Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Volume 10 Chapter 10 part2

Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong said, "That day when Fang Zhuangzhu [village master, see Book 8 Chapter 11] and I were chatting, didn't Changshu Xiong also drop from the sky and mounted a sneak attack? Whatever kind of hero Changshu Xiong is, I am also that kind of hero.”

Although she knew that she was not supposed to laugh at a time like this, Shang Xiuxun could not hold it. "Pfft!” she burst out giggling, and greatly diffusing the ‘swords drawn and bows bent' intense atmosphere.

Kou Zhong cupped his fist toward Shang Xiuxun and said, "Thank you very much Changzhu for cheering on me.”

Shang Xiuxun glowered at him viciously. But with her pair of fake moustache, she looked absolutely weird.

Obviously Changshu Mou was at a loss. Looking up to the ceiling, he could only say, "All right,” three times, and then his eyes flashed with ominous glint as he coldly said, "I wonder if Zaixia and Ba Xiong's fight can be momentarily postponed?”

Hearing that last sentence, everybody knew that since the battle was imminent, he wanted to clarify Ba Fenghan's position first. The situation at hand was clear; whichever side Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu stood with, that side would have assured victory.

Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, hinting that if Ba Fenghan was not tactful, they would join hands and take care of him first. Although this was not an easy matter, they simply must try.

A complicated look flashed through Ba Fenghan's eyes. Finally he turned his gaze toward Fu Junyu.

Fu Junyu maintained a wooden expression; it was quite a while later that she spoke up, "No matter how Changshu Xiong look at it, you are already lost by half a step. According to Jianghu rules, the gratitude and grudges between Changshu Xiong and these two boys must also be postponed.”

Noticing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking at her, she angrily said, "I am not helping you at all, I just don't want you to die under anybody else's hands! Why haven't you …”

Kou Zhong was afraid she might say the word ‘get lost'. If she did and they really ‘get lost', they would lose quite a bit of face. Therefore, he cut her off in loud voice, "Yu Yi please take care of yourself, we, two brothers, are showing filial piety toward Niang, the firmament can be our witness.” And then he signaled Liang Zhi with his eyes.

Liang Zhi understood; he bowed toward Shang Xiuxun and said, "This place is unsuitable to stay for an extended period of time, Changzhu, let us continue our journey.”

‘Pow!'

Shang Xiuxun tossed two ingots of gold on the table and said coldly, "Today it's our Flying Horse Ranch treat!” Finished speaking she walked out leisurely between the two groups of Tiele warriors. Shang Peng, Liang Zhi, and the others followed closely; they swaggered freely under the ominous glint of Changshu Mou and his men's eyes.

※ ※ ※

Leaving the House of Fragrance, they saw the street was filled with Tiele warriors and the people of Xiangyang; fortunately, after considering the pros and cons, Changshu Mou did not issue any order to attack. However, naturally the enemy was unwilling to let the matter drop just like this.

Shang Xiuxun made the decision to abandon their horses and luggage at the inn, and immediately climb the city wall to leave the city.

Along the way Sang Xiuxun ignored Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong completely, but she did not drive them away either. Seeing Shang Xiuxun like that, other people, including Luo Fang, who has always been in good terms with them, did not dare to talk to the two boys.

Xu Yang had already paid a lot of money to hire a cargo ship. This moment he added three more ingots of gold, ordering the boatman to sail immediately.

It was only after the boat departed the dock and sailed down the River that everybody breathed a sigh of relief for being able to escape with their lives.

The ship was spacious and sturdy; there were seven, eight cabins available for them to use. In a rather awkward atmosphere, Xu Yang assigned the cabin at the aft for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He said in a low voice, "Changzhu is mad at you, the two of you better do something. Ay! I did not expect Er Zhishi to be that astute and able to see far ahead.” After shaking his head with a sigh, he gave the two boys a friendly pat on the shoulders, and then without saying anything he went to the aft to swallow clouds and blow out fog.

Kou Zhong whispered to Xu Ziling, "Guarding against people, that we cannot do without. I'll go to check the boatman and his three men's foundation.”

When Kou Zhong went out to talk to the boatman, Luo Fang waited until Shang Xiuxun, Liang Zhi, Shang Peng, Shang He and the others went into their cabins, and then he went out to find Xu Ziling. "Which one of you was that scar-faced Daxia?” he asked.

Xu Ziling was leaning against the railings, enjoying the night scenery on both sides of the river under the moonlight. Facing the night breeze, he laughed and said, "The scar-faced part was real, but the Daxia part was a fake. We are brothers of the same Ranch, there is no need to speak superfluous words.”

Luo Fang gratefully said, "I owe my little life to Xu Xiong. Hey! Your martial art skill is indeed formidable. Do you really know Yijian Technique? How did that one palm chop into the air force that b1tch [orig. poniang] to draw back?”

Xu Ziling explained, "The logic is actually very simple; it does not matter what style or move, everything uses the good ol' timing. As long as you can grasp the timing accurately, you can be one step ahead of the opponent in sealing the path of his attack and transfer of energy, and at certain point intercept and destroy, the opponent would find it difficult to make any changes, and becomes like having his hands and feet bound. If he strives to continue the attack, it would be akin to breaking his own strike, and won't have the power to meet the enemy.”

Luo Fang was speechless. He said, "This principle is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. Like that Korean woman's sword technique that has countless changes, I couldn't even see it. But even if I could see it clearly, it is still difficult to oppose her swift and fierce sword qi; so that even though I know the theory, it is useless to me.”

"Knowing is always better than not knowing,” Xu Ziling comforted him, "As long as you set this target and train your eyesight and skill hard, one day you will succeed.”

Luo Fang seemed to comprehend this logic. This moment Kou Zhong was back and said cheerfully, "There shouldn't be any problem. Turns out there is a small cabin at the aft. Since we are pastry chefs, we should be able to make some cakes and present it to Changzhu to make her happy.”

Xu Ziling understood his intention. "Do we have enough ingredients to make some cakes?” he asked.

Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, "The boatman has some lotus fragrance cake leftover. You know what to do! It should be all right as long as there is no poison in it.”

※ ※ ※

‘Knock! Knock! Knock!'

"Who is it?” Shang Xiuxun's voice came from the inside.

"It's Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling delivering some snacks,” Kou Zhong replied.

Shang Xiuxun's response was tepid, "I am not hungry! Don't come bothering me!”

Kou Zhong flashed Xu Ziling a ‘there is hope' expression. He smiled apologetically and said, "Just now Changzhu ate only a little bit of food; it would be best if you'll let me send you a little bit of cakes, so that it is ready whenever Changzhu wants to eat!”

‘Creak!'

The wooden door opened, revealing Shang Xiuxun's fairy-like countenance. She stared coldly at the two boys for a moment before turning around and walked in.

By the time the two boys pushed the door and came in, Shang Xiuxun was standing in front of the bed, with her back against them. Although she was still wearing men's clothing, her beautiful and shiny jet-black hair was cascading down her fragrant back like a sheet of delicate satin, filled with female's most moving charming beauty.

Kou Zhong put down those several pieces of shameful lotus fragrance cakes on the simple and crude small wooden table, and then with a flair he plopped his buttocks down on the chair, and signaled Xu Ziling to sit down as well.

"Why haven't you left?” Shang Xiuxun said in soft voice.

Xu Ziling closed the door, and then with a bitter smile he said, "We did not intentionally want to deceive Changzhu; it was just …”

Shang Xiuxun cut him off, "Who killed Mao Zao that night?”

Kou Zhong's tiger-eyes lit up. "Changzhu, please understand,” he said respectfully, "That man was Xiao Ling.”

Shang Xiuxun slowly turned her delicate body. Stomping her feet, she said angrily, "Really doesn't make any sense! I plainly tested you, but I could not detect any true qi inside your body.”

Kou Zhong said in great delight, "Changzhu is back to your regular self! The fact is that we were using an extremely simple technique. All we need to do was to hide our true qi in an acupoint that nobody expects.”

Leaning against the window, Shang Xiuxun said with a frown, "True qi is circulating endlessly, it flows continuously among the Eight Extraordinary Channels; how could you conceal it in certain acupoint?”

Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, "So that's how it is? But we can do it, and that demon Wanwan is even more superior.”

"Who's Wanwan?” Shang Xiuxun asked.

"That's the reason why we must discuss it in details with Changzhu,” Xu Ziling replied, "This matter is extremely important; it even concerns Jingling's survival.”

Shang Xiuxun slowly walked toward the table and sat down on a chair that Xu Ziling pulled out for her. "Tell me!” she said solemnly.

Chapter end