Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Volume 4 Chapter 1 part2

Although Xu Ziling felt sorry for him, there was nothing he could do.

Li Shimin noticed Kou Zhong's abnormal expression, he leaned over and whispered, "Kou Xiong, are you not feeling well?”

Li Xiuning laughed tenderly and said, "Must be from last night when he was soaked in the lake so now he catches cold.” And then she turned to Chai Shao to explain, "When Xiuning saw them last night, I thought it was a couple of little water demons crawling up from the lake to harm people.”

Seeing her casting amorous glances at Chai Shao while revealing loving smile at the corner of her mouth, and then looking at her jade countenance inside the silkscreen was full of tender feelings as she looked at Chai Shao, Xu Ziling's heart, which was saddened on Kou Zhong's behalf, sank even lower.

Suddenly he came to realization that Li Xiuning only regarded them as lowly errand boys who worked for her second brother; so evidently her view of the two boys was identical to that of Pei and Chai, two people.

Kou Zhong hung down his head and said in a hoarse voice, "I am fine. It's just that other than a water demon, I am also a hungry ghost, so I ate too much and now I am too full.”

Li Xiuning was exceptionally intelligent, hearing the displeasure in his voice, she apologized, "I was just making an analogy, Kou Xiong please don't take offense.”

By saying that, now everybody else thought that Kou Zhong was narrow-minded. Pei Ji and Chai Shao immediately showed disdain on their faces.

Li Shimin, on the other hand, was extremely grateful to Kou and Xu, two boys, and also because he was deeply impressed by these two boys' vast intelligence and wisdom, to be able to think of such a divine-inspired scheme to steal the account book. In order to diffuse the tensed atmosphere, he smiled and said, "Kou Xiong is joking! Hey! The one went to Dong Ming flagship and seized the account book, what kind of divine being is he actually?”

Chai Shao wanted to show off in front of a beautiful [orig. jade] person, he let out a cold snort and said, "Must not be a formidable person; otherwise how could Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong have any chance to take advantage of him?”

As soon as he said that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's countenance turned unnatural, because he was saying that the two boys could not be considered anything.

Li Xiuning's thought process was definitely a lot more thorough than Chai Shao's; her jet-black painted eyebrows were knitted as she said, "That person has enough guts to single-handedly charge into Dong Ming flagship, which has martial art experts as numerous as the cloud, to steal something; no matter how you say it, he must have a bit of weight.”

Chai Shao smiled and said, "Didn't he take advantage of when Madame Dong Ming and Princess left the ship to come to our ship before he dared to make his move?”

Li Xiuning stole a glance toward Li Shimin first before giving him an ambiguous answer, "If Wanjing Jie was not eager to see Er Ge, and remained on the ship, that thief's sneak attack would not have been successful, and Shang Gong would not have been injured!”

A look of regret flitted across Li Shimin's eyes, "Xiuning must not forget that I am married,” he rebuked her, "But on the other hand, were it not for Shang Gong is injured by that man, we could forget about getting this crucial letter from Madame.”

Pei Ji said in deep voice, "Shao Xianzhi [virtuous nephew] must not belittle this man, just the fact that he was able to beat Shang Gong without he was able to resist, it is clear that although the account book was snatched away by two Xiao Xiongdi, it may be assumed that he was just overly underestimating them!”

Li Shimin nodded and said, "This man must be from Yuwen Clan. Speaking about water skill, within the Yuwen Clan, Yuwen Chengdu ranks the first. But I think it wasn't he who personally came, otherwise it would be difficult for Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong to unseal their acupoints.”

Realizing that these people, including Li Shimin, did not think too highly of their skill, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was terribly upset.

This moment Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes. Xu Ziling's mind was interlinked with Kou Zhong's; he understood his intention, hence he nodded slightly and spoke seriously, "We, brothers, wish that we could get the account book back so that we could do something very important.”

Li Shimin and the others were greatly shocked.

Relying on his seniority, Pei Ji imposed, "This account book records every aspect of Dong Ming Pai's arms transaction; it is more appropriate to have it stay in our hands.”

Li Xiuning had a rather favorable impression toward the two boys, she urged, "If other people knew that the account book is in your hands, Dong Ming Pai will never let you off.”

Chai Shao showed an impatient look on his face.

Xu Ziling remained calm, he boldly said, "This is our, two brothers' problem. Li Xiong, what do you think?”

Li Shimin knitted his brows and said, "As soon as we met, I knew that we are kindred spirits; if two gentlemen do not have any place you have to go, why not cooperate with me, Li Shimin, to fight for a common cause? When our Li family succeed in the future, two gentlemen will also enjoy riches and honor.”

Kou Zhong resolutely said, "Li Xiong's good intention is highly appreciated. Due to we have another important matter we need to attend to, I wish for Li Xiong to return the account book to us, and then you send us off at any nearby shore.”

Chai Shao showed his displeasure, "How can this …” But Li Shimin raised his hand to stop him from continuing.

After looking at the two boys for quite a while, he sighed and said, "If I say no, that means I don't have enough friendship and yiqi. Let's do it according to what two gentlemen said. But please don't forget that when you change your mind in the future, you may come to look for me, Li Shimin.”

Jugong Pond extended before the two boys' eyes as far as they could see. The fog covering the lake changed according to where the wind blew.

Kou Zhong watched as the huge Li Clan ship disappearing into the fog, his eyes looked vast and obscure, and he was unusually quiet.

Xu Ziling accompanied him standing on the west bank of the big lake; momentarily he was also at a loss of what to say.

It was after a long time that he sounded Kou Zhong out, "Zhong Shao, are you alright?”

Kou Zhong dryly replied, "How can I not be alright?”

Hearing the tone of his voice, Xu Ziling knew that he had not let it go yet. Without any better option, he consoled him, "Why would a real man worry about not having a wife? Let alone Zhong Shao, this time you did not lose the battle, it's just that Chai guy enjoys the benefit of the ‘quick-footed who climb up first'!”

A complex expression flitted across Kou Zhong's tiger eyes; it was quite a while later that he finally said in deep voice, "I would rather she hates me!”

"What?” Xu Ziling blurted out.

Kou Zhong turned around like a whirlwind, made a fist and cried out, "I want her to hate me just like Dong Ming Princess hates you. At the very least I would still have a place in her heart. But now when she saw me leaving, she did not show the slightest bit of sign that she cared. Practically we are just two little minions who rush about, exerting ourselves for her Li Clan; we are not even qualified to make her unhappy.”

Noticing how when he spoke, his eyes turned red, he gnashed his teeth in anger, Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing. He said dejectedly, "How much better do you think I am from you? Didn't you hear that crafty and unruly Princess only has eyes for people with dignity and status like that Li guy?”

Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day. And then he turned around and saw that the autumn mist has gradually dissipated. Suddenly he laughed.

Xu Ziling was baffled. "What's so funny?” he asked.

Kou Zhong roared in laughter; he laughed so hard that he had to squat while holding his belly with both hands. Gasping for breath, he said, "I just realized something; that's why I laughed so hard.”

Xu Ziling followed his example; he also squatted down and happily asked, "Quick, tell me.”

Kou Zhong looked up and stared at Xu Ziling for quite a while before saying, "Speaking about talent and appearance, I don't believe that we are much worse than Li guy or perhaps that Chai guy. So what made them treat us as nobody? Because we lack accomplishment. It doesn't matter whether we are in Jianghu or within a clan or society, those without accomplishment will most likely be ignored.”

Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, "But if we strive for fame, profit, and position only for other people, won't that be the same as letting others lead us by the nose?”

Kou Zhong sneered and said, "At the end of the day, we are doing it for ourselves. To be respected deeply by others is just the natural consequences. A real man living his life in this world, if he cannot accomplish an outstanding work, but let his precious life slips away in vain, won't that be a pity?”

Xu Ziling sneered, "What crafty [orig. ghostly] idea do you have in mind this time?” he asked, "You don't want to do salt business anymore?”

Kou Zhong shook his head. "I want to be the Emperor!” he said.

"What?” Xu Ziling was shocked.

Kou Zhong suddenly stood up, clenched his fist and shout loudly, "I, Kou Zhong, want to fight for the world [tian xia], to establish a glorious deed that will last for ten thousand generations.”

Xu Ziling sprang up and reached out to feel his forehead.

Kou Zhong angrily brushed his hand away and grabbed Xu Ziling's shoulders instead. With eyes shining brightly he said, "Aspiration must be far-reaching. If we cannot accomplish it, even a little deficiency still carries a lot a weight. Today is not the same as the past, speaking about ability and wisdom, we are not inferior to anybody; speaking about martial art skill, what we lack is only experience and maturity. Right now we go to Xingyang first to find Susu Jie; if we can find Li Dage, that will be even better. One world, two brothers. Will you help me or not?”

Xu Ziling's scalp felt numb. But under the circumstances, how could he refuse? Without any better option, he nodded his approval.

Kou Zhong cheered, turned around and made a somersault, and landed on a big rock more than a zhang away. He laughed aloud and said, "Come! Let us compete in leg power first, and then we must practice our punching and kicking skill. In any case, we do not have even half a knife to cut meat; without any other choice, we must put up with it a bit.”

Xu Ziling's aspiration started to rise; he and Kou Zhong ran chasing one another.

Chapter end