Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Volume 9 Chapter 4 part1

BTW guys, I was the one who asked ycb to update his post (Unabridged Thread) with Book 8 Chapter 1. I understand that it was an honest mistake, and I am perfectly OK with that. I will post the rest of Book 8 later tonight or tomorrow, definitely this weekend.

Kink, Jaya, HPC, ycb, Lao Qianbei, spy, you are welcome. Xu Xiong, I am with Akolaw in this one, Hou Xibai said so, and since we do not have enough evidence to say otherwise, we'll just have to momentarily take Hou's words. Fair enough? Sky, isn't that always the case? For some unknown reason we are attracted to bad boys/bad girls? CFT, thanks for sharing.

I know that some of you have read the book in various formats: original Chinese, translation in other languages, comic books, etc., or watch the TV adaptation, movies, or what have you. My only request is that you don't post spoilers. CFT was comparing the (already-translated) story with the comic book version, and I have no problem with that.

Book 9 Chapter 4 - Flying Horse Ranch

One after another the two boys emerge from the water of a small lake. Their clothes that have been washed clean were hanging on a small tree by the lake.

Looking at the bright moon in the sky above, Kou Zhong sighed and said, "We have not bathed in a creek like this for a long time! If Niang were still here watching us, how wonderful that is?”

Xu Ziling pushed the water with both hands; his eyes revealed a sad look. He did not respond.

Stark naked, Kou Zhong climbed onto a flat and smooth big rock by the lake; he said, "Could it be that Xiao Xian is secretly betraying us? Only by Xiang Yushan's intelligence network will he be able to spread the information this fast.”

"That is a very high possibility,” Xu Ziling agreed, "If it were other people, they might be afraid of spreading the news, because someone else might beat them to it [again, the original was ‘the quick-footed climb up first'].”

Kou Zhong stood up on the big rock; assuming a perfect diving posture, he leaned his head aside in deep thought, "But what benefit could Xiao Xian reap? Supposing the ‘Duke Yang Treasure' fell into someone else's hands, he would only suffer harm without any advantage whatsoever.”

Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, "For an old fox like Xiao Xian, it is very difficult to guess what kind of crafty scheme he is running. Perhaps he wanted us to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, and obediently come back to rely on his help. Naturally we would offer the secret of ‘Duke Yang Treasure' in return!”

Kou Zhong's heart was moved, "This guess is quite reasonable,” he said. Rising up high, he dove into the water.

Seeing how much fun Kou Zhong was having by diving into the water, Xu Ziling imitated him by climbing onto the rock, and then deliberately made a cannonball dive into the lake, splashing water high into the air.

Swimming toward him, Kou Zhong laughed and said, "Ling Shao seems to be in a very good mood.”

Xu Ziing cheerfully replied, "Why should I be unhappy? The female demon's identity is discovered, our strength is increasing considerably, we have confidence to deal with any powerful enemy; tell me, why should we be worry?”

Kou Zhong had a brainwave, "Do you want to test the extend of our formidability now?” he asked.

Xu Ziling looked as if he was returning to the playful mood of his childhood; he said, "Zhong Shao, do you have any good suggestion?”

Kou Zhong smiled and said, "Those seventeen idiots just now seemed to be people of real skill. If we go over the hill to pursue them, we might still be able to intercept them; while we are at it, seizing two horses from them seems to be a good idea. Ling Shao, do you have a better suggestion?”

Xu Ziling laughed aloud and said, "How could I dare to offer any suggestion? Now, let us have a race on putting on our clothes first, and then we'll compete on our legs' strength; what do you say?”

Kou Zhong squealed. Laughing and giggling, the two boys raced each other to climb up the soft green lake bank, without showing any sign that they were two martial art masters.

The first light of dawn.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat side-by-side by the roadside, with their backs against a huge old polar tree, which trunk was so big that it would require several people to wrap their arms around it. Glowing with health and vigor they nibbled on fresh fruits they picked on the mountain along the way. In short, they looked very relaxed and comfortable.

A faint sound of hoof beats was coming from the other end of the road.

Spitting the pit of the fruit, Kou Zhong proudly said, "The fools delivering horses are here. We must interrogate them where they heard the news about us from.”

Xu Ziling mused, "They must have rested along the way; otherwise, there is no reason for them to fall behind us this long.”

Kou Zhong sneered and said, "Why do we care his mother's business? This kind of reckless fellows is only good for me to test my saber.”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, "Since when did you become so blood-thirsty? Unless we absolutely have to, it would be best if we don't kill anybody. This is called ‘amassing secret virtue'. Understand?”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, "Xu Ye's admonishment is right, how could this kid dare to disobey? Hey! Since our debut, may I ask when did I ever willfully slaughter the innocent?”

Xu Ziling replied crossly, "Who are the innocents? Wasn't it you, Kou Daye who decided based on your own idea?”

Kou Zhong was speechless for half a day. Finally he had a sudden understanding and said, "Your comment is very interesting. When all is said and done, all the strife in the world can be regarded as some kind of ideological struggle.” And then after a short pause he said, "Everybody has his own set of ideas, wishing other people would accept it, and thus the struggle starts. Take that Li kid for example: he has Li kid's way of thinking. I, Kou Zhong, also have a set of my own. Whoever prevails, it does not matter if the other side submits willingly or not, they still have to accept the victor's way of thinking, or else they will have to be eliminated. Of course, I am referring to the kind of situation that can only occur where everybody has the same goal but different standpoints. Otherwise, just like you and me, river water will never offend the well water.”

Xu Ziling laughed and said, "Aren't you just babbling nonsense? Such a simple idea and you make it so complicated. Direct and plainspoken is still the best. There is only one Emperor's throne, and only one person can sit on it. Isn't this clearly understood?”

Kou Zhong responded with serious expression, "Actually, I was thinking about another issue, that is, if we want to vie for the world, we must have a perfect set of ideas first, so that others will be comfortable in following it. This set of ideas includes a complete plan, an ideal, even future's distribution of power, and the style to rule the country. This is called having a clear-cut stand. Otherwise, it would be just like the Four Bandits; from top to bottom, nobody knows what he is doing.”

And then, bumping Xu Ziling with his elbow, he smiled mysteriously and said, "Like Li Mi previously published Ten Charges of Yang Guang. He was announcing to the whole world that if he, Li Mi, became the Emperor, he would never repeat these chronic illnesses of Yang Guang. Therefore, his reputation soared immediately, his influence expanded greatly, all without even need to spend a great deal of effort or waste a soldier or half a troop. What a deal.”

Xu Ziling was emotionally moved; he said, "You, this kid, indeed have some ideas.”

The hoof beats were getting closer.

Kou Zhong sprang up and stood in the middle of the road, in full anticipation of the enemy soon to appear from the road bend ahead.

Xu Ziling was still sitting peacefully, eating the last wild peach.

Kou Zhong pricked up his ear and listened carefully, he detected at least thirty horses; perhaps the enemy rendezvous with their reinforcement somewhere that their number increased by one fold. The only thing puzzling him was that the hoof beats varied; some were heavy and some were light.

Even though the enemy's strength increased tremendously, Kou Zhong found it to be more interesting.

Like meteors catching up with the moon, the true qi within him spiraled back and forth between his tianling, yongquan and various acupoints, so that his entire body, from head to toe, was brimming with explosive, as well as incomparably cold, power. His mind became even more still and cold, without a single thread of disturbing emotions.

So much so that he did not even feel his ‘self' existence, just like the clear water in a deep well, which could only reflect the world objectively.

This kind of perception preserved several breaths of circumstances; he was ‘awakened' and returned to the previous state of mind. It was just like from the Heaven returning to the Earth, back to his true character.

While Kou Zhong was about to discuss this feeling with Xu Ziling, the enemies' two front-most riders have already appeared from the bend.

Furthermore, as soon as Kou Zhong entered this fantastic realm, Xu Ziling's mind also produced immediate reaction.

Within these several breaths of time period, Kou Zhong was plainly standing in the middle of the road, but Xu Ziing had a mysterious, strange perception that Kou Zhong has turned into a formless entity. He even could no longer feel the cold air emitted from Kou Zhong's body, a clear sign of his existence.

And then a moment later everything was back to normal. Kou Zhong was looking at him, agape and tongue-tied, with astonishment on his face.

The riders continuously entered the road.

The galloping riders were men in grey warrior-style uniform; the top of their lapels was embroidered with flying horse with a pair of wings on their back. There were a total of twelve men, plus more than a dozen wild horses without saddles, strung together with a rope.

Seeing Kou Zhong still standing in the middle of the road with blank bird-brained expression, Xu Ziling cried out, "Wrong persons! Come back here!”

By now the troop of galloping riders that drove the wild horses was only about two zhang away from Kou Zhong. The leading rider was a middle-aged robust man with only one eye. His countenance looked old and dull, but his single eye was still flickering lively. Seeing someone barring their way, he shouted his order telling the men behind him to rein their horses and slow down.

As if he had just been awakened from a dream, Kou Zhong bowed respectfully with clasped hands toward that man to express his apology, before awkwardly returning to Xu Ziling's side, while still waving his hand telling the other side to go on with their journey.

The robust middle-aged man already reined his horse abruptly, so that it reared on its hind legs and stopped.

Seeing this, the other men also reined their horses and stopped about a zhang away on the road in front of the two boys.

Chapter end