Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Volume 13 Chapter 7 part1

After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Wang Shichong said, "I want the three of you to steal the Jade Annulus of He Clan for me.”

Kou Zhong was stunned, "Do you know where the Jade Annulus of He Clan is?”

With a cold snort Wang Shichong replied, "Of course I do. Luoyang is my territory, nothing can be hidden from me.”

And then after giving him a quick look, he said, "If you do this for me, Shuni will be yours.”

Kou Zhong busily replied, "To be able to work for Shangshu Daren, how could I ask for any reward? But there is something I don't understand, I want to ask Shangshu Daren's guidance.”

Frowning, Wang Shichong said, "You have something to say, just say it! Why suddenly become so bookish?”

With a giggle Kou Zhong said, "According to Shangshu Daren's knowledge, isn't the Jade Annulus of He Clan in Shi Feixuan's hands?”

Smiling wryly, Wang Shichong replied, "Of course not in her hands, otherwise, asking you to steal it would become a vain endeavor. My understanding is that Shi Feixuan's martial art skill has reached the divine level of Ning Daoqi, that kind of out-of-the-ordinary, becoming-an-arhat master. Stealing something from her is as impossible as ascending to the heaven to pick the moon and bring it down to earth.”

This time Kou Zhong was astonished for real. Stupefied, he said, "Such an important object, she did not carry it with her?”

As if he feared someone might hear him, Wang Shichong leaned over and lowered his voice, "This is a great secret in Jianghu. Only because I know a close friend of Ning Daoqi that I am privy of this information. You have also seen that person, it's Wang Tong Laoshi [teacher].”

Of course Kou Zhong remembered the great scholar Wang Tong.

It was during the banquet where he saw Wang Shichong, Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu for the first time, also listened to Shi Qingxuan's unparalleled-under-the-heavens Xiao [flute] skill.

Wang Shichong continued, "The Jade Annulus of He Clan is a secret treasure of an unfathomable mystery in the human world. It looks like jade, but not exactly a jade. The most extraordinary thing about it is that it could foster spiritual cultivation of Buddha followers to achieve Zen. It is also of immeasurable benefit to people with innate true qi in their cultivation.”

Kou Zhong was puzzled, "That being the case, Shi Feixuan out to hold it in her arms even when she is going to bed. Why on the contrary she does not bring it with her?”

Laughing involuntarily, Wang Shichong said, "This is because you only know part of it [orig. knowing the first but not the second]. Turns out the Jade Annulus of He Clan also has a fantastic characteristic, which is its ability to follow the changes in time, whether cold or hot, light or dark. It's extremely difficult to master. When it is used in training, slight carelessness would result in mysterious breakout, which would easily make people suffer fire deviation.”

Sneering, Kou Zhong said, "Just put it inside an iron box, won't that do?”

"No insulation can cut off its influence,” Wang Shichong said, "Unless you are a martial art master who is training first-class innate true qi, as soon as you entered its sphere of influence, you would basically gamble with destiny. Depending on its condition at the moment, it might change irregularly and might arrive at some kind of freakish stage.”

Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, "Then why do you want me to steal such a dreadful object? Don't you know that at what I train is a first-class innate mental cultivation [xin fa] of the mysterious school?”

Wang Shichong laughed cheerfully and said, "I am only asking you to steal or rob, not asking you to hold it while meditating or training your power; what are you afraid of? As soon as you obtain the treasured jade annulus, hand it over to my men; you'd have completed the task.”

Kou Zhong was puzzled, "If it will only produce adverse effect during training, why didn't Shi Feixuan carry it with her? Is Shangshu Daren trying to harm me?”

Wang Shichong smiled and said, "I Like straightforward person like you the most. The Jade Annulus of He Clan will only adversely affect its master under two conditions: one, when he is sitting in meditation and deep in thought, two, when he is transmitting his inner power during fight. Therefore, either Ning Daoqi or Shi Feixuan, they can't possibly carry the Jade Annulus of He Clan everywhere with them.”

Kou Zhong thought this explanation made sense.

If while carrying the Jade Annulus of He Clan Shi Feixuan came across Wanwan, wouldn't it be bad for her?

Thereupon he nodded and said, "This explanation is a bit reasonable. But if I were either Shi Feixuan or Ning Daoqi, I would have hidden the Jade Annulus of He Clan in a secret place that no one else knew, so that nobody would have any access to it.”

Wang Shichong calmly said, "You have a very reasonable thought, but that is just common sense; it can't be applied to an unusual treasure like the Jade Annulus of He Clan. From a historical point of view, whenever the Jade Annulus of He Clan is lost, there must always be ways to find it back. Perhaps it would emit some kind of strange light, or even silently summoning one who is fated to find it, or things like that. Therefore, if Shi Feixuan wanted to keep the Jade Annulus of He Clan safe, she must have handed it over to a trusted person for safekeeping. Do you understand?”

Frowning, Kou Zhong said, "Barely understand only a little bit.”

Wang Shichong seemed to be in a great mood. "Which part you still don't understand?” he asked cheerfully.

"What I don't understand is,” Kou Zhong said, "You, Wanggong [lit. king and duke] have a very high chance of being selected by Shi Feixuan to be the true master of the Jade Annulus of He Clan. At that time all the outstanding heroes under the heavens will bow to you. Plus you will receive Ning Daoqi's and the entire Ci Hang Jing Zhai's nuns', both with and without hair, support. Wouldn't it be much better than doing imitating-the-dog-and-steal-chicken, not-fit-to-be-seen deed like the one you want to do right now?”

Wang Shichong sighed; he said dejectedly, "If you were Shi Feixuan, and you had to choose between Li Mi and me, just based on the fact that I am a barbarian, you could not possibly choose me.”

And then after a short pause he went on, "Hence the reason I am begging you to steal the treasure for me, because who would believe that you, Kou Zhong, would do an errant for someone else? This way I will not be implicated. You really must help me. Otherwise, if Li Mi obtained the treasured jade annulus, you and I can forget about having an easy day ahead of us.”

Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, "Wanggong really counts your chicken before they are hatched. But aren't you afraid that after obtaining the treasure I might embezzle it for myself?”

Smiling, Wang Shichong replied, "Even if you have the Jade Annulus of He Clan in your hand, what are you going to do with it? There is an ancient saying: treasuring a jade annulus becomes a crime [idiom: to get into trouble on account of a cherished item]. The ‘jade annulus' being referred is precisely the Jade Annulus of He Clan. Even if you are stupid enough to embezzle it, you will only make it easier for the jade annulus to fall into the hands of Li Mi, Dou Jiande, Li Yuan, or the others.”

Inwardly Kou Zhong thought that it is best if you think that way, but on the surface he pretended to be worried, "Very well!” he finally said, "So where's exactly this Jade Annulus of He Clan?”

Wang Shichong lightly replied, "I don't know!”

"What?” Kou Zhong blurted out in shock.

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Chapter end