Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Volume 11 Chapter 5 part2

‘Boom!'

Lightning flashed, followed by a thunder. Du Fuwei was forced to use the skill he stored at the bottom of the chest; his left sleeve swept Kou Zhong's Moon in the Well, while his right sleeve met Xu Ziling's double punch.

Qi energy clashed.

Du Fuwei spewed a mouthful of blood and was thrown far away.

Xu Ziling fell down to the ground, while also spurting a mouthful of blood.

Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling up; both of them flew to the roof of a multi-story building nearby.

Two Jianghuai Army martial art masters arrived; they rushed to pursue, but Kou Zhong swiped his saber backhandedly and viciously forced them to fall back to the ground.

Du Fuwei landed on the other side of the long street and stood still.

By this time Xu Ziling had received the true qi transmitted by Kou Zhong, so that his strength was recovered somewhat. Sending out a punch, he forced another martial art master down to the ground.

‘Bang!' that man landed on the mud.

‘Boom!'

Heaven and earth was awashed in bright light.

By the time it was dark again, the two boys had already disappeared with any trace.

"Don't chase!” Du Fuwei shouted loudly.

Taking a deep breath, Du Fuwei shook his head and said with a sigh, "They are worthy to be my good children. Even if you catch up with them, it would be useless.”

※ ※ ※

The two boys rolled down the slope, and fell into a deep pool of muddy swamp, unable to crawl back up.

The heavy rain was still pouring on their heads and spilling down their faces, but the thunder and lightning gradually became sparse.

After leaving Jingling, they had been running in northerly direction for more than thirty li. By now they were like lantern which oil had dried up, they could not even raise their true qi. The big and small wounds on their body unbearably ached.

The two boys lay side-by-side, continuously gasping for breath.

Kou Zhong painfully said, "You still had a chance to rest for a moment, but I have not laid down with everything steady and stable like this for eight consecutive days and nights. Ha! In the end we did not die, even Ol' Die failed to do anything to us!”

Xu Ziling groaned, "Can't you not boast and praise yourself too soon? Presently, if we came across a small thief, he could easily take our lives.”

Still gasping for breath, Kou Zhong laughed and said, "Laotianye can't be that unreasonable. Um, if that female demon Wanwan is also recuperating nearby, it would be really interesting!”

Xu Ziling no longer talked; he simply circulated his qi and regulated his breathing.

As soon as Kou Zhong closed his eyes, he was no longer able to open it; he immediately fell into deep sleep, where the heaven and the man intersected.

※ ※ ※

Heavy rain finally stopped at daybreak. The black clouds gave way to clear sky. The late spring morning sun shone on the two boys.

When the sun reached its zenith, Kou Zhong was the first to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he found out that they were lying down by a stream. Next to the stream, the trees of the forest were dancing. It was such a beautiful scenery.

On the other side of the creek was a small hill, its slope was covered in verdant grass, while its peak was covered in dense forest, with fruits hung heavy on the bough.

Straightening up his waist, Kou Zhong sat up. The pain of last night has already disappeared without a trace; the wounds on his body have healed, leaving only scars. Laughing aloud, he sprang up and stretched his four limbs.

Xu Ziling was aroused from slumber by him. Seeing Kou Zhong's tattered clothes and face covered in bloodstain and mud, yet looked very happy, he sat up; hugging his knees, he asked in astonishment, "Zhong Shao, why are you so happy?”

Kou Zhong sat cross-legged in front of him; he sighed and said, "I have never felt like I do this moment: that life is precious. When you see so many people died in front of you, you will know that being alive is truly a great miracle. I am not happy, I am just enjoying the pleasure of living. Hey! Do you know what I mean?”

Xu Ziling nodded, "Well said,” he said, "At least we still have a few days to enjoy life.”

Kou Zhong's tiger-eyes flashed a cold ray; he said, "Although female demon Wanwan is more formidable than the Ol' Die, killing us is still not going to be easy. What I am most afraid of is that she'd summon Yin Gui Pai's martial art masters, or even ‘Empress Yin', Zhu Yuyan. If that happened, our good luck is going to be finished. Do you have any good idea?”

Sneering, Xu Ziling said, "Looking at your demeanor, you already have a card up your sleeve. You'd better tell me quick!”

Kou Zhong smiled and said, "My plan can be divided into two parts. First, we must hide so that that female demon Wanwan cannot find us.”

Xu Ziling had a brainwave, "You mean we are going to wear Mr. Lu's mask and become different persons?” he asked, "But if we are together, based on female demon Wanwan's intelligence, she might still recognize our disguise.”

Kou Zhong replied, "There are so many wealthy people on the road running away from the war, we can find and join any group of people to travel together, so we won't stick out like a sore thumb. Moreover, we can try to find Yucheng and the others at the same time. I hope they have not lost our salt!”

"And what is the second part?” Xu Ziling asked.

The murderous intention in Kou Zhong's eyes flared up; he spoke hatefully, "If she did not die, then I perished. I will use whatever method to kill everybody from Yin Gui Pai, from top to bottom; or else I will write my name Kou Zhong, two characters, upside down. Do you have any objection?”

Recalling Shang Peng, Shang He and the others' tragic death, Xu Ziling nodded and said, "Totally agree!”

Kou Zhong leaned forward a bit and lowered his voice, "That female demon Wanwan must have guessed that we are going north to Luoyang, and will try to rendezvous with Yucheng and the others. Therefore … ha! You ought to know … ha!”

Xu Ziling was surprised, "You are not thinking of using Yucheng and the others as a bait to lure Yin Gui Pai people out, are you? By doing that, won't it mean that you are playing with Yucheng, four people's lives?”

Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, "This is called putting out all kinds of death to gain life later. Starting from today, we ought to study the Yijian Technique will all our heart and soul; otherwise, when we meet that female demon Wanwan later, we would only be throwing our lives in vain, and thus provoking her ridicule.”

Xu Ziling laughed aloud. He stood up and said, "How about taking a bath first before starting on our journey?”

※ ※ ※

A drizzle came down from the sky, the road became mud everywhere; wet and slippery and difficult to walk.

The two boys bought two sets of coarse hemp garment from a farmer in a small village about fifty li north of Jingling. After putting on their masks, they changed their shape in a single shake, becoming two gathering herbal medicine peasants, one old and one young, who were on their way back to Xiangyang along the Han River.

Xu Ziling became a fifty-something man with a goatee on his chin, the corners of his eyes, as well as his forehead, were full of wrinkles; an old man with embittered face. When he started to hunch his back, even Kou Zhong found it difficult to recognize him; he felt it odd, yet amusing.

Kou Zhong turned into a thirty-something man with a rough and ugly face, someone who looked like he knew martial art. He wrapped the Moon in the Well in oilcloth so that it would not reveal his background.

They galloped at full speed on the mountain and fields for two days before reaching the intersection of the official road leading to Xiangyang about three li away from the city, where they mingled with the travelers heading toward Xiangyang.

Suddenly they heard a rumble of hooves beat, more than a dozen men were galloping past, scaring the travelers that they scrambled to make way. It was only after the riders sped away that everybody was cursing and swearing.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned to the road to continue with their journey. The former said, "Looking at their clothing, that bunch of men must be Qian Duguan's subordinates. From the way they are hurrying, perhaps they had just obtained the news of Jingling falling into Ol' Die's hands, and are rushing off to notify Qian Duguan. I am afraid that guy Old Qian won't have any good sleep anymore!”

Xu Ziling said, "Isn't Changshu Mou in collusion with Qian Duguan? Plus Changshu Mou is the Ol' Die's secret ally. By stretching this fact a little bit, perhaps Qian Duguan won't have to be afraid of Ol' Die?”

Kou Zhong looked up to the heavens to enjoy the comfortable feeling of the drizzle sprinkling down on his face. He said, "I think Qian Duguan simply does not wish to offend Tiele people, hence he gave free rein to Changshu Mou and his barbarians! Otherwise, that time he ought to join hands with Changshu Mou to deal with us. Although right now Ol' Die has seized Jingling into his hands, but he suffered disastrous casualties, his strength took heavy beating; for the time being he is powerless to go up north. Qian Duguan will still have a few days he could pass merrily.”

Meanwhile the two boys were climbing over a small hill, the city of Xiangyang appeared far away beyond the hazy drizzle; there was some kind of unspeakable dreariness and lonely feeling surrounding it. Especially when they were thinking of the fall of Jingling, they felt that similarly for Xiangyang, a good thing would not last forever.

Kou Zhong laughed and said, "What should be the first thing we do upon entering the city?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, "With the waterway heading south cut off, there must be a lot of people being stuck in Xiangyang; trying to find a place to stay will be extremely difficult. Let's see if Yucheng and the others left any marks in the city; if they did not, we'll leave the city immediately, so that we won't waste valuable time.”

Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong stretched his waist and said, "I suddenly feel my hands are itchy; I want to cause havoc a little bit.”

"What?” Xu Ziling blurted out.

Kou Zhong smiled, "Nothing,” he said, "Let's enter the city first, we'll talk later.”

Chapter end