone, mixed with the hoof beats of the mules, came from the street down below.

Kou Zhong stretched his limbs before opening his eyes and sat up. Xu Ziling had already woke up; he was standing against the railing of a bell and drum tower located on the northern bank of the Luo River, gazing into the distance at the Tianjian Bridge spanning across the River. It was not clear whether he was thinking about his encountered with Shi Feixuan the previous night.

Ba Fenghan was sitting cross-legged in meditation, closing himself out of anything that was happening around him. The Beheading Mystery Sword was lying flat across his legs.

Kou Zhong sprang up and walked over to Xu Ziling’s side.

Outside the tower, the drizzle continued; it was as if the entire Luo River had fallen into a vast expanse of mist whiteness.

Kou Zhong took a deep breath of the early morning air mixed with the fog. Looking far into the distance, across the misty rain, he sighed and said, “It’s really nice! We are still alive, and had just had a great night’s sleep.”

Xu Ziling noticed that Kou Zhong’s left hand was fiddling with the pendant on his chest, at the end of the chair hanging from his neck. He asked in surprise, “Why this sudden interest of the pendant?”

Kou Zhong replied in delight, “I forgot to tell you, I met its original owner last night.”

Xu Ziling was stunned, “You met Chuchu?” he asked.

Kou Zhong got this pendant when they were at Zhai Rang’s Big Boss Mansion. Chuchu went with Zhai Jiao to take refuge. Just before they left, she had Susu hand the pendant to Kou Zhong [See Book 4 Chapter 12].

Recalling this matter, he really felt as if it all happened a lifetime ago.

Kou Zhong told him about Zhai Jiao looking for him last night, and then he said, “Li Mi’s days must be numbered, hence the reason Zhai Jiao, which is his unexpected archenemy, emerged. Zhai Jiao has a subordinate named Xuan Yong, absolutely a talent.”

Xu Ziling nodded, “Killing Zhai Rang was Li Mi’s grave mistake. If it were you, Zhong Shao, you’d have put Zhai Rang on pedestal, let him have a false reputation, while the real power is in your hands. By the time you really obtain the world, you would ask Zhai Rang to abdicate, then it would not appear as if there is a big gap to cover. And now how are you going to take advantage of it?”

Having a plan up in his sleeve, Kou Zhong replied, “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I have already made arrangement with Zhai Jiao, she will supply me with intelligence data on Li Mi’s activities. Humph! This time I am going to have Li Mi’s highest intelligence capability and hidden troops in my disposal. As long as he fell into my luring-the-enemy strategy, this world will be out of his reach.”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “If because of this Wang Shichong grew big, wouldn’t that bring you no good at all?”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “That happens to be the most exciting point. Right now everybody thinks that Wang Shichong cannot beat Li Mi, hence the reason Dugu Feng dared to publicly stand against him. Better yet, even Wang Shichong himself has no confidence, hence he secretly established friendly relations with Li Yuan so that together they might fight Li Mi. This is the reason that Li Shimin kid dared to come to Luoyang to flaunt his might and glorious martial power. Ha! But once Wang Shichong inflicted big damage on Li Mi, this Wang – Li alliance will collapse. At that time, the only thing Wang Shichong could do would be blocking Li kid; he would not let him prevail. Then we can carry the treasure back to the south and retrieve Jingling back from Ol’ Die’s hands. At that time we can go to the north or the south, the world will be mine, Kou Zhong’s!”

With a rueful smile Xu Ziling said, “Actually, what you have here is just a wishful thinking. And don’t forget that we basically don’t know where the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’ is.”

Disappointed, Kou Zhong said, “There are a lot of things that won’t happen like ‘if we think about it in details, we will accomplish it’. The so-called ‘success is heaven’s responsibility’, for us the mortals, other than doing our utmost, what else can we do?”

Changing the topic, he said, “I am going to see Wang Shichong later today; do you two have any plan?”

Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, “Today no matter what I am going to stay close to Old Ba, because there is great chance that Tuli will choose the moment he is left alone to make his move.”

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “You seem to forget that we are their big foe for killing Qu Ao’s son. Last night he did not come looking for revenge, he had me scratching my head.”

Staring into the boundless drizzle hiding the sky and covering the earth, the water droplets blown by the wind floating down to the ground, Xu Ziling slyly said, “Your memory is really bad. Fu Qian and Qu Ao are going to ‘decide male and female’ at Man Qing Yuan tonight. This battle relates to Qu Ao’s lifetime honor and disgrace and Tielie people’s reputation, so Qu Ao must preserve and nurture his spirit, everything else must be cast aside to deal with tonight’s duel.”

Nodding, Kou Zhong said, “What you said makes a lot of sense. Only I don’t know how’s Tuli’s temperament? I hear that he and Li kid have a very good friendship. Quite possibly Li kid will lend him a helping hand.”

Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling said, “I don’t know whether it was because we have always had good relationship with Li Shimin that unconsciously we always underestimate his formidability. The fact is that after raising his troops at Taiyuan, he always triumphed in every battle. Without any shocking-the-heaven method, I don’t know how he accomplished it. Supposing he is certain that the Jade Annulus of He Clan is in our hands, maybe he’ll deal with us using thunderbolt means.”

Kou Zhong dismissively said, “Who’d dare to be certain that the Jade Annulus of He Clan was stolen by us? At least Wang Bo, that old kid, would believe us.”

Xu Ziling’s countenance dropped; he coldly said, “Li Jing ought to believe that we stole it. Because he had seen my appearance after I put on the mask; therefore, he knew that I have the ability to change my appearance for other purposes.”

Kou Zhong’s eyes flashed with cold rays; he said, “Therefore, if Li Shimin pursues us to demand the Jade Annulus of He Clan from us, that means Li Jing has forgotten the old friendships and betrayed us. In that case, we won’t have any brotherhood love to speak about with him.”

Xu Ziling sighed. He said, “Although Li Jing turned his back on Su Jie, he is not a man who would sell his friends for glory; I might be worrying in vain. But Shi Feixuan once pointed out that martial art masters under Li kid are as numerous as the cloud, plus he has established such a heavenly-policy government. Therefore, we must not ignore him lightly.”

Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day. Suddenly he said, “Do you think nobody knew we are hiding in here?”

After pondering for a moment, Xu Ziling replied confidently, “I am sure nobody does. After absorbing the special power of the Jade Annulus of He Clan, the most prominent advancement is in the raising of qi in lightness skill aspect; taking a breath while being high up in the sky is as easy as a hand’s turn. In this case, even though it was Ning Daoqi who followed our track, it would not be that easy.”

Kou Zhong was suddenly shaken, “We are so stupid,” he said, “Why didn’t we exploit this strong point? If we can bring out this strong point as much as we like, even if the enemy has many men, great force, they won’t be able to hem us in.”

Xu Ziling’s tiger-eyes lit up; they were glistening brightly, but he did not say anything.

Ba Fenghan voice was suddenly heard, “Two Xiongdi, are you interested in going to Dongjia Restaurant for a cup of hot tea?”

※ ※ ※

House of Dong [‘Dong Family’] Restaurant was crowded and noisy. The three sat around a table on the corner, they all had a ‘from hell and back’ feeling.

After the waiters delivered fragrant tea, cups and chopsticks, Kou Zhong pricked his ears to listen carefully; he laughed and said, “Out of ten tables, eight are talking about what happened last night; the martial law was definitely issued by Wang Shichong. I don’t know what malicious intention this guy is harboring, he seemed to resent that our enemies did not have enough convenience.”

Ba Fenghan was silent without saying anything, he seemed to hear without listening.

Ever since he woke up this morning, he seemed to be full of thoughts, but did not want to talk about it.

Knowing his temperament, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not dare to provoke him.

Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, “I am guessing one possibility that might explain why Wang Shichong did what he did.”

This moment the waiter came with some pastries. After he left, Kou Zhong leaned over and said, “Tell me quickly!”

Xu Ziling sighed and replied, “Wang Shichong may do so upon Li kid’s request.”

Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, “In that case, wouldn’t that mean Li Jing really betrayed us?”

It was indeed the most logical inference.

Li Shimin was definitely not someone who is particular about friendship, only after knowing for sure that they wrecked his good relationship with Shi Feixuan, he might initiate drastic action to deal with them.

Moreover, looking at major forces around Luoyang nowadays, only Li Shimin had the capability to move Wang Shichong, because presently Wang Shichong did not wish to offend the Li Clan, no matter what; otherwise, he would be caught up in the vile situation of facing enemies on the east and the west.

Perhaps because Li Shimin still remembered old friendship he did not want to openly confront them, but it was quite understandable if he made the arrangement on behalf of Shi Feixuan, to let her have a free hand in dealing with the three.

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “This is just a guess; I hope the actual situation is not like that!”

Ba Fenghan suddenly spoke up, “Kou Zhong, when you see Wang Shichong later, it won’t hurt if you just ask him bluntly, see how he answers it.”

His face darkened, Kou Zhong stood up and spoke in heavy voice, “In this world, other than you, I won’t trust anybody easily anymore.”

Finished speaking, he left, full of joy and expectations.

※ ※ ※

As soon as Kou Zhong’s shadow disappeared outside the restaurant’s main door, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, “Today we’ll do our separate business: you are responsible to scout Yin Gui Pai people’s activity, I am going to see Shan Wanjing.”

Stunned, Xu Ziling said, “How am I going to do that?”

Ba Fenghan replied, “Yin Gui Pai must have a secret nest in here, and that’s where Shangguan Long is hiding to recuperate. To investigate that, there are two indirect ways. Because Yin Gui Pai always have more yin than yang, and plus most of them are beautiful women, and women by nature love beauty, if you pay attention to several stores along the Heavenly Street that are well-known as specializing in cosmetics and perfumes, you may obtain unexpected gain.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “That is indeed a wonderful idea! And what is the other one?”

Ba Fenghan said, “Although Zhu Yuyan have the capacity to treat the internal injury in Shangguan Long’s meridians, but afterwards, to regulate and make up for it, they can’t avoid drawing support from primary medication to restore his original strength. Therefore, as long as you pick the most upscale herbal medicine shop and guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits [idiom, meaning waiting idly for opportunities], you might see someone suspicious.”

“Since I have nothing to do anyway, I might as well try my luck by doing what Fenghan Xiong said,” Xu Ziling glibly said.

And then his scimitar-shaped eyebrows lightly knitted in confusion, “But didn’t you just have a fallout with Princess Dong Ming?” he asked, “Why are you seeing her again?”

A complicated expression flashed through Ba Fenghan’s eyes; he replied in low voice, “I’ll tell you after I see her! I’m off!”

Xu Ziling did not answer him, but inwardly he knew that the one Ba Fenghan wanted to see was not Shan Wanjing, but the old flame who came with Tuli to the Central Plains, the one with whom his gratitude and grudges were tangled up.

It was an extremely dangerous thing to do, how was he going to handle it?