《The Deer And the Cauldron》


 Chapter - 1 (1)

    Northern wind as sharp as a blade, ice and frost covered the earth.


    Along a Jiangnan [area south of the River, i.e. Yangtze] coastal road, a company of Qing troops with sabers and spears in their hands was escorting seven prisoner carriages, braving the wind and the cold as they travelled northward. The first three carriages in the front separately held three men, all dressed as scholars. One was an old man with white hair, the other two were middle-aged men. The four carriages on the rear held women, the very last prisoner carriage held a young woman, holding a baby girl in her bosom. The baby was crying incessantly. Her mother comforted her with tender voice, but the baby kept crying loudly. A Qing soldier by the prisoner carriage got angry, he lifted his leg and kicked the carriage. "Keep crying, keep crying," he shouted, "Laozi


    [1] will kick you dead!" The baby was scared, she cried even louder.


    There was a big house several dozen zhang [unit of length, approximately 10 ft or 3 m], away from the road; under the eaves of the house stood a middle-aged scholar and a boy about eleven or twelve. Seeing this situation, he could not help heaving a deep sigh, his eyes also turned red as he said, "Have mercy, have mercy!"


    "Die die [pronounced ''dee-eh'' �C Dad]," the boy asked, "What crime have they committed?"


    "What crime have they committed?" the scholar echoed, "Yesterday and this morning they already arrested more than thirty people, all are our Zhejiang''s famous intellectuals, each and every one is innocent and is only guilty by association." When he said the four words ''innocent, guilty by association'' [wu gu zhu lian], he lowered his voice considerably, afraid that the officers and men escorting the prisoner carriages would hear it.


    The boy said, "That little baby girl is still sucking the breast, could it be that she also committed the same crime? Really does not make any sense."


    The scholar said, "You understand that the officers and men do not make any sense, you are a really good child. Ay, others are the sacrifical knife and altar, we are the fish and the meat; others are the [tree-legged] cauldron, we are the elk!"


    "Die," he boy said, "Just a few days ago you taught me that the phrase ''others are the sacrifical knife and altar, we are the fish and the meat'' carries the meaning that other people behead, cut and massacre us. Others are the cutting cleaver, the hot iron plate, and we are the fish, the meat. These few words ''Others are the cauldron, we are the elk'', is the meaning also more or less the same?"


    "Exactly!" the scholar replied. Seeing the officers and men, along with the prisoner carriages have already far away, he pulled the boy''s hand and said, "It''s too windy outside, let us go back into the house." Right away father and son entered the study room.


    The scholar picked up a writing brush and dipped it into the ink, and then he wrote a character ''deer'' on a piece of paper. He said, "This beast, the deer, although they are huge, their temper is extremely gentle, they only eat grass and leaves, they never harm other animals. When the fierce animals want to harm them, eat them, they can only run. If they cannot run, then they will be eaten by others."


    And then he wrote two more characters ''zhu lu'' [pursue the deer, fig. to vie for supremacy], and said, "For this reason the ancients often used the deer as a metaphor of the world. Common people on the earth are all docile, good and honest; their allotted share in life is only to be bullied and slaughtered by others. The ''History of Han Dynasty'' says, ''Qin lost its deer, people all over the world chase after it.'' What it means is that the Qin Dynasty lost the world, the heroes rose together, everybody fought over, finally Han Gaozu[2] defeated Chu Bawang [overlord/hegemon Chu], and thus he obtained this big and fat deer."


    The boy nodded and said, "I understand. There is a novel talking about ''hunting deer in the central plain'', the idea is that everybody struggle to become the Emperor."


    The scholar was delighted; he nodded repeatedly. He drew a picture of a cauldron on the paper and said, "When people of old cooked their food, they did not use pot on the stove, but used this kind of three-legged cauldron, with firewood underneath it. When they caught a deer, they cooked it in the cauldron and ate it. Emperors and high-ranking officials were very cruel, if they did not like someone, they would say that man committed a crime and boiled him alive in the cauldron. There is a written account in the ''Record of the Grand Historian'' about Lin Xiangru saying to the King of Qin, ''Chen [I, your servant; a minister referring to himself when talking to a ruler] is aware that I have offended the Great King and deserve to be punished by death, Chen asks for a cauldron.'' In other words, ''I deserve to die, just burn me to death in a cauldron!''"


    The boy said, "The novel often says about ''to inquire of the cauldron''. This phrase seems to have more or less the same meaning as ''hunting deer in the central plain''."


    "That''s right," the scholar said, "King of Xia Yu collected metal from the nine divisions [of China during the earliest dynasties] and cast nine large cauldrons. At that time, the so-called ''metal'' was actually copper. Each cauldron was cast with the names of the nine divisions and a map of the mountains and rivers. When later generations became the ruler of the world, they retained the nine cauldrons. ''Mr. Zuo''s Annals'' noted: ''Viscount of Chu inspected his troops at the Zhou border. The present King sent the king''s grandson Man to console Viscount Chu. Viscount Chu inquired the size and weight of the cauldron.'' Only the ruler of the world can keep the nine cauldrons. The King of Chu was merely a feudal prince from the State of Chu, he inquired about the size and weight of the cauldron, it means he harbored intention to rebel, thinking of taking the King of Zhou''s position for himself."


    The boy said, "So ''inquiring of the cauldron'' and ''pursuing the deer'' means someone wanted to be the emperor. ''Not knowing to whom the deer falls'' means not knowing who might become the emperor."


    "Exactly," the scholar said, "Later on, ''inquiring of the cauldron'' and ''pursuing the deer'', four characters [wen ding, zhu lu] can also be used elsewhere, but the original idea was pointing especially to one who wanted to be the emperor." Speaking to this point, he sighed and said, "We, as common people, are always at the death''s door. ''Not knowing to whom the deer falls'' simply say that nobody knows who would kill the deer, but this deer is bound to die."


    Finished speaking, he walked over to the window and looked out. He saw the sky was overcast, apparently it was going to snow. He sighed and said, "Why is Laotianye [God/Heaven] so heartless? Several hundred innocent people walk on this ice and frost covered earth, when the snow falls, it will add to their torment."


    Suddenly he saw on the southern end of the main road two men wearing conical bamboo hat, walking side by side to this direction. When they were near, he could recognize their faces. The scholar was delighted; he said, "Your Huang Bobo [father''s elder brother] and Gu Bobo are here!" Quickly he went outside to meet them; he called out, "Lizhou Xiong [brother, generic term], Tinglin Xiong, which good wind has blown the two of you to honor me with your presence?"


    The man on the right was short and stout, his chin was covered in black beard; his surnamed was Huang, given name Zongxi, alias[3] Lizhou [lit. pear island], a native of Yuyao [county level city in Ningbo], Zhejiang. The one on the left was slim and tall, his face dark, surnamed Gu, given name Yanwu, alias Tinglin [lit. pavilion forest], a native of Kunshan [county level city, Suzhou], Jiangsu. Huang and Gu[4], two people were great scholars of the present age. After the Ming [dynasty] perished, their hearts were broken over the changes to their country, they went to live in seclusion and quit their official posts; this day they ''join sleeves'' to uphold virtue.


    Gu Yanwu walked several steps closer before saying, "Wancun [lit. evening village] Xiong, there is an urgent business we need to discuss with you."


    The scholar was surnamed Lu, given name Liuliang, his alias was Wancun; in all his life he resided in Chongde County of Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang. He was also a very famous hermit in the late Ming, early Qing dynasties. He noticed Huang and Gu, two men''s grim countenance; he also knew that Gu Yanwu was always very adaptable and was always calm in facing anything; therefore, when he said it was urgent, naturally it was indeed not a small matter. Cupping his fist, he said, "Gentlemen, please come in and drink three cups first to dissolve the cold air."


    Immediately he took the two men inside and ordered the boy, "Baozhong, tell your Niang [mother], Huang Bobo, Gu Bobo are here; cut two dishes of lamb in paste first to down the wine."


    Shortly afterwards, the boy, Lu Baozhong and his brother Yizhong came out with three sets of cups and chopsticks and arranged them on the study room''s table. An old servant came out with the food and drink. Lu Liuliang waited until the three people withdrew before he closed the study room''s door and said, "Huang Xiong, Gu Xiong, please drink three cups first!"


    Huang Zongxi looked distressed; he shook his head. Gu Yanwu poured a drink for himself and downed six cups in one breath.


    Lu Liuliang said, "Gentlemen came here this time, does it have something to do with the case of ''History of the Ming Dynasty''?"


    "Exactly!" Huang Zongxi said.


    Gu Yanwu picked up the wine cup and loudly moaned, "''Although cool breeze is fine, it cannot blow me, why can''t the bright moon illuminate people?'' Wancun Xiong, this poem of yours is indeed the most perfect song! Everytime I drink wine, I always recite this poem, and I am always moved big time."


    Lu Liuliang always had the old country in his heart, he was unwilling to take official post with the Qing dynasty. Local high-ranking government officials admired his reputation and sponsored and recommended him as the ''mountain hermit'', to be recruited as official of the imperial court. Lu Liuliang adamantly refused. The local official did not dare to force him. Later on another high-ranking official sponsored and recommended him as the ''profound scholar''. Lu Liuliang saw that if ke kept refusing, it would appear that he was disparaging and insulting the imperial court; inevitably he would bring the disaster of execution upon himself. Thereupon he shaved his head to become a fake Buddhist monk. The local officials saw his determination and henceforth no longer urging him to ''leave the mountain''.


    The poem about ''cool breeze, bright moon'' was to mock the Manchurian Qing [lit. clear/cool] and cherish to memory of former Ming [lit. bright]. Although he did not dare to have it printed and circulated, it spread far and wide among the like-minded friends and colleagues, and this moment Gu Yanwu recited it again.


    "Really good poem!" Huang Zongxi said, as he picked up the wine cup and downed it in one gulp.


    "Gentlemen praised wrongly." Lu Liuliang said.


    "Exactly," Lu Liuliang said. This ''Erzhan'' was surnamed Zha, given name Shibao, a great painter of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties; he was also a good friend of Gu, Huang and Lu.


    Huang Zongxi said, "This kind of good painting, how come there is no annotation?"


    Lu Liuliang sighed and said, "This painting of Mr. Erzhan''s has a rather deep meaning. Only he is a very staid and prudent man; since he did not put any signature on it, he did not put any annotation either. He stayed in my humble abode last month, for a short while he was happy and painted this for me. How about the two gentlemen inscribe several sentences on it?"


    Gu and Huang, two men stood up and walked over to have a closer look at the painting. They saw the grand river flowing expansively to the east, with countless ridges and peaks on both sides, sprinkled with wonderful trees and strange rock formations. Only the scenery was covered in a mist; although the mountains and the rivers were beautiful, there was a sense of dismal feeling deep in the hearts of the people who look at it.


    Gu Yanwu said, "This beautiful land sinks into oblivion in the hands of barbarians. Our generation submit to humiliation and live without purpose; it''s really stuffing our breasts with grieve and indignation. Wancun Xiong, if it is not inconvenient, why don''t you inscribe a poem to display Mr. Erzhan''s meaning?"


    "Alrght!" Lu Liuliang said. Immediately he took down the painting and spread it out on the table. Huang Zongxi ground the ink. Lu Liuliang pondered deeply for half a day, and then his brush started to dance on the painting. In a short time it was finished:


    "Is it the Song (dynasty) crossing to the south? In this way the rivers and mountains are in disgrace. Is it after the cliff of the mountain? In this way the rivers and mountains cannot bear to be looked at. Only today I comprehend the meaning of the painting, weeping bitter tears seems the right thing to do. Because today I looked at former times just like now, swallowing my cries need not bridle my mouth. The painting spread on the table is a western platform for tears, delving deeply into the picture taking up my pen brightly and brilliantly. Therefore, a picture without poetry and literatture, poetry and literature being exhausted in just four characters. Once grew accustomed to come across the beginning of Hong Wu[5], as if undiscerning, ignorant pupil of the eye and the lame able to tread on. Mountains and rivers clear up, the former wall completed, how can looking at scenic place not bring ecstasy?"


    The poem completed, he tossed the brush to the floor and burst into tears.


    Gu Yanwu said, "Delightfully uninhibited. It is indeed an exquisitely good ballad."


    "This poem is not subtle at all," Lu Liuliang said, "It can''t be considered good, I was merely spelling out Mr. Erzhan''s original idea, so that people who look at the painting may know."


    Huang Zongxi said, "When the former country will repeat its light, that the ''mountains and rivers clear up, the former wall completed'' part. Even thought it was full of barren hills and treacherous rapids, those who look at it will have their bosom greatly free; it is indeed ''how can looking at scenic place not bring ecstasy?''"


    Gu Yanwu said, "This poem is written very well! There will come a day when the barbarians will be driven out and taken captives, and our great Han''s mountains and rivers will be restored. Compared to believers like us pouring out grief and indignation, the people''s spirit will be even more strengthened."


    Huang Zongxi slowly rolled the painting and said, "This painting can''t be hung anymore, Wancun Xiong must hide it well. Supposing crafty scoundrel like Wu Zhirong saw it, the authorities will investigate, while admittedly Wancun Xiong will be inconvenienced, Mr. Erzhan will be weighed down as well."


    Gu Yanwu slapped the table and cursed, "That dog thief Wu Zhirong, I really wish I could eat his meat raw."


    Lu Liuliang said, "Gentlemen are neglecting the urgent matter you mentioned earlier. We, the scholars, fall into an old habit, composing poem and inscribing painting, and put aside proper business. I wonder what is it?"


    Huang Zongxi said, "This time the two of us came, it was for the sake of Mr. Erzhan''s distant relative [of the same surname], Mr. Yihuang. The day before yesterday Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] and Gu Xiong received news that in this big case of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', unexpectedly Mr. Yihuang is also implicated."


    Lu Liuliang was alarmed. "Yihuang Xiong is implicated?" he asked.


    "That''s right," Huang Zongxi said, "The day before yesterday the two of us rushed toward Yuanhua town in Haining [county, Jiaxing, Zhejiang], but Mr. Yihuang was not home at all, they said he was out to visit a friend. Seeing the urgency of the situation, Yanwu Xiong hastily urged Mr. Yihuang''s household to go into hiding that very same night. Remembering Mr. Yihuang and Wancun Xiong are good friends, we came with the specific purpose to inquire of you."


    Lu Liuliang said, "He �� he did not come here. I don''t know where he went."


    Gu Yanwu said, "If he was in your respected residence, he would have come out already to meet us. I already inscribed a poem on the wall of his study room, if he came back home, he would have understood and hastened to go into hiding. What I am afraid of is that the did not hear the news and appeared in public, then the authority would arrest him; it would be terrible."


    Huang Zongxi said, "In this case of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', nearly all our western Zhejiang''s famous scholars have met with evil scheme. The Qing court''s intention is really vicious, Wancun Xiong''s fame is really too great, Tinglin Xiong and Xiaodi''s thought is that we want to urge Wancun Xiong to leave home and travel far for the time being, to take shelter from the wind."


    Lu Liuliang indignantly said, "If the Tatar Emperor arrest me and take me to Beijing, I don''t care if he makes mincemeat out of me, in any case I will be able to curse him a bit to vent this resentment in my chest, and then I''ll die without a moment''s hesitation."


    Gu Yanwu said, "Wancun Xiong''s heroism reaching to the clouds, you make other people filled with admiration. I am afraid you will not see the Tatar Emperor but will die under some lowly slaves'' hands. Furthermore, the Tatar Emperor is only a child, he doesn''t understand anything, the political power of the imperial court is entirely in the powerful minister Oboi''s hands. Xiongdi and Lizhou Xiong reckon that this time the case of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' is exposed with great fanfare, it passes like thunder and moves like the wind, it is because Oboi wants to dampen our Jiangnan scholars'' spirit."


    Lu Liuliang said, "Gentlemen''s view is correct. Ever since the Qing troops entered the Pass, they went on the rampage in Jiangbei [area north of the River] unhindered, as soon as they came to Jiangnan, they encountered resistance everywhere, particularly the intellectuals who know how to guard against Chinese-Barbarian relationship, constantly giving them trouble. Oboi is seizing this opportunity to suppress us, Jiangnan scholars. Humph, even a prairie fire cannot destroy the grass, it grows again when the breeze blows; unless he wipes out us all, Jiangnan intellectuals."


    "That''s right," Huang Zongxi said, "For this reason we want to retain useful people to deal with the Tatars to the end. If we flaunt our blood and vital breath and show bravery for a period of time, we will fall prey to Tatars'' scheme."


    Lu Liuliang understood immediately, Huang and Gu two people braved the cold, one was to look for Zha Yihuang, two was to urge him to flee; they were afraid he might not be unable to hold back and thus would deliver his life in vain. Good friends made painstaking effort, he was deeply grateful. "Gentlemen''s gems of wisdom, how can Xiongdi dare not to follow?" he said, "Early in the morning tomorrow Xiongdi''s entire family will leave."


    Huang and Gu, two people were greatly delighted. "That is only proper," they both said.


    Lu Liuliang hesitantly said, "But I don''t know where should I go?" He felt that in the boundless horizon, everywhere was the Tatars'' world; there was really not a single clean soil. "Where is Taoyuan [the Garden of the Peaches of Immortality] that I can escape from cruel Qin? Where is Taoyuan that I can escape from cruel Qin?" he muttered irresolutely.


    Gu Yanwu said, "In the world today, if there really exists Taoyuan paradise, we still cannot liberate ourselves and go into hiding ��"


    Without waiting for him to finish, Lu Liuliang slapped the table and stood up; he said in a loud voice, "Tinglin Xiong''s reprimand this time is so true, the rise and fall of the nation concerns everyone, we can temporarily flee from disaster, but if we hide in Peach Flower Garden, freely and leisurely, while the millions and millions common people suffer under the Tatars'' iron hoof, how can our hearts be at peace? Xiongdi has a slip of the tongue."


    Gu Yanwu smiled and said, "In recent years Xiongdi has roamed far and wide, I indeed make not a few friends. On both sides of the Great River, as far as I can see and hear, not only the intellectuals are opposing the Tatars, even peddlers and carriers, butchers and marketplace people, everywhere people''s hearts are filled with hot blooded heroic spirit. If Wancun Xiong so desires, the three of us can go to Yangzhou together. How about Xiongdi introduce you to several kindred spirits?"


    Lu Liuliang was greatly delighted. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he exclaimed, "Tomorrow all of us are going to Yangzhou. Gentlemen please sit back and relax, Xiongdi is going to inform my humble wife, let her pack." Finished speaking he hurried inside.


    Shortly afterwards Lu Liuliang returned to the study room and said, "About the case of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', although there are rumors everywhere on the outside, but one, rumors are not necessarily true, two, people are in a lot of apprehensions, they do not dare to speak everything openly. Xiongdi lives alone in a snail''s home, I do not know the details; what exactly was the cause?"


    Gu Yanwu sighed and said, "This book the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', all of us have seen it. The content is not too respectful toward the Tatars, that much is true. This book originated from our Great Ming''s Prime Minister Zhu Guozhen''s hands. Speaking about establishing an administrative division outside the Pass; how can it be polite toward the Tatars?"


    Lu Liuliang nodded and said, "I heard the Zhuang family of Huzhou has spent several thousand taels of silver to buy the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' manuscript from Prime Minister Zhu''s later generations'' hands to be published; unexpectedly it brewed this kind of catastrophe."


    Western Zhejiang''s Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, three prefectures were located on the bank of Lake Tai, the land was flat, the soil fertile, abound in rice and natural silk. Huzhou prefecture''s principal county magistrate is known as Wuxing County today, during the Qing dynasty, it was divided into Wu Cheng and Gui An, two counties. From the beginning its literary style was extremely flourishing, people of talents and scholars of successive generations came forth in large numbers. During the Liang period, Shen Yue [441-513, writer and historian] divide the Chinese characters into four tones, namely level or even tone, third tone, fourth tone and entering tone. During the Yuan era, painting and calligraphy reached its best quality in Zhao Mengfu''s work. These were all Huzhou natives. Writing brush produced locally was well-known; Huzhou''s writing brush, Huizhou''s ink, Xuancheng''s paper, and Zhaoqing Duanxi''s [lit. end/extremity creek of Zhaoqing] ink-stone were famous all over the world as the ''Four Treasures of the Study''.


    There was a city in Huzhou prefecture called Nanxun. Although it was a small town, it was bigger than ordinary county capitals. There were a lot of rich families in town, among the famous rich families and big clans, there was one family by the surname of Zhuang. By this time the head of the Zhuang household was called Zhuang Yuncheng. He had several sons; the oldest was called Tinglong, who loved literature since his childhood, and had made quite a number of friends among famous and gifted scholars of Jiangnan. During the Shunzhi years [second Qing emperor, 1644-1662], due to excessive reading, Zhuang Tinglong suddenly went blind. Famous doctors were searched, but no one was able to cure him; since then he grew melancholy and was depressed.


    One day suddenly a young man surnamed Zhu from their neighborhood came with a manuscript, saying that it was his paternal grandfather, Prime Minister Zhu''s bequeathed draft that he wanted to mortgage to the Zhuang family, begging to borrow several hundred taels of silver. The Zhuang family was usually generous; they always showed consideration to Prime Minister Zhu''s later generations. Since he came to borrow money, they agreed immediately, without asking any surviving manuscript as collateral. But the young man surnamed Zhu said that after receiving the money, he was going on a journey to a distant land; if he carried his ancestor''s manuscript with him, he was afraid it would get lost, while he did not feel at ease to leave it at home, therefore, he wanted to keep it in the Zhuang family. Zhuang Yuncheng agreed.


    After the young man surnamed Zhu left, to relieve his son''s boredom, Zhuang Yuncheng had the guests who settled in his house[6] to read it aloud to him. For the most part, Zhu Guozhen''s manuscript of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' had been published and was widely available. This time the manuscript that his grandson brought to the Zhuang family to be mortgaged was actually the last of many articles of historical biography.


    After listening to the guest [see footnote] reading for several days, Zhuang Tinglong was very interested. Suddenly he remembered, "In the past Zuo Qiuming [556-451 BC], who was also a blind man, was able to write ''Mr. Zuo''s Annals'' and hence enjoy the benefit of great name for a thousand years. Today I am blind and bored of staying idle at home, why not composing a history book to be circulated to the later generations?"


    For rich families, everything was easy. Since he had the desire to do this, immediately he hired quite a few scholars to have the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' manuscript read to him from top to bottom. He considered which section needed to be expanded, and which section needed to be deleted; he recounted his thought orally and had the guests write it down. However, thinking that being blind he was incapable to extensively examine the written record, when this ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' was finished and published, if there were a lot of errors in it, not only he would not enjoy the fame, he might be ridiculed instead. Thereupon he spent large quantities of money to employ many scholars who knew this subject very well, to amend and revise, to research this subject and bring the book to perfection. Some of the great scholars were people who could not be invited with wealth, Zhuang Tinglong passed this matter through many hands and humbly invited them. The banks of Lake Tai were always teeming with literary scholars, those who received the Zhuang family''s invitation, on one hand they took pity of the blind and was touched by his sincerity, on the other hand they believed that compiling the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' was a beautiful thing. Most of them stayed in the Zhuang family''s home for ten days or half a month to work on the manuscript; some correcting the errors, some adding notes or even one or two sections. For this reason the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' was definitely a collective power of not a few writing brushes of many great hands. Not long after the book was completed, Zhuang Tinglong passed away.


    Grief-stricken by his beloved son''s death, Zhuang Yuncheng immediately published the book. Publishing books during the Qing dynasty was really not easy, one must recruit artisans to engrave wood blocks one by one before printing the book. This book ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' was voluminous, the cost to hire the engravers and the printers was considerable. Fortunately the Zhuang family had plenty of money, they set aside several large houses as factories and invited many artisans. Several years later the books and publications were completed.


    The book was titled ''Compilation of Ming Documents'', with Zhuang Tinglong listed as the compiler, famous scholar Li Lingxi was asked to write the preface. All scholars who have helped with this project were also listed: Mao Yuanxi, Wu Zhiming, Wu Zhirong [different characters from Wu Zhirong mentioned by Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu above], Li Qitao, Mao Cilai, Wu Chu, Tang Yuanlou, Yan Yunqi, Jiang Linzhi, Wei Jinyou, Wei Yiyuan, Zhang Juan, Dong Eryou, Wu Yan, Pan Chengzhang, Lu Qi, Zha Jizuo, Fan Xiang; eighteen people altogether. The book also mentioned that the content was based on Zhu clan''s manuscript, which was expanded and deleted. However, Zhu Guozhen was a prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, his fame was too great, it was unsuitable to mention his full name; therefore, it was mentioned vaguely as ''Zhu Clan''s manuscript''.


    Having undergone so many scholars composing, verifying and revising, the ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' had a very exquisite style, its coverage was comprehensive and clear, the script was magnificent, the layout was in good taste; its publication has garnered praise from literary community. The Zhuang family''s aspiration was to become famous, the books were sold at a very inexpensive price.


    When the manuscript touched upon Manchuria, there were originally not a few of criticism and exposures of past misdeeds, which the editors had already deleted one by one, but sentences showing approval to the Ming Dynasty were inevitable. At that time the Ming had not fallen for too long, the intellectuals still cherished the memory of their former country; as soon as the book went into publication, it immediately reached best-seller status, Zhuang Tinglong''s name was buzzing north and south of the Great River. Despite the pain of the death of his son, seeing his son became famous after his death, Zhuang Yuncheng''s old heart was greatly comforted.


    Troubled times are when lowly people accomplish their ambition, while people of noble character meet calamity. The county head magistrate of Huzhou''s Gui An County was one surnamed Wu, given name Zhirong, who committed corruption and abuse of the law during his tenure. Common people gnashed their teeth in anger toward him, eventually someone lodged an accusation and the imperial court had him deposed.


    Although when he was the county head magistrate of Gui An, Wu Zhirong raked in more than ten thousand taels, during the court proceeding and investigation of his disposal, he bribed to the east and sent a gift to the west, spending money everywhere to avoid being searched and his possession confiscated, these ten thousand taels booty were obliterated completely, even the people in his household left him, their whereabouts unknown.


    With his official post and his wealth gone, he had no choice but to go from house to house to seek gratuitous financial help, saying that he was a just and honest official who had fallen hard and lost his post, that he did not even have enough travel expenses and was incapable of embarking on the journey home. Some rich people simply wanted to avoid trouble and gave him ten taels or eight taels. When he got to the rich Zhu family, the master of the home, Zhu Youming was an upright person of noble character who shunned evil. Not only he did not give him anything, he ruthlessly derided Wu Zhirong, saying that Sire took an official post in Huzhou, you have caused common people a great deal of hardship; even if I, the Ol'' Zhu, have some money, I would rather donate it to the poor people who suffer under Sire''s administration.


    Although Wu Zhirong was enraged, he was incapable of lashing it out. Since he was already deposed, he had no power and no influence; how could he take a case against a rich and powerful family? Thereupon he paid a visit to Zhuang Yuncheng. Zhuang Yuncheng usually made friends with impoverished scholars, but he looked down upon corrupt official like this. Seeing his arrival and request, he laughed coldly and gave him a tael of silver, saying, "Based on Sire''s conduct, I should not have given you this tael, but common people of Huzhou are hoping Sire would leave, the sooner the better. If this tael can hasten your departure just a moment sooner, then it will be good."


    In his heart Wu Zhirong was extremely angry. Taking a glance he saw a copy of the ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' lying on a table in the main hall; he thought, "This man surnamed Zhuang loves to hear flattery, as long as people praise this Ming History as such and such good, he will present shining white silver with both hands, no more knitting of his brows." Thereupon he laughed and said, "Something that old gentleman Zhuang generously bestows, refusing it would be impolite. Today Xiongdi will leave Huzhou, what I regret the most is that I am not able to bring ''Huzhou treasures'' with me, so that ignorant and inexperienced people of my humble hometown may greatly broaden their horizons."


    Zhuang Yuncheng asked, "What are ''Huzhou treasures''?"


    Wu Zhirong laughed and said, "Old gentleman Zhuang is too modest. Among the literary community, everybody says that your esteemed son, Tinglong Gongzi [young master] has personally composed that book the ''Compilation of Ming Documents''. In terms of historical talent, historical knowledge, historical composition, not a single one is not a rarity since the dawn of time. Zuo Ma Ban Zhuang, those are ancient and modern times'' four great historical experts. This ''Huzhou treasure'' is naturally the book ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' your esteemed son personally composed."


    Hearing Wu Zhirong mentioned ''your esteemed son personally composed'' in the front, another ''your esteemed son personally composed'' at the end, Zhuang Yuncheng was bursting with joy. He was fully aware that this book was not really composed by his son, inevitably there was regret in the deepest part of his heart. By saying those words, Wu Zhirong had thrown himself in a favorable light. Zhuang Yuncheng thought, "People are saying that this man is greedy of bribes, is a dirty lowly person, but he is, after all, a scholar; contrary to what one might expect, he has some perspective. Turns out people on the outside call Long''er''s [''dear Long'', referring to Zhuang Tinglong, term of endearment] book a ''Huzhou treasure''. This is the first time I have ever heard it." He could not refrain smile from appearing across his face. He said, "Old gentlemen Rong mentioned something about Zuo Ma Ban Zhuang, four great historical experts of ancient and modern times; Xiongdi does not understand, would you please give your advice?"


    Seeing his expression softened considerably, Wu Zhirong knew his flattery had hit the target; he was secretly delighted. "Old gentleman Zhuang is rather too modest. Zuo Qiuming wrote ''Mr. Zuo''s Annals'', Sima Qian [145-86 BC] wrote ''Record of the Grand Historian'', Ban Gu [32-92] wrote ''History of the Former Han Dynasty''. These are all widely-known masterpiece, which garnered thousand praises. After Ban Gu, there was no more great historian. Ouyang Xiu [1007-1072] wrote ''History of the Five Dynasties'', Sima Guang [1019-1086] wrote ''A mirror for the wise ruler'' [or ''Comprehensive Mirror for aid in Government'']; although the writing was fine, in the end the ability and insight is rather lacking. Until our Great Qing''s flourishing period, your esteemed son personally composed this brilliant masterpiece ''Compilation of Ming Documents'', which people say can run neck to neck with Zuo Qiuming, Sima Qian and Ban Gu, three qianbei [older generation], as the ''four great historical experts''. The term ''Zuo Ma Ban Zhuang'' came from this fact."


    With smiling expression across his face, Zhuang Yuncheng repeatedly cupped his fist and said, "Erroneous praise, erroneous praise! However, this term ''Huzhou treasure'' is, after all, not worthy to be mentioned."


    With serious expression Wu Zhirong said, "What do you mean not worthy to be mentioned? People outside are saying, ''Huzhou treasures are history, silk and writing brush''; isn''t Zhuang''s history ranked to be the first?"


    Natural silk and writing brush were two famous products of Huzhou, although Wu Zhirong''s character was contemptible, he was still somewhat talented, and was able to speak like a printed book; he lumped ''Zhuang History'' together with Huzhou''s silk and Huzhou''s writing brush, hearing it, Zhuang Yuncheng was even more delighted.


    Wu Zhirong continued, "Xiongdi came to your precious place to take an official post, both sleeves flowing in the breeze [i.e. having clean hands/uncorrupted], gaining nothing. Today I am wearing my old face to ask Old gentleman Zhuang a copy of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', to be passed on as my family treasure. Someday my Wu family''s offsprings will read it day and night, certainly their imaginative power will greatly increased, they will bring honor to their ancestors. I am hoping for Old gentleman Zhuang''s generosity in bestowing one."


    Zhuang Yuncheng laughed and said, "Naturally I can give one as a present."


    Wu Zhirong talked several more sentences, but did not see Zhuang Yuncheng was about to take any action. Thereupon he launched another speech, giving great compliments to the ''History of the Ming Dynasty''. Actually, he had not even read one page of the book; therefore, how amazing this history book was, how beyond understanding the writing of this history book was, everything was not to the point, he merely talked drivel.


    Zhuang Yuncheng said, "Old gentleman Rong, please sit back and relax." And then he went into the inner hall.


    After a good while, a manservant came out, holding a bundle with both hands, and put it down on the table. Seeing Zhuang Yuncheng did not come out, Wu Zhirong hurriedly weighed the bundle in his hand. Although the bundle was big, it was as light as a feather, apparently it contained no silver; in his heart he was quite disappointed.


    Shortly afterwards, Zhuang Yuncheng returned to the main hall, he presented the bundle with both hands and said with a laugh, "Old gentleman Rong thinks much of our local products; hence I sincerely present this to you."


    Wu Zhirong thanked him and took his leave. Before he was even back at the inn, he reached into the bundle and groped around. What he found was one book, a bundle of natural silk, and several dozen of writing brushes. He wasted a lot of words, the idea was that other than the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' book, Zhuang Yuncheng would also give several hundred taels of silver, but the gifts were unexpectedly the crazy nonsense he invented, the so-called ''Huzhou Three Treasures''. He cursed in his heart, "Damn it, these moneybags of Nanxun are all this stingy! But I did say the wrong thing; if I said the ''Huzhou Three Treasures'' are gold, silver and the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', wouldn''t I have reaped great harvest?"


    Still fuming, he returned to the inn and tossed the bundle to the table, and then he put his head down and slept. When he woke up, it was already dark, the inn''s dinnertime had passed. He did not want to order special dinner; with anxiety and hunger burning, he was tortured on both sides, and could not return to sleep. Thereupon he untied the bundle, opened up the ''Compilation of Ming Documents'', and started to read.


    After reading several pages, he saw a glimmer of gold, a sheet of golden leaf suddenly appeared. Wu Zhirong''s heart was thumping wildly, he rubbed his eyes; but what was it if not a golden leaf? Trembling with excitement he shook the book and ten golden leaves came out, each sheet was at least five qian [1/10 of a tael], ten sheets of golden leaves equal to five tael of gold. At that time gold was precious, five taels of gold worth four hundred taels of silver. Wu Zhirong was unable to contain his joy; he thought, "This surnames Zhuang is indeed very sly, he is afraid that after getting this book I would casually toss it aside and would not even flip a single page, thereupon he hid golden leaves among the pages, so that those who read his son''s book would have the good fortune of finding the golden leaves. Right, I am going to read several sections, tomorrow I will drop in again, both to express my thanks for the gold, and to recite several paragraphs from the book, heap some more praise on it. If he is happy, maybe he would give me several more taels of gold."


    Thereupon he trimmed the oil lamp and flipped the pages to read. When he reached Emperor Wanli''s [1573-1619] fortieth year, the Later Jin dynasty''s Taizu [Great Ancestor, founder of a dynasty] Nurhachi succeeded the throne, the title of current dynasty was changed to Jin, establishing the primary ''Mandate of Heaven'', suddenly his heart shivered, "Our Taizu establishing the primary in the year bingchen [53rd year of the 60-year cycle, i.e. 1616]. From that year on, we should not use Ming Dynasty''s Wanli era name anymore; it should be the Great Jin Mandate of Heaven''s primary year [first year of emperor''s reign]."


    Thumbing through the book, he saw the dingmao [4th year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1627] year of Later Jin''s Taizu on the throne, the book still said ''Ming''s Tianqi[7] Emperor''s seventh year'', and not ''Great Jin''s Tiancong''s first year''. In the bingzi [13th year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1636] year, Later Jin changed the title of the dynasty to Qing, and changed the Emperor''s reign title to Chongde. The book still said ''Chongzhen''s ninth year'', and not ''Great Qing''s Chongde''s first year''. In the jiashen [21st year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1644] year, the book said ''Chongzhen seventeenth year'', and not ''Great Qing''s Shunzhi''s first year''. Also, he could see that after the Qing troops entered the Pass, the book mention the yiyou [22nd year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1645] year as ''Longwu''s first year'', the year dinghai [24th year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1647] was called ''Yongli''s first year''. Longwu and Yongli were Ming Dynasty''s King Tang and King Gui''s era names, the authors of the book plainly called them ''Ming Dynasty'' still, they did not consider the Qing Dynasty at all.


    Reading to this point, he could not help slapping the table and shouted, "Rebellion, rebellion, this is an outrage!" This slap had caused the table to shake, the oil lamp fell down, the oil splashed his hand, as well as the lapel of his robe. In the dark, suddenly a bright idea occurred; he could not help feeling crazy with joy, "Isn''t this Laotianye giving me easy money? I can be promoted and gain wealth, all because of this."


    Thinking about this, he could not help shouting in joy. Suddenly he heard the inn worker banged the door, "Mister guest, mister guest, what happened?"


    Wu Zhirong laughed and said, "Nothing!" Lighting the oil lamp, he flipped through the book again. He read all night until the rooster crowed in the morning, before he finally took off his clothes and went to bed. He found about seventy or eighty taboo words in the book, so that even in his dream he could not help giggling and laughing.


    When dynasties changed, the current political ruler paid most attention to correct the era name. The biggest taboo was in speech and in writings, since the implication was that the people were still thinking about the previous dynasty. The narrative in the ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' was about the Ming Dynasty, there was actually nothing out of ordinary of the usage of era name and calendar of the Ming Dynasty. However, during the time when it was a taboo, it could bring enormous disaster. Most of the scholars who participated in writing the history book only helped with several sections, they could not be expected to go through the entire book, while those who compiled the last few sections were the ones who hated the Qing Dynasty to the bones, naturally they would not be willing to use the Great Qing''s era names in the book. Zhuang Tinglong was a young master of a rich family, plus he was blind, unavoidably he was rather careless, so that in the end a lowly person was able to seize the opportunity to exploit the loopholes.


    By noon the next day, Wu Zhirong took a boat to Hangzhou on the east. In the inn he wrote a report, which he delivered, along with the History of the Ming Dynasty, to General Songkui''s mansion. He expected that when Songkui received the report, he would be summoned for an interview. At that time the Manchurian Qing used to give generous reward to people who report treasons. By rendering this great merit, Wu Zhirong was expecting his former official post to be reinstated, perhaps he could even enjoy three grades promotion as well. Who would have thought that after waiting left and right at the inn, all the way to more than half a year, every day he went to the general''s mansion to make discreet inquiries, it was as if he had thrown a stone and saw it sank without a trace in the ocean? Later on even the doorkeeper reprimanded him severely and did not allow him to drop in and create a disturbance at the door anymore.


    Wu Zhirong was extremely anxious; he was about to exhaust the money he obtained by exchanging the golden leaves Zhuang Yuncheng gave him, yet the accusation did not give him the least bit of result. He was distressed, but was also astonished. One day he wandered around the city of Hangzhou and happened to stroll by the door of Wen Tong Tang [lit. literary expert hall] bookstore. He walked in to browse and kill the long day. Seeing three copies of ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' on the shelf, he thought, "Could it be that the faults I found in the book are not enough to indict Zhuang Yuncheng? I''d better find some more treason and heresy writings and tomorrow write another report and deliver it to the general''s mansion."


    The inspector-general of Zhejiang at that time was a Han, but the general was a Manchu. He was afraid the inspector-general would not be willing to prosecute this literary case, hence he made up his mind to lodge the accusation to the Manchurian general.


    He opened the book and only read several pages, and could not help but jumped in fright; he felt as if his entire body had just entered an icehouse. Momentarily he felt like stupid monk, unable to make any sense of the matter. He saw all the offending texts had disappeared completely from the book, from the Great Qing Taizu onward, the book used the Great Jin, Great Qing''s era name and calendar. As for exposing Jianzhou Guardian Commander-in-chief''s faults (a relative to the Manchurian Qing Emperor''s ancestor), as well as any reference to Longwu, Yongli, and others'' era name, not even a single character was left. But the text was strung together, the pages were clean, there was not a single trace of any alteration. How did they conjure this magic trick? It was indeed very strange.


    Holding the book in his hands inside the bookstore, he stared blankly as if he was entranced for half a day. And then he suddenly cried out, "That''s it!" He saw the cover and the pages of this book were spotlessly white and looked brand new; when he asked the shopkeeper, as expected, the books were new delivery, sent from Huzhou book distributor, arrived not even seven or eight days ago. He said in his heart, "This Zhuang Yuncheng is really formidable! Indeed money can reach anything. He pulled the books back, redid the engraving, and printed another set of new books, removing all the taboo in the original edition. Humph, do you think I will drop it just like that?"


    Wu Zhirong''s guess was indeed not wrong. What happened was that Hangzhou general Songkui did not know Chinese characters, when the administrative secretary saw Wu Zhirong''s report, he was so scared that cold sweats broke on his entire body; he knew that the implication of this matter was very grave, without realizing it, his hands holding the report did not stop trembling.


    This secretary was surnamed Cheng, given name Weifan, a native of Shaoxing [prefecture], Zhejiang. During Ming and Qing dynasties, eight or nine out of ten aids and advisors to top feudal officials were Shaoxing natives, therefore, often times two characters ''Shaoxing'' were added in front of the word ''secretary'', became ''Shaoxing secretary'' [i.e. experts in legal briefs]. These secretaries first learned the trade secret from their hometown former generations, afterwards, they would be very experienced and careful in handling criminal law, money and grain. All documents in the feudal office were handled by these secretaries. Since they all were from the same town, documents prepared by low ranking administrative assistants to be presented to their superior in yamen


    [8] seldom met with nitpicking criticism. As a result, when new officials, big and small, took office, the most urgent business was to employ the service of a Shaoxing secretary. During Ming and Qing dynasties, the number of Shaoxing natives who became high-ranking officials was really not many, yet they held control over numerous government affairs in China for several hundred years; they could be considered a marvel in Chinese political history.


    This Cheng Weifan was honest and considerate, he believed in ''religious practice in public life''. That is to say that the feudal officials grasped the life-and-death power over common people, the several characters drafted by the secretaries were serious, it could cause common people''s family bankrupt and the people dead, it could justify or condemn, it could help people to escape alive from mortal danger. Consequently, helping people in public office was more effective than performing religious practice in the temple. He saw that if this case of ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' led to investigation, countless people in southern Jiangsu and western Zhejiang would lose their lives and had their families destroyed. Thereupon he asked for several days off from the general, and left that very same night by boat to Nanxun town in Huzhou, and informed Zhuang Yuncheng about this matter.


    Suddenly faced with imminent catastrophe, Zhuang Yuncheng''s soul flew to the outer sky, he was so scared that his whole body went weak, his saliva trickled down his chin, he was completely at a loss. After a long while he finally stood up, bent his knees and kowtowed to Cheng Weifan to express his gratitude, afterwards he asked for advice.


    During his journey from Hanzhou to Nanxun, Cheng Weifan had already gone through this matter over and over, and he thought of a good plan. Since the book ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' had been in circulation for quite a while, they could not conceal it; they had to take drastic measures to deal with this situation: while sending people to book shops everywhere to purchase these books back and destroyed them completely, they had to hasten day and night to engrave new printing blocks, delete all the taboo phrases and print new books, and sell them outside. If the authorities investigated this matter, they would look into the new edition, and would discover that Wu Zhirong''s accusation was unsubstantiated; hence they would put an end to this unexpected calamity.


    Immediately they put this plan into action. Zhuang Yuncheng was frightened but happy at the same time, he repeatedly kowtowed to say thanks. Cheng Weifan also taught him quite a bit of urgent matters, how to give a present to government official so-and-so, how to clear away obstruction and communicated with such-and-such yamen, et cetera. Zhuang Yuncheng diligently did everything.


    Cheng Weifan returned to Hangzhou. He waited more than half a month before transferring the original book, along with Wu Zhirong''s report, to the inspector-general of Zhejiang, Zhu Changzuo. He downplayed the report, saying that the submitter was a deposed county head magistrate due to corruption, who appeared to hold a grudge and hence blowing his whistle to vent his resentment, asking Futai [inspector-general] Daren


    [9] to investigate in details.


    While Wu Zhirong painstakingly waited for news in an inn in Hangzhou, Zhuang Yuncheng''s money flowed out like water. By this time Zhuang Yuncheng''s heavy bribery had already reached the general''s yamen, inspector-general''s yamen, and literary office yamen. Upon receiving this case, Zhu Changzuo thought that this kind of publication matter belonged to the literary office; after another ten-day delay, he transferred the documents to Hu Shangheng of the literary office. Literary office yamen''s secretary put it on the shelf for more than half a month, and then he took another month sick leave, before finally slowly he drafted the official document and sent it to Huzhou prefecture.


    In the Huzhou prefecture office, the case sat for more twenty days before it was passed on to Gui An and Wu Cheng counties'' literature offices, asking these offices to respond. The two literary offices had already received Zhuang Yuncheng''s bribe, by this time the new edition of ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' had been printed. The two officers handed over the new edition to their superior with this report: ''The book is mediocre and is of low quality, it will not help the ways of the world or the heart of human being in any way. We have gone through the entire book and did not find any taboo or offending words.'' And thus by stretching and delaying the matter was settled by leaving it unsettled.


    It was not until he found the new edition of ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' in the book store that Wu Zhirong found out the inside story. He thought if only he could find the original edition of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' he would be able to re-expose this case. In all the book stores in Hangzhou the original edition had been bought back by the Zhuang family, thereupon he went to remote counties in eastern Zhejiang trying to find it; who would have thought that even there he failed to find a single copy? Destitute and troubled, he had no choice but to return home dejectedly.


    As chance has it, along his journey home, he stopped by an inn, where he saw the innkeeper was swaying his head while reading a book. When he looked at the cover, it was indeed a copy of ''Compilation of Ming Documents''. He asked to borrow the book, and found out that it was unexpectedly the original edition. He was overjoyed at unexpected good news, and thought that if he wanted to buy it from the innkeeper, on one hand he might not be willing to sell, on the other hand Wu Zhirong did not have any money, he could not afford it anyway. Without any better option, he had to steal.


    In the middle of the night he quietly got out of bed, stole the book, and slipped out of the inn. Thinking that in the whole province of Zhejiang all government officials had received Zhuang Yuncheng''s bribe, he had to either give up, or go through to the end; hence he might as well go to Beijing to report this case.


    Upon his arrival in Beijing, Wu Zhirong wrote the report and sent it to the Ministry of Rites, the Capital Investigative Bureau, and the General Secretary Office, three yamen. He explained how the Zhuang family bribed local officials and published the new edition by altering the printing. Unexpectedly, in just less than a month one after another all three yamen refuted his claim. They all stated that Zhuang Tinglong''s ''Compilation of Ming Documents'' has been investigated carefully and the content did not have any taboo in it, the deposed county head magistrate Wu Zhirong''s report was not based on truth, obviously he held a grudge and has accused someone falsely. As for the government officials received bribes and so on, it was chasing the wind and clutching at shadows, groundless accusations that should be dismissed.


    The General Secretary Office''s rebuttal was even more severe; it said, "The deposed county head magistrate Wu Zhirong is corrupt and hence was expelled from office, thereupon he considers all honest and upright officials in the world as corrupt as he is." Turned out Zhuang Yuncheng had received Cheng Weifan''s instruction and had early on sent the new edition of ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' to the Ministry of Rites, the Capital Investigative Bureau, and the General Secretary Office, three yamen; he had also sent generous gifts to the officers and secretaries in charge of this matter.


    Once again Wu Zhirong had bumped into a wall; he had no travel expensed to return home, and was wandering destitute in a place far from home. At that time the Qing court treatment of Han intellectuals was extremely strict, if they found the slightest bit of taboo in their writings, they would be immediately put to death. If Wu Zhirong''s accusation was against an ordinary scholar, he would have succeeded early on; it''s just happened that his opponent was a very rich and powerful family that he was thwarted again and again. Since he had no way to retreat, even if he risked imprisonment, he simply must continue this case to the end. Thereupon he wrote four reports to be sent separately to the four Advisroy Board Ministers; while in the inn he simultaneously writing several hundred accusation letters exposing this matter and posted the letters everywhere in the city of Beijing. This was a very risky move, since if the authorities decided to investigate, he might be charged with spreading frightening words to scare people, trying to disturb the people''s mind, inevitably a serious crime punishable by execution.


    At that time the four Advisory Board Ministers were Suoni, Suksaha, Ebilong and Oboi, all were Manchuria''s outstanding founding ministers. When Emperor Shunzhi passed away, the posthumous edict was to appoint these four high-ranking ministers to assist in running the government. Among these four, Oboi was the most vicious and harsh, his henchmen among the imperial court were extremely numerous, his power in the imperial court was great, it was almost as if the power was in his hand alone. He was always afraid the party of his opponents was against him, hence he sent out countless informants inside and outside the Capital to make discreet inquiries and listen to the sound of people''s acitivities. One day he received a secret report about the appearance of many posters in the city of Beijing, exposing Zhejiang''s civilian surnamed Zhuang writing a book scheming rebellion, treason and heresy, Zhejiang''s officials received bribe and ignored the situation, and so on.


    As soon as Oboi was notified, he investigated immediately; his people passed like thunder and moved like the wind. Right this moment Wu Zhirong''s report arrived at Oboi''s mansion. He summoned Wu Zhirong at once, asked him about this matter in details, and he also had his secretary, a Han, to inspect in details the original edition of the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'' presented by Wu Zhirong; the result was that the report was true.


    Oboi achieved his dukedom and became a high-ranking official from his meritorious service in military, he always looked down on Han officials and intellectuals. After he grasped power, he wanted to run a few big cases to suppress and intimidate the hearts of the people, not only to make the Han people not dare to have any thought of rebellion, but also to make his political opponents in the imperial court not dare to act against him. Immediately he dispatched an imperial commissioner to Zhejiang to follow up. Naturally the entire Zhuang family was arrested and brought to the Capital, but even General Songkui of Hangzhou, Inspector-general Zhu Changzuo of Zhejiang, along with the government officials under them, big and small, were all deposed and investigated. All the scholars listed on the ''History of the Ming Dynasty'', not a single one escaped shackles and imprisonment.


    At Lu Liuliang''s house, Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi, two people narrated this case''s sequence of events [orig. ''mountain has a connecting pulse throughout like a dragon'', an idiom from fengshui] in details. Lu Liuliang listened while sighing incessantly.


    That evening the three of them lay on the couch and continued their long talk about the affairs of life. When they talked about how during the late Ming period Wei Zhongxian[10] and the others eunuchs framed loyal and good subjects, how they gained control of the imperial court and committed all kinds of things against the tide, until finally the House of Ming perished, how after the Qing entered the Pass Han people suffered massacre and unbearable and deep misfortune; none did not wring their hands and gnash their teeth in anger.


    Early in the morning the next day, Lu Liuliang''s entire family, along with Gu and Huang, two people, took a boat heading east. In Jiangnan, middle-class families or higher owned their own boat. Jiangnan countryside was criss-crossed with water, river ways opened in all directions, dense like spider web. Average people travelled afar by boats; it was called ''northern people ride horses, southern people ride boats'', and it has always been so since ancient times.


    Upon reaching Hangzhou, the canal branched to the north. One evening they stopped outside the city of Hangzhou to hear the news. The Qing court had already executed not a few government officials and common people because of this case; Zhuang Tinglong had already died, they opened his coffin and mutilated his remains; Zhuang Yuncheng could not endure the mistreatment in prison and died; several dozen of Zhuang family members, fifteen years old and up, were beheaded, their wives and children were sent away to Shenyang [Liaoning, northeast China] to serve a penal sentence, becoming Manchurian soldiers'' slaves.


    The former assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites Li Lingxi who wrote the preface of the book was executed by death of a thousand cuts, his four sons were beheaded. Li Lingxi''s youngest son had just turned sixteen, when the prosecutor saw that the number of people to be killed was a lot, his heart softened; he ordered him to reduce his age by a year, because according to Qing law, fifteen years and under were exempt from execution or banishment. The youngster said, "My Die-die and Gege are all dead, I don''t want to live alone." In the end he refused to change his confession and was beheaded as well.


    Songkui and Zhu Changzuo were sent to prison awaiting trial. The secretary Cheng Weifan was executed by lingering death. The two literary officers of Gui An and Wu Cheng were beheaded. The number of people implicated in this case, including those who were accused wrongly and died, really cannot be counted. Huzhou''s prefectural magistrate Tan Ximin had just taken office for half a month, the imperial court said that he knew the facts but did not report it, he accepted bribe to cover it up; along with the prefectural judge Li Huan, and director of discipline Wang Zhaozhen, he was executed by hanging.


    Wu Zhirong harbored a deep hatred toward Nanxun rich man Zhu Youming. That day he came to seek gratuitous financial help, he was severely reprimanded and chased out of the door. Now he reported to the prosecutor of this case that the book clearly indicated that ''the content was based on Zhu clan''s manuscript, which was expanded and deleted''. He said that this ''Zhu clan'' was indeed Zhu Youming; he also said that the name ''Zhu Youming'' [Zhu was the family name of Ming emperors, ''you'' means assist/protect, ''ming'' bright, the same character as in ''Ming Dynasty''] clearly showed that his heart was still in the former Ming dynasty, that he was cursing the current dynasty. And thus Zhu Youming and his five sons were beheaded together, Zhu family''s estate, worth more than a hundred thousand taels, was rewarded to Wu Zhirong by the Qing court.


    The most tragic thing was: all the engravers who carved the printing blocks, the printers, the book binders, as well as the book distributors, the owners of the bookstores, the shop assistants who received the books, the readers who purchased the books, were all investigated and beheaded.


    As for the famous scholars of Jiangnan, because Zhuang Tinglong admired their names and listed them as the editors of the book, they were put to death by a thousand cuts on the same day, including Mao Yuanxi and the others, fourteen men. The so-called ''executed by death of a thousand cuts'' means blade by blade, the person''s entire body, his limbs and flesh, was slowly cut off, until the convict suffered enough pain, and then he was put to death. The number of people whose family went bankrupt and died because of this book was really difficult to count.


    When Lu Liuliang and the others received the news, their hatred was unbearable; they gnashed their teeth in anger and cursed incessantly. Huang Zongxi said, "Mr. Yihuang was listed as the editor, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to escape this time." The three of them and Zha Yihuang had always been good friends, they were extremely concerned.


    One day the boat reached Jiaxing. Gu Yanwu bought an imperial bulletin in the city, which contained a detailed list of the names and surnames of people who were guilty in the case of ''History of the Ming Dynasty''. They saw a sentence in the imperial edict that said, ''Although Zha Jizuo, Fan Xiang, Lu Qi, three people are listed as the editors, but they have never seen the book, hence they are exempt from punishment and will not be investigated anymore.'' Gu Yanwu brought the bulletin back to the boat to be reviewed together with Huang Zongxi and Lu Liuliang; they clicked their tongue in amazement.


    Huang Zongxi said, "This must be Da Li Jiangjun''s [lit. general with great power] doing."


    "Who is Da Li Jiangjun?" Lu Liuliang asked, "Please advise."


    Huang Zongxi said, "Two years ago, Xiongdi went to visit Mr. Yihuang''s home. I saw that his mansion house looked completely new, the flower garden was spacious, the furnishing was luxurious and beautiful; it was completely different from before. The mansion even had a group of Kunqu[11] theatrical troupe performing folk musical theater, which is hard to see in Jiangnan. Xiongdi and Mr. Yihuang have always been good friends, we can be considered sharing liver and gallbladder, thereupon I asked him what happened. Mr. Yihuang told me a story, a really happy encounter in the windblown dust [i.e. vicissitudes of life]." Hence he narrated the story.


    One day, Zha Jizuo, alias Yihuang (In the book ''Goblet Remains'' there is an article ''Unexpected Meeting in the Snow'', which talks about this marvelous story. The opening paragraph says, "Zha Xiaolian[12] of Haining [county], Zhejiang, alias Yihuang, was a man with splendid literary talent, as well as elegant and graceful demeanor, often speaks in long drawn out manner, unbearably melancholy, an unusually distinguished person throughout the land, not at all looking like he is coming out of the dust, or that he is obtainable.'') was at home at the end of the year, drinking wine alone. Not long afterwards the snow started to fall; the more it fell, the harder it became. Zha Yihuang was bored drinking alone, so he went out the door to enjoy the snowy scenery, and saw a beggar standing underneath the eaves to shelter from the snow. The beggar was big and tall, his bone structure looked unusually powerful, he was wearing tattered clothes, yet did not seem to mind the cold wind at all, only his face seemed to bear some anger, grief and indignation.


    Zha Yihuang felt strange in his heart, thereupon he said, "The snow will not stop for a while, how about coming in for a cup of wine?"


    "Very good!" the beggar replied.


    Thereupon Zha Yihuang invited him to come into the house and ordered the page boy to prepare cups and chopsticks. Pouring the wine, he said, "Please!"


    The beggar raised the cup to toast him and downed it. "Good wine!" he praised.


    Zha Yihuang poured three cups in succession, the beggar drank in a frank and straightforward manner. Zha Yihuang loved frank and straightforward people the most; he was inwardly very happy. "Xiongtai''s [brother, generic term] wine capacity is superb," he said, "I wonder how much can you drink?"


    The beggar replied, "When drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups will still be too little; when the conversation gets disagreeable, to say one word more is a waste of breath."


    Although these two lines were familiar polite set of phrases, but spoken by a beggar made Zha Yihuang felt strange. Immediately he ordered the page boy to fetch a large earthen jar of Shaoxing Nu''erhong [lit. blushing young woman (or young woman''s red) from Shaoxing] wine; he said with a laugh, "Zaixia


    [13] has limited wine capacity, and just now I have drunk enough, I can''t accompany brother in enjoying the drink. Laoxiong [old brother] drink a large bowl, I accompany with small cup, what do you say?"


    "That will work," the beggar said. Thereupon the page boy warmed the wine and separately poured it into the bowl and the cup. Zha Yihuang drank a cup, the beggar drank a large bowl. By the time the beggar already drank more than twenty bowls, his face still did not show any sign of tipsiness, but Zha Yihuang was already drunk.


    It should be known that as it entered the mouth, Shaoxing Nu''erhong was mild, but the wine character was quite powerful. When people of Shaoxing gave birth to a son or a daughter, they brewed wine, ranging from just a few to several dozen earthen jars, and buried the wine in the ground. When the daughter grew up and get married, the wine would be taken out and served in the wedding feast. The wine had an amber color, hence it was called ''blushing young woman''. Since the wine was buried for seventeen, eighteen years, sometimes for more than twenty years, its nature was extremely mellow and rich. When the family gave birth to a son, the buried wine was called ''zhuangyuan hong''[14], with the hope that in the future the son would serve the wine during the feast celebrating he becoming a ''zhuangyuan''. Since not everybody could be a ''zhuangyuan'', most would simply serve it during the son''s wedding. The wine that was brewed to be sold later also took the name ''zhuangyuan hong'' and ''nu''erhong''.


    The page boy helped Zha Yihuang into the inner hall to sleep. The beggar went out on his own accord to stand underneath the eaves again. The next morning Zha Yihuang woke up, hastily he went out to see the beggar; he saw the beggar was still standing with his hands behind his back, enjoying the snow. A burst of north wind blew, Zha Yihuang felt the cold penetrated his bones and marrow, yet the beggar showed no sign of nerves.


    Zha Yihuang said, "Cold weather, frozen ground, Xiongtai''s clothes is unavoidably too thin." Thereupon he took off the sheepskin coat he was wearing and draped it on the beggar''s shoulder. He also took ten taels of silver and presented it with both hands, saying, "Just a little bit to buy some wine, please Xiongtai do not refuse. If it pleases you, please come again to drink wine. Last night Xiongdi was drunk, and failed to sweep the couch to retain the guest, please do not blame me for my negligence."


    The beggar received the money and said, "Well said." Without even say thanks, he shook his sleeve and left.


    The following spring, Zha Yihuang went to Hangzhou on a leisure visit. One day he saw an enormous ancient bell in a broken-down temple, he estimated the bell weighed at least four hundred catties [1 catty is approximately 1 pound or 0.5kg]. While he was enjoying the decorative design, the inscription carved onto the surface of the bell, suddenly a beggar entered the Buddha hall in big strides, grabbed the bottom of the bell with his left hand, and lifted it up. The big bell unexpectedly was raised several chi [Chinese foot, approximately 1/3 of a meter] off the ground. The beggar took a large bowl of meat and a large bowl of wine from underneath the bell and put the bowls aside, and then he put the ancient bell back to its original place.


    Seeing his divine strength, Zha Yihuang could not help gasping with astonishment. When he looked carefully, unexpectedly the beggar was the one he drank wine with the previous winter. He laughed and asked, "Xiongtai, do you still remember me?"


    The beggar cast him a glance, and then he also laughed and said, "Ah, it is you. Today I will be the host, we will all drink and be merry. Come, come, come, drink wine." While saying that, he handed over the earthen bowl.


    Zha Yihuang received the bowl and took a mouthful. "This wine is really not bad," he said with a laugh.


    The beggar took a large piece of meat from the tattered bowl; he said, "This is dog meat, will you eat it or not?"


    Zha Yihuang felt squeamish, but he thought, "Since I already regard him as a drinking buddy, if I decline, it would mean I am looking down on him." Thereupon he reached out to grab it, took a bit and chewed; it was actually quite sweet and delicious. So the two of them sat on the floor of the broken-down temple, passing the tattered earthen bowl back and forth, you drink one mouthful, I drink one mouthful, while reaching into the meat bowl and ate the dog meat piece by piece. Not too long afterwards the meat and wine were finished.


    The beggar laughed aloud and said, "Too bad the wine is not enough to make Xiaolian Gong [master Xiaolian (see above)] drunk."


    Zha Yihuang said, "Last winter we met by chance at my humble residence, today we met again without any previous appointment, we are indeed brought together by fate. Xiongtai''s divine strength is astonishing, turns out you are a world-class extraordinary man. To be able to make friend with such a gentleman, Xiaodi is very delighted. If it is alright with Xiongtai, how about we go to a restaurant and drink some more?"


    "Wonderful, wonderful!" the beggar replied.


    The two of them went to a restaurant by the bank of Xihu [West Lake, Hangzhou], where they sat on a table outside on the second floor, ordering wine and drinking together. Not too long afterwards Zha Yihuang passed out again. By the time he sobered up, the beggar had disappeared.


    That was during the final years of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming dynasty. In several years, the Qing troops entered the Pass, the Ming dynasty fell. Zha Yihuang decided not to forge ahead, he simply spent his days leisurely at his house. One day suddenly a military officer leading four soldiers arrived at the Zha mansion. Zha Yihuang was alarmed, thinking that disaster was knocking at his door. Who would have thought that the military officer was very respectful? He said, "We received order from the Wu Military Office of Guangdong province to deliver a meager present."


    "Your honorable superior and I are total strangers," Zha Yihuang said, "I am afraid there is a mistake here."


    The military officer took out a visiting case and extracted a sheet of crimson-colored, gilded with gold, business card; on it were written, ''Paying my respect to Mr. Zha Yihuang, alias Jizuo'', underneath it said, ''Junior [orig. ''wan sheng'' �C later generation] Wu Liuqi kowtows to pay a hundred respect''. Zha Yihuang thought, "I have never even heard about this name Wu Liuqi, why is he sending a present to me?" Thereupon he was speechless, not knowing what to say.


    The military officer said, "My humble superior said that this is a meager gift, asking Mr. Zha not to ridicule it." While saying that he produced two vermillion-lacquered, gold-lettered round cases, put them on the table, and bowed to pay his respect before taking his leave.


    Zha Yihuang opened the gift boxes, and to his amazement he found fifty taels gold in one box, and six bottles of foreign wine in the other, the wine bottles were embelished with pearl and emerald; it was extraordinarly luxurious. Zha Yihuang''s shock was growing even deeper; he ran outside trying to get the military officer to take the present back, but military people moved fast, they were already far away.


    Zha Yihuang was puzzled, "Ill-gotten gains flew in, there won''t be any good fortune, only disaster. Could it be that someone is trying to frame me?" Thereupon he closed the gift boxes, resealed them, and hid them in his private room. Zha family was comparably well-off, they did not have any use of the gold, but the foreign wine was of a very famous brand; since he did not dare to open it, he could not stop his heart from itching.


    Nothing happened in the next several months. One day, a gongzi [young master, son of official] wearing magnificent clothing arrived. The young master was only seventeen or eighteen years old, full of vigor, and had an impressive appearance; he brought eight attendants with him. As soon as he saw Zha Yihuang, he kneeled down to kowtow; he said, "Zha Shibo [uncle, an affectionate name for a friend older than one''s father], nephew Wu Baoyu paying his respect."


    Zha Yihuang hastily helped him up and said, "Your calling me Shibo, I really do not dare to accept the honor. I wonder who is your honorable Daren?"


    Wu Baoyu replied, "My humble father''s name is Liu on top and Qi on the bottom, presently residing in Guangdong province, taking office as Tidu [local commander] of the entire province''s land and sea. He sends little nephew with the specific purpose of respectfully invite Shibo to stay for several months in Guangdong."


    Zha Yihuang said, "I have previously received your esteemed father Daren''s generous gift, in my heart I feel uneasy. I am ashamed to say, Xiongdi''s natural disposition is forgetful, I do not remember when did I make your esteemed father Daren''s acquaintance? Xiongdi is a scholar, I do not usually make friends with honorable government officials. Gongzi please sit down for a moment." Finished speaking he went into the inner room. When he returned, he brought those two giftboxes out, saying, "Would Gongzi please bring these back? I really do not dare to receive such a generous gift."


    He thought that as the Tidu of Guangdong, this Wu Liuqi must have admired Zha Yihuang''s name, and thus used very expensive give to hire him to be his secretary. This man held a high position in government, he was Manchu people''s eagle and dog to bully Han people; if Zha Yihuang received his gold and silver, he would corrupt his own innocence, thereupon his expression looked quite displeased.


    Wu Baoyu said, "My humble father instructed that I must invite Shibo. If Shibo forgot my humble father, there is one thing here, please Shibo take a look." From his attendant''s hand he took a bundle and opened it up. It was an extremely worn-out sheepskin coat.


    When Zha Yihuang saw this old coat, he remembered he gave this coat to the strange beggar in the snow. He suddenly realized that this General Wu Liuqi was actually his drinking buddy in the past. His heart was moved, "The Tatars occupy our land under the heavens, if there is someone with authority over the troops raising righteous banner, with response from every direction, perhaps we could drive the Tatars out of the Pass. This strange beggar unexpectedly still remembers my favor of a meal and a coat of the former days, he is not someone without any conscience, if I can move his righteousness, it''s not necessarily a hopeless case. Men establish meritorious service by dedicating our lives to the service of our country. At this point, the worse that can happen is that he would kill me, so what?" Thereupon he gladly set off on a journey to Guangzhou.


    General Wu Liuqi welcomed him into the mansion, his manner was extremely respectful; he said, "Liuqi wandered destitute in Jiangnan, Mr. Zha did not abandon me, and treated me as a friend. You invited me to drink wine and gave me a leather coat, that is trivial matter; but in that broken-down temple you drank wine from a tattered bowl and grabbed dog meat with me, that showed how high you regarded me. At that time Liuqi was poor and dejected, everywhere I went I met with people''s cold eyes, yet Mr. Zha was treating me with such a warm heart, Liuqi was able to raise my spirits to great height. What I have accomplished today is entirely thanks to Mr. Zha."


    Zha Yihuang indifferently said, "In Junior''s [''wan sheng'', see above] eyes, the General Wu''s brilliance of today is not necessarily comparable to the amazing beggar in the snow of the past''s."


    Wu Liuqi was startled, but he did not ask, he simply said, "Yes, yes!"


    There was a large banquet that night, all civil and military officials in the city were invited, Zha Yihuang was made to sit in the seat of honor, while Wu Liuqi himself sat in the next seat to accompany him. The civil and military officials in Guangdong province, from inspector-general down, saw how respectful the Tidu Daren was to this Zha Yihuang, no one was not secretly astonished. The inspector-general even thought that Zha Yihuang was an imperial envoy minister sent by the Emperor incognito to investigate something; otherwise, Wu Liuqi usually was very arrogant toward other people, why would he be this respectful toward an ordinary scholar from Jiangnan?


    After the wine had made its round, the inspector-general quietly inquired of Wu Liuqi, whether this honorable guest was a favored member of the imperial court. Wu Liuqi smiled and said, "Laoxiong [old brother] is really smart, you can recognize color just by its appearance; your guess is ninety percent correct." These words of him were meant to ridicule the inspector-general by saying that the tenth time he guessed, it was incorrect. Who would have thought that the inspector-general really believed that Zha Yihuang was an imperial envoy? He thought that if this Zha Daren stayed in Wu Tidu''s mansion, he would be able to curry favor with him. Wu Tidu and me are always not in a good terms with each other; if when the imperial envoy returned to the Capital and submitted an unfavorable report on me, won''t that be terrible? Therefore, as soon as he was back into his mansion, he prepared a hefty gift, which he delivered in person to the Tidu mansion early in the morning the next day.


    Wu Liuqi came out to receive the guest, saying that the previous night Mr. Zha was drunk and was not awake yet; Futai''s gift would definitely be delivered to his hand, please be assured and do not worry too much. When the inspector-general heard this, he was greatly delighted; he left after repeatedly expressed his thanks.


    The news spread, all government officials knew that the inspector-general delivered generous gifts to Mr. Zha. Nobody knew this Mr. Zha''s origin, yet if even the inspector-general sent him a generous gift, how could they not do the same? Within the next several days, the gifts in the Tidu mansion piled up like a mountain. Wu Liuqi ordered his people to duly record every single gift, but he did not want Mr. Zha to know about it. Every day, other than managing military and public affairs, he would always accompany Zha Yihuang for a drink.


    One late evening, the two of them were drinking wine in the flower garden pavilion. After a few rounds of wine, Zha Yihuang said, "I have disturbed your honorable home for many days, experiencing your great kindness. Tomorrow Wan Sheng is going to return to the north."


    "How could Mister say those words?" Wu Liuqi said, "It was not easy to get Mister to the south, if you do not stay a year or a half, I will not let Mister go back. Tomorrow I am going to accompany Mister to five-story pagoda for a visit. Guangdong has so many scenic and historical spots, you won''t be able to visit them all in a few months."


    Zha Yihuang was rather drunk, he boldly said, "Although mountains and rivers are good, it has sunk into the barbarians'' hands; looking at it will only add grief to my heart."


    Wu Liuqi''s countenance changed slightly; he said, "Mister is drunk, let us take a rest a bit early tonight."


    Zha Yihuang said, "When we first met, I respected you as a hero in windblown dust [i.e. hardships of travel], hence it was enough for me to make you my friend; who would have thought that actually my eyes have failed me?"


    "How did you eyes fail you?" Wu Liuqi asked.


    In a loud and clear voice Zha Yihuang replied, "You have great skills, yet you do not strive for the country, for the people, but helping tyrant Zhou in his oppression, by becoming the Tatars'' eagle and dog, bullying our Great Han''s common people; this moment you are still immensely pleased with yourself, without any sense of shame. Ol'' Zha inevitably is ashamed to be your friend." While saying that he suddenly stood up.


    Wu Liuqi said, "Mister please hold down your voice, if others hear this, it will bring disaster."


    Zha Yihuang said, "Today I still regard you as a friend, I have some good words and encouragement. If you don''t want to listen, there is no harm in killing me. Ol'' Zha has no strength to truss a chicken, in any case I cannot resist."


    Wu Liuqi said, "Zaixia is listening with respectful attention."


    Zha Yihuang said, "General holds power over the military and government of the entire Guangdong province in your hand, you have a golden opportunity for an uprising and come over from the enemy''s side. Make a public appeal, the whole world will respond; even if the great undertaking is not successful, it will bust the Tatars'' guts. Only by dealing with them in large-scale operation will it fit your natural disposition of divine bravery, your great head."


    Wu Liuqi poured a bowl of wine and downed it in one gulp. He said, "I am delighted to hear what Mister has to say!" With both hands he reached down, ''rip'' he tore the front piece of his own gown, exposing his black-hair-covered chest; parting the chest hair, he exposed eight small characters cut into his flesh: ''Tian Fu Di Mu, Fan Qing Fu Ming''. [Heaven is my father, Earth is my mother, Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming.]Zha Yihuang was startled and delighted at the same time. "This �� what is this?" he asked.


    Wu Liuqi closed his lapel well before answering, "Just now listening to Mister''s magnificent speech, I honor and respect you. In spite of the danger of perishing and extermination of your entire family, Mister opens up your liver and drip gall, giving Zaixia directions, Zaixia no longer dare to cover up the truth. Previously Zaixia belonged to the Beggar Clan, but this moment I am the Red Banner Xiangzhu of the Great Obedience Hall of Tian Di Hui [Heaven and Earth Society]. I took an oath to use the hot blood in my entire body to fight the Qing and restore the Ming."


    Looking at the tattoo on Wu Liuqi''s chest, Zha Yihuang had no more doubt; he said, "Turns out General lives in Cao camp but have your heart in Han camp. Just now my words were offensive, I have greatly offended you."


    Wu Liuqi was greatly delighted, thinking that by saying ''live in Cao camp but have the heart in Han camp'', Zha Yihuang was comparing him to Guan Yunchang; he said, "This comparison, I dare not to accept the honor."


    Zha Yihuang said, "I wonder what is the Beggar Clan, what is Tian Di Hui? Please advise."


    "Mister please drink another cup," Wu Liuqi said, "Zaixia will explain it slowly." Thereupon the two of them drank another cup.


    Wu Liuqi said, "The Beggar Clan already exists for a long time, since the Song Dynasty, it is a big clan in Jianghu. The brothers in the Clan beg to make a living, even people from rich and powerful families, upon entering the Beggar Clan, they must totally disperse their family resources and live as beggars. Within the Clan, under the Bangzhu [Clan Leader] there are four Zhanglao [elder], and then front, rear, left, right and middle, five directions, Hufa [protector of the law]. Zaixia held the Left Protector position, an eight-pouch disciple in the Clan, a position that can''t be considered too low. Afterwards, because I did not get along well with an Elder surnamed Sun, we had a fight. At that time Zaixia was drunk, I accidentally beat him that he was seriously hurt. Disrespecting superior is a big violation of the Clan''s law, beating up and injure an elder is an even bigger violation. Bangzhu and the four Zhanglao held a meeting, they blamed Zaixia and expelled me from the Clan. That day when we met at your mansion, Mister invited me for a drink, Zaixia has just been reprimanded and expelled, in my heart I was quite depressed, yet Mister did not abandon me, and treated Zaixia as a friend instead. My mind was eased quite a bit."


    "So that''s how it is," Zha Yihuang said.


    Wu Liuqi continued, "Spring of the following year, we met again by chance by the bank of West Lake, Mister made a comment, praising me as a world-class extraordinary man. Zaixia thought hard for many days, thinking that since the Beggar Clan could not tolerate me, all the friends in Jianghu looked down on me, every day I was as drunk as mud, abandoning myself to despair, in just several years I would die of intoxication. Yet this gentleman, Mr. Zha, said that I am an extraordinary man; could it be that I, Wu Liuqi, once stumbled, am unable to rise, and would not stick out my head to see the sun? Not long afterwards, the Qing troops marched southward, my heart was outraged, I did not know right from wrong, unexpectedly I went to surrender to the Qing army, and rendered quite a bit of military service, massacred my fellow citizens. When I think about it, I am quite ashamed."


    With grim expression Zha Yihuang said, "That is wrong. Xiongtai does not belong to the Beggar Clan, you may come and go alone, you may establish your own faction, why make such an unwise move, offering your service to the Qing army?"


    Wu Liuqi said, "Zaixia is simple-minded, at that time I did not have Mister to give me directions, I have done not a few wrong things; I really deserve to die."


    Zha Yihuang nodded, "Since General knew your own mistakes, it''s still not too late to atone for your crimes by meritorious acts," he said.


    Wu Liuqi continued, "Later on the Manchurian Qing swept the north and south, I was promoted to become a Tidu. Two years ago, suddenly someone broke into my bedroom in the middle of the night to assassinate me. This assassin''s martial art skill was not my match, I captured him. When I lighted a lantern to look, to my surprise he was the Beggar Clan''s Sun Zhanglao, whom I injured in the past. He rained curses on me, saying that I was despicable and shameless, that I was willing to be the barbarians'' eagle and dog. The more he cursed, the more vicious he was, each sentence hit the bottom of my heart. Actually I already knew it, and every now and then I thought about it, I knew perfectly well that my conduct and deeds were very wrong. When I searched my soul deep in the night, I was very ashamed; it''s just that what I thought was far less clear compared to what he cursed me. I sighed, and unsealed his acupoint. ''Sun Zhanglao,'' I said, ''Your cursing is very true. You may go now!'' He was quite surprised, but then he leaped out the window and left."


    "You have done the right thing!" Zha Yihuang said.


    Wu Liuqi said, "At that time, there were quite a few good anti-Qing men locked up in the Tidu yamen prison. First thing in the morning the next day, I looked for some excuses to release them one by one; some I said mistaken identity, some I said not the main culprit, hence I was being lenient in dealing with them. A month or so later, that Sun Zhanglao came back in the middle of the night to see me, he got right to the point [orig. ''open the door and see the mountain''], asking me whether I had a repentant heart and wanted to set up merit by fighting the Qing. I pulled my saber and chopped two of my left hand fingers, saying, ''Wu Liuqi is determined to completely correct my former misdeeds, from now on I will listen and obey Sun Zhanglao''s order.''" Stretching out his left hand, indeed his ring finger and little finger were gone, only three fingers remained on it.


    Zha Yihuang raised his thumb, "Good man!" he exclaimed.


    Wu Liuqi continued his story, "Seeing my sincerity, Sun Zhanglao knew that even though I am hot-headed, I have never eaten my own words; thereupon he said, ''Very good. Let me go back to report to Bangzhu, I''ll ask Bangzhu to issue his order.'' Ten days later, Sun Zhanglao came back to see me, saying that Bangzhu and the four Zhanglao have had a meeting, and they decided to take me back into the Clan, but I have to start as a one-pouch disciple. He also told me that the Beggar Clan has formed an alliance with Tian Di Hui, to work for a common purpose, fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. Tian Di Hui is founded by Taiwan''s Guoxing Ye [Koxinga, ''Lord of the Imperial Surname''] Grand Marshal Zheng''s subordinate, the military strategist Chen Yonghua, Mr. Chen. In the recent years it is thriving in Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong regions. Sun Zhanglao went to see the Society''s Great Obedience Hall''s Xiangzhu [incense master] on my behalf, to sponsor me into Tian Di Hui. Tian Di Hui checked me up for one year, they had me handle several important matters. After seeing that I was absolutely loyal and not double-hearted, recently Mr. Chen issued an order from Taiwan, promoting me into the Red Banner Xiangzhu of the Great Obedience Hall position."


    Although Zha Yihuang did not understand Tian Di Hui''s background, but the army of Guoxing Ye Yanping Jun Wang [king of Yanping] Zheng Chenggong of Taiwan resisted the Qing alone; their loyalty and bravery, nobody under the heavens did not know or hear. Since Tian Di Hui was established by his military strategist Chen Yonghua, naturally they were of kindred spirit. Thereupon he repeatedly nodded his head.


    Wu Liuqi continued, "In the previous years, Guoxing Ye commanded a large army to besiege Jinling, too bad the few are no match for the many, they were driven back to Taiwan. But the number of officers and soldiers under his command who found it too late to retreat and thus remained in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, three provinces, are indeed not a few. Mr. Chen contacted these old brothers in secret, and established this Tian Di Hui. The slogan of the Society is ''Tian Fu Di Mu, Fan Qing Fu Ming'', which is the eight characters Zaixia cut onto my chest. Ordinarily the Society brothers do not tattoo their bodies, Zaixia voluntarily tattooed my body to imitate Yue Wumu''s idea of ''loyal to the end, dedicate oneself to the service of the country'' in the past."


    Zha Yihuang was very happy in his heart, he downed two cups in succession and then said, "By your action, Xiongtai is indeed worthy of the praise ''world-class extraordinary man''."


    "These five characters ''world-class extraordinary man'' [hai nei qi nan zi], I am ashamed and dare not accept the honor," Wu Liuqi said, "As long as Mr. Zha is willing to recognize me as your friend, the one surnamed Wu will be eternally happy. Our Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu[15] Chen Yonghua, Mr. Chen, has another name, Chen Jinnan; now he is the real famous hero and warrior. In Jianghu, no one speaks about him with disrespect; there''s even a saying that said it well: ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain.'' Zaixia has never seen Chen Zongduozhu''s face, hence I can''t be considered anybody."


    Imagining Chen Jinnan''s lofty quality as a hero, Zha Yihuang could not help having a longing in his heart to see him. He poured two cups of wine and said, "Come, let us drink to Chen Zongduozhu!" The two of them downed their cups in one gulp.


    Zha Yihuang said, "Ol'' Zha is only a scholar, I have no benefit to the country and to the people. Only on the day General seizes the opportunity to make your move, rising vigorously to fight the Qing, the Ol'' Zha will definitely offer my service in front of the righteous army, to exhaust what little I have, my tiny toil."


    From that date onward, staying at Wu Liuqi house, Zha Yihuang had secret chat with him day and night, discussing the strategy on how to fight the Qing. Wu Liuqi said, "Tian Di Hui''s influence progressively expands to the northern provinces, every major province now have a fragant hall."


    In total, Zha Yihuang stayed at Wu Liuqi''s mansion for six or seven months, and then he returned to his hometown. When he reached home, he was greatly surprised, unexpectedly there was a huge new building right next to his former residence. As it turns out, Wu Liuqi sent people to take all the gifts and gold that Guangdong officials, big and small, presented to Zha Yihuang to Zhejiang, with which they carried out a large scale construction to build a multi-story house.


    Zha Yihuang knew very well that Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu''s aspiration was definitely to awaken and restore the Ming, they rushed about all directions to assemble the world''s heroes and warriors, together they drew a plan to fight the Qing. For this reason he told them this story without concealing anything. On the boat Huang Zongxi recounted the ins and outs of the entire story to Lu Liuliang; he said, "If this matter is leaked out, the Tatars might strike first and gain the upper hand, while Mr. Yihuang and General Wu will definitely meet the calamity of extermination along with their entire families, the great undertaking of fighting the Qing will lose one pillar."


    Lu Liuliang said, "Other than you and me, three people, this matter must never be revealed even for one word, even when we see Mr. Yihuang, we must not mention the name of Guangdong''s General Wu."


    Huang Zongxi said, "Mr. Yihuang and General Wu have this kind of relationship, the high-ranking ministers of the imperial court want to be hospitable to General Wu, when General Wu appeared in person to intercede and clear the charge on Mr. Yihuang, the imperial court will definitely not want him to lose face."


    Lu Liuliang said, "What Huang Xiong said is very true, it''s just that I was wondering how did Lu Qi, Fan Xiang, two people, also obtain the same verdict as Mr. Yihuang, ''never seen the book, exempt from punishment and will not be investigated anymore''? Could it be that they also have a powerful figure in the imperial court who intercede for them?"


    Huang Zongxi said, "When General Wu interceded on behalf of Mr. Yihuang, if he singled him out, perhaps it would arouse suspicion, thereupon he pulled along these two people to serve as sidekicks; we will never know."


    Lu Liuliang laughed and said, "In that case, perhaps until now Lu and Fan, two people still do not know how they still get to keep their lives."


    Gu Yanwu nodded and said, "For each life of Jiangnan scholars preserved, our strength will also increase by one person."


    (Book note: In the book ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'' [Qing dynasty book of tales by Pu Songling, 1640-1715], there is a section about ''Powerful General'', narrating the story about how Zha Yihuang encountered Wu Liuqi. The concluding remarks said, ''Later on Zha was cleared of this legal case, his guilt by asccociation was withdrawn, finally he was exempted of future investigation, it was all due to the General''s power.'' The commentary stated, ''Profound act of disregarding one''s reputation was indeed chivalrous achievements of ancient real men. Moreover, it is reported that this General was generous, outspoken and straightforward, outstanding and a rarity throughout all ages. This kind of aspiration ought not to be outdated or thrown into the ditch. Accordingly, these two worthy people''s encounter was not an accident at all.'' In the book ''The Remainder of the Law'' there is this narrative: ''Formerly there was a rich man by the name of Zhuang Tinglong in the ''reed grass'' [not sure, perhaps a place''s name], who purchased the history manuscript of Prime Minister Zhu. He obtained the help of three famous scholars surnamed Wu to increase and polish the written piece, and then he printed and circulated the book. The front page listed the family names of a dozen people, with the renowned Xiaolian [see note 9 above] also listed to add credibility. Disaster struck before personal opportunity was achieved, all because of this ordinary book was discussing extreme literary allusions. The powerful Wu presented a report to the throne to intercede for this Xiaolian so that he was exempted.'' As for Wu Liuqi participated in Tian Di Hui, it was not mentioned in true history, as well as past official government records.)


    What the three of them were talking about was top secret at that time, they were on a boat floating on the canal, in the rear cabin there were only Lu family''s mother and children, three people, plus Huang Zongxi was talking in very low voice, hence they did not expect anybody else to eavesdrop, the boat did not have any wall, they were not afraid of any ear on the other side of the wall. Unexpectedly, Gu Yanwu had just finished talking, suddenly they heard strange laughter from above their heads. The three men were shocked. "Who''s there?" they shouted together. But there was not the least bit of sound. The three of them looked at each other in dismay; they all thought, "Could it be that ghosts and demons really exist?"


    Among the three, Gu Yanwu was the boldest, plus he had trained a little bit of superficial martial art for self-defense; after calming himself down, he reached into his bosom and pulled a dagger. He pushed open the cabin door and walked toward the bow. Focusing his eyes he looked at the top of the sail. Suddenly a dark shadow suddenly appeared from the sail and pounced down on him. "Who''s there?" Gu Yanwu shouted, while lifting his dagger to stab at the dark shadow. But suddenly he felt pain on his wrist, as it was grabbed by the shadow, followed by his back went numb, since his acupoint was sealed. The dagger fell from his hand, while he was pushed back into the cabin.


    Seeing Gu Yanwu was pushed back into the cabin, and that behind him stood a man wearing black clothing, Huang Zongxi and Lu Liuliang were shocked. They noticed the man was big and tall, with malicious laugh across his face. Lu Liuliang said, "In the middle of the night, Sire charged in without permission, what is your intention?"


    With a cold laugh the man said, "Thanks to the three of you, Laozi will be promoted and gain wealth. Wu Liuqi is about to rebel, Zha Yihuang is about to rebel, When Ao Shaobao [Junior Guardian Ao �C referring to Oboi] receives the secret report, won''t he reward me handsomely? Hey, hey, the three gentlemen may come with me to Beijing as witnesses."


    Lu, Gu and Huang, three people were secretly fearful; they had deep regret in their hearts, "We whispered in the night on the boat, he still heard it. We were too reckless, death is nothing to be resented, but this time we implicate General Wu, we may spoil the great undertaking."


    Lu Liuliang said, "Sire, what are you talking about? We don''t understand it the least bit. If you want to frame good people, go ahead and do it yourself, but if you are thinking of dragging other people along, that will not work." He has made up his mind to disregard everything; if the man killed him, then it would be ''the dead cannot testify''.


    The big man let out a cold laugh, suddenly he lunged forward and sealed the acupoints on the pit of Lu Liuliang and Huang Zongxi''s stomach. Immediately Lu and Huang, two people were unable to move a single step. The big man laughed aloud and said, "Brothers, come into the cabin. This time we, Vanguard Battalion, are rendering great meritorious service." From the stern several men responded together, and four men entered the cabin, all wearing clothes commonly wore by people who live and make a living on a boat; they all laughed heartily.


    Gu, Huang and Lu, three persons looked at each other in dismay. They knew that Vanguard Battalion was the Emperor''s personal guard, for some reason, unexpectedly these people had been able to catch up with them early on, dressed as boatmen, all along eavesdropping on them outside behind the sail. Huang Zongxi and Lu Liuliang could not be blamed, but for the past several years Gu Yanwu has been tracking all over Shenzhou [old name for China], everywhere he went he got to know heroes and warriors, it could even be said that his vision was not weak, yet toward this several boatmen he was unexpectedly not being careful.


    One of the personal guard called out, "Boatmen, turn the boat around, we are going back to Hangzhou. If you do something strange, watch your dog life."


    The boatman holding the rudder at the stern responded, "Yes!"


    The helmsman was a sixty, seventy years old man, when Gu Yanwu hired the boat, he had had a talk with him, the boatman''s face was full of wrinkles, his back was bent like a bow, certainly he looked like someone who row and pull the boatman''s tow-rope all year round; at the time of the meeting, he did not have any suspicion. What he did not expect, however, was that although this old boatman was genuine goods at fair prices, his helpers, the other boatmen had been swapped with these personal guards under threat. With no way out, Gu Yanwu could only blame himself for having a loud arrogant talk with Huang and Lu, two people, that they fell into this perilous situation without knowing it.


    The man in black laughed and said, "Mr. Gu, Mr. Huang, Mr. Lu, the three of you, gentlemen simply have too great of a reputation, that even those old men in the Capital have heard about you; otherwise, we would not have been following you. Ha ha ��!" Turning his head toward his four subordinates he said, "We have obtained the conclusive evidence that Wu Tidu of Guangdong is plotting a rebellion. Now we must hasten to Haining [county, Zhejiang] to arrest that man surnamed Zha. These three rebel thieves are extremely obstinate, since they are not able to escape, we must guard against them taking poison or drowning themselves by jumping into the river. Each one of you must keep your eyes on each one of them, if there is any mishap, your responsibility might not be small."


    "Yes," the four of them replied, "We will carefully obey Gua Guandai''s [not sure what it is, must be military rank] instruction."


    Gua Guandai said, "When we are back in the Capital and see Ao Shaobao, we won''t have to worry about promotion and gaining wealth."


    A personal guard laughed and said, "All of us rely entirely on Gua Guandai''s cultivation for promotion. Based on the four of us alone, how can we have this kind of good fortune?"


    From the bow suddenly someone let out a ''hey, hey'' laugh; the man said, "Based on the four of you, indeed you do not have that kind of good fortune."


    ''Whoosh!'' suddenly the cabin''s door flew open, a thirty-something man dressed as a scholar appeared on the doorway. He had his hands behind his back, his face carried a smiling expression.


    Gua Guandai shouted, "There are officers at work here; who are you?"


    The scholar smiled without answering; he took a step into the cabin. Saber''s light flashed, two single-blade sabers chopped down on him from left and right. The scholar sidestepped the attack, his palm hacked down onto the top of Gua Guandai''s head. Gua Guandai hastily raised his left arm to block, while his right hand clenched into a fist and he punched it forward with all his might.


    The scholar''s left foot kicked backward, the kick hit a personal guard on the pit of his stomach; the personal guard screamed while spurting a mouthful of blood. The other three personal guards raised their sabers, sweeping across and chopping down. The space inside the cabin was too narrow, the scholar fully used his qin na [grab and capture, grappling] skill, as he hacked, struck, hooked and hit. ''Crack!'' a hack with the edge of his palm hit a personal guard on the neck, breaking his neckbone.


    Gua Guandai struck with his right palm toward the back of the scholar''s head. The scholar parried with a backhand left palm. ''Bang!'' two palms collided, Gua Guandai was thrown backward, his back heavily crashed onto the cabin''s wall, a section of the wall immediately collapsed. The scholar sent out two palm strikes in succession, striking the remaining two personal guards on the pit of their stomach. ''Crack, crack!'' two persons'' ribs immediately broke. Gua Guandai leaped out through the hole on the cabin''s wall. The scholar shouted, "Where do you think you are going?" He sent out a left palm strike. It seemed that the palm would strike Gua Guandai''s back, unexpectedly right this moment Gua Guandai''s left foot kicked back, the palm happened to strike the sole of his foot, the palm force sent him flying out instead.


    Gua Guandai urgently leaped and ran away. He saw a weeping willow on the bank of the river, with its branches drooping down into the river. Immediately he grabbed the willow branch and somersaulted over the willow tree. The scholar rushed to the bow of the boat, he picked up the bamboo pole for punting boats, and hurled it out. Under the moonlight the bamboo pole appeared like a flying snake, as it was shooting forward. "Ahhh!" they heard Gua Guandai let out a long scream. The bamboo pole pierced his back, and nailed him to the ground. The pole did not stopped swaying.


    The scholar entered the cabin. He unsealed Gu, Huang and Lu, three people''s acupoints, and then pushed the bodies of four personal guards into the canal before finally lighting the lantern again. Gu, Huang and Lu, three people did not stop expressing their gratitude, and asked his name and surname.


    The scholar laughed and said, "My lowly name has just been mentioned my Mr. Huang. Zaixia surnamed Chen, my coarse name Jinnan."


    Our book was written from October 23rd, 1969 to September 22nd, 1972. When it was planned out at the beginning, involuntarily I thought about literary inquisition. In my home I have a well-known historical literary inquisition. One of my ancestors was Zha Siting. He was made the imperial examiner of Jiangxi province by the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites in the fourth year of Yongzheng of Qing. One of the exam questions he came out with was ''Holding the people together'' [ά����ֹ wei min suo zhi]. This sentence came from the ''Book of Songs'', ''Eulogy of Shang Dynasty'', ''Mysterious Bird'': "A thousand li of the country''s territory, holding the people together." The idea was that the country''s vast territory is the place where common people reside, it is to cherish the people.


    It was actually a very common subject, but someone lodged an accusation to Emperor Yongzheng, saying that the two characters ''wei zhi'' [άֹ] were actually ''yong zheng'' [Ӻ��] with the head removed [i.e. the radical stroke removed]. By producing this exam question, the idea was to remove the Emperor''s head. At that time Yongzheng had just ascended the throne, he became the Emperor after intense struggle and he himself had chopped not a few people''s heads. Inevitably he had a guilty conscience, and had gone as far as depending on ''fortune telling by unpicking Chinese characters'' in his conducts.


    He had Zha Siting''s entire family arrested and dealt with severely. Zha Siting was tortured badly, and finally died in prison. Yongzheng still issued an order to have his body mutilated. His son also died in prison. His family exiled. The scholars in the entire Zhejiang province were banned from taking palace examinations for six years. Later on Zha Shenxing was released from prison and allowed to return to his hometown, but he passed away not long afterwards.


    Another argument was that Zha Siting had written a book called ''Wei Zhi Lu'' [Diary of holding together]. There was a eunuch telling Yongzheng that ''wei zhi'' was removing the head of ''yong zheng''. He also said that in the ''Wei Zhi Lu'' there was a paragraph, "Kangxi''s sixty-first year, on such and such month and such and such date, there was a major thunderstorm; I was on furlough at home, suddenly I heard great traveling, the Emperor''s fourth son succeeding the throne, it''s very strange." ''Great traveling'' was the Emperor passing away, ''the Emperor''s fourth son'' was precisely Yongzheng. The book said ''very strange'', obviously it was ridiculing Yongzheng seizing the throne by dishonest method.


    ''Wei Zhi Lu'' also documented in the vicinity of Zhu Qiao [Zhu bridge] town near Hangzhou, there was a Guan Di [Emperor Guan''s] Temple; it was said about the Temple: "An ancient temple in an abandoned village just like the remains of man [�� �C han, also means ''Han ethnic group'']; only the field, shop and pontoon bridge have various [�� - Zhu] surnames." The character ''Zhu'' [�� - various] and ''Zhu'' [�� �C vermillion, also the surname of Ming Emperors] are homophone, Yongzheng thought that Han people cherished the memory of the former Ming.


    As for Zha Siting''s exam question in Jiangxi, actually the poem in the exam subject was from the ''Analects of Confucius'': "Person of noble character do not use words to raise other people, do not reject words because of the speaker." The third topic was from Mencius: "Mountain path among the footpath, anything useful can become a road, anything useless in between are no more than reeds and grass. Today the reeds and grass are the heart." At this time ensuring any action would take five days. The palace courtyard said that he was intentionally slandering the imperial decree; the third subject ''reeds and grass as the heart'' was akin to saying that ''not knowing what it pointed to, the palace courtyard was bent on not asking anything''.


    Yongzheng''s imperial decree said, "Zha Siting �� Zhen [I, an emperor referring to self] ordered to walk in the inner palace courtyard, afterwards to instruct the scholars in the government cabinet. Seeing his words tricky and hypocritical, while at the same time hold the notion of looking out for the wolf [i.e. watch one''s back], presumably his intentions are dishonorable. Upon reviewing Jiangxi''s examination subject today, it is obvious that he harbors the thought of resentment, and intents on mocking the present situation. In anticipation of the aforementioned, his daily perverse ideas were be recorded, and officers were dispatched to search his dwelling and belongings, two books of diary were found, rebellious and confusing beyond belief, with fabricated words of complaint and slander in abundance. Also toward the administrative personnel and servants of the divine ancestor, he ridicule and slander wantonly �� the flooding disaster of Rehe [Qing imperial resort at Chengde], this book says more than eight hundred government officials were drown, it also says flying locusts in the rain covered the sky; this is a preposterous statement, there is no such thing �� He is to be arrested and interrogated immediately, handed over to the Three Judicial Chief Ministries for them to strictly examine and draft the final plan."


    Yongzheng''s criminal charge, which he announced publicly was: looking at his appearance as well as deducing his dishonorable designs, mocking the present situation, recording natural disaster in his journal.


    Because Zha Shenxing and Sili were implicated in their younger brother''s literary inquisition, they were brought from their hometown to the prison in the Capital on imperial orders during a severe winter. At that time the number of famous scholars implicated by this case was really not a few. En route to the prison Zha Shenxing penned a poem which he gave as a present to a friend in disaster, another Jinshi in his extended family, part of it says, "In this way is the ice and frost, in this way is the road, seven full periods apart from two of the same year."


    Zha Shenxing could be considered first-class poet of the Qing Dynasty, among the people of Tang and Song dynasties, probably he could be considered second-class. Qing people Wang Shizhen, Zhao Yi, Ji Xiaolan, and the others considered his poem to be on par with Lu You [1125-1210, widely regarded as the greatest of Southern Song poets], both had their own strength and weakness; perhaps this praise was a bit too much.


    Emperor Kangxi loved his poems. He took the provincial level imperial examination three times but failed to reach Jinshi. Kangxi summoned him into the Palace, and drilled him at the Southern Study Room. After entering the Palace he took the exam again, and finally he scored second place and became the second Jinshi. At that time his older paternal male cousin, his second brother, paternal nephew, and son had already become Jinshi. Taking the exam together with Zha Shenxing and became Jinshi in guwei year [twentieth year of 60-year cycle, i.e. 1703] (or Kangxi''s forty-second year) was his younger paternal male cousin Sixun, as well as his fellow hometown scholar Chen Shiguan (the father of Chen Jialuo from ''The Book and The Sword''). Both Zha Shenxing and his second brother Sili were disciples of Huang Zongxi.


    ''Weeping over Third (younger) Brother Runmu [lit. moist/damp wood]'': "Family gathered together in difficulty, more to come to deliver thine ends, swallowing my cries from my brothers, sobbing blood into my child. The earth exudes its cold yin [shady/negative (of yin and yang)] hole, the sky cries out its wretched placid wind. No sigh reaches to distant netherworld, father and son capture accidental encounter." (Original note: the aforementioned nephew died one day earlier.) Note: Runmu was Zha Siting, his son died one day earlier.


    ''Leap day at the beginning of the third month'': "The year ended and elderly man wearing mourning garments, it is something that one constantly has to deal with. Concern over less spring rain for the grass, in place of more dawn breeze cherished by thousand flowers." Note: ''less spring rain'' was an allusion to less kindness of the imperial court, ''more dawn breeze'' was pointing at the harsh government affairs.


    Five-character-quatrain[17]: "A place in the south to the supervisor in the north, the one being passed on was the embroidered prison garment. What''s left surrounded the people on the outside, chasing after the memory of summer after summer of ruthless disaster." (Note: ''disaster'' clearly pointed to Wei Zhongxian [see note 7 above] and the other eunuchs framing the innocents.) "The bugs get their name from the stench, rampant crimes are difficult to conceal, all doing harm to the flesh and blood, contemptible people [orig. ''louse''] at the end of degradation." "Human world has peach and apricot, gazing in despair toward preserved spring sunset. The rolling wind brought flowers flying over, under which family''s tree will it land?" (Original note: There was a storm one day before Qingming[18], apricot flower spread underneath the tree, blown into the wall.)


    ''Defeated flock of magpies'': "''Cha, cha'' in the morning, ''luo, luo'' in the evening, magpies happily sang, over the ugly cry of crows. Children shoot crows, they do not shoot magpies; the reason was tasseled shield produced cheerful south. (Note: tasseled shield, mountain name, snow-covered and extremely cold). Two magpies, heartless birds of prey, occupying a nest on a tall tree with no neighbor next to it, just like a hawk changed into a turtle-dove, but its eyes had not changed, having a voracious desire to look around and scheming to swallow the neighbor up with a sudden cross-over. Every time it feeds the flock withdraw, how can six states dare to struggle against the powerful Qin? I desire to press on, to light a fire to burn the nest, while at the same time moving back and forth with a sigh. Which creature wishes to lose its flock? Alas! Which creature wishes to lose its flock?"


    ''At the end of spring, a lone willow has not stretched its branch, hard-pressed walk underneath enjoys accidental success'': "New leaves and trees outside the encirclement, out of the wall came high pavilion, the drawing on the ground thus became a prison, coming alone the companions are captured behind bars. I became feeble no matter which road I take, day and night looking towards thine glory. Already after the third month, in the end, all eyes have not turned green. Desiring for the unlearned old man, why did thou appear to be disorganized? Furthermore, living between the heaven and the earth, grass and trees are not heartless. After sending forceful words, accordingly ask the prisoner office in haste."


    In his poems, Zha Shenxing sympathized with common people''s pain and difficulties a lot, so much so that he also had compassion toward birds and animals, grass and trees. When the ''Poetry Anthology Dedicated to Paternal Cousin'' was published, the poems written in prison were also retained.


    The reason why I want to collect of Zha Shenxing''s poems was because Kangxi had seen most of it (except the ''prison poems''); Kangxi had even written the ''Dedicated to Paternal Cousin'' [jing ye tang[19]] three characters on a horizontal inscribed board for Zha Shenxing. Of course, I also have a personal desire to proclaim my own ancestor''s poems. Modern scholars are aware that Zha Shenxing was a major poet of the Qing dynasty, but as for how he wrote the poems, I am afraid very few people have ever read about it; after all, he must not be compared to genuine great poets.


    When people from ancient times wrote literary work mentioning their own ancestors, they would never dare to address the ancestor by name; usually they would add a character ''Gong'' [�� �C duke/father-in-law/honorable gentleman] after their nickname (honorary title) of official rank. I remember growing up listening to my elders talking about our ancestors in the memorial hall, when it comes to Zha Shenxing, they said ''Chu Bai Tai Gong'' [lit. the first white great-grandfather''; when it comes to Zha Sheng, they said ''Sheng Shan Tai Gong'' [lit. sonorous mountain great-grandfather''. When modern writers write in vernacular, we do not need to be such literal-minded, if we want to revere our ancestors, revering them in our hearts is enough.

 Chapter - 2 (2)

    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits, he held on tightly to the horse''s tail. He heard the wind rushing on his ears and felt his body was slipping down, he did not stop shouting and cursing, "My good mama, hot piece mama! Mao Shiba, if you don''t stop the horse, laozi ..."


    Since the ancient time Yangzhou has always been known as a flourishing city with famous scenic spots. Tang dynasty''s poet Du Mu wrote, "I awake, after dreaming ten years in Yangzhou, Known as fickle, even in the Street of Blue Houses[20]." People of old said that among the pleasures of life, nothing can surpass ''having a string of a thousand taels wrapped around one''s waist and ride a crane to Yangzhou[21]. Yangzhou was located within the canal built by Emperor Yang of Sui [569-618 AD, reigned 604-618 AD], consequently, the water traffic between Jiangsu and Zhejiang must pass through Yangzhou. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it had become the gathering place of major salt merchants, and thus it prospered to be one of the wealthiest place in China.


    During Kangxi of Qing Dynasty''s early years, Ming Yu Fang [''Fang'' means a district, a subdivision of a city, ''Ming'' - cry (of a bird), ''Yu'' �C jade] by the Shouxi [lit. ''slender/thin west''] Lake of Yangzhou, where the Street of Blue Houses was located, was known for its high concentration of famous courtesans.


    It was a nice evening in the spring, the lanterns were just lit, from each courtyard in Ming Yu district came the sound of bamboo flutes and happy laughter, mixed with shouts of people playing drinking game and ordering more drink, plus songs and drunken brawl. Music and wine were everywhere; it was indeed a picture of gaiety in a peaceful time.


    Suddenly, from both the south and the north side of the area came the sound of about five or six men shouting together, "Friends of courtyard businesses, ladies, and guests who are here to have fun, everybody, listen up: We are looking for a man, we are not interested in everybody else, please do not shout or move needlessly. If you do not obey our instruction, please do not blame us for being rude!"


    After a short burst of commotion, Ming Yu district immediately turned very quiet, but not for long, because noise was rising from all directions in the courtyards; the women were screaming and the men were shouting in great confusion.


    A large banquet was being held at the Li Chun Yuan [lit. ''beautiful/lovely spring courtyard''], about a dozen or so prominent salt merchants were sitting around three tables, each one of them had a courtesan sitting next to him. As soon as they heard the commotion, their countenance was greatly changed. "What is it?" "Who is it?" "Are they policemen investigating a case?" they all wondered.


    Suddenly there was the beating-drum-like sound outside the main gate, or perhaps the main gate itself was being beaten. The servants [orig. ''turtle slave''] were so frightened that they did not know whether they should open the door. ''Bang!'' the main gate was broken, about seventeen, eighteen big men burst in. These men were wearing short clothes, with plain white band tied around their heads and dark green belt around their waists. In their hands they held either a flickering saber, an iron club, or an iron stick. As soon as the salt merchants saw them, they recognized these men as salt smugglers.


    At that time the salt duty was quite heavy. To avoid paying tax, these smugglers sold the salt in the black market and made quite a fortune. Yangzhou was the salt distribution center of the Huai River north of the Yangtze River. Generally outlaws would form gangs of smugglers. These salt traffickers were very fierce and tough, and would disperse instantly whenever they met a squad of government officers and soldiers, but if they came across a smaller number of soldiers, without saying anything they would simply take out their weapons and attack. Therefore, the local authorities would frequently close their eyes and did not intervene.


    The salt merchants were aware that these salt smugglers'' trade was usually limited to illegal salt; they neither rob travelling merchants nor commit other crimes, they only dealt with common people and usually were quite fair, seldom use force. Today, seeing those smugglers breaking into Ming Yu district carrying malicious air, the merchants panicked, but they were also surprised.


    A man, about fifty years of age, among the smugglers said, "Friends, we apologize for this disturbance." While saying that, he raised his cupped fist from left to right, then again from right to left; and then he said loud and clear, "I wonder if a friend of Tian Di Hui[22] by the surname of Jia, Jia Laoliu [lit. ''Ol'' Six''], Jia Laoxiong [Old Fellow Jia], is here?" His gaze swept the faces of the salt merchants one by one.


    Meeting his sharp gaze, the merchants were terrified; they repeatedly shook their heads, but inwardly they were quite relieved, thinking, "It''s only the clan and society in Jianghu carrying vendetta against each other in a bustling street, it may have nothing to do with outsiders."


    Raising his voice, the elderly smuggler called out, "Jia Laoliu, this afternoon at a tavern by Lake Shouxi you were talking rubbish; you said Yangzhou''s salt smugglers are cowards who do not dare to rebel by killing government officials, who can only smuggle salt, small-scale business which does not require any guts. You were drunk [orig. ''full of yellow soup''], shouting and mumbling big; you said that if Yangzhou''s salt smugglers refuse to accept, we should go to Ming Yu district to look for you. Well, here we are! Jia Laoliu, you are a warrior of the Tian Di Hui, how come you are now shrinking back your head like a turtle?"


    The rest of them, a dozen or so salt smugglers, echoed, "Tian Di Hui warrior, how come you are shrinking back your head like a turtle? Hot piece mama, are you the Heaven and Earth Society, or Turtle Head Society?"


    The elderly man said, "It was Jia Laoliu alone who spoke rubbish, we must not drag the other good friends of Tian Di Hui into this. We are salt smugglers, we earn our food with sweat and blood, how can we be compared to the heroes of Tian Di Hui? But we are not turtles who pull back our heads either!"


    After waiting for quite a while, that Jia Laoliu of Tian Di Hui had never answered. The old man shouted, "Go and search every room, if you see that turtle head surnamed Jia, invite him to go out. This man has a big blade scar on his face, he is very easy to recognize." The salt smugglers complied loudly and immediately went from room to room.


    Suddenly from a room on the eastern wing came a rough yet heroic voice, "Who''s shouting and rambling in here, disturbing laozi seeking merriment?"


    The salt smugglers called out one after another, "Jia Laoliu is here!" "Jia Laoliu, come out!" "Damn it, this dog thief has guts!"


    The man on the east wing laughed aloud and said, "Laozi is not surnamed Jia, it''s just that you guys recklessly scolding Tian Di Hui, it''s not pleasing in laozi''s ears. Laozi is not of Tian Di Hui, but I know each and every one of Tian Di Hui friends are heroes and warriors. You, salt smugglers, are not even fit to carry their shoes or wipe their butt."


    The salt smugglers shouting and yelling indistinctly; three men wielding sabers charged into the room, but a series of ''Aiyo!'' was heard, the three men flew out of the room one by one and dropped to the floor. One man''s saber knocked his own forehead, blood flowed and he passed out instantly. Six salt smugglers charged together into the room, but with repeated cry every single one of them was thrown back out. These people continued swearing and cursing, but no one dared to enter.


    The old man took several steps forward toward the room, under the dim light he saw a big burly man with dragon-like [orig. ''�'' - qiu, young dragon with horns] whisker was sitting on the bed, his head was wrapped in plain white cloth. There was no blade scar on his face, apparently he was not Jia Laoliu. In loud voice the old man asked, "Sire has quite a talent, may I ask your honorable surname and your great given name?"


    From among the crowd of courtesans standing on the side, a woman, approximately thirty years old, suddenly giggled. A salt smuggler rushed a step forward and ''slap! slap!'' he struck the courtesan that tears flowing for her eyes and nose. "Damn it!" the salt smuggler cursed, "Stinky prostitute, what''s so funny?" The courtesan was so scared that she did not dare to make any noise.


    Suddenly from the main hall a boy, about twelve, thirteen years old, scrambled in and swore loudly, "You dare to hit my Ma! You are a dead turtle, rotten bastard. I wish a thunder will strike you when you go out, I wish the back your hands will be infected by rotten boils, which will eat your hands and your tongue. I wish bloody pus will go into your belly, rotting your stomach and intestine!"


    The salt smuggler was livid, reaching out, he was trying to grab the boy, but the boy dodged and hid behind another salt smuggler. With his left hand the first salt smuggler pushed the second salt smuggler, toppling him down in the process, then with his right fist he punched the boy''s back as hard as he could.


    "Daye[23], please spare his life!" the middle-aged courtesan called out in great alarm.


    The boy was very slippery, he ducked and slipped under the salt smuggler''s crotch, while reaching up to grab; he happened to grab his scrotum, which he squeezed with all his might. The salt smuggler was so much in pain that he let out a strange ''wah! wah!'' cry. The boy quickly slipped away. To vent his anger, the salt smuggler punched the middle-aged courtesan. ''Bang!'' the courtesan passed out instantly.


    The boy threw himself on her body while calling out, "Ma, Ma!" The salt smuggler grabbed the back of the boy''s collar and lifted him up. He was about to punch the boy when the older salt smuggler shouted sternly, "Don''t create trouble! Put that little boy down!" The salt smuggler put the boy down and kicked his buttocks, sending him rolling down on the floor and ''bang!'' he hit the wall.


    The older man cast a glance to the salt smuggler, then he said toward the door, "We are the brethrens from the Green Gang; just because a friend from Tian Di Hui by the surname of Jia insulted the Green Gang in public and said he would wait for us to settle the account here in Ming Yu district, we have come to look for him. Since Sire is not a friend from Tian Di Hui, we are like the well water does not mix with the river water; why did you injure us? Please leave your name, so that when our Bangzhu [Clan or Gang Leader] ask, we can explain to him."


    The man inside the room laughed and said, "You are looking for a Tian Di Hui friend to settle an account, what does it have to do with me? I am here looking for pleasure. Since we are like the well water does not mix with the river water, then don''t come here bothering laozi. I do have an advice for laoxiong, though: Tian Di Hui people, it would be better if laoxiong do not provoke them. If they curse you, just let it go, you''d better tuck your tail between your legs and continue smuggling salt quietly, making some money."


    The older man angrily said, "I have never seen anybody in Jianghu more unreasonable than you."


    The man inside the room coldly said, "Reasonable or not, what do I have to do with you? Could it be that you are looking for someone to marry into your family, and you want to call me your Jiefu [older sister''s husband]?"


    Right this moment, three men quietly sneaked in from outside, they were also dressed as salt smugglers. One of them was a skinny man wielding spear chain, in a low voice he asked, "What is this all about?"


    The older man shook his head and said, "He doesn''t want to talk, just keep on saying that we must swallow Tian Di Hui''s insult. Perhaps that man surnamed Jia is hiding inside."


    The skinny man swung his spear chain and tossed his head. The older man pulled out a pair of about a foot long daggers from his waist. Suddenly the four of them charged together into the room, followed by the sound of weapons colliding.


    Lovely Spring Courtyard was one of four biggest courtyards in Ming Yu district, each room was exquisitely furnished with pear wood tables and chairs, with mahogany beds and couches. An uninterrupted series of ''Bing! Bang! Crack!'' was heard; obviously all the furniture inside the room was shattered. The madame proprietor''s chubby face was trembling, her mouth mumbled prayers to Buddha, her heart was in constant pain.


    The four salt smugglers did not stop shouting and yelling, but the man in the room did not make any noise. The people in the hall stood far away for fear that they might suffer disaster by accident. The noise of colliding weapons inside the room was getting faster and faster. Suddenly someone let out a miserable scream; presumably one of the salt smugglers was hit.


    The burly man who kicked the boy, whose scrotum was still hurting really bad, saw that the boy was crawling up from the bottom of the wall. His anger flared again, and he swung his fist to punch the boy. The boy sidestepped, but the burly man flipped his hand and slapped him on the face, sending the boy spinning twice. The crowd of servants and salt merchants saw how vicious the salt smuggler was, if the beating continued, the boy would be killed, but nobody dared to intervene. The burly man raised his right fist to strike the crown of that boy''s head. The boy darted forward to escape, he pushed the side-room door open and dashed in.


    "Ah!" everybody in the hall gasped. The burly man was also startled, but he did not dare to pursue into the room.


    As the boy dashed inside, for a moment he was unable to see clearly. Suddenly the weapons clashed again, ''Ding! Dang!'' Under the sparks he saw a man was sitting on the bed, his head was wrapped in white cloth bandage; his appearance looked terrifying. "Ah!" the boy screamed in terror.


    When the sparks vanished, the room turned dark again. But the candles in the hall shone their light through the door, gradually his eyes adjusted to the dark and he was able to see clearly. The man with bandaged head was wielding a single-edged saber, which he brandished furiously. From the four salt smuggler leaders, only two remained, the other two were lying on the floor. The two that remained were the older man wielding a pair of daggers, and a tall and sturdy man. The boy thought, "This man''s head is heavily injured, and he is unable to fight standing up, he won''t be these salt smugglers'' match; I''d better flee immediately. But I wonder how Mama is?"


    Remembering how his mother was beaten and humiliated, anger surged up in his breast; he swore through the door, "Turtle thief, your granny, f*ck your eighteen generations ancestor''s stinky salt skin �� your salt smuggling home is full of salt. Your granny, your mother, your wife are all dead, and you pickle them with salt and you sell them as pork jerky on the street, three catties for a wen [coin of smallest denomination], as if people would want to buy your stinky salt-cured meat ��" Hearing his malicious and sarcastic swearing, the salt smugglers in the hall were furious; they wanted to rush inside and beat him to death, but nobody dared to enter the room.


    The man in the room suddenly swept his saber diagonally down, ''shua!'' he chopped the tall and sturdy man''s shoulder that even his shoulder bone was severed. The big man staggered back while screaming in loud voice, his body swayed and he almost fell down. The older man raised his pair of daggers and stabbed straight toward the pit of the man''s stomach. The man lifted up his saber to parry. Right this moment there was a dull slap as the big man''s whip struck his right shoulder. With a ''clang!'' the saber fell down. The older man howled and struck with his pair of daggers. The man turned his left palm over and ''Crack! Crack!'' several of the older man''s ribs were broken as he was thrown outside the room, spurted fresh blood, and fainted on the floor.


    Although the big man''s left shoulder was heavily injured, he was still very bold. Grabbing a mace, he swung it down on the top of the man''s head. The man was unable to dodge, as if his entire strength was already depleted and he was unable to move even a single muscle. Actually, the big man''s strength was almost spent as well, the mace in his hand moved very slowly.


    Seeing the critical situation, the boy''s anger and hatred rose up again; throwing himself forward, he grabbed both of the big man''s legs and pulled backward with all of his might. The big man weighed at least two hundred catties, while the boy was small and skinny; normally, the boy would not be able to move even half a hair of the big man''s. However, this moment the man was heavily injured, while he used the last ounce of his strength to move the weapon. With a sudden pull from the boy, his legs gave up; he fell down and lay still on a pool of blood.


    Gasping for breath, the man on the bed laughed and said, "Come in and fight if you have guts!"


    The boy shook his hand repeatedly, telling him not to provoke the people outside. But when the older man was thrown out of the room, his body bumped against the door, sending it swinging continuously. Illuminated by the candle light from the hall, the man''s dragon whisker and his face full of blood looked very mean and ferocious.


    The crowd of salt smugglers in the hall was unclear of the real situation inside; they looked at each other in shock, only to hear the man inside shouted again, "Son of a b*tch, you don''t dare to come in, the old man will come out and kill you one by one."


    The crowd of salt smugglers cried out and lifted their wounded comrades lying on the floor, they bolted out the door. The man laughed aloud, and then lowering his voice he said, "Kid, go ... go bolt the door."


    The boy thought the door definitely must be bolted. "Yes!" he hastily replied and bolted the door, then he slowly walked toward the bed. In the dark his nose caught the intermittent smell of blood.


    The man said, "You ... you ..." but before he could finish, he slumped down; apparently he fainted. His body swayed and was about to fall off the bed. The boy quickly rushed forward to prop him up. This man''s body was very heavy. The boy struggled hard to straighten him up and put his head on a pillow.


    The man was breathing laboriously; a moment later he said in a low voice, "Those salt smugglers will come back in an instant, my strength has yet to return, I must get ... get damn away from here."


    Holding out his hand to stand up, he seemed to bump a sore spot for he groaned loudly. The boy quickly helped him up. The man said, "Pick the saber, give it to me!" The boy picked the saber from the floor and stuffed it into the man''s right hand. The man slowly got up from the bed, his body was constantly swaying. The boy stepped forward and set his right shoulder underneath the man''s left armpit.


    "I am leaving," the man said, "Don''t help me, otherwise if those salt smugglers saw you, they would kill you as well."


    "Damn it," the boy said, "If they want to kill, just kill, I am not afraid. We, good friends, must uphold yi qi [loyalty, code of brotherhood], I cannot not help you."


    The man burst out in laughter, mixed with several coughs. He said with a laugh, "You and I must uphold yi qi?"


    "Why not?" the little boy replied, "Good friends enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together."


    In the teahouses around Yangzhou, there were many storytellers; they told the story of the Three Kingdoms, the Water Margin, the Ming Dynasty''s ''Legend of Heroic Deeds'', and all kinds of heroic tales. Day in and day out this little boy went in and out of brothels, casinos, teahouses and restaurants, running errands and buying things for the customers; by scrapping here and there, he was able to earn some money. Whenever he had free time, he would squat by the tea table listening to people telling stories. He always sweet-talked the teahouses'' proprietors by calling them uncle this and uncle that, and thus the proprietors had never chased him away.


    He had heard quite a few stories, and was extremely fascinated by the sagas of heroes and warriors of old. Seeing this man that albeit his heavy injury was able to defeat not a few of salt smugglers, his heart was filled with admiration. Since the heroes in the story often said those words, he just blurted it out.


    The man laughed aloud and said, "Those words are well said. In Jianghu laozi has heard it mentioned a thousand times, the fellows who enjoying blessing together seem to be many, but I haven''t seen too many of those who endure difficulties together. Let''s go!"


    With his right shoulder the boy supported the man''s left arm; he opened the door and walked into the hall. When the people saw them, they were startled and scrambled away from them.


    "Xiaobao, Xiaobao," the boy''s mother called out, "Where are you going?"


    "I am walking this friend out," the boy replied, "I will be back soon."


    "This friend! Ha ha �� now I have become your friend!" the man said with a laugh.


    "Don''t go," the boy''s mother called out, "You must quickly hide." The boy laughed and walked away from the hall in big strides.


    The two of them left Lovely Spring Courtyard and found the alley was surprisingly extremely quiet; presumably because they met a formidable opponent, the salt smugglers went back to call for reinforcement. As they left the alley and entered a small street ahead, the man looked up to the stars above and said, "Let''s go to the west."


    After walking for several zhang [unit of length, approximately 10 ft or 3 m], they came across a donkey cart. "Let''s rent a cart!" the man shouted. The driver halted. Seeing the two of them were covered in blood, his face showed astonishment and suspicion. The man took out a silver ingot from his pocket, about four or five taels [1 tael worth approximately 50 grams or 2 oz. of silver] worth. He said, "Take the money first!"


    Seeing a quite valuable silver ingot, the driver stopped the cart immediately and put down the footboard. The man slowly heaved his body up on the cart. From his pocket he fished another yuanbiao [gold or silver ingot, shaped like a boat], worth ten taels, and gave it to the boy. He said, "Little friend, I am leaving. I give this yuanbiao to you."


    Seeing such a big yuanbiao, the boy could not help but mumbling indistinctly and swallowing his saliva, while thinking, "What a good guy!" However, he remembered many chivalrous tales he had heard and recalled that heroes and warriors only make friends, they do not love money. Today, after so many difficulties, he finally had a chance to become a hero; whatever happened, he must continue to the end, he cannot be a useless person who was greedy for money. Thereupon, with a loud voice he said, "We are speaking about yi qi, and not about money. If you give me the yuanbiao, you are considering me unworthy. You are injured, and I am going to send you off."


    The man was startled, but then he laughed to his heart''s content with his face to the sky. "Very good! Very good!" he said, "You meant well." And he put the yuanbiao back into the pocket. The boy crawled up the cart and sat by his side.


    "Mister, where do you want to go?" the cart driver asked.


    "To the west of town," the man replied, "The Victory Hill!"


    "Victory Hill?" the cart driver was startled, "Going to the west of town in the dead of the night?"


    "Exactly!" the man said, while lightly knocking his saber against the side of the cart.


    The cart driver was scared, "Yes, yes!" he hastily said. Pulling down the cart''s curtain, he drove the donkey out of town. The man closed his eyes to rest, his breathing was short and heavy, sometimes he would cough several times.


    Victory Hill was a large rural area about thirty li [unit of length, about 0.5 km or 1/3 of a mile] northwest of Yangzhou. During the Shaoxing years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Han Shizhong scored a major victory against the Jin army on this hill, hence the name ''Victory''. The cart driver drove his donkey in great haste, in just over two hours they had reached the bottom of the hill. "Mister, we have arrived!" he said.


    The man saw the hill was only seven, eight zhang high, it was only a knoll actually. "Pei!" he spat and asked, "Is this the damned Victory Hill?"


    "It is," the cart driver said.


    The boy also said, "This is indeed the Victory Hill. When my Ma and the sisters went to burn incense in the Madame Ying Lie [lit. ''heroic deed''] Temple, I came along and played in here. The Madame Ying Lie Temple is a bit farther ahead."


    The Madame Ying Lie Temple was dedicated to Madame Han Shizhong, Liang Hongyu. Yangzhou residents called it ''Distinguished Prostitute Temple''. When she was young, Liang Hongyu[24] was a courtesan, and that was how she met Han Shizhong. Every year the courtesans of Yangzhou would visit the Madame Ying Lie Temple to burn incense and pray, asking the spirit of this mistress from Anguo, Hebei province, of the Song Dynasty, to look after the latter generation sisters of the same trade.


    The man said, "Since you know it, it must be right. Get down."


    The boy jumped down and then he helped the man stepped down the cart. It was pitch-black all around. The boy thought, "That''s right, this is a desolate place. If we are hiding here, those salt smugglers will never find us."


    The cart driver was afraid this man, whose body was covered in blood, would ask him to take him someplace else; pulling the reins, he whipped the donkey to leave. "Hold it," the man said, "Take this little friend back to the city."


    "Yes," the cart driver replied.


    "Let me keep you company for a while," the boy said, "Early tomorrow morning I can buy some steamed buns for you to eat."


    "Do you really want to stay with me?" the man asked.


    "No one is taking care of you," the boy replied, "It won''t be right otherwise."


    The man roared in laughter again. "In that case," he said to the cart driver, "You may go!" The cart driver hurriedly urged the donkey to walk.


    The man sat on a big rock. When the cart driver was out of sight, no more noise was heard all around. The man suddenly shouted, "Two bastard turtles behind the willow tree, roll out to laozi here!"


    The boy jumped in fright. "Someone is here?" he mused. But then he saw two men walking slowly from behind the willow tree. Those two wore plain white band around their heads and dark green belt around their waists; obviously they belong to the salt smuggler gang.


    The two men had flickering sabers in their hands. After taking only two steps, they halted. The man shouted, "Bastard son of turtles, you have been trailing your old man all the way from the pleasure house to this place; not coming out to deliver your life, what are you waiting for?"


    The boy thought, "That''s right, they are here to ascertain where we are, then they are going to send reinforcement to kill him."


    The two men talked to each other in low voice, then suddenly they turned around and ran. The man quickly leaped to pursue. "Ay!" he exclaimed, and fell sitting down. His injury was simply too heavy that he was incapable of running after those men.


    The boy thought, "The donkey cart has already left, the two of us cannot go too far. If those two managed to spread the news, it would be terribly bad if a large number of troops come here to kill us." Suddenly he cried loudly, "Aiyo, why did you die? You must not die! You cannot die!"


    The two salt smugglers were running like crazy, suddenly hearing the boy''s cry, they were startled and halted their steps immediately, only to hear the boy crying out, "Why did you die?" They could not help but were pleasantly surprised. One of them wondered, "The evil thief died?" The other man replied, "His injury was very heavy, he could not bear it. The little demon is crying like that, I am sure he is really dead."


    Looking from the distant, they saw the man curled up on the ground. The first man said, "Even if he is not dead yet, we need not be afraid of him. Let''s chop his head and take it back; won''t we render a great service that way?"


    "Wonderful!" the other man agreed. With a saber in their hands, the two of them slowly came near.


    The boy was wailing loudly while beating his chest and stomping his feet. "Laoxiong," he called out, "Why did you die suddenly? If those salt smugglers came back, how am I supposed to deal with them?"


    The two men were greatly delighted, they leaped toward them. One of them said, "Evil thief, it is best that you die!" He grabbed the back of the boy''s clothes, while the other man chopped his saber down on the man''s neck.


    Suddenly a saber flashed; one man''s head flew up, while the other man who grabbed the boy had his chest and abdomen cut open from top to bottom. The man laughed aloud up stood up, propped by his saber.


    The boy cried, "Aiyo, salt smuggler friend, how come your head is missing? The two of you, Seniors, are going to see Yan Wang [Yama, King of Hell]; who will come back to tell your friends? Isn''t it terrible?" Crying to this part, he could not refrain from breaking out in laughter.


    The man said with a laugh, "You, this little demon, are really smart, your crying is really convincing. If you did not cry like that, those two bastards would not come back."


    The boy replied with a laugh, "What''s so difficult about pretending to cry? When my Ma was about to beat me, before the whip even reach my body, I cried my heart out, that way the whip would not come down too heavily."


    "Why would your mother want to beat you?" the man asked.


    "It depends," the boy replied, "Sometimes it was because I stole her money, sometimes it was because I created trouble for the aunties or uncles."


    The man sighed. "If I did not kill these two scouts, we will have a serious problem," he said. "Hey, when you cried just now, why didn''t you call me ''master'' or ''uncle'', but you called me ''laoxiong''?"


    The boy said, "But you are my friend, of course I would call you ''friend''. What damned ''Master'' are you? You want me to call you ''Master'', what in the devil are you to me?"


    The man roared in laughter. "Very good!'' he said, "Little friend, what is your name?"


    "Are you asking my honorable surname and my great name?" the boy replied, "I am called Xiaobao [lit. ''little treasure/precious'']."


    The man laughed, "Your great name is Xiaobao," he said, "What about your honorable surname?"


    The boy knitted his eyebrows. "I ... my honorable surname is Wei," he said.


    He was born in a brothel, his mother''s name was Wei Chunhua [lit. ''spring flower'']. As for his father, even his own mother did not know who. Everybody called him Xiaobao, nobody had ever asked his surname before. This time the man asked, he simply blurted out his mother''s surname. This Wei Xiaobao was born in a brothel and grew up in a brothel; he had never been to school. When mentioning his ''honorable surname and great name'', he was not joking; it''s just that he often heard the storytellers mentioning the four words ''honorable surname'' and ''great name'', without realizing that it was a way of respectfully addressing other people, and thus it was inappropriate to be used to refer to oneself.


    Following the example, he also asked, "What is your honorable surname and your great name then?"


    The man smiled and said, "Since you are my friend, I should not hide my name from you. I am surnamed Mao, the ''mao'' from ''maocao'' [cogon grass], not the ''mao'' from ''maochong'' [caterpillar]. I am the eighteenth in rank, thus I am called Mao Shiba [eighteen]."


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed and jumped, "I have heard that the government �� the government wants to arrest you?" he said, "They said you are a big robber[25] or something."


    Mao Shiba grunted and said, "That''s right, aren''t you afraid of me?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Afraid of what? So what if you are a big robber? Lin Chong, Wu Song, those heroes from the Water Margin were also big robbers."


    Mao Shiba was very happy. "You are comparing me with Lin Chong, Wu Song, those heroes; that''s wonderful!" he said, "Who told you that the government wants to arrest me?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are official announcements posted all around Yangzhou; it says that the big robber Mao Shiba is wanted, dead or alive. Whoever can kill you will be rewarded two thousand taels. If anybody can give information leading to your arrest, the reward is somewhat less, only a thousand taels. Yesterday I heard some people talking about it at the teahouse; they said that you possess such a great skill that whoever is thinking to arrest you or kill you should forget it. It is best if anybody knows your whereabouts and informs the authority, thus collecting the thousand taels reward, which actually is an ill-gotten gain anyway."


    Mao Shiba leaned his head sideways to look at him and snorted contemptuously. A thought flashed through Wei Xiaobao''s mind, "If I can collect this thousand taels reward, Ma and I, two people, will have enough money to spend: eating chicken, duck, fish and beef, gambling and fooling around; this money won''t be spent for several years." Seeing Mao Shiba leaning his head looking at him with somewhat strange expression, Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "What are you thinking? You think I am going to report you for the reward?"


    "Yes," Mao Shiba admitted, "White and shiny silver, who does not love?"


    "F*ck your granny," Wei Xiaobao swore, "What Jianghu''s yi qi are you talking about?"


    "It''s up to you," Mao Shiba replied.


    "Since you do not trust me, why did you tell me your real name?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Your head and your face are wrapped in that much bandage, you look completely different from the picture on the official announcement. If you did not say that you are Mao Shiba, who would recognize you?"


    Mao Shiba said, "You said that we should enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together. If even my real name I conceal from you, what kind of damn bastard friend am I?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he said, "Absolutely correct! Even if there is a ten thousand taels, a hundred thousand taels reward, no way would laozi report you." While in his heart he said, "If there really is a ten thousand taels, a hundred thousand taels reward, will I or won''t I betray a friend?" He was not so sure.


    "Very well," Mao Shiba said, "Let us sleep for a while, tomorrow at noon [orig. ''wu shi'', between 11am-1pm] there will be two friends coming for me. We have an appointment to meet at the Victory Hill west of Yangzhou; even if I am dead, I won''t leave before we meet." Wei Xiaobao had been running around for the whole day, he was already tired early on. As soon as he heard him, he leaned against a tree trunk and fell asleep.


    When he woke the next day, he saw Mao Shiba was pressing both his hands against his chest; he said with a laugh, "You are awake. Drag these two dead men behind the tree, and sharpen these three sabers."


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the dead bodies as told. The morning sun had just appeared, it was only now that he was able to see clearly: Mao Shiba was roughly forty years of age, his hands and arms were bulging with muscle, his eyes were bright, his expression was bold and powerful. He took the three sabers to a mountain stream nearby, dipped the saber into the water, and then sharpened it on a rock. He thought, "To deal with the salt smugglers, one saber is enough. Supposing this Mao Laoxiong is killed, why do I have to sharpen the other two? So that other people can use it to kill Wei Xiaobao?" He was always lazy, after putting an act of sharpening the blades for some time, he said, "Let me go buy some deep-fried breadstick and steamed buns for us to eat."


    "Where would you buy some deep-fried breadstick and steamed buns?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "There''s a small town over there, not too far from here," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Mao Dage, may I borrow two taels of your money?"


    Mao Shiba chuckled; taking out the big yuanbiao from his pocket, he said, "We are brothers, what''s yours is mine, what''s mine is yours, you can just use mine, there is no need to say the word ''borrow''."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he thought, "This hero indeed considers me as a friend; even if there is a ten-thousand taels of reward, I simply cannot report him to the authority. But what about a hundred thousand? Now that is going to be a problem. Pei! Just look at him, will he worth that much money? I don''t need to think too much." Receiving the money, he asked, "Do you want me to buy you some medicine?"


    "No need," Mao Shiba said, "I have my own medicine."


    "Alright, I am leaving," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mao Dage, don''t worry, supposing I am caught by the authorities, even if they kill me, I will never tell them that you are Mao Shiba." Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Mao Shiba nodded. Wei Xiaobao muttered to himself, "You will have two friends coming over, I''d better buy a pot of wine, and several catties of cooked beef."


    Mao Shiba happily said, "Nothing''s better than wine and meat; go quickly and return quickly. I can kill better with a full stomach."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Do the salt smugglers know you are here?" he asked, "Are they after you?"


    "It''s not that," Mao Shiba said, "I have an appointment to fight with someone on the Victory Hill. Otherwise, why would I rush to this place?"


    Wei Xiaobao let out a breath. "You are still injured," he said, "How can you fight? Why do you have to keep the appointment? It won''t be too late to wait until you recover, it''s just that ... it''s just that I am afraid the other party won''t agree to it."


    "Pei!" Mao Shiba spat, "The other party is a famous hero and warrior, why won''t he agree? It''s me who is unwilling. Today is the twenty-ninth day of the third month, isn''t it? Half a year ago, the appointment has been decided. Afterwards I was caught by the authorities and was put in jail. I was concerned over this appointment, I have to keep it; hence I had to break out from jail and in the process killed several Eagle Claw''s[26] grandsons, only then was the city of Yangzhou thrown into a complete mess, and so they put up some damn posters to arrest laozi. His granny, just the day before yesterday I came across several Eagle Claw''s kids, whose martial art skill was very strong. I killed three of them, but unexpectedly I also suffered a bit of injury in the process; just consider it my bad luck."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will hurry to buy something to eat. When you are full, you may fight." He started to run immediately. Rounding the hillside, he rushed for six, seven li before reaching a small town. He made a plan in his heart, "Mao Dage cannot even walk from his wound, how can he fight? He said the opposite party is a famous hero and warrior, his martial art skill must be good; what can I do to help him?"


    With the money in his hand, his heart was itching unbearably; in all his life, he had never held that much money, he knew he would not be happy unless he spend it all. Going to a grocer, he bought two catties of cooked beef, a duck marinated in soy paste, and two bottles of yellow wine. He still had quite a bit of money left. With it he bought a dozen steamed buns, and eight strips of deep-fried breadstick, at most it was only twenty-some wen. Suddenly he had an idea, "Why don''t I buy a roll of rope? I can put some horse-tripping rope on the ground. When they fight, if the opponent is not careful, he may trip on the rope and fall down, then Mao Dage can chop him with his saber."


    He remembered a storyteller once told a story about a general who went to battle, his horse was tripped and he fell down, the enemy general raised his saber and chopped down the man into two pieces. In high spirit he went to buy the rope. When he reached the general store, however, he saw a row of four big vats in the store; one contained rice, the next one soy bean, the next one salt, and the last one contained small chunks of lime. Right away he recalled, "Last year, when gangs of salt smugglers fought by the Fairy Bridge, someone threw lime at their eyes and turned defeat into victory at once; why didn''t I think about it earlier?" Therefore, he did not buy rope, but a bag of lime instead, and returned to Mao Shiba.


    Mao Shiba was lying by a tree, sleeping; hearing his footsteps, he woke up immediately. Opening a wine bottle, he took two mouthfuls and loudly praised it. "Aren''t you going to drink?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao had never had wine before, but since he was acting as a hero or warrior, he took the bottle and took a mouthful. He felt a rush of heat bubbling up his stomach and he coughed immediately. Mao Shiba roared in laughter and said, "Little hero has not learned drinking wine skill."


    Suddenly from a distant someone was calling out loud and clear, "Shiba Xiong, are you well since we parted?"


    "Wu Xiong, Wang Xiong," Mao Shiba called back, "You two also look very well!"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding. He looked up to the direction of the voice, and saw two men were walking quickly along the main road, whom very soon had arrived in front of them. One was an old man, with long white beard hanging in front of chest, yet his countenance was ruddy and bright, without any wrinkle at all. The other one was a middle-aged man in his forties, short and stout. His head was bald, with a small braid hanging from the back of his head, his forehead looked like a hard-boiled egg without its shell.


    Mao Shiba raised his cupped fist and said, "Xiongdi [generic term for ''brother''; referring to self] is inconvenienced on the legs, cannot stand up to pay my respect."


    The bald man slightly frowned. The old man laughed and said, "Why be polite?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Mao Dage is too honest, why must he tell people his legs are injured?"


    "We have wine and meat here," Mao Shiba said, "Would the two of you eat a little bit?"


    "Thank you for your hospitality," the old man replied. Sitting next to Mao Shiba, he took the wine bottle.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "Turns out these two are Mao Dage''s friends, they are here not to fight with him," he thought, "That''s wonderful! When the enemy arrives, these two may help him fight."


    As the old man brought the bottle to his lips, the bald man said, "Wu Dage, you must not drink this wine!"


    The old man was startled, but he laughed immediately, he said, "Shiba Xiong is a firm and frank good man, how can there be any poison in the wine?" ''Glug, glug'' he drank two mouthfuls of wine, and then handed the bottle to the bald man and said, "If you don''t drink the wine, you are holding a good friend in contempt."


    Hesitation flashed on the bald man''s face, but it was inappropriate for him to defy the old man''s words, thereupon he received the wine bottle. He was just about to bring the bottle to his mouth when Mao Shiba suddenly reached out and snatched the bottle away, saying, "We don''t have much wine! Since Wang Xiong does not like to drink wine, save several mouthfuls for me." Raising the bottle, he poured two mouthfuls of wine into his mouth. The bald man''s face turned red; he sat down and grabbed some beef and started to eat.


    Mao Shiba said, "Let me introduce you to a good friend of mine." Pointing toward the old man, he said, "This is Wu Laoyezi [Old Master Wu], his title is Dapeng [lit. ''the Great Roc''], in Jianghu he is known as ''Cloud Scraper Hand''. His punching and kicking skill is very famous."


    The old man laughed and said, "Mao Xiong has painted gold on my face." Looking all around, he did not see any other people, hence he was rather astonished.


    Mao Shiba pointed to the bald man and said, "This is Wang Shifu [respectful form of


    address for older men], whose given name is a single character ''Tan''; his nickname is ''A Pair of Pens Cut Into a Mountain''. His skill in using a pair of judge-pens has truly reached perfection."


    "Mao Xiong is making fun of me," the bald man said, "I have been defeated under your hands, I am really ashamed."


    "You flatter me," Mao Shiba said. Pointing toward Wei Xiaobao he said, "This young friend is my newly found brother ..." Listening to this point, Wu and Wang, two people were startled. They looked at each other, and then turned their gaze toward Wei Xiaobao. In all honesty they could not figure out the background of this skinny twelve, thirteen years old boy. In the meantime, Mao Shiba continued, "This young friend is surnamed Wei, given name Xiaobao. In Jianghu he is known as ... known as, um, his nickname is ... is ..." After pausing for a moment, he said, "He is known as the Little White Dragon. His water skill is superb, he can stay in the water for three days and three nights, live on fish and shrimp, and his face will not change."


    He wanted to give this new friend some face, so that he would not appear discouraged in front of strangers, hence he had a mind to boast somewhat. However, Wei Xiaobao did not know any martial art, while Wu and Wang, two people were martial art experts, they would know from his voice or his movements, so it would be hard to deceive them. After thinking for a moment, Mao Shiba decided to say that Wei Xiaobao''s water skill was truly formidable. Wu and Wang, two people, were northern warriors, they did not know their way around the water, hence they would not know the genuine from the fake. He then said, "The three of you are good friends, you should know each other better."


    Wu and Wang, two people, raised their cupped fist and said, "It''s an honor to meet you at last!"


    Wei Xiaobao simply copied what they were doing, he also raised his cupped fist and said, "It''s an honor to meet you at last!" While inwardly he was pleasantly surprised, "Mao Dage brags on my behalf, what kind of Jianghu warrior am I? I am sure this trickery will be exposed later."


    With the four of them, the wine, meat and steamed buns were finished in no time. The bald Wang Tan''s appetite was really good; at first he was rather shy, but later on he started to take big bites. The amount of beef, steamed buns and deep-fried breadsticks he alone ate was more than the other three people combined.


    Mao Shiba used the sleeve of his clothes to wipe his mouth. "Wu Laoyezi," he said, "This young friend''s water skill is fabulous, but he has not learned his land''s skill yet. Without any choice I will have to fight you one against two; it is not because I am looking down on the two of you."


    Wu Dapeng said, "I''ll say our appointment can be postponed another half a year."


    "And why is that?" Mao Shiba asked.


    Wu Dapeng said, "Mao Xiong is injured, obviously you cannot unleash you true skill. If the old man defeats you, there is no glory in that; if I am defeated, I won''t have any face to see other people even more."


    Mao Shiba laughed aloud and said, "Injured or not, there is not much difference. If I have to wait another half a year, won''t I be anxious even more?" With left hand pressed against the tree trunk for support, he slowly stood up; his right hand already held his saber. "Wu Laoyezi has always been bare-handed," he said, "Wang Xiong, pull your weapon!"


    "Very well," Wang Tan said. Both hands entered his pocket, ''clang!'' he pulled out a pair of judge-pens.


    Wu Dapeng said, "In that case, Wang Xiandi [''worthy (younger) brother''], please give your humble brother an opportunity to have a try first. If I fail, it won''t be too late for you to try."


    "Yes!" Wang Tan complied, and retreated three steps.


    With left palm upturned and right hand moved in circle, light as a feather Wu Dapeng delivered a strike toward Mao Shiba. Mao Shiba''s saber hacked down diagonally, lightly chopped Wu Dapeng''s left arm. Wu Dapeng lowered his head, and quickly came in under the blade, with his left hand slapped under Mao Shiba''s right elbow. Mao Shiba leaned sideways and dodged behind the tree. ''Slap!'' Wu Dapeng''s palm struck the tree trunk. The tree was about five, six zhang tall, the trunk was thick and solid, yet Wu Dapeng''s palm strike had made the yellow leaves of the tree fall down like rain.


    "Good palm strength!" Mao Shiba called out. His saber cut horizontally across Wu Dapeng''s waist. Wu Dapeng suddenly leaped up and from the air pounced down, his white beard floating; it was a wonderful sight. Mao Shiba countered with ''Westerly Wind Rolling In'', his saber swept up from below. Wu Dapeng made a somersault in the air and leaped away. Mao Shiba''s saber was less than half a foot from his abdomen. The saber was no doubt swift and fierce, but the way Wu Dapeng evaded it was also swift and brilliant.


    Wei Xiaobao had seen too many fights in his life, but it was all marketplace brawls where the rogues butting head with each other, kicking and pulling the opponent''s braid, wrestling and beating each other randomly. Other than Mao Shiba''s fierce battle with the salt smugglers at the Lovely Spring Courtyard the previous day, he had never seen martial art masters dueling each other in such a dangerous competition.


    He saw Wu Dapeng advancing and retreating in quick successions, his palms danced, while Mao Shiba brandished his saber in front of his body like a silvery light shield. Several times did Wu Dapeng press in, but each time he was pushed back by the saber light.


    In the midst of intense battle, suddenly they heard hoof beats as about a dozen riders came galloping by; they were all dressed in Manchurian Qing military attire. When they were near, those dozen or so soldiers spread out and surrounded these four men in the middle. The leader shouted sternly, "Don''t move! We have an order to arrest the Big Robber Mao Shiba. It has nothing to do with anybody else, please step away!"


    Hearing this, Wu Dapeng held his palms. Mao Shiba said, "Wu Laoyezi, the Eagle Claws have arrived! They are coming for me, you don''t need to pay attention, let''s continue our fight!"


    Wu Dapeng turned toward the soldiers and said, "This Xiongtai [brother, generic term] here is a law-abiding common person, how can he be the Big Robber? You mistook him as someone else."


    The leader laughed coldly and said, "He is a law-abiding common person, too bad there are too many law-abiding common people in the world. Friend Mao, you have committed a horrendous crime in Yangzhou. A real man is always responsible for what he did. Come follow us nicely!"


    "Just wait a moment," Mao Shiba said, "Wait until victory or defeat between me and these two friends is decided, then we''ll talk." Turning toward Wu Dapeng and Wang Tan he said, "Wu Laoyezi, Wang Xiong, we must decide victory or defeat today, if you want to wait for another half a year, I don''t know if I, the one surnamed Mao, will still alive. In short, why don''t the two of you come together?"


    The leader shouted, "If the two of you are not Mao Shiba''s accomplices, leave this place at once, do not get involved in this matter."


    "Your granny," Mao Shiba said, "What are these shouting and screaming for?"


    "Mao Shiba," the leader said, "You broke out of jail and killed people, that was the local authority''s business, we need not take notice of it. But I heard that in a brothel you were yelling and boasting that the traitors of Tian Di Hui, who started a rebellion, are heroes and warriors; did you or did you not say such thing?"


    Mao Shiba loudly said, "Of course the friends of Tian Di Hui are heroes and warriors; are you saying that people like you, traitors of the Hans who lick the imperial court''s eggs, are heroes and warriors?"


    Wu Dapeng said, "May I know your honorable surname and great name?"


    The leader proudly patted the shiny black flexible whip wound around his waist and said, "I am the Black Dragon Whip Shi Song, on assignment from Ao Shaobao to capture Tian Di Hui rebels."


    Wu Dapeng nodded; he turned to Mao Shiba and said, "Mao Xiong, by Heaven my father and Earth my mother!"


    With eyes wide open Mao Shiba asked, "What did you say?"


    "Nothing," Wu Dapeng smiled and said, "Mao Xiong, you probably are not a Tian Di Hui brother, but why did you speak well of Tian Di Hui?"


    Wu Dapeng asked, "Mao Xiong, have you met Chen Zongduozhu?"


    "What?" Mao Shiba angrily said, "Are you saying I am not a hero and warrior?" Since he was that angry, apparently he had never met Chen Jinnan.


    Wu Dapeng smiled, "I do not dare to presume," he said.


    Mao Shiba said, "Are you saying you have met Chen Zongduozhu?" Wu Dapeng shook his head.


    Shi Song asked Wu and Wang, two people, "Do you know any Tian Di Hui people? If you have any information that will lead to the arrest of Tian Di Hui leader, that Chen Jinnan or whatever his name is, Oboi will certainly heap you with rewards."


    Wu Dapeng and Wang Tan had not replied, Mao Shiba laughed aloud with his face to the sky; he said, "You mother''s dreaming a big dream in a clear autumn day; a lump of brick like you wants to arrest Tian Di Hui''s Chen Zongduozhu? You keep saying Ao Shaobao this and Ao Shaobao that; this Oboi calls himself the number one warrior or Manchuria, how is his martial art skill anyway?"


    Shi Song said, "Ao Shaobao is supernaturally brave, his martial art skill matchless. Once on a Beijing street he killed a mad bull with his fist; do you, a traitor, also know about it?"


    "His granny," Mao Shiba swore, "I don''t believe Oboi is that formidable, I am just about to go to Beijing to challenge him."


    With a cold laugh Shi Song said, "Are you worthy to fight with Ao Shaobao? The Senior only needs to extend one finger and you will be a dead man. The one surnamed Mao, we have talked enough nonsense, come follow us!"


    "You think it''s that easy?" Mao Shiba replied, "You have thirteen men; laozi will fight one against thirteen. Even though I know I am not your match, I will still fight you."


    Wu Dapeng laughed and said, "Why does Mao Xiong consider us as outsiders? We have here three against thirteen; one man takes four, we may not necessarily lose."


    Both Shi Song and Mao Shiba were stunned. Shi Song said, "The two of you must not have a change of mind and make a mistake; committing treason by helping a rebel is not a fun thing to do."


    Wu Dapeng laughed and said, "If you say we are helping a rebel, so be it; but to commit treason, that we do not dare."


    Shi Song said, "Helping a rebel is committing treason! You two think carefully, are you determined to help this traitor?"


    Wu Dapeng said, "Half a year ago, Mao Xiong and this Wang Xiongdi here made an appointment for a friendly duel in this place, it has nothing to do with me. Unexpectedly the government authority was not sensible enough by locking this Mao Xiong in jail. He is a good man of his words; if he did not keep this appointment today, how would he conduct himself in Jianghu in the future? So it was because he was forced by the government authority that he broke out of jail and killed people. It is called the government official drives the people to revolt, he has no choice but to rebel. Shi Daren, if you would give laohan [''the old man'', referring to self] a face, please take your squad back, let laohan and Mao Xiong have a competition to measure their martial art skills. Whether you are going to arrest him tomorrow, laohan and Wang Xiongdi will not care!"


    "No, can''t do," Shi Song said.


    One of the soldiers suddenly shouted, "Old fellow, you speak too much already!" While saying that, he pulled out his saber and squeezed his legs to spur the horse; raising his saber, he chopped it down on the top of Wu Dapeng''s head. Wu Dapeng tilted his body to evade the saber, his right arm reached out while leaping up at the same time to grab the soldier''s back. With one smooth motion he threw the soldier to the ground.


    The rest of the soldiers cried out, "Revolt! Revolt!" and jumped down their mounts to surround Wu Dapeng, three people. Mao Shiba''s legs were injured, he was still leaning on the tree, but he lifted his saber and hacked down a soldier to his death. The saber pared across and cut another soldier''s waist, sending him to his death. Seeing his ferocity, the rest of the soldiers did not dare to close in. With hands on his waist, Shi Song sat on the horseback, watching.


    At first Wei Xiaobao was also at the center of the encirclement, but when Shi Shong was still talking to Mao Shiba and Wu Dapeng, step by step he walked away. The soldiers did not know what this skinny and shriveled kid was doing in that place, so they did not pay him any attention. When the fight broke, he hid behind a tree several zhang away. "Shall I go now, or shall I stay and watch?" he asked himself, "Mao Dage only has three on their side, they will be killed by this soldiers for sure. After that, will these soldiers come and kill me as well?" But then he had a second thought, "Mao Dage considers me as his good friend, we should enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together. If I sneak out quietly, I am not holding up yi qi."


    With a sweep of his palm, Wu Dapeng struck down a soldier. Wielding his pair of judge pens, Wang Tan fought three soldiers. By this time Mao Shiba had chopped down another soldier''s right leg. The soldier fell down on his own pool of blood, cursing and swearing loudly, his voice was sad and shrill.


    Shi Shong let out a loud and long cry; with the Black Dragon Whip in his hand, he also jumped down his mount. Before his feet landed on the ground, the tip of his whip had already coiled toward Mao Shiba. Mao Shiba unleashed the saber technique ''Five Tigers Breaking the Gates'' to counter move for move. Shi Song lashed out his flexible whip seven, eight times in succession with formidable stances, but Mao Shiba countered each and every one with his saber.


    Suddenly Wu Dapeng shouted loudly, one soldier flew up and ''Bang!'' he fell to the ground. The number of soldiers was reduced by one. On the other front, Wang Tan was fighting one against three, he gradually fell under a disadvantageous position, his left leg had been gashed by a sawtooth saber; blood gushed out of his wound, yet while limping and soaked in blood, he was still fighting hard.


    The three soldiers who fought with Wu Dapeng were not weak either; two sabers and one sword were weaving in and out around his body, Wu Dapeng''s Cloud Scraper Hand failed to land on their bodies.


    Shi Song''s flexible whip moved faster and faster, yet all along he was unable to subdue Mao Shiba. Suddenly he launched the stance ''White Snake Spitting At Will'', the tip of his whip went straight toward Mao Shiba''s right shoulder. Mao Shiba raised his saber to block; to his surprise, however, Shi Song''s attack was an empty move, with a flick of his wrist, the former move, ''Make a Sound in the East and Strike in the West'' changed into ''Jade Belt Wrapped Around the Waist'', where the Black Dragon Whip was lashing to the left, but then immediately coiled back to the right to wrap itself around Mao Shiba''s waist.


    Mao Shiba''s legs could walk only with difficulty, all along he was standing against a big tree for support. As Shi Song''s attack, the ''Jade Belt Wrapped Around the Waist'' arrived, he should have either dash forward or leap backward, since it was the only way to evade. But now he had no choice but to take the attack head-on; ''Crack!'' he struck the tip of the whip with his saber that it fell down. Shi Song shook his whip loose. As the whip handle was loose, the whip dropped slightly, but suddenly it coiled up again, with an unimaginable speed it wrapped itself around Mao Shiba and the tree trunk; altogether it circled three times around. ''Stab!'' the tip of the whip hit Mao Shiba''s right chest.


    Shi Song wanted to capture Mao Shiba alive so he could interrogate him on the Tian Di Hui. Seeing Wu Dapeng and Wang Tan had not surrendered, he was eager to retrieve the Black Dragon Whip, thereupon he stooped down to pick up a discarded saber on the ground with the intention of chopping Mao Shiba''s right arm. With the saber in his hand, he was just about to straighten up his body when a white cloud swayed in front of his eyes, countless fine powder assaulted his eyes, his nose, and his mouth. Instantly he choked up, followed by burning pain on his eyes, as if they were pricked by ten thousand steel needles at once. He wanted to open up his mouth to shout, but it was filled with the powder, even his throat seized up that no sound came out of his mouth. This mishap happened so suddenly that although he was a veteran of Jiang Hu, he was panic-stricken. Dropping the saber in his hand, he raised both hands to rub his eyes. After rubbing for a while, he suddenly realized, "Aiyo! The enemy scattered lime on my eyes!" Raw lime would boil in contact with water, immediately his eyes were burning. Right this moment, he felt an ice-cold sensation on his abdomen; a saber had penetrated his belly.


    When the whip wrapped his body, Mao Shiba had lost all hope. Suddenly he saw white dust fly upward, Shi Song''s saber dropped down, both hands were rubbing his eyes. While still in shock, he saw Wei Xiaobao pick up the saber and with both hands thrust it into Shi Song''s abdomen, and immediately dashed away to hide behind a tree.


    Shi Song''s hands were shaky, he staggered and swayed several turns, then tumbled face down on the ground. Several soldiers were greatly shocked, they called out together, "Shi Dage! Shi Dage!"


    Wu Dapeng moved his left palm in ''Iron Tree Blooming'', concentrating his power in the palm, sending a soldier flying several zhang away, spurting blood from his mouth. The remaining five soldiers knew they were lost, and were not in the mood to prolong the battle. They turned around and fled, forgetting even their own horses.


    Wu Dapeng turned around and said, "Mao Xiong''s skill is indeed superb, this Black Dragon Whip Shi Song''s martial art skill is superior, yet today he lost his life in your hand!" He saw that Shi Song died with a saber in his abdomen, so he assumed it came from Mao Shiba''s hand.


    Mao Shiba shook his head and said, "I am ashamed! It was Wei Xiaoxiongdi [little/younger brother (generic term)] who killed him."


    Wu and Wang, two people were greatly amazed, "The little kid killed him?" they asked. Just now they were busy fighting the enemy, so they did not see Wei Xiaobao throw the lime. The ground was covered with blood, since before his death Shi Song was rolling around on the ground, his body was covered with mud; although there were traces of lime on the ground, they had not paid attention.


    With his left hand Mao Shiba grabbed the tip of the Black Dragon Whip and shook it off. ''Whoosh!'' he lashed the whip on Shi Song''s head. Although his abdomen was penetrated by the saber, Shi Song did not die immediately; as his crown was struck with the whip, his life was gone instantly. "Wei Xiongdi," Mao Shiba called out, "What a good skill!"


    Wei Xiaobao came out from behind the tree. Realizing that he had killed a famous government official, 10% of his heart was proud of himself, but the other 90% was afraid. Half believing half doubting, Wu and Wang, two people looked at him from top to bottom, sizing him up. They noticed his countenance was pale, his body trembled, his eyes brimming with tears, his legs shaky as if he was about to fall. He also looked like he was about to cry, or perhaps he was going to call, ''I want my mommy!''. In any case, they could not believe he killed the Black Dragon Whip Shi Song.


    "Xiaoxiongdi," Wu Dapeng said, "With what style did you kill this man?"


    With a trembling voice Wei Xiaobao said, "I ... I ... killed this of ... officer? No, it wasn''t me. No ... not me ..." He knew that killing a government official was a capital offense; panic-stricken, the only thing he could think of was to deny.


    Mao Shiba frowned; he shook his head and said, "Wu Laoyezi, Wang Xiong, I owe you for helping me in critical time and saving my life. Shall we continue fighting?"


    "What saving your life? It is not worth mentioning," Wu Dapeng replied, "Wang Xiongdi, I think we do not need to continue fighting."


    "No, we don''t!" Wang Tan said, "Mao Xiongdi and I did not have either deep enmity or grudges to begin with. Why don''t we all become friends? Mao Xiongdi''s martial art skill is superior, he has guts, and has knowledge and experience; I admire him wholeheartedly."


    Wu Dapeng said, "Mao Xiong, we say goodbye now. The mountain is long, the river is far, we will meet again someday. Mao Xiongdi admires Tian Di Hui''s Chen Zongduozhu very much, I will do my best to convey your words to Chen Zongduozhu."


    Mao Shiba was elated, he took a step forward and said, "You ... you ... you know Chen Zongduozhu?"


    Wu Dapeng laughed and said, "Actually, Wang Xiongdi and I are humble members of the Great Transformation Hall of the Tian Di Hui. Since Mao Dage has such a high esteem to our humble society, even if we have had serious enmity between us, we will definitely write it off, much less we did not have any grudges to begin with."


    Mao Shiba was pleasantly surprised, "Turns out ... turns out you really knew Chen Jinnan."


    "Our society brethrens are numerous, Chen Zongduozhu''s whereabouts is uncertain," Wu Dapeng said, "My position in the society is low, I really have not seen Chen Zongduozhu personally. I was not trying to deceive you a moment ago."


    "So that''s how it is," Mao Shiba said.


    Wu Dapeng raised his cupped fist and turned around to leave. His palms did not stop striking here and there. A continuous ''Slap! Slap!'' was heard, he struck the soldiers lying on the ground one by one; regardless of whether the soldier was dead or alive, after being hit by his Cloud Scraping Palm, the dead soldiers'' tendon would be broken tendon and their bones crushes, those who were still alive would take his last breath instantly. In a low voice Mao Shiba mumbled, "What a palm strength!"


    When the two of them had left far, he muttered to himself, "Turns out they are Tian Di Hui people." A few moments later, he turned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Go get me a horse!"


    Wei Xiaobao had never been near a horse before; seeing the horse was big and tall, he was scared, so he slowly approached the horse from its back.


    "Stay in front of the horse," Mao Shiba bellowed, "If you approach a horse from its butt, it will kick you!"


    Wei Xiaobao circled to the horse''s head and put out his hand to pull the reins. Fortunately the horse was docile, it followed him obediently. Mao Shiba tore a piece of his own clothes to bind the wound on his right arm. Pressing the saddle with his left hand, he jumped onto the horseback. "Go home!" he said.


    "Where are you going?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Why do you ask?" Mao Shiba replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since we are friends, of course I have to ask."


    Mao Shiba''s countenance fell, "Your granny," he swore, "Who''s your friend?"


    Wei Xiaobao took a step back, his small face turned completely red, tears rolled down from his eyes; he did not understand why one moment Mao Shiba was fine, the next moment he was very angry. Mao Shiba asked, "Why did you throw lime on Shi Song''s eyes?" His voice was stern, his expression looked even more frightening.


    Wei Xiaobao was really scared; he took another step backward. "I ... I saw he was about to kill you." His voice trembled.


    "Where did you get the lime from?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "I ... I bought it," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Why did you buy it?" Mao Shiba pressed.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said you were about to fight people, and I know you are injured, so ... so I bought the lime powder to help you."


    Mao Shiba was really angry. "Little bastard!" he cursed, "Your granny, where did you learn such trick from?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s mother was a prostitute, nobody knew who his biological father was, so what he hated most was for people to call him ''little bastard''. His anger flared, he also cursed, "Your granny''s old bastard, f*ck your seventeen, eighteen generations of Mao''s bastard ancestors. Turtle bastard, why do you care where I learned the trick from? Stinky turtle, to your death nothing will ever get through your old turtle head ..." While his mouth was swearing, his feet was running to hide behind a tree.


    Mao Shiba squeezed his legs, the horse jumped forward, his long arm reached out to grab the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck. Lifting him up, he roared, "Little demon, let''s see if you can still curse!"


    Wei Xiaobao''s legs kicked randomly in the air, he called out, "You are a thief bastard, stinky turtle, a road kill, a swine that has been cut in a thousand pieces ..." He grew up in a brothel, and thus had learned countless cursing words of all dialects from north to south. This time he was really angry, so filthy speech flowed out of his mouth effortlessly.


    Mao Shiba was getting more upset. ''Whack!'' he slapped Wei Xiaobao''s face really hard! Wei Xiaobao screamed and wailed, his cursing was getting filthier and filthier. Suddenly he opened his mouth and bit the back of Mao Shiba''s hand as hard as he could. In pain Mao Shiba tossed him down on the ground. Wei Xiaobao quickly stood up and ran, while his mouth did not stop shouting obscenity. Mao Shiba unhurriedly followed on horseback. Although Wei Xiaobao was not slow, his stature was small and his legs were short; how could he possibly beat a running horse? Only about a dozen of zhang later he was out of breath and was quite exhausted, but when he turned his head to look, Mao Shiba''s horse was only less than a zhang away. In his panic he tripped and fell down on the ground. Since he was already down on the ground, he continued rolling away while wailing and screaming loudly. Having lived in a brothel and on the street, he was accustomed to fighting. Whenever he was not the opponent''s match, he would usually resort to this trick. If the opponent was an adult, they would simply shake their heads and leave.


    "Get up," Mao Shiba said, "I have something to talk to you."


    "I won''t get up," Wei Xiaobao wailed, "Even if I have to die in here I will not get up!"


    "Fine," Mao Shiba said, "I''ll just let the horse loose to trample you to death!"


    Wei Xiaobao had never taken anybody''s threat seriously. If someone said, ''I will beat you to death'', ''I will kick you to death'' or something of that nature, he was almost always able to escape unscathed only to hear it once or twice more; therefore, he had never placed such threat in his heart. Immediately he screamed, "Somebody is beating me to death! There''s an adult bullying a child! A turtle bastard riding a horse is going to trample me to death!"


    Mao Shiba pulled the reins, the horse reared up on its hind legs until it almost stand vertically up. Wei Xiaobao rolled away to evade. Mao Shiba laughed and swore, "Little demon, you are scared!"


    Wei Xiaobao shouted back, "I am scared of a dog sh*t like you, not a hero and a warrior!"


    Seeing his unyielding spirit, Mao Shiba could not continue his act any longer; he laughed and said, "And you are a hero and a warrior? Alright, get up. I won''t beat you anymore, see, I am stepping away!"


    Wei Xiaobao stood up. With face full of tears and nasal mucus he said, "I don''t care if you hit me, but never call me ''little bastard''."


    Mao Shiba said with a laugh, "Your swearing is ten times worse than mine, ten times filthier than mine. Let''s just say we are even."


    Wei Xiaobao wiped his eyes with his hand and instantly turned tears into laughter. "You slapped my face, I bit your hand. Let''s just say we are even. Where are you going?" he asked.


    "I want to go to Beijing," Mao Shiba replied.


    "Beijing?" Wei Xiaobao wondered, "You are wanted by the authority, why do you want to deliver yourself to their gate?"


    "I always hear that Oboi is Manchu''s number one warrior," Mao Shiba replied, "Damn it, some others say that he is the world''s number one warrior. I don''t believe it. I want to go to Beijing to prove it myself."


    Hearing that he wanted to challenge Manchu''s number one warrior, Wei Xiaobao knew he did not want to miss this exciting event. Day in and day out at the teahouses he heard the guests mentioning all kinds of stories about Beijing, the Son of Heaven''s domain, his heart was already filled with envy. He also thought that since he had killed Shi Song, the local authority''s follow-up investigation would not be fun. Although most of the blame would fall on Mao Shiba, there was still one in ten thousand chance that his trickery would be exposed, and then he would be in deep trouble. In any case, he would be extremely lucky if he could simply slip away. Thereupon he said, "Mao Dage, can I ask you a favor? But this matter is definitely not easy, I am afraid you won''t dare to agree."


    What Mao Shiba hated most was for others to call him a coward; his anger flared at once as he cursed, "Your granny! Little ..." he was about to blurt out ''Little Bastard'', but was able to stop his mouth in time. He said, "Why would I not dare to agree? Speak up, I will definitely agree." He also remembered that he owed his life to Wei Xiaobao, so even if it was an immensely difficult matter, he simply must help him.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A real man gave his words, some horses cannot pull it back. Once you agreed, you must not go back."


    "I definitely won''t," Mao Shiba promised.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Take me to Beijing."


    "You want to go to Beijing?" Mao Shiba was surprised, "What for?"


    "I want to see your duel with that Oboi," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Mao Shiba shook his head repeatedly, "Yangzhou and Beijing are thousands of li apart, the authorities are posting a reward for my capture, there will be grave danger along the way, how can I take you?"


    "I knew it!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I knew you would go back on your own words. By taking me, it would be easier for the authorities to catch you; of course you wouldn''t dare."


    Mao Shiba angrily shouted, "Why wouldn''t I dare?"


    "Then take me with you," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Taking you is very cumbersome," Mao Shiba said, "You haven''t even asked your Ma''s permission; won''t she be worried?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I often do not go home for several days, Ma has never been worried."


    Mao Shiba raised the reins, the horse immediately walked away. "You, little demon, are truly full of tricks."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his voice to shout, "You do not dare to take me because you are not Oboi''s match, you are afraid I will see it and you will lose face!"


    Mao Shiba''s anger shot through the roof, he pulled the horse around and roared, "Who says I am not Oboi''s match?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You do not dare to take me must be because you are afraid I would see your disgraceful loss. He will beat you until you are crawling on the ground and cry out, ''Oboi Laoye, have mercy; Oboi Daren, please spare lowly Mao Shiba''s dog life''. If I hear it, you will want to die of shame!"


    Mao Shiba was so angry that he let out some indistinct cries. Jumping down from the horseback he reached out to grab Wei Xiaobao and threw him up the saddle. "I''ll take you along, I want to see who is going to cry for mercy!" he angrily said.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he said, "If I do not see it with my own eyes, I can only guess that the one crying for mercy will be you, not Oboi."


    Mao Shiba raised his left palm and smacked Wei Xiaobao''s buttock very hard while shouting, "I will make you cry for mercy first!"


    "Aaah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in pain, but he laughed and said, "When a dog''s paw hit people, it is actually quite heavy."


    Mao Shiba roared in laughter, he said, "Little demon, I really cannot win against you."


    Wei Xiaobao was unwilling to lose out the least bit, he also said, "Old demon, I also cannot win against you."


    Mao Shiba laughed. "I''ll take you to Beijing, but along the way you must listen to what I say and not create any trouble."


    "Who is making trouble?" Wei Xiaobao retorted, "You went into jail, you left the jail, you killed the salt smugglers, you killed government officers, aren''t all those things trouble?"


    Mao Shiba said with a laugh, "I said I cannot win against you, I give up." He sat Wei Xiaobao on the saddle and jumped and sat behind him. Pulling another horse along, he look around to get his bearing, then he spurred the horses to gallop toward the north.


    Wei Xiaobao had never ridden a horse before, at first he was rather scared. Five or six li later, his courage returned, "Can I ride that horse?" he asked.


    "If you know how to ride, then go ahead," Mao Shiba said, "But if you don''t, you''d better be careful lest you will fall and break your leg."


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to win at all cost, he bragged, "I have ridden dozen horses, why do you say I can''t ride?" Jumping down from the horse, he walked to the other horse''s left side. His right foot stepped on the stirrup, he exerted his strength to pull himself over the horseback. He did not realize that he must step on the stirrup with his left foot. Since he was climbing up using his right foot, he landed with his face facing the horse''s buttocks. Mao Shiba roared in laughter and let go of Wei Xiaobao''s horse''s reins. He lashed his whip and the horse galloped away immediately.


    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits; he almost fell down from the horse. With both hands holding on tightly to the horse''s tail, his legs clung desperately to the saddle while his body crouched low on the horseback. He heard the wind rushing on his ears and felt his body was slipping down. Luckily he was small and his body was light that by holding tight on the horse''s tail, he managed to stay on the horseback. His mouth did not stop shouting and cursing, "My good mama, hot piece mama! Mao Shiba, if you don''t stop the horse, laozi will f*ck your eighteen stinky ancestors. Aiyo, aiyo, aiyo ..."


    The horse was galloping fast on the major road for more than three li without slowing down the least bit. Rounding a bend, they came into a fork on the road. There was a mule cart coming slowly from the right, behind the cart was a man of about twenty-seven, twenty-eight riding a white horse. The cart and the horse were also heading north. Since nobody was holding the reins of Wei Xiaobao''s horse, it was startled as it ran toward the cart and the horse. The distance between them was getting closer and closer.


    "A mad horse!" the cart driver called out, as he hastily trying to steer his cart clear of the road.


    The man riding the horse pulled his horse around. In the meantime, Wei Xiaobao had already arrived in front of him. The man reached out and pulled Wei Xiaobao''s horse. The horse was running fast, the man''s arm strength was quite big, with a powerful tug, the horse stopped immediately. Spurting a burst of white cloud from its nose, the horse was unable to continue galloping forward. From inside the cart came a female voice, asking, "Bai Dage, what is it?"


    "A runaway horse," the man replied, "There is a child on the horseback, I don''t know if he is dead or alive."


    Wei Xiaobao turned over and sat up; turning his head around he said, "Of course I am alive, how can I be dead?" He saw the man had an oval face, his shining eyes were lively; he was wearing a thick dark blue long robe, and a cap adorned with a piece of white jade, obviously this man came from a wealthy family. Wei Xiaobao came from a lowly background, so he detest anybody from a rich family. Spitting a mouthful of spittle on the ground, he said, "Damn it, laozi was having fun riding a splendid steed before coming across a corpse blocking the road that laozi had to stop, had to stop ..." Before he was able to finish, he bent down on the horse''s buttocks and coughed violently.


    Because its buttocks were roused, the horse kicked the ground with its left hind leg. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out while slipping down from the horse. "Aiyo hey, aiyo hey!" he screamed.


    When he heard Wei Xiaobao''s foul mouth earlier, the man was about to get angry, but seeing Wei Xiaobao''s pathetic condition as he fell down from the horse, he smiled and turned his horse around to catch up with the mule cart.


    Rushing on a horseback, Mao Shiba caught up with him. "Little demon," he called out, "You haven''t fallen down and died?"


    "I have fallen alright, but I haven''t died yet," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Laozi was having fun falling down from the horse, but that stinky kid blocked the way; I am mad to death. Aiyo hey ..." groaning and moaning he crawled back up. His kneecaps hurt, he fell back down, kneeling on the ground.


    Mao Shiba jumped down in front of him. Pulling him up by the back of his collar he threw Wei Xiaobao on the saddle. After learning a hard lesson, Wei Xiaobao did not dare to say that he wanted to ride by himself anymore.


    The two of them rode together for more than thirty li. The sun was right above their heads. Finally they saw a small town ahead. Mao Shiba slowly dismounted the horse, then he helped Wei Xiaobao down in front of an inn. Growing up in a brothel, Wei Xiaobao had always been eating in the kitchen, sitting on the threshold, holding a large blue and white bowl in his hands, filled with rice and a pile of chicken or duck or fish or meat, leftover from the food that the guests had eaten. Although the vegetable and meat dishes were plenty, he had never sat next to anybody else on a table eating the meal properly. This time Mao Shiba was treating him as a friend, an equal. Although their meal only consisted of several bowls of coarse noodles and some scrambled eggs, his heart was very happy.


    He had just finished half a bowl of noodles when he heard the clamor of people and horses outside the door, followed by seventeen, eighteen people crowding in. Judging from their appearance they looked like government officials. Wei Xiaobao was inwardly startled; in a low voice he said, "Soldiers! Perhaps they are here to arrest you. Let''s run away quickly!"


    "Humph," Mao Shiba snorted. Setting down his chopsticks, his hand quietly went toward the hilt of his saber. But those men did not pay him the least bit of attention. They were busy calling the waiter to hurry up and prepare food for them. An inn in a small town like this would not have too many choices of food; there were only pork cooked in soy-sauce, smoked fish, dried marinated tofu, and scrambled eggs. The leader ordered his men to get some ham and chicken they had brought as the side dish.


    One man said, "In Yunnan we have always heard that Jiangnan is a good place, where the people wear silk and satin, and eat delicacies of all kinds. I''ll say, just from the food, that Jiangnan is not necessarily better than our Kunming."


    Another man said, "It''s because you, LaoGe [''Ol Big Brother''], are used to live comfortably at Ping Xi[27] Wang''s Mansion; what you eat and what you drink is entirely different from the rest of us. It''s not that Jiangnan is inferior to Yunnan. You must know that perhaps only a few places on earth are better than Ping Xi Wang''s Mansion." The rest of the men voiced their agreement.


    Mao Shiba''s countenance changed. "So this bunch of dog''s legs[28] is that big traitor to China Wu Sangui''s men?" he mused.


    A man with a sallow cheek asked, "Huang Daren, this time you are going to Beijing, do you think you will be able to see the Emperor?"


    A plump man with fair complexion said, "Based on my position alone, I should not be able to see the Emperor, but perhaps by reason of our Wangye''s [Lit. ''master king'', Prince/Lord/Duke] face, we might see him! The senior officials of the imperial court have always regarded us, the officials of the Xi Xuan [lit. ''western elect''], with special favor."


    "That''s only natural," another man piped in, "Among the current government officials, next to the Emperor, our Wangye has the greatest authority."


    "Hey, Xiaobao," Mao Shiba called out loudly, "Do you know who is the most shameless man on earth?"


    "Of course I do," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It''s the son of turtle bastard!" Actually, he did not know, what he said was the same as not saying anything.


    Mao Shiba slapped the table heavily, "That''s right!" he said, "Do you know who is the son of turtle bastard?"


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao said, "That son of turtle bastard is a damn bad thing." While saying that, he also slapped the table as hard as he could.


    Mao Shiba said, "Let me tell you, good kid, that the son of turtle bastard is the big traitor to China, who consider the bandit as his father, who with both hands handed out our great and beautiful rivers and mountains [a common term to refer to one''s country, in this case, China], our wonderful world, to the Qing troops ..." As he spoke to this point, those dozen or so government officers had already stared at him, some with angry expression on their faces. Mao Shiba continued, "This big traitor is surnamed Wu; damn it, one turtle is Wu Yigui, two turtles are Wu Ergui, how about three turtles?"


    In a loud voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Sangui[29]!"


    Mao Shiba laughed aloud and said, "It''s exactly Wu Sangui this big ..."


    Suddenly a series of ringing sound was heard as seven, eight men unsheathed their weapons and rushed toward Mao Shiba. Wei Xiaobao hastily hid beneath the table. ''Bing, bing, bang, bang!'' the noise of weapons colliding with each other continuously ringing, Mao Shiba brandished his saber to fight the attackers. Wei Xiaobao saw him still sitting on the long bench, he knew that his leg was still injured and could not walk conveniently, thus he was very anxious inwardly.


    A moment later, ''clang!'' a saber fell to the ground, followed by a man crying a miserable cry as he also fell to the ground. Still, the opponents were too many, Wei Xiaobao saw all around the table feet were constantly moving. Some of these feet were wearing cloth shoes, some were wearing leather boots; obviously the feet belonged to the enemy, since Mao Shiba was wearing straw sandals.


    He heard Mao Shiba was fighting and cursing at the same time, "Wu Sangui is a big traitor to China, you are all little traitors to China; if laozi do not kill you all �� Aiyo!" He cried out loudly; apparently he was injured. Then a man fell face up with blood spurting out of his chest. Wei Xiaobao picked up a saber from the ground and slashed it on a leg wearing cloth shoe. The saber hacked, the lower half of leg was chopped completely. "Aaah ��!" the man screamed and fell backwards.


    It was rather dark under the table, plus the men were fighting a tangled battle, nobody knew who had wounded the man, they all thought it was Mao Shiba. Seeing his idea seemed to be working, Wei Xiaobao raised his saber and hacked at another ankle. The man, however, did not fall down; he screamed in pain and loudly called out, "Under the �� the table ��" While he was stooping down to look, Mao Shiba struck the back of his head with the saber; he fell down and fainted immediately.


    Right this moment Wei Xiaobao hacked another man''s calf. The man screamed; he lifted the table with his left hand, the bowls, chopsticks, soups and noodles all flew up. The man immediately chopped his saber down toward Wei Xiaobao''s head. Mao Shiba swept his saber to block. Wei Xiaobao quickly rolled away from the crowd. The man whose calf was cut was extremely furious, with saber upheld high he gave a chase. "Hot piece mama!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, while slipping underneath another table.


    "Little demon, come out!" the man bellowed.


    "Old demon, you come in!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    The man was livid, he was extending his left hand to lift the table again, suddenly ''bang!'' a fist punched the pit of his stomach, his body flew out. It was a man who was sitting on that table who hit him. The man who threw the punch immediately took chopsticks from the cylindrical chopstick container, which he threw one by one. Miserable cries of ''Aiyo! Aiyo!'' were heard incessantly, as the men surrounding them were pierced by the chopsticks; some were pierced on their eyes, some others on their cheeks, but all injuries were on vital places.


    One of the man called out, "The bandit is formidable, let''s go!" Helping their wounded comrades, they scampered out of the door. The sound of hoof beats were heard as the men mounted their horses and left in a hurry.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and crawled out from beneath the table, his hand was still holding the blood-stained saber. Mao Shiba stood up and walked limply with cupped fist toward the man sitting by the table, he said, "Thank you, Sire, for your help; otherwise Mao Shiba would be heavily outnumbered, and would not be able to deal with today''s matter."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and was slightly startled. Turned out the man sitting on the table was the man he encountered earlier, who pulled the runaway horse he was riding on the road, the man to whom he had thrown several cursing sentences.


    The man rose up to return the salute, he said, "Mao Xiong''s body still sustains injury, yet you were still moved by righteous indignation, heavily denouncing the traitor to China, generating respect in the hearts of others."


    Mao Shiba said with a laugh, "In all my life the man I hate most is the big traitor Wu Sangui; too bad this evil thief lives in the faraway Yunnan, so I have no way of venting out my anger. Today I can beat his cronies of little traitors, I am very happy. I''d like to consult Sire''s honorable surname and great given name."


    "This is a public place, it''s inconvenient for me to say it out loud," the man replied, "Mao Xiong, let us part now, I am sure we''ll meet again someday." Finished speaking, he turned around to help a young woman stand up. This woman had been sitting quietly by the table with her head hung low, so her face was not clearly visible.


    Mao Shiba angrily said, "Even your name you are not willing to say, aren''t you looking down on others too much?"


    The man did not pay him any attention, holding the young woman''s hand, they walked toward the door, but as he passed by Mao Shiba, he whispered something on his ear. Mao Shiba''s body shook, instantly his face showed a respectful expression. With a bow he said, "Yes, yes, Mao Shiba met a hero today, it''s really �� it''s really the fortune of three lifetimes." Surprisingly the man did not respond, still holding the woman''s hand, they walked out the inn''s gate, mounted the horse and the carriage, and left.


    Seeing Mao Shiba''s expression turned from haughty to respectful, Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished. "Who is that guy?" he asked, "Why are you scared of him?"


    "What guy?" Mao Shiba scolded him, "You need to clean your mouth a bit more."


    Seeing the inn''s boss and waiters look around, the inn was in a complete mess with blood everywhere, Mao Shiba said, "Let''s go!" Holding on to the tables for support, he went out the door, picked up the door bolt[30] along the way and used it as a crutch as he made his way out to the horse post to untie the horses. "Mount that one," he said, "Left foot on the stirrup first, then get on the horse �� That''s it, exactly like that."


    "I knew how to ride a horse," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that I haven''t done it in a very long time, I kind of forget. What''s so strange about it?"


    Mao Shiba laughed, he leaped onto the other horse, pulling the reins of the horse Wei Xiaobao was riding with his left hand, he led both horses northbound. "I am still injured," he said, "I won''t be able to deal with any more Eagle Claws. We must not travel along the major road, we must find a hiding place. After I recuperate we will ride again."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The man we met just now, his martial art skill is superior, one by one the chopstick flew, he struck those men and made them run. Mao Dage, I think you won''t be able to beat him."


    "That''s for sure," Mao Shiba said, "He is a hero of the Mu Palace in Yunnan, how can his skill be not superior?"


    "So he is from the Mu Palace in Yunnan?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I thought he was that Chen Zongduozhu of the Tian Di Hui, because I notice how scared you are of him."


    Mao Shiba angrily said, "What am I scared of? Little demon speaks nonsense. I respect the Mu Palace, hence I was being 30% polite toward him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "But he was not polite toward you! You asked his honorable surname and great given name, he simply ignored you; he only said, ''let us part now, I am sure we''ll meet again someday''."


    Mao Shiba said, "Didn''t he tell me in the end? Otherwise, how would I know he is from the Mu Palace?"


    "What did he whisper in your ear?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Mao Shiba said, "He said, ''Zaixia is from the Mu Palace of Yunnan, surnamed Bai''."


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao said, "Surname Bai? Turns out he is Chi Baishi[31]."


    "Little kid must not speak nonsense," Mao Shiba said.


    "You saw someone from the Mu Palace and you were scared out your wits, Laozi will not keep it in mind," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mao Dage, you are not afraid of Oboi, you are not afraid of the big traitor Wu Sangui, yet you are afraid of the Mu Palace; do they have three heads and six arms? Ah, I know! You are afraid he might throw two chopsticks to your eyes, and then Mao Shiba will become the Blind Mao."


    "It''s not that I am afraid of them," Mao Shiba said, "It''s just that in Jianghu, if a warrior offends the Mu Palace, losing life is nothing, but he will attract the condemnation of tens of thousands people, and will be held in contempt by everybody."


    "What kind of place is Mu Palace anyway?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "How can they be that formidable?"


    "Damn it," Mao Shiba said, "What kind of question is that? From the start I have never thought it strange." He continued, "For us in Jianghu, to see the people from Mu Palace of Yunnan is really not easy, to befriend them is even more extremely difficult. It just happened that today I was fighting Wu Sangui''s cronies. Mu Palace is the sworn enemy of Wu Sangui, naturally they came to my aid. It was you, this little kid, who did not learn well and have resorted to cheap bastard''s trick, so that even laozi was looked down by others." As he spoke, he could not refrain angry look from appearing on his face.


    "Aiyo, tsk, tsk, tsk," Wei Xiaobao clicked his tongue, "Others were putting on an obnoxious air and not willing to become friends with you, how come you are blaming me?"


    Mao Shiba angrily said, "You hid underneath the table, chopping people''s feet with a saber, damn it, what kind of skill was that? Heroes and warriors always look at each other''s eyes, how can they consider you a friend?"


    "Your granny," Wei Xiaobao retorted, "If not for laozi chopping several feet, I am afraid your life has already gone, yet now you are placing the blame on me."


    Mao Shiba thought about how he was despised by the people of Mu Palace of Yunnan; the more he thought, the angrier he became. "I told you not to come with me, but you insist on coming," he said, "You threw lime on people''s eyes, this kind of cheap bastard''s trick is the most despised by Jianghu people, it is three levels lower than using knock-out drug or burning poisoned incense. I would rather be killed by that Black Dragon Whip Shi Song than rescued by you using such a mean and shameless trick. Damn it, you, little demon, the more I look at you, the more I am mad."


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao understand that throwing lime on people''s eyes was a mean and lowly matter in Jianghu; without realizing it, he had violated Wulin''s biggest taboo. But hiding under the table and chopping people''s feet was obviously not something to be proud of either. However, being scolded, from shame he became angry. "Killing people with a saber is murder, killing people with lime is still murder, what ''respectable'' or ''lowly''?" he hatefully said, "If it were not for me, the little demon, using a ''lowly'' trick to save you, you, the old demon, would have become ''respectable'' ghost early on. Is not your thigh injured? People chopped your thigh using saber, I chopped other people''s feet using saber. Both thigh and feet are lower body parts, what''s the difference? You are not willing to take me to Beijing, just go your way, let me go mine. From now on, let''s just say that we do not know each other."


    Seeing how Wei Xiaobao was covered in dust and bloodstain, Mao Shiba recalled that the child was injured all because of him. That place was far away from Yangzhou, he definitely could not abandon the child in the wilderness, much less this child had saved his life twice, how could he forget favor and violate justice? Thereupon he said, "Alright, I will take you to Beijing, but you must agree to my three conditions."


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy, he said, "Agree to your three conditions, what''s so difficult about that? A real man speak the words, some horses cannot chase it!" He had heard the storyteller mention ''team of four horses cannot chase it'', but for some reason he always forget the ''four horses'' part.


    Mao Shiba said, "First condition, you must not create trouble, must not curse people with filthy words, you must clean up your mouth a bit."


    "That''s easy," Wei Xiaobao replied, "You don''t want me to curse, then I won''t curse. But what if someone is provoking me?"


    "If you are being good, why would anybody want to provoke you?" Mao Shiba said, "Second condition, when you are fighting, you must not bite people, you must not throw lime in their eyes, or rolling around on the ground, or hiding underneath a table and chopping people''s feet, or crawling underneath someone''s crotch and grab their scrotum, or screaming and crying when you are beaten, or lying down pretending to be dead; you must not do any of those dirty tricks. Those are all despicable things, not things that heroes and warriors would do."


    "If I am not somebody''s match, must I just take the beating without hitting back?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Mao Shiba said, "If you want to hit back, you must use real skill, don''t use your hoodlum or gangster method; don''t let others laugh at you until their mouth crooked. You have lived in a brothel, that was all right, but you are roaming the Jianghu with me, you must not resort to those kinds of tricks."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Easy for you to say to fight with real skill. I am just a little kid, what ''real skill'' do I have? Must not do this, must not do that, won''t that be the same as taking the beating without hitting back?"


    Mao Shiba continued, "Martial art must be learned; who can do martial art as soon as he is out of his mother''s belly? You are still very young, there is still time if you start training now. You can kowtow and take me as your Shifu, I will take you as my disciple. All my life I have been wandering around in Jianghu, I never had several days of peace and quiet to take any disciple; so consider it your good fortune. As long as you are obedient, study diligently and practice hard, in the future you may not necessarily unable to become a martial art master." As he spoke, there was a hint of hope in his gaze toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "No, can''t do. You and I are friends of the same standings; if I take you as my Shifu, won''t I be a generation lower than you? Your granny, you harbor malicious intentions, you want to take advantage of me."


    Mao Shiba was furious; countless people in Jianghu had wanted to take him as their master, wanted to learn his saber technique ''Five Tigers Breaking the Gates'', which was famous throughout the Jianghu. It was just that if not the candidate''s heart was not in the right place, then his aptitude was not good, or perhaps it was not the opportune time; he did not have the time to leisurely passing on his skill to his disciple. Today, remembering how Wei Xiaobao had saved his life, he wanted to teach him martial art; who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao would flatly refuse? In his anger, he wanted to strike him with his palm. His hand was raised, but in the end he held his hand; he said, "Let me tell you: right now, on an impulse I am willing to take you as my disciple. If later on you kowtow to me a hundred times and ask, I will not take you."


    "What''s so strange about that?" Wei Xiaobao said, "If later on you kowtow to me three hundred times and entreat me to take you as my master, I will still be unwilling. If I be your disciple, I will have to obey you in everything, where''s the fun in that? I don''t want to learn your martial art."


    Mao Shiba angrily said, "Fine, you don''t want to learn then don''t learn. If in the future someone catch you, making you neither dead nor alive, don''t regret it."


    "What''s to regret?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s just say I learn your martial art skill, what''s so good about it? You were tied down by the Black Dragon Whip without being able to move at all; seeing that eating-without-paying fellow from the Mu family of Yunnan you bowed down respectfully to flatter him, to become friends with him, while he plainly ignored you. Although my martial skill is inferior to you, but ..."


    The more Mao Shiba listened, the angrier he got. Finally he could not endure patiently and ''smack!'' he slapped Wei Xiaobao''s mouth heavily. Wei Xiaobao had anticipated this, surprisingly he did not cry but burst into loud laughter instead, he said, "I was right on target, wasn''t I? That''s why you are angry. Let me ask you: you wanted to befriend others, but others ignored you, and thus you vent your anger on Laozi?"


    Mao Shiba was exasperated by this child; beating him had failed, scolding him had also failed, ignoring him did not do anything either. His natural temperament was fiery, but now he was forced to exercise patience. "Humph," he snorted, as he puffed his cheeks and blew a mouthful of air. Releasing the reins, he called out, "Horsey, oh, horsey, quickly do a tiger leap, let this little demon fall down and half dead." At first he wanted Wei Xiaobao to agree to his three conditions, but since the second condition had already fallen apart, he did not want to think about the third condition.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the reins by himself and managed to make the horse trotting nicely, it did not give him any difficulty at all. Wei Xiaobao was inwardly very happy, he mused, "You don''t teach me horse riding, can''t Laozi learn it by myself?" He also thought, "When I follow you roaming the Jianghu in the future, I will watch how you are going to fight with other people. You do not teach me, don''t tell me that I don''t have eyeballs that I cannot look. Not only will I learn your martial art skill, I will also learn your opponents'' skill at the same time. The skills of several people combined, naturally I will be stronger than you. Pei," he spat, "Damn it, what''s so special about your skill? That eating-without-paying fellow''s skill in throwing chopsticks is very effective. If he wanted Laozi to kowtow and learn his school''s skill, Laozi will have no problem in agreeing. Damn it, why would he want me to kowtow and learn his school''s skill?" Thinking to this point, he could not help but scoffing and then burst into laughter.


    Mao Shiba turned his head, "What''s so funny?" he asked.


    "I was thinking about that eating-without-paying fellow from the Mu Palace ..." Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "What eating-without-paying fellow?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "Isn''t his surname Bai?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Surname Bai is surname Bai," Mao Shiba said, "How does surname Bai turn into eating-without-paying? In the Mu Palace of Yunnan, their Bai family is highly regarded. Liu, Bai, Fang and Su were four great generals of the Mu Palace of Yunnan."


    "What three great generals, four great generals?" Wei Xiaobao asked again, "What kind of ghost place is Mu Palace of Yunnan anyway?"


    "Can''t you clean up your mouth a little bit?" Mao Shiba said, "In Jianghu, whenever the name Mu Palace is mentioned, nobody does not filled with admiration; what do you mean ''ghost place''?"


    "Uh", Wei Xiaobao mumbled.


    Mao Shiba continued, "When Ming Taizu [First Ming Emperor, the founder of Ming Dynasty] raised arms against the Yuan [Dynasty, the Mongols], Mu Wangye, Mu Ying has rendered a great merit by subduing Yunnan. Taizu bestowed Yunnan to his family forever. After his death, the title Guo Gong [State Duke] was granted to his offsprings from generation to generation."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his saddle and exclaimed, "Turns out it was that Mu Palace, the home of Mu Ying, Mu Wangye. You only said Mu Palace of Yunnan, you did not say it clearly. If you had said Mu Ying, Mu Wangye, how can I not know? Mu Wangye has been dead for several thousand years, you don''t have to be that afraid."


    "What several thousand years?" Mao Shiba said, "Rubbish! We, the warriors of Jianghu, have a deep respect of Mu Palace, not only because of Mu Ying, Mu Wangye, but because of his descendant, Mu Tianbo. When the last Ming emperor, King Gui ran away to Yunnan, the Duke of Qian [i.e. Guizhou Province], Mu Tianbo, that''s right, I remember now, the Duke of Qian was loyal and devoted, he escorted the Emperor and protected his master. When that traitor Wu Sangui attacked Yunnan, Duke of Qian protected King Gui escaping to Burma. The bad people of Burma wanted to kill King Gui, Mu Tianbo died in place of his master. This kind of loyalty is indeed rare among the heroes and warriors, from ancient age to today."


    "Ah," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "So this Mu Tianbo, Master Mu was a descendant of the Legend of Heroic Deeds'' Mu Ying. Mu Wangye was brave and unstoppable, he was the Taizu Emperor''s trusted lieutenant, this much I know, you don''t have to tell me." He had heard the Legend of Heroic Deeds told by the storyteller, about Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Hu Dahai, Mu Ying, and other great generals; in fact, he was very familiar with their stories. "Why didn''t you say so earlier?" he asked, "If I knew the Mu Palace is Mu Wangye''s family, I would be 30% more polite toward that eating-without-paying fellow. What kind of people are Liu, Bai, Fang and Su, the four great generals?"


    "Liu, Bai, Fang and Su, four families have always been commanders under the Mu Palace," Mao Shiba replied, "Their ancestors helped Mu Wangye to subdue Yunnan. When Tianbo Gong [lit. honorable gentleman] was escorting the Emperor to Burma, the descendants of these four great generals were also fighting to their deaths, only their younger sons and disciples managed to escape with their lives. It was because I remember that that surnamed Bai gentleman was such a hero that I was being polite to him. Besides, in one hand, he had helped me repelling the Eagle Claws working for that great traitor ..."


    "I was also helping you repelling the Eagle Claws working for that great traitor," Wei Xiaobao cut him off, "Why aren''t you polite to me?"


    Mao Shiba stared at him, and continued, "On the other hand, he is still very much a loyal subject, all Jianghu people highly esteem him. If we offend the Mu family of Yunnan, wouldn''t we be reviled by all the people under the heavens?"


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "Seeing a loyal subject, naturally we must show a bit of respect."


    "Since I''ve known you, this is the first time you are speaking reasonably," Mao Shiba said.


    "I don''t know how long do I have to wait until I can hear some reasonable words from you," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Wangye blew the copper horn and crossing the river, shooting the elephants with rocket, that kind of great hero, who does not respect deeply? Surely I don''t have to wait for you to fart?"


    "What blowing the copper horn and crossing the river, shooting the elephants with rocket?" Mao Shiba asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "You only know how to bootlick Mu Palace of Yunnan, yet you don''t know how great of a hero Mu Wangye was. Do you know what position Mu Wangye held under the Taizu Emperor?"


    "Mu Wangye was a great general under the Taizu Emperor, who does not know?" Mao Shiba replied.


    "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "Great general? Of course he was a great general, would he be a nameless soldier? Um, under the Taizu Emperor there were six kings; I am sure you have heard about Xu Da, Xu Wangye, and Chang Yuchun, Chang Wangye, do you know who were the other four kings?"


    Mao Shiba was a hero of the wilderness, he knew nothing about the history of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Of course he had heard the names Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, but he did not know that they were kings, and neither did he know there were four other kings. Wei Xiaobao, on the other hand, heard the story of the Legend of Heroic Deeds in Yangzhou teahouses so many times that he knew it inside-out. The fall of the Ming Dynasty happened not too long ago, the hearts of the people were still attached to the old way, but nobody dared to openly discuss anti-Qing, restoring-Ming sentiment. The storytellers in the teahouses only talked about the old stories of the Ming Dynasty. The stories the listeners liked most were about the founding of the Ming Dynasty and the defeat of the Tatars, which were recorded in the ''Legend of Heroic Deeds''.


    During the founding of the country, the most arduous battle Ming Taizu faced was the great Lake Poyang battle against Chen Youliang, but the one the listeners most interested to hear was how the Mongolian army was driven away beyond the Great Wall, how the enemy was completely routed on the desert and they fled. In the listeners'' ears, it was the story of Ming Taizu defeating the Mongolian army; in their hearts, however, it changed into the Qing army. The great victory of Han people, the crushing defeat of the enemy; the listeners'' spirits were swelling with pride. Therefore, among the various ministers who had given outstanding service during the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and Mu Ying, were the three names the listeners adored most. When the storytellers narrated how these three people kill the enemy, they were always adding ''oil and vinegar'', with much flourish, so that the audience was radiant with delight as if they were drunk and stupefied.


    Seeing Mao Shiba was unable to answer, Wei Xiaobao smugly said, "The four kings were Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Tang He, and of course Mu Ying, Mu Wangye. On how these four Wangye were granted the title King, I supposed I should tell you, since I am sure you did not know it, am I right?" Actually, neither did he remember how these six kings get their titles. Mao Shiba nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Tang He was Ming Taizu''s old friend, he was older than Taizu. Deng Yu had also known Taizu for a very long time, they had always been fighting together for the country. Li Wenzhong was Taizu''s nephew[32]. Mu Wangye was Taizu''s foster son, so his surname was originally Zhu, he was called Zhu Ying. Afterwards he rendered a great service, Taizu granted him a two-character surname, thereupon he was called Mu Ying."


    "So that''s the story," Mao Shiba said, "What about blowing the copper horn and shooting the elephants? What''s the story?"


    "It was ''blowing the copper horn and crossing the river, shooting the elephants with rocket'', not ''blowing the copper horn and shooting the elephants''," Wei Xiaobao said, "Taizu subdued the land under the heavens, until only Yunnan left. The King Liang of Guizhou had not surrendered. That King Liang whatsisname was the Mongol''s last emperor''s nephew, he defended Yunnan and Guizhou, and was not willing to surrender." The King Liang''s original name was Basalawarmi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalawarmi); Wei Xiaobao could not remember his name, so he said whatever comes into his head.


    Although Mao Shiba felt strange, he did not dare to argue, he simply listened as Wei Xiaobao continued, "Taizu Emperor''s dragon heart was enraged, he dispatched three-hundred thousand cavalry under the leadership of Mu Wangye to launch an attack. When they arrived at Yunnan border, they met the Yuan army. Yuan army''s marshal was called Delmek, who was ten zhang tall, whose head was like a round-bottomed wicker basket ..."


    "How can there be any ten zhang tall man?" Mao Shiba protested.


    Wei Xiaobao knew he had a slip of tongue, but he argued, "Mongolians are bigger and taller than we, Han people, that Delmek''s entire body was covered in iron armor, his hand carried a long spear, he was shouting mumbo-jumbo loudly by the river bank, as if there were three thunderclaps in the air. Suddenly there were continuous ''splash, splash'' noises from everywhere, do you know what happened?"


    "I don''t know, what happened?" Mao Shiba asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Turned out Delmek''s ''Wah! Wah!'' shout had reached the other side of the river, scaring a dozen or so Ming soldiers out of their wits that they fell down from their horses and into the river. Mu Wangye knew something was terribly wrong, he thought that if Delmek cried out several more times, my troops will fall into the river one by one, then our mission will fail. Thereupon he knitted his brows and thought hard of an idea."


    When he spoke, usually Wei Xiaobao''s mouth would constantly spit out vulgar language; the words ''damn it'' had never left his mouth. However, talking about Mu Ying subduing Yunnan, he adapted the storyteller''s tone, surprisingly, not a single vulgar word escaped his mouth; occasionally, he would even quote or misquote Chinese adages.


    He continued his story, "As soon as Mu Wangye saw Delmek was about to open his ferocious mouth, he strung his bow and shot an arrow. ''Whoosh!'' the arrow went straight toward Delmek''s mouth. Mu Wangye''s shooting skill has reached the ''penetrating the poplar tree in a hundred steps, penetrating the mouth in a thousand steps'' level. Splitting the air, the arrow flew across the surface of the river toward Delmek''s big mouth. Delmek was also a hero and a warrior, seeing how powerful and fearsome the incoming arrow was, he hastily lowered his head and dodged it. The troops behind him cried out together, ''Not good!'' Delmek turned around and saw that ten generals had the pit of their stoimachs pierced by the arrow, blood spurt out violently. Turned out Mu Wangye''s arrow successively bored through ten generals, from the first general''s pit of the stomach and went out from his back, then it went to the second general''s pit of the stomach, and so on. Altogether it passed through ten men."


    Shaking his head, Mao Shiba said, "How can there be such thing? Even if Mu Wangye had a supernatural power, it''s impossible for one arrow to pierce through ten men."


    "Mu Wangye was the celestial constellation descending into the world of the immortals," Wei Xiaobao said, "He was sent by the Jade Emperor to protect Taizu Emperor; how could be the same as an ordinary person? Did you say you are Mao Shiba? This arrow has penetrated ten, and it even has a special name, it''s called ''Cloud Penetrating Arrow''."


    Mao Shiba was incredulous, "And then, what happened?" he asked.


    "Delmek was furious," Wei Xiaobao said, "He thought, ''you can shoot arrow, do you think I can''t?'' Thereupon he raised his bow and also shot an arrow to Mu Wangye. Mu Wangye called out, ''Bring it on!'' Stretching out the two fingers of his left hand, he lightly caught the arrow. Right that moment, a flock of wild geese flew overhead, their cry filled the sky. Mu Wangye had an idea, he called out, ''I am going to shoot the left eye of the third wild goose!'' ''Swish!'' he shot an arrow. Delmek mused, ''It''s not easy just to shoot the third goose, how can you distinguish the left eye from the right eye?'' So he looked up. Right this moment, Mu Wangye repeatedly shot, three arrows were sent flying toward Delmek."


    "Wonderful!" Mao Shiba exclaimed, "It''s called ''making a sound in the east and strike to the west'' tactic!"


    "It seemed like Delmek was not fated to die yet," Wei Xiaobao said, "The first arrow struck his left eye, he fell back with his face up. The second arrow and the third arrow successively killed eight of his generals. Yuan soldiers were hairy, so the Ming soldiers called them ''hairy soldiers, hairy generals''. Mu Wangye released three arrows, and killed eighteen hairy generals. It was called ''Mu Wangye fought the Great War across the river, three arrows shot dead eighteen hairy men''[33]!"


    Mao Shiba was startled, "What?!?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Wangye shot arrows across the river and killed Mao Shiba!" Speaking to this point, he could not help breaking up in giggles.


    It was only then that Mao Shiba understood that Wei Xiaobao was actually cursing him in a roundabout way. "Damn it!" he swore, "Rubbish! Mu Wangye fought the Great War across the river, three arrows shot dead Wei Xiaobao!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "At that time I was not even born yet, how could Mu Wangye shoot me to death?"


    "Stop making irresponsible remarks," Mao Shiba said, "Delmek was hit on his left eye, and then what?"


    "Seeing their marshal was hit by the arrow and fell down from his horse, the Yuan army was immediately thrown into chaos," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Wangye was about to give his troops an order to cross the river, when suddenly he heard loud cry from the other side of the river, the Yuan army''s reinforcement had arrived. From the opposite bank, the enemy shot arrows randomly, darkening the sky. Mu Wangye had another idea, he dispatched four great generals under him to quietly lead the troops crossing the river downstream. When they were behind the Yuan troop''s formation, they blew the copper horns."


    "Those four generals must be Liu, Bai, Fang and Su, weren''t they?" Mao Shiba asked.


    Wei Xiaobao did not know any better, but he was not willing Mao Shiba to outguess him, thereupon he said, "No, those four generals were Zhao, Qian, Sun and Li. Liu, Bai, Fang and Su stayed behind by Mu Wangye''s side."


    Mao Shiba nodded. "So that''s how it is," he said.


    "Mu Wangye passed on his order," Wei Xiaobao continued, "He instructed Liu, Bai, Fang and Su to have the troops under their command to shout together while lowering small boats and wooden rafts into the river, dispatching a thousand Ming soldiers to pretend they were about to cross the river. Seeing the Ming troops were coming their way, the Yuan soldiers desperately released more arrows. Immediately Mu Wangye withdrew the troops, but less than an hour later, he dispatched the troops again, pretending they were about to cross the river. Again the Yuan soldiers released more arrows. Nobody knows how many fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs died in the river that day."


    "I don''t believe you," Mao Shiba said, "Shooting dead some fish, that is still possible; but shrimps are extremely slender, crabs and turtles have hard shells protecting their bodies, how can they shoot them dead?"


    "If you don''t believe me," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why don''t you buy a turtle in the small town ahead, also buy a crab and a shrimp. String them together and hang them, then shoot an arrow through them. See if you can shoot them dead or not."


    Mao Shiba thought, "We are in a hurry for an urgent matter, how can there be any time to do this troublesome matter?" He was enthralled by the story, however, and was afraid Wei Xiaobao would sulk and did not continue; thereupon he said, "Alright, if you say they were shot to death then they were shot to death. What happened next?"


    "Afterwards," Wei Xiaobao continued, "The troops under Mu Wangye''s command picked up eighteen animals shot dead by the arrows, some were hairy turtles, so they cooked and ate them, and that''s the end of the story."


    "Little demon," Mao Shiba cursed, "You are still cursing me in a roundabout way. Tell me, how did Mu Wangye cross the river?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Seeing the Yuan soldiers release the arrow, Mu Wangye ordered his men to beat the drums and shout, as if they were going to cross the river, but actually they were not going to cross the river. They heard the loud blaring noise of the copper horns from behind the Yuan army, so they knew Zhao, Qian, Sun and Li, four generals succeeded in crossing the river downstream and circled behind the Yuan army. Only then did Mu Wangye give the order to cross the river. The soldiers held up their shields in the front while pushing the boats and the rafts to cross the river and attack. The Yuan soldiers had been shooting arrows for half a day, by this time their arrow supply was almost depleted. Hearing the enemy''s attack from behind while their commander was seriously injured, their hearts were thrown into chaos. Mu Wangye was the first to charge on his horseback. The Yuan soldiers fled to the east and ran to the west in great confusion. Mu Wangye saw a general lying down on a horseback among the Yuan army, with a lot of Yuan soldiers all around protecting him, so he knew it must be Delmek. Immediately he spurred his horse to pursue, while with a stern voice he shouted, ''Delmek, you haven''t get down from the horse and surrender?'' Delmek said, ''I ... I am not Delmek, I am Mao ...'' Mu Wangye saw a feathered arrow sticking out from his left eye, with a gold character near the arrowhead, it was precisely the character ''Mu''. Whose arrow was that if it was not his own? Mu Wangye did not hesitate anymore, reaching out he grabbed and brought the man down, while shouting, ''Tie him up!''. And so Liu, Bai, Fang and Su, four generals, who had been following him, grabbed Delmek and tied him up solidly. The Yuan army suffered a crushing defeat, with countless soldiers drowned to death in the river. The turtles in the river ate quite a bit of hairy bodies that day, and grew hair on their bodies. This kind of turtles are called Hairy (Mao) Turtles, which are not found anywhere else."


    Mao Shiba had a feeling that Wei Xiaobao was cursing him again. "Humph," he snorted, but did not dare to argue, for all he knew, there might be real hairy turtles in Yunnan''s rivers.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As he seized a total victory that day, Mu Wangye advanced his troops onto King Liang''s capital immediately. When they reached the outskirt of the city, he saw the city was deathly still. Mu Wangye gave his order to beat the drum to provoke a battle, but then he saw a wooden tablet hanging on the top of the city wall, with two character ''cease fighting'' written on it."


    "It must be that the King Liang knew they were no match for the enemy and thus hung the ''cease fighting'' tablet," Mao Shiba commented.


    "Mu Wangye was benevolent and broadminded," Wei Xiaobao continued, "He thought that since the King Liang was hanging the ''cease fighting'' tablet, most likely they were about to surrender. If I proceed by attacking, after the wall is down, there will be many casualties among the common people; I''d rather give them three days to surrender, so as to avoid killing innocent people."


    Mao Shiba slapped his thigh and exclaimed loudly, "That''s right! Mu Wangye''s family has been the guardians of Yunnan, they exist and perish together with the Ming Dynasty. It must be because Mu Wangye cherished common people, he was kindhearted, that''s why the Heaven blessed him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That night Mu Wangye was sitting in the army camp, reading the Spring and Autumn Annals by the lantern light."


    "It was Guan Wangye who sat by the light reading the Spring and Autumn Annals," Mao Shiba said, "Could it be that Mu Wangye also read the Spring and Autumn Annals?"


    "They were both Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Of course they both read the Spring and Autumn Annals. If they did not read the Spring and Autumn Annals, are you saying that they should read the Summer and Winter Annals? It was Zhang Fei[34] who read the Summer and Winter Annals. The impertinent Zhang Fei was brave but not shrewd; Mu Wangye was the celestial constellation descending into the world of the immortals, just like Guan Wangye, naturally they read the Spring and Autumn Annals and not the Summer and Winter Annals." Not knowing anything about the Spring and Autumn Annals or Summer and Winter Annals, Mao Shiba could only nod his head in agreement.


    "Mu Wangye read for a while," Wei Xiaobao continued, "All of a sudden he needed to pee, he stood up, took the golden chamber pot bestowed to him by the Taizu Emperor, and was about to pee when suddenly he heard several loud cries coming from inside the city wall. It was very loud, it did not sound like tiger''s roar, and did not sound like horse''s neigh either. When Mu Wangye heard it, he knew something was amiss ..."


    "What cry was that?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "Why don''t you try to guess?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Seems to me like several Yuan generals were roaring in the city, just like Delmek earlier," Mao Shiba guessed.


    "No," Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "As soon as Mu Wangye heard it, he changed his mind and did not pee. Respectfully he put the chamber pot back on the table ..."


    "Why did he put a chamber pot on the table?" Mao Shiba cut him off.


    "It was a golden chamber pot bestowed by the Taizu Emperor; do you think it was an ordinary chamber pot?" Wei Xiaobao argued, "That''s why when Mu Wangye put it down, he must be respectful. After laying down the pot, he beat the drum to summon the generals into his command tent. Picking up a golden arrow as a symbol of his authority, he said, ''General Liu, receive this order: Take three thousands soldiers to catch field mice this very night; reward will be given to those who catch many, martial law will apply to those who catch a few.'' General Liu replied, ''Command received!'' Taking the golden arrow, he left to catch field mice."


    "Why did he want field mice?" Mao Shiba wondered aloud.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Wangye led his troops like a deity, how could he divulge secret military tactic? The marshals received the order, they followed it to the letter. If the officer receiving the order asked too much, Mu Wangye might be enraged and would send the officer outside the tent to be beheaded. If you were one of Mu Wangye''s generals and you keep asking questions like this, even if you have eighteen melon heads, damn it, all eighteen will be chopped by Mu Wangye."


    "If I were one of the generals, naturally I won''t ask anything," Mao Shiba said, "But you are not Mu Wangye, why can''t I ask you questions?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "No question, no question!" he said, "Mu Wangye picked up the second golden arrow and gave it to General Bai, saying, ''I order you to lead twenty thousand men to dig a trench within five li of this place. The trench must be two li long, two zhang wide, and three zhang deep. You must finish the trench this very night without any mistake.'' General Bai received the order and left. Mu Wangye then gave his order to retreat, to break the camp and pitch the camp again six li from the city walls."


    The more Mao Shiba listened, the more baffled he was. "That''s really strange," he said, "I cannot guess anything at all."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "If you could guess Mu Wangye''s military tactics, Mu Wangye would become Mao Shiba, Mao Shiba would become Mu Wangye. At daybreak the next day, the two generals Liu and Bai returned: They caught more than ten thousands field mice, and the trench was dug. Mu Wangye nodded his head and said, ''Very well, send a scout to the city to spy the enemy movements. About wupai hour [seventh hour, between 11am - 1 pm] suddenly they heard thundering drums from the city, followed by loud battle cry. The scout returned, galloping the horse like flying, and reported: ''Reporting to the Marshal, the situation is not good!'' Slapping the table, Mu Wangye sternly said, ''Damn it, what matter makes you panic?'' The scout said, ''Reporting to the Marshal, the Yuan army opened wide the northern gate, and out of the city came several hundred long-nosed cow demons, running toward our camp to attack!'' Mu Wangye roared in laughter and said, ''What long-nosed cow demons? Gather more info!'' The scout received the order and left."


    "What kind of animal is a long-nosed cow demon?" Mao Shiba wondered.


    With a straight face Wei Xiaobao said, "I knew you would not know it either. This animal is bigger than a cow, its hide is rough, its muscle thick, its nose is long, with two tusks protruding forward, its pair of large ears look like curtain, its appearance is incomparably fierce; don''t you think it looks like a long-nosed cow demon?"


    "Um," Mao Shiba grunted, and nodded his head, apparently he was trying to picture the long-nosed cow demon in his mind.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Mu Wangye thought aloud, ''This scout is really muddleheaded, he sees little and marvels at a lot of things; seeing a camel he says it''s a horse with a swelling back, seeing an elephant he says it''s a long-nosed cow demon!''"


    Mao Shiba was startled; and then he burst out in laughter. "That scout was indeed muddleheaded," he said, "Unexpectedly he regarded elephants as long-nosed cow demons. But he was a northerner, had never seen an elephant, so you can''t really blame him."


    Whenever the storyteller in Yangzhou was telling this ''long-nosed cow demon'' story, the teahouse audience always broke out in laughter. This time Wei Xiaobao imitated the way the story was delivered, and sure enough, Mao Shiba also broke out in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Mu Wangye arranged his troops in battle formation; looking to the distance, he saw dust was rising high, those several hundred elephants, with daggers tied onto their heads, were rushing wildly toward them, the elephants'' tails were ablaze. Yunnan is very close to Burma; King Liang had purchased several hundred elephants from Burma, and trained the elephants to be a fiery formation, by tying pine branches onto the elephants'' tails and lighted it with fire. The elephants were scared and thus they charged toward the Ming army. Elephants'' skin is firm and their muscle thick; crossbow arrows cannot harm them. As soon as the Ming army was thrown into confusion, the Yuan army would follow behind the elephants and make a surprise attack. The Ming troops were northerners, they have never seen elephants; as soon as they saw the elephants, they cried out inwardly, ''King of cow demon''s tail can shoot flames, today''s matter can''t be good!''"


    Mao Shiba''s expression was grim, with subdued tone he said, "Those flaming elephants were formidable for sure."


    "Mu Wangye remained calm and collected, he simply laughed coldly," Wei Xiaobao, "When the elephants were about ten zhang away, he suddenly barked, ''Release the field mice!'' Those more than ten thousand field mice were released, instantly the ground was covered with mice running around randomly. You must know that elephants do not fear lions, bears, tigers or leopards, but they are most afraid of mice. If a mouse get into an elephant''s ear, it can eat the elephant''s brain without the elephant able to do anything. As soon as the elephants saw the mice, they were so frightened as if their spirits had flown up to the sky. They turned around and fled, charging into the Yuan army formation, trampling the Yuan generals and soldiers'' head and legs. Some elephants could not tell east from west and ran toward the Ming army, but one by one they all fell into the trench. Mu Wangye called out, ''Release the rocket [orig. ''fire arrow'']!'' As soon as he, the Senior [orig. ''laorenjia'' - a polite term to address older (or more respectful) people] gave his order, the sky was filled with thousands, tens of thousands sparks. It was a wonderful sight."


    "How can the arrows catch fire?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "You think those rockets [''fire arrow''] were arrows on fire?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Wrong! Those rockets were firecrackers and cannons. The Ming army was equipped with cannons, saltpeter and sulfur gunpowder. The previous night Mu Wangye had issued an order to the sergeants to load the cannons with gunpowder and firecrackers. When the cannons were fired, sparks filled the sky with loud ''Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! noise. Those elephants were even more scared and ran away desperately, trampling the Yuan army into pulp; scattered, collapsed and out of their minds. Mu Wangye gave the order to beat the drums to signal an attack. His troops responded by loud battle cry as they followed the elephants breaking into the city. King Liang, taking along his concubine, was drinking wine at the top of city wall, waiting for the news of the Ming army''s defeat. Seeing several hundred elephants bursting into the city, King Liang cried out, "Guluabutu, wuliwu! Guluabutu, wuliwu!"


    Mao Shiba was puzzled, "What did he call wuyewu for?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He is a Mongolian, naturally he cried out in Mongolian. He said, ''Aiyo, not good! The elephants are revolting!'' Rushing down the wall, he saw a well and immediately jumped in, wishing to kill himself. Unexpectedly, because King Liang was extremely fat, his belly was enormous; as he jumped halfway down, his belly stuck on mouth of the well, he could neither go up nor down. He cried out, ''Oh, this is bad! The king is hanging in the air!''"


    "How come this time he did not speak Mongolian?" Mao Shiba asked.


    "He was crying out in Mongolian," Wei Xiaobao said, "But I know you wouldn''t understand, so I changed it into our language. Riding on his horse, Mu Wangye was the first to break into the city. Seeing an old Tatar wearing yellow gown and golden crown on his head, he knew it was King Liang. Seeing the king''s big belly stuck in the mouth of the well, he could not help but bursting into loud laughter. Grabbing the king''s hair, he lifted him up, but he smelled a stench to the high heaven, it was because King Liang was extremely scared that he pooped and peed in his pants!"


    Mao Shiba roared in laughter and said, "Xiaobao, the way you tell the story is very good. Turns out Mu Wangye subdued Yunnan with both bravery and wisdom. If he did not release the mouse formation, King Liang''s fiery elephant formation would crush the Ming army to utter defeat."


    "That goes without saying," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Wangye fought a war with mice, we fought with lime, there is not much difference between us."


    "Wrong!" Mao Shiba shook his head, "As the saying goes, ''all''s fair in war'', fighting a war with anything is permissible. Didn''t Zhuge Liang[35] use the empty city strategy? But we use saber and spear, wandering the Jianghu with straightforward and upright attitude; fighting a war and fighting one-on-one are completely different."


    "I''ll say they are more or less the same," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The two of them talking and chatting along the way, so the journey did not feel so lonely. Mao Shiba explained all kinds of customs, virtues, and taboos of the Jianghu; finally he said, "You do not know martial art, people also know that you are not from any school or societal family, they won''t deal with you with heavy hands; you must never pretend to be what you are not, otherwise you will suffer worse fate."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I, the Little White Dragon Wei Xiaobao, am an expert in water skill, I can stay underwater, living on fish and shrimp. But my land based skill is nothing to be talk about." Mao Shiba roared in laughter.


    That evening the two of them sought lodging in a peasant family home. Mao Shiba took out several taels of silver and gave them to the peasant family, so that they could stay for a dozen more days to recuperate. When most of injury was healed, they hired a large cart to continue their journey.


    Book Note: ''Best friendship at first meeting'' means ''familiarity at first sight'', not at all talking about friendship at first meeting is the best, and then later on it gradually becomes not good.

 Chapter - 3 (3)

    A man pounced, Mao Shiba responded by a flying kick, hitting the man''s lower abdomen, and sent him flying backward. The other five men cursed, and pounced together. Mao Shiba unleashed his qin na skill, his elbow struck his palm hacked, in a short time he managed to knock down four men.


    One day they reached Beijing, by the time they entered the city, it was already afternoon. Mao Shiba warned Wei Xiaobao to be careful in everything he say or do, it was the capital, government''s eyes and ears were numerous, they should not expose any mistake. "What mistake?" Wei Xiaobao said, "You are the one who should not expose any mistake. Aren''t you here to challenge Oboi to a duel? Just go out and find him."


    Mao Shiba let out a forced laugh without answering. When he said he was going to find Oboi and challenge him the other day, it was on an impulse while his frame of mind was in rage. Although he was a hot-headed and crude warrior, after all, he had been wandering the Jianghu for more than twenty years, how could he not know that Oboi was an important official in command of tens of thousands of men? How could he have a martial art competition with an ordinary Jianghu man? His own martial art skill was only a second or third class, if Oboi was indeed the Manchu''s number one warrior, most likely Mao Shiba was not Oboi''s match. However, he had boasted in front of Wei Xiaobao, he simply must go to Beijing. He was thinking he would take this child strolling around Beijing for about ten days or half a month, enjoying the scenery of the capital, merrily drinking and eating, and then he would send the child back to Yangzhou. Undoubtedly Oboi was unwilling to have a martial art contest, so he did not have any choice, it was not because he did not dare, so Wei Xiaobao could not mock him as gutless. In a very slim chance that Oboi agreed to have a duel, Mao Shiba would definitely stake his old life to fight him.


    The two of them reached a small wine shop in the western part of the city. Mao Shiba ordered some food and wine. While he was drinking, two men entered the wine shop, one old, the other young. The old one was roughly sixty years old, while the young one looked around twelve or thirteen. Both were wearing strange looking attire. Wei Xiaobao did not know what kind of people they were, but Mao Shiba was aware that those two were eunuchs from the Imperial Palace. The old one had a sickly complexion, his back was bent at the waist, and he did not stop coughing, as if he was suffering from a serious illness. The young one was helping him, slowly walking to sit at a table.


    With a shrill and raspy voice the old eunuch said, "Bring me some wine!" The wine shop attendant responded repeatedly and hastily took out some wine. The old eunuch took out a package wrapped in paper from his pocket and opened it. Very carefully he used the tip of his fingernail to scoop a little bit of its content and dissolved it into the wine. He put the medicine package inside his pocket before picking up the wine cup and slowly drank the wine. A short moment later he went into convulsion; his body shook continuously.


    The wine shop attendant panicked. "What is it? What happened?" he asked.


    "Get out of the way!" the little eunuch shouted, "It''s none of your business!" The wine shop attendant bowed and forced a smile; he walked away, but did not stop looking at the two.


    The old eunuch used both hands to prop himself on the table, his teeth chattered, his body shook more and more violently. A moment later, even the table was shaking that the chopsticks on the table fell down to the floor.


    The little eunuch panicked, "Gong-gong[36]," he said, "How about another dose?" while reaching out to fetch the medicine package from his pocket. He was about to open the package when with a shrill voice the old eunuch said, "No �� no �� I don''t want ��" His expression looked pressing. The little eunuch held the medicine package in his hand, he did not dare to open it.


    Right that moment they heard footsteps outside the inn''s door, seven big men walked in. They all naked on top, but wore leather pants on the bottom; their hair braided into pigtails on top of their heads. Their entire body was greasy, glistening under the light, very unsightly; it seemed like their bodies, from head to toes, were smeared with some kind of oil. All seven of them had sturdy muscle like young dragon, their chests were hairy, and their mouth were covered in black mustache; when they stretched out their arms, all their palms were huge with thick fingers. Seven men sat on two tables and shouted in their mumbling speech, "Bring out the wine and some beef and fat chicken, the quicker the better!"


    "Yes, yes!" the wine shop attendant replied, while busily setting up chopsticks. "Master Guest," he asked, "What would you like to eat?"


    "Are you deaf?" one of the men bellowed. Another man suddenly reached out and grabbed the wine shop attendant on his waist, raising his arm straight up, he brought the attendant up in the air. The wine shop attendant''s hands and feet flailing randomly, he cried out ''Wah! Wah!'' in fright. The men roared in laughter. The one holding the attendant flung him outside the shop, ''Bang!'' the attendant hit the ground. "Aiyo! Mommy!" the wine shop attendant cried out. The men laughed even louder.


    In low voice Mao Shiba said, "What they are doing is a wresting technique. The victim must be thrown far away; if he fell close by, he could spring up and counter-attack."


    "Do you know any wrestling?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I haven''t learned it," Mao Shiba replied, "This kind of ''hard'' skill is useless against a martial art expert."


    "Can you beat them, then?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Mao Shiba said with a laugh, "What good is it for me to beat those boorish men?"


    "But you are alone against the seven them, you will definitely lose," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "They are not my match," Mao Shiba said.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly raised his voice, "Hey, big men, my friend here says he alone can beat the seven of you."


    "Don''t create trouble!" Mao Shiba sternly said. But Wei Xiaobao liked nothing better than creating trouble. Seeing without any reason those seven men tossed the wine shop attendant that he was half-dead half-alive, his heart was angered; hearing Mao Shiba said that he alone could beat the seven of them, he deliberately provoked them, with the hope that Mao Shiba would teach them a lesson.


    The seven big men turned their gaze toward Mao and Wei, two people. "Little baby," one of them said, "What did you say?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "My friend here says, you bullied the wine shop attendant, you cannot be considered hero or warrior. If you have guts, come and fight him."


    One of the men glowered and said to Mao Shiba, "Son of a b*tch, did you say that?"


    Mao Shiba knew those seven men were Manchurian wrestlers; at first he did not want to create any trouble, but first of all, he was angry just by looking at a Manchu, secondly, the Manchu was cursing him. Lifting up the wine pot, he threw it toward the man''s face. The man reached out to catch the pot; to his surprise, however, in this throw Mao Shiba had used his internal strength. ''Crack!'' the wine pot hit the man''s arm. "Aiyo!" the man cried out for he felt severe pain on his arm. Another man pounced on Mao Shiba, which he responded by a flying kick. Manchurian wrestlers very seldom used their legs, the man was unable to dodge this kick, his lower abdomen was squarely hit, he was sent flying backward.


    The other five men cursed, "Scoundrel bastard!" and pounced together. Mao Shiba was quick and agile, unleashing his qin na [grab and capture, grappling technique] skill, his elbow struck his palm hacked, in a short time he managed to knock down four men. The last one slanted his body sideways to take Mao Shiba''s palm on his shoulder, while he reached out to grab Mao Shiba''s lower back and lifted him up. He was about to turn Mao Shiba''s body around to dash his head against the stone steps; Mao Shiba suddenly launched a chain kick, ''puff! puff!'' twice his feet landed on the pit of that man''s stomach. The man''s mouth opened, blood spurted out wildly, his grab loosened instantly.


    The man fell face up, Mao Shiba followed and kicked him hard with both feet on the pit of his stomach, then with both palms he launched the ''tornado brushing the willow'', hacking diagonally down toward the back of the first man, the one hit by the wine pot. ''Crack!'' several of the man''s ribs were broken; he scrambled onto a table.


    With one hand Mao Shiba pulled Wei Xiaobao and said, "Little demon, you really know how to get into trouble, let''s go quickly!''


    The two of them dashed toward the door of the shop. But they only took two steps when they saw the stooped-down old eunuch was standing at the door. Mao Shiba reached out to lightly push his right arm, he only wanted him to push him aside. To his surprise, as his palm touched the old eunuch''s shoulder, Mao Shiba felt a violent jolt; he could not help but stagger and fell several steps sideways, his right waist bumped into a table, immediately the table toppled over.


    The momentum of the fall had brought Wei Xiaobao along. Wei Xiaobao yelled, "Aiyo hey, Mommy, it hurts! I am dead!"


    Mao Shiba quickly held on to the table and only then was he able to stand. He felt his entire body was boiling, as if he was roasted alive. Inwardly he was greatly shocked. Looking at the old eunuch; he saw the old eunuch was still bending down at the waist and did not stop coughing, seemingly oblivious of what had just happened. Mao Shiba knew that he had met an expert today, most likely the opponent was using sorcery; otherwise, even if one had a much higher level of martial art skill than himself, one could not possibly turn his light push into a tremendous force like that. Although there existed skill such as ''borrowing force to counter-attack'' within the martial art study, this kind of ''with four tael pulling a thousand catty'' technique needs opponent''s large force to produce a large force reaction; there has never been any skill turning a light force into a large one.


    Mao Shiba turned around; grabbing Wei Xiaobao, who was still screaming and yelling, he bolted toward the rear of the shop. Yet after taking only three steps, he heard a coughing and saw the old eunuch had already stood in front of him. Mao Shiba was startled, exerting all his strength into his feet, he leaned forward as if he wanted to pounce of the opponent, but just as quick he sprang backward. Before his feet even touch the ground, he felt a light force on his back. Hastily his left hand struck backhandedly, but it hit an empty air. His body was thrown forward and landed on the bodies of two men. It was a heavy fall, fortunately the men were fat and sturdy, with their thick flesh as cushion, they did not suffer any injury.


    Those two men''s legs were broken, they were unable to stand; however, their hands were unaffected. Immediately they used their wrestling skill to grab Mao Shiba firmly. Mao Shiba wanted to struggle free, but his limbs were devoid of any strength; turned out the acupoint on his back was sealed by the old eunuch.


    Mao Shiba fell face down, he was unable to see what was happening behind his back, he only heard the old eunuch was coughing continuously, and blaming the young eunuch with weak voice, "You want me to take another dose, aren''t you deliberately trying to kill me? Just another half of a dose more, then my old life would be gone. (Cough ... cough ... cough ... cough.) You, little kid, really want to create trouble."


    The young eunuch said, "Child really did not know; next time I will not dare."


    "Will there be next time?" the old eunuch said, "Ay, I don''t even know if I will live in a few days. (Cough ... cough ... cough ... cough.)"


    "Gong-gong," the little eunuch said, "Where did this man come from? I am afraid he is a rebel thief."


    "Friends," the old eunuch addressed the men, "Which palace are you from?"


    "Reporting to Gong-gong," one of the men replied, "We are from Zheng Wangye''s Palace. If not for Gong-gong''s help by catching this rebel thief, we might lose a lot of face today."


    "Humph," the old eunuch said, "Just ... just consider it a coincidence. (Cough ... cough ... cough.) You don''t have to raise any alarm, just send this man and that child to the catering department of the Imperial Palace, tell them they are wanted by Hai Lao-gong [lit. ''Old eunuch'']."


    The men responded with one voice. The old eunuch said, "Why haven''t you called a sedan chair? Looking at my condition, do you think I can still walk?" The little eunuch complied and dashed out the door. The old eunuch bent down on a table, while still coughing nonstop.


    Seeing Mao Shiba was captured, Wei Xiaobao remembered a storyteller once said, "Living on a green mountain, no need to fear there won''t be any firewood to cook." Must smear some grease on the soles of the feet, execute the thirty-sixth stratagem, if all else fails, retreat! Creeping quietly along the wall, he wanted to slip away from the back of the shop. Seeing that nobody was paying attention, he was feeling very happy inwardly when the old eunuch flicked his finger, sending a chopstick flying toward Wei Xiaobao. The chopstick stabbed the back of his right knee.


    Wei Xiaobao''s right leg went numb and he toppled down on the floor, unable to move another step. His mouth immediately went into assault mode, "Tuberculosis sickly old turtle demon ..." But then he saw one of the big man was glowering at him fiercely, he was scared and the next ten malicious sentences went back into his belly.


    Not too long afterwards, a sedan chair arrived outside the door. The little eunuch walked in and announced, "Gong-gong''s sedan chair is here!"


    Still coughing incessantly, supported by the young eunuch, the old eunuch entered the sedan chair, which was lifted by two porters and carried away, with the little eunuch following behind. Among the seven men, four only suffered light injury. These four men tightly bound Mao Shiba and Wei Xiaobao with rope. While doing that, they did not stop punching and kicking Mao Shiba. Wei Xiaobao could not stop his mouth from hurling dirty words, but two hard slaps on his ear left him with no choice but quietly accept his fate without making any noise.


    The men also called for two sedan chairs. They squeezed a piece of cloth on Mao Shiba and Wei Xiaobao''s mouths, and used a piece of black cloth to cover their eyes before loading them onto the sedan chairs and took them away. When he was seven, Wei Xiaobao had ridden on a sedan chair with his mother on their way to burn incense. This time, without any better option, he consoled himself, "Damn it, laozi had not ridden a sedan chair for a long time; today filial sons are taking a good care of laozi by letting laozi riding on a sedan chair. What a good son, what a good grandson!" But thinking about whether he was accompanying Mao Shiba to the execution ground, he could not help shuddering in fear.


    Inside the sedan chair, Wei Xiaobao was completely blinded, he only felt the sedan chair was always moving. Sometimes they stopped and he heard someone would ask a question, and the man accompanying the sedan chair would always reply, "Catering Department, on Hai Laogong-gong''s order." Wei Xiaobao did not know what kind of place the Catering Department was, but that Hai Laogong was definitely a person of authority. With the man escorting them, the sedan chair proceeded unhindered. Once the person asking question uncovered the curtain of the sedan chair; he peered inside and said, "It''s only a baby!" Wei Xiaobao wanted to say, "It''s your ancestor!" It was a pity that his mouth was stuffed with the cloth, so that he was unable to say anything.


    The journey was long and uneventful that Wei Xiaobao almost fell asleep. Suddenly the sedan chair stopped, and someone said, "The people wanted by Hai Gong-gong are here."


    A boy''s voice replied, "Right, Hai Gong-gong is resting, just leave them here." Hearing the voice, Wei Xiaobao recognized the speaker as the boy he came across at the wine shop.


    He heard the first voice said, "We are going back to report to Zheng Wangye, I am sure Wangye will send someone to thank Hai Laogong."


    "Very well," the boy replied, "Please tell Wangye Hai Laogong sends his respect."


    "We don''t deserve it," the man replied.


    And then Mao Shiba and Wei Xiaobao were dragged out of the sedan chairs, brought into the room, and laid down on the floor. They heard voices and footsteps were getting further away, but they could hear old eunuch Hai''s coughing quite clearly.


    Wei Xiaobao smelled an extremely strong medicinal smell, he thought, "This old demon is so sick that he is about to die soon, too bad he did not die several days earlier. It seems that he wanted me and Mao Dage to be the herald announcing his arrival to the Yan Wang [Yama, King of Hell]."


    It was very quiet all around them, other than old eunuch Hai occasional coughs, they did not hear anything else. Wei Xiaobao''s limbs were bound, his fingers and toes grew numb; his discomfort was unbearable, it was as if old eunuch Hai had forgotten all about them and did not take any notice of them.


    After a very long time, they finally heard old eunuch Hai''s soft voice calling out, "Xiao Guizi [lit. ''little cassia/cinnamon/laurel'']!"


    "Here!" the little boy replied. Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out this stinky kid is called Xiao Guizi. Your name also has the same ''Xiao'' character as your grandpa."


    He heard the old eunuch Hai said, "Untie those two, I want to question them."


    "Yes!" Xiao Guizi replied.


    Wei Xiaobao heard some scraping noise, presumably Xiao Guizi used a knife to cut the rope binding Mao Shiba''s hands and feet. A moment later, the rope tying his own hands and feet was also cut, followed by the cloth covering his eyes were taken away. As he opened his eyes, Wei Xiaobao could see that they were in a large room, which was sparsely furnished. There was only a table and one chair, with a teapot and teacup on the table. The old eunuch Hai was sitting, half-reclining, on the chair; his cheeks were very deep, his eyes were half-open half-closed. By this time the sky had turned dark. There were two flaming candles on the wall, held by a couple of copper candle holders. The flame swayed, making old eunuch Hai''s sallow face flicker between light and dark. Xiao Guizi took the cloth stuffed inside Mao Shiba''s mouth out.


    "This child''s mouth is unclean, let him be gagged a while longer," old eunuch Hai said.


    Wei Xiaobao''s hands were free, but he did not dare to take the cloth out himself. Perhaps the obscenities he hurled in his heart were ten times worse than the old eunuch Hai could ever imagined.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "Go get a chair, let him sit down." Xiao Guizi went into the next room and brought back a chair, which he set next to Mao Shiba. Mao Shiba sat down immediately. Seeing he was not given any chair, without any care Wei Xiaobao sat down on the floor.


    "Laoxiong," old eunuch Hai addressed Mao Shiba, "May I know your honorable surname and your great name? Which family or school do you belong to? Your qin na technique is not bad, apparently not part of our northern style martial art."


    "My surname is Mao," Mao Shiba replied, "I am called Mao Shiba. I belong to the Five Tigers Breaking the Gates Saber School of Taizhou, Jiangbei."


    The old eunuch Hai nodded and said, "Mao Shiba, Mao Laoxiong, I have heard about your reputation. I heard around the Yangzhou area Laoxiong has plundered and killed some officers to escape from prison. It was quite an accomplishment indeed."


    "That''s right," Mao Shiba said. He could not help but to admit defeat to this sickly, tuberculosis old eunuch''s astonishing martial art skill, so he did not dare to openly contradicting him.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "What is the purpose of your visit to the capital, Sire? Do you care to share it with me?"


    Mao Shiba said, "Since I am already fallen into your hands, you want to kill, you want to hack, I am entirely at your disposal, the one surnamed Mao is a Jianghu man, I won''t wrinkle my brows. If you want to extort a confession, you are misjudging me."


    The old eunuch Hai showed a faint smile as he said, "Who does not know that Mao Shiba is a firm, real man? I would not dare to extort your confession. I heard that Sire is Pingxi[37] Wangye''s trusted aide ..."


    He had not finished speaking when Mao Shiba''s anger rose, he shouted, "Who has anything to do with this big traitor Wu Sangui? By saying such thing, you are smearing Mao Shiba''s reputation as a patriot."


    The old eunuch Hai coughed several times, with a faint smile he said, "Pingxi Wangye has rendered great merit to the Great Qing, His Majesty has a really high regard of him. If Sire is Pingxi Wangye''s man, by looking at Pingxi Wangye''s face, such a trivial offense need not be haggled over."


    "I am not, I am not!" Mao Shiba shouted loudly, "Mao Shiba and that stinky thief Wu Sangui do not have any relation whatsoever, the one surnamed Mao is unwilling to receive any favor from this big traitor to China. If you want to kill just kill, if you say I was this Wu thief''s trusted aide, surnamed Mao''s ancestors were all rotten and moldy."


    Wu Sangui had led the Qing army entering the pass, to the extent that the Ming Dynasty was subjugated to the foreign power. At the marketplace, whenever the name Wu Sangui was mentioned, Wei Xiaobao always heard the phrases ''traitor to China'', ''stinky thief'', or ''his mother thief'' added to his name; he thought, "From this old turtle''s tone, if only Mao Dage is willing to admit that he is Wu Sangui''s trusted aide, the old turtle would let us go. Too bad that Mao Dage''s bones are too stiff and he is unwilling to pretend to be one. But his bones are stiff, his skin and flesh will suffer. The common saying is right, ''A real man won''t be at a disadvantage from the outset'', naturally those who are disadvantaged are not hero or real men. There is no harm for us to speak nonsense, saying Wu Sangui regards the two of us with such care. When we escape alive, it won''t be too late to curse Wu Sangui''s eighteen generations ancestors."


    Gradually the blood in his hands and feet was able to flow again; quietly he brought his sleeve to cover his face as he take away the cloth gagging his mouth. The old eunuch Hai''s gaze was focused on Mao Shiba''s expression, he did not see Wei Xiaobao playing trick in secret.


    Seeing Mao Shiba''s stern expression, the old eunuch Hai smiled and said, "I thought Sire was sent to the capital by Pingxi Wangye; turns out I was wrong."


    Mao Shiba thought, "This time I am being captured in Beijing, the footstool of the Emperor himself, obviously I won''t escape with my life. A dead leopard leaves behind its skin, a dead man leaves his name. Mao Shiba''s death is nothing, but I must not be an obscure person." He noticed Wei Xiaobao was looking at him helplessly, he loudly said, "Let me be honest with you, in the south I heard a rumor in Jianghu that Oboi is Manchu''s number one warrior, that he is able to kill a wild bull with his palm, that he is able to kick tigers and leopard; people always give an exaggerated account of things. The one surnamed Mao refuses to accept; therefore, I came to Beijing with the special purpose of challenging him to a duel."


    The old eunuch Hai sighed. "You want to have a duel with Oboi?" he said, "Oboi has reached the highest rank of officialdom. In Beijing, he is inferior only to the Emperor and Empress Dowager. Even if laoxiong waits in Bejing for eight years, ten years, you might not necessarily be able to see him, how can you have a duel with him?"


    At first Mao Shiba believed the old eunuch Hai was using some kind of sorcery, afterwards the acupoint on his back was sealed, and only now did it gradually become unsealed; he knew he was facing an expert in internal energy cultivation. Looking at the old eunuch''s expression and the tone of his voice, Mao Shiba guessed the old eunuch was a Manchu. If he was not an old, sickly Manchu''s match, what chance did he have against the Manchu''s number one warrior? When he fought Shi Song and his troops at the Victory Hill of Yangzhou, although the situation was critical, he was not in the least bit desperate; but now, facing this ghost eunuch suffering for tuberculosis, unexpectedly his heroic spirit disappeared completely. In the end, he could only heaved a deep sigh.


    The old eunuch Hai asked, "Do you still want to have a duel with Oboi, Sire?"


    "May I ask, how is that Oboi''s martial art skill compared to Your Excellency?" Mao Shiba asked.


    The old eunuch Hai smiled faintly as he said, "Oboi is a great minister who has both military and civil talents, with matchless glory and splendor. I am but a cruel-fated, despicable person. While Oboi is high in the sky, I am low on the earth, how can we be compared?" He was speaking only about the difference in two people''s status, unexpectedly not one sentence about martial art ability was even mentioned.


    Mao Shiba said, "If that Oboi has half of your martial art skill, I am definitely not his match."


    The old eunuch Hai said with a smile, "Laoxiong is too modest. Tell me, with my shallow martial art skill, if I want to compare it to Chen Jinnan''s, how do you think I will fare?"


    Mao Shiba sprang up and said, "You ... you ... what did you say?"


    The old eunuch Hai said, "I am talking about your respected society''s Zongduozhu, Chen Jinnan. I heard Chen Zongduozhu practices ''Blood Clotting Divine Claw'', his internal energy cultivation is unfathomably deep. It''s a pity we are not destined to see each other; I am a despicable person, I do not have the fortune to pay Chen Zongduozhu a visit."


    "I don''t belong to Tian Di Hui, and I don''t have the fortune to pay Chen Zongduozhu a visit either," Mao Shiba said, "I only heard Chen Zongduozhu''s martial art skill to be very high, how high or what his technique looks like, I can''t possibly know."


    The old eunuch Hai sighed and said, "Mao Xiong, I have known from the start that you are a good man. With this kind of good skill, why don''t you serve the imperial household? You may be a provincial governor in the future, or even a general won''t be out of question. If you follow Tian Di Hui starting a rebellion, ay ��" He shook his head, and then continued, "You won''t have a good end. Let me give you an advice, you''d better rein the horse at the edge of the precipice, withdraw from Tian Di Hui."


    "I �� I �� I am not a Tian Di Hui''s member," Mao Shiba said. Suddenly he raised his voice and said, "It''s not that I am denying that I am one of them. The one surnamed Mao wishes to become a member of the Tian Di Hui, it''s just that I do not have anybody to sponsor me. There is a saying in Jianghu: ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain''. Hai Laogong, I believe you have also heard this saying. The one surnamed Mao is definitely a Han, although I haven''t joined the Tian Di Hui, I am determined to fight the Qing and restore the Ming; how can you advise me to serve the Qing and become a traitor to Han instead? Just kill me quickly; the one surnamed Mao has killed and burned, my crimes are too great, I should have died early on. It''s just that I have never seen Chen Jinnan, so there''s a part of me which does not want to die with closed eyes."


    The old eunuch Hai said, "You, Han people, refuse to accept Manchu''s rule over the land under the heaven, there''s nothing wrong with that. I respect you as a real man, so I won''t kill you today. I am going to let you see Chen Jinnan first, so that you can die with your eyes closed. The earlier you see him the better. When you see him, tell him that Hai Laogong wants to see him very much, I want to try his ''Blood Clotting Divine Claw'', I want to see how formidable it really is. I wish for him to come to the capital as soon as he can. Ay, the old man don''t have too many days left, if Chen Zongduozhu does not come to Beijing soon, I won''t be able to see him at all. Hey, hey, ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain''! I want to see what kind of hero Chen Jinnan really is, why does he have such a big reputation in the Jianghu?"


    Hearing that the old eunuch Hai unexpectedly agreed to let him go, Mao Shiba was taken aback. He stood motionless and did not walk out immediately. "What are you waiting for?" the old eunuch Hai said, "Why haven''t you left?"


    "Right!" Mao Shiba said. He turned around and pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand along. He wanted to say something nice, but did not know what to say.


    The old eunuch Hai sighed. "In vain you have been wandering around the Jianghu for a long time, even a little bit of custom you do not understand. You just want to walk away without leaving anything?"


    Mao Shiba clenched his teeth. "You''re right, the one surnamed Mao is negligent. Little brother, lend me your knife, I''ll cut my left hand for you," he said, while pointing to the dagger by the little eunuch, Xiao Guizi. The dagger was approximately eight cun [cun is a unit of length, approximately an inch or a thumb], it was the dagger Xiao Guizi used to cut the rope binding their hands and feet.


    "Just a left hand is not enough," old eunuch Hai said.


    Mao Shiba''s face turned ashen. "Do you want me to cut my right hand as well?" he asked.


    The old eunuch Hai nodded. "That''s right," he said, "Both hands. Actually, I also want your pair of eyes, (cough �� cough ��) but I figure you want to see Chen Jinnan. If you don''t have any eyes, you won''t be able to see him. Let''s do this: gouge your left eye, you may keep the right eye!"


    Mao Shiba took two steps back and let Wei Xiaobao''s hand go. His left palm raised, his right hand slanting with palm down, in the ''Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon'' stance, thinking, "You want to gouge my left eye, and break my both hands, why would I want to live as a cripple? I''d rather stake everything to fight you, if I die in your palm, that will be the end of it."


    The old eunuch Hai did not even look at him; he coughed repeatedly, his coughing was getting more violent, until at last he could not breathe at all. His originally sallow face had turned red and swollen.


    "Gong-gong," Xiao Guizi said, "How about another dose?"


    The old eunuch Hai shook his head repeatedly, but his coughing did not stop. A moment later he could not take it anymore, he stood up and grabbed his own neck with his left hand, his expression showed extreme pain.


    "If I don''t leave now, what am I waiting for?" Mao Shiba mused. With a leap he pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand and bolted toward the door. The old eunuch Hai pinched the table with his right hand''s thumb and index finger, immediately a piece of wood broke off. ''Swish!'' he flicked it out. Mao Shiba was a large stride away from the door, the piece of wood struck the futu [crouching rabbit] acupoint on his right leg. Immediately his right leg went numb and he fell kneeling down on the floor. Another ''Swish!'' was heard as another piece of wood flew and struck the acupoint on Mao Shiba''s left leg. Amidst the old eunuch Hai''s coughing, taking Wei Xiaobao along, Mao Shiba rolled down on the ground.


    "Take half a dose," Xiao Guizi said, "It won''t do you any harm."


    "Alright, alright," the old eunuch Hai said, "Just �� just a little bit. Too much �� it''s too dangerous."


    "Yes!" Xiao Guizi replied, while reaching out to get the medicine pouch from his pocket. He turned around toward the other room, and went back out with a cup of wine. Opening up the pouch, he took a little bit of powder with the nail of his little finger. "Too �� too much," old eunuch Hai said.


    "Yes!" Xiao Guizi said, returning some of the powder on his nail back into the pouch, his eyes were at the old eunuch Hai. The old eunuch Hai nodded. He bent down again and started coughing; suddenly he threw his body forward, he crawled on the floor and did not stop twisting and turning.


    Xiao Guizi was greatly alarmed, he rushed forward and cried out, "Gong-gong, Gong-gong, what happens?"


    Gasping for breath, the old eunuch Hai said, "Hot �� it''s hot �� help �� help me �� to water �� water tub to soak �� soak ��"


    "Yes!" Xiao Guizi replied, as he struggled to help him up. The two of them staggered together into the inner room, followed by splashing noise of the water.


    All of these did not escape Wei Xiaobao''s eyes. He got up quietly and tiptoed to the table. Stretching out his little finger, he took three fingernails full of medicinal powder and dumped it into the wine. Afraid it was not enough, he took two more fingernails, and then folded the medicine pouch and re-opened it, and thus erasing the fingernail mark from the powder.


    He heard Xiao Guizi in the inner room said, "Gong-gong, is it enough? Please don''t soak too long." "Hot �� I''m hot ��" the old eunuch Hai said, "It feels like I am being roasted." Seeing the dagger lying on the table, Wei Xiaobao took it in his hand, and went back toward Mao Shiba and lay down on the floor.


    Not too long afterwards, the splashing noise diminished. Dripping wet, the old eunuch Hai came out of the inner room, supported by Xiao Guizi. He had not stopped coughing. Xiao Guizi took the wine cup from the table and brought it to his mouth. The old eunuch Hai was still coughing and did not drink immediately. Wei Xiaobao felt his heart was about to jump out his throat.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "If I can not take �� it''s best if I not �� not take the medicine."


    "Yes!" Xiao Guizi said, putting the wine cup back on the table. He wrapped the medicine pouch securely and put it back into the old eunuch Hai''s pocket. But the old eunuch Hai''s coughing was getting worse. He pointed to the wine cup. Xiao Guizi picked up the wine cup and brought it to his mouth. The old eunuch Hai drank it in one gulp.


    Mao Shiba was unable to remain calm and let out a cry, "Ah!"


    The old eunuch Hai said, "You �� if you think �� you can escape alive ��" Suddenly with a crash the chair collapsed. The old eunuch Hai crouched on the table, but he was leaning with such a tremendous force that, with two loud crashes, the table and the person collapsed together.


    In great alarm Xiao Guizi screamed, "Gong-gong, Gong-gong!" as he rushed forward to help the old eunuch Hai up, his back was facing Mao Shiba and Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao lightly sprang up, raising his dagger he drove it ferociously on Xiao Guizi''s back. Xiao Guizi let out a low groan and died instantly. The old eunuch Hai was still twisting and turning on the floor. Wei Xiaobao raised his dagger and aimed it at the old eunuch Hai''s back, ready to drive it down again. Right this moment, the old eunuch Hai lifted up his head and said, "Xiao �� Xiao Guizi, something''s wrong with the medicine."


    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits, how could he dare to drive his dagger down? The old eunuch Hai turned around and reached out, he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s left wrist as he said, "Xiao Guizi, the medicine just now, haven''t you made a mistake?"


    "No �� no mistake," Wei Xiaobao mumbled his response. He felt as if his left wrist was clamped with an iron hoop, the pain penetrated his bone. In his fright, he withdrew the dagger in his right hand about a cun.


    With a trembling voice the old eunuch Hai said, "Quick �� quickly light the candle, it''s so dark in here, I can''t �� can''t see anything."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly puzzled, the candles were burning bright, why did he say it was so dark? "Could it be that he is blinded?" Thereupon he said, "The candle is still burning, Gong-gong, you �� can''t you see?"


    Both he and Xiao Guizi still had their children''s voice, but Xiao Guizi spoke with Manchurian Bannerman[38] official''s accent, which Wei Xiaobao could not learn in such a short time, and thus he was mumbling with the hope that the old eunuch Hai would not discover it.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "I �� I can''t see a thing, who says the candle is burning? Quickly light it up!" While saying that, he let Wei Xiaobao''s wrist go.


    "Yes! Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said. He walked away hurriedly toward the candle-holder hanging on the wall. Reaching up, he fiddled the copper ring of the candle-holder, creating some clinking noise, and said, "It''s lighted!"


    "What?" the old eunuch Hai said, "Nonsense! Why haven''t you lighted the candle ��?" He had not finished speaking when his body twisting and he fell face up on the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao gestured anxiously to Mao Shiba, telling him to run away quickly. Mao Shiba waved back at him, wanting him to escape together. Wei Xiaobao turned toward the door, but he heard the old eunuch Hai whispering and groaning, "Xiao �� Xiao Guizi, Xiao �� Xiao Guizi, you ��"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Yes, I am here!" His left hand beckoned Mao Shiba to escape first, since he must find a way to deal with the old eunuch Hai. Mao Shiba struggled to stand up, but the acupoints on both of his legs were sealed. Reaching down, he tried to massage the acupoints, but after exerting all his strength, nothing happened at all. He thought, "My legs are incapable of moving, I must crawl out. This child is as crafty as a ghost, besides, he is only a child, nobody will pay him any attention, it won''t be difficult for him to escape. If he is coming with me and we come across an enemy, he may be implicated instead." Therefore, he waved toward Wei Xiaobao and put his hands down to quietly crawl out.


    The old eunuch Hai''s whispering and groaning was sometimes soft, sometimes audible. Wei Xiaobao did not dare to leave for fear that the old eunuch Hai found Xiao Guizi was dead and thus raised an alarm; if his subordinates started to surround them, it would be difficult for Mao Shiba and him to escape. He thought, "I caused all these disasters. Mao Dage cannot walk, I don''t know how long will it take for him to escape, I''d better stay here to stall a little bit. As long as the old turtle would not discover that I am an impostor, I will be alright. This old turtle is so sick that his mind is muddled, I''ll wait till he pass out, then I''ll kill him with a stab, and then I can escape."


    A little while later, he heard the distant ''de du de du dang, de du de du dang'' of the night watchman, indicating it was the first watch of the night [11 pm �C 1 am]. Wei Xiaobao saw the candle sparkled, it suddenly brightened; the candle on his left had been burned to the very end, it would soon die out. He saw Xiao Guizi''s body curling up and was very scared. "I killed him," he mused, "When he turns into a ghost, will he come back to demand his life back from me?" He also thought, "If I wait till daybreak, it will be more difficult to escape, I must run away in the middle of the night when it is still dark." But the old eunuch Hai was still groaning, he had not lost his consciousness at all. He was lying face up on the floor. Even if Wei Xiaobao had more guts, he would not dare to raise his dagger and plunge it toward the old eunuch Hai''s pit of the stomach or perhaps his lower abdomen, knowing that this old man''s martial art was extremely formidable; as soon as the dagger hit his flesh, he would regain consciousness, if he strike with his palm, Wei Xiaobao''s brain would definitely be dashed out.


    After another while, the other candle also died out. In the darkness, Wei Xiaobao was thinking that Xiao Guizi''s corpse was within reach; he was terribly scared and his only hope was that he could escape as early as possible. But as soon his body moved, the old eunuch Hai called out, "Xiao �� Xiao Guizi, you �� are you here?"


    "I am here!" Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice.


    More than an hour later, he tiptoed toward the door. The old eunuch Hai called out again, "Xiao Guizi, where are you going?"


    "I �� I want to go pee," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    The old eunuch Hai asked, "Why �� why not pee inside?"


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He went to the inner chamber, the one he had never been in before. He had just walked into the door and took a couple of steps when ''bang!'' his kneecap bumped into the corner of a table.


    Outside, the old eunuch Hai asked, "Xiao �� Xiao Guizi, what �� what are you doing?"


    "No �� nothing!" Wei Xiaobao replied. Stretching out his arm he groped around the table to find a fire knife or a flint. Hastily he struck the flint and lighted a fire paper. He saw several dozens of candles on the table, immediately he lighted one and plugged it into a candlestick. He saw a large bed and a small bed in the room, which he presumed must be the old eunuch Hai and Xiao Guizi''s. There were also several chests, a table and a cabinet; other than that, there was nothing else. On the east end there was a large tub, which looked extremely tall to him, underneath the tub the water splashed everywhere.


    He was contemplating whether he could run away from the window, when the old eunuch Hai called out from the outside, "Why haven''t you peed yet?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Why doesn''t he stop calling me? Could it be that he heard something wrong in my voice and grew suspicious? Otherwise, whether I pee or not, it is not a fart business of his." Thereupon he answered at once, "Yes!" From underneath the small bed he groped out a chamber pot. He peed while looking at the window. He saw the window was tightly shut, each window panel was covered with silk paper; he thought it must be because the old eunuch Hai''s coughing was so severe that he was afraid of catching cold, therefore, not a draft of cold air was allowed to come in. If he opened the window by force, the old eunuch Hai would definitely hear it. Most probably before he could even get out, he would be captured. He looked everywhere around the room, looking for a place where he could escape, but even a hole in the wall to let the dog or the cat in and out was non-existent. If he escaped from the front room, the old eunuch Hai would definitely find out. Suddenly with the corner of his eyes he caught sight of a set of new clothes by the corner of Xiao Guizi''s bed; he had an idea. Hurriedly he shed his own clothes and put the new set on.


    From the outside the old eunuch Hai called again, "Xiao Guizi, what �� what are you doing?"


    "I am coming, I am coming!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He walked out while fastening his buttons. He picked up Xiao Guizi''s hat and put it on his own head, while saying, "The candles died out, I''ll light another one." Returning to the room, he picked two candles and lighted both.


    The old eunuch Hai heaved a sigh and in a low voice asked, "Have you really lighted the candles?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Don''t tell me you cannot see?"


    The old eunuch Hai was silent for half a day. He coughed several times before answering, "I was fully aware the medicine must not be taken too much, but the coughing was really �� was really �� too painful. Ay, although each time I only take a little, but accumulated over a long period of time, the toxicity is too heavy, until finally �� finally my eyes failed."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao felt relieved, "The old guy did not know I added medicinal powder into his wine; he thought it was because he had taken the drug for a long time that the effect accumulated and flared out just now."


    He heard the old eunuch Hai asked again, "Xiao Guizi, how did Gong-gong usually treat you?"


    Wei Xiaobao had no idea how the old eunuch Hai usually treated Xiao Guizi, he quickly said, "Very good, actually."


    The old eunuch Hai said, "Um, now that Gong-gong �� is blind, in this whole world, only you alone will take care of me. You wouldn''t leave Gong-gong, wouldn''t �� wouldn''t ignore me, would you?"


    "I �� of course I won''t?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You are not telling me lie?" the old eunuch Hai asked.


    "Naturally not the least bit of lie," Wei Xiaobao said. He replied without the slightest hesitation, in addition, his tone was so sincere that it was impossible for the old eunuch Hai not to be moved. He added, "Gong-gong, you have no one to keep you company, if I don''t keep you company, who will? I think your eyes will get well in a few days, you don''t have to worry."


    The old eunuch Hai sighed and said, "They won''t get well, they won''t get well!" After a moment, he asked, "Has that one surnamed Mao run away?"


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Did you kill the child he brought along?" the old eunuch Hai asked.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping wildly, he answered, "Yes! His �� his body; what should we do with it?"


    The old eunuch Hai contemplated for a while, and then said, "We have a dead body in our room, if people find out, they will ask questions, very troublesome. You �� get my medicine box out."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He entered the inner room, but did not see any medicine box, so he opened the cabinet drawers one by one to look for it.


    Suddenly the old eunuch Hai said angrily, "What are you doing? Who �� who told you to randomly open the drawers?"


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up in fright, he thought, "Turns out I am not supposed to open these drawers," he said, "I am looking for the medicine box, I don''t know where it is."


    "Rubbish!" the old eunuch Hai said, "How come you don''t know where the medicine box is?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I ... I killed someone ... I am very afraid. You ... Gong-gong ... is also going blind. I ... I am completely confused." Speaking to this point, unexpectedly he broke into a loud bawling. He did not know where the medicine box was, and was afraid that based on this fact alone he would give himself away, thereupon he cried as soon as he spoke, which, for him, was not difficult at all.


    "Ay, this child," the old eunuch Hai said, "What''s so frightening about killing people? The medicine box is inside the first chest."


    Sobbing and sniffling, Wei Xiaobao said, "Yes ... yes ... I ... I am very scared." He saw both chests were locked with copper padlocks, and he did not know where the key was. Reaching out to the lock, he tried to pull it, and the padlock immediately opened. Turned out it was not locked at all. "I am in luck!" he cheered inwardly, "If I did not know the trick of this padlock, the old turtle would be greatly suspicious." Setting the lock aside, he opened the chest and saw that it contained mostly clothes. On the left there was a medicine box like the one used by the doctors. He picked it up immediately and took it outside.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "Take some ''Corpse Transforming Powder'' to melt the body."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, pulling the small drawers of the box one by one. He saw the drawers were full of porcelain bottles of all colors, shapes and sizes, no two bottles were alike. He did not know which one was the ''Corpse Transforming Powder'', so he asked, "Which bottle?"


    "This kid," the old eunuch Hai said, "How come you are confused about everything today? Are you really frightened that you lost your head?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I ... I''m scared. Gong-gong, your eyes ... can ... can they get well?" His voice sounded full of concern over the old eunuch Hai''s eyes, truly it was incomparably earnest.


    The old eunuch Hai seemed to be quite moved; he reached out and gently caressed Wei Xiaobao''s head. He said, "It''s the triangular bottle, greenish-blue in color, with white dot on it. This powder is very precious, only a tiny bit is enough."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. Picking up the greenish-blue with white dot bottle, he pulled the cork, picked a sheet of white paper from the medicine box, and poured a little bit of powder out, and then scattered it onto Xiao Guizi''s body. But half a day later, nothing happened.


    "What is it?" the old eunuch Hai asked.


    "I don''t see anything," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Did you scatter it on the blood?" the old eunuch Hai asked.


    "Ah, I forgot!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed. He took some more powder and sprinkled it on the corpse''s wound.


    "Something''s really weird with you today," the old eunuch Hai said, "Even your voice is greatly different."


    Right this moment, they heard the wound on Xiao Guizi''s corpse started to sizzle, a thin smoke appeared, followed by yellowish liquid flowing out from the wound. The smoke was getting thicker, the yellow liquid also flowed more and more, producing a very strong acid stench. The corpse''s wound decomposed bigger and bigger. As the flesh made contact with the yellow liquid, it emitted smoke and slowly turned into liquid. Even the clothes were turning into liquid.


    Wei Xiaobao watched with his tongue stuck out; he took his old clothes and threw it onto the corpse. Seeing his own shoes were torn at the toes, he hastily pulled Xiao Guizi''s shoes and put them on his feet, and then threw the worn-out shoes onto the yellow liquid. Approximately two hours later, Xiao Guizi''s body, including his clothes and Wei Xiaobao''s shoes and socks, everything disappeared; only a pool of yellow liquid was left on the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If the old turtle pass out now, nothing can be better. I''ll put poisonous liquid into him, then a moment later he would melt that even his skeletons would not remain." But the old eunuch Hai did not stop coughing, did not stop sighing, without any sign that he would pass out anytime soon.


    He saw the paper panes on the window gradually turned brighter, it was already dawn. Wei Xiaobao thought, "I have changed clothes, I can simply go out in grandiose, nobody will recognize me, I have nothing to worry about."


    "Xiao Guizi," the old eunuch Hai suddenly said, "It is dawn, isn''t it?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The old eunuch Hai said, "Fetch some water and mop the liquid on the floor clean, this odor is nasty." Wei Xiaobao complied; he returned to the inner room and fetched several ladles of water from the water tub and flushed the liquid on the floor.


    The old eunuch Hai also said, "After breakfast, you may go gambling with them."


    Wei Xiaobao thought it was very strange, he expected the old eunuch Hai was joking; thereupon he said, "Gambling? I am not going! Your eyes are not well, how can I go alone and play?"


    The old eunuch Hai angrily said, "Who said anything about playing? I have taught you for the last several months, you have lost several hundred taels, coming and going, everything is for this great cause; aren''t you going to obey me anymore?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand his intention, he had no alternative but to mumble his response, "No �� it''s not that I don''t want to obey you, but you are not well, your coughing is so severe. I do care about �� about this cause, but nobody is taking care of you."


    "You are helping me in this matter, it is better than anything else," the old eunuch Hai said, "Try throwing it again."


    "Throw it again, throw ... throw what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Go get the dice!" the old eunuch Hai angrily said, "Always decline with all sorts of excuses. Not willing to make an effort to practice. Has learned for a long time, has never made any progress."


    Hearing it was ''throwing the dice'', Wei Xiaobao was shaken inwardly. In Yangzhou, other than listening to stories, he spent most of his time throwing dice with other people. Although he was young, in the streets and alleys of Yangzhou, he could already be considered an expert. It was just that he did not know where the dice was kept, therefore, he said, "This day made my head spins, I don''t know where those dice are kept."


    "Useless creature," the old eunuch Hai cursed, "Hearing the words ''throwing dice'' you get scared out of your wits. The money you lose is not yours anyway. Aren''t those dice nicely kept in the chest?"


    "I don''t know," Wei Xiaobao replied. He went back into the inner room and flipped around in the chest. In a brocade box he indeed saw a small china bowl, in the bowl were six dice. It was as if he had met an old friend far from home; he could not refrain from cheering. Picking up the six dice, he cheered again. Turned out, not only he met an old friend, he met a very close old friend. As soon as he held the six dice, he immediately knew that the dice were cheating dice; they were filled with mercury.


    Bringing the bowl and the dice to the old eunuch Hai he said, "Are you sure you want me to go gambling? You will be alone in here with nobody taking care of you, is that alright?"


    "Just cut the crap," the old eunuch Hai said, "Let''s see if within ten throws, you can give me one ''Heaven''."


    In those days, gamblers could use either four or six dice. If six dice were used, four of the dice must show the same number of dots, with the remaining two dice became dominoes. Two ''sixes'' was ''Heaven'', two ''ones'' was ''Earth'', otherwise the winner was determined by the number of the dots, large or small.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "These dice are loaded with mercury, you want me to throw ten times to get one ''Heaven'', you are belittling laozi too much." But cheating with dice loaded with mercury is a lot more difficult than using dice loaded with lead. He threw four, five times and failed to get the desired numbers. By the sixth throw, he got two ''sixes'', three ''threes'', and one ''four''. If this ''four'' were ''three'', then he would have gotten a ''Heaven''. With the tip of his pinkie he pushed lightly and the ''four'' turned into ''three''. He clapped and exclaimed, "Good! Good! Isn''t this a ''Heaven''?"


    "Don''t cheat on me just because I cannot see," the old eunuch Hai said, "Bring it here, let me feel it." He ran his finger inside the bowl and sure enough, out of six dice, four were ''threes'', two were ''sixes''. "Your luck is good today," he said, "Now give me a ''Plum Blossom''."


    Wei Xiaobao lifted the dice, and was about to throw when suddenly a thought occurred to him: "From the way he speaks, that little turtle Xiao Guizi''s skill in throwing dice was extremely lacking. If I can throw whatever I want, I will definitely raise this old turtle''s suspicion." Thereupon he shifted the strength of his hand and successively threw seven, eight times without the desired result. After the next throw, he heaved a sigh.


    "What did you throw?" the old eunuch Hai asked.


    "It''s ... it''s ... " Wei Xiaobao stammered.


    "Humph," the old eunuch Hai snorted, he reached out to the bowl and felt four ''twos'', one ''four'' and one ''five'', which made it a ''nine''. "Reduce your hand''s strength a little bit," he said, "Your ''Plum Blossom'' turned into a ''nine''. But a ''nine'' is not bad either. Try again."


    Wei Xiaobao threw seventeen, eighteen times. He got one ''long three'', which was only a level below ''Plum Blossom''. After running his fingers on the dice, the old eunuch Hai was quite happy; "You are making some progress," he said, "Now go and try your luck. Today you may take fifty �� fifty taels."


    When he was looking for the dice earlier, Wei Xiaobao had already seen a dozen or so yuanbiao. Speaking of gambling, it was his most favorite activity; it''s just that first, he did not have the capital, second, he loved to cheat too much, within the marketplace of Yangzhou, he was known as the little swindler, other than out-of-town people, nobody was willing to gamble with him. This time from the state of panic he suddenly could go gambling, not only that, he even had fifty taels gambling capital; not even in his wildest dream he would imagine he could enjoy an unrestrained gambling like this. Moreover, he had the loaded dice in his hand; truly it was hell turning into heaven. Even if he were to be beheaded after gambling, he would not be willing to escape. Only he did not know who the opponent was, or when he was supposed to go gambling. If he asked every detail, he would definitely give himself away. Currently, these were his greatest concerns.


    He opened the chest and took two yuanbao, each worth twenty five taels. While he was still busy thinking of a way to extract the information from the Old eunuch Hai, suddenly he heard someone outside the door loudly calling, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi!"


    Wei Xiaobao walked out into the outer hall and called back. In low voice Old eunuch Hai said, "They are here to get you, just go." Wei Xiaobao was about to go out happily when suddenly he came to this realization: "These gambling ghosts are not blind, as soon as they see me, they will know I am not Xiao Guizi. What should I do?" He heard the person outside was calling again, "Xiao Guizi, come out! I want to talk to you."


    "Coming!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He returned to the inner room at once and took a piece of white cloth, which he wrapped around his head and face, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. "I am leaving!" he told Old eunuch Hai, and walked out the door quickly. He saw outside the door there was a thirty-something man, who asked him in low voice, "What happened to you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Lost some money, Gong-gong beat my eyes blue and my nose swollen."


    The man chuckled; he did not suspect anything. In low voice he asked again, "Do you dare to win your money back?"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled his sleeve and took him several steps farther, and then also with a low voice he said, "Don''t let Gong-gong hear it; of course I want to win my money back."


    The man raised his thumb and said, "Good boy, you have guts. Let''s go!"


    Wei Xiaobao walked alongside the man. He noticed the man had a small head and pointy forehead, his complexion looked greenish white. After walking several zhang the man said, "The two Wen brothers and Ping Wei are already there. Your luck may be good today."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I don''t win today, that �� that will be really bad!"


    They walked along winding corridors, passing through courtyards and gardens . "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao mused, "The owner is really rich, this is such a big house." He saw the hanging eaves were brightly painted, the ridgepoles and beams were carved with decorative patterns. In all his life, he had never seen such a rich, beautiful and luxurious big house like this. He thought, "Our Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou can be considered the most beautiful, or at least the second most beautiful, large courtyard, but compared to this place it falls too short. If managed well, we can open a courtyard in here, the brothel patrons will be very happy. It''s just that a courtyard this big, if not filled with hundreds of young ladies, it may look unseemly."


    Wei Xiaobao followed the man for quite some time before they finally entered a side room of a building. Passing through two rooms, the man knocked at the door. ''Knock, knock, knock'' three times, ''knock knock'' twice, then ''knock, knock, knock'' three times again. The door creaked open, he heard ''ding ling ling'', ''ding ling ling'', the rattling of dice in the bowl; it was such an unspeakable music to Wei Xiaobao''s ears.


    Inside the room there were five, six people, all dressed in similar outfits, their attention was focused on the dice. A twenty-something man asked, "What happened to Xiao Guizi?"


    The man who brought Wei Xiaobao in replied with a laugh, "Lost some money, got beaten by Hai Laogong."


    "Heh, heh ..." the man laughed while clucking his tongue.


    Standing behind these men, Wei Xiaobao saw they were placing their bets. Some put down one tael, some other five taels, they all used bamboo stick as the bargaining chips. One man said, "Xiao Guizi, how much stolen money are you going to lose today?"


    "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "What do you mean ''stolen money''? ''Win'' or ''lose''? So unpleasant to hear!" Actually, he had wanted to shoot curses like ''son of turtles'' and ''son of a bitch'', but he realized his accent greatly differed than theirs; if he swear too much, he would only give himself away, so he thought the less he speak the better, while at the same time trying to learn their accent.


    The man who take him in picked some chips, he looked somewhat uncertain. Another man by his side said, "Lao Wu [Ol'' Wu], the banker is rotten, bet a bit more."


    "Alright!" Lao Wu said. He put down two taels. "Xiao Guizi," he said, "What about you?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I must not let them pay too much attention to me; I must not win too much, I must not lose too much, I must not bet too much either." Thereupon he put down five qian. Nobody paid him any attention.


    The man acting as the banker was a fat man, whom everybody called Ping Dage. Wei Xiaobao remembered Lao Wu mentioned the name Ping Wei as one of the gamblers, so this Ping Dage must be Ping Wei. He saw Ping Wei was picking up the dice and shaking them in his palm; "Last bets!" he shouted, and tossed the dice into the bowl. Wei Xiaobao attentively watched his hand movement, and immediately felt relieved. "This man is a cattle [orig. ''yang gu'' (����) - sheep and bullock/cow]," he thought. In his book, a gambler who cannot cheat was a ''cattle''.


    Ping Wei threw six dice, and got an ''ox head'', which was the weak side of ''large''. Subsequently one by one they all threw the dice; some won, some lost. Lao Wu threw an ''eight'', so he lost. Each time he saw someone throw the dice, Wei Xiaobao would cry out in his heart, "Cattle!" And so he cried out "Cattle" seven times in a row; instantly he was very relieved.


    Wei Xiaobao had planned to use the old eunuch Hai''s mercury-loaded dice in his pocket halfway through the game; he would switch the dice and after winning some money he would try to switch again. Throwing loaded dice involved an extremely-difficult-to-train technique, switching it also required sharp eyes and quick hands, very much like performing magic tricks. First he must divert other people''s attention, such as suddenly kicking a stool, spilling a cup of tea, and so on. When people''s eyes were on the stool or the tea cup, then the real and fake dice were switched. For a real expert, however, there is no need for any inferior trick like kicking stool or spilling tea, usually the expert would conceal the six dice on his wrist, as the fingers grab the dice and throw, the dice fallen into the bowl would be the ones concealed on his wrist, while the six dice among his fingers would switch into his left palm. The gods were unaware, the ghosts did not realize, the real dice would go into his pocket. But Wei Xiaobao had not mastered this skill yet.


    There is a saying, ''Dice loaded with lead, to win money is not difficult; dice loaded with mercury, touching iron will turn it into gold''. Both mercury and lead are heavy, one side of the dice would be light, the other side would be heavy, so the dice would be steered at will. However, lead is a solid, while mercury is constantly flowing, therefore, throwing lead-loaded dice is easy, throwing mercury-loaded dice is extremely difficult. Lead-loaded dice is easy to detect; beside, if you can throw a large number, the opponent can also throw a large number. But if the dice were loaded with mercury, the desired number cannot be achieved without excellent technique; a common cheater would not be able to perform this trick.


    Wei Xiaobao had about 60-70% confidence in throwing dice loaded with lead, but only about 10 or 20% confidence throwing dice loaded with mercury. Although his confidence was only 10-20%, in ten throws he only need to win once or twice, within several hours of playing, he would definitely win big. A real first-class master would be able to throw ordinary dice and get whatever number his belly desired, without fail; there is no need to load the dice with lead or mercury. However, this kind of master may not necessarily exist one in ten thousand. Wei Xiaobao had never seen this kind of master. Even if he had, he might not necessarily be able to tell.


    Seeing his opponents were all ''cattle'', Wei Xiaobao thought switching the dice would be completely safe, so there was no need to hurry. When he started, he had two yuanbiao worth twenty-five taels each; he exchanged one for bargaining chips, and now he put the other one on his left, with the intention of using it as diversion when he switch the dice later. He also thought, "Since Xiao Guizi often lost money, I''d better lose first and win later, to avoid drawing people''s suspicion." Throwing several times, he only got a measly ''six'', naturally he lost.


    In this way he lost some, won some, but he kept playing, until he lost five taels of silver. After gambling for half a day, the stake was growing higher and higher, but Wei Xiaobao kept his bet at five qian. Banker Ping Wei refused to take his bamboo stick, "At least one tael," he said, "Five qian is not accepted." Wei Xiaobao immediately added another bargaining chip. The banker threw a ''Man'', and thus ate down the others'' bets.


    Wei Xiaobao was angry the banker was not willing to take his bet, this time he was determined to win. He mused, "You don''t want to take my five qian and insist on I lose one tael. Good chap, you have guts, your scheming is exquisite. If I beat you with a ''Heaven'', I am not a hero." With his left hand he grabbed the dice, his left elbow stuck out, and bumped the big yuanbao that it fell down. ''Thud'' it landed on his left foot. "Aiyo! It hurts!" he screamed loudly, while jumping up and down.


    His fellow gamblers roared in loud laughter and watched him stooping down to pick the yuanbao. Wei Xiaobao lightly and easily switched the dice, which he promptly threw. Four dice had three dots, two dice had one dot; it was an ''Earth'', which happened to be a notch above the ''Man''.


    "Damn it!" Ping Wei cursed, "Little demon is lucky today!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Not right!" he thought, "if I win this way and the others start paying attention, they will know I am not Xiao Guizi." So the next time he threw, he lost a tael. Right away everyone started to raise their stake, some put down three taels, some two taels, while Wei Xiaobao himself put down two taels, and won two taels. The next time he lost one tael.


    Gambling all the way thru noon, Wei Xiaobao accumulated twenty taels, only each bet was very small, so nobody paid any attention. Lao Wu had lost his entire capital of thirty taels, and was looking very dejected. Spreading out his hands he said, "Today my luck is not good, I quit!"


    When Wei Xiaobao gambles, nine times out of ten he would always cheat, yet toward his fellow gamblers he was exceedingly forthright. Normally people threw insults at him and beat him, nobody has had any regard of him; yet when there was someone who lost everything, he would lend money to that person. Of course the person would be grateful, and would see him with special fondness. In all his life, Wei Xiaobao has had several opportunities to be a hero by loaning gambling capital to people like this. Even if the person did not pay him back, he did not really care. Putting things back in order, he realized that the money was not his to begin with.


    This time, seeing Lao Wu had lost everything and was about to walk away, he grabbed some bargaining chips, worth about seventeen, eighteen taels, which he stuffed into Lao Wu''s hand and said, "Take this to recover your capital, pay me back when you win!"


    Lao Wu was ecstatic at this turn of events. Gamblers had never be willing to lend money to others; first, they were afraid the lenders would not pay it back, second, they thought that as the money leaves their hands, their good luck will turn into a bad one, their initial win might turn into loses. Seeing Wei Xiaobao to be so generous, he was greatly delighted. Repeatedly patting Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, he praised, "Good Xiongdi, you are a real friend."


    The banker Ping Wei was in a winning-streak; he was most afraid people lose their all and leave the game, thereupon he was also full of praise over Wei Xiaobao''s ''magnanimous act''. He said, "Ha, Xiao Guizi has turned his way, you are not so stingy today!"


    The game continued, Wei Xiaobao won another six, seven taels; suddenly someone said, "Lunch time, we will continue playing tomorrow."


    As they heard the words ''lunch time'', everybody stopped immediately and hurriedly exchanged their bargaining chips into money. Wei Xiaobao did not have enough time to switch the mercury-loaded dice back, but thinking that these ''cattle'' would not be able to see through it anyway, he set his heart at ease.


    Wei Xiaobao followed Lao Wu out, thinking, "I wonder where the lunch is being served?"


    Out of more than a dozen taels he borrowed, Lao Wu had lost almost all; he said, "Xiao Xiongdi, I will have to pay you back tomorrow."


    "We are brothers," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Why so strict?"


    "Heh heh," Lao Wu laughed, "You are such a good brother. Hurry on back, Hai Laogong is waiting for you for lunch."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied; he mused, "Turns out I''ll have to eat with the old turtle. If I don''t make my getaway now, what am I waiting for?" Seeing Lao Wu enter a hall, he considered, "There are halls, gardens and corridors in here, I wonder where the main gate is?" Without any choice he simply walked blindly; oftentimes he came across people who dressed like himself, but he did not dare to ask where the main gate was.


    He walked farther and farther away, gradually his heart began to panic, "I''d better return to old turtle Hai''s place first." But by now he had already lost even the way back to the old eunuch Hai''s place, he was at places he had never been before. Oftentimes he saw a horizontal inscribed board above the hall or above the door, but since he did not know any characters, he did not bother to look.


    Walking a moment longer, he did not even see anybody else. His belly was growling from hunger. Passing a moon gate, he saw a building on the left with an unlatched door. Passing by the door, a whiff of food aroma suddenly assaulted his nostrils; he could not refrain himself from drooling. Pushing the door lightly, he poked his head inside.


    He saw a dozen or so dishes of light refreshments, cakes and pastries spread on a table. Seeing there was nobody inside, he tiptoed in, picked a piece of ''thousand-layer'' cake, and put it in his mouth. Several chews later, he could not help but secretly praised. This thousand-layer cake was made of layers of flour, honey, sugar and lard, flavored with osmanthus flower''s fragrance; it was light and sweet.


    Weiyang district of Yangzhou city was renowned for its light refreshments in the whole China; to entertain their patrons, the brothels always had the light refreshments exquisitely made. Wei Xiaobao frequently preceded the patrons to have a taste of the snacks; despite the beating and scolding from the old procuress and mistresses, he still stole the foods without any care. This time eating the cake, it was obvious that the quality of the light refreshments here was much finer than the ones in the brothels. He thought, "This thousand-layer cake is made really well; I think I am most likely at the number one brothel in Beijing."


    Finished with the piece of thousand-layer cake, he still did not hear anybody coming, so he picked a shumai


    [39] and stuffed it into his mouth. He had a vast experience in stealing food; he knew he must not take too much from a plate or a dish, only then it would not be easily detected. After having eaten the shumai, he took a piece of pea-flour cake; taking care to rearrange the cakes and pastries in the dish to remove any sign that it had been stolen.


    While he was still eating, suddenly he heard the sound of boots outside the door, someone was coming; hastily he picked a mince meat cake coated with sesame seed. He saw the room was bare; there were several human shapes cut out of cowhide hanging on the wall, and several large cloth sacks hanging from the beam, presumably filled with rice, wheat or perhaps some sandy soil. Other than those, there was only this table, with a piece of table cloth hanging in front of it. Almost without thinking he crawled underneath the table.

 Chapter - 4 (4)

    As Wei Xiaobao pounced forward, Xiao Xuanzi sidestepped, while stretching out his hand to push Wei Xiaobao''s back. Wei Xiaobao pounced on an empty air. His own momentum plus Xiao Xuanzi''s push had sent him crashing heavily on the ground.


    The person walked in. From underneath the table Wei Xiaobao peeked, he saw the boots were not big, so the incoming person must be a boy about the same age as himself, instantly he was relieved. He put the sesame coated cake in his mouth, but he did not dare to chew, he just used his saliva to slowly soak the cake and then when it was soft enough he swallowed it. He heard the sound of munching next to the table, the boy was eating the cake and pastry. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Another food thief. I''ll jump out and scream, this little demon will certainly be frightened and run away, then I can enjoy my food in peace." He also thought, "I was so stupid, I should''ve put those light refreshments in my pocket and leave. This is not Lovely Spring Courtyard, they will not miss anything, surely they won''t make me responsible for it?"


    Suddenly he heard some ''bang, bang'' noise, the boy was pounding something. Wei Xiaobao''s curiosity was piqued, he craned his neck to look around, and saw the boy, approximately fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing short gown, was punching the sack hanging from the beam. After punching the sack for a while, he turned his attention to the cowhide dummy hanging on the wall and started to attack. The boy punch the pit of the dummy''s stomach, followed by reaching out with both arms to grab the dummy''s waist and pressed it to the floor. The technique the boy used was similar to the Manchurian wrestling technique he saw at the wine shop the previous day.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and jumped out from underneath the table; he said, "Dummy is dead, what so fun about it? I am here to play with you."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao suddenly appear with his face wrapped in white cloth, the boy was slightly startled, but hearing that he was here to accompany him playing, immediately his face showed a happy expression. "Good," he said, "Bring it on!" Wei Xiaobao pounced forward, trying to twist the boy''s arm. The boy sidestepped and tripped with his right foot. Wei Xiaobao staggered and fell to the ground.


    "Pei," the boy spat, "You don''t even know wrestling."


    "Says who?" Wei Xiaobao replied. He leaped back up and grabbed the boy''s left leg. The body reached down to grab his back, but Wei Xiaobao dodged, the boy caught an empty air. Wei Xiaobao recalled the technique Mao Shiba used to deal with the seven Manchurians at the wine shop; suddenly he threw a punch with his left hand toward the boy''s lower jaw. ''Bang!'' it hit the target. The boy was startled, his eyes revealed an angry look. Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Pei," he spat, "You don''t even know wrestling."


    The boy did not say anything; his hand made a feign move, Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways to evade, the boy suddenly sent out his elbow and hit Wei Xiaobao''s waist. Wei Xiaobao cried out in pain and doubled over. From behind the boy slipped both arms underneath Wei Xiaobao''s armpits and hooked them up; ten fingers grasped each other behind his neck, forcing Wei Xiaobao down lower and lower. Wei Xiaobao kicked backwards with his left foot. The boy abruptly pushed with both hands, flinging Wei Xiaobao out, ''bang!'' he fell face down like a dog eating dung.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly angered, he rolled over and grabbed the boy''s legs with all his might and pulled him down as hard as he could. The boy could not withstand and fell down; he happened to fall on top of Wei Xiaobao''s body. The boy was comparably bigger and taller than Wei Xiaobao. Right away he used his elbow to press down the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck. Wei Xiaobao could not breathe, he struggled to stand up with everything he had. After a bit of struggling, he finally succeeded to be on top and now he pressed down on the boy''s body. However, Wei Xiaobao was small, his body was light, he was unable to press for long; soon the boy was back on top again.


    Wei Xiaobao was very slippery, releasing the boy''s legs, he slipped to his back, and fiercely kicked the boy''s butts. The boy reached backward to grab Wei Xiaobao''s right leg and pulled it hard; Wei Xiaobao fell face up. The body pounced and clutched Wei Xiaobao''s neck with both hands. "Surrender?" he shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao hooked his left foot around the boy''s waist, but because the boy''s clothes were slippery, his foot was rubbing the boy''s waist. The boy was ticklish and he giggled, his hands loosened. Wei Xiaobao seized this opportunity to leap up and grabbed the boy''s neck. The boy used a wrestling technique to seize the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck and threw him heavily on the floor. Wei Xiaobao was dizzy and was unable to move a single step. The boy laughed aloud and asked, "Surrender?"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly leaped up and rammed his head against the opponent''s lower abdomen. "Humph!" the boy grunted and staggered several steps backwards. Wei Xiaobao lunged forward, the boy leaned slightly to the side, and swept his leg across. Wei Xiaobao fell down, but managed to grab onto the boy''s thigh with all his life. Both of them tumbled down together.


    Sometimes the boy was on top, sometimes Wei Xiaobao was on top; after rolling around for seventeen, eighteen times, finally the two of them were grabbing each other, both were gasping for breath. Suddenly, as if by prior agreement, both of them broke out in laughter, since both thought that this kind of wrestling was very fun; then slowly they let their hands go.


    The boy reached out to tear the cloth wrapped around Wei Xiaobao''s face; he laughed and said, "What do you wrap your head for?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he was about to reach out and snatch it back, but then he thought the boy had seen most of his face anyway, so trying to conceal it again would be useless. He laughed and said, "I wrapped my face, so that when I come and steal the food, nobody would recognize me."


    The boy stood up and said with a laugh, "Alright, turns out you often come here and steal the food."


    "Not often," Wei Xiaobao said, while also standing up. He saw the boy''s face had delicate features and a lofty expression, so Wei Xiaobao had a favorable impression on him.


    The boy asked, "What''s your name?"


    "Xiao Guizi," Wei Xiaobao replied, "And you?"


    The boy hesitated for a moment, then said, "I am �� I am Xiao Xuanzi[40]. Which Gong-gong do you work for?"


    "I am with Hai Laogong," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Xiao Xuanzi nodded. He used Wei Xiaobao''s wrapping cloth to wipe the sweat from his forehead; picking up another piece of light refreshment, he started eating again. Wei Xiaobao did not want to be outdone, he thought ''you dare to steal the food, my courage is not inferior to yours''; thereupon he picked up another piece of thousand-layer cake and without the slightest care put it into his mouth.


    Xiao Xuanzi chuckled and said, "You haven''t learned wrestling, but your hands and feet are very nimble, surprisingly I am not able to hold you down for a long time. If we fight a bit longer, you will definitely lose."


    "That''s not necessarily true," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Let''s try again."


    "Very good," Xiao Xuanzi said. The two of them started to wrestle again.


    Xiao Xuanzi seemed to know some wrestling techniques, plus he was older and stronger than Wei Xiaobao. However, Wei Xiaobao had fought hundreds of fights at Yangzhou marketplace, he had survived countless scuffles against big thugs and little rascals, his ''battle'' experience was far richer than Xiao Xuanzi. Yet in the end he remembered Mao Shiba''s lecture, plus his wrestling against Xiao Xuanzi was just a game, not a life-and-death fight; and thus he did not resort to the stunts that he was famous of, such as finger twisting, braid pulling, throat biting, eyeball poking, ear pulling, scrotum pinching, and so on. As a result, it was more difficult for him to score a victory.


    After wrestling for a while, Wei Xiaobao was pinned down with Xiao Xuanzi riding on his back without he was able to stand up. Xiao Xuanzi laughed and said, "Surrender now?"


    "I won''t surrender even to the death," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed aloud and jumped up from Wei Xiaobao''s back. Wei Xiaobao leaped up and pounced on him again, but Xiao Xuanzi shook his hand and said with a laugh, "No more fighting today, we''ll do it again tomorrow. But you are not my match, fighting again will be useless."


    Wei Xiaobao refused to give in, he fished his pocket for an ingot, weighed approximately three taels, he said, "Tomorrow we''ll fight again, but for money. You must also bring three taels."


    Xiao Xuanzi was taken aback, he said, "Alright, we''ll fight for a prize. Tomorrow I will bring my stake here. Midday, we''ll fight again in here."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We have a dead appointment, don''t leave before we meet. A real man gave his words, �� some horses cannot pull it back." For some reason, he could never remember the ''four-horse team'' part of this saying, so he could only mumble that part.


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed aloud and said, "That''s right, a real man gave his words, �� some horses cannot pull it back." While saying that, he walked out the room.


    Wei Xiaobao grabbed a handful of light refreshments and put it in his pocket, and then he also left. He remembered Mao Shiba who was having a martial art duel appointment, even though he was in prison, he must escape from prison to keep the appointment. Although he was seriously injured, he still vowed to keep his promises, waiting for the two experts at the foot of the Victory Hill. This kind of spirit had won others'' true admiration. Many times he had heard the storytellers told about heroes, oftentimes he would fantasize himself were a big hero, a real warrior, who was having duel appointment with others, wasn''t it his chance has come now?


    Thinking that tomorrow he must come, tonight he must return to Hai Laogong''s residence. Thereupon he retraced his path, slowly looking for the building he had been gambling earlier. Since previously he had taken a right turn, which had led him farther and farther away, this time he took the left turn. Walking past two winding corridors, he vaguely remembered the gardens and the courtyards he had seen before. By looking for familiar landscape, eventually he reached Hai Laogong''s residence.


    As he walked through the door, he heard the sound of Hai Laogong''s coughing. "Gong-gong," he called out, "Are you feeling better?"


    "Better your fart!" Hai Laogong''s gloom voice replied, "Get in, quick!"


    Wei Xiaobao walked into the room and saw Hai Laogong was sitting on a chair. The broken table had been replaced with a new one. Hai Laogong asked, "How much did you win?"


    "I won more than ten taels," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But �� but ��"


    "But what?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "But I lent it to Lao Wu," Wei Xiaobao said. Actually, he won more than twenty taels, other than what he loaned Lao Wu, he still had eight or nine taels, but because he was afraid Hai Laogong would ask him to hand it over, when Hai Laogong asked the account, he unavoidably did not tell the truth.


    Hai Laogong''s countenance sank, he said, "What good it is to lend money to that kid Lao Wu? He does not even work for the Upper Study Room. Why didn''t you lend it to the two Wen brothers?"


    Wei Xiaobao was unclear of the reason, he said, "The Wen brothers did not ask for a loan."


    Hai Laogong said, "Didn''t ask you for a loan, can''t you think of a way so that they would? Don''t tell me you have forgotten everything I told you?"


    "I �� I killed that boy last night," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am so scared that I have forgotten everything. Must loan money to the Wen brothers, right, right, you, Senior, did instruct me to do that."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "What''s so great about killing one or two people? But you are still young, you have never killed anybody before, I can''t blame you. That book, you haven''t forgotten about it, have you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That book �� book �� I �� I ��"


    Hai Laogong snorted again, he said, "So you really have forgotten everything?"


    "Gong-gong, I ��" Wei Xiaobao said, "I have a terrible headache, I �� I am very scared, you are coughing like that, I am really worried, everything �� everything is muddled in my head."


    "Alright, come here!" Hai Laogong said.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied, as he walked several steps closer.


    Hai Laogong said, "Let me tell you again, if you don''t remember it this time, I am going to kill you."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, thinking, "If you tell me all the way through, I won''t forget it for a hundred years."


    Hai Laogong said, "Win the Wen brothers'' money, when they are out of money, you give them loan, the more the better. After a few days, you then want them to take you to the Upper Study Room. They owe you money, they won''t dare not to comply. If they give you all sorts of excuses, tell them that I will settle the account with the Upper Study Room manager, Wu Laogong. If the Wen brothers still do not want to pay, we may have to bring this to the Emperor''s attention ��"


    "The Emperor?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "What is it?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "No �� nothing," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hai Laogong continued, "They may ask you what do you want in the Upper Study Room. You tell them that people are bound to go to higher place, you wish to see the Emperor by doing some errand at the Upper Study Room. Of course the Wen brothers won''t let you see the Emperor, when they take you there, certainly the Emperor won''t be in the Upper Study Room. That''s when you will try to steal a book."


    Hearing him kept mentioning of the Emperor, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was stirred, "Could it be that this is the Imperial Palace? And not Beijing''s biggest brothel? Aiyo hey, that''s right, that''s right, if this is not the Imperial Palace, how could there be such splendor and majesty? These people must be court eunuchs attending the Emperor."


    Although Wei Xiaobao had heard people mentioning the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, Princess, as well as palace maids and court eunuch, he only knew that the Emperor are supposed to wear dragon robe, but how the Emperor actually look like, he had no idea. In Yangzhou he had watched a lot of plays, but the court eunuchs in those plays did not dress like Hai Laogong, Lao Wu or the others at all, the actors'' hands always held a whisk, which they waved here and there. The songs in the play were not pleasant to hear. He had contact with Hai Laogong only for a day, he had gambled with Lao Wu, the Wen brothers and the others for half a day, but he did not know they were eunuchs. This time hearing Hai Laogong''s words, he gradually understood; he thought, "Aiyo, in this case, haven''t I turned into a court eunuch?"


    In stern voice Hai Laogong said, "Have you understood clearly what you heard?"


    "Yes, yes, very clear," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have to go to the Em �� Emperor''s Upper Study Room."


    "To the Emperor''s Upper Study Room for what?" Hai Laogong said, "To play?"


    "To steal a book," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Steal what book?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "This �� this �� some book �� I �� I can''t remember," Wei Xiaobao stammered.


    Hai Laogong detected the happiness in his voice, he asked, "Why are you happy?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as you mentioned it, I then recalled it to mind, therefore I am happy."


    Hai Laogong added, "If you want to steal book at the Upper Study Room, your movements must be clean and in order; if anybody catch you, even if you have a hundred lives, you won''t be able to keep them."


    "I understand this part well," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you steal something and are caught, how could you sing and play trick?" A sudden inspiration struck; he said, "In no way would I mention Gong-gong''s name."


    Hai Laogong said, "Mention my name or not, it has nothing to do with this matter." He coughed several times, and then continued, "You have done well today, unexpectedly you win some money. Did they get suspicious?"


    "Hey hey," Wei Xiaobao laughed, "No, no, how could they get suspicious?" He wanted to toot his horn a little bit, but in the end he restrained himself.


    "Don''t be lazy, idling left and right without doing anything," Hai Laogong said, "You must practice a lot."


    Wei Xiaobao complied and walked into the room, he saw bowls and chopsticks on the table, plus four dishes of meat and vegetables, and one bowl of soup, but nobody had touched anything. "Gong-gong," he hastily said, "You haven''t eaten? Let me get some food for you."


    "I am not hungry," Hai Laogong said, "I don''t want to eat. You go ahead and eat."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. Without taking any rice, he picked a red-cooked pork with his fingers and ate. Although the dishes were already cold, as it entered his stomach, he found it was indescribably delicious. "I wonder who sent this meal over," he mused, "I''d better not ask this kind of trivial matter, I just have to open my eyes and slowly I will find out." He also thought, "If this is really the Imperial Palace, then Lao Wu, the Wen brothers, and that Xiao Xuanzi that I''ll have to deal with, are all eunuchs. I wonder what do the old Emperor and Empress really look like? I guess I will have to see to know that. When I return to Yangzhou, hey hey, laozi can tell it with some air. I wonder if Mao Dage can escape from the Imperial Palace? During the gambling nobody mentioned anything about catching anybody, most likely he was able to get out."


    After eating, because he was afraid he might raise Hai Laogong suspicion, he took the six dice and ''ding ling ling'', he threw them into the bowl continuously. After throwing dice for a moment, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He did not sleep at all the previous night, and only now did he finally feel very weary, so in a short while he was already asleep.


    He slept until the evening, when a worker eunuch came to deliver their dinner. Wei Xiaobao waited on Hai Laogong as he ate, he also helped him to bed, and then he lay down on the small bed. He thought, "The most important thing tomorrow is the martial art contest with Xiao Xuanzi. It would be best if I can beat him." Closing his eyes, he recalled the technique Mao Shiba used to fight the Manchu wrestlers at the wine shop, but the picture in his mind was fuzzy; he could not help but feel a tinge of regret, "Mao Dage wanted to teach me martial art, I was not willing to learn. If I had learned it along the way, although Xiao Xuanzi is stronger than me, how can he be my match? If tomorrow he manage to sit on me and I am not able to flip over, losing money is nothing, but losing face is a big thing. I, the Little White Dragon Wei Xiaobao, cannot mingle around in Jianghu anymore." Suddenly another thought popped up, "The Manchu warriors are not Mao Dage''s match, but Mao Dage is not the old turtle''s match, why not swindle the old turtle to teach me some skill?" Thereupon he said, "Gong-gong, you want me to go to the Upper Study Room to get the book, but there is a small problem."


    "What problem?" Hai Laogong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "On my way back from gambling today, I met a little ... little eunuch. He stopped me and told me to give him the money. I refused, so we had a duel. He said that if I can beat him, then he would let me go. I fought with him for half a day, that''s why ... that''s why I was late for lunch."


    "And you lost, didn''t you?" Hai Laogong said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He is taller and stronger, a lot stronger than I am. He said he wants to have a duel with me every day. The day I can beat him, that will be the day he won''t bother me anymore."


    "What''s this baby''s name?" Hai Laogong asked, "Which building does he belong to?"


    "He is called Xiao Xuanzi," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But I don''t know which building he belongs to."


    Hai Laogong said, "Must be because you won some money, your manner appeared disgusting in the eyes of others; otherwise, why would he look for you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I refused to submit to him, I''ll look for him again tomorrow. I just don''t know if I can beat him."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "You want to ask me to teach you martial art. I told you I won''t teach you, so I won''t teach you. It''s useless for you to ask in a roundabout way."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed silently, "This old turtle is smart, he won''t fall into my trick." He said, "This Xiao Xuanzi also does not know martial art. If I want to beat him, I don''t need to learn any martial art; who ask you to teach me? Today clearly I was able to sit on his body, it''s just that he is strong, he managed to turn me over. Tomorrow I am going to grab him with all my strength, this fellow may not necessarily be able to turn over like a turtle." For the whole day he had been careful, restraining himself not to speak any vulgar word, but now finally he could not bear not to say one.


    Hai Laogong said, "You want to hold him down that he won''t turn over, that is easy."


    "I also think it won''t be difficult," Wei Xiaobao said, "Tomorrow I will grab his shoulder really hard."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong snorted, "What good is it to grab his shoulder? Whether he can turn over or not depends on the strength of his back. You must use your knee to press against the acupoint on his lower back. Come here, I''ll show you."


    Wei Xiaobao rolled down from his bed and leaped toward Hai Laogong''s bed. Hai Laogong ran his finger on Wei Xiaobao''s lower back, and lightly pressed. Immediately Wei Xiaobao felt his entire body limp and painful, his strength was gone.


    "Can you remember it?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Tomorrow I''ll give it a try, I just don''t know if it will work."


    Hai Laogong angrily said, "What do you mean it won''t work? That is ''one hundred shots, one hundred hits, ten thousand times tests, ten thousand times effective''." He then put out his hand on either side of Wei Xiaobao''s neck, and pressed lightly.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, he felt the pit of his stomach was choked, his breathing could not flow.


    Hai Laogong said, "If you pressed hard these two acupoints, he won''t have any strength to fight you."


    Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed, "That will do," he said, "Tomorrow I might be allowed to defeat him." He had just learned the word ''allow'' during the gambling that day. Returning to his own bed, he fantasized that the following day the ''Little White Dragon'' Wei Xiaobao would beat Xiao Xuanzi so that he would call ''surrender''; and he felt very proud of himself.


    The next day Lao Wu called him up again to gamble. The Wen brothers'' names were Wen Youdao and Wen Youfang, and today it was these two brothers'' turn to be the banker. Wei Xiaobao used his trick and won more than twenty taels from them. The two brothers'' luck was quite bad that day, in less than an hour, their fifty taels capital was wiped clean. Wei Xiaobao loaned them twenty taels, but by quitting time, the Wen brothers also lost these twenty taels.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was occupied with his martial art competition against Xiao Xuanzi. As soon as the gambling adjourned, he rushed to that room. He saw the table was still loaded with dishes of light refreshments. He picked several pieces and started munching. Soon he heard the sound of boots. Afraid that the incoming person was not Xiao Xuanzi, he thought it would be better for him to hide underneath the table first. But he heard from outside the door Xiao Xuanzi had already called, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi!"


    Wei Xiaobao leaped to the door and said with a laugh, "Appointment to the death, don''t leave before we meet."


    Xiao Xuanzi also laughed, "Ha ha ... Appointment to the death, don''t leave before we meet," he said as he walked in.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that Xiao Xuanzi was wearing a brand new set of outfit, it looked really gorgeous, so that he could not help but feeling rather jealous. He thought, "Wait till I tear your new clothes, you won''t be so cocky!" With a loud shout he pounced on Xiao Xuanzi.


    Xiao Xuanzi also shouted, "Good move!" Grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s arms, he swept with his left leg. Wei Xiaobao could not withstand it, he tottered several steps and tumbled down on the ground, pulling Xiao Xuanzi along that he also fell.


    Wei Xiaobao rolled away and leaped up to sit on Xiao Xuanzi''s back. Remembering Hai Laogong''s lesson, he stretched his hand to press on the acupoint on Xiao Xuanzi''s lower back. However, he had never practiced sealing acupoints before, how could he seal the acupoint simply by grabbing it? His grab missed a little bit, Xiao Xuanzi had already turned around and caught Wei Xiaobao''s left arm, which he twisted backward forcefully.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, "Have you no shame, twisting my arm like that?"


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed and said, "Learning wrestling is precisely learning how to twist others'' arm; what do you mean I have no shame?"


    Taking advantage while Xiao Xuanzi was still speaking, Wei Xiaobao threw himself as hard as he could toward Xiao Xuanzi''s lower back, ramming his head against his back, while sneaking his right hand underneath Xiao Xuanzi''s armpit, and flung him upward as hard as he could. Xiao Xuanzi''s body flew over Wei Xiaobao''s head and ''thump!'' he landed on the floor.


    Xiao Xuanzi leaped up and said, "So you also know the move ''antelope hanging its antlers''."


    Wei Xiaobao had no idea what an ''antelope hanging its antlers'' move look like, he simply moved without thinking and succeeded. Feeling proud of himself he said, "This ''antelope hanging its antlers'' is nothing, I still have many formidable moves I haven''t used yet."


    Xiao Xuanzi happily said, "Nothing better than that; let''s fight again."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Turns out you have practiced martial art, no wonder I cannot beat you. But you use one move, I learn one move; at most you will throw me down several times, I will be able learn your technique." Seeing Xiao Xuanzi was pouncing at him, he also threw himself forward forcefully. To his surprise, Xiao Xuanzi attack was a feign one. As Wei Xiaobao pounced forward, he had already held his momentum and sidestepped, while stretching out his hand to push Wei Xiaobao''s back. Wei Xiaobao pounced on an empty air. ''Bang!'' His own momentum plus Xiao Xuanzi''s push had sent him crashing heavily on the ground.


    Xiao Xuanzi cheered loudly and jumped to ride on Wei Xiaobao''s back. "Surrender now?" he asked.


    "No!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He was about to straighten his back to stand up, suddenly his waist went numb; the two acupoints on his lower back were pressed by Xiao Xuanzi''s fingers. This acupoint sealing technique was exactly the one Hai Laogong taught him the previous night. Although he had learned it, the opponent had beaten him in using it first. Wei Xiaobao struggled several times, but all along he was unable to free himself. "Alright," he had no choice but to call out, "I surrender this time!"


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed aloud and let him stand up. Suddenly Wei Xiaobao extended his foot to trip him. Xiao Xuanzi''s body tilted sideways, he was about to fall. Wei Xiaobao sent a punch toward his lower back. Xiao Xuanzi grunted in pain and doubled over. From behind Wei Xiaobao pounced with both hands grabbed his neck from two directions. Xiao Xuanzi had a spell of dizziness and fell down on the ground. Wei Xiaobao was delighted, without taking his hands away, he asked, "Surrender now?"


    Xiao Xuanzi grunted; suddenly both of his elbows struck backwards. Wei Xiaobao felt a severe pain that he thought his ribs were about to break. He screamed and fell face up. Xiao Xuanzi turned around and sat on the pit of his stomach. He had just scored another victory, but he was panting heavily and was feeling very tired that he was unable to breath normally. "Do ... do ... do you surrender now?" he asked.


    "Surrender your fart!" Wei Xiaobao said, "No ... no ... surrender. A hundred times ... ten ... ten thousand times no surrender. You''ve just won by chance."


    Xiao Xuanzi said, "If you don''t surrender, then get up and fight again."


    With both hands pushing the floor, Wei Xiaobao wanted to stand up, but the vital acupoint on the pit of his stomach was still being pressed by the opponent, his body was numb and aching that he was unable to exert his strength. After struggling for a long time, he did not have any choice but to surrender one more time.


    Xiao Xuanzi stood up, his arms were limp and painful. Wei Xiaobao strived to get up, but his body swaggered; he said, "Tomorrow ... tomorrow we''ll fight again, I must ... must make you surrender."


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed and said, "Fighting a hundred times more, you will ... will ... will lose. If you have guts, tomorrow we''ll fight again."


    "I am afraid it''s you who don''t have guts," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why wouldn''t I have guts? Appointment to the death, don''t leave before we meet."


    "Alright," Xiao Xuanzi said, "Appointment to the death, don''t leave before we meet."


    Both of them were fired up because of the fight, nobody mentioned anything about the money. Since Xiao Xuanzi did not mention it, Wei Xiaobao was glad to pretend that he forget. If he were the victor, he would definitely want his money.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his room and said to Hai Laogong, "Gong-gong, your technique was useless, it was too sloppy and ordinary."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong snorted, "Hopeless, you lost again."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I had used my own technique, granted that although I may not win, I may not necessarily lose either. But your technique is just too useless, all other people already know how to us it, what''s so special?"


    "He also knows this technique?" Hai Laogong wondered, "Show me."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You are blind, you want me to show you, can you see it?" But then he had a second thought, "But I don''t know if he is really blind or just pretending to be blind, I might as well test him." Immediately both of his elbows struck backward and he said, "He strikes like this and each one of the three-thousand bones in my body was very painful."


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "You told me he strike like that, how can I see it?" He rose up shakily and said, "Try to do what he did."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted, "The old turtle is really blind." With his back against Hai Laogong, he thrust his elbows slowly backwards, and said, "He used his elbows like this to strike me." As soon as his elbow reached Hai Laogong''s chest, he no longer exerted any strength.


    "Hmm," Hai Laogong said, "This is ''armpit-bottom hammer''; nothing special about it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Then there is this one." He pulled Hai Laogong''s left hand and placed it on his right shoulder; he said, "He put forth his strength and flung me, my body then flew over his head." Actually, it was he who flung Xiao Xuanzi, which he was very proud of, but he intentionally reversed the role to test Hai Laogong.


    "It is the ''antelope hanging its antlers''," Hai Laogong said.


    "So you know that one," Wei Xiaobao said. Then he pulled Hai Laogong''s arm and slowly twisted it backward.


    "Um, that one is the third stance of the ''Falling Broken Plum''," Hai Laogong said, "What else?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Turns out all Xiao Xuanzi''s moves have famous names. Then the techniques I used, my random punch and random twist against him should also have some pleasant sounding famous names. I pounced at him, this kid sidestepped, but taking the opportunity he pushed on my back, and I ..."


    Without waiting for him to finish, Hai Laogong cut him off, "Where did he push?"


    "As soon as he pushed, I was thrown and knocked out of my mind, how could I remember where he pushed?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hai Laogong said, "Try to remember it, did he push here?" He stretched out his hand to push behind Wei Xiaobao''s left shoulder.


    "Not there," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Is it here?" Hai Laogong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao still replied, "Not there."


    Successively Hai Laogong pressed seven or eight locations, Wei Xiaobao always replied, "Not there." Hai Laogong stretched out his palm to press Wei Xiaobao''s right waist underneath his ribs and asked, "Is it here?" While saying that, he gently pushed.


    Wei Xiaobao staggered and tumbled several steps away. Right away he remembered it was the exact spot Xiao Xuanzi had pushed. "That''s it!" he shouted, "Dead on, that''s the exact spot. Gong-gong, how do you know?"


    Hai Laogong did not answer, he was deep in thought for half a day, then said, "I taught you two techniques, yet you say he knew both of them already. Are you telling me the truth?"


    "Naturally it''s the truth," Wei Xiaobao said, "Genuine goods at fair prices, treating both the young and the old honestly. Not only this kid can press my lower back, he can also crush the pit of my stomach right here, so that I could not breathe, and thus I was forced to surrender that time. It was called ..."


    Hai Laogong did not care whatever name Wei Xiaobao was going to mention; he held out his hand and said, "He pressed on the pit of your stomach where?"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled his hand and pressed it against the pit of his stomach, right on the spot where Xiao Xuanzi had pressed. "Right here," he said.


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "This is the zigong [''purple palace''] acupoint. This child''s Shifu is a martial art master."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s nothing, a real man can submit or can stand tall, living on a green mountain, no need to worry there won''t be cooking firewood (Book note: the actual phrase is ''firewood to cook with'' but he changed it to ''cooking firewood''). I ... I, Wei ... I, Xiao Guizi has lost a fight today, tomorrow I will win it back from him, it''s not a difficult matter."


    Hai Laogong sat back on his chair. He bent his right hand and stretched it out again, then he stretched it out and bent it again. His eyes closed in contemplation. After quite a long time, he said, "He knows ''little grappling[41] technique'', it''s not so strange; but his palm pushed the yishe [''desire residence''] acupoint on your right waist, it was exactly Wudang Pai''s ''Soft Palm'' technique. Afterwards he pressed your jinsuo [''muscle shrinkage''] acupoint, and then your zigong acupoint. Those are Wudang Pai''s acupoint striking technique. Turns out there is a Wudang master hiding in our palace. Hmm, very good! Very good! Tell me, that Xiao ... Xiao Xuanzi, how old is he?"


    "He is a lot older than I am," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "How much older?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "Several years," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Hai Laogong angrily said, "What do you mean several years? One or two years is several years, eight or nine years is also several years. If he is eight or nine years older than you, do you still want to fight him?"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s just say he is one or two years older than I am. But he is a lot bigger and taller than I am."


    Luckily the opponent was older and bigger, so losing was not considered a major face loss. If not for the fact that he wanted Hai Laogong to teach him some martial art, Wei Xiaobao would have not say anything about his defeat in the duel; when he returned, he would inevitably give an exaggerated account of things, he would say that it was him who scored a big victory instead.


    Hai Laogong muttered, "This child is fourteen, fifteen years old. Hmm, how long did you fight him before you were beaten?"


    "At least four or six hours [orig. ''2, 3 sichen'', 1 sichen is 2 hours]," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hai Laogong''s face sack. "Don''t brag!" he barked, "How long?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Perhaps it''s less than 2 hours, but it is more than one hour."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "I am asking you, you''d better answer nicely. This kid knows martial art, you don''t; so even if you lose the fight, you don''t lose your face. It does not matter whether you fought ten times or eight times, even if you lose a hundred times, two hundred times, you are still young, what are you afraid of? So long as the last one time you win, your opponent will not dare to fight with you anymore. Now that is a hero and a warrior."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "In the past, Han Gaozu[42] fought a hundred battles and lost a hundred times. Finally in the last battle he beat Chu Bawang [Overlord/hegemon Chu] that he hanged himself by the River Wu ..."


    Hai Laogong said, "What do you mean he hanged himself by the River Wu? He cut his own throat by the River Wu."


    "Hanging himself or cutting his own throat, it does not matter, he lost and thus he killed himself," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You always want to win every argument," Hai Laogong said, "Tell me, during your fight with Xiao Xuanzi today, how many times did he beat you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "About one or two times, maybe two or three times."


    "It was four times, wasn''t it?" Hai Laogong said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, I really lost twice, the other two times he was cheating, it didn''t count."


    "Each time how long did you fight?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "I didn''t keep track of the time," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Sometimes it was like pooping, sometimes it was like peeing."


    "Rubbish!" Hai Laogong said, "What do you mean sometimes it was like pooping, sometimes it was like peeing?"


    "Defecating is somewhat slower," Wei Xiaobao explained, "Urinating does not take too much time."


    Hai Laogong chuckled, he said, "Although this kid''s analogy is vulgar, what he said is very clear." After pondering for half a day he said, "You have not learned martial art, this Xiao Xuanzi still need to fight you for a while before he can knock you down, that means his ''little grappling technique'' is newly learned. Don''t be afraid, I''ll teach you the ''big grappling technique''. Learn it well, and tomorrow you may challenge him again."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "He is using the ''little grappling technique'', we are using the ''big grappling technique'', big will overcome small, we will definitely win," he said.


    "That''s not necessarily true," Hai Laogong said, "Both big and small grappling techniques have their own strong points. We must take the practitioner into consideration. If he trained better than you do, the little grappling technique will surpass the big grappling technique. This big grappling technique altogether has eighteen moves, each one has seven or eight variations. You won''t be able to remember all, let''s practice one or two moves before we proceed further."


    Right away he stood up and performed the move. Finished with one move, he said, "This move is called ''Immortal Crane Combing its Plume''. Practice it well, then try it with me."


    Wei Xiaobao only looked one time, and he already remembered. After practicing for seven, eight times, he thought he had mastered it well. He said, "I have mastered it."


    Still sitting on a chair, Hai Laogong stretched out his left arm to grab Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder. Wei Xiaobao raised his hand to ward it off, but he was one step slower, his shoulder was already grabbed.


    "Mastered what? Practice again," Hai Laogong said.


    Wei Xiaobao practiced several more times, then he tried it again with Hai Laogong. Hai Laogong stretched out his left arm, he was using exactly the same posture and move as the previous time. This time Wei Xiaobao was prepared, as soon as he saw the hand moved, he raised his hand to ward off; who would have thought that he was still somewhat slower and his shoulder was grabbed again.


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "Little idiot!"


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Old turtle!" And he was back practicing again.


    By the third try, his shoulder was still grabbed; he could not help but feeling at a loss, without knowing the reason.


    "This grab of mine," Hai Laogong said, "Even if you practice for three years, you won''t necessarily be able to parry. Let me tell you this: if you cannot evade, when my hand is moving to your shoulder, you must use your palm to chop my wrist. It is called using offense as a defense."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "So that''s how it is, it''s very easy!" he said, "If you have told me earlier, I would have mastered it early on."


    As soon as Hai Laogong''s left hand came to grab him, Wei Xiaobao raised his right palm to chop down on his wrist. Unexpectedly, Hai Laogong did not even withdraw his hand, his palm moved slightly to the side, ''Slap!'' he heavily slap Wei Xiaobao''s face. Wei Xiaobao was angry, he also tried to slap Hai Laogong''s face. Hai Laogong flipped his left palm to catch Wei Xiaobao wrist and casually flung him away. He laughed and said, "Little idiot, have you remembered it?"


    As he was being thrown away, Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder crashed into the foot of the wall. Fortunately in this throw Hai Laogong only used very light force, otherwise his shoulder bones might be broken by the collision. Wei Xiaobao was very angry, the curse ''Old Turtle'' was already at the tip of his tongue, but in the end he was able to curb it. He thought, "These two techniques are very good, when I fight Xiao Xuanzi tomorrow, I''ll use one of these damn moves, I guaranteed Xiao Xuanzi won''t be able to withstand." Immediately he crawled up and tried to commit Hai Laogong''s two techniques into his memory, and then practiced it several times.


    After practicing it for about a dozen times, Hai Laogong''s mysterious technique did not seem too unfathomable anymore, until finally he was able to evade the grab on his shoulder, but all along he was never able to avoid the slap on his face. It''s just that Hai Laogong did not use as much force as he did the first time, as long as his hand and fingers brushed away lightly on Wei Xiaobao''s face, it was already considered a slap. Although this brush was not painful, each time he was always hit on the same spot. Since Wei Xiaobao was always unable to counter, Hai Laogong did not grab and fling him away like before.


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was dismayed, "Gong-gong," he asked, "How do I evade this move of yours?"


    Hai Laogong smiled faintly and said, "If I want to hit you, even if you practice for ten years you won''t be able to evade. But Xiao Xuanzi won''t be able to beat you either. Let''s practice the second move." He stood up and demonstrated the second move of the ''big grappling technique'', called the ''apes and monkeys pick the fruits'', and then have Wei Xiaobao tried it to him.


    By nature, Wei Xiaobao was very lazy; actually, he was unwilling to diligently learn martial art, but his desire to win and outdo others took precedence, he wholeheartedly wanted to master these several ingenious techniques to force Xiao Xuanzi to call ''surrender''; therefore, he painstakingly practiced these moves. Surprisingly, Hai Laogong was not fed up with him at all.


    From afternoon to evening that day, the two of them trained incessantly. Hai Laogong was sitting on a chair, his arm was able to reach anywhere at will. As soon as he made a move, Wei Xiaobao was hit, but on the whole his force was very light, each move did not use much strength. Even so, when he went the bed that night, Wei Xiaobao felt that no part of his entire body, from head to toe, did not ache. For more than half a day, at least he had received four to five hundred hits. As he lying on the bed, he secretly cursed, "Old turtle, you have hit laozi so many times. Tomorrow laozi will beat Xiao Xuanzi; old turtle, even if you kowtow to laozi for three hundred times, laozi will not learn martial art from you again."


    The afternoon the next day, after gambling Wei Xiaobao had another duel with Xiao Xuanzi. He noticed that Xiao Xuanzi was wearing another set of new clothes; he mused, "You, this kid, are wearing new set of clothes every day, are you going to visit a girl in a brothel?" He was very jealous, so as soon as he made his move, he ripped his new clothes. ''Rip'' a large tear appeared on Xiao Xuanzi''s clothes. But in doing so, he had forgotten the newly-learned skill, so that his waist was punched by Xiao Xuanzi; he screamed in pain.


    Xiao Xuanzi seized this opportunity to stretch out his finger and poked Wei Xiaobao''s left leg. Wei Xiaobao''s left leg went numb and he fell kneeling down. From behind Xiao Xuanzi pushed, right away Wei Xiaobao tumbled down. Xiao Xuanzi jumped to ride on his back and pressed his yishe acupoint. Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to concede.


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and focused his attention, waiting for Xiao Xuanzi to make his move, then he used the ''Immortal Crane Combing its Plume'', chopping the opponent''s wrist. Xiao Xuanzi hastily withdrew his hand, while sending out a punch. Wei Xiaobao had anticipated this move; he grabbed the wrist and twisted it around, followed by a left elbow strike toward Xiao Xuanzi''s back. Xiao Xuanzi cried out in pain was powerless to resist. This round belonged to Wei Xiaobao.


    Ever since the two of them started this martial art competition, this was the first time Wei Xiaobao scored a victory; his joy was unspeakable. Although he had killed a military officer at the Victory Hill in Yangzhou, and killed Xiao Guizi in the palace, but both times he had been cheating. In all the fights in his life, other than bullying eight, nine years old children, which he always triumphed, he had never won any fight against grownups. Occasionally he gained the upper hand by biting, throwing dirt on their eyes, or other despicable tricks. As for chopping people''s legs from underneath the table at the restaurant, that was not really a honorable thing to do, so it need not be mentioned anymore. Using a real skill to achieve victory, this was the very first time in his entire life.


    In his self-satisfaction, unavoidably his ego was inflated and he lost the third round. In the fourth round, Wei Xiaobao gathered his thoughts and used the move ''apes and monkeys pick the fruits''; he wrestled the opponent for quite a long time, unexpectedly they fell into a deadlock until both of them were depleted of their strengths. Holding each other in their arms, they were panting for breath, and had no choice but to stop fighting.


    Xiao Xuanzi was very happy; he laughed and said, "Today your �� your skill is progressing. Competing martial art with you is bit more interesting. Who �� who taught you?"


    Also panting for breath, Wei Xiaobao replied, "I''ve already known this skill long ago, it''s just that I did not use it the previous couple of days. Tomorrow I will show you a more �� more formidable technique. Will you or will you not dare to oblige?"


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed aloud and said, "Naturally I will oblige, most probably it will be the new technique of yelling ''Surrender!''."


    "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "Tomorrow it will be you who scream ''Surrender!''"


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his room. Immensely proud of himself, he said, "Gong-gong, your ''big grappling technique'' is really deathly, I twisted that kid''s wrist, and strike his back with my elbow, this kid did not have any choice but to surrender."


    "How many rounds did you fight with him today?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "I fought him four rounds, I won two," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Actually, I could win three rounds, but I was not being careful the third time."


    Hai Laogong said, "You always speak ''breaking seven fastening eight''; if you say that you fought four rounds, at most you only won one round."


    Wei Xiaobao chuckled and said, "The first round I did not win, the second round I really did win. If I have empty words, may the heaven punish and the earth exterminate. The third round he cannot be considered lost, the fourth round we both fought until we are out of strength, so we agree to fight again tomorrow."


    Hai Laogong said, "Tell me truthfully, every move every style, in great details."


    Although Wei Xiaobao had a good memory, his knowledge of martial art was too little, how these four rounds were unfold by every move and every style, he could not narrate in details; he could only remember the third round where he scored a victory and thus the move he was most proud of. But Hai Laogong was insistent that he have a detailed account on how he was defeated. Wei Xiaobao was thinking of giving him a vague answer to dismiss his inquiry, but in the end he had to tell Hai Laogong the truth. The styles Xiao Xuanzi used to score victory, Hai Laogong was able to spell them out one by one, as if he was personally witnessing the fight, adding ten times the details of what Wei Xiaobao was able to tell. As he mentioned one style, Wei Xiaobao was then able to remember that it was indeed so.


    "Gong-gong," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have eyes that can see a thousand li; otherwise, how can you know clearly which technique Xiao Xuanzi was using?"


    Hai Laogong lowered his head in contemplation, he muttered, "He is really a Wudang master, he is really a Wudang master."


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised, "You said this kid Xiao Xuanzi is a Wudang Pai master? And I was able to fight this master evenly? Ha ha ��"


    "Pei!" Hai Laogong spat, "Don''t show off shamelessly! Who says he was the master? I was talking about the Shifu who taught him punching and kicking."


    "So what Sect [''Pai''] do you belong to?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Our martial art is matchless under the heavens, naturally it is a lot more formidable than Wudang Pai; that is an obvious fact." He still did not know which school Hai Laogong belonged to, but he bragged about it first without restraint.


    "I belong to Shaolin Pai," Hai Laogong replied.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "That''s very good; Wudang Pai''s martial art encounters our Shaolin Pai, of course they will be utterly defeated, they will run away hiding their tails between their legs."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong snorted and said, "I haven''t taken you as my disciple, how can you consider yourself a Shaolin disciple?"


    Wei Xiaobao embarrassedly said, "I did not say I was a Shaolin Pai disciple, I only learned Shaolin Pai martial art, is that correct?"


    Hai Laogong said, "The technique Xiao Xuanzi was using is indeed Wudang Pai''s orthodox qin na technique, so we must use Shaolin Pai''s orthodox qin na technique to cope with him, otherwise we would not be his match."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "My lost to him is small matter, implicating the prestige of our Shaolin Pai is greatly unworthy." On how great Shaolin Pai''s prestige really was, he was completely clueless, but if he was somewhat responsible of maintaining Shaolin Pai''s prestige, it must be not a trivial business.


    Hai Laogong said, "I passed on those two moves from the ''big grappling technique'' yesterday with the intention of defeating that kid to get out of a difficult situation, so you won''t be entangled anymore and can go to the Upper Study Room to get the book. But right now the situation is slightly different. This kid is definitely a direct disciple of Wudang Pai. Then the eighteen moves of the ''big grappling technique'' must be taught to you, each stance and each style, from the start. Do you know the ''bow-and-arrow step''?"


    "Bow-and-arrow step?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Isn''t that the posture an archer takes when he is bending the bow?"


    Hai Laogong''s countenance sank, he said, "You want to learn martial art, you must be modest, if you don''t know it, just say so. People who learn martial art must abstain from thinking oneself clever, from believing that oneself is infallible. Bend your forward leg on the knee so that it will look like a bow, that is called ''bow foot''. Stick out your back leg in an angle so that it will look like an arrow, that is called ''arrow foot''. When those two are used together, the posture is called ''bow-and-arrow step''." While saying that, he demonstrated the ''bow-and-arrow step'' stance.


    Wei Xiaobao copied the stance and said, "What''s so difficult about this stance? I can do it a hundred or eighty times a day."


    Hai Laogong said, "I don''t want you to do it a hundred or eighty times, I just want you to do it once. Now do the stance, if I do not tell you to stand up, you must not move." While saying that he ran his hands on Wei Xiaobao''s legs to check their positions. He pushed the forward leg further down, and the back leg even straighter.


    "It''s so easy," Wei Xiaobao said. However, keeping the stance without moving like that, in less than half the time needed to burn an incense, his legs were tingling. "Is it enough?" he called out.


    "It is far from enough," Hai Laogong replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "What''s the use of me practicing this strange posture? Are you saying that by doing this I can knock Xiao Xuanzi down?"


    Hai Laogong said, "When you train the ''bow-and-arrow step'' until your stance is steady, others cannot push you down. Its usefulness is great."


    Wei Xiaobao stubbornly argued, "Even if people push me down, I can always stand back up and not suffer any defeat."


    Hai Laogong nodded slowly, but did not pay any attention to him. Seeing him nodding, Wei Xiaobao straightened up his body and patted his tingling legs. Hai Laogong barked, "Who told you to stand up? Quickly do the ''bow-and-arrow step'' again!"


    "I want to poop!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You can''t!" Hai Laogong said.


    "I want to poop!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You can''t!" Hai Laogong said.


    "My poop is really about to come out!" Wei Xiaobao said. Hai Laogong sighed; he had no choice but to let him go to the toilet to loosen his legs.


    Although Wei Xiaobao was intelligent, but to expect him to follow the compass and go with the set square, to follow a prescribed pattern in martial art training, was easier said than done. In the end Hai Laogong did not force him anymore, he only taught him several qin na and wrestling techniques. During the sparring, Wei Xiaobao was required to bend down and turn around, to squat and crouch low on the ground; Hai Laogong did not join him in performing these exercises, he only called out the directions and stretched out his hand to feel whether there was any mistake in Wei Xiaobao''s posture and technique.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao had another martial art competition against Xiao Xuanzi. Thinking that the previous day they fought for four rounds, in which he lost two rounds and won one round, with the newly-learned skill, today he should be able to win all four rounds. Who would have thought that as soon as the fight began, when he use several new techniques against Xiao Xuanzi, regardless of how he was using it, one after another Xiao Xuanzi was able to neutralize it. So much so that Wei Xiaobao lost the first two rounds.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked and angry; in the third round he was extra careful, only then did he manage to twist and pull Xiao Xuanzi''s left palm backward that Xiao Xuanzi was unable to turn around and was forced to surrender.


    Wei Xiaobao was so immensely proud of himself that he lost again the fourth round. Xiao Xuanzi was able to sit on his head, with both legs astride the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck, so that he was almost suffocated.


    After he surrendered, Wei Xiaobao stood up and cursed, "Damn it, you ..."


    Xiao Xuanzi''s countenance sank. "What did you say?" he asked sternly. Instantly his expression turned cold and imposing.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed; he mused, "It''s not right, this is the imperial palace, I must not speak vulgar language. Mao Dage warned me that when we get to Beijing, we must not say anything wrong. I said ''damn it'', that means I say something damn wrong, and thus I am exposing my trickery." Thereupon he hastily said, "I said my style ''damn it'' cannot defeat you, so I''d better surrender."


    Xiao Xuanzi''s face showed a smiling expression as he asked, "Your style is called ''damn it'' [ta ma de - literally ''his mother''s'']? What does it mean?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I''m lucky, I am lucky! This little turtle lives in the imperial palace all day long, and does not understand the way people on the outside curse." Thereupon he made up a wild story, "This style ''stepping on horse''s hoof'' [ta ma ti] was originally a skill based on the horse loses its front hooves [figuratively: sudden failure through miscalculation or inattentiveness]. As I ''step on'' [ta], you cannot defend against it, so I turn over and press you down. Who would have thought that you were not fooled, so this ''ta ma ti'' style was useless."


    Xiao Xuanzi roared in laughter and said, "What ''ta ma ti''? Even ''ta niu ti'' [stepping on cow''s hooof] cannot defeat me. Do you dare to fight with me again tomorrow?"


    "Do you need to ask?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally I will fight you. Hey, Xiao Xuanzi, let me ask you one question, please answer me truthfully and honestly, don''t conceal anything from me."


    "What is it?" Xiao Xuanzi asked.


    "The Shifu who teach you martial art, he is a Wudang Pai master, isn''t he?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Uh, how did you know?" Xiao Xuanzi wondered.


    "I can see from the technique you are using," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You know my martial art style?" Xiao Xuanzi asked, "What is it called?"


    "Who does not know?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "That is Wudang Pai''s orthodox skill, handed down in direct line from the founder, called the ''little grappling technique'', considered first-rate martial art in the Jianghu. However, against our Shaolin Pai''s orthodox skill, handed down in direct line from the founder, called the ''big grappling technique'', it is still one class lower."


    Xiao Xuanzi laughed aloud and said, "What a horn-tooting! Aren''t you ashamed of yourself? In our martial art competition today, did you win, or did I win?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Victory or defeat is common in a war, a hero is not measured by victory or defeat."


    Xiao Xuanzi said with a laugh, "A hero is not measured by success or failure."


    "Victory or defeat is the same as success or failure," Wei Xiaobao said. He had once heard the storyteller mentioning ''A hero is not measured by success or failure'', but these two words ''success or failure'' was too difficult, so he could not remember it. However, since Xiao Xuanzi was able to say the correct phrase, he could not help but feeling admiration, "You are only a year or two older than I am, yet you actually know a lot of things."


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his residence and sighed, "Gong-gong," he said, "The more I learn new technique, the more others also learn new ones; but others'' Shifu is so skillful, he teaches better technique." He did not say that his own skill was inadequate, but blaming Hai Laogong''s teaching method instead.


    Hai Laogong said, "Obviously you lost all four rounds today! Muddle-headed kid, you don''t blame yourself as being useless, but you come here to complain about others."


    "Pei," Wei Xiaobao spat, "How could I lost all four rounds? At least I would win once or twice, or twice, three times. I have asked him today, his Shifu is indeed a direct disciple of orthodox school Wudang Pai."


    "Did he admit it?" Hai Laogong asked. He sounded rather excited.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I asked him, ''The Shifu who teach you martial art, he is a Wudang Pai master, isn''t he?'' He said, ''Uh, how did you know?'' Isn''t that the same as admitting it?"


    Hai Laogong mumbled, "Just as I thought, it''s really Wudang Pai." And then he was lost in thought, seemingly pondering a hard-to-understand matter. After a long time he said, "Let us practice some tripping feet techniques."


    And so every day Wei Xiaobao learned new techniques from Hai Laogong, and had his daily martial art contest with Xiao Xuanzi. During training, whenever he encountered a rather difficult technique, Wei Xiaobao would do it perfunctorily with all kinds of obscure excuses. Surprisingly, Hai Laogong followed his whim; disregarding the fundamentals, he only taught him how to dodge, evade, and various kinds of defensive tricks, anything that would give Wei Xiaobao an immediate benefit. However, during his fight with Xiao Xuanzi, Wei Xiaobao''s technique was advancing, Xiao Xuanzi''s technique was advancing even more. Fighting here and there, out of ten rounds Wei Xiaobao would lose seven or eight times.


    Every morning Wei Xiaobao always went gambling with Lao Wu, Ping Wei, Wen Youdao, Wen Youfang and others eunuchs. For the first several days he always had plain white cloth covering his face, but afterwards the covering was getting less and less. Although everybody could see that his facial features were completely different from Xiao Guizi''s, but first, they always met in the heat of the gambling, what Xiao Guizi actually looked like, they only remembered it vaguely; second, Wei Xiaobao was always giving others a loan, so everybody loved this generous friend; third, each day Wei Xiaobao took only a little bit of the wrapping, so the others were slowly getting accustomed to his look, unexpectedly, nobody ask him anything.


    When the gambling adjourned, Wei Xiaobao would have his martial art competition with Xiao Xuanzi, and have martial art lesson after lunch. The qin na technique he learned was getting increasingly difficult. Wei Xiaobao was disinclined to memorize it, he was even more disinclined to practice; fortunately, Hai Laogong did not force him or insist on supervising him strictly, he simply let nature take its course.


    Day in day out, without realizing it Wei Xiaobao had been in the imperial palace for two months. Every day he had money to gamble. Although it could not be said that his life was free and unrestrained, he was actually quite happy. His only regret was that he must not speak any obscenities, wantonly hurling abusive words to others; he also did not dare to imitate dog and steal chicken[43], or to make a scene and raise havoc in the palace. It was a rather minor defect in an otherwise perfect world. Sometimes he did think about escaping from the palace, but he did not know anybody within Beijing''s city limit; the more he thought about it, the more trepidation grew in his heart, and thus he kept lingering in the palace for ''yet another day''.


    Wei Xiaobao and Xiao Xuanzi had been fighting with each other for two months, they met every day, the friendship between them grew. Wei Xiaobao was getting used to losing, but putting things back in perspective, ''a hero is not measured by victory or defeat''; his win in the gambling arena offset his lost in the martial art arena, and thus he did not give it further thought. Both he and Xiao Xuanzi felt that if they miss a day of martial art contest, their whole body would be uncomfortable. Wei Xiaobao made a slow progress in martial art skill, but Xiao Xuanzi''s progress was also so-so. Although Wei Xiaobao lost more than he won, he was not entirely in losing streak without any victory.


    During these past two months, the Wen brothers lost so much money in gambling that they owed Wei Xiaobao more than two hundred taels. This particular day, before the game was even finished, the two brothers signaled each other with their eyes. Wen Youdao said to Wei Xiaobao, "Gui Xiongdi, we have something we''d like to discuss with you. Let''s step aside and talk."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Do you need some money? No problem."


    "Thank you very much," Wen Youfang said. The two brothers went out the door, with Wei Xiaobao following behind them. The three of them went to a side room next door.


    "Gui Xiongdi," Wen Youdao said, "You are very young, but you are naturally magnanimous, it is indeed rare."


    Hearing such flattery, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was in full bloom, "There, there! We are brothers here, you lend me, I lend you, why so uptight about it? There are borrowing and there are paying, we are all honest people here."


    In these past two months, he had managed to learn some Beijing accent; although occasionally he would still blurt some Yangzhou slangs, it did not sound too harsh in other people''s ears.


    Wen Youdao said, "Our luck these past two months is just not good, we have lost quite a lot of money. Although you, brother, do not mind, in our hearts we are very worried."


    Wen Youfang added, "Our lost is getting heavier and heavier, while your luck is getting better and better, and we owe you more and more money. If this situation continued, we don''t know how many tears it will take us to pay you back. If we continue on living burdened with debt like this, our lives would be tasteless."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Going into debt and not able to pay back is indeed inevitable and all right, the two of you must not bring it up anymore."


    Wen Youfang sighed and said, "Xiao Xiongdi''s character, we need not mention again. Frankly speaking, if we owe only you, Xiao Xiongdi, even if we owe you for a hundred years, we should not be uptight, should we?"


    "Exactly, exactly," Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "But what about two hundred years, three hundred years?"


    "Two hundred, three hundred years?" Wen Youfang said, "Everybody will be dead by then." Speaking to this point, he turned toward his elder brother. Wen Youdao nodded. Wen Youfang continued, "However, we, two brothers, know, that Xiao Xiongdi''s master is very difficult to deal with."


    "You mean Hai Laogong?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Isn''t he?" Wen Youfang said, "You, Xiao Xiongdi, may not pursue this matter, but there will come a day Hai Laogong will not let us, two brothers, off. If he, Senior, extends one finger to us, the Wen family''s Lao Da and Lao Er


    [44] won''t be able neither to eat nor escape at all. Consequently, we must think of a way to pay the money back."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Here it comes, here it comes, that old turtle Hai Laogong truly able to prophecy with supernatural accuracy. These days I only remember to practice boxing, to have martial art contest against Xiao Xuanzi, but I completely forgot about going to the Upper Study Room to steal the book. I''d better not mentioning it, I want to see what they are going to say." Thereupon he simply mumbled, "Um," noncommittally.


    Wen Youfang said, "We have thought about it over; there is only one way, we ask for Xiao Xiongdi''s magnanimity, to write off our debt completely, do not mention it to Hai Laogong. Later, when we brothers win, naturally we will return everything with our thanks, not lacking even a wen."


    "Your granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "You, a pair of stinky turtles, consider me, Wei Xiaobao, as a ''cattle''? Based on your bastards'' skill, when will you ever win anything back from laozi?" Thereupon with an awkward expression he said, "But I have already told Hai Laogong. The Senior says that this money must be paid back, several days delay is all right."


    The Wen brothers looked at each other, with very awkward expression on their faces; obviously these two brothers dreaded Hai Laogong very much. Wen Youdao said, "In that case, we are wondering if Xiao Xiongdi would be willing to help us? As you win money later, give it to Hai Laogong, just tell him ... tell him that we are paying you back."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed again in his heart, "Your words are getting more and more preposterous, do you think I am a three-year old kid?" But he said, "It''s not that I don''t want to do it, but I ... my loss will be too great."


    From the tone of his voice, the Wen brothers could hear that he was willing to cut them some slack, instantly their faces showed delight as they cupped their hands and said, "Thank you for your kindness, we owe you a big favor."


    Wen Youfang said, "Xiao Xiongdi''s kindness, the two of us brothers will never dare to forget as long as we live."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If we do it this way, I want the two Dage to do me a favor, I wonder if you would be willing to?"


    "Of course, of course," the two of them incessantly replied, "Whatever it is, the answer is yes."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have lived in the palace for many days, but even His Imperial Majesty''s face I have never seen. The two of you are serving His Majesty at the Upper Study Room, I wish to ask the two brothers to take me to see His Majesty."


    Immediately the two Wen brothers looked at each other in dismay, with a very distressed expression on their faces. Wen Youdao repeatedly scratched his head. Wen Youfang said, "Ay, this ... this ... this ..." He muttered the word ''this'' seven, eight times.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I do not wish to present a memorial to His Majesty, I only want to linger at the Upper Study Room for a while, to see His Majesty''s golden face; to slaves like us, that will be our good fortune. If I do not have the good fortune of seeing him, I will not blame the two of you."


    Wen Youdao hastily said, "It can be arranged. Today at the Shenpai hour [ninth hour, 3 - 5 pm], I will come to your place and take you to the Upper Study Room. At that time, His Majesty is always in the study room writing poetry and do calligraphy; most likely you will be able to see him. At other times His Majesty is working at the Palace Hall, it won''t be easy to see him." While saying that, he tilted his head toward Wen Youfang and gave him a wink.


    After his martial art contest with Xiao Xuanzi, he returned to his residence, and told Hai Laogong only the martial art contest''s situation; he did not mention even a word about how the Wen brothers had agreed to take him to the Upper Study Room. He thought he would steal the book first, so that the old turtle will be enormously pleasantly surprised.


    Just before the appointed time, the Wen brothers really came. Wen Youfang let out a soft whistle. Wei Xiaobao slipped out quietly. The Wen brothers signaled with their hands, but did not say anything. They walked to the west, with Wei Xiaobao following on their heels. Based on previous experience, he now keep his eyes open to commit into his memory the shapes of the corridors, gardens and buildings along the way, so that he could retrace his path without getting lost.


    Compare to the building where they gambled, the Upper Study Room was farther away from where he lived; they walked for almost the time needed to prepare tea. With a quiet voice Wen Youdao said, "We have arrived at the Upper Study Room, must be more careful now!"


    "I understand," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    The two brothers led him circling to the rear courtyard, and entered via a small side door. Passing through two small gardens, they finally entered an enormous room. He saw the room was full with row after row of bookshelves, and each shelf was full of books; he did not know how many thousands or tens of thousands of book were there. Wei Xiaobao sucked a mouthful of cold air and groaned inwardly, "Hot piece mama did not blossom, once blossoms give birth to a little baby! His granny! The Emperor''s room has this many books, all day long he sees books; he sees books in the morning, he sees books in the evening, how will he find time to gamble? Hai Laogong only wants several books, how am I going to find them?"


    He grew up in marketplace, he had never seen a study room in all is life, he only knew that if there were seven or eight books in a room, then that room must be a study room. From these seven or eight books, supposedly to find one with the characters ''thirty-two'' or ''forty-two'' written on it would not be difficult. At this moment, suddenly seeing thousands or tens of thousands books, he was dazzled and at a loss of what to do. He thought of turning around and running away.


    In low voice Wen Youdao said, "Shortly, His Majesty will come into the study room and sit on this desk reading or writing."


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the enormous red sandalwood desk, the tabletop was inlaid with gold and jade. He thought, "The tabletop is inlaid with yellow gold and white jade, certainly it is not a fake. If this thing is scooped out and brought to the jewelry store, it will be sold for quite a bit of money." He saw a book was spread out on the desk, the ink stone and brush pot to the left were also exquisitely carved. The chair was draped in brocade cloth, embroidered with a golden dragon.


    Seeing this kind of imposing style, Wei Xiaobao could not stop his heart from thumping hard. "His granny," he mused, "This turtle emperor truly lives a happy and prosperous life!"


    On the right hand side of the table there was an ancient bronze three-legged pot, where sandalwood incense was being burned. The lid of the pot was shaped like a beast''s head, a wisp of green smoke gracefully curling out from its mouth.


    Wen Youdao said, "You may hide behind the bookshelf, looking quietly at His Majesty and that''s it. When His Majesty is reading or writing, no one is allowed to make any noise; you must neither cough nor sneeze. Otherwise His Majesty might get angry and call the Imperial Bodyguard to drag you out and chop off your head."


    "Of course I know I must not cough or sneeze, I must not fart even more," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Wen Youdao''s countenance sank. "Xiao Xiongdi, the Upper Study Room is unlike any other places," he said, "You must not speak anything disrespectful or irreverent." Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue; he did not dare to say anything. He saw the two brothers picked up a duster and a cleaning rag, and started dusting and wiping everywhere. The study room was exceptionally clean, untainted by even a speck of dust, but the two brothers were still doing their job attentively.


    After the Wen brothers finished dusting, they fetched a piece of snow white plain cloth from the cabinet and started wiping everywhere, and then they looked at the white cloth to see if there is any sign of dark spot. They were even more careful than wiping a mirror. They wiped for more than half a day before they quit.


    "Xiao Xiongdi," Wen Youdao said, "If His Majesty is still not here in a little while, chances are he is not coming to the Upper Study Room at all today. Soon an Imperial Bodyguard officer will come over to do an inspection, if he sees you in this place, he will investigate and then everybody will eat the blame."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You can leave first, I want to wait a while before leaving."


    "That won''t do!" the Wen brothers said together. Wen Youdao said, "According to the palace rules, which you are also aware of, wherever His Majesty goes, the ones serving in that area must not have the slightest carelessness. There are several thousands court eunuchs and palace maids, supposing whenever one of them wanted to see His Majesty would simply walk in to His Majesty''s presence, what will become of the propriety?"


    "Good brother," Wen Youfang said, "It''s not that we brothers do not want to help, but we can be in this Upper Study Room for only an hour a day. Finish cleaning and wiping, we must get out immediately. We are not concealing anything from you, forget about you cannot linger too long in the Upper Study Room, even if we, the two brothers, do not leave when it''s time for us to leave, when the Imperial Bodyguard officers investigate and find out, at the most our house will be searched and our possessions confiscated, we will be beheaded, at the least we will be imprisoned with stock over our head."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. "That fierce, huh?" he said.


    Stomping his foot, Wen Youfang said, "The matter of His Majesty''s safety, do you think we would joke about it? Good brother, if you want to see His Majesty, let''s come back tomorrow at the same time to try our luck."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us go then."


    The Wen brothers felt as if a heavy burden was relieved from their shoulders. With one pulling Wei Xiaobao''s left arm, the other pulling his right, for fear that he would not leave, they walked him out.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, the two of you have never seen His Majesty, have you?"


    Wen Youfang was startled, "How ... how did you ..." he stammered. It was obvious that he was going to say, ''How did you know?''. Wen Youdao hastily said, "Why haven''t we seen him? His Majesty reads and writes at the Upper Study Room, of course we often see him."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Every day around this time the two of you are in the Upper Study Room wiping and dusting, naturally His Majesty cannot be here. Could it be that when you two bastards are wiping the dust and chasing the dust''s grandchildren to the east and to the west, His Majesty would love to watch?"


    Wen Youdao added, "Xiao Xiongdi agrees to pay Hai Laogong back on our behalf, we brothers will certainly repay your kindness in the future. About seeing His Majesty, that is one''s good fortune in life, one''s karmic reward cultivated in the previous incarnation, by building the bridge and paving the way, by accumulating innumerable secret virtue. If one is not destined to have this good fortune, one will not achieve it even by forcing it."


    While speaking, the three of them exited the side door. Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case, you can take me here again in a few days to try our luck!"


    "Excellent, excellent!" the two brothers repeatedly said. And thus the three of them split up.


    Wei Xiaobao quickly turned around; passing through two long corridors, he hid behind a sliding door. After a while, he presumed the two brothers already went far away; he came out from the back door and retraced their route back to the study room. When he pushed the side door, to his surprise, the door was bolted from inside. He was startled, thinking, "It was only a short while, the door is already bolted from inside? It seems that the Wen brothers are telling the truth, the Imperial Bodyguard did come to patrol this place. I wonder if they have already left?"


    Pressing his ear to the door he tried to listen, but did not hear anything. Then he put his eye to a crack on the door and peeked inside, there was nobody in the courtyard. He thought for a while, and then fished out a very thin dagger from his boots. It was the same dagger he used to assassinate Xiao Guizi the other day. He was hiding in the Imperial Palace, he knew danger was lurking from all directions, since that day, this dagger had never left his body. Presently he inserted the dagger into the crack on the door and gently pushed several times, the door bolt was lifted up. He shoved the door open two cun, and put out his hand through the opening to hold the door bolt, so that it would not fall down and make noise. Then he pushed the door wider and slipped in, lastly, he turned around and reattached the door bolt. After listening attentively and did not hear any noise, he proceeded step by step and poked his head into the study room, luckily there was nobody inside. After waiting for a moment, he went in.


    Walking toward the desk, he saw the chair draped in dragon embroidered brocade and had a hard-to-resist sudden impulse. "Damn it, this is the dragon chair the Emperor sit, must laozi sit on it?" Taking a diagonal step forward, he suddenly found himself sitting on the chair. At first his heart was thumping fast, but after a while he mused, "This chair is not so comfortable anyway, being the Emperor is nothing extraordinary."


    While he was still confused, without a clue of what to do, suddenly he heard the sound of boots outside the door on the other side of the study room, followed by the creaking noise of the double-door being opened. Turned out behind the large screen on that side there was another door, from which this person was walking in.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Today laozi will be executed to the third generation." He was thinking of slipping out from the bolted door from which he came, but in any case he was too late, hastily he flattened his body against the wall, shrinking behind a row of bookshelf. He heard two men enter the study room, dusting, brushing and wiping all around.


    Not too long afterwards, another man come in, the first two men then withdrew from the study room. This other man was pacing back and forth slowly in the study room. Wei Xiaobao cried out inwardly, "It''s terrible; must be the Imperial Bodyguard on inspection of this room. Could it be that they found a trace of me entering via the back door?" He could not help cold sweat from soaking his back.


    The man was pacing back and forth for a good while, suddenly there was a loud and clear voice from outside the door, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Ao Shaobao has an urgent matter to kowtow in front of Your Majesty, he is waiting outside." The man in the study room grunted.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled and delighted at the same time. "Turns out this man is the Emperor. That Ao Shaobao is the man Mao Dage wanted to have a martial art contest with. This man is considered the Manchurians'' number one warrior, I wonder what mighty appearance he looks like, I must steal a look. Next time I see Mao Dage, I will have something to tell him."


    He heard heavy footsteps from outside the door, a man entered the study room and said, "Servant Oboi kowtows to Your Majesty!" while kneeling down and pressing his forehead to the ground.


    Wei Xiaobao quickly poked his head out to steal a look, he saw a tall and sturdy man crawling on the floor, kowtowing. He did not dare to look too long, for fear that as soon as Oboi raised his head he might see him; hastily he pulled his head back, but he shifted his body slightly to be diagonally opposite to Oboi. He mused, "You are kowtowing to the Emperor, also kowtowing to laozi. What First Warrior of Manchuria, or Second Warrior? Nothing special about him, didn''t he kowtow to me, Wei Xiaobao?"


    He heard the Emperor say, "Enough!" Oboi rose up and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Suksaha is harboring disloyalty, his memorial to the throne is filled with treason and heresy, he must receive supreme penalty."


    "Hmm," the Emperor grunted noncommittally.


    Oboi continued, "Your Majesty has just personally guided the government into a new era, this servant Suksaha presented a memorial to the throne, saying something like ''Now personally encountering the great government, humbly begs the wise reflection to let your servant, state official, to go guarding the late Emperor''s mausoleum, in order to survive the remaining breath, which is like a string of thread''. Isn''t it obvious? Your Majesty has just taken over the government, and he already desires to die. It is the same as saying Your Majesty is treating his servants with cruelty."


    "Hmm," the Emperor was still grunting.


    Oboi continued, "Your servant has had a conference with the princes and dukes, and various ministers; we are all agree that altogether Suksaha is guilty of twenty-four major crimes, he is cherishing treachery, harboring disloyalty, taking unfair advantage of the young master, unwilling to return to government service, indeed he is reeking with treason and heresy. According to our dynasty''s ''Great Rebellion Law'', he and his eldest son, Internal Minister Chakdan, should be put to death with a thousand cuts, his six foster sons, one grandson, and two brothers should be beheaded. His clansmen, the commander of the vanguard regimen Barhe, and imperial bodyguard Otu, should also be beheaded."


    "For that kind of crime, isn''t the punishment too heavy?" the Emperor said.


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "This emperor''s voice sounds like a boy, in fact it is very similar to Xiao Xuanzi''s voice. That''s funny."


    Oboi said, "Reporting to His Majesty: Your Majesty is still young, perhaps you are still not fully clear about the important matter of the imperial court government. This Suksaha accepted orders from the late Emperor, together with your servant and others to be regents, to assist Your Majesty in guiding the government into the new era; we should be delighted to offer our talents. Yet he submitted this memorial to the throne, slandering Your Majesty, obviously he is harboring evil intentions. I request Your Majesty to allow Chen to deal with this matter, with power to make more serious punishment. Your Majesty has just taken over the government, you should establish power, to make your subjects'' hearts trembled with fear. If you are being lenient to Suksaha, this rebel who harbor treason, someday the other subjects will take advantage of Your Majesty''s young age, will speak disrespects, will behave rudely, then Your Majesty''s business will not be managed properly."


    Listening to the way he speak, Wei Xiaobao thought he was very arrogant, he said in his heart, "You, the old turtle, are the one who speak disrespect and behave rudely. You said the Emperor is young, could it be that the Emperor is a small boy? This is very interesting, no wonder his voice somewhat sounds like Xiao Xuanzi."


    He heard the Emperor saying, "Although Suksaha is wrong, he is an Executive Minister, the same as you, whom the late Emperor held in very high regards. If at the beginning of my taking over the government Zhen �� Zhen [an Emperor addressing himself] kill an important minister whom the late Emperor held in high regards, I am afraid the spirit of the late Emperor in Heaven will not be happy."


    Oboi laughed a loud and said, "Very true, but your words are childish talk. The late Emperor appointed Suksaha as an Executive Minister, to serve Your Majesty well, to handle affairs attentively. If he considered the late Emperor''s benevolence, he should spare no effort to do his utmost, to go through water and tread on fire, to toil just like a dog or a horse; that is the principle of a servant. Yet this Suksaha bears grievance, publicly slanders Your Majesty, asking for rest, begging for life, regarding his own life more important, and set aside the imperial court''s affairs as unimportant. This servant is offending the late Emperor, and not Your Majesty offending this servant. Ha ha, ha ha!"


    The Emperor said, "Ao Shaobao, what''s so funny?"


    Oboi was startled, and busily said, "Yes, yes, no, nothing." Wei Xiaobao guessed that right this moment Oboi''s expression must be very awkward.


    The Emperor was silent for a long time before saying, "Even if I am not offending Suksaha, but if I kill him like this, I would offend the late Emperor''s spirit. Either the people under the heavens would say that I kill the wrong person, or they would say that the late Emperor was an incapable ignorant. If the imperial court publishes Suksaha''s twenty-four big crimes to the world, the people would think that Suksaha is so guilty of the most heinous crime, is such a scoundrel, yet the late Emperor unexpectedly appointed him as an Executive Minister, to stand alongside you, Ao Shaobao. This �� this �� isn''t this too much without knowledge and experience?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This child Emperor''s word makes a lot of sense."


    Oboi said, "Your Majesty only knows one, does not know two. Whatever the people under the heavens like to think, let them indulge in flights of fancy, but they will not dare to speak as they please. Whoever dares to utter a single sentence that the late Emperor is to be blamed, I want to see how many heads they have."


    The Emperor said, "The ancient book said it well: ''Guarding against the mouth of the people is more than guarding against the river''; blindly chopping people''s heads, not letting the common people speak out their hearts, in the end it will not bring good."


    Oboi said, "The words of the Han scholars are the worst to listen to, if these Han scholars'' words were true, how come Han people''s rivers and mountains fall into our hands, the Manchus? Therefore, let your servant offers a bit of advice to Your Majesty: those many books of Han people, the less you read the better, the more you read, the more your mind will be muddled."


    The Emperor did not reply at all. Oboi continued, "Your servant has followed Taizong Huangdi


    [48] and the late Emperor in battles on all sides, from outside the Pass to inside the Pass, establishing countless meritorious service against the Han cavalry. I did not know a single Han character, yet I killed not a few southern barbarians. We defeat the world, we protect the world, all using our Manchurian way."


    The Emperor said, "Without a doubt Ao Shaobao''s contribution is enormous, otherwise the late Emperor would not entrust you with such heavy responsibility."


    Oboi said, "Your servant only knows how to serve with body and soul, to handle Your Majesty''s affairs. Ever since Taizong Huangdi, to Emperor Shunzi, it''s all the same. The way we Manchus handle affairs is by paying particular attention to bestow rewards and impose punishments, we reward those who are loyal, and punish those who are treacherous. This Suksaha is a major treacherous court official, he must be punished severely."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Hot piece mama, I only have to listen to your voice and I know that you are the major treacherous court official."


    The Emperor said, "You are determined to have Suksaha killed, in the end, what is your own reason?"


    "What reason do I have?" Oboi said, "Could it be that Your Majesty believes your servant has a personal motive?" His voice grew louder, his tone was also growing more stern. After a short pause he said menacingly, "Your servant only has our Manchurian''s realm in my heart. Taizu Huangdi


    [49], Taizong Huangdi have painstakingly laid out the foundation, we must not let their descendants make mistake. Your Majesty asks your servant this way, your servant really does not understand Your Majesty''s meaning!"


    Hearing he speak with such ferocity, Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he could not bear not to stick out his head to look, and saw a fierce-looking big man, his eyebrows were raised straight up, like a monster he stepped forward, his hands were tightly clenched into a pair of fists.


    "Ah!" a young man cried out in alarm and jumped up from the chair. The young man turned his head sideways, and Wei Xiaobao could not refrain from letting out an ''Ah!'' cry of his own. This young Emperor was not a stranger, he was precisely the boy who had martial art contest with him every day, Xiao Xuanzi.

 Chapter - 5 (5)

    The twelve little eunuchs pounced together, they firmly hold on to Oboi''s waist and legs. Aiming for the ''sun acupoint'' on Oboi''s temple, Wei Xiaobao sent out a ferocious punch. Kangxi clapped his hands and laughed. "Ao Shaobao," he said, "I am afraid you are going to lose."


    Seeing the Emperor, even if his appearance was like a demon or a ghost, it was unlikely that Wei Xiaobao would cry out or make any noise; but seeing it was Xiao Xuanzi, his shock was really not mild. As soon as the cry escaped his mouth, he knew he was in deep trouble. He turned around at once, thinking to escape, but then he had a second thought, "Xiao Xuanzi''s martial art skill is higher than mine, but that Oboi is even more formidable, when all is said and done, I still cannot escape." He also had a sudden inspiration, "Our valuables are already down on the table! Either we make a kill or we get killed, it''s time to roll the dice."


    Leaping out, he stood in front of the Emperor, and shouted to Oboi, "Oboi, what are you doing? You dare to be rude to His Majesty? You want to beat people, kill people, you must go over me first."


    Oboi had fought hundreds of battles, rendered great many services, he had little regard of the young Emperor Kangxi. Kangxi''s [Book note: Kangxi was an era name (subdivision in the reign of an emperor), but it is a common practice in popular fiction not to call him by his original name Xuan Ye (''xuan'' - black/mysterious, ''ye'' glorious/blaze of fire), instead, he was only known as Kangxi.] scorning his desire to kill Suksaha as stemmed from selfish intention had been exposing his painful sore. This man was a warrior who used to charge and break through enemy lines, in his anger, he was going to let his fist do the talking against Kangxi, he had never thought about rebelling or defying his superior. When he suddenly saw a little eunuch jumping out from behind the bookshelf and blocking in front of the Emperor, reproaching him, he could not help but was startled and only then did he remember that as a subject, he was making a fist and threatening the Emperor. Hastily he retreated several steps and sternly said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I was only going to make a report to His Majesty; who dares to be rude to His Majesty?" While speaking, he took two more steps backward, with hands hanging on his sides.


    The Xiao Xuanzi who had martial art match with Wei Xiaobao every day was indeed the current emperor of the Great Qing, Emperor Kangxi. His given name was Xuan Ye. Realizing that Wei Xiaobao did not recognize him and asked for his name, in his childish innocence, he blurted out his name as ''Xiao Xuanzi''. Inheriting Manchurian''s habit, he loved to wrestle. It''s just that when one is in training of this kind of skill, one must scuffle and tumble, pull the neck and bend the waist. Although the imperial bodyguards taught him the wrestling technique, who would dare to treat the Emperor in this rude, uncouth manner? Who would dare to pull his dragon head or clutch his imperial neck forcefully? When they were compelled, they would put on a good act. When the Emperor''s imperial leg swept, they would immediately tumble over; when the Emperor''s hand twisted theirs, they would immediately kneel down to surrender. When they were forced to retaliate by a move or half a style, they would only touch the edge of the Emperor''s clothing before stopping instantly.


    Kangxi repeatedly urged them to fight for real, but none of the imperial bodyguards had this kind of guts. At most they would make some effort to act better. Even in playing chess with the Emperor, they might make a convincing act of giving a fierce resistance, by making some killing or lock the pieces in inextricably positions, until at the final juncture, they would inevitably lost the game [Book note: reportedly, during the final years of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was playing Chinese chess with certain eunuch; the eunuch captured Cixi''s horse (or knight) and said, ''Your servant has captured one of Old Buddha''s horses''. [In late Qing Court, the term ''Old Buddha'' refers exclusively to Empress Dowager Cixi]. Angered by his rude remark, Cixi immediately ordered him to be dragged out and beaten to death].


    Actually, it was extremely difficult to pretend in wrestling. Granted that they had to lose eventually, but during the match, who would dare to grab the emperor and fling him away? Kangxi had a very high interest in wrestling. He always saw the imperial bodyguards staking everything they had and displaying hundreds of brilliant techniques when wrestling with each other, but when they wrestled against him, they would immediately shake with fear, their competency dead and their spirit subdued; he was extremely dissatisfied. Later, he took the court eunuchs as his opponents, but every one of those eunuchs only love to take a beating and none dare to retaliate, just like he was fighting dead people.


    Being an emperor means he could do whatever he wanted to do, but to find a genuine opponent in martial art match proved to be a very difficult matter to accomplish. Sometimes he really wanted to leave the palace incognito, to find a commoner with whom he may fight, to find out the level of his own martial art skill level. But this kind of action was extremely dangerous, in the end it was no more than a fantasy, which the young emperor indulged in his heart once in a while.


    That day when he met Wei Xiaobao, he had a really good fight. Wei Xiaobao was fighting with everything he had, yet in the end he lost. Kangxi was extremely happy, he felt this fight was the most satisfying he had ever had in his entire life. Wei Xiaobao challenged him to have another match the following day; it was exactly his heart''s desire. Henceforth the two of them had a martial art contest every day. From the very beginning, Kang Xi had never exposed his own status. During the match, he also prohibited other eunuchs from coming too near, so as not to let them divulge the secret. As soon as this little eunuch knew the opponent was the Emperor, the match would be not in the least interesting anymore.


    There were thousands of court eunuchs in the Palace, those who had never seen the Emperor was also not a few. But when they first entered the Palace, they had to learn all kinds of customs and regulations of the Palace, as well as the color of the clothes to distinguish the relative superiority of the workforce. No one but the impostor Wei Xiaobao see the Emperor''s clothes Kangxi was wearing yet failed to recognize him. To Kangxi however, this muddleheaded little eunuch worth more than ten thousand taels of gold, indeed it was a rare opportunity and extremely valuable to him.


    Hereafter Kangxi''s martial art skill gradually progressed; unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao was also able to keep up with him. The two of them fighting back and forth, all along they were like two armies of equivalent banners and drums. Moreover, Wei Xiaobao was only a notch inferior to him, and thus Kangxi must strive to train harder, so that he would not be defeated. He was a very competitive and always-eager-to-outdo-other type of person, the more he progressed, the higher his interest grew; while his favorable impression toward Wei Xiaobao was also greatly increased.


    This day Oboi went up the Upper Study Room to present a memorial, petitioning the Emperor to kill Suksaha. Kangxi was already aware that because of internal power struggle between Oboi''s Bordered Yellow Banner and Suksaha''s Plain White Banner, Oboi harbored an enmity against Suksaha. Therefore, his insistence today that Suksaha be executed was because of personal grudges, consequently, he played slowly, unwilling to grant the petition. Who would have thought that Oboi was aggressive and domineering; in his raging temper, he exhibited the bad habit of a man of war; stroking his sleeves and made a fist, he was about to charge forward.


    Oboi was a huge man with ferocious look; seeing him coming up aggressively, Kangxi was unavoidably shocked. His imperial bodyguards were waiting outside the study room, so even if he shouted they would be too late to help; besides, most of the imperial bodyguards were Oboi''s trusted aides and cannot be relied on. While he was at a loss of what to do, by lucky coincidence Wei Xiaobao leaped out of his hiding place.


    Kangxi was greatly delighted, he thought, "If I join hands with Xiao Guizi, we might be able to fight this Oboi." But then he saw Oboi retreated, so he was even more relieved.


    Wei Xiaobao was unable to restrain his emotion and gave out a cry of alarm, and thus revealed himself. He had no choice but to take a chance, to gamble, by dashing out and barking at Oboi. To his own surprise, Oboi backed off; this made him really happy. He loudly said, "To kill Suksaha or not, naturally it''s His Majesty''s decision. You are being rude to His Majesty, by making fist and was about to hit him, aren''t you afraid to be beheaded and your possessions confiscated?"


    His words had touched Oboi''s heart; immediately his back was wet with cold sweat, knowing that just now his action was indeed too reckless. At once he said to Kangxi, "Your Majesty must not listen to this little eunuch''s nonsense. Your servant is a greatly loyal minister."


    Since Kangxi had just taken over the government, he was actually very afraid of Oboi. Seeing Oboi withdrew and yielded, he thought that this was not the right moment to confront him face-to-face; thereupon he said, "Xiao Guizi, step aside."


    Wei Xiaobao bowed and replied, "Yes!" He retreated to one side of the desk.


    "Ao Shaobao," Kangxi said, "I know you are a greatly loyal minister. You are used to charge and break through the enemy lines, and not a refine man like those scholars, I am not going to blame you."


    Oboi was greatly delighted. "Yes, yes," he hastily said.


    Kangxi said, "About Suksaha, I''ll leave it you to handle. You are a greatly loyal minister, he is a greatly treacherous minister. Naturally I will reward loyalty and punish treachery."


    Oboi was even more delighted; he said, "Your Majesty has understood the truth. Hereafter your servant will loyally and devotedly let Your Majesty handle the government affairs."


    "Very good, very good," Kangxi said, "I will petition Empress Dowager during the morning audience tomorrow, to reward you heavily."


    "Thank you very much, Your Majesty," Oboi happily said.


    "Anything else?" Kangxi asked.


    "No, your servant asks to be excused," Oboi replied. Kangxi nodded. With smile across his entire face, Oboi withdrew.


    Kangxi waited until Oboi was out of the room before he jumped out of the chair and said with a laugh, "Xiao Guizi, now you know my secret."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, I ... I really deserve to die, I did not know you are the Emperor, and have exchanged blows and kicks with you; that was really too bold."


    Kangxi sighed and said, "Ay, now that you know, you won''t dare to fight with me for real, that will be extremely boring."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "As long as you are not offended, there is no harm in me fighting you for real."


    Kangxi was delighted. "Alright," he said, "Once you''ve made a promise, if you don''t fight for real, you are not a true man." While saying that, he held out his hand.


    First of all, Wei Xiaobao did not know any court customs, secondly, he was a mischievous person who was afraid of neither the heavens nor the earth; he also held out his hand to grasp the extended hand and said with a laugh, "From now on, if I don''t fight for real, I am not a true man." Grabbing each other''s hand, the two of them broke into a laughter.


    As soon as the crown prince leaves his mother''s womb, he is doomed to be the future emperor. The instructions with which he was nurtures are completely different from those of the average man. His cry, his laugh, his action, his movement, none was not scrutinized by lots of eyes; in fact, he did not even have half a part of freedom. The prisoner locked up in jail can still talk as he wishes; he can still move at will in the confinement of his prison cell. The restriction the crown prince must abide by is actually a hundred times more strict. The ''master guardian''[50] in charge of teaching him to read, the court eunuchs and palace maids in charge of his day-to-day necessities, were afraid the Crown Prince would befall any mishap, they all lived in constant fear, as if they were facing a bottomless abyss, as if they were treading on thin ice. If the Crown Prince ever utters half a word of wantonness, the master would earnestly advise him, for fear that the Emperor would be provoked to anger. If the Crown Prince wishes to wear a little less clothing, the court eunuchs and palace maids would act as if they were facing imminent catastrophe, for fear that the Crown Prince would catch cold. If any man lives this kind of life since childhood, day and night suffers this kind of strict surveillance, he really miss out a lot of life pleasures. Throughout history, there were a considerable number of muddle-headed monarch and tyrants; this is one of the reasons. After the individual attained the freedom of action when he became the emperor, he would immediately want to vent the depression and anger accumulated over the years, by doing all kinds of misdeed, which other people see as unreliably repulsive, but mostly was nothing more than excessive venting of pent-up energy.


    Kangxi also received this kind of strict treatment since childhood. It was not until he took over the government that he often ordered the court eunuchs and palace maids to keep some distance from him, and need not following him left and right. However, in front of his mother and various senior ministers, he still had to follow the rules, to act the part of a youngster with mature disposition. In front of the court eunuchs and palace maids, he still had to display the air of the Emperor, he did not dare to be negligent. In all his life, the number of occasions he was able to laugh heartily was only a handful.


    However, young people always love to play and enjoy festivities, which is human nature, there is no difference between an emperor or a beggar. In common people''s homes, any boy can shout and jump randomly, can fight and make a ruckus with their playmates daily. But if this young emperor wanted to enjoy this kind of opportunity, he would need ''good fortune'' and ''karma''. Only when he was with Wei Xiaobao did he enjoy true freedom, abandoning his emperor''s persona and wrestled to his heart''s content. Indeed he had never experience such happiness in all his life. During these days, even in his sleep he would often dream of wrestling and frolicking with Wei Xiaobao.


    Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand, Kangxi said, "In front of other people, you call me ''His Majesty'', but if nobody''s around, we are still like before."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Nothing better than that. Even in my wildest dream I would never thought that you are the Emperor. I always thought that the emperor is an old man with white beard."


    Kangxi mused, "When Father Emperor passed away, he was no more than twenty four years old, not any old man with white beard. Don''t you, this little kid, know anything?" He asked, "Could it be that Hai Laogong has never told you about me?"


    "Never," Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "He only taught me how to practice martial art. Your Majesty, who taught you martial art?"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "We said when nobody''s around, we are still like before; why do you call me ''Your Majesty''?"


    Wei Xiaobao also laughed, "That''s right," he said, "I am a bit nervous."


    Kangxi sighed, he said, "I knew it, as soon as you know I am the Emperor, you won''t fight me like you used to do."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "I will definitely fight you like I used to, it''s just that I am afraid it won''t be easy. Hey, Xiao Xuanzi, who taught you martial art?"


    "I can''t tell you that," Kangxi replied, "Why do you ask?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That fellow Oboi thinks that his own martial art skill is superb, so he wanted to crush you with his fist and wipe you with his palm, he seemed eager to beat people. I am thinking that your Shifu''s martial art skill must be very high, let''s invite your Shifu to deal with him."


    With a faint smile Kangxi shook his head and said, "That won''t do; how can my Shifu do such thing?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Too bad my Shifu Hai Laogong is blind, otherwise we can ask him to beat Oboi, most likely he will be able to defeat him. Ah, I know, tomorrow the two of us join hands to fight him, what do you say? Although this Oboi is Manchurian''s number one warrior, but with the two of us fighting together, we might not necessarily lose."


    Kangxi was ecstatic; "Wonderful, wonderful!" he called out; but immediately realized that this plan would be difficult to execute. He shook his head and sighed, "The Emperor fights his senior minister, that doesn''t make any sense."


    "It would be better if you are not the Emperor," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi nodded; for an instant he was envious of this little eunuch Wei Xiaobao, who was able to do anything he liked. Although he was in the Imperial Palace, he was still free and unrestrained. He also recalled Oboi''s furrowed brows and blazing eyes just now, his aggressive bearing as he strode toward him, and could not stop his heart from thumping fast. He thought, "This man was so rude to me, whoever he wanted to kill, he would simply kill, without giving me any consideration at all. Who is the real emperor? Is it he, or I? But all Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace are under his command, the Eight Banners troops'' movement is also under his control. If I issue an imperial decree ordering his execution, he might raise an upheaval and perhaps he would kill me first. I must replace the Imperial Bodyguard Chief first, and then take away his military leadership; next I must remove him from his Executive Minister position, and lastly push him out of the Wu Men [Meridian Gate], and behead him publicly; only then will I vent the hatred in my heart."


    But then he had a second thought that this plan was not appropriate, since as soon as he replaced the Imperial Bodyguard Chief, Oboi would immediately know that he was about to deal with him. This man wielded enormous power; if he managed to strike first and gain the upper hand, Kangxi himself would suffer calamity. Thereupon he decided not to make any move for the time being, and waited until he could think of a proper method before making his move.


    He did not want to appear clueless in front of Wei Xiaobao, thereupon he said, "Go back to Hai Laogong''s place, practice your martial art well, tomorrow we still have a martial art match over there."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao complied.


    Kangxi added, "Don''t say anything about you seeing me and Oboi."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "There is no one else here, if I want to leave I can just leave, I don''t have to pay respect and kowtow to you."


    Kangxi laughed aloud; he waved his hand and said, "No need, tomorrow we still have an appointment to the death, don''t leave before we meet."


    The next day Wei Xiaobao went to have a martial art match with Kangxi. He had every intention to fight just like he always did; however, since he was aware the opponent was the Emperor, although while he managed to give a tight defense, his offense was involuntary weak and powerless. Kangxi understood his kindly feelings, so he also reduce his power in his offense, thinking that since the opponent was damped by his own conscience, if he launched an all out attack, the victory he earned would be an unfair one. They only fought for a short moment and Wei Xiaobao had already lost two rounds.


    Kangxi sighed and said, "Xiao Guizi, why did you go to my study room yesterday?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wen Youdao had a fever yesterday, and could not get up. His brother asked me to help him clean up and tidying the Upper Study Room. I have never done it before, so I was a bit slow; I did not expect to meet you." He spoke those words seriously, not only his face did not change, he himself was also convinced that that was what actually happened.


    Kangxi said, "After you find out that I am the Emperor, we cannot have any real fight anymore." There was disappointment in his voice.


    "I also felt that I don''t have any strength to fight today," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Suddenly Kangxi remembered something, he said, "I know what to do. Since we cannot fight anymore, I can watch you fight with other people. At least that will satisfy my craving. Come, let us change our clothes, we''ll go to the clothes warehouse."


    "What kind of place is the clothes warehouse?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is it the place where you store the fabric?"


    Kangxi laughed, "No," he said, "The clothes warehouse is where the warriors train martial art and wrestling."


    Clapping his hands, Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s wonderful!"


    Kangxi changed his clothes, Wei Xiaobao followed behind him. When he finished changing his long gown, accompanied by sixteen court eunuchs, the ones in front shouting his arrival, the ones in rear escorting him, he went to the clothes warehouse to see the warriors wrestling. His expression was stately, he no longer chit-chatted with Wei Xiaobao.


    Seeing the arrival of the Emperor, none of the warriors did not strive to excel the others. Kangxi watched for a while, then he called a big and fat warrior over and said, "I have a little eunuch here, he had learned a bit of wrestling. I want you to teach him some tricks." Turning his head to Wei Xiaobao he said, "I want you to learn from him." As he said this he signaled him with his left eye. The two of them had seen that although this warrior was big and tall, he was quite clumsy, it looked like he was not Wei Xiaobao''s match.


    The two of them went down the arena and wrestled several rounds. Wei Xiaobao launched the ''push the boat with the current'' move, intending to push the warrior away. Unexpectedly, the warrior''s body was too heavy, whatever he did, he simply could not push him away. The warriors'' chief turned around and winked several times. The big fat warrior understood, he pretended to stumble and fell down on the floor, and did not crawl back up for quite some time.


    The crowd of warriors and eunuchs broke in loud cheers. Kangxi was very happy, he ordered a nearby eunuch to reward Wei Xiaobao with a silver ingot. Kangxi thought, "Xiao Guizi''s martial art skill is inferior to mine, if he can push this fat fellow down, so can I." His heart was unbearably itching to give it a try, but he was the Lord of Ten-thousand Years, and must not go down the arena to fight. He sighed and said to the nearby eunuch, "Choose thirty little eunuchs, around fourteen, fifteen years of age, tell them to come over here to train every day. Whoever makes the fastest progress like Xiao Guizi here, will receive a reward." With a smile on his face the eunuch complied, thinking that the Emperor still had his childish nature, and wanted to have some new toys to play with.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his room. Hai Laogong asked him the result of his martial art match with Xiao Xuanzi today. Wei Xiaobao narrated the fight dramatically, as if it was a great war, with both sides involved in an extraordinarily intense battle. But under Hai Laogong''s interrogation, he soon revealed some flaws in the story. With a straight face Hai Laogong asked, "What happened to Xiao Xuanzi? Is he ill today?"


    "He isn''t," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But he is not in a good spirit."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "Tell me everything, from beginning to end, every move and every style." Wei Xiaobao knew he could not conceal anything from him; having no other choice, he gave him a truthful account of what actually happened.


    Hai Laogong raised his head and slowly said, "With this move you clearly can pull his head to the left, but you wrapped your arms around his body instead, to such an extent that you lost. It''s not that you cannot do it, but rather, you were deliberately yielding to him; why is that?"


    "I was not deliberately yielding to him," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "It''s just that he did not hit me too hard, so I was also being lenient to him. He and I have become good friends, naturally we both did not use too much force." Thinking that he had become a good friend of the Emperor, he could not help but was feeling very proud of himself.


    "You and he have become good friends?" Hai Laogong said, "Humph, it''s not that you were being lenient to him, but you did not dare to knock him. Finally ... finally you know?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart skipped a beat, with a trembling voice he said, "Know �� know what?"


    Hai Laogong said, "Did he tell you himself, or did you guess?"


    "What are you talking about?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t understand."


    Hai Laogong sternly said, "Just tell me truthfully! (Cough, cough �� Cough, cough ��) How did you know Xiao Xuanzi''s identity?" He reached out and grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s left wrist.


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao felt severe pain enter his bone marrow, with the bones of his hand cracking, as if it was about to snap. "I surrender, I surrender!" he called out.


    "How did you know?" Hai Laogong asked, his grip was getting tighter instead.


    "Hey, hey, you �� you ... don''t you understand the rule?" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "I already shouted ''surrender'' and you still haven''t let go?"


    "I am asking you, you''d better answer me nicely," Hai Laogong said.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If you knew long ago who Xiao Xuanzi really is, I will talk reason with you. Otherwise, even if you pinch me to death, I will not tell you."


    "What''s so strange about it?" Hai Laogong said, "Xiao Xuanzi is His Majesty; when I started teaching you the ''big grappling technique'', I was already aware of it." While saying that he let Wei Xiaobao go.


    "Turns out you already knew," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "I had a hard time hiding it from you. In that case there is no harm in me telling you." Thereupon he narrated how he met Kangxi and Oboi by accident in the Upper Study Room the previous day, he also talked about how he knock down a big fat warrior at the clothes warehouse today; he spoke with his eyebrows dancing around. Hai Laogong was listening attentively, he constantly interrupted the story with questions.


    Finished telling the story, Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty ordered me not to say anything to you, if you reveal this secret, our two heads will roll."


    Hai Laogong coldly said, "His Majesty is your good friend, he won''t kill you, he''ll kill me."


    Immensely proud of himself, Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s good that you know."


    Hai Laogong was deep in thought for half a day, then he said, "His Majesty wants thirty little eunuchs to train martial art together, what''s his intention? Most probably his hands are itching, fighting with you did not satisfy his craving, so he is looking for some little eunuchs to receive his beatings." Standing up, he walked in circle around the room for ten times, he then said, "Xiao Guizi, do you want to flatter the Emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He is my good friend; making a friend happy is also a principle of being friends."


    Hai Laogong sternly said, "I have something to tell you, I want you to remember it well. From now on, whenever the Emperor says you are his friend or what have you, you must never accept it. Who do you think you are, that you can be the Emperor''s friend? Today he is only a child, and he said that in a cheerful mood; how can you take it seriously? If you keep speaking nonsense, just be careful with the head above your neck."


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao also realized that this kind of matter should not be spoken thoughtlessly or randomly; as soon as he was reminded by Hai Laogong with such hasty words and stern countenance, he stuck out his tongue and said, "Later I won''t say it even if my head is chopped. It''s just that after the head rolls to the ground, whether the mouth can still speak or not, perhaps we need to pay particular attention."


    "Humph," Hai Laogong snorted, "Do you want to learn high quality martial art or not?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "If you want to teach me high quality martial art, that''s truly what I''ve been looking for. Gong-gong, you have such a good martial art skill, but you did not take a single disciple to pass it on, isn''t that a pity?"


    Hai Laogong said, "There are too many sinister and deceitful people in the world, while those who are honest, considerate and sincere are a few. If I took a bad disciple and let him conspire against his Shifu, why bother?"


    "Um," Hai Laogong interrupted, "You don''t know too many characters!"


    "You haven''t forgotten," Hai Laogong said, "That''s good."


    "How can I forget?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Gong-gong''s kind treatment to me need not be mentioned. If I cannot think of something to repay you, in my entire life, I would have become a man in vain."


    "Hmm," Hai Laogong mumbled, "If I cannot think of something to repay you, in my entire life, I would have become a man in vain." These words were said in icy cold tone. Listening to this, Wei Xiaobao could not restrain the hair on his back from rising up. But when he stole a glance toward Hai Laogong''s face, he could not read the slightest bit of clue of what he was thinking.


    "The old turtle is very formidable," Wei Xiaobao thought, "He knew early on that Xiao Xuanzi is the Emperor, but never revealed it the least bit. I must be very careful; if he knew that I caused his blindness, if I, Wei Xiaobao, can keep my own eyes, then surely the Heavens do not have eyes."


    The two of them faced each other silently. Half-step by half-step Wei Xiaobao crept toward the door. As soon as he saw Hai Laogong''s face show ill-expression, he would bolt out the door and escape from the Palace, this time he would never come back. But he only heard Hai Laogong said, "Later on you must not use the ''big grappling technique'' against His Majesty. If the training of this kind of martial art continued, it would become a tendon-tearing, bone-snapping technique, it could dislocate joints and break people''s muscles and bones; how can it be used against the Emperor?"


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Hai Laogong continued, "Starting today, I am going to teach you different skill, it is called the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand''."


    "The name is so strange," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have heard the ''great compassion great sorrow, helping the distress, Guanshiyin Pusa'' [Goddess of Mercy, Avalokitesvara]."


    "Have you seen the ''Thousand-hand Guanyin''?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "The ''Thousand-hand Guanyin''?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "Yes, I have. Guanyin Pusa has so many hands. Each hand is holding different object, there is water bottle, there is a twig, and then a basket, a bell, it''s very interesting."


    "Did you see it in the temple at Yangzhou?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "The temple at Yangzhou?" Wei Xiaobao said. This time his shock was really not a small matter. Like an arrow he darted toward the door, and was about to run outside.


    Hai Laogong said, "In all the world, the ''Thousand-hand Guanyin'' can only be found in the temple at Yangzhou. If you have never been to the temple at Yangzhou, how can you see the ''Thousand-hand Guanyin''?"


    Wei Xiaobao silently let out a deep breath, thinking, "Turns out only the temple at Yangzhou has the ''Thousand-hand Guanyin''; you scared the piss out of me." Hastily he said, "How can I go to Yangzhou? What kind of place is Yangzhou? Whatever the ''Thousand-hand Guanyin'' is, I only heard it from others, I have never seen it. I was thinking of blowing my horn in front of you, Senior, bragging my knowledge, who would have thought you are experienced and knowledgeable, and was able to see through my big talk."


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "To expose a little smart-aleck''s[52] big talk like yours is really not easy."


    "It''s easy, it''s easy," Wei Xiaobao said, "If I say a sentence of lie, you, Senior, will expose it in less than an hour."


    "Mmm," Hai Laogong mumbled, "Are you cold?" he asked, "Why don''t you wear more clothes?"


    "I am not cold," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Then how come your voice is a bit trembling?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "There was a cold draft just a moment ago," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But now it''s all right."


    "The wind is strong by the door," Hai Laogong said, "Don''t stand at the entrance."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied, and walked several steps inside, but all along he did not dare to come close to Hai Laogong.


    Hai Laogong said, "The ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' is a Buddhist martial art, when used in a fight, it can control the opponent, but will not kill or harm people; this is the most benevolent martial art in the world."


    "This style of martial art will not kill or harm people," Wei Xiaobao said, "To be used in a fight against the Emperor, nothing is better than this."


    "But this martial art is very difficult to learn," Hai Laogong said, "There are many outstanding styles, it won''t be easy to memorize it thoroughly."


    "Since there are many outstanding styles," Wei Xiaobao argued, "It doesn''t matter if I cannot remember all; even if I have forgotten most, the remaining ones will still be not a few."


    "Humph, lazy kid," Hai Laogong said, "You haven''t even started, yet you are already nurturing the idea of laziness. In all your life, you can forget of ever mastering any excellent martial art skill."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If I want to learn such a formidable martial art like you, Senior, have, in all my life naturally I will be like an old cat smelling a hanging salted fish, smells good, smells good[53]." While in his heart he said, "Even if I train so that my martial art skill is exactly the same as yours, in the end your eyes were still blinded by other people, and you old turtle are very happy about it?"


    "Come over here," Hai Laogong said.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied, and took several steps forward, but he stopped several feet[54] away from Hai Laogong.


    "Are you afraid I am going to eat you?" Hai Laogong said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "My flesh is sour, it does not taste good."


    Hai Laogong raised his left hand, suddenly he sent out a palm strike. Wei Xiaobao was shocked, he wanted to evade to the right, but suddenly, ''whack, whack!'' his back was slapped twice, immediately he knelt down and was unable to move. He frantically thought, "This is it, he �� he is going to take my life away."


    Hai Laogong said, "This is the first move of the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'', it''s called ''South Sea Worships Buddha''. The two acupoints on your back are being sealed. But sealing acupoint is a very difficult technique to learn, plus you have to have good internal strength foundation. When fighting against His Majesty, you can''t possibly seal his acupoint for real and force him to kneel down in front of you. Just remember the technique, and go through the motion, performing the style, that should be enough." As he said that, he reached down on Wei Xiaobao''s back and pressed on the two acupoints.


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao''s limbs were able to move again. Calming his heart, he slowly stood up, while thinking, "Turns out the old turtle is teaching me martial art. He scared the wits out of me, I wonder if I will ever get it back."


    That day Hai Laogong taught him three moves, he said, "The first day is especially hard. Later on if you are diligent, you can learn many more moves."


    The next day Wei Xiaobao did not go gambling, shortly before noon he went to the small room where he usually have martial art match, and waited for Kangxi there. Knowing that the cakes, pastries and light snacks were supposed to be for the Emperor, he did not dare to pick up anything anymore. But after waiting for more than an hour, Kangxi still did not show up. "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao mused, "Since fighting with me has lost its flavor, he does not want to play anymore." Thereupon he went to the Upper Study Room.


    The imperial bodyguard on duty outside the study room had seen Kangxi brought Wei Xiaobao to the clothes warehouse the previous day, he was familiar with Wei Xiaobao''s appearance, knowing that he was the little eunuch whom the Emperor favored, and thus he did not stop him.


    Entering the study room, Wei Xiaobao saw Kangxi was kicking a leather stool. He kicked again and again, with anger across his face, while repeatedly shouted, "Kick you to death, kick you to death!"


    "Is he practicing a kicking skill?" Wei Xiaobao wondered in his heart. Not daring to interfere, he stood quietly on the side with hands hanging down.


    After kicking for a while, Kangxi raised his head and saw Wei Xiaobao; with smile on his face he said, "I felt stifled, come play with me."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Hai Laogong taught me new martial art technique, called the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'', it is fiercer than the one he previously taught me, the ''big grappling technique''. He said when I have mastered it, you won''t be my match for sure."


    "What kind of martial art is that?" Kangxi asked, "Show it to me."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I am going to attack you!" Both of his palms flew up, ''South Sea Worships Buddha'', ''Gold and Jade Roof Tiles'', ''Breath of Life'' altogether three moves were performed, fast and nimble, toward Kangxi''s back, shoulder, left side of his torso, right leg, and his throat, five points, which Wei Xiaobao lightly pat with his fingers. The changes of ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' were quite peculiar, it was entirely different from the ''big grappling technique''. Kangxi was caught off-guard and was not able to dodge a single move. Wei Xiaobao was using a very light force, so naturally Kangxi did not feel any pain. Actually, with Wei Xiaobao not having any internal energy, his physical strength was also very weak, even if they fight seriously, several hits would not bring any harm. However, with one attack he successfully hit five times; it had never happened before.


    "Ah!" Kangxi cried out in astonishment, "This martial art is very amazing. Come again tomorrow, I am going to ask Shifu to teach me an excellent martial art as well. We''ll have another match."


    "Excellent, excellent!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Returning to his residence, he recounted what Kangxi had said. Hai Laogong said, "I wonder what kind of martial art will his Shifu teach him. Today you are going to learn several more moves from the ''Thousand-Leaf Hand''."


    That day Wei Xiaobao learned six moves, namely ''Watching Reflection in the Mirror'', ''Catching the Moon in the Water'', ''Floating Clouds Coming and Going'', ''Water Bubble Vanishing and Reappearing'', ''A Very Clear Dream'', ''Emptiness After Realization''. These six moves were all very mysterious; they seemed to be hidden, yet in plain sight, the changes were unpredictable, without clear pattern, many fake attacks, a few real ones. Hai Laogong only wanted Wei Xiaobao to memorize the motion, without explaining the subtlety of the style, so much so that he did not even verify whether the execution of the style was proper, or the position of the move was perfect. First, Hai Laogong could not see, second, he hardly paid any attention.


    Seeing how Hai Laogong was so casual in teaching him, Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted. He mused, "You teach me carelessly, I also learn sloppily; the two of us can be considered going through this muddle-headedly together. If you want to take it seriously, laozi does not have idle time to accompany you playing."


    The next day Wei Xiaobao went to the Upper Study Room, and saw there were four guards, which he had not seen before, standing outside the door. While he was hesitating, one of the guards said with a smile, "Are you Gui Gong-gong? His Majesty ordered you to come in immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "What Gui Gong-gong?" he mused, but then understood immediately, "Laozi is Gui Gong-gong! This imperial bodyguard knows I am the Emperor''s trusted aide, so he is particularly polite to me." Thereupon he laughed and nodded his head, saying, "Fortunate meeting, fortunate meeting. May I ask the surnames of the four of you?" The four imperial guards told him their surnames and given names. Wei Xiaobao exchanged some pleasantries with them.


    The guard surnamed Zhang laughed and said, "You''d better go in quickly, His Majesty has been asking about you several times." Wei Xiaobao walked in.


    Kangxi sprang up from the chair and laughed, "Your three moves yesterday, my Shifu has taught me how to counter them. Let us try it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since your Shifu said you are going to counter it, naturally you will counter it; there is no need to try."


    "We must try it!" Kangxi said, "You go quietly to our martial art match hall first, don''t let anybody know, I will come shortly." Wei Xiaobao complied, and went to the small room. Kangxi had just learned a new set of skill, he was impatient to test it out, therefore, he arrived shortly afterwards.


    The two of them fought immediately. Kangxi did indeed use ingenious technique, he managed to neutralize the three moves Wei Xiaobao launched the previous day, but still, Wei Xiaobao managed to land a palm strike on the back of his shoulder.


    Seeing the brilliant moves Kangxi was displaying, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was also full of admiration; he asked, "This set of technique you are using, what is it called?"


    Kangxi replied, "This is the ''Ba Gua[55] Roaming Dragon Palm''. My Shifu said, your ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' has too many styles, and is very troublesome to memorize. Our ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'' only has eight times eight, sixty-four styles, but changes repeatedly, so when used to the greatest extent, it may match your ''Thousand-leaf Hand''."


    "Which one is superior?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I also asked the same thing," Kangxi said, "Shifu said that these two are equally excellent palm techniques, so it''s hard to say which one is superior. Whoever has profound power, and able to use it ingeniously, will win."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Yesterday I learned six more moves. You may try it."


    Right away he launched the six moves he learned yesterday. Although the second and third moves were completely forgotten, and the fifth move was executed incorrectly, Kangxi was still hit seven, eight times. Kangxi nodded and said, "These six moves of yours are amazing, I must learn how to counter them."


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his residence and told Hai Laogong how Kangxi had learned the ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm''. Hai Laogong nodded his head and said, "As a matter of fact, our Shaolin Pai''s ''Thousand-Leaf Hand'', only Wudang Pai''s ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'' can be its match. His Shifu was not wrong. The palm techniques of our two Sects have their respective advantage; whoever master it better will be the more formidable one."


    "He is the Emperor," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can I surpass him? Of course I''ll have to let him learn a good deal better." He was unwilling to assiduously train martial art, and thus had arranged a good excuse for his falling behind.


    Hai Laogong said, "If you are too disappointing, His Majesty won''t have any interest to spar with you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There is a saying: brilliant teacher will produce superior student, there are no poor soldiers under a capable general. You are a brilliant teacher, and also a capable general; the person you teach cannot be too disappointing. You are the Old Wang''an, releasing a hundred and twenty kind-hearted men!" [I am not sure about this, can''t find any reference.]Hai Laogong shook his head, he said, "Don''t boast too much, the dishes on the table are getting cold, eat the bowl of soup first!"


    "Let me serve you, Senior, the soup," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "I don''t eat the soup," Hai Laogong said, "Each time I eat, I am coughing."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said. He took the soup by himself and mused, "I, the Senior, ate the soup and am not coughing."


    For the next several months, Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao learned their styles and had martial art contest. The two of them did not have any real fight, neither one of them exerted their full potential and strived with all their hearts to score victory, unavoidably the delight in fighting with everything they had had diminished greatly. The styles they were learning were getting more and more complicated, as were the techniques to counter them, and the variations within the styles. However, the match had turned into a cultured contest, just like a game of chess, not resembling any fight at all. Kangxi knew perfectly well that Wei Xiaobao would not dare to kick his butt fiercely, nor would he be comfortable to deliver a heavy blow on his head.


    Wei Xiaobao only learned martial art to keep the Emperor company, he himself had no interest at all. He would learn new moves, and forget the previous ones. It was obvious that Kangxi''s Shifu was also rather negligent in teaching him. The two of them made an extremely slow progress, their interest in having a match was also greatly reduced. Later on, several days would pass before Kangxi would exchange a move with Wei Xiaobao.


    During this time, other than having martial art match with Wei Xiaobao, Kangxi often took Wei Xiaobao to the study room to accompany him studying. The imperial bodyguards and the court eunuchs in the Palace all knew that the little eunuch from the Catering Department, Xiao Guizi, was now the Emperor''s most favorite person. When they saw him, nobody dared to call his name ''Xiao Guizi'' straight out, they always addressed him as Gui Gong-gong this and Gui Gong-gong that, and were very respectful and affectionate towards him.


    One particular day, after having a martial art match with Wei Xiaobao, with a serious expression Kangxi said in low voice, "Xiao Guizi, tomorrow we have a very important thing to do, come a bit earlier to the study room and wait for me."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao complied. He knew the Emperor did not like to talk too much, if he did not say what important thing was, he must not ask too much questions.


    The next day he arrived at the study room early and waited. Kangxi said in low voice, "I want you to do something for me, do you have the courage?"


    "You want me to do something, what is there for me to be afraid of?" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "This is a matter of utmost importance," Kangxi said, "If not handled properly, you and I will have our lives to worry."


    Wei Xiaobao was rather alarmed, he said, "At most it is my life we are talking about; you are the Emperor, who dares to harm you? What''s more, with you watching over me, whatever I say will not put my life in jeopardy." He thought that he must state it up front, that if I, Wei Xiaobao, has my life in jeopardy, you as the Emperor must be responsible, you cannot ignore me.


    Kangxi said, "This Oboi is harsh and unreasonable, he is a rude bully, his heart has different scheme. Today we are going to deal with him, do you dare?"


    Wei Xiaobao had lived in the Palace for quite a long time. Other than practicing martial art and accompanying Kangxi, he had very little time to enjoy himself. For the last several months Hai Laogong forbade him to gamble with the Wen brothers and the others, only occasionally did he manage to steal a game or two. Besides, his martial art match against Kangxi was getting more and more boring. While he was feeling stifled, hearing that they were going to deal with Oboi, he could not help but was delighted.


    "Wonderful, wonderful!" he said, "I told earlier that the two of us join hands should take him. Even if he is the number one warrior of Manchuria, you and I have trained so much that our skill is not too bad, definitely we are not afraid of him."


    Kangxi shook his head, "I am the Emperor," he said, "I can''t fight with him personally. This Oboi is holding two consecutive jobs, he is a minister, but also the commander of the internal imperial bodyguards. All the imperial bodyguards in the Palace are his men. If he knew I am going to arrest him, most likely he would revolt. If all the imperial bodyguards join the action, you and I won''t be able to protect our lives, even the Emperor''s Grandmother and Empress Dowager may run into misfortune. Thus, this matter is really dangerous."


    Striking his chest with his hand Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case I am going to wait for him outside the Palace, I''ll catch him off-guard, and stab him dead with a dagger. If the stab did not kill him, he wouldn''t know it was your idea."


    "This man''s martial art skill is superb," Kangxi said, "Plus you are still little, you are not his match. Moreover, outside the Palace gate his bodyguards are numerous, you will have difficulty just to be near him. Even if you succeed in assassinating him, I am afraid you will also be killed by his bodyguards. I have another idea."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi continued, "Let''s wait until he come over here to present his memorial, I will arrange several little eunuchs in advance to wait in here. When you see the teacup in my hand falls down, pounce on him and twist his hands behind his back. More than ten little eunuchs will then attack together, pulling his hands and legs, stopping him from using his martial art. If that is still not enough, I will have to come forward and help."


    "This is a wonderful idea," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Do you have a knife? We must not mess up this matter; if we fail to arrest him, I will simply kill him with the knife."


    At first, after killing Xiao Guizi, he always kept a dagger in his boot; later on he found out that Xiao Xuanzi was the Emperor. During the exchange of palm strikes, oftentimes he had to jump and dodge, he was afraid the dagger would fall from his boot. Other than imperial bodyguards on duty, if anybody else was found carrying any blade, the crime was punishable by beheading; therefore, he did not dare to carry his dagger anymore.


    Kangxi nodded, he pulled his desk drawer and took out a couple of golden-handled daggers. He gave one to Wei Xiaobao, and inserted the other one into his own boot. Wei Xiaobao also hid the dagger into his boot. He felt his blood surged, his body grew hot and his breathing quickened. "Good fellow," he said, "We''ll deal with him!"


    Kangxi said, "Go get twelve little eunuchs here." Wei Xiaobao complied and went out to get the eunuchs.


    These little eunuchs had been practicing tumbling and wrestling at the clothes warehouse for the last several months. Although they did not know any martial art, their skill in pulling hands and holding onto legs was not too bad. Kangxi said to the twelve little eunuchs, "You all have trained for several months, I don''t know whether you are making progress or not. In a moment a senior minister will come in. This man is our dynasty''s expert in tumbling and wrestling. I will let him testing your skill. As soon as you see me throwing down the teacup, attack him together. Catch him unaware with twelve against one. If you can hold him down and render him immovable, I will reward you heavily." After saying that, he pulled the drawer and drew out twelve yuanbao, worth fifty taels each. He said, "If you win, each one will receive one yuanbao, but if you lose, twelve heads will roll together. This bunch of lazy, useless fellows, why would I want to spare?" The last two sentences were said with stern voice and expression.


    The twelve little eunuchs knelt down together and said, "Your servants will do our best to handle this matter for Your Majesty."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Handle what matter? I am only testing you, I want to see which one is diligent, which one is lazy."


    Wei Xiaobao secretly admired him, "He did not reveal anything in front of the little eunuchs, to guard against these little demons lose their patience and reveal the secret plan in Oboi''s presence."


    After the little eunuchs withdrew, Kangxi picked up a book from the desk and started to read. Wei Xiaobao could hear him reciting in low voice; unexpectedly his voice did not tremble, his hands did not shake. Confronted with an important event, he was as calm as ever; while Wei Xiaobao felt his hands were clammy, and his body was hot. He cursed himself secretly, "Wei Xiaobao, you are a son of a b1tch, this time you prove yourself to be inferior to Xiao Xuanzi. Your martial art skill is not as good as his, your mental power is also inferior to him." But then he thought, "He is the Emperor, naturally his courage is greater than mine. Nothing so special about it. If I were the Emperor, naturally I will surpass him." yet in the deepest part of his heart he knew it was hard to justify what he had just told himself.


    A good half a day later, there was sound of boots outside the door, an imperial bodyguard announced, "Ao Shaobao desires to have an audience with the Emperor, wishing His Majesty ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold."


    "Ao Shaobao, come in!" Kangxi said. Oboi raised the curtain and walked in. He knelt down and kowtowed.


    Kangxi said with a laugh, " Ao Shaobao, you are just in time. I have here more than ten little eunuchs who have practiced wrestling. I heard that you are our Manchuria''s warrior with number one martial art skill. How about you give directions to them for several stances?"


    With a smile Oboi said, "Your Majesty has the desire, the Minister will serve with my ability."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Xiao Guizi, tell the imperial bodyguards outside to go take a break. They do not need to come back unless summoned." As he said that, he laughed toward Oboi and made a face. Oboi laughed aloud. Wei Xiaobao went out to do the bidding.


    In a low voice Kangxi said, "Ao Shaobao, you advised me not to read Han people''s books, I think you are very right. We''d better spend our time in the study room wrestling and having fun, but don''t let other people hear about it. If the Empress Dowager finds out, she will force me to study."


    Oboi was delighted. "That''s right, that''s right, that''s right!" he repeatedly said, "Your Majesty''s idea is very brilliant. Those Han people books, what''s the use of reading them?"


    Wei Xiaobao returned and said, "The imperial bodyguards thank Your Majesty for your kindness, they all have withdrawn."


    "Good," Kang laughed, "Let us play. Little eunuchs, twelve of you form six pairs, spar with each other."


    The twelve little eunuchs rolled their sleeves and tightened their belts, they split into six pairs and attacked each other. Oboi watched with smile on his face; seeing these little eunuchs'' skill was only so-so, he shook his head and laughed. Kangxi picked up the teacup and drank a mouthful. He said with a laugh, "Ao Shaobao, do you think these children''s skill is useable?"


    Oboi laughed and said, "To put up a show, they are passable!"


    Kangxi laughed, "Compared to you, Ao Shaobao, naturally they are inadequate!" he said. He leaned sideways, his hand loosened, ''crash!'' the teacup fell to the floor. "Aiyo!" he cried out.


    Oboi was startled, he said, "Your Majesty ��" the two words had just come out of his mouth, behind him the twelve little eunuchs pounced at him at the same time, pulling his hands and climbing onto his arms, wrapping their arms around his waist and holding on to his legs, attacking him from all sides.


    Kangxi laughed aloud and said, " Ao Shaobao, pay attention!"


    Oboi only knew the young Emperor was inciting the little eunuchs to test his martial art skill; with a smile he flung his arms, four little eunuchs fell down to the ground. He still did not dare to use too much force, for fear that he might injure the little eunuchs. His left leg lightly swept, two more little eunuchs were swept down. He roared in laughter. The remaining little eunuchs remembered the Emperor''s words, ''if you lose, twelve heads will roll together''; with everything they had they firmly hold on to Oboi''s waist and legs.


    Wei Xiaobao had already slipped behind him, aiming for the ''sun acupoint'' on Oboi''s temple, he sent out a ferocious punch. Oboi only felt a burst of dizziness in his brain; he was slightly angered, "These little eunuchs are very rude," he thought. With a swift sweep of his left arm he threw three little eunuchs away. But when he turned around, his chest was hit by Wei Xiaobao''s fist. Although Wei Xiaobao''s two sneak attacks could be considered very quick, his strength was lacking, so that although Oboi was hit on vital points, he did not suffer any serious harm.


    Seeing the one launching the sneak attack was unexpectedly the little eunuch close to the Emperor, he had a vague feeling that things were worse than he thought, yet in the end he refused to believe that the Emperor was using these children to apprehend him. Stretching out his left palm, he pressed down on Wei Xiaobao''s left shoulder. Wei Xiaobao used the move ''Emptiness After Realization'', his left palm feigned two attacks in front of Oboi. As Oboi ducked, ''bang!'' the pit of his stomach was squarely kicked. "Ah!" but it was Wei Xiaobao who cried out. What happened was that when his kick landed on Oboi''s chest, he felt as if he was kicking a brick wall, he felt severe pain on his own leg instead.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao repeatedly using killer stances against him, Oboi was startled and angered. In the heat of the battle, he did not have time to think the Emperor''s real intention; he only thought that as soon as he was able to extricate himself from the little eunuchs'' entanglement, he would deal with Wei Xiaobao first. But the little eunuchs were holding fast to his waist and legs, as soon as he managed to throw several eunuchs, the rest were pouncing at him.


    Kangxi clapped his hands and laughed. "Ao Shaobao," he said, "I am afraid you are going to lose."


    Oboi was about to crush the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head with his fist, hearing Kangxi, he said in his heart, "So you just want to joke with me; how can I lower myself to these little children''s level?" Deflecting his arm slightly and reducing his power, ''whack!'' his punch landed on Wei Xiaobao''s right shoulder with only one-tenth of his strength. But Oboi''s strength was inexhaustible, it was said that during the battle with the Ming army, with his bare hands he was able to grab Ming''s officers and soldiers and hurled them away randomly, just like a tornado sweeping away everything in its path.


    Wei Xiaobao only learned martial art casually for several months, plus he was only a child; although he had a throng of little eunuchs to help him, how could he overcome him? When the punch landed, Wei Xiaobao staggered and tumbled forward. Seizing this opportunity, he sent out his left elbow to strike the small of Oboi''s back.


    Oboi laughed and cursed him, "You, this baby, are very crafty!" while lightly pushing Wei Xiaobao''s back with his right hand. Wei Xiaobao hit the ground head first, but when he stood up, there was a dagger in his hand. Turning around swiftly, he pounced on Oboi.


    Suddenly seeing the shining dagger in Wei Xiaobao''s hand, Oboi was taken by surprise, he stared blankly for a moment then called out, "You �� what are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I use dagger, you use your bare hands, let us fight!"


    "Quickly put the knife down!" Oboi barked, "In the presence of His Majesty, must not use any murder weapon."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "You want me to put it down, I''ll put it down." Stooping down, he inserted the dagger into his boot.


    By this time there were still seven, eight little eunuchs holding on firmly onto Oboi. Suddenly Wei Xiaobao dropped down, as if he had lost his footing; his body bumped into Oboi, the dagger went straight up, he wanted to stab Oboi''s belly. Unexpectedly Oboi had a quick reaction in facing danger; swiftly he shrank backward and the dagger stabbed his thigh. With a loud roar Oboi flung three little eunuchs and seized Wei Xiaobao''s neck.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao and the little eunuchs failed to hold Oboi down, Kangxi knew their situation was dire; circling toward Oboi''s back, he pulled his dagger and stabbed it toward Oboi''s back. Feeling the sting of pain on his back, Oboi quickly contracted the muscle on his back, Kangxi''s stab slipped; it did not hit any vital point. Without too much trouble Oboi fung Wei Xiaobao away, and turned around as swift as a whirlwind; he saw a young man before his eyes, which was precisely the Emperor.


    Oboi was stunned; Kangxi jumped two steps back. Oboi let out another roar; at last he understood that the Emperor wanted to take his life. Shaking his fist in the air he pounced on Kangxi. Kangxi sidestepped, Oboi grabbed two little eunuchs and smashed their heads against each other. Two skulls immediately split open. Oboi sent out his left fist straight toward a little eunuch''s chest, followed by a fierce kick with his right leg, sending four little eunuchs crashing onto the wall. Their muscle torn, their bones broken; without even a grunt they all died instantly. Right away he raised his left leg to trample the abdomen of a little eunuch holding on to his right leg, the little eunuch''s stomach burst open and his intestines spilled out. In a split second he had successively killed eight eunuchs. The remaining four little eunuchs were so scared that they stared blankly without knowing what to do.


    With dagger in his hand Wei Xiaobao lunged forward. Oboi met him with his left fist. Wei Xiaobao felt a strong gust of wind assaulting his face so that he could not breathe. Brandishing the dagger, he attacked Oboi''s arm. Oboi slightly turned his arm to evade the dagger, immediately he sent another punch and hit Wei Xiaobao on the left shoulder, sending him flying over the desk and landed on the incense burner. Immediately the ashes from the censer flew up to the air.


    From the beginning Kangxi was very calm and collected, he used the ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'' to fight Oboi, but Kangxi''s power in using this palm technique was rather limited, plus he was fighting Oboi, a valiant military leader who was divinely brave by nature; in all honesty the palm technique did not have too much usefulness. Oboi was hit twice by Kangxi''s palm, but he seemed hardly noticed it. Oboi sent out a left kick toward Kangxi''s right leg. Kangxi staggered and fell forward. Oboi roared like thunder, he shouted, "Let us all die together!" Both fists came down on Kangxi''s head.


    Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao had been fighting each other for quite a long time, his ability to adapt to changes in the small room where they spar had been trained that he was able to react fast. Seeing Oboi''s fists came, he dropped down at once and rolled away underneath the desk. With his left leg Oboi kick the desk, while with his right leg he repeatedly kicked on Kangxi''s body. Suddenly a cloud of dust rose upward, a layer of ash covered Oboi''s eyes.


    Oboi let out a ''wah! wah!'' cry, while frantically rubbed his eyes with both hands. His right leg kept kicking forward at lightning speed, for fear that the enemy would seize this opportunity to attack.


    What happened was that when Wei Xiaobao saw the urgency of their situation, he grabbed two handfuls of ashes from the incense burner and threw it toward Oboi. The particles of ashes from the incense was very fine, as soon as it made contact with Oboi''s eyes, it quickly dispersed.


    Suddenly Oboi felt a stabbing pain on his left arm; it was Wei Xiaobao''s dagger that he threw, it was aimed toward the vital point on the pit of his stomach, but it hit his arm instead.


    By this time the table in the study room was overturned and the stools lying on their sides, it was a complete chaos. Wei Xiaobao saw a chair behind Oboi, it was precisely the dragon chair the Emperor used on day-to-day basis. With all his might he picked up the bronze censer using both hands, jumped onto the dragon chair, aimed the censer on the back of Oboi''s head, and smashed it down as hard as he could.


    The censer was an object from the Tang dynasty, at least it weighed about thirty catties. Oboi''s eyes were blinded, he could not evade. ''Bang!'' the top of his head was hit. Oboi''s body swayed and he tumbled down on the ground, fainted. The incense burner was cracked, unexpectedly Oboi''s head remained intact.


    Kangxi was ecstatic. "Xiao Guizi," he called out, "You''ve done it." He had prepared some cow tendon rope, which he busily took out from the drawer of the overturned desk. Together with Wei Xiaobao he bound Oboi''s hands and feet.


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his whole body was soaked in cold sweat, his limbs trembled, he pulled the rope, but felt that his strength was completely gone. Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao looked at each other, their joy was unspeakable.


    Not too long afterwards Oboi came to his senses, he shouted, "I am a loyal minister, I am innocent! This is a conspiracy to harm me, I refuse to accept even to my death!"


    "Traitor!" Wei Xiaobao sternly said, "You brought knife to the Upper Study Room, for that crime alone you deserve to die ten thousand times."


    "I did not bring any knife!" Oboi shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao also shout harshly, "Aren''t those two knives on your body? One on your back and the other on your arm. You still dare to say you did not bring any knife?" With Wei Xiaobao forcefully pushing his twisted logic, how could Oboi debate him? Much less the top of his head was smashed heavily with the bronze censer, his back and his arm were pierced by the knives; although his injuries were not life-threatening, they were not light either. In a moment of desperation, all he could do was shouting and screaming exasperatedly.


    Seeing out of the twelve little eunuchs only four were left alive, Kangxi said, "You have seen it with your own eyes, this Oboi is rebelling against his superior, he is planning on assassinating me."


    The four little eunuchs were still shaken, their faces were ashen. One of them repeatedly agreed, "Yes, yes!" The other three could not even utter a single word.


    Kangxi said, "Get out now, proclaim my decree, summon Prince Kang Giyesu and Songgotu to come over here. Do not mention even one word of what has just happened. If there is any rumor leaked out, just watch your heads." The four little eunuchs complied and went out.


    Oboi was still shouting defiantly, "Injustice, injustice! The Emperor is personally trying to kill me, a loyal minister. If the former Emperor found out, he would never spare you!"


    Kangxi''s countenance sank, he said, "Think of a way, don''t let him sprout nonsense!"


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao complied. He walked over and stretched out his left hand to pinch Oboi''s nose. Oboi opened his mouth to take a breath, with his right hand Wei Xiaobao tore off the dagger from Oboi''s arm and stabbed randomly into Oboi''s mouth several times. He also grabbed two handfuls of incense ashes from the ground and stuffed it inside Oboi''s mouth. Oboi''s throat created some gurgling noise, he was chocked and was barely able to breathe, how could he say another word?


    Wei Xiaobao also pulled the dagger piercing Oboi''s back and stuck both daggers side by side on the desk, while he himself stood guard by Oboi''s side. If he saw the Oboi making the slightest movement, he would immediately pull out the dagger and stab him several times.


    Seeing the important matter had reached its conclusion, in his heart Kangxi was very happy. To see Oboi''s impressive build and his mean and ferocious expression with bloodstain all over his face, he could not help but secretly alarmed and scared; he realized now that he had been too reckless, by only relying on he and Xiao Guizi, who had learned martial art for only so long, plus twelve little eunuchs, who had just started training wrestling, he was determined to deal with Oboi. He had never thought that dealing with a genuine warrior, several children would be completely useless; besides, his own martial art skill, as well as Xiao Guizi''s, was nowhere near the expert level. If it was not for Xiao Guizi''s ruse, right now he would have been killed by Oboi. Once Oboi made his move, he would stop at nothing; most likely he would also harm the Emperor''s Grandmother and the Empress Dowager. All the ministers of the dynasty, as well as the imperial bodyguards inside the Palace, were his trusted aides. If Oboi set up another young ruler, no one would dare to inquire about his crime. Thinking to this point, he could not help but shivered.


    After waiting for quite some time, Prince Kang and Songgotu who were summoned by the four little eunuchs came in. As soon as they entered the Upper Study Room, they saw dead bodies sprawled all around with bloodstain scattered everywhere; to say that they were mildly shocked was definitely an understatement. They knelt down immediately and kowtowed repeatedly, while proclaimed together, "Wishing Your Majesty ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold."


    Kangxi said, "Oboi committed treason and heresy, he brought a blade into the Palace, he dared to assault me. Fortunately our ancestors protected me; the little eunuch Xiao Guizi, with the help of other eunuchs, strenuously resisted the ominous rebel, and arrested him. On how to deal with the aftermath, I leave it to you to do as you see fit."


    Prince Kang and Songgotu had never gotten along well with Oboi, they had been under Oboi''s oppression for a long time; suddenly seeing a big change in the Palace, they were pleasantly surprised. After paying their respect to the Emperor again, they admitted that they had neglected to take precautions, that they had committed grave offense, that fortunately the Emperor was blessed with flood of good fortune filled the heavens, that the Emperor was cherished by hundreds of deities, such that Oboi''s vicious scheme was thwarted.


    Kangxi said, "This matter of assassination attempt, you do not need to mention it to outsiders, to avoid Empress Grandmother and Empress Dowager being startled. If this matter is spread out, the Han officials and the common people will laugh at us. Oboi''s crime is great, even without today''s matter, he deserved to be punished a long time ago."


    Prince Kang and Songgotu kowtowed again, "Yes, yes!" they said. Yet in their hearts they had doubts, "Oboi is divinely brave by nature, he is our Manchu''s number one warrior. If he really wanted to assassinate the Emperor, how could several little eunuchs capture him? There must be something else in this matter." Luckily the two of them were eager to heavily punish Oboi, so they did not see any reason to inquire deeper into the story. Much less the Emperor had said so, who would dare to question him?


    Prince Kang said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Oboi has too many henchmen, we must spread the net and capture them all, to guard against another rebellion. Let Official Songgotu stay here to protect Your Majesty; he must not leave your Holy Self even for half a step. Your servant will relay the decree, all Oboi''s henchmen must be arrested at once. What does Your Majesty think?"


    Kangxi nodded. "Very well!" he said. Prince Kang withdrew.


    Songgotu looked up and down Xiao Guizi, sizing him up, he said, "Xiao Gong-gong, your meritorious deed in protecting His Majesty today is indeed not small."


    "It was His Majesty''s good fortune," Xiao Guizi said, "As slaves, what meritorious service can we possibly do?"


    Kangxi was very pleased to see Wei Xiaobao did not claim credit for himself at all, and did not mention even a word of the violent battle just now; he thought that if his personal involvement by stabbing Oboi from the back was ever spread outside, as the ruler, he would lost considerable respect. He also mused, "Xiao Guizi''s merit today big beyond compare, it could be said that he had saved my life. It''s a pity that he is an eunuch, no matter how I promote him, he will always be an eunuch. Our ancestor has set up a strict rule that an eunuch must not be involved in politics; apparently I can only reward him generously with money."


    Prince Kang handled the matter very rapidly; he was back in a short time, leading several trusted royalties and senior ministers to pay their respect to the Emperor, reporting that most of Oboi''s party had been arrested, all guilty imperial bodyguards inside the Palace had been sent outside on imperial orders, not even one was left. Then he requested the Emperor to assign another minister to preside over the imperial bodyguards, and to elect another trusted team of personal bodyguards.


    Kangxi was greatly delighted, "You have managed it very well!" he said.


    The several Princes and civil and military ministers saw the devastation in the Upper Study Room, how Oboi had killed the eight little eunuchs that their skulls disintegrated and their brains scattered, their intestine spilled and their bones broken; no one was not horrified, they all raised up their voices to curse Oboi''s treason and heresy. Immediately the head of the Ministry of Justice personally led Oboi away to be detained. The Princes and Ministers also said many other praise and respectful wishes to the Emperor before taking their leave to discuss among themselves what to do with Oboi''s crime.


    Prince Kang Giyesu conveyed Kangxi''s intention by urging them, "His Majesty is benevolent and filial, he does not wish to massacre too many people and alarm the Emperor''s Grandmother and the Empress Dowager; therefore, the matter of Oboi committed treason and heresy does not need to be exposed outside the imperial court. He will only be charged with dominating the government, with being illegally harsh and unreasonable, so we must make a list of detailed charges." All the princes, dukes and ministers raised their voices to praise the sage''s virtue.


    Assassinating the Emperor was not a small matter, without a doubt Oboi would have been put to death by dismemberment[56], along with his entire family, young and old, women and children, as well as the family members of those associated with him, and all his clansmen; no one would be lucky enough to escape with their lives. If this major case was pursued down, the implication would be widespread, at least several thousand people would have to die. Although Kangxi hated Oboi''s dominance, he did not wish to heap random accusation on his head, he was even more unwilling to implicate the innocents.


    Kangxi''s days of being personally in-charge of the government was not lacking, however, all government affairs, big and small, were handled by Oboi; all along the court officials were only doing what Oboi directed them to do. Today he had arrested Oboi; he saw that the princes, dukes and ministers'' expression was different all of a sudden, he could see that they were a lot more respectful and submissive to him. It was only this time that Kangxi finally felt the joy of being the ruler. He also took a glance at Wei Xiaobao, and saw that he had withdrawn into a corner, without saying anything. Kangxi thought, "This kid does not talk too much, he is very perceptive."


    After the Ministers had all withdrawn, Songgotu said, "Your Majesty, the Upper Study Room must be cleaned up properly. May I suggest Your Majesty take the trouble of withdrawing to your personal palace [orig. ''palace to lie down''] to rest?"


    Kangxi nodded. Accompanied by Prince Kang and Songgotu he headed toward his personal palace. Wei Xiaobao was unsure if he should follow; while he was hesitating, Kangxi nodded to him and said, "You may come with me."


    Prince Kang and Songgotu took their leave several hundred steps outside the personal palace. Other than imperial wives and concubines, princes, court eunuchs and palace maids, outer ministers must not set their feet into the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace.


    Wei Xiaobao followed Kangxi inside. At first he thought that the Emperor''s personal palace would be filled with gold and jade in glorious splendor, that everything would be inlaid with emerald and white jade, that there would be at least two, three thousand pearls on the wall so that there would not be any need of lantern at night. Who would have thought that as he entered the personal palace, it looked like an ordinary room, only the bedding and pillow cases were made of yellow silk, embroidered with dragon and phoenix, nothing more than that. He was quite disappointed, thinking, "Compared to the rooms in our Yangzhou''s Spring Courtyard, the style here is far too inferior."


    Kangxi drank a bowl of ginseng soup presented by a palace maid; he let out a long sigh and said, "Xiao Guizi, come with me to see the Empress Dowager." By this time Kangxi had not married yet, his personal palace was not too far away from the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful where the Empress Dowager resided.


    When they reached the Empress Dowager''s personal palace, Kangxi went in alone, he told Wei Xiaobao to wait outside. Wei Xiaobao waited for a long time and was bored; he mused, "I learned the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' Hai Laogong taught me, His Majesty learned the ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'', but when we fought Oboi today, any ''Thousand-Leaf Hand'' or ''Roaming Dragon Palm'' were all useless. It was only because of Little White Dragon Wei Xiaobao''s third-class trick of scattering the incense ash and smashing the censer did we accomplish our mission successfully. There won''t be any more fun in continuing learning those martial art skills. I always pretend to be an eunuch in the imperial palace, kowtowing to Xiao Xuanzi; it''s really boring. Oboi is already arrested, Xiao Xuanzi does not need my help anymore. Tomorrow I''ll slip out of the palace and won''t be coming back."


    While he was contemplating on how to leave the Palace, an eunuch came out and said with a laugh, "Gui Xiongdi, Empress Dowager orders you to come in."


    "His granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed in his belly, "More kowtow! Why don''t you, hot piece mama Empress Dowager, kowtow to laozi?" But he said respectfully, "Yes!" and followed the eunuch inside.


    Passing through two big courtyards, the eunuch stopped outside a door curtain and said, "Reporting to Empress Dowager: Xiao Guizi is here for an audience." Gently lifted the curtain, he puckered his mouth.


    Wei Xiaobao walked in; there was another curtain ahead. This time the curtain was made entirely of strung pearls, it emitted a soft glow. A palace maid lifted up the pearl curtain. Wei Xiaobao went in with bowed head, but he raised his eyelids slightly, and saw a noble looking woman, approximately thirty years of age, was sitting on a chair. Kangxi was standing by her side. Obviously this woman was the Empress Dowager. Immediately he knelt down and kowtowed.


    The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded, "Arise!" she said. Waiting for Wei Xiaobao to stand up, she said, "I heard from the Emperor that in the arrest of that rebel minister Oboi today you have rendered a great merit."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Reporting to Empress Dowager, your servant only knows of red-bellied devotion in protecting my master. Whatever His Majesty commanded, your servant would simply follow the imperial order. Your servant is young, he does not understand anything." He lived in the Palace for only several months, but during the gambling he often heard the eunuchs mentioning the rules and customs of the Palace and imperial court, which he memorized it one by one; he knew masters were most jealous of slaves who claim credit for himself. The bigger merit you render, the least credit you should pretend to claim, then your master would be very pleased with you. Supposing the servant showed a somewhat haughty attitude, the master might bestow a fatal disaster. If the master was irritated and thus loathe the servant, it would not be difficult at all for the servant to lose the favor and the good fortune from the master.


    The way he replied had pleased the Empress Dowager very much; she said, "Your age might be young, yet you are sensible, you are better than that Junior Protector [Shao Bao], who was granted the title first class martial artist, Oboi. Child, what do you think we should reward him with?"


    Kangxi said, "Empress Dowager, please give your instruction."


    The Empress Dowager muttered, "In the Catering Department, you don''t have any rank, do you? Hai Tianfu, Supervisor Hai is an eunuch of the fifth grade, so I grant you the sixth grade, I promote you to be Eunuch Leader, you may serve as the Emperor''s attendant!"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Hot piece mama''s sixth grade, seven grade, is the same as making me a grade of eunuch, laozi does not want it." But his face was all smiles as he knelt down and kowtowed, "Thank you for Empress Dowager''s grace, thank you for His Majesty''s grace."


    The Qing Palace''s common practice was to have fourteen Eunuch Managers, eight Eunuch Assistant Managers, a hundred and eighty nine Eunuch Leaders, and unlimited number of ordinary eunuchs. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than a thousand eunuchs, later, the number grew to more than two thousand eunuchs. The highest level of eunuch with managerial duty was fourth grade, the lowest was eighth grade, ordinary eunuchs did not have any rank. Wei Xiaobao was promoted from without any grade to the sixth grade eunuch; within the Palace, it could be considered a very rare honor.


    The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "Do your duty well."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao repeatedly declared. He stood up and withdrew by walking backward. When the palace maid raised the pearl curtain, Wei Xiaobao stole a glance toward the Empress Dowager. He saw her complexion to be extremely pale, her eyes were bright, but her eyebrows were creased, as if she was concerned about something, or perhaps she had a load on her mind; he mused, "She is the Empress Dowager, what makes her unhappy? Ah, that''s right, her husband is dead, even if she is the Empress Dowager, with her husband dead, naturally she is not happy."


    Returning to his residence, he recounted everything that happened that day to Hai Laogong. Unexpectedly Hai Laogong did not show the least bit of surprise; he said drily, "I suspected he would make his move within these two days. His Majesty''s patience is much better than the late emperor''s."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished, "Gong-gong," he asked, "You already know?"


    "How can I know?" Hai Laogong said, "I have my suspicion for some time. His Majesty learning wrestling can be considered a child having some fun, but when he wanted thirty little eunuchs to also learn wrestling, what was he trying to do? His Majesty attentively learned the ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'', obviously he had some other reason behind it. If these two different paths martial art, the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' and the ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'' were trained for ten years, eight years to the point of proficiency, with the two of you join hands, there is a chance you could cope with Oboi. But what good is such tactless and impulsive person who learned only for two, three months? Ay, young people are courageous, but do not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Today''s matter was too dangerous."


    Wei Xiaobao leaned over to look at Hai Laogong, his heart was brimming with amazement and respect, "This old turtle''s eyes are blind, but he has foresight in everything."


    "Did His Majesty take you to see the Empress Dowager?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, he thought, "You know about it too."


    "What reward did the Empress Dowager bestow to you?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "It was nothing," Wei Xiaobao replied, "She only gives me a sixth grade, promoting me to be Eunuch Leader."


    Hai Laogong chuckled and said, "That''s very good, you are only a grade lower than me. To be promoted from little eunuch to Eunuch Leader, I had to toil for no less than thirteen years."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "One of these days I am going to leave. You have taught me not a few of martial art skill, yet it was me who blinded your eyes. Unavoidably I owe you something, so I have to steal those several sutras for you. I cannot not steal it."


    Hai Laogong said, "You have rendered a great merit today, hereafter it will be easier for you to go to the Upper Study Room ��"


    Seeing the way he stoop down and cough violently, Wei Xiaobao could not help having pity on him, he mused, "This old �� old man is really strange." Originally he had always referred to Hai Laogong as the ''old turtle'', but this moment he could not bear to call him ''old turtle''.


    That night Hai Laogong did not stop coughing, so that even in his dream Wei Xiaobao was still hearing his cough.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao went to the Upper Study Room to wait upon the Emperor. He noticed that the imperial bodyguards on duty outside the study room were all new. As soon as Kangxi arrived, Prince Kang Giyesu and Songgotu also came in to submit a report, saying that the team of princes, dukes and senior ministers who were handling this case had already investigated and found that Oboi was guilty of thirty charges.


    Kangxi was rather taken aback. "Thirty charges?" he said, "That many?"


    Prince Kang said, "Oboi has committed grave offenses; actually, he did not stop at these thirty, however, your servants have received Your Majesty''s sacred command, so we managed this investigation leniently."


    "So be it," Kangxi said, "What are those thirty?"


    Prince Kang produced a sheet of white paper and read, "Oboi took unfair advantage of his mater and arrogate power, crime one. He appointed a clique of traitors, crime two. He formed a clique to control politics, crime three. He amassed wealth to support rebellion, crime four. He manipulated statement of confession, crime five. Without authority he promoted people like Marsai, whom the late emperor would not employ, crime six. Without authority he murdered Suksaha and the others, crime seven. Without authority he murdered Sunahai and the others, crime eight. He protected his cronies of the same Banner, by forcefully taking over land, crime nine. He was irreverent to the Holy Mother, crime ten." He continued reading down one by one, until reaching the thirtieth major crime, which was ''because other people''s grave was obstructing his own house''s fengshui, he ordered it to be moved''.


    Kangxi said, "Turns out Oboi has committed these many evil deeds. How do you propose he should be sentenced?"


    Prince Kang replied, "Oboi''s crime is great, his evil is extreme, he should be executed by lingering death, yet the ministers are considering Your Majesty''s sacred desire to show benevolence and mercy, thus we are proposing to depose him and execute him by beheading. Other members of his clique, Ebilun, Bambursan and Asiha[57], should also be beheaded."


    Kangxi pondered over it and said, "Although Oboi''s crime is great, he was an executive minister who has served for many years; he may be exempted from execution. He will be deposed and held in custody without parole, his family properties will be confiscated. As for the other members of his clique, you may do according to your proposal, execute them by beheading."


    (Book note: According to the ''Draft History of the Qing Dynasty (compiled under Zhao Erxun in 1927 during the Northern Warlords period), Divine Ancestor''s biographic sketch of an emperor'': In his eighth year, Kangxi was already aware of Oboi''s despotic corrupt politics, especially considering his far-reaching power which was difficult to control; and thus he picked Bai Tang''a, a vigorous young imperial bodyguard, to do the pouncing and striking. The day Oboi appeared, he led a group of imperial bodyguards to strike and bind him; hence completely subdued him and took him under control of the inner ministerial circle. In the year 1680 Minister Wang suggested that Oboi be imprisoned and charged with thirty major crimes, and asked that his entire family be executed. The imperial edict said: ''Oboi rebelled out of ignorance, he deserves to have his entire clan exterminated. Considering his long duration of service and repeated outstanding military merit, he is pardoned from death, but will have his properties confiscated and he is taken into custody.'')


    Prince Kang and Songgotu knelt down and kowtowed, "Holiness[58] is benevolent and merciful, even the Ming rulers of old all fall short."


    That day the cabinet ministers appeared before Kangxi; they were busy dealing with Oboi and the members of his clique. The ministers presented to Kangxi in details the power struggle between the Bordered Yellow Banner and the Plain White Banner. Wei Xiaobao was listening, but he did not have any clue what was happening. All he knew was that Oboi was the Banner Commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner, while Suksaha was the Banner Commander of the Plain White Banner. The two banners had been fighting over fertile and beautiful land, just like water against fire. After Suksaha was put to death by Oboi, a lot of wealth, estate and farmlands affiliated with the Plain White Banner were merged into the Bordered Yellow Banner''s property. And now the Plain White Banner ministers beseeched the Emperor to restore everything to the original state.


    Kangxi said, "You may reach an agreement among yourselves and report to me afterwards. Bordered Yellow Banner is one of the three upper banners, although Oboi is guilty, I cannot let the entire banner suffer the setback. In everything we must be fair and just."


    The ministers kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty is enlightened sage, all the people of Bordered Yellow Banner have received holy graciousness."


    Kangxi nodded, "You may leave," he said, "I want Songgotu to remain, I have another instruction for him."


    When everybody else had left, Kangxi said to Songgotu, "After Suksaha was put to death by Oboi, was all his family property seized by Oboi?"


    Songgotu replied, "Suksaha''s farmland and estate have not entered into the inner warehouse, but Oboi has personally led his men to search Suksaha''s home; gold, silver, jewels and valuable things had all entered Oboi''s personal pouch."


    "I expect as much," Kangxi said, "I want you to go to Oboi''s home and take a look, verify his family property, if there is anything that originally belongs to Suksaha, return it to his heir."


    "Your Majesty''s holy graciousness is vast and mighty," Songgotu said. Seeing that Kangxi did not say anything else, he slowly drew back toward the study room''s door.


    "Yes, yes," Songgotu said, "Your servant will see to it." He knew the Emperor was young, yet he had a strong filial piety to the Empress Dowager. In important matters of the court politics, if the Empress Dowager had something to say, the Emperor would not disobey even a single one of her order. The Empress Dowager''s order is more urgent than the Emperor''s business. Looking for two Buddhist books was certainly easy, he thought he should be able to manage it quickly.


    Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, come with him. When you find the sutras, the two of you can bring them back together."


    Songgotu noticed that Xiao Guizi was the little eunuch close to the Emperor whom he doted very much, who, in the arrest of the traitor this time, had rendered great merit. He thought that fetching two copies of Buddhist sutras was not a big deal, so there was no need to send this eunuch. But then he had another thought and it suddenly dawned on him: "Of course, His Majesty wants to give him some benefit. Oboi has been in power for many years, the amount of gold, silver and valuables in his home must be beyond counting. His Majesty is sending me to search and confiscate his home, that is indeed a very lucrative assignment. In this matter I did not have the slightest contribution, why would he want me to get rich? His Majesty is sending Xiao Guizi to accompany me fetching the sutras, in reality he wants him to take a look. Searching and confiscating Oboi''s property is this little eunuch''s business, the Ol'' Songgotu is just secondary. If this business went awry, I would be greatly inconvenienced."


    Songgotu''s father was Sonin, the chief of four Executive Ministers when Kangxi fist took over the government. After Sonin''s death, Songgotu was promoted to be a junior minister in the personnel office. At that time Oboi was domineering the court, Songgotu did not dare to oppose him, hence he resigned from his post at the personnel office and took position as a first class imperial bodyguard. Kangxi knew that he and Oboi did not get along with each other, and thus this time he send him on a very serious assignment.


    The two of them went out the Palace gate, Songgotu''s attendant pulled a horse for him to ride on. Songgotu said, "Gui Gong-gong, please mount the horse first!" He assumed this little eunuch did not know how to ride, so he was prepared to look after him a bit, making sure that he would not fall and break his neck. Who would have thought that after several months of martial art training in the Palace, although Wei Xiaobao did not make any real progress, his hands and feet became very agile; plus in the past Mao Shiba had taught him some riding technique, so this time he no longer was ''Zhang Guolao riding donkey, Wei Xiaobao riding a horse''[59], he nimbly leaped onto the horseback and unexpectedly his riding was very stable.


    The two of them arrived at Oboi''s mansion. Oboi''s entire household, from top to bottom, no exception, had been arrested early on. The gates, front and rear, were under strict guard. "Gui Gong-gong," Songgotu said to Wei Xiaobao, "If you see anything interesting, do not hesitate to take it. His Majesty is sending you here to fetch Buddhist sutra, it is to reward your great merit, no matter what you take, His Majesty will not ask about it."


    Wei Xiaobao saw in Oboi''s mansion, jewels, treasures and amusing things were everywhere, his eyes were dazzled. He felt that each object was better than the other. Compared to the utensils, curios or furniture in the Lovely Spring Courtyard at Yangzhou, it was as far as the heavens from the earth. At first he wanted to take everything, but looking at this thing he thought it was very amusing, looking at that thing he found it was more fascinating, he could not decide which one was better. He also recalled that in a few days he would slip away from the Palace anyway, if he took too many things, it would only inconvenience him to carry it, so he decided to take only a few especially valuable things.


    Songgotu''s clerk started to take inventory of the articles, he duly noted every single one on his list. When Wei Xiaobao picked up a pearl to look at it, the clerk would strike this pearl from his list, to state that in Oboi''s mansion there was no such pearl existed. When Wei Xiaobao shook his head and put the pearl down, the clerk would add the pearl back into the list.


    When they were still going through the inspection, suddenly they heard an officer''s quick steps coming out. After paying his respect to Songgotu and Wei Xiaobao, he said, "Reporting to two Daren: we found a secret treasure-trove inside Oboi''s bedroom; lowly officer did not dare to open without authority, please two Daren take the trouble to inspect it."


    "Secret treasure-trove?" Songgotu happily asked, "That''s strange indeed." He also asked, "Have you found those two sutras?"


    The officer replied, "We did not find a single book in this house, only several dozens of accounting books. lowly officer are still searching diligently."


    Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand along, Songgotu entered Oboi''s bedroom. He saw tiger skin and leopard skin spread on the floor; the walls were packed with bows, arrows, sabers and swords, it was a typical rough Manchurian warrior''s bedroom. The secret treasure-trove was actually inside a hole beneath the floor, with an iron panel covering it. A tiger skin lay on top of the iron panel. By now the tiger skin and the iron panel had been opened, two guards were standing on either side of the hole. Songgotu said, "Take it out so we can take a look."


    The two guards jumped into the hole and hauled the hidden things inside up. Two clerks took them over and carefully lay them down on a piece of leopard skin. Songgotu laughed and said, "Oboi''s best treasure is obviously hidden inside this hole. Gui Gong-gong, you should pick your most beloved treasure here, I guarantee you won''t make a mistake."


    Songgotu mused, "That''s not necessarily true," but with a smile on his face he said, "Exactly."


    Then the guard handed over another jade box, with a book inside, but the envelope was made of yellow silk, with red silk border on the side. Both books looked very old. But inside the treasure-trove there was no third jade box, Wei Xiaobao was secretly very disappointed.


    Songgotu delightedly said, "Gui Gong-gong, the two of us completed this task, Empress Dowager will be very happy, she will reward us handsomely."


    "What kind of sutra are those?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I want to have a look." As he said that, he opened one of the envelopes.


    Songgotu''s heart was stirred, "Gui Gong-gong," he said with a laugh, "I have something to say, but please don''t be angry."


    Ever since he was little, at the brothel Wei Xiaobao had always been bossed around; names like ''little animal'' or ''little turtle'' had never ceased being thrown at him. But when he obtained Kangxi''s favor, whenever somebody, no matter who, saw him in the Palace, they were exceptionally polite to him. He was only a thirteen, fourteen years old boy, yet in all his life, when did he ever receive such respect? Here was Songgotu at Oboi''s mansion, his prestige was spread over eight directions, whenever any civil or military officer see him, they were all trembling with fear, yet this man was so courteous toward him; Wei Xiaobao could not help but greatly enjoy it and he had an even better impression of Songgotu. He said, "Whatever instruction Suo Daren has, please just say it."


    Songgotu laughed and said, "I don''t dare to have any instruction, it''s just that I suddenly remember something. Gui Gong-gong, these two sutras are wanted by the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, Oboi kept them in a secret treasure-trove, apparently they are not ordinary books. Just how important they are, we may not understand. I also very much want to take a look, but I am afraid there is something of utmost importance, involving great responsibility, written in them. The Empress Dowager may not like it if we as the servants see it. This �� this �� hee hee ��"


    As soon as he said that, Wei Xiaobao realized immediately. He was secretly frightened. Hastily he put the book back on the table and said, "You are extremely right, you are extremely right! Suo Daren, thank you for your direction. I did not understand this logic before, and almost attract great calamity."


    Songgotu laughed and said, "Why did Gui Gong-gong say such words? His Majesty sends the two of us together to handle this matter. Your business is also mine, why do you make such distinction between you and me? If I do not consider Gui Gong-gong as one of my own, I would not dare to casually say those words."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You are a high-ranking official, I �� I �� am a little �� little eunuch, how can you consider me as one of your own?"


    Songgotu waved his hand to the numerous officers in the room and said, "Wait for us outside."


    The numerous officers bowed and said, "Yes, yes!" and they withdrew outside.


    Songgotu pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand and said, "Gui Gong-gong, you must never ever said those words again. If you would consider me, Ol'' Songgotu worthy, what do you say the two of us pay obeisance and become sworn brothers?" He said those words very earnestly.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "I �� I become sworn brother with you?" he said, "How �� how can I deserve it?"


    "Gui Xiongdi," Songgotu said, "If you say those words again, you are clearly deriding me. I don''t know why, but as soon as I saw you, I feel there is a predestined affinity. The two of us go to the worship hall and swear brotherhood, and then we will become like real siblings. You and I will not announce it to outsiders, as long as nobody else know, what''s the harm in doing it?" Gripping Wei Xiaobao''s hand tightly, his eyes showed a fervent expression.


    Actually, Songgotu was an extremely shrewd person; seeing the fall of Oboi, he knew there would be great power shift among the senior ministers of the imperial court. This time the Emperor seemed to be very well-disposed to him, it appears that someday he would get a promotion. To be an official in the imperial court, if he wanted to be in the Emperor''s good graces, he must understand the Emperor''s temper and mood. This little eunuch was by the Emperor''s side from morning to evening, if he could say a few good words on his behalf, he would benefit infinitely. Even if he could not say any good words on his behalf, as long as he could disclose to him what make the Emperor happy, what make him disgusted, what he was thinking of doing next, then he could plan accordingly with half the work, twice the effect, and win the Emperor''s favor.


    He grew up in a government officer''s family, his father Sonin was the head of the Executive Ministers, he should know that ''to figure out the superior''s intention'' was the high-ranking official''s sole secret, while it was also the most difficult thing to do. Before his very own eyes was one golden opportunity, so long as he could win this little eunuch over, someday the ''divine steed Huang will flash past'' [figuratively means a meteoric rise in one''s career]; appointment as the prime minister would not be a difficult matter. Therefore, he was hit by an inspiration and wanted to be sworn brothers with him.


    Although Wei Xiaobao was clever, he did not, after all, have the slightest understanding of the government bureaucracy of the imperial court; he only knew that this high-ranking official was very fond of himself, so he could not help but feeling very proud. "This �� this is really beyond my expectation," he said.


    Songgotu pulled his hand. "Come, come, come!" he said, "Let us go to the worship hall."


    Manchu people were devout Buddhists; in all civil and military officers'' mansions there would be a Buddhist worship hall. The two of them entered the worship hall. Songgotu lighted incense and pulled Wei Xiaobao down to kneel together in front of the Buddhist image. He bowed and worshiped several times, and then said, "Today, disciple Songgotu and �� and �� and ��" He turned his head and asked, "Gui Xiongdi, what is your great name? I haven''t consulted you, it''s truly preposterous."


    "I am called Xiao Guizi," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Songgotu smiled and said, "Your honorable surname is Gui, isn''t it? But by what great name are you called?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I �� I am called Gui Xiaobao."


    Songgotu laughed, "Good name, good name," he said, "You are indeed a jewel[61] among men!"


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "In Yangzhou, people always call me ''That little turtle Xiaobao''. What''s so special about this name ''Xiaobao'' anyway?" He heard Songgotu said, "Today, disciple Songgotu with Gui Xiaobao, Gui Xiongdi, swear to be brothers[62]. Hereafter blessings will be enjoyed together, sorrows will be endured together. We cannot be born on the same year, same month and same day, but wish that we will die on the same year, same month, and same day. If disciple does not uphold yi qi, let me be punished by heaven and extinguished by the earth, forever will not raise my head to see the sun." Finished speaking, he kowtowed and worship some more, then he said, "Xiongdi, you must also worship Buddha and make your vow!"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You are a lot older than I am; if I really die on the same year, same month, and same day with you, my loss will be too great." But then he changed his mind, he had idea, "I am not Gui Xiaobao anyway, what is there to be feared to speak nonsense just for once?" Therefore, he also kowtowed before the image of Buddha and said in a loud and clear voice, "Disciple Gui Xiaobao came to the Emperor''s Palace to be a little eunuch earlier, everybody calls me Xiao Guizi, with Songgotu, Suo Daren, Suo Laoge [''Lao'' - old, ''ge'' - older brother], swear to be brothers, blessings will be enjoyed together, sorrows will be endured together. We cannot be born on the same year, same month and same day, but wish that we will die on the same month, same month, and same day. If Xiao Guizi does not uphold yi qi, let Xiao Guizi be punished by heaven and extinguished by the earth. When Xiao Guizi die, let Xiao Guizi be banished to the eighteenth level of the underworld and seized by the Ox-head and Horse-Face[63], and for a thousand years, for ten thousand years will not be reincarnated."


    He shifted all disasters to Xiao Guizi; he also mentioned the words ''same month'' twice, and thus changed the phrase ''die on the same year, same month, and same day'' became ''die on the same month, same month, and same day'', but he said it very quickly so that Songgotu did not catch it. Wei Xiaobao thought, "To die on the same month and same day with you is not a big deal; if you die on the third day of the third month, and I return to heaven a hundred years later on the third day of the third month, I won''t suffer any loss." As for saying that after Xiao Guizi die, let Xiao Guizi be banished to the eighteenth level of the underworld and for ten thousand years will not be reincarnated, it was actually his real wish. Xiao Guizi had died under his hands, if his ghost returns for revenge, it would not be fun; but if in hell Xiao Guizi was detained securely by the Ox-head and Horse-face, in the world of the living Wei Xiaobao would enjoy peace and security very much.


    When Songgotu heard Wei Xiaobao had finished speaking, the two of them bowed and kowtowed eight times before standing up together, and burst in loud laughter. Songgotu said with a laugh, "Xiongdi, now we are sworn brothers, we must be ten times closer to each other than blood-brothers. From now on, whatever you want your Gege to do for you, do not hesitate to open your mouth, no need to be polite."


    "Do you need to say it?" Wei Xiaobao also laugh, "Ever since I came out of my mother''s belly, I do not understand the meaning of the word ''polite''. Dage, what does ''polite'' mean?" They looked at each other and roared in laughter.


    "Xiongdi," Songgotu said, "The fact that we have sworn brotherhood must not be told to others, to avoid other people use it against us. According to the imperial palace''s regulations, we, external ministers, must not be too close to you, Xiongdi, internal officers. As long as we know it in our hearts, that should be enough."


    "Right, right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "The mute eat the wonton, he counts it in his heart."


    Seeing how smart and witty Wei Xiaobao was, how when ''the head was pointed to him he immediately knew the tail'', Songgotu was even happier. "Xiongdi," he said, "In front of other people, I still call you Gui Gong-gong, and you call me Suo Daren. In a few days, come to my home, your Gege is going to accompany you drinking wine and watching the opera; we, two brothers, will have fun for a while."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he did not drink too much wine, but as soon as he heard the words ''watching the opera'', his delight was incomparable. He clapped his hands and said with a laugh, "Wonderful, wonderful! I like watching the opera the most. When is it?"


    Yangzhou''s salt merchants lived extravagant lives, when they get married or given their daughters in marriage, or when a baby was born or they celebrated birthdays, oftentimes they would have the opera play for several consecutive days. Whenever Wei Xiaobao came across such occasion, naturally he would take advantage of the excitement and squeeze himself to the front of the stage to watch the opera. The host was celebrating an auspicious day, naturally they would not seriously deal with little rascal like him; oftentimes they would serve him a bowl of rice, with pieces of meat piled high on top of the rice. Whenever there was a folk festival, even more opera groups would perform around town. As soon as the words ''watching opera'' was mentioned, his heart was in full bloom.


    Songgotu said, "Since Xiongdi loves opera, I will invite you often. Whenever Xiongdi has some free time, do not hesitate to let me know."


    "How about tomorrow?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "That''s great!" Songgotu said, "Tomorrow youshi hour [the tenth earthly branch, 5 - 7 pm] I will wait for you outside the Palace gate."


    "Is it all right for me to leave the Palace?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Of course it is all right," Songgotu replied, "You serve the Emperor during the day; come evening, nobody has any right to interfere with your business. You have been promoted to be an Eunuch Leader, and you are very successful in the presence of His Majesty, who would dare to mess with you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was beaming from ear to ear; originally he was thinking of slipping away from the imperial palace and would not come back, but listening to Songgotu, he realized his status was different now; he could come in and go out the imperial palace freely, he did not have to slip away hastily. "Alright," he said with a laugh, "It''s a deal. We, two brothers, blessing we enjoy together, opera we watch together."


    Songgotu pulled his hand and said, "Let''s go back to Oboi''s room and pick some treasures."


    The two of them returned to Oboi''s bedroom. Songgotu carefully look over various objects taken out of the hole on the ground. "Xiongdi," he asked, "Which one do you like?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Which one is the most valuable? I don''t understand anything. Please pick one for me."


    "Alright!" Songgotu said. He picked a double-string of pearls and a jade horse and said, "These two items are very valuable. Will Xiongdi take it?"


    "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said; he put the pearls and jade horse into his pocket. Casually he picked a dagger, and felt it to be unusually heavy. The dagger, including the hilt, was no more than a chi and two cun


    [64]; the sheathe was made of dried shark skin, at a glance it looked no different than an ordinary long knife or a sword. Wei Xiaobao grabbed the hilt with his left hand and pulled it out; he felt a burst of cold air hit his face, his nose itched and ''Ah-choo!'' he sneezed. When he looked at the dagger again, he saw that the blade was as black as ink, without the least bit of glossiness. At first he thought that since Oboi hid this dagger in the secret treasure-trove, it must be a treasured dagger; who would have thought that the dagger looked this ugly? It looked like a wooden dagger. Slightly disappointed, he tossed it casually to the side. He heard a light ''swish'' noise; the dagger penetrated the floor straight to its hilt.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao and Songgotu exclaimed; they were quite amazed. Wei Xiaobao tossed it casually, without exerting the least bit of strength, yet surprisingly the dagger could penetrate the floor by itself. The blade must be fantastically sharp that it was able to penetrate the floor like mud.


    Wei Xiaobao stooped down to pick up the dagger and said, "This short sword looks rather strange."


    Songgotu had vast experience and knowledge, he said, "Apparently this is a treasured sword, let us test it." From the wall he took a saber, unsheathed it, and held it horizontally across his chest; he said, "Xiongdi, use the dagger to chop on this saber."


    Wei Xiaobao raised the dagger and chopped it down on the saber. ''Tchak!'' the saber was smoothly cut into two. "Good!" both of them exclaimed as if by prior agreement. Without a doubt this dagger was indeed a treasured sword which was rarely seen in the world. What was amazing was that it cut the saber like a piece of wood, without producing any metallic clanking noise at all.


    Songgotu laughed and said, "Congratulation, Xiongdi, for obtaining such a treasured sword. Among Oboi''s family''s treasure, this sword must be the chief."


    Wei Xiaobao was really happy, "Dage," he said, "If you want it, I''ll give it to you."


    Songgotu shook his hand repeatedly, "Your Gege came from a military official family, afterwards, I became a civil officer, and left the military service behind. It would be better if Xiongdi take this treasured sword to play with."


    Wei Xiaobao put the dagger back into its sheathe and tied it on his belt. Songgotu laughed and said, "Xiongdi, this sword is so short, it''s better to keep it inside your boot, so when you enter the Palace, nobody would see it." According to Qing Palace regulations, other than imperial bodyguards on duty, nobody else was allowed to enter the Palace carrying weapons.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied; he inserted the dagger into his boot. Based on his stellar reputation, as he enter and exit the Palace gate, it was unlikely that the imperial bodyguards would do a body search to see if he carried any prohibited materials.


    After acquiring this dagger, Wei Xiaobao lost interest in any other treasures. A moment later, he was unable to bear it and pulled the dagger out again. He took down an iron spear from the wall, ''Tchak!'' the iron spear was cut into two. He brandished the dagger and randomly cut and sliced around. Without exception all kinds of solid objects in the room were cut smoothly. Next he used the point of the dagger to draw a turtle on the sandalwood tabletop; he had just finished drawing when ''thud!'' a sandalwood turtle fell down, while a hole in the shape of a turtle appeared on the tabletop.


    "Old fellow Oboi!" Wei Xiaobao shouted, "You, Senior, are good! Ha ha!"


    Songgotu meticulously inspected the other articles found in the secret treasure-trove. He noticed among the pile there was a shiny black sleeveless garment. He picked it up and found it to be very light. The fabric was exceptionally soft, it was made of neither silk nor wool, in fact, he did not know any material that felt like it. His sole purpose right now was to curry favor with Wei Xiaobao, thereupon he called, "Xiongdi, this vest must be very warm. Take out your outer garment and put this on."


    "What kind of treasure is this?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I don''t know either," Songgotu said, "Just put it on!"


    "It''s too big," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "It''s very soft," Songgotu replied, "It is a bit bigger, but by making a fold like this, it will fit."


    Wei Xiaobao took it; it was indeed very light and soft. He remembered the previous year he asked his mother to make a silk cotton-padded jacket, his mother was busy for several days, but did not have enough money that in the end she could not make the jacket. This vest was obviously incomparable to the silk cotton-padded jacket; for one, the color was not too fresh and bright. He thought, "Fine, when I get back to Yangzhou later, I''ll have mother look at it." Thereupon he took out his outer garment and put the vest on, before putting back the outer garment on top of it. The vest was rather big, fortunately it was very soft and thin, so it was not uncomfortable.


    Finished inspecting Oboi''s treasures, Songgotu called his subordinates to come in. Looking at the rough list of Oboi''s valuables, he could not help but sticking out his tongue and said, "Oboi certainly know how to extort people; his wealth is many times greater than I anticipated." He waved his men out of the room again and then said to Wei Xiaobao, "Xiongdi, the Han people have a saying: ''A thousand li of officialdom is all wealth.'' In his vast and mighty benevolence, His Majesty is sending the two of us on this assignment, it is actually so that we may find an undeserved fortune. About this list, I can always alter it. We have more than two million taels of silver here, how much do you say we should announce it as?"


    "I don''t know anything about it," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll leave it to Dage to decide."


    Songgotu chuckled and said, "According to this list, altogether we have two million three hundred fifty three thousand four hundred and eighteen taels. The remaining digits can be kept as is, but we can erase one horizontal line and change the amount[65] to one million three hundred fifty three thousand four hundred and eighteen taels. That missing horizontal line can be split fifty-fifty [orig. ''one half equals zero point five''] between you and me. What do you think?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "You ... you are saying ..." he stammered.


    Songgotu laughed, "Xiongdi thinks it is not enough?" he said.


    "No, no!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I ... I am just not too clear."


    Songgotu said, "I said, about that one million taels, we split it equally between the two of us, brothers, each one get five-hundred thousand taels. If Xiongdi thinks it is too little, we can always recalculate it."


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance changed. Growing up in a the brothel in Yangzhou, he had never had more than one or two taels in his hands. An undeserved fortune like this, gambling in the Palace, even when he won big, it was a matter of only several dozen taels, or perhaps one or two hundred taels of silver. Suddenly hearing that his share was five hundred thousand taels, he nearly did not believe his own ears.


    The real reason Songgotu kept pushing this riches into his hands was actually to close his mouth, so that in front of the Emperor he did not mention the truth about the real value of Oboi''s wealth. Otherwise, if he ever revealed anything in the Emperor''s presence, not only he would have to spit the ill-gotten wealth he had just swallowed, he would also ruin the future prospect of his career, plus inevitably he would also be charged with committing a major crime.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao countenance changed, Songgotu hastily said, "If Xiongdi has another thought, I will listen to your idea."


    Wei Xiaobao let out a deep breath and said, "I have said that I''ll leave it to Dage to decide. It''s just that five hundred thousand ... five hundred thousand taels as my share it''s a bit ... a bit ... too ... too much."


    Songgotu felt a heavy burden was lifted up from his shoulder, he laughed aloud and said, "It''s not too much, it''s not too much, not too much at all. Let''s do it this way then: we have people helping us managing this business, everybody must enjoy some profit. From your Gege''s five hundred thousand taels share, I will take fifty thousand taels to be distributed among my subordinates. Xiongdi should also take fifty thousand taels and presented the money to the imperial concubines and to the eunuch managers, so that everybody can have a little benefit. This way, nobody will have any loose tongue."


    "It sounds good," Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "But I don''t know how to divide it."


    "Just leave this matter to your Gege," Songgotu said, "I guarantee I will take care of everything, we won''t offend anybody. They all will say that Gui Gong-gong is young, but he really know how to reach out to his friends. Money will open doors, from now on you and I will enjoy smooth sailing; we will have other people in all places helping us along the way."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Songgotu added, "About this one million taels, there won''t be enough cash in Oboi''s house, we must sell off his property as soon as possible, and everything must be with ''dry hand and clean foot'', do not let other people have a handle on this. Xiongdi, in the Palace, you won''t have any place to store all these gold yuanbao, silver yuanbao, am I correct?"


    Suddenly obtaining a four hundred and fifty thousand taels of unexpected wealth, Wei Xiaobao was momentarily dizzy and light-headed, and was at a loss of what to do, whatever Songgotu said, he could only reply, "Yes, yes!"


    Songgotu laughed and said, "In a few days, I am going to have several banks issue gold banknotes and silver banknotes, a hundred taels and fifty taels each, which Xiongdi can carry with you. Whenever you need it, you can go to the bank and exchange it to gold and silver, it''s more convenient, and more reliable. Unless someone is groping your pocket, nobody knows that Xiongdi is this young, yet you are one of the rich men within our Beijing city wall. Ha ha, ha ha, ha ha!"


    Wei Xiaobao followed by several ''Ha ha!'', but his heart was filled with: "I really have four hundred and fifty thousand taels? Really four hundred and fifty thousand taels?" and "I have four hundred and fifty thousand taels, how am I going to spend it? Damn it, even if I eat pig''s front legs and simmer-fried whole chicken every day for the rest of my life, I won''t spend the entire four hundred and fifty thousand taels. Hot piece mama, laozi will open ten brothels in Yangzhou, each one is ten times more beautiful than the Lovely Spring Courtyard."


    Ever since he was little, he had been cherishing the ''lofty aspiration'' that when he grew up and flourished, he would open a brothel that was bigger and more luxurious than the Lovely Spring Courtyard, something that would raise others'' eyebrows, something better than everybody else''s. Whenever he had a quarrel with the proprietress of the Lovely Spring Courtyard, he would often say, "Hot piece mama, what''s so great about your Lovely Spring Courtyard? In a few years laozi will flourish and will open a Lovely Summer Courtyard across the street from you, a Lovely Autumn Courtyard on your left, and a Lovely Winter Courtyard on your right; I am going to snatch the light from your business. Brothel customers will visit my three courtyards, no one will visit yours, and you will drink the northwest wind." He wanted to open ten brothels at once, each one would be extravagant, so that nobody in Yangzhou would not see him in a new light; he could not help but was very elated.


    Naturally Songgotu was not able to guess the major undertaking Wei Xiaobao was planning in his heart, he said, "Xiongdi, His Majesty instructed us to return Suksaha''s property that was confiscated by Oboi to Suksaha''s heir. We''d better take sixty or seventy thousand taels and give it to Suksaha''s family. This is His Majesty''s benevolence, the Suksaha family will be moved to tears, how can they dare to argue that it is too little? Moreover, if we give too much to Suksaha''s family, it would appear that before his death Suksaha was a corrupt official, and then his descendants'' face would not be honorable, would it?"


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied, while in his heart he mused, "Aren''t we, the two brothers, dishonest officials? Our faces won''t be necessarily disgraced, will it?"


    Songgotu said, "The Empress Dowager and His Majesty clearly instructed us to get these two sutras, this is most important, we must deliver the books right away. It won''t be too late if we slowly make inventory of Oboi''s property later." Wei Xiaobao nodded his approval.


    Immediately Songgotu fetched a couple of satin brocade to wrap the jade boxes. The two of them carried one box each as they returned to the Palace to see Kangxi. Seeing they managed to complete the assignment given by the Empress Dowager, Kangxi was very happy. He told Wei Xiaobao to follow him with the sutras toward the Empress Dowager''s Palace. Songgotu could not enter the Palace, he took his leave to return to put Oboi''s family property in order.


    Along the way Kangxi asked, "How much is Oboi''s family property worth?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Suo Daren''s initial estimate is about one million three hundred fifty three thousand four hundred and eighteen taels." He made sure that the number came from Songgotu; in case the Emperor verify the actual facts in the future, he would have the leeway of denying and shifting the blame to others.


    In this kind of shady business of committing fraud for personal gain, imitating the dog to steal the chicken, Wei Xiaobao could be considered a rare talent. When he was five, one of the prostitutes gave him five wen to buy some peaches on the street; he swindled one wen to buy candy and used the other four to buy peaches for the prostitute. Unexpectedly the prostitute did not suspect anything; she even gave him a peach. In Wei Xiaobao''s mind, when some money passed through his hands and he gained some profit, it was heaven''s law and earth''s principle; it''s just that in case somebody inquire, he must come up with some explanation. Because of this his head had been the recipient of several explosions of anger, and his butt suffered countless forceful kicks; therefore, he gained quite a few of valuable experience.


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted, "B@stard!" he said, "He extorted that much fat and wealth of the people! More than a million three hundred thousand taels. Hey, hey, it''s unbelievable."


    Wei Xiaobao smirked inwardly, "And a million more, split in halves." Walking and chatting, they reached the Empress Dowager''s Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful.


    The Empress Dowager was very pleased to hear that two sutras had been retrieved; she reached out to take the jade boxes from Kangxi''s hands and unwrapped the satin brocade. Seeing the envelope, her smile was even wider. "Xiao Guizi," she said, "You handle this assignment very well!"


    Wei Xiaobao knelt down to pay his respect; he said, "It''s all thanks to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s great fortune."


    The Empress Dowager turned toward a little palace maid by her side and said, "Rui Chu, take Xiao Guizi to the back room, get some sweet preserved fruits and gave it to him."


    Rui Chu was a little palace maid around twelve, thirteen years of age with pretty facial features; she smiled and complied, "Yes!"


    Wei Xiaobao paid his respect again and said, "Thank you for the Empress Dowager''s reward, thank you for Your Majesty''s reward."


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "Finish eating, you may return alone, I am staying here to accompany Empress Dowager to dine, you don''t need to wait on me."


    Wei Xiaobao acknowledged and followed Rui Chu to the inner all, where they entered a very small side room. Rui Chu opened a screened cabinet, inside the cabinet were more than a dozen types of cakes, pastries and candies. She laughed and said, "You are called Xiao Guizi, so you''ll have to eat osmanthus[66] flavored pine-nut candy first." As she said that, she picked small box of pine-nut candy. The aroma of pine-nut mixed with the aroma of osmanthus flower, the smell was very good.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Jiejie [older sister] should also eat some."


    Rui Chu said, "The Empress Dowager is rewarding you with something to eat, she is not rewarding me. As slaves, how can we steal food?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You can eat quietly, nobody will see it, why so tight?"


    Rui Chu blushed and shook her head repeatedly, she smiled and said, "I am not eating."


    "I am eating alone, you are watching from the side, it''s just improper," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Rui Chu smiled. "This is your good fortune," she said, "I only serve the Empress Dowager, I don''t serve even His Majesty, but today I am serving you some delicacy."


    Seeing her sweet and captivating smile, Wei Xiaobao also laughed and said, "I am serving His Majesty, but I also serve you delicacies, so we are even."


    "Pfft," Rui Chu stifled a laugh, she brought her hand up to cover her mouth, and said with a smile, "Hurry up, eat something. If Empress Dowager knew we are chatting and joking in here, she might be angry."


    When he was still in Yangzhou, he saw beautiful women coming and going the Lovely Spring Courtyard all the time; upon entering the Palace, however, this was the first time he had ever seen a young woman about his age who was keeping him company. He was very pleased, and suddenly had a bright idea. "How about this," he said, "I will take some delicacies back with me, when you are done serving the Empress Dowager, you can come out and we can eat together."


    Rui Chu showed a slight blush, "That won''t work," she said, "By the time I am done serving the Empress Dowager, it will be very late at night."


    "So what if it is very late at night?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Will you wait for me here?"


    Serving the Empress Dowager as a palace maid, Rui Chu''s colleagues were mostly women who were considerably older than she was; ordinarily, they could not talk congenially with each other. Now that Wei Xiaobao was determined to eat candy with her, she could hear the sincerity in his voice and was quite moved.


    "How about outside the flower garden?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Midnight, third watch of the night [between 11pm �C 1 am], nobody will know." Hesitantly Rui Chu nodded her head.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, "Good, that''s settled then," he said, "Quickly give me some preserved fruits, a bit more of the ones you love to eat."


    Rui Chu smiled, "I won''t eat it all by myself," she said, "Which ones would you like?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Whatever Jiejie loves to eat, I''ll eat the same," he replied.


    Hearing his sweet-talking, Rui Chu was very happy, immediately she chose about a dozen kinds of dried fruits, candy, cakes and pastries, and put it all in a small paper carton.


    In a low voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Tonight, third watch of the night, I will wait for you in the flower garden pavilion."


    Rui Chu nodded, in a low voice she said, "You must be careful."


    "And so must you," Wei Xiaobao replied. He took the paper carton and returned to his residence, full of joy and expectations.


    When he first jostled with the Emperor, who feigned to be Xiao Xuanzi, he was very excited, but when the secret was exposed, he could not play with him anymore. These past few days in the Palace, everybody seemed to fawn on him. Although he was pleased, he did not have the excitement of enjoying himself. This time he was having a rendezvous with a little palace maid in the middle of the night, there was three-part danger in the fun; he thought it was most exciting. After all, he was still very young; although as a child he grew up in a brothel, on the matter between men and women, he only saw a lot, but did not have any personal understanding.

 Chapter - 6 (6)

    The three palms of the two people were locked to each other in internal energy combat. A short blade appeared in the Empress Dowager''s left hand, the spike''s point moved toward Hai Laogong''s lower abdomen. However, when the spike was about a chi away from the opponent''s lower abdomen, she was unable to push it even for half a cun farther.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It was the Empress Dowager and His Majesty who sent me to fetch the books; otherwise I would have fetched it for you, other people do not need to know."


    Hai Laogong''s countenance darkened. "Humph," he grunted, and then coldly said, "So it fell into the Empress Dowager''s hands. Very good, very good!"


    A moment later the kitchen delivered their dinner. Hai Laogong only ate half of a small bowl and then he stopped eating altogether, he rolled his eyes until only the white part was visible, looked up to the ceiling and was lost in thought.


    After dinner, Wei Xiaobao was thinking of a short nap before leaving on the third watch to see that little palace maid to chat and have fun. Seeing Hai Laogong was sitting unmoving while staring blankly into the space, he went to bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep.


    After sleeping fitfully for a while, he quietly got up and tucked the small box containing the cake and pastry into his pocket. Afraid to wake Hai Laogong up, step by step he quietly tiptoed out. He reached the door, quietly opened the latch, and quietly pushed one door leaf; suddenly he heard Hai Laogong ask, "Xiao Guizi, where are you going?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "I ... I want to pee," he said.


    "Why don''t you pee in your room?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "I couldn''t sleep," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I want to take a walk in the garden." Afraid Hai Laogong might stop him, without saying anything he stepped out. But his left foot had just moved one step when he felt the collar behind his neck tightened as he was grabbed by Hai Laogong and lifted up.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, then he had a thought, "Bad, bad, the old turtle knew I was going to see that little palace maid and stop me from going." Before he finished his thought, Hai Laogong had already thrown him onto the bed.


    "Gong-gong," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Are you testing my martial art? You haven''t taught me anything these past several days. What do you call that grab?"


    "Humph," Hai Laogong said, "It is called ''Catching a Bie [freshwater soft-shelled turtle] in the Jar'', it''s very easy. A bie is an armored fish, so I can catch you, a little armored fish."


    "Old armored fish caught little armored fish!" Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, but of course he did not dare to say it out loud. He rolled his eyes, trying to find a way to escape.


    Hai Laogong sat on the side of the bed and gently said, "You are bold yet cautious, smart and witty; although you are unwilling to steadfastly train martial art, yet if I polish and refine you well, you may be considered as a good material. It''s too bad, really too bad."


    "Gong-gong, why is it too bad?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Hai Laogong did not answer, he only heaved a sigh. After half a day, he said, "Your Beijing accent is not bad, you learned well. If several months ago you were able to speak like this, without any Yangzhou accent at all, it would not be easy to detect."


    Wei Xiaobao was really shocked. In a split second all the hair in his body stood up; he was unable to stop his body from trembling, and his teeth from chattering lightly. With a forced laugh he said, "Gong-gong, tonight you ... you speak really ... hee hee ... really strange."


    Hai Laogong heaved a sigh again and asked, "Child, how old are you this year?"


    Hearing his gentle tone, Wei Xiaobao''s fright and panic somewhat diminished; he said, "I ... I am thirteen, I think."


    "Thirteen is thirteen, fourteen is fourteen," Hai Laogong said, "Why is it ''thirteen, I think''?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My mother did not remember it too clearly, of course I won''t have any way of knowing." It was a true statement, his mother was actually muddle-headed, she could not ascertain Wei Xiaobao''s real age.


    Hai Laogong nodded and coughed several times before saying, "During martial art training several years ago, I accidentally suffer a fire deviation, and thus triggered up this coughing illness. The longer I cough, the worse it is, so for the last few years I know I won''t get better."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I ... think recently ... recently your cough is getting better."


    Hai Laogong shook his head, "What do you mean better?" he said, "Not better at all. My chest hurts very bad, how would you know that?"


    "How do you feel now?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Do you want me to get the medicine for you to take?"


    Hai Laogong sighed, "My eyes can no longer see," he said, "Medicine cannot be taken randomly."


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to breathe loudly; he was wondering the real reason behind those words.


    Hai Laogong continued, "Your luck is very good, you managed to curry the Emperor''s favor, actually, you might achieve great things. Your body has not been cleansed, but it''s not a big deal, I can purify you myself. It''s just that, ay ..., it''s too late, too late."


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand the meaning of ''purification'', he only felt that somehow the way Hai Laogong speaking tonight was very strange. He said in a gentle voice, "Gong-gong, it''s late, you should sleep."


    "Sleep? Sleep!" Hai Laogong said, "Ay, after I wake up from sleep, then what? Sleep in the morning, sleep at night, I want to sleep without waking forever. Child, an eternal sleep, no need to wake up, no pain in the pit of your stomach, no bad cough, won''t that be extraordinarily beautiful?" Wei Xiaobao was so frightened that he did not dare to make any noise.


    "Child," Hai Laogong continued, "Who else is there in your home?"


    It was such a boring, ordinary question, but Wei Xiaobao had such a hard time to answer it. He did not know who else were in the dead Xiao Guizi''s home; if he gave a random answer, he would most likely give himself away, but he could not not answering it. He was hoping that Hai Laogong did not know the situation in Xiao Guizi''s home, and thus the reason he asked. Thereupon he said, "There is only my Laoniang


    [67] at home; as for the rest of my family, over these last few years, ay, I don''t want to talk about it." He spoke in such a way that he mentioned the top part, but did not continue to the bottom. Supposing Xiao Guizi still had a father, older brother, older sister or younger brother, there was no harm in him using ''I don''t want to talk about it'' as an excuse.


    Hai Laogong said, "Only your Laoniang. In your Fujian dialect, is that how you call your mother?"


    Wei Xiaobao was again very shocked. "What Fujian dialect?" he mused, "Could it be that Xiao Guizi is from Fujian? He said earlier that I have Yangzhou accent, perhaps �� perhaps �� the fact that his eyes were blinded by me, he still does not know?" In a flash, innumerable thoughts flitted through his mind; he said vaguely, "This �� this �� why did you ask?"


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "You are still young, yet so bad. Hey, in the end, do you look like your father, or like your mother?"


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "I don''t look like anybody. Good, I am not very good, bad, I can''t be considered outstandingly bad."


    Hai Laogong coughed several times before saying, "I was already a grown-up when I was purified and became a eunuch ��"


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Turns out to become a eunuch one must be purified; that is cutting off your peeing thing. He knew I haven''t been purified, if he purifies me, that will be sending the dragon nicely to the east ��"


    He heard Hai Laogong continued, "Actually, I had a son, what a pity he died when he was eight. If he were alive today, my grandson would be about your age. That man surnamed Mao, Mao Shiba, is not your father, is he?"


    With a trembling voice Wei Xiaobao said, "No �� he is not! Hot piece mama, of �� of course he is not." In his fright, he blurted out Yangzhou slang.


    Hai Laogong said, "I don''t think he is. If you were my son, and I lost you trapped in the imperial palace, even if there were great dangers, I would still try to help you out."


    Wei Xiaobao forced a laugh and said, "Too bad I don''t have a father as good as you."


    Hai Laogong said, "I taught you two sets of martial art, the first one was the ''big grappling technique'', the second one was the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand''. I have not learned both sets of technique entirely, naturally you haven''t mastered the sets, perhaps you only learned a tenth, half a tenth. Hey hey, hey hey."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "You, Senior, better teach me so that I may master these two sets or technique entirely. You have this kind of number-one-under-the-heavens martial art skill, if you have someone to pass your skill on, he may make you famous, it''s the sensible thing to do."


    Hai Laogong shook his head. "These words ''number one under the heavens'', how do I dare to accept? I don''t know how many people have superior martial art skill in the world. These two sets of martial art skill, even in all my life I won''t have enough time to learn it entirely." He paused for a moment, then said, "Take a breath, put your hand on the left side of your lower abdomen, about three cun away from your belly button, and press hard, how do you feel?"


    Wei Xiaobao put his hand according to his instruction and pressed hard. Instantly a pain penetrated his heart and liver; "Ah!" he could not help but scream. In a flash his brow was beaded with sweat and he could not stop panting. For nearly more than half a month he had occasionally felt a dull ache on the left side of his lower abdomen, but he always thought it was because he ate something bad, moreover, the pain only appeared momentarily and immediately subsided, thus he had never given it any further thought. Who could have imagined that with a hard press like that the pain could be this severe?


    With a gloomy voice Hai Laogong said, "Isn''t it amusing?"


    Wei Xiaobao cursed fiercely in his belly, "Dead old turtle, stinky old turtle!" But what he said was, "Just a little pain, what''s so amusing about it?"


    Hai Laogong said, "Every morning when you go gambling and training martial art with His Majesty, the food is always delivered before you come back. I thought that the soup is not tasty enough, so every day I took a bottle of medicine from the medicine chest and added a little bit of stuff into your soup. Only a little tiny bit; if I added too much, the toxicity would be too heavy, it would not be appropriate for your body. You are a very careful person, but I have never taken the soup, don''t you have the least bit of suspicion?"


    Wei Xiaobao was absolutely terrified, he said, "I �� I thought you didn''t like the soup. You �� you said that when you drink the soup, you �� you �� will cou �� cough ��"


    "Actually, I really like to drink soup," Hai Laogong said, "But if the soup is poisoned, although the dose is very light, and you take it daily, over a long period of time, it will be a little bit dangerous, won''t it?"


    Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "Absolutely, absolutely! Gong-gong, you are really formidable."


    Hai Laogong sighed. "That''s not necessarily true," he said, "Actually, I wanted you to take the poison for three more months before I''d let you out of the Palace, so that you will feel the stomach pain gradually worsen. At first you will feel about an hour of pain every day, and the pain won''t be so severe. Later, the pain will be more and more severe, the duration will also be longer and longer. Roughly in about a year, you will feel great pain all day long; a pain so terrible that you will want to dash your own head against the wall, a pain so severe that you will want to bite your own hands, your own legs, piece by piece." Speaking to this point, he sighed before continuing, "It''s a pity than my body is deteriorating fast, I am afraid I cannot wait much longer. The poison in your body, nobody else has the antidote, I am the only one who has it. Little baby, who sent you? Who has thought about this plan to blind me? If you answer me truthfully, I''ll give you the antidote right away."


    Wei Xiaobao might be young, but he knew that even if he mentioned the name of the person who sent him, in no way Hai Laogong would spare his life; much less there was indeed nobody sending him; thereupon he said, "Of course somebody has sent me, but I am afraid as soon as I say it, you would jump in fright. Turns out you knew it early on that I am not Xiao Guizi, and have thought this method to torture me. Ha ha, ha ha! You are the one who has fallen into my trick! Ha ha, ha ha!" While laughing heartily, his body made a random movement; bending his right leg, his right hand grabbed the hilt of the dagger. Very slowly he pulled the dagger from its scabbard, without making any noise at all. Even if there were some noise, he was confident his laughter would cover it.


    "What trick of yours did I fall into?" Hai Laogong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao was talking nonsense; he only wanted to distract him. So he simply continued talking nonsense, "From the first day I have already tasted the poison in the soup. I discussed it over with Xiao Xuanzi, and he said that you are poisoning me ��"


    Hai Laogong was startled, "His Majesty knew about it?" he asked.


    "How could he not know?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "It''s just that at the time I did not know he was the Emperor. Xiao Xuanzi told me not to make a word or movement, just to be careful, so when I took the soup, I only put it in my mouth and spit it out again to the bowl; you could not see anyway." While speaking, he raised the dagger half a cun by half a cun up, with the tip of the dagger aimed at the pit of Hai Laogong''s stomach. He thought that if he failed to kill him in one stab, even if the dagger stabbed Hai Laogong, with just a palm strike Wei Xiaobao''s own life would be gone.


    Hai Laogong was half believing half doubting; with a cold laugh he said, "If you did not drink the soup, how come with one press on your left abdomen, the pain was unbearable?"


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "I supposed even though I spat the soup out, I did not rinse my mouth afterwards, the poison is still going down my stomach." While saying that, the dagger was moved several cun closer.


    "That''s very good, then," he heard Hai Laogong said, "In any case, the poison cannot be neutralized. Your poisoning is somewhat lighter, it will flare-up somewhat slower, your suffering can only be worse."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; in the midst of the long laughter, he brought his entire strength into his right arm as he lunge the dagger violently toward the pit of Hai Laogong''s stomach. He had already planned that as soon as the dagger hit, he would promptly roll toward the corner of the bed, and then from the corner of the bed he would scuttle out.


    Hai Laogong felt a burst of cold air hitting his face; he was slightly surprised, but knew that the opponent had already made a move. He did not have time to think about the nature of the attack; his left hand swept forward to block the incoming blade, his right palm struck out, ''Bang!'' it hit Wei Xiaobao, sending him flying out, crashing through the window frame, and falling straight onto the flower garden outside the window. Right away he felt severe pain on his left hand; four of his fingers were severed by the dagger.


    If not for Wei Xiaobao''s dagger emitted a strong cold air, while he did not have the slightest sign of the incoming attack beforehand, by this time the pit of his stomach would have been stabbed. However, if the dagger was an ordinary one, with the discrepancy between the two persons'' strength being too far, even if the dagger stabbed his chest, it would only be a superficial injury. His internal strength was everywhere; his palm was like iron, as it struck a saber or sword, or shook a flying dagger, he could not possibly injure his own palm. But in all honesty this dagger was simply too sharp. Hai Laogong''s painstaking dozen of year''s cultivation of internal strength unexpectedly could not shake this incoming dagger away, instead, it cut off his four fingers noiselessly. However, his right palm hit Wei Xiaobao squarely on the pit of his stomach; this palm strike was able to break an upright stone tablet and could split a rock, it was not a small matter at all. He guessed that Wei Xiaobao''s internal organs were completely smashed and that he had already died before even flying outside the window.


    Hai Laogong laughed coldly and muttered to himself, "He died too easily, this little demon had it too lightly." After calming himself down, he took out some metal cut medicine from his medicine chest and applied it to his wound. Tearing off the bed sheet, he wrapped his left palm, while muttering, "What kind of weapon did that little demon use? How come it''s this fierce?" Suppressing the severe pain in his hand, he leaped out the window and groped the place where Wei Xiaobao was supposed to fall; he wanted to find the blade that he had never even heard about, the sharp blade that he had never seen before. To his surprise, however, after groping about for a long time, he did not find anything.


    Before he was blinded, he was very familiar with the garden outside his window; where the flowers were, where the rocks were, everything was etched in his heart. Obviously he heard Wei Xiaobao had fallen next to the cluster of Chinese peony; there was the possibility that the treasured blade was shaken out of his hand and flew far away, but his body could not possibly disappear, could it?


    When Wei Xiaobao was hit by the palm, his breathing was blocked instantly, there was an acute pain in the pit of his stomach, and he felt as if the hundreds of bones on his four limbs were disintegrated to a cun-size pieces. He was thrown onto the ground and nearly passed out. He knew he was at the verge of death; since he was unable to kill Hai Laogong with a single stab, the old turtle would definitely come out to pursue and attack; therefore, with the remaining strength in his body he crawled up. But after taking only two steps, his feet gave up; he slipped and fell again, and rolled down from a sloped ground all the way to the bottom.


    If Hai Laogong did not have his fingers cut, the noise of Wei Xiaobao rolling down the slope would naturally not escape his ears; however, he was severely wounded, he was distraught with anxiety, in addition, even in his dream he would not think that after being hit by his palm, this little demon did not die. Although he did hear some noise, he did not give it further thought as the cause of the noise.


    The sloping ground was quite long, Wei Xiaobao rolled for more than ten zhang before stopping. He struggled hard to stand up and slowly walked away; the muscle and bones in his entire body were unbearably painful, luckily the dagger was still tightly grasped in his hand. He rejoiced inwardly, "The old turtle hit me and sent me out the window just now, unexpectedly I did not stab myself with the dagger, I was extremely lucky." Inserting the dagger into his boot, he thought, "My masquerade has been unmasked, the old turtle already know I am a fake goods, I cannot live in the Palace anymore. Too bad the four hundred fifty thousand tael of money has turned into an empty joy. His granny, where has there ever been one man who has this kind of stroke of luck? An ill-gotten gain worth four hundred fifty thousand taels. In other word, laozi has gained a four hundred fifty thousand tael wealth, but laozi is too extravagant, in just one night I spent it all until nothing''s left. Don''t you think it''s so awesome?" Bragging in his heart, he could not help but feeling very proud of himself.


    He also thought, "That little palace maid is still waiting for me; in any event, I cannot leave the Palace on the third watch in the middle of the night, I might as well go and see her. Aiyo ��" He put his hand into his pocket to feel the small carton box, and found that the box had been squeezed flat; he thought, "I''ll still show it to her, so she won''t be too anxious waiting for me. I''ll tell her I fell down and squeeze the preserved fruits and candy mushy, turning it into a pile of cow dung. But this pile of cow dung is sweet and fragrant, and taste outstandingly good. Ha ha, hot piece mama, have you even eaten cow dung so sweet and fragrant? Laozi has."


    The more he thought, the more he felt amused; he picked up his speed toward the Empress Dowager''s Palace of Compassion and Peace. But as he walked faster for only several steps, there was an acute pain on the pit of his stomach, forcing him to slow down. Arriving at the Palace of Compassion and Peace, he saw the palace gate was closed. "It''s bad," he thought, "I did not think this gate would be closed; how am I going to get in?"


    While he was wondering what to do, suddenly the palace gate was pushed open noiselessly, followed by a little palace maid''s head appeared. Under the moonlight he was able to see clearly that it was indeed Rui Chu. He saw her smiling and beckoning to him. Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he slipped in quietly.


    Rui Chu closed the gate and then in a low voice whispered in his ear, "I was afraid you are not coming; I have been waiting here for a long time."


    "I am late," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "On my way here I stumbled upon a stinky and hard-to-deal-with old turtle; I tripped and fell down."


    "Is there any sea turtle in the garden?" Rui Chu said, "I have never seen one. You �� are your hurt from the fall?"


    In his determination to come here, Wei Xiaobao was able to endure the pain, but as soon as Rui Chu asked, he felt in his entire body there was not a place where it did not hurt; he could not help but groaning. Rui Chu pulled his hand and asked in low voice, "Which part hurts?"


    Wei Xiaobao was just about to reply when suddenly he saw a shadow flitted across on the ground; when he raised his head, he saw an enormous eagle flying over the wall and gently landed on the ground. He was really shocked and nearly let out a shout. Under the moonlight he saw the giant eagle stood up like a human. Turned out it was not a giant eagle at all, but a human. This person had a slim built with a hunched back; who else but Hai Laogong himself?


    Originally, Rui Chu was facing Wei Xiaobao, so she did not see Hai Laogong had come, but seeing Wei Xiaobao turn his head and stare with terror-stricken expression on his face, she also turned her head around. Wei Xiaobao reached out with his left hand to cover her mouth and pressed rather hard to prevent her from making the least bit of noise. His right hand shook anxiously, signaling her not to make any noise. Rui Chu nodded. Wei Xiaobao slowly took his hand off her mouth while his gaze was fixed on Hai Laogong.


    He saw Hai Laogong was standing perfectly still, as if he was listening attentively to the sound of movement around him. It was a moment later that he finally walked forward slowly. Seeing Hai Laogong did not walk toward them, Wei Xiaobao let out a breath quietly. "The old turtle is really formidable," he said in his heart, "Although he is blind, unexpectedly he is able to pursue me to this place." He also thought, "As long as this little palace maid and I do not make any sound, the old turtle cannot possibly find me."


    Hai Laogong had walked several steps forward, but suddenly he jumped up and landed in front of Wei Xiaobao. Reaching out with his left hand, he grabbed Rui Chu''s neck. "Ah!" Rui Chu cried, but her throat was quickly pinched that the cry was muffled.


    Something flashed in Wei Xiaobao''s mind, "The old turtle is looking for me, he is not looking for this little palace maid, he could not possibly kill her." This moment he was only two chi away from Hai Laogong; he was so scared that he almost pee in his pants, but he did not move at all, because he knew that as soon as he move just one finger, Hai Laogong would hear him.


    In a low voice Hai Laogong said, "Don''t make noise! You don''t obey, I''ll kill you. Answer my question softly. Who are you?"


    "I ... I ..." Rui Chu said in low voice.


    Hai Laogong stretched out his right hand and ran it over the top of her head, and ran it across her face. "You are a little palace maid, aren''t you?" he asked.


    "Yes, yes!" Rui Chu replied.


    "It''s the third watch in the middle of the night," Hai Laogong said, "What are you doing here?"


    Rui Chu said, "I ... I am here to have fun."


    Hai Laogong''s face revealed a faint smile; under the dim moonlight, he looked even more gloomy and grim. "Who else is here with you?" he asked, while leaning his head slightly to listen attentively.


    Just now Rui Chu did not hold her breath nor did she know how to concentrate her breathing; in panic, she breathed loudly and thus Hai Laogong knew where she was standing. Although Wei Xiaobao was also standing close-by, he was breathing very lightly, so that for now his presence was not detected.


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to signal her not to say anything, but he did not dare to move his arm. Luckily Rui Chu was perceptive, realizing he was blind, she said, "No ... nobody."


    "Where does the Empress Dowager live?" Hai Laogong said, "Take me to see her."


    Rui Chu was frightened. "Gong-gong, please ... please don''t tell Empress Dowager," she pleaded, "Next time ... next time I will not dare anymore." She only knew that this eunuch was arresting her to be reported to the Empress Dowager.


    "It''s useless for you to plead with me," Hai Laogong said, "If you don''t take me, I''ll crush your neck immediately." His hand squeezed lightly, Rui Chu''s breathing was immediately stopped, her small face bulged very red.


    Wei Xiaobao was so frightened that finally he peed in his pants, the urine was dripping from his crotch. Luckily Hai Laogong did not pay any attention; even if he heard it, he would think that it was Rui Chu who peed from the fright.


    Hai Laogong loosened his left hand slowly and said in a low voice, "Quickly take me there."


    Rui Chu did not have any choice but to say, "Alright!" She cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, signaling him with her eyes to quickly run away, telling him that she would not give him away. "The Empress Dowager''s personal palace is on that side!" she said in a low voice, while slowly moving forward. With his hand still holding her throat, Hai Laogong walked beside her.


    Wei Xiaobao thought it over, "The old turtle must be going to the Empress Dowager to tell her that I am a fake little eunuch, that Xiao Guizi was murdered by me, that his eyes were blinded by me; he wants the Empress Dowager to issue an order to have me arrested immediately. Why didn''t he report me to His Majesty? Ah right, he knew His majesty is good to me, most likely his complain will not be considered. Then ... then what should I do? I must escape from the Palace immediately. Aiyo, not good! By this time the Palace gate has been shut for a long time, how can I get out? Very soon the Empress Dowager will give her order, and then I won''t be able to escape even if I grew wings."


    While he was still at a loss, he heard a woman''s voice coming from the room ahead suddenly asked, "Who''s that outside?" This gloomy and eerie voice, Wei Xiaobao recognized as the Empress Dowager''s voice. He was frightened and wanted to lift his heels and run away, but he heard Hai Laogong say, "Your servant Hai Tianfu is paying his respect to you, Senior." This voice was also gloomy and eerie, without any sign of respect at all.


    Wei Xiaobao felt very strange, "Who does the old turtle think he is? He has the audacity to be this rude to the Empress Dowager." He had another thought, "The way the old turtle speak is so unpleasant, most likely the Empress Dowager has always loathed him, why don''t I seize this opportunity to argue with him? I am not able to escape anyway." He knew it was risky, but he recalled that he had recently rendered a great merit, the Emperor and Empress Dowager were very happy, killing one or two Xiao Guizi and blinding the eyes of old turtle Hai certainly could not be considered a great crime. If he was in a serious trouble, he could still ask his sworn brother Songgotu to intercede for him. If he lifted his feet and left, the old turtle could say anything he liked, since Wei Xiaobao had already escaped, naturally he was having a guilty conscience; and thus from being innocent Wei Xiaobao had turned into the guilty party.


    He thought further, "If the Empress Dowager ask why did I kill Xiao Guizi? I''ll say ... I''ll say, um, I''ll say I heard Xiao Guizi and the old turtle Hai saying malicious remarks against the Emperor and Empress Dowager, I''ll say that they have many, many opinions, which are very unpleasant to hear; I was really angry and was at the end of my patience, hence I picked up a knife and killed Xiao Guizi. I also seized the chance to blind the old turtle''s eyes. As for the malicious words, I can always make it up later. Competing with hands and feet, I cannot prevail against the old turtle. Competing in telling lies and bragging, how can the old turtle be laozi''s match?" Thinking about it, he was very proud of himself, immediately his courage grew and he did not wish to escape anymore. What he was most afraid of was that if Hai Laogong could not win the argument, he would leap and strike him dead with a palm, and then Wei Xiaobao would die an unjust death. Consequently, when he plead innocence in front of the Empress Dowager, he must stand on a safe place, somewhere the old turtle was not able to reach, someplace he could not strike.


    He heard the Empress Dowager said, "If you want to pay your respect, why didn''t you do it during day time? You came here in the middle of the night, what kind of propriety is that?"


    "Your servant has a secret important matter to report to the Empress Dowager," Hai Laogong said, "During the day time, there will be too many ears. If someone hears about it, it will be greatly inconvenient."


    "Hear, hear! The old turtle is about to lodge a complaint," Wei Xiaobao mused, "I''ll listen to what he has to say first. When he has said most of it, it won''t be too late for me to butt in. But where should I hide?" Looking at the surrounding terrain, he chose a good spot. Step by step he crept to the back of rock garden by the goldfish pond. He thought, "If the old turtle pounce on me, ''Splash!'' he would''ve fallen into the goldfish pond first, then I would dash into the Empress Dowager''s room. Even if the old turtle has an enormous guts, he wouldn''t dare to barge into the Empress Dowager''s room to beat people."


    He heard the Empress Dowager snorted and said, "What kind of secret important matter? You may say it right away."


    "Does the Empress Dowager have anybody else by her side?" Hai Laogong asked, "What the old servant is about to say is a top secret."


    "How about you come in here and do the search?" the Empress Dowager said, "Your martial art skill is superb; don''t tell me that you cannot hear whether I have someone else by my side."


    "Your servant does not dare to enter the Empress Dowager''s room," Hai Laogong said, "May I inconvenience the Empress Dowager''s holy self to step out of the room? Your servant has something to report."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager said, "You are getting more and more audacious. Whose authority do you rely on that you dare to be this unbridled?"


    Listening to this, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he cursed silently, "Old turtle, you are more and more brazen, now whose authority will you rely on? You really dare to be this unbridled!"


    "Your servant does not dare!" Hai Laogong said.


    The Empress Dowager snorted again and said, "You ... you already do not have any regards of me, tonight you suddenly appear here, what kind of trick are you playing?"


    Wei Xiaobao was even happier, he struggled hard to keep himself from shouting several curses to help the Empress Dowager scolding Hai Laogong. He said in his heart, "Old turtle, oh old turtle, you have not lodged any complaint, you have already bumped into a big nail, you are attracting trouble for yourself. Apparently laozi does not need to personally go into action, just the Empress Dowager alone is enough to lash her tongue on you and drive you away."


    He heard Hai Laogong said, "It''s all right if the Empress Dowager does not wish to know any news about that person, your servant is leaving!"


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he said in his heart, "Go well, go delightfully, go with the blowing wind[68]. Quickly roll away, you, mother of a b@stard! Why would the Empress Dowager wants to know any news about me?"


    But he heard the Empress Dowager said, "What news do you have for me?"


    "The news from Mount Wutai[69]!" Hai Laogong said.


    "Mount Wutai? You ... what are you talking about?" the Empress Dowager said. Her voice trembled slightly.


    Under the moonlight Wei Xiaobao saw Hai Laogong stretch out a hand and poked, Rui Chu collapsed immediately. He was startled and was grieved in his heart; he thought, "The old turtle has killed this little miss. When I tell her later, the Empress Dowager will be angrier. It will be extremely difficult for the old turtle to bring up a charge against me."


    He heard the Empress Dowager asked, "You ... whom did you harm?"


    "It''s a little palace maid serving the Empress Dowager," Hai Laogong replied, "Your servant does not dare to harm her, I only sealed her acupoint so that she won''t hear our conversation."


    Wei Xiaobao was relieved, "Turns out the old turtle did not kill her!" Yet in the deepest part of his heart there was a faint feeling of disappointment; Hai Laogong did not kill the little palace maid, his own plight could not be considered favorable.


    "Mount Wutai?" the Empress Dowager asked again, "Why did you mention Mount Wutai?"


    Hai Laogong said, "If Empress Dowager wants to know the details, I will have no choice but to ask your holy self to come out. It''s the middle of the night, your servant cannot enter the Empress Dowager room; if I speak loudly here, this secret matter will be heard by the palace maids and the court eunuchs, then it won''t be fun." The Empress Dowager hesitated for a moment and then said, "Fine!" The sound of door opening was heard, with a graceful steps she walked out of the room.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled back behind the rockery, he mused, "Old turtle Hai cannot see me, but the Empress Dowager is not blind." He did not dare to stick out his neck and look around. When the Empress Dowager came out, he caught of a glimpse of her and noticed that she was not tall and somewhat short and stout. He had seen the Empress Dowager twice, but both times she was sitting down.


    He heard the Empress Dowager said, "You said a moment ago that he went to Mount Wutai, is that ... is that true?"


    Hai Laogong said, "Your servant did not say anything about anybody going to Mount Wutai. Your servant only said ''Mount Wutai''. Perhaps there is someone whom the Empress Dowager cares very much?"


    The Empress Dowager paused for a moment and then said, "Very well, let''s just say that you did say it that way. He ... he ... that person ... what is he doing on Mount Wutai? Is he in the temple?" Originally, her voice was very calm, but since Hai Laogong mentioned someone on Mount Wutai, she became flustered and exasperated, as if her mind was very troubled.


    Hai Laogong said, "That person is indeed in the Qing Liang[70] Temple on Mount Wutai."


    The Empress Dowager let out a deep breath and said, "Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, finally I ... I know his ... his whereabouts. He ... he ... he ..." She said the word ''he'' three times, and could not continue, because her voice was trembling violently.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished, "Who are they talking about? Why does the Empress Dowager care about him so much?" He could not help but feeling anxious, "Could he be the Empress Dowager''s father? Or her brother? Or perhaps her old lover? That''s it, he must be her old lover. If it was her father or brother, it won''t be a secret important matter, why should they worry others would hear it? The old turtle has had a hold on her anger, if he wanted her to kill me, the Empress Dowager is afraid of the old turtle, perhaps she would obey him. This is not too good. Luckily laozi is here and hear everything, if the old whore dares to kill me, laozi will spill out everything in full detail, I will tell His Majesty and their conspiracy will break apart. I am afraid you cannot be considered a hero or a warrior."


    Since Pan Gu[71] split the heaven and earth apart, just a very few people ever dared to call the Empress Dowager the ''old whore''. Even those who cursed her secretly in their belly, the number cannot be too many. Wei Xiaobao did not have such fear, even his own mother, whenever she beat him too hard, he would randomly curse her as ''rotten whore'' or ''stinky whore''. Luckily his mother was indeed a prostitute, plus everybody in the brothel had always hurled obscenities to each other anyway, so nobody thought too much about it. When his mother heard the curse, she did not get angry, she only hit his little butts 30% harder, while also throwing curse back at him ''little b@stard'' or ''little son of a b*tch''. Nothing more than that.


    He heard the Empress Dowager was panting anxiously; after half a day she asked, "He ... he ... he ... what is he doing in the Qing Liang Temple?"


    "Does Empress Dowager really want to know?" Hai Laogong asked.


    "Do you have to ask?" the Empress Dowager retorted, "Of course I want to know."


    Hai Laogong said, "My master has left home to become a Buddhist monk."


    "Ah!" the Empress Dowager gasped, her breathing became more rapid. "He ... he really has become a monk?" she asked, "You ... you are not deceiving me, are you?"


    "Your servant does not dare to deceive the Empress Dowager," Hai Laogong replied, "I don''t need to deceive the Empress Dowager."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted, "He is so cruel, he wholeheartedly only ... only thinks about that ... that foxy charmer, so that our country, our empire, our ancestors'' hundreds of battles, as well as the established foundation ... are all being thrown to the back of his head. We, mother and son, no ... no longer have any place in his heart."


    The more Wei Xiaobao listened, the more astonished he was; he thought, "What country, empire and ancestors'' established foundation? The old turtle also calls that person ''my master'', so this man ... this man is not the Empress Dowager''s old lover?"


    Hai Laogong coldly said, "My master has seen through worldly affairs, he has attained great understanding. Ten thousand li of rivers and mountains, affection toward sons and daughters, my master said everything is like floating clouds, everything is no longer in his mind."


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "Why didn''t he leave home earlier? Why not leave home later? Why did he have to wait for that ... that foxy charmer''s death before he left home? In his heart, country, dynasty, forefathers, wife and child, everything added together, still fall short of that foxy charmer; and that''s the reason of his abrupt departure. Humph, since he has left, why did he send you to tell me?" The more she talked, the angrier she was; her voice was sharp and gradually growing louder.


    Wei Xiaobao was unspeakably terrified, he had a vague feeling that the person those two were talking about, as well as the circumstances surrounding it, were not a small matter.


    Hai Laogong said, "My master implored over and over again that whatever your servant say, I must not divulge anything, I must not let the Empress Dowager and His Majesty know about it. My master said: His Majesty has ascended the throne, there is peace throughout the world, there is not a problem on the four oceans, he feels relieved."


    In a harsh voice the Empress Dowager said, "Then why did you tell this to me? Originally I did not know, and I did not want to know. Since in his heart he is unable to stop thinking about that foxy charmer, whether his son ascended the throne or not, whether the world is at peace or not, what does it have to do with whether he feels relieved or not?"


    Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished, "Are they talking about the Emperor''s Papa? The young emperor''s Papa, Emperor Shunzhi, has given up his ghost long before the young emperor become the Emperor. Could it be that the Emperor has another Papa?" His knowledge on the imperial household and the Palace matter was very limited, other than knowing that the young emperor''s father was Emperor Shunzhi, he was completely ignorant about other things. Even if the Empress Dowager and Hai Laogong spoke ten times clearer, he still could not guess the real situation correctly.


    Hai Laogong said, "Since my master has already left home, your servant ought to also become a monk in the Qing Liang Temple to attend to my master. However, my master told me that he still have something that is burdening him, and instructed your servant to return to the Capital and investigate something."


    "What matter is that?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "My master said, although Consort Donggo ..."


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "In front of me, you must not mention that foxy charmer''s name!"


    "Turns out that fox-spirit is called Consort Donggo," Wei Xiaobao mused, "She must be one of the Palace''s Imperial Concubines. The Empress Dowager ''s old lover loved this flirty fox and did not love the Empress Dowager, as a result, the Empress Dowager drank a lot of vinegar [i.e. jealous[72]]."


    "Yes," Hai Laogong replied, "Empress Dowager forbids me from mentioning her name, your servant won''t mention it."


    "What did he say about that foxy charmer?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "Your servant does not understand who the Empress Dowager was referring to. My master has never mentioned these words ''foxy charmer''."


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "Naturally he has never mentioned these words, in his heart, it was always ''Empress Duan Jing''. After that foxy charmer died, he ... he conferred a posthumous title of ''Empress'' to her. The flattering servants respectfully proposed to grant her a posthumous name, something like ''Empress Xiao Xian Zhuang He Zhi De Xuan Ren Wen Hui [73]''. But since this title did not contain the words ''heavenly sage'', he threw a fit. Also, two servant scholars called Hu Guanglong and Wang Xi compiled the book ''Quotation from Empress Duan Jing'' and spread it all over the world, aren''t they afraid of disgrace?"


    Hai Laogong said, "Empress Dowager is right, after Consort Donggo returned to heaven, your servant should have called her Empress Donggo. About that book ''Quotation from Empress Duan Jing'', your servant frequently has a copy by my side, would Empress Dowager like to take a look?"


    "You ... you ... you ..." the Empress Dowager shouted angrily; she took a step forward with labored breathing, but suddenly she seemed to be remembering something. "Hey hey," she laughed, "At that time everybody in the world wanted to curry the Emperor''s favor, everybody read the ''Quotation from Empress Duan Jing'', the nonsense which those two servants Hu and Wang fabricated. It was considered as ''the heaven''s law and earth''s principle'', something even more important than ''Analects of Confucius'' or ''Mencius''. But what about now? Other than a copy in your possession, and perhaps several copies by your master''s side, where else can you find this ''Quotations'' nonsense?"


    Hai Laogong said, "After the Empress Dowager''s secret order to ban and destroy this ''Quotation from Empress Duan Jing'', who would dare to have the book in his collection? As for my master, although he does not have a single copy by his side, but every single word or sentence that Empress Donggo had ever muttered in her life is firmly recorded in his heart; it definitely surpasses having a copy of ''Quotations'' by his side!"


    The Empress Dowager said, "He ... he sent you to Beijing to investigate what?"


    Hai Laogong replied, "Originally my master instructed me to investigate two matters, but as your servant verified afterwards, those two matters are actually only one."


    "What two matters, one matter?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "The first matter was: how did Rong Wang [King Rong] die?"


    "You ... you mean that foxy charmer''s son?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "Your servant was talking about the prince Empress Duan Jing gave birth to, Prince He Yanrong."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted, "That child only lived not even for four months, he could not be brought up; what''s so strange about that?"


    Hai Laogong said, "But my master said that Prince Rong contracted acute disease so suddenly. When the summoned court physician examined him, he said that Prince Rong''s Foot Yangming Channel of the Stomach, Foot Shaoyin Channel of the Kidney, Foot Taiyin Channel of the Spleen[74], had all been severed, his internal organs had been ruptured; his death was really strange."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager said, "Which court physician has this kind of ability? Most likely it was your fabrication."


    Hai Laogong did not deny, he simply continued, "When Empress Duan Jing passed away, everybody thought she was broken hearted over King Rong''s death, but after careful investigation, it was not so. She died because someone had used ''cutting off technique'' to sever her Yinwei and Yinjiao, two channels."


    The Empress Dowager coldly said, "I am surprised that he believed your fantasy."


    "At first, my master also did not believe it," Hai Laogong said, "Afterwards, your servant conducted an experiment and show it to him. It was not too long after Empress Duan Jing passed away. Within a month, your servant successively cut the Yinwei and Yinjiao, two main channels, of five palace maids. These five palace maids died with the same symptoms and appearance as when Empress Duan Jing was about to die. If it was only one palace maid, we can say it was a coincidence, but all five palace maids displayed the same condition, my master was convinced and did not have any doubt."


    "Hey, it''s amazing!" the Empress Dowager said, "Unexpectedly in our Palace there is a great expert like you."


    "Many thanks for Empress Dowager''s compliment," Hai Laogong said, "Your servant''s technique is different from that of the assailant. However, the principle is the same."


    The two of them faced each other in silence, nobody said anything for long time. Hai Laogong coughed softly several times. After a while, he said, "My master sent your servant back to the Capital to investigate who murdered Prince Rong and Empress Duan Jing?"


    With a cold laugh the Empress Dowager said, "Do you still need to investigate? In our Palace, other than you, who else has the ability to do such thing?"


    "There is someone else," Hai Laogong said, "Empress Duan Jing had always treated your servant with kindness; your servant only wish for many good fortune and long life for her; if I had known beforehand that someone was plotting against her, your servant would risk my old life to thoroughly protect her."


    "You are very loyal," the Empress Dowager said, "She was very lucky to retain the service of such a good servant."


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "It''s a pity your servant is so useless that I failed to protect Empress Duan Jing."


    The Empress Dowager icily said, "He worships Buddha in the morning, recites the scripture in the evening, your Empress Duan Jing will be blessed that she will reincarnate sooner from the eighteenth level of hell, and will rise to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss sooner too; and that''s the end of the story." Her voice was full of ''taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster'' tone.


    "Worshipping Buddha and reciting scripture are not necessarily useful," Hai Laogong said, "However, the saying ''virtue has its reward, evil has its retribution'' is always true." After a short pause, he continued very slowly, "If the evil is not avenged yet, the time has yet to come." The Empress Dowager only snorted.


    Hai Laogong said, "Reporting to Empress Dowager: my master instructed your servant to investigate two matters, your servant found out that these two matters are actually one. Who would have imagined that inadvertently I found two more matters?"


    "The matters you are investigating are just too many," the Empress Dowager said, "What else did you find?"


    Hai Laogong said, "The first one is concerning Consort Zhen."


    The Empress Dowager laughed coldly and said, "The younger sister of foxy charmer is simply a little foxy charmer. Why do you mention her?"


    "When my master left the Palace, he left behind a letter saying that he would never return," Hai Laogong said, "Your Majesties, the Emperor''s Grandmother and the Empress Dowager, were of the opinion that a country must not be without a ruler even for a day. Thereupon you proclaimed to the world that my master had died. In the present age, the number of persons who know this big secret is only six, namely Your Majesties, my master, Reverend Yulin, who followed my master shaving his head, and two servants who wait upon my masters. One of these two servants is the Imperial Bodyguard Chief Hebacha, who at this moment has also left home and became a monk on Mount Wutai, and the other one is your servant Hai Tianfu."


    Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao had started to understand; turned out the one the Empress Dowager referred to as ''he'' and the one Hai Laogong referred to as ''my master'' was precisely Emperor Shunzhi. The world only knew that he had passed away, but actually because his beloved imperial concubine had died, in his extreme grief he had become a Buddhist monk at the Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai. As for the reason behind the imperial concubine''s death, from what Hai Laogong has said, it seemed to be because of a martial art expert sent by the Empress Dowager to kill her. He could not help but feeling very proud of himself, thinking: "The old turtle says there are only six people in this world who are privy to this big secret, he would not know that there is another one, Wei Xiaobao. Now there are seven." But his self-satisfaction was short lived, soon afterwards it turned into dread. At first he was feeling somewhat secure in the knowledge that he had a backing; he thought that if he had to argue with Hai Laogong in the presence of the Empress Dowager, he would not necessarily lose to the old turtle. Yet this moment he knew that things had turned to the worst for him. If those two find out that he was eavesdropping, even if Hai Laogong did not kill him, the Empress Dowager definitely would not let him off. He heard two light ''clack, clack'' noise; unexpectedly it was his own teeth chattering, hastily he bit hard to stop the chatter. Luckily right this moment Hai Laogong was coughing, only the sound of his labored breathing and occasional cough was heard in the quiet night.


    A moment later, Hai Laogong said, "At that time Consort Zhen committed suicide to follow her master, everybody in the imperial court commended her to no end. But there were many people who quietly said Consort Zhen was forced by the Empress Dowager to die the sacrificial death; suicide was not her original intention."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Sooner or later those leaderless, uncontrollable rebellious ministers will have to be dealt with."


    "But what they said is not entirely incorrect," Hai Laogong said, "Consort Zhen did not willingly and gladly committed suicide."


    "Are you saying that I forced Consort Zhen to die?" the Empress Dowager said.


    "This word ''force'' can be omitted altogether," Hai Laogong said.


    "What are you talking about?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "Consort Zhen was murdered, not forced to commit suicide. Your servant had interrogated in details the undertaker, to find out about Consort Zhen''s condition when she was prepared for burial. The bones in her entire body were broken into one cun pieces, even her skull had become fragments. I seem to remember the type of skill to kill people this way is called ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''. Would Empress Dowager tell me if this is so?"


    "How do I know?" the Empress Dowager said.


    "Your servant heard that there is such skill ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' in the world," Hai Laogong said, "When someone is hit, there won''t be anything unusual on his entire body, but after a year or half a year, the bones in his body would slowly disintegrate. However, the assassin who killed Consort Zhen evidently has not mastered this skill to proficiency yet. At first, when the undertaker was tidying up Consort Zhen''s appearance, he did not see anything unusual, but when he put the body into the coffin that night, suddenly the body felt like it did not have any bones at all, the entire body turned soft. He was scared because he had never seen anything like it, he only knew that the corpse had undergone a change, but at that time he did not dare to say anything. Your servant threatened and bribed, I had used I don''t know how many types of tortures before he finally revealed the actual facts. After the practitioner of this skill ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' hit people, two, three days later the victim''s bones disintegrate, I am afraid his proficiency cannot be considered completely profound. Empress Dowager, based on your sacred judgment, won''t you agree with me?"


    The Empress Dowager gloomily said, "Although it can''t be considered profound, somehow it accomplished its purpose."


    "Naturally it is very useful, (cough �� cough �� ) very useful!" Hai Laogong said, "After killing Consort Zhen, he also killed Empress Xiao Kang."


    "His granny," Wei Xiaobao thought, "This old emperor''s empresses are so many; there is another Empress Xiao Kang. Perhaps the number of his empresses is more than our young misses at the Lovely Spring Courtyard."


    The Empress Dowager''s voice trembled as she said, "You �� why did you mention Empress Xiao Kang''s name?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not know that Empress Xiao Kang was Kangxi''s birth mother; hearing the huge change in the Empress Dowager''s voice, he only felt strange, but could not figure out the reason. He heard Hai Laogong said, "The undertaker who prepared Empress Xiao Kang for burial was the same one who also prepared Consorts Donggo and Zhen."


    "That undertaker deserves to die," the Empress Dowager said, "What other rubbish did he say? He falsely accused people in the Palace''s matters; for his crime he ought to be executed along with all his relatives."


    Hai Laogong said, "If the Empress Dowager wanted to kill him, now it is too late."


    "Have you killed him first?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "It''s not that," Hai Laogong said, "More than two years ago, your servant sent him to the Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai to report everything he knew to my master, and then I told him to go far away into the uncivilized territory and live incognito there, to avoid the disaster of him being murdered."


    With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, "You �� you �� what a sinister scheme!"


    "The one with sinister scheme is someone else," Hai Laogong said, "Your servant is ashamed of being inferior to that person."


    The Empress Dowager was silent for half a day before asking, "You came to see me tonight, what is your intention?"


    "Your servant wanted to inquire of the Empress Dowager of one matter, so I can report it back to my master," Hai Laogong said, "Empress Duan Jing, Empress Xiao Kang, Consort Zhen, Prince Rong, four people all died an unnatural death; consequently, my master also abandoned his position and left home to become a monk. The person responsible for this evil scheme is a martial art expert within the Palace. Braving death, your servant comes here to inquire of the Empress Dowager: who is this martial art expert? Your servant is getting old, my eyes are blind, plus I am suffering from an incurable disease; I am like a candle in the wind, yet if I cannot investigate and find out the truth, I will not die with eyes closed."


    The Empress Dowager coldly said, "Since you have been blind early on, it does not matter whether you die with eyes closed or not."


    Hai Laogong said, "Although your servant is blind, my heart is bright as snow."


    The Empress Dowager said, "If your heart is bright as snow, why do you need to come here and ask me?"


    "It''s better if I can understand it clearly," Hai Laogong replied, "So that I won''t mistreat the innocents. These past several months, your servant has diligently doing some investigation, I want to find out who is this martial art master who is hiding in the Palace? At first it was an extremely difficult investigation, but by lucky coincidence, I found out that His Majesty knows martial art."


    The Empress Dowager laughed coldly and said, "His Majesty knows martial art, so what? Are you saying that he killed his own mother?"


    "Sin, sin!" Hai Laogong said, "This kind of disobedience to parents must not be even mentioned. If your servant has ever said such thing, when I die I will enter the hell where my tongue will be pulled out; if I have ever had that thought, when I die I will not escape the suffering of my brain being scoured in the underworld." He coughed several times before continuing, "Your servant has a little eunuch by my side, his name is Xiao Guizi ..."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned cold, "The old turtle is starting to talk about me." He heard Hai Laogong continued, " ... he is about a year or two younger than His Majesty. His Majesty is very fond of him, every day they were having martial art and wrestling match, and practicing martial art together. Xiao Guizi learned martial art from your servant. Although it''s not much, but for a child his age, it can be considered not easy." Hearing Hai Laogong complimenting him, Wei Xiaobao could not help by feeling very proud of himself.


    The Empress Dowager said, "A famous teacher trains a fine student, there are no poor soldiers under a good general."


    "Thank you very much for Empress Dowager''s compliment [orig. ''golden mouth'']," Hai Laogong said, "However, when this Xiao Guizi fought His Majesty, nine times out of ten he would lose. No matter what kind of martial art your servant taught him, His Majesty ''s martial art skill was always a notch higher than his. It seems that the Shifu who taught His Majesty martial art is a lot better than your servant. Your servant had thought it over, the only martial art master in the Palace is this expert. As long as I can find this expert, then the assassin who killed two empresses, one imperial consort and one prince won''t be difficult to trace."


    "I see," the Empress Dowager said, "You talk round and round in circle is just so that you can tell me this."


    Hai Laogong said, "The Empress Dowager said, ''A famous teacher trains a fine student''; the other side of the coin is also true, ''A fine student must come from a famous teacher''. His Majesty is able to use eight by eight, sixty-four styles ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'', the person who taught him this palm technique will most likely also know the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''."


    "Have you found out the martial art master''s identity?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "I have," Hai Laogong replied.


    The Empress Dowager laughed coldly, "You are such a crafty schemer," she said, "You taught Xiao Guizi to practice martial art with His Majesty for the last half a year or so, is to find out His Majesty''s Shifu."


    Hai Laogong sighed, "I don''t have any choice," he said, "Xiao Guizi is a sinister and ruthless little scoundrel. It was he who used poison and blinded your servant''s eyes. If I was not considering that I have to investigate this important matter to find the absolute truth, I would have not let this scoundrel to live until today."


    The Empress Dowager laughed aloud and said, "What a clever child that Xiao Guizi; he poisoned your eyes blind. Very good, just wonderful. Tomorrow I am going to reward him well."


    "Many thanks, Empress Dowager," Hai Laogong said, "If Empress Dowager would conduct an elaborate funeral for him, in the underworld Xiao Guizi will be very grateful for Empress Dowager''s great kindness."


    "You have already killed him?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Hai Laogong said, "Your servant has exercised patience toward him for a long, long time; after this, I won''t have any other use for him."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked and angered at the same time, he thought, "The old turtle has known all along that I am not Xiao Guizi, he also knew early on that I poisoned his eyes blind. Turns out he is only exploiting laozi; this is called striking vicious blow slowly. He taught me martial art was only so that he could see His Majesty''s martial art. His granny, if I had known it, I should have not tell him His Majesty''s martial art in detail. Your granny, the old turtle thinks I am dead, but laozi is clearly still alive. Later I am going to play ghost and scare you until you piss in your pants."


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "My master has always been short-tempered, whatever he wants must be done. It''s a pity that although he was the Son of Heaven, his beloved was murdered by others, and he was helpless to save her life. Even after becoming a monk, my master can never forget Consort Donggo. When your servant left the Qing Liang Temple to return to the Palace, my master has written with his own hand an imperial edict and handed it over to your servant. He wanted your servant to investigate and find out who murdered Consort Donggo, no, Empress Duan Jing. He ordered your servant to execute the assailant on the spot."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager said, "He has become a monk, can he write any imperial edict? Those who have left home must not think about killing and harming people, don''t you think it''s not fit of his calling?"


    Hai Laogong said, "Buddhists also pay particular attention to karma and retribution. Those who harm others will not have a good end. However, your servant has damaged the passage through which my vital energy circulates when training martial art, resulting in incessant coughing and shortage of breath; my entire body is ill, and now I am blind, it''s even more hopeless for me."


    "That''s right," the Empress Dowager said, "You are sick and blind; even if you have this secret imperial edict, how are you going to execute it?"


    Hai Laogong sighed and said, "I can''t, I can''t! Your servant ask to be excused, I am leaving now." Finished speaking, he turned around and slowly walked toward the exit.


    Wei Xiaobao felt as if a large stone was being lifted up of his heart; he mused, "When the old turtle has left, I will be alright. He only knows that I have died, he won''t come looking for me anymore. Laozi will slip out the Palace gate early tomorrow morning; in case the old turtle is looking for me, laozi will assume your identity, will take your surname, from now on I am Hai Xiaobao."


    "Wait a moment!" the Empress Dowager said, "Hai Tianfu, where are you going?"


    "Your servant has reported everything clearly to the Empress Dowager," Hai Laogong said, "I am going back to wait for death."


    "The matter he entrusted to you," the Empress Dowager said, "Aren''t you going to do it?"


    "Your servant has the desire yet lacking the strength to do so," Hai Laogong said, "Moreover, I do not have the guts to start a rebellion today."


    "Hey, hey," the Empress Dowager laughed, "You are very understanding, your waiting upon us these many years is not in vain."


    "Yes, yes!" Hai Laogong said, "Many thanks for Empress Dowager''s grace. This grievance is as deep as the ocean floor; it has to wait until His Majesty is older before it can be vindicated." He coughed twice, and then said, "The way he dealt with the arrest of Oboi is very brilliant. His Majesty''s own mother was murdered, before too long, His Majesty will definitely deal with this matter. It''s a pity �� it''s a pity your servant will not live until that time, I cannot wait that long."


    The Empress Dowager took several steps forward and harsly said, "Hai Tianfu, come back here."


    "Yes," Hai Laogong said, "What instruction does the Empress Dowager have for me?"


    The Empress Dowager sternly said, "Just now you speak nonsense to me, this �� this utterly absurd talk, have you �� have you told His Majesty?" Her voice trembled, she seemed to be extremely agitated.


    Hai Laogong said, "Tomorrow early in the morning I am going to report to His Majesty; it''s just that �� that I was itching to get on with it tonight that I came to report to the Empress Dowager first."


    "Very good, very good," the Empress Dowager said.


    Suddenly the sound of a strong gust of wind arose, followed by loud ''Bang! Bang!'' noise. Wei Xiaobao was startled; he could not restrain himself from craning his neck to look. He saw the Empress Dowager was circling around Hai Laogong with amazingly swift footwork, palm strike by palm strike she attacked Hai Laogong. Surprisingly, Hai Laogong held his ground and counterattacked with his palms. Wei Xiaobao''s shock was not mild; "How can the Empress Dowager fight the old turtle? Turns out the Empress Dowager also know martial art."


    Each one of the Empress Dowager''s palm strike generated a strong gust of wind, a sign that her palm carried an extremely violent power. Hai Laogong''s two feet were nailed on the ground, he met each palm strike with his own palm, but his palm did not generate any noise. Yet after fighting for a long time, Empress Dowager did not seem to gain any advantage over him. Suddenly she leaped up and delivered a downward strike with both palms from the air. Hai Laogong flipped his left palm over to meet the incoming attack, while delivering a blow with his right palm toward the Empress Dowager''s abdomen. ''Clap!'' the palms collided with each other. The Empress Dowager flew backward. Hai Laogong staggered, his body swayed and he had to get hold of a stump to steady himself.


    In a stern voice the Empress Dowager shouted, "Good servant, you �� you �� deceived me; it was Shaolin �� Shaolin martial art you taught Xiao Guizi, but you are from Kongtong Pai."


    Gasping for breath, Hai Laogong replied, "I don''t dare, we are even! The Empress Dowager taught Wudang Pai''s martial art to His Majesty, with the purpose of fooling your servant. But �� but that ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' is Snake Island''s martial art; your servant has known about it for several years."


    Wei Xiaobao had to think hard before he could understand. "His granny," he mused, "The old turtle is very crafty, he taught me some ''Big Grappling Technique'' and some ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'', which are Shaolin Pai''s martial art, so that the Empress Dowager would think that he is from Shaolin, but actually he is from that hot piece mama Kongtong Pai. Too bad Empress Dowager''s fake Wudang Pai''s ''Ba Gua Roaming Dragon Palm'' could not deceive the old turtle." He also thought, "Turns out His Majesty''s martial art was taught by the Empress Dowager."


    Suddenly cold sweat appeared on his back, "Aiyo, not good!" he mused, "The Empress Dowager knows the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'', could it be �� could it be that those four people were killed by the Empress Dowager? Aiyo! It''s alright if it were someone else, but the Emperor''s own mother was killed by her. If Hai Laogong told the Emperor, won''t it be a terrible disaster? If His Majesty did not kill the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager will definitely kill His Majesty. What �� what should I do?" His only thought was to break into a run immediately, to escape this battleground as soon as he can, and then notify the Emperor, telling him to be extremely careful. But he was so scared that his body felt limp and painful; he desperately wanted to run away, but his feet seemed to be nailed fast to the ground that he was unable to move even for half a fen.


    He heard the Empress Dowager said, "Since it has come to this, do you still think you can escape with your life tonight?"


    Hai Laogong replied, "Empress Dowager is free to summon the imperial bodyguards. The more people come the better, then your servant can speak all kinds of things in their ears; at least one of them can convey the truth to His Majesty''s ears."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager coldly laughed, "You have calculated everything." She spoke very slowly, while constantly regulating her breathing.


    "Empress Dowager must take care of your sacred body," Hai Laogong said, "Do not damage your vital passages."


    "You must take care yourself!" the Empress Dowager said.


    Originally, Hai Laogong''s martial art skill was higher than the Empress Dowager''s, but since he was blind, he was not her match. However, a few years previously he had ascertained from the undertaker that the killer of Consort Donggo and Consort Zhen had used the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'', a sinister and ruthless technique, which was secretly taught only by the master of the Snake Island off the coast of Liaodong peninsula. It''s just that at that time he did not know who the killer was. Thereupon he took the dangerous risk of secretly learned a special technique to counter the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''. Although his body suffered major injury, he had actually mastered the technique.


    Afterwards, Wei Xiaobao and Emperor Kangxi practiced martial art together. Hai Laogong speculated that the person teaching the Emperor martial art was the assailant who murdered Consort Donggo, Empress Xiao Kang, and the others; therefore, sooner or later he would have to face the great battle. He was fully aware that Wei Xiaobao killed Xiao Guizi and poisoned his eyes blind. Yet he let Wei Xiaobao to accompany him as Xiao Guizi, thinking that this child was very young, plus they were total strangers to each other, so there must be someone else behind him. He tried to lure Wei Xiaobao in every way to reveal who had sent him here, since he believed that that person most likely was the murderer. However, Wei Xiaobao was not sent by anybody to begin with, so he really did not have anything to reveal; otherwise, even if he was ten times smarter, he was indeed very young and his experience very shallow, how could he able to evade Hai Laogong''s tactful inquiries?


    Although Hai Laogong''s inquiry did not bear any fruit, he figured the two of them could play the game, thereupon he taught Wei Xiaobao martial art. But his teachings were ridden with errors and omissions, he deliberately let the opponent to think that he was from Shaolin Pai, and that his martial art skill was average. As he made his move this time, the Empress Dowager indeed had fallen into his scheme.


    About six months ago, the Empress Dowager had guessed that Hai Laogong was from Shaolin Pai, yet Hai Laogong already knew that her Wudang Pai martial art was fake. Two people, one had seeing eyes, the other blind, they came from opposite school of thought in term of martial art study. Hai Laogong knew his opponent''s situation very well, yet the Empress Dowager had an incorrect assessment of her opponent. It was not because the Empress Dowager had a poor knowledge and experience, it was simply because Hai Laogong had found the facts from the undertaker''s mouth, while all along the Empress Dowager was in the dark. Furthermore, in Hai Tianfu''s heart, he had already considered the person who taught the Emperor martial art as his mortal enemy, while it was only now that the Empress Dowager realized Hai Tianfu intended to bring her to her doom. Otherwise, she could have issued an imperial edict to the imperial bodyguards to put Hai Tianfu to death; she did not need to personally deal with him.


    Hai Laogong thought that since his eyes were blind, he must provoke the opponent to strike first and only then would he be able to wait leisurely for the enemy to exhaust herself, and thus with several moves he could seize the victory. It so happened that after talking for half a day, the Empress Dowager did not reveal anything; in the end, he was unable to ascertain who had killed Consort Donggo, Empress Xiao Kang and the others.


    The ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' was a ruthless, heretical and vicious technique from an unorthodox martial art school; by conventional reasoning, it may be assumed that unless it is trained for approximately twenty years, the practitioner won''t reach the proficiency level. Empress Dowager was the daughter of Chief Horqin of Borjigit Clan, her parents were of a royal background, for several generations her family had held high-ranking office in royal court. When she was still a maiden, it was extremely difficult for her to step out of her mansion even for a single step. From her childhood, she was waited upon by countless wet nurses and maidservants; how could she ventured far away to the dangerous Snake Island and learn this kind of heretical martial art? Even if she wanted to learn martial art, she would have learned some ''eight-section brocade'', or ''five-animal exercise'' and the like, some superficial techniques to strengthen her body; it was inconceivable that she would learn the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''. It was more likely that among her trusted aides, the court eunuchs and palace maids, there was a martial art master who received the Empress Dowager''s order to make the move on her behalf. Who would have thought that as soon as Hai Laogong mentioned that he was going to report to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager became anxious and without careful consideration she went into action by personally confronting the enemy? This way, not only the Empress Dowager admitted that she was the murderer of those four people, but as the three palms collided, she had received serious internal injury. Hai Laogong painstakingly planned and prepared this mission for several years, once he saw the mission accomplished, he could not help but feeling greatly relieved.


    The Empress Dowager''s injury was indeed not light; several times she tried to regulate her breathing, but always failed. She slowly said, "Hai Tianfu, you love to groundlessly fabricate rumors and talk nonsense. Although His Majesty is young, he is very clear-headed. Let''s see if he would believe you, or he would believe me."


    "Naturally at first His Majesty will not believe your servant," Hai Laogong replied, "Most likely he will issue an imperial edict to have your servant killed immediately. However, after a few years, he may think carefully, the more he thinks, the more likely that he gain a clearer understanding. Empress Dowager, your clan has always enjoy honor and glory for generations, the empresses of the Founding Emperor, as well as my master''s, all came from your mansion. It''s a pity that this glory, splendor, wealth and rank will be finished under Kangxi''s imperial court."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted; she coldly said, "Very good, very good!"


    Hai Laogong continued, "My master ordered your servant, as soon as the murderer is found, no matter who it was, I am to immediately execute him. It''s a pity your servant''s is lacking, I am not the Empress Dowager''s match, without any better option, I must leave this place and submit a report to His Majesty." Finished speaking, he slowly walked toward the exit.


    The Empress Dowager secretly cursed her luck; just when she was about leap and attack, suddenly a gust of wind came by; Hai Laogong abruptly turned around and charged toward her with a fierce palm strike. Hai Laogong had received Emperor Shunzhi''s order to execute Consort Donggo''s murderer, and he was determined to accomplish this task. He was talking about submitting a report to the Emperor and other things, his main objective was to harass the Empress Dowager''s mind, to incite her anxiety and anger, so that she could not regulate her breathing, and thus he could launch the ''ten thousand catties thunderbolt'' strike.


    Although this strike was noiseless, it carried the entire power he cultivated all his life. Just now, by listening attentively to the Empress Dowager''s voice, he was able to locate her position with accuracy within a few cun; once he launched a palm strike, it went straight toward the acupoint on the pit of her stomach. The Empress Dowager did not anticipate he was able to move this swiftly; she moved sideways wanting to evade, as long as she was able to move quickly several times, this wicked traitor was a blind man, he would not be able to pinpoint her exact location, and then the battle would be under her control, for other than parrying the attack with his palm, he would not have the capability to counterattack. Who would have thought that as soon as she moved, Hai Laogong''s palm had already arrived? The pressure was so strong that she could not even breathe, and had no choice but sending her strength to her right palm to meet the attack. She had planned to step back immediately after delivering the strike, but Hai Laogong''s palm carried an enormous sucking force, which rendered her helpless to pull back. She had no choice but transmitting all her strength to her right palm and thus engaging him in an internal energy battle.


    Feeling the opponent''s internal strength surging in a steady stream, Hai Laogong was rejoicing secretly; his eyes were blind, if he had to fight a moving battle, he would be in a very disadvantageous situation, however, in internal energy battle, it did not matter whether he could see or was blind. Since the Empress Dowager had been injured, her chi circulation was obstructed, she could not recover even in three quarters of an hour. In this kind of internal energy battle, he must try to drain her strength, so that she would be paralyzed and die. Therefore, he sent out Yin force with left palm and Yang force with his right. After battling for a while, Yin and Yang were gradually reversed; now the left palm was sending Yang force, while the right sending Yin.


    To Wei Xiaobao who was watching, it only looked like Empress Dowager ''s one palm was balancing Hai Laogong''s two palms, there was not the slightest bit of danger. He did not know that Hai Laogong''s palm strength was like a stone mill; it slowly turned just like stone mill grinding grain into powder, grinding the Empress Dowager''s internal energy bit by bit. Wei Xiaobao was hiding behind the fake rocks, he was afraid Empress Dowager might detect his presence. Occasionally he would stick out his head to see, and would immediately hide again, suddenly he saw a flashing white light, hastily he looked out and saw the three palms of the two people were still locked to each other, however, a short blade had appeared in the Empress Dowager''s left hand, the dagger was moving slowly toward Hai Laogong''s abdomen. He was ecstatic; "Wonderful, wonderful!" he cheered in his heart, "Very soon the old turtle will return to the damn heaven."


    What happened was: realizing the strangeness of the opponent''s palm strength, the Empress Dowager''s left hand quietly fished a white moth-antennae steel spike and slowly pulled it out, the spike''s point gradually moved toward Hai Laogong''s lower abdomen. However, when the spike was about a chi away from the opponent''s lower abdomen, she was unable to push it farther. In the meantime, the ''Yin Yang Grindstone'' force from Hai Laogong''s palms was getting stronger and faster, the Empress Dowager''s single palm had already unable to resist the enemy, she felt her right palm was gradually losing its strength and became limp and painful, so very soon she would have to use her left palm to help her right.


    Originally she wanted to thrust the moth-antennae spike slowly so that it would not generate any wind and thus the enemy would not be able to detect it; however, this moment her right palm was almost devoid of any strength. No longer caring whether Hai Laogong would hear it or not, she sent all her strength to her left hand and thrust hard, with the hope that the moth-antennae spike would pierce its target. Who would have thought that she was unable to move her left hand even for half a cun. In the quiet night, there was a soft ''drip, drip'' noise; it was the blood from the severed four fingers on Hai Laogong''s left hand, which flowed out continuously and dripped down to the ground. The more Hai Laogong sent the internal energy to his hand, the faster the blood gushed out from his wound.


    Under the moonlight, Wei Xiaobao saw the moth-antennae spike was flickering continually, sometimes it flashed on his face, an indication that the Empress Dowager''s left hand was trembling incessantly. The white light flickered faster and faster, yet all along the moth-antennae spike was unable to reach Hai Laogong''s lower abdomen.


    A moment later, Wei Xiaobao noticed that the moth-antennae spike was being slowly pulled back. Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Aiyo, not good!" he mused, "The Empress Dowager is going to lose to the old turtle. If I don''t leave now, what am I waiting for?" He slowly turned around and step by step walked toward the exit. With each step he took, he knew that he was one step farther from the danger, so he felt relieved, and thus his steps was getting faster. Finally he reached the gate and was about to reach out the door knocker when suddenly he heard ''Aah!'' from behind him, the Empress Dowager let out a long scream. "It''s bad!" Wei Xiaobao mused, "The Empress Dowager has been killed by the old turtle."


    "Empress Dowager," he heard Hai Laogong coldly say, "The oil of your lamp is about to dry out. In the time needed to burn an incense stick, your strength will be depleted and you are going to die. Unless right now someone suddenly appear and attack my back so that I cannot resist, only then would he be able to kill me."


    Wei Xiaobao was about to open the door and dash out, suddenly hearing Hai Laogong''s voice, he thought, "Turns out the Empress Dowager is not dead yet! The old turtle is right, both of his hands are locked with the Empress Dowager''s hand, if I stab his back, how can the old turtle take his hand and block? He was the one who said it, don''t blame other people."


    Before his eyes was precisely a golden opportunity like beating a dog drowning in the water; if he did not seize this readily available convenience, he would become a human being in vain. Wei Xiaobao was very fond of gambling; even if the chance was fifty-fifty, he would still gamble. If a gambling opportunity arose, where he could cheat by playing tricks so that his chance of winning was 90% or a 100%, even if his life was at stake, definitely he would not let this opportunity pass. If someone wanted him to take chances to save the Empress Dowager, he would not dare to do that no matter what. But as he heard Hai Laogong announcing his own weak point, which was the same as holding out his own hands to be tied, or stretching his own neck to be chopped, it was as if a fat meat was placed in front of his mouth; how could he not swallow?


    He reached down and pulled the dagger from his boot; with quick steps he rushed toward Hai Laogong''s back, while shouting, "Old Turtle, stop harming the Empress Dowager!" Raising his dagger, he fiercely stabbed it down on his back.


    Hai Laogong let out a long laugh and called out, "Little demon, you have fallen into my trick!" His left foot kicked backward, ''Bang!'' The pit of Wei Xiaobao''s stomach was hit and he was sent flying several zhang back.


    Turned out when he was having an internal energy battle with the Empress Dowager, Hai Laogong was confident that victory was at hand. Suddenly he heard someone was walking away from behind the rockery, the footsteps sounded very familiar; immediately he recognized it to be Wei Xiaobao. Unexpectedly this little demon did not die after being hit by his palm. Hai Laogong was rather astonished; he was afraid that if Wei Xiaobao summoned the imperial bodyguards to help the Empress Dowager, it would really ''spoil the ship for half a penny worth of tar''. Hit upon an inspiration, he cried out, luring Wei Xiaobao to come and attack his back.


    Wei Xiaobao''s experience in facing the enemy and adapt himself to changes was really too little, as expected, he fell into his trick. Hai Laogong''s kick had hit the pit of Wei Xiaobao''s stomach. He flew through the air as if soaring through the clouds or mounting the fog, vomited a mouthful of blood.


    When Hai Laogong kicked with his left foot, he had already anticipated that as his strength was reduced, the Empress Dowager would exploit the instant the pressing force went void by sending her left palm to strike his lower abdomen. Therefore, after kicking Wei Xiaobao, without thinking he sent out his right palm forward to protect his lower abdomen. Suddenly there was a cold sensation on the center of his palm, followed by a burst of severe pain on his lower abdomen. The Empress Dowager''s platinum-plated moth-antennae steel spike pierced through his palm and entered his lower abdomen. After all, he was greatly disadvantaged by not able to see anything; although he had foreseen that the Empress Dowager would exploit the loophole by launching a counterattack, he could not see that the attack came not in the form of palm strike, but an extremely sharp weapon instead. As his lower abdomen was punctured by the moth-antennae spike, he gathered his strength on his left palm and shook the Empress Dowager several steps back.


    The Empress Dowager landed on her left foot, but immediately leaped several more zhang backward. She felt her chi and blood were bubbling up inside her chest that she almost fainted. Afraid that Hai Laogong would seize this chance to attack, she slowly withdrew several more steps and stood against the wall.


    Hai Laogong roared in laughter and called out, "Your luck is good! Your luck is good!" ''Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'' he sent three palm strikes while throwing himself forward at the same time. The Empress Dowager wanted to leap to the right to evade, but her legs were limp and painful, she tumbled down to the ground. She heard a ''splotch!'', half of the row of flower rack were pushed down by Hai Laogong''s palm strength. The Empress Dowager''s muscles were weary and her strength depleted, she was unable to move a single step. In her fright, she saw Hai Laogong''s body was sprawled face down on the flower rack, unmoving.


    Propping herself up, the Empress Dowager wanted to stand up, but her limbs felt like cotton, her entire body was weak. While she was thinking of calling one of the palace maids, she heard faint noise of people coming near. She thought, "My dialogue and fight with this wicked thief were not loud, but before his death he was shouting and yelling, and overthrowing the flower rack; it must have alerted the imperial bodyguards on duty. Those guards will be here in no time, seeing me lying in here with two dead eunuchs, one old and one young, what a scandal will it be?" Mustering all her strength, she wanted to circulate her chi thru her body, but all along she failed to do so.


    She heard the noise of the guards was getting near; while feeling very anxious, suddenly someone came over and said, "Empress Dowager, are you, Senior, well? Let me help you up." It was precisely that little eunuch Xiao Guizi.


    The Empress Dowager was pleasantly surprised, she said, "You ... you ... are not killed ... by that evil man''s kick?"


    "His kick did not kill me," Wei Xiaobao replied. When he was kicked by Hai Laogong just now, he landed on a flowering shrub and spurted quite a bit of blood. After calming himself, he made an effort to stand up. Seeing Hai Laogong was lying face down motionless on the flower rack, he hastily hid himself behind a tree. He picked up a rock and threw it toward Hai Laogong, ''smack!'' it hit the back of Hai Laogong''s head, but Hai Laogong did not stir at all. Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, "The old turtle is dead!" he thought. But he was still scared, and thus did not dare to come near. For a moment he was unsure of what to do: shall he run away and escape, or come back and help the Empress Dowager? Suddenly he heard the hubbub as a lot of people rushing near. If he ran out, he would definitely bump into them, therefore, he went toward the Empress Dowager and stretched out his hand to help her up.


    "Good child," the Empress Dowager happily said, "Quickly help me in to rest."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. Half dragging and half carrying, he stumbled to help her enter her room and helped her laying on the bed. His own legs felt limp and painful, so he dropped himself on the thick carpet, while gasping for breath.


    "You may lie down here," the Empress Dowager said, "When someone is coming, you must not make any sound."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    A moment later, he heard clatters of footsteps, a lot of people were rushing in from the outside. The flame from lanterns and torches illuminated the room from the window lattice. Someone said, "Aiyo, there is a dead eunuch in here!" Another man said, "It''s Hai Laogong from the Catering Department." One of them raised his voice and said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager: other than the situation in the garden, wishing the Empress Dowager ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold." By saying that, he was actually inquiring the safety of the Empress Dowager."


    "Other than what situation?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    As soon as she said that, the imperial bodyguards and court eunuchs outside let out a deep breath. As long as the Empress Dowager was safe, although the Palace of Compassion and Peace was in a mess, it would not be too great of an offense for them. The leader of the imperial bodyguards said, "It seems like there was a fight between the court eunuchs, not a big deal. Empress Dowager please retire for the night, tomorrow your servants will investigate and submit a detailed report."


    "Very well," the Empress Dowager replied.


    They heard the imperial bodyguard chief lowered his voice and quietly ordered his men to take Hai Laogong''s body out. Another man also said in a low voice, "There is a little palace maid''s body in here. Ah! This little palace maid is not dead, she is only fainted."


    The imperial bodyguard chief said, "Take both of them away, we will question her when she regains her consciousness."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Is there any little palace maid? Take her into my room." She was afraid when she regained her consciousness, Rui Chu would reveal what had happened that night.


    Someone outside complied, a court eunuch carried the little palace maid Rui Chu into the room and gently lay her down on the floor. He kowtowed to the Empress Dowager and then withdrew.


    By this time, all palace maids serving the Empress Dowager were already awakened, they all stood waiting outside the room, without the Empress Dowager''s summon, nobody dared to enter on their own initiative. The Empress Dowager heard the imperial bodyguards and the court eunuchs gradually left; she said, "You all may go back to sleep, I don''t need your service tonight." The palace maids complied and immediately left.


    The fact that the Empress Dowager knew martial art was a secret, even the palace maid attending her personally did not know. When she trained every morning and evening, without her orders, no court eunuch or palace maid was allowed to enter her room even for one step. Even touching the door curtain was strictly prohibited.


    The Empress Dowager regulated her chi for a while. In the meantime, Wei Xiaobao''s strength had gradually returned that he was able to sit up. A moment later, he was able to stand up. The Empress Dowager knew that Hai Laogong''s kick on the pit of his stomach was very heavy, but this little eunuch unexpectedly was able to move freely, he was even able to help her back to her room. She wondered what kind of martial art he practiced? Thereupon she asked, "Other than with Hai Tianfu, who else did you learn martial art from?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant only learned martial art from that evil old man for several months. Most of the martial art he taught was probably bogus. This man was very wicked, he often bragged of killing me."


    "Hmm," the Empress Dowager said, "His eyes, did you poison him blind?"


    "That old fellow day in and day out always cursed the Empress Dowager behind your back," Wei Xiaobao said, "He also cursed His Majesty. Your servant was unbearably angry, but has no ability to kill him, so I had to ... I had to ..."


    "How did he curse me and His Majesty?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "His words were very undisciplined and out of control," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant did not dare to remember it in my heart, as soon as I hear it, I forget. I have already forgotten everything early on, and did not think about it anymore."


    The Empress Dowager nodded, "You are a very smart child," she said, "Tonight, what brought you here?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant was sleeping on my bed, I heard the evil old fellow opened the door and went out. I was afraid he was going to do something to harm me, so I quietly followed behind him, all the way to this place."


    The Empress Dowager slowly said, "All the nonsense he told me, you have heard everything."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Everything that the evil old fellow said, your servant always regard as a fart. Em �� Empress Dowager, please don''t blame me, your servant was using a bad language, I hate him very much. Every day he cursed me ''little turtle'', he cursed my ancestors; I know he had never said anything true."


    The Empress Dowager coldly said, "I asked you: the things that Hai Tianfu said to me, did you hear it? Don''t babble, give me a straight answer."


    "Your servant was hiding far away outside the gate," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I did not dare to come near. That evil old fellow''s ears were often very acute, if I came too near, he would hear me. I only saw he talked to the Empress Dowager; I wanted to eavesdrop, but the distance was too far, I couldn''t hear anything. Later, I saw he dared to offend Empress Dowager, he dared to commit treason and heresy, so by risking my life your servant came to help. In the end, whatever he said to Empress Dowager, your servant did not know. He �� he must be complaining about your servant, telling the Empress Dowager that I poisoned his eyes blind; although it was the truth, whatever else he said, the Empress Dowager must never believe. I suppose it was because the Empress Dowager did not believe him that that servant dared to offend the Empress Dowager."


    "Humph!" the Empress Dowager said, "You are very smart, very perceptive. It''s good if you really did not hear whatever Hai Tianfu was saying. It''s also good if you pretend you did not hear it. If in the future even half a word of baseless rumor ever reaches my ear, you know what will happen to you."


    "Empress Dowager''s kindness to your servant is as heavy as the mountain," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If any brazen scoundrel ever dares to say any unpleasant talk behind the Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s back, your servant will stake my life to fight him."


    "I like it if you can be like this," the Empress Dowager said, "Previously I haven''t treated you that good."


    "Previously His Majesty and your servant wrestled and practiced martial art together," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant did not know it was the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, my talk and actions were random and wild, but Empress Dowager and His Majesty did not hold it against me the least bit, it was truly a kindness as heavy as the mountain. Otherwise, even if your servant had a hundred heads, all of them deserved to be chopped. Every day that evil old fellow wanted to kill your servant, fortunately Empress Dowager has saved my life. Your servant is truly extremely grateful."


    The Empress Dowager slowly said, "You know gratitude, that''s very good. Light that candle on the table."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He struck the flint and lighted the candle. The candle in the Empress Dowager''s room was very thick and unusually bright.


    "Come here," the Empress Dowager said, "Let me look at you."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. Slowly he walked toward the Empress Dowager''s bed. He saw her countenance was snowy white, without the least bit trace of blood. Her eyebrows slightly slanted upward, her eyes were gleaming, Wei Xiaobao''s heartbeat quickened; he thought, "She �� is she going to kill me to close my mouth? If I move my legs and dash out, I am sure she won''t be able to catch up, but if she managed to catch me, that would be the end of me!"


    His heart was telling him to immediately rush outside, but his mind was momentarily undecided. In this slight hesitation, the Empress Dowager had already stretched out her left had to grab Wei Xiaobao''s right hand. Wei Xiaobao was shocked, his body shook. "Ah!" he gasped.


    "What are you afraid of?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "I �� I am not afraid, it''s just that �� it''s just that ��" Wei Xiaobao stammered.


    "It''s just that what?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager''s kindness to your servant is as heavy as the mountain, your servant have received something and afraid of something?" He had heard people mentioned the expression ''overwhelmed by favor (usually from superior)'', but somehow he could only remember two out of four characters[75].


    The Empress Dowager did not understand what he was saying, she asked, "Why are you trembling all over?"


    "I ... I am not ... am not ..." Wei Xiaobao replied.


    If the Empress Dowager strike him dead with her palm right now, she would not have to worry he would reveal her secret in the future, but however hard she tried, her chi simply refused to rise; in reality, her muscles were weary and her strength depleted, although she succeeded in grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s hand, she did not have the least bit of strength in her fingers. If Wei Xiaobao were to struggle a little bit, he would have been able to free himself. Thereupon she smiled and said, "You have rendered a great service tonight, I will reward you handsomely."


    "It was that evil old fellow who wanted to kill your servant," Wei Xiaobao said, "Luckily Empress Dowager came to rescue me, your servant did not have the least bit of merit."


    "You know good from bad," the Empress Dowager said, "In the future I won''t treat you unfairly. You may go!" She gently let his hand go.


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic; immediately he dropped on his knees and kowtowed several times before retreating. The Empress Dowager saw the front piece of his jacket was drenched with blood, obviously he had vomited a lot of blood, but when he kowtowed, his movement was still quite agile; she could not help but feeling bewildered.


    When he was leaving the room, Wei Xiaobao took a glance toward Rui Chu who was lying on the floor. He noticed that her chest was fluctuating slowly, her breathing was even, as if she was in a very deep sleep. Her countenance was rosy, it did not show anything unusual. He said in his heart, "In a few days I will bring some cake, pastry and fruit for you to eat."


    In quick steps he returned to his own room, bolted the door, and let out a long breath, as if a heavy load had just been released. Recently, staying with Hai Laogong in the same room, he had been very scared and was on the edge all the time. "Now the old turtle is dead," he thought, "I don''t have to worry somebody would come to harm me." Suddenly he recalled the Empress Dowager''s countenance under the candle light; his body shivered violently. "Living in this Imperial Palace, there is no peace and security, but laozi still ... still .. ha ha, still have to get that four hundred fifty thousand taels of silver and then return to Yangzhou to see Mama. It will be wonderful." Thinking that he was still alive and had four hundred fifty thousand taels of silver lost and won back, he could not help but dancing and gesticulating for joy.


    He was having a cheerful mood for a while, gradually he felt weary; he lay down on the bed and fell into a very deep slumber.

 Chapter - 7 (7)

    After taking the medicine, Oboi''s sanity failed, he did not know someone was attacking him from behind. As the dagger went deep into his back, Oboi howled wildly, while randomly waving the iron chain on his hands. Outside the window, the men in black were startled and staring blankly for a moment, as if they were witnessing the most bizarre thing on earth.


    When Wei Xiaobao awoke the next day, he felt a dull ache on the pit of his stomach, he also felt his entire body was devoid of any strength. He knew it was because of Hai Laogong''s palm strike and kick the previous night. He struggled hard to stand up, and saw the widespread bloodstain on his chest. Thereupon he took off his long gown and soaked it in the water tub. When he rubbed the gown, suddenly he realized that the fabric of the gown was falling apart. Wei Xiaobao was startled. He lifted up the gown from the tub and saw two large holes on the chest of the gown, one was in the shape of a palm, the other was shaped like the sole of a foot. He was greatly amazed, "This �� what ghost made these holes?"


    Thinking about ''ghost'', instantly all the hair on his body stood up. His first thought was, "The old turtle''s ghost came back and made these two holes on my gown." And then he thought, "I wonder if the old turtle''s ghost is blind, or he can see clearly?" When a blind person dies, will he turn into a blind ghost? This thought flashed through his mind several times, then he decided he did not want to think about it. Raising the gown in front of his face, he was staring blankly for a while before suddenly a realization hit: "It''s not a ghost! Last night the old turtle struck me with his palm and kick me with his foot. These two holes are from those strikes. Ha ha �� laozi''s martial art ability is not bad, I only spit out a couple mouthfuls of blood, it''s nothing. Ay, I wonder if I suffer an internal injury? Perhaps there is an internal injury medicine in the old turtle''s medicine box, I''d better take some."


    Since Hai Laogong had died, naturally Wei Xiaobao did not need to be polite to take over his possessions. Haughtily he imitated Hai Laogong''s coughing before opening the medicine chest. The medicine chest was full of bottles and pouches of all shapes and sizes. The bottles and pouches were labeled with many characters, but he did not recognize a single one; how could he tell which bottle contain poison and which bottle contain medicine? He found a bottle with yellow medicinal powder inside, and got quite a shock, recognizing it as the powder he used to dissolve Xiao Guizi''s body the other day, the ''Corpse Transforming Powder''. He only needed to flick a tiny amount of powder onto the wound, and soon afterwards, the body, as well as the clothes, shoes and socks, had turned into a puddle of yellow liquid. Naturally he did not dare to touch this bottle of medicinal powder.


    He also recalled how by adding a tiny bit of a medicinal powder he had blinded Hai Laogong''s eyes. So in any case he would not dare to take medicine casually. Luckily the pain on his chest was not too bad. He muttered to himself, "Damn it, laozi is proficient in martial art; won''t it be better if I don''t take any medicine?" Immediately he closed the medicine chest and went through the other objects inside the trunk. Most were old clothes, old-looking books and so on. He also found more than two hundred taels of silver, but he was not interested in that money at all, not only because Songgotu had already promised him four hundred fifty thousand taels, but also because by throwing the dice with Wen Youdao and the others, it would not be too difficult for him to win several hundred taels.


    He rummaged through Xiao Guizi''s trunk, took out a set of long gown and put it on. Seeing the light and soft black vest he was wearing, he was unconsciously startled. "The old turtle made two big holes on my gown, how come this piece of clothing did not show the least bit of damage? This is taken from Oboi''s treasure trove, if it were not a treasure, why did Oboi hide it inside the secret treasure trove?" And then he had a second thought, "The old turtle hit me and I am not dead, he kicked me and I did not turn mushy, perhaps it was not because of Wei Xiaobao''s proficiency in martial art, but because Oboi''s treasured clothes has saved my life. The other day Suo Dage urged me to wear it, he truly has a great foresight. But after putting it on, I never take it off again, my foresight is also not small."


    While he was feeling very proud of himself, suddenly from outside came the voice of someone calling out, "Gui Gong-gong, congratulations, congratulations! Open the door, quick!"


    Wei Xiaobao opened the door while still buttoning his gown. "What''s the happy occasion?" he asked.


    There were four eunuchs standing outside the door, they all bowed and paid their respects to Wei Xiaobao. "Congratulations Gui Gong-gong," they said together.


    Wei Xiaobao only said, "It''s too early in the morning, why are you so polite?"


    One of the eunuchs, around forty years old, laughed and said, "Just now the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree to the Minister of Internal Affair, because Hai Tianfu, Hai Gong-gong died of his illness, Gui Gong-gong is promoted to be the Vice Manager in charge of the Catering Department."


    Another eunuch laughed and said, "We did not wait for the Minister of Internal Affair to announce the gracious imperial decree; we rushed at once to come here and congratulate you. From now on Gui Gong-gong is in charge of the entire Catering Department. It''s indeed very good!"


    Being promoted to a eunuch position, Wei Xiaobao did not think it was anything terrific; he only thought, "The Empress Dowager promotes my rank so that I won''t reveal anything about last night''s matter. Actually, even though she did not promote me, laozi would not dare to speak too much. If my head is moving home, my mouth will follow, how can I talk too much then? But since the Empress Dowager is promoting me, it''s unlikely that she is going to kill me; that''s a great relief." Thinking about this, he was beaming with joy. He took out some banknotes and gave each man fifty taels for their trouble in bringing the good news.


    One of the eunuchs said, "In our Palace, there has never been a Vice Manager as young as Gui Gong-gong. We have fourteen eunuch managers in our Palace, and eight eunuch Vice Managers, top people, smart people, twenty two in total. Originally, not one of those people was under thirty. Gui Gong-gong is promoted today, tomorrow you will sit as equal with Zhang Zongguan [lit. Chief Manager], Wang Zongguan and the others; it''s really terrific!"


    Another eunuch said, "Everybody only knows that Gui Gong-gong has won His Majesty''s favor, who could have thought that the Empress Dowager also regards you highly. I am afraid in less than half a year you will be promoted as a manager. And then you may help the brothers to be promoted to a higher job!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "We all are family, good brothers, why say anything about being promoted or not being promoted? It''s because of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s grace, what merit do lao �� lao �� I, Gui Xiaobao, have?" He nearly blurted out the word laozi, but managed to swallow it back with difficulty. "Come, come, come," he said, "Let''s sit inside and have some tea!"


    The middle-aged eunuch said, "Perhaps it will be later this afternoon that the Minister of Internal Affair will announce the Empress Dowager''s gracious decree. Everybody wants to invite Gui Gong-gong for a drink to congratulate Gong-gong''s meteoric rise, being promoted two grades in succession. Gui Gong-gong, now you are a fifth-grade officer; that is really not a small matter." The other three eunuchs noisily cheering and applauding; they were adamant at pulling Wei Xiaobao along to drink wine. Although recently Wei Xiaobao had grown accustomed to people fawning on him, yet when the flattery came, he enjoyed listening to it after all. Immediately he locked the door and laughing happily he followed the four eunuchs to have a drink.


    Among the four eunuchs, two were the Empress Dowager''s personal attendants who had received the order from the Empress Dowager to convey the imperial decree to the Minister of Internal Affair, and thus they were the first to know. The other two were supervisors in the Catering Department; one was in charge of the purchasing of grains, the other was in charge of the purchasing vegetables and meat dishes, two most lucrative positions in the Palace. Very early that day both of them had heard about Hai Tianfu''s death; immediately they stood guard outside the Minister of Internal Affair''s gate, keeping their eyes and ears open, to find out who would fill Hai Tianfu''s vacant position, so that they could quickly make arrangement to preserve their own positions.


    The four eunuchs took Wei Xiaobao to a room in the imperial kitchen; they respectfully invited him to sit on the head of the table. The imperial kitchen knew that tomorrow this boy would be their immediate supervisor; therefore, with all their hearts and mind they prepared the best vegetable and meat dishes. Perhaps it was even better than the Empress Dowager and the Emperor''s daily meal.


    Wei Xiaobao was not used to drinking wine, and thus he talked rubbish freely with them. A court eunuch said with a sigh, "Hai Gong-gong was a good man, too bad his body was always not well, plus he was blind. Although he was in charge of the Catering Department for all these years, he was rarely in the imperial kitchen more than one or two days in a month."


    Another eunuch said, "Luckily everybody handles everything with devotion, so that there has never been any significant set-back."


    Yet another eunuch said, "Hai Laogong was an old minister favored by the late emperor. If it were not because of the old master''s grace, the Catering Department supervisor position would have been commissioned to someone else early on. Gui Gong-gong is a favorite of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, so it is entirely a different matter. We may take shelter under the big tree''s shade, from now on the way we handle matters will be a lot more convenient."


    The previous eunuch said, "I heard Hai Gong-gong died of his coughing yesterday."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao piped in, "When Hai Gong-gong was coughing, often times he could not breathe easily."


    The eunuch who waited on the Empress Dowager said, "At daybreak this morning, the imperial physician, Great Doctor Li, presented a report to the Empress Dowager, saying that the tuberculosis Hai Gong-gong suffered had entered his bones, that the rheumatism had entered his heart; the chronic illness for many years had finally break out, so that it was incurable. Afraid that his tuberculosis might spread out to other people, his body was cremated as soon as it was morning. The Empress Dowager sighed for quite some time; she said repeatedly, ''It''s a pity, it''s a pity, this man Hai Tianfu was extraordinarily honest!''"


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he knew that the imperial bodyguards, the imperial physician and the court eunuchs, were all afraid of taking responsibility, thereupon the fact that Hai Gong-gong being killed was concealed and was not reported publicly, which exactly suited the Empress Dowager''s wishes. Wei Xiaobao mused, "What tuberculosis entered his bones, rheumatism entered his heart? The old turtle had a dagger entered his belly and sharp sword entered his heart is more accurate."


    After drinking for a while, the two eunuch supervisors of the Catering Department started to mention that life as court eunuchs was hard, that all they could rely on was to dredge up some fat or occasional income, that they wished Wei Xiaobao would not be as strict as Hai Laogong, in all matters he should be a little bit more accommodating. Wei Xiaobao understood some, but missed most of what they were saying; he simply said yes and no. After the meal, the two eunuchs stuffed a little envelope inside Wei Xiaobao''s pocket, which, upon returning to his room, he opened and looked. Turned out it was two banknotes, each one worth one thousand taels. These three characters ''one thousand taels'' he was able to recognize. He thought, "I haven''t taken the office, and have received two thousand up front. The fat and additional income is really not bad!"


    By the ninth hour [3 �C 5 pm], Kangxi sent someone to summon him to the Upper Study Room. Beaming with smile, Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, the Empress Dowager said that last night you rendered another great service, so she wanted me to promote you."


    "I already know it!" Wei Xiaobao said in his heart. Immediately he feigned a surprised and delighted exclamation, before kneeling down and kowtowed, saying, "Your servant did not have any meritorious service, it''s all due to the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty''s graciousness."


    Kangxi said, "The Empress Dowager said that last night there were several court eunuchs fighting in the garden, the disturbance startled the Empress Dowager. You happened to pass by and have handled this matter very appropriately. You may be young, but have a mature understanding."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "Mature understanding is not necessarily true. I only know that some things should be remembered well, while other things should be entirely forgotten, and never to be mentioned forever. During the fight, the eunuchs uttered some really unpleasant words to hear, naturally anybody should not mention it too much."


    Kangxi nodded; with a faint smile on his face he said, "Xiao Guizi, although you and I are not too old, we can achieve several great accomplishments, don''t let the ministers belittle us by saying we don''t understand anything."


    "Absolutely," Wei Xiaobao replied, "As long as Your Majesty has a plan in mind, you can leave the execution of it to your servant."


    "Very good!" Kangxi said, "That servant Oboi has started a rebellion and defied his superior. Although I spare him from death, this man''s cronies are numerous; I am afraid that the ashes will burn once more, another rebellion will arise; that will be too far from good."


    "Absolutely!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "I knew it all along that Oboi is unyielding," Kangxi said, "That''s why I did not send him to Punishment Ministry''s Heavenly Prison to avoid him babbling nonsense, but I have him imprisoned in Prince Kang''s mansion. Just now Prince Kang came and reported that day in day out that servant raises a clamor, shouting impertinent talks." Speaking to this point, he lowered his voice and said, "That servant says that I used a small dagger and stabbed him on the back."


    "Where did such thing come from?" Wei Xiaobao said, "To deal with this servant, why should Your Majesty personally make his move? It was your servant who stabbed him with a dagger. Let your servant go to Prince Kang to explain."


    If the rumor that Kangxi personally plotting against Oboi had ever spread, Kangxi would lose his dignity as a ruler, which was the reason he was anxious. Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s recommendation, he was delighted. Nodding his head, he said, "You understand this matter very well." After a slight hesitation he said, "Go to Prince Kang''s residence, see when that servant will die."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi said, "I thought he would die as soon as the dagger stabbed him, that''s why I spared his life. I did not anticipate that this servant will be this robust, unexpectedly he is able to survive until now and make irresponsible remarks over there, misleading the minds of the people. If I have known it ��" There was a hint of remorse in his voice.


    Wei Xiaobao grabbed Kangxi''s intention, he wanted to send him to kill Oboi quietly, thereupon he said, "I think most likely he won''t live pass today."


    Kangxi summoned four imperial guards and ordered them to escort Wei Xiaobao to Prince Kang''s mansion on official business.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his residence first to fetch things that he would need, and then riding a tall and big horse, under the protection of the four imperial bodyguards surrounding him all around, he went to Prince Kang''s mansion. He glanced to the left and right along the way, feeling immensely proud of himself. Suddenly he heard a man on the street said, "I heard that the one who captured that big treacherous minister Oboi was a teenage little gong-gong?"


    "That''s right," another man replied, "His Majesty is a teenager, the gong-gong waiting on him whom he favors are all teenagers."


    The first man said, "Could it be this little gong-gong is the one?"


    "I don''t know about that," the other man replied.


    An imperial guard, wanted to curry Wei Xiaobao''s favor, loudly said, "Capturing that treacherous minister Oboi is this Gui Gong-gong''s great merit."


    Oboi loved to kill Han people, he was brutal and greedy for bribery; all common people hated him to the bone. When he was arrested and his house searched, his possession confiscated, there was thunderous rejoicing inside and outside Beijing city wall. The young emperor issued an imperial decree on the capture of Oboi, and that he boldly resisted arrest, until a bunch of little eunuchs knocked him down. This matter had also spread out that everybody within the city knew about it. The common people added fuel and spices, drawing mental pictures and sounds; in the teahouses around town, the guests talked about it with splattered saliva, how Oboi attacked the Emperor with a flying kick, how each one of the little eunuchs was proficient in martial art, how using the style ''Dry Vine Coiling the Root'' they threw down Oboi, how Oboi leaped back up using ''Flipping Carp'' style, how the little eunuch used ''Black Tiger Snatching the Heart''; each move and each style was described so vividly as if everybody had witnessed it with their own eyes.


    In the last few days, whenever a eunuch went to the market, instantly people would crowd around him, asking about the story of Oboi''s arrest. And now they heard the imperial guard announcing that this little eunuch was the minister who had given the outstanding service in Oboi''s capture, the market street was abuzz with sensation, countless common people applauded and cheered. In all his life Wei Xiaobao had never received such honor, he could not restrain his heart from blooming with pride, he really felt like a real hero. It was only the two imperial bodyguards wielding their sabers at the front to open the way, and thus creating fear to some extent, that stopped the crowd of curious onlookers from surrounding Wei Xiaobao to get a closer look and asked endless questions.


    The five of them arrived at Prince Kang''s mansion. Hearing the Emperor sending a personal envoy, Prince Kang busily opened the center gate and went out to welcome them. He arranged a table with burning incense in preparation to receive the imperial edict.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wangye, His Majesty sends Xiaoren to check on Oboi, there is no other important matter."


    "Yes, yes!" Prince Kang replied. He had seen Wei Xiaobao standing by Kangxi''s side in the Upper Study Room, he also knew that Wei Xiaobao had rendered a great service in the capture of Oboi. With a happy laugh he held Wei Xiaobao''s hand and said, "Gui Gong-gong, you seldom honor us with your presence, let us drink a couple up cups first before going to see that servant Oboi." Immediately he ordered a banquet to be prepared. The four imperial bodyguards were to have another banquet, accompanied by the military officers of the Prince''s mansion. Prince Kang took Wei Xiaobao to the flower garden where they sat face to face and drank wine. He asked Wei Xiaobao what his indulgence was.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I say I like gambling, the Prince might accompany me throwing the dice, and he would definitely lose to me on purpose. Winning his money is called victory without real skill." Thereupon he said, "I don''t like anything in particular."


    Prince Kang pondered, "Old people like money, middle-aged and young people like women, but it''s improbable that eunuchs will like women. I wonder what will this little eunuch like? It''s hard to guess. This child knows martial art, perhaps he would like a treasured saber or a treasured sword, but then he might stir up a disaster in the Palace, then I will have to take the responsibility. Ah, I know!" He laughed and said, "Gui Gong-gong, when I first met you, I feel like we are old friends. In my stable we raise several good horses. I am inviting you to select several horses. Just consider it as a little give from Xiao Wang


    [76], what do you think?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he said, "How can I dare to accept Wangye''s gift?"


    Prince Kang said, "We are brothers, what do you mean by ''gift''? Come, come, come, let us look at the horses first and then come back to drink wine." Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand, he led him to the stable.


    Prince Kang ordered the groom to lead out several of his best ponies. Wei Xiaobao was disappointed inwardly, "Why ask me to choose a pony?" he thought, "Do you think I am a little child who only rides on a pony?" Seeing the groom had led five, six different ponies, he laughed and said, "Wangye, my stature is not tall, I''d love to ride a big horse, so I won''t look too short and small."


    Prince Kang immediately understood; slapping his thigh he laughed and said, "I am muddle-headed, I am muddle-headed." He ordered the groom, "Take Jade Flower, my buckskin horse, out, let Gui Gong-gong take a look at it."


    The groom went into the stable, and returned with a tall and big horse, its entire body was white, dappled with red spots. It raised its head high and tossed its mane, it was truly an extraordinary divine steed. It has gold bridle and gold stirrup, the edge of the saddle was inlaid with silver and precious stones. Just the accessories on the horse alone worth nobody knows how much money; if not princes and dukes or royalty, or perhaps high-ranking official or rich merchant, nobody would dare to use this kind of luxurious saddle and accessories. Wei Xiaobao did not understand anything about quality of horses; seeing this horse''s handsome appearance, he could not help but cheering, "What a beautiful horse!"


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "This horse was delivered from the Western Region, a famous Ferghana horse. Don''t look at its big and tall body, this horse is still very young, only a few months over two years. A beautiful horse deserves to be ridden by beautiful rider. Gui Xiongdi, how about you pick this Jade Flower buckskin horse?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This ... this is the horse Wangye rides, how can Xiaoren dare to desire it? I will be happy to accept any other of Wangye''s horse."


    "Gui Xiongdi," Prince Kang said, "You consider me as an outsider like this, aren''t looking down too much on Xiongdi? Could it be that you are unwilling to have me as a friend?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Ay, in the Palace Xiaoren is only a ... a lowly person, how can I dare to make friends with Wangye?"


    Prince Kang said, "We, Manchu people, are frank and straightforward. If you consider me as your friend, then you''ll take this horse; afterwards, there won''t be any distinction between what''s mine and what''s yours. Otherwise, in my heart, Xiongdi will be greatly offended!" Saying that, his beard rose on its end, he put on an appearance as if he was panting with rage.


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic; he said, "Wangye, you ... you treat the lowly one so good, I really don''t know how to repay?"


    "What are you talking about? Repay or not repay," Prince Kang said, "You are willing to take this horse, it can be considered you are giving me a face." Walking toward the horse''s rear, he gently slapped the horse''s butt several times and said, "Jade Flower, Jade Flower, from now on you''ll follow this Gong-gong, be a good horse." Toward Wei Xiaobao he said, "Xiongdi, why don''t you try?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Yes!" he replied. Slapping his hand on the saddle, he leaped up and sat on the horseback. For the last several months he had been practicing martial art, in term of punching and kicking he might not learn too much, but jumping and leaping, his movement was vigorous and nimble.


    "Good skill!" Prince Kang cheered.


    The groom let the reins go, the Jade Flower buckskin horse trotted around the sandy ground outside the stable. Riding on the horseback, Wei Xiaobao felt the speed, as well as the steadiness of the horse. He did not have the slightest knowledge of any technique to control the horse, afraid that he might make a fool of himself, after trotting several rounds he leaped down from the horseback. The horse stopped and stood still on its own accord.


    "Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Thank you very much for your generous gift! Xiaoren is going to see Oboi now, I''ll come back later to accompany you."


    "Certainly," Prince Kang replied, "This is the important mission on which you are being sent. Xiao Xiongdi, please report to His Majesty that we guard him very strictly, even if this servant grew wings, he would not be able to escape."


    "That''s for sure," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Do you want me to come with you?" Prince Kang asked.


    "I do not dare to brother Wangye''s honorable self," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Every time Prince Kang see Oboi, he was always shouted at, cursed and berated by Oboi, so he did not really want to see him. Thereupon he sent eight guards to escort Wei Xiaobao to inspect the offender.


    The eight guards led Wei Xiaobao toward the rear garden, to the front of an isolated stone building. Outside the building there were sixteen guards with steel sabers in their hands; on top of that, there were two chief guards continuously going on a patrol around the building. The guarding of the prisoner was indeed very strict. As soon as the chiefs found out that the Emperor had sent a personal envoy to inspect, they led the guards to bow and salute. They opened the big lock on the iron gate, pushed open the iron gate, and invited Wei Xiaobao to enter.


    The stone building was really dark inside, on the corridor there was a kitchen stove leaning against the wall, an old servant was cooking rice. The chief of the guards said, "Normally this iron door will not be opened easily, the prisoner''s food and drink is prepared in here by this man, and then delivered into the prison cell."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Very good!" he said, "Your Wangye had given it a thorough thought. The iron door is not opened, it will be very difficult for the prisoner to escape."


    The chief of the guards said, "Wangye''s order: if the prisoner is trying to escape, he is to be killed without question." The chief of the guards led Wei Xiaobao to enter through a small hall, and immediately they could hear Oboi''s voice coming from inside, cursing the Emperor: "Your granny, from the cradle to the grave laozi has established countless heroic contribution, so that your grandfather, your father can occupy this beautiful rivers and mountains. You, little demon with no prospect, are but a child, yet you don''t know kindness when you see one, you stab me in the back with a dagger, you plotted against laozi. Even if laozi becomes a malicious spirit, I will not spare you."


    The chief of the guards frowned and said, "This servant''s mouth is undisciplined and out of control, he really deserved to be beheaded."


    Following Oboi''s voice, Wei Xiaobao came to an iron window of a small room. He craned his neck to look inside, and saw Oboi, with disheveled hair, with shackles and fetters on his hands and feet, was walking back and forth in the room. He dragged the shackles on the floor, creating a clanking noise. Oboi saw Wei Xiaobao and shouted, "You ... you ... you deserve to die ten thousand times, pen1sless[77] little demon, come in, come in, let laozi pinch your throat!" His eyes bulging, his gaze fiery, suddenly he ran toward Wei Xiaobao. ''Bang!'' his body heavily struck the wall. Although he knew that the wall was very thick, still, Wei Xiaobao was shocked and withdrew two steps back. Seeing Oboi''s mean and ferocious appearance he could not help but was extremely scared.


    "Gong-gong," the chief of the guards comforted him, "Don''t be afraid, this servant won''t come out."


    Wei Xiaobao calmed down. He saw that the iron bars on that iron window were very thick, the stone wall was also very thick, plus the shackles and fetters on Oboi''s hands and feet were very heavy. His spirit involuntarily rose up. "Why should I fear of him?" he said, "All of you may wait for me outside. His Majesty ordered me to ask him several questions." The guards complied and withdrew. Oboi was still cursing angrily.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ao Shaobao, His Majesty sent me here to see if you, Senior, are well. You are cursing people, that means your spirit is 100% alive and well, your body is very healthy; when His Majesty learns about it, he will be very happy."


    Oboi raised his hands and struck his chains against the iron window, ''dang, dang!'', while roaring angrily, "Your granny, you little b@stard raised by a b1tch. Tell your Emperor, I don''t need his hypocrisy, if he wanted to kill me just kill, do you think Oboi will be scared?"


    The thick iron frame of the window was shaking from his strike, Wei Xiaobao was afraid Oboi might break the window and come out, he took another step back. He said with a laugh, "It won''t be that easy for His Majesty to kill you. He wanted you to stay here peacefully for twenty, thirty years. When you feel real remorse in your heart, you may crawl out and kowtow several hundred times to His Majesty, remembering your past merit, His Majesty may forgive you and let you out. But you won''t be back to your high-ranking post."


    Oboi roared, "Tell him not to have a big dream in a clear autumn day; if he wants to kill Oboi, that is very easy, but he wants Oboi to kowtow to him, that is a thousand times, ten thousand times more difficult."


    "We''ll wait and see," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "After three or five years, when His Majesty suddenly remembers you, he may send me back to see you. Ao Shaobao Daren, please take a good care of yourself, you must never catch cold or cough, headache or stomachache."


    Oboi cursed, "Ache your mother''s b@stard lamb. The young emperor was fine, it was you, raised by b1tch Han people who taught him bad things. If the old Emperor would listen to me early on, not a single one of Han official would be needed in the imperial court, not a single one of Han dog would be allowed to enter the Palace, otherwise, do you think it will be a mess such as today?"


    Wei Xiaobao ignored him completely, he withdrew toward the servant who was cooking by the kitchen stove. Seeing steam was rising from the pot, he lifted the lid to look in, and saw it was a pork and white cabbage soup. "Smells good," he said.


    "It''s for the prisoner," the old servant said, "Nothing good in it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty ordered me to personally inspect the prisoner''s food and drink, we must not let him starve."


    The old servant said, "Gong-gong please don''t worry, he won''t starve. "Wangye has ordered that every day we must give him a catty of meat."


    "Scoop a bowl and let me have a taste," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you mistreat the prisoner, I will ask Wangye to beat you with a board."


    The old servant was terrified; "Yes, yes!" he said, "Xiaoren does not dare to mistreat the prisoner." Busily he fetch a bowl and scooped a ladleful or pork and cabbage, which he respectfully handed over to Wei Xiaobao with both hands; he also presented a pair of chopsticks.


    Wei Xiaobao received the bowl and drank a mouthful of soup; he showed neither approval nor disapproval. Looking at the chopsticks he said, "These chopsticks are too dirty, clean it well for me."


    "Yes, yes!" the old servant busily replied. Taking the chopsticks, he went out to the courtyard, where a water jar was standing, and wipe and wash the chopsticks well.


    Wei Xiaobao turned his body around and took a package of medicinal powder from his pocket, which he poured into that large bowl of pork and cabbage, and then he put the paper wrapper back into his pocket. He shook the bowl several times to dissolve the medicinal powder into the soup. He knew that Kangxi wanted to kill Oboi, but it must be done without leaving any trace. Walking out of the Upper Study Room, he got an idea, thereupon he returned to his residence and took out about a dozen kinds of medicinal powder from Hai Laogong''s medicinal chest. Without any care whether it was poison or not, he mixed them all randomly, and then wrapped it all in a sheet of paper. His thought was that among those dozen different powders, there must be two or three poison, so if he let Oboi have it, his chance of survival would be very slim.


    Finished cleaning up the chopsticks, the old servant respectfully handed it over to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao took the chopsticks and used it to stir Oboi''s bowl of pork; he said, "Um, there are a lot of pork in here. Do you usually give him this much meat? I''ll say most likely you steal some for yourself!"


    "Each meal has this much meat," the old servant said, "Xiaoren does not dare to steal food." While in his heart he was astonished, "How did this little Gong-gong know that I steal the prisoner''s food? That''s a bit strange!"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You may deliver the food to the prisoner."


    "Yes, yes!" the old servant replied. He fixed three large bowls of white rice, and then along with the large bowl of pork and cabbage, he placed the bowls on a tray and deliver it to Oboi.


    Wei Xiaobao lifted his chopsticks to gently tapping the edge of the pot; in his heart, he was very proud of himself, thinking, "If that servant Oboi eats the bowl of pork and cabbage that I fixed, if blood does not flow out of his seven orifices, then ... then blood will flow from his eight orifices and he''ll die." He only knew there was a phrase ''blood flowing from seven orifices'', but in all honesty his knowledge was very limited; not knowing any better, he added one more to the phrase ''seven orifices''.


    Putting down the bowl and the chopsticks, he strolled outside to chat with the guards on duty. After a while he thought that by this time Oboi most like would have had eaten the bowl of pork clean; thereupon he said to the chief of the guards, "Let''s go back in to take a look!"


    "Yes!" the chief of the guards replied.


    The two of them had just entered the door when suddenly they heard two of the guards outside were shouting almost simultaneously, "Who''s there? Stop!" Followed by ''swish, swish!'' the sound of arrows being shot. The chief of the guards was startled and busily said, "Gong-gong, I am going out to look." And he ran outside.


    Wei Xiaobao followed behind him; he heard clashing noise as about a dozen men in black, with naked blades in their hands, were fighting with the guards. Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked, "Aiyo!" he exclaimed, "Oboi''s men are here to rescue him."


    The chief of the guards drew his sword and led the fight. He only shouted a few words when a man and a woman attacked him from left and right. The four imperial guards escorting Wei Xiaobao were not too far at the front of the building. Hearing the noise, they rushed in to join the fight.


    The man in black''s martial art was quite strong, in an instant two mansion guards were already lying on the ground, dead. Wei Xiaobao withdrew back inside the stone building and hastily closed the door. He was about to bolt the door when a group of men dashed in, throwing him several zhang back. Four men in black had broken into the stone building. "Where is Oboi? Where is Oboi?" they shouted. An old man with long beard grabbed Wei Xiaobao and asked, "Where is Oboi?"


    Wei Xiaobao pointed outside and said, "He is imprisoned in the dungeon outside." Two of the men in black immediately rushed out. Another group of four men in black rushed in and swiftly ran toward the rear courtyard. Suddenly someone shouted, "In here!" The old man with long beard was angry; he raised his saber to chop Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao desperately trying to flee. Another man in black from the side kicked him on his butt, sending him flying several zhang away and he landed on the rear courtyard.


    Six men in black rammed the prison''s iron door together, but the iron door was very sturdy, how could they strike it open in such a short period of time? They heard a rapid ''dong, dong, dong'' sound of the gong outside, the Prince''s mansion had raised the alarm. One of the man in black shouted, "We must hurry!" The long-bearded old man replied, "No kidding! Who does not know we must hurry?"


    Seeing their battering failed to open the iron door, a man in black raised the steel whip he had in his hand and used it as a pry bar. After several push, the two iron bars began to open. By now three more men in black rushed in. The hallway in front of the prison was narrow, nine people crowded together, they could not use their hands and feet freely.


    Wei Xiaobao quietly crawled out on the floor, but before he went too far, the men spotted him. Someone stabbed a sword to his back. Wei Xiaobao dodged to the left. The man swept his sword sideways. ''Swish!'' it made a big rip on the back of his long gown. Luckily Wei Xiaobao was protected by his treasured vest so that the sword did not harm his skin and flesh. In his fright and panic he leaped up and rushed toward the crowd.


    Another man in black cursed, "Little demon!" He raised his saber and hacked it down. Wei Xiaobao jumped up suddenly and caught the iron bars on the prison''s window, his body was hanging in the air. The man in black wielding the steel whip was in the process of prying the iron bars open, seeing Wei Xiaobao was obstructing him at the door, he struck his whip down. Wei Xiaobao was caught in a dead end, plus his legs were caught in between the two iron bars. The iron bars was already bent, his body was slim and small, unexpectedly he was able to slip through the gap. Releasing his grip, he fell down into the prison cell. ''Dang!'' the steel whip struck the iron bars.


    The men in black outside shouted one after another, "I''m going in, I''m going in." The man with the steel whip probed his head into the opening trying to worm his way in. A thirteen, fourteen years old Wei Xiaobao could slip in, but this man''s stature was stout and strong, how could he slip through?


    Wei Xiaobao drew the dagger from his boot while shouting inwardly, "I wish the help will come soon, I wish the help will come soon!" He heard the sound of copper gong outside, he heard the shouts and the clashing of weapons. Suddenly ''whoosh!'' a gust of wind pressed down on his head. Wei Xiaobao rolled several chi away; he heard a loud clanking noise, followed by a searing pain on his face as some sand splashed onto him. Without looking back he hastily jumped away. He saw Oboi was waving his iron chain, "Heh, heh," he shouted, while jumping and leaping madly. At this moment, the man in black wielding the steel whip had just put his head through the window frame. Oboi ferociously swung his shackles onto his head. His brain dashed out, the man in black died instantly.


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised to no end, "Why did he kill the people who want to rescue him?" But then he realized immediately, "Aiyo! After eating the medicinal powder I fed him, although he is poisoned, he did not immediately go to see Emperor Yan Luo[78], but went mad instead!"


    Outside the door, the men were shouting and yelling. Oboi raised his shackled hands and fiercely attacked the prison door. Wei Xiaobao thought, "If he turns around and hit me, laozi will definitely return to heaven!" In this desperate situation, almost without thinking he pounced forward and with all his might he thrust his dagger into Oboi''s back.


    After taking the medicine, Oboi''s sanity failed; in his confused mind, he did not know someone was attacking him from behind. As Wei Xiaobao''s dagger was coming at him, he did not even try to evade, ''stab!'' it went deep into his back. Oboi howled wildly, while randomly waving the iron chain on his hands. Wei Xiaobao seized this opportunity to drag the dagger downward. The dagger could cut iron like mud, it sliced from top to bottom, Oboi''s back was cut in two, and he fell down immediately.


    Outside the window, the men in black were startled and staring blankly for a moment, as if they were witnessing the most bizarre thing on earth. About three, four men cried out almost simultaneously, "This kid killed Oboi! This kid killed Oboi!"


    The long-bearded old man said, "Pry open the iron window, get in and make sure it is really Oboi!" Two men immediately picked the steel whip to forcefully pry the iron bars open. Two of the guards from the Prince''s mansion broke into the room, the long-bearded old man brandished his scimitar and chopped them dead one by one. A man in black used a short spear to poke repeatedly toward Wei Xiaobao across the window, to prevent him from coming near and injure somebody. Not too long afterwards, the gap between the iron bars had grown big enough; a thin man in black said, "Let me come in!" And he jumped into the prison cell trough the window.


    Wei Xiaobao raised his dagger and stabbed it to him. The thin man used his saber to block. ''Tchak!'' the saber broke into two. The thin man was startled, he threw the broken saber in his hand toward Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao lower his head to dodge, but both of his hands were grabbed by that thin man, and were twisted behind his back. Another man in black placed a saber on his neck and shouted, "Don''t move!"


    Two more of the iron bars on the window were taken down, the long-bearded old man and a bald man in black entered the prison cell. They grabbed Oboi''s head by his pigtail and lifted it up to take a look. "It is Oboi!" they said together.


    The long-bearded old man wanted to shove Oboi''s body through the window, but the shackles and fetters were firmly fastened onto the stone walls, and he was unable to break the chain. The thin man picked up Wei Xiaobao''s dagger and ''tchak, tchak'' four times, he cut the iron chain on Oboi''s body. "Good blade!" the long-bearded old man praised. He shoved Oboi''s body through the window, and the men in black outside pulled the body out. The thin man also shoved Wei Xiaobao outside the window, and then the three of them slipped out of the prison cell.


    The long-bearded old man gave his order, "Take this boy away! Everybody, let''s go!" They all shouted their response and rushed outside. A big man in black carried Wei Xiaobao under his arm as they rushed out of the stone building.


    Suddenly ''swish, swish, swish!'' like flying locusts arrows were shot at them. Twenty-something guards from the Prince''s mansion continuously release the arrows. Wielding a saber, Prince Kang himself led the attack.


    Stopped by the arrows, the men in black were unable to dash out. The one carrying Oboi''s body was a Taoist priest. "Follow me!" he called out, as he lifted Oboi''s body as a shield in front of him.


    Prince Kang saw Oboi, but he did not know that Oboi had already died. He also saw Wei Xiaobao being carried by one of the assassins. "Stop the arrows!" he yelled, "Don''t harm Gui Gong-gong!" Wei Xiaobao mused, "Prince Kang has a good conscience, laozi will always remember your kindness!"


    The Prince''s mansion''s archers immediately halted their arrows. Those men in black cried out loudly and dashed out of the stone building. The long-bearded old man waved his hand, four men rushed toward Prince Kang. The guards were shocked; abandoning the enemy, they rushed to save their master. Who would have thought that it was actually that long-bearded old man''s ''making sound in the east and striking to the west'' tactic? The remaining men in black seized this opportunity to jump over the surrounding wall to escape from the Prince''s mansion.


    The four men attacking Prince Kang possessed very good qinggong, avoiding contact with the guards, they flew to the east and leaped to the west, as if they were waiting for an opportunity to take Prince Kang''s life. However, as soon as their companions were out of the Prince''s mansion, the four of them let out several whistle and jumped over the wall, while repeatedly waved their hands. A dozen or so secret projectiles were shot toward Prince Kang. The guards repeatedly cried out in alarm as they waved their weapons to knock down the secret projectiles. Still, one steel dart hit Prince Kang''s left arm. Amidst the confusion, the four men in black disappeared from the Prince''s mansion.


    Wei Xiaobao was carried by a big man under his arm, as they were speeding down the street. He heard thunderous noise of hoof beats and somebody shouted, "Assassins in Prince Kang''s mansion!" It was a large group of reinforcement troops.


    The men in black dashed into a commoner''s house by the Prince''s mansion. They bolted the door and dashed out via the back door. Evidently these people had already prepared their escape route well, they seemed to be familiar with the terrain of that place. Rushing through a small alley, they entered another house, and dashed out via the back door again. After several twist and turn, they entered a large house. All of them quickly shed their black attire and quickly wore other set of clothes. In an instant they all changed into peasants: one carried firewood on shoulder pole, another carried baskets of vegetables, et cetera. The man carrying Wei Xiaobao bound him firmly with hemp rope. Two men pushed a wooden cart, on which were two large wooden barrels. They shoved Oboi''s body and Wei Xiaobao into those barrels.


    "Damn it!" Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart. Countless jujubes were poured on top of his head, until he was completely covered with jujubes, then they put the lid down. If someone were to open the lid, all he could see would be jujubes. Then Wei Xiaobao felt his body was swaying, presumably the cart was being pushed out of the door. Although there were gaps in between the jujubes that he was not suffocated, yet he could not breathe freely. From a state of panic, Wei Xiaobao slowly calmed down; he thought, "These people are Oboi''s subordinates, most probably they kidnapped laozi away because they want to dig out laozi''s heart and liver to be sacrificed to Oboi. It would be best if along the way we came across a troop of soldiers, laozi will roll as hard as I can to overturn this wooden barrel, then their secret would be revealed." However, his hands and feet were tightly bound, he could not even move a single strand of his hair.


    He could hear the faint rattling of the wheel outside the wooden barrel, while his body was jolted continuously. After traveling for a long time, they did not come across any group of soldiers. Wei Xiaobao cursed for a while, then he was afraid for a while. All of a sudden he opened his mouth and bite a jujube, it was a plump and sweet jujube, so he ate several more. Scared and extremely tired, not too long afterward he unexpectedly fell into a deep sleep.


    When he awoke, the cart was still moving. He felt his entire body was sore, he wanted to turn around, but could not move even for half a fen. He thought, "This time laozi is not going to escape the disaster. As soon as I can, I am going to rain curses on them, to vent the resentment in my heart. In twenty years, I will be considered a hero." His mind went further, "Luckily I have killed Oboi, otherwise, if that servant was rescued by this bunch of dog thieves while laozi is in their hands, it would be difficult for me to stay alive, while I can''t ask for death either. Oboi was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, Wei Xiaobao is only a little demon from the Lovely Spring Courtyard. A life for a life, Oboi''s life is really cheap, ha ha ... really cheap!" Since he was unable to escape, he tried to amuse himself to relieve his anxiety, yet in spite of laughing inwardly, there was not the least bit of cheerful mood in his heart.


    A moment later, he fell asleep again. This time he was asleep for a long time. When he woke up, he felt that the cart was rolling smoothly on flat road. A little while later, the cart stopped, but nobody got him out, he was left alone inside the jujube barrel. After more than half a day, Wei Xiaobao felt very stuffy; he was about to fall asleep again when suddenly he heard creaking noise, the lid was opened, somebody was scooping the jujubes above his head. Wei Xiaobao took a deep breath and was feeling very relieved. Opening his eyes, all he could see was darkness, with a glimmer of light overhead. Someone scooped him out with both hands and carried him horizontally across his arms. Another man was standing by his side, holding a lantern. Turned out it was already night.


    The man carrying Wei Xiaobao was an old man with a serene expression. Wei Xiaobao noticed that they were in an enormous courtyard. The old man carried Wei Xiaobao to the rear hall, the man carrying the lantern pushed open a long shutter. Wei Xiaobao cried out inwardly, "I am doomed!" Not knowing which way was up and which way was down, all he could see was an enormous hall, with people standing wall to wall; by his estimation, there were at least two hundred of them. Those people wore black clothing with white bands around their heads and white cloth belt around their waists, all wore mourning attire while their faces showed grief and indignation.


    A mourning shrine was set up in the middle of the hall, on the table eight extremely thick blue candles were lighted. Next to the shrine hang several plain white cloths with lamentation couplets written on them, and a vertical ''beckoning the soul'' banner. Back in Yangzhou, whenever there was a rich family having a funeral, Wei Xiaobao always joined the fun. He would ask for money, or when everybody was busy and nobody was watching, he would ''lead away a passing goat'' by stealing some household item and hiding it in his bosom, he would then sell it in the market and use the money to gamble. Therefore, he was accustomed to see funeral hall arrangement; as soon as he saw it, he knew what it was.


    While he was still inside the jujube barrel, he had anticipated that they would cut open his heart and split his chest to be sacrificed to Oboi, but now that the time had already come, he was so scared that his entire body went limp and his teeth chattered, making a clacking noise. The old man set him down, with his left hand grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, his right hand severing the hemp rope binding Wei Xiaobao''s hands and feet. Wei Xiaobao''s limbs were numb, he was unable to stand up. The old man put his hand underneath Wei Xiaobao''s right armpit to support him.


    It was obvious to Wei Xiaobao that everybody in that hall knew martial art, perhaps he was not a match for any of them, so escaping would be extremely difficult indeed. But if left and right was death, and luckily the rope binding him was severed, he might as well try. The worst that could happen to him was he failed, he got caught back, and they still would have cut open his heart and split his chest. Could they cut more than once, or split him again? The most important things: first, he needed to get the old man''s hand off his armpit, so that when he made his move he would not get grabbed, second, he had to try to extinguish the lantern; he would have had greater chance of success in the dark.


    Stealing a glance to the people in the hall, he saw there was either a saber hanging on their waist, or a sword sticking out on their back. A middle-aged man walked over to the spirit tablet and said, "Today the big enmity is avenged, Da �� Dage may close your �� your eyes." Before even finished, he voice broke into silent sobs. He turned around and threw himself in front of the spirit tablet and cried loudly. Everybody in the hall followed by wailing loudly.


    "Hot piece mama," Wei Xiaobao mused, "Laozi will curse now." But immediately changed his mind, "As soon as I open my mouth to curse, these turtle bastards will start attacking laozi, then I won''t be able to escape." Casting a sideways glance, he saw the old man holding him was using his sleeve to wipe his tears, so he was thinking of turning around and run right then, but the space behind them was full of people, as soon as he took a single step, they would immediately capture him. He thought that the timing had not come, he must not be reckless.


    From among the crowd an old sounding voice shouted, "Offer the sacrifice!" An imposing looking man, bare-chested, with a white cloth band around his head, walked to the front in big strides; he had a wooden tray in his hand, which he lifted high above his head. The tray was covered in thin cloth, on the cloth lay a badly mangled human head. Wei Xiaobao almost fainted; "Hot piece mama," he thought, "These b@stards are going to cut laozi''s head." He further thought, "Whose head is it? Is it Prince Kang? Or Songgotu? It couldn''t be the Young Emperor, could it?" The wooden tray was lifted very high that Wei Xiaobao was not able to see clearly the severed head''s appearance.


    The man set the wooden tray on the sacrifice table and then prostrated himself on the floor. The weeping sound rose again in the hall. "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I don''t run now, what am I waiting for?" He turned around, wishing to run, but the old man pulled his sleeve, his legs gave up and he fell down, kneeling on the ground. Seeing everybody else was kowtowing, without any choice he also kowtowed, but in his heart he cursed, "Thief Oboi, Turtle Oboi. Laozi stabbed you dead with a knife, to the nether world, laozi will stab you several more times!"


    Finished kowtowing some people stood up, while others lay prostrate and cried loudly. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Real men crying like that, aren''t they ashamed? What good was that bastard Oboi anyway? What''s the regret in him being dead? Why do you shed so much horse urine like this?"


    After crying for a while, a tall and slim old man walked over to the spirit tablet, with a loud and clear voice he said, "Brothers, our Yin Xiangzhu''s[79] enmity has been avenged, that servant Oboi has finally be beheaded. It is truly our Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall''s greatly happy occasion ��"


    Hearing the words ''that servant Oboi has finally be beheaded'', Wei Xiaobao''s ears were buzzing; he was startled but happy, like a lightning a thought flashed in his mind, "They are not Oboi''s subordinates, but Oboi''s personal enemy?" The next several sentences that that tall and slim old man was saying went into Wei Xiaobao''s left ear and out of his right. After quite a while, he calmed down and was slowly able to listen; however, he missed a large chunk of the old man''s speech. He heard, "�� today we created disturbance at Prince Kang''s mansion, killed Oboi, and managed to return safely. The Tatars will undoubtedly be panic-stricken; this is an enormous victory to our Society''s anti-Qing, restoring-Ming great undertaking. When the brethrens in the other Halls of our Society find out, they will definitely admire our Green Wood Hall''s wisdom, bravery, and resolution in doing this daring deed."


    "Exactly, exactly," one after another the men shouted their opinions, "This time our Green Wood Hall has gain a lot of face." "Lotus Flower Hall, Scarlet Fire Hall, they all have always blown their own horns, but this time Green Wood Hall outraced them in accomplishing our leader''s order!" "When this matter is spread widely all over the world, perhaps in teahouses everywhere our deeds will be told and sung. When in the future the Tatars are driven back outside the Great Wall, the name Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall will be engraved in immortality!" "What do you mean driving the Tatars back outside the Great Wall? We are going to chop all Tatars'' head and exterminate them completely; they all will die without any burial site." Everybody had something to say, their spirit rose, the mournful air filling the hall just a moment ago was instantly swept away.


    Hearing this, Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest doubt, he knew these people were the warriors who fought against the imperial court. Before he met Mao Shiba, in the Yangzhou''s neighborhood and marketplace, he often heard people mentioning all kinds of chivalrous deeds the Tian Di Hui was doing to fight the Qing. In those years, when the Qing troops entered Yangzhou, they massacred the people without restraint, raping and pillaging, committing any imaginable misdeed. The so-called ''Ten days in Yangzhou, Three massacres in Jiading [district, northwest Shanghai]'' was really tragic beyond words." In the city of Yangzhou, there was no family whose member did not run into misfortune during this holocaust. As a result, in regard to the sentiment of resisting the Qing, the admiration of people of Yangzhou was virtually several notches higher than that of people of different places.


    By this time, the ''Ten days in Yangzhou'' disaster happened no more than twenty years ago; since his childhood, Wei Xiaobao had heard people unceasingly mentioned the evil deeds of the Qing army, he also heard about how Shi Gebu sacrificed himself in resisting the enemy, how certain people were able to take the enemy down with their deaths. When Mao Shiba was fighting the salt smugglers at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, it was exactly for the sake of a Tian Di Hui member. Along the way, he heard not a few of Mao Shiba''s story about Tian Di Hui''s heroic deeds, also about the saying ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain'', and so on. In his heart, Wei Xiaobao had already admired and looked up to these people. At this moment, with his own eyes he had witnessed how this heroic group had killed the Tatars, he could not help but was very excited; in that instant he had forgotten his own status as ''little eunuch'' of the Tatars'' imperial court.


    The tall and slim old man waited until the people were calming down before continuing, "In Green Wood Hall, for the last two years, we have always remembered Yin Xiangzhu, Yin Dage''s enmity. In front of the spirit tablet of Wan Yunlong Dage, everybody made a blood oath that we were going to kill Oboi to avenge Yin Dage. At that time Yin Xiangzhu has died as a martyr, everybody in Jianghu admires and respects him. When his soul in heaven sees Oboi, this dog''s head, he certainly will have a good laugh."


    "Exactly, exactly," the people responded.


    A majestic voice from the crowd said, "Two years ago, we all took an oath, if we fail to kill Oboi, then everybody in out Green Wood Hall is the distant grandson of a black bear [i.e. a coward], who won''t have any face to walk in the Jianghu. At long last today we wipe away this extraordinary shame and humiliation. For the last two years, I, the one surnamed Fan, cannot eat to the full, cannot have a good sleep; day and night I kept thinking of how can I avenge Yin Xiangzhu, how to expunge the disgrace of Green Wood Hall. Finally, everybody''s cherished desire is fulfilled. Ha ha, ha ha ��!" Many people were laughing wildly with him.


    "Alright," the tall and slim old man said, "Our Green Wood Hall has again roused our powerful wind, everybody feels proud and elated, once again we can raise our heads high and behave with integrity. These past two years, the brethrens of Green Wood Hall were like master-less lonely souls, in the Tian Di Hui''s meeting, the brethrens of the other halls only had to look at us once, and then they would laugh grimly. I was so ashamed that I was unable to show my face in public, did not dare to interrupt or speak a few words in any meeting discussing either important or trivial businesses. Although our Zongduozhu has several times conveyed messages to enlighten us, saying that the revenge for Yin Xiangzhu is the business of the entire Tian Di Hui, not the responsibility of one hall, the Green Wood Hall, only, the cold words and sarcastic comments of the brothers from other halls cannot be simply dismissed. From now on, it''s going to be substantially different."


    "Right, right," another man replied, "Li Dage is right, we must take this opportunity to take on the task and complete it with one sustained effort, do a large-scale effort to accomplish several more great undertaking. This evil thief Oboi had a reputation as the ''number one warrior of Manchuria''; today he died under our hands, thus those number two warrior, number three warrior, number four warrior and so on will be scared to death!" As they heard this, the people roared in laughter again.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "One minute you cried, the next minute you laughed, just like an upside-down child."


    Suddenly there was a cold voice from among the crowd, "Was it us, the Green Wood Hall, who killed Oboi?"


    As soon as the people heard this, silence fell. More than two hundred people assembled in that hall, but in an instant ''the crow and peacock made no sound''. After a long while, someone said, "Although the one who killed Oboi was someone else, it was because we, the Green Wood Hall who raided Prince Kang''s mansion. Only by taking advantage of the confusion was that person able to kill Oboi."


    The person who previously spoke said again in cold voice, "So that''s how it is."


    The man with the coarse and loud voice said, "Qi Laosan


    [80], what is the meaning of your words?"


    Still with a cold voice the one called Qi Laosan replied, "What meaning do I have? I don''t have any meaning, not the least bit! It''s just that when the brethrens from the other halls say: This achievement of Green Wood Hall is really impressive! But I wonder which brother of your precious hall actually killed Oboi?'' If this question is asked, I am afraid it will be somewhat difficult for us to answer. There is no harm in all of us thinking: is it possible that other people will ask this question? I am afraid in one thousand people, there will be nine-hundred and ninety nine people who will ask the question! Now we are blowing our own horns, pasting gold on our own faces, won''t it be rather �� rather �� hey, hey, we all understand it in our hearts!" The crowd fell silent completely. They all felt that his words were sharp and extremely not pleasant to hear, but it was the truth, and it was hard to refute.


    After a long while, the tall and slim old man said, "This is the little eunuch from the Qing Palace who killed Oboi; the result of an accident arising from many causes. It was Yin Xiangzhu''s own spirit from heaven who gave his blessing secretly, using the hand of a child to get rid of this big traitor. All of us are upright and honest men, we won''t tell any lie contrary to our conscience." The crowd looked at each other, some people could not help but shaking their heads; at first they were in high spirit, but thinking that the person killing Oboi was not a brother from the Green Wood Hall, immediately their spirit was dampened.


    The tall and slim old man said, "For the last two years, our Hall is without a leader. Everybody pushed Xiongdi to temporarily perform the duty of a Xiangzhu. Now that Yin Xiangzhu''s enmity has been avenged, Xiongdi is laying down the authority tablet in front of Yin Xiangzhu''s spirit. I am asking all the brothers to elect another capable man." Finished speaking, he kneeled down in front of the spirit tablet, while lifting high a wooden tablet with both hands. He kowtowed several times before standing up and put down the authority tablet in front of the spirit tablet.


    "Li Dage," a man said, "In the past two years, you have handled our Society''s affairs clearly and orderly. In my opinion, other than you, who else fit to hold the Xiangzhu position? You don''t have to be modest, just pick up the authority tablet again!" Everybody was silent for half a day.


    Another man said, "The Xiangzhu position is not for us to decide, we can''t simply pick someone and appoint him to be the Xiangzhu. It is for the Zongduozhu to appoint somebody."


    The first man replied, "Although it is indeed the custom, the usual practice is that after each Hall reach a decision, we will report it to our leader. Our leader has never turned down anybody. The so-called ''appointment'' is nothing more than a routine business."


    The other man replied, "As far as Xiongdi knows, the new Xiangzhu of each Hall has always been recommended by the former Xiangzhu. Either when the old Xiangzhu is old, or sick, or on his deathbed and is leaving his last wish. It has never been our customs for the brothers to elect the Xiangzhu replacement."


    Hearing the name Jia Laoliu, Wei Xiaobao shivered involuntarily, he remembered the person the salt smugglers in Yangzhou was looking for was precisely this man. Turning his head to look at him, he saw that Jia Laoliu was a bald man, the little pigtail on his head barely had any hair left, there was a scar from a knife cut on his face.


    Jia Laoliu angrily said, "What ill-will? What conspiracy? Cui Xiazi [lit. ''Blind Cui''], speak more clearly, but don''t make slanderous accusation against others."


    The man surnamed Cui had lost his left eye. "Humph!" he said loudly, "Open the skylight and speak frank and straightforward remarks. In the Green Wood Hall, who did not know that you want to support your Jiefu [husband of older sister, brother-in-law] Guan Fuzi [lit. ''Master'' Guan, as in ''teacher'' or ''scholar''] to be the Xiangzhu. If Guan Fuzi becomes the Xiangzhu, you will become the Lord State Uncle, won''t that mean you hold the power in your hands? You want the wind you get the wind, you want the rain you get the rain."


    In loud voice Jia Laoliu said, "Whether Guan Fuzi is my brother-in-law or not, it is an entirely different matter. This time we are breaking into Prince Kang''s mansion, it was under the leadership of Guan Fuzi, and it was a great success, as well as we returned home victorious. Based on my brother-in-law''s talent, can''t he be the Xiangzhu? Li Dage qualifies as a senior, his interpersonal relationship is good, I have nothing against him. However, in term of ability, Guan Fuzi is much better."


    Cui Xiazi suddenly roared in laughter; a laughter filled with contempt. Jia Laoliu angrily said, "What are you laughing at? Did I say something wrong?"


    "It''s not wrong," Cui Xiazi said with a laugh, "How can our Jia Laoliu said anything wrong? I just feel that Guan Fuzi''s ability is a bit too formidable. He can go over five mountain passes[81], but he cannot behead six generals. At the last moment, he let an outsider, a child, killed our personal archenemy Oboi with a knife."


    Suddenly a man walked out from among the crowd, with an angry expression he stood in front of the spirit tablet. Wei Xiaobao recognized this man as the long-bearded old man who led the attack to Prince Kang''s mansion. He saw his long beard was floating in front of his chest; he looked very imposing. Actually, this man''s surname was Guan, given name Anji. Because of his spirited-looking beard and his surname was Guan, everybody called him Guan Fuzi.


    Guan Fuzi''s eyes glowered at Cui Xiazi, with a gruff voice he said, "Cui Xiongdi, if you have a disagreement with Jia Laoliu, you may say anything you like; I, the one surnamed Guan, will not blame you. We are all good brothers, in front of Wan Yunlong Dage''s spirit tablet we have sworn made a pledge that whatever happens we are going to live and die together. You slandered me like that, what is your intention?"


    Cui Xiazi was somewhat afraid, he took a step back and said, "I ... I do not dare to slander you." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Guan Erge [second (older) brother], you ... if you endorse the election of Li Dage to be our Hall''s Xiangzhu, then ... then Xiongdi is going to kowtow to you to apologize, just consider me saying wrong words."


    With an ashen face Guan Anji said, "Kowtow and apology, how can I dare to accept? Whoever will become our Hall''s Xiangzhu, it''s not for the one surnamed Guan to decide. Cui Xiongdi, you are not Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu either; who will become the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, it is not for you to say."


    Cui Xiazi took another step backward; in a loud voice he said, "Guan Erge, by what you said, isn''t it obvious that you are slandering me? What kind of man am I, Cui Xiazi? Even in eighteen reincarnations I would still fall short to be Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu. I was only saying that Li Lishi, Li Dage is a person of good moral standing and reputation; in our Hall, there is none like Li Dage, whom people admire from the bottom of their hearts. If we do not ask Li Dage to be our Hall''s Xiangzhu, I am afraid eight or nine out of ten brothers may refuse to accept it."


    From the crowd someone said, "Cui Xiazi, you are not eight or nine out of ten brothers in our Hall, how do you know eight or nine out of ten brothers may not accept it? In my opinion, Li Dage is indeed a very good man, everybody enjoys having a drink with him, Senior, or having a chat with him under the warm sun; indeed nothing can''t be better. However, speaking about being our Hall''s Xiangzhu, I am afraid eight or nine out of ten brothers may think otherwise."


    Another man said, "Indeed, what Zhang Xiongdi said is very true. What if he is a person of good moral standing and reputation? Our Tian Di Hui objective is fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming, not studying Confucius or speaking about compassion, duty, propriety and integrity. Will a person of good moral standing and reputation scare the Tatars that they would run away? If you want to find a person of good moral standing and reputation, you will find a lot of old xiucai at schools, speaking about poetry and Confucius'' sayings all day long." The crowd roared in laughter as they hear this.


    A Taoist priest said, "In your opinion, who should be our Hall''s Xiangzhu?"


    The man replied, "First, he must work toward the goal of our Tian Di Hui: fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming. Second, he must strive for our Green Wood Hall so that it will stand out among Tian Di Hui''s Halls, managing it ''with sound and color''. Whoever is most capable and most talented among our brethrens, will have our support to be the Xiangzhu."


    The Taoist priest said, "Most capable and most talented, in this poor Taoist opinion, Li Dage is still the best."


    From the crowd, dozens of people shouted, "We nominate Guan Fuzi! How can Li Dage''s skill be compared to Guan Fuzi?"


    The Taoist priest said, "Guan Fuzi can handle matters powerfully, everybody admires that quality ��"


    "That''s right," the crowd called out, "What else do you have to say?"


    "Wait a moment, wait a moment, let me finish!" the Taoist priest shook both of his hands, "Guan Fuzi is hot tempered, he often flares up and curses people in anger. Right now he is no more than an ordinary brother, yet when we look at him, we are 30% afraid of him. If he becomes the Xiangzhu, I am afraid we won''t have a day of peace and quite anymore."


    A man said, "Recently Guan Fuzi''s temper has mellowed quite a bit. If he becomes the Xiangzhu, he will be even better."


    The Taoist priest shook his head, "The rivers and mountains are easy to change, a man''s character is much harder to change. Guan Fuzi''s temperament is cultivated over several decades. Granted that he was able to repress it for a while, but can he repress it for a year or half a year? Being the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall is an important matter of a lifetime. We can''t allow just because a man''s temperament is not good, the brothers are thrown into disharmony; everybody''s heart will be discouraged, unavoidably the important matter will fail."


    Jia Laoliu said, "Priest Xuanzhen, I think your own temper is not that great either."


    Hearing his words, the Taoist priest, Hao Xuanzhen, laughed aloud and said, "It''s exactly because everybody knows himself best �C the poor Taoist''s temper is not good, I have offended too many people �C that as much as possible, I do not want to open my mouth. It''s just that electing our Hall''s Xiangzhu is an important matter, the poor Taoist cannot help but must say several sentences. The poor Taoist''s temper is not good, I do not have any problem of not becoming the Xiangzhu. I have no problem if there is any brother who thinks I am not pleasing to the eye, and does not want to talk to me. I am fine if any of you want to distance yourself from me. But if the poor Taoist became the Xiangzhu, how can I ignore you or distance myself from you?"


    "Nobody nominates you as the Xiangzhu," Jia Laoliu said, "Why do you come out and ''pull to the east and push to the west'' [i.e. ramble incoherently]?"


    Xuanzhen flew into rage. "Jia Laoliu," he said in stern voice, "When friends in Jianghu see the poor Taoist, most of them would address me as Daozhang [Taoist Priest]. Even Zongdouzhu shows respect to me. It''s only you who dare to be this rude to me. You �� you are a dog threatens relying on your master''s power. You want to bully me, Xuanzhen? It''s not that easy! Let me tell you clearly: if Guan Fuzi wants to be our Hall''s Xiangzhu, I, Xuanzhen, will be the first to disapprove! If he wants to be the Xiangzhu, he must accomplish something first. If this matter is accomplished, it''s possible that the poor Taoist will not oppose him!"


    At first, when Jia Laoliu heard him saying ''a dog threatens relying on your master''s power'', he was very angry, but first: he realized that Priest Xuanzhen''s martial art skill was superior; even though he was really angry, he did not dare to contradict him openly. Second: this Taoist priest indeed had a resounding reputation in Jianghu; that their Zongdouzhu showed respect was not a false statement. He wanted to support his brother-in-law to become the Xiangzhu, but if this person strongly opposing the nomination, he would indeed be a major obstacle. Hearing that the Taoist priest was willing not to oppose providing his brother-in-law accomplish something, Jia Laoliu was delighted. He asked, "What matter is that? Let''s hear it."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "The first matter that Guan Fuzi has to accomplish is that he must divorce the ''100% real gold'', Golden Saber Jia!"


    As soon as these words were spoken, the people in the hall roared in laughter. The ''100% real gold'', Golden Saber Jia Priest Xuanzhen mentioned was Guan Fuzi''s wife, Jia Laoliu''s own older sister. Her weapon was a pair of golden sabers, so when people bantered with her, they often asked her, "Guan Saozi [older sister-in-law/older brother''s wife], your two golden sabers, are they real gold or fake[82] gold?" And then with a straight face she would reply, "They are 100% gold, 100% gold! How can they be fake?" Thereupon she received the nickname ''100% real gold''.


    By asking Guan Fuzi to divorce his wife, wouldn''t that mean Priest Xuanzhen was clearly trying to make Jia Laoliu look bad? Actually, although the ''100% real gold'', Golden Saber Jia was a frank and outspoken, she was a good woman. Her brother, Jia Laoliu was not a bad man either, it was just that he was trying to raise his brother-in-law too high. Guan Fuzi was short-tempered, he had offended a lot of people; unavoidably, a lot of people were complaining behind his back.


    Guan Anji stretched out his hand and ''bang!'' he heavily slap the table, while shouting angrily, "Priest Xuanzhen, what are you talking about? Whether I become the Xiangzhuor not, it doesn''t have anything to do with my wife, why did you bring her into this?"


    Before Priest Xuanzhen replied, someone in the crowd coldly said, "Guan Fuzi, Yin Xiangzhu did not offend you, why did you hit his spirit table?"


    The table Guan Fuzi struck was indeed the table where the memorial tablet was placed. Guan Anji was startled. Although he was irritable, he was actually very quick-witted. In a loud voice he said, "Xiongdi has made a mistake!" He kneeled down in front of the memorial tablet and kowtowed several times, saying, "Yin Dage, in his anger, Xiongdi has slapped your memorial tablet. It is entirely my fault. I am asking your spirit, Senior, in heaven to forgive me." While saying that, ''bang, bang, bang!'' he banged his head against the floor several times. Seeing him doing so, most of the people there no longer hold it against him.


    Cui Xiazi said, "Everybody, look! Guan Fuzi is straightforward and upright, he is a real man, but he is short-tempered and unable to remain calm. When he made a mistake, he would immediately admit it, which is certainly very good. However, if he were the Xiangzhu, making one mistake often carry an enormous responsibility. Even if he readily admit it, what good would it bring?"


    Initially, Guan Anji was enjoying a good momentum by asking Priest Xuanzhen why he mentioned his wife, the ''100% real gold'', Golden Saber Jia; but in his anger, he struck Yin Xiangzhu''s memorial tablet, which was offensive to the people. Although he immediately kowtowed in front of Yin Xiangzhu''s memorial tablet so that the brothers no longer blame him, his momentum was gone; he felt it was inconvenient to continue arguing with Priest Xuanzhen.


    Xuanzhen himself also seized the opportunity to retreat; he said with a laugh, "Guan Fuzi, you and I are brothers, from the cradle to the grave we go through countless fire and water together. It''s not worthwhile that we lose this brotherhood over a battle of the tongues. Just now the poor Taoist was only joking, please forgive me. When you go home, don''t tell Golden Saber Jia Saozi about this; otherwise, she would seize the poor Taoist''s beard, that won''t be fun!" The people broke into laughter again. Guan Anji was 30% afraid of this Taoist priest; without any choice he also laughed.


    Afterwards, you said one thing, I said another, some say Li Dage was good, others say Guan Fuzi was better, all along it was difficult to reach the final decision. Suddenly someone was wailing; crying and speaking at the same time, "Yin Xiangzhu, oh Yin Xiangzhu, when you were alive, our Green Wood Hall was in perfect harmony, the brothers are like true blood brothers, everybody worked together for a common purpose, the important matter of fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming. Unfortunately you were harmed by that traitor Oboi. In our Green Wood Hall, there is no one else with your kind of ability: having both good interpersonal relationship and talent. Yin Xiangzhu, unless you rise again from the dead, I am afraid our Green Wood Hall will have endless argument with each other, we will become like a sheet of loose sand, we won''t be as prosperous as when you were still alive." Hearing this, many people were unable to refrain from shedding some tears.


    Someone said, "Li Dage has Li Dage''s advantage, Guan Fuzi has Guan Fuzi''s advantage, both are our own good brothers, we can''t have all the brothers to be at odds with each other over this Xiangzhu election. In my opinion, it will be best if we ask Yin Xiangzhu''s soul in heaven to help us decide. We will write both Li Dage and Guan Fuzi''s name, everybody will kowtow in front of Yin Xiangzhu''s memorial tablet and then draw the lot. It is the most fair method." Many people voiced their agreement.


    Jia Laoliu loudly said, "This method is not good."


    "Why is it not good?" someone asked.


    "Who will draw the lot?" Jia Laoliu asked.


    "We all can select one brother to do it," the man replied.


    Jia Laoliu said, "I am afraid that man will have selfish desire and may not play fair."


    Cui Xiazi angrily said, "In front of Yin Xiangzhu''s memorial tablet, who has such nerve, dare to deceive Yin Xiangzhu''s soul in heaven?"


    Jia Laoliu said, "It''s hard to fathom a person''s mind, we must guard against it."


    "F*ck your granny," Cui Xiazi cursed, "Most likely it''s going to be you who cheat."


    Jia Laoliu angrily said, "Who are you cursing at, kid?"


    Cui Xiazi was also angry, "I am cursing you, kid! So what?"


    "I have shown restraint long enough," Jia Laoliu said, "You cursed my granny, I can''t tolerate it no matter what." ''Shua!'' he drew his steel saber; with his left hand pointed at Cui Xiazi he shouted, "Cui Xiazi, let us have a duel outside at the courtyard."


    Cui Xiazi slowly pulled his saber out and said, "You are the one who wanted a fight, I am forced to take up the challenge. Guan Fuzi, you heard it with your own ears."


    Guan Anji said, "We are all brothers, we must not fight just because of this matter. Cui Xiongdi, you cursed my brother-in-law; you are in the wrong here."


    Cui Xiazi said, "I knew you would place the blame on me. You have not become the Xiangzhu, you are already like this. If you were the Xiangzhu, what would happen then?"


    Guan Anji angrily said, "Are you saying that you can curse other people''s ancestor at will? You f*ucked my wife''s younger brother''s granny, then what am I to you?" The crowd could not help but laughing heartily. For a moment the hall was in chaos.


    Seeing his brother-in-law was standing up for him, Jia Laoliu was even more angry. He was about to dash into the courtyard when someone reached out and blocked him, trying to persuade him, "Jia Laoliu, if you want your brother-in-law to become the Xiangzhu, you must not offend other people too much. If someone is offending you, you must yield one step to him."


    Cui Xiazi slowly put his saber back into its scabbard, he said, "I am not afraid of you, it''s just that we all take yiqi very seriously. Brothers must not fight using blades, staking our lives. In short, Guan Fuzi wants to become the Xiangzhu, I, the one surnamed Cui, will not approve, no matter what. Guan Fuzi''s temper I can tolerate, but Jia Laoliu''s temper is unbearable. Yan Wang


    [83] is easy to see, little demon is difficult to bear."


    Wei Xiaobao was standing on the side. With the cool eye of a bystander, he found it rather amusing to hear and watch people arguing back and forth endlessly, some used obscenity to curse people, some wanted to fight with weapons. At first he thought these people were Oboi''s subordinates who wanted to kill him as a sacrifice to Oboi, but now he knew that they hated Oboi to their bones, it was as if a huge rock had fallen from his heart. But after hearing these people keep saying something like ''fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming'', he started to grow anxious. "They must be thinking that I am a little eunuch of the Qing Palace," he mused, "No matter how I plead innocence, they won''t believe me. As soon as the Xiangzhu position is decided, their first order of business must be to have me killed. I wonder if they would consider it ''fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming''? In front of them right now, other than laozi, who else is a Qing man? Besides, with me in here, I have heard their secrets; even if they would not kill me to close my mouth, they would definitely lock me up and I won''t reincarnate forever. It would be better for laozi to slip away now." Slowly, step by step, he retreated toward the door. He was hoping the hall would become chaotic again so that he could run away.


    He heard someone was saying, "Drawing a lot is too unreliable, it''s a little too much like a child''s play. I''ll say, let Li Dage and Guan Fuzi have a martial art contest to determine victory or defeat, with fists and kicks is alright, using weapons is also alright, as long as they do not injure each other. Everybody else will stand on the side with eyes open wide, who wins and who loses will be seen clearly, nobody will have dissenting words."


    Jia Laoliu was the first to approve, with a loud voice he said, "Good! Martial art contest to decide victory or defeat it is. If Li Dage wins, I, Jia Laoliu will support Li Dage as the Xiangzhu."


    As soon as he said that, Wei Xiaobao thought, "You approve the martial art contest because your brother-in-law''s martial art is superior to Li Dage''s, what is there to be contested?"


    If even Wei Xiaobao could have this thought, naturally others could also think the same. One after another those who supported Li voiced their objection; someone said, "Being the Xiangzhu, one must make the brothers of the entire Hall work together, it does not have too much to do with martial art." "If the Xiangzhu position is decided based on martial art skill, then if someone within out Hall can defeat Guan Fuzi, will we let him to be the Xiangzhu?" "This is not Xiangzhu election, but a martial art competition stage. Guan Fuzi might as well erect the stage, let the heroes from all over the world come and compete." "If that treacherous bandit Oboi did not die, he was the ''number one warrior of Manchuria''; Guan Fuzi may not necessarily win over him. If Oboi had won on the martial art competition stage, could it be that we will invite him to become our Xiangzhu?" As the crowd heard this, they could not bear not to laugh.


    In this confusion, suddenly someone said coldly, "Yin Xiangzhu, oh Yin Xiangzhu, after your death, nobody look up on you anymore. The oath we made in front of your memorial tablet has turned into damn bullsh1t." Wei Xiaobao recognized the voice, it belonged to Qi Laosan who loved to say cold words and make sarcastic comments.


    The crowd immediately quiet down. And then almost together several people asked, "Qi Laosan, what do you mean by that?"


    With a cold laugh Qi Laosan said, "Many years ago, I, the one surnamed Qi, kowtowed in front of Wan Yunlong Dage and Yin Lizhu''s memorial tablets, I pricked my finger and shed some blood and made a heavy oath, vowing to avenge Yin Xiangzhu. With my own mouth I said, ''Whichever brother kill Oboi and avenged Yin Xiangzhu deep enmity, I, Qi Biaoqing, will revere him as our Hall''s Xiangzhu, will all my heart I will faithfully obey his commands, and promise never to go against him!'' Qi Laosan indeed said those words. The one surnamed Qi intends to keep his words; it is definitely not a dog fart!" In that instant, the hall grew very quiet, not the least bit of noise was heard. Actually, everybody in that hall had made the same vow.


    After a while, it was again Jia Laoliu who lost his patient first. He said, "Qi San''ge [third (older) brother], what you said is not wrong, in fact, everybody had said the same thing, including me, Jia Laoliu. Naturally it was not an empty oath. But ... but ... you know it, I know it, everybody know that the one who killed Oboi was this ... this ..." He turned around looking for Wei Xiaobao, suddenly he saw Wei Xiaobao was at the door with one foot already outside the hall, ready to flee. "Grab him," Jia Laoliu shouted, "Don''t let him run away!"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled his foot wishing to dash out. In an instant six, seven men pounced on him. About a dozen hands grabbed his body at the same time and forcefully dragged him back into the hall. "Hey, hey," Wei Xiaobao screamed, "Turtle bastards, why are you pulling laozi back?" He presumed that this time he would not live, so he might as well enjoy hurling curses at them.


    A man wearing xiucai


    [84] attire, including the hat, walked out from among the crowd. "Xiao Xiongdi," he said, "Don''t curse people."


    Wei Xiaobao recognized his voice, he said, "You are Qi Laosan?"


    That man was indeed Qi Laosan, Qi Biaoqing. "You know me?" he asked in surprise.


    "I know your Ma!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Qi Biaoqing had 30% bookworm disposition, he did not realize Wei Xiaobao was cursing at him. He was even more surprised, "How did you know my Ma?" he asked.


    "Your Ma and I are old friends," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We are old lovers."


    The crowd roared in laugher. "This little eunuch is a smooth-talker!" they commented.


    Qi Biaoqing''s entire face turned red. "Stop laughing!" he said. Immediately his face turned stern as he asked, "Xiao Xiongdi, why did you kill Oboi?"


    Wei Xiaobao got a sudden inspiration. He said in loud voice, "That traitor Oboi had done not a few of evil deeds, he had killed countless our Han people''s heroes and warriors. I, Wei Xiaobao, cannot coexist with him. I ... I was fine until he captured me and put me in the Imperial Palace and made me a eunuch. I wish I could chop his head and made him into minced meat, and throw him into the pond to feed the tortoise." He knew that the more vehement he was and the more he aroused indignation, the greater his chance of survival would be.


    The people in the hall looked at each other in astonishment. Qi Biaoqing asked, "How long have you become a eunuch?"


    "How long? Not even half a year yet," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am originally from Yangzhou, he caught me and brought me to Beijing. Hot piece mama, stinky Oboi is dead I still want him to go up the mountain of blades, to go down the deep fryer, to roll over nail board and have that thief Oboi''s bones penetrated." A succession of Yangzhou-style cussing blurted out of his mouth.


    A middle-aged man nodded his head and said, "He is really from Yangzhou." His own voice carried a Yangzhou accent.


    "Uncle," Wei Xiaobao said, "We, Yangzhou people, were tragically killed by the Tatars; they killed us for ten days in a row, from morning to night without stopping. My grandpa, my grandma, my first grandma, my second grandma, my third grandma, my fourth grandma, not a single one escaped from the Tatars. The Manchu ghosts went on killing spree from the Eastern Gate all the way to the Western Gate, from the Southerm Gate all the way to the Northern Gate, all under this Oboi''s order. I ... I simply cannot live under the same sky as him, that''s how deep my enmity is." He tried to remember what people say about the ''Ten Days of Yangzhou'' massacre, the more he said, the more believable he was. Hearing him, the people were emotionally moved, they nodded their heads again and again.


    "No wonder, no wonder!" Guan Anji said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Not only my grandpa, grandma, even my father was also killed by Oboi."


    "Poor child, poor child," Qi Biaoqing said.


    Cui Xiazi asked, "How old are you this year?"


    "Thirteen or fourteen years old," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Cui Xiazi said, "The massacre at Yangzhou was more than twenty years ago, how can your father be killed by Oboi?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought something was amiss, his lies had been discovered, thereupon he blurted out whatever was in his mind, "How should I know? I wasn''t even born yet, it was what my ma told me."


    Cui Xiazi said, "Even if you were born after his death, it''s still impossible."


    "Cui Xiongdi," Qi Biaoqing said, "You are wrong. This Xiao Xiongdi said his father was killed by Oboi, he did not say that he was killed during the ''Ten days of Yangzhou''. Oboi was an arrogant officer, until today, in which year he did not kill anybody? Our Yin Xiangzhu was killed by Oboi; it happened only a little bit more than two years ago."


    "Yes, yes!" Cui Xiazi said.


    Jia Laoliu suddenly asked, "Xiao �� Friend, you said that Oboi has killed countless heroes and warriors, what does it have to do with you?"


    "Who says it has nothing to do with me?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have a good friend who was arrested by Oboi at the Qing Palace and was killed. He and I were caught together."


    "Who is it, who is it?" the crowd asked together.


    "This man has quite a reputation in Jianghu," Wei Xiaobao replied, "His name is Mao Shiba!"


    "Oh!" more than a dozen men exclaimed. "Mao Shiba is your friend?" Jia Laoliu asked, "But he did not die."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, "He didn''t die?" he said, "That''s wonderful! Jia Laoliu, when you cursed the salt smugglers in Yangzhou, Mao Shiba fought them on your behalf. I was also helping him to fight."


    Jia Laoliu scratched his head, "Is there really such thing?" he wondered.


    "Very good!" Guan Anji said, "Whether this little friend is indeed a friend or a foe, it is a matter of great importance. Laoliu, take several brothers with you, go get Mao Shiba, invite him to identify him."


    "Yes!" Jia Laoliu complied; he turned around and went out the hall.


    Qi Biaoqing pulled a chair. "Xiao Xiongdi," he said, "Please sit down!"


    Wei Xiaobao was not bashful at all, he sat down. Someone gave him a bowl of noodles and a cup of tea. Wei Xiaobao was indeed very hungry, he ate the noodles clean. Guan Anji, Qi Biaoqing, and the one they called Li Dage, Li Lishi, sat with him and chatted. Their tone was quite polite, but actually they were interrogating him about his life and what he had been through lately. Wei Xiaobao did not conceal anything, occasionally he would toot his horn, hurl some cuss words to Oboi, and tell them in detail how he helped Kangxi capture Oboi. Only the fact that he learned martial art from Hai Laogong and Kangxi personally stab Oboi on the back, he did not mention at all. Guan Anji and the others had already heard about how Oboi was arrested by the young emperor and a group of little eunuchs. Listening to Wei Xiaobao''s vivid narrative, they knew most likely it was not a fabrication.


    Guan Anji sighed and said, "Oboi had a reputation as the Number One Warrior of Manchuria; not only he was killed by you, but he was captured also by you. It must have been the heaven''s will."


    They were chatting for about an hour. Guan Anji, Li Lishi, Qi Biaoqing and the others were Jianghu veterans with rich experience; although they felt that Wei Xiaobao''s story was somewhat flippant and insincere, the crux of the story was unambiguous. Suddenly they heard footsteps, the door to the hall was pushed open, two men carrying a stretcher walked in. Jia Laoliu followed behind them; he said, "Brother-in-law, Mao Shiba has been invited here!"


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up. He saw Mao Shiba was lying on the stretcher, his cheeks were hollow, his eye sockets sank deep, his countenance was extremely wan and sallow. Wei Xiaobao asked, "You �� you are sick?"


    When Jia Laoliu came to get him, Mao Shiba only knew that the Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui had an important matter they would like to discuss with him, but he did not know the nature of the matter. Now that he suddenly saw Wei Xiaobao, he was wild with joy. "Xiaobao," he called out, "You �� you also ran away; that''s wonderful! I �� all this time I have been thinking about you. I was hoping that as soon as I recover, I will go back to the Imperial Palace to get you out. This �� this is really good!"


    At these words, the 30% remaining doubt that was still in everybody''s hearts was swept away in an instant. This little eunuch was indeed Mao Shiba''s friend, who was captured together with him and was brought into the Qing Palace. Although Mao Shiba was not a member of Tian Di Hui, he was a man with quite a reputation in Jianghu, he always said one as one and two as two. Over the last few years, his arrest by the Qing court was a matter of public knowledge. Since Wei Xiaobao was his friend, naturally he could not be a real eunuch of the Qing Palace. Moreover, when Mao Shiba talked, they saw how he revealed his true feelings, obviously his friendship with the child was extremely good.


    "Mao Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are �� are you injured?"


    Mao Shiba sighed and said, "Ay, when I ran away from the Imperial Palace that night, I managed to reach the Palace gate, finally I met some imperial bodyguards. It was one against five. I killed two of them, but I also received two saber chops. I desperately ran out of the Palace gate. More imperial bodyguards from the Palace ran after me. It was actually a dead end for me. Fortunately Tian Di Hui friends lent me their hands, and thus my life was spared. Were you also being rescued by the good friends of Tian Di Hui?"


    Immediately the look on Guan Anji and the others'' faces turned awkward. They felt that the way they handled this matter was not exactly too pretty. Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao said, "Exactly. That old eunuch forced me to become a little eunuch. It was not until today that I finally able to escape. Fortunately I came across these �� these gentlemen from Tian Di Hui."


    The Tian Di Hui warriors secretly let out a relieved breath, they knew that by saying that, Wei Xiaobao was giving careful consideration to their face; they were secretly grateful, thinking that although this boy was young, he was a good friend, indeed.


    Right away Jia Laoliu invited Mao Shiba and Wei Xiaobao to take a rest in a side room, while the Green Wood Hall warriors continued their conference in the main hall. Mao Shiba''s injury was very heavy, although he had been recuperating for several months, his body was still very weak. Just now when he was being brought up on the stretcher, his body was jolted and shaken, his wound was aching. Mentally he was very tired; he wanted to talk some more, but he simply did not have any strength. Wei Xiaobao thought, "No matter what, they are not going to kill me." His mood improved tremendously. Curling on a large round-backed wooden armchair, he fell asleep immediately. In his sleep, he felt someone lifted him up, put him on a bed, and covered him with a quilt.


    When he woke up the next morning, someone came and brought water with which to wash his face, a cup of green tea, and a large bowl of meat noodles. "They treat laozi better and better," he thought, "Unexpectedly they regard me like a big boss." But then he saw two men standing outside the side room, and two more men standing outside the window. Although they pretended to be idle and were chatting with each other, it was obvious that they had received order to watch over him, perhaps they were afraid he might escape.


    Wei Xiaobao was a bit anxious; he thought, "If they really treat me as an honored guest, why did they send these four men to guard me?" Suddenly his childish heart rose up. "Humph, I am afraid guarding Wei Xiaobao is not that easy. I am going to slip out and have a stroll, I want to see how these four idiots will deal with me!" After looking clearly at his surroundings, he hatched a plan. Straight away he reached out and pushed hard the window facing east. At the noise, four men looked to the window. When Wei Xiaobao was sure that these four men''s eyes were still looking at the window, he slammed the side room''s door to the inside, and quickly rolled underneath the bed.


    Hearing the door, the four men turned their heads around and saw the double door was already open; the leaves were swinging continuously. They were shocked. These four men were indeed sent to watch over Wei Xiaobao. When they saw the door open, their first thought was that Wei Xiaobao had already escaped. "Aiyo!" they all called out together, and rushed into the room. They saw Mao Shiba was still sleeping soundly on the bed, but Wei Xiaobao was nowhere to be seen.


    "This child couldn''t be too far," one man said, "Let''s spread out and pursue him, and report this to our superior."


    "Yes!" the other tree complied, and together they rushed out of the room. Two of them leaped up to the roof.


    Wei Xiaobao coughed, and then got out from under the bed and haughtily walked toward the main hall. He pushed the door and saw Guan Anji and Li Lishi were sitting side by side, while the men sent to guard him breathlessly reported, "That �� that child suddenly ran �� ran away; we don''t know �� where he is." Before he finished, he saw Wei Xiaobao suddenly appear. "Ah!" the man exclaimed, his eyes grew big as he stared at Wei Xiaobao, speechless.


    Wei Xiaobao stretched his body and said, "Li Dage, Guan Fuzi, how are you?"


    Guan Anji and Li Lishi looked at each other, and then said to the men, "Dismissed! You are useless!" Immediately they laughed toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Please sit down, did you sleep well last night?"


    With a chuckle Wei Xiaobao sat down and said, "Very well, very well!"


    The main hall door suddenly burst open as the other two men rushed in. "Guan Fuzi," one of them shouted, that �� that child has gone ��" Suddenly he saw Wei Xiaobao sitting there. "Oh!" he cried out in amazement, "He �� he ��"


    Wei Xiaobao could not help but laughing aloud as he said, "You four men are really useless, you can''t even watch over a child. If I really wanted to run away, I am already gone by now."


    A foolish-looking man asked, "How did you get out? There must be something in my eyes, I did not see even a shadow, yet you were already gone."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "I know the art of invisibility; I can teach it to you if you like."


    Guan Anji frowned; he waved his hands to the two men and said, "Dismissed!"


    The foolish-looking man was still asking, "There is really the art of invisibility? No wonder, no wonder."


    Li Lishi said, "Xiao Xiongdi is young, but smart and sharp, making people quite admire you."


    Suddenly they heard faint hoof beats in the distant, a large number of riders were coming their way. Guan Anji and Li Lishi stood up immediately. "Tatars'' troops?" Li Lishi said in a low voice. Guan Anji nodded. Pointing his finger to the door he let out three shrill whistles. Five men rushed into the hall.


    "Tell everybody to get ready!" Guan Anji said, "Tell Jia Laoliu to lead several brothers to protect Master Mao Shiba. A large number of Tatars'' troops have arrived, we can''t face them in battle, we must retreat separately per pre-arranged routes."


    The five men complied and went out to transmit the order. Everywhere the Tian Di Hui people were roused. Guan Anji said, "Xiao Xiongdi, you''d better stay with me."


    Suddenly a man rushed into the hall and said loudly, "Zongduozhu has arrived!"


    "What?" Guan Anji and Li Lishi asked together.


    The man said, "Zongduozhu, accompanied by five Halls'' Xiangzhu, are riding toward this place."


    Guan and Li, two people were delighted; they both asked, "How do you know?"


    The man replied, "Subordinate met Zongduozhu on the way, he personally ordered subordinate to inform his arrival in advance."


    Seeing the man had run and was out of breath, Guan Anji nodded and said, "Very well, you go and take a rest." He let out a whistle to summon the guard, and issued his order, "It''s not Tatars'' troops, it''s Zongduozhu''s arrival! Tell everybody to go out and welcome him."


    As soon as the news spread, the building was buzzing with excitement. Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand, Guan Anji said, "Xiao Xiongdi, our Society''s Zongduozhu has arrived. Let us greet him together!"

 Chapter - 8 (8)

    Altogether Tian Di Hui had ten Halls. The two empty chairs in the middle of the room, one belonged the Third Prince Zhu, the other belonged to Zheng Wangye. Chen Jinnan took the remaining seat. Each Hall''s Hall Master then reported the situation in various provinces.


    Wei Xiaobao followed Guan Anji, Li Lishi, and the other warriors outside the door, he saw two, three hundred men standing in two rows shaped like a funnel, their faces showed excitement. A moment later, two men carrying a stretcher with Mao Shiba on it came out.


    Li Lishi said, "Mao Shiba, you are our guest, no need to be so polite."


    Mao Shiba said, "I''ve long heard of Chen Zongduozhu''s illustrious name, it''s really like thunder piercing my ears. Today I have the opportunity to pay a formal visit, even if �� even if I have to die today, my death ��. my death won''t be in vain." His voice was still without any strength, but his face flushed, showing he was in high spirit.


    They heard the sound of hoof beats was coming near, about a dozen horses were galloping near. Before they even arrived, the first three riders jumped down from their mounts. Li Lishi and the others rushed forward to greet them, they held hands with those three riders and talked; they seemed to know each other very intimately.


    Wei Xiaobao heard one of them say, "Zongduozhu is waiting ahead of us; Li Dage, Guan Fuzi, and other brothers, please come and see him ��" These several people conferred with each other while still standing. Li Lishi, Guan Anji, Qi Biaoqing, Priest Xuanzhen, and the others, six people in all, mounted their horses and sped away with these incoming men.


    Mao Shiba was disappointed, "Chen Zongduozhu is not coming?" he asked. But nobody around him knew the answer to that question. They were all dejected because they could not see their Zongduozhu.


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Did someone owe you all ten thousand taels and did not pay? Or perhaps you lost your wife and your pants in gambling? Your granny, why are your expressions so ugly?"


    After a long time, someone on horseback galloped by. He was conveying an order, mentioning thirteen names, telling them to meet with Zongduozhu. Those thirteen men were delighted; they rushed toward their mounts and galloped away.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Mao Shiba, "Mao Dage, is Chen Zongduozhu a very old man?"


    Mao Shiba replied, "I �� I have never �� never seen him. Everybody in Jianghu admires Chen Zongduozhu, but to see his �� the Senior''s face may be really difficult."


    "Hey, hey," Wei Xiaobao laughed, in his heart he said, "Humph, damn it, what an arrogant guy, what''s so special about him anyway? Laozi does not want to see him."


    Seeing this situation, the crowd of warriors knew that most likely their Zongduozhu would not come. But they still cherished a one in ten thousand chance that he might, thereupon they all stood waiting at the main gate. After standing for a long time, some of them sat down. Someone advised Mao Shiba, "Master Mao, you''d better go back to your room and rest. If our Zongduozhu arrives, we''ll invite Master Mao to meet him as soon as possible."


    Mao Shiba shook his head and said, "No! I am going to wait here. It''s an honor to meet Chen Zongduozhu, if zaixia


    [85] is not waiting outside, that �� that will be too respectful. Ay, I wonder if during my lifetime, I, Mao Shiba, will have the good fortune to see the Senior''s face."


    Wei Xiaobao had followed Mao Shiba from Yangzhou to Beijing. Listening to what he said along the way, Mao Shiba did not have any favorable impression of various Wulin personalities, but toward this Chen Zongduozhu, he showed a complete reverence. Unconsciously Wei Xiaobao was also infected by his sentiment, and did not dare to curse in his heart anymore.


    Suddenly they heard hoof beats again, some people were galloping near. Those who sat on the ground leaped on their feet. Everybody craned his neck; everybody hoped that the person the Zongduozhu want to meet this time would be him. Sure enough, four envoys came by. Their leaders dismounted the horse and cupped his fist, saying, "Zongduozhu wishes to invite Mao Shiba, Master Mao, and Wei Xiaobao, Master Wei, to grant him the favor of meeting the two gentlemen."


    Mao Shiba cheered, he leaped up from the stretcher, but "Aiyo!" he cried, and fell back onto the stretcher. "Go quickly, go quickly!" he called out.


    Wei Xiaobao was also very happy, he thought, "Everybody has been calling me ''Gong-gong'' too much, but nobody has ever called me ''master''. Ha ha �� laozi is now Wei Xiaobao, Master Wei."


    Two envoys took over the stretcher and hang it between two horses. Then they slowly walked. The other envoy gave his ride to Wei Xiaobao, while he took another horse to ride on, and followed behind the procession. The six of them travelled less than three li on the main road, before they turned right onto a small lane. Along the way they met two or three men, either sitting or walking, either patrolling or guarding. The leader of the envoys stretched out his middle finger, ring finger and little finger and turned the fingers downward. The two guards nodded their heads; they also stretched out their fingers in secret signal. Wei Xiaobao noticed that the signals these people were showing were all different; he did not know the purpose of those signals.


    After travelling for twelve, thirteen li, they arrived at a courtyard in front of a big building. The man guarding in front of the gate loudly announced, "The guests have arrived!" And then he opened the gate. Li Lishi, Guan Anji, and two men that Wei Xiaobao had never met before came out. They cupped their fists and said, "Master Mao, Master Wei, welcome! Our humble Society''s Zongduozhu requests the pleasure of seeing you."


    Wei Xiaobao was utterly delighted; the thought, "Looks like my ''Master Wei'' will stay after all!"


    Mao Shiba struggled to stand up, he said, "How can I see Chen Zongduozhu like this? It''s really �� really �� Aiyo!" In the end he failed to get up and had to lie on the stretcher.


    Li Lishi said, "Master Mao is injured, no need to be overly courteous." He let the two guests to enter the main hall.


    A man told Wei Xiaobao, "Master Wei, please sit here and have some tea. Zongduozhu wishes to have a chat with Master Mao first." Straight away he took Mao Shiba in.


    Wei Xiaobao drank a cup of tea, a servant served him four dishes of light refreshments. Wei Xiaobao took a piece and thought, "Compared to the ones in the Imperial palace, this light refreshments is far too inferior, it can''t even reach the level of Lovely Spring Courtyard''s." Unavoidably the high regard he had of Zongduozhu''s status was reduced a little bit. However, his stomach was really hungry, so he ate not a few of these despised light refreshments.


    About the time needed to eat a meal later, Li Lishi and the others, four people, came out again. One of them was an elderly man with grizzled beard, who said, "Zongduozhu requests the pleasure of seeing Master Wei."


    Wei Xiaobao busily chewed the pastry in his mouth and swallowed it hard into his belly. After wiping his hands onto the front of his clothes, he followed the four people inside. They stopped in front of a side room''s door. The elderly man raised the curtain on the door and said, "Little White Dragon, Wei Xiaobao, Master Wei has arrived!"


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he thought, "Unexpectedly he knew my made-up nickname, Mao Dage must have told them."


    A middle-aged man dressed in scholar attire inside the room stood up; with a smile across his face he said, "Please come in!"


    Wei Xiaobao walked in. His eyes were rolling in confusion. Guan Anji said, "This is our humble Society''s Chen Zongduozhu."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his head slightly to take a look; he saw the man had a kind expression, but his eyes were like lightning as he gazed directly toward Wei Xiaobao. He could not help but was startled; he bent his knees and kowtowed to that man. The scholar stooped down to help him up and said with a laugh, "No need to be overly courteous." As his arms were being pulled by the scholar, Wei Xiaobao''s entire body was hot; he trembled involuntarily and was not able to continue his kowtow.


    The scholar said with a laugh, "This Xiao Xiongdi captured and killed the number one warrior of Machuria, Oboi; he has taken revenge and swiped out the grudge of our countless Han people compatriots who have died under Oboi''s hands. In just a few days his name has shaken the land under the heavens. To be able to make a name this early in life is truly hard to come by, from the ancient time up to this day."


    Actually, the skin on Wei Xiaobao''s face was quite thick; if someone else had praised him like this, he would immediately blow his own trumpet. However, in front of this Zongduozhu who did not flaunt his own prestige, unexpectedly he could only hum and haw without able to say anything. The Zongduozhu pointed to a chair and said with a smile, "Please sit down!" While he sat down himself first.


    Wei Xiaobao also sat down. But Li Lishi and the others, four people, remained standing. Zongduozhu smiled and said, "Master Mao Shiba told us that at the foot of Victory Hill in Yangzhou, by using a ruse Xiao Xiongdi has killed an officer of the Qing army, the Black Dragon Whip Shi Song, and thus making a debut and render your first merit. This is already out of the ordinary. I wonder how did Xiao Xiongdi capture Oboi?"


    Wei Xiaobao looked up, their eyes met, he could not stop his heart from thumping, in that instant the big talk and nonsense filling his heart suddenly vanished completely. When he opened his mouth, only the truth came out: how he obtained Kangxi''s favor, how Oboi was being rude, how he cooperated with the young emperor in arresting Oboi, and so on. It''s just that out of his respect toward Kangxi''s loyalty, he did not mention anything about the young emperor stabbed Oboi on the back with a dagger. As the matter stands, he did mention how he threw the ash from the incense burner to Oboi''s eyes and how he smashed his head with the copper incense burner, fully aware that if it was not a third-rate way of dealing with the enemy, then it was definitely a second-rate; yet he was unable to conceal it any longer.


    The Zongduozhu listened attentively without asking any question, when Wei Xiaobao finished, he nodded and said, "So that''s what happened. Xiao Xiongdi''s martial art skill is not of the same school as Master Mao''s, I wonder which honorable master is your teacher?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I only learn a little bit of martial art, it can''t be considered coming from any honorable master. The Old Turtle did not really teach me martial art, all he taught me was fake martial art."


    Although Zongduozhu was a man of vast experience and broad knowledge, he had not heard of any ''Old Turtle''; "The Old Turtle?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "Old turtle is Hai Laogong. His real name is Hai Tianfu. Mao Dage and I were captured by him and were brought to the Palace ..." Speaking to this point, he suddenly realized he had made a mistake. To the Tian Di Hui people he said that Mao Shiba and he were captured by Oboi, and now he said it was Hai Laogong who brought them to the Palace; how could the previous story not match the latter one? Luckily his ability in telling lies and covering up was top-notch; thereupon he said, "This old fellow was acting under Oboi''s order to capture us, two people. I supposed Oboi was a very high ranking official, naturally he would not easily do the job personally."


    "Hai Tianfu? Hai Tianfu?" Zongduozhu muttered to himself, "There is such character in the Tatars'' Palace? Xiao Xiongdi, show me the martial art he taught you."


    Even if the skin on Wei Xiaobao''s face were thicker, he knew that in all honesty his martial art skill was not too brilliant; he said, "The old turtle only taught me fake martial art; he hated me for poisoning his eyes blind, so he did everything possible to harm me. This martial art is truly shameful."


    The Zongduozhu nodded, he waved his left hand, Guan Anji and the others, four people withdrew outside the room and closed the door behind them. Zongduozhu asked, "How did you poison his eyes blind?"


    In front of this heroic-spirited and imposing Zongduozhu, Wei Xiaobao felt that telling lies was extremely difficult; it was a lot more comfortable to tell the truth, a feeling that he had never experienced before. Thereupon he told him how he poisoned Hai Laogong blind, how he killed Xiao Guizi, how he masquerade as him and live as a little eunuch in the Palace. Zongduozhu was amazed and amused at the same time. He reached out with his left hand toward Wei Xiaobao''s crotch and found that his pen1s and testicles were intact, Wei Xiaobao had not been ''purified'' at all, indeed he was not a court eunuch. Zongduozhu could not help but letting out a sigh of relief as he smiled and said, "Wonderful, wonderful! I have a difficult problem in my mind and have not found the solution for a while. Turns out Xiao Xiongdi has not been purified, you are not a court eunuch!" Slapping lightly on the table with his left hand, he said, "It''s settled then! Yin Xiongdi has a successor, the Green Wood Hall has a leader."


    Wei Xiaobao had no idea what he was talking about, he only saw Zongduozhu''s delighted expression, apparently he had found solution to the difficult problem weighing down his mind; Wei Xiaobao could not help but feeling happy as well.


    With both hands behind his back, Zongduozhu was walking back and forth in the room, while talking to himself, "Not a single one of our Tian Di Hui''s conducts and deeds was without any precedence. Everything starts with me, why should I care about people being shocked or about public criticism?" This literary-style speech of his was even more confusing to Wei Xiaobao.


    The Zongduozhu said, "There are only you and me, two people right now, you don''t need to be afraid to be embarrassed. I don''t care whether the martial art Hai Tianfu taught you was fake or real, perform it and let me see."


    Only then did Wei Xiaobao understand that the reason he sent Guan Anji, four people, out of the room was to avoid him being afraid of making a clown of himself. Seeing he had no other excuses, Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s what the old turtle taught me, it''s none of my business; if it is too laughable, you may curse him good."


    The Zongduozhu smiled and said, "Just go on with your practice, don''t worry!" Thereupon Wei Xiaobao started to perform his style, a small part of the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' Hai Laogong taught him, some of which he had already forgotten, but he still remembered most of it. Zongduozhu watched with rapt attention. After Wei Xiaobao finished performing the style, he nodded and said, "From the way you move, apparently you have learned Shaolin Temple''s ''big grappling technique'', is that so?"


    The ''big grappling technique'' was the one Wei Xiaobao learned first, naturally he knew his mastery was even worse; actually, he wanted to avoid doing it clumsily to save his own face, but Zongduozhu seemed to know everything. Without any choice he said, "The old turtle also taught me several grappling technique to be used in fighting the young emperor." And then he performed several moves of the ''big grappling technique''.


    The Zongduozhu smiled slightly and said, "Not bad!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I knew you would laugh when you see it."


    "I am not laughing at you!" the Zongduozhu said with a smile, "I like what I see. I think your memory, as well as your comprehension, are not bad; you are a talented individual. That move ''white horse kick back'', Hai Tianfu deliberately taught you incorrectly, but you turned it into ''carp props its gills''; you can make slight change automatically, you did not rigidly adhere to dead moves. That is very good!"


    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration; he thought, "Apparently Zongduozhu''s martial art skill is a lot higher than the old turtle''s. If he is willing to teach me martial art, I, Wei Xiaobao, will definitely become a real hero, no longer a fake hero." Leaning his head sideways, he stole a glance toward Zongduozhu; it so happened that Zongduozhu''s cold, electric eyes were gazing at him. Wei Xiaobao was always a mischievous person, even in front of imposing Empress Dowager, he still dared to face her up, but in front of this Zongduozhu, he did not dare to be wanton at all. As their eyes met, immediately he averted his gaze.


    Zongduozhu said slowly, "What do you think the purpose of our Tian Di Hui?"


    "Tian Di Hui is fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Helping the Han people to kill the Tatars."


    Zongduozhu nodded, "Exactly," he said, "Are you willing to enter our Tian Di Hui and become a brother?"


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "That''s wonderful!" In his mind, each and every one of Tian Di Hui members was a hero and a warrior, he had never imagined that he could become one of the Society''s brothers. He thought further, "Even Mao Dage is not a Tian Di Hui brother, could I be better than him?" He said, "I am afraid �� I am afraid I am not good enough." In that instant his eyes were shining as his heart was swayed between thoughts of personal gains and losses. He felt that it was an out-of-this-world undeserved good luck that most likely it was not real, perhaps Zongduozhu was only joking with him.


    The Zongduozhu said, "It is possible for you to enter the Society. It''s just that our business is fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming, regarding our Han people''s rivers and mountains as heavy, and our very own lives as light. Moreover, the rules within the Society are very strict, if you violate it, your punishment will be very heavy. You must think it over very well."


    "I don''t need to think," Wei Xiaobao said, "Whatever rule you have, I will abide by it. Zongduozhu, if you let me join the Society, I will die happy."


    The smile vanished from Zongduozhu''s face, he said grimly, "This is an extremely important matter, a matter of life and death, it''s not a child''s play."


    "Of course I know," Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard people say that Tian Di Hui walks in the way of chivalry, justice and loyalty, its business is startling-the-sky and moving-the-earth kind of great undertakings, how can it be a child''s play?"


    The Zongduozhu smiled and said, "It''s good that you know it. When you enter the Society, you must make 36 oaths and have to avoid ten strict prohibitions." Speaking to this point, his expression turned heavy. He said, "These prohibitions are not applicable to you since your age is still very young, but there is one: ''toward my brothers, I must be faithful and true, I must not lie and swindle.'' This one prohibition, do you think you can accomplish?"


    Wei Xiaobao was slightly startled, he said, "To you, Zongduozhu, naturally I won''t dare to lie. But toward the rest of the brothers, must I tell the truth all the time?"


    "Minor matter you may not tell, important matter you must tell," Zongduozhu said.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "But when I gamble with the Society''s brothers, can I or can''t I use tricks and cheat?"


    The Zongduozhu had never thought he would ask this kind of question; showing a faint smile he said, "Although gambling is not a good deed, the Society''s rules do not have anything against it. However, if you cheat on them and when they find out they want to beat you, the Society does not forbid it either. Would you like to take a beating and get the worst of it?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "They won''t know. Actually, I don''t need to cheat; my confidence in winning is nine out of ten."


    Tian Di Hui''s members were Jianghu warriors; gambling and drinking were their second nature, nobody ever consider it wrong. Zongduozhu no longer paid him any attention. After staring at him for a while, he said, "Are you willing to do obeisance and take me as your master?"


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, immediately he threw himself in front of him and kowtowed repeatedly, while calling, "Shifu!"


    This time the Zongduozhu did not help him up; after Wei Xiaobao had kowtowed a dozen times, he said, "It''s enough!" Wei Xiaobao happily stood up. The Zongduozhu said, "I am surnamed Chen, called Jinnan. This three-character name ''Chen Jinnan'' is what I use in Jianghu. Since you have become my disciple, you must know your Shifu''s real name. My original name is Chen Yonghua, ''yong'' from ''yong yuan'' [forever/eternal], and ''Hua'' from ''zhong hua'' [China]." When speaking about his real name, he lowered his voice.


    "Disciple will firmly keep it in my heart, I won''t dare to reveal it," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Chen Jinnan looked at him carefully for half a day, he said slowly, "You and I are master and disciple now, we should not conceal anything from each other. Let me tell you frankly: your glib tongue, your craftiness and your excessive cheating is completely unsuited to your master''s disposition; I do not like it at all. Therefore, the reason I accepted you as my disciple is out of consideration of our Society''s major mission."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Later on disciple will change."


    "Changing rivers and mountains is easy, changing a man''s character is much harder," Chen Jinnan said, "You won''t change much. You are still very young, your temper is rather unstable, so it''s not that bad. In the future you must always remember my words. I always treat my disciples with strict discipline, if you violate our Society''s rules, scheming against anything upright, break the law and commit crimes, your master will take your life. It is as easy as turning my hand, and I will not show any mercy." To prove it, he reached out with his left hand. ''Crack!'' he grabbed and broke a piece of wood from the corner of the table, and rubbed it between his hands. Wood splinters rained down on the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and did not pull it back for half a day. Presently, the delight in his heart was difficult to be chased away. He said with a laugh, "I am not going to do any bad thing. As soon as I commit an evil deed, Shifu will grab me on my head and rub it. Besides, I only need to do several bad things and Shifu, you won''t have any disciple to whom you can pass on your skill."


    "No need to do several bad things, only one is enough," Chen Jinnan said, "Then you and I won''t be master and disciple anymore."


    "How about two things?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    With a straight face Chen Jinnan replied, "You must be more serious to me, less smooth talking. One bad thing is one bad thing; do you even need to haggle over it?"


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao complied, but in his heart he said, "What if I do half a bad thing?"


    "You are my fourth disciple," Chen Jinnan said, "And maybe my last one. Tian Di Hui business is arduous, I do not have time to take a disciple. Your three Shixiong, two died in battle against the Tatars, one died in service during the recovery of Guoxing and Guangfu, Taiwan; they all died as real men sacrificing their lives for the country. Your master''s status in Wulin world is not low, my reputation is not shameful, you must not do anything that will cause me to lose face."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that ... it''s just that ..."


    "It''s just that what?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    "Sometimes it was not me who want to lose face," Wei Xiaobao said, "But I ended up losing face anyway, I can''t help it. For example, I could not beat others, so others caught me and closed me up inside a jujube barrel, and was pushed around like some merchandise. Shifu, you must not blame me."


    Chen Jinnan frowned; he was angered, but was also amused. After heaving a deep sigh he said, "Perhaps accepting you as my disciple is the biggest blunder I''ve ever made in my entire life. But for the sake of heavy responsibility over the important matter of the world, I have to brave a risk. Xiaobao, our Society has another important matter at hand, in everything you must listen to my instruction and do as I command, don''t talk nonsense too much, then you will be all right."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Chen Jinnan noticed that he was going to speak but hesitated, so he asked, "What do you want to say?"


    "When disciple talks," Wei Xiaobao started, "I only say something that makes sense to me, I don''t want to talk nonsense at all. Yet you say that I talk nonsense, isn''t that an unjust treatment?"


    Chen Jinnan did not want to squabble with him, he said, "Then the less you talk the better," but in his heart he said, "I don''t know how many heroes and warriors under the heavens are showing respect in front of me, they do not even dare to breathe too loudly, but this cunning, uncouth and weird urchin insists on having this much useless words." He stood up and walked toward the door. "Come with me," he said. Wei Xiaobao rushed to the door and lifted the door curtain to let Chen Jinnan go out, then he followed him to the main hall.


    There were about twenty people sitting in the main hall, as soon as they saw their Zongduozhu come out, everybody stood at attention immediately. Chen Jinnan nodded, he walked toward the second chair at the head of the hall and sat down. Wei Xiaobao noticed that the chair in the middle was empty, and the chair above his Shifu''s position was also empty; he was bewildered, "Could it be that Zongduozhu is not the highest position?" he mused, "How come there are two people above Shifu?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "Brothers, I have received a young disciple today." Pointing to Wei Xiaobao he said, "It''s him!"


    The crowd stepped forward; cupping their fists and bowing, they said, "Congratulations Zongduozhu," and then they cupped their fists toward Wei Xiaobao and one after another they offered their congratulations as well. Some of them appeared really happy, some looked greatly astonished, some looked like they did not believe it really happened.


    Chen Jinnan ordered Wei Xiaobao, "Go greet all Bobo, Shushu


    [86]." Wei Xiaobao then went to kowtow to everybody. Standing on the side, Li Lishi introduced, "This is Lotus Flower Hall''s Xiangzhu, Cai Dezhong, Cai Bobo." "This is Great Obedience Hall''s Xiangzhu, Fang Dahong, Fang Bobo." "This is Latter Family Hall''s Xiangzhu, Ma Chaoxing, Ma Bobo."


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed in front of these Xiangzhu one by one. Altogether there were nine Xiangzhu from nine Halls. Next he had to greet the people next in command of the various Halls. The nine Xiangzhu returned his kowtow by casual greeting, they said continually, "I don''t dare, Xiao Xiongdi please rise." But unexpectedly other people did not received his kowtow; as soon as he was about to kneel down, they would reach out and stop him. Wei Xiaobao was quick, sometimes he already knelt down before the other side had time to stop; in this case, the other person would hastily kneel as well to return the propriety. Apparently they did not dare to assume the position as a senior.


    There were more than twenty people in the hall, Wei Xiaobao could not remember everybody''s name and duty, he only knew that each one of these people was a leading figure of the Tian Di Hui. He thought, "As soon as I bowed to Zongduozhu and become his disciple, everybody treated me as one of their own, they even told me their real name and capacity within the Society." In his heart he was very happy.


    Chen Jinnan waited until Wei Xiaobao finished greeting the people, and then he said, "Brothers, after taking this young disciple, I also wish for him to enter the Tian Di Hui."


    "Nothing''s better than that," the crowd replied in chorus.


    The Lotus Flower Hall''s Xiangzhu, Cai Dezhong was an old man with white hair and white beard. He said, "From the beginning, great teacher always produces brilliant student. The disciple of Zongduozhu must be a wise, brave, and all-around talented young hero. I believe that he will establish great merit in our Society."


    The Latter Family Hall''s Xiangzhu, Ma Chaoxing was a short and stout man, with sincere smile on his face; he said, "Today we meet Xiao Xiongdi of the Wei family, but I do not have anything as a first meeting gift. The one surnamed Ma has always a man of meticulous planning and careful accounting; let''s do it this way: how about if Cai Xiangzhu and I become Xiao Xiongdi''s sponsor as he joins the Society, consider it as our first meeting gift. What does Cai Xiong thinks?"


    Cai Dezhong laughed aloud and said, "Old Ma''s careful accounting need not be mentioned, it is guaranteed to be a sound planning. This first meeting gift does not involve any money, count me in." Everybody chuckled and laughed.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Two Bobo have enormous faces, and they are willing to be your sponsor. Quickly thank them."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He stepped forward and kowtowed to express his gratitude.


    Chen Jinnan said, "According to our Society''s rules, the good and bad words and actions of the brother entering the Society will be the great responsibility of the sponsor. This young disciple of mine is very sharp-witted; I am afraid with his quick-thinking head, he would not do the job abiding by the rules. Since Cai and Ma, two Xiangzhu are his sponsors, later on you will share some of my responsibility. If he ever do anything dishonorable, you must put your hands to discipline him, you must not be too polite."


    Cai Dezhong said, "Zongduozhu is too modest. How can any disciple under Zongduozhu''s tutelage be a dishonorable scholar?"


    "I am not being too modest," Chen Jinnan replied, "Toward this child, I do not feel at ease; by helping me disciplining him, everybody is sharing my responsibility and taking some load off my mind."


    Ma Chaoxing laughed and said, "Disciplining him, I do not dare, Xiao Xiongdi is young, if you have anything you are not clear, we all are brothers here, of course we will be frank and open-minded, so you won''t have to be uptight."


    Chen Jinnan nodded and said, "Let me thank you in advance."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I haven''t done anything wrong, but Shifu already worry that I will do bad things. Ah, right, he heard me on the trick I used to deal with the old turtle, he is afraid my old illness might flare-up and would treat him the same way. But the old turtle wanted to harm me, plus he was not my Shifu, so I poisoned his eyes blind. You are my real Shifu, you will teach me real skill, how can I fool with you? Yet you talk about it up front, everybody here will discipline me, then I won''t be able to move at all."


    He heard Chen Jinnan said, "Li Xiongdi, please set up a ceremonial hall, we will have a ceremony today to let Wei Xiaobao join our Society." Li Lishi complied and went out to prepare the ceremony. Chen Jinnan said, "According to the customs of the former days, whenever someone wanted to join our Society, the sponsor must examine and investigate his past history and present conducts, for at least half a year, at most one or two years. When everything has been verified, we then conduct the ceremony and have the person join the Society. However, Wei Xiaobao holds a governmental post in the Qing Palace, he is a very trusted-aide of the young Emperor, which will be very beneficial to our Society. We have to temporarily make an exception here, but not because he is my own disciple."


    The people said, "We, brothers, understand."


    The Great Obedience Hall''s Xiangzhu, Fang Dahong was a big and tall man, his black beard was long and shiny. With a loud and clear voice he said, "We can have such a trusted brother handling matters at the side of the Tatars Emperor, is indeed a Heaven''s blessing. The luck of the Tatars is numbered, the revival our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains is promising. It is called ''knowing yourself and knowing the enemy, you will emerge victorious in every battle''. Who does not understand Zongduozhu''s intention?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "So the reason you all treat me very well is to make me a spy by the Emperor''s side. Shall I do it, or shan''t I do it?" Thinking how well Kangxi had treated him, he could not help but feeling quite a bit of hesitation.


    Cai Dezhong immediately explained briefly the history and rules of the Tian Di Hui to Wei Xiaobao. He said, "The founder of our Society was Koxinga[87], whose original surname was Zheng, his given name was Cheng at the top and Gong at the bottom. At that time Koxinga was the leader of militia, he attacked Jiangnan [South of Changjiang/Yangtze River] and besieged Jiangning [district, Jiangsu], but he failed within sight of success, and was forced to retreat, back to Taiwan. Accepting Zongduozhu''s recommendation, he founded our Tian Di Hui. At that time, our Zongduozhu was Koxinga''s military leader. Me and Fang Xiongdi, Ma Xiongdi, Hu Xiongdi, Li Xiongdi, as well as the Green Wood Hall''s Yin Xiangzhu and the others, were all military officers and soldiers under Koxinga."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that Koxinga was Zheng Chenggong, whom the Ming Dynasty Emperor bestowed the surname Zhu, therefore, the people addressed him deferentially as Guo Xing Ye. Zheng Chenggong had a resounding reputation in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guanghzhou area. He passed away during the first year of Kangxi''s reign. Since he died not too long ago, when mentioning his name, everybody''s tone was very respectful. Mao Shiba had also mentioned his name to Wei Xiaobao.


    Cai Dezhong continued, "There were a lot of our soldiers remained in Jiangnan, unable to retreat to Taiwan. Some withdrew to Xiamen, a small part of our army actually; for this reason, Zongduozhu accepted Koxinga''s order to remain in the Central Earth to establish the Tian Di Hui and get in touch with Koxinga''s former subordinates. Everybody who had followed Koxinga in the attack of Jiangsu and Zhejiang automatically became Tian Di Hui member, without any need of neither sponsor nor the probation period. But if any outsider wanted to join the Society, we must thoroughly verify his background, to guard against any spy penetrating our organization."


    Speaking to this point, he paused for a moment, then suddenly his expression brightened as he continued with his narrative, "To think that back then our army embarked from Taiwan, altogether we had one hundred and seventy thousand men: fifty thousand navy, fifty thousand cavalry, fifty thousand infantry, ten thousand supporting guerillas, and ten thousand ''ironmen soldiers'', each one of them wearing full body armor and wielded long lance in their hands, specially designed to hack the legs of Tatars'' horses, while the enemy''s blade and arrows could not injure them. During the battle of Mount Yang Peng in Zhenjiang, Zongduozhu was in command of two thousand troops, we destroyed the Tatars'' eighteen thousand soldiers. It was truly majestic, the aura of death filled the air. I was an officer in the eighth garrison under Zongduozhu''s flag, I led my troops to rush and kill the enemy, and I heard the Tatars soldiers cried out, ''Malu, malu! Qihu, qihu!''."


    Listening to this story, Wei Xiaobao was radiant with delight. "What does that mean?" he asked.


    Cai Dezhong said, "In Tatar''s tongue, ''Malu, malu'' means ''Mama, Mama''. ''Qihu, qihu'' means ''run away, run away!''." Everybody roared in laughter.


    Ma Chaoxing said with a laugh, "When Cai Xiangzhu is telling the story of the capture of Zhenjiang and the big massacre of the Tatar troops, he is in such a high spirit that the story won''t be finished in three days and three nights. As the sponsor, you need to explain our Society''s rules to Wei Xiongdi, if you talk like that, even when Wei Xiongdi''s beard grew as long as yours, you won''t be finished ..." Speaking to this point, he suddenly remembered that Wei Xiaobao was a little eunuch, how could he grow beard? Stealing a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, he saw that Wei Xiaobao was unconcerned, only then did he feel relieved.


    At this moment Li Lishi was back, reporting that the ceremony hall was ready. Chen Jinnan led everybody toward the rear hall. Wei Xiaobao saw two memorial tablets set up on an board table. The one in the middle read ''The Son of Heaven of the Great Ming'', the one next to it read ''Lord Yan Ping of the Great Ming, Marshall Zheng''. As sacrificial offering on the table were arranged a pig''s head, a sheep''s head, a chicken, and a fish, plus seven incense sticks. Everybody kneeled down together and did obeisance to the spirit table.


    Cai Dezhong took a sheet of white paper from the table, with a loud and clear voice he read, "Heaven and earth is universal, recovering the Great Ming, exterminating the barbarians. We all live together and die together, imitating the ancient tale of Peach Garden, we all are brothers, with the surname Hong [great], given name Jinlan [sworn brother], become one family. We bow to the heaven as our father, and to the earth as our mother, the sun is our brother, the moon is our sister. We bow to five ancestors and the founder Wan Yunlong as the guardian spirits of the Hong family. We take the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month of the year Jiayin[88], at the Chou hour [between 1-3 am] as our birth-date. Over the former two capitals and thirteen provinces, wholeheartedly as one body. Present imperial court is not imperial court, generals and marshals are not general and marshals, the hearts of the people waver, as we are called to restore the Ming Dynasty and eliminate the barbarians under the heavens. We all consider Chen Jinnan as our commander, we will go with him thru five lakes and four oceans, to be heroes and warriors. We burn incense and establish an oath, to obey and walk in the way of the Heaven, to recover the Ming Dynasty, to take revenge and erase humiliation. We smear our lips with the blood of a sacrifice and make an oath, may the deities come down and be our witness."


    Finished reading, Cai Dezhong explained, "Wei Xiongdi, within these words there is a reference to the ancient tale of ''Tying Righteousness in the Peach Garden'', do you know about it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Liu, Guan and Zhang made an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, they were not born in the same year and the same month, but were wishing that they would die in the same year and the same month."


    "That''s right," Cai Dezhong said, "Now that you have entered Tian Di Hui, everybody becomes brother. We and Zongduozhu are brothers, you bowed to him and enter his tutelage, everybody become your Bobo or Shushu. Consequently, you greeted us by kowtowing. But from now on, we are brothers, so you do not need to kowtow to us anymore."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, but in his heart he mused, "That''s great."


    Cai Dezhong said, "Our Tian Di Hui is also called Hong Men[89]. ''Hong'' is from Hongwu, the regnal name of Ming Taizu[90]. Surname Hong, given name Jinlan means the brotherhood of the Hong Men. Our Hong Men was founded by Wan Yunlong. Wan Yunlong is another name for Koxinga. First, we brothers do not dare to casually mentioning Koxinga''s real surname and given name; second, it will be inconvenient to us if the eagle claws hear his name too much. Therefore, among the brothers, we refer to Koxinga as Wan Yunlong. ''Wan'' means ''thousands and tens of thousands people'', ''Yunlong'' means a dragon in the cloud. Thousands and tens of thousands people consider the Great Ming as the Son of Heaven, thereupon he strived to regain our beautiful rivers and mountains. Wei Xiongdi, this is our Society''s secret, you must never mention it to an outsider friend. Even if Master Mao Shiba is your good friend, your good brother, you must not tell him this."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I understand," he said, "Mao Dage wanted very much to join our Tian Di Hui, can we let him join the Society?"


    Cai Dezhong said, "Someday Wei Xiongdi can be his sponsor. After our Society people investigate in detail, naturally he can be admitted." Cai Dezhong also said, "The twenty-fifth day of the seventh month at the Chou hour was the time when our Society was established. Our Society''s five ancestors were the five marshals who sacrificed themselves for the just cause in Jiangning. The first one was surnamed Gan given name Hui. I remember when our large army attacked Jiangning, I commanded a garrison of troops, I received Zongduozhu''s order to set an ambush outside the Jiangning western city gate, the Tatars army ��" When talking about the attack on Jiangning prefecture in the past, he waved his hands continuously, the more he talked, the farther away he was from the topic at hand.


    Ma Chaoxing smiled and interrupted him, "Cai Xiangzhu, it won''t be too late if we tell the story of the attack on Jiangning prefecture slowly later."


    Cai Dezhong laughed; slapping his own forehead he said, "Right, right. Once I started on the past events, I can''t stop until the story is finished. Let me read the ''Three-point Revolutionary Poem'' now. I read a line, you follow by reading one line." He started reading immediately, "Three-point hidden revolutionary model, those who enter our Hong Men must not disclose. Fostering an acute potential from the feuding days, swearing to exterminate the Qing Dynasty clean in a single sweep." Wei Xiaobao repeated his reading.


    Cai Dezhong said, "The character ''hong'' in our Hong Men actually came from our Han people''s ''han'' character. Our Han people''s rivers and mountains being occupied by the Tatars, without land, the character ''han'' ( �h ) minus the character ''tu'' [earth] ( �� ) becomes the character ''hong'' ( �� )." Presently he explained the thirty-six pledges, ten prohibitions and ten punishments, and twenty one rules so that Wei Xiaobao could understand. Major rules include loyalty and brotherhood, filial piety, harmonious relationship with fellow countrymen, fellow members and brothers of the family, helping each other in trials and tribulations, et cetera. For leaking classified information, implicating the brethrens, surrendering to the authority, raping and pillaging, bullying the weak and alone, breaking his promise, embezzling public funds and other offenses, light punishment would be cutting the ear and flogging, heavy punishment would be dismemberment into eight pieces, beheading and dividing the body.


    Wei Xiaobao promised to strictly abide by all the rules, one by one, he vowed he would never dare to disobey, and this time he was wholehearted, making the oath without causing any mischief.


    Ma Chaoxing fetched a large bowl of wine, with a needle he pricked his left-hand''s middle finger and let his blood dripped into the bowl. Chen Jinnan and the others also pricked their fingers. Finally Wei Xiaobao did the same. Everyone drank a mouthful of blood wine, and the ceremony inducting Wei Xiaobao into the Society was over. Everybody shook his hand and embraced him, it was intimate and warm. Wei Xiaobao felt a warm sensation in his entire body, he felt that from this day onward, he would not be left alone anymore in this world.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Altogether our Society has ten Halls, five front houses five halls, rear five houses five halls. Five front houses Lotus Flower Hall, Great Obedience Hall, Latter Family Hall, Greatest Unity Hall, Magnificent Transformation Hall. Five rear houses Green Wood Hall, Scarlet Fire Hall, Western Gold Hall, Mysterious Water Hall, Yellow Earth Hall. The Xiangzhu of nine halls are assembled here. Only Green Wood Hall''s Yin Xiangzhu was killed the year before last, until now it has no Xiangzhu. Brothers of Green Wood Hall, you have repeatedly made an oath in front of Wan Yunlong Dage and Yin Xiangzhu''s memorial tablets that whoever killed Oboi and avenge Yin Xiangzhu, everybody will revere him as our Hall''s Xiangzhu. Is it true that there is indeed such matter?"


    "Absolutely," everyone answered, "Indeed there is such matter."


    Chen Jinnan''s penetrating gaze swept everybody''s face from left to right, he said slowly, "I heard that for the purpose of setting up the new Xiangzhu, the brothers of the Green Wood Hall once have had some disagreement. Although everybody took the big picture into consideration, heavily upholding benevolence and righteousness, and thus did not harm the brotherhood, but if this matter is not properly decided, within the Green Wood Hall there will always be an enormous private concern for me to worry. Green Wood Hall is an important Hall in our Tian Di Hui; it oversees all prefectures, provinces and counties in Jiangnan and Jiangbei. For the past few years it gradually expand its authority over Shandong and Hebei, and this time it has penetrated the city limit of Beijing. Whether Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu is an able person or not, it corresponds directly to the rise and fall of our Society, and bear enormous responsibility toward the success of failure of the great undertaking of overthrowing the Qing. In the event that the brethrens in the Hall are in disagreement and fail to work together for a common purpose, this great undertaking cannot be achieved." After a short pause he continued by asking, "That treacherous bandit Oboi was killed by Wei Xiaobao, and Green Wood Hall brothers witness this with their own eyes, is this true?"


    Almost together Li Lishi and Guan Anji replied, "It is." Li Lishi also said, "In front of Wan Yunlong Dage''s memorial tablet everybody has made an oath. Definitely we cannot say that it doesn''t count. If we made an oath like a fart, in the future, what other oath can we make in front of Wan Yunlong Dage''s memorial tablet, what other hope do we have? Although Wei Xiaobao Xiongdi is young, I, Li Lishi, am willing to support him as our Hall''s Xiangzhu."


    Having Li Lishi stole the initiative, Guan Anji thought, "This child is Zongduozhu''s disciple, his status is definitely out of ordinary. Listening to how Zongduozhu said those words, it''s obvious that he wanted this young disciple to be our Hall''s Xiangzhu. Li Lao''er [Ol'' Li the second] and I are vying for the Xiangzhu position, neither one of us is willing submit to the other, we might as well ''move apart on the beat''. He had already opened his mouth to curry favor with Zongduozhu, I can''t lose to him, since that will make me appear I am harboring a selfish desire." Thereupon he said, "Li Dage is right, Wei Xiongdi''s sharp-wittedness surpasses others, under Zongduozhu''s instruction, someday he will be a young hero whose prestige will shake the Jianghu. Guan Anji is willing to support Wei Xiaobao Xiongdi as our Hall''s Xiangzhu."


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up from fright, waving his hands wildly, he shouted, "Can''t do, can''t do! This �� this Xiangzhu [fragrant master] or Chouzhu [stinky master], I can''t do it!"


    Chen Jinnan glowered at him, "What nonsense are you talking about?" he barked. Wei Xiaobao did not dare to open his mouth anymore.


    Chen Jinnan said, "This child''s blade has killed Oboi, and that is an unalterable fact. We must abide by the oath we made in front of Wan Yunlong Dage''s memorial tablet, and have no choice but must let him be the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu. It was because I must let him be the Xiangzhu that I accepted him as my disciple, not the other way around. I didn''t think of making him the Xiangzhu after I accepted him as my disciple. This child''s character is not good, perhaps he will give me several hundred headache in the future."


    Fang Dahong said, "Zongduozhu has taken a lot of trouble, we, brothers understand it. Zongduozhu is neither relative nor kin with Wei Xiongdi, today is the first time you meet each other. Zongduozhu is making an exception by looking upon him with special favor, naturally it is because you are giving thought of our Society''s important matter. Only �� only �� Zongduozhu does not need to worry. Our Society''s brethrens intermingled with Jianghu people, very few read books, which mouth does not use bad language and common saying? Wei Xiongdi is young, Li Dage and Guan Fuzi are willing to support him with all their might, I am sure there won''t be any catastrophic disaster."


    Chen Jinnan nodded and said, "Therefore, we let Wei Xiaobao to be the Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu because we have sworn an oath in front of Wan Yunlong Dage''s memorial tablet, which we cannot simply dismiss. But as long as he has been the Xiangzhu for a day, we can consider it done. If tomorrow he commits outrages, disturbing Green Wood Hall''s affairs, hindering our Society''s great undertaking in fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming, we can immediately strip him from the Xiangzhu position without half a part of tolerance. Li Dage, Guan Erge, I am asking the two of you to attentively help him. If this child does anything improper, I want you to report to me in details, do not conceal anything." Li Lishi and Guan Anji bowed and complied.


    Chen Jinnan turned around and kneeled before the memorial tablet; he picked three burning incense sticks from the censer and held it high with both hands. With a clear voice he said, "Subordinate Chen Jinnan swears before Wan Yunlong Dage''s memorial tablet: if subordinate Wei Xiaobao violates our Society''s rules, or displays insufficient obedience to the rules, subordinate will immediately depose him from Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu duty, without showing even half a part of favoritism. We grant him the Xiangzhu position in compliance with our oath. The day we depose him of his position, is also in compliance with this oath. If subordinate Chen Jinnan does not abide by this oath, the spirit of Wan Dage in heaven will strike the top of my head with thunder, my body will be pulled apart to five sections by horses, I will die under the Tatars'' eagle claws'' hands." Finished saying that, he bowed several times with the incense sticks still in his hands, and then returning the sticks to the censer, he knocked his head on the floor several times.


    Everyone spoke together in praise, "The way Zongduozhu handles this matter is for the common good above everything without regard for personal interests, no one among us does not accept this wholeheartedly."


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao said, "Just great! I still say that the real reason all of you want me to be some Xiangzhu or Chouzhu is just so that you can use me as a wooden plank to cross the river. After crossing, you''ll tear the bridge apart. Today you grant me to be a Xiangzhu because you want to abide by your oath. Tomorrow you''ll pick a quarrel and depose me so that you''ll still abide by your oath. At that time whether it would be Li Dage or Guan Fuzi, either one will be a logical choice for the new Xiangzhu." With a loud voice he said, "Shifu, I don''t want to be the Xiangzhu!"


    Chen Jinnan was startled. "What?" he asked.


    "I can''t do it, and I don''t want to do it," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You can''t do it, but you can learn it slowly," Chen Jinnan said, "I can teach you, Li and Guan two brothers have already promised to help you. Within Tian Di Hui, Xiangzhu position ranks very high, why don''t you want to do it?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Today I become one, tomorrow you will depose me, then I will be humiliated instead. I don''t want to be Xiangzhu, everything is very obscure. Once I take the office, everybody will look for bones in the egg; in less than half a day, I will fall from power and be extremely disgraced."


    Chen Jinnan said, "There is no bone in the egg, even everybody is looking for it, they won''t find any."


    "The egg will become a chick," Wei Xiaobao said, "So there is bone in it. Even if there is none, when the people look, they would break my eggshell first, talk later, mixing the egg yolk and the egg white, then the egg will collapse." Everybody could not help but laugh.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Do you think the way we Tian Di Hui handle matters is a child''s play? As long as you do not do any evil deed, everybody will respect you as the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, who will offend you? Even if they don''t revere you, they will still respect you as my disciple."


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a while, then he said, "Alright, let us talk it over clearly first. If in the future you don''t want me to be the Xiangzhu, so be it: I won''t be the Xiangzhu. But you must not randomly add accusation, beat me or curse me, or cut my ears or chop my head, or cut me apart into eight sections."


    Chen Jinnan frowned. "You always love to bargain back and forth," he said, "If you don''t do any misdeed, who will kill you? If the Tatars beat you or kill you, everybody will avenge you." Pausing for a moment, he continued earnestly, "Xiaobao, real men dare to do what they dare to say, real men won''t pass on their responsibility to others. Since you already join our Tian Di Hui, you must summon up your courage and determination to strive to be the first, to rid common people of all evil. If you are always scheming for your own good, won''t it be a bad act of a hero or a warrior?"


    When Wei Xiaobao heard the words ''hero and warrior'', he remembered how the storyteller always mentioned those great heroes; the heroic spirit was awakened in his breast. He said, "That''s right, Shifu''s lesson is very true. If my head is chopped, at most it will give me a bowl size scar. Eighteen years later, a hero will appear." This was the words the Jianghu men often said when they were being tied up on the execution ground. Although the way Wei Xiaobao used it was not very appropriate, he won the applause of everybody in the hall.


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Being a Xiangzhu is a very happy occasion, unlike being tied up on the execution ground ready to be beheaded. There are nine other Xiangzhu in here, every one of them is doing it happily. You should learn to copy their manner."


    Guan Anji walked over toward Wei Xiaobao; he cupped his fist and bowed, "Subordinate Guan Anji pays his respect to our Hall''s Xiangzhu," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head to Chen Jinnan. "What do I do?" he asked.


    "Just return the propriety," Chen Jinnan replied.


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the propriety. "Guan Fuzi, how are you?" he said.


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "''Guan Fuzi'' is the nickname with which the brothers usually call him. In day-to-day business, you may call him ''Guan Fuzi'', but in formal setting, you should call him Guan Erge."


    Wei Xiaobao corrected himself, "Guan Erge, how are you?"


    This time Guan Anji stole the initiative from Li Lishi. Immediately he also stepped forward to pay his respect. One by one the nine other Xiangzhu stepped forward to congratulate Wei Xiaobao. Then everybody returned to the main hall, leaving Zongduozhu and the ten Halls'' Xiangzhu to discuss official business.


    Green Wood Hall was the chief among the five rear houses'' Halls. Within the Tian Di Hui organization, it ranked number six. Wei Xiaobao was seated on the first chair on the right row. Scarlet Fire Hall and other Halls'' Xiangzhu, some had white beard hanging down to their chests, were unexpectedly seated in lower-ranked seats. Li Lishi, Guan Anji, and the others retreated outside the hall, so there were only eleven men left: Chen Jinnan and the ten Xiangzhu, the first echelon of the Tian Di Hui organization.


    Chen Jinnan pointed to the empty chair in the middle and said, "This is the Third Prince Zhu''s seat." Pointing to the other empty chair next to it he said, "This is the Taiwan''s Zheng Wangye''s seat. Zheng Wangye is Koxinga''s son, nowadays he inherited the title Yanping Junwang


    [91]. When we, Tian Di Hui are having our meetings, although Third Prince Zhu and Zheng Wangye are not present, we always provide empty seats for them." This explanation was obviously for Wei Xiaobao''s benefit. He then continued by saying, "Brothers, please report the situation in various provinces."


    Within the five front houses, the head house Lotus Flower Hall was in charge of Fujian, the second house Great Obedience Hall was in charge of Guangdong, the third house Latter Family Hall was in charge of Guangxi, the fourth house Greatest Unity Hall was in charge of Hunan and Hubei, the fifth house Magnificent Transformation Hall was in charge of Zhejiang. Within the five rear houses, the head house Green Wood Hall was in charge of Jiangsu, the second house Scarlet Fire Hall was in charge of Guizhou, the third house Western Gold Hall was in charge of Sichuan, the fourth house Mysterious Water was in charge of Yunnan, the fifth house Yellow Earth was in charge of Henan.


    The Tian Di Hui was comprised of Koxinga''s former subordinates, their main force was in Fujian, which was the reason the Lotus Flower Hall was the head house; its power was the strongest. Next would be the two provinces Guangdong and Guangxi, followed by the two ''lakes'' Hunan and Hubei[92], and then Zhejiang, Jiangsu.


    Presently Cai Dezhong was the first to report the Tian Di Hui''s affair in Fujian, followed by Fang Dahong recounting the Guangdong''s Society''s affair. Wei Xiaobao listened for a while. First, he did not understand, second, he did not have the least bit of interest. At last he was simply hearing without really listening, in his heart he was thinking about gambling and having fun.


    When it was the Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu''s turn to give report, Chen Jinnan said, "Originally Green Wood Hall was in charge of Jiangnan, Jiangning, and Suzhou, dealing with the Tatars in those regions. Afterwards Yin Xiongdi moved the fragrant hall to Jiangbei Xuzhou, progressively entered Shandong, Zhili, straight toward Tatars'' capital. Only, it''s a pity Yin Xiongdi lost his life in Oboi''s hands. The strength of Green Wood Hall is greatly harmed." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "A few days ago several brothers courageously broke into Prince Kang''s mansion, where by lucky coincidence Xiaobao''s blade killed Oboi and thus avenged Yin Xiongdi''s great enmity. This major attack by the Green Wood Hall may cause fear and trepidation in the Tatars'' hearts. It''s just that from now on naturally the Tatars will intensify their guard. Hereafter when we work, we must be doubly careful." Everybody voiced their agreement together.


    After this, one after another the Xiangzhu of Scarlet Fire Hall and Western Gold Hall gave an account of the situation around Guizhou and Sichuan, two provinces. Listening to this, Wei Xiaobao could not refrain from yawning, so hastily he reached up to cover his mouth. When the Mysterious Water Hall''s Xiangzhu, Lin Yongchao, bringing up the situation in Yunnan, his expression was aroused in indignation; he was cursing continually. It was only then that Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was also aroused.


    He heard him say, "That traitor Wu Sangui opposes us on every front. From last year all the way to this year, not even ten month yet, there are seventy nine brothers of the Society being killed by that b@stard. Damn that goat, laozi definitely cannot live under the same sky with that dog traitor. Our people have attempted to assassinate him several times, but this traitor to the Han has many able people by his side. Consecutively we tried three times, all have failed ..." He pointed his finger to his left arm, which was hanging on his shoulder, and said, "During the attempt last month, his granny, laozi broke my arm. This great traitor has done too many evil deeds. There will come a day when his entire family will be beheaded and chopped into mincemeat by our Tian Di Hui." As soon as the name ''Wu Sangui'' was mentioned, everybody had his breast filled with indignation.


    In Yangzhou, Wei Xiaobao had already heard people mentioning how Wu Sangui helped the Qing troops crossing the pass and seizing the Han people''s land. The Tatars troops raped, killed and burned in Yangzhou, the main culprit, the main cause of the disaster, was Wu Sangui. After helping the Qing Dynasty conquering China, he was granted the title Ping Xi Wang [King who pacify the West], with the right to guard Yunnan forever. Wei Xiaobao noticed that whenever people mentioning the name Wu Sangui, three characters, nobody did not clench his teeth and show hatred so deep into their bones. Therefore, when this Lin Xiangzhu open his mouth in swearing and cursing, Wei Xiaobao did not think it was strange.


    As soon as Lin Yongchao started to curse, the other eight Xiangzhu also open their mouth in curses. These men were originally soldiers who for the last several years had mingled with Jianghu people, so they were accustomed to vulgar language. However, in front of Zongduozhu, with great effort they tried to restrain themselves. As soon as they started cursing, nobody tried to be polite. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; as soon as he heard some cussing, he was like a fish enters the water; he could not stop his own mouth from hurling obscenities. Speaking about cussing, Wei Xiaobao''s finesse were several degree above these nine Xiangzhu; a sentence by a sentence he beat around the bush, each sentence was malicious and mean, the nine Xiangzhu were only shouting curses in their anger, so that compared to Wei Xiaobao their deficiency was obvious.


    Chen Jinnan waved his hand and said, "Enough, enough! Even if there are millions more people in the world cursing Wu Sangui, that scoundrel is still nicely holding his Ping Xi Wang position. Cursing will not kill him, assassination won''t be effective either."


    Great Transformation Hall''s Xiangzhu, Li Shikai was short and slim, he was soft-spoken and neither did he curse too much. This time he spoke, "In subordinate''s opinion, even if we launched a large-scale attack against Yunnan and killed Wu Sangui, it won''t give us any big advantage over the general situation. The imperial court would simply appoint another governor-general or inspector-general, the common people in Yunnan will not experience a change of fate. This traitor Wu Sangui has committed grave sin, if we kill him with one stab of a blade, it is rather too easy for him."


    Chen Jinnan nodded. "These words make a lot of sense," he said, "I wonder what kind of wise opinion does Li Xiongdi have?"


    "This is a matter of great importance," Li Shikai replied, "All of us must take our time in making a decision. Subordinate does not have any good idea, I will submit to Zongduozhu''s direction."


    "''This is a matter of great importance, all of us must take our time in making a decision.''" Chen Jinnan repeated, "These words by Li Xiongdi is a wise opinion. There is a good common saying: one man''s planning is short, two men''s planning is long. We are ten people, no, eleven people; if we think calmly, we will come up with an even better idea. By killing Wu Sangui, not only we will avenge Tian Di Hui brothers who were killed by him, we will also avenge millions of our compatriot Han people under the heavens. I have pondered over this matter for a long time. That traitor Wu Sangui is deep rooted in Yunnan, his power is enormous; based on one Society, Tian Di Hui''s power alone, I am afraid we cannot topple him down."


    Lin Yongchao loudly said, "Even if we have to be cut in pieces, we must fight to topple him down."


    Cai Dezhong said, "You have already fought, Wu Sangui has not been toppled down, but you had your arm broken."


    Lin Yongchao angrily said, "Are you mocking me of my incompetence?"


    Cai Dezhong realized he had made an indiscreet remark. "I was only joking," he said with a laugh, "Lin Xiongdi, please do not be angry."


    Seeing Lin Yongchao was still seething with anger, with a gentle voice Chen Jinnan consoled him, "Lin Xiongdi, killing Wu Sangui is the important matter every hero and warrior in the world is dreaming of, how can we let worthy brother Lin and the Mysterious Water Hall bear this heavy burden alone? Even if Tian Di Hui''s several tens of thousands brothers join hands with one heart, we may not necessarily be able to move his hand."


    "Zongduozhu is right," Lin Yongchao said, only then did his anger subside.


    Chen Jinnan said, "In my opinion, if we want to accomplish this important matter, we must make contact with all schools, sects, clans and societies in Jianghu, to plan together on a large scale. That traitor Wu Sangui have several tens of thousands elite troops in Yunnan; the brave soldiers and fierce generals under his banners are no small matter. If we only want to kill him, it might not be an extremely difficult matter, but to kill his entire household, to wipe away the traitors to the Han, the wicked thieves, big and small, his subordinates who help him committing the oppression[93], is entirely beyond our Tian Di Hui''s power to accomplish."


    Lin Yongchao slapped his thigh and shouted, "Exactly, exactly! Our Tian Di Hui''s brothers who had been killed by Wu Sangui are too many, if we only kill that traitor, how can his life make up for theirs?"


    Thinking about killing Wu Sangui, along with his household and the evil traitors working for him, everybody was very excited. But not too long afterwards, they all looked at each other in blank dismay, while in their hearts they thought, "This is indeed very difficult."


    Cai Dezhong said, "Shaolin and Wudang two sects have many men and great force, they also have high level of martial art skill, we must make contact with them."


    The Yellow Earth Xiangzhu Yao Bida said doubtfully, "The Shaolin Temple Abbot, Hui Cong Dashi


    [94] indeed has an extremely high prestige in the Wulin world, but he has always been experienced and knowledgeable, he won''t agree to oppose the authority. These last several years, he even passed a new rule, so that it won''t be easy even for secular disciples to leave the Temple and go down the mountain, for fear that they would stir up trouble and bring disaster to the Temple. If we want to make contact with Shaolin, I am afraid we will be met with many difficulties."


    The Greatest Unity Hall''s Xiangzhu, who was in charge of the Hunan and Hubei territory, Hu Dedi nodded and said, "Wudang Pai is more or less the same. The Abbot of Zhenwu Guan[95], Taoist Yun Yan and his Shixiong Taoist Yun He have been at odds with each other for a long time, the two of them are completely locked in constant strife, they always try to find flaws in each other''s disciples. Asking them to take a risk like killing Wu Sangui, I am afraid �� I am afraid ��" He did not continue, but it was clear to everybody that most probably Yun Yan and Yun He would not be willing to do.


    Lin Yongchao said, "If we cannot reach Shaolin and Wudang, we have no other choice but to deal with it with our own strength."


    "No need to be impatient," Chen Jinnan said, "Shaolin and Wudang are not the only schools in Wulin."


    One by one they offered their suggestions. Some said that perhaps Emei would be willing to join, some other said that since there were many martial experts from the Beggar Clan joined the Tian Di Hui, certainly they would be willing to collaborate with Tian Di Hui in putting this big traitor to China to death.


    After listening for the discussion for quite some time, Chen Jinnan said, "If not ninety percent sure, we must never ever propose this matter to others."


    "Naturally," Fang Dahong replied, "If people are unwilling to do it, it doesn''t count to have their nose rubbed in the dirt, plus it will damage our Tian Di Hui''s face."


    "Losing face is not important," Chen Jinnan said, "But if the information leaks out, that thief Wu Sangui will be more vigilant, our job will be a lot thornier."


    Li Shikai said, "To maintain the steadiness of our purpose, whoever wants to propose to any school, sect, clan or society must have Zongduozhu''s approval first, other people must not casually make any decision."


    "It ought to be so," the people all replied. They continued their discussion for some time.


    Chen Jinnan said, "This time we are not able to draft a definite plan. In three months, everybody will gather again in Changsha, Hunan. Xiaobao, you must return to the Palace. In Green Wood Hall''s affairs, let Li Lishi and Guan Anji act on your behalf for the time being. You don''t have to attend the meeting in Changsha."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, but in his heart he said, "Doesn''t this clearly show ''tear down the bridge after crossing the river''?"


    After all other Xiangzhu had been dismissed, Chen Jinnan pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand back to the side room. He said, "On Heavenly Bridge [Tianqiao] in Beijing there is an old man selling medicinal paste[96] by the surname of Xu. On the other medicinal plaster sellers'' banners, the plaster is black in color, but on this Old Xu''s banner, the plaster is half red half blue. If you want to contact me, just go to the Heavenly Bridge and find Old Xu. Ask him, ''Do you have plaster for virulent clear poison, a plaster that will restore clarity to blind eyes, a plaster against clear poison to restore clarity[97]?'' He would reply, ''I do, but the price is too expensive, I want three taels of gold and three taels of silver.'' You say, ''Will you sell it for five taels of gold and five taels of silver?'' Then he will know who you are."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly amused, he laughed and said, "Others offer to sell it to you for three taels, but you make a counter-offer of five taels; where in the world have you ever heard of such matter?"


    Chen Jinnan smiled and replied, "This is to guard against an accident in case someone really want to buy ''plaster against clear poison to restore clarity''. As soon as he hears your counter offer of five taels of gold and five taels of silver, he would ask, ''Why is the price so expensive?'' You reply, ''Not expensive, not expensive; as long as it can really restore clarity, even if I have to work like an ox or a horse for you, it is not expensive at all.'' He would then say, ''The earth shakes high mound, a mountain creek is elegant for all eternity.'' You say, ''The gate faces the ocean, the three rivers and the water will flow for ten thousand years.'' He would ask, "Which hall is located by the red flower pavilion?'' You reply, ''The Green Wood Hall.'' He would ask, ''How many fragrant incense sticks are burning in the hall?'' You say, ''Five fragrant incense sticks!'' Five burning fragrant incense sticks indicate that you are the Xiangzhu. He is a brother of our Society''s Green Wood Hall, he is your subordinate. Whatever you want, you can tell him to do it for you."


    Wei Xiaobao committed everything into his heart. Chen Jinnan repeated the dialog two more times, and told Wei Xiaobao to practice one time through until not a single word was wrong. Chen Jinnan also said, "Although this Old Xu is your subordinate, his martial art skill is very profound. You must not be rude toward him." Wei Xiaobao gave him his promise.


    "Xiaobao," Chen Jinnan said, "We created havoc in Prince Kang''s mansion, the Tatars will definitely send spies riding toward four directions; we can''t stay long in here. When you are back at the Palace today, tell the people there that you were being captured by a powerful group of people, during the night, you use trick to kill a powerful man guarding you, and you escape and return to the Palace. If someone wants you to lead the troops to make some arrests, you may lead the troops here. We will bury that traitor Oboi''s severed head in the vegetable garden at the back. Take the troops there and have them dig; nobody will suspect anything."


    "Apparently everybody will have left by then, haven''t they?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Chen Jinnan said, "As soon as you leave, everybody will disperse, you don''t have to worry. Three days later, I am coming to Beijing to teach you martial art. Go to the Fresh Water Well Alley in the Dongcheng district of central Beijing. There will be a brother waiting for you at the mouth of the alley, he will take you to see me."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Chen Jinnan gently stroked Wei Xiaobao''s head, "You may go now!" he gently said.


    Wei Xiaobao immediately went in to see Mao Shiba to take his leave. Mao Shiba did not know that he had joined the Tian Di Hui and had become a Xiangzhu, he asked Wei Xiaobao all kinds of question, showing his utmost concerned. Wei Xiaobao did not expose anything. By this time the dagger and his other personal belongings had been returned. Chen Jinnan asked someone to prepare a horse for Wei Xiaobao to ride, and then he personally walked him out of the gate. Li Lishi, Guan Anji, Priest Xuanzhen and other Green Wood Hall brothers sent him off for three li. Wei Xiaobao asked for direction until he understood clearly, then urging his horse, he galloped toward Beijing. By the time he entered the Palace, it was already evening; he went straight to kowtow to the Emperor.


    Kangxi already heard the news that in the prison cell at Prince Kang''s mansion, Oboi was killed by Wei Xiaobao; he assumed that Wei Xiaobao must have been captured by Oboi''s cronies, so most probably he was more unfortunate than being fortunate. As the matter developed, the Qing court immediately made arrest everywhere, seizing the remnants of Oboi''s defeated clique to be interrogated via torture. They had apprehended not a few of people, but could not find any clue.


    Kangxi was greatly frustrated and anxious; suddenly hearing Wei Xiaobao had returned, he was pleasantly surprised. Hurriedly he granted an audience, and as soon as he saw him entering the study room, he hastily asked, "Xiao Guizi, you ... how did you escape?"


    Along the way, Wei Xiaobao had already prepared a major deception, for the part where he was seized by a powerful man and how he was transported away inside a jujube barrel he did not need to lie. Next, he narrated how the clique of traitors, many of them, set up a memorial tablet and prepared to offer sacrifices. But because they were waiting for the arrival of a leading figure, temporarily they did not kill him, but bound him inside a dark room instead. And then how in the middle of the night he rubbed and broke the ropes binding his hands, and how he killed the guard and escaped out; how he hid in the underbrush to evade the pursuing riders, how he stole a horse and returned via a roundabout route. He narrated the story by adding sound effect and acting the part, it was extremely vivid.


    Kangxi was listening with keen interest, he repeatedly patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and praised, "Xiao Guizi, you are good." He also said, "You must be going through a lot of trouble."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "This clique of traitors, Oboi''s followers, its power is really not small. When your servant escaped, I memorized the route well; how about if we immediately send troops to capture them?"


    "Wonderful!" Kangxi replied happily, "Quickly tell Songgotu to take three thousand cavalry and follow you to catch the criminals." Wei Xiaobao withdrew and ordered someone to notify Songgotu.


    When Songgotu heard that Xiao Guizi was kidnapped by Oboi''s subordinates, he thought that he had lost a major helper in the Palace, and thus he was anxious. Although he managed to embezzle four hundred fifty thousand taels of silver, when all is said and done, this lost was even greater than the gain. When he suddenly heard that Xiao Guizi had escaped and returned to the Palace, immediately his spirit rose. Hastily assembling the troops, he followed Wei Xiaobao to arrest the remainders of Oboi''s party.


    They were about halfway when Prince Kang''s messenger caught up with them to deliver Wei Xiaobao''s Jade Flower buckskin horse. Wei Xiaobao mounted the colt. He glanced left and right, feeling unusually pleased with himself.


    Upon reaching Tian Di Hui''s gathering place, naturally they did not see any shadow. Songgotu ordered his men to search around. Soon they dug out Oboi''s severed head and headless body in the vegetable garden; they also found a memorial tablet with these words inscribed on it: ''Memorial Tablet of the Great Qing Junior Protector, Number One Warrior, Official Oboi'', and several rolls of elegiac couplet offering condolences to Oboi. Naturally it was Chen Jinnan who deliberately left these things behind.


    Wei Xiaobao and Songgotu returned to Beijing, and presented the memorial tablet and elegiac couplets to Kangxi. Wei Xiaobao''s expression looked like he had just set up a great merit. Kangxi made an effort to say several sentences of praise and encouragement, then he gave an order to have Oboi''s body and head buried properly. He also ordered the two of them to continue the investigation carefully. Wei Xiaobao repeatedly complied with his mouth, his face showed devotion and diligence, but in his belly he was laughing.

 Chapter - 9 (9)

    Feng Jizhong flew up and then from the air he struck down. Priest Xuanzhen leaned sideways to evade. Feng Jizhong swiftly moved in front of Xuanzhen''s body; with his left leg he swept across to the right, with his right arm he swept across to the left. It was exactly the Mu Family''s ''sweeping away a thousand army''.


    After three days, Wei Xiaobao reported to Kangxi that he wanted to go out to investigate the remnants of Oboi''s defeated clique. Going alone, he headed toward the Fresh Water Well Alley on Dongcheng district of central Beijing. There was a wonton seller, with a pair of wonton pots on a carrying pole, stopping at about a dozen zhang away from the mouth of the alley. When the wonton seller saw Wei Xiaobao, he picked up the long bamboo wonton chopsticks and tapped it against the bamboo tube in which he stored his money. ''Tap, tap, tap'', three times, paused, then ''tap, tap'', twice, then ''tap, tap, tap'', three times again. About several zhang away, there was a man with shoulder pole, selling blue radish. The man used the knife, with which he cut the radish, to tap his shoulder pole with the same rhythm.


    Wei Xiaobao guessed that this must be Tian Di Hui''s method of transmitting news, so he followed a hawker selling candied fruits dipped in sugar syrup on bamboo skewers entering the alley. They arrived in front of a jet black main gate of a building. There were three men squatting at the door, whitewashing the wall using lime. Seeing Wei Xiaobao, one of them nodded, then tapped the wall several times using the lime brush, the black door immediately opened. Wei Xiaobao walked into a courtyard and entered the main hall, and saw Chen Jinnan had already sat in the hall; immediately he rushed forward and kowtowed.


    Chen Jinnan was very delighted, he said, "You are early; nothing''s better than that. Originally I wanted to stay for several days to teach you martial art, but I received news yesterday that Fujian has an important matter that needs my immediate attention. This time I can only stay for a day."


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao was happy, "Since you don''t have time to teach me martial art, when in the future my training is not good, that will be your problem, you can''t blame me." But his face showed disappointment.


    Chen Jinnan took a rather thin book from his bosom and said, "This is our school''s basic instruction on internal energy cultivation. You must study hard every day." Opening the book, he showed every page had pictures of human figure training the internal energy, along with the mnemonic, which he taught to Wei Xiaobao. For the time being Wei Xiaobao was not able to comprehend completely, he merely memorized it carefully.


    Chen Jinnan spent more than four hours explaining the entire set of internal energy cultivation technique; he said, "Our school''s martial art puts upright heart and good faith first. You, on the other hand, has a heart like a frisky monkey and a mind like a cantering horse, so you are incompatible with our school martial art, training will be doubly difficult for you; you must especially diligent if you want to succeed. Just remember this: if during training your mind is agitated, your head dizzy and your eyes blur, you must stop immediately. You must calm down first, put your distracting thoughts in order, then you practice from the beginning again, otherwise you''ll face a significant danger."


    Wei Xiaobao gave his promise. He received the book and put it inside his pocket. Chen Jinnan asked in details the martial art Hai Tianfu taught him. After Wei Xiaobao demonstrating and explaining everything one by one, Chen Jinnan muttered to himself, "You are aware early on that these martial art skills are bogus, it will be completely useless against a real enemy. I just feel strange, why did Tatar Empress Dowager also teach bogus martial art skill to the Tatar young Emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The old wh0re is not the young emperor''s biological mother, moreover �� moreover the old wh0re is not a good person, she is a greatly evil person." He thought that the implication of the old wh0re killing the young emperor''s mother and so on would be too great, so he could not tell his Shifu about it; besides, this matter had nothing to do with his Shifu.


    Chen Jinnan nodded. Then he inquired about Hai Tianfu''s character and behavior; he felt that this old eunuch''s conduct and deeds were enshrouded in secrecy. Wei Xiaobao talked for a while, suddenly ''Wah!'' he broke into a bawl.


    "Xiaobao," Chen Jinnan gently asked, "What is it?"


    Sobbing and sniffling, Wei Xiaobao told him about how Hai Tianfu secretly put poison in the soup. Finally he sobbed and said, "Shifu, the poison is incurable. After I am dead, the Green Wood Hall brothers won''t be able to use the old way again."


    "What old way?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Oboi killed Yin Xiangzhu, and I killed Oboi, so everybody wanted me to be the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu. The old turtle Hai killed Wei Xiangzhu, the old wh0re killed the old turtle Hai, but everybody cannot ask the old wh0re to be the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu."


    Chen Jinnan burst out laughing; attentively he checked Wei Xiaobao''s pulse and asked detailed questions about the pain on his lower abdomen. He reached out toward Wei Xiaobao''s lower abdomen and using his finger he pressed, sometime lightly, another time heavily, on the acupoints all around his lower abdomen. After muttering irresolutely to himself for half a day, he said, "Don''t be afraid! Maybe Hai Tianfu''s poison does not have any antidote in the world, but I can force the poison out using my internal energy."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he repeatedly said, "Thank you very much Shifu!"


    Chen Jinnan took him inside and had him lying on the bed. With his left hand he pressed the Shan Zhong acupoint on the pit of Wei Xiaobao''s stomach, with his right hand he pressed the Da Zhui[98] acupoint on his back. After a while, Wei Xiaobao felt two streams of heat slowly flowed downward and around his stomach; his body felt an unspeakable comfort, he became drowsy and fell asleep. In his blurry state, he suddenly felt an unspeakable pain in his tummy. "Aiyo!" he cried out, and woke up. "Shifu!" he shouted, "I �� I want to poop!"


    Chen Jinnan led him out to the door of the latrine. Wei Xiaobao had just untied his pants when the excrement spurted straight out, the stench was really unbearable, followed by a lot of vomiting from his mouth.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his bedroom, his limbs felt weak and painful, he was barely able to stand up. Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Good! Eighty, ninety percent of the poison in your system is out, the remaining is not dangerous anymore. Here I have twelve efficacious detoxifier pills; take it for twelve days, the remaining poison will be driven off completely from your body." From his pocket he took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it over to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao received it with deep gratitude in his heart. "Shifu," he said, "Do you still have some more pills for yourself? You give all to me, if you get poisoned ��"


    With a faint smile Chen Jinnan said, "If others think of poisoning me, it''s not going to be easy."


    The sky darkened, it was evening. Chen Jinnan told the servant to serve dinner, which he ate with Wei Xiaobao. Seeing they were only having four ordinary dishes, Wei Xiaobao thought, "Shifu is a great hero, but the way he eats is so casual." Since he knew the poison inside his body had been repelled, his heart was free from worry; he ate and served his Shifu with smile on his face, he looked genuinely happy.


    After dinner, Wei Xiaobao poured tea for his Shifu. Chen Jinnan took several sips, and then said, "Xiaobao, my wish for you is that you will be a good child. As soon as I have free time, I am coming back to Beijing to teach you martial art."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Alright," Chen Jinnan said, "You''d better return to the Palace now. The Tatars are very sly, although you are very smart, after all, you are very young; you must be very careful in everything."


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "I feel very stifled living in the Palace, when can I go roaming the Jianghu with you?"


    Chen Jinnan stared at his face and said, "You must endure patiently for several more years, and set up several great merits for our Society. By that time �� in several more years your voice will change, your facial hair will grow, then you can''t pretend to be an eunuch anymore. By that time you can get out of the Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Whether I do good deeds or bad deeds in the Palace, none of you will know. If you are thinking of deposing me of the Xiangzhu position, it''s not going to be easy. In the future I will be a grown up, my martial art will have been trained well, perhaps by then you won''t want to depose me." Thinking hither, he was happy. "Yes, yes," he said, "Shifu, I am leaving."


    Chen Jinnan stood up; holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand he said, "Xiaobao, the Tatars have the situation under control, this great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming is very difficult. In the Palace, you are in the face of danger at all times. You are such a young child, you haven''t learned any real ability, actually, I am quite worried over you. It''s just that since we already entered Tian Di Hui, ourselves do not belong to us anymore; as long as it is beneficial to our movement of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming, even if we fully aware there is a pit in front of us, we must still jump in. It''s a pity �� it''s a pity that you cannot stay by my side often, so I can teach you well. I only hope that in the future you can spend more time with me. Right now our Society''s brethrens respect you because they are looking at my face, but I cannot look after you for the rest of your life. In the future, whether people will respect you, whether they will look up at you, it all depends on you."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Losing my face is not important, but I must not disgrace Shifu."


    Chen Jinnan shook his head, "You must never lose your face," he said.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I lose Xiao Guizi''s face is alright. Xiao Guizi is a Tatar eunuch, so if we lose Xiao Guizi''s face, we are losing a Tatar''s face; then we are fighting the Qing restoring the Ming." Chen Jinnan heaved a deep sigh; in all honesty he did not know how he was going to teach Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the Palace and went back to his room. Songgotu had handed him several dozens of banknotes, altogether there were four hundred sixty six thousand five hundred taels. Wei Xiaobao looked carefully at these bank notes over and over, in his heart he was very happy. What happened was: in order to curry Wei Xiaobao''s favor, Songgotu had originally promised him four hundred fifty thousand taels; after Oboi''s property was sold, the price was actually higher than the initial estimate by more than ten thousand taels.


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the banknotes for quite a while before putting them away. And then fetching out the martial art manual Chen Jinnan gave him, he followed the secret passed on to him by sitting cross-legged and started to practice. When looking at the print of numbers in silver and vermillion ink on the banknotes, his expression was beaming and buoyant, but as soon as he looked at the martial art theory, instantly his interest waned, much less from among hundreds of characters written on the book, he did not recognize even a single one. After practicing for less than an hour he felt his mind blurry and his eyes tired; he dropped onto his bed and fell asleep immediately.


    When he woke up the next morning, he went straight to the Upper Study Room to wait on the Emperor. Upon returning to his room, he practiced again; but before long he unexpectedly fell asleep again. The martial art Chen Jinnan taught him was extremely not easy to learn; without an enormous willpower, it would be hard for him to pass the first obstacle. Wei Xiaobao was intelligent and astute, but he lacked the willpower to do anything. As soon as he sat and started to practice, he felt the difficulty was incomparable; he became drowsy and wanted to sleep.


    By the time he awoke, it was already in the middle of the night. He thought, "Shifu told me to practice, but his martial art is extremely tedious. But if I goof off and do not practice, next time I see Shifu and he ask me, he would find out I do not make the least bit of progress, and then he would be greatly dissatisfied. Perhaps he would even strip me of my Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu position."


    He got up, picked up the book and looked again, then sat cross-legged and practiced according to the theory. Before long, his eyes grew very heavy again; he was unable to resist his desire to sleep. "They have planned to tear down the bridge after crossing the river anyway," he thought, "It doesn''t matter if I am a great bridge of blue stone slab, or a rotten wood log bridge, they will still tear it apart. It doesn''t matter if I practice martial art or not." Since he had found an excuse not to train, his heart was relieved; hence he dropped his head and fell asleep, snoring loudly.


    Since he did not have to practice martial art, he passed his days freely and leisurely. When the twelve pills were gone, the pain in his lower abdomen had also disappeared. During the day he would wait on Kangxi at the Upper Study Room for several hours, and whenever he was free, he would throw dice with Wen brothers and the others. Presently he was a rich and powerful person with wealth of several hundred thousand taels, hence he did not need to cheat in throwing dice; however, gambling against these ''cattle'', he would feel an unspeakable discomfort if he did not cheat. Naturally Wen brothers, Ping Wei, Lao Wu, and the others owed him more and more money. Lucky for them that Wei Xiaobao had never demanded payment, plus Hai Tianfu was no longer alive, so that even though Wen brothers and the others were heavily in debt, they were not too worried.


    As for the business of the Catering Department, he had his subordinate eunuchs doing the work. Each month on the second and sixteenth days the eunuch manager would deliver four hundred taels to Wei Xiaobao''s room. At this time Songgotu had already distributed several tens of thousands taels on Wei Xiaobao''s behalf to the imperial concubines, eunuchs with authority, and the imperial bodyguards all over the Palace. Wei Xiaobao''s face, as well as the fact that he was Kangxi''s favorite, was already well-known. In the last several months, he had quite a reputation within the Palace, everybody who met him would smile and greet him.


    The autumn passed, the winter came, each day the weather was growing colder. This day Wei Xiaobao went down from the Upper Study Room, when he suddenly remembered, "Shifu says that if I have something, I should go to the Heavenly Bridge and contact the plaster seller, Old Xu. Although I don''t have anything in particular, there is no harm in exchanging those secret dialogue, those ''The earth shakes high mound, a mountain creek is elegant for all eternity, the gate faces the ocean, the three rivers and the water will flow for ten thousand years''; it would be fun. Hey, you want three taels of gold and three taels of silver for this plaster, that''s too expensive! Will you sell it for five taels of gold and five taels of silver? Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    He went out of the Palace gate and wandered around along the streets. Passing in front of a teahouse, he saw a storyteller was doing his presentation, so he strolled in and sat down to enjoy a pot of tea. The storyteller was narrating the ''Heroic Deed Commentaries'', the part where Zhu Yuanzhang was having the great battle on Lake Poyang against Chen Youliang; how Zhou Dian carried Zhu Yuanzhang to another boat, how Chen Youliang''s battleship bombarded the ship Zhu Yuanzhang was originally riding and blew it up. Wei Xiaobao was very familiar with this story since he had heard it before, plus the storyteller''s rendition was not very good. Nevertheless, once he sat down, he was listening to the story for the most part of an hour. Strolling to the east and visiting the west, it was already dark, he did not get to visit the Heavenly Bridge that day.


    The second day and the third day he did not go out at all. Every night just before bed he would promise himself, that the next day he would see that Old Xu. However, he would spend the next day either gambling, listening to the storytellers, or just wandering around the street recklessly wasting his money. These days he simply lived his free and unrestrained, merry life in the Palace. Being a court eunuch was definitely a lot more agreeable to him than being a Tian Di Hui''s Xiangzhu or Chouzhu. He knew this thought was utterly lack of prospect, so he did not dare to indulge in this thought too often. Occasionally he would remember but he always consoled himself, "I do not have anything to report anyway, why should I see the Old Xu? If the secret leaks out, my losing my little life is unimportant, but Tian Di Hui''s great undertaking will be jeopardized." And so more than a month was passed this way.


    This day Wei Xiaobao went to the teahouse to listen to the ''Heroic Deed Commentaries'' again. The teahouse proprietor knew he was a court eunuch from the Palace, and he always left quite a lot of tips, so the proprietor always reserved the best seat for him, and served him the most fragrant tea. By this time Wei Xiaobao was already used to have people fawning on him; although the teahouse proprietor''s special treatment was not strange to him, the flattering and respectful words were still quite enjoyable to hear.


    The storyteller on the stage was narrating the story of the great general Xu Da went into war and completely routed the Tatars troops that they rush back to Mongolia. It was the national capital, there were quite a number of Manchus in the teahouse, naturally the storyteller did not dare to openly use the word ''Tatars'', he only used the term Yuan troops and Yuan generals; yet he spoke with such a gusto that his spittle flew everywhere. Wei Xiaobao was listening with rapt attention. Suddenly someone said, "Excuse me!" and sat on the empty chair on Wei Xiaobao''s tea table. Wei Xiaobao frowned, he was somewhat impatient.


    The man said quietly, "Xiaoren have a very good medicinal plaster, which I want to sell to Gong-gong, would Gong-gong like to take a look?"


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and saw a medicinal plaster on the table, half blue, half red; his heart was stirred. "What kind of plaster is this?" he asked.


    The man replied, "This is medicinal plaster to get rid of virulent poison, to regain vision on both eyes." Lowering his voice he said, "It has a name, it''s called ''Drive Qing Restore Ming'' plaster."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his attention to the man; he was around thirty years old, with thriving heroic spirit, not at all like the old man Xu his Shifu had described to him. He became suspicious, so he asked, "How much do you want for this medicinal plaster?"


    "Three taels of silver and three taels of gold," the man replied.


    "Would you sell it for five taels of silver and five taels of gold?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Isn''t that a bit too expensive?" the man replied.


    "Not expensive, not expensive," Wei Xiaobao said, "As long as it can really get rid of clear poison and restore clarity, even if I have to work like an ox or a horse for you, it is not expensive at all."


    The man pushed the medicinal plaster toward Wei Xiaobao and said in low voice, "Gong-gong, please step aside to talk." Finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the teahouse. Wei Xiaobao tossed two-hundred wen worth coins on the table, took the medicinal plaster, and walked out.


    The man was waiting outside the teahouse; he walked toward the east, turned into an alley, and stopped. "The earth shakes high mound, a mountain creek is elegant for all eternity," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The gate faces the ocean, the three rivers and the water will flow for ten thousand years." Without waiting for the man to reply, he asked him first, "Which hall by the red flower pavilion does Sire live?"


    The man replied, "Xiongdi is from the Green Wood Hall."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "How many fragrant incense sticks are burning in the hall?"


    The man replied, "Three fragrant incense sticks!"


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. He thought, "Your position is two levels below mine."


    The man cupped his fist and bowed, he said in a low voice, "Gege [''older brother'' �C used in a more intimate way] is the one burning five incense sticks in the Green Wood Hall, Wei Xiangzhu?"


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied; in his heart he said, "You are much older than I am, but you call me Gege; it''s really pleasant to hear, but why don''t you call me Yeye or Shushu [paternal grandfather and younger uncle, respectively]?"


    The man said, "Xiongdi is surnamed Gao, called Yanchao, I am Wei Xiangzhu''s subordinate. I have long heard about Xiangzhu''s illustrious name, today we can meet, it is indeed my great fortune."


    Inwardly, Wei Xiaobao was very happy, he laughed and said, "Gao Dage is too kind. We all are brothers, there is no need to be polite."


    Gao Yanchao said, "There is a Dage by the surname Xu in our Hall who sells medicine at the Heavenly Bridge. Today he was beaten and is seriously injured; I came with a specific purpose to inform Wei Xiangzhu."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he said, "I was busy in the Palace these days, I haven''t had time to go look for him. How is his injury? Who beat him?"


    "This is not a convenient place for a detailed report," Gao Yanchao said, "Would Wei Xiangzhu please come with me?" Wei Xiaobao nodded.


    Passing through seven, eight streets, they reached an alley, where Gao Yanchao entered a drug store. Wei Xiaobao noticed the board above the door had five characters on it, but naturally he did not recognize even a single one, yet he did not need to examine the board carefully, presumably it was the name of the drug store; he simply followed Gao Yanchao into the store.


    Behind the counter sat a fat shopkeeper. Gao Yanchao went up to him and whispered something into his ear. The fat storekeeper repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes!" Standing up, he nodded to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Honorable guest wants to buy superior quality drug ingredients, please come in!" He directed Wei Xiaobao and Gao Yanchao toward the inner hall, passed through several doors, then leaned over to lift open a trap door on the floor, revealing a hole with stone steps leading down.


    Wei Xiaobao saw the hole was pitch-black, his heart was full of suspicions, "Are these two really Tian Di Hui brothers? I am afraid they are a bit unreliable. If downstairs is a room to slaughter Wei Xiaobao, won''t it be terrible?" But Gao Yanchao was right behind him, he simply could not shrink back, so without any choice he had to follow the shopkeeper walked into the tunnel. Fortunately the tunnel was quite short; after walking only a dozen or so steps, the shopkeeper pushed open a plank door, from which came a lantern light.


    Wei Xiaobao walked in. It was a small room about ten chi square, there were five men sitting in that room, plus a man lying on a low couch. With the addition of the three of them, there was barely enough room to turn around. Fortunately the shopkeeper withdrew immediately.


    Gao Yanchao said, "Brothers, Wei Xiangzhu has arrived!"


    The five men inside the room cheered together; they stood up and bowed to salute. The underground room was too small, they all crowded together. Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the salute. He saw there was a Taoist priest among these people, whom he had met before, it was Priest Xuanzhen. Wei Xiaobao remembered that the priest had cracked a joke, telling Guan Anji to divorce his wife, the ''100% real gold''. There was another man surnamed Fan, whom he also had met. Seeing these two familiar faces, Wei Xiaobao was relieved.


    Gao Yanchao pointed to the man lying on the low couch and said, "Xu Dage is seriously injured, he is unable to get up to pay his respect."


    "You are too kind, you are too kind!" Wei Xiaobao said. He stepped forward to look at the man lying on the couch and saw that on his wrinkled face there was not the least bit trace of blood, his eyes were shut tight, his breathing was weak, and there were spots of blood on his white long beard. "I wonder who has injured Xu Dage?" he asked, "Is it ... is it the Tatars'' eagle claws?"


    Gao Yanchao shook his head, "It''s not," he said, "It was people from Mu Palace of Yunnan."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Mu Palace of Yunnan?" he asked, "They ... they are on our side, aren''t they?"


    Gao Yanchao slowly shook his head and said, "Reporting to Xiangzhu Dage: Just now when Xu Dage was brought here into the Return Of Spring Drug Store, he spoke haltingly that two young men from the Mu Palace, both of them have the surname of Bai ..."


    "Surname Bai?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Aren''t they the descendant of four great generals of the Mu Palace?"


    "Most likely," Gao Yanchao replied, "Probably they are Bai Hansong and Bai Hanfeng brothers, the so-called ''Twin Tree[99] of the Bai Clan''."


    "A pair of rotten woods," Wei Xiaobao muttered to himself, "What''s so special about that?"


    Gao Yanchao said, "From what Xu Dage was saying, they had a dispute over supporting Tang or supporting Gui, the more they talked, the more heated the argument, finally a fight broke. It was hard for Xu Dage''s pair of fists to match four hands, hence he suffered a serious injury."


    "Two against one, it was not the conduct of a hero or a warrior," Wei Xiaobao said, "What do you mean by Tang and Gui? Could it be ... could it be ..." He thought that ''supporting Gui'' might mean they were supporting him, Xiao Guizi, but then he thought it was unlikely, so he did not say anything.


    Gao Yanchao said, "The Mu Palace are King Gui''s followers, we Tian Di Hui are the subordinates of the King Tang, the Son of Heaven of the past. Xu Dage must have been arguing with them over the successor of the throne to such an extent as the argument turned into a fight."


    Wei Xiaobao still did not understand, "What King Gui''s followers, King Tang''s subordinates?"


    Gao Yanchao said, "King Gui is not the rightful emperor ordained by heaven, our King Tang is the true heir of the Son of Heaven."


    Priest Xuanzhen understood Wei Xiaobao''s background; he knew the amount of information in Wei Xiaobao''s belly was limited, so he chimed in, "Wei Xiangzhu, when Li Zicheng broke into Beijing, he hounded Emperor Chongzhen to his death. Wu Sangui was leading the Qing troops to enter the pass and occupy our beautiful rivers and mountains. One after another loyal ministers and patriots across the country endorsed the descendant of Taizu Huangdi as the King. First it was King Fu who became the Emperor in Nanjing. Afterwards King Fu was harmed by the Tatars, our King Tang became the Emperor in Fujian; he was the one to whom Koxinga, the Zheng family, gave their allegiance to, naturally he was the true heir of the Son of Heaven. Who would have thought that another group of people in Guangxi and Yunnan was endorsing King Gui as the Son of Heaven, and yet another group of people in Zhejiang was endorsing King Lu to be the Emperor. All of them were phony sons of heaven."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "The sky cannot have two suns, the people cannot have two masters. If King Tang has become the Emperor, King Gui and King Lu cannot be the Emperor."


    "That''s right," Gao Yanchao said, "What Wei Xiangzhu said is very true!"


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "But the people of Guangxi and Zhejiang are seeking after riches and honor, in their strive they say that whoever gets their support is the true heir of the rightful emperor, so everybody has been fighting violently." He sighed, and then continued, "Later on, King Tang, King Lu and King Gui met disaster one after another. Over the last several years, Jianghu heroes do not forget the Ming household, separately they try to find the descendants of these three kings, and regarded them as their masters, while continuing the great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. King Gui''s followers supported King Gui''s descendants, King Lu''s followers supported King Lu''s descendants; they are called the Gui faction and the Lu faction; to them, we, Tian Di Hui are known as the Tang faction. All three factions, Tang, Gui, and Lu are fighting the Qing to restore the Ming. But only our Tian Di Hui is legitimate, those Gui and Lu factions are simply usurping the throne."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I understand," he said, "Those people from Mu Palace belong to the Gui faction, right?"


    "Exactly," Priest Xuanzhen said, "For the least dozen of years, the people from these three factions are continuously fighting each other."


    Wei Xiaobao recalled that day on the road north of Jiangsu they came across someone from Mu Palace, who was very arrogant and rude. That man''s surname was also Bai, he wondered if he had any relation with these two rotten woods. At that time he saw how scared Mao Shiba was, so early on he already had dissatisfaction toward the Bai family. He said, "Since King Tang was already made the heir of the throne, they should not vie for it anymore. I heard Mu Gongye [''master duke] was a very good man, I am afraid after the Senior returned to heaven, the people under his command were creating all these disturbance."


    Everybody in that underground room said together, "Wei Xiangzhu is absolutely right."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "The warriors of Jianghu look at Mu Tianbo, Mu Gongye''s display of utter loyalty to his death that whenever we come across people from the Mu Palace we are 30% yielding to them. Thus, even any cat and dog from Mu Palace are all arrogant and conceited. You won''t find a better man than our Xu Dage, formerly he served under the rightful emperor King Tang; he is truly loyal and devoted, whenever the late emperor is mentioned, tears would flow from his eyes. It must be that the Mu Palace people were talking one thing or another and have insulted the late emperor. Otherwise, how could Xu Laoge fight those Mu Palace people?"


    Gao Yanchao said, "Just before noon Xu Dage came to his senses for a while, he wanted all the brothers to vent his anger. Presently, Wei Xiangzhu is the only Xiangzhu within the Zhili[100] borders; according to our Society''s rules, in important matter such as this, we must report clearly to Wei Xiangzhu before taking any action. It''s not a big deal if we were dealing with Tatars'' eagle claws, the more we kill Tatars and eagle claws the better, our brothers would gladly sacrifice ourselves for our Society. But Mu Palace''s reputation in Jianghu is so resounding, plus they are on our side. If we go to negotiate with them, we might end up waging a war with them. What will the consequences be, it is hard to say."


    "Mmm," Wei Xiaobao mumbled noncommittally.


    Gao Yanchao continued, "Xu Dage said that he has been waiting for Wei Xiangzhu''s visit; he has been waiting for several months. Sometimes he saw Wei Xiangzhu on the street or in the market buying things, sometimes he saw you sitting in the teahouse listening to stories."


    Wei Xiaobao''s face blushed slightly. "So he has seen me," he said.


    Gao Yanchao said, "Xu Dage said that according to Zongduozhu''s order, if Wei Xiangzhu has anything he needed, he will go to look for him. Therefore, although Xu Dage has seen Wei Xiangzhu, he did not dare to come forward and introduce himself."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, he cast a glance toward the old man lying on the couch and mused, "Turns out this old fox has been following me in secret. He had early on seen me buying things and eating indiscriminately on the street, spending money recklessly. Damn it, someday he will see my Shifu and will definitely tell tales. It would be best if this old fox won''t recover from his injury and die!"


    "We talked about this, and had no choice but to ask Wei Xiangzhu''s presence and preside over this matter," Priest Xuanzhen said.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I am but a child, what matter can I possibly preside over?" But seeing these people were so respectful toward him, in his heart he could not help but feeling very proud of himself. When he first joined Tian Di Hui, besides his Shifu, the other nine Xiangzhu were all much more senior than him. Presently, his position was the highest among these people, suddenly he felt his body was as light as a feather.


    A thick and solid middle-aged man indignantly said, "We are 30% yielding to the Mu Palace people, it is indeed out of deep respect toward Mu Gongye''s loyalty and self-sacrifice for the country. Speaking about great undertaking of overthrowing the imperial court, perhaps our Koxinga was ten times better than Mu Wangye."


    The one surnamed Fan, Fan Gang said, "I respect you five chi, you should respect me one zhang. When we are polite to them, how can they be more arrogant instead? If we do not sort this matter clearly, later on when Mu Palace step on our Tian Di Hui''s head, we won''t be able to stand up, how can we lift our head high when dealing with them?"


    One said a word, the other said a sentence, everybody was very angry. Priest Xuanzhen said, "How to handle this matter, everybody must listen to Wei Xiangzhu''s instruction." If he wanted Wei Xiaobao to imitate the dog and steal the chicken or swindle people, Wei Xiaobao would have come up with some ideas; but facing an important matter like this and his decision was expected, it would be the same as telling him to make a fool of himself on the spot. However, he was indeed a disciple of Chen Jinnan, one of the ten Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui, within the whole region of Zhili, he was the leader of Tian Di Hui brethrens; that old man surnamed Xu and those other people were Green Wood Hall members, subordinates under his personal command. Immediately everybody''s eyes were on his face; he could not help but feeling embarrassed. "Hot piece mama," he cursed in his heart, "What �� what shall I do?"


    In his embarrassment, he looked at their faces one by one, trying to look for a clue, perhaps he would find an idea. When his gaze met with that of the sturdy man, suddenly he saw the corners of the man''s mouth showed a faint smile, while his eyes revealed a sly look. This man was raising a clamor just a moment ago, his breast was filled with fury, how could he suddenly be happy? Thinking hard, he suddenly remembered, "Aiyo! Hot piece mama, this bunch of sons of a b1tch does not have good intentions; they want me to carry the rotten wood on my shoulder. They want to fight the Mu Palace people, but are afraid my Shifu would blame them, so they asked me to come and take the initiative for them." The more he thought, the more he was convinced that he was right. "I am only a teenage child," he mused, "Although I am the Xiangzhu, how can my idea really surpass theirs? They only want to make me their shield to block the arrow; it''s alright if nothing bad happens, but if thing goes bad, they would push the blame on my head, saying, ''It was the Green Wood Hall Wei Xiangzhu who leads everybody to do it; Xiangzhu''s order, we did not dare not to obey.'' Humph, they want to find bones in the egg to depose me of my Xiangzhu position. I lead everybody to fight Mu Palace people, regardless of who wins who loses, it is indeed a very big bone. Alright, hot piece mama, laozi will not fall into this trick."


    He lowered his head, pretending to contemplate; after a while, he said, "All Gege, although Xiaodi is the Xiangzhu, it was because accidentally I killed Oboi, I do not have the least bit of talent, let alone any good plan. In my opinion, it is best if we ask Priest Xuanzhen to offer an advice; certainly he is much wiser than me." This move of his was called ''pushing the boat with the current'', he wanted to push the rotten wood onto Priest Xuanzhen''s shoulder.


    Priest Xuanzhen chuckled; turning toward Fan Gang he said, "Fan San Ge''s [third older brother] brain is a lot more brilliant than mine; what do you think?"


    Fan Gang was a straightforward man; he said, "I''ll say there is no other way; we must find the surnamed Bai''s home, if they kowtow to Xu Dage and apologize, we''ll let all matters rest. Otherwise, humph, humph, perhaps we will be forced to use peaceful measures before using force."


    It was precisely what everybody had in their minds; its just that in Jianghu, the Mu Palace''s prestige was quite thriving, plus they were their compatriots in fighting the Qing to restore the Ming, so nobody was willing to be the first to propose the idea. As soon as Fan Gang said those words, several people immediately parroted, "Right! Right! Fan San Ge is right; naturally it will be best if we can avoid violence, otherwise our Tian Di Hui will be bullied by others. Could it be that when people beat us up like this we''ll just let it go?"


    Wei Xiaobao turned to Priest Xuanzhen and the other man and said, "What do the two of you think?"


    The man said, "This is called ''forced to climb the beam, we have no choice but to catch up''." Priest Xuanzhen smiled and nodded, but decline to make any comment.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You don''t want to speak, in the future you can deny any responsibility. I will definitely make you responsible." Thereupon he asked, "Priest Xuanzhen, you are thinking that Fan San Ge''s idea is not too appropriate, aren''t you?"


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "It''s not that it is inappropriate, it''s just that everybody has to think it through; if we are going to fight the Mu Palace people, first, we must not lose, second, we cannot kill anybody. If someone get killed, this matter will turn very serious."


    Fan Gang said, "So be it. But what if Xu Dage died because of his serious injury?" Priest Xuanzhen simply nodded again.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am asking everybody to propose a plan. All Gege have a lot of knowledge and experience, you have eaten a lot more salt than the rice I ate, you have passed a lot more bridges than the road I walked, the idea you can think of will definitely a lot better than I can come up with."


    Priest Xuanzhen cast a glance at him, he said indifferently, "Wei Xiangzhu is amazing!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Priest, you are not bad yourself."


    They talked over this matter for a while, the basic idea was still according to Fan Gang''s proposal, they asked Wei Xiaobao to lead them in finding the Mu Palace people''s whereabouts and condemn them. They would all bring concealed weapons, but would try to exercise forbearance as much as possible, to have full control of the situation. It would be better if the Mu Palace people start the fight, then they would have the pretext of retaliation.


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "There is no harm in us inviting several famous martial art masters in Beijing to come with us, we can ask them to be the witness, to avoid a rumor from spreading, saying that we, Tian Di Hui, are taking unfair advantage of other people. If right or wrong is unclear, I am afraid in the future Zongduozhu will blame us."


    "That''s wonderful," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "We need to invite those with high skill, the more the better." He recalled how at the restaurant along the way north of Jiangsu that man surnamed Bai from the Mu Palace threw chopsticks one by one and made Wu Sangui''s men fell down on the ground, right now that scene was so vivid in his mind. If once again they do the ''blowing copper horn and crossing the river, shooting the elephants with rocket'' trick, although within the city of Beijing they could not dispatch the elephant formation, but even with only mice formation, the Green Wood Hall''s Wei Xiangzhu would not be able to escape unscathed. He was just thinking of making an excuse so he would not have to go, but had not found any idea; suddenly he heard Priest Xuanzhen''s suggestion to invite renowned Beijing''s martial art masters to come along, it was exactly what he was hoping for.


    With a slight smile Priest Xuanzhen said, "We only invite those masters with respectable reputation, not to ask them to help us fighting; whether they have good martial art skill or not is secondary."


    Gao Yanchao said, "Those with respectable reputation will most likely have high level of martial art skill." He was in support of Wei Xiaobao. Priest Xuanzhen nodded.


    "Which martial art masters will we invite?" Fan Gang asked. They immediately discussed who they were going to ask to come along. The persons invited must have quite a reputation in Wulin, must have had no dealings with the authorities, and must have had somewhat favorable relationship with Tian Di Hui.


    After this matter was decided, they were just about to separately invite the people, when all of a sudden the old man Xu groaned, "No ... no ... must not invite any outsiders."


    Fan Gang said, "Xu Dage, did you say we must not invite any outsiders?"


    The old man Xu said, "Wei Xiangzhu serves ... serves as a government official in the Palace, this ... this matter must not leak out. This ... this is a matter of ... a matter of life and death."


    Hearing this, they all realized he was right. Wei Xiaobao was a court eunuch in the Palace, naturally it was under Zongduozhu''s order, there must be a major secret scheme behind it. Once an outsider know about it, it would be difficult to prevent rumors from spreading.


    Fan Gang said, "Wei Xiangzhu does not need to personally come with us. We are going to talk reason with those two surnamed Bai men; whatever the outcome, we''ll report to Wei Xiangzhu when we come back."


    At first Wei Xiaobao was rather afraid of the Mu Palace, but since they were going to invite several famous martial art masters of Wulin world to come with them, it was like a guaranteed victory without any possibility of defeat; just like gambling with those ''cattle'' using mercury-loaded dice, how could he bear to be left out? Thereupon he said, "It won''t be fun if I don''t go. Just don''t tell the outsiders my real name and status."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "If Wei Xiangzhu change his outfit and go in disguise, nobody will know that he works in the Palace ..."


    Before he even finished, Wei Xiaobao had already clapped and cheered; "Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeatedly shouted. This idea was exactly what he needed. To visit someone''s house and create trouble was already very amusing, creating trouble after dressing up was even more interesting. Originally everybody else was thinking that if it wasn''t the fact that Wei Xiangzhu was their leader, he would be more of a liability to them; but seeing his enthusiasm and his determination to come along, nobody raised any objection.


    The old man Xu said, "Everybody ... everybody must be very careful. Wei Xiangzhu, what ... what are you going to dress up as?" Everybody turned their eyes toward Wei Xiaobao, waiting to hear his idea.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Shall I dress up as a wealthy family boy, or shall I dress up as a little beggar?" At the brothel, he was quite envious to see the visitors of the courtyard, who were mostly the sons of rich and influential families, were dressed in magnificent and expensive looking clothing and personal adornments, but all along he had never had any opportunity to dress like that. After slight hesitation, he fished three banknotes, worth five hundred taels each, from his pocket and said, "Here I have a thousand five hundred taels; I must bother one Dage to buy me some clothes."


    Everybody was slightly startled; almost together several of them said, "But we won''t need that much money?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have the money, the more expensive the clothes the better, buy some jewelry too, when I wear all that, nobody will know that I am a Palace ... a Palace''s little eunuch."


    "Wei Xiangzhu is right," Priest Xuanzhen said, "Gao Xiongdi, go and buy some clothes for Wei Xiangzhu."


    Wei Xiaobao took out another banknote worth a thousand taels and said, "Spend some more money; it doesn''t matter."


    Seeing a little child with that much money in his disposal, everybody was secretly amazed. Whatever people say, nobody could have guessed that he still had more than four hundred thousand taels at home. Based on Wei Xiaobao''s original character, if he had two or three taels with him, he would not feel comfortable until he spent it all; but how would he spend more than four hundred thousand taels? To be able to buy magnificent and expensive clothes and be able to show off was indeed an opportunity that was hard to come by; he was very happy in his heart. Seeing the people''s dumbfounded expression, he put his hand into his bosom again.


    When his hand came out, there were banknotes in his palm, worth three thousand and five hundred taels, which he handed over to Priest Xuanzhen, saying, "Today is the first time Xiongdi meets all Dage, I do not have any present for you. I got this money from that Tatars'' place over there, it''s all ill �� ill money [Book note: he was thinking of saying ''ill-gotten gain'' ����֮��, but this phrase was too hard, he was unable to remember the rest.], I am asking everybody to help me spend it."


    Tian Di Hui''s rules were strict; taking other people''s property was strictly prohibited. Fan Gang, Gao Yanchao and the others had been poor for a long time, suddenly seeing Wei Xiangzhu drew out that much banknotes and explicitly stated that it was the Tatars'' ill-gotten wealth, which must be true since he was working in the Qing Palace, everybody could not help but cheering loudly.


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "We must separately invite those people; it is too late today. Wei Xiangzhu, all of us will respectfully wait for your honorable self in here, I wonder what time will you be able to arrive."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have work to do in the morning, I will definitely be here in the afternoon."


    "Very good," Xuanzhen said, "We''ll meet here tomorrow afternoon, and then we''ll leave together to settle the account with those two surname Bai''s."


    That night Wei Xiaobao''s heart was unbearably itchy, he jumped up and down in his room, gesticulating while talking to himself. The next morning, from the Upper Study Room he hurriedly went to a jewelry store to buy a big emerald ring, and asked the shop owner to attach a large piece of white jade and four perfectly round pearls onto his satin cap. Just like that he spent more than four thousand taels. Seeing the rich customer was a court eunuch from the Palace, the shop owner did not have the slightest suspicion, since when people from the Palace bought jewelry, ten times that amount was not uncommon.


    Wei Xiaobao hurried back to Hui Chun Tang [Return of Spring Hall] drug store, everybody else had been waiting for him in the basement. They reported that they managed to invite Bejing''s four well-known martial art masters to come with them as their witnesses. Each one of those masters received two hundred taels for their trouble. Wei Xiaobao mused, "Wealth brings people, calamity drives away people; these four martial art masters will have to help us. It''s just that two hundred taels as a thank you gift is too few, it would be better if they receive five hundred taels each. Four martial art masters are too few, it would be better to invite sixteen."


    Gao Yanchao produced some clothes, shoes and socks for Wei Xiaobao to change into, each one was utterly luxurious; the outer long-gown was lined with fire fox fur, the collar and the sleeves were lined with glossy and bright-colored fur. Gao Yanchao said, "I asked them to alter the fur gown into smaller size in the same night, I paid them three taels and six qian extra."


    "Not expensive, not expensive," Wei Xiaobao repeatedly said. There was an azure-colored satin magua [a buttoned mandarin jacket of the Qing Dynasty]; it had ten buttons made of real gold; yet in spite of this extravagant attire, Gao Yanchao did not even spend half of the money Wei Xiaobao had given him.


    Wei Xiaobao had been living in the Palace for close to a year. Residence alters character, nurturing alters body; he ate proper food and gained a lot of knowledge and experience, and for the last half a year he had been the head of the Catering Department, he had more than a hundred eunuchs at his disposal, so for quite a while he was accustomed to be a leader. Presently he was dressing up in fancy clothes; although he still had a rather tacky impression of a nouveau riche, his style was by no means appeared ordinary. With his exuberant manner, he had distinguished himself from Fan Gang, Gao Yanchao and other warriors of the wilderness.


    A sedan chair had been prepared, waiting outside the door. They asked Wei Xiaobao to ride on it, so that while traveling on the street in disguise, he would not come across a eunuch or court official from the Palace. Their entourage went to the Wusheng Escort Agency at Dongcheng district first, to rendezvous with the four martial art masters. Of these four martial art masters, the first one was the headmaster of Beijing Tantui[101] School, Old Master Ma Boren, a member of Qingzhen Cult; the second one was a famous physician Yao Chun. When the Old Xu was injured, he was treated by this physician. This man was not only a famous physician, his qinna and close-combat skill was also profound. The third one earned the nickname of ''Tiger-face Overlord'', Lei Yixiao; his iron-armor skill was very famous. The fourth one was none other than the head escort of the Wusheng Escort Agency himself, the Golden Spear Wang Wutong.


    Ma Boren and the others, four people, had already learned that Tian Di Hui''s leader Wei Xiangzhu was very young. When they met, they were very surprised to see that he looked like a teenager from a powerful and wealthy family. However, they all respected Chen Jinnan''s great name, thinking that although the disciple of Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu was very young, certainly he had an astonishing skill, hence they did not dare to belittle him.


    After drinking some tea at the escort agency office, they continued their journey together to the Willow Tree Lane where the two surnamed Bai men resided. Wei Xiaobao, Ma Boren and Yao Chun three people rode on sedan chairs, while Lei Yixiao and Wang Wutong rode horses; the rest of the entourage accompanied them on foot. Priest Xuanzhen, Fan Gang, and the others were famous characters, Wang Wutong wanted to let them use his horse, but Xuanzhen was afraid they would attract attention, so he adamantly refused.


    Finally they arrived outside a vermillion-painted gate of a large house on Willow Tree Lane. Gao Yanchao was about to step forward to knock on the door when suddenly they heard faint weeping sound coming from inside. Everybody was startled, they saw by the main gate there were two white lanterns, a sign that the family was in mourning. Gao Yanchao knocked the knocker ring lightly on the door. After a while the gate opened, an old housekeeper came out. Gao Yanchao presented five name cards, which they had prepared beforehand, and said, "Several friends from Wusheng Escort Agency, Tantui School and Tian Di Hui are here to pay their respect to Bai Da Xia and Bai Er Xia [Great Hero and Second Hero, respectively]."


    As soon as the housekeeper heard three words ''Tian Di Hui'', he raised his eyebrows and shot an angry look while he glowered at everybody. Receiving the visiting cards, without saying anything he went back in.


    Although Ma Boren was already old, his temper was actually quite fiery; unable to restrain his anger he said, "This servant is very rude."


    "Ma Laoye [old master/gentleman] is exactly right," Wei Xiaobao said. He was actually very afraid of the Mu Palace people, he was hoping that Ma Boren, Wang Wutong and the others would stand by his side, so that when the fight broke later on, he would have several capable helpers.


    Quite a while later, a man about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old came out. He was very tall, his entire body was covered in mourning garment; his eyes were red as the tears in his eyes had not dried up. Cupping his fist he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, Ma Laoyezi, Wang Zongbiaotou [Head escort], gentlemen, it is an honor to have you here, welcome. Bai Hanfeng pays his respect to you." Everybody also cupped their fists to return the salute.


    Bai Hanfeng led everybody to the main hall. Ma Boren was most impatient; he asked, "Bai Er Xia, you are wearing mourning attire, I wonder which family member of yours has passed away?"


    Bai Hanfeng replied, "It''s my older brother Hansong who was unfortunate and died."


    Ma Boren stomped his foot. "What a pity, what a pity!" he said, "The two Bai brothers were Mu Palace''s heroes and brave generals, who were greatly well-known in Wulin. Bai Da Xia was in the prime of his life, I wonder what illness did he suffer?"


    They had just entered the main hall and were not seated yet, hearing this, Bai Hanfeng suddenly turned around, it was as if his eyes were shooting fire. "Ma Laoyezi," he said harshly, "Zaixia regards you as a Wulin senior, and thus has treated you with due respect. You are asking something you already know, are you ridiculing me?"


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback that Bai Hanfeng got so angry suddenly; he was scared and took a step back. Ma Boren stroked his white beard and said, "That''s strange! Laofu [lit. old man - referring to self] did not know, hence I asked. What do you mean asking something I already know? Bai Er Xia''s older brother has just died, even if your heart is full of sorrow, there is no need to have a fit of temper to this old man!"


    ''Humph," Bai Hanfeng snorted and said, "Please sit down!"


    Ma Boren mumbled to himself, "Fine, I''ll sit down, do you think I am scared?" Turning to Wei Xiaobao he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, please take the seat of honor."


    "No, Ma Laoyezi should take the seat of honor!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    When Bai Hanfeng looked at the visiting cards, he knew that among his guests there was a Xiangzhu of the Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall, Wei Xiangzhu; but he had never imagined that this teenager was the Wei Xiangzhu, he was surprised and angry. Reaching out, he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s left wrist and shouted, "You are Tian Di Hui''s Wei Xiangzhu?"


    The force behind this grab was extraordinarily strong, Wei Xiaobao felt the pain penetrated his bone. "Ah!" he screamed, two streams of tear involuntarily flowed down his cheeks.


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "Please release your guest, Bai Er Xia took too much advantage of others!" Stretching out his finger, he jabbed Bai Hanfeng''s side.


    Bai Hanfeng blocked with his left hand while releasing Wei Xiaobao''s wrist at the same time and took a step backward. "Please forgive my offense," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao looked very distressed; he wiped the tears with his sleeve. It was totally beyond Bai Hanfeng''s expectation; Ma Boren, Wang Wutong, as well as Tian Di Hui people were also surprised. They could see that although Bai Hanfeng''s grab was very swift and fierce, it was not something that cannot be evaded. Yet as the disciple of Chen Jinnan, not only this Wei Xiangzhu did not dodge, he screamed and shed some tears too; it was truly a great marvel in the Wulin world. Xuanzhen, Fan Gang, Gao Yanchao, and the others were blushing to their ears, they were greatly ashamed.


    "I am sorry!" Bai Hanfeng said, "Elder brother was unfortunate to be killed under Tian Di Hui''s evil scheme, Zaixia''s heart is grieved ��"


    "What?" before he could finished, everybody exclaimed one after another, "Bai Da Xia is killed by Tian Di Hui?" "How can there be such thing?" "There is absolutely no such thing."


    Suddenly Bai Hanfeng stood up and loudly said, "You say there is absolutely no such thing, are you saying that my Gege did not die? Come, I want all of you to take a look." Stretching out his hand, he was about to grab and pull Wei Xiaobao''s left arm. But this time Priest Xuanzhen and Fan Gang were prepared; as soon as Bai Hanfeng''s right arm moved, the two of them, one toward his chest and the other toward his back, attacked simultaneously.


    Immediately Bai Hanfeng turned his body sideways and took a step back, while his palms struck out right and left. Xuanzhen raised his left palm and struck with right palm; in the meantime, Fan Gang had already exchange a blow with Bai Hanfeng. Bai Hanfeng turned around and aimed for Xuanzhen''s throat. Xuanzhen leaned sideways to evade. Bai Hanfeng fiercely said, "My Dage died under your hands, I don''t want to live anymore. Tian Di Hui''s dogs, come up together!"


    The famous physician Yao Chun sprang up and spread out his arms to block. "Wait, don''t fight!" he said, "There is a misunderstanding here. Bai Er Xia keeps saying that Bai Da Xia was killed by Tian Di Hui, but what had really happened? Please explain to us clearly."


    "All of you come with me!" Bai Hanfeng said, and walked in big strides toward the inner hall. Everybody thought that since their number was greater, they were not afraid he might have any plot or trick, they followed him inside.


    As soon as they reached the courtyard, they all halted on the spot. They saw the rear hall was arranged as a mourning hall, with a coffin behind the mourning curtains, and a dead body lying inside the coffin; half of the body''s head, as well as its pair of feet, were visible. Bai Hanfeng raised the mourning curtains and called out in loud voice, "Gege, you died without your eyes closed, Xiongdi is going to kill several Tian Di Hui dogs to avenge you." His voice was hoarse, obviously because he had been crying for a long time.


    Wei Xiaobao went to see the dead person''s appearance and he was shocked. He had seen this person in that little restaurant along the way north of Jiangsu; he was the one striking Wu Sangui''s troops with chopsticks, his martial art skill excelled, it was hard to imagine that he would die in here. Immediately he thought that the opposite party had one less formidable persona; his shock was covered with a feeling a relief.


    Ma Boren, Yao Chun, Lei Yixiao, Wang Wutong, four people stepped closer to the coffin. Wang Wutong was an acquaintance of Bai Hanfeng; he sighed and said, "Bai Da Xia has indeed passed away; what a pity!"


    Yao Chun was a particularly cautious man, he stretched out his hand to check the dead body''s pulse on his wrist. With a cold laugh Bai Hanfeng said, "If you manage to get my Gege from the grave, I �� I will kowtow to you twelve thousand times."


    Yao Chun sighed and said, "Bai Er Xia, the dead cannot come back to life; please restrain your grief. Are you sure it was Tian Di Hui people who harmed Bai Da Xia? Bai Er Xia has not made a mistake?"


    "I �� I made a mistake?" Bai Hanfeng screamed, "How can I make mistake?"


    Seeing his grief was beyond ordinary sorrow, one could see that the brotherly bond between the two of them was very deep; they all could not help from feeling sorry for him, Fan Gang''s anger had subsided considerably, he thought, "His older brother is dead, no wonder he did not realize whether his action was light or heavy."


    With arms on his waist, Bai Hanfeng stood in the middle of the mourning hall and loudly said, "The one who killed my Gege was the old thief surnamed Xu who day by day sells medicinal plaster on the Heavenly Bridge. That old thief''s name is Xu Tianchuan, his bandit nickname is ''Eight-armed Ape'', he is an officer in the Green Wood Hall of Tian Dihui, am I right? You still want to deny it?"


    Fan Gang, Xuanzhen and the others looked at each other in blank dismay; they went to the Willow Tree Lane was actually to confront the two brothers of the Bai family, to inquire them why they injured somebody. Unexpectedly the older brother of the Bai family, Bai Hansong had died under Xu Tianchuan''s hands. Fan Gang sighed and said, "Bai Lao''er, Xu Tianchuan, Xu Dage is our Tian Di Hui brother, that is true, but he �� he ��"


    "He what?" Bai Hanfeng asked harshly.


    "He is seriously injured by the two of you, he is on his last breath, I don''t know if by this time he is still alive or already dead. To tell you the truth, the reason of our visit today is to inquire of you, two brothers, why did you beat our Xu Dage like that? Who would have thought �� who could have imagined �� ay ��"


    Bai Hanfeng angrily said, "Let''s not talk about this old thief surnamed Xu has not died, even if he has, the life of that old thief who is worse than a dog or a pig is not fit to make up for my Gege''s life."


    Fan Gang was also angry, "Your mouth is so filthy, what kind of Wulin hero are you? So what do you want?"


    "I �� I don''t know," Bai Hanfeng screamed, "I want to butcher all of you, Tian Di Hui dog thieves, and make you mincemeat. I will die with you, we all will die together." Turning around, he pulled a steel blade from the dead body''s side, and then he leaped up like a mad tiger, brandishing the saber wildly, making a loud ''whoosh, whoosh'' noise. Tian Di Hui''s Fan Gang, Xuanzhen, and the others also unsheathed their weapons, they were prepared to meet the enemy. Wei Xiaobao hastily withdrew behind Gao Yanchao.


    Suddenly a loud roar was heard, "Stop fighting!" The voice shook everybody''s ears that their eardrums were buzzing. They saw the ''Tiger Face Overlord'' Lei Yixiao raised both of his hands, standing in front of the Tian Di Hui group. With a loud voice he said, "Bai Er Xia, if you want to kill people, just kill me first!"


    This man had a good surname, his given name was also fitting[102]; his shout indeed had the power of jolting thunder. Bai Hanfeng was grieving of his brother''s death; his mind was somewhat abnormal, as soon as he heard the shout, his brain cleared up slightly. He said, "Why would I want to kill you? It wasn''t you who killed my Gege?"


    "These Tian Di Hui friends are not your Gege''s killer either," Lei Yixiao said, "Besides, all over the world, Tian Di Hui has at least two, three hundred thousand members; can you kill them all?"


    Bai Hanfeng was startled, he shouted, "Killing one means one less, killing a pair means a pair less!"


    Suddenly from outside the door came a faint noise of hoof beats; it sounded like more than ten riders were rushing their way. Yao Chun said, "Perhaps government soldiers, everybody, hide your weapons!" Seeing Lei Yixiao was blocking in front of them, Fan Gang, Xuanzhen, and the others knew that it would not be easy for Bai Hanfeng to pounce on them with brandished saber; hence they all hid their weapons.


    Bai Hanfeng loudly said, "Even if the old man the emperor of heaven himself came, I am not scared."


    The hoof beats were drawing nearer and nearer toward the alley, and then the riders stopped abruptly in front of the main gate, followed by the knocker ring was pounded on the door. Someone outside called out, "Bai Er Di, it''s me!" A shadow flashed, a man jumped over the wall and rushed in.


    This man was approximately forty years old, his bearing was imposing, but his expression greatly changed as with a trembling voice he said, "It''s really �� really Bai Da Di �� Bai Da Di ��" [Da Di and Er Di are ''first younger brother'' and ''second younger brother'', respectively.]Bai Hanfeng threw the steel blade in his hand and rushed out to meet him and called out, "Su Si Ge [fourth older brother], my Gege �� my Gege ��" Unable to continue, he broke in a bawl.


    Ma Boren, Fan Gang, Xuanzhen and the others all thought, "Could it be that this man is the Mu Palace''s ''Divine Physician Hermit''[103] Su Gang?"


    At this moment the main gate was opened and about a dozen people, men and women, rushed in and ran straight toward the coffin. Several women immediately raised their voices in loud wailing. One young woman was Bai Hansong''s wife, another young woman was Bai Hanfeng''s wife.


    Fan Gang, Xuanzhen, and the others felt awkward, they saw how these people were crying in extreme distress. If they did not leave now, after these people finished crying, even if they did not fight, unavoidably they would throw curses at them. Wei Xiaobao''s wrist was heavily gripped by Bai Hanfeng earlier, right now he felt the pain was still severe. Originally he wanted to take advantage of their number and told Xuanzhen, Fan Gang and the rest to catch Bai Hanfeng for him, so that at least he could kick his damn butt seven or eight times. Unexpectedly, the opposite party now had more people, so that if a fight broke, it would not be too convenient to them; his heart was thumping madly. He saw Xuanzhen was signaling him with his eyes, obviously Xuanzhen wanted to wipe the oil from their soles, by slipping out quietly. It was exactly what Wei Xiaobao had in his mind. Immediately he turned around and walked away, while saying, "Everybody, let''s go buy some yuanbao and candles, and come back here to pay respect to the dead!"


    "Want to run away?" Bai Hanfeng shouted, "It''s not that easy." Rushing forward, he sent his right palm fiercely toward Fan Gang''s back.


    "Who wants to run away?" Fan Gang angrily said, while lifting his left arm to block, but he did not retaliate. Xuanzhen and the others halted their steps. But Wei Xiaobao continued running toward the gate; he wanted to make sure one of his feet was across the threshold before seeing what would happen next.


    The man surnamed Su asked, "Bai Er Di, who are these gentlemen? Please forgive zaixia for not recognizing them."


    "They are Tian Di Hui dogs," Bai Hanfeng replied, "My Gege �� Gege was killed by them." As soon as he blurted those words, the people who were prostrating and crying loudly suddenly leaped up. Continuous ringing was heard, weapons were flashing, instantly the guests were surrounded; even Ma Boren, Yao Chun, Lei Yixiao and Wang Wutong, four people were inside the encirclement.


    Wang Wutong laughed aloud and said, "Ma Dage, Lei Xiongdi, Doctor Yao, since when did we join the Tian Di Hui? Based on our morality and conduct, I am afraid in the Tian Di Hui friends'' eyes we are not fit to carry their shoes."


    The middle-aged man surnamed Su cupped his fist. "So gentlemen are not from Tian Di Hui?" he asked, "This Doctor Yao, presumably your given name is Chun. Zaixia Su Gang. As soon as I learned that the older brother of Bai family had met a misfortune and died, from Wanping we rushed over here. In my grief I did not ask for guidance; this is indeed showing my lack in manners." While saying that, he cupped his fist and bowed.


    Wang Wutong also cupped his fist and bowed, "You are too kind, you are too kind," he said, "Divine Physician Hermit, you have a fully justified reputation; you indeed have the knowledge and experience, and the bearing of a hero." Right away he presented everybody present, one by one; the first one was naturally Wei Xiaobao. "This is Tian Di Hui Green Wood Hall''s Wei Xiangzhu."


    Su Gang knew that altogether Tian Di Hui had ten halls, each hall''s xiangzhu was a heroic warrior with unsurpassed skill; but this Wei Xiangzhu was obviously a teenager of a rich family whose smell of his mother''s milk had not yet dried, he could not help but was astonished, however, his face remained calm and collected. Cupping his fist he said, "An honor to meet you at last!"


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and cupped his fist to return the propriety, from the threshold he walked back in. "Why is it an honor for you to meet me?" he asked.


    Su Gang was startled; he said, "It''s an honor for Zaixia to meet Tian Di Hui''s ten Xiangzhu, each one is a hero and a warrior."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; "So that''s how it is," he said with a laugh. Seeing his cunning expression and sly tone, the doubt in Su Gang''s heart grew.


    Presently Wang Wutong continued his introduction to the rest of the party. Su Gang also introduced the people who had come with him. Two were his two younger martial brothers; the three of them were martial brothers with the two brothers of the Bai family. And then there were several disciples of Su Gang. Madame Bai Hansong was leaning over her husband''s dead body and wept bitterly, Madame Bai Hanfeng was crying and comforting her at the same time. These women did not come over to be introduced.


    Yao Chun said, "Bai Er Xia, what has exactly happened? How did the contention between Bai Da Xia and Tian Di Hui started? Would Bai Er Xia tell us?" He coughed, and then continued, "Wulin people are always looking up to the Mu Palace of Yunnan, Tian Di Hui''s internal rules are always very strict, neither one are capricious and unreasonable people. The whole world cannot forego this ''reason'', the matter of today cannot be settled by fighting or using martial art. Here we have Old Master Ma, Lei Xiongdi, Wang Zongbiaotou, as well as the trivial Zaixia, granted that we have no special friendship with either side, but we always admire both sides'' reputation. Bai Er Xia, would you do it for out sake, how did it all happen?"


    Wang Wutong said, "Not trying to conceal anything, I can tell you that the friends from Tian Di Hui really did not know that Bai Da Xia has passed away, otherwise, won''t you say that their visit would be embarrassing?"


    "In that case," Su Gang said, "For what reason did Wei Xiangzhu and other friends come to our humble place?"


    Wang Wutong said, "We are not going to lie to you, Tian Di Hui friends said that their Xu Tianchuan, Xu San Ge has been beaten and seriously injured by Mu Palace people, so that he is already unable to speak. Hence they invited us, several old rotten men to accompany them to your respectable place to inquire the reason."


    Su Gang grimly said, "If that so, everybody''s visit here is to condemn us?"


    "That we do not dare," Wang Wutong said, "We make our living by mingling in the Jianghu, we entirely dependent on friends giving us face. Right or wrong, crooked or straight, it''s all a matter of public opinion, nobody can speak blindly against one''s conscience."


    Su Gang nodded. "Wang Zongbiaotou is right," he said, "Please everybody come to the hall and talk."


    They all went to the main hall. Su Gang told his martial brothers and his disciples to sheathe their weapons. Bai Hanfeng was unwilling to lay down the steel blade in his hand. Su Gang let everybody sit, and then said, "Bai Er Di, what had really happened? Why don''t you tell it to everybody?"


    Bai Hanfeng sighed, and then said, "The day before yesterday, in the afternoon ��" He only said those words when he could not refrain anger from raising up, that he brandished the steel blade in his hand. Wei Xiaobao was startled and shrank back. Bai Hanfeng realized he had been too ill-mannered; with might he threw the steel blade to the ground. ''Crash!'', it smashed two of the square bricks. With a heavy breathing he said, "In the afternoon the day before yesterday, Gege and I were having a drink in a wine shop on the Heavenly Bridge, when suddenly in came a government official with his four attendants. Those four attendants'' conduct were loathsome, they asked for wine, asked for dishes, but they were speaking in Yunnan dialect."


    "Oh," Su Gang said.


    Bai Hanfeng continued, "When Gege and I heard them speak, we focused our attention."


    Wang Wutong, Fan Gang, and the others knew that for generations Mu Palace had ruled Yunnan. Su Gang, Bai Hanfeng, and the others grew up in Yunnan. Hearing a local accent in Beijing, naturally they would pay more attention.


    Bai Hanfeng continued, "My Gege listened for a while before he exchanged some greetings with the neighbor. Hearing that we are also from Yunnan, the government official invited us over and sit with him. Gege and I have left home for a long time, we wanted very much to hear news from our homeland. Seeing this government official had just arrived from Yunnan, we moved and sat with him. When we talked, the government official called himself Lu Yifeng, turns out he was on assignment, sent by Wu Sangui, to be the county head magistrate of Qujing County. He is from Dali in Yunnan. According to the rules, Yunnan native cannot be a local official in his own province. But this Lu Yifeng said that he was appointed by Ping Xi Wang, so he did not need to pay attention to the rules!"


    Fan Gang could not refrain from cursing, "His granny, that big traitor to China Wu Sangui appoints a dog official, what a nerve!"


    Bai Hanfeng cast him a glance, then he nodded and said, "This Fan �� Fan Xiong said it well, at that time I also had such thought. But in order to hear more about our hometown situation, we flattered him several sentences instead. That dog official was even more complacent; he said that officials appointed by Wu Sangui are called ''Western Elect'', meaning these officials are elected by Ping Xi Wang. All government officials in Yunnan, big and small, are appointed by Wu Sangui; even in Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou, three provinces, the western elects are more popular than those officials appointed by the Emperor himself."


    Hearing Bai Hanfeng was speaking with a labored breathing, Su Gang interrupted by explaining, "If there is any vacant post, the imperial court will appoint an official, Wu Sangui will also appoint an official. Whoever assumes the post first will get the position. Whenever there is any vacant high level position post in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi, for provinces, naturally Kunming would find out first; and sending someone from Kunming is definitely a lot quicker. As a result, officials from the imperial court always lag behind those ''Western Elects''."


    Bai Hanfeng took a deep breath and continued, "The official said that Ping Xi Wang has rendered a great service to the imperial court. The Manchus were able to conquer our rivers and mountains, it was entirely due to Ping Xi Wang, therefore, the imperial court shows special favor to him. Whatever memorial to the throne Wu Sangui submitted, it has never been rejected."


    Wang Wutong said, "This official is actually telling the truth. Each time Xiongdi go into escort duty to the southwest provinces, I see it with my own eyes that people in Yunnan and Guangxi only know Wu Sangui, they do not know the Emperor."


    Bai Hanfeng said, "This Lu Yifeng said that according to the imperial court''s rules, all county head magistrates must go to the Capital to have an audience with the Emperor, the Emperor must personally confer the high official post. He came to Beijing, it was exactly to see the Emperor. He said that since Ping Xi Wang has already sealed his appointment, his coming to the Capital to see the Emperor is just a routine business. My Gege said, ''Official Lu is taking an official post in Qujing, a native become a government official in his own province, naturally you will do the people a lot of good.'' That Lu Yifeng laughed aloud and said, ''Naturally.'' Suddenly, someone sitting on another table butted in, that old ... that old thief ... my enmity with him is so deep ..." While saying that, he suddenly stood up, his face was bulging and was very red.


    Su Gang said, "It was the ''Eight-armed Ape'' Xu Tianchuan who spoke?"


    Bai Hanfeng nodded. "Ex ... ex ..." in his great anger, his throat choked, he was unable to speak. After a while he continued, "Exactly that old thief. He was sitting on a small table by the window, drinking wine. He butted in, saying, ''A native become a government official in his own province, it is even more convenient to plunder the land.'' That old thief, we were talking to the official, who told him to be a blabbermouth?"


    "Bai Er Xia," Xuanzhen coldly said, "What Xu San Ge said was not wrong."


    "Humph," Bai Hanfeng snorted. After a short pause he said, "What he said was not wrong, I did not say that what he said was wrong, but ... but ... who told him to meddle other people''s business? If he did not butt in, how could all these things happen?" Seeing he was short of breath, Xuanzhen did not say anything anymore.


    Bai Hanfeng continued, "Hearing these words, Lu Yifeng flew into a rage; he slapped the table and turned his head, only to see that this old thief was a hunchback old man with wretched appearance. There was a medicine chest on the table, there was a medicinal plaster banner by his chair, so he was an old man who sells medicine. Lu Yifeng shouted, ''You, old codger, what nonsense are you talking about?'' His four attendants have already scrambled over, they slapped the old thief''s table and rained curses on him. One servant grabbed him by his collar. I was so blind that I could not see that old thief has a profound martial art skill; I was thinking that because of righteous indignation he spoke those words to mock. Afraid that he might get the worst of it, I came over to advise him and in the process pushed those four attendants away."


    Xuanzhen praised him, "Bai Er Xia was thinking of benevolence and righteousness, it was indeed the conduct of a hero." He thought that Bai Hansong had died, while although Xu Tianchuan''s injury was not light, he would most likely live, so it could be said that their side had had a small advantage. In a lot of things both sides had to make peace, so he flattered Bai Hanfeng a little bit to let him calm down.


    Who would have thought that Bai Hanfeng was unwilling to accept his praise; he stared at him and said, "What hero? I am a coward[104]! I have eyes but failed to be a good judge of character, I failed to see that this old thief was treacherous and murderous, and still thought that he was a good man. That Lu Yifeng turned into his official mode, he cursed incessantly, shouting, ''Rebellion! Rebellion!'' He said that there are indeed many wicked citizens in the Capital that must be punished severely."


    Fan Gang interrupted, "That official is just like a dog threatens based on his master''s power; it''s not enough for him to bully the common people in Yunnan, he also came to Beijing to bully people."


    "It''s not that easy to bully people," Ban Hanfeng said, "That official shouted repeatedly, telling his attendants to bind the old thief and send him to the authority, to have him beaten by forty big planks, to put him in wooden stocks and expose him publicly. That old thief giggled and said, ''Da Laoye, why do you shout and make a racket? Aren''t you straining yourself? Let me prepare a medicinal plaster for you.'' From his medicine chest he took a sheet of medicinal plaster, which he pressed between his palms, immediately afterwards he flattened up the herbal plaster, which was originally folded and lumped together. When at first I saw how this old thief was not afraid of the fiendish attendants at all, I had begun to have suspicion, now that I saw the strength of his hands with which he pulled the plaster, Gege and I looked at each other; I finally understood. The lump of ointment in the middle of the plaster was stiff and hard; it has to be baked over the fire for a long time before it can be pulled open. But he only pressed it between his palms for a short moment and used his internal energy to bake it and made the ointment soft, his power must be really extraordinary. When he flattened out the plaster, the ointment was steaming hot. But that Lu Yifeng did not realize it at all; he kept urging his attendants to go forward and arrest the man. I no longer care to stop those official''s lackeys, since they were only asking trouble for themselves. Seeing I stepped out of the way, one of the attendants pounced on that old thief. The old thief laughed and said, ''Do you want medicinal plaster?'' while putting the plaster on the attendant''s hand. The attendant cursed, ''Old dog, what are you doing?'' The old thief gave the attendant''s arm a push, the attendant''s body swiveled and ''slap!'' the steaming hot plaster happened to stick onto that dog official, Lu Yifeng''s mouth ..."


    Hearing to this part, Wei Xiaobao could not show restraint anymore, he laughed and clapped his hands. Bai Hanfeng snorted and shot him a very fierce glare. Wei Xiaobao was scared and did not dare to laugh. "And then what happened?" Su Gang asked.


    Bai Hanfeng said, "That dog official''s mouth was sealed by the plaster, he busily reached up to pull the plaster. The old thief pushed the four attendants away and said, ''Go help Da Laoye!'' I heard a continuous ''slap! slap! slap!''; the four attendants were like, I slap once, you slap once, they kept slapping that dog official. Turned out the old thief pushed and steered the four attendants'' arms, while transmitting his own strength, so that those four men''s palms were slapping the dog official. In just a short moment, the dog official''s cheeks were swollen red." Wei Xiaobao burst out in laughter again, but he turned his head around, he did not dare to look at Bai Hanfeng.


    Su Gang nodded, "That Xu Xiong has earned the nickname ''Eight-armed Ape''. I heard his qin na skill is considered first class in Wulin; his reputation is indeed fully justified." He thought that since Bai Hansong died in his hands, naturally this old man''s martial art skill was very high. By praising his martial art skill, he was trying to preserve the two brothers of the Bai family''s prestige.


    Bai Hanfeng said, "Gege and I were amused; very soon we saw blood dripping from the dog official''s cheeks. There were many onlookers in the wine shop standing to see the excitement. The old thief kept yelling loudly, ''Don''t hit, don''t hit! Da Laoye must not be hit! You are such brazen servants, underlings defy your superior, how can you beat your own Da Laoye?'' while he skipped and bounced around behind the four attendants, very much like a big monkey. When pushing the attendant''s arm, it looked like he was dodging instead. The onlookers could not see that he was playing a trick. It was not until that dog official fainted and fell down on the floor that he stopped and returned to his table. The four attendants still thought that they had bumped into some demon or meet some ghosts; they simply did not understand how they were beating their own Da Laoye, but the blood on their palms was real. The four of them stared blankly for a moment, and then they carried that dog official away."


    "Delighted, delighted!" Fan Gang said, "Wu Sangui''s lackeys should be punished like that. Xu San Ge beating that dog official thoroughly is precisely to vent the resentment of all common people in the world. Bai Er Xia, why didn''t you help him with several beatings of your own?"


    Immediately Bai Hanfeng''s anger rose up again, he shouted loudly, "It was obvious that old thief was flaunting his skill, why would I want to help him? It was he who did the beating, not him taking a beating."


    Xuanzhen said, "Bai Er Xia is right, previously he did not know Xu San Ge knew martial art; didn''t he stand up bravely for the truth by blocking those dog official''s attendants from assaulting him?"


    "Humph!" Bai Hanfeng snorted, and then continued, "After that dog official and his attendants left, my Gege called the restaurant''s shopkeeper and told him that he would compensate for all damaged tables, chairs and utensils, he also told him to put the old thief''s bill into our account. The old thief laughed and thanked him. My Gege invited him over to drink wine together with us. In a low voice the old thief said, ''I have long admired the illustrious name of Song and Feng, virtuous brothers. It''s nice to meet you.'' Gege and I were startled, thinking that it turned out he had already known our origins, but we did not know who he was. My Gege said, ''I am very ashamed, may I ask Laoyezi''s respected surname and great given name?'' The old thief said with a laugh, ''Zaixia Xu Tianchuan. Unable to keep my calm, I have shown off my meager skill in front of virtuous brothers'' expert eyes; it was truly laughable.'' By that time we still did not know what kind of man was this Xu Tianchuan, but we thought that since he had given a dog official some beatings, obviously he was someone who tread the same path as we do. If that dog official did not suffer those trashing, we, two brothers, would certainly give him some beatings ourselves. The three of us drank and chatted, we got along very well with each other. Since it was not convenient to have an in depth conversation in the restaurant, we invited him over here to have a meal."


    "Oh," Fan Gang said, "So Xu San Ge came here? Was it in your respected abode that the fight started?"


    "Who says we fought here?" Bai Hanfeng said, "How can we fight with a guest in our home? Isn''t that we are bullying others?"


    Xuanzhen nodded and said, "The Bai brothers have heroic spirit and chivalrous frame of mind, definitely they won''t do such thing."


    Hearing Xuanzhen repeatedly praised him, eventually Bai Hanfeng nodded to him to express his gratitude. He said, "We, brothers invited the old thief to come here, we treated him with utmost respect, we asked him how he recognized us. He no longer conceal anything, he said that he belong to Tian Di Hui, as soon as we, brothers, arrived in Beijing, Tian Di Hui had already obtained the news, and that he longed to make friends with us. He beat the dog official in the restaurant, first, it was because he detests Wu Sangui, second, it was because he wanted to make friends with us. That old thief can talk really well, he deceived us, brothers, into thinking that he was a really good man. Afterwards we were speaking about fighting the Qing to restore the Ming. The more we talked, the three of us, no, two people and a dog, grew more in agreement with each other ��"


    Wei Xiaobao interjected, "Two people and a dog talked and grew more in agreement with each other is a very rare occurrence." The others could not help feeling amused, but in front of Bai Hanfeng, they did not dare to laugh loudly.


    Bai Hanfeng shouted angrily, "Little demon, you talk rubbish!"


    "Bai Er Xia," Fan Gang said, "Although Wei Xiangzhu is young, he is our Society''s Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu; everybody in our Society, from top to bottom, respects him very much."


    "So what if he is a Xiangzhu?" Bai Hanfeng said.


    Su Gang tried to change the subject. "My Bai Xiongdi is deeply grieved by the death of his older brother, his speech is somewhat pressing with rage, I am asking everybody not to take offense. Wei Xiangzhu, please bear with him a little bit." He thought that in Tian Di Hui, the Xiangzhu status was not a small matter; by calling him ''little demon'', Bai Hanfeng was clearly in the wrong.


    Bai Hanfeng was not a fool, he understood this subtle hint; averting his gaze from Wei Xiaobao he said, "Afterwards, the three of us ..."


    "No, the two of you and a dog," Wei Xiaobao butted in again.


    "You ... you ..." Bai Hanfeng angrily screamed. But in the end he was able to control his temper. Taking a deep breath he continued, "When the topic of our discussion reached fighting the Qing restoring the Ming, we talked about after the Tatars are wiped clean, we will support Emperor Hongwu''s descendant to sit of the dragon throne. My Gege said, ''His Majesty returned to heaven in Myanmar, he was survived by the young crown prince. Contrary to what one might expect, he is actually very intelligent, wise and farsighted, and will make a brave ruler; presently he lives in seclusion in a remote mountain.'' But that old thief said, ''The rightful emperor ordained by heaven is alive and well in Taiwan.''"


    As soon as Bai Hanfeng quoted Xu Tianchuan, Su Gang, Yao Chun, Wang Wutong, and the others knew the disagreement between the two parties was over supporting Gui and supporting Tang. After the Emperor Suizhen hanged himself on Mount Mei and the Qing army crossed the pass, the members of Ming Dynasty''s imperial clan, King Fu, King Tang, King Lu and King Gui separately proclaimed themselves as Emperors in different places, the dispute had already started at that time. After each one of these Kings died, the followers of these kings still harbored hostility toward each other.


    Bai Hanfeng continued, "When I heard the old thief spoke those words, I asked, ''Since when did our young emperor go to Taiwan?'' The old thief said, ''I was talking about Son of Heaven Longwu''s young emperor, not King Gui''s offspring.'' My Gege said, ''Xu Laoyezi, you are a hero and a warrior, the two of us brothers admire you very much, it''s just that concerning an important matter of the world, your experience is actually lacking. When the Son of Heaven Suizhen died, King Fu stood on his own feet. When King Fu was taken prisoner by the Qing army, King Tang was unfortunate and died for his country. Our Son of Heaven Yongli was the king over the whole China. After the Son of Heaven Yongli died for his country, naturally his offspring will succeed the throne.''" Longwu was King Tang''s regnal name, Yongli was King Gui''s regnal name. They were all King Tang, King Gui''s former officials, naturally they were addressing their former masters by their regnal names.


    Listening to this point, Fan Gang interrupted, "Bai Er Xia, please don''t be offended. After the Son of Heaven Longwu perished, all his other brothers died, he still has a sibling Son of Heaven Shaowu in Guangzhou. Yet King Gui dispatched troops to attack Son of Heaven Shaowu. They were all descendants of Taizu Huangdi, not fighting Manchu Tatars but fighting one''s own, isn''t that a big mistake, a blunder?"


    Bai Hanfeng angrily said, "Wasn''t the way that old thief speak identical to yours? In the end, whose dispute is this? Our Son of Heaven Yongli properly sent an envoy to Guangzhou, ordering King Tang to remove his honorific title. Not only King Tang refuse to accept the imperial order, he sent troops to oppose the ''Mandate of Heaven'' instead. This action of King Tang was obviously in rebellion, a treason and heresy; it can be said that it was the main cause of a disaster."


    With a cold laugh Fan Gang said, "An insignificant Zaixia was also involved in the battle of Sanshui, but I don''t know whose army was completely wiped-out?"


    Bai Hanfeng was furious, he stood up and with a stern voice said, "Are you still considering this old debt?"


    Listening to the way Fan Gang spoke, Wei Xiaobao knew that apparently in the Battle of Sanshui, King Tang won and King Gui lost; he busily asked, "Fan Dage, what happened in that Battle of Sanshui?"


    Fan Gang said, "King Gui has listened to his subordinate''s instigation, a treacherous court official''s, a servant called Lin Guiding, hence he dispatched troops to attack Guangzhou ..."


    "Fan Dage," Su Gang interrupted, "That was not the fact. It was King Tang who sent troops first to attack Zhaoqing, our Son of Heaven Yongli had no choice but to rise to take up the challenge."


    Both sides were like, you make a brief remark, I speak one sentence; they all argued over old affair, gradually the swords were drawn, an open fight was about to begin. Yao Chun repeatedly shook his hands and with a loud voice said, "It''s an old affair of many years ago, do you still have to bring it up? It doesn''t matter who won who lost, there''s really no glory or shame in that, in the end it did not wipe out the Tatars." As soon as they heard this, they stopped arguing, all had ashamed look on their faces.


    Su Gang said, "Bai Er Di, justice is to be found everywhere, pledging our lives, we will contend strongly for the source of right and wrong. What happened afterwards?"


    Bai Hanfeng said, "What that old thief said is similar to what this ... this Master Fan said just now, naturally we, brothers, discussed it in details to make him understand. Both sides were getting louder and louder, nobody was willing to yield. In his anger, my Gege slapped the small side table and broke it into pieces. With a cold laugh the old thief said, ''After you can''t win the argument using reason, now you want to resort to violence? The Twin-tree of Bai family of the Mu Palace''s fame for fighting prowess shakes the distant land, I am but a peon in Tian Di Hui, yet I am not scared.'' Obviously he was saying that a peon of Tian Di Hui outshines established and well-known characters of the Mu Palace. My Gege said, ''I broke my own table, what does it have to do with you? On what authority you dare to insult our Mu Palace?'' The argument reached a deadlock, finally we agreed to have a duel that same night on zi hour [between 11pm - 1am] at the Temple of Heaven."


    Su Gang sighed, low-spiritedly he said, "Turns out the dispute started from that."


    Bai Hanfeng said, "That night we went to the Temple of Heaven to keep the appointment. Without saying anything we started fighting with that old thief right away ..."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Presumably it was two against one. I wonder was it Bai Da Xia who fought first, or was it Bai Er Xia?"


    Bai Hanfeng''s face turned red, with a loud voice he said, "We, two brothers, always fight together. Dealing with one person the two of us fought together, dealing with a hundred people the two of us still fought together."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "So that''s how it is," he said, "Supposing you are fighting with me, a child, the two of you would still fight together."


    Bai Hanfeng roared in rage, he raised his palm, ready to smash it down onto the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head. Su Gang stretched out his left hand to grab Bai Hanfeng''s wrist; he said, "Bai Er Di, don''t!"


    Bai Hanfeng shouted, "This ... this little demon insulted my deceased brother."


    Wei Xiaobao was only seeking to win a tongue-lashing contest; he had not thought that he had included the dead Bai Hansong. Seeing Bai Hanfeng was raging mad, he was very scared and did not dare to see anything anymore.


    "Bai Er Di," Su Gang said, "Injustice has a reason, debt has its owner. It was the one surnamed Xu who murdered Bai Dage, we can only seek that surnamed Xu to settle the account."


    Bai Hanfeng stared maliciously at Wei Xiaobao. "There will come a day where I will pull your tendon and peel your skin," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue toward him, he thought that with Su Gang around, Bai Hanfeng would not do anything to him. Even if he was going to pull his tendon and peel his skin, it would not be today''s matter.


    Fan Gang said, "Su Si Ge, you said that Bai Da Xia was murdered by our Xu Dage, I am afraid you must reconsider the word ''murder''. Bai Er Xia said that both parties were contending martial art in the Temple of Heaven, Xu Dage fought one against two, there was no conspiracy or treacherous scheming, and it wasn''t relying on number to achieve victory either, it was a just and honorable fight, how can you say that it was ''murder''?"


    Bai Hanfeng angrily said, "Naturally my Gege was murdered by that old thief. Before we, brothers, went to the Temple of Heaven to keep the appointment, we have discussed it over; my Gege said that although this old man was muddle-headed, did not understand the mandate of heaven and unwilling to surrender, he was after all a compatriot in fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. During the duel, we must consider Tian Di Hui''s part and must stop at the touch, we must not injure him for real. The two of us were being lenient, who would have thought that the old thief was so vicious, unexpectedly he launched a killer strike and thus murdered my Gege."


    Su Gang asked, "How did that surnamed Xu murder Bai Da Di?"


    Bai Hanfeng said, "We fought for more than forty stances without any clear winner or loser. Suddenly that old thief jumped out of the arena; he cupped his fist and said, ''My utmost admiration! Today we cannot distinguish victory and defeat, there is no need to continue fighting. Mu Palace''s martial art is world-renowned, it is indeed brilliant.''"


    "That''s very good," Fan Gang said, "Everybody did not need to fight anymore, hence avoided injuring friendship, wasn''t it great?"


    Bai Hanfeng angrily said, "You did not see that old thief''s expression when he said that, how can you say that he really had good intention? There was a cold smile on the corners of his mouth, obviously he was saying that with one against two, the Bai Family Twin-tree of the Mu Palace cannot overcome an old man; that ''world-renowned martial art skill'' was nothing more than a brag. Naturally I was angry, I said, ''If victory or defeat cannot be distinguished, then we continue fighting until victory and defeat are clearly distinguished.'' Although that old man was agile, his strength could not be compared to us, brothers. In prolonged fight, he would definitely lose. He did not want to fight just so he could slip away. Thereupon we fought again. After fighting for a while, I launched the move ''dragon soars tiger leaps'', I struck down on him from the air. Sure enough, that old thief leaned sideways to evade. The two of us had practiced this move well, my Gege immediately launched the ''sweeping away a thousand army'', his left leg swept to the right, his right arm struck across to the left, so he would not be able to evade." Speaking about this part, he demonstrated the move ''sweeping away a thousand army''.


    Priest Xuanzhen nodded and said, "This move is a converging attack, blocking the opponent from dodging either to the left of to the right; it is indeed formidable."


    Bai Hanfeng said, "The old thief pulled his body back, suddenly he struck toward my Gege''s chest. My Gege flipped his palms and pushed the upper part of the old thief''s torso, while laughing, ''Ha ha, you lost ...'' Right this moment, ''crash!'' unexpectedly the old thief was very ruthless, he had used a heavy hand. Knowing the situation was disadvantageous, I launched the ''high mountain flowing water'', with both palms, one after another, striking the old thief''s back. The old thief''s body shook and he retreated a few steps. My Gege spurted a mouthful of fresh blood and fell sitting down on the ground. I was very anxious and busily helped him up. The old thief let out several hollow laughs; limping and dragging his legs he walked away. I was thinking of running after him and giving him several punches to kill him instantly, but I was worried about my Gege''s injury and did not have time to pay attention to that old thief. I carried Gege back home; on the way home, he only said four words, ''avenge me'' [gei wo bao chou], then breathed his last. Su Si Ge ... if we don''t avenge his death, we would live in vain!" Speaking to this point, tears welling up his eyes.


    Priest Xuanzhen turned his head toward a man by his side, "Feng Er Di, let us demonstrate several stances that Bai Er Xia mentioned just now."


    The man surnamed Feng was Feng Jizhong; there was nothing remarkable about his appearance, if anything, he looked rather boorish. Ever since Wei Xiaobao saw him in the basement of the Hui Chun Tang drug store the previous day, he had never said a word; so Wei Xiaobao did not pay him any attention.


    Feng Jizhong nodded his head and stood up, then light as a feather, he sent out a palm strike toward Xuanzhen. Xuanzhen raised his left palm to block, then he pulled his body back. Next, he formed a pair of claws with all ten fingers, remarkably alike a monkey''s claws; obviously he was imitating the ''Eight-armed Ape'' Xu Tianchuan''s style. Pushing the ground lightly with his left foor, Feng Jizhong flew up and then from the air he struck down.


    "Good move!" Yao Chun called out, "It''s the ''dragon soars tiger leaps''!" Before he even finished, Xuanzhen had already leaned sideways to evade.


    Right this moment, Feng Jizhong swiftly moved in front of Xuanzhen''s body; with his left leg he swept across to the right, with his right arm he swept across to the left. It was exactly the ''sweeping away a thousand army'' Bai Hanfeng had demonstrated just a moment ago. Feng Jizhong was able to move as if he was two people. He had just finished executed Bai Hanfeng''s ''dragon soars tiger leaps'', immediately he changed into a different role and attacked Xuanzhen from the front, executing Bai Hansong''s ''sweeping away a thousand army''. His movements were very fast; it was truly unthinkable. Amid the cheer of everybody present, Xuanzhen shrank back while striking the opponent''s chest. Feng Jizhong pushed with both palms toward the pit of Xuanzhen''s stomach, while saying, "Haha, you lost ..." Then right this moment Xuanzhen sent a right punch toward the pit of Feng Jizhong''s stomach, and a left palm strike toward his lower abdomen. As soon as both men''s fists and palms touched each other, they froze.


    "Bai Er Xia," Xuanzhen asked, "Isn''t the situation at that time like this?"


    Before Bai Hanfeng could answer, Feng Jizhong flashed toward Xuanzhen''s back; from the right side of his face, both palms hacked down as he made a motion to attack Xuanzhen''s back. "High mountain flowing water!" he said. These two palms did not touch Xuanzhen''s body at all; before everybody realized what had happened, he had already stood up in front of Xuanzhen''s body, with both palms pressed against the pit of Xuanzhen''s stomach, while letting Xuanzhen''s fist to rest on his own lower abdomen, resuming the former position.


    These two men come and go so fast just like ghosts. Other than Wei Xiaobao, those who were present were all experienced and knowledgeable, yet they had never seen anything like Feng Jizhong''s unbelievable speed and agility. In their astonishment, they understood the intention of this demonstration. When fighting one against two, Xu Tianchuan was in an extremely dangerous situation; if he was being somewhat lenient toward Bai Hansong, perhaps it would be difficult for him to escape Bai Hanfeng''s ''high mountain flowing water'' attack on his back.


    Xuanzhen said again, "Bai Er Xia, isn''t the situation at that time like this?"


    Bai Hanfeng''s face was ash-grey, he slowly nodded. Feng Jizhong''s movements were like diving falcon, his speed made everybody dizzy, but the way he imitated the styles used by the brothers was without any mistake, exactly like the way Bai Hanfeng''s Shifu taught those techniques. The three stances, ''dragon soars tiger leaps'', ''high mountain flowing water'' and ''sweeping away a thousand army'' were well-known styles of ''Mu Family Fist'', which had spread all over the world, there were many people who knew these styles. It was not strange that Feng Jizhong was able to use it; but one person executing all three stances masterfully and with such speed from beginning to end, was indeed rarely seen. Moreover, each movement was very clear, each technique each style was executed perfectly; even though the two brothers had practiced the ''Mu Family Fist'' all their lives, they still fell short by a wide margin.


    Feng Jizhong pulled back his palms and said, "Priest, please remove your Taoist robe, forgive my offense!"


    Xuanzhen was startled, he did not understand Feng Jizhong''s intention, but he followed his instruction anyway. Taking his Taoist robe off, he shook it lightly, and suddenly two piece of cloth, in the shape of a palm, fluttered down from the Taoist robe, as two palm-shaped holes appeared on the pit of the stomach of the Taoist robe. Turned out just now Feng Jizhong had shaken and tore the Taoist robe with his palm strength. Xuanzhen could not restrain his countenance from changing; involuntarily he held up his hand to the pit of his stomach, thinking that since Feng Jizhong''s palm strength had shaken his soft Taoist robe, he himself must have had suffered an internal injury. But after tracing around the pit of his stomach, he did not feel anything unusual.


    Feng Jizhong said, "The inherent power carried on Bai Da Xia''s palm was far stronger than mine. Xu Dage had already received serious internal injury on the pit of his stomach; added to that, he also received the two palm blows on his back from the ''high mountain flowing water''. I am afraid his life is difficult to protect."


    The people saw how Feng Jizhong was using a ''yin'' and soft palm strength to cut two palm prints on Xuanzhen''s Taoist robe; this kind of power was more astonishing than his ability to simulate two persons at once, attacking from the front and the rear at the same time, which he demonstrated just a moment ago. Without exception they were all overwhelmed with amazement that they even forgot to cheer.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "That day the old turtle Hai also cut a palm print on the chest of my gown, perhaps he was also using the same trick."


    Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng looked at each other with dismayed expressions. They saw how Feng Jizhong''s level of martial art was far above either one of theirs. Also, with this demonstration, it appeared that although Xu Tianchuan had used a heavy hand and killed people, it was out of desperation where he did not have any other choice; he was under a converging attack from the Bai brothers and had to do everything in his power to defend himself, hence he could not be regarded to be in the wrong. Su Gang stood up and said, "This Master Feng has such a superior martial art skill and has really expanded Zaixia''s horizon today. If our Bai Da Di had Master Feng''s level of martial art, he couldn''t be killed by that surnamed Xu."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Bai Da Xia''s martial art skill was extremely high, everyone in Jianghu knows; Su Si Ge does not need to be polite." Bai Hanfeng shot him a malicious look, but he could not say that his own brother''s martial art skill was no good. Wei Xiaobao also said, "Bai Er Xia''s martial art skill is also very high, everybody in Jianghu knows."


    Fan Gang was afraid Wei Xiaobao might speak more nonsense and would create more side issues; he cupped his fist toward Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng and said, "We have disturbed you enough today, we''ll take our leave."


    "Wait a moment!" Xuanzhen said, "We must go to Bai Da Xia''s presence and kowtow. This matter is indeed �� ay, the mention of it will make everybody''s heart grieved; we must not harm the friendship between the Mu Palace and Tian Di Hui." Finished speaking, he took a step toward the rear hall.


    Bai Hanfeng held up his hands to block, and said fiercely, "My Gege died without his eyes closed, I don''t need your hypocritical courtesy."


    "Bai Er Xia," Xuanzhen said, "Not to mention that it was a slip in a martial art competition and thus Bai Da Xia was accidentally injured, even if it were our Xu Dage''s fault, you cannot hate the entire Tian Di Hui. We are bowing in front of the departed spirit, it is to show yi qi to the fellow Wulin character of the same principle."


    "The Priest is right," Su Gang said, "Bai Er Di, we must not fail to show courtesy."


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao, Xuanzhen, Fan Gang, Feng Jizhong, Yao Chun, Ma Boren, and the others kowtowed in front of Bai Hansong''s coffin together. While kowtowing, Wei Xiaobao was muttering to himself. He kowtowed three times, and then stood up. Bai Hanfeng asked sternly, "What did you say just now?"


    "I was praying quietly," Wei Xiaobao said, "I was speaking to Bai Da Xia''s spirit in heaven, what does it concern you?"


    Bai Hanfeng said, "Your words were not clear, what did you pray?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I said, ''Bai Da Xia, it''s alright for you to depart one step sooner. Zaixia Wei Xiaobao was beaten black and blue by your brother, I won''t live much longer, in a few days I am going to the netherworld and will meet you, Senior."


    "When did I ever beat you?" Bai Hanfeng asked.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled up his sleeve to show his right wrist. It was swollen and turned into a black and purple circle, the finger marks were clearly visible. It was precisely the injury from Bai Hanfeng''s pinch a while ago. He said, "Isn''t this from your beating?"


    Su Gang cast a glance toward Bai Hanfeng; seeing he did not deny, Su Gang''s face revealed a slight blaming expression. He turned toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, this matter is hard to explain in a few words. Let''s discuss it slowly at a later date."


    "I am afraid my heavy injury is incurable that I will die soon," Wei Xiaobao said, "There won''t be any later date for me to talk."


    Su Gang could see that Wei Xiaobao could speak freely without any sign of internal injury; he knew Wei Xiaobao was just acting up. He thought, "How could Tian Di Hui have a young rascal like this as a Xiangzhu?" He said, "Wei Xiangzhu will live a long life reaching hundreds of years. When everybody else here has died, you will still live for a few dozen years."


    "Right now my stomach feels as if it was twisted," Wei Xiaobao said, "My five solid and six hollow organs[105] are all turned upside down; I don''t know if I''ll live until tomorrow. Feng Er Ge, Priest Xuanzhen, if I die, I don''t want you to find Bai Er Xia to seek revenge. In Jianghu, we uphold yi qi above everything else, we must not harm the friendship between the Mu Palace and Tian Di Hui."


    Su Gang frowned, he sent everybody off outside the gate. Xuanzhen expressed his gratitude to Ma Boren, Yao Chun, Lei Yixiao and Wang Wutong, four people; he cupped his fist and took his leave. The Tian Di Hui entourage returned to the Return of Spring drugstore.


    As they reached the door, they knew something was amiss; the sales counter collapsed, the hundred plus small drawers in the drug store, as well as the drug ingredients, were scattered all over the floor. They all rushed in and called out several times, but there was no reply. When they reached the inner hall, they saw the fat shopkeeper and two shop assistants were lying dead on the floor. This drug store was located in a remote area, temporarily there were no curious onlookers congregating outside.


    Xuanzhen ordered Gao Yanchao, "Bar the door, don''t let unconcerned people come in. We''ll quickly look for Xu San Ge."


    Pulling the trap door on the floor, they rushed into the basement, while calling out, "Xu San Ge, Xu San Ge!" But the basement was completely empty. Xu Tianchuan had disappeared without a trace.


    "His granny," Fan Gang yelled angrily, "We''ll stake everything to fight those thieves from the Mu Palace to the death!"


    Xuanzhen said, "Quickly invite Wang Zongbiaotou and the others to come and be our witnesses. If the Mu Palace wanted to kill Xu San Ge, they would have done it here. Since he was taken captive, they would not harm him immediately." Thereupon they dispatched a messenger to invite Wang Wutong, Yao Chun, and the others, four people, to come.


    Seeing the condition at which the fat shopkeeper died, Wang Wutong and the others were angered; they all said, "We mustn''t delay, let''s go immediately to Willow Tree Lane to demand for his return." Right away they all trooped back to the Willow Tree Lane.


    Bai Hanfeng opened the door, "Why are gentlemen back?" he coldly asked.


    Fan Gang said in loud voice, "Bai Er Xia, why ask when you already know? This kind of despicable act will only make the Mu Palace lose face even more."


    "Lose what face?" Bai Hanfeng angrily said, "What despicable act?"


    Fan Gang said, "Where is our Xu San Ge? Quickly hand him out. You people took advantage of our unguarded moment, you killed three shop assistants of our Return of Spring Hall drugstore; it was truly the lowest of low."


    "Nonsense!" Bai Hanfeng shouted, "What Return of Spring Hall? What Return of Autumn Hall? What three shop assistants?"


    Hearing the commotion, Su Gang went out and asked, "Gentlemen have left and now are back, I wonder what instruction do you have for me?"


    "Su Si Xia," Lei Yixiao said, "In this matter, you are in the wrong. Right or wrong cannot escape public opinion, even if you wanted to take revenge, you cannot randomly kill innocent people. If this matter spread out over the Capital, the implication may not be small."


    "What are they talking about?" Su Gang asked Bai Hanfeng.


    "Who would know?" Bai Hanfeng replied, "I can''t make head or tail of it."


    Wang Wutong said, "Su Si Xia, Bai Er Xia, in the place where Tian Di Hui took residence, three shop assistants have been murdered, Xu Tianchuan has also been kidnapped. About the right or wrong of this matter, we may talk it over later, but for now, please look at our faces and release Master Xu first."


    Su Gang was puzzled, "Xu Tianchuan has been kidnapped?" he asked, "That''s really strange! You must be suspecting us as the culprit, we were together in here, could it be that we know the technique of doing several things at the same time?"


    Fan Gang said, "Naturally you sent someone else to do the job, what''s so difficult about that?"


    "There is nothing I can do if you don''t believe me," Su Gang said, "If you want to come in and search, please be my guest."


    Bai Hanfeng loudly said, "Divine Physician Hermit Su Gang, Su Si Ge always say one as one and two as two; when have he ever said half an empty word? Let me tell you frankly: if that old thief surnamed Xu ever fall into our hands, I will right away cut his body in two; who would have the patience of kidnapping him and nurturing him by wasting our rice?"


    Su Gang muttered hesitantly, "I am afraid there is something else behind this. Zaixia is being presumptuous here, but I am thinking of going to your precious Society''s residence to have a look, I wonder if I may?"


    Seeing these two people''s expression did not show any deceit, temporarily Xuanzhen and the others were unsure of what to do. Fan Gang said, "Su Si Xia, we all want you to give us your word: is our Xu Tianxhuan, Xu San Ge, in your hands or not?"


    Su Gang shook his head, "He is not," he said, "I can also guarantee that our Bai Er Di has nothing to do with this matter." Su Gang had a resounding reputation in Wulin, everyone knew he was an upright and just warrior; if he said he did not kidnap Xu Tianchuan, it must be the truth.


    Xuanzhen said, "In that case, I invite the two of you to have a look at our humble residence. Wei Xiangzhu, what do you think?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You invited others to have a look first before asking me ''what I think''." He said, "Whatever Priest said, let it be done that way. After all, we have three people who were killed; we can ask these two gentlemen to kowtow several times to apologize, that is only proper."


    Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng stared at him; they both thought, "You, little demon, flatly accuse us as the killer of your three people."


    They returned to the Return of Spring drugstore. Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng examined the bodies of the fat shopkeeper and the two drugstore assistants carefully; they were beaten to death, the pit of their stomachs collapsed and their ribs broken. The technique used was ordinary, it was not the work of martial artists of any school.


    Bai Hanfeng said, "All of us must investigate this matter and bring it to light, otherwise we will suffer an unredressed injustice."


    "Suffering an unredressed injustice is not a big deal," Su Gang said, "Someday the truth will come to light. It''s just that Xu Dage has fallen into the enemy''s hands, we must think of a way to rescue him as soon as possible."


    Everybody inspected the drugstore from front to rear, and top to bottom, they also scrutinized the basement, but did not find the least bit of clue. The sky had darkened; Su Gang, Bai Hanfeng, Wang Wutong and the others took their leave to return home. They agreed to separately investigate this matter within the Beijing city walls.


    Fan Gang said, "Su Si Xia, Bai Er Xia, have you looked everything clearly? At midnight tonight, we will send someone to set this building on fire, to destroy the bodies and leave no trace."


    Su Gang nodded. "I have looked everything clearly," he said, "Luckily the neighboring area is uninhabited. It''s good that you are going to burn the store down, to avoid the authorities making any inquiry."


    After Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng left, the Green Wood Hall people had a lengthy discussion, they all agreed that Xu Tianchuan must be kidnapped by people from the Mu Palace; otherwise how could it happened exactly, not too long after, and not earlier than, after he killed someone from the opposite side, Xu Tianchuan disappeared without any trace? At most Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng, two people, did not know about it. Afterwards they discussed how they were going to set the house on fire. When Wei Xiaobao heard they were going to send someone to start the fire, he got very excited.


    Xuanzhen said, "Wei Xiangzhu, it''s getting late. You must hurry back to the Palace. We are sending someone to start the fire, it is not an important thing, Wei Xiangzhu does not need to be here to manage the general situation; it may be assumed that nothing will go wrong."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Priest, we all are brothers, no need to flatter me. Although Wei Xiaobao is filling for the damn Xiangzhu position, in term of martial art skill and knowledge and experience, how can I surpass everybody here, Wulin experts? I want to stay here just to see the excitement, nothing more than that."


    On the surface, these people were polite to him, but seeing his young age and how he made a fool of himself at the Bai family home, in reality they were rather looking down upon him. What he said actually cheer them up; those words had set the people''s hearts free from worry. Although their respect toward this young Xiangzhu did not increase, they felt several notches closer to him than before.


    Xuanzhen laughed and said, "It would be in the middle of the night before we start the fire, and we still have to contain the fire so that it won''t spread to neighboring houses. If Wei Xiangzhu does not return to the Palace for the entire night, I am afraid it would not be too convenient."


    Wei Xiaobao thought what he said actually made sense. The Palace gate was closed as soon as it was dark, nobody could get in or out. He was the young emperor''s favorite, everybody in the Palace had their eyes on him, if he violated the prohibition of spending the night outside, the charge against him would not be small. He could only sigh and said, "What a pity, what a pity! It would be extremely fun if I could be the one started the fire."


    In a low voice Gao Yanchao said, "When in the future we burn other people''s house during the daytime, we will definitely respectfully invite Wei Xiangzhu to start the fire."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he grabbed Gao Yanchao''s hand and said, "Gao Dage, a real man gave his words, you �� you must not forget."


    Gao Yanchao smiled and said, "The matter that Wei Xiangzhu orders, how can subordinate dare not to obey?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "How about tomorrow we go to the Willow Tree Lane and set the Bai family home on fire?"


    Gao Yanchao jumped in fright; he hastily said, "We must give it further thought before making a decision. If Zongduozhu finds out, most likely he would blame us."


    Instantly Wei Xiaobao''s excitement abated; he changed back into his little eunuch attire. Gao Yanchao wrapped his new clothes, shoes and cap into a bundle and handed it over to him. They all looked around carefully, and after ascertaining that there were no people from the Mu Palace spying on them, they went out as a group with Wei Xiaobao in the middle to the side street, and then hiring a small sedan chair they sent him back to the Palace. Wei Xiaobao nodded to the brothers and climbed into the sedan chair. Gao Yanchao put the bundle of clothes and cap into the sedan chair. A Society brother stepped forward to the sedan chair and stuck his head inside; with a low voice he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, early tomorrow morning, it would be best if you could go to the Catering Department kitchen and take a look."


    "Take a look at what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Nothing important," the man replied, as he pulled his head back and withdrew.


    Wei Xiaobao could not remember his name, this man had a pair of rat moustache slanting to the side and a cunning face. The marketplace was full of small traders like this. He did not come with them to the Willow Tree Lane, Wei Xiaobao had always thought that he was one of the shop assistants. He wondered why that man asked him to go to the Catering Department kitchen the next day.


    In any case, inspecting the kitchen was precisely his responsibility, so early morning the next day, he just went. As soon as their immediate supervisor arrived, the eunuchs working in the kitchen, from the supervisors down to kitchen workers, were all busy serving him tea and delicacy. Wei Xiaobao ate several pieces of light refreshment and said, "The light refreshments you make in here is not bad, but it will be better if you learn some more from Yangzhou chefs."


    Seeing nothing unusual in the kitchen, Wei Xiaobao was about to go back to his room when he saw the eunuch in charge of purchasing returned from the marketplace, he was followed by a man with a shoulder pole in his hand. The man chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, just do whatever Gong-gong says, you can''t go wrong, guaranteed."


    When Wei Xiaobao saw this man, he was shocked, because it was the same man who told him to go to the kitchen. The eunuch in charge of purchasing hurriedly went over to Wei Xiaobao to pay his respect. Pointing to the man, Wei Xiaobao asked, "Who is this?"


    The eunuch in charge of purchasing said with a laugh, "This is Boss Qian of the Qian Xinglong Meat Farmstead of Beicheng[106] disctrict. Today he came especially to flatter us by delivering more than a dozen fresh pigs personally to the Palace." Turning toward Boss Qian, he said, "Old Qian, you are very lucky today. This is Gui Gong-gong, our Catering Department Manager, currently he is the number one favorite of His Majesty. We are serving in the Palace, yet we cannot casually see the Senior''s face. Your three generation ancestors must have had tapped wooden fish[107] that by lucky coincidence you get to see Gui Gong-gong."


    Boss Qian kneeled down and kowtowed several times to Wei Xiaobao, saying, "Gong-gong is the one Xiaoren depends upon for our livelihood; only today by fate I can pay my respect, it is truly because the one surnamed Qian''s ancestor has amassed virtues."


    "No need to be overly courteous," Wei Xiaobao said, while thinking, "What is he doing, sneaking into the Palace like that? Why didn''t he tell me in advance?"


    Boss Qian stood up with a face full of smile, he said, "It is the Gong-gong of the Palace who make my business succeed. My price is especially low, I can''t say that I make any profit; however, serving meat to His Majesty, Princesses, and other royalties has given me an enormous face, when other people heard that even His Majesty ate the meat I offered, naturally my pork became number one in the world, no other meat business is able to surpass it. As a result, in only more than a year serving meat to the Palace, Qian Xinglong Meat Farmstead''s business has grown several times over. It is all due to all Gong-gong patronizing my business." While saying that he repeatedly bowed to pay his respect.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, he laughed and said, "You must be very rich then!"


    The man said, "It''s all due to Gong-gong''s great fortune." He pulled two banknotes from his pocket, with a grin he said, "Mere trifle, inadequate to show my appreciation; would Gong-gong please keep it to bestow reward to your subordinates." Finished speaking, he handed the banknotes over to Wei Xiaobao with both hands.


    Wei Xiaobao took the banknotes and looked, each banknote worth five hundred taels of silver, altogether there were one thousand taels; it was none other than the money he gave Gao Yanchao and the others the other day. Wei Xiaobao was slightly startled; he saw Boss Qian twisted his mouth toward the eunuch in charge of purchasing. Wei Xiaobao understood his intention; with a laugh he said, "Boss Qian is too polite!" He handed the banknotes over to the eunuch manager and said with a laugh, "Just divide Boss Qian''s present among the boys, no need to give me any share."


    Seeing the thousand taels banknotes, the eunuchs were overjoyed at this unexpected fortune. Normally, the suppliers of pork, lamb, beef, poultry, fish and produce to the Palace would give them commission on a regular basis, and then some more during Chinese New Year or other festivities, but the gift was never more than four, five hundred taels, which the eunuch head of the Catering Department Manager would take more than half first. This time not only the commission was of a substantial amount, Wei Xiaobao also said that he did not want any share. When they divided the money, how could it not be a small undeserved fortune for each of them? However, the eunuch supervisor thought that when Gui Gong-gong in the mouth said he did not want it, it might be that he was only putting on airs in front of outsiders; he was the head, how could he waive his share just like that? Therefore, when he calculated everybody''s share, he set aside the largest share to be given to Wei Xiaobao later.


    Boss Qian said, "Gui Gong-gong, you showed this kind of empathy when dealing with the other Gong-gong, it is truly rare. Since you are not willing to accept my gift, it is hard for Xiaoren to feel at ease in my heart. How about this: I have raised two Fu Ling [China root] Hua Diao [Shaoxing yellow wine] pigs; they can be considered famous and incomparably priceless. I am going to slaughter them as soon as I get home. I will present one to Empress Dowager and His Majesty, and will deliver the other one to Gong-gong''s room, so that Gong-gong can sample it."


    "What Fu Ling Hua Diao pigs?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "The name sounds weird, I''ve never heard about if before."


    Boss Qian said, "It is a secret handed down from generation to generation in my family. First we select a good breed pig, then after it is weaned from its mother''s milk, we feed it with Fu Ling, Dang Shen [codonopsis root, poor man''s ginseng], Qi Zi [willow seed] and other tonics. Other than feeding on various tonics, it invariably ate chicken eggs; as for the drink, it only drank Shaoxing yellow wine ..."


    Before he even finished, the eunuchs roared in laughter; they said, "Where did you get such method of feeding pigs from? Won''t it cost several hundred taels just to fatten one pig?"


    Boss Qian said, "The cost is naturally not small, but the most difficult thing is the meticulous care and the time."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I must have a taste of this strange pig."


    Boss Qian said, "I wonder what time this afternoon Gui Gong-gong will be free? Xiaoren will deliver it promptly."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that by the time he came down from the Upper Study Room, it would already be wu hour [11 am - 1 pm]; thereupon he said, "You may deliver it at the end of wu hour or beginning of wei hour [1 - 3 pm]!"


    "Yes, yes," Boss Qian repeatedly replied. Again he bowed and wished for Wei Xiaobao''s well-being before he went out.


    "Gui Gong-gong," the eunuch supervisor approached Wei Xiaobao with a smile on his face, "When you see His Majesty later, you must not mention this matter."


    "Why?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The eunuch supervisor said, "His Majesty is young and curious, if he heard some bizarre thing like Fu Ling Hua Diao pigs, supposing he wanted to have it often, our responsibility as the servants would be too great. Besides, this kind of meat, which require untold hardship to feed and raise, will not come by too often, it won''t be readily available any time. If His Majesty ate it and it suited his taste, he might issue an imperial decree for the kitchen to offer it daily, our share would only be to hang ourselves."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "You have a thorough thought."


    The eunuch supervisor said, "This is the custom of the Catering Department handed down from generation to generation. In the dishes prepared for Empress Dowager and His Majesty, any seasonal fruits and vegetables must not be served."


    Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Seasonal fruits and vegetables must not be served?" he asked, "Are you saying that you are serving only out of date or fruits and vegetables that have been kept overnight?" Although he had been the head of the Catering Department for several months, he had never paid any attention to the imperial household''s matter.


    The eunuch supervisor laughed and said, "Serving only out of date or fruits and vegetables that have been kept overnight, that we never dare. However, there are fruits and vegetables which are available only for one or two months over the entire year; this, we must not serve. Supposing His Majesty ate it and liked it, he might ask for winter bamboo shoot in the summer, or fresh broad bean in the winter, everybody will have no choice but to hang ourselves."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Empress Dowager and His Majesty are completely enlightened sages, how can there be such thing?"


    The eunuch supervisor was apprehensive; "Yes, yes," he busily said, "Empress Dowager and His Majesty are enlightened sages; of course there is no such thing. I heard that was the custom handed down from generation to generation in the previous Ming Palace. When it got to our Great Qing, His Majesty always communicate his feeling reasonably; it is much easier for us the servants to do his bidding." In his heart, he was secretly anxious; he regretted that he had said those few sentences earlier.

 Chapter - 10 (10)

    The martial art masters displayed the most ingenious moves of their respective weapons, hacking diagonally, thrusting straight, cutting down, striking horizontally; their weapons were moving faster and faster. Ping Xi Wang Mansion''s sixteen escorts stood motionless, with arms hanging down and palms kept close to their thighs, their eyes looked straight forward, as if they did not see the martial art masters'' attack.


    After serving Kangxi, from the Upper Study Room Wei Xiaobao went down to the Catering Department. Not too long afterwards, Boss Qian, leading four helpers, arrived with two big fat pigs, already butchered and cleaned. Each one was more than three hundred catties. "Gui Gong-gong," he said to Wei Xiaobao, "You will get the most benefit from this Fu Ling Hua Diao pork if you take it as soon as you, Senior, wake up in the morning, it is best to have it cut and roasted immediately. Xiaoren will deliver one pig to your room; early in the morning tomorrow, you, Senior, may cut, roast and eat it immediately. What you can''t finish, you can tell the kitchen to make salt-cured meat."


    Wei Xiaobao knew there must be a profound meaning behind all these, he said, "You are very considerate; come with me then."


    Boss Qian left one pig in the kitchen, and brought the other one to Wei Xiaobao''s room. The Catering Department Head''s dwelling was not far from the imperial kitchen. After the fat pig was delivered to his room, Wei Xiaobao ordered a little eunuch to take the helpers who carried the pig back to the kitchen and wait there. When the three people had left, he closed the door.


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Boss Qian said in low voice, "Is there anybody else in this building?" Wei Xiaobao shook his head. Boss Qian stooped down and gently turned the clean pig over. The pig''s belly was slit all the way to its throat, with the opening stitched together with several crisscrossed pig skin.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "There must be some strange thing hidden inside this fat pig''s belly; perhaps some kind of weapon. Could it be that Tian Di Hui wants to kill people and create havoc in the Palace?" He could not stop his heart from thumping hard.


    Boss Qian carefully cut the pig skin and with both hands pulled the pig''s belly apart, then he wrapped his arms around a big chunk of object and gently took it out. "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm; he saw the big chunk of object was a person. Boss Qian laid the person on the floor. The person was small and slim with long hair; it was a thirteen, fourteen years old girl, wearing light cotton undergarment. Her eyes were tightly closed and she did not move at all, only her chest was fluctuating slightly.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he asked in low voice, "Who is this young miss? Why have you brought her here?"


    Boss Qian replied, "This is the Mu Palace''s Princess[108]."


    Wei Xiaobao was even more amazed; with eyes opened wide he asked, "Mu Palace''s Junzhu?"


    "Exactly," Boss Qian said, "She is the younger sister of Mu Palace''s young master. They kidnapped Xu San Ge, so we kidnapped this Junzhu Niang-niang as a hostage, so that they won''t dare to harm a single strand of Xu San Ge''s hair."


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised. "Brilliant plan, brilliant plan!" he said, "How did you kidnap her?"


    Boss Qian said, "Xu Tianchuan, Xu San Ge was kidnapped yesterday, for the second time Wei Xiangzhu led a group of brothers to the Willow Tree Lane to investigate. Subordinate went out on my own to inquire whether those Mu Palace people have other places where they stay temporarily other than the one on the Willow Tree Lane, perhaps Xu San Ge is being imprisoned in one of those places; I also wanted to know how many people they have in the Capital, so that if we really have to fight, we already have a background information in our hearts. Once the inquiry was made, hey, the number of Mu Palace people who come here is really a lot. The young master of Mu family takes the lead, followed by a large number of martial art experts."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned. "Damn it!" he said, "How many Green Wood Hall brothers do we have in the Capital? Can we fight them ten to one?"


    "Wei Xiangzhu does not need to worry," Boss Qian said, "This time Mu Palace people came to Beijing not to fight our Tian Di Hui. It''s actually because the eldest son of the big traitor Wu Sangui, Wu Yingxiong has arrived in the Capital."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "The Mu Palace wants to assassinate this little traitor surnamed Wu?" he asked.


    "That''s right," Boss Qian said, "Wei Xiangzhu has an incredible foresight. When the big traitor and little traitor are in Yunnan, they can''t make any move. As soon as they leave Yunnan, then the opportunity arises. It''s just that naturally this little traitor has a thorough protection, there are not a few martial art experts by his side, guarding him; to kill him is definitely not an easy matter. Those people from Mu Palace indeed have several other temporary residence, when subordinate went to check it out, those people were not home, there was not a trace of Xu San Ge either. There was only this little girl and two women looking after her left in the house. It was a golden opportunity which is hard to come by ..."


    "Therefore, you led a goat in passing, you pulled a pig with hands behind your back, and take her away?" Wei Xiaobao continued.


    Boss Qian smiled. "Exactly," he said, "Although this little Miss is young, the Mu Palace treats her as a phoenix; as long as this Xiao Junzhu is in our hands, Xu San Ge is as stable as Mount Tai, we don''t have to worry that they won''t take a good care of him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Qian Dage has indeed rendered a great merit."


    Boss Qian said, "Many thanks for Wei Xiangzhu''s compliment."


    "Now that we have Xiao Junzhu, what do we do?" Wei Xiaobao asked, while stealing several glances toward the little girl lying on the floor. "This girl[109] looks quite beautiful," he mused.


    Boss Qian said, "If we say this matter is big, it is not, but it is not small either; I must listen to Wei Xiangzhu''s advice on how to handle it."


    Wei Xiaobao hesitantly asked, "What do you think we should do?" Although his interaction with Tian Di Hui people was only over a short time, he had had a good grasp of their disposition. These people politely called him Xiangzhu, always said with their mouths that they were waiting for Xiangzhu''s instruction and so on and so forth, in actuality, each one of them had already had an idea in their belly; they only wanted his approval, and thus they could push everything onto Wei Xiangzhu''s head, so that it would be unlikely that in the future they would assume significant responsibility. His way of countering this was to answer a question with a question, "What do you think we should do?"


    Boss Qian said, "At present we only need to find a good hiding place for this Xiao Junzhu, so that the Mu Palace people won''t be able to find her. This time the Mu family came to the Capital in really large number, although they are here to kill that little traitor Wu Yingxiong, we have killed their man, they have kidnapped Xu San Ge, right now they must be watching each one of our Tian Di Hui''s residence and stop-over places closely. As soon as we stop to pee or let out a fart, I am afraid the Mu Palace people will know about it."


    "Pfft," Wei Xiaobao stifled his laugh; thinking that this Boss Qian''s style of speaking was enjoyable, totally fit his spleen and stomach. "Qian Dage," he said with a laugh, "Let''s sit down and discuss it slowly."


    "Yes, yes, many thanks Xiangzhu," Boss Qian said. He sat down on a chair and continued, "The reason subordinate hid Xiao Junzhu inside the pig''s belly and carried her into the Palace was, one, to avoid the Palace''s imperial bodyguards'' strict searching, two, to conceal it from Mu Palace people''s ears and eyes. His granny, I am afraid there are several really formidable characters among Mu Gongye''s subordinates, we cannot not guard against them. If Xiao Junzhu is not hidden in the Palace, it''s difficult to protect against them snatching her back."


    "So you say Xiao Junzhu ought to be hidden in the Palace?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Subordinate does not dare to say so," Boss Qian said, "Everything is for Wei Xiangzhu to decide. If she is hidden the Palace, without a doubt she will be in the world''s most secure place. Even if Mu Wangye has more martial art experts, they still can''t stand up against Imperial Palace bodyguards. Xiao Junzhu is unexpectedly in the Palace, not only they would never imagine it, they would never find her. Even if they knew, how could they have the ability to break into the Palace to rescue her? If they could enter the Palace to rescue Xiao Junzhu, then technically they could even abduct the Tatar Emperor. There is no such logic in the world. It''s just that subordinate was too daring, I did not ask for Wei Xiangzhu''s instruction in advance, without permission I brought Xiao Junzhu into the Palace, placing Wei Xiangzhu in an even greater danger, adding greater inconvenience; indeed I deserve to die."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You have brought her into the Palace, then you say you deserve to die, yet you are not dead yet. Hiding Xiao Junzhu in the Palace is indeed an excellent plan; first, Mu Palace people will never think about it, second, they can never get her out. You are daring, could it be that my courage is inferior?" Thereupon he said with a laugh, "Your plan is very good; I''ll hide Xiao Junzhu in here."


    "Yes, yes," Boss Qian said, "If Wei Xiangzhu says this is all right, then it is all right. Subordinate thinks that when this matter is over, we can always return Xiao Junzhu to them. When they find out Junzhu Niang-niang has been living in the Palace, it won''t bring disgrace to her status. If she were kept in the basement of my slaughterhouse, and always smelled the stinky stench of cows'' blood and pigs'' blood, unavoidably it would be too unfair for her."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Just feed her Fu Ling, Dang Shen, Shaoxing yellow wine, and chicken eggs, and she will be all right."


    "Heh, heh ..." Boss Qian laughed, he said, "Besides, although Xiao Junzhu is very young, she is a woman after all, if she stayed with us, stinky men, unavoidably her reputation would be tarnished. If she stays with Wei Xiangzhu, it won''t matter."


    Wei Xiaobao was baffled, "Why?" he asked.


    "Wei Xiangzhu is also young," Boss Qian said, "Much less you are ... you are working in the Palace, naturally ... naturally it won''t matter." He hummed and he hawed, as if it was somewhat inappropriate to talk.


    Seeing his embarrassed expression, Wei Xiaobao had to ponder for a moment before he finally understood: "You are saying that because I am a court eunuch, with me guarding Xiao Junzhu, her reputation won''t be tarnished. But you don''t know that I am a fake eunuch." It was precisely because he was not a real eunuch that he had to think before he understood; otherwise, as soon as Boss Qian spoke the first sentence, he would have understood.


    Boss Qian asked, "Is Wei Xiangzhu''s bedroom inside?" Wei Xiaobao nodded. Boss Qian bent over to pick Xiao Junzhu up and brought her in, and lay her down on the bed. Originally there was a big bed and a small bed in the bedroom. After Hai Tianfu''s death, Wei Xiaobao had the small bed removed. He had too much secret in him that he did not want any little eunuch staying with him to look after him.


    Boss Qian said, "When subordinate carried Xiao Junzhu into the Palace, I sealed the Shen Tang and Yang Gang acupoints on her back, and also the Tian Zhu acupoint on the back of her neck, so that she wouldn''t be able to move or say anything. When Wei Xiangzhu wants to feed her, you need to unseal her acupoints; however, it is best if you seal the Huan Tiao[110] acupoint on her leg first, so that she won''t run away. Mu Palace people have very high level of martial art skill; most likely this little Miss does not know much martial art, but we can''t not guard against her."


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to ask him what Shen Tang and Huan Tiao were, or how to seal and unseal acupoints, but changed his mind because he thought that he was the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, plus he was also Zongduozhu''s disciple, if even sealing and unsealing acupoints he did not know, wouldn''t his underlings despise him even more? Besides, dealing with a young girl should not be difficult; thereupon he nodded and said, "I understand."


    Bos Qian said, "May I borrow a knife from Wei Xiangzhu?"


    Wei Xiaobao wondered in his heart, "What do you want a knife for?" But he pulled the dagger from his boot and handed it over to him.


    Receiving the dagger, Boss Qian made a cut on the back of the pig. He did not expect the dagger to have unmatched sharpness, able to cut pork just like cutting tofu, as soon as the dagger cut, it went down all the way to the hilt. Boss Qian was startled; "Good blade!" he praised. He cut two pieces of meat from the back and two forelegs, he said, "Wei Xiangzhu may roast these and eat, tell the little gong-gong to bring the rest back to the kitchen. Subordinate takes my leave now. If there is anything concerning our Society, subordinate can come anytime to report to Wei Xiangzhu."


    "Good!" Wei Xiaobao said, while taking his dagger back. He cast a glance to the Xiao Junzhu lying on the bed and said, "This girl[111] sleeps so peacefully." He wanted to say, "If this little miss stayed in the Palace for a long time, it would be extremely dangerous. If somebody found out, it would be really bad." But he thought: how could a hero and warrior of Tian Di Hui afraid of danger? If those words ever come out of his mouth, unavoidably he would be despised by others.


    As soon as Boss Qian left for the kitchen, Wei Xiaobao bolted the door and inspected the window to make sure there was no crack at all, before going to sit by the bedside. Looking at the Xiao Junzhu, he saw she had just opened her big round eyes and was looking at the top of the bed. Seeing Wei Xiaobao walked in, she hastily closed her eyes. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You can''t move, you can''t speak, you can only lying quietly in here, nothing''s sweeter than that." Looking at her clothes, he noticed it was not soiled at all, he thought Boss Qian must have cleaned the pig''s belly very well that not even the slightest blood stain left; thereupon he pulled the quilt over her body. He saw her cheeks were snow white, without any blood at all; her long eyelashes trembled continuously, apparently she was very scared. He laughed and said, "Don''t be afraid, I won''t kill you. In a few more days, I will let you out."


    Xiao Junzhu opened her eyes and looked at him, but instantly closed her eyes again. Wei Xiaobao mused, "In Jianghu your Mu Palace has great power and prestige. That day along the way north of Jiangsu your family''s Bai Hansong was very arrogant, he did not consider laozi in his eyes at all, but right now he is dead, killed by my subordinate. His granny ��" Thinking to this point, he stretched out his hand and looked at his wrist, on which the black purplish circle around it had not vanished, and he could still faintly feel the pain. He mused, "That Bai Hanfeng''s Gege is dead, since he could not vent his anger, he pinched laozi''s bone that it almost broke; who could have thought that Mu Palace''s Junzhu Niang-niang has fallen into my hands? If Laozi wants to hit I can just hit, if I want to curse I can just curse, you can''t move even for half a fen, ha ha!" In his complacency, he could not refrain from letting out an audible laugh.


    Xiao Junzhu heard the laughter and opened her eyes to see why he was laughing. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are a Junzhu Niang-niang, and you feel great, aren''t you? Your granny, in laozi''s eyes you are nothing!" Taking a step forward, he grabbed her right ear and pulled it three times, then he pinched her nose and twisted it twice, while laughing out loud.


    Tears flowing out of Xiao Junzhu''s closed eyes, two streaks of pearl rolled down the sides of her face. "Don''t cry!" Wei Xiaobao shouted, "When laozi tells you not to cry, you must not cry!" But Xiao Junzhu''s tears flowed even more. "Hot piece mama, stinky ''little mother''s skin'', you are so stubborn!" Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Open your eyes, look at me!"


    Xiao Junzhu closed her eyes tighter, Wei Xiaobao said, "Ha, you still think you are in the Mu Palace, your mama! Your family''s Liu, Bai, Fang and Su, four great generals, what''s so damn special about them? There will come a day when they will fall into laozi''s hands, each and every one of them will be beheaded and chopped into mincemeat." Raising his voice he shouted again, "Are you going to open your eyes or not?"


    Xiao Junzhu strained to keep her eyes closed. Wei Xiaobao said, "Alright, you are unwilling to open your eyes, then what''s the purpose of your pair of eyeballs? I''d better dig them out and eat them to accompany laozi''s wine." While saying that, he placed the flat edge on her eyelid and dragged it back and forth several times.


    Xiao Junzhu''s entire body trembled in fright, but still she did not open her eyes. Wei Xiaobao was at a loss of what to do. He said, "You don''t want to open your eyes, but I want you to open your eyes. We''ll see between the two of us, is it you, Junzu Niang-niang more formidable, or is it me, a little ruffian, the little beggar more formidable. For the time being I am not going to dig your eyeballs; if I do, you will win, since you won''t see me forever. I am going to carve some drawings on your cheeks with the tip of my dagger. Left side will be a little turtle, right side will be a pile of cow dung. After the cut become a scar in the future, when you go out on the street, thousands upon thousands people will surround you and look at you; they will say, ''Pretty, pretty, come and look at Mu Palace''s young beauty, with a tortoise on her left cheek and a pile of cow dung on the right cheek.'' Are you or are you not going to open your eyes?"


    Xiao Junzhu could not move her body at all, the only decision she could make was to open her eyes or not. Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s words, she closed her eyes even tighter. Wei Xiaobao thought aloud, "Turns out this stinky b1tch does not like her own face of being not beautiful, so she wants me to decorate her face. Alright, I will draw the turtle first!" He opened the ink slab on the table and rubbed the ink stick, then dipped the writing brush into the ink. The ink slab and brush used to belong to Hai Laogong. Wei Xiaobao had never touched a pen in all his life, right now he was holding the pen like holding chopsticks. He started to draw a small turtle on Xiao Junzhu''s left cheek.


    Xiao Junzhu''s tears flowed down her cheek, leaving a streak mark on the drawing of the turtle.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am drawing with a pen first, then I''ll carve it with the dagger. It''s just like people making stamp. Right, right, Junzhu Niang-niang, when we are done, I''ll take you to the main street of Chang''an''s city gate, I''ll call out, ''Which guest would like to have a turtle print? Three wen a sheet.'' I''ll apply black ink to your face, and when someone gives me money, I''ll put a piece of white paper on your face, and there''s the turtle, very quick! One day I can print a hundred sheets; that will be three hundred wen of copper, enough for me to splurge." While chattering, he peeked to see Xiao Junzhu''s expression, and saw that her eyelashes were trembling incessantly; clearly she was angry, but also scared. Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. "Um," he said, "A pile of cow dung on the right cheek; but nobody would buy a print of cow dung. I''d rather carve a pig, a fat and stupid pig. Business is going to be good."


    Raising the pen, he made a drawing on her right cheek. Whatever it was, it has four legs and a tail, it could be a cat or a dog. Putting the pen down, he took a pair of silver scissors and gently placed the scissors on Xiao Junzhu''s left cheek. "You don''t open your eyes, I am going to carve the picture!" he shouted, "I''ll carve the turtle first, the fat pig can wait later."


    Xiao Junzhu''s tears gushed out, but clearly she did not want to open her eyes. Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice, since he did not want to admit defeat, he had to gently run the point of the scissors over her face to draw. The point of the scissors was actually very blunt, although Xiao Junzhu''s skin was very delicate, there was no way the scissors would harm her. However, she was so frightened that all she knew was that this evil man was carving her face with a knife. She gasped for breath, and then passed out.


    Seeing her different expression, Wei Xiaobao was afraid that he had scared her to death; he was shocked, and hastily held out his hand to feel her breathing. Fortunately she was still breathing, thereupon he said, "Stinky girl, you pretend to die!" He mused, "Even if you have to die you are not willing to open your eyes; will I have to submit to you?" Fetching a wet cloth, he wiped the black ink off her face. He had to wipe it three times before her face was clean.


    Seeing her thin eyebrows and long eyelashes, her small mouth and stuck out nose, her exquisite features and beautiful countenance, Wei Xiaobao thought aloud, "You are a Junzu Niang-niang, I am sure you are looking down on a little eunuch like me, but I am also looking down on you; won''t that make us even?"


    After a while, Xiao Junzhu slowly regained her consciousness. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Wei Xiaobao''s eyes were less than a chi apart from her own eyes; he was staring maliciously at her. She could not help but was shocked and hastily closed her eyes again. Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily and said, "Finally you open your eyes to look at me. Laozi has won, hasn''t he?"


    Knowing that he had won, his heart was very happy; however, Xiao Junzhu was unable to speak, so unavoidably he was rather disappointed. He was thinking of unsealing her acupoints, but he did not know how; he said, "Your acupoints were sealed, if they are not unsealed, you can''t eat, won''t you be starved to death then? Actually, I am thinking of unsealing your acupoints. I have learned the unsealing acupoints technique in the past, but now I already forget. Can you? If you can''t, just lie down perfectly still, don''t make any move. But if you can, blink your eyes three times."


    He fixed his gaze on Xiao Junzhu, but she did not move at all. Only after a long time suddenly her eyes slowly blinked three times. Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he said, "I only know that Mu Palace people are all surnamed Mu, so each and every one of you must be a blockhead [surname ''Mu'' sounds like ''wood''], with stupid head and stupid brain, don''t know anything. Turns out you, blockhead, still know how to unseal acupoints."


    He carried her off and sat her on a chair; he said, "Pay attention, I will point to various position on your body one by one; if I point to the correct position, blink your eyes three times, if it is incorrect, just open your eyes wide, do not move at all. When I''ve found the sealed acupoint, I will unseal it for you, do you understand? If you do, blink your eyes."


    Xiao Junzhu blinked three times. Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Very good!" he said, "I''ll start pointing." Wei Xiaobao held out a hand and pointed to the right side of her chest, "Is it here?" he asked.


    Immediately Xiao Junzhu''s face blushed deep red, but she kept her eyes wide open. How could she dare to blink even once? Wei Xiaobao pointed to the left side of her chest and asked, "Is it here?"


    Xiao Junzhu''s face was even redder; she had opened her eyes for a long time, and now she could not help but blinking one time. "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed loudly, "It''s here!"


    Xiao Junzhu hastily opened her eyes wide; she was ashamed, anxious, and unspeakably distressed. These two people were both about thirteen, fourteen years old; about the matter between a man and a woman, they seemed to understand, but not quite understand. It''s just that girls usually understand human affairs earlier than boys. Wei Xiaobao grew up in a brothel, he observed plenty of indecent interaction between brothel customers and the prostitutes on daily basis. Although did not understand the idea behind it, he always knew that those actions were not appropriate.


    Seeing her in such a distressing situation, Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He felt that at this moment, the disgrace he experienced at the Willow Tree Lane the previous day had been vented, it had been avenged. He pointed to the east and to the west, all over Xiao Junzhu''s body. Xiao Junzhu struggled with everything she had to keep her eyes open wide, she did not dare to blink ever so slightly, for fear that if she was not careful and blinked unintentionally, the important matter would be spoiled. Not too long afterwards, tiny beads of perspiration were beginning to form on the tip of her nose. Luckily right that moment Wei Xiaobao happened to point to her left underarm, the correct location of the acupoint needed to be unsealed; hastily she blinked three times. Her heart was relieved, she heaved a deep sigh.


    "Ha ha," Wei Xiaobao laughed, "It''s here alright. It''s not that laozi did not know, it''s just that my memory is not good, momentarily I did not remember." He thought, "After her acupoint has been unsealed, I don''t know how good her martial art skill is, if this little girl started beating people, it would be troublesome." Turning around, he fetched two waistbands and tied her feet together firmly first, and then he tied her hands to the back of the chair.


    Xiao Junzhu did not know how he was going to add to her torment, involuntarily her face showed a panic-stricken expression. "You are scared of me, aren''t you?" Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Since you are scared, laozi will unseal your acupoint." Reaching out toward her left armpit, he gently scratched several times.


    Xiao Junzhu felt the itch was very difficult to bear, but she was unable to move, so her face buldged very red.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I used to be an expert in sealing and unsealing acupoints technique, it''s just that laozi is extremely busy lately; I don''t have time to think about trivial things like this, so I kind of forget. Is this how you unseal acupoint?" While saying that, he massaged her armpit several times.


    Xiao Junzhu felt another burst of unbearable itch, her face showed a slight anger.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This is my most profound unsealing acupoint technique. The more profound technique is only effective if used on a superior quality person. You, this little girl, are not a superior quality person, if first-class technique is being used on your body, indeed it won''t have any effect. Alright, I will try using the second-class technique." Stretching out his finger, he poked her armpit several times.


    Xiao Junzhu felt itchy and hurt, tears streaming down from her eyes.


    "Uh, second-class technique won''t do the job either," Wei Xiaobao said, "Could it be that you are a third-class girl? I have no choice, I will have to try the third-class technique." Raising his palm, he slapped her armpit once, still nothing happened.


    Sealing acupoint is an advanced skill in the study of martial art. The martial art practitioner must have an extremely strong foundation, must receive clear direction of a master, and must train assiduously for several years before he can master the technique. Sealing and unsealing acupoints are the two sides of a coin, if one knows to seal acupoints, one will also know how to unseal acupoints. One must be able to accurately locate the acupoint, and the finger must have the right combination of hard and soft inner force before one could either seal or unseal another person''s acupoint. Wei Xiaobao did not have any internal energy, and he had never learned how to seal acupoints; with just random guess and trial-and-error, how could he be able to unseal Xiao Junzhu''s acupoint?


    Slapping failed, he changed into grabbing. Grabbing did not work, he changed into twisting. Xiao Junzhu was both angry and anxious; she could not stop tears from flowing down her face. By this time Wei Xiaobao no longer had the intention to torment her; he had been busy for half a day, yet failed to unseal her acupoint. His own forehead was wet with perspiration, out of shame, unavoidably he became somewhat angry. "I have even used the eighth-class technique, but it feels like a mouse trying to pull a tortoise; it is completely useless. Could it be that you are a ninth-class girl? Laozi is a man of dignity, a man with a long history, I had determined not to use the ninth-class martial art. However, it seems to me that your Mu Palace people are all damn rotten blockheads, with wooden heads and wooden brains, simple intelligence and simple[112] feeling. Let me tell you this: in spite of my own dignity right now, I am going to try the ninth-class martial art against your ninth-class ''little mother''s skin'' body."


    Immediately he bent his middle finger and used his thumb to hold it, and then putting forth his strength he flicked it away toward Xiao Junzhu''s armpit, while saying, "This is ''flicking cotton''." And then he sang a nursery rhyme, "Clap, clap, clap, flick the cotton. The cotton stinks, fry the black soybean. The black soybean is burnt, mix it with pepper. The pepper''s hot, raise a pagoda. The top of the pagoda is pointy, penetrating the sky. The sky drops the rain, creates a landslide, let your Mu family''s wooden head wooden brain, dog head and dog brain, your great ancestors of eighteen generation, slip!"


    As he sang a line, a flicked once; successively flicking for a dozen times. When he sang the last word, Xiao Junzhu suddenly let out an ''Oh!'', and broke into a cry. Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, he sprang up and leaped up and down, while laughing and saying, "I told you, Mu Palace''s little girl is indeed a ninth-class little thing, must be dealt with using the ninth-class martial art."


    Crying, Xiao Junzhu said, "You �� you are the �� the �� the �� the ninth-class ��" her voice was melodious, tender and lovely, with a soft Yunnan accent; it was unspeakably pleasant to the ear.


    Using a falsetto, Wei Xiaobao imitated her, "You �� you are the �� the �� the �� the ninth-class ��" and then he burst out laughing.


    What happened was when he randomly flicked, he repeatedly hit the Ye Yuan[113] Acupoint on Xiao Junzhu''s armpit. The Ye Yuan acupoint belongs to the Foot Shaoyang Channel of the Gall Bladder, it is located three cun below the armpit. Various acupoints on human head, such as Si Kong Zhu, Yang Bai, Lin Qi[114], and the others belong to this channel. He had grabbed, twisted, hit and flicked this Ye Yuan acupoint. Although his hand strength was insufficient, but after a long time, the various acupoints on Xiao Junzhu''s head were activated, so then her speech was not obstructed.


    Seeing he was unexpectedly able to unseal Xiao Junzhu''s acupoint, Wei Xiaobao was extremely happy; almost instantly his animosity against the Mu Palace was largely gone. He said, "My tummy is hungry, I assume you are not full either, I''d better give you something to eat first." He was a glutton to begin with, now that he became the head of the Catering Department, all his subordinates in supervisory positions were currying his favor by instructing the kitchen to deliver all kinds of fresh delicacies to him daily. He wandered around on the streets day in and day out, he would buy whatever pastry or candy he saw in the marketplace; therefore, there were countless bottles, jars, small boxes, and small bamboo deep baskets in his rooms, all filled with bits and pieces of delicacies. A teenager with several hundred thousand taels in his hands, a glutton and a spender by nature, how could he resist from buying all these snacks?


    He took out the delicacies and said, "This is rose mung bean cake, try it." Xiao Junzhu shook her head. Wei Xiaobao picked another box and opened the lid, he said, "This is Beijing''s famous delicacy, the yellow pea. I am sure you don''t have it in Yunnan. Try one piece!" Xiao Junzhu shook her head again. Wei Xiaobao wanted to show off his belongings, so he piled all sorts of cakes, pastries and candies on the table. "Look," he said, "Don''t you think I have a lot of goodies? Even though you are a Junzhu of a palace, most likely you have never had these many delicacies. If you don''t like to eat sweets, try our kitchen''s crispy thin fried onion, it''s a rarity in the world. Even His Majesty loves it. Try one, I guarantee you''ll like it." Xiao Junzhu still shook her head. In succession Wei Xiaobao presented seven, eight of his best collections, Xiao Junzhu always shook her head.


    Wei Xiaobao''s anger shot to the roof. "Stinky girl, your mouth is so picky, you don''t want this, you don''t want that, what is it that you want?" he asked.


    Xiao Junzhu said, "I �� I don''t want to eat anything ��" but she only said those words and broke into a sob.


    Hearing her cry, Wei Xiaobao''s heart softened somewhat. "If you don''t want to eat anything," he said, "Are you going to starve yourself to death?"


    "I �� I''d rather die of starvation," Xiao Junzhu replied.


    "I can''t believe you really want to starve yourself to death," Wei Xiaobao said.


    At this moment, someone lightly knocked the door. Wei Xiaobao knew it must be the little eunuch delivering his meal. Afraid that Xiao Junzhu might make noise and alert other people, Wei Xiaobao fetched a piece of towel and tied it around Xiao Junzhu''s mouth before opening the door. He told the little eunuch, "Today I''d like to have Yunnan dish; tell the kitchen to make some immediately and have it sent here." The little eunuch complied and left.


    Wei Xiaobao brought the meal into his room. He took off the towel on Xiao Junzhu''s mouth and sat down across from her. He laughed and said, "If you don''t want to eat, then I''ll eat. Mmmm, this is fried beef in thick soya sauce, this is fish fillet pickled in wine, this is sliced beef in garlic paste, and then there''s Zhenjiang salted meat, plain pan-fried shrimp, and a bowl of chicken feet and koumo mushroom soup; all are incomparably tasty. Delicious! Delicious!" He scooped a spoonful of soup, intentionally slurped and smacking his lips noisily. But when he stole a glance at the Xiao Junzhu, he saw tears streaming down her face; she did not show the slightest desire to eat at all.


    Wei Xiaobao''s enthusiasm was doused; he said resentfully, "Turns out a ninth-class little girl only loves to eat ninth-class stinky fish, stinky meat, stinky duck egg; here I have first-class dishes and delicacies, which are for first-class people only. Just wait and I''ll have stinky fish, stinky meat, stinky duck egg and stinky tofu delivered here for you to eat."


    Xiao Junzhu said, "I don''t eat stinky duck egg and stinky tofu."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Um, turns out you only eat stinky fish and stinky meat."


    "You love talking nonsense," Xiao Junzhu said, "I don''t eat stinky fish and stinky meat."


    Wei Xiaobao ate several chopsticks of shrimp and a piece of salted meat. "The flavor is really good," he praised. Seeing all along the Xiao Junzhu was unmoved, he lay down the chopsticks, while pondering in his heart how to make her beg for food.


    Quite a while later, the little eunuch came back delivering the ordered meal. "Gui Gong-gong," he said, "The chef told Xiao Ren to report to Gong-gong: this Guo Qiao rice noodle [vermicelli] soup is extremely hot. It doesn''t seem to emit any steam, but it is very hot. This Xuanwei Huo Jiao[115] was cooked in preserved sweet lotus seed; it was cooked in a hurry, perhaps it is not very tender, the chef asked Gong-gong to excuse him. This one is Yunnan''s black big-head vegetable [rutabaga]. This dish is Erhai Lake of Dali''s Gong Yu Gan[116], although it wasn''t fresh, it is still very rare; it was fried in Yunnan''s red flower oil. In this pot is Pu''er tea of Yunnan. The chef said that the famous steamed chicken of Yunnan takes more than four hours to be cooked well, it will be evening before we can deliver it to Senior, Gui Gong-gong."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. After the little eunuch left, he brought all the dishes into his room.


    The imperial kitchen had managed to prepare four types of authentic Yunnan cuisine in such a short moment, their skill could be considered first-rate. Actually, with Wu Sangui being the Ping Xi Wang in Yunnan, although he was domineering, still, on Chinese New Year and other festivities, he would pay tribute to the imperial household, and give holiday gifts to various princes and dukes; his generosity was matchless, ten times more lavish than his peers, as a result, the number of people who speak on his behalf in the imperial court was indeed not just a few. When Wu Sangui sent his tribute to the Emperor, other than gold, silver and jewels, ivory, rhinoceros horn and other precious articles, he also sent all kinds of Yunnan local products, everything that was expected to be found in Yunnan. Because of this, it was not difficult at all for the imperial kitchen to prepare tasty Yunnan dishes in such a short time.


    Actually, Xiao Junzhu was hungry, seeing these tasty dishes from her hometown, she could not stop her heart from being moved; however, Wei Xiaobao had indeed bullied her really bad, so she was unwilling to yield. She was determined: "No matter how this little vile creature entices me, I am not going to eat."


    Wei Xiaobao picked a piece of bright red and fragrant Xuanwei ham with his chopsticks and held it close to Xiao Junzhu''s mouth; he laughed and said, "Open your mouth!" Xiao Junzhu gnashed her teeth and shut her mouth tight. Wei Xiaobao rubbed the ham back and forth on her lips, so that her lips were covered in grease; he said with a laugh, "Be a good girl and eat this ham, then I will unseal your acupoint." Xiao Junzhu shook her head with mouth closed tight.


    Wei Xiaobao put down the ham, he opened the lid of the hot soup, and maliciously said, "This soup is extremely hot. If you are willing to eat, I am going to wait until it cools down a little, I''ll feed you slowly, a spoon by a spoon. If you don''t want to eat? Humph, humph!" Reaching out with his left hand, he pinched her nose.


    Her breathing obstructed, Xiao Junzhu had no choice but to open her mouth. Wei Xiaobao picked a porcelain spoon with his right hand and stuffed it into her mouth, saying, "I will force the hot soup in like this, so it will scald your intestines!" Only after letting Xiao Junzhu gasping for breath for a moment did he take out the porcelain spoon from her mouth with his left hand.


    Xiao Junzhu knew that Guo Qiao vermicelli soup was actually half oil, it was several times hotter than ordinary soup; if he really forced the soup into her throat, she might really die of scalding. She cried and said, "You carved my face, I �� I don''t want to live anymore, so grotesque ��"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out you really believe I carved a turtle on your face." He smiled and said, "Although you face has an engraving on it, this little turtle is very beautiful, when you go out on the street, I guarantee everybody will cheer and applaud!"


    "It''s dead ugly," Xiao Junzhu said, "I �� I''d rather die."


    "Ay, such a pretty little turtle," Wei Xiaobao said, "You really don''t want it? If I knew, I would not have to put that much thought into carving it on your face."


    "What carving?" Xiao Junzhu said, "I �� I am not a blockhead either."


    "But your surname is clearly Mu," Wei Xiaobao replied, "What do you mean you are not a blockhead?"


    "My family''s surname, the character Mu [��]," Xiao Junzhu said, "is the Mu [ľ, wood] with three ''water'' [��] radical, not the ''wood'' from the ''wooden head'' [ľͷ, blockhead]."


    Wei Xiaobao could not tell those two ''Mu'' characters apart, he said, "If you put a blockhead in the water, it''s no more than a piece of rotten blockhead." Xiao Junzhu cried again.


    "Why do you have to cry all the time?" Wei Xiaobao said, "If you call me ''good Gege'' three times, I will fix your face, I will scrape the little turtle off so that not the least bit of trace will remain."


    Xiao Junzhu blushed. "How can you scrape it off?" she asked, "If you scrape my face again, how will it look?"


    "I have an effective cure, miracle medicine," Wei Xiaobao said, "On a first-class hero and warrior, of course it is rather difficult to fix. But you are a ninth-class little girl, fixing your face is really easy."


    "I don''t believe you," Xiao Junzhu said, "You just love to deride others."


    "Are you going to call or not?" Wei Xiaobao said. With a blushing face, Xiao Junzhu shook her head.


    Looking at her loveable and bashful appearance, Wei Xiaobao was unable to stop his heart from being moved. "The little turtle was carved not too long ago," he said, "It is really easy to fix. If you wait longer, it is going to be more difficult. If the tail of the turtle remained and can''t be fixed, I am afraid you will regret it later."


    Although Xiao Junzhu was half believing and half doubting his words, she was anxious to try it; supposing he was right, that in the future a turtle tail remained on her face, it would be extremely unsightly. Her face grew even redder as she whispered, "You �� you are not deceiving me?"


    "Why would I deceive you?" Wei Xiaobao said, "The sooner you call, the sooner I will start, the better the fix on your face will be. Quickly call me!"


    Xiao Junzhu said, "What if �� what if after I call you, your fix failed?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Then I will reimburse you double, I will call you ''good Meimei'' six times!"


    Xiao Junzhu''s entire face turned deep red. "You are very bad, I won''t call!" she said.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you don''t trust me, we''ll make a deal. You call me ''good Gege'' one time first, then after I fix your face, you call me the second time. I''ll have a mirror so that you can see it for yourself, if really not a scar is left, you are fully satisfied, you call me the third time. Who knows? Perhaps you will be very happy that you''ll call me ten times in a row."


    "No, no," Xiao Junzhu hastily said, "You said three times, how can you add to that number?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled. "Alright, three times it is," he said, "Just call me quickly!" Xiao Junzhu moved her lips several times, but each time she could not call.


    "What''s so hard about calling me ''good Gege''?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I did not ask you to call me ''good husband'', or ''dear husband''. If you don''t call quickly, my price will go up."


    Xiao Junzhu was afraid he might really force her to call him ''husband''; stuttering, she said, "I will say the first word, after you really fix my face, I will continue with the next �� the next two words."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Ay, you really know how to haggle over the price. Giving the money first or giving the money later is just the same. Alright, you call!"


    Xiao Junzhu closed her eyes and softly called, "Good ��" This word ''good'' was so soft that it sounded like a buzzing mosquito, if Wei Xiaobao''s hearing was somewhat lacking, he would not be able to hear it at all. On top of that, her face was blushing very deep red.


    Wei Xiaobao muttered to himself, "Calling me like this is very disappointing. Seven losses and eight discounts later, what''s left for me? Besides, I don''t know what words follow the word ''good'' in your heart; it could be ''good son of a b1tch'', or it could be ''good little thief''."


    "No," Xiao Junzhu hurriedly said, "In my heart, I was thinking of �� of those two characters. I am not lying to you, I really am not lying to you."


    "Which two characters?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is it ''turtle'' [wugui], or ''little thief'' [xiao zei]?"


    "No, no!" Xiao Junzhu said, "It''s ''Ge'' ��" As soon as the word ''Ge'' came out, she hastily closed her mouth.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Very good," he said, "Let''s just say you still have conscience. In that case, I''ll use the best method to fix your face. When you ask a mason to fix a hole in the wall to let the dog comes in and out, with the first-class price, the mason will use a first-class technique; if the price is too low, the mason will cram several rotten bricks and be done with it, he won''t even whitewash it with lime. Don''t you think it will be extremely unsightly?"


    Xiao Junzhu said, "I have already called, you still make fun of me by calling me a dog hole and rotten bricks."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "I was giving you an analogy." Opening Hai Laogong''s trunk, he took the medicine chest out and placed the dozens of medicine bottles from the chest on the table. He poured out some medicinal powder from each bottle, while acting as if he was deep in thought he mixed everything. Originally Xiao Junzhu was only 30% convinced, but seeing these many medicine bottle, her confidence rose up by 20% more. Wei Xiaobao put the medicine powder mix into a medicinal earthenware mortar, which he then brought outside the room. Once he was outside, however, he poured everything onto a paper wrap, which he hid inside his pocket. He took a piece of mung bean cake, a piece of pea-flour cake, and added a piece of lotus seed, which he dug out of a Guangdong moon cake. After washing the mortar clean, until there was not the least bit of medicinal powder left, he put the lotus seed, mung bean cake and pea-flour cake into the mortar, and then he pounded the cakes into a mush. He added two soup-spoons of honey, and having a sudden inspiration, he spat two mouthful of saliva into the mixture, and mixed everything evenly.


    Reentering the room, he said, "This is ''Sheng Ji Ling Gao'' [Efficacious Ointment to Grow the Flesh/Muscle], effective against countless maladies." After thinking for a moment he added, "Your face has been carved by me; if I can restore it to its original state, it would only look the same as before, you would not see my true ability." Taking the cap inlaid with jewels he wore the previous day, he pulled four pearls away from the cap and held them on his left palm. "What do you think of these pearls?" he asked Xiao Junzhu.


    For generations Xiao Junzhu''s family had held the title of ''King'' conferred by the previous Emperor; although by the time she was born the Mu family had been in decline, she was after all, a noble woman of an aristocratic family, her knowledge was vastly different from that of a commoner. Seeing the pearls were of the size of a finger, gleaming with soft pearly luster as they slid smoothly on his palm, she knew they were flawless, perfectly round pearls. "Those are very good pearls," she praised, "Four pearls, exactly the same size, like that are hard to come by!"


    Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself; he said, "I bought these pearls for two thousand nine hundred taels yesterday. They are very expensive, don''t you agree?" Although these four pearls were expensive, they were not worth two thousand nine hundred taels; actually, they were only nine hundred taels, he added two thousand taels to deceive her. Taking another mortar, he put the pearls into the mortar and shook the mortar several revolutions, the pearls and the mortar struck against each other, creating clear ringing sound. Wei Xiaobao picked up a stone pestle and pound the pearls.


    "Ah!" Xiao Junzhu exclaimed. "What are you doing?" she asked.


    Seeing her serious expression and the astonishment on her little face, Wei Xiaobao was even more spirited. The reason he was showing off his extravagance was exactly to incite such astonishment. Immediately he pounded vigorously, crushing the four pearls, and then repeatedly gyrated the stone pestle until the pearls became powder. He said, "If I only restore your face to its original condition, I won''t show Wei ... won''t show Xiao Guizi Gong-gong''s real ability; I must make your face ten times more beautiful than it was, and then you will delighted, without the least bit of reluctance, to call me ''Good Gege'' ten times."


    "Three times!" Xiao Junzhu said, "How can it change to ten?"


    Wei Xiaobao only smiled, he poured the pearl powder into the paste consisting of mung bean cake, pea-flour cake, lotus seed, honey and saliva, mixed everything evenly with the pestle. Xiao Junzhu watched with eyes wide open, wondering what he was doing. Seeing he grind the four pearls into the mixture, she can well imagine that this ointment was very costly.


    "Although four pearls are expensive," Wei Xiaobao said, "it is nothing compared to other priceless treasured medicinal powder. Your face was actually not bad, but we can''t say it was first-rate in the world. After I apply the ointment, most likely it will turn into matchless in the world, ''bashful moon obstructing the flower'' ..."


    "Bashful flower obstructing the moon [i.e. beautiful woman]," Xiao Junzhu said. Hearing Wei Xiaobao speak incorrectly, without thinking she blurted out to correct him. But as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she could not help but feeling embarrassed.


    To Wei Xiaobao however, using the wrong idiom was just like daily meal; he did not give it the slightest thought. "Right," he said, "You will turn into a little beauty ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'', now that will be good." While speaking, he worked on smearing the bean putty mashed lotus seed and pearl paste on her face. Xiao Junzhu did not say anything, she let him randomly daubed her face with the ointment. In just a short moment, her entire face, save her eyes, ears, nose and mouth, was completely covered. She only thought that the sweet and fragrant smell of this medicinal ointment was really strong, not sharp like the smell of medicine at all, she did not feel any discomfort.


    Seeing she was duped, Wei Xiaobao desperately tried not to laugh; he said in his heart, "Just consider me being polite for not peeing in this medicinal ointment; I was looking at the great merit of your ancestor, Mu Ying, Mu Wangye. He was an outstanding founding minister, Wei Xiaobao yields to him 30%."


    Finished applying the ointment, Wei Xiaobao washed his hands clean and said, "After the ointment is dry, I am going to use the amazing medicinal powder to wash your face clean. Three application, three washes, it''s impossible for you not to be bashful moon ... bashful flower obstructing the moon."


    Xiao Junzhu thought, "What ''impossible not to be bashful flower obstructing the moon''? This sentence sounds quite awkward." She asked, "Why must you apply three times?"


    "Three times can be considered nothing," Wei Xiaobao replied, "When people make soy sauce, it has to be steamed and dried out in the sun nine times. Even when cooking dog meat, it has to be boiled three times in a row."


    "You are cursing me again as soy sauce and dog meat," Xiao Junzhu grumbled.


    "I did not say soy sauce and dog meat," Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Dog meat cooked in soy sauce is simmer-fried dog meat. If no soy sauce is being used, then it is plain dog meat stew." With chopsticks he picked a piece of ham and brought it to her mouth. "Eat, please!" he said.


    First, Xiao Junzhu was really hungry, second, she did not dare to offend Wei Xiaobao; she was afraid of his unpredictable actions, who knows? Perhaps he would leave a turtle tail on her face. Third, she saw how he grind the costly pearls without any reservation, unavoidably she had received his favor. After slight hesitation, she opened her mouth and ate.


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic. "Good Meizi," he praised, "Now this is what I call good girl."


    "I am ... I am not your good meizi," Xiao Junzhu said.


    "Good Jiejie, then," Wei Xiaobao said. [Meizi and Jiejie - younger and older sister, respectively; used in a more intimate setting.]"I am not," Xiao Junzhu said.


    "Well, how about good Mama?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Xiao Junzhu giggled. "How ... how can I be ..." she stuttered.


    Since the first time Wei Xiaobao saw her, this was the very first time he heard her laughter. It''s a pity her face was covered in lotus seed and bean paste, so it was difficult for him to see the flower-like dimples when she laughed. However, hearing her silver-bell-like laughter was enough to make his heart feel at ease and his spirit delighted. When Wei Xiaobao said, ''My good Mama,'' he was actually cursing her as ''little wh0re'', because his own mother was a prostitute. But hearing her joyous laugher was so unrestrained and tender, he could not help but feeling a bit regretful. He thought, "Nothing wrong with being a wh0re, in the Lovely Spring Courtyard my Mama is earning money, she is not necessarily inferior to damn wooden head wooden brain Junzhu from the Mu Palace." He picked several more pieces of ham to feed her; he said, "If you promise not to run away, I am going to unseal the acupoints on your hand."


    "Why would I want to run away?" Xiao Junzhu said, "With a little turtle carved on my face, if I run away, I would look so ugly that I would die of shame."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "As soon as you find out there is no little turtle on your face, you will definitely run away. That Boss Qian did not say when he is going to let her out either. If the others find out I am hiding a little girl in the Palace, my responsibility will not be small; what should I do?"


    While he was still deep in thought, suddenly from outside the door someone was calling out, "Gui Gong-gong, Xiaoren is an attendant in Prince Kang''s mansion, I have something I''d like to see you about."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao replied; lowering his voice he said, "Somebody''s coming, don''t make any noise. Do you know what place this is?" Xiao Junzhu shook her head. Wei Xiaobao said, "If I tell you, you will jump of fright. All those people want to harm you. Only because I took pity on you that I have given you a temporary shelter. If they knew you are in her, humph, humph ..." While in his heart he was thinking hard, "What should I say to frighten her the most? What would scare her the most?" An idea struck him; he said, "Those wicked people will strip you naked, then they''ll spank your butts; it will be exceedingly painful." Xiao Junzhu''s face turned red, but her eyes indeed showed fear.


    Seeing the effect of his threat, Wei Xiaobao went out to open the door. Outside the door was a thirty-something court eunuch. The man paid his respect to Wei Xiaobao, and then respectfully said, "Xiaoren is from Prince Kang''s mansion. Our Wangye said that he has not seen Gong-gong for a long time, and is very concerned. Today he has ordered a theatrical troupe and invites Gong-gong to come to the Prince''s mansion to drink wine and watch the opera."


    Hearing the word ''opera'', Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was aroused, but a Xiao Junzhu was hiding in his room, he was afraid someone might find out by accident, or perhaps she would make noise and attract other people''s attention, then it would be very inconvenient for him; hence he was rather hesitant.


    The eunuch said, "Wangye said that Gong-gong''s presence is very much expected. The Palace is bustling with excitements today. There will be dice, pai gow, and all kinds of gambling."


    When he heard the word ''opera'', Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was only aroused, but when he heard ''gambling'', his spirit was greatly aroused. After acquiring the riches, he found that gambling with the Wen brothers, Ping Wei and the others was no longer interesting. He threw dice with them only to kill time. Since Prince Kang setup a casino in his mansion, he would be able to gamble with common people and warriors; how could he pay anymore attention to little princess or big princess? Thereupon he happily said, "Very well, wait here for a moment, I''ll come with you."


    He went back to his room, loosened the belt strapping Xiao Junzhu, lay her down on the bed, and then bound her hands and feet again. He pulled the quilt over her body, and said in a low voice, "I have to do something outside, I''ll be back in a little bit." Seeing the doubt on her eyes, he said, "I don''t have enough pearls, I need to buy some more to be ground and applied to your face, only then your face will be perfect."


    "You ... please don''t go," Xiao Junzhu said, "Pearls are expensive."


    "Never mind that," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your good Gege has plenty of money, I must make you bashful flower obstructing the moon; spending several thousand taels is nothing."


    "I �� I am scared in here," Xiao Junzhu said.


    Seeing her pitiful but cute expression, Wei Xiaobao almost could not bear leaving her, but to ask him not to gamble, it was useless even if Xiao Junzhu was ten times more pitiful. He picked a piece of Gong fish and fed her, then he picked four pieces of eight-treasure cake and folded the cake over her mouth, saying, "When you open your mouth, a piece of cake will enter your mouth. But be careful, if the cake falls onto the pillow, you can''t eat it anymore."


    "You �� please don''t go," Xiao Junzhu said; but since there were cakes on top of her lips, her voice was barely audible. Wei Xiaobao pretended not to hear, he took a bundle of banknotes from his chest and stuffed it into his pocket. He opened the door, walked out, locked the door from the outside, and then hurriedly followed the eunuch to Prince Kang''s mansion.


    When he arrived at the gate of the Prince Kang''s mansion, he saw on either side of the main gate stood two rows of imperial bodyguards, all wearing bright brocade uniform, with either a sword or a saber hanging from their waists. They looked so elegant and imposing; the mansion was a lot more heavily-guarded compared to Wei Xiaobao''s first visit. Obviously because of ''Oboi''s followers'' had broken into the Palace, the security was elevated.


    Wei Xiaobao had just stepped in the main gate, Prince Kang had already rushed out to greet him, half squatting, he embraced Wei Xiaobao''s waist. "Gui Xiongdi," he said with a laugh, "I haven''t seen you for many days, you are growing taller and taller, and look more handsome than ever."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wangye, how are you?" [lit. ''are you good?'' read on, you''ll see ...]Prince Kang laughed and said, "What''s so good? You did not come to play at my house too often. It would be good if I get to see you more, it is not good if I rarely see you."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wangye has ordered me to come, that''s exactly what I''ve been looking for."


    "I will hold you accountable of what you''ve just said," Prince Kang said, "I am thinking of asking His Majesty to grant you some vacation, so that we can drink wine and watch the opera, to do as we please for ten days, eight days. I am just afraid His Majesty cannot do without you for even a day." He took Wei Xiaobao''s hand, and the two of them walked in side by side. All the imperial bodyguards bowed to salute.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. Although people were flattering him in the Palace, he was only an eunuch after all, where could he find such an opportunity to walk hand in hand with a prince like this?


    When they reached the middle gate, two Manchurian high-ranking officials came out to greet them. One was the newly-appointed Commander of the Inner Imperial Bodyguards, Dolong, usually it was known as the Shiwei Zongguan [Imperial Bodyguard chief manager]. The other was Wei Xiaobao''s sworn brother, Songgotu. Songgotu sprang forward and embraced Wei Xiaobao; he laughed heartily and said, "I heard Wangye was inviting you, so I invited myself too, so the two of us brothers can enjoy the excitement together." The Shiwei Zongguan Dolong also came forward to fawn on him.


    As soon as the four of them set their feet on the veranda in front of the main hall, the musicians played a happy tune. Wei Xiaobao had never received such a grand reception like this, he was radiant with delight, and almost could not stop himself from dancing with joy right then and there. When they reached the second hall, more than twenty officers had already standing in the atrium to welcome them. All these people were high-ranking officials: government ministers, vice ministers, generals, commanders of imperial family''s personal guards, and so on. Songgotu introduced them one by one to Wei Xiaobao.


    A court eunuch entered in a hurry, after doing his obeisance, he reported, "Wangye, Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent[117] has arrived."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Very good! Gui Xiongdi, just sit back and relax, I am going out to welcome the guest." Then he turned around and left.


    "Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent?" Wei Xiaobao mused, "Could it be Wu Sangui''s son? What is he doing here?"


    Songgotu leaned over, he laughed softly next to Wei Xiaobao''s ear and said, "Good Xiongdi, congratulations, today you are going to get rich."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It depends on my gambling luck."


    Songgotu said with a laugh, "I am sure your gambling luck is good. Other than getting rich on the gambling table, there is another sure way of getting lucky."


    "What''s that?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Songgotu whispered on his ear, "Wu Sangui sends his son to pay tribute, all high-ranking official of the imperial court will not be neglected."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Sangui sends his son to pay tribute. But I am not a high-ranking official of the imperial court."


    "You are a high-ranking official in the Palace," Songgotu said, "Your prestige is a lot higher than a high-ranking official of the imperial court. Wu Sangui''s son, Wu Yingxiong is very astute and competent, he is very sensible." Lowering his voice, he said, "Regardless of what Wu Yingxiong presents to you later, you must not show that you like it, just say lightly, ''The heir came to Beijing, you must have a tiring journey.'' If he sees that you like the present, nothing will follow it. If you look indifferent, he will think that you do not like the gift, you consider it too little; then tomorrow he will return with big gift to make up for it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he said in low voice, "So that''s how you knock the bamboo pole[118]."


    Songgotu said in low voice, "It''s foolish not to knock Yunnan''s bamboo pole loudly. His old man [laozi] has been sitting on Yunnan and Guizhou, two provinces; I don''t know how much fat and wealth of the people he has extorted. If we don''t help him spend it, first, we are being unfair to his old man, second, we are being unfair to the common people of Yunnan and Guizhou!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Exactly!" he said.


    While they were talking, Prince Kang accompanied Wu Yingxiong coming into the hall. This Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent was about twenty four, twenty five years old, very handsome; he walked with vigorous and nimble steps, carrying an air of the son of a general family. Prince Kang pulled Wei Xiaobao over first; he said, "Xiao Wangye, this is Gui Gong-gong, the Lord of Ten Thousand Years'' most capable Gong-gong. The capture of Oboi at the Upper Study Room was mostly this Gui Gong-gong''s great merit."


    The number of eyes and ears Wu Sangui had sent to Beijing was really numerous. Anything that happened in the Capital, big and small, was duly reported by express courier to Kunming. Kangxi personally capturing Oboi was a first class news in the last several years, naturally Wu Yingxiong knew all the details early on. In fact, Wu Sangui had had a discussion with him, he felt that by successfully eradicating an important power without batting an eyelid, the Emperor had shown his heroic spirit despite his young age. He was afraid that his days as a feudal court official in the future would not be too good. This time Wu Yingxiong came to Beijing on his father''s order to pay his respect to the Son of Heaven, he brought a large number of gifts to bribe the senior ministers, but his main purpose was to observe Kangxi''s character and conducts, as well as to find out what kind of person was his most trusted minister.


    Coming to Prince Kang''s mansion to pay a visit today, he did not expect to see Kangxi''s most favorite eunuch; he could not help but was greatly delighted. Busily he reached out with both hands to grab Wei Xiaobao''s right hand and shook it repeatedly, while saying, "Gui Gong-gong, I ... zaixia ... [book note: he started by saying ''I'', but felt it was not respectful enough; then he thought of saying ''junior'' (lit. ''later generation''), but the other party was too young. If he said ''Xiongdi'', he felt he did not know him too well; if he said ''humble officer'', the opposite party was not a high-ranking official of the imperial court, while he would also held the opposite party at a much higher position than himself. So in the end he decided to simply use a common Jianghu term to address oneself.] in Yunnan has heard Gong-gong''s great name. When speaking with other people, Fu Wang [Father King] always praises His Majesty''s wisdom and decisiveness; he is indeed the brilliant master, the Son of Heaven. He also says that with the holy Son of Heaven on the throne, even a young Gong-gong such as yourself is able to set up this great merit, earning the admiration of others. Fu Wang instructed zaixia to prepare gifts to show respect to Gong-gong. It''s just that according to the Great Qing law, it is inappropriate for an external official to make friends with internal officers; although zaixia has the time and the desire, I do not dare to rashly seek an audience with Gui Gong-gong. Today Kang Wangye has bestowed this good opportunity, truly my delight is unbearable." He was very articulate, his words were very pleasant to listen to.


    Hearing that even such a great personality like Wu Sangui, who was ten thousands li away, unexpectedly had also heard about his name, Wei Xiaobao could not help but was very flattered. Luckily he was used to hearing this kind of flattery, so he was prepared on how to deal with it. "We are only servants," he said indifferently, "We merely work according to His Majesty''s imperial orders. It''s nothing more than, one, do not fear hardship, two, do not fear death; what great merit is worth mentioning? Xiao Wangye has flattered me too much." While in his heart he thought, "Songgotu Gege has an incredible foresight; sure enough, as soon as this little traitor see me, he mentioned the word ''gift'' right away."


    Wu Yingxiong was a guest from afar, he was also the Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent, so Prince Kang pushed him to sit on the seat of honor; and he asked Wei Xiaobao to sit on the next seat. There were a lot of high-ranking officials around the banquet table, government ministers and generals, each one was a dignitary. Although Wei Xiaobao was brassy, he did not dare to sit on the second seat; he declined repeatedly. Prince Kang laughed and said, "Gui Xiongdi, you are the man by His Majesty''s side, everybody reveres you in good faith to show love and respect toward His Majesty, you do not need to be polite." While saying that, he pushed Wei Xiaobao to sit on the chair.


    By this time, Songgotu had been promoted to be the Great Learning Scholar of the Dynastic History Ministry, his rank was above everybody else, so he sat next to Wei Xiaobao. The rest of the civil and military high official sat next to each other according to their rank. Wei Xiaobao had a sudden thought, "Damn it! When the patrons of the Lovely Spring Courtyard were having a dinner party with the singsong girls, Mama would always sit behind the guests, while passing along several pieces of cake and pastry to me. Often times those turtle b@stards caught me and threw me out. At that time I always thought that when laozi has become rich, I will come back to the Lovely Spring Courtyard to have a dinner party with the singsong girls; I would call the old procuress, the turtle b@stards and the girls to accompany me drinking. Who would have thought that today I have a prince, an heir apparent, government ministers and generals to accompany me drinking? Too bad the Lovely Spring Courtyard''s old procuress and the turtle b@stards cannot see laozi in this spirited appearance."


    Everybody sat down to drink. The sixteen escorts Wu Yingxiong brought with him were standing by the long window. They watched attentively at the people toasting each other and eating the dishes around the banquet table, as well as the servants delivering food and serving the wine; every action and each movement did not escape their steady gaze. Wei Xiaobao had to think for a while before he suddenly understood, "Right, they must be the martial art experts from the Ping Xi Wang''s palace, who come here to protect Wu Yingxiong, for fear that someone might assassinate or poison him. I am afraid Mu Palace people are already waiting outside. It would be great if there is a fierce battle later. I want to see if Mu Palace people will win, or Wu Sangui''s men more formidable." His belly was filled with the desire to take pleasure in others'' misfortunes; he hoped that both sides would fight an exciting battle, until both sides suffer.


    Prince Kang himself was aware of this situation, but being the host, he felt it was inappropriate to say anything. The Shiwei Zongguan Dolong was a martial art expert, he was also a straightforward man; after drinking several cups of wine, he said, "Xiao Wangye, these dozen or so escorts you bring must have been chosen from a thousand, those selected must be martial art experts."


    Wu Yingxiong laughed and said, "What martial art do they have? They are just personal bodyguards in Fu Wang''s Palace; they have been following Xiongdi, they know Xiongdi''s temperament very well, so when I go out, I seek people I can use for my convenience. That''s all."


    Dolong laughed and said, "Xiao Wangye is too modest. Just look at those two, their Taiyang [''Sun acupoint'', located on the temples] acupoints are bulging high, their internal energy must have reached 90% proficiency. Looking at those two, their face and neck muscles are sturdy, they must have been trained in hard, external type of martial art. And those gentlemen with shiny faces and big pigtails hanging on the back of their heads, most likely those are fake. If you tell them to take out their caps, I bet they are bald." Wu Yingxiong smiled, but did not say anything.


    Songgotu laughed and said, "I only know Dolong Zongguan has superior martial art, I did not realize you have another skill, telling fortune by reading people''s facial features."


    Dolong laughed and said, "Suo Daren may not know this. When Ping Xi Wang was stationed in Liaodong peninsula, many military officers under his banner belonged to the Jin Ding School [lit. ''golden crown of the head'' school] of Jinzhou. Disciples of Jin Ding School train a very formidable type of martial art with their heads. When they have trained to proficiency, their faces shiny, and they do not have a single strand of hair on the top of their heads."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "I wonder if it is possible to ask the Heir Apparent to tell these honored escorts to take off their caps, to let everybody see if Dolong Zongguan''s speculation is accurate or not?"


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Dolong Zongguan''s vision is like a torch, how can he be inaccurate? Indeed these several personal bodyguards have trained Jin Ding School martial art, but their skill has not reached proficiency yet, they still have quite a number of hair on their heads. If I ask them to take off their caps, they will be disgraced in public. I wish gentlemen officials will excuse us." Everybody laughed heartily, but since Wu Yingxiong was unwilling to comply, it was inappropriate for them to force him.


    Wei Xiaobao could not avert his gaze from those people, his heart was unbearable itching, "I wonder how much hair that tall leader has? It looks like that thin man''s martial art skill is rather lacking, perhaps he has a lot of hair." Suddenly he remembered something, "Ha!" he laughed.


    With a smile Prince Kang asked, "Gui Xiongdi, what''s so funny? Why don''t you tell us?"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "I am thinking that the shifu from Jin Ding School must be very amiable; they won''t fight with other people too much, even more so with people from their own school."


    "How can you tell?" Prince Kang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "When they get angry, they would stare at each other, then they would take their caps off. You count the hair on my head, I count the hair on your head; the one has less hair must have higher skill, the one with more hair will be forced to concede." Everybody roared in laughter; they all said that Wei Xiaobao''s idea was very amusing. Wei Xiaobao continued, "Presumably all Jin Ding School''s shifu carry an abacus, otherwise it would be rather inconvenient to count the hair on their heads." Everybody burst out in laughter again.


    A government minister was drinking a cup of wine, the wine had not entered his throat, when he heard Wei Xiaobao, the wine in his mouth spurt out; because he was afraid to spurt on the table and thus looked lacking in manners, he lowered his head and let the wine spurt onto the front of his own clothes, while coughing incessantly.


    "Kang Wangye," Dolong said, "Since that servant Oboi''s clique disturbed your mansion the last time, I heard that these past several months you have gathered not a few of martial art masters."


    Prince Kang slowly stroke his beard with his right hand, his face showed that he was very pleased with himself. He slowly said, "Indeed martial art masters with prestige and real skill are not easy to find. Those willing to be hired by government authorities are mostly second or third class personnel." Pausing for a moment he continued, "On the whole Xiao Wang [''little king'' �C referring to self] eagerly seek people of talent; in addition to offering a large sum of money, I have to help them handle several matters, only then did I manage to invite several real top martial art masters. It''s just that they have to be well-served daily, so it takes a lot of effort. Ha ha, ha ha!"


    Dolong said, "Wangye''s secret in engaging very able persons, may you teach me?"


    Prince Kang smiled and said, "Dolong Zongguan is himself a martial art master, why do you need to hire martial art masters?"


    "Thank you Wangye for your compliment," Dolong said, "I remember that year when we had a competition among our Manchu military commanders at the presence of senior ranking officers, presided personally by the Prince Regent, Wangye and Xiao Jiang [''little general'' �C referring to self] had obtained the Regent''s commendation. I heard this time the surviving members of Oboi''s clique came to stir up trouble, Wangye did not stop shooting arrows and personally killed over twenty members of the rebel party."


    Prince Kang smiled, but did not say anything. That day he did shoot some arrows and killed two Tian Di Hui members, ''over twenty'' was obviously an exaggeration by a factor of ten.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I saw this matter with my own eyes. That time my ears only heard the random whishing sound of the arrows, while in front of me people shouting, ''Aiyo, aiyo!'' and behind me people shouting, ''Good shot, good shot!''"


    A civil minister did not understand the meaning behind Wei Xiaobao''s words, he asked, "Gui Gong-gong, what do you mean by in front people shouting, ''Aiyo!'' and behind people shouting, ''Good shot!''?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Kang Wangye''s archery skill is ''one hundred shots, one hundred hits''. In front, the people hit by the arrows shouted, ''Aiyo!'', behind were our own men, praising, ''Good shot!''. But there were several times more ''Good shot!'' than the ''Aiyo!'' does Daren know the reason?"


    The minister twisted his beard with his finger, he said, "Presumably the number of people on our side was several times greater than that of the rebel party."


    "This time Daren has guessed incorrectly," Wei Xiaobao said, "At that time the rebel party was carrying out a large-scale assault, Kang Wangye was using the few to defeat the many; there were more people on the enemy''s side. But some members of the rebel party were shot by Kang Wangye on the throat, so when the cry ''Aiyo!'' reached the throat, it could not come out. Also, Kang Wangye shot arrows like a deity, among the rebel party, there were many who admired him from the bottom of their hearts, so they could not refrain from shouting, ''Good shot!'' They knew they should not shout, but they just couldn''t bear not to."


    The minister repeatedly nodded his head. "So that''s how it is," he said.


    Wu Yingxiong raised his cup and said, "Kang Wangye''s divine archery, junior extremely admires it. I toast Wangye for a cup." Everybody raised their cups and drank to toast him.


    Prince Kang was delighted, he thought, "This kid Xiao Guizi knows the facts and can find appropriate response to delicate situation, no wonder His Majesty likes him."


    "Wangye," Dolong said, "You have hired that many Wulin masters in your Palace, how about inviting them out to let everybody look at them?"


    Prince Kang had been wanting to show off, so he instructed his chamberlain, "Prepare two more banquet tables over here, invite Shenzhao Shangren


    [119] and the others to come out and join the banquet."


    Not too long afterwards, more than twenty people came out from the rear hall, led by a man wearing large red kasaya, a fat and tall Buddhist monk. Prince Kang stood up; he laughed and said, "Friends, let us drink a cup!" Seeing Prince Kang stood up, all the guests around the table also stood up to welcome the newcomers.


    The one called Shenzhao Shangren clasped his palms together and said with a laugh, "We don''t dare, we don''t dare! All Daren, please sit down." His voice was like resounding bell. Just by this demonstration of chi, it was obvious that his internal energy cultivation was very profound. As for the rest of the men, some were tall, some were short, some were handsome, some were ugly. They sat around the two banquet tables.


    Apart from possessing a good martial art skill, Dolong was also an impatient man; without waiting for the men to finish their first round of drink, he said, "Wangye, Xiao Jiang can see that each of these Wulin masters of your Palace has majestic appearance, they look formidable, their martial art skill must be extremely high; is it possible to ask these friends to display their skill? Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent and Gui Gong-gong are guests of honor whose presence is hard to come by, I presume they would also like to see the skill of Prince Kang Mansion''s people."


    Wei Xiaobao was the first to echo his words. Wu Yingxiong clapped his hands and cheered. The rest of the guests also said, "Absolutely, absolutely!"


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Friends, all these honored guests want to see your skill, I wonder if you''d like to spar with each other."


    From the martial art masters'' banquet table on the left a middle-aged man suddenly stood up; with a loud and clear voice he said, "I only know that Kang Wangye loves talented people, that''s why I came here to hire myself to him; who would have thought that he only regards us as the Jianghu people who sell our skill? If all Daren want to see juggling monkey or tight-rope walker, why don''t you go to the Bridge of Heaven? I am taking my leave!" While saying that, he raised his left hand and smashed it down on the back of his chair. ''Crash!'' the back of the chair broke. He walked out toward the door in big strides. Everybody''s face changed.


    A thin and small old man, who was sitting on the same table as the man, suddenly flashed by and cut off in front of him. "Lang Shifu," the old man said, "What you say is too preposterous. Wangye courteously and respectfully asking us to offer our skill, if Lang Shifu is willing to display your skill, no doubt it it is very good; but if you are unwilling, Wangye can''t possibly force you. In the Palace you make a racket, destroying the Palace''s property, even if in his magnanimity Wangye did not hold you responsible, but for the rest of us, brothers, where should we put our face?"


    The man surnamed Lang laughed coldly and said, "Everybody has his own ambitions. Tao Shifu loves to show your skill in the Prince''s mansion, feel free to play as much as you want. Xiongdi cannot accompany you too much." While saying that he took another step forward.


    The old man surnamed Tao said, "If you really want to go, you need to kowtow and say goodbye to Wangye. If Wangye give you a nod, then you can leave."


    The man surnamed Lang said with a cold laugh, "I didn''t sell my body as a slave in the Prince''s mansion, my two feet grew on my own body, I can go whenever I want to go, why do you care?" Finished speaking, he walked forward.


    Unexpectedly, the old man surnamed Tao did not move; seeing the one surnamed Lang was about to bump into him, he reached out to grab his left arm, while saying, "Who knows? Perhaps I will be forced to care."


    The one surnamed Lang bent his left arm downward, then suddenly jerked it upward, striking toward the old man surnamed Tao''s waist. The one surnamed Tao''s right leg flew up to kick the pit of his stomach. The one surnamed Lang''s right hand swiftly moved toward the back of old man Tao''s right leg, which by this time was high in the air. Seizing this opportunity, he pushed out, sending the old man surnamed Tao falling backward with his face up. Luckily he was quite nimble, propping himself with his right hand, he leaped back up. Although he did not fall flat on his back, he had already made a fool of himself, his old face turned entirely red. "Hey, hey," the man surnamed Lang laughed coldly, and bolted toward the door.


    Suddenly a thin man appeared on the door of the hall, which was originally empty. The thin man cupped his fist and said, "Lang Xiong, please return."


    The one surnamed Lang was moving so fast that he could not control his own momentum and crashed into the man''s body. The thin man did not evade, the two of them crashed into each other. The one surnamed Lang staggered three steps backwards. He took two steps sideways to the left, but suddenly turned to the right as he dashed toward the long window on the right. As he reached the threshold, the thin man had already blocked in front of him. The one surnamed Lang knew how formidable the thin man was when he collided against him, so he did not dare to have another collision. Hastily he held his steps; his chest was no more than two cun away from the thin man''s chest, the tip of his nose had already touched the thin man''s nose. The thin man did not move at all, he did not even blink. The one surnamed Lang swiftly dodged to the left, but as soon as he regained his footing, the thin man was blocking in front of him.


    The one surnamed Lang was furious, ''whoosh!'' he sent a punch toward the thin man''s face. The two of them stood very close to each other, plus the punch was sent with tremendous strength. The thin man did not lean sideways, he simply lowered his head. But he raised his right palm in front of his face. ''Slap!'' the punch hit the center of his palm. He bent his palm slightly, the one surnamed Lang was pushed that he had to take several steps backward. The people in the hall cheered; they all praised, "Good skill!"


    The one surnamed Lang looked awkward; he was unable to leave, but to go forward and fight, he realized his martial art skill was far too inferior to the opponent. Momentarily he was at a loss of what to do.


    The thin man cupped his fist and said, "Lang Xiong please sit down. Wangye instructed us to spar with each other; didn''t the two of us just have a spar with each other?" Finished speaking, he immediately walked back and sat on his original seat, on the banquet table to the right. Everybody applauded again. The one surnamed Lang, with ashamed look across his face, sat down with his head hung low.


    When the man surnamed Lang made a disturbance, Prince Kang had lost a considerable face; luckily this thin man returned the honor to him by compelling the one surnamed Lang to return to the martial art masters'' banquet table. Prince Kang instructed his chamberlain, "Go get fifty-tael silver yuanbao and bring them here."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "This Shifu has an amazing martial art skill; such vicious ... vicious ... vicious tiger blocking the way [book note: the saying he wanted to say was ''vicious dog blocking the way'']. That fellow was unable to get away no matter what. I wonder what is his name?"


    Prince Kang stroke his sideburns, he could not remember this thin man''s name, or when did this man come to the Prince''s mansion; his mind was completely blank on this matter, so he laughed and said, "Xiao Wang''s memory is not good, I can''t remember it for the time being."


    Presently the chamberlain reappeared, carrying a large wooden tray, the tray was draped in red silk, with twenty pieces of fifty-tael big yuanbao on it. The silver was gleaming, dazzling the eyes; the tray was then set up by the Prince''s side. Prince Kang laughed and said, "Gentlemen, masters of martial arts have displayed your skill, you deserve some rewards. This friend, please step forward to take one yuanbao."


    The thin man came forward, and after paying his respect, he received a silver ingot from Prince Kang''s hand. Wei Xiaobao asked, "Friend, what is your honorable name? And what is your great given name?"


    The thin man replied, "Xiao Ren Qi Yuankai, thank you Daren, for inquiring."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your martial art skill is very high."


    Qi Yuankai said, "Enough to be laughed by Daren."


    "The martial art masters in Kang Wangye��''s mansion definitely carries unsurpassed artistry," Dolong said, "We really wish to experience the skill of martial art masters under Ping Xi Wang. Xiao Wangye, how about selecting somebody to exchange blows with this Qi Shifu?" Seeing Wu Yingxiong was hesitating without replying, he added, "Naturally we will stop at touching, we must not harm our friendship; who win who lose is irrelevant."


    Prince Kang was a man who loved excitement; he said, "Dolong Zongguan has a lofty idea, let the martial art masters of both sides exchange some pointers; the winner will enjoy two big silver yuanbao, the loser will also enjoy one. Put the yuanbao on the table."


    The nineteen yuanbao were placed in front of the banquet table; the candle cast its light upon the ingots, the silver was gleaming against the red lining, it looked even more dazzling.


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "My humble palace will have this Qi Yuankai Shifu, I wonder which Shifu will Ping Xi Wang Palace have?"


    Everybody was in high spirits, they looked at the sixteen attendants under Wu Yingxiong. They knew that although it was a one on one martial art competition between the martial art masters, in actuality it was a gamble, the two palaces of Prince Kang and Ping Xi Wang contending with each other. Just now the thin man, Qi Yuankai, had displayed his martial art skill, and indeed he was formidable, perhaps none of Yunnan''s warriors would be able to match him.


    Wu Yingxiong hesitated, he did not answer. One of the sixteen men under his leadership stepped forward, bowed to Prince Kang and said, "Reporting to Wangye: all of us Xiaoren have very low martial art skill, in no way we can match the Shifu of Wangye''s Palace. We accompany the heir apparent to Beijing, simply to attend to our heir apparent daily need. Ping Xi Wang has ordered us never to offend the attendants of all Wangye and ministers. This is our Ping Xi Wang''s order, Xiaoren definitely do not dare to disobey."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Ping Xi Wang is very prudent! But today we only practice martial art, not fighting to cause any trouble. If your Wangye ever ask, just tell him that I want you to do it."


    The man bowed again and said, "Please forgive us, Wangye, we do not dare to follow your order."


    Prince Kang was secretly angry, "You only regard Ping Xi Wang in your heart and do not consider me, Prince Kang. Perhaps even if His Majesty issues an imperial decree, you will not follow either." He said, "Could it be that if others punch you, you won''t hit back at all?"


    The man said, "Back in Yunnan, Xiaoren always hear that all civil and military officials, as well as soldiers and common people under the Son of Heaven are all reasonable people. We are only rural folks from faraway border area, as we come to the Capital, in everything we must yield and not offend anybody. Presumably without any rhyme or reason other people will not hit us." This man was tall and sturdy, his face carried a highly-capable look, his words was sharp; with those several sentences he was saying that if Prince Kang insisted the martial art masters under his command to provoke a fight, then Prince Kang was not a reasonable person.


    Prince Kang was even more enraged, he turned his head and said, "Shenzhao Shangren, Qi Shifu, these friends from Yunnan are simply unwilling to do us the honor; there is nothing that we can do."


    Shenzhao Shangren laughed aloud; he stood up and said, "Wangye, these friends form Yunnan are simply afraid of losing, they are afraid of losing their face. I wonder if other people really hit their vital points, they won''t hit back or ward off the attack?" Finished speaking, his body flashed, he had already standing by the man''s side. He laughed and said, "Pinseng


    [120] only has mediocre palm strength, but compared to that friend surnamed Lang who wanted to leave but fail to leave, maybe just a little bit stronger. Wangye, Pinseng is about to break a piece of brick in your hall, won''t Wangye be offended?"


    Prince Kang knew that among his martial art masters, Shenzhao''s martial art skill was the strongest, both his internal and external strength had reached perfection; hearing him said so, it was obvious that he was going to give demonstration of his skill, Prince Kang happily said, "Shangren may do as you wish; even if you break a hundred bricks, it is a trivial matter."


    Shenzhao squatted; his left palm lightly slapped the floor. When he lifted his hand, a large greenish black brick was stuck onto his palm. This greenish black brick was about one chi five cun square [about 17 inches]; although it was not very heavy, it was firmly embedded on the floor. To be able to suck the greenish brick from the floor and stick it flat on the palm without dropping it, his palm power must be very profound. "Good!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed loudly. Everybody else applauded.


    Shenzhao showed a faint smile. Raising his left palm, he released the sucking force, immediately the greenish black brick fell down. When the brick was about level with his chest, both of his arms moved from outside to inside, his palms slapped together on the edge of the brick, ''crash!'' the big greenish black brick was smashed to smithereens; it rained down on the floor. The people cheered loudly again. Only about four, five cun of the greenish black brick''s edge received the palm strike, but the palm power dissipated everywhere and unexpectedly able to crush the brick, with the biggest fragment was no more than one or two cun square; his inner power was indeed not a small matter.


    Shenzhao walked toward Wu Yinxiong''s attendant, putting his palms together he said, "What is your respected surname and great given name, Sire?"


    Shenzhao laughed and said, "So savage people from a remote area do not have name and surname?"


    The man raised his eyebrows, an angry look flashed past his face, but immediately he said nonchalantly, "Even if coarse people of the mountains and plains have names, it''s no more than A Mao or A Gou [lit. ''a cat'' or ''a dog];'' it''s quite useless for Dashi to find out."


    Shenzhao laughed and said, "Sire has a good self-control skill. Today Prince Kang is having a feast, he is surrounded by distinguished friends, it''s a rare grand meeting within the Beijing city walls. Wangye has ordered us to show off our shortcomings, to bring laughter to Wangye, Heir Apparent, as well as other honored guests. Sire is determined not to grant any instruction, by doing so has swept away Wangye and numerous Daren''s keen interest; aren''t you placing too much value on your status?"


    The man replied, "Zaixia only learned a few years of countryside peasants'' skill, how can I be a match for Shenzhao Shangren of Iron Buddhist Temple of Cangzhou? If Dashi insists on competing, just consider Zaixia has lost, Dashi may just receive the two yuanbao reward." While saying that, he turned around to return to his place.


    "Hold on!" Shenzhao shouted, "Pinseng has decided to try Sire''s skill. With double fists'' Bells and Drums sounding simultaneously, I am going to strike the Taiyang acupoints on both sides of Sire''s head, please hit back!"


    The man shook his head. Shenzhao let out a loud shout, the sleeves of his large red kasaya suddenly swelled as he created enough strong gust of wind, his arms swept from the outside and bent swiftly to the inside, his fists, each one as big as the mouth of a bowl, were striking toward the man''s Taiyang acupoints on both sides of his head.


    Just a moment ago everybody saw how he broke the greenish black brick with his palm strength; they could not help but gasping in horror, they thought since it was too late for the man to evade, if he did not parry, wouldn''t his skull be like that greenish black brick, smashed into smithereens? Who would have thought that the man did not move at all? He did not even lift his hand, neither did he lift his foot, nor move his head, nor blink his eyes; he stayed unmoving like a clay figurine or a wooden statue.


    When Shenzhao Shangren made his move, he only wanted to force him to retaliate; he did not have any desire to take his life. As his fists were about to land on the man''s Taiyang acupoints, he saw the man was standing with blank expression on his face; his heart was alarmed, "My two fists carry about a thousand catties of force. Ping Xi Wang Heir Apparent is Prince Kang''s honored guest, if I recklessly killed his attendant, it would be greatly inappropriate." Therefore, when his fists made contact with the man''s skin, he hastily forced his own fists upwards. ''Whoosh!'' the fists flitted pass by the man''s temples, while the sleeves of his monk robe brushed against his face. The man smiled slightly and said, "Dashi has an excellent boxing technique!"


    The people in the hall all stared blankly at the scene. They thought that this man''s mental strength was indeed extraordinary. If Shenzhao''s fists did not change direction midway but struck the man''s Taiyang acupoints instead, how could he still live at this moment? This man regarded his own life as a child''s play, he was simply insane.


    When Shenzhao abruptly redirected his fists, he had shaken his own arms that now his arms were sore; he could not help but staring at the man for half a day, wondering whether this man was actually a madman or an idiot. If Shenzhao went back to his seat, unavoidably he would not be able to lift his head high again. He said, "Since Sire is determined not to give me face, Pinseng has no choice but to offend you. The next punch is the Black Tiger Snatching the Heart, I am going to strike the pit of Sire''s stomach."


    The moves Bells and Drums Sounding Simultaneously and Black Tiger Snatching the Heart were both very rudimentary fist techniques, those who learned martial art for several months would have practiced these moves. Before launching the attack he shouted the name first, it was to show that he intended to score victory by relying on his strength; but by using the shallowest technique, he was also showing contempt toward the opponent.


    The man showed a faint smile without answering at all. Shenzhao was inwardly very angry; he mused, "This punch of mine is going to inflict internal injury on you; you won''t die immediately on the spot, but you''ll die three, four days later, so I can''t be considered sweeping away Ping Xi Wang''s face." Striking a horse stand, he let out a loud shout while sending his right punch with a strong gust of wind. ''Smack!'' the punch hit the pit of the man''s stomach.


    The man''s body swayed, he took a step back as he laughed and said, "Dashi has won. I was forced to take a step back."


    Although Shenzhao did not put forth his entire strength in this punch, the power behind it was very severe; unexpectedly it was as if the man did not feel anything, he spoke those words lightly, without any difficulty at all. Obviously, he did not sustain any injury. The civil officials among the guests did not understand this reasoning, but those who practiced martial art all knew that the man had intentionally yielded to Shenzhao. Wei Xiaobao was neither a civil nor military; he was in between ''appeared to understand but does not really understand''.


    Shenzhao was proud to have quite a prestige in Wulin, how could he accept a victory like this? A faint layer of dark color rose up on his face; he said, "In that case, eat my fist again." ''Whoosh!'' he sent another punch, still striking toward the pit of that man''s stomach. This time he was using 70% of his strength. Even if the man were hit and spurted blood from his mouth, it was he who asked for trouble, Shenzhao did not have any choice.


    When Shenzhao''s punch reached the front piece of the man''s jacket, the man''s chest suddenly shrank, his body floated backward for about half a zhang, as if he was he was jolted by the power of the punch, while actually he was evading the punch. His attacked hit an empty space, Shenzhao''s anger grew. He rushed forward two steps, and with a loud shout his right leg flew up ferociously to kick the man''s lower abdomen. "Aiyo!" the man cried out, it seemed like the kick was going to hit him.


    As if by prior agreement all the people stood up, only to see the man''s body was bent backward; it was like his two feet were being nailed to the ground, his body was bent at the knee, he fell backward with face up, hence most of his body was like a wooden log hanging horizontally in the air, only about a chi away from the floor. Shenzhao''s kick hit an empty air, about several cun above the man''s legs.


    Shenzhao was in quandary, he had to either give up, or go through to the end; in Mandarin Duck Chain Kicks style, using the Black Dragon Sweeps the Earth his left leg swept across toward the man''s shinbone. Without changing his posture - he was still in the Iron Panel Bridge position, his feet kicked the ground, his whole body flew up one chi. Shenzhao''s leg swept pass the sole of his feet. The man fell back down steadily, he still had not stood straight.


    The people in the hall broke into a thunderous applause. With this turn of events, Shenzhao realized that his martial art skill was still inferior to that man''s by a considerable margin. If the opponent had hit him back, he would have been beaten silly. Without any choice he put his palms together and said, "Good skill! My utmost admiration!"


    The man straightened up, he bowed to return the propriety and said, "Dashi''s fists and kicks carried tremendous strength, Zaixia did not dare to fend off, and was forced to evade."


    Prince Kang said, "Both gentlemen have an extremely high martial art skill. His Highness Heir Apparent''s attendant is very polite, he was determined not to fight back; hence the martial art competition cannot be continued. Come, both of you take two yuanbao each."


    The man bowed and said, "I don''t get a reward I don''t deserve."


    Seeing the man was unwilling to take the yuanbao, Shenzhao felt it was inappropriate for him to step forward to claim his reward. Prince Kang turned to his chamberlain and said, "Send the reward to both gentlemen." The man thanked the Prince and accepted the money, Shenzhao also embarrassedly received his.


    Prince Kang was fully aware that although the martial art contest a moment ago was not official, actually his side had already lost. He bestowed two big silver yuanbao to Shenzhao was only to cover up Shenzhao embarrassment, and also he stated that neither one win nor lose to conceal his own shortcomings. In his heart was still unwilling to concede, and the fight had not satisfied his craving; he thought, "Admittedly, this tall guy''s martial art skill is not bad, but I am sure the rest of Wu Yingxiong''s attendants are not as good as he is. The martial art masters under my command have astonishing skill, just look at that Qi Yuankai, perhaps his martial art level is almost the same as that Shenzhao monk." Originally he addressed Shenzhao as ''Shangren'', after the display of his martial art just now, in his eyes, he had already discounted Shenzhao from ''Shangren'' to ''heshang'' [Buddhist monk]. In loud and clear voice he said, "The contest just now cannot be continued, unavoidably it was a little �� a little disappointing in something otherwise perfect. Qi Shifu, please invite fifteen martial art masters, everybody take a weapon, sixteen against sixteen, have a spar with sixteen attendants Ping Xi Wang Heir Apparent brought with him. Xiao Wangye, please tell them to show their weapons!"


    Wu Yingxiong said, "We come to Wangye''s palace as guests, how can we dare to bring our weapons?"


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Heir Apparent is too polite. Your honored father and Xiao Wang were military commanders, throughout our lives we eke out a living amidst the sabers, spears, swords and halberds, we need not observed this old-womanish taboo. Come, get the eighteen weapons, some of each, and bring them here, let the martial art masters of Ping Xi Wang choose." Prince Kang was a combat general, he fought from outside the Great Wall into the Central Plains; in his mansion there were all kinds of weapons. As soon as he shouted the order, his attendants immediately brought a big pile of weapons, long and short, out, and put them all in front of the sixteen Heir Apparent''s escorts.


    Qi Yuankai chose fourteen martial art masters, but he asked Shenzhao to be their leader. Shenzhao wanted to win back his face, so he uttered some polite words, but he did not decline. He thought, "In any case I need to chop and injure some southern barbarians to vent the resentment in my heart." The fact that Ping Xi Wang was their honored guest and that he must give careful consideration to his face, and so on and so forth, had long ago vanished from his thought.


    Shenzhao, Qi Yuankai, and the others got their weapons and followed the attendants returning to the hall. Shenzhao had a pair of blue steel Jie Dao [Buddhist''s saber] in his hands. He went over to Prince Kang''s banquet table and put his palms together in salute. Prince Kang and the others slightly leaned their bodies forward and nodded to return the courtesy.


    Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself, "Damn it," he thought, "These people are all exceptionally skillful in martial arts, they all are big names in Jianghu, yet they still come to laozi to salute. Laozi only sitting haughtily, nodding my head to settle the matter; compared to them, my prestige is ten times more impressive."


    Shenzhao turned around and loudly said, "Friends from Yunnan, go get your weapons!"


    The tall man who had received his five moves earlier said, "We have received Ping Xi Wang''s order, we must not fight with anybody inside the city of Beijing."


    Shenzhao said, "When other people''s saber is blowing to your head, will you still not fight back? Other people want to chop your head, you will simply stretch out your neck? Or will you shrink your head into your neck?"


    As soon as he said those words, all Ping Xi Wang''s Palace escorts showed an angry look. Saying that they shrink their heads into their necks was just the same as cursing them as turtles. But the tall leader still spoke indifferently, "Ping Xi Wang''s military order is like a mountain. If we disobey the military order, when we return to Yunnan, it will be the same, we''ll have our heads chopped off."


    "Fine," Shenzhao said, "We''ll see." He beckoned the other fifteen masters of martial art to gather in a corner of the hall and conversed in low voice. Shenzhao quietly said, "We''ll move our weapons towards their vital points, let''s see if they will still not fight back?"


    Qi Yuankai said, "It will be inappropriate if we injure them. We will simply force them to fight back."


    Another man said, "We must be a little more careful."


    Shenzhao shouted, "Alright, let''s fight!" Letting out a long whistle, he brandished his Jie Dao. White rays flashing, as he was the first to charge toward the sixteen Ping Xi Wang''s escorts. The other fifteen men, some using swords, some sticking out their short spears, some brandishing their steel whip, some raising their copper hammer, sixteen different weapons charged together.


    Unexpectedly, the sixteen escorts only stood motionless, with arms hanging down and palms kept close to their thighs, their eyes looked straight forward, as if they did not see the attack of those sixteen masters of martial art of Prince Kang''s mansion.


    Seeing their opponents were motionless, those sixteen masters of martial art showed off their skill in front of Prince Kang and the guests. Each of them displayed their most ingenious moves of their respective weapons, hacking diagonally, thrusting straight, cutting down, striking horizontally; the blades reflecting the candlelight as the sixteen weapons danced with loud gusts of wind, forming a canopy of light, surrounding the sixteen escorts in the middle.


    The civil officials repeatedly said, "Careful, careful!" The military officers noticed that every weapon was threatening the opponent''s vital points, oftentimes it was only several cun away from its target. They only needed to exert a fraction more of their strength, then they would have taken the opponent''s life. The officers were all apprehensive.


    The sixteen escorts fixed their gaze forward, they gave no thought to their own life or death; if the opponents really wanted to take their lives, they would have given their lives without a fight.


    Shenzhao and the others moved their weapons faster and faster, occasionally the weapons would collide with each other, sparks flew everywhere, clanking sounds were heard, the situation grew more and more dangerous. Although they did not want to intentionally hurt Ping Xi Wang''s subordinates, but as the swords, sabers, whips and hammers collided with each other, not only the weapons carried great forces with them, they were also so close to each other, so it was just a matter of time before the weapons would bounce and injure someone.


    Sure enough, ''smack!'' an iron mace collided with another man''s copper hammer, and ricocheted toward a Ping Xi Wang escort''s shoulder. Following closely, someone''s saber hacked slantingly down, it flitted across, just a few cun away from the right side of an escort''s face, someone by his side happened to cut down with a sword; the saber and sword collided, the saber bounced slightly and cut the escort''s face. Instantly blood flowed from a long cut of his face. The injury of these two escorts was not light, still they did not utter a single groan, still they stood motionless.


    Prince Kang realized that if this thing continued, there would be more wounded people, but he was also somewhat disappointed that the martial art contest could not continue. He shouted, "Good martial arts! Good martial arts! Everybody hold your hands!"


    Shenzhao let out a loud shout, his pair of Jie Dao swept horizontally across, knocking the hat off of an escort''s head. The rest of his men followed suit, one after another sabers, spears, swords and halberds knocked the escorts'' hats off. The sixteen martial art masters laughed aloud, pulled back their weapons, and then leaped back off.


    Wei Xiaobao saw that among the escorts there were seven men who were bald, their shiny heads gleaming under the light; he could not help clapping his hands and laughed heartily, "Dolong Zongguan," he said, "Your guess is really accurate, they are really a bunch of bald ��" before he finished, he took a glance and saw the sixteen escorts of Ping Xi Wang Palace were still standing motionless, but their faces showed an extreme anger, their eyes looked like they were spouting fire.


    Since he was little Wei Xiaobao had mingled with people of the marketplace, naturally he was very familiar with the way of hoodlums, he felt that the action of Shenzhao and the others were very inappropriate, they did not leave even half a face to the others. Although the rogues and hoodlums of the marketplace stole, robbed, swindled, and did all kinds of shameless deeds, but when they were fighting, they always left 30% of leeway; north and south of the great river, everywhere was the same. When a patron of the brothel was infatuated with a girl and splurged ten of thousand taels on her, the old procuress would give him back several tens of taels as travel expenses, so that he would not wander destitute in a foreign land, or perhaps in desperation would hang himself or throw himself in the river. It was not because those hoodlums had a really good conscience, but rather to avoid the matter being escalated and might bring trouble in the future.


    When gambling, Wei Xiaobao often used tricks to clean up his opponent''s money, but suppose he won one tael, he would in the end let him win back one or two coins, if he won one hundred wen, he would in the end let him win back ten or twenty wen. In one hand, so that next time he would still do business with him, on the other hand, it was to avoid the other party get suspicious, or to avoid the other party became angry out of shame, and drew out his fists to beat him.


    Looking at Ping Xi Wang Palace escorts'' expression, Wei Xiaobao felt very apologetic in his heart, so he promptly left his seat and went over to them. He stooped down in front of the tall man to pick up his hat and said, "Lao Xiong is really amazing." With both hands he put the hat back on him.


    The man bowed and said, "Thank you very much!"


    Immediately afterwards Wei Xiaobao picked all fifteen hats one by one, he said with a laugh, "By doing this, aren''t they offending friends?" He was not sure which hat belonged to whom, so he held the hats in his hands and let each one of them picked and put it on themselves.


    These escorts saw that Wei Xiaobao was sitting by their Palace''s Heir Apparent, he was the honored guest whom Prince Kang invited this time, the Gui Gong-gong who arrested Oboi; seeing that he personally picked up the hats, they all cupped their fists and repeatedly said, "We don''t dare, Xiaoren do not deserve it!"


    At first Wei Xiaobao did not have the least bit of favorable impression toward these Ping Xi Wang Palace''s people, he was hoping Wu Sangui''s subordinates would fall flat on their faces, but after being forced repeatedly by Shenzhao and the others, yet all along these people were tolerating them; thus they had aroused Wei Xiaobao''s spirit in wiping out the bullies and help the down-trodden. Seeing their appreciation seemed to be very sincere, he was even happier. Turning his head to Prince Kang he said, "Wangye, I wonder if I can borrow several taels from you."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Gui Xiongdi can use anything freely. Will fifty thousand taels enough?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied with a laugh, "Why would I need that much?" Toward a chamberlain of the Prince''s mansion he said, "Quickly go buy sixteen best hats, the faster the better!" The chamberlain complied and left.


    Wu Yingxiong cupped his fist and said, "Gui Gong-gong love the house and its crow, zaixia is deeply grateful."


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the politeness, while saying in his heart, "What love the house and its crow? If there is any crow, wouldn''t it be you, this little turtle?"


    When Prince Kang saw Shenzhao and the others knocked down the Ping Xi Wang Palace escorts'' hats, he had already felt that it was a bit too much, he was afraid Wu Yingxiong might be offended, but to open his mouth to apologize, he also felt that it was inappropriate. Therefore, Wei Xiaobao''s action closely resembled his own heart''s desire. He said, "Attendants, reward Heir Apparent Wu''s subordinates fifty taels each." He then thought, "If I only rewarded the other side, wouldn''t I make my own martial art master subordinates lose face?" So he added, "Our own Palace''s sixteen martial art masters will also receive fifty taels reward each!" The hall was abuzz with joyful noise.


    Songgotu rose up and poured drink for everybody on the banquet table, he said, "Xiao Wangye, your esteemed father employs the troops like a deity; today I have seen it, sure enough, the name is not in vain. Your esteemed father''s military order is stern; making everybody always ready to give their lives, no wonder he triumphs in every battle and wins every fight. Come, come, come, let us all toast Ping Xi Wang a cup!"


    Wu Yingxiong hurriedly stood up; raising his cup he said, "Junior solemnly drinks the toast on my father''s behalf; thank you gentlemen, for your generous kindness." Everybody raised their cups and drank. Wu Yingxiong added, "In guarding the southern border, bringing peace and order to the frontier, my father depends on the Holy One''s great fortune and the appropriate arrangement of princes and dukes, as well as the senior ministers of the imperial court, who give directions to do things right. My father only serves to display utter loyalty to His Imperial Majesty; he receives instructions from princes and dukes, as well as the senior ministers of the imperial court, and does not dare to be idle. We do not dare to claim any merit." After a few more rounds of wine, the Prince''s mansion''s chamberlain returned with sixteen hats, which he held with both hands and presented them in front of Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao turned to Prince Kang and said with a laugh, "Wangye, your Palace''s Shifu have accidentally knocked off other people''s hats; you ought to compensate them with new hats."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "I should, I should. Gui Xiongdi is very thoughtful." He ordered his chamberlains to present the hats to Wu Yingxiong''s escorts.


    The escorts received the hats and bowed, they said, "Thank you Wangye, thank you Gui Gong-gong!" They folded the hats and put them inside their pockets, while still wearing the old hat on their heads. Prince Kang and Songgotu looked at each other, they were aware that these people did not put on the new hats out of respect to Wu Yingxiong.


    After another round of drink, the theatrical troupe in the Prince''s mansion came out to present their skill. Prince Kang asked Wu Yingxiong to select a play. Wu Yingxiong chose ''Man Chuang Hu'' [bed full of tablets, ''hu'' is tablet held at an audience], a lively story about Guo Ziyi celebrating his birthday, his seven sons and eight son-in-laws came to congratulate him. Guo Ziyi was a man of riches and honor, also a long-lived scholar, he came to a good end by his scholarly achievement in imperial exams, who was extremely revered by the ruler and his ministers. Wu Yingxiong chose this story to congratulate Prince Kang, but also to compare his own father, Wu Sangui, to the character of the story; it was quite a fitting play.


    After he chose a play, Prince Kang gave the playlist to Wei Xiaobao. "Gui Xiongdi," he said, "You also choose a story."


    Wei Xiaobao did not recognize any character on the playlist; he laughed and said, "I can''t choose. Wangye, please select a story for me, a martial art play with fighting and sturdy stick."


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Gui Xiongdi loves to watch military vigor. Um, we''ll choose the play about a young hero defeating a grownup, just like Xiao Xiongdi arresting Oboi. Right, we''ll select ''Bai Shui Tan'' [beach of clear water], the young hero was an eleven years old youth, he fought and completely routed the Green Faced Tiger."


    When ''Man Chuang Hu'' and ''Bai Shui Tan'' were over, the third play was ''You Yuan Jing Meng'' [roaming the garden after awakened from a dream], where two female impersonators singing ''Ah, Ah'' endlessly. Wei Xiaobao did not understand what they were saying, he got impatient so he stood up and left the banquet table. He saw in the side hall there were several tables where people were gambling, some played cards, some other played dice. The banker on the dice table was a military officer, a subordinate of Prince Kang. In front of him there was a big pile of his winning money. Seeing Wei Xiaobao walked near, he said with a laugh, "Gui Gong-gong, would you like to try your hand?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Alright!" he said. He glanced over and saw the tall man, Wu Yingxiong''s subordinate, was standing on the side. Wei Xiaobao had a rather favorable impression of this man, so he beckoned him to come.


    The man rushed forward a step and said, "What instruction does Gui Gong-gong have?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There is no father and son on the gambling table, you do not need to be polite. Lao Ge [old older brother], what''s your honorable surname? With what great name must I address you?"


    A moment ago, Shenzhao asked him and he was unwilling to answer, but Wei Xiaobao had given them a lot of face in front of the guests, plus he was asking politely, so he said, "Xiaoren is surnamed Yang, I am called Yang Yizhi."


    Wei Xiaobao did not know the meaning of his name, ''Yizhi'', but he blurted out what was in his mind, "Good name, good name! The Yang family has the largest number of heroes, Yang Lao Ling Gong, Yang Liulang [lit. ''Old Honorable Commander Yang'' and ''Sixth son (or youth) Yang'', respectively], Yang Zongbao, Yang Wenguang, Yang family warriors are all heroes. Yang Dage, let us two boys become partner in gambling!"


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao praising Yang family ancestors, Yang Yizhi was very happy; he smiled and said, "Xiaoren does not know much how to gamble."


    "What are you afraid of?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll teach you! Get those two big yuanbao out."


    Yang Yizhi took the two big yuanbao Prince Kang bestowed to him earlier out. From his pocket Wei Xiaobao fished out a banknote; he placed it on the table and said with a laugh, "This Yang Xiong and I are partners, we bet one hundred taels!"


    The banker laughed and said, "Good, the more the better!" They were gambling with two dice, one throw to determine the winner. The banker threw first and got ''zhang hu pai'' [sorry, I can''t find any reference on this], Wei Xiaobao tossed the dice and got seven dots, thus his hundred taels was lost.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We''ll bet another hundred taels!" This time he won.


    After throwing for sixteen, seventeen times, come and go, they neither won nor lost. Wei Xiaobao was getting impatient, "It''s not a big deal if I lose several hundred taels, but if I implicate this surnamed Yang that he loses those two yuanbao, I am letting him down." His next throw produced six dots, he was ninety percent sure he would lose; who would have thought that the banker tossed five dots? Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; hereafter he repeatedly won several times. One hundred taels became two hundred; two hundred taels became four hundred. In three throws of the dice, he won four hundred taels.


    The military officer who was the banker laughed and said, "Gui Gong-gong has good gambling luck."


    Wei Xiaobao replied with a laugh, "You say I have good gambling luck? Let''s try again, then!" He pushed the entire four hundred taels to the table and threw the dice; he got four and six, the banker threw and got a long three, so he lost. Wei Xiaobao turned his head and said, "Yang Dage, shall we continue betting or not?"


    "I rely on Gui Gong-gong''s idea," Yang Yizhi replied.


    Wei Xiaobao added the original four hundred taels he had to compensate for the four hundred taels he just lost, he put eight hundred taels altogether and said with a laugh, "I want some refreshing gambling experience." He shouted, "Compensate my loss!"


    The dice were tossed; they rolled around chaotically, after a moment, one rolled and became six dots, but the other one was still rolling continuously. Wei Xiaobao had secretly exerted his strength, he wanted the dice to show double-six, which was called ''the Heaven''. But the dice were not his, his throwing skill had not been brought to the point of perfection. The second die finally stopped, it showed two dots, for the total of eight dots, so most likely he would lose. Wei Xiaobao rained curses, "Straight your mother''s stinky dice, why don''t you help me?"


    The banker laughed heartily, "Gui Gong-gong," he said, "I am afraid this time I am going to eat yours." He tossed the dice. One showed a five-dot, the other was still rolling continuously.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted, "Two, two, two!" If the die showed a one, it would become one five, a three dots would become eight, eight would defeat the eight, the banker won. If four dots, the total would be nine, if five dots, it would become a plum blossom, if six dots, it would become an ''ox head''. All these combinations would beat his eight; only if it showed two dots would the banker lose. Wei Xiaobao did not stop yelling; but as luck would have it, the die rolled several more times, then stopped inside the bowl, it really showed two dots.[121]Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he laughed and said, "General, your gambling luck today is not too good."


    The officer laughed and said, "Banker''s bad luck, banker''s bad luck. It was because Gui Gong-gong giving the order. Whatever your heart wishes, your hands accomplish; naturally I can''t beat you in gambling." He paid Wei Xiaobao three banknotes, two hundred taels each, plus two yuanbao, worth one hundred taels each.


    Wei Xiaobao rubbed the sweat on his palms, he laughed and said, "I receive the benefit of the light!" To Yang Yizhi he said, "Yang Dage, we lack the prospect of picking up green fruits; let''s stop gambling." While squeezing eight hundred taels to Yang Yizhi''s hand.


    For no rhyme or reason Yang Yizhi received a sudden wealth, his heart was overjoyed; "Gui Gong-gong," he said, "What is that general''s name?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he replied in low voice, "I haven''t asked." Turning his head over toward the officer, he asked, "Great General, your honorable surname and your great given name?"


    The military officer beamed from ear to ear, he stood up and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Gui Gong-gong: Xiao Jiang Jiang Baizheng, Regional Commander of the Office of Record, I have always been serving under Prince Kang''s banner."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "General Jiang, fighting wars you are ever-victorious, but in gambling you are not too successful."


    Jiang Baizheng laughed and said, "When gambling with others, more or less Xiao Jiang can also be considered ever-victorious. It''s just that there will be a stronger hand among the strong, plus today I met Gong-gong, Jiang Baizheng has turned into Jiang Baibai[122]."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and walked away. Suddenly he thought, "Why did that surnamed Yang want me to ask the banker''s name?" While he was pondering, from a distant he watched that fellow Jiang Baizheng''s technique in throwing the dice. He saw how he lifted the dice, shifted his wrist, bending his finger, and threw the dice; it was an extremely skilled technique, truly he was a first-class gambling expert in Jianghu. When gambling with him a while ago, Wei Xiaobao did not pay any attention. Suddenly it dawned on him, "Turns out this fellow was deliberately losing to me, no wonder I had won five times in a row, where have I had such a gambling luck? Damn it, laozi has a lot of money, I don''t care about winning or losing, otherwise once I was at the table, I would have seen it. That Yunnan fellow surnamed Yang also understands the trick, he is not a ''cattle'' either, he is a ''sheep killer''."


    He thought further, "Why would a total stranger Regional Commander of the Office of Record wanted to lose money intentionally to me? Naturally it was because I have a face in front of the Emperor, everybody hopes I would say good words on their behalf. Or even if I don''t speak good words, at least I won''t pound on their eggs. F*ck your granny, he spent one thousand four hundred taels just to win laozi''s favor; it''s very cheap!"


    Now that he knew people would deliberately lose to him, that victory was easy, he did not want to gamble anymore. Returning to the banquet hall, he ate some dishes and watched the opera. By this time they were playing ''Si Fan'' [considering the mundane/material world], where a Buddhist nun was acting and singing, while the people on the side constantly cheering and applauding. Wei Xiaobao did not understand what kind of trick she was playing, he felt extremely bored, so he stood up.


    Prince Kang laughed, "Xiao Xiongdi, what do you want to play?" he asked, "No need to be polite, do not hesitate to give your instruction."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am going to find something fun to do myself, please do not be polite." He saw at the corridor people were shouting noisily, the gambling was very lively, his heart was itching a little bit, but he thought, "What the eye doesn''t see, the heart doesn''t grieve over; I am not going to gamble today."


    From the last time he visited to Prince Kang''s mansion, he still vaguely remembered the layout of the Palace, so he walked toward the rear hall.


    Everywhere in the Palace lanterns and candles were brilliantly lit. When the people of the Prince''s mansion saw him, they would stand up respectfully with hands hanging on their side. Wei Xiaobao strolled leisurely; suddenly he had an urge to urinate, yet he did not wish to ask anybody where the lavatory was. He saw there was a small garden on his left, so he shoved the long window open and walked into a dark corner. He pulled his pants down and was about to urinate when suddenly from the other side of the flower bushes he heard some people spoke in low voices.


    Someone said, "Give me the money first, then I''ll take you in."


    Another man said, "Take me in first, after I find that thing, naturally your money won''t decrease the least bit."


    The former man said, "Money first, goods later. If after getting the goods you don''t give me the money, where can I go to find you?"


    The other man said, "Alright, here is a thousand taels, I give you a 10% prepayment."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved, "One thousand taels is only 10%? What kind of important goods is that?" Instantly he endured the urge to urinate and bent his ear to listen.


    He heard the first person said, "Fifty percent prepayment, otherwise this deal is off. This is a ''removing-head'' important matter, you think it is amusing?"


    The other man hesitated slightly, then he said, "Fine, here are banknotes worth five thousand taels, you may take it first."


    "Thank you very much," the first person said. There was rustling noise as the banknotes were being counted, and then he said, "Follow me!"


    Wei Xiaobao''s curiosity was piqued, he mused, "Whatever ''removing-head'' important matter it is, I cannot not follow them to take a look." He heard the footsteps of those two men were heading west, so he slipped out of the flowering bush to follow them from a distance. He saw the back of those two men as they walked evasively among the flowering shrubs and trees; they stopped after every few zhang and looked around to see if anybody saw them. Wei Xiaobao thought, "They are so sneaky, whatever it is they are doing, it must not be a good thing. Prince Kang has treated me really well, I''ll show him my, Gui Gong-gong''s way of doing things by catching two incorrigible thieves for him tonight." First, he felt the dagger, which could cut iron like mud, hidden in his boot; second, he felt the vest he was wearing, the treasured vest which even sabers and spears could not penetrate, and then his courage was boosted somewhat.


    He saw the two men walked through the garden and entered an exquisite looking cottage. Wei Xiaobao walked on tiptoe to come near; he saw lantern light penetrated the flower-carved window lattice. Walking around toward the rear window, he moistened his finger with his saliva to wet the window paper, and then peeked inside with one eye through the hole. He saw the room was a shrine to worship Buddha, with an image of Tathagata Buddha sitting on the offering table, and an oil lantern in front of the image. A man dressed in servant attire said in low voice, "I spent more than a year just to find the location of this thing, your ten thousand taels is not an easy money."


    The other man, whose back was facing Wei Xiaobao, asked, "Where is it?"


    "Give it to me first!" the servant said.


    The other man turned around and said, "Give you what?" This man had a thin face, he was none other than Qi Yuankai, who a moment ago blocked that martial art master surnamed Lang from leaving the main hall.


    The servant said with a laugh, "Qi Shifu is asking something that you already know the answer, naturally I am talking about the five thousand taels."


    "You are really formidable," Qi Yuankai said. He pulled a bundle of banknotes from his pocket. The servant examined the banknotes one by one under the lamp light.


    Wei Xiaobao was very scared; he knew that Qi Yuankai''s martial art skill was very high, plus whatever they were doing must be a shady business with a very heavy responsibility, if his presence was detected, they might kill him immediately to close his mouth. In his fright, his pee flowed out. He thought he might as well let the nature take its course, by letting the pee flowed along his thigh to the ground without making the least bit of noise.


    After counting the banknotes, the servant laughed and said, "Correct." Lowering his voice, he whispered on Qi Yuankai''s ear. Qi Yuankai nodded repeatedly, but Wei Xiaobao was unable to hear even a single sentence.


    He saw Qi Yuankai suddenly leaped up vertically onto the sacrificial table. Turning his head around to look, he then reached out to feel around the Buddha image''s left ear. He moved his finger for a while, and then pulled out a tiny object. He jumped back down and raised his hand to look at the object under the candlelight; it was a key, glittering yellow under the light, presumably it was cast from gold. The key was about the length of a small finger, it couldn''t be more than a liang [50 grams] of gold.


    Qi Yuankai was beaming from ear to ear. Then he looked down to count the bricks, about a dozen or more bricks horizontally, and a dozen or more bricks vertically. He stooped down to pull a dagger from his boot, and then used the dagger to pry open a square brick; he cheered in a low voice.


    The servant said, "Genuine goods at fair prices, I did not swindle you!"


    Qi Yuankai did not reply, he gently inserted the golden key downward; presumably there was a keyhole underneath the square brick. ''Click!'' the lock opened. Qi Yuankai looked stunned, he said, "How come it won''t open? Perhaps it is the wrong key."


    The servant said, "Why can''t you open it? Wangye personally unlocked it, I saw it clearly from outside the window." While saying that, he bent down and got hold of something and pulled it out.


    Suddenly there was a swishing noise, a crossbow mechanism shot up from below, and hit the servant at the pit of his stomach. "Ah!" the servant cried out pitifully and fell backward, the iron lid he was holding in his hand flew up. Qi Yuankai leaned sideways and reached out to catch the iron lid so that it would not fall to the ground and create a lot of noise. Squatting behind the servant, he pressed down the servant''s mouth using his right hand to guard against him crying out and alarm other people, while with his left hand he grabbed the servant''s left wrist and used the servant''s hand to grope around the hole.


    Wei Xiaobao was stunned to see this; he thought, "Turns out there is another mechanism in the hole. This man surnamed Qi is really formidable."


    This time the crossbow mechanism no longer shoot any arrows. Qi Yuankai used his own hand to fish out something, it was a bundle wrapped in cloth. With his right hand he flung the servant to the floor; he rose up, lifted his right foot up and stepped on the servant''s mouth to prevent him from making any noise. And then he leaned forward to put the bundle on the sacrificial table and opened it.


    Qi Yuankai quickly re-wrapped the scripture in its original cloth wrapper; lifting up his left foot, he stepped forcefully on the arrow''s tail. With a light ''Puff!'' the crossbow''s arrow went deep into the servant''s chest. The servant was already seriously injured, naturally this arrow killed him instantly. Since Qi Yuankai''s right foot was stepping on his mouth, only a muffled ''humph'' was heard; his body convulsed a little bit, then he stopped moving altogether.


    Wei Xiaobao was so terrified that his heart was thumping hard. Actually he had finished urinating, but this time he could not help but peeing again in his pants.


    He saw Qi Yuankai bending down to take the banknotes from the servant''s pocket, which he then put into his own pocket. With a cold laugh he said, "Now you can get rich!" After hesitating for a moment, he placed the golden key in the servant''s dead body''s right palm, and curled the dead body''s fingers to hold the key; only then did he rush out in quick steps.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "He is about to run away, must I raise the alarm now?"


    Suddenly a shadow flashed, Qi Yuankai was already on the roof. Wei Xiaobao shrank his body as small as possible, he did not dare to make the slightest move; he only heard the sound of roof tiles being moved around. A moment later, Qi Yuankai leaped down and haughtily walked away.


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao thought, "He is hiding the sutra under the tile, he will be back later to pick it up. Humph, it won''t be that easy."


    He waited for a while, until Qi Yuankai had left far away. He did not have the ability to leap up to the roof, but he could climb up the pillar of the corridor. Pulling himself up the eaves, he managed to flip his body onto the roof. Remembering where the tile noise came from, he overturned about a dozen roof tiles before under the hazy darkness of the night he saw the corner of the cloth-wrapper.


    The hall was exactly the same as it had been when he left; those who were gambling were still gambling, those who were listening to the song were still listening to the song, the female impersonator who played the Buddhist nun was still coyly singing endlessly. Wei Xiaobao asked Songgotu, "This woman putting on an act like that, what trick is she playing?"


    Songgotu replied with a laugh, "This little nun is thinking about a man in the monastery, she wants to run away, going down the mountain to marry; just look at her face, it is overflowing with the thoughts of love, she is throwing coquettish glances one by one ..." Suddenly he remembered that Wei Xiaobao was an eunuch, he must not talk about the matter between men and women too much, or else he would upset him; thereupon he said, "This play is not too interesting, Gui Gong-gong (although the two of them were sworn brothers, in front of other people they must not address each other as brother), let me select another play for you. Um, how about ''Ya Guan Lou'' [elegant and tasteful upstairs room], Li Cunxiao beats the tiger; a young hero, it was not a small matter. Afterwards we can watch the ''Zong Kui Jia Mei'' [Zhong Kui[123] marries off his younger sister]. Zhong Kui''s subordinates, the five little demons, doing acrobatic and fighting, it is very lively."


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and cheered. "But I have to return to the Palace," he said, "I am afraid I don''t have time."


    Casting a sidelong glance, he saw Qi Yuankai was in the middle of playing the finger-guessing game with another martial art master, ''The Brightest and the Best of Five Confucianism Classics'', ''Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea'', shouting and yelling noisily. After playing for a while, he asked in loud voice, "Shenzao Shangren, where is that fellow surnamed Lang?"


    The martial art masters around the banquet table said, "We haven''t seen him for quite a while, perhaps he has slipped out."


    With a cold laugh Shenzao said, "That man does not know how to appreciate favors, I suppose he doesn''t have any face to stay in the Palace much longer."


    Qi Yuankai said, "Most likely he slipped away; this person is sneaky, it''s good if he did not steal anything before he left."


    A martial art master said, "That would be very difficult to say."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "The way this man surnamed Qi handling matters is very thorough; he made that man surnamed Lang lose face in a big way first, and thus he had no choice but had to sneak out quietly. When the people in the Palace discover a dead body and a missing object, naturally the suspicion will fall onto that man surnamed Lang. Very good, I must learn this clever trick; before doing anything, I must find a good scapegoat first."


    Seeing it was getting late, the Chief of Imperial Bodyguards Dolong got up to take his leave, saying that he was on duty in the Palace. Wei Xiaobao followed by also taking his leave. Prince Kang did not dare to detain them; chuckling, he sent them off the door. Wu Yingxiong, Songgotu, and the others also sent them off to the main gate. Wei Xiaobao had just climbed into a sedan chair when Yang Yizhi stepped forward and presented a bundle with both hands, saying, "Our Heir Apparent presents this little gift to Gui Gong-gong, hoping Gong-gong will not dislike this meager present."


    "Thank you very much," Wei Xiaobao replied with a laugh, he received the gift with both hands, and then still laughing he said, "Yang Dage, I feel like meeting an old friend when we met for the first time. I consider you as a good friend, if I give you some money, I would be disrespectful to you. When I have free time some other day, I''ll invite you for some drink."


    Yang Yizhi was delighted; he said with a laugh, "Gong-gong has already given me seven hundred taels, isn''t that enough?"


    Wei Xiaobao guffawed and said, "That was somebody else who foot the bill, it doesn''t count."


    Not too far after the sedan chair left the alley, Wei Xiaobao was getting impatient; he ordered the porters to halt the sedan chair and raised the lantern on the outside of the chair, and then he unwrapped the bundle to look at the gift. It consisted of three brocade boxes, in one box was a pair of emerald chicken, a rooster and a hen, the craftsmanship was very exquisite. In the second case were two strings of pearls together, each string had a hundred pearls. Although the size of the pearls was not as big as the ones he ground and applied to Xiao Junzhu''s face, it was very rare to find two hundred perfectly round and flawless pearls at the same size. He was delighted, "I lied to Xiao Junzhu, telling her I was going to buy some pearls; Wu Yingxiong has just helped me cover up my lie." Inside the third brocade box were gold banknotes, each sheet was ten liang of gold, altogether there were forty sheets, worth four hundred liang of gold.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Next time I see Wu Yingxiong, that little traitor, I would coldly and indifferently thank him, so that I would appear dissatisfied with his below average gift; he would definitely try to make up for it. This is the ingenious method Suo Dage taught me. If this little traitor pretends not to understand, laozi would simply look him in the eye, ''Hey, Xiao Wangye, you gave me a pair of tiny green chicken, what''s so amusing about them? They don''t look like real chicken.'' The little traitor would ask me, ''Gui Gong-gong, what do you mean they don''t look like real chicken?'' Laozi would simply say, ''Where in the world can you find rooster and hen that small? Even sparrows are a lot bigger than those chickens. Besides, green parrot, green peacocks, I have seen a lot, but green chicken? I have never seen any. I wonder if you have green chicken in Yunnan.'' The little traitor could only laugh bitterly. Laozi would also say, ''Even if there is green chicken, shouldn''t the rooster''s cockscomb be red? Anyhow, the hen cannot lay eggs, what kind of treasure is that?'' Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Returning to the Palace, Wei Xiaobao hurriedly went back to his own room. He unlatched the bolt, lighted the candle, opened the bed curtain, and said with a laugh, "Are you tired of waiting?" He saw Xiao Junzhu was still lying motionless on the bed; her eyes were opened wide, with several pieces of cake were still piled up on her mouth, unexpectedly she did not eat even a single piece. He took out the two strings of pearls and said with a laugh, "Look, I buy you these two strings of pearls. I am going to grind it and applied it onto your face. If you don''t become the most beautiful young woman under the heavens, my surname is not �� is not Gui! Are you hungry? Why don''t you eat the cake? Let me help you up so you can eat." Reaching out, he propped her and sat her up; suddenly his flank went numb, followed by a burst of pain on the pit of his stomach.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm, his knees turned soft and he fell sitting down on the floor; his entire body was numb and he was unable to move at all.

 Chapter - 11 (11)

    Wei Xiaobao picked a candlestick, he saw half of the woman''s face was covered in blood, she was approximately seventeen, eighteen years of age, with an oval face, and looked very beautiful; he could not help but praise, "Turns out this stinky Xiao Niang Pi is a beautiful girl." Xiao Junzhu said, "Don''t curse my Shijie."


    Xiao Junzhu giggled, she lifted the quilt and got down from the bed. "My acupoints have been unsealed early on," she said with a laugh, "I have been waiting for a long time, why are you back only now?"


    Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Who unsealed your acupoints?" he asked.


    Xiao Junzhu replied, "Sealed acupoints will open after twelve, fourteen hours, no need for someone to open it. I''ll help you to the bed, and then I''ll go."


    Wei Xiaobao was very anxious, "You can''t, you can''t!" he called out, "The scars on your face haven''t healed yet. I must apply some medicine on you before you will be healed completely.


    Xiao Junzhu giggled and said, "You are really bad, always deceive people. When did you carve my face? You made me worry for half a day."


    "How do you know?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I was able to get down the bed early on and looked at the mirror," Xiao Junzhu replied, "There is nothing on my face."


    Wei Xiaobao looked at her face and noticed that it was bright, spotlessly white and soft; the bean paste, lotus seed paste and other things he applied on her face had been washed clean, he felt quite regretful, "I was in such a rush that I did not look at her face first, if I had seen that she had washed her face, whatever it was, I would never come close to her." he said, "It was because I applied my miracle cure on you, naturally you will be healed. Otherwise, why would I go to buy more pearls for you? I went to jewelry stores all around Beijing before I can find these two strings of pearls. I also bought a pair of exceptionally pretty toys for you."


    "What kind of toys?" Xiao Junzhu asked hastily.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Unseal my acupoints first, then I''ll get it for you."


    "Alright!" Xiao Junzhu said. She was just stretching out her hand to unseal his acupoints when suddenly she saw he was rolling his eyes incessantly; her heart was moved. She laughed and said, "I almost fell into your trick. If I unseal your acupoints, you won''t let me go."


    "Can''t be, can''t be," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "A real man gave his words, that horse cannot chase it."


    "You mean ''team of four horses cannot chase it''!" Xiao Junzhu said, "What do you mean ''that horse cannot chase it''?"


    "That horse can run faster than a team of four horses," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If that horse cannot chase it, naturally a team of four horses cannot chase it even more."


    Xiao Junzhu did not know which horse he was talking about, she was half believing half doubting; she said, "''That horse cannot chase it'', this is the first time I''ve ever heard it."


    "Now you have learned it," Wei Xiaobao said, "These toys are very amusing, one is male, the other female."


    "Are they rabbits?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "No, they are not. They are ten times more fun than rabbits."


    "Are they goldfish?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head vigorously, "What''s so fun about goldfish?" he said, "These toys are a hundred times more fun than goldfish."


    Xiao Junzhu guessed several more toys, all were incorrect. She said, "Take it out quickly! What is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to lure her into unsealing his acupoints first, he said, "As soon as you unseal my acupoints, I will show it to you."


    Xiao Junzhu shook her head, "No, can''t do. I am leaving now, Gege has not seen me, he must be very worried."


    "Your acupoints have been opened for a long time," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why haven''t you left? Why must you wait for me?"


    Xiao Junzhu said, "You are kind enough to buy me some pearls, I must thank you first and say goodbye to you. If I simply leave without saying anything, won''t I be too unfair to other people?"


    Wei Xiaobao sniggered in his belly, "Turns out this little miss is a little idiot; Mu Palace people are blockheads, they are really not being surnamed incorrectly." He said, "That''s right, I was so worried that being alone, you might be afraid in here, so I desperately ran along the streets, I wanted to buy the pearls as soon as possible, but looking from store to store, I couldn''t find any that met my satisfaction, I was very anxious in my heart, I tumbled down several times."


    "Aiyo!" Xiao Junzhu cried out softly, "Are you hurt?"


    With distressed look on his face Wei Xiaobao said, "One time, I fell and hit a big stone on the pit of my stomach, the pain was unbearable."


    "Are you feeling better now?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao groaned several times, "My injury is not light, it is getting more and more painful. You ... you ... sealed my acupoints and unwilling to unseal it, my ... my ... my breath can''t ... can''t ... can''t come up ... I ... I ..." His voice was getting lower and lower, suddenly his eyeballs rolled until only the white part was visible, as if he fainted, his breathing also stopped.


    Xiao Junzhu reached out to feel his breathing, and indeed he was not breathing; she was shocked. "Ah!" she cried out; with a trembling voice she asked, "How can you die?"


    Wei Xiaobao said intermittently, "You have ... have mistakenly ... mistakenly sealed my ... sealed my death ... death acupoint."


    "It can''t be, it can''t be," Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "Shifu taught me acupoint sealing technique, it can''t be wrong. I clearly sealed your Ling Xu and Bu Liang, two acupoints, and also Tian Chi[1] acupoint."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You ... you were flustered, you sealed ... sealed the wrong acupoint. Aiyo! The chi and blood in my body are welling up, the channels of chi are reversed, my world is turning upside down, I suffer from fire ... fire ..."


    "Fire deviation?" Xiao Junzhu said.


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo! How can you be so muddleheaded? You haven''t properly mastered the acupoint sealing technique, but randomly and blindly use it on my body? You did not seal any Ling Xu or Bu Liang acupoints, but you sealed my death acupoint. I am ninety percent sure it was the death acupoint!" He did not know any acupoint names, otherwise he would have mentioned the name of several fatal acupoints.


    Xiao Junzhu was still very young, naturally she had not mastered her family''s martial art skill. Acupoint sealing technique was indeed very difficult and complicated; there are several hundred major acupoints in human body, located only several fen away from each other. In a great rush, it was not uncommon to seal the wrong acupoint. However, she had received directions from good master, and was very familiar with the locations of these three acupoints. Although her strength was somewhat lacking, the acupoints she was sealing was not the slightest bit incorrect. It''s just that it was a new skill and this was the first time she used it, hence she did not have too much self-confidence. With Wei Xiaobao looking so distressed, and his acting was extremely believable, she thought she had indeed mistakenly sealed the fatal acupoint. "Could it be ... could it be that I have sealed your Shan Zhong [lit. mutton smell] acupoint?" she asked anxiously.


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s exactly the Shan Zhong acupoint. But don''t be grieved, you ... you ... you did not do it intentionally. After I die, I won''t blame you. When Yan ... Yanluo Wang asks, I won''t say that you sealed my death acupoint ... I will say that I was not being careful, that my finger has sealed my own death acupoint that I died."


    Hearing that he was willing to cover her up in front of the Yanluo Wang, Xiao Junzhu felt grateful, but also apologetic; she busily said, "Quick ... don''t say anything, quickly unseal your acupoints, perhaps you can still be saved." Hastily she reached out to massage his chest and armpit.


    Since the force with which she seal acupoint was not too strong, only by massaging a little while, Wei Xiaobao was already able to move. He groaned several times and said, "Ay, you have sealed my death acupoint, I won''t live!"


    Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "Perhaps I can still save you. I was not being careful and sealed the wrong acupoint. Really ... really sorry."


    "I know you are a good person," Wei Xiaobao said, "After I die, I will bless and protect you from the netherworld; from dawn to dusk, my ghost will always be your side."


    Xiao Junzhu shrieked. "Your ghost will always be my side?" she asked.


    "You shouldn''t be afraid," Wei Xiaobao said, "My ghost will not harm you. It''s just that there is a rule that whoever killed me, my ghost will always follow that person."


    The more Xiao Junzhu thought about it, the more scared she was; "I did not kill you intentionally," she said.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed; he said, "Little Miss, what is your name?"


    Xiao Junzhu took a step back. "Why do you ask?" she said. Her face showed astonishment. "You are going to tell on me in the netherworld, aren''t you?" she asked, "I won''t tell you."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I won''t tell on you," he said.


    "Why did you ask, then?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    "So that when I am in netherworld I can bless and protect you," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have a lot of ghost friends in the netherworld; I will ask everybody to work hard together to bless and protect you, no matter where you go, several thousand several hundred of ghosts will follow you."


    Xiao Junzhu was so scared that she screamed and hastily said, "No, please don''t! Don''t follow me."


    "How about only me, one ghost, following you around?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Xiao Junzhu hesitated for a moment; she said, "If you �� if you won''t scare me, then it''s alright."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Of course I am not going to scare you. When you are sitting down in the day time, my ghost will drive the fly away from you; when you are sleeping at night, my ghost will keep the mosquitoes away from you. When you are bored, my ghost will come to you in a dream, telling you stories that are very, very pleasant to hear."


    "Why do you treat me this good?" Xiao Junzhu asked; sighing gloomily, she said, "It would be better if you don''t die."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There is something you promised me, but you haven''t done it yet. Ay, I won''t die with my eyes closed."


    "What is it? What did I promise to you?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You promised to call me ''Good Gege'' three times. If before I die I can hear you call, then I will die with my eyes closed."


    Xiao Junzhu was born in the Palace, into a noble family who ruled Guizhou province for generations; her parents, older brother, as well as her elders, all doted on her very much. Although by the time she was born the country was already ruined and the people perished, as a minister''s family whose ancestors had done meritorious deeds, they had numerous slaves and servants who cherished this ''golden-branch, jade leaves'' Junzhu in every possible way. In all her life, no one had ever lied to her or scared her. Growing up, she always heard that she must never tell even half a word of lies. Consequently, when she heard Wei Xiaobao''s nonsense, at first she accepted every word as the truth. But after a while she saw that the more he talked the more spirited he was, and when talking about her calling him ''Good Gege'' three times his eyes were gleaming with mischief. She was only na?ve and kind-hearted, but not at all an idiot. Realizing that Wei Xiaobao was teasing her, she took a step backward and said, "You deceived me, you are not going to die at all."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily and said, "Even if I am not going to die for the time being, I will die in several days anyway."


    "You won''t die in several days," Xiao Junzhu said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Granted that I may not die in several days, but in the future I will die. If you don''t call me ''Good Gege'' three times, my ghost will follow you day and night, I will continuously call you, ''Good �� Mei �� Mei �� Good �� Mei �� Mei ��!''" He pinched his throat hard that his voice was dragged long and shrill, it sounded like a wretched ill wind, extremely scary. He also stuck out his tongue, pretended to be a ghost who died of hanging.


    "Ah!" Xiao Junzhu screamed and turned around to run out of the room. Wei Xiaobao ran after her. Seeing she was stretching out her hand to pull out the door bolt, he hurriedly grabbed and pulled her waist, saying, "You must not go out, there are too many evil spirits outside."


    "Let me go," Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "I want to go home."


    "You can''t go," Wei Xiaobao said. Xiao Junzhu hacked down with the edge of her right palm toward his right wrist.


    Wei Xiaobao flipped his palm and caught her forearm, Xiao Junzhu pulled back her elbow. Forming a fist with her left hand, she struck down the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head. Wei Xiaobao drew back and down to evade this punch blow, but he grabbed her calf. Xiao Junzhu launched the stance ''Tiger Tail Scissors'', her left palm hacked diagonally down. Wei Xiaobao was unable to dodge; ''smack!'' his shoulder was hit. He pulled with all his might, Xiao Junzhu was unable to stand, she was pulled down to the ground. Wei Xiaobao scrambled up to wrestle her, Xiao Junzhu legs flew out with ''Mandarin Ducks Chain Kicks'' toward his face. Wei Xiaobao rolled away, but he caught and twisted her left arm.


    Xiao Junzhu''s punching and kicking skill was taught by a prominent master, it was far more superior to the essence of skill Wei Xiaobao had learned. If the two of them were having a real martial art competition, Wei Xiaobao was not her match. However, the two of them were wrestling on the floor right now, one wanted to go, the other grabbing and twisting her, preventing her from leaving. In this kind of twisting, pouncing and wrestling skill, Wei Xiaobao had undergone an extensive training, he had had martial art competition with Kangxi for almost a year. Although the martial art skill Hai Laogong taught him was half true and half fake, plus he trained carelessly, in the end his body was still trained and he still knew several tricks of qin na.


    In these several rounds, although the pit of Wei Xiaobao''s stomach had received two blows, he managed to catch Xiao Junzhu''s right arm, which he bent and twisted backward. "Surrender?" he asked with a laugh.


    "No!" Xiao Junzhu replied.


    Wei Xiaobao raised his left knee and knelt on her arm, he asked again, "Surrender?"


    Xiao Junzhu still said, "No!"


    Wei Xiaobao increased the force on his hand to twist her arm behind her back harder. "Ah!" Xiao Junzhu screamed and began to cry.


    During Wei Xiaobao''s bouts with Kangxi, no matter how severe the pain those two boys experienced, they had never shown any weakness, much less crying. Whenever one of them was pinned down by the opponent and was unable to move, he would simply called out, "Surrender!" and then he would be considered the loser of that round, before they started wrestling again. Unexpectedly Xiao Junzhu''s attitude was totally different from Kangxi, she cried as soon as she lost. "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "Useless little girl!" and he let her go.


    Right this moment, suddenly they heard a ''crack!'' on the window lattice. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in a low voice, "A ghost!"


    Xiao Junzhu was shocked; she reached out to hug him. They heard some noise on the window frame, the window was shoved open with creaking noise. This time, even Wei Xiaobao was frightened. "It''s really a ghost!" he said in trembling voice. Xiao Junzhu threw herself forward and crawled underneath the quilt; her body was trembling all over.


    The window was slowly pushed open, someone in gloomy voice called out, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi!"


    At first Wei Xiaobao thought it was Hai Laogong''s ghost coming to demand his life, but the voice was a woman''s voice. "It''s a female ghost!" he said tremblingly, while successively took several steps backwards. His legs grew numb and he fell sitting down on the head of the bed.


    Suddenly a gust of wind blew in, the candle in the room was extinguished, something blurring their eyes, there was one more person in the room. The female ghost creepily said, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi! Yan Wangye is calling you, Yan Wangye says you killed Hai Laogong!"


    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits; he wanted to say, "I did not kill Hai Laogong." But his mouth was wide open and his tongue tied; how could he speak out? He heard the female ghost said again in shrill voice, "Yan Wangye is going to seize you and take you, going up the mountain of blades, going down into a deep fryer. Xiao Guizi, today you can''t run away!"


    Hearing these sentences, Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized, "It''s the Empress Dowager, not a female ghost!" But he did not feel less frightened, he thought, "If it was a female ghost, there is a possibility she can''t catch me, but Empress Dowager will definitely kill me to close my mouth."


    Ever since he knew the Empress Dowager''s secret, at first he was constantly in fear that she would kill him to close his mouth, but all along there was nothing astir. After a long time, his fear gradually diminished, he thought that the Empress Dowager believed him, that he really did not hear what Hai Dafu was saying; or perhaps even if he did, she thought he would not dare to leak the secret, plus since he was promoted to be the head of the Catering Department, he must be very grateful to her, then all was well. How would he know that the reason she did not promptly deal with him was because when she fought Hai Laogong that day, she had suffered a very heavy internal injury? Moreover, she also saw that Hai Laogong''s heavy kick unexpectedly did not kill Wei Xiaobao; she thought this child must have profound internal energy cultivation. If she did not recover completely and have her strength restored, she did not dare to act without careful consideration. This business of killing people to close their mouths simply cannot be delegated to others; she must do it personally. Otherwise, if at the point of death the child spoke several sentences, wouldn''t her important matter go bad?


    This important matter carried too great of implications, not to mention that Wei Xiaobao was an insignificant little eunuch; even if it were imperial wives, imperial concubines, crown prince, generals or ministers, as soon as they find out about this secret, if there were a hundred people knew, she would kill a hundred, if there were a thousand people knew, she would kill a thousand.


    She had been waiting for too long; although right now her strength had not fully recovered, she thought that if she delayed for a day, the danger of her secret leaking was also increased by a notch, until that night she could no longer wait and decided to act, and thus she went to Wei Xiaobao''s room. As she pushed the window open, she heard Wei Xiaobao said, ''A ghost'', and so she pretended to be a ghost. She did not know there was another person on the bed; slowly concentrating her strength, she raised her right hand, and step by step walked toward the bed.


    Wei Xiaobao knew he could not resist, hence he crawled into the quilt. The Empress Dowager brought down her palm, ''slap!'' she simultaneously struck Wei Xiaobao and Xiao Junzhu. Fortunately the quilt was very thick, so most of her strength was dissipated.


    The Empress Dowager raised her palm again to deliver the second strike, this time she increased her power. Her palm had just touched the quilt when suddenly she felt a severe pain on the center of her palm, like an injury from a sharp object. She cried out loudly and leaped backward.


    Suddenly from outside the window she heard three, four people shouting and yelling, "Assassins! Assassins!" The Empress Dowager was stunned, "How did they know?" she thought. The fact that she came personally to kill a little eunuch must not be known to anybody, plus the pain on her palm was so severe that she did not have time to see whether Wei Xiaobao had died or not. Her feet kicking the ground, she flew out of the window. Yet before she landed, two people attacked her from behind. The Empress Dowager sent her palms backward in the move ''Looking Back Without Any Concern'', both her left and right palms simultaneously hit the two people''s chests. The two people fell straight to the ground.


    She heard the ''Tang! Tang!'' sound of the gong, in a short moment all around her the gongs were sounded. From a distance some people were calling out, "First and Second Guard Units protect His Majesty, Third Guard Unit protects Empress Dowager." Immediately afterwards, from the eastern end of the rockery someone called out, "Assassin in here!" Empress Dowager knew that these people were the Imperial Bodyguards; immediately she shrank back and hid behind some flowering shrubs. She felt the pain in the middle of her palm was getting worse, she saw indistinctly seven, eight people were fighting fiercely, their weapons collided unceasingly; she thought, "Turns out there really are assassins in the Palace. I wonder if they are Hai Laogong''s friends, or Oboi''s former subordinates?" She heard from the distance the unending voices of people giving orders; the light from torches and Kong Ming lanterns[2] appeared in the darkness, gathering together from all directions. The Empress Dowager realized that if she tarry slightly and did not leave right away, it would be difficult for her to escape undetected. She crouched down and suddenly leaped out from behind the flowering shrubs, and then bolted toward the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful.


    She was only rushing for several zhang when directly in front of her someone attacked; with the pair of steel awls in his hands he swiftly stabbed the Empress Dowager''s face, while shouting, "Audacious rebel, unexpectedly dare to come to the Palace to create havoc."


    The Empress Dowager slanted her body slightly, her right palm feigned a move, her left palm struck toward his shoulder. The man pulled his shoulder back to evade, then he spun around as the steel awl in his left hand rose up. The Empress Dowager dodged to the left and sent her right palm backhandedly. In an instant the two of them had exchanged several moves.


    The man bawled, "Rebel thief, turns out you are a woman."


    The Empress Dowager saw that this Imperial Bodyguard''s martial art skill was not weak; although she could subdue him, she would need more than a dozen moves, by that time perhaps the rest of the Imperial Bodyguards would catch up. In a moment of desperation she called out, "I am the Empress Dowager."


    The Imperial Bodyguard was stunned; he held his hands and asked, "What?"


    "Audacious servant," the Empress Dowager said, "You dare to offend the Empress Dowager?"


    The man hesitated slightly, the Empress Dowager sent out both palms, ''Bang!'' she struck the pit of his stomach. The Imperial Bodyguard was killed instantly. The Empress Dowager gathered her chi and leaped, she ducked away into the flowering shrubs.


    When Wei Xiaobao crawled into the quilt, his waist was slapped by the Empress Dowager, he was almost suffocated; in desperation he pulled the dagger in his boot and held it facing up inside the quilt, raising the quilt somewhat higher. When the Empress Dowager sent the second palm strike toward the bulging quilt, due to the extremely sharp dagger and the powerful strike of the Empress Dowager''s palm, the point of the dagger immediately penetrated the quilt and pierced the center of her palm all the way through the back of her hand.


    After the Empress Dowager jumped out of the window, Wei Xiaobao raised the corner of the quilt and heard the commotion outside his window. The very first thought that came into his mind was, "The Empress Dowager has sent people to arrest me." He leaped out of the bed, lifted the quilt, and said, "Hurry, we must run away!"


    Xiao Junzhu cried and said, "It hurts �� it hurts so much!" What happened was the Empress Dowager''s first strike hit Wei Xiaobao''s waist and Xiao Junzhu''s left leg. Xiao Junzhu bore most of the brunt that unexpectedly the calf bone of her left leg was broken.


    "What happened?" Wei Xiaobao asked, while trying to pull her by the collar of her clothes. "Hurry up, hurry up!" he said, pulling her down the bed.


    Xiao Junzhu stepped on the floor with her right foot first, but she felt the pain on her left leg was unbearable, her body leaned to one side, and she tumbled down on the floor. "My �� my leg is broken," she said while crying.


    In a moment of desperation Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Xiao Niang Pi, why do you have to break your leg not sooner or later ��" In his heart he said, "Saving my own life is more important for Laozi; forget that you broke one leg, even if you broke four legs, eight legs into seventeen, eighteen pieces, Laozi won''t care." Turning around, he rushed to the window and peeked out. He was hoping there wouldn''t be anybody outside so that he could leap out.


    But as he looked out, he saw the Empress Dowager struck backward with her palms, followed by two people flew up and fell heavily down on the ground. One person happened to land right in front of his window. In the dark night he saw faintly that this man was dressed in an Imperial Bodyguard uniform; he was extremely baffled, "Why would the Empress Dowager strike the Palace''s Imperial Bodyguard?" He saw the Empress Dowager dodged into a flowering bush; he also saw several zhang away six, seven men were engaged in a close combat, each one had a weapon in his hand, the battle was really intense. He heard people shouting from the distance, "Catch the assassins! Catch the assassins!"


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised, "Turns out there really are assassins in the Palace; they are not here to catch me." Focusing his attention outside, he saw the Empress Dowager was fighting with another Imperial Bodyguard. The Imperial Bodyguard was wielding a pair of steel awls. Although they were fighting quite some distance away from his window, he could still see the flashing of the steel awls. After fighting for a while, the Empress Dowager killed the Imperial Bodyguard, and then she flew into the darkness and disappeared.


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head to look at Xiao Junzhu; she was sitting on the floor, whimpering softly. Since now he knew he was not in any danger, his mood improved considerably. Walking toward her, he said in a low voice, "Does it hurt so much? There are people outside who want to get you. Don''t make any noise."


    Xiao Junzhu was so frightened that she did not dare to make any noise. Suddenly somebody outside the window shouted, "Black feet and dog''s teeth are formidable, go up the Diancang Mountain!"


    "Huh?" Xiao Junzhu exclaimed, "Those are our men."


    "They are your friends?" Wei Xiaobao wondered, "How do you know?"


    "What they said was our Mu Palace''s code words," Xiao Junzhu said, "Quick �� quickly help me up, I want to look."


    "They are coming to the Imperial Palace to rescue you, aren''t they?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I don''t know," Xiao Junzhu replied, "Is this the Imperial Palace?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not reply; he thought, "If they knew that this little girl is in here and broke into the Palace to rescue her, Laozi''s two fists cannot fight the enemy''s four hands." He reached out and firmly covered her mouth, while with a low voice he threatened, "You must not make any noise, if they find out, your other leg will be broken, I won''t be able to bear it!"


    They heard someone shouting outside, "Ah!" while another voice cheered, "Two assassins are killed!" and yet another voice called out, "The assassins are running away to the east, everybody, pursue them!" The voices gradually went far away.


    Wei Xiaobao released his hand and said, "Your friends run away!"


    "They did not run away!" Xiao Junzhu said, "They said ''go up the Diancang Mountain'', that means they are retreating temporarily."


    "What is ''black feet dog''?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "''Black feet dogs'' are Tatars warriors," Xiao Junzhu replied.


    The voices in the distance were still faintly heard, people were transmitting orders incessantly, obviously the effort of capturing the assassins was still going on. Suddenly they heard someone was groaning twice below the window, it was a female voice. Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s an assassin that has not died yet, let me stab her twice!" The Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace were all male, so this voice definitely belonged to the assassin.


    Xiao Junzhu said, "No �� don''t kill her, perhaps she is from our Palace." Propping herself on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, she stood up and with only her right leg she hopped to the window. She saw two people outside the window. "Southern sky northern land ��" she said. Wei Xiaobao stretched out his hand to cover her mouth again. But the female voice outside the window replied, "Under the throne of bright peacock. You �� are you Xiao Junzhu?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that since this woman had discovered Xiao Junzhu''s trail, the incoming disaster was not small; raising his dagger, he wanted to throw it down. Suddenly he felt his right wrist tightened as it was being grabbed by Xiao Junzhu, followed by a stabbing pain on his flank so that involuntarily his hand holding down her mouth came loose.


    "Is it Shijie [older martial sister]?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    "It''s me," the woman below the window replied, "What �� what are you doing in here?"


    "Your granny," Wei Xiaobao cut her off, "What are you doing in here?"


    "Don''t �� don''t curse her," Xiao Junzhu said, "She is my Shijie. Shijie, are you injured? You �� please think of a way to save my Shijie. Shijie is very good to me." She said those words to two different people.


    The woman underneath the window groaned and said, "I don''t want to be saved by this kid. He doesn''t even have the ability to save me."


    Wei Xiaobao struggled hard to free himself, Xiao Junzhu then loosened her grip. Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Stinky woman! You said I don''t have the ability to save you? You, this little girl, are just a ninth-class martial artist. Humph, Laozi only needs to stretch my little finger, then I will be able to save twenty, thirty, or even seventy, eighty mothers like you."


    By this time the cry ''catch the assassins, catch the assassins'' was resounding again from the distance. Xiao Junzhu was greatly anxious, she hurriedly said, "Please hurry, save my Shijie. I �� I will call you three times, Good �� Good �� Gege, Good Gege, Good Gege!" Originally she was unwilling to utter these words, but now in order for him to save someone, she had called him three times in a row.


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he said, "Good Meizi, what do you want your good Gege do?"


    Xiao Junzhu''s entire face turned deep red; she said in low voice, "I am asking you to save my Shijie."


    The woman under the window was extremely obstinate; she said, "Don''t ask him, this kid is powerless; he won''t be able to save even himself."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "Looking at my good Meizi''s face, I am bent on saving you. Good Meizi, we have said the words, you must not deny; you want me to save your Shijie, later you can''t go back on your own words, you must call me ''Good Gege'' forever."


    "I will call you whatever you want," Xiao Junzhu said, "Good Shushu, Good Bobo, Good Gonggong


    [3]!"


    "I only want to be your Good Gege," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you called me Gonggong, I am afraid I am a little lacking."


    "Alright," Xiao Junzhu said, "I will forever �� forever call you ''Good'' �� ''Good'' ��"


    "''Good'' what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Xiao Junzhu said, "Good �� Gege!" While saying that, she gently pushed his back.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped out the window. He saw a woman dressed in black, her body curled into a ball, was lying on the ground. He said, "The Palace''s Imperial Bodyguards are coming to arrest you, they are going to behead you and chop you into mincemeat and use you as the stuffing for the steamed buns."


    The woman said, "What''s so strange about that? Our people will avenge me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You, little girl, are so stubborn. The Imperial Bodyguards won''t kill you right away, they will strip you naked, everybody �� everybody will take you as a wife."


    The woman angrily said, "Quickly use your blade to kill your Miss."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Why would I want to kill you? I also want to strip you naked, and then take you as my wife." Finished speaking, he bent over to pick her up. The woman was extremely anxious, she waved her palm to slap his ear, but she was heavily injured, her hand did not have the least bit of strength, when the palm reached his face, it only felt like a gentle brush.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You haven''t become my wife, yet you tickle your husband first." Carrying her body, he handed her over the window. Xiao Junzhu was greatly delighted, she stepped forward to receive the woman, and then slowly lay her down on the bed.


    Wei Xiaobao was about to follow by leaping into the room when suddenly someone by his feet said in a low voice, "Gui �� Gui Gong-gong, this woman �� this woman is a rebel thief �� an assassin, you must not �� must not save her."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked, "Who �� who are you?" he asked.


    The man replied, "I �� I am the Palace''s �� Imperial �� Bodyguard ��"


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao understood that he was the Imperial Bodyguard who was hit by the Empress Dowager just a moment ago, unexpectedly he did not die; he lay on the ground, unable to move a single step, his speech was also discontinuous, obviously his injury was very heavy. Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I handed over this woman in black, it would be a meritorious service, but what about Xiao Junzhu? This matter would fall through and stand exposed, than the disaster would be even greater." Raising his dagger, ''stab!'' he thrust it into the man''s chest. The Imperial Bodyguard did not even grunt; he died instantly.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Forgive me for this, if just now you did not open your mouth, you would not have to die, but then Gui Gong-gong''s head would not sit smooth and steady on my neck." He thought further, "Perhaps there are more injured people nearby, I have no choice but kill them all to close their mouths." Thereupon he looked around the surrounding flowering bushes and rock garden thoroughly; altogether he found five bodies on the ground: three Imperial Bodyguards and two assassins from the outside, they all had breathed their last breath. Wei Xiaobao picked an assassin''s corpse and placed it over the window sill, with head inside and legs outside, and then with his dagger he stabbed the corpse''s back several times.


    Xiao Junzhu was startled, "He is our Palace''s man; he is dead, why do you kill him again?"


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "He is dead, I can''t kill him anymore. Try killing a dead man and show it to me! But if you want me to save your stinky Shijie, I have to do this."


    The woman, who was lying on the bed, said, "You are the stinky one!"


    "You haven''t smelled me, how do you know I am stinky?" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "This entire room is reeking with stench," the woman said.


    "It was originally very fragrant," Wei Xiaobao said, "It smells as soon as you came in."


    Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "The two of you do not even know each other, yet quarrel as soon as you meet. Quickly stop bickering. Shijie, how did you come here? Is it �� is it to save me?"


    "We did not know you are in here," the woman replied, "Everybody did not see you, we went everywhere to look for you but could not find you ��" Speaking to this part, she was already out of breath.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You don''t have strength to talk, you''d better talk a little less."


    "I want to talk, what are you going to do about it," the woman said.


    "If you have the ability, go ahead and talk," Wei Xiaobao said, "Other people''s Xiao Junzhu is so gentle and refined, not at all like you who are rude and unreasonable."


    "No, no, you don''t know," Xiao Junzhu busily said, "Nobody''s better than my Shijie. Don''t curse her, then she won''t be mad at you. Shijie, which part of you is injured? Is it heavy?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Her martial art skill is not good, she overestimated her own capabilities, she came to the Palace just to lose face, naturally her injury is heavy. I''ll say she won''t live pass six hours; perhaps before daylight she will return to heaven."


    "She can''t die," Xiao Junzhu said, "Good �� Good Ge �� please think of something quickly, save my Shijie."


    The woman angrily said, "I would rather die, I don''t need his help. Xiao Junzhu, this kid is glib-tongued, why do you call him �� call him like that?"


    "Call me what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The woman did not fall into his trick, "Call you little monkey," she said.


    "I am a male monkey," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are a female monkey." Bickering and quarreling with women, he had had an extensive practice when he was in Lovely Spring Courtyard; he had experienced major conflicts and major battles, how could he lose against other people? When the woman heard him speaking vulgarity, she no longer paid him any attention, she simply breathed deeply.


    Wei Xiaobao raised the candlestick on the table and said, "First we must find where her injury is."


    "Don''t look at me! Don''t look at me!" the woman shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao shot back, "Don''t shout loudly! Do you want people to catch you and take you as wife?" Picking the nearby candlestick, he saw half of the woman''s face was covered in blood, she was approximately seventeen, eighteen years of age, she had an oval face, and looked very beautiful; he could not help but praise, "Turns out this stinky Xiao Niang Pi is a beautiful girl."


    Xiao Junzhu said, "Don''t curse my Shijie, she �� she is indeed a beautiful girl."


    "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Now I want to take her as my wife even more."


    The woman was startled, she struggled, wanted to slap him, but she only managed to lift her body a little, then she cried, "Ah!" and fell down on the bed.


    Naturally Wei Xiaobao had heard a lot about the matters of men and women in the brothel, but knowing and doing are not the same. He said ''take her as wife'', but he was still young, and the thought of actually doing it had never crossed his heart; it''s just that he was a natural prankster. When he saw how the woman became very anxious as soon as he mentioned he was going to take her as his wife, he could not help feeling very smug. He laughed and said, "Don''t be impatient, we have not performed the wedding ceremony yet, how can we be man and wife? You think this place is the Lovely Spring Courtyard? As soon as you talk about being man and wife you want to do it immediately. Aiyo! Your wound is bleeding, you are spoiling my bed!" He saw blood continuously seeped out her clothes; her injury was indeed not light.


    Suddenly he heard footsteps, a group of people came hurrying, someone called out, "Gui Gong-gong, Gui Gong-gong, are you alright?" After the Imperial Bodyguards repelled the assassins, they sent people to protect the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and comparatively high-ranking imperial concubines, then they also protect department heads and eunuchs with authority. Wei Xiaobao was the Emperor''s favorite, so they sent a dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards to curry his favor.


    Wei Xiaobao said in low voice to Xiao Junzhu, "Hide in the bed." He pulled the quilt to cover the two women, pulled the mosquito net down, and called out, "Come here quick! There is an assassin here!"


    The woman was shocked, but she was seriously injured, how could she struggle? Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "Don''t shout, don''t call people to arrest my Shijie."


    "She does not want to be my wife," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why should I be polite to her?"


    While they were still talking, the dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards had already arrived in front of the window. "Aiyo!" one of them cried out, "There is an assassin here."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That fellow wanted to climb into my room, Laozi finished him off with several stabs of my blade."


    The Imperial Bodyguards raised their torches and saw several cuts on the dead man''s back; there were blood on his clothes, on the window sill, and on the ground. "Gui Gong-gong must be startled." Another man said, "What do you mean Gui Gong-gong was startled? Gui Gong-gong''s martial art skill is superb, he is able to kill the assassin in just one move. If there were more coming, he would simply kill them all the same." The rest of the Imperial Bodyguards immediately followed by fawning him; they praised Wei Xiaobao greatly, saying that he had rendered a great merit tonight.


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "The merit is nothing, coping with one or two assassins did not need too much effort. Arresting the Manchu''s Number One Warrior Oboi is a bit harder to do." The crowd of Imperial Bodyguards naturally seized this opportunity to flood him with flattery.


    One of the Imperial Bodyguards said, "Shi Laoliu and Xiong Lao''er [Ol'' Six and Ol'' Second, respectively] died in the line of duty, those assassins were truly very fierce. If it were not Gui Gong-gong, how would he deal with it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s more important for you all to protect His Majesty, in here I am alright."


    Another man said, "Dolong Zongguan is leading more than two hundred brothers to personally guard outside His Majesty''s private chamber. The assassins have either escaped or killed, the Palace is quiet now."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Tomorrow I will ask His Majesty to grant some comfort and aid to the families of those Imperial Bodyguards who died in the line of duty. Everybody has been working hard, His Majesty will definitely grant generous reward." Everybody was delighted, they all bowed and expressed their gratitude. Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "As long as I don''t have to spend my own money, why not become the mediator between them and the Emperor?" He said, "I do not remember very clearly everybody''s surname and given name; would you all report to me? If His Majesty asks who has exerted himself using extreme force of will, and has rendered great service tonight, Xiongdi will mention your names."


    The Imperial Bodyguards were even more delighted, they hurriedly reported their name and surname. Wei Xiaobao had an extremely good memory, he was able to repeat the full names of those dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards without any mistake. He said, "You all should patrol everywhere, perhaps there are assassins still hiding in some dark and remote places. If you catch one alive, if it''s a man, beat him severely, if it''s a woman, strip her naked and take her as wife." The Imperial Bodyguards laughed heartily and repeatedly said, "Yes, yes!"


    "Would you take away the corpse?" Wei Xiaobao asked. The Imperial Bodyguards compiled; they snatched the corpse and left after paying their respect once more.


    Wei Xiaobao closed the window, turned around and lifted up the quilt. Xiao Junzhu laughed and said, "You are so bad, you scared us in a big way ... Aiyo ...!" She saw blood all over the bedding, her martial sister''s countenance was deathly pale, her breathing was very weak.


    "Where is her injury?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Quickly stop her bleeding."


    The woman said, "You ... go away, Xiao Junzhu, my ... injury is on the pit of my stomach."


    Seeing the blood flowing from her wound was indeed a lot, Wei Xiaobao was afraid she might die from her heavy injury; he did not dare to tease her. Turning his head away, he said, "What''s so good about bleeding wound anyway? Do you think it''s a peep show or something fun to watch? Xiao Junzhu, do you have the medicine?"


    "I don''t," Xiao Junzhu replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Stinky mother, do you have any medicine with you?"


    "I don''t!" the woman snapped, "You ... you are the stinky mother."


    He heard light ripping noise, Xiao Junzhu was undoing the woman''s clothes. "Aiyo!" suddenly she cried out in fear, "What ... what should I do?" Wei Xiaobao turned his head around, he saw a cut about two cun long below the woman''s right breast, from which the blood was flowing continuously. Xiao Junzhu was at a loss of what to do; she cried and said, "You ... you ... quickly help my Shijie ..."


    The woman was frightened and ashamed; with a trembling voice she said, "Don''t ... don''t let him see."


    "Pei," Wei Xiaobao spat, "You think I''ve never seen one?" Seeing her blood was flowing endlessly, he was unable to restrain being panicked. He looked around the room, trying to find some cotton cloth to stop the blood stream from her wound. He spotted the medicine bowl and saw that he still had more than half bowl of his concoction of ''mashed lotus seed, bean paste, honey, candy and pearls''. "My miracle medicine can also stop bleeding," he said happily. Fetching a handful, he applied it on her wound.


    This mixture of honey paste was very viscous, as soon as it was applied to the wound, the blood flow stopped. Wei Xiaobao spread the entire bowl of honey paste onto the wound, his fingers were also covered in honey paste. Seeing her nipples shivered, this little urchin restrained his mischievous thought with great difficulty; casually he smeared the paste on her breast.


    The woman was ashamed and enraged at the same time, she called out, "Xiao ... Xiao Junzhu, quickly ... quickly kill him for me."


    Xiao Junzhu explained, "Shijie, he is treating your wound!" The woman was so furious she almost fainted. Unfortunately she could not move.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly seal her acupoints, don''t let her speak or move randomly; otherwise she might bleed again and her life will be in danger."


    "Yes!" Xiao Junzhu complied; she sealed several acupoints on the woman''s lower abdomen, flanks, and legs. "Shijie," she said, "Don''t move randomly!" By now the pain on her own broken leg was almost unbearable; tears started to gush out of her eyes.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You should also lie down and not moving." He remembered his childhood in Yangzhou, when he had a fight with the little hoodlums and someone broke an arm or leg, the doctor would use splint to set the bone, and applied herbal medicine on it. Immediately he drew his dagger and cut two legs of a bench and clamped them on either side of her broken leg, and used a piece or cord to firmly tie them together. "Where can I find the medicine for her injury?" he mused.


    After pondering for a while, he had an idea; to Xiao Junzhu he said, "The two of you must lie down on the bed, do not make any noise whatsoever." Releasing the mosquito net, he blew out the candle and pulled the latch to go out.


    Xiao Junzhu was startled. "You ... where are you going?" she asked.


    "To find medicine for your leg," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Please hurry and come back soon," Xiao Junzhu said.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. Hearing the tone of Xiao Junzhu''s voice, which unexpectedly she regarded him as someone she could depend on, Wei Xiaobao could not help but feeling very proud of himself. He had already turned around to close the door when he thought something was not right; he pushed the door and went in again, bolted it from the inside, and then he jumped out the window and closed it behind him. In this way, other than Empress Dowager and the Emperor, no one in the Palace would dare to enter his room without permission.


    He only walked a dozen of steps when he felt a dull pain on the edge of his lower back; he thought, "That Old Whore Empress Dowager dealt me a vicious blow. If I continue living in the Palace, sooner or later laozi''s old life will be difficult to protect; I''d better slip away as soon as possible."


    He walked toward the torch light, which turned out to be several Imperial Bodyguards on patrol duty. As soon as they saw him, they rushed forward to greet him. Wei Xiaobao asked, "How many Imperial Bodyguard brothers in the Palace are injured?''


    "Reporting to Gong-gong," a man replied, "There are seven, eight men heavily injured, about fourteen, fifteen men lightly wounded."


    "Where do they have their injury treated?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Take me there to look."


    The Imperial Bodyguards all said, "Gong-gong is concerned over Imperial Bodyguards brothers, not a single one among us does not feel grateful." And thus two of the Imperial Bodyguards led the way, taking Wei Xiaobao to the building where the Imperial Bodyguards stay when they were not on patrol duty.


    Twenty something Imperial Bodyguards lay down in the hall, four imperial physicians were busy attending to their injuries.


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward to express his sympathy, continuously praised everybody, saying that in order to protect His Majesty, they all dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety, valiantly fought and kill the enemy. He also inquire the injured names one by one. Immediately the Imperial Bodyguards'' spirit was aroused, as if their wounds did not feel too painful anymore. Wei Xiaobao asked, "To which group do those rebel thieves belong to? Are they that servant Oboi''s follower?"


    An Imperial Bodyguard replied, "They seem to be Han people. But I don''t know if we manage to seize a living witness?"


    Wei Xiaobao inquired the details of the fighting between the Imperial Bodyguards and the assassins, while his eyes carefully watched the imperial physicians applying the medicine. Among the wounded Imperial Bodyguards, some received external cuts from sabers and spears, some received internal injury from fists and palms, some had their bones dislocated or broken. Wei Xiaobao said, "I''d better have some of those medicines by my side; if the Imperial Bodyguard brothers in the Palace are wounded while there''s not enough time to summon the imperial physicians, I can give everybody good treatment first. Humph, those assassins are extremely vicious and wicked with enormous guts; since we cannot catch everybody in one net today, it''s difficult to say that they won''t come back."


    Several Imperial Bodyguards said, "Gui Gong-gong shows great empathy to Imperial Bodyguard brothers, indeed it is a thorough thought."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A moment ago I was besieged by three assassins, I killed one, the other two fellows ran away. But my waist was also severely hit by the assassin''s palm, at this time it is still sore." While in his heart he said, "The Old Whore came to assassinate laozi, isn''t she an assassin? This time laozi did not lie."


    As soon as the four imperial physicians heard this, they left the Imperial Bodyguards immediately to attend to him. They untied his gown to examine him, and saw a large purplish black bruise on his lower back; busily they prepared the medicine for him, to be applied externally and taken orally.


    Wei Xiaobao asked the imperial physicians to wrap each kind of medicine into a large package, which he then tucked into his bosom, while also asking for directions on the usage of the medicine. He also took two pieces of splint to be applied to the injury. And then again he praised and expressed sympathy to everybody before leaving.


    His experience was limited, his words were a mess, and extremely inappropriate; during praising and expressing his sympathy, he used a lot of marketplace obscenities. Although the Imperial Bodyguards mostly came from imperial clan and noble families, but most of them were uncouth military people, who did not care much about ''his granny'' or ''eighteen-generation ancestor''. Since they were injured by the assassins, they came to the realization that their skill was still inferior to the intruders. When they saw that His Majesty''s favorite eunuch was also injured in the fight against the assassins, they were even more depressed. But then suddenly they received praises from Gui Gong-gong, which was equal to receiving His Majesty''s imperial decree commending their effort. Even if he rained curses on them, they would have accepted it gladly, much less praises scattered with random words? Their hearts were in full bloom, while wishing that the wound in their bodies was several cun longer.


    Returning to his own room, Wei Xiaobao inclined his head and listened attentively outside the window first; after making sure that the room was quiet, he said in a low voice, "Xiao Junzhu, it''s me, I''m back." He was afraid that if he rashly climbed over the window, the woman would chop him with a saber or stab him with a sword, then he may have to use the several packages of medicine in his pocket first.


    Xiao Junzhu happily said, "Um, I have been waiting for you for a long time." Wei Xiaobao crawled into the room, closed the window, lighted the candle, and raised the mosquito net. He saw the two maidens were lying side by side on the bed. When the woman''s gaze met with his, she closed her eyes immediately. But Xiao Junzhu was looking at him with her bright and clear eyes, her gaze revealed gratitude.


    "Xiao Junzhu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me apply to medicine on you."


    "No," Xiao Junzhu replied, "Treat my Shijie first. Please give the medicine to me, I will apply it on her."


    "What do you mean ''you'' and ''I''?" Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s not how we call each other."


    Xiao Junzhu laughed vaguely, "What''s your real name?" she asked, "I heard they call you Gui Gong-gong."


    "They call me Gui Gong-gong, but what should you call me?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Xiao Junzhu closed her eyes slightly and said in a low voice, "In my heart ... in my heart I call you Good ... Good Gege, but if I keep calling you that with my mouth, this can''t be ... can''t be ... good."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s make a rule; when there are people around, I call you Xiao Junzhu, you call me Gui Dage. When nobody''s around, I call you ''Good Meizi'', you call me ''Good Gege''."


    Before Xiao Junzhu replied, the woman opened her eyes and said, "Xiao Junzhu, that''s so sickeningly disgusting, he is taking advantage of you, don''t listen to him."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "Nobody asked you to call me, why do you have to meddle into other people''s business? You want to call me Good Gege, I don''t want to hear it."


    "What do you want her to call you, then?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    "I only want her to call me ''Good Husband'', ''Dear Husband''," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The woman blushed, a look of disdain appeared on her face; she said, "You want to be someone''s husband? You need to be reincarnated."


    "Alright, alright," Xiao Junzhu said, "You two are not nemesis from the previous incarnation, why do you bicker as soon as you meet? Gui Dage, please give me the medicine."


    "I''ll apply the medicine on you first," Wei Xiaobao said. Lifting up the quilt, he rolled Xiao Junzhu''s pants up and disassembled the bench legs he used as splint earlier, and then he spread the medicine on the broken calf bone before tying it firmly with the new splint. Xiao Junzhu expressed her gratitude repeatedly, she sounded very sincere.


    "What is my wife''s name?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Xiao Junzhu was startled. "Your wife?" she asked. Seeing Wei Xiaobao pouted toward the woman, she smiled and said, "You love to crack jokes; my Shijie is surnamed Fang, her given name ..."


    "Don''t tell him!" the woman anxiously said.


    Hearing that her surname was Fang, Wei Xiaobao immediately recalled the Mu Palace''s Four Great Generals, Liu Bai Fang Su; thereupon he said, "Her surname is Fang, of course I know. That ''Divine Physician Hermit'' Su Gang and the ''Twin Tree of the Bai Clan'' Bai Hansong and Bai Hanfeng are all my relatives."


    Hearing him mentioning the names of Su Gang and the Bai Brothers, both Xiao Junzhu and the woman was greatly amazed. "How ... how are they related to you?" Xiao Junzhu asked.


    "Liu Bai Fang Su, four great generals," Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally we are related."


    Xiao Junzhu was even more surprised, "It''s really hard to believe," she said.


    "Xiao Junzhu," the woman said, "Don''t believe his nonsense. This boy is very bad, he is not my relative. Having a relative like him will only bring bad luck."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily; he gave the medicine to Xiao Junzhu, and then leaned close to her ears and whispered, "Good Meizi, whisper her name to me."


    However, the two young girls were lying next to each other, although Wei Xiaobao was whispering, the woman heard it clearly. "Don''t tell him," she said anxiously.


    The woman was unable to move, she was very angry to be sniffed by this mischievous kid''s nostrils; fortunately he was a young boy, and listening to the Imperial Bodyguards a moment ago, she knew that he was a court eunuch, so he must be only fooling around by saying those naughty things, he would not possibly molest her for real, so there was no real reason for her to be frightened. However, seeing him pursing his lips to really kiss her, she busily said, "Alright, alright, tell my name to this little demon!"


    Xiao Junzhu laughed, and then said, "My Shijie is surnamed Fang, her given name is a single character, ''Yi'' [harmony/joy], the ''yi'' (�� ) character with ''xin'' ( �� ) radical on the left and ''tai'' (̨ ) on the right."


    Wei Xiaobao simply did not know how to write the character ''yi'', he just nodded his head and said, "Um, this name is not so bad, but cannot be considered very good either. Xiao Junzhu, what is your name?"


    "I am called Mu Jianping [or Mu Jianbing]," Xiao Junzhu replied, "Ping from ''ping feng'' (standing screen) and not from ''fu ping'' (duckweed)."


    Wei Xiaobao did not know the difference between those two ''ping'' characters; he said, "This name is comparatively better, but still not a first-class name."


    "Your name must be first class," Fang Yi said, "I wonder how good is your respected surname and great given name?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, he mused, "I can''t tell them my real name, while there is nothing special about the name Xiao Guizi." Thereupon he said, "My surname is Wu [I/my (old)], since I am an eunuch in the Palace, everybody call me Wu Laogong[4]."


    Fang Yi sneered and said, "Wu Laogong, Wu Laogong, this name is actually very ��" Speaking to this point, she suddenly realized that she had fallen into his trick. "Pei!" she spat, "Talk nonsense!"


    Xiao Junzhu Mu Jianping said, "You lie again, I heard they called you Gui Gong-gong, you are not surnamed Wu."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Men call me Gui Gong-gong, women call me Wu Laogong."


    Fang Yi said, "I know your real name."


    Wei Xiaobao was slightly startled. "How do you know?" he asked.


    "I know your surname is Hu ( �� )," Fang Yi said, "And your given name is Shuo ( ˵ ) character written eight different ways ( �˵� )[5]."


    Wei Xiaobao burst out in laughter; hearing Fang Yi, his breathing was back to normal. He said, "Good Meizi, apply the medicine on her, don''t let her die of pain. I, Wu Laogong, only have one wife, if this wife died, the second wife cannot live up to the first."


    Mu Jianping said, "Shijie said you talk rubbish (see footnote 5), sure enough, she is right." Releasing the mosquito net, she raised the quilt to apply medicine on Fang Yi. "Gui Dage," she asked, "What should I do with the blood-stopping medicine you applied earlier?"


    "Has the blood stopped flowing?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "It has," Mu Jianping replied. Actually, honey is very effective to stop bleeding, it has high viscosity, and will adhere well to the wound, hence unexpectedly her bleeding stopped. As for the lotus seed paste, bean paste and the other ingredients, although they were not medicine, but when applied to the wound, they could also stop the bleeding.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he said, "The effectiveness of my miracle medicine surpasses Bodhisattva''s magic potion, do you believe it now? With those many pearls in it, when applied to her chest, after the wound is healed, her breast will be exceedingly good-looking, will have the ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' appearance. Too bad only my son will be able to see it."


    "Pfft," Mu Jianping stifled her laugh. "Your talk is really amusing," she said, "Why is it only your son can ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When she nurses my son, naturally my son will be able to see."


    "Pei!" Fang Yi spat. Mu Jianping just stared with her big round eyes; she did not understand why her Shijie would nurse his son.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Gently wipe the blood stopping miracle medicine clean, then apply the cut wound medicine."


    "Yes," Mu Jianping complied.


    Right this moment, suddenly they heard someone outside the door calling out with a loud and clear voice, "Gui Gong-gong, are you asleep?"


    "I am," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Who is it? Whatever it is, let''s talk about it tomorrow!"


    The man outside said, "Subordinate Officer Rui Dong."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked, "Ah!" he exclaimed, "It''s Deputy Chief Rui, I wonder �� I wonder what''s the matter?"


    Rui Dong was the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards. When he was chatting with the Imperial Bodyguards, he learned that everybody admired this Deputy Chief Rui''s profound martial art skill, which was second only to Dolong, the Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards; he was an extraordinary character among the Imperial Bodyguards. For the last few years he was frequently outside the Palace on official business, so Wei Xiaobao had never seen him.


    Rui Dong said, "Subordinate Officer has an urgent business I need to discuss with Gui Gong-gong. My apology for disturbing Gui Gong-gong''s peaceful slumber."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "What is he up to, coming here in the middle of the night? I''m sure he knew I am concealing an assassin in my room, so he came to search; what should I do? If I don''t open the door, he may break it down. These two young girls are injured, it''s too late to run away now. I will have to act according to the circumstance, I''ll trick him to go away."


    Rui Dong continued, "This matter is of great responsibility, otherwise I would not dare to disturb Gong-gong''s dream."


    "Alright, I''ll open the door," Wei Xiaobao said. Turning toward the bed, he said in a low voice, "You must not make any noise." He walked to the outer room, closed the door behind him, and braced himself to open the front door. He saw a tall and powerfully built man standing outside the door, the top of his own head was still shorter than the back of the man''s neck.


    Rui Dong cupped his fist and said, "Gong-gong, please forgive my disturbance."


    "You are too kind! You are too kind!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He looked up to examine Rui Dong''s countenance, but saw neither smiling expression nor angry look, so he really could not read his intention. "What is the urgent matter, Deputy Chief Rui?" he asked; but he did not invite Rui Dong in.


    "Just now I received the Empress Dowager''s imperial order," Rui Dong replied, "She said that assassins were breaking into the Palace tonight, committing treason and heresy. She ordered me to inquire clearly from Gui Gong-gong."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard ''Empress Dowager''s imperial order'', four words, he knew the turn of events was not too encouraging. "That''s right!" he said, "I was just about to inquire clearly from you. A moment ago I paid my respect to His Majesty, His Majesty said, ''This servant Rui Dong is very brazen, as soon as he returned to the Palace, humph, humph ��''"


    Rui Dong was greatly shocked. "What else did His Majesty say?" he asked.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao was talking nonsense to him to stall for time, while he thought about a way to escape. Seeing those few words had enticed him to take the bait, he said, "His Majesty instructed me to conduct investigation among the Imperial Bodyguards as soon as it is daybreak. He wanted to know who has prompted this servant Rui Dong to lure the assassins to enter the Palace? What is the plot behind it? Who else is involved in this conspiracy?"


    Rui Dong was even more shocked; with a trembling voice he said, "His �� His Majesty said �� said that I lured the assassins to enter the Palace? Which crafty villain has told His Majesty that nonsense? This �� isn''t this an enormous injustice?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty instructed me to do the investigation quietly, he said, ''If that servant Rui Dong heard the rumor, he is bound to come and kill you; you must be very careful.'' I said, ''His Majesty, please be rest assured, even if that servant Rui Dong has courage as big as the sky, he will not dare to commit murder inside the Palace.'' His Majesty said, ''Humph, that is not necessarily true. If this servant unexpectedly dared to lure the assassins into the Palace to harm me, what other business he did not dare to do?''"


    Rui Dong anxiously said, "You �� you talk nonsense! I did not lure the assassins to enter the Palace, His Majesty �� His Majesty will not recklessly accuse a good man. Tonight I have personally killed three assassins; a lot of Imperial Bodyguards brothers witnessed it. His Majesty can summon them to be questioned." While speaking, the blue veins on his forehead suddenly appeared, his hands were clenched into fists.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I must scare him out of his wits first, so that he will be at a loss of what to do, then come daybreak, Laozi will flee from the Palace. But what should I do with that Xiao Junzhu and Fang Yi? Humph, like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, laozi can''t guarantee my own safety; if I can escape alive, then we''ll talk. I don''t care if she is Xiao Junzhu or Lao Junzhu, Fang Yi or Yuan Yi[6]. Laozi won''t become fake eunuch anymore, won''t become the Xiangzhu of the Green Wood Hall. I am taking that four hundred fifty thousand taels back to Yangzhou, to open Lovely Summer Courtyard, Lovely Autumn Courtyard and Lovely Winter Courtyard." He said, "So it wasn''t you who lured the assassins into the Palace?"


    "Of course not," Rui Dong said, "The Empress Dowager said that it was you who led them into the Palace. Empress Dowager ordered me not to listen to your graceful words, flowery speech, to execute you with a palm strike."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am afraid the two of us have been framed by some crafty villains. Deputy Chief Rui, don''t you worry, I am going to explain everything to His Majesty. As long as you really did not lure the assassin, although His Majesty is young, he is very wise, plus he trusts me completely, so this matter can be brought to light."


    "Alright," Rui Dong said, "Thank you very much! Now come with me to see the Empress Dowager."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In the dead of the night, why would I see the Empress Dowager? It will be better to see His Majesty as soon as possible. I am afraid people are coming to arrest you on imperial orders by now. Deputy Chief Rui, let me tell you this: when the Imperial Bodyguards come to arrest you, you must not resist at all; if you do, it won''t be easy to wash away the criminal charge against you."


    The muscle on Rui Dong''s face trembled continuously; he angrily said, "Empress Dowager said that you like talking nonsense the most, and she was right. I did not commit any crime, why would I want to resist arrest? Come with me to see the Empress Dowager!"


    Wei Xiaobao leaned over and said in a low voice, "Look, those who want to arrest you are coming!" Rui Dong''s countenance changed; he turned his head around to look. Wei Xiaobao turned around and bolted into the room.


    When Rui Dong saw there was nobody behind him, he knew he was being swindled. Quickly he ran after him into the room; he leaped and stretched out his hand to grab Wei Xiaobao''s back.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao''s threat had frightened Rui Dong very much. If Wei Xiaobao insisted on seeing the Emperor, most likely Rui Dong would not dare to stop him with force. However, Wei Xiaobao had hidden two women in his room, one of them was definitely an assassin who entered the Palace to create trouble. Since the plot had already fallen through and stood exposed, plus the Empress Dowager had personally come to take his life, how could he dare to explain everything to the Emperor? As soon as Rui Dong fell into his trick by turning his head, Wei Xiaobao dashed into the room, hoping that he could escape via the window. He was thinking that the imperial garden was full of fake rocks and flowering shrubs, hiding in the dark of the night, perhaps he would not be too easy to be found. Unexpectedly Rui Dong was very quick; Wei Xiaobao had just reached the door, Rui Dong had caught up with him.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao was inside the room, he jumped toward the window sill, and was about to jump out, Rui Dong sent out a palm strike toward Wei Xiaobao''s back with a strong gust of wind. Wei Xiaobao''s legs buckled and turned soft, and he fell down. Rui Dong reached out with his left hand to grab Wei Xiaobao''s waist. Wei Xiaobao unleashed the full potential of qinna technique he knew, parrying Rui Dong''s hand with both hands; but he was small, and his strength was feeble, his body swayed and ''splash!'' he fell into a large water tub. The water tub was originally used by Hai Laogong to treat his injury. After Hai Laogong''s death, Wei Xiaobao had not ordered his men to take it out.


    Rui Dong laughed aloud and reached down into the tub, but he only grabbed empty space, because Wei Xiaobao had quickly curled his body up. Yet because the water tub was not too big, by the next grab Rui Dong managed to seize the back of Wei Xiaobao''s collar, and raised him up, still dripping wet.


    Wei Xiaobao opened his mouth and spurted water into Rui Dong''s eyes, while throwing himself forward to embrace Rui Dong''s chest, and snaked his left arm behind Rui Dong''s neck. Rui Dong let out a loud shout and shook his body several times, his hand holding the back of Wei Xiaobao''s collar gradually loosened. His face was full of water, but his eyes were open very wide, with a mixture of startled, frightened, and perplexed expression on his face. His throat made a gurgling noise, as if he wanted to speak but could not speak. There was a light stabbing noise, the tip of a dagger appeared on his chest and sliced down to his lower abdomen, cutting up a long gash along his torso.


    With eyes wide open Rui Dong looked at the dagger, he did not know where the dagger had come from. From his chest down to his abdomen blood was gushing out wildly, suddenly he fell backward. Until his death he still did not know how Wei Xiaobao had killed him.


    "Hey!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed; he pulled the dagger with his left hand, while bringing out his right hand from his own long gown. What happened was that when he fell into the water tub, while curling up his body, he extracted the dagger and hid it inside his long gown facing outward. He spurted the water onto Rui Dong''s face that he could not open his eyes, and then Wei Xiaobao threw himself forward. As he embraced Rui Dong, the sharp dagger that can cut iron like slicing mud pierced Rui Dong''s chest. If they were in a real fight, ten Wei Xiaobaos were not Rui Dong''s match, but in the flurry of hasty and strange turn of events, this awe-inspiring, illustrious Deputy Chief Rui had fallen into Wei Xiaobao''s plot.


    How Wei Xiaobao and Rui Dong, two people, dashed into the room, how Wei Xiaobao fell into the water tub, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were able to see everything clearly from behind the mosquito net; but as Rui Dong grabbed Wei Xiaobao out of the tub and was killed immediately, Fang and Mu, two women were unable to make head or tail of what trick Wei Xiaobao had used.


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to toot his own horn, he said, "I �� I �� this �� this ��" only to head his own voice sounded hoarse, unexpectedly he was unable to speak, but his narrow escape from the death just now had scared him out of his wits.


    "Thank Heaven and thank the Earth," Mu Jianping said, "Unexpectedly you �� have killed this Tatar."


    "This Rui Dong''s nickname is ''Unequalled Iron Palm''," Fang Yi said, "Tonight he had killed three or our Mu Palace''s brothers. You have avenged us, very good, very good!"


    Wei Xiaobao calmed down and said, "He was the ''Unequalled Iron Palm'', but he could not match me, Wei �� Gui Gong-gong, Wu Laogong. I am a first-class martial art expert, naturally it''s not the same." Stretching out his hand, he groped Rui Dong''s pocket, and took out a booklet full of small characters, and several other documents.


    He thought, "A moment ago the Empress Dowager personally came to kill me, she must be afraid I would find her secret and reveal it out. Afterwards she also sent this Rui Dong to kill me, on a random accusation that I led the assassins into the Palace. She has been waiting for a while now, if she did not see Rui Dong return, she would send another man over. I might as well strike first and gain the upper hand by immediately going to His Majesty to lodge a complaint. Come daybreak, laozi will flee the Palace and won''t comeback."


    He said to Fang Yi, "I must go out and start a rumor that this Rui Dong has colluded with your Mu Palace people. Good wi �� good wi �� Miss Fang (he was going to call her ''good wife'', but realizing the urgency of the situation, he knew he must not fool around and thus fail the important matter, therefore, he corrected himself by calling her ''Miss Fang''), what was your real intention in entering the Palace tonight? Did you intend to assassinate the Emperor? I urge you not to assassinate the young emperor; that old wh0re the Empress Dowager is not a good thing, it would be much better if you assassinate her."


    "Since you are one of us, it''s not a big deal to tell you the truth," Fang Yi said, "We disguised ourselves as the subordinated of Wu Yingxiong, Wu Sangui''s son, coming to the Palace to assassinate the Tatar Emperor. If everything went well, of course it would be great, but if not, we hope in his anger the Emperor would kill Wu Sangui."


    "Phew!" Wei Xiaobao let out a breath and said, "Brilliant scheme! Brilliant scheme! But how are you going to implicate Wu Sangui?"


    Fang Yi said, "On our undergarments we deliberately leave some marking, the seal of troops under Ping Xi Wang''s command, also our weapons and secret projectiles are engraved with Ping Xi Wang''s Palace inscription. We have several old weapons bearing the inscription ''Regional Commander Office of Shanhai Pass[7] of The Great Ming''."


    "What for?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Fang Yi explained, "Before that servant Wu Sangui surrendered to the Tatars, he was the Regional Commander of our Great Ming''s Shanhai Pass."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "This scheme is very formidable," he said.


    Fang Yi continued, "We entered the Palace this time, in all likelihood there would be people die for our country, in that case the marking on their clothes will be discovered by the Tatars. Supposing that we were caught, at first we won''t confess, then after the Tatars beat us until we are hovering between life and death, only then will we confess that we have received Ping Xi Wang''s order to come and assassinate the Emperor. As soon as we entered the Palace, we abandoned engraved weapons everywhere, so that if by chance we all are lucky enough to retreat completely, we have already left some incriminating evidence." She was talking with excitement, her breathing gradually quickened, a blush appeared on her cheeks.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "So you came to the Palace not to rescue Xiao Junzhu at all?"


    "Of course not," Fang Yi replied, "We are not immortals, how could we know Xiao Junzhu was unexpectedly in the Palace?"


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Do you have any engraved weapon with you?" he asked.


    "I do!" Fang Yi replied. From the quilt she produced a sword, but her arm was lacking strength that she was unable to raise the sword up.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Luckily I did not sleep by your side, otherwise you would have killed me with the sword." Fang Yi blushed, she glowered at him.


    Wei Xiaobao took the sword and concealed it in Rui Dong''s dead body''s waist. "I am going to lodge a complaint that this Rui Dong was in cahoots with the assassins; isn''t it enough evidence?" he said.


    Fang Yi shook her head and said, "Look at the sword, what characters are engraved there?"


    Wei Xiaobao asked her back, "What characters are engraved there?" In any case, even if he looked at the engraving he would not recognize any character, so he would rather not look.


    Fang Yi said, "Those are the eight characters ''Regional Commander Office of Shanhai Pass of The Great Ming''; this Rui Dong was a Manchu, he could not be an officer under the Regional Commander of Shanhai Pass of The Great Ming."


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao retrieved the sword and put it back on the bed, saying, "What kind of booty should I hide on his body then?" And then he got an idea, "Got it!" he said. He took the two strings of pearls he received as gift from Wu Yingxiong earlier, and the pair of emerald chicken, and also the bundle of gold banknotes, and stuffed everything into Rui Dong''s pocket. He knew the gold banknotes were issued by a Beijing bank, Wu Yingxiong must have sent his men to buy them. They only need to investigate the bank, and then the origin of the banknotes would be found out. This way of framing somebody was truly flawless; he said in his heart, "Heir Apparent Wu, oh Heir Apparent Wu, it''s very important for laozi to save my own life, I have no choice but to offend you."


    Picking up Rui Dong''s body, he was thinking of moving the body into the garden outside, but he only took a single step when suddenly he heard footsteps outside the room. He lay the body back down gently, and heard someone called, "His Majesty''s order: Xiao Guizi to wait upon His Majesty immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he thought, "I was worried that I could not see His Majesty tonight, and then everything will go wrong again. Presently His Majesty is summoning me, nothing''s better than that. I can''t move Rui Dong''s body now." He replied, "Yes, let your servant change clothes, and then I''ll go immediately."


    He gently shoved Rui Dong''s body underneath the bed, and then made some hand signals to Xiao Junzhu and Fang Yi, telling them to stay under the quilt and not make any movement. Then he hurriedly took off his wet clothes and changed into another set of clothing. Although the black silk padded vest was also wet, he did not remove it.

 Chapter - 12 (12)

    At the Upper Study Room Kangxi asked about the assassins'' martial art style. Wei Xiaobao had a brainwave, his hands and feet drew a living picture, he demonstrated two moves. Kangxi recognized the Mu Family''s martial art style, one was ''Sweeping Away a Thousand Army'', the other was ''High mountain flowing water''; he was very happy.


    Wei Xiaobao went out the front door and saw four eunuchs standing outside, but he did not recognize a single one.


    The leader said, "Gui Gong-gong, very late at night His Majesty wanted to see you, tsk tsk tsk, the way His Majesty is treating you needs not be mentioned. Where is Deputy Chief Rui? His Majesty also sends for him, so he can have audience together with Gui Gong-gong."


    Wei Xiaobao shivered inwardly, he said, "Has Deputy Chief Rui returned to the Palace? I have never seen him."


    "Is that so?" the eunuch said, "Let us go first then." Finished speaking, he turned around and walked off.


    Wei Xiaobao was inwardly bewildered, "Why did he ask me about Deputy Chief Rui? How did His Majesty know that Deputy Chief Rui came to see me?" He also thought, "I am a Vice Manager eunuch, my rank is a lot higher than yours, how can you walk in front of me? You are not a young eunuch, could it be that you don''t understand the Palace''s custom?" He asked, "Gong-gong, what''s your honorable surname? We haven''t seen each other often in the past."


    The eunuch replied, "I am only a low-level eunuch having no fixed duties, naturally Gui Gong-gong does not remember me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty is sending Gong-gong to summon me, that''s not the job of a low-level eunuch having no fixed duties." While talking, he noticed that the eunuch was turning westward, while the Emperor''s personal palace was on the northeast side. "Are you lost?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "No," the eunuch replied, "His Majesty is paying his respect to the Empress Dowager. With the disturbance of the assassins just now, he was afraid it startled the Compassionate One. We are going to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard that they were going to see the Empress Dowager, he was shocked and instantly halted his steps. From the three eunuchs walking behind him, two suddenly moved to the side and stood to the left and right of him, so that the four people surrounded him in the middle.


    Wei Xiaobao was even more alarmed; he cried inwardly, "Bad, bad! It''s not His Majesty who sent for me, clearly it is the Empress Dowager who wants to get me." Although he did not know whether these four people knew martial art or not, with one against four he would not be able to achieve a short victory, as soon as the fight started, the Imperial Bodyguards would hear and would rush in, how could he escape? His heart was thumping madly, but with a chuckle he said, "So we are going to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful? That''s great! Each time the Empress Dowager sees me, she always bestows me, if not money, then candy, cakes and pastries. The Empress Dowager treats her servants very well. She said I am a gluttonous little child, she always bestows me a lot of things to eat." While speaking, he started walking again toward the winding corridor leading to the Empress Dowager''s personal palace. Seeing him heading toward the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful just like he said, the four eunuchs resumed their former position of one in front and three behind.


    "Last time I saw the Empress Dowager, my luck was really good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager said that by arresting Oboi, my meritorious service was not small, so she bestowed me five thousand taels of gold and twenty thousand taels of silver. My strength is indeed too small, how could I move them all? Empress Dowager said: ''If you can''t move them all, move them slowly. Xiao Guizi, what are you going to do with your money?'' I said, ''Reporting to Empress Dowager: your servant loves to make friends the most, now that I have gold and silver in my possession, whichever eunuch comes to your servant, your servant will simply give them some. Let everybody become rich and spend the money together!''" His mouth was blabbering nonsense, his brain was racing with thoughts of escape plan.


    One of the eunuchs behind him said, "How could she bestow you that much?"


    "Ha, you don''t believe me?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Look at me." From his pocket he fished a large bundle of banknotes; some were five-hundred tael denominations, some were a thousand tael denominations, and some were two-thousand tael denominations.


    Under the lantern light, the banknotes looked genuine. The four eunuchs were breathless, they all halted their steps.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled four banknotes, and said with a laugh, "His Majesty and Empress Dowager unceasingly bestow me with money, how can I spend everything by myself? Here I have four banknotes, two-thousand taels and one-thousand taels worth, four brothers may try your luck, each of you draw out one banknote."


    Four eunuchs did not believe him, where in the world would there be anybody who handed several thousand taels of money casually like that? Nobody reached out to draw.


    "I have too much money with me," Wei Xiaobao said, "And I have nowhere to spend it, sometimes I am not too happy. Right now I am going to see Empress Dowager and His Majesty, I don''t know how much more money they are going to bestow me." While saying that, he held the banknotes high above his head that the banknotes fluttered in the wind, while with the corner of his eyes he looked around at the surrounding terrain.


    One of the eunuchs laughed and said, "Gui Gong-gong, are you really going to give the banknotes to us? You are not joking, are you?"


    "Why would I joke?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Which brother in our Catering Department has never received a thousand or eight hundred taels from me? Come, come, come, try your luck. Which brother will draw first?"


    Giggling, the eunuch said, "I''ll draw first."


    "Wait a moment," Wei Xiaobao said, "All of you, look clearly." He held the four banknotes under the lantern light. The four eunuchs looked distinctly, the banknotes were really of one-thousand tael and two-thousand tael denominations, they could not restrain their faces from changing. Eunuchs cannot take wife and raise a family, they cannot serve in the army or take official post; therefore, they are twice more fond of gold, silver and other belongings than ordinary people. Although these four men had been serving in the Palace for a long time, they had never seen a one-thousand tael or two-thousand tael banknotes.


    Wei Xiaobao raised his hand and let the banknotes fluttered in the wind, he laughed and said, "Alright, this Dage can draw first!"


    The eunuch reached out, but before his finger touched the banknotes, Wei Xiaobao let go, four banknotes were blown by the wind, lightly fluttered in the air, and flew toward the cluster of flowers. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "Why didn''t you grab firmly? Hurry, hurry, whoever grabs the banknote, it will belong to him." The four eunuchs leaped to run after the banknotes.


    "Grab it quick! Don''t let it fly away!" Wei Xiaobao called out. He ducked down and quickly slipped into an opening between the fake rocks, which he had already picked beforehand. He knew that the fake rocks in this area of the imperial garden were extremely numerous, with series of winding caves. Once he entered in, he would not be easy to find in a short time.


    The four eunuchs ran after the banknotes, two picked one banknote each, one caught two banknotes, but one was left empty-handed. These two immediately broke into an argument. One eunuch said, "Gui Gong-gong says that whoever grabs the banknote, it will belong to him, so these two banknotes are mine."


    The other one said, "We have agreed on one banknote per person, quickly give my share of one banknote to me. I''ll be happy to take the one-thousand taels note."


    "What one-thousand taels note?" the other eunuch said, "It''s easy for you to say. You won''t get even one tael."


    The one who did not get any banknotes grabbed him by the chest, saying, "Are you or are you not going to give it to me? We''ll ask Gui Gong-gong to be the judge." But when he turned around, Wei Xiaobao had already disappeared. The four eunuchs were shocked; they cried out together and looked for him everywhere. The one who did not get any banknote was unwilling to give up; he grabbed the one who had two banknotes by the front of his jacket and demanded him to give his share.


    Wei Xiaobao had already a dozen of zhang away inside the cave, hearing the two people shouting and arguing, he was secretly amused; he thought, "I am going to hide until daybreak, then I''ll slip out of the Palace from the side door, and never to come back."


    He heard one of the eunuchs said, "Empress Dowager has ordered us that whatever happens we must summon Gui Gong-gong and Deputy Chief Rui immediately. He �� he �� where can he hide?"


    Another eunuch said, "He is in the Palace, he can''t hide too far. Only, we must not say anything about him giving us banknotes. Hao Xiongdi, you''d better give one of your two banknotes to Xiao Lao, otherwise he might reveal it, then we all cannot get the riches, that will be really bad."


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao heard footsteps, there were people coming from the west. One of them said, "With the disturbance of the assassins in the Palace tonight, I am afraid everybody will receive disciplinary action tomorrow." As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this, he knew they were Palace Imperial Bodyguards.


    Another man said, "I hope Gui Gong-gong will speak several words of praise in front of His Majesty."


    Yet another man commented, "Although Gui Gong-gong is young, he really treasures friendship with other people; someone like him is truly rare."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he slipped out of the cave and said in a low voice, "Brothers, please be quiet."


    The two leading Imperial Bodyguards raised their lanterns. "Gui Gong-gong," they called softly.


    Wei Xiaobao saw there were about fifteen, sixteen Imperial Bodyguards, they were precisely the group of men who came to his window a moment ago. He remembered some of their names. "Zhang Dage, Zhao Dage," he said, "The four eunuchs over there are colluding with the assassins, quickly arrest them, your meritorious service won''t be small." He then proceeded by calling several other names, "He Dage, E Dage, please seal those four people''s mute acupoints first, or strike their chin first, don''t let them shout loudly and thus disturbing His Majesty."


    Hearing it was only four eunuchs, the Imperial Bodyguards thought nothing of it; they made hand signal and blew out the lanterns. Crouching down low, they slowly crept forward. Out of the four eunuchs, two were busy looking for Wei Xiaobao in the caves, while the other two were still bickering over the banknotes, nobody paid any attention to their surroundings. The Imperial Bodyguards closed in from all directions; with a low whistle everybody come out, three, four men rounded up one eunuch, very soon the four eunuchs were pinned to the ground. These Imperial Bodyguards did not have high level of martial art skill, nobody knew how to seal acupoints; some of them used qin na technique, some used their palms and fists, they all struck and dislodged the four eunuchs'' chins. The eunuchs tried to open their mouths, but were unable to make any noise. Not knowing what had happened, they were extremely frightened.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed toward a building off to the side. "Drag them in and interrogate!" he shouted. The Imperial Bodyguards dragged the eunuchs on the ground toward the front hall of the building. Somebody lighted the lantern and raised it high. Wei Xiaobao sat in the middle of the hall, the Imperial Bodyguards dragged the eunuchs and made them kneel down in front of him.


    These four eunuchs had received the Empress Dowager''s order to arrest Wei Xiaobao, how could they be willing to kneel down in front of him? The Imperial Bodyguards punched and kicked and made them kneel.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now the four of you were sneaky, what were you fighting about? Saying one-thousand taels is yours, two-thousand taels is mine? You also said something about the luck of the friends from the outside was not good, that a lot of them were killed by the dogs Imperial Bodyguards. Who are these ''friends from the outside''? Why did you call Imperial Bodyguards the ''dogs Imperial Bodyguards''?"


    The Imperial Bodyguards were angry, they kicked these four people''s backs. In their belly the four eunuchs cried out, ''Injustice!'' but how could they utter anything?


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "I was following behind you, I heard one of you said, ''It was me who lead the way, those two banknotes were given to me, how can I share it with you?''" While saying that, he pointed to the eunuch who caught two banknotes, and then he pointed to the eunuch who did not get anything and said, "You said, ''We all did this important matter together, beheading or confiscation of property, the criminal charge is the same, why can''t you share it with me? That won''t do, you must share.''" And then he pointed to another eunuch and said, "You said, ''Hao Xiongdi, you''d better give one of your two banknotes to Xiao Lao, otherwise he might reveal it, then we all cannot get the riches, that will be really bad.'' You did say that, didn''t you? What important matter did you do together? Why is there any criminal charge of beheading or confiscation of property? What banknotes have to be shared?"


    The Imperial Bodyguards said, "They guided the assassins into the Palace, naturally the criminal charge is either beheading or confiscation of property. As for the banknotes to be shared, let''s just search their bodies." As soon as they searched, immediately those four banknotes were found. Seeing such a huge amount of money on the banknotes, the Imperial Bodyguards were shouting and yelling. One ordinary eunuch''s monthly salary was only four to six taels of silver; suddenly each of them had a huge sum of money in their possession, how could the accusation be false?


    The Imperial Bodyguard by the surname Zhao asked the eunuch who had two banknotes, "Are you surnamed Hao?" The eunuch nodded. The Imperial Bodyguard surnamed Zhao also asked the eunuch who did not have any banknote, "And you are surnamed Lao?" The eunuch''s countenance turned ghastly pale, but he also nodded.


    Another Imperial Bodyguard said, "Alright, the assassins gave you this much money, and you led them in. You call them ''friends from the outside'' and call us ''dogs Imperial Bodyguards''. Your granny!" He lifted his foot and kicked as hard as he could, the eunuch surnamed Hao''s eyes were bulging, while his mouth repeatedly made a ''heh, heh'' noise.


    "Don''t be rude and hasty," the Imperial Bodyguard surnamed Zhao said, "We must interrogate well." Stooping down, he reached onto the eunuch surnamed Lao''s jaw and fixed his chin.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted, "What you did was a big thing, who actually prompted you? How dare you! Quickly confess!"


    "Injustice! Injustice!" the eunuch cried out, "It was the Empress Dowager who ordered us ��"


    Wei Xiaobao leaped forward and closed his mouth; "Nonsense!" he shouted, "You dare to say such thing? If you talk too much, I''ll kill you immediately." With his right hand he drew the dagger, turning over the hilt, he knocked the crown of the eunuch''s head twice so that he fainted. Turning his head toward the Imperial Bodyguards, Wei Xiaobao said, "He said they received the order from the Empress Dowager. This �� this �� we are facing an imminent catastrophe."


    The Imperial Bodyguards'' countenances immediately changed, they said, "The Empress Dowager ordered them to let the assassins entering the Palace?" They all knew that the Emperor was not the Empress Dowager''s son, the Empress Dowager was always astute and firm, could it be that the Emperor had offended the Empress Dowager, and thus ... and thus


    there was a constant strife within the Palace gates? It was such a dreadful intrigue, and unexpectedly they were now being implicated, which was really a matter of life and death.


    Wei Xiaobao asked another eunuch, "Was it really the Empress Dowager who sent you to do this thing? This a matter of great responsibility, you must not talk nonsense. Was it really the Empress Dowager?" The eunuch was unable to speak, he could only nod his head repeatedly.


    "These several banknotes," Wei Xiaobao asked again, "Did the Empress Dowager give you?" Three eunuchs shook their heads together. "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You only received order, it was not your own idea at all, was it?" The three eunuchs repeatedly nodded their heads. "Do you want to live, or do you want to die?" Wei Xiaobao asked. This question was not easy to answer by simply nodding their heads. Of the three eunuchs, one nodded his head, one shook his head, another one nodded first, then shook his head, but thinking it was not the right answer, he nodded his head vigorously again.


    "So you want to die?" Wei Xiaobao asked. The three men shook their heads. "So you want to live?" Wei Xiaobao asked again. The three men quickly nodded their heads.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled away the two Imperial Bodyguard leaders, they walked outside the room. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Zhang Dage, Zhao Dage, I am afraid our livelihood has just been taken away."


    The one surnamed Zhang was Zhang Kangnian, the one surnamed Zhao was Zhao Qixian, they were both Han people, and both were already scared out their wits. "What ... what should we do?" they both asked.


    "I don''t have the slightest idea," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Zhang Dage, Zhao Dage, do you have any idea?"


    Zhang Kangnian said, "If this matter is known, I don''t know how big the uproar it will create, it would be best if we can cover it up."


    "That''s right," Zhao Qixian said, "It would be better if we can just let these four eunuchs go, and everybody simply pretend it never happened."


    Zhang Kangnian said, "But I am afraid the human did not harm the tiger, the tiger has the intention to harm the human."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is indeed fabulous if we can let them go, but we must tell them not to report anything to the Empress Dowager. Otherwise, in her anger the Empress Dowager would kill people to close their mouths; these four eunuchs would not live, but most likely the seventeen of us here would also turn into thirty four pieces."


    Zhang and Zhao, two people shivered. Zhang Kangnian raised his right palm and made a hacking motion. Wei Xiaobao looked at Zhao Qixian. Zhao Qixian nodded, he asked, "What about those four banknotes?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You may divide these six thousand taels among the brothers. I am scared out of my wits, I only hope that I won''t be implicated in this matter, I don''t want the money."


    The four eunuchs were delighted, they left the room with the four Imperial Bodyguards following behind them. Suddenly they heard a series of blood-curdling screams from the outside, followed by an Imperial Bodyguard shouted, "Assassins, assassins!" Another Imperial Bodyguard cried out, "Aiyo, not good, the assassins killed four eunuchs."


    The four Imperial Bodyguards returned to the room, and reported to Wei Xiaobao, "Gui Gong-gong, there were assassins outside, they killed four Gong-gong."


    Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh and said, "It''s a pity, it''s a pity! The assassins ran away and could not be apprehended?"


    An Imperial Bodyguard replied, "We can''t even see the assassins'' shadow."


    "Um, there''s nothing we can do then," Wei Xiaobao said, "You''d better report this matter of four Gong-gong assassinations clearly to Dolong Zongguan!"


    Suppressing their smile, the Imperial Bodyguards replied together, "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao could not hold his laugh anymore, he burst into loud laughter. The Imperial Bodyguards also broke into continuous laughter. "Brothers," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Congratulations on your newfound wealth. I will see you tomorrow."


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly returned to his dwelling. When he reached the front door, a cold voice from the flowering shrub greeted him, "Xiao Guizi, how are you?" Wei Xiaobao recognized it as the Empress Dowager''s voice; he was shocked. Turning around, he started to run, but after only five, six steps, a hand had touched his left shoulder, and his entire body went numb, as if a several-hundred-catty large boulder was pressing down on him that he was unable to take another step. Hastily he stooped down to withdraw the dagger, but his fingers had just touched the hilt when his right arm was hit by a palm. "Ah!" he could not bear not to scream.


    He heard Empress Dowager''s chilly voice said, "Xiao Guizi, you are young, yet have really good ability. Without lifting a finger you managed to kill my four eunuchs and still planted some booty to shift the blame on someone else, you even dare to plant false evidence against me. Humph, humph ��"


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao groaned bitterly, he was desperate, thinking that the Empress Dowager hated him to the bone, so no matter how he plead with her, it would be useless. He could only gamble with his life, trying desperately to scare her so that he could gain a little time, and thus thought of an idea to escape. "Empress Dowager," he said, "If you kill me now, it would be too late. It''s a pity, it''s a pity."


    The Empress Dowager coldly said, "Pity what?"


    "You want to kill me to shut my mouth," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s a pity you are one step too late. Just now what those Imperial Bodyguards have said, presumably �� presumably you have heard everything."


    The Empress Dowager grimly said, "You said I sent those four useless eunuchs to lead the assassins into the Palace. Humph, why would I do that?"


    "How would I know?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "But most likely His Majesty would know." In all honesty he already felt that he was ninety percent dead, so he might as well swindle her to the end.


    The Empress Dowager was furious; with a cold laugh she said, "Once I send away my palm, your life will be gone immediately. Unavoidably it will be too easy for you, this little thief."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as you exert strength on your palm, you would kill Xiao Guizi. By tomorrow everybody would know, ''How did Xiao Guizi die?'' ''Naturally the Empress Dowager killed him.'' ''Why did the Empress Dowager kill him?'' ''Because Xiao Guizi accidentally expose Empress Dowager''s secret.'' ''What secret?'' ''This matter is complicated and not easy to explain succinctly; come, come, come, you come to my room, I''ll tell you everything. But you must never tell it to anybody else, this matter is �� is of an utmost importance.''"


    The Empress Dowager was so angry that her hand on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder did not stop trembling; after taking a slow breath she said, "At worst it''s only those dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards. After I killed you, I will order Rui Dong to arrest those dozen fellows and put them to death immediately, and then what else should I worry about?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. The Empress Dowager said, "Death is imminent, and you can still laughing." Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager, you said you wanted Rui Dong to kill those people? He �� he �� ha ha ��"


    "He what?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He has already ��" Originally he wanted to say, ''he has already been killed by my blade,'' but suddenly he was hit upon an inspiration, he laughed ''ha ha'' several more times.


    The Empress Dowager asked again, "He has already what?"


    "He has already listened to me, he won''t obey your orders anymore," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The Empress Dowager laughed coldly and said, "You are but a little demon yet you think you have that kind of ability, you can tell Deputy Chief Rui not to obey my orders anymore."


    "I am only a little eunuch," Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally he is not afraid of me. But the one Deputy Chief Rui is afraid of is another person."


    With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, "He �� he is afraid of His Majesty?"


    "We all are servants," Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally we are afraid of His Majesty; you can''t blame him for that, can you?"


    "What else did you tell Rui Dong?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "I told him everything," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "He told him everything," the Empress Dowager muttered to herself. After a half day of silence, she said, "He �� where is he?"


    "He went far away," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Very, very far away, and he won''t come back. Empress Dowager, if you want to see him, naturally that''s a good thing, very, very good thing; however, I am afraid it won''t be that easy."


    The Empress Dowager was startled. "Has he left the Palace?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao pushed the boat with the current. "Exactly," he said, "He said that he was afraid of His Majesty, but he was also afraid of you. Pressed between the two, he felt it would be hard for him to conduct himself as a human being, he is also afraid he will have his own life to be worried about. Before facing the calamity of losing his life, it would be better for him to take the high road and fly away."


    "To fly high and run far[8]," the Empress Dowager corrected.


    "That''s it, that''s it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager, how did you know? Have you heard him saying those words? He has flown high and run far!"


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted, "He doesn''t even want to be an officer anymore?" she asked, "Where is he going?"


    "He �� he is going ��" he had another idea, "He said he is going to some Tai mountain, some Liu Tai, Qi Tai, or Ba Tai mountain."


    "Wu Tai[9] Mountain!" the Empress Dowager said.


    "That''s right, that''s right! It''s Wutai Mountain," Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager, you know everything."


    "What else did he say?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "He did not say much," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Just that �� just that this matter that I entrusted to him, he will accomplish no matter what, he even put himself under a heavy oath, that even if he is to be chopped to pieces, he would definitely have his son and grandson to do it."


    "What matter you entrusted to him?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "Nothing much," Wei Xiaobao said, "Deputy Chief Rui actually said that it''s not a big deal to him not being an officer, but he is to go on a journey without any traveling allowance, plus it is not a matter that can be accomplished in a year or half a year. Thereupon I gave him banknotes worth twenty thousand taels."


    The Empress Dowager said, "You suddenly become very wealthy, where did the money come from?"


    "Those are gifts from others," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Prince Kang gave me some, Songgotu Daren gave me some, Wu Sangui''s son also gave me some."


    "The way you act is forthright, naturally Rui Dong is grateful and he is seeking to repay your kindness," the Empress Dowager said, "Actually, what did you want him to do?"


    "Your servant does not dare to speak," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Are you going to speak or not?" the Empress Dowager asked with a stern voice. She increased the pressure of her palm, which was resting on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out. The Empress Dowager relaxed her grip somewhat. "Quickly speak!" she shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Deputy Chief Rui promised me, if your servant is killed inside the Palace, he will immediately report everything clearly to His Majesty. He said he is going to write a memorial to the throne, which he will carry with him. He and your servant have agreed that every two months, your servant �� your servant will ��"


    The Empress Dowager''s voice was trembling when she asked, "What is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Every two months, your servant will go to the Heavenly Bridge, looking for someone �� a man selling candied fruits[10]. I should ask him, ''Do you have jadeite cornelian candied fruits?'' He will reply, ''I do, it''s a hundred taels per skewer.'' I''ll say, ''That expensive? Will you sell it to me for two hundred taels?'' He will say, ''No, I will not. You haven''t returned to the heaven?'' And then I''ll say, ''Go tell that old man then!'' And then he would report to the Deputy Chief Rui." In this desperate situation, he did not have time to fabricate a fresh story, so he simply modified the code words taught by Chen Jinnan if he wanted to communicate with Xu Tianchuan.


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted, "That''s the way the network of people and warriors of Jianghu communicate with each other, I believe a little thief like you won''t come up with stuff like that yourself. It was that coward Rui Dong who taught you that, wasn''t it?"


    Wei Xiaobao faked a surprised look. "Uh!" he exclaimed, "How did you know it was Deputy Chief Rui who taught me? I get it, when he taught me that, you must be eavesdropping."


    He felt the Empress Dowager''s hand on his shoulder was trembling continuously. It was after a long time that she finally asked, "When the time comes and you do not go to find that candied fruits seller, what will happen then?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Deputy Chief Rui said that he will wait for ten more days. If I still do not show up, then that means your servant''s little life has gone. He �� he will think of a way to report to His Majesty. By that time your servant is already dead, so there is nothing to be gained actually, but your servant is loyal to His Majesty, I want to warn His Majesty to be really careful, to requite any wrongdoings, to avenge any enmity, and to guard against others'' evil scheme, which are actually Deputy Chief Rui and your servant''s primary devotion anyway."


    "To requite any wrongdoings, to avenge any enmity," the Empress Dowager muttered to herself, "That''s very good."


    "These days," Wei Xiaobao continued, "When your servant is waiting on His Majesty, I have never revealed anything. As long as your servant is alive and well, I am serving His Majesty by his side, I will forever not let His Majesty know about this matter; why would I want to worry His Majesty?"


    The Empress Dowager let out a breath and said, "You are actually a very good boy."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty treats your servant very well, the Empress Dowager also did not treat your servant badly. Your servant is loyal to the Empress Dowager. Who knows? Perhaps when the Empress Dowager is happy, she would reward your servant something; won''t everybody be good?"


    "Hey, hey, hey," the Empress Dowager let out a cold laugh, "You still want me to reward you? Your face indeed has a very thick skin." Surprisingly, there was a hint of delight in her cold laugh; by the tone of her voice, she also seemed to be greatly relieved.


    Hearing the change in her tone, Wei Xiaobao knew the tension was greatly relaxed; he said hurriedly, "What else does your servant covet? As long as Empress Dowager and His Majesty are safe and sound, everybody''s getting along politely and amiably, that will be great fortune for us as servants. Empress Dowager, I wish you, Senior, ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold, your servant will go to the Heavenly Bridge tomorrow, I''ll find that man, and will tell him to inform Deputy Chief Rui as soon as possible, telling him to guard his mouth like a closed bottle. Your servant �� wants to bring him three thousand taels, I will say that it is a gift from the Empress Dowager."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager said, "This man did not do his job to the best of his ability, he abandoned his duty and fled away. He is lucky that I don''t chop off his head, and you want me to reward him?"


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally your servant will have to foot the three thousand taels bill myself, how can the Empress Dowager still reward him some money?"


    The Empress Dowager slowly released her grip on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, and she slowly asked, "Xiao Guizi, are you really loyal to me?"


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your servant is loyal to the Empress Dowager, and will enjoy countless benefits, if I am not loyal, let my melon-seed-shape head be removed. Although Xiao Guizi is muddleheaded, this head is still very important to me."


    The Empress Dowager nodded; she said, "Very good, very good, very good!" As she said one ''very good'', her palm struck his back once, repeatedly she struck three times. Immediately Wei Xiaobao felt dizzy, and had a strong urge to vomit, his throat emitted continuous ''eh eh eh'' noise. The Empress Dowager said, "Xiao Guizi that night Hai Dafu, the old thief said that in this world there is a martial art skill called ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'', which if trained to perfection, when it hit a body, it can make the bones in the entire body broken. This martial art skill is very difficult to learn, naturally I can''t do it. But since you are a very smart child, very intelligent child, I am thinking that trying three palm strikes on your back will be very interesting."


    The chi and blood in Wei Xiaobao''s chest and abdomen bubbled up, finally he could not repress it anymore. ''Wah!'' he vomited a big mouthful of blood and water. He thought, "The old wh0re did not believe me, she is striking me with such a vicious blow."


    "You don''t have to be afraid," the Empress Dowager said, "I am not going to kill you. If you died, who would go to the Bridge of Heaven to find that candied fruits seller? I only want to injure you a little bit, to show you that the way you handled this matter is not particularly clever."


    "Thank you for the Empress Dowager''s kindness," Wei Xiaobao said. He stood up slowly, but his body swayed and he fell back sitting down, and vomited several mouthfuls of water and blood again. The Empress Dowager laughed aloud, turned around, and disappeared into a flowering shrub.


    Wei Xiaobao struggled to stand up, then slowly circled toward the rear window of his room. He leaned against the window frame, gasping for breath for a few moments before finally crawling into the room over the window.


    "Gui Dage," Xiao Junzhu Mu Jianping asked in low voice, "Is that you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was not in a good mood, "F*ck your mother," he cursed, "It''s not me."


    Fang Yi interjected, "Xiao Junzhu asked you nicely, why did you curse her?"


    Wei Xiaobao had just crawled over the window opening, he said, "I ��" but before he could finish, ''Bang!'' he fell from the window onto the floor, and was unable to get up again.


    "Aiyo!" Fang Yi and Mu Jianping cried out together. "What �� what happened?" they asked in alarm, "Are you injured?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s fall was really not light, but hearing the deep concern in the voices of these two women, his mood improved considerably. He laughed aloud and gasped several times while thinking, "I don''t know if the Old Wh0re''s strike was ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' or not, maybe she has not trained it proficiently. Laozi is wearing the treasured vest, also my bones are hard; whatever it is she wanted to transform, I don''t think she can transform laozi''s bones ��" He said, "My Good Meizi and Good Wife are both injured, if I don''t receive some injury, how can we be called ''fortune we enjoy together, disaster we face together''?"


    "Gui Dage," Xiao Junzhu asked, "Where is your injury? Is it painful?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Good Meizi is conscientious, asking me if it is painful. Actually, it was very painful, but hearing your concern, suddenly it is not painful anymore. Tell me, isn''t it strange?"


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "You are cracking jokes again."


    Propping himself on the table and gasping for breath, Wei Xiaobao got up. He thought, "Right now I still have my old life, but it depends entirely on Deputy Chief Rui''s friendship, whether he is willing to support me or not. If the Old Wh0re knew Deputy Chief Rui is dead, Wei Xiaobao''s old life will not stay for more than an hour." From the medicine chest he fetched the triangular greenish-blue with white dot medicine bottle. Hai Laogong''s medicine chest was full of medicinal powder and pills, but he only recognized this one bottle of ''Corpse Transforming Powder''. Pulling Rui Dong''s corpse from underneath the bed, he took back the banknotes and the precious knick-knacks he stuffed into Rui Dong''s pocket earlier.


    Mu Jianping said, "All along when you were away, this dead man was lying under our bed, the two of us were so scared that we might die ourselves."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If he scared the two of you the death, won''t this dead man have two bashful flower obstructing the moon female companions?"


    "Pei!" Fang Yi spat, "Xiao Junzhu, don''t talk to him too much."


    "I have a magic trick," Wei Xiaobao said, "Do you want to see it?"


    "I don''t want to," Fang Yi replied.


    "If you don''t want to look, then close your eyes," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Fang Yi immediately closed her eyes. Following her example, Mu Jianping also closed her eyes, but immediately she opened her eyes again.


    Wei Xiaobao took a small silver spoon from the medicine chest, he pulled the wooden cork from the bottle, and took a small amount of the ''Corpse Transforming Powder'' with the silver spoon, and poured it on Rui Dong''s wound. A moment later, smoke started to rise from the wound, followed by strong odor. A few moments later, the wound emitted yellow liquid, while it rotted bigger and bigger. "Eek!" Mu Jianping cried out.


    Fang Yi''s curiosity was piqued, she opened her eyes. As soon as she saw this scene, her eyes opened very wide, she did not want to close them anymore.


    As the corpse came in contact with the yellow liquid, it started to rot. The more the yellow liquid was produced, the faster the corpse rotted.


    Seeing the frightened expression on these two women, Wei Xiaobao said, "When one of you is being disobedient to me, I will sprinkle a little bit of this precious powder on your face, then you will immediately rot like this."


    "You ... don''t scare people," Mu Jianping said. With glaring eyes Fang Yi stared at him, but her frightened expression was difficult to conceal. With a grin Wei Xiaobao took a step forward, he shook the medicine bottle twice in front of her face before he put it back into his pocket.


    Not too long afterwards, Rui Dong''s corpse had rotted into two sections. Wei Xiaobao picked up a chair, and using the legs of the chair he pushed the two sections of the corpse toward the yellow liquid. In less than an hour, everything had turned into yellow liquid. Wei Xiaobao let out a deep breath, thinking, "Even if the Old Wh0re sends a million troops to Wutai Mountain, they won''t find Rui Dong." He went to the water jar to fetch a bucket of water to wash away the yellow liquid from the corpse. But only after several buckets of water, his body skewed, he fell onto the bed, and in utmost exhaustion he fell asleep immediately.


    When he awoke, the sky was already bright. His chest felt nauseous, so he tried to vomit, but nothing came out. He heard Mu Jianping''s concerned voice asked, "Gui Dage, are you feeling better?"


    Wei Xiaobao sat up, and only now did he realize that for the rest of the night he had been sleeping, fully clothed, by Fang and Mu, two women''s feet. Seeing it was not early morning anymore, he hastily jumped down from the bed and said, "I have to hurry to see the Emperor, you two just lie down and don''t move." He wanted to crawl out from the window, but the pain on his lower back was so severe that he had no choice but open the front door and locked it behind him.


    Wei Xiaobao only waited for less than an hour at the Upper Study Room, Kangxi returned from his morning court. He said with a laugh, "Xiao Guizi, I heard you killed an assassin last night."


    Wei Xiaobao paid his respect by saying, "May Your Majesty has good health."


    Kangxi said with a laugh, "Your luck was good, you get to fight with an assassin. I did not even see the assassin''s shadow. How was the martial art skill of the one you killed? What move did you use to kill him?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not fight with any assassin at all, the Emperor''s martial art skill was not weak, he simply could not speak thoughtlessly. A bright idea suddenly occurred, he recalled the fight between Feng Jizhong and Bai Hanfeng at the Bai family residence on the Willow Tree Lane the other day; he said, "It was dark, I only entangled him blindly. Suddenly his left leg swept across to the right, his right arm swept across to the left ..." He was narrating and giving demonstration at the same time.


    Kangxi clapped his hands, "Exactly right, exactly right! It''s exactly this move!" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; "Your Majesty," he asked, "Do you know this move?"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Do you know the name of this move?"


    Wei Xiaobao knew it was called the ''sweeping away a thousand army'', but he said, "Your servant does not know."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Let me tell you, so you''ll know: this move is called the ''sweeping away a thousand army''!"


    Wei Xiaobao was very amazed, he said, "This name is very pleasant to the ears!" He was startled not because of the name, but because unexpectedly Kangxi also knew.


    Kangxi said, "When he attacked you using this move, how did you deal with it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "For a split second I panicked, I was unable to deal with it instantly, suddenly I recalled when you and I were having martial art competition, I remember you used an extremely clever move when you flung me down from the top of your head. I think you said that it was Wu Dang Pai''s martial art, ''Immortal Crane Combing its Plume''."


    Kangxi was delighted, he called out, "You used my martial art to break his move ''sweeping away a thousand army''?"


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "My martial art training is actually not too superior, fortunately the two of us have had martial art competition, we have fought a lot, so I remember more than half of the techniques you used. I remember how you attacked, how you parried ..."


    "Right, right," Kangxi said, "This is ''Purple Cloud Hand'' and ''Snapping Plum Flower Hand''."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Since I am licking his boot, I might as well go all out!" He said, "I then copied your style, I hastily grabbed his hand, and I did grab it, it''s just that my strength was not enough, plus my position was not too accurate, he shook his left hand forcefully and thus managed to free himself."


    "What a pity, what a pity," Kangxi said, "Let me teach you: you ought to grab here, in between the Hui Zong and Wai Guan [lit. reservoir assembly and outer pass, respectively] acupoints. No matter what, he wouldn''t be able to shake himself free." While saying that, he grabbed the acupoints on Wei Xiaobao''s wrist.


    Wei Xiaobao struggled as hard as he could, but as expected, he was unable to struggle free. He said, "If you taught me earlier, the following dangerous situation would not have happened."


    Kangxi let go of his hand, he asked with a laugh, "What happened next?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as he was free, he circled around behind me, and struck my back with both of his palms ..."


    "High mountain flowing water!" Kangxi called out.


    "So this move is called ''high mountain flowing water''?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "At that time I was so afraid I might be completely routed by him, in my desperation I used another one of your moves."


    "You are useless!" Kangxi said with a laugh, "How come when you fight with others you did not use the move your Shifu taught you, but always use my moves instead?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "During training, the moves taught by Shifu are clear and logical, but when one is in a life and death fight, how would one know which move will be effective? On the other hand, those moves of yours just jumped out from the bottom my heart. Your Majesty, at that time the edge of his palms had already hit my back, I was already scared out of my wits, how could I think about which move to use? Borrowing the momentum, I threw myself forward, then I turned around from the right side."


    "Very good!" Kangxi said, "That is the ''circling wind step''!"


    "Is that right?" Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as I evaded his attack, I seized the opportunity to draw my dagger and stabbed him backhandedly with the blade, while crying out, ''Xiao Guizi, do you surrender now?''"


    Kangxi laughed heartily. "Why did you call him ''Xiao Guizi''?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant was desperate, I don''t know what came into me, unexpectedly it was your technique that I remembered completely. The backhand stab was originally your backhand palm strike, when it hit my back and you called out, ''Xiao Guizi, do you surrender now?''. Without thinking I used that technique, while my mouth also called out. He grunted; without having enough time to call ''surrender'', he died right away."


    Kangxi laughed. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he said, "My backhand palm strike is called ''lone cloud coming out of mountain peak''. I did not think that you changed it into a sword move and with one strike you succeeded." After starting martial art training, Kangxi had fought only with Wei Xiaobao, he had never had the satisfaction on being in a seriously desperate fight against an enemy. And now hearing that Wei Xiaobao had killed an enemy with his own hand, with the technique that he learned entirely from him, Kangxi was very happy and excited. He thought that if he personally went into action, he would be ten times more brilliant than Wei Xiaobao. He said, "Those assassins'' guts were not small, but their martial art skill is sloppy and ordinary."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "The assassins'' martial art skill is not that bad, there are several Imperial Bodyguards in our Palace who suffer injury in their hands. On the whole it was Xiao Guizi''s good luck that he had once served Your Majesty practicing martial art for so long that I managed to steal your three moves two styles. Otherwise, Your Majesty, today you would have issued an imperial edict, comforting and aiding the bereaved family of loyal subject who died in the line of duty, little eunuch Xiao Guizi, by one thousand taels of fine silver."


    Kangxi laughed, "How can one thousand taels be enough?" he said, "At least ten thousand taels." The two of them burst into loud laughter together.


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "Do you know who are these assassins?"


    "I don''t know," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your Majesty recognizes their martial art style, most likely you already have a guess."


    "At first I still cannot ascertain," Kangxi said, "But your demonstration just now has added another layer of proof." He clapped his hands, ordering the eunuch on duty at the Upper Study Room to summon Songgotu and Dolong, two people.


    Those two have been waiting outside the Study Room, as soon as they were summoned by the Emperor, they came in and kowtowed.


    Dolong was a military officer of the Manchurian''s Plain White Banner, during the invasion inland he had established not a few of outstanding military service, his martial art ability was also very profound, but all along he was pushed aside by Oboi, so he was very dissatisfied with his position in the officialdom. It was only after Oboi''s demise recently that Kangxi promoted him to be the Imperial Bodyguards Chief, in charge of protecting the Qian Qing Gate[11], Zhonghe Palace, Taihe Palace[12], and other living quarters within the Palace. There were altogether six Imperial Bodyguard Chiefs inside the Palace, two from each banner: Plain Yellow, Plain White, and Bordered Yellow. But the ones with real power were the Imperial Bodyguard Chief and Deputy Chief in charge of the imperial living quarters. Dolong was newly appointed to this key job, suddenly assassins appeared in the Palace. He did not sleep the entire night, his heart was weighed down with anxiety, he did not know whether the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would place the blame on him.


    Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Kangxi asked, "Have you interrogated clearly the captured assassins?"


    Dolong said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: altogether there are three revolting thieves that are captured alive. Your servant has interrogated them separately. At first they rigidly refused to speak, afterwards they could not endure the torture and confessed. As expected �� as expected they are Ping Xi Wang �� Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui''s subordinates."


    Kangxi nodded. "Hmm," he said.


    Dolong continued, "The weapons those revolting thieves left behind have the inscription ''Ping Xi Wang Palace'' engraved on them. On the undergarments of the killed revolting thieves, there are also the markings of Ping Xi Wang. We have conclusive proof that the revolting thieves who came to invade and harass the Palace last night were Wu Sangui''s subordinates. Even if Wu Sangui did not personally send them, he �� he simply cannot escape the responsibility."


    Kangxi asked Songgotu, "Have you also investigated clearly?"


    Songgotu said, "Your servant has examined the revolting thieves'' weapons and undergarments. Dolong Zongguan has recorded the revolting thieves'' confession; that is indeed their confession."


    "Go get those weapons and undergarments, I want to see," Kangxi said.


    "Yes," Dolong complied. He knew that although the Emperor was young, he was very astute, plus this matter carried great responsibility, hence he had already prepared various exhibit packages, which he had his trusted aides, the Imperial Bodyguards, to carry as they waited outside the Upper Study Room. He stepped out and returned immediately; untying the cloth wrapper, he put everything on the table, then immediately took several steps back. The Manchurian Qing had fought hundreds of battles all over China, from the founding Emperor to the current one, all practiced martial art, and thus did not avoid weapons. However, inside the Study Room, for a government official to expose any weapon in front of the Emperor was still a taboo. Dolong was simply being careful; hence the reason he withdrew first.


    Kangxi stepped forward, he picked up the sabers and swords and looked at them closely. He saw the inscription ''Regional Commander Office of Shanhai Pass of The Great Ming'' on the saber''s hilt. He smiled slightly and said, "Trying to hide it makes it more conspicuous, no doubt something is not right. By deliberately lighting the fire to play trick, they actually raised other people''s suspicion." Turning to Songgotu, he said, "If Wu Sangui was to send assassins to the Palace to rebel against his superior, he would have had deep plans and distant thoughts, his plan and preparation would be comprehensive, he knew such sabers and swords cannot be used, why would they want to carry weapons with inscriptions? How could they not know these sabers and swords could be lost in the Palace?"


    "Yes, yes," Songgotu said, "Holiness has seen it clearly, your servant admires it extremely."


    Kangxi turned toward Wei Xiaobao and asked, "Xiao Guizi, tell me, what moves did the revolting thief that you killed used?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "He used the ''sweeping away a thousand army'', and also ''high mountain flowing water'' moves."


    Kangxi asked Dolong, "What kind of martial art are they?"


    Although Dolong was a noble official of the Manchus, he had an extensive knowledge of various martial arts of different schools and sects; these ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'' were not unfamiliar moves to him, he replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: those are apparently former Ming''s Mu Palace of Yunnan''s martial art."


    Kangxi clapped his hands, "That''s right, that''s right," he said, "Dolong, your knowledge is extensive."


    Dolong was elated by this favor from his superior, a thread of smile appeared on his face as he kneeled down and kowtowed. "Thank you for Your Majesty''s compliment," he said.


    "Think about it carefully," Kangxi said, "If Wu Sangui sent people to the Palace to commit assassination, he could not have chosen the time when his son is in Beijing. Assassins can come at any time, why did he have to pick the time when his son is having an audience with the Emperor? This is my first suspicion. Wu Sangui is adept at military strategy, the way he handled affairs is thorough. Sending these revolting thieves to do his work, the number of people was small, their martial art skill was not high, he should know it would be hard to succeed, why bother? This matter is incompatible with Wu Sangui''s character. This is my second suspicion. Moreover, even if he sent people to assassinate me, what would his benefit be? Could it be that he wanted to raise a rebellion? If he wanted to rebel, why did he send his son to Beijing? Isn''t that the same as deliberately sending his son so that we can behead him? This is my third suspicion."


    When Wei Xiaobao listened to Fang Yi''s explanation on how they were scheming on framing Wu Sangui, he felt that it was an excellent plan; however, as he listened to Kangxi''s analysis, he now felt that the scheme had flaws everywhere. He could not help but was full of admiration, and repeatedly nodded his head.


    Songgotu said, "Your Majesty is an enlightened sage, your wisdom is not within reach of your servants."


    Kangxi continued, "Think about it again, if the assassins were not sent by Wu Sangui, but carried Ping Xi Wang Palace''s weapons, what was their real intention? Naturally it was to frame him. Wu Sangui has helped out Great Qing to pacify the land under the heaven, his merit was really big, the number of people who hate him is indeed not small. In the end, who prompted these revolting thieves? You must investigate it well."


    Songgotu and Dolong complied together. Dolong said, "Your Majesty is an enlightened sage. If Your Majesty did not give direction and straighten things out, your muddleheaded servant will fall into their trick, and unavoidably wronged good people."


    Kangxi said, "Wronged good people? Hey, hey!"


    Seeing the Emperor did not have further instruction, they kowtowed and took their leave.


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "Can you guess how do I know those two moves ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water''?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping madly, he said, "I was wondering myself, how did Your Majesty know?"


    Kangxi said, "Early in the morning today, I already summoned a lot of Imperial Bodyguards, I asked them about the fight with the assassins last night, trying to investigate the martial art the assassins used. There are unexpectedly some from the Mu Family of former Ming. Just think, for generations the Mu Family ruled in Yunnan, after my Great Qing''s dragon rose, we bestowed Yunnan to Wu Sangui, how could the Mu Family not angry? Much less the last of the Mu Family, Duke Mu Tianbo of Guizhou province, died under Wu Sangui''s hands. I asked my men to demonstrate Mu Family''s most formidable moves, among which were these two moves ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water''."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty truly able to prophecy with supernatural accuracy." But in his heart he was anxious, "I am hiding two women of the Mu Family in my room, I wonder if he knew about it."


    Kangxi laughed and asked, "Xiao Guizi, do you want to be rich?"


    Hearing the words ''to be rich'', Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was immediately aroused, his anxiety gone. With a giggle he said, "Your Majesty did not order me to get rich, I do not dare to get rich; Your Majesty ordered me to get rich, Xiao Guizi did not dare not to get rich."


    "Alright," Kangxi said with a laugh, "I order you to get rich! Take these sabers and swords, and the undergarments taken from the assassins, along with the assassins'' written confession, give everything to certain person, and then the great wealth will come to you."


    Wei Xiaobao was stunned, but he immediately understood. "Wu Yingxiong!" he called out.


    Kangxi laughed, "You are so smart," he said, "Just go!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This kid Wu Yingxiong''s luck is really good this time, his entire family''s lives has been rewarded by Your Majesty."


    "What are you going to say to him?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll say: The one surnamed Wu, our Majesty''s insight spans ten thousand li, whatever you, father and son, did in Yunnan, not a single one is missed by His Majesty. You did not revolt, His Majesty can see it clearly, but if, hey hey, you are having ''three hearts and two intentions'', ''two-faced, three knives'' [both idioms mean ''double-cross/double dealing and back stabbing''], His Majesty will also see it clearly. Damn it, you, father and son, better be nice to me."


    Kangxi burst out in laughter, he said, "You are very clever; although you did not go to school, your words are coarse and vulgar, in the end you still capture my intention. Damn it, you, father and son, better be nice to me. Ha ha ha ha ��"


    Hearing the Emperor unexpectedly learned to say ''damn it'', Wei Xiaobao could not refrain his heart from blooming. He also burst out in laughter. Taking the sabers, swords, and other objects, he left the Study Room and returned to his own room.


    He had just about to unlock the door when he felt a stabbing pain on his back, his head spun and he felt he was about to vomit. Forcing himself to unlock the door, he sat on a chair, and continuously gasping for breath.


    Mu Jianping said, "You �� you are not feeling well?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Seeing your ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' appearance, I am feeling well already."


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "My Shijie is the one with ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' appearance, I have a little turtle on my face, I am so ugly, extremely ugly."


    Hearing she was bantering with him, Wei Xiaobao''s mood brightened immediately; he laughed and said, "How can there be any little turtle on your face? Ah, I know, Good Meizi, your face is bright and smooth, it is fair and clear, almost like a mirror, therefore, it may have a little turtle on it."


    Mu Jianping was puzzled. "How come?" she asked.


    "Who are you sleeping with?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Your face is like a mirror, so it reflected that person''s appearance. Naturally there will be a little turtle on your face."


    "Pei!" Fang Yi spat, "Just come over and look, then there will be a little turtle on Xiao Junzhu''s face."


    "If I come over and look," Wei Xiaobao said, "A handsome and vigorous big master will appear on Good Meizi''s face."


    Fang and Mu, two women laughed. Fang Yi said, "Little turtle big master, which one is the big master?"


    The three of them laughed together. "Hey," Fang Yi said, "We must escape from the Palace, you need to think of a way."


    These days wherever he went, Wei Xiaobao was always flattered by other people, but as soon as he returned to his own room, he would be extremely lonely and bored. Now that he suddenly had Fang and Mu, two young women to accompany him, although there was the danger that someone else might find out any minute, in all honesty he hated to have them leave him; thereupon he said, "We need to think about it slowly, you are both injured, as soon as you take a step out of the door, you might be caught instantly."


    Fang Yi sighed gently, she asked, "Among our people who entered the Palace last night, I wonder how many have died, and how many were captured? Would you possibly know the names of the people who ran into misfortune?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I don''t know," he said, "But since you are concerned, I may be able to find out for you."


    "Thank you very much," Fang Yi said in a low voice. Ever since he met her, Wei Xiaobao had never heard her speaking politely like this, he was very astonished in his heart.


    Mu Jianping said, "Especially we wanted to ask whether a certain man surnamed Liu was able to escape safely or not."


    "Surnamed Liu?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "What''s his name?"


    "He is our Liu Shige [martial (older) brother]," Mu Jianping replied, "He is called Liu Yizhou. He �� he is my Shijie''s sweetheart, so �� so ��" Suddenly she squealed, since Fang Yi had tickled her armpit, she did not want her to continue.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Liu Yizhou, hmm, this �� this might be bad."


    Fang Yi was unable to restrain her emotions; she asked hastily, "What is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Isn''t he a tall, fair-complexion, approximately twenty some years, handsome young man? This man''s martial art skill is really good, is he the one?" Naturally he did not know what kind of person Liu Yizhou was, but thinking that this man was Fang Yi''s sweetheart, he must be a handsome young man. And since he was their older martial brother, he could not be wrong if he said the man''s martial art was really high.


    Sure enough, Mu Jianping said, "That''s right, that''s right, it is he. Fang Shijie said that when she was wounded last night, she saw Liu Shige was being overthrown by three Imperial Bodyguards, one Imperial Bodyguard was holding him down, most likely he was captured. I wonder what happened to him?"


    "Ay," Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Turns out this Liu Shifu is Miss Fang''s sweetheart ..." He did not stop shaking his head and heaving sighs.


    Fang Yi showed concern on her face. "Gui Dage," she said, "What happened to that Liu ... Liu Shige?"


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Stinky girl, you have never talked amiably with me, as soon as mentioning your Liu Shige, you call me Gui Dage. I''d better scare her a bit." He heaved a deep sigh again and shook his head as he said, "What a pity, what a pity!"


    Fang Yi was alarmed. "What happened?" she asked, "Is he ... is he ... is he injured, or ... or is he dead?"


    Wei Xiaobao burst into loud laughter; he said, "Laozi has never seen any Liu Yizhou or Liu Liangpi[13], how would I know if he is dead or still alive? You call me ''Good husband'' three times, I''ll find out for you."


    When Fang Yi saw him shaking his head, heaving a sigh and repeatedly saying ''What a pity'' earlier, she thought that the chance of Liu Yizhou being unfortunate was greater than the chance of him being fortunate. Hearing what Wei Xiaobao suddenly said, she was delighted in her heart, but with her mouth she spat and said, "You never said anything serious. Are you telling the truth, or was it a lie?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If this Liu Yizhou fell into my hands, humph, humph, I will tie him up first, and give him a good flogging, until his butts turned into four pieces. I''ll ask him what graceful words, flowery speech he used to win my wife''s heart. Afterwards I''ll raise my blade and chop down, whoosh ..."


    "You are going to kill him?" Mu Jianping asked.


    "No," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will cut off his balls, turning him into a eunuch."


    Mu Jianping did not understand what he was saying. But Fang Yi understood, her face turned deep as she cursed, "Little smart-aleck, always talks rubbish!"


    "Most likely your Liu Shige has been captured," Wei Xiaobao said, "Whether I want him to be eunuch or not, as soon as I, Gui Gong-gong, say the word, not a few people will be willing to listen. Miss Fang, are you or are you not going to ask me to help?"


    Fang Yi''s face blushed deep red again, she mumbled intelligibly. Mu Jianping said, "Gui Dage, if you are willing to help, you need not wait for others to ask you, then you are a true chivalrous hero."


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said, "Wrong, wrong! I like it the most when people are asking me. The more intimate they call me ''Good Husband'', ''Dear Husband'', the more spirited I will do things to help them."


    After hesitating for half a day, Fang Yi said, "Gui Dage, Good Dage, I am asking you to help."


    With a straight face Wei Xiaobao said, "Must be ''Husband''!"


    "You are wrong here," Mu Jianping said, "My Shijie is going to marry Liu Shige, Liu Shige is her husband, how can she call you ''husband''?"


    "That won''t do," Wei Xiaobao said, "If she marries Liu Yizhou, laozi will drink vinegar, I will be seriously jealous."


    "Liu Shige is a very good man," Mu Jianping said.


    "The better he is, the more I will drink vinegar," Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo! It''s so sour, it''s so sour! I drank too much vinegar, ha ha ha ha ...!" Amidst his laughter, he picked up the bundle, went out of the room, and locked the door behind him. And then bringing along four eunuch attendants, he rode a horse to West Chang''an Street, where Wu Yingxiong stayed during his visit to Beijing.


    On the horseback, his right hand did not stop punching the air while he yelled, "Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!" His attendants did not understand his meaning, and how could they know that this time Gui Gong-gong had received an imperial edict to get rich? Naturally the ''bang, bang, bang'' was the sound of knocking onto Yunnan''s bamboo shoulder pole [See note


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    Hearing about the arrival of the Emperor''s personal envoy, Wu Yingxiong hurriedly went out to kowtow and greet, and then he took Wei Xiaobao to the main hall.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty ordered me to take these stuffs to show to you. Xiao Wangye, do you have big guts or not?"


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Humble officer''s guts is the smallest, I am easily terrified."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, and then he laughed and said, "You are easily frightened? What about staging a rebellion? You must be very bold!"


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Humble officer does not understand Gong-gong too clearly, please explain it to me." At Prince Kang''s mansion the previous night, he referred to himself as ''zaixia'', today Wei Xiaobao came on imperial orders, and he saw how arrogant he was, he had a faint feeling that things did not look too good; thereupon he repeatedly called himself ''humble officer''.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Altogether, how many assassins did you send to the Palace last night? His Majesty sent me here to ask."


    Wu Yingxiong had heard some news about some assassins creating disturbance in the Palace the previous night; hearing Wei Xiaobao suddenly said those words, his shock was indeed not small. Immediately he fell down on his knees and kowtowed again and again toward the courtyard, saying, "Your Majesty treats your humble servants, father and son, with kindness as heavy as the mountain, even if your humble servants, father and son, became oxen or horses, we still cannot repay Your Majesty''s grace. Your humble servants, Wu Sangui, Wu Yingxiong, father and son, are willing to give up our lives for Your Majesty, we have never been double-minded."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Stand up, stand up, it won''t be too late to kowtow later. Xiao Wangye, let me show you something." While saying that, he untied the cloth wrapper and spread the contents on the table.


    Wu Yingxiong stood up and looked at the weapons and clothes in the bundle; he could not restrain his hands from trembling, as with a trembling voice he said, "This ... this ... this ..." Picking up the written confession, he read it clearly that the assassins were sent by Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui, they entered the Palace to commit assassination, they were determined to kill the Tatars Emperor, and set up Wu Sangui as their master, and so on and so forth.


    Despite his ability to adapt to the circumstances and his extensive knowledge, Wu Yingxiong could not help but was scared out of his wits. His knees buckled and he kneeled down again, this time in front of Wei Xiaobao. He said, "Gui �� Gong �� Gong �� Gong, this �� this is not true, humble officers, father and son, are being �� framed by crafty scoundrels. I beseech Gong-gong to present a memorial to the Holiness, to �� to �� make clear ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These weapons belonged to the revolting thieves who entered the Palace, who conspired against the law, who committed treason and heresy. The weapons actually bear the insignia of your precious palace."


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Humble officers, father and son, have a lot of personal enemies; this must be our enemies'' sinister plot."


    Wei Xiaobao was doubtful. "What you said has a thirty percent truth in it, but I don''t know if His Majesty would believe it or not."


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Gong-gong''s great kindness and great favor are clearly understood by humble officers, father and son. Humble officers, father and son''s bodies, family and lives are all due to Gong-gong''s graciousness."


    "Xiao Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Stand up. Last night you sent me some gifts first, presumably you have anticipated early on that this matter would happen. Hey, hey, hey, hey."


    Actually, Wu Yingxiong was about to stand up, but hearing this serious accusation, he hastily kneeled down again and said, "As long as Gong-gong explains everything clearly to His Majesty on behalf of humble officers, father and son, His Majesty is an enlightened sage, he will definitely believe Gong-gong."


    "This matter is already made public," Wei Xiaobao said, "Songgotu, Suo Daren, and Imperial Bodyguard Chief Dolong, Duo Daren, have already seen His Majesty to report the assassins'' written confession. You know, a matter as big as rebellion, who would have a gargantuan guts and try to hush it off? Explaining everything clearly to His Majesty on your behalf is not impossible. I have an excellent idea, although not extremely certain, most likely I can clear up the criminal charge against the two of you, father and son. It''s just that it will be troublesome."


    Wu Yingxiong was delighted, "We are relying on Gong-gong''s help," he said.


    "Please stand up, let''s talk," Wei Xiaobao said. Wu Yingxiong stood up, but still repeatedly bowed with cupped fist.


    "You really did not send those assassins?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Absolutely not!" Wu Yingxiong replied, "How can humble officer do something so heinous and unpardonable, a crime deserving ten thousand deaths?"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am considering you as a friend, so I believe you this time. If the future investigation proves that the assassins were sent by you, I will be buried alive, but I will make sure your whole family unto the third generation will accompany me."


    "Gong-gong, rest assured," Wu Yingxiong said, "Please set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease, there is absolutely no such thing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Then in your opinion, who sent these assassins?"


    Wu Yingxiong hesitatingly said, "Humble officers, father and son, indeed have a lot of enemies, it is really hard to determine which one in this short moment."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You want me to clear up the charges against you in front of His Majesty, you must identify an enemy to take the responsibility, only then will His Majesty believe."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Yingxiong said, "For the Great Qing to subdue the land under heaven, the number of rebels my father exterminated is truly not just a few. The remnants of these rebel groups extremely hate my father; such as that rebel Li Chuang[14], followers of former Ming''s King Tang, King Gui, and the remnants of Mu Family of Yunnan. They all harbor a grudge against my father, they would do anything to rebel against the authority."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; he said, "Those remnants of rebel Li Chuang, Mu Family, and so on, what kind of martial art do they have? Show me some moves, I will demonstrate it in front of His Majesty, I''ll say that I saw it with my own eyes last night, I''ll say that these are the moves that the assassins used. Genuine goods at fair prices, guaranteed it won''t be wrong."


    Wu Yingxiong was delighted, he hurriedly said, "Gong-gong''s idea is very clever. Humble officer only know one school of martial art, my understanding is truly limited, I must ask my subordinate to help me. Gong-gong, please sit down for a moment, humble officer will be back very soon." Finished speaking, he bowed and cupped his fist again, then hurriedly went in.


    A moment later, he brought someone into the hall, it was the leader of his attendants, Yang Yizhi, whom Wei Xiaobao helped to win seven hundred taels the previous night. Yang Yizhi stepped forward to pay his respect to Wei Xiaobao; his face showed deep anxiety, apparently Wu Yingxiong had told him the reason of Wei Xiaobao''s visit.


    "Yang Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "No need to worry, during the martial art practice at Prince Kang''s mansion last night, you have created quite a stir, many civil and military ministers witnessed it with their own eyes, they cannot possibly say that you entered the Palace to commit murder. I can also bear witness on your behalf."


    "Yes, yes! Thank you very much Gong-gong," Yang Yizhi said, "But I am afraid the crafty scoundrel will frame us up, they could say that Heir Apparent took us to Kang Wangye''s Palace as an alibi, to have various civil and military ministers witnessed it with their own eyes, while surreptitiously sent another group of people to commit treason and heresy."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "We can''t not guard against people saying that," he said.


    Yang Yizhi said, "Heir Apparent said that Gong-gong is willing to uphold justice, to clear up the charges against us in front of His Majesty, truly you are out great benefactor. Ping Xi Wang''s enemies are indeed numerous, each one''s martial art is very mixed, only Mu Palace''s martial art style is unique, very easy to recognize."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Um, what a pity we can''t find Mu Palace''s people, otherwise we can have him to demonstrate several moves and styles that we can see.''


    Yang Yizhi said, "Mu Family Fist and Mu Family Sword have been around in Yunnan for a long time, Xiaoren also remembers some. Let me demonstrate some moves, I am asking Gong-gong to give directions. The assassins entered the Palace carrying sabers and swords, how about Xiaoren demonstrate the ''circling wind sword''?"


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "So you know Mu Family martial art, nothing better than that. I know nothing about sword technique, I won''t be able to learn it in a short period of time. I''d better learn from you the Mu Family Fist."


    "I do not dare," Yang Yizhi replied, "Gong-gong has the power to capture Oboi, your name became famous over the four seas, your fist and kick skill must be very high, Xiaoren cannot reach that level, Gong-gong, please advice." Finished speaking, he moved to the middle of the hall, and started demonstrating each move and each style slowly.


    This particular Mu Family Fist was handed down from Mu Ying''s hands, generation to generation for over three hundred years. The successive generations were all martial art masters who, in turn, taught it to their disciples. It could be regarded as ''thousand-time forged, hundred-time refined'' skill, its practitioners in Yunnan was indeed very numerous. Although Yang Yizhi was by no means an expert in this fist technique, his own martial art skill was very high, his knowledge extensive, as he demonstrated move by move, his bearing was very dignified, his style was exquisite.


    Seeing the move ''sweeping away a thousand army'', Wei Xiaobao praised, "This move is fabulous!" Afterwards he also saw the ''high mountain flowing water'', and praised again, "This move is also amazing!" After Yang Yizhi finished demonstrating the Mu Family Fist set, Wei Xiaobao said, "Very good, very good! Yang Dage, your martial art is indeed very profound. Of those martial art masters at the Prince Kang''s mansion, ten of them against you alone, they still are not your match. In this short period of time, I won''t be able to learn too much, perhaps I can learn only one or two moves that I can demonstrate in front of His Majesty. When His Majesty will summon martial art experts within the Palace to identify, do you think they can recognize the origin of this martial art?" While saying that, he moved his hands and feet in imitation of the ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'' styles.


    Yang Yizhi happily said, "Gong-gong''s comprehension of the ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'' is very deep, when those experts see, they will know immediately that it is Mu Family Fist technique. Gong-gong has an outstanding intelligence, you can do it just by looking at it one time. Our Wu Family will be saved."


    Wu Yingxiong repeatedly bowed with cupped fist and said, "Hundreds of Wu Family members depend on Gong-gong''s help to save our lives."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "There are gold and silver mountains in Wu Sangui''s household, I don''t need to negotiate the price with him." Immediately he bowed to return the propriety and said, "We all are good friends. Xiao Wangye, why do you keep talking about benevolence and saving your lives, and thus considering me as an outsider? Besides, though I will try my best, I don''t know whether it will be effective."


    "Yes, yes!" Wu Yingxiong repeatedly said.


    Wei Xiaobao rewrapped the bundle and tucked it on his side, he thought, "There''s no hurry for me to give this bundle to him." Suddenly he remembered something; he said, "Xiao Wangye, His Majesty ordered me to ask you something: there is a government official from Yunnan who is coming to Beijing, a certain Lu Yifeng; do you know such person?"


    Wu Yingxiong was startled; he thought, "Lu Yifeng is just a petty officer [orig. ''mung bean and sesame seed petty officer''] who came to Beijing for an audience, but has not seen the Emperor yet, how did His Majesty know?" He said, "Lu Yifeng is a newly appointed county magistrate of Yunnan''s Qujing prefecture, presently he is in Beijing, waiting to kowtow to His Holiness."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty ordered me to ask you: a few days ago that Lu Yifeng bullied common people in a restaurant, he tolerated his wicked servants beating people, I wonder if his temperament has improved recently?"


    To get Wu Sangui appointed him as the county magistrate of Qujing prefecture, Lu Yifeng had spent more than forty thousand taels in bribe, from which Wu Yingxiong had drawn his share of three thousand taels. Hearing what Wei Xiaobao said, he was shocked and busily said, "Humble officer will definitely give him a good lesson." Turning his head to Yang Yizhi he said, "Go get that Lu Yifeng, give him fifty flogging first before we speak further." To Wei Xiaobao he said, "Gong-gong, please report to His Majesty: humble officer Wu Sangui failed to understand people and has recommended unsuitable candidate, we ask His Majesty not to blame us. This Lu Yifeng will be deposed immediately, and forever will not be employed anymore; we ask that the Official of the Ministry of Appointments entrusts another able person."


    "Does he need to be punished that heavily?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wu Yingxiong said, "This servant Lu Yifeng is audacious, he dared to usurp higher authority, his crime must not be tolerated indeed. Yizhi, beat him heavily for me."


    "Yes!" Yang Yizhi replied.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I am afraid the life of this official surnamed Lu cannot be guaranteed." He said, "Xiongdi is going to return to the Palace to see His Majesty, it would be best if I can demonstrate these two moves ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'' as close to the original as possible." Finished speaking, he took his leave and headed toward the door.


    Wu Yingxiong took out a large pouch from his sleeve pocket, which he presented with both hands and said, "Gui Gong-gong, your great kindness and great favor are not easy to repay, but I must show a little respect to Dolong Zongguan, Suo Daren, as well as numerous Imperial Bodyguards. Here is a tiny bit of my token of appreciation, I will have to bother Gui Gong-gong to pass it on to them on behalf of humble officer. If His Majesty asked, everybody will help put some good words for us, then the unjust treatment of the humble officers, father and son, will be wiped out."


    Wei Xiaobao received the gift, he said with a laugh, "You want me to do a favor for you? This errand is not difficult to do." He had been living in the Palace for more than a year, and had learned enough of court eunuch''s lingo and Beijing accent, so that not even half a part of Yangzhou accent was left. If right now he pretended to be Xiao Guizi, perhaps the blind Hai Laogong would not easily discover his masquerade.


    Wu Yingxiong and Yang Yizhi respectfully sent him off outside the mansion''s gate. On the sedan chair, Wei Xiaobao opened the pouch to take a look; unexpectedly it was banknotes worth a hundred thousand taels. "His granny," he thought, "Laozi will take half as my share first," and took fifty thousand taels and put it into his pocket. The remaining fifty thousand taels he returned to the pouch.


    Wei Xiaobao went to the Upper Study Room first to see Kangxi, reporting that the mission had been accomplished, that Wu Yingxiong had been informed that the Emperor was an enlightened sage, that the injustice against father and son had been clarified, and that they were grateful beyond description.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "We have given him a big scare this time."


    Wei Xiaobao also laughed, "Only scared him till he piss in his pants," he said, "Your servant has repeatedly warned him that this kind of matter will most likely happen again in the future, I told him to pass on to Wu Sangui that to repay your kindness, he has to be completely loyal and devoted in rendering his service to Your Majesty." Kangxi repeatedly nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "After I thought that he is scared enough, I told him that the Emperor is able to see ten thousand li, that he examined the assassins'' martial art and found out that it belonged to the Mu Family rebel thieves. That Wu Yingxiong was startled but also happy, from his buttocks all the way to his eyes he was all smile, while did not stop praising Your Majesty''s sage-like brilliance." Kangxi smile slightly.


    From his pocket Wei Xiaobao took out a pouch and said, "He was exceedingly grateful that he took a lot of banknotes, fifty thousand taels altogether, saying that ten thousand taels is for me, the other forty thousand taels is to be distributed to the Imperial Bodyguards who have exerted themselves last night. Your Majesty, look, we are indeed getting rich."


    Those banknotes were of five-hundred-tael denomination, so it was a thick pack of one hundred notes. Kangxi laughed and said, "You are just a little kid, you won''t spend the entire ten thousand taels in your lifetime. The rest of the money you may distribute to the Imperial Bodyguards."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Although His Majesty is an enlightened sage, there is no way he would know that I, Wei Xiaobao, still have several hundred thousand taels at home." He said, "Your Majesty, I am with you, what else I am lacking? Why would I need this money? Your servant will serve you with devotion for the rest of my life, you are going to look after me. It would be better for all this fifty thousand taels to be distributed to the Imperial Bodyguards. I will tell them that it''s a reward from Your Majesty, why should we let Wu Yingxiong buy the hearts of the people?" At first Kangxi did not want to pretend he was giving rewards while in fact he was not, but hearing the words ''buy the hearts of the people'', he could not help but was moved.


    Seeing Kangxi was hesitating without saying anything, Wei Xiaobao added, "Your Majesty, Wu Sangui sent his son to Beijing. The amount of gold and money he brings is indeed not small, as soon as he sees someone, he would give gifts, not necessarily with good intentions. From the ancient of times, all the gold, silver and jewels of the common people everywhere in your realm actually belong to you, the Emperor. But this old fellow Wu Sangui is extremely perverse, he treats Yunnan as his Wu family''s own."


    Kangxi nodded and said, "You are right. You may say that this monetary reward is from me."


    From the Upper Study Room, Wei Xiaobao went to the Imperial Bodyguards compound. To the Imperial Bodyguards Chief, Dolong he said, "Duo Zongguan, His Majesty instructed that those Imperial Bodyguards who set up meritorious deed in protecting the Palace last night are to be rewarded fifty thousand taels of silver." Dolong was ecstatic, he quickly kneeled down to express his thanks for the reward. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Right now His Majesty is very happy, why don''t you go yourself and say thanks?" While saying that, he handed the fifty thousand taels banknotes to him.


    Dolong followed Wei Xiaobao back to the Upper Study Room; he kneeled down and kowtowed to Kangxi and said, "Your Majesty bestowed the money, your servant Dolong and the Imperial Bodyguards thank you for the reward." Kangxi laughed and nodded his head.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty instructed: you must distribute these fifty thousand taels to those who have meritorious deed in killing the thieves, those who summoned up courage and determination and thus were wounded are to have a little bit more."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong said, "Your servant will obey the Emperor''s decree."


    Kangxi thought, "Not only is Xiao Guizi loyal, he is not greedy either, it''s really hard to come by. Unexpectedly he really gives away all fifty thousand taels to the Imperial Bodyguards, without taking a single qian for himself."


    Wei Xiaobao and Dolong withdrew together. Dolong pulled a stack of banknotes, ten thousand taels worth, and said with a laugh, "Gui Gong-gong, just consider this the Imperial Bodyguards'' filial piety, please take it and hand it over to the little Gong-gongs."


    "Aha, Duo Zongguan," Wei Xiaobao said, "By saying that, you do not consider me as a friend. In all my life, I, Xiao Guizi, most revere friends who are exceptionally skilful in martial arts. If His Majesty bestowed these fifty thousand taels to the civil officials, if I, Xiao Guizi, did not take ten thousand taels, I would at least take eight thousand. But since he bestowed it to you, Duo Zongguan, even if you share with me one tael, I can''t take it. I consider you as my good friend, so it''s only proper that you also consider me as your good friend."


    Dolong laughed and said, "The Imperial Bodyguards brothers all say that among many Gong-gong with office duty in the Palace, Gui Gong-gong is the youngest, but reaching to friends the most, indeed it is a fully justified reputation."


    "Duo Zongguan, I am asking you to investigate for me," Wei Xiaobao said, "See if among the rebel thieves that were captured last night there is a certain Liu Yizhou. If there is one, we may find out from him the ins and outs[15] of the rebel thieves."


    "Yes, yes!" Dolong promised, "The rebel thieves naturally will give us false names. I will investigate carefully."


    Wei Xiaobao went back to his residence. As he arrived at the front door, he saw a little eunuch from the imperial kitchen was waiting by the pathway. The little eunuch came up to meet him and said in a low voice, "Gui Gong-gong, that Boss Qian is delivering another pig, this time it is called something like ''bird''s nest ginseng pig'', he says he wants to show filial respect to Gong-gong. Right now he is waiting for Gong-gong''s arrival at the imperial kitchen."


    Arriving at the imperial kitchen, Wei Xiaobao saw Boss Qian''s beaming face as he said, "Gui Gong-gong, Xiao Ren''s Fu Ling Hua Diao pig has really done you unusually good, after Gui Gong-gong ate it, look, your spirit is clear and your chi bright, your complexion is ruddy. Xiaoren appreciates it that Gong-gong took care of it, so I send you a ''bird''s nest ginseng pig''." While saying that, he pointed toward a live pig by his side. This pig was covered in white hair; it looked very beautiful as it constantly moving in a circle inside the bamboo cage. Wei Xiaobao did not know what kind of trick Boss Qian was playing, so he only nodded.


    Boss Qian came closer and held Wei Xiaobao''s hand as he said, "Tsk, tsk tsk! After eating the Fu Ling Hua Diao pork, Gui Gong-gong''s pulse is strong, it is substantially different from before." Wei Xiaobao felt a piece of paper in his hand, but since there were too many people around the imperial kitchen, he felt it was inconvenience to ask.


    Boss Qian said, "This bird''s nest ginseng pig''s feeding is not the same, please tell Gong-gong''s subordinates to feed distiller''s grain for ten days. Ten days later, Xiaoren will personally come over to prepare it and will have Gong-gong enjoy it."


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows and said, "That Fu Ling Hua Diao pork has raised my internal heat, it is unbearably uncomfortable. Whatever ginseng pork, bird''s nest pork, Boss Qian, you''d better enjoy it yourself, I don''t want to eat it."


    Boss Qian laughed heartily and said, "This is just Xiaoren''s way of showing a little bit of appreciation. Next time I won''t dare to bother Gong-gong anymore." He then said several good wishes and took his leave.


    Wei Xiaobao thought there must be some characters written on that piece of paper, but he could not recognize any character even if it was the size of a watermelon. He instructed the kitchen manager to take care of the pig well, and then returned to his residence alone, thinking, "This Boss Qian is really smart. The first time he concealed a living person inside a dead pig and carried it into the Palace. The second time, if he delivered another dead pig into the Palace, unavoidably he will draw suspicions; therefore, he delivered a live pig and have it fed in the imperial kitchen. There is no pattern here, even if someone was originally suspicious, the suspicion would have gone. That''s right, in using trick to scam people, not only I have to give it thorough thought in advance, subsequently, I also have to patch any hole." He also thought, "I have no choice but to ask Xiao Junzhu to have a look at this note. Damn it, why didn''t he simply tell me what he wants? Why did he have to write a damn note?"


    As he entered his room, Mu Jianping said, "Gui Dage, there was someone on the door, he was probably delivering the meal. Seeing the door was locked, he left without knocking."


    "How did you know he was delivering our meal?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Hey, you must be smelling the delicious aroma and were very hungry, weren''t you? Why didn''t you eat the cakes and the pastries?"


    Mu Jianping giggled and said, "We are really impolite, we already ate long ago."


    Fang Yi said, "Gui �� Gui Dage, have you ��" Speaking to this point, she stammered slightly.


    "I have not found out anything about your Liu Shige," Wei Xiaobao said, "The Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace said that they did not capture anybody by the surnamed of Liu."


    "Thank you very much," Fang Yi said in low voice, "I wonder if he has been killed by the Tatars. Besides, even if Liu Shige was captured, he would not say that his surname was Liu. We have agreed that he would pretend to have the surname of Xia. Wu Sangui''s son-in-law is surnamed Xia, Liu Shige could confess that that surnamed Xia man was his uncle."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Won''t that make you Wu Sangui''s relative?"


    "He was only pretending," Xiao Junzhu hastily said.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "But even if Miss Fang wanted to be the wife of Wu Sangui''s grandnephew, she could not. Let''s say that your Liu Shige has escaped out of the Palace, outside he is thinking about you, inside the Palace you are thinking about him. For the rest of your lives you would think about him, he would think about you, a pair of passionate older brother and older sister won''t be able to see each other, wouldn''t it be hard to bear?"


    Fang Yi''s face turned red as she said, "How can I live in the Palace for the rest of my life?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Once the young women entered the Palace, where can they see the day they can go out? A bashful flower obstructing the moon elder sister like you, for example, as soon as I, Xiao Guizi, saw you, I want to take you as my wife. If the Emperor saw you, it''s impossible if he did not bestow you the title Huang Hou Niang-niang [empress/imperial consort]. Miss Fang, I advise you to be the Huang Hou Niang-niang!"


    Fang Yi anxiously said, "I don''t want to talk too much to you. Everything you say always irritates me, you always tease me and make me worry."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. He handed over the note in his hand to Mu Jianping. "Xiao Junzhu," he said, "Can you read this note?"


    Mu Jianping took the note and read, "Gaosheng Teahouse, Legend of Heroic Deeds. What is this?"


    Wei Xiaobao understood immediately, "Tian Di Hui people want to see me, they ask me to go to the teahouse to meet them." He laughed and said, "It''s useless for you to be the Mu Family''s later generation, you don''t even know the ''Legend of Heroic Deeds''?"


    "Of course I know the Legend of Heroic Deeds," Mu Jianping said, "That is the story of Taizu Huangdi''s dragon rose as he founded the country."


    Mu Jianping spat and said, "Our Qian Ning[16] Wangyeye pacified Yunnan, naturally it is recorded in the Legend of Heroic Deeds, but where did the Gui Gong-gong''s pair of hands �� pair of hands come from?"


    "Of course not," Mu Jianping said, "You are making it up."


    "Let''s have a bet," Wei Xiaobao said, "What if there is? What if there is not?"


    "I have heard the Legend of Heroic Deeds until I am very familiar with the stories," Mu Jianping said, "I am sure there is not. You can bet anything. Fang Shijie, there is no such thing as the story he mentioned, is there?"


    Fang Yi had not answered, Wei Xiaobao already leaped into the bed and crawled into the quilt, with shoes and all, and then he lay down in between the two women. With his left hand he embraced Fang Yi''s neck, with his right hand he embraced Mu Jianping''s waist. He said, "I say, there is!"


    "Ah!" Fang Yi and Mu Jianping cried out in alarm, but it was too late for them to evade, Wei Xiaobao had already held them firmly in his arms. Mu Jianping stretched out her right hand and pushed him as hard as she could. Wei Xiaobao seized this opportunity to lean sideways and stole a kiss on Fang Yi''s mouth. "Smells good!" he praised.


    Fang Yi was about to struggle, but as soon as she moved ever so slightly, she felt a shot of severe pain from the wound on the pit of her stomach and her broken rib. With the back of her left hand she slapped Wei Xiaobao''s face. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Murder of your own husband! Murder of your own husband!" Rolling down, he jumped out of the quilt, with Mu Jianping still in his arm. He also kissed her and praised, "Smells as good!" Laughing heartily, he snatched a bundle of his clothes, dashed out of the room, and locked the door behind him.

 Chapter - 13 (13)

    Three men were tied to the wooden pillars, their naked upper bodies had already been badly mutilated by flogging. One was a big man with beard like a young horned-dragon, the other two were twenty-something young men, one was fair-skinned, the other had tattoo all over his body, he had a fierce looking tiger head tattooed on his chest.


    Wei Xiaobao''s residence was west of Qian Qing Gate [Gate of Heavenly Purity], south of the southern warehouse, to the side of the Imperial Catering Department. Heading north, winding around the Yang Xin Hall [Hall of Mental Cultivation], Wei Xiaobao turned abruptly to the west, walking passed Western Three Places, Yang Hua [Magnificent Nurturing(?)] Gate, Shou An [Longevity Peace] Gate, to the north passed Shou An Palace, by the side of Ying Hua [Heroic Splendor] Palace Hall, turning east passing Xi Tie [Western Iron] Gate, and then turning north again out of Shen Wu Gate [Gate of Divine Might]. Shen Wu Gate was the Imperial Palace''s back door, as he walked out the Shen Wu Gate, he was practically out of the Imperial Palace, and he went straight away to the Gao Sheng Teahouse.


    As soon as he sat down, the teahouse proprietor served him tea. He saw Gao Yanchao was slowly walking in and signaling him with his eyes. Wei Xiaobao nodded. When he saw Gao Yanchao was leaving the teahouse, he took several sips of the tea, then threw a coin on the table, while saying, "The story today is not worth hearing." And then he leisurely strolled out. He saw Gao Yanchao was waiting on a street corner. Walking several steps further, he saw two sedan chairs.


    Gao Yanchao let Wei Xiaobao sit on one, while he walked behind the sedan chairs for a short section of the street. After making sure that nobody followed them, he climbed into the other sedan chair.


    The porters ran as fast as flying. After travelling for the time needed to cook rice, they stopped. Wei Xiaobao noticed that the sedan chairs stopped in front of a tiny courtyard house. He followed Gao Yanchao in. As soon as they entered the main gate, he saw Tian Di Hui brothers came out to welcome him by bowing and cupping their fists. This time Li Lishi, Guan Anji, Qi Biaoqing and the others had all rushed in from Tianjin, Baoding, and other places. In addition, Fan Gang, Feng Jizhong, Priest Xuanzhen, as well as Boss Qian were also present.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and asked, "Qian Laoban [Boss Qian/Money], what is your real honored surname and great given name?"


    "I don''t dare," Boss Qian replied, "Subordinate''s real surname is Qian, my real name is Laoben, ''ben'' from ''ben lai'' [originally/initial/at first], not ''ban'' from Laoban [boss], the idea is that doing business will eclipse the initial capital."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily and said, "You are very astute, if you are really doing business, you will turn other people''s initial capital to be your profit."


    Qian Laoben smiled and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, you praise me too much!"


    They let Wei Xiaobao walked ahead to the main hall and be seated. Guan Anji was most impatient, he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, please look at this." While saying that, he handed over a large gilded red card, filled with several lines of characters written in black ink.


    Wei Xiaobao did not take it; he said, "These characters, they recognize me, but I do not have any friendship with them, so this is the first time that we meet each other, I do not recognize them."


    Qian Laoben said, "Wei Xiangzhu, it is an invitation, we are invited to have dinner."


    "That''s very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Who has done us the honor?"


    "The name on the card is Mu Jiansheng," Qian Laoben said.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Mu Jiansheng?" he asked.


    Qian Laoben said, "He is the Xiao Gongye [young duke] of the Mu Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "Fu Ling Hua Diao pig''s Gege," he said.


    "Precisely," Qian Laoben said.


    "Is he inviting all of us to come?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Qian Laoben said, "On the invitation, he is writing very politely: inviting Green Wood Hall''s Wei Xiangzhu, to lead Tian Di Hui''s heroes to come for a banquet. It is tonight, at the South Bean Sprout Lane of Chaoyangmen district in Beijing."


    "This time it''s not at the Willow Tree Lane?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "That''s right," Qian Laoben replied, "Doing business in Beijing, it''s only right to change the lodging place frequently."


    "What do you think he wants?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Do you think they would put damn drug in the food and drink?"


    Li Lishi said, "It is reasonable to say that, one: Mu Palace has such a big reputation in Jianghu, two: with his capacity as the young duke, Mu Jiansheng is a great personality who stand and sit at the same level as our Zongduozhu, they could not possibly resort to this kind of third-rate shady business. However, there is no such thing as a good meeting, there is no such thing as a good banquet; there is no harm in guarding against Wei Xiangzhu''s concern."


    "Shall we go to the feast or not?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Humph, humph, Xuanwei ham, Guo Qiao rice noodle, Yunnan''s steamed chicken, those are enough to make a festive occasion."


    Everybody else looked at each other in dismay, nobody made any noise. After a long while, Guan Anji said, "We all want to ask Wei Xiangzhu to decide."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Nice wine, good food, everybody will have some in your tummy tonight. If you want just average, peaceful dinner, let me play the host, we can go to a restaurant. After dinner, we can play Pai Gow and gamble, or call on some pretty girls, Xiongdi will foot all the bills. But if you all want to save my money, then we all go to harass that man surnamed Mu." He sounded so magnanimous, but actually he was being very sly; whether they were going or not, he did not make the decision.


    Guan Anji said, "Wei Xiangzhu is inviting the brothers to eat, drink and be merry, indeed that is the happiest thing, but if we did not answer the surnamed Mu''s invitation, Tian Di Hui''s reputation will unavoidably take a dip."


    "So you say we should go?" Wei Xiaobao asked, his gaze swept Li Lishi, Fan Gang, Qi Biaoqing, Xuanzhen, Feng Jizhong, Qian Laoben, and Gao Yanchao''s faces. He saw everybody was slowly nodding his head.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If everybody say we should go, then we''ll go eat his food, drink his wine. We''ll counter soldiers with arms, counter water with an earth weir. When the tea is served, we''ll hold out our hands, when the rice is served, we open our mouths; but what if poison is being served? We''ll simply swallow and take the damn poison into our bellies. It is called ''hero does not fear death, those who fear death are not heroes''."


    Li Lishi said, "We''ll have to be careful, always on the lookout for some clues. Let''s discuss it over, some of us will drink tea, some won''t drink, some will drink wine, some won''t drink, some won''t eat meat, some won''t eat fish. Even if they put poison, we won''t let them catch everything in one net. But if everybody did not do anything, we would be their laughingstock."


    After reaching decision, they chatted for a while. When it was close to the ninth hour [3-5pm], Wei Xiaobao took off his eunuch uniform and took the appearance of a pampered son of an official. He rode on a sedan chair, with everybody else crowded around him as they walked toward the South Bean Sprout Lane. Wei Xiaobao mused, "In the Palace, day in and day out I am always very scared and on edge, afraid that the old wh0re will come to kill me. How can it be compared to the free and unfettered, happy life of the Xiangzhu of the Green Wood Hall? It''s just that Shifu ordered me to be a spy in the Palace. If I get out on my own initiative, I might not be the Xiangzhu anymore, then I don''t know if I can keep my little life. I guess we''ll just have to ride the donkey and read the songbook; we''ll wait and see!"


    The South Bean Sprout Lane was less than two li away. The sedan chair had just stopped, they already heard the beating of drums and the sound of bamboo flute. Wei Xiaobao got out of the sedan chair and heard the sound of suona[17]; he thought, "Are they having a wedding? It''s so lively."


    He saw the main gate of a large house with a courtyard opened, a dozen or so men in uniform stood outside the door to welcome them. A young man of about twenty five or twenty six stood on the front, his stature was tall and slim, with exuberant heroic spirit. The young man said, "Zaixia Mu Jiansheng, respectfully welcome Wei Xiangzhu''s honorable self."


    These days Wei Xiaobao had made friends with royalties, nobilities and high-ranking officials, so he was accustomed with this kind of etiquette and the respectful aspect of greeting each other. As the saying goes, "Residence alters the manner, nurture alters the body." He was with the Emperor every day, he constantly met princes, nobles, high officials, and generals, they were almost nothing to him; as a result, although he was young, he had already automatically acquired dignified air. Although Mu Jiansheng had quite a reputation, he could not be compared to people like Prince Kang or Wu Yingxiong. Presently he cupped his hand in salute and said, "Xiao Gongye is overly courteous, Zaixia does not dare to accept." Seizing up Mu Jiansheng''s appearance, Wei Xiaobao noticed his countenance was rather dark; in general, there was a faint resemblance between his facial features and those of Mu Jianping''s.


    Mu Jiansheng was already aware that Tian Di Hui''s leader in Beijing, Wei Xiangzhu, was a child, he also heard from Bai Hanfeng that this child''s martial art skill was very low, and that he was a smooth talker, in short, a little rascal. Presumably he could be a Xiangzhu only because of his Shifu, Chen Jinnan''s support. But presently he saw Wei Xiaobao''s calm demeanor, his unrestrained and indifferent manner, and thought, "Perhaps this child has a little bit of martial art school background after all." Immediately he led them all in.


    The chairs in the hall were covered in red satin sheath, with brocade cushions on them. Each one was assigned his respective side, as the host and the guest. ''Divine Physician Hermit'' Su Gang, Ban Hanfeng, and about a dozen or so men stood behind Mu Jiansheng with hands hanging by their sides.


    Mu Jiansheng and Li Lishi, Guan Anji and the others introduced themselves one by one, they all exchanged conventional pleasantries like ''I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time'' and so on and so forth. Li Lishi and the others thought, "This Xiao Gongye of the Mu Family does not show arrogance at all, the way he speaks actually follows Jianghu''s customs."


    The servants served fragrant tea, the musicians by the hall entrance started to play again; it was a grand ceremonious courtesy in welcoming honored guests. Amid the sound of music, Mu Jiansheng gave his order, "Let the banquet begin!" while inviting everybody to enter the inner hall. His subordinates promptly closed the hall door behind them.


    There was a large Eight-Immortal table[18] in the middle, draped in embroidered table cloth, with two smaller tables on the left and right. Although the utensils on the table were not as grand and extravagant as the ones in Prince Kang''s mansion, they were quite exquisite. Mu Jiansheng bowed slightly and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, please take the seat of honor."


    Looking at the current situation, Wei Xiaobao knew this seat of honor was prepared especially for him. "This time," he said, "We have no choice but to be impolite." Mu Jiansheng took the seat on his right-hand side as the host.


    After everybody was seated, Mu Jiansheng said, "Please invite Shifu."


    Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng went into the inner chamber and reappeared with an old man. Mu Jiansheng stood up to welcome him and said, "Shifu, Wei Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall honored us with his presence today, he truly gives us a lot of face." Turning toward Wei Xiaobao, he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, this is Liu Shifu, the benevolent master under whom Zaixia has studied."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up, cupping his fist across his chest he said, "It''s an honor to meet you at last." This old man was big and tall, his face ruddy, with long white beard hanging from his face; he must be over seventy years old, but he was full of vigor, his eyes were shining lively.


    The old man''s gaze swept on Wei Xiaobao once, then he laughed and said, "Recently Tian Di Hui''s reputation is growing ��" His voice was really loud, the words he just said sounded like an ordinary person shouting, "�� it''s because a large number of heroic people with talent come forth. Wei Xiangzhu is this young, truly a rare genius of the Wulin world."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am young, that is true, but am not heroic person with talent, let alone a genius; in fact, I am only a fool. That day my hand was twisted by Bai Shifu, I was unable to move a single step, even the cry ''Mommy!'' almost came out. Zaixia''s martial art is really poor and extremely ordinary. Ha ha, it''s laughable! Laughable, ha ha!"


    The others were stunned to hear this, their countenances changed. Bai Hanfeng''s expression was even queerer.


    The old man burst out laughing, and then said, "Wei Xiangzhu is frank, it is indeed a hero''s true quality. Lao Fu [the old man] may have 30% admiration on you."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "30% admiration is a bit too much. 10% or even 5%, as long as you don''t regard Zaixia as hopeless little beggar, little acrobat or little monkey, that is enough."


    The old man burst out in laughter again. He said, "Wei Xiangzhu loves to crack jokes."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "Senior''s prestige has shaken the southern sky, in Wulin you are known as Iron Back Blue Dragon, Old Hero Liu, is that right?"


    The old man laughed and said, "That''s right, Priest Xuanzhen actually know the old man''s lowly name."


    Priest Xuanzhen''s heart shivered, "I haven''t introduced myself, he has already known my name. The Mu Family this time is very well-prepared. The Iron Back Blue Dragon Liu Dahong has made his name a long time ago, I heard even Mu Tianbo also had deep respect to him. When the Qing army attacked Yunnan, with all his might Liu Dahong rescued the children of Mu Family, and so Mu Jiansheng became the first disciple whom he personally teaches, and other than Mu Jiansheng himself, he became Mu Palace''s number one character." Thereupon Priest Xuanzhen bowed and said, "In those days Old Hero Liu put the three tyrants of Nujiang[19] to their deaths and killed Qing troops at Tengchong, your chivalry spread out all over the world. When the younger generation and young men mentioned the Old Hero, nobody is not awed with respect."


    Liu Dahong said, "Hey, hey, that was the matter of many years ago, why do you have to mention it?" But his countenance looked very pleased.


    "Shifu," Mu Jiansheng said, "You, Senior, accompany Wei Xiangzhu over here."


    "Alright!" Liu Dahong said, and sat down next to Wei Xiaobao.


    The side facing outward of this Eight-Immortal table was empty. On the head position were Wei Xiaobao and Liu Dahong, on the left were Li Lishi and Guan Anji, on the right were Mu Jiansheng and an empty seat of honor. The Tian Di Hui warriors were wondering in their hearts, "Which formidable character your Mu Palace is going to invite next?"


    They heard Mu Jiansheng said, "Help Xu Shifu out to sit, let these good friends see him and set their hearts at ease."


    "Yes!" Su Gang responded. He went in and returned supporting someone in his hand.


    As soon as Li Lishi and the others saw the man, they were pleasantly surprised, and called out together, "Xu San Ge [Third Older Brother]!" This man had a bent back, he was none other than the Eight-Armed Ape Xu Tianchuan. His complexion was wax yellow, apparently he had not recovered from his injury, but his life was obviously not in danger. The Tian Di Hui warriors crowded around him and greeted him noisily, they could not hide their delight.


    Mu Jiansheng pointed at the seat above his own and said, "Xu Shifu, please sit right here."


    Xu Tianchuan took a step forward, he bowed and cupped his fist toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, how are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the salute and said, "Xu San Ge, how are you? The medicinal plaster business is not too good lately?"


    Xu Tianchuan sighed and said, "Practically there is no business. Subordinate was captured by Wu Sangui''s dogs and narrowly lost my old life. Fortunately Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye and Old Hero Liu appeared to rescue me from danger."


    The Tian Di Hui warriors were stunned. "Xu San Ge," Fan Gang said, "Turns out the affair that day was that traitor Wu Sangui''s people''s doing."


    "Exactly," Xu Tianchuan said, "Those bunch of traitors broke into the Return Of Spring Drug Store, seized me, and that dog thief Lu �� Lu Yifeng cursed me and pasted a medicinal plaster on my mouth, saying that he wanted to starve me, and old monkey, to death."


    Hearing that Lu Yifeng was involved in this, they knew it must have had happened just like he said. Fan Gang, Priest Xuanzhen and the others turned toward Su Gang and Bai Hanfeng and said, "That day we have offended you, yet the heroes take yi qi very seriously, our Tian Di Hui can''t thank you enough."


    "We don''t dare," Su Gang said, "We only followed Xiao Gongye''s order, we do not dare to claim credit for ourselves." Bai Hanfeng snorted; obviously the rescue of Xu Tianchuan was greatly against his wish.


    Guan Anji said, "After Xu San Ge was captured, we went looking for him everywhere, but did not find any clue; obviously our anxiety needs not be mentioned. Unexpectedly your honored Palace has rescued Xu San Ge, making us quite admire you."


    Su Gang said, "The Yunnan''s dog officials under Wu Sangui are Mu Family''s archenemy, naturally we always follow them up very closely. It''s not strange that we found out about this dog official offending Xu San Ge."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This Xiao Gongye is very astute, his Meizi is being locked up by me, he rescued old man Xu first so that he can ask me to release his Meizi. I''d better pretend I don''t understand, see what else he is going to say." He said to Xu Tianchuan, "Xu San Ge, you were heavily injured by Bai Er Xia, the strength of his hands was very fierce, are you going to live? You are not going to return to heaven, are you?"


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Bai Er Xia was acting with leniency that day, after recuperating these past several days, subordinate feels a lot better." Bai Hanfeng glowered at Wei Xiaobao, but Wei Xiaobao simply chuckled, as if he was completely oblivious.


    The servants poured the wine and served the dishes, it was a very sumptuous banquet. Tian Di Hui warriors thought that since the Mu Family had rescued Xu Tianchuan, and with the presence of renowned old hero such as the Iron Back Blue Dragon Liu Dahong, they could not possibly put poison in the food; all anxiety had left their hearts, they drank the wine and ate the dishes to their hearts'' content.


    Liu Dahong drank three cups of wine; stroking his beard he said, "Brothers[20], within the capital district[21], which brother is in charge of your precious society?"


    Li Lishi said, "In our humble society in the capital district, the one with the most revered position is Wei Xiangzhu."


    Liu Dahong nodded. "Very good, very good!" he said, and drank another cup of wine. He asked, "But I wonder if this little brother is able to somehow take responsibility in the dispute between your precious Society and our Family?"


    "Laoyezi[22]," Wei Xiaobao said, "Whatever instruction you have, there is no harm in telling us here. I, Wei Xiaobao, am small in stature and have narrow shoulder. Small matter, I can take care of 10% or 5%, big matter may crush me flat."


    The Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace warriors could not help but frowning slightly; they thought, "This child talk hoodlum talk; as soon as he opens his mouth, he speaks like a rascal, not like a hero or a warrior talks."


    Liu Dahong said, "If you cannot take responsibility, while we cannot simply let the matter drop, then we will have no choice but to have little brother pass on to your revered master, asking Chen Zongduozhu to rush over and deal with it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "What is it that Laoyezi wanted me to pass on to my Shifu? Just write a letter, and we will deliver it to him."


    "Hey, hey," Liu Dahong laughed, "This matter concerns the death of Bai Hansong, Bai Xiongdi, in the hands of Xu San Ye [third master]. I wonder how we are going to settle this, I want to ask Chen Zongduozhu to say a few words about it."


    Xu Tianchuan suddenly sprang up and boldly said, "Mu Xiao Gongye, Old Hero Liu, you have snatched me back to life from the hands of the traitors, you have spared me from the humiliation from those wicked men, Zaixia is deeply grateful. Bai Da Xia was accidentally injured under Zaixia''s hands. Zaixia will pay a life for a life, my old life to compensate his; why would you make things difficult for Chen Zongduozhu and Wei Xiangzhu? Fan Xiongdi, let me use your blade." While saying that, he held out his right hand toward Fan Gang. His meaning was very obvious, he wanted to cut his own throat right there and then to bring this contentious issue to completion.


    "Slow down, slow down!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Xu San Ge, please sit down, don''t be this impatient. You are already old, how come you still have such temper? I am the Xiangzhu of the Green Wood Hall, am I not? If you do not obey my order, you are not giving me a face at all."


    In the Tian Di Hui, ''not following order'' was a major offense, Xu Tianchuan hastily bowed down and said, "Xu Tianchuan understands his offense, I am obeying Wei Xiangzhu''s order."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Now that''s only proper," he said, "Bai Da Xia is dead, nothing we can do about it. Even if Xu San Ge pay with your own life, human''s life cannot be transferred. No matter what it is a lose-lose situation, it''s not a good business sense at all."


    Everybody''s gaze was fixed on his face, nobody knew what nonsense he was going to say next. Tian Di Hui warriors were especially anxious, they all thought, "Our Society''s reputation in Wulin simply cannot be ruined by this ''do-not-understand-anything'' little Xiangzhu. If he continues speaking rubbish and this matter is known throughout the Jianghu, we won''t have any face left to see other people in the future."


    "Xiao Gongye," they heard Wei Xiaobao continue, "This time from Yunnan you come to Beijing, do you only bring along these several friends? It seems like a little bit is missing, is that right?"


    "Humph," Mu Jiansheng snorted and asked, "What is Wei Xiangzhu saying?"


    "Nothing," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Xiao Gongye is such a respectable figure, you are totally different from me, Wei Xiaobao. You came to the Capital, if you don''t have a bit more escorts, and you are not being careful, some might be arrested by the Tatars'' running dogs; won''t that be greatly not worthwhile?"


    Mu Jiansheng raised his long eyebrows as he said, "It''s not that easy for the Tatars'' running dogs to get me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Xiao Gongye''s martial art is astonishing, in this world �� hey, hey �� perhaps very few people can be your match, naturally the Tatars won''t be able to catch you. It''s just that �� it''s just that not necessarily the rest of the friends from Mu Palace would have Xiao Gongye''s level of skill. If the Tatars are leading away a goat in passing, taking away an ox with hands behind their backs, they were inviting several friends over to their place, that won''t be too amusing."


    While Wei Xiaobao was giggling and talking frivolously, Mu Jiansheng had been listening with calm face. When Wei Xiaobao finished, he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, are you mocking Zaixia?" When he spoke those words, his expression became even more unsightly.


    "No, no, I did not," Wei Xiaobao said, "In all my life, I have always been bullied by others, I have never bullied other people. Others have grabbed my hand, look, the black and blue has not gone yet, it was so painful that I hovered between life and death. This Bai Er Xia, hey, hey, his hand strength is really extraordinary. Those two moves, ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'' are amazing, surely they will be effective to be used to rescue your friends that are captured by the Tatars. No matter what, you will win a victory on raising the flag, it will be an instant success."


    Bai Hanfeng''s countenance turned ashen, he was about to speak, but in the end he struggled to endure it. Liu Dahong shot a look at Mu Jiansheng before saying, "Xiao Xiongdi, your speech is immeasurably tall and deep. We don''t quite understand it."


    "Laoyezi is too polite," Wei Xiaobao said, "Immeasurably low and shallow is possible, but immeasurably tall and deep? I do not dare to accept. It is extremely low and shallow, extremely low and shallow."


    Liu Dahong said, "Xiao Xiongdi is saying that some people from our Mu Palace were arrested by the Tatars, I wonder what you mean by that?"


    "I don''t have the slightest meaning," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Xiao Wangye, Liu Laoyezi, my drinking capacity is immeasurably low and shallow, most likely it''s because I have drunk the wine that I talked nonsense; damn it, I must not say anything."


    "Humph," Mu Jiansheng snorted, he was trying hard to control his anger. He said, "Turns out Wei Xiangzhu was only chatting to kill time."


    "Xiao Gongye," Wei Xiaobao said, "You want to chat to kill time? Have you taken a stroll around Beijing?"


    "What do you mean?" Mu Jiansheng''s voice was threatening.


    "Beijing is very big," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your Kunming in Yunnan is not as big as Beijing, is it?"


    Mu Jiansheng sounded angrier. "What do you mean?" he shouted.


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao was rambling incoherently, was getting more and more unreasonable, Guan Anji interrupted, "Beijing is very beautiful, it''s a pity it is being occupied by the Tatars. We, people with slight courage and uprightness, are angry and full of grievances."


    Wei Xiaobao ignored his remark, he kept rambling, "Xiao Gongye, you invited me to drink wine, Zaixia does not have anything to repay you. When you have a spare time, I''ll take you for a stroll around Beijing. With a friend guiding your way, you won''t go astray. Otherwise, if you rush and wander aimlessly, and not being careful, you might enter the Imperial Palace. Although Xiao Gongye has high level of martial art, it might not be too convenient for you."


    Liu Dahong said, "Xiao Xiongdi, there must be another meaning beyond your words. If you regard me as a friend, may I ask that you speak a little bit clearer?"


    "I can''t speak any clearer than this," Wei Xiaobao said, "Friends from the Mu Palace all have high level of martial art. Those moves, ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water'', nothing is more formidable than those. It''s a pity that within the Beijing''s city wall, everything is unfamiliar. When you roam around the street in the depth of the night, you can''t look everything clearly; confused and muddleheaded, you might end up entering the Forbidden City."


    Liu Dahong shot Mu Jianzheng another look; he asked Wei Xiaobao, "What do you mean?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard there are so many gates and so many palaces in the Forbidden City, if you walked in carelessly, without the Emperor or Empress Dowager to show the way, it is so easy for you to get lost, and then you won''t be able to get out forever; it has happened before. Zaixia does not have enough face, I don''t know if the Emperor or Empress Dowager will have a free time to show me around, daytime or nighttime. Perhaps Mu Palace''s Xiao Gongye has a lot of face, your subordinate friends may bring Xiao Gongye''s reputation and may scare the young Emperor and the Empress Dowager, that old wh0re, away. It''s really hard to say."


    Hearing him calling the Empress Dowager ''the old wh0re'', everybody was quite amused. Guan Anji, Qi Biaoqing, and the others could not help laughing. In his belly, Wei Xiaobao often cursed the Empress Dowager as ''the old wh0re'', unexpectedly this time, in front of a big crowd of people, he was able to say it out loud; the delight in his heart was unspeakable.


    Liu Dahong said, "The people under Xiao Gongye''s leadership are all cautious, they can''t possibly enter the Imperial Palace recklessly. I heard that traitor Wu Sangui''s son, Wu Yingxiong, is also in Beijing. He might send people into the Imperial Palace to do some shady business, we don''t know."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "Liu Laoyezi is right," he said, "Zaixia has a friend with whom I play dice, he is a servant to the Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace. He said that they have captured several assassins in the Palace last night, the assassins confessed that they are Xiao Gongye of Mu Palace''s subordinates ��"


    "What?" Mu Jiansheng was shocked. His right hand trembled, the wine cup in his hand fell down, ''crash!'' it broke into several pieces.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "At first I was convinced, thinking that the Mu Family is a greatly devoted subject of the Great Ming, they must have sent some people to assassinate the Tatar Emperor, indeed �� indeed that is the conduct of a great hero and warrior. But now, listening to Liu Laoyezi, I know that they were the subordinates of that traitor Wu Sangui, we must never spare them. I will go to that friend immediately and tell him to think of a way to fix those assassins. Damn it, the subordinates of big traitor, what good are they? I must have them suffer some more."


    Liu Dahong said, "Xiao Xiongdi, what is your friend''s honored surname and great given name? Which post does he hold in the Tatars'' Palace?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "He is only a little servant to the Imperial Bodyguards, sweeping the floor, making them tea, cleaning their chamber pots, it''s really embarrassing just to mention him. Others call him Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi


    [23]. What honored surname and great given name? Those assassins are being tied up, originally I was going to ask Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi to sneak something good for them to eat. But now that Liu Laoyezi said that they are the traitor''s men, I am going to tell him to take a knife and poke several holes on their thighs, so that those turtle bastards cannot escape."


    "I was just guessing," Liu Dahong said, "I cannot ascertain. But since they dared to enter the Palace to assassinate the Emperor, they must be real great hero. If Wei Xiangzhu can ask your noble friend to look after one or two of them, that is also showing the yi qi of Jianghu."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi is very good to me, when he lost in gambling, I always lend him ten taels, eight taels, and I have never asked him to pay me back. Whatever instruction Xiao Gongye and Liu Laoyezi have, I will ask Xiao Sanzi to do it for you, he won''t dare to make excuses."


    Liu Dahong let out a relieved sigh, he said, "In that case, I wonder if you could tell me how many assassins were captured, and what their names are. Those assassins'' courage is not small, we admire them very much, at present I wonder if they have already suffered very much. If your precious Society can inquire for us, Zaixia will be very indebted to Wei Xiangzhu."


    Wei Xiaobao struck his own chest and said, "That''s easy. Too bad those assassins are not Xiao Gongye''s subordinate brothers; otherwise, I will try to get one out and hand him over to Xiao Gongye, a life for a life, then the matter of Xu San Ge accidentally harmed Bai Da Xia can be written off in one stroke."


    Liu Dahong turned his head to look at Mu Jiansheng; he nodded slowly. Mu Jiansheng said, "We don''t know who those assassins are, but since they dared to assassinate the Tatar Emperor, they are men with lofty ideals, our compatriots in fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. Wei Xiangzhu, if you can find a way to save them, regardless of whether you will succeed or not, Mu Jiansheng will be eternally grateful. Naturally the matter of Xu Sanye and Bai Dage needs not be mentioned anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao turned to look at Bai Hanfeng and said, "Xiao Gongye won''t mentioned it, but I am afraid Bai Er Xia is not willing to let the matter drop. Next time he will grab my hand again and crush it until I cry; now that will be very upsetting."


    Bai Hanfeng suddenly stood up and said loud and clear, "If Wei Xiangzhu can rescue our �� our �� can rescue those chivalrous patriots who have fallen into the enemy''s hands, and the one surnamed Bai offended Wei Xiangzhu, I will cut off my own hand as my apology to Wei Xiangzhu."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "No need, no need," he said, "You give me your hand, what shall I do with it? Besides, that Lai Li Tou brother of mine has no skill whatsoever to save people in the Palace, so it will be very hard to say. These men have come to assassinate the Emperor, that was a major criminal offense, I don''t know how many fetters and shackles are binding their bodies, I also don''t know how many guards are watching over them. I said I was going to save people, I was only bragging; just consider we all are chatting to kill the time."


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Naturally we know that entering the Imperial Palace to save people is extremely difficult, we do not dare to hope for any success; but as long as Wei Xiangzhu is willing to give your all in trying, it does not matter if you succeed nor not, you can get them out or not, everybody will be grateful all the same." After a short pause, he added, "There is one more thing, my sister suddenly went missing the other day, Zaixia is very concerned. Tian Di Hui friends'' network of friends in the Capital is extensive, your informers numerous; if you could help us inquire around and find a way to rescue her, Zaixia simply can''t thank you enough."


    "That''s easy," Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiao Gongye may put your hundred and twenty hearts at ease. Very well, we have drunk enough wine, I am going to look for that Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi to talk it over. Damn it, I''ll play two rounds with him and make him bankrupt." He put out his hand and groped something from his pocket and threw it onto the Eight-Immortal table. Surprisingly, it was four dice. The dice rolled for a moment, then four red dots faced upwards. Wei Xiaobao clapped and said, "Success across the board, success across the board [lit. ''Hall full of red''], it''s extraordinary good luck! Ay, it would be good if they all were not beheaded, not killed that the hall is full of red." Everybody looked at each other with changed expression, they were completely stunned.


    Wei Xiaobao picked up the dice, cupped his fist and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, we are taking our leave. Xu San Ge is coming back with us, can he?"


    "Wei Xiangzhu is too polite," Mu Jiansheng said, "Zaixia will send Wei Xiangzhu, Xu Sanye, and Tian Di Hui friends off."


    And thus Wei Xiaobao, Xu Tianchuan, Li Lishi, Guan Anji, and the others left the banquet tables and walked out. Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong and the others sent them off outside the main gate; they did not return back to the house until Wei Xiaobao had climbed onto the sedan chair.


    The warriors returned to the small courtyard house. Guan Anji was most impatient, he asked, "Wei Xiangzhu, were there assassins in the Palace last night? Looking at their expression, most likely they were sent by the Mu Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Exactly. The assassins entered the Palace last night, nobody dared to leak this secret. No one outside the Palace knew about it, yet they did not seem to be surprised, naturally it was their doing."


    Xuanzhen said, "They dared to assassinate the Tatar Emperor, they can be considered extremely daring, indeed they deserved other people''s admiration. Wei Xiangzhu, their men were captured, did you say you could rescue them? I''m afraid this is an extremely difficult matter."


    When talking with Mu Jiansheng and Liu Dahong at the banquet table, Wei Xiaobao had already hatched a plan. To save the captured assassins was definitely not a possibility, but in his own room, one Xiao Junzhu and one Fang Yi were lying down nicely on the bed. Xiao Junzhu was not an assassin; she was kidnapped by Tian Di Hui and brought into the Palace, so her release did not count. Fang Yi, on the other hand, was an assassin who broke into the Palace; he thought that finding a way to smuggle her out should not be a difficult matter. As he heard Xuanzhen''s question, Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "To save all is impossible, but to get one or two out, most probably it is still manageable. Xu San Ge only killed Bai Hansong one person, we only need to get one person out to be returned to them. One life for one life, they do not suffer any loss. Much less not only they will get both the capital and profit, they will also get the interest; we will return to them that little miss Boss Qian has kidnapped, what else can they say? Boss Qian, early tomorrow morning, bring two dead pigs to the Catering Department, we will pack the people inside, then I''ll throw a fit in the kitchen, scolding, swearing and berating you [orig. ''pour dogs blood on you''], saying that those two pigs are not good, and will force you to take them out of the Palace at once."


    Boss Qian clapped his hands and laughed. "Wei Xiangzhu''s idea is marvelous," he said, "The dead pig for fixing Xiao Junzhu is not a problem, but the other one must be a jumbo size."


    Wei Xiaobao uttered several words of encouragement to Xu Tianchuan; he said, "Xu San Ge, don''t you worry, that dog thief Lu Yifeng offended you, I have told Wu Yingxiong to break his dog legs."


    "Yes, yes," Xu Tianchuan replied, "Thank you Wei Xiangzhu." But in his heart he did not believe him, "This child is babbling nonsense again. Wu Yingxiong is the Heir Apparent of Ping Xi Wang, he is extremely arrogant, how could he listen to you?" Wei Xiaobao was helping him settling the intractable problem of unintentional killing of Bai Hansong. Although Xu Tianchuan was deeply grateful, he was not completely convinced that Wei Xiaobao would be able to accomplish this important matter.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the imperial palace. He had just entered the Shen Wu Gate when he saw two eunuchs meeting him and said together, "Gui Gong-gong, quick, quick, His Majesty is summoning you."


    "What important matter is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "His Majesty has been asking for you several times," one of the eunuchs said, "There must be a very important matter. His Majesty is at the Upper Study Room."


    Wei Xiaobao rushed toward the Upper Study Room. Kangxi was pacing up and down the room, seeing Wei Xiaobao come in, his face revealed a happy expression. "Damn it," he cursed, "You died and went to where?"


    "Reporting to His Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant was thinking that the assassins were so daring; if we do not catch everything in one net, I am afraid it won''t be too good for us, perhaps they will come back to cause us trouble and make His Majesty worry. We must find the leader who managed that operation in secret. Therefore, just now I changed into civilian clothes and went to great streets and small alleys everywhere; I wanted to try to find out who is the assassins'' leader, is he in the Capital?"


    "Very good," Kangxi said, "What did you find?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I say that as soon as I wanted to find out and immediately find something, it would sound too much of a coincident." Thereupon he said, "After walking around for half a day, I did not see any suspicious person. I am thinking of going out again tomorrow."


    Kangxi said, "You wander around aimlessly and groping blindly, it may be useless. I have an idea."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "Your Majesty''s idea must be very good," he said.


    Kangxi said, "Just now Dolong came to report that the three captured assassins kept their mouths tightly shut; no matter how much flogging and swindling, they keep saying that they were sent by Wu Sangui. Apparently, we cannot get a sentence of truth by torturing them. I am thinking of simply letting them go."


    "Let them go?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "This �� won''t that be too easy for them?"


    "These assassins are following orders," Kangxi said, "Although they rebelled against the authority, killing them is of little significance, what''s more important is to find the master mind behind them, eliminating them in one fell swoop, so that we won''t have future trouble." Speaking to this point, he smiled and said, "If the wolf cub is released, won''t the wolf cub go find the mother wolf?"


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, he clapped his hands and said with a laugh, "Wonderful, wonderful! We release the assassins while scooping them up in secret, they will go to meet with the rebellious thieves'' ring-leader. Your Majesty''s divine strategy really surpasses three Zhuge Liang."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "What do you mean surpasses three Zhuge Liang? Your boot-licking is excessively over the top. The problem is how to scoop the assassins without them knowing it; it won''t be too easy to do. Xiao Guizi, I am sending you on an assignment: you pretend to be the good person, rescue them from the Palace, then those assassins will regard you as one of their own, naturally they will lead you to their leader."


    Wei Xiaobao hesitated. "This ��" he muttered.


    "Naturally this is a dangerous mission," Kangxi said, "If they find out, they would immediately want to take your little life. It''s a pity I am the Emperor; otherwise, I am seriously considering doing it myself. It would be very exciting."


    "Your Majesty is giving me order, naturally I will do as you bid," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if it was a more dangerous mission, I am not afraid."


    Kangxi was delighted, he patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said with a laugh, "I already knew that you are smart, and brave, and is most willing to do the job for me. You are but a child, the assassins won''t suspect you. I originally wanted to send two Imperial Bodyguards with high level of martial art to do it, but the assassins are not stupid, they might not be easily fooled. If the first try failed, we can''t try it again the second time. Xiao Guizi, when you are doing this, it will be the same as if I am doing it myself."


    After learning martial art, Kangxi was very eager to give it a try, all along he wanted to do some dangerous things, but as the Emperor, he could not afford to take any risk. By sending Wei Xiaobao to do the job for him, Kangxi regarded him as a substitute. Even if an Imperial Bodyguard could handle this matter better, he would still prefer to send Wei Xiaobao. He thought that in term of age, Xiao Guizi was comparable to his, in term of martial art skill, he was inferior, in term of intelligence, he was also inferior; if he was successful, then Kangxi would definitely be successful as well. Therefore, by sending Xiao Guizi, it was more or less the same as if he personally doing it. Although he could not personally experience it, he could imagine it.


    Kangxi also said, "You must be as convincing as possible; it is best if you can pretend to be one of the assassins, kill one or two Imperial Bodyguards on guard duty, let these assassins do not have the slightest doubt toward you. I will order Dolong to relax the check-points to let you take them out of the Palace."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao complied, he said, "But those Imperial Bodyguards'' martial art is good, I am afraid I can''t kill them."


    Kangxi said, "You''d better adapt to the situation, but you must be careful, don''t let the Imperial Bodyguards kill you first."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and said, "If I get killed by the Imperial Bodyguards, that means I would die without knowing the rhyme or reason, Xiao Guizi became rebellious traitor''s collaborator instead."


    Kangxi rubbed his palms together in extreme excitement, he said, "Xiao Guizi, if you successfully accomplish this mission, what reward do you want from me?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I successfully accomplish this mission, Your Majesty will be happy. As long as Your Majesty is happy, any reward is good. Next time Your Majesty is thinking about something fascinating, something fun but dangerous thing to do, you will send me again, and that will be very good."


    Kangxi was delighted. "Certainly, certainly!" he said, "Ay, Xiao Guizi, too bad you are an eunuch, otherwise I will definitely make you a high-ranking official."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved. "Thank you, Your Majesty," but in his heart he thought, "The day will come when you will discover that I am a fake eunuch; at that time I don''t know how angry you will be." He said, "Your Majesty, I am asking you for one favor."


    Kangxi smiled, "Do you want to be a high-ranking official?" he asked.


    "No!" Wei Xiaobao replied, "I will do whatever you want me to do with red-bellied devotion, if I came across a misfortune, and provoked Your Majesty''s anger, I am asking you to spare my life and do not take my head."


    Kangxi said, "As long as you serve me with utter devotion, your melon-shaped head will sit steadily on your neck." Finished speaking, he burst into loud laughter.


    Coming out of the Upper Study Room, Wei Xiaobao mused, "I was thinking of freeing Xiao Junzhu and Miss Fang for the Mu Palace, but based on what His Majesty said a moment ago, the release of the assassins has become an imperial order, so there is no hurry to let those two young ladies go. About the assassins'' true leader, Laozi has just had a drink with them a while ago; shall I let the Emperor know and have that little turtle Mu Jiansheng and that old fellow Liu Dahong arrested? But if Shifu knew I did it, he would never forgive me. Damn it, in the end, do I still want to be a Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu?"


    In the Palace, everybody fawned on him, plus Kangxi doted on him and trusted him very much. In that instant, he was really thinking of staying in the Palace and be an eunuch for the rest of his life. But then he thought about the Empress Dowager and could not stop his heart from trembling, "That Old Wh0re is determined to seek my demise, Laozi will not last for too long in the Palace."


    He arrived at the Imperial Bodyguards'' compound west of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The leader of the Imperial Bodyguards on duty was precisely Zhao Qixian. The previous night he had already distributed money, and today from the Imperial Bodyguards Chief Dolong he received some more rewards; he found out it was because Wei Xiaobao had spoken words of praise in front of the Emperor. As soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao arrived, his delight was unspeakable; he sprang up to greet him, saying with a laugh, "Gui Gong-gong, what good wind has blown your honorable self''s presence in this place?"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "I am here to take a look at those brazen rebellious thieves." Stepping closer to his ears, he said in a low voice, "His Majesty sends me here to help with the interrogation, he wants to know who the master mind behind their action."


    Zhao Qixian nodded. "Yes," he said, and continued in low voice, "These three rebellious thieves are so tight-lipped, we have already broken two leather whips, they still stick to their original statement, that Wu Sangui sent them here."


    "Let me try to ask them," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Entering the western hall, he saw three men were tied to the wooden pillars, their naked upper bodies had already been badly mutilated by flogging. One was a big man with beard like a young horned-dragon, the other two were twenty-something young men, one was fair-skinned, the other had tattoo all over his body, he had a fierce looking tiger head tattooed on his chest. "I wonder if one of these two young men is Liu Yizhou?" Wei Xiaobao mused. Turning his head toward Zhao Qixian he said, "Zhao Dage, I am afraid you have caught the wrong persons. Please go out for a moment."


    "Yes," Zhao Qixian replied; he turned around and left, closing the door behind him.


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "May I know your honored surnames and great given names?"


    The one with dragon-beard opened his glowering eyes, "Dog eunuch," he cursed, "Do you think you are worthy to ask Laozi''s name?"


    Lowering his voice, Wei Xiaobao said, "I received a request from someone to save a friend by the name of Liu Yizhou ��" As soon as he said those words, astonishment appeared on the three men''s faces as they cast a glance toward each other.


    The dragon-bearded man asked, "Who requested it?"


    "Is there any Liu Yizhou among you or not?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "If there is, I have something to say; if not, that''s all I can say."


    The three men were looking at each other again, they looked doubtful, afraid that they might be duped. The dragon-bearded man asked again, "Who are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The two friends who asked me, one is surnamed Mu, the other is surnamed Liu, ''Iron Back Blue Dragon''. Do you know him?"


    The dragon-bearded man loudly said, "Who does not know the ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' Liu Dahong in the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan region? Mu Jiansheng is Mu Tianbo''s son, he is wandering destitute in Jianghu, at this moment nobody knows whether he is dead or alive." While saying that, he repeatedly shook his head.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Since the three of you do not know Xiao Gongye and Liu Laoyezi, you can''t be their friends, so it may be assumed that you do not know these styles." While saying that, he struck a posture, and then demonstrated the two moves of the Mu Family fist technique; naturally it was the ''sweeping away a thousand army'' and ''high mountain flowing water''.


    "Ah!" the young man with tiger head tattoo on his chest exclaimed. Wei Xiaobao halted, "What is it?" he asked. "Nothing," the man replied.


    "Who taught you those styles?" the dragon-bearded man asked.


    "My wife taught me," Wei Xiaobao replied with a laugh.


    "Pei!" the dragon-bearded man spat, "What wife does a court eunuch have?" While saying that, he was constantly shaking his head. At first he cursed Wei Xiaobao as ''dog eunuch'', after hearing the strange thing he said and the unusual way he behaved, he dropped the ''dog'' character.


    "Why can''t a court eunuch have a wife?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Others are willing to marry, why do you care about it? My wife is surnamed Fang, with the single character given name Yi ��"


    The fair-skinned young man suddenly bellowed, "Nonsense!"


    Wei Xiaobao saw blue veins suddenly stuck out on his forehead, his eyes were spouting fire, his anxiety had reached its extreme point, so he presumed this man must be Liu Yizhou. He had a rectangular face, quite handsome; it''s just that under his violent rage, unavoidably his appearance looked rather fearsome. Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "What nonsense? My wife is the later generation of the surnamed Fang of the Mu Family four great generals, Liu Bai Fang Su. The one acting as our matchmaker is surnamed Su, his name is Su Gang, nicknamed ''Divine Physician Hermit''. There is also another matchmaker surnamed Bai, his older brother Bai Hansong was recently killed. That Bai Hanfeng is extremely poor, so he is acting as a matchmaker to earn money, to prepare for his older brother''s funeral ��"


    The more that young man listened, the angrier he got. "You �� you �� you ��" he roared.


    The dragon-bearded man shook his head and said, "Xiongdi, don''t make noise." To Wei Xiaobao he said, "You seemed to know a lot about the Mu Palace''s affairs."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am Mu Palace''s son-in-law, how could I not know the affairs of my old man father-in-law? Originally Fang Yi, Miss Fang was unwilling to marry me, she said she was engaged to her Shige Liu Yizhou. But then she heard that this surnamed Liu did not make any progress, he threw himself under the leadership of the big traitor Wu Sangui, and entered the Imperial Palace as an assassin. Just think �� that big traitor Wu Sangui ��" Speaking to this point, he lowered his voice and continued, "�� colluding with the Tatars, surrendering our beautiful Great Ming''s rivers and mountains to the dog thieves Manchurian Qing with both hands. Not one of our Han people does not want to peel this fellow Wu Sangui''s skin and eat his flesh. Why would that fellow Liu Yizhou rely on a bad master, Wu Sangui? Naturally Miss Fang''d face is downcast, she does not want to marry him anymore."


    "I �� I �� I ��" the young man anxiously said.


    The dragon-bearded man shook his head, "Everybody has his own ambition," he said, "Sire became a court eunuch in Qing Palace, which not a very honorable thing."


    "Right, right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally it is not a very honorable thing. My wife is anxious over her old flame, she wanted me to investigate clearly, whether that Liu Yizhou has died or not. If he is really dead, she will marry me with a clear conscience, henceforth does not have to worry over the deceased. She only wants to set up a memorial tablet for her Liu Shige, and burn some ritual paper money for him. Friends, there is no Liu Yizhou among you, is there? Then I shall return to Miss Fang, tonight we are going to bow to the Heaven and Earth to get married." Saying that, he turned around to leave.


    The young man said, "I am ��" But the dragon-bearded man shouted, "Don''t be fooled!" The young man struggled a moment, he said angrily, "He �� he ��" suddenly he spat toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao dodged sideways. He saw that the hands and feet of those three were firmly bound to the pillars using thick ox tendon, it was definitely very hard for them to struggle free. He mused, "This man is obviously Liu Yizhou, he was about to confess, but was stopped by that bearded man." After thinking for a moment, he had another idea; he said, "You wait here, I am going to ask my wife again."


    Returning to the outside, he said to Zhao Qixian, "I have found a clue. Don''t beat them anymore; I will be back in a moment."


    By this time the sky had darkened, Wei Xiaobao thought that Fang Yi and Mu Jianping should be very hungry by now, so he did not go straight back to his room, but stopped by the Catering Department instead, to instruct his subordinate eunuchs to deliver a sumptuous banquet to his room, saying that he wanted to invite the Imperial Bodyguards who had set up some merits the previous night to a banquet to congratulate them, that they were going to discuss some confidential matter on capturing the assassins during the banquet, therefore, he did not need any little eunuchs to wait upon them.


    He unlocked his room and lightly pushed the door to the inner room. Mu Jianping cried out lightly and sat up. "What took you so long to come back?" she asked in soft voice.


    "I made you very anxious waiting for me, didn''t I?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I have good news."


    Fang Yi lifted her head from the pillow and asked, "What good news?"


    Wei Xiaobao lighted the candle on the table, he saw Fang Yi''s eyes were red, apparently she had been crying. He sighed and said, "This good news is for you, but for me it is a very bad news. I have just succeeded in obtaining a good wife, now she flew away into the thin air. Ay, that fellow Liu Yizhou unexpectedly has not died."


    "Ah!" Fang Yi let out a cry, her voice was brimming with joy.


    Mu Jianping happily asked, "Is our Liu Shige safe and sound?"


    "He has not died all right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But it might not be easy for him to stay alive. He was captured by the Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace, and stated decisively that he was sent by the big traitor Wu Sangui to assassinate the Emperor. With his capital crime, no doubt it will be difficult for him to escape, but if this news ever spread out, the Jianghu heroes and warriors will all say that he has become Wu Sangui''s lackey, after he is beheaded, his reputation will stink very much."


    Fang Yi raised her upper body and said, "Before entering the Imperial Palace, we have already considered this possibility, but in order to topple this traitor Wu Sangui and avenge the bitter hatred and deep enmity of the late emperor and Mu Gongye, we have already abandoned any thought to our own lives and our reputation after we died."


    The light in Fang Yi''s eyes flickered, her cheeks blushed, she said, "If you can seriously save my Liu Shige''s life, no matter what difficult or dangerous thing you want me to do, Fang Yi will not knit my brows." She said those words with determination in her voice, it was extremely straightforward.


    "What if we make a deal?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiao Junzhu can be our witness. If I can save your Liu Shige and get him out, and hand him over to Xiao Gongye Mu Jiansheng and ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' Liu Dahong ��"


    "You know my Gege and my Shifu?" Mu Jianping interrupted.


    "The Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye and ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' have grand reputation," Wei Xiaobao said, "Who does not know them? Who has never heard of their names?"


    "You are a good person," Mu Jianping said, "If you save Liu Shige''s life, everybody will be very grateful of your kindness."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I am not a good person," he said, "I am simply making a deal. This man Liu Yizhou is not a small matter, he is a criminal who came to assassinate the Emperor himself. By wanting to save him, I am placing my own life in great danger, am I right? If the government authority found out, not only my own head would roll, my grandpas, grandmas, papa, mama, my three Gege, four Meizi, plus my uncles, aunts, cousins[24], everybody at home would lose their heads, am I right? This is called ''execution of the whole family unto the third generation''. The gold, silver, house, pots and pans, pants, shoes, everything in my home would belong to the government official, am I right?"


    Each time he asked, ''am I right?'' Mu Jianping nodded her head.


    "Exactly right," Fang Yi said, "The implication of this matter is too great, I can''t simply ask you to do it. In any case, if my �� my �� my Shige died, I don''t want to live. Let''s just resign to our fate." While saying that, tears flooding down on her face.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s no hurry to grieve, there''s no hurry to cry. You are such a ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'', as soon as your tears flow, my heart turns soft. Miss Fang, I''ll do anything for you. I will definitely save your Liu Shige''s life and get him out. Let''s settle this now: if I cannot save and get your Liu Shige out, I will become your ox or your horse, your slave for the rest of my life; if I can save and get your Liu Shige out, you will be my wife for the rest of your life. A real man gave his words, some horses cannot chase it, and that''s that."


    Fang Yi looked at him in a daze, the color on her cheek gradually vanished, until her face turned deathly pale. "Gui Dage," she said, "In order to save Liu Shige''s life, whatever �� I am willing to do whatever you want me to. If you really can rescue him to safety and he is safe and sound, and you want me to serve you �� to serve you for the rest of my life, it won''t be impossible. It''s just that �� It''s just that ��" She had just spoken those words when there were footsteps outside, and then someone called out, "Gui Gong-gong, the food and wine is here." Fang Yi stopped talking immediately.


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said. He walked out the room, locked the inside door, and open the front door.


    Four eunuchs carried food, bowls and cups on a shoulder pole. They entered the room and set up the table in the front room. There were twelve large bowls of vegetable and meat dishes, plus one pot of Yunnan''s steamed chicken. The four eunuchs arranged eight set of bowl and chopsticks, and then respectfully said, "Gui Gong-gong, is there anything else you need?"


    "This will do," Wei Xiaobao said, "You may go back." Each person received one tael tip. The four eunuchs returned, pleased with the heaven, happy with the earth.


    Wei Xiaobao bolted the front door, and brought the food into the inner room. He pulled a table to the front of the bed, poured three cups of wine and scooped three bowls of rice. "Miss Fang," he said, "Just now you said, ''It''s just that �� It''s just that ��'', what was it that you were going to say?"


    By now Mu Jianping had helped Fang Yi to sit up, the color on her face had returned. She lowered her head and was silent for half a day before finally spoke in a low voice, "I was going to say that you are an officer in the Palace, how can you marry? But no matter what, if you can save my Liu Shige''s life, I will accompany you for the rest of my life."


    Her countenance was sparkling and translucent like jade, shining pink under the candlelight, so out-of-the-worldly tender and beautiful. Although Wei Xiaobao was very young, he looked at her as if his soul had left him. He laughed and said, "Turns out you wanted to say that I am an eunuch, and thus cannot take a wife. Whether I take a wife or not, it''s my business, it''s none of your concern. I just want to ask you: are you or are you not willing to be my wife?"


    Fang Yi''s delicate eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, a faint trace of anger appeared on her face. After half a day she made up her mind and said, "Let alone be your wife, even if you sell me to the pleasure house to be a prostitute, I am also willing."


    If any other man were to hear it, he definitely would not be happy, but Wei Xiaobao grew up in a brothel, so he did not feel anything strange. With a chuckle he said, "Alright, it''s a deal. Good wife, Good Meizi, let the three of us drink a cup."


    At first Fang Yi did not even regard this little eunuch as someone worthy of her attention, and then she saw how he personally stabbed the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Rui Dong and dissolved his body with some strange medicine. She also saw how the Imperial Bodyguards and his fellow eunuchs were very respectful toward him; now she believed definitely nothing was ordinary about him. Liu Yizhou was the man she fell in love with, although they had not formalized their engagement, their two hearts already beat as one; one would not want to take another as husband [orig. ''lord''], the other would not love another as wife. The previous night the two of them entered the Palace on mission together, Fang Yi saw with her own eyes Liu Yizhou slipped and was captured by the Imperial Bodyguards, while she herself suffered an injury, so that she was unable to help. She thought that her boyfriend had given his life for their common cause; who would have thought that this little eunuch said that not only her lover did not die, he even said that he could find a way to rescue him. She thought, "As long as Liu Lang


    [25] can escape from danger, although I have to suffer hardship for the rest of my life, I will still thank the Heaven for not treating me badly. How can this little eunuch take me as his wife anyway? He''s just oily-mouthed and a smooth-talker, he only wants to win the argument, I might as well play along with him." As she thought about this reasoning, she showed a faint smile as she raised the wine cup with both hands, saying, "I will drink this cup of wine with you, but if you do not save my Liu Shige, you won''t escape being a ghost by my sword."


    Seeing her flowery dimples, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was very happy; he also raised the wine cup with both hands and said, "May our words be like striking nail through the foot, there will be no denial. If I save your Liu Shige, but you go back on your words and marry him, then what? With the two of you join hands and feet, I won''t be your match; he sweeps his saber across, you hack your sword down, I, Gui Gong-gong, will immediately turn into four pieces. I simply cannot not guard against this thing."


    With a smile on her face Fang Yi solemnly said, "By the Emperor of Heaven above and the Queen of Earth below, if Gui Gong-gong can rescue Liu Yizhou and bring him to safety, the lowly woman Fang Yi will be willing to be Gui Gong-gong''s wife, and will be loyal and dependable to my husband with singleness of heart for the rest of my life, even if Gui Gong-gong cannot take me as wife for real, I am dead set on taking care of him for a lifetime. If I am double-minded, let me be cut into ten thousand pieces and will not be reincarnated." Finished speaking, she poured the wine to the floor. She also said, "Xiao Junzhu is my witness."


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, he turned to ask Mu Jianping, "Good Meizi, do you have any sweetheart you want me to rescue?"


    "Of course I don''t!" Mu Jianping replied, "How can I have any sweetheart?"


    "What a pity, what a pity!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "What a pity what?" Mu Jianping asked.


    "If you have a sweetheart," Wei Xiaobao explained, "I will also rescue him and get him out, then won''t you also be willing to be my wife?"


    "Pei!" Mu Jianping spat, "You already have one wife and it''s not enough? What an endless greed[26]!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The toad wants to eat the swan''s flesh! Hey, Good Meizi, other than your Liu Shige, there are two other men being captured, one with jaw full of whiskers ��"


    "That must be Wu Shishu [martial (younger) uncle]," Mu Jianping said.


    "The other has tattoo all over his body," Wei Xiaobao said, "With a tiger head on his chest."


    "That must be Blue Haired Tiger Ao Biao," Mu Jianping said, "He is Wu Shishu''s disciple."


    "What is that Wu Shishu''s name?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Wu Shishu''s name is Wu Lishen," Mu Jianping replied, "His nickname is Shaking-head Lion."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That nickname is very appropriate, whatever other people say, he always shakes his head."


    "Gui Dage," Mu Jianping said, "Since you are going to rescue Liu Shige, you might as well try to rescue Wu Shishu and Ao Shige."


    "Do your Wu Shishu and Ao Biao also have ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' women?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I don''t know," Mu Jianping replied, "Why do you ask?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am going to ask their good-looking women first, to see if they would be willing to let me take an advantage, otherwise, won''t I be staking my life to save others in vain?" Suddenly a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, some kind of object flew toward his face. Wei Xiaobao hastily ducked, but he was too late. ''Crash!'' that object smashed right in the middle of his forehead. It was a wine cup.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao and Mu Jianping cried out together. Wei Xiaobao leaped three steps backward, and crashed into a chair. Blood streamed down from his forehead, wine blurred his vision that all he saw was a vast expanse of whiteness.


    He heard Fang Yi shouted harshly, "Go and kill Liu Yizhou immediately, your miss does not want to live anymore, so that I won''t receive this kind of senseless humiliation from you all day!" Turned out the wine cup was thrown by Fang Yi. Luckily, due to her severe wound, she lost the strength of her hand. Wei Xiaobao''s forehead was hit by the wine cup, but the scratch was only skin deep.


    Mu Jianping said, "Gui Dage, come here, let me look at your wound, don''t let the broken porcelain pieces remain in your flesh."


    "I am not coming near you," Wei Xiaobao said, "My own wife wants to murder her husband."


    "Who told you to speak nonsense?" Mu Jianping said, "You want to take advantage of other women. Even I was angry to hear it."


    Wei Xiaobao burst into loud laughter. "Ah, I get it," he said, "Turns out the two of you are drinking vinegar. Hearing that I was going to take advantage of other women, my first wife, my second wife, are drinking vinegar in a big way."


    Mu Jianping picked up her wine cup and said, "What did you call me? See if I don''t throw this wine cup on you."


    Wei Xiaobao used his sleeve to wipe his eyes. Seeing Mu Jianping pretend to be angry, but with a slight smile at the tips on her brow and the corners of her eyes, also Fang Yi look apologetic, although his forehead was painful, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was very happy. He said, "My first wife threw a wine cup, if my second wife did not throw, it would be unfair." He took a step forward and said, "Second wife may throw the wine cup!"


    "Alright!" Mu Jianping said. Raising her hand, she splashed the half-cup of wine onto his face.


    Unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao did not evade; the half-cup of wine trickled down his face. He stuck his tongue out and licked the blood and wine on his face, saying, "Delicious, delicious! The first wife cut the blood, plus the second wife splashed the wine. Aiyo! I die tasty, I die tasty!"


    Mu Jianping was the first to laugh, followed by a ''pft!'' from Fang Yi; she could not restrain her laughter. "Rascal!" she cursed. From her bosom she produced a handkerchief and gave it to Mu Jianping, saying, "Wipe his face."


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "You are the one who hurt others, why do I have to wipe it?"


    Covering her mouth, Fang Yi said, "Aren''t you his second wife?"


    "Pei!" Mu Jianping spat, "You promised yourself to him just a moment ago, I did not promise him anything."


    Fang Yi laughed and said, "Who said you haven''t promise him anything? He said, ''Second wife may throw the wine cup'', and you raised your wine cup and splashed him; isn''t that the same as you agree to be his second wife?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "That''s right, that''s right!" he said, "My first wife is hurt, my second wife is also hurt. The two of you may set your hearts at ease; I am not going to fool around with other women."


    Fang Yi told Wei Xiaobao to come over; seeing there was no porcelain fragment in his forehead wound, she wiped the blood from his face.


    The three of them could not drink wine anymore, their stomachs were hungry, so they ate quite a lot of food. Chatting and joking, gaiety filled the room.


    Finished eating, Wei Xiaobao yawned and said, "Shall I sleep with the first wife tonight, or the second wife?"


    Fang Yi''s countenance was grim, she sternly said, "You should stop cracking jokes; if you ever get into the bed, I''ll �� I''ll kill you with a sword."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and said, "There will come a day when my old life will be delivered in your hands." Moving the food to the outside hall, he fetched a woven mat and spread it on the floor, and slept fully clothed. At this time he was really weary, so in just a short moment he fell fast asleep.


    The next morning when he woke up, he felt his body was nice and warm. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his body was covered with a quilt; he also felt a pillow under his head. He sat up and noticed the muslin curtain above the bed was hanging down. Through the mosquito net he could faintly see Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were sleeping side by side.


    Quietly he stood up and opened the curtain. He saw Fang Yi was tender and beautiful, Mu Jianping was exquisite. The two beautiful women''s smart faces were reflecting each other, they looked like bright pearl or beautiful jade; his heart was unspeakably moved by their beauty. Wei Xiaobao could not bear the desire to give each one a kiss on the mouth, but he was afraid he might awaken them. "Damn it," he cursed in his heart, "If these two young ladies truly became my first wife and second wife, Laozi will be very happy. There is no young lady as charming as they in the Lovely Spring Courtyard."


    As quietly as possible he opened the door. The door hinge creaked, Fang Yi immediately opened her eyes; she smiled and said, "Gui �� Gui �� Good morning."


    "Gui what?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "You did not even call me Good Husband."


    "But you have not rescued him yet," Fang Yi replied.


    "Don''t worry," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am going to rescue him."


    Mu Jianping also woke up, "What are you talking about this early in the morning?" she asked.


    "We did not sleep at all," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The two of us talked heart to heart the entire night." He yawned, patted his mouth, and said, "I am so sleepy, I am so sleepy! I want to sleep now." And then he stretched.


    Fang Yi blushed, she said, "How can I talk anything good with you? How can it be considered the entire night?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Good wife," he said, "We were talking decently. Please write a letter, I am going to give it to your Liu Shige, so that he will believe me and follow me out of the Palace. Or else he would become Wu Sangui''s son-in-law ��"


    "He pretends to be Wu Sangui''s son-in-law''s nephew," Mu Jianping said.


    "Since Miss Fang is going to be my wife, Liu Yizhou won''t have any choice but to be Wu Sangui''s son-in-law," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Don''t prattle!" Fang Yi said, "Writing a letter is good. But �� but what should I write?"


    "Anything is alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Just write that I am your husband, the number one good person in the world, one with most yi qi, one who accepted your commission to come and rescue him. Genuine goods at fair prices, a hundred percent real gold." He found Hai Dafu''s writing brush and ink stone, and some paper. He rubbed the ink, placed a sheet of white paper on the small table, and pushed the table to the front of the bed.


    Fang Yi sat up and received the writing brush. Suddenly tears gushing out of her eyes; sobbing, she said, "What should I write?"


    Seeing her cute but pitiful appearance, Wei Xiaobao''s heart suddenly turned soft. "You may write whatever you want to write," he said, "I am illiterate anyway. You don''t need to write that you have become my wife, otherwise your Liu Shige will get angry and won''t want me to save him."


    "You are illiterate?" Fang Yi asked, "You are lying."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I know how to read, I am a turtle bastard, and not your husband; I am your son, your distant descendant."


    Fang Yi took up the pen, she hesitated, feeling that it was hard to put the pen to the paper, she sobbed and sniffled, and finally broke into crying again. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was filled with heroic spirit, which was hard to suppress; he said in a loud voice, "Alright, alright! After I rescue Liu Yizhou and take him out, you can marry him, I don''t want to fight with him over you. Besides, even if you followed me, you would still want to be together with him anyway. Rather than wearing a green cap[27] in the future, becoming a cuckold, I''ll let you go free and happy, marry that damn Liu Yizhou. Just write whatever you love to write. Damn it, Laozi won''t care."


    With a pair of big eyes still brimming with tears, Fang Yi looked at him, and then she lowered her head, her gaze revealed a happy expression mixed with gratitude. She wrote several lines of characters on the paper, and then folded the paper into a square. "Please �� please give it to him," she said.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Damn it, now you don''t even call me Dage. Tear down the bridge after crossing the river, after setting off the flame, the monk is not needed anymore." But since he had flaunted his heroic spirit, he had to put an air of hero, he could not force Fang Yi to be his wife anymore. He took the folded paper, put it into his pocket, and left without looking back. He mused, "Want to be a hero, one must suffer losses. Such a nice wife, and I have to present it with both hands to another man."


    By this time, the leader on duty at the Imperial Bodyguards'' compound by the Palace of Heavenly Purity was Zhang Kangnian. The previous night he had received the order from Dolong to give assistance to Gui Gong-gong who was on rescue mission to take the assassins out of the Palace, but he had to do it discreetly, without rousing the assassins'' suspicion. Seeing the arrival of Wei Xiaobao, he busily stepped forward to greet him. He gave an eye signal to Wei Xiaobao as he took him to the rockery outside. "Gui Gong-gong," he said in low voice, "How are you going to rescue them?''


    Seeing his friendly attitude, Wei Xiaobao thought, "His Majesty told me to kill one or two Imperial Bodyguards on this rescue mission, so that Liu Yizhou and the others won''t be suspicious. But this Zhang Laoge [''Ol'' older brother Zhang''] is very good to me, I can''t bear to kill him. Luckily I have that stinky girl''s letter, that ''deserved-to-die'' surnamed Liu will believe me a thousand times, ten thousand times." After slight hesitation he said, "I''ll go in and interrogate these three sons of a turtle again, and then I''ll act accordingly."


    Zhang Kangnian laughed while cupping his fist and said, "Thank you very much Gui Gong-gong."


    "Thank me for what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Zhang Kangnian replied, "Xiaoren simply handling matters following Gui Gong-gong''s suggestion. In the future I am sure Gong-gong will enjoy unceasing promotion. Xiaoren will get promoted and enjoy riches, I won''t fail in everything I do."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You only need to serve His Majesty with utter devotion, and then in the future you will have only one thing to fear."


    Zhang Kangnian was stunned. "What thing?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That the storage in your home is too small, you can''t store more money."


    Zhang Kangnian laughed aloud. And then he lowered his voice and said, "Gong-gong, about a dozen of us have made a secret agreement that all of us will do our best to help Gong-gong to accomplish your missions. Whatever happens we will support Gong-gong to achieve the Head Court Eunuch position in the Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled, "That would be wonderful!" he said, "Let''s wait until I am a few years older before we talk about it again." Recalling how Qian Laoben delivered a live pig to patch a loophole, he asked, "Where did Deputy Chief Rui Dong go? Dolong Zongguan and all of you are very busy, how come I do not see Deputy Chief Rui?"


    "Most likely the Empress Dowager sends him on a mission outside the Palace," Zhang Kangnian replied.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "When you see Deputy Chief Rui, tell him to come to my room," he said, "His Majesty wanted me to ask him some questions." Zhang Kangnian promised to do that.


    Wei Xiaobao entered the Imperial Bodyguard building and went straight to the room where Liu Yizhou and the others, three people, were bound. He did not see them for only one night, but their spirits seemed to be weakened a lot. Although they did not receive any more beating, but two days and two nights without any food and drink, even a man made of iron would not be able to withstand. The seven or eight Imperial Bodyguards keeping watch over them stood up and paid their respect to Wei Xiaobao; their manner was very respectful.


    Wei Xiaobao loudly said, "His Majesty has issued an imperial decree: these three rebellious thieves committed treason and heresy, they are to be immediately beheaded in public. Quickly get some wine, meat, rice and vegetables, let them eat until they are full, so that when they die, they won''t be hungry ghosts." The Imperial Bodyguards complied with one voice.


    The dragon-bearded man Wu Lishen said in loud voice, "We will be loyal to Ping Xi Wang to the death, we are leaving a good name for hundreds of generation, ten thousand times better than you, animals who become the lackeys of the Tatars." One of the Imperial Bodyguards raised his whip and lashed it down, while cursing, "That rebellious thief Wu Sangui will be executed soon, along with his entire family to the third generation."


    Liu Yizhou looked agitated, his eyes were staring at the ceiling, his lips were trembling slightly, but nobody knew what he was saying.


    The guards brought in three large bowls of rice and three large bowl of wine. Wei Xiaobao said, "When these three rebellious thieves heard they are going to be beheaded, they are shaking from fear all over. I am afraid that the wine, they won''t be able to drink, the rice, they won''t be able to swallow. I must bother three Xiongdi a little bit, please feed each of them two mouthful of wine, I don''t want them to drink too much. About the rice, please feed them. If they are drunk, they won''t feel the pain on their neck when their heads roll, it would be too easy for them. When they get to the underworld and Yanluo Wang sees three drunk ghosts, he will be very angry, and then each drunken ghost will get three hundred floggings with the stick. That means we are giving them too much of a bad time." The Imperial Bodyguards laughed; then they fed the three prisoners the wine and the rice.


    Wu Lishen gulping the wine and gobbling the rice, his expression was calm and composed. With each mouthful of rice he ate, Ao Biao uttered a curse, "Dog servant!" Liu Yizhou looked deathly pale, he could not swallow his food, only less than half a bowl later he shook his head and did not want to eat.


    "That''s enough," Wei Xiaobao said, "Everybody out. His Majesty ordered me to ask them some questions. After that, the beheading."


    Zhang Kangnian bowed and said, "Yes!" He led the Imperial Bodyguards out of the room and closed the door behind him.


    When Wei Xiaobao heard the sound of their footsteps were far enough, he coughed and then leaned his head toward Wu Lishen, three people, sizing them up; his face showed a furtive smile.


    "Dog eunuch," Wu Lishen cursed, "What''s so funny?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am laughing on my own, what does it have to do with you?"


    "Gong-gong," Liu Yizhou suddenly said, "I �� I am Liu Yizhou!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, but before he could respond, Wu Lishen and Ao Biao shouted together, "What nonsense are you talking about?"


    "Gong-gong," Liu Yizhou said, "I am asking you to save me, please �� please save us."


    Wu Lishen shouted loudly, "Greedy for life, afraid of death; what kind of hero or warrior are you? Why should you open your mouth asking for help?"


    Liu Yizhou said, "He �� he said Xiao Gongye and my Shifu asked �� asked him to save �� to save us."


    Wu Lishen shook his head and said, "He''s just trying to swindle us, and you believe him?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Shaking Head Lion Wu Laoyezi [old master], when you look at my face, could you shake your head a little less?"


    Wu Lishen was startled, "You �� you ��" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "And this gentleman Blue Haired Tiger Ao Biao, Ao Dage, is your proud disciple, isn''t he? Famous master must produce outstanding disciple; my utmost admiration." Wu Lishen and Ao Biao''s countenance changed greatly; they were so surprised that they were at a loss.


    From his pocket Wei Xiaobao produced the folded letter Fang Yi wrote. He unfolded it and held it in front of Liu Yizhou''s face. He laughed and said, "Look, who wrote this letter?"


    As soon as Liu Yizhou looked, he was overjoyed; with a trembling voice he said, "It''s really Fang Shimei''s [younger martial sister] handwriting. Wu Shishu, Fang Shimei said that this �� this Gong-gong came to rescue us, she is telling me to obey him in everything."


    "Bring it here, let me look," Wu Lishen said.


    Wei Xiaobao held the letter in front of Wu Lishen; he thought, "I wonder what words of love are written on it; my first wife has no sense of shame, she only wants to snatch a husband, she would write any overly romantic words of love." He heard Wu Lishen read: "''Liu Shige, Gui Gong-gong is one of us, his righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky, his action braves strange dangers, he has come to save, you must listen to Gui Gong-gong''s directives to escape from the tiger''s mouth. Younger sister Yi stated with her own hand.'' Um, there is special mark of our Mu Palace at the top; it''s actually not a fake."


    Hearing in the letter Fang Yi praised him with the words ''his righteousness meager[28] to the clouds and the sky'', Wei Xiaobao was puzzled; he thought that the thicker the righteousness the better. When the righteousness is meager, it would only disappear into the air, what else there is to be left? But he had heard people saying those words several times before, so he knew it must be very good words of praise. He also heard that in the letter Fang Yi did not write any overly romantic words of love, he was even more delighted. "What do you mean it''s fake?" he asked.


    "Gong-gong," Liu Yizhou asked, "Where is my Fang Shimei?"


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "In my room." But with his mouth he said, "At this moment she is hiding in a very safe place. After I save you and take you out, I''ll find a way to save her, so that you can meet her."


    Tears streaming down from Liu Yizhou''s eyes, sobbing, he said, "I don''t know how to repay Gong-gong''s great kindness and benevolence." When a moment ago he heard Wei Xiaobao said that they were going to be beheaded right after eating and drinking, he was originally brave; but suddenly confronted with life juncture, his fear could not longer be restrained, and he blurted out that he was Liu Yizhou with the hope that in the face of imminent peril[29] he could somehow save his life. By the time he saw Fang Yi''s letter, he found that the chance of survival looked promising, his joy was beyond description.


    Yet when facing death Wu Lishen was without any fear; he still wanted to investigate thoroughly. "May I know Sire''s honorable surname and great given name?" he asked, "Why are you willing to lend a hand?"


    "I might as well explain everything clearly," Wei Xiaobao said, "All my friends call me Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi. Don''t feel strange, I used to have skin disease and dysentery, but now I am healed. I have a good friend, the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui, his name is Wei Xiaobao. He said that there is an old fellow in Tian Di Hui by the name of Eight-Arm Ape Xu Tianchuan, because of a dispute involving supporting Tang, supporting Gui, whatever, he killed your Mu Palace''s Bai Hansong. The Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye and Bai Hanfeng are unwilling to let the matter rest, but the dead can''t come back to life. Without any other option, that Wei Xiaobao came and asked me to rescue the three of you, to compensate the Mu Palace, giving careful consideration to the yi qi between the two sides."


    Wu Lishen was fully aware of the dispute with Tian Di Hui, his suspicion gone instantly, he shook his head continuously, and then nodded, saying, "So that''s how it is. Just now Zaixia said some offensive words, I have offended you."


    "You are too kind!" Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that we must think of an ingenious way of escaping from the Palace."


    "Whatever way Gui Gong-gong thought must be ingenious," Liu Yizhou said, "We will obey your instructions."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I haven''t thought of any plan." He asked Wu Lishen, "What strategy does Wu Laoyezi have?"


    "There are too many dog Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace," Wu Lishen said, "We can''t break out in the daytime, we''ll wait until night, you try to cut off the ox tendon binding our hands and feet, let us rush out and kill the enemy under the darkness."


    "This plan is wonderful," Wei Xiaobao said, "But I am afraid it is not extremely certain." He paced back and forth in the room, pondering the best solution.


    Ao Biao said, "We''d better just make a dash out, if we fail, the worst that can happen is we die anyway."


    "Ao Shige," Liu Yizhou said, "Don''t interrupt Gui Gong-gong''s train of thought." Ao Biao glared angrily at him.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "It would be best to use some drug; if the Imperial Bodyguards are drugged, I don''t have to harm any human life." Walking out the room, he said to Zhang Kangnian, "Zhang Dage, I want to use some drug, I wonder if you could fix some for me immediately?"


    "Sure, sure," Zhang Kangnian said with a laugh, "Zhao Er Ge [second older brother] has some ready-made knockout drug; I''ll get it right away."


    "Zhao Er Ge has some ready-made knockout drug?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Whatever for?"


    Lowering his voice, Zhang Kangnian said, "Not concealing anything from Gui Gong-gong; the day before yesterday Deputy Chief Rui ordered us to arrest somebody, he told us to do it quietly, not to make it known publicly. This man''s martial art skill was profound, we were afraid that to fight him openly with saber and spear would mean sacrificing a lot of human lives; not only that, we would not be able to capture him alive, so Zhao Er Ge fixed some knockout drug to do the trick."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Unable to defeat others, you use a dirty trick." He asked, "Was it a great success?"


    "Stretch a hand and grab it," Zhang Kangnian replied.


    Hearing it was Rui Dong who sent them on a mission, Wei Xiaobao probed further, "Who was it that you were supposed to arrest? What did he violate?"


    "It was the Commander of the Bordered Red Banner Hochabo," Zhang Kangnian replied, "I heard he offended the Empress Dowager. After the Deputy Chief Rui arrested him, he forced Hochabo to hand over some kind of scripture; afterwards, he pasted a sheet of mulberry bark paper on his mouth and nose, and thus suffocated him to his death."


    "We do not know," Zhang Kangnian replied, "Let me go get the knockout drug."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll have to bother you some more: please tell the Catering Department to deliver two tables of top-notch feast here. I want to invite all brothers for a banquet."


    Zhang Kangnian happily said, "Gong-gong wants to reward us with food and wine. As long as we follow Gong-gong, we won''t have to worry about the lack of food and drink for the rest of our lives."


    Not too long afterwards, Zhang Kangnian was back with the knockout drug. It was packaged in a very large bundle, perhaps it was more than half a catty. In a low voice he said, "This large bundle of drug is enough to put several hundred people to sleep. For only one person, take a little bit with a finger nail like this, mix it with tea or wine, it should be enough." He then ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to move the table and arrange the stools, telling them it was Gui Gong-gong who bestow them the wine. The Imperial Bodyguards were delighted, they busily do the bidding.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Set the banquet in the prisoner room. We are having a good time, let those three damn assassins watch and be jealous, I want them to drool."


    The banquet table set up, the eunuch manager of the imperial kitchen, leading several little eunuchs and ''sula'' [Book note: The low-level, odd jobs servants in the Qing Palace were called ''sula'' in the Manchu dialect.] arrived, carrying boxes of food on shoulder poles. They set the dishes and wine pots on the table.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You, three rebellious thieves, have committed treason and heresy, your death is imminent, yet you still reluctant to admit your mistake. Right now you may watch your masters eating and drinking, if you can''t endure your appetite, just bark like a dog, laoye will reward you with a piece of meat." The crowd of Imperial Bodyguards burst out in laughter.


    "Dog Imperial Bodyguards, stinky eunuch," Wu Lishen cursed, "Our Ping Xi Wang will soon dispatch troops from Yunnan all the way to attack Beijing, he will seize all of you, Imperial Bodyguards and a bunch of eunuchs, and will throw you into the river to feed the tortoises."


    Wei Xiaobao''s right hand entered his pocket, his palm grabbed half a handful of knockout drug. With his left hand he picked up the wine pot, and walked toward Wu Lishen. Raising the wine pot he laughed and said, "Rebellious thieve, do you want to drink wine?"


    Wu Lishen did not understand Wei Xiaobao''s intention, he said loudly, "Drink or not, I don''t care! When Ping Xi Wang''s troops arrive, it will be difficult for you, little eunuch, to escape alive."


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s not necessarily true!" Raising the wine pot high, he tossed his head backward, and poured the wine from high in the air into his open wide mouth. He swallowed a mouthful of wine and praised, "Nice wine!" He positioned the wine pot in his left hand level with his chest and pushed the pot''s lid aside with his right-hand''s forefinger, and then spilled the knockout drug in the palm of his right hand into the pot, and quickly pushed the lid back. He raised the pot in his left hand again, and shook it continuously in the air, while saying with a laugh, "Good rebellious thieve, death is near at hand, you still talk nonsense." When he dropped the knockout drug into the pot, his body was covering the wine pot; other than Wu Lishen, nobody else saw him doing it. He shook the wine pot to mix the knockout drug with the wine.


    Wu Lishen looked at Wei Xiaobao''s eyes; he understood immediately, and was secretly delighted. With a loud voice he said, "Real man looks at death in the eye, if I open my mouth to beg forgiveness, I am not a real man. Just give that pot of wine to me, laozi will drink it without a moment''s hesitation."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You want to drink wine, I am not going to give you any, ha ha, ha ha!" Turning around, he walked back to the banquet table and filled the Imperial Bodyguards'' cups to the brim.


    Zhang Kangnian and the guards all stood up, saying, "We don''t dare; how can we let Gong-gong pour the wine?"


    "We are all brothers," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why be so polite?" Raising his own cup, he said, "Please, please!"


    The Imperial Bodyguards were just about to drink the wine when suddenly there was a shout from the outside, "The Empress Dowager summons Xiao Guizi. Is Xiao Guizi here?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "In here!" he replied, and put the wine cup down. He thought, "The old wh0re is looking for me? What does she want?" as he walked outside to meet the newcomers. He saw four eunuchs; the leader was a big man with both his chest and belly sticking out, he looked rather impressive. Wei Xiaobao kneeled down immediately and said, "Servant Xiao Guizi receives the imperial decree."


    The eunuch said, "The Empress Dowager has something important for you; you are to report to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful immediately."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He stood up, while thinking, "The drugged wine is already poured. As soon as I leave, naturally the Imperial Bodyguards will drink it immediately, then my trickery will be exposed. Nothing I can do about it. But I must not go to Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Do you think Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful is Lovely Spring Courtyard? Where the old wh0re invites moneybags, young and old?" Right now he had numerous Imperial Bodyguards by his side, so he was not afraid at all. He laughed and asked, "Gong-gong, what''s your honorable surname? How come we have never met before?"


    "Humph!" the eunuch snorted; he said, "My name is Dong Jinkui. Let''s go now. The Empress Dowager is waiting, we have been looking for you for half of the day!"


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward and got hold of the eunuch''s wrist, saying, "Dong Gong-gong, come and see something interesting." He pulled the eunuch toward the inside room.


    Hearing it was something interesting, Dong Jinkui followed him inside. But as he entered the inner hall, he saw two banquet tables. "Good!" he said in a loud voice, "You live a very happy and prosperous life. Xiao Guizi, the Empress Dowager appointed you to be in charge of the Catering Department, yet you use your official authority for private interest, you are squandering the Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s money."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "These Imperial Bodyguards brothers have rendered great service by capturing the thieves, His Majesty ordered me to reward all of them, from top to bottom. Come, come, come, Dong Gong-gong, and these three Gong-gong, please sit down and drink a cup."


    Dong Jinkui shook his head and said, "I don''t drink! The Empress Dowager summons you, why don''t you quickly go?"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "These Imperial Bodyguards officers are all good friends, if you do not even want to drink a cup with them, you will look down on them too much."


    "I don''t drink wine," Dong Jinkui said.


    Wei Xiaobao turned to Zhang Kangnian and gave him a wink; he said, "Zhang Dage, this Dong Gong-gong''s arrogance is not small, he does not want to drink with us."


    Zhang Kangnian raised a cup and pushed it toward Dong Jinkui''s hand; he said with a laugh, "Dong Gong-gong, we all enjoy this reward together." Dong Jinkui did not have any choice, he dried up a cup.


    "Now that''s what I call a good friend," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "The other three Gong-gong must also drink a cup." The three eunuchs received three cups from the Imperial Bodyguards'' hands, they also drank the wine.


    "Good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Now everybody accompany them by drinking a cup." He poured wine into four more empty cups. The Imperial Bodyguards raised their cups and drank their wine.


    When raising his cup, Wei Xiaobao used the sleeve of his left hand to cover the wine cup, when he tossed the cup, he poured the wine into his sleeve. Afraid that one cup was not potent enough, he wanted to pour another cup for everybody, but an Imperial Bodyguard took the wine pot from him and said, "Let me pour!"


    Dong Jinkui frowned and said, "Gui Gong-gong, when we heard the Empress Dowager summons us, everybody would be on our feet and rush to answer. Why do you leisurely mind your own business by drinking wine? Aren''t you being too disrespectful?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Of course I have my reason. Come, come, come, everybody drink another cup, and then I''ll explain."


    Zhang Kangnian raised his cup toward Dong Jinkui and said, "Dong Gong-gong, please."


    "I don''t have time to drink wine," Dong Jinkui said, but when he said that, his body swayed slightly.


    Wei Xiaobao knew the knockout drug in Dong Jinkui''s stomach was about to take effect; he stooped down suddenly and cried out, "Aiyo, my tummy hurts!"


    The Imperial Bodyguards felt dizzy; someone cried out, "What happened? Something''s wrong with the wine!"


    Wei Xiaobao shouted angrily, "Dong Gong-gong, you received order from the Empress Dowager to reward us with poisonous wine, didn''t you? Why did you put poison in the wine?"


    Dong Jinkui was greatly shocked, with a trembling voice he said, "There ... there''s no such thing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your method is quite ruthless, you dare to poison the wine? Brothers, let us stake our lives to fight him."


    The Imperial Bodyguards were dizzy and light-headed, they were already at the brink of losing their consciousness. ''Crash! Bang!'' Two of the eunuchs were already unable to withstand the power of the drug, they fell down first, followed by Dong Jinkui, Zhang Kangnian, the rest of the Imperial Bodyguards and the remaining eunuch crashed down one after another onto the tables and the chairs; it was very chaotic.


    Wei Xiaobao rushed forward and landed a kick on Dong Jinkui''s body. "Ugh!" Dong Jinkui grunted, his hands and feet twitched, but he was unable to open his eyes. Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic; he rushed to close the door first, and then pulling his dagger, he stabbed Dong Jinkui and the three eunuchs on the chest. "Ah!" Liu Yizhou cried out in great surprise. Wei Xiaobao used the dagger to cut off the ox tendon binding Wu Lishen, Liu Yizhou and Ao Biao''s hands and feet. His dagger could cut iron like cutting mud, it cut the ox tendon like cutting noodles. Wu Lishen and the others, three people''s martial art skill was not weak, especially Wu Lishen whose skill was very profound. Although they were tortured, it was no more than skin and flesh wound, their muscles and bones were not harmed at all.


    "Gui Gong-gong," Liu Yizhou said, "How ... how are we going to go out?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Laoyezi, Ao Shixiong, find Imperial Bodyguards whose statures are similar to yours, wear their uniforms. Liu Shixiong, you don''t have any facial hair, you may disguise yourself as an eunuch, take this surnamed Dong''s clothing."


    "Can I disguise myself as an Imperial Bodyguard?" Liu Yizhou asked.


    "No, can''t do! You must dress as an eunuch," Wei Xiaobao said. Liu Yizhou did not dare to argue, he simply nodded. The three of them quickly changed their clothes.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Come with me. No matter who talk with you, just act dumb, do not reply anything." From his pocket he took out the dissolving powder. He pulled Dong Jinkui''s body to the corner of the room. Using his dagger, he stabbed several times on the upper and lower parts of the corpse, and then sprinkled some powder on each hole to dissolve the body quicker. Only then did he open the door and led the three people out.


    Once they were out of the Imperial Bodyguard building, he closed the door behind him, and walked directly toward the Catering Department.


    The Catering Department was located east of the Heavenly Purity Palace, it was very close to the Imperial Bodyguard building, so they arrived in almost no time at all. They saw Boss Qian had already been waiting respectfully, his men were carrying two big pigs, already washed out and very clean.


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance sank, "Old Qian," he shouted harshly, "You are very unreasonable! I told you to bring several good pigs, not thin and dry like this, some old sows that look like they have given birth to seventeen, eighteen litters to skimp on Laozi. You ... you ... damn it, do you still want to eat?"


    As he prattled on, Boss Qian bowed down in fear and repeatedly said, "Yes!"


    The eunuchs of the imperial kitchen saw that the two pigs Boss Qian brought were actually big and fat, but the details in which the goods was delivered was actually the only way the eunuch manager of the imperial kitchen took a cut. It did not matter if the cattle, sheep, chicken or duck you delivered was extremely superior, in the mouth of the eunuch manager of the imperial kitchen it all turned into a spoiled, low quality goods that even if it were given as alms to the beggars, nobody would want it. Only if the delivery was accompanied by a bag of money the spoiled, low quality goods would then turn into high-quality goods fit to be eaten by the Emperor or Empress Dowager. When the eunuchs heard Wei Xiaobao, it dawned on them what was going on; they echoed Wei Xiaobao, "Take them out! These two pigs are stinky and rotten, they are only good to be used as fertilizer in the vegetable garden."


    Wei Xiaobao grew angrier, he waved his hand and said to Wu Lishen and the others, three people, "Imperial Bodyguard brothers and Gonggong, please escort this fellow out, kick them out of the Palace altogether and don''t let them come back in."


    Boss Qian did not know Wei Xiaobao''s intention; showing his concern, he said, "Gong-gong, please forgive me for this incident, Xiao ... Xiaoren will come back with fatter and bigger pigs, plus some meager ... meager gift for Gong-gong. This time ... I am asking Gong-gong to bear with me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I want pork, I will send someone to get you. Now go, get lost!"


    Bowing deep, Boss Qian said, "Yes, yes!"


    The eunuchs of the imperial kitchen looked at each other with a smirk on their faces, they thought, "If you have brought a gift, naturally Gui Gong-gong won''t drive you away."


    Wu Lishen, Liu Yizhou and Ao Biao, three people followed behind Boss Qian, busily pushing him out of the kitchen. Wei Xiaobao also went out after them. When they reached the corridor, he looked around and after ascertaining that nobody else was around, he said in low voice, "Qian Laoxiong [old brother], these three gentlemen are Mu Palace''s heroes; the first one is none other than the renowned Shaking-head Lion Wu Laoyezi."


    "Ah!" Qian Laoben exclaimed, "It''s an honor to meet you at last," he said happily, "Zaixia did not turn my head to greet the three gentlemen, please do not hold it against me."


    Hearing that he was Wei Xiaobao''s companion, Wu Lishen was delighted, and said busily, "We are in a dangerous place, this ought to be so."


    "Qian Laoge [old brother]," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please tell your honorable society''s Wei Xiangzhu that Lai Li Tou Xiao Sanzi has accomplished the mission, please take these three good friends to see Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye and Liu Laoyezi. As soon as these three friends left, the Palace will pursue the assassins immediately, you might not be able to enter the Palace anymore."


    "Yes, yes," Qian Laoben said, "My humble society, from top to bottom, is highly indebted to Gong-gong''s kindness."


    Wu Lishen asked, "So this Qian friend is from Tian Di Hui?"


    "Exactly," Boss Qian replied.


    The five of them quickly walked toward the Shen Wu Gate. The guards on the gate saw Wei Xiaobao and respectfully asked his well-being, "Gui Gong-gong, how are you?"


    "Everybody, how are you?" Wei Xiaobao replied. Although the Imperial Bodyguards did not recognize Wu Lishen and the others, three people, seeing Wei Xiaobao was pulling Wu Lishen''s right arm, nobody dared to ask anything.


    The five of them left the Shen Wu Gate and walked several dozens more steps. Wei Xiaobao said, "Zaixia will have to return to the Palace, I''m sure we will meet again someday. You don''t need to be overly courteous."


    Wu Lishen said, "We do not dare to hope for repaying your kindness in saving our lives. Hereafter if Tian Di Hui has any urgent business, the Old Wu and Old Ao, master and disciple, will go through water and tread on fire without hesitation."


    "I don''t dare," Wei Xiaobao said. He saw that Liu Yizhou, who was walking ahead in big strides, turning his head to look at them, as if blaming Wu Lishen for not walking quicker; this place was not far from the Palace Gate, they were not out of danger yet.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled slightly, and walked back toward the Shen Wu Gate. He said to the Imperial Bodyguards at the Gate, "That Gong-gong is the Empress Dowager''s trusted aide, he said he is being sent on mission by the Empress Dowager, he asked me to personally escort those few men out of the Palace. Damn it, don''t they know the way out?"


    "They are so arrogant!" the Imperial Bodyguards replied, "How can they dare to tire out Gui Gong-gong? Who do they think they are? The Prince[31]?"


    Another Imperial Bodyguard said, "Even the Prince will not ask Gui Gong-gong to personally escort him out."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "They are the Empress Dowager''s envoy, they action is unfathomable, I have suspicion in my heart, but that eunuch showed me a decree in the Empress Dowager''s personal handwriting, so we as the servants won''t dare not to obey, right?"


    "Yes, yes!" the Imperial Bodyguards replied, "What can we do about it?"


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the Imperial Bodyguard building and saw everyone was still unconscious, nobody awoke yet. He scooped a pot of cold water and splashed it onto Zhang Kangnian''s head. Zhang Kangnian slowly woke up, he smiled and said. "Gui Gong-gong, how could I be drunk that easily?" He was embarrassed as he sat up. As he saw the condition of the room, he was greatly shocked. "How �� how �� those assassins �� are they gone?" he said with a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Empress Dowager sent that surnamed Dong eunuch to drug us all, and took the three assassins away."


    The knockout drug was clearly coming from Zhang Kangnian who had personally fetched it and given it to Wei Xiaobao. When he heard this, he did not believe it the least bit, but the effect of the drug had not vanished completely, his mind was still muddled, he did not know how to reply.


    "Zhang Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "Chief Dolong secretly told you to let the assassins out, didn''t he?"


    Zhang Kangnian nodded. "Chief Dolong said that it was His Majesty''s secret order; after the assassins are released, we are to investigate who the rebellious thief boss is."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That''s right. But when the assassins escape from the Palace, are the guards watching over them guilty or not?"


    Zhang Kangnian was startled. "That �� that �� naturally we are guilty, but �� but it was Chief Dolong himself who gave us the order. We are the subordinates, we only followed orders."


    "Did Chief Dolong give you any written order?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Zhang Kangnian was even more startled. "He �� he did not," he replied, "He said it with his own mouth, why should �� why should I need a written order? Chief Dolong said it was His Majesty''s order."


    "Did Chief Dolong show you His Majesty''s imperial edict in his own handwriting?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "No �� he did not," Zhang Kangnian''s voice trembled, "Could it be �� could it be that Chief Dolong did not tell the truth?" His entire body trembled, his teeth chattered, making a ''click, click'' noise.


    "Not that he did not tell the truth," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am only afraid Chief Dolong would not want to admit mistakes, at the last moment he might shift the blame on you; won''t that be terrible? Zhang Dage, why did His Majesty want to set the assassins free?"


    Zhang Kangnian said, "Chief Dolong said that we want to extract the information on who is the mastermind behind this from the three assassins."


    "That is the truth," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that when the assassins escape from the Palace, and this matter is not investigated, even the assassins won''t believe it. And then the mastermind behind them could not be found. Perhaps His Majesty would execute several people and announce it publicly, so that the assassins won''t get suspicious."


    By saying this, Wei Xiaobao was not slandering the Emperor; Kangxi did order him to kill several Imperial Bodyguards to make the assassins believe him.


    Zhang Kangnian was so frightened that he fell on his knees and cried out, "Gong-gong, please save me!" While repeatedly kowtowed to Wei Xiaobao.


    "Zhang Dage is overly courteous," Wei Xiaobao said. He reached out to help him up, and said with a laugh, "We have some friends readily available to take the blame. We''ll shift the blame onto those four eunuchs'' heads. We''ll say they used knockout drug to drug us all and set the assassins free; won''t that clear you from responsibility? When His Majesty hears that these four eunuchs were sent by the Empress Dowager, naturally he won''t investigate it further. His Majesty did not really want to kill you, as long as there is someone to take the blame, we will cover up this matter of escaping assassins. His Majesty may even reward you."


    Zhang Kangnian was ecstatic, "Wonderful, wonderful!" he cried out, "Thank you Gong-gong, for your kindness in saving my life."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Even if I did not save your life, but by not killing you with a stab when you were unconscious, I have actually shown you mercy. With his own golden mouth the Emperor has ordered me to kill several Imperial Bodyguards." He said, "Let us quickly awaken the brothers, we''ll tell them that those four eunuchs have come to set the assassins free."


    "Yes, yes!" Zhang Kangnian replied, yet he was still unsure whether he could really escape the responsibility. In his frightened state, his limbs felt weak. He scooped up some cold water and revived the Imperial Bodyguards.


    When they all heard that eunuch Dong Jinkui had drugged them, killed the other three eunuchs, and rescued the three assassins, they all broke into cursing and swearing. But in their hearts they all wondered, "Why did the Empress Dowager want to release the assassins? Could it be that those assassins were sent by the Empress Dowager?" But since it involved the Empress Dowager, they only dared to ponder it in their hearts, nobody dared to voice their doubt publicly. By this time Dong Jinkui''s body, as well as his clothes, had already vanished completely, they all assumed that he had led the assassins out of the Palace.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his own residence. As soon as he entered the inner room, Mu Jianping busily asked, "Gui Dage, do you have any news?"


    "Gui Dage does not have any news," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But Good Gege has some."


    Mu Jianping smiled and said, "It''s not me who is anxious about the news. The one who is anxious is the one who should call you Good Gege."


    A burst of redness appeared on Fang Yi''s face. "Good Xiongdi


    [32]!" she said in a low voice, "You are younger than I am, I''ll just call you Good Xiongdi, is that alright?"


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "My good wife has turned into my good Jiejie


    [33], in an instant the hen has turned into a duck. It''s alright. I have rescued him!"


    Fang Yi sat up abruptly. With a trembling voice she said, "You ... did you say my Liu Shige has been rescued out?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A real man gave his words, some horses cannot chase it. I promised you I would rescue him, naturally I did."


    "How ... how did you save him?" Fang Yi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "A recluse sage possesses a brilliant scheme. Next time you see your Shige, he can tell you in person."


    Fang Yi heaved a deep sigh, she raised her head toward the ceiling and said, "Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, it is indeed Bodhisattva''s blessing."


    Seeing Fang Yi''s expression, which clearly showed her delight from the bottom of her heart, Wei Xiaobao was enraged, he snorted softly, and no longer said anything.


    Mu Jianping said, "Shijie, you thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, and thank Bodhisattva, how come you did not thank the Good Xiongdi?"


    Fang Yi said, "Good Xiongdi''s great benevolence and kindness cannot be repaid by simply saying one ''thank you''."


    Listening to her, Wei Xiaobao''s cheerful mood returned; "You don''t need to repay me," he said.


    "Good Xiongdi, did Liu Shige say anything?" Fang Yi asked.


    "He did not say much," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He only asked me to save him."


    "Um, did he ask about us?" Fang Yi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao cocked his head to think, then he said, "He did not. I told him that you are in a very safe place, and that he doesn''t have to worry, soon I may send you out to meet him."


    Fang Yi nodded. "Yes!" she said. Suddenly two lines of tears flowing down her cheeks.


    "Shijie," Mu Jianping said, "Why are you crying?"


    Fang Yi said with a sob, "I ... I am so happy in my heart."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Damn it, for that pretty boy[34] Liu Yizhou you are this happy, laozi does not like to look at this tumultuous wave too much. Xiao Xuanzi told me to investigate the mastermind behind the assassination attempt, I''d better go out to fool around a little bit, then come back to report to him."


    Leaving the Palace immediately, he strolled leisurely around the Heavenly Bridge area.

 Chapter - 14 (14)

    The scholar rose upward, suddenly he felt his left ankle was grabbed. Swiftly he moved his right foot to kick Chen Jinnan''s face. Chen Jinnan picked up a small table beside him and raised it to block. ''Crash!'' the mahogany table was smashed.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved, he dodged to the side; as he watched the five peddlers locked by the officers passed by, he heard from among the crowd an old man said with a sigh, "These years, even selling candied fruits is violating the law of heavens."


    Wei Xiaobao was just about to inquire when suddenly he heard a cough, someone was coming close to him, the man had bent waist and hunched back, all the hair on his head was white, he was none other than the Eight-Armed Ape Xu Tianchuan. He signaled Wei Xiaobao with his eyes, and turned around to leave. Wei Xiaobao followed behind him. When they were in a secluded spot, Xu Tianchuan said, "Wei Xiangzhu, great news!"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled slightly, he thought, "So you knew about I rescued Wu Lishen and the others out." He said, "It was nothing."


    Xu Tianchuan stared at him. "Nothing?" he said, "Zongduozhu is here!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "My �� my Shifu is here?" he stammered.


    "Exactly," Xu Tianchuan said, "He arrived last night, he wanted me to try to contact Wei Xiangzhu, and have you meet the Senior immediately."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said. He had not seen his Shifu for more than half a year, and had not practiced martial art at all. When Shifu saw him, he might inquire the progress of Wei Xiaobao''s training, and he would have had to turn in a blank exam paper, how would it be good? Trying to stall, he said, "I am on an errand from the Emperor, I must return and report immediately. Let me finish this mission, and then I''ll see Shifu."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Zongduozhu instructed me that he cannot stay in Beijing for long, he is asking Wei Xiangzhu to see him immediately no matter what."


    Seeing he could not make any more excuses, Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice but to brace himself and follow behind Xu Tianchuan toward Tian Di Hui''s temporary lodging. He mused, "If only I knew, these days I would simply stay inside the Palace and do not go out. Shifu can''t possibly come into the Palace and grab me out."


    Before they even entered the alley, he had already seen Tian Di Hui brethrens scattered around on the side of the street and at the mouth of the alley, acting as lookouts for their Zongduozhu. As he entered the building, he saw more people standing on guard by the doors.


    When they reached the rear hall, he saw Chen Jinnan was sitting in the middle, talking to Li Lishi, Guan Anji, Fan Gang, Priest Xuanzhen, Qi Biaoqing, and the others. Wei Xiaobao rushed forward and kneeled down on the floor, calling out, "Shifu, you, Senior have arrived, now you may bring your disciple to a stop."


    "Good, good, good child," Chen Jinnan said with a laugh, "Everybody praises you very much."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up; seeing his Shifu''s expression was very warm, half of the load in his heart was gone. "Shifu, are you well?" he asked.


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "I am very well. How is your martial art training? Is there any area which is not clear to you?"


    Wei Xiaobao had already considered how he was going to offer excuses when his Shifu investigate his martial art training. Shifu was very astute, he would not be easily fooled, Wei Xiaobao would have to change according to the situation; he said, "There are a lot of areas not clear to me, I was hoping Shifu would come so I could ask Shifu for directions."


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Very good, this time I want to stay with you for a few days so that I can instruct you well."


    As he was saying this, the brother guarding the gate hurried came in, bowed and said, "Reporting to Zongduozhu: some people are paying a visit, they say they are from Mu Palace of Yunnan, Mu Jiansheng and Liu Dahong."


    Chen Jinnan was greatly delighted; he stood up and said, "Let''s greet them quickly."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Disciple has not changed my attire, it''s rather inconvenient to meet them."


    "You''re right," Chen Jinnan said, "Wait for me in the back."


    Tian Di Hui people flocked out to greet the guests, Wei Xiaobao turned around toward the back of the hall, pulled a chair, and sat down.


    Before long, he heard Liu Dahong''s loud and clear laughter, saying, "Zaixia''s lifelong aspiration is to see the world-famous Chen Zongduozhu. Today my desire is fulfilled, I am truly delighted."


    Chen Jinnan said, "To received Old Hero Liu''s respected affection, Zaixia is ashamed and dare not accept the honor." They were entering the hall as they talked, and sat in their respective places as guests and hosts.


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Is your honorable Society''s Wei Xiangzhu not here? Zaixia wants to personally thank him. Not one in my humble home, from top to bottom, does not appreciate Wei Xiangzhu''s great benevolence and kindness."


    Chen Jinnan had not known the reason, he was puzzled. "Wei Xiaobao is a very young child, Xiao Gongye holds him in such a high regard, you are praising the little kid too much."


    Someone said with a loud voice, "Zaixia, master and disciple, along with this Liu Shizhi [martial nephew Liu], our lives are saved by Wei Xiangzhu. Wei Xiangzhu''s righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky. Zaixia has told your honorable Society''s Qian Shifu, if honorable Society ever has any urgent business, the one surnamed Wu, master and disciple, will receive the orders any time." From his voice, Wei Xiaobao knew he was the ''Shaking Head Lion'' Wu Lishen.


    Chen Jinnan was still unclear, he asked, "Qian Xiongdi, what matter was that?"


    Qian Laoben accompanied Wu Lishen and the other, three people, to Mu Jiansheng''s residence, and was invited to enjoy meat and wine together with them. Afterwards, Mu Jiansheng and Liu Dahong personally took their people, asking Qian Laoben to lead the way, to Tian Di Hui''s temporary lodging to express their gratitude. They did not expect Zongduozhu to be there. Presently, hearing Chen Jinnan''s question, he briefly narrated what had happened. He said that Wei Xiangzhu had a good friend, who was an eunuch in the Qing Palace. This friend had accepted Wei Xiangzhu''s request, in spite of the danger, he had rescued Wu Lishen, three people, and had them out of the Palace.


    As soon as Chen Jinnan heard the story, he knew that this good friend of Wei Xiangzhu was none other than Wei Xiaobao himself. He was very pleased, and said with a laugh, "Xiao Gongye, Liu Laoyezi, Wu Dage, the three of you are too polite. Our humble Society and your Mu Palace are working on a common cause. When one of our own is in trouble, we ought to lend a hand, that is only proper; how can you consider it as some benevolence or kindness that needs to be repaid? That Wei Xiaobao is Zaixia''s young disciple, he is young and does not understand much, it''s just that concerning yi qi, these two characters, he holds it in such a high regard ��" Speaking to this point, he hesitated, "Xiaobao mingling in Qing Palace is actually a top secret, I hope he can pry into important classified information in the Palace to the benefit of the great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. Since he had accomplished this major mission, sooner or later this news will spread in the Jianghu. If I conceal it from the Mu Palace, it will mean I am not regarding them as friends."


    Wu Lishen said, "We really want to see Wei Xiangzhu to express our gratitude in person."


    Chen Jinnan laughed and said, "We are all good friends, although the implication of this matter will not be small, I can''t conceal it from you. The one mingling in the Palace and became a little eunuch is my young disciple Wei Xiaobao himself. Xiaobao, come out and greet these Seniors."


    From behind the wall of the hall Wei Xiaobao replied, "Yes!" He turned around and came out, cupping his fist to salute everybody.


    Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong, Wu Lishen, and the others stood up simultaneously, they were greatly amazed. They did not expect Wei Xiangzhu to be a little eunuch. Wu Lishen, Ao Biao, Liu Yizhou, three people did not expect the little eunuch who saved their lives was Wei Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui.


    With a giggle Wei Xiaobao said to Wu Lishen, "Wu Laoyezi, just now in the imperial Palace, junior was telling you a fake name, would Senior please don''t blame me."


    Wu Lishen said, "We were in a dangerous place, it ought to be so. I was just talking to Ao Biao, that young hero handles the matter neatly, he has guts, he has lofty quality, he is truly an extraordinary character; how can there be such distinguished person in the Tatars'' womb? We were feeling strange. Turns out he is a Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui. That''s �� hey, hey, no wonder, no wonder!" While saying that, he raised his thumb and did not stop shaking his head, his face showed his great admiration.


    ''Shaking Head Lion'' Wu Lishen was Liu Dahong''s younger martial brother, his reputation in Jianghu was quite resounding. Hearing him praising and commending his disciple, Chen Jinnan was greatly delighted. He laughed and said, "Wu Xiong should not praise him too much, you are spoiling a little child."


    Liu Dahong tossed his head backwards and laughed aloud, he said, "Chen Zongduozhu, you alone can occupy the most prestigious position in the Wulin world. Your martial art skill is profound, your reputation is resounding, Tian Di Hui prospers like this under your leadership, moreover, you have received such a disciple who adds glory to you."


    Chen Jinnan cupped his fist and said, "Liu Laoyezi, by saying that, you are spoiling me."


    Liu Dahong said, "Chen Zongduozhu, in all my life, the number of people whom the one surnamed Liu admires is not that many. Your elegant manner has made me admire you from the bottom of my heart. Someday when the Tatars have been driven away and our Fifth Prince Zhu ascends the dragon throne, there won''t be a better person to be the Prime Minister other than yourself."


    Chen Jinnan smiled slightly and said, "Zaixia is without virtue and without ability, how can I dare to accept such an eminent status?"


    Qi Biaoqing interrupted, "Liu Laoyezi, after the Tatars are driven away, the Third Prince Zhu will become the Emperor, he will restore the Great Ming. Everybody will definitely invite you, Senior, to hold the Grand Marshal position over the soldiers and horses."


    Liu Dahong''s eyes grew wide, he said, "You �� what did you say? What Third Prince Zhu?"


    Qi Biaoqing said, "When the Son of Heaven Longwu died for his country, he left behind the Third Prince Zhu, who is temporarily taking his residence in Taiwan. When our rivers and mountains are restored, naturally he will become the ruler."


    Liu Dahong sprang up, he said fiercely, "This time Tian Dihui saved my Shidi [younger martial brother] and his disciple, we have received great favor from you. But about the legitimacy of the Great Ming''s Son of Heaven, we must not make the least bit of mistake. Qi Laodi [old younger brother], the rightful Emperor ordained by heaven is clearly the Fifth Prince Zhu. Emperor Yongli was the rightful Emperor of the Great Ming, everybody in the world knows. You must not speak nonsense."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Liu Laoyezi, please don''t lose your temper. There is an important task in front of us, namely contacting Jianghu heroes; together we will oppose the Manchurian Qing. As for whether it will be the Third Prince Zhu or Fifth Prince Zhu who will become the Emperor in the future, it is still too early to mention, we should not harm the friendship between us. Naturally who will be the legitimate Emperor of the Great Ming is an important matter, but it is not for us as the officers to understand clearly for a short while. Come, come, come, let''s have some wine, we''ll drink and be merry first. As long as everybody work together for a common purpose, namely to wipe out the Tatars, what matter cannot be discussed slowly?"


    Mu Jiansheng shook his head and said, "Chen Zongduozhu is wrong here! When the man is not just, the words will be unfavorable, when the words are unfavorable, the endeavor will not succeed. We are supporting the Fifth Prince Zhu not to covet any glory and riches. If only Chen Zongduozhu understood the ''Mandate of Heaven'', you would display utter loyalty to the Fifth Prince Zhu. We from the Mu Palace, from top to bottom, exhort Chen Zongduozhu to the greatest extend not to dare to disobey."


    Chen Jinnan smiled and shook his head. "The sky cannot have two suns, the people cannot have two rulers. The Third Prince Zhu is alive and well in Taiwan. Taiwan''s several hundred thousand troops, Tian Di Hui''s more than a hundred thousand brothers, have already vowed loyalty and devotion to the Thirds Prince Zhu long ago."


    With glowering eyes Liu Dahong loudly said, "Chen Zongduozhu is talking about several hundred thousand troops, more than a hundred thousand brothers, are you trying to rely on numbers to gain victory? But the millions of common people all know that the Son of Heaven Yongli perished for his country in Myanmar, he was the last emperor of the Great Ming. If we do not stand up for the Emperor Yongli''s offspring, won''t we let this Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, who had suffered untold hardships, and finally died a horrible death, down?" If his voice was originally sounded like a mighty bell, this loud speech was even more ear-splitting; but at the end of his speech, his heart ached and his voice unexpectedly turned hoarse.


    Chen Jinnan''s visit to Beijing this time was actually to learn more about Xu Tianchuan, who because of the dispute about the legitimacy of King Tang over King Gui had had a fight with the Bai Family Brothers of the Mu Palace, to such an extent as to accidentally kill Bai Hansong. Chen Jinnan was wholeheartedly devoted to the great undertaking of fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming. If the Tatars had not been driven out, yet there was a struggle between partners of the common goal, the great endeavor of fighting the Qing would face severe obstacle. Therefore, as soon as he learned about it, he rushed in that same night from Henan to the Capital, hoping that by exercising extreme forbearance he would be able to obtain Mu Palace''s forgiveness.


    Upon his arrival in Beijing, he inquired right away and found out that the situation was much better than he anticipated. Tian Di Hui people in Beijing, under the leadership of Wei Xiaobao, had already met face to face with the head of the Mu Palace, neither side dishonor each other, there was hope yet for the better. After learning that Wei Xiaobao had saved Wu Lishen and the others, three people, he had no doubt that the unintentional killing of Ban Hansong by Xu Tianchuan would be settled. Unexpectedly Qi Biaoqing and Liu Dahong raised the subject of Tang-Gui''s strive for the throne; the situation had once again become gradually tense [lit. ''with swords drawn and bows bent''].


    Seeing Liu Dahong shedding tears when talking about Yongli losing his life for his country, he could not help his own heart from hurting; he said, "His Majesty Yongli died for his country, man and heaven were angered. The people of old said, ''Although Chu has only three households, when the Qin perishes, Chu must rise[35]'', much less our Han people, who are a hundred times more numerous than the Tatars? Although the Tatars'' power is great, our Han people must be ''millions of people all of one mind'', there''s no need to worry about not able to drive out the barbarians and restoring our rivers and mountains. Mu Xiao Gongye, Liu Laoyezi, our hatred is unavenged, why do we have a dispute among ourselves first? Today we make a plan, we ought to work together with our heart and soul, to kill that servant Wu Sangui, to avenge His Majesty Yongli, and to avenge Mu Lao Gongye [old duke Mu]."


    Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong, Wu Lishen, and the others stood up and said together, "Very true, very true!" Some people had tears streaming down their faces, some people shook all over their bodies, they were all overwhelmed with excitement.


    Chen Jinnan continued, "In the end, whether it will be Long Wu or Yongli on the throne, we need not haggle over it now. Mu Xiao Gongye, Liu Laoyezi, heroes all over the world, whoever kill Wu Sangui, everybody will accept his orders!"


    Mu Jiansheng''s father, Mu Tianbo, was killed by Wu Sangui; day and night he always considered how to kill Wu Sangui. Hearing Chen Jinnan, he was the first to call out, "Exactly, whoever kills Wu Sangui, the heroes all over the world will accept his orders."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Mu Xiao Gongye, my humble Society will make a pledge to your honorable Palace, if your honorable Palace''s hero kills Wu Sangui, Tian Di Hui, from top to bottom, will accept Mu Palace''s orders ��"


    Mu Jiansheng caught on and said, "If Tian Di Hui''s hero kills Wu Sangui, Mu Family of Yunnan, from Mu Jiansheng to the next in line, each and every one will accept Chen Zongduozhu''s orders!" The two of them stretched out their hands and ''clap!'' they struck each other palm.


    In Jianghu, an oath set up by three strikes of palms means neither side could renege on their words.


    The two of them had just about to strike their palms the second time when suddenly from the roof came a long laugh and a voice said, "What if I killed Wu Sangui?"


    From the east and west corners of the house some people shouted, "Who''s there?" Tian Di Hui people on guard duty rushed in to question the newcomer. There was a light clapping noise as someone leaped from the top of the house to the courtyard, the long window of the hall opened without any blowing wind, with speed beyond imagination, a dark green shadow flashed and entered the hall. From the east Guan Anji and Xu Tianchuan, from the west Liu Dahong and Wu Lishen, simultaneously stretched out their arms to block. The man lightly leaped up and flew over the top of the four men''s heads, and stood in front of Chen Jinnan and Mu Jiansheng.


    With Guan, Xu, Li and Wu, four people cooperating, unexpectedly they still failed to block. The man''s one foot barely landed on the floor, four people''s fingers had already grabbed his body. Guan Anji grabbed his right shoulder, Xu Tianchuan grabbed his left flank, Liu Dahong pinched his left arm, Wu Lishen wrapped his arms around his lower back. All four had used high-level qin na technique.


    The man did not resist at all, he laughed and said, "Is this the way Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace treat a good friend?"


    They saw this man was wearing a dark green long robe, his age was about twenty five, twenty six, his stature was tall and slim, his appearance looked like a feeble scholar.


    Chen Jinnan cupped his fist and said, "May I ask Sire''s honored surname and great given name? Are you a good friend?"


    The scholar said with a laugh, "If not a good friend, I won''t be here." Suddenly he shrank his body as if he turned into a lump of meat. Guan Anji and the others, four people''s grip suddenly loosened, they grabbed empty air. Amidst the ripping noise of the silk, a dark shadow rose upward. Chen Jinnan let out a long laugh as he grabbed with his right hand. The scholar escaped from the four people''s clutch, but suddenly he felt his left ankle was grabbed as if it was bound with an iron hoop. Swiftly he moved his right foot to kick Chen Jinnan''s face. It was a powerful kick; with one swift motion Chen Jinnan picked up a small table beside him and raised it to block. ''Crash!'' the mahogany table was smashed. Chen Jinnan swung his right hand to throw him to the ground. The scholar''s buttocks landed on the floor, but like a skater, his body slid several zhang on the dark green brick floor. Straightening up his waist, he stood up leaning against the wall.


    There was a piece of cloth remained in each of Guan Anji, Xu Tianchuan, Liu Dahong and Wu Lishen, four people''s hands; it was the piece they pulled from the scholar''s long gown. This turn of events was as swift as a falcon swooping on a rabbit, it was unbelievably fast and nimble. The six of them moved with such agility and clarity that the spectators on the side could see everything clearly, they all could not help but broke in loud cheer. The one cheered the loudest was still the ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' Liu Dahong, while Wu Lishen shook his head repeatedly; his face showed part ashamed, part full of admiration.


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Since Sire is a good friend, why don''t you sit down and drink some tea?"


    The scholar cupped his fist and said, "I''ll drink the tea to thank you for your hospitality." With slow and measured steps he walked toward the row of chairs, cupped his fist toward everybody to salute, and then sat down on the last chair. If they did not see him demonstrating his agility just now, nobody would believe this gentle scholar possessed such a profound martial art skill.


    Chen Jinnan laughed and said, "Sire, why too modest? Please take the seat of honor!"


    The scholar shook his hand, "I don''t dare, I don''t dare!" he said, "That Zaixia can sit together with gentlemen, the heroes, is already the biggest good fortune in my entire life, how can I dare to take the seat of honor? Chen Zongduozhu, just now you asked my name, but I have not replied; it was very disrespectful. Zaixia surnamed Li, my given name is Xihua."


    When Chen Jinnan, Liu Dahong and the others heard him announcing his name, they all thought, "I have never heard of Li Xihua in Wulin world, most probably it''s a fictitious name. But among the young generation heroes, I have never heard someone with such excellent martial art skill either."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Zaixia is ignorant and inexperienced. That there is such excellent hero in Jianghu, unexpectedly I have not heard, I am indeed ashamed."


    Li Xihua laughed aloud and said, "People say that Chen Zongduozhu of Tian Di Hui treats people with sincerity, and sure enough, it is a fully justified reputation. When you heard my lowly name, if you had said, ''It''s an honor to meet you at last'', then unavoidably in my heart I would have a thirty percent lack of respect. Zaixia has just made my debut[36], I have not made the least bit of name in Jianghu. Even I won''t greet myself with ''It''s an honor to meet you at last'', much less other people? Ha ha, ha ha ...!"


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Now that we meet, Li Xiong''s great name will spread throughout the Jianghu; after this, whoever meet Li Xiong will have to greet you with ''It''s an honor to meet you at last''!" Indeed it was the highest praise, everybody could hear it. Four high-level martial art experts from Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace unexpectedly failed to block and hold him down. Chen Jinnan exchanged two moves with him, but he barely gained the upper hand. In a matter of days everybody near and far would naturally hear about such skill.


    Li Xihua shook his hand and said, "Not so, the style Zaixia displayed just now was no more than minor skill, unavoidably it is considered somewhat heretical. This old gentleman used ''Claw Appears from the Cloud'', he grabbed my arm until it nearly broke. This bearded friend who loves to shake his head wrapped his arms around my waist, presumably it was the move ''Seizing-Rabbit Hand'', his grab made me neither cry nor laugh. This white-bearded grandpa used the moved ''Ape Fetches the Peach'', he really grabbed my flank as if it was a Pantao


    [37], he grabbed so firmly and was not willing to release again. This long-bearded friend used the technique �� um, um, it was a very ingenious move, wasn''t it the ''Cheng Huang[38] Pulls Little Demon''?"


    Guan Anji raised his left thumb, acknowledging that he was right. Actually, the move was called the ''Little Demon Pulls Cheng Huang''; by reversing the name, i.e. calling himself ''liitle demon'', he was being modest.


    From the time Guan Anji and the others, four people, made their move together to grab his body to the time he struggled free and leaped was only a moment, yet he unexpectedly was able to name the moves these four people had used without the slightest mistake; apparently his knowledge and experience was above his martial art skill.


    Liu Dahong said, "Li Xiong, you skill is profound, your insight is even more profound."


    Li Xihua shook his hand and said, "Laoyezi praises me too much. The moves the four gentlemen used on my body, any one of those is able to take my life. But the four gentlemen were careful not to overdo it, hence did not harm Zaixia the slightest bit. The four Seniors were being lenient, Zaixia is very grateful."


    Liu Dahong and the others were very pleased in their hearts. Each one of the four moves ''Claw Appears from the Cloud'', ''Seizing-Rabbit Hand'', ''Ape Fetches the Peach'' and ''Little Demon Pulls Cheng Huang'' could turn into extremely fierce killer strike just by adding a little bit more force to it. By pointing out this fact, Li Xihua had considerably increased the four people''s face.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Li Xiong has honored us with your presence, I wonder what instruction do you have for me?"


    "I am here to admit my guilt first," Li Xihua replied, "Zaixia always admires Chen Zongduozhu. This time, quite by accident, I learned about Chen Zongduozhu''s arrival in Beijing. No matter what, I have to come to express my admiration. It''s just that I do not know anybody who would present me to you. Without any better option, I took the liberty to come uninvited, eavesdropping the gentlemen''s conversation on the rooftop. Zaixia hates that traitor Wu Sangui to the bones, I wish to dismember his body into ten thousand pieces, thus I could not bear not to open my mouth. I hope gentlemen would forgive me." While saying that, he stood up and bowed to salute.


    Everybody also stood up simultaneously to return the salute. Several leaders of Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace introduced themselves. Although Wei Xiaobao was a Tian Di Hui leader, and presently his rank was second only to Chen Jinnan, but since all along Li Xihua''s gaze had never landed on his face, Wei Xiaobao did not say anything.


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Since Sire is the enemy of that thief Wu, we share a common enemy, which means we are of the same principle; there is no harm in us joining hands, in scheming together to punish this big traitor."


    "Absolutely, absolutely," Li Xihua said, "Just now Xiao Gongye and Chen Zongduozhu were making an oath by striking your palms three times, but Zaixia brazenly interrupted it. After the two gentlemen finished the three strikes, may Zaixia also strike your palms three times?"


    Liu Dahong said, "Sire is saying that if you killed Wu Sangui, all heroes and warriors of Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace should accept your orders?"


    "I absolutely do not dare," Li Xihua said, "Zaixia is just a kid of younger generation, I will be perfectly contented to follow the heroes here; how can I dare to say I want to hold command over all of you?"


    Liu Dahong nodded and said, "In that case, in Sire''s mind, which one is the Late Emperor''s legitimate successor to the throne of the Great Ming, Longwu or Yongli?"


    In the past, Liu Dahong followed Emperor Yongli and Mu Tianbo fled to the southwest, entering Myanmar from Yunnan, experiencing inexhaustible hardships and perils; the result was Yongli was still killed by Wu Sangui. For this reason he made a blood oath to assist Yongli''s descendant to ascend the dragon throne. In general, Chen Jinnan was more thoughtful toward their goal, he was unwilling to let internal strife damage their mission, but unexpectedly this hot-blooded old hero could not forget this matter.


    Li Xihua said, "Zaixia has something that might be offensive to you, I am asking everybody''s forgiveness first."


    Liu Dahong''s countenance changed slightly; he blurted out, "Sire is King Lu''s former subordinate?" After Ming Dynasty''s Emperor Chongzhen died, independent resistance against the Qing arose in various regions. There was King Fu, and then King Tang, King Lu and King Gui. As soon as Liu Dahong said that, he realized he was speaking incorrectly. Looking at Li Xihua''s age, he was most likely born after the Qing troops entered the pass, so he could not possibly be King Lu''s former subordinate. He asked, "Was Sire''s former generation King Lu''s former subordinate?"


    Li Xihua did not answer his inquiry, he said, "When the Tatars are driven out in the future, any descendant of Chongzhen, King Fu, King Tang, King Lu and King Gui could become the emperor. Actually, as long as he is a Han, who cannot be the Emperor? Why can''t Mu Xiao Gongye or Liu Laoyezi be the Emperor? Zheng Wangye from Taiwan, even Chen Zongduozhu himself, not necessarily cannot be the Emperor. When the Great Ming''s Taizu Huangdi [founder emperor] drove out Mongolian Emperor, he did not ask any descendant of the Song Dynasty''s Zhao family to be the Emperor, but he himself ascended the great throne, yet everybody was delighted and sincerely willing to accept him."


    Nobody had ever heard such reasoning before, without exception their countenance changed.


    Liu Dahong slapped a small table by his side with his right hand, "Your speech can be considered treason and heresy," he said in stern voice, "We are the remnant of the Great Ming, lone officials and unfilial sons; we only strive to revive the Ming Dynasty, how can we store this kind of ambition of the wild wolves in our hearts?"


    Li Xihua was not angry, he showed a faint smile and said, "Liu Laoyezi, there is one thing Junior does not understand, I''d like to consult you about something we have just talked about. During the last years of the Great Ming, the Mongolian Tatars took possession of our Han people''s beautiful rivers and mountains, our Great Ming''s Emperor Hongwu rose to the dragon throne by popular support. After the Tatars were driven out, why didn''t he set up a descendant from Zhao family to be the Emperor?"


    "Humph," Liu Dahong snorted and said, "Zhao family descendants were already exhausted; these rivers and mountains were won by Taizu Huangdi with bloody battle, naturally he could not possibly pass it on to the Zhao family? Moreover, in the driving out the Tatars, the Zhao family descendants did not have any merit. Even if Taizu Huangdi was willing to hand it over, the common people of the world, along with all the generals and soldiers would definitely not want to accept."


    "That''s exactly right," Li Xihua said, "Whether the descendants of the Zhu family will have merit in the future or not, at present nobody knows. If they make major contribution, everybody will endorse them as the leader, then other people will not be able to snatch away the throne. But if they do not make any contribution, even if they ascend onto the dragon court, I am afraid their position will not be steady. Liu Laoyezi, the undertaking of fighting the Qing is very complicated, there are things that need to be done quickly, there are things that have to be done slowly. Killing Wu Sangui needs to be done quickly, setting up the new emperor can be done slowly."


    Liu Dahong was agape and tongue-tied, he was unable to answer. "What quickly or slowly?" he muttered, "I want everything to be done quickly; I wish everything is already accomplished, only then would it be good."


    Li Xihua said, "Killing Wu Sangui must be done quickly, because that traitor Wu is already old. If we don''t kill him soon, he might die of old age, won''t it be a lifelong regret to people of the world with lofty ideals? Setting up the new ruler is a matter we need to address after the Tatars are driven out. My concern is that we are not able to defeat the Tatars. As for setting up learned and virtuous lord, we can always find one."


    Observing his assurance and composure, and hearing his sensible and reasonable speech, Chen Jinnan was full of admiration. "Li Xiong," he said, "What you said is very reasonable, but on how we are going to assassinate Wu Sangui, I want to hear Li Xiong''s well-informed opinion."


    "I don''t dare," Li Xihua said, "Junior was about to ask everybody''s advice."


    Mu Jiansheng said, "What brilliant idea does Chen Zongduozhu have?"


    "In Zaixia''s opinion," Chen Jinnan said, "That traitor Wu''s sin is too great, just by killing him absolutely will not make up for his crime. We must make him losing his standing, his entire family, old and young, must be killed, not a blade of grass must be spared, even the troops under his command who followed him breaking the law and committing crimes must be eliminated in one stroke, and thus the hatred in millions of common people''s hearts will be appeased."


    Liu Dahong slapped the table and shouted, "Very true, very true! Chen Zongduozhu''s words really touch the bottom of my heart. Laodi, hearing you talked, my heart is unbearably itchy. What ingenious plan do you have, so that we can kill that traitor Wu and his entire family, and not leaving even his chicken and dogs?" He grabbed Chen Jinnan'' arms and repeatedly shook him, saying, "Say it quickly, say it quickly!"


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "This is everybody''s wish, Zaixia does not have any ingenious plan to deal with Wu Sangui."


    "Oh," Liu Dahong said, he released Chen Jinnan''s arms, while disappointment appeared on his face.


    Chen Jinnan stretched out his palm to Mu Jiansheng and said, "Xiao Gongye, we still have two palm strikes we haven''t finished."


    "Precisely," Mu Jiansheng said, he stretched out his hand and struck Chen Jinnan''s palm twice.


    Chen Jinnan turned toward Li Xihua and said, "Li Xiong, what about we also strike our palms three times?" While saying that, he held out his palm.


    Li Xihua stood up and respectfully said, "If Chen Zongduozhu can kill that traitor Wu, the old Li will accept Tian Di Hui''s orders, I will not dare to disobey. If by luck the old Li can put to death with my own hand this devilish wicked traitor, I only wish for Chen Zongduozhu to do me the honor to become the old Li''s sworn brother, let Zaixia reveres you as the elder brother. Apart from this, I do not dare to request anything else."


    Chen Jinnan laughed and said, "Li Xiandi [worthy younger brother], you esteem me too much. Very well, a real man gave his words, a team of four horses cannot chase it."


    Watching from the side, Wei Xiaobao saw the heroes'' fervent expression, he could not help but feeling very excited[39]; he really wished he could grow up right then and there, his martial art skill would reach high level immediately, just like this Li Xihua, who created quite a stir in front of all these heroes. Hearing Shifu said ''a real man gave his words, a team of four horses cannot chase it'', he could not refrain from muttering to himself, "A team of four horses cannot chase it, a team of four horses cannot chase it." While thinking, "Damn it, what kind of horses are a team of four horses anyway? How can they run that fast?"


    Chen Jinnan instructed his subordinates to prepare a banquet table to have a feast with these outstanding heroes. During the banquet, Li Xihua talked and laughed cheerfully, his knowledge was indeed extensive, but all along he never revealed his martial art school, family background, or his origin.


    Li Lishi and Su Gang introduced the rest of their groups to Li Xihua. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was young, yet held the position of the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, Li Xihua could not hide his astonishment; when he was told that Wei Xiaobao was Chen Jinnan''s disciple, he thought, "So that''s how it is." He drank several cups of wine, and then took his leave.


    Chen Jinnan walked him to the door, and in a low voice said, "Li Xiandi, just now your humble brother did not know whether you were a friend or a foe, I have offended you. When I grabbed your ankle, I have surreptitiously used special power. It will flare-up after four hours. You must not use the slightest bit of internal energy to defuse it. You must dig a hole in a muddy ground, and bury your entire body in it, revealing only your mouth and nose to breathe. Every day you must be buried for eight hours, for seven days in a row, then there won''t be any future trouble."


    Li Xihua was shocked. "I was hit by your ''Blood Clotting Divine Claw''?" he said in loud voice.


    "Xiandi must not be alarmed," Chen Jinnan said, "By treating it according to the prescribed method, there should not be any major problem. Your humble brother was reckless and has offended you, I am asking Xiandi not to blame me."


    Immediately the panic-stricken expression on Li Xihua''s face subsided. He laughed and said, "Indeed Xiaodi [little brother] suffers the consequence of my own action." He sighed, and then said, "Only today I know there is heaven outside the heaven, there is an expert above the expert." He bowed to salute, and then floated away.


    "Chen Zongduozhu," Liu Dahong said, "Did you use the ''Blood Clotting Divine Claw'' on him? I heard that people who got hit by this divine claw will have the blood in his entire body slowly clotting after three days, turning into paste just like starch paste; there is no medicine to cure it. Is that so?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "This skill is extremely sinister and ruthless, usually Xiaodi does not dare to recklessly use it, but seeing his formidable martial art skill, plus he was eavesdropping on our secret, I was unclear whether he harbors any evil intention, so I took this drastic action. It''s not a straightforward and upright thing to do, I am ashamed just to mention it."


    Mu Jiansheng said, "If this man is Tatars'' falcon or dog, or perhaps Wu Sangui''s troop, and Chen Zongduozhu did not control him, our secret may be leaked out, then the disaster won''t be small. Chen Zongduozhu is able to control the enemy in one move, damaging the other side without him knowing it. This kind of divine skill deserves the admiration of other people."


    Chen Jinnan reiterated his deep apology on the death of Bai Hansong to Bai Hanfeng. "Chen Zongduozhu," Bai Hanfeng said, "Let this matter rests and do not raise it again. My late brother has died, he can''t come back to life. Wei Xiangzhu has rescued Wu Shishu and the others, three people, Zaixia is very grateful."


    Mu Jiansheng was concerned over his missing little sister''s whereabouts, but since Tian Di Hui warriors did not say anything, he felt it was inappropriate for him to inquire, so as not to appear that he doubted the opposite party''s intention. After drinking several more rounds of wine, Mu Jiansheng and the others stood up to take their leave.


    "Xiao Gongye," Wei Xiaobao said, "It would be best if you move from your lodging, sooner or later the Tatars will dispatch troops to harass you. Although you are not afraid of them, the Tatars might send more and more troops. I am afraid you cannot kill them all."


    Liu Dahong laughed aloud and said, "Xiao Xiongdi is right, thank you very much for your reminder, we will move immediately."


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Chen Zongduozhu, Wei Xiangzhu, friends, the green hills will not change, the clear water will always flow, I''m sure we will meet again someday."


    After the Mu Palace people left, Chen Jinnan said, "Xiaobao, come with me. I want to see the progress of your martial art training these past several months."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping madly, his countenance changed immediately. "Yes, yes," he replied, and followed his Shifu into a room in the east wing. "Shifu," he said, "The Emperor sends me to investigate the assassins'' whereabouts, disciple may have to hurry back and report."


    "What assassins'' whereabouts?" Chen Jinnan asked. He had just arrived the previous night, so he only heard bits and pieces about the assassins in the Palace. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao told him how the Mu Palace warriors entered the Palace to assassinate the emperor, with the intention of shifting the blame onto Wu Sangui.


    Chen Jinnan let out a breath, "Is there such thing?" he said. Although he had gone through many storms, he was rather shocked to learn about this matter, he said, "Those friends from Mu Family are courageous and forthright, unexpectedly they carried out a large-scale operation into the Palace. I only knew that three of their people went to assassinate the Emperor, and thus were captured; turns out it was to deal with that traitor Wu Sangui. You have rescued Wu Lishen, three people, and now you want to return to the Palace, aren''t you afraid of the danger?"


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to flaunt his heroism, naturally he did not say that he released the assassins under the Emperor''s order, so there was absolutely no danger in him returning to the Palace. He bragged, "Disciple has dragged several scapegoats, I shifted the blame on them. Looks like for the time being the suspicion will not fall onto your disciple. Shifu told me to spy for news in the Palace, if for the sake of saving three of Mu Palace''s people disciple henceforth cannot return to the Palace, wouldn''t I have harmed Shifu''s important mission?"


    Chen Jinnan was very happy. "That''s right," he said, "We have struck palms three time with Mu Jiansheng to seal our oath. It is reasonable to say that Mu Palace does not have too many people left, so they can''t possibly match Tian Di Hui. I made that agreement with them, first, to avoid the argument about the legitimacy of King Tang versus King Gui, and thus harming the friendship between two families. The Tatars have not been wiped out yet, if we, Han people, massacre each other first, how can we accomplish the great undertaking? Second, if we can get the Mu Palace under our Society, it will enormously increase our Tian Di Hui''s power. The fact that they dared to enter the Palace and create havoc shows that in order to topple that traitor Wu, they would stop at nothing. We also must spare no effort to accomplish this goal, otherwise, if they gain the initiative, Tian Di Hui must accept Mu Palace''s orders, won''t everybody be ashamed then?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mu Xiao Gongye does not have any real skill, he only relies on his good Papa. If I re-enter the womb of his mother, I could be born as the Xiao Gongye. For such a great hero like Shifu to be forced to take orders from him, if it were me, I would be angry too."


    In all his life Chen Jinnan had heard countless flattering words, but since this time it came from a teenage kid, it sounded so sincere and encouraging; he could not help but showing a faint smile. He did not know that Wei Xiaobao''s natural disposition was quick-witted and clever, plus he had lived in both a brothel and the Palace, two most hypocritical and devious places in the world. By living in these places, Wei Xiaobao had early on acquired craftiness, which was far above ordinary grownups. Chen Jinnan was used to dealing daily with heroes and warriors of Tian Di Hui, who treated one another with absolute sincerity, how could he know that this little disciple say something without meaning it? That in ten sentences, perhaps there were five or six sentences that can''t be trusted? He patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said with a smile, "What does a child like you understand? How do you know Mu Xiao Gongye does not have real skill?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "By sending assassins to the Palace, he has delivered many of his subordinates'' lives for nothing, without really doing any damage to Wu Sangui. Not only he does not have any real skill, I can say that he is a big idiot."


    "How do you know he is not doing any damage to Wu Sangui?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye used a very stupid strategy. He had the assassins who entered the Palace to wear undergarments with ''Ping Xi Wang Mansion'' written on it, and use weapons with ''Ping Xi Wang Mansion'' or something like ''Regional Commander Office of Shanhai Pass of The Great Ming'' carved on it. The Tatars are not stupid, naturally they can think, if they were really Wu Sangui''s men, why would they want to use such weapons?"


    Chen Jinnan nodded, "You are right," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Wu Sangui''s son Wu Yingxiong is in Beijing right now, carrying a large quantity of jewels and precious objects as a tribute to the Emperor. If Wu Sangui really wanted to assassinate the Emperor, he would not pick this time. Besides, why would he want to assassinate the Emperor? Unless he wants to dispatch troops to revolt and set himself up as the Emperor. But as soon as he dispatch his troops, the Tatars will immediately kill his son; why would he send his son to Beijing to die?"


    Chen Jinnan nodded again. "That''s right," he said.


    Actually, although Wei Xiaobao was very astute, his age was still too young, his knowledge of military and government affairs, as well as the ways of the world, was very limited, he could not possibly come out with even half of the logic he had just presented. Luckily Kangxi had told him everything, which, in front of his Shifu, he pretended to see those logic himself.


    When listening to him, Chen Jinnan thought that this disciple could see things clearly. Tian Di Hui did not lack martial art masters, but people with such clear brain were not many. Initially he let this little child to be the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu just to avoid the friction between the two rivaling factions, he needed to comply with everybody''s oath first, and then slowly seeking a talented person to replace him. Since Wei Xiaobao was his own disciple, he could always ask him to abdicate his position honorably. By now, as he listened to him, he mused, "This child has both courage and insight, even now he is quite amazing, after several more years of discipline, he could be a real Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, which is not necessarily inferior to the other nine Xiangzhu." He asked, "Did the Tatars know it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Presently they are not very clear yet, but the Emperor seems to have suspicion already. This morning he summoned several Imperial Bodyguards and ordered them to demonstrate the martial art the assassins had used. Some Imperial Bodyguards performed the moves, and then everybody discussed it. Disciple was watching on the side, I remembered two moves." And thus he immediately demonstrated the ''sweeping away a thousand army'', and ''high mountain flowing water'', two moves.


    Chen Jinnan sighed and said, "Mu Palace really does not have talented people anymore. These moves are obviously Mu Family Fist technique; there are not a few martial art experts among the Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace, how could they not recognize the moves?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Disciple has seen Feng Jizhong, Feng Dage and Priest Xuanzhen demonstrated these moves, I expect the Tatar Imperial Bodyguards would also recognize them. I was afraid the Tatars would search and arrest people, therefore, just now I urged the Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye to move out of town to avoid the trouble."


    "Very true, very true!" Chen Jinnan said, "You''d better go back to the Palace to report, come again tomorrow, I will teach you martial art some more."


    Hearing his Shifu was not going to check his martial art right away, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; hastily he saluted and took his leave, thinking, "Tonight I need to clasp the Buddha''s feet[40]; I will ask Xiao Junzhu to read Shifu''s martial art manual to me, good or bad I will remember some, and then when Shifu ask tomorrow, whatever little things I know I can recite. Shifu can only blame me of not training correctly, but he can''t blame me for being lazy and not want to work hard. Who told him not to have time to teach me? If he wants to blame somebody, he can only blame himself."


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the Palace and went straight to the Upper Study Room. Kangxi was reviewing some memorial to the throne; as soon as he saw him, he laid down his pen and asked, "Have you found any information?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty predicts with supernatural accuracy, you were not wrong at all, the rebel mastermind is indeed the Mu Family of Yunnan."


    "Is that so?" Kangxi happily asked, "That''s wonderful. Looking at Dolong''s expression, he still does not believe it. What did you find?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those three captured assassins stuck to what they initially say, that they were Wu Sangui subordinates, Dolong Zongguan beat them until they were hovering between life and death, but no matter what, they were unwilling to change their statement."


    "Dolong''s martial art skill is not bad," Kangxi said, "But he is a boorish fellow."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Under Your Majesty''s imperial edict, your servant has used knockout drug to drug the Imperial Bodyguards, just when the Empress Dowager was sending four eunuchs over, saying that the assassins must be executed immediately. Your servant gathered my courage and acted according to the strategy Your Majesty planned, I killed the four eunuchs in front of the assassins and led the assassins out of the Palace. Those three rebellious thieves did not suspect anything at all."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "A moment ago Dolong came to report that an eunuch leader under the Empress Dowager has set the assassins free; I was feeling strange, turns out it was your trick."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty must not tell the Empress Dowager, otherwise your servant''s lowly life will be difficult to protect. The Empress Dowager has scolded me for showing utter loyalty to His Majesty, but not utterly loyal toward the Empress Dowager. Actually, what''s the difference between Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager? Besides, the sky cannot have two suns, the people cannot have two rulers; in the end, only Your Majesty''s imperial decree counts. Without asking Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered the assassins to be executed; what kind of logic was that?"


    Kangxi did not bother that Wei Xiaobao was trying to drive a wedge between him and the Empress Dowager, "I won''t say anything to the Empress Dowager," he said, "About those three assassins, what happened next?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I took them out of the Palace, without my asking they told me their real name and surname. Turns out the old man is called the ''Shaking Head Lion'' Wu Lishen, the two younger ones, one is Ao Biao, the other Liu Yizhou. They thanked me profusely, but in the end your servant managed to swindle them, they took me to their leader. Sure enough, it is as Your Majesty expected, the mastermind behind all these is a young man, whom the rebellious thieves call Xiao Gongye, his real name and surname is Mu Jiansheng, he is Mu Tianbo''s son. Under his command there is an old man whose martial art skill was very high, he is called something like ''Iron Back Dragon'' Liu Dahong. And then there are also ''Divine Physician Hermit'' Su Gang, the second hero of the Bai Family Two Heroes, Bai Hanfeng, and so on. They are staying separately at Willow Tree Lane and South Bean Sprout Lane, two places."


    "Did you see both places?" Kangxi asked.


    "I did," Wei Xiaobao replied, "They said that common people all over the world all say that although the Emperor is young, he is a matchless enlightened sage, a good emperor that is hard to come by in several thousand years. They said that even if they had guts as big as the sky, they would not have dared to harm the Emperor. Therefore, the night before last


    they entered the Palace to deliberately create trouble, it was completely to frame Wu Sangui, to avenge their big hatred because he killed Mu Tianbo."


    Unavoidably some of these words of flattery hit its target. Kangxi had not personally taken over the government for too long, the common people of the world could not possibly sing praises over his meritorious deed or virtue, but as the saying goes, ''anything gets through me except flattery[41]''. Hearing the common people praise him as ''a good emperor that is hard to come by in several thousand years'', he could not help but feeling very pleased. He smiled and said, "I haven''t produced any benevolent policy to the benefit of the people yet, ''matchless enlightened sage'' and so on is your own fabrication, isn''t it?"


    "No, no!" Wei Xiaobao said, "It came straight from their own mouths. Everybody says that that big treacherous official Oboi cruelly harmed common people, they all hated him to the bones. When Your Majesty decided to put him to his death, it was a very, very good decision. They speak highly of you as some raw bird [niao sheng] or some fish soup [yu tang]. Your servant did not understand, I assumed it was words of praise, so I was very happy to hear it."


    Kangxi was taken aback, but then he understood immediately and broke into loud laughter. "It''s ''Yao Shun Yu Tang''," he said, "Damn it, what do you mean ''niao sheng yu tang''?" He thought that Wei Xiaobao could not possibly come up with ''Yao Shun Yu Tang'', therefore, the compliment must be real. He did not know that when telling the story of ''Heroic Deed Commentaries'', the storyteller mentioned that the crowd continuously praised Zhu Yuanzhang[42] as ''Yao Shun Yu Tang''. Wei Xiaobao heard the story often. Although he did not understand the meaning of it, he knew that ''Yao Shun Yu Tang'' was words of praise to flatter the emperor; it was said that each time Zhu Yuanzhang heard it, his ''dragon countenance looked very pleased''.


    This time Wei Xiaobao used the same flattery toward the young Emperor, and sure enough, Kangxi''s his ''dragon countenance looked very pleased'', his laughter was very joyous and free, so he knew the bootlicking was right on target. "Your Majesty." he asked, "What exactly is ''niao sheng yu tang''?"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You still say raw bird and fish soup? This kid really does not have the least bit of literary knowledge. Yao Shun Yu Tang[43] were four learned and virtuous wise monarch of the ancient times, great sages with great knowledge, due to their benevolent integrity, they are recognized as good Emperors of the land under the heavens."


    "No wonder, no wonder!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Those rebellious thieves are not completely ignorant of reasons."


    "Even so," Kangxi said, "We must not let them escape. Quickly summon Dolong over."


    Wei Xiaobao complied; he went out to summon the Imperial Bodyguard Chief Dolong into the Upper Study Room. Kangxi instructed Dolong, "The rebellious thieves are really Mu Family''s people from Yunnan. Take the Imperial Bodyguards and arrest them immediately. Xiao Guizi, why don''t you tell Dolong the background of those rebellious thieves'' group?"


    Wei Xiaobao immediately told Dolong the names of Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong, and the others. Dolong was startled; he said, "Turns out it is the ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' who manage this operation in secret, these bunch of thieves'' background is indeed not small. That ''Shaking-Head Lion'' Wu Lishen, your servant has also heard his name; I did not expect him to be locked up in the Palace for a day and a night, yet I could not obtain any real information from him. If your servant is a little bit smarter, seeing him always shaking his head, I should have guessed it early on. If not for the Sage''s wise judgment, we in the Imperial Bodyguard building would still think that those people were sent by Wu Sangui."


    Showing a faint smile, Kangxi said, "I am afraid they have already gone by now, this time you may not necessarily able to arrest them." After a short pause, he continued, "Since we already know the mastermind, it''s not a big deal even if this time we can''t arrest them. I am just afraid that we will be kept in the dark[44]; we still don''t know that we have fallen into other people''s trick."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong said, "Your servants are muddle-headed, fortunately our Master is wise, otherwise it would be disastrous." He kowtowed and took his leave, immediately selected some of his men to arrest the rebels.


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "I am going to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to pay my respect, come with me."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao complied; but thinking that he was going to see the Empress Dowager, he could help but trembling with fear and appeared apprehensive.


    Kangxi said, "Why are you frowning and look distressed? I am taking you to see Empress Dowager is exactly to preserve your head."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Arrived at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, Kangxi paid his respect to the Empress Dowager, reporting clearly the assassins'' background, telling her that it was he, personally, who ordered Xiao Guizi to release the assassins and finally ascertained the actual facts.


    The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Xiao Guizi, you can work very well!"


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and kowtowed, "It was due to His Majesty''s ability to prophecy with supernatural accuracy, everything has been calculated beforehand," he said, "Your servant was only bidding His Majesty''s order, nothing more than that. Although it was your servant who did the legwork, from head to tail I was just following His Majesty''s order, your servant did not have the least bit of idea of his own."


    The Empress Dowager cast a glance at him, snorted, and then said, "You are naughty, and it was not His Majesty who orders you to fool around! A little kid who left home to enter the Palace must want to play everywhere. Have you been to the Heavenly Bridge to see some acrobats? Have you bought some candied fruits?"


    Wei Xiaobao recalled seeing government officials arresting candied fruits peddlers, he guessed they must be sent by the Empress Dowager; she was afraid the man would transmit the information to Rui Dong on Wutai Mountain, therefore, without distinguishing red-blue or black-white, she had all candied fruits peddlers around the Heavenly Bridge arrested. Wei Xiaobao was sure that without distinguishing red-blue or black-white, they would all be beheaded. Thinking about her ruthlessness, he could not help but shiver. "Yes, yes!" he said.


    The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I am asking you, have you bought some candied fruits lately?"


    "Reporting to the Empress Dowager," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant heard people on the street say that the Heavenly Bridge is not really safe these days, the Nine-Gate provincial governor office has arrested the candied fruits peddlers, saying that there are many bad men among them. Therefore, those who originally sell candied fruits now change their professions; some sell cool cakes, some sell peanuts, some change their professions to sell sour dates, sell sweet cookies. Your servant has often seen many of these people, I am somewhat familiar with their faces, they say they are not going to sell candied fruits anymore. One of them was really funny, he said he was going to go to some Wutai or Liutai[45] Mountain to sell some plain steamed buns to the monks."


    The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows in anger; naturally she understood that by saying that, Wei Xiaobao was telling her that the man who was supposed to transmit information had not been arrested, and that she could forget about arresting him later. With a cold smile she said, "Very good, you are very good, you are really competent. Emperor, I want to have him by my side, doing things for me. What do you think?"


    These days Kangxi always sent Wei Xiaobao to do errands for him, and Wei Xiaobao was very efficient, so Kangxi started to rely on him like his own left and right hands. The purpose of his visit to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful this time was exactly to explain to the Empress Dowager that Wei Xiaobao killed the four eunuchs she sent under his order, so he would ask that the Empress Dowager did not blame him. Suddenly hearing that the Empress Dowager wanted Wei Xiaobao, he could not help but was startled. He was very filial to her. Although the Empress Dowager was not his own mother, but she raised him up from childhood until he grew up, so she was no different than his own mother. Not daring to disobey, he smiled and said, "Xiao Guizi, the Empress Dowager is promoting you, why haven''t you thanked her for her favor?"


    Hearing the Empress Dowager wanted to take him from the Emperor, Wei Xiaobao was already scared out of his wits, in that instant his mind went blank, he only wanted to flee; this time he wanted to run away from the Palace and never come back. Hearing Kangxi, he busily replied, "Yes, yes!" And then he kowtowed and said, "Thank you Empress Dowager for your grace, thank you Your Majesty for your grace."


    "What is it?" the Empress Dowager said with a cold laugh, "You only want to serve His Majesty and do not want to serve me, is that it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Serving the Empress Dowager and serving His Majesty are the same, your servant will do it with the same loyalty and devotion, I will strive hard to do your bidding."


    "That''s good," the Empress Dowager said, "You don''t need to take care of the Catering Department''s business anymore, you will concentrate on doing the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful''s business."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Thank you Empress Dowager for your grace."


    Seeing the Empress Dowager wanted to take over Wei Xiaobao, Kangxi was unhappy; he made some small talk, and then quickly took his leave. Wei Xiaobao followed him out.


    The Empress Dowager said, "Xiao Guizi, stay here. Let other people escort His Majesty back. I have something I want you to do."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. In a daze he watched Kangxi''s back as he left the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, thinking, "This time you leave, I will be in big trouble. I don''t know if I can see you again in the future." He almost could not hold his desire to cry aloud.


    The Empress Dowager drank her tea slowly, while her gaze had never left Wei Xiaobao, sizing him up. She noticed that he was very scared. After a long time she asked, "The man who is going to Wutai Mountain to sell plain steamed buns, when is he going to return?"


    "Your servant does not know," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "When are you going to see him again?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said whatever came into his head, "Your servant has agreed to meet him in a month, but it won''t be at the Heavenly Bridge anymore."


    "Where is it?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "He said that when the time comes, he will find a way to notify your servant."


    The Empress Dowager nodded, she said, "In that case you may stay in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, waiting for his news." She gently clapped her hands, and from the inner chamber a palace maid appeared.


    The palace maid looked like she was thirty five or thirty six years old, very fat, yet her footsteps were very lithe. Her face looked like a full moon, with small eyes and big mouth; she giggled while bowing to pay her respect to the Empress Dowager.


    The Empress Dowager said, "This little eunuch is called Xiao Guizi, he is audacious and is a trouble maker, but I like him very much."


    The palace maid smiled and said, "Yes, this Xiao Xiongdi looks very clever. Xiao Xiongdi, my name is Liu Yan, but you can just call me Jiejie."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Damn it, you are a fat pig!" But he laughed and said, "Yes, Liu Yan Jiejie, your name is very appropriate, your figure looks like a willow tree, your steps are light and quick, just like a little swallow [Liu �C willow, Yan �C swallow]." In front of the Empress Dowager, no other eunuch or palace maid had ever dared to say even half a frivolous word like that, but Wei Xiaobao knew he was doomed anyway; there was no difference whether he said it or not, but even if he did not say it, he would not be spared anyway.


    Liu Yan giggled and said, "Xiao Xiongdi, your mouth is sweet indeed."


    The Empress Dowager said, "His mouth is sweet, his feet are quick. Liu Yan, think of a way to keep him from running this way and that, wandering and rushing aimlessly around the Palace."


    Liu Yan said, "Empress Dowager may hand him over to your servant, let me look after him well."


    The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "This little monkey is very slippery, you can''t continuously keep your eyes on him. I sent Rui Dong to summon him, he smooth-talked him so that that coward ran away. I sent four eunuchs to summon him, he colluded with the Imperial Bodyguards and killed those four eunuchs. I sent four more eunuchs; I don''t know what kind of trick he had, unexpectedly Dong Jinkui and the others, four people, were also killed."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Liu Yan clucked her tongue repeatedly; she laughed and said, "Aiyo, Xiao Xiongdi, you are too naughty, aren''t you too difficult to be dealt with? Empress Dowager, if we chopped both of his legs and just let him lie down nicely, won''t we enjoy a lot more of peace and quiet?"


    The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "I''ll say it might be the only way."


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up and bolted toward the door. His left leg had just stepped over the threshold, suddenly he felt his scalp tightened, someone pulled his pigtail. His head was jerked backward, his body refused to obey him and he fell flat on his back, there was a severe of pain on the pit of his stomach as a foot stepped on his chest. It was a big and fat foot, wearing red satin shoe embroidered with golden flower; Liu Yan''s foot had landed on him. In desperation Wei Xiaobao''s mouth rained curses, "Stinky mother, take your stinky foot off!"


    Liu Yan added more force into her foot, a dozen or so ribs in Wei Xiaobao''s chest were making random cracking noise, he could not even breathe. He heard Liu Yan said with a laugh, "Xiao Xiongdi, your pair of feet is very fragrant, I really want to chop them down and have a smell."


    The Empress Dowager said to Liu Yan, "Let him get up." Liu Yan lifted her left foot from Wei Xiaobao''s chest; inserting her foot underneath Wei Xiaobao''s body, she kicked Wei Xiaobao''s back that his body shot up. Stretching out her left hand, she grabbed Wei Xiaobao by the back of his collar, lifted him up high in the air, and then put him down heavily on the floor. All along Wei Xiaobao was unable to neither resist nor struggle free, as if he was merely an infant. The curse ''stinky mother'' was already on the tip of his tongue, but he was so scared that he swallowed it back into his belly.


    Liu Yan said, "I advise you to answer the Empress Dowager''s question nicely."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I answer, I will die, if I don''t answer, I will also die; why would I want to answer? At most you will punish me heavier, I am not afraid."


    Liu Yan picked up his left hand; she said with a laugh, "Xiao Xiongdi, your fingers are slim and long, they look exceptionally good."


    "At most you can cut off my fingers," Wei Xiaobao said, "Nothing special about it ��" before he finished speaking, he felt severe pain on his finger. "Ah!" he screamed, as Liu Yan''s two fingers held his left-hand forefinger and pinched it hard, that his bone was nearly broken. The fat woman had a smiling, affable face, but they way she made her move was very ruthless, the power of her fingers was even more astonishing, her pinch felt like a pair of iron pliers.


    "I don''t need you to spare my life," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am determined not to say anything about the book."


    The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, she was actually at a loss of how to deal with this stubborn child. After half a day, she slowly said, "Liu Yan, if he does not want to talk, you may dig out his two eyeballs."


    Liu Yan laughed and said, "Very good, I will dig out one eyeball first. Xiao Xiongdi, your eyeballs grew to be very pretty, they are black and round, and can spin and roll around. But after I dig them out, they won''t look too pretty anymore." While saying that, she placed the thumb of her right hand on his right eyelid and pushed it slightly.


    Wei Xiaobao felt a stabbing pain on his eyeball, he had no choice but to surrender. "I surrender, I surrender!" he cried out, "Don''t dig my eyeballs out, I''ll talk."


    Liu Yan let off her hand; she said with a smile, "Now that''s a good child. Just talk nicely, the Empress Dowager will love you very much."


    Wei Xiaobao reached up to rub his eye, blinking the hurting eye several times. He closed the other eye, cocked his head and looked at Liu Yan for a moment, and then he shook his head and said, "It''s not right, it''s not right!"


    "What''s not right?" Liu Yan asked, "Don''t put on an act, the Empress Dowager is asking you a question, quickly give her an honest answer."


    "You have damaged my eyeball," Wei Xiaobao said, "The things I look at change shapes. I see you as having a human body, but on your neck grew a big fat pig head."


    Liu Yan was not angry; she giggled and said, "That sounds fun. I must damage your left eyeball too."


    Wei Xiaobao took a step back and said, "Please excuse me this time, thank you very much." He shut his left eye and looked at the Empress Dowager, and then he shook his head.


    The Empress Dowager thought, "This little demon looked at Liu Yan with one eye and said a pig''s head rested on her neck. Now he looked at me the same way; although his mouth did not say anything, I don''t know how he is cursing me in his heart, he must be saying that he saw some animal''s head resting on my neck." She said coldly, "Liu Yan, you''d better dig his eyeball now, so that he won''t look to the east and to the west."


    "Rui Dong gave it to me," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He asked me to take a good care of it, to keep it in a very secret place. He said, ''Xiao Guizi Xiongdi, there are a lot of people in the Palace who want to harm you. If in the future you have some unfortunate things happen to you, like taking your eyeballs out or chopping your legs, this book henceforth will not see the light of the day. The person who harms you, although his eyeballs are not blind, he won''t see this treasured scripture, so he won''t differ from someone whose eyeballs are blind. This is called ''acting for oneself and suffer the consequences''. Empress Dowager, the scripture has a red silk envelope with white border around it. I don''t know if it is the one you want."


    Liu Yan pulled Wei Xiaobao''s right hand and said with a laugh, "Xiao Xiongdi, let''s go!"


    Wei Xiaobao shook her hand away, he said, "I am a man, you are a woman, what do you want holding and pulling my hand like that?" Liu Yan seemed to hold his palm only gently, who would have thought that it was as if there a very strong suction force from her fingers? Wei Xiaobao''s palm was firmly stuck onto her hand, he was unable to shake her hand away.


    Liu Yan said with a laugh, "You are an eunuch, how can you be regarded as a man? Even if you are a real man, you, this little demon, is still too young to be my son."


    "Is that right?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "You want to be my mother? I think you look exactly like my mother."


    How would Liu Yan know that in a roundabout way, Wei Xiaobao was cursing her as a wh0re? "Pei!" she spat, and then she laughed and said, "Your Miss is a virgin, don''t talk nonsense!" Pulling his hand, she took him out.


    As they reached the long corridor, Wei Xiaobao was frantically trying to find an ingenious way to escape from her clutch. The extremely sharp dagger was inside his right boot, if he could stretch out his right hand, he could pull it out, but as soon as he made a move, she would detect it immediately. This woman''s martial art skill was very profound, even if he had a very sharp weapon in his hand, he might not necessarily able to exchange three moves or two styles with her. He muttered under his breath, "Damn it, where did this fat pig come from? Why didn''t Boss Qian deliver a good pig? When he sent that fat pig, I already felt something inauspicious. When the old wh0re fought the old turtle, I am sure this fat sow was not in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful yet; otherwise, as soon as she came out to help, the old turtle would die immediately. This sow must have arrived in the Palace within the last couple of days, otherwise, a few days ago the old wh0re would have sent her to kill me, she did not have to personally do the job." Thinking to this point, he had a sudden idea, he led her eastwards, toward the Upper Study Room next to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He figured out that all he need to do was to ask Kangxi to save his life. This fat pig had not been in the Palace for too long, she might not necessarily know the pathways around the Palace.


    He only took one step to the east, the second step had not been taken, the back of his collar tightened, Liu Yan had seized him. With a giggle she said, "Good Xiongdi, where are you going?"


    "To my room to fetch the scripture of course," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Why are you heading toward the Upper Study Room, then?" Liu Yan asked, "You are thinking of asking His Majesty to save you?"


    Wei Xiaobao could not bear not to curse, "Stinky pig, you know the way around the palace."


    Liu Yan said, "Other places I might not know, but around the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, and your, Xiao Xiongdi''s dwelling, I can''t be wrong." She exerted her strength to the right, Wei Xiaobao''s body was twisted westwards. She said with a laugh, "Just walk obediently, don''t waste other people''s time." Her voice was gentle, but the power with which she twist Wei Xiaobao was really heavy. Wei Xiaobao''s neck bones made some cracking noise, he yelled in pain, he thought that his neck bone had been wrenched apart by her.


    There were two eunuchs ahead, when they heard his scream, they turned their heads around. Liu Yan said in a low voice, "The Empress Dowager ordered me to kill you immediately whenever you want to run away or make noise to call people."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that even though he cried for help and alarmed the Emperor, Kangxi would not possibly defy the Empress Dowager''s order. Although the Emperor was good to him, in no way would he anger his mother for the sake of a little eunuch. It would be best if they could come across several Imperial Bodyguards, so that he could instigate them to kill Liu Yan. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his waist as with her elbow she struck him hard; he heard her saying, "Thinking of using some trick?"


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to walk toward his own room. He mused, "When we get to my room, although I will have two helpers, both Fang Yi and Xiao Junzhu are injured; even if we fight three to one, we still cannot overcome this big fat pig. If she saw any sign of those two girls, I would only deliver those two people''s lives in vain."


    When they reached the front door, Wei Xiaobao took out the key to unlock the door. He deliberately bumped the key to the lock, making a loud clinking noise. "Stinky mother," he said loudly, "Big fat pig, you torment me like this, I''ll say that there will come a day that you will not die a good death."


    Liu Yan laughed and said, "You can''t even tell if you will die a good death or not, yet you meddle into other people''s business."


    ''Bang!'' Wei Xiaobao shoved open the door, he said, "Whether I give the scripture to the Empress Dowager or not, you will kill me anyway. Do you think I am a fool, thinking that I will be lucky enough to escape with my life?"


    "The Empress Dowager already said she will spare you," Liu Yan said, "Most likely she will spare your life, at most she will dig your eyeballs and chop off your legs."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You think the Empress Dowager is treating you very well? After you kill me, the Empress Dowager will definitely kill you to shut your mouth." These words seemed to echo the load in Liu Yan''s mind. She stared with blank expression for a moment, but then she exerted her strength to give Wei Xiaobao''s back a push. Wei Xiaobao could not stand his ground, he crashed into the room. He talked a lot outside the room with the hope that Fang Yi and Xiao Junzhu would hear and know that an extremely ferocious enemy was coming, so that they could withdraw inside the quilt and not dare to breathe too loud.


    Liu Yan laughed and said, "I don''t have time to wait for you, get it a little quicker please." And she pushed heavily on his back again. Wei Xiaobao stumbled several steps into the inner room. Liu Yan followed him in.


    Wei Xiaobao took a glance and saw two pairs of women''s shoes arranged neatly in front of the bed. It was already dark outside, there was neither lantern nor candle lighted in the room. Having entered the room later, Liu Yan did not immediately see the shoes. "Not good!" Wei Xiaobao cried out inwardly. Seizing the opportunity he threw himself forward and pushed the two pairs of shoes underneath the bed, while he himself also crawled inside, thinking that perhaps this time he would be able to kill the fat pig the same way he killed Rui Dong. As soon as he was in, he pulled his right leg in so that his right hand could reach and pull the dagger inside his boot. Unexpectedly, his right ankle tightened, it was grabbed by Liu Yan.


    "What are you doing?" he heard Liu Yan asked.


    "I am getting the book," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I keep it under the bed."


    "Alright!" Liu Yan said; thinking that he would not be able to run anywhere from under the bed, she released her grip. Wei Xiaobao shrank his body as small as possible, while pulling the dagger and held it in his hand. "Take it out!" Liu Yan shouted.


    "Uh, there must be some rats in here," Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo, aiyo, it''s really bad, why did they chew the book into pieces?"


    "It''s useless for you to play any trick in front of me!" Liu Yan said, "Give me the book!" She stretched out her hand to grab, but she grabbed an empty air, because Wei Xiaobao had withdrawn and leaned against the wall. Liu Yan crawled two chi forward, the upper part of her body was already under the bed, again she stretched out her fingers to grab.


    Wei Xiaobao turned around slightly, without making any noise he stabbed the dagger forward. The tip of the dagger had just touched the back of her hand, Liu Yan had already detected it; her reaction was extremely fast and nimble, flipping her right hand over, she grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s wrist and squeezed it hard. Wei Xiaobao entirely lost the strength in his hand, and had no choice but to let the dagger dropped.


    Liu Yan laughed and said, "You want to kill me? I''ll dig out your eyeballs first." With her right hand she grabbed his throat, with her left fingers she was about to dig his eyes.


    "A snake!" Wei Xiaobao cried out.


    Liu Yan was startled. "What?" she said. Suddenly, "Ah!" she screamed, the hand grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s throat slowly loosened, her body twisted several times, and then she dropped down to the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled but happy; quickly he crawled out from under the bed, only to head Mu Jianping said, "Are ... are you injured?"


    Wei Xiaobao lifted the mosquito net open and saw Fang Yi sitting on the bed, holding the sword''s hilt with both hands, continuously gasping for breath. The sword blade penetrated the mattress to the bottom of the bed, right up to the hilt. Turned out she heard Wei Xiaobao''s desperate situation and thrust the sword down from above the bed, passing through the cotton-padded mattress and the bed frame strung with palm fiber, straight into Liu Yan''s back.


    Wei Xiaobao kicked Liu Yan''s buttocks. Seeing she did not move at all, he was very happy. "Good ... Good Jiejie," he said, "You saved my life."


    Based on Liu Yan''s martial art skill, Fang Yi''s sneak attack would not easily succeed; but since seeing Wei Xiaobao unlocking the door, Liu Yan had never thought that there was someone else in the room. Moreover, the sword had come from above the mattress, stabbing down, so that she did not have the slightest indication of the incoming attack. By the time she realized it, the sword had already pierced her heart. Even if her martial art skill was ten times stronger, she would still be incapable to evade. But then a real martial art master of her rank would not crawl underneath the bed to grab others. Wei Xiaobao was afraid she had not died completely, he pulled the sword and thrust it through the mattress two more times.


    "Who is this wicked woman?" Mu Jianping asked, "She was quite vicious, she wanted to dig out your eyeballs."


    "She is the old wh0re Empress Dowager''s subordinate," Wei Xiaobao replied. Turning to Fang Yi he asked, "Is your wound painful?"


    With a crease of her eyebrows Fang Yi replied, "Tolerable!" Actually, she had exerted an enormous effort in thrusting the sword a moment ago that her wound was affected; the pain was so severe that she nearly fainted, beads of perspiration were dripping from her forehead.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Very soon the old wh0re will send someone else here, we have to think of a way to escape immediately. Um, you two girls change into men''s clothing, disguise yourselves as eunuchs, we''ll sneak out of the Palace. Good Jiejie, can you walk?"


    "I can force myself to," Fang Yi replied.


    Wei Xiaobao took out two sets of his own clothing. "Put these on," he said.


    Mu Jianping finished changing her clothes and she got out of the bed first. "What a smart-looking little eunuch," Wei Xiaobao praised, "Let me help you with the braid."


    A moment later, Fang Yi also got out of the bed. Her stature was slightly taller than Wei Xiaobao, the clothes she wore was stretched tight, it was not a good-fitting at all. When she looked at the mirror, she could not help laughing.


    Mu Jianping said with a laugh, "I let him helped me with my braid, let me help Shijie with your braid."


    Wei Xiaobao took Mu Jianping''s long hair and carelessly braided big pigtail. Mu Jianping looked herself in the mirror and said, "Aiyo, it''s so ugly, I have to redo the braid."


    "We don''t have time to redo it right now," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s already dark, we can''t go out the Palace. When the old wh0re realizes the fat pig is not coming back, she will send someone else to get me. We must find another place to hide, early in the morning tomorrow we will sneak out of the Palace."


    Fang Yi asked, "Won''t the old ... the Empress Dowager send people to investigate all gates of the Palace thoroughly?"


    "We have no choice but to take it one step at a time," Wei Xiaobao replied. He remembered the room where he used to have martial art and wrestling contest with Kangxi was very quiet, he had never seen a third person come over there, thereupon he helped the two girls walking out of his residence.


    Mu Jianping''s leg was broken, she took the door bolt[47] and used it as a crutch. Fang Yi took a step, but her chest was hurting. Wei Xiaobao wrapped his right arm around her waist, half lifting and half pulling, he helped her walk. Luckily it was already dark outside, plus he picked the most secluded pathway. They came across several eunuchs, but nobody paid them any attention. When they reached the room, all three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Wei Xiaobao turned around and bolted the door, and then helped Fang Yi sitting on a chair. He said in a low voice, "We must not talk in here, there is a corridor outside, it''s not as secluded as my room."


    The night grew darker, at first they could still see each other''s facial features, afterwards all they could see was dim silhouette of each other. Mu Jianping did not like the pigtail braided by Wei Xiaobao, she untied it and redid it herself. Fang Yi pulled her own pigtail and rubbed it in her hands and played with it. "Ah!" suddenly she exclaimed softly.


    "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Nothing," Fang Yi replied, "I dropped a silver hairpin."


    "Ah," Mu Jianping said, "It was me. When I untied your hair, I put that silver hairpin on the table, after I finished braiding your pigtail, I forgot to give that silver hairpin back to you. Oh no, it was a gift from Liu Shige, wasn''t it?"


    "Only a hairpin, it doesn''t really matter," Fang Yi said.


    Although she said it did not matter, Wei Xiaobao could hear the extreme disappointment in her voice; he thought, "I must be a good person to the end, I''ll go quietly and get the hairpin back for her." But he did not say anything for the time being. After a while, he said, "I am very hungry, if I have to wait until tomorrow, I am afraid I won''t have the strength to walk. I''ll go out to find something to eat."


    "Come back quickly," Mu Jianping said.


    "I will," Wei Xiaobao replied. He went to the door and listened, after making sure there was nobody outside, he opened the door and walked out.


    He quickly returned to his room. Afraid that the Empress Dowager might send someone to wait for him, he circled to the back of the room and listened for quite a long time. When he was sure there was nobody inside and outside, he pushed the window open and climbed in. Sure enough, under the moonlight he could see the silver hairpin lying on the table. The workmanship of this silver hairpin was very crude, at most it only worth one or two qian. He thought, "Liu Yizhou is very poor, he presented Miss Fang with such an ugly gift." He spat on the hairpin before putting it inside his pocket. From tin cans, wicker baskets, drawers, shelves above the bed, and so on he carelessly took some cakes, pastries and other snacks and stuffed everything into a cardboard box and put it inside his pocket.


    He was about to climb out the window when suddenly he saw a pair of red shoes embroidered with golden thread in front of the bed, unexpectedly, there was a foot in each shoe.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped up in fright. It was indeed terrifying to see under the dim moonlight a pair of cut off feet wearing a pair of bright-colored red shoes. But he understood immediately: when Liu Yan''s body was dissolved by the ''Corpse Transforming Powder'', the ground in front of the bed was uneven, the corpse turned into yellow liquid and flowed toward the bottom of the bed, leaving behind a pair of feet that did not melt. He turned around, wanted to kick the pair of feet into the yellow liquid, but the yellow liquid had dried out. His ''Corpse Transforming Powder'' was in the bundle by Fang Yi and Mu Jianping''s side. Racking his brain, suddenly his childish mind was aroused, "Damn it, this time laozi leave the Palace and won''t see the old wh0re anymore. Laozi will throw these two feet into her room to scare her half dead." Fetching a long gown, he took the pair of feet complete with the shoes and wrapped everything firmly before he finally climbed out the window and quietly walked toward the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful.


    As he approached the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, he did not dare to walk straight into it but circled around the flowering bushes instead. For each step he took, he stopped and listened for a while; thinking, "If I am not careful, the old wh0re might get me; won''t that mean I am walking into a trap?" He was excited, but scared at the same time. Step by step he crept toward the Empress Dowager''s personal chamber. His palms were sweating more and more, he mused, "I''ll put these pig hooves on the step stone in front of the door, she will definitely find it tomorrow, it''s too dangerous to sneak into the courtyard."


    He quietly took two more steps forward, suddenly he heard a man''s voice saying, "What''s wrong with Ah Yan? Why she has not come back by now?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "How can there be a man in the room?" he thought, "The voice does not belong to an eunuch. Is it possible that the old wh0re has a lover? Ha ha, laozi must catch these adulterous lovers." Although in his heart he wanted to ''catch these adulterous lovers'', he would not dare to do it, even if he had ten times more courage. But his curiosity was greatly piqued, he was unwilling to simply put down the cutoff feet and leave.


    He tiptoed toward the voice for several steps, with each step he carefully lifted up his foot and even more carefully put it down, to guard against stepping on a deadwood and thus make a noise. He heard the man snorted and said, "Perhaps something has changed. Since you already knew this little demon is very crafty, why did you let Ah Yan went with him alone?"


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Turns out you are talking about laozi." He heard the Empress Dowager said, "Ah Yan''s martial art skill is ten times higher than his, she is also very astute, very vigilant in each step she takes, how can she meet with any mishap? Most likely the sutra is kept far away from here, so Ah Yan has to go with that little demon."


    The man said, "Naturally it is very good if we can get the sutra; otherwise, humph, humph!"


    The tone of his voice was very stern, speaking like that to the Empress Dowager was indeed extremely rude. Wei Xiaobao was getting more and more puzzled, "Who in the world can talk to her like that? Could it be that the Old Emperor is back from Mount Wutai?" Thinking that Emperor Shunzhi was back at the Palace, he was very excited; he thought he was going to see some good action very soon. What he found very strange was that there was not a single palace maid or eunuch around; presumably the Empress Dowager had sent them all away.


    He heard the Empress Dowager said, "You know I have done everything possible. With my capacity right now, I can''t personally go back and forth around the Palace with a little eunuch. As soon as I took a step out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, a large entourage of palace maids and eunuchs will follow me around, how can I manage to get anything done?"


    The man said, "Can''t you wait until it was dark to send him out? Or just notify me, let me go with him to fetch the sutra."


    "I do not dare to toil your honorable self," the Empress Dowager replied, "We must not reveal any trail of your presence here."


    With a cold laugh the man said, "Coming across an important matter like this, why do we care? I know, you did not want to notify me for fear I would snatch away your meritorious service."


    "What is there to be snatched away?" the Empress Dowager asked, "So what if I have meritorious service or not? I only hope to go through one year in peace and security, without any problem." The tone of her voice was brimming with grudge and hatred.


    If it were not for the fact that Wei Xiaobao knew it clearly that it was the Empress Dowager''s voice, he would have thought it was an old palace maid complaining because someone was blaming her. The two of them were speaking in very low voices, but Wei Xiaobao was very near, plus there was no other noise in the calm night, hence he was able to hear everything clearly. Hearing those two talking about ''snatching away some meritorious service'', he knew the man was definitely not Emperor Shunzhi.


    Wei xiaobao could not suppress his curiosity anymore, slowly he crawled to the window and peeked inside from a crack on the window. He had already had enough experience standing outside the window and peeping inside like this at the Lovely Spring Courtyard; he mused, "Before I was peeping the brothel patrons chasing my mother, tonight I am peeping the old wh0re receiving a patron."


    He saw the Empress Dowager was leaning sideway, sitting on a chair, and a palace maid was pacing back and forth in the room with hands behind her back; other than these, there was no other person inside. "Where did that man go?" he thought.


    He saw the palace maid turned around and said, "I can''t wait, I am going out to look." As soon as she opened her mouth, Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright, because the palace maid had a male''s voice, it was she who had just spoken. From the crack on the window Wei Xiaobao could only see her chest, but not her face.


    "I am coming with you," the Empress Dowager said.


    With a cold laugh the palace maid said, "You don''t feel at ease."


    "Why wouldn''t I feel at ease?" the Empress Dowager said, "I suspect Ah Yan is doing something strange, by working together, it will be easy for the two of us to control her."


    "Hm, we can''t not guard against that," the palace maid said, "Don''t let the boat capsize in the gutter. Alright, let''s go."


    The Empress Dowager nodded, she walked toward the bedside, lifted the bedding open, and pulled a piece of wooden board. There was a flicker under the candle light, a dagger appeared in her hand. She insert the dagger into its sheath and put it inside her pocket. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out the old wh0re has such a secret compartment. To guard against assassination, she did not have the dagger inside the sheath, so that with one grab she could make a kill, no need to pull the dagger from its sheath. In such a critical moment, she would not lose precious split seconds."


    He saw the Empress Dowager and the palace maid walked out of the bedroom, unlatched the palace gate, and left the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, but the candle in the bedroom was not extinguished. Wei Xiaobao thought, "I''ll put these pig''s feet in that secret compartment on her bed, when she returned the dagger, she would grope this pair of pig''s hooves. I guarantee she will be scared out of her wits."


    He was greatly delighted. "I don''t know what the fart these books are for," he thought, "But everybody seems to regard it so highly. Laozi might as well leading away the goat in passing, so that the old wh0re will be angered to half-dead." Immediately he took the three sutras and stuffed them inside his pocket. And then he shook Liu Yan''s feet from the long gown to let the feet fall into the secret compartment. He put the wooden plank back and replaced the bedding. Kicking the long gown underneath the bed, he was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly heard the creaking noise of the door; someone was pushing the door and coming in.


    This time he was really scared out of his wits, he did not expect the Empress Dowager and that palace maid to be back this quickly. Having not enough time to think, he ducked and crawled under the bed, while groaning in his heart. He only hoped that the Empress Dowager had simply forgotten something and came back to get it, and would quickly go out again to look for him, he also hoped that whatever it was that she had forgotten was not kept in the secret compartment under the bedding.


    He heard the footsteps were light and quick, one person was entering the room, it was a woman. The woman was wearing a pair of light green shoes, her pants were also light green. Looking at the style of the pants, it seemed to him that she was a palace maid. "It must be the palace maid who is waiting on the Empress Dowager," he thought, "She knows martial art, so she can''t be Rui Chu. If she does not leave immediately, I might have to kill her. It will be best if she came to the front of the bed." Drawing the dagger quietly, he waited for the palace maid to come to the bed. With one thrust up from below, he could stab her lower abdomen, then he could guarantee that she would lose her life without knowing any rhyme nor reason.


    He heard the woman was randomly rummaging the chest, she also cut open three more chests on the west and searched around. Wei Xiaobao did not stop cursing her in his belly, "If you are not leaving, the old wh0re may come back soon. I don''t care if you want to deliver your life away, but you might drag Wei Xiaobao along to return to the heaven together; you think you have that much face?"


    Failing to find whatever she was looking for, the woman was very anxious, she rummaged the chest even faster. Wei Xiaobao was thinking of surrendering, "It would be better for me just to toss these sutras to her, so that she would leave in a hurry."


    Right this moment, there were footsteps outside the door, he heard the Empress Dowager said in low voice, "I say that s1ut Liu Yan took the sutra and left."


    The woman also heard the voice; it was too late for her to escape, she quickly entered the wardrobe and closed the door.


    The palace maid with a man''s voice said, "Did you really send Liu Yan to fetch the sutra? How would I know you are not lying to me?"


    "What did you say?" the Empress Dowager said angrily, "Did you say I did not send Liu Yan to fetch the sutra? So what did I send her out for?"


    The palace maid said, "How would I know what trick you are playing? Perhaps you were following Liu Yan closely and killed her."


    The Empress Dowager snorted angrily, she said, "Aren''t you ashamed, being my Shixiong yet say some brainless thing like that? Liu Yan is my Shimei, you think I have such guts to kill her?"


    The palace maid coldly said, "You are indeed brazen, vicious and merciless, what matter you can''t do?"


    The two of them spoke in very low voice, but in the quiet night every word could be heard clearly. Hearing the Empress Dowager called the palace maid her Shixiong and Liu Yan her Shimei, Wei Xiaobao was even more puzzled. The two of them were talking as they entered the room. As soon as they saw the chests were cut open and various objects scattered over the floor, ''Ah!'' they cried out in shock together.


    "Someone was here to steal the sutra," the Empress Dowager shouted. She rushed toward the bed, flipped the bedding over, and pulled the wooden board. Seeing the sutras were gone, she cried out, "Aiyo!" And then she saw Liu Yan''s pair of cutoff feet. "What is that?" she cried in alarm.


    The palace maid reached out and picked the feet. "These are women''s feet," he said.


    The Empress Dowager was scared, "It''s Liu Yan, she ... she has been killed," she said.


    With a cold laugh the palace maid said, "I wasn''t wrong, was I?"


    The Empress Dowager was startled and angry at the same time, "What do you mean you weren''t wrong?"


    The palace maid said, "You are the only one in the world who know the secret hiding place of these books. If it was not you who killed Liu Shimei, how can her feet end up here?"


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "You are still accusing me blindly in here? The sutra thief can''t leave too far, let''s quickly pursue him."


    "Correct," the palace maid said, "Perhaps this person is still in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. You ... are you sure you are not playing trick?"


    The Empress Dowager did not reply, she turned around and looked at the wardrobe. Step by step she walked toward it, apparently she began to have suspicion toward the wardrobe.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart almost jumped out of his throat; the dagger in her hand reflected the flickering light from the candle, the reflection flitted across the floor, presumably the Empress Dowager was opening the wardrobe door with her left hand, while holding the dagger in her right hand. If the dagger was thrust into the wardrobe, undoubtedly the palace maid inside would not be able to evade.


    He saw the Empress Dowager was taking a step closer that she was now less than two chi away from the wardrobe. Suddenly ''crash! bang!'' the wardrobe toppled over toward the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was caught off guard, hastily she leaped backward, quite a few clothing of every color flew out of the wardrobe, some landed and wrapped around her head. The Empress Dowager hastily reached out to grab, a piece of clothing was thrown onto her body, suddenly she screamed pitifully, while a dagger, dripping with blood, appeared from within the clothing. Turned out someone was hiding inside the bundle of clothing. The palace maid inside the wardrobe threw clothing to the Empress Dowager so that she was at a loss, and then with one strike she succeeded in stabbing her.


    At first the palace maid with a man''s voice seemed to be watching with blank expression on his face, only after hearing the Empress Dowager''s miserable scream did he send a palm strike toward the bundle of clothes. Wei Xiaobao saw the bundle of clothes rolled away rapidly, the palace maid wearing green clothes leaped out of the bundle of clothes, with a blood-soaked dagger in her hand she pounced toward the palace maid with a man''s voice. The palace maid with a man''s voice sent out another palm strike, the palace maid wearing green clothes leaned sideways to evade, and then immediately pounced on the enemy again.


    From under the bed, Wei Xiaobao could only see those two persons'' four feet. The palace maid with a man''s voice was wearing grey pants and black satin shoes. The feet wearing green shoes were swiftly advancing and swiftly retreating, the feet wearing black shoes only occasionally took one step forward, and one step backward. The two people were engaged in an intense battle, but Wei Xiaobao did not hear any clashing of the weapons, obviously the palace maid with a man''s voice did not have any weapon. Wei Xiaobao cast a sideways glance toward the Empress Dowager; he saw her lying on the floor, motionless, apparently she had died.


    He heard the whooshing noise of the palms. After the fighting had been going on for a while, suddenly he saw the room grew darker; one of the three candles had been blown out by the palm wind. Wei Xiaobao mused, "As soon as the other two candles are blown out, I am going to dash out in darkness."


    ''Whoosh!'' another candle was extinguished by the palm wind. The two palace maids were fighting in silence, neither one dared to make the least bit of noise, as if both were afraid of alarming people on the outside. Actually, there were a lot of eunuchs and palace maids in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, the ruckus had been going on for quite a while, somebody should have had come to check early on, but obviously these people were always under the Empress Dowager''s strict order, without her summon, nobody dared to come over and spy on her.


    Wei Xiaobao heard ''Crack! Crack!'' as table and chair''s fragments flew everywhere, secretly he was apprehensive, "This palace maid who talks like a man seems to have a profound martial art, the wind from his palms are everywhere, the table and chair that got hit are smashed."


    Suddenly there was a light shout, followed by a flash of white light, and ''pop''; the palace maid wearing green clothes'' weapon flew up from her hand and nailed itself on the roof. And then the two of them fell to the ground, wrestling each other into a tangled heap.


    Now Wei Xiaobao could see clearly, the two combatants were unleashing their qin na skills, attacking and defending from each other within an area of several chi wide, each move was extremely dangerous. Wei Xiaobao''s knowledge of other type of martial art was very limited, but his training in qin na was quite extensive, he had enough daily sparring with Kangxi. He saw the two palace maids were moving very fast, each attack was ruthless and fierce: gouging the eyes, pounding the chest, twisting the neck, locking the throat, sealing acupoints, cutting off arteries, hooking the wrist, striking with their elbows, not a single move was not attacking the enemy''s vital point. Wei Xiaobao was secretly flabbergasted, "If it were me, I would have cried out ''surrender'' long ago!"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was beating in sync with the two people''s palms and hands movement, his only thought was, "Why hasn''t that candle gone out yet?" He was fully aware that those people were entangled in a very tight battle, even if he was crawling out from under the bed in full view, walking out the door with grandiose, the two palace maids would have been no more than stunned to a certain degree, nobody would try to stop him; it''s just that he could not muster enough courage to do just that.


    Suddenly the last candle flickered, a female voice grunted, the candle flickered back to light, he saw the palace maid wearing grey pants was pinning down the palace maid wearing green pants, her right elbow was pressing down the palace maid wearing green pants'' throat. The palace maid wearing green clothes'' left arm was suppressed by the enemy that it was hard for her to attack, her right hand made repeated attempts to hook, hit, seize and jab, but was always parried by the opponent''s left hand. Her throat was crushed by the enemy, she was gasping for breath with difficulty, the movement of her right hand gradually slowed down, both of her legs kicked up frantically, it looks like very soon she was going to be strangled to death by the enemy.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "As soon as this grey-clothes palace maid strangled the opponent, she would look under the bed to find the sutra. Wei Xiaobao will turn into Wei Sibao[48]!" Without giving himself any time to think, he sprang up from under the bed, raising the dagger in his hand, and thrust it into the palace maid wearing grey clothes'' back, and pushed it upward, slicing a very long gash, and then leaped back immediately.


    The palace maid wearing grey clothes shouted loudly and sprang up, pouncing on Wei Xiaobao, her hands grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s neck and tightened the grip as hard as she could. Clutched by her hands, Wei Xiaobao''s tongue stretched out, bursts of blackness appeared in his eyes. The palace maid wearing green clothes flipped over and jumped up, her right palm fell ferociously down on the left side of the palace maid wearing grey clothes'' neck, and then using her left hand she grabbed her hair and pulled it backward. Suddenly her hand felt loose, she had pulled the palace maid wearing grey clothes'' entire hair away, revealing a bald head. Turned out it was only a wig. Right this moment the palace maid wearing grey clothes'' hands came loose, off of Wei Xiaobao neck. Her own neck twisted several turns, and then she fell to the ground in a heap, while blood gushing out of her back, right away her life had left her.


    Still gasping for breath, the palace maid wearing green clothes said, "Thank you Xiao Gong-gong, for saving my life."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. He was still shaking from fear, while stroking his own neck. With his left hand he pointed to the palace maid wearing grey clothes'' bald head and said, "She �� she ��"


    The palace maid wearing green clothes said, "This man dressed as a woman and mingled in the Palace."


    Suddenly someone was shouting outside the door, "Help, there''s assassin in here!" The voice was half male, half female, it was a eunuch.


    With her right hand the palace maid wearing green clothes seized Wei Xiaobao, broke the window and leaped out. Her left hand waved, ''puff!'' followed by a miserable ''ah!'', the eunuch was hit by a secret projectile and fell down on the ground.


    The palace maid wearing green clothes wrapped her left hand around Wei Xiaobao''s waist to lift him up off the ground and take him rushing northward, going passed the Western Three Places and entered the Yang Hua Gate. By this time Wei Xiaobao was quite a lot taller than when he first entered the Palace, he was quite heavier too. This palace maid in green clothes was more or less the same height as he was, and she was slim, but when rushing forward while carrying him, it was as if she was carrying a baby, she did not show that she was expending the slightest effort. "Good skill!" Wei Xiaobao praised.


    The palace maid carried him via a small path winding around the Yuhua Pavilion, Baohua Palace Hall, and arrived at the bank of burning ground by the Fujian Palace[49], before she finally let him down. The burning ground was near the Xi Tie [Western Iron] Gate, it was where the trash and waste from the Palace was incinerated, it was extremely secluded in the evening.


    "Xiao Gong-gong," the palace maid in green clothes asked, "What''s your name?"


    "I am Xiao Guizi!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Ah!" she exclaimed, "You are the Xiao Guizi Gong-gong who personally arrested Oboi, the Emperor''s most favorite Gong-gong."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled. "I don''t dare!" he said. Although he had seen this palace maid in the Empress Dowager''s bedroom, it was such in a rush that he did not have time to look at her carefully. He thought vaguely that she looked around forty years old. "Jiejie," he said, "How must I address you?"


    The palace maid hesitated slightly, then said, "You and I share fortune and calamity together, I can''t conceal it from you. My surname is Tao, people in the Palace call me Tao Gong''e. What were you doing under the Empress Dowager''s bed?"


    Wei Xiaobao said whatever came into his head, "I am under the Emperor''s imperial edict to catch the Empress Dowager''s fornication!"


    Tao Gong''e was slightly startled. "Did His Majesty know that palace maid was a man?" she asked.


    "His Majesty knew a little bit, but he is not too sure," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "I �� I killed the Empress Dowager," Tao Gong''e said, "Very soon the commotion will turn the sky and the earth, the Palace gates will be shut, there will be great search. I must leave the Palace immediately. Gui Gong-gong, we''ll meet again someday."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The old wh0re finally went to the netherworld to become a wh0re, now I can live in peace and quiet in the Palace, but if they close the Palace gates and launch a great search, Fang and Mu, two girls will face certain disaster; what shall I do?" A bright idea suddenly occurred, "Tao Jiejie," he said, "I have an idea. I am going to report to His Majesty immediately, I will say that I witnessed that fake palace maid killed the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager had also killed the fake palace maid; the two of them fought until they perished together. The Empress Dowager is dead anyway, she could not testify, you don''t have to escape from the Palace."


    Tao Gong''e hesitated for a moment, then she said, "This idea just might work. But what about that eunuch? Who killed him?"


    "I will say it was the fake palace maid who killed him," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Gui Gong-gong," Tao Gong''e said, "This matter is very dangerous. Although His Majesty likes you, he will most probably kill you to shut your mouth."


    Wei Xiaobao shivered. "His Majesty also wants to kill me?" he asked, "Why?"


    Tao Gong''e said, "His mother had illicit relation with a man, if the rumor leaks out, how do you think His Majesty would react? Even if you guard your mouth like a closed bottle, each time His Majesty sees you, he would unavoidably feel ashamed. Sooner or later he would have to kill you."


    Wei Xiaobao was scared. "He �� is he that ruthless?" he asked. But in his heart he knew Tao Gong''e was right, he must never say anything about this to the Emperor.


    Right this moment, from the south came several sounds of gong, followed by other gongs all around. It was the Palace'' alarm system whenever there was fire or some other emergency; immediately all the Palace''s Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs were being dispatched.


    "We can''t get out now," Tao Gong''e said, "You go and pretend to join the hunt for the assassins, I will go back to my room and sleep." Stretching out her left arm, she wrapped it around Wei Xiaobao''s waist and took him off westward, toward the Yinghua Palace Hall, and put him down by the Palace. "Be careful!" she said in soft voice. Turning around, she disappeared behind a corner.


    Wei Xiaobao was worried over Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, hastily he went toward the room where the two of them were hiding. He heard the sound of gongs was getting increasingly urgent, followed by the clamor of people shouting everywhere. Desperately he ran toward the room. "It''s me!" he shouted.


    Fang and Mu, two girls were already frightened that their faces were drained of blood. "What''s that gong?" Mu Jianping asked, "Are they coming to arrest us?"


    "Not that," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The old wh0re is dead! People are shouting and jumping over everywhere. We''d better return to my room, it''s relatively safer there."


    "Return to your room?" Mu Jianping said, "We �� we killed someone there ��"


    "Don''t be afraid," Wei Xiaobao said, "They don''t know about it. Quickly go!" He bent down to help Fang Yi; grabbing his bundle with his left hand, he rushed outside.


    The three of them staggered along as they rushed forward for a while, they saw from a fork on the pathway several Imperial Bodyguards were rushing toward them. The leader raised up his torch and shouted, "Who''s there?"


    "It''s me," Wei Xiaobao shouted back, "You must go quickly to protect His Majesty. Is there a fire[50]?"


    The guard recognized Wei Xiaobao, hastily he handed the torch over to the guard beside him. With hands by his side he respectfully said, "Gui Gong-gong, I heard something bad happened at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You go first, I''ll come soon after."


    The Imperial Bodyguard bowed and said, "Yes!" Leading his men, he left.


    Mu Jianping said, "They seem to be very afraid of you. And just now I said we were bad." While saying that, she struck her own chest repeatedly.


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to crack some jokes, to toot his own horn, but he was concerned over the disturbance caused by the Empress Dowager''s death, he wondered what would the aftermath be, he was panic-stricken and could not think of any joke. Along the way they met another group of Imperial Bodyguards before finally arrived at his own residence. Luckily Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were wearing eunuch attire, plus the Imperial Bodyguards were such in a frantic mode that nobody paid any attention to them.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of you stay here, whatever happens, do not change your clothes." Putting his bundle into the chest, he left after locking the door behind him, and rushed to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where Kangxi''s personal chamber was located.

 Chapter - 15 (15)

    At the teahouse Wei Xiaobao was chatting endlessly with Fang and Mu, two ladies; the three of them did not feel like leaving each other. Suddenly they heard Xu Tianchuan shouted, "Good friend, you still don''t want to reveal your true colors until now?" He stretched out his hand to strike the shoulder of a carriage driver on the right.


    Hearing the sound of gongs, Kangxi draped his clothes over his shoulder and got up, an Imperial Bodyguard came to report that something bad had happened in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, but as for the details, he was not clear. Kangxi was feeling anxious when Wei Xiaobao came in; he hurriedly asked, "Is Empress Dowager well? What happened?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "The Empress Dowager told your servant to retire to my own room for the night, and to come back tomorrow to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Who would have thought ... who would have thought something bad happened in the Palace. I don''t know what it is, your servant is trying to find out."


    "I am going to pay my respect to the Empress Dowager," Kangxi said, "You come with me."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi was very filial to the queen mother, without changing clothes, he draped a long robe over his shoulder and hurriedly went out the door. While walking quickly he asked, "Empress Dowager wanted you to serve her, why did you come to my place?"


    "Your servant heard the sound of gongs, I was concerned over Your Majesty''s safety, so I rushed over," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I really ... really deserve to die."


    As soon as Kangxi left his bedroom, the eunuchs around him, as well as a large number of Imperial Bodyguards, followed him, more than a dozen lanterns were lighted all around them. He noticed Wei Xiaobao''s clothes and hair was in a complete mess, but how could he guess that it was because Wei Xiaobao had been crawling underneath the Empress Dowager''s bed? He thought it was because of his loyalty in protecting his master, his wholehearted concern over the Emperor''s safety that without having enough time to change properly, he rushed to the Emperor''s room; Kangxi was quite pleased and was reassured.


    Walking several more zhang ahead, two Imperial Bodyguards rushed over and reported, "The assassins broke into the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, they killed an eunuch and a palace maid."


    Kangxi hurriedly asked, "Was the Empress Dowager''s sacred self being disturbed?"


    "Dolong Zongguan has already had the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful surrounded tightly to protect the Empress Dowager," the Imperial Bodyguard replied. Kangxi was slightly relieved.


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if he led a hundred thousand troops and horses to protect the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, it''s already too late."


    It was not too far from the Palace of Heavenly Purity to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful; they arrived after winding around the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Taiji [Supreme Ultimate] Hall. They saw the area was as bright as daytime with lanterns and torches, row after row of several hundred Imperial Bodyguards surrounded the Palace, perhaps even a mouse would not be able to pass through, let alone any assassin. Seeing the Emperor, the Imperial Bodyguards kneeled down together. Kangxi waved his hand while quickly entered the Palace. Wei Xiaobao lifted the curtain on the door. Kangxi walked through the door and saw the chests, baskets, and all kinds of stuffs scattered around the bedroom, blood flowed everywhere, two corpses lay on the floor; he was so scared that his heart was thumping madly. "Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager!" he called.


    From the bed came the reply in low voice, "Is it the Emperor? Don''t worry, I am alright." It was the Empress Dowager''s voice.


    To say that Wei Xiaobao was mildly shocked was an understatement; he thought, "The old wh0re did not die. I was really muddleheaded, why didn''t I stab my dagger onto her body? She is not dead, I may be dead soon." Turning his head around, he was thinking of running away, but outside was fully packed with the Imperial Bodyguards; if he ran away, in less than three steps he would have been captured by them. In his fright his legs went weak, his head dizzy, he felt he was about to collapse.


    Kangxi rushed toward the bed and said, "Empress Dowager, you, Senior, were frightened. Child was not able to protect you satisfactorily, it was a grave sin indeed. Those rice bucket Imperial Bodyguards must be punished severely."


    Panting, the Empress Dowager said, "No ... nothing. It was just an eunuch and a palace maid fighting ... they ended up killing each other. It has nothing to do with the Imperial Bodyguards."


    "Is the Empress Dowager well?" Kangxi asked, "Has it alarmed you?"


    "It hasn''t!" the Empress Dowager replied, "I was just angry looking at those servants. Emperor, you may leave; tell everybody to go away."


    Kangxi said, "Quickly summon the imperial physician to check the Empress Dowager''s pulse." Wei Xiaobao was hiding behind him, he did not dare to comply, for fear that the Empress Dowager would see him, or recognize his voice as soon as he opened his mouth.


    The Empress Dowager said, "No, don''t summon the imperial physician, I will feel better after sleeping. You don''t need to move these two people''s ... these two servants'' bodies ... My heart is really troubled, I don''t want to hear people making noise in here. Emperor, tell ... tell everybody to leave quickly." Her voice sounded very weak, she was gasping for breath, obviously the injury she received was not light.


    Kangxi was very anxious, but he did not dare to disobey. Actually, he wanted very much to investigate thoroughly why these eunuch and palace maid fight, so that the Empress Dowager was this angry. Although the two of them had died, they had committed such a big crime that their family members must be examined. However, listening to the Empress Dowager, it was obvious that she did not want this matter to be made public, so much so she did not even allow the bodies to be removed. He had no choice but to pay his respect to the Empress Dowager and withdrew from the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful.


    Having narrowly escaped from mortal danger, Wei Xiaobao''s legs were still weak, holding on to the wall, he also walked out. Kangxi was busy thinking with his head down, he thought that what happened tonight in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful was quite major, there must be a secret in it, but the Empress Dowager clearly did not want him to get involved. Only after walking with head hung low for a good while did he finally look up and saw Wei Xiaobao was following behind him. "The Empress Dowager wanted you to serve her," he said, "Why are you following me here?"


    Wei Xiaobao was thinking that come daybreak he was going to run away from the Palace anyway, hence he felt there was no harm in him saying whatever came into his mind. "The Empress Dowager has just said that her heart is really troubled, she would be angry at the sight of an eunuch. Seeing the Empress Dowager''s holy self is not too well, your servant thought that it would be better to leave her so that she won''t be annoyed." Kangxi nodded.


    Returning to his personal chamber at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he waited until all the eunuchs serving him had withdrawn before saying, "Xiao Guizi, stay here!" Wei Xiaobao complied.


    Kangxi paced back and forth from east to west and back from west to east. After quite a while he asked, "What do you think, why did that eunuch fight the palace maid to their deaths?"


    "I may not be able to guess correctly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "There are so many palace maids and eunuchs with very bad temper in the Palace, they quarrel frequently, sometimes they fight in secret, it''s just that they never let the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty know."


    Kangxi nodded. "Go tell everybody not to mention this matter anymore to avoid provoking the Empress Dowager''s anger," he said.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi said, "You may go!"


    Wei Xiaobao paid his respect, turned around and left, thinking, "This time I leave, I will never see you again." He turned his head around to cast another glance at Kangxi.


    Kangxi was also looking at him with a smiling expression on his face. "Come back here," he said. Wei Xiaobao turned around and walked back. Kangxi opened a golden box by the head of his bed and took out two pieces of pastry. "We have been busy for half a day, your tummy must be very hungry!" he said with a laugh, and then gave the pastries to him.


    Wei Xiaobao received the pastries with both hands, thinking that the Empress Dowager was dangerously ruthless, she concealed a man in her bedroom; there would come a day where she would harm the Emperor, while the Emperor was kept in the dark inside a drum, he did not know anything. The Emperor treated him very well, just like a friend or a brother, if he did not make the Emperor aware of this matter and he was killed by the Empress Dowager, Wei Xiaobao thought he was really lacking yi qi. Thinking to this point, a vision appeared in his mind, in which all the muscles and bones in Kangxi''s entire body were broken, his corpse lying on the ground in a miserable condition. His heart ached, he could not hold tears from flowing out of his eyes.


    "What is it?" Kangxi asked with a smile, he reached out and patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, saying, "You want to be with me, don''t you? That''s easy; wait till the Empress Dowager is feeling better in a few days, I will talk to the Empress Dowager. To be honest, I also do not want to lose you."


    Wei Xiaobao was overwhelmed with excitement; he thought, "Tao Gong''e said that if I tell the Emperor the truth, he would unavoidably want to kill me to shut my mouth. A hero or a warrior can do anything, but has no choice but to uphold yi qi. If a real man must die, so be it." Placing the two pieces of pastry on the table, he grabbed Kangxi''s hand and with a trembling voice said, "Xiao Xuanzi, can I call you Xiao Xuanzi again?"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Of course you can. I have already said that whenever there''s nobody else around, we will be just like in the past. You want to have a martial art contest, don''t you? Come, come, come, let the horse come out." While saying that, he flipped his hands to grab Wei Xiaobao''s hands.


    "There''s no hurry to have a martial art contest," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have a secret important matter I want to tell my good friend Xiao Xuanzi. I simply cannot tell my master, the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, if His Majesty hears it, he will immediately chop my head. But Xiao Xuanzi is my friend, so it is alright."


    Kangxi did not know the gravity of this matter; in his young frame of mind, he only felt that this was all very amusing. Hurriedly he pulled Wei Xiaobao to sit side-by-side on the bed and said, "Tell me quick, tell me quick!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "At this moment you are Xiao Xuanzi, and not the Emperor?"


    Kangxi smiled. "Right," he said, "Right now I am your good friend Xiao Xuanzi, not the Emperor. I have been the Emperor all day long, without any really caring friend; there is no fun in that."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll tell you everything. If you want to chop my head, I can''t do anything about it."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "Why would I want to chop your head? How can a good friend kill his good friend?"


    Wei Xiaobao took a very deep breath, and then said, "I am not the real Xiao Guizi, I am not a eunuch, I killed the real Xiao Guizi."


    Kangxi was flabbergasted. "What?" he asked.


    And so Wei Xiaobao briefly narrated his family background and his origin, followed by how he was captured and brought to the Palace, how he poisoned Hai Dafu that he turned blind, how he pretended to be Xiao Guizi, how Hai Dafu taught him martial art; he explained everything in detail.


    Listening to this part, Kangxi laughed and said, "Damn it, take your pants off, let me see."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that the Emperor was astute, how could he not personally verify this kind of important matter? He took off his pants immediately.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao really had not been purified to be a eunuch, Kangxi laughed aloud and said, "Turns out you are not a eunuch. Killing the little eunuch Xiao Guizi is not that serious. It''s just that you can''t live in the Palace anymore. Otherwise I would assign you to be the Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards. Although that servant Dolong''s martial art is not bad, the way he handles his affairs is very muddleheaded."


    Wei Xiaobao buckled up his pants and said, "I thank you very much for that, but I am afraid it won''t work. I have heard some secrets relating to the Empress Dowager."


    "Related to the Empress Dowager?" Kangxi asked, "What is it?" When asking that question, there was a nagging feeling in his heart that something was not right.


    Wei Xiaobao clenched his teeth and started to recount what he heard that night at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, when the Empress Dowager was talking to Hai Dafu. When he heard that his father, the Emperor Shunzhi, had not died but had become a Buddhist monk at the Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai, Kangxi''s shock was not a small matter. This delight particularly had made him as if he was jolted and was giddy with excitement. He was shaking all over as he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s hands and with a trembling voice said, "Is this ... is this really true? My Fu Huang [father emperor] ... Fu Huang is still alive?"


    "It was exactly what I heard from the Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi stood up and loudly shout, "That''s ... that''s marvelous! Marvelous! Xiao Guizi, come daybreak, we will go immediately to Mount Wutai to have an audience with Fu Huang, we will invite him, Senior, to return to the Palace."


    Kangxi ruled the land under the heavens, in everything he could do as he wish, his only regret in life was that his father and mother died prematurely. Sometimes in the middle of the night the memory of when his father and mother were still alive came back to him in a dream, and he could not bear but shedding some tears and weep. This moment, after listening to Wei Xiaobao, although unavoidably he had some doubt, he was so happy that his heart was turned upside down.


    "I am afraid the Empress Dowager would not approve," Wei Xiaobao said, "All along she concealed it from you, there must be an important reason behind it."


    "That''s true," Kangxi said, "What reason that might be?" When he first heard that his father had not died, the delight had clouded his inner feelings, but as he thought about it further, countless doubts started to emerge.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t understand anything about any important matters in the Palace, I can only repeat word for word everything that the Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu were saying."


    "Yes, yes!" Kangxi said, "Tell me quick, tell me quick!"


    Hearing about how Empress Duan Jing and Empress Xiao Kang were harmed, Kangxi sprang up and shouted, "You ... are you saying that Empress Xiao Kang was ... was murdered?"


    Seeing Kangxi''s expression underwent huge changes, his eyes were bulging, the muscles on his face were continuously twitching, Wei Xiaobao could not help but was scared; with a trembling voice he said, "I ... I don''t know, I was only repeating what Hai Dafu told the Empress Dowager."


    "What did they say, exactly?" Kangxi asked, "You ... repeat the whole thing."


    Wei Xiaobao had a very good memory, when he recounted the exchange between the Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu that night, even his intonation was very much alike those two people.


    Kangxi was staring blankly for half a day; he said, "My own mother ... my own mother was unexpectedly murdered by others?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Xiao Kang is ... is ... is your mother?"


    Kangxi nodded. "You may continue," he said, "Do not omit a single sentence." His heart was broken, tears flowing down his face.


    Wei Xiaobao then recounted how the murderer had used the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' to kill Empress Duan Jing''s son, Prince Rong, and then murdered Empress Duan Jing and Consort Zhen. After Emperor Shunzhi left home to become a Buddhist monk, the Empress Dowager murdered Empress Xiao Kang. He also recounted how the undertaker who prepared Empress Duan Jing and Consort Zhen for burial had accepted Hai Dafu''s order to visit the Mount Wutai and report everything to Emperor Shunzhi, how Emperor Shunzhi had sent Hai Dafu back to the Palace to make thorough investigation, and finally how the Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu had exchanged some palm strikes. He did not dare to say that it was he who killed Hai Dafu, he only said that because Hai Dafu was blind, he was not the Empress Dowager''s match, so that he died under her palms.


    Kangxi calmed himself down, then he asked in detail what happened that night; he often cross-examined Wei Xiaobao by repeatedly asking the same question, until he was convinced that Wei Xiaobao could not possibly make up the story. He looked up in deep thought for a while, and then asked, "Why did you wait until today to tell me all these things?"


    "The implication of this matter is too great," Wei Xiaobao replied, "How can I dare to make irresponsible remarks? But tomorrow I am going to run away from the Palace, I won''t come back; I thought that it will be very dangerous for you to be alone in the Palace, so I can''t conceal it from you anymore."


    "Why do you want to go out of the Palace?" Kangxi asked, "Are you afraid the Empress Dowager will harm you?"


    "Let me tell you this," Wei Xiaobao said, "The palace maid who died at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful tonight was a man, he was the Empress Dowager''s Shixiong."


    The fact that a palace maid in the Empress Dowager''s palace was actually a man was naturally unthinkable, but tonight Kangxi had just learned that his father, the late Emperor, unexpectedly was not dead, plus his own mother was murdered by the Empress Dowager, whom he had always had solemn affection to. When he heard that a palace maid was actually a man in disguise, he did not feel strange at all; besides the little eunuch in front of him turned out to be a fake eunuch. "How do you know?" he asked.


    "That man was the Empress Dowager''s Shixiong?" Kangxi muttered to himself, "From the tone of his voice, it seems that the Empress Dowager was forced to accept someone else''s order, I wonder who that person might be? Could it be ... could it be that person knew there was a fake palace maid in Empress Dowager''s bedroom, and thus ..."


    Listening to Kangxi touching upon the subject of Empress Dowager''s ''adultery'', Wei Xiaobao did not dare to open his mouth, he only shook his head. It was only a moment later that he said, "I don''t have any idea."


    "Summon Dolong here," Kangxi said.


    Wei Xiaobao complied, he thought, "Is the Emperor going to deal with the Empress Dowager? Is he going to order Dolong to arrest the old wh0re and behead her? Shall I run away as quickly as possible? Or should I stay and help him?"


    Dolong was just burning with anxiety; there was accident after accident in the Palace. Although the head above his neck might not be removed, the hat above his head, and the plume above his hat, might be highly unstable. Hearing that the Emperor had summoned him, he hastily came to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.


    Kangxi instructed him, "There is nothing at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, you may immediately withdraw the Imperial Bodyguards all around the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. The Empress Dowager says that hearing the Imperial Bodyguards standing outside, her heart is very much troubled."


    Dolong noticed that although the Emperor''s expression looked rather strange, he did not say even half a word of blame. Dolong was ecstatic, he busily kowtowed and went out to transmit the order.


    Kangxi''s heart was still filled with all kinds of suspicion; he asked Wei Xiaobao a lot of detailed questions. After a long time, he presumed all the Imperial Bodyguards had been withdrawn. He said, "Xiao Guizi, you and I will scout around the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful tonight."


    "Are you going to personally scout around?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Exactly!" Kangxi said. First, it was a matter of great importance, he could not simply listening to a little eunuch impersonator''s one sided story and suspected the queen mother who raised him up; second, ''dangerous night spying mission'' was something that people who learn martial art must do. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, how could he let it off easily? He was the Emperor, he could not go out of the Palace to test his skill, being a ''nightwalker'' in the Palace was better than nothing. It''s just that he had already ordered the Imperial Bodyguards around the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to be withdrawn, so that when he did the ''night mission'', it could not be compared to ''wulin professionals''.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Empress Dowager has already killed her Shixiong, right now she is sleeping peacefully to nurture her injuries, I am afraid we won''t find anything."


    "We haven''t gone scouting, how do you know we won''t find anything?" Kangxi said. Immediately he changed into a casual dress, and wore a pair of thin-soled light boots, it was precisely the same attire he always wore when he had martial art contest against Wei Xiaobao. He fetched a yaodao saber[51] from the head of his bed and hung it on his waist, then they went out from the Palace of Heavenly Purity''s side door.


    Numerous Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs were standing in layer upon layer on guard duty around the Palace of Heavenly Purity, as soon as they saw the Emperor, they all kneeled down hurriedly. Kangxi ordered, "Everybody stand, no one is allowed to move randomly." It was the Emperor''s imperial edict, who would dare to disobey? Therefore, more than two hundred Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs were standing straight on their original position, nobody dared to move.


    Kangxi took Wei Xiaobao to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful''s garden. It was very quiet, nobody was around. He crawled under the Empress Dowager''s bedroom window and crouched down to listen attentively. He heard the Empress Dowager was coughing incessantly, in that instant, his feeling bubbled up like a tide, it was a mixture of sorrow, bitterness, and excitement. Hearing the Empress Dowager''s coughing, he felt like he wanted to rush in and cry in her bosom, but he also wanted to wrap his fingers around her neck and interrogate her sternly: what actually happened to his father and his own queen mother? For a moment he hoped that everything Xiao Guizi told him was a lie, but he also hoped that it was entirely the truth. He did not stop shaking, all the hair on his body stood up on its end, a slight chill penetrated his bone and marrow.


    The candle in the Empress Dowager''s bedroom was still burning, it flickered continuously, making the paper on the window pane sometimes bright, sometimes dark. After a while, he heard the voice of a palace maid saying, "Empress Dowager, I have finished sewing."


    "Hmm," Empress Dowager said, "Put this palace maid �� palace maid''s body inside �� inside the quilt sack."


    "Yes," the palace maid said, "What about the eunuch''s body?"


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "I only told you to wrap the palace maid, why do you �� do you care about any eunuch?"


    "Yes!" the palace maid busily said. And then they heard the noise of something was dragged along the floor.


    Kangxi was unable to show restraint any longer, he craned his neck to peep through the crack on the window, but all the cracks on the Empress Dowager''s bedroom window had been sealed with greased lime, not even a narrow slit existed. In the former days, he had heard Wei Xiaobao''s story about the trick and taboo of the nightwalker of the Jianghu, which was passed on by Mao Shiba along the way from Yangzhou to Beijing. Now, seeing the window was without any crack, which was what he had expected, immediately he moistened his finger with his saliva and lightly wet the window paper, exerting a light force on his finger, he made a tiny hole on the window without making the slightest bit of noise.


    Through the hole he could see the embroidered screen on the Empress Dowager''s bed was hanging low, a young palace maid was trying to stuff a body on the ground into a big cloth sack. The corpse was wearing palace maid attire, but the head was completely bald that it did not have even a single strand of hair. After stuffing the corpse into the sack, the palace maid picked up a wig from the floor. After hesitating for a moment, the palace maid also stuffed the wig into the sack; with a low voice she said, "Empress Dowager, I have finished �� finished wrapping!"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Have all the Imperial Bodyguards outside with drawn? I seem to hear some voices."


    The palace maid went to the door, looked out for a while, and then said, "There''s nobody outside."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Drag the sack to the lotus pond, put four large rocks into the sack, use �� use string �� (cough, cough) to tie the sack''s mouth, and then �� and then �� (cough, cough) push the sack into the pond."


    "Yes," the palace maid replied, her voice trembled, obviously she was very afraid.


    The Empress Dowager said, "After you push the sack into the pond, dig up a lot of dirt and toss it on top of the sack, don''t let anybody see it."


    "Yes," the palace maid replied again, and then she dragged the sack out of the room and to the flower garden.


    Kangxi thought, "Xiao Guizi said that that palace maid was a man, most likely he was right. If there was no huge secret surrounding this matter, why must the Empress Dowager sink the corpse into the pond to erase any trace of it?" Seeing Wei Xiaobao was standing by his side, he could not refrain from reaching out to grab his hand. Both of them felt the other''s hand was moist and cold.


    A moment later they heard splashing noise as the sack containing the body fell into the lotus pond, followed by the sound of mud and dirt thrown into the pond. Another moment later the palace maid returned to the bedroom. Wei Xiaobao had already recognized her voice, she was Rui Chu, the little palace maid.


    "Is everything done?" the Empress Dowager asked.


    "Yes," Rui Chu replied, "Everything is done."


    The Empress Dowager said, "There were originally two corpses in here, how come the other one suddenly disappear? If someone asks you tomorrow, how are you going to explain?"


    Rui Chu said, "Your servant �� your servant does not know anything."


    "You are serving me in here, how can you not know anything?" the Empress Dowager said.


    "Yes, yes!" Rui Chu said.


    "What do you mean ''Yes, yes!''?" the Empress Dowager angrily said.


    With a trembling voice Rui Chu said, "Your servant saw that dead palace maid stood up, turns out she was only injured, she did not die at all. She slowly �� slowly walked out. That time �� that time the Empress Dowager was sleeping peacefully, your servant did not dare to alarm the Empress Dowager, I saw the palace maid walked out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, I don''t know ... I don''t know where she went."


    The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "So that''s what happened. Amitabha Buddha, she is not dead but walked out on her own. That''s very good."


    "Exactly," Rui Chu said, "Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, she is not dead."


    Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao waited a moment longer, the Empress Dowager did not speak anymore, she seemed to fall asleep; therefore, they quietly, step-by-step, left and returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. They saw the Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs were still standing straight, motionless. Kangxi laughed and said, "Everybody can move as you wish!" Although he was laughing, the sound of his laughter and his speech was very dry and heavy.


    Back to his bedroom, he fixed his gaze on Wei Xiaobao and did not say anything for a long time. Suddenly tears flowing down his face, he said, "Turns out Empress Dowager ... Empress Dowager ..." Wei Xiaobao was at a loss of what to say.


    Kangxi thought for a moment longer, then he clapped his hands, two Imperial Bodyguards appeared on the bedroom door. Kangxi said in a low voice, "I have a secret mission I want the two of you to do, but you must never leak it out. There is a large sack in the lotus pond in the garden of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, I want the two of you to bring it here. The Empress Dowager is sleeping peacefully, if you two make the least bit of noise and awaken the Empress Dowager, you will lose your own heads." The two guards bowed in compliance and left. Kangxi was still sitting on his bed, silently pondering everything over and over in his head.


    A good half a day[52] later, finally the two Imperial Bodyguards, lifting a dripping wet big cloth sack, came back outside the bedroom door.


    "Did you wake up the Empress Dowager?" Kangxi asked.


    The two Imperial Bodyguards replied together, "Your servants do not dare."


    Kangxi nodded. "Bring it in!" he said. The two Imperial Bodyguards complied, they brought the cloth sack in. "You are dismissed!" Kangxi said.


    Wei Xiaobao waited until the Imperial Bodyguards had left, and then he closed and bolted the door before untying the rope on the sack''s mouth and dragging the corpse out. Although the corpse''s face was clean-shaven, the hair roots were clearly visible. There was a lump on the corpse''s throat, and its chest was flat, undoubtedly it was a male. The muscles on this man''s entire body were bulging, his knuckles were protruding, a sure sign of someone who had an extensive training in martial art. Apparently this man masquerade a palace maid in the Palace only recently, otherwise, with this kind of appearance, which was ugly even for a man, how could he masquerade as a palace maid and not being discovered?


    Kangxi drew out his yaodao and cut open the man''s pants. After taking a glance, his anger rose; brandishing his saber repeatedly, he chopped the part between the corpse''s loins into a pulp.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Empress Dowager ..."


    "What Empress Dowager?" Kangxi angrily said, "That s1ut forced my Fu Huang to leave, murdered my mother, defiled the imperial court with illicit sexual relations, and did many injustice. I ... I want to cut her body into ten thousand pieces and execute her whole family unto the third generation."


    Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh; immediately he felt relieved, "The Emperor no longer recognize her as the Empress Dowager, whatever bad things that old wh0re has done, I know everything, he can''t possibly kill me to shut my mouth."


    Kangxi raised his saber and hacked the corpse several more times, momentarily his indignation was difficult to endure. He was thinking of sending some Imperial Bodyguards to detain and interrogate the Empress Dowager, but then he had a second thought, "Fu Huang is not dead, but became a monk on Mount Wutai; this is a very important matter. As soon as this information leaks out, it will create quite a sensation among the officers and common people of the world. I must not act recklessly." Thereupon he said, "Xiao Guizi, early tomorrow morning, I will go with you to Mount Wutai to verify the truth."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He was extremely delighted. Traveling together with the Emperor, going to Mount Wutai was definitely more fun than being stifled in Beijing.


    But Kangxi''s knowledge, experience and understanding was far above Wei Xiaobao''s, after a careful consideration, he immediately remembered that when the Emperor was going on an inspection tour, it was an extremely grand occasion, which would require at least several months of preparations. Along the way, hundreds of government officials must be prepared to welcome and protect the Emperor; it would be a lot of trouble, he could not simply go whenever he wanted to. He also remembered his own young age, he had not taken over the government for too long, the princes, dukes, and the ministers of the imperial court had not submitted to him yet; if the Empress Dowager seized the opportunity while he was out of the Capital to seize the government and usurp power, he should consider that she might oust him and set up another ruler in his place. Moreover, if his father emperor was in fact dead, or perhaps he was still alive, but was no longer on Mount Wutai, while with much fanfare he went up the mountain to seek an audience, but failed to see the old Emperor, not only he would be the laughingstock of all the people in the world, but he would be ridiculed by the later generations as well.


    After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "It''s no good, I can''t casually leave the Capital. Xiao Guizi, you must go for me."


    Wei Xiaobao was quite disappointed, "I must go alone?" he asked.


    "You must go alone," Kangxi said, "Wait until we investigate clearly that Fu Huang is indeed on Mount Wutai, I will fix a good way to deal with that s1ut in the Capital, then the two of us will go up the mountain together. It''s a completely safe plan."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that since the Emperor already decided to deal with the Empress Dowager, he could not easily decline to go alone to Mount Wutai for an inquiry. "Alright," he said, "I''ll go to Mount Wutai."


    Kangxi said, "According to our Great Qing''s customs, an eunuch cannot leave the Capital unless he is accompanying me. It''s good that you are actually not a court eunuch. Xiao Guizi, later on you won''t be a eunuch anymore, you''d better be an Imperial Bodyguard. However, everybody in the Palace has already known you, if you suddenly cease to be an eunuch, they will feel strange. Um, I can declare to the people that in order to capture Oboi, you received my order to disguise yourself as a eunuch. Now that the prime criminal has been eliminated, naturally the masquerade cannot continue. Xiao Guizi, in the future you must study a bit, I will appoint you as a high-ranking official."


    "That''s nice!" Wei Xiaobao said, "But I have a headache as soon as I see a book. I will study a little bit less, then you can appoint me as a little bit lower-ranking official."


    Kangxi sat in front of the table, he raised his writing brush and started to write a letter to his father the Emperor: he reported clearly that he had been unfilial, that only today he learned that Fu Huang was still alive, that his heart was unusually happy, that he would go up the mountain in the next few days to respectfully welcome the Emperor''s holy self back to the Palace, to again manage the ten thousand affairs of the state, while the son would also receive a parent''s favor once again. But after thinking several more lines of characters, he suddenly thought, "If this letter fell into a wrong hand, it would be greatly inappropriate. If Xiao Guizi got captured or even killed, this letter could be found by others."


    He took the sheet with half a page already written, and burned it over the flame of the candle, and then he took up his writing brush and wrote: "Imperial edict: the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Wei Xiaobao, hereby being granted by the Emperor himself to wear Yellow Magua[53], is being sent to visit the Wutai Mountain region on official business. Various provinces'' civil and military officials are ordered to give assistance. By the Emperor himself." Finished writing, he affixed the imperial seal and handed it over to Wei Xiaobao, saying with a laugh, "Now you are an officer, take a look, what officer are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao opened his eyes wide, but all he could recognize was his own name, the character ''five'' [''wu'' from wutai], ''one'' [''yi'' from ''yidai'' �C region], and ''civil'' [''wen'' from ''wenwu'' - civil and military], six characters altogether. But he only recognized the character ''wei'' and ''bao'' of his name simply because they came on either side of the character ''xiao'', if they were standing alone, he would not have recognized them. He shook his head and said, "I don''t know what officer. It is personally appointed by Your Majesty, so it can''t be a petty official, can it?"


    Kangxi laughed and read the imperial order. Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and said, "It''s Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards; awesome, awesome! And I get to wear the Yellow Magua?"


    Kangxi smiled and said, "Although Dolong is the Chief, he does not get to wear the Yellow Magua. If you handle this assignment well, when you return to the Palace I will promote your official position. It''s just that you are still too young, if your position is too high, it would be too unseemly. We''ll do it slowly."


    "High-ranking or low-ranking official, I don''t care," Wei Xiaobao said, "As long as I can be with you frequently, it would be very good."


    Kangxi was both happy and sad, he said, "You must be very careful, your mission is top secret, if not absolutely necessary, do not show this imperial edict to anybody. You may go now!"


    Wei Xiaobao bade Kangxi farewell, he saw a streak of marble white color of the dawn on the eastern horizon. He returned to his residence, quietly opened the door and came in. Fang Yi had not slept at all. "You are back," she said happily.


    "Everything is fine[54]," Wei Xiaobao said, "We can leave the Palace now."


    Mu Jianping woke up in a daze, "Shijie was very anxious," she said, "She was afraid you ran into danger."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and asked, "What about you?"


    "Of course I was worried too," Mu Jianping said, "Are you alright?"


    "I am alright, I am alright," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    They heard the noise of activities, the Palace gates were opened, one after another the civil and military officials entered the Palace to wait for the morning court. Wei Xiaobao lighted the candle on the table, he examined the two girls'' attire and did not find any flaw; he laughed and said, "The two of you are too pretty, you need to rub some dirt on your face." Mu Jianping was somewhat reluctant, but seeing Fang Yi reached down to the ground to get some dirt and rubbed it on her face, she followed suit.


    Wei Xiaobao put the three copies of sutra he snatched from under the Empress Dowager''s bed into his bundle. He took the silver hairpin from his pocket and handed it over to Fang Yu, saying, "Is this the hairpin you were looking for?"


    Fang Yi blushed, she slowly held out her hand to take it, saying, "You are willing to brave danger, it was to �� was to fetch this hairpin of mine." Her heart was touched, her eyes turned red, she turned her head to look another way.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s not that dangerous." While in his heart he said, "This is called ''good deed has its own reward''. If I did not go to get this hairpin, I would not get to wear the Yellow Magua."


    He took the two people toward the back of the imperial city and left the Palace via the Shen Wu Gate. By this time the sky had not brightened, the Imperial Bodyguards at the gate only saw Gui Gong-gong with two little eunuch companions going out of the Palace. Other than uttering some flattering words, who would dare to ask a single question?


    After leaving the Palace for a dozen of zhang or so, Fang Yi turned her head around to look back at the Palace gate, all sorts of feelings welled up in her heart, everything she underwent seemed to happen a lifetime ago.


    On the street, Wei Xiaobao hired three sedan chairs, he told the porters to go westward toward the Chang''an Street, where they alighted and took another small sedan chair to Tian Di Hui, about two streets away, where they finally got off. He said, "Your Mu Palace friends have all left the city yesterday. I must consult my friends to see where we must send you." After being bestowed the title Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief wearing Yellow Magua, he was conscious that he had become a grownup, moreover, he was under an imperial edict on mission to investigate an enormously important matter, suddenly he felt like he must shed the glib-tongue way he used to talk. Besides, his Shifu was not far away, he did not dare to act wantonly.


    Fang Yi asked, "You �� where are you going?"


    "I do not dare to stay in Beijing much longer," Wei Xiaobao said, "I must go, the farther the better. I must wait until the Empress Dowager is dead, all is calm, then I will dare to come back."


    "We have good friends in Shijiazhuang, Hebei," Fang Yi said, "If you �� if you don''t look down on us, why don''t you �� why don''t you come with us to temporarily make yourself scarce?"


    "That''s right," Mu Jianping said, "You are the benefactor who saved our lives, you are one of us. If the three of us travel together, it will be somewhat more fun." The two of them looked at him with hopeful eyes. Mu Jianping looked na?ve and earnest, but Fang Yi looked shy.


    If Wei Xiaobao did not bear an important mission, accompanying two beautiful women on a long journey would, by far, be more interesting, would be extremely free and unfettered; but this moment he had no choice but would have to think of a way to make an excuse. He said, "I promised a friend to handle a very important matter for him, I cannot go to Shijiazhuang at this time. Both of you are injured, it would be inconvenient for two young ladies to hasten on with your journey. I will ask one or two reliable friends to escort you to go first. Let us rest for a while, eat until we are full, then we can talk it over slowly."


    Presently they arrived at Tian Di Hui''s lodging. As soon as the brother guarding outside the lane saw that it was him, he quickly led them in. Gao Yanchao went out to greet them; he was very surprised to see he was accompanied by two little eunuchs. Wei Xiaobao whispered in his ear, "It''s the Mu family''s Xiao Gongye''s sister, the other one is her Shijie. I saved them out of the Palace."


    Gao Yanchao invited the two ladies to take a seat in the hall and served them tea. He pulled Wei Xiaobao to the side and said, "Zongduozhu has left the Capital last night."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; first, he was most afraid Shifu would inquire about the progress of his martial art training, second, he was not sure whether he should confide with Shifu about Kangxi''s order. Hearing Shifu had already left the Capital, it was as if a large rock was lifted off of his mind. But on his face he showed an utmost disappointment. He stomped his foot and said, "This �� this �� this �� Ay, why did Shifu have to leave so quickly?"


    Gao Yanchao said, "Zongduozhu instructed subordinate to inform Wei Xiangzhu that he, Senior, suddenly received an urgent report from Taiwan, and must hurry back there to handle the matter. Zongduozhu wanted Wei Xiangzhu to be very careful, to act as circumstances dictate. If it is inconvenient for you to stay at the Palace, you must leave the Capital to escape temporarily. He also said he wanted Wei Xiangzhu to diligently train martial art. He was wondering if the poison inside Wei Xiangzhu''s body has been completely cleared up, if you feel something is not right in your body, you are to let Zongduozhu know immediately."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu keeps thinking about my injury and martial art training, I am deeply grateful." It was not a false statement, hearing in his rush Shifu was still thinking about his well-being, he was deeply touched. "What happened in Taiwan?" he asked.


    Gao Yanchao replied, "I heard the mother and son of the Zheng family are at odds with each other; they killed a minister, probably there is an internal strife. Zongduozhu has quite a prestige, whatever the turmoil over there, he, the Senior, will be able to settle it as soon as he arrives, Wei Xiangzhu does not need to be anxious. Li Dage, Guan Fuzi, Fan Dage, Feng Dage, Priest Xuanzhen, and the others are coming with Zongduozhu. Xu San Ge and subordinate are staying in the Capital to wait for Wei Xiangzhu''s orders."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Get someone to invite Xu San Ge over." He thought, "Not only the ''Eight-arm Ape'' Xu Tianchuan has superior martial art skill, he is very astute, and is an old man. No one is better than him to escort these two ladies to Shijiazhuang." He also thought, "The mother and son in Taiwan are at odds with each other and killed people. They are no different than the Empress Dowager and the Emperor in Beijing."


    He returned to the hall to eat some noodles and dimsum with Fang and Mu, two girls. Mu Jianping ate less than half a bowl of noodles, she could not bear not to ask, "Are you sure you can''t come with us to Shijiazhuang?"


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward Fang Yi; she stopped her chopstick and she stopped to eat. She was looking down, but her eyes were filled with earnest hope. Wei Xiaobao could not restrain his heart from burning; he really wished he could take these two girls with him to Mount Wutai, but immediately thought better: "What kind of important mission am I in? Taking these two injured young ladies will be a hindrance and will draw unnecessary attention, which absolutely must not happen." Thereupon he sighed and said, "After my business is done, I will come to Shijiazhuang to visit. Where does your friend live? What''s his name?"


    Fang Yi slowly lowered her head and pinched a string of noodle with her chopsticks, but did not put it in her mouth; she said in a low voice, "That friend opened a mule and horse dealership at the Shijiazhuang''s western market. He is called the ''Fast Horse'' Song San [lit. Song the third]."


    "Fast Horse Song San, got it," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will definitely come to visit you." Suddenly a mischievous look appeared on his face, as he casually said, "How can I not come? How can I give up this pair of ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' first wife and second wife?"


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "You have been well-behaved only for less than half a day, and you are back to your flippant and glib-tongued way already?"


    Fang Yi firmly said, "If you really regard us as your good friends, we �� we will hope for your visit every day. But if you are being frivolous and won''t respect others, you �� you don''t need to come."


    Wei Xiaobao had bumped into a nail; he only felt the fun had been lost. "Alright," he said, "If you don''t like to banter, I won''t say anything at all."


    Fang Yi was somewhat apologetic, she said in a gentle voice, "Even bantering has its own propriety, its own time, and its own place. You �� are you angry?"


    Wei Xiaobao cheered up, he quickly said, "No, no. As long as you are not angry, I am fine."


    Fang Yi laughed, and then gently said, "Toward you, nobody can be really angry."


    Fang Yi was smiling so sweetly that even though her face was smeared with dirt, her beauty was very difficult to cover. Wei Xiaobao immediately felt a burst of warmth going through his body, he ate mouthful by mouthful of noodle soup and temporarily could not find anything to say.


    Suddenly they heard footsteps in the courtyard, an old man walked in, Xu Tianchuan had arrived. He went straight to Wei Xiaobao and bowed to pay his respect, there was only happiness across his face, as he respectfully said, "How are you, Senior?" He was being very discreet, seeing there were outsiders present, he did not address Wei Xiaobao as ''Wei Xiangzhu''.


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the salute and said with a laugh, "Xu San Ge, let me present to you two friends. These two are ''Iron Back Blue Dragon'' Liu Laoyezi''s distinguished disciples. This one is Miss Fang, this one is Miss Mu, she is Mu Palace''s Xiao Junzhu." To Fang and Mu, two girls he said, "This is Xu San Ge, he is acquainted with Liu Laoyezi and your family''s Xiao Gongye." He was afraid Fang and Mu, two ladies still harbor a grudge, so he quickly added, "At first there was a tiny bit of grudge between them, but presently the resentment has been resolved." After the three of them had exchanged propriety, he said, "Xu San Ge, I have a favor I''d like to ask you."


    Hearing that these two women who were disguised as little eunuchs were unexpectedly important personage of the Mu Palace, Xu Tianchuan thought that since Mu Jiansheng and the others already knew Wei Xiaobao''s real identity, naturally these two young ladies were also well-informed of the fact; thereupon he said, "Whatever Wei Xiangzhu wishes to send me, subordinate will accept your orders."


    But Fang Yi and Mu Jianping did not know Wei Xiaobao''s real identity. Hearing Xu Tianchuan addressed him as ''Wei Xiangzhu'', they were greatly surprised.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "These two young ladies had the same fate as Wu Lishen, Wu Laoyezi, and Liu Yizhou Liu Dage, they had fallen into the enemy''s hands inside the Imperial Palace; they came out just now. Have Mu Family''s Xiao Gongye, Liu Yizhou Shixiong and the others left the Capital?"


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Numerous heroes of the Mu Palace have left the Capital safely yesterday. Mu Xiao Gongye also asked me to make discreet inquiry on Xiao Junzhu''s whereabouts. I asked him to set his heart at ease, since he has entrusted this matter to Tian Di Hui, we will definitely find Xiao Junzhu." While saying that, there was a hint of smile on his face.


    Mu Jianping asked, "So Liu Shige is with my Gege?" She asked that question on Fang Yi''s behalf.


    Xu Tianchuan replied, "Zaixia sent them off out of town separately. Liu Shixiong went with Liu Laoyezi, they were heading south." Fang Yi blushed as she lowered her head.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Hearing your sweetheart is out of danger, your heart must be in full bloom." Little did he know that this time his guess could not be more wrong. The thought in Fang Yi''s mind was: "I gave him my words that if he saved Liu Shige''s life, I would marry him and be his wife, and will be steadfast to the death. But he is a court eunuch, how can I marry him? He is very young, but can pull a hundred tricks. What''s this ''Wei Xiangzhu'' business anyway?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These two young ladies strenuously fought the Imperial Bodyguards in Qing Palace, and have suffered injuries. Presently they want to go to a friend''s house in Shijiazhuang to recuperate from their wounds. I am thinking of asking Xu San Ge to accompany them."


    Xu Tianchuan was delighted, "I ought to serve in this capacity," he said, "Wei Xiangzhu has given me a very good assignment. Subordinate has wronged the Mu Palace''s friends, but Mu Xiao Gongye has saved my life instead, I am very ashamed in my heart. If I can accompany these two young ladies to their destination safe and sound, I can somewhat repay one out of ten thousand kindness he had shown me."


    Mu Jianping cast Xu Tianchuan a glance, what she saw was a small and thin old man with a bent waist and a hunched back, someone who could give up his ghost any minute. He talked about escorting her and her older martial sister, perhaps along the way they would have to look after him instead. Much less Wei Xiaobao did not go, so she was already quite disappointed. She was unable to restrain the disappointment from appearing on her face.


    But Fang Yi said, "In all honesty, we do not dare to trouble Xu Laoyezi''s honorable self, we only asked you to hire a large carriage for us, and then we will be off on our own. Our injuries are nothing serious; you really do not need to take the trouble."


    Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, "Miss Fang does not need to be too polite. Wei Xiangzhu has already issued the order, whatever happens I simply must accompany you. Both ladies are exceptionally skilful in martial arts, you really do not need an old man incurring your dislike on the side. This old man really does not have the ability to do this ''accompany'' word. But I can run errands and do odd jobs like serving the ladies in finding an inn to stay, waiting on you for a snack during the journey, hiring carriage, buying stuffs, and do all kinds of tricks, so that along the way the ladies do not need to waste your time to deal with characters like mule dealer, carriage driver, inn waiters, shop attendants."


    Seeing she could not decline anymore, Fang Yi said, "We don''t know how to repay Xu Laoyezi''s great kindness."


    Xu Tianchuan laughed aloud. "What is there to repay?" he said, "I am telling the two ladies the truth: my admiration towards our Wei Xiangzhu shows no bound. Don''t look at his young age; in reality, he has an extensive divine ability. Not only he has saved my old life, just yesterday he helped this old man vented my anger. I was just thinking in my heart, how can I handle several matters for him to express my gratitude, who would have thought that today he is sending me on an assignment? Even if the two ladies do not allow me to accompany you, this old man will have no choice but be tactful; I will precede you on your journey to manage your trip, to open a way when you come across a mountain, to build a bridge when you meet a river, to wait upon you until you arrived at Shijiazhuang safe and sound. Let''s not mention from Beijing to Shijiazhuang is only a few days journey, even if Wei Xiangzhu ordered the old man to follow the two ladies all the way to Yunnan, I will simply go, I will accompany you to your destination."


    Mu Jianping noticed that although his appearance looked wretched, his speech was actually very charming. "What anger he helped you vent yesterday?" she asked, "Yesterday, he �� was he not in the Imperial Palace?"


    Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, "That traitor Wu Sangui has a dog official under his command called Lu Yifeng. He kidnapped the old man, beat me up and insulted me; he also took a medicated plaster and stuck it on my mouth. Luckily your esteemed older brother sent people to save me and take me out. Wei Xiangzhu promised me that he would have someone break this dog official''s legs. I thought that this time Wu Sangui''s dog son came to Beijing, the number of capable people he brought along must be very great. Last time that servant Lu Yifeng has suffered some trouble from me, he would know better than to go out alone, it would not be easy for us to seek revenge. Who would have known that at the Zhong De Tang [lit. Hall of Virtue Cultivation] drugstore of the western town district yesterday I met a doctor friend specializing in external injury, who mentioned that the Ping Xi Wang dog den was sending people out, carrying a dog official everywhere to find an injury doctor. I found this matter to be really strange, they went to see injury doctors one after another; a total of twenty, thirty doctors, but they did not let those doctors to treat him. They only told the doctors that this dog official was called Lu Yifeng, a muddleheaded scoundrel. Ping Xi Wang''s dog son personally took a stick and broke both of his dog legs, and wanted him to suffer the pain for seven days and seven nights, without allowing him to be treated."


    Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were completely baffled; they asked Wei Xiaobao, "Where''s the logic in that?"


    "That dog official has offended Xu San Ge," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Naturally we want him to suffer a lot of pain."


    Mu Jianping asked, "Why did the Ping Xi Wang dog den''s people bring him everywhere to let everyone know?"


    "That kid Wu Yingxiong wanted people to pass the news to me," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I told him to break that dog official''s legs, he wanted me to know that he has completed the task."


    Mu Jianping was even more puzzled, "Why did he obey you?" she asked.


    With a smile Wei Xiaobao replied, "I was just talking rubbish, I lied to him and he believed me."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Originally I wanted him to die a horrible death, but then I thought that this dog official was being carried around like a prisoner being paraded through the streets, with his legs broken without he was allowed to seek treatment; it would be too easy for that servant if I killed him. Yesterday afternoon I finally saw him with my own eyes, 9 out of 10 of that dog''s life has gone, his pants were rolled up, exposing his two broken legs, swelling and purple. He was so much in pain that he cried, calling on his mommy. Ladies, won''t you say it gives this old man reason to be delighted?"


    By this time Gao Yanchao had returned with three large hired carriages, waiting outside the door. He was also a competent member of Tian Di hui, but according to the Society''s law - a violation of this law was punishable by beheading, if it was not absolutely necessary, the less they reveal their true colors the better. Therefore, he did not appear before Fang and Mu, two ladies.


    Gao Yanchao complied. He assumed that since Wei Xiangzhu''s good friend was killed by the Tatars, he must be a patriot in the resisting Qing movement, thereupon he personally selected a top quality coffin made of Liuzhou wood. He knew that this Wei Xiangzhu was really extravagant, from the three hundred taels given to him, he still had more than thirty taels, so other than the coffin, he also bought some burial clothes, earthen jar for the ashes, lime, silk paper, oilcloth, spirit tablet, spirit banner, ritual paper money, and everything else needed for burial; all were top quality products. He also bought several sets of men''s clothing, shoes and hats for Fang and Mu, two ladies, to change into, as well as dry rations, cake and pastries for the journey. He also ordered a coroner and a lacquerer. By the time all the goods were delivered, Wei Xiaobao and the two ladies had already been asleep for four hours.


    Preceding the others, Wei Xiaobao changed into an ordinary man''s attire. He mused, "I am on a mission to Mount Wutai on an imperial order, I might be very busy, how can I find time to train martial art? I must not let Shifu''s martial art manual to be stolen." Thereupon he wrapped the five copies of the sutra along with his Shifu''s manual inside layer upon layer of oilcloth completely and tightly. And then he went to the kitchen to get a big handful of firewood ash and put it inside the earthen jar, thinking, "It would be best if there was a real corpse inside the coffin, so that even if someone opens the coffin to look, there won''t be any suspicion. But in such a short period of time, I can''t find a bad person to kill." Therefore, he took some water and wiped it on his eyes and face, and then with a sorrowful expression he went to the rear hall, holding the oil cloth package and the urn of ashes with both hands. He put the oil cloth package and the urn of ashes in the coffin, and then he knelt down and cried loudly.


    Xu Tianchuan, Gao Yanchao, as well as Fang and Mu, two ladies, were waiting in the main hall. Seeing him kneeling down and weeping bitterly, there was no suspicion in their hearts, they thought it was definitely his good friend''s ashes; they also kneeled down to pay their respects.


    Wei Xiaobao had seen how the deceased'' family members returning propriety during a funeral service, he scrambled to the side of the coffin and kneeled down and kowtowed to return the four people''s respect. In a moment the coroner placed the silk paper, lime and other things in the coffin, and nailed the coffin''s lid. The lacquerer then began painting.


    Gao Yanchao asked, "What is the patriot''s honored surname and great name? It would be better if we paint his title on the coffin."


    "He ... he ... he ..." Wei Xiaobao was sobbing and sniffling continuously, while his mind was churning; he said, "His name was Shi Guidong." That is, Shi Song, Xiao Guizi and Rui Dong, three people''s names put together; he thought, "I killed the three of you, right now I am kowtowing to you and burning some ritual paper money for your use in the netherworld. Shouldn''t your wronged ghosts stop entangling me now?"


    Seeing how bitter he was crying, Mu Jianping tried to console him, "Manchurian Qing Tatars killed our good friends; there will come a day we will kill them all, to avenge and wipe out the grudge of our good friends."


    Still crying, Wei Xiaobao said, "Naturally the Tatars must be killed, but this good friend''s enmity absolutely cannot be avenged."


    Mu Jianping opened wide her pair of beautiful eyes; she looked at him in a daze while thinking, "Why not?"


    The four of them rested for a while, then they took their leave from Gao Yanchao. Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me send you off for a while." A happy expression appeared on Fang and Mu, two women''s faces.


    The two women rode on a large carriage, Wei Xiaobao and Xu Tianchuan separately took the other two carriages. The three carriages left from the Eastern Gate. After traveling eastwards for several li, they turned south. Seven or eight li later, they arrived in a small town at the outskirt of Beijing. Xu Tianchuan ordered the carriages to stop, he said, "Sending off the lord for a thousand li, in the end we must part. The day is no longer early, we will drink some tea in here and then take our separate way!"


    They entered a roadside teahouse, the shop attendants promptly served them tea. The three carriage drivers sat on another table.


    Xu Tianchuan assumed Wei Xiangzhu and his two companions would certainly have some personal matters they need to discuss; with hands behind his back he strolled out to enjoy the scenery.


    Mu Jianping said, "Gui ... Gui Dage, you are actually surnamed Wei, aren''t you? And what is a Xiangzhu?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "I am surnamed Wei," he said, "Given name Xiaobao; I am the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui. This moment I can''t no longer conceal it from the two of you."


    "Ay!" Mu Jianping sighed.


    "Why did you sigh?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "You are the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui," Mu Jianping said, "How did ... how did you become a court eunuch in the Palace? Isn''t that ... isn''t that ..."


    Fang Yi knew that she was going to say ''such a pity'', but first, it was rather improper for her to say it out loud, second, she did not want to arouse Wei Xiaobao''s downheartedness; and thus she interrupted, "For the sake of our country''s great cause, a hero and warrior does not hesitate to humiliate himself, indeed he is worthy of our complete admiration." She presumed Wei Xiaobao must have received Tian Di Hui''s order to mutilate his own body and entered the Palace to be an undercover agent; he was definitely worthy of other people''s admiration.


    Wei Xiaobao showed a faint smile; "Shall I tell them that I am not a eunuch?" he mused.


    Suddenly they heard Xu Tianchuan shouted, "Good friend, you still don''t want to reveal your true colors until now?" He stretched out his hand to strike the shoulder of a carriage driver on the right.


    Xu Tianchuan''s right palm was just about to land on the carriage driver''s shoulder, the carriage driver leaned sideways, Xu Tianchuan''s right palm hit an empty air, but his left fist had already reached the carriage driver''s right waist. The carriage driver flipped his hand to pull and push, and thus redirected the fist outwards. Xu Tianchuan then brought his right elbow to strike the back of the driver''s neck. The carriage driver raised his right hand to feign a strike on the crown of Xu Tianchuan''s head. If Xu Tianchuan continued his elbow strike toward the driver''s neck, then it was as if he was delivering the top of his own head toward the man''s palm. Immediately he exerted his strength on his feet and leaped backward. Altogether he had launched three moves: a palm strike, a punch and an elbow strike, all were delivered using a very swift and fierce technique, but unexpectedly the carriage driver was able to neutralize each move without too much trouble.


    Xu Tianchuan was startled and angered at the same time; he expected this man to be a martial art expert from the Imperial Palace, who was acting under orders to arrest them. Immediately he waved his left hand to signal Wei Xiaobao, three people, to run away quickly, while he himself entangled the enemy to give the three people an opportunity to get away. But how could those three forego yi qi? Fang Yi was injured, it would be difficult for her to fight. Wei Xiaobao and Mu Jianping drew their weapons and rushed forward in a converging attack.


    The carriage driver turned around and said with a laugh, "The Eight-armed Ape has good eyesight!" His voice was rather sharp. The four of them saw that his face was yellow and swollen, his clothes were filthy, his overall appearance was ugly; momentarily they could not tell his age.


    Hearing him calling his nickname, Xu Tianchuan was even more shocked; he cupped his fist and said, "Who are you, honored sir? Why do you impersonate a carriage driver and play tricks on Zaixia?"


    The carriage driver said with a laugh, "I would never dare to play tricks. Zaixia and Wei Xiangzhu are good friends, knowing that he is leaving the Capital, I have come to send him off."


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head, "I �� I can''t remember seeing you," he said.


    The carriage driver laughed and said, "Last night the two of us joined hands to fight a powerful enemy, how can you forget?"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly saw the light, "Ah," he exclaimed, "You �� you are Tao �� Tao ��" He inserted the dagger back into his boot, and rushed forward to pull her hand; only now did he know that the carriage driver was Tao Gong''e in disguise.


    Tao Gong''e applied paste of butter, water and starch on her face, so it was difficult for others to know whether she was happy or angry, but her eyes were shining with delight as she said, "I was afraid the Tatars would send people to stop you, and thus I disguise myself to escort you for a while, unexpectedly Xu Laoyezi has a keen vision, I can''t deceive his eyes."


    Looking at Wei Xiangzhu''s expression, Xu Tianchuan knew this person was a friend and not a foe; he was delighted, but also ashamed. He cupped his fist and said, "Honored Sir''s martial art is superb, my admiration, my admiration! Wei Xiangzhu karma''s is good, he always makes friends with martial art experts everywhere."


    Tao Gong''e laughed and said, "I don''t dare! May I ask Xu Dage, in my disguise, which part has revealed the flaw?"


    "There was no flaw," Xu Tianchuan replied, "It''s just that along the way I noticed the way honored sir waving the whip and urging the mule was unlike ordinary carriage driver. Honored sir did not move your wrist but the whip was extended very straight; you did not raise your elbow but the whip was pulled back immediately. I am afraid not too many friends among the carriage drivers in Beijing possess this kind of brilliant martial art." The five of them laughed heartily.


    Xu Tianchuan continued with a laugh, "If Zaixia was more sensitive, seeing honored sir''s martial art skill, I would not have dared to put out a hand to offend, it''s just that this old man did not know what''s good for me. I can''t help it."


    "Xu Dage has spoken discreetly," Tao Gong''e said, "I do not blame you at all."


    Xu Tianchuan cupped his fist again. "I don''t dare," he said, "May I know your honored surname and great given name?"


    "This friend is surnamed Tao," Wei Xiaobao said, "With Xiongdi he has a ... a life and death friendship."


    Tao Gong''e seriously said, "That''s right, it''s a life and death friendship. Wei Xiangzhu has saved my life."


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly said, "Why did Senior say that? We were cooperating to kill a scoundrel, that''s all."


    Tao Gong''e smiled. "Wei Xiongdi, Xu Dage, Fang and Mu, two ladies," she said, "I bid you farewell." Cupping her fist, she leaped onto the driver seat of a large carriage.


    "Tao ... Tao Dage," Wei Xiaobao called, "Where are you going?"


    Tao Gong''e laughed and said, "From the place I come, to that place I will return."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Very well," he said, "I hope to see you again later." Straight away she drove the large carriage without saying anything else.


    "Xu Laoyezi," Mu Jianping asked, "Is that man''s martial art skill really high?"


    "Superb martial art!" Xu Tianchuan said, "What''s more amazing is that she is a woman."


    "She is a woman?" Mu Jianping asked in surprise.


    Xu Tianchuan said, "When she leaped onto the carriage, she swayed her waist from side to side, no doubt the style looked good, but unavoidably it looked sissy; she is definitely a woman."


    "Her voice is too high," Mu Jianping said, "It did not sound like a man''s voice. Wei Dage, is her ... her original appearance attractive?"


    "Forty years ago, perhaps she was attractive," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But forty years later, you will still be much more attractive than she is now."


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "How can you compare me to her? Turns out she is a granny."


    Recalling that very soon he would have to leave them, Wei Xiaobao could not help but feeling sad. Thinking that he was about to embark on a journey alone, he could not help but was somewhat afraid. From Yangzhou to Beijing he was travelling together with Mao Shiba, a Jianghu veteran. In the Palace, although repeatedly running into danger, he knew almost everybody. In desperate moments, he often turned danger into safety by relying on his quick-wit. This time going to Mount Wutai in Shanxi, while admittedly he had never travelled this road before, what bothered him more was that he did not even know what the outcome of his mission would be. He had never travelled long distance alone; he was, after all, only a child, so it was hard for him to avoid feeling timid. For an instant he thought about going back to Beijing to ask Gao Yanchao to accompany him to Mount Wutai, but he remembered that this matter concerned Xiao Xuanzi''s lot in life, if he let someone else know, he would be unfair to a good friend.


    Xu Tianchuan only knew that Wei Xiaobao was going back to Beijing. "Wei Xiangzhu," he said, "It''s getting late, please hurry back. If you are too late, I am afraid the city gate would have been closed."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Fang Yi and Mu Jianping said, "We hope after your business is done you would come to Shijiazhuang to see us. We will be waiting for you." Wei Xiaobao nodded, his heart was bitter-sweet, he could not say anything.


    Xu Tianchuan invited the two women to get into the carriage, while he himself sat by the driver''s side. The carriage started to move southwards. Wei Xiaobao saw Fang and Mu, two girls leaned out of the carriage and waved goodbye. The carriage travelled for about thirty zhang, then made a turn, and disappeared behind a row of red willow trees.


    Wei Xiaobao mounted the remaining carriage. He ordered the driver to turn westward, not returning to Beijing. The carriage driver was somewhat hesitant, Wei Xiaobao took out ten taels of silver and said, "Ten taels to hire you three days, is it enough?"


    The carriage driver was delighted; he busily said, "Ten taels is enough for even a month. Xiaode [the humble one, referring to self] will serve Master well; Master wants to go we''ll go, Master wants to stop we''ll stop."


    That evening they stopped at a small town about twenty li southwest of Beijing, to rest and lodge for the night at a small family inn. Wei Xiaobao wiped his body and washed his feet; without waiting for dinner he lay down on the kang[55] and fell asleep.


    When he woke up the next morning, he felt his head was about to crack, his eyes were heavy, he was not able to open it for a long time, his four limbs were even more limp and painful that he could move only with difficulty; it was as if he was in a nightmare. He wanted to shout, but nothing came out of his mouth. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he saw three men lying down on the floor. He was shocked and was only able to stare blankly for half a day. Calming himself down, he struggled to sit up, only to see someone was sitting in front of the kang, looking at him, smiling.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise.


    The person laughed and said, "Are you awake only now?" It was none other than Tao Gong''e.


    Finally Wei Xiaobao was relieved. "Tao Jiejie, Tao Gugu


    [56], what �� what happened?"


    Tao Gong''e laughed and said, "Look, who are these three people?"


    Wei Xiaobao crawled down from the kang, but his legs were soft, he fell kneeling down, but quickly sat up, then reaching out his hand for support, he managed to stand up. He saw the three people had already died for a while, but he did not recognize any of them. "Tao Gugu, did you save my life?"


    Tao Gong''e laughed. "In the end, are you going to call me Jiejie, or Gugu?" she asked, "Just don''t call randomly, thus showing no respect for your elder."


    Wei Xiaobao also laughed. "You are Gugu, Tao Gugu!"


    Tao Gong''e smiled and said, "You are traveling alone, next time you must be a bit more careful with what you eat and drink. If you were together with that eight-armed old monkey, you would not have fallen into these people''s trick."


    "Someone drugged me with knockout drug last night?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "More or less," Tao Gong''e replied.


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment, then he said, "Most likely it was the tea, when I drank it, there was a bit of sour taste, and a bit of sweetness too." He thought, "I myself have a big bundle of knockout drug on me, but I ate other people''s knockout drug. Damn it, if I did not have a taste of knockout drug this time, how would I know it tastes bitter-sweet?" He then asked, "Is this a ''black inn[57]''?"


    "This is actually a white inn," Tao Gong''e replied, "But when you came in, it turned black."


    Wei Xiaobao was still having a splitting headache, he put out a hand to hold his forehead and said, "I don''t understand that one."


    Tao Gong''e said, "Not long after you entered the inn, there were other people came in, they tied up the shop owners, husband and wife, and the inn attendant, and turned this white inn into a black inn. One of the men took the attendant''s clothes and put some medicine powder into the teapot and delivered it to you. I saw you were changing clothes; I thought I would wait until you finished changing before giving you a warning. Unexpectedly, other than changing clothes, you were also wiping your body. I waited for a moment before coming back, but you already drank the tea. Fortunately it was only knockout drug, not a poison."


    Instantly Wei Xiaobao blushed from ear to ear; when he was wiping himself last night, he was fantasizing what would it feel like if Fang Yi really became his wife and he was embracing her tightly? At that time his emotion was surging, the situation was beyond his control. Although Tao Gong''e was not young anymore, she was, after all, a woman; looking at this kind of disgraceful situation from outside the window, naturally she could not bear to look too much.


    Tao Gong''e said, "When we parted yesterday, I went back to the Palace, but I noticed inside and outside were peaceful without any commotion, there was no announcement about the death of the Empress Dowager, I felt very strange. After hurriedly changing my clothes, I went to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to look. I saw everything was as usual, turned out the Empress Dowager did not die. I know something was wrong. At first I thought the Empress Dowager had died, so the two of us can continue living in the Palace. But since last night we failed to kill her with a blade, we have no choice but must leave the Palace immediately. I wanted to rush over to tell you, so that you won''t rush into the Palace and thus delivering your own life."


    Wei Xiaobao pretended to be surprised. "Ah!" he exclaimed loudly, "Turns out the old wh0re did not die, it''s very bad!" While in his heart he was ashamed, "In my haste yesterday, I forgot to mention this, I thought you already knew."


    "I was just turning around to leave," Tao Gong''e continued, "I saw three Imperial Bodyguards walked out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Their action was sneaky, I thought the Empress Dowager must have sent them out to arrest me, but I noticed they were not heading toward my residence. I did not have time to pay them any more attention, I returned to my dwelling and packed up, I also changed clothes again, and slipped out of the Palace via the Catering Department''s side door."


    Tao Gong''e said, "As soon as I left the Palace, I saw those three Imperial Bodyguards again. They have changed clothes, they carried a bundle on their backs and rode on horses, obviously they were on a long journey."


    "Ah," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, he stretched out his left foot to kick a corpse, saying, "They must be these three friends who opened the black inn?"


    Tao Gong''e smiled and said, "Actually, I should thank these three friends. If they did not lead the way, how could I find you? Who could have thought that you detoured westward? They left the city via the western gate and asked around along the way, if anybody had seen a thirteen, fourteen years old boy traveling alone. They really did receive the Empress Dowager''s order to get you. By the evening, they found this place, so I followed them here."


    Wei Xiaobao was very grateful in his heart; he said, "If Gugu did not save me, by this time I can''t even answer Yanluo Wang''s [Yama, King of Hell] question. He would ask, ''Wei Xiaobao, how did you die?'' I would have to answer, ''Reporting to the Great King: I am muddleheaded, and can''t make head or tail of it!''"


    Tao Gong''e had lived deep inside the Palace for decades, normally very seldom did she had a chance to talk to someone else. She found Wei Xiaobao''s talk very amusing talk. "This kid!" she said with a laugh, "Yanluo Wang would surely say, ''Drag him down and beat him up!''"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "But isn''t it true? Lord Yanluo''s beard would stick up, and he would shout, ''Being muddleheaded and can''t make head or tail of it when you were alive is alright, how come after you die you are still muddleheaded? If all I have here are muddleheaded ghosts, won''t I turn into muddleheaded Yanluo Wang?''" They both burst into loud laughter. "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao asked, "What happened next?"


    Tao Gong''e said, "I heard them talking among themselves in low voice in the kitchen, one man said, ''The Empress Dowager''s imperial order, it is best to capture this little demon alive, otherwise we can kill him with a slash of the saber; but the thing he has in his possession, we must bring it back at all cost, not a single one must be missed.'' Another man said, ''This little demon dares to steal the Buddhist scripture the Empress Dowager reads every day, truly he is bored of living. No wonder the Empress Dowager is so angry. Empress Dowager instructed us that those several copies of scripture are the most important.'' Xiao Xiongdi, did you really steal the Empress Dowager''s Buddhist scripture? Your Zongduozhu ordered you to steal it, didn''t he?" Saying that, she fixed her gaze on him without blinking.


    Although Tao Gong''e''s martial art skill was high, but since childhood she had lived in the Palace, toward the ways of the world she knew very little. Although both of them were of the same Palace, day in and day out Wei Xiaobao intermingled with the Emperor, Empress Dowager, princes and dukes, high-ranking ministers, Imperial Bodyguards and court eunuchs, he was always swaying back and forth among treacherous plots, so he had enough practice to be quick-witted; practically his entire body was his weapon. Tao Gong''e, on the other hand, only worked together with a couple of old palace maids, she did not even talk more than a couple of dozen sentences in a year, and she barely saw anybody else. In term of craftiness and resourcefulness, the difference between these two people was simply too far, it was even greater than the disparity between their respective martial art skill levels.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s innocent expression, Tao Gong''e thought, "I have just saved his life, he must be very grateful to me, how can a little child like him tell a lie? Much less I have personally searched his belongings?" She nodded and said, "I saw them opening up your bundle and searched through it. They found a lot of jewels and several hundred thousand taels of banknotes, and were green with envy, so they talked it over how to share the booty. Upon hearing it, I was angry, so I came in and took care of them."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "The old wh0re Empress Dowager knew about my wealth and sent some Imperial Bodyguards to murder me for my money, using the knockout drug and opening a black inn. That old wh0re is doing some lowly shady business, she not a good thing."


    "I don''t think it was her idea," Tao Gong''e said, "What the Empress Dowager wants is Buddhist scripture, not jewels or money. Those several copies of Buddhist scripture concern a matter of great importance. I was thinking, could it be possible that you gave those books to Xu Tianchuan and the two ladies to be brought to Shijiazhuang? Since the enemy has been eliminated, I thought I would let you rest for a while, so I rushed on horseback to the south to catch them up. I found their carriage outside an inn. I was thinking of searching quietly, but that man Eight-Armed Ape was very vigilant. As soon as I set my feet on the roof, he had already detected my presence. I can''t tell him anything, so without any better option I fought him one more time."


    "He is not your match," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "I really did not want to offend your Tian Di Hui," Tao Gong''e said, "But I had no choice. After sealing his acupoint, I apologize to him profusely, I asked him not to be angry with me. Xiao Xiongdi, next time you see him, please tell him again that I am really sorry and had no choice. I went through those three people''s luggage, I even searched through their carriage, but did not find anything, so I unsealed their acupoints and riding a horse, I rushed back here."


    "Turns out while I was muddleheaded and did not know anything, you have done these many matters," Wei Xiaobao said, "Tao Gugu, how did you know I belong to Tian Di Hui?"


    Tao Gong''e smiled and said, "I drove the carriage with you for half a day, how could I not hear what you were talking about? You are this young, yet have become the Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu, in Tian Di Hui you are in charge of a very big responsibility, aren''t you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He laughed and said, "Indeed, it can''t be considered small."


    Tao Gong''e was lost in thought for half a day, then she asked, "You have been with the Emperor for a long time, have you ever heard him mentioning some Buddhist scripture?"


    "He did," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The Emperor and Empress Dowager seem to hold this annoying Buddhist scripture in a very high regard. Actually, damn it, what''s the use? The Empress Dowager is so bad that even if she chanted ''Amitabha Buddha'' ten thousand times a day, Bodhisattva won''t possibly bless her ..."


    Without waiting for him to finish, Tao Gong''e busily asked, "What did they say, exactly?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Emperor sent me and Songgotu Daren to Oboi''s mansion to take inventory of that criminal''s confiscated property, he told me repeatedly that I must find two copies of some ''four'' sutra. I think there is a ''two'' character and perhaps a ''ten'' character."


    "Don''t burn, don''t burn!" Tao Gong''e hastily said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I know I must not burn it; if the Emperor ask Songgotu Daren, my trickery would be exposed immediately."


    "Perhaps she has four," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "She has four?" Tao Gong''e said, "How ... how do you know?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When I was hiding under her bed the other night, I overheard she mentioned to that man who was disguised as a woman that originally she had one copy, from Oboi''s residence she got two copies, and then she sent the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards Rui Dong to get another copy from some banner commander''s office."


    Wei Xiaobao hesitated; he said, "In the event that the old wh0re''s injury is heavy, eventually she won''t live. I am afraid she might bring those sutra along in her coffin."


    "That is unlikely to happen," Tao Gong''e said, "I am worried that the Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] of the Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult] would make a move by acting swiftly and get there first, then it would be really bad."


    It was the first time Wei Xiaobao had ever heard about the Cult Leader of the Divine Dragon Cult. "Who is that?" he asked.


    Tao Gong''e did not answer. She was pacing around the room several times. The window paper gradually turned bright, soon the sun would shine. She turned around and said, "It''s not convenient to talk in here, I am afraid the walls have ears. Let us go!" She carried the three dead bodies outside the inn and dumped them onto the carriage.


    She killed those three men with a jolt of her heavy hand, they did not shed any blood at all, the corpses were clean. She said, "They tied the innkeeper and your cart driver, let them struggle free on their own." Sitting together with Wei Xiaobao on the driver seat, she drove the carriage westward.


    Seven or eight li later, the sky had already brightened. Tao Gong''e tossed the corpses on a graveyard and piled large piece of rocks to cover them. Returning to the carriage, she said, "Riding on the carriage, we can talk while hastening on our journey, no need to fear someone is listening."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I wonder if someone is listening under the carriage."


    Tao Gong''e was startled. "Right," she said, "Your thought is more thorough than mine." Brandishing the whip, she coiled the whip, ''Shua!'' and struck the bottom of the carriage. Repeatedly she struck three times before she was convinced nobody was hiding underneath the carriage. She laughed and said, "I don''t know anything about guarding against the bad act of the Jianghu people."


    "Then I am worse than you are," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are always a step ahead of me, otherwise you wouldn''t be able to save me last night."


    By this time the carriage was traveling along a main road, all around them were quiet open space. Tao Gong''e slowly said, "You have saved my life, I have also saved your life. The two of us can be considered friends in times of tribulation, in life and death. Xiao Xiongdi, based on our age, I can be your mother, I can look after you and won''t abandon you, just call me your Gugu. Are you willing to consider me as your Gugu, you be my nephew?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I won''t lose anything by being a nephew, besides, I have already called her Gugu anyway." Thereupon he hurriedly said, "That''s wonderful, but I have something really bad I need to tell you. I am afraid after you find out, you won''t want me to be your nephew anymore."


    "What is it?" Tao Gong''e asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t have a dad, my mom is a wh0re in a pleasure house."


    Tao Gong''e was startled, but instantly a happy smile appeared across her face as she said delightedly, "Good nephew, a hero is not worried over low family background. Our Taizu Huangdi was a monk, was a hoodlum riff-raff, yet it was irrelevant. You do not even conceal this kind of fact from me, it goes to show that you are being sincere to your Gugu, naturally I won''t conceal anything from you either."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "My mom is a wh0re, Mao Shiba Dage is already aware, eventually I cannot conceal it from anybody. If you want to swindle someone else, the most hidden secret in your heart must be shaken out first." He jumped down at once and kneeled and kowtowed, saying, "Nephew Wei Xiaobao pays his respect to Gugu."


    For decades Tao Gong''e lived deep within the Palace, she had no relatives no family members, she had even less friendship and heard less friendly talk; hearing how affectionate Wei Xiaobao called her, she could not help but was very touched. Hastily she also got down from the carriage and said, "Good nephew, from now on I have a close relative in the world ��" Speaking to this point, she could not refrain from shedding some tears. She was smiling and wiping her tears at the same time, saying, "Look at me, this is a very happy occasion, yet your Gugu is crying."


    The two of them climbed back onto the carriage. Tao Gong''e held the reins with her right hand, and held Wei Xiaobao''s right hand with her left, letting the mule walked step by step slowly. She said, "Good nephew, my surname is Tao, it''s my real surname, my humble given name is Hongying; I entered the Palace when I was twelve. By my second year I was already serving the Princess."


    "Princess?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Yes, Princess," Tao Hongying replied, "Our Great Ming''s His Majesty Emperor Chongzhen''s own princess."


    "Ah," Wei Xiaobao said, "So Gugu entered the Palace during our Great Ming''s Emperor Chongzhen."


    "Exactly," Tao Hongying replied, "When the Emperor Chongzhen left the Palace, he swung his sword to cut off the Princess'' arm. When I heard that Princess had run into misfortune, I rushed out, thinking to save her. In my panic, I fell heavily and my forehead hit the stone steps and I fainted. By the time I came to, His Majesty and the Princess had already gone, the Palace was in total chaos, nobody cared about me. Not too long afterwards, that Chuang [lit. rushing] thief[59] entered the Palace, and then the Manchurian Qing Tatars drove away the Chuang thief and took possession of the Imperial Palace. Ay, that was many, many years ago."


    "Wasn''t the Princess the Emperor Chongzhen''s own daughter?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Why did he want to hack her to death?"


    Tao Hongying sighed and said, "Princess was the Emperor Chongzhen''s own daughter, she was the daughter he most doted on. By that time the Capital had already fallen, the evil troops had already entered the city, His Majesty was determined to sacrifice himself, he was afraid the Princess would be disgraced by the traitors; therefore, he wanted to kill the Princess first."


    "So that''s what happened," Wei Xiaobao said, "To kill one''s own daughter is really not easy. I heard Emperor Chongzhen later hung himself on the Coal Hill, is that right?"


    "Afterwards I heard people say so," Tao Hongying replied, "The Manchurian Qing Tatars were led through the pass by Wu Sangui, they defeated the Chuang thief and occupied our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains. From all the eunuchs and palace maids in the Palace, eight or nine out of ten were let go, they said they were afraid those people would be unreliable. At that time I was still very young, plus my injury from the fall was quite heavy so that I was lying down in a dark room, nobody cared about me. It was more than three years later that I met my Shifu."


    "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your martial art skill is this high, your Shifu, the Senior''s martial art skill was naturally even more amazing."


    "Altogether there are eight?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Altogether there are eight," Tao Hongying replied, "The Manchus have eight banners: yellow, white, red, and blue, four plain banners, and four bordered banners. Each banner''s commander has one copy, altogether there are eight copies."


    "That''s exactly right," Wei Xiaobao said, "The two copies of sutra we got from Oboi''s house have different colored envelopes, one has yellow envelope with red border, the other has plain white envelope."


    Tao Hongying said, "Turns out the color of the eight sutra envelopes are identical to the eight banners'' color; I have never seen any copy."


    Wei Xiaobao pondered in his heart, "I have five copies in my possession, that means there are three more. In the end, what is so strange about these eight sutras? I am sure Gugu knows. I must find a way to sound her out." Feigning ignorance, he said, "Turns out your Tai Shifu, the Senior, was also a devout worshipper of Bodhisattva. The Buddhist scriptures of the Palace are naturally precious; some people said that those scriptures are written using golden ink."


    "That''s not it," Tao Hongying said, "Good nephew, what I am going to tell you today, you must never divulge it to anybody else. Please make an oath."


    Tao Hongying laughed. "This oath is actually very fresh and weird," she said. "Let me tell you: When the Manchurian Qing Tatars entered the pass, they did not expect to obtain our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains. Manchu people are very few, their soldiers are not many; they would be perfectly contented if they could occupy the area outside the pass for a long time. Therefore, when they entered the pass, whenever the eight banners'' soldiers saw gold, silver and jewels, they would immediately snatch it away. They moved all these money and valuables to outside the pass. At that time the one wielding power was Emperor Shunzi''s father''s younger brother the Regent Prince, but each of the Manchu''s Eight Banners also have some power. That time the Eight Banners'' commanders got together to draw the secret location where the treasure was collected, and each commander of the Eight Banners held one piece of the map ��"


    Tao Hongying said, "It appears that it''s not entirely like that, but only those Eight Banners'' commanders knew clearly. Forget that no one among us, Han people, knows; I am afraid even among Manchu princes and dukes, and high-level ministers, only a few know about it. My Shifu said that the mountain on which the Manchu hid those jewels is the location of their dragon''s vein[61]. That the Tatars can occupy our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains, ascend the throne and become the Emperor, it is entirely dependent upon this mountain''s dragon vein."


    "What is a dragon''s vein?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao asked, "How did your Tai Shifu know this Manchu people''s matter?"


    "This matter is complicated and not easy to express succinctly," Tao Hongying replied, "My Tai Shifu was originally a Han woman of Jinzhou [prefecture level city in Liaoning province], who was captured by the Tatars. That Tatar was the Bordered Blue Banner Commander. My Tai Shifu said that after the Tatars entered the pass, they saw how big our China is, how many people we have, they were both delighted and afraid. The commanders of the Eight Banners successively held several meetings for many days, there were heated arguments during the meetings, they could not settle on any single idea."


    "What were they arguing for?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Tao Hongying said, "Some banner commanders wanted to occupy the whole China, some others said that Han people were this many, if they rose in rebellion, a hundred Han people could fight one banner man, how could the banner man live? It would be better if they loot the whole place and return to outside the pass; it would be much safer. Finally the Regent Prince made a decision; he said that while plundering and transporting the gold, silver and jewels outside the pass, they would establish an emperor in China. If the Han people rebelled and the situation became critical, the banner men would withdraw to the Shanhai Pass."


    "Turns out the Manchurian Qing Tatars at that time were really afraid of us, Han people," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Why not?" Tao Hongying said, "Even now they are still afraid. It''s just that we are not of one mind. Good nephew, the Tatar young emperor is very fond of you, if you can search out the location of those eight sutras, we could steal those sutras and break the Tatars'' dragon''s vein, then those gold, silver and jewels could be used to cover the expense of raising a militia [orig. ''righteous army'' �C volunteer army]. So long as we raise arms, the Qing troops would be frightened and flee outside the pass."


    Wei Xiaobao did not have any zeal to breaking the dragon''s vein or raising militia, but thinking about that mountain hid an innumerable wealth, he could not help but palpitating with eagerness. "Gugu," he asked, "Is the secret of this treasured mountain really hidden inside those eight sutras?"


    Tao Hongying replied, "My Tai Shifu told my Shifu that one day the Bordered Blue Banner Commander got drunk and told his young Manchurian wife that when he died, he wanted to pass on a copy of sutra to the young wife''s son, and not giving it to his first wife''s son. The young wife was really not happy, saying what''s so rare about a Buddhist scripture. The Banner Commander said that it was their Eight Banners'' lifeblood; it was more important than anything, and roughly mentioned the origin of the Buddhist scripture. Tai Shifu was eavesdropping outside the window, only then did she understand the fact. Afterwards Tai Shifu trained martial arts, my Shifu also learned from her, Senior, for many years. Tai Shifu attempted to steal the sutra, as a result, she was beaten and was seriously hurt. Before her death, she told Shifu to infiltrate the Palace and become a palace maid, to find a way to steal the scripture. There were martial art experts in the Bordered Blue Banner Commander''s mansion, she thought her effort of stealing the scripture in the Palace would likely go smoothly. Who would have known that not long after Shifu entered the Palace, she found out that the imperial ground was even more strictly guarded, palace maids cannot carelessly wander around, so stealing the scripture became extremely difficult. When she was talking to me, she found out about the Great Ming''s Princess, her heart remembered her old ruler with fondness, and thus she accepted me as her disciple."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "No wonder with thousand ways, a hundred plans the old wh0re is trying to get hold of the scripture. She is a Manchurian, she can''t possibly want to break the dragon''s vein, presumably she wants to obtain the treasured mountain''s gold, silver and jewels. But she is the Empress Dowager, she could have anything she wants, what does she needs the treasure for?" He also thought, "Then why did the old turtle Hai kept this matter constantly in his mind? Why did he always want me to go to the Upper Study Room to steal the book? Hmm, perhaps he did not really want the scripture, he only wanted to trick me into revealing who was the mastermind who sent me to poison blind his eyes, or perhaps to investigate who the real assassin who murdered Empress Duan Jing. He must be thinking that the mastermind and the assassin was the same person. I am afraid I do not have the ability to deceive the old turtle Hai into revealing his mind; perhaps even Yan Luo Wang do not have that ability."


    How could Tao Hongying guess that Wei Xiaobao''s thought had turned toward Hai Dafu? She said, "Perhaps there is something else, something strange in the treasured mountain, which even Tai Shifu did not know. Not long after Shifu entered the Palace, she fell ill and died. At the death''s door, the Senior imploring me over and over again, telling me to find a way to steal the scripture. She warned me that stealing the scripture is extremely difficult, based on my own strength, I might not succeed, so she wanted me to take a reliable disciple inside the Palace and pass the secret of the sutra onto her. This generation failed, the next generation would try again, never to let this secret to be buried and forgotten."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "If this great secret is lost in transmission, those countless gold, silver and jewels would be �� it would be a great pity."


    "The gold, silver and treasure is not important," Tao Hongying said, "But to let generation after generation of the Tatars occupying our Han people''s rivers and mountains would be the greatest regret."


    "Gugu is right," Wei Xiaobao said. But in his heart he was thinking, "It would be the greatest regret indeed if those gold, silver and jewels by the thousands and tens of thousands are not taken out and being spent." He was still very young; about the massacre of Han people by Manchu soldiers, he only heard it from others, he had never personally experienced it. Among the Manchu people in the Palace at that time, only the Empress Dowager was hateful to him. Although Hai Dafu also conspired against him, in the end he did more harm to Hai Dafu than Hai Dafu did harm to him. The rest of the people, from the Emperor down, all had treated him very well, so he had never thought the Manchus were fiendish, bloody and cruel people. He was also aware however, that if he did not receive the Emperor''s favor, those Manchurian nobilities and ministers could not possibly show that kind of warmth or flatter him like that. But when all is said and done, he saw more kindness and less brutality from those Manchus; therefore, the enmity between the races, the hatred of his nation, was rather dull in his heart.


    "These past few years," Tao Hongying continued, "I haven''t received any disciple. The number of palace maids I saw is not many, the ones I met were either stupid and muddleheaded, or flirtatious and narrow-minded, all they think about daily was how to be lucky to have the Emperor''s visit so that they could rise from the palace maid to imperial concubine. How can we tell this great secret of ours to this kind of people? In recent years I often worried that if this situation continues, not only I could not obtain the slightest clue of the scriptures'' whereabouts, I could not get a good disciple either. When I die later, I would bring this secret to my grave, then the Manchu Tatars would sit steadily on our rivers and mountains. The fact that I would wrong Tai Shifu and Shifu needs not be mentioned, worse yet, I would become great sinner toward our Han people. Good nephew, I came across you inadvertently and could tell you all about this matter, in my heart I am really happy."


    "I am also very happy," Wei Xiaobao said, "But not because of the sutra or whatever, I don''t even think about it in my heart."


    "Then what makes you happy?" Tao Hongying asked.


    "I don''t have any relative," Wei Xiaobao replied, "My mama is like that, I seldom see my Shifu, but now I have an aunt, a good aunt. Naturally I am very happy." His mouth was sweet, he knew how to coax Tao Hongying and made her happy.


    Indeed she was very happy; she smiled and said, "And I get a good nephew, so I am also very happy." After a short pause, she asked, "Who is your Shifu?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "My Shifu is the Zongduozhu of Tian Di Hui, surnamed Chen, given name Jin at the top and Nan at the bottom."


    Even such a famous personality like Chen Jinnan, Tao Hongying seemed to hear it only for the first time. She simply nodded and said, "So your Shifu is Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu, his martial art must be superb."


    "It''s just that the time I follow my Shifu is too short," Wei Xiaobao said, "I haven''t learned any skill. Good Gugu, how about you teach me some?"


    Tao Hongying hesitated before saying, "If you have never learned any martial art, naturally I would be happy to pass on everything I learned to you. But most likely your Shifu''s martial art is completely different to my martial art school, I am afraid it would be harmful if you learned it. In your opinion, your Shifu and I, whose martial art skill is stronger?"


    When Wei Xiaobao asked Tao Hongying to teach him martial art, his intention was only to make her happy. Supposing that Tao Hongying really agreed to teach him, he would have tried to make other excuses instead. Once he started martial art training, he would not be able to go to Wutai Mountain, much less his natural character was that he only loved to loaf around and play, without any patience to learn martial art. Hearing her saying that, he seized the chance by saying, "Gugu, in front of you, I can''t tell a lie."


    "Naturally it is better for a little child to be honest," Tao Hongying said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have seen Shifu fought with someone with very good martial art, in only three moves he managed to subdue him; that man lost miserably. Gugu, I am afraid you are still inferior to Shifu."


    Tao Hongying smiled and said, "That''s right. I also believe I am inferior to him by far. When I struggled against that man disguised as a palace maid, if you did not stab him in the back, I would have been finished early on. I am sure your Shifu can''t be that useless."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "But that fake palace maid was really formidable; even now, when I remember him, I am still afraid."


    Suddenly the muscles on Tao Hongying''s face were twitching, her eyes revealed a frightened look, she stared straight ahead with blank expression on her face. "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you feeling ill?"


    Tao Hongying did not reply, as if she did not hear him. Wei Xiaobao asked her again. Tao Hongying''s body shivered, she said, "No ... I am not." ''Splat!'' suddenly the whip in her hand fell to the ground. Wei Xiaobao leaped down the carriage to pick it up, and then he jumped back onto the carriage; his movement was very neat and nimble. He was feeling very proud of himself, hoping that Tao Hongying would utter some words of praise. But he saw she shook her head and said, "Child, after you made a decision, you should painstakingly train before you can succeed. With your martial art level right now, to deal with the eunuchs in the Palace, it is too good; but if you want to roam the Jianghu, it is too bad, you are actually inferior to people who do not know martial art at all."


    Wei Xiaobao''s face blushed deep red, "Yes!" he replied. But in his heart he wondered, "Although my martial art is not that good, why am I inferior to people who do not know martial art at all?"


    Tao Hongying said, "If you do not know martial art at all, people would not easily kill you. But since you know martial art, your opponent will guard against your counterattack, when they make their move, they won''t easily spare you; won''t it be bad instead?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "What if I meet small bandits who beat randomly with some stick?"


    Tao Hongying was taken aback, momentarily she was at a loss of what to say. A moment later she said, "That''s true, perhaps there are more small bandits in Jianghu than martial art experts." She looked disturbed; pointing to a large tree on the right ahead of them, she said, "Let us take a rest before continuing our journey, let the mule eat some grass." She drove toward the tree. The two of them jumped down the carriage and sat side by side on the tree root.


    Tao Hongying was lost in thought again. Suddenly she mumbled, "Did he say it? Did he say something?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not know whom she was asking, he raised his head to look at her, not knowing how to answer her question. The two of them looked at each other, one was waiting the other to answer, the other did not know what she was talking about.


    After a while, Tao Hongying asked again, "Did you hear him saying anything? Did you see his lips moving?"


    Seeing her strange expression, Wei Xiaobao was rather scared. "Gugu must be under a spell. Or did she see a ghost?" he mused. "Gugu," he asked, "Whom did you see?"


    "Who?" Tao Hongying said, "It''s that ... that man who dressed as a fake palace maid!"


    Wei Xiaobao was even more afraid. With a trembling voice he asked, "You saw that fake palace maid? Where ... where is he?"


    As if she had just awakened from a dream Tao Hongying said, "That night in the Empress Dowager''s room, when I fought that fake palace maid, did you hear him or see he opened his mouth to speak?"


    Wei Xiaobao let out a breath; he said, "Um, so you are asking about that night. Did he say anything? I did not hear it."


    Tao Hongying pondered for a moment, and then she shook her head and said, "My martial art skill is far too inferior to his, he did not need to use any incantations."


    Wei Xiaobao was completely at a loss. "Gugu," he said consolingly, "No need to think about him anymore, we have killed him early on, he won''t come back to life."


    "We have killed that man, he won''t come back to life," Tao Hongying echoed. She seemed to be consoling herself, but when she said those words, her expression showed that deep in her heart she was extremely terrified.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Although your martial art is good, you are afraid of ghosts. Just killing one person you are this anxious, much less it was me who killed that fake palace maid, it wasn''t you. You killed the old wh0re, actually you killed a tactless and impulsive person; you killed her half dead, half alive, in the end she still came back to live. How disappointing!"


    Tao Hongying said, "Since he is dead, naturally we can forget about him, right?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Even if he turned into a ghost, we don''t need to fear him."


    "What ghost?" Tao Hongying asked, "I am worried because he was the disciple of Divine Dragon Cult''s Jiaozhu. That ... that ... um, Empress Dowager called him Shixiong, it''s impossible, it''s definitely impossible. Looking at his martial art, it was totally different that hers, right? You really did not see him moving his lips when he was fighting, right?" She seemed to be talking to herself, her voice trembled, as if she was hoping Wei Xiaobao would confirm her speculation.


    But how could Wei Xiaobao distinguish the fake palace maid''s martial art? He said loudly, "Don''t worry, you are right, that fake palace maid''s martial art was different. When he was fighting, his lips were shut tight, he did not utter a single word. Gugu, what kind of fellow is that Divine Dragon Cult''s Jiaozhu?"


    Tao Hongying hurriedly said, "Hong Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao''s [if you don''t mind too much, I''d like to use Shen Long Jiao from now on, in my mind ''Divine Dragon Cult'' is just too clumsy] magical power is extensive, his martial art is deep and immeasurable, how can you casually call him a ''fellow''? Child, even behind his back, your speech must not offend him. Da Jiaozhu [Great Cult Leader] Hong''s disciples and grand disciples are numerous and very well-informed, as soon as you utter a sentence or half a phrase disrespectful word toward him, it will be transmitted to his ear, you ... just consider your life is over." While saying that, she looked left and right, as if she was afraid a Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu''s follower was around.


    "Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu is that powerful?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Could it be that his power exceeds that of the Emperor?"


    "Naturally his power is not as great as the Emperor''s," Tao Hongying replied, "But if you offend the Emperor, you can run and hide, the Emperor may not necessarily able to find and seize you; but if you offend Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu, even if you run to the ends of the earth, you won''t find a hiding place."


    "If that''s the case," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shen Long Jiao has more men and greater force than our Tian Di Hui?"


    Tao Hongying shook her head, "It''s not the same, it''s not the same," she said, "Your Tian Di Hui is fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming; your deeds are just and honorable, all hero and warriors in Jianghu respect you deeply. Shen Long Jiao on the other hand, is substantially different."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you saying that all hero and warriors in Jianghu are afraid of Shen Long Jiao?"


    Tao Hongying had to think for a moment before responding, "What I understand about the Jianghu matters is very, very little; I only heard Shifu mentioning it a little bit. My Tai Shifu had such a superb martial art skill, yet she still perished under the hands of Shen Long Jiao disciple."


    Wei Xiaobao swore without any restrain, "Damn it, if that''s the case, Shen Long Jiao is our sworn enemy, why should we fear him?"


    Tao Hongying shook her head, then slowly said, "My Shifu said that the martial art taught by Shen Long Jiao has countless changes, admittedly, it is very formidable; but even more difficult to resist is the many incantation practiced by their Cult, which they read as they are facing the enemy, which can make the opponent''s heart alarmed and trembling with fear, while the more they fight, the braver they become. When Tai Shifu was trying to steal the sutra from the Bordered Blue Banner Commander''s mansion, she was involved in a fierce battle against several disciples of the Shen Long Jiao. One of them started to read the spell, Tai Shifu''s fist wind and palm strength became weaker and weaker, until finally her lower abdomen was hit by a palm and she suffered a heavy injury. At that time my Shifu was watching from the side, she said that she mustered up her courage to rush forward to help, but after hearing the incantation, her whole body turned limp and painful, and she had a strong desire to kneel down and surrender, unexpectedly her fighting spirit was gone. When Tai Shifu was wounded, that person no longer read the spell, my Shifu immediately felt her courage surged back, she rushed toward Tai Shifu and took her away. When she recalled this event afterward, she always felt ashamed but was also scared, thus she repeatedly warned me that among the most dangerous things in the world, nothing surpasses fighting with Shen Long Jiao''s people."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Your Shifu was a woman, her courage was small, seeing the strength of the opponent, she was frightened and thinking about surrendering." He asked, "Gugu, did you hear what kind of spell that man was reading?"


    "I ... I did not hear it," Tao Hongying replied, "I was afraid that fake palace maid was a Shen Long Jiao disciple, that''s why I asked you if you hear him saying anything or see his lips moving during the fight."


    "Oh, so that''s the reason," Wei Xiaobao said. He tried to think if he saw or heard anything from under the bed. "No, I did not. But did you hear it?"


    Tao Hongying said, "That fake palace maid''s martial art was a lot stronger than mine, I fought him with everything I have, I neither hear nor see anything that happened around me. I just felt that after I fought him for a while, my heart suddenly became afraid, I wanted to run away. When I think about it, I feel very strange."


    "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao asked, "After you learned martial art, how many people have you fought? How many people have you killed?"


    Tao Hongying shook her head and said, "I have never fought anybody, I have never killed even one person."


    "That''s the reason," Wei Xiaobao said, "After killing several more people, you won''t feel afraid when you fight again."


    "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao said, "What do you say about joining our Tian Di Hui?" He was thinking, "You are very scared! Our Tian Di Hui has many men and great force, we don''t have to be afraid of Shen Long Jiao."


    Tao Hongying was startled; she asked, "Why do you want me to join Tian Di Hui?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Tian Di Hui''s main objective is to fight the Qing and restore the Ming, the same idea your Tai Shifu and your Shifu had."


    "That is actually a very good idea," Tao Hongying said, "But let''s talk about it later. I must return to the Palace now. Where are you going?"


    "You are returning to the Palace?" Wei Xiaobao asked in amazement, "Aren''t you afraid of the Empress Dowager?"


    Tao Hongying sighed and said, "Since I was a child I grew up in the Palace. After thinking it over, only in the Palace I can live without fear, I don''t understand anything about the matter of the outside world. Originally I was afraid this great secret would follow me to my grave, but now that I have told it to you, even if the Empress Dowager kills me, it''s nothing. Besides, the Palace is very big, I will find a place where I can hide, where the Empress Dowager won''t find me."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You return to the Palace, someday I will definitely come to see you. Right now Shifu has something for me to do."


    Tao Hongying knew it was inappropriate to ask about Tian Di Hui''s business, so she said, "When you are back to the Palace later, how are you and I going to meet?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "When I am back at the Palace, I will pile up rocks at the burning ground, and will stick a piece of wood on the pile of rocks, with a picture of a bird on the piece of wood, then you''ll know that I am back. That same night, we can meet at the burning ground."


    Tao Hongying nodded, "Very good," she said, "Let''s do it this way. Good child, the wind and waves in Jianghu are dangerous, in everything you must be careful."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "Yes," he said, "Gugu, you must be careful yourself, the Empress Dowager, that old wh0re''s heart is vicious, you must never, ever fall into her plot."


    The two of them arrived at a town, Wei Xiaobao hired another carriage, they parted ways to the east and to the west. Wei Xiaobao saw Tao Hongying drove her carriage eastwards, he was unable not to turn his head to look at her back as he thought, "Although she is not my real Gugu, she treats me very well."

 Chapter - 16 (16)

    Amidst the noise of the heavy rain, from the east wing suddenly came the sound of several women wailing, the voice was very mournful. Hearing this, everybody could not stop the hair on ther bodies from standing up, their countenance changed greatly. A moment later, from the west wing came the sound of a woman weeping in grief.


    On the carriage, Wei Xiaobao closed his eyes and took a nap. Towards the evening, he suddenly heard the sound of horse''s hoof, a rider was coming fast from behind. When it came close enough, he heard a man''s voice shouted, "Driver, does your passenger happen to be a child?"


    Wei Xiaobao recognized the voice as Liu Yizhou''s; without waiting for the driver to reply, he poked his head out of the carriage and said with a laugh, "Liu Dage, are you looking for me?"


    Liu Yizhou''s brow was beaded with sweat, his face was dusty; as soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao he called out, "Good, finally I found you!" From behind the carriage he galloped around to the front and shouted, "Roll out!"


    Seeing his ill-expression, Wei Xiaobao was shocked; "Liu Dage," he asked, "How did I offend you? Why are you so angry?"


    Liu Yizhou brandished the horsewhip in his hand and lashed it out forcefully on the head of the mule pulling the carriage. The mule neighed in pain and reared on its hind legs, bringing the carriage up that the driver almost fell down. The driver shouted, "The sky is clear, the sun is shining, are you seeing a ghost? Why are you acting so unreasonably?"


    Liu Yizhou shouted, "Laozi wants to act unreasonably!" Brandishing the whip one more time, he wound it around the driver''s whip and pulled it hard, throwing the driver to the ground, and immediately lashed the whip again and again, cursing with every strike, "Laozi wants to act unreasonably! Laozi wants to act unreasonably!"


    The carriage driver struggled, but was unable to crawl back up, he could only curse ''yeye'', ''naynay'' [(paternal) grandfather and grandmother, respectively] left and right. Liu Yizhou struck heavier and heavier; blood started to splash as the whip went down relentlessly. Wei Xiaobao was greatly taken aback; he mused, "This carriage driver had neither grudge nor enmity with him, yet he beats him this bad, while he is actually rushing to get to me. Laozi is not his match, after he is done with the carriage driver, he will most likely beat me like that; the turn of events would be far from good." Drawing the dagger from his boot, he lightly poked the mule''s buttocks.


    The mule felt pain and was startled, it kicked back and then dashed wildly, pulling the large carriage along the main road. Liu Yizhou left the carriage driver, he slapped his horse''s back to give a chase, while calling out, "Good kid, if you have guts, don''t run!"


    From the carriage Wei Xiaobao stuck out his head and called back, "Good kid, if you have guts, don''t pursue!"


    Liu Yizhou whipped his horse to rush over. Although the mule was running very fast, it was, after all, pulling a large carriage; after running for a while, Liu Yizhou managed to close the distance. Wei Xiaobao was thinking of throwing the dagger toward Liu Yizhou, but he thought that he would most likely miss, and would lose the dagger with which he protect himself instead. He yelled and shouted wildly, urging the mule to run faster. Suddenly there was a sharp wind by his ear, followed by a burning pain on the right side of his face as Liu Yizhou''s whip struck him. Hastily he pulled his head back into the carriage, from the slit on the carriage cover he could see the head of Liu Yizhou''s horse was already by the carriage''s side, only a few more steps, Liu Yizhou would then be able to jump into the carriage. With an inspiration in a moment of desperation, he put his hand into his pocket and got an ingot of silver, which he hurled out as hard as he could, it happened to hit the horse''s left eye. Blood spurting out of the horse''s left eye as its eyeball disintegrated and blinded instantly. The horse bolted toward the hillside. Liu Yizhou hastily pulled the reins, but the horse was hurt so bad that with a few fierce jumps it threw Liu Yizhou off its back. He rolled on the ground and immediately stood up, but the horse had already entered the forest, neighing repeatedly while galloping away.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and called out, "Liu Dage, if you can''t ride a horse, I advise you to catch a turtle and ride it!"


    Liu Yizhou was very angry, he raised his chi and ran after the carriage. Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright and quickly urged the mule to run faster. When he turned his head around, he saw that although Liu Yizhou was about twenty, thirty zhang away from the carriage; he did not stop pursuing in large strides, it would not be easy to throw him off. Wei Xiaobao pulled his dagger and lightly poked the mule''s buttocks again. Who would have thought that this time it was not working? The mule jumped up and down several times, suddenly it turned around and ran toward Liu Yizhou.


    "Wrong way! Wrong way!" Wei Xiaobao yelled, "You dirty beast, I feed you but you help my enemy[62]. Now you''re really putting laozi in a bad spot!" With all his strength he tried to pull the reins, but the mule was showing its true nature, how could he pull it back? Seeing the situation was far from good, Wei Xiaobao hastily jumped down from the carriage and ran into a forest by the side of the road.


    With a big leap Liu Yizhou flew on top of him, while stretching out his left hand to grab the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck. Wei Xiaobao stabbed the dagger in his right hand backward, Liu Yizhou used his right hand to press Wei Xiaobao''s arm downward, using the move ''Floating Cloud Running Water'' he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s wrist and bent it backward toward his own arm so that the tip of the dagger was pointing toward Wei Xiaobao''s throat.


    "Little thief!" he shouted, "You still dare to resist me?" ''Slap! Slap!'' with his left hand he slapped Wei Xiaobao''s ears.


    Wei Xiaobao''s wrist was in so much pain; he felt a cool breeze on his throat and knew that his dagger could cut iron like mud, it would shear his throat like cutting a tofu. "Liu Dage," he said, smiling and giggling, "If you want to say something, just say it; we are on the same side, why play rough?"


    Liu Yizhou spat on his face. "Pei! Who''s on the same side with you? You ... you ... you, little thief, you dare to sweet talk and deceive my Fang Shimei in the Imperial Palace, and ... and slept with her on the same bed. This ... this ... I ... I ... I must kill you ..." The blue veins on his forehead were bulging, his eyes looked like they were about to spout fire, his left hand curled into a fist, which he held in front of Wei Xiaobao''s face.


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao realize why Liu Yizhou was that angry, turned out it was because of Fang Yi; but how did he find out? Right now he was facing a ''thousand pounds hanging by a thread'' situation, if he let his anger flared up and he increased the strength of his hand by 5%, a hole would immediately appear on his own throat. Thereupon he said with laugh, "Miss Fang is your sweetheart, how could I dare to be rude to her? In Miss Fang''s heart there is only one man, you. From dawn to dusk, she is only thinking about you."


    Liu Yizhou''s anger immediately abated. "How do you know?" he asked. The dagger was pulled back several cun.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It was only because she asked me to save you that I took you out of the Palace. As soon as she learned that you were out of danger, her joy was indescribable."


    Suddenly Liu Yizhou''s anger flared up again; with a clenched teeth he said, "You, little son-of-a-b1tch, laozi does not want to receive your pity! I don''t care if you saved me or not, but why did you deceive my Fang Shimei into agreeing to marry ... to become your wife?" The dagger advanced several cun.


    "Uh," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can there be such thing? Who told you that? Miss Fang is a ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' type of beautiful woman, only a handsome and established hero like you is fit to marry her!"


    Liu Yizhou''s anger diminished thirty more percent, the dagger withdrew several cun back; he said, "You still want to deny? Fang Shimei has agreed to marry you and be your wife, right?" Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. "What''s so funny?" Liu Yizhou asked.


    "Liu Dage," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Let me ask you: can a eunuch take a wife?"


    Because of his anger, Liu Yizhou had rushed to pursue Wei Xiaobao, without remembering that Wei Xiaobao was a eunuch, and that eunuchs do not marry. Reminded by Wei Xiaobao''s words, his heart was in full bloom, he could not help but burst out in laughter, but he did not release Wei Xiaobao''s wrist. "Then why did you swindle my Fang Shimei into agreeing to marry you?" he asked.


    "Where did you hear that from?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I heard it with my own ears, Fang Shimei was talking to Xiao Junzhu," Liu Yizhou said, "Are you saying they are lying?"


    "Were they talking to each other, or did they tell you?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Liu Yizhou hesitated before replying, "They were talking to each other."


    What happened was that as Xu Tianchuan, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping set off toward Shijiazhuang, they had not travelled far when they came across Wu Lishen, Ao Biao and Liu Yizhou, three people. In the Qing Palace, Wu Lishen, three people were tortured; although their muscles and bones were not seriously injured, their bodies were beaten that their skin was broken and their flesh burst open. They were also on their way to Shijiazhuang, riding on a carriage, to recuperate from their wounds. Meeting each other by chance, they were very delighted. But Fang Yi''s expression when she met Liu Yizhou was entirely different from in the past, other than greeted him with a "Liu Shige" when they met, she was totally indifferent, she did not even pay him any attention.


    Twice, then three times, Liu Yizhou tried to pull her aside so that they could have a heart-to-heart talk, but Fang Yi was unwilling to leave Mu Jianping''s side. Liu Yizhou was both anxious and angry, he pressed on tighter. Fang Yi said, "Liu Shige, from now on the two of us only share the Shixiong, Shimei sentiment, apart from this, don''t mention anything, don''t think anything."


    Liu Yizhou was startled. "Wh ... why?" he asked.


    "Nothing," Fang Yi coldly replied.


    Liu Yizhou pulled her hand and anxiously said, "Shimei, you ..."


    Fang Yi struggled hard to free herself and shouted, "Please show some respect!"


    Suffering a major embarrassment, at the inn that night Liu Yizhou was tossing and turning without able to put his head down to rest. His mood surged, he crawled out quietly toward the window of Fang Yi and Mu Jianping''s room. As expected, he heard the two of them were talking to each other in low voice.


    Mu Jianping said, "You treated Liu Shige like that, wouldn''t you make him broken-hearted?"


    "What can I do?" Fang Yi replied, "The sooner he is broken-hearted, the sooner he will forget me, the sooner he won''t be broken-hearted anymore."


    Mu Jianping said, "Are you really going to marry ... marry that little child Wei Xiaobao? He is so young, can you be his wife?"


    Fang Yi said, "It is you who want to marry this little monkey, therefore, you urge me to treat Shige well, am I right?"


    "No, no, it''s not that!" Mu Jianping hurriedly said, "In that case, you''d better marry Wei Dage sooner."


    Fang Yi sighed and said, "I have made an oath, putting curse on myself; have you already forgotten? That day I said, ''By the Emperor of Heaven above and the Queen of Earth below, if Gui Gong-gong can rescue Liu Yizhou and bring him to safety, the lowly woman Fang Yi will be willing to be Gui Gong-gong''s wife, and will be loyal and dependable to my husband with singleness of heart for the rest of my life, even if Gui Gong-gong cannot take me as wife for real, I am dead set on taking care of him for a lifetime. If I am double-minded, let me be cut into ten thousand pieces and will not be reincarnated.'' I also said, ''Xiao Junzhu is my witness.'' I can''t forget this, you must not forget it either."


    "You did say those words," Mu Jianping said, "But I thought ... I thought that he was only joking, you don''t need to take him seriously."


    Fang Yi said, "I don''t care if he was serious or was only joking, but as women, if we have personally agree to give ourselves to him in marriage, we must never go back on our promise, we must be faithful unto death[63]. Much less ... much less ..."


    "Much less what?" Mu Jianping asked.


    Fang Yi said, "I have thought carefully, even if I can deny the words I said, but he ... he had shared the same bed with the two of us, slept under the same quilt ..."


    Listening from outside the window, Liu Yizhou felt as if his five internal organs were burning, as if the sky was spinning and the earth was turning, his knees went weak. He heard Fang Yi continued, "Actually, although he is young, he can talk smooth, and his treatment to the two of us is not bad at all. This time we part, I wonder when we will see him again."


    Mu Jianping stifled another laugh, with a low voice she said, "Shijie, you miss him!"


    "If I miss him then I miss him, so what?" Fang Yi said.


    "That''s right," Mu Jianping said, "I miss him too. Several times I tried to invite him to come with us to Shijiazhuang, but he always said that he has an important business to attend. Shijie, do you think he was telling the truth, or was he lying to us?"


    Fang Yi said, "When we stopped by for a snack earlier, I overheard him chatting with the carriage driver, he was asking the way to Shanxi. Apparently he is going to Shanxi."


    Mu Jianping said, "He is so young, yet traveling alone to Shanxi; what would happen if he came across bad people along the way?"


    Fang Yi sighed and said, "I was thinking of asking Xu Laoyezi not to escort us, but to escort him instead, but I know Xu Laoyezi would not agree."


    "Shijie," Mu Jianping said, "I ... I think ..."


    "What is it?" Fang Yi asked.


    Mu Jianping sighed. "Never mind," she said.


    Fang Yi said, "Too bad both of us are injured, otherwise, we can accompany him going to Shanxi. Now that we met Wu Shishu, Liu Shige, we cannot go looking for him."


    Listening to this part, Liu Yizhou''s head was dizzy. ''Bang!'' his forehead bumped onto the window frame. "What''s that?" Fang Yi and Mu Jianping asked together.


    Liu Yizhou''s heart was burning with jealousy, it was as if he turned mad; his only thought was, "I must kill that boy, I must kill that boy!" Rushing toward the front courtyard, he pulled a horse, pushed open the inn''s gate, mounted the horse and rushed off. He thought that since Wei Xiaobao was going to Shanxi, he headed to the west.


    Galloping until daybreak, he asked the way to Shanxi, then rushed along the main road in pursuit. Each time he came across a large carriage, he would ask, "Does the one sitting on the carriage happen to be a child?"


    Listening to Liu Yizhou, Wei Xiaobao knew that Liu Yizhou''s knowledge came from listening to Xiao Junzhu and Fang Yi''s conversation, presumably he was eavesdropping; therefore, what he knew must be limited. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Liu Shige, you have fallen into your Shimei''s trick."


    "What trick?" Liu Yizhou asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Miss Fang told me that she wanted to make you mad, because she put her heart and soul to save you, but you did not have her in your heart at all."


    "How ... how can that be?" Liu Yizhou asked anxiously, "How could she say that I do not have her in my heart at all?"


    "You gave her a silver hairpin, didn''t you?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "There was a plum blossom on the head of the hairpin."


    "Yes, yes!" Liu Yizhou replied, "How do you know?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "During the tangled battle in the Palace, she dropped the hairpin, and she seemed very anxious about it. She said that it was given by her sweetheart, so whatever happens she must not lose it, even if she has to stake her life, she must find it."


    Liu Yizhou was taken aback. "She ... she is that good to me?" he muttered to himself.


    "Of course," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can it be false?"


    "And then what happened?" Liu Yizhou asked.


    "You twist my hand like this, I am in great pain," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can I talk?"


    "Alright!" Liu Yizhou said. Hearing Fang Yi''s deep affection toward him, his rage had dissipated for the most part; also, he thought that this child could not escape from his palm anyway, thereupon he released his grip and asked, "And then what happened?"


    Being grasped by him, Wei Xiaobao''s arm went numb and was hurting bad; he slowly put the dagger back into his boot, and saw that there were some red and swollen finger prints on his wrist. "Mu Palace people love to grab other people''s wrist. You are like this, Bai Hanfeng was also like this. The ''Turtle Grasping Technique'' of the Mu Family Fist Technique is very well-developed."


    When saying the ''Turtle Grabbing Technique'', the word ''turtle'' was spoken very obscurely that Liu Yizhou did not hear it clearly, but he did not take any notice anyway; Liu Yizhou asked, "Fang Shimei lost the silver hairpin I gave her, and then what happened?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You have gripped me with your ''Turtle Claw'' that I am unable to breathe easily, I must take a rest before I can tell you anything. In short, whether you can or cannot take Miss Fang as your wife, it involves a great responsibility."


    This time Liu Yizhou could hear the words ''Turtle Claw'' clearly, but his rage stemmed from the fact that Wei Xiaobao has swindled Fang Yi into agreeing to marry him; he really did not care if Wei Xiaobao took advantage of him orally. Also, hearing Wei Xiaobao said, ''Whether you can or cannot take Miss Fang as your wife, it involves a great responsibility'', he was quite concerned; therefore, he said urgently, "Tell me quickly, don''t dawdle."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I must sit down first and slowly rest before I''ll have the energy to talk." Liu Yizhou was helpless; he had no choice but to follow Wei Xiaobao to a big tree by the forest. Seeing Wei Xiaobao sat on the tree roots, he also sat down by his side.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. "What a pity, what a pity," he said.


    Liu Yizhou immediately felt uneasy, "What do you mean ''what a pity''?" he anxiously asked.


    "What a pity your Shimei is not here," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Otherwise, if she could sit side by side with you like this, discussing passion and talking of love with you, she would be very happy."


    Liu Yizhou was greatly delighted, he could not refrain from laughing as he asked, "How do you know?"


    "I heard her personally saying it," Wei Xiaobao said, "That day when she dropped the silver hairpin, she staked her life and braved enormous danger to rush through three palace gates heavily guarded by the Imperial Bodyguards. Although heavily injured, she managed to kill three Qing Palace''s Imperial Bodyguards, until she was finally able to retrieve that silver hairpin back. I said, ''Miss Fang, you were very stupid, it''s just a silver hairpin, how many qian does it worth? I''ll give you a thousand taels of silver; in one breath we can easily find three, four thousand silver hairpins just like it. Even if you wear ten pins every day, different pins each day, in one year, three hundred and sixty days, you will wear new hairpins daily.'' Miss Fang said, ''You are just a kid, what do you know? This is a gift from my dear one, Liu Shige. Even if you give me a thousand pins, ten thousand pins, gold hairpins or pearl hairpins, how can it beat this silver hairpin, or a copper hairpin, or an iron hairpin, which my dear one Liu Shige gave me?'' Liu Dage, tell me, don''t you agree that Miss Fang is muddleheaded?"


    Listening to this, Liu Yizhou was beaming from ear to ear that he could not close his mouth. "Then �� then why did she say different things when she was talking to Xiao Junzhu in the middle of the night?" he asked.


    "You were eavesdropping outside their window in the middle of the night, weren''t you?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Liu Yizhou blushed slightly, he said, "I wasn''t eavesdropping, I wanted to go pee in the middle of the night, and happened to hear them."


    "Liu Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are at fault here. Why didn''t you pee anywhere else, but peed outside Miss Fang''s window? Won''t it stink to high heaven and the stench overwhelm the two ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' ladies?"


    "Yes, yes!" Liu Yizhou said, "And then what did my Fang Shimei say?"


    "My tummy is very hungry," Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t have the energy to talk. Quickly go and buy something for me to eat. Only after I am full that I will tell you those corny, sickening words your Fang Shimei said." He was hoping to swindle Liu Yizhou into agreeing to take him into a small town, so that he could slip away in the crowd.


    "What corny, sickening words?" Liu Yizhou asked, "Fang Shimei has always been very proper, she has never said any corny, sickening words."


    "Fine, she is very proper, she has never said any corny, sickening words," Wei Xiaobao said, "She said ''my dear one Liu Shige''! She also said, ''my considerate and handsome Liu Shige''. Damn it, you may not find it corny and sickening, but I was embarrassed just listening to it. Humph, she was not ashamed to speak those kinds of words."


    Liu Yizhou''s heart was in full bloom, but he said, "It''s impossible, how can Fang Shimei speak those kinds of words?"


    "Fine, fine!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Just consider me speaking incorrectly. Liu Dage, I want to find something to eat, excuse me, I must leave." While speaking, he stood up.


    Listening to his story, Liu Yizhou''s heart was unbearably itchy; how could he let Wei Xiaobao leave? Hastily he gently pushed down Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said, "Wei Xiongdi, don''t leave too quickly! I have brought some flat cake with me as my dry rations. Why don''t you eat it first? After you are done talking, when we get to the town ahead, I will invite you to drink wine and eat some noodles to apologize to you." While saying that, he opened the bundle he carried on his back and took several flat cakes.


    Wei Xiaobao took a cake; he tore a piece and chewed it several times before saying, "This flat cake is neither salty nor sour, what kind of goodies is this? Here, try this for me." And he handed the torn piece of flat cake back to Liu Yizhou.


    Liu Yizhou said, "This cake has hardened, naturally the flavor is not too good. We''ll just have to deal with it to allay our hunger, we''ll talk about it later." While saying that, he tore a piece and ate it.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I wonder how these cakes would taste?" He rummaged through the flat cakes to select one. After flipping around several times, he said, "Damn it, I want to go pee; I will eat later." He went to a big tree nearby, turned his body around, pulled his pants and peed. Liu Yizhou fixed his gaze on him, he was afraid Wei Xiaobao would suddenly run away. After urinating, Wei Xiaobao returned to Liu Yizhou''s side, flipped around the flat cakes again, before finally he picked one, tore a piece, and ate it.


    After pursuing Wei Xiaobao for half a day, Liu Yizhou was very hungry. He also took a piece of flat cake and ate it. While chewing, he said, "Could it be that Fang Shimei and Xiao Junzhu said those things to deliberately annoy me?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am not the roundworm inside your Fang Shimei''s belly, how would I know her real intention? You are her dearly beloved Shige, how come you do not know and ask me instead?"


    "Alright! Alright!" Liu Yizhou said, "I was hot-headed just now and have offended you. Just tell me, don''t keep me in suspense!"


    "Since that''s the case, I will tell you the truth," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Fang Shimei is very good-looking. If I were not an eunuch, I would love to take her as my wife. It''s just that even if I did not take her as my wife, I am afraid it''s not for you to marry her either."


    "Why? Why?" Liu Yizhou anxiously asked.


    "Don''t be impatient," Wei Xiaobao said, "Eat some more flat cake, I will slowly tell you."


    "Damn it," Liu Yizhou cursed, "You are always humming and hawing, keeping me in suspense ..." Speaking to this point, suddenly his body swayed.


    "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao said, "You don''t feel well? I am afraid this flat cake is not too clean."


    "What?" Liu Yizhou asked. He stood up, staggered a circle, and suddenly fell down to the ground.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he kicked Liu Yizhou''s buttocks once and said, "Hey! It''s your own flat cake, how come there is knockout drug inside? It''s very strange." Liu Yizhou made an "Oh" noise, and then lost his consciousness.


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him a couple more times; seeing he was completely motionless, Wei Xiaobao pulled Liu Yizhou''s belt and tied his legs firmly, and then he also tied Liu Yizhou''s hands behind his back. Seeing a large boulder by the big tree, he huffed and puffed to push the boulder away, revealing a hole underneath, with a pile of loose rocks inside. Moving the loose rocks out one by one, he made a hole in the ground about four chi deep. "Laozi will bury you alive today," he said with a laugh.


    Dragging Liu Yizhou to the hole, he stood him up vertically, and then he pushed the dirt and rocks back into the hole. After working steadfastly, he managed to bury Liu Yizhou up to his arm with the dirt, so that only his shoulder and head were exposed. Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He went to a nearby creek, took off his long gown and soaked it in the water, then returning to Liu Yizhou, he wrung the long gown and let the creek water drenched Liu Yizhou''s head.


    Aroused by the cold water, Liu Yizhou slowly regained his consciousness. Temporarily he was still at a loss; he wanted to struggle, but he could not move at all. He saw Wei Xiaobao was sitting in front of him, hugging his knees and chuckling while looking at him. A moment later he finally came to his senses and realized what had happened. He struggled again, but still was not able to move the least bit. He said, "Good Xiongdi, don''t play a joke on me!"


    Wei Xiaobao cursed, "F*ck your mother, Laozi has many important things to do, why would I want to play a joke with a stinky thief like you?" Heavily he kicked again, Liu Yizhou''s right cheek was immediately drenched with blood. Wei Xiaobao cursed again, "Miss Fang is my wife, you are not fit to even think of her. Stinky thief, you twisted Laozi''s hand and hurt me real bad, you slapped my face, and used whip to strike me. Laozi will cut your ears first, and then shear your nose; I will deal with you slice by slice." While saying that, he drew out his dagger, stooped down and run the tip of the blade on Liu Yizhou''s face, twice.


    Liu Yizhou was scared out of his wits; he called out, "Good Xiong ... Wei ... Wei Xiongdi, Wei Xiangzhu, please consider your good relation with the Mu Palace, please raise ... please raise your hand."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "From the Palace I saved you and took you out, but you actually repay my kindness with enmity, unexpectedly you wanted to kill me. Humph, humph, based on your meager ability, you want to move the dust from Taisui''s[64] head? You told me to consider my good relation with the Mu Palace; when you grasped my hand just now, how come you did not consider your good relation with Tian Di Hui?"


    Liu Yizhou said, "Indeed I was mistaken, Zaixia was wrong! Please ... please ... please forgive me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I want to cut three hundred and sixty your mother''s cuts on your head, to vent off the hatred in my heart!" Lifting up Liu Yizhou''s braid, he cut it with his blade. The dagger was extremely sharp, with a ''swish!'' the braid fell down, and then he ran the blade back and forth on Liu Yizhou''s head. In a short period of time, all the hair on Liu Yizhou''s head fell off that he turned into a bald man.


    "Dead bald thief," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "As soon as I see a monk, laozi is angry, I must kill you!"


    Liu Yizhou forced a smile as he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, Zaixia is not a monk."


    "So you are not a damn monk," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Then why did you shave your head clean? Want to deceive Laoye?" [lord or master, referring to self]Liu Yizhou said in his heart, "Clearly it was you who shaved my head? Why do you blame me?" But since his life was in Wei Xiaobao''s hands, he did not dare to argue; he had no choice but to say with a laugh, "A thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes, it''s Xiaoren in the wrong. Wei Xiangzhu Daren is magnanimous, please do not hold it against me."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me ask you then: Fang Yi, Miss Fang, whose wife is she?"


    "This ... this ..." Liu Yizhou stammered.


    "What this or that?" Wei Xiaobao shouted loudly, "Answer it, now!" Raising his dagger, he waved it in front of Liu Yizhou''s face.


    Liu Yizhou thought that a real man should not suffer disadvantage from the outset; this little demon was an eunuch anyway, just let him had small verbal advantages. Otherwise, he might brandish his dagger and then Liu Yizhou would lose a nose or an ear, then it would be bad indeed. Thereupon he busily said, "She ... naturally she is Wei Xiangzhu''s ... she is Wei Xiangzhu''s wife."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "She? She who? Speak up! Laozi cannot understand monks'' mumbling speech."


    Liu Yizhou said, "Fang Yi, Fang Shimei, she is Wei Xiangzhu''s wife."


    "Let me be clear on this," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you or are you not my friend?"


    Hearing the tone of Wei Xiaobao''s voice was slacking, Liu Yizhou was delighted; he hurriedly said, "Xiaoren actually does not dare to pull myself up high. If Wei Xiangzhu is willing to treat Zaixia as a friend, Zaixia ... naturally it is what Zaixia always seek but fail to obtain."


    "I regard you as a friend," Wei Xiaobao said, "In Jianghu, friends always uphold yi qi, right?"


    "Yes, yes," Liu Yizhou busily said, "Good friends should uphold yi qi."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A friend''s wife, you must not touch. If in the future you act like a thief toward my wife, speaking nonsense, then what will happen? I want you make an oath!"


    Liu Yizhou groaned inwardly, he realized he had fallen into Wei Xiaobao''s trick. Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s alright if you don''t want to make an oath. I knew it all along that you are sneaky, always harbor malicious intentions, and with heart and soul you want to take liberties with women, you want to fool around with my wife."


    Wei Xiaobao waved his dagger again, Liu Yizhou saw flickering white light in front of his eyes. "No, no," he hastily said, "Toward Wei Xiangzhu''s wife, Zaixia definitely does not dare to harbor any evil intentions."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If you ever cast one more glance to Miss Fang in the future, speak one more word to her, then what will happen?"


    Liu Yizhou said, "Then ... then let the Heaven punish me, the Earth extinguish me."


    "Then you are a turtle bast@rd!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    With a bitter smile Liu Yizhou said, "Right, right!"


    "Right what?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Your fart is right?" He put the tip of his dagger onto Liu Yizhou''s right eyelid.


    Liu Yizhou said, "If in the future I cast one more glance to Fang Shimei, speak one more word to her, then I am a turtle bast@rd!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. "Since that''s the case," he said, "I''ll spare you. I''ll drench your head with my pee first, then I''ll let you go." Finished speaking, he put the dagger back into his boot, and untied his belt with both hands.


    Suddenly from the forest came a female voice, "You ... you are bullying people too far!"


    Wei Xiaobao recognized it as Fang Yi''s voice; he was pleasantly surprised. Turning his head around, he saw three people come out of the forest; the first to appear was indeed Fang Yi, with Mu Jianping and Xu Tianchuan behind her. A moment later, two more people came out, they were none other than Wu Lishen and Ao Biao.


    These five people had been hiding in the forest for quite a long time; they heard everything Wei and Liu, two people''s conversation. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was about to pee on Liu Yizhou''s head, which would result in deep, unsolvable resentment, Fang Yi could not bear not to shout to stop him.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Turns out you are already here. Looking at Wu Laoyezi''s face, you are exempt from being soaked with urine."


    Xu Tianchuan hurriedly came over and with both hands pushed aside the rocks and dirt surrounding Liu Yizhou''s body. He wrapped his arms around Liu Yizhou and lifted him up, then he untied the belt binding Liu Yizhou''s hands and feet. Liu Yizhou was unbearably ashamed; he lowered his head and did not dare to meet anybody''s eyes.


    Wu Lishen''s face turned ashen as he said, "Liu Xianzhi [worthy nephew], our lives were saved by Wei Xiangzhu, how can you repay kindness with enmity, relying on power to bully the weak? You beat him, your cursed him, and you twisted his arm. If your Shifu find out, how would you explain to him?" He was speaking and shaking his head at the same time, the tone of his voice showed that he was very upset. He continued, "Living in Jianghu, we pay most particular attention to these two characters ''yi qi''; how can you use force toward a good friend, to fight over a woman''s affection? Forgetting favor and violating justice, that was an action even lower than a pig or a dog!" While saying that, ''Pei!'' he spat on the ground. The more he spoke, the angrier he got; he said, "Last night, in the middle of the night, like an explosion of thunder you rushed out, everybody knew something was wrong, thus we went looking for you all the way. You slapped Wei Xiangzhu''s cheek red and swollen, you twisted his arm, you threatened his throat with the tip of a dagger; if you slipped and unexpectedly harmed his life, how would you answer to that?"


    Liu Yizhou indignantly said, "A life for a life, I''ll simply pay for his life with mine."


    Wu Lishen angrily said, "Hey, is it that easy? What kind of hero or warrior are you? Do you think you can pay for one of Tian Di Hui''s ten Xiangzhu, Wei Xiangzhu''s life with yours? Besides, where did you get your life from? Wasn''t it because of Wei Xiangzhu''s help? You are not grateful and seeking to repay the kindness, other people are already looking down on you; unexpectedly you dare to fight Wei Xiangzhu?"


    When he was forced by Wei Xiaobao to make an oath, Liu Yizhou''s life was hanging on Wei Xiaobao''s hand; hence he did not any choice but to comply. But now that he was free, he realized that all these speeches were heard by Fang Yi; the shame and resentment he felt in his heart was indeed difficult to bear. Although Wu Lishen was his martial uncle, listening to his endless prattle in lecturing him, he could not stop his shame from turning into anger. Hardening his heart, he said harshly, "Wu Shishu, what''s done is done. Not even one hair of the one surnamed Wei is injured. You, Senior, can do whatever you want to do to me!"


    Wu Lishen jumped up in anger, pointing his finger to Liu Yizhou''s face he roared, "Liu Yizhou, you are this disrespectful toward your own Shishu. You want to fight me, don''t you?"


    "I did not say that," Liu Yizhou replied, "I am not your match anyway."


    Wu Lishen was even more angry; with a stern voice he said, "If your martial art skill surpasses mine, you are definitely going to fight me, aren''t you? In the Qing Palace you were greedy for life, afraid of death. As soon as you heard we were going to be beheaded, you busily begged for mercy in loud voice, hurriedly announced your real name and surname. Considering Liu Shige''s face, I sealed my lips and did not say anything about this matter. Humph, humph! Just consider yourself lucky you are not my disciple." It was obvious he was saying that if you were my disciple, I would have killed you with a blade.


    Hearing his shameful act as he cowardly begged for mercy in the Qing Palace was exposed, Liu Yizhou hung his head low, his face paled, he did not dare to say anything.


    Knowing that he had gained the upper hand, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, alright. Wu Laoyezi, Liu Dage was only fooling around with me, please don''t take it seriously. I want to ask a favor from you: about the past matter, please don''t tell Liu Laoyezi."


    Wu Lishen said, "Since Wei Xiangzhu has instructed such, I will do as told." Turning his head toward Liu Yizhou, he said, "Did you see that? Wei Xiangzhu is putting important matter first, showing his great magnanimity."


    Wei Xiaobao turned toward Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, he laughed and said, "How did you come here?"


    "Come here," Fang Yi said, "I have something I want to tell you."


    With a giggle Wei Xiaobao came over. Seeing Fang Yi showing that kind of affection toward Wei Xiaobao in front of everybody else, Liu Yizhou''s hand grabbed the handle of his saber; he almost could not restrain himself from pulling the saber, charging forward and fighting Wei Xiaobao to the death. Suddenly he heard a slap, Wei Xiaobao was slapped on the face, a hard and burning slap.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, he jumped back several steps, his hand rubbed his cheek. "You �� why did you hit me?" he angrily asked.


    Fang Yi raised her willow-shaped eyebrows, her face flushed of anger. "What do you take me for?" she angrily said, "What did you tell Liu Shige? You insulted me as frivolous and lowly behind my back?"


    "I did not say any �� any bad words," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You still deny it?" Fang Yi said, "I heard everything. You �� both of you are not good men." In her anger and anxiety, she burst into tears.


    Xu Tianchuan thought that this was young people''s problem, not an important matter at all, but the friendship between Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace must not be harmed; thereupon he laughed aloud and said, "Wei Xiangzhu and Liu Shixiong were just having misunderstanding, which has been straightened up. Old man Xu is starving, let us quickly find a restaurant, let''s eat, drink, and be merry."


    Suddenly a northeasterly wind blew, carrying with it raindrops as big as soybeans. Xu Tianchuan looked up to the sky and said, "For no rhyme or reason the tenth month weather has sent us this rain; it''s really unseemly." Seeing the black clouds rolled in from the northeast, he said, "I am afraid this rain will not be light, we''d better look for a place to take shelter."


    The seven of them continued their journey along the main road heading west. Fang Yi and Mu Jianping had not fully recovered yet, they had to walk slowly. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, while along the way there was not even a farmhouse or a pavilion. Not too long afterwards, all seven of them were completely soaked. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Let us walk slowly. Walking fast, we will look like chicken falling in the soup, walking slow, we will look like duck falling in the soup; there is no difference anyway."


    After walking for quite a while, the seven of them heard the sound of water, they had reached the river bank. They saw about half a li upstream there was a small hut. The seven people were delighted, they hastened toward the hut. When they were near, they saw that the hut was actually a broken-down temple with its wall askew to the east and fell to the west. But although it was broken-down, to take shelter from the rain, this temple was actually better than nothing. The temple gate had already been rotten a long time ago. As soon as they entered, a moldy smell assaulted their nostrils.


    After walking for a while, the wound on Fang Yi''s chest was really hurting; she could not help but knitting her brows and clench her teeth. Xu Tianchuan tore apart several broken-down table and chairs and built fire, so that everybody could dry their clothes. They saw the black clouds in the sky gathered thicker and thicker, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. From his bundle Xu Tianchuan produced several dry flatbreads and handed them around. Liu Yizhou stuffed the stub of what''s left of his pigtail into his hat, it was barely enough to make a braid. With a chuckle Wei Xiaobao looked to the left and to the right.


    With a laugh Mu Jianping asked Wei Xiaobao, "Just now, what trick did you play onto Liu Shige''s flat cakes?"


    Wei Xiaobao stared at her, "I did not!" he said, "What trick can I play?"


    "Humph, still don''t want to admit it?" Mu Jianping said, "How could Liu Shige be hit by knockout drug and lose his consciousness?"


    "He was hit by knockout drug?" Wei Xiaobao said, "When? How come I did not know? It can''t be, isn''t he sitting nicely by the fire to warm himself?"


    "Pei!" Mu Jianping spat; feigning anger, she said, "You play dumb, I won''t talk to you."


    Sitting on the side, Fang Yi was also filled with doubts. When Liu Yizhou grabbed Wei Xiaobao and so on earlier, they were still quite far away, nobody saw it clearly. Afterwards they saw Liu and Wei, two men, were sitting side by side, talking under the tree, hence they quietly walked on tiptoe to hide in the forest. They saw all the flat cakes were taken out by Liu Yizhou from his own bundle, plus Liu Yizhou''s eyes had never left Wei Xiaobao at all, tu guard against him running away. How could it be that in the blink of an eye Liu Yizhou suddenly lose his consciousness and fell down?


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Perhaps Liu Shixiong suffers from epilepsy, suddenly it flared-up and he fainted."


    Liu Yizhou was furious, he suddenly sprang up; pointing his finger to Wei Xiaobao he shouted, "You �� you little ��"


    Fang Yi cast Wei Xiaobao a glance. "Come here," she said.


    "You are going to hit me, I don''t want to come," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You must not say anything bad about Liu Shige," Fang Yi said, "Even young children must cultivate propriety of speech." Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and no longer say anything.


    Seeing twice had Fang Yi stood up for him, Liu Yizhou was very relieved inwardly; he mused, "This little demon is crafty and spoiled, Fang Shimei is actually still very good to me."


    The sky gradually darkened. The seven of them sat around the fire. The broken-down temple was leaking everywhere, very few spots were dry. Suddenly the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head was drenched, water was dripping onto his shoulder; he scooted to the left, but the left side was also wet. "Come here," Fang Yi said, "It''s not leaking over here." After a short pause, she added, "Don''t be afraid, I am not going to hit you." Wei Xiaobao laughed, he moved to her side.


    Fang Yi puckered her lips and whispered on Mu Jianping''s ear, she spoke few sentences in low voice. Immediately Mu Jianping laughed; she nodded, and then also puckered her lips and whispered on Wei Xiaobao''s ear, "Fang Shijie says, she and you are on the same side; just now she hit you, rebuked you, telling you not to offend Liu Shige, she asked if you understand her meaning?"


    Wei Xiaobao also whispered on her ear, "What do you mean ''on the same side''? I don''t understand."


    Mu Jianping passed on his words to Fang Yi. Fang Yi cast a glance to him, then she said to Mu Jianping, "I have made an oath, calling a curse on myself, I am bound by the oath forever. Tell him not to worry."


    Mu Jianping passed on her words to him. Wei Xiaobao then whispered on Mu Jianping''s ear, "Miss Fang and I are on the same side, but what about you?"


    Mu Jianping blushed. "Pei!" she spat, and raised her hand to hit him. Wei Xiaobao laughed while leaning sideways to evade. He repeatedly nodded to Fang Yi. Fang Yi appeared to be smiling, yet she was not smiling; she appeared to be angry, but she was not angry. Illuminated by the fire, she looked unspeakably sweet and pretty. Smelling the faint fragrance coming from these two ladies'' bodies, Wei Xiaobao was very happy.


    Liu Yizhou was sitting quite some distance away from these three people, he craned his neck trying to listen; he vaguely heard ''Liu Shige'' and ''on the same side'', other than those words, he could not hear anything else. Seeing the three of them were laughing and giggling intimately �C obviously they were treating him as an outsider, he could not stop jealousy and hatred from appearing together in his heart.


    Again Fang Yi said in low voice to Mu Jianping''s ear, "Ask him, how did he actually make Liu Shige lost his consciousness?"


    Seeing Fang Yi''s face showed that she was really curious, Wei Xiaobao quietly told Mu Jianping, "When I went peeing, I turned my back against him, my left hand grabbed a handful of knockout drug. When I turned back to check the flat cakes, I applied the drug powder onto the cakes. The cake that I ate, I picked it with my right hand, my left hand did not touch it at all. Do you understand?"


    "So that''s how you did it," Mu Jianping said.


    After she passed on the message to Fang Yi, Fang Yi asked, "Where did you get the knockout drug from?"


    "The Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace gave it to me," Wei Xiaobao replied, "To rescue your Liu Shige, that was the drug that I used." By this time the rain was really heavy, the sound of water crashing down on the roof was so loud that Wei Xiaobao''s lips had to touch Mu Jianping''s ear before his voice could be heard.


    Liu Yizhou was very restless, suddenly he stood up, his back happened to bump heavily on the pillar. ''Crack! Crash!'' suddenly several tiles from the roof above him fell down. This broken-down temple was already decayed; soaked by the heavy rain, blown by the north wind, it was unable to withstand. One after another the beams, tiles, bricks and mortars fell down.


    "Not good," Xu Tianchuan called out, "This temple is about to collapse; everybody out!" All seven of them rushed out of the temple. Before taking several steps, they heard loud rumbling noise as most of the temple''s roof collapsed, followed by almost half of the wall also came down.


    Right this moment, they heard the sound of hooves beat, a dozen or so horses galloped from the southeast and in just a short moment arrived at the temple. In the dark of the night they could see the indistinct shadows of the riders. An old-sounding voice said, "Aiyo, originally there was a small temple in here where we can take shelter from the rain, but unfortunately it has collapsed."


    Another man asked with a loud voice, "Hey, fellows, what are you doing in here?"


    "We were taking shelter from the rain in the temple," Xu Tianchuan replied, "Then this temple collapsed, it almost crushes us to our death."


    "Damn it," another man on horseback cursed, "It''s such a heavy rain, Laotianye [God/Heavens] must be crazy."


    Yet another man said, "Zhao Laosan [ol'' Zhao the third], other than this small temple, is there any other building nearby? Or some caves, maybe?"


    The old-sounding voice replied, "There is �� there is some, but it''s almost as bad as there is not."


    A big man cursed, "Your granny, there is or there is not?"


    "Northwest of this place," the old man replied, "There is a valley with a haunted house in it, there are evil spirits there, nobody dares to enter; isn''t it about the same as there is not?"


    The men on the horseback loudly laughed and swore, "Laozi is not afraid of haunted house. Evil spirits are the best, we can catch some for dessert."


    Another man shouted, "Quickly lead the way! We are not taking a bath, you think it''s nice to soak in this heavy rain?"


    "Gentlemen," Zhao Laosan said, "The old man does not dislike long life, I do not dare to go. I advise you not to go either. Northwest of here, about thirty li away, there is a small town."


    The men on the horseback all said, "This is such a heavy rain, how can we endure it for thirty more li? Just stop talking nonsense, we have strength in numbers, why do we have to be afraid of some ghosts?"


    "Very well," Zhao Laosan said, "Just go northwest, after rounding a bend, follow the mountain road entering a valley, and walk along that path; you can''t possibly miss ��" Without waiting for him to finish, the people urged their horses to gallop toward the northwest. Zhao Laosan was riding a donkey. He hesitated for a moment, and then he pulled the animal''s head and turned it back to the southeast.


    "Wu Er Ge [second older brother], Wei Xiangzhu," Xu Tianchuan asked, "What do we do?"


    "I think ��" Wu Lishen started, but suddenly remembered that it was Wei Xiaobao who should make the decision; thereupon he said, "I am asking for Wei Xiangzhu''s instruction, what should we do?"


    Wei Xiaobao was afraid of ghosts, it''s just that he was unable to say it. He said, "Why don''t Wu Dashu [big uncle] decide? I don''t have any idea."


    "Evil spirit is nothing," Wu Lishen said, "It''s all country folks talking nonsense. Even if there is indeed a ghost, we can stake everything to fight him."


    "Some ghosts are invisible," Wei Xiaobao said, "By the time we can see them, it''s already too late." The implication was clear: he was afraid of ghosts.


    Liu Yizhou loudly said, "Why should we fear demons and ghosts? If we are drenched in this rain for one more hour, everybody will be sick."


    Wei Xiaobao saw Mu Jianping was shivering continuously, obviously it was hard for her to endure. He also did not want to show any weakness in front of Fang Yi, and thus lost to Liu Yizhou, thereupon he said, "Alright, let us go together! If we see evil spirit, we must be careful!"


    Following Zhao Laosan''s direction, the seven of them went northwest and entered the valley. It was dark and they could not see the road, but through the white curtain of falling rain, they saw cascading water in the forest. Wei Xiaobao said, "We can''t see the road, this is called ''Ghost Wall'', the evil spirit is bewitching us."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "That cascading water is the road, water from the mountain is flowing down along the mountain path."


    "Exactly!" Wu Lishen said, while stepping on the waterfall going upward. The rest of them followed behind him going up the hill.


    To the left of them they heard the neigh of the horses, so they knew those dozen or so riders must be on that side. Xu Tianchuan mused, "I wonder what those men''s background is." But he thought that with he and Wu Lishen joined hands, even a dozen or so ordinary martial art masters should not give them any trouble, thereupon he stepped on the water, climbing up and going down into the forest.


    It was even darker inside the forest, they heard the ''Bang! Bang! Bang!'' of a door being knocked straight ahead, so they knew there was indeed a building out there. Wei Xiaobao was scared but delighted, suddenly he felt someone stretching out a hand to pull his hand, the palm of the hand was soft, and then someone whispered gently on his ear, "Don''t be afraid!" It was none other than Fang Yi.


    They heard the knocking continued, but nobody opened the door. The seven of them came near, and saw a wide expanse of a building in the pitch-black night. The riders shouted at the top of their lungs, "Open the door, open the door! We are seeking shelter from the rain!" But even after shouting for a long while, there was not the least bit of response from inside the house. A man said, "Nobody lives here!" Another man said, "Zhao Laosan said it is a haunted house; who dare to live here? Just jump over the wall!" White light flickered, two men unsheathed their weapons and jumped over the wall, and then they opened the gate from the inside. Everybody rushed in.


    Xu Tianchuan thought, "Obviously these men are Wulin people, but apparently their martial art skill is not too high." The seven of them followed in.


    Inside the gate, there was a very big courtyard, further in, there was the main hall. Someone took oilcloth bundle from his pocket, he untied it and took out a fire knife and a flint to light a fire. Seeing a candle on the table in the hall, he lighted it. Suddenly seeing a bright light appeared before their eyes, everybody felt a peal of delight and comfort. They also noticed that the tables, chairs and small side tables in the hall were made of red sandalwood, unexpectedly it was the style of a rich family''s home. Xu Tianchuan mused, "There''s no dust on the furniture, the ground is swept this clean, but how can there be no one in the house?"


    He heard one of the men said, "This hall is very clean, someone must have lived here." Another man raised his voice to call out, "Hello! Hello! Is anybody home? Is anybody home?" The hall was large and the ceiling high, as he shouted, there was a faint echo. When the echo stopped, other than the sound of the rain, all around them there was no other noise. Everybody looked at each other in dismay, they all felt rather strange.


    A white-haired elderly man asked Xu Tianchuan, "Are you all Jianghu friends?"


    "Zaixia surnamed Xu," Xu Tianchuan replied, "These several people are my family and relatives. We are going to Shanxi to visit a family; unexpectedly we came across this heavy rain. Daguanye [high-ranking official master], what is your honorable surname?"


    The elderly man nodded; seeing there was an old man, a boy and a couple of women among these seven people, he did not feel suspicious at all, but he did not answer the question either. He said, "This house is a little bit strange."


    One of the men shouted, "Is there anybody here? Are you all dead?" He waited for a moment, but still nobody replied.


    The elderly man sat on a chair and pointed to six men and said, "The six of you go to the rear and take a look!" The six men pulled out their weapons and went toward the back of the house. Bending down their waists slightly, they walked very slowly inside, their expressions were rather fearful. The people in the hall heard doors being kicked and unceasing shouts of questions, but nothing unusual happened. The noise went farther and farther, obviously the house was enormous, so that for a moment they had not reached the end of it.


    The elderly man pointed to four more men and said, "Go find some firewood and make torches, then follow them inside." The four men complied and left.


    Wei Xiaobao and the others, seven people, were sitting on the ledge of a long window in the hall, nobody said anything. Xu Tianchuan noticed that as ten of the men went inside, there were eight people left in the hall, they all wore cloth gowns, their appearance looked like gang members of some underground gang, or some escorts from an escort agency, except they were not carrying anything to be escorted. For the time being he was unclear of these men''s background.


    Wei Xiaobao could not bear not to ask, "Jiejie, do you think there''s ghost in this house?"


    Before Fang Yi could answer, Liu Yizhou preceded her by saying, "Of course there is a ghost! What place never has anybody die there? When there are dead people, there will be ghosts." Wei Xiaobao shivered, he shrank his body smaller. Liu Yizhou continued, "All malicious ghosts in the world bully the virtuous and fear the wicked, especially confused child. Adults'' yang chi [yang (positive, male) life-force or energy flow] is abundant; hangman ghosts, big-head ghosts, all do not dare to provoke adults."


    Fang Yi stretched out her hand from her sleeve to grab Wei Xiaobao''s left hand; she said, "People are afraid of ghosts, but ghosts are even more afraid of people. As soon as there is light, the ghost will run away."


    They heard footsteps, the six people who went inside first had returned to the hall with very strange expression on their faces; all of them talked at once, "Not a single soul in here, but everywhere is swept clean." "There were beddings on the beds, and shoes under the beds, all women''s." "All the clothes in the wardrobes are also women''s, there is not a single men''s clothing!"


    In a loud voice Liu Yizhou shouted, "Female ghosts! All ghosts in this house are female ghosts!" They all turned their heads to look at him; for a moment, nobody made any noise.


    Suddenly they heard strange shouts of the four men who went in later, the elderly man sprang up from his chair. He was just about to rush inside to their rescue when those four men rushed back into the main hall, the torches in their hands were extinguished; they shouted, "Dead men, a lot of dead men!" Their faces had frightened look.


    Staying calm and collected, the elderly man said, "Much fuss about nothing. I thought you met with the enemy. Dead men; what''s there to be afraid of?"


    "We are not afraid," one man replied, "It''s just �� it''s just bizarre."


    "What''s so bizarre?" the elderly man asked.


    Another man replied, "In the east wing, all the rooms are �� are mourning hall for dead people; I don''t know how many are there."


    The elderly man hesitated and then asked, "Are there any dead bodies and coffins?"


    Two of the men looked at each other, they answered together, "We did not �� did not see clearly, perhaps not."


    The elderly man said, "Light more torches, we will go take a look together. Perhaps this is an ancestral hall, which is very common." Although he tried to play it down, the tone of his voice sounded very apprehensive, apparently he was fully aware that ordinary ancestral hall would not be like this. The men, his subordinates, tore down tables and chairs in the main hall and lighted them as torches, and then they all rushed toward the rear courtyard.


    Xu Tianchuan said, "I''ll go to take a look, everybody, please wait here." And he followed behind the men.


    "Shifu," Ao Biao asked, "Which group [lit. ''way''] do these people belong to?"


    Wu Lishen shook his head, "I can''t see it," he said, "From their accents, it appears that they are people from Lu Dong, east of Shanhai Pass region, they don''t look like eagle claws of the six-leafed gate. Could they be smugglers? But I did not see them carrying any goods."


    Liu Yizhou said, "Nothing serious about that group of men. On the contrary, the large number of female ghosts in this house maybe very difficult to deal with!" Finished speaking, he stuck his tongue out in the direction of Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao shivered, he tightly grip Fang Yi''s hand, his palm was wet with cold sweat. With a trembling voice Mu Jianping said, "Liu �� Liu Shige, can you stop scaring other people?"


    "Xiao Junzhu," Liu Yizhou said, "You do not need to be afraid, you are a golden branch, jade leaf [nobility], any evil spirit sees you, it will go far away, it won''t dare to disturb you. The ones evil spirits detest the most are neither men nor women, court eunuchs." Fang Yi raised her willow-shaped eyebrows, her face carried an angry expression, she was about to speak, but in the end she restrained herself.


    After a long time, they heard footsteps as everybody returned to the main hall. Wei Xiaobao let out a relieved breath. Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, "Seven or eight rooms, a total of more than thirty mourning halls. Each mourning hall has five or six sacrificial offerings, seven or eight memorial tablets. It looks like each mourning hall is dedicated to dead people of one family."


    "Hey, hey," Liu Yizhou said, "Won''t that mean this house has several hundred evil spirits?"


    Xu Tianchuan shook his head; he was an experienced and knowledgeable man, but he had never heard of such a strange thing. A moment later, he slowly said, "The strangest thing is that in front of each mourning hall there was a lighted candle." Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, three people cried out in fear together.


    One of the men said, "When we went in before, the candles were clearly not lighted."


    "Are you sure?" the elderly man asked. The four men looked at each other, they all shook their heads.


    The elderly man said, "It''s not ghost. We are encountering a person of high skill. In an instant he was able to light more than thirty candles on the mourning halls; his movement must be very fast. Xu Laoyezi, don''t you think so?" The last sentence was addressed to Xu Tianchuan.


    Xu Tianchuan feigned ignorance; he said, "Perhaps we have offended the master of this house. There is no harm �� no harm in us going to the mourning hall and �� and kowtow several times."


    Amidst the noise of the rain, from the east wing suddenly came the sound of several women wailing, the voice was very mournful; although the sound of the heavy rain was very loud, these wailings could be heard very clearly. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his mouth was wide open and he was speechless, his countenance changed greatly. Everybody else looked at each other in shock, they were all absolutely horrified. A moment later, from the west wing came the sound of a woman weeping in grief. Liu Yizhou, Ao Biao, as well as two of the men cried out together, "Weeping Ghost!"


    "Humph!" the elderly man snorted; suddenly he said in a loud voice, "We are passing by your residence and stop by to take shelter from the rain, and thus trespass your precious residence. I hereby apologize. Would worthy host be willing to grant this request?" His voice was backed by abundant chi, it could travel very far.


    After a long time, there was not the slightest response from the back. The elderly man shook his head, and then in a loud voice said, "Since the host is not willing to receive uncouth guests, we have no choice but to disturb without permission. We are taking shelter from the rain in this hall. As soon as it is dawn and the rain stops, everybody will hasten on our journey." Finished speaking, he made a hand signal telling everybody not to make any noise, while he inclined his head sideways to listen.


    A long time passed, they no longer heard the sound of wailing or weeping. A man said in low voice, "Zhang Sanye [third master], I don''t care if he is a human or a ghost, come daybreak, we''ll set fire and burn this damn house to the ground."


    The elderly man shook his hand and said, "We have not accomplished our important mission, we must not add another problem. Sit down and rest!"


    Everybody''s clothes was wet, thereupon they built fire in the main hall. Someone took out a wine gourd, pulled the plug and handed it over to the elderly man to drink.


    The elderly man drank several mouthful of wine, then he cast a sidelong glance to Xu Tianchuan for half a day before saying, "Xu Laoyezi, you are all from one family, how come your accents are not the same? You are from the Capital, but these several people are from Yunnan?"


    Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, "Laoyezi has very good hearing, obviously you are a Jianghu veteran. My oldest Meizi [younger sister] got married in Yunnan. This is my Meifu [younger sister''s husband]." He pointed to Wu Lishen, and then continued, "My Meifu and their children are Yunnan people. My second Meizi got married in Shanxi. Southern sky, northern earth [meaning: far apart], for several decades we rarely see each other even for once. This time we are going to Shanxi to visit my second Meizi." When he called Wu Lishen his Meifu, he was actually honoring him. At that time, according to custom of the people of northern China, calling people ''older maternal uncle'' or ''younger maternal uncle'' was considered cursing him.


    The elderly man nodded. He drank another mouthful of wine. Squinting his eyes, he said, "Are you all from Beijing?"


    "Exactly," Xu Tianchuan replied.


    The elderly man said, "Along the way, did you see a thirteen, fourteen years old little eunuch?"


    As soon as he said that, Xu Tianchuan and the others'' heart skipped a beat; fortunately the elderly man had his gaze only toward Xu Tianchuan. But Xu Tianchuan''s face did not reveal anything. Ao Biao and Mu Jianping''s countenances changed, but nobody paid them any attention. Xu Tianchuan said, "Did you say eunuch? In Beijing, old eunuchs, little eunuchs, there are so many of them. As soon as I left home, I would come across several eunuchs."


    The elderly man said, "I asked you if you saw one along the way, not in Beijing."


    Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, "Laoyezi, that is out of question. According to the Great Qing''s rule, when an eunuch leaves the Capital, he is committing a major crime. Court eunuchs are not like during the Ming Dynasty, with full power and prestige; nowadays, which eunuch dares to leave the Capital for even one step?"


    "Oh," the elderly man said, "Perhaps he is in disguise?"


    Xu Tianchuan repeatedly shook his head, "I don''t think he has that kind of guts!" he said. After a short pause, he asked, "Laoyezi, which little eunuch are you looking for? When I return to Beijing after visiting my relatives in Shanxi, I can help you make the inquiry."


    "Humph, humph," the elderly man said, "Thank you very much, but I am not sure if I will live that long." Finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer speak.


    Xu Tianchuan thought, "He is inquiring about a thirteen, fourteen year''s old little eunuch; isn''t that Wei Xiangzhu? These men are not from Tian Di Hui or Mu Palace, eight or nine out of ten, they do not have any good intention, I must investigate clearly. He does not ask further, we must ask him further." Thereupon he said, "Laoyezi, among the little eunuchs in Beijing, only one is very famous. His great name has spread all over the world, I believe you have also heard about him, he is the one who killed that treacherous minister Oboi, the one who set up great merit."


    The elderly man opened his eyes and said, "Mm, are you talking about Xiao Guizi, Gui Gong-gong?"


    "Who else but him?" Xu Tianchuan said, "This man has guts and is very brave, exceptionally skillful in martial arts, he is really amazing!"


    "What does he look like?" the elderly man asked, "Have you seen him?"


    "Ha," Xu Tianchuan said, "This Gui Gong-gong strolls around Beijing streets every day. Among Beijing people, I am afraid only a few have never seen him. This Gui Gong-gong is dark and fat, he is quite a plump fellow, he is at least seventeen, eighteen years old; nobody would take him for a fourteen-year-old."


    Fang Yi''s hand, which was holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand tightened; Mu Jianping gently nudged his back with her elbow, they were laughing in their hearts. At first Wei Xiaobao was afraid of the ghosts, but as he heard the elderly man inquiring about himself, he was so busy scheming in his heart that he forgot his fear of the ghosts.


    "Is that right?" the elderly man said, "What I heard is quite different. I heard this Gui Gong-gong is only thirteen, fourteen-year-old little boy, very crafty and smart; perhaps he looks 30% like your nephew [orig. wai sheng - sister''s son or wife''s sibling''s son]. Ha ha, ha ha!" While saying that, he looked at Wei Xiaobao.


    Liu Yizhou suddenly said, "I heard that Xiao Guizi is despicable and shameless; all he can do is using the knockout drugs. He was able to kill Oboi, because he had used the drug first, otherwise, this little thief is a coward and afraid of ghosts, how could he succeed in killing Oboi?" Turning to Wei Xiaobao, he chuckled and said, "Cousin [orig. biaodi - younger maternal cousin], don''t you agree?"


    Wu Lishen was angry; he sent a backhand palm toward Liu Yizhou''s face. Liu Yizhou lowered his head to evade, his left foot sprang, his body rose up. Wu Lishen''s backhand palm strike was the move ''jade fowl spreading its wings'', Liu Yizhou''s dodging and springing up was the move ''golden horse neighing into the wind''; both styles belonged to the Mu Family Fist Technique. One struck rapidly, the other dodged quickly, unwittingly they both used their school''s unique skills.


    The elderly man surnamed Zhang suddenly sprang up and said with a laugh, "Good! You all disguise yourselves really well!" As soon as he stood up, the dozen or so of his men also sprang up. The elderly man barked his order, "Take them all! Don''t let even a single one escape!"


    Wu Lishen pulled out a short saber from his bosom, his big head shook to the left, he hacked down a man, he shook to the right, the saber cut another man''s throat, sending him down to the ground.


    The elderly man drew a pair of judge-pens from his waist; brandishing them together, the pens made swishing noise. The left-hand pen pointing toward Wu Lishen''s throat, the right-hand pen moved toward the pit of Xu Tianchuan''s stomach. With one move attacking two people, his movement was very fast.


    Xu Tianchuan dashed to the right, his left hand clawed a man''s eyes. As the man tossed his head back to evade, the saber in his hand was snatched away, suddenly he felt sharp pain on his waist as his own saber had penetrated his own belly. On the other side, Ao Biao was fighting with a man. After hesitating slightly, Liu Yizhou untied his flexible whip and charged forward to join the battle.


    Although the other side had more people, the elderly man was the only one who could face Wu Lishen in an evenly matched battle, the rest of them only had mediocre martial art skill. Wei Xiaobao could see this small advantage clearly; he thought, "As long as I don''t come across that old tortoise, I might be able to handle the rest of them." Holding the dagger in his hand, he wanted to charge forward.


    Fang Yi pulled his back and said, "Our victory is decided, you don''t have to help."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I know our victory is decided, which was why I went forward. If we would definitely be lost, why would I wait here and not run away quickly?"


    Suddenly they heard several swishing noise in succession, the elderly man had jumped to the side, the pair of judge-pens in his hands were rubbing against each other, the men under his command quickly squeezed behind him, very soon they had formed a square. With only several steps these men were able to move into position; more than a dozen men moved together without pushing each other, or colliding with each other, an indication that they had been trained very well and had spent a lot of time in this formation.


    Xu Tianchuan and Wu Lishen were startled, they withdrew several steps back. Ao Biao charged forward courageously. Suddenly from the square formation four sabers went out together, two hacked toward his shoulder, two hacked toward his leg; the coordination was really ingenious. Simultaneously, two spears coming out of the formation to meet Ao Biao''s saber. "Ah!" Ao Biao cried out, his shoulder was hit by a saber.


    "Biao''er, step back!" Wu Lishen called out anxiously. Ao Biao leaped backward to evade. In the blink of an eye, victory or defeat was suddenly reversed.


    Xu Tianchuan stood in front of Wei Xiaobao and the two ladies to protect them; he was watching carefully how their opponents were using this formation. He saw the elderly man raised the judge-pen in his right hand and loudly called out, "Hong Jiaozhu won''t be old for ten thousand years, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune! His long-life is the same as the Heaven''s, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!"


    The dozen or so of his men raised their weapons together and cried out, "Hong Jiaozhu''s long-life is the same as the Heaven''s, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!" Their voices shook the roof-tiles; they appeared as if they were possessed.


    Xu Tianchuan was aghast; he was wondering what kind of trick they were playing. As Wei Xiaobao heard the three words ''Hong Jiaozhu'', he suddenly remembered Tao Hongying''s terrified expression when she was mentioning those words. He blurted out, "Shen Long Jiao! They are from Shen Long Jiao!"


    The elderly man''s countenance changed. "You also know Shen Long Jiao''s reputation!" he said. Lifting high his right hand, he shouted, "Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive. Our Cult triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold we cannot overcome, no opponent we cannot broken down. The enemy flees at mere distant sight, they will escape without a trace."


    As Xu Tianchuan and the others heard each sentence, their heart trembled. They thought that these people''s action was totally weird, they had never seen anything like this before; facing the enemy, unexpectedly they recited some sentences in loud voice.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "These men chanting incantations, don''t fall into their trick! Everybody charge forward to kill!"


    They heard the elderly man and his men were chanting quicker and quicker; it was no longer the elderly man chanted one verse and his men followed one verse, but those more than a dozen men were chanting together, "Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power protects and blesses, his disciples'' courage increases a hundredfold, one can fight a hundred, a hundred can fight ten thousand. Hong Jiaozhu''s divine eyes are like lightning, illuminating four directions. Our disciple who kills the enemy and protects the Cult, Hong Jiaozhu considers him to be his kin, promotes him into the priesthood. Our disciple who dies in protecting the Cult will rise into the paradise!" Suddenly, with a loud shout they charged forward.


    Wu Lishen, Xu Tianchuan and the others raised their weapons to meet the attack, but unexpectedly this time these men''s martial art had advanced greatly; each hack of the saber, each thrust of the spear, was several times stronger than before. Like fools or mad people, they brandished their weapons randomly. Not too long afterward, Ao Biao and Liu Yizhou were cut down. One by one Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were also thrown down. Fang Yi suffered a leg injury, while Mu Jianping was wounded on her arm. Wei Xiaobao''s back was also stabbed by a spear, luckily he was protected by his treasured vest, so that the spear did not enter his body; however, the incoming force was too heavy that he was unable to withstand and tumbled down to the ground. Before long, one after another Wu Lishen and Xu Tianchuan were also wounded. The elderly man stretched out his finger and successively sealed the vital acupoints on their bodies.


    The men shouted together, "Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!" Finished shouting, they suddenly sat down together. Sweats gushed out of each man''s forehead like spring, their breathing was heavy, as if they were utterly exhausted. In this battle, victory or defeat was decided in less than the time needed to drink a cup of tea, but it was as if these men had fought a hard battle for several hours.


    Wei Xiaobao groaned silently; he thought, "Turns out these people know witchcraft, no wonder when mentioning Shen Long Jiao, Tao Gugu was so frightened like that. Indeed their magical power is extensive."


    The elderly man sat on a chair and closed his eyes to regain his composure. It was quite a while later that he finally stood up. After wiping the perspiration on his forehead, he then paced back and forth in the main hall. Quite a while later, his men started to stand up one by one.


    The elderly man turned toward Xu Tianchuan and the others and said, "All of you recite after me together! Listen up, I recite a sentence, you follow a sentence. Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!"


    Xu Tianchuan cursed, "Demonical crooked people, dress up as God, play the devil; you want laozi to follow you playing tricks? In your mother''s clear autumn night''s dream!" The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike Xu Tianchuan''s forehead. ''Bang!'' blood gushing out from the wound. Xu Tianchuan cursed, "Dog thief, sorcerer!"


    The elderly man asked Wu Lishen, "Are you going to recite or not?" Wu Lishen shook his head before answering. The elderly man raised his judge-pen again to strike his forehead.


    When he asked Ao Biao, Ao Biao cursed, "Your granny''s long-life is the same as the dog''s!"


    The elderly man was furious, his judge-pen struck down powerfully, Ao Biao immediately fainted. Wu Lishen shouted, "Biao''er is a real man! You who only know how to use witchcraft, damn it, if you have guts, just kill us all."


    The elderly man raised his judge-pen and asked Liu Yizhou, "Are you going to recite or not?"


    "I ... I ... I ..." Liu Yizhou stammered.


    "Say it," the elderly man said, "Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!"


    Liu Yizhou said, "Hong Jiaozhu''s ... Hong Jiaozhu''s ..."


    The elderly man lightly poked Liu Yizhou''s forehead with the tip of his judge-pen; he shouted, "Quickly recite it!"


    "Yes, yes," Liu Yizhou said, "Hong Jiaozhu''s ... Hong Jiaozhu''s long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!"


    The elderly man laughed aloud and said, "Finally, someone who knows how to take advantage of this matter. You, this kid, may receive less pain." Walking toward Wei Xiaobao, he shouted, "Little demon, recite after me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t need you to recite."


    "What?" the elderly man angrily said. He raised his judge-pen.


    In loud voice Wei Xiaobao recited, "Wei Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune. Wei Jiaozhu triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold Wei Jiaozhu cannot overcome, no opponent Wei Jiaozhu cannot broken down. Wei Jiaozhu elevates everybody, everybody will ascend to paradise ..."


    When saying ''Wei Jiaozhu'', the word ''Wei'' was spoken vaguely, it was no more than a grunt from his nostril actually; but the elderly man did not realize he was playing a trick, he thought Wei Xiaobao was saying ''Hong Jiaozhu''. Hearing Wei Xiaobao recited several lines in succession, he laughed aloud and praised him, "This child is exceptionally smart." He walked over to Fang Yi and put his hand on her chin, saying, "Hmm, this little girl''s appearance is not bad. Now repeat after me nicely."


    Fang Yi turned her head around. "I won''t recite!" she said.


    The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike, but when he saw her beautiful face under the candle light, he could not bear to do it, so he aimed the tip of the pen to her cheek and loudly said, "Are you going to recite or not? If you say ''I won''t recite'' one more time, I am going to draw three lines on your cheek."


    Fang Yi stubbornly refused to recite, but she did not dare to say those words ''I won''t recite'' out loud. "Are you going to recite or not?" the elderly man asked again.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me recite it for her. I guarantee it will be more pleasant to hear than if she is reciting it herself."


    "Who ask you to recite for her?" the elderly man said. Raising his judge-pen, he struck Fang Yi''s forehead.


    "Ah!" Fang Yi cried out in pain.


    Suddenly someone laughed and said, "Zhang Sanye, if this little girl does not want to recite, we can strip her clothes." The rest of the men cried out together, "Wonderful, wonderful! That''s a great idea."


    Liu Yizhou suddenly said, "Why would you want to bully this girl? You want to find the little eunuch, I know where he is."


    "Do you?" the elderly man hastily asked, "Where is he? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly!"


    Liu Yizhou said, "You must promise not to bother this miss, I will tell you. Otherwise, even if you kill me, I won''t say anything."


    "Shige," Fang Yi sharply said, "I don''t need you to care about me."


    The elderly man laughed. "Alright," he said, "I promise you I won''t bother this miss."


    "You have to keep your words," Liu Yizhou said.


    The elderly man said, "What I say, naturally the man surnamed Zhang will keep it. That little eunuch is the one who killed Oboi, the one most favored and trusted by the Emperor, Xiao Guizi. Do you really know where he is?"


    Liu Yizhou said, "Far in the horizon, but close in front of your eyes!"


    The elderly man jumped up; pointing to Wei Xiaobao he said, "Is ... is ... is it him?" His face showed a mixture of surprise and delight.


    Fang Yi said, "He is such a child, how can he kill Oboi? Don''t listen to his nonsense."


    Liu Yizhou said, "That''s right, if he did not use knockout drug, how could he kill the number one warrior of Manchuria, Oboi?"


    The elderly man was half believing, half doubting; he asked Wei Xiaobao, "Did you or did you not kill Oboi?"


    "What if I did?" Wei Xiaobao said, "And what if I did not?"


    "Your granny," the elderly man cursed, "When I looked at you, I knew this little demon is rather demonical. Search him first, we''ll talk later."


    Two of his men immediately stepped forward and untied the bundle Wei Xiaobao carried on his back; they set each article on the table. The elderly man saw pearls, gold and jade, and all kinds of valuables. "This is definitely the goods from the Imperial Palace," he said, "Uh �� what is this?" He picked a thick wad of banknotes, and saw that each note worth either five hundred taels or one thousand taels; altogether there were no less than several hundred thousand taels. He could not help but was stupefied; he said, "Definitely not wrong, you �� you are Xiao Guizi. Take him to the room that side of the building to be interrogated."


    Fang Yi anxiously said, "Don''t �� don''t make things difficult for him." ''Wah!'' Mu Jianping broke out and cried.


    A man grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao neck, two men picked the valuables from the table, another man took the candlestick and led them all toward the eastern wing of the rear courtyard. The elderly man waved his hand and said, "All of you get out!" The four men left the room and closed the door behind them.


    Beaming with joy, the elderly man did not stop rubbing his hands together while he paced back and forth along the room. He said with a laugh, "Seeking around until the iron shoes are worn out but fail to find, without spending any effort the result is obtained. Xiao Guizi Gong-gong, to be able to meet you here today, it is indeed the good fortune of three lifetimes."


    Wei Xiaobao also said with a laugh, "Zaixia can meet Laoyezi here today, it is indeed the good fortune of six lifetimes, nine lifetimes." He thought that since they had already searched through his belongings, denying would be useless; he had to act according to the situation and see if he could get by using deceit.


    The elderly man was startled; he asked, "What good fortune of six lifetimes, nine lifetimes? Gui Gong-gong, is your honorable self on your way to the Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai?"


    Wei Xiaobao could not help but was shocked. "This old turtle knew everything," he thought, "He won''t be easy to cope with." Thereupon he chuckled and said, "Not only Sire''s martial art skill excels, your skill in casting spells also surpasses Maoshan Daoshi[65]. Your Shen Long Jiao''s reputation is spread all over the world, indeed there is a reason behind it. Zaixia has already heard about it a long time ago, today I can see it with my own eyes, it is worthy of my utmost admiration." He spoke whatever came into his mind to change the subject, ignoring the original question altogether.


    The elderly man asked, "Where did you hear about Shen Long Jiao''s reputation?"


    "Uh, how did you know?" the elderly man asked in amazement.


    Wei Xiaobao was spouting nonsense, as long as he thought it had some connection with Shen Long Jiao, he would mention it. But his mind was racing fast, he said, "This Liu Dajie''s friendship with me is really not bad. Once she offended the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager wanted to kill her, luckily I put an effort to save her, I hid her under my bed. The Empress Dowager was looking for her everywhere in the Palace, but could not find her. This fat Dajie was very grateful for my kindness in saving her that she persuaded me to join Shen Long Jiao. She said that Hong Jiaozhu is very fond of children like me, he would surely give me great benefits in the future."


    "Um," the elderly man was more convinced, he asked, "Why would the Empress Dowager want to kill Liu Yan? Aren''t they �� aren''t in a very good term with each other?"


    "Yes, they are," Wei Xiaobao said, "They are actually Shijie, Shimei. Why would the Empress Dowager want to kill Liu Dajie then? Liu Dajie said that it was a very top secret; she did tell me, but I have promised her I will never reveal the secret, therefore, I cannot tell you about it. Anyway, just recently, to the Empress Dowager''s Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful came a man disguised as a woman, a fake palace maid. This man''s head is bald ��"


    "Deng Bingchun?" the elderly man blurted, "You also know when Deng Dage entered the Palace?"


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao had no idea that the fake palace maid was called Deng Bingchun, but his face showed an all-knowing expression; with a smile he said, "Zhang Sanye, this is top secret, you must never reveal it in front of anybody else. Otherwise, all hell will break loose. It''s alright for you and me to talk about it, but if there were a third person in here, even if he was your most trusted aide, you absolutely cannot breathe a single word. If this matter is exposed and Hong Jiaozhu is angry, I am afraid even you yourself will have to face an enormous trouble."


    He had lived in the Palace long enough to know that in the imperial court and in the Palace, divulging a secret was a major crime; the heaviest punishment would be beheading and confiscation of the family''s property, the lightest punishment would be forever losing the opportunity to advance in his career. For this reason, everybody was very secretive, sneaky, appeared to be shrouded in profound mystery, on the surface they pretended to know everything, it''s just that it was inconvenient to tell you. When he used this trick on that old man surnamed Zhang, as expected, it was like ''setting up a pole and see the shadow'' [instant effect], he got the desired effect on the spot. Within the clan, society, cult and sect of the Jianghu, the way the superiors control the subordinates was actually no different than the imperial court, the different was just in the degree of finesse with which that control was executed.


    As soon as the elderly man heard those words, he was secretly alarmed and afraid, thinking, "How can I be this careless, that I tell this kind of matter to a kid? I must not spare this kid, when this important matter is done, I must kill him to shut his mouth." He could not help but looked embarrassed. Forcing a laughed, he asked, "What did you talk about with our Deng Shixiong?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "What I talked about with Deng Shixiong is exactly what he wanted me to report to Hong Jiaozhu. When I see Jiaozhu in the future, naturally I will make a detail report to him."


    "Yes, yes," the elderly man said. He was frightened by Wei Xiaobao putting on airs like that, yet he was not sure about this child''s origin, thereupon he put on an amiable manner and said, "Xiao Xiongdi, you are going to Mount Wutai, naturally to meet Deputy Chief Rui Dong, is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "He knew I am going to Mount Wutai, he also knew the Rui Dong affair; he definitely got this information from the old wh0re. The old wh0re called that bald fake palace maid as Shixiong, that bald man was an important personage of Shen Long Jiao, turns out the old wh0re is ganging up with the Shen Long Jiao. Laozi has fallen into their hands, indeed I''ve gone through nine deaths and still alive, went through eighteen death and half alive [narrow escape]." He faked an amazed expression, "Uh," he said, "Zhang Sanye, your news is actually very quick, you even know about Deputy Chief Rui."


    The elderly man smiled and said, "I also know about someone whose background is ten thousand times more important than Deputy Chief Rui."


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Bad, it''s bad! The old wh0re told him everything. Other than Emperor Shunzhi, whose background is ten thousand times more important than Rui Dong?"


    The elderly man said, "Xiao Xiongdi, you don''t need to conceal anything from me. You are going up Mount Wutai, are you acting under someone else''s order, or are you going on your own initiative?"


    "I am an eunuch in the Palace," Wei Xiaobao said, "If I am not acting under someone else''s order, how can I dare to leave the Capital? Do you think I dislike having a long life?"


    "If that''s the case," the elderly man said, "Was it His Majesty who sent you?"


    Wei Xiaobao pretended he was surprised greatly. "His Majesty?" he said, "Did you say His Majesty? Haha, this time your source of information is inaccurate. How would His Majesty know about Mount Wutai?"


    "If not His Majesty, then who sent you?" the elderly man asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Go ahead, guess."


    The elderly man said, "Could it be the Empress Dowager?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Sure enough Zhang Sanye is good, one guess and you got it. In the Palace, those who know about Mount Wutai are only two people and a ghost."


    "Two people and a ghost?" the elderly man repeated.


    "Precisely," Wei Xiaobao said, "Two people: one is the Empress Dowager, the other is Zaixia. The ghost is Hai Dafu, Hai Laogong. He was killed by the Empress Dowager using the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''."


    The muscles on the elderly man''s face twitched; he said, "Transforming Bones Soft Palm, Transforming Bones Soft Palm. Turns out it was the Empress Dowager who sent you. But what does the Empress Dowager want you to do?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The Empress Dowager and you are on the same side, there is no harm in you asking her, the Senior."


    If these words were said as soon as they entered the room, the elderly man would most likely slap Wei Xiaobao on the ear; but after hearing Wei Xiaobao''s explanation earlier, his mind was confused and undecided. He muttered to himself, "Hm, the Empress Dowager sent you to Mount Wutai."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Empress Dowager said that she has already sent someone to report to Hong Jiaozhu about this matter, and Hong Jiaozhu has given his complete endorsement. The Empress Dowager instructed me to do this mission well, and then she will reward me handsomely, Hong Jiaozhu might also reward me with great benefit." He repeatedly mentioned ''Hong Jiaozhu'', three characters, since he knew the old man in front of him was extremely afraid of Hong Jiaozhu; he only needed to allude that Hong Jiaozhu held a very high regard of himself, then the old man would not dare to harm him.


    With such a bluff, although the elderly man was skeptical, he would still rather believe than disbelieve; he asked, "Those six people outside, are they your subordinates, your attendants?"


    "All of them are from the Palace," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The two ladies are palace maids, the Empress Dowager''s personal attendants. The four men are Imperial Bodyguards, the Empress Dowager sent them out to help me on this mission. They don''t know anything about Shen Long Jiao. This kind of secret information, naturally the Empress Dowager would not tell them ��" Speaking to this point, he noticed that the elderly man''s face showed a sneer; he knew something was not right. "What is it?" he asked, "You don''t believe me?"


    With a cold laugh the elderly man said, "Yunnan''s Mu Family people are loyal to the previous Ming Dynasty, how can they enter the Palace and be Imperial Bodyguards? When you tell a lie, you should have consistency."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. The elderly man asked in consternation, "What are you laughing about?" He had never imagined that when his lie was exposed, when it was hard for him to justify himself, oftentimes Wei Xiaobao would laugh, so that the other side would feel that surely it was they who were completely mistaken, that they were being na?ve and ridiculous. Now that their hearts had been emptied, when Wei Xiaobao continued to cover up a lie, the other party would not dare to press excessively.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed several times and then said, "The one people of Mu Palace hate the most is neither Empress Dowager nor His Majesty. But I am afraid you don''t know anything about it."


    "How can I not know?" the elderly man said, "The one people of Mu Palace hate the most is naturally Wu Sangui."


    Wei Xiaobao feigned astonishment. "Amazing," he said, "Zhang Sanye, I won''t conceal anything from you: the Mu Palace people are willing to work for the Empress Dowager for the purpose of having Wu Sangui executed along with his entire family unto the third generation, that even chicken and dogs of the Ping Xi Wang Mansion will not be spared. Let''s not mention there are Mu Palace people in the Imperial Palace, do you think they do not have people planted in the Ping Xi Wang Mansion? It''s just that this matter is a top secret; you and I are on the same side, so it''s alright for me to tell you, but you must never leak this secret out."


    The elderly man nodded. "So that''s how it is," he said. But in his heart he only believed 30% after all; he pondered, "I''d better ask the people outside, see if their confession matches with his. Asking that little girl is the best, it''s easier to get the truth from little kids." Immediately he turned around, pushed the door and walked out.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed. "Hey, hey," he called out, "Where are you going? This is a haunted house, how �� how can you leave me alone in here?"


    "I will be back shortly," the elderly man replied. Closing the door behind him, he went to the main hall in quick steps.


    Wei Xiaobao''s palms were clammy. The candlelight flickered, making the shadows on the white wall trembled continuously, as if each shadow was a specter. All around him not a sound was heard.


    Suddenly, from the outside came a man was shouting loudly, "Where are you all going?" It was precisely the elderly man''s voice. Wei Xiaobao was originally very frightened, after hearing the elderly man''s voice was filled with terror, he was so scared that he almost pass out. "Have they �� have they all disappeared?" he called out.


    He heard the elderly man loudly calling out again, "Where are you? Where have you gone?" As soon as these two sentenced were finished, silence fell.


    After a while, Wei Xiaobao heard someone rushing toward him; he heard the noise of doors being kicked open one by one, and then that elderly man crashed into the room. Wei Xiaobao screamed. He saw the elderly man''s man face was devoid of any color, his eyes were bulging out, as he breathlessly said, "They �� they are �� are gone."


    "They �� they must be captured by the malicious ghosts," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us �� let us run away quickly!"


    "This is not happening," the elderly man said; his left hand held on to the table for support, the table was creaking, obviously in his heart he was quite frightened. He turned around and walked back to the door, opened the door wide and shouted, "Where are you? Where are you?" And then he stopped and cocked his head to listen, but in the quiet night all they could hear was the sound of several women weeping. He was at a loss of what to do, he stood at the threshold for a moment, and then took several steps backward, closed the door, picked up the door bolt and bolted the door from the inside. He saw Wei Xiaobao''s round little eyes revealed dread, as he could not take his gaze off the elderly man. He saw he was clenching his teeth, his face alternated between blue and white.


    The heavy rain had stopped for a moment. Suddenly, there was an intermittent downpour sprinkled the roof, making a ''shua, shua'' noise. "Ah," the elderly man exclaimed, and sprang up. It was a moment later that he finally said, "It''s �� raining �� raining again."


    Suddenly from the main hall came a soft woman''s voice, "Zhang Laosan [ol'' Zhang the third], come out!" Although the voice did not sound old, it was not tender and lovely either; definitely it did not belong to either Fang Yi or Mu Jianping. The voice still carried three parts of sadness and shrill.


    "Female ghost!" Wei Xiaobao whispered.


    The elderly man loudly said, "Who''s calling me?"


    No answer from the outside. Other than the pitter patter of the rain, there was no other noise. The elderly man and Wei Xiaobao looked at each other in dismay. The hair on both men''s bodies stood up.


    After quite a while later, the same woman''s voice called out again, "Zhang Laosan, come out!"


    The elderly man mustered his courage. He kicked with his left foot, ''bang!'' the door flew outward, the door bolt was still hanging on the door frame. He hacked down with his right palm, ''crack!'' the bolt broke in the middle; and then he walked out. "Don''t go out!" Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, but the elderly man had already rushed toward the main hall.


    As soon as the elderly man left, silence fell once again; there was no sound of cursing or fighting, not even the sound of footsteps was heard. A burst of cold breeze blew from outside, carrying quite a bit of rain with it, most of it fell on Wei Xiaobao''s body. He shuddered from cold. He wanted to open his mouth and shout, but did not have enough courage to do so. ''Bang!'' suddenly the door was blown by the wind, it hit the door frame and immediately swung back out.


    Wei Xiaobao was the only one left in this haunted house, naturally there were also quite a number of malicious ghosts, who could come into the room to strangle him death anytime. Fortunately, after waiting for a long, long time, no evil spirit had ever entered the room. Wei Xiaobao comforted himself, "Oh, that''s right! Evil spirits only harm grownups, they won''t harm children. Perhaps they have eaten many people and are full already. If it''s daylight, it would be better!"


    Suddenly another burst of cold wind blew in, the candle flickered and died. Wei Xiaobao screamed. He could feel that there was a ghost in the room. He knew the ghost was standing right in front of him; although it was pitch-black and he could not see a thing, he was very sure that the ghost was standing right there.


    The ghost coldly said, "You don''t need to be afraid, I won''t harm you." It was a female ghost''s voice.


    Hearing these ten words, Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was aroused; he said, "You said you won''t harm me, you can''t possibly harm me. A real man''s word is like a mountain, if you harm me, then you are in the wrong."


    The ghost coldly said, "I am not a ghost, neither am I a real man. I am asking you: that arrogant official of the imperial court, Oboi, was it really you who killed him?"


    "You are really not a ghost?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Are you Oboi''s enemy, or his friend?"


    After he asked that question, the other side did not say anything. Temporarily Wei Xiaobao could not decide how he was going to answer her question. If the other side was Oboi''s enemy, the ''enemy ghost'', being straightforward and admit it would be best; but if she was Oboi''s close relative, the ''family ghost'', would it be really bad if he admit it? In that instant, his gambler instinct flared up; he thought, "Whether it will be ''big'' or ''small'', I will have to bet a treasure. If I bet correctly, she will regard me as Da Laoye [big master]. If I bet wrong, I will lose everything, including my life!" Thereupon with a loud voice he said, "Damn it, Oboi was indeed killed by laozi; what do you want? Laozi stabbed him with a dagger on his back, he immediately went to see Yan Wang. If you want revenge, just make your move. If laozi ever knit my brows, I am not a hero or a warrior."


    The woman coldly asked, "Why did you kill Oboi?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If you are Oboi''s friend, it would still be useless if I shift the blame to the Emperor, you won''t spare me anyway. Since I have already placed my bet, if I lose, laozi will lose everything, but if I win, I will gain everything." With a loud voice he said, "Oboi killed innumerable good people under the heavens, although laozi is young, my heart is filled with anger. It so happened that he offended the Emperor; I seized the opportunity to kill him. A real man is fully responsible of his action. Let me tell you this: even if that dog thief Oboi did not offend the Emperor, I would still look for an opportunity to surreptitiously make my move to take revenge and wipe out a grudge on the behalf of common people under the heavens who suffer hardship and calamity under his hands."


    He learned these words from Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall people. Actually, the reason he killed Oboi was simply following Kangxi''s order; ''taking revenge and wiping out a grudge on the behalf of common people under the heavens who suffer hardship and calamity under his hands'' and so on did not even register in his mind.


    After he spoke those words, the woman in front of him fell silent without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping madly; he was wondering if he was betting correctly or not. After waiting for a long time, he thought he heard a light breeze. The woman, whom he was still unsure whether she was a ghost or not, had already floated out of the room.


    Wei Xiaobao tried to rock his body several times, but his acupoint was sealed, he was unable to move at all. "Damn it," he mused, "The dice have been rolled, but the lid has not been lifted. Won''t it make me hung in suspense?"


    Just now he was following his impulse and thought that in this high-stake gambling, he would not care about winning or losing; but now that he had calmed down, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that the woman talking to him a moment ago was a ghost and not a human. She was a female ghost, Oboi was a male ghost; most likely those two ghosts had something dubious between them. Those two were most probably ''fellow ghosts'' [zi ji gui, see my note above], who were ''opponent ghosts'' to Wei Xiaobao; something was really wrong here.


    The double-door was blown by the wind and banging against each other, the clothes on his body had not yet dried, the cold wind blew intermittently, he could not help but shivered.

 Chapter - 17 (17)

    Wei Xiaobao handed over the gift one by one, while attentively looking at each monk''s face. But after he finished handing over more than fifty sets of gifts, he could not find even a single monk with one or two part resemblance to the young emperor.


    Suddenly a beam of light appeared some distance away, coming slowly toward the room. Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed, "Ghost light, ghost light!" he said in his heart. The light was coming closer and closer, turned out it was a lantern, carried by a female ghost wearing white clothing. Wei Xiaobao hastily closed his eyes. He heard the intermittent sound of footsteps, which stopped right in front of him.


    He was so scared that he did not dare to breathe, his whole body trembled, but he heard a young girl''s voice laughing. "Why are you closing your eyes?" she asked. Her voice was gentle, soft and pleasant to the ears.


    "Don''t scare me," Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I don''t dare to look at you."


    The female ghost laughed and said, "You are afraid blood coming out of my seven orifices and my tongue stretched out, aren''t you? Why don''t you take a quick look?"


    With a trembling voice Wei Xiaobao said, "I won''t fall into your trick. You have your hair disheveled and blood coming out of my seven orifices. What �� what''s so good to look at?"


    The female ghost giggled; she blew a puff of air onto his face. As the air arrived on his face, Wei Xiaobao felt it was warm, and carried a faint smell of delicate fragrance. Wei Xiaobao opened his left eye a slit, he vaguely saw a snow white face, with curved eyebrows and small mouth, her dimpled face looked like flower. Immediately he opened both eyes wide, and now he could see an extremely delicate and pretty young girl''s face, approximately thirteen, fourteen years of age; her hair was tied into a pair of buns on top of her head, she was grinning as she looked at him. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was greatly comforted, "You really are not a ghost?" he asked.


    The young girl smiled and said, "Of course I am a ghost, I am a hangman ghost." [ghost from someone who died of hanging; is there any English term for it?]Wei Xiaobao''s heart jumped; he was startled and at a loss. The young girl said with a laugh, "How could you boldly kill evil man, but is so timid in front of a hangman ghost?"


    Wei Xiaobao let out a breath and said, "I am not afraid of people, I am afraid of ghosts."


    The young girl giggled again and asked, "Which of your acupoint is sealed?"


    "I wish I knew," Wei Xiaobao replied. The young girl massaged the back of his shoulder, she also slapped his back lightly three times. Immediately Wei Xiaobao was able to move his hands. He raised his arms and waved them twice; he laughed and said, "You know how to unseal the acupoint; that''s wonderful!"


    The young girl said, "I learned it not too long ago, today is the first time I''ve tried it on you."


    She then proceeded by massaging his underarm and waist for a moment. Wei Xiaobao sprang up and said with a laugh, "Stop it, stop it! I am ticklish." In this way, the acupoints on his legs were unsealed. He stretched out his hands and said with a laugh, "You tickled me, now I must tickle you back." While saying that, he took a step forward.


    The young girl stuck out her tongue and made a face. But she her supposedly ugly face looked extremely cute and did not look frightening at all. Wei Xiaobao reached out trying to pinch her tongue. The young girl turned her head to evade; she giggled tenderly and said, "Now you are not afraid of hangman ghost?"


    "You have a shadow," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your body is warm, you are a human, not a ghost."


    The young girl opened her eyes wide; she grimly said, "I am a zombie, not a ghost!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. Under the lantern light he could see her pinkish complexion; he laughed and said, "Zombies cannot bend their legs, they can''t talk either."


    The young girl laughed again and said, "In that case, I am a fox-spirit."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "I am not afraid of fox-spirit," he said. But inwardly he was somewhat suspicious, "Could she be really a fox-spirit?" Walking around her, he looked at her back.


    The young girl laughed and said, "I am a thousand-year fox-spirit, my magical skill is very deep, I don''t have a tail."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "To such a good-looking fox-spirit like you, I don''t mind if you bewitch me that I die."


    The young girl blushed slightly; she put a finger on her face to shame him, saying, "You are shameless. Just a moment ago you were so afraid of ghosts, and now you are taking advantage of me."


    Wei Xiaobao was afraid of, number one: zombie, number two: ghost. As for the fox-spirit, he was not particularly afraid. He saw that this young girl was affable, compared to Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, she was considerably friendlier. Much less she spoke with Jiangnan accent, which was a lot more pleasant to the ear than Fang and Mu, two girls'' Yunnan accent. "Miss," he said with a laugh, "What is your name?"


    "I am Shuang''er," the young girl replied, "Shuang from ''yi shuang'' [a pair]."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "That''s very good," he said, "I wonder if you are a pair of fragrant shoes, or a pair of smelly socks."


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "A pair of smelly socks is good, a pair of fragrant shoes is also good; you decide. Gui Gong-gong, you are dripping wet, surely it is very uncomfortable, please come over there and change into dry clothes. It''s just that there is a problem, you must not blame me."


    "What problem?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "We do not have any men''s clothes in here," Shuang''er replied.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart jumped, immediately his countenance changed, "This house is full of female ghosts," he mused.


    Shuang''er raised the lantern and said, "Please come this way." Wei Xiaobao hesitated, he did not know what to do. Shuang''er was already at the door; she turned her head around to wait for him. With a smile she said, "Putting on women''s clothes, you are afraid it will be inauspicious, aren''t you? Let''s do it this way then: you stay on the bed, I''ll get hot iron to dry your clothes."


    Seeing her gentle and soft expression, and how she was being very considerate, Wei Xiaobao found it hard to refuse; he had no choice but to follow her out the door. "What happened to my companions?" he asked, "Where are they going?"


    Shuang''er halted while he walked two more steps, and then walking side by side with him, she said in low voice, "Third Mistress'' [orig. ''san shao nai'' - third young madame] order: I must not tell you anything. Wait until you have had some refreshments, then Third Mistress herself will tell you everything." Wei Xiaobao had been very hungry for a long time, hearing that he was going to get some refreshment, his spirit was aroused considerably.


    Shuang''er took Wei Xiaobao along a pitch-black corridor into a dark room. She lighted the candle on the table. The room only had a bed and a table, the furnishing was simple, but it was very clean. The bed was covered in cotton quilt. Shuang''er lifted a corner of the quilt and let down the mosquito net, saying, "Gui Xianggong [lord/master/young gentleman, etc.], take off your clothes on the bed and tossed it to me."


    Following her instruction, Wei Xiaobao jumped onto the bed, removed all his clothes and crawled underneath the quilt before tossing the clothes outside the net. Shuang''er caught the clothes, walked toward the door, and said, "I''ll get the refreshment. Do you prefer sweet zongzi[66], or salty zongzi?"


    "My stomach is growling of hunger," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Even if you give me mud zongzi, I''ll eat three." Shuang''er laughed and walked out.


    As soon as she left, Wei Xiaobao felt the room was extremely quiet. Looking at the flickering candle, sometimes it brightened, sometimes it dimmed, his fear returned. "Aiyo, not good," he mused, "When female ghosts invite people to eat noodles, eat wonton, they actually serve earthworm and caterpillar. I must not be fooled."


    After a while, Wei Xiaobao smelled the sweet fragrance of meat and sugar. Shuang''er was back with a wooden tray on her hands, she used her elbow to push the mosquito net aside. Wei Xiaobao saw four already unwrapped zongzi on a plate, and was delighted. In all honesty, he was very hungry so that even if the zongzi was stuffed with earthworm and caterpillar, he would eat it first and talk about it later. Therefore, he picked the chopsticks and started to eat. When the zongzi entered his mouth, it tasted sweet and incomparably tasty. After two bites, he said, "Shuang''er, this tastes like Huzhou''s zongzi, it''s really good."


    Zongzi produced by Huzhou prefecture of Zhejiang province has soft rice and tasty meat-stuffing; it was unparalleled in the world. Yangzhou had a Huzhou zongzi shop. The patrons of Lovely Spring Courtyard often sent Wei Xiaobao to buy some. The zongzi was wrapped using bamboo leaves, so it was difficult for Wei Xiaobao to steal, but he always managed to squeeze some rice out of the corner of the zongzi and had a taste. Ever since he arrived at the north, he could not find Huzhou''s zongzi any longer.


    Shuang''er was amazed; she said, "You are very knowledgeable, you can tell by eating it that it is Huzhou''s zongzi."


    Wei Xiaobao was busy chewing as he mumbled, "So this is really Huzhou''s zongzi? How can you buy Huzhou''s zongzi in this place?"


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "We did not buy it, it''s from fox-spirit ... (tee hee) fox-spirit magic."


    "Fox-spirit magical power is extensive," Wei Xiaobao praised. Suddenly Zhang Laosan and his men came to his mind, thereupon he added, "It''s long-life is the same as the Heaven''s!"


    Shuang''er laughed. "Enjoy your meal; I''ll iron your clothes." After only taking a step, she asked, "Are you still afraid?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s fear had diminished for the most part, but when all is said and done, he was still somewhat scared; he said, "Come back quickly."


    "Yes!" Shuang''er promised.


    Not too long afterwards, Wei Xiaobao heard ''chi chi'' noise. Shuang''er was back carrying an iron with glowing red coal in it. She spread his clothes on the table, so that while ironing, she could keep him company.


    Of the four zongzi, two were savory, two were sweet. Wei Xiaobao ate three, and he could not eat anymore. He said, "These zongzi are very good. Did you wrap them yourself?"


    "Third Mistress seasoned and mixed the ingredients, I helped her wrapping them," Shuang''er replied.


    Hearing she spoke with a Jiangnan accent, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved. "Are you from Huzhou?" he asked.


    Shuang''er hesitated and did not answer. "When the clothes are ironed," she said, "And Gui Xianggong see the Third Mistress later, you can ask her yourself, all right?" She was speaking soft and gentle words, her manner was very respectful.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "What''s there not all right?" He lifted the mosquito net to look at her ironing his clothes.


    Shuang''er looked up and smiled at him, she said, "You are not wearing any clothes, you may catch cold."


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao''s mischievousness arose; he raised his body and called out, "I am going to jump out without any clothes on, I can''t possibly catch cold." Shuang''er was shocked, but then she saw he slid down and hid underneath the quilt that even his head was not visible; she could not help but giggle.


    About the time needed to eat a bowl of rice later, Shuang''er handed the ironed clothes over to the bed. Wei Xiaobao put it on and climbed down of the bed. Shuang''er helped him buttoned the jacket. She took out a small wooden comb to comb his hair and plait a braid. Wei Xiaobao smelled the light delicate fragrance coming from her body; he was very happy. "Turns out fox-spirits are such nice people."


    Shuang''er pouted and said with a laugh, "What fox-spirit? It''s so unpleasant to hear. I am not a fox-spirit."


    "Ah, I know," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "You are a great immortal; I must not call you fox-spirit."


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "I am not a great immortal either, I am just a little servant girl."


    "I am a little eunuch, and you are a little servant," Wei Xiaobao said, "Both of us are serving other people, we are a couple."


    "You are serving the Emperor," Shuang''er said, "How can do I compare to you? One in the sky, the other on the earth." While chatting, the braid was finished.


    Shuang''er said, "I can''t plait men''s braids, I don''t know if this is alright?"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the braid to the front and had a look. "Very good," he said, "I hate plaiting braids the most. It would be good if you could help me plaid my braid every day."


    "I may not have that good fortune," Shuang''er said, "You are a big hero. Today I can plait your braid, it can already be considered that in the previous incarnation I have cultivated enough virtue."


    "Aiyo," Wei Xiaobao said, "No formalities, please. You are such a smart and beautiful woman, and you plaited my braid. It was me who in my previous incarnation has knocked seventeen, eighteen big wooden fish[67]."


    Shuang''er''s face blushed; she said in low voice, "I am speaking sincerely, yet you are making fun of me."


    "I am not, I am not," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am also speaking sincerely."


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "The Third Mistress says that whenever Gui Xianggong wishes, you may go and sit in the rear hall."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Third (Young) Master is not home?"


    "Um," Shuang''er hesitated, "He passed away," she said quietly. Remembering the many mourning halls in the house, Wei Xiaobao''s heart trembled; he did not dare to ask anymore question.


    Following behind her, they arrived at a tiny fancy-looking reception room at the rear hall. He sat down, Shuang''er immediately served a cup of hot tea. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was beating fast, he did not dare to chat with her again.


    A moment later, he heard light and slow footsteps, from behind the wooden partition a young madame appeared, her entire body was covered in white-silk mourning dress. "Gui Xianggong must have had an exhausting journey," she said. While saying that she bowed deeply, her manner was very respectful.


    Wei Xiaobao hastily returned the propriety and said, "I do not dare."


    "Gui Xianggong, please sit down," the young madame said.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that the young madame was about twenty six, twenty seven years of age, she was not wearing any cosmetics, her complexion pale, her eyes were red, obviously she had just been crying. Under the lantern light unexpectedly he saw that she had a shadow; although she looked gloomy and grim, most probably she was not a ghost. In his heart, however, he was still apprehensive. "Yes, yes!" he replied. He sat down, leaning his body forward and said, "Third Mistress, thank you very much for your Huzhou''s zongzi, they are really delicious."


    The young madame said, "My deceased husband was surnamed Zhuang, I do not dare to be addressed as the Third Mistress. How long has Gui Xianggong been in the Palace?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "In the dark a moment ago, there was a woman asking me if I killed Oboi. After I admitted that I killed him, they sent a servant girl to deliver zongzi for me to eat. Apparently I was betting my treasure correctly." He replied, "Not a lot more than a year."


    Madame Zhuang said, "Could Gui Xianggong tell Xiao Nuzi[68] how you kill that traitor Oboi with your own hand?"


    Hearing she was calling Oboi a ''traitor'', Wei Xiaobao was even more relieved, it was as if he had obtained a pair of very valuable cards in his hands, no matter of what value were the other two cards, when the cards were played, he would only make a kill and not pay for a loss, at most he would be even with the opponent. Thereupon he started by how Kangxi had issued an order for Oboi''s capture, how Oboi resisted arrest, how the little eunuchs swarmed on him, but several of them were killed by Oboi, how he had used the ashes of the incense burner to blind him so that finally Oboi was captured. Only about Kangxi stabbing Oboi on the back, he changed it into catching Oboi by surprise, he himself ferociously stabbed him on the back.


    Madame Zhuang did not utter a single word, she was listening attentively in silence. When Wei Xiaobao narrated how he blinded Oboi by scattering ashes from the incense burner, how he stabbed him on his back using a dagger, how he smashed his head using the copper incense burner and thus capturing him, she could not help but letting out a breath gently.


    Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to listen to the storyteller performing their art; he knew where to pause and where to raise his voice, his technique in grasping the audience''s heart was just perfect. Moreover, it was his own personal experience, he knew all kinds of the minute details so that his narration was exhaustive. Plus he added some grease, salt, paste and vinegar, so that perhaps listening to his story was several degrees more soul-stirring than when he was actually capturing Oboi.


    "So that''s what happened," Madame Zhuang said, "The rumor outside is highly exaggerated, they say that Gui Gonggong has such an excellent martial art, that he fiercely fought Oboi for three hundred rounds, and that he used his unique skill to subdue him. Thinking that Oboi had the reputation as the Manchurian''s Number One Warrior, Gui Xianggong must have had very high martial art skill, while his age is still very young."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If we fought for real, even a hundred Xiao Guizi are not this traitor''s match."


    "Afterwards, how did Oboi die?" Madame Zhuang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Eight or nine out of ten, this Third Mistress is not a female ghost; therefore, she must be a Wulin character. If I don''t need to lie, I should not tell a lie, so that after painstakingly win some money, I won''t lose it all in one turn of the cards." Thereupon he truthfully told her in details how Kangxi sent him to inspect Oboi''s condition, how he came across Tian Di Hui people who came to attack the Prince Kang''s mansion, how the incoming people mistakenly identified him as Oboi''s man, how he struggled to crawl into the prison cell and thus killed Oboi. At the very last he said, "It turned out that these people were Oboi''s adversary; they were the heroes and warriors of the Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui. Seeing I killed Oboi, unexpectedly they were very polite to me, telling me that I have avenged their great enmity."


    Madame Zhuang nodded; she said, "And thus Gui Xianggong received the favor of Chen Zongduozhu who took you as his disciple and made you the Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu. Turns out everything is because of this."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You already knew everything, why did you ask me, then?" He said, "I am a muddle head, I don''t know anything. Being the Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu, indeed I only have a name but no reality." He did not know whether Madame Zhuang was a friend or a foe of Tian Di Hui, therefore, he decided to hold two contradictory views at the same time first and talk about it later.


    Madame Zhuang pondered deeply for half a day before saying, "When Gui Xianggong killed Oboi in that prison cell, which move did you use? Is it possible for you to show it to me?"


    Seeing her eyes were shining bright, Wei Xiaobao thought, "This woman must belong to some demonic school; if I talk nonsense and toot my horn, most probably she would expose my trickery. I think being honest is the best." Thereupon he stood up and said, "What fart move do I have?" Flailing his hands around he said, "At that time I was so scared out of my wits, I was in a hideous mess; this is exactly what I did."


    Madame Zhuang nodded. "Gui Xianggong, please sit down," she said. And then she stood up and turned to Shuang''er, "Shuang''er, why don''t you take our osmanthus flower flavored candy and have Gui Xianggong taste it?" Finished speaking, she bowed in respect again and walked out toward the inner hall.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "She invites me to eat some candy, obviously she does not harbor any evil intention." But in the end he still did not feel at ease; he thought, "Although this Third Mistress does not look like a female ghost, it is perhaps because her magical skill is so high that the demonic air did not show."


    Shuang''er returned from the inner hall, holding a blue and white china plate with tall legs with both hands, the plate was full of osmanthus flower flavored candy and pine-nut candy. She smiled and said, "Gui Xianggong, please eat some candy." After setting the china plate on the table, she went back into the inner hall.


    Sitting in that reception room, Wei Xiaobao ate quite a lot of osmanthus flower flavored candies and pine-nut candies, hoping that it would be dawn quickly.


    After quite a while, suddenly he heard the rustling noise of clothes. Behind the door, by the window, behind the partition screen, there were a lot of eyes secretly stealing a glance at him; it appeared that all those eyes belong to women. In the dark night, it was difficult to tell whether they were humans or ghosts, it''s just that by looking at those eyes, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was really afraid. Suddenly he heard an old woman''s voice from outside the long window said, "Gui Xianggong, you have killed the traitor Oboi, and have avenged the blood enmity as-deep-as-the-ocean of our families. We do not know how to repay this great virtue and great kindness." The long window opened, revealing several dozens of women wearing white clothing lining up on the floor to pay homage to him.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he quickly returned the courtesy. Hearing the women were knocking their heads on the floor, ''dong, dong, dong'', he also kneeled down and kowtowed. The long window suddenly closed. The old woman said, "Benefactor does not need to be overly courteous, we, widows, do not dare to accept the honor." Suddenly the women outside the long window raised their voices in sobbing and weeping.


    Wei Xiaobao was absolutely terrified. After a while, the sound of weeping gradually went away, those women had dispersed. It was as if he was in a dream, or it happened only in his imagination. "Actually, are they humans, or are they ghosts? It looks like �� it looks like ��"


    A moment later, Madame Zhuang returned from the inner hall. "Gui Xianggong," she said, "Please do not be disturbed. Those who live here are all surviving family of the deceased loyal ministers and patriots who were harmed by Oboi. When we found out that Gui Xianggong has killed Oboi with your own hand, and thus avenging our great enmity, we all feel grateful."


    "So Third Master was �� was also harmed by Oboi?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Lowering her head, Madame Zhuang said, "Precisely. Everybody in here is grieving and crying blood, day and night we are waiting for an opportunity to revenge. Who would have thought this traitor, who was strung through and filled with evil, faced the retribution that quickly, unexpectedly he died under Gui Xianggong''s hands."


    "What merit do I have?" Wei Xiaobao said, "It was only a coincident; nothing more than that."


    Shuang''er appeared with his own bundle and placed it on the table. Madame Zhuang said, "Gui Xianggong, your great virtue and great kindness is difficult to repay, by right we should receive you cordially, it''s only proper. Only, living as widows, we feel it is rather inappropriate. After careful discussion, we wanted to present you a meager gift to show our appreciation. But Gui Xianggong''s traveling bag is plentiful, you carry a huge sum of money. We live in the countryside, what do we have that Gui Xianggong may appreciate? As for martial art skill and so on, Gui Xianggong is Tian Di Hui''s Chen Zongduozhu''s disciple; your school''s martial art is far above our little superficial skill. It truly poses difficulties for us."


    Hearing her speaking so courteously, Wei Xiaobao said, "There is no need to stand on ceremonies. I just want to ask, those several companions of mine, where did they go?"


    Madame Zhuang contemplated for half a day, and said, "Since you ask, I should have not dared not to answer. But after Benefactor learns about it, I am afraid it would only bring harm and not benefit. These several people are Benefactor''s friends, we will strive to do our best not to let them come into any harm. Someday they may see Benefactor again."


    Wei Xiaobao expected that asking further would be useless. He looked up toward the window and thought, "Why isn''t it daylight already?"


    Madame Zhuang seemingly understood his thought; she asked, "Where is Benefactor going tomorrow?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I believe she has heard my conversation with that Zhang Laosan, it will be useless to conceal it from her." He said, "I am going to Mount Wutai in Shanxi."


    Madame Zhuang said, "In this journey to Mount Wutai, you will have to travel far away; I am afraid you will meet some disturbances along the way. We are thinking of presenting you with a gift, we would ask that you give us the good fortune of not declining it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Other people have the good intention of giving me anything, I have never refused to accept it," he said.


    "That''s wonderful," Madame Zhuang said. Pointing toward Shuang''er she said, "This little girl Shuang''er has followed me for many years, the way she is doing her job is fairly appropriate. We are presenting her to Benefactor, please take her with you. Hereafter she will attend to Benefactor."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, but delighted; he did not expect that the gift she was going to present to him was a person. Just now Shuang''er had taken care of him, ironing his clothes and plaited his braid, she had saved him not a few efforts. If he could have this kind of good-looking and smart servant girl[69] accompanying him by his side, certainly it would be merrier; but the journey to Mount Wutai this time would not be necessarily peaceful or without any trouble, he must act according to the situation, taking a servant girl along would be very inconvenient. He said, "Madame Zhuang is giving me this valuable present, I am really grateful. It''s just that �� it''s just that ��" He wanted to decline, but first, others were giving him present, how could he not accept? Second, such a nice servant, he really did not want not to accept her. He saw Shuang''er, with her head hung low, was stealing a glance to him; as soon as their eyes met, she hastily turned her head around, her face blushed.


    "I wonder what Benefactor''s difficulty is?" Madame Zhuang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am going to Mount Wutai on a mission, most likely it will �� it will not be easy; if I take this Miss along, I am afraid it will be inconvenient."


    "You don''t have to worry actually," Madame Zhuang said, "Although Shuang''er is young, she is rather agile, she won''t be Benefactor''s burden. Please set your heart at ease."


    Wei Xiaobao took another glance toward Shuang''er, he saw her glazed eyes had an earnest look; he laughed and asked, "Shuang''er, are you willing to come with me?"


    Shuang''er lowered her head, in a quiet voice she said, "Third Mistress ordered me to take care of Xianggong, naturally �� naturally I must obey Third Mistress'' instruction."


    "Are you yourself willing or not?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I am afraid we will meet dangers."


    "I am not afraid of dangers," Shuang''er replied.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You answered my second question, but did not answer my first. You are not afraid of dangers, it''s just that Madame is presenting you to me, but in your heart you are not willing."


    Shuang''er said, "Madame''s benevolence to me is very heavy, Xianggong has shown great kindness to our Zhuang family, Madame instructs me to attend Xianggong, I will definitely do it with all my heart. If Xianggong treats me well, my fate is good, if you do not treat me well, it''s my �� my destiny to suffer hardship."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "Your fate is very good, how can you be destined to suffer hardship?" The corner of Shuang''er''s mouth revealed a light smile.


    "Shuang''er," Madame Zhuang said, "You pay respect to Gui Xianggong; later on, you will become Gui Xianggong''s."


    Shuang''er looked up; suddenly her eyes turned red. First she kneeled in front of Madame Zhuang and kowtowed, saying, "Third Mistress, I �� I ��" After saying the word ''I'' twice, she broke into a light sob.


    Madame Zhuang gently stroked her hair, in a warm voice she said, "Gui Xianggong is a young hero. He is still young, yet his name has spread all over the world. You must serve Xianggong well. He has promised to treat you well."


    "Yes," Shuang''er replied. She turned around, and then gracefully paid her respect to Wei Xiaobao.


    "No formalities, please!" Wei Xiaobao said. He helped her up, opened his bundle, took out a strand of pearls and said with a laugh, "Just consider this as my gift on the first meeting!" while thinking, "This strand of pearls at least worth three, four thousand taels of silver. If used to buy servant girls, it can buy several dozens of them. But several dozens of servant girls added together won''t be more lovely than this Shuang''er."


    Shuang''er received the gift with both hands, saying, "Many thanks Xianggong," and hanged it on her neck. The pearls flickered under the light, it shined on her smart face, making her look even more beautiful.


    Madame Zhuang said, "Benefactor is going to Mount Wutai, I wonder if you are going to investigate openly, or make secret inquiries?"


    "Naturally I will make secret inquiries," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Madame Zhuang said, "The various Buddhist monasteries and temples on Mount Wutai are separated into green and yellow, they are full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Benefactor must be very careful."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Thank you very much for your advice. But your calling me ''Benefactor'', I do not dare to accept. Just call me Xiaobao."


    "I do not dare," Madame Zhuang said. Standing up, she said, "Please take good care of yourself along the way, forgive this widow for not sending you far off." To Shuang''er she said, "Shuang''er, as soon as you leave this door, you don''t belong to Zhuang family anymore. Hereafter whatever you say, whatever you do, will not be your former master''s concern. If you fool around outside, our Zhuang family will not shelter you anymore." While saying these words, her expression was very serious. Shuang''er complied. Madame Zhuang saluted Wei Xiaobao again, and then walked in.


    They saw the window paper turned translucent, the sky gradually brightened. Shuang''er went in to get her bundle, and then along with Wei Xiaobao''s bundle, she slung both bundles over her shoulder. "Let''s go!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Yes!" Shuang''er replied. Her head hung low, her expression mournful, she kept looking back toward the hall. Apparently she was rather reluctant to part with Madame Zhuang. Her eyes were red, obviously she had just been crying.


    Wei Xiaobao went out the front gate, Shuang''er followed behind him. By this time the heavy rain had stopped, but in the mountain streams, water was flowing rapidly, they could hear the sound of water everywhere. After walking for several dozen steps, Wei Xiaobao looked back toward the big house, but the mist had shrouded the front corner of the wall. After walking for several more dozen steps, he looked back again only to see white expanse of mist, nothing else was visible.


    He sighed and said, "The matter of last night was really like a dream. Shuang''er, what did the Madame mean when she said those last sentences to you?"


    Shuang''er said, "The Third Mistress said that later on I am serving Xianggong; no matter what I say or do, it won''t be the responsibility of her Zhuang family."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "You can tell me where did my companions go?"


    Shuang''er was startled. "Yes," she said, "Xianggong''s companions were originally saved by us, Zhang Laosan and his men were also originally captured by us. But afterward some formidable characters from Shen Long Jiao arrived and those prisoners were snatched away. Third Mistress said that we are womenfolk, it was inappropriate for us to fight with those uncouth men. Besides, we may not necessarily be able to overcome those men. For the time being, we submit to them while looking for another way to rescue your several companions. Seeing we retreated, Shen Long Jiao people also withdrew. Before leaving, they spoke several polite words." Wei Xiaobao nodded; he was rather concerned over Fang Yi and Mu Jianping''s safety.


    Shuang''er said, "Third Mistress has persuaded the Shen Long Jiao leader that they must not harm your several companions'' lives. The man has agreed to it with his own mouth."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "I am afraid those Shen Long Jiao fellows speak just like they fart. Ay, I guess it can''t be helped." He then asked, "Does the Third Mistress know martial art?"


    "She does," Shuang''er said, "Not only she knows martial art, she is very good at it."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "She is such a horn-tooter, what ''very good at martial art''? If she is really good at martial art, how could she let Oboi killed the Third Master?"


    Shuang''er said, "When the Old Master and the Third Master were executed, none of their several dozen family members knew martial art. All the men in the family were arrested by Oboi and taken to Beijing to be executed, the women were to be banished to Guta district of Liaoning, to be slaves to the armored troops. Fortunately along the way they met the saving star, who killed the prisoner escorts and saved our several dozen women, helped us settled in here, and taught the Third Mistress and the others some skill." Wei Xiaobao gradually understood.


    In the meantime, the sky had brightened considerably, the sun had appeared on the eastern horizon. The heavy rain last night had washed the trees of the forest that everything looked fresh and green, with droplets of water hanging from their leaves. It was only now that Wei Xiaobao no longer doubted that the ones he saw last night were not female ghosts. He asked, "You have so many mourning halls in your house; are those all for your Masters and Young Masters who were killed by Oboi?"


    "Exactly," Shuang''er said, "We live in seclusion deep in the mountains, we have never had any dealings with outsiders before. The neighboring country people are curious and come over to stick their heads out and look around, so we always masquerade ourselves as ghosts to scare them off. Therefore, everybody says this is a haunted house. Over the last year, nobody has ever dared to come over. Unexpectedly Xianggong came last night. Third Mistress said that now that our great enmity has been avenged, it would be best if everything is kept in secret. The names of Master, Young Master and the others are written on memorial tablets in the mourning hall, if outsiders saw it, it would be greatly inconvenient. When Xianggong asked me last night, I did not dare to explain. But Third Mistress has said that henceforth I am to serve Xianggong, and no longer the Zhuang family''s responsibility. Naturally I must not conceal anything from you anymore."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, "Let me tell you: my real name is Wei Xiaobao. That Gui Gong-gong or what have you, is a fake name. You belong to the Wei family, not the Gui family."


    Shuang''er was overjoyed; she said, "Xianggong even tell me your real name, I can''t possibly reveal it to anybody else."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "My real name is not such a big secret," he said, "Many of Tian Di Hui brethrens already know about it."


    Shuang''er said, "When those Shen Long Jiao people fought with your companions, Third Mistress and the others were outside, enjoying watching the fun. They saw those people were able to chant spells, reciting mumbo-jumbo incantation ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s. This kind of incantation, I am also able to recite."


    Shuang''er said, "Third Mistress said that while their mouths were chanting the incantations, there must be some other magic going on in the dark; otherwise, it''s impossible that as soon as they recite the spell, their power increased several folds. Afterwards, when that Zhang Laosan was talking to you, Third Mistress was listening outside, while the rest of us extinguished the light in the main hall and caught everybody using fishing net."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Catching people using fishing net? That''s great!"


    Shuang''er said, "Third Mistress said that there is nothing special about that Zhang Laosan''s martial art skill, only his sorcery is formidable, thereupon she did not fight him face to face. As soon as she managed to lure him out, she extinguished the light and with the fishing net ��"


    "Caught the old turtle," Wei Xiaobao finished.


    Shuang''er giggled. She said, "There is a lake behind the mountain, we often went fishing at night. When we were in Huzhou, the big house of the Zhuang family was located near Taihu[70]. The lake is very big, at that time our Zhuang family owned a lot of fishing boat, which we rented to the fishermen to catch fish. Third Mistress and the others learned how to use net to catch fish from watching the fishermen."


    "You really are Huzhou people, no wonder your Huzhou''s zongzi is really delicious," Wei Xiaobao said, "How did the Third Master get killed by Oboi?"


    "According to the Third Mistress," Shuang''er said, "It was called ''literary inquisition''."


    "Mosquito meat[71]?" Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Mosquito has meat?"


    "Not ''mosquito'', it''s ''literary''," Shuang''er said, "Learn to write! Our First Young Master was a scholar, his knowledge was very profound. After he''d gone blind, he wrote a book, in his book there was a sentence scolding the Manchu people ..."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Wei Xiaobao clucked his tongue, "Amazing, he was blind yet was able to write a literary work. My eyes are not blind, yet when looking at other people''s writing, I still do not know anything. This might be called ''bright-eyed blind person''!"


    Shuang''er said, "Old Mistress often said that we live in a wrong era, being illiterate is actually better. The women who live together in our house are from several different families, each family''s Laoye [Old Master], Shaoye [Young Master] were all gifted scholars and intellects, none of their literary works was not renowned in the world, yet each one ran into misfortune. It was precisely because of their literary works that disaster came. But Third Mistress said the more the Manchurian Tatars did not want us, Han people to study and create literary works, the more reason for us to study, the more reason for us to create literary works; only then will we prevent the Tatars from achieving their hearts'' desire."


    "Can you create literary works?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shuang''er giggled and said, "Xianggong really loves to joke. How can a little servant girl create literary works? The Third Mistress taught me to read, yet I have read only seven or eight books."


    "Wow!" Wei Xiaobao said, "You have read seven or eight books? That''s a lot more than I can read. I only know seven or eight characters."


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "Xianggong does not like to study, I am sure the Old Mistress would have loved you. She said that as soon as the Qing Dynasty arrived, only prodigal sons study."


    "That''s true!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I think that that thief Oboi was not too literate. It must be those bootlickers who read to him."


    "Right!" Shuang''er said, "The book our First Young Master wrote was called something like ''History of the Ming Dynasty''. There were some words in the book scolding the Manchurian Qing. There was an evil man called Wu Zhirong who took the book to Oboi and lodged an accusation. This matter was blown out of proportion; several hundred people were executed; even the business proprietors who sold the book, the customers who bought the book, were all arrested and executed. Xianggong, you live in Beijing, have you met this man Wu Zhirong?"


    "I have not," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I will slowly look for him, I am sure I will find him. Shuang''er, I am thinking of replacing you with someone else."


    Shuang''er was shocked. "You ... you want to give me to someone else?" she said with trembling voice.


    "Not giving you to someone else," Wei Xiaobao said, "I want to replace you with someone else."


    Shuang''er''s eyes had already turned red; she was about to cry. "What ... what do you mean replacing me with someone else?" she asked.


    "Your Third Mistress gave you to me," Wei Xiaobao said, "Such a big gift is not easy to repay. I am thinking of catching that thief Wu Zhirong and give him to your Third Mistress. Then my gift will have more or less the same value as her gift."


    Shuang''er laughed through her tears; she gently patted her own chest and said, "You scared me big time; I thought Xianggong did not want me anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he said, "You were afraid I did not want you and became anxious like that. Don''t worry, even if people pile a mountain of gold, a mountain of silver, a mountain of pearls, a mountain of gems, I will never trade you off."


    While chatting, the two of them had reached the foot of the mountain. They saw the clear blue sky as if it had just been washed; there was not a single speck of dust within ten thousand li. Wei Xiaobao thought that the circumstances right now was entirely different from last night, where they were forced by the heavy rain to take shelter in the ''haunted house''. It''s just that Xu Tianchuan, Fang Yi, Mu Jianping and the others lost the battle and were captured by the enemy; he did not know whether they would be able to escape from danger. Based on his own ability, he would not be able to save them anyway, so thinking about them would be useless, it would be better for him not to think.


    After walking for several li, they arrived at a small town. The two of them found a noodle shop, so they went in to eat. After Wei Xiaobao had been seated, Shuang''er stood behind him, ready to serve.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You can''t be too polite, sit down, let''s eat together."


    "It won''t do," Shuang''er replied, "How can I sit and eat together with Xianggong? There is no such custom."


    "Why should I care about damn custom or no custom?" Wei Xiaobao said, "When I say you can, then you can. If you wait until I finish eating before you start, we would be delayed too much."


    "We''ll leave as soon as Xianggong finish eating," Shuang''er said, "I''ll buy some mantou [steamed bun], and eat it while we are walking. That way there won''t be any delay."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. "I have a strange temperament," he said, "If I eat something alone, my stomach will definitely give me some trouble. If nobody accompanies me eating, a moment later I will have tummy ache, and then I''ll have to accept my fate."


    Shuang''er smiled sweetly; she had no choice but to pull the bench and sat down at an oblique angle from Wei Xiaobao at the corner of the table.


    Wei Xiaobao had only eaten several chopsticks from his bowl of noodles when he saw three Tibetan Lama entering the shop and sat facing the street. They repeatedly called out, "Bring out the noodles, bring out the noodles!"


    One of the lamas'' glance caught the string of pearls on Shuang''er''s neck, he nudged his companion with his left elbow and pouted to hint toward the pearls. As soon as the other two saw it, a happy expression appeared on their faces; they could not take their eyes off the necklace, sizing it up.


    "Not good," Wei Xiaobao mused, "These three fellows are going to rob us on the way." Taking out a piece of silver, he ordered the noodle shop waiter to hire a large carriage. After finishing his noodles in haste, he boarded the carriage, and ordered the driver to hurry to the west.


    After galloping for several li, they heard the sound of hoof beat behind the carriage. Wei Xiaobao looked back, and sure enough, he saw those three lamas on horseback, coming to pursue them. He said to Shuang''er, "Those three bandits are going to snatch your pearls away. Just give it to them, I''ll buy another string for you later."


    "Yes!" Shuang''er said, "You don''t need to buy another one for me."


    They heard the three lamas called out, "Stop! Stop!" The driver pulled the reins of his mule. The three lamas leaped forward to block the carriage. One of them said, "You, two babies, get out!"


    Shuang''er took the pearls necklace from her neck and held it outside the carriage; she said, "You fancy this string of pearls, Xianggong says you can have it, just get it."


    A big and fat lama stretched out his big hand, but he did not take the pearls, he reached farther up and grabbed Shuang''er''s wrist and pulled her outside. Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "You want more money, I have some. Don''t play rough!" But he saw a yellow shadow flashed, the lama leaped up to the air and flew backward. "Good skill!" Wei Xiaobao shouted in his heart. He saw the lama''s body rapidly fall to the ground, but his head was down and his feet up. ''Splosh!'' his big and fat head went straight into a swamp, all the way to his chest, his legs were kicking wildly.


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he wondered what kind of prominent martial art move this lama was executing. ''Wah! Wah!'' the other two lamas were shouting randomly, while rushing forward to grab his body and pull him out of the mud. The fat lama''s face was wet with mud; he was in such a sorry condition. Fortunately the heavy rain the previous night had soaked the dirt of the roadside swamp so that the lama was not injured.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and told the carriage driver, "Quickly go!"


    Shuang''er raised the pearls in her hand and asked, "Xianggong, shall I give these pearls to them?"


    Before Wei Xiaobao could reply, he saw the three lamas drew their sabers from their waists and ferociously charged toward them. Shuang''er snatched the whip from the driver''s hand and flicked it outward, it coiled around the saber in a lama''s hand. She pulled the whip back and caught the saber with her left hand. She flicked the whip in her right hand again, and the saber in the second lama''s hand was snatched away.


    "Aiyo!" the third lama cried out, and stopped dead in his track. Shuang''er flicked her whip again, but this time it coiled around the lama''s neck. She pulled him toward the carriage, and then without any trouble snatched the saber in the lama''s hand.


    The lama''s throat was strangled by the whip, his eyes turned white, his tongue was stretched out, his face was instantly devoid of any blood. The other two lamas rushed toward Shuang''er in converging attack from left and right, trying to save their companion. Shuang''er leaped up, her left foot stood on the axle of the carriage, her right foot repeatedly kicked, the acupoints on the two lamas'' heads were sealed, they passed out and fell to the ground. She waved her hand to loosen up the whip. The lama had been suffocated for a good while, he also lost his consciousness and fell down.


    Wei Xiaobao was extremely delighted; he sprang up and called out, "Shuang''er, good Shuang''er, turns out your martial art skill is superb."


    Shuang''er showed a faint smile and said, "It was nothing, these three bandits are useless."


    "If I had known earlier, I would not have to worry for half a day," Wei Xiaobao said. Jumping down from the carriage, he kicked the body of a lama. "What do you want?" he asked. But the lama was still fainted and had not regained his consciousness.


    Shuang''er kicked his waist. The lama groaned and regained his consciousness. Shuang''er said, "Xianggong asks what do you want?"


    "Miss ..." the lama said, "Miss can do ... do magic?"


    Shuang''er smiled. "Answer quickly!" she said, "What are you up to?"


    The lama said, "We ... we are lamas from Mount Wutai''s Bodhisattva Peak ... Great Manjushri Temple."


    Shuang''er frowned. "What lama or not lama?" she said, "Rubbish! You are speaking vulgar language."


    "Lamas are Buddhist monks of Tibet," Wei Xiaobao explained.


    "Turns out you are Buddhist monks," Shuang''er said. She gently kicked the lama again and said, "If you are Buddhist monks, how come you do not shave your whole head clean?"


    "We are lamas," the lama said, "Not Buddhist monks."


    "What?" Shuang''er said, "Still won''t admit it? Xianggong says you are Buddhist monks, then you are Buddhist monks!" She kicked the ''tian huo'' [heavenly opening] acupoint on his waist, the lama felt the pain went straight into his bones and marrow; he could not bear it and shouting and screaming in loud voice. The pain grew worse, and his shout grew louder.


    The other two lamas slowly regained their consciousness, hearing their companion was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, they were aghast and immediately asked in Tibetan what had happened. The other lama replied, and then called out in Chinese, "I am a Buddhist monk, I am a Buddhist monk. I am whatever Miss ... Miss said what I am. Please ... please quickly ... unseal my acupoint."


    Shuang''er laughed. "Whatever Miss says does not count, it''s whatever Xianggong says that count," she said, "Xianggong, what do you say he is?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "I say he is a Buddhist nun!" he said.


    The lama really could not bear the pain, he hastily said, "I am a Buddhist nun, I am a Buddhist nun!" Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er roared in laughter.


    Shuang''er lightly kicked the ''qi hu'' [chi door] acupoint on his neck with her left foot, the severe pain stopped immediately. But the lama was still screaming, "I am a Buddhist nun, I am a Buddhist nun!"


    Wei Xiaobao stopped laughing. He said, "You are people who have left home, why did you want to rob our belongings?"


    "Xiaoren deserves to die," the lama replied, "Next time we won''t dare to do it again."


    "You are still thinking of next time?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The lama said, "I said we won''t dare, we really won''t dare. Even after a hundred years have passed, we still won''t dare."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You do not chant Buddhist scripture in the temple, but coming down the mountain instead. What are you up to?"


    The lama replied, "It''s ... it''s Shifu who sends us down the mountain."


    "Your Shifu sends you down the mountain to rob gold, silver and jewels?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "No ... not that," the lama replied, "We are going to Beijing ..." he had just spoken to this point, the other big and fat lama coughed.


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward him, he saw that fat lama repeatedly winked his eyes, obviously he was signaling his companion not to tell the truth. At first Wei Xiaobao was thinking that these lamas were provoking evil designs upon seeing riches, robbing and plundering, but doing nothing serious. Manchurians believed in lamas; whenever there was a religious ritual to be performed in the Palace, they would always invite lamas to chant the sutras. If the imperial household was like that, the princes and dukes and other royalties need not be mentioned. Therefore, quite a number of lamas, who did not need to observe the Qing law, went on the rampage in Beijing. Wei Xiaobao was thinking of torturing these lamas for a while, and after he had enough fun, he would simply let them go. However, seeing the big fat lama''s expression, he knew there was something else going on. He said, "These three fellows are playing tricks. Shuang''er, give each one a kick, let these three people whine on for days, and then we are off!"


    "Yes!" Shuang''er complied. She could also see that the big fat lama was playing tricks, hence she kicked him first on his ''tian huo'' acupoint. The lama immediately screamed.


    Shuang''er walked over to the first lama and lifted her foot as if she was going to kick. The lama was shocked; he hastily said, "Don''t kick, I''ll tell you everything. Shifu sends us to Beijing to deliver a letter."


    "What letter?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The lama said, "This ... we can''t let you see this letter. If we show it to other people, Shi ... Shifu will definitely kill us."


    "Take it out!" Wei Xiaobao said, "If you don''t, I''ll kick you." While saying that, he took a step forward.


    The lama did not know that Wei Xiaobao''s martial art skill was limited, if he was kicked, the pain would be the same as if he was tickled. Seeing Wei Xiaobao lifting up his foot, he busily said, "I don''t ... I don''t have it with me."


    "Take it out!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    The lama had no choice, he went over to the fat lama and mumbled some Tibetan words. The fat lama also used Tibetan to reply; while squealing like a slaughtered pig, he appeared to be shouting some disjointed Tibetan words so that his voice was even more unpleasant to the ears. From the tone of his voice and his expression, Wei Xiaobao deduced that the fat lama did not allow the other lama to take the letter out. Thereupon he walked over to the fat lama and fiercely kicked the fat lama''s forehead. The big and fat lama fainted instantly. The other lama then took a small oilcloth package from the fat lama''s bosom, and trembling with fear, he presented the package with both hands.


    Wei Xiaobao received the package. Shuang''er also took out a small package from her bosom and produced a tiny pair of scissors. She cut the package open, as expected, there was a letter inside. There were two lined of Tibetan script written on the envelope. "To whom is this letter addressed to?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "To our Shibo [older martial uncle]," the lama replied.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out and ''rip!'' he tore the envelope open. The two lamas groaned repeatedly. Wei Xiaobao saw several lines of curvy Tibetan script written on a sheet of yellow paper, on the bottom, drawn in cinnabar ink, there was a weird-looking seal, it was totally unintelligible. Even if this letter was written in Chinese script, Wei Xiaobao would not understand. Thereupon he handed it over to Shuang''er and asked, "What does it say?"


    Shuang''er did not know either; she turned to the lama, "Xianggong asks you: what does it say? Tell us quickly! If you speak half a word of lie, I will kick your acupoint immediately and never unseal it again. Humph, I will wait for at least three days and three nights before unsealing it."


    The lama received the letter, looked at it over and over, and stammered, "This ... this is ..."


    "What this or that?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Tell me quickly!"


    "Yes, yes!" the lama replied, "The letter says, the person Shixiong was asking about ..." He had just spoken that sentence, the other lama suddenly mumbled some unintelligible words. Shuang''er leaped toward him and kicked him on the ''tian huo'' acupoint. The lama''s words turned into screaming and wailing.


    The first lama''s countenance changed greatly; with a trembling voice he said, "The letter says ... says that the person we are looking for, we can''t find it even after searching high and low. He is definitely ... definitely not on Mount Wutai."


    Wei Xiaobao saw the lama''s eyes were evasive while repeatedly swallowing his own saliva as he was talking, he thought, "Although I don''t understand your bird''s cry or dog''s bark, looking at your expression, I can tell that you are lying. It''s just that this fellow is too stupid, even when telling a lie, he is not convincing." He said to Shuang''er, "This lama is lying to us."


    Shuang''er said, "Since he is that bad, we can''t spare him." She raised her foot and kicked his ''tian huo'' acupoint.


    The lama cried out, "You ... just kill me. My Shixiong said that ... that if we tell you what the letter says, we ... the three of us will not live. You ... you kill me quickly."


    "Ignore him, let''s go!" Wei Xiaobao said. Together with Shuang''er, they leaped onto the carriage.


    The carriage driver saw that although these two were young, unexpectedly they were able to deal with the three lamas and made them hovering between life and death. He was full of admiration and did not stop praising them. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "When we get to the small town ahead, you may need to change. This string of pearls must be kept someplace else."


    [The 3rd Edition continues with the following:]After the two of them finished eating the noodles, Wei Xiaobao said, "You are wearing women''s clothes, a lot of people along the way will look at you because you are too pretty. When we get to the small town ahead, you may need to change. This string of pearls must be kept someplace else."


    "Yes," Shuang''er said, "What attire must I change into?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You change into a man''s clothing."


    After travelling for about thirty li, the carriage reached a big town. Wei Xiaobao sent the carriage driver off, while they entered an inn to lodge for the night. He took out some money and instructed Shuang''er to go buy some clothing. Shuang''er purchased several sets and returned to the inn; she put on the clothes and was transformed into a handsome young attendant.


    With this transformation, they no longer attracted any attention along the way. Shuang''er was well-versed in martial art, but was completely oblivious of the ways of the world; all along the way, she left the decision making into Wei Xiaobao''s hands, although his ideas were not always brilliant. Thirty percent of the time he was serious, the other seventy percent he was simply fooling around.


    One day they arrived at the border between Hebei and Shanxi, two provinces. From Fuping County of Zhili provinces[72] to the west, over the Great Wall mountain range, they would reach the Long Quan [lit. dragon spring] Pass. This Long Quan Pass was actually the eastern gateway to Mount Wutai. The stony path was rugged, the ridges and peaks were high and steep. Upon entering Mount Wutai, the first temple they encountered was the Yong Quan Temple [lit. bubbling spring].


    That evening Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er seek lodging at the Lu Family Village neighboring the Yong Quan Temple. They ate a bowl of mutton and bread soup and some candy. He recalled the cold demeanor of the Yong Quan Temple''s monk when he was asking about the Qing Liang Temple''s location earlier that day. When the monk saw how young he was, the monk did not pay him any attention; instead of explaining the location of the Qing Liang Temple, the monk asked him back, "The road is long and difficult to walk, what are you going to Qing Liang Temple for?" This nasty attitude was seventy-percent similar to the selfish, concerned-only-with-gaining-advantages-for-themselves, bald-headed thieves of the Chan Zhi Temple [lit. Dhyana Wisdom] in Yangzhou. It would not be easy to look for Emperor Shunzhi when he reached Qing Liang Temple later; he must find another way.


    While his mouth was chewing the candy, his mind was churning, "They say money will make the devil turn millstones, perhaps I can make the monks to turn the millstones as well. I once heard the storyteller told the story of Lu Zhishen of the ''Water Margin'' went to Mount Wutai to become a monk. A certain outsider gave considerable alms to the Temple. Lu Zhishen created havoc in the Temple, drinking wine and eating dog meat, yet the old monk was not angry. That''s right, I am going to pretend that I need to perform a Buddhist ceremony, scatter a large sum of money in the Temple, and then making an excuse to stay in the Temple and won''t leave, and thus I can slowly looking for the old Emperor. The old monks can''t possibly drive me away."


    However, upon entering the mountain, other than the temples, they did not see any town where he could exchange a five-hundred-tael banknote. Without any choice they had to leave Long Quan Pass and returned to Fuping. He exchanged the banknote into silver currency, and then both he and Shuang''er changed into brand new clothes; he thought, "I want to perform a Buddhist ceremony, but I don''t understand anything. I am afraid I''ll give myself away in short moment. I should have some practice first."


    Thereupon he went to a temple within the Fuping county city wall called the Jixiang Temple [lit. auspicious/lucky] and kowtowed several times in front of the Buddha image. The welcoming monk came out with a register book, writing brush and ink stone. Wei Xiaobao brushed him off and said, "Giving alms is giving alms, why do you need to write anything?" He took out a fifty-tael worth of yuanbao and handed it over to the monk. The monk was greatly surprised, thinking that this young benefactor was very generous, which was a rarity in the world. Immediately he thanked him repeatedly, invited him to the dining room and offered him vegetarian dishes and plain noodles.


    Hearing the three characters ''big Buddhist ceremony'', the Abbot stood up immediately and said, "Shizhu [benefactor], all temples under the heavens are dedicated to worship Buddha, the same Bodhisattva. If you want to perform a Buddhist ceremony, it would be better to do it in a small temple, which will cover everything you need thoroughly and properly; actually you don''t need to painstakingly go up Mount Wutai."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "That won''t do," he said, "This Buddhist ceremony is my cherished desire, I simply must perform it on Mount Wutai." While saying that, he took out another fifty-tael worth of yuanbao and said, "How about this: find someone for me to accompany me to Mount Wutai and be my helper. This fifty-tael is for him."


    The old monk was greatly delighted. "That''s easy, that''s easy!" he said. He had a younger cousin[73] who was the caretaker of the temple property: collecting the rent and purchasing stuffs for the temple, everything was handled by him, but he was not a monk. Immediately the old monk summoned him and introduced him to Wei Xiaobao.


    This man was surnamed Yu, given name single character Ba, a loud-mouthed man, but his nickname was ''One Less Stroke''. Actually, if a stroke (һ) is added to the character Yu (��), it will become the character Wang (��), therefore, Yu Ba (�ڰ�) will change into Wang Ba (����)[74]. In just a few words, Wei Xiaobao had already felt that he was a very congenial companion. Since he was little, Wei Xiaobao was used to hang around this kind of boorish man in the marketplace. This time suddenly he met one such man in Fuping County, he had the feeling like he had met an old friend far from home.


    Wei Xiaobao consulted the Abbot again on various customs involved in performing Buddhist ceremony. The Abbot told him everything he knew, and he talked endlessly. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Buddhist monks'' rules are indeed a lot!" He donated twenty more taels.


    Taking Yu Ba along, Wei Xiaobao returned to the inn, took out some money, and sent him off to buy everything they need. With money in his hand, Yu Ba worked really fast; before long, he had returned with all his purchases. For himself, he bought a set of fresh and bright colored clothes. "Wei Xianggong," he said, "You are a rich man, now that I am your attendant, I should put on something with more style, don''t you think? This set of clothes, shoes and hat is no more than three taels and five qian."


    Wei Xiaobao thought he had a good point, thereupon he sent him off again to buy several sets of luxurious clothing for him and Shuang''er. With a lot of fanfare the three of them went out the Long Quan Pass, followed by eight porters, each carrying a shoulder pole laden with vegetarian food and gifts for Buddhist monks, travelled along the main road heading south.


    Upon entering Mount Wutai, after walking for only several li, they had already seen a temple. After the Yong Quan Temple, there was Jing Tai Lu [lit. scripture platform foothill] Temple, and then Shi Fo [lit. Buddha Rock] Temple, Pu Ji [lit. universal crossing] Temple, Gu Fo [lit. ancient Buddha] Temple, Jin Gang [lit. diamond, steel or Vajra - Buddha''s warrior attendant] Warehouse, Bai Yun [lit. white cloud] Temple, Jin Deng [lit. golden lantern] Temple, and finally Ling Jing [lit. virtual environment] Temple.


    That evening they spent the night at the Ling Jing Temple. At dawn the next day, they continued northbound until they reached Jin Ge [lit. golden pavilion] Temple, and then turned west for several li, and arrived at the Qing Liang Temple. This Qing Liang Temple was located at the peak of Qing Liang mountain. It was not more imposing compared to the other temples they saw along the way, the main gate to the monastery was shabby; obviously it was worn down by years of non-repair. Wei Xiaobao was rather disappointed, "When the Emperor left home to become a Buddhist monk, he must have chosen the biggest temple. I am afraid the old turtle Hai was just spouting nonsense, perhaps the old emperor became a monk not in this place."


    Yu Ba entered the gate to inform the welcoming monk that a certain high official from Beijing by the surname of Wei had come to perform a Buddhist ceremony, to fast and to offer sacrificial offering to Buddha. Looking at the luxurious clothing this party of people wore, plus the eight shoulder poles of offering, the welcoming monk immediately invited them in and offered them some tea, while he went in to report to the Abbot.


    The Abbot, old monk Cheng Guang [lit. clear light] came into the side room to meet Wei Xiaobao. He asked, "I wonder what kind of Buddhist ceremony Benefactor is going to perform?"


    Seeing this Abbot Cheng Guang was very tall, but as thin as a stick, his eyes were half-closed, his overall appearance looked washed out, Wei Xiaobao was even more disappointed, he said, "Disciple wants to perform a seven days and seven nights Buddhist ceremony on behalf of disciple''s deceased father, as well as several deceased friends, so that they may be released from suffering."


    Cheng Guang said, "There are many big temples within Beijing''s city limit, temples on Mount Wutai are also numerous; I wonder why did Benefactor specifically travel so far away to Mount Wutai and go to a small temple to perform Buddhist ceremony?"


    Wei Xiaobao had anticipated this question, hence he had already discussed it over with Yu Ba. He said, "My mother had a dream on the fifteenth of last month. In her dream she saw my deceased father, who told her that during his life he had committed grave sins, he said we must go to Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai, to ask Fangzhang Dashi [Great Master Abbot] to perform a seven days and seven nights repentance ritual to clear away the blood disaster so that my father in the underworld does not receive endless agony."


    He did not know his own father, neither did he know if his father was still alive or had already died. When he said those words, he could not help feeling funny; he mused, "Damn it, you gave birth to laozi, and then washed your hand and did not care at all, you deserve to go to hell. Now laozi is giving you a seven days and seven nights Buddhist ceremony, it is your enormous good fortune."


    "So that''s how it is," Cheng Guang said, "Young Benefactor, the proverb said it well: the day has its thought, the night has its dream. The matter of the dream must never be taken seriously."


    "Da Heshang [great monk]," Wei Xiaobao said, "The proverbs said it well: it is better to believe than disbelieve. Even if what my father said in the dream was not real, by performing a Buddhist ceremony on his behalf to release his soul from suffering, we are performing a virtue. But if my father really did say those words, yet we do not do as he wished, in the underworld he is being bullied and tormented by the Ox-Head, Horse-Face and little demon Wuchang, that ... that ... won''t I always feel a little bit bad? Besides, I am under my mother''s order. Mother said that the old abbot of Qing Liang Temple of Mount Wutai has a destiny with her; this Buddhist ceremony must be performed in your precious temple." He mused, "You have a destiny with my Mama, this is preposterous! Have you ever been to the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou to be my mother''s customer?"


    "Hey," Cheng Guang exclaimed, "Benefactor did not know this: my humble temple is of Zen Buddhism. This kind of repentance ritual is a Pure Land[75] Sects'' matter, which we do not do. On this Mount Wutai, Jin Ge Temple, Pu Ji Temple, Da Fo Temple, Yan Qing Temple, and many more are of the Pure Land Sect. Benefactor is advised to go to one of those temples to perform the Buddhist ceremony."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that in Fuping County, the Abbot was trying to seize the opportunity to perform the Buddhist ceremony, but here, this old monk had used all sorts of excuses trying to push away the money delivered into his gate with both hands; something strange was going on here. He asked over and over, but Cheng Guang did not budge. He stood up and said to the welcoming monk, "Show the Benefactor the way to Jin Ge Temple, Lao Na


    [76] keeps him company only for a moment."


    Wei Xiaobao was anxious, he hastily said, "Since the Abbot insists on not giving me permission, I want to ask the great monks of your precious temple to receive the alms: the Buddhist robes, the monk hats, as well as the money I bring to your precious temple."


    Cheng Guang put his palms together, "Many thanks," he said. Seeing eight shoulder poles of gifts Wei Xiaobao brought, unexpectedly he did not show the least bit of enthusiasm.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Mother instructed me to personally hand over each gift to the great monks of your precious monastery, even the monks helping with the fire and growing vegetable in the garden are to have a share. I bring altogether three hundred sets of gift, if it is not enough, we will go buy some more."


    Cheng Guang said, "Enough, it''s too much. Our temple has only fifty something people. Would Benefactor please leave only fifty or sixty sets? That would be enough."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Is it possible to ask the Abbot to summon the monks in the temple, so that I could personally hand over the gift? This is my mother''s wish; no matter what I must accomplish it."


    Cheng Guang raised his head, suddenly his eyes flashed like lightning, as he swept his gaze over Wei Xiaobao''s face. "Very well!" he said, "Our Buddha is merciful, let it be as the Benefactor wishes." Turning around, he walked inside.


    Looking at his bamboo-pole like back walking inside, Wei Xiaobao felt an unspeakably uncomfortable feeling in his heart. Awkwardly he lifted the tea cup into his mouth. Standing behind him, Yu Ba muttered in low voice, "In all his life, the one surnamed Yu has rarely seen this kind of unlucky old monk. No wonder in such a big temple like Qing Liang Temple, even the golden image of Bodhisattva is tattered."


    They heard the bell in the temple was struck, the welcoming monk said, "Please step into the western hall to give your alms."


    Wei Xiaobao went to the western hall; he saw the monks were streaming in. He handed over the gift one by one, while attentively looking at each monk''s face. He thought, "I have never seen the Emperor Shunzhi, but he is the young emperor''s papa, their appearances must be somewhat similar. As long as I can find a monk that look like an older version of the young emperor, he must be it."


    But after he finished handing over more than fifty sets of gifts, not only he did not see any ''older version of the young emperor'', he could not find even a single monk with one or two part resemblance to the young emperor. Wei Xiaobao was very disappointed; but suddenly he remembered, "He was the Emperor; with his status, how could he come to accept alms like clothing and hats? This plan of mine is really stupid!" He asked the welcoming monk, "Have all monks in your precious temple come?"


    The welcoming monk replied, "Everybody has received your alms, thank you very much for Benefactor''s generosity."


    "Everyone has received the gift?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I am afraid it''s not necessarily true, perhaps there are some people who are unwilling to come and get the gift."


    "Benefactor is joking," the welcoming monk said, "How can there be such thing?"


    "Those who have left home do not tell lies," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you deceive me, when you die, your tongue will be pulled out in hell." As soon as the welcoming monk heard that, his countenance changed. Wei Xiaobao said, "Since there are still some monks who have not received the gift, would great monk please invite him to receive it?"


    The welcoming monk shook his head. "Only Fangzhang Dashi has not received the gift," he said, "I think we do not need to ask the Senior to come out again."


    Right this moment, a monk hurriedly rushed in. "Shixiong," he said, "There are more than a dozen lamas outside wishing to see the Abbot." And then with a low voice he added, "They all carry weapons, and are rubbing their fists and palms; their purpose in coming is definitely not good."


    The welcoming monk frowned and said, "Like river water and well water, the green and yellow temples of Mount Wutai have never interfered with each other. What do they want, coming over here? Go and report to the Abbot, I am coming out to look." Finished speaking, he turned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Excuse me," and then with quick steps he went out.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am afraid those stinky lamas are here for us." He thought Shuang''er''s martial art skill was superior, a dozen or so lamas should not give them any problem. Suddenly he heard commotion from outside the gate, a group of people were crashing into the Hall of Great Strength[77]. Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us see the excitement." Pulling Shuang''er''s hand, he went out together with her.


    As they arrived at the main hall, they saw the welcoming monk was surrounded by a dozen or so yellow-robed lamas, who were shouting randomly and talking to him at once, "We must search; someone personally saw him coming to Qing Liang Temple." "You are in the wrong here, why do you hide people?" "Just hand him over to us nicely, we''ll let this matter drop; otherwise, humph, humph!"


    [The following paragraph does not exist in the 3rd Edition, which makes sense, since Wei Xiaobao has never met any lamas before:


    Wei Xiaobao went into the main hall and stood with hands on his waist, thinking, "Laozi is here, go get your horse and get me." Who would have thought that those lamas ignored him completely; no one even cast a glance to him.]Amidst the commotion, Abbot Cheng Guang walked in; he asked slowly, "What''s the matter?"


    The welcoming monk said, "It''s good for the Abbot to know, they ..."


    As soon as the word ''Abbot'' came out of his mouth, the lamas swarmed around Cheng Guang, shouting, "You are the Abbot? That''s great!" "Quickly hand the man over! If not, your temple will be burned to the ground." "This is preposterous, really preposterous!" "Are you telling me that after you become a Buddhist monk, you throw reasons out the window?"


    Cheng Guang asked, "May I ask, from which temple are numerous Shixiong coming from? You have honored our humble temple with your presence, I wonder what is the purpose of your visit?"


    A lama wearing red kasaya over his yellow robe replied, "We came from Tibet, we come to the Central Plain on business under the order of the Living Buddha. Who knew that one of our young lama attendants was kidnapped by a wicked monk, and is hidden inside the Qing Liang Temple? Monk Abbot, quickly hand over our young lama; otherwise, we won''t let this matter rest."


    "That''s very strange," Cheng Guang replied, "Our temple here is Zen Buddhism green temple, we usually do not have any association with Tibetan Tantra Buddhists. Why don''t you inquire to the yellow temples everywhere about your missing young lama?"


    The lama angrily said, "Someone saw it with his own eyes; that lama is in Qing Liang Temple. That was the reason we came here to inquire. Otherwise, do you think we have just eaten our rice until we are full and have nothing else to do, and thus we came here to make a scene? Decide it for yourself, if you hand over the young lama quickly, we will look at the monk''s face or Buddha''s face, we won''t investigate this matter further."


    Cheng Guang shook his head and said, "Even if there was a young lama coming to Qing Liang Temple, and gentlemen did not come to inquire, Lao Na can''t possibly hide him here."


    Several lamas shouted together, "Let us search you temple then!"


    Cheng Guang still shook his head, "This is Buddhist''s peaceful place, how can I let people search around as they wish?"


    The leader of the lamas said, "If you do not feel as guilty as a thief, why don''t you let us search? Obviously the young lama is here, he is definitely in the Qing Liang Temple."


    Cheng Guang shook his head. Two lamas reached out and grabbed him by the collar, shouting, "Will you or will you not let us search the temple?" Another lama said, "Could it be that there are women of good families hidden in the great monk''s temple, hence you are afraid others might find out? Otherwise, what''s the big deal of letting us search your temple?" By this time, about a dozen monks from Qing Liang Temple had come out, but they were blocked by the lamas so that they were unable to come near their Abbot.


    [2nd Edition: In low voice Shuang''er asked, "Xianggong, shall I get rid of them?"


    "Wait a moment!" Wei Xiaobao said.]He [Wei Xiaobao] thought, "Clearly these lamas are here to make trouble without reason; how can this temple hide some young lama? Is it possible that their intention is the same as mine, they are also looking for Emperor Shunzhi?"


    He saw a flash of white light, two lamas already had daggers in their hands, each pointing at Cheng Guang''s chest and back. With stern voice they said, "If you don''t allow us to search, we''ll kill you first."


    Cheng Guang''s face did not show the smallest hint of fear. "Amitabha Buddha," he said, "We all are Buddha''s disciples, why should you use force?"


    The two lamas slightly pushed their daggers forward. "Great Monk," they shouted, "Please forgive our offense." Cheng Guang''s body slipped sideways, carried by their own momentum, the two lamas'' daggers were thrust into each other''s chest. The two of them hastily stretched out their left palms to push into each other and hence they both withdrew several steps backward.


    The rest of the people shouted, "Qing Liang Temple''s Abbot assaults people! He commits murder!" In the middle of their shouts, from the main door rushed thirty, forty people; there were monks, lamas, and several lay people wearing long gowns. An old lama with white beard and wearing yellow robe shouted, "Did Qing Liang Temple''s Abbot kill someone?"


    Cheng Guang put his palms together, "Those who left home to be Buddhist monks use mercy as the guiding principle; how can they rashly violate the commandment against taking life? Shixiong, Benefactors, where did you come from?" To a fifty-something old monk he said, "Turns out Fo Guang Temple''s Abbot Xinxi himself has honored us with his presence, and yet I did not come out far enough to welcome you. Please forgive my offense."


    Fo Guang Temple was the oldest among big temples on Mount Wutai. It was constructed during the first Wei Emperor Xiao Wen, and was quite established for a long time. Local people had a saying, "First it was Fo Guang Temple, then there is Mount Wutai." Actually, Mount Wutai''s original name was Mount Qing Liang [same Qing Liang as the temple''s name], afterwards, with the discovery of the five major peaks, it was renamed Mount Wutai, but at that time, Fo Guang Temple had already been established. The name Mount Wutai was only changed during the great undertaking of establishing the Sui Dynasty. Within the Buddhist community, Fo Guang Temple position was far above Qing Liang Temple, and thus Abbot Xinxi was the de facto leader of various green temples on Mount Wutai.


    This monk was fat with big head and plump ears, his face was greasy and shiny; with a giggle he said, "Cheng Guang Shixiong, let me introduce you to two friends." Pointing to the old lama, he said, "This is Great Lama Bayan Fashi


    [78], who has just arrived from Lhasa, Tibet, the one most doted on and trusted by the Seat of the Living Buddha, the Great Lama with most authority."


    Cheng Guang put his palms together and said, "Brought together by fate, I pay my respect to the Great Lama." Bayan nodded, his manner was very arrogant.


    Xinxi pointed to a man wearing dark green plain garment, a scholar of about thirty something, and said, "This is the famous scholar of Western Sichuan, Huangfu Ge, Mr. Huangfu."


    Huangfu Ge cupped his fist across his chest and said, "It''s an honor to meet Great Monk Cheng Guang, whose divine martial ability is well-known. Today I can see you, it is truly the good fortune of three lifetimes."


    Cheng Guang put his palms together and said, "The old monk is indeed very old, when I was little, I learned some tiny skill, but I have already forgotten about it completely. Huangfu Jushi[79] is quite established in both pen and sword, deserving my congratulations."


    Hearing these people were speaking politely to each other, Wei Xiaobao thought that the fight most probably would not happen; there would not be any excitement to watch, therefore, there would be less opportunity for him to fish in troubled water, an opportunity for him to look for the old emperor. Inwardly, he was quite disappointed.


    "Great Monk," Bayan said, "From Tibet I brought along a young disciple, but he is detained in your temple. Please look at the Living Buddha''s golden face and release him; everybody will appreciate your kindness."


    Cheng Guang showed a faint smile as he said, "These several Shixiong came to create trouble in my humble temple, Lao Na was not willing to lower myself to their level. Dashi is a fair and reasonable man, how could you also listen to rumor? Since Qing Liang Temple was established, perhaps today is the very first time we are honored with the lama masters'' visit. Where did you hear that we have detained your precious temple''s disciple?"


    Bayan rolled his eyes, with a loud voice he barked, "Are you saying we accused you wrongly? You don''t want to drink as a forfeit but take �� take a toast." His Chinese was not too good, it was actually ''to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit'', but he said it backwards.


    Xinxi laughed and said, "The two gentlemen must not harm the friendly relation. In Lao Na''s opinion, whether that young lama is in the Qing Liang Temple or not, speaking is cheap, the proof is in seeing. Let Huangfu Jushi and this impoverished monk be the witness, everybody can search around the Qing Liang Temple just this once. Seeing Buddha worship Buddha, meeting a monk nodding to the monk; each place, each monk will see it himself, if the young lama is still cannot be found, won''t that mean we don''t have any problem anymore?" Speaking back and forth, in the end he still wanted to do a search of the Qing Liang Temple.


    A displeased expression flashed on Cheng Guang''s face. He said, "These lama masters came from Tibet, no wonder they do not understand our Han people''s custom. Xinxi Dashi is a person of virtue and prestige, how could you say such thing? If this young lama was indeed lost on Mount Wutai, then every monastery has to be searched, perhaps we must start from Fo Guang Temple."


    Xinxi giggled and said, "If after we search for him in Qing Liang Temple and still cannot find him, if these lamas wish to take a look at Fo Guang Temple, they are very, very welcome to do so."


    Bayan said, "Someone saw it with his own eyes that the young fellow is definitely in the Qing Liang Temple, hence we came here to inquire. Otherwise, we would not dare �� would not dare to be this �� this brave in the dark [��ð- mei mao]." He wanted to say ''presumptuous'' [ð�� �C mao mei], but had it backward again.


    Cheng Guang said, "I wonder who had seen him?"


    Bayan pointed to Huangfu Ge and said, "This Mr. Huangfu has seen him; he is a greatly well-known man, he can''t possibly tell a lie."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "You are obviously in cahoots with each other, how can you be the witness?" He could not help but asking, "How old is that young lama?"


    All along Bayan, Xinxi, Huangfu Ge and the others did not take any notice of the two children standing on the side. Suddenly hearing him asking question, they all turned their attention to him. They saw his magnificent and expensive clothing and personal adornments, the gem embedded on his hat, and the pearls pinned on his lapel. In short, he was a young boy from a rich family. The young boy attendant standing by his side was also wearing silk and satin. Xinxi laughed and said, "That young lama is more or less of the same age as young master."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and said, "That''s what I thought. Didn''t we just clearly see this young lama? He was entering a big temple. There were several characters written in front of the temple. That''s right, I think it was ''Fo Guang Temple'', three large characters. This young lama has entered the Fo Guang Temple." As soon as he said that, Bayan and the others'' countenances changed. But Cheng Guang was secretly happy.


    Bayan shouted, "Hushuo Badao, Hushuo Jiudao[80]!" He thought by adding one degree of ''way'' he would increase the degree of absurdity.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Hushuo Shidao, Hushuo Shiyidao, Hushuo Shi''erdao, Hushuo Shisandao!" [ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen, respectively]Bayan was unable to restrain his rage; reaching out, he was going to grab Wei Xiaobao''s chest. Cheng Guang raised his right hand slightly, the sleeve of his robe sent out a strong gust of wind toward the base of Bayan''s elbow. Bayan stretched his left hand forward, like a bird''s claw his five fingers grabbed the sleeve. Cheng Guang pulled his arm back, his sleeve coiled around the claw so that the grabbing movement was halted. Bayan called out, "You are concealing our Seat of Living Buddha''s young lama, now you want to fight and kill people? Rebellion, rebellion!"


    In a loud and clear voice Huangfu Ge said, "Everybody calm down, if you have something to say, let''s discuss it over, don''t play rough." As soon as the word ''rough'' left his mouth, suddenly from outside the temple a large group of people called out together, "Mr. Huangfu''s order: Everybody calm down, if you have something to say, let''s discuss it over, don''t play rough."


    Listening to the sound, it seemed like several hundred people had surrounded Qing Liang Temple. These people heard Huangfu Ge''s loud and clear voice, and immediately echoed him together, obviously they wanted to intimidate the opponent. Even Cheng Guang, whose internal energy cultivation was very deep, as he suddenly heard this sudden rise of voice, could not help but was greatly shaken.


    With a chuckle Huangfu Ge said, "Abbot Cheng Guang, you are a martial art expert of older generation in the Wulin world, yet you are covering your light and nurturing in the dark in here, everybody admires you very much. This Great Lama Bayan wants to search your precious monastery, why don''t you allow him to do so? Great Monk walks in straight path, treads on upright way, the wind clears up the sky revealing the moon, Qing Liang Temple does not have anything that other people cannot see, why would we all harm the friendliness of the Wulin world?"


    Cheng Guang was secretly worried; although he himself had a high martial art skill, in Qing Liang Temple he only sat in meditation and expounded Buddhist teachings, and did not impart martial art skill to his disciples at all. So among the fifty something monks in Qing Liang Temple, very few knew martial art. When he exchanged a move with Bayan just a moment ago, he sensed that Bayan''s left hand claw, the ''bird''s claw skill'', was indeed very formidable. And then he heard Huangfu Ge''s loud and clear voice in demonstrating his profound internal energy, it was indeed no small matter. Even without the several hundred people outside the temple, just these two martial art masters were already very difficult to resist.


    Seeing he hesitating without saying anything, Huangfu Ge laughed and said, "Even if in Qing Liang Temple there are really several good-looking women, letting everybody admire them is indeed a treat for the eyes." His words were extremely frivolous, he did not show the least bit of consideration toward Cheng Guang''s feeling.


    Xinxi laughed and said, "Abbot Shixiong, if that''s the case, why don''t you let this Great Lama searching your temple?" While saying that, he had a smirk on his face.


    Preceding the others, Bayan walked toward the rear hall in big strides. Cheng Guang thought that the opposite party had come fully prepared, even if he could block Bayan and Huangfu Ge, he could not possibly stop the people they brought along. If a tangled battle ensued, Qing Liang Temple would suffer a great misfortune. In that instant his mind was in a whirl, he heaved a deep sigh, and could only watch helplessly as Bayan and about a dozen of his men entered the inner hall; with no other choice, he followed them in.


    Bayan, Xinxi and Huangfu Ge talked among themselves in low voices, while their men were entering and searching the temple buildings and the monks'' residence one by one. Without their Abbot''s order, the monks of Qing Liang Temple could only glower at these men, without trying to block them at all.


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er were following behind Abbot Cheng Guang. They noticed that the sleeve of his monk robe was continuously trembling, obviously in his heart he was extremely angry.


    Suddenly from the monks'' residence in the western wing they heard someone loudly called out, "Is it him?"


    Huangfu Ge rushed toward the voice, two men grabbing a middle-aged monk came out. This monk was approximately forty-some years old, and had a thin face, he said, "Why are you grabbing me?"


    Huangfu Ge shook his head. The two men laughed and said, "Please forgive our offense!" and released the monk.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was as bright as snow: these men were looking for Emperor Shunzhi, there was no doubt about it.


    With a cold laugh Cheng Guang said, "So you think this monk of our temple is the young lama of the Seat of Living Buddha?"


    Huangfu Ge did not respond; he saw his men were dragging another middle-aged monk out. He looked at the monk''s face and shook his head.


    "So you know Emperor Shunzhi," Wei Xiaobao mused, "If this searching continues, sooner or later they will find Emperor Shunzhi. He is the young emperor''s father, I will have to think of a way to protect him." But the opponent had many men and great force; how he was going to protect him, he did not have the slightest idea.


    Several dozen people had already searched to a small vihara at the northeastern side of the monastery. Seeing the door to the courtyard was tightly closed, they called out, "Open the door, open the door!"


    Cheng Guang said, "This is where a senior monk of our temple lives in seclusion; he has been here for seven years, you must not disturb his peace."


    Xinxi said with a laugh, "This time people from the outside are getting in, it''s not that the monk who shut himself down cannot endure it and thus trying to get out on his own account. What''s the big deal about it?"


    A big and tall lama called out, "Why doesn''t anybody open the door? Most probably he is in here!" Lifting up his foot, he kicked the door.


    Cheng Guang''s shadow flashed, he had already blocked in front of the lama. The lama was unable to hold back the momentum, his right foot flew and hit Cheng Guang''s lower abdomen. ''Crack!'' the lama''s leg bones were broken and he tumbled backwards.


    Bayan let out a strange ''wah, wah'' shout; his left hand flew forward, his right hand made a half circle backward, both were in the shape of a claw, clawing toward Cheng Guang. Cheng Guang stood in front of the gate. ''Whoosh, whoosh!'' he sent out two palm strikes to counter Bayan''s claws.


    "Good! Wisdom Palm!" Huangfu Ge called out. A finger of his left hand went out, a gust of strong wind assaulted Cheng Guang''s face. Cheng Guang sidestepped to the left, ''Slap!'' the strong wind struck the wooden gate.


    Using the Wisdom Palm, Cheng Guang focused his attention on the battle. Bayan and Huangfu Ge launched a converging attack from left and right. Cheng Guang moved very slow, one by one he launched a series of palm attacks, seemingly without any power, but the palm created faint gusts of wind, evidently his own power was quite profound. Bayan and Huangfu Ge''s several dozen men cheered and shouted to boost these two men''s spirit. Bayan launched several fierce attacks, but all were neutralized by Cheng Guang''s palm strength.


    Bayan grew impatient; increasing the speed of his attacks, he suddenly grunted, his left hand rose up, his several dozen white beards floated down, he managed to catch Cheng Guang''s beards, but his right shoulder was hit by Cheng Guang''s palm. At first he did not feel anything strange, but gradually his right arm grew heavier and heavier, it became difficult for him to raise his right hand. Suddenly he let out a roar and dodged sideways. With raised steel sabers, four lamas charged toward Cheng Guang. Cheng Guang''s leg flew up and kicked two men, his left palm struck out and landed on the third lama''s chest. "Ah!" the lama cried out loudly, and leaped back. Right this moment, the fourth lama''s saber hacked down. Cheng Guang used his sleeve to brush it away, and then the sleeve continued to coil around the lama''s wrist. He saw Bayan''s was charging forward with one hand up, the other hand down. Cheng Guang moved to the right to evade, but suddenly he felt a strong wind attacked his body. "Not good!" he groaned inwardly; swiftly he sent out a palm strike, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his right cheek, he was stabbed by Huangfu Ge''s finger. Although his own palm had hit Huangfu Ge''s arm, it failed to break Huangfu Ge''s arm bone.


    Seeing Cheng Guang''s right cheek was bleeding, Shuang''er said in a low voice, "Must I help him?"


    "Wait a moment," Wei Xiaobao replied. His main purpose was to find Emperor Shunzhi, supposing Shuang''er joined the fray to drive everybody out, they would still be unable to find the old emperor. Much less the opponent had many men with great force, with sabers and spears, while Shuang''er was a little girl, how could she fight these many big men?


    In the meantime, the Qing Liang Temple''s monks had seen their Abbot being trapped, they picked clubs and sticks of firewood and charged forward to help him fighting. But these monks did not know martial arts, as soon as they came up, their heads were broken and their blood flowing.


    "Everybody stop fighting!" Cheng Guang called out.


    Bayan bellowed, "Everybody kill at will!" The lamas were encouraged not to show mercy at all, in an instant four Qing Liang Temple''s monk were chopped down that their heads separated from their bodies.


    Seeing the viciousness of the enemy in killing people, the rest of the monks did not dare to join the fight, they only stood far away, shouting and yelling. Cheng Guang slightly lost his concentration, and was hit by Huangfu Ge''s finger again. The finger was hitting the right side of his chest.


    Huangfu Ge laughed and said, "Shaolin Pai''s Wisdom Palm is only so-so. Isn''t the Great Monk going to surrender?"


    "Amitabha Buddha," Cheng Guang said, "Benefactor''s sin is not small at all."


    Suddenly two lamas dropped down and rolled on the ground while brandishing their sabers, trying to chop his legs. Cheng Guang lifted up his leg and kicked, but there was a severe pain on his chest, his vision darkened, his leg only went halfway and he was unable to continue the kick. In his daze he swiped his left palm down. As soon as the palm touched the two lamas'' head, both of them fainted immediately.


    "Dead bald donkey!" Bayan cursed. Both hands swiftly reached forward, his ten fingers grabbed Cheng Guang''s left leg. Cheng Guang was unable to stand, he collapsed to the ground. Huangfu Ge repeatedly moved his finger to seal Cheng Guang''s acupoints one by one.


    Bayan laughed aloud; with his right foot he kicked the wooden gate. ''Crack!'' the gate flew in. Bayan said with a laugh, "Come out quickly, let everybody see your appearance."


    The vihara was pitch-black and was completely quiet. "Get him out for me," Bayan said. Two lamas responded together, they rushed into the building.

 Chapter - 18 (18)

    Fat Toutuo grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s arm and pulled him out in front of the stone tablet. Wei Xiaobao randomly said that the eight copies of the sutra were separately hidden in some mountain some temple; he also said that the stone tablet also mention the Divine Dragon Cult''s Cult Leader''s name.


    Suddenly a golden ray flashed at the doorway, a large golden pestle came out from the vihara. ''Bonk, bonk'' it struck the two lamas'' heads. Immediately the golden pestle withdrew. Without making any sound the two lamas fell down, dead, at the doorway, their brains burst.


    This unforeseen event was greatly outside everybody''s anticipation. Bayan cursed in loud voice. Three more lamas charged toward the door. This time they were prepared, they all brandished their sabers to protect their heads. The first lama had just stepped into the door, the golden pestle struck down, even the saber was knocked down, together the golden pestle and the saber struck the lama''s head. With all his might the second lama raised his saber to block, but it was as if the golden pestle went down with a force of thousand catties, unexpectedly the saber failed completely in blocking the golden pestle. ''Bonk!'' the lama''s skull was crushed. The third lama was so scared that his countenance looked like clay. His saber fell down, he turned around and fled.


    Bayan opened his mouth, cursing and swearing, but he did not dare to personally attack the door. Huangfu Ge called out, "Get on the roof, take off the roof tiles and throw them inside." Immediately four men jumped onto the roof, took off the tiles, and threw the tiles inside through the hole on the roof. Huangfu Ge called out again, "Throw sand and stoned into the building." Following his order, the men under his command picked up sand and stones from the ground and threw it into the vihara through the wooden gate.


    Most of the sand and stones going through the door was hit by the man inside the building using the golden pestle so that it flew back outside, but one by one all the tiles from the roof fell down. This way, no matter how high the person inside the building''s martial art skill was, he would not be able to protect himself. Suddenly, a bellow like a mad ox was heard, a big and tall monk strode out of the building, carrying another monk in his left hand, and turning the golden pestle in his right hand like a wheel. This huge monk was at least half a head taller than ordinary man. His stature was impressive, just like a deity. Swinging the golden pestle in his hand so that it created flashing yellow light, he roared, "Are you all bored of being alive?" His face was purplish red, with short beard that looked like a clump of wild grass. His monk robe was tattered, the holes on his robe exposed his sinewy muscles, his arms were bulging and his waist thick, his hands and feet were big. Seeing this kind of awe-inspiring man, Huangfu Ge, Bayan, and the others could not help but retreated a few steps backwards.


    Bayan called out, "This bald thief is only one man, what are you afraid of? Let''s attack together!"


    Huangfu Ge called out, "Everybody be careful, don''t harm the monk by his side."


    Everybody turned their attention to the monk. He was approximately thirty something, tall and slim, his face looked handsome and elegant. He was looking down, as if he did not consider the situation around him was worthy to be looked at with one eye.Wei Xiaobao''s heart jumped, he thought it over, "This man must be the young emperor''s papa, it''s just that their appearances are not the same. He is lot more handsome than the young emperor. Turns out he is still this young."


    Right this moment, about a dozen lamas attacked the giant monk together. The giant lama brandished his golden pestle. Endless ''bonk, bonk, bonk!'' was heard, each ''bonk'' resulted in one lama fell down to the ground, struck dead by the pestle.


    Huangfu Ge ran his hand over his waist and pulled out a flexible whip. From the hand of a lama subordinate of his, Bayan snatched a weapon, which was a pair of short iron hammers. The two of them attacked together from left and right. Huangfu Ge''s flexible whip trembled, the tip of his whip coiled horizontally, ''shua!'' it left a mark on the giant monk''s neck.


    "Wah, wah!" the monk let out an unintelligible cry, while swinging his pestle to strike Bayan. Bayan raised his pair of hammers to block. There was a loud ''Clang!'' Bayan''s arms went numb, the pair of hammers fell off his hands. But the monk''s shoulder was hit by the flexible whip again. Now everybody could see clearly that the monk only possessed extraordinary strength, but his martial art skill was only mediocre.


    One lama sneaked in and grabbed the middle-aged monk''s left arm. The monk grunted, but he did not try to struggle at all. In a low voice Wei Xiaobao said "Protect that monk."


    "Yes," Shuang''er replied. Her shadow flashed, she stretched out her hand to jab the lama''s waist, the lama blocked with his finger. She turned around and stretched out her finger in a feign attack toward Huangfu Ge''s face. Huangfu Ge turned to the right to evade, she quickly turned around and pierced the pit of Bayan''s stomach with her finger.


    "Mother ��" Bayan cursed and fell face up.


    Shuang''er turned to the east and circled to the west, her tender hands fluttered, more than a dozen men that Bayan and Huangfu Ge''s brought along fell down one after another. Xinxi called out, "Hey, hey, young �� young benefactor ��"


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "Hey, hey, old monk!" Stretching out her finger, she pierced his waist.


    Huangfu Ge flicked his flexible whip to protect his front, back, left and right. ''Whoosh, whoosh!'' the whip created whistling wind in a circle about a zhang in diameter; it was so tight that not even water would be able to penetrate. Shuang''er circled around outside the whip''s circumference. Huangfu Ge''s whip moved faster and faster, several times the whip almost struck Shuang''er''s body, but she was always able to evade with her fast and nimble movement.


    "Good kid!" Huangfu Ge called out. Sending his power to the whip, the flexible whip turned into a long spear, it went straight toward the pit of Shuang''er''s stomach. Shuang''er''s feet slipped and she fell forward, her finger extended toward Huangfu Ge''s lower abdomen. Huangfu Ge raised his left palm to block her piercing finger, followed by a flick of his flexible whip that the tip of his whip coiled back to strike Shuang''er'' back. Shuang''er dropped drown and rolled away; her position was rather awkward.


    Seeing Shuang''er was in a disadvantageous situation, Wei Xiaobao was very anxious. He bent down to grab some dirt to be thrown onto Huangfu Ge''s eyes, but the ground was swept very clean, he could not even grab a handful of dirt. Shuang''er had not stood up, Huangfu Ge''s flexible whip had already shot down toward her. "Stop fighting!" Wei Xiaobao called out. Brandishing his golden pestle the giant monk rushed forward to help. Suddenly Shuang''er''s right hand grabbed the tip of the flexible whip. Huangfu Ge exerted his strength to jerk the whip up, bringing Shuang''er''s body along with it, and throwing her into the air.


    Wei Xiaobao reached into his bosom, without caring what kind of stuff he got, he simply grabbed it and threw it onto Huangfu Ge''s face. Pieces of white paper fluttered in the air, several dozen sheets of paper obstructed Huangfu Ge''s vision. Huangfu Ge busily stretched out his hand to brush the paper away, the power in his right hand diminished instantly. Right this moment, the giant monk''s golden pestle was also coming down on the top of his head. Huangfu Ge was greatly shocked, hastily he ducked down. Shuang''er''s body was still in the air, without waiting her feet to touch the ground, her left foot kicked toward his head and hit the taiyang [sun] acupoint on Huangfu Ge''s head.


    "Aiyo!" he cried out and fell backward. ''Bang!'' sparks flew everywhere as the golden pestle struck the ground, less than half a chi from his head. As soon as Shuang''er''s right foot landed on the ground, she snatched the flexible whip from his hand.


    "Good skill!" Wei Xiaobao cheered. Pulling his dagger, he rushed forward and held it in front of Huangfu Ge''s left eye. "Tell your men to get out," he shouted, "No one is allowed to come in!"


    Huangfu Ge was unable to move; feeling the thick cold air of the dagger on his face he was greatly amazed. "All of you get out," he called out, "Tell everybody no one is allowed to come in." His several dozen men hesitated for half a day. Wei Xiaobao made a move as if he was going to thrust his dagger to kill, the men immediately rushed out of the temple.


    The giant monk opened his round eyes wide, he gazed at Shuang''er for half a day. "Hey," he said, "Good child!" Picking up the golden pestle with his left hand and supporting the middle-aged monk, he walked back into the vihara.


    Wei Xiaobao rushed two steps forward, he wanted to talk to the middle-aged monk, but he was too late. Shuang''er went toward Cheng Guang and unsealed his acupoints, saying, "These bad eggs are violent, vicious and overbearing, they offended the Great Monk."


    Cheng Guang stood up, put his palms together and said, "Young benefactor''s body and mind possess supreme feat, you have saved my temple from great catastrophe. Lao Na has the blurred vision of an old person, I did not recognize an expert, and thus has failed miserably to show respect."


    "No, you have not," Shuang''er replied, "All along you were very polite toward our young master."


    Only after calming himself down did Wei Xiaobao realize that the paper he tossed onto Huangfu Ge''s face and blurred his vision was actually a big wad of banknotes. He laughed aloud and said, "Those who see banknotes and not surrender, perhaps only a few in this world. I attacked using several tens of thousands taels, you simply can''t not cry out ''surrender''." Giggling, Shuang''er picked up the scattered banknotes and returned them to Wei Xiaobao.


    "Wei Gongzi [young master]," Cheng Guang asked, "How should we deal with the situation here?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "These three friends, tell your men to disperse!"


    Immediately Huangfu Ge raised his voice, "All of you, go down the mountain and wait for me there." They heard several hundred men outside complied together, followed by the rustling noise of footsteps, in an instant they have all left.


    Cheng Guang was relieved. He reached down to unseal Xinxi''s acupoint. "Abbot, hold on," Wei Xiaobao said, "I want to talk to you first."


    "Yes!" Cheng Guang replied, "But these several Shixiong have had their acupoints sealed for quite a long time, their hands and feet are numb, I must unseal their acupoints first."


    "It won''t do any harm to leave them for a while," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s go to that hall over there and sit down."


    Cheng Guang nodded. "Yes," he said. Turning to Xinxi, he said, "Shixiong, please don''t be impatient, I will be back shortly to unseal your acupoints." Taking Wei Xiaobao along, he went to the Buddhist hall on the west.


    "Abbot," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are these people really here to look for the young lama?" Cheng Guang was at a loss for words, he was unable to answer. Wei Xiaobao leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I know that they are here for that Emperor Monk."


    Cheng Guang''s body trembled. He nodded slowly. "Turns out the young benefactor has already known," he said.


    In a low voice Wei Xiaobao continued, "I came to your precious monastery, performing repentance ritual and Buddhist ceremony was a fake reason, actually I receive ... receive an order to protect the Emperor Monk."


    Cheng Guang nodded. "I see," he said, "Lao Na has already suspected as much. Young benefactor was rushing to Qing Liang Temple, your manner did not look like someone desiring to perform a Buddhist ceremony."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Although we have captured Huangfu Ge, Bayan, and the other, it''s like capturing a tiger is easy, letting the tiger go is difficult. Even if we take the trouble of letting them go, in just a few days they would return to nag at us endlessly; it will be very troublesome!"


    "But we must not kill them," Cheng Guang said, "There have been quite a number of people losing their lives in this temple today. Ay, Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha."


    "Killing them would be useless," Wei Xiaobao said, "How about this: tell your men to tie them up. We will investigate carefully: why did they come to look for the Emperor Monk?"


    Cheng Guang was reluctant. "This is a peaceful Buddhist establishment," he said, "We, who have left home, secretly tie up people and interrogate them, it does not seem reasonable."


    "What do you mean unreasonable?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "They came here and killed the monks in your temple, are you saying they are being reasonable? If we do not investigate clearly and think of a way to deal with them, and then they come back to kill, to set your Qing Liang Temple on fire, what should we do?"


    Cheng Guang thought for a while, then he nodded and said, "That sounds reasonable. Let it be as Benefactor instructed." He clapped his hands to summon a monk, and ordered him, "Please invite that Mr. Huangfu here, we have something we''d like to consult with him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This Huangfu Ge is very crafty, I am afraid we can''t find anything from him. Let us ask that Great Lama first."


    "Right, right," Cheng Guang said, "Why didn''t I think about it earlier?"


    Two monks dragged Bayan into the hall, they were angry at him for killing the monks of their temple, hence they threw him heavily on the floor. "Ay," Cheng Guang said, "How come you do not have any manners toward the Great Lama?"


    "Yes!" the two monks replied, and withdrew out of the hall.


    Wei Xiaobao lifted a chair with his left hand, and then with the dagger in his right hand, he scraped layer after layer off the chair''s leg. The dagger was incomparably sharp, slice by slice the chair''s leg was cut away, until it was only about a tenth or a twentieth of its original thickness, just like peeling a fruit. Cheng Guang watched with eyes opened wide, he did not understand Wei Xiaobao''s intention.


    Wei Xiaobao put down the chair, and walked toward Bayan. He ran his left hand over Bayan''s head, and raised the dagger in his right hand, making a scraping motion just like scraping away the chair''s leg just a moment ago.


    "Don''t!" Bayan cried out.


    Cheng Guang also shouted, "You can''t do that!"


    "What do you mean I can''t do that?" Wei Xiaobao said angrily, "I know all Tibetan Great Lamas are trained in some kind of iron head skill, saber and spear won''t penetrate their heads. When I was in Beijing, I have personally used this dagger to scrape a Great Lama''s head, I spent half a day and I could not cut him down. Great Lama, are you a genuine goods at fair prices, or are you a fake article? If I do not test you, how am I going to find out?"


    Bayan hastily said, "I have never trained that iron head skill, if you scrape my head, I''ll die."


    "Not necessarily," Wei Xiaobao said, "If I cut you two or three cun, you might not necessarily die. Let me scrape only a layer of your skull, just until I can see your brains. If you are telling the truth, your brain will be motionless, but if you lie, your brain will boil endlessly, just like vegetable boiled in water. I have something to ask you, if I don''t scrape open your brain, how do I know if you are telling the truth or a lie?"


    "Don''t scrape, don''t scrape," Bayan said, "I will tell you the truth."


    Wei Xiaobao ran his hand over Bayan''s scalp and said, "The truth or a lie, how do I know?"


    "If I don''t tell you the truth," Bayan said, "It won''t be too late for you to scrape my scalp then."


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment and said, "Very well, let me ask you this: who told you to come to Qing Liang Temple?"


    "It was the Great Lama Sheng Luo Tuo of Pusa Ding Zhen Rong Yuan [lit. courtyard of the genuine appearance of the crown of Bodhisattva''s head] who sent me here," Bayan replied.


    "Amitabha Buddha," Cheng Guang said, "The green and yellow temples of Mount Wutai have never had any hatred or desire for revenge, how can the Great Lama of Pusa Ding send you here to create trouble?"


    "I did not come to create trouble," Bayan said, "Sheng Luo Tuo Shixiong asked me to look for a monk in his thirties; he told me this monk had stolen the treasured scripture of our Living Buddha in Lhasa, and went into hiding in Qing Liang Temple, thus we must find and arrest him."


    "Amitabha Buddha," Cheng Guang said, "How can there be such thing?"


    Wei Xiaobao raised his dagger and shouted, "You are lying, I am going to scrape open your scalp and look at your brain."


    Wei Xiaobao saw his expression looked sincere, it did not appear to be fake at all, so he assumed Bayan was also being deceived by others, who did not want him to know the truth about Shunzhi. Thereupon he took out the Tibetan letter he snatched away from the three Tibetan lamas Shuang''er had caught. He opened it up and said, "Read it for me, tell me what it says." While saying that, he placed the blade of his dagger flat on the top of Bayan''s head.


    "Yes, yes!" Bayan said, and then he uttered some gibberish as he read the letter.


    Bayan said, "The letter says, this big �� big personality is indeed in the Qing Liang Temple of Mount Wutai. We recently received information that Shen �� Shen Long Jiao is going to invite him, we must �� must strike first and gain the upper hand."


    Hearing him mentioning ''Shen Long Jiao'' three characters, Wei Xiaobao believed he was not lying. "What else does the letter say?" he asked.


    Bayan said, "The letter says, going to Qing Liang Temple to invite this big personality is not difficult, but perhaps Shen Long Jiao has also received the information and is going to act; therefore, Sheng Luo Tuo Shixiong is asking Da He''er Shixiong of Beijing to hasten in sending a martial art master to come and render his assistance. If �� if the Great Lama Sang Jie has arrived in Beijing, the Senior is unequalled in the present age, if he personally take charge of this matter, it will be �� will be a ''not one in ten thousand failures'' [wan shi wu yi] ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and cursed, "Damn it! It''s ''not one failure in ten thousand (matters)'' [wan wu yi shi �C surefire, absolutely safe]. What do you mean ''not one in ten thousand failures''?" That he was able to correct someone else''s mistake in Chinese expression, it was a ''hard to meet in a thousand years'' opportunity, not one chance in ten thousand matters, thereupon he was very pleased with himself.


    "Yes, yes," Bayan said, "It''s one in ten thousand without failure [wan yi wu shi] ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Your Lama Granny," he said, "You''re still saying it wrong. What else?"


    "Nothing else," Bayan said, "There''s nothing else below that."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "What do you mean there''s nothing else below that? Is it I don''t have anything else down below, or is it you don''t have anything else down below?"


    "We all �� we all don''t have anything else down below," Bayan replied.


    "What do you mean we all don''t have anything else down below?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "There are no more letters below that," Bayan replied.


    Wei Xiaobao burst into loud laughter. He asked, "What kind of man is that Huangfu Ge?"


    "He is the helper that Sheng Luo Tuo Shixiong invited," Bayan replied, "He arrived only last night."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. He turned to Cheng Guang and said, "Abbot, I want to examine that fat monk from the Fo Guang Temple. If you don''t feel comfortable, there is no harm in you listening from outside the window."


    "That would be best, that would best," Cheng Guang said. He ordered Bayan to be taken out and Xinxi to be brought in, while he himself returned to the meditation room, he was not willing to listen from outside the window.


    As he entered the room, Xinxi''s face was all smiles as he said, "Two benefactors are young, yet your martial art skill is superb. Lao Na has neither seen nor heard about it. Young heroes, really amazing, amazing!"


    "F*ck your granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Who needs your boot-licking?" And he kicked Xinxi''s buttocks.


    Although Xinxi was in pain, his smile did not diminish; he said, "Yes, yes, all real heroes and warriors definitely do not like to hear boot-licking. But the old monk is being sincere, it can''t be considered as boot-licking."


    "Let me ask you," Wei Xiaobao said, "You came to create havoc in Qing Liang Temple, who sent you here?"


    "Since benefactor asks, the old monk does not dare to conceal anything from you," Xinxi replied, "The Great Lama Sheng Luo Tuo of Pusa Ding Zhen Rong Yuan sent two hundred taels for me, asking me to accompany his Shidi [younger martial brother] Bayan to come to Qing Liang Temple to look for ... look for someone. The old monk cannot receive a reward without deserving it, therefore, I was obliged to accompany him."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him again. "Rubbish!" he cursed, "You still think you can lie to me? Quickly tell me the truth."


    "Yes, yes," Xinxi said, "I can''t hide it from the benefactor, the Great Lama sent me three hundred taels."


    "Obviously it was a thousand taels," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "To tell you the truth, it was five hundred taels," Xinxi said, "If I received one more tael, the old monk is not a human."


    "What kind of ''thing'' is that Huangfu ge?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Xinxi replied, "That son of a b1tch is not a good thing, it was that crafty lama Bayan who brought him along. As soon as benefactor let me go, the old monk will immediately take him to Wutai County; I will ask the County Head Magistrate to punish him properly. Qing Liang Temple is a peaceful and quiet Buddhist establishment, how can we allow him to commit outrages here? Young benefactor, those several lives, along with several perished lamas, we can push the blame on his head."


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance sank, he said, "Clearly you killed them all, how can you push the blame on someone else''s head?"


    Xinxi beseeched him, "Good Young Master, please spare me."


    Wei Xiaobao had him removed from the room, and had Huangfu Ge in to be interrogated. But this man was very tough, he refused to answer anything. He ignored Wei Xiaobao''s intimidation with the dagger. When Shuang''er sealed his ''tian huo'' acupoint, the pain was unbearable that he could not help but groaning, but he still refused to answer Wei Xiaobao''s question. He simply said, "If you have guts, just stab your master dead with your dagger; torturing people is not a hero''s conduct."


    Wei Xiaobao respected him as a real man. "Alright," he said, "We won''t torture you." He ordered Shuang''er to unseal his ''tian huo'' acupoint.


    After he had Huangfu Ge taken out of the room, he invited Cheng Guang back and said, "We must consult that big personality on how to conclude this matter."


    Cheng Guang shook his head, "He is resolved not to see any outsider."


    Enraged, Wei Xiaobao said, "What do you mean he does not want to see outsiders? Hasn''t he seen outsiders just now? If we washed our hands and did not care, wouldn''t he be taken away by outsiders? In just a few days, the Great Lama of Beijing will send someone else here, there will be some unequalled martial art masters, and then there will be some Shen Long [divine dragon] Jiao, Wugui [turtle] Jiao people. Even if we wanted to help, we would still be no match for that many people."


    "You are right," Cheng Guang said.


    "Go talk to him," Wei Xiaobao said, "The situation is urgent, we simply must come up with a way to deal with this problem."


    Cheng Guang shook his head and said, "Lao Na has agreed that everyone in this temple, Lao Na included, will never talk to him."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am not a monk of your temple, I''ll go and talk to him."


    "You can''t, you can''t," Cheng Guang said, "As soon as young benefactor enters the vihara, his Shidi, that giant monk Xing Dian, may kill you with his pestle."


    "He won''t strike me dead," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Cheng Guang cast a glance toward Shuang''er before saying, "Even if you send your honorable servant to deal with Monk Xing Dian, Xing Chi will still refuse to talk to you."


    "Xing Chi?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is his Buddhist name Xing Chi?"


    "Yes," Cheng Guang replied, "Turns out benefactor did not know it."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Since that''s the case, there is nothing I can do. Since you don''t have any ''not one in ten thousand failures'' [wan shi wu yi] good plan, it''s a pity that a nice ancient temple like Qing Liang Temple will be destroyed in your hands as the Abbot."


    Cheng Guang frowned and showed deep concern on his face, he rubbed his hands repeatedly. Suddenly he said, "I''ll go and ask Yulin Shixiong, perhaps he has a solution."


    "And who is this Yulin Dashi?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "He is Xing Chi''s religious Shifu[82]," Cheng Guang replied.


    "That''s great," Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, "Take me to see this old monk."


    Immediately Cheng Guang led Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er out from the back door of Qing Liang Temple and walked about a li to a tiny old temple. There was no inscribed board above the temple''s door. Cheng Guang walked straight in, and continued toward the meditation room at the back. They saw an old monk, with white hair and white eyebrows, sitting on a putuan [meditation mat]. His eyes were closed in meditation; he seemed to be completely oblivious of the three people who had just walked in.


    Cheng Guang signaled them with his hand, and then he quietly sat down on another putuan at the side, lowered his head and closed his eyes, and put his palms together. Wei Xiaobao snickered inwardly; following his example, he also sat down. Shuang''er stood behind him. All around them was very quiet, it seemed that this old monk was the only one in this tiny temple.


    After a long time, the old monk still had not moved a single jot, it was as if he was already dead. Unexpectedly, Cheng Guang also did not move at all. Wei Xiaobao''s hands were numb and his legs ached, he was greatly impatient, he stood up and sat back down again, he sat down and stood back up again, while in his heart he cursed the old monk''s eighteen ancestors several dozen times.


    Then, after a long time, the old monk finally let out a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He was not surprised at all to see people in front of him, he simply nodded his head slightly.


    Cheng Guang said, "Shixiong, Xing Chi''s earthly karma has not been broken, some people came to the temple to look for him, I am asking Shixiong to resolve it according to the Dharma."


    The old monk Yulin said, "All circumstances are born in the heart, the resolution is already inside."


    Cheng Guang said, "The outside devils are heavy, Qing Liang Temple is in trouble." Thereupon he narrated how Xinxi, Bayan, Huangfu Ge, and the others had come to kidnap Xing Chi, fortunately Wei Xiaobao, master and servant, had lent their hands to save him. He also told him how several people from both sides had died, and how the enemy did not seem to be willing to let the matter drop. Yulin listened silently without making any sound, and then he closed his eyes again and went into meditation.


    Wei Xiaobao was furious; suddenly he sprang up and shouted, "F*ck ..." But he only managed to utter one word, Cheng Guang repeatedly signaled him, asking him not to be angry, and asking him to sit down and wait. This time Yulin''s meditation lasted less than an hour. Wei Xiaobao mused, "From among the big robbers and strong bandits, vixens and scoundrels of the world, no one is as annoying as this old monk."


    After all the trouble, Yulin finally opened his eyes once again. He asked, "Benefactor Wei came from Beijing?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Benefactor Wei is working at His Majesty''s side?" Yulin asked again.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he sprang up and said, "You ... you ... how did you know?"


    "Lao Na is only guessing," Yulin replied.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This old monk is of some demonic school, perhaps he really has some magical power." Thereupon he did not dare to curse him in his heart anymore; he sat back down obediently.


    Yulin said, "His Majesty sent Benefactor Wei to see Xing Chi, what message do you have?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This old monk knows everything, it will be useless to hide the truth from him." Thereupon he said, "His Majesty learned that the Old Emperor is still in the world of the living, he is both delighted and sad, he sent me to kowtow and pay his respect to the Old Emperor. If ... if the Old Emperor is willing to return to the Palace and be his old self, nothing can be better than that." Actually, Kangxi said that after the truth was ascertained, he himself would go up Mount Wutai to have an audience with his Fu Huang [father emperor], but Wei Xiaobao kept this words and did not say it.


    Yulin said, "His Majesty ordered benefactor to take what kind of token of confidence?"


    From his innermost pocket Wei Xiaobao took out the edict Kangxi had written with his own hand, and presented it with both hands, saying, "Dashi, please look at this." The imperial edict said, "The Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Wei Xiaobao, hereby being granted by the Emperor himself to wear Yellow Magua, is being sent to visit the Wutai Mountain region on official business. Various provinces'' civil and military officials are ordered to give assistance. By the Emperor himself."


    Yulin took the letter, read it, and returned it to Wei Xiaobao, saying, "Turns out it is the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Wei Daren, forgive me for failing to show respect."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself, thinking, "Do you dare to despise me now?" But looking at Yulin''s face, he did not see any respectful expression, his conceited heart immediately dissipated.


    "Benefactor Wei," Yulin said, "In your opinion, how should we handle this matter?"


    "I want to kowtow to the Old Emperor," Wei Xiaobao said, "And wait for the Old Emperor''s instruction."


    Yulin said, "Formerly, his riches reached the four seas, but after leaving home and become a monk, the earthly karma has already been severed. These three words ''lao huang ye'' [Old Emperor] can no longer be mentioned, so as not to shock him and disturb his peaceful cultivation." Wei Xiaobao was silent without replying anything.


    Yulin continued, "Please go back and report to His Majesty, Xing Chi is not willing to see you, he is also unwilling to see any outsider."


    "His Majesty is his son," Wei Xiaobao said, "He is not an outsider."


    "Why is it called ''leave home''?" Yulin said, "It''s because home is no longer home, wife and children are outsiders."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Apparently it is you, the old monk, who is playing trick, always stand on the way. Even if the Old Emperor is unwilling to return to the Palace, he might not necessarily be unwilling to see his own son." He said, "Since that''s the case, I will dispatch men and horses to go up Mount Wutai to guard and protect, we must not let idle people to enter the temple and create disturbance."


    Yulin showed a faint smile as he said, "This way, Qing Liang Temple will turn into an inner courtyard of the Palace, or a government office; the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Wei Daren becomes a messenger at the Qing Liang Temple. To be blunt with you, if that''s the case, Xing Chi might as well return to the Palace in Beijing."


    "So Dashi has another great idea to protect the Old ... the Senior," Wei Xiaobao said, "Zaixia will ... will listen with respectful attention."


    Yulin smiled and said, "Benefactor Wei is so young, yet has such an awesome background, no wonder that at your teenage year you have already occupied such a high-ranking post." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "Great idea, that I do not have, those who have left home stand aloof from worldly affair, we resign ourselves to adversity. Thank you very much for Benefactor Wei''s kind intention, if Qing Liang Temple is really facing a misfortune, we''ll leave it to fate to escape from calamity." Finished speaking, he put his palms together to salute, closed his eyes, and went back to meditation.


    Cheng Guang stood up, signaled with his hand, and withdrew toward the door, where he bowed with palms together toward Yulin. Wei Xiaobao made faces toward Yulin, stuck out his tongue, put the thumb of his right hand on his own nose, with the other four fingers waving toward Yulin. With this gesture he was saying, "What a stink, what a stink!" Yulin had his eyes closed, he did not see anything.


    When the three of them were outside, Cheng Guang said, "Yulin Dashi is an eminent senior monk, he has reached the enlightenment level. Lao Na is going to release Abbot Xinxi and the others and let them go. Benefactor Wei, our meeting today is brought together by fate, let us part here." Finished speaking, he brought his palms together, bowed to salute, and left. Unexpectedly he did not let Wei Xiaobao to re-enter Qing Liang Temple.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was on fire; he said, "Very well, since you already have a brilliant scheme that is ''not one in ten thousand failures'' (wan shi wu yi), it''s actually me who was being meddlesome."


    He told Shuang''er to fetch Yu Ba and his retinue, and then without telling anybody else they went down the mountain, back to Ling Jing Temple to spend the night there.


    The previous night he had donated seventy taels of silver to the Ling Jing Temple. When the administrator of the monastery saw the big benefactor once again graced their temple with his visit, he eagerly and attentively welcomed them.


    In the guestroom, with one hand supporting his cheek, Wei Xiaobao contemplated, "I have seen the Old Emperor. Turns out he is not that old, but he is in a very dangerous situation; the Tibetan Lamas want to capture him, the Shen Long Jiao also want to get him. That old bald thief Yulin is putting on an act, but does not have the least bit of farting skill; what good is Abbot Cheng Guang one man alone? I am afraid in just a few days the Old Emperor will be captured by those people, and then how am I going to explain to Xiao Xuanzi?"


    As he turned his head around, he saw Shuang''er''s beautiful eyebrows were furrowed, she looked really upset. "Shuang''er," he asked, "Why are you unhappy?"


    "Nothing," Shuang''er replied.


    "I know you have a load on your mind," Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly tell me."


    "It''s really nothing," Shuang''er replied.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao remembered something. "Ah, I get it," he said, "You are blaming me for being an official in the Imperial Court, but all along have never told you."


    Shuang''er''s eyes turned red as she said, "The Tatar Emperor is a big evil man, Xianggong you �� how can you be their official? Not only that, you are a high-ranking official." While saying that, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback. "Silly child," he said, "Why do you have to cry over that?"


    Sobbing and sniffling, Shuang''er said, "The Third Mistress has given me to Xianggong, she told me to serve you, to obey your commands. But �� but you are a �� a high-ranking official in the Imperial Court, my papa, mama, and two gege [older brother], were all killed by evil government officials. You �� you ��" And she burst out crying.


    Momentarily Wei Xiaobao was at a loss of what to do. "Alright, alright!" he hastily said, "I will tell you everything. Let me tell you the truth, my position as a government official is only a cover, I am the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui, the Heaven is my father, the Earth is my mother, we fight the Qing to restore the Ming. Do you understand? My Shifu is Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu, I have already told your Third Mistress everything. Our Tian Di Hui stand to oppose the Imperial Court. My Shifu sent me to infiltrate the Imperial Palace to become an officer, for the purpose of spying on the Tatars'' movement. This is top secret information, if this info leaks out, my life cannot be protected anymore."


    Shuang''er reached out and pressed his hand against Wei Xiaobao''s lips. "Don''t say anything anymore," she said in a low voice, "It''s all my fault, I forced you to tell me." While saying that, her tears were turned into laughter. She continued, "Xianggong is a good man, naturally you can''t possibly do bad things. I �� I really am a silly servant girl."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are a well-behaved girl." Pulling her hand, he let her sit on the kang, by his side. In a low voice he told her everything about Shunzhi and Kangxi. He said, "The young emperor is only a teenager, his father has left home to become a Buddhist monk and no longer wants to be with him. Don''t you think we should pity him? Those fellows who came to get him today were all very, very bad people, how fortunate it was that you saved him."


    Shuang''er let out a breath and said, "Finally I did a good thing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "No more than sending the Buddha onto the Western Paradise. Those people were released by the Abbot. Definitely they are not going to let go, they will come back to get that old emperor, cut the flesh of his body piece by piece, cook it, and eat it; won''t that be terrible?" He knew Shuang''er had a good heart, in order to arouse her courage so that she would be willing to save people, he intentionally pictured Shunzhi''s plight to be utterly dire.


    Shuang''er shivered; "Why would they want to eat his flesh?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Monk Tangseng[83] went to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures; have you heard this tale?"


    "I have," Shuang''er replied, "And there were Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie[84] too."


    "Along the way, they met many demons," Wei Xiaobao said, "They all wanted to eat Tangseng''s flesh; they said he was a holy monk, if they ate his flesh, they would become Buddhist immortal."


    "Ah, I know," Shuang''er said, "These bad people thought that the Old Emperor is also a holy monk."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are really smart. The Old Emperor Monk can be compared to Tangseng, and those bad people are the demons. I am the monkey Sun, Sun Xingzhe [another name for Sun Wukong], and you are �� you are ��" Speaking to this point, he raised his palms to cover his own ears, because right that moment, a slap was coming to his face.


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "You are saying I am the Zhu Bajie?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your appearance looks like Guanyin Pusa [Goddess of Mercy], but your action looks like Zhu Bajie."


    Shuang''er quickly waved her hand, "Don''t say anything to offend the Bodhisattva," she said, "Xianggong, you may be the Shancai Boy Hong Hai''er[85] by the Guanyin Pusa''s side, and I ��" Speaking to this point, her face blushed, she did not continue whatever she was going to say next.


    "That''s right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I can be the Shancai Boy, and you are the Long Nu [dragon girl]. The two of us will always be together, and whatever happens we will never part."


    Shuang''er''s cheeks blushed even deeper, she said in a low voice, "Naturally I will serve you forever, unless �� unless you don''t want me anymore, and drive me away."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his palm to make a cutting gesture across his own neck and said, "Even if you cut my head, I will never drive you away. Unless you don''t want me anymore, and sneak out on your own."


    Shuang''er also raised her palm to make a cutting gesture across her own neck and said, "Even if you cut my head, I will never leave." The two of them burst out in loud laughter.


    Ever since Shuang''er followed Wei Xiaobao, she had always observed master-servant relationship strictly, very little did she ever chat and laugh with him. This moment, after listening to Wei Xiaobao telling her the truth about him, her heart felt happy and at ease. By laughing together like this, the friendship between them grew several degrees more intimate.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Now that the problem between us is sorted out, we have to think of a way, how are we going to save Tangseng?"


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "To save Monk Tangseng, the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven[86] had always come up with an idea, Zhu Bajie was only a bum beetle."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If Zhu Bajie was as good-looking as you are, Tangseng would never leave home to become a Buddhist monk."


    "Why is that?" Shuang''er asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Naturally Tangseng would take Zhu Bajie as his wife."


    ''Pfft,'' Shuang''er broke into laughter. "Zhu Bajie was a pig demon, who would want to take him as a wife?"


    Hearing Shuang''er mentioning taking a pig demon as a wife, Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered the ''huadiao fuling'' pig, in which Mu Jianping came to him; he wondered where she and Fang Yi were right this moment, and whether she was safe and sound. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was staring blankly, lost in thought, Shuang''er did not dare to interrupt his train of thought.


    A moment later, Wei Xiaobao said, "I have found a way not to let those bad people catch the Old Emperor. Shuang''er, if, for example, there is a similar treasure, and a lot of thieves and bandits want to steal it, what should we do, so that those thieves and bandits cannot steal it?"


    Shuang''er replied, "When we see thieves and bandits come to steal it, we capture them."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "The thieves and bandits are too many, we cannot catch them all. We must become thieves and bandits ourselves."


    "We become thieves and bandits?" Shuang''er asked.


    "Right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "We strike first and gain the upper hand. If we steal the treasure first and have it in our hands, then other thieves and bandits cannot steal it."


    Shuang''er clapped her hands and said with a laugh, "I get it, we catch the Old Emperor Monk first."


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao said, "Without further ado, let''s leave now."


    The two of them reached the perimeter of the Qing Liang Temple. Wei Xiaobao said, "The sky is not dark yet, stealing stuff or stealing a monk, we must wait until the sky is dark." The two of them hid in the wood, with great difficulty waiting for the whole mountain to be shrouded in darkness, and all noises ceased.


    In a low voice Wei Xiaobao said, "In the temple, only Abbot one person knows martial art, luckily in the fight just now, he suffered an injury, he must be lying down to rest by now. You go seal that big fat monk Xing Dian''s acupoint, and then we can steal the Old Emperor monk out. It''s just that Xing Dian''s strength is enormous, that golden pestle of his is very formidable, you must be very careful." Shuang''er nodded, indicating that she understood.


    After listening attentively and convinced that there was nobody around, the two of them quietly leaped over the enclosure and walked toward the vihara where Shunzhi was meditating. They saw the board gate was already closed, but the damage done on the door by the kick earlier that day had not been repaired, it was put there only as a shield against the wind. Creeping closed to the wall, Shuang''er went in. She pulled the board facing left, and saw a flash or yellow light. ''Whoosh!'' the golden pestle struck down from the gap between the door leaves.


    Shuang''er waited until the golden pestle swung back up before she swiftly leaped in, while stretching out her finger to seal the two acupoints on Xing Dian''s chest one after another. "Really sorry!" she said in a low voice. Raising both hands, she grabbed the golden pestle in his hands. Xing Dian''s acupoints were sealed, his body turned weak and he slowly dropped down. The golden pestle was more than a hundred catties. If Shuang''er did not catch it, it would fell down and crush his toes. Wei Xiaobao followed; he dodged inside and pulled the door leaf.


    The vihara was very small; in the darkness, he vaguely saw someone was sitting on a putuan. Wei Xiaobao knew it must be the Emperor Shunzhi whose Buddhist name was Xing Chi. Immediately he kowtowed and said, "Your servant Wei Xiaobao, who saved your honorable self during the day. Old Emperor, please do not panic." Xing Chi was silent without making any noise.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "The Old Emperor is meditating quietly in here, actually, it is very good; however, there are a lot of bad people outside who want to capture the Old Emperor, who want to do you harm. In order to protect the Old Emperor, your servant would like to invite you to another peaceful place, so that the bad people won''t be able to get you."


    Xing Chi still did not reply. Wei Xiaobao said, "Well then, would the Old Emperor please leave together with your servant?"


    A long time passed, Wei Xiaobao saw him still sit cross-legged, motionless. By this time Wei Xiaobao had been in the dark for quite a while, he started to be able to see more clearly. He noticed that Xing Chi''s posture in meditating was exactly the same as Yulin whom he saw during the day. Wei Xiaobao was not sure if he was really meditating, or he was simply ignoring him. He said, "The Old Emperor''s real identity is already known, there is no one in Qing Liang Temple who can protect you. A group of the enemy has left, another group will come, in the end, the Old Emperor will be captured by them. We''d better find another quiet place where you can meditate in peace."


    Xing Chi still did not reply. Xing Dian suddenly said, "You, two children are good people, luckily you saved me during the day. When my Shixiong is meditating, he does not talk to anyone. Where do you want him to go?" His voice was originally very loud, but he struggled hard to lower his voice, so that it became very hoarse.


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "Anywhere is alright. Wherever your Shixiong wishes to go, we will accompany him there. So long as those bad people cannot find him, the two of you can meditate and chant the names of Buddha in peace and quiet."


    "We do not chant the names of Buddha," Xing Dian said.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Do not chant the names of Buddha is also fine. Shuang''er, quickly unseal this Dashi''s acupoints."


    Shuang''er stretched out her hand to massage Xing Dian''s back and the side of his torso to unseal his acupoints. "I am really sorry," she said.


    Xing Dian respectfully said to Xing Chi, "Shixiong, these two children are inviting us to temporarily go out and hide."


    Xing Chi said, "Shifu has not told us to leave Qing Liang Temple." His voice was very clear and bright. It was the very first time that Wei Xiaobao heard his voice.


    Xing Dian said, "If the enemies carry out a large scale operation to attack, these two children won''t be able to resist."


    "All circumstances are born in the heart," Xing Chi said, "When it come to danger, everywhere in the world is dangerous. When the heart is peaceful, everywhere in the world is peaceful. The other day you killed and injured many people, and thus greatly accumulated evil business. Hereafter, no matter what, you must not rush indiscriminately into action without clear understanding."


    Xing Dian stared blankly for half a day before saying, "Shixiong''s direction is true." Turning his head toward Wei Xiaobao he said, "Shixiong does not want to leave, you have heard him."


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows and said, "If the enemy came to get your Shixiong, slicing the flesh of his body piece by piece with a knife, what would you do?"


    Xing Dian said, "None among the common people does not die; to live several years longer, or several years shorter, there is not much difference."


    "What do you mean there is not much difference?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Then there is no difference between a dead person and a living person, there is no difference between man and woman, there is also no difference between monk and turtle or pig?"


    "All living creatures are equal," Xing Dian said, "It has always been like that since the beginning."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "No wonder one is called Xing Chi, the other is called Xing Dian; they are indeed foolish and inverted[87]. Urging them to leave is unsuccessful. If we seal the Old Emperor''s acupoint and carry him out, it is indeed too disrespectful, plus it will be difficult to escape from other people''s attention." In that moment he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything, his heart was angered and he was unable to hold back. "If there is not much difference between anything, then there is not much difference between the Empress and Empress Duan Jing, why do you have to leave home?" he blurted.


    Xing Chi suddenly sprang up. "You �� what did you say?" he asked in trembling voice.


    As soon as he blurted out, Wei Xiaobao had already regretted it. Immediately he kowtowed and said, "Your servant is uttering nonsense, Old Emperor please do not get angry."


    Xing Chi said, "The matter of the past, I have already forgotten it. Why do you still use that kind of appellation? Please rise quickly, I have something I''d like to ask you."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He stood up, thinking, "I have succeeded in arousing your interest to talk, finally there is a little bit of progress."


    "Where did you hear about the two Empresses from?" Xing Chi asked


    "I heard it from Hai Dafu when he was talking to the Empress Dowager," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "You know Hai Dafu?" Xing Chi asked, "What happened to him?"


    "He was killed by the Empress Dowager," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Xing Chi cried out in alarm. "He is dead?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Empress Dowager killed him using the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' skill."


    With a trembling voice Xing Chi said, "How can the Empress Dowager know ... know martial art? How did you know?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Hai Dafu and the Empress Dowager fought in the garden at the Palace of Compassionate and Peace, I saw it with my own eyes."


    "Who are you?" Xing Chi asked.


    "Your servant is the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief Wei Xiaobao," Wei Xiaobao replied, and then he immediately added, "Currently I am on mission, sent by His Majesty himself. Here is the imperial edict." While saying that, he presented the imperial note Kangxi wrote.


    Xing Chi was staring blankly for a moment, he did not reach out to take the letter. Xing Dian said, "There has never been any lantern in here."


    Xing Chi sighed. "Is the young emperor well?" he asked, "Is he ... is he happy being the emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as the young emperor found out that the Old Emperor is still alive, he wished to grow wings and fly to Mount Wutai. In the Palace he wept and he cried, he was grieving but was also delighted, he wanted to go up the mountain, no matter what. But then ... but then he was afraid he might neglect the important matters of the imperial court, so he sent your servant to come first and pay his respect to the Old Emperor. As soon as your servant return and present the memorial to him, the young emperor will personally come here."


    With a trembling voice Xing Chi said, "He ... he does not need to come. He is a good emperor, thinking about the important matters of the imperial court first, not like me ..." Speaking to this point, his voice turned into sobs.


    In the darkness they could hear the sound of his tears dripping on the lapel of his outer garment. Hearing him expressing the father-son affection, Shuang''er felt the pit of her stomach ached, tears also streaming down her face.


    Wei Xiaobao thought that he should not miss this golden opportunity, right now the Old Emperor''s emotion was agitated, he would easily hear what Wei Xiaobao had to say. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao said, "Hai Dafu has investigated everything clearly. The Empress Dowager murdered Prince Rong first, then she murdered Empress Duan Jing, and Empress Duan Jing''s meizi Consort Zhen. Afterwards she also murdered the young emperor''s mama. Hai Dafu has investigated everything clearly. When the Empress Dowager knew that the secret has been divulged, she personally killed Hai Dafu. She also dispatched a large number of people to go up Mount Wutai to plot against the Old Emperor''s life."


    The fact that Prince Rong, Empress Duan Jing and Consort Zhen, three people were killed by a martial art expert, had been investigated clearly by Hai Dafu, and had been reported to Xing Chi; afterwards he returned to the palace to investigate the murderer. But no matter what, Xing Chi could not believe that it was the Empress Dowager herself who went into action; he sighed and said, "The Empress Dowager does not know martial art."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Old Emperor would understand everything after listening to Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu''s exchange that night." Thereupon he narrated in details the conversation between the two people that night at the garden. He was eloquent [orig. clever tooth sharp tooth]; although he was talking very fast, each word was very clear.


    Xing Chi was originally a sentimental person, only because he was devotedly attached to imperial concubine Dong''e that after her death he did not even want to be the Emperor anymore, he willingly abandoned his position of ten-thousand four-horse chariots and shut himself up in a small secluded room. Although he had practiced Zen meditation for several years, the shadow of imperial concubine Dong''e was etched very deep in his heart that as soon as he heard Wei Xiaobao mentioning her name, in an instant all meditation and Buddhism dharma were tossed away to the back of his mind. The exchange between Hai Dafu and the Empress Dowager flowed in his heart, grief and indignation met together, the flow of chi in the pit of his stomach was blocked, he felt as if he was about to explode.


    Finished narrating, Wei Xiaobao added, "Since that old ... the Empress Dowager has started it, she will carry it through whatever happens; after she harms you, the Old Emperor, she will murder the young emperor. She also wants to dig Empress Duan Jing''s grave and issue an imperial order throughout the land, to burn down the book ''Empress Duan Jing''s Quotation''; she said that all those ''quotations'' are a fart. Any family who possess a copy at home will be searched, their belongings confiscated, and they will be beheaded!" This last part was entirely his fabrication, but it just happened to touch the wound in Xing Chi''s heart.


    Xing Chi flew into rage, he slapped his own thigh forcefully and shouted, "That s1ut, I ... I should have deposed her early on. With her carry on like this, it just brings disaster!"


    In the past, Shunzhi wholeheartedly wanted to depose the Empress and established imperial concubine Dong''e to be the Empress; it was only because the Empress Dowager blocked him that he relented. If the imperial concubine Dong''e did not die, sooner or later the Empress position would be hers.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Old Emperor, you can see through the world''s affair, there is no difference between life and death, the young emperor must not be allowed to die, Empress Duan Jing''s grave must not be excavated, the ''Empress Duan Jing''s Quotations'' must not be destroyed."


    "Correct," Xing Chi said, "You are absolutely correct."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Therefore, we must go into hiding to avoid falling into the Empress Dowager''s evil scheme. The first step in Empress Dowager''s strategy is murdering you, the second step is murdering the young emperor, the third step is digging the grave and burn the ''Quotations''. As long as the first step is unsuccessful, she would not dare to execute the second step, the third step."


    Shunzhi ascended the throne when he was seven, and left home to become Buddhist monk when he was twenty-four. By this time he was only in his thirties. His natural disposition was hot-tempered, his character fiery; in term of sensibility, although very young, Kangxi was ten times better than his father, consequently, when the Mu Palace people trying to frame Wu Sangui, Kangxi was able to see through their crafty scheme. Wei Xiaobao was telling him half truth and half lies, with a lot of fabrication in his speech, but Xing Chi accepted everything as the truth. However, although Wei Xiaobao fabricated the story about the Empress Dowager''s three steps, he was a disciple of the marketplace, his way of thinking was about the same as that of an insidious woman.


    In a loud voice Xing Chi said, "Luckily you lay everything bare in a few words, otherwise the important matter will be spoiled. Shidi, we must leave immediately."


    "Yes," Xing Dian replied. With his right hand he picked up the golden pestle, with his left hand he pushed the door leaf open.


    As the door opened, they saw a shadow standing on the doorway. Xing Dian was unable to see his appearance in the dark. "Who is it?" he shouted, while lifting up his golden pestle.


    That man said, "Where are you two going?"


    Xing Dian was shocked; he threw away the golden pestle, put his palms together and called out, "Shifu!"


    Xing Chi also called out, "Shifu!"


    Turned out it was none other than Yulin. He slowly said, "I have heard everything you said."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cried out in his heart, "Things have turned to the worse!"


    Yulin said in deep voice, "The worldly enmity leading to sin must be resolved, by blindly avoiding it, in the end you won''t achieve anything. The cause will produce the result, which you must bear for as long as you live."


    Xing Chi prostrated himself to the ground, saying, "Shifu''s instruction is very true, disciple understands."


    "I am afraid your understanding is not deep enough," Yulin said, "Your former wife wants to find you, let her come to find you. Our Buddha shows mercy to all living beings; she blamed you, she hated you, she wanted to kill you, you must resign yourself to her, you must introspect yourself instead, inevitably there must be something that made her blame you, hate you, a strong reason why she is determined to kill you. You try to avoid her, the karma remains. If you send someone to kill her, your evil karma will be even more grave."


    "Yes," Xing Chi replied with a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his belly, "F*ck your old bald thief''s granny! I want to curse you, beat you, kill you, I want to see if you''ll let me beat and curse you, I want to see if you''ll let me cut your bald head?"


    He heard Yulin continued, "As for Tibetan lamas wanted to capture you, it was they who commit evil karma, they want to use you as a hostage to force the current emperor into submission, to go on the rampage by ignoring the law, oppressing and doing harm to common people. We must not let them have their outrageous way. For the time being, you cannot live here, you must come with me to the little temple at the back." He turned around and left. Xing Chi and Xing Dian immediately followed him.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Although the young emperor bestowed me the Yellow Magua, I have never worn it for even one day. If I cannot complete this mission, when I return to Beijing, I won''t be able to answer the young emperor. In his anger, he might go back on his promise and thus won''t bestow the Yellow Magua to me. I''d better follow them and take a look." Thereupon he and Shuang''er followed to Yulin''s little meditation temple.


    Yulin acted as if he did not even see these two people; ignoring them completely, he went straight to the putuan and sat cross-legged. Xing Chi also sat down on the putuan next to him. Xing Dian glanced around, and then sat down on the putuan slightly lower than Xing Chi''s. Yulin and Xing Chi put their palms together and closed their eyes, sitting motionless. Xing Dian, however, opened his round eyes wide, staring at the empty space. Finally he also closed his eyes, his hands resting on his knees. After a while, he reached out to touch the golden pestle by the putuan, afraid that he might lose it.


    Wei Xiaobao made a face toward Shuang''er, and then with exaggerated movement he also sat down on the putuan, Shuang''er also sat down close to him. Although Wei Xiaobao was not Sun Wukong, he had always been an active and restless boy, just like real monkey. If he was asked to sit still on the putuan for three quarters of an hour to an hour, it would be the same as asking for his life. But since the Old Emperor was sitting by his side, he was unwilling to leave the temple, no matter what. He twisted to the east, skewed to the west, pulling Shuang''er''s hand, tickling the palm of her hand. With great difficulty Shuang''er resisted the urge to laugh, with her left hand she pointed to Yulin and Xing Chi.


    After enduring this for about an hour, Wei Xiaobao suddenly had a thought, "Even if he is learning to be a monk, the Old Emperor can''t possibly resist the need to pee and poo. When he is going out to pee or poo, I will use graceful words, flowery speech to trick him into escaping." Having had this idea, his body calmed down somewhat.


    In the quiet night, suddenly they heard footsteps of a lot of people in the distance. At first the sound was faint, but later on the footsteps were getting nearer and nearer, a large crowd of people were rushing toward Qing Liang Temple. The muscles on Xing Dian''s face twitched several times, he reached out to grab the golden pestle. Opening up his eyes, he saw Yulin and Xing Chi were still sitting motionless. He hesitated for a moment, and then he put down the golden pestle, and closed his eyes again.


    They heard the crowd burst into Qing Liang Temple and the continuous sound of people yelling and shouting. Wei Xiaobao thought, "When they fail to find the Old Emperor in the temple, can''t they come here to look for him? I want to see how you, the old bald thief, are going to stop them."


    Sure enough, approximately one hour later, a large group of people swarmed toward the back of the mountain, and arrived outside the little temple. Someone called out, "Go in and search!"


    Xing Dian suddenly sprang up, grabbed his golden pestle, and stood on the vihara''s doorway. Wei Xiaobao went to the window and peeked outside. Under the moonlight he saw a dense mass of heads. Turning his head around, he saw Yulin and Xing Chi were still sitting motionless. Shuang''er quietly said, "What should we do?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied in low voice, "When those people rush in, we''ll save the Old Emperor, and go out from the back door." After a short pause, he continued, "If along the way we get separated, we''ll meet again at Ling Jing Temple."


    Shuang''er nodded and said, "I am only afraid I can''t carry the Old ... the Old Emperor."


    "We might have to drag him away," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Suddenly the people outside shouted one after another, "Who''s there randomly breaking through here?" "Grab them!" "Don''t let them in!" "Damn it, get them!"


    Shadows of people flashed, two men entered the door, swept past Xing Dian''s body. They put their palms together toward Yulin, and then sat cross-legged on the floor. Turned out they were monks wearing gray robes. The door to this vihara was actually narrow, plus Xing Dian''s bulky body was blocking it, there was really no gap between Xing Dian and the door, yet these two monks lightly and easily slipped through and came in, it seemed that they did not even touch Xing Dian''s clothes. Indeed, nobody knew how these two entered the room.


    Outside, the people were shouting again, "Someone is coming!" "Stop him!" "Get him!" But they heard a series of ''bang! bang! bang!'' noise, some people flew out and fell to the ground. Two more monks entered the room. Without saying anything, they sat down a little bit lower than the two monks who came in first. In this way, pair by pair, several monks successively entered the room.


    Wei Xiaobao was amused, he wondered how many more monks would come in; if several more pairs came, very soon there would not be enough room to sit in that meditation room. But after the ninth pair, no more monks came in. To his surprise, one of the ninth pair of monks was the Qing Liang Temple''s Abbot Cheng Guang. Wei Xiaobao was baffled, but was grateful at the same time. "If these seventeen monks'' martial art skill is more or less the same as Cheng Guang''s, we don''t have to fear even if more enemies were coming," he mused.


    Outside, the people were still making a lot of noise, but nobody dared to rush in. After a while, an old-sounding voice said, loud and clear, "Since Shaolin Temple is determined to stand up for Qing Liang Temple, are you going to take the responsibility over this matter on your own heads too?" In the meditation room, nobody answered.


    After another moment, the old man outside said again, "Very well, since they have showed off the faces of Shaolin Temple''s Eighteen Luohan, we''d better leave!" Shouts and yells outside repeated continuously, everybody withdrew down the mountain.


    Wei Xiaobao sized up the eighteen monks; the old ones were approximately sixty, seventy years old, the young ones were approximately in their thirties, some were tall, some were short, some were handsome, some were ugly. Their Buddhist robes were bulging, apparently they all carried weapons. "They are the Shaolin Temple''s Eighteen Luohan," he thought, "In that case, Abbot Cheng Guang is also one of the Eighteen Luohan. The old bald thief Yulin is secure in the knowledge that he has a strong backing, turns out he had early on arranged these formidable helpers to escort the Emperor. These monks are meditating in here, I don''t know until when they are going to do this. Laozi cannot waste my time with them, sitting here for nothing. Wei Xiaobao must not sit here until he turns into Wei Laobao[88]!"


    Standing up, he went to Xing Chi and knelt down in his presence, saying, "Great Monk, with the Shaolin Temple''s Eighteen Luohan escorting your holy self, you, the Great Monk, is as safe and unmovable as Mount Tai. I am prepared to go back, I wonder if you, Senior, have any instruction?"


    Xing Chi opened his eyes; he smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble. Go back and tell your master: he does not need to go up Mount Wutai and disturb my peaceful meditation. Even if he is here, definitely I won''t meet him. Tell him this: if he wants the whole world at peace, ''never raise taxes'', these four words [yong bu jia fu] should be firmly planted in his mind. If he can accomplish these four words, it is good enough for me, my heart will be happy."


    "Yes!'' Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Xing Chi reached into his bosom and took out a very small bundle, he said, "Give this copy of scripture to your master. Tell him: in the matters of the world, he must let nature take its course, nothing can be forced. It would be best if he could benefit the common people of the Central Plains. But if the common people wanted us to leave, then from the place we came, there we should come back to." While saying that, he lightly patted the little bundle.


    After being silent for half a day, Xing Chi said, "You may go!"


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said. He crawled down and kowtowed.


    "I do not dare," Xing Chi said, "Benefactor, please rise."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and walked toward the door. Suddenly his mischief arose, he turned his head toward Yulin and said, "Old monk, you have sat for a long time, don''t you need to pee?" Yulin acted as if he did not hear anything. Wei Xiaobao giggled, and took a step over the threshold.


    Xing Chi said, "Tell your master, even if his mother is at fault, she will always be his mother, he must not fail to observe etiquette, he also must not harbor grudge toward her."


    Wei Xiaobao turned around to respond, but in his heart he said, "I am not going to pass on this words of yours."


    Xing Chi said, as if he was muttering to himself, "Tell your master to be careful in everything."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    By daybreak the next morning, Wei Xiaobao led Shuang''er, Yu Ba, and their retinue going down the mountain. In going to Mount Wutai this time, he managed to see the Old Emperor, and thus achieved the mission Kangxi entrusted to him. Along the way, he acquired Shuang''er, such a good-looking, tender girl [or servant girl] with superior martial art skill; his heart was very happy.


    Seeing this kind of appearance, Wei Xiaobao was rather scared, he did not dare to look too much, thus he turned his head away and evaded to the other side of the road, letting the toutuo walk pass. As the toutuo walked to him, he halted his steps and asked, "Did you come from Qing Liang Temple?"


    "No," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We came from Ling Jing Temple."


    The toutuo reached out with his left hand toward Wei Xiaobao''s left shoulder and turned his body around, so that Wei Xiaobao was face-to-face with him. "Are you the little eunuch Xiao Guizi from the Palace?" he asked.


    His big hand pressed on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, immediately Wei Xiaobao felt his body went weak, he was unable to move a single step. "Rubbish!" he hastily said, "You think I look like an eunuch? I am Wei Gongzi [young master, son of nobility] of Yangzhou."


    "Let go of him quickly!" Shuang''er shouted, "How can you be so rude to our family''s Xianggong?"


    The toutuo stretched out his right hand to press on Shuang''er''s shoulder. "Listening to your voice, you must be a little eunuch too," he said.


    Shuang''er dropped her right shoulder to dodge, her finger swiftly pointed toward his tian huo acupoint, ''plop'' it hit right on target, but she felt as if her finger was touching am iron panel, her fingertip was in a lot of pain, even her finger was almost broken. "Ah!" she could not help but crying out. And then she felt her shoulder was in pain too, because the toutuo''s hand, which was as big as a palm-leaf fan, had grabbed her.


    "Hey, hey, hey!" the toutuo laughed three times, before saying, "You, this little eunuch, has a very good martial art skill. Formidable, really formidable."


    Shuang''er''s left leg flew up, ''Bang!'' it landed on his crotch; this time, she felt as if she was kicking a large rock. "Aiyo!" she cried out, tears flowed out of her eyes.


    "Little eunuch has amazing martial art, really formidable," the toutuo said.


    "I am not a little eunuch!" Shuang''er shouted, "You are the little eunuch! Aiyo!"


    The toutuo laughed, "Do you think I look like a eunuch?" he asked.


    "Let me go!" Shuang''er shouted, "If you don''t, I am going to curse you."


    The toutuo said, "You sealed my acupoint, you kicked my thigh, I am not afraid of you; do you think I will afraid your cussing? Your martial art skill is superior, you must be sent out from the Palace, I must search you."


    "Your martial art skill is even higher," Wei Xiaobao said, "So you must be sent out from the Palace even more."


    The toutuo said, "You, little eunuch, muddle things together." With left hand carrying Wei Xiaobao and right hand carrying Shuang''er, he rushed up the mountain as if he was flying. The two young people shouted and screaming, the toutuo did not pay any attention, he carried the two people as if they were nothing, his footsteps were very fast. Yu Ba and the others were dumbstruck, nobody dared to make any noise.


    The toutuo rushed several zhang along the mountain path, suddenly he turned towards the hill; there was no real path there, but he tread on it as if treading on a plain ground. Wei Xiaobao felt the wind whistling past his ears; he thought, "This toutuo is very formidable, could it be he is a mountain god or some demon?"


    After rushing for a while, the toutuo dropped the two people on the ground. He pointed up and said, "If you don''t tell me the truth, I am going to carry you to that mountain peak and toss you down." What he was pointing at was a very high peak, the top of the peak is hidden in the clouds and mist.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll tell you the truth."


    "If you are sensible," the toutuo said, "Tell me truthfully, who are you? And who is this kid?"


    "Dashi Fu [Great Master father]," Wei Xiaobao said, "She is not a kid, she �� she is my �� my ��"


    "Your what?" the toutuo asked.


    "She is my �� wife!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    As soon as these two characters ''wife'' [lao po] came out of his mouth, both the toutuo and Shuang''er were shocked. Shuang''er''s face blushed deep red. "What?" the toutuo asked in surprise, "What wife?"


    "I am not concealing anything from Dashi Fu," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am a young master of a rich family in Beijing, I fancied this young lady of the family next door, thereupon �� we privately agreed to marry each other in the back garden. His father did not agree, so I took her out and we ran away. Look at her, she is a girl, how can she be a little eunuch? You are really doing her injustice. If you don''t believe me, take off her hat and look for yourself."


    The toutuo took off Shuang''er''s hat, exposing her long beautiful hair. At that time, in the whole of China, other than monks, Taoists, toutuo, nuns and people who had left home, everybody must shave the half front part of their heads. Shuang''er''s long hair rolled down, it hung down straight pass her shoulder, no doubt she was a woman.


    "Dashi Fu," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am begging you, if you hand us over to the government authority, I will lose my life. I''ll give you a thousand taels, just let us go!"


    "In that case," the toutuo said, "You really are not an eunuch; which eunuch would take other family''s girl to elope together? Humph, humph, you are very young, but your courage is indeed not small." While saying that, he let him go. He also asked, "What are you doing going up Mount Wutai?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "We are going up Mount Wutai to worship Buddha, to ask Bodhisattva to bless and protect us, to let me escape difficulties and become the zhuangyuan, in the future she �� my wife, will become a real Madame." All these ''privately agreed to marry each other in the back garden'' and ''escape difficulties and become the zhuangyuan'' and so on he heard from the storytellers when he was still in Yangzhou.


    The toutuo thought for a moment, he nodded his head and said, "So I mistook you for someone else. You may go!"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "Thank you Dashi," he said, "When we worship Bodhisattva later, we will ask Bodhisattva to bless and protect you, bless and protect Dashi that in the future �� you will also be a great Bodhisattva, that you will rise and sit on the same level with Wenshu Pusa [Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of keen awareness] and Guanyin Pusa [Bodhisattva of Compassion]." Taking Shuang''er''s hand along, they walked down the mountain.


    They only walked for several when the toutuo said, "Something''s not right, come back here! Little miss, your martial art skill is amazing, you sealed my acupoint, you kicked me." While saying that, he rubbed the tian huo acupoint on his waist, and then he asked, "Who taught you martial art? Which school do you belong to?"


    Shuang''er could not lie, she blushed and shook her head. Wei Xiaobao said, "Her martial art skill is handed down in a family, it was her mama who taught her."


    "Little miss, what''s your surname?" the toutuo asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This, hee hee �� it''s rather inconvenient to say."


    "What do you mean inconvenient?" the toutuo said, "Tell me quick!"


    "Our surname is Zhuang," Shuang''er said.


    The toutuo shook his head. "Surname Zhuang?" he said, "That''s not right, you lie to me. There is no such martial art expert among those with surname Zhuang in the world, who can teach a girl with such martial art skill."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are extremely many people with good martial art skill in the world, how can you know?"


    "I was asking this little miss," the toutuo angrily said, "Don''t interrupt." While saying that, he pushed lightly on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder.


    This push was very light, for fear that this youngster could not stand it. When his palm touched Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, he felt Wei Xiaobao easily evaded it. Although his movement was without any strength, the style he used was the move ''grass stooping down by the wind''; where the shoulder turned around, left palm protecting the face and the right palm ready to strike down, actually it was somewhat similar to the toutuo''s own school.


    The toutuo was surprised, he tried to grab Wei Xiaobao''s chest. Wei Xiaobao sent out a right palm stab with the move ''spirit snake went out of its hole''; the execution was not the least bit inaccurate. ''Plop!'' it hit the toutuo''s neck. But Wei Xiaobao felt like his fingers were stabbing an iron panel. "Aiyo!" he cried out in pain.


    Shuang''er''s pair of palms fluttered in the air to attack the toutuo. The toutuo concentrated his strength at the center of his palm and sealed the acupoint on Wei Xiaobao''s chest before turning around to face her. Shuang''er leaped high and crouched low, her movements were light and graceful, but after seven, eight moves, the toutuo''s two hands managed to catch her arms. With his left elbow he struck her acupoint to immobilize her, and then he turned around and asked Wei Xiaobao, "You said you are a young master of a rich family; how do you know the qin na [grappling technique] of Shen Long Dao [divine dragon island] of Liao Dong peninsula?"


    "I am a young master of a rich family," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Why can''t I know the martial art of Shen Long Island of Liao Dong peninsula? Are you saying that this skill is supposed to be known by only kids from poor family?" While his mouth was uttering whatever he could come up with to buy some time, his mind was racing, "What kind of martial art is the Shen Long Island of Liao Dong peninsula''s martial art? Ah, right, the old turtle Hai said that the old whore impersonated Wudang Pai''s martial art, but actually it was the Snake Island of Liao Dong peninsula''s martial art. That Shen Long Island is most likely the same as the Snake Island. That''s right, the old whore is in cahoots with Shen Long Jiao people, they must dislike the name ''snake'' and thus changed it to ''divine dragon''. Xiao Xuanzi''s martial art skill was taught by the old whore, and I often had martial art match with him, unconsciously I learned these several qin na techniques."


    "Rubbish!" the toutuo said, "Who is your Shifu?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I say I was taught by the old whore, it''s the same as admitting that I am a little eunuch from the Palace." Thereupon he said, "It was my Shushu''s [younger uncle] good acquaintance, a fat lady, Liu Yan Gugu who taught me."


    The toutuo was greatly surprised. "Liu Yan?" he asked, "Miss Liu is your Shushu''s good acquaintance? Who is your Shushu?"


    "My Shushu is Wei Dabao [da - big]," Wei Xiaobao [xiao - little] replied, "He is Beijing''s well-known distinguished and accomplished young master, each time he spends money, it would be a thousand taels, his appearance looks like an actor on the stage. That fat lady was enchanted by him as soon as she saw him. The fat lady oftentimes came to my house in the depth of the night, jumping over the wall of our flower garden. I nagged her to teach me martial art, and so she taught me these several moves."


    Half believing and half doubting, the toutuo asked, "Does your Shushu know martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "Does he know farting martial art? He often gets his neck grabbed by Miss Liu Yan, who lifted him up back and forth, without him being able to move the least bit. My Shushu became anxious and cursed her, ''The child is lifting the father''. Liu Yan Gugu laughed and said, ''It''s only the child lifting the father, even if the child is lifting the grandfather, it is still not a big deal''."


    He was cursing the toutuo in a roundabout way, but the toutuo did not realize it the least bit; he asked in detail about Liu Yan''s appearance, which, surprisingly, Wei Xiaobao was able to explain without the slightest mistake. Wei Xiaobao said, "This fat Gugu loves to wear red embroidered shoes. Dashi Fu, I am guessing that you are in love with her, are you not? When you see her, take her to sleep with you, it would be best if you could sleep with her and would not wake up forever." How would the toutuo know that Liu Yan had already died? On the surface it sounded like Wei Xiaobao was babbling nonsense, while actually he was cursing him with the most poisonous curse.


    "It''s a big stack of banknotes I stole from home," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    This question was not easy to answer, Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Tee hee ... hee ... are you asking me? It''s complicated and not easy to explain succinctly; I won''t be able to tell you everything just in this short moment." He was stalling, while trying to think about some ''covering the sky and seamless clouds'' story to swindle this toutuo. Naturally to make up some wild story about where the sutra came from was extremely easy, but now that the book had fallen into the toutuo''s hand, to deceive him into handing it back would be extremely difficult.


    The toutuo said in a loud voice, "Who gave it to you?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s body was hanging in the air, he suddenly saw seven, eight monks in grey robes on the hillside coming toward them. From their appearance, he knew they were the Eighteen Luohan of Shaolin whom he had seen at the small vihara behind the Qing Liang Temple. Turning his head around, he saw several more monks, together with several monks coming up from the western hillside, there were a total of seventeen, eighteen monks. He was delighted and said in his heart, "Thief toutuo, even if your martial art skill is stronger, you are no match for the Eighteen Luohan of Shaolin."


    "Tell me quick, tell me quick!" the toutuo said. Noticing that Wei Xiaobao was glancing to the east and looking to the west, he followed his gaze and saw on the hillside to the east, north and west, three directions more than a dozen monks were slowly coming up, but he was unconcerned at all. "What do those monks come here for?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "They heard Dashi Fu''s martial art skill is superior, they are full of admiration, hence they come here to take you as their master."


    The toutuo shook his head and said, "I have never received any disciple." Raising his voice, he called out, "Hey, get the hell out of here quickly, don''t come here to make trouble!" His shout echoed from the mountains on all sides, showing off his astonishing might.


    The eighteen monks did not seem to hear, they continued going up the mountain. An old monk with long eyebrows put his palms together and said, "Dashi, are you the Fat Revered Monk[89] of Liaodong?"


    Wei Xiaobao was still hanging midair, hearing the question, he could not help but burst out laughing. This toutuo was so thin that he was a rarity in the world, yet the old monk asked if he was the Fat Revered Monk; Wei Xiaobao thought that he was ridiculing him.


    To his surprise, the toutuo replied in loud voice, "I am indeed Fat Toutuo! Are you all here to take me as your master? I don''t accept any disciple! Whom have you studied martial art with?"


    The old monk replied, "Lao Na is Cheng Xin of Shaolin Temple, the humble head of Damo Hall. These are my seventeen Shidi, all are my companions in the Damo Hall."


    "Ah!" Fat Toutuo exclaimed, he slowly let Wei Xiaobao down. "Turns out all eighteen luohan of Shaolin Temple''s Damo Hall are here. So you are not here to take me as your master. I am alone cannot beat all of you."


    Cheng Xin put his palms together and said, "We have neither grievance nor enmity with you, we are all followers of Buddha, how could you talk about this character ''to beat''? Luohan [Arhat] are the sages of Buddhism, we are merely ordinary folks, how can we dare to receive this appellation? Wulin friends carelessly address us with this honorary title, we really do not deserve it. The Fat and Thin Revered Monks of Liaodong''s remarkable feats are without rival, we have always admired you. Today we are brought together by fate, indeed it is our great good fortune." Speaking to this point, the other seventeen monks put their palms together to salute.


    Fat Toutuo bowed to return the salute; without straightening up his body, he asked, "You are all coming to Mount Wutai, what''s the purpose of your trip?"


    Pointing to Wei Xiaobao, Cheng Xin said, "This young benefactor has some relationship with our Shaolin Temple, I am asking Dashi to raise your hand and let him go down the mountain."


    Fat Toutuo hesitated; he saw the opponent had many men and greater force, he knew that each one of the eighteen luohan of Shaolin had astonishing martial art skill, he did not give the slightest care of fighting one on one, but he would not be able to deal with all eighteen of them. Thereupon he said, "Very well, looking at Dashi''s face, I''ll let him go." Finished speaking, he leaned over and massaged Wei Xiaobao''s lower abdomen several times to unseal his acupoint.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao was able to stand, he held out his right palm and said, "The sutra was given to me by a friend of these eighteen luohan, who asked me to deliver it to ... to Shaolin Temple and hand it over to the head monk Abbot. Would you return it to me?"


    "What?" Fat Toutuo angrily said, "What does this sutra have to do with Shaolin Temple?"


    With a loud voice Wei Xiaobao said, "You seized the sutra away from me, it was the old monk who ask me to deliver it to someone else, it is extremely important, quickly give it back to me!"


    "Rubbish!" Fat Toutuo said. Turning around, he leaped down from the northern slope of the mountain. Three Shaolin monks immediately flew and reached out to grab his arm, Fat Toutuo did not dare to fight the monks, he sidestepped to evade the three monks'' grabbing palm. His stature was very tall, yet his movement was incomparably agile.


    In this grabbing movement, the three monks of Shaolin had used top-notch technique of Shaolin martial arts, unexpectedly they failed to even touch his clothes. But in the instant Fat Toutuo''s movement was slowed down, four more Shaolin monks had blocked behind his back, eight palms crisscrossed, closing his escape route.


    Fat Toutuo let out a loud bellow, his palms pushed out using the move ''five nails cut into the mountain''. Borrowing the momentum of this overwhelming force, he turned around and swiftly fled southward. The four Shaolin monks pushed put their palms together from left and right. Fat Toutuo''s palm force collided with the four monks. He felt the palm strike from the left side was hard and stiff, while the palm strike of other two monks from the right was soft and continuously flowing; he could not help but was greatly shocked. Sending out all his power to his palms, he was barely able to resist the opposing force. Right this time, from behind him three claws were coming toward his back.


    Fat Toutuo took a quick glance and saw the two monks on his left sending out their punches, instantly his feet kicked the ground and he flew upward; but the extended palms of the three monks behind him were not the same, they were using ''dragon claw'', ''tiger claw'' and ''eagle claw'' styles, respectively, he was intimidated inwardly. Coiling his large sleeve, he created a gust of strong wind, as soon as his left foot landed on the ground, his right hand grabbed Wei Xiaobao. "Do you want him to die, or do you want him to live?" he called out.


    Some of the eighteen Shaolin monks advancing, some retreating, they formed two circles, surrounding Fat Toutuo in the middle. Cheng Xin said, "The sutra of this young benefactor is very important, I am asking Dashi to please return it, and thus binding good karma. We will be deeply grateful."


    With right hand lifting Wei Xiaobao high in the air and left palm pressing the crown of his head, Fat Toutuo walked southwards in big strides. The situation was clear: if the Shaolin monks put forth their hands to block him, he would slightly exert some strength on his left palm, Wei Xiaobao''s skull would be crushed immediately.


    The several Shaolin monks blocking on the south hesitated. They could only chant ''Amitabha Buddha'' and stepped aside to let him through. Carrying Wei Xiaobao, Fat Toutuo dashed to the south, he went faster and faster. The eighteen luohan of Shaolin Temple unleashed their qing gong to follow him closely.


    By this time, Shuang''er''s sealed acupoint had been unsealed by the Shaolin monks. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was captured, she was alarmed and frightened, and immediately raised her chi to pursue. Since her punching and kicking skill was taught by an expert, her martial art was quite amazing, but she was still very young, her internal energy cultivation differed too far from those Shaolin monks, plus her stature was small, her steps short, in just one or two li, she had already fallen behind. In her distress, she broke up crying, but she did not stop running after them. Although Fat Toutuo was carrying a person, his speed did not diminished at all, unexpectedly the Shaolin monks were not able to catch on.


    After running for a while, still carrying Wei Xiaobao, Fat Toutuo dashed toward a mountain peak directly south of them. The eighteen Shaolin monks ran after him in single file. Shuang''er followed to the foot of the peak and she was already out of breath. Looking up, she saw the peak was very high; she thought that the evil toutuo took her xianggong to the top of the mountain peak, there was a one in ten thousand chance that he would take a wrong step and fall down. The evil toutuo may not necessarily die, but how could xianggong be alive?


    While she was having this frightening thought, suddenly she heard loud rumbling noise as pieces of big rocks rolled down the mountain path. The eighteen Shaolin monks leaped to the left and jumped to the right, continuously dodging the rocks. What happened was that as Fat Toutuo reached the peak, he continuously kicked the rocks along the path so that the rocks rolled down to block the enemy. How could the eighteen Shaolin monks let the rocks smash them? However, the distance between them widened considerably.


    When battling Huangfu Ge, Abbot Cheng Guang had received injury on the pit of his stomach, his internal energy was adversely affected, he fell behind the seventeenth monk. Shuang''er struggled hard to pursue to the peak, she called out, "Fangzhang Dashi, Fangzhang Dashi!"


    Cheng Guang turned his head around and stopped to wait for her. Seeing her rushing while gasping for breath, and with frightened expression on her face, he consoled her by saying, "Don''t be afraid! He won''t harm your master [orig. gongzi]." Afraid that she might hurt herself by rushing like that, he took her hand and together they slowly walked up the mountain.


    Shuang''er''s heart was somewhat comforted; she asked, "Abbot, he ... can he possibly harm Xianggong?"


    "He can''t," Cheng Guang replied. Although his mouth said so, seeing Fat Toutuo was so vicious, how could he ascertain that?


    This mountain peak was Mount Wutai''s southern platform [reminder: wutai means five platforms], luckily it was a winding mountain path, with a lot of twists and turns, after several turns, the rocks Fat Toutuo kicked were no longer a threat to them. By the time Cheng Guang and Shuang''er reached the Southern Platform Peak, they saw seventeen Shaolin monks were surrounding a temple; naturally Fat Toutuo and Wei Xiaobao were inside the temple.


    These people happened to be on the Jin Xiu Peak, and that temple was the Pu Ji Temple. Shuang''er called out several times, "Xianggong, Xianggong!" But there was no reply. Lifting up her feet, she rushed into the temple.


    Shuang''er dashed straight toward the main hall and saw Fat Toutuo was standing by the mouth of the water drainage from the eaves of the Hall of Great Strength, his right hand was still clutching Wei Xiaobao. Shuang''er rushed over can called out, "Xianggong, did the evil monk hurt you?"


    "Don''t worry," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He will not dare to harm me."


    Fat Toutuo angrily said, "Why won''t I dare to harm you?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "If you harm a single strand of my hair, the eighteen luohan of Shaolin will catch you, and will change you back to your original state; you will turn back into a short and fat man, then you will be really bad."


    Fat Toutuo''s countenance changed greatly; with a trembling voice he said, "What do you mean change me back to my original state? You ... you ... how did you know?"


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest idea, he was only thinking that his stature was tall and thin, but he was called the ''Fat Toutuo'', so he was just speaking thoughtlessly, without any reason whatsoever. Unexpectedly, he seemed to hit the toutuo''s sore spot.


    Wei Xiaobao was able to see the change in the toutuo''s countenance, and hear the fright in his voice; immediately he laughed coldly, "Hey, hey, naturally I know," he said.


    "They don''t have that ability," Fat Toutuo said. Suddenly his right foot flew up, ''Bang!'' he kicked the stone drum in front of the steps that it crashed onto the screen wall across the gate. Fragments of rocks swirl in the air. He turned to Shuang''er and asked, "What are you doing here? Are you bored of being alive?"


    Shuang''er said, "Xianggong and I will live together and die together; if you harm just half a part of him, I will fight you to the death."


    "Damn it," Fat Toutuo angrily said, "What''s so good about this little demon? Are you, the little baby girl, in love with him?"


    Shuang''er blushed, she could not answer the question. "Xianggong is a good man," she said, "You are a wicked man."


    They heard the eighteen Shaolin monks outside chanted the name of Buddha together, "Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha! Fat Reverend Monk, please release the young benefactor and return the sutra to him! You are an outstanding and famous hero and warrior of the Wulin world, yet you are making things difficult for a little child, won''t you be the laughingstock of the people of the world?"


    Fat Toutuo roared, "If you keep babbling nonsense, Laozi will not be polite anymore. We will all break up with one strike, laozi will kill this little child and destroy the sutra, I want to see what are you going to do about it?"


    Cheng Xin said, "Fat Reverend Monk, what do you want so that you will be willing to release him and return the sutra?"


    "Release him is still possible," Fat Toutuo said, "But no matter what, I won''t return the sutra." The monks outside fell silent.


    Fat Toutuo looked around the main hall, looking for a way to escape. Suddenly grey shadows flashed, the eighteen Shaolin monks flew into the hall. Keeping close to the left wall, five Shaolin monks circled around to his back. Keeping close to the left wall, five Shaolin monks circled around to his back. In an instant he was surrounded again by the eighteen Shaolin monks.


    Fat Toutuo angrily said, "If you have guts, let''s fight one on one. You can try Laozi''s hands one by one, taking turn in fighting me, laozi won''t care."


    Cheng Xin put his palms together and said, "Please forgive our rudeness, we must fight you together."


    Fat Toutuo raised his left foot and lightly stepped on Wei Xiaobao''s head, while laughing coldly. Smelling the mud odor from the sole of his shoe, Wei Xiaobao was both frightened and angered; with the stinky shoe on his head, unexpectedly his brain also became muddled, in that instant he could not think of anything else. His eyes swept the hall randomly, trying to find something in that main hall with which he could provoke the toutuo. He only needed to talk some nonsense to divert Fat Toutuo''s attention, so that his concentration was somewhat broken, then the Shaolin monks would have the opportunity to help him. However, with his head underneath the toutuo''s foot, he could only look to one side of the courtyard outside. He saw a large stone turtle with a large vertical stone tablet on its back.


    "Fat Reverend Monk," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your dad is always crawling in the courtyard, with a tens-of-thousands-catty large stone pressing on his back, isn''t he suffering too much? You are not even trying to help him, you are really lacking of filial piety."


    "What do you mean my dad is crawling in the courtyard?" Fat Toutuo angrily said, "Your mouth is full of rubbish."


    Fat Toutuo hastily asked, "Where are the other seven copies? Do you know?"


    "Naturally I do," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Where are they?" Fat Toutuo asked, "Tell me quickly, if you don''t, I am going to crush your skull with my foot."


    "At first I did not know, but I found out about it just now," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You have just found out about it?" Fat Toutuo asked in amazement, "What do you mean?"


    "What characters?" Fat Toutuo asked. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was staring at the stone tablet in the courtyard, he asked in amazement, "You understand the inscription on that stone tablet?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not pay him any attention, he read the inscription on the stone tablet with rapt attention, "The second copy is hidden in some Buddhist nun monastery on some mountain in Shanxi province. Pang Laoxiong [old fellow fat], I don''t recognize these several characters, the engraving is fuzzy, you are well-versed in both literature and martial art, why don''t you go and look at it yourself?"


    Fat Toutuo believed him; he bent over to lift Wei Xiaobao up and brought him out of the hall''s door to look at the stone tablet. The writings on the stone tablet were actually in seal-script; if he said it was some writing, he himself did not recognize even a single character, but if he said it was not some writing, then what was engraved on the stone tablet?


    He heard Wei Xiaobao continue reading, "The third copy is on some mountain in Sichuan? I don''t recognize that character either."


    Wei Xiaobao squinted to gaze at the stone tablet, he leaned his head to the left, and then leaned it to the right, finally he shook his head and said, "I can''t figure it out."


    Fat Toutuo lifted him up and brought him three steps closer to the stone tablet. When they were near, his face showed an inquiring expression. Wei Xiaobao said, "My head is so itchy."


    "What?" Fat Toutuo asked.


    "There''s flea in this temple," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It went into my hair and bit me. Pang Laoxiong, please catch the flea for me. My scalp is unbearably itchy, I cannot see clearly."


    Fat Toutuo took off his hat and stretched out his huge palm, and with his five as-big-as-wooden-club fingers he scratched Wei Xiaobao''s hair. "Is it better?" he asked.


    "No," Wei Xiaobao said, "The flea bit me on the left part of my scalp, you were scratching the right part; the more you scratched, the itchier it becomes." Therefore, Fat Toutuo scratched the left part of his scalp. Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo, the flea jumped onto my neck, did you see it?"


    Fat Toutuo was fully aware that he was being mischievous, but he still relaxed his hand holding Wei Xiaobao''s wrist; only he placed his left hand lightly on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder to prevent him from running away. "Just scratch it yourself!" he said.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao said, "This granny''s flea is so difficult to deal with, it must have not eaten human''s blood in three years. Originally it was short and fat, and now it is so starved that it turns thin and shriveled, hence it came here staking everything it has to make things difficult for laozi." While saying that, he reached into his collar with his left hand and scratched vigorously.


    Fat Toutuo knew Wei Xiaobao was cursing him as a flea in a roundabout way, but he pretended not to notice. "Where is the fourth copy hidden at?" he asked.


    "Um, the fourth copy," Wei Xiaobao said, "It is hidden in some mountain, Shao �� Shaolin Temple''s Da �� Da something courtyard?"


    Fat Toutuo was shocked. "It is hidden in Shaolin Temple''s Damo Courtyard?" he asked.


    Seeing he was very afraid of the eighteen Shaolin monks, and knowing that these Shaolin monks were from Damo Courtyard, Wei Xiaobao deliberately came out with this difficult problem; he wanted to play trick on him, thinking that even if he had an enormous courage, he would not dare to go to Shaolin Temple''s Damo Courtyard to steal the sutra. "Is that the character ''mo''?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I did not know it. Pang Laoxiong, you even know this difficult character, why should you tell me to read? Ah, I know, you are simply testing me. I am ashamed, on each line, there are several characters that I do not recognize."


    Fat Toutuo cast a sidelong glance toward the Shaolin monks, his expression showed trepidation and uncertainty; he asked, "And where is the fifth copy hidden at?"


    Shaolin Temple was a major sect of the Wulin world. Wei Xiaobao had heard Hai Dafu mentioning it, who had also mentioned that the Empress Dowager pretended to be from Wudang Pai. In turn, the Empress Dowager had thought that Hai Dafu was from Kongtong Pai. Therefore, Wudang and Kongtong were also two major sects. Thereupon he said that the fifth and sixth copies were hidden separately on Wudang and Kongtong, two mountains. Fat Toutuo''s countenance turned uglier and uglier. Wei Xiaobao said that the seventh copy was obtained by the Mu Palace people of Yunnan, and the eighth was in some Xi Wang''s [west king] mansion. Bai Hanfeng had given him some trouble, so he was trying to even up by mentioning the Mu Palace. In Wu Sangui, Ping Xi Wang''s palace, there were martial art experts as many as the clouds, even his own Shifu was afraid of it, if Fat Toutuo was brazen enough to cause trouble, he would definitely suffer an enormous suffering.


    To his surprise, however, Fat Toutuo''s countenance changed greatly as he asked, "Did you say the eighth copy is in Ping Xi Wang''s mansion?"


    "I do not know this character," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am not sure if it is Ping Xi Wang."


    Fat Toutuo was angry; suddenly he exploded, "Rubbish! If not a thousand years old, this stone tablet is at least five hundred years; how old is Wu Sangui? How can an inscription of several hundred years ago mention Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui?"


    The stone tablet was jet-black, the stone tortoise and the stone tablet were covered with moss, the engraved inscriptions were worn out and badly damaged; one look at it, one would immediately know that this article was a several hundred year old antique. Wei Xiaobao did not understand this logic and hence he made idle talk trying to implicate Wu Sangui.


    "Bad, bad!" he groaned inwardly. Trying to recover from his blunder he said, "I said I do not know that character, it was you who said ''Ping Xi Wang'', perhaps in ancient times there was a Gou Xi Wang, Mao Xi Wang or even Wugui[91] Xi Wang in Yunnan. Pang Laoxiong, let me tell you this: these characters are squiggly, they are very difficult to recognize. If you know it, then you know it, if you don''t know it, then admit it. You pretend to know, yet you read something about Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui. Here we have several great monks, each and every one of them is a man of learning and profound knowledge; you randomly read wrong characters, won''t you make them laugh at you till their mouths crooked?"


    This speech actually made sense, making Fat Toutuo''s thin face immediately blushed deep red from ear to ear. He was not angry at all, but nodded his head and said, "I do not recognize even one word of these tadpole characters, so it is not Ping Xi Wang. What else is written below it?"


    "What a close call!" Wei Xiaobao mused, "After rebuking him a little, I need to cover it up. I have to say a few nice things to make him happy. He changed the ''Snake Island'' to ''Divine Dragon Island''; he also knew the fat pig Liu Yan, most probably he is a member of Shen Long Jiao." After cocking his head and looking at the stone tablet for half a day, he said, "The following seems to say ''long life as heaven �� heaven �� heaven ��'' heaven what?"


    Fat Toutuo immediately looked tense, "Look carefully," he said, "Long life as heaven what?"


    "It looks like the character �� the character �� um, character ''qi'' [even/level with]. Right, it must be ''long-life is the same as the Heaven''s''!"


    Fat Toutuo was greatly delighted, he repeatedly rubbed his hands and said, "This sentence does exist. And then what?"


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the stone tablet and said, "These characters are really squiggly, they are hard to recognize. Ah right, this must me ''Hong'' character, ''Hong Jiaozhu'', three characters, and then there''s ''Shen Long'' two characters! Look here, these are ''shen tong guang da'', four characters [magical power is extensive]."


    "Wow!" Fat Toutuo exclaimed loudly, he jumped up and down and said, "Hong Jiaozhu really has such good fortune, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s? It is written on this thousand years old stone tablet?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "On top of that, it is written that this is �� this is a monument established by Tang Taizong Li Shimin[92], who sent Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin to erect it. It is clearly written on this stone tablet that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a military master called Xu Maogong, who knew events that happened a thousand years before and a thousand years after, who foretold that after a thousand years, during the Great Qing Dynasty, there will be Hong Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao, whose magical power is extensive and whose long-life is the same as the Heaven''s."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I wonder if there is something else written on the back of this big stone."


    "Yes!" Fat Toutuo said. He walked around to look at the back of the stone tablet.


    Wei Xiaobao took a sudden big stride forward and jumped backward. Fat Toutuo was startled, and hastily reached out to grab. Four Shaolin monks from both sides simultaneously waved their palms to strike. Fat Toutuo did not have any choice but to send a fist to ward off. By this time Wei Xiaobao had already hidden behind the Shaolin monks. In an instant four more Shaolin monks stepped forward.


    Eight Shaolin monks constantly circle around Fat Toutuo in fast motion, while their hands continuously sent out attack after attack. It did not matter if the attack hit the target or not, as soon as one strike failed, the next strike arrived. Sixteen hands struck from eight directions; obviously it was a well-trained formation. Fat Toutuo''s defense was very tight, but with one against eight, right away he sensed that he would not be able to endure.


    ''Slap! Slap!'' a Shaolin monk exchanged palm strikes with Fat Toutuo. The Shaolin monk jumped out of the arena, another monk stepped in. After fighting for a while, Fat Toutuo''s leg was kicked. He stretched out his arms, made a turn, and forced the eight Shaolin monks to withdraw two steps back. "Hold on!" he called out.


    Each one of the eight Shaolin monks took two more steps back. Fat Toutuo said, "Today the few are no match for the many, I''ll give the sutra back to you!" Reaching into his bosom, he took out the sutra.


    Cheng Xin waved his left hand, the eight Shaolin monks took two steps forward, now they were less than three chi away from Fat Toutuo, each one poised for another strike. Fat Toutuo ignored them completely. He held out his hand with the sutra in it. Cheng Xin circulated the internal energy from his dantian several times, now his entire body was shielded with his inner strength. He put his three left fingers together in secret to guard against the follow-up attack. Only then did he stretch out his right hand to slowly receive the sutra.


    Unexpectedly, Fat Toutuo did not make any move; he returned the sutra and then with a smile he said, "Cheng Xin Dashi, your eighteen luohan of Shaolin is world famous, eighteen of you beat me, one man; don''t you think it is rather lack of splendor?"


    Cheng Xin put the sutra into his bosom, put his palms together, bowed and said, "Forgive our offense. In one-on-one combat, Shaolin monks are not the Fat Revered Monk''s match." With a wave of his left hand, all the monks withdrew simultaneously. For fear that he would try to grab Wei Xiaobao again, five or six monks stood on guard in front of him.


    "Benefactor Wei," Fat Toutuo said, "I have an earnest request that I will ask you to please grant it to me."


    "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I want to invite you to the Divine Dragon Island," Fat Toutuo replied, "To be our guest for several days."


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback, "What?" he said, "You want me to go to the Divine Dragon Island? That kind of place ��"


    Fat Toutuo said, "The young benefactor''s sutra is in Cheng Xin Dashi''s hand, he will submit it to Shaolin Fangzhang. The young benefactor is coming to the Divine Dragon Island, our Cult people, from top to bottom, will definitely treat you with utmost respect. After you meet with Hong Jiaozhu, I will definitely send young benefactor out of the island safe and sound."


    He saw Wei Xiaobao was closing his mouth tight, obviously he did not believe him; thereupon he said, "Cheng Xin Dashi, I am asking you to be my witness. Have you ever known Fat Toutuo said something but not doing it?"


    Cheng Xin knew that although this toutuo''s conduct was rather heretical and presumptuous, he was not significantly evil. The fact that fat and thin, two toutuo had always fulfilled their promise, he had indeed heard about it long ago. He said, "The fact that Fat Revered Monk is trustworthy is widely known. It''s just that Benefactor Wei has a very important matter to attend, I am afraid he won''t have time to go to the Divine Dragon Island."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am extremely busy. When I have time in the future, I will go to the Divine Dragon Island to visit Fat Revered Monk and Hong Jiaozhu."


    Fat Toutuo hastily said, "You should have said Hong Jiaozhu and his, the Senior''s, subordinate Fat Toutuo. First, there is no one in the world may rank above him, the Senior. By saying other people''s name first before mentioning Hong Jiaozhu is highly disrespectful."


    "What about the Emperor?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Fat Toutuo replied, "Naturally Hong Jiaozhu first, the Emperor behind him. Second, in the presence of Jiaozhu, the Senior, you must not mention ''Revered Monk'' or ''Taoist Master''[95]. In this entire world, only Hong Jiaozhu deserves to be revered."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and said, "Hong Jiaozhu is so formidable, I do not dare to meet him even more."


    Fat Toutuo said, "Hong Jiaozhu is benevolent and loving, his kindness covers the whole world. Toward a brilliant and clever young hero like young benefactor, the Senior is sure to be absolutely thrilled. If the young benefactor goes to the Divine Dragon Island, you will definitely return from a rewarding journey. The Senior, Jiaozhu, is very generous, it goes without saying. Perhaps when the Senior is happy, he would teach you a move or half a style; henceforth the young benefactor will be able to reap endless benefit when you are roaming the world."


    He was speaking very sincerely, fervently and passionately. At first he did not even consider Wei Xiaobao worthy in his eyes, he even stepped on his head, but now his speech was full of ''young benefactor'' and ''a brilliant and clever young hero''. Afraid that Wei Xiaobao could not hear him clearly, he bent his bamboo-pole-like body and spoke next to his ear.


    Wei Xiaobao recalled Tao Hongying''s story, and remembered seeing the action of Zhang Laosan and the other at the Zhuang home; he also remembered the Empress Dowager and Liu Yan, and the appearance of the fake palace maid, the man who dressed as a woman. In short, he had an unspeakable disgust toward Shen Long Jiao. Comparatively speaking, among the Shen Long Jiao people, Fat Toutuo still had several part of lofty quality as a hero. But after using force to rob the sutra and carrying Wei Xiaobao here and there, now suddenly his manner changed completely, he wanted to invite him as a guest to the Divine Dragon Island, Wei Xiaobao was certain that Fat Toutuo was harboring some malicious intentions. Right now he was speaking politely, but it must be because he was no match for the Shaolin monks. As soon as the Shaolin monks left, he would definitely resort to violence again, and then who would be able to put him under control? Thereupon Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I am not going!"


    Fat Toutuo''s thin face looked extremely dejected. Slowly he straightened up his body, and cast a glance toward the eighteen Shaolin monks surrounding him. "Young benefactor," he said slowly, "In your opinion, how is my martial art compared to these eighteen great monks?"


    "Each has its strong points," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "What do you mean each has its strong points?" Fat Toutuo angrily said, "If we fight one on one, do you think they can beat me?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "One on one, perhaps you will win. One against eighteen, you will definitely lose. This is what I mean by each has its strong points. If one on one and you still lose, you don''t have any farting points! Your only strong point is that you are taller than they are."


    Fat Toutuo smiled and said, "Have you seen anybody else with martial art skill as superior as mine?"


    "Of course I have!" Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your martial art skill is just so-so, I have seen not a few people whose martial art skill is ten times better than yours."


    Fat Toutuo was angry; he jumped one step forward with stretched arm to grab him. Four Shaolin monks simultaneously stretched out their palms to block. Fat Toutuo said, "Name those people whose martial art is superior to mine."


    Momentarily Wei Xiaobao was at a loss for words; he could not remember seeing anybody whose martial art skill was higher than his. His own Shifu''s martial art skill was extremely high, but he could not necessarily beat him.


    Fat Toutuo was very smug, he said, "You see, you can''t name even one, can you?"


    "What do you mean I can''t name one?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I just don''t want to tell you, for fear you might be really frightened. There are so many people whose martial art skill is higher than yours. The first one is Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan. I have seen him fighting in Beijing, with his pair of hands he caught four toutuo, each toutuo weighs more than two hundred catties. With just a kick of his legs, he was able to jump over the city wall. If you fight with him, the difference is way too far."


    "Humph," Fat Toutuo snorted. He had also heard the name of Chen Jinnan, but did not believe that he was able to jump over the city wall carrying four people. "Braggart!" he said.


    "The second person whose martial art is superior," Wei Xiaobao continued, "Is a sweet, tender-footed young mistress." Speaking to this point, he cast a glance toward Shuang''er. Shuang''er repeatedly shook her hand, telling him not to continue. But Wei Xiaobao continued, "One time this young mistress fought thirty-six Wudang''s Taoist priests. Thirty-six priests surrounded her, using ... using some sort of formation."


    Fat Toutuo asked, "About that Wudang Pai''s formation, were they barehanded or using swords?"


    "Using swords," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "That must be Zhenwu[96] Sword Formation," Fat Toutuo said.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Pang Dashi [great master fat] is experienced and knowledgeable, you know about Zhenwu Sword Formation. At that time those thirty-six swords surrounded the young mistress, the swords flickered that even water could not splash through. The young mistress had a child in her left hand, her right hand was unarmed ..."


    Fat Toutuo was greatly amazed. "She fought Wudang Pai with a child in her left hand?" he asked.


    "What''s so strange about it?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, she was carrying two little babies, both were boys, they were very fat ..." He deliberately exaggerated the martial art skill of the young mistress of the Zhuang family, so he doubled the number of child in her arm. He said, " ... with her mouth she was soothing the babies: ''Two sweet babies, don''t cry, watch your mama doing some tricks'', while seizing the swords in those thirty-six priests hands and sealed those priests'' acupoints, so that all of them were frozen in place, just like clay Bodhisattva, without able to move at all. Carrying the babies, the young mistress let them grab the old priests'' beard. The old priests stared in anger, but the two babies were laughing very happily."


    Wudang Pai and Shaolin Pai were equally famous, their martial art went back for a thousand years; Wei Xiaobao knew this. He saw how Fat Toutuo was not able to defeat the eighteen Shaolin monks, so he said that that young mistress was able to overpower thirty-six Taoist priests. Whose martial art strong, whose martial art weak, he did not have to talk too much.


    Listening to him, Fat Toutuo stared blankly like he suddenly lost his mind. He sighed and said, "Unexpectedly there is such magical martial art in the world!"


    Seeing surprisingly he believed his lie, Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He said, "I am not concealing anything from you, this young mistress is my own godmother."


    When he started talking about Jiangnan''s young mistress, Shuang''er thought that he was talking about the Third Mistress; but then later he mentioned that the young mistress had a pair of twin boys, plus she was Wei Xiaobao''s godmother, hence she realized he was talking about someone else. But Fat Toutuo was shocked. "Your godmother?" he asked, "What''s her surname? There is such a formidable figure in Wulin, yet how come I have never heard about it?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "There are plentiful formidable figures in Wulin. Take my wife here for example," he pointed to Shuang''er, "As you can see, she is petite, cute and exquisite looking; how do you know she knew martial art?"


    Shuang''er blushed; she said, "Xianggong, don''t talk nonsense."


    Fat Toutuo had had some exchange with Shuang''er, this kind of petite lady, surprisingly her skill was quite amazing; were it not for him personally witnessing it, it would be hard for him to believe. He nodded and said, "You are right. Since the young benefactor is unwilling to visit the Divine Dragon Island, there''s nothing I can do. Gentlemen, please!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Dashi, you first!" He appeared to be polite, but actually he wanted Fat Toutuo to leave first; if he went to the east, then Wei Xiaobao would go to the west, if he went to the north, then Wei Xiaobao would go to the south.


    Fat Toutuo shook his head and said, "Young benefactor, please go first. I want to make a rubbing of the inscription engraved on this stone tablet."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed inwardly, thinking that his wild talk was unexpectedly believed as the truth.


    Book note:


    2. Four empresses of Shunzhi. Empress Duan Jing, whose maiden name was Donggo, and Empress Xiao Kang, Kangxi''s birth mother, were buried together as husband and wives to show filial piety. Empress Fei[97] and Empress Xiao Hui (the ''Empress Dowager'' in our book) were separately buried in the Xiao Dong Ling [Eastern Qing Tombs]. ''Xiao Kang'' and ''Xiao Hui'' were posthumous titles granted during the reigns of Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong. The titles were not known during Kangxi''s reign. But popular fiction does not need to follow such a strict compliance to historical facts.


    3. The matter of Shunzhi leaving home to become a monk on Mount Wutai was a widely spread folklore during the Qing Dynasty. It was known as one of the ''Four Qing Mysteries'' [or ''doubtful cases'']. The other three mysteries were: Shunzhi''s Empress Dowager married a regent later on, Yongzheng''s got his first wife by force, Qianlong actually came from Chen family in Haining [county level city in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province]. According to official record, Shunzhi died of smallpox; however, there are too many doubtful points in the official record, to such an extent that people of later generation could only guess what had really happened. A great poet of early Qing Dynasty, Wu Meichun wrote four-stanza poem ''Mount Qing Liang''s Poem of Praise to Buddha''. It is definitely related to Consort Donggo. Quite a number of people believe that because of his grief over his beloved concubine''s death, Shunzhi has left home to become a Buddhist monk on Mount Wutai. The poem says, ''There''s a high mountain in the northwest, people say it''s the Wenshu [Manjushri] Platform. On the platform there''s a bright moon pond, where thousand-leaf golden lotus blooms, the blossoms reflecting each other''s shadow, the leaves grow together with the root. The queen mother carries Shuang Cheng [double success?], the green canopy reaches to the cloud (note: Shuang Cheng points to female fairy Dong Shuang Cheng). The Han Lord sits on the Palace of Buddhist teaching, he hesitates as soon as exposed to the light. Binding the hearts together, giving away nine ornamental hairpins ... hand in hand neglecting the greatest news, extreme happiness gives birth to minuscule sorrow. Loneliness of a thousand autumns ended, who will wholeheartedly accompany me today? ... '' (It was said that while Consort Donggo received special favor from Shunzhi; Shunzhi''s own life was inconsistently tragic. The entire poem was very long, it will not be copied here in its entirety). ''Wounded heart is frightened by the cold wind, deep in the Palace the crickets chirp. Severe frost covers the jasper tree, hibiscus withered from the core. It''s a pity a thousand li grass, withered away losing its color.'' (note: ''thousand-li grass'' [ǧ���] are characters form the ''Dong'' [��] character, referring to the death of Consort Donggo.) ... ''The south-facing storehouse stretches to the grave (referring to Cao Cao''s [famous statesman and general at the end of Han, the main villain of the novel ''Romance of Three Kingdoms''] son who died prematurely in infancy, King Deng Ai, Cao Cangshu [Cangshu means ''stretched storehouse''], a comparison to Prince Rong), covering the face, adding to the broken heart. Abstain from words, feed my horse with grain, roaming the eight extremities.'' (It was told that when his beloved concubine passed away, Shunzhi''s innermost being was so sorrowful that he was thinking of leaving the mortal world). ''The eight extremities is boundless, it is pointing to the Qing Liang Mountain. This mountain stores up deities, noble spirits to examine the wrong ... Famous mountain initially looks at the good fortune, accepting instruction to release the way of the well-being, preparing to sprinkle seven Buddhist earthen jars from the highest peak ... From the seat of a celestial being, breathing out air like silken sandalwood. Sending words to the Han Emperor, is it worth the trouble to remain in the mortal world? ... Only a broad mind, like a rock, will never be published. Hereby protecting the golden wheel, the law of the ocean has no billows (talking about Shunzhi''s aspiration to go to Mount Wutai). Tasting and hearing the solemn Son of Heaven, six hired hands cover ten thousand li ... magnificent concubine''s ailment cannot be saved, waving the whip, tears flow like water. Han Emperor like an immortal, his wife considers getting rid of her slippers ... favoring instead to seize the government power of the long gate, graciousness leans to the Qing city. Magnificent jade decorating the night, heartache and grief like the mourning cicada. None of the sufferings does not have a death side to it, to have the power of commanding the morning sun to rise ... maintaining the propriety toward the ruler, virtuous sage to set the course. Taking part in the way does not need the brilliance of the ruler, declining meritorious deed promising disgrace, empty appearance cannot be repeated, like packing up a reservoir of the wind.'' (Toward the ruler points to Sakyamuni Buddha. Attributed to his conversion to the Dharma, seeking relief by Zen Buddhism).


    4. When he was on the throne, Shunzhi has already taken Yulin as his master in the study of Buddhism. From Yulin''s chronicle as the teacher of the state: in the Shunzhi''s sixteenth year, the ''forefather of the world'' asked the master to bestow a name, the master offered more than ten characters, the ''forefather of the world'' picked the character ''chi'' [imbecile/sentimental/stupid/foolish], in conjunction with the character ''Xing'', which was handed down by forefather of Zen Buddhism''s sect of Long Chi [dragon pond], and thus his Buddhist name was ''Xing Chi''. Yulin himself was of the ''Tong'' [go through/pass] generation, his name was ''Tong Xiu'' [''xiu'' means jade], Yulin [yulin means jade forest]; therefore, his disciples used the ''Xing'' [to walk/to go/to travel] as their generation name.

 Chapter - 19 (19)

    Wei Xiaobao looked at the painting and calligraphy on the wall, but he did not recognize a single character. Shaking his head he said, "This calligraphy is not too good." Mr. Lu felt a deep veneration as he asked for directions on the faulty stroke and weak points of the calligraphy. "There are too many faulty strokes, there are too little superb strokes!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    The eighteen Shaolin monks, along with Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er, went down the Jin Xiu Peak. Cheng Xin returned the sutra to Wei Xiaobao; he asked, "Will Benefactor return to Beijing immediately?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Cheng Xin said, "I received Yulin Dashi''s request to escort Benefactor until you arrive safely to the Capital."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "That''s wonderful," he said, "I was worrying that that bamboo-pole toutuo is not willing to give up and thus will come again to give me trouble. But if you all come with me, will someone protect Xing Chi Dashi?"


    "Benefactor may set your heart at ease," Cheng Xin said, "Yulin Dashi has other arrangement."


    Now Wei Xiaobao was in complete admiration toward the old monk Yulin. He was always sitting in meditation with his eyes closed, so much so that he would not even care if the sky collapsed, but without a word or movement, he had made appropriate arrangement for everything in secret. With the Shaolin''s Eighteen Lohan escorting him, there was no danger whatsoever along the way. Not only the tall and thin Fat Toutuo did not appear, they did not even meet a single Wulin character along the way.


    One day they arrived outside Beijing. The eighteen Shaolin monks bade their farewell to Wei Xiaobao. Cheng Xin said, "Benefactor has arrived at the Capital, the old monk and my brothers say our goodbye to return to our temple."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "All the great monks have bore suffering to escort me to this place, I �� I really can''t thank you enough, please accept my deepest respect." While saying that, he kneeled down to kowtow.


    Cheng Xin busily helped him up, saying, "Along the way, Benefactor has treated us very well. From Shanxi to Beijing we were roaming the mountain playing on the water [i.e. going on a scenic tour], where is the suffering?"


    What happened was that as soon as they left Mount Wutai, Wei Xiaobao immediately hired nineteen large carriages. He and Shuang''er rode on one, each one of the eighteen Shaolin monks rode on one carriage. He ordered Yu Ba, on a fast horse, to go ahead of them, a day in advance, to arrange the lodging along the way, preparing tea, delicacies, vegetarian dishes, etc. Everything was top-notch. On each place they stopped, Wei Xiaobao always splurged on tips, so that the shopkeeper and the attendants treated the eighteen Shaolin monks as if they were deities Bodhisattva. Shaolin monks exercise self-control and lead ascetics life, they do not seek after these food and drink, but seeing Wei Xiaobao treated them with respect and looked very sincere, inevitably they were quite happy. Although Wei Xiaobao was glib-tongued, his natural disposition was friendly, easy to make friends, and contrary to what one might expect, he was sincere towards his friends. Along the way he chatted with the monks and got along very well with them. Now that suddenly they have to say good-bye, his heart ached and he could not stop the tears from flowing down.


    "Shanzai, shanzai! [good, peace]" Cheng Xin said, "Why is young benefactor grieving? If there''s karma, another day you can visit us at Shaolin Temple and we can chat."


    With a sob Wei Xiaobao said, "Indeed I must come."


    By the time Cheng Xin and the other monks had left and they entered the city, it was already late in the evening, hence it was inappropriate to enter the Palace. Wei Xiaobao went to a large inn at the Xizhimen[99] district, the ''Ru Gui[100] Inn''. He asked for the best room, planning to spend the night there, and see Kangxi the next day, to report everything. He thought, "That thin and annoying Fat Toutuo is desperate to get his hand on my sutra, maybe he is still following me in secret. The eighteen Shaolin monks have already left, if he came back to get it by force, Shuang''er and I would not be able to stop him. I had better work a little bit to hide the sutra first. Tomorrow when I get to the Palace, I can take a large group of Imperial Bodyguards here to get it, then present it to the young emperor. This is called ''not one in ten thousand failures'' [wan shi wu yi]!"


    Thereupon he ordered Yu Ba to make preparation and sent Shuang''er out of the room, bolted the door and closed the window, before making sure that Fat Toutuo was not peeking outside. And then he wrapped the sutra in oilcloth, pulled the table, took out his dagger, and cut a hole on the brick floor underneath the table. The dagger was able to cut iron like mud, naturally it could cut mud effortlessly. After putting the sutra inside the hole, he put the brick back and mixing ash and water, he spread the paste over the brick slit. When the paste was dry, no one would ever find it unless one was deliberately looking for it.


    Early in the morning the next day, he ordered Yu Ba to hire a carriage, he wanted to take Shuang''er for a sumptuous light breakfast first. He wanted to spend a lot of money to let this little servant girl broaden her outlook. Afterwards, he needed to buy a set of eunuch clothes and hat before entering the Palace. But buying eunuch clothes and hat in the marketplace was not really easy. If he could not buy one, he thought he would wear Imperial Bodyguard uniform and a yellow Magua on top of it, then he would look very impressive as he swaggered into the Palace. Wouldn''t it be interesting to see the Imperial Bodyguards and the eunuchs'' dumbstruck expression when they see him? After all, his Deputy Chief of Imperial Bodyguards was bestowed personally by His Majesty, was it not? He said in his heart, "With this idea, why would I toil myself to become an eunuch? That''s it, Laozi will enter the Palace wearing the yellow Magua."


    With Shuang''er he climbed into the carriage, bent his tongue, and spoke in Beijing accent, "We''ll go to the ol'' Kuixing [the great bear constellation] Shop in Xidan[101] first. Their deep-fried sheep tail and mutton dumpling are not bad at all."


    "Yes!" the carriage driver respectfully said.


    With a straight back Yu Ba sat by the carriage driver. "Hey," he said, "In the Capital, even the mule is standing out from the masses, not even one of such a pitch-black mule with large eyes can be found within our Shanxi province."


    As he returned to the Capital, Wei Xiaobao''s heart had a different feeling of self-satisfaction.


    After traveling for a while, the carriage suddenly went out of Xizhimen. Wei Xiaobao said, "Hey, we are going to Xidan, why are we going out of town?"


    "Yes," the cart driver said, "I am sorry Daye [big master]! Xiaoren''s mule is stubborn, when we reach the city gate, he always wants to slip out of town."


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er laughed. Yu Ba said, "Hey, in the Capital, even the mules are putting on official airs."


    As the large carriage left the city gate, it travelled straight to the north. After about a li, it still had not turned back. Wei Xiaobao knew something was amiss; he said sternly, "Driver, what trick are you playing? Quickly go back!"


    The driver repeatedly said yes, he shouted, "Go back, mule, hu, hu, mule, go back!" The cart driver lashed his whip randomly, but the mule forcefully ran to the north, it bolted faster and faster. The cart driver cursed, "Damn it stinky mule, I told you to go back! Mule, stop, stop! Your granny''s bastard mule!" His shout became more and more urgent, but how could the mule be willing to stop?


    Right this moment, there was sound of horse''s hoof, two riders from the side rushed over and rode close to the mule carriage. The riders were two tall and sturdy men. In a low voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Make your move!"


    Shuang''er leaned forward and stretched out her finger to poke the middle of the cart driver''s back. His body swayed, he fell down from the carriage with a loud cry, and was trampled by the rider head on. The rider flew up and landed on the carriage driver''s seat. Shuang''er stretched out her finger again. The man turned his hand around to catch her wrist. Shuang''er flipped her palm and slapped his face. The man parried with his left palm, while trying to grab her shoulder with his right hand.


    The two of them exchanged eight, nine moves, while the mule was still running fast. The rider on the left called out, "What happened? Why are you still playing?"


    ''Bang!'' the man on the carriage got hit by Shuang''er right palm on the pit of his stomach, he fell down. The other man raised his whip to strike. Shuang''er reached out and caught the whip and in one fluid motion wound it around the carriage. The mule carriage was rushing forward, the whip was pulled, the man was immediately thrown down from the horse that he hastily let go of the whip and let out a loud ''wah wah'' cry.


    Shuang''er picked up the reins. She did not know how to drive a cart, so she handed it over to Yu Ba and said, "You drive the cart."


    "I �� this I can''t," Yu Ba said.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped onto the driver seat, and took over the taut rope; he did not know how to drive cart either, but he imitated the cart driver''s ''mule, mule'' calls, left hand loosened the reins, right hand tightened it, just like riding a horse. As expected, the mule turned around; where had the stubbornness gone?


    They heard another sound of horse''s hoof, a dozen or more riders rushed over. Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed, he pulled the mule that the cart swerved in an oblique angle. The riders also turned their horse to pursue from behind. The horses were fast, the carriage was slow, not too long afterwards, those dozen or so riders had surrounded the mule cart.


    Seeing each one of the horse riders was holding a weapon, Wei Xiaobao called out, "Under the bright sunny sky, near the throne of the Son of Heaven, you want to cut our way and rob us?"


    A man said with a laugh, "We are envoys to invite you to dinner, not to rob you. Wei Gongzi, our master is inviting you to drink several cups of wine!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Who is your master?" he asked.


    The man replied, "As soon as Gongzi see him, you will naturally recognize him. If our master is not Gongzi''s friend, why would he invite you to drink wine?"


    Seeing these men acted strange, Wei Xiaobao knew that most likely they were harboring ill intentions. "How can there be such invitation?" he called out, "Excuse me, let me pass!"


    Another man laughed and said, "Let you pass? We''ll let you pass, then!" Raising the saber in his hand, he chopped the mule''s head; the mule''s body swayed sideways and fell to the ground, pulling the carriage along with it. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er hurriedly leaped down. Shuang''er moved like the wind, it''s just that the enemies were on horsebacks, while she was short, so she could not reach the enemies. One by one she jabbed with her finger, if not the horse'' eyes, then the acupoints on those men''s legs. Instantly there was a clamor of horses neighing in confusion. Several men jumped down from their horses, they charged forward with brandished sabers. Shuang''er was extremely agile and nimble, poking to the east striking to the west, she knocked down seven, eight men. The remaining four or five men looked at each other in dismay, at a loss of what to do.


    On the main road a small carriage galloped over, a woman''s voice from the carriage called out, "We are on the same side, don''t fight!"


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard the voice, his heart blossomed and his anger subsided. "Aha!" he called out, "My wife is here!"


    Shuang''er and the men immediately stopped fighting. Shuang''er was greatly puzzled, she did not expect this xianggong had already had young mistress. But at that time, marrying too early was prevalent, it was not uncommon for a fourteen, fifteen years old man to get married, it''s just that Wei Xiaobao had never told her that he had a wife.


    The small carriage arrived, from inside jumped a person, it was none other than Fang Yi. Wei Xiaobao was grinning from ear to ear, he stepped forward and pulled her hand, saying, "Good Jiejie, I miss you very much, where have you been?"


    Fang Yi smiled and said, "We''ll talk about it later. Why did you fight each other?" She saw a lot of men were lying on the ground, the mule''s blood splattered everywhere; she was quite stunned.


    A man bowed and said, "Miss Fang, we are here to invite Wei Gongzi for a drink, I suppose our manner was not satisfactory and we have offended Gongzi. If Miss Fang could invite him personally, it would be best."


    Fang Yi was amazed, "Did you knock these people down?" she asked, "Your martial art skill must have been increased a hundred-fold."


    "Even if I made progress, it wouldn''t be this quick," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It was Miss Shuang''er who protected me. She is young, but her skill is prominent."


    Fang Yi turned toward Shuang''er. Noticing Shuang''er was about thirteen, fourteen years of age, with gentle and shy appearance, she did not believe her martial art skill to be this superior. "Meimei, what''s your surname?" she asked. When she was at the Zhuang''s house, she did not see Shuang''er at all, therefore, the two of them did not know each other.


    Shuang''er stepped forward, kneeled down and kowtowed, saying, "Your maid servant Shuang''er is paying her respect to the Young Mistress." Wei Xiaobao burst out in laughter.


    Fang Yi was so embarrassed that her entire face turned red; hastily she dodged and said, "You ... what did you call me? I ... I''m ... not."


    Shuang''er stood up and said, "Xianggong said that you are his wife, your maid servant is serving Xianggong, naturally I am calling you Young Mistress."


    Fang Yi cast a vicious glance toward Wei Xiaobao; she said, "This man''s mouth always talks nonsense, don''t believe him. How long have you been serving him? Don''t tell me you do not know his character by now. I am Miss Fang."


    Shuang''er showed a faint smile and said, "In that case I won''t call you that for now, but someday I will."


    "Someday you will call me wh ..." Fang Yi started, but then she blushed again, and swallowed the last word ''what''.


    Shuang''er looked at Wei Xiaobao, he was having an immensely proud of himself expression on his face, suddenly Shuang''er also blushed. She remembered how at Mount Wutai he had also told Fat Toutuo that she was his wife. Turned out he had this habit of calling young ladies his wives. So that when she heard him laughing and then asking, "How''s my young wife?" Shuang''er did not think differently.


    Fang Yi cast him another malicious look; she said, "We have not seen each other for such a long time, as soon as we meet, you did not speak decent words, but act garrulously instead." Immediately she ordered the men to tidy up to continue on their journey. These men''s acupoints were sealed by Shuang''er, they were unable to move a single step, hence Shuang''er had to release them one by one.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If I had known that you are inviting me for a drink, I would have wished I could grow wings and fly to you."


    Fang Yi cast him another malicious look; she said, "You have already forgotten me, naturally you would not have thought that I am inviting you."


    Wei Xiaobao felt sweetness in his heart; he said, "How can I forget you? If I had known you are looking for me, forget about drinking wine, even if you want me to drink horse''s pee or poison, I would willingly come, without the slightest delay."


    Fang Yi''s pair of beautiful eyes gazed at him; she said, "Don''t just say things that are good to hear, what if I really want you to go to the ends of the earth and drink poison?"


    Wei Xiaobao saw that when she said those words, her expression was like smiling, yet she was not smiling, under the morning sun she looked unspeakably gorgeous; he felt his whole body was comfortably warm. He said, "Let''s not mention the ends of the earth, even go up the mountain of blades or go down a deep fryer, I would still go."


    "Alright," Fang Yi said, "A real man gave his words, some horses cannot chase it."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his own chest and loudly exclaimed, "A real man gave his words, some horses cannot chase it." The two of them burst out in laughter.


    Fang Yi ordered a man to get a horse for Wei Xiaobao to ride, she let Shuang''er sit on her own little carriage, while she rode another horse and travelled side-by-side with Wei Xiaobao. Facing the morning sun, they let their horses gallop leisurely. The men followed behind them.


    Fang Yi said, "Your talent is really good, you managed to pick such a powerful flower, obtaining a servant girl with such superior martial art skill."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "What do you mean picking such a powerful flower? It was her who is most willing to follow me." Wei Xiaobao then asked about Mu Jianping, Xu Tianchuan and the others'' whereabouts. "In that haunted house," he said, "You were captured by those Shen Long Jiao fellows. Afterwards, how did you escape? Was it the Third Mistress of the Zhuang Family who sent people to help you?"


    "Who''s the Third Mistress of the Zhuang Family?" Fang Yi asked.


    "She is the master of the Zhuang house," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Fang Yi shook her head, "Master of the Zhuang house?" she asked, "All along we did not meet anybody. Shen Long Jiao only want you, but they did not have any ill-intention toward you. When that Zhang Laosan failed to find you, he let us go. Xiao Junzhu and the others are ahead of us, very soon you will be able to see them." Turning her head toward him, there was a sullen look on her face as she said, "In your heart you only have Xiao Junzhu; we have only met for a short time, yet you have already asked about her seven, eight times."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "When did I ask you seven or eight times?" he said, "I have really suffered injustice. If I saw her but did not see you, by this time I would have asked her seventy, eighty times."


    Fang Yi smiled and said, "Even if you grew ten mouths, you would not be able to ask seventy, eighty times in such a short time. But knowing you, one mouth is more formidable than ten mouths."


    The two of them chatting and joking, in a short while they already travelled more than ten li, winding around Beijing''s city wall, and went straight to the east. "Are we almost there?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Fang Yi looked hurt, "It''s still far away," she said, "Even if you are anxious to see Xiao Junzhu, you don''t have to be this impatient. If I had known it, it would have been much better to let her to come and pick you up, so that you wouldn''t be deeply worried."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and said, "Henceforth I won''t ask another word."


    Fang Yi said, "Your mouth won''t ask, but your heart is anxious; you will make me angry even more."


    It appeared that her vinegar [jealousy] was getting thicker; the more Wei Xiaobao listened, the happier he was. He laughed and said, "If I have just half a part of anxiety in my heart, I am not your husband, but your son."


    "Pfft!" Fang Yi stifled her laughter; she said, "Good ..." her face turned red, she could not push the following word ''son'' out of her mouth.


    They travelled until noon, when they arrived at a small town to take a rest before continuing their journey to the east. Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ask where they were going anymore, he realized they had left Beijing far behind, and that he would not have time to hurry back to the Palace to see Kangxi that day, but he thought, "Xiao Xuanzi did not tell me when I should be back anyway, I could be delayed on Mount Wutai, or was captured and detained by that Fat Toutuo. What''s the harm in returning to the Palace several days late?"


    Along the way Fang Yi kept him company by having idle talks with him. When they were together in the Imperial Palace, although the two of them were in the same room, a third person, Mu Jianping, was also present, so that Fang Yi was quite reserved. This time they were riding slowly side-by-side, she was talking and laughing eagerly and attentively. The rest of their party were being tactful, they lagged quite far behind.


    Wei Xiaobao was at the stage of ''first awakening of love''. When he called her ''his wife'' at the Palace, he was 60% joking, 30% being frivolous and taking advantage of her precarious situation, only 10% was being driven by faint attraction between opposite sexes. Today they met again after separation, seeing sometimes Fang Yi was annoyed and angry, sometimes she was talking and laughing tenderly, Wei Xiaobao could not help but was aroused by passion. He saw after riding for most of the day, her cheeks were flushed, tiny beads of sweat appeared on her face, she looked unspeakably dainty and cute. He could not help but staring at her with a blank expression on his face.


    Fang Yi laughed and said, "Why are you staring with blank expression like that?"


    "Good Jiejie," Wei Xiaobao said, "You ... you look really pretty. I think ... I think ..."


    "What are you thinking?" Fang Yi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I tell you, you must not get angry."


    "If you are speaking properly, I won''t get angry," Fang Yi said, "But if you are being indecent, naturally I will get angry. What are you thinking?"


    "I think, if you really become my wife, I don''t know how much happier I will be," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Fang Yi cast him a sidelong glance with a wooden face, and then turned her head away. Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "Good Jiejie, are you angry?"


    "Naturally I am angry," Fang Yi said, "I am a hundred and twenty percent angry."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "But nothing could be more proper than this, I ... I spoke very sincerely."


    Fang Yi said, "In the Palace, I have already made an oath; I will follow you for the rest of my life, I will serve you. Do you think that was real, or fake? By saying that, aren''t you thinking to cease being faithful?"


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic; if not for the fact that both of them were on horsebacks, he would embrace her immediately and kiss her tender and beautiful, desirable face. Immediately he stretched out his right hand to pull her left hand, saying, "How can I cease being faithful? A thousand years, ten thousand years, I will never cease to be faithful."


    "You are clearly lying," Fang Yi said, "How can a man live for a thousand years, ten thousand years? Unless you are a turtle ..." When speaking the word ''turtle'', she broke into laughter, and turned her head away, but she still let him holding her hand.


    Holding her soft, warm and tender palm, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was bursting with joy. He laughed and said, "With you treating me this well, I will never be a turtle." When one''s wife is having an affair with another man, then the husband becomes a ''turtle''; Fang Yi also understood this sense of pride.


    With a sweet face she said, "Not three sentences of good words, a dog''s mouth will never grow ivory."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "If you marry a chicken follow the chicken, if you marry a dog follow the dog," he said, "If you wish to see your husband grow ivory in this lifetime, it will be very hard to come by." Fang Yi bent over the saddle in laughter, her left hand tightly gripped his palm.


    The two of them chatting and laughing all the way until evening, when they lodged for the night in a large inn in a rather large town. The next morning Wei Xiaobao ordered Yu Ba to hire a large carriage, so that he could ride with Fang Yi inside. The conversation between them was thick with passion. Wei Xiaobao embraced her waist and kissed her face. Fang Yi did not resist, but she categorically forbade him to overstep the boundary. In the matter between male and female, actually Wei Xiaobao seemed to understand, but not really understood, so far he was quite happy. His only wish was that the large carriage would never stop moving, so that he could sit embracing a beautiful woman [orig. jade person], traveling to the ends of the earth, and then turn around, and travel to the other ends of the earth, that the road under the heavens would continue forever; or even if it ends, what''s the harm of going anywhere on foot?


    Toward the evening one day, the carriage and the horses finally arrived on the ocean''s shore. Taking his hand along, Fang Yi walked to the seaside and softly whispered in his ear, "Good Didi [younger brother], what do you say you and I board a ship, roaming the four seas, passing the days just like deities?" While saying that, she held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.


    Her body was so soft that it felt like she did not have any strength. Wei Xiaobao stretched out his left arm around her waist, to guard against her falling down. He felt her silky hair brushing against his cheek, her waist was so soft and tender, shivering slightly. Although the thought of boarding a ship and sailing to the sea was a bit too overwhelming, plus he had a faint feeling that something was not right, but at this time and this place, how could he bear to say this one word ''no''?


    A large ship was anchored by the seaside. Seeing Fang Yi''s subordinates waving dark green cloth, the sailors on the ship lowered a small boat to meet them at the shore. First they took Wei Xiaobao and Fang Yi on board, and then successively brought the rest of the people on board. Seeing they were about to embark on a voyage, Yu Ba said that he was seasick and would not want to go to the sea no matter what. Wei Xiaobao did not force him, he gave him a hundred taels of silver. With a thousand gratitude and ten thousand thanks, Yu Ba returned to Shanxi.


    As Wei Xiaobao entered the cabin, he noticed that it was luxuriously furnished; the floor was covered in thick carpet, there were tea, fruits and delicacies on the table, just like the parlor in the homes of princes, dukes, or high ranking officials. He mused, "Good Jiejie is treating me like this, inevitably there will be an intention to harm me."


    Two servants on the ship offered steamed towel for the two of them to wipe their faces with, followed by the serving of two bowls of noodles. The noodles were covered with shredded chicken; it was very delicious, the taste was different from ordinary noodles. And then he felt the hull swayed, obviously they set sail and went out to sea.


    As the boat left the shore, another world was before their eyes. Fang Yi accompanied him drinking wine and playing finger-guessing game, they never stopped talking and laughing until very late at night. She took care of him first and tucked him into bed before retreating to separate room to rest for the night. The next day, she came back to help him dress and combed his hair. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Until now she does not know that I am not a eunuch; she only knew that our being husband and wife is a fake. When should I tell her the truth?"


    The boat sailed for several days. One particular day the two of them were leaning on the window, enjoying the sunset on the sea. They saw the reflection of the sun like tens of thousands golden snake slithering on the surface of the sea, it was indescribably weird and wonderful. Fang Yi sighed and said, "When I go to assassinate the Tatar Emperor that day, I was so sure that I would lose my life in the Palace. Who would have known that Laotianye still protected me, unexpectedly I met you and today we enjoy this good fortune together. Good Didi, I am not clear of your lot in life. When did you enter the Palace? How did you learn martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I was just going to tell you, but I was afraid you might jump in fright, or perhaps you are so happy that you pass out."


    Fang Yi leaned closer to him; with a low voice she said, "If I like what I hear, that will be best. But even if I don''t like what I hear, I only want you to tell me the truth, then ... then I won''t care."


    "Good Jiejie," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will be honest with you, I was born in Yangzhou, Mama is from a brothel."


    Fang Yi was shocked; with a trembling voice she asked, "What is your mama doing in the brothel? Is she doing laundry, cook rice, or ... or sweep the floor and pour tea?"


    Wei Xiaobao saw her countenance underwent great change, her eyes showed a frightened look, instantly his heart turned ice-cold, knowing that she extremely despised the ''brothel''. If he said honestly that his own mother was a prostitute, perhaps for the rest of his life she would never have even half a part of respect and affection. Immediately he laughed aloud and said, "When my Mama entered the brothel, she was only six or seven years old, how could she did laundry or cook rice for the people?"


    Fang Yi''s countenance softened somewhat; "She was only six or seven years old?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said whatever came into his mind, "After the Tatars entered the Pass, they killed not a few people in Yangzhou; do you know this?" While saying that, his mind was trying to find a way to raise his mother''s dignity somewhat.


    "That''s right," Fang Yi said.


    "My (maternal) grandfather was a high ranking official of the Ming Dynasty," Wei Xiaobao said, "He took office in Yangzhou. When the Tatars broke through Yangzhou, my grandfather died in the resistance against the enemy. That time my Mama was only a little girl, wandering destitute on the street. There was a heroic, rich brothel''s patron who took pity on her, so he took her to become his servant girl. Upon further inquiry, he had a deep respect toward grandfather, so he took my Mama as his foster daughter [orig. yi nu �C righteous female/daughter] and brought her home. My Mama became a ''thousand gold'' young lady, later she married my Papa, who was a gongzi [young master/son of nobility] of Yangzhou''s famous and rich family."


    Fang Yi was half-believing, half-doubting. "So that''s how it is," she said, "You did indeed scare me that I jumped in fright, thinking that your Mama was destitute in the brothel, being female maid of the people, serving those people who knew no shame, an extremely �� bad woman."


    Growing up in the brothel, Wei Xiaobao had never thought that his own Mama was a ''bad woman who knew no shame'', hearing Fang Yi said such things, he could not help but was secretly angry. He said in his heart, "Do you think your Mu Palace women are so great? Damn it, in my opinion they are also people who knew no shame, extremely whatever."


    Originally he was thinking of telling her his real life story in a calm, undisturbed manner, and would not hide anything from her; but now he simply boasted unguardedly, telling her how extravagant was his family in Yangzhou, giving her an exaggerated account of everything. But when he told about the halls and the rooms of his residence, the setup of the furniture, inevitably he was talking about the layout of the Lovely Spring Courtyard.


    But Fang Yi did not pay any attention to his story; she said, "Is this the thing you meant when you said that you wanted to tell me something that will make me happy that I might pass out?"


    Wei Xiaobao felt as if she was splashing a bucket of cold water on his head. Also, noticing how indifferent she was toward his bragging, he could not restrain his excitement from dying out; he was disinclined to tell her that he was not an eunuch. "That was it," he said casually, "Turns out you are not happy at all."


    Fang Yi said unenthusiastically, "I am happy." It was clear that she did not mean it.


    The two of them were silent for a moment. Suddenly a stretch of land appeared on the northeastern direction. This ship was heading exactly on that direction. Fang Yi said in amazement, "Uh, what kind of place is that?"


    Less than two hours later, they were getting closer to the land, and saw the verdant trees on the shore, which stretched out in both direction as far as eyes could see, the beach was covered in snow white fine sands. Fang Yi said, "We have been sailing for a few days, our heads are muddled, what do you say we go up and look around?"


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "It looks like a big island, I wonder if there is some fun things on the island."


    Fang Yi summoned the helmsman to the cabin and asked him the name of the island, as well as its specialty. The helmsman replied, "In answer to Miss'' question, this island is a well-known immortal island of the Eastern Sea. I heard there are immortal fruits on the island, those who ate it will have long life and won''t grow old, it''s just that only blessed people will be able to obtain it. There is no harm in Miss and Wei Xianggong to go up and try your luck."


    Fang Yi nodded. When the helmsman had left the cabin, she softly said, "I don''t care about long life and won''t grow old. These last few days I am happier than being an immortal."


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic; he said, "You and I can live on the island for the rest of our lives. Immortal fruits and what not, it''s not a big deal, as long as you are willing for accompany me forever, I feel like an immortal."


    Fang Yi leaned closer to him and said in gentle voice, "Me too."


    The two of them rode a small boat to go ashore, and treaded on the fine sand of the beach. Their noses caught the whiff of fragrance of flowers floating from the forest. They felt they had indeed arrived at a fairyland. "I wonder if there are people living on this island?" Fang Yi said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I don''t think there are people, but there is a fairy whose beauty is matchless, taking her little servant along, who has just arrived on the island."


    With a very sweet smile Fang Yi said, "Good Didi, you are my little servant, and I am your little maid."


    When Wei Xiaobao heard the word ''maid'', Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered Shuang''er. Turning his head around, he did not see her following to the island. These past few days he had given Shuang''er a cold treatment, in his heart he was quite remorseful, but thinking that if she tagged along, he would not be too comfortable to be affectionate toward Fang Yi; hence it was better that she did not come along.


    Hand in hand the two of them entered the forest, the air was very thick with the fragrance of the flowers. Wei Xiaobao said, "This fragrance of the flowers is exceptionally thick, could the flowers be immortal flowers?" Taking a few steps forward, suddenly he heard rustling noise of the grass, followed by a yellow shadow flashed before his eyes, seven or eight yellow with black stripes vipers fled out. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out. Pulling Fang Yi''s hand, he turned around and ran. But after taking only one step, seven or eight snakes blocked their way, their bodies were blood red, their tongues flicking in and out, hissing noisily. The snakes'' heads were all triangular, an obvious sign that they all had acute poison.


    Fang Yi stepped in front of Wei Xiaobao''s body, pulling her saber and brandishing it she called out, "Run away quickly, I''ll block the vipers!"


    But how could Wei Xiaobao be willing to forgo yi qi like this, running for his life alone? Busily he drew his dagger and said, "We''ll go from this side!" Pulling Fang Yi along, he bolted off to the side. But after only two steps, he felt something cold on his neck, a snake dangled down from a tree and coiled itself around his neck, scaring him that his soul flew out to the sky, he cried out loudly.


    Fang Yi reached out to pull the snake''s body. "No, you can''t do that!" Wei Xiaobao cried out. The snake turned its head around and bit the back of Fang Yi''s hand firmly and did not let her go. Wei Xiaobao brandished the dagger and chopped the snake''s head clean. By this time, a viper had wrapped itself on each one of their legs. Wei Xiaobao brandished his dagger to chop their heads, but he felt his left leg went numb, a viper had bitten him.


    Fang Yi tossed away her single-blade saber and embraced him, crying, "We, husband and wife, will die in here today." Relying on the sharpness of his dagger, Wei Xiaobao chopped one snake with every wave of the dagger, but more and more snakes came out of the forest. The two of them desperately trying to get out of the forest, their bodies had been bitten seven eight times each. Wei Xiaobao felt a dizzy spell, he was gradually losing his consciousness. Looking toward the ocean, he saw the little boat was sailing back to the big ship, it was already quite some distance away from the shore. Fang Yi called several times, but how could the sailors on the boat hear her?


    Fang Yi rolled up Wei Xiaobao''s trouser, she bent down and sucked up the snake venom from his leg. Wei Xiaobao was startled, "No �� don''t!" he said.


    Suddenly they heard footsteps behind them, someone was saying, "What are you doing here? Aren''t you afraid to die?"


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around, and saw three middle-aged men. "Dashu [big uncle] help," he hastily called out, "We are bitten by the snakes."


    One man took out a pill from his pocket, put it in his own mouth and chewed it for a moment, and then spread it on the snake bites on Wei Xiaobao''s body. Wei Xiaobao said, "Please �� please help her first." By now his own legs had already turned black, his entire body had lost its senses. Fang Yi received the medicine from the man and applied it on her own wounds. "Good Jiejie ��" Wei Xiaobao said, his eyes blackened, ''crash!'' with a loud cry he fell backward.


    When he woke up, he felt his lips were parched and his tongue dry, there was a sharp pain on the pit of his stomach; he could not help but groaning loudly. He heard someone spoke, "Good, you''re awake!" Wei Xiaobao slowly opened his eyes, and saw someone with a bowl of medicine, which he held in front of Wei Xiaobao''s mouth. This medicine was exceptionally smelly, but without hesitation he drank it down. As it entered his mouth, it tasted strangely bitter. After he finished the medicine, he said, "Thank you Dashu, for saving my life. I �� how is my Jiejie?"


    "Fortunately we saved you in time," the man replied, "If we arrived just a bit late, the two of you would have lost your lives. You are too daring, why did you come to this immortal island?"


    Hearing Fang Yi was saved, Wei Xiaobao was greatly relieved, he did not stop expressing his gratitude. Only then did he realize that he was lying underneath a quilt, his entire clothes were gone, his legs were still numb. The man''s appearance was unsightly, his face was full of scars, but in Wei Xiaobao''s eyes, he looked like a Bodhisattva who saved his life. He let out a breath and said, "The sailors on the ship said that there are immortal fruits on this island, those who ate it will have long life and won''t grow old."


    "Hey," the man laughed, "If there were indeed such immortal fruits, why didn''t they come to pick the fruits themselves?"


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Those sailors harbor malicious intentions. I still have a companion on the ship, I am afraid ... I am afraid she might fall into those bad people''s hands. Dashu, please think of a way to rescue her."


    The ugly man said, "That ship has already left three days ago, how could I find it?"


    Wei Xiaobao was puzzled; "Three days ago?" he asked in bewilderment.


    The ugly man said, "You have been in coma for three whole days and nights, most likely you did not know it?"


    Although Shuang''er''s martial art skill was high, she was all alone on the boundless ocean, how could she escape the wicked men''s evil scheme? Remembering her, Wei Xiaobao could not help but was very anxious. The ugly man comforted him, "Feeling anxious this moment is useless. You''d better take a good rest, the snakes on this island are not a small matter, you will need at least seven days of treatment before the venom can be eradicated." He asked Wei Xiaobao''s name, and introduced himself as having a surname of Pan.


    By the third day, Wei Xiaobao was able to get up and walk slowly by holding on to the wall. The ugly man surnamed Pan took him to see Fang Yi. Turned out she was being taken care of by another woman, but her jade countenance was wan and sallow, her spirit was weary. When the two of them met, they were both happy and grieved at the same time, and thus they embraced each other and cried together. Henceforth the two of them share the same room during the day. When talking about the fierceness of the vipers'' venom, the hair on their bodies stood up.


    By the sixth day, the man surnamed Pan said, "The physician of our island, Mr. Lu, has returned from his journey out to the sea, I have already invited him to examine Wei Xiongdi." Wei Xiaobao thanked him.


    Not too long afterwards, a man in his forties walked in, he dressed as a scholar, his expression is friendly; he asked Wei Xiaobao how the snakes bit him. He said, "The residents of this island always have realgar snake medicine handy, when this medicine is applied on the vipers, the snakes will immediately run away, and will not dare to bite people."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "No wonder Pan Dage and the others are not afraid."


    Mr. Lu examined his wound, and took out six pills, he said, "You take three pills, and give the other three to your companion. Take one pill every day."


    Wei Xiaobao thanked him profusely. He took out two hundred taels worth of banknotes. "A little bit of treatment fee," he said, "I ask Mister not to laugh."


    Mr. Lu was startled; he said, "Why so much? Gongzi gives me two taels, and I am already grateful." Wei Xiaobao insisted on giving him the whole thing, Mr. Lu thanked him and accepted. He said with a laugh, "Gongzi is so generous, to refuse would be impolite. Perhaps Gongzi feels stifled staying here, what do you say tonight Gongzi and your female companion come to my humble home to have a cup of wine?" Wei Xiaobao was delighted and readily accepted the invitation.


    That evening, Mr. Lu sent two sedan chairs to pick up Wei Xiaobao and Fang Yi. These bamboo sedan chairs were actually bamboo chairs with two bamboo poles attached on each side, carried by two men, one in the front and the other on the back. The residents of the island were simple and crude, they did not have real sedan chairs.


    Mr. Lu went out to welcome them, and invited the two of them to enter. At the hall, a woman in her thirties came out to welcome the guests, she was Mr. Lu''s wife. The woman pulled Fang Yi''s hand; she appeared very friendly. Mr. Lu invited Wei Xiaobao to sit in his study room.


    The bamboo bookshelf in the study room was full of books, the four walls were also full of hanging calligraphy and painting, apparently Mr. Lu was an elegant scholar. Mr. Lu said, "Zaixia is an uncouth resident of a barren island, extremely ill-informed and narrow-minded. Wei Gongzi came from a well-known scenic spot on the Central Plains, a younger generation of a noble family, your view must be broad, your appreciation must be exquisite. Please look at these several painting and calligraphy; in your opinion, will they be passable to enter your house?"


    These several sentences were scholarly talk, Wei Xiaobao did not understand even half a sentence, but seeing he was pointing to the painting and calligraphy on the wall, he looked up and saw a scenery painting [orig. mountain and water], and another one with painting of red-crowned crane and a turtle. He laughed and said, "That old turtle looks very amusing."


    Mr. Lu was slightly startled; he pointed to a scroll on the table and asked, "Wei Gongzi, what do you think of my Shigu script[102]?"


    Wei Xiaobao saw the characters were curvy, just like the writing on a talisman. He nodded and said, "Good, very good!"


    Mr. Lu pointed to another scroll of large brush-written characters; he said, "This painting is Qin Dynasty''s stone engrave of Lang Ya [clean and white ivory] Platform, what does Wei Gongzi think about it?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that if he blindly agreed to everything, it would not be interesting, so he shook his head and said, "This calligraphy is not too good."


    Mr. Lu felt a deep veneration as he said, "Would Wei Gongzi please give directions? Where is the faulty stroke and weak points of this calligraphy?"


    "There are too many faulty strokes, there are too little superb strokes!" Wei Xiaobao said. He thought that since there are ''faulty stroke'', then naturally there are ''superb stroke'' as well.


    It was the very first time that Mr. Lu heard the term ''superb stroke'', he was taken aback and was at a loss momentarily.


    "Brilliant, brilliant!" he said. Pointing to a grass script calligraphy on the western wall, he said, "This is wild grass script, what does Wei Gongzi think about it?"


    Cocking his head, Wei Xiaobao looked at the painting for a moment, and then he shook his head and said, "These several characters are out of ink, you should rub some more ink stick. Um, this thread here is being dragged here and there, but you did not wipe it clean."


    As soon as Mr. Lu heard this, his countenance changed greatly. Grass script pays particular attention to the application of dry and wet ink. When the brush is moist, the character is wet, when the brush is dried up, the character looks parched; dry and wet alternates, creating delicate shades of strokes. There is conspicuous wetness in the dry character, and contrasting dry stroke in the wet character, yin and yang complements each other, just like the red cloud obstructing the sky, the square makes a wonderful letter. As for the thread of strokes joined together, calligraphers call it ''transparent'' lines; sometimes it joins several brush strokes together, sometimes it joins several letters together. Particular attention must be paid to both sides, the angles change irregularly, sometimes the brush floats, or turns abruptly to create all kinds of different look. By saying those words, Wei Xiaobao had revealed his background.


    Mr. Lu pointed to another scroll of calligraphy and said, "This one is entirely oracle bone inscriptions, Xiongdi''s knowledge is shallow, I don''t even know a single character, would Wei Gongzi please give directions?"


    Wei Xiaobao saw that all characters on the paper look like tadpoles, just like the characters engraved on the stone tablet in the Pu Ji Temple on Jinxiu Peak of Mount Wutai; his heart was moved, he said, "I know these several characters, it says ''Hong Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao will not be old for ten thousand years, he will enjoy the good fortune of the immortals forever, his magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s''."


    A delighted expression spread across Mr. Lu''s face; he said, "Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, you indeed know these characters!"


    Seeing his extreme delight, so much so that his voice was trembling, Wei Xiaobao''s suspicion arose: "I only know several characters, why is he this happy? Could it be that he also belongs to Shen Long Jiao? Aiyo, not good! Snake ... snake ... spirit snake ... could it be that this is the Divine Dragon Island?" He blurted out, "Where is Fat Toutuo?"


    Mr. Lu was shocked; he withdrew several steps and with a trembling voice said, "You ... you know it?"


    Asking Wei Xiaobao to take up a pen to write was more cruel than asking him to surrender his life. Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, but seeing Mr. Lu''s unsightly expression, he did not dare to disobey. Bracing himself, he walked over to the desk and sat down. He took the pen and held it inside his fist. The way he hold the pen was thirty percent similar to holding chopsticks when he eat, but the way he clench his fist was also similar to the way people holding a knife to butcher a pig, or holding a hammer to pound the nail; how could there be such a way to hold the pen in the world?


    Mr. Lu''s angry look was growing, he struggled hard to control it. Slowly he said, "Write down your name first!"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly stood up and tossed the pen onto the floor, the ink splattered everywhere, he said in a loud voice, "Laozi does not know dog''s fart, I can''t write ''fart'' character. All those ''Hong Jiaozhu''s long-life is the same as the Heaven''s'', laozi was simply boasting unguardedly to swindle that bad toutuo. If you want laozi to write, wait for my next reincarnation. You want to kill me or chop me, if laozi even frown, just consider me not a real man."


    Mr. Lu coldly said, "You don''t know any character?"


    "I don''t," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I don''t know the ''gui'''' character from your turtle [wu gui] or the ''dan'' character from your bast@rd [wang ba dan]." Since his trickery had been unmasked, his shame turned into anger. Besides, he was on Snake Island, there was only death for him without any chance to live. Begging for mercy was useless, he might as well took some advantage first.


    Mr. Lu was silent for half a day. He picked up the brush and wrote several tadpole characters on the paper. "What characters are these?" he asked.


    "F*ck your mother!" Wei Xiaobao said in loud voice, "I said I don''t know, that means I don''t know. Do you think I am lying?"


    Mr. Lu nodded. "Very well," he said, "Turns out Fat Toutuo has fallen into your big trick. But this matter has been reported to Jiaozhu. Little thief!" Suddenly he pounced and wrapped his fingers around Wei Xiaobao''s neck, his hands squeezed tighter and tighter. With a clenched teeth he said, "You have made us cheating Jiaozhu, everybody will die without a burial site because of you. It would be better if we will all die together to avoid those endless, ruthless punishment."


    Strangled by him, Wei Xiaobao could not breathe, his face swollen purple, his tongue stuck out. If Mr. Lu added a little bit more force into his hands, this child would take his last breath and die. Thinking that he had an enormous responsibility in this matter, he was startled and immediately released his fingers. Pushing with both hands, he sent Wei Xiaobao tumbling to the floor, and then filled with hatred, he left the room.


    After quite a long time, Wei Xiaobao was finally able to get up. "Dead turtle, f*ck his thief mother," perhaps he uttered these curses several hundred times, while thinking that since he was on this poisonous Snake Island, there was no other place he could escape to. If he ran toward the underbrush in the woods, he would die even faster. Walking toward the door, he pushed the door only to find that the bamboo door was barred from the outside. Looking out of the window, he saw a deep valley. Indeed there was no way out. Turning his head around, he saw the calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall. "What''s so good about these fart characters and fart drawings?" he mused. Picking up the brush, he dipped it into the ink, and drew countless ''big turtles'' and ''little turtles'' on each scroll of calligraphy and paintings.


    After drawing several dozen turtles, Wei Xiaobao''s hand was tired, he tossed the pen to the floor and curled up in a chair, very soon he fell asleep. When he woke up, the sky had turned dark, but unexpectedly nobody came to check him up. His tummy was growling from hunger. "This green-haired turtle wants to starve laozi to death," he mused.


    After a long time, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, and saw light penetrating the cracks on the door, followed by the bamboo door was pushed open and Mr. Lu entered the room with a candle in his hand. He cast him a sidelong glance. Wei Xiaobao saw there was no trace of anger on his face, so the fear in his heart subsided considerably.


    Mr. Lu put the candle on the table, took a quick glance around the room, and saw that Wei Xiaobao had smeared the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls so that they were no longer presentable. He could not restrain his anger from flaring up. "You �� you ��" he shouted, while raising his hand high, ready to strike down, but his palm stopped midair. Finally he was able to control his anger and said, "You �� you ��" the word choked in his throat and he could not speak.


    "What do you think?" Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Is my drawing good?"


    Mr. Lu heaved a deep sigh, he sat down dejectedly and said, "Good, your drawing is good."


    Surprisingly, not only he did not hit him, but he said his drawing was good. It was completely beyond Wei Xiaobao''s anticipation. Seeing his distressed expression, Wei Xiaobao knew Mr. Lu was extremely troubled, he could not help but somehow feel sorry. "Mr. Lu," he said, "I �� I''m sorry, I destroyed your paintings."


    Mr. Lu shook his head. "No �� it''s nothing," he said. He crouched on the table with his head between his hands. After quite a while, he said, "You must be hungry, let''s eat first and we''ll talk later."


    In the reception room, four dishes and a bowl of soup were arranged on the table; there were chicken and fish, the dishes were sumptuous. Soon afterwards Fang Yi and Mrs. Lu came out to accompany them. Four people ate dinner together.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "Could it be that my dozens of turtle drawings are so good and Mr. Lu is so happy that he invited me to eat?" But he had a vague understanding in his heart that the situation did not always look like it really was. Several times he opened his mouth wanting to ask, but seeing Mr. Lu''s mixed [orig. ''cloudy and clear''] expression, he was afraid to provoke his anger; he had not ate his fill, Mr. Lu might snatch his bowl away, then it would not be worth it. Thereupon he held his peace and ate in silence until he was full.


    After dinner, Mr. Lu took him back to the study room. Mr. Lu picked up the brush from the floor and wrote ''Wei Xiaobao'' three characters on the paper. "This is your own name," he said, "Can you write it yourself or not?"


    "It recognizes me, but I don''t recognize it," Wei Xiaobao replied, "How can I write it?"


    "Hm," Mr. Lu looked out the window and was deep in thought for half a day. With his left hand he picked up the candle and walked toward the tadpole script calligraphy. Carefully he looked at it, pointed to the characters one by one, while with his mouth he read the characters. Returning to the table, he fetched a blank piece of paper, lifted up his brush and started to scribble rapidly. He counted the number of tadpole characters with his index finger, and then counted the number of characters he wrote on the paper. And then he rapidly scribbled again on the paper, turned his head around to look at the tadpole characters, all the while he was mumbling to himself, "Those three characters are identical, these two look the same. It must be flawless, or it won''t be believable!" He pondered for half a day, then scribbled again on the paper, and said delightedly, "Got it!"


    Wei Xiaobao did not know what trick he was playing, but he did not care since his tummy was full. He saw Mr. Lu picked up another sheet of blank paper and then carefully wrote several characters. This time he wrote very slowly. Finished writing, he softly read what he wrote, swaying his head rhythmically. Wei Xiaobao only heard words like ''Divine Dragon Island'', ''Hong Jiaozhu'', ''long life the same as the heaven''s'', and so on. Finally he heard something like ''the first copy is in such and such place on such and such mountain'', ''the second copy is in such and such place on such and such mountain''. Suddenly it dawned on him that those words were the exact words he boasted wildly to Fat Toutuo at the Pu Ji Temple. Unexpectedly Fat Toutuo believed it wholeheartedly and spread it out as soon as he returned here. He also thought, "That day Fat Toutuo invited me to the Divine Dragon Island to see Hong Jiaozhu. I told him that I did not want to come, no matter what. Unexpectedly, with the demons and deities at work, the ship was sailing to this place. Now that my trickery is exposed, Hong Jiaozhu will know about it. He will definitely throw a fit; perhaps he would throw Good Jiejie and me to the snake pit, so that tens of thousands of vipers could feast on us that even our bones cannot be saved." Thinking about endless stream of poisonous snakes crawling over his body, he was shivering all over although it was not cold.


    Mr. Lu turned around with a very pleased-of-himself expression on his face. He smiled and said, "Wei Gongzi, you know the tadpole script written on the stone tablet, it is certainly a cause of delight and a reason to congratulate you. It is also our Cult''s Hong Jiaozhu''s flood of good fortunes fills up the heavens that such a child prodigy like you dropped in from the sky, that you are able to read the tadpole script."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "You don''t need to make fun of me," he said, "How could I tell tadpole script from frog script? Laozi did not even know scabies toad script. I was simply talking nonsense to swindle that thin, bamboo-pole like toutuo."


    Mr. Lu read in a pattern of falling, remaining even, and rising in pitch and rhythm. When he finished, he asked, "Is there any mistake?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That was a stone tablet from the Tang Dynasty, how did they know that in later generation there will be Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui?"


    Mr. Lu replied, "God is intelligent and wise, He is omniscient, nothing escape his knowledge. Since He knew that in later generation there will be Hong Jiaozhu, naturally He also had foreknowledge of Wu Sangui."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused; he nodded his head and said, "That''s true." While in his heart he thought, "I wonder what trick are you playing?"


    Mr. Lu said, "The inscription on this stone tablet must be accurate to the last character. Although Wei Gongzi is gifted and smart, but in my opinion, it was also the holy spirits at work, so that you understand these tadpole script. Someday in the future, perhaps some mistakes will be found. It would be best if Wei Gongzi know this writing inside-out, so that when Hong Jiaozhu summons you, you can recite it from memory fluently. If Hong Jiaozhu is happy, naturally he will heap you with rewards."


    Wei Xiaobao rolled his eyes; immediately he understood. Repeatedly nodding his head, he said, "So that''s how it is, so that''s how it is!" He guessed that Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu had reported to Hong Jiaozhu, telling him that a child knew the writing on a stone tablet, hence Hong Jiaozhu was determined to summon him to verify. Who would have thought that it was entirely bogus? Mr. Lu was afraid the Cult Leader would place the blame on him, he had no choice but to forge the inscription on the stone tablet to deceive the Cult Leader.


    Mr. Lu said, "And now I will read one sentence, Wei Gongzi reads one sentence, always remember to read it correctly from start to finish. ''In the tenth month of the Zhen Guan''s second year Jiazi of the Great Tang ��''"


    Wei Xiaobao did not want to read, he did not have the ability, much less wanted to be in cahoots with Mr. Lu in deceiving Hong Jiaozhu; but he thought it was amusing, so he repeat after Mr. Lu anyway.


    His natural disposition was quick-witted and clever, for him, listening to a segment of several hundred characters and then repeating it, would not require the least bit of effort, but asking him to study was akin to asking for his life. Although this segment of writing was only several hundred characters long, it had sentences that were very difficult to pronounce, with the meanings that were even harder to comprehend, for instance ''his grand, awe-inspiring might is all powerful'', ''breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh air''; he was completely clueless as to their meaning. Therefore, he did not have any choice but to follow Mr. Lu one sentence at a time. Fortunately, Mr. Lu did not mind the repetition and he was very patient in instructing him. Nevertheless, it took more than thirty times going through the entire writings before he could recite it without any mistake.


    That evening he slept in Mr. Lu''s home, the next morning he recited again. Seeing he was able to memorize everything, Mr. Lu was very pleased, thereupon he picked up a pen and a sheet of paper and started to write the tadpole characters one by one, asking him to identify which one was the ''wei'' character, which one was the ''zhen'' character. This time Wei Xiaobao could not help but whining incessantly. These tadpole characters twisted to the left and to the right, they all looked almost the same. Asking Wei Xiaobao to tell one character from the other and rewrite it one by one was as hard as asking him to climb the heaven, as painful as having his head chopped off. He was not able to sit quietly even for a moment, how could he have the patience to learn the tadpole script?


    While Wei Xiaobao was frowning and worried, Mr. Lu was even more anxious. By this time Mr. Lu was already aware that the inscription on the stone tablet had a totally different meaning. He had counted the number of characters from the rubbing Fat Toutuo obtained from the stone tablet, and had composed another set of writings as best as he could, with only the exact number of characters as the rubbing, with the sole purpose to win Hong Jiaozhu''s favor, he could not care about what the original inscription really mean. Composing the writing this way, naturally there were hundreds of holes in his work. For example, in the sentence ''In the tenth month of the Zhen Guan''s second year Jiazi of the Great Tang'', the word ''second'' (��) was the sixth character, but on the stone tablet, the sixth character had altogether eighteen strokes, no matter how you say it, it could not be a ''second'' character. The fifth character only had three strokes, so it would be extremely hard to say that it was the ''Guan'' (��) character. However, taking everything into consideration, even if Mr. Lu had more talent, he could not possibly fabricate a flawless article in such a short time. Hong Jiaozhu was extremely intelligent, most probably this fake article would not escape his eyes, but with the imminent great catastrophe, it was the best he could do to avoid it for the time being. About the disaster of the future, he had no choice but to wait and see.


    Teaching Wei Xiaobao to write that day, the progress was painstakingly slow. By afternoon, he could only write four characters. Luckily that the tadpole characters looked very strange to begin with, so that with Wei Xiaobao''s extremely ugly penmanship, the characters did not look too unsightly. If it were regular script, and it was written by a child who had never learned to write, people would be able to see if it was true or bogus as soon as they saw it.


    That afternoon he learned three more characters. That evening he learned two more. That day he learned nine characters altogether. Wei Xiaobao did not stop making loud ruckus and shouting, several times he threw the brush and refused to learn. Mr. Lu threatened him, coaxed him, finally he asked Fang Yi to come and sit by his side to keep him company, only then did Wei Xiaobao reluctantly able to endure and continue to study.


    While teaching him, Mr. Lu was anxious, he was afraid Hong Jiaozhu would summon him at any time. If Wei Xiaobao had not finished learning the entire writings and the Cult Leader already summoned him, no doubt Wei Xiaobao''s head could not be guaranteed, but it would also be difficult for his own entire family to avoid losing their lives. However, this learning process could not be hurried at all; the more he was expected to learn faster, the slower Wei Xiaobao''s progress was. His brain was stuffed full with these tadpole characters, it was like the tadpoles were actually swimming and moving, so that it was really hard for him to differentiate one character from another.


    After studying for several days, the viper bite injury on Wei Xiaobao''s body was completely healed, but after so much difficulty, he only managed to learn about twenty, thirty characters; not only that, he was so confused that out of ten characters, often times he would make seven or eight mistakes.


    While in distress, Mr. Lu suddenly heard Fat Toutuo''s voice calling out, "Mr. Lu, Jiaozhu is summoning Wei Gongzi!" Mr. Lu''s countenance turned ash-grey, his hand trembled, the writing brush, which he had just dipped into ink, fell onto his lapel. An extremely tall and extremely thin man entered the study room, Fat Toutuo had indeed arrived.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Fat Reverend Monk, how come you have not seen me until today? I have been waiting for you for a long time."


    Seeing Mr. Lu''s expression, Fat Toutuo knew their important project was far from good; he did not answer Wei Xiaobao, but muttered to himself, "I should have known this little demon was talking nonsense. I was so confused and lost my capacity of clear thinking, in my eagerness to set up a great merit to protect my own life, unexpectedly I will die sooner instead."


    With a cold laugh Mr. Lu said, "You are just a single person, the one surnamed Lu has eight people in my household, all of us will accompany you in delivering our lives."


    Fat Toutuo heaved a deep sigh and said, "Everybody''s fate should be like this, this is called ''destiny is inexorable, there is no fleeing it''. Even if this matter did not happen, Jiaozhu will not necessarily allow us to live a few days longer."


    Mr. Lu cast a quick glance toward Wei Xiaobao; he said, "It''s those people who are in power, we are already old, it''s time for us to die, what can we do?" The tone of his voice was full of resentment.


    Fat Toutuo sighed and said, "I''ll say he is young, but happened to obtain a good position, and then he just report everything, disregarding seniority, to our superior. Ay!"


    Mr. Lu stared at him for a moment, and then said, "Young people should know their place."


    "Lu Xiong," Fat Toutuo said, "Things have gotten to this point, you and I have lived and will die together, if real men have to die, we will simply die, what are we afraid of?"


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, "The Fat Reverend Monk is right, for hero and warrior, what is there to be afraid of? If I am not scared, you must not be scared even more."


    "Ignorant child," Mr. Lu said with a sneer, "You don''t know the immensity of heaven and earth. By the time you know the meaning of fear, it will be too late." After being lost in thought for half a day, he said, "Fat Reverend Monk, please wait a moment, I have some instructions I''d like to leave to my humble wife."


    A moment later, Mr. Lu returned to the study room, there were traces of tears on his face. Fat Toutuo said, "Lu Xiong, please give me one of your Sheng Tian [lit. to ascend to heaven/to die] pills."


    Mr. Lu nodded; he took a porcelain bottle from his bosom, pulled the cork, and tipped a red pill out. He gave it to Fat Toutuo and said, "This pill will stop your breathing as soon as it enters your mouth, you must wait for the very last moment, do not act blindly without thinking."


    Fat Toutuo received the pill; with a bitter laugh he said, "Many thanks! Fat Toutuo does not consider his own life lightly; I am not in a hurry to ascend to the heavens."


    On Mount Wutai, Wei Xiaobao had witnessed Fat Toutuo''s awe-inspiring power as he took on the Shaolin Temple''s Eighteen Luohan; but now he was asking for a poison. Obviously he would rather kill himself than being blamed by Hong Jiaozhu. Only now did Wei Xiaobao understand the urgency of the situation; he could not help feeling afraid.


    The three of them walked out the door. Wei Xiaobao heard a faint weeping sound coming from the inner hall. "Where is Miss Fang?" he asked, "She is not going?"


    "Humph," Fat Toutuo snorted, "Your age is so young, but actually are a very affectionate person. On Mount Wutai you had Shuang''er, here you have Miss Fang." With his left hand he grabbed Wei Xiaobao and lifted him up, "Let''s go!" he shouted. In large strides he rushed to the east. In just a little while, he had already run faster than a speeding horse. Mr. Lu was also running by his side, he still had a distressed look on his face.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that he appeared effortless; actually he was able to run side-by-side with Fat Toutuo and did not fall behind even for half a step. Only now did Wei Xiaobao realize that this frail-looking scholar actually possessed an excellent martial art skill. "Fat Reverend Monk, Mr. Lu," he said, "The two of you has such a high level of martial art, why would you be afraid of Hong Jiaozhu? You ..."


    Fat Toutuo stretched out his right palm to cover his mouth. "This is the Divine Dragon Island; you dare to say such treason and heresy, are you bored of being alive?" he said angrily.


    As soon as his mouth was covered, Wei Xiaobao could not breathe. "Damn it," he cursed in his heart, "You fear Hong Jiaozhu like this, but still call yourself a hero [ying xiong]; a coward [gou xiong] is more appropriate."


    The three of them were heading toward a mountain peak on the north. Before long, he saw vipers everywhere; on the trees, in the grass, on the road, one on the east, another on the west. The strange thing was that those vipers did not give the three of them any trouble. After winding around two hillsides, when he looked up, Wei Xiaobao was able to see several big bamboo buildings on the distant peak. Fat Toutuo was carrying Wei Xiaobao toward that peak.


    "I don''t have it with me," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Do you have to tell me that?" Fat Toutuo said, "I have already searched you everywhere. Where is it?"


    "The Eighteen Luohan of Shaolin Temple have the sutra, naturally they gave it to their Abbot," Wei Xiaobao replied. He thought that since this thin bamboo pole toutuo was not a match for the Shaolin''s Eighteen Luohan, if he heard that the sutra was in the hands of the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, naturally he would not dare to demand the sutra from the Abbot; even if he dared to demand it, he would definitely be expelled by those Shaolin monks.


    That day Fat Toutuo had personally handed the sutra over into Monk Cheng Xin''s hand, he did not have the slightest suspicion to Wei Xiaobao''s words. He said in a low voice, "When we see Jiaozhu in a moment, you must never mention this matter. Otherwise Jiaozhu might force you to hand over the sutra, and when you cannot give it to him, Jiaozhu will definitely throw you into the vipers'' nest."


    Wei Xiaobao could hear the fear in his voice, not only that, evidently Fat Toutuo was afraid Mr. Lu would hear him; thereupon he said, "Clearly it was you who seized the sutra from me, and then you gave it to the Shaolin monks, if Jiaozhu finds out, he would definitely throw you into the vipers'' nest. Humph, humph, even if he won''t punish you for the time being, he would definitely send you to Shaolin Temple to get the sutra back; that would be enough punishment for you."


    Fat Toutuo shivered without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of us will deal with this matter together. Whatever happens, you take care of me, I will also take care of you. Otherwise, we split up, and we''ll perish together."


    From behind Mr. Lu suddenly interrupted, "What split up and perish together?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The three of us will enjoy blessing and endure misfortune together." Thinking that right now they were in a messy situation, he must not lose his wits; if he could implicate these two martial art masters, he would have a slightly better chance of survival.


    Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu did not say anything. A moment later, they both heaved a deep sigh together.


    After walking for the time needed to eat rice, they arrived at the peak. They saw four youngsters in black, hand in hand, came near, each person carried a long sword on his back. The one furthest to the left asked, "Fat Toutuo, what is this little child doing in here?"


    Fat Toutuo let Wei Xiaobao down; he said, "Jiaozhu''s order: he is being summoned."


    From the west came three young girls in red, laughing and giggling; they also carried long swords on their backs. Seeing the three people, they came over to meet them. A girl said with a laugh, "Fat Toutuo, is he your illegitimate child?" While saying that, she pinched Wei Xiaobao''s cheek.


    "Miss must be joking," Fat Toutuo said, "This child is being summoned by Jiaozhu, the Senior, there is an important matter he''d like to ask him."


    Another girl with round face pinched Wei Xiaobao''s right cheek and said with a laugh, "Looking at this baby''s appearance, he must be Fat Toutuo''s illegitimate child. You can''t deny it."


    Wei Xiaobao was angry. "I am your illegitimate child," he shouted, "You and Fat Toutuo are having an illicit intercourse and you gave birth to me."


    The girls were startled, and then they burst out in laughter. The round-faced girl''s turned deep red. She spat and said, "Little demon, you are asking for death!" She raised her hand to strike. Wei Xiaobao leaned his head sideways to dodge. Right this moment more than a dozen young people, boys and girls, had heard the noise and rushed in to tease the round-faced girl. The girl was ashamed and angry, her left foot flew up, she gave Wei Xiaobao''s buttocks a hard kick.


    "Ma," Wei Xiaobao called out loudly, "Why did you beat your son?" The youngsters laughed even louder.


    ''Dang, dang, dang!'' suddenly the bell tolled; everybody fell silent immediately. These young boys and girls, about twenty in total, rushed toward the bamboo building. Fat Toutuo said, "Jiaozhu is calling an assembly." To Wei Xiaobao he said, "When you see Jiaozhu, you must not speak any nonsense."


    Wei Xiaobao saw his melancholy expression. Those youngsters were rather rude toward him; thinking that his martial art skill was extremely high, why would he be afraid of these teenage babies? He could not help but having a pity on him somewhat; thereupon he nodded his head.


    He saw from all directions people were streaming into the bamboo building. Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu also took Wei Xiaobao into the building. Crossing a corridor, suddenly a large hall appeared before his eyes. This hall was incomparably huge, it was big enough to hold a thousand-people assembly. Wei Xiaobao had lived in the Imperial Palace in Beijing for quite a long time, even an assembly hall bigger than this one would not impress him. But this hall was really gigantic, as soon as he saw it, he could not help but had a feeling of respect.


    He saw groups of teenagers, boys and girls, wearing five different colors standing on five different locations. The groups wearing blue, white, black, yellow, four colors were all boys, the group wearing red was all girls. Each one carried a long sword on his or her back, each group had approximately a hundred people. On the other end of the big hall there were two bamboo chairs standing side by side, draped in brocade cushion. On both sides of the chair stood several dozen people, men and women; the younger ones were approximately thirty years old, the old ones were about sixty, seventy years old, not one of them carried any weapon. There were about five, six hundred people gathered in the hall, but unexpectedly not the least bit of sound was heard, not even a single cough. Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Damn it, what an air! You think you are having an audience with the Emperor or what?"


    After quite a while, the bells tolled again nine times, there were footsteps from the inner hall. "The ghost Jiaozhu is out," Wei Xiaobao mused. Who would have thought that ten men came out, all were in their thirties, they wore five different colors clothes, and then they stood on either side of the chairs, five colors on each side.


    After another long while, the bells and the drums were struck together loudly, followed by the tinkling of several hundred small silver bells. Everybody in the hall kneeled down together and chorused, "Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life the same as the heaven''s."


    Fat Toutuo pulled Wei Xiaobao''s lapel, telling him to kneel down. Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice but kneeling down. He stole a glance and saw a man and a woman came out from the inner hall and sat on the chairs. Another bell stroke, everybody slowly stood up.


    The man looked very old, the white hair from his temples drooped down to his chest, his face was full of scars and wrinkles, he looked very ugly; Wei Xiaobao presumed this must be the Cult Leader. The woman, on the other hand, was a good-looking young woman. Looking at her appearance, she was no older than twenty two or twenty three, she was smiling slightly, overflowing with charming attitude, and was incomparably gorgeous. Wei Xiaobao praised in his heart, "She is exceedingly smart-looking! This woman is more beautiful than that Good Jiejie of mine. Even in the Imperial Palace or Lovely Spring Courtyard, there is no woman as pretty as she is."


    A man wearing black clothes on the left took two steps forward; holding a piece of dark green paper with both hands he read loudly, "Respectfully reading Hong Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching, whose compassion and kindness illuminate everything, whose power encompasses four directions: ''Numerous aspirations work as one will be able to build the city, incomprehensible might shakes the world!''"


    The crowd in the hall repeated in chorus, "Numerous aspirations work as one will be able to build the city, incomprehensible might shakes the world!"


    Wei Xiaobao was mesmerized with the beautiful woman, the voices of the crowd chanting together had startled him that he jumped in fright.


    The man in black clothes continued reading, "Jiaozhu''s immortal good fortune is as high as the sky, illuminating the heads of the devoted cult members. Jiaozhu sails the boat steadily for ten thousand years, riding the wind breaking the waves to show off his heroic bravery! Flying to the sky, the divine dragon looks up at him with hope, Jiaozhu''s prestige covers the eight directions. Everybody lives because Jiaozhu lives, everybody dies because Jiaozhu dies, Jiaozhu''s order is to be followed, Jiaozhu is like the light of the sun and the moon!"


    As the man read one sentence, the crowd followed by reciting one sentence. Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "What Hong Jiaozhu''s teaching? A loud blow of his own horn. Our Tian Di Hui''s secret verse is much more pleasant to hear that this."


    When they finished reciting, everybody shouted in one voice, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!" Those young boys and girls were particularly enthusiastic in shouting their creeds. Hong Jiaozhu''s ugly face carried an indifferent expression, while the beautiful woman by his side recited with a smile on her face.


    Finished reciting, the hall fell into complete silence.


    Book note:


    During the Warring States period, the Qin State carried out the Shang Yang political reform. Afraid that the people would not obey the reform, they set up a three zhang long wood at the southern gate, claiming that if anybody could move it out of the northern gate, he would be rewarded fifty taels of gold; no one believed it. There was a man who tried to move the wood, and sure enough, Shang Yang rewarded him with the money, thereupon everybody believed. Shang Yang''s legislation was rigorous, the people did not dare to disobey.

 Chapter - 20 (20)

    Madame Hong hooked the hilt of the dagger with her right foot, the dagger shot swiftly back toward her throat. "Careful!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in fear. Madame Hong shrank her body down, the dagger shot passed the top of her head toward the Cult Leader''s chest.


    The beautiful woman''s eyes swept from west to east, the smile did not vanish from her face. She slowly said, "The Black Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi


    [104], today the deadline has arrived, please hand over the sutra." Her voice was sharp, clear, and flirtatious; it was extremely pleasant to the ears. She held out her left hand with palm facing up.


    Looking from far away, Wei Xiaobao saw that the palm looked like it was carved from a piece of white jade. Suddenly a thought welled up from the bottom of his heart, "It won''t be too bad if this woman become my wife. If she is doing business at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, all Yangzhou''s patrons will rush forth to squeeze through the Lovely Spring Courtyard''s main gate."


    An old man on the left side took two steps forward, he bowed and said, "Reporting to the Madame: News from Beijing says that we have located four sutras, and we are intensifying the effort to obtain them. Following Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching, even if we have to lose our lives, we will get the books, to be presented to Jiaozhu and Madame." His voice trembled slightly, obviously he was completely terrified.


    "What a pity, what a pity," Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out this beautiful woman is the Jiaozhu''s wife, a fresh flower inserted on a cow''s dung, a bright moonlight illuminating a latrine!"


    The woman smiled slightly and said, "Jiaozhu has extended the deadline three times, Black Dragon Envoy, you have always pushed the deadline with all sorts of excuses three, four times. If you are unwilling to strive, aren''t you being disloyal to Jiaozhu?"


    The Black Dragon Envoy bowed even lower; he said, "Subordinate has received Jiaozhu and Madame''s great kindness, even with torn body and crushed bones it will be difficult for me to repay. The fact is, this matter is extremely thorny, subordinate has dispatched six people into the Palace, and had Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan, two people lost their lives for the Cult. I wish for Jiaozhu and Madame to graciously extend the deadline."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out that fat sow and the fake palace maid are your subordinates. I am afraid the old wh0re''s rank is also lower than yours."


    The woman raised her left hand to beckon Wei Xiaobao. She laughed and said, "Xiao Didi [little brother - term of endearment], come here."


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. "Me?" he said in a low voice.


    "That''s right," the woman replied, "I am calling you."


    Wei Xiaobao took a quick glance toward Mr. Lu and Fat Toutuo on his side. Mr. Lu said, "Madame is calling you, go forward and salute her respectfully."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "What will happen if I do not salute her respectfully?" But he stepped forward anyway, and then respectfully bowed to salute her, saying, "Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life will be the same as the heaven''s."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "This child is clever. Who taught you to add the ''and Madame'' three characters [he fu ren] after the word Jiaozhu?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not know that the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult had always said ''Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven''s''. After they entered the Cult, they would always automatically recite these words; nobody dared to add a character or subtract half a sentence. Seeing not only this Madame was very beautiful, she was extremely powerful as well, Wei Xiaobao thought that since to flatter he did not need any capital, he thoughtlessly added the ''and Madame'' three characters. Listening to her question, he simply said, "Jiaozhu and Madame are partners, only then will living a life as long as the heaven''s be interesting. Otherwise, after a hundred or two hundred years, Madame returns to heaven, how could Jiaozhu not be extremely lonely?"


    As soon as Madame Hong heard him, she laughed just like a flowering branch trembled randomly. Hong Jiaozhu could not restrain his smile either, with his hand twisting his long beard, he nodded his head and smiled.


    When the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult, from top to bottom, saw their Cult Leader, no one did not trembling in fear, who would dare to unguardedly speak nonsense like that? When they heard Wei Xiaobao earlier, they all broke in cold sweats on his behalf, but seeing Jiaozhu and Madame''s warm expressions, they all felt relieved.


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "Was it your own idea to add those three characters?"


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It was not a fake. The curvy characters on the stone tablet also mention Madame."


    As soon as he said those words, Mr. Lu felt as if he had just fallen into an icehouse; he had spent countless suffering just to have Wei Xiaobao memorized the writings on the stone tablet, and now he suddenly had an unconventional idea to add Madame''s name into it, how could he account for the unmatched number of characters? This urchin talked irresponsibly, inevitably he was messing up the inscribed text on the tablet. He realized that his work had already contained a lot of flaws, with this new development, wouldn''t his plot fall through and stand exposed on the spot?


    Hearing this, Madame Hong was also startled; she asked, "Did you say my name is also engraved on the stone tablet?"


    "That''s right!" Wei Xiaobao said. As soon as he blurted out these two words ''that''s right'', he immediately groaned inwardly, "It''s bad! If she wants me to recite the inscription, it won''t have any reference to the Madame."


    Luckily Madame Hong did not ask at all. "You are surnamed Wei, and you came from Beijing, is that right?" she asked.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said the same words again.


    "I heard from Fat Toutuo," Madame Hong said, "That in Beijing you met a fat lady by the name of Liu Yan, and she even taught you some martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Everything I told Fat Toutuo, other than the sutra, he has reported to Jiaozhu and Madame, now I''d better stick to it to the end. In any event, that fat Liu Yan is dead, it is called ''the dead cannot testify''." Thereupon he said, "Exactly, this Auntie Liu is a good friend of my Shushu [younger paternal uncle]. Day or night, she often comes to my house."


    With a soft chuckle Madame Hong asked, "What is she doing in your house?"


    "To talk and joke with my Shushu, of course," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Sometimes they embrace and kiss each other, they thought I did not see them, but I secretly watched them." He knew that the more he was able to tell the story with living spirit and living image, mentioning various minute and complicated details, the more people would believe him.


    Madame Hong laughed, "You, this child, is so sly. People kissing, you are peeping," she said. Turning to the Black Dragon Envoy she said, "Did you hear? Do you think this child is lying?"


    Wei Xiaobao followed her gaze and saw the Black Dragon Envoy''s countenance changed greatly, showing his fear had reached its extreme point, his body trembled, his knees bent, he kneeled on the floor and repeatedly knocked his head, while saying, "Subordinate ... subordinate oversees my people improperly, I deserve to die ten thousand deaths, I beg Jiaozhu and Madame to open ... open the net on one side [i.e. be lenient], to let subordinate set up some meritorious deed to atone for my crime."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he thought, "I was just saying that that fat pig and my Shushu kissed, what does it have to do with this old fellow? Why does he have to be frightened like this?"


    Madame Hong smiled and said, "Set up some meritorious deed to atone for your crime? What meritorious deed do you have? I always thought that the people you sent were loyal and devoted as they handled matters on behalf of Jiaozhu. Who would have thought that in Beijing they are actually doing these loose and shady businesses?"


    The Black Dragon Envoy kowtowed again and again, until his forehead was bleeding profusely. Wei Xiaobao could not bear to see him, he wanted to say something good on his behalf, but in that moment he could not find anything to say.


    The Black Dragon Envoy crawled on his knees forward, he called out, "Jiaozhu, I have followed you, the Senior, from the cradle to the grave; although I do not have any meritorious service, I have worked hard for you."


    With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, "What''s the use of bringing up former matters? You are already old, how many more years can you give in service to Jiaozhu? Wouldn''t it be merrier if you just quit your Black Dragon Envoy position earlier?"


    The Black Dragon Envoy raised his head to look at Hong Jiaozhu, with a sorrowful voice he said, "Jiaozhu, you really don''t have the least bit of old affection toward your old troop, your old Xiongdi?"


    Hong Jiaozhu''s face stayed wooden as he indifferently said, "There are too many old rotten and muddled people in our Cult, we ought to tidy up well." His voice was deep and low, and somewhat slurred. Ever since he saw him, this was the first time Wei Xiaobao had ever heard him speaking.


    Suddenly several hundred teenage boys and girls shouted loudly, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!"


    The Black Dragon Envoy sighed. Still trembling, he stood up and said, "Breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh, we, the old men, deserve to die anyway." Turning around, he said, "Bring it here!" From the hall''s door, four teenagers in black clothes went forward in quick steps, each one carried a wooden tray, on each tray there was a round brass lid. When they arrived in front of the Black Dragon Envoy, they set the wooden trays on the floor, and then quickly turned around and withdrew. As if by prior agreement, everybody in the hall drew back several steps.


    The Black Dragon Envoy muttered, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable ... hey hey, there is one thing that is unachievable, that is the subordinate is not loyal and devoted at all." Reaching out, he grabbed the knob on the top of the brass lid and lifted it up. The object on the tray suddenly flew up, followed by a flash of white light, a flying dagger flew in at an angle, cutting the object into two sections, which then fell back onto the tray, wiggling and squirming. It was a gorgeous-looking multi-colored small snake.


    Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm. The people in the hall also cried out, "Who was it?" "Who''s rebelling against our leader?" "Catch him!" "Who''s the traitor who has the audacity to disobey Jiaozhu?"


    Madame Hong suddenly stood up, made a circle with both hands, followed by waving down three times. A series of ''Shua, shua, shua!'' was heard, the swords had left their scabbards, several hundred teenage boys and girls rushed forward to surround about fifty, sixty older members of the Cult. These several hundred teenagers, the ones wearing black were grouped together, the ones wearing white were grouped together, they did not mingled at all, everyone occupied his/her respective position, some were in group of six or seven, some were in group of eight or nine, each group surrounded one person in the middle. Their long swords were aimed at vital points, the several dozen older people were immediately put under their control. Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu were also facing seven, eight swords each.


    A fifty-something old Taoist priest with black beard laughed aloud and said, "Madame, you trained this formation, how many months have you spent? If you want to deal with old Xiongdi, actually you don''t need to spend such energy."


    Those who surrounded him were eight teenage girls wearing red clothes. Two girls raised their swords toward the pit of his stomach. "Don''t be rude toward Jiaozhu and Madame," they shouted.


    The Taoist priest laughed and said, "Madame, it was me, Priest Wugen [lit. without root], who killed that five-colored divine dragon. You want to punish, feel free to make your move, why implicate other people?"


    Madame Hong sat back down on her chair; she smiled and said, "You admit it yourself, nothing could be better than that. Daozhang [(Taoist) Priest], haven''t Jiaozhu treated you well? He entrusted you the Scarlet Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi position, which is only one rank lower than the Jiaozhu himself, above ten thousand people in seniority; why do you want to rebel?"


    Priest Wugen said, "Subordinate is not rebelling. Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue has rendered great service to our Cult, just because there are some people among his subordinates who did not handle their affairs favorably, Madame wanted to take his life. Subordinate boldly asks Jiaozhu and Madame to show mercy."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "And if I do not comply?"


    Priest Wugen said, "Although Shen Long Jiao was founded by Jiaozhu, several tens of thousands xiongdi have gone through water and tread on fire together with him, everybody has his contribution. In those days, there were a total of one thousand twenty three old xiongdi, today some have lost their lives in the hands of the enemy, some were put to death by Jiaozhu, and those that remain are less than a hundred people. Subordinate asks Jiaozhu to show mercy by sparing the lives of ours, several dozen old xiongdi, simply kick us all out of the Cult. If Jiaozhu and Madame find us, these old people, repulsive, and want to promote new people, then just send us, the old people, out of here."


    With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, "Since Shen Long Jiao was founded, I have never heard anybody leaving the Cult alive. By saying that, Priest Wugen is imagining the wildest thing."


    "In that case," Priest Wugen said, "Madame does not agree?"


    "Excuse me," Madame Hong said, "But our Cult does not have such rule."


    Priest Wugen laughed aloud and said, "Turns out Jiaozhu and Madame have determined to put us all to death."


    Madame Hong smiled, "That''s not necessarily so," she said, "Old people who are loyal to Jiaozhu, naturally Jiaozhu still considers them good xiongdi, absolutely no discrimination here. We do not distinguish juniors from seniors, all we ask is whether they are loyal and devoted to Jiaozhu or not. Whoever is loyal to Jiaozhu, raise your hand."


    Several hundred teenage boys and girls all raised their left hands, the senior members of the Cult who were being surrounded also raised their hands, even Priest Wugen also raised his left hand. Everybody chorused, "To be loyal to Jiaozhu, absolutely no double-mind!"


    Seeing everybody was raising his hand, Wei Xiaobao also raised his hand. Madame Hong nodded and said, "That''s very good, turns out everybody is loyal to Jiaozhu, including this newly arrived Xiao Didi, although he is not a member of our Cult, unexpectedly he is also loyal to Jiaozhu."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "I am loyal to the turtle son of a b1tch."


    Madame Hong said, "Everybody is loyal, then we do not have a single rebellious traitor in here. I''m afraid there is something fishy here, I''ll have to investigate carefully. I must offend all old xiongdi for the time being. Tie them up."


    "Yes!" several hundred teenage boys and girls replied together.


    "Hold on!" a tall and sturdy man called out.


    Madame Hong said, "White Dragon Envoy, what respected opinion do you have?"


    "Respected opinion, that I do not have," the man replied, "Subordinate only feel it''s not fair."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Madame Hong clicked her tongue, "You are criticizing me as handling this matter unfairly."


    "Subordinate does not dare," the man said, "Subordinate has been following Jiaozhu for twenty years, and has marched forward courageously in everything. When I was risking my life for our Cult, these little babies have not even born yet. Why is it that they are loyal to Jiaozhu, but we, the old xiongdi, are not loyal?"


    Madame Hong chuckled and said, "By saying that, White Dragon Envoy is showing off your own merit. Aren''t you saying that if there was no White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling, Shen Long Jiao will not exist today?"


    The tall and sturdy man, Zhong Zhiling said, "The founding of Shen Long Jiao is Jiaozhu, one man''s merit, everybody else was simply following him, the Senior, striking the world, there is no merit worthy to be mentioned, but ..."


    "But what?" Madame Hong asked.


    Zhong Zhiling said, "But we do not have any merit, these teenage babies do not have merit even more."


    "I am only twenty something years old," Madame Hong said, "So I do not have any merit either?"


    Zhong Zhiling hesitated for half a day. "That''s right," he finally said, "Madame does not have any merit either. The great undertaking of founding our Cult is Jiaozhu, the Senior, one man''s merit."


    Madame Hong slowly said, "Since nobody has any merit, killing you will not be considered an injustice, will it?" While saying this, her eyes flickered with a murderous spirit, but her expression was still extremely charming.


    Zhong Zhiling roared angrily, "Naturally killing the one surnamed Zhong alone is not a big deal. I am just afraid that by murdering a loyal and good person, by putting to death a minister who has given outstanding service, the foundation of Shen Long Jiao will be destroyed in the hands of Madame, one person."


    "Very good, very good," Madame Hong said, "Ay, I am very tired." These last few words were spoken languidly, who would have thought that it was unexpectedly a secret signal to kill? As soon as the seven teenagers wearing white clothes surrounding Zhong Zhiling heard it, they thrust their swords forward, simultaneously entered Zhong Zhiling''s body.


    When the seven swords were drawn, from Zhong Zhiling body spurted seven streams of blood, splashing the seven teenagers'' white clothes that their clothes were soaked with blood. Zhong Zhiling called out, "Jiaozhu, you ... have the heart to do this! You ... " He fell down and died. The seven teenagers withdrew toward the corridor, their movement was very orderly.


    All the older members of the Cult knew that the White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling''s martial art skill was very high, but the seven swords moved together, unexpectedly he did not have the slightest bit of power to resist, showing that in order for these seven teenagers to be able to thrust their swords together in the hall today, they must have been under the Cult Leader''s direction beforehand, also they must have practiced countless time, so that they were very familiar with the move and were able to execute it without a flaw. Nobody did not have a trembling heart.


    After yawning, Madame Hong lightly pressed her left hand on her cherry-red lips; she appears so delicate and extremely calm. Hong Jiaozhu still maintained his wooden expression, as if he did not see the killing of Zhong Zhiling just now. Madame Hong softly said, "Blue Dragon Envoy, Yellow Dragon Envoy, you two gentlemen, do you feel that the White Dragon Envoy was scheming a rebellion, was guilty and deserve to be punished?"


    An old man with slit eyes and sharp face bowed and said, "Zhong Zhiling rebelled against Jiaozhu and Madame, he had thought this through deliberately and methodically for quite a long time, subordinate utterly detest him, and have lodged an accusation several times to Madame, but Madame always said that looking at the old xiongdi''s face, let him had the opportunity to repent. Jiaozhu and Madame are magnanimous, hoping for him to reform and start afresh, who would have thought that this man was incomparably malicious. His guilt was definitely unpardonable. By letting him to have a quick death like this, it was actually too easy for him. All the brethrens of the Cult, nobody is not grateful for Jiaozhu and Madame''s benevolence."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "He is flattering the big king."


    Madame Hong smiled slightly and said, "Yellow Dragon Envoy understood the cardinal principle. Blue Dragon Envoy, what do you think?"


    A tall and thin man in his fifties glowered at the eight teenagers wearing blue clothes around him. "Get lost!" he growled, "If Jiaozhu wants to kill me, do you think I cannot do it myself?"


    Eight teenagers pushed their swords slightly forward, until the tip of the swords touched his clothes. The man let out several ''hey, hey'' cold laugh, he slowly raised his hands to grab the chest of his own clothes; he said, "Jiaozhu, Madame, in the past, when subordinate, along with Scarlet, White, Black and Yellow, four Gates'' Zhangmenshi sworn brotherhood, we determined to work ourselves to death for Shen Long Jiao, we did not expect there would be a day like today. Madame wanted to put anybody to death, it''s not strange at all. What''s strange to me is that because the Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Dage is greedy for life, afraid of death, unexpectedly he uttered such a sordid and contemptible talk, slandering his own good xiongdi ..."


    Suddenly there was a ''rip'' noise as the man threw both hands outward, pulling his own long gown into two halves. With a shake of his arms, the two pieces of gowns coiled horizontally out, sweeping away the eight teenagers'' swords. Blue light flashed, a pair of daggers about a chi and a half long appeared in his hands. With a series of ''Swish, swish!'' sound, the pit of the eight teenagers'' stomachs were hit by the dagger; they all fell to the ground, spurting blood from their wounds. Eight dead bodies fell around him, unexpectedly they form a very neat circle. His movement was very fast, just like a thunderbolt before it even reaches the ears. Madame Hong was startled; she clapped her hands repeatedly. More than twenty teenagers in blue clothes rushed toward the Blue Dragon Envoy, and once again he was surrounded.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy laughed aloud, and then in a loud and clear voice he said, "Madame, these babies that you trained are completely useless. If Jiaozhu wants to rely on these kids to establish great merits by subduing the enemy, won''t it be too inconvenient?"


    When the seven teenagers assassinate Zhong Zhiling, Hong Jiaozhu appeared to turn a blind eye, now that the Blue Dragon Envoy killed eight teenagers, he appeared as unconcerned; sitting quietly in his chair, all along he did not pay any attention. Madame Hong cast a quick glance toward her husband, as if she was somewhat ashamed. Smiling sweetly, she sat down and said with a laugh, "Blue Dragon Envoy, your swordsmanship is very good, today ..."


    Suddenly there was a series of ''crash, bang!'' noise all around the hall as the swords in the several hundred teenage boys and girls all fell to the floor. As they were still in shock, they saw one by one the teenagers fell on their knees to the ground. Instantly everybody also felt dizzy and their eyes dimmed, and were unable to stand. Those with weaker inner power fell down first, and then the rest of them swayed and fell down one after another. In a short moment the hall was strewn with lying bodies.


    Madame Hong cried out in alarm, "What ... what happened?" Her body felt weak, she slipped down from the bamboo chair.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy was actually standing upright and unafraid, with a malicious laugh he said, "Jiaozhu, when you massacred our xiongdi, have you ever thought that a day like today will arrive?" He struck his pair of daggers against each other, creating a metallic clang. Stepping over the bodies lying on the ground, he walked toward Hong Jiaozhu.


    "Humph!" Hong Jiaozhu snorted, "Maybe not!" Reaching out to grab the armrest of the bamboo chair, ''Crack!'' he broke the armrest.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy''s countenance changed immediately. Withdrawing two steps, he said, "Jiaozhu, such a big cult like Shen Long Jiao is torn to pieces. Who planted the embryo of this calamity, you, Senior, ought to understand by now?"


    "Mmm," Hong Jiaozhu mumbled; suddenly he slipped down from the chair and sat on the floor. The Blue Dragon Envoy was greatly delighted, he rushed forward. Suddenly he cried out, an object, carrying a strong gust of wind, was flying toward his chest. The Blue Dragon Envoy forcefully raised the dagger in his right hand to chop, the object broke into two pieces. Turned out it was the armrest from Hong Jiaozhu''s bamboo chair. The force behind this throw was not a small matter at all, as the bamboo piece was cut, the front section did not fall. ''Stab!'' it penetrated the Blue Dragon Envoy''s chest, breaking five or six of his ribs, and pierced his lung.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy screamed, but suddenly he stopped; the chi in his lung could not flow up, instantly he was muted. He swayed twice, the pair of daggers in his hands fell down, separately landed on the bodies of two teenage boys. These two teenagers'' bodies were numb, they could not move, but actually their minds were still clear, and they could still talk. As the daggers pierced their bodies, they cried out in pain.


    Seeing their Jiaozhu displaying his divine prowess by knocking down the Blue Dragon Envoy, several hundred teenage boys and girls cheered together. They saw their Jiaozhu propped himself up with his right hand, struggling to stand up, but before he could straighten up his right leg, his knees turned soft that he fell down again and rolled away several times. Indeed he had fallen into an extremely difficult situation. This way, everybody knew that Jiaozhu was in the same boat as them, he was also being poisoned that his muscle went soft and his flesh paralyzed.


    Normally, the Cult Leader was an extremely dignified person, even in front of the Cult members very seldom did he ever speak more than a sentence, or laugh more than once. This time unexpectedly he had fallen and suffered disgrace, losing the strength of his entire body.


    Several hundred people in the hall were lying on the floor, but there was one person who was still standing. This person was actually very short, but standing among several hundred people lying on the floor, inevitably he looked like a crane in a flock of chicken. This person was none other than Wei Xiaobao. His nose smelled a burst of faint fragrance, but he felt very calm and relaxed, his entire body felt comfortably warm, a strange good feeling that he could not explain.


    Seeing everybody had fallen to the ground without knowing the reason, he was completely baffled. After staring blankly for quite a while, he reached down to pull Fat Toutuo up and asked, "Fat Revered Monk, what happened to everybody?"


    Fat Toutuo was surprised, "You ... you are not poisoned?" he asked.


    "Poisoned?" Wei Xiaobao was equally surprised, "I ... I don''t know." He struggled hard to help Fat Toutuo up, but Fat Toutuo did not have any strength left on his legs, he fell back sitting down on the floor.


    Mr. Lu suddenly asked, "Xu Dage, you ... what kind of poison did you use?"


    The Blue Dragon Envoy''s body swayed as if he was drunk; supporting himself on a pillar, he coughed incessantly and said, "What a pity, what ... what a pity I failed within sight of success. I ... I am unfit for anything."


    "Is it ''seven-insect tendon softening powder''?" Mr. Lu asked, "Is it ''thousand-li ecstasy fragrance''? Or is it ''Trans ... transforming blood ... decaying bone dust''?" Successively he mentioned the names of three most debilitating poison. When mentioning the name ''transforming blood decaying bone dust'', his voice trembled, as if he was extremely terrified.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy''s right lung was heavily injured; his coughing was very severe, he was unable to answer. Mr. Lu asked, "How come Wei Gongzi is not poisoned? Ah! I know!" He suddenly remembered something. These two words ''I know'' were shouted really loud. He said, "You have applied the ''hundred flowers snake belly''s ointment'' on your daggers. Brilliant scheme, brilliant scheme. Wei Gongzi, could you please sniff the Blue Dragon Envoy''s pair of daggers? See if you smell flower''s fragrance on the blades."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The blades are poisonous, I am not going to smell them." He said, "I can smell strong fragrance from here."


    Mr. Lu looked delighted; "That''s right!" he said, "When this ''hundred flowers snake belly''s ointment'' came in contact with blood, it will produce a strong fragrance. Actually, it was a certain sect''s secret method to refine spices, when ordinary people smell it, they will feel their spirits invigorated, but ... but we live on this Spirit Snake Island, everybody is used to take the ''realgar medicated wine'' to dispel the poisonous snakes. As soon as this fragrance came in contact with the ''realgar medicated wine'', it will make our muscles and bones weak for twelve shichen [24 hours]. Xu Dage, what a brilliant scheme. This ''hundred flowers snake belly''s ointment'' is actually forbidden on the island, turns out you have prepared this in secret for a long time. You must have stopped drinking the ''realgar medicated wine'' three, four months ago."


    The Blue Dragon Envoy sat down, he happened to sat on two teenagers'' bodies. Shaking his head, he said, "Man proposes but God disposes, in the end I still fell under Hong Antong''s evil scheme."


    Several teenage boys shouted, "Audacious mad disciple, you dare to randomly call Jiaozhu''s holy name."


    The Blue Dragon Envoy stood up slowly. Picking up a long sword, he walked over toward Hong Jiaozhu step by step. "Why can''t I say the name Hong Antong?" he said, "Cough, cough ... after I kill this evil thief ... cough, cough ... does it matter if I call his name or not?"


    Several hundred teenage boys and girls called out in alarm. After a while, the Yellow Dragon Envoy''s old voice was heard, "Xu Xiongdi, after you kill Hong Antong, everybody will support you as the new Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu. Everybody recite quickly: We will obey Xu Jiaozhu''s command, absolutely no double-mind!"


    The hall was silent for a moment, and then several dozen people recited, "We will obey Xu Jiaozhu''s command, absolutely no double-mind." Some were confident, some appeared rather hesitant, it sounded rather irregular.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy took two steps forward, coughed once, and swayed several times. His injury was very heavy, but struggled with everything he had, because no matter what, he must kill Hong Jiaozhu first.


    Suddenly Madame Hong giggled and said, "Blue Dragon Envoy, you don''t have any strength left, your thighs does not have the least bit of strength, the blood bubbled up in the pit of your stomach, very soon you will lose everything. You are finished. Why don''t you sit down? You are very tired. That''s right, sit down and rest for a while. Put down your sword. In a moment you may sit by my side, let me cure your injury. That''s right, sit down, put down your sword." The more she spoke, her voice grew gentler and more flirtatious.


    The Blue Dragon Envoy took several more steps, in the end he sat down slowly. ''Clang!'' the sword in his hand fell down to the floor.


    Seeing the Blue Dragon Envoy did not have any strength to stand up again, the Yellow Dragon Envoy shouted, "Xu Xueting, you, this traitor, are indulging yourself in wishful thinking, damn it, you want to be the Jiaozhu, just scatter your own urine to yourself, this revolting behavior cannot be tolerated."


    The Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen shouted, "Yin Jin, you are such a despicable, shameless lowly person, you see the wind and set the helm, rocking to the east and sway to the west. As soon as the ol'' Taoist can move my hands and feet, the first thing I''ll do will be to slaughter you."


    The Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Jin said, "Why are you vicious? I �� I ��" he wanted to talk back, but saw that swaying and rocking, the Blue Dragon Envoy struggled hard to stand up. Once again the battle''s outcome was undecided[105], thereupon he shut his mouth.


    In the meantime, the eyes of several hundred people in the hall were all fixed on Xu Xueting. In a soft voice Madame Hong said, "Xu Dage, you are very tired, why don''t you sit down? Just look at me, I''ll sing a little song for you. Just take a good rest, later on I will sing a little song for you every day. Tell me if I look beautiful."


    "Oh, oh," Xu Xueting repeatedly mumbled, he said, "You �� you are very beautiful, but I �� I do not dare to look at you too much ��" While saying that, he sat down again, and this time he could not stand back up; however, his mind was still as bright as snow, he realized that as long as he could not stand up, he would not be able to kill Jiaozhu. Among these several hundred people, the Cult Leader''s skill was the most profound, surely he would be the first to have the poison in his system driven out, and then every one of the older brethrens would not be fortunate to escape his evil scheme. Thereupon he said, "Mister �� Mister Lu, I can''t move, you must think �� think �� cough, cough �� think of a way."


    "Wei Gongzi," Mr. Lu said, "This Jiaozhu is extremely vicious, when the poison in his body is neutralized, he will kill everybody, even you will not escape. Quickly kill Jiaozhu and Madame."


    Even if he did not say those words, Wei Xiaobao had already understood. Picking up a sword, he slowly walked toward the Cult Leader.


    Mr. Lu added, "This Madame Hong is a fox-spirit, she will completely deceive people, you must not look at her face, don''t look at her eyes."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. With raised sword he took several steps forward.


    In a soft voice Madame Hong said, "Xiao Xiongdi, tell me, do you think I am beautiful?" Her voice was brimming with overwhelming emotion that can erode the bones. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved; he turned his head to look at her.


    Fat Toutuo shouted loudly, "Wicked demon; don''t look at her!" Wei Xiaobao shivered and closed his eyes tight.


    With a tender laugh Madame Hong said, "Xiao Xiongdi, look at me, turn your eyes on me, open your eyes, look, you can see your reflection in my eyes!"


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao opened his eyes, he saw Madame Hong''s graceful eyes and smiling expression; he could not stop his heart from being shaken. Immediately he raised the sword in front of his chest and walked toward Hong Jiaozhu, thinking, "You are such a beautiful woman, I really cannot kill you, but I simply must kill your husband."


    Suddenly from his left came a sharp and clear voice calling out, "Wei Dage! Don''t kill him!"


    The voice sounded very familiar. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was shaken. He turned toward the voice and saw a young girl wearing red clothes lying on the ground, her eyebrows were elegant her eyes were gorgeous, she was none other than Xiao Junzhu Mu Jianping. Wei Xiaobao was flabbergasted; not in a million years would he expect to see her in this place. As for why she was wearing the Scarlet Dragon Gate''s red uniform, he did not feel surprised at all. Busily he helped her up and asked, "How can you be here?"


    Mu Jianping did not answer his question, she only said, "By all means, you must not kill Jiaozhu."


    "Have you joined Shen Long Jiao?" Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise, "How �� how come?"


    Mu Jianping''s entire body was so soft as if she did not have any bones; leaning against his shoulder, she put her small mouth close to his ear and said in a low voice, "If you kill Jiaozhu and Madame, I will not live. Those old men hate us to the death, they will definitely kill us all the young people."


    "I am going to ask them not to harm you," Wei Xiaobao said, "I think they will consent."


    "No, no!" Mu Jianping anxiously said, "Jiaozhu has given us poison, other people cannot neutralize it."


    Meeting with her again after a long separation, Wei Xiaobao was actually very happy, much less she was leaning in his bosom, he could smell her soft fragrance, and hear her tender voice in his ear. He found it very difficult to resist her request, plus he thought that the Cult Leader had forced her to take the poison and nobody else could save her; therefore, if he killed the Cult Leader, he would be killing this beautiful young woman in his bosom, which he must never do. It was a very difficult decision to take. He said in a low voice, "If I don''t kill Jiaozhu, after the poison in Jiaozhu''s body is neutralized, he will definitely kill me." He was holding Mu Jianping in tight embrace, he said those words in her ear.


    Mu Jianping said, "If you saved Jiaozhu and Madame, how could they kill you?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that she was right, Madame Hong was such a thousand-beauty a hundred-charming woman, no matter what she must not be killed. Before his eyes was an opportunity to set up a great merit, it''s just that inevitably Fat Toutuo, Mr. Lu, Priest Wugen and the others would be killed by the Cult Leader. Priest Wugen was an extremely heroic man, it would be a pity to have him killed. It would be best if he did not kill Jiaozhu and Madame, while saving Fat Toutuo and the others'' lives at the same time. Thereupon he said, "Exactly! Good wife, even if Jiaozhu wanted to kill me, I will definitely save your life." While saying that, he landed a kiss on her left cheek.


    Mu Jianping was extremely bashful, her face blushed, but her eyes revealed a happy expression as she said in a low voice, "If you set up a great merit, plus you are a young child, how can Jiaozhu kill you?"


    Wei Xiaobao lay Mu Jianping back on the floor; he turned his head and said, "Mr. Lu, Jiaozhu must not be killed, and so is Madame. The inscription on the stone tablet says that Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, their long lives will be the same as the heaven''s; how can I dare to harm their lives? The two Seniors'' magical power is extensive, even if I want to harm them, I cannot harm them to their death."


    Mr. Lu was greatly anxious; "The inscription is a fake," he called out, "How can you even take it into consideration? Don''t indulge in flights of fancy, quickly kill those two people, otherwise, everybody will die without a burial site."


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly shook his head. "Mr. Lu," he said, "You must not say such a treason talk. Do you have the antidote? We must neutralize the poison in Jiaozhu and Madame''s bodies."


    In a soft voice Madame Hong said, "That''s right, Xiao Xiongdi, you indeed have excellent knowledge and experience. The Heaven sent such a young hero like you to descend to the world, actually to assist Jiaozhu. For Shen Long Jiao to have such a young hero like you, it is indeed everyone''s good fortune."


    She appeared to say those words from the bottom of her heart, it was brimming with amazement and high praise. When Wei Xiaobao heard it, he felt an unspeakable joy and comfort in his heart. He laughed and said, "Madame, I don''t belong to Shen Long Jiao."


    Madame Hong laughed. "Nothing could be easier than that," she said, "You can join the Cult right now, I can be your sponsor [orig. person who receive and instruct]. Jiaozhu, this Xiao Xiongdi has set up such a great merit for our Cult, which official position should we assign to him?"


    The Cult Leader said, "The White Dragon Gate''s Zhangmenshi Zhong Zhiling has been executed for apostasy, we can promote this young man as the White Dragon Envoy."


    "That''s great!" Madame Hong said with a laugh, "Xiao Xiongdi, our Cult is headed by Jiaozhu, under him are Blue, Yellow, Scarlet, White and Black, five dragon envoys. To have someone like you, who as soon as you join the Cult immediately becomes one of the five dragon envoys, it is indeed unprecedented, indicating that that Jiaozhu has a very high opinion of you. Xiao Xiongdi, you are surnamed Wei, that much we know. But what is your great name?"


    "My name is Wei Xiaobao," Wei Xiaobao replied, "In Jianghu, people call me the Little White Dragon." He recalled Mao Shiba had fabricated a nickname for him with the thought that if he did not have any nickname, it would not be impressive enough. Who could have thought that the nickname agreed with what had happened today as if by prior consultation?


    "You see, you see!" Madame Hong happily said, "This is the Heaven''s plan, otherwise, how can there be such coincidence? Jiaozhu''s golden mouth has spoken, definitely he won''t renege."


    Mr. Lu was greatly anxious, "Wei Gongzi," he said, "Don''t fall into their trick. Even if you become the White Dragon Envoy, if they don''t like you and want to kill you, won''t it be as easy as turning their hand over? The White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling was the example right in front of our eyes. Quickly kill Jiaozhu and Madame, everybody will support you as the new Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao."


    As soon as he said that, everybody was startled. Fat Toutuo, Xu Xueting, Priest Wugen and the others all felt that this idea was extremely unthinkable. But then they had a second thought: if they did not support him to be the new Cult Leader, currently there was no position in the Cult higher than the White Dragon Envoy position. The situation before their eyes was very urgent, the lives of everybody present were hanging on his hand. Only by doing this they would be able to tempt him to kill Jiaozhu and Madame. As soon as the crisis was over, even if they really promote him to become the Cult Leader, he would not escape from everybody''s grasp. Thereupon everybody chorused, "Right, right, we will support Wei Gongzi as the Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu; everybody will be loyal and devoted to you."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved, he cast a sidelong glance toward Madame Hong. She was half sitting half lying on the bamboo chair, as if her entire body was devoid of any bones. Her chest was heaving up and down slightly, her cheeks blushed, her eyes glistened. He mused, "There''s nothing fun being the Jiaozhu, but this Madame Jiaozhu is extremely pretty. If I become the Jiaozhu, will you or won''t you still become the Madame Jiaozhu?"


    But this thought only flashed through in his mind, immediately he cleared his head, "Each of these people has superior martial art skill, as soon as the poison in their bodies is neutralized, how can I deal with them? It will be ''pulling the plank after crossing the bridge''." As for the matter of ''pulling the plank after crossing the bridge'', he had had personal experience with the Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall. But Tian Di Hui brethrens were heroes and warrior, after crossing the bridge, they did not pull the plank in a hurry. These Shen Long Jiao fellows, on the other hand, how could they not pull the plank in a hurry? Worse yet, how could they not do it in great delight? Although Madame Jiaozhu was pretty, when all is said and done, his own life was prettier.


    Thereupon he stuck out his tongue and said with a laugh, "I don''t want to be the Jiaozhu, by saying that, you are not bringing good fortune to me. Besides, it is treason and heresy. How about this: Jiaozhu, Madame, and everybody here better be reconciled. I want both sides to disregard what had happened today. Mr. Lu, Blue Dragon Envoy and the others have offended Jiaozhu, I am asking Jiaozhu to be magnanimous and disregard their crime. Mr. Lu, take the antidote out, after everybody is cured, won''t it be good that we are all friendly toward each other?"


    Without waiting for Mr. Lu to open his mouth, Hong Jiaozhu immediately said, "Very well, let''s do it. The White Dragon Envoy is urging us to work together, to let bygones be bygones; I accept the auspicious loyal advice. The matter of everybody rebelled against the authority today, I am willing to forgive and will no longer look into it."


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Blue Dragon Envoy, Jiaozhu has agreed, don''t you agree that this is wonderful?"


    Realizing that Wei Xiaobao was unwilling to kill the Cult Leader no matter what, Mr. Lu heaved a deep sigh and said, "If that''s the case, Jiaozhu, Madame, would you two please make an oath."


    Madame Hong said, "I, Su Quan, will not look into today''s matter. If I go against this oath, let me fall into the Dragon Pool, and be devoured by ten thousand snakes."


    In a low and deep voice Hong Jiaozhu said, "If in the future I, Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu Hong Antong, ever settle the account with old xiongdi over what had happened today, let the Ol'' Hong fall into the Dragon Pool and be devoured by ten thousand snakes, so that even my bones will not survive."


    ''Fall into the Dragon Pool and be devoured by ten thousand snakes'' was Shen Long Jiao''s heaviest punishment. Jiaozhu and Madame swore this heavy oath, although they were under pressure, they simply could not retract what they had said.


    "Blue Dragon Envoy, what do you think?" Mr. Lu asked.


    Xu Xueting was at his last gasp, he said, "I �� I won''t live anyway."


    "Priest Wugen, what do you think?" Mr. Lu asked again.


    In a loud voice Priest Wugen said, "Let it be so. Hong Jiaozhu was originally our old xiongdi, his literary and martial art skills are ten times better than everybody else. We all originally supported him without half-heartedness. Ever since he took this Madame as his wife, his character underwent huge changes; he only loved to promote young boys and girls and had us, the old xiongdi massacred one by one. The Blue Dragon Envoy was the first to rise in revolt, but he was only striving to survive, without any other motive. Since Jiaozhu and Madame have sworn an oath publicly not to look into today''s matter, no longer recklessly murder old xiongdi, why would we want to rebel against him? Besides, Shen Long Jiao cannot exist without this Jiaozhu."


    A group of teenage boys and girls shouted loudly, "Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven''s."


    "Wei Gongzi," Mr. Lu said, "You have not taken ''realgar medicated wine'', therefore, you were not poisoned by �� and thus have set up the great merit of today. It was the mystery of the underworld, the Will of Heaven. To neutralize the poison, it is very easy. Go outside and scoop up some cold water, bring it here and have everybody here drink some."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Turns out this poison is very easy to neutralize." He went out the hall, but could not find any cold water. Circling around the hall, he saw a row of twenty stone jars, seven of them were brimming with clear water. Actually, the water was to guard against the bamboo hall catching fire. Immediately he filled a bucket full with water and returned to the main hall. He scooped some water and had the Cult Leader drink it first. Next he gave Madame Hong some water. The third scoop was for Priest Wugen; he said, "Daozhang [priest], you are a hero and a warrior." The fourth, the fifth were for Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu. The sixth was for Mu Jianping.


    After drinking the water, they all threw up, and then slowly regained the strength of their hands and feet. After Wei Xiaobao fed several more people, Mr. Lu was already able to stand up and walk, immediately he attended the Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting''s injury, trying to stop his bleeding. Fat Toutuo and the others also took cold water to help the brethrens closest to them. Very soon Mu Jianping was able to help several teenage girls wearing red clothes.


    The hall reeked with vomit, the stench was unbearable.


    Madame Hong said, "Everybody, go back and rest, we will assemble again tomorrow."


    Hong Jiaozhu said, "I have decided to let bygones be bygones, all xiongdi are partners, you cannot, because of what happened today, strife against each other to carry out a vendetta against our brother. Those who disobey will be severely punished. The youngster of Five Dragon Gates must not be disrespectful against the Zhangmenshi. In the same way, the Zhangmenshi must not find any excuse to punish the young members of our Gates."


    Everyone received the order with one voice, but they were still suspicious and jealous, after all, it was very difficult to drive anxiety away.


    "White Dragon Envoy," Madame Hong said in a soft voice, "Come with me."


    Wei Xiaobao still did not know that she was calling him, only after seeing her beckoning to him did he realize that he had become the Divine Dragon Cult''s White Dragon Envoy; thereupon he followed her.


    The Cult Leader and Madame walked side-by-side out of the main hall. Everybody who could move bowed to salute, while shouting with a loud voice, "Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven''s!"


    Following a path laid with dark green flagstones the Cult Leader and Madame left the building and walk to the left. After passing through a sizeable bamboo groove, they arrived at an elevated level ground, where several large bamboo structures were built. A dozen or so teenage boys and girls wearing five different color clothes were on guard duty around the buildings with unsheathed swords in their hands. Seeing the Cult Leader, they all bowed to salute. Madame Hong led Wei Xiaobao into a bamboo building and said to a youngster wearing white clothes, "This is Wei Gongzi, the newly-appointed Zhangmenshi of your White Dragon Gate. Take him to the eastern wing to rest, all of you must serve him well." Finished speaking, she flashed a smile toward Wei Xiaobao and entered the inner hall.


    Several teenagers in white clothes presented themselves to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Young subordinates pay their respect to the Envoy."


    In the Palace, Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to be a chief of the court eunuchs; in Tian Di Hui, he was accustomed to be a Xiangzhu, he did not care in the least bit that people were treating him deferentially; he simply nodded. Several teenagers in white clothes took him to the eastern wing and offered to serve him tea. Although it was only a wing, the room was very spacious; the furnishings were elegant and pure, with gold and jade antiques spread all over the table. Several rolls of calligraphy and paintings were hung on the wall, the bedding on the bed was magnificent, unexpectedly it had a little bit of the Imperial Palace''s style.


    Those several teenagers in white clothes noticed that it was evident from Madame Hong''s speech and expression that she held this Wei Xiaobao in such a high regard, moreover, there had never been any outsider who spent the night in the Cult Leader''s ''Immortal Good Fortune Residence''. By enjoying special privilege like this, clearly the White Dragon Envoy''s status was above the other four envoys. These youngsters had been on guard duty in here for a while, they did not know about the incident that had just happened in the main hall, but seeing Wei Xiaobao was in such an honored position and was in the Cult Leader''s good grace, they all did everything they could to please him.


    That same afternoon Wei Xiaobao asked those several teenagers in white clothes about all kinds of customs of the Five Dragon Gates. Turned out the Divine Dragon Cult was divided into five gates, each gate envoy commanded several dozen of old xiongdi, a hundred teenagers, and several hundred ordinary Cult members. Each Zhangmenshi was originally a veteran martial art expert who had established great service to the Cult. But recently the Cult Leader had thrown his full support to promote some rising stars, often people in their twenties, to hold important positions second only to the Zhangmenshi. Although Wei Xiaobao was very young, nobody showed the least bit of surprise.


    The next morning, Hong Jiaozhu and Madame Hong called for another assembly in the main hall. There was anxiety and uneasy expression on everybody''s face. Although the Cult Leader had sworn an oath not to pursue this matter, he was known as extremely shrewd, nobody could guess what kind of formidable method he would use to deal with them.


    The Cult Leader and Madame sat on their thrones. Wei Xiaobao was fourth among the Five Dragon Envoys, he ranked above Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu. "How is the Blue Dragon Envoy''s injury?" the Cult Leader asked.


    Mr. Lu bowed and said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: the Blue Dragon Envoy''s injury is not light, whether his life can be saved or not, at the present it is still very difficult to say."


    The Cult Leader took a deep red small porcelain bottle from his bosom and said, "Here are three ''King of Heaven''s Life-saving Pills'', give them to him." While saying that, without anybody seeing him raising his hand, the porcelain bottle flew slowly toward Mr. Lu.


    Hastily Mr. Lu reached out to receive it. Lying prostrate on the floor, he said, "Thank you Jiaozhu for your great graciousness." He knew these ''King of Heaven''s Life-saving Pills'' to be very rare. The Cult Leader had to dispatch his subordinates to gather countless rare drug ingredients and had to refine it before making the pills. Among the ingredients were three-hundred-year old Laoshan [lit. old mountain] ginseng, white bear''s gall, snow lotus herb and other especially hard-to-come-by substances. The Cult Leader had spent considerable effort to manufacture the pills, but he managed to produce only around ten pills. With these three miracle cure pills, Xu Xueting''s life would definitely be out of danger.


    The rest of the old xiongdi also bowed to express their gratitude; they all thought, "The Blue Dragon Envoy has offended Jiaozhu really bad yesterday by determining to take his life, yet today Jiaozhu bestowed the treasured medicine instead. He has let bygones be bygones indeed." No one did not feel gratified. At first everybody in the hall was in high alert, but now their faces showed smiling expression. Quite a few of them let out a deep breath.


    Madame Hong said with a laugh, "White Dragon Envoy, I heard that on Mount Wutai you saw a stone tablet, on which some writings in tadpole script were engraved?"


    Wei Xiaobao bowed and said, "Yes!"


    Fat Toutuo said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu and Madame: subordinate has made a rubbing of the writings and I have it in here." From his bosom he took out a roll of oil paper and opened it, showing a large sheet of rubbings from the tablet, which he then hung on the eastern wall. The sheet had a black background with white characters, the writings looked extremely strange, nobody recognize the characters.


    Madame Hong said, "White Dragon Envoy, if you know these characters, please read it for everybody here."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. With eyes fixed on the rubbing, he loudly recited the writings made by Mr. Lu: "In the tenth month of the Zhen Guan''s second year Jiazi of the Great Tang ..." Slowly he continued reciting from memory. Occasionally he would forget, so he said, "Um, what character is that? It''s difficult to recognize. Ah right, must be a ''mo'' [devil] character."


    When reciting the part that said ''He will enjoy immortal happiness forever, universal evil spirit will venerate him. His long life will be the same as the Heaven''s, a kind sage of both pen and sword'', he changed it to ''He, together with Madame, will enjoy immortal happiness forever, universal evil spirit will venerate them. Their long life will be the same as the Heaven''s, kind sages of both pen and sword.''


    In all honesty, this four-character phrase ''together with Madame'' [lian tong fu ren] was rather vulgar; if it was composed by Mr. Lu, he would definitely pick a more elegant wording. But Wei Xiaobao did not have any literary skill, how could he produce any elegant phrase? It was already remarkable that he did not change a four-character sentence into a five-character one.


    When Madame Hong heard this phrase, ''her brows raised in delight, her eyes laughing'' as she said, "Jiaozhu, there is indeed a reference on me in the writings of the stone tablet, the White Dragon Envoy did not carelessly make it up."


    Hong Jiaozhu was also very happy; he nodded and said with a laugh, "Good, good! We are fulfilling the Heaven''s destiny; the founding of this Shen Long Jiao was actually foretold by the Heaven during the Zhen Guan year of the Great Tang."


    The cult members in the hall shouted together, "Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven''s."


    Priest Wugen and the other old xiongdi were also amazed, they thought, "Jiaozhu and Madame are fulfilling the Heaven''s destiny, we must not offend them."


    The Cult Leader twisted his beard and said with a smile, "Madame is right."


    The people yelled again, "Jiaozhu''s long life will be the same as the heaven''s, Jiaozhu''s long life will be the same as the heaven''s!"


    When the shouting subsided, Hong Jiaozhu said, "Now, let us open the Incense Hall to inaugurate Wei Xiaobao as our Cult''s White Dragon Gate''s Zhangmenshi."


    The opening of the incense hall of Shen Long Jiao was completely different from Tian Di Hui. Wei Xiaobao saw five golden trays on the incense table, each tray had a small snake on it, altogether there were blue, yellow, scarlet, white and black snakes. These five little snakes raised their heads, flicking their tongues in and out, but their bodies were motionless.


    After doing obeisance toward these five ''divine dragons'', Wei Xiaobao kowtowed in front of the Cult Leader and Madame, and accepted Priest Wugen and the others'' congratulations. Madame Hong poured three cups of realgar wine and had him drink it. She said with a laugh, "After drinking this wine, the divine dragons on this island will know that you are one of our own, hereafter they will not come to bite you." The Cult Leader bestowed him a strand of realgar bead, telling him to hang it next to his skin, so that a hundred poisons would not harm him. Next, the elders and young men of the White Dragon Gate came to pay their respect to their new Zhangmenshi.


    The Cult Leader ordered, "Because the Blue Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi is recuperating from his illness, and Fat Toutuo has set up a merit by making the rubbing of the stone tablet, Fat Toutuo will temporarily handle the Blue Dragon Gate''s business. When the Blue Dragon Envoy recovers, he will take over again." Fat Toutuo bowed to accept the order. The Cult Leader continued, "Five Dragon Envoys and Lu Gaoxuan, six people, come to the rear hall to discuss official business."


    Immediately the Cult Leader and Madame rose from their seats and walked toward the rear hall, while everybody shouted loudly to see them off. Priest Wugen, Wei Xiaobao, Fat Toutuo, Mr. Lu and the others followed behind them. It was only then that Wei Xiaobao knew that Mr. Lu''s name was Lu Gaoxuan.


    The rear hall was located right behind the main hall. It was not big, with two large bamboo chairs inside, where he Cult Leader and Madame sit. Below the chairs there were five low stools. The three Zhangmenshi sat down. Fat Toutuo also sat down. He said, "White Dragon Envoy, please sit down."


    Seeing Mr. Lu did not have a seat, Wei Xiaobao hesitated a little bit. Mr. Lu smiled and said, "White Dragon Envoy, please sit down. There is no seat for a Cult member without any obligations like me in the ''Hidden Dragon Hall''."


    Wei Xiaobao expected it was indeed the custom; if Fat Toutuo was not acting on behalf of the Blue Dragon Envoy, he would not have any seat either, thereupon he sat down. Mr. Lu stood up next to the Black Dragon Envoy, a position below him.


    Suddenly Yin Jin and the others, four people, stood up. Wei Xiaobao did not understand what was going on, he also stood up. He heard Yin Jin, Mr. Lu and the others, five people, were reciting, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching ..." Wei Xiaobao immediately followed, "... always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!" He still had a child''s high-pitched voice, so compared to the five people''s voices, his sounded somewhat louder. Only after Hong Jiaozhu nodded did the five people sit down.


    The Black Dragon Envoy said, "It may be assumed that these four books were originally from Shaolin Temple, Mu Palace and so on, which, afterwards, were seized away by the Tatars and brought into the Palace." The Cult Leader hesitated for a moment and did not say anything; the fear on the Black Dragon Envoy''s face grew more intense.


    Hong Jiaozhu turned toward Fat Toutuo and asked, "Has your Shixiong sent any news back?"


    Fat Toutuo respectfully said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: Thin Toutuo once said that at the Banner Commander of Bordered Blue Banner''s mansion he had found a little bit of clue, but afterwards he lost track of it."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved, "The Banner Commander of Bordered Blue Banner''s mansion?" he mused, "Isn''t that the place where Tao Gugu''s Shifu went? Turns out Fat Toutuo have a shixiong, who is called Thin Toutuo."


    He heard Hong Jiaozhu said, "Tell him that I order him to finish up his investigation as soon as possible, he must not be negligent." Fat Toutuo repeatedly complied.


    After a while, Madame Hong smiled and said, "The Black Dragon Envoy has sent people into the Palace to fetch the sutra. According to his own explanation, he had spared no effort, but so far he had not succeeded in obtaining even one copy. Perhaps we ought to send someone else whose luck is a lot better to handle this matter."


    The Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Jin hastily said, "Madame has a wise opinion. Learning from experience, fetching the sutra is a matter of luck, with enormous responsibility. It''s not that the Black Dragon Envoy did not try hard and did not want to perform a meritorious deed for Jiaozhu, it''s just that from the beginning there are obstacles one after another. Most likely it is because his luck is inadequate, thereupon the treasured sutra cannot be obtained."


    Madame Hong smiled and said, "In your opinion, whose luck is adequate?"


    Yin Jin said, "The one with most luck in our Cult is naturally Jiaozhu, the Senior, himself; next in line would be Madame. However, we must not toil your two honorable selves to go into action personally. The next person with great fortune would be the White Dragon Envoy. He knows the inscriptions on the stone tablet, he has also established a great service. There is a faint red glow at the center of his forehead, a sign that his luck is very big, there is no one among Jiaozhu''s subordinate can surpass him."


    The Cult Leader twisted his beard and said with a smile, "But he is a small child, can he handle this great matter?"


    Although the White Dragon Envoy was a senior position within the Divine Dragon Cult, in Wei Xiaobao''s heart it did not mean anything. Since he was stuck on the Island, he was forced to take whatever comes his way. He had extreme satisfaction in looking at Madame Hong''s ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' beauty, but if he looked at her too much, Jiaozhu would detect his lecherous look, then it would be difficult for him to escape death. In short, it would be best if he could return to Beijing as soon as possible. Hearing Jiaozhu''s words, he found the perfect opportunity to free himself; thereupon he said, "Jiaozhu, Madame, I am indebted of your promotion; subordinate is very grateful. I do not have any ability, but relying on the good fortune of the two of you, I have the hope that I can succeed in sneaking into the Palace and steal the four copies of the treasured sutra."


    Hong Jiaozhu nodded. Madame Hong happily said, "You are willing to volunteer, showing that you are loyal to Jiaozhu. I know you are smart and witty, plus have great good fortune. Perhaps you are precisely the person sent by the Heaven to complete this important matter for Jiaozhu."


    Hong Jiaozhu slowly said, "According to the Black Dragon Envoy''s report, the people he sent to the Palace have sent information that the young Emperor has a little eunuch under his command by the name of Xiao Guizi ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "My trickery is exposed! I am in big trouble," he mused. He heard the Cult Leader continued, "�� the young Emperor sent him to Mount Wutai, the intention is not favorable to our Cult. We sent several people in succession to question him. Zhang Laosan could not find him, Fat Toutuo also failed, unexpectedly Xiao Guizi cannot be found, but we found you instead."


    As the Cult Leader took a short pause, Yin Jin said, "Indeed that is Jiaozhu''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens!"


    Hong Jiaozhu slightly nodded his head toward him and continued, "White Dragon Envoy, as soon as you get to the Palace, you must immediately investigate this Xiao Guizi''s matter: what scheme did the Emperor have of sending him to Mount Wutai?"


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his entire body was drenched in cold sweat. "Yes, yes," he busily said. But he was relieved that from the Cult Leader''s tone, he would definitely be sent to the Imperial Palace. Cast a glance toward Fat Toutuo, he mused, "You did not reveal my secret, I consider you a good person."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up, he bowed and said, "Even if subordinate''s body is torn and my bones crushed, it is still difficult to repay Jiaozhu and Madame''s great kindness. I will be utterly loyal serving the country and die in battle." He learned these eight characters ''utterly loyal serving the country and die in battle'' [jin zhong bao guo, ma ge guo shi] from the storyteller; whenever a general was going into battle, the sovereign king would encourage him, and then the great general would fervently utter these eight characters. He blindly imitated the words, although being used here it was a bit too much and a little nondescript.


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "You vow loyalty and devotion to Jiaozhu, that''s very good. You go to Beijing, you may choose several people to help you as you wish."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Since I am running away, if the Cult people follow, they will only tie my hands and tie my feet." Thereupon he said, "I am afraid with too many people our secret will be revealed. Ah, right, subordinate wants to select one or two young girls under the Scarlet Dragon Envoy, they can be disguised as palace maid; handling affairs in the Palace will be more convenient." He was thinking about Mu Jianping, he must take her away.


    Priest Wugen said, "I am afraid those little misses are useless, but as long as Jiaozhu and Madame approve, you may choose as you wish."


    "Thank you Daozhang," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu, Madame: subordinate has committed grave offense yesterday, I am very grateful of Jiaozhu''s graciousness in not killing me ��"


    Hong Jiaozhu waved his hand and said with knitted brows, "The matter of yesterday, everybody must not remember in his heart, from now on nobody is allowed to raise it again."


    "Yes," Lu Gaoxuan said, "Thank you very much Jiaozhu. Subordinate is thinking of accompanying the White Dragon Envoy. With Jiaozhu and Madame''s great fortune, perhaps I will be able to set up some merit for Jiaozhu, to show a little of subordinate''s sincere appreciation."


    Hong Jiaozhu nodded his head and said, "Lu Gaoxuan is extremely resourceful, his martial art skill is superior, his penmanship is even more proficient, the literary works he made was well organized. Very good, very good, you may go with the White Dragon Envoy."


    Lu Gaoxuan considered carefully, "He said the literary works I made was well organized, could it be that about my fabrication of the writings on the stone tablet, in his heart he has already known it well?"


    Fat Toutuo said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu, Madame: subordinate also wishes to accompany the White Dragon Envoy to Beijing to handle this matter for Jiaozhu."


    The Cult Leader nodded; seeing that the Yellow Dragon Envoy was about to volunteer too, he said, "Too many people already, I am afraid the mission will be compromised. Only the two of you will accompany. In everything, you must follow the White Dragon Envoy''s order, you must not disobey."


    Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo bowed and said, "Subordinate will do as you bid."


    From her bosom Madame Hong took out a small multi-colored dragon, it was molded from ''blue copper'' [i.e. bronze], yellow gold, scarlet copper, white silver, and black iron. "White Dragon Envoy," she said, "This is Jiaozhu''s Five-Dragon Command, I am handing it over to you for the time being. When the several tens of thousands Cult members see this Command, it is the same as they see Jiaozhu in person. In handling this important matter, the life-and-death power is being handed over to you. After rendering the meritorious service, you must return the Command."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, with both hands he respectfully received it, while in his heart he mused, "I just want to return to Beijing, and forget about his Divine Dragon Cult or Vicious Tiger Cult. By taking this so-called Five-Dragon Command, from now on I will have more trouble."


    Madame Hong said, "White Dragon Envoy, Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo, three people stay, the rest of you are dismissed."


    Priest Wugen and the Black Dragon Envoy, Yellow Dragon Envoy, three people saluted and withdrew.


    Hong Jiaozhu took out a black porcelain bottle from his pocket and poured three vermillion red pills out. He said, "I commend you that using extreme force of will, the three of you will go to Beijing on a mission, hence I bestow each one of you with a ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''."


    Immediately on Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan''s faces appeared a delight mixed with dread. Bending their right knees, they expressed their gratitude, received the pills, and swallowed it. Wei Xiaobao blindly imitated them, he received the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' and immediately swallowed it. Shortly afterward, he felt a burst of warm chi rising up in his stomach, following the blood flow, dispersing slowly into his four limbs and hundred bones of his body; it was unspeakably comfortable.


    Madame Hong said, "White Dragon Envoy may stay, the rest of you are dismissed." Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, two people withdrew.


    Madame Hong smiled and said, "White Dragon Envoy, what kind of weapon do you use?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate''s martial art skill is shallow and minuscule, and have not studied any weapon. I only have a dagger to protect myself."


    "Let me look at it," Madame Hong said.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the dagger from his boot, turned the hilt around and presented it with both hands. Madame Hong took it. After examining it, she praised, "Good dagger!" Pulling a strand of her hair, she let it go. The hair slowly dropped on the edge of the blade, and was cut into two. "Good!" the Cult Leader also praised.


    In term of personal character, Wei Xiaobao did not have any strong points, but he had always regarded wealth and worldly possessions extremely lightly; seeing Madame Hong was very delighted with the dagger, he thought that if he wanted to flatter her, he would have to go all out. He said, "Subordinate presents this dagger to Madame. The common saying says it well: rouge and treasured sword must �� must be presented to beautiful woman. Among the beautiful women in the world, no one is more beautiful than Madame." He had heard the storyteller said it many times, ''the treasured sword must be presented to the martyr, the red powder must be presented to beautiful woman.'' But these two phrases were simply too difficult, he could not remember everything clearly.


    Madame Hong giggled tenderly and said, "Good child, you are loyal to us; you are not simply making empty promises. I don''t have anything good to give you, how can I take a child''s belonging? Let me accept your good intention with gratitude. Come, I am going to teach you three self-defense and life-saving styles, it is called the ''Beauties'' Three Moves''. I want you to learn it by heart."


    She stepped down from her seat, took out a handkerchief, and tied the dagger to the outside of her right calf. "Jiaozhu," she said with a laugh, "I will have to toil your honorable self to help me demonstrate this martial art style."


    With a chuckle Hong Jiaozhu strolled over. Suddenly he reached out with his left hand and grabbed the back of Madame''s neck, and lifted her up in the air. "Ah!" it happened so fast, Wei Xiaobao was so shocked that he cried out.


    Madame Hong bent her body slightly, she twisted her slender waist, and kicked backward with her left leg toward the Cult Leader''s lower abdomen. The Cult Leader pulled back to evade. Madame Hong seized the opportunity to turn around and wrapped her left arm around Jiaozhu''s neck. Unexpectedly her right hand grabbed the dagger and stabbed it against the middle of Jiaozhu''s back. "This is the first move," she said with a laugh, "It''s called ''the imperial concubine''s retrospect''. Remember this."


    The move was very neat and agile, Wei Xiaobao watched with ''heart untroubled, spirit pleased''. "Wonderful!" he cheered loudly, while thinking, "When Fat Toutuo grabbed me and lifted me up the other day, I did not have the least bit of technique. If I had learned this move early on, I would have stabbed him to death."


    The Cult Leader gently laid Madame Hong on the ground. Madame Hong tied the dagger back on the outside of her calf and lay facing down on the floor. Jiaozhu stretched out his right foot to step on her lower back. Pretending he was holding a knife in his hand, he placed his hand behind her neck and said with a laugh, "Do you surrender?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "In this situation, what can I do? Naturally I would call out loudly ''Surrender''."


    Suddenly he saw Madame pulled her head toward her own chest, naturally the enemy''s knife threatening her neck fell into empty air. Seizing this opportunity, she rolled on the ground and drilled through under Jiaozhu''s crotch. Grabbing the dagger with her right hand, once again she punched the middle of Jiaozhu''s back, only the sharp point of the dagger was facing up. If it were real enemy, this dagger would naturally pierce the enemy''s back.


    Wei Xiaobao loudly cheered again, "Good!"


    Jiaozhu waited for her to tie the dagger again before pulling both of her hands behind her back. With his left hand he held both of her wrists; pretending to hold a weapon in his right hand, he placed the weapon on her soft, white neck, while saying with a laugh, "This time you can''t run away."


    Madame also laughed and said, "Watch carefully!" Her right foot kicked forward lightly, a white light flashed, the dagger had already cut off the handkerchief tying it to her calf and flew away. She hooked with her right foot and nudged the hilt of the dagger. The dagger shot swiftly back toward her throat.


    "Careful!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in fear. He saw she shrank her body down, the dagger shot swiftly toward the Cult Leader''s chest. The Cult Leader let her hands go and threw his body back with face up in the ''iron panel bridge'' stance. ''Pop!'' the dagger flitted across his chest and penetrated the bamboo wall behind him, straight up to the hilt.


    When Madame Hong hooked with her foot and kicked the dagger, Wei Xiaobao had already jumped in fright. When he saw the dagger was flying toward her throat, she appeared not be able to evade, but then the dagger flew toward the pit of Jiaozhu''s stomach; this time he was sure the dagger would hit him, but unexpectedly Jiaozhu was able to dodge. These turns of events were extremely dangerous that just by watching from the side, Wei Xiaobao was stunned with ''heart alarmed, trembling in fear'', and the word ''Good'' that was already in his throat could not get out.


    Madame Hong laughed. "What do you think?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to grab the back of a chair as if he was about to fall. "It scared me to death," he said.


    Hong Jiaozhu, Hong Antong, and Madame saw his paled countenance, indicating he was terribly frightened. Hearing his words, they were more delighted than listening to one thousand, ten thousand words of praise. These two people had superior martial art skill, just another word of praise from a little child was not enough to make them happier, but seeing he was so concerned, they knew he was truly loyal to them. Madame Hong asked a rhetorical question, "The dagger was not shot toward you, what are you scared of?"


    "I was afraid �� I was afraid it would hurt Madame and �� and Jiaozhu," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Madame Hong laughed. "Silly kid," she said, "How could it easily hurt Jiaozhu? This move is called ''the flying swallow circle around overhead''. It is not very easy to practice. Jiaozhu''s divine skill is unrivalled, even if he did not know it beforehand, this move won''t hurt him. But in the world, other than him, I am afraid the number of people who are able to dodge this surprise strike is not too many."


    Immediately she explained in details the technique to practice the ''Beauties'' Three Moves''. Although the style only had three moves, all four limbs of the body were heavily involved; she taught him how to pull the dagger, how to pull down the head, the speed, the position, the force, as well as the accuracy of the movements, must be just perfect.


    The second move, where she lay on the ground, was called the ''Xiao Lian [lit. little pity] lies in disarray''. Madame Hong explained, "This ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' uses the names of the beauties of the ancient times. If it was practiced by a man, unavoidably it would be rather indecent; luckily you are only a child, so it''s not a big deal."


    Wei Xiaobao learned every move and every style, while Madame Hong patiently and carefully correcting his mistakes. After teaching him for more than two hours she finally considered it enough. But she insisted that Wei Xiaobao must be able to use it perfectly, he must train hard for a long time, especially the third move ''the flying swallow circle around overhead''; a slight mistake, he would have killed himself. Madame Hong instructed him to make a blunt dagger made of lead, the size and the weight must be the same as his dagger, to be used during practice.


    In front of the Cult members, usually Hong Antong was very serious in maintaining his dignity, he would not casually speak or laugh; but this time, as he accompanied his wife teaching Wei Xiaobao, he kept chuckling while watching from the side, he was surprisingly patient. When Madame finished teaching, he said, "Madame''s ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' is indeed formidable, but it is meant to kill. Let me teach you the ''Heroes'' Three Moves'', with the purpose of subduing the enemy, dead or alive."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he kneeled down and said, "Thank you Jiaozhu."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "I have never heard about your ''Heroes'' Three Moves''. You are teaching it to your disciple, but you did not teach it to me."


    Hong Antong said with a laugh, "Just now I watched your ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' and came up with it, I don''t know whether it will work. I want you to give me directions."


    Madame Hong cast him a sidelong glance. "Aiyo," she said with an enchanting smile, "Our Great Jiaozhu is teasing me."


    Hong Antong said, "From the beginning heroes can never pass the barrier of beauties. It''s only natural that ''Heroes'' Three Moves'' cannot surpass ''Beauties'' Three Moves''."


    Madame Hong burst into another enchanting laughter. "In front of a child, you still say this kind of talk?" she said in a tender voice.


    Hong Antong realized he had somewhat forgotten his manners. He coughed and with a solemn expression said, "The White Dragon Envoy is young, when he fight, it will be easy for the enemy to grab the back of his neck and lift him up. Madame, let''s pretend I am the White Dragon Envoy."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "You must promise not to hurt me."


    "Naturally," Hong Antong replied.


    Madame Hong stretched out her left hand to grab him and lift him up. Hong Antong was tall and powerfully built, perhaps he weighed around a hundred and seventy or eighty catties. Madame Hong looked frail and timid, unexpectedly she was able to lift him up seemingly without any effort.


    "Watch carefully!" Hong Antong said. His left hand slowly reached back and scratched below Madame Hong''s left armpit. Madame Hong giggled, her body turned soft. Hong Antong''s left hand grasped her armpit, his right hand slowly turned back to grab her collar, and then slowly he lifted her up over the top of his own head, and gently flung her away. When Madame Hong''s body touched the ground, it slipped away as if she was floating on the water surface. Madame Hong did not stop laughing, when her body stopped moving, she was still lying down on the floor, unable to stand up.


    Just now Hong Antong scratched below her armpit, reached back and grabbed her, and flung her away, each movement was very slow, Wei Xiaobao was able to see everything clearly. He saw his movements were elegant, and unspeakably attractive; although he moved slowly, it was very efficient. The scratch, the grab, and the throw were amazing; compared to Madame Hong''s fast and nimble movements, obviously it was several times more difficult.


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "You tickled me. What kind of hero was that?" While saying that, she slowly stood up.


    Hong Antong smiled and said, "It was a genuine hero''s movement. Naturally I did not mean to tickle you, but if the White Dragon Envoy was grabbed and lifted up by the enemy, his ''da zhui'' [big spine] acupoint must also be caught by the enemy. It is where the three ''yang du'' [positive control] arteries of the hands and feet meet, his entire body will devoid of any strength, all he can do is using his finger to lightly scratching the enemy''s ''ji quan'' [extreme spring] acupoint below his armpit. This acupoint belongs to the hand''s ''shao yang'' [lesser yang] channel, the enemy will have no choice but to let go. If the White Dragon Envoy has the strength, he could fling the enemy over his head, while at the same time seal the ''xiao hai'' [little ocean] acupoint behind the enemy''s elbow and ''ji quan'' acupoint underneath his armpit, so that when he was thrown to the ground, he won''t be able to move a single step."


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said with a laugh, "This move is really amazing."


    Hong Antong said, "After you practice it well, execute the move the faster the better." And then he lay on the floor. Madame Hong stretched out her foot to heavily step on his lower back. With her right hand she reached the door bolt leaning against the wall next to the door, and she placed it on his neck. With a sweet and tender voice she laughed and said, "Do you surrender?"


    Hong Antong laughed and said, "I already surrendered long ago! Let me kowtow to you." He pulled his legs as if he was about to kowtow, but his right arm slowly reached horizontally forward to touch the door bolt. ''Crack!'' the door bolt unexpectedly broke.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. If Hong Antong''s arm moved rapidly, based on his martial art skill, it would not be strange if he could strike the door bolt broken. But he was moving slowly and he only touched the door bolt, yet unexpectedly the door bolt broke; it was indeed beyond his expectation.


    Hong Antong said, "Pull your legs pretending to kowtow, take the opportunity to pull your dagger. Although your hands do not have internal energy like mine, but your dagger is exceptionally sharp, whatever weapon the enemy has, you can cut and break it." While his mouth was busy explaining, his body suddenly tumbled between Madame Hong''s legs.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he thought Hong Antong was a respected Cult Leader, how could he crawl in between a woman''s legs? Although she was his own wife, it would still be improper. To his surprise, however, Hong Antong was not really crawling, he was just striking an attitude, with his left hand he grasped Madame''s right ankle, with his right hand he pretended to strike her lower abdomen, while saying, "With your dagger that can cut iron like mud, even if the enemy has gargantuan guts, he won''t dare to struggle." Finished speaking, he slowly stood up, bringing Madame Hong along with head down, feet up. Madame Hong laughed and said, "Quickly let me go, what are you doing?"


    Hong Antong laughed aloud, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and let her go. He said, "White Dragon Envoy, you are short, you won''t be able to lift the enemy, but you can grab his ankle and pull him. Even if you cannot lift him up, with your dagger on his lower abdomen, the enemy won''t have any choice but surrender. And then you can kick the ''shen zang'' [divine reservoir], ''shen feng'' [divine seal], ''bu lang'' [walkway/corridor] acupoints on the pit of his stomach several times, to guard against him retaliating."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Yes, yes!" he said, "I must kick him."


    Hong Antong put his hands behind his back, letting the Madame seize him. Madame Hong picked the half broken door bolt and placed it on his neck. Hong Antong laughed and said, "The enemy is seizing my hands, naturally the main arteries on my wrists are being held, rendering my hands incapable. It''s hard to strike back. In this situation, it should have been best to use your leg ..."


    Before he even finished speaking, "Ah!" Madame Hong screamed. She laughed and let her hands go, and then leaped back. With a blushing face she said, "You must not teach a child to use such an obscene move."


    Hong Antong laughed and said, "What''s so obscene about the ''Pulling-up Yin Kick''?" His face turned serious as he continued, "The genital is a vital point on a human body, it can be fatal when hit. All the prestigious schools and big sects often have this ''Pulling-up Yin Kick'' move within their punching and kicking techniques. Shaolin Pai has it, Wudang Pai also has it; nothing unusual. It''s just that the enemy is behind you, both of your hands are under the enemy''s control, and there is a blade on your neck; your only choice is to use the ''Pulling-up Yin Back Kick''."


    Speaking to this point, he paused for a moment before continuing, "But the enemy must have guarded against you using this move. As soon as he sees your leg moves, most likely he would chop your little head down first. Consequently, this ''Pulling-up Yin Back Kick'' may be quite useless."


    He put his hands behind his back again and let Madame Hong held his wrists. Suddenly he bent all ten of his fingers, forming a half sphere, and then he threw his entire body backward, while all ten of his fingers grabbed Madame Hong''s breasts.


    Madame Hong quickly stepped back, hence she was forced to release her grip. She spat and said, "What kind of hero''s move is this?"


    Showing a faint smile, Hong Antong said, "The ''ru zhong'' [breast center] and ''ru gen'' [breast root] acupoints on human''s chest, doesn''t matter on men or women, are two fatal major acupoints. White Dragon Envoy, since the enemy can capture your hands behind your back, obviously his martial art skill is not weak; besides, most likely he has seized the acupoint on your wrists. But even if he did, it is not a big deal; as soon as he sees you making this move, he would involuntary step back. By the time he remembers that your hands do not have any strength, he is already one step too late. Madame, seize my hands again."


    Madame Hong took two steps forward and gently tapped the back of his hand, and then she reached out with her left hand to grab his wrists, while leaning her upper body backward to avoid his fingers from bumping against her chest.


    "Watch carefully!" Hong Antong said. Again he threw his body backward, while his ten fingers made a fake move toward her chest. Madame Hong knew this grab was a fake move, but she still pulled back to evade. Hong Antong suddenly made a somersault, his body leaped backward, his legs parted, and he landed on her shoulder, while the thumbs of both hands pressing on her ''tai yang'' [sun] acupoint [temples], index fingers pressing on her eyebrows, and middle fingers on her eyes. He said, "If I add a bit more strength to my middle fingers, I will poke the enemy''s eyes blind; if I add a bit more strength to my thumbs, the enemy will pass out. But I must guard against the enemy''s counterattack."


    He made another somersault in the air, and jumped more than a zhang backward. His right hand reached toward his calf, pretending to pull out the dagger. With the dagger pointing outward, left palm slanting up, he said, "If you poke the enemy''s eyes and blind him, the force with which he would use to throw you off must be incomparably formidable. You must guard against him trying to grab you firmly and won''t let you go."


    Wei Xiaobao saw that this move was really complicated, just like a team of clowns in the circus trying to provoke laughter, but it was very effective to dodge the enemy''s blade and hold the enemy''s vital points under control. He sighed and said, "This move is really good, but it is very difficult to learn."


    Hong Antong said, "Although I only teach you three moves, these moves contain qin na, acupoint sealing, and lightness, three types of martial art skill. If even one is not trained properly, these three moves cannot be used. Speaking about qin na, acupoint sealing, and lightness skills, each one needs ten years, eight years of training. But you only want to learn parts that are relevant to these three moves, it is a lot easier."


    Immediately he explained the position of the acupoints, the qin na technique, and how to exert strength to the legs in lightness skill. He told Wei Xiaobao to try it several times and corrected the mistakes one by one. Only Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ride on his neck, Hong Antong also did not tell him to try that move.


    "Jiaozhu," Madame Hong said, "My ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' were taught to me by Shifu, in the past I had to undergo ''a thousand hammer a hundred refinery'' before I got it right. Your ''Heroes'' Three Moves'', on the other hand, seemingly appear out of nowhere, it was created at will, yet it is a lot more formidable than my ''Beauties'' Three Moves''. I am not trying to flatter you on your face, but great scholar respected for learning and integrity, a martial art master with profound knowledge, is indeed worthy of other people''s admiration."


    Hong Antong cupped his fist and said with a laugh, "Madame''s erroneous praise, I really do not dare to accept."


    In the hall the previous day, seeing Hong Antong neither talked nor laughed, as if he was only a wooden puppet, in his heart Wei Xiaobao was holding him in utter contempt; he was already thinking, "An old man who look like a stupid blockhead, why is everybody so afraid of him?" But now that he had seen his true martial art skill, his mind was fixed and he had no doubt whatsoever that this man indeed deserved to be admired; he said, "Training a certain skill passed on by Shifu until it is completely mastered cannot be considered strange; Jiaozhu was just thinking about certain move and he is able to execute it casually just like that, now that can be considered unmatched in the world."


    "Why do you consider it unmatched in the world?" Madame Hong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if the enemy''s skill was higher, Jiaozhu would simply use several new moves, the enemy would not recognize it, he would have no choice but to cry out loud ''Surrender!''"


    Hong Antong and Madame laughed aloud. One nodded slightly, the other one said, "That''s true."


    "Jiaozhu," Madame Hong said, "My ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' have three beauties'' names, your ''Heroes'' Three Moves'' are very formidable, they should also have three big heroes'' names."


    Hong Antong smiled and said, "Alright, let me think. The first move is lifting up the enemy; that was Lintong lifting up Wu Zixu''s cauldron. Let''s call it ''Zixu lifting up the cauldron''."


    Madame Hong said, "Good, Wu Zixu was a great hero."


    Hong Antong said, "The second move throws the enemy down and pull him up; that was Lu Zhishen felling and pulling the weeping willow, let''s call it ''Lu reaching and pulling the willow''."


    "Very good," Madame Hong said, "Lu Zhishen was a great hero. Although your third move was ingenious, it carries a little bit of scoundrel or loafer''s flavor, it does not seem to be too heroic ..." Speaking to this point, she broke into a tender giggle.


    Hong Antong laughed and said, "What do you mean not too heroic? What kind of move would you call ''good'' then? Hmm, my two index fingers were resting on your eyebrows; that was ''Zhang Chang drawing eyebrows''."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "Zhang Chang was not a hero; it was his wife who drew his eyebrows. Would you call that a heroic move?"


    Hong Antong laughed and said, "He was having fun in the lady''s chamber, and thus had his eyebrows drawn. Are you saying that by having his wife draw his eyebrows he was not a hero?" Madame Hong''s cheeks blushed deep red; she shook her head.


    Wei Xiaobao did not know which historical character this Zhang Chang was, he thought that by having his eyebrows drawn by his wife, not only he was not a hero, he was simply a coward man who was afraid of his wife. He did not understand that Hong Antong was using expression from literature to tease his wife. "Jiaozhu," he said, "In this third move you were riding on the enemy''s neck. There were so many great heroes who ride a horse. Guan Yunchang rode a scarlet rabbit horse, Qin Shubao rode a chestnut horse."


    Hong Antong laughed and said, "That''s right, but Guan Yunchang''s scarlet rabbit horse originally belonged to Lu Bu. Qin Qiong also sold his chestnut horse. Both are not too appropriate. I got it, in this move Di Qing was taming the steed [orig. ''dragon colt''], a precious horse; let''s call it ''Di Qing subduing the dragon''. The precious horse he was subduing was originally a dragon incarnated."


    Madame Hong clapped her hands, "Wonderful!" she said, "When Di Qing went into battle, he always wore bronze devil mask to frighten the barbarian troops that they screamed in terror and fled into the wilderness; naturally he was a great hero. It''s just that we are called Divine Dragon Cult ..."


    Hong Jiaozhu smiled and said, "It doesn''t matter. There will be time that even a dragon will be subdued by someone until he is docile."


    "Pei!" Madame Hong spat, her entire face blushed, her beautiful and glistening eyes were filled charm.


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao practiced the ''Beauties'' Three Moves'' and ''Heroes'' Three Moves'' one by one. Whenever his technique or stance was incorrect, Hong Antong and Madame would give him more directions. These six moves were really ingenious; it was difficult for Wei Xiaobao to master it all at once. Hong Jiaozhu told him not to worry, he only needed to know the training technique, when the time came, he would master it by himself.


    By the time the instruction was finished, it was already noon. Madame Hong was determined not to accept the dagger; she gave it back to Wei Xiaobao while saying, "You have not mastered the martial art skill, this time you are on mission for Jiaozhu, you must have this kind of sharp weapon to protect yourself." And then she added, "White Dragon Envoy, in our Cult, other than myself, you are the only one who has received Jiaozhu''s personal instruction."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That is truly subordinate''s good fortune, which I cultivated over I don''t know how many incarnations."


    Madame Hong said, "By being loyal to Jiaozhu in handling this matter, you are repaying Jiaozhu''s benevolence."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "You may leave now," Madame Hong said, "Early in the morning tomorrow, you go onboard the ship and leave with Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan; you don''t need to come here to say goodbye again."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He respectfully saluted the two people before turning around. When he reached the door, he turned his head and said, "Madame, if I live to be 80 years old, how about Jiaozhu and Madame teach me three more moves?"


    Madame Hong was slightly startled, but she understood immediately that it was his way of well-wishing and praise. Right now he was only thirteen, fourteen years old, it would be sixty more years before he reached eighty, but Jiaozhu and she had long lives, which were the same as the heavens'', so it was only proper that they should live sixty more years. She giggled and said, "I promise you. On your eightieth birthday, Jiaozhu and I will teach you three more moves. When you reach the long life of a hundred years, we will teach you three more moves; it will be called ''Old Shouxing''s three moves''[106], ''Old Grandma''s three moves''."


    "No," Wei Xiaobao said, "At that time, Madame will be as young and beautiful as today, most likely Madame and Jiaozhu will look a bit younger. The moves you teach me will be �� will be �� ''Golden Boy''s three moves'', ''Jade Maiden''s three moves''." Hong Antong and Madame burst out in laughter.


    Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, two people, were sitting on a mountain rock outside the hall, they had been waiting for a long time, but all along did not see Wei Xiaobao coming out of the hall. They were puzzled and anxious, not knowing what kind of unforeseen event had happened. When they saw his smiling expression as he went out, they were relieved. They wanted to ask, but did not dare to ask. Wei Xiaobao explained, "Jiaozhu and Madame have taught me not a few of amazing martial art skills."


    Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan said together, "Congratulations White Dragon Envoy. In our Cult, other than Madame, Jiaozhu has never taught anybody one move or half a style."


    Feeling extremely smug, Wei Xiaobao said, "Jiaozhu and Madame also said the same thing."


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "White Dragon Envoy is fortunate to enjoy Jiaozhu''s favor, indeed it has never happened since our Cult was founded." After casting a glance toward Fat Toutuo, he asked Wei Xiaobao, "Have Jiaozhu and Madame ever mentioned when they are going to bestow us the antidote of the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''?"


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised, "There is an antidote for this ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''?" he asked, "Are you saying ... are you saying ... this is a poison?"


    "I can''t say that it is a poison," Lu Gaoxuan replied, "Let us go home and talk in details." He cast several glances toward the bamboo hall, his face revealed a cautious mixed with dread expression.


    The three of them returned to the Lu family''s home. Seeing the Fat and Lu, two people''s gloomy expression, Wei Xiaobao grew suspicious; he asked, "Just what is actually this ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''? Is it poison, or is it miracle pill?"


    Fat Toutuo sighed and said, "Whether it is a poison or a miracle pill, we''ll just have to wait and see! The lives of ours, three people, are entirely in the White Dragon Envoy''s hands."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Why?" he asked.


    Fat Toutuo looked at Lu Gaoxuan, Lu Gaoxuan nodded his head, Fat Toutuo said, "White Dragon Envoy, when people are being polite to me, they call me Fat Zunzhe [Revered Monk]. When they are not being polite, they would call me Fat Toutuo. But I am this thin, the name completely does not reflect the reality. Don''t you think it is a bit strange?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have been wondering for a while, I thought other people were just joking with you, so they call you that name. But Jiaozhu also calls you Fat Toutuo, the Senior can''t be joking with you."


    Fat Toutuo heaved a deep sigh; he said, "This is the second time I took the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''; I am really hovering between life and death, until now I still often have nightmares about it. Originally I was very short and very fat. The name ''Fat Toutuo'', three characters is a well deserved reputation."


    "Ah," Wei Xiaobao said, "After taking the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' you turned tall and thin? That''s very good! Right now your appearance is grand, while previously you were short and fat, certainly it was not as good as now?"


    With a bitter laugh Fat Toutuo said, "You got it right. But think about it: a short and fat guy, within three months my body was suddenly being stretched three chi, the skin on my entire body was dripping blood; do you think it feels good? If not my luck was good, finally I reached Divine Dragon Island, and Jiaozhu was showing me great mercy by giving me the antidote, I am afraid I would have grown two more chi."


    Wei Xiaobao was unable to restrain his amazement; he said, "The three of us have also taken this pill. For me to grow two more chi is not a big deal, but if you grow two more chi, you ... you will be too tall."


    Fat Toutuo said, "The effect of this ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' is really amazing, within one year after taking it, it can make the body strong and healthy; but if at the end of a year the antidote is not given, the violent side effect will flare up suddenly. Actually, it does not necessarily stretch human body. My Shige, Thin Toutuo was originally very tall, yet he suddenly became short. Originally he was thin, yet he swelled unbearably and turned into a completely fat person."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You, Fat Zunzhe has turned into Thin Zunzhe, the Thin Zunzhe has become Fat Zunzhe. If the two of you swap names, won''t all your problems disappear?"


    An angry look appeared on Fat Toutuo''s face; he shook his head and said, "That won''t do."


    Wei Xiaobao promptly apologized, "I am sorry Fat Zunzhe, I was wrong; please do not get offended."


    Fat Toutuo said, "You are wielding the Five-Dragon Command, I am your subordinate, even if you beat me or curse me, I cannot revolt; much less you did not intentionally want to hurt me. My Shixiong and I have substantially different temperament, character, appearance and voice, just by swapping the name ''Thin'' and ''Fat'' will not change Fat Zunzhe into Thin Zunzhe, and change Thin Zunzhe into Fat Zunzhe."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded his head and said, "So that''s what happened."


    Fat Toutuo continued, "Five years ago, Jiaozhu sent Shige and I on a mission. That mission was very ''thorny''; by the time we finished it, we were already three days overdue. Immediately we embarked the boat and returned to the Island. On the boat the medicine suddenly flared up, the suffering was very difficult to bear. Shige''s temperament was very violent, his anger flared and in his madness, he kicked and broke the mast of the boat. The ship then drifted on the sea. Day by day passed, I grew taller and taller, and thinner and thinner; he grew shorter and shorter, and fatter and fatter. This ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' can stretch a short and fat person tall and slim, and press a tall and thin person short and fat; Hong Jiaozhu indeed has an extremely vast magical power. We were drifting like that for more than two months, at that time it was hard to say if the two of us would survive. We have finished eating the provision on the boat, we have killed the helmsman and the sailors one by one and ate them. By a struck of sheer luck we came across another boat, and were saved. We forced that boat to take us to the Divine Dragon Island immediately. Jiaozhu knew we finished the mission properly and did not tarry deliberately; thereupon he bestowed us with the antidote. It could be said that our two lives have just been snatched back."


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "If we can obtain all eight copies of the Sutra, nothing can''t be better; but isn''t it easier said than done? As long as we manage to get one or two copies and hurry back, naturally Jiaozhu will bestow the antidote."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I have six copies in my hand, when I really have to alternative, what''s so difficult to part with one or two copies to give to Jiaozhu?" Immediately he felt relieved and said with a laugh, "If Jiaozhu does not give us the antidote this time, maybe we, the young will become old, the old will become young. I will turn into a seventy, eighty years old man, the two of you will turn into little babies; won''t that be very interesting?"


    Lu Gaoxuan''s body trembled; he said, "That �� that''s absolutely must not happen." His voice was filled with terror. He continued, "I have single-mindedly pondered over this, most probably the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' was made of leopard fetus, deer fetus, the placenta, seal kidney, and other important supplement and rare drug ingredients to induce growth, mixed and refined together. The drug property is obviously to reverse the original body''s characteristic. I am guessing that when Jiaozhu manufactured this drug, his intention was to recover human''s youthful vigor, but when he tested it on someone else, the effect did not exactly follow his heart''s desires; therefore �� therefore ��"


    Wei Xiaobao picked up, "Therefore, Jiaozhu did not personally take the drug, but use it on his subordinates."


    Lu Gaoxuan hastily said, "This is only my wild guess, it must not be considered as the truth. I am asking White Dragon Envoy never to raise this topic again."


    "The two of you may set your hearts at ease," Wei Xiaobao said, "I guarantee that Jiaozhu will definitely give us the antidote. Please sit down, I have something to say to Miss Fang." He saw Mu Jianping the other day, hence he was eager to tell Fang Yi.


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Madame Hong has already summoned Miss Fang, she says White Dragon Envoy not to worry, as long as you wholeheartedly handle this matter for Jiaozhu, Miss Fang will only have good things on the island."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "Miss �� Miss Fang is not coming with us?" he asked.


    "Madame Hong has already sent someone to fetch her," Lu Gaoxuan said, "She left a message to my wife and that''s what she told her. Besides, that Mu Jianping, Miss Mu of the Scarlet Dragon Gate is in the same situation."


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, just a moment ago he told Priest Wugen that he wanted to select several people from the Scarlet Dragon Gate to go with him, naturally he had Mu Jianping in his mind; who would have thought that Madame Hong had already anticipated this? With a trembling voice he asked, "Madame �� Madame does not trust me?"


    "This is our Cult''s rule," Lu Gaoxuan replied, "Those who receive orders from Jiaozhu to go out on mission cannot take his family."


    With a forced laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "Those two Misses are not my family."


    "More or less, they are," Lu Gaoxuan said.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao was thinking that the next day he would leave the Island with Fang and Mu, two women, and was so happy; but this instant he could not help but feeling dispirited. He mused, "Jiaozhu and Madame are indeed formidable, tying the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' on my head[107] is not enough, they still hold my first and young wives hostage."


    Early morning the following day, Wei Xiaobao had just woke up when he heard the sound of bugle horn, a lot of people were calling out from outside the door, "The White Dragon Gate disciples respectfully send off Zhangmenshi on his journey, to handle matters for Jiaozhu wholeheartedly." This shout was followed by the sound of drums, string instruments and bamboo flutes.


    Wei Xiaobao rushed out the door and saw about three, four hundred people were lining up outside the door. They all wore white clothes, young and old alike. Everybody shouted in chorus, "Zhangmenshi will win victory on raising the flag, will have instant success!"


    After that, several dozen Cult members wearing blue clothes also came to send off their acting Zhangmenshi, Fat Toutuo.


    Wei Xiaobao''s spirit rose, immediately he felt invigorated. Together with Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, they board the ship. While he was exchanging salute with Priest Wugen, Zhang Danyue, Yin Jin, and the others who had earlier to bid them farewell, suddenly he heard the sound of hoof beats, two riders galloped toward the boat. The two riders were wearing white clothes, surprisingly, they were Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, two women. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, his heart was thumping madly as he mused, "Could it be that Madame has changed her mind and let them go with me?"


    Fang and Mu, two women dismounted their horses and took several steps forward. In a loud and clear voice Fang Yi said, "We received Jiaozhu and Madame''s order to send White Dragon Zhangmenshi off on his journey."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart sank, "They are only sending me off," he thought.


    Fang Yi bowed and said, "Subordinates Fang Yi and Mu Jianping received order from Madame to transfer from the Scarlet Dragon Gate to White Dragon Gate, we are ready to receive White Dragon Envoy''s order."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, but then he suddenly saw the light, "Turns out you �� you have been Shen Long Jiao''s member under the Scarlet Dragon Gate. Along the way you were only pretending on Jiaozhu''s order to deceive me into coming to the Divine Dragon Island. Fat Revered Monk failed to invite me, you came to invite me using a gentle method." Thinking about it, he was very upset; originally he wanted to say some intimate words with those two women, but now he lost interest completely. Suddenly he remembered something and said to Lu Gaoxuan, "Mr. Lu, that servant girl who attend to me, Shuang''er, send someone to get her, I want take her along in this journey."


    "This ��" Lu Gaoxuan said.


    Wei Xiaobao was angry, he shouted, "What ''this'' or ''that''? Get her, now!"


    He shouted in a stern voice, Lu Gaoxuan did not dare to disobey. "Yes, yes!" he replied, and turned and said something to the attendant onboard the boat. The attendant leaped on shore and dashed away. Not too long afterwards, he saw two riders rushed rapidly over. The one on the front had a petite and slender figure, she was none other than Shuang''er.


    Without pulling the reins, she called out, "Gongzi!" and leaped away from the saddle, lightly and deftly landed on the bow of the boat. In the eyes of Priest Wugen and the other martial art experts, there was nothing extraordinary with this kind of qing gong [lightness skill], but noticing that she was very young, yet her posture was very pleasing to the eye, they all cheered.


    At first, when Wei Xiaobao knew the boat was about to sail, he was afraid that Shuang''er had already fallen into some evil people''s hands, and thus he was very anxious; although her martial art skill was strong, she was a young child after all. Not only that, she was gentle and refined by nature, and did not understand the way of the world. On the sea-going ship, she had nowhere to go, and would definitely get the worst of it. Moreover, realizing that Fang Yi was actually a Divine Dragon Cult''s disciple, he suddenly also realized that the boat with which they came to the island naturally belonged to the Cult. Now that he saw Shuang''er, he was very happy. He pulled her hands, but saw that her countenance looked wan and sallow, her eyes red and swollen, obviously she had been crying a lot. "Did they bully you?" he hastily asked.


    "No, they �� they didn''t," Shuang''er replied, "I was only worrying about Xianggong. They �� they locked me up."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "We are going home."


    Shuang''er said, "In here �� there are a lot of poisonous snakes," while saying that, "Wah!" Shuang''er burst into tears again.


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward Fang Yi; he remembered she led him walk into the forest and let him be bitten by the vipers. A good deal of artificial gestures, all kinds of sweet speech and honeyed words on the boat, everything was a hypocrisy; he could not help but was furious. Casting a hateful glance toward Fang Yi, he said, "Set sail!"


    Aboard, the sailors weighed the anchor; ashore, the firecrackers went off, the people sending off their masters chorused, "Respectfully wishing White Dragon Envoy to win victory on raising the flag, to have instant success and will set up great merit for Jiaozhu!"


    Taking advantage of the fair wind, the boat hoisted its sail and slowly left the Island. Everybody on the shore shouted, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts ��"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I did not know Miss Fang had already entered the Cult, I would have missed her all the time. This way, I have nothing to worry about her." Yet when he recalled Fang Yi''s touching tender sentiments, he could not stop his heart from feeling melancholy.

 Chapter - 21 (21)

    Golden scissors silently utter winding ground, treasured hairpin dreams of swallow clinging to a man.


    One day the boat reached Qinhuangdao [Hebei]; they came ashore and continued to Beijing. Wei Xiaobao said, "I must think of a way to sneak into the Imperial Palace, but I don''t know which day I will succeed. We all must find a place where we can take shelter." Quickly Lu Gaoxuan rented a house at the Xuanwu Gate, Hair Alley, in a quiet neighborhood; they moved in immediately.


    After settling down, Wei Xiaobao went out alone to the Water Well Alley, to look at Tian Di Hui''s temporary lodging. He saw that the place had been turned into a tea-leaves shop. He tried to ask several questions according to the secret code of the Society, but the man was just staring at him not understanding what he was talking about; obviously the Society had moved out of that place.


    Next he strolled around the Heavenly Bridge area, thinking that even if the Eight-arm Ape Xu Tianchuan was also forced to join the Divine Dragon Cult and was no longer at Heavenly Bridge, he might come across the rest of the brethrens like Gao Yanchao, Fan Gang, Qian Laoben and the others. Who would have thought that after strolling back and forth around the Heavenly Bridge several times he unexpectedly did not see anybody he knew. Thereupon he went to Xizhimen [main northwest gate of Beijing], to the inn he stayed at the last time he came to Beijing. He took out three taels of silver and tossed it to the counter, saying that he wanted the best room.


    Seeing how liberal he was with money, the innkeeper greeted him very respectfully. Wei Xiaobao took out five more qian, and stuffed it into the inn servant''s hands, insisting that he wanted the Heaven Wing, room number three on the second floor. By coincidence this room was unoccupied, so it can be considered that the servant had made an easy five qian.


    Wei Xiaobao drank a cup of tea, then he lay down and closed his eyes to rest. After making sure there was no noise everywhere, he pulled his dagger out and pried the hole on the wall. The copy of sutra Emperor Shunzhi gave him was still nicely tucked inside the hole. He unwrap the oilcloth to inspect the book. Finding nothing out of ordinary, he put the brick back on the wall. Fat Toutuo had become his subordinate; therefore, there was no need for him to summon the Imperial Bodyguards to escort the sutra. Putting the book into his bosom he walked toward the Forbidden City.


    When he reached the Palace, the Imperial Bodyguard on duty saw a young man in civilian clothes walking toward the Palace gate; he shouted, "Little fellow, what are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You don''t recognize me? I am Gui Gonggong of the Palace."


    The Imperial Bodyguard looked at him carefully, and recognized him, it was indeed the Gui Gonggong, His Majesty''s most favored eunuch. Quickly a big smile appeared on his face as he said, "Gui Gonggong, you are wearing this kind of clothes, hee ... hee ..."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "His Majesty sent me out on an important assignment, I was hurrying to go back and did not have time to change."


    "Yes, yes," the Imperial Bodyguard said, "Gui Gonggong''s face is glowing with good fortune, naturally this assignment is completed without any trouble at all, His Majesty will definitely reward you handsomely."


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his own residence to change into his eunuch uniform. He wrapped the sutra using a piece of old cloth and then went directly to the Upper Study Room to see the Emperor. As soon as Kangxi heard that Xiao Guizi was seeking an audience, he said delightedly, "Come in quickly, come in quickly."


    Wei Xiaobao quickly entered in and saw Kangxi, filled with joy, was waiting at the inner study room''s door. "Damn it," he said, "Xiao Guizi, roll in quickly, why have you gone so long this time?" He only said those three character ''damn it'' [ta ma de] in front of Wei Xiaobao, he had suppressed his desire to say those words for very long.


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and kowtowed; he said, "Congratulations Your Majesty, it''s an enormous happiness."


    As soon as he heard it, Kangxi knew his Fu Huang [father emperor] was indeed still alive; emotion surged in his heart, his body swayed several times, he reached out to hold the door frame as he said, "Come in and tell me slowly." His chest ached, tears nearly flowed down his face.


    Wei Xiaobao entered the inner study room, turned around to close the door and put on the door bolt. He looked around the bookshelves and after making sure there were no other eunuchs who usually serve the Emperor, he said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I saw the Old Emperor on Mount Wutai."


    Kangxi grabbed his hand tight; he said in a trembling voice, "Fu Huang ... really became a monk on Mount Wutai? He ... what did he say?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao narrated how he met the Old Emperor in the Qing Liang Temple, how the Tibetan Lama intended to harm the Emperor, how summoning up courage and determination he had rendered his assistance, staking out his life to escort the Emperor, how luckily the Eighteen Luohan of Shaolin had come to their rescue; he told him everything one by one. This matter was already very thrilling, as it was being narrated by Wei Xiaobao, the excitement grew thirty percent, his own loyalty and gallantry grew by fifty percent.


    He heard Kangxi was rubbing his cold-sweated hands and repeatedly saying, "How dangerous, how dangerous!" Kangxi also said, "We must send a thousand Imperial Bodyguards immediately to go up the mountain to protect the Emperor."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Most probably the Old Emperor won''t want that." Thereupon he repeated everything Shunzhi had told him.


    Kangxi heard how his father did not want him to go up Mount Wutai, and how he had praised him with these words, "He is a good emperor, thinking about the important matters of the imperial court first, not like me ..." He could not bear and broke in loud cry as he wailed, "Definitely I must go, definitely I must go!"


    Wei Xiaobao waited until he had cried for a while before he took out the sutra and presented it with both hands, saying, "The Old Emperor wanted me to tell you: ''In the matters of the world, he must let nature take its course, nothing can be forced. It would be best if he could benefit the common people of the Central Plains. But if the common people wanted us to leave, then from the place we came, there we should come back to.'' The old emperor also wanted me to tell you: ''If he wants the whole world at peace, ''never raise taxes'', these four words [yong bu jia fu] should be firmly planted in his mind. If he can accomplish these four words, it is good enough for me, my heart will be happy.''"


    He calmed himself down, and then asked in details whether Shunzhi was in good health, how was his appearance now, whether he was suffering greatly in the Qing Liang Temple. Wei Xiaobao reported everything according to the facts. Kangxi was overwhelmed with grieve again and broke out crying.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao had an idea, "Damn it," he mused, "I''d better accompany him crying for a while, then he would definitely give me more rewards; tears are free anyway." As soon as he had that thought, he started to sob, tears flowing copiously from his eyes. ''Boo hoo hoo ...'' the more he cried, the more miserable he sounded.


    Although Kangxi''s grief was hard to endure and he cried audibly, but he had a reputation to maintain and must not demean himself, thereupon he constantly tried to suppress his emotion. Wei Xiaobao, on the other hand, intentionally putting an act and wailed loudly. This particular skill was developed when he was still in Yangzhou, and he was quite an expert on this. Before his mother''s feathered bamboo clappers even reached his bottom, he was already crying an earth-shattering cry; moreover, although he was not really crying, but real tears would cascade down his face. It would be very difficult for other people to tell whether he was really crying or not.


    Kangxi cried for a while, and then he wiped his tears and asked, "I miss my Fu Huang, hence I cried. But you are crying even sadder than I am; why is that?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I saw how grieved you are, and I remember the Old Emperor''s gentle affection; he commended me repeatedly, saying that without giving any thought of my own life I protected him. He likes me very much, and thus I feel even more grieved." While saying that, he did not stop whimpering. He continued, "If I did not know how much you were concerned over this matter and wanted to rush back to report to you, I really wanted to stay on Mount Wutai to attend to the Old Emperor, so that I won''t be worried over bad people bullying him."


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "You are very good, I will definitely reward you heavily."


    Wei Xiaobao''s tears had not stopped flowing; sobbing and sniffling he said, "Your Majesty is already very good to me, I don''t want any reward. I only hope that the Old Emperor is safe and sound, we, as the servants, will be very happy." On the Divine Dragon Island he had heard people shouting loudly, ''Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven''s'', and thought nothing of how shameful they were; inevitably his face grew thicker and thicker, his boot-licking skill made a tremendous progress. The more the Cult people wanted to make their Cult Leader happy, the more exaggerated their talk become.


    Kangxi, however, accepted his speech as the truth. He said, "I am also deeply concerned that Fu Huang has nobody to attend to him. You said that that Monk Xing Dian is rude and impetuous, he is very clumsy; Fu Huang has no competent people by his side, it really makes me more anxious. Xiao Guizi, it''s beyond my expectation that Fu Huang likes you ..."


    Hearing this, Wei Xiaobao''s jaw dropped and he could not close it up; while groaning inwardly, "Aiyo! Aiyo! This time Laozi is in a very big trouble; Laozi is blowing my horn a bit too hard."


    He heard Kangxi continued, "... actually, I don''t want to lose you either, but as a son, I have to have filial piety toward my father. Whatever I have in my hands, always give the best to my father. You are my most competent subordinate; although you are young, you are actually very competent, and very loyal and devoted to us, father and son ..."


    Wei Xiaobao cried out in his heart, "Obedient my @ss! Mother! You send laozi to Mount Wutai to accompany the old monk, it''s the same as sending me to prison."


    Sure enough, he heard Kangxi continue, "Let''s do it this way: you go to Mount Wutai, be a monk at the Qing Liang Temple and take care of my Fu Huang ..."


    Wei Xiaobao realized the urgency of the situation: not only he had to accompany the old monk, he himself must become a little monk; the situation was far from encouraging, nothing could be worse than that. Thereupon without waiting for Kangxi to finish, he hastily said, "Taking care of the Old Emperor is very good, but you want me to be a monk, this ... I don''t want to!"


    Smiling slightly, Kangxi said, "I did not mean for you to be a monk forever. It''s just that Fu Huang has wholeheartedly decided to meditate; if you become a monk, it will be somewhat more convenient to serve him. In the future .... in the future, if you want to leave the monastic order, it will be up to you." The implication was clear: someday Shunzhi would grow old and die [the original world denotes ''the dying of Buddhist monk or nun''], if at that time you don''t want to be monk anymore, nobody can stop you.


    It does not matter if Wei Xiaobao had a hundred excuses, right now he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything about it. Although he knew that the young emperor was very good to him, since the Emperor had issued an order, if Wei Xiaobao resolutely refused to go, not only his previous merit would go down the drain, the Emperor might become hostile to him and immediately had his head chopped off; now that would not be fun. Thereupon he sullenly said, "I ... I hate to part with you ... Wah ...!" he broke into crying. But this time it was not a fake cry, he was crying for real. Only it was not because he was loyal to his lord or he loved his master, but because he really did not want to be a little monk.


    Kangxi was greatly moved; he gently patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and warmly said, "How about this: you become a monk for several years, serve my Fu Huang well. Later I will send someone else to take your place so that you can return to my side; won''t that be good? Fu Huang does not allow me to have audience with him, I simply cannot come to him. It does not have to be too long before you can come back and see me again. Xiao Guizi, be a good boy and listen to me, in the future I will make you a good government official."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao did not stop crying, he said consolingly, "When you have time in the temple, you may study and learn to read, so that when you take an official post someday, you can be a high-ranking official."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Whether I be a government official in the future or not, it does not damn matter, but right now, I am afraid me being a little monk has already been decided." But then he had a second thought, "If I go to Mount Wutai, I can talk nonsense and making a ruckus so that the Old Emperor will let me go; I think it won''t be difficult. I will say that without me serving the young emperor, he does not feel like eating, this time I left him for a month or two, he already lost several catties and grew thin. The Old Emperor cherishes his son, certainly he would send me back to the Palace."


    With this plan formed in his mind, he slowly stopped crying. He said, "Whatever mission you send me, I will go through water and tread on fire for you, under no circumstances I will decline. Let''s not say being a monk, even if you ask me to be a turtle son of a b1tch, I will gladly do it. Your Majesty, set your heart at ease, I will definitely do my utmost to serve the Old Emperor, to make him, the Senior, strong and healthy, that he will reach a hundred years ... and ... and enjoy the immortal good fortune forever, his long-life will be the same as the heavens."


    Kangxi was greatly delighted; he laughed and said, "You left Beijing for several months, unexpectedly your knowledge also progressed, your use of the idiom is not bad. Why did you tarry on Mount Wutai for so long? It was not easy to meet the Old Emperor, was it?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that it would be best if he did not say anything about the Divine Dragon Island. "That''s right," he replied, "No matter what, the Abbot of Qing Liang Temple, also that Old Yulin Fashi, did not want to admit that the Old Emperor was in the Temple, while I felt it was inappropriate to point it out bluntly; I had no choice but to rove around at another temple on the mountain while thinking of a plan. Today I went to Xian Tong Temple to perform sacrifice, tomorrow I go to Fo Guang Temple to feed the starving ghosts. From among several thousand big monks, little monks on Mount Wutai, I know at least a thousand of them. If not for those evil Lama coming to harass the Old Emperor, perhaps I would still be donating Buddhist robes and vegetarian meals even today."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You must have spent a lot of money! To get reimbursement of your expense, go to the office of the internal affairs." He did not even ask the amount, thinking that Wei Xiaobao had already set up great merit, plus he was willing to be a little monk; he thought that even if Wei Xiaobao wanted to embezzle some money, he would simply let him.


    Unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao said, "To tell Your Majesty the truth, the last time you sent me to search and seize Oboi''s home, your servant had already taken quite a bit of advantage. At that time I was embarrassed to report to you, so this time I went to Mount Wutai, after seeing the Old Emperor and receiving the Senior''s lesson, I understand that I must not commit any dishonesty toward Your Majesty, thereupon I donated all the money I previously acquired to the temple. Just consider your servant is helping Your Majesty to amass secret virtue, hoping that Bodhisattva will bless and protect, so that the Old Emperor and Your Majesty will reunite sooner. That money originally belonged to Your Majesty, you do not need to reimburse me." He thought that if you, father and son, reunite sooner, the time I have to become a little monk would be reduced by several days; while at the same time he was covering his own back, just in case someday someone lodged an accusation against him by saying that during the search of Oboi''s home he embezzled a huge sum of money, then he would say, "I have already donated the money on Mount Wutai on your behalf, what else do you want to investigate about?"


    When Kangxi heard this, he was even happier; he nodded his head repeatedly and asked, "Is Mount Wutai fun?" Immediately Wei Xiaobao described the scenery of Mount Wutai. Kangxi listened with keen interest; he said, "Xiao Guizi, you go first, I will come soon. We have to think of a way to get Fu Huang back to the Palace. If the Senior is determined not to return to normal life and regain the throne, he could meditate in the Palace; won''t that be the same?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I am afraid that would be very difficult ..."


    Suddenly they heard the sound of boots outside the door, followed by a sharp and clear female voice calling out, "Huangdi Gege [Older brother the Emperor], why didn''t you come to have a martial art competition with me?" While saying that, ''bang, bang bang!'' she knocked the door as hard as she could.


    Kangxi''s face showed a faint smile as he said, "Open the door."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Who is that? Could it be she is Princess Jianning?" Walking to the door, he lifted up the bolt and opened the door.


    Like a whirlwind a girl wearing crimson embroidered clothes rushed in; she said, "Huangdi Gege, I have waited for a long time, you did not show up. You must be afraid of me, aren''t you?"


    Wei Xiaobao saw this girl was approximately fifteen, with an oval face and thin lips, her facial feature showed that she was quick-witted, there was a hint of heroic spirit in her mannerism.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Who''s afraid of you? I''ll say you can''t even beat my disciple, you are not even worthy to fight me."


    The young girl was surprised. "You have received a disciple?" she asked, "Who is it?"


    Kangxi winked his left eye to Wei Xiaobao and said, "This is my disciple, Xiao Guizi; his martial art came from me." Turning to Wei Xiaobao he said, "Quickly pay your respect to your Shigu [martial aunt] Princess Jianning."


    "Indeed she is Princess Jianning," Wei Xiaobao mused. He knew that the Old Emperor fathered six daughters; five died in childhood, only this princess grew up. [Author''s note: Actually, Princess Jianning was Qing Taizong''s


    [1] daughter, or Shunzhi''s younger sister. The title Head Princess Jianning was bestowed only during Kangxi''s sixteenth year. Shunzhi''s daughter, Princess Heshuo, was actually Kangxi''s older sister, who married Oboi''s nephew. But in this novel, everything does not necessarily have to fit with historical fact; scholars and well-learned people do not need to perform an in-depth investigation.] She was the daughter of the Empress Dowager. Wei Xiaobao was extremely afraid of the Empress Dowager, normally he would not go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, while the Princess had never been to the Emperor''s study room. Consequently, today was the first time that they met each other.


    Listening to Kangxi, Wei Xiaobao knew that the brother and sister loved to play around; thereupon he readily complied to please them. With a tee-hee giggle he stepped forward to pay his respect, "Shizhi [martial nephew] Xiao Guizi kowtowed in salute to senior Shigu; wishing Shigu ten thousand golden good fortunes ��"


    Princess Jianning also giggled; but suddenly her foot flew up and hit Wei Xiaobao right on his chin. This kick arrived without the least bit or warning, Wei Xiaobao was bending one leg, bowing in front of her foot, how could he evade? He had not finished speaking, his chin suddenly got heavy kicked; his lower jaw closed, biting his own tongue. "Ah!" he cried out in severe pain. When he opened his mouth, fresh blood streamed down the front of his lapel.


    Kangxi was shocked. "You �� you ��" he stammered.


    Princess Jianning laughed and said, "Huangdi Gege, your disciple''s martial art skill is totally useless; I kicked him to test his skill, unexpectedly he could not evade. I think your own martial art skill is more or less just like this." Finished speaking, she giggled happily.


    Wei Xiaobao was furious, in his heart he cursed several dozen times, ''stinky little mother, rotten little miss''; but in the Palace, Princess was his master, how could he dare to curse openly even for a word?


    Expressing his sympathy, Kangxi asked Wei Xiaobao, "How is it? Your tongue is bitten? Is it very painful?"


    With a forced laughed Wei Xiaobao replied, "Not too bad, not too bad!" But since his tongue was bitten, he could not talk clearly.


    Copying his voice, Princess Jianning said, "Not too bad, not too bad! Most of my life has gone bad!" And then she broke out in laughter. Pulling Kangxi''s hand, she said, "Come on, let''s have a martial art match."


    When the Empress Dowager taught Kangxi martial art earlier, Princess Jianning was watching with keen interest, so she nagged at her mother to teach her as well, and the Empress Dowager taught her a little bit. Seeing her mother was half-hearted, only taught her with far less attention she gave to her brother, in her desire to outdo others, she went to the Palace''s Imperial Bodyguards and asked them to teach her boxing. Learning several moves from the east, training several styles from the west, she had been practicing diligently for two, three years, unexpectedly she made some progress.


    These past several days she had learned several moves of qin na [grab and capture/grappling] techniques and had tested the new skill against the Imperial Bodyguards. Naturally everybody was yielding to her, they all put on an act and the little princess managed to rout them out completely. Yet she knew these Imperial Bodyguards were trying to make her happy, and was dissatisfied instead, thereupon she came to her Huangdi Gege to get him to have a martial art match with her.


    Kangxi has not had any sparring with Wei Xiaobao for quite a long time, his hands and feet were itching, so he agreed to indulge his imperial younger sister and happened to have a match with her once. The two of them sparred in the small palace hall. Kangxi was half-hearted, half yielding and half serious; from five rounds, he won four. Princess Jianning was unbearably angry; she came back to her mother and badgered her to teach her some new moves.


    The Empress Dowager was just recovering from her heavy injury, her vitality had not yet returned, so she expelled her out. Princess Jianning had no alternative but went to find Imperial Bodyguards again and learned qin na some more, and made an appointment with Kangxi today to have a match.


    Unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao returned to the Palace and had a long talk, so that Kangxi forgot about this martial art match altogether. Obtaining news about his father emperor, Kangxi had mixed feelings of grief and joy, his heart and spirit were perturbed, how could he have any interest to play with his sister? He said, "Right now I have a very important matter to attend to, I don''t have time to play with you. Go and train some more, we will have a match in a few days."


    Knitting her pair of curved eyebrows Princess Jianning said, "When the heroes of Jianghu made an appointment for a martial art competition, they are dead set on not leaving until they meet. You don''t come to keep your appointment, won''t you be the laughingstock of the warriors under the heavens? You don''t come to have the match; that means you admit defeat." It was the Jianghu''s custom, which she learned from the Imperial Bodyguards.


    "Alright," Kangxi said, "Just consider I concede. Princess Jianning''s martial art skill is number one in the world, punching the fierce tiger of the southern mountain and kicking the legendary dragon [orig. ''legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods''] of the northern sea."


    Princess Jianning laughed and said, "Kicking the caterpillar of the northern sea!" Her foot flew up again toward Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways to evade; her foot kicked empty air.


    She knew that the Emperor was not willing to have a martial art match with her today, while the Imperial Bodyguards were all tall and powerfully built, if she fought them for real, she knew she was not their match. This little eunuch, both in terms of age and height, was about the same as she was, plus his movement was very agile, he was just the right person to test her martial art skill. "Alright!" she said, "Your Shifu is scared of me, he does not dare to fight me. You come with me."


    Kangxi had always been very fond of this vivacious and witty younger sister, he could not bear to sweep down her excitement. "Xiao Guizi," he ordered, "Go accompany the Princess to play, tomorrow you may wait on me again."


    Princess Jianning suddenly shouted, "Huangdi Gege, en garde!" She threw both fists toward Kangxi''s temples [orig. ''sun'' acupoints] in ''bell and drum sounding simultaneously''.


    "Good move!" Kangxi called out. He raised one hand to block, while turning his wrist and leaning sideways, executing the move ''pushing the window to look at the moon'', pushing her back lightly. The Princess staggered and tumbled several steps forward.


    "Pfft!" Wei Xiaobao stifled his laughter.


    The Princess'' shame turned into anger, "Dead eunuch," she cursed, "What are you laughing at?" Reaching out, she grabbed his right ear and dragged him out of the study room. If Wei Xiaobao really wanted to evade, the Princess would not be able to catch him, but in the end he did not dare to be rude and had no choice but to let her twist his ear.


    Still twisting his ear Princess Jianning dragged him along the corridor. Outside the study room stood a large number of Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs who were serving the Emperor. Seeing the two people, no one did not find it amusing, but being afraid of Wei Xiaobao''s power and influence, nobody dared to laugh audibly.


    "Alright, alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me go; wherever you want to go, I''ll come with you."


    The Princess said, "You are the leader of a gang of bandits who were running amuck lawlessly; today I managed to catch you, how can I easily let you go? I will seal your acupoint first and then we''ll talk." Stretching out her forefinger, she stabbed Wei Xiaobao''s chest and lower abdomen several times. She did not know how to seal acupoints, naturally these several stabs were merely random poking.


    Wei Xiaobao cried out loudly, "My acupoints are sealed!" He dropped sitting down, acted stunned, and thus motionless.


    The Princess was startled but delighted. She lightly kicked him, Wei Xiaobao did not budge. The Princess shouted, "Get up!" Wei Xiaobao was still motionless. The Princess still thought that she accidentally did seal his acupoints; she said, "Let me unseal your acupoints!" She gave his lower back a kick.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If this stinky little mother sees that she can''t unseal my acupoints, she will kick me again." Thereupon he cried out, "Ah!" and sprang up and said, "Princess, your acupoint sealing skill is excellent, I am afraid even His Majesty cannot do it."


    "You, this little eunuch, is very crafty and sly," the Princess said, "Since when do I know how to seal acupoints?" However, seeing his well-intention to please her, she was happy. "Come with me!" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao went along with her, to the room where he and Kangxi used to have their martial art competition in the former days. "Bolt the door," the Princess said, "Don''t let anybody steal my boxing style."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, while in his heart he mused, "Just with your meager martial art skill, who would want to steal your boxing style?" Immediately he turned toward the door and closed it. The princess picked up the door bolt, as if she was going to give it to him, but suddenly there was a loud ''Bang!'' on Wei Xiaobao''s ear, with a severe pain on the top of his head, he passed out instantly.


    When he regained his consciousness, he opened his eyes and saw the Princess was standing in front of him with arms akimbo, grinning, "What a good-for-nothing trash. People who learn martial art will pay particular attention to the eyes watching the six pathways and the ears listening to eight directions. I struck you this time, why didn''t you guard against it? What kind of martial art did you learn?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I �� I ��" he felt a splitting headache; suddenly he realized his left eye was wet and sticky, he could not open this eye. His nose smelled blood, and suddenly it dawned on him that he had been struck with the door bolt that his head was broken and his blood flowing.


    The Princess waved the door bolt in front of him and shouted, "If you have guts, quickly get up." ''Whoosh!'' she swung the door bolt toward his shoulder.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out and sprang up.


    The Princess swept the door bolt horizontally, aiming toward his leg''s bone. Wei Xiaobao sidestepped while reaching out to snatch the door bolt away.


    "Good move!" the Princess called out. The door bolt went up, fiercely jabbing the pit of his stomach. Wei Xiaobao dodged to the left, unexpectedly the door bolt made a turn and ''Bang!'' it hit his right cheek heavily.


    Wei Xiaobao saw golden stars dancing randomly before his eyes, he staggered several steps. The Princess called out, "You are a big bandit of Lulin [Lit. ''green wood'' �C a reference to the criminal world], I must exterminate you immediately." The door bolt swept across violently, Wei Xiaobao threw himself onto the floor. The Princess was greatly delighted, she raised the door bolt and heavily swung it toward the back of his head.


    Wei Xiaobao only heard the strong and swift wind at the back of his head. In his shock, he quickly rolled away. ''Bang!'' the door bolt struck the floor. "Aiyo!" the Princess cried out. She had used too much force that the door bolt jolted the palm of her hand and gave her severe pain. In her rage, she kicked his waist as hard as she could.


    "I surrender! I surrender!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "Don''t hit me!"


    The door bolt shot down, this time the Princess hit his lower abdomen. ''Crack!'' luckily it hit the Five Dragon Command hidden inside Wei Xiaobao''s pocket. Wei Xiaobao was just about to spring up, but was thrown down again.


    Again and again the Princess swung the door bolt trying to hit him, while cursing in rage, "Dead eunuch, I want to hit you, you dare to evade?" Although her strength was not too big, she was dealing with Wei Xiaobao without any leniency, as if she wanted to beat him to death on the spot.


    Wei Xiaobao was scared and angry at the same time, he did everything he could to turn around and leap. The Princess raised her door bolt directly toward his face. Wei Xiaobao raised his left hand to block. ''Crack!'' the bone of his arm nearly broke. His mind was racing, "Obviously Princess is not playing with me, why would she want to kill me? Ah, right, she must be under the Empress Dowager''s order to take my life!" Thinking to this point, he no longer wanted to allow her to beat him. Stretching out the two fingers of his right hand, he swiftly aimed the Princess'' eyeballs using the move ''a pair of dragons fights over a pearl''.


    "Aiyo!" the Princess cried out and took a step backward. Wei Xiaobao swept away with his left foot, the Princess hit the ground head first. "Dead eunuch," she yelled, "You hit me for real?"


    Wei Xiaobao clamped his hands over the door bolt and seized it, he wanted to strike the top of her head, but seeing the fear in her eyes mixed with anger on her face, he was startled, "This is the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace, once my door bolt strike down, it will be a matter of treason and heresy. Unless I kill her and use transforming corpse powder to pulverize her, it will cause no end of trouble." With this slight hesitation, the door bolt in his hand stopped midair.


    "Dead eunuch," the Princess cursed, "Pull me up."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "She really want to kill me, but it won''t be easy." Instantly he reached down to pull her up.


    The Princess said, "Your martial art skill is not as good as mine, it''s just that I was not careful and I tripped; that''s all. Just now you called out you want to surrender, why did you hit me? As a real man, why didn''t you keep Wulin''s custom?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s forehead was drenched with blood, it covered his eyes. He reached up to wipe it with his sleeve. The Princess laughed and said, "You lost, such a useless thing. Come, let me wipe the blood off you." From her bosom she took out a snow white handkerchief, and took several steps closer.


    Wei Xiaobao took a step back and said, "Your servant does not dare to accept the honor."


    The Princess said, "As the heroes and warriors of Jianghu, we must enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together." She then used her handkerchief to wipe the bloodstain on his face.


    Wei Xiaobao could smell a delicate fragrance coming out of her body; his heart was slightly shaken. Right now the two of them stood very close to each other, he could see her beautiful face and very fair skin; he thought, "This little princess is actually very pretty!"


    The Princess said, "Turn around, let me have a look at the wound at the back of your head."


    Following her instruction, Wei Xiaobao turned around, thinking, "Previously I was over suspicious; turns out the little princess is really playing, it''s just that her desire to outdo others is too strong, when making her move, she did not realize the gravity of things."


    The Princess gently ran her hand over the wound at the back of his head; she asked with a laugh, "Is it really painful?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Not bad ��" Suddenly there was a sharp pain on Wei Xiaobao''s back, she swept his feet away and sent him tumbling down on the floor. Turned out the Princess quietly took out a short dagger she had hidden inside her small boot and caught him off guard with a sneak attack.


    Her left foot treaded on his back, she raised her blade and stabbed his left and right legs. And then she laughed and said, "Is it really painful? Since you said ''not bad'', I added several stabs with my dagger."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished; he groaned inwardly, "Laozi is about to die!" His back was protected by the treasured clothes he was wearing, the blade could not stab him there, the cuts on his legs were not serious injury, but the pain made him hover between life and death. He wanted to unleash the second move ''Little Lian lies in disarray'', which was taught by Madame Hong, to escape, but because of his previous injury, he did not have any strength. Besides, he had not trained this move to perfection. He struggled hard trying to crawl in between her legs toward her back, but his movement was way too slow, he had just started moving when his buttocks suffered another stab. He heard her giggling as she said, "Is it really painful?"


    "Very painful," Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess'' martial art skill is superior, your servant is not the Senior''s match. The �� heroes of Jianghu, the great warriors, after they seize people, they would definitely spare their lives."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Capital offence might be forgiven, but living hell is difficult to spare." Squatting down, she sat on his buttocks and shouted, "If you move, I will stab you dead immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant cannot move half an inch." But the Princess happened to sit right on the wound; he could not bear not to groan loudly.


    The Princess loosened his belt and used it to bind his legs together, and then using the dagger she cut the front piece of his jacket and used it to bind his hands together. She laughed and said, "You are my prisoner, we are going to practice a new move, called �� called ''Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times''." Everybody in the imperial family of Manchurian Qing was very familiar with the stories of the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''; in fact, she had read the story three times.


    Wei Xiaobao had also seen the play of this story; "Yes, yes," he hastily said, "Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times and released him seven times; Princess Jianning captures Xiao Guizi, but she has caught him only once and released him only once. If you release me, I am not going to revolt against you. Compared to Zhuge Liang, you are seven times more formidable."


    "That won''t do!" the Princess said, "Zhuge Liang must burn down the rattan-armored troops."


    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits; he hastily said, "Your servant does not �� does not wear rattan armor."


    The Princess laughed and said, "In that case, burning your clothes is just the same."


    "No, don''t! You can''t do that!" Wei Xiaobao shouted.


    The Princess angrily said, "What do you mean I can''t do that? Zhuge Liang wanted to burn, he just burned, the rattan-armored troops did not have anything to say." Seeing a candlestick and a fire-blade flint next to it on the table, she immediately made fire and lighted the candle.


    Wei Xiaobao screamed, "Zhuge Liang did not burn Meng Huo to death. You want to burn me to death. You are not Zhuge Liang, you are Cao Cao!"


    The Princess grasped the corner of his clothes with her fingers; she was just about to light it with the candle flame when suddenly she saw his glossy and shining black braided hair, she had an idea, and used the candle flame to light the tail of his braided hair.


    Hair is extremely easy to catch fire. As soon as it was lighted, it immediately burned, making a ''chi, chi'' sound. A burning smell filled the room. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul flew to the outer sky. "Help, help!" he cried out, "Cao Cao is burning Zhuge Liang to death!"


    Grasping the root of his pigtail, the Princess swung it back and forth while laughing heartily and said, "It''s a torch, it''s much more amusing." In the blink of an eye the flame burned toward the head. The Princess let it off her hand. In an instant Wei Xiaobao''s head would caught fire. In this desperate situation, his strength suddenly increased greatly. He struggled free and rammed his head toward the Princess'' bosom.


    "Aiyo!" the Princess cried out, it was too late for her to dodge, Wei Xiaobao had already struck her lower abdomen, unexpectedly the flame on his head died out. With both hands the Princess swatted the ashes and burning hair from her clothes, her lower abdomen felt very painful. She was startled and frightened at the same time, and raised her foot to kick several times randomly on Wei Xiaobao''s head. After a few kicks, Wei Xiaobao fainted.


    In his daze, Wei Xiaobao felt severe pain on the wounds all over his body. When he regained his consciousness, he realized he was lying on his back on the floor. His chest was bare, his clothes, vest, and undergarments were unexpectedly undone. The Princess, with her left hand holding some kind of white powder, was cutting a three, four fen [about one, one and a third centimeter] deep cut on his chest using her short dagger, and then scattered the white powder on the wound. "What are you doing?" Wei Xiaobao screamed.


    The Princess laughed and said, "The Imperial Bodyguards told me that when they capture bandit or evil thief and the thief did not confess, they would put salt on his wound. The thief would then scream for his life and he would definitely confess. Therefore, I brought along this salt to especially deal with you, a Jianghu big thief."


    Wei Xiaobao felt his wounds were throbbing with pain; he screamed, "Help! Help! I confess, I confess!"


    The Princess giggled and said, "You are useless; you readily confess, where''s the fun in that? You should say: ''Today laozi has fallen into your hands, you want to kill me, you want to cut me into pieces, if I frown I am not a real man.'' I''ll cut some more wounds and put a bit more salt on you. And then you can beg for your life; now that should be interesting."


    Wei Xiaobao was furious. "Damn it," he cursed, "You are a stinky little mother ... hey, hey, I wasn''t cursing you; I ... I am not a real man. I confess, I confess!"


    The Princess sighed. She was about to throw the salt away when suddenly she had a second thought; scattering the salt to his wounds, she grimly said, "I am the Zhangmen [sect leader/head master] of Jianning Pai [Sect], my martial art skill is number one in the world. I have just captured this big bandit who does not shrink from any crime ..."


    "Alright, alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am the big pirate of the rivers and oceans, today my skill is inferior to others, and am being caught by the Zhangmen of Jianning Pai, whose martial art skill is number one in the world, my lot is death, not life. The saying in the Jianghu is right: It''s all exaggeration, you don''t need to take it seriously. Since zaixia has already submitted, so be it."


    Hearing him speaking the Jianghu lingo, which was similar to what Zhang Kangnian and the other Imperial Bodyguards had told her, the Princess was very happy. "Now you are talking," she praised, "Since we want to pretend, we must do it properly."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao cursed ''stinky little mother, rotten little miss''; he felt like the pain he suffered had entered his bone and marrows. In that instant he could not tell whether she had received the Empress Dowager''s order to take his life, or she was simply imitating the way of life of Jianghu''s heroes. He thought that this stinky little mother was so vicious; even if she was simply playing with me, laozi''s life would be gone under her hands for sure. Suddenly he recalled the effective scheme he played on Mu Jianping when he was trying to threaten her: young misses are always afraid of ghosts. Thereupon he suppressed his pain and said, "On second thought, Laozi does not want to submit. Senior Master Zhangmen, if you have guts, let me go, we''ll compete again. If you are afraid of Laozi''s superior martial art skill and do not dare to fight with me, then kill me with a stab of your dagger. I will die in injustice and become a ghost; I will follow behind your back during the day, and will enter your quilt during the night, to grip your neck and suck your blood ..."


    "Ah!" the Princess screamed. "Why would I want to kill you?" she said in a trembling voice.


    "Quickly let me go, then," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "I won''t let you go!" the Princess said, "Dead eunuch, you scared me." Picking up the candlestick, she put the flame on his face.


    As soon as the flame made contact with the face, there was a ''chi'' sound; Wei Xiaobao suffered a terrible pain, he threw he head backward and used his right shoulder to bump her arm as hard as he could. The Princess'' arm was jolted, the candlestick fell to the ground and the flame died instantly. In her anger, she picked up the door bolt again, and swung it toward the back of his head.


    Wei Xiaobao''s pain was unbearable; he was extremely terrified, "This time I won''t live anymore," he thought, and cried out loudly, "I am dead." Pretending to be dead, he lay down motionless.


    The Princess was angry, "You pretend to be dead!" she said, "Quickly wake up, accompany me playing!" Wei Xiaobao did not move at all. The Princess lightly kicked his foot. Seeing he did not budge the least bit, she said in a gentle voice, "Alright, I won''t hit you anymore, please don''t die."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "When I am dead, I am dead; how could I not die? Dog''s fart nonsense."


    The Princess tore off the precious hairpin for her hair and poked his face and neck several times. Wei Xiaobao tried hard not to move. The Princess said in gentle voice, "Please, please �� don''t �� don''t scare me. I �� I did not mean to kill you, I only wanted to have a martial art match and fight with you, who told you �� who told you to be that useless and unable to defeat me ��" Suddenly she realized that there was a very light sound of breathing coming from Wei Xiaobao''s nose, she was very happy; reaching out toward his chest, she felt that his heart was still beating. She laughed and said, "Dead eunuch, turns out you are not dead yet. This time I''ll spare you. Quickly open your eyes."


    Wei Xiaobao was still motionless. But the Princess did not fall into his trick; she shouted, "I''ll dig your eyes, so that after you are dead, you will become a blind ghost and can''t find me." Picking up the short dagger, she placed the tip of the dagger on his right eyelid.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he rolled away to evade immediately. The Princess angrily said, "Spoiled little demon, you scared me. I ... I must prick your eyes blind." Leaping over, she stretched her foot and slammed it onto his chest, while raising her dagger and jabbed it toward his right eye. This time she was not pretending, she threw her body along to increase the momentum of the stab. If Wei Xiaobao was hit, not only his eye would be blinded, undoubtedly the dagger would be thrust straight into his brain.


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly bent his legs and struck her chest with his knees. ''Bang!'' the Princess staggered and slowly fell down. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, bending his body over, he extracted the dagger from his boot and cut the cloth binding his legs first. As soon as he was able to stand, he kicked the top of the Princess'' head heavily, to make sure that she would not awake for a while. Only then did he stick the dagger into the table''s leg, turned around, and gently ran the belt binding his hands over the edge of the blade. He only needed to run the belt twice, and it was instantly cut.


    He heaved a deep sigh; after a narrow escape, his heart was unspeakably happy, momentarily the painful wounds all over his body were forgotten. He thought, "How am I going to handle this stinky little mother? This is an extremely difficult matter. Listening to her tone, apparently she really wanted to play with me; if she received the Emperor Dowager''s order to take my life, why would she be afraid to see I pretended to be dead? But if this is merely child''s play, why would she have to be that vicious? Ah, I get it: she is the Princess, she has never considered eunuchs and palace maids as humans; people die or live, she does not care, in her eyes, it''s like pinching an ant."


    The more he thought, the angrier he was, and he landed another kick on her chest. Unexpectedly, this kick had opened up the breathing passage that was blocked before. The Princess moaned softly and woke up. She slowly propped herself up while cursing, "Dead eunuch, you ..."


    Wei Xiaobao was still angry, he reached out and slapped her face twice, and punched her chest once; still not enough, his right foot swept across, the Princess tumbled down again. Wei Xiaobao leaped and sat astride her back, and then, like beating a drum, his fists kept punching her legs, her back, her buttocks, as hard as he could, while shouting, "Dead little mother, stinky little mother, daughter of a wh0re, Laozi is going to beat you to death."


    "Don''t hit, don''t hit!" the Princess yelled, "You are not following the rule, I am going to have the Empress Dowager kill you, I will have ... have the Emperor kill you, to ... to put you to death by a thousand cuts."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned cold; his hands immediately stopped moving. But then he had a second thought, "I will keep beating you, you might as well enjoy it." Moving his fists, he started beating her again, while cursing, "Laozi f*ck your eighteen-generation ancestors, I will beat you, stinky little mother, to death!"


    After being beaten several times, suddenly the Princess giggled. Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "I beat her this hard, how come she did not cry, but she is laughing instead?" he thought. He pulled the dagger from the table leg and pointed it to her neck, with his left hand he turned her body over and shouted, "What are you laughing at?"


    He saw her silk-like brows and eyes, there was a smiling expression on her face, as if she was really happy, so she was not pretending at all. With a tender voice she said, "Don''t hit too hard, but don''t hit me too light either."


    Wei Xiaobao was unable to make any sense of it; he was afraid she would suddenly play a trick on him, so he planted his right foot firmly on her chest and shouted, "Whatever trick you are playing on me, Laozi will not fall into it."


    The Princess struggled, while making grunting noise, twice, with her nose, as if she wanted to spring up. "Don''t move!" Wei Xiaobao shouted. He pushed her forehead, hard, the Princess fell back down instantly.


    Wei Xiaobao felt his wounds were throbbing with pain, his rage was blazing again. ''Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!'' he slapped her face left and right four times. The Princess moaned a few more times, her chest was heaving up and down, the expression on her face was that of an unspeakable pleasure. "Dead eunuch," she said softly, "Don''t hit my face. If you injure my face and the Empress Dowager asked about it, I am afraid I cannot conceal it from her."


    "Stinky little mother," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You rebellious s1ut, the more you are beaten the happier you are, right?" Reaching out, he heavily pinched and twisted her left arm, twice. "Aiyo, aiyo!" the Princess cried out; her eyebrows were knitted, but there was a smiling expression in her eyes.


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Does it feel good?" The Princess did not reply. Slowly she closed her eyes, but suddenly her foot flew up, kicking Wei Xiaobao''s thigh, right on the dagger cut earlier.


    Feeling severe pain, Wei Xiaobao threw himself onto her shoulder and violently pinched and twisted her arms, shoulder, chest, and abdomen. The Princess giggled incessantly and cried out, "Dead eunuch, little eunuch, good gong-gong, good Gege, please spare me, I ... I can''t take it anymore."


    Her voice was so tender that Wei Xiaobao''s heart was shaken; he thought, "Her cry sounds just like Miss Fang when she was pleading to me on the boat." His anger greatly subsided, but as for her real intention, he really had no idea; therefore, copying her action earlier [orig. ''draw a gourd from the model'' - to copy something mechanically without attempt at originality.], he loosened her belt and bound her hands and feet.


    The Princess laughed and said, "Dead little demon, what are you doing?"


    "So that you won''t get any bad idea of harming others," Wei Xiaobao replied. He stood up with a labored breathing, his body was hurting all over that he felt he was about to pass out.


    The Princess laughed and said, "Xiao Guizi, I had so much fun playing with you today. Are you going to hit me again?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If you don''t hit me first, how could I dare to hit you?"


    "I can''t move," the Princess said, "If you want to hit me, there is nothing I can do."


    Wei Xiaobao spat and said, "You are not a princess, you are a s1ut." And then he kicked her bottom again.


    "Aiyo!" the Princess cried out, "Are we still playing?"


    "Most of Laozi''s life has gone from your playing; why would I want to continue playing?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "Right now I am Zhuge Liang, I want to burn down the rattan-armored troops, I am going to burn your hair and your clothes."


    "You must not burn my hair ..." the Princess said anxiously. Suddenly she giggled and said, "It''s alright for you to burn my clothes; even if you burn me until my body blisters, I am not scared."


    "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "You are not afraid of death, Laozi will not accompany you return to heaven. I must go to tend to my injuries, you have put salt on my wounds, do you think it is fun?" It was only now that he was convinced that the Princess really did not have any intention to kill him; thereupon he loosened the belt binding her hands and feet.


    "You really don''t want to play anymore?" the Princess asked, "How about tomorrow?" There was earnestness in her voice.


    "If the Empress Dowager and His Majesty found out," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Do you think I will still live?"


    The Princess slowly stood up; she said, "As long as I did not say anything, how could the Empress Dowager and His Majesty find out? Tomorrow you must not hit my face. More bruises on my body are not a big deal."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I can''t come tomorrow. You have beaten me really bad. One or two months will not be enough for me to recuperate from my wounds."


    "Humph," the Princess snorted, "You won''t come tomorrow? Just now you curse me what? You said you were going to f*ck my eighteen-generation ancestors. My eighteen-generation ancestors are exactly Huangdi Gege''s eighteen-generation ancestors, my Emperor Grandpa''s seventeen-generation ancestors, Taizong Huangdi''s [posthumous name given to the second emperor of a dynasty] sixteen-generation ancestors, Taizu Huangdi''s [posthumous name given to the first emperor of a dynasty] fifteen-generation ancestors ..."


    Wei Xiaobao was dumbstruck; he groaned inwardly. But suddenly he had a bright idea; he said, "You are not the Old Emperor''s daughter, I was cursing your ancestors, it has nothing to do with His Majesty, the Old Emperor, or some Taizong Huangdi and Taizu Huangdi."


    The Princess was enraged; "What do you mean I am not the Old Emperor''s daughter?" she shouted, "You dead eunuch is talking nonsense. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to wait for you here, if you, dead eunuch, do not come, I will tell the Empress Dowager that you beat me." While saying that, she stretched out her arm and pulled her sleeve, showing patches of black and blue bruises on her white, tender arm, from his pinching and twisting earlier.


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly alarmed, "How could I beat her that heavy a moment ago?"


    "Humph," the Princess said, "If you don''t come tomorrow, I want to see if you can keep your life."


    Things have come to this, even if Wei Xiaobao did not want to yield, he simply did not have any choice. He nodded and said, "I will come to accompany you playing tomorrow, but you must not hit me."


    The Princess was greatly delighted; she said, "It''s great that you are going to come. If I hit you, you can hit me back. We, the heroes of Jianghu, make a clear distinction between gratitude and grudges."


    With a bitter smile Wei Xiaobao said, "If you beat me again, I will turn from a hero to a malicious ghost."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Don''t worry, I can''t possibly kill you for real." After a short pause, she continued, "At most I will beat you half-dead and half-alive." Seeing his changed countenance, she smiled sweetly and said in a gentle voice, "Xiao Guizi, there are a lot of eunuchs and Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace, but I only like you, one person. Those other fellows are too lacking in courageous spirit, even if I beat them to death, they would not dare to curse me any ''stinky little mother, s1ut ...''" she was imitating his accent, "... daughter of a wh0re! Hee ... hee ... no one has ever curse me like that."


    Wei Xiaobao was happy, but also amused, "You like to be cursed?" he asked.


    The Princess laughed and said, "Only if you curse me like that. The Empress Dowager would also reprimand me with a wooden face, telling me to abide by the rules. I don''t like that kind of cursing."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "You''d better go to the Lovely Spring Courtyard." He was thinking, "If you become a wh0re, there will be a lot of people cursing you. The pimp [orig. ''female brothel keeper''] will curse and hit you, the brothel''s patron may burn you, or beat you and curse you."


    The Princess'' spirit was aroused; she asked, "What kind of place is the Lovely Spring Courtyard? Is it a fun place?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed in his heart; he said, "It''s a very fun place, but it is in Jiangnan, you can''t go there. If you stay in the Lovely Spring Courtyard for three months, I guarantee you will be awfully happy that you won''t want to be a Princess anymore."


    The Princess sighed; her thought wandered far away as she said wistfully, "When I grow up, I must go there."


    With a straight face Wei Xiaobao said, "Good, good! In the future I will definitely take you there. A real man gave his words, dead horses cannot chase it." He could never remember the phrase ''a team of four horses cannot chase it'', but instead of saying ''some horses cannot chase it'', he said ''dead


    [2] horses cannot chase it''.


    The Princess grabbed his hand and said, "When I fight with those eunuchs and Imperial Bodyguards, everybody always intentionally yields to me, it''s not fun at all. Only yesterday when Huangdi Gege had a martial art match with me, he really hit me 30%, but he was not willing to hit too hard to hurt me, to pinch too hard to hurt me. Good Xiao Guizi, you are the only one who hit me for real. Don''t you worry, I definitely will not kill you." Puckering her mouth, she landed a kiss on his lips. Her face blushed, and she dashed out of the room.


    In that instant Wei Xiaobao felt the sky spun, the earth turned over; he fell sitting down on the floor, thinking, "I am afraid this Princess is a little bit insane, the more I hit her and curse her, the happier she is. Damn it, could it be that the Old Wh0re''s little girl really take a liking on a fake eunuch like me?" Recalling her beautiful face, his heart was befuddled. Slowly he stood up and walked back toward his residence. He was so exhausted that as soon as he touched the bed, he fell asleep instantly.


    He slept for more than ten hours [orig. 5 shichen] straight. By the time he woke up, the sky had turned dark. Feeling the pain on his entire body, he could not bear not to groan. He got up, thinking that he was going to wash the salt from his wounds. Who would have thought that as he tried to take off his clothes, the blood from his wounds had congealed and stuck firmly onto his clothes? When he tried to pull it, it was so painful that unavoidably he rained curses again, ''stinky little mother, rotten little miss''. Finally he washed off the salt and spread metal-cut wound medicine on his injuries.


    When he went to see the young emperor the next day, Kangxi saw his nose was blue and his eyes swollen, his hair and his eyebrows were burned, everything was broken and in disarray. Kangxi was shocked; he immediately guessed that it must be his precious imperial younger sister''s masterpiece. "Did the Princess beat you?" he asked, "Is the injury heavy?"


    With a forced smile Wei Xiaobao said, "Not too bad. Shifu, your disciple has brought disgrace to you [orig. ''throw away your face''], Senior. I will have to painstakingly train for three more years before I can retrieve it back and bring honor to you, Senior."


    At first Kangxi was worried that in a towering rage Wei Xiaobao would ask Kangxi to stick out for him. It''s just that although his imperial sister was in the wrong, it had always been her right as the master to beat up the slaves. However, if Kangxi ignored him, he was afraid when Wei Xiaobao went up Mount Wutai to serve his father emperor, he would not do so with all of his heart. While he was feeling awkward, suddenly hearing Wei Xiaobao say so, i.e. he did not complain over this matter, but consider it as child''s play, Kangxi was ecstatic. He laughed and said, "Xiao Guizi, you are really good! I must reward you well. Tell me, what do you want?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Shifu did not reproach disciple for being not proficient in my training, disciple is already very grateful, I do not need any reward." After a short pause, he continued, "Shifu may pass on to me some brilliant moves, so that when I meet with danger in the future, I won''t be bullied by others. That''s all I want."


    Kangxi burst out laughing; he said, "Alright, alright!" Thereupon he taught him several exquisite moves the Empress Dowager had bestowed to him.


    Although these several qin na techniques were quite extraordinary, they were far inferior compared to the six moves Hong Jiaozhu, husband and wife, had taught him. When Wei Xiaobao was having martial art match with Kangxi previously, he had seen Kangxi use these moves. Now that he had special instruction, he managed to master the moves without spending too much time.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "When I fought with him earlier, we were wrestling as friends. But he is the Emperor, I am a slave, this friendship will not last too long. This time I return to Beijing, I can see that although physically he did not grow too much, his power and prestige have actually grown considerably. I can''t call him ''Xiao Xuanzi'', three characters, anymore; but if I simply change the way I address him, it will be no more than an ingenious way of flattering him." Thereupon he kneeled down, ''dong, dong, dong'' he knocked his head against the floor eight times, and said, "Shifu, disciple Wei Xiaobao is your, Senior''s first disciple [orig. ''first disciple of cutting into a mountain'' �C a reference to opening a monastery]."


    Kangxi was startled; but he understood his intention immediately. On one hand, he felt it would be fun, on the other hand, he also felt that the appellation ''Xiao Xuanzi'' was no longer appropriate. He laughed and said, "Being a ruler I can''t go back on my own words! Since I have had you call me Shifu, I have no choice but to receive you as my disciple." Then he called out, "Guards!"


    Two eunuchs and two Imperial Bodyguards entered the study room. Kangxi said, "Turn around."


    "Yes," the four people complied. But the rule said that subjects should never turn their backs toward the Emperor, otherwise, it would be extremely disrespectful. The four people did not understand Kangxi''s intention, they only turned their bodies slightly, no one dared to turn his back.


    From his desk Kangxi picked up a pair of golden scissors and walked toward the four people''s backs. Again the four of them turned their bodies slightly. Kangxi looked at the four people''s braided hair, and saw a court eunuch had the most glossy and shiny black hair. His left hand grabbed the pigtail, ''crash'' he cut the braid down from the base.


    The eunuch was so scared that he felt his soul had flown to the outer sky. Instantly he kneeled down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your servant deserves to die, your servant deserves to die!"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Don''t be afraid, I reward you ten taels of silver. Everybody get out!" The four of them were bewildered; they only thought that the power of Heaven was hard to fathom, they walked backward out of the room.


    Kangxi gave the pigtail to Wei Xiaobao and said with a laugh, "You are going to be a monk, the Princess has burned your hair, it seems that this is the will of Heaven. The Heaven is borrowing the Princess'' hand to tell you to shed your hair and become a monk. You may tie this false braid on your head first, otherwise you will look unsightly."


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and said, "Yes, Shifu cherishes your disciple, you are very considerate."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You have done obeisance, taking me as your master, you must not mention it to anybody else. I know you are tightlipped, very prudent and careful, and that was the reason I agreed. If you act ostentatiously outside, as the Zhangmen, I will cripple your martial art skill and expel you from my school."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao repeatedly promised, "Disciple will not dare."


    When Kangxi had martial art match with Wei Xiaobao, other than the Empress Dowager and Hai Dafu, nobody else in the Palace knew about it. He thought that by playing along and taking him as disciple, as long as nobody else knew, he would not lose face as the Emperor. But his natural disposition was cautious, hence he repeatedly warned Wei Xiaobao.


    Kangxi sat down and mused, "The Empress Dowager is sinister and ruthless, she can''t be teaching me martial art with all of her heart; otherwise, she knew a formidable martial art that can break people''s bones in pieces, why didn''t she teach me even for half a move? Although I am the Shifu, in reality I am not much stronger than this kid, I don''t have any superior martial art that I can teach him. The monks of Shaolin Temple have extremely high martial art skill, I only hope that when Fu Huang is in trouble, they would come to help him again ..." Thinking to this point, a plan started to formed in his mind. He said, "Go and take a rest, take care of your wounds, come again tomorrow to see me."


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his residence, he ordered the eunuch working for him to invite the imperial physician to treat his injury. Although his wounds were painful, they were actually flesh wounds, his muscles and bones were not harmed at all. The imperial physician said that after recuperating for ten days to half a month, he should be healed completely, so he told him not to worry.


    After eating his lunch, Wei Xiaobao went out to keep his appointment with the Princess. His mind was in a mess; he was afraid she would beat him up again, but he was also excited to see her again.


    As soon as he pushed the door open, the Princess yelled and pounced on him. This time Wei Xiaobao was prepared; with his left arm he blocked, with his right foot he hooked, while grabbing the back of the Princess'' neck with his right hand and pressed her body that she was bending forward.


    The Princess laughed and cursed, "Dead eunuch, how come you are so formidable today?"


    Wei Xiaobao grabbed her left arm and twisted it behind her back; he said in a low voice, "If you don''t call me ''Good Guizi, Good Gege'', I am going to twist your arm broken."


    "Pei!" the Princess cursed, "You are a dead slave!"


    Wei Xiaobao twisted the Princess'' arm heavily and shouted, "You don''t call, I will twist and break this arm of yours."


    The Princess laughed and said, "I won''t call."


    ''Slap!'' he heavily slapped her buttocks with his left hand. The Princess jumped, but she was giggling incessantly. "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Turns out you love to take a beating." With all his might he punched her repeatedly. It was so painful that the Princess curled on the floor, unable to get up. It was only then did Wei Xiaobao halt his hand.


    The Princess panted. "Alright," she said, "Now it''s my turn to beat you."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "No," he said, "I won''t let you beat me." He thought that this little miss was so ruthless, if he let her beat him, he might lose his life at any time. The Princess pleaded with him in gentle voice, but Wei Xiaobao simply refused.


    The Princess threw a fit, she pounced on him, beat him and bit him. Wei Xiaobao slapped her on the face, sending her tumbling to the floor. He pulled her hair and hit her buttocks, thinking that since he had hit her buttocks, he did not need to be polite anymore, thereupon he pinched and twisted randomly all over her body.


    The Princess crouched by his feet, hugging his two legs. She gently rubbed her face against his calves, in a coquettish and lithe manner, and said in a flirtatious way, "Good Guizi, Good Gege, let me beat you just once, I promise not to hit you too hard."


    Wei Xiaobao thought she looked like a timid and helpless little girl, and he heard her affectionate request, his heart was shaken. He had the urge to consent. The Princess added, "Good Gege, I love nothing more than to see blood coming out of your body."


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright; "That is out of the question!" he angrily said. Lifting his left foot, he kicked her head and said, "Let me go, I must leave. If I stay around you, inevitably there will come a day when I die in your hands."


    The Princess sighed and said, "You don''t want to play with me anymore?"


    "It''s too dangerous," Wei Xiaobao said, "I may lose my old life any time."


    The Princess giggled. She stood up and said, "Fine! In that case, help me back to my room. You have hit me too hard that I cannot walk."


    "I won''t help you," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Propping herself against the wall, the Princess slowly hobbled out, saying, "Good Guizi, will you come again tomorrow?" Suddenly her left leg gave up, she almost fell down. Wei Xiaobao rushed forward to hold her.


    The Princess said, "Good Guizi, sorry to bother you, but could you get two eunuchs to help me go back to my room?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that if he called the eunuchs, the Empress Dowager would probably find out, and then she would investigate why the Princess was injured. As soon as this matter was leaked ever so slightly, he would be charged with capital offense punishable by beheading. Having no other choice, he supported her and said, "I will help you back to your room."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Good Guizi, thank you very much." Leaning on his shoulder she walked westward.


    The Princess'' residence was located west of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, right next to the Shou Kang [Abundant Long-live] Palace. The two of them slowly approached the garden of Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Recalling the Empress Dowager''s manner, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was trembling with trepidation. When they reached the corridor, the Princess suddenly blew air into his ear.


    Wei Xiaobao blushed. "No �� don''t," he stammered.


    With a gentle voice the Princess said, "Why? I am not hitting you." While saying that, she gently bit his earlobe; she stuck out her tongue and licked his ear slowly.


    Wei Xiaobao felt the itch was unbearable, he said in a low voice, "If you bit and hurt my ear, I am not going to see you again, ever. A real man gave his words, dead horses cannot chase it."


    The Princess actually wanted to bite a piece of his earlobe off, but listening to his words, she did not dare to continue, she only laughed softly. This laugh made Wei Xiaobao flushed with excitement, his whole body turned limp and aching.


    Finally they reached the Princess'' personal quarter. Wei Xiaobao turned around to leave. The Princess said, "I want you to come in, I have something interesting to show to you." At that time, there were four eunuchs and four palace maids standing outside the door of the Jianning Palace, to wait upon her. Wei Xiaobao did not dare to blatantly disobey, he had no choice but to follow her.


    Pulling his hand, the Princess took him straight into her own bedroom. Two palace maids followed in, they presented hot towel for the Princess to clean her face. The Princess took one towel and handed it over to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao took it, and wiped the sweat on his face.


    Seeing the Princess unexpectedly broke the rule by giving this little eunuch a deferential treatment, the two palace maids could not help but stare in disbelief. She had never been this polite even toward the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, and the little eunuch also unexpectedly accepted it calmly, which was considered extremely rude.


    The Princess caught a glance; she glowered and said, "What are you looking at?"


    "Yes, yes!" the two palace maids replied. Bending their waists, they withdrew immediately. Who would have thought that it was already too late? The Princess stretched out her hand to dig the eye of the palace maid nearer to her. The palace maid dodged slightly, and let out a miserable cry. Although her eyeball was safe, her face was drenched with blood, from her forehead down to her chin, as four nail marks appeared. The two palace maids were scared out of their wits and hastily withdrew from the room.


    The Princess laughed and said, "Did you see that? Those slaves could only shout, begging for mercy; where is the fun in that?"


    Seeing the ruthlessness of her action, Wei Xiaobao thought that this little wh0re was too violent, she was more or less the same as her mother, the old wh0re, it would be best for him to get away from her at the earliest possible time. "Princess," he said, "His Majesty sends me out to do something for him, I must go."


    "What''s the rush?" the Princess asked. She turned around, closed the door, and bolted it. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding, he wondered what kind of strange thing she was going to do. The Princess laughed and said, "I have been the master for fifteen years, I always have people serving me, it''s getting quite tasteless. Today we change roles, you are the master, I am the slave."


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hands wildly, "That won''t do, that won''t do," he said, "I don''t have that good fortune."


    The Princess'' pretty face sank, she said, "You don''t want to? I am going to scream, I will say that you are being rude to me, and beat me black and blue." Suddenly she raised her voice and called out, "Aiyo, it hurts!"


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly bowed with cupped fists and said, "Don''t shout, don''t shout, I''ll listen to your instruction."


    This was the Princess'' personal chamber, there were many eunuchs and palace maids standing outside to wait on her, she only had to call several times, there would be a throng of people rushing in; it was completely different from the small room where they were having the martial art match, where there were nobody around.


    The Princess smiled and said, "Miserable wretch! I talked to you nicely, you did not want to listen; you insist on refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."


    "You are the miserable wretch," Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "You don''t want to be the master, you want to be the slave instead."


    The Princess bent her knees and respectfully paid her respect to him, saying, "Prince Gui


    [3], do you want to sleep now? Your servant will help you change your clothes."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "I don''t want to sleep. You may give me a gentle pound with your fist on my legs."


    "Yes!" the Princess replied. She sat on the floor, lifted his right foot and placed it on her own legs, and then gently pounded it with her fists, being careful not to touch the wounds on his leg.


    "What a good servant," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are serving me exceptionally well." Stretching out his hand, he gently pinched her cheek.


    The Princess was very happy, "Thank you for Master''s praise," she said in low voice. Taking off his boot, she kneaded his foot for a while, then she started working on his left foot. After pounding it for half a day, she took the boot and massaged his foot. "Prince Gui," she said, "Lie on the bed, I will pound your back gently."


    Massaged by her, Wei Xiaobao was very comfortable; he thought that if I did not satisfy this miserable wretch''s craving of being the slave, she would not let me go anyway. Thereupon he climbed on her bed and lay down. His nostrils were assaulted by bursts of fragrance. "This miserable wretch''s bed is so gorgeous," he mused, "Even the top wh0re in the Lovely Spring Courtyard did not have this kind of pretty bedding and pillow." The Princess pulled a thin quilt over his body and then gently beat his back with her fists.


    Wei Xiaobao was in a daze. While he was enjoying being the Prince Gui, suddenly he heard the voices of many people outside the door, "The Empress Dowager has arrived!" His shock was really not a small matter, hastily he sprang up.


    The Princess'' face also showed terrified expression. "No time to escape," she said in trembling voice, "Don''t move, get into the quilt." Wei Xiaobao pulled his head and sank into the quilt; he heard faint knocking on the door, and was so scared that he almost fainted.


    The Princess pulled down the mosquito net before turning around and unlatched the door. As soon as she opened the door, the Empress Dowager strode into the room. "Clear sky in the middle of the day, why did you close the door?"


    The Princess laughed and said, "I am very tired, I was about to take a nap."


    The Empress Dowager sat down and asked, "What kind of trick are you playing? Why is it that your face does not have any color of blood?"


    "I said I am very tired," the Princess replied.


    The Empress Dowager looked down and saw a pair of boots in front of the bed, she also saw the embroidered screen was moving slightly; she knew something was different. Turning toward the eunuchs and palace maids, she said, "Go wait outside." When everybody was out, she said, "Close the door, put the bolt on."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Empress Dowager also wants to play some trick?" Obeying her order, she closed the door. She then followed the Empress Dowager''s vision and saw the boots; she could not stop her countenance from changing greatly. With a forced laugh she said, "I was going to put on men''s clothing, I want to dress up as a boy and show it to the Empress Dowager. I want to know when I put on the men''s clothing, whether you think I will look handsome or not."


    The Empress Dowager coldly said, "Is the boy on the bed handsome or not?" Suddenly she stood up and walked toward the bed.


    The Princess was greatly shocked, she pulled the Empress Dowager''s hand and called out, "Empress Dowager, he and I are just playing games ��"


    The Empress Dowager flung her hand to throw her several steps away; she opened the screen, pulled the quilt away, grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s neck, and lifted him up.


    Wei Xiaobao kept his face facing the inside of the bed, he did not dare to turn his head around and see her, he was already so scared that his entire body was trembling.


    "Empress Dowager," the Princess called out, "This is the little eunuch Huangdi Gege likes the most, you �� you must not harm him."


    "Humph," the Empress Dowager snorted; she thought that her daughter was growing up, her interest in the opposite sex had opened, she was hiding a little eunuch in her bed, it was no more than a shady business of playing fake (male) phoenix and empty (female) phoenix, so it could not be considered a big deal. Her right hand circled, she turned Wei Xiaobao around, ''slap, slap'', she slapped his face twice, and shouted, "Get lost! If I ever see you fooling around with the Princess again ��" Suddenly she saw his face clearly and was startled, "So it''s you!"


    Wei Xiaobao turned his face away, "It isn''t me," he said. These three characters were an oxymoron [orig. unfathomable mystery], but while his heart alarmed, he was trembling in fear, what else could he say?


    The Empress Dowager firmly grabbed the back of his neck and slowly said, "There are many roads in the heavens but you don''t want to take, there is no gate in hell but you insist on breaking in. You are being rude to the Princess, today you cannot blame me."


    "Empress Dowager," the Princess anxiously said, "It was me who wanted him to sleep in here, you must not blame him."


    The Empress Dowager lightly patted Wei Xiaobao''s forehead with her left palm; raising her left arm, she concentrated her strength on her hand ready to shoot it down, to kill him instantly with one palm strike.


    In this extremely critical situation, Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered the move ''Di Qing subduing the dragon'', which was taught by Hong Jiaozhu. His hands reached backward to grope the front of the Empress Dowager''s chest. The Empress Dowager was startled, she pulled her chest back and scolded, "You are asking to die!"


    Wei Xiaobao kicked on the bed with both feet, he made a somersault backward, and landed astride the Empress Dowager''s neck, with both his forefingers on her eyes, and both his thumbs on her temples. "If you move," he shouted, "I am going to dig your eyeballs out!"


    He had not trained this move to perfection, so it was actually difficult for him to use it properly; fortunately, he was standing on the bed, while the Empress Dowager was standing on the floor. One on higher position, the other on lower position, so it was easier for him to ride on her. Moreover, the fingers with which he threatened to dig her eyeballs should be the middle fingers, but he was using forefingers instead; and when he somersaulted, the tip of his foot caught the mosquito net. Indeed he executed the move sloppily [lit. ''wading in mud and water''], and it looked very awkward. If Hong Jiaozhu personally witnessed this, he would have been angered half dead. However, although the execution was incorrect, the style was indeed ingenious; the Empress Dowager still fell under his control, although she reacted hastily, unexpectedly it was still hard for her to ward off.


    The Princess burst out laughing and called out, "Xiao Guizi, don''t be rude. Quickly let the Empress Dowager go."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his right leg, he drew the dagger with his right hand and pressed it against the middle of the Empress Dowager''s back; it was only then did he slide down from her neck. Suddenly ''splat!'' a multi-colored, glittering object fell onto the floor; it was exactly the Divine Dragon Cult''s Five-Dragon Command.


    The Empress Dowager was very shocked. "This �� this �� thing �� where did it come from?" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao remembered that the Empress Dowager was secretly in collusion with Divine Dragon Cult''s fake palace maid, Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan; perhaps he could use this Five-Dragon Command to force her into submission. "What do you mean this thing or that thing?" he said, "This is our Cult''s Five-Dragon Command, don''t you know it? What a nerve!"


    The Empress Dowager''s entire body trembled, "Yes, yes!" she said.


    Hearing her deferential tone, Wei Xiaobao could not help bursting with joy; he said, "Seeing the Five-Dragon Command is like seeing Jiaozhu in person. Hong Jiaozhu enjoys immortal good fortune forever, his long-life is the same as the heaven''s."


    With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager repeated, "Hong Jiaozhu enjoys immortal good fortune forever, his long-life is the same as the heaven''s." She stooped down to pick the Five-Dragon Command and lifted it up high above her head.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to receive it. "Are you going to obey my command?" he asked.


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied, "I will respectfully obey your command."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!"


    The Empress Dowager respectfully followed, "With Jiaozhu''s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!"


    It was only now did Wei Xiaobao let out a sigh of relief; he loosened the dagger, and haughtily sat down on the edge of the bed.


    The Empress Dowager turned toward the Princess and said, "Go outside, don''t say anything, otherwise I will kill you."


    The Princess was startled. "Yes," she replied. She cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, her heart was filled with doubts. "Empress Dowager," she said, "Is this Huangdi Gege''s imperial edict?"


    As Kangxi gradually grew older, his power and authority gradually grew bigger; when eunuchs, palace maids, as well as Imperial Bodyguards, were talking about His Majesty, their fear and respect also grew steadily. The Princess also knew earlier that the Empress Dowager was rather afraid of the Emperor. The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "Yes, he is the Emperor''s trusted aide, there is some important matter he needs to talk to me. You must never, ever reveal this secret. In front of the Emperor, you must never mention it even more, so as to avoid �� to avoid the Emperor getting angry at you."


    "Yes, yes," the Princess replied, "I am not that stupid." While saying that, she went out of the room and closed the door behind her.


    As she sat face-to-face with Wei Xiaobao, the Empress Dowager''s heart was filled with doubts. After a while, she said, "The walls have ears, this is not a good place to talk. Would it be better if you please go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to discuss it further?"


    Hearing her using the word ''please'', plus her tone was asking for opinion, not authoritatively making a one-sided decision, Wei Xiaobao felt even more relieved; but he was still thinking, "This old wh0re is vicious and merciless, I wonder if she is luring me to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to use some crafty scheme to harm laozi?" Thereupon he nodded and said in a low voice, "I am the newly-appointed White Dragon Envoy of our Cult, under Hong Jiaozhu''s order to bear this Five-Dragon Command."


    The Empress Dowager immediately felt deep veneration toward him, she bowed and said, "Subordinate pays her respect to the White Dragon Envoy."


    Although Wei Xiaobao had long suspected that since the Empress Dowager was in collusion with the Black Dragon Gate''s people, she was bound to have utter veneration toward Hong Jiaozhu, so this Five-Dragon Command most probably would have some effect on her; but never in a million years would he guess that she herself was a member of the Divine Dragon Cult. Based on her status as the Empress Dowager, there was nothing in the world that she could not get, yet shockingly she still entered the Divine Dragon Cult. Not only that, her rank was far below that of his own, which was really unthinkable. Seeing her respectfully making her salutations, he could not help but was shocked and at a loss of what to do.


    Seeing him sitting silently without saying anything, the Empress Dowager thought that he was still thinking of the former hatred, she was very frightened and said in a low voice, "Previously subordinate did not know honorable envoy''s status, and thus has offended you a lot, and now I am very terrified, only hoping for the honorable envoy''s magnanimous forgiveness."


    She saw that he was very young, yet was holding a very high position within the Cult, in the end it was still hard to believe. But then again, for the past few years Jiaozhu and Madame had promoted young people to higher position on a large scale, the older brethrens of the Cult were either slaughtered, or were met with suspicions, their power were gradually reduced. Therefore, this little child being the newly-appointed White Dragon Envoy was absolutely not an unusual happening. She thought further, "Even if he is really the White Dragon Envoy, if I kill him right now, nobody in the Cult would know. This little demon bears an extreme grudge toward me, if I let him live, it will only cause no end of trouble for me."


    Her murderous intention aroused, her eyes could not help but revealing a malicious look. Wei Xiaobao immediately caught it, and said in his heart, "Not good, the old wh0re is going to kill me." He said in a low voice, "The technique I used to capture you just now, obviously you know who had taught me that, don''t you?"


    The Empress Dowager was startled; she recalled the technique used by this little demon a moment ago, and found it to be immeasurably secretive, just in one move he was able to subdue her. It was precisely the Cult Leader''s technique. "Could it be �� could it be that Jiaozhu has personally taught you?" she asked in a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Jiaozhu taught me thirty killer moves, Madame Hong taught me thirty qin na techniques. Comparing the two of them, naturally Jiaozhu''s techniques are a lot more formidable. It''s just that each one of the Senior''s moves will take the human''s life. I did not want to kill you, therefore, I only used the move that Madame taught me, the ''the flying swallow circle around overhead''."


    Since bragging did not need any capital, he multiplied the number of moves by a factor of ten. But the Empress Dowager did not have the slightest doubt. She knew that the moves Madame Hong used all have ancient beauties'' name in it; she could not help but broke into cold sweat. She thought, "Luckily he used Madame Hong''s move to deal with me. If he had used the move Jiaozhu taught him, I would have been dead by now." This moment, how could she still have the intention to harm him? She said respectfully, "Thank you for honorable envoy''s kindness in not killing me."


    Feeling very proud of himself, Wei Xiaobao said, "I did not dig out your eyeballs, compared to Madame''s instruction, I was being lenient to you thirty percent." These words were actually the truth, if he really wanted to dig the Empress Dowager''s eyes, he could do that. It''s just that when she was severely injured, she would strike back with all of her strength, and then she would definitely want to take his life.


    The more the Empress Dowager heard him, the more she was afraid. "Thank you for being lenient to me," she said, "Subordinate appreciates it very much. I will certainly repay honorable envoy''s benevolence."


    Originally, each time Wei Xiaobao saw the Empress Dowager, it was like a mouse seeing a cat, he could not stop his entire body from trembling; who would have thought that this time unexpectedly he managed to control her that she became docile, standing in front of him in fear and trepidation. He was very pleased with himself, and it was very hard to contain. He lifted his left leg and crossed it above his right, and swayed it several times. He said in a low voice, "This time, we have Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, two people following the Envoy from Shen Long Jiao coming to Beijing."


    "Yes, yes," the Empress Dowager said. She thought that Fat and Lu, two people were martial art experts from their Cult, unexpectedly they were second to him. It was really fortunate that she was not being reckless a moment ago; if she did kill him, forget that she would have to face the Cult Leader'' investigation later, as soon as Fat and Lu, two people find out, death would be her only way out. She saw the finger marks on his face from her slaps earlier, and said in a trembling voice, "Subordinate has committed all kinds of heinous crimes in the past. I am hoping for honorable envoy''s magnanimous, generous and boundless good fortune."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "The White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling betrayed Jiaozhu, Jiaozhu and Madame have him killed, and ordered me to take over the White Dragon Gate. The Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue did not do his best in handling his assignment, Jiaozhu and Madame are very angry. The mission to fetch the sutras now becomes my responsibility."


    The Empress Dowager''s entire body trembled. "Yes, yes," she said. Recalling the several copies of sutra that she had just obtained but then lost, day and night she had been feeling uneasy these past few days, and now finally the matter was brought to light. She said in a trembling voice, "This matter is complicated and not easy to explain succinctly. Would honorable envoy take the trouble to visit the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful? Subordinate will present detail reports to you."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Very well." He thought that there were too many things he did not understand about this matter, and was about to question her anyway; thereupon he stood up.


    The Empress Dowager turned around, pulled the door bolt, and opened the door. And then she stepped aside to let him walk out first. Wei Xiaobao said loudly, "The Empress Dowager is leaving!"


    "Excuse me!" the Empress Dowager said in a low voice, as she went out the door. Wei Xiaobao followed behind her. Dozens of eunuchs and palace maids followed from a far.


    The two of them arrived at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. The Empress Dowager led him into her bedroom. After sending out the palace maids, she closed the door, and then personally poured a bowl of ginseng soup, which she offered to Wei Xiaobao with both hands. Wei Xiaobao accepted it and drank several mouthfuls; he thought, "My prestige today is comparable to the Old Emperor Shunzhi in the past. I don''t think the Empress Dowager would treat the young Emperor with this kind of respect." He was very happy in his heart.


    The Empress Dowager opened a trunk and took out a brocade box. From the box she took out a small jade bottle; she said, "Reporting to honorable envoy: there are thirty ''snow ginseng jade moon pills'' in this bottle, it was a tribute from King of Korean Joseon dynasty, incomparably priceless. After taking this, the body will be invigorated, it will not be invaded by a hundred poisons. From these, would honorable envoy please forward twelve pills to Jiaozhu, ten pills to Madame Jiaozhu, and would honorable envoy take the remaining eight pills for yourself, as a token of ... a token of subordinate''s negligible appreciation."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Thank you very much," he said, "But I wonder if these pills will clash with the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''?"


    "It won''t clash at all," the Empress Dowager replied, "Congratulations, honorable envoy, on receiving Jiaozhu''s gracious gift the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''. I wonder ... I wonder if Jiaozhu has instructed honorable envoy to bring subordinate''s antidote for this year."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "This year''s antidote?" he asked, but then he immediately understood. The Empress Dowager must have had taken the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''. Jiaozhu bestowed her the antidote every year, which would not eradicate the poison thoroughly, and thus it has to be taken once every year, so that it would not flare up. Otherwise, she was deep in the Palace, with countless martial art master Imperial Bodyguards, even if Jiaozhu had a higher skill, he would not be able to control her. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You and I both have taken the ''leopard embryo pill'', how can I bring the antidote with me?"


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied, "But honorable envoy enjoys special favor from Jiaozhu, how can subordinate be compared to you?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "She is really terrified, I must comfort her a little bit." Thereupon he said, "Jiaozhu and Madame said that as long as you display utter loyalty to Jiaozhu, and will not have any infidelity, you work on his behalf with all your might, Jiaozhu will never treat you unfairly. Don''t worry."


    The Empress Dowager was greatly delighted; she said, "Jiaozhu''s benevolence is as heavy as the mountain, subordinate cannot repay it even with ten thousand deaths. Jiaozhu enjoys immortal good fortune forever, his long-life is the same as the heaven''s."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "You are originally the Empress, and now you are the Empress Dowager, other than the Emperor, no one in this world has a higher rank than you. Even if Shen Long Jiao is more formidable, it still can''t be compared to you; why would you want to enter the Cult and take orders from Jiaozhu? Aren''t you being a rebellious s1ut? Ah, right, maybe you are just the same as your daughter, you are both miserable wretch, you won''t be happy unless other people beat you and curse you." He was still too young, his life experience was limited; for the time being, he was unable to grasp the importance of the information he had just received.


    Seeing he was hesitating, the Empress Dowager thought that he was about to ask her about the sutra; therefore, without waiting to be asked, she volunteered, "Subordinate has sent Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan, two people, to forward those three copies of sutra to Jiaozhu. Has he, the Senior, received it?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he thought, "The fake palace maid Deng Bingchun was killed by Tao Gugu, Liu Yan was stabbed to death by Miss Fang''s sword; what sutra has been forwarded to Jiaozhu?" Unclear of her real intention, he asked, "Did you say three copies have been forwarded to Jiaozhu? I have never heard about it. Jiaozhu said that the Black Dragon Envoy took too long to get hold of the sutra, yet he has not gained anything. Jiaozhu was very angry, he almost forced him to commit suicide."


    The Empress Dowager showed an astonished expression. "That''s strange," she said, "Subordinate clearly sent Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan, two people to make a special trip to Divine Dragon Island to deliver those three copies of sutra. Naturally it was before honorable envoy put Liu Yan to death."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao said, "Is there such thing? Deng Bingchun? Was he your bald Shixiong?"


    "Exactly," the Empress Dowager replied, "When the honorable envoy return to the Divine Dragon Island in the future, please ask him, you will understand everything."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized; he mused, "That''s right, Deng Bingchun was killed by Tao Gugu, this old wh0re thinks I know nothing of it. She lost three copies of sutra, for fear that Jiaozhu would blame her, she pushes all the blame on to those two dead people; this is called ''dead men tell no tales'', she is really smart. She would not know that those three copies are actually in Laozi''s hands. If she used this lie to swindle others, it is indeed a damn top-notch lie; unfortunately, whatever trick she is performing, she cannot deceive Laozi. I''d better not expose your trickery for the time being." He said, "You have already obtained three copies, your merit cannot be considered small. On the other five, you must make the extra effort."


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied, "From dawn to dusk subordinate always thinks about how to get the other five copies of the sutra, to repay Jiaozhu''s benevolence."


    "That''s very good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "You are actually this loyal, the poison in the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' has been dissolved one time for you, you should not have any problem. I will see Jiaozhu soon, I will definitely speak several words of praise on your behalf."


    The Empress Dowager was ecstatic; she bowed to salute and said, "Honorable envoy''s great kindness, subordinate will never dare to forget. It will be best if subordinate can transfer to the White Dragon Gate, to follow honorable envoy''s leading; it will be my greatest good fortune."


    "That can be done easily," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But about you entered the Cult and everything you went through, you must tell me in detail, don''t conceal anything at all."


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied, "Subordinate will not dare to speak even half a sentence of incomplete, untrue words toward our Gate''s Envoy ..."


    Suddenly there were footsteps outside the door, a palace maid coughed and said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager: His Majesty summoned Gui Gong-gong, saying that there is an urgent matter, to have him return immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said in a low voice, "Don''t worry about anything, we''ll continue later."


    The Empress Dowager replied in a low voice, "Thank you honorable envoy." And then in loud and clear voice said, "His Majesty summons you, you may go now."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I wish the Empress Dowager ten thousand good fortunes and peace like gold."


    As he went out the door, he saw eight Imperial Bodyguards standing outside the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful; he was slightly shocked, thinking, "What urgent matter could it be?" So he rushed toward the Upper Study Room.


    "Good, you are alright," Kangxi happily said, "I heard the old traitor took you away, so I was worried, I was afraid she might harm you."


    "Many thanks for Shifu''s concern," Wei Xiaobao said, "That old ... old ... she asked me where have I been these past several days? I thought that I must never say anything about the Old Emperor, I must not even mention Shanxi or Mount Wutai, but I also am not a good liar. When pressed by her, an inspiration appeared in a moment of desperation, I said that Your Majesty sent me to Jiangnan to see if there is any amusing gadget, to be bought and brought back to the Palace. I also said that Your Majesty instructed me not to let the Empress Dowager find out, so that the Empress Dowager would not blame Your Majesty being the Emperor, yet still loves to play like a child."


    Kangxi laughed aloud, while patting his shoulder and said, "It''s best that you said it that way. Let the old traitor thinks that I am still like a child who love to play; that way she won''t guard against me. So you are not a good liar? What you said is very interesting."


    "Do you think so?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant was worried that Your Majesty won''t be happy to hear it."


    "Very good, very good," Kangxi said, "Just now I was afraid the old traitor would harm you, so I sent eight Imperial Bodyguards to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. If the old traitor was unwilling to let you go, I ordered them to break into the Palace and get you out of there. I know I would have had direct confrontation with her, but it was a desperate situation."


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and kowtowed. "Emperor Shifu''s kindness is as heavy as the mountain, your servant disciple cannot repay even if I have my body crushed to powder."


    Kangxi said, "If you serve the Old Emperor well, then you are repaying my kindness to you."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi picked up a large sealed yellow envelope from his desk and said, "This is an imperial edict to the monks of the Shaolin Temple. You pick forty Imperial Bodyguards and two thousand valiant cavalry''s officers and men, and go to Shaolin Temple to announce the imperial decree for them to do something for me. What it is that I want them to do, everything is written in the letter, which you may open when you arrive at the Shaolin Temple. You are to obey and act accordingly. And now I promote your official position to the Vice Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner''s Valiant Cavalry, which is a 2a rank


    [4]. You are actually a Han, but now I bequeath you the status as a Manchu, we call it ''entering the Manchurian''s Flag Bearers''. The Plain Yellow Banner is the Emperor''s personal Manchurian Banner men, the Valiant Cavalry is the Emperor''s personal elite soldiers. You are still holding the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief."


    He knew Wei Xiaobao was without learning or skills, plus he was still too young, he could not serve as a real official, consequently, both positions were deputy position.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As long as I can always be at the Emperor Shifu''s side, high ranking or low ranking position, your servant disciple does not care." While saying that, he kowtowed vigorously to express his gratitude. He mused, "I am fine being a Han, now I have to change shape in a single shake and become a Manchu Tatar." He thought further, "Emperor Shifu did not order me to hasten to the Qing Liang Temple and become a little monk there, but to lead the troops to Shaolin Temple first to deliver the imperial edict, to reward those Dashi [great master] who rendered meritorious service in saving the Old Emperor. Most likely he is simply letting me to enjoy the limelight. This is called ''sweet first, bitter later'', I become the master first, and then he would spank my bottom later."


    Kangxi had the Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner''s Valiant Cavalry Chalju [orig. Cha''er Zhu] summoned. He made him aware that Xiao Guizi was not a court eunuch at all, but he was actually the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief, and his real name was Wei Xiaobao. For the purpose of capturing Oboi, he was ordered to disguise himself as a eunuch. And now he was bestowed the status as a Manchu, under the Plain Yellow Banner, and was promoted to be the Vice Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner''s Valiant Cavalry.


    When Oboi was still in power, Chalju had suffered greatly from the internal strife, so much so that he was put in prison, and day and night his life was in danger. Fortunately for him, Oboi was defeated and he was released from prison, hence early on he has had deep gratitude to Wei Xiaobao who had killed Oboi. Hearing that the Emperor had assigned Wei Xiaobao to be his own deputy, he was greatly delighted. Immediately he congratulated Wei Xiaobao, saying, "Wei Xiongdi, the two of us are going to work together, there is nothing better than that. You are a young hero, from now on our Valiant Cavalry will show our face."


    Wei Xiaobao uttered some modest remarks. Chalju had made up his mind: this Wei Xiaobao had received great favor from the Emperor, although officially he was his assistant, in reality Chalju was the one who ought to be the assistant. As long as Chalju could win Wei Xiaobao''s favor, there would be no problem for him to make a rapid career advance in the future.


    Kangxi said, "I am sending Wei Xiaobao on a mission. You two may carry on, prepare your troops. Wei Xiaobao is to leave Beijing tonight, no need to take your leave from me." He took the golden seal, the symbol of authority to maneuver Valiant Cavalry troops and gave it to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao received the golden seal and kowtowed to bid Kangxi farewell. He thought, "I have not investigated clearly why the old wh0re entered Shen Long Jiao. It''s not a big deal, most likely it was because she is a s1ut. I will ask her again next time I return to the Palace." He thought further, "Last night I was beaten by the Princess, my body aches all over, and I slept until the sky was bright, thus I was unable to go see Tao Gugu. I wonder how she is doing, living the Palace. Next time I return, I must meet with her."


    The two of them immediately went to see the Imperial Bodyguard Chief Dolong. Wei Xiaobao produced the imperial decree Kangxi gave him earlier, the one where he was appointed the Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Chief, and showed it to Dolong. Dolong repeatedly congratulated him, saying, "Wei Xiongdi can freely select whichever Imperial Bodyguards you want. As long as His Majesty nods his approval, I can even accompany you on this mission."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I do not dare to accept the honor. Protecting His Majesty is a great responsibility. Dolong Zongguan may find strolling around the Capital is not an easy thing for you to do."


    Dolong laughed and said, "Next time I will ask His Majesty, the two of us can change our duties, you become the chief, I become your deputy. And then whenever there is good assignment going out of the Capital to catch the autumn breeze, you can let your Gege to go."


    Wei Xiaobao selected Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian, two Imperial Bodyguards, telling them to select a group of Imperial Bodyguards who were close to them. Chalju selected two thousand Valiant Cavalry officers. Each officer was ordered to pay their respect to their new Deputy Commander.


    The articles Kangxi wanted to give to the Shaolin Temple''s monks were prepared promptly; everything was loaded into several dozen carriages. Whatever the Emperor wanted, his shout and his sigh, would be done immediately. In about more than four hours, everything was completely ready.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao was supposed to wear the Valiant Cavalry military uniform, but such a small-sized general uniform was not readily available. Chalju came up with an idea: he gave Wei Xiaobao his own set of uniform, and sent for four highly-skilled tailors to come along. He ordered them to work on altering the uniform inside the large carriage, told them not to sleep that night, and would not allow them to return to Beijing unless the uniform was ready. If they goofed off, the reward would be heavy flogging with army stick.


    Wei Xiaobao found the time to go back to the Hair Alley, and told Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo, "Today I managed to sneak into the Palace, the plan of stealing the sutra has begun to materialize." He instructed the two of them to stay quietly in the house, waiting for his news; they must not go out recklessly, to avoid revealing their secret. As Lu and Fat, two people saw that Wei Xiaobao had handled this matter without a hitch, that he managed to obtain a clue in just two days, they were both very happy, and thus repeatedly expressed their gratitude and promised to follow his instruction.


    Wei Xiaobao had Shuang''er changed into men''s clothing, to disguise herself as his attendant and travelled together with him.

 Chapter - 22 (22)

    The old cassock of the mountain altering revealed secret, the out-of-this-world beautiful woman altering the adornment.


    By the time Wei Xiaobao set out on the journey, it was already late afternoon, but the imperial decree required him to leave the Capital that very same day, so no matter what they had to exit the city wall. Going out the Yong Ding Gate, they only travelled for twenty li when they had to pitch camp for the night.


    The Valiant Cavalry was the Emperor''s personal guards, its members were all the children of Manchurian royal family, close relatives or trusted subordinates of the Emperor. Its provision was ten times better than regular soldiers. They have been staying in the Capital for quite a long time, hence going out of Beijing, without exception everybody was in high spirit, much less they were not going out to fight any battle. This assignment to go to Henan was like going on a scenic tour funded by the imperial court; it was completely different from their regular duties.


    After dinner, it was too early for Wei Xiaobao to go to bed, thereupon he summoned Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian, and the other Imperial Bodyguards, along with the officers of the Valiant Cavalry, to assemble in the command tent. They all thought, "I wonder what important matter His Majesty wants Vice Commander Wei to handle; he is summoning us all, it must be because he wants to brief us on the special imperial decree."


    After everybody had paid his respect, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We, boys, do not have anything to do. His granny, let us gamble, Laozi will be the banker."


    The officers stared at him blankly; they thought he was joking. But then they saw him took out four dice from his pocket and tossed them to the small table in front of him, the dice rolled around, and only then did the people cheered thunderously. Generally, the soldiers were not prohibited from gambling, except when they were marching into battle, then gambling was strictly prohibited, to avoid the troops from having unstable minds and thus damaging the important matter. But how could Wei Xiaobao understand this rule? Although the officers of the Valiant Cavalry knew this martial law, they thought that this time they were not marching to battle, why would they want to obstruct the Vice Commander''s esthetic pleasure?


    Wei Xiaobao fished a pack of banknotes from his pocket and placed it on the small table, it worth at least five or six thousand taels silver. He said, "Who has the ability to win?" The officers scattered back to their tents to get their money.


    Although there were a lot of low ranking officers in the Valiant Cavalry, their families were rich. Hearing that Vice Commander Wei was opening a gambling table, they quietly sneaked into the tent.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "There is no young and old on the gambling table, only money and banknotes! Heroes and warriors, the more they lose, they happier they are. Turtles and lambs, they win and immediately run away!" He blew on the four dice before tossing them onto the table.


    When he was in Yangzhou, he envied the power and prestige of the bankers of the casino. Being the Deputy Chief, the Vice Commander, was nothing to him. Today he had a couple of thousands crowd and he was being the banker, now that was the thing he was most proud of in his entire life.


    One after another the officers placed their bets, some won, some lost. After a while, their spirit aroused, the stake was growing higher and higher, the lower ranking officers at the back were starting to lay their bets. The Imperial Bodyguard Zhao Qixian and a Manchu officer stood by Wei Xiaobao, helping him collect the winning and pay the winners. The large army tent was filled with the shouts of people winning and the cry of those losing, just like the sound of a big gambling establishment. More than two hours later, there were more than twenty thousand taels of silver piling up on the gambling table. Some people lost all, they went back to their tents to borrow more capital from their companions who were not gambling.


    Wei Xiaobao threw the dice, all four dice showed red spots, which means sweep the decks. Everybody was dejected, some cursed, some sighed. Zhao Qixian reached out to take all the money. "Wait!" Wei Xiaobao called out, "This is the first day that Laozi leads the troops and be the banker. This time I am giving away everything to the friends here, I won''t take the money!"


    The troops cheered happily, they shouted, "Vice Commander Wei is a true hero!"


    "Anybody wants to increase his bet may do so!" Wei Xiaobao called out.


    Having been through a narrow escape, they all felt that their luck was really good. One after another they put more money that it piled high on the table. Suddenly a loud and clear voice said, "I bet on the Gate of Heaven!" and he threw a watermelon-shaped object on the Gate of Heaven.


    As soon as they saw it, everybody was shocked. The object on the gambling table was a badly mangled human head. The severed head was still wearing an officer hat, unexpectedly he was an Imperial Bodyguard. "Getong!" Zhao Qixian cried out in fear. Turned out it was the Imperial Bodyguard Getong''s head. He was on duty, patrolling outside the tent tonight, and had his head chopped by the intruders.


    The crowd raised their heads in alarm, and saw at the entrance of the army tent stood a dozen or so people wearing blue clothes, each one held a long sword. The officers'' attention was focused on the gambling table, nobody knew when did these people come in? The crowd of military officers in the tent did not bring any weapons, momentarily they were at a loss of what to do.


    A young man, about twenty five or twenty six, stepped toward the gambling table, both hands were empty, he said, "Gambling Officer, do you accept the bet?"


    "Seize him!" Zhao Qixian called out, immediately four Imperial Bodyguards pounced on the young man.


    The man spread his arms and grabbed two men on the pit of their stomachs. ''Bang!'' he banged the two heads against each other, the two men immediately fainted. Immediately afterwards white ray flashed, two swords were thrust forward, the swords pierced the other two Imperial Bodyguards'' backs and went straight through to their chests. The two Imperial Bodyguards cried miserably as they fell to the ground, dead. The blue-clothed men who thrust their swords were a middle-aged man and a Taoist priest. They pulled their swords and waved their hands, the two swords flew up and ''pop, pop!'' the swords stuck onto the gambling table.


    The middle-aged man shouted, "I bet on the Upper Gate!" The Taoist priest shouted, "I bet on the Lower Gate!" The two swords, not surprisingly, landed on the Upper and Lower Gates, respectively.


    The young man waved his left hand, four people in blue rushed forward, four swords were pointed at the vital points all around Wei Xiaobao''s body.


    With a trembling voice Zhao Qixian shouted, "Who are you? What �� what a nerve! You killed officers, broke into an army camp, aren''t you �� aren''t you afraid of �� of being beheaded?"


    Suddenly from among the four people pointing their swords at Wei Xiaobao came a scoff as someone laughed and said, "We are not afraid; are you afraid?" It was a tender and delicate voice of a woman.


    Wei Xiaobao stole a glance sideways, and saw a young woman, about fourteen or fifteen years old, her face was rather round, her appearance very sweet, her pair of large eyes were pitch-black and bright, there was a smiling expression at the corner of her mouth. He was actually scared out of his wits, but as soon as he saw this good-looking girl, his courage involuntarily grew. He laughed and said, "With Miss one person pointing your sword at me, I am already scared."


    The girl raised her sword a little, the tip of the sword was pressed against his shoulder; she said, "Since you are scared, why are you laughing?"


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao''s face turned serious, he said, "I am most obedient to women, Miss says for me not to laugh, I am not laughing." Sure enough, there was no trace of smiling expression left on his face. Seeing him putting on an act, the girl could not help but stifling her laughter.


    The young man who acted as their leader frowned slightly and said with a cold laugh, "Manchurian Tatars will soon meet their end, they send this little baby whose smell of mother''s milk has not yet dried to lead the troops. Hey, two swords and one head are already placed on the table, why haven''t you rolled the dice?"


    With a good-looking young woman by his side, also hearing the man said to throw the dice, Wei Xiaobao''s panic diminished somewhat; he asked, "If I lose, what must I pay?"


    "Do you need to ask?" the young man said, "You lost to a sword you pay a sword, you lost to a head you pay a head!" He thought this juvenile general would definitely beg for mercy.


    Who would have thought that when Wei Xiaobao was having martial art match, when he lost he would simply surrender, but on the gambling table, whatever happened he would never be a coward, and admit himself to be useless, much less there was a pretty young lady by his side; while he was still alive, how could he lose face in front of a good-looking girl? He also thought, "Your four swords are pointed to me already, if you want to kill me, it won''t matter if I win or lose, you will kill me anyway, why would I want to give you the satisfaction of winning the argument?" Immediately he picked up the dice and said, "Alright, I accept! If I lose to a sword, I''ll pay a sword, I lose a head I pay a head, I lose a pair of pants I''ll take my clothes off! You throw first!"


    The young man did not expect this young general to have such courage and insight; he was stumped for words instead. The middle-aged man said in a low voice, "Large army outside, if we delayed, there will be a big change of the plan!" He wanted him not to waste time senselessly, if those two thousand Manchurian troops burst in, contrary to what he might expect, they would not be easy to deal with.


    The young man cast a glance to Wei Xiaobao, he noticed there was not a scared look on his face. "If I don''t bet with you this time, you won''t submit to me even in your death," he said. Taking the dice, he threw a six. The Taoist priest and the middle-aged man also threw the dice and both got eight.


    Wei Xiaobao picked up the dice and held them in front of the young woman. "Miss," he said, "Please blow on the dice!"


    The young woman smiled and asked, "What for?" But she still blew on the dice.


    "That will do!" Wei Xiaobao said, "When a beautiful woman blew on the dice, I would only make a kill and would not lose!"


    He shook the dice several times in his hands and was about to throw when Zhao Qixian suddenly said, "Hold on! Vice Commander Wei, ask �� ask them what they really want." He was afraid that when Wei Xiaobao threw the dice this time, he would get less than six dots, inevitably there would be someone''s life to be concerned about. Moreover, he was afraid that instead of compensating the loss with his own head, Wei Xiaobao would want to pay with his, Zhao Qixian''s, head; who told him to stand on the side to be the banker''s assistant?


    The young man laughed coldly and said, "If you are scared, just kneel down and beg for mercy."


    "Only turtle bastards are afraid!" Wei Xiaobao said. His hands had not stopped moving, his only fear was that his technique was not too good. Tossing the four dice, they rolled around on the table. When the dice stopped, it did not show a couple of Heavens, but showed six dots. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "Six beats six!" he called out, "I killed the Heavenly Gate, and lost to the Upper and Lower." He picked Getong''s head and placed it in front of him. "Zhao Dage," he said, "Get a couple of swords to pay for the Upper and Lower Gates."


    "Yes!" Zhao Qixian replied. He walked toward the tent''s entrance, but a man in blue stuck out his sword on Zhao Qixian''s chest and shouted, "Stop!"


    "You won''t let him get the swords?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Very well, not a problem. One sword can be considered a thousand taels of silver." From the pile of money in front of him, he took two thousand taels, and divided it equally and placed the money by the swords.


    This group of heroic visitors rushed into the army tent and took control of the commander in chief, the military officers were at a loss. Not only the enemy had high martial art level, they killed people without the slightest scruple. Although their side had more men, they were all outside the tent, and had not been alerted. When a tangled battle ensued, the people in the tent were unarmed and defenseless, perhaps everybody would lose their lives. While they were trembling in fear, they saw Wei Xiaobao and the enemy were tossing the dice, gambling, talking and laughing as though nothing had happened. They could not help but admiring his courage, but some people thought, "Little child does not know the immensity of heaven and earth; do you think this bunch of bandits are here to have fun with you?"


    The young man laughed coldly and said, "With our two treasured swords we only win your two thousand taels? Take all the money on the gambling table!" Six, seven men in blue stepped forward and took all the money and banknotes on the table. The young man took a sword and pointed it toward Wei Xiaobao''s throat and shouted, "Little slave, are you a Manchu or a Han? What''s your name?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Even if Laozi surrenders, you have already barged in, if I surrender now, it would be ''starting without able to finish'', ''completely discarding previous achievement''; a real man want to fight, he will fight to the end." Thereupon he laughed aloud and said, "Laozi is the Plain Yellow Banner''s Deputy Commander, my name is Huacha Huacha Xiaobao. You want to kill then just kill, you want to gamble then let''s gamble! Hey, hey, the big bullying the small, not a hero''s conduct." By saying the last eight words [the big bullying the small, not a hero''s conduct] he was in reality begging for mercy, but in the way he said it there was a little bit of heroic spirit.


    The young man smiled and said, "The big bullying the small, not a hero''s conduct. You are right. Xiao Shimei [little younger martial sister], you are more or less of the same age as him, you can fight him."


    The young girl laughed and said, "Alright!" Raising her sword, she stepped forward and said with a laugh, "Hey, General Huacha Huacha Xiaobao, I am asking some advice of your masterstroke."


    The other three people pointing their swords to Wei Xiaobao pushed the swords slightly, nudging his clothes, they said, "Go out and fight!"


    The young man waved his hand, the sword in his hand flew and landed on the table in front of Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao mused, "I don''t know anything about swordsmanship, I won''t have any guarantee I can beat this little miss." He said, "The big bullying the small, not a hero''s conduct. I am bigger than this Little Miss, how can I bully her?"


    The young man grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up. He shouted, "You don''t dare to have a sword duel, then kowtow to my Xiao Shimei and beg for mercy."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, you want me to kowtow, I will kowtow. Men have gold on their knees, it''s best that we kneel in front of women every day!" Bending his knees, he kneeled in front of the young girl. The group of people in blue clothes roared in laughter.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways, and turned toward the young man''s back, the dagger in his hand was pointing to his back. He laughed and said, "Are you going to surrender or not?"


    This changed happened so suddenly and amazingly that although the young man''s martial art skill was high, unexpectedly he was caught off guard and the vital point on his back was threatened by Wei Xiaobao.


    What happened was that realizing that the six moves to save his life he learned on the Divine Dragon Island had not been trained to perfection, Wei Xiaobao was forced to act happy and keep giggling, to jest and assume the role of a clown, so that the enemy would laugh while looking at him making a fool of himself. When he kneeled down, he reached out to grab the handle of his dagger, and suddenly used the move ''the flying swallow circle around overhead'', and unexpectedly succeeded in turning the tide. If he were a grownup, the opponent would guard against him, and if he had not mastered the move, the half-baked move would definitely be in vain. But first of all, the move was indeed very ingenious, although it was not used properly, it still had quite a formidable power; secondly, how could the young man think that this clown-like teenager unexpectedly was able to come up with such a smart trick? Consequently Wei Xiaobao succeeded.


    The people in blue clothes were shocked, seven or eight swords were immediately pointed toward Wei Xiaobao''s body. They shouted together, "Let him go!" But seeing that Wei Xiaobao''s dagger was aimed at the young man''s back, although there was no doubt that each one of these seven, eight swords could stab him to death, but he only needed to push the dagger lightly, and then the young man would undoubtedly lose his life. Thereupon as the points of the swords were about a chi away from Wei Xiaobao''s body, nobody dared to advance anymore.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You want me to let him go, then I''ll let him go; what''s so strange about that?" Brandishing his dagger, he cut around in a circle, ''clang, clang!'' and cut the tip of the seven or eight swords down, and then he put the dagger back on the young man''s back. The people in blue clothes were shocked, they all take a step back.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Put the money back, I''ll spare your leader''s life." The people in blue who were holding the money did not hesitate at all, they put all the money and the banknotes back on the table.


    They heard several hundreds of people yelling outside the tent, "Don''t let the bandits escape!" "Quickly surrender!" Turned out in the chaos just now, two officers in the tent managed to escape and gathered the troops; they had surrounded the army tent.


    The Taoist priest shouted, "Kill the little Tatar first!" He pulled the sword from the gambling table; a white ray flashed, ''stab'' he thrust the sword into Wei Xiaobao''s right chest. This sword strike was accurately calculated; it cut down in an oblique angle, stabbing from the front of Wei Xiaobao''s body into his back, he knew for sure that when Wei Xiaobao was hit by the sword, his body would be pushed backward, then the tip of the dagger would definitely move away from the young man''s back. To his surprise, however, the sword bent, and ''crack!'' it snapped off instantly.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "Aiyo! The stab did not kill me!" Seeing that unexpectedly blade and spear could not enter his body, the people in blue clothes were startled that they were staring blankly at him.


    The Taoist priest felt that the tip of his sword had bumped into a soft flesh, not a hard steel armor; momentarily he did not understand what was going on. How could he know that Wei Xiaobao was wearing the treasured vest to protect his body that he could not be injured by sharp blade?


    By this time, several hundred officers had burst into the tent, the people in blue were densely covered by spears and broadswords all around, the Imperial Bodyguards and the officers had also obtained weapons from their subordinates'' hands. Even if those people in blue had higher martial art skill, it would be difficult to break through the tight encirclement; much less several people had their swords broken, and their leader was under the enemy''s control. Their upper hand had instantly reversed, and they were now completely beaten and in a hopeless position.


    The young man shouted loudly, "Don''t mind me, everybody kill the enemy and rush out!" But the Imperial Bodyguards and the officers rushed forward, each group of seven, eight people surrounded one person in blue. As soon as one person moved ever so slightly, he would face the calamity of blades raining on his body that he would turn into a minced corpse; they had no choice but throwing down their weapons, with hands tied and waiting to be captured.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "These several people have superb martial art skill, and are opposing the imperial court, perhaps they have some association with Tian Di Hui, how to release them and let them go?" Thereupon he laughed and said, "Laoxiong [old chap], just now you could have killed me but you didn''t. If at this time I killed you, and not giving you any chance to recover your capital, unavoidably you would think I am not a hero and a warrior; this is called ''turtles and lambs, they win and immediately run away''. How about this: let us bet over our heads again." At this time there were seven, eight different weapons were pointing toward the young man. Wei Xiaobao drew back his dagger and with a chuckle he sat down.


    The young man angrily said, "You want to kill me just kill, no need to toy with Laozi."


    Wei Xiaobao picked up the four dice; he laughed and said, "I be the banker, we bet on your heads. Each one of you throws the dice, whoever wins, then you can walk out immediately, plus take a hundred taels as your travel expenses; whoever loses, Zhao Dage, you get ready with a sharp blade on the side, chop down and cut their heads away to avenge our Getong Dage."


    He counted the opponents, altogether there were nineteen people. Immediately he set aside some money, altogether he made nineteen piles, each pile a hundred taels of silver.


    Those people in blue killed government official and thus they were starting a rebellion; since they were captured, naturally they would be beheaded without the slightest hope of lucky escape. Unexpectedly this young general wanted to be a real man and opened up a path to life. If they lose, they were doomed to die anyway. The Taoist priest called out, "Very well, a real man gave his words ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Dead horses cannot chase it! When I, Huacha Huacha Xiaobao, do my business, I never take advantage of other people. This Xiao Jiejie, or perhaps Xiao Meimei [little older sister, little younger sister, respectively], just now helped me by blowing on my dice and thus helped me preserving my head; you don''t have to throw dice. Just consider it I have won your little head, and am giving it back to you as a bonus. Take these hundred taels and walk out the tent first. Pass on this order: the guards outside must not give her any difficulty."


    An aide announced the order in loud voice, "Deputy Commander''s order: those who are released out of the command tent are to be allowed to leave on his own, they are not to be stopped or given any difficulty." The guards outside the tent complied in loud voices.


    Wei Xiaobao took two yuanbao worth fifty taels each and pushed them in front of the young woman. The young woman''s countenance alternated between white and red as she shook her head slowly and said in a low voice, "I don''t want to. We �� nineteen of us of the same school, we �� we will live and die together."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "You do have yi qi. Since you will live and die together, then there is no need for each one of you to throw the dice. Little Miss, you and I are going to gamble. If you win, all nineteen of you will walk away with the money; if you lose, all nineteen heads will roll. Don''t you think it''s straightforward and quick?"


    The girl looked at the young man, waiting for his decision. The young man had a difficult time making one; if the nineteen people bet separately with this young general, some would be bound to lose while some would win. If the general was as good as his word, then about half of the nineteen people would live, and someday they might try to get revenge. But if he let the Xiao Shimei to toss the dice, if she won all of them would withdraw, if she lost, it would be a complete wipe-out; unavoidably it would be too dangerous. His gaze slowly swept his companions.


    A big man in blue said loudly, "Xiao Shimei is right, we live and die together. Xiao Shimei please throw the dice. Otherwise, even if I won, I can''t live alone." Seven or eight people echoed his sentiment.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Very well! Little Miss, you may throw first!" He pushed the dice bowl in front of the young woman.


    The girl looked at the young man, she wanted to see how he would handle this matter. The young man nodded and said, "Xiao Shimei, life and death is a fate. Be courageous and throw the dice. We live and die together anyway!"


    The girl reached out into the bowl and grabbed the four dice, her long eyelashes drooped down, suddenly she looked up and cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao; her hand holding the dice trembled slightly, she let the dice dropped into the bowl, creating a sharp and clear tinkling noise. The girl closed her eyes, she did not dare to look. She only heard all around her people were shouting, "Three! Three! Three! Three dots!" The shouts mixed with the sound of Imperial Bodyguards and army officers laughing and cursing. Although the girl did not understand dice and gambling rule, hearing the enemy was shouting and laughing happily, she knew that her throw must be extremely lacking. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw all of her companions'' faces were deathly pale.


    The largest value four dice could be thrown was a pair of six and three, followed by the Heaven pair, Earth pair, Man pair, Harmony pair, Plum Blossom, Long Three, Wooden Bench, Ox Head, and other pairs. Even if it was not in pair, there were nine dots down to four dots, which were greater than three dots. When these three dots were thrown, nine out of ten it would lose. Even if Wei Xiaobao also threw three dots, as the banker his three would beat the opponent''s three; he could still chop the nineteen people''s heads.


    A man in blue clothes suddenly shouted, "My own head, I want to gamble it myself. Other people''s throw does not count."


    The Taoist priest angrily said, "How can a real man so greedy for life, afraid of death like this? You are damaging our Wangwu Pai''s prestige."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "So all of you are from Wangwu Pai?"


    The Taoist priest said, "Everybody is going to die anyway, so it''s not a big deal to let you know."


    The man in blue loudly said, "It was my father, my mother who gave birth to me, other than my father, my mother, nobody has any right to decide my life or death."


    The Taoist priest angrily said, "Before your Xiao Shimei threw the dice, you did not say anything, after she threw three dots, you speak out. In our Wangwu Pai there should not be any unreasonable character like you."


    The man wanted to preserve his life, he loudly said, "Wu Fu Shishu [fifth martial uncle surnamed Fu], there is nothing serious with me not being a disciple of Wangwu Pai."


    Another man in blue coldly said, "You only want to save your life and won''t care about anything else, do you not?"


    The man said, "This young general plainly said that each of us should bet against him. Xiao Shimei throwing the dice, it was you who agreed to it, have I even said that I agree?"


    The young man in blue grimly said, "Alright, Yuan Shixiong, from this moment on, you are not a Wangwu Pai disciple. You may gamble with him yourself."


    The man surnamed Yuan replied, "The sooner I am out the better."


    "You, surnamed Yuan," Wei Xiaobao said, "What''s your name?"


    The man surnamed Yuan hesitated a little bit, seeing that his companions had become his enemy, if he told him a false name, someone would uncover his lie, thereupon he said, "Zaixia Yuan Yifang."


    "Humph," the young man snorted and said, "There is no harm in Sire changing your name to Yuan Fang."


    "Why does he have to change his name?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Hmm, Yuan Fang, Yuan Fang, short one character ''Yi'' [justice/righteous], he is scolding you as having no ''yi qi'' [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice]. Hey, friends of Wangwu Pai, anybody else want to bet with me?" His gaze was fixed on those people in blue; he saw two people with their lips moving slightly, as if they wanted to gamble themselves, but after hesitating for a moment, they did not say anything.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Very good, everybody under Wangwu Pai is a hero and a warrior, you really have yi qi. This Yuan Xiong does not belong to Wangwu Pai anyway, so it does not matter if he has yi qi or not."


    The young man showed a faint smile and said, "Thank you very much."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Pour some wine! I want to drink a cup with these eighteen friends. Either they lose or win, we will part for ever. These eighteen friends have heavy yi qi, I cannot not make friends with them."


    The sergeant under his command poured nineteen cups of wine, he placed one cup in front of Wei Xiaobao, and handed over one cup to each of the eighteen people in blue clothes. As the people in blue saw the young man their leader took the cup, they also accepted the cups.


    In a loud and clear voice the young man said, "We will never make friends with Manchu Tatars. It''s just that your conduct is straightforward, plus you hold our Wangwu Pai in high regard, drinking a cup of wine with you is not a big deal."


    "Good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Cheers!" He tossed down the wine. The eighteen people also downed their drinks, and then one after another they tossed the cup to the ground. Yuan Yifang''s face was ashen, he turned his head around, not wanting to look.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted, "Prepare eighteen sharp blades, if I throw three dots or more this time, these eighteen good friends'' heads will be chopped down." The officers complied with loud voice; eighteen officers raised their sabers or swords and stood behind the eighteen people.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "My set of dice is loaded, it won''t be difficult to throw one or two dots. But I rarely practice lately, my hand skill is out of practice; just now I wanted to throw a pair of Heaven, but it turned out to be six dots. If I made the slightest mistake, inevitably I would harm these eighteen people''s lives. I don''t care if these stinky men are dead, but if this flower-like little girl is also dead, isn''t it a pity?"


    He picked up the four dice and shook them inside his hand, blew on them himself, his finger turned lightly, and he tossed the dice. Immediately his left palm covered the mouth of the bowl. He heard the dice were rolling several times, and when they stopped, he did not immediately take his palm away, but only opened a crack from which he took a peek. He saw out of four dice, two showed two dots, one showed one dot, and one showed five dots, so the total was only ten. ''Departing Ten'' was equal to zero, there was nothing smaller than that. Originally he had concocted a plan, if his technique was ineffective, that is, he threw three dots or more, he would say either one or two dots, and then shook the bowl to disturb the dice, and hence the dead cannot testify, the opposite party would be overjoyed at unexpected good news, at most his own troops would be suspicious, but no one would dare to openly confront him. Now that he succeeded in cheating, he was ecstatic, but cursed himself, "Damn it, Laozi''s hand deserves to be chopped!" With his left hand he slapped his own right hand several time.


    As everybody saw the dice, they all shouted, "Departing Ten! It''s Departing Ten!"


    Having been in mortal danger and escaped alive, the people in blue clothes could not help but cheering loudly. The young man, the leader of the people in blue, looked at Wei Xiaobao and thought, "Manchu Tatars do not speak in good faith, I wonder if he will keep his words?"


    Wei Xiaobao pushed the money on the gambling table forward and said, "You have won the money, take them. Could it be that you still want to gamble with me?"


    "We don''t dare to accept the money," the young man said, "Sire is as good as your word, you are a real hero. I''m sure we''ll meet again someday." Cupping his fists, he turned around to leave.


    "Hey," Wei Xiaobao called, "You won but don''t want to take the money, aren''t you looking down on Zaixia, Huacha Huacha Xiaobao?"


    The young man thought, "We are in a dangerous spot, must not delay too much." He said, "Thank you very much then." The eighteen of them took the money, turned around and went out of the tent.


    Wei Xiaobao kept staring at the girl''s face. After taking the money, she could not help but casting a glance toward Wei Xiaobao. Four eyes met, the girl blushed; she smiled and said in a low voice, "Thank you." After taking two steps, she turned her head around and said, "Little General, do you mind giving me the four dice?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Of course I don''t, why should I?" he said, "Are you going to bet against your Shixiong?"


    The girl smiled and said, "I am not. I want to keep it well. I was so frightened a moment ago that I lost half of my life." Wei Xiaobao grabbed the four dice and put them in her hand; he took this opportunity to gently pinch her wrist. He always wanted to take this kind of small advantage. The girl said again, "Thank you," and left the tent in quick steps.


    Seeing his companion walked out the tent, Yuan Yifang was about to follow. "Hey," Wei Xiaobao called, "I have not bet against you."


    Yuan Yifang''s face immediately paled; he thought, "This is so wrong, if I knew he would throw a Departing Ten, why should I become a vile character?" He said, "General does not have the dice anymore, I �� I thought you don''t want to bet."


    "Why not?" Wei Xiaobao said, "We can bet on anything, we can play finger-guessing game, or rolling copper coin." Casually he grabbed a pack of banknotes and said, "You can guess altogether how many taels of silver in here."


    Yuan Yifang said, "How can I guess it?"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and shouted, "This bandit is being rude to the General, seize him and off with his head!" The crowd of officers complied in chorus.


    Yuan Yifang was so scared that his face turned ash-grey, his knees turned soft, he kneeled down on the ground and said, "Xiao �� Xiaoren does not dare, Great General �� Great General please spare my life."


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he thought, "This fellow is calling me Great General


    [5]." He shouted, "I am going to ask you questions, answer everything truthfully, if there is the slightest bit of covering the truth, your head will be chopped down."


    "Yes, yes!" Yuan Yifang repeatedly said.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to get foot fetters and handcuffs, and had him shackled. Then he ordered to have the money returned to those who lost and told them to withdraw. Only Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian, two Imperial Bodyguards, and the Valiant Cavalry Can Ling [Regimental Commander] Fu Chun, remained in the tent. Zhang Kangnian commenced the interrogation immediately. He asked one sentence, Yuan Yifang answered one sentence; as expected, he did not conceal anything.


    Turned out the Zhangmen [Sect Leader] of Wangwu Pai was Situ Bolei, a deputy general during the Ming Dynasty, an affiliate and subordinate of the Shanhai Pass Commander Wu Sangui, who, at that time, was fighting against Manchurian''s invasion. He was a brave and very able fighter, and had rendered quite a bit of meritorious deeds. Afterwards Li Zicheng broke into Beijing and Wu Sangui led the Qing army entering the Pass, Situ Bolei led his troops to fight Li Zicheng, killed the enemy using extreme force of will, attacked them back into Beijing. At that time he only knew that the Qing troops entered the Pass in order to avenge Emperor Chongzhen; to his surprise, however, the Qing troops seized that opportunity to occupy the Han people''s rivers and mountains, and Wu Sangui became the great traitor to China.


    In his rage, Situ Bolei immediately relinquished his official position and went to Wangwu Mountain to live in seclusion. A considerable number of his former subordinates were not willing to surrender to the Manchurian Qing, they came to Wangwu Mountain to live with him. Situ Bolei''s martial art skill was actually very high, having no other engagement, he taught his former subordinates martial art, and after a long time, they automatically became the Wangwu Pai. They were master and disciples first before becoming a sect or a martial art school, so it was not quite the same as other schools. Mentioning Situ Bolei''s name, Zhang Kangnian and the others had also heard about him.


    Yuan Yifang said that the young man who led them was Situ Bolei''s son, Situ He; the rest of their group was his martial brothers, and several of his seniors, equivalent to his martial uncles. The young girl was called Zeng Rou; her father was Situ Bolei''s subordinate, who passed away several years earlier. Toward the end of his life, he ordered his daughter to do obeisance and enter his former superior''s school.


    Recently they obtained information that Wu Sangui''s son, Wu Yingxiong had come to Beijing. Situ Zhangmen then sent them to meet with him. Passing this place, they saw the Qing troops'' camp. Situ He was young and like to meddle, sneaking into the camp, they saw everybody was gambling, so he had the urge to rob them. His real intention was not for the money, he wanted to kill some Manchu soldiers to vent his anger.


    "What do you want to see Wu Sangui''s son for?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Shifu''s order," Yuan Yifang replied, "Is for us to think of a way to kidnap him and bring him back to Wangwu Mountain, thereupon threatening Wu Sangui, coercing him �� coercing him ��"


    "What?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Coercing him to revolt?"


    "It was what Shifu had said," Yuan Yifang said, "It has nothing to do with Xiaoren. Xiaoren is loyal to the Great Qing, I will never dare to revolt. Today Xiaoren has made a clean break [orig. one knife two segments] with Wangwu Pai, it was exactly because I am unwilling to be attached to the rebels, I want to throw away the dark and invest in the light, to be in the front of the troops against the insurrection."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him and said with a laugh, "Damn it, you are a big loyalist."


    Yuan Yifang did not dodge at all, he received the kick and said, "Yes, yes! I rely entirely on Great General''s training. Hereafter Xiaoren will be Great General''s servant, Great General''s slave; I will be loyal and devoted, will go through water and tread on fire, under no circumstances will I decline to obey your command."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that this time the opponent had killed three Imperial Bodyguards, yet I have let Situ He, Zeng Rou and the others go, I am afraid Zhang Kangnian and the other Imperial Bodyguards would not accept, or at least blame Laozi''s luck in throwing the dice was too disappointing. Seeing the case in front of him, he thought that he must give everybody some benefit, so that he could save his own face as the banker that day. After pondering for half a day, he came up with an idea. Stretching out his hand, he heavily slapped the table and shouted, "What a brazen traitor, clearly you are in collusion with Wu Sangui, planning a rebellion, yet you still say you wanted to kidnap his son. How much have you received from Wu Sangui that you are willing to cover up the truth for him? Damn it, son of a b1tch, get someone here, beat this guy severely for me!"


    From outside the tent entered seven or eight sergeants, who spread Yuan Yifang on the ground and beat him with the army stick until his flesh was bruised and lacerated.


    "Are you going to confess now?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "You said you are going to kidnap Wu Sangui''s son, why did you come to our army camp and kill our Imperial Bodyguards? The Imperial Bodyguard and the Valiant Cavalry are the Emperor''s most trusted subordinates; by offending the Imperial Bodyguard and the Valiant Cavalry, you are not giving the Emperor any face." Hearing this, Zhang Kangnian, Fu Chun and the others were very pleased, they spoke out together to threaten him.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This fellow utters graceful words, flowery speech, he is fabricating lies to deceive us. This kind of rebellious traitor, how can he tell the truth unless he is beaten? Beat him again!"


    The crowd of sergeants shouted and randomly struck their army sticks down. Yuan Yifang screamed, "Don''t hit, don''t hit! Xiaoren is willing confess!"


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Altogether, how many of you live on Mount Wangwu?"


    "Altogether we have more than 400 people," Yuan Yifang replied.


    "Including your families?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Approximately two thousand people," Yuan Yifang replied.


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and cursed, "F*ck your granny! How can there be so little? Beat him again!"


    "Don''t hit, don''t hit!" Yuan Yifang screamed, "There are more than four thousand �� five thousand people."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed again, "F*ck your granny''s eighteen-generation ancestors, why don''t you just speak straightforward; nine thousand is nine thousand, why do you have to divide it into four thousand and five thousand?"


    "Yes, yes!" Yuan Yifang said, "There are more than nine thousand."


    "You are a rebellious traitor," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can you tell the truth? If you say nine thousand, there must be at least nineteen thousand of you." ''Bang!'' he slapped the table again and shouted, "The rebels gathering on Mount Wangwu, how many are there?"


    Listening to his tone, Yuan Yifang realized that the higher the number he mentioned, the happier the young general was; thereupon he said, "I heard �� I heard there are thirty thousand people altogether."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "That''s more like it." Turning toward the Regimental Commander Fu Chun he said, "This miserable wretch will not confess unless he is beaten."


    "Exactly," Fu Chun replied, "But he must be beaten ferociously."


    "No need to hit," Yuan Yifang shouted, "Whatever Great General ask, Xiaoren will confess." He had already decided that he would simply follow this young general''s tone of speech so that his skin and flesh would not suffer.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "With more than thirty thousand of you, each one is trained in martial art, is that right? The young miss just now, she is only fourteen or fifteen, but she is trained in martial art. You are all Wu Sangui''s former subordinates, but some of you are young, you must be the offspring of his former high-ranking military officer, are you not?"


    "Yes, yes!" Yuan Yifang said, "Everybody knows �� knows martial art, all of us are Wu Sangui''s former subordinates."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your leader Situ Bolei, he was Wu Sangui''s favorite general, when he fought a battle, he was very formidable, was he not? He said he wanted to completely wipe us, the Manchu people, out?"


    "That was his talk of treason and heresy," Yuan Yifang said, "It was �� it was extremely wrong of him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He sent you to Beijing to see Wu Sangui''s son, to discuss how you are going to revolt. Why didn''t you go to Yunnan and discuss it with Wu Sangui face to face?"


    Yuan Yifang said, "This �� this �� perhaps �� perhaps there is another reason." In reality, they only wanted to kidnap Wu Yingxiong, so it was really not easy to answer Wei Xiaobao''s question.


    "Scoundrel!" Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "What other reason? Your Situ Bolei has already gone to Yunnan and has reached an agreement with Wu Sangui, hasn''t he?"


    "Probably �� probably he has," Yuan Yifang replied.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed, "What do you mean probably or probably not? Damn it, if yes say yes, if no say no."


    "Yes �� yes," Yuan Yifang said, "He has."


    Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian and Fu Chun, three people heard how Wei Xiaobao was guiding the confession, gradually pushing the blame of major crime of scheming a rebellion to Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui''s head. They could not help but look at each other in blank dismay, while worrying inwardly, not knowing Wei Xiaobao''s real intention.


    Wei Xiaobao asked further, "Situ Bolei was Wu Sangui''s favorite general, he raised these more than thirty thousand elite troops, why didn''t he set up his garrison in Yunnan? Your granny, where in the world is Wangwu Mountain?" He thought, "If Wangwu Mountain is in Yunnan, my question is a wrong question." Fortunately Yuan Yifang replied, "It''s in Jiyuan County, Henan province." But Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest idea what kind of place Jiyuan County, Henan province was. He asked, "That''s close to Beijing, is it?"


    "It''s not too far," Yuan Yifang replied.


    "F*ck your granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Close to Beijing is close to Beijing, what do you mean not too far?"


    "Yes, yes," Yuan Yifang said, "It''s very close, it''s very close."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "So it is very close to Beijing! You, rebellious thieves indeed have a malicious intention, on a mountain very close to Beijing you dare to raise elite troops. When Wu Sangui in Yunnan raises a rebellion, you will immediately go down the mountain to attack straight to Beijing, and will have each and every one of the Imperial Bodyguards and Valiant Cavalry killed like chopping melon or slicing vegetables, you will make a killing until the blood flow like a river, the corpses pile up like a mountain. You will attack like a billowing sandstorm and leave us to piss in our pants in terror, right?"


    Yuan Yifang kowtowed and said, "This is Wu Sangui and Situ Bolei, two rebellious thieves'' conspiracy on treason and heresy, it has nothing �� nothing to do with Xiaoren."


    Wei Xiaobao showed a faint smile; he mused, "This fellow is very clever." He said, "In your Wangwu Pai, how many people have worked as military officers under Wu Sangui? I want you to give me names, one by one."


    "There are too many of them," Yuan Yifang said. Immediately he started mentioning names, but this time he did not fabricate the names.


    "Very good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Write down these people''s names, I also want the names of those who were previously holding official positions under Wu Sangui."


    Yuan Yifang said, "Some �� some names Xiaoren is not too clear."


    "You are not clear?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Drag him down and beat him thirty more times. I am sure he will be clear."


    Yuan Yifang busily said, "No �� don''t hit, Xiaoren will �� will write down everything." A sergeant brought pen and paper, Yuan Yifang wrote a list of names.


    Seeing he had not finished after writing for half a day, Wei Xiaobao was getting impatient; he turned to Zhang Kangnian and said, "Get Mr. Secretary to record his oral confession." He shouted to Yuan Yifang, "I want you to repeat the oral confession you gave just now, if you are being unclear for even half a sentence, your head will roll. Take him away." Two officers took him away.


    Wei Xiaobao chuckled and said to his three companions, "Laoxiong, this time we are really lucky, to be able to uncover this gargantuan rebellion conspiracy; all four of us will definitely enjoy big promotion."


    Zhang Kangnian and the others, three people, were surprised and happy at the same time. Zhao Qixian said, "This is Commander''s clear eye and brave decision, what merit do subordinates have?"


    "Everybody has a share in seeing this matter," Wei Xiaobao said, "Everyone has meritorious service."


    Zhang Kangnian said, "About Ping Xi Wang staging a rebellion, I wonder if we have enough evidence?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This bunch of rebellious thieves of Mount Wangwu is planning to revolt, isn''t that the truth? They are going to Beijing to see Wu Sangui''s son, what good thing can possibly come out of that meeting?"


    Zhang Kangnian said, "This man surnamed Yuan said that they wanted to kidnap Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent, to compel Ping Xi Wang into revolting, I am afraid Ping Xi Wang did not necessarily have prior contact with them."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhang Dage has had some dealings with Ping Xi Wang Mansion''s people, therefore, you know quite a bit of inside information, don''t you? If their rebellion succeeded, Ping Xi Wang will become the Emperor, hey, hey."


    Hearing the ill-intention in the tone of his voice, Zhang Kangnian was shocked; he hastily said, "I don''t know even one of the Ping Xi Wang Mansion''s people. Com �� Commander is �� is right, that servant Wu Sangui is �� is planning treason and heresy, we must �� must immediately report this to His Majesty."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Would the three gentlemen discuss it with Mr. Secretary on how we are going to present this memorial to the throne."


    After Zhang Kangnian, three people and the armed force secretary finished writing the memorial to the throne, they read it out for Wei Xiaobao. The content was just like Yuan Yifang''s oral confession, with the list of names of Wu Sangui''s former subordinates on Wangwu Mountain attached to the letter. The memorial was replenished with sauce and spice, recounting how Wei Xiaobao had seen the rebellious traitors during the day, and pretended to be unprepared when they set up camp in the night, to lure the bandits to attack. The rebellious traitors were exceptionally fierce; Wei Xiaobao led the troops to fight bravely, he provided the leadership and captured the chief of the traitors, whose name was Yuan Yifang, alive, and learned about the rebellion plan. The Imperial Bodyguard Getong and two others gallantly died for their country, asking the Emperor to bestow grace by generously rewarding comfort and aid to the three persons'' bereaved families.


    After listening to this, Wei Xiaobao said, "Please also add several sentences on the meritorious service of the Regimental Commander Fu and Zhang and Zhao, two captains of the Imperial Bodyguards." Fu Chun and the others, three people, were greatly delighted and immediately expressed their gratitude.


    Wei Xiaobao added, "Also, add several sentences about we captured nineteen rebellious thieves, but no matter what, those rebellious traitors were unwilling to reveal the rebellion plan, therefore, according to His Majesty''s prior instruction, I intentionally release eighteen rebellious traitors, so that we can investigate clearly the entire rebellion plan."


    The three people asked together, "So releasing the eighteen rebellious traitors was part of His Majesty''s plan?"


    "Naturally," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am so young, how can I be that smart? If not for His Majesty''s foresight, how can I uncover this major rebellion plan?"


    Previously, Kangxi had ordered Wei Xiaobao to release Wu Lishen, Ao Biao, Liu Yizhou, three people, in order to find the fact about the rebels entering the Palace. Zhang Kangnian and the others thought that the Emperor had already known that Wangwu Pai people would come to attack. In that case, the framing of Wu Sangui was also part of the Emperor''s plan. Seeing that for no rhyme or reason great riches and honor was being delivered into their hands, they were all overjoyed and did not stop expressing their thousand thanks and ten thousands gratitude.


    According to Manchurian Qing custom, when a general went into battle, he could not return without an imperial edict. Although Wei Xiaobao was only about twenty li from Beijing, he could not personally return to Beijing to submit the memorial to the throne. Thereupon he sent two Company Commanders and ten Imperial Bodyguards to lead one company [orig. ''niru''] of three hundred ordinary soldiers that very same night, with Yuan Yifang in custody, to present the memorial to the throne to Kangxi.


    [Author''s note: in the Eight Banners Army, three hundred men formed one ''niru''. The idea behind ''niru'' was ''big arrow'', the leader held a big arrow as the symbol of his authority. Five ''niru'' formed one ''jalan'', five ''jalan'' formed one ''gusa''.] Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself; he thought, "This time I am giving Wu Sangui enough trouble. Mu Palace is having a competition against us, Tian Di hui, to see who will topple Wu Sangui first. Today Laozi has rendered great service to both Shifu. Shifu Chen of Tian Di Hui will be happy, Emperor Shifu will also be happy."


    The next day he led his troops to continue their journey slowly southwards. By noon, two Imperial Bodyguards from Beijing, riding fast horses, caught up with them. They said, "His Majesty has a secret imperial edict."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, immediately he gathered all the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry officers in his tent to receive the imperial decree. The Imperial Bodyguard bearing the imperial decree stood in the middle and read in loud and clear voice: "The Deputy Commander of Valiant Cavalry of Plain Yellow Banner, who simultaneously hold the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards position, Wei Xiaobao, listen to this: Zhen told you to go to Shaolin Temple on a mission, who told you to meddle in other people''s business along the way? You have listened to lowly characters speaking nonsense, bringing a false charge against a minister who has given outstanding service, foolishly pursuing this kind of business; how could you not bitterly disappoint your lord? Henceforth you are forbidden to mention that kind of rubbish talk, if even a word or a sentence leak out, all of you will return to Beijing to see Zhen with your heads hanging by your sides. By the Emperor himself."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard it, he was so scared that his back was wet with cold sweat. He had no choice but to kowtow and thank the Emperor''s favor. The faces of everybody else in the tent went pale, they were very ashamed. Fu Chun, Zhang Kangnian and the others did not dare to talk too much, they thought that this little child was fooling around deliberately, His Majesty did not blame him for the crime, it could be considered that the Emperor treated him very well. Realizing that right now Wei Xiaobao''s mood must be very bad, they did not want to look for a nail to bump, thereupon they took their leave and walked out the tent.


    The Imperial Bodyguard bearing the imperial decree walked toward Wei Xiaobao and said in a low voice, "His Majesty''s order: you must be very careful in everything."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "His Majesty''s grace, servant Wei Xiaobao is extremely grateful." Taking out four hundred taels of silver, he gave the money to the two Imperial Bodyguards.


    After the two Imperial Bodyguards left, Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Could it be that the Emperor knows that I am slandering Wu Sangui? Or after he arrived in Beijing that servant Yuan Yifang retracted his statement and reported that he had confessed under torture? The Emperor seems to be very fond of Wu Sangui, toppling him is actually not going to be easy."


    That evening, the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry soldiers who were sent to escort Yuan Yifang caught up with them. After Wei Xiaobao bumped into this big nail, everybody did not have any interest to gamble anymore. Without speaking too much, one day the group arrived at the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song.


    Having received the report of the arrival of the imperial decree, the Abbot led a group of monks going down the mountain to welcome the party, and then they took Wei Xiaobao and his entourage into the Temple.


    Wei Xiaobao took out the imperial decree, opened the sealed envelope, and handed it over to Zhang Kangnian to be read. He heard quite a bit of lengthy and flowery sentences, something like ''The Masters


    [6] have profound understanding of mysterious principles of Buddhism, have the foreknowledge of wonderful reason, able to establish auspicious scheme, supporting the Emperor on both sides'', or ''In the Palace of Nirvana hang the sun and the moon in their splendor, changing the color of the mist and cloud in the garden of Buddha'', or ''The cloud circles peaks of Mount Song, the luan


    [7] return to Shaoshi


    [8], the grass bend down of the immortal dew, peaceful forest under Buddha''s sun, the manifest of Buddhist people, the clear wisdom of our generation''. Following those sentences, the Head Monk of Shaolin Temple, Abbot Hui Cong was bestowed the title of ''The Zen Master [orig. chan shi] Protector of the Country, Blessing to the Sages'', also, the eighteen Shaolin monks who had rendered great service on Mount Wutai were duly rewarded. Finally Zhang Kangnian read, "Hereby I am sending the Deputy Commander of Valiant Cavalry of Plain Yellow Banner, who simultaneously hold the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards position, the wearer of Yellow Magua bestowed personally by the Emperor, Wei Xiaobao, to act on Zhen''s behalf, to become a Buddhist monk in Shaolin Temple, granted by the Emperor to spend time to learn Buddhist law, namely, to take the tonsure. By the Emperor himself."


    Listening to the bookish part in the front, Wei Xiaobao had no idea where the Emperor was driving at, but toward the end, he actually understood; he could not restrain his countenance from changing greatly. Kangxi wanted him to go to Mount Wutai and be a Buddhist monk there, and he had agreed. But never in his wildest dream would he expect that he was being sent to Shaolin Temple to have his head shaved here. He had the imperial decree continuously in his possession, but before arriving at the destination, how could he dare to open it? Besides, even if he took a peek, he would not know what was written on it anyway.


    Hui Cong Chanshi


    [9] led the monks to thank the Emperor''s favor. The officers took out the gift and distribute it. Wei Xiaobao stood on the side, watching. His heart was in chaos.


    Hui Cong Chanshi said, "Wei Daren is going to be a monk in place of His Majesty, this is our Temple''s rare honor." He took out a razor on the spot, and said, "Wei Daren is His Majesty''s proxy, this is not a small matter, even Lao Na [lit. old cassock] does not dare to be your Shifu. Let Lao Na''s late master receive you as his disciple, you are Lao Na''s Shidi [younger martial brother], your Buddhist name will be Hui Ming. In all Shaolin Temple, other than you and Lao Na, two people, nobody else has this ''Hui'' generation-character in his name."


    Facing this situation, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but kneeling down with tears in his eyes to have his head shaved. Using the razor, Hui Cong Chanshi shaved his head three times first, and then the tonsure monk continued shaving his sparse hair, whatever was left of his burnt pigtail, until nothing was left. With authority Hui Cong Chanshi said, "Do not consider Shaolin''s unadorned wall as an obstruction. Do not consider becoming a monk on the Emperor''s behalf as grandeur. The glory and splendor of the dust was unlucky [''Hui''] in the past, but now it is bright [''Ming'']. No coming, no going, no decrease, no increase!" Taking out the document conferred by the Emperor, he filled in the name ''Hui Ming'' onto the document and had Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to worship the Tathagata


    [10]. The crowd of monks chorused in calling the name of Buddha.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "You, bald-headed thief, do not have eighteen generations ancestors who accumulate merits, but come here and shave Laozi''s head. You recite Amitabha Buddha, Laozi recite hot piece Mama in my heart." Suddenly he was overwhelmed with grief and bawled. The officers filling the hall were startled and stared at him. The monks continued their recitation; nobody paid him any attention.


    After crying for a while, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to stop. Hui Cong Chanshi said, "Shidi, among the monks in our Temple, currently we have eight characters of seniority, namely ''Da Jiao Guan Hui, Cheng Jing Hua Yan''. Our master Guan Zheng Chanshi has passed away twenty-eight years ago, all the Cheng generation monks in our Temple are your Shizhi [martial nephew]."


    Immediately the monks, in the order of seniority, stepped forward to pay their respect; among them were Cheng Xin, Cheng Guang, Cheng Tong, and the others, who had had friendship with him before. The Cheng generation old monks with their white, silvery beards were all calling him as Shishu [martial (younger) uncle]. Among the Jing generation monks, there were quite a few of old men, yet they were all calling him Shishuzu [martial granduncle]. The most interesting thing was the Hua generation monks; some of them were thirty, forty years old, but they paid their respect to him by calling him Tai Shishuzu [martial great-granduncle]. Wei Xiaobao was amused and could not help but bursting into loud laughter. Seeing the tears on his face had not been wiped, yet he was laughing happily, everybody smiled.


    Turned out the reason Kangxi dispatched the Imperial Bodyguards and his personal troops the Valiant Cavalry to Shaolin Temple was no more than escorting Wei Xiaobao to take the tonsure and become a Buddhist monk; however, as the Emperor''s proxy, how could he be compared to ordinary person? If not for the fanfare, how could the Shaolin monks see the grandeur of this matter?


    The Regimental Commander Fu Chun of the Valiant Cavalry, the Imperial Bodyguards Zhao Qixian, Zhang Kangnian, and the others bade their farewell to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao took out three hundred taels of silver and asked Zhang Kangnian to rent a private house at the foot of the mountain where Shuang''er could stay. Shaolin Temple has never accepted female benefactors inside their temple. Although Shuang''er was wearing a man''s clothing, the eighteen Luohan of Damo Hall had all known her as Wei Xiaobao''s servant girl; therefore, she was waiting at the foot of the mountain. She only knew that Wei Xiaobao was going to pass on the imperial decree, and hand over the rewards to the monks; afterwards, Wei Xiaobao would come down the mountain and return to Beijing. Who would have thought that he was supposed to be a monk in the Temple?


    Not only Wei Xiaobao was the Emperor''s proxy, he had the ''Hui'' character in his name, denoting him a senior monk; therefore, everybody in the Temple revered him. The Abbot reserved a large meditation room for him. Abbot Hui Cong said, "Shidi, you are free to do anything in the Temple, you may do morning and night chores as you wish. Other than abstaining against taking life, stealing, being lascivious, lying, drinking wine, five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, you can choose whether to observe or not to observe the minor discipline." And then he explained in details what those five major Buddhist monastic disciplines mean.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Lying is included in these five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, to Laozi, I don''t want to guard against whatever I say." He asked, "Is gambling also to be abstained?"


    Abbot Hui Cong was taken aback. "What gambling?" he asked.


    "Gambling for money?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hui Cong smiled and said, "Within the five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, gambling is not mentioned. Other people may want to abstain against it, but Shidi may do as you wish."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Damn it, if I am the only one who does not abstain against it, what''s the use? Could I be betting against myself?"


    After living in the Temple for several days, he was already bored to death; he pondered, "Xiao Xuanzi wanted me to serve the Old Emperor, but he sent me to Shaolin Temple to be a monk. I wonder when is he going to let me go to Mount Wutai?"


    One particular day he wandered aimlessly to the outside of the Luohan Hall. He saw Cheng Tong was overseeing six disciples in martial art training. As soon as those monks saw his arrival, they bowed together to salute. Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said, "Don''t be too polite, you may continue your training."


    He saw the six ''Jing'' generation monks boxing technique was precise and rigorous, their movements were very nimble, the changes in their stances were very dynamic; compared to this ''martial granduncle'' of theirs, they were actually much more superior. He heard Cheng Tong giving them directions, how firm and how fast should this punch be, how to be powerful but flexible, how to position this kick, how not to kick too high, and so on. Wei Xiaobao did not understand anything, so he was just watching without any interest. After a while he turned around and walked away, thinking, "I always hear people say that Shaolin Temple''s martial art skill is number one under the heavens. Now that I am a monk in the Temple, won''t it be a pity if I don''t learn the skill?" Suddenly it dawned on him, "Aiyo! I got it! The dog fart Shaolin martial art that the old turtle Hai Dafu taught me was fake, it is totally useless. Xiao Xuanzi is sending me to Shaolin Temple to be a monk here, he wants me to learn the real skill of Shaolin Pai before I can protect the Old Emperor. But my Shifu died twenty eight years ago, who will teach me martial art?"


    After pondering for half a day, he finally understood one thing: "Old Monk Abbot makes me his Shidi, it''s precisely so that I don''t have any Shifu; this old bald thief is very crafty. Hmm, that''s right, he knew I am the Emperor''s trusted aide, who is a high-ranking Manchu official; there is no way he would be willing to pass on excellent martial art skill to this little Tatar. Humph, you don''t want to teach me, do you think I cannot learn by looking?"


    In Wulin world, when people were teaching martial art, it was a big taboo for any school or sect to have other people watching on the side. However, this Hui Ming Chanshi was their own Temple''s ''Senior Monk of Older Generation''. When their Sect''s disciples and grand-disciples were practicing martial art and he wanted to watch on the side, nobody could raise any objection.


    Wei Xiaobao looked to the east and gazed to the west in all courtyards and halls around the Temple. Whenever there were people training martial art, he would stand and watch for a while. Unfortunately, this ''senior monk''s'' foundation was indeed too superficial. What Hai Dafu taught him was not a real martial art, while what Chen Jinnan taught him, the internal energy cultivation technique, he only practiced for several days. Shaolin Pai''s martial art was wide-ranging and profound, by casually watching like this, how could he reap any benefit? Much less he did not have any patience to watch for an extended period of time.


    Therefore, after wandering around Shaolin Temple for more than a month, he did not learn even one bit of martial art skill. However, he had an easy-going personality, he loved to mingle around and make friends. Since in term of seniority his position in the Temple was second only to the Abbot, and he was willing to make friends with other people, all monks were very warm toward him.


    One day, the spring breeze was gentle and pleasant, Wei Xiaobao felt his entire body was comfortably warm. Living in a monastery with monks as his only companions was really not the most fun thing to do, thereupon he went out the Temple''s gate and strolled down the mountain. He thought that he had not seen Shuang''er for quite a while, he wanted to know how this girl was doing, so he wanted to see her. Moreover, day in and day out he ate vegetarian dishes in the Temple, he had already cursed the green vegetables and tofu''s ancestor several thousand, several tens of thousand times. He wanted Shuang''er to buy some chicken, fish and meat, and let the great monk eat to his heart''s desire.


    Walking near the Welcoming Guest Pavilion [Ying Ke Ting] outside the Temple, he suddenly heard the sound of people quarreling; he was delighted, "Wonderful, wonderful! A fight." Quickening his steps, he heard the voices of men, intersperse with the sharp and clear voice of several women.


    When he came near, he saw two young women in the Pavilion squabbling with four of their Temple''s monks. When the four monks saw Wei Xiaobao, they said together, "Shishuzu is here, let''s have the Senior be the judge over this matter." Welcoming him to the Pavilion, they put their palms together and bowed. These four monks were of the ''Jing'' generation. Wei Xiaobao knew that they were in charge of receiving guests and benefactors outside the Temple. Usually they were very well-disposed and very affable, yet somehow they were engaged in a squabble with these two young women. Looking at the two women, one was approximately twenty years old, wearing blue garment, the other was younger, perhaps around sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing light green garment.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao looked at this young woman, he could not stop his heart from jumping, he felt as if the pit of his stomach was beaten by an invisible iron hammer, in an instant his lips were parched, his tongue dried, he was dumbstruck and could only thought, "I am dead, I must be dead! Where did this beautiful woman come from? If this beautiful woman is given to me as my wife, even if the young emperor wanted to switch places with me, I don''t want it. Dead or alive, the heaven above the earth below, forest of spears or rain of arrows, mountain of blade or a deep fryer, no matter what Wei Xiaobao must take this miss as a wife."


    Seeing how these four monks were calling the young monk ''martial granduncle'', and were treating him with great respect, the two women were very surprised. And then they noticed his eyes were staring blankly at the girl in green clothes. Even a common man ought not to be so impolite, much less this was someone who had left home to become a monk. The girl in green blushed, she turned her head away. An angry look started to appear on the woman in blue''s face.


    Wei Xiaobao was oblivious; he mused, "Why did she turn her head away? When she is blushing slightly like that, even if a hundred girls of Lovely Spring Courtyard stand together, they do not look as good as one strand of her eyebrow. If I have to give her ten thousand taels each time she laugh, it is still worth it." He also thought, "Miss Fang, Xiao Junzhu, Madame Hong, Princess Jianning, that girl Shuang''er, plus that Miss Zheng who threw the dice, put together are not as beautiful as this fairy. I, Wei Xiaobao, do not want to be the Emperor, I don''t want to be the Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu, I don''t want to be Tian Di Hui''s Zongduozhu. Some Yellow Magua or three peacock feathers, one-pin or two-pin rank officer, I don''t care about all those things, I ... I only want to be this Miss'' husband."


    In that instant, myriads of thoughts filled his mind, he was determined to go through water and tread on fire, to risk his life and limbs, to realize his dream; consequently, his expression looked very strange. To the four monks and two women who were looking at him, he looked just like an idiot: suddenly beaming with joy, and then suddenly clenching his jaw.


    "Shishuzu," Jing Ji and Jing Qing called several times, but Wei Xiaobao was totally oblivious to them. Only after a long time, did he finally wake up as if from a dream, and blew out a breath.


    At first the woman in blue thought that Wei Xiaobao was a horny philanderer; afterwards, seeing his blank look, she thought this little monk must be a lunatic, and found it amusing. She asked, "So this little monk is your Shishuzu?"


    Jing Ji hastily said, "Miss, please be a bit more respectful. This senior monk''s Buddhist name is Hui on the top and Ming on the bottom. In our Temple, he is one of the only two Senior Monks with ''Hui'' generation-character; he is our head monk, the Abbot''s Shidi."


    The two women were slightly startled, but then they thought they were joking; they shook their heads in disbelief. The woman in green laughed and said, "Shijie, he is swindling us, don''t be fooled. This little ... little master, how can he be a senior monk?"


    Her voice was melodious, sweet and charming, tender and alluring. Hearing her, Wei Xiaobao''s soul flew and scattered away, he could not help but repeating, "This little ... little master, how can he be a senior monk?" But the way he said it sounded frivolous, with no effort to conceal his uncouthness. The two women''s faces immediately sank, the four Jing generation monks also felt that this young martial granduncle kind of forgetting his manners too much, hence they were very ashamed.


    "Humph," the woman in blue snorted and asked, "Are you a Shaolin Temple''s senior monk?"


    "A monk is a monk," Wei Xiaobao said, "Nothing senior about it. You can see that I am short, I am nothing more than a short monk


    [11]."


    The eyebrows of the woman in blue shot up; in loud and clear voice she said, "I heard people say that Shaolin Temple''s martial art is the leader of the world, their seventy-two unsurpassed skills are immeasurably deep. We, the two sisters, envied it in our hearts, and have come here specifically to admire it. Unexpectedly, your martial art is so-so, worse yet, the monks of the Temple do not observe propriety, oily-mouthed and smooth talking, just like the hoodlums of the marketplace, making other people sorely disappointed. Shimei, let us go!" Finished speaking, she turned around to exit the Pavilion.


    Jing Qing blocked in front of her, "Nu Shizhu [female benefactor] has come to Shaolin Temple, committed violence and hit people, even if you want to go, you must at least leave your revered master''s name."


    Hearing the words ''committed violence and hit people'', Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out they have already assaulted people, no wonder Jing Qing and the others quarreled with them." He saw red palm marks on the left cheeks of Jing Qing and Jing Ji, evidently they both have suffered a palm strike each.


    Wei Xiaobao had chatted with everybody in the Temple, so he already knew the level of martial art skill of these four monks who were in charge of receiving the guests; in the Temple, they could be classified as less-developed. Because they had low martial art skill yet they were eloquent and fluent speakers, the Abbot assigned them the duty of receiving the benefactors who were going to perform their charitable deeds.


    In the Wulin world, Shaolin Temple''s fame spanned more than a thousand years. The number of people who came to the temple each month to experience their martial art was too numerous to mention. The monks in charge of receiving the guests had low martial art skill, it was precisely because they were not supposed to fight. Otherwise, the Shaolin Dhyana Temple would turn into an arena where people fought for martial art supremacy. Not only it would disrupt their peace in meditation, it would also be a great disobedience to the Buddhist''s teaching about mercy, hence fighting was an unacceptable behavior.


    Obviously the woman in blue did not understand this reason, she only thought that since with one strike she had succeeded in beating two Shaolin monks, she had a reason to be very proud of herself. She said, "Based on your mediocre martial art, you want your Miss to leave behind Shifu''s name, humph, do you think you deserve it?"


    Jing Ji has just suffered defeat; he knew that with the five of them combined, they could not stop the women. If these two young women went down the mountain and proclaimed that they had beaten two Shaolin monks and then shook their sleeves and left, while even their origins were unknown, where would they put Shaolin Temple''s reputation at? Thereupon he said, "The four of us have the duty to receive benefactors, our martial art skill is extremely low, and those who have left home hold friendship as our foundation, how can we meaninglessly fight with others? Since the two of you have come to get advice about our humble Temple''s martial art, please wait for a moment, pinseng [impoverished monk] will invite several Shibo and Shishu [martial (older) uncle and martial (younger) uncle] to come, we will introduce them to you." Finished speaking, he turned around to rush toward the Temple.


    Suddenly a blue shadow flashed. Jing Ji angrily shouted, "You ��" ''Slap'' he was thrown tumbling down on the ground. It was the woman in blue who ran after him and stretched out her leg to hook his feet. Jing Ji sprang up and angrily said, "Nu Shizhu, why are you ��"


    The woman in blue laughed aloud and sent a right punch. Jing Ji hastily raised his right arm to block. The woman in blue grabbed with her left hand, ''Crack!'' unexpectedly she dislocated his right arm joint. There was a series of ''Crack!'', ''Aiyo!'', ''Clack, clack!'' as in an instant she also broke either the other three monks'' wrist bones or their arm joints. The four monks withdrew to the side, completely unable to resist. Jing Ji turned around and rushed back to the Temple to report.


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that he was at a loss of what to do, and was completely helpless. Suddenly the back of his neck tightened, someone grabbed him, while at the same time sealed the acupoint on the back of his neck. Immediately his whole body went limp and painful, he could not exert his strength. He saw the woman in blue was standing in front of him, in that case, the one grabbing his back was obviously the girl in green. His heart was wild with joy. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" he shouted loudly.


    Having his back grabbed by the girl, Wei Xiaobao felt he had not walked in this world in vain. It would be best if she added several kicks to his behind, or landed several punches on the top of his head. Even if he were killed immediately, he would enjoy infinite pleasure and would think that his good fortune in love department was great. This moment his nostrils caught a whiff of light, delicate fragrance, hence he called out, "Smells good, smells good!"


    The woman in blue angrily said, "This little bald thief is so rotten. Meizi, cut his nose!"


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao heard a charming voice from behind him, "But let me dig his pair of thief eyeballs first." And then he felt the fingers of a warm, soft and smooth hand pressed against his left eyelid.


    "Please dig it slowly, don''t do it too quickly," Wei Xiaobao shouted.


    The girl was surprised, "Why?" she asked.


    "It would be best if you grab me like this," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Grab me for a lifetime, never let me go, forever."


    The girl angrily said, "Little monk, you are at the death''s door, and still speaking nonsense to me?"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly felt a sharp pain on his right eye; the girl was really going to dig his eyeball out. Greatly shocked, he bent his waist and lowered his head, all reasons and logic were thrown away beyond the ninth level of clouds, both hands reached backward, he only hoped he could pry open the hand holding the back of his neck. The girl punched him on the back. Wei Xiaobao screamed, "Aiyo! Mama!" His hands frantically clawed backward, unconsciously he had launched the move ''Di Qing subduing the dragon'' that Hong Jiaozhu had taught him. Suddenly he felt both of hands touched something soft; unexpectedly he had grabbed the girl''s breasts.


    This style was originally intended to force the enemy behind his back to withdraw, then he would somersault backward and ride on the enemy''s neck. Who would have thought that the girl did not have much experience dealing with the enemy and did not guard against Wei Xiaobao''s grabbing her chest? Since the result was entirely different than what was expected, naturally the second half of the move ''Di Qing subduing the dragon'' could not be executed.


    The girl was shocked and ashamed at the same time, she brought her outstretched arms inside and caught Wei Xiaobao''s arms and ''crack, crack!'' she broke the joints of both of his elbows. This move was called ''the young swallow returns to its nest'', a refined name, but was actually a killer move from the ''separating tendon dislocating bone technique''. It was followed by a flying kick, sending Wei Xiaobao reeling about a zhang or so.


    The girl was extremely angry, she pulled the willow-leaf saber from her waist and violently chopped it down on Wei Xiaobao''s back. Wei Xiaobao hastily rolled around and finally rolled underneath the stone table in the middle of the pavilion. The girl''s saber struck the ground, sparks flew in all directions; she kicked with her left foot, kicking Wei Xiaobao from underneath the table.


    "Shimei," the woman in blue called out, "You must not kill him!"


    The girl in green acted as if she did not hear, she forcefully chopped down on Wei Xiaobao''s back again. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao screamed again, "I want my Mommy!" The girl in green chopped down twice more, the chop was so hard that Wei Xiaobao felt the pain in his bone and marrow. Luckily he had his treasured undergarment to protect him that he was not injured.


    The girl in green wanted to chop again, but the woman in blue pulled her own saber; ''clang!'' she stopped her steel saber while calling out, "This little monk will not live, let us quickly leave!" She thought that they had killed a monk in the Temple, the disaster they brought to themselves was indeed not small.


    The girl in green had received significant disgrace, plus she believed she had killed this little monk, shock and shame mixed together, suddenly tears streamed down her cheeks, she raised her saber and slashed it across her own neck. The woman in blue was greatly alarmed, hastily she stretched out her saber to block; although she managed to divert the blade of her saber, but the tip of the saber still scratched across her neck, blood gushed out instantly.


    "Shimei," the woman in blue cried out in fear, "You �� you �� what are you doing?"


    The girl in green''s vision darkened, she blacked out and fell down to the ground. The woman in blue threw her saber away and rushed to catch her. "Shimei!" she cried out, "You �� you �� you must not die!"


    Suddenly she heard a voice behind her. "Amitabha Buddha, must save her quick."


    The woman in blue cried, she said, "It''s �� it''s too late."


    She saw a hand reached out from behind, the fingers continuously moving, sealing the acupoints surrounding the wound on the girl in green''s neck, followed by a voice, "Saving people is urgent, Miss please don''t blame me." ''Rip, rip'' he tore a piece of his own robe and wrapped the girl in green''s neck, and then he stooped down to carry her up.


    The woman in blue was at a loss of what to do; she stood up and saw the man was an old monk with white long beard hanging down to his chest. As he held the girl in green in his arms, he rushed up the mountain. The woman in blue was frightened; she had no choice but to follow behind him. She saw the old monk was carrying her martial sister entering Shaolin Temple''s main gate, immediately she followed in.


    Wei Xiaobao crawled out from underneath the stone table; his arms had already refused to follow his command, they hung down limply on his sides. He thought, "This ... this Miss is very vicious, why did she want to commit suicide? If she is really dead, what will happen? I ... I''d better escape, damn it."


    But as soon as he thought about the girl''s exceptional countenance, his heart boiled, and he made up his mind: "I must not run away, I must take a look at her." His arms were extremely painful, cold sweats as big as soy beans were dripping from his forehead; bracing himself, he walked up the mountain.


    He only walked for about a dozen steps when he saw more than ten monks rushing out from the Temple to help him and the other three Jing generation monks back to the Temple. All five of them were treated from their dislocated bones injuries. Grab and capture [qin na], tumbling and bare-hand fighting were the best among Shaolin Pai''s martial arts, immediately there was a monk coming to fix their arms.


    Wei Xiaobao was eager to see the girl, he asked the two women''s whereabouts, and immediately walked toward the eastern courtyard''s meditation room. He had just rounded a corner along a corridor when he saw eight monks with jiedao


    [12] in their hands, walking straight toward him. These eight monks were law enforcer monks from the Jielu [monastic disciple] Courtyard. The leader bowed and said, "Shishuzu, Fangzhang Dashi requests the pleasure of seeing you."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I want to see that little Miss first, I wonder if she is alive or dead."


    The monk said, "Fangzhang Dashi is waiting at the Jielu Courtyard, asking Shishuzu to come over immediately."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "I said I want to see that pretty little Miss first; didn''t you hear?" Usually his temperament was good, now that his heart was anxious, unexpectedly he was cursing at people in the Temple.


    The eight monks looked at each other in dismay, they did not dare to stop him. Immediately four monks followed behind him, while the other four continued to summon Jing Ji and the others, four welcoming-guest monks.


    Wei Xiaobao arrived at the Eastern Courtyard''s meditation room and asked, "The Little Miss did not die?"


    An old monk replied, "Reporting to Shishu: the injury is not heavy, Xiao Seng [little/lowly monk] is giving her medical treatment." Wei Xiaobao felt relieved immediately.


    The woman in blue was standing by the door, she pointed to Wei Xiaobao and cursed, "This little monk is not good."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue to her. He hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not dare to enter the room. Turning around, he went to Jielu Courtyard. He saw the gate to the Courtyard was wide open, several dozen monks wearing kasaya were standing on either side of the gate, their expression solemn. The four monks escorting him with the Buddhist knife in their hands opened their mouths together, "Reporting to Fangzhang [Abbot]: Monk Hui Ming is here."


    Seeing this kind of expression, Wei Xiaobao mused, "Who do you think you are? The Grand Master of the Courtroom? His granny, what an air." Entering the great hall, he saw several dozen candles were lighted in front of the image of Buddha, the Abbot, Hui Cong Chanshi stood on the left head-position, while on the right stood an old monk, big and tall, whose expression did not show any anger, yet his standing was evident; he was the head of Jielu Courtyard, Cheng Shi Chanshi. Jing Ji, Jing Qing, and the others, four monks, stood below the head-position.


    "Shidi," Hui Cong Chanshi said, "Pay your respect to Tathagata." Wei Xiaobao kneeled down in worship.


    Hui Cong Chanshi waited until Wei Xiaobao finished paying his respect and stood up before saying, "I will have to bother Shidi to explain what happened at the Pavilion halfway up the mountain to the Head of Jielu Courtyard."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard them quarrelling, hence I came over to take a look. As for why they quarreled, I don''t have any clue. Jing Ji, why don''t you explain?"


    "Yes," Jing Ji said. Turning around, he said, "Reporting to Fangzhang and Head of Jielu Courtyard Shishu: disciples, four people, were welcoming the guests at the Pavilion halfway up the mountain. Those two Nu Shizhu have come to the Temple to join in charitable deeds. That was what they tactfully reported to us. Our Temple has always had a custom of not receiving Nu Shizhu. The Nu Shizhu who is slightly older said, ''I heard Shaolin Temple claims itself to be the orthodox school of martial art, each one of the seventy-two unsurpassed artistry is unequalled in the present age. We are here to increase our knowledge, we want to see how formidable it really is.'' Disciple replied, ''Our humble Temple does not dare to claim to have unequalled martial art in the present age. Each school, each sect under the heavens has its own strong points, how can Shaolin Pai dare to be arrogant and conceited?''"


    Hui Cong Fangzhang said, "You said it well, it was very fitting."


    Jing Ji said, "That Nu Shizhu said, ''In that case, Shaolin Pai only enjoys unearned reputation with their ''three-legged cat'' boxing technique, isn''t that a joke?'' Disciple said, ''May I ask which school do the two Nu Shizhu belong to? Whose senior Wulin master''s distinguished disciples are you?''"


    "Exactly," Hui Cong said, "Those two young women came to this Temple to cause trouble, to look down on our Sect''s martial art, their background must be noteworthy, so we should ask clearly their school''s origin."


    Jing Ji said, "That Nu Shizhu said, ''Do you want to know our school''s origin? That''s very easy; as soon as you see it, you will know.'' Suddenly she made her move and struck disciple and Jing Qing Shidi with her palm. Her movement was very fast, disciple did not guard beforehand, I am very ashamed, unexpectedly I was not able to evade at all. Jing Qing Shidi said, ''How can you play rough and beat people?'' That Nu Shizhu laughed and said, ''You asked my school''s origin; talking is cheap, action shows result. Now you have seen it, don''t you recognize it?'' Speaking to this point Hui Ming Shishuzu arrived."


    Cheng Shi asked, "When that Nu Shizhu struck you, what technique did she use?"


    Jing Ji, Jing Qing lowered their heads and said, "Disciple did not see clearly."


    Cheng Shi turned to the other two monks, "You did not take a beating, shouldn''t you be able to see the technique that Nu Shizhu used?"


    The two monks said, "We only heard ''slap, slap'' twice, two Shixiong have been slapped, the woman''s hand did not seem to move at all, even her body did not move."


    Cheng Shi looked at the Abbot, waiting for his decision. Hui Cong pondered deeply for a moment, then he ordered the monk on duty, "Invite the Heads of Damo Hall and Bo''re Hall


    [13] to come over here."


    Not too long afterwards, the two head monks arrive in succession. The Head of Damo Hall was Cheng Xin, the head of the Eighteen Luohan who went to Mount Wutai to rescue the Old Emperor. The Head of Bo''re Hall was Cheng Guan Chanshi, an old monk about eighty years of age. The two monks paid their respect to the Abbot.


    Hui Cong said, "There are two Nu Shizhu who came to our Temple to create trouble; we don''t know which school or sect they belong to. The two of you have extensive knowledge and vast experience, please join us in considering this matter in detail." And he recounted what had happened immediately.


    Cheng Xin said, "All along the four martial nephews have never seen her move, but two of you suffered palm strike on your faces. Our Sect''s Thousand-Leaf Hands, Wudang Pai''s Circling Wind Palm, Kunlun Pai''s Falling Wild Goose Fist, as well as Kongtong Pai''s Flying Phoenix Hand, all have this kind of technique."


    Hui Cong said, "Just based on these two palm strikes, we cannot tell her martial art school. Shidi, how did you fight with them?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That lady in blue broke four ... four monks'' hands first ..." Hui Cong inquired how the four monks had their arms and wrists dislocated. The four monks then successively narrated and acted what had happened to them.


    Cheng Xin was watching with rapt attention; he questioned in detail about the woman''s technique one by one, finally he turned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "May I ask Shishu, how did that Miss break the Senior''s arms?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The back of my, the Senior''s, neck was grabbed by that good-looking Miss, immediately my body was numb, she was grabbing right here." While saying that, he pointed to the back of his neck.


    Cheng Xin nodded and said, "That is the Dazhui [big hammer] acupoint, the most vital acupoint on human''s body."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I reached backward to get her arm off me, but she punched me on my back; it was so painful I almost died. I, the Senior, was anxious, I clawed wildly backward, and grabbed her chest. This little Miss was also anxious, she broke my arms, threw me to the ground, and chopped me randomly. Damn it, killing people does not need any capital, she was determined to murder her husband and wanted to be a young widow."


    Hearing him blabbering nonsense, the monks looked at each other in consternation. Cheng Xin stood behind him, he reached out to examine Wei Xiaobao, and saw that there were three saber slashes on the back of his Buddhist robe. He was shocked and said, "She chopped you three times; Shishu, how is your injury?"


    Wei Xiaobao was immensely proud of himself; he said, "I have treasured clothes to protect me, I am not injured at all. Fortunately those three chops did not land on my bald head. That little sister chopped me but I did not die, she must be scared out of her wits, thinking that my, the Senior''s, martial art skill was immeasurably deep; therefore, she had no choice but slashing her own neck. Actually, my martial art skill is sloppy and ordinary, but she has a countenance of a flower, face like the moon, so I, the Senior, can''t possibly make things difficult for her ..."


    Hui Cong was afraid he might continue blabbering nonsense, hence he interrupted, "Shidi, that''s enough."


    Now the crowd of monks understood the reason why that young woman wanted to kill herself; it was because her breasts were grabbed, she had received enormous humiliation. But at that time Wei Xiaobao''s life was hanging on a thread, the three slashes on his robe were the evidence. In critical situation, he randomly grabbed backward and touched whatever part of the enemy''s body, so nobody could say he should be blamed. His martial art skill was low, he was grabbed by the enemy and was struggling for his life, how could his action follow any kind of rule?


    Cheng Shi''s countenance immediately turned gentle; he said, "Shishu, previously I heard that Nu Shizhu kept saying and cursing that you did not observe Buddhist monastic rule, that you violated religious commandment by taking liberty with women, therefore, you have committed a serious offense. Turns out it was an accident during the struggle, so we cannot say that you have violated the monastic discipline. Shishu, please sit down." Personally he picked a chair and placed it next to Hui Cong. By doing this, he was saying that since you did not violate the monastic discipline, Jielu Courtyard did not need to deal with you, you were still my superior in the Temple, then I should show my respect to you.


    Giggling, Wei Xiaobao sat down. Seeing his frivolous behavior and senseless talk, Cheng Shi could not help but saying, "Although Shishu did not violate the Buddhist monastic discipline against sexual conduct, when you see the Nu Shizhu, you must maintain your dignity and stern facial expression, you must not fail to show the Shaolin Temple''s eminent monk''s elegant demeanor."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "My eminent monk status is informal, I got it just to make up the number, it should not be taken seriously."


    Hui Cong was about to open his mouth in admonition when the Head of Bo''re Hall, Cheng Guan, suddenly said, "There is no school."


    Cheng Xin asked in surprise, "Shixiong is saying that those two Nu Shizhu do not belong to any school?"


    "They learned martial art by stealing!" Cheng Guan said, "The ''separating tendon dislocating bone technique'' of those two women contains Wudang, Kunlun, Kongtong and Diancang, four Sects'' technique. The three saber slashes on Shishu''s back contain Emei, Jingcheng and Shanxi''s Luhe Saber


    [14], three schools'' saber technique. It was a random mixture of several techniques; not only that, their mastery is not perfect. There is no sect in the world with that kind of martial art."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished, "Uh," he said, "You can tell the origin of each move in the style they used?"


    He did not know that Cheng Guan left home to become a Buddhist monk in the Shaolin Temple when he was only eight years old; for more than seventy years he had single-mindedly study martial art, and had never left the Temple''s gate for even one step. He had read extensively ancient books on martial art, his knowledge was vast.


    In Shaolin Temple, Damo Hall specialized in researching their own martial art, while Bo''re Hall actually specialized in researching the martial art of each house and sect under the heavens. The several dozen of eminent monks of the Bo''re Hall were all proficient in one or more sects'' martial art.


    In the last years of Sui Dynasty, the monks of Shaolin Temple had helped Li Shimin flattening Wang Shichong


    [15]; from that moment on, their martial art has overawed the world. For the next thousand years their reputation did not diminish, admittedly it was because their Sect''s martial art was broad and profound; but the fact that Bo''re Hall researching other sects'' martial art was also one of the principal factors. After acquiring thorough understanding of other sects'' martial art, first, they would analyze the strength and weakness of each martial art style, to patch up the inadequacy of their own martial art; second, if they had any confrontation with other sects'' experts, by knowing the ins and outs of the opponents'' skill, they would gain great advantage.


    As Shaolin disciples went out in Jianghu to perform their heroic deeds, when they returned, they would pay their respect to the Abbot and their own master first, and then they would go to Jielu Courtyard to report if there was any fault, next they would go to Bo''re Hall to report what they saw and heard. If there was any style or move belonging to other sect worth having, the monk of Bo''re Hall would then record everything. In this way, after accumulating such records for a thousand years, they knew various schools'' martial art from all over the world like the back of their hands. Even if there was no talented person with outstanding ability and wisdom in the Temple, Shaolin Pai could still be considered the leader of the realm.


    Cheng Guan single-mindedly studied martial art, he knew nothing about the way of the world, his conduct was rather naive, but his understanding of each school and sect''s martial art was very clear. When a scholar reads too many books, he is known as a ''bookworm''; this Cheng Guan Chanshi learned too many martial arts that he had become ''martial art worm''


    [16]. In all his life, other than sparring with his fellow disciples, he had never exchanged a move or half a style with outsiders; yet his knowledge of martial art studies was vast, he could even be considered the top among his peers, the monks of the Temple.


    Cheng Xin said, "Turns out the two Nu Shizhu do not belong to any school or sect; this matter become slightly easier to handle. When that Miss'' injury is healed, we can send them off from the Temple, then there won''t be any future trouble."


    Cheng Shi said, "Those two martial sisters'' technique are compatible with each other, apparently they have a Shifu."


    Cheng Xin said, "Even if they have a Shifu, it can''t be a renowned master from a famous school or major sect."


    Cheng Shi nodded. Abbot Hui Cong said, "The two Nu Shizhu are young and love to meddle. In this affair we have not made any serious error. Nevertheless, we must not fail to show courtesy, we must treat the two Nu Shizhu well. You are dismissed." Finished speaking, he stood up.


    Cheng Xin smiled and said, "At first I thought there was a martial art in Wulin world who instructed these two young women, with the intention to humiliate our Sect; I was a little worried. Shaolin Temple has enjoyed our reputation for a thousand years, it must not fall in our hands." All the monks smiled and nodded their heads.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly said, "In my opinion, the name of Shaolin Pai''s martial art is resounding, but actually it is only so-so."


    Hui Cong had just about to go out the door, as soon as he heard it, he turned his head in shock. Wei Xiaobao said, "Jing Ji, Jing Qing, how long have you been training martial art?"


    Jing Ji said that he had been training for fourteen years, Jing Qing for twelve years; they both admitted that their intelligence was low, and had not made any progress, hence they were extremely ashamed.


    Abbot Hui Cong said, "We are studying Buddhism here, our aspiration is to understand the way to free ourselves, whether our martial art skill is high or low is inessentials."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I think there''s a major flaw in that argument. These two young girls are at most twenty years old, plus they were only stealing one move from the east, one style from the west, to create some hodgepodge three-legged cat moves of their own school or sect, yet they were able to beat Shaolin monks with more than ten years of training that we flee to the wilderness and piss in our pants in terror, without any ability to parry and die without a burial site. It seems to me that Wudang Pai, Kunlun Pai''s one move or half a style is a lot more formidable than our orthodox Shaolin Pai''s martial art."


    Hui Cong, Cheng Shi, Cheng Xin, and the other monks looked very awkward. Although Wei Xiaobao''s words were extremely offensive to hear, momentarily they found it very difficult to refute. They all thought, "Jing Ji and the others, four people''s martial art skill is extremely disappointing, how can we say it is an orthodox Shaolin Pai''s martial art?"


    Yet Cheng Guan nodded his head and said, "What Shishu said makes a perfect sense."


    Cheng Shi was surprised, "Why did Shixiong say it makes sense?"


    Cheng Guan said, "Other people''s hodgepodge martial art beats our orthodox martial art; there is something wrong here."


    Hui Cong said, "People''s natural endowments are not the same. Jing Ji and the others are not very good at martial art, but they are busy with receiving visitors to our Temple, it means they are rendering great merit in propagating Buddhist teaching. Jing Ji, Jing Qing, Jing Ben, Jing Yuan, the four of you delegate your receiving-visitors duty to others, you may devote your time in practicing martial art." Jing Ji and the others, four monks bowed in compliance.


    The monks left Jielu Courtyard. Wei Xiaobao shook his head. Cheng Guan knitted his brows; he was deep in thought for half a day, then he also shook his head. Hui Cong and Cheng Xin looked at each other; they both thought, "These two, one old the other young, are both ignorant people, we should not pay them any attention." Without a word they walked out.


    Cheng Guan turned his gaze toward the courtyard, where a maidenhair tree''s leaf was floating slowly to the ground; he had a sudden inspiration. "Shishu," he said, "I want to see those Nu Shizhu."


    Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic, "Nothing could be better than that," he said, "I am coming with you."


    The two of them went to the Eastern Courtyard''s meditation room. The old monk treating the girl in green''s injury came out to greet them. Wei Xiaobao asked, "Can she die?"


    The old monk replied, "The saber cut is not deep, nothing serious, she won''t die."


    "Wonderful, wonderful," Wei Xiaobao happily said, as he entered the meditation room.


    He saw the girl in green was lying on the couch, her eyes were shut tight, her face was so white that it looked almost transparent, her neck was wrapped with cotton and a piece of plain white cloth, her right hand was outside the quilt, her five fingers were slender and looked delicate, it really looked like the fingers were carved from a piece of white jade. At the end of the fingers, there were five tiny round spirals. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was greatly moved, he could not control his strong desire to stroke the beautiful, extremely adorable small hand. "I wonder if she still has the pulse," he said. Pretending to feel the pulse, he reached out to touch the hand.


    The woman in blue had been standing at the foot of the bed. Seeing Wei Xiaobao walked in, her anger had already shot to the sky. "Don''t touch my Meizi!" she shouted. Seeing he did not withdraw his hand at all, her left hand stretched out, she wanted to grab his wrist.


    Cheng Guan flicked his middle finger toward the Yanggu [lit. positive valley] acupoint on the side of her left palm; he said, "You are using the Hao Family of Shanxi''s qin na technique."


    The woman in blue withdrew her hand, while sending her elbow out at the same time. Cheng Guan extended his finger to flick the Xiaohai [lit. minor ocean] acupoint at the base of her elbow. The woman in blue countered with a right backhand strike. Cheng Guan''s middle finger flicked again, forcing her to stop midway and withdrew one step back. The young woman was startled and angry at the same time, she moved her fists like whirlwind, and in an instant she had already sent seven or eight punches.


    Cheng Guan nodded his head continuously, while his finger also flicked seven, eight times. "Aiyo!" the girl screamed, the Qinglengyuan [lit. clear and cold abyss] on her right arm was hit by his finger, her arm immediately went limp. "Dead monk!" she cursed.


    Cheng Guan was surprised. "I am alive," he said, "If I were a dead monk, how could I use my finger to flick you?"


    Seeing his formidable martial art, the girl was actually scared, but she was unwilling to lose the argument; she cursed, "You are still alive today, you will be dead tomorrow."


    Cheng Guan was startled. "How does Nu Shizhu know?" he asked, "Could it be that you have the foreknowledge?"


    "Humph," the girl said, "Shaolin Temple monks are oily-mouthed and smooth talkers."


    She thought Cheng Guan was joking with her, she did not know that although this old monk had a superb martial art skill, he was completely oblivious of other affairs. All his life he had never left the Temple. All the monks in the Temple strictly maintained Buddhist monastic disciple against wild talk, there had never been one person who told him any lie; thereupon he always thought that there was no such thing as untrue statement in the world.


    Hearing the girl said that Shaolin Temple monks were oily-mouthed and smooth talkers, he thought, "Could it be that in the vegetarian dish today there was too much soy bean oil?" Extending his sleeve, he wiped his lips, but did not see any oil. He rolled his tongue around in his mouth, but did not feel anything greasy or slippery.


    While he was still in the state of bewilderment, the woman in blue hissed, "Get out! Don''t wake my Shimei."


    "Yes, yes ��" Cheng Guan said, "Shishu, let''s get out of here."


    Wei Xiaobao was staring at the girl lying on the couch, he was already not in his right mind for quite some time. He grunted his acknowledgement, but did not move a single step. The woman in blue slowly walked toward his back, suddenly her palms shot out, she gave him a violent push. "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, he was sent flying out of the room, and ''Bang!'' he landed heavily on the ground. "Aiyo, aiyo!" he cried out, unable to crawl up.


    Cheng Guan said, "That was the ''rivers pour away by the day'', part of the Laoshan Pai''s palm technique. But Nu Shizhu did not use it properly." While his mouth was prattling, he walked out of the room to help Wei Xiaobao up and said, "Shishu, the palm push that she did, altogether there are thirteen ways to deal with it. If you did not want to fight with her, then there are six ways to dodge it, any one of those six may be used easily. Supposing you want to strike back, you can employ wrist hook, elbow strike, finger flick, reverse acupoint sealing, arm seizing, diagonal block, or backward kick, seven techniques; each technique can be used to neutralize her."


    Wei Xiaobao was thrown down that his back and arms were hurting, he was not in a good mood at all. "Why do you tell me all this now?" he asked, "What''s the use?"


    "Yes," Cheng Guan said, "Shishu''s admonition is correct, your Shizhi [martial nephew] was wrong. If I told you beforehand, even if Shishu did not mean to make things difficult for her, if you only wanted to evade, you would not have to be thrown like that."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved, "Those two girls are very vicious; when we meet again later, they would immediately punch and kick me, which would be hard to ward off. This old monk is very familiar with those two girls'' martial art; just with a flick of his finger he forced them away that they did not dare to come over anymore. I want to take that girl to be my wife, I must swindle the old monk that he will be with me to protect me." But then he had a second thought, "This old monk is so old, I don''t know how many more days he will live; supposing he is gone tomorrow, won''t that be really bad for me?" Thereupon he said, "Just now you flicked your finger several times and that girl is immediately tamed. What kind of martial art was that?"


    Cheng Guan said, "It is called ''one finger Dhyana''; Shishu does not know it?"


    "I don''t," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Why don''t you teach me?"


    Cheng Guan said, "Shishu''s order ought to be followed. This ''one finger Dhyana'' is not difficult to learn; if you know the accurate location of acupoints, and the power on your finger can penetrate the opponent''s acupoint, then you can do it."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "That''s wonderful," he hastily said, "Quickly teach me." He thought that if he could master this skill, he only needed to flick several times, the girl in green would not be able to move a single step, and then if he wanted her to be his wife, wouldn''t that be easy? Besides, the words ''not difficult to learn'' were more important to him; all the amazing martial art skills in the world, nothing exceeded this. In an instant he was beaming with joy, his heart was unbearably itching.


    Cheng Guan said, "I wonder Shishu''s ''tendon altering sutra'' internal energy cultivation has been trained to which level? Would you please try to flick your finger?"


    "How do you flick your finger?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Cheng Guan bent his finger and flicked. ''Chi'' a burst of powerful wind shot out, a dead leaf on the ground floated up.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "That looks fun," he said. Copying Cheng Guan, he bent his right hand thumb to hold his middle finger, and then flicked the middle finger out. Naturally this time there was no sound, nothing happened; even no dust was stirred the least bit.


    Cheng Guan said, "Turns out Shishu has not trained ''tendon altering sutra'' internal energy cultivation. If you want to train this internal energy cultivation, you must train Bo''re [Prajna/Wisdom] Palm first. Let me spar with you in Bo''re Palm, I want to see the depth of Shishu''s palm strength, then I can teach you the ''tendon altering sutra''."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t know Bo''re Palm."


    "Not a problem," Cheng Guan said, "Let us spar in ''Picking Flower Grab and Capture''."


    "What ''Picking Flower Grab and Capture''? I have never heard of it," Wei Xiaobao said.


    An awkward expression appeared on Cheng Guan''s face, he said, "How about we try something more basic? ''Vajra [Budda''s warrior attendant] Divine Palm'' should be fine. You don''t know it either? How about ''Boluomi [Paramita] Hand''? Don''t know as well? How about ''Scattering Flower Palm''? Ah right, Shishu is still young, you have not learned these different palm techniques. How about ''Weituo Palm''? ''Subduing Tiger Fist''? ''Luohan Fist''? ''Shaolin Long Fist''?" Each time he mentioned a fist technique, Wei Xiaobao shook his head.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao did not know any fist technique, Cheng Guan did not get angry; he said, "Our Shaolin Pai martial art must be trained in sequence. When one enters our school, one must learn ''Shaolin Long Fist'' first. After he masters it, then he will learn ''Luohan Fist'', afterwards ''Subduing Tiger Fist''. When he has appropriate foundation in both internal and external energy, he may learn ''Weituo Palm''. If he does not want to learn ''Weituo Palm'', he can train ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' instead ��"


    Wei Xiaobao''s lips started to move, he wanted to say, "I know this ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand''." But he stopped himself immediately, realizing that the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'' Hai Laogong taught him, perhaps nine out of ten moves were fake; no matter what, he could not say that he ''knew'' this technique.


    He heard Cheng Guan continued, "Either the ''Weituo Palm'' or the ''Great Compassion Great Sorrow Thousand-Leaf Hand'', one with intelligence and diligence will need about seven or eight years to master. If his comprehension is strong, he can continue with ''Scattering Flower Palm''. After he masters the ''Scattering Flower Palm'', not many disciples of Wulin''s other sect can defeat him. Whether he can continue with Boluomi Hand depends on his temper. Take Jing Ji, Jing Qing, those several martial nephews for example, they all trained in ''Subduing Tiger Fist'', but they don''t have the patience to train martial art, their progress is rather slow. In ten years'' time, Jing Qing perhaps can train ''Weituo Palm''. Jing Ji cannot concentrate in learning martial art, I think it would be better for him to specialize in Vajra Sutra''s Zen meditation."


    Wei Xiaobao sucked in a mouthful of cold air; he said, "You said that that ''one finger Dhyana'' is not difficult to learn, but from ''Shaolin Long Fist'' followed by those other fist and palm techniques, all the way to mastering the ''one finger Dhyana'', how many years must I train?"


    Cheng Guan said, "This thing is actually recorded in the ancient book in Bo''re Hall. During the Later Jin of the Five Dynasties period, there was this Fa Hui Chanshi in our Temple, he had the innate intelligence, in less than thirty-six years from the time he entered the Temple, he had already mastered the ''one finger Dhyana''; his advancement was amazingly quick, no one, before or after him, ever have the same progress. I guess he must be a great martial art scholar in his previous incarnation, so he brought with him many martial art skills from his previous existence. Next in line was during the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was this Ling Xing Chanshi, who spent less than thirty-nine years. Those two are rare talent with divine-given wisdom and intelligence, geniuses who are hard to come by in hundreds of years, who make other people full of admiration; a model older generation, someone who younger generation can only imagine."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "How many years did you spend from the time you started training martial art until you master the ''one finger Dhyana''?"


    Cheng Guan smiled and said, "Shizhi has started training Shaolin Long Fist when I was eleven, I have been very lucky to have Hui Zhi Chanshi as my benevolent master, so I got to learn martial art at a lot higher pace than my fellow disciples. By the time I was fifty-three, I was able to comprehend my prying into our school''s sutra of this finger technique."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you were eleven, until you were fifty-three, you were able to comprehend the kneeling in front of the door bolt (he did not know that the expression ''lue kui men jing'' [comprehend the prying into the school''s sutra], what he heard was ''lue gui men shuan''). So altogether you spent forty-two years before you master it?"


    Cheng Guan was very proud of himself, he said, "To be able to master the ''one finger Dhyana'', in the thousand plus years of our Sect''s history, Lao Na [old cassock] ranks the third." After a short pause, he continued, "It''s just that Lao Na''s internal energy cultivation is only average. Strictly speaking about finger power, I am afraid my rank is lower than seventieth." Speaking to this point, he could not help but feeling dejected.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I don''t care if you rank the third or the seventy-third, Laozi did not bring any martial art skill from my previous incarnation, neither did I start training in my mother''s womb. If I have to spend forty-two years to master this finger technique, that girl and I will both be old man, old woman in our fifties or sixties; Laozi might as well train a fart!" He said, "Other people''s little miss only trains for one or two years, you must train for forty, fifty years to beat her; it''s extremely disappointing."


    Actually, Cheng Guan had already thought about this fact as well, all along he had been pondering about it. "Yes, yes!" he said, "Our Shaolin martial art is this inferior to others'', it''s really �� really not �� not too good."


    "What do you mean not too good?" Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s practically very bad. All of a sudden our Shaolin Pai is unable to grab Wulin''s cow''s ear, horse''s ear. You are the Head of Bo''re Hall, if you don''t think of something, won''t you let down the several thousands, several tens of thousands years of Shaolin Temple''s eminent monks? When you die and see that Fa something Chanshi, Ling something Chanshi, and my Shixiong, Hui Zhi Chanshi, everybody will ask you, saying that you only eat and defecate, but don''t care about anything else, you don''t want to think of a way to protect Shaolin Pai''s prestige, won''t you be so ashamed that you want to die all over again?"


    Cheng Guan''s old face turned deep red; he was completely terrified. Repeatedly nodding his head, he said, "Shishu''s instruction is very true, when Shizhi comes back, I will peruse the ancient books in the Bo''re Hall, to see if there is an ingenious technique that can be learned in a short time."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "If you cannot find any, our Shaolin Pai needs not mingle in the Wulin world anymore. We might as well invite those two little misses to let the older one becomes the Abbess, the younger one becomes the Head of Bo''re Hall. Let those two teach us martial art. Compared to our stupid head stupid brain clumsy martial art, theirs must be a lot stronger."


    Cheng Guan was startled, he asked, "Those two Nu Shizhu, how can they be our Temple''s Abbess and Head?"


    "Who told you not to be able to find a martial art that can be trained quickly?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Fangzhang will lose face, you will lose face; that need not be mentioned, from now on Shaolin Pai will lose its foothold in Wulin, the several thousand monks of our Temple will have to do obeisance to these two little misses as their new masters. Everybody will question what''s the use of many dozens of years of training Shaolin martial arts? The two little misses only train for a year or half a year and they can ''crack, crack, crack'' break Shaolin monks'' hands and feet. Everybody will think that preserving their hands and feet is more important, hence they might as well respectfully ask the Little Miss to be the Head of Bo''re Hall!"


    This speech had made the sweat on Cheng Guan''s forehead streaming down his face; his hands did not stop trembling as with a trembling voice he said, "Yes, yes! Asking those two ladies to be our Temple''s Abbess and Head, ay, that �� that will be too humiliating."


    "Isn''t that so?" Wei Xiaobao said, "By that time we cannot call ourselves Shaolin Pai anymore."


    Cheng Guan asked, "Then �� then what should we call ourselves?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We might as well bluntly call ourselves Shaonu


    [17] Pai. Shaolin Temple becomes Shaonu Temple. We must take down the signboard above the mountain gate, erase that ''Lin'' character and change it to ''Nu'' character. Only one character. That should be easy to do."


    Cheng Guan''s face turned ash-grey. "That won''t do, that won''t do!" he hastily said, "I �� I am going to think of something. Shishu, please forgive Shizhi for not keeping you company you anymore." Putting his palms together, he saluted, then turned around and left.


    "Wait a moment!" Wei Xiaobao called, "This matter must be kept in strict confidence. If anybody in the Temple knew about it, it will be highly improper."


    "Why?" Cheng Guan asked.


    "Nobody will believe you," Wei Xiaobao replied, "They won''t know if you have thought of something. Those two young ladies are still recuperating in our Temple, if everybody is frightened, they might do obeisance and take those women as their masters. Shaolin Pai is such a big Sect, how can we scatter away just like that?"


    Cheng Guan said, "Shishu''s direction is very true. This matter concerns the rise and fall, the existence or perishes of our Sect; absolutely it must be kept secret." He was very grateful in his heart, thinking that although this martial uncle was young, his insight was far-reaching; indeed he deserved to be the respected Senior. If not for his clear sight and superior judgment, Shaolin Pai will inevitably become Shaonu Pai. Thousand-year fame cannot be redeemed in ten thousand years.


    Seeing him leaving in a hurry, with the sleeve of his robe trembling, an obvious sign that he was in extreme panic, Wei Xiaobao thought, "Now that the old monk will stake his old life to find something, he is bound to find something. Everybody else would find a hundred mistakes in my speech, but as long as he did not say anything to anybody, this stupid monk won''t find out that I am swindling him."


    Thinking about the flowery countenance of the young woman lying on the couch, his heart was like a frisky monkey, his mind was like a cantering horse. He wanted to re-enter the room to look at her again. But after turning around and walking for only several steps, he suddenly saw the flashing blue skirt behind the curtain on the door. Thinking about the ruthlessness of the woman in blue, while he did not have Cheng Guan by his side to protect him, if he entered the room alone, he would definitely pay dearly. Without any other choice, he sighed and returned to his own meditation room.


    The next day he woke up early in the morning and went straight to the Eastern Courtyard to visit. The old monk who treated her injury put his palms together and greeted him, "Good morning Shishu."


    "Is the Nu Shizhu''s injury getting better?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The old monk replied, "That Nu Shizhu came to her senses in the middle of the night; realizing she was in our Temple, she insisted on leaving immediately, while saying rude words. Shizhi persuaded her nicely, but she said even if she died, she did not want to die in little ... little ... little monk''s temple."


    Hearing him humming and hawing, Wei Xiaobao knew that if the little miss did not scold him as ''little pervert thief'', then she must have said ''little wicked monk''. "And then what happened?" he asked.


    The old monk replied, "Shizhi advised her to leave the next morning, the Nu Shizhu struggled to get up, her Shijie helped her out. Shizhi did not dare to stop them, besides, that Nu Shizhu''s injury won''t be a problem anyway, so I had to let them go. I have reported this matter to the Abbot."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; he was quite disappointed, thinking, "Once this little miss left, I don''t know where she is going. I don''t even know her name or her surname, how am I going to find her?" He blamed the old monk for not handling this matter at the best of his ability and grumbled for a while. And then he had a second thought, "Those two girls are beautiful, they will greatly stand out from the masses. When they make their move, they have all schools all sects'' martial arts in it; it should be possible to find them eventually." Thereupon he strolled toward Bo''re Hall.


    He saw Cheng Guan was sitting on the floor, with several hundred books piling up all around him. He had his hands supporting his head, and seemed to be very deep in thought; his eyes were bloodshot, most likely because he did not sleep at all the previous night. Looking at his appearance, it was obvious that he had not found anything good. He saw Wei Xiaobao walking in, but he simply stared at him blankly, as if he did not see him at all. Unexpectedly he was so immersed in his thought that he was completely oblivious of everything around him.


    Seeing his distressed expression, Wei Xiaobao wanted to utter some words of encouragement, telling him that the two young ladies had left and that he had nothing to worry about for now. But then he had a second thought, "If he did not work diligently, how could he come up with good result? I am afraid as soon as I tell him, this old monk will goof off."


    Quickly one month had passed. Wei Xiaobao often took a walk toward Bo''re Hall. He saw Cheng Guan was getting thinner to the bone and looked alone and helpless, his countenance was wan and sallow, and never said anything to him. He looked like an idiot, sometimes he would stand up and punch and kick for a while, and then he would shake his head and sit down again. Wei Xiaobao only thought that this old monk was very stupid, after working hard for more than a month, he was still unable to find anything useful. He did not know that each one of Shaolin Pai martial arts paid particular attention to strong foundation, slow progress was preferable to a fast one. A crash course was precisely Shaolin martial arts'' big taboo. Although Cheng Guan knew almost all martial arts under the heavens, for him to violate his own Sect''s rule by creating a crash course technique was actually akin to asking him not to conform to the teachings he had been following all his life.


    The weather was gradually getting warmer. Wei Xiaobao had been staying in the Temple for several months. Recently, there was not a day pass by when he did not think about that girl in green several dozen times in a day.


    One particular day he felt stifled and was extremely bored. Taking his money, he went down Mount Shaoshi to the west, toward a small town of considerable size called Tantoupu. He went to a clothing store and bought a set of clothes, head covering, shoes and socks. Then he changed in a cave outside the town, putting the monk robe and shoes into a bundle, which he then slung over his shoulder. When he looked at his reflection on a mountain stream, he looked like a son of a wealthy family.


    Returning to the small town, he went to a restaurant and indulged himself with chicken, duck, fish and meat. "I''ll find a casino and gamble for a bit," he thought. Knowing that gambling establishments are usually located in alleys, he went through the streets and alleys, looking to the east and glancing to the west.


    Each time he entered an alley, he listened to shouting and drinking sounds. By the time he entered the seventh alley, finally he heard someone shouted, "Pair of earth, heavenly nine king, sweep the decks!" As soon as these words entered his ears, he felt an indescribable comfort in his heart; compared to the ''Namo Amitabha Buddha'' that he heard all the times in Shaolin Temple, it was like comparing the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss with the eighteen layers of hell.


    He quickly went to the door and stretched out his hand to push it. A man in his forties, wearing a hat at a crooked angle, came out, and looked at him with squinted eyes. "What do you want?" he asked.


    From his pocket Wei Xiaobao took out an ingot of silver and tossed it back and forth from one hand to the other, and said with a laugh, "My hands itch, I want to lose a few taels."


    "This is not a casino, it''s a brothel," the man said, "Xiao Xiongdi, you want to visit a prostitute, come back in several years."


    Wei Xiaobao had been craving for some gambling for a long time, as soon as he heard the words ''pair of earth, heavenly nine king, sweep the decks'', even if the sky was falling, he simply must bet. What''s more, coming to a brothel was just like coming home; how could he be willing to leave? He laughed and said, "Just find me several free ladies and prepare some tea, tonight Shaoye [young master] wants to have three tables of drinking party." And he stuffed the silver ingot worth two taels into the man''s hand and said with a laugh, "To buy you a drink."


    The turtle slave


    [18] was greatly delighted; seeing the visitor was a grand customer, immediately his face was blooming with smile. "Thank you for Shaoye''s gift!" he said. Raising his voice, he called out, "We have visitor!" while respectfully invited him to enter.


    The female brothel keeper came out to greet him. Seeing it was a fourteen, fifteen years old teenager with luxurious clothing, she thought, "This kid stole money from his home and come here to squander it; must rip him off heavily." With a giggle she pulled his hand and said, "Xiao Shaoye, we have a rule here, just like the lucky poster on the door


    [19]. You want to see a girl, you must pay up front."


    With a wooden expression Wei Xiaobao said, "Do you think I am a newly hatched bird who has never visited a brothel before? We are the experts here, Laozi opens this kind of establishment at home." He groped his pocket for a pack of banknotes, roughly three, four hundred taels, and slapped it onto the table. He said, "A table of tea five qian, including one girl. A ''flower head'' is three taels, the servant who pours tea five qian, the Auntie five qian. Laozi is in a very good mood today, I''ll double everything."


    A succession of brothel shoptalk without half a word of layman term had caught the procuress off-guard; she was stunned and stared blankly for half a day before finally she laughed and said, "Turns out Xiao Shaoye is of the same profession, I was mistaken. I wonder which courtyards does Xiao Shaoye open?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In Yangzhou Laozi opens Li Chun Yuan [Lovely Spring Courtyard] and Yi Qing Yuan [Harmony Passion Courtyard], in Beijing I open Shang Xin Lou [Bountiful Heart Balcony, ''lou'' - multi-storied house] and Chang Chun Ge [Carefree Spring Pavilion], in Tianjin I open Rou Qing Yuan [Tender Feeling Courtyard] and Wen Ju Lou [Yearning for Chrysanthemum Balcony]; six affiliates." Actually these six establishments were Yangzhou''s famous brothels, otherwise, he would not be able to fabricate six brothels'' names in such a short period of time.


    Listening to him, the procuress thought, ''Oh my goodness, the big boss of six courtyard affiliates is here; his business must be very big.'' Thereupon she laughed and asked, "What kind of girl would Xiao Shaoye like to accompany you to have a heart-to-heart talk?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I suppose a little place like this won''t have a Suzhou girl. Do you have any Datong [prefecture level city, Shanxi] girl?"


    The procuress'' face showed an awkward expression as she said in a low voice, "We do have one, but she is fake goods; actually she is a Shanxi Fenyang [county level city, Luliang prefecture, Shanxi] girl, she can only fool someone with more money than sense, but not a connoisseur."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Just call all the girls in the courtyard, Shaoye will reward everybody three taels each."


    The procuress was greatly delighted; she passed on the order for all the girls to come. In an instant the room was crammed with twittering and squawking girls. In this little town brothel, naturally the girls had rough hands and thick feet, with faces adorned with coarse rouge powder. Each one pulled his hand or embraced his waist; everybody was doing her utmost to curry his favor. Wei Xiaobao was really happy. Although these prostitutes had thick eyebrows, high cheekbones or mouths as big as sacrificial bowl, which were practically several points more ugly than himself, but since he was little, he was determined to be the rich man and show extravagance in the brothel. Today his life-long dream had come true, hence he was immensely proud of himself. Pulling the prostitute by his side, he planted a kiss on her lips, and was assaulted by a flourishing stench of green onion and garlic that he almost threw up.


    Suddenly the door curtain was lifted up, two women walked in. "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao shouted with glee, "Two more Meizi come together. Come here and give me a kiss first ..." Before he finished, he had seen clearly the appearance of these two girls, and could not help but was greatly shocked.


    He cried out, sprang up, and overthrew the two prostitutes in his arms to the ground. Turned out these two women were the girl in green, whom he thought of during the night and he missed during the night, and her older martial sister.


    With a cold laugh the woman in blue said, "As soon as you entered the town, we have been following you, we want to see what evil deed you are going to commit."


    Wei Xiaobao''s back was wet with cold sweat; forcing a laugh he said, "Yes, yes. This Miss, your ... your neck''s wound ... neck''s wound healed?"


    "Humph," the girl in green snorted, but she ignored his question. The woman in blue angrily said, "We waited outside Shaolin Temple every day, to cut your body into ten thousand pieces to repay my Shimei''s deep enmity and great hatred. Humph, finally the Heaven did not disappoint those who try, and have you, evil monk, fallen into our hands."


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Laozi will definitely return to Heaven today." But he laughed and said, "Actually ... actually I did not offend ... did not offend Miss; it''s just that ... it''s just that one grab was not a big deal. I think ... I think ..."


    The girl in green blushed, a killing aura appeared in her eyes. The woman in blue coldly said, "What did you say a moment ago? What did you call us?"


    "Bad, it''s really bad luck," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I ... thought the two of you were ... were also flower ladies of this pleasure house."


    The girl in green said in a low voice, "Shijie, why do you talk too much to this bald-headed thief who committed all kinds of evil things? Just kill him with a chop."


    ''Shua!'' white light flashed, Wei Xiaobao screamed and shrank his neck, the hat on his head was slashed by her willow-leaf saber, exposing his bald head. The prostitutes were thrown into confusion, they screamed, "Murder, murder!"


    Wei Xiaobao ducked and hid behind a prostitute. "Hey!" he called out, "This is a pleasure house, only wh0res are allowed here. If you do not get out quickly and people knew about it, it would be ... would be very shameful ..."


    ''Shua, shua!'' the two women repeatedly slashed around, but the room was crowded with a dozen or so prostitutes, how could they chop him? The blades swept past, they narrowly missed two prostitutes. Wei Xiaobao called out loudly, "Laozi is visiting a brothel, what''s there to be looked at? I ... I am going to undress, I am going to take off my pants." He loosened the bottom part of his garments and tossed it away.


    The two women were furious, yet they were afraid Wei Xiaobao would really act shamelessly by taking off his pants. The girl in green turned around and bolted out the door. The girl in blue was startled, but she also dashed out of the room. ''Bang, bang!'' she bumped the procuress and the ''turtle slave'' [see my note earlier] who came in to look, and sent them tumbling down to the left and right.


    In that instant the screams in that brothel shook the sky, and the curses moved the earth. For the time being Wei Xiaobao escaped the danger of the blades, but he knew those two women would definitely guard the exits; as soon as he left the brothel for even one step, they would immediately kill him. Raising his voice, he shouted, "Everybody, don''t move randomly, everyone will get ten taels, no exception, nobody will be skipped." As soon as they heard it, everybody calmed down immediately.


    Wei Xiaobao took out twenty taels and handed it over to the turtle slave, ordering him, "Quickly go and get me a horse, wait at the mouth of the alley." The turtle slave received the money and left.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to a prostitute and said, "I''ll give you twenty taels, take off your clothes quickly, let me change into it." The prostitute was greatly delighted, she took off her clothes immediately.


    Everybody started to talk at once, they wanted to know what was going on. Wei Xiaobao said, "Those two are my first wife, my second wife. They shaved my head, forbidding me from visiting a brothel. I ran away, then they pursue me to kill me."


    When the procuress and the prostitutes heard this, they could not help but were delighted. It was quite common for the wife and children of a patron to come to the brothel to quarrel and fight; nothing special about it. But raising a saber to kill was a rarity. As for the wife and concubine working together to shave their husband''s head and forbidding him from visiting a brothel, it was the first time that they ever heard such thing.


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly changed into the prostitute''s clothing, and used a piece of printed cloth to wrap his head. When the prostitute realized that he wanted to dress up to escape, laughing and giggling, they helped him apply rouge and face powder. When the other patrons of the brothel who were gambling heard the news, they all came over to watch the fun.


    Soon the turtle slave returned and reported that the horse was ready. After knowing the reason, he said, "Shaoye, you must be careful. Your first madam is guarding the back door, the young madam is guarding the front door. They both have sabers in their hands."


    Wei Xiaobao produced a large sum of money while swearing, "Those two vixens maintain such a tight control over their husband; it''s really rare and highly unusual."


    Receiving thirty taels gift from him, the procuress said, "Those two tigresses are destroying others'' clothes and food. If all women in the world are like your two wives, won''t we drink the northwest wind? May Er Lang Shen


    [20] curse those two tigresses that they be without a son or a grandson. Aiyo, Xiao Shaoye, I did not mean you. You''d better divorce those tigresses and then you can come here to play without any care every day."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That is actually a brilliant idea. Mama, go to the front door and curse that vixen for a while; but you''d better hide behind the door to protect against her resorting to violence and harming you with the saber. Sisters, everybody dash out from the back door. Those two brutish wives of mine won''t be able to catch me." Immediately he took out some money and distributed it among the prostitutes. Without exception, all of them jumped for joy.


    Because of the generous reward, those who were inherently brave would be braver, while those who were not brave gathered enough courage. As the prostitutes received the shining white silver, everybody suddenly put ''loyalty'' above everything else, they would strife to put their lives at stake.


    They heard the voice of the procuress raining curses from the front door, "Old vixen, little vixen, if you want to keep your husband, you must obey him, winning his favor is the right thing to do. If you don''t have any ability, he will go to the brothel to seek pleasure. You use the saber to scare him, to kill him, what''s the farting use? Your husband is kind-hearted and generous, he is the number one good person in the world, you, two tigresses are not his match. Let Laoniang [old lady, referring to self; the counterpart of Laozi] tell you: you must behave, quickly kowtow and apologize to him, and then do obeisance to me, let Laoniang be your master, I''ll teach you skills you can use in bed, so that you can serve him well. Otherwise, he might decide to sell you to Laoniang, let you become prostitutes in here. We''ll make a deal today �� aiyo, aiyo, it hurts so much I am going to die."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that the woman in blue had lost her patience and beat the procuress. He said, "Everybody, let''s go!" More than twenty prostitutes rushed out from the back door, with Wei Xiaobao mingled among them.


    The girl in green was guarding the back door with willow-leaf saber in her hand. Suddenly she saw more than twenty heavily made-up women burst out of the door. Her beautiful eyes widened, she was completely at a loss.


    The crowd of prostitutes rushed toward the alley. Wei Xiaobao jumped onto the horse and galloped toward Shaolin Temple.


    Seeing the change of events, the woman in blue abandoned the procuress immediately and turned around to give chase. The prostitutes crowded the alley, they reached out to pull her, while shouting, "Tigress, your husband is gone riding a horse, you won''t catch him! Hee! Hee! Ha! Ha!"


    The girl in blue was so furious that she almost pass out; she raised her saber in threatening gesture, but the crowd of prostitutes knew she would not dare to really kill anybody. "Lowly vixen, vinegar pot, wicked b1tch," they taunted incessantly.


    The girl was anxious; raising her voice, she called out, "Shimei, that wicked thief ran away, quickly pursue him!" But she heard the hooves beat was getting farther and farther away; how could they pursue him?


    Wei Xiaobao rushed out of the town, while taking off the female clothing he was wearing and tossed it away one by one. In his rush and panic to get out of the brothel, he had left the bundle containing his monk robe in the room. Spitting into his sleeve, he wiped the cosmetics from his face, thinking, "Laozi''s lot on life this year is really bad; first I became a monk, then I dressed up as a prostitute. Ay, if only that miss in green is willing to be my wife, even if my head is chopped down, I won''t want to go to the brothel."


    In one breath he galloped back to Shaolin Temple; he steered the horse toward the back of the mountain, jumped down the horseback, and quietly sneaked into the Temple via the side door. Covering his face, he dashed madly into his own meditation room. Only after washing off the rouge and the powder from his face, and putting on the monk robe, did his heart finally calmed down. He mused, "If those two old wife and little wife came to the Temple to make trouble, even if I die, Laozi will not admit anything to them."


    Toward the afternoon the next day, Wei Xiaobao was still lying on the bed in his meditation room, dreaming about the girl in green''s figure, which moved his heart; he could not bear not to take chances again, thinking, "How can I find a way to see her again?"


    Suddenly Jing Ji entered his meditation room and said in a low voice, "Shishuzu, for the next few days you must not leave the Temple; this affair is getting somewhat worse."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; hastily he asked for the full details. Jing Ji said, "A worker from the Xiang Ji kitchen told me just now: he was chopping some firewood at the side of the mountain when he came across two young women with sabers in their hands; they were inquiring about you."


    "What did they ask?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "They asked him if he knew you," Jing Ji replied, "They asked him what time do you usually go out, where do you usually go. Shishuzu, those two young women harbor evil designs toward you, they are guarding outside the Temple, they want to harm you. As long as you stay inside the Temple, they won''t dare to come in."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We, Shaolin Temple eminent monks, are afraid of them and do not dare to go out the Temple, what kind of talk is that?"


    "Shizhisun [martial grandnephew] has already reported this to Fangzhang," Jing Ji said, "The Senior ordered me to report to Shishuzu, asking you to yield one step to them. Presumably those two young women will not persevere, if they don''t see you after waiting for several days, naturally they will leave. Fangzhang said that Wulin friends can only say that we are great and magnanimous people, they cannot possibly say that the grand Shaolin Temple is unexpectedly afraid of two young women that don''t belong to any school or sect."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Young women that don''t belong to any school or sect, humph, they may be much more formidable than us, the great monks who belong to a school or sect."


    "Who said it wasn''t true?" Jing Ji replied. He remembered his hatred because of his broken arm, which would be difficult to avenge. He said, "It''s just that Fangzhang has ordered that no matter what we must keep the peace and patch up a quarrel."


    After Jing Ji left, Wei Xiaobao thought, "I''d better see that old monk Cheng Guan; it would be best if he has come up with a wonderful idea."


    When he got to Bo''re Hall, he saw Cheng Guan with his head between his hands, his eyes were looking at the beam of the roof, while pacing back and forth around the room, and mumbling incessantly. Wei Xiaobao did not dare to interrupt his train of thought, he waited for a long time, watching Cheng Guan circling the room several times, while still looking like he did not see him. Wei Xiaobao coughed several times. Cheng Guan did not pay any attention. Wei Xiaobao called, "Lao Shizhi [old martial nephew], Lao Shizhi!" Cheng Guan still did not hear.


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward, he reached out to tap Cheng Guan''s shoulder, while saying with a laugh, "Lao ..." His palm had just touched his shoulder, suddenly his body was jolted and he was thrown away. ''Bang!'' he crashed onto the wall, his breathing was blocked, he opened his mouth to cry, but nothing came out.


    Cheng Guan was shocked; hastily he came forward and kneeled down. Putting his palms together he saluted and said, "Shizhi is guilty, deserving ten thousand deaths, by offending Shishu. Shishu, please punish me heavily."


    After lying down for half a day, Wei Xiaobao was finally able to breathe; he forced a laugh and said, "Please get up, please get up, don''t be overly courteous, it was my own fault."


    Cheng Guan still did not stop apologizing. Propping himself against the wall, Wei Xiaobao crawled up, and then, helping Cheng Guan up he asked, "What kind of martial art was that? It was so formidable." He thought, "If this martial art is not too difficult to learn, perhaps there is a benefit for me to learn it."


    Cheng Guan''s face showed a terrified expression. He said, "I am really sorry. In response to Shishu''s question, this is the ''hu ti shen gong'' [divine skill to protect the body] from Bo''re Palms."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; he thought that to learn this skill, he would have to master some Shaolin Long Fist, Luohan Fist, Subduing the Tiger Fist, Weituo Palm, Scattering Flower Hand, Boluomi Hand, Vajra''s Divine Palm, Picking Flower Grab and Capture, all kinds of gibberish set of martial art techniques. He did not have time; even if he did, he would not have the mind to take the trouble to practice hard. He asked, "Have you found anything that can be learned in a short time?"


    With a dejected expression Cheng Guan shook his head and said, "Shizhi has already thought that without using ''one finger Dhyana'' or ''tendon altering sutra'' internal energy cultivation, we can neutralize those two Nu Shizhu''s martial art by using only the Bo''re Palm; it''s just that ... it''s just that ..."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that to train Bo''re Palm, I will need twenty, thirty years; isn''t it?"


    Cheng Guan haltingly replied, "Twenty, thirty years, I am afraid ... I am afraid ..."


    Wei Xiaobao''s face showed contempt as he flatly said, "You are afraid it might not be enough?"


    Cheng Guan looked very ashamed as he said, "Exactly." After staring blankly for a moment, he continued, "Let Shizhi think: I wonder if Picking Flower Grab and Capture will be effective against them."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that this old monk was one who rigidly adheres to formalities; whatever he was doing must be in sequence. Even if the Picking Flower Grab and Capture was effective, he would have to spend at least a dozen or so years to train. This old monk had a profound level of internal energy, perhaps he was not inferior to Cult Leader Hong. Yet Cult Leader Hong was able to casually creating new moves, which were able to change according to the situation, which were free, natural and unrestrained. This old monk, on the contrary, was a blockhead; Wei Xiaobao must show him the enlightened path.


    "Lao Shizhi," he said, "In my opinion, those two women are very young, they can''t possibly have several years of martial art training."


    "That''s right," Cheng Guan said, "That''s why I feel very strange."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since they can''t possibly train step by step, we also do not need to strictly practice step by step. I don''t believe they have internal energy cultivation as deep as yours. In my opinion, to deal with those two girls, we simply do not need to cultivate internal energy."


    Cheng Guan was shocked; his voice was trembling as he said, "Training martial art without ... without good foundation, won''t that be ... won''t that be heretical?"


    "But they are not heretical," Wei Xiaobao said, "Only without school without sect. To deal with martial art without school and without sect, we must also use without school without sect technique."


    Cheng Guan was completely bewildered; he mumbled to himself, "Without school without sect, without school without sect? This ... Shizhi does not understand."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You don''t understand? Then let me teach you."


    Cheng Guan respectfully said, "Would Shishu please give your advice?"


    In all his life, all the martial art uncles with a ''Hui'' character in their names were virtuous eminent monks with outstanding martial art skill. He thought that this little martial art uncle was very young, his internal energy cultivation was insufficient, but he must have some outstanding quality; otherwise, how could he be his martial art uncle? For the past several days he had racked his brain trying to find a martial art skill that can be learned quickly, but all along he did not make any breakthrough. It seemed that even if he spent another ten years or twenty years, even until his death, he would not be able to solve this problem. Now that there was this young eminent monk with ''Hui'' character in his name who was willing to give him direction, inevitably he was surprised but delighted at the same time; feeling of respect sprang up automatically in his heart.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said that those two girls were using some Kunlun Pai, Emei Pai moves. If we compare our Shaolin Pai martial art to these random mix of school and sect''s martial arts, which one is stronger?"


    "Perhaps our Shaolin Pai is somewhat stronger," Cheng Guan replied, "Even if we are not stronger, at least we are not weaker than they."


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, "That makes it easy. They do not use internal energy, but only use some Xili Hulu [meaning: gibberish] Pai style; we do not need internal energy either, just use some Shaolin Pai style, then we will be able to defeat them. I don''t care if it is Bo''re Palm, Vajra''s Divine Fist, Boluomi Hand or Amitabha Buddha Foot, as long as internal energy cultivation is not needed, then it will be very easy to learn, won''t it?"


    Cheng Guan knitted his brows. "Amitabha Buddha Foot?" he said, "I don''t think our Sect has that martial art; I wonder if it is other sect''s martial art? But without internal energy cultivation, our Sect''s fist or palm techniques won''t have the least bit of formidable power; if we came across other sect''s martial art expert with profound internal power, we might get our tendon broken and our bones fractured in just one move."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "Those two young women, are they martial art experts with profound internal power?"


    "They are not," Cheng Guan replied.


    "Why worry, then?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    It was as if Cheng Guan had just been woken up by this last sentence; he blew off a deep sigh and said, "So that''s how it is, so that''s how it is! Shizhi has never thought about it." He was quiet for a moment before continuing, "But there is another problem: our Sect''s has eighteen different palm techniques, special skills, inside and outside, thirty-six techniques, unique skills, seventy-two. Each technique has at least several dozen variations, at most more than a thousand. It''s really not easy to master all of these different techniques to perfection. Even without internal energy cultivation, that is, learning the style only, we are talking about several decades here."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "This old monk is really annoyingly dumb." He laughed and said, "Why do we have to master everything to perfection? As long as we know the girl uses what style, we''ll simply counter soldiers with arms, counter water with an earthen wall; the young girl attack with what move, the old monk neutralize her with what move. I guarantee they will be beaten so badly that they''ll flee to the wilderness and will be wiped out to the last man."


    Cheng Guan repeatedly nodded his head with a happy expression on his face, as if murky darkness was suddenly opened.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That Miss wearing blue has used some Laoshan Pai''s ''rivers pour away by the day''; you said there are six ways to dodge it, seven ways to counterattack. Actually, why bother with all those stuffs? As long as I can use one move to defeat her, why should I learn the other twelve techniques? Won''t it be a lot simpler?"


    Cheng Guan was greatly delighted. "Absolutely right! Absolutely right!" he exclaimed, "Those two Nu Shizhu has broken Shishu''s arms and injured martial nephew Jing Ji and the others, four people, using the ''separating tendon dislocating bone technique'' involving four different sects'' techniques. We can use Shaolin Pai martial art to counter their move." Immediately he demonstrated the technique used by the girls one by one, and then he explained the technique to counter each move, followed by demonstrating it for Wei Xiaobao.


    Sometimes the technique proposed by Cheng Guan was too complicated and too difficult to learn; sometimes unwittingly he used internal energy. Wei Xiaobao would then ask him to think about other technique that was simple and clear. Shaolin Pai martial art was indeed very broad and greatly abundant, while Cheng Guan was really patience. As soon as Wei Xiaobao felt that the move was too hard to learn, he simply shook his head, and then Cheng Guan would try different technique. If it did not work, he would try a different move, until Wei Xiaobao was able to execute the move effortlessly.


    Seeing in less than an hour this young martial uncle was able to master a particular style, while he himself had painstakingly spent many days to solve the problem, Cheng Guan was so happy that he pulled his own ear and stroked his own cheek, while his heart was unbearably excited. But suddenly he remembered something and said, "What a pity, what a pity." And then he shook his head and said, "Dangerous, dangerous."


    Wei Xiaobao hastily asked, "What do you mean ''what a pity''? What''s the danger?"

 Chapter - 23 (23)

    Scholars with innate talent have a lot of hobbies, the Lord made pictures to convey a message.


    Cheng Guan said, "If I want Shishu [martial uncle], the Senior and Jing Ji and the others, four people to go out and fight those two Nu Shizhu [female benefactor], to have them break your hands and feet. If they break your limbs really bad and cannot be cured easily, you will be crippled for life; won''t that be a pity? Moreover, if the two Nu Shizhu are too ruthless and unexpectedly kill the five of you, won''t that be dangerous?"


    Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Why would you want us, five people, to fight?" he asked.


    Cheng Guan said, "I am sure these are not the only move those two Nu Shizhu learned. Shizhi [martial nephew] does not know what other moves they have, naturally I cannot devise a technique to counter them. If the five of you do not go up to take a beating to test their moves, how can I investigate and find out?"


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. "So that''s how it is," he said, "I have an idea: as long as you can fight with them, it won''t be a pity, and there won''t be any danger."


    Cheng Guan''s expression became awkward. "Those who left homes must not get angry," he said, "We must not fight other people without rhyme or reason; that would be greatly inappropriate."


    "I got it!" Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of us can go out the Temple to take a walk. If the two Nu Shizhu have already gone far away, nothing could be better than that. This is called ''if you don''t offend me, I won''t offend you''. Whatever other moves they might have, we don''t have to pay them any more attention."


    "Absolutely right, absolutely right!" Cheng Guan said, "But Shizhi has never gone out the Temple gate. As soon as go out deliberately creating trouble seems to be ill-will. When my master first taught me Buddhist teaching at the Luye Garden, he taught me about the Four Noble Truths and Eight-fold Noble Way. This ''righteous intention'' is one of Eight-fold Noble Way ��"


    "We don''t need to go far," Wei Xiaobao cut his discourse, "Just take a stroll around the Temple. It would be best if we do not meet them at all."


    "Exactly, exactly," Cheng Guan said, "Shishu has a virtuous heart, unwilling to strife and struggle against other people, it could be considered ''righteous intention''. Shizhi definitely must follow your example."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused, taking along his hand, he went out Shaolin Temple via the side door. Cheng Guan had never seen even the forest by the Temple; seeing a vast stretch of pine trees, he could not help but clucking his tongue in amazement as he praised, "Those many pine trees grow together, it''s quite a spectacle. In our Bo''re Hall courtyard there are only two ��"


    Before he could finish, suddenly they heard female voice from behind, "The little bald thief is here!" Followed by a flash of white ray, a steel saber chopped down on Wei Xiaobao.


    Cheng Guan said, "This is the Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain from Five Tiger Breaking Gate''s Saber Technique." Reaching out, he grabbed the saber using ''grabbing blade from someone'' technique, but then he suddenly recalled that the move he used was from the ''Picking Flower Grab and Capture''; which was too difficult to learn. "It won''t do!" he said, and hastily pulled his hand back.


    The ''one using the blade'' was precisely the woman in blue; seeing Cheng Guan withdrew his hand, she swiftly flipped her willow-leaf saber and swept toward his waist. Right this moment, the girl in green dashed out from among the pine trees and brandished her saber to chop Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao hastily dodged and hid behind Cheng Guan, thereupon the girl in green''s saber chopped down on Cheng Guan''s shoulder.


    "This is Taiji Saber move," Cheng Guan said, "There is no simple and easy way to neutralize it ��" Before he finished speaking, the two women''s sabers attacked him together, the sabers swung faster and faster, Cheng Guan shouted, "Shishu, it won''t do, it won''t do! The two Nu Shizhu are moving too fast, I can''t �� I can''t think fast enough. Please �� please ask the two Nu Shizhu not to be impatient, ask them to chop slowly."


    The girl in blue sent out several ruthless moves in succession, but all along she failed to chop the old monk, several times she almost had her saber snatched away by him. Hearing him making such a big fuss, she thought he was deliberately mocking her. In her fury, she chopped even more violently.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Hey Miss, my Shizhi is asking you not to be impatient, to execute your moves slowly."


    "Exactly," Cheng Guan said, "My brain is not that quick, I can''t think of this many ways of neutralizing your moves in such a short period of time."


    The girl in green hated Wei Xiaobao to the bones; after several times trying to chop Cheng Guan to no avail, she swung her saber onto Wei Xiaobao. Cheng Guan stretched out his hand to block, while saying, "This Nu Shizhu, my Shishu has not learned the technique to neutralize this saber move of yours; don''t chop him now, wait until he has learned it and know how to block your move. It won''t be too late for you to chop him again. Ay, my moves won''t work. Shishu, forget everything you see, the moves I am using right now are quite useless. After we''re back, we will slowly think it over again." While his mouth was prattling incessantly, his hands did not stop grabbing and snatching, poking and striking, tightly entangling the two girls; how could the girl in green kill Wei Xiaobao?


    Seeing he was out of danger, Wei Xiaobao giggled happily as he leaned against a tree to watch the fight. His eyes feasted on the girl in green''s face, body, hands, feet, and then back to her face again; he looked very satisfied and extremely happy.


    When the girl in green did not see Wei Xiaobao anymore, she thought he had run away; when she found out that he was watching her closely, her face blushed. Without giving any thought to Cheng Guan, she turned around with raised saber and rushed toward Wei Xiaobao. Who would have thought that right this moment, Cheng Guan was aiming his finger toward her flank? He intentionally moved his finger slowly; she could have been able to evade it, but in her excitement to kill Wei Xiaobao, she was hit by the finger and fell down to the ground with a shriek.


    "Aiyo!" Cheng Guan hastily said, "I am so sorry. The finger power behind Lao Seng''s [old monk] move, ''laughing finger southern sky'', was not too formidable, Nu Shizhu must use one move from the Five Tiger Breaking Gate''s Saber called ''vicious tiger blocking the road''. By slanting your saber slightly, you could have parried it. Although Nu Shizhu had not used this move, but that Nu Shizhu in blue had used it; Lao Seng thought that Nu Shizhu must also know how to use it; who would have thought �� Ay, I have committed an offense, I have committed an offense."


    The girl in blue was fuming mad; her steel saber swept horizontally, swiftly and fiercely, but her martial art skill was much too inferior to Cheng Guan''s, all along she was unable to even touch the corner of his monk robe. Cheng Guan''s mouth was mumbling nonstop, he was trying to memorize all her moves. Since he was unable to find a simple and easy way to break her stances on the spot, he had no choice but to understand clearly her saber techniques, so that he could consider it in detail later.


    Wei Xiaobao went toward the girl in green; he praised, "This kind of good-looking little beauty, throughout the world there''s only you, one person, tsk, tsk, tsk! Just by looking at you my soul is flying up to the sky." Stretching out his hand, he lightly caressed her face.


    The girl was shocked and angered, her breath failed to flow, she fainted immediately. Wei Xiaobao was startled; he no longer dared to be frivolous and reckless. Standing up, he called out, "Cheng Guan Shizhi, seal that Nu Shizhu''s acupoint as well; we''ll have her explain her moves slowly later, so that we won''t harm our friendship."


    Cheng Guan hesitated. "Don''t you think it will be rather bad?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "By exchanging blows and kicks right now, it is already too unsightly. Asking her to talk is fairly more refined and in good taste."


    Cheng Guan was delighted. "Shishu is right, exchanging blows and kicks is not the ''just way''."


    The girl in blue knew that as soon as this old monk went all-out, she would not be able to withstand even his single move or half a style. Right now her martial sister was captured; if she also fell into his hands, nobody would report their capture and ask for help. Thereupon she leaped back and called out, "If you harm a single strand of my Shimei''s hair, I will burn your Shaolin Temple to the ground."


    Cheng Guan was startled. "How can we dare to injure this Nu Shizhu?" he asked, "If she sheds a single strand of her own hair, are you going to set our temple on fire?"


    The girl in blue had already rushed several steps; she turned her head around and cursed, "Old bald thief is oily-mouthed and smooth talking, little bald thief ��" She was going to say ''obscene, heretic and lecherous'', but felt it was inappropriate to say those four words. Stomping her foot, she disappeared into the forest.


    Wei Xiaobao gazed on the girl in green lying on the ground, her white jade-like tender face on the green grass, her white jade-like pair of hands truly looked like the white jade image of Guanyin sitting on an emerald pedestal; he could not help but staring blankly at her.


    Cheng Guan said, "Nu Shizhu, your Shijie [older martial sister] has left. You''d better go as well, don''t let a single strand of your hair falls, otherwise, your Shijie will come and burn our Temple."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Good opportunity must not be missed. Since this little beauty has fallen into my hands, whatever happens, I must not let her go." Putting his palms together he said, "This is our Buddha''s blessing. Cheng Guan Shizhi, our Buddha wants you to expand Shaolin''s martial art study, to uphold our Pai''s thousand-plus years of martial prestige; you are indeed our Pai''s greatest contributor of meritorious service."


    Cheng Guan was puzzled, "Shishu, what are you talking about?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We were concerned over what other moves those two Nu Shizhu might have. It is very fortunate that our Buddha has pity on us, by sending this Nu Shizhu to honor our Temple with her presence, so that she can explain everything one by one." Finished speaking, he bent down to carry the girl and said, "Let''s go home."


    Cheng Guan was astonished and puzzled; he only felt that there was something greatly amiss in this matter, but what exactly was wrong, he could not tell. After a while he said, "Shishu, inviting this Nu Shizhu inside the Temple does not seem to follow the rule."


    "What do you mean not following the rule?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Hasn''t she been in the Temple before? Fangzhang [Abbot] and Jielu Courtyard Head both said nothing was wrong, clearly it was in accordance with the rule, wasn''t it?"


    The more he talked, the lower Cheng Guan hung his head; he only felt that each sentence cannot be disputed. He saw the little martial uncle took off his monk robe and wrapped it around the girl''s body, and carried her into the Temple via a side door. Cheng Guan had no choice but to follow behind him. He looked lost, his brain was in confusion.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding; although from head to toe the girl was covered by the monk robe and nothing was visible from the outside, but if any monk in the Temple saw them, unavoidably they would raise some suspicion. He was carrying a warm, fragrant, and tender jade, in his bosom, but in his heart he was afraid. Fortunately, Bo''re Hall was located in a secluded area at the back of the Temple; while he was hurrying toward the Hall, they did not meet any other monk.


    When he entered the Hall, the monks on duty saw their grand-martial uncle personal visit, with their chief following behind him, they all stepped aside respectfully to let them pass. By the time they entered Cheng Guan''s meditation room, the girl had not regained her consciousness. Wei Xiaobao put her down on the couch. His hands were wet with cold sweats, he wiped his palms on the side of his legs and heaved a deep sigh. "There!" he said with a laugh.


    "We are going to invite this �� this Nu Shizhu to stay in here?" Cheng Guan asked.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "This is not the first time she stays in the Temple. Previously, when her neck was injured, didn''t she stay at the Eastern Courtyard?"


    Cheng Guan nodded. "Yes," he said, "But �� but that time it was to treat her injury, it was a matter of life and death; we did not have any choice but temporarily taking care of her."


    "That''s very easy," Wei Xiaobao said. Pulling the dagger from his boot, he said, "I only need to ruthlessly cut her once, so that her life will be in danger, and then we won''t have any choice but temporarily take care of her." Finished speaking, he stepped toward her and raised his hand, poised to make a cut.


    "No, no," Cheng Guan hastily said, "That �� that won''t be necessary."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will listen to you then. But you must not let anybody know. After she finishes explaining all kinds of moves and styles, we will quietly escort her out. Otherwise, I have no choice but to slash her."


    "Yes, yes," Cheng Guan said, "I won''t say anything." He only felt that this young martial uncle''s conduct was really strange; but recalling that he was his superior from the ''Hui'' character generation, his knowledge and experience must be superior to his own. Listening to his order, he did not have the slightest inclination to question it.


    "This Nu Shizhu''s temperament is strong," Wei Xiaobao said, "She is determined to snatch the Bo''re Hall Chief position from you, I must advise her well."


    Cheng Guan said, "If she insists, Shizhi will let her have it, and that''s the end."


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback; he did not expect this old monk to have a very simple character, without any desire to compete at all. "She is not a monk of our Temple," he said, "If she took over the Bo''re Hall leadership, where would we put our Shaolin Temple''s face? If you harbor that kind of mindset, you are letting down Shaolin Pai." While saying that, his expression was grim, so that even Cheng Guan was also scared into thinking that that was the truth.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said with wooden expression, "Get out now, wait for me outside, I must persuade her." Cheng Guan bowed to comply, walked out of the meditation room, and closed the door behind him.


    Wei Xiaobao untied the monk robe wrapped around the girl. The girl was about to scream when she saw a dagger, glittering like frost and snow, right in front of her nose. Her mouth was opened wide, but she did not dare to make any noise. Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "Little Miss, as long as you obediently listen to me, I won''t harm a strand of your hair. Otherwise, I won''t have any choice but to cut your nose before letting you out of the Temple. When one lacks a nose, one can''t smell fragrance or stench, not a big deal, isn''t it?"


    The girl was scared and angered at the same time; her face was devoid of any color even more. "Are you going to listen to me?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The girl was extremely angry. "Quickly kill me," she said in a low voice.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "You have a countenance of a flower, face like the moon; how could I bear to kill you? Yet if I let you go, from now on day and night I will always miss you, and then I will die from lovesickness; that means I am spoiling the virtue given to me by the Heaven."


    The girl''s face turned red, but immediately turned back to white. Wei Xiaobao said, "There is only one way: I must cut your nose, then your appearance won''t be beautiful anymore, hence I won''t die of lovesickness."


    The girl shut her eyes tight, two drops of clear tear seeped through her long and beautiful eyelashes. Wei Xiaobao''s heart softened; "Don''t cry, don''t cry!" he said consolingly, "As long as you listen to me nicely, I would rather cut my own nose than yours. What''s your name?"


    The girl shook her head, more tears flowed from her eyes. Wei Xiaobao said, "Oh, so your name is Yaotou Mao [shaking-head cat]; that''s not a nice name."


    The girl opened her eyes; with a sob she said, "Who''s Yaotou Mao? You are Yaotou Mao."


    Hearing her reply, Wei Xiaobao was ecstatic. "Alright," he said with a laugh, "I am Yaotou Mao. Who are you, then?"


    The girl angrily said, "I won''t tell you!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you don''t want to tell me, I''d better give you a name. How about �� how about Yaba Mao [mute cat]?"


    "Rubbish!" the girl said, "I am not mute."


    Wei Xiaobao was sitting on a stack of books on Shaolin martial art, crossing his leg on top of the other, and was swaying gently back and forth. Seeing the angry look on her beyond-compare-beautiful face, his heart was excited. He laughed and said, "What is your honorable surname and your great name, then?"


    "I said I won''t tell you, I won''t tell you," the girl replied.


    "I have something I''d like to discuss with you," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you don''t have any surname and have no name, it''s going to be awkward. Since you are unwilling to tell me, I''ll have to give you one. Mmm, what name should I give to you?"


    "I don''t want it, I don''t want it, I don''t want it," the girl repeatedly said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I got it! Your name is Wei Menyao


    [21]."


    The girl was startled. "How quaint," she said, "I am not surnamed Wei."


    Wei Xiaobao grimly said, "Emperor of Heaven above, Empress of Earth below, in all my life I will climb the mountain of sabers, or go down a deep fryer, to be cut into pieces, to be executed along with my whole family unto the third generation, committing heresy and treason, with dozen unpardonable evil crimes, let my sons be robbers, my daughters be prostitutes, let me be without sons without grandsons, beaten by the sky stricken by thunder, my entire body covered with 1001 big and deep boils, I must take you as my wife."


    Listening to him uttering that many heavy oaths in one breath, the girl was dumbfounded. But when suddenly she heard the last sentence, she could not help but blushing deep red. "Pei!" she spat.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am surnamed Wei, and thus you are already decreed by fate to be surnamed Wei as well. I don''t know your surname, and you always shake your head, thereupon your maiden name is Wei Menyao."


    The girl shut her eyes and angrily said, "There has never been a crazy and unfounded ravings monk like you on the earth. You have left home, yet you want to take �� take something �� Aren''t you afraid Bodhisattva will punish you, when you die you will enter the eighteenth level of hell?"


    Wei Xiaobao put his palms together and threw himself prostrate on the floor. When the girl heard the noise of him kneeling, her curiosity was piqued; she opened her eyes and saw him facing the window, kowtowing several times while saying, "My Tathagata Buddha, the merciful Buddha, Bodhisattva Guanyin, Bodhisattva Manjushri, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the Jade Emperor, Four Great Vajrapani, King Yama, the underworld judge, Little Demon Wuchang, please listen to me. I, Wei Xiaobao, simply must take this Miss as my wife. Even if after I die I will enter the eighteenth level of hell, have my tongue pulled out, my skull sawed, will not reincarnate for ten thousand years, it''s not a big deal. When I am alive, I don''t care about anything, when I am dead, I am not afraid of anything. Taking her as my wife has been decided."


    The girl noticed how resolute and decisive he was [orig. ''chop the nail and slice the iron''], without the slightest hint of frivolous attitude; she knew he was not joking. She began to feel afraid and begged, "Please stop, please stop." After a brief pause, she said bitterly, "I don''t care if you kill me or beat me every day. I hate you to the death, I will never ... will never comply."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "I don''t care if you comply or not, in brief or at length, from now on I will spend the next eighty years with you. Even if you have changed into a 100 year-old woman, if I don''t succeed in taking you as my wife, I will not die with my eyes closed."


    The girl angrily said, "You have disgraced me like this, there will come a day that you will die in my hands. I am going to kill you first before I''ll kill myself."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You can always kill me, but that means you are committing a premeditated murder against your own husband. If I cannot be your husband, I won''t die that easily." Speaking to this point, he could not stop his voice from trembling.


    Seeing him gnashing his teeth with the blue vein on his forehead stuck out, the girl was scared and closed her eyes again. Wei Xiaobao wanted to take several steps toward her, but his entire body went weak, his hands and feet trembled, suddenly he had a strong urge to kneel down and prostrate himself in front of her, to plead with her sincerely; but as he took another step toward her, his throat emitted a low growling noise like a wounded beast, followed by a desire to strangle her to death.


    As the girl heard the strange noise, she opened her eyes and saw the strange gleam on his eyes; she shrieked. Wei Xiaobao was startled; he withdrew several steps and sat down dejectedly, thinking, "In the Imperial Palace I called Miss Fang and Xiao Junzhu my first and second wife. We were laughing hee-hee ha-ha, so relaxed and unrestrained. When I wanted to embrace them I just embraced them, when I wanted to kiss them I simply kiss them. This little girl''s acupoint is clearly sealed by the old monk, she is unable to move a single step; how come I do not dare to even caress her hand?"


    He saw her beautiful and delicate hand was peeking underneath the monk robe; he only wanted to hold her hand gently, but he did not have any courage to do so, and could not help but swearing, "Hot piece mama!"


    The girl did not understand; she stared at him. Wei Xiaobao''s face blushed; he said, "I was cursing my own cowardice and uselessness; I wasn''t cursing you."


    "You disregard the law and natural morality, yet still saying that you are a coward," the girl replied, "If you are truly a coward, I should really thank the Heaven and thank the Earth."


    As soon as he heard this, Wei Xiaobao''s spirit soared. He stood up and said, "Alright, I want to disregard the law and natural morality. I want to strip you naked." The girl was so shocked that she almost fainted.


    Wei Xiaobao walked near her and saw the deep hatred in her eyes; he said in his heart, "Forget it, forget it. I, Wei Xiaobao, am a turtle son of a b1tch. I surrender to you, I don''t dare to make a move." In a gentle voice he said, "I have always been afraid of my wife since I was born. I will let you go."


    Only now did the girl''s fright diminished; but her anger flared up again as she said, "You ... in that town, what kind of rubbish did you tell those ... those bad women? You said my Shijie and I ... are ... are your ... whatever. You said we were going to seize you and take you back. You ... you are an evil man ..."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "What do those bad women understand? Later on, after I take you as my wife, the hundred thousand prostitutes of a thousand brothels in the world lining up in front of me, Wei Xiaobao won''t even cast a glance with the corner of my eyes. From morning till night, from night till morning, twelve sichen a day, I will only have eyes for my beloved wife."


    The girl said, "If you call me one more time as your ... your ... whatever, I will not speak to you again, ever."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he hastily said, "Alright, alright, I won''t call you out loud, I will only call you in my heart."


    The girl said, "You must not call me in your heart."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "I will secretly call you in my heart, you won''t know it."


    "Humph," the girl said, "How can I possibly not know? Looking at the weird expression on your face, I know you are calling me in your heart."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When Mama gave birth to me, my expression has already been weird like this. Most likely it was because ever since I was in my mother''s womb, I have already known that in the future I am going to marry you as my wife."


    The girl shut her eyes and no longer paid attention to him. Wei Xiaobao said, "Hey, I have not called you my wife, how can you ignore me?"


    "You haven''t?" the girl said, "You lie to my face. You said you were going to marry me as your ... whatever; that was it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, I won''t say it. I was only saying that in the future I will be your husband ..."


    The girl was extremely angry; she shut her eyes as tight as she could. Afterwards, no matter what Wei Xiaobao said to her, whether he was rambling incoherently or teasing her, she did not respond at all.


    Wei Xiaobao was at a loss; he wanted to say, "If you ignore me, I am going to kiss your face." But as the word was at the tip of his tongue, he swallowed it back again, thinking that by coercing this fairy-like beauty, he would actually be profaning her. He sighed and said, "I only have one favor to ask you. If you tell me your name and surname, I will let you go."


    "You deceived me," the girl said.


    "I deceived a lot of people in the world," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are not the only one. This is called being a real man, whatever I say, dead horse cannot chase it. Little wife does not say anything, a live horse can chase it easily."


    The girl was startled; "What dead horse cannot chase, a live horse can chase easily?" she asked.


    "It''s our Shaolin Pai''s saying," Wei Xiaobao said, "In short, I am not deceiving you. Just think, I single-mindedly want your grandson to call me yeye [paternal grandfather]; if I deceived you today, your son won''t call me Dad, and then where can I get the grandson?"


    At first the girl did not understand his rambling about grandson, grandfather, etc. After thinking about it, she understood he was saying the same thing in a roundabout way. She said in a soft voice, "I don''t want you to let me go, you have bullied me like this, I have already decided I don''t want to live. Just kill me quickly with your blade!"


    Wei Xiaobao saw the blade''s scar on her neck was still new; a long red scar remained visible. Feeling deep remorse, he kneeled down on the floor, ''Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!'' he knocked his head heavily in front of her. "I have offended Miss!" he said. With both hands he slapped his own cheeks heavily left and right more than a dozen times, his face immediately turned red and swollen. He said, "Miss, please don''t be sad; Wei Xiaobao, this son of a b1tch, indeed deserves to be beaten!" Standing up, he opened the door and said, "Hey, Old Shizhi, I want to unseal this Miss'' acupoints. How do I do that?"


    Cheng Guan had been standing outside the door, waiting. His internal energy was deep, although Wei Xiaobao and the girl were talking in low voices, nothing escaped his ears. He only felt that the way this little martial uncle''s ''persuaded'' the female benefactor was a profound mystery. All those ''husband, wife, grandson, grandfather'' and so on did not seem to have anything to do with martial art, the little martial uncle''s wisdom and witticism were too deep to comprehend, his own cultivation in the teachings of Buddha was inadequate so that he failed to understand. Later on he heard the little martial uncle kneeled down and kowtowed, and struck his own cheeks; Cheng Guan could not help but feeling even more admiration.


    In Zen Buddhism, when a master passes on the Buddhist doctrines to his disciples, if the disciple did not understand the subtlety of the master''s magnificent teaching, the master oftentimes beats the disciple with a stick and shouts at him. Using the stick to pass on the doctrines originated from De Shan Chanshi [Dhyana Master Virtuous Mountain(?)] of the Tang Dynasty; the shout was supposed to urge the person to come to see the truth, it was also originated from a Tang Dynasty dhyana master. The saying ''stick and shout on the head'' [i.e. ''severe warning''] came from this custom.


    Cheng Guan thought that the eminent monks of the past were using a stick to enlighten people, his little martial uncle was slapping his own face to enlighten the female benefactor. It was an act of abandoning self for others, his heart of mercy surpassed those of his predecessors; he could only admire with gratitude and sigh in admiration. Hearing him asking about how to unseal the acupoints, Cheng Guan hastily replied, "The Nu Shizhu''s acupoints being sealed are the ''Da Bao'' [large bundle] acupoint belonging to the Foot Taiyin Channel of the Spleen. Shishu only needs to ''push the blood to the palace'' (?) of the ''ji men'' [winnow basket gate] and ''xue hai'' [blood ocean], two acupoints on her leg; that should unseal it."


    "''Ji men'' and ''xue hai'' acupoints, where are they located at?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Cheng Guan lifted his robe and pointed to the inside of his knee to show him the locations of the acupoints, he let Wei Xiaobao to run his finger on the acupoints to verify that he got the correct ones. He also taught him how to ''push the blood to the palace''; saying, "Shishu has not practiced internal energy, the way you unseal the acupoints will be somewhat slower. But after massaging for about an hour, the acupoints will definitely open." Wei Xiaobao nodded, closed the door, and returned to the couch.


    The girl heard the exchange between those two, she cried out in fear, "I don''t want you to unseal my acupoints, I don''t want you to touch me!"


    Wei Xiaobao contemplated, "Massaging the inside of her knee for an hour is indeed not too proper. I really want to unseal her acupoint, but she will definitely think that I am being frivolous. Although a husband can be frivolous toward his wife, I still have to follow Heaven''s rule and the Earth''s way; much less this is a good opportunity that I must not lose, if I fail, I will lost her forever. It''s just that this girl''s temper is very fierce; as soon as I unseal her acupoints, I am afraid she would immediately drive me to the wall and kill me. And then Wei Xiaobao indeed won''t have any son and won''t have any grandson."


    Turning his head, he raised his voice and asked, "Men and women should not have direct contact. As people who have left home, we must pay special attention to the rule. If I don''t want to massage her, is there any other technique I can use?"


    "Yes," Cheng Guan said, "Shishu precisely and rigorously abides by the commandments, Shizhi is full of admiration. There is a way to unseal other people''s acupoint without touching. You can use the light brushing of the corner of your sleeve, or use the ''one finger Dhyana'' through the empty air �� Aiyo, it''s not right, Xiao Shishu [young martial uncle] has not cultivated internal energy, you cannot use these techniques. Let Shizhi think it over ��"


    Actually, all he had to do was to enter the room himself and lightly brush the corner of his sleeve, or perhaps use the ''one finger Dhyana'' through the empty air, then the girl''s acupoint would be unsealed immediately. But since his martial uncle had asked, he must try to come up with an answer. However, how difficult it was for someone without internal energy to unseal acupoint without using fingers or massage? Even if he thought about it for a year or so, he would not necessarily be able to come up with anything.


    Listening to him for a long time without getting any answer, Wei Xiaobao pushed the door a little bit, and saw Cheng Guan was looking up with a blank stare, lost in thought. He would not be surprised if Cheng Guan could stay motionless and speechless like that for six hours. Thereupon he closed the door and turned around, thinking that when he unsealed Mu Jianping''s acupoint at the Imperial Palace that day, he was using first-class technique all the way to the ninth-class technique: pinching, massaging, beating and jabbing, without the least bit of second thought. Although she was a junzhu who should be respected, in his eyes, he did not consider her important at all; however, in front of this nameless young woman, why did he tremble with fear and venerate her as if she was a deity?


    Glancing toward the girl, he saw her delicate eyebrows were tightly knitted together with a distressed expression; he could not help but feeling a deep compassion toward her. Picking up a wooden fish mallet, he walked over toward her and said, "In the previous life Wei Xiaobao owed you a debt. In this life I fear neither the Heaven nor the Earth, yet I fear you, a young Miss. Right now I surrender to you, I really want to unseal your acupoints, and not deliberately want to take advantage of you." Finished speaking, he took off his monk robe, and gently struck the inside of her left knee several times with the wooden fish mallet.


    The girl stared at him coldly, her small mouth was tightly shut. Wei Xiaobao jabbed the mallet several more times and asked, "How do you feel?"


    The girl said, "You �� other than speaking some rogue words, you don''t know anything."


    Cheng Guan''s internal energy was deep, his light poke with his finger penetrated deep into the acupoint, although Wei Xiaobao''s placement of the wooden fish mallet was very accurate, his strength was lacking, he failed to unseal the acupoint. Hearing the girl''s sarcastic remark, he could not suppress his anger, and struck the wooden fish mallet heavily down several times. "Ah!" the girl screamed. Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Does it hurt?" he asked.


    "I �� I �� I ��" the girl angrily said. Wei Xiaobao moved to her right knee, but this time he started beating gently. After pounding several times, the girl''s body slightly trembled. "That''s it!" Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Originally Shaolin Pai only has 72 unique skills, from now on there will be 73. This new unique skill is invented by the Eminent Monk Hui Ming Chanshi, it is called �� it is called the ''Wooden Fish Mallet Acupoint Unsealing Divine Technique'', hey hey ��"


    While he was feeling complacent, suddenly he felt a dull pain on the small of his back; he was dumbstruck. The girl suddenly rolled around and sat up, she reached out to snatch his dagger and thrust it into his chest. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "You murder your own husband ��" and fell sitting down on the ground.


    The girl snatched her willow-leaf saber that was placed by her side; pulled the door open, and bolted out of the meditation room.


    Cheng Guan stretched out his arms to block, he called out in alarm, "Nu Shizhu, you �� killed �� killed my Shishu �� that �� that ��"


    The girl moved the willow-leaf saber from her left hand to her right, ''Shua! Shua! Shua!'' she hacked three times in succession. Cheng Guan flicked the sleeve of his robe. The girl''s legs went numb and she tumbled down.


    Cheng Guan rushed toward Wei Xiaobao''s side; he flicked several times with the middle finger of his right hand to seal the acupoints all around Wei Xiaobao''s wound. "Amitabha, my Buddha is merciful," he said. With three fingers he pinched the hilt of the dagger and gently pulled it out, blood was seeping out of the wound. Noticing the bleeding was not too bad, Cheng Guan hurriedly untied Wei Xiaobao''s clothes, and saw the wound to be approximately half a cun [�� ?"], and the cut was not too wide. He repeatedly said, "Amitabha."


    Wei Xiaobao was wearing his treasured vest; if not for the fact that his dagger was incomparably sharp, he would not have been wounded at all. Although the dagger penetrated his clothes, its force was greatly reduced and only went into his flesh shallowly. However, looking at his bleeding chest and feeling the pain from the wound, he thought his life would be difficult to save. He mumbled, "Murder your own husband �� (cough, cough) �� murder your �� your own ��"


    The girl was lying on the floor, she cried and said, "It was me who killed him, Old Monk, quickly kill me to �� to pay for �� for his life."


    "Ay," Cheng Guan sighed, "My Shishu has enlightened you. Nu Shizhu, if you persist on your wrong doings, there is nothing I can do. But a violent crime like this �� a murder, it is rather too much."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I''m about to die. (Cough), you murder your own ��"


    Cheng Guan stared blankly. Dashing out of the room, he fetched the medicine to treat metal-cut wound and applied it on Wei Xiaobao''s wound, saying, "Shishu, you have great compassion and great mercy, you enlightened the fierce and uncontrollable, your karmic reward has not been exhausted yet, you won''t die this easily. Besides, your injury is not serious, it''s not a big deal."


    Hearing Cheng Guan said that his injury was not serious, Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was greatly aroused, and felt that his wound was not too painful after all. "Stoop down," he said, "Aiyo, I am going to die, I am going to die!"


    Cheng Guan stooped down and put his ear next to Wei Xiaobao''s mouth. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "You may unseal her acupoint, but don''t let her out of the room. Wait until she finishes using all martial art skills she knew, and then �� and then ��"


    "And then what?" Cheng Guan asked.


    "At that time �� at that time we ��" Wei Xiaobao stammered, while saying in his heart, "Even until then, we still cannot let her go." He said, "Just �� just follow my instruction �� quickly �� quickly �� I am about to die; once I died, I cannot die again!"


    Although Cheng Guan did not understand his intention, hearing the urgency in his voice, he turned around and snapped his fingers to unseal her blocked acupoints.


    The girl saw how sneaky Wei Xiaobao was talking to Cheng Guan, she thought that this young evil monk was wily and mischievous, at the death''s door, he must be planning some treacherous scheme to deal with me, otherwise, why would he want to let me go? Immediately she wanted to leap up, but her acupoints had just been unsealed, the blood had not flowed freely yet, her legs were still numb and weak, she tumbled down again. Cheng Guan looked at her with blank expression on his face, while his mouth repeatedly calling the names of Buddha.


    The girl was frightened even more, she shouted, "Quickly kill me with one palm strike, tormenting people like this is not the act of a hero and warrior."


    Cheng Guan said, "Xiao Shishu said we cannot let you go at this time, naturally we cannot kill you either."


    The girl was greatly alarmed; her face blushed, she thought, "This young evil monk said that no matter what he must take me as his wife, otherwise he would die without his eyes closed. Could it be �� could it be that before he breathes his last he wants �� he wants to make me �� make me �� whatever �� whatever wife?" Leaning sideways, she picked up the willow-leaf saber from the floor and forcefully chopped it onto her own forehead.


    Cheng Guan flicked the sleeve of his robe again, it coiled around the edge of the blade, while the left sleeve brushed toward her face. The girl felt a strong gust of wind sweeping her face, and had no choice but to release her grip on the saber and leaped backward to evade. Cheng Guan flicked his sleeve again, the willow-leaf saber shot up, ''pop!'' it stuck on the beam of the roof.


    Seeing Cheng Guan was looking up at the saber, the girl kicked her left foot and slipped away from his left side. Cheng Guan stretched out his hand to block. Forming her right hand''s five fingers into a claw the girl attacked his eyes. Cheng Guan flipped his hand to catch her right elbow, he said, "''Smoke Over the Eyes'', this is Jiangnan''s Jiang Family''s martial art."


    The girl''s leg flew toward his lower abdomen. Cheng Guan slightly bent his waist and the kick hit an empty air. "This is ''Sound of Footsteps in an Empty Valley'', originated from Jin Yang of Shanxi, a Shatuo people''s martial art," he said, "But Shatuo people must have another name, Lao Na is ignorant and inexperienced, I looked everywhere but could not find out. I wonder if Nu Shizhu knew the original name of this move."


    Why would the girl pay him any attention? Her fists punched, her feet kicked, her fingers poked, her elbows struck; launching move after move endlessly. Cheng Guan identified all the moves one by one, only her movement was really fast, he did not have enough time to say it out loud; he had no choice but parrying the attacks and simply memorized everything in his heart. The girl successively launched several dozen moves, but Cheng Guan effortlessly neutralized everything. Seeing it would be difficult for her to escape, she was extremely frightened; her breathing failed to flow, she swayed several times, and then she fell down, fainted.


    Cheng Guan sighed and said, "Nu Shizhu is greedy and covetous, you learned various schools and sects'' exquisite moves, yet without possessing enough internal energy; naturally you won''t last in a prolonged fight. In Lao Na''s opinion, you''d better cultivating internal energy from the beginning, and in a proper way. Fighting this time, your strength failed. If I help you by waking you up, undoubtedly you will want to fight again, and then inevitably you will suffer internal injury; you''d better lie down to rest for a moment, what does Nu Shizhu think? But you must never misunderstand, thinking that Lao Na is only watching with folded arms, knowing you are fainting and paying you no attention. Aiyo, Lao Na is so muddle-headed, you are already fainted, of course you won''t hear a thing, yet I kept talking endlessly."


    He went toward the couch to check Wei Xiaobao''s pulse, and found it to be steady and solid, there was no indication of danger at all; he said, "Shishu, don''t you worry, your injury is not the least bit serious."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Do you remember all the moves that the Little Miss used?"


    "I do," Cheng Guan replied, "But to find techniques to deal with her that are simple, clear and easy to practice is indeed not easy."


    "Just remember the moves she used," Wei Xiaobao said, "As for how to deal with her, we can think about it slowly, it won''t be too late."


    "Yes, yes," Cheng Guan said, "Shishu''s direction is right."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "After she has finished using all her punching and kicking skills, have her use her saber, and take note of her moves."


    "Right," Cheng Guan said, "We must also remember her moves using a weapon. There is one difficulty though: her willow-leaf saber is stuck on the beam. I am afraid she cannot jump that high, she won''t be able to retrieve it."


    "What about you?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Can''t you jump up to get it?"


    Cheng Guan was startled, then he burst out laughing and said, "Shizhi is indeed muddle-headed."


    His laughter had awakened the girl. Propping herself up with both hands, she ran toward the door. Cheng Guan flicked his left sleeve to push the side of the girl''s body. The girl staggered and hit the wall. Cheng Guan flicked his right sleeve toward the wall to support her body gently. Instantly the girl was able to steady her footing. She was startled, and realized at once that in all honesty that the difference between her martial art and this old monk''s is simply too far. If she continued fighting, he would make a fool of her without she being able to do anything. Thereupon she took two steps back and sat down on a chair.


    "Uh," Cheng Guan was puzzled, "You are not fighting anymore?"


    The girl angrily said, "I am not your match, why would I want to fight you?"


    Cheng Guan said, "If you don''t fight, how can I recognize the style you are using? How can I think of a way to counter that style? Quickly fight!"


    The girl thought, "Fine, turns out you want me to fight so that you can understand my martial arts, I simply won''t let you know." Suddenly she sprang up, her fists went straight up and down, waving wildly and hitting arbitrarily, her feet also kicked randomly, without using any technique at all.


    Cheng Guan was greatly astonished. "Uh! Ah!" he exclaimed, "That''s odd! Strange! Ay! Wow! What''s that? Amazing! That''s weird!" He had a feeling that he had seen those moves before, but it also seemed that he had never seen them. Some moves seemed similar to certain school or sect''s style, yet the resemblance was so little, the difference was so great; the moves looked right, but felt wrong. In that instant his brain was overloaded with confusion. He felt that the martial arts he diligently and painstakingly accumulated over the dozens of years had suddenly changed, the moves he learned following the Heaven''s law and Earth''s principle, the golden rule and jade regulation, in a split second everything was shattered and nothing was left.


    He did not realize that the girl did not move according to any martial art style, she was simply beating and kicking randomly. She knew that no matter what move she used, this old monk could not possibly harm her, at most he would only seal her acupoint so that she would lie down on the floor without being able to move at all, nothing more. If he really wanted to subdue her, it would be as easy as lifting his own hand. Even if she had used the most exquisite of martial art move, the result would be the same; so she might as well beating and kicking randomly. You want to study my martial art style, I simply won''t let you take a single glimpse.


    Cheng Guan was very familiar with the world''s each school and sect''s martial art; however, he had never thought that in this world, there are millions of people who have never learned martial art, who, when they fight, if they want to punch they would simply punch, if they want to kick, they would simply kick. They do not understand any fist technique or kicking technique, do not know whether certain move is correct or wrong. Seeing the girl executing strange move and weird style, each one seemed more bizarre than the previous one, each one he had never seen in his entire life, each one he had never even heard about, he could not help but feeling frightened and was at a loss.


    In all his life he had always lived inside Shaolin Temple, from the time he shaved his head he had never left the Temple''s gate even for a single step. Whenever someone was using his fist and feet in Shaolin Temple, naturally each move would follow some kind of style or technique; whenever someone was talking about each sect''s martial art, naturally he would mention some exquisite and original move. Everybody in the world would have seen people punching and kicking wildly like this little girl, only this Head of Bo''re Hall of Shaolin Temple, who was extremely knowledgeable in martial art, Cheng Guan Dashi [great master], had never seen anything like this, and had never heard people mentioning this either.


    After watching a dozen more moves, he was even more stunned, he could not even sigh or say something like ''strange, amazing, weird'', and so on. All kinds of styles came thick and fast before his eyes. "That looks like ''Falling from Dragon Ride'' of Wudang''s Long Fist, but the style appears to be incorrect. Perhaps it is an alteration of Kongtong Pai''s ''Dragon Prancing on the Cloud''? Uh, that kick looks even weirder, if she kicks straight out like that, the opponent could easily catch it, and grab her ankle. But in martial art study, greatly skillful person may not necessarily win over clumsy one, there must be an extremely formidable change that comes later. Ah, in this move she is grabbing with both hands, apparently she wants to grab my hair, but obviously I do not have any hair, so this move must be a fake one. Martial art study pays particular attention to solid in the midst of void, and void in the midst of solid. Why would she want to grab Buddhist monk''s hair? There must be a profound meaning behind this, I simply must consider the details carefully ��" The more the girl moved arbitrarily, the more Cheng Guan was baffled. From being puzzled, his admiration slowly grew; from admiration, he slowly became frightened.


    Wei Xiaobao could see that the girl was moving randomly, yet in all seriousness Cheng Guan was diligently watching and studying everything; he could not help but make a ''Ha!'' sound as he broke into laughter. This laugh affected his wound, which became really painful that he could only clench his teeth trying to endure. In that moment pain and amusement mixed together, and it was really difficult to endure.


    Cheng Guan was at a loss, anxious and perplexed, suddenly hearing Wei Xiaobao''s laugh, he blushed from ear to ear, thinking, "Shishu is laughing because I do not know this Nu Shizhu''s fantastic moves; perhaps he would ask her to be the Head of Bo''re Hall." When he turned his head around, he saw Wei Xiaobao''s painful expression, and felt even more grateful, "Shishu is indeed kind-hearted, he wants me to hand over the Head position to this Nu Shizhu, but he cannot bear to say it."


    Seeing the girl''s punching and kicking was getting more and more chaotic, he thought, "The people of old said that when one has reached outstanding attainments in martial art, even hanging something on the antelope''s antler won''t leave any trace that''s possible to seek[?]. I heard that in the previous dynasty there was this Dugu Quibai [Dugu Seeking-a-loss] Daxia [great hero/knight], and then there was Linghu Chong Daxia, who defeat a move without a move; they were unequalled in their era. Could it be �� could it be ��"


    He wanted to try, hence he stepped forward and casually punching and kicking, trying to overthrow the girl. However, when a martial art master is making his move, he must look clearly the opponent''s move first, and then thinking about a way to counter it later. Since he was already at a complete loss over the girl''s random punching and kicking, it was like a tiger cub that saw a donkey for the first time, who was terrified endlessly.


    Actually, the girl did not dare to attack him. One was punching and kicking randomly with anger that was difficult to restrain, the other was having his imagination running wild while his heart was extremely frightened. After moving around randomly for quite a while, the girl''s hands and feet were exhausted and aching. Thinking that in any case it would be difficult for her to escape, her heart turned bitter, she swayed and abruptly sat down on the ground.


    Cheng Guan was greatly shocked; he thought, "According to legend, when someone has trained martial art to an extremely high level, he could sit down on the ground and still injure the opponent from a distant. I am afraid �� I am afraid ��" His brain was overloaded with confusion; in his fright, his blood surged up, slowly he sat down and passed out.


    The girl was startled but delighted; afraid that those two monks were setting up some sinister scheme, she did not dare to step forward and kill those old and young, two monks, but sprang up and ran out of the meditation room.


    Suddenly seeing a woman rushing out, the monks of Bo''re Hall were taken by surprise. Without their superior''s order, who would dare to step forward and stop her? Wei Xiaobao was lying on the couch and could only watch helplessly.


    After quite a while, Cheng Guan slowly regained his consciousness. With an ashamed expression he said, "Shishu, I �� I am really ashamed to face our Temple''s forefathers and ancestors."


    Forcing a laugh, Wei Xiaobao said, "Where do you think you want to go?"


    Cheng Guan said, "That Nu Shizhu''s martial art is exquisite, Shizhi did not recognize a single move, I am ignorant and inexperienced, I am really ashamed." He tried hard to remember the girl''s style, but her moves changed irregularly without any pattern, completely without any set of rule he could follow; how could he remember it? Shakily he tried to stand up while supporting himself against the wall, but he almost faint again.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You �� you think moving around wildly like that is an exquisite martial art? Ha ha �� hee hee �� this �� this is so �� so funny �� I want to die!"


    Cheng Guan was puzzled. "Is Shishu saying that �� that was moving around wildly? And not �� not exquisite martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao pressed down his wound and struggled hard not to laugh. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He could not refrain from coughing and said with a laugh, "That was something that �� that all children in the world can do well. Ha ha �� aiyo �� I will die of laughter!"


    Cheng Guan blew out a breath, in his heart he was still half believing half doubting, but a smile appeared on his face. "Shishu, was that really moving around wildly?" he asked, "How come I have never seen anything like that?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Naturally there has never been such martial art in Shaolin Temple."


    Cheng Guan stared at the ceiling and was lost in thought for half a day. Finally he slapped his thigh and said, "That''s right. Although that Nu Shizhu''s punching and kicking is peculiar, it is actually very easy to neutralize, we only need to use Shaolin Long Fist''s shallowest move to prevail. It''s just that �� it''s just that Shizhi thought that there is no such easy thing like that in the world, great skill may appear as clumsiness, great intelligence may appear to be stupidity, good merchant may hide his treasure away so that no one knows about it. There must be a profound martial art principle hidden inside a style that looks extremely easy on the outside. Who would have thought that those random punching and kicking were not profound martial art at all? This is very strange. Why did that Nu Shizhu display such style, which seems to be unfit for elegant hall, in here? Won''t that means she was simply making a fool of herself?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I think it''s not strange at all. She could not produce any new style, hence she simply moved her hands and feet randomly. Ay, ha ha �� hee hee ��" He could not help bursting into laughter again.


    Wei Xiaobao''s injury was light, plus Shaolin Temple''s metal cut wound medicine was extremely effective; after recuperating for about ten days, he was completely healed. He was the current Emperor''s proxy, he held a place of honor in the Temple, nobody would dare to ask about his business. Since nobody knew about this, as long as he did not say anything, others would not find out.


    During his recovery, Cheng Guan recorded the two women''s each style and each move clearly, he also figured out a way to counter each one. As soon as Wei Xiaobao was healed, he passed on each move each style to him. Although the moves Cheng Guan taught him were quite diverse, they were based primarily on the ''Picking Flower Grab and Capture'' technique. ''Picking Flower Grab and Capture'' was Shaolin Pai''s profound martial art, it used pure and profound internal energy as the foundation, the moves were not complicated, but were powerful and elegant, without the slightest degree of aggressiveness.


    According to Zen Buddhism legend passed down from generation to generation, at the assembly on Lingshan, Sakyamuni Buddha picked a golden Boluo flower and showed it to the crowd. The audience was silent, no one understood his meaning, only Revered Monk Jiaye [Kasyapa] broke into a smile. Buddha said, "I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle [D]harma [G]ate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mah��k��?yapa.


    [22]"


    Mahakasyapa was one of Buddha''s ten main disciples, he was known as ''the first toutuo


    [23]'', the Zen Buddhists revered him as their forefather. Shaolin Temple can be classified as Zen Buddhism, who pays particular attention of self-awareness. Thinking about Buddha picking the flower, Kasyapa smiled. Without a word, he had already comprehended the meaning; wasn''t that a state of comprehension beyond amazing?


    The people of later generation used the term ''picking flower'' as a name for this qin na [grab and capture/grappling] technique. Naturally each move was beautiful and each style elegant, a lot more interesting to watch than ordinary flipping of the hand or pulling of the leg. It''s just that Wei Xiaobao did not have any foundation in internal energy cultivation; using this kind of refined and elegant technique against a martial art master, as soon as the opponent lightly pushed, he would be immediately thrown down and roll around several times on the ground. He fell down until his nose turned blue and his eyes swollen, needless to say, he would either wail or laugh loudly. Luckily those two women did not have any internal energy either, hence the technique he learned would come in handy in dealing with them. Cheng Guan thought that the opponents were a couple of girls, they must not treat them roughly, hence the reason he put emphasis on this kind of technique.


    When Wei Xiaobao learned martial art from Hai Dafu, because he was under supervision, he received double benefits: learning the move and how to use it, as a result, he did learn something from Hai Dafu. Later on Chen Jinnan gave him a martial art manual, which he only learned several times, and then he stopped altogether because it was too difficult. As for the six moves taught by Cult Leader Hong, husband and wife, he only practiced carelessly to get the general idea; he stopped practicing as soon as he left the Divine Dragon Island. The reason he learned martial art this time was to get that green-clothes girl as his wife. He had made an oath that in order to be her husband, he was willing to climb the mountain of blades or go down a deep fryer, when he died he would enter the eighteenth level of hell. It was indeed not a small matter; not surprisingly, he trained very diligently. He learned every move every style, and sparred with Cheng Guan.


    After training for several days, his laziness came back, suddenly he thought about Shuang''er, "That girl''s martial art is not weak, most likely she will be able to deal with these two girls. I only need to have Shuang''er by my side as my escort, I don''t need to personally practice martial art." But then he had a second thought, "I must use my own skill to get that green-clothed girl. It would be great to smell the fragrance of her face. If I ask Shuang''er to seal her acupoint and then I smell the fragrance of her face, I would appear too gutless, that green-clothed girl will look down on me even more. Besides, if I ask Shuang''er to do this kind of thing, although she would obey me, in her heart she must be grieved, I must not wrong her too much. Even if their faces both look happy, I have to be fair, neither one of them must be discontented." In the end, he made a strenuous effort to learn the style.


    One particular day Cheng Guan said, "Shishu, You are diligently learning this martial art, actually �� actually it won''t do you any good. If you grab me like this, and I reacted using my internal energy, your wrist �� your wrist will be �� will be ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "My wrist will be ''crack!'' broke in two."


    Cheng Guan said, "You are my superior, no way would I use my internal strength against you, Shizhi absolutely will not dare. However, in Shizhi''s opinion, practicing Shaolin Long Fist from the start, step-by-step in proper order is the way to go."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Why do you say that what we are practicing right now is not the way to go?"


    "This style does not have any internal energy foundation," Cheng Guan replied, "If you are facing a martial art master, it does not matter how ingenious the changes are, inevitably you will fail and be wiped over the floor. It is only useful to deal with those two Nu Shizhu."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "That''s wonderful," he said, "The only reason I learn this is only to deal with those two Nu Shizhu."


    Cheng Guan looked at him with a baffled expression, he was completely lost. He said, "Supposing Shishu will not come across those Nu Shizhu again in the future, won''t the effort of learning this martial art be wasted? Not to mention you will delay the time to learn proper martial art."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "If I can''t see this Nu Shizhu again, I will definitely die; what use will learning proper martial art be?" What Cheng Guan said was ''those two Nu Shizhu'', but Wei Xiaobao was referring to ''this Nu Shizhu''.


    Cheng Guan was even more baffled; he asked, "Could it be that Shishu has been hit by that Nu Shizhu''s poison and thus must find her to get the antidote, otherwise your life would be difficult to protect?"


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "I was talking about the matter between a man and a woman, where did this old monk get that idea?" With a grim expression he said, "Exactly, exactly, I was hit by her poison; the poison has entered my five viscera and six bowels, into the bones and marrows of my entire body, only she can neutralize it."


    "Aiyo!" Cheng Guan exclaimed, "Our Temple''s Cheng Zhao Shidi is adept at neutralizing poison, let me ask him to come here to examine Shishu."


    Suppressing his laugh, Wei Xiaobao said, "No need, no need, the poison that hit me is actually slow to take effect, she is the only antidote, other people are useless. The old monk Cheng Zhao is even more useless."


    Cheng Guan nodded. "Turns out only she has the antidote," he said. Wei Xiaobao was saying ''only she was the antidote'', Cheng Guan erroneously assumed that ''only she has the antidote''. One word makes the meaning entirely different.


    The old monk was anxious, he muttered to himself, "Ay, Shishu is being hit by the strange poison of this Nu Shizhu''s unique school, luckily it is slow to take effect ��"


    The girl''s martial art was actually very broad and diverse, the techniques Cheng Guan came up with to counter her were not a few either, some were more challenging than the others, Wei Xiaobao did not have any martial art foundation at all, how could he learn everything in such a short period of time? Every day he sparred with Cheng Guan, oftentimes he treated this white-bearded old monk as that beautiful young green-clothed girl.Sometimes he went as far as speaking with him frivolously and treated him tenderly. Luckily Cheng Guan did not understand anything, he thought this young martial uncle had a deep comprehension of Buddhist teaching, and that he was using a profound Buddhist allegory. Cheng Guan blamed himself for being stupid for failing to grasp the essence of the attainment of the spiritual learning.


    One day the two of them were talking about the two girls'' saber technique in Cheng Guan''s meditation room when the Bo''re Hall monk on duty came to the door and said, "Fangzhang Dashi [great master abbot] is inviting Shishuzu and Shibo [grand martial uncle and martial (older) uncle] to the main hall to discuss something."


    The two of them went to the Hall of Great Strength


    [24] and saw several dozens of guests in the Hall, some were sitting down, some were standing up. Abbot Hui Cong Chanshi was sitting on the second seat of honor to accompany the guests. On the main seats of honor sat three people. The first one was wearing Mongolian nobleman attire, he looked about twenty or so; the second one was a middle-aged Lama, thin, short and swarthy; the third one was a military officer, from his uniform it looked like he was a commander of the army, about forty something years old. Standing behind these three were a mix of several dozen military officers, Lamas, and about a dozen or so men in civilian clothing. They all looked strong and heroic, obviously they knew martial arts.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao entering the Hall, Abbot Hui Cong stood up and said, "Shidi, honored guests are descending on our Temple. This is His Highness Prince Galdan [ge''er dan] of Mongolia, this is Da Fashi


    [25] Great Lama Chang Qi of Tibet, and this one is Ma Bao, Ma Daren


    [26], a military commander under Ping Xi Wang''s banner." Turning toward the three guests, he said, "And this is Lao Na''s Shidi, Hui Ming Chanshi."


    Everybody could see that Wei Xiaobao was young man with a flippant expression, a complete picture of a frivolous teenager, yet unexpectedly he was a Chanshi of the same standing as the Abbot himself; they were all astonished. Prince Galdan could not help but laughing; he said, "This little eminent monk is really young and fascinating. Ha ha �� odd, very odd."


    Wei Xiaobao put his palms together and said, "Amitabha, this big prince is really big and amusing. Hee hee �� strange, very strange!"


    Galdan angrily said, "What''s so amusing and strange aboutme?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Whatever is fascinating and odd about the little monk is the same as whatever is amusing and strange about Your Highness; it''s hard to differentiate between the elder and younger brother, one is just as bad as the other." Finished speaking, he sat down on the seat below Abbot Hui Cong, while Cheng Guan stood behind him. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, everybody thought that it was an unfathomable truth, and they all secretly praised him.


    Abbot Hui Cong said, "I wonder what instruction the three honored guests have by gracing our humble Temple with your presence."


    Lama Chang Qi said, "The three of us came across each other by accident along the way. Upon talking to each other, we agreed that Shaolin Temple is the Mount Tai and Big Dipper constellation [i.e.the ultimate] of martial art study in the Central Plains, worthy of our admiration. The three of us are uncouth people of the borders, what we see and hear is shallow, thereupon we come to your precious temple together to admire. We will be much honored to see the eminent monks'' respected example." Although he was a Tibetan Lama, he spoke with good Beijing bureaucratic language, his voice was sharp, clear and bright, his manner in speaking was elegant.


    "We do not dare," Hui Cong said, "In Mongolia, Tibet and Yunnan, three places, Buddhist teaching is usually flourishing. The three gentlemen have received Buddha''s illumination for a long time, your wisdom and self-awareness must be clear, what other direction we can hope to give you?" Chang Qi Lama was talking about martial art study, but Abbot Hui Cong was talking about the Dharma. Although Shaolin Temple was renowned all over the world for its martial art, yet all the eminent monks of the Temple took diligently cultivated Buddhist doctrine as the proper way, they always thought that the martial art study was merely a minor detail to protect and sustain the Buddhist teaching.


    Galdan said, "I heard that Shaolin Temple''s previous generations passed on altogether seventy-two special skills, which overawe the world, not often to find a match. Is it possible for Fangzhang Dashi to ask the eminent monks to demonstrate them one by one so that Xiao Wang [little king, referring to self] and the others could have our eyes opened?"


    Hui Cong said, "It is only proper to let Your Highness know that the hearsay of the Jianghu is not to be trusted. Our humble Temple''s monks are diligently cultivating Zen meditation in order to reach true enlightenment. Although some of us have spare time to practice martial art, it is nothing more than to have a strong and healthy body. Trivial small skills, not worth mentioning."


    "Fangzhang," Galdan said, "You are indeed frank and candid. All we ask is that you demonstrate these 72 unique skills, we only want to watch, not to steal it; why should you be narrow-minded?"


    ShaolinTemple''s reputation was simply too great, over the last thousand years, nearly every month there were people who pay a visit asking for advice. Some came with sincerity because they really wanted to learn, some with evil intention to pick a quarrel. The monks of the Temple always politely declined. Even if the visitors were extremely arrogant, the Temple''s monks always treated them with due respect, and would never argue. Only when the visitors resorted to violence would the monks be forced into fighting back. Otherwise, they would always send off the visitors with good wishes. Something like this Prince Galdan just said, Abbot Hui Cong had heard countless times. He simply smiled and said, "If the three gentlemen are willing to expound the Zen teaching and discuss the Buddhist doctrine, Lao Seng [old monk] will convene the monks to respectfully listen to your discourse. As for some martial art, our Temple always follows the rule that we do not dare to show off our meager skills before an expert, to be presumptuous toward the visiting benefactors."


    Galdan''s eyebrows stood up as he loudly said, "In that case, Shaolin Temple only enjoys unearned reputation. The Temple''s monks'' martial art is not as good as dog fart, not worth a qian."


    Hui Cong smiled and said, "Everything is life is indeed fabricated, is indeed not as good as dog fart, not worth a qian. The Five Aggregates [from Sanskrit ''skandha''] are empty, our bodies are empty, reputation is no more than worldly possessions. Your Highness says our humble Temple only enjoys unearned reputation; that is the truth."


    Galdan had not expected this old monk did not get the least bit angry; he could not help but was startled. Standing up, he laughed loudly while pointing his finger at Wei Xiaobao and said, "Little monk, are you also not as good as dog fart, not worth a qian?"


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "Naturally Big Prince surpasses Little Monk. Little monk is indeed not as good as dog fart, not worth a qian. Big Prince is definitely as good as dog fart, and worth a qian. This is called you win by a gambling chip." Immediately some people from among those who stand snickered.


    Galdan was furious; he wanted to leave his seat and use force against Wei Xiaobao immediately, but then he had a second thought, "This little monk''s seniority in Shaolin Temple is very high, perhaps there is something wrong here, which I don''t know yet." Panting with rage, he struggled hard to suppress his anger.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Highness does not need to lose your temper. You must know that the smelliest thing in the world is not dog fart, rather, it is one''s words. There are some people, who, when they speak, stink to the high heaven, just like �� just like �� hey, hey, I don''t need to say it. As for not worth a qian, it is not the lowliest thing. The lowliest thing is someone who owes other tens of million, hundreds of million taels, yet refuse to pay. Whether Your Highness owe others money or not, you alone know it in your heart." Galdan was stunned with his mouth agape, temporarily he did not know how to respond.


    Abbot Hui Cong said, "Shidi''s words contain profound Buddhist allegory; my admiration, my admiration. Affairs of life, karma and retribution, everything has its cause and definitely has its fruit. Committing evil deeds will result in evil consequence. Not worth a qian is no more than ''without virtue, without malice'', it is a lot better than owing innumerable evil debts."


    Eminent monks of Zen Buddhism were constantly in search of Zen truth. In actuality, Wei Xiaobao was saying those things only to ridicule Galdan''s casual remark, yet in Abbot Hui Cong''s ears, it concealed deep crucial points.


    Listening to the Abbot''s explanation, Cheng Guan was immediately enlightened; he could not help but sighing in admiration, "Hui Ming Shishu is young yet virtuous," he said happily, "He had attained the wonderful comprehension of the truth. Lao Na has been studying under him for several months, when I meditate recently, my brain seems to be clearing up a lot."


    A little monk babbled nonsense, two old monks echoed each other; to outsiders, they seemed to be deliberately trying to embarrass Galdan. Galdan''s face turned deep red; suddenly he sprang up from his chair and pounced on Wei Xiaobao. The hosts and the guests were sitting opposite to each other, separated by a distance of approximately two zhang [��20 feet/6 m], but his movement was vigorous and nimble, quickly he arrived in front of Wei Xiaobao, both hands formed a couple of claws, one clawed Wei Xiaobao''s face, the other clawed his chest. Before the claws even arrived, Wei Xiaobao had already felt a strong gust of wind enveloping his body. He wanted to dodge, but there was not the least bit of leeway, and had no choice but to resign himself to extinction.


    Abbot Hui Cong''s right hand sleeve lightly brushed away to block in front of Galdan. As Galdan''s powerful force collided with his sleeve, Galdan felt the chi and blood inside his chest bubbling up, as if he was hitting a thick steel wall, lined with a layer of cotton on its surface. Without being able to control his own body, he staggered back three steps. He made a strenuous effort to halt, but unexpectedly he could not control his feet and was pushed back three more steps. In the meantime, the incoming force vanished, but in that instant, his own strength also vanished without a trace. He was greatly shocked; his knees went soft and he fell sitting down. "Bad," he thought, "This time I am greatly humiliated." He had just had that thought when he suddenly realized that his buttocks came in contact with a hard wooden board; unexpectedly he was returning to his own chair.


    The force behind the flick of Abbot Hui Cong''s sleeve was soft and dispersed, there was no trace of aggressiveness at all. The force that collided with the opponent was exceptionally accurate, it was just enough to push Galdan back to his own chair. If the force was slightly stronger, Galdan would undoubtedly crash and break the chair, and he would tumble backward. If the force was slightly lighter, Galdan would not reach the chair so that when he fell down, he would sat on the ground.


    When some of the visitors who happened to have profound martial art witnessed how Hui Cong''s light flick with his sleeve was brimming with an outstanding attainment in martial art training, they could not help but bursting out in loud cheer.


    Not being humiliated on the spot, Galdan was somewhat consoled. Quietly he took a deep breath and felt that his internal energy was not damaged; the old monk did not injure him internally at all, hence was delighted. But then he recalled that just now he was so hot-headed, yet it seemed that he was not humiliated; he realized that in fact he had made a complete fool of himself, immediately his face turned red. Hearing some people behind him cheering, he presumed that they were not cheering him being beaten by the old monk; his anger flared again.


    Wei Xiaobao was still shaken. Hui Cong turned around and said to him, "Shidi, your mental power is indeed superior, external force coming fiercely, you neither see nor take any notice. The ''Collection of Great Treasures Sutra'' says: ''Like a man in a forest of thistles and thorns, being motionless means the thorn will not harm him. Rashness does not arise in his heart, anxiety will fade away happily. Rashness moves in his heart, the thorns will immediately prick him.'' The ancient sutra says, ''When the heart is bitter, there will be no mood for happiness.'' Shidi is young, yet unexpectedly your meditation cultivation has reached the extremely high state of ''constantly not in the mood, constantly motionless''; your root is indeed very deep, you have great wisdom and great intelligence."


    How would he know that not only Wei Xiaobao did not have the power to fight back, even if he had the desire to dodge, he simply could not? Galdan''s pounce was too fast; it was called the ''thunderbolt surpass the covering of the ear''; it was not that one did not want to cover his ears, but rather he did not have time to cover his ears. With a clear heart Abbot Hui Cong was always looking for orthodox skill, normally he diligently and single-mindedly trying to reach the ''non-self'' realm; therefore, when he saw Wei Xiaobao surprisingly did not care about either his own life and death or safety and danger, he could not help but admiring him completely. As for him warding off Galdan''s attack using the ''worn-out cassock skill'' by sending his force via the flick of his sleeve, he felt it was not worth-mentioning instead.


    Cheng Guan was even more full of admiration, he said, "Vajra Sutra says, ''no self, no people, no living things, no long life''; unexpectedly Hui Ming Shishu has reached that state. Some other day he must have reached the Aruduoluo


    [27], three-despise three-enlightenment."


    Galdan had been in an uncontrollable rage, listening to these two old monks showering praises to this little monk, he roared, "Halisiba''er, nimahong, jianubiding''er!" Several warriors under his command behind him quickly waved their hands, several yellow rays flashed, nine golden projectiles separately flew toward Hui Cong, Cheng Guan and Wei Xiaobao''s chests.


    The two sides were very close to each other, plus Wei Xiaobao and the others did not understand since Galdan gave the order to throw the projectiles in Mongolian, hence the projectiles were totally unexpected.


    The nine projectiles came swiftly and were already at their chests. Hui Cong and Cheng Guan simultaneously cried out, "Aiyo!" Hui Cong still used the ''worn-out cassock skill'' by flicking his sleeve to wrap around three projectiles. Cheng Guan joined his palms together with the move ''saluting three precious treasures[28]'' to catch the three golden projectiles in his palms. ''Pop!'' the three projectiles flying toward Wei Xiaobao all hit his chest.


    These nine projectiles arrived almost at the same time, Hui Cong and Cheng Guan were going to help him, but it was simply too late. They were all shocked, but they only heard ''plink, plink, plonk'', the three projectiles fell to the ground. Wei Xiaobao was wearing his treasured vest, the golden projectiles could not harm him.


    Instantly the main hall was abuzz with sensation. Everybody saw how this little monk was very young, yet unexpectedly had mastered Shaolin Pai''s highest internal energy cultivation, the ''Jin Gang Hu Ti Shen Gong[29]''; it was indeed inconceivable. They all thought, "No wonder this little monk belongs to Shaolin Pai''s ''Hui'' generation, of the same standing with Shaolin Temple''s head monk, Hui Cong Fangzhang, who has made his name for several decades."


    Actually, Hui Cong and Cheng Guan''s techniques in catching the projectiles were also extremely brilliant; were it not for their internal energy cultivation had reached the stage of perfection, what they did would be very difficult to accomplish. It''s just that Wei Xiaobao''s ''skill'' was too marvelous that the crowd did not pay attention to these two old monks.


    While the crowd was still in awe, Chang Qi Lama laughed and said, "Little eminent monk''s ''Jin Gang Hu Ti Shen Gong'' has been trained to such level, it is indeed not easy. However, it seems to me that this divine skill still has some shortcoming, it is still unable to shake the secret projectiles off completely, to such an extent that the monk robe is poked by three small holes."


    According to old legend, when this ''Jin Gang Hu Ti Shen Gong'' has been trained to reach the pinnacle, there will be a layer of invisible force field around the body, so that before the enemy''s weapon or secret projectile even reaches the body, it will be shaken off immediately. However, it was no more than a legend circulating among the Wulin world, nobody knew whether there was a real person who had really trained to that level. When Chang Qi Lama said those words, people knew he was simply trying to ''look for a bone in a chicken egg'', he was bent on playing down the opponent''s marvelous ability.


    Being hit by the three golden projectiles, Wei Xiaobao''s chest was really painful, one of the projectile hit really close to his wound that the pain penetrated deep into his bones and marrow; he could not even breathe, how could he speak? All he could do was forcing a laugh. Yet the crowd thought that his cultivation had reached such an extremely high level that he did not feel it was worth the trouble to respond to Chang Qi''s pointless provocation. Quite a few people mused, "You said his divine skill has not been trained to perfection, I want to see if I shoot you three projectiles, whether three big holes will appear on your chest or not, not just three small holes appear on your clothes." It''s just that they came together, so it was inconvenient to ridicule their companion.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s fierceness, Galdan''s rage immediately vanished. He thought, "Shaolin Pai''s martial art is indeed formidable."


    Chang Qi continued, "Finally Shaolin Temple''s martial art has indeed increased our knowledge; definitely it was not an unearned reputation, not as good as dog''s fart. However, we heard that your precious Temple has given shelter to women, which is rather deficient in following the clear regulation of monastic discipline."


    Hui Cong''s countenance sank; he said, "Great Lama is wrong! Our humble Temple does not accept female benefactors to enter the Temple to worship Buddha; where did you get the idea that we give shelter to women?"


    Chang Qi laughed and said, "But the Jianghu is abuzz, a lot of people are saying that."


    Abbot Hui Cong smiled and said, "Why would we want to pay attention to rumors in Jianghu? Ultimately we must be like Hui Ming Shidi, external force coming fiercely, our hearts will be unmoved. That is the self-awareness of the wonderful truth, the evidence of true enlightenment skill."


    Chang Qi Lama said, "I heard that in this young eminent monk''s meditation room hidden an outstandingly beautiful woman, furthermore, it was he who kidnapped her with force. Could it be that Hui Ming Chanshi''s heart is also completely unmoved by this beautiful woman?"


    By this time Wei Xiaobao had been able to catch his breat; he was shocked and thought, "How did they know?"


    Then he immediately understood, "That''s right, that Miss wearing blue clothes ran away. Obviously she went back to their teacher to report. Looks like these men are the reinforcement she sent; today they are here to rescue my wife. He said I have a beautiful woman in my room, in that case, after my wife ran away, she has not met with them." At once he smiled and said, "Whether there is a beautiful woman in my room or not will be evident as soon as you look. Gentlemen, there is no harm in you going to look."


    In a loud voice Galdan said, "Alright, we will search the Temple. As the water receded, the rocks appear." Finished speaking, he rose up and waved his left hand. "Search the Temple!" he ordered. The men under his command started to move toward the back of the Hall.


    Hui Cong said, "Your Highness wants to search our Temple, I wonder under whose order?"


    Galdan said, "My order is enough, why must I receive other people''s order?"


    Hui Cong said, "You are mistaken. Your Highness is a Mongolian Prince, if we were in Mongolia, you may give order at will. Shaolin Temple is not within Mongolian borders, hence we are not under Your Highness'' jurisdiction."


    Galdan pointed to Commander Ma and said, "He is an imperially appointed official, with him issuing the order to search the Temple should be enough." He saw how superior Shaolin monks'' martial arts were, plus they had many more people. If a fight broke, the several dozen men on his side would not be their match. Thereupon he added, "You are defying the Imperial Court''s order; that can be considered rebellion."


    "Defying the Imperial Court''s order, Shaolin Temple will not dare," Hui Cong said, "However, this gentlemen is a military official under the Ping Xi Wang of Yunnan''s banner. Even if Ping Xi Wang''s power grew, it won''t reach Henan province."


    Hui Cong actually was an astute man, it was only when discussing Zen''s truth that he gave no thought to worldly affair. Apart from that, he was quite knowledgeable in other affairs; he was completely different from Cheng Guan who did not understand anything about the outside world.


    Chang Qi Lama laughed and said, "This young eminent monk has agreed, why should Fangzhang Dashi use that pretext to stop the search? Could it be that the beautiful woman is not in Hui Ming Chanshi''s room, but actually in �� in �� hee hee �� in Fangzhang Dashi''s meditation room?"


    "Amitabha," Hui Cong said, "Sin, sin. Why would Dashi utter such words?"


    Suddenly someone behind Galdan spoke in a delicate voice, "Your Highness, my Shimei was clearly captured by this little monk, quickly tell them to hand her over, otherwise we definitely won''t let this matter drop, we will burn Shaolin Temple to the ground." It was a female voice, but the one speaking was a man, with sallow complexion and face full of beard.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard it, he knew this person was that girl in blue in disguise. She put some yellow wax on her face and stuck some fake beard. He was unable to restrain his ecstasy, "These past several days I was worried because I did not know my wife''s school or sect, I did not know her name or surname. She turned her back on her husband and ran away, where would I go to find her? Now I know that they belong to this Mongolian Prince''s group. Very good, very good. She won''t escape from me."


    Hui Cong also recognized her; he said, "Turns out this is the Miss who came to our Temple and injured people the other day. There was another Miss who was mending her wound in our Temple; she is not coming with Miss this time?"


    The girl angrily said, "Afterwards my Shimei was captured and brought to your Temple. That old monk was his accomplice, it was him who defeated my Shimei." While saying that she pointed to Cheng Guan.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed; he mused, "Aiyo! Not good! The old monk Cheng Guan cannot lie, this affair will be exposed. What should I do?" Momentarily he was at a loss of what to do.


    The girl pointed to Cheng Guan and loudly said, "Old monk, tell me, tell me, am I telling the truth?"


    Cheng Guan put his palms together and said, "Please tell us where did the Nu Shizhu, your respected Shimei go? My Shishu was hit by her violent poison, only she has the antidote. Nu Shizhu is infinitely merciful, please beseech your respected Shimei to quickly grant the antidote. Although Hui Ming Shishu''s wisdom is profound, he is free and does not care about life and death, considering life and death as the Nirvana, the Nirvana as life and death, but �� ay ��"


    He was babbling a string of incoherent sentences. Although other people could not comprehend what he was saying, they all knew that the girl was not in the monastery; moreover, Wei Xiaobao was poisoned by her and was looking for her for the antidote, otherwise his life would be difficult to protect. Everyone could see Cheng Guan''s simple appearance, his words were extremely sincere, they all believed he was not lying. They thought, "Even if the woman was indeed hidden in the Temple and the Abbot allow us to search, Shaolin Temple has hundreds of rooms and thousands of residence, how could we search everything in such a short period of time? If we really want to search, most likely we will only invite a rebuke in vain."


    With a sharp voice the girl shouted, "Clearly you have captured and brought my Shimei into the Temple, perhaps you have already killed her. You are evil monks who offend the Heaven and disregard reasons, you must have had destroy her body to leave no trace, naturally we won''t find her." Toward the end, her anger mixed with anxiety that her voice turned into sobbing.


    Galdan nodded, "That makes sense. This �� this little monk is not a good person."


    The girl pointed to Wei Xiaobao and cursed, "You are an evil man, that day in the brothel you fooled around with a lot of bad women, when you saw my Shimei''s beauty, you were having an evil thought. It must be because my Shimei was unwilling to �� unwilling to come with you that you killed her. If you can go to the brothel, what other bad things you can''t do?"


    When Hui Cong heard this, he showed a faint smile, thinking that it was absurd. Cheng Guan did not know what kind of place was a ''brothel'', he thought it was a place similar to Shaolin Temple''s Jielu Courtyard, Damo Courtyard, or Bodhi Courtyard[30]. He thought, "Xiao Shishu is fearlessly forging ahead, diligently doing good works and practicing Buddhist teachings. This is the ''forging ahead vigorously boluomi[31]'' of the six paramita. Leading a pious life in a brothel is also very good!"


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao was very anxious; he was afraid she would go into the details and narrate how he deliberately created some trouble.


    Suddenly from behind Commander Ma a man stepped forward, cupped his fist and said, "Miss, Xiaoren knows that this Chanshi is practicing strict and refined monastic discipline; he would never set foot in a brothel. I am afraid it was a baseless rumor."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw him, he was delighted. Turned out this man was Yang Yizhi whom he had met in Beijing. He was escorting Wu Yingxiong to Beijing. Presumably Wu Yingxiong had returned to Yunnan and now he came to Henan with Commander Ma. All along he was hanging his head low and stood behind other people, thereupon Wei Xiaobao did not immediately recognize him.


    The girl angrily said, "How do you know? Do you know him?"


    "Xiaoren knows this young Chanshi," Yang Yizhi respectfully replied, "Our Heir Apparent also knows him. This young Chanshi has shown enormous kindness toward our Wangye''s [master king] family. Before he left home, he was a Gong-gong in the Imperial Palace. Consequently, there must be no such thing as going to a brothel, or forcing your respected Shimei, and so on. Please Miss understand."


    When the crowd heard him, "Oh!" they exclaimed. They all thought, "If he was a court eunuch, naturally he could not visit a prostitute, even more impossible for him to kidnap a woman and hide her in the Temple."


    Looking at everybody''s expression, the girl realized that they did not believe her; she grew even more angry. With a shrill voice she said, "How do you know he was a eunuch? If he was a eunuch, why did he say he wanted to take �� to take my Shimei as �� as his wife? Not only this little monk talked nonsense, that old monk is also oily-mouthed and a smooth talker, they love to take advantage of other people." While saying that, she pointed her finger at Cheng Guan.


    The crowd could see that Cheng Guan was over eighty years old, with a rather dumb expression. Only a while ago they heard him stammering, when he was trying to express his thought with difficulty. It would be almost impossible to find someone more ''oily-mouthed and smooth talking'' than he was. Hence they did not believe the girl even more. They all thought that because they listened to her one-sided wild fantasy today they had come to Shaolin Temple and made a fool of themselves; they were quite regretful.


    Yang Yizhi said, "Miss, you did not know that before he left home, this young Chanshi was very famous; he was the Gui Gong-gong who has put that big treacherous court official Oboi to death. Our Prince was framed by some crafty scoundrels, he was in danger of suffering an unredressed injustice if not for this young Chanshi vigorously explaining the facts in front of His Majesty. This great kindness and great favor so far has not been repaid yet."


    Everybody had heard the name Xiao Guizi who killed Oboi, they all knew that he was Kangxi''s most favorite little eunuch. They could not help but exclaimed, ''Oh!'' while their faces showed admiration.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Yang Xiong, long time no see. Is your Heir Apparent well? It was a minor matter of the past, why do you keep mentioning it?"


    Yang Yizhi came along to Mount Shaoshi with Commander Ma. Other than Ping Xi Wang''s people, Galdan and Lama Chang Qi''s people did not know his name and surname. Hearing Wei Xiaobao greeted him as ''Brother Yang'', they had no doubt that they knew each other. They heard Yang Yizhi continued, "Chanshi''s benevolence comes from your heart, being of service to others, you say it was a small matter, but our Wangye is endlessly grateful. Although His Majesty is an enlightened sage, knowing right and wrong, black and white, and would be able to clarify in the end, yet were it not for Chanshi stated the actual truth at the earliest possible time, the twists and turns of this matter might be difficult to say."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are too kind, you are too kind. Your Wangye is also too polite." But in his heart he said, "I really wish to pull down your traitor-to-China Wangye. It was the Emperor who was the enlightened sage and ascertained the truth on his own; I was only doing a favor without costing me anything, which I had to do anyway. Finally the good karma that day bears the fruit today as this man came out to help me out of trouble."


    Galdan look at him from top to bottom, sizing him up, and then said, "Turns out you are the little eunuch who killed Oboi. Even in Mongolia I have also heard your reputation. Oboi was known as the number one warrior of Manchuria, in that case you did not learn your martial art from Shaolin Temple."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "My martial art is extremely lacking, not worth mentioning at all. The number of people who taught me martial art is actually quite a few. This Yang Dage once taught me the move ''sweeping a thousand army'' and the move ''flowing water from a high mountain''." Finished speaking, he stood up and demonstrated the two moves he mentioned. He did not use the slightest bit of force, so others could not see the level of his martial art skill; however, undoubtedly the style was from ''Mu Family Fist''.


    Yang Yizhi said, "It was because Chanshi demonstrated these two moves in front of His Majesty that he understood clearly that our Wangye was framed by a personal enemy."


    The girl''s expression was not as angry as she previously looked. "Yang Dage," she said, "This little �� this man is a eunuch? Has he really shown kindness to Ping Xi Wang mansion?"


    "Absolutely," Yang Yizhi replied, "There are many people in Beijing who knew about this."


    The girl hesitated a little bit, and then she asked Wei Xiaobao, "In that case, you were �� you were joking with us, sisters, like that, what is your intention?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I was not joking, of course I have an intention." In his heart he said, "My intention is to marry your Meizi, but there are too many people here, of course I cannot say it out loud."


    "What is your intention?" the girl asked.


    Wei Xiaobao only showed a faint smile without saying anything. Everybody else thought, "Since he has an intention, naturally it is inconvenient to expose it in the presence of everyone."


    Chang Qi put his palms together and said, "Fangzhang Dashi, Hui Ming Chanshi, we have come here on impulse, please forgive our offense, we are taking our leave now."


    Hui Cong put his palms together to return the propriety and said, "Good guests coming from afar, please enjoy vegetarian dish with us first. However, this Nu Shizhu ��" he thought that you disguised yourself as a man and sneaked into the Temple, we did not look into it, and that''s that. But by inviting you for a vegetarian meal, we are inevitably breaking the Temple''s regulation too much.


    Chang Qi laughed and said, "Thank you very much, thank you very much! To avoid giving Fangzhang Shixiong too much trouble, all of us won''t eat this vegetarian feast." Immediately they all bade their farewell and walked out. The Abbot and Wei Xiaobao, Cheng Guan and the other walked them out to the mountain gate.


    Suddenly they heard the sound of horses'' hooves, about a dozen or so riders galloped- toward them. When they were near, it could be seen that the riders were wearing Imperial Bodyguards'' uniform, altogether there were sixteen men. Before they even reached the Temple, all sixteen of them stopped and dismounted the horses, and walked toward the Temple in formation. The two foremost men were none other than Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian.


    As soon as Zhang Kangnian saw Wei Xiaobao, he called out loudly, "Du �� Du �� Daren, are you, Senior well?" He was going to call ''Dutong [commander] Daren'', but seeing Wei Xiaobao was wearing monk robe, he had no choice but to call vaguely. Immediately the sixteen of them kneeled down to pay their respect to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "Gentlemen, please rise," he said, "No need to be overly courteous. I have been looking forward to seeing you daily."


    Galdan and the others noticed that these sixteen men were imperial bodyguards whose pin rank[32] was not low, yet they were that respectful toward Wei Xiaobao. They all thought, "This little monk indeed has some background."


    According to Qing military system, commanders were of regular second pin rank, first-class imperial bodyguards were of regular third pin rank, and the second-class imperial bodyguards were of regular fourth pin rank. Although compared to army commanders the official rank of Zhang Kangnian and the others was quite low, they were the Emperor''s personal bodyguards, they did not have any regard toward ''outside'' military officials. They only nodded slightly toward Commander Ma as a way of greeting, and then were back showing their eager attention to Wei Xiaobao.


    Seeing how these Imperial Bodyguards doing everything they could to please Wei Xiaobao while turning a blind eye to everybody else, Galdan was angry. "Humph," he snorted, and said, "Let''s go, I can''t bear to see this kind of attitude." His party cupped their hands toward Abbot Hui Cong and then walked down the mountain.


    Wei Xiaobao invited the Imperial Bodyguards to enter the Temple. Zhang Kangnian walked beside him and said in a low voice, "His Majesty has a secret edict." Wei Xiaobao nodded.


    When they entered the Hall of Great Strength, Zhang Kangnian took out the Imperial Edict and read it out loud; it was only several sentences of official announcement: the Emperor bestowed five thousand taels to Shaolin Temple, to build more monks'' residence, to repair the gilded image of Buddha, and also to confer Wei Xiaobao the title of ''Fu Guo Feng Sheng Chanshi'' [Dhyana Master Revered Sage Supporter of the Country]. Hui Cong and Wei Xiaobao kowtowed to express their gratitude.


    Zhang Kangnian said, "His Majesty''s order: for ''Fu Guo Feng Sheng Chanshi'' to get ready to set on a journey, your destination will be Mount Wutai."


    Wei Xiaobao had already anticipated this matter; he bowed to comply and said, "Your servant obeys the Emperor''s decree."


    After they all had been served tea, Wei Xiaobao invited Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian, two people toward his own meditation room to chat. From his pocket Zhang Kangnian produced a secret imperial edict, which he presented with both hands while saying, "His Majesty has another decree."


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and kowtowed, and received the edict with both hands. Seeing that it was sealed with stamped lacquer wax, he thought, "I wonder what instruction His Majesty might have. The letters written on the Imperial Edict may recognize me, but I don''t recognize them. Since it is secret, I am not supposed to let Zhang and Zhao to know, I''d better ask Fangzhang Shixiong for guidance. I am sure he won''t reveal the secret."


    Thereupon, carrying the secret edict, he went to Hui Cong''s meditation room and said, "Fangzhang Shixiong, His Majesty has a secret order for me, I am asking you to give me directions." Breaking the secret edict''s seal, he saw a large sheet of fine writing paper. Upon spreading it out, he saw four drawings.


    The first drawing depicted five mountain peaks. Wei Xiaobao recognized it as Mount Wutai. On the southern peak there was a drawing of a temple, with the caption ''Qing Liang Si'' three characters. Wei Xiaobao has stayed in Qingliang Temple for many days, and was somewhat familiar with these three characters. If the characters were written someplace else, he would never recognize them; but written on a temple, it could be considered meeting an acquaintance.


    The second drawing depicted a little monk entering a temple, written above the temple also the three characters ''Qing Liang Si''. The little monk was followed by a group of monks, above these monks'' heads there were five characters ''Shao Lin Si He Shang'' [monks of Shaolin Temple]. Wei Xiaobao recognized the first three characters. Although he did not know the last two characters ''he shang'', he could guess what they mean.


    The setting on the third drawing was the Hall of Great Strength, where the little monk sat in the middle, happy and grinning, his face looked a lot like Wei Xiaobao, but he was wearing red kasaya, the apparel of an abbot. Next to him were many monks standing up. Wei Xiaobao realized that the little monk in the picture looked a lot like him, the more he looked, the more he was fascinated by it, unconsciously he broke into laughter.


    The fourth drawing showed the little monk was kneeling on the ground, in front of a middle-aged monk. The middle-aged monk looked thin, it must be the Emperor Shunzhi who assumed the Buddhist name Xing Chi after leaving home.


    Other than these four drawings, there were no other characters written on the secret edict. Turned out Kangxi was very adept at painting; knowing that Wei Xiaobao''s literacy was limited, he put the imperial decree in paintings. These four drawings could not be clearer, he wanted Wei Xiaobao to go to the Qing Liang Temple to be the head administrator and serve the Old Emperor.


    At first Wei Xiaobao found it amusing, but his delight quickly disappeared; he groaned inwardly, "It''s alright for me to be a little monk, but now he wants me to be an old monk; that''s very bad!"


    Hui Cong smiled and said, "Congratulations Shidi, His Majesty is sending you to be the head monk of Qingliang Temple. Qingliang Temple is a distinguished ancient temple, it was established during the reign of Emperor Xiao Wen of Northern Wei Dynasty, a lot earlier than Shaolin Temple. Being the head of a large monastery, Shidi will have great opportunity to proclaim Buddhist teachings, helping all living beings to cross over and help our religion to flourish."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said with a forced smile, "I can''t be a head administrator of a temple, I will definitely make ridiculous mistake and will collapse in confusion."


    Hui Cong said, "It is clear from the drawing in the imperial edict that Shidi is to lead a group of our Temple''s monks to accompany you going there. Shidi may choose whoever you want. Everybody is your younger generation whom you know well, they will support you with all their hearts, absolutely no one will let you be careless. Shidi may set your heart at ease."


    Wei Xiaobao was staring blankly for half a day before it suddenly dawned on him: the young emperor had meticulously planned everything. When he was sent to Shaolin Temple to be a monk, the Emperor had already arranged today''s matter. The Emperor let him live in Shaolin Temple for about half a year, so that he could get to know the monks well, in order for him to select desirable monks to accompany him to Qingliang Temple. Since the Old Emperor had left home, certainly he did not want to have any Imperial Bodyguards to guard him; perhaps he would even leave and henceforth could not be found anymore.


    Shaolin monks had outstanding martial art, plus it was Wei Xiaobao who personally led them, they would be a lot more dependable than the officers of Imperial Bodyguards. Besides, this matter was a huge secret, if the Emperor sent the officers and men of the Imperial Bodyguards to guard an old monk on Mount Wutai, it would be bound to create sensation and then the whole world would know. There must be someone in the Imperial Bodyguards who would recognize the Old Emperor. To have a Shaolin monk entering Qingliang Temple to be the head monk was actually very ordinary. The former head monk of Qingliang Temple, Cheng Guang, was one of Shaolin Temple''s Eighteen Luohan anyway.


    Wei Xiaobao also thought, "If Xiao Huangdi [young emperor] sent me to be a monk at the Qingliang Temple, it would be too conspicuous, but by coming to Shaolin Temple first and then take a turn, nobody will suspect anything." Thinking to this point, he could not help but was full of admiration to Kangxi''s planning ability.


    Returning to his meditation room, he took out six thousand taels and instructed Zhang Kangnian to distribute the money to the Imperial Bodyguards. Zhang and Zhao, two people did not expect after becoming a monk Wei Xiaobao was still this generous; they were pleasantly surprised. "Since ancient times," they praised, "There has never been any monk who gives money to the Imperial Bodyguards, except you, Wei Daren, one person. It is indeed unprecedented and will never be duplicated. There has never been a person from the ancient time, there will never be a person from the future generation."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "There has never been a monk from the ancient time, there will never be a monk from the future generation."


    Zhang Kangnian lowered his voice and said, "Wei Daren, we do not dare to ask what business His Majesty is sending you to attend to, but whatever it is, please do not hesitate to give your orders. Handling matters for you is the same as handling matters for His Majesty; all of us will strive to do our best all the same."


    Zhao Qixian said, "If Wei Daren needs to do something but for the time being is not convenient to do, perhaps we can strive a little and make insignificant contribution. For instance �� for instance, if Wei Daren needs to fetch a martial art manual from Shaolin Temple, we can set the monastery on fire, so that in the confusion, Wei Daren may seize the opportunity to make your move."


    Zhang Kangnian cackled, and then said in a low voice, "That''s right, this is called ''fishing in troubled water''."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, but understood immediately, "Right, they must be thinking that there must be a reason the Emperor sent me to Shaolin Temple to be a monk. Plus this time they came here to deliver a secret order without knowing what''s written inside. They knew the Emperor is fond of martial art; he sent me to be a monk in Shaolin Temple, naturally it is to steal a treasured martial art manual from the Temple." He chuckled, and then also said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, don''t worry! This �� I have already succeeded."


    Zhang and Zhao, two people were delighted, they bowed and paid their respect together, saying, "His Majesty''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, Wei Daren is astute, capable and experienced. Congratulations for setting up this great merit."


    Zhao Qixian said, "Do you want us to smuggle it out for you? If the monks get suspicious, they might search Wei Daren''s clothes."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That''s not necessary. Go back to His Majesty, report to him that his servant Wei Xiaobao has solemnly received the imperial edict, and will remember the drawings firmly in my heart. I will handle this matter diligently; His Majesty may set his heart at ease."


    "Yes," the two people replied. Zhao Qixian thought for a moment, he understood, "Turns out this martial art manual is a diagram. Wei Daren looked at it and remembers the drawings firmly in your heart," he said.


    Zhang Kangnian also saw the truth, "That''s even better," he said, "If the treasured manual was stolen, the monks of Temple would naturally find out, in the end �� in the end the outcome would be worse. By memorizing it, the deities will not know, the ghosts will not realize. Fortunately by nature Wei Daren is extremely intelligent; if you are blunt like me, you won''t remember anything."


    Realizing that these two misunderstood the drawings he was talking about as Shaolin Temple''s martial art diagram, Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused. "Zhang Xiong need not be too modest," he said, "By staying in the Temple and looking at it slowly, one or two days may be inadequate, but after several months I can finally remember everything."


    The two of them expressed their agreement together; they both thought that after living in the Temple for more than half a year, you must have memorized not a few of Shaolin Pai''s martial art manuals.


    They took their leave. Wei Xiaobao remembered something; he asked, "The group of men you met outside the mountain gate just now, do you happen to know their background?"


    "We don''t," Zhang and Zhao replied.


    "Quickly go and investigate for me," Wei Xiaobao said, "That group of people came to Shaolin Temple sneakily, evidently they also want to steal treasured martial art manuals from the Temple. That troop commander in particular, I wonder whom he is working for. He is acting as an imperially appointed official, yet has the audacity to spoil His Majesty''s important matter; it is indeed treason and heresy, he wants to rebel intentionally. Go and investigate what kind of person is the man behind this, you will render an enormous service."


    "That''s easy," the two of them delightedly said, "They have not gone down the mountain too long, we will definitely able to catch up with them. That troop commander has a name and a surname, we will find out as soon as we investigate."


    Wei Xiaobao knew perfectly well that that Commander Ma was Wu Sangui''s subordinate, yet deliberately entrap him, pretending that he did not know his background, letting the Imperial Bodyguards to investigate and report to the Emperor so that they may take the credit. It would be a lot better compared to if he brought the false charge himself.


    Wei Xiaobao added, "With this group of people, there is a young woman disguised herself as a man. They are looking for another young girl, sixteen, seventeen years old, with beautiful face. These two girls are heavily involved in this big rebellion conspiracy. You try to verify in detail these two girls'' names and family background. After finding out, report to me in a sealed envelope."


    By saying those things, naturally he was trying to use official authority for private interests. He was sending the Emperor''s personal bodyguards to trace his own sweetheart. They were seeking after monetary reward, they would undoubtedly make every effort to handle this matter. When the Imperial Bodyguards wanted to investigate a case, the government officials all over the world would follow their orders by sending their people to investigate. With this kind of ''pass like thunder and move like the wind'' investigation, how can there be any information they would not be able to find?


    Zhang and Zhao, two people patted their chests, guaranteeing that they would investigate until the truth comes to light. They promised to repay Wei Daren''s graciousness, his kindness in recognizing their worth and employing them, his concern for their country, and for the generous reward he bestowed to them.

 Chapter - 24 (24)

    The river of love dries up entirely from a thousand calamities, the sea of bitterness cannot be used to measure compassion.


    After the Imperial Bodyguards left, Wei Xiaobao went to see the Abbot, telling him that since he had the Emperor''s order, he had to start the journey to Qingliang Temple the next day.


    "So be it," Abbot Hui Cong said, "Shidi has the innate intelligence, you have an amazing comprehension of Buddhist truth. It''s a pity that the days of our meeting are not many and now we have to part, we cannot learn from each other too much, to live the Buddhist law together. I suppose our destiny has brought us to this point of life. I wonder which fellow monks Shidi wants to take with you?"


    "I want Head of Bo''re Hall Cheng Guan Shizhi, and the eighteen masters of Luohan Hall," Wei Xiaobao replied. In addition, he also named more than a dozen more monks that he wanted to go with him, altogether there were thirty-six names.


    Hui Cong did not have any objection, he summoned these thirty-six Shaolin monks, and told them that Hui Ming Chanshi was going to take over the head administrator position of the Qingliang Temple on Mount Wutai, he exhorted them to accompany him, to protect the Buddhist teaching and maintain orders, to obey Hui Ming Chanshi''s instruction, and not to go against him.


    Early in the morning the next day, accompanied by thirty-six monks, Wei Xiaobao took his leave from the Abbot and the others. When they reach the foot of the mountain, he went alone to see Shuang''er.


    Shuang''er had been boarding at a commoner''s home, and had not seen him for more than half a year. At the first glance, she was both surprised and happy. Although she had heard from Zhang Kangnian that her master was becoming a monk in Shaolin Temple, and had cried for him countless times, when with her own eyes she saw his bald head and his monk robe, she could not bear not to cry again.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Good Shuang''er, why are you crying? You are upset because I have not come to visit you these many days, aren''t you?"


    "No �� it''s not that," Shuang''er replied, "You �� you �� Xianggong has left home ��"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled her right hand and lifted it up; he gently kissed the back of her hand. He laughed and said, "Silly girl, Xianggong did not become a monk for real." Shuang''er was happy and bashful at the same time, even her ears had turned red.


    Wei Xiaobao examined her face carefully; he noticed that she looked wan and sallow, she looked a lit thinner, but she had grown a bit taller, bringing out the grown-up gracefulness in her, she looked even more delicate and pretty. Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Did you lose weight? You were thinking about me every day, weren''t you?" Shuang''er blushed even deeper. She wanted to shake her head, but she lowered her head slowly instead.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly change into your boy''s clothes and come with me." Shuang''er was greatly delighted. Without asking any question she immediately changed into men''s clothing and disguised herself as a young attendant.


    Their journey does not need to be narrated. One day they arrived at the foot of Mount Wutai. They were just about to climb the mountain when they saw four monks coming down to meet them. The old monk at the front put his palms together and asked, "Are you all Shifus from Shaolin Temple?"


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. The old monk said, "And I suppose you are the Chanshi whose Buddhist title is Hui at the top and Ming at the bottom?" Wei Xiaobao nodded again.


    The four monks dropped down on their knees immediately and said, "Knowing that Chanshi is coming to administer Qingliang, the monks cannot contain our happiness and have been waiting at the foot of the mountain for many days."


    Since Cheng Guang had returned to Shaolin Temple, Qingliang Temple was administered by the old monk Fa Sheng. Kangxi had separately dispatch people to proclaim a secret imperial decree to Fa Sheng, transferring him to Ciyun Temple [lit. compassionate cloud] in Chang''an [modern day Xi''an] to be the head administrator there. He was to leave as soon as the Shaolin monks arrived. Ciyun Temple of Chang''an was a lot bigger than Qingliang Temple. Fa Sheng was very happy, he sent these four monks to wait at the foot of Mount Wutai.


    When Wei Xiaobao and his party arrived at Qingliang Temple, Fa Sheng immediately performed the ceremony of handing over the administrator duty. All the monks came to pay their respect, only Yulin, Xing Chi and Xing Dian, three monks did not personally come. Yulin only wrote a short letter to pay their respect to the new head monk.


    Fa Sheng went down the mountain the next day, heading west toward Chang''an. Now Wei Xiaobao was officially the head of Qingliang Temple. Fortunately there were Cheng Guan and the other monks who at any time gave him directions on all kinds of ceremonial protocol and compass and set square. As a little monk assuming the role of the Abbot, he must emulate the manner of an abbot, and must not make any mistake.


    When Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er drove off the enemies coming to attack Qingliang Temple the other day, they saved the lives of the monks in the Temple, all the monks knew it in their hearts. Now that he suddenly left home to become a monk, and came to Qingliang Temple to be the head monk, they were all baffled, yet since he had shown kindness to their Temple, everybody showed their gratitude by serving him. Wei Xiaobao ordered Shuang''er to live in a small hut outside the Temple, so that she would be just a shout away.


    Since the most important mission for him in coming to be the head administrator of Qingliang Temple was to thoroughly protect the Old Emperor, he inquired from the monk on duty and found out that Yulin, Xing Chi and Xing Dian, three monks still lived in a small vihara behind the mountain. He did not go to disturb them, only after discussing it over with Cheng Xin Dashi, he sent people to separately build four thatched hut about half a li on the east, west, south and north of the vihara, and assigned eight Shaolin monks to take turn on guard duty in the thatched huts.


    All things were settled, the only thing he had to do was painstakingly waiting for Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian''s letter, he was dying to know that girl in green''s name and surname, and her background. Yet after waiting for several months unexpectedly there was no news at all. In his loneliness, he sparred with Cheng Guan, treated the old monk as ''that female benefactor''. Occasionally he would slip out to the little cottage to talk and joke with Shuang''er, to stroke her small hands. Sometimes he thought, "I have taken Hong Jiaozhu''s ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill''. If within a year I did not deliver a copy of sutra to the Divine Dragon Island, the poison might flare-up then it won''t be fun. Come to think about it, only several months left. If I turn into an old and stupid man, I would look like Cheng Guan Shizhi. And then when that green-clothed wife of mine sees me, she would call me the ''oily-mouthed and smooth talker old monk''. Worse yet, she would cut a piece of green cloth from her skirt and have me wear it on my head as a hat, that won''t be good at all!"


    [33] One day he was overcome with boredom, so he went alone wandering about aimlessly on Mount Wutai; the only thing in his mind was that girl in green. He arrived at the bank of a mountain creek, and saw a weeping willow continuously swaying in the wind. "If this willow tree is that green-clothed wife of mine, naturally laozi would not show any politeness, I would step forward and hug her. She would definitely be unwilling, and use Kunlun Pai''s move ''thousand rocks vying to be the most beautiful'', sending me a succession of palm strikes. That''s nothing, laozi will use the move ''going begging from door to door'', to ward off her strike with poise. Cheng Guan Shizhi says that this move should be executed in such a way that the heavy will seem light, with the poise of famous, orthodox martial art school. Laozi lifts heavy stuff as heavy and light stuffs as light, why do I care about damn famous or secretive, orthodox or heretical sect? Once I launch this move, I will follow it up with ''holding the pearl of wisdom''; left hand grabs her left hand, right hand grabs her right hand, and firmly hold on to her, even if my head is chopped, I won''t let her go ��"


    He was happily fantasizing, and thus his hands moved in the style he was thinking about, ''puff, puff'', he grabbed two willow branches, one on each hand, and using all his strength he firmly hold on to the branches.


    Suddenly he heard a deep and gruff voice of a man, saying, "Look at this little monk putting an act!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; when he looked up, he saw three lamas wearing red clothes. They were walking toward him while gesticulating, chatting and laughing. Wei Xiaobao blushed, in that instant he thought that his heart''s content had been seen by those lamas. The Grand Abbot of majestic Qingliang Temple at a desolate, uninhabited part of the mountain was thinking of grabbing a beautiful girl, in all honesty it was too embarrassing. He turned around and left at once.


    When he rounded a bend, he saw several more lamas walking straight toward him. There were so many temples of Tibetan Buddhism on Mount Wutai, Wei Xiaobao gave them no thought. Only because of what happened just now he was unwilling to meet with them. Turning his head around, he was pretending to enjoy the scenery, letting those lamas to pass behind him.


    He heard one of the lamas said, "The order from above says that no matter what we must climb up Mount Wutai before wushi hour [between 11am-1pm]; it sounds so urgent. But there is nothing fun to do on Mount Wutai, could it be only a joke?"


    Another lama said, "Our superior has made this arrangement, it must be for a reason. You just hate to part with that Datong town''s girl, don''t you?"


    Wei Xiaobao took no notice; on the contrary, he had a favorable impression on them, he thought, "Those lamas drink wine and stroll around the pleasure house, at least they are not hypocrites. If laozi really want to leave home, I want to be a lama, not a monk."


    Back at Qingliang Temple, he saw Cheng Tong was waiting at the mountain gate. As soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao, immediately he met him and said in a low voice, "Shishu, I think something is going on."


    Looking at his serious expression, Wei Xiaobao hastily asked, "What happened?"


    Cheng Tong beckoned, asking him to follow him along several stone steps toward a small peak at the side of the Temple. Wei Xiaobao took a glance, and saw on the south side there were countless yellow dots all around. He focused his eyes and saw that the spots were actually lamas wearing yellow robes. If not a thousand, there were at least nine hundreds of them, forming groups of three to five, scattered around the bushes and mountain rocks.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. "That many lamas!" he said, "What are they doing?"


    Cheng Tong pointed to the west and said, "There are some more over there."


    Wei Xiaobao quickly looked to the west. Sure enough, he saw thousands of lamas. They were either standing or sitting in groups. The sun was shining from east to west, white light flickered, those lamas were all bringing weapons. Wei Xiaobao was even more shocked. "They are carrying weapons," he said, "Could it be �� could it be ��" he looked at Cheng Tong.


    Cheng Tong slowly nodded and said, "Shizhi''s guess is: it looks that way."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his gaze to the north and then to the east; each sides had several hundreds lamas. When he looked more carefully, he noticed that in each group of lamas, there was one wearing deeper yellow kasaya; those must be the leaders. "His granny," Wei Xiaobao swore, "There must be at least four, five thousand men."


    Cheng Tong said, "One hundred twenty five leaders, altogether there are three thousand two hundred and eighty lamas."


    "Good for you," Wei Xiaobao praised, "How did you count that clearly?"


    "What should we do?" Cheng Tong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao did not answer. Meeting difficulty face-to-face, lying and deceiving, slipping away from danger, Wei Xiaobao was an expert in all those things. But now the enemy had assembled more than three thousand men, surrounding them from every direction; evidently, it was the result of meticulous planning. As for how to handle them, he did not have the slightest idea. Hearing Cheng Tong''s question, he asked back, "What should we do?"


    Cheng Tong said, "It seems to me that the enemy''s intention is to snatch away Xing Chi Dashi. Most likely they are waiting for the darkness, and then they will launch a four-way attack."


    "Why are they waiting for the darkness?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Cheng Tong replied, "On Mount Wutai, the yellow monasteries of the lamas are always in good relationship with our green Central Plains'' monasteries. Our green temples have many monasteries and many monks: the ten big monasteries on the platform''s peaks, the big monasteries outside the platform


    [34]. Although the lamas of yellow monasteries are overbearing, they won''t dare to push around. If they attack in bright day light, it will undoubtedly give rise to all green monasteries'' support."


    "In that case we''d better send people out immediately to notify the administrators of all the green monasteries," Wei Xiaobao said, "Ask them to send great number of monks, we will fight these lamas to the death. Tell them also: Monks of Mount Wutai to arm ourselves, the monks of green monasteries are in war with the lamas."


    Cheng Tong shook his head and said, "About 80-90% of the monks of green monasteries of Mount Wutai do not know martial art. Those who do, their skill are only so-so, I haven''t heard about anybody with superior skill."


    "So they are not willing to lend a hand?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I don''t believe anybody will be unwilling," Cheng Tong said, "But I am afraid that they will only deliver their lives in vain."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you telling me that we just surrender like that?" His fighting spirit was not always strong, whenever he thought that he would not be able to defeat the opponent, he would immediately think about surrendering.


    "Whether we are surrendering or not, it''s not important," Cheng Tong said, "But Xing Chi Dashi will undoubtedly be captured by them."


    Wei Xiaobao carefully considered, "I wonder if Shaolin monks know the real status of Xing Chi Dashi." Thereupon he asked, "They carried out a large-scale operation to capture Xing Chi Dashi previously, in the end, what was their intention? Several months ago they had come here once, it was fortunate enough that several good friends scared them off that they retreated. This time their number is actually much greater."


    Cheng Tong hesitatingly said, "Xing Chi Dashi must be a person with a long history behind him. If he is not involved in the prosperity and decline of the Wulin world of Central Plains, then he must have a significant correlation with the struggle between the green and yellow monasteries. Cheng Xin Shixiong has never mentioned anything about the affairs of the Central Plains. Since Shishu does not know about it, much less we."


    Wei Xiaobao remembered that he had with him the imperial note written with the Emperor''s personal handwriting; he could dispatch civil and military officials. He said, "The matter at hand is urgent, although our Shaolin monks'' martial art skill is superior, the few are no match for the many. How can our thirty seven monks fight more than three thousand lamas? I must go down the mountain to seek for help."


    "I am afraid distant water cannot quench nearby fire," Cheng Tong said.


    "Then we escort Xing Chi Dashi to break through their encirclement," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Cheng Tong nodded. "Looks like that''s the only way," he said, "It''s impossible for our thirty seven Shaolin monks plus Shishu''s attendant to ward off more than three thousand lamas; but to rush through a gap in their midst is actually not too difficult."


    "My only fear is that Xing Chi Dashi and his Shifu Yulin Dashi are not willing," Wei Xiaobao said, "They said life and death are just the same, escape or not does not make any difference."


    Cheng Tong frowned and said, "For that, we must ask Shishu to persuade."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Persuading Xing Chi Dashi, I can still think of a way, but persuading that old monk Yulin, laozi admit defeat. It is called ''the cat pulling a tortoise'', there''s nowhere I can put my mouth at."


    Looking down, he saw the lamas were scattered everywhere, seemingly in disorder and at random, but they were actually evenly distributed; the pathways up the mountain, down the mountain, were all packed with people. As soon as it was dark, these three thousand lamas would swarm up, the monks of Qingliang Temple could only cry out, "Buddha have mercy."


    "Damn it," he mused, "Why did I become a monk? If I was a lama, won''t I be joyfully satisfied right now, without the slightest bit of load on my mind? Not to mention eating meat and strolling the pleasure house in normal time."


    As soon as he thought about ''strolling the pleasure house'', it was as if a divine light flashing in his mind, he had an idea. Immediately he calmed down and said, "I am going back to my meditation room to have some damn sleep." Cheng Tong was stunned; he stared at him with eyes open wide. Wei Xiaobao ignored him, without saying anything he went down the peak and returned to the Temple into his room.


    Not too long afterwards, Cheng Xin, Cheng Guan, Cheng Guang and Cheng Tong, four monks came to see him. Wei Xiaobao let the four of them into his room. He noticed that all four of them had alarmed and frightened expression. He stretched and yawned, before languidly asked, "Gentlemen, what is it?"


    Cheng Xin said, "The lamas have gathered down the mountain, obviously they have ill-intention toward our Temple, I wish to hear Fangzhang Shishu''s [abbot martial uncle] plan on how to deal with them."


    "I have thought about it for half a day," Wei Xiaobao said, "And have not come up with any good plan; therefore, I decided to go to sleep. We are all doomed anyway, we''d better resign to adversity. The blade comes, the neck receives. Other people''s blades chop down, we use our necks to meet them head on, we need to see whether their blades are sharp enough to chop into our necks."


    Cheng Xin and the others, three monks, knew that he was blathering nonsense, but Cheng Guan thought he was serious; he said, "Those lamas'' blades look really sharp, I don''t think our necks can withstand. Shishu, those who have left homes stand aloof from worldly affairs, resign ourselves to adversity; that is actually the truth. But ''the blade comes, the neck receives'' is a bit too much. In the past, even Damo Zushi [ancestor master] did not teach us to suffer the blade without fighting back. Otherwise, why would we learn martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "So in Cheng Guan Shizhi''s opinion, ''the blade comes, the neck receives'' is incorrect?" he asked.


    "It is," Cheng Guan replied, "But if ''the fist comes, the chest receives; the kick comes, the abdomen receives'', that''s still alright." His internal energy was profound, when the opponent punched or kicked, he did not need to fight back, all he needed to do was to direct his internal strength, and the opponent''s fist or foot would bounce back.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those lamas are carrying jiedao and chanzhang


    [35]; I wonder if there is a way for us to ward them off without using any weapon?"


    Cheng Guan was taken aback. "I am afraid those lamas won''t listen to reason," he said, "Asking them to lay down the butcher knife is not a ''dawn to dusk'' type of merit."


    "That''s difficult," Wei Xiaobao said, "I wonder what excellent plan four Shizhi might have."


    Cheng Xin said, "The only plan for now is that for everybody to protect Yulin, Xing Chi, Xing Dian, three men, and rush out by exploiting a loophole. Their only target is to capture Xing Chi Dashi, the rest of the monks in the Temple do not know martial art, surely those lamas will not harm them."


    "Altright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s go talk to those three old monks." Leading the four monks, he went to the small vihara at the back of the mountain.


    A young apprentice monk announced their arrival. As Yulin and the others heard that the head monk had arrived, they went out the door to receive them. When they saw him, Yulin, Xing Chi and Xing Dian were greatly surprised. The three monks only heard that the new head monk Hui Ming Chanshi was Shaolin Temple''s Abbot Hui Cong''s martial brother, a very young eminent monk, but they did not expect it to be him. Yulin and Xing Chi immediately understood that it must be the Emperor who arranged all these, with the purpose of protecting his father.


    Buddhist''s customs was very strict, the head monk was the master of the monastery, Yulin and the others immediately paid their respect. Wei Xiaobao respectfully returned the propriety, and then they all went into the meditation room together. Yulin invited him to sit on the middle putuan


    [36], while the remaining monks stood on either side.


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy in his heart, "Laozi sits in the middle, the Old Emperor stands at the side to wait upon me; even the young emperor does not have this kind of awe-inspiring authority." Trying hard to suppress his smiling face, he said, "Yulin Dashi, Xing Chi Dashi, please sit down." Yulin and Xing Chi sat down.


    Yulin said, "Fangzhang Dashi is the head monk of Qingliang, for us Xiao Seng [little monk] to pay our respect to our superior, Fangzhang has to toil your honorable self to personally pay a visit, indeed our hearts are disturbed."


    "You are too kind," Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiao Na [little cassock] knew that the three of you did not like others to disturb you, for this reason I have not come to see you thus far. If not for today we have an important matter, Xiao Na would still not come here." He often heard old monks referring to themselves as Lao Na [old cassock]; thinking that since he was young, he should refer to himself as Xiao Na. The other monks heard him having a weird idea, fabricating a way to refer to himself, they were secretly amused.


    "Yes," Yulin said; but he did not ask what the important matter was.


    "Cheng Guang Shizhi," Wei Xiaobao said, "Would you please tell the three gentlemen?"


    Yulin knew that the knew head monk had a Buddhist title ''Hui Ming'', and he knew that in Shaolin Temple, the ''Hui'' generation was one generation higher than the ''Cheng'' generation, yet he was still stunned to see that this young, cunning and glib monk addressed the former head monk of their temple, the stately and benevolent, virtuous old monk as ''martial nephew''.


    Cheng Guang respectfully complied, and then explained the situation of their temple, how it had been heavily besieged by several thousand of lamas. Yulin closed his eyes to think for half a day; finally he opened his eyes and asked, "May I ask Fangzhang Dashi, what is your plan to deal with it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These lamas are either sitting down or standing up, they are merely enjoying the scenery, they have no other intention. The scenery here is clear and elegant, they come here on scenic tour [orig. roaming the mountain playing (on) the water], that is all."


    Xing Dian could not bear not to speak up, "If they are enjoying the beauty of nature, they can''t be surrounding our Temple, and did not leave for several hours. They must be here to capture Xing Chi Shixiong."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiao Na thought that all the green and yellow temples under the heavens are disciples and family of our Buddha, if they wanted to invite Xing Chi Dashi, it must be because they are in admiration the three Dashi''s profound Dharma [the teachings of Buddha], and thus are inviting you to go to lama monastery to preach the sutra. Perhaps those lamas admire our Central Earth''s Dharma, perhaps they don''t want to be lamas anymore but to be monks; won''t that be an excellent opportunity?"


    Xing Dian repeatedly shook his head, "Maybe not, maybe not," he said.


    "Fangzhang Shishu," Cheng Guan said, "If that''s the case, why are they bringing weapons?"


    Wei Xiaobao put his palms together and said, "They brought chanzhang and jiedao, looking so fierce and imposing, perhaps they want to kill the head of our Temple''s monks. Buddha said, ''If I don''t go to hell, who would go to hell?'' We will have the attitude ''the blade comes, the neck receives'', this is called ''if I don''t let others chop my head, who would be chopped by others?''. No life no perishes, no disgrace no purity. When there''s life, there will be death, when there''s head, there will be beheading. Buddha has three virtues: great determination, great wisdom, great sorrow. The lamas came with blades, we do not hear we do not see, we do not care we do not know. This is the great determination. They raise their blade to chop, we regard their blades as emptiness, the emptiness as the blades. This is the great wisdom. The blades chop down, chopping all our bald heads off, everybody perishes. This is the great sorrow." He had lived in monasteries for a long time, and had heard quite a lot of Buddhist sutra being preached, thereupon he talked nonsense unguardedly.


    "Fangzhang Shishu," Cheng Guan said, "I am afraid the ''sorrow'' of the Great Sorrow refers to merciful sorrow, not grieving sorrow."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Shizhi is right. Remember that our Buddha cut his own flesh to feed a hawk, giving his own life to raise a tiger; it was indeed great compassion and great sorrow. Although those lamas are fierce and uncontrollable, compared to vicious hawk and fierce tiger they are somewhat better. If we give our lives for the sake of those wicked lamas, we are also showing ''great compassion and great sorrow'' intention."


    Cheng Guan put his palms together, "Shishu is amazingly intelligent, I am full of admiration."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Yulin Dashi has once said, ''Those who have left homes stand aloof from worldly affairs, resign themselves to adversity, if Qing Liang Temple is really facing a misfortune, we''ll leave it to fate to escape from calamity''. We will pass away together under the wicked lamas'' blades, we will go together to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It will be a lively journey, it must be very interesting."


    The monks looked at each other in dismay. They all thought that although Wei Xiaobao''s words sound reasonable, all in all he adhered to old ideas too much. Perhaps it was due to misinterpretation of the Buddhist doctrine. Cheng Xin and Cheng Tong felt that these words were completely incompatible with the way he usually talked. They suspected that he was simply making ironic remark; most probably he wanted to incite Yulin and Xing Chi to speak up, asking for help on their own accord. Cheng Guan was the only one who believed without any doubt; he sighed in admiration delightedly.


    The monks were silent for half a day. Suddenly Xing Dian loudly said, "Shifu once said that the Tibetan Lamas want to capture Shixiong because they want to oppress and harm common people, to take possession of our beautiful world. Our own life or death is not important, but millions of common people will be bullied and oppressed by them, won''t it be an enormous guilt for us? Shifu once said that we must never let them commit outrages like that."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Shixiong''s words are very rational; compared to what Xiao Na has just said, you are one level higher. It''s just that the lamas'' power right now is too great, I am afraid we are heavily outnumbered."


    Xing Dian said, "Protecting Shifu, Shixiong, we break through their lines. I believe those lamas won''t be able to stop us."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am afraid in the battle we will inevitably kill and injure those lamas. Amitabha, our Buddha is virtuous, saving one person''s life is better than building a seven-floor pagoda; killing one life is like demolishing an eight-floor pagoda. Among various Buddhist monastic disciplines, the first one is abstaining from taking life. What should we do?"


    Xing Dian said, "It is they who want to take life, we are compelled by circumstances and have to strive to defend ourselves. Naturally it would be best if we can avoid killing people, but we can''t simply helplessly let our hands tied and waiting for death."


    Suddenly there were footsteps outside the door, Shaolin monk Cheng Jue quickly walked in and said, "Reporting to Fangzhang Shishu: the crowd of lamas down the mountain has just gone uphill, they advanced for about a hundred zhang [approx. 1000ft/300m] and then stopped."


    "Why did they advance halfway and then stopped?" Wei Xiaobao wondered, "Perhaps they suddenly received our Buddha''s guidance that they repent and understood the truth about turning around and reach the shore."


    "No, no," Xing Dian loudly said, "They are simply waiting for darkness; and then in a spurt of energy they will break in." In the years past, he was a general of the Plain Yellow Banner, who had fought many battles when they were entering the Pass. He understood military strategy very well. Later on he became the commander [orig. zong guan �C chief manager] of Shunzhi''s Imperial Bodyguards.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When they enter our Temple''s Hall of Great Strength and see our Buddha Tathagata''s stately treasured image, they will suddenly hang �� hang something and reining their horses, or something like that."


    Xing Dian angrily said, "You, Xiao Fangzhang, you are really si �� si ��, ay, that''s impossible." He was going to say ''really silly'', but in the end thought that he should not be rude to the Abbot; the word was already at the tip of his tongue, but he was able to ''rein the horse at the edge of the precipice''.


    All along Yulin had been silent, listening to the debate; seeing the bulging blue veins on Xing Dian''s forehead, while his voice was getting louder, he smiled and said, "Xing Dian, you are the silly one; Fangzhang Dashi has already held the pearl of wisdom, he has the ''success bamboo'' in his heart. Why are you worried too much?"


    Xing Dian was startled. "Ah," he said, "Turns out Fangzhang Dashi already has brilliant scheme."


    Showing a worried expression Wei Xiaobao said, "Brilliant scheme, that I do not have. The thirty-sixth stratagem: escape; since everybody agrees that we should break through, then let us break through! It''s just that unless we do not have any choice, we must not harm people''s lives too much." Xing Dian, Cheng Xin and the others voiced their agreement.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case, let us get ready; we''ll wait for the dark, before they make their move, we''ll dash down the mountain, toward the east to Fuping county seat. Even if these lamas were more vicious than this, they won''t dare to attack the county seat openly." Again Xing Dian and the others voiced their approval.


    Suddenly Xing Chi said, "I am the unlucky one. Last time several lives were lost for my sake. Even if this time we can escape disaster, they will never give up and put this matter down. There will be many more lives lost, there will be no end to this."


    "Shixiong," Xing Dian said, "These evil lamas want to abduct you to cruelly devastate common people under the heavens."


    Xing Chi sighed and said, "I am the embryo of misfortune of the world; when they arrive here, I will set myself on fire, let them henceforth lose heart, and that''s the end."


    Xing Dian anxiously said, "Your �� your �� no, Shixiong, you must never do that. Let me burn myself on your behalf." [He was going to say ''your majesty'' �C huang shang.] Xing Chi smiled and said, "You want to burn yourself on my behalf? What''s the use? They only want me, to force me into submission. That''s all."


    The monks were silent for half a day. Yulin finally said, "Shanzai, shanzai


    [37]! Xing Chi has become aware of the Great Way. This is indeed the real meaning of what Buddha has said, ''If I don''t enter the hell, who would enter the hell?''"


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Stinky monk, so what he said is the real meaning, and what I said was the fake meaing?"


    Yulin continued, "When those lamas arrive, Lao Na and Xing Chi will set ourselves on fire together. Fangzhang Dashi and numerous Shixiong must not stop us."


    Wei Xiaobao and the other monks looked at each other in dismay; they were all dumbstruck.


    Xing Chi slowly said, "When we besieged towns and took over lands in the past, all living creatures were turned to coal; Xiao Seng should have been dead a hundred times to redeem the atrocity. Today I can give my life for the common people, it is merely to compensate the past sin. If for Xiao Seng''s sake the battle continues, many more lives are harmed, it will only add to my guilt. I have made up my mind, I am asking gentlemen to protect and support me to fulfill this destiny. If by doing this I can reform the lamas, transforming the wicked to virtue, this indeed is a good deed." While saying that, he stood up, and bowed and put his palms together toward Wei Xiaobao and the other five Shaolin monks.


    Looking at his expression, Cheng Xin and the others knew that his mind was firmly set, it would be difficult to persuade him; therefore, they had no choice but to take their leave and return to Wenshu


    [38] Hall. Wei Xiaobao summoned all thirty-six Shaolin monks to discuss this matter. All the monks agreed that they must not allow the two masters to set themselves on fire; if things had come to a head, they would have to use force to stop them.


    "We are all in agreement that we must protect the three masters completely, are we not?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Yes!" all the monks replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s not difficult. Listen to me: all thirty-six of you rush out the Temple, attack the east side together, pretend that you want to break the siege and escape down the mountain, but since it is difficult, you have to retreat back to the Temple. However, while doing that, capture forty or fifty lamas and bring them up here."


    "I wonder if Fangzhang wants to use these lamas as hostage, so that they will not dare to act rashly," Cheng Xin said, "If that''s the case, we might as well capture the lamas with high position; the higher the better."


    "I am afraid it won''t be easy to capture big lamas," Wei Xiaobao said, "Inevitably we will kill and injure too many people. Capturing several dozen lamas is enough." The monks were unclear of his intention, but since the Abbot had issued an order, they had to follow it and went out of the Temple.


    Not too long afterwards, Wei Xiaobao heard loud commotion coming from the waist of the mountain. He stood on the drum tower to watch, and saw the thirty-six Shaolin monks were charging into the crowd of lamas. The blades flickered, the battle had begun.


    These thirty-six monks were Shaolin Temple''s martial art masters, naturally any regular lama was not their match. After rushing out for several dozen zhang, the number of lamas blocking their way was growing exponentially. Cheng Xin and the others moved their fists to punch, their feet to kick, their palms to slap, and their fingers to jab; in an instant they had overthrown several dozen men. In a loud voice Cheng Xin shouted, "The enemy is too powerful, we can''t go through them, let''s go back to the Temple for the time being and talk it over." His internal energy was deep, his voice travelled far and echoed on the valley.


    Cheng Tong also called out, "We can''t go through, what should we do?"


    Cheng Xin shouted, "Everybody grab a lama and go back, we must teach them not to act rashly and randomly harm other people." The monks grabbed the lamas, some caught two by carrying them in their arms, some caught one by carrying them over their shoulders; together they retreated to the Temple. Cheng Xin and Cheng Guang brought up the rear, they sealed several more people''s acupoints. They heard from the back of the lamas someone shouted an order in Tibetan. The crowd of lamas was shouting, yelling, cursing, but nobody ran after them.


    Grinning from ear to ear, Wei Xiaobao ran to the gate to meet them. Upon counting the prisoners, he found that they had captured forty-seven lamas. Returning to Wenshu Hall, Wei Xiaobao said, "Strip these fellows naked, each one to have his eighteen acupoints sealed, and lock them up in the firewood shed at the backyard."


    The monks all felt that their Abbot''s order was a profound mystery. They stripped the forty-seven lamas naked, and sealed their acupoints, and locked them up inside the firewood room.


    Wei Xiaobao put his palms together and said, "Everything in the world is empty, everything is nothingness, no self, no people, no monk, no lama. Emptiness is real, realism is empty. Monk is lama, lama is monk. All Shizhi, I want you to take off your cassock, and put on these lama robes!"


    All the monks were stunned; they looked at each other in dismay. Wei Xiaobao called out loudly, "Shuang''er, come here. Help me dress as a young lama." Shuang''er had been waiting outside the hall, she immediately came in. Rummaging through the stack, she found the smallest lama''s robe, and helped him to change. Wei Xiaobao was short; the robe he wore was still too big, so he pulled his dagger and cut a section each off the lower part of the robe and the sleeves. He tied his robe on the waist and forced a lama hat onto his head, and thus turned into a young lama. He said to Shuang''er, "You also have to dress as a young lama."


    Cheng Guang asked, "Shishu wants us to dress as lamas, I wonder what your intention is."


    Cheng Guan said, "Could it be that we are going to surrender to the lamas and join their yellow monasteries?"


    "Absolutely not!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Everybody dresses as a lama, we go to the little vihara at the back of the mountain, and seize Yulin, Xing Chi and Xing Dian, three monks, and seal their acupoints. And then we force them to change into lama attire ��"


    Listening to here, Cheng Tong clapped his hands and laughed. He said, "Ingenious plan, ingenious plan! Several dozens of us, fake lamas, rushing down the mountain in the middle of the night, those lamas will have difficult time in distinguishing the real from the fake, hence it will be difficult for them to stop us."


    The rest of the monks also exclaimed in praise, immediately smile spread across their faces. Naturally nobody guessed that Wei Xiaobao''s ingenious plan was merely a repeat of the trick he played the other day by disguising himself as a prostitute to escape the great disaster.


    Cheng Xin said, "This way we can rush out without too much killing and injuring; this is the best plan."


    Cheng Guang hesitantly said, "It''s just that we are going to offend Xing Chi Dashi and the others, three masters; it is rather disrespectful."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Amitabha, saving three lives surpasses building a three by seven, twenty-one level Buddhist stupa. Tiny offense is better than burning themselves in a raging inferno."


    "Shishu is right," Cheng Guang said.


    Immediately the monks took off their monk robes and changed into lama attire. In all their lives, these monks had always adhered strictly to Buddhist monastic discipline, they always acted stern and dignified, yet this time they had to follow Wei Xiaobao fooling around. Seeing that after putting on lama clothing their appearances looked weird, they all could not bear feeling amused.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You all must wrap your monk robe into a bundle and carry it with you. We''ll change back after we escape. After we dash out down the mountain, if we are separated, well meet again at the Jixiang Temple in Fuping County." He told Shuang''er to pack their money and other belongings, made it into a bundle and carried it on her back.


    When the sky turned black, Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us smear some dust on our faces, and each one has to carry a bucket of water. Let''s move!"


    Hearing the religious edict, the monks received it happily, and execute the order to the letter: immediately they smeared dust onto their faces, took a bucket of water and his weapon, and rushed toward the back of the mountain.


    Arriving outside the small vihara, the monks babbled loudly and charged into the vihara. Yulin, Xing Chi and Xing Dian, three men, had determined to burn themselves. They piled up firewood in the middle of the courtyard, and drenched themselves with sesame oil. They only waited for the lamas'' arrival, to explain the purpose of their self-burning, and then they would ignite the fire. Who would have thought that the ''lamas'' arrived so suddenly, without the least bit of forewarning? As soon as they heard the strange ''wulu wulu huacha huacha'' shouts, which sounded like Tibetan, but not quite like Tibetan, dozens of lamas had already crashed into the vihara.


    In a loud and clear voice Yulin said, "Gentlemen, please wait a bit, Lao Na has something to say ��" Suddenly his head was drenched by a bucket of cold water, followed by several dozen buckets of cold water, one after another, were splashed onto the three of them.


    It happened so quickly that not only the three of them did not have time to light the fire to burn themselves, even if they did, the fire would be quickly extinguished by the pouring of the water.


    Shuang''er leaped to seal Xing Dian''s acupoint first. Xing Chi did not know martial art; Yulin''s martial art skill was not weak, but he was unwilling to fight back. In that confusion, their acupoints were quickly sealed. The monks quickly moved their hands and feet, they stripped the three monks, and put the lamas'' robe on. Wei Xiaobao was thinking of pretending to speak Tibetan by uttering some gibberish words, but he was afraid Yulin might recognize his voice; thereupon he restrained himself. He pursed his lips toward Shuang''er to signal her, she fetched a candlestick and lighted the firewood piled in the middle of the courtyard. Wei Xiaobao saw Xing Dian''s golden pestle lying on the floor at the corner of the room, he thought he would take it away, but to his surprise the golden pestle was very heavy, unexpectedly he could not even lift it up. Cheng Tong reached down and picked it up. Wei Xiaobao waved his hand, the monks rushed down the mountain eastwards, with Xing Chi, three monks, protected in the middle.


    They were rushing only for several dozen zhang when the black smoke and the blaze from the small vihara shot up to the sky. The big pile of firewood had also been drenched with sesame oil that it was so easy to catch fire.


    Halfway up the mountain, the lamas had also seen the fire, they shouted and yelling in alarm, immediately there was confusion everywhere. The leader of the lamas sent his men to fight the fire. Under the flame light they saw Wei Xiaobao and the monks, but they thought they were their own people. In the confusion, who had the thought of stopping and interrogating these people?


    The monks reached the bottom of the mountain. After leaving the lamas a great distance behind them, they turned their head around and looked up toward the mountain. They saw the blaze illuminated the sky, the small vihara had been burned to the top of its roof. Cheng Tong said, "Once the small vihara is burned down, they will never find Xing Chi Dashi. They must have thought that he was burned to death inside the vihara, and thus they will lose heart and will not come to create trouble anymore. This is a very good deed indeed."


    Cheng Guang nodded and said, "What Shidi has said is very true."


    Wei Xiaobao asked Cheng Guan to unseal Xing Chi and the other two monks'' acupoints. He said, "We have offended you too much, please do not blame us."


    Xing Chi and the others had their acupoints sealed, they were unable to move a single step, yet their eyes and ears were open. Seeing what was going on around them, they had already understood it was the Shaolin monks who came to their rescue. Xing Dian cheered loudly, saying, "Brilliant scheme, brilliant scheme! All of us escaped easily. Fangzhang Dashi, you have just saved our lives, we are grateful you did not come too late, who would want to blame you?"


    Xing Chi was determined to disappear by committing suicide by fire. Xing Dian was loyal and devoted, he had to accompany his master in death, but in his heart he was not really willing to die like this. Now that they escaped the great catastrophe, he was extremely delighted.


    Xing Chi smiled and said, "We did not harm a single person in this matter, that is indeed remarkable."


    Suddenly they heard footsteps on the mountain road right in front of them, a large crowd of people were hurrying up the mountain. Cheng Tong said, "Shishu, a large group of lamas is coming to attack."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We''ll continue walking forward, we''ll mumble some gibberish, and when we see them, show some smiling expression and point up the mountain. In short, do not fight with them." The monks voiced their compliance, even Xing Chi and Yulin also nodded in agreement. In his heart Wei Xiaobao was very happy, "The Old Emperor is following my order, even the Old Emperor''s Shifu is also following my order."


    With Xing Chi in the middle, the crowd of monks rushed along the main road. They saw from the other side of a dip on the road a group of people was rushing their way. There were lanterns and torches in their hands; they were not lamas, but Buddhist pilgrims on their way to offer incense. There were yellow pouches hanging from their necks, on the pouches were written these characters: ''devoutly submitting incense'' [or ''going on pilgrimage devotionally''] and so on.


    When the group of Shaolin monks came near, both sides were equally surprised. Cheng Tong and the others had already stopped talking, but Cheng Guan and some others whose brains were quick started mumbling some gibberish in ''fake Tibetan''.


    From among the pilgrims a man stepped out and shouted, "What are you doing here?"


    This man was tall and powerfully built, his voice was loud and clear. As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw him, he was greatly delighted, for he recognized the man as the Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards, Dolong. He rushed forward immediately and called out, "Duo Dage [in Chinese, Dolong is spelled ''Duo Long''], look here, do you know who Xiao Di [little brother] is?"


    Dolong was startled; he took a lantern from someone by his side and lifted it up to illuminate Wei Xiaobao''s face.


    Wei Xiaobao winked and him and burst into laughter. Dolong was surprised and delighted at the same time. "It''s �� It''s Wei Xiongdi," he said, "You �� how come you are here? And dress as a young lama too?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "And how come you are here?"


    While they were talking, from behind Dolong a group of pilgrims rushed over, the leader of these pilgrims was actually Zhao Qixian. As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw them, he recognized the pilgrims to be imperial bodyguards in disguise; in fact, he knew most of these people. The bodyguards surrounded Wei Xiaobao, they talked and laughed in an intimate way.


    In a low voice Wei Xiaobao asked Dolong, "Did His Majesty send you here?"


    Dolong also replied in low voice, "His Majesty and Empress Dowager are going to Mount Wutai to burn incense; right now they are at the Lingjing Temple."


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised. "His Majesty is coming to Mount Wutai?" he asked, "That''s wonderful! That''s wonderful!" While musing in his heart, "And what does that Old wh0re come here for? The Old Emperor can''t wait to kill her."


    Not long afterwards, a group of valiant cavalry troops arrived; all of them also dressed as pilgrims. Wei Xiaobao asked, "In total, how many pilgrims are coming from Beijing to Mount Wutai this time?"


    In a low voice Dolong replied, "Apart from us, the Imperial Bodyguards, the Valiant Cavalry, the Vanguards, and the Personal Guards are accompanying the Emperor."


    "So there are about thirty, forty thousand troops?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "More than thirty-four thousand troops," Dolong replied.


    "And who is in command of this Emperor-protector force?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "It''s Prince Kang," Dolong replied.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Another old friend."


    He beckoned Zhao Qixian. When he came near, Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhao Dage, please report to Prince Kang, I need to mobilize the troops for an important mission. This is urgent, there is not enough time to ask for instructions from him first." Zhao Qixian obeyed the order and left.


    Finally the Commander [orig. ''du tong'', see previous note on Qing military] of Valiant Cavalry of Plain Yellow Banner, Chalju, also arrived. Wei Xiaobao said, "Duo Laoge [old brother], Dutong Daren, there are several thousand Tibetan lamas who found out about His Majesty''s pilgrimage. Just now they are surrounding Qingliang Temple with the intention to start a rebellion. I ask you, two gentlemen, to arrest these rebellious thieves. You are going to render an enormous service."


    The two of them were delighted; they thanked Wei Xiaobao, saying, "Wei Daren is handing us a great merit, how can we deserve it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Everybody is devotedly working for His Majesty, why make any distinction between you and me? This is called ''blessing we enjoy together, difficulty we bear together''."


    They issued the order immediately to guard all roads around the mountain, and send a group of elite cavalry to charge up the mountain. Wei Xiaobao called loudly, "The Holy Sage is benevolent and wise, he is also virtuous; you are to arrest the rebellious thieves only, you must not harm too many lives. Our Emperor is ''raw bird fish soup'' [niao sheng yu tang], and not a bad Emperor." The Imperial Bodyguards and the Emperor''s personal bodyguards acknowledged the order together.


    Actually, he said those words for the benefit of the Old Emperor; he thought that today the old and the young Emperors, father and son, would meet, he needed to lick the Old Emperor''s behind, which he thought would be more effective that licking the young Emperor''s behind. He turned around and walked toward Xing Chi. "Three masters," he said, "Our clothes are nondescript [orig. ''neither fish nor fowl''], we need to go to Jing''e Temple ahead to change. We must find a peaceful and quiet place to rest, so that idle people will not disturb the three masters'' quiet meditation." Xing Chi and the others nodded their approval.


    They walked several more li and arrived at Jing''e Temple. As soon as he entered the gate of the monastery, Wei Xiaobao took out a thousand-tael banknote, which he handed it over to the head monk, saying, "We need to temporarily borrow your precious monastery to rest, you must not ask too much. If you ask one question, I will deduct ten taels; you do not ask any question, all these thousand taels are our offering. If you ask a hundred and one questions, you owe me ten taels. Fair and square, cheating neither young nor old."


    Seeing the huge sum of money, the head monk was surprised and happy at the same time; instantly he said ''yes, yes'' repeatedly. "Shixiong," he said, "You ��" The words were at the tip of his tongue, suddenly he was startled and busily changed his statement, "You must drink a cup of tea." And he hurriedly went in to serve the tea.


    Originally, he was going to ask, ''Shixiong, you want to drink a cup of tea or not?'' but his mind was quick and he changed his statement, and thus saved himself ten taels.


    Wei Xiaobao went out the monastery and secretly passed an order to have more than a hundred Imperial Bodyguards to guard Jing''e Temple all the way around, he also dispatched two Imperial Bodyguards to report to the Emperor: "Your servant Wei Xiaobao is under great responsibility, does not dare to leave without permission, waiting your gracious presence at Jing''e Temple."


    One of the Imperial Bodyguards said, "Reporting to Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]: as subjects, we should go and kowtow in front of His Majesty, we cannot wait for the Emperor to see us."


    Wei Xiaobao spread out his hands, and said with a laugh, "Can''t be help. This time good or bad I have to break the rules and have a bad manner."


    The two Imperial Bodyguards complied. They turned around and left, while sticking out their tongues and thought, "What a nerve, he does not even want his life anymore." Right away they rushed to report to the Emperor.


    After changing their clothes, the monks sat down to rest. They heard the battle cry on the mountain shaking the earth, the Imperial Bodyguards and the Emperor''s personal guards were rounding up the lamas. The commotion continued for quite a while. Finally the noise gradually died down, until more than an hour later suddenly not a sound was to be heard [orig. ''ten thousand pipes are still''], but they heard a few dozen men''s footsteps from the distance approaching, and stopped in front of the monastery. And then there were the heavy thumping sound of boots as a group of men entered the monastery.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The young Emperor is here." Pulling out his dagger, he held it tight as he stood in front of Xing Chi''s meditation room, while his face showed a determined expression to protect his master, the ''ten thousand deaths will not prevent me'' look, one that would put Xing Dian''s loyalty and brave sacrifice, to shame.


    The sound of footsteps continued from the outside to the inside, about a dozen Imperial Bodyguards in civilian clothes came over in quick steps, with lanterns in their hands. And then they stopped and stood on either side of the pathway. One Imperial Bodyguard hissed, "Quickly take your knife away."


    Wei Xiaobao retreated several steps, with his back against the door and the dagger in front of his chest, he struck a pose ''one man guards the pass, ten thousand men cannot enter'', and shouted, "The masters are resting inside the meditation room, no one is allowed to come to create disturbance."


    A young man wearing blue garment stepped out, it was none other than Kangxi. It was only then did Wei Xiaobao put the dagger back to its sheath; he rushed forward to kowtow, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, rejoice. The old �� old fashi


    [39] is inside."


    With a trembling voice Kangxi said, "You call �� call [or ''announce''] for me." Turning around, he said, "All of you, get out!"


    After the Imperial Bodyguards had left, Wei Xiaobao knocked twice lightly on the meditation room''s door, he said, "Hui Ming desires to have an audience."


    After a long time, there was still no response from inside. Kangxi could not bear not to rush ahead one step and knocked twice on the door. Wei Xiaobao shook his hand to him, signaling him not to speak. The cry ''Fu Huang'' [father emperor] was already at the tip of Kangxi''s tongue, but he fought hard to swallow it back.


    After a long time, they heard Xing Dian''s voice from behind the door, "Fangzhang Dashi, my Shixiong''s spirit is exhausted, please forgive him not to grant audience. His body has entered the gate of emptiness, there is no more earthly destiny. Please tell the outsider not to harm his peaceful cultivation."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please open the door, we just want to see him one time."


    Xing Dian said, "My Shixiong''s meaning is: this is Jing''e Temple, where we all are guests here, we are not required to accept Fangzhang''s religious edict, please don''t blame us."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head to look at Kangxi, he saw his miserable expression and thought, "You said that I am not the Abbot here and thus cannot tell you to open the door. How about I call this temple''s abbot to knock on your door? That will be too easy." He was about to turn around to call the Abbot, when Kangxi could not endure anymore and suddenly broke into a loud cry.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I have this temple''s abbot telling you to open the door, that means I am forcing the old emperor. Beseeching him gently is better." Thereupon he beat his own chest several times and cried out loudly. He cried and wailed at the same time, "In this world, I am an orphan with no mother and no father, alone and forsaken, no one loves me. What joy is there to stay alive? It would be better for me to crash my head against the wall and be done with it." Faking a cry was the skill he had perfected since he was little, just by bawling a few more times, tears started to pour down like rain; it was exceptionally sorrowful.


    Hearing him crying, at first Kangxi was startled, but then he could not bear his grief and cried out even louder.


    Suddenly they heard a creaking noise, the meditation room''s door opened. Xing Dian stood at the door and said, "Xiao Shizhu [young benefactor], please come in."


    Kangxi was overwhelmed with mixed feelings of grief and joy; he rushed into the room and embraced Xing Chi''s feet, while crying loudly.


    Xing Chi gently stroked his head while saying, "Chi''er, Chi''er


    [40]." Tears also streamed down his face.


    With bowed head Yulin and Xing Dian went out of the meditation room and closed the door behind them. Without even looking at Wei Xiaobao, who was standing outside the door, they walked straight outside. Xing Dian felt he was being rude, especially since he was grateful to Wei Xiaobao; so after walking about a dozen steps, he turned his head around and called, "Fangzhang."


    Wei Xiaobao was focusing his attention to listen to the conversation between Xing Chi and Kangxi, father and son, inside the room, he completely ignored Xing Dian. He heard Kangxi was crying, "Fu Huang, child misses you very much."


    Xing Chi said something, but from behind the door Wei Xiaobao was unable to hear clearly. Afterwards Kangxi stopped crying and started talking, but the two of them spoke in a very low voice that Wei Xiaobao could not hear anything. Although he was curious, he did not have the audacity to shove the door open even a crack; without any choice he had to wait outside with his ear against the door.


    A moment later, he vaguely heard Kangxi mentioning ''Empress Duan Jing'', four characters. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Last time when the Old Emperor told me to pass on his message to the young emperor, he did not want me to give the old wh0re any trouble; therefore, following his order, I did not mention these words at all. Perhaps now the Old Emperor changed his mind?"


    Another moment, he heard Xing Chi said, "Today you and I met, it was a mistake; it harms my cultivation considerably. Later, you must not come again." Kangxi did not make any noise. Xing Chi continued, "You sent someone to wait upon me. Although it came from your filial piety, those who have left their homes experience strong opposition from the evil spirit. Although your intention was proper, having someone to serve me was very thoughtful, but it is inappropriate ��"


    The two of them talked some more. Finally Xing Chi said, "You may go now. Take a good care of yourself, by cherishing the common people, you are fulfilling your filial duty toward me."


    Kangxi apparently was reluctant to part, he did not want to leave yet. At last Wei Xiaobao heard footsteps toward the door. Wei Xiaobao hastily took several steps back, and turned his eyes away from the door, looking toward the front courtyard. ''Creak'', the door opened. Xing Chi walked out, holding Kangxi''s hand. Father and son looked at each other for a moment. Kangxi was holding his father''s hand firmly. Xing Chi said, "You are very good, you are much better than I was. I feel very relieved, you must feel the same!" Gently he pulled his hand from Kangxi''s grip, and withdrew back to the room and closed the door. A moment later, ''click'', he put the latch on.


    Kangxi threw himself to the door, while sobbing uncontrollably. Wei Xiaobao stood by his side, accompanying him shedding some tears.


    Kangxi cried for a while. He knew his father would not open the door again, but he was unwilling to leave just like that. Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand, they sat side by side on the stone steps in front of the main hall. Taking out a handkerchief, he wiped his tears, and looked up at the white cloud in the sky. When he had calmed down, he said, "Xiao Guizi, Fu Huang said that you are very good, but he does not want you to wait upon him anymore. Fu Huang said although having the subjects to guard was very thoughtful, but it will make him, Senior, not like those who have left home." While saying the words ''those who have left home'', he shed tears again.


    Hearing the Old Emperor did not want him to serve anymore, Wei Xiaobao was extremely delighted, yet his face did not show the least bit of happiness, he also did not dare to appear extremely ''loyal, dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety'', for fear that it would give him future trouble. He said, "There are too many people who want to harm the Old Emperor, Your Majesty have to think of a way to protect him in secret."


    "Definitely," Kangxi said, "Those evil lamas, humph, his granny, what scheme are they playing?" Originally he could only curse ''damn it'' [ta ma de �C lit. his mother]; several months they did not see each other, he had learned one more cussing word, ''his granny'' [ta nainai de].


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have one more cuss word."


    There appeared a slight smiling expression on Kangxi''s face; he said, "It''s my Meizi [younger sister], she learned it from the Imperial Bodyguards. She and Empress Dowager came with me to the mountain ��" his countenance sank, "Fu Huang does not wish to see them." Wei Xiaobao nodded.


    Kangxi continued, "Those lamas must want to kidnap Fu Huang, in an attempt to force me into submission, to put me under their control. Humph, they think it''s that easy? Xiao Guizi, you are very good, this time you saved Fu Huang, your merit is not small."


    "Your Majesty''s strategy is divine," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have thought about everything early on, you sent your servant here to be a monk, it was exactly for this reason. Your servant does not have any merit, it does not matter who Your Majesty sent here, anybody can do it."


    "That is not necessarily so," Kangxi said, "Fu Huang said you understood his wish not to harm anybody in your escape."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant saw the Old Emperor was about to light the fire to burn himself, saying that no matter what he wanted to give up his life and vanish; it scared me that my soul was about to leave me, I nearly pissed in my pants."


    Kangxi was startled, "What do you mean lighting the fire to burn himself? To give up his life and vanish?"


    With a lot more spice Wei Xiaobao told him everything so that Kangxi broke into cold sweat. Wei Xiaobao said, "In a moment of desperation, your servant drenched the Old Emperor with a bucket of cold water; it was greatly disrespectful."


    Kangxi said, "Your intention was to protect your master. Very good, very good."


    He was silent for half a day. Turning his head to take a glance at the meditation room''s door he said, "The Old Emperor told me to cherish common people, never to raise tax. You have already passed on this message to me, this time the Old Emperor personally exhorted me. Naturally I will never dare to forget."


    "What is ''never raise endowment'' [yong bu jia fu]?" Wei Xiaobao asked


    [41].


    Kangxi smiled and replied, "It''s ''fu'' from ''fu shui'' �C taxation. Those emperors from the Ming Dynasty indulged in lives of luxury, deployed troops to go to war, never had enough money; therefore, they issued imperial decree for the common people to pay more taxes. Ming Dynasty''s government officials were extremely corrupt, the Emperor wanted to raise one million taels in tax, the government officials, big and small, extorted at least two million taels. The common people were already poor, the imperial court raised taxes this year, and raised duties the next, how could the common people still have enough rice to eat? The millet and wheat crops harvested from the fields were all taken by the government officials, very soon the common people''s entire family would die of starvation; they had no choice but to revolt. This is called ''the government official drive the people to revolt''."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I understand," he said, "So the common people of the Ming Dynasty revolted because the Emperor and the government officials were bad."


    "Isn''t that so?" Kangxi said, "During the last years of Ming Dynasty''s Chongzhen, everywhere in the world the common people did not have rice to eat; therefore, rebellion arose in the east and in the west. The Henan rebellion was crushed, Shanxi arose; Shanxi was suppressed, Sichuan arose. Those poor people migrated to the east and fled to the west just to scrape a living. The Ming Dynasty perished in these poor people''s hands, the Han people say it was roving bandits'' rebellion. Actually, those rebels and roving bandits were forced to existence by the imperial court."


    "So that''s what happened," Wei Xiaobao said, "The Old Emperor wants Your Majesty never to raise tax, then there won''t be any roving bandits in the world. Your Majesty is ''raw bird fish soup'', iron and barrels are like rivers and mountains, long live the Emperor!"


    "Yao shun yu tang; isn''t it easier said than done?" Kangxi said, "But we, Manchu people, came to be China''s Emperor, we must strive to be better than those tyrannical and muddle-headed rulers of the Ming Dynasty; only then will we not let down the common people of the world."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The people of Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace say that Manchurian Qing''s Tatars occupy our Han people''s rivers and mountains, there is no single person who does not hate them with clenched teeth. Yet the young emperor says that Ming Dynasty''s emperors were no good, and that he, a Tatar emperor, is better. That''s not strange, there are always people who like to praise themselves."


    Kangxi added, "Fu Huang also told me that over the years he quietly cultivate Zen meditation, whenever he recalled our Manchu people''s conduct and deeds in the years past, oftentimes he would feel so ashamed that cold sweats drenched his back. Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty was persecuted to death by Li Zicheng''s roving bandits. Wu Sangui came to lend his troops to us, the Great Qing, and defeated Li Zicheng, and thus he avenged the Ming Dynasty emperor''s great enmity. Yet not only the common Han people are not grateful to the Great Qing, they consider us as their enemy. Tell me, what kind of logic is that?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I suppose they are muddle-headed. In fact, in this world, muddle-headed people are many, smart people are a few. Or perhaps they simply forget favors and violate justice."


    "That''s not necessarily so," Kangxi said, "Han people say we are barbarians, ethnic minority from outside, who are taking possession of their beautiful rivers and mountains. When the Qing troops entered the pass, they killed and burned everywhere, they murdered countless common people; it was the reason they hate us, Manchus, to the bones."


    Wei Xiaobao was actually a Han, but Kangxi bestowed him to be a Manchu person of the Plain Yellow Banner, when he talked to him, he always said ''we or us'', treating him as a Manchu. Actually, speaking about national affairs, Wei Xiaobao did not understand anything. It''s just that Kangxi was excited since he had just met his father. Thinking about his Father Emperor''s earnest admonition, he discussed it with this little trusted aide.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When your servant was still in Yangzhou, I have heard people mentioning the tragedy of Qing troops massacring people."


    Kangxi sighed. "Yangzhou''s Ten Days, Jiading''s Three Slaughters, people were killed that their number cannot be counted; those are enormously evil deeds that we, the Great Qing, committed. I am going to issue an imperial edict to exempt Yangzhou and Jiading of land tax for three years."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Yangzhou people do not have to pay taxes for three years, everybody will be rich, Lovely Spring Courtyard''s business will greatly flourish. How can I get the young emperor to send me to handle this matter for him in Yangzhou? I will tell Mama not to be a prostitute anymore, I will open three brothels for her, laozi will be the boss, and then I will be a banker, I will open a big gambling event for ten days, it will be another ''Yangzhou''s Ten Days''. Afterwards, I will bring a lot of money to Jiading and damn it, I will gamble three days. It will be ''Jiading''s Three Gambles''


    [42]."


    He also thought, "Both the Old Emperor and His Majesty said that during Jiading''s Three ''du'' [see note 10 referred above] the number of people being killed is too many, this is an enormous disaster. How could they kill a lot of people by gambling three times? I wonder what kind of place Jiading is. In that place, the people''s gambling skill is very formidable, I must be very careful."


    "Xiao Guizi, what do you think?" Kangxi asked.


    "Good, very good," Wei Xiaobao busily replied, "That way, everybody will have rice to eat, have money �� nobody will revolt." He was about to say ''have money to gamble'', but as the word was about to come out, he withdrew it.


    Kangxi said, "Although everybody has rice to eat and has money to be used, not necessarily nobody will revolt. When you left Beijing, you sent the Imperial Bodyguards to escort a man, whom you said was a rebel from Mount Wangwu. I personally interrogated him several times."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked in his heart; he stood up hastily and said, "Your Majesty ordered your servant not to meddle in other people''s business; henceforth I did not dare to do that."


    "Sit down," Kangxi said, "You managed this matter very well. It was not other people''s business at all, in fact, from now on we must pay close attention to this matter."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, but in his heart he was unable to make head or tail of it.


    Kangxi said in a low voice, "I sent those Imperial Bodyguards to rebuke you, it was to block the ears and eyes of the enemy, so that the rebellious thieves won''t guard against me."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. He sprang up, and then sat back down again and said in a low voice, "Your servant understands. Turns out Your Majesty are afraid this rebellious thief Wu Sangui would be alarmed."


    "Whether Wu Sangui wants to rebel, it is still hard to say," Kangxi said, "But since the beginning he did not have a loyal heart; he took advantage of my young age and did not have me in his eyes at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty can always use little tricks here and there to let him know how formidable you are. Wu Sangui, his granny, what''s so great about him? Your Majesty only need to stretch out your little finger, you will sweep away a thousand army, high mountain flowing water."


    Kangxi smiled, "You did not use those two idioms correctly. You should say ''stretch out your little finger, you will sweep away a thousand army, kill him to be utterly defeated


    [43]''."


    "Yes, yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant has become a monk for several months, my literary knowledge did not make any progress; from now on I must serve Your Majesty more often, so that my usage of idiom will be like ''sweeping away a thousand army'', so that people who hear it will be ''utterly defeated''."


    Kangxi could not help but bursting in laughter, his melancholy was somewhat reduced. In a low voice he said, "That servant Wu Sangui is very good at military strategy, the number of fierce generals and elite troops under his command is indeed not a few. If he really wanted to rebel and allied himself with Geng Jingzhong of Fujian and Shang Kexi of Guangdong, the three forces would make a thorny problem indeed. We can only take our time, must make our move only after fixing our plan, so that once we move, we will make his granny Wu Sangui utterly defeated and piss in his pants in terror."


    Kangxi was diligent and studious, every day after he personally attended the government affairs, he would have members of Hanlin Imperial Academy to attend upon him, to explore classic books in Confucianism, poetry and literature. He learned a lot about the writings and poems of Confucius; therefore, to suddenly hear him saying phrases like ''his granny'' or ''piss in his pants in terror'', it was clear that he was really not happy.


    Meeting with his father today, he was both delighted and grieved; but after only less than an hour of intimacy, he was already thrown out of the door without knowing if he would ever see him again in the future, he was deeply wounded emotionally. Luckily there was this Wei Xiaobao whose words were amusing, so that the melancholy in his heart was somewhat relieved. Moreover, speaking about major political affair like crushing rebellion and restoring order had aroused the lofty aspiration in his heart.


    He stood up, took four piece of stones from the courtyard, arranged them on the ground, and said, "Of the four kings of Han army, the east side, the south side and the west side must be separated from each other, they cannot be allowed to ally with each other. Luckily that fellow Ding Nan Wang


    [44] Kong Yude has died, leaving behind a daughter, hence it will be easy to deal with her." While saying that, he lightly kicked a piece of stone.


    He said, "Geng Jingzhong is bold but not very astute, nothing to worry about. Only he must be prevented from making an alliance with the Zheng clan of Taiwan." And he kicked another stone.


    He said, "Shang Kexi, father and sons, do not get along well with each other. His two sons are like fire and water, they are always in conflict with each other, rendering him powerless." And he also kicked the third stone away, leaving one stone left, the biggest one, to which he stared while seeming lost in thought.


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is that Wu Sangui?" Kangxi nodded. Wei Xiaobao cursed, "That treacherous bandit, he is old but refuses to die, yet he gives my lord of ten thousand years a big headache. Your Majesty, soak him with your pee."


    Kangxi burst out laughing; his childish heart was aroused, he really untied his pants and peed on that piece of stone. He said with a laugh, "Come, your turn."


    Kangxi was amused even more. He tied up his pants and said with a laugh, "There will come a day we catch that stinky thief, then we will really pee on his body."


    Kangxi sat down on the stone steps again. They heard sound of footsteps outside; although nobody said anything, it was obvious that there were quite a number of people gathering outside. Wei Xiaobao said, "It looks like they have caught all those evil lamas. Your Majesty really have flood of good fortune filling the heavens; it was so fortunate that you have arrived just in time to catch all those evil lamas in one net."


    "Actually, that was not luck," Kangxi said, "As soon as I received your secret report, I sent people to investigate. After I found out, I rushed here, but actually I was one step too late, so that those evil lamas have alarmed the holy sage. If not for your quick-wit, I will regret it for the rest of my life, and won''t escape from guilt."


    Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "But your servant has never sent you any secret report," he said.


    Kangxi said, "When I sent the Imperial Bodyguards to Shaolin Temple to deliver the imperial edict, they said that they saw a Mongolian prince, several lamas, and several military officers; is that right?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi said, "You instructed them to investigate in secret, what were they up to, and what was their power. Under investigation, they found out that the Mongolian prince was called Galdan. The military officer was Ma Bao, a commander under that servant Wu Sangui. They were conspiring with the lamas in rebellious scheme, something that would not be good to Fu Huang."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh, "So that''s what happened!" he exclaimed, "Your servant saw that they were sneaky, definitely not good people, I did not know they are Wu Sangui''s people." Actually, he had known about those people''s name and background, the reason he wanted Zhao Qixian and the others to investigate was to track down the girl in green, while bringing false charge against Wu Sangui. He did not think that it would lead the young emperor to catch up to Mount Wutai.


    Kangxi said, "Later on those three groups went their separate ways. Imperial Bodyguard Zhang Kangnian followed the lamas. He heard that they were assembling a large group of manpower; they were going to Mount Wutai to kidnap an important person. He did not realize the significance of this matter. After following them for several more days, he returned to the Capital and presented a memorial to me. As soon as I heard it, how could I not be anxious? I wanted to set off at once; but when the Emperor leaves the Capital, there are so many formalities and rites that have to be performed. Although I issued an imperial decree to have everything conforms to simplicity, I was still one day late."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That rebellious thief Wu Sangui is so brazen, he dares to dispatch several thousand lamas to come and offend the Old Emperor. That �� won''t that be blatant rebellion?"


    Kangxi sucked his breath. "Not too loud!" he hissed, "I only know that his officer was travelling together with those lamas. Whether he is rebelling or not, we can''t say for sure for the time being."


    "I am sure he is, I am sure he is!" Wei Xiaobao said, "If he was a good person, how could he send a general under his command to conspire with those evil lamas to secretly bring harm to the Old Emperor?"


    "He is definitely not a good person," Kangxi said. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly said, "It''s just that I am still too young, in deploying troops and fighting a battle, I am not his match. It would be best for us to wait several more years, wait till I grow up some more, and he grows older some more. When we fight that time, I am sure that victory will be within our grasp. Xiao Guizi, you need not be impatient, waiting one day longer will give us one day more advantage, while at the same time will give him one day more harm."


    Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "What if he grows old and die? Won''t that be too easy for him?"


    Kangxi smiled. "Then that is his luck," he said. After a short pause he continued, "Just now Fu Huang admonished me: it would be best if I can not resort to arms and go to war; once we go to battle, it does not matter the outcome, soldiers will be dead and injured, that need not be mentioned, but the common people in all the world will suffer countless suffering. For that reason, if Wu Sangui died early and did not wait for me to take action against him, although it won''t be fun ��"


    While he paused for a moment, Wei Xiaobao interjected, "It''s definitely not fun at all."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "As far as common people and soldiers are concerned, war is not a good thing. Xiao Guizi, if you want something fun, I can take you to Liaodong (Peninsula) to hunt black bears, hunt tigers."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he called out.


    Kangxi turned his gaze to the meditation room''s door and quietly said, "When I was six, Fu Huang took me to go hunting at Liaodong. And now ��" Slowly he walked toward the door. His hand gently stroked the wooden door, while his throat choked and his eyes moist. After a while, he kneeled down and did obeisance several times, while saying in a low voice, "Fu Huang, take a good care of yourself, Child''s leaving." Wei Xiaobao also kneeled down and kowtowed.


    Kangxi went to the Hall of Great Strength. Prince Kang, along with prominent military leaders such as Valiant Cavalry Commander Chalju, Imperial Bodyguards Chief Dolong, several top ranking officers who accompanied the Emperor such as Songgotu, the Vanguard Regiment Commander, the Personal Guard Commander, and the others, have been waiting in the hall. Seeing the Emperor''s arrival, they all kneeled down to pay their respect. When the officers stood up, they took a furtive glance and noticed that the young emperor''s eyes were red, obviously he had been crying; they were all surprised.


    Although the Emperor was young, he had outstanding knowledge and experience, he had demonstrated wise judgment in handling matters; the court official''s reverence to him was growing day by day, nobody dared to belittle him due to his age. Unexpectedly the young Emperor could cry; it was indeed an unusual happening. They also noticed the tearstains on Wei Xiaobao''s face, and thought, "This kid Wei Xiaobao must have teased the Emperor to tears. Two youngsters, I don''t know what kind of games they are playing."


    Kangxi tightly concealed the fact that Shunzhi has left home on Mount Wutai, even the closest family member, his own little sister Princess Jianning was not aware, naturally the court officials were in the dark even more.


    Prince Kang stepped forward to present a memorial, "Submitting a report to Your Majesty: We found several thousand lamas creating havoc and disturbing peace outside the Qingliang Temple with unknown reason. Right now all of them have been captured and been brought here, awaiting the imperial decree on how to deal with them."


    Kangxi nodded. "Get the leader and bring him here," he said.


    Chalju dragged three old lamas, they were all shackled and handcuffed. The three lamas did not know that Kangxi was the ruling Emperor, they maintained their obstinate behavior and mumbled and grunted incessantly. Kangxi suddenly also mumbled and grunted. The officers were stunned; nobody expected that the Emperor could speak Tibetan. Actually, these lamas were Mongolian lamas, they did not come from Tibet at all. Kangxi was talking with them in Mongolians.


    After talking for a while, the three lamas bowed their heads without saying anything; apparently they have surrendered. Kangxi said, "Take them to the side room, Zhen will investigate them confidentially."


    "Yes," Dolong replied, and have the three of them brought to the scripture room [library] next to the main hall.


    Kangxi beckoned to Wei Xiaobao, the two of them also entered the scripture room. Wei Xiaobao closed the door. Pulling his dagger, he continuously waved it in front of the lamas'' eyes, throats, noses and ears. Kangxi spoke several sentences loudly in Mongolian. Respectfully and submissively the oldest lama answered his questions one by one. The two of them were exchanging questions and answers for quite a while. As soon as Wei Xiaobao noticed that Kangxi raised his voice and had an angry look on his face, he drew his dagger threateningly. When he saw Kangxi''s expression turned gentle, he giggled while standing by the lama''s side, nodding his head in encouragement.


    Kangxi''s interrogation lasted for more than an hour. Finally he ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to take the lamas away, and told Wei Xiaobao to close the door. "This is strange," he muttered to himself.


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to interrupt his train of thought, he simply stood on the side without saying anything. Kangxi pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Xiao Guizi, how many people are aware that Fu Huang has left home and become a monk in here?"


    "Other than Your Majesty and your servant," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Those who know this matter include the Old Emperor''s Shifu, Yulin Dashi, and his Shidi Xing Dian Dashi. There was also a eunuch, Hai Dafu, but he is dead. The former head monk of Qingliang Temple, Cheng Guang Dashi, did not seem to know the details, he only knew that the Old Emperor was a person of great background. Apart from these people, there is that old �� old �� that Empress Dowager."


    Kangxi nodded, "That''s right," he said, "Those who know this matter, in this world, including Fu Huang himself, and the two of us, are not more than six people. But when I interrogated that Mongolian lama just now, he said that they received the order of the Living Buddha, Dalai Lama of Lhasa, Tibet, to go to Qingliang Temple to invite a monk and take him to Tibet. I interrogate him in details, which monk in Qingliang Temple, what kind of person he is, why did the Living Buddha of Lhasa want to invite him? I repeatedly asked the questions, he definitely does not know. Finally he said that it seems that this monk understands a lot of tantra''s religious chant and incantation, the Living Buddha wishes for him to teach these secret incantation, to help spreading the Dharma. Naturally it was all rubbish; but looking at his expression, I don''t think he was lying. Most likely other people are deceiving him, yet he believes it was the truth."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Whether that Tibetan Living Buddha knew the Old Emperor''s real identity, it is difficult to know at this moment, but the person who instigated the Living Buddha to come and offend the Old Emperor, I am afraid �� I am afraid he knew the inside information."


    Kangxi nodded. Suddenly Wei Xiaobao was scared; he said, "Your Majesty, your servant will keep my mouth as tight as a �� as something. I know this matter is of grave importance; even in my dream I won''t divulge half a word."


    "You won''t say anything," Kangxi said, "I trust you completely. Naturally Yulin and Xing Dian also won''t say anything. Even if Shaolin Temple''s Abbot Hui Cong and Cheng Guang Dashi may have guessed something, they are virtuous eminent monks, they can''t possibly reveal it to anybody. After thinking it over, there is only that �� that old �� old s1ut."


    "Right! Right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Must be that old �� old ��"


    Kangxi muttered to himself, "She is concealing a man who dressed as a palace maid in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful; indeed I have seen it with my own eyes. It''s only natural that she is afraid her secret would be revealed. She murdered Empress Duan Jing, Fu Huang hates her to the bones. Although Fu Huang has already left home, he still sent Hai Dafu back to the Palace to investigate this matter. You knew all the details, and you are always by my side. Humph, how could that old s1ut sleep well at night? She simply must do harm to Fu Huang. Only after conspiring to murder Fu Huang, conspiring to murder me, and killing you, will she feel safe."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The old wh0re has long had relationship with Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult]. Since she knew the Old Emperor has not died yet, she must have reported it to Hong Jiaozhu. Apparently this lamas arrival on Mount Wutai is somehow related to Hong Jiaozhu." However, he must not mention to Kangxi that he had become the White Dragon Envoy of Divine Dragon Cult.


    Kangxi saw the change in his countenance. "What is it?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Your servant thought �� thought �� Your Majesty''s speculation is not the least bit wrong, it must be that old �� the Empress Dowager who leak the secret. Other than she, there can''t be any other people."


    Kangxi stretched out his hand to slap the table heavily; gnashing his teeth, he said, "This s1ut murdered the Empress, my birth mother; she also caused Fu Huang to leave home, rendering me without a father or a mother. I �� if I don''t make mincemeat of this s1ut, it will be difficult for me to purge the hatred in my heart; but �� but Fu Huang clearly told me not to make things difficult for her. What should I do?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The Old Emperor does not allow you to kill the old wh0re, but he did not tell me not to. Even if he told me not to kill her, laozi is his Abbot, he is obligated to follow my order, I don''t have to listen to his order. However, if this matter is exposed, it may not be effective."


    "Your Majesty do not need to worry," he said, "This Empress Dowager has committed all kinds of evil, she won''t have a good end. Your Majesty may open your dragon eyes wide, open your dragon ears, you''ll just wait and see."


    Kangxi was very keen; he had already understood his meaning, he fixed his eyes on him for half a day, finally he nodded and said, "That''s right, that s1ut has committed all kinds of evil, she won''t have a good end."


    He paced back and forth in the scripture room. "Right now we must find a way to prevent the lamas from offending Fu Huang again," he said, "It would be best if we can send a trustworthy man to be the Tibetan Living Buddha. All the lamas throughout the world will be under his management, then there won''t be any future danger. It''s just that Tibetan Living Buddha is always the reincarnation of the previous one, I am afraid the one the Emperor sends won''t work. There must be a way ��"


    Listening to this, Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul flew away and scattered; he mused, "Today I dressed up as a young lama, I must not turn a fake into reality. As soon as the Emperor opens his golden mouth, it will be hard to take back, I must strike first." Hastily he said, "Your Majesty, your servant absolutely do not want to be a Tibetan Living Buddha."


    Kangxi burst out laughing. He said, "You are quick. Actually, what''s not good about being a Tibetan Living Buddha? His jurisdiction is a lot wider than Wu Sangui''s Yunnan; being a Living Buddha means becoming the king of Tibet."


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly shook his hand, he said, "I''d rather be an imperial bodyguard by your side. Once I become the Living Buddha, it will be hard for me to be with you. I don''t care if it is King of Xizang [Tibet, xi - west] or King of Dongzang [East Zang], even King of Dizang


    [45], I don''t want to be one."


    He was not lying. He had been with Kangxi for a long time, they were almost of the same age, they got along with each other well; although one was the young emperor, the other was a young imperial bodyguard, they were like best friends. Neither one was willing to be separated from each other.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "How can you make such a irresponsible remark about the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva''s name?" Shoving the door open, he walked out, and said to Chalju and Dolong, "The two of you have handled this matter well, Zhen wants to reward you."


    Chalju and Dolong were greatly delighted; they kowtowed to express their gratitude. Kangxi said, "Zhen respect and believe the Dharma. Sure enough, these last several years by the will of the Heaven and the blessing of the Bodhisattva, the country is safe and sound, the common people have peace and happiness. Wei Xiaobao is here as Zhen''s proxy, becoming a monk on my behalf, and has rendered a great merit." Wei Xiaobao also kowtowed to express his gratitude.


    Kangxi continued, "Now Wei Xiaobao''s time to be my proxy has been fulfilled, he will follow me returning to Beijing. It is Chalju''s turn to leave home for two years, but you won''t be a monk, rather, you will be the Great Lama of Mount Wutai. You may select 1000 competent officers and sergeants of Valiant Cavalry to be lamas with you, to be stationed on the ten major lama monasteries on the mountain. During your time leaving your homes, everybody''s pay will be doubled, and all of you will be generously rewarded."


    Chalju was startled; although he was not actually willing, he had no choice but thanking the Emperor for the kindness shown. Kangxi said, "If you are doing a good deed but announce it to the world, it won''t be really a good deed. You must tell everybody to guard his mouth like a closed bottle in this matter, no one is to reveal the secret, otherwise he will be dealt with according to the martial law, there won''t be any excuse. Dolong is to bring all Mount Wutai''s lamas back to the Capital, and have them locked up in detention. Send people to inform the Dalai Lama Living Buddha that the Emperor is inviting these lamas to Beijing to promote the Dharma, to make clear the mystery of the Buddhist doctrines. After seventy, eighty years, when the Dharma is flourishing, they will be sent back to Tibet." For each sentence he said, Chalju and Dolong responded one time.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "Laozi escapes the will of Heaven, henceforth I don''t have to be a monk anymore." He also thought, "After seventy, eighty years, will these lamas still alive to return home? They brazenly offended the Old Emperor, His Majesty is being magnanimous by not chopping their heads. Imprisoned for life is a great convenience for them."


    Kangxi continued, "Wei Xiaobao, I promote you to be the Commander [du tong] of the Valiant Cavalry Regiment of the Yellow Banner, while concurrently holding your present Deputy Chief [fu zongguan] position of the Imperial Bodyguards. Chalju, if you are performing your duty as the Great Lama well, when you return to the Capital, I will send you to another province to be the provincial governor." The two of them expressed their gratitude.


    Wei Xiaobao did not care much; for him, being the commander or vice commander did not have any difference. On the other hand, Chalju was very happy; in Beijing, high-ranking officials were extremely numerous, it''s just that Valiant Cavalry Regiment Commanders were the Emperor''s trusted aide. He was only one Valiant Cavalry Regiment Commander; each one of the eight banners had one commander, a total of eight Valiant Cavalry Regiment Commanders. When they see the royal princes, the royal princes'' children, the dukes and marquis


    [46], he must bend his knees and pay respects. Other than his soldier''s pay, there was no extra income. If he was to be sent to other provinces and become the provincial governor, not only his prestige and authority would spread to eight directions, his financial resources would also increase tremendously.


    In the meantime, it was daybreak. Kangxi give his order that he wanted to go to the Qingliang Temple to worship Buddha. When they reach the outside of the Temple, they saw sabers and spears scattered around, the grass and rocks were red with bloodstain. It was clear that the capture of lamas the previous night involved an intense battle; obviously they were fighting fiercely. Kangxi entered the Temple to worship the Tathagata and the Manjushri [orig. ''ru lai'' and ''wen shu pu sa''], before he went to the back of the mountain to visit the small vihara where Shunzhi sat in meditation. He saw charred wood and ruined bricks, the vihara had been burnt to the ground.


    Kangxi was secretly scared, "If Fu Huang did not escape last night, he would be burned inside the temple. I �� I ��" He did not dare to continue his thought. He ordered Songgotu to donate two thousand taels of silver to reconstruct the vihara. He knew his father would not want to have this matter publicized; therefore, he did not dare to casually donate too much.


    Returning to the Hall of Great Strength, the Shaolin monks came to see him. They saw this young benefactor had a lot of attendants, he carried an imposing aura around him; they thought he must be a person of great importance, perhaps he was one of the royal princes [qin wang bei lei]. Athough the monks did not curry favor with powerful people, they acknowledge the fact that this benefactor donated a large sum of money to reconstruct the small vihara, so they put their palms together to express their thanks. Cheng Tong and the others could also see that among those attendants disguised as pilgrims, there were quite a few who knew martial art.


    Upon seeing the place where his father has left home, Kangxi was unwilling to leave so soon; he said, "I want to stay at your precious monastery for three, five days; I wonder if it is possible?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Da Shizhu [great benefactor] graces us with your presence, it is something that we seek but fail to get ��"


    Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound, dust and dirt fell down, a hole appeared on the ceiling of the Hall of Great Strength. A white shadow flashed, a white object dropped down from the roof; it was a monk wearing white robe, with a long sword in his hand, which was thrust swiftly toward Kangxi. "Today I am taking revenge for the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming!" the monk called out.


    Kangxi hastily retreated. Because they were in the presence of the Emperor, Dolong, Chalju, Prince Kang, and the others did not carry any weapon. Greatly alarmed, they pounced on the monk. The monk swiftly flicked the left sleeve of his robe, a strong gust of wind swept Dolong and the others, seven, eight men, so that they could not hold their ground and were thrown down backward.


    Cheng Xin, Cheng Guang and the others shouted together, "Must not harm people!" and moved to stop the monk.


    The monk''s sleeve brushed away again. Each one of Shaolin Temple''s ''Cheng'' generation monks used his own unique skill to parry, but these monks'' tiger claw, dragon claw, ''picking flower qin na'' [grab and capture], ''capturing dragon'' skill, and so on failed to seize the monk. The Shaolin monks were surprised, they all thought, "Unexpectedly there is such person in this world!"


    The white-robed monk did not stop, his sword went straight toward Kangxi. Kangxi had his back against the sacrificial table in front of the image of Buddha, he could not retreat further.


    Wei Xiaobao hastily leaped forward to block in front of Kangxi''s body. ''Stab!'' the tip of the sword pierced his chest. The long sword bent, but unexpectedly it failed to enter Wei Xiaobao''s body. Wei Xiaobao felt severe pain on his chest. He had already had the dagger in his hand; by waving it randomly he managed cut the enemy''s sword into two pieces.


    The monk in white was stunned. Cheng Guan called out, "Don''t hurt my Shishu!" His left palm flew toward the monk in white''s right shoulder. The monk in white threw his broken sword and turned around to meet Cheng Guan''s palm head on. Cheng Guan felt his blood bubbling up in his chest, while stars appeared in his eyes.


    "Good skill!" the monk in white praised. Seeing that he was surrounded by martial art masters, while just a moment ago his sword failed to stab the little monk''s body, he was greatly shocked. No longer dare to prolong the fight, he stretched out his right hand to grab the back of Wei Xiaobao''s collar, and suddenly his body flew up, he escaped via the hole on the roof of the hall.


    This turn of events happened so quickly that although there were thirty-six Shaolin masters in the hall, unexpectedly nobody had enough time to stop him. Cheng Xin, Cheng Guang, and the others hurriedly follow the monk through the hole on the roof. They saw the white shadow flashing at the back of the mountain, the monk was already more than a dozen of zhang away. This person''s qing gong [lightness skill] was amazing, it was indeed unbelievable.


    The Shaolin monks realized they would not be able to catch up, but their Temple''s abbot was being kidnapped, although they could not catch up with him, they still had to run after him. Shouting loudly, the thirty-six monks ran to give chase. In the blink of an eye the white shadow disappeared behind a dip on the mountain path.

 Chapter - 25 (25)

    The crow flew over old exiled Emperor''s child, the horse stored the red powder of weeping palace beauty


    [47].


    Wei Xiaobao was being carried while they were travelling swiftly; he felt as if they were soaring in the clouds or riding on the fog, the big trees swept pass his sides. He felt that they were climbing the mountain higher and higher, his heart was filled with unspeakable fear, "This bald thief failed to kill me with a stab of his sword, he must be quite upset. Now he wants to use different method, he want to see if by throwing me down from a ten thousand zhang high peak, I, this little bald thief, will die or not." Sure enough, the monk in white suddenly released his grip and throw Wei Xiaobao down.


    Wei Xiaobao screamed, but very soon his back touched the ground; it turned out that he was just being tossed to the ground. The monk in white looked at him coldly and said, "I heard Shaolin Pai has a divine skill to protect the body, so that saber and spear cannot penetrate. I did not expect a little monk like you have also mastered it."


    Wei Xiaobao heard that person''s voice to be clear and bright, carrying thirty percent gentleness and charms; he was rather astonished. When he looked up at the person''s face, he saw a snow-white melon-seed face, with curved eyebrows, and phoenix-like eyes filled with worry. Unexpectedly she was an extremely beautiful woman, roughly thirty years of age. Only her hair was shaved clean, with the incense-stick scar on her head; turned out she was a Buddhist nun. Wei Xiaobao was delighted, "Talking to nuns is always better than talking to monks," he mused.


    Hastily he wanted to sit up, but the pit of his stomach was very painful. Actually, when she stabbed him a moment ago, although the treasured clothes protected his body, so that the sword did not harm his skin and flesh, her internal power was too strong that he felt severe pain. "Aiyo!" he cried out and collapsed again.


    The nun coldly said, "I thought there must be something amazing with Shaolin''s divine skill; turns out it is only like this."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me be honest to Shitai


    [48], from those thirty-six Shaolin monks in the Hall of Great Strength of Qingliang Temple, one was the Head of Damo Courtyard, one was the Head of Bo''re Hall �� aiyo �� aiyo �� even the Shaolin Pai''s renowned Eighteen Luohan were there; each one was Shaolin Pai''s first class martial art master. Yet all thirty-six men were not your match, one Shitai, alone �� aiyo ��"


    After a short pause, he continued, "If I had only known, I would not enter Shaolin Temple. Aiyo �� I''d rather do obeisance to you and take Shitai as my master; it would be a hundred times more superior."


    There was a hint of smile appearing on the grave and stern face of the white-clothed nun. "What''s your name?" she asked, "How long have you been training Shaolin Temple''s unique skills?"


    Wei Xiaobao pondered, "She tried to assassinate the Emperor, saying that she wanted to avenge the Great Ming''s Son of Heaven, obviously she belongs to the ''overthrowing Qing restoring Ming'' group. I just don''t know if she is a friend or a foe of Tian Di Hui; I''d better not to tell her the truth." Thereupon he said, "I am an orphan from a Yangzhou poor family, my father was killed by Tatar soldiers, from childhood I was sent to the Imperial Palace to become a little eunuch, and was called Xiao Guizi. Later on ��"


    The nun in white muttered to herself, "Little eunuch Xiao Guizi? I seem to have heard your name. There was a big treacherous official in the imperial court called Oboi; I heard he was killed by a little eunuch, who killed him?"


    Hearing the name ''Oboi'' plus the words ''big treacherous official'', Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "It was �� it was me."


    The nun in white was half believing, half doubting; she asked, "It was really you? That Oboi''s martial art skill was very high; he had the reputation as the Number One Warrior of Manchuria. How did you kill him?"


    Wei Xiaobao slowly sat up and narrated how they captured Oboi, how the young emperor gave the order to attack, how Wei Xiaobao unexpectedly managed to stab Oboi with a knife, how he scattered the incense ashes into Oboi''s eyes, and how afterwards he stabbed Oboi''s back in the prison. By this time Wei Xiaobao had already told this story many times, each time he retold the story, he always added a little bit more oil, salt, soybean sauce, vinegar and other spices.


    The nun in white listened quietly until he finished. Finally she sighed and muttered to herself, "If it happened like that, those widows of the Zhuang family must really thank you."


    Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, "Did you, Senior, talk about the Zhuang family''s Third Madame? She has already thanked me, and even gave me a servant girl by the name of Shuang''er. By this time she must have already died, she ��"


    The nun in white cut him off, "How did you know the people from Zhuang family?"


    Wei Xiaobao told her the truth. Finally he said, "If you, Senior, do not believe me, you may ask Shuang''er."


    The nun in white said, "You know the Third Madame and Shuang''er; that''s enough. How did you become a monk?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that the matter of the Old Emperor left his home must be concealed; he said, "The Young Emperor sent me to be his proxy to become a monk at Shaolin Temple, and later on he sent me to Qingliang Temple. Shaolin Pai''s martial art that I learned was really very few. In fact, even if I trained for several decades, and have mastered those Wei Tuo Palm, Bo''re Palm, Picking Flower Qin Na, and so on, it won''t be of any use in front of you, Senior."


    Suddenly the nun in white''s countenance sank; she sternly said, "You are a Han, why acknowledge the bandit as your father, risking your life to protect the Emperor? You were indeed born with a slave mentality!"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned cold; this accusation was really not easy to respond. When the nun in white assassinated Kangxi, in a moment of desperation he thrust himself in front of Kangxi to shield him. In all honesty, he did not have any thought of flattering the Emperor; he was only thinking that Kangxi was the only person closest to him in this world, he was like a real brother to him, no matter what, he would never let anybody kill Kangxi.


    The nun in white coldly said, "Manchurian Tatars came to take away our Great Ming''s world, that may not be considered bad; what''s really bad is Han people who ''act as accomplice to the tiger'', those who for the sake of seeking their own glory, splendor, wealth and rank, they would do anything." While saying that, her eyes shot a piercing gaze on Wei Xiaobao''s face. She said slowly, "I''ll throw you down from this mountain peak. I want to know if your ''protecting body'' divine skill can still be used or not?"


    "Of course it can''t be used," Wei Xiaobao loudly said, "Actually, you don''t even have to throw me down the mountain, you only need to lightly strike the top of my head with your palm, my skull will immediately shatter into seventeen, eighteen pieces."


    The nun in white said, "Then you were fawning on the Tatar Emperor, what good will it do to you?"


    "I was not fawning on him," Wei Xiaobao loudly replied, "The Young Emperor is my friend. He �� he said that he will never raise taxes, that he will cherish the common people. We, Jianghu people, attach most importance to yi qi, we must also cherish the common people." Actually, toward Kangxi he indeed have yi qi, but ''cherishing the common people'', even in his dream he had never thought about it. Right now facing the matter of life and death, he had no choice but to lift up high his hat to defend himself.


    There was a flash of hesitation on the nun in white''s face; she asked, "He said never to raise taxes and cherish the common people?"


    "That''s right, that''s right," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "I don''t know how many hundred times he said that. He said that when the Tatar Emperor entered the pass, he massacred the common people, which he never should have done. Those ''Yangzhou''s Ten Days'', ''Jiading Three Gamblings'', were practically things that are done by beast. In his heart he is restless; therefore �� therefore he came to Mount Wutai to burn incense and worship Buddha, he will also issue an imperial decree to exempt Yangzhou and Jiading three years of taxes." The nun in white nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "That treacherous court official Oboi killed so many loyal and good subjects, the Young Emperor ordered him to stop doing that, he refused flatly. The Young Emperor was enraged, he ordered me to kill him. Good Shitai, if you killed the Young Emperor, the affairs of the imperial court will be taken over by the Empress Dowager. This old wh0re is desperately worse, if she came into power, she would do another ''Yangzhou''s Ten Days'' or ''Jiading Three Gamblings''. If you want to kill the Tatars, it would be better if you go and kill that old wh0re the Empress Dowager."


    The nun in white shot a glaring look at him; she said, "In front of me, you must not speak any vulgar rude words."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "In front of you, Senior, in the next seventy, eighty years I will not mention even half a word of vulgar talk."


    The nun in white looked up to the white clouds in the sky, ignoring him completely; after a while, she asked, "What''s not good about the Empress Dowager?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The bad things that the Empress Dowager did have nothing to do with this Shitai, I must fabricate some wild accusation and heap it on her head." He said, "The Empress Dowager said that this is the Great Qing''s world, she wanted to dig the Great Ming''s seventeen, eighteen generations of emperors'' grave, to see if there is any treasures in those graves. She also said that all Han people in the world with the surname of Zhu are no good, they should be executed along with their families unto the third generation, so that they won''t snatch away the Great Qing''s rivers and mountains ��"


    The nun in white was enraged, with her right palm she slapped a rock, instantly the rock shattered, fragments of rocks flew everywhere. With a stern voice she said, "That woman is so malicious!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Isn''t she? I advised the Young Emperor that those kind of things must never be done."


    "Humph," the nun in white snorted and said, "What knowledge do you have? What argument can you give? Why would the Young Emperor listen to your advice?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My argument was very reasonable. I said, ''Your Majesty, human being will definitely die. While it is true that the world of the living belongs to you, Manchu people, do you know if Yanluo Wang [King of Hell] of the underworld is Han man or Manchu man? What about Pan Guan [mythological underworld judge], the little demon, the ox head, the horse face, the Black Wuchang [ghost taking away soul after death], White Wuchang? Are they Han people or Manchu people? Each one of them is a Han. In the world of the living you oppress Han people, even if you live to a hundred years, there will come a day you will have to face the calamity.'' The Young Emperor said, ''Xiao Guizi, how fortunate that you reminded me.'' As a result, the Young Emperor did not want to listen to a word the Empress Dowager was saying. On the contrary, he said that he would grant some money to restore the graves of the Great Ming''s emperors, from Hongwu Yeye [grandfather] all the way to Emperor Chong Zhen. Ah right, there were some Fu Wang, Lu Wang, Tang Wang, Gui Wang [each ''wang'' means ''king''], which I am not clear how many emperors in total."


    Suddenly the nun in white''s eyes reddened, and tears started to fall down, drops of tears rolled down from her robe to the grass. After quite a while, she stretched out her sleeve to wipe the tears; she said, "If it is really so, not only you are not disloyal, you have rendered great merit. If my �� if the grave of my Great Ming''s previous dynasty''s emperors were dug by this �� this evil woman ��" Speaking to here, her voice turned into sobs, she was unable to continue. She stood up and walked toward an overhanging cliff.


    "Shitai," Wei Xiaobao called out, "You �� must not �� must not be shortsighted." While shouting that, he rushed to pull her left arm. In this short period of time, he had developed a favorable impression toward this beautiful Buddhist nun; he felt that she was simple yet beautiful, lofty and elegant, refined and amiable; from among the women he had met in his life, no one could surpass her. As soon as he pulled, he felt that the sleeve was empty; only now did he realize that she did not have a left arm.


    The nun in white turned her head around and said, "You are fooling around! Why would I be shortsighted?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I saw how grieved you were, I was afraid you were not able to take a lighter view."


    The nun in white said, "If I committed suicide, you would return to the Emperor, henceforth you will be very rich; won''t that be better?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "No, no! I am a little eunuch, I was compelled by circumstances, the Tatars killed my papa, how can I acknowledge bandit as �� as my father?"


    The nun in white nodded; she said, "You still have conscience." From her pocket she took more than ten taels and gave it to him, saying, "Use it as your travel expense, go back to Yangzhou, to your native place."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "When I give money to others, if not two hundred taels, I would give at least a hundred taels, how can I be happy with your little bit of money? This Shitai''s heart is soft, I might as well exploit her goodness." Without accepting the money, he suddenly fell to his knees and embraced her legs, while crying loudly.


    The nun in white knitted her brows and said, "What are you doing? Stand up, stand up."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I don''t want money."


    The nun in white said, "Then why are you crying?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have no father no mother, I never have anybody loving me. Shitai, you �� you are like my mother. I often think that �� that how nice would it be to have a mother who loves me dearly."


    The nun in white blushed, "Pei!" she spat softly and said, "Rubbish! I have left home ��"


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said. He stood up with tearstains across his face. Crying at will was one of his consummate skills.


    The nun in white hesitantly said, "I need to go to Beijing anyway, in that case I''ll take you along. But you are a little monk ��"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Returning to Beijing? Nothing can be better than that." Thereupon he hastily said, "I am a fake little monk. As soon as we are down the mountain, I''ll change clothes, then I won''t be little monk anymore."


    The nun in white nodded. Still not saying anything, she simply walked down the mountain peak with Wei Xiaobao following behind her. When they came across steep path, which was hard to pass, the nun in white grabbed his collar and lightly and nimbly jumped down. Wei Xiaobao praised her endlessly, saying that although Shaolin Pai''s martial art was well known throughout the world, it was not even close to hers. The nun in white simply turned a deaf ear, until Wei Xiaobao spoke seven, eight times, she said, "Shaolin Pai''s martial art has its own origin, little child is like a frog at the bottom of a well, you must not talk an idle talk. Just your divine skill of protecting your body, so that saber and spear cannot penetrate, I don''t have that kind of skill."


    On an impulse Wei Xiaobao said, "The divine skill of protecting my body is fake." Untying his outer garment, he revealed his vest and said, "This is the vest that cannot be penetrated by saber and spear."


    The nun in white reached out to pull, while sending her strength to the tip of her finger. This pull was very powerful that even steel wire would be pulled apart, but unexpectedly the vest did not move the slightest bit. She smiled and said, "So that''s how it is. I was feeling strange, even if Shaolin internal energy is indeed marvelous, based on your young age, you would not have trained it to this level of maturity."


    Now that one suspicion in her heart was resolved, she was very happy. She laughed and said, "Child, you are indeed an honest person."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused; in all his life, it was the first time somebody ever praised him to be honest, it was indeed rare. He said, "I am not that honest to anybody else, but I don''t know why, I just want to be honest to Shitai. Most likely because I consider you to be my �� my mama ��"


    The nun in white said, "Later on you must not say those things, it is very unpleasant to hear."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, while in his heart he said, "You stabbed me on my chest, it is still very painful. I called you ''mama'' several times, now we are even." When he called someone ''mama'', he was actually cursing that person as a prostitute. While he was feeling smug, he cast a glance toward the nun in white, and saw her lofty and magnificent aura, which he could not help but to revere; he felt quite regretful that he had called her ''mama'' several times.


    He stole a glance toward the nun in white again, and saw her eyes were brimming with tears, as if she was about to cry; he felt quite strange. Naturally he did not know that at the moment the nun in white was thinking, "I should have thought about that vest. Didn''t he �� he also have something like that?"


    The nun in white and Wei Xiaobao went down the mountain from the north side, heading eastwards. They arrived at a small town, Wei Xiaobao immediately went to buy some clothes, and turned himself into a young master of a rich family. Even when he was dressed up as a lama to protect Shunzhi leaving the Qingliang Temple, naturally the several hundred thousand taels of banknotes had never left his body. Along the way he ordered the restaurant owners and innkeepers to prepare fine vegetarian cuisine. He was very attentive in attending to the nun in white. The nun in white was very particular toward the quality of the vegetarian dishes, as if she was coming from a very rich family; she was completely different from those Shaolin monks. Although she was not intentionally picky, but when the vegetarian dishes were exquisite, she would eat several chopsticks more.


    Wei Xiaobao had a lot of money, as long as certain thing was available in the market, whether it was ginseng, swallow''s nest, fu ling, white mushroom, ''money'' mushroom, no matter how expensive, he would simply buy it. When he was in charge of the imperial kitchen, whenever the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were celebrating Buddha''s birthday or Guanyin''s birthday, they would want to abstain from meat dishes and would request vegetarian dishes; therefore, he was quite an expert in selecting vegetarian dishes. Sometimes the restaurant''s chef did not know how to prepare certain dishes, he would then go to the kitchen to give directions. As a result, the dishes were seventy, eighty percent similar to those of the imperial kitchen.


    The nun in white was habitually quiet; often times she did not speak a single word all day. Wei Xiaobao showed her utmost respect, he did not dare to talk nonsense at all. One day they arrived in Beijing. Wei Xiaobao looked for a large inn. As soon as he entered, he gave a ten taels tip. Although the innkeeper thought that for a nun to stay in an inn was somewhat too lofty, but this rich young master was very liberal with money, hence he gave a very attentive reception. The nun in white seemed to regard everything as it should be, she never questioned anything.


    After lunch, the nun in white said, "I want to go to the Coal Hill."


    "Coal Hill?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "That is the place where Emperor Chongzhen returned to Heaven. We must kowtow several times there."


    Coal Hill was located next to the Imperial Palace, they were able to reach it in a very short period of time. Arrived at the hill, Wei Xiaobao pointed his finger at a big tree and said, "Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on that tree."


    The nun in white reached out to caress the tree, her arm did not stop trembling, tears streamed down her face, suddenly she cried out and dropped on her knees.


    Seeing her deep grief, Wei Xiaobao wondered, "Could it be that she knew Emperor Chongzhen?" His heart was moved, "Is it possible that she is just like Tao Gugu, a palace maid in Imperial Palace of the Great Ming? Perhaps she was Emperor Chongzhen''s imperial concubine. No, her age is not right, she looks younger than the old wh0re, she can''t be Emperor Chongzhen''s imperial concubine."


    He heard her cry was extremely sorrowful that she nearly could not breathe; he could not help but shedding some tears as well. He dropped on his knees and kowtowed to the tree several times.


    The nun in white wept in sorrow for a long time. Finally she stood up to embrace the tree trunk. Suddenly her entire body trembled and she lost her consciousness, her body slowly slid down. Wei Xiaobao was shocked; hastily he held her up and called out, "Shitai, Shitai, wake up quickly!"


    After quite a while, the nun in white slowly regained her consciousness. After calming herself down, she said, "Let''s go to the Imperial Palace to take a look."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s go back to the inn first. I''ll fix a eunuch uniform for me, Shitai also needs to change, I''ll take you into the Palace."


    The nun in white angrily said, "How can I wear Tatars'' eunuch uniform?"


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case �� in that case �� I got it, Shitai can be a lama. There are usually a lot of lamas going in and out of the Palace."


    "I don''t want to dress as a lama either," the nun in white said, "I''ll just rush into the Palace like this, who can stop me?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even those Imperial Bodyguards are not able to stop Shitai. It''s just that �� by doing this inevitably you will have to abandon the Buddhist monastic disciple against taking life. Shitai will be preoccupied with killing people, you won''t be able to quietly look at other things." He was really unwilling to follow the nun in white breaking into the Palace just like that.


    The nun in white nodded. "You are right," she said, "Tonight I will take advantage of the darkness to break into the Palace. You wait for me in the inn, so that you won''t meet any danger."


    "No, no," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am coming with you. If you enter the Palace alone, I won''t feel at ease. I am very familiar with the Palace like my own home; I know the places, I know the people. Whichever place you want to go, I can take you there." The nun in white did not answer; she only stared blankly.


    By the second watch that night [around 9-11pm], the nun in white and Wei Xiaobao left the inn and went to the Palace''s wall. Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us circle to the northeast corner, the Palace wall on that side is rather low; that is where the sula and odd jobs workers live, no imperial bodyguards ever patrol there."


    Following his direction, the nun in white went to the thirteenth row on the north side; grabbing the back of Wei Xiaobao''s waist, she lightly leaped into the Palace. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "This side is the Le Shou [lit. happy and long life] Hall and Yang Xing [mental/spiritual cultivation] Palace. Shitai, which place do you want to see?"


    The nun in white muttered softly, "I want to see everything."


    Going west from Le Shou Hall and Yang Xing Palace, winding around a long corridor, passing the Xuan Qiong Bao Dian [black/mysterious dome throne hall], the Jing Yang Gong [bright yang/positive Palace], Zhong Cui Gong [pure bell palace], they finally arrived at the imperial garden. Although it was dark, the nun in white was still walking very fast; winding and turning around the pathways, she did not have the slightest degree of hesitation. Whenever they came across the Imperial Bodyguards or the night watchmen on patrol, she simply hid behind a building''s corner or behind the bushes.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly amazed, "How can she be this familiar with the Palace situation? She must have lived in the Palace before." Following her going over the imperial garden, they continued westward, going out of Kun Ning Gate, and arrived outside the Kun Ning


    [49] Palace.


    The nun in white hesitated. "Doesn''t the Empress live here?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Emperor is not married yet, there is no Empress. Previously the Empress Dowager lived here, but now she moved to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful [Ci Ning]. Presently the Kun Ning Palace is unoccupied."


    "Let''s take a look," the nun in white said. Arriving just outside the Kun Ning Palace, she stretched out her hand to push the window frame. Exerting a little bit of strength, with a soft ''chi, chi'' noise, the window latch broke easily. She pulled the window open and leaped inside. Wei Xiaobao crawled in to follow.


    Kun Ning Palace was the Empress'' personal quarter, Wei Xiaobao had never been there before. The Palace had been unoccupied for a long time, the smell of dust and mold assaulted their nostrils. Under the soft glimmer of the moonlight through the paper on the window, Wei Xiaobao vaguely saw the nun in white was sitting on the edge of the bed, without moving at all. After a while, he heard the dripping noise as her tears flowed onto the front piece of her robe. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Right, she is just like Tao Gugu; she must be a maid in the Palace who was serving the previous dynasty''s empress."


    He saw she was looking up at the beam of the roof. "Empress Zhou had �� had killed herself in here," she said in a low voice.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. The doubt in his heart was gone; he asked in a low voice, "Shitai, would you like to see my Gugu?"


    The nun in white was surprised. "Your Gugu?" she asked, "Who is she?"


    "My Gugu is surnamed Tao," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Her name is Tao Hongying ��"


    "Hongying?" the nun in white cried out in shock.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s right. Perhaps you know her. My Gugu was a former maid who served Princess Chang of Emperor Chongzhen."


    "Alright, alright," the nun in white said, "Where is she? Quickly �� quickly call her to see me." All along she had been cool and collected, ever since that day when she tried to assassinate Kangxi at the Qingliang Temple, even though she moved very fast, she had never lost her calm. But this time her voice unexpectedly appeared to be very anxious.


    "I can''t call her tonight," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Why? Why?" the nun in white asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My Gugu is very loyal to the Great Ming, one time she assassinated the Tatars'' Empress Dowager, unfortunately she did not die, hence she has to hide in the Palace. She will have to see my secret signal first, and then we can meet the next night."


    "Very good," the nun in white said, "That girl Hongying has guts. What secret signal you have to make?"


    "My Gugu and I have arranged it well," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will have to make a pile of rock in the burning ground, and stick a piece of wood on it. She will know."


    The nun in white said, "Let us go make the secret signal then." Leaping out the window, she pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand, went out the Long Fu [grand happiness] Gate, passed Yong Shou [eternal long life] Palace, Ti Yuan [Primary Form] Court, Bao Hua [defending China] Court, and continued northward to the Burning Ground. Wei Xiaobao picked up a piece of wood charcoal and drew a sparrow on a piece of wood. He gathered some rocks and made a pile, and then stuck the piece of wood on the pile of rocks.


    "Someone''s coming!" the nun in white suddenly said.


    The Burning Ground was the place where the waste from the Palace was burned; it was very unusual that someone would come over here in the middle of the night. Wei Xiaobao pulled the nun in white''s hand and took her hiding behind a large earthen jar. They heard the intermittent sound of footsteps; somebody was hurrying over. The person stood still while scanning the area, and was slightly startled to see the wooden piece Wei Xiaobao stuck onto the pile of rocks. Immediately she came over and picked it up. As soon as the person turned around, the moonlight shone on her face. Recognizing her face, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted to see that it was indeed Tao Hongying.


    "Gugu," he called out, "I am here," and walked out from behind the earthen jar.


    Tao Hongying rushed forward to meet him; holding her arms around him, she happily said, "Good child, finally you are here. Every night I come here to take a look, hoping that I may see your face earlier.


    "Gugu," Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s someone here who wants to see you."


    Tao Hongying was slightly taken aback; releasing her embrace, she asked, "Who is it?"


    The nun in white stood up and said in a low voice, "Hongying, you �� do you still recognize me?"


    Tao Hongying did not expect there was someone else behind the earthen jar; she was startled and retreated three steps back, her right hand reached to her waist to draw a dagger. "Who �� who are you?" she asked.


    The nun in white sighed and said, "Turns out you don''t recognize me anymore."


    Tao Hongying said, "I �� I can''t see your face; you �� you are ��"


    The nun in white slightly turned her body sideways, so that the moonlight shone on half of her face. She said in low voice, "Your appearance has also changed a lot."


    With a trembling voice Tao Hongying said, "You are �� you are ��" Suddenly she threw her dagger away and called out, "Princess, is it you? I �� I ��" Throwing herself forward, she embraced the nun in white''s legs. Prostrating herself on the ground, she sobbed, "Princess, to be able to see you today, I �� even if I have to die instantly, I �� I will die happy."


    As soon as he heard the word ''Princess'', to say that Wei Xiaobao was mildly surprised was a gross understatement. But immediately he recalled the story Tao Hongying had told him: she was a palace maid serving the previous dynasty, and all along had been attending Princess Chang. When the Roaming King Li Zicheng broke into Beijing, with a sword in his hand Chongzhen wanted to kill Princess Chang, but chopped her arm instead. In that confusion Tao Hongying passed out. By the time she regained her consciousness, the Emperor and the Princess had disappeared.


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward the nun in white, thinking, "She lost an arm, and she is very familiar with the situation of the Palace, plus she wept at the Kun Ning Palace; I should have guessed it early on. She appears this noble, how could she be a palace maid? I realized it only now; I am really stupid."


    He heard the nun in white asked, "Have you always lived in the Palace these days?"


    Still sobbing, Tao Hongying replied, "Yes."


    The nun in white said, "This child says that you have assassinated the Tatars'' Empress Dowager; that''s very good. It''s just that �� that you put yourself in trouble." Speaking to this point, she could not stop the tears from streaming down her face.


    Tao Hongying said, "Princess has a ''ten-thousand gold body'', you must not stay in here. Let your servant escort you out of the Palace right away."


    The nun in white sighed and said, "I have not been a princess for a long time."


    "No, no," Tao Hongying said, "In your servant''s heart, you are a princess forever, you are my Princess Chang."


    The nun in white let out a mournful laugh. Under the moonlight, the tears on her cheek glistened, making the laughter even more dismal. She said slowly, "Does anybody live in Ning Shou [peaceful long life] Palace nowadays? I want to take a look."


    Tao Hongying said, "Ning Shou Palace �� nowadays is �� is the residence of Tatars'' Princess Jianning. It''s just that these days, Tatars'' Emperor, Empress Dowager and the Princess are not in the Palace; I don''t know where they are. There are only several palace maids and court eunuchs remain in Ning Shou Palace; let your servant kill them all. Princess, please." Ning Shou Palace was the princess'' personal quarter; it was precisely this Princess Changping of the Great Ming''s former residence.


    The nun in white said, "You don''t need to kill anybody. We are only going to take a look."


    "Yes," Tao Hongying said. She did not know that Princess Changping had mastered exceedingly good, arhat-like martial art; she thought that Wei Xiaobao brought her into the Palace in disguise. Having met her former master by accident, her heart was excited, she would not think twice about rushing onto a mountain of blades or going into a deep fryer for her, let alone only going to the Princess'' old residence.


    Immediately the three of them went north, out of the Xi Tie [western iron] Gate, turned east passed the Shun Zhen [loyal] Gate, through Bei Wu Suo [northern five-building], the tea storehouse, arriving outside the Ning Shou Palace.


    In a low voice Tao Hongying said, "Let your servant drive off the palace maids and the eunuchs."


    "No need," the nun in white said. Stretching out her hand, she pushed the gate, the latch broke with only a light noise. The palace gate opened, the nun in white walked in.


    Although the dynasty had changed, the Palace''s custom did not change at all. Since Ning Shou Palace was the nun in white''s old home, she knew very well where the palace maids and the court eunuchs were. Without waking up anybody, she sealed their acupoints one by one to make them lose their consciousness, before going to the princess'' bedroom.


    Tao Hongying was pleasantly surprised. "Princess," she said, "I did not expect your martial art skill to be this superb!"


    The nun in white sat on the bed, thinking back of what had happened here more than twenty years ago, where once she drew a portrait of someone, and had shared the same pillow with this someone. And now the world was occupied by the Tatars, her own bedroom was occupied by a Tatar princess, while that someone was far away, in a remote area tens of thousand li away; this life, this age, it would be hard for them to meet each other again.


    [Author''s note: for the story of Princess Changping of the Great Ming, please read my unworthy manuscript ''Sword Stained with Royal Blood''.]Tao Hongying and Wei Xiaobao waited on her on the side without making any noise. After quite a long time, the nun in white sighed and gravely said, "Light the candle."


    "Yes," Tao Hongying said, and lit the candle.


    They saw the wall, the table and chair, were full of sabers, swords, whips and other weapons, just like a room of a warrior; it did not look like a ''golden branch, jade leaves'' princess'' bedroom at all.


    The nun in white said, "Turns out this princess is also good at martial arts."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This Tatar princess has a very strange character; not only she loves to beat people, she also likes people beating her. But her martial art skill is sloppy and ordinary, she can''t even beat me." He cast a glance toward the bed, recalling the day when he hid underneath the Princess'' quilt, and was seized by the Empress Dowager. If not for the Five-Dragon-Command fell down from his pocket, right now he would be a little eunuch in the underworld, serving Yanluo Wang''s princess.


    The nun in white said in a soft voice, "My paintings, my books; did she throw everything away?"


    "Yes," Tao Hongying replied, "I am afraid that barbarian woman only knows several characters, what does she know about paintings and books?"


    The nun in white raised her left arm, her sleeve waved lightly, the candle light was extinguished immediately. She said, "Come with me out of the Palace."


    "Yes," Tao Hongying replied. And then she remembered something, "Princess," she said, "Your skill is this superb, if you catch the Tatar Empress Dowager, you could compel her to hand over those several copies of sutra, then you could break the Tatars'' dragon vein."


    "What sutra? What Tatars'' dragon vein?" the nun in white asked.


    The three of them left Ning Shou Palace, went out the Imperial Palace via the same wall bordering the northern thirteen-row, [Anybody familiar with the Forbidden City please feel free to jump in and help me out with these names] and returned to the inn to rest. Tao Hongying and the nun in white stayed in one room. After being separated for more than twenty years, tonight unexpectedly she could share the same room same bed with her former master, Tao Hongying was delighted beyond measure; how could she fall asleep again for the rest of the night?


    Wei Xiaobao, on the other hand, was thinking, "I have five copies of sutra in my hands, one copy is in the Emperor''s hands, while the other two copies are unknown. This Princess Shitai wants to force the old wh0re to hand over the sutra; naturally she won''t be able to give her anything. I''d better in a few words urge Princess Shitai to kill her, and thus get rid of the nail in His Majesty''s and my eyes."


    For the next several days, the nun in white and Tao Hongying stayed in the inn without putting a foot outside. Every day Wei Xiaobao went out and asked around whether the Emperor had returned to the Palace. By the morning of the seventh day, he saw Prince Kang, Songgotu, Dolong, and the others leading a large group of Imperial Bodyguards, marching around several large sedan chairs, entering the Palace. Hence he knew the Emperor had returned. Sure enough, not too long afterwards, he saw parties of royal princes [qin wang bei lei] and ministers of various departments entering the Imperial Palace one after another, to pay their respects and wish the holy sage well.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the inn to report. "Very good," the nun in white said, "I am going into the Palace tonight. Since the Tatar Emperor has returned, the security must be several times more strict than the last time. The two of you better stay in the inn and wait for me."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess Shitai, I am coming with you."


    Tao Hongying also said, "Your servant wishes to follow Princess. Your servant and this child is well-acquainted with the topography of the Palace, we won''t be in any danger." Since she had been reunited with her former master, she was unwilling to part with her even for a single step, no matter what. The nun in white nodded, consenting to their request.


    That night the three of them entered the Palace via the same route, and went straight to Ci Ning Palace [compassionate and peaceful] where the Empress Dowager resided. All around was extremely quiet, the nun in white led them circling around to the back of the palace. Grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s lower back, she leaped over the wall and landed without making any sound. When Tao Hongying leaped, the nun in white supported her waist with her left sleeve so that when she landed, she also did not make any noise.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the side window of the Empress Dowager''s bedroom, indicating that that was where the Empress Dowager lived, and then he led them into the back garden. It was the dwelling place of Ci Ning Palace''s palace maids. They saw pale yellow light from all three windows of the building. The nun in white peeked inside from a crack on the window and saw a dozen or so palace maids were sitting side-by-side on a bench, each one lowered her head and knitted her eyebrows, unmoving as if they were in meditation. The nun in white quietly lifted up the curtain and entered the Empress Dowager''s bedroom. Wei Xiaobao and Tao Hongying followed her in.


    Four red candles were shining on the table, but there was nobody inside. Tao Hongying said in a low voice, "Your servant has opened three suitcases and looked all-around the drawers, but did not even see the sutra''s shadow; that''s when the Tatar Empress Dowager and that fake palace maid walked in �� Aiyo, somebody''s coming!"


    Wei Xiaobao gave her sleeve a tug and hastily he ducked behind the bed. The nun in white nodded, with Tao Hongying she also hid behind the bed. They heard a female voice outside the room, "Ma, I have completed the task you asked me to do, what are you going to give me as a reward?" It was Princess Jianning''s voice.


    And then they heard the Empress Dowager''s voice, "Ma sent you to do a small task, and you are asking for a reward. How unreasonable is that?" While talking, the two of them entered the bedroom.


    Princess Jianning said, "Aiyo, so that was a small task? If Huangdi Gege found out, he would know that I took it; he would definitely be raging mad."


    The Empress Dowager sat down and said, "Just a Buddhist scripture, what''s the big deal? We went to Mount Wutai to offer sacrifice, it was for the purpose of asking the Bodhisattva to bless and protect. When we return to the Palace, we must continue chanting the sutras and praying to Buddha, only then will the Bodhisattva be happy."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "Wonderful," he mused, "Turns out you sent the Princess to steal the sutra." But then he realized that his luck was not good; if he did not come with the nun in white this time, most likely the sutra will fall into his hands, but now he had no hope.


    The Empress Dowager said, "You have agreed. If the Emperor came to ask me, I will deny everything. Little child babbling nonsense, which one he will believe?"


    Princess Jianning said, "Aiyo, Ma, you want to renege on your words? The sutra is obviously in here."


    The Empress Dowager sneered and said, "That''s easy. I will simply toss it into the stove and have it burned."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Alright, alright. I always say that I can''t win against you. Stingy mother, if you don''t want to reward me, then so be it; why did you bully your daughter?"


    "You already have everything, what reward might you want from me?" Empress Dowager asked.


    "I have everything, only one thing''s lacking," the Princess replied.


    "What''s lacking?" Empress Dowager asked.


    "I lack a little eunuch to accompany me playing," the Princess said.


    The Empress Dowager laughed. "Little eunuch," she said, "There are hundreds of them in the Palace; if you are lacking one who can accompany you playing, just send for one; and you are still dissatisfied?"


    "No," the princess said, "Those little eunuchs are extremely stupid, they are not fun at all. I want the little eunuch who''s serving Huangdi Gege, Xiao Guizi ��"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was shaken, "Unexpectedly this dead girl still remembers me," he mused, "Accompanying her playing is not an easy task. Once I am not careful, laozi will deliver my old life."


    He heard the princess continued, "I asked Huangdi Gege, he said that he had sent Xiao Guizi out of the Capital on a mission. But it''s been so long and he is not back yet. Ma, go talk to the Emperor, tell him to give Xiao Guizi to me."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed her in his heart, "Demon girl, she wants to get me. If laozi fell into your hands, if in a day I don''t have seventeen, eighteen cuts and bruises, laozi will change my surname to yours. Aiyo, what''s the Princess'' surname? Princess has the same surname as the young emperor, what''s the Emperor''s real surname? Laozi is really muddle-headed, I don''t know these things."


    The Empress Dowager said, "The Emperor sent Xiao Guizi on a mission; how did you know? What mission?"


    "I actually know this one," Princess Jianning said, "I heard the Imperial Bodyguards said that Xiao Guizi is on Mount Wutai."


    "Ah!" the Empress Dowager cried out softly, "He �� he is on Mount Wutai? How come we did not see him this time?"


    The Princess said, "It was only after we were back at the Palace that I heard the Imperial Bodyguards mentioning about it, but I don''t know what mission Huangdi Gege was sending him for. I heard the Imperial Bodyguards were saying that Huangdi Gege has given him another promotion."


    "Hm," the Empress Dowager was silent for half a day. "Very well," she said, "As soon as he is back at the Palace, I will talk to the Emperor." She sounded indifferent, apparently she did not really mean what she said. "It''s late," she said, "Go back and sleep."


    "Ma," the Princess said, "I am not coming back, I want to sleep with you."


    "You are not a baby," the Empress Dowager said, "Why don''t you want to go back to your room?"


    "My room is haunted," the Princess said, "I am scared!"


    "Nonsense!" the Empress Dowager said, "What do you mean haunted?"


    "Ma, really," the Princess said, "My palace''s palace maids and eunuchs all said that a few nights ago everybody was bewitched; when they went to sleep, they slept straight to midday of the second day before they finally woke up, and everybody had a nightmare."


    "How can there be such thing?" the Empress Dowager said, "Don''t listen to the servants'' nonsense. When we are not in the Palace, the servants are scared, hence they are terribly suspicious and fearful [orig. ''suspect the gods and suspect the ghosts'']. Quickly go back." The Princess did not dare to say anything else; she wished her well and then withdrew.


    The Empress Dowager sat by the table with her cheek resting on her palm. She stared blankly at the candle flame, lost in thought. After a long time, she turned her head around and saw two shadows on the wall; the shadows were dancing following the flickering candle light. She thought it was due to her dimmed vision. But when she focused her attention, she still saw two shadows; one was her own, the other shadow was right next to her own. Her shock was not a small matter; thinking that she had killed many people, she could not stop the hair on her body to stand up. Although she knew martial art, unexpectedly she did not dare to turn her head around.


    After quite a while, she thought, "Ghosts do not have shadow, if it has shadow, it is not ghost." But when she held her breath to listen, to her surprise, she did not hear the second person breathing by her side. She was so scared that her hands and feet went weak, she was unable to move a single step. Staring at two shadows on the wall, she almost fainted.


    Suddenly she heard a faint breathing behind the head; she was delighted, and instantly turned her head around. She saw a nun wearing white clothes was sitting on the table opposite to her, her pair of beautiful eyes was staring at her, her appearance was delicate and pretty, but her expression was wooden; momentarily she could not tell whether this nun was a person or a ghost.


    With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, "You �� who are you? Why �� why are you here?"


    The nun in white did not answer. A moment later, she coldly said, "Who are you? Why are you here?"


    Hearing her speaking, the Empress Dowager''s fright diminished somewhat. "This is the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace," she said, "You �� how dare you?"


    The nun in white coldly said, "You''re right, this is the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace. What ''thing'' are you? How dare you come in here?"


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "I am the Empress Dowager; a witch from what place are you?"


    The nun in white flipped her right hand and met her palm head-on. The Empress Dowager staggered, she was forced to leave her chair and stand up. "Good," she hissed, "Turns out you are a Wulin martial art master." Since she now know that the opponent was a human and not a ghost, her fear was gone. ''Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'' she sent out four palm strikes in succession.


    The nun in white was still sitting on the chair; without standing up, she calmly put the sutra in her pocket first before lifting up her palm to neutralize the Empress Dowager''s four attacks one by one. Seeing her taking the sutra, the Empress Dowager was alarmed and angered at the same time. Increasing the strength of her palm, successively she sent out seven, eight more moves rapidly. The nun in white parried the attacks one by one, but all along she did not counterattack. The Empress Dowager reached down along her right leg, a short blade, glittering like frost and snow suddenly appeared in her hand.


    Wei Xiaobao was watching with rapt attention; he saw the blade in the Empress Dowager''s hand was the platinum steel alloy Emei Sting with which she killed Hai Dafu the other day. With the weapon in her hand, her courage soared, she repeatedly stabbed the nun in white. A series of whooshing noise was heard, the palm hacked, the sting stabbed, the bedroom was filled with flickering white lights. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Let me get out to warn her not to harm Shitai."


    Tao Hongying pulled him down and said in a low voice, "No need!"


    They saw the nun in white was still sitting steadily on the chair, the forefinger of her right hand pierced to the east and jabbed to the west, warding off the Empress Dowager''s swift and fierce attacks one by one. The Empress Dowager abruptly advanced and abruptly retreated, she abruptly leaped up and abruptly crouched down with extreme speed; the wind from her palms forced the flame of the four candles to lean backward. Suddenly the room darkened, from four candles, two went out. A few more stances later, the other two also went out.


    In the darkness, the sound of palms seemed louder, intermingled with the Empress Dowager''s heavy breathing. Suddenly they heard the nun in white''s cold voice, "You are the Empress Dowager, where did you learn martial art from?"


    The Empress Dowager did not answer, but still doing her utmost to attack. Suddenly ''slap, slap, slap, slap'', there were four ringing slapping noise, apparently the Empress Dowager was slapped on her face four times; followed by an ''Ah!'' as she cried out with a voice brimming with fury mixed with panic. After this sudden burst of noise, the room went completely silent.


    In the darkness, suddenly there was a spark, as the nun in white lighted the flint [orig. ''fire booklet''] in her hand. The Empress Dowager kneeled stiffly in front of her, unmoving. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "The old wh0re must be killed today," he thought.


    They saw the nun in white lightly tossed the flint upward, the flame flew several chi up, her left sleeve waved, the flint was carried by the wind generated by the sleeve, it flew slowly toward the candle, unexpectedly the four candles were lighted one by one, as if an invisible hand was holding the flint. The nun in white waved her sleeve inward, a burst of puling force sucked the flint back to her, which she received with her right hand. After gently blowing off the fire, she put the flint back into her bosom. Wei Xiaobao was dumbstruck in watching this; in his heart he was prostrating himself in admiration.


    The Empress Dowager''s acupoints were sealed that she was kneeling on the floor, her face alternated between swollen-colored purple and deathly pale as she said in a low voice, "Just kill me quickly; torturing others like this is not the conduct of a martial art master."


    "That''s strange," the nun in white said, "Your martial art skill is from the Snake Island. How can a person with such a noble rank deep inside the Palace have any relationship with the Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult]?"


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amazed; he thought that this Shitai did not seem to know anything, but next time he lied to her, he must be extra careful.


    The Empress Dowager said, "I don''t know anything about Shen Long Jiao. My negligible martial art skill was taught by a eunuch in the Palace."


    "Eunuch?" the nun in white said, "How can a eunuch in the Imperial Palace have any relation with Shen Long Jiao? What''s his name?"


    "He is called Hai Dafu," the Empress Dowager replied, "He has died a long time ago."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily in his heart; he mused, "The old wh0re talks utter rubbish; if she knew that I am hiding in here, she would not dare to broadcast such a gargantuan lie."


    "Hai Dafu?" the nun in white muttered to herself, "I have never heard of such character. Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes in succession, the power behind your palm was dark and sinister; what kind of palm technique was that?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "According to my Shifu, it was Wudang Pai martial art; it is called �� it is called the Soft Cloud Palm."


    The nun in white shook her head. "No, it''s not," she said, "It was the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''. Wudang Pai is a prestigious upright sect, how can they have such a sinister and ruthless skill like that?"


    "Shitai is right," the Empress Dowager said, "It was what Shifu told me. I �� I did not know that." Seeing the nun in white''s profound martial art skill and her extensive knowledge, the reverence in her heart grew; the way she talked was also more polite.


    The nun in white asked, "Using this kind of palm technique, how many people have you harmed?"


    The Empress Dowager replied, "I �� junior has always been deep in the Palace; training martial art is only to strengthen my body, I have never injured a single person."


    "Shameless," Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Blowing your horn loudly does not need any capital."


    He heard she continued, "Shitai, please understand, junior has always had others to protect me, in all my life I have never fought anybody. Fighting against Shitai tonight was the very first time. The martial art that junior learned has never been used the least bit."


    The nun in white smiled and said, "Your martial art skill can be considered not bad at all."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Junior is a frog at the bottom of a well; if I did not see Shitai''s exceptional divine skill, how would I know that the world is so big?"


    "Oh," the nun in white said, "That eunuch Hai Dafu, when did he die? Who killed him?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "He �� he passed away many years ago, he died of illness because of his age."


    The nun in white said, "Although you yourself have not done any evil, but you, Manchurian Tatars occupy our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains, you have caused the death of our Great Ming''s Son of Heaven. You are the first Tatar Emperor''s wife, the second Tatar Emperor''s mother; I can''t spare you."


    The Empress Dowager was shocked; with a trembling voice she said, "Shi �� Shitai, junior did not give birth to the current Emperor. His birth mother was Empress Xiao Kang, who had died a long time ago."


    The nun in white nodded. "So that''s how it is," she said, "But as Shunzhi''s wife, when he massacred thousands upon thousands Han people, why didn''t you persuade him even for one sentence?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Shitai, please understand, the former Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong''e [Donggo]; it was difficult for junior to even see the Emperor. It is truly beyond my ability to persuade him."


    The nun in white silently contemplated for a while; and then she said, "What you said is not without reason. I won''t kill you today ��"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Thank you very much Shitai, for your kindness in not killing me. From now on junior will surely chant the sutra and pray to Buddha daily. That �� that Buddhist scripture, would Shitai return it to me?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Junior will reverently worship Buddha, from now on, for the rest of my years, I will chant the sutra day and night."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Shitai did not know it. This sutra was the one the late Emperor read aloud every day and evening in the past; junior do not forget old affection, I regard this sutra as the late Emperor."


    "That''s not right," the nun in white said, "When you are chanting the sutra to worship Buddha, your heart and mind must be empty, you must not have the slightest degree of entanglement with predestined love. When you are chanting the sutra while remembering your deceased husband, what good will that bring?"


    "Thank you Shitai, for giving directions," the Empress Dowager said, "It''s just that �� it''s just that junior is simple-minded, I cannot break away from old entanglement."


    A mysterious gleam suddenly appeared in the nun in white''s eyes; she asked, "What exactly is the strange thing about this sutra? Tell me truthfully."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Really �� really it is junior''s infatuation. Although the Late Emperor did not treat junior well, but all along I cannot forget him. Seeing this sutra every day somewhat eases up the pain of missing him."


    The nun in white sighed and said, "Since you persist in your own wrong doings and unwilling to tell the truth, it is entirely up to you." Her left sleeve flicked, the tip of the sleeve struck the Empress Dowager''s body, the sealed acupoints immediately opened.


    The Empress Dowager said, "Thank you Shitai for showing mercy!" And she kowtowed before standing up.


    The nun in white said, "I did not show any mercy. After your ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' hit someone, then what happen?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "That eunuch had never told me, he only said that this palm technique is very fierce, not too many people in the world can resist it."


    "Hm," the nun in white said, "Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes, I did not resist it at all; I only return the palm power of those seven ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''. Where it came from is where it would return. Since the palm power came from you, then it returned to you. This matter is your own doing, you are reaping what you have sown, you must not blame anybody else."


    The Empress Dowager could not stop her soul from flying out of her body. Naturally she knew very well the fierceness of this ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm''; when one was hit with this palm power, all the bones in one''s body would turn soft, the bones would break into one cun segments [approx. 1 inch], until finally the entire body would be like silk floss, so that one could not even lift one finger. She had struck Imperial Concubine Dong''e, her sister, and Imperial Concubine Dong''e''s son, Prince Rong, with this palm power. She had witnessed with her own eyes the miserable condition of these three people at the point of their death. This nun in white''s martial art skill was this superb, plus the ability to return the enemy''s palm power to the enemy''s body was quite common in the martial art study, so her statement must not be false. This kind of person would indeed be able to return the seven palm strikes of ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' onto her body.


    When she attacked just now, for fear that her power was not fierce enough, she had exhausted her entire strength. Just one palm strike would be unendurable, much less seven palm strikes in a row? In that instant she was extremely frightened; dropping on her knees, she called out, "Shitai, please save my life."


    The nun in white sighed and said, "You have brought it upon yourself, you must resolve it yourself, other people are powerless."


    The Empress Dowager kowtowed and said, "I am still hoping for Shitai''s mercy, please give me direction to the bright road."


    The nun in white said, "You conceal everything, you are unwilling to tell the truth. The bright road is right in front of your eyes, yet you are unwilling to take; who are you going to blame? Even if I have mercy in my heart, it is only for my fellow Han people. You are a Tatar Manchu woman, there is a deep enmity between you and me; by not killing you with my own hand, I have already shown you extreme mercy." Finished speaking, she stood up.


    The Empress Dowager knew the opportunity was fleeting; as soon as this person left, the several days before her own death would be unspeakably unbearable. In that split second, the sight of Imperial Concubine Dong''e and her sister''s ten thousand anguish at the death''s door, where they were tossing about on the bed in excruciating pain, appeared in her eyes. She could not help but shivering all over. "Shi �� Shitai," she called out, "I am not a Tatar, I am �� I am ��"


    "You are what?" the nun in white asked.


    The Empress Dowager said, "I am �� I am �� a Han."


    "Up to this point you are still spouting nonsense," the nun in white said, "How can a Han fill the post of Tatar Empress?"


    "I am not talking nonsense," the Empress Dowager replied, "The current Emperor''s birth mother came from Tong Jiashi, her father Tong Tulai was from Han army banner, he was a Han."


    The nun in white said, "She was a nobility because of giving birth to a son; I heard that she was originally an imperial concubine, not the Empress at all. She had never been an empress, it was after her son became the Emperor that she was granted the posthumous title as the Empress."


    With bowed head the Empress Dowager said, "Yes." Seeing the nun in white took a step to leave, she anxiously said, "Shitai, I am really a Han; I �� I hate the Tatars to the bones."


    "And why is that?" the nun in white asked.


    The Empress Dowager said, "This is a very big secret, I �� I shouldn''t say it, but �� but ��"


    The nun in white said, "Since you shouldn''t say it, then don''t say it."


    At this very moment the Empress Dowager was like having the fire burned her eyebrows; if she blew this matter, the rest would not matter anymore. Clenching her teeth, she said, "I am a fake Empress Dowager, I �� I am not the real Empress Dowager!"


    As soon as she said that, no doubt the nun in white was shocked, but Wei Xiaobao who was hiding behind the bed was even more shocked. The nun in white slowly sank back down into the chair and asked, "What do you mean you are a fake?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "My father and mother were harmed by the Tatars, I have mortal hatred toward the Tatars. I was forced to enter the Palace to be a palace maid, to serve the Empress. Afterwards �� afterwards I impersonated the Empress."


    He heard the Empress Dowager said, "The real Empress Dowager is a Manchu, her surname is Borjigit [bo''er ji ji te], the daughter of Horqin [ke''er qin] Beilei [royal prince]. Junior''s father is surnamed Mao, he was a Han from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a Great General of the Great Ming, Mao Wenlong. Junior''s name is Mao Dongzhu [lit. eastern pearl]."


    The nun in white was startled. "You are Mao Wenlong''s daughter?" she asked, "The Mao Wenlong who guarded the Pi [lit. leather/skin/fur] Island?"


    "Exactly," the Empress Dowager replied, "My father fought the Tatars for many years; later on he was killed by the Great Commander Yuan Chonghuan. Actually �� actually it was due to the Tatars'' stratagem of sowing dissension."


    "Oh," the nun in white said, "This is indeed a fantastic story. How can you impersonate the Empress Dowager for many years without anybody discovering it?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Junior has served the Empress for many years. I managed to learn her speech intonation, her expressions and mannerism rather well. This facial appearance of mine is also fake." While saying that, she walked to the bedside desk and picked up an embroidered handkerchief, which she then soaked it with the water inside a golden case; and then she wiped her face rigorously. She also peeled off two pieces of human-skin-like substance from her cheeks. Her facial appearance immediately changed completely. Originally her face was round and rather plump, suddenly it turned into melon-seed shape and quite thin, her eye sockets were rather deep.


    "Ah!" the nun in white exclaimed; she was very shocked. "Indeed your appearance is greatly different." After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "But impersonating the Empress was not an easy matter after all. Are you saying that even the palace maids who were very close to the Empress did not recognize you? What about your husband?"


    "My husband?" the Empress Dowager said, "The late Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong''e, one person. In the last several years, he had never spent even one night in the Empress'' place here. He had never given the real Empress a look, naturally he did not give the fake empress any look at all." Her voice was filled with bitterness and pain; she also said, "Let''s not mention that I impersonated her really well, even if my look was completely different, how could he know?"


    The nun in white nodded slightly; she asked, "So those palace maids and court eunuchs who served the Empress also did not recognize you?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "As soon as junior has the Empress under my control, I had her to change all the palace maids and court eunuchs of the Ci Ning Palace with the new ones. I very seldom went out, when I occasionally had to, according the Palace''s regulations, palace maids and court eunuchs would not dare to look at me directly. Even if they stole a look from a distance, how could they tell the fake from the real?"


    The nun in white suddenly remembered something. "That''s not right," she said, "You said the Old Emperor had never paid attention to you, but �� but you gave birth to the Princess."


    "That girl is not the Emperor''s," the Empress Dowager said, "Her father was a Han; sometimes he would sneak into the Palace to see me, dressed as a palace maid. This man �� not too long ago he met a misfortune �� unfortunately he died of illness."


    Tao Hongying pinched Wei Xiaobao''s palm; they both thought, "There was indeed a man who dressed as a palace maid, but he did not die of illness."


    Wei Xiaobao also thought, "No wonder the Princess is so barbarous in creating trouble, turns out she is a b@stard daughter of that fake palace maid. The Old Emperor is benevolent and gentle, his daughter cannot have that kind of manner."


    The nun in white thought, "You suddenly got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, if the Old Emperor did not have any sexual intercourse with you, how could he not grow suspicious?" It''s just that it was kind of private question, plus she left home to be a nun when she was still virgin, so she could not ask the question. She considered further, "Since this woman has been deliberately and methodically thinking it through to impersonate the Empress, as soon as she found out that she was pregnant, she would find a way to cover it up; I need not examine her in details." Shaking her head, she said, "All along you have not been telling the truth."


    The Empress Dowager anxiously said, "Senior, even in a shameful matter like that I have told you the truth, what else do I dare to conceal from you?"


    The nun in white said, "If that''s the case, then you must have killed the real Empress. Your hands must be reeking with quite a bit of blood."


    The Empress Dowager said, "Junior chants the sutras and worship Buddha; although I harbor deep hatred toward the Tatars, I do not dare to kill people carelessly. The real Empress Dowager is still alive and well."


    This statement was completely beyond the three people''s, in front and behind the bed, anticipation. "She is still alive?" the nun in white asked, "Aren''t you afraid she might reveal your secret?"


    The Empress Dowager walked to the front of a big hanging rug. She pulled a woolen cord next to it, the hanging rug slowly rolled up, revealing two-leaved wardrobe door. From her bosom the Empress Dowager fished a golden key, and opened the lock of the wardrobe door. When she opened the wardrobe door, everybody could see a woman was reclining inside, her body was covered in embroidered quilt.


    The nun in white softly exclaimed in shock. "She �� she is the real Empress Dowager?" she asked.


    The Empress Dowager said, "Senior, please look at her appearance," while fetching a candle-holder and let the candlelight illuminating the woman''s face.


    The nun in white saw that the woman''s countenance was extremely wan and sallow, there was not the least bit trace of blood on it, but her facial features were extremely similar to the fake Empress Dowager before she took off her disguise.


    The woman slowly opened her eyes, but immediately closed them again. She said in a low voice, "I won''t tell you. You �� you kill me quickly."


    The Empress Dowager said, "I have never killed anybody, how can I kill you?" While saying that, she closed the wardrobe door and let down the hanging rug.


    "You have her locked up in here for many years?" the nun in white asked.


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied.


    "What do you press her to tell you?" the nun in white asked, "It is because she firmly refused to tell you that you have kept her alive until today. As soon as she tells you, you will immediately kill her, will you not?"


    "No, no," the Empress Dowager replied, "Junior knew that Buddhist teaching admonishes against taking life. I often fast and eat vegetarian dishes, I can''t possibly harm her life."


    "Humph," the nun in white snorted, "You think I am a three-year-old child that doesn''t understand your thought? This woman is locked up in here, she poses a danger to you at all times, you did not kill her, there must be an important scheme here. If she shouted from inside the wardrobe, won''t your plot fall through and stand exposed immediately?"


    "She won''t dare to shout," the Empress Dowager said, "I told her that if this secret was leaked, I would kill the Old Emperor first; and then when the Old Emperor died, I told her I would kill the young Emperor. This Tatar woman is really loyal and devoted to those two Emperors, she won''t let them receive any harm."


    "What is it exactly that you wanted her to tell you?" the nun in white asked, "She did not want to speak, why didn''t you use the Emperor''s life to threaten her?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "She told me that if I harmed the Emperor, she would immediately go on a hunger strike to kill herself. She does not stop eating only because I promised her I won''t harm the Emperor."


    The nun in white considered this matter carefully: these two real and fake Empress Dowager, one threatens by killing herself by going on a hunger strike, the other threatens by harming the Emperor, both are afraid of the other, they are locked in a stalemate for many years; it is indeed a deadlock. It is reasonable to say that the real Empress Dowager is also a dangerous character, nothing of her should be allowed to remain, after she is killed, her corpse must be burned to ashes, so that she won''t leave even half a trace. Unexpectedly she is still allowed to live in the Palace, it must be because she is still holding on to a big secret, which all along she refuses to tell. It is obvious that this secret must be very important. She asked, "My original question to you, you keep talking about this and that, but never give me a straight answer. What exactly did you force her to tell you?"


    "Yes, yes," the Empress Dowager said, "This big secret concerns the rise and fall of the Tatars. The Tatars'' dragon flourished in Liaodong (Peninsula); they managed to occupy our Great Ming''s world because their ancestors'' feng shui was exceedingly good. Junior found out that on the Changbai Mountain of Liaodong Peninsula, there is a dragon vein of the Aisin Gioro


    [50] Clan. By digging and breaking this dragon vein, not only we can recover the Han family''s mountains and rivers, everything that the Tatars have inside the pass will be destroyed as well."


    The nun in white nodded; thinking that this story corresponds with what Tao Hongying had told her earlier. She asked, "Where is the location of this Dragon Vein?"


    "That is exactly the big secret," the Empress Dowager replied, "When the late Emperor died, the young Emperor was still little, he did not understand anything, while Imperial Concubine Dong''e, whom he most doted on, had already died before him; therefore, he told this big secret to the Empress, telling her to wait until the young Emperor grew up, and then she is supposed to inform him. At that time junior was the palace maid serving the Empress, I overheard the late Emperor and the Empress'' conversation, but I was unable to hear the whole thing. I only want to ascertain this matter, and then assemble a group of warriors with aspiration, to go to Changbai Mountain to break the dragon vein, and then my Great Ming''s world might recover."


    The nun in white said doubtfully, "The matter of feng shui and dragon vein is vague, with nothing to support it; it is very difficult to believe. Our Great Ming lost the world because the successive dynasties'' administration was bad, they treated the common people harshly, to such an extent that the government official drove the people to revolt. I understood this truth clearly only after I travelled to the four winds these past several years."


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager said, "Shitai understands this affair thoroughly, although it is beyond junior''s reach. However, in order to recover our Great Ming''s world, I would rather believe the matter of feng shui and dragon vein than not believe it at all. If we can dig the dragon vein, the worst that can happen is that we don''t do the Tatars any damage. However, if this matter is effective for real, won''t we be able to save the thousands upon thousands common people throughout the world from the deep water and scorching fire?"


    The nun in white appeared emotionally moved; she nodded and said, "What you said is true. Whether this matter is real or not, we cannot know it now. Even if it is useless, there won''t be any harm done. We only need to make this matter known all over the world, the Tatars ruler and his ministers firmly believe in this dragon vein, their hearts would be discouraged first, and if that time we conspire to recover the nation, everybody will have an additional layer of confidence. So the thing you press the real Empress Dowager is actually this big secret?"


    "Precisely," the Empress Dowager said, "But this s1ut understands that this matter correlate with her offspring''s foundation, she would rather die than disclosing it. No matter how junior tried to swindle her gently or threaten her with force, I have exhausted everything, yet all along she would rather die than talking."


    The Empress Dowager jumped in fright; she retreated two steps back, and said in a trembling voice, "You �� you knew?"


    The nun in white said, "The big secret is hidden in this sutra. How many copies do you have in your hands?"


    The Empress Dowager said, "Shitai''s magical power is remarkable, nothing escape your knowledge, junior does not dare to conceal anything. Originally I had three; the first was given by the Late Emperor to Imperial Concubine Dong''e. After she died, junior had it in here. The other two were taken from the home of the treacherous court official Oboi. But one night there was an assassin in the Palace, my chest was stabbed, and those three copies were stolen. Shitai may see it for yourself." While saying that, she untied her outer garment, undergarment and dudou


    [51], to reveal an enormous scar on the pit of her stomach.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding. "If this interrogation continues, I am afraid Shitai''s suspicion will fall on me," he mused.


    He heard the nun in white said, "I know who tried to assassinate you, but this person did not take those three copies of sutra at all." She thought that if those three copies of sutra were taken by Tao Hongying, she could not possibly conceal it from her.


    The Empress Dowager was startled. "The assassin did not steal the sutra?" she asked, "Then who stole those three copies of sutra? This �� this is really strange."


    "You want to speak up or not, it''s entirely up to you," the nun in white said.


    The Empress Dowager replied, "Shitai hates the Tatars to the bones, you also have remarkable magical power, if this big secret can be handed over to you, the Senior can take charge of this situation and dig the Tatars'' dragon vein. It is something that I always seek but fail to achieve. How can junior hide it from you? Besides, all eight copies of the sutra must be obtained before the location of the dragon vein can be found. Right now there is one copy already in Shitai''s hand; even if junior have three copies, what good would that bring?"


    The nun in white coldly said, "Whatever scheme you have in your heart, I don''t need to take the trouble to guess. Since you are the daughter of Mao Wenlong of Pi Island, you must have a deep relationship with Shen Long Jiao."


    With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, "No, I �� I don''t. Junior �� has never heard of Shen Long Jiao."


    The nun in white stared at her for a moment; and then she said, "I am going to teach you a formula to disperse the power in your body. Every day, morning, noon and night, three times you must strike a tree according to this method. Each time nine by nine, eighty-one strikes; perhaps the sinister palm power of the ''Transforming Bones Soft Palm'' in your body will be dispersed."


    The Empress Dowager was greatly delighted; she kneeled down and kowtowed again to express her gratitude. Right away the nun in white passed on the theory; she said, "From now on, as soon as you use your internal strength trying to harm someone, the bones in your body will immediately break to pieces, then nobody can save you."


    "Yes," the Empress Dowager replied in a low voice; she looked dejected.


    Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy; "When I see the old wh0re hereafter, even if I do not have the Five Dragon Command, I don''t need to be afraid of her."


    The nun in white brushed her sleeve to seal her consciousness acupoint; immediately the Empress Dowager''s eyeballs rolled back until only the white was visible, she fell backward and fainted. "Come out," the nun in white said in a low voice. Wei Xiaobao and Tao Hongying came out from behind the bed.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shitai, this woman speaks three parts the truth, seven parts lies. You must not believe her."


    The nun in white nodded and said, "The secret hidden in the sutra concerns not only the Tatars'' dragon vein, but money and treasures as well, which she intentionally did not mention."


    "Let me look around," Wei Xiaobao said. He pretended to look to the east and search to the west, he uncovered the beddings, and saw the copper ring on the wooden board covering the secret compartment. "The sutra''s here!" he said in a low voice.


    Pulling the wooden board up, he saw the secret compartment was hiding not a few of jewels and banknotes, but there was no sutra. He sighed and said, "No sutra! What good does these jewels for?"


    "Take the jewels," the nun in white said, "We will need the money for the future uprising."


    Tao Hongying took all the jewels and money and put them inside an embroidered bundle, which she then handed over to the nun in white. Wei Xiaobao thought, "This time the old wh0re is really bankrupt." He thought further, "How come there was no jewels or banknotes in the secret compartment last time? Ah right, last time I only had my eyes on the sutra and did not see other stuffs. What a pity, what a pity!"


    The nun in white said to Tao Hongying, "This woman impersonated the Empress Dowager, most likely she has other scheme. You hide in the Palace and make a thorough investigation. Luckily she has lost her martial art skill, there is nothing to fear."


    Tao Hongying complied. Actually, after meeting her former master only for a short time, and now they had to part, she was really reluctant to leave.


    The nun in white took Wei Xiaobao leaping over the wall and returning to the inn. She took the sutra out to examine it. This copy of sutra had a yellow silk envelope, it was precisely the one Emperor Shunzhi ordered Wei Xiaobao to take to Kangxi. The nun in white opened the cover and saw on the first page four large characters ''never raise taxes'' [yong bu jia fu]. She nodded and said to Wei Xiaobao, "You said that the Tatar Emperor will ''never raise taxes'', those four characters are indeed written in here."


    Wei Xiaobao called out delightedly, "That''s it, that''s it! This is the big secret."


    The nun in white spread the pieces on the table. She saw some of the pieces were big some were small, some were square some were round, some were triangular in shape, some were diamond-shaped. On some of the pieces, a lot of red curvy lines were drawn; on some others, Manchurian characters were written in black ink. However, all the drawings and characters were cut, nothing was complete, the more than a hundred pieces did not match with each other, so that it was hard to put together.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It looks like each copy of the sutra hides pieces of leather, only when all eight copies are obtained will we be able to put together a complete map."


    "I think so," the nun in white said. She put all the pieces together back into the original two layers of sheepskin envelope, wrapped it securely in embroidered cloth, and put it into her inner pocket.


    The next day the nun in white took Wei Xiaobao leaving the Capital heading west. They arrived at the graveyard on Mount Jinping in Changping County. It was where the Emperor Chongzhen was buried. In front of the tomb, wild grass was growing very thick, making the grave looked very desolate. Along the way the nun in white did not utter a single word, but now she was unable to show restraint anymore; she threw herself in front of the grave and cried out loudly.


    Wei Xiaobao also kneeled down and kowtowed. Suddenly he felt that the tall grass by side was moving. Turning his head around, he saw green skirt. It was the green skirt that Wei Xiaobao thought about millions of time during the day, the green skirt that he had dreamt about thousands of time during the night. As he suddenly saw the skirt this moment, his heart jumped. He was afraid it was just a dream, hence temporarily he did not dare to look.


    He heard a tender and delicate voice calling out something, and then he heard, "Finally you are here; I �� I have been waiting in here for three days." And then she sighed and said, "But you must not grieve too much."


    "Yes, yes," he said, "You have been waiting for me for three days, thank you very much, thank you very much. I �� as soon as I heard your voice, I am not grieving anymore." While saying that, he stood up, and in a glance saw that it was indeed the lovely countenance of that green-clothed girl, whose gracefulness was beyond compare; only her gentle and soft expression suddenly turned into astonishment, and then turned into anger.


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "I also miss you very much ��" Before he could finish, there was a sharp pain on his lower abdomen, his body flew more than a zhang backward and he fell heavily on the ground; because he was kicked by the girl.


    He saw the girl raised her willow-leaf saber and hacked it down on his head. Hastily Wei Xiaobao rolled away, ''whack!'' the saber struck the ground. Before the girl could chop again, the nun in white shouted, "Stop!"


    "Wah!" the girl broke in cry, she dropped her saber off and threw herself into the nun in white''s bosom, while crying, "This evil man, he �� he always bullies me. Shifu, quickly kill him for me."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, delighted, but also embarrassed; he mused, "Turns out she is Shitai''s disciple. Those two sentences she spoke a moment ago were not directed to me." Sullenly he sat down slowly, thinking, "Things have come this far, I can only try my best to be a good person. It would be best if I could swindle Shitai, invoking her great mercy so that she would make the decision to join her with me as my wife."


    Thereupon he stepped forward, bowing deeply toward the girl with cupped fist and said, "Xiaoren has unintentionally offended Miss. I am asking for Miss to show magnanimity by not hold it against me. If Miss wants to hit me, please go ahead and do it; I only hope Miss would spare Xiaoren''s life."


    The girl was hugging the nun in white with both hands; without turning around, she kicked backward, her heel hit Wei Xiaobao''s lower jaw. "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out and was thrown backward. Groaning and moaning, temporarily he was unable to get up.


    The nun in white said, "Ah Ke, how can you disregarding propriety and kicking someone you just met two times?" The tone of her voice carried a reprimanding meaning.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard her, he was ecstatic. "Turns out your name is Ah Ke [jade-like stone]. Finally I know it," he thought.


    He had accompanied the nun in white for many days that he knew she like people being respectful, serious and modest. In her presence, the more he suffered some losses, the more beneficial it was for him. Hastily he said, "Shitai, Miss'' two kicks are well-deserved; it was I who was in the wrong, no wonder Miss is very angry. Even if she kicks me a thousand times, ten thousand times, it is really Xiaoren that deserves to die." He crawled up with both hands cradling his lower jaw, the pain made his tears flowed down. This time he was not pretending, the kick was really not light.


    Sobbing and sniffling, Ah Ke said, "Shifu, this little monk really deserve to die, he �� he bullied me."


    "How did he bully you?" the nun in white asked.


    Ah Ke blushed. "He �� he has bullied me many �� many, many times," she said.


    "Shitai," Wei Xiaobao said, "In short, it was I who was muddle-headed, plus my martial art is lacking. That day Miss went to play at the Shaolin Temple ��"


    "You went to Shaolin Temple?" the nun in white asked, "How can a girl go to Shaolin Temple?"


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted in his heart, "Turns out she went to Shaolin Temple not instructed by Shitai, that''s even better." He said, "It was not she who wanted to go, it was her Shijie who wanted to go. Miss could not disobey her, hence she had no choice but to come with her."


    "How do you know?" the nun in white asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "At that time I was ordered by the Tatars'' Young Emperor to be his proxy to be a monk in Shaolin Temple. I saw another Miss came to Shaolin Temple, this Miss was following behind her, apparently she did not wish to come."


    The nun in white turned her head and asked, "Was it Ah Qi who take you there?"


    "Yes," Ah Ke replied.


    "And then what happened?" the nun in white asked.


    Ah Ke said, "Those Shaolin Temple monks were very vicious; they said that their Temple''s rule did not allow women to enter the Temple."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "That is an unacceptable rule; why can''t nu shizhu [female benefactor] enter the Temple? Bodhisattva Guanyin is a woman."


    "And then what happened?" the nun in white asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Miss said, since they were not allowed to enter the Temple, they would better go back. But those four Shaolin Tempe monks in charge of receiving the guests did not have any manners; they babbled nonsense and thus offended the two ladies, while their martial art skill is very disappointing."


    The nun in white asked Ah Ke, "Did you fight with them?"


    Wei Xiaobao barged in, "It was entirely the welcoming monks'' fault, I saw it with my own eyes. They stretched out their hands to push the two ladies. Shitai, just think, the two ladies have ''thousand gold'' bodies, how could they let the four monks'' filthy hands touching them? Naturally the two ladies moved sideways to evade; the four monks were careless, they bumped their own limbs on the mountain pavilion''s pillars, inevitably they were slightly hurt."


    "Humph," the nun in white snorted, "Shaolin Temple''s martial art is the leader in Wulin world, how could it be that bad? Ah Ke, when you made your move, which stances did you use?"


    Ah Ke did not dare to conceal anything; she lowered her head and told her in a low voice. The nun in white asked, "You two knocked down four Shaolin Temple monks?"


    Ah Ke cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, and hatefully said, "Five, including him."


    "You have quite a nerve, going to Shaolin Temple and beat five Shaolin Temple monks that their hands and feet were dislocated." With eyes like lightning she looked at her up and down. Ah Ke was so frightened that her face turned even paler.


    The nun in white saw the red scar across her neck. "That blade wound, was it the Temple''s martial art master who injured you?"


    "No, it was not," Ah Ke replied, "He �� he ��" She looked up and shot Wei Xiaobao a glowering look; suddenly her cheeks blushed, while tears streamed down on her face. "He �� he humiliated me so much, disciple �� disciple slashed my own saber across my neck, but �� but I did not die."


    When she first heard about her two disciples went up Shaolin Temple to create trouble, the nun in white was furious, but seeing the scar on her neck was really long, she felt sorry for her; she asked, "How did he humiliate you?"


    "Wah!" Ah Ke cried.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Indeed, it was me who was being greatly inappropriate, I spoke without manners, I did not act with propriety. Miss was only grabbing me, scaring me to death, telling me that she was going to dig my eyeballs, but she did not really mean it. Indeed it was me who was a coward and useless; I was scared out of my wits that with both hands I randomly hit and grab backward, and in my carelessness had touched Miss'' body. Although it was unintentional, I wouldn''t wonder that Miss was so angry."


    Ah Ke was so embarrassed that her beautiful face turned completely red, but her eyes was filled with resentment, anger and pain.


    The nun in white asked further about the several stances Ah Ke was using when they fighting. After gaining a clear understanding, she said, "It was unintentional, you don''t need to take it seriously." Gently patting Ah Ke''s shoulder, she said in a tender voice, "He is only a little child, and �� and a eunuch too, it''s not a big deal. You have already used the ''young swallow returning to the nest'' to break his arms; you have punished him enough."


    Ah Ke''s tears did not stop rolling down; in her heart she said, "He is not a little child at all, he went to the brothel to do bad things." But she did not dare to say it out loud, for fear that Shifu would investigate, and then she would know that Ah Ke had followed her older martial sister to a brothel and beat people there. Her heart was dismayed, she cried even louder.


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down on the ground, kowtowed again and again, while saying, "Miss, you are upset, please kick me several more times to vent your anger."


    Ah Ke stomped her feet and cried, "I simply won''t!"


    Wei Xiaobao raised his palm, ''whack, whack, slap, slap!'' he slapped his own face several times. "I deserve to die, I deserve to die!" he said.


    The nun in white knitted her eyebrows and said, "It can''t be considered your fault in this matter. Ah Ke, we can''t bully people too much."


    Sobbing and sniffling, Ah Ke said, "It was he who bullied me, he kidnapped me and locked me up in the Temple and did not let me go."


    The nun in white was startled. "Is that so?" she asked.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I know I was wrong. Because I wanted to win Miss'' favor, I invited her to the Temple. I thought that since Miss has always wanted to tour the Shaolin Temple but the monks did not allow her to enter the Temple, no wonder Miss was angry. And thus �� and thus gathering my courage, I invited Miss to go and play at the Bo''re Hall; I also asked an old monk to accompany Miss to chat and relieve her boredom."


    "Fooling around, fooling around," the nun in white said, "Both children are fooling around. Which old monk?"


    "It was the Head of Bo''re Hall, Cheng Guan Dashi," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He was the one exchanging palm strikes with Shitai in Qingliang Temple."


    The nun in white nodded. "That Dashi''s martial art skill is superb," she said. She patted Ah Ke''s shoulder again and said, "Alright, that''s enough. Not only this Dashi''s martial art skill is high, he is also an old man. Xiaobao asked him to accompany you, he cannot be considered ill-treating you. Let''s not talk about this matter further."


    Ah Ke said in her heart, "This little evildoer is really bad; only, there are many things that are not convenient to say, otherwise, if Shifu investigated, Shijie and I would ended up being blamed for many things." She said, "Shifu, you don''t know, he �� he ��"


    The nun in white no longer paid any attention to her; she was looking at Chongzhen''s grave as if she was entranced. Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue at Ah Ke and made a face. Ah Ke was furious, she shot him a vicious look. Wei Xiaobao felt that although she was extremely angry, she was still unspeakably beautiful; his heart was very happy. He sat on the side, unable to take his eyes off her, admiring her features. He saw that from her head to her toe, her hair, her eyebrows, even the tip of her little finger, everything on her was extremely beautiful.


    Ah Ke cast him a sidelong glance, and saw that he was staring blankly at her, she blushed, pulled the nun in white''s sleeve and said, "Shifu, he �� he is looking at me."


    "Mmm," the nun in white simply grunted. She was recalling the scene from the past, when she was at the Palace. Ah Ke''s words did not enter her ears at all.


    Sitting until the sun was leaning to the west, the nun in white was still unwilling to leave her father''s grave. Wei Xiaobao wished that she would sit like this for ten days or half a month, as long as he could look at Ah Ke, even if he did not eat, he would not mind. Ah Ke, on the other hand, was feeling quite uncomfortable being the object of his stare. Although she did not turn her head to look at him, she knew his eyes were fixed on her. She was feeling bashful, fretful, and also furious; she thought, "This little evil person is full of graceful words, flowery speech; I don''t know what lie he told Shifu so that she always protected him. As soon as Shifu is not around, I must kill him. Even if Shifu will punish me harshly for this, I simply can''t let him humiliate me like this."


    More than two hours later, the sky was gradually turning dark. The nun in white heaved a long sigh, stood up, and said, "Let''s go."


    That night the three of them lodged in a peasant family home. Wei Xiaobao knew that the nun in white love cleanliness, so before dinner he rubbed and washed the two women''s bowls and chopsticks in hot water, he also wiped the stools, the dinner table where those two women would be sitting, until there was not a speck of dust on it. He also wiped the bed and swept the floor, making sure that wherever the two women sit or sleep on would be immaculate. He had always been lazy; hence in all his life he had never strained himself working as hard as that.


    The nun in white nodded in secret; she thought, "This child is hardworking. Having him during our travel will be much more convenient." Before she turned fifteen, she had always lived deep in the Palace; since childhood she was accustomed to have palace maids and court eunuchs taking care of her. After having the misfortune of her country changed its master, she wandered destitute in Jianghu; the daily food and drink was completely different.


    Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to be a eunuch, plus he did not spare any effort to get what his heart desired, he went as far as making her enjoying the happiness of the former days when she was still a princess in the Palace. The nun in white had left home and devoted herself to religious practice, she did not care about the luxury of the past, yet how one spends one''s childhood will be imprinted in one''s heart and mind, and will forever stay and can never be erased. She was not looking to be a princess, but Wei Xiaobao was treating her like a princess; she was touched and was delighted.


    After dinner, the nun in white asked Ah Qi''s whereabouts. Ah Ke said, "I have not seen Shijie since that day when we were separated outside the Shaolin Temple; perhaps �� perhaps she was killed by him." While saying that she cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao.


    "How can there be such thing?" Wei Xiaobao busily replied, "I saw Miss Ah Qi was with Mongolian Prince Galdan, and several lamas, and an army commander under Wu Sangui''s command."


    As soon as the nun in white heard Wu Sangui''s name, her expression looked very angry. "Why did Ah Qi hang around with people we have no relation with?" she angrily asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When those people arrived at the Shaolin Temple, probably they came across Miss Ah Qi by accident. Shitai, if you want to find her, let me come with you, I am sure she will be very easy to find."


    "Why is that?" the nun in white asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I still remember the appearance of those Mongolians, Lamas, and military officers from Yunnan. We only need to find one, the rest will be easy to deal with."


    "Very well," the nun in white said, "In that case you''ll come with me, we''ll look for her together."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Thank you very much Shitai," he said.


    The nun in white was puzzled, "You are helping me to do this matter, I should be thanking you, why did you thank me instead?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Nothing delights me more than to be with Shitai every day; it would be best if I could be by Shitai''s side forever. If I cannot, then being with Shitai one more day means happiness for one more day."


    "Is that right?" the nun in white asked. Although she had received Ah Qi and Ah Ke, two girls to be her disciples, usually she treated her disciples coldly. The two girls revered her very much, they had never dared to tell her what''s in their hearts; how could they act like Wei Xiaobao with his graceful words and flowery speech, sweet mouth and honeyed tongue? Although her personality was strict and cold, those words were really pleasing to her ears; she could not stop a smile from appearing on the corners of her mouth.


    Ah Ke said, "Shifu, he �� he does not ��" She was fully aware that Wei Xiaobao''s enthusiasm to help them find her Shijie was just a ruse to be with her. Those ''Nothing delights me more than to be with Shitai every day; it would be best if I could be by Shitai''s side forever'' and so on was actually the real desire of his innermost being, only the word ''Shitai'' should be changed to ''Ah Ke''.


    The nun in white stared at her, "Why not?" she asked, "How do you know the content of other people''s heart? I have often told you before, in Jianghu, the people''s hearts are sinister and deceitful, their words cannot be trusted. But this child has followed me for many days, there was no pretense in him, I know he can be trusted. He is only a little child, how can you lump him together with those Jianghu men?"


    Ah Ke did not dare to say anything anymore, she bowed her head and mumbled, "Yes."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said in his heart, "Ah Ke, my good wife, naturally your husband stands out from the masses, how can you lump him together with those Jianghu men? Just listen to your Shifu, I guarantee you won''t suffer any losses. The worst that can happen to you is that you will be given in marriage to me. Do you think I will be willing to part with you and don''t want you anymore? Just set your hundred and twenty heart at ease."


    Book note: the Emperor''s child is a reference to the Emperor''s daughter, it usually refers to the Princess. In the ''Nine Songs, Madame Xiang'' of the Songs of Chu [ancient book of poems, c. 500 BC]: ''The Emperor''s child fell north of the islet''. The Emperor''s child here was the Emperor Yao''s daughter. In the poem ''Escorting the Golden City Princess to the Western Foreign Land'', Ma Huaisu wrote: ''Where is the Emperor''s child now? She is engaged to be married in a strange land.''

 Chapter - 26 (26)

    Grass and trees join Man and Heaven''s white bones, fortresses and mountains along the Pass fill the eyes with the red of the setting sun.


    The next day the three of them continued their journey southwards, while asking people along the way of Ah Qi''s whereabouts. During the trip Wei Xiaobao was very attentive in attending the two women''s needs. Although in his heart he was dying to seduce Ah Ke, yet he did not dare to show the least bit of frivolity. He thought that if the nun in white found out about his real intention, he would be in a really deep trouble. Ah Ke had never had a single nice word to say to him, often times she took advantage of when the nun in white was not looking to punch or kick him to vent her anger. To Wei Xiaobao, as long he could be with her, the joy in his heart would be unspeakable, occasionally he simply endured everything; when the punch came, he received it with his body, when the kick arrived, he received it with his buttocks. When he lay down in his bed at night, he would quietly reflect on her kick and her punch, and the delight in his heart was inexhaustible.


    One day they arrived in Cangzhou [prefecture level city, Hebei]. The three of them lodged in a small family inn. Early in the morning the next day, Wei Xiaobao went out to the street to buy fresh vegetables, which he wanted to give to the innkeeper to be cooked for the nun in white''s breakfast. Excitedly he hurried back from the street carrying two catties of Chinese cabbage [bok choi], half a catty of ''rotten skin'' [tofu skin, courtesy of CFT], two catties of kuomo [Saint George''s mushroom/Tricholoma mongplicum], and saw Ah Ke was standing at the inn''s door gazing idly outside. Immediately he came over to her with a smile, he took out a package of rose pine-nut candy from his pocket and said, "I bought a package of candy for you at the street. I did not expect a small town like this would have such a good candy."


    Ah Ke did not accept it, she shot him a malicious look and said, "The candy you buy is stinky, I don''t want to eat."


    "Just take one and try it," Wei Xiaobao said, "The taste is really not bad." He had noticed early on that Ah Ke loved to nibble snacks, it''s just that the nun in white did not have extra money to give to her as incidental expenses; occasionally she purchased a small packet of sugared beans, which she ate with delight; therefore, he bought a packet of candy to make her happy.


    Ah Ke received it and said, "Shifu is meditating in her room, I feel so stifled. I wonder if there is any good scenery around here, a secluded place where no one is around. I want you to come with me."


    Wei Xiaobao could not believe his own ears; immediately the blood in his entire body was boiling, his face was flushed, "You �� you are not going to wrong me?" he asked.


    "What do I wrong you for?" Ah Ke replied, "If you don''t want to come with me, I''ll just go alone." Finished speaking, she walked toward a small lane to the east.


    "I am coming, I am coming," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why would I not willing to come? Even if Miss wants me to go through water and tread on fire, I won''t knit my eyebrows." And hastily he ran after her.


    The two of them went out of the small town, Ah Ke pointed to a small hill several li to the east and said, "Playing over yonder won''t be too bad."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said. The two of them followed the mountain path to go to the top of the hill. The hill was densely packed with pine trees, indeed it was secluded and no one else was to be seen, but the scenery was nothing to look at. Yet at this moment, in Wei Xiaobao''s eyes even the ugliest scenery between the heaven and the earth would be extraordinarily amazing; much less that he did not have any taste in differentiating any good or bad scenery anyway. Immediately he raved, "The scenery is incomparably beautiful."


    Ah Ke said, "What''s so good about it? There are only rocks and trees crowded together. It''s so ugly."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The scenery is not so good."


    "Why did you say that scenery here is incomparably beautiful?" Ah Ke asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The scenery is originally not so good, but your beauty shines on it, it becomes incomparably beautiful. This hill does not have any flower, but your appearance in more beautiful than ten thousand fresh flowers. This hill does not have any bird singing, but your voice is a lot more pleasant to the ears than a thousand black-nape orioles singing together."


    "Humph," Ah Ke snorted, "I want you to come here not to listen to you babbling nonsense, but to tell you to get away from me immediately, the farther the better. From now on, I don''t want you to see my face ever again. If you do, I will definitely dig your eyeballs out."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart immediately sank, with a dejected expression he said, "Miss, I will never dare to offend you anymore, please forgive me."


    "I have already forgiven you," Ah Ke said, "By not taking your life today, I am forgiving you." While saying that, ''shua!'' she pulled the willow-leaf saber from her waist, and continued, "When you are with me, your heart always harbor bad thoughts toward me, do you think I did not know it? You humiliate me like this, I �� I''d rather have Shifu punish me by flogging me a thousand times, ten thousand times, but I simply must kill you."


    Seeing the flickering saber and her staunch personality, Wei Xiaobao knew she was not uttering empty words. "Shitai asked me to help her find Miss Ah Qi," he said, "After she is found, I will not follow you anymore."


    Ah Ke shook her head and said, "No you won''t! We''ll find her without your help. Even if we can''t find her, my Shijie is not a three-year-old girl, do you think she cannot go home by herself?" Raising her saber high, she brandished it in the air, creating ''whoosh, whoosh'' sound, and sternly said, "If you don''t leave, don''t blame me for being heartless!"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "You have always treated me heartlessly anyway, it''s not a big deal."


    Ah Ke was furious; she shouted, "Up to this moment you still dare to speak nonsense to me?" Jumping forward, she raised the saber to chop on the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked; hastily he leaped to evade. Ah Ke shouted, "Are you leaving or not?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if you cut me into ten thousand pieces, and turn me into a ghost, I will still follow you."


    Ah Ke was raging mad; she raised her saber and attacked ''Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!'' three times. Luckily she had already used these moves at the Bo''re Hall of Shaolin Temple, Monk Cheng Guan had figured out the technique to neutralize them. Wei Xiaobao had received the instruction, and therefore, he was able to evade one by one.


    Failing to chop Wei Xiaobao, Ah Ke was growing angrier and angrier, she brandished her willow-leaf saber more and more viciously. Several moves later, Wei Xiaobao found it to be more and more difficult to evade; he had no choice but to draw his dagger. ''Dang!'' her willow-leaf saber was cut into two pieces. Ah Ke was angry and shocked at the same time; she brandished the lower half of her saber furiously, trying to hack down his head.


    Seeing her saber suddenly turned short, Wei Xiaobao did not dare to use his dagger to defend himself; his martial art skill was mediocre, if he did not restrain himself and carelessly waving his dagger around, the sharp blade only had to scrape her body a little bit, her life would be gone just like that. Consequently, after evading several times, he did not have any choice but to run away down the hill.


    Ah Ke chased him off, brandishing her broken saber and calling out, "Just go away as far as possible from me, I won''t kill you." However, seeing that he was running toward the small town, she was greatly anxious, "If this little evil-doer is complaining to Shifu, I will be in trouble," she thought. Therefore, hastily she urged herself to run after him, trying to intercept him. But the nun in white only taught her some martial art stances and styles; she had never passed on the internal energy cultivation technique. Therefore, her internal energy was not too different [orig. ''half a catty eight taels'' or ''half a pound eight ounces''] from Wei Xiaobao''s; from beginning to the end she was unable to catch up with him, and saw that he was rushing into the inn. She was so anxious that she almost broke into crying; thinking, "If Shifu blames me, I will tell her everything he said to me, how he harassed me and took liberties with me." With a raised broken saber, she slowly entered the inn.


    As soon as she set foot into the inn, she felt a burst of amazingly strong force like a gust of gale coming out from the door against her, instantly pulling her off her feet and throwing her three steps back, and she fell sitting down on the ground.


    Ah Ke felt that she was landing on a soft object, actually she sat on someone''s body. Hurriedly she wanted to stand up, but when she reached back to prop herself, her right hand landed on the person''s face. In that difficult situation she did not have time to consider her option; she continued pressing down to push herself up. Only after standing up did she turn around to look, and realized that the person was none other than Wei Xiaobao.


    She was shocked, and harshly shouted, "What are you d ��" Before she could finish, however, her knees went weak, she was unable to stand and fell down toward Wei Xiaobao. This time, however, she fell face down. "No, No ��" she cried out in fear, but it was too late; she landed on Wei Xiaobao''s bosom. Her eyes met with his, the distance between them was no more than a few cun.


    Ah Ke panicked; she was afraid this little vile creature would take the opportunity to kiss her; she struggled as hard as she could to stand up quickly, but somehow her entire body was devoid of any strength. She had no choice but look away from him and anxiously said, "Quickly help me up."


    "I don''t have any strength either," Wei Xiaobao replied, "What shall we do?" With this ''thousand-time cute a hundred-time charming'' beautiful woman leaning against him, his heart was so delighted that he felt he was going to go crazy. He said in his heart, "Forget that I do not have any strength, if right now I have ten-thousand-catty strength within me, I won''t help you up for sure. You were the one who throw yourself on me, how can you blame me?"


    Ah Ke anxiously said, "Shifu is being besieged by the enemy, quickly think of something to help her." Turns out when she entered the door just now, she saw the nun in white was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her right hand was sending out palm strikes, her left sleeve was flicking away in her effort to resist the enemy. As for who the enemy was, she did not see it clearly; she only knew that the enemy was more than one person. She was about to look when the strong gust of wind from the internal energy battle inside the room threw her out.


    Wei Xiaobao actually arrived several steps before she did, but he was met with the same fate as she did; he was just about to step across the threshold when the strong wind threw him backward and he fell to the ground. Ah Ke was also rushing in and happened to fall onto his body. Although Wei Xiaobao fell down quite hard that his buttocks were very painful, plus when Ah Ke fell from the air, she was crushing his chest and abdomen and hurt him very much, but in his heart he was exceedingly happy, he was wishing that this beautiful woman would lie down on his bosom forever, and would not stand up again. As for the nun in white was fighting with what kind of enemy, he did not give it the least bit of care; he expected her skill was so divine that even more formidable enemy would not be able to do anything to her.


    Ah Ke used her right hand to prop herself against Wei Xiaobao''s chest; slowly she straightened her back, took a deep breath, and finally she was able to stand up. "Why are you lying in here?" she said in an annoyed voice, "You wanted to trip me?" She was fully aware that Wei Xiaobao met the same fate as she did, he had no control over himself, but she was simply too embarrassed just now, hence she could not help but lashing it out on him.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I knew you were going to fall on the ground, so I should have crawled three chi away. No, three chi is not enough; if I only crawled three chi away, then I would lie side by side with you, it won''t look too good."


    Ah Ke spat, but she was more concerned over her Shifu, so she turned her gaze toward the room. She saw the nun in white was still sitting on the floor, striking with her palm and flicking her sleeve to repulse the enemy. In a glance she could see that altogether there were five enemies besieging her, they all wore red lama clothes, each one moved extremely fast, sending palm strikes and punches, but the nun in white''s palm power held them off, forcing them away so that their backs were pressed tightly against the wooden partition and were unable to get close to her.


    Ah Ke took a step closer, she wanted to see if there was anybody else other than these five people, but as she took a step forward, she felt strong gust of wind pressing her body that she was unable to breathe easily. She had no choice but to withdraw two steps back, kicked Wei Xiaobao and said, "Hey, aren''t you going to stand up? Look at the enemy; do you know their background?"


    Wei Xiaobao reached back to support himself against the wall. He stood up and looked into the room, he said, "Those six lamas are all bad people." He was standing to Ah Ke''s side, hence he was able to see one more Lama.


    "Rubbish!" Ah Ke said, "Naturally they are bad people; do I need you to tell me that?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "They are not necessarily bad people. Take me for example: I am clearly a good person, yet you keep saying that I am a bad person. These six lamas have the audacity to attack Shitai, they are a lot worse than I am."


    Ah Ke glanced sideways at him. "Humph," she snorted, "I''ll say you are one of them; you brought these six lamas to harm Shifu."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have a deep respect toward Shitai, I revere her just like I revere the Bodhisattva; I have deep respect toward Miss, just like I respect the deities, why would I want to harm you?"


    Ah Ke looked inside with rapt attention; suddenly she cried out in alarm. Wei Xiaobao looked into the room, he saw all six lamas now had jiedao [Buddhist knife] in their hands, ready to pounce and make a kill, but the power of nun in white''s sleeve and the wind from her palm held them at bay so that they were unable to get closer. However, the top of the nun in white''s head emitted a thin streak of white steam; apparently she was using all her strength.


    With only one arm she had to fight a life and death fight against six fully armed lamas; if this battle continued, perhaps it would be difficult for her to withstand the enemy. Wei Xiaobao wanted to go forward and help her, but he realized his own martial art skill was almost non-existent; he could not even step over the door, if he crawled in, inevitably he would distract the nun in white, and then instead of helping her, he would bring her harm. In his angst, he suddenly saw a broom leaning against the corner of the wall; immediately he picked it up and positioned himself by the door. Stretching out the broom, he poked it randomly at a lama''s face, hoping that he would distract his attention, so that his internal energy might not be pure anymore, then the nun in white''s palm power might be able to shake him dead.


    The broom was barely stretched out, he heard a shout, the broom handle in his hand suddenly felt lighter because the head of the broom was truncated by the lama, followed by the strong wind as the head of the broom flew out of the room, brushing the side of his face, creating several thin lines of blood that felt hot and painful.


    Ah Ke anxiously said, "You are just making trouble, that �� that won''t work."


    Wei Xiaobao was leaning against the wooden partition, he felt continuous vibration, as if all around the inn, the wooden partitions were about to be knocked down by the wind of the sabers and the power of the palm. Suddenly he had an idea; after looking clearly the six lamas'' position, he walked toward the back of the lama who cut off his broom, pulled out his dagger, and thrust it through the wooden partition.


    The dagger was incomparably sharp, the wooden partition was less than a cun thick, as the dagger went in, it penetrated the wood as if it was a piece of tofu [bean curd], and straight into the lama''s back. The lama cried out loudly, his body went limp, he slid slowly along the wooden partition, until finally he sat on the floor.


    Hearing the cry, Wei Xiaobao knew he had succeeded. Walking toward the second lama''s back, he thrust his dagger again. In a flash he had killed four lamas in succession. The blade of the dagger was short, as it was thrust on the lamas'' bodies, it did not go through to the front of the torso. As each lama fell sitting down, nobody in that room knew how they actually died.


    The other two lamas were greatly shocked, they scrambled toward the door, trying to escape. The nun in white leaped with her palm extended, striking the back of a lama, sending a jolt through his body that he spurted a mouthful of blood and died instantly. With a brush of her left sleeve the nun in white blocked the other lama, and then as swift as the wind the finger of her right hand sealed five acupoints on the lama''s body. The lama fell and lay paralyzed on the floor, unable to move a single step.


    The nun in white kicked the bodies of the four lamas, and saw the blade wound on their backs, she also noticed the holes on the wooden partition, and immediately understood what had happened. She turned toward the immobilized lama and shouted, "You �� who are you ��?" Suddenly her body swayed and she fell sitting down, spurting blood from her mouth.


    Those six lamas were martial art masters; by fighting one against six, she had exhausted her internal energy. By brushing her sleeve to block and striking the last lama down, she had used up the last ounce of her strength that she was unable to stand anymore.


    Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao were greatly alarmed; they rushed forward to support her. "Shifu, Shifu!" Ah Ke repeatedly called out.


    The nun in white''s breathing was very weak, she closed her eyes and did not say anything. When Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke, two people lifted her up onto the kang [heatable brick bed], she vomited another mouthful of blood. In her panic, Ah Ke''s limbs turned weak; she could only burst into tears.


    As soon as they saw the fight, the innkeeper, the waiters, and the others went into hiding far away. Now that the sound of fighting had ceased, they came back and stuck their heads out and looked around. Seeing blood all over the floor and dead bodies scattered around, they all cried out in fear. Wei Xiaobao picked two jiedao with both hands and shouted, "What are you crying for? Quickly shut your beaks, otherwise I''ll give you each one chop and kill you all."


    Seeing the flickering jiedao, they were frightened and repeatedly said ''yes, yes''. Wei Xiaobao took out three ingots of silver, worth five taels each, and gave them to a shop attendant and shouted, "Quickly hire two large carriages; the other five taels is for you." The shop attendant was startled but happy; he dashed out and was back almost immediately with two hired carriages.


    Wei Xiaobao took out forty more taels and handed it over to the innkeeper; he said in a loud voice, "These six wicked lamas fought with each other; you kill me, I kill you. All of you have seen it with your own eyes, haven''t you?" How could the innkeeper dare to say ''no''? He could only nodded. Wei Xiaobao said, "This forty taels is for the room and board."


    Together with Ah Ke, they lifted the nun in white onto a large carriage. He also took the quilt from the kang to cover her. Furthermore, he ordered the shop attendants to lift the lama whose acupoints were sealed onto the other carriage. Wei Xiaobao said to Ah Ke, "You go with Shifu, I''ll go with him."


    They boarded the carriages. Wei Xiaobao ordered the driver to follow the main road going south. He thought, "Shitai is seriously injured, if those lamas attack again, it will be terrible. We must find a remote place for Shitai to recover from her injury." For fear that the lama''s acupoints would be opened, while he was not his match, he fetch a roll of rope and tightly bound his hands and feet.


    After traveling for about the li, Ah Ke suddenly shouted, "Stop!" She leaped down from her carriage and rushed toward Wei Xiaobao''s; with an extremely frightened expression she said, "Shifu''s breathing is getting weaker and weaker; I am afraid �� I am afraid ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; hastily he stepped down the carriage to take a look. The nun in white''s breathing was very weak and shallow. Ah Ke cried and said, "If only we had miracle drug. We''d better find a doctor quickly; it''s just that this place ��"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered that the Empress Dowager had given him thirty pills called ''snow ginseng jade toad pill'' or something like that, which was part of the tribute from the King of Korea; she said that the pills would make one''s body strong and healthy, it would neutralize poison and heal injuries, its efficacy was out of the ordinary. Of those thirty pills, he was supposed to give twenty two to Cult Leader and Madame Hong. Immediately he took out the jade bottle from his pocket and said, "Actually, I have miracle drug to heal injuries here with me."


    Taking out two pills, he fed the pills into the nun in white''s mouth. Ah Ke took the water gourd and helped Shifu drink two mouthful. Wei Xiaobao seized that opportunity to sit in the nun in white''s carriage, sitting face to face with Ah Ke; he said, "I don''t know what will happen after Shitai take the drug; I must keep watch over her all the time." He ordered both carriages to continue their journey.


    After the time needed to drink a cup of tea later, the nun in white suddenly took a very deep breath, and slowly opened her eyes. Ah Ke was greatly delighted. "Shifu," she called out, "Do you feel better?" The nun in white nodded her head.


    Wei Xiaobao busily took out two more pills and said, "Shitai, these pills are effective, take two more."


    The nun in white slightly shook her head and said in a low voice, "Today �� it''s enough �� I must circulate my chi to convert the drug''s power �� Stop �� stop the carriage."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said; he ordered the carriages to stop. The nun in white instructed Ah Ke to help her get up. Sitting cross-legged, she closed her eyes and circulated her strength. While Ah Ke could not take her eyes off her master, Wei Xiaobao could not take his eyes off her. He saw that at first there was a worried expression on her face, but gradually her graceful eyebrows began to relax, her eyes started to shine.


    Another moment passed, a smile began to form on the corners of her mouth. Wei Xiaobao did not need to look at the nun in white to know that her effort to circulate her strength to heal her body had given its desired effect. A few moments later, he saw Ah Ke''s expression was growing happier and happier. Wei Xiaobao thought, "If only there was no Shitai in this carriage, only me and this little beauty, two people, plus her expression always looks this happy, I can really die happy."


    Suddenly Ah Ke looked up and saw him staring blankly at her; immediately her cheeks blushed. She wanted to scold him, but was afraid she might agitate Shifu and disturb her internal energy cultivation; hence the word was already at the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back, and only hatefully shot a malicious look at him. Wei Xiaobao smiled at her. Following her gaze, he looked at the nun in white, and notice that her breathing was even.


    The nun in white blew out a mouthful of air, and opened her eyes. "We can continue," she said in a low voice.


    "Resting for a bit longer is not a big deal," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "No need," the nun in white said.


    Wei Xiaobao took out five taels and gave the money to the drivers, telling them to continue the journey. At that time, hiring a large carriage only cost a qian and a half a day. Seeing how generous he was with the money, the two carriage drivers were overjoyed; they expressed their thanks repeatedly.


    The nun in white slowly said, "Xiaobao, what kind of medicine did you give me?"


    "It''s called ''snow ginseng jade toad pill''," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It was the tribute of the King of Korea to the young emperor."


    A delighted expression flashed on the nun in white''s face; she said, "Snow ginseng and jade toad are two miracle drugs with great healing power; they can almost raise people from the dead. Who would have thought that unexpectedly I could come across it? My life is not meant to be cut short yet." After suffering such a heavy injury, unexpectedly by this time her voice was very steady, there was no hint of her internal power was lacking.


    Ah Ke happily asked, "Shifu, are you, Senior, completely healed?"


    "I won''t die," the nun in white replied.


    "I still have twenty-eight more here," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shitai may take and use them all." While saying that, he handed over the jade bottle.


    The nun in white did not accept, she said, "At most I only need two or three more pills, that will be enough. I have no use for that many."


    Wei Xiaobao was generous by nature, he thought, "What''s so big of a deal if you take all thirty pills? The old wh0re must have some more over there." So he said, "Shitai, your body is important, since these pills are beneficial to you, next time I see the young emperor, I will just ask him some more." And he pushed the jade bottle into her hand. The nun in white nodded, but she still gave the bottle back to him.


    After traveling for some time, the nun in white said, "Find a secluded place and tell the drivers to stop; we need to question that lama."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao complied. He ordered the carriages to enter a valley, and told the drivers to get the lama to the ground. He also told them to have the mule grazing at the back of the mountain. "If you do not hear me call, don''t come over here," he said. The drivers complied and pulled the mules away.


    The nun in white said, "You question him."


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the dagger, ''swish!'' he cut a strip of tree branch, and easily pared the small twigs that shortly thereafter the tree branch turned into a stick. "Laoxiong [old chap]," he said, would you like to be a human stick?"


    The lama could see that the dagger was very sharp, hence he was already frightened. "May I ask Xiaoye [little master], what do you mean by a human stick?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I''ll have your arms cut off; your ears, your nose will also be scraped, anything that is sticking out of your body will be pared flat, that''s a human stick. It''s very fun, do you want to try?" While saying that, he waved his dagger several times in front of the lama''s nose.


    "No, no," the lama said, "Xiaoseng [little monk] does not want to be a human stick."


    "I am not lying to you," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s very fun, there is no harm in you being one this time."


    "I am afraid it''s not fun," the lama said.


    "You have not been one, how do you know it''s not fun?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s try it first, then we''ll talk later." While saying that, he ran the dagger back and forth on the lama''s shoulder.


    "Xiaoye, please spare my life," the lama begged, "Xiaoseng was too brazen to offend Shitai; I should not have done that."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I ask you a question, you give me an answer; if you give me even half a sentence of lie, I will immediately make you a human stick. I will plant you here, put some manure on you, and water you some; perhaps after ten days or half a month, you will grow some arms, ears and nose."


    "No, no," the lama said, "Xiaoseng will definitely give you honest answers."


    "What''s your name?" Wei Xiaobao started, "Why did you offend Shitai?"


    The lama said, "Xiaoseng''s name is Hubayin, a Tibetan Lama. I received our Da Shixiong [first martial (older) brother] Sangjie''s order to �� to capture this Shitai alive."


    Wei Xiaobao remembered that he had heard the name Sangjie on Mount Wutai. He asked, "This Shitai is perfectly all right, she has never offended your stinky Shixiong; why did you take such a brazenly rash action?"


    "Da Shixiong says that our Living Buddha has eight copies of treasured sutra, which this Shitai stole �� no, not steal, she borrowed," Hubayin said, "We want to ask her to return it."


    "What treasured sutra?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "It''s Cha Yan Gu Tu Wu Sutra," Hubayin replied.


    "Rubbish," Wei Xiaobao said, "What Ji Li Gu Lu Wu sutra?"


    "I really don''t know," Hubayin replied.


    "You don''t know?" Wei Xiaobao said, "What good is your tongue then? Stick it out." While saying that, he raised his dagger.


    How could Hubayin dare to stick his tongue out? He begged, "Xiaoseng really does not know."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your stinky Shixiong is in Tibet, how could he send you out so quickly?"


    Hubayin said, "Da Shixiong and some of us were originally in Beijing, so we pursued from Beijing to this place."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, he understood what had happened, "Naturally it was the old wh0re who sent them the news." He asked, "From your stinky lama companions this time, how many have higher, or almost the same, martial art skill?"


    Hubayin said, "This time there are thirteen of us, martial brothers, Shitai has killed five, there are eight people left."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly alarmed. "What do you mean ''eight''?" he shouted, "Can you still be considered one of them? Sooner or later you''ll be a human stick."


    Hubayin said, "Xiaoye has promised not to make Xiaoseng a human stick."


    "Those remaining seven human sticks," Wei Xiaobao asked, "Where are they now?"


    Hubayin said, "Our Da Shixiong''s skill is very superior, he won''t change into a human stick."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked the small of his back heavily while cursing, "Stinky thief, death is at hand, you still dare to blow your horn really loud. Even if your stinky shixiong''s skill was higher, I will still make him into a human stick and show it to you."


    "Yes, yes," Hubayin said; but it was obvious from his expression that he thought otherwise.


    Wei Xiaobao continued the interrogation for quite a long time, but no longer gained any useful information, thereupon he returned to the large carriage, put the carriage screen down, and in a low voice passed on what Hubayin had said. He added, "Shitai, there are still seven lamas left. If all of them catch up with us at the same time, they won''t be easy to deal with. Normally Shitai won''t have any problem, but right now you are not feeling very well ��"


    The nun in white shook her head and said, "Even if I were well without any injury, I would have a hard time fighting one against six, much less they have their Da Shixiong, whose martial art skill far surpasses his fellow disciples of the same generation. I heard Sangjie is the number one martial art expert of the Tibetan Tantra; his ''Big Hand Print Divine Skill'' has been trained to almost perfection."


    "I have an idea," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that �� it''s just that Shitai''s prestige would be lowered too much."


    The nun in white sighed and said, "What prestige there is left to be said for those who have left home? What''s your idea?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We go to a remote place, find a peasant family home to temporarily hide. I am asking Shitai to change into peasant woman''s attire, and sleep on the bed to heal your injury. Miss Ah Ke and I will change into peasant girl and boy''s clothing, we can pose as �� as Shitai''s son and daughter."


    The nun in white shook her head. Ah Ke said, "You are bad, your idea is naturally bad. Shifu is a martial art master of the present age, how could she hide? Won''t that mean she is scared of others?"


    The nun in white said, "We can follow your idea. The two of you can be my nephew and niece."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao happily said, while saying in his heart, "It would be best if we can be your nephew and nephew''s wife."


    Ah Ke shot him a malicious look; she was really unhappy Shifu had accepted his idea.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If we leave this lama''s mouth alive, I am afraid he might reveal our secret; we''d better bury him alive here, so we won''t leave any trace."


    The nun in white said, "When I fought them earlier, I was already acting against my will, it was hard for me to accept it in my heart. This lama is powerless to defend himself, to kill him would inevitably be too vicious. However �� however, we can''t let him go either. We''ll have to take him for the time being, and think about another plan later."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He called the drivers, told them to get Hubayin back onto the carriage, and ordered them to continue the journey.


    Along the way, they actually did not see any peasant homes; afraid that Sangjie would catch up, they were thinking that as soon as they saw a small path, they would make a detour. However, all the side roads along the way were simply too narrow for a large carriage to pass.


    While continuing along the main road, suddenly they heard sound of hooves from behind; several dozens of riders were galloping toward them. Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Doomed, we are doomed! Turns out there are dozens of stinky lamas." He ordered the carriages to run faster. The two drivers urged their mules verbally and with their whips, but the pursuing riders were getting closer and closer; not too long afterwards, they were already behind the carriages.


    Wei Xiaobao took a peek from a crack on the wooden partition of the carriage''s compartment, immediately he heaved a deep sigh of relief; turned out these several dozen riders were men wearing dark green clothes, they were not lamas at all. In no time at all the riders passed swiftly by the side of the carriages, and soon afterwards they were already ahead of the carriages.


    Ah Ke suddenly called out, "Zheng �� Zheng Gongzi!" [young master]One of the riders immediately reined in his horse and waited on the side. When the carriage caught up, he rode alongside the carriage. "Is it Miss Chen?" he called out.


    "That''s right," Ah Ke replied, "It''s me." She sounded very happy.


    The rider raised his voice, "It''s a surprise to see you here. Are you with Miss Wang?"


    "No, I am not," Ah Ke replied, "My Shijie is not here."


    "Are you going to Hejian Prefecture?" the rider asked, "We can travel together."


    "No," Ah Ke replied, "We are not going to Hejian Prefecture."


    The rider said, "Hejian Prefecture is very exciting, you should go."


    While they were talking, the carriages and the horses were still proceeding forward. Wei Xiaobao saw Ah Ke''s cheeks were blushing, her eyes were shining, she looked so happy, as if she was seeing the closest person to her in the world. In that instant, Wei Xiaobao felt as if his heart was heavily struck by a large hammer, again and again. He thought, "Could it be that her sweetheart has arrived?" He said in a low voice, "Finding shelter is more important, don''t talk to someone who has nothing to do with us."


    But Ah Ke did not seem to hear him; she asked, "What''s so exciting about Hejian Prefecture?"


    "Don''t you know?" the man said. The carriage''s screen was lifted up, a face looked in.


    The man had a handsome face, he was about twenty-three, twenty-four years of age, he looked delighted when he said, "There will be a ''Turtle-slaying Assembly'' at Hejian Prefecture, all heroes and warriors under the heavens will participate; it''s going to be very exciting."


    "What is a ''Turtle-slaying Assembly''?" Ah Ke asked, "Are you going to kill a big turtle? What''s so exciting about that?"


    The man laughed and said, "We are going to kill a big turtle alright, but not a real turtle, it''s a big criminal. His name has a ''turtle'' character [gui] in it."


    Ah Ke laughed, "How can someone use a ''turtle'' character in his name?" she asked, "You must be joking."


    The man laughed. "It''s not the ''gui'' character of ''wu gui'' [turtle/tortoise]," he said, "The characters sound alike, it''s the ''gui'' character of ''gui hua'' [cassia/laurel flower]; why don''t you guess who''s that person?"


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright; he mused, "Someone with the ''gui'' character of ''gui hua'' in his name; are they going to kill me, Xiao Guizi?"


    But he heard Ah Ke clapped her hands and said with a laugh, "I know it! It''s the big traitor to China, Wu Sangui."


    The man laughed and said, "Exactly. You are so smart, just one guess and you got it."


    "Have you captured Wu Sangui?" Ah Ke asked.


    "That, we have not," the man replied, "But we are going to discuss how we are going to kill that big traitor to China."


    Wei Xiaobao let out a breath; he thought, "So that''s it. Come to think about it, I, Xiao Guizi, am a little child, they can''t possibly want to kill me. Even if they did, they won''t need any ''Turtle-slaying assembly''. Damn it, even in posing as someone else, laozi can be considered as having a bad luck; why did I impersonate someone with a ''gui'' character in his name?"


    He saw that the man was looking at Ah Ke with a smile on his face, yet the sound of hoof and the carriage did not stop at all. The man was riding a horse, but he leaned over and looked into the carriage; indeed he had an extremely fine horsemanship.


    Ah Ke turned toward the nun in white and said in a low voice, "Shifu, are we going or not?"


    Although the nun in white''s martial art was very high, she lacked the ability to adapt to changes. She had frequently hoped to participate and had heard about Wulin heroes jointly discussing the plan to kill Wu Sangui. However, Sangjie and the other lamas might catch up with them very soon, the situation was very urgent. After hesitating for a short moment, she asked Wei Xiaobao, "What do you think?"


    Seeing Ah Ke''s expression and mannerism toward the young man, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was filled with unspeakable hatred, he simply did not want to let Ah Ke be together with him; thereupon he hastily said, "When those wicked lamas arrived, we won''t be able to deal with them. We''d better get away from them as quickly as possible."


    "What wicked lamas?" the young man asked.


    "Zheng Gongzi," Ah Ke said, "This is my Shifu, we ran into a group of wicked lamas on our journey, they injured my Shifu. She, the Senior, received a serious injury. There are seven other lamas pursuing behind us."


    "Yes!" the young man said. Turning around, he let out several whistles; the group of riders halted, the two large carriages also stopped. The young man leaped down from the horseback, rolled up the carriage''s screen, bowed and said, "Junior Zheng Keshuang pays his respect to Senior." The nun in white nodded.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Please don''t worry about seven or eight lamas, junior will take care of them, just leave it to us."


    Ah Ke was pleasantly surprised, but was also a bit worried; she said, "Those wicked lamas are very formidable."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "These companions I brought with me are all highly skilled in martial art, we can handle it. Not to mention we can fight them many against a few, even if we have to fight them one-on-one, we have nothing to be afraid of those seven, eight lamas."


    Ah Ke turned her head toward her Shifu with a questioning look; actually, it was more like hoping than asking.


    "That won''t work," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shitai whose martial art skill is this profound still received injury; what good are twenty-something people like you?"


    Ah Ke angrily said, "I did not ask you, why do you talk too much?"


    "I am concerned about Shitai''s wellbeing," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Ah Ke said, "You are scared of death, yet still say that you are concerned about Shifu. You are a little evil person, all you can do is evil thing, how can you possibly have any good intention?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This man surnamed Zheng, is his skill great? Is he stronger than Shitai?"


    Ah Ke said, "He brings more than twenty men, each one is exceptionally skillful in martial arts. Are you saying that these more than twenty men are afraid of seven lamas?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "How do you know each one of these men is exceptionally skillful in martial arts? I''ll say they all have low and weak martial art skill."


    "Of course I do," Ah Ke said, "I have seen them in action; each one of them is equal to a hundred of you."


    The nun in white was deep in thought without saying anything; Wei Xiaobao wanted her to dress as a peasant woman to hide from the lamas. This matter had already been decided, but it was actually against her deepest wish. To have these two children know about it was not a big deal, but in front of these twenty, thirty Jianghu warriors, she would rather die than letting them know that she was going to assume a disguise to avoid disaster. She slowly said, "Those lama took me, one person, by surprise. Zheng Gongzi, thank you for your good intention. Please lead the way."


    "Why would Shitai say such thing?" Zheng Keshuang said, "When the road is rough, we must pull our blades to help each other. Much less �� much less Shitai is Miss Chen''s Shifu, for junior to spend a tiny effort is not a burden at all."


    Ah Ke blushed and bowed her head, but she seemed to be very pleased.


    The nun in white nodded and said, "Very well, in that case we will go to Hejian Prefecture together to take a look. But you don''t need to mention me to other people. My natural disposition is indolent, I don''t like meeting other people."


    "Yes, yes," Zheng Keshuang happily said, "Junior will respectfully obey Senior''s instruction."


    The nun in white said, "Which school Zheng Gongzi belong to? Who is your revered master?" Asking about the school he learned his martial art from, was the same as examining his martial art skill.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Junior has received martial art instruction from three Shifu. The teacher who has awakened me from ignorance was surnamed Shi, a martial art expert from Wu Yi Pai


    [52]. The second Shifu was surnamed Liu, a martial art master, lay person disciple from Shaolin Temple, Putian Prefecture, Fujian."


    "Um, what is that Liu Shifu''s great name?" the nun in white asked.


    Zheng Keshuang replied, "His name is Liu Guoxuan."


    Hearing him blurting his Shifu''s name without any respect, the nun in white felt a bit strange. Immediately she remembered someone, she said, "Isn''t that the same name of the Great General Liu of Taiwan?"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "He is precisely the provincial governor Liu Guoxuan, Great General Liu under the Yanping Junwang


    [53] of Taiwan''s banner."


    "So Zheng Gongzi belongs to Yanping Junwang''s family?" the nun in white asked.


    "Junior is Yanping Junwang''s second son," Zheng Keshuang replied.


    The nun in white nodded. "So you are the descendant of loyal subjects."


    Zheng Chenggong [Koxinga] seized Taiwan from the Dutch. King Gui bestowed the title ''Yanping Jun Wang'', and allowed him to recruit great generals. Zheng Chenggong passed away in the fifth month of Yongli''s sixteenth year (i.e. Kangxi''s first year). In the meantime, his heir apparent Zheng Jing was guarding Jinmen and Xiamen, while Zheng Chenggong''s younger brother Zheng Xi was in command over Taiwan. Zheng Jing led Zhou Guanbin, Chen Jinnan, and other generals with their troops back to Taiwan to support Zheng Xi''s army and established the position Yanping Junwang.


    Counting from Zheng Chenggong''s father Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Jing''s oldest son Kezang [? �C can''t even find it in the dictionary], and second son Keshuang were the fourth generation of the Zheng family. For generations Yanping Junwang has unyieldingly been using their military power to resist the Manchurian Qing, alone across the sea, just like when they first received the order from the Great Ming; no man with vision under the heavens did not highly esteem them. When Zheng Keshuang revealed his status, he presumed that this nun would definitely feel deep veneration toward him; who would have thought that this nun in white was only nodding her head and said one sentence, ''So you are the descendant of loyal subjects'', and said nothing else? He did not know that the nun in white was the Emperor Chongzhen''s Princess. His Shifu Liu Guoxuan was his father''s subordinate, hence he did not hold him in such a high regards. Yet in the nun in white''s eyes, Zheng Jing was no more than a ''loyal subject''.


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao did not stop cursing, "Damn it, what''s so special about it? What''s so amazing about Yanping Junwang anyway?" Actually, he knew very well that Yanping Junwang was a great man; his Shifu Chen Jinnan was Yanping Junwang''s subordinate. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that the turn of events was far from good. He saw Zheng Keshuang''s expression, which showed clear interest in Ah Ke; he was someone in command of powerful army, the magnificent son of a Junwang who really reigned over a region, even the Mu Palace people who wandered destitute in Jianghu could not be compared to them. Moreover, this man''s appearance was ten times more elegant than Wei Xiaobao, his style of conversation was a hundred times more sophisticated, his age was also a lot older. Granted that his martial art skill was still unknown, it seems that if it was not ten times superior than his own, it must be at least seven, eight times.


    Ah Ke admired him whole-heartedly, even a blind person could see that. If her Shifu found out that Wei Xiaobao was vying over Ah Ke with this young master Zheng, even without the young master Zheng''s bidding, perhaps she would send a palm strike to kill him herself. Shitai had also praised him as a ''descendant of loyal subjects'', whose descendant was Wei Xiaobao anyway? He was nothing more than a descendant of a prostitute.


    The nun in white cast a glance toward Zheng Keshuang and slowly asked, "Then your first Shifu was Shi Lang, who surrendered to the Manchurian Qing?"


    "Yes," Zheng Keshuang replied, "This man is without any sense of shame and has forgotten righteousness, junior has long ago not regarded him as my Shifu. If we ever see each other in the battlefield, I will definitely kill him with my own hand." His voice was vehement and full of righteous indignation.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out your Shifu has surrendered to the Tatars. I must pay attention when I see this Shi Lang next time."


    Zheng Keshuang continued, "For the last ten years or so, junior has been training under Feng Shifu. He is Kunlun Pai''s number one martial art master; he is known as the ''One Sword Without Blood''. I presume Shitai has heard about him."


    The nun in white said, "Um, that must be Feng Xifan, Feng Shifu. Only I did not know the origin of his nickname."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "While it''s true that Feng Shifu''s swordsmanship is extremely high, his qigong


    [54] is especially superb. With the tip of his sword he sealed people''s death acupoint, the victim''s skin was not harmed, he died without shedding any blood."


    "Oh," the nun in white said, "In the present age, the number of people who have trained their qigong to this state, able to use sharp object instead of blunt, is not too many. How old is Feng Shifu, approximately?"


    Zheng Keshuang was very proud when he said, "Come winter this year, junior will arrange a fiftieth birthday banquet."


    The nun in white nodded. "He is not even fifty yet, his internal energy has already reached this ''pure'' state, it is indeed very rare," she said.


    After a short pause, she asked, "Those attendants of yours, are their martial art skills acceptable?"


    "Shitai, don''t worry," Zheng Keshuang said, "They are martial art masters, handpicked among the guards in junior''s palace."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly said, "Shitai, actually, how many martial art masters are there in the world? This Zheng Gongzi''s first Shifu was a foreign school''s martial art master, his second Shifu was Fujian Shaolin Pai''s martial art master, his third Shifu is Kunlun Pai''s martial art master, the attendants he brought along are all martial art masters, presumably he is also a martial art master."


    Hearing his sarcastic remark, Zheng Keshuang was angry; however, he did not know this kid''s background. He only saw that the kid was traveling in the same carriage with the nun in white and Ah Ke, presumably he was related to them somehow; thereupon he strived to repress his anger.


    Ah Ke said, "As the saying goes, ''Great Teacher will produce Brilliant Student''; since Zheng Gongzi has had three great teachers training him, naturally his martial art skill is superb."


    "What Miss has said is very true," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have not seen Zheng Gongzi''s martial art; therefore, I have inquired thoughtlessly. If Miss is compared to Zheng Gongzi, I wonder whose martial art is a bit stronger?"


    Ah Ke cast a quick glance toward Zheng Keshuang and said, "Naturally he is a lot stronger than me."


    Zheng Keshuang laughed and said, "Miss is too modest."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "You said that ''Great Teacher will produce Brilliant Student'', so your martial art skill is not high because your Shifu is a ''low hand''


    [55], an obscure master, a far inferior master compared to Zheng Gongzi''s three great martial art master teachers." In term of debate, how could Ah Ke be his match? With just one sentence he was able to turn the table around.


    Ah Ke''s entire little face turned beet red as she hastily said, "I �� when did I say that Shifu was a ''low hand'', an obscure master? You are the one who speak nonsense here."


    The nun in white smiled and said, "Ah Ke, you will never win a squabble against Xiaobao. Let us go." The large carriage lowered its curtain, the vehicles and horses continued their journey westward. Zheng Keshuang rode his horse alongside the large carriage.


    The nun in white asked Ah Ke in a low voice, "This Zheng Gongzi, how did you know him?"


    Ah Ke blushed as she replied, "Shijie and I met him at Henan''s Kaifeng Prefecture. That time �� that time we were dressed as men, he thought we were men, hence at the restaurant he invited us to come over and drink some wine."


    "You have quite a nerve, huh?" the nun in white said, "Two big girls going to the restaurant to drink wine."


    Ah Ke lowered her head. "We did not drink the wine for real," she said, "We only pretending to; it was fun."


    "Miss Ah Ke," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have such a beautiful appearance, even when you are wearing men''s clothes, anybody could see that you are a beautiful girl. I think that Zheng Gongzi was harboring a malicious intention."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "You are the one who harbors malicious intention! We dressed as men, he did not suspect us the least bit. Afterwards Shijie told him, and he apologized repeatedly. Other people are refined and courteous gentlemen, unlike you ��"


    Shortly before noon the party reached Feng''er Zhuang [''zhuang'' means village], a large town in western Hebei. They all stopped for lunch in a restaurant. Wei Xiaobao stepped down the carriage, and noticed that Zheng Keshuang was a tall and handsome, straight and impressive looking man, at least half a head taller than Wei Xiaobao; he could not help but feeling inferior even more. He also noticed his luxurious clothes and ornaments, the sheathe of the sword hanging on his waist was inlaid with pearls, jades and precious stones, which sparkled brilliantly under the sun. From among the twenty-some men accompanying him, some were tall and sturdy, some looked energetic, heroic, tall and straight. They all carried sabers and swords, each one of them looked completely spirited.


    As they entered the restaurant, Ah Ke wiped the table where the nun in white was going to sit before she took a seat next to her. Hence she and Zheng Keshuang were sitting on adjacent tables to keep each other company. Wei Xiaobao was about to sit down on a table opposite the nun in white, Ah Ke shot him a malicious look and said, "There are plenty of seats over there, can you not sit over here? When I see you, I can''t eat my meal."


    Wei Xiaobao was furious, instantly his entire face turned deep red; he thought, "With this Zheng Gongzi accompanying you, you will be able to eat several more bowls. Damn it, I hope you, this ''little mother skin'' [С��Ƥ - xiao niang pi] will die of bloating."


    "Ah Ke," the nun in white said, "Why are you always that rude to Xiaobao?"


    Ah Ke replied, "He is a bad person who won''t shrink from any crime. Shifu said I must not kill him, otherwise ��" Speaking to this point, she shot another malicious look toward him.


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was bitterly angry, he walked away toward a table at the corner of the hall; he thought, "You are bent on marrying this damned stinky Zheng Gongzi and be his wife; how can I, Wei Xiaobao, be willing to give up easily? You want to kill me? It won''t be easy. Laozi will come up with a scheme: I will kill the husband in your mind first, so you won''t have anybody to marry, you will be a widow first, in the end you will have no choice but to marry laozi. Laozi will not consider you a widow to be remarried, you are but a ''little mother skin''!"


    The waiters delivered the meals, the attendants of the Zheng Family immediately wolfed down their food. Wei Xiaobao took seven, eight steamed buns to feed Hubayin, who was still tied on the carriage. He felt that this Hubayin was more amiable than those men from the Zheng family. Returning to his own table, he looked across several tables and saw Ah Ke''s face was glowing, as she was chatting and laughing with Zheng Keshuang, seemingly very intimate with him. Wei Xiaobao was so angry that he nearly choked, "Killing this Zheng Gongzi is not going to be easy," he pondered, "I must not leave the least bit of trace; otherwise if Ah Ke knew it was me who killed him, she would definitely kill her own husband to avenge this ''male adulterer''."


    Suddenly they heard hooves beat, several people on horses were rushing into the town. They dismounted and walked into the inn, they were precisely seven lamas. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding, but there was a little bit of delight in his heart, thinking that other people would soon meet misfortune. He thought, "That Zheng Gongzi was tooting his horn really hard just now, saying that he had trained under three martial art masters. Let them have a big fight, laozi will watch with folded arms; it''s going to be wonderful!"


    As soon as those seven lamas saw the nun in white, their countenance changed greatly, and they broke into some mumbling and grunting among themselves. One of them, a tall and thin lama spoke several sentences, he seemed to be issuing some order. The seven of them sat around a table nearby the door, and then they called for food. Each one was staring at the nun in white with angry expression. The nun in white acted as if she did not see anything, she kept on eating her meal slowly.


    A moment later, a lama stood up and walked toward the nun in white. "Bald nun," he said in a loud voice, "Did you kill several companions of ours?"


    Zheng Keshuang stood up and in a clear voice said, "What do you think you are doing? Making a big fuss in here and acting very rude?"


    The lama angrily said, "What kind of ''thing'' are you? We are talking to this nun, it has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"


    There were several ''whoosh, whoosh'' noise as four of Zheng Keshuang''s subordinates leaped over, trying to arrest the lama. The lama raised his right hand to block two men; his leg flew out and kicked an attendant, sending him rolling out of the inn''s door, and then he sent a punch straight ahead toward the bridge of another attendant''s nose, hitting him so hard that the attendant fainted immediately.


    The rest of the attendants shouted, "Let''s go together!" Taking out their weapons, they charged toward the lama.


    The other five lamas also pulled their jiedao and rushed forward to meet the attack, only the thin and tall lama sat motionless on his chair. In an instant the dining hall was full of ''bing, bing, bang, bang'' noise; the sound of fighting was very loud. At the start of the fight, the restaurant workers and the other diners ran out of the restaurant. Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke pulled their swords and stood in front of the nun in white. In the dining hall the bowls and cups were flying everywhere, the tables and chairs were thrashed. Each lama fought four or five of Zheng Mansion''s guards.


    Suddenly there was a ''whoosh'' sound, a single-blade saber flew upward and landed on the beam. Wei Xiaobao looked up, white light flashed, two more sabers flew up and stuck to the beam. And then three, four more swords also flew up. The Zheng Mansion''s guards cried out in alarm one after another as they leaped sideways and back to evade, without any weapon in their hands. A series of whooshing noise was heard, one by one their weapons flew up; they all stuck onto the beam and the rafters, and did not fall back down. Only some steel whips, iron cudgels, and other heavy weapons flew through the roof and landed on the roof tiles outside.


    In less than the time needed to burn half of an incense stick, more than twenty Zheng Mansion''s guards had lost their weapons. Wei Xiaobao was startled, but delighted as well; in fact, his delight was several degrees higher than his astonishment.


    The lamas shouted, "Quickly kneel down and surrender; if you are one step late, all your melon heads will be chopped down."


    Although their weapons were gone, the Zheng Mansion''s guards did not lose their courage; either barehanded or lifted up benches as their weapons, they charged toward the six lamas again. The six lamas yelled, waved their sabers and tossed them away. ''Pop!'' all six jiedao landed on the table in front of the tall and thin lama, neatly forming a circle. And then all six of them charged into the crowd. Cries of ''Aiyo, aiyo'' were heard, mixed with unending ''crack, crack!'' as just in a short time more than twenty men had their thighbones broken; they all fell down on the ground, scattered around the dining hall.


    By this time the fear in Wei Xiaobao''s heart had surpassed his delight; he groaned in his heart, "Very soon they are going to give Shitai and us, pretty people, some trouble; what should we do?"


    The six lamas put their palms together while mumbling and grunting; apparently they were chanting some sutra. They returned to their table, pulled their jiedao, and hang them on their waists. The tall and thin lama called out, "Wine! Bring the wine out!"


    After he called several times, the restaurant workers looked from the distant, how could the dare to come over? A lama cursed, "Damn it, if you don''t bring food and wine, we''ll burn down your ''black inn''."


    As soon as the innkeeper heard that they were going to burn the inn, he replied, "Yes, yes! Food and wine will be served immediately. Quickly get the food and wine for these Buddha masters."


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the nun in white, he wanted to know how she was going to deal with this situation. But he only saw her with a cup of tea in her right hand, slowly sipping the tea; her sleeve did not move at all, her face looked indifferent. Ah Ke, on the other hand, was deathly pale, with terror in her eyes. Zheng Keshuang''s face alternated between deep green and white, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his arm trembled continuously, not knowing what to do, whether he should go forward and attack or not.


    The tall and thin lama let out a cold laugh, stood up and walked toward Zheng Keshuang. Zheng Keshuang jumped sideways to evade, while pointing his sword to the lama and shouted, "You �� you �� what do you want?" Not only his voice was hoarse, it was trembling too.


    The lama said, "We have some business with this nun, it has nothing to do with other people. Are you her disciple?"


    "I am not," Zheng Keshuang replied.


    "Very well!" the lama said, "Be sensible, get out quickly."


    "Sire �� who are you, Sire?" Zheng Keshuang asked, "Please leave behind your ''ten-thousand'' name, someday �� someday I will ��"


    The lama tossed his head back and let out a long laugh. Wei Xiaobao''s ears were buzzing, immediately he felt dizzy and light-headed. Ah Ke was unable to stand, she sat down on the stool and bent her head over the table.


    The lama laughed and said, "My name in religion is Sangjie, the Great Dharma Protector of the Tibetan Dalai Lama Living Buddha. Someday you will what? You want to find me for revenge, don''t you?"


    The hair on Zheng Keshuang''s head stood up; he said with a trembling voice, "Ex �� exactly!"


    Sangjie laughed aloud. His left sleeve brushed toward Zheng Keshuang''s face. Zheng Keshuang raised his sword to block. Sangjie flicked the middle finger of his right hand, ''Clang!'' the sword flew up and stuck on the beam. Sangjie''s left hand grabbed the back of Zheng Keshuang''s neck, lifted him up, and threw him heavily onto the wooden bench. He laughed and said, "Sit down!"


    As the back of Zheng Keshuang''s neck was grabbed by Sangjie, his ''da zhui'' [big spine] acupoint was sealed; it was the meeting point of the three yang passages of the hands and feet, consequently, his entire body was paralyzed. Sangjie let out a ''hey, hey'' cold laugh before returning to his table and sat down.


    "What are they waiting for?" Wei Xiaobao mused, "Why don''t they fight Shitai? Are they waiting for other helpers?" Looking around the dining hall, he noticed that all four walls were made of bricks, he could not use the same trick again, i.e. using his dagger to stab the enemies from behind wooden partition. Suddenly he remembered Hubayin, who was still on the large carriage outside. "Bad!" he thought, "As soon as they rescue Hubayin, they would immediately know that Shitai and I are of the same group; perhaps they will also find out that those four lamas were killed by me. If that happens, perhaps it would be difficult for Wei Xiaobao to go directly to the underworld to be together with the four lamas, I am most afraid they would trim me into a human stick first; after all, it was my idea."


    Thinking that they would seize his dagger and trim him into a human stick, he could not restrain the hair on his body from standing on its end. Turning his head to look at Sangjie, he noticed that there was a hint of anxiety, restless feeling on Sangjie''s serious expression. Suddenly it dawned on him, "Ah, right! He did not know Shitai is seriously injured; he is scared of Shitai''s superb martial art. Right now he is still not sure how to make his move."


    In the meantime the waiter was delivering the food and wine. He poured half a bowl in front of each lama, and his pot was already empty. A lama slapped the table and cursed, "This little bit of wine is not enough for one Buddha master alone to drink." The waiter was already shaking all over, right now he was even more terrified; he turned around to fetch some wine.


    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration; he followed into the kitchen. He was a small kid, nobody paid him any attention. He saw the waiter took a ladle to fill the wine pot from a big earthen jar. His hand was shaking so bad that he splash wine on the ground, on the table and around the earthen jar. In fact, the area around the wine pot was wet with wine. Wei Xiaobao took out a small ingot of silver and handed it to him, saying, "Don''t be afraid. This is to pay for my food, you may keep the change. Let me help you pouring the wine." While saying that, he took the ladle away from his hand.


    The waiter was overjoyed at this unexpected good fortune; he had never expected that there was such a good person in the world. Wei Xiaobao said, "Those lamas are very vicious; go take a look: what are they doing now?" The waiter complied; he walked toward the kitchen door and peeked into the dining hall.


    Wei Xiaobao took a package of knock-out drug from his bosom, opened the paper wrapper, and shook everything into the wine pot; and then he raised the pot several times while giving it a vigorous shaking. The waiter turned around and said, "They are drinking, they are not �� not doing anything!"


    Wei Xiaobao handed over the wine pot to him, saying, "Get it quick, they are hot-tempered, don''t let them burn this inn for real."


    The waiter did not stop thanking him; with both hands he received the pot and brought it out, while his mouth was still muttering, "Thank you very much, thank you very much, ay, such a good person, may Bodhisattva bless him."


    The lamas snatched the wine out and poured half a bowl each. "Not enough," they shouted, "Get more wine!"


    Wei Xiaobao saw the seven lamas did not suspect anything, they drank the drugged wine clean; he was greatly delighted and mused, "These stinky lamas are so proud of their superior martial art that they do not even guard against this little bit of shallow Jianghu trick; it is really laughable."


    He did not realize that Sangjie and the other had seen the violent death of their five companions with their own eyes, one of them died with all his ribs, front and back, broken from a palm strike. They knew that an enemy with such a very high level of martial art skill was really rare. Sangjie speculated that if he had to fight this person, most probably he would be defeated. In the inn he saw that the nun in white remained calm and composed throughout, which was indeed the manner of an expert. All seven of them had their attention focused at her every move; they were fully on-guard against a martial art expert, whose skill had reached the great heights of achievement, how could they still divide their attention to guard against such a lowly trick involving some knock-out drug? Although their mouths were drinking the wine, actually they were completely oblivious of its taste. Recalling the circumstances around the tragic death of their five martial brothers, their hearts were already trembling with fear. If there was no nun in white calmly sitting in front of them in the inn, with such a large quantity of knock-out drug in the wine, as soon as it entered their mouths, they would not necessarily not taste the difference.


    One of the lamas, a plump one, was a lecher. As soon as he saw Ah Ke''s beauty, he had already indulged the idea of stepping forward and run his hands and feet all over her body. It''s just that he was scared of the nun in white that he did not dare to be rude. But as the first half a bowl of wine entered his belly, he lost all self-control; and then a moment later, the drugged wine also flared-up, his mind turned murky, he did not have any care anymore. Standing up, he giggled and said, "Little Miss, are you married?" Stretching out his big hand, he caressed Ah Ke''s cheek.


    Ah Ke was so frightened that her body shook. "You �� you ��" she said, while brandishing her saber in a chopping movement.


    The lama reached out and grabbed her wrist; with a simple twist the saber in Ah Ke''s hand fell to the ground. The lama laughed aloud and pulled her into his embrace. Ah Ke screamed and struggled with everything she had; but the lama''s bulky arms were like a pair of iron hoops, tightly encircled her body, how could she struggle to free herself?


    The nun in white originally looked calm and composed, but this time her countenance also underwent a great change; she thought, "It''s not a big deal if this wicked lama killed me, but if he is being rude in public like this, even if I died, I won''t die with closed eyes."


    With both hand Zheng Keshuang propped himself against the table; he stood up and called out, "You �� you ��" The big fat lama sent a straight left punch. ''Bang!'' he sent Zheng Keshuang rolling on the floor, twice.


    Seeing his beloved was being humiliated, Wei Xiaobao was very anxious, "Why haven''t the drug showed its effect? Could it be that these stinky lamas have some kind of strange skill that they are impervious of knock-out drugs?"


    Seeing the lama puckered his lips and randomly kissed and sniffed Ah Ke''s face, he could no longer care about the danger; concealing the dagger in his sleeve, he stepped forward with a giggle. "Big monk," he said with a laugh, "What are you doing?" His right hand slapped the left side of the lama''s back, he flipped his wrist and thrust the dagger from within his sleeve into the lama''s heart. "Big monk," he said with a laugh, "What kind of trick are you playing?" Hastily he stepped sideway to the left to guard against a counterattack.


    The dagger was incomparably sharp, it entered the flesh without any noise; it cut through the lama''s body straight into his heart, which immediately stopped beating, and thus he stopped moving altogether, but his hands are still holding on to Ah Ke. Ah Ke did not know that he had already died; she was still screaming in fear.


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward and pried open the lama''s arms, he pushed the lama''s chest while saying in a low voice, "Ah Ke, quickly follow me." With one hand pulling her hand, with the other hand he helped the nun in white, together they walked out of the restaurant.


    As soon as the big fat lama left Ah Ke''s body, he slowly slid down. The rest of the lamas were shocked; they rushed forward together. Wei Xiaobao called out, "Halt! My Shifu''s divine skill is fantastic. This lama was impolite, she punished him with death. Whoever takes a step forward will be put to death immediately."


    The lamas were stunned. Suddenly ''bang, bang!'' two lamas fell down to the floor. A moment later, two other lamas fell down. Sangjie''s internal energy was deep, temporarily the knock-out drug was not able to knock him out; but he also felt his head was dizzy, his body swayed, his feet felt light. He thought the nun in white possessed some kind of strange magic; his mind was confused, his conscience blurry, how could he guess that he had been hit by a knock-out drug?


    Ah Ke called out, "Zheng Gongzi, quickly follow us!"


    "Yes," Zheng Keshuang said. He crawled up and scrambled out.


    Wei Xiaobao helped the nun in white out. Sangjie rushed after them, but he only took two steps, his body swayed, he tumbled over a table. ''Crash!'' the table collapsed. Wei Xiaobao saw the drivers were gone; without waiting for them, he helped the nun in white onto the carriage. He saw Hubayin was surprisingly still in the carriage. Afraid that Sangjie would catch up with them, as soon as Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang boarded the carriage, he jumped onto the driver''s seat and cracked his whip to get the mule going.


    In one breath they rushed for about ten li, and only after the mule was weary did he ease up and let the mule walk. Right this moment they heard faint sound of hooves, several horses were pursuing them.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Ay, too bad we are not riding horses; otherwise, our steeds can run fast, the wicked lamas won''t be able to catch up."


    "How could Shitai ride a horse?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I did not ask you to board the carriage." Finished speaking, he yelled and cracked his whip to urge the mule to run.


    Zheng Keshuang knew he had made an indiscreet remark, but he was a young master of a prince''s mansion, hence he was used to people fawning on him. With only one or two scolding from other people, immediately his face showed an angry look.


    But he heard the hoof beats were getting closer and closer. Wei Xiaobao said, "Shitai, we must get down the carriage and hide." Looking around, he did not see any house or building, there were only several barley haystacks on the field. "Alright," he said, "We''ll hide in the barley haystacks." While saying that, he pulled the reins to stop the mule.


    Zheng Keshuang angrily said, "Hiding in the haystacks, if people find out, my Yanping Palace''s prestige will go down the drain."


    "Right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "The three of us will hide in the haystack, Gongzi may continue driving the carriage to lead the pursuing troop away." Immediately he helped the nun in white to get down the carriage.


    Ah Ke temporarily could not make up her mind. "Ah Ke," the nun in white called, "You come with us!"


    Ah Ke beckoned Zheng Keshuang and said, "You come and hide with us too." Seeing the three of them crawled into a haystack, Zheng Keshuang hesitated for a moment, and then crawled into the haystack.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered something; hastily he crawled out of the haystack, climbed onto the carriage, pulled his dagger and stabbed Hubayin to death. Suddenly he had a brainwave; he cut Hubayin''s right hand from the wrist, and jabbed the mule''s buttock with his dagger. The mule cried out in pain, and ran away wildly, pulling the large carriage with it. Hearing the pursuing riders getting closer, hurriedly he crawled back into the haystack.


    He inserted the dagger into his boot, while holding the dead man''s hand with his right hand, thinking that he would scare Ah Ke with it. With his left hand he groped around, and happened to touch a braid, so he knew where Zheng Keshuang was. He continued groping around, this time he touched a slender soft waist, so he knew it was Ah Ke. He was greatly delighted. He pinched several times as hard as he could and called out, "Zheng Gongzi, why did you rub my buttocks?"


    "I did not," Zheng Keshuang said.


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao said, "You thought I was Miss Ah Ke, didn''t you? Groping around like that, it''s very rude."


    "Nonsense!" Zheng Keshuang cursed.


    Wei Xiaobao pinched Ah Ke''s chest hard with his left hand and immediately pulled his hand back, while calling out, "Hey, Zheng Gongzi, you are still groping around!" And then he placed Hubayin''s hand on Ah Ke''s face to caress her a little bit, before moving the hand to stroke her chest.


    Previously, when he groped Ah Ke''s waist and chest while making a big fuss over it, Ah Ke thought it was really Zheng Keshuang who took the opportunity to be impolite to her; she could not help but feeling ashamed and anxious. This time she felt an ice-cold and big hand caressing her face, she knew Wei Xiaobao''s hand was not this big, she had no doubt that it was Zheng Keshuang''s hand. She was about to scream, but then felt that it would be kind of indecent if her Shifu and Wei Xiaobao hear about it; thereupon she turned her head around to evade. The big hand then went down to her chest; she thought, "This Zheng Gongzi is such a scoundrel." She could not help but feeling enraged; she turned her body to the right to evade.


    Wei Xiaobao used his left hand to slap Zheng Keshuang''s face heavily while shouting, "Miss Ah Ke, that was a good strike. This Zheng Gongzi is a lecher. Aiyo, Zheng Gongzi, you caressed me again; you got the wrong person."


    Zheng Keshuang thought it was Ah Ke who slapped him; he angrily said, "You are the one who caressed her, but you blame me �� blame me ��"


    Ah Ke thought, "That hand was clearly a big one; it can''t be the little evil man."


    Holding Hubayin''s hand, Wei Xiaobao stroked the back of Ah Ke''s neck.


    Right this moment, the sound of hooves beat was getting closer. What happened was that when Sangjie saw the nun in white and the others went out of the inn, he wanted to run after them, but his entire body was devoid of any strength. His internal energy was very profound, after drinking the drugged wine, he did not lose his conscience. After taking two deep breaths, he felt that his chi was not harmed, only he was dizzy and his vision blurred. Immediately he understood what was going on. "Fetch cold water," he called, "Quickly fetch cold water!"


    The waiter fetched a bowl of cold water. Sangjie called out, "Pour it on my head." But how could the waiter dare to do that? He hesitated and stayed motionless.


    Sangjie was still thinking that the knockout drug was administered by this restaurant. Since he was unable to lift his hands, he took a very deep breath and smashed his head against the bowl of cold water. As soon as the cold water splashed onto his head, his brain cleared up somewhat. "Cold water," he cried, "The more the better. Quick, quick!"


    The waiter fetched two more bowls of cold water. Sangjie dumped the water onto his own head, and ordered the waiter to bring a barrel of cold water over, to awaken the rest of the lamas. No matter what they did, however, the big fat lama did not wake up. Then they saw blood on his back from the blade wound, and realized that he had died. The six lamas did not have time to burn the inn down; they rushed onto their horses and with loud yelling and shouting they gave chase.


    Ah Ke felt the big hand stroking her neck; she could not take it anymore. "Please don''t!" she called out. Wei Xiaobao turned his hand around.


    Inside the haystack, Zheng Keshuang could not see anything, he was unable to dodge, and had to suffer another slap on his face. "It wasn''t me!" he shouted.


    With these two shouts, their trace was discovered. Sangjie called out, "They are here!"


    One lama jumped down the horse and rushed toward the haystack. He saw Zheng Keshuang''s one leg was sticking out of the stack. Grabbing his heel, he pulled Zheng Keshuang out of the stack. Afraid of Zheng Keshuang''s counterstrike, he flung him out, throwing him several zhang away.


    The lama then reached into the stack, trying to catch the other. Wei Xiaobao curled his body as small as he could. By this time the lama had already pulled the stack open; suddenly he saw a large hand coming toward his face. In a moment of desperation, he grabbed Hubayin''s hand with both hands. Feeling that he had someone''s hand in his own, he pulled the hand out as hard as he could, thinking that he was pulling someone out of the stack and was going to fling that person away as well. Who would have thought that he was pulling an empty air?


    He had exerted all his strength, but only pulled a severed hand; his own strength had thrown him back that he fell sitting down on the ground. By the time he saw clearly that what he had pulled was a dead man''s palm, he felt the chi and blood inside his chest welling up, making him feel an unspeakable discomfort.


    The force he exerted was intended to pull a man and fling him out of the haystack. Zheng Keshuang weighed approximately a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty catties; the lama estimated that the second person would weigh approximately the same. Hence this pulling force was at least two hundred catties, not to mention that this time he was not pulling an ankle, but a hand. He was afraid that if his pulling force was insufficient, he would be pulled into the haystack instead; therefore, he put a lot more effort in this one pull. Who would have thought that the enormous effort he exerted was only pulling a severed hand weighed only several taels? The entire force came back to him; it was no different than if he received a heavy blow with a force of more than 200 catties.


    Seeing the lama fell down, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he threw a bunch of straw onto the lama''s face. The lama stretched out his hand to brush the straw off. Suddenly he felt a stabbing pain on the pit of his stomach; his body twitched several times, then he stayed still. Actually, Wei Xiaobao took the opportunity while the lama''s vision was obstructed by the straw to jump forward and thrust his dagger into the pit of the lama''s stomach.


    He had just pulled the dagger out when he heard all around him people were shouting loudly in Tibetan; he could not help but groaning inwardly. Expecting the worst, he had no choice but to conceal the dagger inside his sleeve, while slowly stood up. He looked up and saw Sangjie and the other four lamas were already standing in the barley field, about three zhang away from the haystack.


    The lama''s body was covered in pile of straw, Sangjie and the other did not know how he died, they assumed it was the nun in white who had displayed her divine skill by striking him dead. They stood far away and did not dare to come near the haystack. "Little Nun," Sangjie called out, "You have successively killed my eight Shidi, the enmity between you and me is as deep as the ocean. You are hiding in a haystack and do not dare to come out; what kind of hero are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Why did he say she has killed eight of his Shidi?" But after a quick calculation, he realized that indeed they had killed eight lamas, although only one died in the nun in white''s hand. After hearing Sangjie said those words, he took two steps backward; obviously he was scared. He could not bear not to shout, "My Shifu''s martial art skill has reached perfection, there is no one in the world can be compared with her. But she, the Senior, has a merciful heart, and she is very virtuous. It was by accident that she has killed people. She, the Senior, has said that she is going to spare you, five lamas. Just leave us quickly."


    Sangjie said, "We want the one in the Little Nun''s possession."


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to Zheng Keshuang and said, "That copy of sutra has been given by my Shifu to him long ago. Why don''t you ask him?"


    Zheng Keshuang was just crawling up from the ground, he had not stood firm yet. A lama pounced on him and grabbed his arms. Another lama pulled his clothes apart, ''rip, rip!'' his outer garment, his undergarment, were torn to pieces; the gold, silver and jewels in his pocket were thrown to the ground, but how could there be any sutra?


    "Zheng Gongzi," Wei Xiaobao called out, "Where did you hide the sutra? Why don''t you tell them? It''s not such a precious object anyway."


    Zheng Keshuang was furious, "I don''t have it!" he loudly shout.


    A lama slapped him hard that he almost passed out. "Will you speak or not?" the lama shouted, while giving him another slap.


    Seeing Zheng Keshuang''s cheeks were immediately swollen, Wei Xiaobao''s joy was unspeakable. "Zheng Gongzi," he called out again, "Why don''t you get that sutra for this Buddha masters? I saw you digging a hole in that inn; did you hide the sutra in there?"


    Sangjie happily said, "Right, the little kid must be telling the truth; take him back to the inn."


    "Yes!" the lama complied. He slapped Zheng Keshuang''s face again.


    Ah Ke could not bear it anymore, she scrambled out of the haystack and called out, "This little kid is an expert liar, don''t believe him. This Zheng Gongzi has never seen any sutra."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and said in a low voice, "I am trying to save Shitai and you, let Zheng Gongzi lead them away."


    "I don''t want you to save me," Ah Ke said, "You have wronged Zheng Gongzi, you will make him losing his life."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shitai''s and your lives are ten thousand times more important than Zheng Gongzi''s."


    Sangjie said to the lama grabbing Zheng Keshuang, "Don''t kill him." Turning his head around, he said, "Little Nun, come out. And these two babies, take them with us to find the sutra."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "You are the one who is afraid of death, yet you said you want to save Shifu. If you have guts, go fight these lamas."


    The hot blood in Wei Xiaobao''s heart welled up, he thought, "You despise me like this, so what if I''ll let myself be killed by these lamas?" He said, "You want me to fight? Fine. My death is not a big deal, it''s just that I won''t be able to save Shitai and you. But what if I win?"


    "Humph," Ah Ke snorted, "Even if you reincarnated you won''t win. If you defeat one lama, I will obey you forever."


    "What do you mean defeat one lama? Didn''t I kill seven lamas?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "You used trick to kill," Ah Ke said, "It does not count."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I defeat one lama, you will marry me and be my wife."


    "Nonsense!" Ah Ke angrily said, "You are a little monk, you are also a little eunuch, how can �� how can ��"


    "Little monk can return to normal life, little eunuch can quit being an eunuch," Wei Xiaobao said, "In short, I must marry you and take you as my wife."


    "Shifu," Ah Ke anxiously said, "Did you hear that? In situation like this he is still foul-mouthed and talks nonsense."


    The nun in white sighed; she thought that the situation was seriously critical. She might be forced to cut her own channel


    [56] and die, to avoid being humiliated by the lamas. "Xiaobao," she called in a low voice, "Stretch your hand into the haystack."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He stretched his left hand backhandedly into the haystack. He felt a small paper packet in his hand; he heard the nun in white said in a low voice, "This is the map hidden inside the sutra. You don''t need to care about me, you must escape alone. If you could obtain the other seven sutras in the future, perhaps our great Han people''s rivers and mountains will have a hope of recovering. It is much more important than my, one person''s life."


    Wei Xiaobao saw how high she regarded him; she did not entrust this matter to her own disciple, but gave it to him instead, immediately his spirit rose. Suddenly he had an idea. Right now he did not have time to think about it in details, but he loudly said, "My Shifu is a martial art expert of this age, she is unwilling to fight with you. Just appoint one person to have a match with me. Only if you can beat me will my Shijie go into action. Humph, humph! I''ll say you won''t dare. Just know your own limitation, you''d better run away quickly with your tails between your legs." While saying that, he put the paper packet into his bosom.


    The five lamas laughed aloud. Although they were quite afraid of the nun in white, why would they take this little kid seriously? One lama laughed and said, "I only need to send you one palm strike, I guarantee you will roll around seventeen, eighteen times, and have a match in farting!"


    Wei Xiaobao took a step forward and said in a clear voice, "Alright, let you and I have a match then." Turning his head toward Ah Ke, he said, "After I win, you will be my wife, you can''t deny."


    Ah Ke said, "You won''t win. No matter what you won''t win."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A man stake out everything he has, ten thousand men can''t stop him. In order to win you to be my wife, I have no choice but to stake everything I have."


    The lama took several steps forward and said with a laugh, "You really want to have a match with me?"


    "Why would I lie to you?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "The two of us will have a one-on-one match. Don''t worry, my Shifu will not personally go into action. Those four martial brothers of yours, are they going to help you?"


    Sangjie burst into loud laughter. "Naturally we won''t help him," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Supposing that I kill him with a single blow, will you go together, relying on numbers to gain victory? Let us agree up front: if all of you swarm together, I won''t be your match, my Shifu will have to personally go into action."


    Sangjie was actually afraid that the nun in white would personally go into action. He thought about his several martial brothers who died without clear reason, he did not know what kind of martial art this nun possessed, he thought it would be greatly advantageous to him if he let his martial brother have one-on-one match with this little kid, so that he could see the nun in white''s martial art school and her background. Thereupon he said, "The two of you will have a one-on-one match, neither side is allowed to help you two."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Whoever helps is a turtle son of b1tch."


    "That''s right," Sangjie said, "Whoever helps is a turtle daughter of b1tch."


    Not only Sangjie had a high martial art skill, he was also very smart. He saw that the nun in white and Ah Ke were women, thereupon he changed the ''turtle son of b1tch'' into ''turtle daughter of b1tch'', because since in any case the opponent would not be ''turtle son of b1tch'', they might go forward and help anyway.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Very good. You, big lama, is exceptionally astute, Zaixia is full of admiration."


    "Move forward several steps more," Sangjie said. He saw Wei Xiaobao was standing very close to the haystack, and was afraid the nun in white might put her hand onto his back and secretly transfer her internal energy to him, then his martial brother would not be able to withstand.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We, Han people, are frank and upright, if we win, we will win honorably, if we lose, we will lose gracefully; how can we practice fraud?"


    The nun in white said in a low voice, "Xiaobao, you won''t win, just pretend you are having a martial art match, then grab a horse and escape."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He took three steps forward, so that the distance between him and the haystack was a bit more than a zhang.


    Seeing that the nun in white would no longer able to help in secret, Sangjie nodded. The lama also took several steps forward until he stood face to face with Wei Xiaobao, and then he said with a laugh, "How do you want to compete?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We could have either soft match, or hard match


    [57]."


    The lama laughed and said, "How do we have a soft match? And how do we have a hard match?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In soft match, I punch you once, you also punch me once. I will punch you again, and you also punch me again. We punch each other seventy, eighty times, until one of us fall down. When you punch me, I must neither dodge, nor lift my hand to block; I can only stand still, transporting my internal energy to receive your punch head on. When I hit you, you will do the same. In hard match, we can either fight with weapons or barehanded. Naturally we can dodge, block, run or leap."


    Sangjie thought, "This little urchin is nimble; supposing he jumps around, I am afraid Shidi won''t be able to hit him. He is so full of confidence, he must have some other trick up his sleeve. Most probably he will jump toward the haystack, enticing Shidi to chase him, and then that nun will suddenly launch a sneak attack from inside of the haystack. If they fight a soft match, his fist is so small, seventy, eighty of his punches landed on Shidi''s body would be no more than scratching an itch." Thereupon he shouted in Tibetan, "Have a soft match with him, but don''t injure him. The longer you let him fight the better, so that we can see his martial art school and background."


    "Your Shixiong is scared," Wei Xiaobao said, "He is afraid that you can''t beat me, and thus telling you to surrender, isn''t he?"


    The lama laughed and said, "Little demon speaks nonsense. Shige feels sorry for you, he told me not to kill you in just one strike. Since you are so young, your weapon, as well as punching and kicking skills must be limited. I don''t want to take advantage over you either, so let''s have a soft match."


    "Good!" Wei Xiaobao said. Sticking out his chest, he put his hands behind his back and said, "You may hit me first. If I evade or block, just consider me not a hero or a warrior."


    The lama laughed. "You are a little kid," he said, "Naturally you must go first." While saying that, he copied Wei Xiaobao''s manner: he stuck out his chest and put his hands behind his back. Compared to Wei Xiaobao, he was a good one head taller. He was giggling incessantly, obviously he did not take this little urchin seriously.


    Wei Xiaobao stretched out his left fist, it barely reached the lama''s lower abdomen. Seeing his small fist, the five lamas burst into laughter. "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am sending my first strike."


    The lama did not dare to be too careless; afraid that Wei Xiaobao might have some unusual skill, he gathered his internal energy and sent it all toward his lower abdomen. Wei Xiaobao suddenly flicked his right sleeve, with his fist inside it; noiselessly the punch landed on the left side of the pit of the lama''s stomach. Seeing such a powerless punch, Sangjie and the others burst out laughing again.


    The sound of laughter had not ceased, they saw the lama''s body swayed. Wei Xiaobao said, "Now it''s your turn to hit me." The lama suddenly dropped down, crouching on the ground, and then stopped moving altogether. Sangjie and the others were greatly shocked; they rushed forward at once.


    Wei Xiaobao withdrew to the haystack and called out, "Halt! Whoever helps is a turtle lama son of a b1tch."


    The four lamas halted; they saw the lama was still unmoving, not because his breathing was constricted due to serious injury, but because he had died. The four lamas'' jaws dropped in endless surprise; they were all speechless. Wei Xiaobao raised his clenched fists high above his head and said, "My Shifu has taught me unique martial art called the ''Splitting Mountain Striking the Ox Divine Fist'' that I am able to strike a big ox dead with one punch, much less just a little lama. Whoever refuses to accept may come forward to try it!" With a low voice he continued, "Ah Ke, my wife, will you renege on your promise?"


    Ah Ke saw that the fist technique that she looked down was actually a superior martial art; a tall and sturdy lama being hit, unexpectedly he could not withstand it and had to lie prostate on the ground without able to stand up again, his life and death was unknown; she was also very surprised. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, unexpectedly she forgot to reprimand him.


    "Ha, ha," Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You complied. My good wife."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "I am not."


    "You blatantly reneged on your own promise, you are not a hero or a warrior," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "So what if I am not?" Ah Ke said.


    The nun in white actually saw that after Wei Xiaobao hit the lama''s heart, blood was seeping out of the lama''s chest before he swayed and fell face down on the ground. After thinking about it for a moment, she knew that Wei Xiaobao had hidden his dagger in his sleeve; actually, he did not send out a punch at all, rather, he thrust his dagger into the opponent''s heart. The dagger was sharp beyond compare, even steel would be penetrated by it, let alone human flesh. Wei Xiaobao used his left hand first to let everybody know that he was using a fist; after using the dagger, he hid it immediately, and then lifted his fists high above his head, hence other people did not suspect him even more.


    Sangjie called the lama several times, but did not hear any response; he was bewildered and did not know what to do. A thin lama pulled his jiedao out and shouted, "Little demon, so what if your boxing skill is superior? Your Buddha master wants to try your blade technique." He thought that this little kid had received teaching from brilliant master, his internal energy cultivation and fist strength were indeed not a small matter, but if he fought him using weapons, his fist strength would be useless.


    "You want to have a match with blades? Yes, you can. Come!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    The lama did not dare to come near, he shouted, "If you have guts, you come!"


    Wei Xiaobao echoed, "If you have guts, you come!"


    The lama said, "One, two, three, we both take three steps forward."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "One, two, three!" And he took three steps forward.


    The lama also took three steps forward, while brandishing his jiedao into a circle of white ray to protect himself, afraid that Wei Xiaobao might suddenly launched his ''splitting mountain striking ox divine fist''."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Don''t be afraid, I won''t use the divine fist against you."


    How could the lama believe him? He still brandished the jiedao, creating ''whoosh, whoosh'' noise. "Quickly pull your blade!" he shouted.


    The lama was half believing and half doubting; but after seeing him killing his martial brother with one punch without extra trouble, his martial art skill must be deep and immeasurable. Momentarily he did not dare to go forward rashly; he did not dare to lift his saber to chop Wei Xiaobao''s head even more.


    "Your martial art is too low," Wei Xiaobao said, "I won''t hit you back. But you can only chop my head, you must not chop my chest. I am still young, the divine skill to protect my body has not been trained to perfection. If you chop at my chest, I will definitely die."


    The lama looked at him with squinted eyes; he asked, "Your head really does not afraid of saber chop?"


    Wei Xiaobao took off his cap and said, "Just look, my braid is already gone, the more I train, the shorter will my hair be; the divine skill of the top of my head and of my neck has been trained to perfection. By the time I train until not a single hair on my head remains, my chest won''t be afraid of your saber chop as well."


    Because he became a monk in Shaolin Temple and Qingliang Temple, the hair on his head was shaved clean. By this time his hair was only less than a cun long. At that time, other than Buddhist monks and people who were bald by nature, all males had to have their hair in braids. Someone with a cun long hair like him was indeed unheard of. As for the story that the more he trained the shorter his hair and so on, Wei Xiaobao recalled it from what he saw and heard in Prince Kang''s mansion, when he met Wu Yingxiong''s escorts from Jin Ding School.


    The lama saw his head, and believed several points. He had also heard that there was indeed a school called Jin Ding in Wulin, whose hard head martial art skill was very formidable. "I don''t believe your head can withstand my saber chop," he said.


    "I suggest you''d better not try it," Wei Xiaobao said, "When the saber bounces back, the eating apparatus of your body cannot be guaranteed."


    "I don''t believe you!" the lama said, "Stand still, I am going to chop your head." While saying that, he raised his jiedao high.


    Seeing the flickering blade, Wei Xiaobao''s fear was unspeakable; he thought that if the lama realy chop his head, not only his skull would be split in two, his body would also be split like split bamboo. It''s just that: one, he could not fight the lama for real anyway, other than resorting to trickery, he did not have any other way of escaping; two, gambling had become his second nature, he was betting that when the lama heard his threat, he would not dare to chop his head or neck. In a way, he was gambling with his own life as the stake.


    By now his life and death lay in this lama''s mind, but winning or losing, it was no different than throwing dice; much less in this case he had no other alternative to gambling anyway. If he did not gamble, this lama would raise his saber and chop randomly, then in the end he, as well as the nun in white and Ah Ke would be hacked to death. Moreover, right now the eyes of the beautiful girl Ah Ke were steadily fixed on him. Thinking to this point, he could not help but cast a glance toward Zheng Keshuang, who was still lying on the ground; he said in his heart, "You are a young master of a prince''s mansion, compared to me, the son of a wh0re, who is more heroic? Damn it, do you dare to stand here and let others chop your head with a saber?"


    Sangjie called out in Tibetan, "This little demon knows witchcraft, don''t chop his head or neck."


    "What did he say?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "He told you not to chop my head, didn''t he? You are all treacherous and crafty, you don''t keep your own words; that won''t be good."


    "No, no," the lama said, "Da Shixiong told me not to believe your bragging; he told me to chop your head into two halves." As the word ''halves'' came out of his mouth, the saber chopped down from the air.


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul flew to the outer sky, in a twinkling his heroic spirit disappeared without a trace. Hastily he pulled back his head while groaning in his heart, "My life stops here!"


    Unexpectedly when the saber was still three chi away from his head, it suddenly changed direction; the jiedao made a half circle turn in a different move ''embracing moon in the bosom'', the saber swung from outside to the inside, ''stab'', it hacked on Wei Xiaobao''s back.


    The saber carried a tremendous force, Wei Xiaobao felt severe pain on his back, he was unable to stand and tumbled down into the lama''s bosom. Immediately the dagger in his right hand stabbed the pit of the lama''s stomach three times, and then he ducked down and crawled underneath the lama''s crotch, while calling out, "Aiyo, aiyo, you did not keep your words!"


    The lama made some ''he, he, he'', gurgling noise, his jiedao turned back and hacked his own face. His body curled up, twisted several times, and then he lay down motionless.


    Wei Xiaobao was hoping that the lama would hack his chest; since he was wearing the treasured vest to protect his body, he would not lose his life, hence the four lamas would be scared and run away. Who would have thought that the lama did not hack his chest but his back instead? By doing so, Wei Xiaobao was pushed toward the lama. Seizing this opportunity, Wei Xiaobao stabbed his chest several times. It''s just that by crawling under the opponent''s crotch he looked to be in a very desperate situation. His near escape this time did not differentiate him as a hero or a coward.


    "Shifu," he made such a big fuss, "The divine skill on my back has also been trained to perfection. Did you see that? Cough, cough �� the saber bounced back and killed him. Wonderful, wonderful!"


    Actually, the lama only suffered minor injury from the bouncing saber, it was the three stabs of the dagger that killed him; yet Sangjie and the other, three people, could not see that. They assumed it was indeed the bouncing saber that killed the lama. They were so scared that they withdrew several zhang away, while loudly calling the dead lama''s name.


    The nun in white was already aware that Wei Xiaobao was wearing the treasured vest to protect his body. She knew that Ah Ke had chopped him twice without injuring him, hence this time she was not surprised. However, seeing that he dared to bet with his own head against the saber, she could not help but admiring his guts. Actually, Wei Xiaobao was so frightened a moment ago that he peed in his pants; his crotch was dripping wet, only no one else knew about it.


    The lama''s saber carried such a tremendous force that as it hit Wei Xiaobao''s back, his ribs were almost broken. Leaning against the haystack, he could not bear not to groan. The nun in white said, "Quickly give him the ''snow ginseng jade toad pill''."


    "Where is the pill?" Ah Ke asked Wei Xiaobao.


    "In my pocket," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I might not be able to live."


    Ah Ke took the jade bottle from his pocket, pulled the cork, and tipped one pill out of the bottle. Then she put the cork back, and returned the jade bottle into Wei Xiaobao''s pocket. "Quickly take it!" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to take it, but he pretended that he could not lift his hand. Grudgingly Ah Ke brought the pill to his mouth. Seeing her snow white, tender and delicate little hand, as soon as the pill entered his mouth, Wei Xiaobao puckered his lips to kiss it. Ah Ke hastily pulled her hand, but his lips brushed the back of her hand. "Ah!" she cried out.


    Wei Xiaobao said in loud voice, "Shifu, these lamas speak like releasing dog fart. They said they were going to chop my head, but they chopped my back instead. And now only three left, let disciple strike them dead with the ''splitting mountain striking ox divine fist''!"


    When Sangjie and the others heard this, they withdrew several steps back. The three of them talked among themselves for a moment, and then they took out some flints to light up several stalks of hay, and tossed the burning stalks onto the haystack. The first three stalks fell on empty space. Sangjie lighted another stalk and ran several zhang forward, and then threw the stalk as hard as he could, while clapping his palms in front of his body as a shield. Afraid that Wei Xiaobao would attack him with the ''splitting mountain striking ox divine fist'', he immediately leaped back.


    As soon as the haystack met the fire, it was burned instantly. Wei Xiaobao pulled the nun in white out of the haystack. Looking all around, he saw a cave on the rocky hill to the west. Having not enough time to check, he said, "Ah Ke, quickly help Shifu to that cave over there to hide, I am going to block these lamas."


    Taking two steps toward Sangjie, he called out, "You are too brazen; unexpectedly you are not afraid of Xiaoye''s [young master] ''splitting mountain striking ox divine fist'' and ''protecting head golden crown divine skill''. Sangjie, you are the leader, quickly come here and take two punches from Xiaoye."


    Sangjie was cautious; momentarily he really did not dare to pursue, but then he thought about the importance of the sutra, plus the ten of his martial brothers who had lost their lives. If he gave up just like that, what would remain of his illustrious name? He saw the nun in white was walking slowly with the help of that young lady; if she was not injured, then she must be sick. It was indeed a golden opportunity for him, could it be that he could not even beat the little kid in front of him? It''s just that his martial art was so strange that those who got hit died instantly. Hence he hesitated and momentarily did not know what to do.


    When Wei Xiaobao turned his head, he saw the nun in white and Ah Ke had almost reached the cave. He turned back and shouted, "You don''t dare to have a martial art match with me, laozi is going to come forward to kill you; why haven''t you run away?"


    These words actually revealed the ''horse''s leg''. Sangjie thought, "If you really have the ability to kill me, why didn''t you simply charge forward? You told me to run away, that means you are scared of me in your heart." Laughing maliciously, he stretched out both hands, the bones in his body were cracking as he took two steps forward.


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Bad; what trick can I use this time to kill him?"


    By this time the haystack behind him was roaring with fire, the tongues of the fire almost licked his body; he mused, "Laozi better hide in the cave first, and then think of some other way slowly." Thinking about hiding in a cave, his heart was immediately happy. If the cave was so dark that they could not see anything, he might be able to grope around Ah Ke''s body. He stooped down to pick Hubayin''s hand from the dead lama''s grip and put it into his pocket.


    Seeing Sangjie took several more steps forward, he called loudly, "It''s too hot in here, laozi''s divine skill cannot be used. If you have guts, go over there and have match with me." Finished speaking he turned around and ran toward the cave. When he entered the cave, he saw the nun in white and Ah Ke had already sat on the ground. This cave was actually only a cavity on the mountain wall, there was not enough place to hide at all; the cave was not dark either, plus Ah Ke sat leaning on the nun in white, hence it was impossible for him to grope around. He could not help but feeling a bit disappointed.


    Sangjie and the two lamas slowly walked toward the front of the cave, and stopped when they were about three zhang from the cave. Sangjie called out, "You have stepped onto a dead end, there is no way out. Get the torches!" The two lamas picked the stalks and handed them over to him.


    Sangjie held the burning stalk high, he was just about to hurl it toward the cave, but when he heard that, he felt that Wei Xiaobao was right; if he wanted to burn the three of them to death, he would also destroy the sutra. Thereupon he tossed the torch aside and called out, "Quickly hand over the sutra, your Buddha master is merciful, I will let you walk the path of life."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You kowtow eighteen times in front of my Shifu, my Shifu is merciful, she will let you walk the path of life."


    Sangjie was furious; he picked up the torch and threw it to the front of the cave. A burst of thick smoke was blown into the cave, Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke were assaulted by the smoke that their eyes watered and they coughed incessantly. The nun in white was breathing very slowly, she was unaffected by the smoke. The other two lamas threw more torches.


    "Shitai," Wei Xiaobao said, "That sutra has no use anymore, just give it to them, we will �� we will slowly think of other ideas."


    "''Postpone the troops'' stratagem," Ah Ke said.


    "They are not troops," Wei Xiaobao said. Ah Ke was coughing repeatedly, she was unable to argue with him.


    "Fine," the nun in white said, and handed over the sutra to him.


    Wei Xiaobao raised his voice, "I have a copy of the sutra in here, I''ll throw it out. If it falls into the fire, it''s not my problem."


    Hearing that he agreed to hand over the sutra, Sangjie was delighted. Afraid that the sutra might fall into the fire and burn, he quickly picked several large rocks and threw them at the burning stalks. His strength was enormous, his aim was accurate, the burning stalks were crushed by the rocks and immediately extinguished.


    Seeing his strength in throwing the big rocks, Wei Xiaobao could not help but was shocked; he mused, "If he threw the rocks to the cave, the three of us would be crushed to death, while the sutra won''t be harmed the least bit. I must not let him think about this idea."


    "Quickly throw the sutra out," Sangjie called out.


    Hearing that the sutra was indeed from the Imperial Palace, and that it concealed a big secret, Sangjie was ecstatic. He knew that ''flourishing the teachings of Buddha'' and so on was obviously not the truth. Afraid that Wei Xiaobao might not be willing to hand over the sutra, he quickly gave some careless, perfunctory promise; he said, "Flourishing the Dharma, spreading our teachings, those are all very good."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My Shifu read it, but could not find the secret. Now she gives it to you, asking you to study it well. If you can reveal the secret, you must spread it to the monks'' monasteries and the nuns'' convents throughout the world; you must not be selfish by keeping the secret only for your lamaseries. Will you promise to do that?"


    Sangjie laughed and said, "Naturally I promise. Tell your Shifu to set her heart at ease."


    "If you cannot figure out the secret," Wei Xiaobao continued, "You must hand it over to Shaolin Temple. If Shaolin Temple''s monks cannot figure out the secret, ask them to bring it to Qingliang Temple on Mount Wutai. If Qingliang Temple''s monks cannot figure it out, they must bring it to Chanzhi [dhyana wisdom] Temple in Yangzhou. One hands over to another, until the secret within the sutra is revealed."


    "Alright, alright," Sangjie said, "I will surely accomplish that." While in his heart he said, "The nun only knew that the secret in the sutra is concerning the Dharma. Lucky for me she did not know the truth, otherwise, how could she easily hand it over to me? Humph, after obtaining the sutra, I will slowly think of a way to put them to death."


    Sangjie was impatient, yet he did not dare to rashly seize the sutra, since he was still afraid of the nun in white''s divine fist; he was also afraid that they might destroy the sutra. Without any other choice he thoughtlessly gave his promise, "That''s right, after I finish studying this sutra, I will borrow some more from your Shifu."


    Sangjie was greatly delighted; he leaped forward with outstretched hand to catch the sutra, but suddenly thought, "This sutra is very valuable, how can I obtain it this easily? Could there be any trick in it? Perhaps he would take the opportunity while I am holding the sutra to shoot some secret projectiles to me." While he was hesitating, the two lamas picked up the sutra and said, "Shixiong, is this the Sutra?"


    Sangjie said, "Examine it carefully over there, don''t fall into their trick and get the fake sutra."


    "Yes," the two lamas replied, "Shixiong has thought everything thoroughly; we must not let them deceive us." The three of them withdrew several zhang; hastily they opened the book''s envelope and thumbed through it.


    Sangjie said, "The sutra is wet, turn the pages slowly, don''t damage the paper. Examine the look, see if it is fake, if it really looks like the description that man gave to us."


    One lama called out, "This is it. Da Shixiong, this is the book."


    Wei Xiaobao heard them speaking loudly; although he did not understand Tibetan, listening to the tone, he could deduce that they were exceptionally delighted. He called out, "Hey, hey, how come you have centipedes on your faces?"


    The two lamas were startled; they reached up to feel their faces and did not find any centipede or any other insect. "Little urchin loves to talk nonsense," they cursed.


    Sangjie''s cultivation in meditation power was really deep, hearing Wei Xiaobao''s shout, unconsciously he felt something like a bug crawling on his face, but he ignored it; he focused all his attention to thumbing through the sutra.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted again, "Aiyo, aiyo! A dozen scorpions are creeping into their necks."


    This time the two lamas were not fooled. One of them said, "Seeing us obtaining the Sutra, this urchin is not happy, he is making preposterous remark to cheat us. This little thief has killed two of our Shidi, we can''t simply spare his life."


    The other lama, however, really felt his neck was rather itchy. He reached back to scratch it, but after scratching a few times, he felt his ten fingers were unbearably itchy; thereupon he wiped the fingers to his arms. By this time Sangjie and the other lama also started to feel their fingers were itchy, but they ignored it. After half a day, unexpectedly the itch was becoming unbearable. When they looked at their fingers, they saw all their fingertips were covered in yellow liquid. "Strange," they three of them said to each other, "What is that?"


    The two lamas also felt their faces were itchy; instantly they reached up and vigorously scratched their faces. The more they scratched, the worse they felt. After a while, their faces started to ooze yellow liquid. Sangjie suddenly realized what was going on. "Aiyo!" he cried out, "Not good, the Sutra is poisonous!" And he threw the Sutra as far as he could. He saw his own fingers were producing yellow liquid, like beads of perspiration coming out of his skin. In his great shock, he hastily rubbed his fingers to the dirt on the ground, but he saw his two martial brothers were clawing their faces vigorously; each scratch produced a strip of bloodstain.


    This bottle of ''corpse transforming powder'', which Wei Xiaobao obtained from Hai Dafu''s room, was very fierce; if it came into contact with intact skin, it was absolutely harmless, but if it came into contact with a drop of blood, the blood would turn into yellow liquid with great corrosive power, the rotten flesh would then turn into yellowish poisonous liquid. The poison would then melt more and more flesh, just like a single spark from the flint would burn a large stack of hay into flying ash.


    This ''transforming corpse powder'' became poison when it came in contact with blood, it could be considered the number one poison under the heavens. Initially it came from the west. It was reported that the poison entered the Wulin world of the Song Dynasty by the devil champion Western Poison Ouyang Feng, who created it from the venoms of more than a dozen different vipers and poisonous insects. After the ''mother poison'' was created, re-processing was not needed, simply let the yellow poisonous liquid dry in the sun, and it will become the poisonous powder.


    When the two lamas scratched their faces and the poison came into contact with blood, in an instant their faces were turning into yellow liquid. They screamed and howled while their faces were even more painful and itchy; they fell to the ground and rolling around continuously. Luckily Sangjie had not scratched his face, but the itch on his ten fingers had penetrated onto his bones. Immediately he took off his outer garment to wrap the sutra, and then holding it under his arm he flew away, urgently trying to find water to wash the poison from his fingers.


    The itch the two lamas experienced was so terrible that they lost their minds; they raised their heads and crashed them randomly against the rocks. After several strikes, they both fainted.


    Witnessing this kind of scene, the nun in white and Ah Ke were amazed endlessly. Wei Xiaobao only knew that the ''transforming corpse powder'' could melt dead body, but he was not sure if it would be effective on living persons. In desperate situation, he had no choice but to try it. Unexpectedly it was a success at the first attempt, plus he was lucky to have Hubayin''s severed hand to initiate the poisoning. Supposing he sprinkled the ''transforming corpse powder'' directly on the sutra, it would be quite useless. Originally he only wanted to use the severed hand to fondle Ah Ke, unexpectedly it had become a very effective weapon.


    Seeing Sangjie had run far away and the two lamas had fainted, he rushed out of the cave and pulled his dagger, thinking that he would stabbed once or twice on these lamas'' bodies. But as he came near them, he saw the two lamas'' faces had already rotten until only their bones were visible. He did not need to do anything; shortly afterwards, the corpses would turn into two pools of yellow liquid.


    He walked toward Zheng Keshuang and said with a laugh, "Zheng Gongzi, my demonic method is very effective. Would you like to try it?"


    Zheng Keshuang saw the terrifying condition of the two lamas; hearing Wei Xiaobao''s words, he was shocked. Hastily he jumped backward with clenched fists in front of his body. "You �� don''t come near me!" he shouted.


    Ah Ke came out of the cave; she angrily shouted at Wei Xiaobao, "You �� what are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am just scaring him a little bit, what does it have to do with you?"


    "I don''t want you to scare anybody," Ah Ke angrily said.


    "You are afraid I might scare him to death?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Why would you want to scare anybody without any rhyme or reason?" Ah Ke said.


    Wei Xiaobao beckoned to her, "Come and look," he said.


    "I don''t want to look," Ah Ke said. Although her mouth said so, her curiosity was piqued; slowly she walked over and looked down. She could not help but jumping in fright, while screaming in high-pitched voice. She saw that the flesh on the two lamas'' faces, their noses, their lips, everything was gone; what remained was their skulls, with four holes on it. All hairs, ears and the muscle behind their necks were not yet rotten. Perhaps there has never been any person alive on this earth with such a frightening face like these two lamas.


    Ah Ke was dizzy and fell backward. Wei Xiaobao hastily reached out to hold her. "Don''t be afraid, don''t be afraid!" he called out.


    Ah Ke screamed again and ran back to the cave. "Shifu, Shifu," she panted, "He �� he turned those two lamas into �� into monsters."


    The nun in white slowly stood up. Ah Ke held her hand and took her to the two lamas, but she turned her head away, she did not dare to look again. Seeing those two skulls, the nun in white could not refrain from gasping. She looked up at the distant place and saw the bodies of three more lamas; she could not hell but heaving a deep sigh while casting her gaze to the distant mountain.


    By now the sun was sinking on the west, painting half of the sky with blood red color. She was thinking about how this setting sun was also illuminating thousands of mountain passes and tens of thousands hills, as well as the barbarians of the distant land. If she wanted to restore the country, she wondered how many more lives would be killed, how many more bones would be piled up. When all is said and done, should she, or should she not?

 Chapter - 27 (27)

    Someone heard a ghost crying on Yunnan''s sea, thorny gate provided another source of amusement.


    The nun in white was lost in thought for half a day. Seeing Wei Xiaobao approaching with a big grin on his face, she knew that he was the one who put poison on the Sutra. She sighed and said, "If not for your intelligence and quick-thinking, it would be difficult for me to escape losing my life in the enemy''s hand today. It would not be a big deal, I was more afraid I would be humiliated. Only, killing people is not something to be proud of, no need to be this happy."


    Wei Xiaobao quickly erased the smiling expression from his face. "Yes," he replied.


    The nun in white added, "This kind of sinister and ruthless method is not the way of prestigious house or upright sect''s disciples. In critical situation, you have no choice but to use it to deal with the villains, but from now on you must not use it recklessly."


    Wei Xiaobao complied again. He said, "Today was the first time I ever used that method. Frankly, my martial art skill is too lacking, I can''t fight a just and honorable fight with them; otherwise, a man must fight like a real man, victory must be achieved handsomely. How could I use such a fooling around method?"


    The nun in white stared at him for half a day before asking, "You have been at Shaolin Temple, Qingliang Temple, for many days, could it be that the martial art master Shifu at the Temple did not teach you any martial art?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Martial art, I have learned some. It''s a pity that junior did not learn the proper way; I only learn some superficial styles, but did not cultivate internal strength."


    The nun in white cast a glance toward Ah Ke before she asked, "And why is that?"


    "There was not enough time to train," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "What do you mean not enough time?" the nun in white asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Because disciple has offended Miss Ah Ke, she wanted to kill me. The situation was urgent, I had no choice but to carelessly learn some moves to protect my life."


    The nun in white nodded. She said, "Just now when you talked to those lamas, you repeatedly said that I am your Shifu; why is that?"


    Wei Xiaobao blushed. Ah Ke interjected, "Shifu, he is harboring a bad thought, he wanted to do obeisance to you and take you as his master."


    The nun in white smiled and said, "Wanted to do obeisance to me and take me as his master cannot be considered a bad thought."


    "It''s not," Ah Ke anxiously said. She knew that Wei Xiaobao''s real intention in wanting to do obeisance and take the nun in white as his master was so that he could entangle her all day every day, but of course she could not say it.


    The nun in white said to Wei Xiaobao, "You have called me Shifu, naturally I cannot let you call in vain."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; immediately he kneeled down and respectfully kowtowed eight times while calling out loudly, "Shifu."


    The nun in white smiled and said, "Now that you have entered my school, you must abide by the rule: you must not fool around."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Toward bad people disciple will fool around, but toward good people I will always follow the rule strictly."


    Ah Ke made faces to him and stuck out her tongue at him, while in her heart she was unspeakably angry. "This little vile creature has done obeisance to Shifu and be her disciple; from now on I can''t kill him anymore, and will always be entangled by him. I can''t push her away, I can''t kick him, it''s a serious headache."


    The nun in white had been besieged by the six lamas, were it not for Wei Xiaobao''s help, she would not have the good fortune. Afterwards Sangjie and the other, seven lamas pursued her, she could only helplessly let herself be captured; her situation was indeed very dangerous. Although her age had surpassed four decades, her appearance was very beautiful. If she fell into these evil lamas'' hands, she was bound to suffer enormous humiliation. By the will of heavens this little kid was completely crafty and cunning, and was able to eliminate the enemies one by one, and thus he had helped her preserving her purity; the gratitude in her heart was unspeakable. Seeing that Wei Xiaobao was cherishing the idea of having her as his master, she decided to agree; thinking that the little kid was naughty, loved to act willfully and make a scene, but that it should not make her worry. If he received her nurture and training, someday he might make a name for himself in Jianghu.


    According to Wulin rule, since Wei Xiaobao had entered Chen Jinnan''s school, without Shifu''s permission he could not do obeisance and take somebody else as his master. However, he did not know all these rules; even if he did, right that moment he did not care. The nun in white had agreed to accept him into her school, now he could constantly see Ah Ke. Even if Kangxi abdicated his throne and gave it to him, he would not want it. He was very lazy in training martial art, he thought that most likely he would have to train hard under the nun in white, the headache would be inevitable. But as long as he could be with Ah Ke, more bitter matter would feel as sweet as syrup; therefore, he did the eight kowtows while bursting with joy, indeed he felt as if a treasured object has fallen from heaven just for him.


    Seeing his delight, the nun in white thought he was happy to have found a brilliant master and henceforth would train hard to master the excellent martial art. If she knew his real intention, perhaps she would kick him until he rolled around eight times, and although she had just accepted him into her school, would expel him immediately.


    Ah Ke''s little mouth flattened, she said, "Shifu, look at him this happy, he will really spoil our family."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A martial art master whose skill is number one in the present age has accepted me as her disciple, naturally I am exceedingly happy."


    The nun in white smiled and said, "You must not talk nonsense about me as the number one martial art master of this age. Now that you have entered my school, you need to know your master''s Buddhist name. My Buddhist name is Jiu Nan [lit. nine difficulties/disaster]. Our school is called the Tie Jian Men [iron sword school]. Your Shizu [master ancestor] was a Taoist Priest, whose title was Mu [wood] at the top and Sang [mulberry] at the bottom; he has passed away. Although I am a Buddhist nun, my martial art skill actually belongs to Taoist branch."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Disciple will remember."


    The nun in white Jiu Nan added, "Ah Ke, you and him, who is a bit older?"


    "Naturally I am," Ah Ke replied.


    "I am older," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Alright," Jiu Nan said, "The two of you need not argue, whoever entered the school first is older. From now on there is no more ''Miss Ah Ke'' or ''little vile creature''; one is ''Chen Shijie'', the other is ''Wei Shidi''."


    With a loud voice Wei Xiaobao called, "Chen Shijie."


    "Humph," Ah Ke snorted; in front of her Shifu, she did not dare to curse, but she cast him a malicious look.


    "Ah Ke," Jiu Nan said, "The minor matter of the past should not be taken to heart forever. This time Xiaobao has rendered some meritorious deed by saving you and me, two people. Even though he has offended you, he has done more than enough to redeem it." Speaking to this point, she gently sighed, thinking, "This child is intelligent and sharp, it''s a pity he has met misfortune since he was young by being a eunuch."


    She continued, "Previously Xiaobao was bullied and humiliated by others, he was forced to be a eunuch. As his martial older sister, you must pity his wretched fate and look after him a little bit. This is actually better, there won''t be male-female division between the two of you, when you are together later on you must not have any misgivings. It''s much more convenient. However, you must not tell anybody about this."


    Ah Ke complied. Thinking that this little vile creature was a eunuch, his rudeness to her in the past was not too big of a deal; her anger somewhat subsided. Turning to Zheng Keshuang, she called out, "Zheng Gongzi, are you injured?"


    Limping, Zheng Keshuang walked over; he said, "Not too bad, only my leg is twisted." Thinking that previously he boasted by saying that he had more than enough force to cope with the lamas, while when things came to a head he failed miserably, and they had to rely on this little kid to repel the enemy, his face blushed with shame.


    "Shifu," Ah Ke said, "What should we do? Shall we still go to Hejian Prefecture?"


    Jiu Nan hesitatingly said, "Going to Hejian Prefecture to take a look is fine, but we must guard against that Lama Sangjie returning. Right now I am unable to move freely."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu, you can stay here and take a rest, I''ll go find a large carriage."


    Wei Xiaobao could not find any carriage, but he bought an ox cart from a peasant family, and invited Jiu Nan and the others, three people, to ride on it, while he drove the cart slowly to continue their journey. Luckily Sangjie did not reappear.


    When they reached another small town ahead, they abandoned the cart and hired two large carriages. Along the way Wei Xiaobao asked his Shifu to take several more ''snow ginseng jade toad pills''. Jiu Nan''s internal energy was profound, with the efficacious medicine giving her a boost, her internal injury was healing really quickly.


    After traveling for two days, they arrived at Hejian Prefecture at noon. After putting up at an inn, Zheng Keshuang went out to scout the area and hear the news. More than two hours later he came back dejectedly, saying that he inquired everywhere in the city, but unexpectedly no one knew anything about ''Turtle-slaying Assembly''.


    Jiu Nan asked, "Zheng Gongzi, from where did you hear about this ''Turtle-slaying Assembly''?"


    Zheng Keshuang replied, "The two River Heroes Feng Brothers, Feng Bupo and Feng Bucui asked Tian Di Hui to deliver a letter to Taiwan, inviting my Fu Wang [father king] to send an envoy to preside over the ''Turtle-slaying General Assembly''. The letter says that the general assembly will be held on the fifteenth of this month at Hejian Prefecture. Today is the eleventh, so it is only four days away."


    Jiu Nan nodded. She slowly said, "The two brothers from the Feng Clan, aren''t they from Huashan Pai?" Lifting her head up, she looked outside the window, remembering the matter of many years ago.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Fu Wang sent me to preside over the general assembly; I presumed the Feng Clan brothers would definitely send people to wait for me respectfully in here, who would have thought �� humph ��" His expression showed that he was really angry.


    Jiu Nan said, "Perhaps the Tatars have obtained the information and made some moves, hence the Feng Clan brothers changed the date and place."


    Zheng Keshuang resentfully said, "Even if that''s the case, they ought to notify me."


    While they were still talking, a waiter knocked the door and said, "Zheng Keguan [lit. ''guest'' Zheng], there are people outside seeking an audience with you." Zheng Keshuang was greatly delighted; hastily he went out.


    A moment later, he hurriedly came back, saying, "The Feng Clan brothers have personally come here; they really apologized to me, saying that they knew that I brought more than twenty attendants, hence for the last several days they were waiting outside the city to welcome me, who would have thought that we have sneakily [orig. the gods unaware, the ghosts unconscious] entered the city? Right now they have prepared a big feast for us to wash the dust and welcome us. Would everybody please come with me?"


    Jiu Nan shook her head and said, "Zheng Gongzi should go alone, and please do not mention anything about me being here."


    Zheng Keshuang was rather disappointed; he said, "Since Shitai is not willing to be disturbed, how about Miss Chen and Wei Xiongdi come with me?"


    "They also do not need to go," Jiu Nan replied, "On the day of the general assembly, we will all go together." That night Zheng Keshuang returned to the inn completely drunk.


    Around midnight, his more than twenty attendants also arrived at the inn, only everybody''s hands and feet were bandaged and tied with splints, making them did not look elegant at all.


    Early morning the next day, Zheng Keshuang recounted what happened in the big banquet the previous night to Jiu Nan, Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao. He said that the Feng Clan brothers were very respectful to him, they invited him to sit at the seat of honor, and did not stop praising the Zheng Clan for erecting the banner of righteousness, resisting the Manchurian Qing in Taiwan alone. Jiu Nan asked him who else had come to the feast.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "There are already many people arrived here. In the past few days people are coming one after another. It was decided that we will have the general assembly at midnight of the fifteenth, at the Locust Tree Plain, eighteen li west of the city. The midnight assembly is to guard against the Qing Court''s ears and eyes. Actually the Feng Clan brothers are too cautious. With these many heroes and warriors assembled here, even if there is a large number of a Qing troop coming here, we will kill and have them completely routed."


    Jiu Nan asked in details the names of the heroes and warriors attending the meeting, but Zheng Keshuang was unable to come up with anything. He only said, "There were several hundred people eating and drinking together. Every one of the several dozen leaders came to propose a toast to me for Fu Wang''s sake. They all announced their school, sect, name and surname, but I am not able to recall that many names at once."


    Jiu Nan did not say anything; she mused, "This Zheng Gongzi has an attractive outward appearance in vain, he actually does not have any talent."


    After recuperating in the inn for several days, Jiu Nan''s injury was completely healed. She restrained Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao from coming out and wandering aimlessly, to avoid meeting Wulin characters and creating some trouble. Zheng Keshuang, however, left the inn every day early in the morning, and did not return until very late at night. Every day there was Jianghu hero or warrior who invited him to a banquet.


    When the night fell on the fifteenth, Jiu Nan put on the clothing that Wei Xiaobao bought for her. She dressed as a middle-aged woman, her head was covered in black head wrap; she put yellow powder on her face, and drew her eyebrows slanted downward. No one would recognize her true identity. Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke dressed as ordinary young man, young woman. Zheng Keshuang, however, was wearing brocade gown. He removed his fake braid and put on the attire of Ming Dynasty nobility; he looked beaming and buoyant.


    Jiu Nan had not seen her former country''s attire for a long time; seeing his clothing and adornment, she was both delighted and rueful. Seeing his godly charm, jade-like appearance, Ah Ke felt like her soul was even more intoxicated. Only Wei Xiaobao, who felt ashamed of his inferiority, cursed in his heart ''embroidered pillow son of a b1tch'' seventeen, eighteen times.


    About the first watch of the night [between 7-9 pm], the Yanpin Mansion''s attendants drove a large carriage to take the four of them to the Locust Tree Plain for the assembly. The Locust Tree Plain was a large piece of flat land surrounded by hills all around it. It was the place where the locals held market days, or religious festivals, or having theatrical performances. In the darkness one could see that the plain was packed with people.


    As soon as Zheng Keshuang arrived, a joyous sound thundered all around them. Several dozen people surged forward to greet him and flock around him. Jiu Nan took Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao to sit far away underneath a large locust tree. By this time there was a continuous flow of people from east, west, south and north. More and more people assembled on the grassy field.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "That treacherous bandit Wu Sangui tied enmity with really a lot of people. Our Tian Di Hui and the Mu Palace have made a bet to see who can kill him first. This b@stard''s personal enemies number in millions, if somebody made their move first, unavoidably Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace lose."


    The round bright moon slowly rose to the top of their heads. On the grassy field, an old man, tall and well-built, with long white beard fluttered in the wind, stood up, cupped his fist, and said, "Gentlemen, heroes and warriors, zaixia Feng Nandi salutes you."


    The crowd of heroes stood up to return his salute and said together, "Old Hero Feng, how are you?"


    In a low voice Jiu Nan said, "He is the father of the Feng Clan brothers." She remembered how she had had a casual acquaintance with him on the summit of Mount Hua. At that time, when she, under the name ''Ah Jiu'' [lit. ''nine''], met with Jianghu heroes and warriors, she was only a young teenage girl, Feng Nandi was at the prime of his life; yet today he was already on the brink of old age. Presumably his Shizu [ancestor master] Mu Renqing, and his Shifu, the ''Copper Pen and Abacus'' Huang Zhen, had both passed away; but what about his Shishu [martial uncle] Yuan Chengzhi? Her feelings toward this man were carved into her bones. But for more than twenty years she had not heard any news about him. For the last several years her heart was like an old well without any ripple [i.e. widow who does not remarry]. Suddenly seeing an old friend tonight, she could not restrain myriads of thoughts from invading her heart; all of a sudden her feelings welled-up in her breast.


    Wei Xiaobao saw the glistening tears on her eyes. "Why does Shifu suddenly want to cry as soon as she saw this old man Feng?" he mused, "Could this old man be her old sweetheart? There is no harm in me playing a matchmaker, let she and her old sweetheart mend whatever broken heart she might have. It''s just that Shifu is still very young, she can''t possibly fall in love with this old man."


    He heard Feng Nandi with loud, clear and ringing voice said, "Friends, we gather together in here today, everybody is already aware what important matter we are facing. Our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains is occupied by the Tatars. The main culprit is that unpardonably wicked, the one deserving ten thousand deaths ��"


    From all around the crowd of heroes shouted together, "Wu Sangui!" With everybody shouted together, it really sounded like a thunder reverberating throughout the range of hills. Someone then shouted, "Big traitor!" Another one shouted, "Son of a turtle." Yet another one shouted, "Son of a b1tch." And, "F*ck his eighteen generation ancestors." Everyone cursed and swore for a while before the voices gradually calmed down.


    Suddenly there was a high-pitched childish voice shouted, "F*ck his nineteen generation ancestors'' granny." The crowd of heroes was actually full of hatred, but suddenly heard this cussing, they could not help but bursting out in loud laughter.


    The voice indeed belonged to Wei Xiaobao. Ah Ke angrily said, "Why did you say such an unpleasant words?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Everybody was cursing, why can''t I?"


    "But nobody said such an unpleasant words," Ah Ke replied.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled without saying anything. "People were saying words ten times more unpleasant," he mused.


    Feng Nandi said, "The big traitor''s crime is great, his evil extreme, everyone gnashed his teeth in hatred. Although that little brother is young, he knew that we all wish to feed on his raw flesh and spread his dead skin in our bedroom. Tonight everybody gathers here, it is precisely to discuss a brilliant plan on how to put this traitor to death."


    Immediately the crowd of warriors offered their suggestions one after another. Someone said that they all should go to Yunnan, force their way into Ping Xi Wang Mansion, and massacre Wu Sangui''s entire family, without leaving anything; not even their chicken or their dogs. Someone else responded that the Thief Wu had numerous troops and horses under his command, open attack would be difficult to succeed, hence it was not a good way to assassinate him. Someone said that killing him with one stab was too easy for him; it would be better to have his eyes gouged, his hands broken, and made him suffer unbearable pain. Someone said that they had better used violent poison, so that his whole body would rot slowly.


    A middle-aged woman dressed in black said that it would be best to have Wu Sangui''s entire family, old and young, massacred; leaving him, one man, alone, so that he would feel the suffering of being lonely and desolate. Another middle-aged man said that Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing because of his love toward Concubine Chen Yuanyuan, whom Li Chuang


    [58] forcibly took away; it would be better to capture Chen Yuanyuan, so that Wu Sangui would die of broken-heart. Someone else responded that although Wu Sangui was a lecher, the love of his life was after all power and position, riches and honor; hence it would be best to let him achieve fame, riches and honor, but let his wife, sons and daughters to be impoverished, to reduce them to be beggars on the earth, but don''t let them die.


    Several hundred heroes cheered loudly; they all said, "With a punishment like that, it can be considered a punishment for his entire family."


    A man said, "Manchurian Qing Tatars favor him considerably, they set the evil thief as the Ping Xi Wang


    [59], his power and influence reach the heavens. Killing his wife and children is already not easy, taking away his power, riches and honor would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens."


    A Yunnan native stood up and recounted how Wu Sangui bully common people in Yunnan, how he kill people like mowing grass, and how he create all kinds of disaster. The listening warriors were filled with righteous indignation, their blood was boiling. Several people said if they let Wu Sangui wield power for one more day, several more innocent common people would die under his hands. But on how to get rid of this dangerous traitor, nobody had a really good idea.


    By this time Feng Nandi, father and sons'' subordinates arrived with the delivery of beef, flat bread, wine and water. The crowd of heroes cheered and ate and drank to their hearts'' content. As soon as wine entered these warriors'' belly, their speech became even more unrestrained and their ideas became even wilder.


    Someone said that after they capture Chen Yuanyuan, they must open a brothel, and let Wu Sangui become the big turtle.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this idea, he agreed with all his heart. "This brothel must be opened in Yangzhou," he called out.


    A warrior laughed and said, "Xiao Xiongdi''s [little brother] idea is fine. When that time comes, will you or will you not go to have a visit?"


    Wei Xiaobao was about to reply, "Naturally I will go," but in a glance he saw Ah Ke''s angry look; thereupon he did not dare to say it out loud.


    "Xiaobao," Jiu Nan said, "Do not talk like these obscene people of the marketplace."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao complied, but in his heart he mused, "In the business of opening a brothel, perhaps among several thousand people in here, no one has expertise like laozi''s."


    After the people ate and drank for some time, Feng Nandi stood up and said, "We all are rough martial people who, risking death, are used to use saber and spear to kill our enemies, who are bound by righteousness, but we are shallow and crude in facing important matters of the world. Right now I am asking Mr. Gu Tinglin to give us advice. Mr. Gu is a profound scholar of the present age. After our country was broken, he, the Senior, rushed around all parts of our country, contacting virtuous warriors, concentrating his thoughts and efforts to plan and prepare the restoration of our country. Everybody admires him very much."


    There were not a few among the crowd who had heard Gu Tinglin''s name, perhaps from ten people, eight or nine had heard about his reputation; immediately thunderous applause erupted from all directions.


    A thin, old man stood up from among the crowd, he was none other than Gu Tinglin. Cupping his hand across his chest, he said, "Feng Daxia [great hero] praised me like this, Xiongdi is really ashamed and dare not accept the honor. Just now I have heard everybody''s opinion, each one harbors loyal and patriotic heart, each one is determined to put this big traitor to death, Xiongdi is indeed full of admiration. The men of old said, ''Unity of will is an impregnable stronghold''; someone else has said, ''sincerity splits open metal and stone''. If everybody is working as one, determined to deal with this criminal ringleader, even of he has a gargantuan ability, we can still succeed."


    The crowd of heroes erupted in cheers, "Right, right! We can certainly succeed."


    Gu Tinglin said, "The schemes all of you have raised, every one of them is a brilliant idea, it''s just that to deal with this treacherous bandit, we must change according to the situation. It''s hard to decide in advance which plan would work best. In Xiongdi''s humble opinion, we all must advance separately at the same time, we will act as circumstances dictate: first, naturally we must never leak the secret, otherwise this traitor will step up his guard. Second, we must not be reckless, everything must be planned well before we go into action, so that we will not deliver our lives in vain. Third, we all are good Xiongdi; we must not fight with each other and harm the yi qi in striving to set the meritorious deed first."


    The crowd of heroes replied, "Yes, yes, Mr. Gu is absolutely right."


    Gu Tinglin continued, "Heroes and warriors of every school, sect, clan and society gather here today. If from now on we return to our separate ways, our strength will be scattered too much. If we form one large clan, the number of people is indeed too large; it will be too easy for the Tatars and that Thief Wu to detect our presence. I wonder if you have a good idea."


    The crowd of heroes fell silent. After quite a while, someone said, "I wonder if Mr. Gu has a wise opinion."


    Gu Tinglin said, "From what Xiongdi saw, all heroes from eighteen provinces are represented here. We form one union per one province, altogether we will have eighteen ''turtle-slaying alliances''. Oh, by the way, ''turtle-slaying alliance'' does not sound too elegant, it would be better to call it ''weeding-out traitor alliance''; what do you think?"


    One after another the crowd of warriors clapped and cheered. They said, "The words of a scholar is definitely different from crude people like us."


    Before his participation in the ''turtle-slaying assembly'' at Hejian Prefecture, Gu Tinglin had had careful deliberations; he felt that if the crowd of heroes had one mind to kill Wu Sangui, everybody made one vigorous effort and advance bravely, killing him might not be too difficult. But the real important matter was not to kill this traitor to China, rather, it was to drive the Manchurians away and recover Han people''s rivers and mountains. If in order to put to death one person the number of casualties is significant, and their vitality harmed, it would be damaging to their great undertaking of recovering the country instead.


    Feng Nandi said, "Mr. Gu''s idea is extremely brilliant. Since nobody has any objection, we are going to form ''weeding-out traitor alliance'' for eighteen provinces. Each province will elect their own alliance leader. The way we determine which province we will belong to is not according to our native place, but according to which province our school or sect is located. For example, Shaolin Temple''s lay disciples may be from Liao Dong or Yunnan, but they will all belong to Henan province. Huashan Pai disciples will all belong to Shanxi province. What do you think?"


    The crowd of heroes responded, "It should be so. Otherwise, people from the same school, the same sect, the same clan or the same society from different provinces will belong to various alliances; it would be a complete mess."


    Someone stood up and said, "What about our Tian Di Hui? We have quite a number of halls in different provinces, while our zongduo [lit. head/chief helm �C headquarters] location is not fixed either. May I ask how should we decide which province we will belong to?"


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that the speaker was actually Qian Laoben. "Turns out he is also here," he thought, "I wonder how many of my Green Wood Hall''s brothers are here."


    At first some people among the crowd were apprehensive, they were afraid that the elected ''meng zhu'' of each province would inevitable lower their own position. Listening to Feng Nandi''s explanation, they understood and all doubts in their heart gone. Immediately they split up into their respective province to elect their leader.


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao asked, "Which province should we join?"


    "I won''t join anything," Jiu Nan said, "I am coming and going alone, I don''t need to join any alliance."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Based on your, Senior''s status and martial art, you should be the ''meng zhu'' of the entire world''s alliance."


    "Hey," Jiu Nan said, "You must not say those words again, so that nobody would hear it and we won''t provoke any ridicule."


    In her heart, among the heroes attending the assembly, there was no one whose status was more respected than hers. This Great Ming''s rivers and lakes originally belonged to her Zhu family anyway. As for the martial art cultivation, other than learning the Iron Sword School martial art under Taoist Priest Mu Sang''s tutelage, more than ten years ago she had a fortuitous meeting that her ''hundred-chi bamboo pole'' was advancing one step forward, so that compared to Priest Mu Sang of the past, she had far surpassed him like the ''green is born of blue, but the green beats the blue''. Looking at the present age, perhaps other than Yuan Chengzhi, whose whereabouts was unknown, no one could be considered her match.


    The crowd of heroes on the grassy field was divided into eighteen groups, with about seventy, eighty people standing up, scattered around the field. These were people with outstanding talent, who, like Jiu Nan, were not willing to be the ''meng zhu'', but were not willing to accept orders from other people either. Understanding clearly that these were martial art masters of Wulin world with eccentric characters, Gu Tinglin and Feng Nandi did not force them, thinking that since they had attended the assembly, when there is any problem in the future, they might lend a hand in secret.


    Before long, several provinces had already had their ''meng zhu'' elected. Henan province elected the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, Hui Cong Chanshi [Dhyana Master]. Hubei province elected the Zhangmenren [sect leader] of Wudang Pai, Priest Yun Yan. Shanxi province was Zhangmenren of Huashan Pai, ''Awe-inspiring on Eight Sides'' Feng Nandi. Yunnan province was Mu Jiansheng, Mu Gongzi of the Mu Palace. Fujian province was Yan Ping Jun Wang''s second son, Zheng Keshuang. All these people were in favor with the public, in a short while nobody raised any objection.


    As for other provinces, there were minor disagreements, some people refused to concede, hence they could not make decision. In the end they asked Gu Tinglin to impartially mediate; eventually all provinces had elected their leaders, including three Tian Di Hui''s ''xiang zhu'' [fragrant hall masters] elected to be the ''meng zhu'' in three provinces. It could be considered that Tian Di Hui had gained considerable face that day.


    Presently the elected alliance leaders of all provinces met together, but it turned out that only thirteen were present, Dhyana Master Hui Cong, Priest Yun Yan, and the others did not attend the assembly, only their disciples participated on behalf of their masters.


    In a loud and clear voice Feng Nandi said, "Now that the eighteen provinces'' ''meng zhu'' have been elected, Xiongdi is not going to announce their revered surname and great names in public to avoid the secret from leaking out."


    The alliance leaders met for a while. Feng Nandi also said, "We are respectfully asking Mr. Gu Tinglin and Chen Zongduozhu of Tian Di Hui to be chief military strategist [orig. ''zong jun shi'' �C chief army master] of the eighteen provinces'' ''weeding-out the traitor alliances''." The crowd of heroes broke off in thunderous applause. Hearing his Shifu was highly revered by this crowd of heroes by being appointed as the chief military strategist of this ''weeding-out the traitor alliances'', Wei Xiaobao was very proud.


    Immediately the crowd of heroes split into several groups to discuss how they were going to kill Wu Sangui. A pile on the east, a bunch on the west, the discussions were very enthusiastic.


    Jiu Nan took Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke back to the inn. Early in the morning the next day they hired a carriage and continued their journey eastward. Jiu Nan knew that as the crowd returned to their native places, they might came across some acquaintances along the way, hence she did not remove her disguise.


    Seeing Zheng Keshuang was no longer following them, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he did not stop talking about the ''turtle-slaying assembly'' the previous night. After listening to him for a while, Ah Ke shot him malicious look and said, "I know why you are this happy."


    "You are very smart," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have guessed it right. With these many people want to kill Wu Sangui, how could we be unsuccessful? Naturally I am very happy."


    "Humph," Ah Ke said, "Definitely you are happy not because of that. How can there be any goodness in your heart?"


    "That''s strange," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why am I happy then?"


    Ah Ke said, "It''s because Zheng Gongzi �� Zheng Gongzi ��"


    Seeing her upset expression, Wei Xiaobao deliberately provoked her, he said, "Ah, I forgot. Zheng Gongzi is really a good man. When I went out to hire the carriage just now, I saw him with four good-looking women, he was talking and laughing with them. When he saw me, he told me to send his regards to Shifu and you."


    Ah Ke''s heart skipped a beat. "Why �� why didn''t you say so earlier?" she said, "What else did he say?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He said that those heroines wanted to visit Taiwan to have fun, he is taking them along, saying that he must fulfill his land �� land something."


    "Friendship of the land-owner," Ah Ke said with clenched teeth.


    "That''s right, that''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Turns out Shijie was behind me just now, you have heard everything."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "I did not hear it until now." Speaking to this point, her voice broke.


    After traveling for more than ten li, they heard sound of hooves behind them, several dozen riders were coming fast at them. A delighted expression appeared on Ah Ke''s face. But those dozens of riders swept past the large carriage, galloping to the east without stopping at all. Ah Ke''s countenance sank.


    "What a pity, what a pity," Wei Xiaobao said, "It is not."


    "What a pity what?" Ah Ke said.


    "What a pity it was not Zheng Gongzi catching up with us," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "He �� Why would he want to catch up with us?" Ah Ke asked.


    "Perhaps he wanted to invite you to Taiwan to have fun with them," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Wah!" Ah Ke broke up crying.


    Jiu Nan understood the content of her female disciple''s heart. "Xiaobao," she scolded him, "Stop playing dirty trick to provoke your Shijie."


    Wei Xiaobao was very delighted in his heart, but his mouth said, "Yes, yes." Yet he continued, "The prince''s descendants and young masters of nobility all over the world have three wives four concubines, they are people with the least conscience. When those four good-looking heroines reach Taiwan, I''ll say it will be difficult for them to come back. When this Zheng Gongzi reaches Zhejiang, Fujian, perhaps he will take several more beautiful women."


    "Xiaobao," Jiu Nan spoke harshly.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The three of them travelled until noon, and stopped by a small family noodle shop by the road. Suddenly they heard hoof beats, several dozen more riders coming from the west. When the riders arrived outside the noodle shop, they dismounted and entered the restaurant. Someone called out, "Kill the chicken, cut the beef, make some noodles, quick, quick!" And then they all sat down.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw them, he recognized these people as Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben, Guan Anji, Li Lishi, Feng Jizhong, Gao Yanchao, Priest Xuanzhen, Fan Gang, and the other martial art experts from the Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui. He thought, "Although at the assembly last night I said several words, cursed several people, but there were so many people around, the atmosphere was chaotic, they were far away from where I was. It must be that they did not recognize me in the dark, otherwise, why didn''t they come to greet me? If I make myself known to them right now, we will talk about all kinds of matters endlessly. Plus if they saw me having another Shifu, they might not like it. I might as well pretend that I did not see them." Thereupon he turned his body sideways and did not look directly at them.


    A moment later, the food and wine Xu Tianchuan and the others ordered were being delivered one after another. They picked the chopsticks and were about to eat when suddenly there were more hoof beats, another group of people arrived at the restaurant. Someone called out, "Kill the chicken, cut the beef, make some noodles, quick, quick!"


    Ah Ke was very delighted that she called out, "Zheng �� Zheng Gongzi has arrived." Turned out this group of people was Zheng Keshuang and his attendants.


    Hearing Ah Ke''s call, he turned his head and saw her. Greatly delighted, he walked over and said, "Miss Chen, Shitai, you are here. I looked for you everywhere but could not find you."


    The noodle shop was actually very small and narrow, the Tian Di Hui warriors occupied six tables, plus Ah Ke and the others occupied another table, there was no other table. A Zheng Mansion''s attendant said to Xu Tianchuan, "Hey, old man, why don''t you crowd together some more? Let us have several tables."


    During the ''turtle-slaying assembly'' the previous night, Zheng Keshuang was wearing Ming Dynasty''s nobility attire, catching everybody''s attention. Xu Tianchuan and the others were aware that Tian Di Hui was, in fact, an organization under Yan Ping Jun Wang. They originally wanted to offer up their seats; however, this attendant was really rude that as soon as they heard it, they were all angry. "Damn it," Priest Xuanzhen cursed, "Who do they think they are?"


    Li Lishi signaled him with his eyes, he said in a low voice, "We are on the same side, don''t lower ourselves to their level. There is no harm in giving them some seats." Immediately Xu Tianchuan, Guan Anji, Gao Yanchao, and Fan Gang, four people stood up and moved to Feng Jizhong''s table, and thus freed up one table.


    By this time Zheng Keshuang had already sat down by Jiu Nan. Ah Ke glowered at Wei Xiaobao and said, "You lied on my face; you said Zheng Gongzi is taking four whatever heroines with him ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as Zheng Gongzi arrived, you don''t want to sit next to me anymore, if you see me, you won''t be able to eat your noodle; it has nothing to do with what I said." He walked over to Xu Tianchuan''s table and sat down; he said in a low voice, "Just pretend you don''t know me."


    As soon as Xu Tianchuan and the others saw him, they were pleasantly surprised. But every one of these people was Jianghu veteran and was very astute. When they heard him, they understood immediately, they all remained calm and collected.


    "We''ll pretend that we have never met each other," Wei Xiaobao continued in a low voice, "Xu San Ge, please pass it on to everybody."


    Xu Tianchuan stood up and walked over to Li Lishi''s table; he said in a low voice, "Our Hall''s Wei Xiangzhu is here; he wants everybody to pretend we don''t know each other." Li Lishi and the others did not even turn their heads, they continued eating and drinking, but their hearts were delighted. In a short moment the information had been passed to other tables.


    On the other table, Zheng Keshuang was in high spirit; he said in a loud voice, "Shitai, during the meeting last night, the numerous heroes elected me as the Fujian province''s ''meng zhu''. We were discussing important matters until daybreak. When I returned to the inn, I looked for you, but you have already left. We pursued along the way, luckily we can meet you here."


    Jiu Nan said, "Congratulations Zheng Gongzi. However, this is a secret important matter, we must not mention it in public with numerous people around."


    "Yes," Zheng Keshuang said, "Fortunately there are no other people in here. These crude peasants won''t understand even if they heard it."


    Actually, the Tian Di Hui warriors were dressed as peasants, they were all bare-footed, some even carried a hoe or toothed rake. There were too many people in the meeting last night that Zheng Keshuang did not recognize them.


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his head and ate the noodle, he said in a low voice, "This fellow is very arrogant; in Hejian Prefecture these past few days he boasted everywhere, saying that our Tian Di Hui is his Taiwan Yan Ping Mansion''s subordinate, he said that when Zongduozhu sees him, he is very respectful that he does not even dare to breath out loud. He also said that our certain hall''s Xiangzhu Cai Laoge [old brother] was formerly his yeye''s [paternal grandfather] stable hand, that certain hall''s Xiangzhu Li Laoge also fetched chamber pot for his yeye ��"


    Guan Anji angrily said, "How can there be such thing? Although Cai Xiangzhu, Li Xiangzhu were Koxinga''s [orig. Guo Xing Ye �C master of Guoxing] subordinates, they were military officers who went to fight battles ��"


    Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, "Guan Fuzi, lower your voice." Guan Anji nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "He also made many negative remarks and malicious words about our Green Wood Hall''s Yin Xiangzhu. Others commented that Yin Xiangzhu has died early on. This fellow responded, ''That''s right. This fellow surnamed Yin''s martial art skill was low, his leadership skill was also second rate, I knew early on that he would be a short-lived ghost'' ��"


    Guan Anji was extremely angry; he raised his palm to strike the table heavily. Xu Tianchuan deftly reached up and caught his wrist.


    Wei Xiaobao knew that this group of warriors would not want to offend Yan Ping Mansion''s people, much less this fellow was their Wangye''s [master king] son. If he did not instigate wantonly, it would be hard for him to provoke them into action. Seeing these people getting angry, he was secretly delighted, but he maintained grim expression on his face. He said, "This fellow talked nonsense; which is not a big deal, actually. But along the way he kept bragging, he mentioned many secret and important matters of our Society. Even to people he has just met he said something like ''high mountain ridge arose from the earth, a group of mountain creeks is elegant for all eternity''. He claimed to have sat on the Red Flower Pavilion on the mountain peak, Zongduozhu burned six incense sticks, he himself burned seven incense sticks. Other people did not understand what he was saying, he then explained in details ��"


    The crowd of warriors shook their heads. He revealed a secret of their society just like that, if this information ever reached the imperial court''s eagle claws'' ears, the lives of Tian Di Hui''s brothers would be in danger. But with their own eyes they had seen Zheng Keshuang''s frivolous expression, even the attendants he brought were bossy and domineering; why would they think Wei Xiaobao was telling lies? Moreover, just now they heard him bragging to a woman about the ''turtle-slaying assembly'' the previous night, immensely proud of himself he proclaimed to be the Fujian province''s alliance leader.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll say we must kill his loftiness, otherwise he might harm our important matter." The crowd of heroes slowly nodded their heads. Wei Xiaobao continued, "I am asking Feng Dage to beat him up, but don''t hit him too hard, just teach him a lesson. And then I will come out to avenge his grievance. I am asking Feng Dage to pretend that you lost to me." Feng Jizhong nodded slightly. Wei Xiaobao added, "Qian Laoben, you spoke in the meeting last night, I am afraid this fellow would recognize you."


    "Yes," Qian Laoben said in a low voice, "I am going to make myself scarce first."


    There were still quite a number of Zheng Mansion attendants who did not have any seat. Seeing a few empty seats among the Tian Di Hui warriors'' tables, one of them nudged Xu Tianchuan''s back lightly and said, "Hey, there are still empty seats over there, why don''t you move and let us have this table?"


    Xu Tianchuan sprang up and cursed, "We let you have one table and that''s still not enough? Laozi hates to see young masters of rich family relying on force to bully others the most." Coughing out, ''whoosh!'' thick phlegm shot out toward Zheng Keshuang.


    Zheng Keshuang was talking to Ah Ke, he was caught totally off-guard; by the time he heard the wind, the phlegm was already too close to his cheek. Hastily he dodged, but the phlegm still landed on his neck. It was slimy and sticky; really disgusting. Hurriedly he pulled his handkerchief and busily wiped it, while cursing loudly and angrily, "Disregarding the law and natural morality these several mud-footed peasants are attacking me!"


    An attendant immediately sent a punch toward Xu Tianchuan. "Aiyo!" Xu Tianchuan cried out. Without waiting for the punch to reach his face, Xu Tianchuan threw his body backward; he was pretending to be in a very difficult situation, while bellowing, "Help! Murder! Murder!" Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke laughed aloud.


    Feng Jizhong stood up, pointed at Zheng Keshuang and shouted, "What''s so funny?"


    Zheng Keshuang angrily replied, "I want to laugh, what does it have to do with you?"


    Feng Jizhong stretched out his hand. ''Slap!'' A heavy slap landed on Zheng Keshuang''s face. Zheng Keshuang was both startled and angered; he threw his body forward and repeatedly punched with both fists. Feng Jizhong dodged to the left and evaded to the right, and then he turned around and ran out of the door. Zheng Keshuang ran after him, while sending a punch straight to Feng Jizhong''s face. Feng Jizhong leaned sideways to evade.


    Feng Jizhong understood Wei Xiaobao''s intention; he must let this young master Zheng to suffer as much humiliation as possible to pull down his arrogance. Hence he only sent a punch to the east and a kick to the west, going around and around fighting with him.


    Xu Tianchuan called out, "As heroes of Henan''s Mount Funiu, we must not let our prestige to fall under this fellow''s hands."


    The rest of the warriors also cheered and yelled; they all knew that although there was no harm in fooling around with this young man, they must not let him know their real background. Therefore, although they were cursing and shouting, they did not utter even half an inappropriate word, or anything that would disgrace his family or school.


    Li Lishi shouted, "This time we go out from Funiu Mountain to do business, before even reaching the marketplace we are lucky to come across this richly bedecked fellow. We might as well capture him, have his old man to pay us one million taels as the ransom."


    Seeing their young master was unable to defeat this crude peasant in a short time, plus hearing from their shouts that these people were actually bandits and robbers from Mount Funiu, the Zheng Mansion attendants pulled out their weapons and charged forward. Xu Tianchuan, Fan Gang, Priest Xuanzhen, Gao Yanchao, Guan Anji, Li Lishi, and the others immediately made their moves. ''Bing, bing, bang, bang!'' The fight was very noisy.


    Although those Zheng Mansion attendants were hand-picked warriors, how could they match the Tian Di Hui warriors? Much less just a few days ago they were injured by the lamas, every one of them suffered either broken arm or broken leg. In just a short period of time, they were all subdued by Tian Di Hui heroes. Only Tian Di Hui heroes were being lenient to them; they only snatched away their weapons and surrounded them, but when snatching their sabers or swords, they did not harm them at all.


    On the other side, Zheng Keshuang had fought more than a dozen rounds; he saw Feng Jizhong''s hands and feet were clumsy, he kept staggering along as if his stances were extremely unsteady. Zheng Keshuang gathered his spirits, unleashing everything he had learned his entire life. He wanted to show off in front of Ah Ke, to win favor of this extremely beautiful woman. His fists created strong winds, his kicks made noise; move by move he pressed on. Feng Jizhong appeared to have barely enough strength to parry; often times he managed to evade at the nick of time [orig. jian jun yi fa �C a thousand jun (unit of measure equivalent to thirty catties) one hair, ''a thousand pounds hang by a thread''].


    Ah Ke watched with anxious heart; she did not stop calling softly, "Aiyo, what a pity, he missed only a little."


    Wei Xiaobao came near and said, "Shifu, you, Senior has not completely recovered, these bandits are very vicious, when Zheng Gongzi is defeated, you, Senior, must not fight with them."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "Don''t you see he has complete upper hand? How can he lose? Really talk nonsense."


    Jiu Nan smiled and said, "These people do not seem to have evil intention toward Zheng Gongzi at all; they are just playing with him. The opponent''s martial art skill is a lot higher compared to Zheng Gongzi''s."


    Ah Ke was incredulous. "Shifu," she asked, "Are you saying that this robber''s martial art is stronger than Zheng Gongzi?"


    Jiu Nan smiled and said, "Do I need to tell you that? This man''s martial art skill is indeed excellent, I am afraid they are not necessarily some Funiu Mountain robbers. If they were really robbers, they would not carelessly blurt it out, saying that they were going to kidnap him and ask for a ransom."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "In the end, Shifu''s insight is very clear." He said, "In that case, why don''t disciple urge them not to fight?"


    Ah Ke shot him a malicious look; she said, "What face do you have? What skill do you have that you can urge them not to fight?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Although this robber''s martial art is strong, there must be holes in his punching and kicking. Zheng Gongzi cannot beat him, I guarantee that within ten moves I will beat him and make him flee to the wilderness."


    Jiu Nan knew his martial art skill was meager, but perhaps he had some strange or weird tactics, enough to score victory. "These people do not seem to be evil people, you must not harm their lives." After a short pause, she continued, "Those lowly tricks such us knock-out drug, poison and so on, must not be used, unless you are facing a life and death situation. You have entered my Iron Sword School, you must not damage our school''s reputation."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I hear and obey Shifu''s instruction, I simply will not harm them."


    Jiu Nan sighed gently, as her mind suddenly revisited the Huashan''s summit, when the Iron Sword School''s Sect Leader Yuzhen Zi came to pick a fight with Priest Mu Sang. Yuzhen Zi had committed any imaginable misdeed: raping, looting, and so on. Speaking about Iron Sword School''s reputation, first of all, the number of disciples was very few, their reputation was not resounding; secondly, due to Yuzhen Zi''s conduct, in reality their reputation was not too great anyway. This young disciple was frivolous and jumpy, if he did not step into the proper way, it was very likely that in the future he would become Yuzhen Zi''s direct descendant, and that would be greatly inappropriate.


    Seeing the sudden appearance of worried look on her face, naturally Wei Xiaobao did not understand the reason, he still thought that it was because she saw the Tian Di Hui warriors'' martial art was not weak, while her own martial art had not recovered, hence she felt it would be very difficult to deal with this situation. Thereupon he said, "Shifu, please set your heart at ease, I have a way to save Zheng Gongzi''s life."


    Ah Ke spat and said, "You speak nonsense again. Zheng Gongzi is going to win in a flash, what life do you want to save?"


    Just as she finished speaking, there was ripping noise, Zheng Keshuang''s long gown was pulled and ripped. Zheng Keshuang was furious, he fought faster, but there was a series of continuous ripping noise; like the talon of an eagle Feng Jizhong''s ten fingers ripped his long gown, his undergarment and trousers, piece by piece. But he used just enough strength so that Zheng Keshuang''s flesh was not harmed.


    Zheng Keshuang realized that with several more rips, he would be stark naked. In his fright he turned around trying to flee. Feng Jizhong bent his arms, both of his elbows were already stationed in front of Zheng Keshuang''s chest. Zheng Keshuang hastily pulled back, while sending out a double-punch. Suddenly he felt his wrist tightened, Feng Jizhong''s left hand grabbed his right hand, his right hand gripped Zheng Keshuang''s left hand. In one fluid motion he twisted around, sending Zheng Keshuang''s away. "Catch this!" he shouted. Unexpectedly this throw had sent Zheng Keshuang''s body seven, eight zhang away.


    Priest Xuanzhen launched his qinggong to catch up, he raised his head and called out, "Gao Xiongdi, your turn!"


    Gao Yanchao leaped immediately. Fan Gang, Xu Tianchuan, Guan Anji, and the others thought it was fun; they all shouted and rushed to join the game. Priest Xuanzhen caught Zheng Keshuang and tossed him over, he fell just as Gao Yanchao rushed over. Gao Yanchao caught him and threw him several zhang away toward Xu Tianchuan.


    These people''s strength varied, some were stronger than the others, their qinggong also varied, some high, some low; when they threw Zheng Keshuang, some managed to throw him farther than the other, when they rushed to catch him, some could move faster than the other, yet Zheng Keshuang stayed in the air for several dozen zhang, and had never fallen to the ground. The Tian Di Hui warriors displayed what they were really good at; it was only now that they revealed their true skill.


    Guan Anji''s physical strength was amazing; he tossed Zheng Keshuang about four, five zhang high in the air, and when he fell, he gave Zheng Keshuang''s back a push with both palms, two lines of force working together to send Zheng Keshuang high to the air, as if he was soaring to the clouds or riding in the fog.


    Wei Xiaobao was watching with extreme delight; he clapped and laughed heartily. ''Bang!'' Suddenly Ah Ke knocked the back of his head heavily with her knuckles. He was startled and quickly turned his head around. Ah Ke was frightened and angry at the same time; she anxiously said, "They are going to kidnap him, you �� quickly save him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "They have no enmity with Zheng Gongzi, Shifu said that they are just playing with him; why would you be worry?"


    "No, they are not," Ah Ke said, "They are going to kidnap him, to demand ransom for one million taels."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are lots of money in Zheng Gongzi''s home. They can easily afford to pay three millions, four millions taels. One million taels is not a big deal."


    Ah Ke stomped her right foot heavily on the floor. "Ay, don''t you have eyes?" she said, "These bandits will �� will make him suffer extreme distress."


    Wei Xiaobao whispered in her ear, "You want me to save him? It''s not difficult, as long as you agree to be my wife."


    "Nonsense," Ah Ke angrily said.


    Looking up, she saw that after the last man caught Zheng Keshuang, he did not throw him up anymore; she heard someone calling out, "Hey, quickly go get the money and come back to Mount Funiu to redeem him. We won''t harm this fellow''s life, we will only give him three hundred floggings. The money is here one day early, he will suffer three hundred less floggings. If you are ten days late, he will suffer three thousand more floggings."


    Ah Ke grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s hand and anxiously said, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? They are going to give him three hundred floggings every day. From here to Taiwan is very far, they won''t necessarily make it back in one month."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Three hundred floggings every day. Supposing they took two months, two months is 60 days, three times six is eighteen, it''s only 1800 floggings ��"


    "Ay, you are wrong," Ah Ke said, "It''s 18,000 floggings. You are really ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am not good in counting. With 18,000 floggings, his ''pigu gong'' [buttocks skill] can be trained to perfection."


    Ah Ke was extremely angry; she flung his hand and said, "I won''t pay you any attention." In her anger and anxiety, she broke up crying.


    "Alright, alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t cry, I''ll think of something. But my proposal just now, you must not go back on your words."


    "You quickly save him, we''ll talk about it later," Ah Ke said.


    Wei Xiaobao knew that she was only blurting perfunctorily, she would never agree under any circumstances to really marry him; he said, "I will go through water and tread on fire for you, I won''t decline your request under any circumstances, but in the future you must not bully me again."


    "Yes, yes," Ah Ke said, "Quickly go, quickly go!" While saying that, her eyes had never met his, she kept her gaze on the distant Zheng Keshuang. She saw those bandits tied his hands behind his back, and put him onto the horseback; very soon they were going to take him away. In a moment of desperation, she put her hand on Wei Xiaobao''s back and gave him a push.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "His granny, laozi met a beautiful girl, she always asks me to save her sweetheart. Laozi may be extremely skillful in becoming a fool [orig. ''yuan da tou'' �C someone with more money than sense]; perhaps my ''yuan da tou gong'' is also trained to perfection." Quickly he rushed forward and called out, "Hey, hey Funiu Montain''s big kings


    [60], zaixia has something to say."


    The crowd of heroes was already waiting for him to bravely step forward; they turned around immediately. "Xiao Xiongdi," Gao Yanchao said, "What is it that you want to say?"


    "Why did you catch him?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Gao Yanchao replied, "The brethren in mountain fort is many, yet we lack provision. Today we temporarily detain him, because we want to borrow one million taels from his father."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "One million taels, that''s a small matter. Why don''t I lend it to you?"


    Gao Yanchao laughed aloud and said, "Xiao Xiongdi, what is your honored surname and great given name? What makes you talk big like that?"


    "My name is Wei Xiaobao," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Aiyo," Gao Yanchao exclaimed; he cupped his fist and bowed, saying, "Turns out it''s the Little White Dragon Hero Wei [the word here is ''ying xiong'', not ''da xia'']. You killed the Number One Warrior of Manchuria Oboi, your name became famous throughout the world, we admire you very much. Today we can pay our respect to our revered model, it is indeed the blessing of three lifetimes."


    Fan Gang and the others respectfully bowed and saluted. Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the salute while saying, "I do not dare to accept the honor."


    Gao Yanchao said, "In view of Hero Wei''s great face, we''ll let this fellow go. That one million taels we do not dare to ask anymore."


    Xu Tianchuan fetched two big silver yuanbao from his pocket and presented the money respectfully with both hands, saying, "Hero Wei, if you do not have enough traveling expense along the way, here is a hundred taels, please accept it and use it first."


    "Thank you very much," Wei Xiaobao said, while accepting the yuanbao. And then he turned around to give it to Ah Ke.


    Not in a million years would Ah Ke expect this little vile creature''s reputation was this resounding. When these devils and monsters big robbers heard him announcing his name, they acted as if they had met their superior. How could she know that this ''little vile creature'' was indeed those ''big robbers'' immediate superior? In order to please their superior, these ''big robbers'' had deliberately redoubled their effort to flatter him, and thus had performed a good play. She was pleasantly surprised, thinking that finally Zheng Gongzi would escape from danger.


    But she saw Feng Jizhong took a step forward and said, "Wait a moment. Hero Wei, you killed Oboi, we extremely admire you. It''s just that we do not know each other. How do we know that you are indeed Hero Wei and not someone pretending to be him, assuming the Senior''s great name to come out and swindle us?"


    "What you said makes sense," Wei Xiaobao replied, "What can I do so that Sire is convinced?"


    Feng Jizhong said, "Zaixia brazenly asks Hero Wei to give me direction with three moves. The Number One Warrior of Manchuria died in your hands, naturally Honored Sir''s martial art skill is no small matter. Whether you are real or fake, once we test it we will find out."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "We will only try the style, one touch and we stop."


    "Absolutely," Feng Jizhong said, "I am asking Hero Wei to be lenient, so that zaixia will not seriously hurt."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused; he thought, "Feng Dage usually does not like to talk; who would have thought that when playacting, he could emulate the actors very well." Thereupon he said, "Laoxiong needs not be polite, perhaps I am not your match."


    With left hand finger pointed out, light as a feather his right palm struck out; only after moving for half a chi, the palm suddenly circled around and struck down diagonally. It was precisely the move from Bo''re Palm that Cheng Guan demonstrated, called the ''without color without shape''.


    Feng Jizhong''s had a vast knowledge and experience. "Wonderful!" he called out, "This is a masterstroke from Bo''re Palm, called ''without color ��'' something." Stretching out his hand to block, he threw his upper body backward to evade too far that he nearly fell down.


    Actually, there was not even half a part of internal energy; Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Sire is right. This move is called ''without color without shape''." And then he raised his left hand and struck down diagonally from upper right corner to lower left. Suddenly his five fingers turned into a claw and moved down several times.


    Feng Jizhong loudly shouted, "Amazing! There is the ''Bo''re Palm'' divine skill, and then there is ''spirited vulture listening to the scripture''." Assuming the horse stance, he pushed both palms slowly forward, the center of his palm lightly touched Wei Xiaobao''s fingertips. Immediately he cried out, "Ah!" and tumbled anxiously backward three times. While somersaulting, he secretly circulated his internal energy so that by the time he stood up, his entire face was red as if he had just drunk seventeen, eighteen bowls of strong wine. Hid body swayed several times, and then he fell sitting down. Shaking his head, he said, "Can''t �� can''t do it �� no more fight. My utmost admiration! Hero Wei, thank you very much for sparing my life."


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist and said, "Laoxiong deliberately yielded to me." While saying that, he winked several times.


    Feng Jizhong''s appearance looked very real; he had a dejected expression, mixed with gratitude, on his face, but there was also a hint of heartfelt admiration.


    Xu Tianchuan took a step forward and said, "Hero Wei''s martial art is astonishing, indeed your name is not in vain. Let ziaxia experience several moves."


    "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said. Moving swiftly forward, his hands crossed each other, one hand swung to Xu Tianchuan''s left chest, one hand seized his right flank. It was a move from Shaolin Pai''s upper class martial art, ''picking flower qinna [grab and capture]''.


    Xu Tianchuan saw the brilliance of this qinna technique, he could not help but admiring him in his heart, "Wei Xiangzhu is extremely smart, as soon as he started learning martial art, his progress is amazingly quick." He did not know that although Wei Xiaobao executed the style correctly, he did not have the slightest bit of internal strength, so that even if he was seized by him, he would not suffer any damage. Xu Tianchuan''s stature was short and small, the type of martial art he was most adept was, coincidentally, the qinna. Immediately he unleashed his special skill and sparred with Wei Xiaobao.


    After several moves, the hands of both men interlocked with each other. "Ah!" Xu Tianchuan cried out, his right hand hung limply on his side, he was pretending that it was twisted out of joint. "My utmost admiration," he said, and took two steps backward. His left hand cradling his own right hand, lifted it up and pulled it out, as if he was fixing the joint. This fixing joint skill was also an upper class technique of qinna martial art. He performed the procedure with ''not one thread loose'', his movement was clean and deft.


    One after another Fan Gang, Priest Xuanzhen and Li Lishi stepped forward asking for a match. Wei Xiaobao kept using the upper-class styles that Cheng Guan taught him. In just three or four moves, or perhaps seven, eight moves, Fan Gang and the others were defeated.


    In a loud and clear voice Gao Yanchao said, "We have witnessed Hero Wei''s brilliant moves today, indeed our horizons have been expanded. Xiaoren all are full of admiration. When Hero Wei pass by Funiu Mountain someday, please do not forget to go up the mountain and stay for several days."


    "Naturally I will receive the benefit of disturbing you," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    The group of heroes bowed with cupped fists, and led their horses away. They walked to the edge of the town before mounting their horses and galloped away. Unexpectedly they did not dare to mount their horses in front of Wei Xiaobao; it was a display of utmost respect.


    Ah Ke finally submitted to him, "Turns out this ''little vile creature'' has superior martial art; every time he pretended he was beaten, he was simply yielding to me."


    Things had come to this, Zheng Keshuang had no choice but to come to Wei Xiaobao to express his thanks. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zheng Gongzi does not need to be polite, I was simply lucky that I accidentally defeated them. Speaking about real martial art, I am far too inferior compared to Sire."


    He was speaking the truth, but to Zheng Keshuang''s ears it was highly sarcastic; he could not stop his face from turning deep red.


    That evening they arrived at Xian County to the south. After settling down in an inn, Jiu Nan dismissed Ah Ke and asked Wei Xiaobao, "Those people who were playacting with you during the day, they are your friends, aren''t they?"


    Jiu Nan''s insight was very keen; Feng Jizhong, Xu Tianchuan and the others putting on an act, they were able to deceive Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke, but how could they deceive this martial art expert? Wei Xiaobao knew that his trickery was exposed; he laughed and said, "They are not really my friends."


    Jiu Nan said, "The martial art skill of every one of those people is quite established; how could they agree to accompany you playing that trick?"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Most likely they cannot bear to see Zheng Gongzi''s arrogance, so they borrowed disciple to knock him down several notches."


    Jiu Nan thought that his answer was very reasonable. She asked, "The way you executed those several moves of yours: Bo''re Palm, Picking Flower Qinna, was not bad at all."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I was just putting on airs, the roar of a toothless tiger; totally useless."


    While they were talking, they heard the clamor of hooves beat, a large group of people had arrived at the inn. Someone with a loud voice said, "One upper-level room, must be the best you have. The rest of us can accept whatever you have."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this, he was delighted, since he recognized the voice to be the Shaking-head Lion Wu Lishen of the Mu Palace. "Shifu," he asked, "Are we going to kill Wu Sangui?"


    Jiu Nan said, "This time the injury I suffered was really not light. Although the injury is healed, my internal energy is not recovered yet. I must find a quiet and secluded place to recuperate several days before we can decide what we are going to do. Otherwise, if I meet some strong enemies again, I won''t be able to fight, and will have to depend on your muddled and crazy techniques; our Iron Sword School''s reputation won''t look too good." While saying that, she could not help but smiling.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu''s body is important."


    From this traveling sack he fetched some best quality Qiqiang Longjing tea leaves and soaked it inside a covered teacup. He said, "In the future disciple will learn Shifu''s martial art. When I meet the enemy, I can fight him justly and honorably. Shifu, I want to go to the market to see if there are any fresh vegetables."


    Going out of the room, he saw Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang were walking side-by-side out of the inn; they looked very intimate with each other. Immediately a whiff of jealousy bubbling up in his chest, hence he followed behind them.


    Ah Ke turned her head and said, "Why are you following me?"


    "I am not following you," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am going to buy vegetable for Shifu."


    "Alright," Ah Ke said, "Zheng Gongzi, let''s go over there." She pointed to a small hill west of the city walls.


    Wei Xiaobao''s jealousy flame was blazing; he said, "Be careful, don''t bump into some mountain''s big kings, I can''t come to rescue you."


    Ah Ke shot him a malicious look and said, "Who needs your rescue?"


    Zheng Keshuang knew Wei Xiaobao was mentioning the scandal involving him earlier, he was furious. "Humph," he snorted, and quickly left.


    Wei Xiaobao followed these two people with his eyes. Suddenly he heard Ah Ke was giggling. In his fury, he reached out to pull his dagger, he wanted to pursue them and kill Zheng Keshuang. But after only two steps, he thought, "If we fight for real, I am not those two people''s match." Therefore, he suppressed his anger and continued to the market to buy some kuomo mushroom, winter-picked mushroom, wooden-ear mushroom, and bean vermicelli, which he brought back to the inn.


    Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang had not returned. Imagining that those two people were discussing passion and talking about love in some secluded place, he could not suppress his anger and cursed silently. Suddenly someone lightly patted his shoulder and embraced him, while saying with a laugh, "Wei Xiongdi, you are here!"


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and saw that it was the Imperial Bodyguards Chief Dolong. He could not help but was ecstatic. "What are you doing here?" he said with a laugh.


    He saw behind Dolong there were about a dozen men, they were all Imperial Bodyguards, but were dressed in common soldiers'' uniform. Seeing Wei Xiaobao, all of them were beaming with joy, but they did not go forward to greet him. Dolong said in a low voice, "There are other people here, let''s go to my room and talk." Turned out these men were also staying at the same inn.


    When they got to Dolong''s room, one by one the Imperial Bodyguards came forward to pay their respect. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Enough, enough." Taking out one-thousand-tael banknote, he laughed and said, "Brothers, take this to buy some drink."


    The Imperial Bodyguards knew that this Deputy Chief was very liberal with money, each time they saw him, they would always enjoy some advantage. Immediately they happily expressed their thanks.


    Dolong said in a low voice, "Wei Xiongdi, ever since you met with danger on Mount Wutai, every day His Majesty was thinking about you, hence he sent us out to seek for you."


    Wei Xiaobao was very grateful; he stood up and said, "Thank you for His Majesty''s benevolence. But how can I dare to toil brothers'' honorable selves?"


    Dolong laughed and said, "Actually, His Majesty did not send me out, he only sent fifteen Imperial Bodyguard brothers. But I volunteered myself. First, as your big brother I am anxious to find you; second, this is a good opportunity for me to get out of the Capital and have fun. This has been your brother''s great fortune." Everybody laughed.


    Dolong continued, "This time, it can be considered that we have set up a great merit. When we return to the Capital and His Majesty finds out and Wei Xiongdi has escaped from danger, he must be extremely delighted. We have made inquiries along the way, but did not hear any news about Wei Xiongdi. We heard about a group of traitors palling a rebellion instead, we heard that they are going to hold a large assemble at Hejian Prefecture to discuss business. So we came to investigate."


    "I am here also for this matter," Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard the assembly this time is called ''turtle-slaying assembly'' or something like that."


    Dolong raised his thumb. "Formidable, formidable," he said, "Nothing escape Wei Xiongdi''s eyes."


    "What information have you gathered?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Dolong said, "Two brothers here sneaked into the assembly. They found out that they want to deal with Wu Sangui. Every province elected their own ''meng zhu''. We have several names of these ''meng zhu''."


    Wei Xiaobao ''s heart was moved; he asked, "Which ones?"


    Dolong replied, "Yunnan has Mu Jiansheng, Fujian has Taiwan rebel Zheng Jing''s second son called Zheng Keshuang." And then he mentioned several other alliance leaders'' names.


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Those Mu Jiansheng, Zheng Keshuang, and so on, do you know what they look like?"


    Dolong replied, "It was a dark at night, these two brothers could not see them clearly, they also did not dare to come too close."


    "Duo Dage [reminder: in Chinese ''Dolong'' is Duo Long]," Wei Xiaobao said, "When you return to the Capital, please report to His Majesty, tell him that his servant Wei Xiaobao is also investigating this matter. As soon as I have their appearance, I will go back to the Capital to present a memorial to the Emperor."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong said, "Wei Xiongdi is so loyal in working for the Emperor. This time you set up a great merit, His Majesty will surely reward you handsomely."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If there is any merit, won''t that be for the benefit of our Imperial Bodyguards'' face? Right now I have something that I''d like to ask brothers to toil for me."


    All the Imperial Bodyguards replied, "Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief] sends us for an errand, we will definitely do."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This is a matter that annoys me the most. I have a good lady friend that is fooling around with a frivolous young fellow right now ��"


    He had just spoken to this point, fury had already filled the Imperial Bodyguards'' breasts; they all opened their mouth, cussing and swearing, "His granny, which fellow is so brazen, dare to make a move on Wei Fu Zongguan''s girl? Let''s go and kill this fellow."


    "You don''t need to kill him," Wei Xiaobao said, "I only want you to beat him a little, to vent my anger. But this fellow is my friend, so I don''t want you to beat him too severely either. Especially you must not touch that young lady."


    The Imperial Bodyguards laughed and said, "Naturally we will pay particular attention to this. Wei Fu Zongguan''s good lady friend, who dare to offend?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those two people were heading west. As soon as you make your move, I will pretend to come out and save them by driving you away. I want you to yield to me so much that Xiongdi can show off in front of my beloved."


    The Imperial Bodyguards burst out in laughter; they all said, "Wei Fu Zongguan''s assignment this time is most amusing."


    Dolong said with a laugh, "In doing this job, hey, every one of us has to be extra careful. If we reveal the horse'' leg, Wei Fu Zongguan will not consider all of you as brothers anymore."


    The Imperial Bodyguards all laughed and said, "For Wei Fu Zongguan''s important matter, we will all go through water and tread on fire, how could we dare to shrink away?"


    An imperial bodyguard said, "Damn it, this fellow harasses Wei Fu Zongguan''s good lady friend, it''s just like he is harassing my own mother. Laozi will fight him to the death." Everybody laughed.


    "Quiet down," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t let other people hear."


    Stroking their fists and rubbing their palms, the Imperial Bodyguards went out the room, laughing and giggling. Wei Xiaobao brought the vegetable to the kitchen, he gave five qian to the cook and instructed him to prepare exquisite vegetarian dish. And then he slowly walked to the western end of the town.


    He only walked for a little more than a li when he heard shouting and cursing, and saw in the distance several dozen of people were fighting with weapons in their hands; it was a very noisy fight. He thought, "This fellow is not bad, fighting alone against many enemies, unexpectedly he is able to stand."


    Unhurriedly he walked toward the fight, and could not help but was startled. He saw the Imperial Bodyguards were surrounding seven, eight people, engaging them in a fierce combat. The opponents had their backs against the city wall, they were trapped in a corner but were fighting fiercely. They were none other than Mu Jiansheng, Wu Lishen and several other people.


    There was a young woman by Mu Jiansheng''s side; his hands wielded a pair of sabers, he fought ferociously that his hair was in a mess. On top of the city wall there were a couple of people standing hand-in-hand, watching the fight below; they were precisely Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang.


    Wei Xiaobao was angry, but he was also amused; he thought, "Damn it, they have the wrong people. They must have seen Mu Gongzi first, and saw that he has a young lady by his side; without distinguishing red-blue or black-white, they simply rushed to attack."


    He saw Dolong, holding a demon-head saber in his hand, was standing behind those people, supervising the fight. Immediately he walked over to him and said in a low voice, "You have the wrong couple, it''s those two on top of the city wall." Finished speaking, he immediately walked away.


    Dolong shouted, "It''s not right, hey, they are friends. The person who owes money is not you. Alright, everybody step back, let them go." As soon as the Imperial Bodyguards heard it, they pulled back one after another.


    Mu Jiansheng, Wu Lishen and the others were not many, they were not these people''s match. Previously they thought that they had been recognized and that these Qing soldiers wanted to arrest them. Luckily they withdrew, which was exactly what they had been hoping for.


    Wu Lishen caught a glimpse of Wei Xiaobao. "Ashamed," he groaned inwardly, "This time we also receive Wei En Gong''s [benefactor] help. Otherwise, it''s not a big deal if I get killed, but if Xiao Gongye [young master/Duke] fell into the Tatars'' hands, I can''t redeem it with ten thousand deaths." Since at that time it was inconvenient to acknowledge Wei Xiaobao, he hurried along with Mu Jiansheng and the others out of the city gate, and rushed northward.


    Wei Xiaobao went up the city wall and asked Ah Ke, "Shijie, why did they fight? Who are those people?"


    Ah Ke pouted her little mouth and said, "Who knows? Those soldiers were demanding some payment."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us quickly return to the inn, don''t let Shifu be anxious over us."


    Ah Ke said, "You go back first, I''ll come soon afterward."


    She had just finished speaking, the numerous Imperial Bodyguards already rushed up the city wall. An Imperial Bodyguard pointed to Zheng Keshuang and shouted, "It''s him, this fellow is the one who owes me money."


    Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Zheng Gongzi, Shijie, let''s go quickly. Tatar soldiers commit all kind of outrages, it will be very troublesome to provoke them."


    Ah Ke was also somewhat afraid, she said, "Right, let''s go."


    An Imperial Bodyguard rushed over; pointing to Zheng Keshuang he said, "The night before last you were having fun spending money with young women in a brothel in Hejian Prefecture, you owed me ten thousand taels, quickly pay me back."


    "Rubbish," Zheng Keshuang angrily said, "Who went to the brothel? How can I owe you money?"


    "You still deny it?" the Imperial Bodyguard said, "The day before yesterday in the evening, you had two ''powdered heads'' on your knees, what were their names again?"


    Another Imperial Bodyguard said, "The older one was called Ah Cui, the younger one was Hong Bao. You turned to the left and kissed and drank a mouthful of wine, then you turned to the right and caressed her cheek and drank another mouthful of wine, so loose and happy. Do you still deny it?"


    Another Imperial Bodyguard said, "With two ''powdered heads'' in your arms you threw the dice with us, and lost two thousand taels. Eager to win your capital back, you borrowed from me three thousand taels, and borrowed from this laoxiong two thousand taels. Afterward you borrowed from him one thousand five hundred, and from him two thousand taels."


    Another man said, "And from me you borrowed one thousand five hundred taels; altogether you owe us ten thousand taels of shiny white silver."


    Five men held out their hands together and said, "Killing people you pay with your life, owing money you have to pay back. Quickly pay!"


    Ah Ke recalled the scene at the brothel where she saw Wei Xiaobao was fooling around with the prostitutes, she also recalled a few days ago inside the haystack was groping and pinching her body; it seemed to her that these men were not faking it. Moreover, she remembered that the night before last was exactly the eve of the ''turtle-slaying assembly''. She recalled that Zheng Gongzi did not return to the inn until very late at night, and in the morning she saw him having a hangover; he said that certain hero and warrior invited him for a drink. He did drink all right, but it was not any hero or warrior, rather, it was the s1uts at the brothel. Thinking to this point, she could not stop tears from flowing down her face.


    The Imperial Bodyguards had blocked Zheng Keshuang''s escape route; they had him completely surrounded. Someone behind him reached out and grabbed the back of his neck. Zheng Keshuang was furious; his elbow struck backward, heavily he hit the pit of the man''s stomach. The Imperial Bodyguard cried out and doubled up in pain. The rest of the Imperial Bodyguards closed in, giving him punches and kicks. Fighting one on one, these people were not Zheng Keshuang''s match, but with seven, eight people attacking him at once, very soon he was sprawling on the ground.


    Ah Ke anxiously called out, "If you have something to say, let''s talk. Don''t hit people carelessly." And she scrambled forward to help him.


    "Hey, Big Miss


    [61]," Dolong said, "It has nothing to do with you; don''t get involved with this muddle head."


    "Go away," Ah Ke anxiously said; she reached out to push Dolong''s shoulder away.


    Dolong was a martial art master of the Imperial Palace, naturally his martial art skill was superb. With light brush of his left hand, he sent her tumbling several steps backward.


    On the other side, the Imperial Bodyguards were punching and kicking, hacking and chopping Zheng Keshuang; they did not stop slapping Zheng Keshuang''s face. Ah Ke anxiously attacked several moves, but with a chuckle Dolong easily parried her and pushed her farther and farther away from Zheng Keshuang. Dolong said with a laugh, "Big Miss, this playboy is dining, wining, whoring and gambling; nothing that he did not do. Early morning today he still wanted to borrow five thousand taels from me, saying that he wanted to marry two ''powdered heads'' and take them home to be his concubines. Why do you want to protect him?"


    Ah Ke took several steps back and shouted anxiously, "If you have something else to say �� we can talk it over slowly."


    An Imperial Bodyguard laughed and said, "If you tell him to pay back our money, naturally we won''t beat him." While saying that, ''whack!'' he sent another punch on Zheng Keshuang''s face; immediately blood flowing out of his nose.


    Another Imperial Bodyguard pulled his saber and shouted, "Let''s cut his two ears first, and then we talk." While saying that, he waved his saber in chopping motion, twice.


    Ah Ke pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand, in her anxiety, she almost cried. "What shall we do? What shall we do?" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, I do have ten thousand taels; but I really don''t want to give it to him so that he can gamble and visit prostitutes."


    "They are going to cut his ears," Ah Ke said, "Please lend the money to me then."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If Shijie wants to borrow money, I would lend you even a hundred thousand taels, let alone only ten thousand taels. But you will be my wife in the future, so it does not count as a debt. Just tell Zheng Gongzi to borrow from me."


    Ah Ke stomped her feet. "Ay," she said, "You are really ��" She called out, "Hey, don''t hit, we''ll pay you back."


    The Imperial Bodyguards had hit enough, so they stopped, but they still held on to Zheng Keshuang and did not let him go.


    Ah called out, "Zheng Gongzi, my Shidi has the money, just borrow from him to pay them back."


    Zheng Keshuang was really angry that he almost passed out; but seeing the steel saber swaying back and fro in front of his face, he was afraid that they would really cut his ears. He became terrified and looked at Wei Xiaobao, imploring him with his eyes.


    Ah Ke tugged at Wei Xiaobao''s sleeve. "Lend him," she said in a low voice.


    An Imperial Bodyguard said with a cold laugh, "Ten thousand taels is not a small amount of money. Without any guarantee, how can he easily loan it to others? This fellow loves to borrow money the most, didn''t we all fall into his trick?"


    "If only this Miss is willing to be the guarantee," another Imperial Bodyguard said, "If this fellow did not pay back, then it will fall onto this Miss'' responsibility to pay it back."


    The Imperial Bodyguard who had his saber raised said in a loud voice, "Another family''s Big Miss is neither a friend nor a relative to this stinky fellow, why would she be willing to be the guarantor? If the ten thousand taels is not paid back, what else can she do unless using her body to repay the debt by marrying this young rich kid?"


    The Imperial Bodyguards roared with laughter. "That''s right," they said, "That is a brilliant idea."


    "Shijie," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "It won''t work. You heard them, won''t it be too unfair to you?"


    ''Slap!'' an Imperial Bodyguard heavily slapped Zheng Keshuang on his face again. His hands and feet were being held by these people, he was helpless to resist. An Imperial Bodyguard shouted, "Just beat him severely, beat him to death, just consider the ten thousand taels is going down the drain. This is called ''the eyes do not see, the heart does not feel vexed''." ''Slap! Slap!'' he then slapped Zheng Keshuang several times.


    Zheng Keshuang called out, "Don''t hit! Don''t hit! Wei Xiongdi, if you have the money, please lend ten thousand taels to me. I �� I guarantee that I will pay you back."


    Wei Xiaobao cast a sideway glance toward Ah Ke. "Shijie," he asked, "Do you think I should lend it to him?"


    With tears brimming on her eyes, Ah Ke sobbed, "Lend �� lend it to him."


    An Imperial Bodyguard on the side caught on to please Wei Xiaobao, he said with a loud voice, "Big Miss is willing to be the guarantor. In the future Big Miss will marry the young rich gentleman, this stinky fellow is actually the matchmaker."


    Wei Xiaobao fished a pack of banknotes from his pocket, counted ten thousand taels, and was about to give it to Zheng Keshuang, but then he changed his mind and handed it over to Ah Ke instead. Ah Ke received it and said, "Here''s the money, please let him go."


    The Imperial Bodyguards all thought that Deputy Chief Wei said that he was going to fight to rescue others, but now he was using money to save others; they were not sure if it was what Wei Xiaobao had in mind, thereupon they were still holding on to Zheng Keshuang and did not let him go.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Here is ten thousand taels, take it and divide it among yourselves. Damn it, just consider it a reward of your effort. You are all such muddleheaded son of a b1tch, quickly release him."


    As soon as the Imperial Bodyguards heard it, they were delighted. They understood that Wei Xiaobao intended to give them the ten thousand taels as their reward; hence they let Zheng Keshuang go immediately.


    Ah Ke reached out to help him up and to give the money to him. Zheng Keshuang was extremely angry, he snatched the money away and without looking he handed it to an Imperial Bodyguard by his side.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You are a bunch of sons of a b1tch, Tatars soldiers, you beat my friend like this, laozi will not let this matter rest."


    Ah Ke was afraid of prolonged dispute, she hastily said, "Don''t curse, let''s go back."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am furious just thinking about this, the debt has to be paid, and we have already paid it. But Zheng Gongzi has suffered the beatings, didn''t he suffer it in vain?"


    Dolong laughed aloud and said, "This fellow has just shed away his ''poor star'', but his lewdness is on the rise. Damn it, why do you always want to be near other family''s Big Miss?" Reaching out, he grabbed the back of Zheng Keshuang''s neck and lifted his body up. Turning him around in the air, he shouted, "Let me throw you down the city wall, I want to see whether you will die or you will live." Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke screamed together.


    Dolong dropped Zheng Keshuang heavily on the ground; he shouted, "Later on I want you to leave this Miss far away. Other family''s good Miss, if she is seen together with you, a boy who crazily visit prostitute and gamble excessively, who ''imitate the dog and steal chicken'' [i.e. to dally with women], her reputation will be ruined. Let me tell you this: if in the future I ever see you by this Miss'' side, laozi will definitely wring your dog head off your neck." While saying that, his left hand grabbed the root of Zheng Keshuang''s braid, he coiled Zheng Keshuang''s braid twice around the palm of his right hand; and then he took a very deep breath, his chest swelled, the muscles on his arms and the back of his hands bulged out, with a loud roar his hands pulled apart, ''snap!'' the braid broke into two.


    Seeing a display of such a divine strength, the Imperial Bodyguards broke into thunderous applause. Dolong''s natural strength was enormous, plus he trained the external, hard type of martial art. His arms had a thousand-catty power. Fortunately his left hand was holding the root of the braid, otherwise, since Zheng Keshuang''s braid was fake, with one light pull it would be revealed that he was not obeying the imperial court''s order, which was a major criminal offense for a subject of Qing Dynasty.


    Dolong tossed the half braid away, his five fingers, which knuckles were as big as pestles, forked Zheng Keshuang''s neck, followed by his left hand also grabbed the back of his neck. His hands slowly tightened, Zheng Keshuang''s face slowly swollen red, until finally his tongue stuck out; very soon he would be choked to death. The dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards drew their weapons and positioned themselves around the two people, to prevent Ah Ke from stepping forward and rescue him.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted, "The money has been returned, you still want to kill him?" He charged forward, ''Bang!'' and he sent a punch toward an Imperial Bodyguard''s lower abdomen. "Aiyo!" the Imperial Bodyguard cried out, and tumbled down, howling and screaming, flailing his hands and feet randomly, and was not able to crawl up no matter what.


    With both fists Wei Xiaobao attacked Dolong using the move ''a pair of dragons fought over a pearl''. Dolong''s two hands were holding Zheng Keshuang''s neck, he could not parry, and thus was hit by the fists. The move ''a pair of dragons fought over a pearl'' was originally intended to strike the enemy''s temples [''sun'' acupoints], but Dolong was big and tall, while Wei Xiaobao was short and small; his two fists were hitting Dolong''s lower back.


    Pretending to be angry, Dolong cursed, "Dead little demon, laozi will choke you to death." Letting Zheng Keshuang go, he fought with Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao unleashed the martial art he learned from Hai Dafu and Cheng Guan. His movements were agile, each move each style was ingenious and very pleasing to the eye. Dolong''s fists created strong gust of wind. He struck just a few cun from within Wei Xiaobao''s side, suddenly he advanced swiftly and sent a ferocious kick. ''Crack!'' the jujube tree by Wei Xiaobao''s side was broken. The Imperial Bodyguards broke into loud cheers.


    Witnessing Dolong''s divine power, Ah Ke was afraid Wei Xiaobao would be beaten to death. "Shidi," she called out, "Don''t fight, let''s go back."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "She cares about me. In the end this little mother skin [xiao niang pi] is not without any conscience."


    Dolong sent another kick, sending a large rock on the ground flying away and falling down from the city wall. Wei Xiaobao moved faster and faster, ''whack!'' his palm struck the opponent''s abdomen. "Ah!" Dolong cried out; he bent his knees and fell sitting down on the ground. "Laozi won''t give in, let''s fight again," he called out.


    Springing up, his arms moved up and down rapidly. Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways to evade, Dolong''s punch hit the city wall; instantly three pieces of large greenish black brick fell off. Amidst the flying dust, Wei Xiaobao sent a flying kick with his right leg; but before his toes even touched him, Dolong already roared as he slipped down from the city wall and fell onto the ground at the foot of the wall, and lay unmoving.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; afraid that Dolong might really fell to his death, he bent over to look. Dolong raised his head and smiled, he winked and waved his hand, indicating that he was all right, and then immediately lay facing down on the ground. Wei Xiaobao finally felt relieved. The Imperial Bodyguards were shocked and frightened; they rushed down the city wall to look.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled Ah Ke and said in a low voice, "Quickly go, quickly go." Like a wisp of smoke the three of them ran back to the inn.


    Back at the inn, Jiu Nan notice unusual expression on Ah Ke''s face, plus she was panting incessantly. "What happened?" she asked.


    Ah Ke replied, "There were more than a dozen Tatar soldiers giving Zheng Gongzi some trouble, fortunately �� fortunately Shidi overthrew the leader of those soldiers."


    Jiu Nan said, "Do this for me: stay quietly in the inn, do not wander anywhere and create trouble." Ah Ke lowered her head in compliance.


    After a while, concerned over Zheng Keshuang''s injury, she went to his room to pay a visit. She saw that his attendants had applied medicine on his wounds; he was asleep with the attendants accompanying him in the room.


    Seeing her coming out of Zheng Keshuang''s room, Wei Xiaobao was angry and upset at the same time. "Why didn''t I tell them to really cut this fellow''s ears?" he mused, "This little girl is always worrying wholeheartedly about this stinky fellow. Even if I cut this fellow''s ears and poke his eyes blind, it seems that she will still consider him as her beloved treasure." Despite of his sharp-witted and extensive knowledge, encountering this kind of matter of the heart between men and women, he was actually at his wits'' end.


    Note:

 Chapter - 28 (28)

    Over the top passion takes a lot of twists and turns, but exquisite to those who painstakingly open their hearts.


    That night Wei Xiaobao slept until midnight, when suddenly he heard a light knock on his window. Still in daze, he sat up, and heard someone outside the window said in a low voice, "Wei En Gong [benefactor], it''s me."


    He focused his attention and recognized the voice as Wu Lishen''s. Quickly he walked toward the window and said in a low voice, "Is it Wu Er Shu [second uncle]?"


    "I do not dare to accept the honor, it''s me," Wu Lishen said.


    Wei Xiaobao quietly opened the window. Wu Lishen leaped inside and embraced him. He seemed to be very happy. "En Gong," he said is a low voice, "I think about you every day; I did not expect to see you in here." Turning around, he closed the window, and then pulled Wei Xiaobao to sit side by side on the kang. He said, "During the great assembly at Hejian Prefecture, I inquired about you from your precious Society''s friends, but they were not willing to tell me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s not that they considered you as an outsider, and intentionally did not want to tell you. Actually, I attended the ''turtle-slaying assembly'' in disguise; the Society brothers did not know."


    Wu Lishen felt relieved. "So that''s how it is," he said, "Today we bumped into the Tatar soldiers, we also received En Gong''s help in getting out of difficult situation. Otherwise, I am afraid our Xiao Gongye would suffer mishap. Xiao Gongye wanted me to pay his utmost respect to En Gong, he is deeply grateful."


    "We all are good friends, there is no need to be polite," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Er Shu, you keep calling me En Gong this and En Gong that, it sounds really awkward. If you consider me a friend, henceforth the use of this word to address me must be avoided."


    "Very well," Wu Lishen replied, "I won''t call you En Gong, but you must not call me Er Shu either. From now on we call each other ''Xiongdi'' [brother]. I am several years older, so I will call you Xiongdi."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wonderful. That martial nephew of yours, Liu Yizhou, shouldn''t he call me Shishu then?"


    Wu Lishen felt slightly embarrassed; he said, "That fellow has no future prospect; let us not mind him. Xiongdi, what are you up to?"


    "This matter is complicated and not easy to express succinctly," Wei Xiaobao said, "Er Ge [second brother], your Xiongdi has decided on marriage."


    "Congratulations, congratulations," Wu Lishen said, "I wonder which family''s young lady?" Immediately he recalled, "Could it be Fang Yi? Has he found Miss Fang and Xiao Junzhu?" His whole face was beaming with delight.


    "My wife is surnamed Chen," Wei Xiaobao said, "But there is one problem, for which I am quite ashamed."


    "Why?" Wu Lishen asked.


    "My wife has another good friend surnamed Zheng," Wei Xiaobao replied, "This fellow''s moral quality is not upright and honest. He is fooling around with my wife, that is a small matter; he actually informed the Tatar soldiers about you. Those soldiers who were giving Xiao Gongye a hard time today, it was actually his idea."


    Wu Lishen was furious. "This fellow really is bored to be alive," he said, "But I wonder why did he do that?"


    "Do you know who this fellow is?" Wei Xiaobao said, "He is none other than Taiwan''s Yan Ping Jun Wang''s second son. He said that Yan Ping Jun Wang is in command over a large army, while your Mu Palace is in decline; without power and without potential, what else can you do?"


    Wu Lishen angrily said, "Our Mu Palace is also an outstanding founding minister of the Great Ming who subdued Yunnan; how can it be compared to their Zheng Family who rise to power just recently?"


    "Isn''t that so?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Yet this fellow said: whoever kills Wu Sangui will gain an enormous face in front of the world''s heroes; in Yunnan, you are the local bullies, compared to their Zheng Family in Taiwan, it will be a hundred times more convenient for you to kill Wu Sangui. He confides with me, saying that he wanted to eliminate Mu Family people first. I told him that our Tian Di Hui has already made a bet with Mu Palace to see who will get rid of Wu Sangui first. We are heroes and warriors; if we win, we must win brilliantly, if we lose, we must lose gracefully; how could we secretly plot against the competitor? This fellow refused to accept, hence he resorted to different ruse. Fortunately Tatar soldiers did not recognize Xiao Gongye, hence I was able to trick them into thinking that they had the wrong person and thus you were able to get away."


    "So that''s how it is! So that''s how it is!" Wu Lishen repeatedly said, "Damn it, this fellow is not human."


    "Er Ge," Wei Xiaobao said, "We must teach this fellow a lesson. But looking at Yan Ping Jun Wang''s face, we must not kill him. It would be best if you could beat him a bit, and then Xiongdi will boldly come out to help him, and fight with you a little bit. You deliberately yield to me several stances, then you pretend to retreat in defeat. I wonder if you''d willing to do that."


    "Xiongdi is venting our anger, why would I be unwilling?" Wu Lishen said, "It would be best since we won''t damage the relationship with Taiwan''s Zheng Family and won''t provoke any dispute."


    "He is the one with wounds on his head and face, the fellow who is with Xiongdi," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Yes," Wu Lishen said, "Who does he think his Zheng Family is? Although nowadays our Mu Palace has fallen into dire straits, we are not one to be bullied."


    "Isn''t that so?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Following which he asked about ''seeing the ghost'' at the Zhuang Family''s big house. Although he had seen Xu Tianchuan during the day, at that time it was inconvenient to ask, hence his mind had been preoccupied with this matter.


    Wu Lishen revealed an ashamed look on his face; continuously shaking his head, he said, "Xiongdi, today you are calling me ''Er Ge''; honestly, your big brother is quite ashamed. That day we were subdued by those fellows who ''dress up as god, play the devil'' using some demonic method; who would have thought that those fellows were lured out of the room and were taken captive? Several women had just come out to set us free when a bunch of crafty fellows rushed into the room and rescued Zhang Laosan and his men."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; he said in his heart, "They must be Shen Long Jiao people, the Third Young Mistress of the Zhuang Family and the others were not able to resist them."


    Wu Lishen shook his head and said, "At that time Xu Laoye [old master] and I had just had our acupoints unsealed, our hands and feet could not move freely yet. In the darkness we fought randomly; we were separated from each other. It was not until the next morning did we finally get together, except you, Xiongdi, Xiao Junzhu and Miss Fang, three people; we could not find you no matter what. We went back to that haunted house to look for you, but there was only an old woman there. I don''t know whether she was really deaf or pretending to be deaf, after interrogating her for half a day, we could not find the least bit of useful information. Xu Laoyezi and I were unwilling to give up, we searched openly and investigated in secret, and done so for over half a month straight, ay, yet we did not find the least bit of clue. Good Xiongdi, seeing you today, I am very happy. Where did Xiao Junzhu and Miss Fang go? Do you have any news? Our Xiao Wangye is worried about his sister, he is always anxious."


    Wei Xiaobao gave him a vague answer, "I am also concerned over those two ladies. Miss Fang is smart and quick-witted, but Xiao Junzhu is a bit na?ve. The sooner she can meet her brother the better." While in his heart he mused, "Turns out you did not get captured by Shen Long Jiao, and did not get forced to take the poison and compelled to be spies; that''s very good." He knew Wu Lishen was upright and frank, he could not lie; if this story was told by Liu Yizhou, it would not necessarily be credible.


    Wu Lishen said, "Xiongdi, take a good care of yourself, your Gege is leaving." While saying that, he stood up, seemingly very reluctant to leave. Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand, he said, "Xiongdi, there is no lack of good ladies in the world, if that lady of yours does not treat you well, you should not take it to heart too much."


    Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh; gloomily he remained silent. This time his sigh was a genuine sigh. Wu Lishen pushed open the window and leaped out.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao followed Jiu Nan and Ah Ke going out of the city gate and continued their journey north. Zheng Keshuang, accompanied by his entourage, was traveling with them. "Zheng Gongzi," Jiu Nan asked him, "Where are you heading?"


    "I want to go back to Taiwan," Zheng Keshuang replied, "But I want to walk Shitai off for a while before taking my leave."


    After traveling for twenty some li, suddenly they heard the sound of galloping horses, a group of people were hurrying along toward them. As these people were drawing near, they could see that it was a group of peasants, with hoes, iron rakes and so on in their hands. The one in the front called out, "It''s that fellow; it''s him!" As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw the man, he recognized him as Wu Lishen.


    The people surrounded the large carriage, blocking their way. Wu Lishen pointed to Zheng Keshuang and cursed, "Thief boy, what a fine thing indeed you did last night at the Zhang Family Village! The cat has stolen the food, now you want to quietly slip away?"


    "What Zhang Family Village, Li Family Village?" Zheng Keshuang angrily said, "You don''t have eyes and talk rubbish."


    "Good!" Wu Lishen roared, "Turns out the Li Family girl was also deceived by you; you admit it. Damn it, thief boy! In one night you swindled two maidens; you are really brazen and shameless."


    The attendants shouted together, "This is our Gongzi Ye, you have the wrong person, such a crazy and unfounded ravings!"


    Wu Lishen pulled a peasant girl out; pointing to Zheng Keshuang he asked, "Is it him? Look carefully."


    Wei Xiaobao saw the peasant girl had thick eyebrows and big eyes, high cheekbones and buckteeth, she wore green fancy-patterned clothing and had a piece of printed cloth wrapped around her head; presumably this girl was hired by Wu Lishen, he was secretly amused.


    With a deep and gruff voice the peasant girl said, "It''s him, it''s him, I am a hundred percent sure. Last night he went to my room and embraced me, boo hoo �� this �� this dead stinky person, aiyo, boo hoo �� ahh �� mother ��" While saying that, she was bawling.


    Another peasant shouted, "You bullied my meizi [younger sister], laozi should be your brother-in-law. Damn it, laozi should fight you to the death." He was Wu Lishen''s disciple, Ao Biao.


    Wei Xiaobao examined carefully the Mu Palace people, he had seen about five or six people, but Liu Yizhou was not among them. Presumably Wu Lishen had carefully selected these people in advance to make sure that there was no one harboring any hostility with him, so that their scheme would not be exposed.


    Seeing the peasant girl was so ugly, Ah Ke did not believe that Zheng Keshuang would have illicit relationship with her, it''s just that the girl had personally confirmed that it was him. These peasants had neither enmity nor hatred toward Zheng Keshuang, hence it was unlikely that they would deliberately accused him falsely. She could not help being skeptical.


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows as he said, "Zheng Gongzi is a bit too loose; going to a brothel and playing with prostitutes is one thing, but why did he go �� go �� go �� ay, this peasant girl is so ugly. Shijie, I think they must have the wrong person."


    "Right," Ah Ke said, "It must be a case of mistaken identity."


    Wu Lishen told the peasant girl, "Say it quickly, say it quickly, are you afraid of being disgraced? He �� what did this thief boy give you?"


    The peasant girl took out a big yuanbao worth a hundred taels from her pocket; she said, "He gave me this; he told me to obey him. He said that he came from Taiwan, his father is some Wangye, he has gold mountain, silver mountain in his house, and �� and ��"


    "Ah!" Ah Ke shrieked. She thought that this peasant girl was ignorant and unlearned, it was impossible for her to fabricate that fact, naturally it must be Zheng Keshuang himself who told her that. She could not help but feeling angry and hurt.


    The Zheng Mansion''s attendants also thought that it was the truth, since they believed that a peasant girl like her would not have such a big yuanbao; they shouted, "Get out of the way, get out of the way! You already have the yuanbao, what are you fussing about? Don''t stand in your masters'' way."


    "Can''t do!" Ao Biao shouted, "You have raped my meizi, how can she marry someone else in the future? You have to take her as your wife. Quickly go back with me, bow to the Heaven and the Earth with her, and then take her back with you to Taiwan to pay her respect to your father and mother. My meizi is a good family''s daughter, not some servile s1ut; do you think she would take your money to prostitute herself to you? What did he say this hundred-tael for?" The last question was directed to the peasant girl.


    The peasant girl said, "He said �� he said that it is some betrothal gift, he also said that he would send a matchmaker to take me as his wife, and bring me back to his palace to be some first-rate madam."


    Zheng Keshuang was extremely angry; he thought that he came to the Central Plains this time he had always met with unfavorable situations, even this uncouth peasants also trying to give him trouble without any rhyme or reason. Raising his horsewhip, ''crack!'' he lashed it down on Ao Biao''s head.


    "Aiyo!" Ao Biao screamed. He raised both hands to protect his head, and then fell down his horse and curled up on the ground, twitched several times, and then lay down motionless.


    "Murder, murder!" the crowd of peasants cried out.


    The peasant girl jumped down from her horse to embrace Ao Biao, while screaming and wailing. Her voice was really rough and husky, she sounded like a pig being slaughtered.


    Zheng Keshuang was shocked; thinking that right now they were on foreign land, plus he was someone wanted by the Qing government. If he was involved in legal case involving homicide, he would be in a very big trouble. Instantly he shouted, "Everybody, run!" Raising the horse''s reins, he was thinking of making a dash out of the encirclement.


    Suddenly a peasant leaped up high to the air and pounced down on him. Zheng Keshuang sent a left backhand punch toward the man''s chest. The man caught his wrist and twisted it. ''Crack!'' his elbow was dislocated. The man landed on the saddle behind him, his right hand reached down from his flank and up to his neck. It was precisely a move from qinna technique called the ''slanting stage backward scale (of fish)''. The man''s movement was clean and agile; his mouth was yelling and calling loudly, "Ah San, Ah Gou, [lit. ''the third'' and ''the dog''] quickly come and help me, I �� I �� I am hurt from his strike. Aiyo hey, this fellow is killing me! He is killing me!"


    Zheng Keshuang''s body was numb and aching; he was already immobilized completely. The Zheng Mansion attendants pulled out their weapons and charged forward. This time, although Mu Palace people were not too many, each one''s skill was not weak. They lifted up their hoes and iron rakes, and engaged the opponents in a tangled battle, preventing the already injured attendants from coming to Zheng Keshuang''s rescue.


    The peasant grabbed Zheng Keshuang and rolled underneath the horse, while raising a clamor, "Ah Hua, quickly catch your husband, don''t let him run away."


    "He won''t run away," the peasant girl shouted back, while leaping up and firmly holding Zheng Keshuang in her arms.


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao realize that this peasant girl was actually a man disguised as a woman; no wonder she was that unbearably ugly. Obviously he was a Mu Palace person. The way ''she'' captured Zheng Keshuang was also a qinna technique.


    Ah Ke anxiously called out, "Shifu, Shifu, they captured Zheng Gongzi, what should we do?"


    Jiu Nan shook her head and said, "This Zheng Gongzi''s behaviors is dishonorable, receiving a bit of lesson will not be useless to him. These peasants won''t possibly harm his life." She was reclining on the large carriage to recuperate, hence she only heard the commotion outside without actually seeing the way the Mu Palace people were making their moves; otherwise, with her keen vision, as soon as she saw these people''s agility, she would have seen through their scheme.


    Ah Ke said, "These peasant seem to know martial art."


    "Martial art they don''t have," Wei Xiaobao said, "But their brute force is definitely not small."


    Ao Biao crawled up from the ground; he called out, "Damn it, you nearly killed your laozi." [Reminder: ''laozi'' literally means ''old man'', as in ''father''; also to refer to self (arrogantly or jocularly).] A peasant laughed and said, "You are his Dajiuzi, how could you be laozi?"


    "Alright," Ao Biao said, "Grab this fellow. Since Dajiuzi is not dead, he does not need to pay with his own life. My Ah Hua meizi will have someone to depend on all her life. Take him to bow to the Heaven and the Earth."


    The peasants cheered and yelled, "We are going to drink wine of happiness, we are going to drink wine of happiness!"


    They led the attendants'' horses away, and with Zheng Keshuang in the middle, they rode back to the direction they came from. Shouting and yelling, the Zheng Mansion attendants tried to run after them, but those people disappeared behind a cloud of dust, how could they pursue on foot?


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zheng Gongzi will live with the bride''s family in here, that''s wonderful. Turns out this place is called Gao Lao Zhuang."


    Ah Ke was shocked and angered at the same time; she was already at a loss of what to do. Hearing him saying that, she thoughtlessly asked, "This place is called Gao Lao Zhuang?"


    Ah Ke angrily said, "You are the Zhu Bajie!" Leaning on a tree by the road, she cried.


    "Shijie," Wei Xiaobao said, "Zheng Gongzi is getting married, that is a happy occasion; why are you crying instead?"


    Ah Ke was going to scold him, but then she changed her mind, thinking that this little demon head had an extensive remarkable ability. Only by asking for his help would she be able to rescue Zheng Gongzi back. She said with a cry, "Shidi, please think of a way to rescue him from danger."


    Wei Xiaobao opened his eyes wide; pretending to be utterly astonished, he said, "Did you say ''rescue him from danger''? He did not commit any murder, they won''t make him pay with his own life."


    "Didn''t you hear?" Ah Ke said, "Those people are going to force him to bow to the Heaven and Earth with that peasant girl."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Bowing to the Heaven and Earth is very good." Lowering his voice, he said quietly, "I want to bow to the Heaven and the Earth with you, it''s too bad that you are not willing."


    Ah Ke shot him a malicious look and said, "Others are dying of anxiety, you are still talking that kind of senseless talk. Just see if I am going to ignore you in the future or not?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu says that Zheng Gongzi''s moral conduct is not good, let him suffer a bit of hardship, it will be greatly beneficial to him. Much less bowing to the Heaven and the Earth and get married is not a hardship at all. Most probably Zheng Gongzi is very happy. Otherwise, why would he look for that miss last night, and dilly-dally with her, and do some dubious thing?"


    Ah Ke stomped her right foot and angrily said, "You are the one who dilly-dally with women and do dubious thing."


    Along the way that day Ah Ke was deliberately trying to delay their journey. When they stopped for a meal, she slashed her saber on the mule''s hind leg, thereupon the mule was limping and afterwards it walked really slow so that they only travelled for a bit more than ten li when they had to stop in a small town to lodge for the night. Wei Xiaobao knew that that night she would definitely want to rush over to save Zheng Keshuang. After dinner, and after everybody in the inn went to bed, he went to the stable and slept on the pile of straw.


    Sure enough, before the first watch of the night


    [62] he heard intermittent footsteps, a dark shadow entered the stable and pulled a horse out. Wei Xiaobao called in a low voice, "Someone''s stealing horse!"


    The shadow was precisely Ah Ke; she was startled and turned around to run, but then she recognized Wei Xiaobao''s voice. "Xiaobao," she called, "Is that you?"


    "Naturally it''s me," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "What are you doing here?" Ah Ke asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Mountain people have divine foresight and marvelous calculation; foreseeing that some people would turn into a horse thief tonight, I am guarding here to catch the thief."


    Ah Ke spat. And then with an imploring tone she said, "Xiaobao, come with me to �� to save him back."


    Hearing her beseeching him with a gentle voice, Wei Xiaobao could not stop the bones in his body from turning soft. He said with a laugh, "If I can save him, what will be my reward?"


    "Whatever you want ��" Ah Ke was going to say ''whatever you want, it''s up to you'', but immediately recalled, "This little demon head always wanted me to marry him, I can''t leave it up to him." Therefore, before she finished, she changed her statement, "You �� you are always thinking of a way to bully me; you have never been willing to help me sincerely." Speaking to here, she started to sob and cry. It was not a fake cry, however, she was actually thinking about Zheng Keshuang''s frivolous character, but also the fact that he was falling into a dangerous situation; she was wondering if he had bowed to the Heaven and the Earth to get married or not.


    As soon as she cried, Wei Xiaobao''s heart softened. He sighed and said, "Alright, alright! I am going to go with you."


    Ah Ke was delighted. Sobbing and sniffling, she said, "Thank �� thank you."


    "You don''t need to thank me," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just that we don''t know where Gao Lao Zhuang is."


    Ah Ke was startled, but then she understood that by saying ''Gao Lao Zhuang'', he was scolding Zheng Keshuang in a roundabout way. "We will have to inquire along the way," she said in a low voice.


    The two of them opened the inn''s back door, led the horse out, and rode together along the road they travelled during the day. Wei Xiaobao asked, "Actually, what''s so good about Zheng Gongzi that you like him like this?"


    "Who says I like him?" Ah Ke said, "It''s just that �� it''s just that we know each other; he meets calamity, naturally I must go to rescue him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If some people caught me and forced me to bow to the Heaven and the Earth and get married, will you come to rescue me or not?"


    "Pfft!" Ah Ke stifled her laughter and said, "Are you good looking? Who would want to catch you and force you to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You think I am not that pleasing to the eye, but there might be a young lady out there who thinks that I am outstandingly handsome, outstandingly smart?"


    Ah Ke laughed and said, "In that case, I should thank the Heaven and the Earth for sparing me from your ghost always entangling me."


    "Fine," Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you don''t have any conscience like this, if some people caught you and force you to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married, I am not going to rescue you."


    Ah Ke was slightly startled; she thought that if she really encountered such matter, she would definitely want him to rescue her. "You will definitely come to rescue me," she grimly said.


    "Why?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Ah Ke said, "Others bully me, you won''t watch with folded arms. Who told you to be my Shidi?" As soon as these words entered his ears, Wei Xiaobao felt sweet comfort in his heart.


    While talking, they had reached the place where they met Mu Palace heroes during the day. They saw more than a dozen people were sitting on the ground by the road, with lanterns in their hands; they were none other than Zheng Mansion attendants. Ah Ke reined the horse and asked, "Where is Zheng Gongzi?"


    The attendants stood up. With a sullen look on his face, someone said, "In the ancestral hall over there." While saying that, he pointed to the northwest.


    "Ancestral hall?" Ah Ke asked, "What is he doing?"


    The attendant replied, "Those peasants invited Gongzi, and insisted that he bow to the Heaven and the Earth. Gongzi is unwilling, and thus they punched and kicked, very vicious!"


    Ah Ke was angry. "You all are �� humph �� you all are martial art masters," she said, "How come even several peasants like that you are not able to defeat?"


    The attendants were very ashamed; they hung their heads low. A man said, "Those peasants know martial art."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "Other people know martial art, and you simply ignore your master? We are going to rescue him, lead us the way."


    An elderly attendant said, "Those peasants said that if we dare to raise a ruckus, they would slaughter every one of us."


    "They want to slaughter let them slaughter," Ah Ke said, "What are you afraid of? Jun Wang ordered you to protect Gongzi, yet you are greedy for life, afraid of death like this?"


    "Yes, yes," the attendant said, "It would be best if Miss does not ride the horse, so that we won''t alert them."


    "Humph," Ah Ke snorted. Together with Wei Xiaobao they jumped down the horse and tied the horse on a roadside tree. The attendants set down their lanterns, and led the two people toward the northwest.


    They walked for about a li, passing through a wood, a stretch of graveyard, and arrived at a seven, eight-room big house. Sounds of gongs and drums can be heard inside the building. Ah Ke''s heart was anxious, "Has he really bowed to the Heaven and the Earth?" she mused.


    Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s sleeve, she quickened her steps, circled around the side of the building, and saw a door half opened. Peeking inside, she saw complete darkness with nobody inside. The two of them sneaked in, following the sound of gongs and drums toward the main hall. They squatted down underneath a window and peeked inside from a crack on the window; and were able to see everything in the main hall. Ah Ke was immediately greatly worried, while Wei Xiaobao was extremely delighted.


    They saw Zheng Keshuang''s head was adorned with several stems of red flower, standing opposite a woman whose head was draped in red silk. The hall was bright with a lot of candles. Several peasants were beating gongs and drums while continuously cheering and jeering.


    Wu Lishen called out, "Bow again, bow again!"


    "I have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth," Zheng Keshuang said, "What else should I bow to?" Hearing this, Ah Ke was so mad that she nearly fainted.


    Shaking his head, Wu Lishen said, "We have a custom here, the groom has to bow to the bride one hundred times. You have only bowed for thirty times, there are still seventy times left."


    Ao Biao raised his leg and kicked Zheng Keshuang''s buttocks. Zheng Keshuang was unable to stand, he fell kneeling down. Ao Biao pressed his head down and shouted, "You are the groom today, what''s the big deal of bowing several more times?"


    Wei Xiaobao knew that they were stalling, waiting for his arrival. In all his life he could not necessarily see this kind of good and rare drama several times, thereupon he thought that there was no harm in watching it a bit longer; hence he took his time in coming out to save him. Ah Ke, on the other hand, could not bear it any longer. ''Bang!'' she kicked the window, and leaped inside with a saber in her hand. "Release him quickly," she shouted, "Otherwise your Miss will kill each and every one of you!"


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "Miss, are you here to drink the wine of happiness? Why are you using saber and spear?"


    Ah Ke took a step forward, brandishing her saber to chop at Ao Biao. In her anxiety and anger, her saber was moving very swiftly and fiercely. Ao Biao hastily leaped away. He picked a long wooden bench behind him to block the saber. Although Ah Ke did not have internal strength, her moves were quite refined and amazing. Ao Biao''s wooden bench was an awkward weapon, unexpectedly he was forced to draw back again and again.


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "Hey, not bad at all." And he stretched out his hand to meet the saber. His martial art skill was considerably higher than Ao Biao''s, just with two bare palms he was able to weave in and out between the saber blade.


    Zheng Keshuang leaped up with the intention to help, but his back was punched twice, ''bang, bang!'' and he fell to the ground.


    Ah Ke successively launched seven, eight moved. Seeing that she could not resist the enemy, she called out, "Shidi, Shidi, come here, quick!"


    But she heard Wei Xiaobao was shouting outside the window, "How fierce! Laozi will fight you to the death." She heard the sound of punching and kicking on the window, apparently Wei Xiaobao was fighting fiercely with someone else.


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s arrival, Wu Lishen busily signaled with his eyes, and then shouted, "Who''s there?" Two of his disciples immediately stepped forward with unsheathed weapons to meet Ah Ke''s willow-leaf saber.


    Wu Lishen rushed outside the hall, but saw that Wei Xiaobao was alone, kicking the window, making a lot of noise; obviously he was not fighting with anybody else. Wu Lishen nearly burst out laughing; he called out, "Everybody stops! You, little kid, what are you doing here?"


    Wei Xiaobao loudly replied, "My Shijie asked me to save people; quickly let him go! Aiyo! Not good, these peasants have superb martial art skill." While making a big fuss, he ran outside the door. Wu Lishen laughed and ran after him.


    When they were outside, Wei Xiaobao stopped and said with a laugh, "Er Ge, thank you very much! The way you manage this matter is very interesting."


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "Is that Miss Xiongdi''s beloved? Her martial art is really good, her appearance also �� also �� hey, hey, not bad." He was straightforward and frank; Ah Ke''s physical appearance was extremely beautiful, he did not think much of it, but her moves were refined and amazing, he was quite admiring her.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "It''s a pity that she wholeheartedly wanted to marry that stinky fellow, and is unwilling to marry me. You can force that stinky fellow to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to marry that peasant girl; if only you could force her to marry me ��" Suddenly he had an idea. "Er Ge," he said, "I am asking you to help me to the end. Pretend that you capture me, and seize that Miss also, and then force us to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married. What do you think?"


    Wu Lishen burst out laughing; he could not help but shaking his head, and hastily said, "Very good, very good. Xiongdi, I hope you don''t mind, shaking my head has become a second nature to me; it''s just that �� it''s just that ��" Speaking to this point, he slightly hesitated.


    "It''s just that what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wu Lishen said, "We are men of chivalrous and righteous way, it is all right to play a joke, Xiongdi, please don''t be oversensitive, your Gege is speaking frankly: you should absolutely have to guard against any voracious desire to satiate lascivious heart."


    "Naturally," Wei Xiaobao said, "She is my Shijie; after we bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married, she will be my official wife. Er Ge, you are the matchmaker; after bowing to the Heaven and the Earth, we will be officially married, won''t we? It''s not ''picking flowers'' [i.e. enter houses at night to rape women] or visiting prostitute, so you cannot say ''lascivious heart'', can you?"


    "Yes, yes," Wu Lishen said, "Xiongdi, please promise me, you must do not any �� any bad things that are not according to chivalrous and righteous way."


    "Please set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease," Wei Xiaobao said, "A real man make a promise, some horses cannot chase it."


    Wu Lishen was greatly delighted; he laughed and said, "I already knew that you are a well-known hero and warrior. This Miss can marry you, it is indeed her good fortune."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You are the matchmaker, we must offer you the first cup of the wine of happiness."


    "Wonderful!" Wu Lishen said with a laugh, "Xiongdi, let''s do it."


    Wei Xiaobao put his hands behind his back and said with a laugh, "No need to be polite."


    Wu Lishen grabbed his wrists with his left hand; raising his voice, he said, "I want to see where are you going to run to?" And then he pushed Wei Xiaobao into the main hall.


    They saw Ah Ke''s saber had been knocked down, while three weapons were pointing to her front and back. Although Ao Biao and the others wanted to completely subdue her, they knew that she was Wei Xiaobao''s beloved, hence they did not dare to be rude to her at all.


    Wu Lishen took off his belt to tie Wei Xiaobao''s hands, and then he pushed him to sit on a chair. Next, he also bound Ah Ke''s hands. Wei Xiaobao did not stop cursing.


    "Little demon," Wu Lishen shouted, "You curse one more time, I am going to dig your eyeballs out."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I''ll curse whenever I want to curse, stinky thief!"


    "Shidi," Ah Ke said in a low voice, "Stop cursing so you won''t suffer the present trouble." Only then did Wei Xiaobao hold his tongue.


    Wu Lishen said, "This Miss actually has more sense, her appearance is also not bad. Very good, very good. I have another brother who is not married yet, I''d better take her as my ''difu'' [younger brother''s wife] today."


    Ah Ke was greatly shocked. "That won''t do, that won''t do!" she hastily said.


    "Why not?" Wu Lishen said, "Big Miss of a good family will always be married, my Xiongdi is a hero and a warrior, he will not bring disgrace to you, why are you unwilling? You really fail to appreciate other people''s kindness! Play the music!"


    Ao Biao and and the others picked up the gongs and drums and started beating them. ''Dong! Dong! Dang! Dang!'' It was very lively.


    Of all the frightening experiences Ah Ke went through in her entire life, nothing was scarier than this. She thought that these peasants were rough, uncouth and dirty, his younger brother must be of the same quality; if she lost her chastity to this kind of coarse peasant, even if she killed herself right now, it was already too late. She clenched her jaw and bit her lips, she was so scared that she was unable to utter anything.


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "Very good, you agree." He waved his right hand, and everybody stopped beating the gongs and the drums.


    "Not yet, I haven''t agreed yet," Ah Ke called out, "Just kill me quickly!"


    "Alright," Wu Lishen said, "I will kill you. I will kill even your Shidi." While saying that, he took the steel saber from Ao Biao''s hand and raised it high in the air.


    Ah Ke cried and said, "Quickly kill me, if you don''t, you are not a real man. You �� you kill my Shidi quickly, kill �� kill him first."


    Wu Lishen cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao; he thought, "This Miss is so without feeling and without sense of justice toward you, why would you want to marry her?"


    In his heart, Wei Xiaobao was also cursing, "Stinky little girl, why would you want to kill me first?"


    Wu Lishen angrily said, "I simply won''t kill your Shidi. Ah Gou, take this stinky fellow and chop his head outside!" While saying that, he pointed to Zheng Keshuang.


    Ao Biao replied, "Yes." And dragged Zheng Keshuang away.


    "No," Ah Ke cried out in alarm, "Don''t harm him �� he can''t be killed. His father �� his father ��"


    "Never mind!" Wu Lishen said, "Are you going to be my Dixi [yet another word for ''younger brother''s wife''] or not?"


    Ah Ke cried and said, "No, no, you �� just kill me."


    Wu Lishen tossed away his steel saber and picked up a horsewhip. "I won''t kill you," he shouted, "I''ll lash you a hundred whip first." In that moment the anger in his heart was unbearable. ''Crack!'' he cracked the whip in the air, ready to lash it down onto her body.


    "Hold on!" Wei Xiaobao shouted.


    Wu Lishen halted the whip in the air and did not lash it down. "What?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We are heroes and warriors; we pay particular attention to yi qi. Shijie and I are like hands and feet born on the same parents, this a hundred-lash whip, just strike it on me."


    Seeing Wu Lishen''s ferocious and tyrannical look as he raised his whip, Ah Ke was already scared and panicked. As soon as she heard Wei Xiaobao, her heart was delighted. "Shidi," she said, "You are a really good person."


    Wei Xiaobao said to Wu Lishen, "Hey, Laoxiong, whatever it is, let me take it. This is called ''being a real man, I am not afraid of calamity, I''ll step forward bravely''. You must not force her to marry your Xiongdi, if you have any Jiejie or Meimei [older and younger sister, respectively] who is not married yet, just let me bow to the Heaven and the Earth with her to marry her. This Zheng Gongzi has already married one, I will marry another one, successively we marry two of you; it''s not bad, is it? If you have another one, just let her marry me. Laozi is a junk copper, rusty iron; my brain is already rotten ��"


    He spoke to that point, Wu Lishen and the others burst out in laughter. Ah Ke also could not help feeling funny, but she only chuckled a moment, and immediately remembered the wrong she was suffering; her tears flowed down again.


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "You, this little kid, is very interesting; you are a real man. I was actually thinking of letting you go, and was saying all those things to scare you, but laozi is too worthless. This matter of bowing to the Heaven and the Earth must be done; you tell me, who is going to bow to the Heaven and the Earth? Will it be you, or she?"


    Ah Ke was anxious to get away. "It''s he, it''s he!" she hastily said.


    Wu Lishen fixed his gaze at her; raising his voice, he said, "You say he is to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married?"


    Ah Ke felt slightly ashamed; she hung her head and said, "Yes."


    "Alright!" Wu Lishen said. Pointing to Wei Xiaobao he said in a loud voice, "Today I insist that you bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his gaze toward Ah Ke and said, "I �� I ��"


    Ah Ke said in a low voice, "Shidi, you help me out of great catastrophe today, I will never forget it. Please agree!"


    Wei Xiaobao looked distressed. "You want me to bow to the Heaven and the Earth and get married? Ay, you know, this is a very difficult matter."


    "I know," Ah Ke said in a low voice, "If you did not help me out of this great difficulty today, I would have no choice but to crash my head and die. I �� I have no choice but to ask for your help. They �� they are extremely vicious."


    "Shijie," Wei Xiaobao said in a loud voice, "Today you opened your mouth to ask me for help. I, Wei Xiaobao, have no choice but to face the difficulty, to agree on your behalf. It is you who wanted me to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married; it was not me who wanted to do it, am I right?"


    "Yes," Ah Ke replied, "It was me who asked you. You are the hero, a real man who steps forward bravely, who relieve other people''s distress, also �� also someone who listen to my words the most."


    Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh and said, "Shijie, my feelings to you, you have always understood. No matter what it is that you want me to do, I will readily agree, I won''t frown. Since you ask me to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married, naturally I will comply."


    "I know you treat me very well," Ah Ke said, "Later on �� later on I will also treat you well."


    "So be it," Wu Lishen said, "Xiao Xiongdi, I do not have any meizi for you to marry. My daughter is only three; she can''t marry you. Hey, if any of you have Jiejie or Meimei, quickly call her out to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married with this young hero."


    Ao Biao said with a laugh, "I don''t have any."


    Another man said, "This young hero''s righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky; if I can be his in-law, it will be my greatest good luck. Too bad I only have brothers and no sisters."


    Another man said, "My Jiejie has already married and gave birth to eight kids. Young hero, if you are willing to wait, wait for my jiefu [older sister''s husband] to die, then I will tell Jiejie to marry you."


    "He can''t wait," Wu Lishen said, "Who has someone who is readily available?"


    Everybody shook his head and said, "I don''t." Everybody appeared to have missed a good opportunity and had deep regret.


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Gentlemen friends, it is not me who is unwilling, but you do not have any sisters, so please let us go."


    Wu Lishen shook his head and said, "No we won''t. A real man said a word, a team of horses cannot chase it. Today you must bow to the Heaven and the Earth. Otherwise, we will offend Sha Shen [don''t know what it is, literally means demon deity] Taisui [God of the year], and then everybody here will die a violent death; won''t this joke be started again? Alright, you bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married with her." While saying that, he pointed to Ah Ke.


    Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao shouted together, "No, not good!"


    Wu Lishen angrily said, "What do you mean not good? Little Miss, do you want to bow to the Heaven and the Earth with my Xiongdi, or do you want to bow to the Heaven and the Earth with this young hero? You decide."


    Ah Ke''s entire pretty face bloated with deep red; she shook her head and said, "I don''t want both!"


    Wu Lishen angrily said, "Until now you still use all sorts of excuses. The time has arrived, if we miss this good hour, the demons will descend, no one here will stay alive. Hey, Ah San, Ah Gou, these two little fellows are not willing to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married, cut their noses!"


    Ao Biao and one of his younger martial brothers complied together; with raised steel saber, they rubbed the flat of the blade on Ah Ke''s nose several times. Ah Ke was not afraid of death, but thinking that if her nose was cut, she would be extremely ugly; she was scared to death that her face turned completely without any color.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t cut my Shijie''s nose, cut mine instead."


    Wu Lishen said, "We need to cut two noses as a sacrifice to the Sha Shen, you only have one. Hey, the one surnamed Zheng, how about we cut your nose as a substitute for this Miss'' nose?"


    Ah Ke looked at Zheng Keshuang with begging-for-pity look. Zheng Keshuang looked the other way, he did not dare to meet her eyes, yet he shook his head.


    Wu Lishen said, "This fellow is unwilling, yet your Shidi is. Hey, your Shidi treats you a lot better than he does. If you don''t marry this kind of person, whom are you going to marry? Bow to the Heaven and the Earth, play music!"


    Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, Ao Biao took the head covering from the fake bride and put it on Ah Ke''s head; he also untied her. As soon as she was free, Ah Ke sent out a punch. ''Wham!'' it hit the pit of Ao Biao''s stomach. Luckily she did not have any internal energy, so that although he was hit, it was not too painful. Ao Biao raised his steel saber and put it across the back of her neck.


    Wu Lishen started the ritual, "The bride and groom bow to the Heaven!"


    Ah Ke felt the coldness of the blade on the skin of her neck, as well as a slight pain; she had no choice but to stand alongside Wei Xiaobao and kowtow toward the outside.


    Wu Lishen continued, "The bride and groom bow to the Earth." Ao Biao pushed her body around to kowtow toward the inside.


    At the ''bride and groom bow to each other'', the two of them kneeled toward each other and kowtowed several times.


    Wu Lishen laughed aloud and said, "The new husband and wife thank the matchmaker."


    Ah Ke was extremely angry; suddenly her leg flew up and kicked Wu Lishen''s lower abdomen. This kick was indeed not light. ''Ah!'' Wu Lishen cried out and retreated several steps back, while repeatedly coughing. He then laughed and said, "The bride is so vicious, even the matchmaker is being kicked!"


    Right this moment, there were repeated whistles outside the ancestral hall, followed by sounds of footsteps from east, south, west and north; at least there were forty, fifty people. Wu Lishen''s smiling expression immediately vanished. "Blow out the candles," he hissed. Immediately the ancestral hall was pitch-black.


    Wei Xiaobao rushed toward Ah Ke and pulled her hand, "There are enemies outside," he said in a low voice.


    Ah Ke was really angry and upset; she sobbed and said, "I �� I have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth with you."


    "To me, it was something that I always seek but fail to get," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "It''s just that the bowing to the Heaven and the Earth was rather too sloppy."


    Ah Ke angrily said, "It does not count. You think it was for real?"


    "Why would it be a fake?" Wei Xiaobao said, "This is called ''the (grain of) rice has become (steamed) rice'', ''the wood has become a dog'' [mu yi cheng gou]."


    With a whimper Ah Ke said, "What ''the wood has become a dog''? It''s ''the wood has become a boat'' [mu yi cheng zhou]."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Niangzi [wife] is well-educated, later on you need to teach me a lot to be a Xianggong [lord/master/young gentleman, but can also mean ''husband'' (wife''s term of address)]."


    Hearing him unexpectedly thickening his face by using the term ''niangzi'' and ''xianggong'' to call each other, Ah Ke was growing more anxious and broke into crying.


    They heard the shout outside was deafening, dozens of people were shouting together. It sounded like the roar of a beast, or the bellow of an ox; it was so jumbled and indistinct that they did not know what they were shouting. Ah Ke was terrified, against her will she leaned close to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao reached out and wrapped his arm around her; he said in a low voice, "Don''t be afraid, looks like a bunch of lamas are attacking."


    "What should we do?" Ah Ke asked.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled her arm, he took her quietly sitting behind the image of the deity. Suddenly there was a flash of light, several dozen people rushed into the ancestral hall, each one of them had a torch and a weapon in his hands. As soon as Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke saw these people, they were shocked. These people''s faces were painted with green fancy patterns, they wore bird''s feather on their heads, and their upper bodies were naked. Their waists were wrapped in a piece of animal skin, their torso and their arms were also painted in elaborate patterns. Turned out these people were of ethnic groups from outside China.


    Ah Ke thought that these barbarians did not look like human, but they did not look like ghosts either; each one of them had a sinister expression on his face. She was even more terrified, and shrank herself inside Wei Xiaobao''s embrace while trembling incessantly.


    The barbarians uttered wild ''wah, wah!'' noise; one of them, who was among the first to enter, shouted, "Han people, no good, kill them all! Barbarians, good, must kill people! Guhuatulu, ahbasili!" The barbarians shouted loudly, they were talking in barbarian language.


    Wu Lishen was a Yunnan native, he understood barbarian language, but he did not understand even half a word of these barbarians'' talk. He said in barbarian language, "We are good Han people, we must not kill."


    The barbarian leader still said, "Han people, no good, must kill all. Guhuatulu, ahbasili!"


    All the barbarians shouted together, "Guhuatulu, ahbasili!" They raised their big sabers and steel forks, and charged forward. Wu Lishen and his company did not have any choice but to raise their weapons and meet the enemy.


    As soon as these people met, Wu Lishen and the others were greatly amazed. Turned out these barbarians'' martial art skill was quite refined and established; their weapon technique was conforming to the martial art study, their attack and defense was carefully measured, they did not randomly chop or wildly attack at all.


    Several moves later, even Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke were able to see this fact. While engaging in a fierce fight, Wu Lishen shouted, "Everybody, be careful, these barbarians have learned our Han people''s martial art, we must not consider them lightly."


    The barbarian leader called out, "Han people''s killing technique, barbarians know them all, not afraid of Han people. Guhuatulu, ahbasili!"


    The barbarians were many, their martial art skill was also very good. Each one of Mu Palace people had to face three, sometimes four, enemies. In a very short period of time they were already in a very dangerous position. Wu Lishen brandished his saber in a fierce combat against the leader, yet unexpectedly it did not look like he was having the slightest bit of advantage. The longer they fought, the more he was alarmed. Suddenly he heard ''Ah, Ah'', twice; two of disciples were injured and fell down. Shortly afterwards, Ao Biao''s leg was stabbed by a hunting fork and he also fell down. Three barbarians pounced on him and captured him.


    A moment later, about a dozen or so Mu Palace people had been knocked down. Zheng Keshuang''s had already been injured early on; he only offered a little bit of resistance and was quickly subdued. All the barbarians carried ox tendon, with which they bound their captives.


    The barbarian leader hopped up and down while loudly blabbering in barbarian tongue. Wu Lishen groaned inwardly; he was thinking of escaping, but was concerned about Wei Xiaobao and his disciples'' safety. Thereupon he did everything he could to fight fiercely, hoping to subdue the leader and thus forcing them to let his people go. Suddenly the leader hacked his saber directly toward Wu Lishen''s head, Wu Lishen raised his saber to block. ''Dang!'' his arm went slightly numb. Suddenly he felt a stick sweeping toward his back, hastily he leaped up to evade. The leader''s saber flipped over, and then landed on his neck. The leader shouted, "Han people, lose. Barbarian, not lose."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "This barbarian is so stupid, he does not know the word ''win'', only knew the word ''not lose''."


    Wu Lishen shook his head and heaved a deep sigh; he tossed his saber and immediately had his hands bound.


    With torches raised high, the barbarians looked everywhere. Wei Xiaobao knew that they could not hide anymore. Pulling Ah Ke''s hand, he rushed outside while calling out, "Barbarians, good people. The two of us are barbarians. Guhuatulu, ahbasili!"


    The leader reached out to grab Ah Ke''s neck. Three barbarians pounced forward and grabbed Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao only shouted half of "Guhua ��" before his mouth was covered.


    When the leader saw him, his expression changed. Stretching out his arm, he grabbed Wei Xiaobao in his arms while shouting, "Xihuahbu, qiliwendeng." And then he carried Wei Xiaobao out of the ancestral hall.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked; turning his head toward Ah Ke, he called out, "Niangzi, this barbarian is going to kill me. You must live as a widow for me, you can''t remarry that ��" Before he finished, they were already outside the main gate.


    The barbarian leader ran more than ten zhang, before he released Wei Xiaobao and set him on the ground. He said, "Gui Gonggong, how come you are here?" He sounded genuinely surprised, but was also delighted.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled and happy at the same time. "You �� you are a barbarian, and you knew me?"


    The man laughed and said, "Xiaoren is Yang Yizhi, the Yang Yizhi from Ping Xi Wang Mansion. Gui Gonggong did not recognize me. Ha ha ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. He was about to speak, Yang Yizhi pulled his hand and said, "Let''s go farther away to talk, don''t let the others hear us."


    The two of them went more than twenty zhang away before stopping. Yang Yizhi said, "Unexpectedly I can see Gui Gonggong in here, truly I am delighted."


    "How did Yang Dage come here?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "And you dress up as Guhuatulu, ahbasili?"


    Yang Yizhi laughed and said, "There were a bunch of people having an assembly at Hejian Prefecture, planning to bring harm to our Wangye; Wangye obtained some information about it and sent Xiaoren here to investigate."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly alarmed; his brain turning very fast, trying to find an idea. He said, "Last time those Mu Palace fellows entered the Palace to assassinate the Emperor, framing Ping Xi Wang ��"


    Yang Yizhi hastily said, "And we owe it to Gonggong''s esteemed, as high as the cloud and the sky''s friendship, by presenting a memorial to the Emperor and clear this matter up, washing away the injustice our Ping Xi Wang received. Our Wangye is endlessly grateful, he often mentioned that he wanted to personally express his gratitude to Gonggong."


    "I do not dare to accept the gratitude," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wangye regards me highly like this, while I am by the Emperor''s side, if I can do such a trivial matter for Wangye, naturally I will. This time His Majesty knew that there are some rebellious thieves who were having an assembly at the Hejian Prefecture, with the intention of bringing harm to Ping Xi Wang. I volunteered to come over here to investigate."


    Yang Yizhi was greatly delighted. "Turns out His Majesty already knew about it," he said, "There is no way the rebellious thieves'' evil schemes will succeed. That''s wonderful. Xiaoren received Wangye''s order to infiltrate those damn dog-heads'' congress. I heard them electing various provinces'' meng zhu, intending to harm our Wangye. I won''t conceal it from Gui Gonggong: in our hearts we are deeply concerned. It is easy to dodge the spear in the open, it is hard to avoid a stab in the dark. If the rebellious thieves dare to come to Yunnan to fight, it''s not that Xiaoren is boasting, but if a thousand of them came, we''ll capture a thousand, if ten thousand of them came, we''ll kill all ten thousand. What we are afraid of is that like last time the Mu Palace''s dog thieves committing outrages, yet they shifted the blame to our Wangye, and thus later on have brought us infinite trouble."


    Striking his own chest, Wei Xiaobao boldly said, "Yang Dage, please report to Wangye, there is nothing to be worried about. When I return to the Capital, about that dog-heads'' congress, I will report everything by fives and tens, by fifteens and twenties [i.e. systematically and in full detail], nothing will be left out in my memorial to the Emperor. Opposing Ping Xi Wang is the same as opposing His Majesty. The more they hate Ping Xi Wang, the more it shows that Wangye is loyal and devoted to His Majesty. If His Majesty is happy, not only Ping Xi Wangye, even Yang Dage will be heavily rewarded, you will be promoted and gain wealth; it''s a cinch."


    Yang Yizhi happily said, "We are heavily reliant of Gui Gonggong''s vigorous intercession. Xiaoren does not expect promotion and wealth. Wangye has shown great kindness to my late father, he has saved Xiaoren''s entire family''s lives. Just before his death, my late father left me his last words, instructing Xiaoren to pledge my life to protect Wangye completely. Gonggong, you came here, are you investigating Mu Family dog thieves'' plot?"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh. "Yang Dage," he said, "Not only your martial art skill is superb, your foresight is also divine. My admiration, my admiration. My Shijie and I are in disguise, we want to find out what trick they are playing, but we were discovered. I talked some nonsense, surprisingly they believe it, and forced my Shijie and I to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married. Ha ha �� this is called ''profiting from a disaster''."


    Yang Yizhi thought, "You are a eunuch, how can you marry? Ah right, you and that young Miss pretended to be a pair of lovers and they believed it." He said, "That Shaking-Head Lion''s martial art is not bad, nevertheless, he is bold but not very astute."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You dress as barbarians, is it for the purpose of capturing them?"


    Wei Xiaobao gave him a thumb up; he praised, "Yang Dage''s stratagem is indeed very brilliant. You are dressing up as barbarians, guhuatulu, ahbasili; even if you massacre the whole lot of Mu Palace people, other people only know that it was the barbarian revolting, nobody would suspect Ping Xi Wang at all."


    Yang Yizhi laughed. "Exactly," he said, "It''s just that by dressing like this, crazy and bizarre, we only make Gonggong laugh."


    "What do you mean ''laugh''?" Wei Xiaobao said, "In my heart I envy you very much. I really want to shed these clothes, paint my face with green fancy patterns, and shouting and jumping around with you."


    Yang Yizhi laughed and said, "If Gonggong wishes, we can dress up together."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "This time I can''t; if my wife saw me dressing outlandishly like that, she will throw a fit."


    "Gonggong really getting married and have a wife now?" Yang Yizhi asked, "I thought you were forced by those dog thieves to pretend?"


    This matter was not easy to explain clearly in just a few words, thereupon Wei Xiaobao changed the subject by saying, "Yang Dage, you and I hit it off very well with one another. If you consider me worthy, let the two of us tie the knot to become sworn brothers. There''s no need to use ''Gonggong'' or ''Xiaoren'' anymore, it sounds so awkward."


    Yang Yizhi was greatly delighted. First, Ping Xi Wang was in need of his help; hereafter, there would be many important matters in need of his aid in front of the Emperor. Second, this little Gonggong was generous, outspoken and straightforward, a really good friend. That day at the Prince Kang''s mansion, he was very polite to him. Thereupon he said, "That is exactly what I have been wishing for; but I am afraid I am not able to climb that high."


    "What do you mean climbing high or climbing low?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Speaking of high and low, are you the taller one, or I am the taller one?"


    Yang Yizhi burst out laughing. Thereupon the two of them kneeled down on the spot, using dirt as the incense, they kowtowed eight times and made a statement to be brothers.


    "Xiongdi," Yang Yizhi said, "From now on the two of us are as close as flesh and bones, a lot more than ordinary brothers. However, in front of other people, your Gege will still call you ''Gonggong'', to avoid raising other people''s suspicion."


    "Naturally," Wei Xiaobao replied. "Dage, what are you going to do with those Mu Family people?"


    Yang Yizhi said, "I am going to take them to Yunnan and slowly torture them. After obtaining their confession that they framed our Wangye, we are going to take them to the Capital to let the Emperor know that Ping Xi Wang has whole-hearted loyalty, and make it clear that by protecting Ping Xi Wang, Xiongdi did not make the slightest mistake."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Very good, very good!" he said. "Dage, do you think that Shaking-head Tiger would confess?"


    "It''s Shaking-head Lion Wu Lishen," Yang Yizhi corrected, "This man has quite a reputation in Jianghu; I heard his manner is very unyielding, he won''t confess. I respect him as a real man, I won''t make things too difficult for him. But the rest of those people, inevitably there will be some who can''t endure the torture; they might confess."


    "Not bad," Wei Xiaobao said, "This plan is not bad."


    Yang Yizhi could detect from his tone that he was speaking thoughtlessly and did not really mean it; thereupon he said, "Xiongdi, you and I are not outsiders. If you think something is inappropriate, please speak bluntly."


    "There is nothing inappropriate about it," Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard there is another rebellious thief within the Mu Family called Mu Jiansheng, there is also a certain Stiff-backed Black Dragon called Liu somebody."


    "Iron Back Blue Dragon Liu Dahong," Yang Yizhi said, "He is Mu Jiansheng''s Shifu."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Dage, your memory is very good. His Majesty instructed me to find these two people''s trail. Have you caught them?"


    Yang Yizhi said, "Mu Jiansheng also went to Hejian Prefecture. Along the way we scooped up information about him, but as soon as we entered Xian County, he slipped away, we do not know where he hides."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is somewhat embarrassing; just now I talked nonsense, and was able to deceive that Shaking-head Lion and turned him into Nodding-Head Lion, who agreed to take me to see their Xiao Gongye. I actually wanted to verify their plot in framing Ping Xi Wang, and then return to the Capital and present a report to the Emperor. Since Dage has already had assurance, you might be able to torture their conspiracy out. In the end it''s the same thing, Xiongdi actually does not need to take a risk."


    Yang Yizhi deliberately considered, "I torture several insignificant people, they may not necessarily know the real inside information. Even if they did, Mu Family dog thieves'' bones are very hard, they may not necessarily be willing to speak. Besides, Wangye personally offers an explanation is absolutely inferior to the report from someone whom the Emperor personally sent to investigate, which will emerge powerful. If we simply pretend we did not know anything and let Gui Xiongdi go submit the report to the Emperor, it will be much better." Thereupon he pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand and said, "Xiongdi, your plan is a lot more brilliant, I''ll listen to you in everything. But how are we going to release those Mu Family dog thieves without raising their suspicions?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "For that, I will need you to think of something."


    Yang Yizhi thought for a moment, and then said, "Let''s do it this way: You run away back to the ancestral hall, pretending that you are summoning up courage and determination to save your Shijie, I will pursue you, and then the two of us will speak gibberish, pretending to speak in the barbarian tongue. After talking for a while, you convince me, and I will respectfully leave. This way we won''t reveal the least bit of trace."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Wonderful!" he said, "I, Gui Gonggong is fluent in barbarian tongue. There is an opera about that, Emperor Ming of Tang


    [63] had a subordinate scholar named Li somebody, when he was drunk, he produced an essay, scaring a bunch of barbarians that they pissed in their pants in terror."


    Yang Yizhi laughed and said, "That was Li Taibai''s drunken manuscript scared barbarian book."


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, "Right, right! Gui Gonggong awakes and speaks scary barbarian language is just as amazing as that. Dage, we must play a convincing act; you may punch and kick me, and I won''t be injured. Ah, right, I am wearing a treasured vest that saber and spear won''t penetrate. There is no harm in you chopping me several times; as long as you don''t use any internal energy, so you won''t shake and injure my five viscera and six bowels, I will be perfectly all right."


    Yang Yizhi said, "Xiongdi has that kind of treasured clothes, that''s very good."


    Wei Xiaobao bragged, "His Majesty sent me on a mission to investigate the rebellious thieves'' treacherous plan, he was afraid they might find out and have me killed; thereupon he took off from his own body this treasured vest, which was a tribute from the western red-haired country, and bestowed it to me. Dage, you do not need to worry that you might injure me, why don''t you chop me several times to test it?"


    Yang Yizhi pulled his saber out and lightly slashed Wei Xiaobao''s left shoulder. Sure enough, the saber cut open the outer garment, but as the blade came in contact with the inner garment, it could not go deeper. He increased the strength of his hand slightly, lightly chopping Wei Xiaobao''s left shoulder again, still he was not able to create any damage. "Good treasured clothes, good treasured clothes!" he praised.


    "Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "There is a fellow surnamed Zheng inside; he is that young gentleman who wears gorgeous embroidered pillowcase. This fellow is always messing around my Shijie. Looking at him, Xiongdi is very angry. It would be best if you could take him away."


    "I''ll just send a palm strike and kill him then," Yang Yizhi said.


    "You must not kill him, you must not kill him," Wei Xiaobao said, "This man is wanted by the Emperor, in the future a very important matter will rest on his shoulder. Please just capture him and take him away. Guard him well, don''t make things difficult for him, but don''t interrogate him about anything either. After twenty, thirty years, I will let you know when I want him, then you send people to take him to Beijing."


    "Yes," Yang Yizhi said, "I will take care of this thing for you properly." Suddenly he raised his voice to shout, "Huluxidu, ailibala! Xulaoxulao!" Lowering his voice, he laughed and said, "The two of us have been talking for a while, I am afraid they will get suspicious."


    With a sharp voice Wei Xiaobao shouted several words of ''barbarian tongue''. Yang Yizhi laughed and said, "Xiongdi''s ''barbarian tongue'' is a lot more fluent than your Gege."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Naturally; in the past Xiongdi wandered destitute in a foreign land, the lord of the foreign land wanted to take me as fuma [emperor''s son-in-law, consort], hence I am accustomed to speak the ''barbarian tongue''." Yang Yizhi burst out in laughter.


    "Dage," Wei Xiaobao continued, "I have a difficulty, I want you to help me finding a way out."


    Yang Yizhi struck his chest and generously offered, "Whatever trouble Xiongdi has, your Gege will give my life if you want me to. As long as you tell me, there is nothing that I won''t obey."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Thank you very much. To say that this matter is difficult, it is actually not difficult; but to say that it is easy, it is definitely not easy."


    Yang Yizhi said, "Xiongdi may just tell me, I will help you ponder over it. Supposing your Gege cannot do it, I am going to ask our Wangye. Several tens of thousands troops and horses, several million taels, can be easily mobilized."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled; he said, "Thousand armies ten thousand horses, mountain of gold and silver, I am afraid will be quite useless. It''s about my Shijie, she was forced to bow to the Heaven and the Earth and marry me, but in her heart she is very unwilling. It would be best if you have a marvelous idea, help me to change rice (grain) into (cooked) rice, tricking her to decide that the timber has been turned into a boat."


    Yang Yizhi could not help but feeling amused; he thought, "Turns out it is for that matter, I thought it was for some important matter, instead, it has something to do with dealing with that young girl. But you are a eunuch, how can you take a wife? Right, I heard during the Ming Dynasty it was common for some court eunuchs to take several wives. Xiongdi must be thinking of having some toys to satisfy his ''dry craving''."


    Thinking that since his childhood Wei Xiaobao had had his body purified, Yang Yizhi could not help but feeling sad. Taking Wei Xiaobao''s hand in his, he said, "Xiongdi, in this life, we cannot always hope that everything is going as we wish. Since the ancient times, there are extremely numerous great heroes, great warriors who have physical defect; you don''t have to care about it. Let''s go in."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said. He shouted some words in ''barbarian tongue'' and rushed into the ancestral hall.


    Brandishing his saber, Yang Yizhi ran after him, also shouting some ''barbarian'' words, and rushed into the main hall to grab Wei Xiaobao. The two of them exchanged some words. You said some ''xilihulu'', I replied with ''ahyibala'', they were prattling incessantly, while sometimes pointed to Wu Lishen, sometimes pointed to Ah Ke.


    Wu Lishen, Ah Ke and the others were pleasantly surprised, they thought that there was hope. "Luckily he understands barbarian language," they mused, "It would be best if he could make these barbarians retreat."


    Yang Yizhi raised his saber high, aiming it at the crown of Ah Ke''s head. "Woman, not good," he said, "Kill her."


    Wei Xiaobao busily said, "Wife, mine, no kill!"


    "Wife, yours, no kill?" Yang Yizhi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly nodded his head; he said, "Wife, mine, no kill!"


    Yang Yizhi was angry; he shouted, "Wife, yours, no kill. Kill you!"


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wife, mine, no kill. Kill me!"


    ''Whoosh!'' Yang Yizhi swung his saber toward Wei Xiaobao''s chest. When the saber went down, the blade created a loud whooshing noise, obviously it carried a tremendous strength, yet as soon as the blade came into contact with Wei Xiaobao''s body, immediately he pulled his strength back; his wrist trembled, the blade of the saber bounced back. He feigned a shock and jumped backward. He then chopped three times in succession and made three long cuts on Wei Xiaobao''s outer garment.


    "You, Bodhisattva, cannot be killed?" he shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I, Bodhisattva, cannot be killed," he said.


    Yang Yizhi raised his thumb and said, "You, Bodhisattva, not. Big hero, yes." Pointing to Wu Lishen and the others, he asked, "Han people, kill?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand and said, "Friends, mine, no kill!"


    Yang Yizhi nodded; he asked Ah Ke, "You, wife, Big Hero''s?"


    Ah Ke wanted to deny, but looking at the flickering saber in his hand, she did not dare to say anything. Yang Yizhi''s saber chopped down on the sacrificial table, breaking it into two pieces; he shouted, "Husband, yours?" while pointing at Wei Xiaobao.


    Ah Ke had no choice, with a low voice she said, "Husband, mine."


    Yang Yizhi laughed aloud. He lifted Ah Ke up and dropped her in front of Wei Xiaobao, saying, "Wife, yours, embrace."


    Wei Xiaobao spread his arms and embraced Ah Ke tightly. "Wife, mine, embrace," he said.


    Yang Yizhi pointed to Zheng Keshuang and asked, "Son, yours?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Son, mine? No!"


    Yang Yizhi shouted several ''barbarian'' words; he grabbed Zheng Keshuang and rushed outside, while his mouth repeatedly whistled. His men abandoned their captives and ran outside. And then the sound of hoof beats was heard; unexpectedly they left just like that.


    Ah Ke''s fear and panic was somewhat subsided; she felt Wei Xiaobao still had his arms around her waist and did not let go. "Take off your hand," she said.


    "Wife, mine, embrace," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Ah Ke was ashamed and angry at the same time; using her hands she pried open Wei Xiaobao''s arms and struggled to free herself. Wei Xiaobao picked up a steel saber from the floor and cut off the ropes binding Wu Lishen and the others.


    "Those barbarians'' martial art is superb," Wu Lishen said, "Fortunately the groom knows how to speak barbarian tongue, plus you have trained the ''golden bell shield iron cloth garment'' martial art, sabers and spears cannot penetrate, hence we were all saved by you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Although those barbarians'' martial art is quite high, they are very stupid. I talked nonsense a little bit, and they believed me."


    Ah Ke said, "Zheng Gongzi is captured by them, how can we save him?"


    The fake bride suddenly yelled, "My husband is caught by the barbarians, they are going to boil and eat him." And then she cried loudly.


    Wu Lishen cupped his fist and said, "May I ask hero''s respected surname and great name?"


    "I do not dare," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Zaixia surnamed Wei."


    Wu Lishen said, "Wei Xianggong and Wei Family Niangzi got married today, won''t a tiny bit of congratulatory present be considered as showing respect?" While saying that, he put his hand inside his pocket and fished out two tiny golden yuanbao.


    "Thank you very much," Wei Xiaobao said, while reaching out to accept it.


    Ah Ke''s entire face turned red; stomping her feet, she said, "It was not real, it did not count."


    Wu Lishen laughed and said, "The two of you have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth, and just now you said to that barbarian, ''Husband, mine''. How can you deny? The bride and groom should enjoy the bridal room and ornamented candle, we are not going to disturb." Waving his hand, together with Ao Biao and the others he strode out of the ancestral hall.


    Instantly such a big ancestral hall became extremely quiet, nobody made any noise. Ah Ke was scared, but also ashamed and resentful. She stole a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, thinking about how she herself had said, ''Husband, mine''. Suddenly she threw herself on the table and cried. Stomping her feet she said, "It''s all because you are not good, it''s all because you are not good!"


    In a gentle voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Yes, yes, it''s all because I am not good. Wait till I think of something to save Zheng Gongzi, and then you will say that I am good."


    Ah Ke raised her head and said, "You �� you can save him?" Under the red flickering candle light, her incomparably tender and beautiful face made the several beads of teardrops looked like bright full moon, so that even pearls inlaid with white jade seemed inadequate by comparison, so that the first budding rose could not surpass her luminescence and elegance. Wei Xiaobao could not help but staring at her with blank expression, and forgot to answer.


    Ah Ke tugged his clothes and said, "I am asking you, how are we going to save Zheng Gongzi?"


    Wei Xiaobao woke up from his dream; he sighed and said, "That barbarian leader said that since they have come out, they cannot go back empty-handed, they must catch someone back to their cave, to be cooked so that everybody can eat ��"


    Ah Ke cried out in fear. "They want to cook him so that everybody can eat?" she asked. Thinking that the ''bride'' had also cried out in fear, she was even more terrified.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "They originally said that you have a soft skin and white flesh; you must have the best taste, so they wanted to catch you and eat ��" Ah Ke could not endure it; her body shivered all over as she looked outside the door, afraid that those barbarians would come back.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "�� I told them that you are my wife, only then did they let you off."


    Ah Ke anxiously said, "They caught Zheng Gongzi, are they going to cook �� cook ��"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Unless I volunteer myself to be eaten, in exchange for Zheng Gongzi."


    "Then you should go in exchange for him!" Ah Ke said. But as soon as she blurted it out, she realized that she had misspoken; her pretty face blushed and she lowered her head.


    Wei Xiaobao was furious; he mused, "Stinky little mother, in your eyes your husband is not worth half a wen; you''d rather have the barbarians cook me and eat me to have your lover [orig. male adulterer] rescued." With a cold voice he said, "Even if I go in exchange for him, it would be useless."


    Ah Ke anxiously asked, "Why �� why useless?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Zheng Gongzi has bowed to the Heaven and the Earth with that peasant girl to get married; you have seen it with your own eyes. Since he already has a wife he officially married, the wood has been turned into a boat, you can''t marry him anymore."


    Ah Ke stomped her feet, "That was a fake."


    Seething with rage, Wei Xiaobao said, "Alright, you want me to go in exchange for him, I will go. I just don''t know where the barbarian cave is. Humph, let''s go."


    Ah Ke silently followed him out of the ancestral hall, she was afraid she might say anything wrong, and then he would not be willing to trade his life for Zheng Gongzi''s.


    When they reached the main road, they saw the Zheng Mansion''s attendants standing in a circle with their raised lanterns, speaking loudly among themselves. When the two of them came near, a Zheng Mansion attendant said, "Miss Chen is here. Where is our Gongzi? Where is our Gongzi?" while rushing over to meet them.


    From among the crowd suddenly a slim figure flashed by, his movement was fast, Wei Xiaobao only saw a blurred shadow and suddenly the man was already standing in front of him, and then he heard a sharp voice asking, "Where is our Gongzi?"


    The man was standing with his back against the lantern, hence Wei Xiaobao was not able to see his face. His heart was frightened, he took two steps back. Who would have thought that as he withdrew two steps, the man also went forward two steps, so that they were still standing face-to-face, less than a chi apart. He asked again, "Where is our Gongzi?"


    Ah Ke replied, "He �� he was captured by the barbarians, they �� they are going to cook and eat him."


    The man said, "How can there be any barbarians in the Central Plains?"


    "They are really barbarians," Ah Ke said, "Quick �� quickly think of a way to save him."


    "How long have they been gone?" the man asked.


    "Not too long," Ah Ke replied.


    The man''s body suddenly stiffened up, he leaped backward and landed on a horse''s back. His legs squeezed, the horse immediately galloped away, and in an instant disappeared in the darkness. Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke looked at each other in shock; one was dismayed, the other was delighted. They saw this person''s martial art skill was high, his movement was fast; they had rarely seen this kind of man in their lives, in their hearts they were full of admiration.


    "I wonder who that martial art master is." Ah Ke said.


    The elderly attendant replied, "He is Gongzi''s Shifu, Feng Xifan; his title is ''One Sword without Blood''. Feng Shifu is unmatched in the world, if he is going to rescue Gongzi, it is guaranteed that he will achieve success."


    "Turns out it is he," Wei Xiaobao and Ah Ke said together. Ah Ke added, "Since Feng Shifu has arrived, why didn''t you ask him to immediately go to that ancestral hall over there to save Gongzi?"


    An attendant said, "Feng Shifu has just arrived. He received our letter, sent by flying pigeon. From Hejian Prefecture he rushed over in the same night."


    "Feng Shifu was at Hejian Prefecture?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Why we did not see him?"


    The attendants looked at each other, nobody answered. Knowing that he had blurted out a secret, the attendant who spoke earlier lowered his head.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out there was a martial art master hidden among the Zheng Family people who attended the ''turtle-slaying assembly'', all along he did not show himself. Only after this stinky fellow was captured did he finally rush over for the rescue." Pinching his own cheek, he said, "Flesh, oh flesh, someone else is going to save Zheng Gongzi, you don''t need to be exchanged with some darling treasure and be eaten by those barbarians."


    Ah Ke blushed; she wanted to explain, but had a second thought, "I don''t know whether Feng Shifu singlehandedly [orig. single spear one horse] will be able to defeat that many barbarians."


    Wei Xiaobao saw she was going to speak but refrained herself, he could guess what was in her mind; he said, "Don''t worry, if Feng Shifu is not able to rescue him, there is still this rotten flesh of mine to be exchanged with your darling. A real man gave his words, some horses cannot pursue."


    "It''s good if Feng Shifu is able to save him," Ah Ke said.


    Wei Xiaobao was angry, he started to walk away, but with the corner of his eyes he saw her pretty face, his heart turned soft; he turned around and sat by the roadside.


    Seeing he was about to leave, Ah Ke could not help but was worried, thinking that if Feng Shifu was not able to save Zheng Gongzi, and Wei Xiaobao left, who would get Zheng Gongzi back? Only after seeing he came back and sat down did she feel relieved. She did not dare to offend him this time, hence she came over and sat next to him.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This moment you need my help; if I don''t take any advantage now, what am I waiting for?" Reaching out with his left hand, he wrapped it around her waist, while with his right hand he held Ah Ke''s right hand. Ah Ke struggled slightly, and then stay motionless. Wei Xiaobao was very happy, he thought, "It would be best if that man surnamed Feng is killed by Yang Dage and the others, and won''t come back forever, so that I can sit waiting like this for the rest my life."


    He was fully aware that Ah Ke did not have even half a part of feeling toward him, early on he already had no high hopes in his heart; he only hoped he could sit embracing her for a lifetime, then he would be perfectly contented, he would be even happier if she did not ask him for a help.


    Unfortunately, things turned out contrary to the way he wished; he only embraced her for a short time when they heard the faint sound of hoof beats on the main road. Ah Ke sprang up and called out, "Zheng Gongzi is back."


    The sound of hoof beats was getting nearer and nearer, it sounded like two horses were rushing over. "All right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I just got my life back, no need to have the barbarians eat me." The tone of his voice was brimming with bitterness. But by this time, even if he was ten times more angry, why would Ah Ke care? She was anxiously running toward the main road.


    The two horses arrived one after another. The attendants lifted high their lanterns, while cheering loudly. The one riding on the front was indeed Zheng Keshuang. Seeing Ah Ke rushing over to meet him, he leaped down from his horse. The two of them embraced each other with unbounded happiness. Ah Ke buried her head in his bosom, crying. She said, "I was afraid �� afraid those barbarians would �� would ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was actually starting to stand up, but seeing this sight, it was as if the pit of his stomach was punched, hard. He fell back sitting down, his head dizzy his eyes blurred. He made an oath in his heart, "His granny, if in this life I cannot make you, this stinky little mother, as my wife, I am your Zheng Keshuang''s seventeenth, eighteenth generation grandson. I, Wei Xiaobao, am a ''wang jiu dan'', a ''wang ba dan'' plus one egg


    [64]."


    If other people undergo this situation, if they did not completely disheartened, broken hearted and shed some tears, then they would be determined to cut off all feeling and started to look for a better match. Wei Xiaobao, however, by nature was a hoodlum, with thick skin and very strong, tenacious personality; a thick-faced and strong-willed person.


    "In short," he continued his musing, "Laozi will hang around you for the rest of my life. If my life is spent, my soul will not go away, I will cling to you. Even if you marry eighteen times, the nineteenth time will be with laozi."


    He grew up in a brothel, he was accustomed to see the prostitutes welcoming new guests and sending off the old ones. He did not think that a woman''s heart was capable to be attached to any extraordinary important matter; all those ''faithful unto death'', ''chaste'' or ''not double-hearted'', he had never heard of.


    He was upset for only a short time, and then was able to giggle while walking over and said, "Zheng Gongzi, you are back; you haven''t been bitten by the barbarians?"


    Zheng Keshuang was startled. "What do you mean bitten?" he asked. Ah Ke was also startled; she looked at him up and down; only after seeing that his five sense organs and fingers were whole did she feel relieved.


    Feng Xifan was still sitting on the horseback. "Who is this little kid?" he asked.


    "He is Miss Chen''s Shidi," Zheng Keshuang replied. Feng Xifan nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao looked up at him, he saw a slim face, yellowish, with black hair, two slanting swallowtail beard, his eyes turned into two slits; he really looked like a tuberculosis ghost. Concerned over Yang Yizhi''s safety, he asked, "Feng Shifu, you really have capability, in just a short time you are able to rescue Zheng Gongzi back. Did you kill that barbarian leader?"


    "What barbarian?" Feng Xifan asked, "They dressed up."


    Wei Xiaobao was inwardly shocked; he said, "They dressed up? But they can speak barbarian tongue."


    "Fake!" Feng Xifan said. Feeling it was beneath his dignity to talk too much to this little kid, he turned to Zheng Keshuang and said, "Gongzi, you must be tired, why don''t we go to rest at that ancestral hall over there?"


    Ah Ke was concerned about her shifu. "I am afraid Shifu will worry when she wakes up and did not see me."


    "Let''s go back immediately," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Ah Ke looked at Zheng Keshuang, she was hoping he would come with her. Zheng Keshuang said, "Shifu, let''s everybody go to the inn to have something to eat, and some good sleep."


    On the way Wei Xiaobao questioned Zheng Keshuang on how he escaped. Zheng Keshuang boasted about his shifu''s skill, how in just a few moves he killed the barbarians that they scattered away. Wei Xiaobao made sure he heard that ''the barbarian leader did not lose his life'' before he felt relieved.


    By the time they all arrived at the inn, the sky had already brightened, Jiu Nan was already awake for quite some time. She had already expected that Ah Ke would pull Wei Xiaobao to save Zheng Keshuang; therefore, she was not surprised to see the two of them went missing.


    When Zheng Keshuang and the others arrived, he introduced Feng Xifan to her. Jiu Nan noticed his listless appearance, but occasionally his eyes would open wide, and she could see the unusual brightness of his gaze; she thought, "This man has a reputation as ''One Sword without Blood'', apparently his name is not in vain, his martial art is indeed superb."


    After breakfast, Jiu Nan said, "Zheng Gongzi, we, master and disciples, have some business we need to take care of; we''ll have to separate here."


    Zheng Keshuang was startled; he was quite disappointed. "It''s a rare fate that brought me to see Shitai," he said, "I was just thinking of asking a lot of guidance. I wonder where Shitai is heading; in any case junior does not have any important matter to manage, don''t you think it will be good if we travel together?"


    Jiu Nan shook her head and said, "Those who have left home have many inconvenience." Taking Ah Ke and Wei Xiaobao, she climbed into the carriage.


    Zheng Keshuang was at a loss, he could not say anything. Ah Ke''s eyes turned red at once, she was barely able to refrain from crying. Wei Xiaobao struggled hard to maintain a straight face; he prayed silently, "May Shifu lives to be a hundred years, may she enjoys lots of good fortune and long life. Amituofo, may Buddha bless and protect her."


    "Shifu," he asked, "Where are we going?"


    "Beijing," Jiu Nan replied.


    After half a day, she said coldly, "If that surnamed Zheng is following us, nobody is to pay him any attention. Whichever of you does not obey, I will immediately kill that surnamed Zheng!"


    Ah Ke was startled. "Shifu, why?" she asked.


    "No reason," Jiu Nan replied, "I love peace and quiet, I don''t like other people bothering me."


    Ah Ke did not dare to ask further. After a while, suddenly she remembered something. "What if Shidi talked to him?" she asked.


    "Same thing," Jiu Nan replied, "I will kill Zheng Gongzi."


    Wei Xiaobao could not bear it anymore; he coughed, and then snickered.


    "Shifu, it''s not fair," Ah Ke said, "Shidi might deliberately talk to him."


    Jiu Nan glowered at her. "If that surnamed Zheng did not follow us, how can Xiaobao talk to him? If he ignored my request and kept hanging around me, death cannot wipe out his crimes."


    Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy, he felt that among good people on the earth, nobody surpasses his Shifu. Suddenly he pulled Jiu Nan''s hand and kissed the palm of her hand.


    Jiu Nan shook his hand away. "Fooling around!" she spoke sternly. But for more than twenty years there had never been anyone who was this affectionate toward her; although this disciple was unbridled, he was showing a genuine affection. Her mouth was scolding, but a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.


    Ah Ke saw how partial her Shifu was, plus she was wondering when she would see Zheng Gongzi again. The more she thought about it, the sadder she was; tears streamed down her face.


    A few days later the three of them arrived at Beijing, and found a small, secluded inn in Dongcheng [lit. eastern town, a district of central Beijing] area. Jiu Nan went to Wei Xiaobao''s room, bolted the door, and said in a low voice, "Xiaobao, can you guess why we are in Beijing?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am guessing that if not for Tao Gugu, then it must be for those remaining several copies of the sutra."


    Jiu Nan nodded, "Correct," she said, "It is for those several copies of the sutra."


    After a short pause, she continued slowly, "This time I suffered a very serious injury, I got to think about a lot of things. One person, no matter how perfect he trained his martial art, inevitably his power is lacking. Ultimately, the important matters of the world need the pooling of brains and brawn of the men of great aspiration to succeed. The crowd of heroes initiated the ''Turtle-Slaying Assembly'' at Hejian Prefecture; I have given it a careful thought: even if we managed to kill Wu Sangui, that traitor, one person, our rivers and mountains are still in the Tatars'' hands. It would be no more than we are venting our resentment for a short while; what else would it do? But if we can obtain the sutras, we can break the Tatars'' dragon vein, by appealing people aspiring to benevolence throughout the world to hold the banner of righteousness together. Only then will we have the hope to recover our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu is right."


    Jiu Nan said, "I need another half a month to recuperate before my internal energy can fully recover. After that I can go into the Palace to investigate. Finding the whereabouts of the other seven sutras is the first and foremost."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let the disciple sneak into the Palace first, I will open my eyes and ears wide. Who knows? The Heaven might bless me so that I can find a clue."


    Jiu Nan nodded. "You are very smart," she said, "Perhaps you will be able to accomplish this important matter. This big merit ��" Speaking to this point, she heaved a deep sigh, her eyes were brimming with encouragement.


    Wei Xiaobao had a strong impulse to reveal the truth: "The other five sutras are in disciple''s hand." But immediately he had a second thought, "Xiao Xuanzi treated me like a true friend; if I helped Shifu, I am destroying his rivers and mountains, then he won''t be the Emperor anymore. Won''t that mean I am violating yi qi too much?"


    Seeing his hesitation, Jiu Nan thought he was concerned over if he would succeed or not; thereupon she said, "This matter is indeed very difficult. We simply have to do our best, and that''s all I can ask. This is called ''man proposes Heaven disposes'' [orig. ''planning is with man, success is with heaven'']. Ay, I wonder if the Zhu family has reached the end of its destiny, or will there still hope? Over the past dozens of years, all my hopes have turned to dust, my worldly thoughts broken. I did not expect that after seeing Hongying and you, originally I did not want to pay attention to the affairs of the nation, but the affairs of the nation managed to get back into my head."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu, you are a princess of the Great Ming, these rivers and mountains originally belonged to your family; it was usurped by other people, naturally we must snatch it back."


    Jiu Nan sighed and said, "This matter does not belong to my family alone. All the other members of my family are dead." Stretching out her arm, she gently stroked Wei Xiaobao''s head, while saying, "Xiaobao, you must never leak even half a word about this matter in front of your Shijie."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded in respond; he thought, "Shijie is such a beautiful and lovely woman, yet Shifu does not like her too much; I wonder what''s the reason? I think it must be because she cannot lick Shifu''s behind."


    Early morning the next day, he went into the Palace to have an audience with the Emperor. Kangxi was greatly delighted; pulling his hand, he laughed and said, "Damn it, why do you come back only today? Every day I am waiting for you. I was quite worried, afraid that you were seized by that evil nun, your little life could not be guaranteed. The day before yesterday Dolong returned and submitted his report, saying that he saw you; only then did I feel relieved. How did you escape?"


    Kangxi nodded. "If you were killed by her, that would be for nothing anyway," he said, "What is actually the evil nun''s background? She came to assassinate me, who sent her?"


    "Who sent her, your servant did not know," Wei Xiaobao replied, "After she kidnapped me that time, she tied my wrists with rope, and then took me away like pulling a circus monkey. Your Majesty, with my mouth I did not dare to curse, but in my heart I cursed her seventeen, eighteen-generation ancestors."


    Kangxi laughed. "I am not surprised," he said, "Why wouldn''t you?"


    "She dragged me along for several days," Wei Xiaobao continued, "Several times she wanted to kill me, fortunately along the way we came across someone. This man has a friendship relation with your servant; he helped me by saying a lot of good words on my behalf, and then the evil nun stopped beating me."


    "Who was that man?" Kangxi asked in astonishment.


    "This man surnamed Yang," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He is the leader of the Ping Xi Wang''s Heir Apparent warriors."


    Kangxi was very interested. "So he is that servant Wu Sangui''s subordinate?" he asked, "Why did he help you by saying good things on your behalf?"


    "Actually, it originated from Your Majesty''s benevolence," Wei Xiaobao replied, "When the people of Mu Family of Yunnan entered the Palace and created disturbance the other day, they were framing Wu Sangui. Everybody else believed it, but Your Majesty is wise beyond compare, you were able to see through their plot. Your Majesty sent me to pass on the imperial edict to Wu Sangui''s son. It was at that time that the man surnamed Yang met with your servant."


    Kangxi nodded. "So that''s how it is," he said.


    Before entering the Palace, Wei Xiaobao had already prepared a good story; he added, "That man surnamed Yang is called Yang Yizhi. He mentioned the Mu Family incident to the nun, saying that although the Emperor is young, his knowledge and experience may surpass the ''raw bird fish soup'', very intelligent and wise; practically he is the Daoist Immortal or Bodhisattva descending into the mortal world. The nun was half believing and half doubting, but she did not treat me that strict anymore afterwards. One evening, Yang Yizhi and the nun talked in the room, I pretended to be asleep, but I opened my ears. Turned out the nun came to assassinate the Emperor under someone else''s order."


    "It''s Wu Sangui, that servant," Kangxi said.


    Wei Xiaobao''s face showed a shocked expression. "So Your Majesty already know," he said, "Did Dolong report it to you?"


    "No, he did not," Kangxi said, "The leader of Wu Sangui''s warriors knew this nun, and he discussed this matter with the nun in secret; what good can come out of that?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled but delighted; he kneeled down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am overjoyed to work for you; whatever it is, you can always guess it right the first time, no need for me to tell you. In all our lives, everything will be fine, we will never lose to anybody else."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Get up, get up! Last time it was dangerous enough at the Qingliang Temple on Mount Wutai. If you did not risk your life by blocking in front of me ��" Speaking to this point, his expression turned serious; he continued, "This traitor''s evil plot would have prevailed." Thinking how that day the nun in white strike like thunder or lightning, he could not help but shiver.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, when the nun''s sword was thrust your way, your movement was very quick, naturally you could have used the move ''single cloud coming out of the mountain peak'' to evade, and then you turned around and used the ''red-crowned crane combing its tail feathers'' to strike the evil nun''s shoulder. She must have cried out ''Surrender!''; it''s just that I was afraid you might be injured, my mind was confused, I was only thinking of blocking in front of you, to take the sword on your behalf. Your Majesty has not had any opportunity to unleash your martial art skill and create a stir in front of the Shaolin monks; it was indeed a pity."


    Kangxi burst out in laughter; he knew perfectly well that if that day Wei Xiaobao did not block in front of him, he would have died from the nun in white''s stab. This little fellow was so loyal and unexpectedly did not claim any credit for himself; a person like him was indeed hard to come by. He laughed and said, "You are very young, yet your official duty is already quite big. Wait till you are a few years older, I will promote you to be a high-ranking official."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I don''t want to be a high-ranking official; I only hope to go on missions for Your Majesty. As long as I do not provoke you into anger, I am perfectly contented."


    Kangxi patted his shoulder. "Very good, very good," he said, "Just do what I told you to do, I will be very happy, how can I be angry at you? What else did that man surnamed Yang say to the nun?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Yang Yizhi repeatedly persuaded the nun, saying that there are a lot of good things about Your Majesty. He said that Wu Sangui has shown kindness to his father, hence before his father died, he beseeched him to protect Wu Sangui. But Wu Sangui single-mindedly wants to be the Emperor, which is really a treason and heresy, something that he should have never wanted. When this matter is exposed in the future, everybody will be executed along with his family unto the third generation. The nun also said that her entire family was wiped our by the Ta �� Ta �� by us, Manchu people. Wu Sangui treated her with full respect. She came to assassinate you, first of all it was to give Wu Sangui a lot of face, secondly, she wanted to avenge her father and mother. The rest of her family has already died, hence she was not afraid of execution unto the third generation."


    Kangxi nodded. Wei Xiaobao continued, "Yang Yizhi said that Your Majesty treats the common people well, if �� if she harmed you, and Wu Sangui became the Emperor, although he would become a high-ranking officer or a great general, but the common people under the heavens might suffer great hardship. The nun is actually softhearted, she pays particular attention to mercy. After thinking for a long time, she said that he was right, therefore, she decided not to continue her mission. The two of them then agreed that if Wu Sangui sent another assassin, the two of them would kill this assassin in secret."


    Kangxi happily said, "Those two people actually understood virtuous cause very well."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "But Yang Yizhi said that there was one more thing that is not easy to accomplish."


    "What other strange thing is that?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of them talked in low voice for quite a while, it was not too clear to me, I only heard something like ''Yan Pin Jun Wang'' and ''Zheng Family of Taiwan'' was mentioned, it seems to me that Wu Sangui wanted to divide the world equally with somebody surnamed Zheng."


    Kangxi stood up; he said in a loud voice, "Turns out that servant is colluding with those Taiwan''s rebellious thieves in secret."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What kind of damned b@stard is Zheng Family of Taiwan?"


    "That rebellious thief surnamed Zheng occupies Taiwan illegally," Kangxi explained, "They refuse to accept beneficial influence of the sovereign; only because they are far away overseas that temporarily it is not easy to pacify that region."


    Wei Xiaobao''s expression showed that he had just suddenly seen the light. "So that''s what happened," he said, "By this time the more I heard, the more your servant was angry, thinking that these rivers and mountains are Your Majesty''s, what kind of ''thing'' are those men surnamed Wu and surname Zheng anyway? How dare they want to divide Your Majesty''s land under the heavens equally? Yang Yizhi said that the one surnamed Zheng of Taiwan sent his second son, his name was Zheng Ke �� Zheng Ke ��"


    "Zheng Keshuang," Kangxi said.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Your Majesty knows everything."


    Kangxi smiled without saying anything. The fact was: for the last several years he had been planning and preparing to take Taiwan back under his territory, he had long ago acquired clear information on the names of the Zheng family father and sons, as well as Taiwan''s military strength and their naval situation.


    "That Zheng Keshuang visited Yunnan recently," Wei Xiaobao continued, "He had a meeting with Wu Sangui for over half a month."


    Kangxi''s face suddenly showed displeasure. "Is there such thing?" he wondered aloud.


    Taiwan and Yunnan were actually two regions that he was concerned about the most. He had never thought that Zheng and Wu, two people, would join hands in conspiracy. It was only this time that he heard about Zheng Keshuang''s visit to Yunnan.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Taiwan has a fellow whose martial art skill is very high, he protected Zheng Keshuang all the way. This fellow is surnamed Feng, he is called One Sword Bleeding [yi jian chu xue] or something like that."


    "One Sword without Blood [yi jian wu xue] Feng Xifan," Kangxi said, "Along with Liu Guoxuan and Chen Yonghua, they are known as the Three Tigers of Taiwan."


    Hearing the Emperor mentioning his shifu''s real name, Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned cold. "Yes, yes," he said, "Exactly, it was One Sword without Blood Feng Xifan. Yang Yizhi said that among the three tigers of Taiwan, Chen Yonghua is the good one, Feng Xifan and the other one are the bad ones. Chen Yonghua is unwilling to join the rebellion against Your Majesty, it''s just that he is only one tiger, he cannot stand up against the other two tigers."


    In front of Kangxi he was speaking good things about Jiu Nan, Yang Yizhi and Chen Jinnan, three people, for a one in ten thousand chance that they were captured by the Qing court, then he already had something with which he could try to save them.


    Kangxi shook his head. "That''s not necessarily true," he said, "Chen Yonghua is a lot more formidable than the other two tigers."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Yang Yizhi also told that nun that there are too many Wu Sangui''s adversaries in Jianghu, they assembled at Hejian Prefecture in a congress called the ''Slaying-Turtle Assembly'', in which they discussed ways to kill Wu Sangui. That Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan mingled in the congress to gather information which they will then pass on to Wu Sangui. The longer they talked, their voices were getting lower and lower, I was trying to listen hard for half a day, and after knowing that they were not planning on harming Your Majesty, I did not pay too much attention anymore. Afterwards I fell asleep for real. Your Majesty, in this case your servant was a little bit lazy, but I was extremely exhausted. Around midnight Yang Yizhi quietly awakened me, unsealed my acupoints, and told me that the nun was meditating to cultivate her internal energy, he told me that it was the best time for me to sneak out."


    Kangxi nodded. "That man surnamed Yang actually still has conscience," he said.


    "Isn''t that so?" Wei Xiaobao said, "When in the future Your Majesty put Wu Sangui to death, I am asking Your Majesty to show mercy by sparing this Yang Yizhi''s life."


    Kangxi said, "If he can render meritorious service, not only I will spare his life, I will also bestow him rewards. What else did you hear at the ''Slaying-Turtle Assembly''?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Each province elected an alliance leader, that Zheng Keshuang was elected Mengzhu of Fujian province, I think Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanxi or something are put under their Zheng Family''s jurisdiction."


    Kangxi smiled; he thought, "Xiao Guizi is wrong, it must be Jiangxi, not Shanxi."


    With hands behind his back, he paced back and forth in the Study Room. Successively he went back and forth for dozens of times before he suddenly said, "Xiao Guizi, do you dare to go to Yunnan?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; it was really beyond his expectation. "Your Majesty wants me to go secretly gather information at Wu Sangui''s place over there?" he asked.


    Kangxi nodded; "This mission is indeed dangerous," he said, "But you are young, Wu Sangui will not guard against you. Plus that Yang Yizhi is your friend, he will definitely look after you."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, it''s not that I am afraid of going to Yunnan, but I have just returned to the Palace, I haven''t seen you quite a few days yet, and now I have to leave you, I really hate to part with you."


    Kangxi nodded. "Yes," he said, "I have the same feeling. Too bad that I am the Emperor, I can''t move around as I wish; otherwise the two of us can go to Yunnan together, I''ll grab Wu Sangui''s beard, you grab his hands, and together we''ll ask, ''Damn it Wu Sangui, are you going to surrender or not?'' Won''t that be amusing?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "That''s a wonderful idea," he said, "Your Majesty, you cannot go to Yunnan, I''ll swindle Wu Sangui to come to the Palace, and then we can grab his beard, what do you think?"


    Kangxi burst out in loud laughter. "Good! Fabulous!" he said, "I am just afraid this servant is a wily old fox, he won''t be duped easily. Ah, Xiao Guizi, I have an idea that won''t raise his suspicion."


    "Your Majesty''s divine strategy is definitely very brilliant," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "We will marry Princess Jianning to his son," Kangxi said, "Now that we become in-laws, he could not possibly guard against us."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "You want to marry her to that fellow Wu Yingxiong?" he asked, "This �� isn''t this too convenient for him?"


    Kangxi said, "She is that old s1ut''s daughter. We marry her to Yunnan, let her suffer a little bit of hardship first. In the future, when Wu Sangui is executed, along with his entire family unto the third generation, she will be executed together with them." His voice was brimming with hatred.


    Originally he liked this little sister very much, but ever since he found out that the Empress Dowager murdered his own mother and angered his father that he left home to become a monk, he also hated this little sister. He added, "At that time I can say that the old s1ut did not raise her daughter properly, then I can force her to commit suicide."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant has just heard a huge good news. Your Majesty must be very happy to hear it."


    "What good news?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao put his mouth near Kangxi''s ear and said in a low voice, "That old s1ut is a fake Empress Dowager, the real Empress Dowager is still alive and well in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful." In front of Kangxi, he still did not dare to utter the word ''old wh0re''.


    Kangxi was shocked. "What?" he said in a trembling voice, "What do you mean fake Empress Dowager?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao told Kangxi in details how the fake Empress Dowager imprisoned the real Empress Dowager, and then she assumed the Empress Dowager''s identity to commit all kinds of evil.


    Kangxi was dumbstruck; he was speechless for half a day. After a long time passed he finally said, "Is there really such thing? Is there really such thing ��? How did you know?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Knowing the old s1ut''s malicious character, your servant was afraid she might harm Your Majesty; therefore, I bribed a palace maid in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to secretly spy on her. As soon as I know something is not right, I will notify Your Majesty immediately, so that we can strike first and gain the upper hand. As soon as your servant entered the Palace today, the palace maid told me this very important matter."


    Beads of perspiration streamed down from Kangxi''s forehead; he said in a trembling voice, "Where is that palace maid?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I thought that this secret is too big; if she leaked it out, the consequences might be very serious. Therefore, your servant brazenly pushed her into a well, making sure that nobody will find her. Ay, I really wronged her."


    Kangxi nodded, a relief expression briefly appeared on his face. "You handled it well," he said, "Tomorrow you pull her body up and give her a decent burial, find out where her family is, and generously give them gift to comfort the bereaved."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will do as Your Majesty''s instructed."


    "This matter should not be delayed," Kangxi said, "Let us go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful at once." Finished speaking, he stood up, fetched a couple of swords from the wall and gave one sword to Wei Xiaobao. He said in a low voice, "We are going to take care of this matter ourselves, we must not let the palace maids and the court eunuchs know."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Your Majesty," he said, "The old s1ut''s martial art is formidable, as soon as I enter the room to grasp her, Your Majesty should cut off her arms first, and then we can ask her the details."


    Kangxi nodded. "Very well!" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty should take a lot of Imperial Bodyguards, have them wait outside the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. If the situation turns really bad, we will have to call for help. Otherwise, if your servant is unable to hold the fake Empress Dowager firmly, this old s1ut might dash out and assault Your Majesty''s ten-thousand-gold body; that �� that might be very inappropriate."


    Kangxi nodded; he made a decision right then and there: "If we absolutely have to have the Imperial Bodyguards'' help, after everything is done, these Imperial Bodyguards will have to be executed to close their mouths."


    Kangxi went out the Study Room and summoned eight Imperial Bodyguards to escort him. When they arrived outside the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, he ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to wait far away in the flower garden, while together with Wei Xiaobao they walked straight toward the Empress Dowager''s personal quarter. One after another the palace maids and court eunuchs of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful kneeled down to greet him. Kangxi said, "All of you go to the garden, nobody can come here." Everybody obeyed and went away.


    Wei Xiaobao knew that the fake Empress Dowager had sent his shifu Jiu Nan seven ''transforming bones soft palm'' palm strikes, but all of this sinister and ruthless palm power was returned to her. Although his shifu had taught her how to dissolve the poison, but henceforth, as soon as she used internal energy, the bones in her body would immediately break into one-cun pieces. By counting the day, he calculated that by this time the poisonous power had not been completely dissolved; but even if it had, he calculated that she would not dare to fight. Plus, he still had the Five-Dragon Command in his hand. With this knowledge that he had a secure backing, his heart was calm.


    Kangxi, on the other hand, knew that this fake Empress Dowager''s martial art skill was very formidable; his entire martial art skill was actually taught by him. Even if he had Wei Xiaobao as his backup, the skill difference between them was indeed very far. Their only advantage was that the two of them had a pair of swords, while she was barehanded, and that she was going to be caught unprepared, just like when they were dealing with Oboi in the past. And thus when he entered the bedroom, his palms were wet with perspiration.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Today is my chance to set up a great merit, I am going to pounce on the old wh0re, His Majesty only know that I am dashing on bravely without any thought of my personal safety, while in fact I am beating up a dead dog who cannot move a single step. Beating up a dead dog is what laozi can do best." In a low voice he said, "This s1ut''s martial art is superb, Your Majesty must not take any risk. Let your servant move first!" Kangxi nodded, his right hand tightly grabbed the hilt of his sword.


    When they entered the bedroom, they did not see anybody there, the bed curtain was hanging down. The Empress Dowager''s voice came out from inside the bed curtain, "Emperor, you have not visited the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful for many days; are you well?"


    Previously, Kangxi would visit the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful every day to pay his respect to the Empress Dowager. Ever since he learned the inside story, his heart was filled with unspeakable hatred, hence his visit became very scarce.


    Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao had not expected that she would sleep in the bed during the day, whatever method they had previously planned was quite useless now. Kangxi said, "I heard the Empress Dowager is not feeling very well, your son is paying the Empress Dowager a visit." He made an eye signal to Wei Xiaobao, ordering him, "Raise the bed curtain!"


    "Cha!" Wei Xiaobao complied


    [65], and walked toward the bed.


    "I am afraid of the wind," the Empress Dowager said, "Don''t raise the bed curtain."


    Kangxi thought, "If I did not heed her words and raise the bed curtain by force, she might guard against me." He said, "Yes. I wonder what ailment does the Empress Dowager suffer; have you taken any medicine?"


    "I have," the Empress Dowager replied, "The imperial doctor says it''s a very light common cold, nothing serious."


    Kangxi said, "Your son wants to see how does the Empress Dowager look? Do you have any fever?"


    The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "I look all right, you do not need to see. Emperor, please go back."


    Suspicion arose in Kangxi''s heart, "What trick is she playing?"


    Wei Xiaobao noticed the bed was pitch-black, he turned his body around and made a signal to Kangxi, hinting that he was going to grab her feet, and the Emperor should hack with his sword. In that instant, Kangxi was having a second thought, "Supposing everything Xiao Guizi said is wrong, then what happen? Although the man dressed as palace maid was real, but perhaps the Empress Dowager was just having a dirty confusion of mind against the Palace''s prohibition, and could not control her desire. Once my sword is chopping down, in case she is the real Empress Dowager, and not an impostor, won''t I not only be a muddle head, but an unfilial son as well? I would rather have the fake Empress Dowager guards against me and have the Imperial Bodyguards come to help me capturing her, but I must not be reckless in dealing with this matter and thus chopping and harming the real Empress Dowager." Thereupon he shook his head and waved his hand, ordering Wei Xiaobao to back off.


    "Empress Dowager," he said, "Your son is worried." In a quick step he walked to the bed and stretched out his hand to open the bed curtain.


    As the brocaded curtain parted, he saw the Empress Dowager quickly turned around, facing the inside of the bed. Yet in that instant Kangxi was able to catch a glimpse of Empress Dowager''s thin cheeks, her appearance was substantially different. "Empress Dowager," he said, "You, Senior suddenly became very thin lately." His voice trembled.


    The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Ever since returning from Mount Wutai, my appetite has been bad, every day I can only eat less than half a bowl of rice. When looking at the mirror, I almost cannot recognize myself."


    Kangxi thought, "Xiao Guizi''s words are obviously not a lie, this old s1ut did not expect I would suddenly come back, she is sleeping on the bed, thinking that nobody would see her, today she did not put on her disguise, hence no matter what she did not allow me to see her face. Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, could I be mistaken?"


    Burning with anger, he shouted loudly, "Aiyo, Empress Dowager, there''s a big rat behind the hanging bed curtain. Help! Quickly roll up the bed curtain to catch the rat!" While saying that, he retreated two steps backward, afraid that when the Empress Dowager saw her plot had been exposed, she might suddenly turn violent and attack.


    But he only heard the Empress Dowager''s trembling voice, "What rat behind the bed curtain?"


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward to draw the woolen cord to roll up the curtain, exposing a wardrobe door behind it. "Uh!" Kangxi exclaimed, "Turns out there is a big wardrobe in here, the rat must be hiding inside the wardrobe!" While thinking, "Now that most of this matter has been exposed, she is prepared, we cannot launch a sneak attack anymore." Retreating toward the door, he beckoned toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Summon the Imperial Bodyguards to come in. There''s a strange noise in the wardrobe, we must not let any assassin hiding in there and frighten the Empress Dowager."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said. He turned outside and called out loudly from the door, "Summon the Imperial Bodyguards!" Eight Imperial Bodyguards appeared in front of the bedroom door and bowed, awaiting the imperial decree.


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "Emperor, what trick are you playing?"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Ah, right. Princess Jianning is hiding inside the wardrobe, playing hide-and-seek. Empress Dowager, I''ve been looking for her everywhere, she must be inside the wardrobe." He waved his right hand.


    Wei Xiaobao immediately opened the wardrobe, but the wardrobe door was locked, he could not open it. Kangxi laughed and said, "Empress Dowager, where is the wardrobe key?"


    The Empress Dowager angrily said, "I am not feeling well, you two children are actually coming to my room to play. Quickly get out for me." The Imperial Bodyguards knew that the Emperor often played with Princess Jianning. Hearing the Empress Dowager, they all broke into smile.


    Kangxi said, "Pry the wardrobe door open. The Empress Dowager is ill, we must not disturb her, the Senior."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao complied. From his boot he pulled his dagger and inserted it into the wardrobe door. With a light cut the lock catch broke. He then pulled the handle and the wardrobe door opened smoothly. He saw a pile of brocade quilt inside, exactly what he saw that night inside the wardrobe, but there was nobody inside.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "That night I clearly saw the real Empress Dowager was hidden inside the wardrobe," he mused, "How can she disappear all of a sudden? Could it be that the old wh0re is afraid my shifu might reveal her secret and thus has killed the real Empress Dowager?"


    "Quickly pull her out," Kangxi urgently said. He was afraid that realizing her secret was exposed, the fake Empress Dowager would immediately kill the real Empress Dowager.


    Wei Xiaobao rushed toward the bed and put his hand underneath the bedding at the Empress Dowager''s foot side, with the intention of pulling the real Empress Dowager''s foot out. As soon as he reached in, he felt that he was touching a hairy leg, and could not help but was very shocked. Right this moment, a big foot suddenly shot out and kicked his chest. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, and fell backward.


    The quilt rose up, a stark-naked meatball leaped out; carrying the quilt, with the Empress Dowager inside, the meatball dashed out of the door.


    The eight Imperial Bodyguards was greatly shocked; hastily they tried to block, but the meatball struck them. Three Imperial Bodyguards flew out of the door and fell on the ground outside the bedroom. Carrying the Empress Dowager, the meatball dashed out.


    Kangxi bolted to the door, but saw that the meatball was leaping out as if it was flying. In just a few leaps it already reached the garden wall. With one leap it reached the top of the wall, and immediately disappeared on the other side. "Quickly pursue!" Kangxi shouted.


    Three Imperial Bodyguards were struck by the meatball and were unable to crawl up from the ground. The remaining five Imperial Bodyguards rushed toward the wall, but they could no longer see the meatball''s shadow.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was fuzzy, there was a severe pain on his chest. He scrambled up toward the wardrobe, reached into the quilt, grabbed the sutra, and hid it inside his pocket. He heard Kangxi''s shouts in the garden, "Come back, come back!" Wei Xiaobao turned around and fell to the floor. He heard footsteps as the Imperial Bodyguards rushed back. Outside the bedroom, Kangxi ordered the Imperial Bodyguards, "Everybody stay here, don''t make any noise."


    Kangxi returned to the bedroom, closed the door, and said in a low voice, "What happened?"


    Propping himself against a table, Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "Mon �� monster!" In his shock his face was devoid of any color.


    Kangxi shook his head and said, "That''s not a monster! He is the old s1ut''s male adulterer."


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind had not cleared up yet. "What male adulterer?" he asked.


    "That was a man, didn''t you see?" Kangxi said, "A short and fat man."


    Wei Xiaobao was astonished, but amused at the same time; he said, "The old s1ut was hiding a �� short and fat man who was not wearing anything!"


    Kangxi''s expression looked grave. "What about the real Empress Dowager?" he asked.


    "It would be best if �� if she has not been killed by the old s1ut ��" Wei Xiaobao said. Suddenly he remembered something. Lifting up the mattress on the Empress Dowager''s bed, he said, "There is a secret compartment underneath the bed." But he only saw an unsheathed platinum Emei Sting in the secret compartment; nothing else. Hesitatingly he said, "Let''s lift open the bed board and take a look."


    Kangxi rushed forward and helped Wei Xiaobao lifting up the bed board. They saw a woman lying on a mat underground, her body was covered with a thin quilt. When the bed board was in place, it seemed that the board was approximately less than half a chi from this woman''s face.


    The bed room was dark, they could not see clearly. "Quickly light a candle," Kangxi said.


    Wei Xiaobao lighted a candle and brought the candlestick close to the hole. They saw the woman''s countenance was pale, her face was goose egg''s shape; apparently, she was the real Empress Dowager hidden inside the wardrobe the other night. The last time Kangxi saw the real Empress Dowager, he was very young. After so many years, he was not sure if she was the real Empress Dowager or not. Yet seeing this woman''s appearance looked a lot like the Empress Dowager he had seen daily, busily he helped her up and asked, "Is it �� is it the Empress Dowager?"


    With the candlelight right in front of her face, the woman temporarily was unable to open her eyes. "You �� you ��" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This is the current Emperor, he has personally come here to rescue your sacred good self."


    The woman opened her eyes a slit, she gazed at Kangxi for a moment, and then with a trembling voice said, "Are you �� are you really the Emperor?" Suddenly, "Wah!" she cried and reached out to embrace Kangxi and hugged him tightly.


    Wei Xiaobao took the candlestick several steps backward; he looked around everywhere to make sure there was no more male adulterer, assassin or fake palace maid. He thought, "The Emperor has met the real Empress Dowager, naturally there will be a lot to talk about. If I hear one more word, my head might not stay on my neck." Putting the candlestick on the table, he quietly withdrew and closed the door behind him.


    He saw outside the door, eight Imperial Bodyguards, palace maids and court eunuchs were standing in the middle of the courtyard, with terrified look on their faces. He waved his hand, ordering them to go into the garden. He said, "Just now the Emperor was playing hide-and-seek with Princess Jianning, Princess was wearing a weird outfit, disguising herself as a large meatball, and then she jumped out. Did all of you see that?"


    An Imperial Bodyguard was very perceptive; he busily replied, "Yes, yes. Princess Jianning can move very fast, her disguise is also very amusing."


    Wei Xiaobao showed a faint smile; he said, "His Majesty does not wish other people to know about this child play, whoever has an itchy mouth, the melon head above your neck might not be stable. Now, who wants to gossip and meddle, and talk rubbish?"


    The Imperial Bodyguards, palace maids and eunuchs replied in unison, "We do not dare."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; turning toward the three injured Imperial Bodyguards, he said, "What happened to you? How come without any rhyme or reason you are injured?"


    An Imperial Bodyguard replied, "Reporting to Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]: Xiaoren, three of us, were having martial art practice this morning, we were practicing a bit too heavy, and injured each other."


    "Your granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You are all brothers, why did you move heavily during practice? You were not fighting to the death!"


    "Yes, yes," the three Imperial Bodyguards replied, "Next time we will be more careful."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those of you who are injured may take twenty taels medical expense." The three Imperial Bodyguards busily bowed down to express their gratitude. Wei Xiaobao continued, "Your granny, your dad and mom raised you until you are this big, this life is not too cheap. If everybody wants to keep your melon head and still loves to eat rice, then your dog mouths must be a bit more careful. In case you are afraid you might talk in your sleep, you might as well cut your own tongue right now. All of you, report your names to Laozi."


    The Imperial Bodyguards, palace maids and eunuchs reported their names at once. Wei Xiaobao said, "Very well, about the matter of hide-and-seek today, if laozi heard the least bit or rumor, I don''t care who talks too much, all thirty-five of you will be beheaded together. Anybody refuse to accept?"


    In their hearts, everybody understood that after witnessing the strange event a moment ago, inevitably their lives would be very difficult to protect, most likely the Emperor would kill them all to close their mouths. By saying those words, Gui Gonggong was actually saving their lives. In their gratefulness, they all kneeled down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you Gonggong for your great benevolence in saving our lives."


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said, "Thank me for what? It''s His Majesty''s kindness."


    Returning to the bedroom door, he sat on the stone steps and waited quietly. It was more than an hour later that he finally heard Kangxi calling out, "Xiao Guizi, come in."


    He entered the bedroom and saw the Empress Dowager and Kangxi were sitting side-by-side on the bed, they were holding each other''s hand, and there were tears on their faces. He kneeled down and kowtowed, saying, "Congratulations Empress Dowager, congratulations Your Majesty. There are a total of thirty-five servants outside who witnessed Your Majesty playing hide-and-seek with Princess Jianning. If there is any one of them dares to leak half a word, your servant will put all these thirty-five people to death, nobody will be spared. They are all scared to death, I expect no one will dare to talk rubbish."


    Kangxi nodded. Wei Xiaobao continued, "If you want them killed right now to avoid future trouble, your servant will see to it right away."


    Kangxi hesitated slightly. The Empress Dowager said, "Today you and I, mother and son, meet each other. This is an enormously happy occasion, we must not harm anybody''s life too much."


    "Yes," Kangxi said, "We must do as Buddha has commanded, we thank the Heaven and Bodhisattva for blessing and protecting us."


    The Empress Dowager turned her gaze toward Wei Xiaobao; she said, "Your age is young, yet you have set up these many meritorious service, it is indeed very rare."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is because of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor''s great fortune. I only hate the fact that your servant did not display utter loyalty in handling this matter, unable to uncover the evil scheme at the earliest possible time that the Empress Dowager must receive these many years of suffering."


    The Empress Dowager''s heart ached, tears streamed down her face. She said to Kangxi, "You must reward this child well."


    "Yes, yes," Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, your official position is already not low, today I bestow a nobility rank to you. Our Great Qing has five orders of nobility, namely Gong [duke], Hou [marquis], Bo [count], Zi [viscount] and Nan [baron]. By the Empress Dowager''s grace, you are now a first class Zijue [viscount]."


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed for the kindness shown by the Emperor; he said, "Thank you for Empress Dowager''s grace, thank you for Your Majesty''s grace." While in his heart he mused, "What should I do with this Zijue title? How much money does it worth?" Seeing Kangxi waving his hand, he withdrew.


    Expecting a lot of twists and turns in this matter, he knew it was hard for him to speculate. Feeling the pit of his stomach was still hurting very bad, he thought, "That short and fat meatball has a superb martial art skill. Aiyo, is it possible that he was the Shen Long Jiao''s martial art master who stole the sutra? He entered the Palace to meet with the old wh0re, the old wh0re treated him very well, she moved the real Empress Dowager under the bed to let him sleep inside the wardrobe. A moment ago the young emperor and I went to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful just at the right moment, by lucky coincidence we caught the fornication in bed. This meatball may come back for a revenge, but also want to return to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to retrieve the sutra."


    He must inform Dolong, telling him that he heard information that there was a possibility that some villain would enter the Palace to assassinate the Emperor, telling him to dispatch Imperial Bodyguards to strictly guard the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.


    He thought, "It won''t be good if the old wh0re is going back to the Divine Dragon Island and report everything to Hong Jiaozhu. Laozi better strike first to gain the upper hand, I must take the map inside the sutra first, and then send one or two empty copies to the Divine Dragon Island. Hong Jiaozhu will want me to find the other copies, hence he will definitely give me the antidote. If he cannot find the map inside the sutra, that''s his problem, it has nothing to do with laozi. It''s his own fault that his share of luck is too small. In any case, his long life is the same as the heaven''s, no need to be impatient, he can look for it slowly. Even if he has to spend 108,000 years, he will eventually find it!"

 Chapter - 29 (29)

    Fragrant breeze suddenly arrives through the rolling curtain, new moon looks down on the bed drenched with early rain.


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the Palace to see Li Lishi, Guan Anji, Priest Xuanzhen, Qian Laoben, and the others. The Tian Di Hui warriors were in high spirit. Li Lishi said, "Subordinate has just received information that Zongduozhu has arrived in Tianjin, he will reach the Capital in a day. Wei Xiangzhu has just returned to the Capital as well; this is very good!"


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s very good!" Thinking that he was going to see his shifu again, his heart was inevitably frightened.


    The warriors immediately bought some wine and killed some chicken to prepare a welcoming dinner for him.


    When the night fell, Wei Xiaobao pulled Gao Yanchao aside and said, "Gao Dage, could you bring me an axe, an iron hammer and a chisel, please?"


    Gao Yanchao complied and brought everything he asked for. Wei Xiaobao asked him to take him to the clay-walled shed in the garden where the coffin was placed. "I have to open the coffin," he said, "To put some things inside."


    "Yes!" Gao Yanchao complied. He felt strange, but since Xiangzhu did not tell him, he felt it was inappropriate for him to ask.


    "The night before last," Wei Xiaobao explained, "This dead friend came to me in a dream, telling me that he wanted several things. Since he was my friend, I can''t possibly refuse."


    Gao Yanchao felt even stranger, but he only responded with ''yes, yes''.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Please guard outside the door for me, don''t let anybody come in." And he pushed the door and came in, closed the door, and bolted it.


    He saw the thick dust on the coffin; apparently nobody had touched it. Using the chisel and axe he pried out the nails, and shoved the coffin lid away. He took the oil cloth bundle containing the five copies of sutra, and was about to push the coffin lid back when suddenly he heard Gao Yanchao''s voice outside, "Who''s there?"


    And then he heard another voice sternly asked, "Where is Chen Jinnan?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Who''s asking for my Shifu?" he mused. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.


    Gao Yanchao replied, "Who are you?"


    And then someone coldly said, "No matter where he hides, we will drag him out."


    Wei Xiaobao did recognize this voice, it was Zheng Keshuang. He was even more surprised, "How could this stinky fellow be here?" Immediately he realized that the first person must be the ''One Sword without Blood'' Feng Xifan.


    He heard the clang of metals, the clash of weapons, followed by Gao Yanchao''s muffled grunt, and then ''bang!'' he fell to the ground. Wei Xiaobao''s shock was even greater, without having much time to think he leaped into the coffin.


    He heard Zheng Keshuang said, "That revolting thief must be hiding inside." In his fright, Wei Xiaobao lifted the lid and closed the coffin, just in time before ''crack, crash!'' the wooden door of the clay-walled shed was kicked broken. Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan walked in.


    From inside the coffin Wei Xiaobao looked out, and saw a thread of light; he knew that in his rush he did not close the lid tightly. "Bad, bad!" he groaned inwardly, "They are looking for my Shifu, but find out his disciple instead."


    Suddenly outside the door someone said, "Is Gongzi looking for me? What can I do for you?" It was precisely Chen Jinnan''s voice.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "Shifu is here!"


    Suddenly Chen Jinnan cried, "Ah!" Apparently he was injured. Followed by ''clang, clang'' twice, the sound of weapons clashing. Chen Jinnan angrily shouted, "Feng Xifan, you are plotting against me? Why?"


    Feng Xifan coldly said, "I am following orders to arrest you!"


    Zheng Keshuang''s voice was heard, "Chen Yonghua, do you still consider me in your eyes?" His voice was brimming with anger.


    "Why did Er Gongzi [second young master] say such thing?" Chen Jinnan said, "It was only the day before yesterday that subordinate found out that Er Gongzi would grace us with your presence in Beijing; that very night I rushed over from Tianjin, unexpectedly Er Gongzi has arrived first. Subordinate was not here to welcome you, please forgive my offense."


    Hearing his shifu was speaking very respectfully and sincerely, Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Dog fart Er Gongzi, what are you angry for?"


    He heard Zheng Keshuang said, "Fu Wang [father king] sent me to the Central Plains on official business, did you know that?"


    "Yes," Chen Jinnan replied.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "If you did, why didn''t you come earlier to escort, serve and protect me?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "Subordinate has several urgent matters to be dealt with, I was unable to spare the time for a separate task, please Er Gongzi excuse me. Subordinate also knew that Feng Dage is coming along to serve by your side, Feng Dage''s divine skill is unequalled, the crowd of lowly people are afraid and succumb to him, he would be able to protect Er Gongzi safe and sound through and through."


    "Humph," Zheng Keshuang snorted; he angrily said, "When I came to Tian Di Hui, why are the shrimp soldiers and crab generals


    [66], and a skulk of foxes, a pack of dogs under your commands very rude to me?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "Presumably they did not know Er Gongzi. In this area around the Capital, what we are doing is a rebellion against the Tatars, everybody is particularly cautious and prudent, to such an extent as to neglect etiquette. Subordinate hereby apologizes."


    The more Wei Xiaobao listened, the angrier he was. "Why is Shifu this polite to this stinky fellow?" he mused.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "By giving me all kinds of excuses, you are actually saying that I was wrong?"


    "I do not dare!" Chen Jinnan said.


    And then Wei Xiaobao heard the rustling of paper. Zheng Keshuang said, "This is Fu Wang''s written order, read it."


    "Yes," Chen Jinnan said, "Wangye''s order says: ''The order of Yan Ping Jun Wang of the Great Ming: I am sending Zheng Keshuang to the Central Plain on official business, for anything beneficial to the country, he may act at his own discretion''."


    "What does ''act at his own discretion'' means?" Zheng Keshuang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "It simply means don''t ever suffer any loss; what''s so difficult about it? Your old man is telling you to stand up and need not be polite."


    Who would have thought that Chen Jinnan actually replied, "Wangye is instructing Er Gongzi that in all matters that benefit our country, you may forego reporting back to Wangye, and act at your own discretion."


    Zheng Keshuang asked, "Will you submit to Fu Wang''s written order or not?"


    "Wangye''s written order, naturally I will comply," Chen Jinnan replied.


    "Very well," Zheng Keshuang said, "Cut your own right arm."


    Chen Jinnan was startled. "But why?" he asked.


    Zheng Keshuang coldly said, "In your eyes there is no master, you do not revere me, which means you do not revere Fu Wang. I''ll say from your conduct and deeds, you do not have the heart of a loyal subject. Humph, in the Central Plains you strive to cultivate your own power, to expand Tian Di Hui, where''s your concern for the Zheng Family of Taiwan? You are thinking of making yourself king, aren''t you?"


    Chen Jinnan''s voice trembled, "Subordinate has never had that thought," he said.


    "Humph! Never had that thought?" Zheng Keshuang said, "At the Hejian Prefecture congress this time, they elected me as the Mengzhu of Fujian province; did you know that?"


    "Yes," Chen Jinnan replied, "It was because the heroes throughout the world respect Wangye for his loyalty in working for the country."


    "How many provinces'' Mengzhu does your Tian Di Hui have?" Zheng Keshuang asked. Chen Jinnan was silent.


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Turns out the reason this fellow is throwing a fit is because he had drunk Tian Di Hui''s vinegar [i.e. jealous]." He also mused, "My wife''s lover [orig. male adulterer] is my Shifu''s superior; previously, it was a bit troublesome. Now those two people are in conflict; this is wonderful. It''s just that Shifu has already fallen under their plot and is injured, I must prevent him from being killed by them."


    He heard Zheng Keshuang said in loud voice, "Your Tian Di Hui has three provinces'' Mengzhu, while I only have Fujian, one province. Compared to your Tian Di Hui, how much does my Zheng Family worth? I am only a tiny Fujian Province''s Mengzhu, but you are the Central Military Strategist of the ''Weeding-out the Traitors Alliance''. Don''t you realize you are crawling over my head? How can there be Fu Wang in your heart?"


    "Er Gongzi, please reflect carefully," Chen Jinnan said, "Subordinate founded the Tian Di Hui under the order of the late Guoxing Ye [Koxinga] with the purpose of driving off the Tatars. Tian Di Hui is an integral part of Wangye, there is no distinction between what''s ours and what''s Wangye''s. In all Tian Di Hui''s affairs, subordinate always report everything to Wangye."


    With a cold laugh Zheng Keshuang said, "Your Tian Di Hui only knows Chen Jinnan, how could they know there is still Zheng Family of Taiwan? Supposing Tian Di Hui succeeded in expelling the Tatars, the ruler of this world would be you, Chen Jinnan, not any of our Zheng family."


    Chen Jinnan said, "What Er Gongzi just said is not right. After we drive off the Tatars, together we will present the Great Ming royal family''s descendant surnamed Zhu to be the ruler."


    "Your speech is beautiful," Zheng Keshuang said, "This moment you do not have surnamed Zheng in your eyes at all, how can you have surnamed Zhu in your eyes in the future? I want you to break your own arm, you simply don''t want to obey my command. This time I came from Hejian Prefecture, along the way I met with not a few calamities, yet I did not see a single soldier a single troop from Tian Di Hui coming to protect me. If not for Feng Shifu striving to save me, I don''t know if by this time I was still alive. You are eager to see my demise; if that''s your desire, then already death cannot wipe out your crimes. Humph, you can only lick my Gege''s behind, you don''t usually have me in your eyes."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Da Gongzi [big/first young master], Er Gongzi are brothers, subordinate serve both the same; how could I dare to be partial?"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Someday my Gege will be the Wangye. How can we, brothers, be the same in your eyes?"


    Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao understood for the most part. He mused, "This fellow is struggling over the Wangye position with his Gege, he is blaming Shifu for supporting his Gege. With Feng Xifan''s instigation, he is trying to get rid of my Shifu."


    He heard Zheng Keshuang continued, "Your power in the Central Plains is so big anyway, it would be better for you to just kill me."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Er Gongzi confronts me like this, it''s hard for subordinate to explain. Why don''t we go back to Taiwan? We''ll see Wangye, and heard what Wangye has to say. If Wangye wants to kill me, how can I dare to disobey?"


    "Humph," Zheng Keshuang snorted, seemingly at a loss on how to answer him. He was afraid to have direct confrontation with Chen Jinnan in front of his father.


    Feng Xifan coldly said, "I am afraid as soon as Mr. Chen leave this place, if you don''t surrender to the Tatars and betray Er Gongzi, then you''d fly your banner on a solitary tree, declaring yourself as the king, and will no longer return to Taiwan."


    Chen Jinnan angrily said, "Just now you attacked sneakily and injured me, was it under Wangye''s command? Where is Wangye''s written order?"


    Fengxifan said, "Wangye''s written order says that in the Central Plains Er Gongzi is to act at his discretion. You don''t accept Er Gongzi''s order, that means you are rebelling against Wangye, everybody has the right to punish you."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Er Gongzi is perfectly all right, it is you who sow dissension. Guoxing Ye began the undertaking with great hardship and has succeeded in establishing good foundation. I am afraid it will be ruined in the hands of lowly, treacherous people like you. Although you, surnamed Feng, have unparalleled martial art skill under the heavens, do you think I am afraid of you?"


    Feng Xifan sternly said, "So, you are blatantly rebelling against the Yan Ping Wang Mansion?"


    In a loud and clear voice Chen Jinnan said, "I, Chen Yonghua, have a red-bellied devotion to Wangye. The word ''rebel'' should never be slandered against me."


    Zheng Keshuang shouted, "Chen Yonghua is rebelling, arrest him!"


    "Yes," Feng Xifan complied.


    And then a series of ''clang, clang'' was heard as the weapons collided with each other; the three of them began to fight. Chen Jinnan called out, "Er Gongzi, please move aside, subordinate cannot fight with you."


    "You cannot fight with me? You cannot fight with me?" Zheng Keshuang asked the question twice, his weapon also rang twice. Apparently with each question he hacked his blade toward Chen Jinnan once.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious; quietly he raised the coffin lid about a cun so that he could look out. He saw Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan attacked Chen Jinnan from left and right. Chen Jinnan held the sword with his left hand, while his right arm drooped down with blood constantly trickling to the ground from the wound inflicted by Feng Xifan''s sneak attack earlier.


    Feng Xifan''s sword moved extremely fast, Chen Jinnan resisted with everything he had. Zheng Keshuang swept his blade across repeatedly, chopping and hacking, but Chen Jinnan did not dare to parry, he was only dodging here and there. Very soon he fell into the situation where he could only take a beating without being able to strike back. Moreover, he moved the sword with his left hand awkwardly, while the wound on his right arm was clearly not light.


    Wei Xiaobao was anxious, "Where are Feng Jizhong, Guan Fuzi, Qian Laoben, and the others? How come not even one come to help? If this fight continues, Shifu will definitely be killed by them." But the outside was very quiet, the clay-walled shed was noisy with ''bing, bing, bang, bang'' of the fierce battle, but unexpectedly the outside seemed to be turning a deaf ear.


    He saw Feng Xifan thrust his sword swiftly forward, a powerful strike, Chen Jinnan raised his sword to block, two swords immediately stuck together. Zheng Keshuang waved his saber in diagonal chop, Chen Jinnan leaned sideways to evade. Zheng Keshuang''s saber swept across, ''rip'' he made a long cut on Chen Jinnan''s left leg.


    "Ah!" Chen Jinnan cried out; the sword in his hand jerked upward. Feng Xifan seized this opportunity to thrust his sword forward and hit Chen Jinnan''s left shoulder.


    Chen Jinnan was drenched in blood as he fought desperately; it was hard for him to stay standing, step by step he moved toward the door, with the intention of rushing out to make his escape. Feng Xifan understood his intention, he rushed toward the door first. "Rebellious thief," he said with a cold laugh, "You are still thinking of escaping today?"


    Wei Xiaobao was hoping Feng Xifan would walk toward the coffin, so that he could thrust his dagger through the coffin and kill him just like the way he killed the lama at the inn. This move, called ''stabbing people from behind partition board'' [ge ban ci ren], was his entire life''s special skill, it far surpassed the martial art master''s special skill ''striking ox from behind the mountain'' [ge shan da niu]. But Feng Xifan was fighting farther and farther away, how could he stab him?


    "Rebellious thief," Zheng Keshuang shouted, "Still not throwing down your sword and letting your hands be bound?"


    Seeing how critical the situation was, Wei Xiaobao decided that even if he had to lose his life today, he had to save his shifu. Tightening up his throat, he made three loud ''zhi, zhi, zhi'' noise.


    (Book note: Zheng Chenggong [real name of Koxinga] fathered Zheng Jing and the others, ten people. Zheng Jing became the Ming Dynasty''s Yan Ping Jun Wang during the first year of Kangxi''s reign. He fathered Zheng Keshang, Zheng Keshuang, and the others, eight people. Keshang was the oldest, born of a concubine, and was Chen Yonghua''s son-in-law. Later on he became the Jian Guo [country supervisor] heir apparent. The second son Keshuang became Feng Xifan''s son-in-law. When Zheng Keshang succeeded the throne, he was barely twelve years old. Our book has these matters only as background, their age are increased considerably, hence there are discrepancies with historical fact.)


    When Feng Xifan and the others, three people heard it, they were startled. "What is it?" Zheng Keshuang asked. Feng Xifan shook his head, but his hand did not slow down the least bit. Wei Xiaobao cried ''zhi, zhi, zhi'' again three times. Zheng Keshuang was afraid of ghost, he was trembling with fear. Suddenly he saw the coffin lid opened, a burst of white dust flew out. Immediately the three of them felt their eyes were burning, while an unbearably pungent smells assaulting their noses.


    What happened was that usually before the body was entered into the coffin, the coffin would be lined with a large quantity of lime. When Gao Yanchao purchased the coffin, it was already loaded. This moment Wei Xiaobao grabbed a handful of lime and scattered it out. Feng Xifan knew it was not demon or ghost, he quickly jumped over with closed eyes, and leaned forward to thrust his sword into the coffin. ''Pop!'' the tip of the sword stabbed the coffin''s lid; while he was about to pull the sword to stab again, suddenly he felt pain on the right side of his chest. He knew he had fallen into the enemy''s trick; hastily he leaped back to evade, but his back heavily crashed onto the wall. His martial art skill was superb, with his left hand pressed against the wound on his chest, he brandished the sword in his right hand so that ''wind and rain could not penetrate'', as a shield in front of his body.


    It was actually Wei Xiaobao from inside the coffin launching his move ''stabbing people from behind partition board''. As soon as his attack succeeded, he leaped out of the coffin, clenching the dagger tightly in his hand. He saw Feng Xifan, Zheng Keshuang and Chen Jinnan, three people, were brandishing their saber and swords randomly with their eyes closed tight. He noticed that although Feng Xifan was hit by his dagger, it was not a fatal wound. He wanted to seize the opportunity and gave him another stab, but Feng and Zheng, two people moved their sword and saber in a very tight formation. He really did not dare to recklessly charge forward. The timing was critical, if he waited too long, those two would have wiped the lime from their eyes, and if they could see, it would be really bad for him. Without any definite plan, he simply grabbed another handful of lime, and as soon as he saw either Feng Xifan or Zheng Keshuang moved to wipe their eyes, he would simply scatter the lime onto them. Scattering the lime was another special skill in which he was an expert.


    After only throwing several times, Feng Xifan had already figured out the direction of the lime; with the move ''thirsty horse rushing to the spring'' he thrust this sword straight forward. Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked; hastily he ducked down. ''Pop!'' the sword pierced the coffin. Wei Xiaobao crawled and rolled away toward the door.


    Feng Xifan raised his sword and hacked down on the coffin several times, he still thought the enemy was inside. Actually, based on his martial art cultivation, he would have detected Wei Xiaobao''s extremely clumsy exit immediately, but because his eyes were suddenly blinded and his chest wounded, for a moment his mind was in disorder. Moreover, he knew Chen Jinnan''s martial art was extraordinary, not inferior to his own at all; with a powerful enemy on the side, his situation was incomparably treacherous. In his fright, he did not realize that Chen Jinnan''s eyes were also blinded. He only wished to kill the enemy who attacked him sneakily, and made a quick escape.


    After stabbing the coffin several times, he felt that he was piercing an empty coffin. With a move ''thousand rocks vying to be the most beautiful'', the tip of his sword stabbed in a flower pattern to shield around his body. He heard to his left there was no sound of weapons splitting the air, immediately he leaped to the left. As soon as his shoulder bumped onto the wall, he stood leaning against the wall. Because of this excessive use of strength, the wound on his chest was bleeding profusely.


    He tried to open his eyes a slit, the lime immediately entered his eyes, the pain was difficult to bear. Afraid that he might be blind permanently, he did not dare to open his eyes anymore. With his back against the wall he moved step-by-step, thinking that as long as he followed the wall, he would eventually find the door; as soon as he was out, the terrain would be spacious, then he would have a better chance of escaping.


    Wei Xiaobao was standing at the door. Seeing Feng Xifan started to move, he knew his intention; Wei Xiaobao wanted to wait until he reached the door and then give him a stab, but remembering this man''s martial art skill was too high, even if he succeeded in stabbing him, at the point of death he might strike with his sword, and then Wei Xiaobao''s little life would inevitably be in danger. Thereupon he quietly inserted his dagger about two cun into the doorframe. Seeing Feng Xifan was no more than two chi from the door, he suddenly called out in shrill voice, "I am he ��"


    Before the word ''here'' left his lips, Feng Xifan had already moved very fast. His sword slashed down, ''dang!'' the sword met the dagger, and broke into two. The other half flew up and slash Feng Xifan''s forehead before falling down to the ground. Wei Xiaobao had already hidden by the clay-walled shed with his heart thumping wildly.


    He heard Feng Xifan''s roar and saw him dashing out. Wei Xiaobao returned to the door and saw Chen Jinnan and Zheng Keshuang were still brandishing their sword and saber randomly. With the powerful enemy gone, he did not care much about the Second Young Master of the Zheng Family. "Shifu," he called out, "I have chopped that ''One Sword without Blood'' so that now his entire body is full of blood; he has already escaped without a trace. Please come out."


    Chen Jinnan was startled. "Who is it?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "It''s your disciple Xiaobao."


    Chen Jinnan was greatly delighted; he held the sword across his chest, no longer brandished it.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "Zhang Dage, Li Erge, Wang Sange, you have arrived! Very good, very good! This stinky fellow surnamed Zheng has not put down his weapon and surrendered, let''s come together and chop him down into pieces!"


    Zheng Keshuang was shocked; he did not know that Wei Xiaobao was bluffing. "Shifu, Shifu!" he called out. But did not hear Feng Xifan''s replying. After slight hesitation, he tossed his saber aside.


    "Kneel down!" Wei Xiaobao shouted. Zheng Keshuang bent his knees and kneeled on the ground. Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. He picked up the saber and lightly pressed it against Zheng Keshuang''s throat. "Stand up!" he shouted, "Turned right, walked three steps, crawl up, get in!"


    For each sentence Wei Xiaobao shouted, Zheng Keshuang followed his order, trembling with fear, until finally he crawled into the coffin. Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud, stepped forward, and pushed the coffin lid. He picked up the bundle of the sutra and slung it over his shoulder. "Shifu," he said, "Let''s quickly wash your eyes." Pulling Chen Jinnan''s hand, he led him out of the clay-walled shed.


    They only walked for seven, eight steps when he saw Gao Yanchao lying by the flower terrace. Wei Xiaobao was startled, and rushed forward to help him up.


    Gao Yanchao said, "Helping Zongduozhu is more important, subordinate only have my acupoints sealed, otherwise I am fine." Chen Jinnan stooped down and massaged his back and his waist for a moment, the acupoints were immediately opened.


    "What happened to Zongduozhu''s eyes?" Gao Yanchao asked.


    "Lime," Chen Jinnan replied.


    "We must wash it with vegetable oil," Gao Yanchao said, "Don''t use water." Pulling Chen Jinnan''s hand, he quickly walked back to the house.


    "I''ll be right there," Wei Xiaobao said. He returned to the clay-walled shed, picked up the axe, and pounded seven, eight nails into the coffin''s lid. "Zheng Gongzi," he said, "Just lay down and rest for several days. Consider yourself lucky, the ten thousand taels you owe me, I write off at one stroke, you don''t have to pay it back." With another laugh he walked back into the main hall.


    He saw Gao Yanchao had finished washing the lime off Chen Jinnan''s eyes with vegetable oil; he had also tended the injury on Chen Jinnan''s body. Feng Jizhong, Qian Laoben, Priest Xuanzhen, and the others were lying across the floor of the main hall, Chen Jinnan was in the process of unsealing everybody''s acupoints.


    Turned out Feng Xifan launched a surprise attack. Not only his martial art skill was high, he also caught everybody off-guard. Before Feng Jizhong and the others were able to pull themselves together, he had already sealed their acupoints one by one. They were extremely enraged, but in front of the Zongduozhu they did not dare to curse.


    Gao Yanchao told them how by using a trick Wei Xiaobao managed to inflict heavy damage to Feng Xifan; immediately everybody was in high spirit. They said that since that servant was so crafty and evil, they hoped that the lime would blind his eyes permanently.


    Chen Jinnan''s eyes were still red and swollen, tears still streaming down his face. With a serious expression he said, "Qian Xiongdi, Gao Xiongdi, go wash the lime from Zheng Er Gongzi''s eyes, and invite him here." Qian and Gao, two people complied.


    "Ah!" suddenly Wei Xiaobao cried out and pretended to faint, his eyes were tightly shut.


    Chen Jinnan reached out with his left hand to held Wei Xiaobao''s arm. "What happened?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I was �� scared �� scared really bad just now, I was afraid they were going to kill Shifu �� now �� now my limbs feel weak ��"


    Chen Jinnan lifted him up and sat him on a chair. "Just rest for a moment," he said.


    What happened was: Wei Xiaobao knew that scattering lime on people''s eyes was a really low act; for this very reason Mao Shiba had given him a good beating in the past. Although the other warriors praised him for his resourcefulness, he thought that as his subordinates, naturally they wanted to flatter him. Shifu was a great hero, great warrior, ten times more so than Mao Shiba, he would surely give him a serious criticism. Thus Wei Xiaobao might as well pretend to faint in front of him, so that he would not punish him, or even if he did, he would be somewhat lenient.


    Qian and Gao, two people rushed into the hall in a hurry; they said, "Zongduozhu, we did not find Zheng Er Gongzi; he must have left."


    Chen Jinnan frowned. "He left?" he asked, "And not in the coffin?"


    Qian and Gao, two people looked at each other in dismay. There was indeed a coffin in the clay-walled shed, but how could the Second Young Master of the Zheng Family be in it?


    "Let''s go take a look," Chen Jinnan said. He led everybody toward the clay-walled shed.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious, he had no choice but to follow them. His hands rubbed his own buttocks while saying in his heart, "My buttocks, oh my buttocks, if Shifu heard that I forced that stinky fellow into the coffin, you, my old friend, will unavoidably receive several flogging; I am truly sorry."


    When they got to the clay-walled shed, they saw the floor was covered with lime and blood, but indeed neither Zheng Keshuang''s body nor his shadow was around. Chen Jinnan clearly heard Wei Xiaobao forcing Zheng Keshuang to enter the coffin, but at this moment the coffin lid was firmly nailed down. His suspicion arose. "Xiaobao," he asked, "Did you nail Zheng Er Gongzi inside the coffin?"


    Seeing Shifu''s ill expression, Wei Xiaobao hummed and hawed. "I did not," he said, "Perhaps he was afraid Shifu would kill him, he nailed himself inside the coffin."


    "Rubbish!" Chen Jinnan shouted, "Quickly open the coffin, don''t let him die of suffocation. Hurry, hurry!"


    Qian Laoben and Gao Yanchao picked up the axe and chisel, and busily pried the coffin nails out. When they opened the lid, sure enough there was someone lying inside.


    "Er Gongzi!" Chen Jinnan called out, and reached into the coffin to help the person up.


    "Ah!" when everybody saw the person, they all cried out in alarm. Chen Jinnan quickly let go and retreated two steps back. The person fell back into the coffin.


    "It''s Guan Fuzi!" everybody shouted in one voice. In that split second, everybody was able to see clearly that the person in the coffin was indeed Guan Anji.


    Chen Jinnan rushed forward to hold him up again, they saw Guan Anji''s eyes were wide open, but he had already met a violent death. His body was still warm though, apparently he had not died long. The people were shocked and grieved. Feng Jizhong, Priest Xuanzhen, and the others jumped outside, but did not see any trace of the enemy.


    Chen Jinnan untied Guan Anji''s robe, and saw a blood red hand print on his chest. "Feng Xifan!" he said in choked voice.


    Priest Xuanzhen angrily said, "It is definitely Feng Xifan! This red sand palm is his Kunlun Pai''s unique martial art skill. After suffering serious injury, that evil thief must have circled around a moment later. It''s really �� damn it, it''s alright if he wanted to save Zheng Er Gongzi, but why did he have to kill Guan Erge?"


    Everybody cursed in rage. Guan Anji''s brother-in-law, Jia Laoliu''s [Ol'' Six Jia] cry shook the heavens and the earth. In his grief Chen Jinnan was silent.


    They returned to the hall. Qian Laoben said, "Zongduozhu, we all know about Er Gongzi and Da Gongzi''s struggle over the Wangye position. Our Tian Di Hui has always been impartial in this matter; Da Gongzi is older, naturally we support Da Gongzi. Er Gongzi has always considered you as a nail in his eyes, this time he received Feng Xifan''s instigation, and was thinking of seizing this opportunity to get rid of you. Today we have offended Er Gongzi. I am afraid Wangye might believe their slanderous report. Hereafter Zongduozhu cannot return to Taiwan anymore."


    Chen Jinnan sighed and said, "Guoxing Ye''s benevolence to me was very heavy, even with torn body and crushed bones it would be difficult for me to repay his kindness. Wangye has always been wise, plus he is very respectful toward me; he can''t possibly harm a loyal and good person."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "As the saying goes: distant relation cannot separate flesh and blood relation. Er Gongzi has already determined that our Tian Di Hui refuses to follow Taiwan''s order. If even in the Central Plains he was already like this, would he give you any leeway in Taiwan? Their Zheng Family has altogether eight Gongzi, everybody is fighting everybody else to seize the power, our Tian Di Hui does not need to be involved. Zongduozhu, while it''s true that we are not Qin Hui, but we are definitely not Yue Fei either


    [67]."


    Qian Laoben said, "Zongduozhu is loyal and devoted, and has always served the Zheng Family all your life, yet you were nearly killed by Er Gongzi; no matter what we cannot simply swallow this matter."


    Chen Jinnan sighed again and said, "A real man''s conduct has a clear conscience against the heaven and the earth, whatever other people say, long or short, has nothing to do with him. It''s just that I have never imagined such misfortune would befall us. Just now if it were not for Xiaobao''s resourcefulness, we all would die a violent death �� ay, it''s a pity Guan Erge ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was relieved to hear that his shifu would not investigate the scattering of lime and the nailing of the coffin. Afraid that it was merely a momentary lapse of memory, he decided to change the subject immediately. "We have made quite some noise," he said, "I am afraid all next door neighbors have heard it; if they report to the authorities, I am afraid �� I am afraid �� We must move immediately."


    "Absolutely," Chen Jinnan said, "My mind is in turmoil, unexpectedly I haven''t thought about it."


    Right away they all went back to the garden to dig a hole and bury Guan Anji''s body. After shedding more tears and kowtowing, they carried their belongings out and left immediately. The Tian Di Hui warriors were constantly on the move around the Capital, moving their residence was a common occurrence. Wei Xiaobao was afraid his Shifu would ask him about his martial art training, he took the opportunity to take his leave and return to the Imperial Palace.


    Back at his residence, he bolted the door, and opened the six copies of sutra one by one. Indeed he saw a lot of sheepskin pieces in between the cover of the sutras. He took out the pieces and stitched the cover back to its original state. But after stitching the cover of less than one book he already fed up with it; he thought, "It would be best if Shuang''er is here. Right this moment she is most likely still outside Shaolin Temple waiting for me. I was captured by Shifu Jiu Nan, this good servant girl must be extremely worried. I must send someone to tell her to come here." Sewing several stitches later, his eyes grew very heavy; he hid the sutra well and fell asleep.


    Early in the morning the next day he went to the Upper Study Room to wait upon the Emperor. Kangxi said, "I am going to issue an imperial decree tomorrow, sending you to escort Princess Jianning to Yunnan, to be married to that little b@stard surnamed Wu."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It''s just a pity that I have not served Your Majesty for several days and I will have to be far away from you."


    Kangxi lowered his voice and said, "The Empress Dowager has told me a very important matter. This time you go to Yunnan, you may try to take this opportunity to work on it." Wei Xiaobao complied.


    Kangxi continued, "The Empress Dowager said, that evil maid servant impersonating the Empress Dowager, actually it was part of a great conspiracy: her mission was to find the location of our Manchu''s dragon vein, and try to find a way to break it."


    Wei Xiaobao blurted out without thinking, "That old wh0re''s crime is great, her evil extreme!" But then he hastily covered his mouth, realizing that he had cursed with vulgar language in front of the Emperor, unavoidably it was too disrespectful.


    Who would have thought that Kangxi did not give it the slightest thought? "Correct!" he responded, "That old wh0re is indeed not a ''thing''. The Empress Dowager had to endure disgrace and endure suffering, she would rather die than reveal the secret; only by doing that did the old wh0re''s evil scheme fail. With the Heaven''s blessing therefore the Empress Dowager is safe and sound until today, and has been able to hold on without revealing this big secret."


    Wei Xiaobao already knew the secret early on, but he said, "Your Majesty, it would be best if you do not tell me this huge secret. One more person knows about it, the danger that the secret will leak also increases by one part."


    Kangxi praised him, "You are making good progress; you understand that in everything we must be cautious. However, since the first time you work for me, you have never leaked anything. If I can''t even trust you, I can trust nobody else."


    Wei Xiaobao felt that the several hundred bones in his body, each bone was several taels several qians lighter. He kneeled down and kowtowed, while saying, "Your Majesty trust me this much, even if your servant''s tongue is cut, I will not dare to divulge half a word of what Your Majesty is going to tell me."


    Wei Xiaobao pretended to be astonished; he repeatedly said, "Ah, strange, is there such thing? It''s absolutely unthinkable!"


    Kangxi continued, "After the Shezheng Wangye [master king regent] entered the pass, he bestowed eight copies of sutra to the Eight Banners'' Banner Commander. Within the Eight Banners, the troops and horses of Plain Yellow, Plain White and Bordered Yellow, three banners are under the command of the Son of Heaven. But the farmland and material belongings of these three banners are still the Banner Commanders'' responsibility. The Plain Yellow Banner''s copy has always been in Fu Huang''s [father emperor] possession, which he took with him to Mount Wutai. Later on he sent you to bring it back and bestowed it to me. Because the Bordered White Banner''s Banner Commander committed a crime, the Bordered White Banner''s sutra ended up in the Palace, and Fu Huang bestowed it to Empress Duan Jing."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "The Old Emperor doted on Empress Duan Jing; naturally he wanted to give the best thing to her. If it were me, if all eight copies ended up in the Palace, I would bestow all to her."


    Kangxi continued, "The old wh0re murdered Empress Duan Jing, naturally she took hold of her sutra. Oboi was the Bordered Yellow Banner''s Banner Commander. When I sent you to search and seize Oboi''s home that day, the old wh0re wanted you to find two sutras, one was precisely the Bordered Yellow Banner''s, the other was Plain White Banner''s."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "If I had known the old wh0re was bad, your servant would have reported to the old wh0re that I could not find it, and quietly presented the sutras to Your Majesty."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said. In his heart he said, "Flogging my buttocks and that''s it? You don''t need to be polite!" He asked, "The Plain White Banner''s copy, I wonder where did Oboi get it from?"


    Kangxi said, "He has killed the Plain White Banner''s Banner Commander Suksaha, and seized his family property, his belongings, including his copy of sutra. Humph, even death cannot wipe out that rebel''s crimes."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case, the old wh0re had three copies in her hands."


    "Only three?" Kangxi said, "She also sent the Deputy Chief of Imperial Bodyguards Rui Dong to make things difficult for the Bordered Red Banner''s Banner Commander Hechabo. At that time I did not know the reason, that fellow Hechabo had always been in collusion with Oboi, so I did not pay him any attention. Now that I think about it, naturally it was to seize his copy of the sutra. And then Rui Dong mysteriously disappeared; the old wh0re must have killed him to close his mouth."


    Kangxi said, "But if my guess is incorrect ��"


    Wei Xiaobao busily said, "Definitely correct."


    Kangxi said, "�� the old wh0re had four copies of sutra in her hands. But there is one very strange thing: Fu Huang bestowed to me that copy of the Plain Yellow Banner''s sutra, all along I put it on the table in the Upper Study Room, but suddenly it disappeared. You think who has such a nerve to brazenly come to the Upper Study Room and steal something?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Can come and go the Upper Study Room, and have guts to take a book without permission, only �� only ��"


    "Princess Jianning!" Kangxi said.


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to interrupt; he mused, "This time indeed you can see things like a deity."


    Kangxi said, "The old wh0re sent her daughter to steal my copy of the sutra. In that case, she had five copies in her hands."


    "Let us quickly go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to search," Wei Xiaobao said, "The old wh0re was running away out of the Palace empty-handed, she did not bring anything." While his heart was pounding madly, "If this moment the Emperor search my room, even if Xiao Guizi has a hundred heads, all will be chopped down."


    Kangxi shook his head, "I have already searched carefully," he said, "I could not find anything. I only found a monk robe. The old wh0re''s good friend was actually a monk. Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Wei Xiaobao started to laugh, but after only two ''ha''s, he felt it was extremely rude, so he hastily stopped laughing. Kangxi was still laughing heartily, however, as he said, "It''s just that when that short winter melon ran away, carrying the old wh0re with him, I saw that he had long hair, hence I was surprised. Most likely he was like that palace maid impersonator, his hair was fake. That fellow was short and fat; the old wh0re''s man was not a good steal, why did she look for such a short winter melon?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That short winter melon''s martial art skill was very high. If he was handsome, he might not necessarily have the ability to sneak into the Palace. Last time that fake palace maid was also very ugly."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You got that right." After a short pause, he said, "The other three copies of the sutra are in the hands of Plain Red Banner, Plain Blue Banner, and Bordered Blue Banner, three Banners'' possession. The current Plain Red Banner''s Banner Commander is Prince Kang, I have already ordered him to present the sutra to me."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "That night someone stole Prince Kang''s sutra, and right now it is in my possession; how can Prince Kang present it to the Emperor? This time that Ol'' Kang will be a deep trouble."


    Kangxi continued, "The Plain Blue Banner''s Banner Commander Fu Deng is still young. Just now I asked him, he said that his predecessor, the Banner Commander Jia Kun died during the assault of Yunnan; the funeral arrangement was taken over by Wu Sangui. What Wu Sangui handed over to him was an official seal, several army banners, and several tens of thousands taels of silver. Other than that, there was nothing else."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The sutra must be embezzled by Wu Sangui."


    "That''s right," Kangxi said, "For that reason, when you get to Wu Sangui''s mansion, carefully investigate this matter, think of a way to get the sutra. That servant Wu Sangui is very crafty, you must never let him know the inside story."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant will act according to the situation, will attempt to swindle him to come out."


    Kangxi knitted his brows, he paced back and forth in the Upper Study Room. "The Banner Commander of the Bordered Blue Banner, Eshuokeha is a big muddled egg, I told him to present the sutra to me, unexpectedly he said that it disappeared a few years ago. I dispatched Imperial Bodyguards to his home to search, no trace. I have already sent him to Tian Lao [lit. heaven prison], and have the people interrogate and torture him well. I want to know whether it was really stolen or did he hide it and unwilling to turn it in."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Perhaps the old wh0re sent someone to embezzle it; I wonder if it was seized by force or was stolen in secret." He thought, "I am not slandering the old wh0re; the person who seized it by force or stole it in secret was most likely the short winter melon." He added, "Supposing these six copies were obtained by the old wh0re, when all is said and done, where are they?" As soon as he said that, he felt a slight remorse, "I said it wrong," he mused, "I suffer too much losses. I said it was the old wh0re who obtained the six copies of the sutra, while the one who has six copies of the sutra is actually Wei Xiaobao. Won''t that mean I am the old wh0re?"


    Kangxi said, "Actually, what is the old wh0re''s background? At this moment we do not have any clue. She managed this important matter, there must be someone she conspired with. After she obtained the sutra, she must have smuggled it out of the Palace one by one. I am afraid it will be extremely difficult to recover all those six copies of sutra. Fortunately the Empress Dowager said that to find the Great Qing''s Dragon Vein location, one must have all eight copies in one''s possession. Even if someone obtained seven copies, as long as one copy is lacking, all seven will be useless. We only have to have the two copies in Prince Kang and Wu Sangui''s hands and destroy them, and then there will be peace and security without any trouble. We do not want to find the Dragon Vein; as long as nobody else finds it, that will be enough. It''s just that I lost the sutra Fu Huang bestowed to me; if henceforth I cannot find it back, I am really unfilial. Humph, Princess Jianning, that little �� little ��"


    Kangxi could not finish his cursing, in his heart Wei Xiaobao was finishing it for him, "Little wh0re!"


    Kangxi recalled that at that time his father emperor asked Wei Xiaobao to bring back these words: ''In the matters of the world, he must let nature take its course, nothing can be forced. It would be best if he could benefit the common people of the Central Plains. But if the common people wanted us to leave, then from the place we came, there we should come back to.'' He also heard Shunzhi saying, ''That our Manchurian Qing is able to conquer the land under heaven, it is solely by the Will of Heaven; in this matter, we are really lucky. We cannot harbor the thought that we will stay in the Central Plains for a long time; we must not let Manchu people destroy everything inside the Pass, because then a single horse will not be able to go beyond the Pass."


    With his mouth Kangxi repeatedly say ''yes'', but in his heart he was thinking otherwise, "The great undertaking of our Great Qing in the Central Plains is getting more and more stable. From now on we ought to open up new territory and expand our lands, establishing a foundation that won''t pull out in ten thousand ages; why would we need to prepare a fallback plan? As soon as we have a fallback, it would only bring disaster. Father has left home, his heart is contented, he is standing aloof from worldly affair, no wonder he has that kind of thought."


    As expected, his father continued, "However, the Regent instructed all Banner Commanders: the fact that there is an enormous treasure buried outside the Pass must never be revealed. Otherwise, if the Manchurian kings, dukes and soldiers knew that there is a fallback plan, when the Han people revolt, they won''t be willing to risk their lives in fighting, and then our great undertaking will fail. For this reason, when the Banner Commanders pass on the sutras to the next generation, they can only say that the sutras hide a great secret concerning the Manchurian Qing''s Dragon Vein, that if the Dragon Vein is dug and broken, all the Manchurian people will die without a burial site. Hence, first, the later generation of the Eight Banners won''t get greedy and sneakily dig the treasure; second, if there is anybody trying to dig the treasure, the Eight Banners would rise together to attack, to do their utmost to stop it. Only the lord of the country one person is allowed to know the real secret."


    Thinking back about the past conversation, he had to admit, "The Regent indeed had great skill and strategy, his foresight is very true." Casting a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, he thought, "Although Xiao Guizi is loyal, I can only tell him about the Dragon Vein, I cannot say anything about the treasure. Someday this boy will grow, there is no guarantee that he won''t be greedy. The Empress Dowager told me yesterday, when Fu Huang made up his mind to leave home, he entrusted this great secret to the Empress Dowager, telling her to wait for me to grow up, and then pass on this secret to me. The Empress Dowager was willing to bear humiliation to preserve her life was precisely for this reason. She did not know that I have already gone to Mount Wutai to see Fu Huang. But it was fortunate this way, the Empress Dowager was not killed by the old wh0re."


    Seeing Kangxi pacing back and forth, deep in thought, Wei Xiaobao suddenly had an idea, "Your Majesty," he said, "If the old wh0re was sent by Wu Sangui to infiltrate the Palace, that means he �� he has seven copies of sutra in his hand."


    Kangxi was startled; thinking that it was a great possibility. "Send in the Imperial Clothing Supervisor!" he called out.


    After a while, an old eunuch entered the Study Room and kowtowed; he was the eunuch manager [orig. Zongguan] of the Imperial Clothing Supervisors. Kangxi asked, "Have you found out?"


    The eunuch replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: your servant has examined it carefully, the material of that monk robe was weaved in Beijing."


    "Hmm," Kangxi mumbled. Wei Xiaobao understood, "The Emperor wants to know the short winter melon''s origin. The material of his clothing was manufactured in Beijing, so what? He did not find anything."


    The eunuch continued, "However, the man''s undergarment was made of Liaodong Peninsula''s cocoon silk, it was the product of Jinzhou [prefecture, Liaoning province] region."


    Kangxi''s countenance lit up; he nodded and said, "Dismissed." The eunuch kowtowed and withdrew.


    Kangxi said, "Perhaps you are right, this short winter melon may have some connection with Wu Sangui."


    "Your servant does not understand," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi explained, "Formerly Wu Sangui was guarding Shanhai Pass, Jinzhou was his territory. Perhaps this short winter melon was his former subordinate."


    "Exactly!" Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Your Majesty is brilliant, your premonition is definitely correct."


    Kangxi muttered to himself, "If the old wh0re returned to Yunnan, the danger of your trip may increase by one part. You must bring more Imperial Bodyguards, plus three thousand Valiant Cavalry sergeants."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, please set your heart at ease. It would be best if your servant can catch the old wh0re and the short winter melon, we can make mincemeat of them and thus venting the Empress Dowager''s anger."


    Kangxi patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder; he smiled and said, "If you can render this great service, and help the Empress Dowager venting her anger, hey, hey, your age is young, your official position is big, you are going to make things difficult for me. However, we are the young emperor, the young high-ranking minister, a couple of young people managed to accomplish big matters; we let those bunch of old officials be intimidated and stupefied. It''s very amusing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Although Your Majesty is young, your wisdom and foresight has already made that bunch of old ''things'' full of admiration in their hearts. After you deal with Wu Sangui, it will be ''before there is no such thing, after there is no one of ancient times'' [qian wu lai zhe, hou wu gu ren]."


    Kangxi burst out laughing; "Damn it," he said, "It''s ''no one precedes, no one follows'' [qian wu gu ren, hou wu lai zhe]. You, this fellow, is clever and quick-witted, but without learning or skills, and not willing to study."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Yes, yes," he said, "When your servant has some spare time, I will study well for a few days."


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao''s uncouth and illiteracy was what made Kangxi like him more. If Kangxi wanted literate and highly educated chamberlains by his side, he could have as many as he wanted. Day in and day out he heard a lot of good poems, classical quotations and Confucius teachings. Only when talking street talk and day-to-day speech with Wei Xiaobao did he really feel carefree.


    Wei Xiaobao withdrew from Kangxi presence. He had just went out of the Upper Study Room when an Imperial Bodyguard came up to him, paid him respect, and said in a low voice, "Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief], Prince Kang wishes to see you; he was wondering if Wei Fu Zongguan have spare time."


    "Where is Wangye?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The Imperial Bodyguard replied, "Wangye is waiting for your reply at the Imperial Bodyguard room."


    "Has he come personally?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Yes, yes," the Imperial Bodyguard replied, "He said he wanted to invite Wei Fu Zongguan to drink wine and watch the opera. He was afraid that His Majesty might have some important matter for Wei Fu Zongguan to do that you, Senior, cannot spare a moment for him."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Damn it," he said, "What ''Senior'' am I?"


    Arriving at the Imperial Bodyguard room, he saw Prince Kang with a teacup in one hand, sitting on a chair with a blank expression on his face, wrinkled eyebrows, and deep worried look. As soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao, he hastily put down the teacup, scrambled up to pull Wei Xiaobao''s hand, and said, "Xiongdi, long time no see, I miss you like crazy."


    Wei Xiaobao was fully aware that Prince Kang was looking for him because of the lost copy of sutra, but seeing he was this warm, he was quite happy. "If Wangye needs anything, you can simply send someone to let me know," he said, "You want to bestow me with food and wine, won''t lowly officer rush over to your place? You are giving me a lot of face like this, you actually come personally to see me."


    "I have prepared an opera troupe at home," Prince Kang said, "I was only afraid Xiongdi does not have time. Can we go now?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, since Wangye is going to bestow a dinner to me, as long as His Majesty did not send me to do anything urgent, even if my own old man died, lowly officer will have to disturb Wangye and eat your food first before doing anything else."


    The two of them left the Palace hand-in-hand, they mounted their horses and rode to the Prince''s mansion. Prince Kang entertained his guest lavishly, he treated Wei Xiaobao with utmost respect. This time there was no other guest in his mansion.


    After dinner, Prince Kang invited Wei Xiaobao into his study room. He made small talks, praising Wei Xiaobao about being the Emperor''s proxy at the Shaolin Temple and amassing countless achievements and virtue, with good result; he also praised him as a young man, but had achieved the Deputy Chief position of the Imperial Bodyguards and Commander position of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade; his future prospect was really unlimited. Wei Xiaobao responded by some humble talk, saying that in the future he would rely heavily on the Prince''s support and guidance.


    Prince Kang sighed. "Xiongdi," he said, "You and I are family, I don''t need to conceal anything from you: your Laoge [old older brother] is facing an imminent catastrophe; I am afraid my life, as well as my family''s, will be difficult to protect."


    [68], the person His Majesty put in an important position as someone he could trust; what kind of imminent catastrophe might you be facing?"


    "Xiongdi," Prince Kang said, "You did not know. When we, Manchurian Qing entered the Pass, the Banner Commander of each Banner was bestowed a Buddhist sutra by the Late Emperor. I am the Banner Commander of the Plain Red Banner, hence I was also entrusted with this gift. Today His Majesty summoned me, asking me to present the sutra the Late Emperor bestowed to me. But �� but my copy of sutra, somehow, unexpectedly �� unexpectedly it is stolen ��"


    Wei Xiaobao''s entire face looked astonished. "That''s really strange!" he said, "Stealing gold and silver, I can understand. But stealing sutra? What good does it have? Is the sutra made of gold? Or perhaps fully inlaid with jade, pearls and precious stones, so that it is extremely valuable?"


    "It''s not that," Prince Kang said, "It is only a common sutra. But I was not able to safeguard the item that was bestowed to me by the Late Emperor, it is really disrespectful. His Majesty suddenly wanted me to present it to him, I am afraid he already knew that I lost this sutra and wanted to investigate this matter. Xiongdi, please help me." While saying that, he stood up and bowed with cupped fist to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao hastily returned the propriety; he said, "Wangye is too polite, don''t you think Xiaoren deserve it?"


    With a distressed look Prince Kang said, "Xiongdi, if you can''t find a way to help me, I will have no choice but to kill myself."


    "Wangye is considering this matter too heavily," Wei Xiaobao said, "Tomorrow I will present a memorial to let His Majesty know about this matter, at most he will punish Wangye by several months of official salary, or perhaps rebuke you openly in front of the other officials; how can there be any life and death situation?"


    Prince Kang shook his head and said, "If only I can keep my life, I am willing to forego my royal status as a prince; even if I have to be a commoner, I will thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, and will be perfectly contented. Because of losing the sutra bestowed to him, the Banner Commander of the Bordered Blue Banner Eshuokeha was put into Tian Lao yesterday. I heard he received a lot of beating. His Majesty sent people to interrogate him severely, to find out where did that copy of sutra go?" While saying that, his facial muscle twitched, apparently he was imagining the miserable and ruthless torture he would experience if he was sent to Tian Lao.


    "I did," Wei Xiaobao replied, "That servant Oboi had the sutra in his bedroom, in a hole on the floor; it took quite some efforts for me to find it. What''s so strange about this sutra anyway? I can go to any monk''s temple and ask for eight or ten copies for you, then you can present it to His Majesty."


    Prince Kang said, "The Late Emperor personally bestowed the sutra, it is totally different than ordinary Buddhist scripture from the monk''s temple; I can''t pass it for the real thing."


    With a solemn expression Wei Xiaobao said, "If that''s the case, then it''s a bit troublesome. I wonder what it is that Wangye wanted me to do?"


    Prince Kang shook his head and said, "I really cannot say it; how �� how can I ask Xiongdi to so something that will disadvantage our lord?"


    Wei Xiaobao struck his chest, "Wangye might as well say it," he said, "You consider Wei Xiaobao as your friend, I will deliver this little life for you; it is yi qi. Very well, you present a memorial to His Majesty, just tell him that I, Wei Xiaobao borrowed the sutra to have a look, but I was not careful and I lost it. These last few days His Majesty liked me very much, at most he will have me flogged, he might not necessarily want to chop my head."


    "Thank you very much for Xiongdi''s good intention," Prince Kang said, "But I''m afraid it won''t work. His Majesty can''t possibly believe that Xiongdi would want to borrow the sutra to have a look."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Although I have been a monk once, but I don''t know any character even if it is as big as a watermelon. I am afraid His Majesty won''t believe that I borrowed the sutra to read it. We must find another way."


    Prince Kang said, "I was thinking of asking Xiongdi �� of asking Xiongdi �� asking Xiongdi ��" He said ''asking Xiongdi'' three times but did not finish; he only looked at Wei Xiaobao, watching for his reaction.


    "Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please don''t feel awkward. Your Xiongdi''s little life ��" His left hand grabbed his own pigtail, his right hand moved across his own neck, and then with both hands he made a gesture as if he lifted his own head and presented it to the Prince. He continued, "�� has already been given to you. As long as it''s not something that will endanger His Majesty, I will obey whatever you wish to tell me."


    Prince Kang was greatly delighted. "Xiongdi upholds yi qi in such a high regard like this, ay, your Gege don''t have anything much to say. I only wish to ask Xiongdi to go to either the Empress Dowager or His Majesty, and steal one sutra. I will prepare several dozen of master artisans to wait in here. We will start working that very night to make a copy of the sutra, so that I can pass through this crisis."


    "Can you make an exact replica?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Prince Kang busily said, "We can, we can. We simply have to make an exact replica, I guarantee it won''t have any flaw. After we finish making the copy, Xiongdi may immediately return the original, we won''t dare to make the slightest damage to it."


    Actually, he was fully aware that hastily making a copy of the sutra without any flaw was extremely difficult; he was thinking of wrapping both the real and fake sutras, and have Wei Xiaobao return the fake one to the original place, while he presented the real one to the Emperor. He presumed Wei Xiaobao did not know anything, and would have a hard time distinguishing the real from the fake. If Wei Xiaobao did not find out about it later, that would be an extraordinary good luck; however, even if he did, Prince Kang would not be implicated. It''s just that at this moment he could not openly explain his intention to Wei Xiaobao.


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "The matter should not be delayed, I am going to find a way to steal it. Wangye should just wait quietly in your mansion for my news."


    Prince Kang thanked him profusely [orig. thousand kindness ten thousand thanks], and personally walked him out of the gate. He also warned Wei Xiaobao repeatedly to be careful.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his room. He pieced together the several dozen of sheepskin fragments under the lantern; thinking that since he had obtained seven out of the eight copies of sutra, even if there would be some empty spaces, he would be able to assemble most of it. Who would have thought that after spending more than an hour he could not even locate the corners of the map? By nature he did not have the patience, and was easily bored. Thereupon he put the several hundred small pieces in a piece of wax paper and wrapped it in a layer of oilcloth.


    After putting the bundle inside his inner pocket, he thought, "Old Kang is the Banner Commander of the Plain Red Banner, naturally his copy of sutra has red envelope. Tomorrow I''ll simply give him a copy with different color."


    Early morning the next day, he sewed back the outer sheepskin cover of the Bordered White Banner''s sutra, pasted the envelope, and put it in his pocket. He then went straight to Prince Kang''s mansion.


    As soon as Prince Kang heard about his arrival, he hurriedly came out to greet him. Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hands, he repeatedly asked, "How was it? How was it?"


    Wei Xiaobao frowned with concerned look on his face; he shook his head. Prince Kang''s heart immediately sank. "It is indeed a very difficult matter, today we cannot succeed ��"


    "I have it," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "I am only afraid that you won''t be able to make a replica within ten days or half a month."


    Prince Kang was ecstatic; he jumped up suddenly, gave Wei Xiaobao a big hug, and carried him into his study room. Seeing their Wangye was acting like that, the numerous attendants and family warriors could not help but were secretly amused.


    Wei Xiaobao took the sutra out of his pocket and presented it with both hands, asking, "Is it this thing?"


    Prince Kang grabbed the sutra tightly, his body was shaking all over; opening the envelope, he looked inside and said, "Precisely, precisely. This is the sutra bestowed to the Bordered White Banner, hence it has white envelope with red border around it. We must start working on the carved printing block immediately. Xiongdi, can you think of some excuse so that I can stall for a few more days. Um, how about I pretend to fall down from the horse, with head broken and blood flowing, and remain unconscious? When the replica is finished, I will kowtow in salute to His Majesty. Do you think it''s good?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "His Majesty is extremely brilliant; you fell and knocked down dramatically like that, he would be suspicious instead. You present a ''western shellfish goods'' [not sure what it means, ��������] to the Emperor, His Majesty examines it carefully, your trickery will be exposed at once. The copy of sutra that you lost, other than the color of the cover, what else is different?"


    Prince Kang said, "Other than the cover, everything else is identical."


    "That''s easy," Wei Xiaobao said, "Just replace the cover of this book, today you can present it to the Emperor."


    Prince Kang was startled and delighted at the same time. With a trembling voice he said, "This �� this �� book is missing from the Palace, if it is being investigated, I am afraid Xiongdi will be implicated."


    "I quietly stole it from the Upper Study Room last night," Wei Xiaobao said, "Nobody saw it. Even if someone did, humph, humph, that puppy will not dare to say anything. I will take this responsibility from you."


    Prince Kang was very grateful; he could not stop his eyes from turning wet. Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hands tight, he could no longer say anything.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the Palace. He wanted to take two more sutra and go to see Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan. He thought that the Plain Yellow Banner''s sutra was soaked in poisoned water and was snatched away by Sangjie Lama; the Bordered White Banner''s sutra he gave away to Prince Kang, he still had five sutras left. He seized the Bordered Yellow and Plain White, two copies, from Oboi''s house. The Bordered Blue he acquired from the old wh0re. The old wh0re had seen all three copies. By now the old wh0re must be with Cult Leader Hong, hence if he presented these three copies, it would not be too good. He snatched away the Plain Red Banner''s copy from Prince Kang''s mansion. The Bordered Red Banner''s copy was from Rui Dong''s body. Although the old wh0re knew the origin of this copy, there was no harm in it. Therefore, he decided to give Fat and Lu, two people, the Plain Red and the Bordered Red copies.


    Fat and Lu, two people had already been waiting eagerly for him. Seeing him suddenly appeared with two copies of the sutra their Cult Leader wanted, they were overjoyed. Wei Xiaobao said, "Mr. Lu, take these sutras and present them to Jiaozhu and Madame. Tell them that I heard that Wu Sangui knows the whereabouts of the other six. I, the White Dragon Envoy will handle this matter for Jiaozhu and Madame. I will be loyal and devoted, a hundred thousand deaths, a million deaths will not prevent me; thereupon I will go to Yunnan, I will go through water and tread on fire to find those sutras. Fat Zunzhe, I want you to come with me to set up more great merit for Jiaozhu."


    Fat and Lu, two people happily agreed. Fat Toutuo said, "Lu Xiong, the White Dragon Envoy rendered this great service, the two of us can also enjoy the benefit. If Jiaozhu bestows us the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill''s antidote, you must immediately send someone you trusted to deliver it to Yunnan."


    "Yes, yes," Lu Gaoxuan repeatedly complied; he thought, "The White Dragon Envoy is so young, yet he is already established like this. Someday the great position of Cult Leader will definitely be his. If I don''t seize the opportunity to curry favor with him right now, what am I waiting for?" Therefore, he said, "This antidote is indeed not a small matter, subordinate will not feel at ease to hand it over to other people, I will definitely deliver it personally. White Dragon Envoy, subordinate is loyal and devoted to you. I will make sure that you take the antidote first before subordinate and Pang Xiong [Fat brother] take it. Otherwise, even is the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill flares up, and subordinate has the antidote in my hand, I would rather die than take it first."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Very good, very good, you are so loyal and devoted to me, I won''t forget it."


    Lu Gaoxuan was delighted; he bowed and said, "Subordinate respectfully wish White Dragon Envoy a life of ease and comfort forever, and life as long as Mount Nan."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "My position is only a level below Jiaozhu, a life of ease and comfort forever, and life as long as Mount Nan does not sound too bad."


    He returned to the Palace. Before long, a eunuch announced the Imperial Decree: conferring Wei Xiaobao the status as first class viscount, assigning him as the marriage envoy to escort Princess Jianning to visit Yunnan, to be bestowed in marriage to Ping Xi Wang Heir Apparent Wu Yingxiong. Wu Yingxiong was conferred the title Third Class Jing Qi Ni Ha Pan


    [69] plus the concurrent titles of Shao Bao [young protector/guardian] and Taizitaibao [tutor to the crown prince].


    Wei Xiaobao took some money and gave it to the eunuch. He mused, "That fellow Wu Yingxiong has it too easy, he is going to marry a good-looking princess and promoted as high-ranking official. The mister storyteller said that Jing Zhong Yue Chuan, Yue Fei, Yue Yeye [Grandpa Yue] was also conferred the title Shao Bao. How can you, stinky fellow Wu Yingxiong, be compared to Yue Yeye?" But then he thought, "His Majesty bestowed him a high-ranking official position, so that Wu Sangui won''t suspect anything. Sooner or later his head will be chopped. Wasn''t Oboi also a high-ranking official with the title Shao Bao? Right, right, Yue Fei, Yue Shao Bao was also killed by the emperor. Hence it is obvious that those with the title Shao Bao is going to be beheaded. Next time His Majesty wants to confer the title Shao Bao to me, I must desperately decline it."


    Immediately he went to have an audience with the Emperor to express his gratitude. "Your Majesty," he said, "This time your servant is going to Yunnan on a mission for you, if you have some ''brocade pouch of miracle plans'', why don''t you tell me right now?"


    Kangxi burst out in laughter. "Xiao Guizi does not know how to read," he said, "A brocade pouch of miracle plans will be sealed in a brocade pouch; mysteries of heaven must not be revealed, how can I tell you right now?"


    "So be it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Too bad I am illiterate, even if Your Majesty has a brocade pouch of miracle plans, it must be drawn into pictures. Your Majesty, last time you ordered me to Qing Liang Temple to be the head administrator, the drawings in the Imperial Decree were very beautiful."


    Kangxi laughed; he said, "Since ancient times, I am afraid only the two of us, a ruler and his minister, who use pictures in place of letters in an imperial decree."


    "This is called ''no one precedes, no one follows''," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Very good, you remember it well. I taught you idioms


    [70], and you remember."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The ones Your Majesty taught me, I always remember. The ones other people taught me, some I can remember, some others I can''t always remember; I don''t know why. Just like the saying ''once a promise is made, some horses cannot chase''. What kind of horses, I never remember."


    Right this moment, a eunuch reported the arrival of Princess Jianning who came to say goodbye. Kangxi looked at Wei Xiaobao, telling him to bring the Princess in.


    As soon as Princess Jianning entered the Study Room, she threw herself in Kangxi''s bosom, while crying loudly. "Huangdi Gege," she said, "I �� I �� I don''t want to be married in Yunnan, please retract your Imperial Edict."


    Originally, ever since they were little, Kangxi had always liked this younger sister; however, after he found out about the fake Empress Dowager''s evil conducts, he started to loathe and detest this younger sister. By marrying her to Wu Yingxiong, his real intention was to frame her; however, seeing her pitiful cry this moment, he could not bear not to feel pity for her. It''s just that things had come this far, he could not retract his Imperial Decree. Patting her shoulder gently, he said in tender voice, "When a girl grow up, she must be married. The husband I pick for you is really not bad. Xiao Guizi, tell Princess, that Wu Yingxiong is really handsome, isn''t he?"


    "Absolutely," Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess, the prince consort is a well-known handsome man in Yunnan province. Last time he came to Beijing, there were dozens of young women fighting outside the gate. The fight claimed three lives."


    Princess Jianning was startled. "What happened?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Ping Xi Wang Heir Apparent is very handsome, he is famous throughout the world. When he entered the Capital that day, thousands and tens of thousands young women and married women throughout Beijing''s city wall were crowding the gate to have a look at him. Several dozens of young women, you squeezed me, I crowded you, they ended up fighting with each other."


    Princess Jianning laughed through her tears. "Pei," she spat, "You lied! How can there be such matter?"


    "Princess," Wei Xiaobao said, "Do you know why His Majesty is sending me to escort you to Yunnan? And told me to bring a lot of Imperial Bodyguards, to give you adequate protection?"


    The Princess replied, "It is because Huangdi Gege loves me."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "This is His Majesty''s wisdom and foresight, his deep plans and distant thoughts. Just think: the prince consort is that handsome, I don''t know how many young women want to marry him and be his wife. And now all of a sudden he will be yours, I don''t know how many vinegar vats, vinegar jugs, vinegar pots, vinegar bottles are overturned in the world. Some young women are bound to know martial arts, they might give you some trouble. Although Princess herself has an excellent martial art skill, the few are no match for the many after all; isn''t that right? For this reason, your servant is escorting Princess to the south this time, the load on my shoulder is indeed not light. Dealing with an army of sweet and sour women, just think, how difficult is that?"


    Princess Jianning laughed. "What sweet and sour army of women?" she asked, "You are really good at talking nonsense." Right now her smiling face looked like flower, while several drops of sparkling tears were still hanging on her cheeks. She turned to Kangxi and said, "Huangdi Gege, after Xiao Guizi escorting me to Yunnan, let him accompany me talking to relieve my boredom, otherwise I don''t want to go."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Alright, alright, let him accompany you for some time, until you get used to the situation there, and then we''ll talk about it."


    Princess Jianning said, "I want him to accompany me forever, I don''t want him to go back."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. "That won''t do," he said, "If your Fuma Ye [master emperor''s son-in-law] loathes seeing me, he might get angry and chop me with a saber. A headless Xiao Guizi won''t be able to accompany Princess talking to relieve your boredom."


    Princess Jianning''s little mouth flattened. "Humph," she said, "He dares?"


    Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, before you go to Yunnan, I have something else I want you investigate. In this Upper Study Room I have lost a Buddhist sutra; I just felt a bit strange, even in here unexpectedly someone dares to steal things!" When he said the last sentence, his tone turned rather stern.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao complied.


    "Huangdi Gege," Princess Jianning interrupted, "It was me who took your Buddhist sutra. Tee hee ��"


    "Why did you take it?" Kangxi asked, "Why didn''t you ask me first?"


    The Princess laughed and said, "Empress Dowager ordered me to take it. Empress Dowager said, every day the Emperor must deal with thousands and hundreds military and country''s affairs, if I have to ask you for a small matter like a Buddhist sutra, it be too troublesome for you."


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted, but did not say anything.


    Princess Jianning stuck out her tongue. "Huangdi Gege," she pleaded, "Please don''t be mad at me for this matter. Later when I go to Yunnan, if I want to come here to take your book again, I won''t be able to do it."


    Hearing her pitiful pleading, Kangxi''s heart softened immediately. He said tenderly, "When you go to Yunnan, if you need anything, just let me know." After a short pause, he continued, "What can possibly be missing in Ping Xi Wang mansion?"


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the Upper Study Room, a crowd of Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs came to congratulate him. Each Imperial Bodyguard was hoping to be brought along to Yunnan; Wu Sangui''s riches could be compared to a country, it was a cushy job, there was a nine out of ten chance that they would make some money there.


    In the middle of the evening, Prince Kang went into the Palace to see Wei Xiaobao again. Jubilantly he said, "Xiongdi, the sutra has been presented to the Emperor. His Majesty is happy, he even praised me several times."


    "That''s very good," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Prince Kang said, "You won''t leave for Yunnan in several days, today Gege will play host; first, to congratulate you of being conferred the title viscount, second, to give you a farewell dinner." Taking along Wei Xiaobao''s hand, they left the Palace. But this time they did not go to Prince Kang''s mansion, instead, they went to an exquisite high-ranking official residence in Dongcheng district [lit. eastern city]. Although this house was not as grand as Prince Kang''s mansion, the engraved building, the painted beam, the flower, trees and mountain rocks, all the arrangement was very luxurious.


    "Xiongdi," Prince Kang said, "What do you think of this house?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Very good, very beautiful!" he said, "Wangye really knows how to live a happy and prosperous life. Is this the Xiao Fujin''s [fujin is Manchurian word for wife] residence?"


    Prince Kang laughed but did not answer his question; he invited Wei Xiaobao to enter the main hall. Many nobilities and high-ranking officials had already waited in the hall. Songgotu, Dolong, and the others came out to greet him. The word ''Congratulations'' did not stop flowing into his ears. Prince Kang said with a laugh, "Today we are congratulating Wei Daren for getting a promotion; according to reason, he should sit in the place of honor. However, since he is the host, he will have to sit in the host''s seat."


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised. "What host?" he asked.


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "This house is Wei Daren''s Viscount Mansion. Your Gege has prepared it for you. The carriage driver, cook, servants, maids, we have them all. Only it was such in a hurry that I am afraid it won''t be completely satisfactory. If Xiongdi wants anything, please feel free to send someone to my home to get it."


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he did help Prince Kang out of a big trouble, but it did not cost him a single wen, did not pose him the slightest risk. Although he was aware that the Prince would definitely thank him with a gift, he had never imagined that he would receive such a heavy present. Momentarily he was speechless; he could only stammered, "This �� this �� how can I receive it?"


    Prince Kang squeezed his hand and said, "The two of us have friendship that surpasses life, why should you still distinguish between what''s yours and what''s mine? Come, come, come, everybody must drink. Whoever is not drunk cannot go home today."


    The banquet continued with wine, everyone enjoyed themselves to the full before the party broke up. Wei Xiaobao was now a viscount, everybody also knew that he disguised himself as a eunuch under imperial orders; hence he could not comeback to live at the Palace anymore.


    That night he slept in a splendid, magnificent and luxurious bedroom. Looking around, he noticed that if not golden utensils or silverwares, then it must be silk or satin. He suddenly thought, "His granny, if I open a brothel in this Viscount Mansion, ten Lovely Spring Courtyards cannot compare."


    Early in the morning the next day, he went to see Jiu Nan, to report that the Emperor was sending him to Yunnan to escort the bride.


    "Very good," Jiu Nan said, "I will accompany you."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he turned his head to look at Ah Ke. Jiu Nan said, "Ah Ke is coming with us."


    Wei Xiaobao was even more overjoyed at the news. Even if the Emperor conferred him a hundred viscount titles, it still could not compare to this one good news.


    After taking his leave from Jiu Nan, he went to Tian Di Hui''s new temporary lodging. Chen Jinnan hesitatingly said, "The Tatar Emperor favors Wu Sangui like that, we can''t pull him down for the time being. But this is such a golden opportunity. Xiaobao, if the traitor Wu Sangui does not revolt, we have to provoke him to rebel. If the provocation does not work, we have to frame him as a rebel. I should have gone with you, but when Er Gongzi and Feng Xifan are back in Taiwan, they will surely slander me in front of Wangye. I expect Wangye will send someone to inquire of Tian Di Hui''s affair. I must stay here to report everything according to the facts. You may take all brothers here to Yunnan."


    "I am afraid that fellow Feng Xifan will return to harm Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Better have the brothers here to help Shifu, otherwise disciple won''t feel relieved."


    Chen Jinnan patted his shoulder; he said warmly, "It''s rare to have someone as filial as you are. Although Feng Xifan''s martial art is strong, your Shifu may not necessarily be weaker than he is. Last time he simply attacked us when we expected it the least, he hid behind the door and launched a sneak attack; hence, he managed to injure my right arm first. Next time we meet, he won''t necessarily be able to occupy the advantageous position. Presently, killing Wu Sangui is the most important matter, we must try to accomplish it at all costs. I only hope that the matter in here will be resolved as quickly as possible, so that I can catch up with you to Yunnan. We can''t let the Mu Family have a head start."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "If we let the Mu Family make their move first, later on Tian Di Hui will have to obey their command; that won''t be too good."


    Chen Jinnan reached out to check Wei Xiaobao''s pulse, he also ordered him to pull out his tongue. He frowned and said, "How can the poison you contacted change its nature? Fortunately it won''t flare-up for the time being. You must not train the internal energy cultivation I taught you, so that the poison will not enter your channels."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said in his heart, "You told me not to train martial art, you said so yourself; you cannot blame me in the future." He also thought, "This leopard embryo tendon-altering pill is really fierce, even Shifu does not know what it is. I only hope Mr. Lu will deliver the antidote soon."


    Several days later, everything was prepared. Wei Xiaobao would lead the Imperial Bodyguards, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, Tian Di Hui warriors, and Divine Dragon Cult''s Fat Toutuo. He took his leave from Kangxi and the Empress Dowager, to escort Princess Jianning to Yunnan. Jiu Nan and Ah Ke dressed up as palace maids, they mingled with the other palace maids. Tian Di Hui warriors and Fat Toutuo were also disguised as Wei Xiaobao''s personal attendants, they all wore Valian Cavalry Sergeants uniform.


    Wei Xiaobao sat astride the Jade Buckskin horse Prince Kang gave him, with retinue in front and behind him, immensely proud of himself as he set off to the south. He had already sent a messenger to Henan, to tell Shuang''er to head south. He was hoping that they could meet en route. This moment everything was fine except for one small imperfection, namely he missed this gentle, soft, considerate and smart servant girl by his side.


    Along the way, all government officials spared no effort in providing extravagant welcome; they were all trying their best to curry this high-ranking official, the marriage envoy''s favor, in short, they licked his behind completely. Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy, ever since he went on mission out of the Palace, he had never experienced anything as comfortable as this time.


    "The old wh0re is very disappointing," he mused, "Why did she give birth to only one daughter? If she had seventeen, eighteen daughters, laozi will specialize in being marriage envoy, and would escort them all one by one; that way I would eat, drink, and be marry for the rest of my life. Having gold, silver and jewels to splurge sure beats everything else."


    One day they arrived at Zhengzhou [prefecture level city and capital of Henan province in central China]. The prefectural magistrate welcomed the delegation and had them take a rest and lodge for the night at the garden of a local wealthy elite resident. After the grand welcoming feast, Princess Jianning sent for Wei Xiaobao, summoning him to come and chat with her.


    Ever since they left Beijing, it had always been like this. Wei Xiaobao was afraid the Princess would beat him up, each time he always had Qian Laoben and Gao Yanchao to accompany him by his side. No matter how earnest the Princess asked him, or threatened him in anger, he simply would not send these two people away to let him alone with her face-to-face.


    As usual, after dinner that day, the Princess summoned Wei Xiaobao. The three of them came to the small hall in front of the Princess'' bedroom. The Princess wanted Wei Xiaobao to sit, while Qian and Gao, two people stood behind him. It was in the middle of a very hot summer weather, the Princess was wearing a thin gauze short jacket with open slits in place of sleeves. With circular fans in their hands, the two palace maids behind her were fanning her. The Princess'' face was flushed. There were tiny beads of sweats above her lips, making her look very tender and beautiful.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Although the Princess is not as good-looking as my wife, she could still be considered first class attractive woman. That fellow Wu Yingxiong can marry her, his luck in love is indeed not shallow."


    The Princess cocked her head and smiled. "Xiao Guizi," she said, "Are you hot?"


    "Not bad," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "If you are not hot," the Princess said, "Why is your forehead sweating a lot?" Wei Xiaobao laughed while using his sleeve to wipe the sweat.


    A palace maid entered with a large multicolored porcelain jar in her hands, she said, "Reporting to the Princess: Prefectural Magistrate Meng respectfully presents this iced sour plum drink for the Princess to relieve the summer heat."


    The Princess happily said, "Good, get a bowl for me to taste."


    Another palace maid fetched a blue and white china bowl, poured the sour plum drink, and presented it to the Princess with both hands. The Princess took a soupspoon and drank several mouthfuls. She let out a contented sigh and said, "I could not imagine a tiny Zhengzhou prefecture like this can store ice."


    The sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance from the sour plum drink inundated the room, the ice cubes tinkled against the soupspoon, Wei Xiaobao and Qian and Gao, two people, could not stop their mouths from watering. The Princess said, "Everybody is hot, pour a bowl for each one of them."


    Wei Xiaobao and Qian and Gao, two people, expressed their gratitude. As the ice-cold sour plum drink entered their mouths, a burst of cool air seemed to penetrate their inner beings; it was an unspeakably comfortable feeling. In just a short time, the three of them drank their bowls dry.


    The Princess said, "Hastening through this kind of hot weather is quite an ordeal. From tomorrow on, we will travel only forty li a day. We''ll leave early in the morning, and stop to rest as soon as the sun is up."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess is so considerate of your subordinates, everybody is very grateful. But I am afraid we will be delayed for quite a long time."


    The Princess laughed and said, "What are you afraid of? I am not in a hurry, why are you anxious? Let that fellow Wu Yingxiong wait, it''ll be good for him."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled. He was just about to reply when suddenly he felt his head was spinning, his body swayed. "What is it?" the Princess asked, "You got heat-stroke?"


    "I am afraid �� I am afraid I drank too much wine just now," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your highness, Princess, your servant wants to take my leave."


    "You drank too much wine?" the Princess said, "In that case you all have to drink another bowl of sour plum drink to wash the wine away."


    "Many �� many thanks," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The palace maid poured three more bowls of sour plum drink. Qian and Gao, two people also felt their heads dizzy. They drank the plum drink in one go. Suddenly the two of them swayed and fell down to the floor. Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he saw stars dancing in front of his eyes, he only drank a mouthful of the sour plum, the rest of it splashed on his body, in a flash he lost his consciousness.


    He did not know how long he had been unconscious, but while he was still in daze, he felt like heavy rain was falling on his head. He wanted to open his eyes, but another heavy rain drenched his head. A moment later, his brain started to clear up, he felt his body was ice-cold, suddenly he heard a laughter. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Princess was looking at him, giggling happily.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed; realizing that he was lying on the floor, he hastily wanted to prop himself up. Who would have thought that his hands and feet were bound? He was shocked, and struggled for a moment, but unexpectedly he was unable to move a single step.


    He saw that he had been moved into the Princess'' bedroom. His body was soaking wet. Suddenly he also realized that his entire clothes had been stripped clean, he was stark naked without wearing a single thread on him. He was even more scared. "What �� what happened?" he called out.


    Under the candlelight he only saw the Princess, one person, in the room; the palace maids, Qian and Gao, two people, were gone. He was even more shocked. "I �� I ��" he stammered.


    "You �� you �� you what?" the Princess said, "You dare to be rude to me?"


    "Where are they?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The Princess'' pretty face sank immediately. "I loathe to see your two attendants," she said, "I have their heads chopped early on."


    Wei Xiaobao was not sure if she was telling the truth or was lying, but thinking that this Princess'' action was unpredictable and did not follow conventional reasoning and morals, he would not be surprised if Qian and Gao, two people, were indeed killed by her. He thought better of it and guessed that there was some trick in the sour plum drink. "Was there any knockout drug in the sour plum drink?" he asked.


    The Princess giggled. "You are very smart," she said, "Too bad it was too late."


    "The knockout drug �� did you get it from the Imperial Bodyguards?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    When he released Wu Lishen and the others, he also asked the Imperial Bodyguards for some knockout drugs. Later on he used the knockout drug up to disable Sangjie and the other lamas. This time he was back in Beijing, he immediately asked for another big package from Zhang Kangnian, which he had it inside his traveling sack. ''Dagger, treasured vest, knockout drug'' were three magic weapons the Little White Dragon Wei Xiaobao used to attack and defend himself. Usually Princess Jianning asked for martial art advice from the Imperial Bodyguards, she often chatted with them about the marvels and legends of the Jianghu; hence he would not be surprised at all if she asked for some knockout drugs from them to play with.


    The Princess laughed and said, "You know everything. Yet you did not know there was some knockout drug in the sour plum drink."


    "Princess is a hundred times smarter than your servant," Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess wants to do anything to me, you want to bind my hands and feet, your servant cannot resist at all." While his mouth was busy talking, his mind was churning to find a way to escape.


    With a cold laugh the Princess said, "Your shifty eyes keep turning around and around, what crafty idea are you thinking about?" Raising Wei Xiaobao''s own dagger, she said, "As soon as you shout one time, I am going to poke eighteen holes on your tummy. Tell me, at that time, will you be a dead eunuch, or a live one?"


    Seeing the flickering cold ray of the dagger, Wei Xiaobao mused, "Dead girl, a pest, doing things in total disregard of the law and natural morality; if you casually scratch this dagger anywhere on my body, laozi will definitely die. I must scare her first so that she won''t dare to kill me, and then I''ll think of a way to escape." Thereupon he said, "At that time, I will be neither dead eunuch nor live eunuch, but I will turn into a blood-sucking ghost, an evil zombie."


    The Princess raised her leg and kicked him heavily on his stomach. "Dead little demon," she cursed, "You still think of scaring me?"


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao screamed in pain. The Princess said, "I have not tread on your tummy and squeeze your intestine out; did it hurt? Hey, guess how many times I will have to tread on your tummy to squeeze your intestine out? If you guess correctly, I will let you go."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since people tied up your servant, my brain is getting dumb, I won''t be able to guess anything."


    The Princess said, "Since you won''t be able to guess, I will have to try it. One kick, two kicks, three kicks!" With each count, she raised her foot and kicked his belly.


    "That won''t do, that won''t do!" Wei Xiaobao called out, "If you kick me one more time, you will squeeze out the smelly excrement out of my tummy."


    The Princess jumped in fright, and did not dare to kick anymore; she thought that it was not a big deal if she squeezed his intestine out, but if she squeezed his excrement, it would stink to high heavens, then it would not be fun anymore.


    "Good Princess," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please release me quickly, Xiao Guizi will obey your command, I will accompany you for a martial art match or a fight."


    The Princess shook her head, "I don''t like fighting," she said, "I like to beat people!" ''Shua!'' she drew a whip from underneath the mattress; ''whack, whack, whack, whack'', successively she lashed the whip on Wei Xiaobao''s fully exposed skin more than a dozen times. Immediately strips of blood appeared. As soon as the Princess saw the blood, she could not help but beaming with joy; she stooped down and gently ran her fingers on his scars.


    Wei Xiaobao was hurting so much that it was as if he was roasted over the open fire. "Good Princess," he pleaded, "I have enough beating from you today, I have not offended you."


    Suddenly the Princess got angry; she kicked his nose heavily, immediately blood flowed out of his nose. "You have not offended me?" she said, "Huangdi Gege is giving me in marriage to that fellow Wu Yingxiong, it was entirely your crafty idea."


    "No, no," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "It was His Majesty''s holy decision, it has nothing to do with me."


    "You still deny it?" the Princess angrily said, "Empress Dowager has always loved me the most, why is it that I am being given away in marriage far away in Yunnan, the Empress Dowager did not say anything? So much so that when I said goodbye, the Empress Dowager ignored me completely. She �� she is my own mother, you know!" While saying that, she covered her face and cried bitterly.


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "The Empress Dowager has been swapped long ago; since the old wh0re swapped the real Empress Dowager, she hates you to the bones, naturally she ignored you completely. She did not curse you or scold you, she can be considered very polite to you. But I can''t tell you this secret."


    The Princess cried for a while, and then hatefully said, "It''s all because you are not good, it''s all because you are not good!" While saying that, she kicked randomly on Wei Xiaobao''s body.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly had a bright idea, "Princess," he said, "You do not want to marry Wu Yingxiong, why didn''t you say so earlier? I have an idea."


    The Princess opened her eyes and said, "Liar! What idea do you have? This is Huangdi Gege''s decree, nobody can defy."


    "Nobody can defy His Majesty''s imperial decree," Wei Xiaobao said, "But there is a fellow that even His Majesty cannot do anything to him."


    "Who''s that?" the Princess asked in surprise.


    "Yanluo Wang [King of Hell]!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    The Princess still did not understand. "What can Yanluo Wang do?" she asked.


    "If Yanluo Wang came to help," Wei Xiaobao started, "He could grab Wu Yingxiong away, then you can''t get married with him."


    The Princess was startled. "How can that happen so conveniently?" she asked, "How can Wu Yingxiong die just like that?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If he does not want to see Yanluo Wang, we can send him go."


    "Are you saying we should kill him?" the Princess asked.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "Not killing him," he said, "But some people die without any reason, nobody knows the cause of his death."


    The Princess stared at him for half a day, suddenly she shouted, "You tell me to murder my own husband? That won''t do! You told me that this fellow Wu Yingxiong is amazingly handsome, and that all the young women in the world want to marry him. If you kill him, I will deal with you and won''t let this matter rest." While saying that, she raised the whip again and lashed it out on his body.


    Wei Xiaobao could only scream in pain. The Princess laughed and said, "Did it hurt? The more it hurt the more fun it is! It''s just that you are screaming too loud, people outside might hear it. You don''t have a heroic spirit."


    "I am not a hero, I am a coward," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "F*ck your mother!" the Princess cursed, "Turns out you are a coward."


    This ''golden branch, jade leaves'' belonging to the royal family would suddenly utter such a vulgar language. Wei Xiaobao could not help but was shocked. The Princess casually picked up a sock, which was actually taken from Wei Xiaobao''s own foot, and stuffed it into his mouth. Raising the whip again, she ruthlessly lashed it out on him.


    After several lashes, Wei Xiaobao pretended to pass out; he rolled his eyes until only the whites were visible, and stayed still. The Princess cursed, "Little thief, you pretend to be dead? I am going to make three cuts on your belly; if you are really dead, you won''t move at all."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that he could not take the chance and test it out, hastily he turned and twisted to struggle free. The Princess laughed aloud; she raised the whip and lashed it out on his naked body again. ''Whack, whack, slap, slap!'' the whip cracked sharp and clear.


    After lashing the whip more than a dozen times, she tossed the whip down, and said with a giggle, "Zhuge Liang wants to burn the rattan-shield troops."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious, "To meet with this insane woman today, laozi''s nineteen generation ancestors must have committed a lot of sin."


    He heard the Princess was muttering to herself, "The rattan-shield troop do not have rattan-shield on him, it won''t be too easy to burn, I must pour some oil on him." Finished speaking, she turned around and walked out of the room to find some oil.


    Wei Xiaobao struggled desperately, but the rope binding his hands and feet was simply too tight, how could he escape? In his anxiety, he suddenly remembered his shifu. "Laozi has bowed to take quite a few of shifu. The old turtle Hai Dafu was the first, and then Chen Zongduozhu Shifu, Hong Jiaozhu whose long-life-is-the-same-as the-heavens Shifu, Madame Hong the coquettish-fox Shifu, the Young-Emperor Shifu, Cheng Guan the old-monk-martial-nephew Shifu, Jiu Nan the good-looking-nun Shifu, but among these string of shifu, no one has taught me any really useful martial art. If laozi knew superior internal energy, I only need to lightly push the muscle of my hands and my feet, the rope will immediately break; why should I be afraid of that crafty girl burning rattan-shield troops?"


    While he was fretful, frightened and anxious, and was busy blaming the gods and accusing other people, suddenly he heard someone outside the window was speaking in a low voice, "Quickly go in and save him out." It was Jiu Nan, the good-looking-nun Shifu''s voice.


    As soon as the voice entered his ears, Wei Xiaobao was so happy that he wanted to jump; it was a pity his hands and feet were tied that he could not jump. He also heard Ah Ke''s voice, "He �� he is not wearing any clothes, I can''t save him!"


    Wei Xiaobao was furious; he cursed in his heart, "Dead girl, I don''t wear any clothes, why can''t you help me? Could it be that I have to wear clothes before you can save me? If you don''t save your husband, it''s the same as murdering your own husband. You will become young widow, will you be happy then?"


    He heard Jiu Nan said, "Just close your eyes, cut the ropes binding his hands and feet, won''t that work?"


    "That won''t do," Ah Ke said, "If I close my eyes, I can''t see. What if �� what if I touch his body? Shifu, you save him."


    "I have left home," Jiu Nan angrily said, "How can I do this kind of things?" Although Wei Xiaobao was young, he was a teenage boy, and he was stark naked, it was quite a disgraceful situation, how could she look?


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to scream, "Just get some clothes and throw it in to cover me; won''t that mean you will not see me?" Too bad there was a stinky sock stuffed in his mouth that he could not speak; plus Jiu Nan and Ah Ke, master and disciple, were extremely lacking in their experience to meet a contingency.


    The two of them were dressing up as palace maids, they applied yellow powder on their beautiful faces; usually they were afraid the Princess would question them, hence they only mingled with palace maids who did heavy work, and had never seen the Princess'' face.


    That evening they heard indistinct cracking of whips and the screaming noise coming from the Princess'' bedroom, thereupon they same to the bedroom window to take a look. They saw Wei Xiaobao, completely stripped off his clothes and bound, was being ruthlessly whipped by the Princess.


    While outside the window Jiu Nan, master and disciple, had not reached an agreement, Princess Jianning already returned to the bedroom; she giggled and said, "Momentarily I cannot find any pig oil, cow oil, or vegetable oil, we will have no choice but to extract some black bear oil by heat. [The original word for ''coward'' is ''black bear''] You said it yourself, you are not a hero [yingxiong] but a coward [gouxiong/black bear]; I have never seen what black bear oil look like. Have you seen it?" While saying that, she picked up a candlestick from the table and used the flame to burn the flesh of Wei Xiaobao''s chest.


    Under severe pain, Wei Xiaobao jerked his body backward. The Princess grabbed his hair with her left hand to prevent him from moving, while with her right hand she continued burning his skin. Shortly afterwards, burning smell arose. Jiu Nan was shocked. Instantly he pushed the window open, lifted up Ah Ke and threw her into the room. "Quickly save him!" she shouted, while she herself turned around with eyes closed tight to avoid seeing Wei Xiaobao''s nakedness.


    Being thrown into the room by her shifu, Ah Ke saw saw the smooth naked body of Wei Xiaobao in front of her eyes; she did not want to look, but it was too late. Without any choice she stretched out her palm to hack down the back of Princess Jianning''s neck.


    "Who''s there?" the Princess called out in alarm. She used her left hand to block, but due to the sudden movement of her right hand, the candle flame went out. However, there were still four or five red candles burning on the table, hence the room was still bright enough to see.


    Ah Ke successively made her move; how could the Princess be her match? ''Crack, crack'' twice, her right arm and her left leg were twisted out of joint, and she fell by the bedside. She had quite an unyielding temperament, her mouth was still cursing in rage.


    Ah Ke angrily said, "It''s you who are not good, and you are still cursing others?" Suddenly ''Ah!'' she broke crying, in her heart she felt she was deeply wronged.


    The Princess was stunned; she stopped cursing. She thought, you were the one who beat me up, why are you crying instead? Ah Ke grabbed the dagger from the floor and cut the rope binding Wei Xiaobao''s hands and feet; her face blushed deep red from shame. Tossing the dagger away, she flew out the window and disappeared. Jiu Nan followed behind her.


    The commotion inside the room was like the sky and the earth turning upside down, naturally the palace maids and eunuchs outside had heard it early on. However, they had been warned by the Princess, no matter how strange the noise inside, without being summoned, nobody was allowed to come in. Whoever stuck his or her head into the room, that head would be chopped down. Everybody looked at each other in dismay; they all have a strange look on their faces.


    This Princess loved to fool around since she was little; hundreds and thousands of weird tricks emerged one after another, for many years these people were used to her antics, nobody suspected anything. The Princess'' own mother was a fake goods born of the uncultivated land of the Jianghu, how could she control and guide her daughter? Shunzhi left home to become a monk, Kangxi was still young, even if Princess Jianning was more undisciplined and out of control than this, nobody cared.


    A moment ago the Princess summoned the palace maids and eunuchs into the room to drag the fainted Qian Laoben and Gao Yanchao out and bind them up. Everybody knew there would be some strange occurrences tonight. Yet it never occurred in anybody''s mind that the Princess could, unexpectedly, be beaten and rendered immovable by other people.


    Hearing his good-looking-nun Shifu and Ah Ke already left far away, Wei Xiaobao pulled the sock from his mouth, turned around to close the window, and cursed, "Stinky girl, have you ever seen fox-spirit oil? I haven''t. How about we extract some by heat so we can look at it?"


    He kicked her twice, grabbed and twisted her hands behind her back. He ripped a piece of her skirt, and tied her hands with it. The Princess'' hand and leg''s joints were dislocated, she was in so much pain that her brow was beaded with sweat, how could she resist? Wei Xiaobao grabbed the front of her clothes and pulled it hard. ''Rip'' her clothes was immediately ripped apart. The gauze vest she was wearing was thin to begin with, as soon as it was torn, the snow white flesh of her chest was exposed.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was filled with hatred. He picked up the candlestick from the floor, lighted it, and put the flame on her chest. "Stinky girl," he cursed, "The payback is coming soon. I don''t need too much fox-spirit oil, I only need to extract some by heat to fill the sour plum bowl; it will be enough."


    "Ah!" the Princess screamed in pain. Wei Xiaobao said, "Ah right, you must also taste my stinky sock."


    He stooped down to pick up the sock and was about to stuff it into her mouth. The Princess suddenly said in a soft voice, "Gui Beilei, don''t stuff the sock in my mouth, I won''t scream."


    As soon as the three characters ''Gui Beilei'' entered his ears, Wei Xiaobao was stunned. That day, in the Princess'' bedroom in the Palace, she took the role of a servant and attended to him, she also addressed him as ''Gui Beilei''. Right now hearing her calling him intimately with the same appellation, he could not stop his heart from being moved. He heard her speaking in a soft voice, "Gui Beilei, please spare your servant. If you are not happy, just whip your servant to vent your anger."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I don''t whip you ruthlessly, it will be difficult to purge the hatred from my heart." Putting down the candle, he picked up the whip and lashed it out on her.


    The Princess cried softly, "Aiyo, aiyo!" She closed her charming eyes into a slit, yet there was a hint of smile on her cherry lips, as if she was experiencing an unspeakable comfort.


    "S1ut," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Are you happy?"


    The Princess replied softly, "I �� your servant is a s1ut; would Gui Beilei hit me a bit harder, please? Aiyo!"


    Wei Xiaobao tossed the whip away. "I won''t hit you!" he said. Turning around, he tried to find his clothes, but did not know where she had hidden them. "Where is my clothes?" he asked.


    "Please," the Princess said, "Help me fix my dislocated joints, let �� let your servant attend Gui Beilei to dress."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Although this s1ut is weird, the Emperor has sent me to escort her to Yunnan. I can''t kill her." He cursed, "F*ck your granny, you are a stinky little girl." He continued in his heart, "Your Ma is the old wh0re, laozi does not have any appetite for her. Your granny does not have anything good in her, but laozi has never seen her."


    "Isn''t it fun?" the Princess asked.


    "Your granny is fun," Wei Xiaobao angrily replied. Lifting up her arm, he located the joint, and tried hard to fix it. But he did not know the technique to set broken bones; it was only after several tries was he finally able to fix the dislocated joint. The Princess did not stop crying ''aiyo, aiyo!'' from the pain.


    By the time her dislocated leg joint was fixed, the Princess was leaning over his back. The two people''s bare skin and flesh touched, Wei Xiaobao felt his lips dry his tongue parched, while his heart was burning. "Could you just sit down?" he said, "If you are like this, laozi might treat you as my wife."


    "But I want you to treat me as your wife," the Princess said intimately. Her arms embraced him tight. Wei Xiaobao struggled lightly, he wanted to push her away, but the Princess pulled him and planted a kiss on his lips.


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao felt his head spinning and his vision blurred, followed by his heart fluttering, as if he was inside the cloud and mist. He suddenly found out that the s1ut, fox-spirit in front of his eyes was unspeakably pretty and adorable. The red candles in the room went out one by one. Wei Xiaobao was in between asleep and awake states, his mind was fuzzy, he had no conscience where he was.


    In his blurry, dazed state, suddenly he head Ah Ke''s voice outside the window, "Xiaobao, are you in there?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, instantly he woke up from a beautiful dream. "I am here," he replied.


    "What are you doing? Why are you still here?" Ah Ke angrily asked.


    Wei Xiaobao panicked. "Yes!" he said, "I am not �� not doing anything." He wanted to shove the Princess away and get out of the bed, but the Princess firmly embraced him.


    "Don''t go," she said quietly, "Tell her to get the hell out of here. Who is she anyway?"


    "She �� she is my wife," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The Princess said, "I �� I am you wife, she is not."


    Ah Ke was ashamed and angry at the same time. She stomped her feet, turned around and left.


    "Shijie, Shijie!" Wei Xiaobao called out. He did not hear any reply. Suddenly a pair of warm and soft lips closed his own, so that he could not call anymore.


    The next morning Wei Xiaobao wore his clothes, and tiptoed out of the Princess'' bedroom. He asked the eunuch in-waiting outside the room, and found out that Qian Laoben and Gao Yanchao were all right, they were still bound inside a room on the eastern wing. He was relieved, but was quite ashamed as well; he did not dare to meet those two. Thereupon he ordered the eunuch to quickly release them.


    Back to his own room, he was joyous, but a little afraid. He did not dare to think too much, hence he crawled underneath his quilt and fell asleep.


    Later on that afternoon he came to see Jiu Nan, with head hung low, and his face blushed deep red; thinking that this time Shifu surely would punish him severely, perhaps she would beat him to death with one palm strike. Who would have thought that Jiu Nan did not know what happened at all, instead, she warmly comforted him, "That girl is so mean," she said, "Like a mother like a daughter. Are you hurt really bad?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly relieved. "Not bad," he said, "Only �� only �� fortunately she did not injure my muscle and bones." Seeing Ah Ke was glowering at him, he said, "I owe it to Shifu and Shijie for rescuing me; otherwise she �� she would definitely burn me to death last night."


    Ah Ke said, "You �� you �� last night ��" Suddenly she blushed and did not continue.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "She �� the Princess �� put some knockout drug. Shijie jumped into the room to rescue me, but she �� at that time the effect of the drug has not worn out, I was unable to move."


    Jiu Nan took a pity on him, she said, "Although I have accepted you as my disciple, all along I have not passed on any martial art to you; unexpectedly you were bullied by that little girl."


    If Wei Xiaobao had a mind to train excellent martial art, he should have asked her in earnest, and Jiu Nan would have gladly taught him. He only needed to train a little, and would have reaped lifelong benefit. But for anything that needs hard work, he was afraid he might fall short. When he was bound, whipped and burned by the Princess the previous night, he blamed all his shifus for not teaching him martial arts, yet right this moment when his shifu really wanted to teach him, he hummed and hawed instead. "Shifu," he said, "I have a terrible headache, as if my head is about to split open. I also feel like the skin and muscle on my entire body is about to fall piece by piece."


    Jiu Nan nodded and said, "Just go and rest; later on just see this little girl less, if you really have to see her, take a dozen or so people with you, she won''t possibly give you any trouble publicly. When she gives you any food or drink, no matter what you must not eat or drink it."


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly said, "Yes." He was about to withdraw when Jiu Nan suddenly asked, "Why did she beat you up last night? Didn''t she know that the Emperor is very fond of you?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "She �� she did not want to go to Yunnan to get married, she said that it was my idea. It seems to me that he little s1ut knew that we, master and disciple, dealt with her mother." By telling minor lie like that, he was pushing most of the blame of the Princess beating him last night to Jiu Nan.


    Jiu Nan nodded, "Most likely her mother has told her. From now on you must be extra careful." She thought, "When I dealt with the fake Empress Dowager at the Palace that day, I was quite ruthless; but Xiaobao did not show his face at all that time. Could it be that the fake Empress Dowager had an inkling and ordered her daughter to retaliate?"


    The party slowly continued southwest. Every evening, the Princess always quietly summoned Wei Xiaobao to accompany her. At first Wei Xiaobao was still afraid his shifu and his Tian Di Hui companions might find out, but as these two young people had just found the matter between man and woman, once the extremely sweet and charming Princess wrapping her body around his, how could he be willing to give this experience up? Even a gentleman might not necessarily be able to resist, much less he had never received any proper training in human relationships or etiquette.


    For the first several days he would sneak out quietly at night. Later on he would stay in the Princess'' bedroom the whole night. During the day he was the marriage envoy, in the nights he was the prince consort. All the palace maids and court eunuchs dreaded the Princess, plus Wei Xiaobao unceasingly rewarded them with large quantities of money; who would dare to utter even half a sentence about this affair?


    When Ah Ke twisted the Princess'' joints that night, naturally the Princess wanted to know who was this ''Shijie'', yet with graceful words, flowery speech Wei Xiaobao was able to skirt around this question. The Princess'' character was rather coarse, plus she was at the heat of the passion, hence she did not inquire further.


    These two, a young man and a young woman, had just tasted the passion for the first time; it was like oil mixed in honey. In her cunning and reckless temperament, the Princess always playfully assumed the role of a slave, as soon as he entered the room, she would kneel down and greeted him, "Gui Beilei, Gui Fuma [consort, emperor''s son-in-law]" unceasingly.


    When Fang Yi tricked Wei Xiaobao to go to the Divine Dragon Island, during the voyage, she only treated him with intimate manners and tender words, driving him crazy [orig. bewilder him until his six vital organs fail]. This time he was truly overwhelmed with joy, the Princess drove him even more crazy. The two of them only hoped that the journey would never last. Even though Ah Ke mingled among the palace maids, Wei Xiaobao knew perfectly well that she would never treat him like the Princess did; unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao did not try to curry favor from Ah Ke like he usually did.


    One day they arrived at Changsha [prefecture, capital of Hunan province, south central China]. From the Divine Dragon Island Lu Gaoxuan caught up with them on fast horse, carrying with him the Cult Leader Hong''s verbal order, telling him that the Cult Leader was extremely delighted to receive the two copies of sutra, commending the White Dragon Envoy for handling this matter with dedication, that he was astute and competent, that he was indeed our Cult''s great minister who had given outstanding service. The Cult Leader especially bestowed him with the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill''s antidote.


    With all the majesty of a royalty these past few days, Wei Xiaobao had already forgotten that there was an acute poison in his body. Hearing the message, he was nonetheless very happy. Immediately he, along with Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo, took the antidote. Lu and Fat, two people, bowed to express their gratitude, saying that it was entirely due to the White Dragon Envoy establishing this great merit that the two of them could enjoy the Cult Leader''s favor in the form of this legendary magic potion of the immortals, that the calamity in their bosoms was eliminated.


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Jiaozhu and Madame passed on an order to the White Dragon Envoy: the remaining six copies of the sutra must still be sought. If the White Dragon Envoy can render this distinguished merit, Jiaozhu would not be stingy in bestowing his reward."


    "Naturally I will strive to do that," Wei Xiaobao said, "Jiaozhu and Madame''s favor is as heavy as the mountain, even if our bodies are torn our bones are crushed, it is difficult to repay."


    Fat and Lu, two people said together, "Jiaozhu will enjoy the immortal good fortune forever, his long-life is the same as the Heaven''s. White Dragon Envoy will enjoy a life of ease and comfort forever, and live as long as Mount Nan."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled without saying anything. He mused, "What''s so good about enjoying life in ease and comfort? If I can enjoy romantic good fortune every day like this forever, having a life as long as Mount Nan will make a bit more sense."

 Chapter - 30 (30)

    Small town of the southern dynasty leans to be domineering, troops of western provinces are the most light and nimble.


    Wei Xiaobao and the Princess wished that the journey to Yunnan would not reach the end forever, but although the road was long, and the journey was slow, there would be a day when they arrived at the destination. Guizhou province was Wu Sangui''s territory; a massive military force was stationed at Luodian [county], Guizhou. Princess Jianning''s party had just entered the border of Guizhou province, Wu Sangui had already dispatched his troops and horses to meet them. By the time they entered Yunnan, Wu Yingxiong himself came out to welcome them. Seeing Wei Xiaobao, he did not stop expressing his gratitude.


    According to the royal court protocol, he and the Princess could not see each other before the wedding ceremony. By this time however, the Princess and Wei Xiaobao had been stuck together as by glue; hearing about Wu Yingxiong''s arrival, immediately her willow-like eyebrows went straight up, and she threw a fit.


    That night the Princess told Wei Xiaobao to think of a way to send Wu Yingxiong to see Yan Wang, so that the two of them could live forever as husband and wife. Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright; he thought that there was no harm in sneakily being a fake consort in the night, but he must never be a real consort.


    Seeing him frowning and muttering to himself irresolutely, the Princess angrily said, "Why aren''t you saying anything? Sending that fellow Wu Yingxiong to see Yan Wang was your own idea, it wasn''t mine."


    "We must send him all right," Wei Xiaobao said, "But we must wait for a good opportunity before making our move. We must not raise anybody''s suspicion."


    "Alright," the Princess said, "I''ll listen to you for the time being. In short, I only want to be with you, I will definitely not share my bed with this fellow. If you don''t send him out to see Yan Wang, if what we are doing is revealed to the world, I will tell Wu Sangui that you have raped me. Even if Huangdi Gege favored you more than this, I am afraid Wu Sangui will still chop you into seventeen or twenty-eight pieces. You are going to see the old man Yan Wang first; just consider it you are preceding Wu Yingxiong as his advance party officer!"


    Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he waved his hand in a slapping motion, and shouted, "Nonsense! When did I ever rape you?"


    The Princess giggled and chuckled, she stretched out her arm to embrace him, while saying in soft voice, "You are such a heartless, short-lived little lover; you slapped me that heavily, aren''t you afraid you might hurt me?"


    One day they arrived at Kunming [prefecture, capital of Yunnan]; they heard bugle horns and a military officer announced, "Ping Xi Wang welcomes Princess'' phoenix


    [71]-self."


    Wei Xiaobao urged his horse to move forward, he saw a team of soldiers in bright shining armor, riding on tall horses, galloping to meet them. They dismounted together, and arranged themselves on either side of the road. Amidst the sound of bamboo flute and string instruments, several hundreds young boys wearing red gown with banners in their hands preceding a general stepping out in front of the troops. A herald loudly announced, "Your servant Ping Xi Qin Wang Wu Sangui pays his respect to Your Highness Princess Jianning."


    Wei Xiaobao looked up and down carefully, sizing up Wu Sangui. He was a man of grand stature, with deep red, almost purple face, he had more white than black in his hair and beard; although he was old, his gait was still strong and healthy as he walked over in big strides. Wei Xiaobao mused, "People all over the world are talking about this old turtle''s reputation, turns out he has this kind of appearance."


    Seeing he walked to the Princess'' carriage, kneeled down and kowtowed, Wei Xiaobao stood by his side, and said in his heart first, "The old turtle Wu Sangui pays his respect." But he waited until Wu Sangui finished kowtowing before announcing, "Ping Xi Qin Wang pays his respect."


    Wu Sangui stood up, walked over toward Wei Xiaobao, and said with a laugh, "And this must be the brave warrior who captured Oboi, the world famous Wei Jueye [master viscount]?"


    Wei Xiaobao paid his respect and said, "I do not dare to accept the honor. Humble officer pays his respect to Wangye."


    Wu Sangui laughed aloud, grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s hand, and said, "Wei Jueye is kind and virtuous, Xiao Wang [little king, referring to self] has been looking forward to meeting your illustrious self for a long time; please disperse with this perfunctory propriety. Henceforth Xiao Wang, father and son, will rely on Wei Jueye to preserve our existence. If you think we are worthy to receive the favor, please consider us your own famiy."


    Wei Xiaobao noticed the Yangzhou accent in his speech, and was thirty-percent happy. "Hot piece Mama," he mused, "Looks like you and I are fellow townsmen." He said, "I really do not dare to accept the honor; how can humble officer dare to claim connections with people of higher social class?" He also added several percent of Yangzhou accent into his speech.


    Wu Sangui laughed and asked, "So Wei Jueye also from Yangzhou?"


    "Precisely," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "That''s even better," Wu Sangui said, "Xiao Wang''s official residence is Liaodong, but my ancestral home is actually Gaoyou, Yangzhou. We are actually real kinsmen."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Hot piece Mama, turns out you are Gaoyou''s salted duck egg. Yangzhou could produce a big traitor like you, laozi is actually quite ashamed."


    Wu Sangui and Wei Xiaobao rode side-by-side; they rode in the front, leading the Princess entering the city. The people of Kunming heard that the Princess was about to marry Ping Xi Wang Heir Apparent, the street was already lined with a sea of people, the city was bustling with noise and excitement. There were lanterns everywhere, archways were decorated, houses and building were adorned with celebratory hanging scrolls; the sound of gongs and drums, mixed with firecrackers, shook the heavens.


    Wei Xiaobao and Wu Sangui entered the city side-by-side. Seeing people were bowing to welcome them, he was very proud of himself. But then he had a second thought, "A princess as pretty as the flower and jade, coquettish and coy, for no reason is given to that fellow Wu Yingxiong to be his wife, and laozi has to escort his bride for thousands of li, this stinky fellow''s luck in love is indeed too good." Therefore, he also felt indignant.


    Wu Sangui welcomed the Princess at the Anfu


    [72] Garden west of the City of Kunming, which was Ming Dynasty''s Qian Guo Gong


    [73] Mu Family''s former residence. It was a lofty multi-story building, overlooking a garden pavilion with splendid view. As soon as Wu Sangui learned about the Princess was given into marriage to his son, he carried out a large-scale construction effort to renovate the building that it looked completely new. After Wu Sangui, father and son, paid their respect to the Princess from behind a hanging curtain, they accompanied Wei Xiaobao to the Ping Xi Wang Mansion.


    Ping Xi Wang Mansion was located on Mount Wu Hua


    [74], which was the former palace of Ming Dynasty''s Emperor Yong Li. The palace encompassed a vast area of several li square. After Wu Sangui occupied the palace, over the last few years he constantly added multi-story expansions and pavilions. By this time, the lofty towers and engraved walls, the red pavilions and jade-green ponds, hardly differed from the inner courtyards of the Imperial Palace.


    A grand banquet was already prepared in the main hall. All civil and military officials under Wu Sangui''s banner came to accompany the guests. Naturally the Imperial Envoy, high-ranking official Wei Xiaobao sat at the seat of honor.


    After three rounds of drink, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wangye, back in Beijing, I often heard people say that you wanted to rebel ��" Wu Sangui''s countenance turned ashen instantly, the countenance of a hundred or so officials also changed, only to hear Wei Xiaobao continued, "�� as I came to the Mansion today, I knew that those people were talking rubbish."


    Wu Sangui calmed down somewhat. "Please Wei Jueye understand," he said, "Despicable and lowly people are jealous of me and always trying to plant false evidence against me; you must never believe them."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I think that the reason you wanted to rebel is no more than to be the Emperor. But His Majesty''s Palace is not as magnificent as yours, his clothes are not as beautiful as yours. His Majesty''s food was under my management, but I am very ashamed to say that it is not as delicious as your mansion''s. Being the Ping Xi Wang, you live a much more comfortable life than His Majesty; why would you want to be the Emperor? When I get back to Beijing, I will report to His Majesty that Ping Xi Wang is definitely not going to rebel. Even if you are asked to be the Emperor, you, Senior, would never be willing."


    In that instant, the main hall was quiet, all the officials halted their cups in the air and did not drink, they all stared at him, not understanding his ''neither fish nor fowl'' speech; their hearts were pounding. Wu Sangui''s face alternated between red and white; he was at a loss of how to respond. He thought, "From what he said, obviously the Emperor has already suspected that I intend to rebel." With no other choice, he let out a hollow laugh and said, "His Majesty is wise and filial, he always makes determined efforts to govern. Indeed, of all the virtuous Emperors of the past, no one is as good as him."


    Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Still, having money to spend, live an indulgent life is better. You are the Wangye, if you do not live off your wealth, why bother being a Wangye? If you dislike having too much gold and silver, afraid that you won''t be able to spend it, I can help you spending it, why can''t I? Ha ha!"


    As soon as he said those words, Wu Sangui was greatly delighted, as if a large chunk of rock in his heart had just fallen to the ground; thinking that if you are willing to accept money, won''t that be easy?


    Hearing him openly asking for money during the banquet, the civil and military officials were beaming from ear to ear, they all thought that he was just a kid after all, dealing with him should be easy. Everybody was drinking merrily, while in their hearts they were thinking of how to present the bribe. The former awkward and terrified atmosphere was swept clean, everyone sang the praises of his achievements and virtue, tooted their horns and licked his behind, and then dispersed after a happy time.


    Wu Yingxiong personally escorted Wei Xiaobao back to Anfu Garden. They entered the main hall and were seated. Wu Yingxiong presented a brocade box with both hands, saying, "Here are some change; would Wei Jueye please accept to cover your incidental expenses? When your honorable-self is returning to the north, Fu Wang [father king] will have another way to compensate for Wei Jueye''s trouble."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "There is no need to stand on ceremonies. When I left the Capital, His Majesty said to me, ''Xiao Guizi, everybody says that Wu Sangui is a treacherous court official. Go and personally investigate for me whether he is a loyal minister or a treacherous official. You must a bit more cautious, don''t make any mistake.'' So I said, ''Your Majesty, please set your heart at ease, your servant will open my eyes wide, from start to finish I will investigate clearly.'' Ha ha, Xiao Wangye, don''t you agree that loyal or treacherous will be decided in just a mouth?"


    Wu Yingxiong could not help but was secretly enraged, "Your Great Qing''s rivers and mountains were handed over by my father so that you could lay your foundation. After the great undertaking, you forget favors and violate justice by coming to investigate whether we, father and son, are loyal or treacherous. In that case, it seems that the Princess is given to marriage is not necessarily out of good intention." He said, "We, father and son, are loyal and devoted in working for His Majesty. Even if we became dogs or horses, we could not ever repay His Majesty''s benevolence."


    Wei Xiaobao crossed his leg and said, "That''s right, I always knew you are most loyal. If His Majesty did not trust you, he would never have you as his Meifu [younger sister''s husband]. Xiao Wangye, as soon as you become the Emperor''s Meifu, you will rise eight levels, your promotion will come very quickly."


    "That is due to His Majesty''s vast and mighty heavenly grace," Wu Yingxiong said, "I can''t thank Wei Jueye enough for helping me maintaining my social circle."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "I am helping you to be the little turtle, I wonder if you will be deeply grateful."


    After sending off Wu Yingxiong, he opened the brocade box to see the contents. Inside there were ten packs of banknotes, each pack consisted of forty sheets, each sheet worth five hundred taels; altogether there were two hundred thousand taels of silver. Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he mused, "He is very extravagant with gifts, two hundred thousand taels for incidental expenses. If laozi needs large spending money, how much will I get? One million, two millions?"


    The next day Wu Yingxiong invited the Imperial Minister Marriage Envoy to visit the military drill ground to inspect the troops. Wei Xiaobao and Wu Sangui stood side-by-side on the reviewing platform. Two Dutong [Commander/Lieutenant General] under Ping Xi Wang''s command led several dozen Zuoling [Company Commander] in full battle gear, with helmet on their heads and full armor, dismounted in front of the platform and saluted. Following which, team-by-team troops and horses performed demonstration under the platform.


    After the border guards came the newly organized Wu Ying Zhong Yong [five-battalion loyal and brave] troops and Wu Ying Yi Yong [five-battalion righteous and courageous] troops; each battalion was led by a Zong Bing Tong [regional commander]. From the formation and the demonstration, it was obvious that these troops were ''strong soldiers and sturdy horses'', a well-trained and powerful army.


    Although Wei Xiaobao was completely without any knowledge of military affairs, seeing the majestic display of the troops, with unending flow of one team after another, he said to Wu Sangui, "Wangye, today I really submit to you. I am the Commander of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, our Valiant Cavalry Brigade is His Majesty''s personal troops, but I am ashamed to mention it. If we were to fight your Zhong Yong Brigade and Yi Yong Brigade, our Valiant Cavalry Brigade would be routed, would definitely flee to the wilderness."


    Wu Sangui was very proud of himself; he said with a laugh, "Wei Jueye''s compliment, I am ashamed and dare not accept. Xiao Wang was born of military family; training troops is my original occupation."


    They heard the booming artillery sound, the troops shouted together, their voice shook the four corners of the field. Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked, his knees turned to jelly, his buttocks dropped into his chair, and his face turned ashen immediately.


    Wu Sangui snickered inwardly, "You are merely a puppet minister by the Emperor''s side, relying on graceful words and flowering speech to coax the young Emperor''s favor; other than that, what fart do you have? A yellow-mouthed little kid whose smell of mother''s milk not yet dried, unexpectedly can become a Viscount, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade Commander, and Imperial Envoy Minister. Clearly the young Emperor is confused; how can he assign you as his trusted aide?" He did not have any regard toward Kangxi to begin with, and now that he had seen Wei Xiaobao''s worthless appearance, he was even more delighted, thinking that the imperial court did not have any capable person, there was nothing to worry about.


    After the troop inspection was finished, Wei Xiaobao took out the Emperor''s Imperial Edict and handed it over to Wu Sangui, saying, "This is His Majesty''s Imperial Edict, why don''t Wangye read it for everybody to hear?"


    Wu Sangui kneeled down to receive it; he said, "It is His Majesty''s Imperial Edict, it would be better if the Imperial Envoy read it out loud."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It recognizes me, but I do not recognize it. I am totally illiterate; how can I read?"


    Wu Sangui laughed; he held the Imperial Edict with both hands, turned toward the troops and read it out loud. His voice was clear and sonorous, backed with abundant chi, sentence-by-sentence reached far away. The tens of thousands troops on the field bent their knees to kneel; they listened in absolute silence [orig. the crow and peacock made no sound].


    The Imperial Edict commended Ping Xi Qin Wang''s excellent service and heavy merit, his diligence in handling the royal matter, in guarding the border, in pacifying the non-Han ethnics. Without exception all the generals and soldiers under his command had rendered merit, all were to be promoted one level and to be granted some rewards. After the reading of the Imperial Edict was done, Wu Sangui kowtowed to the north and called out, "Respectfully thank Your Majesty''s grace, long live Your Majesty!"


    All the troops echoed, "Respectfully thank Your Majesty''s grace, long live Your Majesty!"


    This time Wei Xiaobao was prepared, he was not startled; but as tens of thousands troops shouted their earth-shattering shout, his heart was shaken, he could not stand steadily.


    Returning to the Ping Xi Wang Mansion, Wu Sangui consulted with him the Princess'' wedding day. Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows and looked very unhappy.


    Wu Sangui said, "The fourth of next month is the ecliptic propitious day, having a wedding would have great luck, great profit. What does Wei Jueye think about that date?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Once the Princess is given in marriage to Wu Yingxiong, I can''t be the fake consort anymore." He said, "Don''t you think it is too soon? The Princess getting married is not a small matter. Wangye should give everything thorough consideration. Let me be honest with you: Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor dote on this Princess very much. If there is anything less than perfect, it won''t be too convenient for us as the servants."


    Wu Sangui was apprehensive; he thought, "You deliberately make things difficult, are you not trying to extort bribe?" He laughed and said, "Yes, yes. I leave it all to Wei Jueye''s discretion. Whatever it is that you think is inappropriate, please give us direction, we will strive to do it for you. If the fourth is too rushing, the sixteenth of next month is also an extremely good day, it does not clash with the Princess and my son''s birth date, all taboos are off."


    "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I will ask for instructions from the Princess; let''s see what she has to say."


    Returning to Anfu Garden, he found a lot of Yunnan officials were already waiting to have an audience with him. Wei Xiaobao received their gifts, spoke some perfunctory words, and sent them away. Remembering that ever since his arrival in Yunnan he had not seen his sworn brother Yang Yizhi, he sent a messenger to Wu Yingxiong, asking him to sent Yang Yizhi over to see him.


    Yang Yizhi did not appear, it was Wu Yingxiong who personally came to see him, saying, "Wei Jueye, Fu Wang has sent Yang Yizhi on a mission and he has not returned yet; he cannot come to serve Jueye."


    Wei Xiaobao was quite disappointed. "I wonder where he is going?" he asked, "And when is he coming back?"


    Wu Yingxiong''s countenance changed slightly; he said, "He �� he went to Tibet, it''s far away from here; this time �� I am afraid Wei Jueye won''t be able to see him."


    Noticing his vague answer, Wei Xiaobao thought, "His words is incomplete and not honest; what trick is he playing?" He asked, "I wonder what mission Yang Xiong is doing in Tibet? How long has he been gone?"


    "Nothing important," Wu Yingxiong replied, "The Tibetan Lama sent someone to deliver a gift, Fu Wang then sent Yang Yizhi to send a gift in return. He left a few days ago."


    "It''s very unfortunate," Wei Xiaobao said.


    After sending Wu Yingxiong off, the more he thought, the more he felt something was amiss. They knew very well that he was a good friend of Yang Yizhi; why was it that as he arrived in Yunnan, Yang Yizhi happened to be sent away on a mission, and not a moment later or a moment sooner? Wei Xiaobao had just arrived in Yunnan, Wu Sangui sent Yang Yizhi away, it seemed like Wu Sangui intentionally did not want Yang Yizhi to meet Wei Xiaobao. Immediately he summoned Zhao Qixian and Zhang Kangnian, two people, and ordered them to have a drink and gamble with Wu Sangui, father and son''s bodyguards, to try to make discreet inquiry about Yang Yizhi.


    When he met the Princess that evening, he mentioned to her that the wedding date had been set to be the sixteenth of the next month. The Princess said, "I want you to send this fellow Wu Yingxiong to see Yan Wang before the wedding day; otherwise, during the ritual [of kneeling to heaven and earth] I will scream and yell. I don''t want to marry him no matter what."


    Wei Xiaobao''s mood was already bad, hearing her like that, his temper flared. He stomped his feet and stormed out of the room. The Princess grabbed and pulled his hand, but he flung her away heavily, and rushed out of the room. The Princess screamed and yelled, but he pretended not to hear.


    After sitting alone for half a day, he was bored; thereupon he called for a dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards to throw dice and gamble with him; only then did he feel better.


    Gambling to the middle of the night, Zhao Qixian and Zhang Kangnian entered the room. Wei Xiaobao had the dice in his hand, but had not tossed it down yet; seeing the two of them, he laughed and said, "Right now the banker is lousy, if you want to lay your bet, better do it early."


    Zhao Qixian said, "The matter which Fu Zongguan [deputy chief] ordered us to do, subordinates have found some information."


    "Good!" Wei Xiaobao said, and tossed the dice. He got heaven''s gate. After paying the upper and lower gates, he pulled the two men''s hands and took them to the side room. "What is it?" he asked.


    Zhao Qixian said, "Reporting to Fu Zongguan: that Yang Yizhi really did not go to Tibet. Turns out he violated something and Ping Xi Wang locked him up."


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows. "What did he do?" he wondered aloud.


    Zhao Qixian said, "Subordinates had some drink with some mansion''s guards, we mentioned that we knew this man surnamed Yang, and wanted to invite him to drink and gamble with us. A guard said, ''So you are looking for Yang Yizhi? He has gone to Hei Kanzi [lit. black/dark raised ground, or simply black hole in the ground].'' I asked him where Hei Kanzi is. Another guard scolded the first guard as talking rubbish, saying that he loves to joke, telling me not to believe him."


    "Hei Kanzi?" Wei Xiaobao muttered to himself.


    "We knew something''s fishy here," Zhao Qixian continued, "After drinking with them for a while, we excused ourselves. On the way back here, we asked around and found out that Hei Kanzi is a big prison. It was then that we know Yang Yizhi has been locked up by Ping Xi Wang. As for what crime he did, I was afraid I might arouse suspicion, hence I did not dare to ask too much."


    "Where is Hei Kanzi?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "About five li southwest of Wu Hua Palace," Zhao Qixian replied.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Right," he said, "Both Dage have worked hard. Go back outside to play, be the bankers on my behalf."


    Zhao and Zhang, two people, were greatly delighted; they went out to gamble. They knew that to be bankers on Wei Xiaobao''s behalf means if they lost, it would be considered his loss, if they won, they would enjoy their share. Either way, it was an assignment with great benefit.


    Wei Xiaobao was depressed. "Yang Dage must have committed a grave offense, otherwise Wu Yingxiong would not have lied to me by saying that he was sent to Tibet. If not grave offense, those two, father and son, would probably look at my face and let him out. Since Wu Yingxiong has already lied to me, if I plead on his behalf, they might adamantly deny, perhaps they would immediately kill him and destroy his body to eliminate the trace; henceforth the dead cannot testify. If I want to rescue him, I must use brute force. Even if Wu Sangui is angry, laozi is not afraid of him, I think he won''t dare to be hostile to me."


    Immediately he sent for Li Lishi, Feng Jizhong, Gao Yanchao, Qian Laoben, Priest Xuanzhen, Xu Tianchuan, and the other Tian Di Hui warriors. He explained the situation and asked them how to save Yang Yizhi.


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Li Lishi said, "We have to do it! If we can rescue this Yang Dage, that''s the best. If we cannot, Wu Sangui would think that you want to deal with him, naturally he would think that you are under the Emperor''s order. If we do not scare him half dead, we might force him to rebel sooner."


    "Precisely," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am only afraid that he might rebel right away, and then he might grab our heads so that all of us will spend our time gambling inside the big jail Hei Kanzi; that might be far from good."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "As soon as we see something is amiss, all of us must jump onto fast horses and make a dash."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I want you to think of a way to rescue people, I will invite this fellow Wu Yingxiong and detain him here. We can use him as a hostage so that Wu Sangui will not dare to act rashly."


    Qian Laoben said, "Wei Xiangzhu''s move is brilliant. Tomorrow we will scout around Hei Kanzi''s surrounding, and then dressed as Wu Sangui''s attendants, we will break into the prison and take the prisoner out."


    In the afternoon of the next day, Wei Xiaobao sent a messenger to invite Wu Yingxiong for a feast and discussion about the wedding. The main hall of the Anfu Garden was filled with the sound of string and woodwind instruments, with wine and meat in abundance. The Tian Di Hui warriors had already changed into Ping Xi Wang Mansion Guards'' uniform and went to the Hei Kanzi jail.


    [75] married the younger sister''. Five little demons tumbled around, crawling in and out the tables, displaying various martial art skills. It was very lively. Wei Xiaobao cheered and applauded again and again, and gave the troupe a generous tip.


    While the show was in progress, someone sneaked behind him, and lightly tugged his sleeve. Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and saw that it was Gao Yanchao. Gao Yanchao nodded slowly. Wei Xiaobao knew the mission went well. He was greatly delighted. "Xiao Wangye," he said to Wu Yingxiong, "Please continue watching, I want to go pee."


    Wu Yingxiong mused, "This little rascal is so vulgar." He laughed and said, "Jueye, please do as you wish."


    Wei Xiaobao went to the rear hall, and saw not one of Tian Di Hui warriors was missing; he said happily, "Very good, very good, all Xiongdi did not suffer any harm; did you manage to get him out?" Seeing everybody''s grim expression, he knew there must be something else.


    Full of hatred Gao Yanchao said, "That traitor Wu Sangui is really ruthless!"


    "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Gao Yanchao and Xu Tianchuan turned around and left the room. They returned carrying someone wrapped in felt blanket. Seeing the felt blanket was full of blood, Wei Xiaobao was startled and scared; he rushed forward, and saw that the man wrapped inside the felt blanket was indeed Yang Yizhi. But his eyes were tightly closed, with no trace of blood on his face at all.


    "Yang Dage," Wei Xiaobao called out, "It''s your Xiongdi rescuing you out." Yang Yizhi slightly nodded, but it was not clear if he heard him or not. "Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "Are you injured?"


    Xu Tianchuan gently opened the felt blanket. Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm, and withdrew two steps back. His body swayed, he nearly fell down. Qian Laoben reached out to hold him. Turned out Yang Yizhi''s hands were severed from the wrist, his legs were also severed from the knee down. Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, "His tongue was cut, and his eyes were gouged out."


    Wei Xiaobao had never seen anything more devastating than the pitiful condition in front of his eyes. He was deeply shaken and broke into wailing. Although originally he did not have too close of a friendship with Yang Yizhi, he did enjoy congenial conversation with him, plus they had already sworn brotherhood with each other, vowing to enjoy the blessing together, and to endure the hardship together.


    Seeing his limbs were severed, Wei Xiaobao''s grief and indignation was difficult to bear. He pulled his dagger and shouted, "I am going to cut Wu Yingxiong''s four limbs."


    Feng Jizhong pulled his arm and said, "Need to make further consideration."


    This man did not talk a lot, but every time he spoke he hit the nail on the head. Wei Xiaobao was thirty percent afraid of him. Immediately he calmed down, nodded his head and said, "Feng Dage is right."


    Xu Tianchuan closed the felt blanket; he said, "This matter really is our concern. Wu Sangui blamed Yang Dage for making friends with Wei Xiangzhu and swearing brotherhood with him; he accused him of betraying the former master, of coveting riches and honor, of relying on the Imperial Court, and thus punished him like this, hovering between life and death, so that none of the high-ranking military officers under his command would dare to have any intention to revolt."


    With tears in his eyes Wei Xiaobao said, "All eighteen-generation ancestors of Wu Sangui are dead turtles! Yang Dage became sworn brothers with me does not mean that he was betraying him. That big traitor himself is harboring ill-intention, yet he blindly suspicious of others doing so. To have Yang Dage look like this is the clear proof of his intention to rebel. Even if Yang Dage indeed wanted to rely on the Imperial Court, what''s wrong with that?"


    "Exactly," Qian Laoben said, "Wei Xiangzhu should take Yang Dage back to Beijing, let him submit an accusation to the young Emperor."


    Wei Xiaobao turned to Xu Tianchuan, "Wu Sangui committed this evil deed because he accused Yang Dage of making friends with me; how did Xu Dage know about it?"


    Xu Tianchuan turned around and went out the room. When he returned, he carried a man, whom he threw heavily to the floor. This person was wearing a seventh-pin rank uniform; he had fair skin, and rather plump. He crawled on the floor, and then stayed motionless.


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Xu Tianchuan said, "You have heard this fellow''s name for a long time, but has never met him. He is none other than Lu Yifeng."


    "Aha!" Wei Xiaobao said with a cold laugh, "Turns out it is Lu laoxiong [old chap], you were brazenly being unbridled in Beijing, and then Wu Yingxiong had your dog legs broken; how come you are here now?"


    Lu Yifeng was so scared that he could only say, "Yes, yes, Xiaoren does not dare!"


    Xu Tianchuan said, "It was indeed ''the enemies on a narrow road'' [i.e. inevitable clash between opposing factions], turns out this fellow is the big jail Hei Kanzi''s warden. Even if he turned into ash, laozi will always recognize him. Dressed as Wu Sangui''s personal bodyguards, we carried Yang Dage out; this fellow was putting some air, he said he wanted official document, he also said that we had to have Ping Xi Wang''s personal decree. Damn it, his own dog life is the Ping Xi Wang''s personal decree."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "It was such a lucky coincidence," he said, "Meeting this fellow would make rescuing Yang Dage easier." He presumed that the Tian Di Hui warriors put a saber on his neck, hence it was an effortless victory [orig. ''no blood on the men''s swords''], they managed to bring Yang Yizhi out without much trouble. In any case, the Eight-armed Ape had many arms; and while he was at it, he simply brought Lu Yifeng along.


    Xu Tianchuan said, "It was this old fellow who informed me the confidential matter of Yang Dage offending Wu Sangui."


    As soon as Lu Yifeng heard the word ''inform'', he busily said, "It was you �� the Senior, who �� who compelled me to tell you that; I �� I would never dare to divulge Ping Xi Qin Wang''s confidential matter."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him and three of his front teeth fell off. "I am going back to Wu Yingxiong," he said, "I don''t want him to get suspicious. Gentlemen, please interrogate this fellow carefully. If he does not want to talk, just cut both his hands and both his legs."


    With mouth full of blood Lu Yifeng hastily said, "I talk, I talk." He knew these people did not have any regard for the law or natural morality; thinking about Yang Yizhi''s tragic condition, he nearly fainted.


    Wei Xiaobao went toward Yang Yizhi and called, "Yang Dage!"


    Yang Yizhi heard the call, he wanted to sit up, but as soon as he raised his upper body, he fell back down. Seeing his miserable condition, the crowd of warriors was filled with hatred. This man was the lackey of a traitor, he actually did not deserve their pity, but unexpectedly Wu Sangui, father and son, were capable of cruelly treating a loyal subordinate like this; it was obvious how vicious their heart was.


    Wei Xiaobao wiped his tears dry, calmed himself down, and returned to the hall. He burst into loud laughter and said, "Very interesting." He saw the actors of the opera stood frozen in front of the banquet table. As soon as they saw Wei Xiaobao came back, the gongs and drums resounded, the opera ''Zhong Kui married the younger sister'' resumed.


    Turned out when he went inside, Wu Yingxiong ordered the opera to stop, to wait for his return before continuing, so that he would not miss anything. Wei Xiaobao apologize to Wu Yingxiong, saying that when the Princess heard that the prince consort was here to drink wine, she summoned him and meticulously asked him about the prince consort''s day-to-day habit, what kind of clothes he liked to wear, what kind of food he loved to eat, that sort of things, and did not let him go for a long time, so that he had to tire Wu Yingxiong, who was waiting in the hall. Wu Yingxiong was greatly delighted, he repeatedly said that it was not a problem.


    As soon as Wu Yingxiong left, Wei Xiaobao went back to the side room, but he did not see any Tian Di Hui warrior. Upon asking around, he was told that they went out. He felt strange, wondering what they were up to.


    It was quite late into the night before the warriors returned; this time they also brought somebody along. What happened was that Xu Tianchuan interrogated Lu Yifeng, and found out that the reasons Wu Sangui punished Yang Yizhi like that were: one, he was undoubtedly suspicious that after becoming sworn brothers with Wei Xiaobao, Yang Yizhi might betray him; two, it actually had something to do with the Mongolian Prince Galdan.


    For the last several years, this Galdan and Wu Sangui had developed quite a close relationship; they unceasingly sent gifts to each other, until recently Galdan sent an emissary to Kunming to deliver gift. This emissary was called Hantiemo. He had a lengthy conversation with Wu Sangui every day for several days. Somehow, Yang Yizhi found out the inside story; apparently he confronted Wu Sangui and thus incited his wrath. Lu Yifeng''s official position was very low, he did not know the details; he only heard bits and pieces from Wu Sangui''s bodyguards'' mouths. Under Tian Di Hui warriors'' torture, he did not dare to conceal anything and thus had spilled out everything he knew.


    After quick discussion, the warriors decided to carry it through to the end [orig. one don''t do, two don''t rest]; while they were still dressed as Wu Sangui''s personal bodyguards, they might as well go to kidnap the Mongolian emissary Hantiemo.


    Wei Xiaobao had met Galdan at Shaolin Temple, that man was arrogant, harsh and unreasonable; he made his warriors to shoot him with golden secret projectiles, if not for the treasured vest protecting his body, he would have lost his life long ago. He thought Galdan''s emissary must not be a good person. He saw Hantiemo was about fifty something years old, with a light yellow beard under his chin, his eyes flickered indefinitely, obviously he was a crafty man.


    "Let him see Yang Dage," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Gao Yanchao complied, and pushed Hantiemo to the room next door. They heard Hantiemo screamed, his voice was brimming with terror; seeing Yang Yizhi''s tragic condition, he was scared out of his wits. Gao Yanchao dragged him back. They saw his face was completely drained of color, his body was trembling unceasingly.


    "Have you seen the man next door?" Wei Xiaobao asked. Hantiemo nodded. Wei Xiaobao said, "I asked that man, but his answers were vague and not honest, he lied to me several times. I always have a rule, anybody who told me a lie, I would cut one of his legs, told me two lies, cut his both legs. How many lies did that man tell me?"


    Gao Yanchao said, "He told seven lies."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "Ay," he sighed, "That man told too many lies, I had no choice but to also cut both of his hands, both of his eyes, and his tongue. Only his head is spared."


    Pulling his dagger, he leaned over and waved the dagger lightly, cutting one leg of a wooden stool in front of him, and then he played with the dagger in his hand. "My dagger can cut human''s hand and leg cleanly and neatly," he said with a laugh, "Do you want to try?"


    Hantiemo was actually a Mongolian brave warrior, but after seeing Yang Yizhi''s devastation, he was so scared that his soul flew away and scattered. He stammered, "Whatever Daren �� Daren ask, Xiaode [little/lowly one] �� Xiaode will not dare to conceal �� conceal even half a word."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Ping Xi Qin Wang wanted me to ask you: everything that you told Wangye, are they actually the truth, or a lie? Was there any empty word?"


    "Daren please understand," Hantiemo said, "How can Xiaode �� Xiaode dare to deceive Wangye? Indeed there is not a single empty word."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Wangye did not believe it; he said that you, Mongolians are very crafty, the words you said oftentimes cannot be trusted, you love to cover up things the most."


    Pride mixed with anger appeared on Hantiemo''s face; he said, "We are Genghis Khan''s descendants, we always say one as one, two as two ��"


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "Right," he said, "You say three as three, four as four."


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance sank as he said, "Do you know who I am?"


    Hantiemo said, "Xiaode does not know."


    "Go ahead and guess," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hantiemo saw that the construction Anfu Garden was magnificent and beautiful, he was brought in by Ping Xi Wang Mansion''s attentands, Wei Xiaobao was very young, but he was wearing a first-pin rank uniform, and yellow magua, with a piece of ruby and a pair of peacock plumes on his hat; it was the attire of high-ranking official, nobility of the Imperial Court. Plus the yellow magua was the sign of outstanding honor and glory. Hantiemo''s mind was very quick, he pondered, "You are very young, yet have achieved this high-ranking of officialdom, you must be relying on the shade of your father''s good fortune. Within the Kunming city wall, other than Ping Xi Qin Wang, who else has this kind of fame and power? Plus Ping Xi Wang''s personal bodyguards are so respectful to you. Right, that must be it." Thereupon he respectfully said, "Xiaode has eyes but failed to see; turns out Daren is Ping Xi Wang''s Xiao Gongzi [little young master]." He had met Wu Yingxiong. Now that he saw Wei Xiaobao, he noticed the similarity of his clothes to Wu Yingxiong''s; hence he came to that conclusion.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Damn it," he cursed, "What did you say?" In his heart he said, "You think I am the big traitor, the old turtle''s son; won''t that mean laozi is a little traitor, a little turtle?" Immediately he laughed aloud and said, "You are indeed smart, no wonder Prince Galdan sent you to handle this kind of important mission. Your Prince''s friendship with me is not bad." He then described Galdan''s appearance and the clothing he wore; he added, "That day your Prince and I discussed martial art, he demonstrated these several moves to me. His martial art skill is really superb." While saying that, he demonstrated the several moves Galdan used at Shaolin Temple.


    Hantiemo was greatly delighted, immediately he paid his respect and said, "Xiao Wangye is a good friend of our Prince. Turns out we are of the same family."


    "Is your Prince well?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Wasn''t he with Sang Qi Lama recently?"


    Hantiemo said, "Sang Qi Lama is precisely staying at our Prince''s mansion as an honored guest right this moment."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "I thought so," he said. And then he asked, "There was also a young Han lady who loves to wear blue skirt; I think she is called Ah Qi. I wonder if she is also staying at your Prince''s mansion?"


    Hantiemo''s eyes grew big, his face revealed a pleasantly surprised expression; he said, "Turns out �� turns out even this �� this matter Xiao Wangye also know; indeed �� indeed �� amazing."


    Wei Xiaobao was only blurting whatever was on is mind, he was simply guessing randomly, yet surprisingly his guess was correct. Feeling very pleased with himself he laughed aloud and said, "Your Prince did not conceal anything from me, Miss Ah Qi is your Prince''s good friend; his Shimei, Miss Ah Ke is my good friend


    [76]. Won''t that make us really belong to the same family? Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    The two of them laughed together, the barrier between them vanished. Wei Xiaobao said, "Fu Wang sent me to ask you really well, the things you told my Fu Wang, are they really with all sincerity, and there is no other conspiracy?"


    "Xiao Wangye," Hantiemo said, "You have such friendship with our Prince, how can you still have such suspicion?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Fu Wang said that when someone is telling lies, what he says the first time might not be the same as when he says it the second time. This matter is really of too great an importance, once we are not careful, everybody will fall with head and face filthy with grime, will be in an extremely difficult situation; therefore, Fu Wang wanted you to repeat to me everything from head to tail, to see if there is any ''mortise and tenon that won''t fit with each other''. Hantiemo Laoxiong, it''s not that I don''t believe your Prince, but with you, it is our first meeting; I don''t really know you. I must, therefore, question you carefully; please don''t blame me."


    "That, you should," Hantiemo said, "If this matter ever leaks out, there will be fatal consequences. Ping Xi Wang is handling this matter very carefully, this is an absolute must. Xiao Wangye, please report back to Wangye, after our four families form an alliance, we will send troops together, and divide the land under the heavens [referring to China] into four parts. The rivers and mountains of the Central Plains will entirely belong to Wangye. The other three families will not be envious or have any change of mind."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he thought, "Four-part domination! I wonder which four families? But if I ask him, I would appear not knowing what he is talking about, and then my cover will be blown away." He then chuckled and said, "This matter has actually been discussed several times by your Prince and I. But as far as how this matter will be accomplished, how to divide the land under the heavens into four parts, after much negotiation we have never reached any agreement. What did your Prince say this time?"


    "Our Prince says that it''s not that he has a mind to demand too much favor," Hantiemo said, "But the matter of contacting the Luocha


    [77] Country to send their troops is the result of His Highness ��"


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard the word ''Luocha Country to send their troops'', his heart shivered in fear. In the meantime, Hantiemo continued, "�� is the result of His Highness'' effort after he suffered untold hardship before he succeeded. Luocha Country''s firearms are incomparably fierce, when the firearms shoot, the Qing troops will have countless difficulties to resist. As long as the Luocha Country is willing to send the troops, this important matter will succeed. Ping Xi Wang will become the Great Emperor of China, Xiao Wangye will become the Crown Prince."


    Luocha Country is Russia, the country where the people have yellow hair and jade green eyes, and exceptional stature. The Chinese regarded these people as the demon ''luocha'', the evil spirit in Buddhism; consequently, at that time the country was called Luocha Country.


    During Shunzhi''s reign, the Cossack Cavalry of Luocha Country had had several confrontations with the Qing troops; although each time the Qing troops were beaten, they also managed to inflict serious damage to the Cossacks. Wei Xiaobao did not understand the affairs between nations, but when he was in the Palace, he had heard that the Luocha Country''s troops were brutal and violent; their firearms were swift and fierce, and were difficult to withstand. He thought, "My, my, this is serious; selling his own country has become Wu Sangui''s second nature, this time he collude with Luocha Country. I must report this to the young Emperor immediately, we must think of a way to resist Luocha Country''s firearms and canons."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was hesitating without saying anything, with his face showing a displeased expression, Hantiemo asked, "I wonder if Xiao Wangye has any advice?"


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao''s mind flashed like a lightning, trying to think how to conceal what he was really thinking. Suddenly he recalled Zheng Keshuang''s strive with his older brother over their father''s position that he sent Feng Xifan to assassinate his Shifu Chen Jinnan. Immediately he bitterly said, "Damn it, what other advice I may have? Fu Wang becomes the Emperor, in the future it will be my Gege who succeed him to the throne, I will only be a prince; what good will it be?"


    Hantiemo suddenly saw the light; he walked over and said in a low voice, "Since our Prince is already a good friend of Xiao Wangye, when Xiaoren return, I will explain to the Prince Xiao Wangye''s desire. When this great undertaking is accomplished, our Mongolia and Luocha Country, plus the Living Buddha of Tibet, three families, will seek to protect Xiao Wangye. In that way �� in that way Xiao Wangye will have nothing to worry."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out the four families who will deploy troops are Mongolia, Tibet, Luocha Country, plus Wu Sangui." Immediately his face showed a delighted expression as he said, "If the three of you will really strive for me, when I have the power in my hands, naturally I will reward you heavily; definitely I won''t forget you, laoxiong, for your help." Casually he took out four banknotes, worth five hundred taels each, from his pocket and handed it over to Hantiemo, saying, "Please take this first for your incidental expenses."


    Seeing how generous he was with reward, Hantiemo was overjoyed at the unexpected fortune; immediately he bowed to express his gratitude. The little bit of suspicion he originally had in his heart, at this moment it vanished completely. He was certain that this Xiao Wangye wanted to vie for the Emperor position with his older brother Wu Yingxiong; his master Prince Galdan and Hantiemo himself just happened to be in the middle of the raising and lowering of their hands, hence they occupied a very advantageous position.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "According to your Prince, after our success, how are we going to divide the land under the heavens?"


    Hantiemo replied, "The beautiful rivers and mountains of the Central Plains naturally will belong to your Wu family. Sichuan will return to the Living Buddha of Tibet, the roads north and south of Tianshan


    [78], the Inner Mongolia''s four eastern and two western leagues


    [79], Chahar, Jehol, and the city of Suiyuan will return to our Mongolia."


    "That''s quite a vast expanse of land," Wei Xiaobao said. Actually, he did not know the size of any places mentioned, but listening to Hantiemo mentioning a lot of places, he guessed the area must be quite substantial.


    Hantiemo smiled and said, "The effort our Mongolia will spend on Wangye''s behalf will also be very substantial."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "How about the Luocha Country?" he asked.


    Hantiemo replied, "The Great Emperor of Luocha Country said that Luocha Country and Wangye''s territory will have the Shanhai Pass [the Eastern Pass of the Great Wall] as the border. They will not tread a single step into the inside of the Pass. Outside Shanhai Pass originally belongs to Manchurian Tatars; the Luocha Country will occupy the Manchu people''s land, they will not occupy even a cun of Chinese people''s land."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "In that case, I think it is fair," he said, "Have your Prince made a schedule on when we are going to raise our arms?"


    Hantiemo said, "In this great undertaking, Wangye is the leader, the other three families will merely respond by launching converging attack; naturally we will wait for Wangye''s thought."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Fu Wang really wants to know, after we deploy our troops, how are the three families going to respond?"


    Hantiemo said, "In this matter, we ask that Wangye not to worry. As soon as Wangye''s large force is out of Yunnan and Guizhou, our Mongolian elite troops will be deployed from the west to the east, the Cossack elite cavalry of Luocha Country will move from the north to the south, and attack Beijing from two directions. The Living Buddha''s Tibetan army will immediately sweep Sichuan border, plus Shen Long Jiao''s surprise-attack force ��"


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, and slapped his thigh. "You �� you know about Shen Long Jiao?" he said, "Hong Jiaozhu �� what did he say?" Hearing that the Divine Dragon Cult was unexpectedly also involved in this conspiracy, his heart was shaken; he could not prevent his voice from quivering.


    Seeing the change in his countenance, Hantiemo asked, "Has Wangye told Xiao Wangye about Shen Long Jiao?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he said, "Why hasn''t he? Twice I have had long talk with Hong Jiaozhu and Madame Hong; I have even met with the Five Dragon Envoys of the Cult. I thought your Prince did not know about this matter."


    Hantiemo smiled and said, "Hong Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao has already received an imperial appointment from the Great Emperor of the Luocha Country. As soon as the Luocha Country deploys its troops, naturally Shen Long Jiao will have no choice but to respond. In the future, China''s coastal islands, including Taiwan and Hainan Islands, will become Shen Long Jiao''s territory. Not only that, Fujian''s Geng Jingzhong, Guandong''s Shang Kexi, Guangxi''s Kong Sizhen, everybody may respond. Once Wangye gives a shout, from the east, south, west and north everybody will move together, won''t this Manchurian Qing''s dominion fall into Wangye''s hands?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he said, while in his heart he groaned, "Bad, bad!" He was, after all, still very young; telling lies here and there, he was capable of not revealing any flaw. But encountering national affair like this, he could not help but secretly feeling worry for the young emperor. Those words, ''wonderful, wonderful'' did not sound very joyous at all.


    Hantiemo was very astute; he could tell the deep concern behind what Wei Xiaobao did not really mean what he said. "Xiao Wangye''s friendship with our Prince is out of ordinary, you are also treating Xiaoren generously; even if my body is crushed to dust Xiaoren cannot repay it. Whatever difficulty Xiao Wangye might have, there is no harm in giving me clear direction. If Xiaoren can do anything to serve you, I will not balk at ten thousand deaths."


    "I was just thinking," Wei Xiaobao said, "If everybody takes one piece on the east, one piece on the west, when I become the Emperor in the future, my territory will be broken and in disorder; that will be very disappointing."


    Hantiemo mused, "Turns out you are concerned over this matter. It makes sense." He said in a low voice, "Xiao Wangye please understand, after this great undertaking is accomplished, those cronies Geng Jingzhong, Shang Kexi and Kong Sizhen will be eliminated. At that time, if you want us, Mongolian to send troops to help, naturally we won''t decline."


    Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, "Thank you very much, thank you very much. You may bring these words of mine back to your Prince. You are Prince Galdan''s trusted aide; your promise is just the same as if the Prince personally gives me his words."


    Hantiemo felt a bit awkward, but then he thought that it would be a future problem, there is no harm to carelessly make a promise right now. Patting his own chest, he said, "Xiaoren will definitely do my utmost for Xiao Wangye; I definitely will not turn my back on you."


    Wei Xiaobao questioned him some more for quite a long time, but did not get any new useful information; hence he said, "Just take a rest in here, I will go back to report to Fu Wang." And then he continued in low voice, "Whatever we talked about today, if you ever leak even half a word, my Gege will definitely strike a vicious blow to kill me; I am afraid even Fu Wang will be helpless to save me."


    Hantiemo had seen quite a lot of brothers struggling for position and killing each other within the Mongolian tribal clans; he knew this was indeed not a small matter. Thereupon he bent his knees immediately and raised his hands toward the heaven to make a vow.


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the room; he instructed Feng Jizhong and Xu Tianchuan to strictly guard Hantiemo, and then he went to visit Yang Yizhi. As soon as he pushed the door open, he could not help but was greatly shocked, for half of Yang Yizhi''s body was rolled on the floor. He rushed forward to help him up, but saw that Yang Yizhi''s eyes were wide open, yet he was motionless since he had already died. There were several large characters written in blood on the white sheet of the bed. Wei Xiaobao only knew a ''three'' [San] character and a ''cassia'' [Gui] character. He turned his head around and asked, "What characters are those?"


    "Yes," Gao Yanchao responded, "Wu Sangui zao fan [rebel/revolt] mai guo [sell country], seven characters."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "At the point of his death Yang Dage used his severed hand to write."


    "Precisely," Gao Yanchao grimly said.


    Wei Xiaobao called the Tian Di Hui warriors together and conveyed to them what Hantiemo had told him. None of the warriors was not enraged; they all cursed Wu Sangui for betraying his country the first time, and now wanted to do it the second time. Priest Xuanzhen gnashed his teeth. Suddenly he untied the front piece of his garment and said, "Gentlemen, please look!"


    They saw a scar on his chest, as big as a rice bowl, where the skin wrinkled and the bone protruded; it looked really gruesome. He also had a long saber scar on his left shoulder, approximately a chi long. These people had known each other for quite a long time, yet nobody knew that he had suffered such a serious injury in the past. When they saw it, nobody was not overwhelmed with shock.


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "This is precisely the wound from the devils of the Luocha Country''s firearms."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "So Daozhang [(Taoist) priest] has fought with the Luocha people?"


    With a grieved expression Priest Xuanzhen said, "My father, (older and younger) uncles, nine brothers in all, have died under the Luocha people''s hands. Pindao


    [80] left home precisely because of this." Thereupon he briefly narrated his story.


    Originally from generation to generation his family engaged in furs business. They ran a furs business in Zhangjiakou [prefecture, in Hebei province]; they owned a hundred-year old shop there. One particular year his father''s elder brother and his father took their brothers, sons and nephew to go beyond the Great Wall to purchase silver fox, sable and other precious furs. Along the way they came across a band of Luocha people, who coveted their gold, silver and goods, and wanted to rob them. There were actually three escort masters under their employment who went along to protect them. But the Luocha people''s firearms were very fierce; as soon as they opened fire, the three escort masters died instantly. His father and uncles also died under their firearms, sabers and horses. Xuanzhen''s shoulder was cut by a saber, the pit of his stomach was fried by the gunpowder; he fainted in a pool of blood. The Luocha people thought he was dead. They plundered their gold, silver and goods, and left.


    After Xuanzhen regained his consciousness, he struggled for many months in the forest of the mountain before his wounds were healed. Because of this calamity, his family property was completely gone, their furs business went bankrupt. In his discouragement he left his home to become a Taoist priest. When the country changed its master, he joined Tian Di Hui. But when he recalled how swift and fierce Luocha people''s firearm was, although it had been more than twenty years ago, he still often got nightmares in the middle of the night, he would shout loudly and woke up with a start.


    Li Lishi said, "The fiercest weapon those Luocha people have is the firearm. As long as we can think of a way to break it, we don''t have to be afraid of them."


    Priest Xuanzhen shook his head and said, "When it went off, it is indeed like thunder and lightning. Even if your martial art is higher, you won''t be able to dodge it, you won''t be able to block it."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Luocha people want to join hands with Wu Sangui to snatch away the Tatars'' realm, we can simply watch with folded arms, let them fight each other until the sky and the earth turn upside down. We can benefit as the third party and seize the opportunity to restore the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "I am afraid we will only beat the tiger from the front door only to have a wolf come from the back door. Luocha people are ten times more vicious than the Manchurian Tatars; after defeating the Manchurian Qing, they won''t stop at Shanhai Pass, they would definitely enter the Pass to occupy our land under the heavens."


    "Shall we help the Manchu Tatars instead?" Xu Tianchuan asked. The warriors made comments one after another.


    Naturally Wei Xiaobao was determined to help Kangxi, but he did not dare to speak it out. "There is no hurry to make the decision right now," he said, "We have snatched Yang Dage away, we have captured Hantiemo and Lu Yifeng; very soon Wu Sangui will find out about it, and then what are we going to do?"


    Everybody pondered silently, and then some said that they had better fight with him immediately, some said they had better escape that very same night. Wei Xiaobao said, "This old turtle has many troops and horses under his command; if we have to fight, we cannot beat him. Yunnan and Guizhou are so big, we won''t necessarily be able to escape his clutch in ten days or half a month. Um, let''s do it this way: I am asking gentlemen to take that dog official Lu Yifeng, along with Yang Dage''s body, back to the big prison Hei Kanzi."


    The warriors were startled. "Send them back?" they asked.


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We only need to scare that dog thief Lu Yifeng, I''ll say most likely he will not dare to announce it publicly. If he reports it to his superior, he himself will not escape the responsibility. Yang Dage is dead anyway, there is no point in keeping his corpse."


    Although the warriors had rich experience in the Jianghu, their knowledge of government officials'' character was far inferior to Wei Xiaobao''s. They all thought that his risky move


    [81] this time was too dangerous; breaking into jail, freeing a prisoner and kidnaping an official was quite a major event, how could Lu Yifeng not report it to his superior? Li Lishi hesitantly said, "I think this dog official Lu Yifeng is too much of a coward; I am afraid �� I am afraid in this important matter he won''t dare not to report it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am not afraid that he is a coward, but I am afraid he is too stupid and useless, cannot do his job as a government official. In the officialdom, there is a principle ''conceal from superior, do not conceal from subordinate''; an enormous matter will disappear when you cover it up. Nobody wants to deliberately put a black pot over his own head. Just bring that dog official over, let me remind him some."


    Gao Yanchao turned around and left, returning with Lu Yifeng in his arms, and tossed him to the floor. He had been beaten and was scared, his face had already turned ghastly pale.


    "Lu Laoge [old older brother]," Wei Xiaobao began, "You must be exhausted."


    "I �� I don''t dare," Lu Yifeng replied.


    "Lu Laoge is a real friend," Wei Xiaobao said, "All Ping Xi Wang''s classified information, you have narrated it to us in full detail without concealing anything. Very well, a friend is a friend, we are going to let you go. Laoge has leaked Ping Xi Wang''s classified information, we will not tell anybody about it. Real men of the Jianghu will say one as one, two as two. If you, Laoge, like to publicize it yourself, to openly set yourself against Ping Xi Wang, it''s your own business. Ha ha, ha ha ��"


    Lu Yifeng shook all over; he said, "Even if Xiao �� Xiaoren has gar �� gargantuan nerve, I won''t �� won''t dare."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Brothers, please escort Lu Daren back to yamen. You might as well bring that prisoner''s body back with you, so that when there is any inquiry, Lu Daren will not have a hard time explaining." The warriors complied together. Lu Yifeng was pleasantly surprised, but was also confused; with the warriors holding his arms, he was ushered out.


    For the next several days, the Tian Di Hui warriors were waiting in trepidation; they were afraid Lu Yifeng would report to Wu Sangui, and then a large group of troops and horses under Ping Xi Wang''s command would storm into Anfu Garden to massacre them all; yet unexpectedly nothing was astirred. It was unclear whether that old traitor Wu Sangui was very crafty, that he waited until the time is ripe before making any movement, or contrary to what they expected, Wei Xiangzhu''s premonition was correct, that Lu Yifeng indeed did not dare to report.


    The warriors were restless; day after day they talked about it over and over. Finally Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s do it this way, I am going to pay Wu Sangui a visit, to see what he has to say."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "I am afraid he will detain Wei Xiangzhu and won''t let you go back; that would be terrible."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "All of us are in his grasp anyway, if the old turtle wanted to catch me, even if I don''t go to see him, I won''t be able to escape."


    He selected several officers and soldiers from the Valiant Cavalry Brigade and several Imperial Bodyguards and went to the Ping Xi Wang Mansion. Wu Sangui personally came out to welcome him. With smiles all over his face he took Wei Xiaobao''s hand; together they entered the Mansion. "To what do I owe Wei Jueye''s visit this time?" he asked, "You only need to pass it on to my son, and then won''t everything be done for you? Why would you have to toil your honorable self?"


    "Aiyo," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wangye is too polite. Xiao Jiangguan''s [lit. little/lowly military officer, referring to self] official duty is low, compared to the Prince Consort''s it is too far below. What Wangye said, Xiao Jiang is too undeserving."


    Wu Sangui laughed and said, "Wei Jueye is the beloved general serving by His Majesty''s side that he most doted on, your future is full of promise, indeed your prospect is immeasurable. It won''t be the least bit surprising if in the future you will come to this Mansion and be the Wangye."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart skipped a beat; he could not stop his countenance from changing. Halting his steps, he said, "What Wangye said is not right."


    Wu Sangui laughed. "What do you mean not right?" he asked, "Wei Jueye is only fifteen or sixteen years old, already you are the Commander of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards, Imperial Envoy, and was granted the title of Viscount. From Zijue [viscount] to Bojue [earl/count], Houjue [marquis], Gongjue [duke], Wangjue [king/prince] and then Qin Wang [prince


    [82]], it won''t take more than a dozen, perhaps twenty, years. Ha ha, ha ha ��"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Wangye," he said, "Xiao Jiang left the Capital this time, His Majesty instructed, ''Tell Wu Sangui to serve well. In the future this Ping Xi Qin Wang title will belong to my meifu [husband of younger sister] Wu Yingxiong; after Wu Yingxiong died, the Qin Wang title will belong to my waisheng [sister''s son or wife''s sibling''s son], when my waisheng dies, it will belong to my waisheng''s son. In short, let Ping Xi Qin Wang title belongs to the Wu family forever.'' Wangye, when he said that, His Majesty was extremely sincere."


    Wu Sangui was very happy in his heart. "Did His Majesty really say that?" he asked.


    "Why would I lie to you?" Wei Xiaobao said, "But His Majesty also said that there is no hurry for me to tell you this, he wanted me to investigate carefully; if Wangye is indeed a very loyal minister, then I should tell you that. Otherwise, hey, hey, won''t that mean you are saying that the Lord of Ten-thousand Years'' words does not count? That once he gave his words, dead horses cannot chase?"


    "Humph," Wu Sangui said, "Since today Wei Jueye have just told me that, you have decided that I am a loyal minister?"


    "Are you not?" Wei Xiaobao said, "If Wangye is not a loyal minister, nobody in this world is. If someday Wei Xiaobao can really have a golden mouth like Wangye, to be granted the title Zheng Dong Wang, Sao Bei Wang, Ding Nan Wang


    [83], or whatever, but can stay here in Ping Xi Wang Mansion in Yunnan, ha ha �� I will be the guest for the rest of my life; I don''t want to act as the host forever."


    The two of them were talking and walking inside. Wu Sangui was very happy to listen to Wei Xiaobao; pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand, he said, "Come, come, let us sit in my private study room." Walking through two garden courtyards, they arrived at Wu Sangui''s private study.


    Although this room was called a study room, the walls were full of sabers, spears, swords and halberds, there was not a single bookshelf or a book. There was a large round-backed wooden armchair in the middle of the room, draped in tiger skin. Ordinary tiger will have black stripes on yellow background, but this tiger skin had black stripes on white background; it was really unusual.


    "Aiyo, Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said, "This white tiger skin must be very rare. Xiao Jiang has never seen anything like this in the Palace. Today my horizon has been broadened."


    Wu Sangui was very proud of himself; he said, "When I was guarding the Shanhai Pass in the past, I went hunting in the vicinity of Ningyuan, and caught it. This kind of white tiger is called ''Zouyu'' [mythical animal]; it is indeed very rare, to get this tiger means great luck, great profit."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Every day Wangye is sitting on this white tiger skin, you will gain promotion and wealth forever without an end. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it''s really amazing."


    He saw next to the tiger skin chair there were a couple of marble screen, about five or six chi tall. The picture of mountain, water [together means ''landscape], wood and rock on the screen seemed to be alive. On one of the screen, there was a picture of mountain peak, on the mountain peak there seemed to be a black-naped oriole. By the water there was a tiger, the posture looked beautiful and alive. Wei Xiaobao praised, "These two screens must be very valuable too. I have never seen something like this in the Palace. They say that Laotianye [God/Heaven] was gifted this kind of painting, to whomever''s hands it falls, it will be an omen."


    Wu Sangui smiled, "What about these two screens? I wonder what omen they might have?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In Xiao Jiang''s opinion, this aloof and remote little black-naped oriole can only chirp ''jijizhazha'', quite useless. Underneath is actually a big tiger, majestic, very formidable. This big tiger is naturally Wangye."


    Wu Sangui was very happy; immediately he thought, "He said that the little black-naped oriole is standing aloft, can only chirp ''jijizhazha'', and is quite useless; isn''t he referring to the young Emperor? By saying those things, is he testing me?" Thereupon he asked, "This little black-naped oriole, I wonder what it is referring to."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "What does Wangye think?"


    Wu Sangui shook his head, "I don''t know," he said, "Would Wei Jueye give me your advice?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled. He pointed to the other screen and said, "Here we have mountains and we have water, of course it is referring to ''ten thousand li of rivers and mountains''. Ha ha, good omen, good omen!"


    Wu Sangui''s heart jumped; he was about to ask, but in the end he did not dare. In that moment he felt his lips were dry, his tongue parched.


    Immediately he turned his eyes away from the sutra, and looked at the sabers and spears on the wall. He laughed and said, "Wangye, you are indeed a great hero, a great warrior, even your study is full of weapons. Frankly speaking, Xiao Jiang cannot tell the good from the bad, when I heard the word ''study room'', my head was getting big; who would have thought that your study room is this magnificent? Indeed, my utmost admiration."


    Wu Sangui laughed heartily; he said, "Each one of these weapons has its origin. Xiao Wang hang them here just for old time''s sake."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "In those years Wangye swept the east and shook the west, struggled in the south and fought in the north, establishing enormous heroic deeds [orig. to ride a laboring horse to great deeds]. These weapons must be the ones Wangye had used?"


    Wu Sangui smiled. "Exactly," he said, "In defending the border, throughout my life I have fought several hundred battles, big and small; from the cradle to the grave, this Wang [king] title came from struggling with everything I have." The implication was that I was not like you, the little baby who was lucky to obtain the Emperor''s favor and was promoted to Viscount.


    Wei Xiaobao nodded in agreement; he said, "When Wangye defended Shanhai Pass, I wonder which weapon did you use? Which great merit did you render?"


    Wu Sangui''s countenance changed quickly. When he defended Shanhai Pass, the battle was against the Manchurians, which means the more he killed Manchurians, the bigger his merit was. By asking this question, Wei Xiaobao was obviously mocking him as a traitor (to Han people). In that moment his hands trembled slightly, he nearly was not able to suppress his anger.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "I heard that the Emperor Yongli of the Ming Dynasty was pursued by Wangye from Yunnan all the way to Burma, until finally he was caught and hung by Wangye with a bowstring ��" While saying that, he pointed to a long bow on the wall, and asked, "I wonder if that was the bow?"


    When Wu Sangui killed Emperor Yongli of Ming, he had made up his mind to show his loyalty and devotion to the Qing Dynasty, that he would not be double-minded; however, deep down in his heart he was actually quite ashamed. Nobody in his mansion had ever dared to mention this matter; unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao brought it up on his face, and thus unmasking his scar. In that instant the fury in his breast was difficult to endure; he said sternly, "Today Wei Jueye has repeatedly mocked me, I don''t know what is your intention?"


    Wei Xiaobao said in consternation, "I did not! How can Xiao Jiang dare to mock Wangye? Back in Beijing, Xiao Jiang heard everybody in the Palace said that Wangye even hang the Ming Emperor, showing your utmost loyalty toward our Great Qing. I heard that when Wangye hang Emperor Yongli, you acted personally, the bowstring tightened around his neck, ''zhi, zhi, zhi'', Emperor Yongli groaned ''ai, ai, ai'', and Wangye laughed heartily. Very good, very good, that was very loyal!"


    Wu Sangui sprang up, clenched his fists, but then he had a second thought, "How can a little kid like this have this kind of guts, have the impertinence to provoke me like this? Must be that little muddle-headed lord incited him, ordering him to test me; or perhaps my other opponents in the Imperial Court intentionally prompted him to speak provoking words, trying to control me." Being a wily old fox, immediately he suppressed his angry look and chuckled. "Those ''defending our border and rendering great merits'' and so on are not worth mentioning," he said, "Actually, only being loyal and devoted to His Majesty can be considered a little bit of my strong point. Xiao Xiongdi, you want to be Zheng Dong Wang, Sao Bei Wang, you must learn how to be loyal and devoted to His Majesty like your Lao Gege here."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Absolutely, I cannot afford not to learn it! It''s a pity Xiao Jiang was born several decades too late, the Ming Dynasty Emperors have all been killed by Wangye, so that Xiao Jiang has nowhere to put my hands into."


    Wu Sangui cursed in his heart, "There will come a day when you will fall into my hand, and then I will make a mincemeat of you!" He laughed and said, "If Wei Jueye wants to set up a merit, why worry you won''t get any opportunity?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "It would be good if someone revolts," he said.


    Wu Sangui''s heart turned cold. "Why?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If someone revolts, His Majesty will send me to battle, Xiao Jiang will do what Wangye has done, I will fight with everything I have and kill the enemy, catch the rebels, and may break open the border region."


    "Wei Xiongdi," Wu Sangui grimly said, "This kind of talk is irresponsible and must not be mentioned. With the current Holy Son of Heaven on the throne, the whole world''s heart is converted, every person gives his allegiance, who might want to revolt?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "So according to Wangye, nobody will revolt?"


    Wu Sangui was taken aback; he said, "If we say nobody will revolt, naturally it may not be necessarily true. The former Ming Dynasty rebels, or followers of renegades everywhere, those who wish to create disorder, I am afraid there are some."


    "If someone revolts," Wei Xiaobao continued, "Will it mean that the Holy Son of Heaven is not on the throne anymore?"


    Wu Sangui struggled hard to suppress his anger. "Hey, hey, hey," he let out some dry laughed, and then said, "Xiao Xiongdi''s talk is very interesting."


    As soon as he thought about forging the sutra, he had an idea. Suddenly he lowered his voice as he said, "Wangye, His Majesty has a secret edict for you."


    Wu Sangui was startled; he stood up instantly and said, "Minister Wu Sangui respectfully hear and obey the Imperial Decree."


    Wei Xiaobao pulled his hand and said, "No rush, no rush, let me tell you the background information first."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Sangui said, but he did not sit down.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty understands very well that you are a loyal minister of the Great Qing, yet he repeatedly instructed me to ascertain whether you are loyal or a traitor, does Wangye know why?"


    Wu Sangui scratched his head and said, "I don''t know."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, His Majesty has an important matter he wants you to do, but somehow he does not feel reassured yet whether you would or would not strive to do your best. He is sending Princess Jianning down to marry your Heir Apparent, actually his intention was to �� to �� that ��"


    "He wants to encourage me?" Wu Sangui asked.


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty said his intention was to encourage you. My literary knowledge is too lacking, I could not remember that word."


    Wu Sangui said, "Whatever mission His Majesty has for me, laochen [the old minister, referring to self] will do my utmost, I will toil as his dog or his horse. I am just wondering what mission might His Majesty has for laochen to do."


    "This mission concerns a matter of utmost importance," Wei Xiaobao said, "By this time tomorrow, I am asking Wangye to wait for me in the Mansion, Xiao Jiang will come back to pass on His Majesty''s secret order."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Sangui said, "His Majesty has a decree, laochen will go to Anfu Garden to receive it."


    With a low voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Too many eyes and ears in Anfu Garden, this place is more dependable."


    Finished speaking he took his leave. Wu Sangui wondered what trick he was playing, he respectfully walked Wei Xiaobao out.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao returned about the same time, the two of them went into the study room.


    "Wangye," Wei Xiaobao began, "What I am about to tell you is a matter of utmost importance, you must never divulge it in any way, even when you present a memorial to the Emperor, you must not mention it a character or half a word."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Sangui complied, "Naturally I will not dare to divulge the secret."


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice, "His Majesty obtained a secret report, Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong is about to rebel!"


    As soon as Wu Sangui heard it, his countenance changed greatly. Ping Nan Wang [king who pacified the south] Shang Kexi was guarding Guangdong, Jing Nan Wang [peaceful south king] Geng Jingzhong was guarding Fujian; together with Wu Sangui, they were known as the three border defenses. These three defenses shared glory and disgrace, their rise and demise were interrelated. Wu Sangui''s rebellion plot actually involved a joint large-scale military movement with Shang and Geng, two defenses. When he heard that the Emperor was aware that Shang and Geng, two people were about to revolt, naturally Wu Sangui was thrown into extreme panic. "Is �� is that true?" he asked in a trembling voice.


    The previous day he concocted a story that he had a secret order from the Emperor to scare Wu Sangui so that he would lose his head out of fear, and thus Wei Xiaobao would have an opportunity to steal the sutra. However, he was, after all, only a young kid whose knowledge of military or country affair was limited. He thought that if he babbled nonsense, first, Wu Sangui might not necessarily believe him, second, when the lie was exposed, perhaps the repercussion would be so significant that Kangxi might blame him; therefore, he decided to return to Anfu Garden and discuss it over with Tian Di Hui warriors first before returning on the next day to pass on the imperial edict. Qi Biaoqing suggested that they framed Shang and Geng, two defenses, saying that they plotted a rebellion, to frightened Wu Sangui in a big way, since in effect they were exposing his own rebellion plot. Sure enough, as Wei Xiaobao brought it up, Wu Sangui was so scared that he was at a loss of what to do.


    "Actually," Wei Xiaobao continued, "His Majesty kept hearing that the three defenses were planning a rebellion, but it sounded like a fabricated fact, just like the later generation of Mu Family trying to frame you; His Majesty never believed such thing."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Sangui said, "His Majesty is an enlightened sage, His Majesty is an enlightened sage."


    "But this time, about the Shang and Geng, two defenses'' conspiracy, His Majesty has finally acquired reliable evidence," Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty said: right now the two defenses'' rebellion plot is not out in the open yet, we must not beat the grass to scare the snake; however, he wants the Wu defense to deploy massive military force to be stationed at the Guangdong, Guangxi borders. As soon as those two defenses rise up, the Wu defense is to immediately dispatch the troops to Guangdong and Fujian, to arrest those two traitors and send them off to Beijing. That will be an enormous meritorious service."


    Wu Sangui bowed and said, "I solemnly receive the Imperial Edict. If Shang and Geng, two defenses are acting against the law, laochen will immediately deploy troops to capture those two people and present them to Beijing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty said: Shang Kexi is a muddle-head, Geng Jingzhong is a useless fellow, they are definitely not Wu defense''s match. As long as Wu defense agrees to deploy troops, the Imperial Court will not need to send a single soldier, this matter will be solved just by stretching a hand and grab it."


    Wu Sangui smiled and said, "Please tell the Lord of Ten-thousand Years to set his heart at peace. Laochen drills the troops in here, I do not dare to be negligence the least bit, especially to serve the Emperor on a special mission. All the soldiers and generals under laochen''s banner, each one is comparable to three bannermen soldiers, and they all pledge their lives in loyalty and devotion to His Majesty."


    "I am going to report what Wangye is saying today back to the Emperor," Wei Xiaobao said, "When His Majesty hears it, he will be very happy."


    Wu Sangui was secretly delighted, "This way I can move an army and send a general, even if the little muddleheaded lord knew about it, he won''t be suspicious."


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to a rifle hanging on the wall. "Wangye," he said, "Is that a westerners'' firearm?"


    "Exactly," Wu Sangui said, "That is Luocha Country''s firearm. It was obtained during the battle our Great Qing and the Luocha Country had outside the Pass, it is indeed a very sharp weapon."


    "I have never had any firearms before," Wei Xiaobao said, "Can you let me borrow it for a moment?"


    Wu Sangui smiled and said, "Naturally you can! This kind of firearm is used during the battle; although it can reach far, it is rather inconvenient to use. Luocha people have some other short gun." Walking toward a wooden cabinet, he pulled open the drawer, and took a red wood case out.


    He saw Wu Sangui opened the wooden case and took out two short guns, about a chi long each. From the muzzle he stuffed some gunpowder, and packed it using an iron rod. He also put three iron bullets inside the muzzle. And then he took a fire knife and ignited a piece of paper, and handed the gun and the paper to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Light the fuse, the iron bullet will shoot out."


    Wei Xiaobao received the gun, and aimed the muzzle at the rockery outside the window. He blew the lighted paper to ignite the fuse. There was a loud explosion, a burst of hot air hit his face, his arm was violently jolted, the gun fell to the floor, smoke arose before his eyes; he could not help but to retreat two steps backward.


    Wu Sangui laughed aloud and said, "This gun''s power is very formidable, isn''t it?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s arm was numb from the shock. "Damn it," he cursed, "Western people''s toy is indeed demonical."


    Wu Sangui laughed and said, "Look at the rockery!"


    Wu Sangui focused his eyes and saw the a small corner of the rockery had been exploded, there were fragments of rocks scattered on the ground; he could not help but sticking out his tongue, and did not pull it back for half a day. "If this gun explode on someone," he said, "Even if you have copper muscle and iron bone, you won''t be able to withstand it." Stooping down, he picked up the short gun and put it back into the wooden case.


    When the mansion''s guards heard the explosion, they all came to the window and looked inside. After seeing their Wangye was safe and sound, and was talking to Wei Xiaobao, they felt relieved.


    Wu Sangui held the wooden case with both hands and said with a laugh, "Wei Xiongdi, please take it so you can play with it."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "This is an effective weapon to protect yourself, Wangye''s generous gift, I do not dare to accept."


    Wu Sangui pushed the box into his hand, and said with a laugh, "We are brothers, why differentiate between you and I? What''s mine is yours."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This is Luocha people''s treasure, you might not necessarily get another one in the future. Xiao Jiang absolutely cannot accept it." But in his heart he was thinking, "You are colluding with Luocha people, you can have any number of guns you want, naturally it is not a rare object at all."


    Wu Sangui laughed and said, "Exactly because it is rare that I dare to give it to Xiongdi. If it is a common object, Wei Xiongdi would not even look at it. Ha ha ��"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao thanked him and accepted; he said with a laugh, "Hereafter if I come across people who want to harm me, I will take out the gun, ''bang!'' I will shoot him, and explode him till his body torn and his bones crushed. Xiao Jiang''s life is actually bestowed by Wangye."


    Wu Sangui patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said with a laugh, "You don''t need to be that polite. Guns are indeed very formidable, but putting the gunpowder, loading the bullets, lighting the flint, igniting the fuse, the procedure is really bothersome, unlike our bow and arrow, which we can shoot in rapid succession, continuously."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "If the westerners'' guns are like bow and arrow, can be shot in succession, will we, Chinese, still have our lives? The Great Qing''s beautiful rivers and mountains will be difficult to protect." Speaking to this point, he giggled and said, "Actually, there is a benefit to me to have these two guns; now I do not need to train martial art. All those martial art experts or martial art masters are not my match anymore."


    After some idle talks, took his leave and returned to Anfu Garden, where he closed the door, and opened up the sutra''s outer skin. As expected, he found a lot of sheepskin pieces inside. He mused, "I have obtained all the pieces of map hidden in the eight copies of sutra. Laozi only needs to focus my attention and slowly assemble the map together, the Tatars'' buried treasure and dragon''s vein will fall into my hand." However, the thought of focusing his attention to put together these several thousand pieces of sheepskin into a complete picture already gave him a headache; he thought, "No need to rush, we have plenty of time."


    Immediately he stitched back the cover and put the sheepskin pieces into the pouch with the rest of the pieces, which he hid in his innermost pocket, next to his skin. Thinking about the great success of his mission, he could not help but feeling happy and contented. "The young Emperor, the old wh0re, the old turtle, Hong Jiaozhu, the big traitor, and also my Shifu, the not-old, not-young, middle-aged nun, everybody wanted to obtain these eight copies of sutra, in the end it is still I, Wei Xiaobao, who gets it. Ha ha �� if they knew, one will pull my hand, the other will pull my leg, and pull me in four directions, I will be torn away from limb to limb." He was very excited, too bad that he could not tell anybody about it. Unable to flaunt his achievement, unavoidably he felt everything was fine except for one small defect.


    Crossing his legs, he hummed the little tune he learned in Yangzhou brothel, "A cup of wine, slowly being poured, I ask Qing Gege [beloved older brother], where did he come from? In that place, Yangzhou, there are twenty-four bridges, at the end of each bridge, there is a beautiful woman, Qing Gege ��" While he was singing happily, suddenly he heard someone knocking his door lightly. Three knocks, stopped, two knocks, stopped, three knocks. It was precisely Tian Di Hui''s secret signal.


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and opened the door, Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao entered. Seeing the two people''s serious expression, he asked, "What is it?"


    Xu Tianchuan said, "I heard from the Imperial Bodyguards that the Mansion''s bodyguards are searching to the east and inquiring to the west, to find a Mongolian; I am sure they are looking for Hantiemo. From what I heard, they seem to be highly suspicious of us, but they do not dare to ask us openly. Wei Xiangzhu, what do you think?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Go fetch that fellow, bind him and hide him underneath my bed; I don''t think Wu Sangui''s subordinates will dare to search my room."


    Xu Tianchuan said, "I am afraid that when Wei Xiangzhu is out, the big traitor''s guards will use whatever excuse they can find to force their way in to search."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "No matter what we won''t allow them to come in; if we really reach a stalemate in discussion, we will fight them. Could they be brazen enough to resort to violence and kill us?" Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao nodded in agreement.


    Suddenly Qian Laoben rushed in and said, "The big traitor is going to set this place on fire."


    The three of them were shocked. "What?" they asked in chorus.


    Qian Laoben said, "These past few days I patrolled the Anfu Garden all around, to guard against the big traitor playing tricks on us. Just now I saw some people sneaked into the woods to our west. I secretly followed them, and saw more than a dozen people hiding in the woods, carrying quite a lot of kerosene, saltpeter, sulfur, and other materials to light a fire."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "The big traitor has the guts to burn the Princess to death?"


    "I don''t think so," Qian Laoben said, "They suspect we kidnapped Hantiemo, but do not dare to enter the Garden to search. When the fire breaks, they will swarm in to fight the fire, while seizing that opportunity to search."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Right," he said, "That must be it. Dage, what is your wise opinion?"


    Xu Tianchuan gestured by running his hand across his neck; he said, "Kill him to close his mouth, destroy his body to leave no trace!"


    When Wei Xiaobao heard ''destroy his body to leave no trace'', he thought, "That is one trick I am an expert at, nothing can be easier, I guarantee that in just a short time that big beard Mongolian will turn into a pool of yellow liquid. But this fellow has the inside information on the collusion between the big traitor and the Luocha Country, I must send him to the young Emperor so that he can personally interrogate him." He said, "This big beard Mongolian is the biggest proof of the big traitor''s rebellion conspiracy. We must send him to Beijing; even if the big traitor does not rebel, he will be forced to rebel. This Hantie somebody is the magic weapon to guarantee that the Mu Family will obey our Tian Di Hui''s orders."


    How to force Wu Sangui to revolt, and how to force the Mu Family to obey Tian Di Hui''s orders, were precisely the two important matters that were always in the Tian Di Hui warriors'' mind. As soon as the three men heard this, their countenance changed greatly; they chorused their agreement. Xu Tianchuan said, "If not for Wei Xiangzhu''s reminding us, we nearly harm this important matter." In their hearts their admiration toward this glib-tongued teenager grew.


    Qian Laoben said, "The problems at hand are: how to deal with the big traitor''s subordinates in setting this place on fire to do their searching, and how to get this Hantiemo out of the big traitor''s territory. The borders of Yunnan and Guizhou, two provinces are tightly guarded; leaving Kunming is even more difficult."


    Qian Laoben laughed and said, "To get a big, fat pig out of town, I am afraid we can''t go pass the gate; we must think of some other method. Hiding a corpse inside the coffin is also an old trick, I am afraid it will be difficult to conceal the truth."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "If faking a dead person is not good, let him pretend to be a live person. Boss Qian, you shave his big beard, put some kind of flour, plaster or whatever on his face, to change his appearance, let him wear the Valiant Cavalry Brigade hat and coat. I am going to select a squad of Valiant Cavalry Brigade sergeants and send them back to Beijing, saying that the Princess is sending her respect to His Majesty, reporting the wedding date to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Let this big beard without the beard mingled among the Valiant Cavalry Brigade troop, seal his mute acupoint so he can''t shout. Would the guards, Wu Sangui''s subordinates ask the Emperor''s personal guards to announce their names one by one before letting them pass?" The three people cheered and praised his ingenuity, they all agreed that it was a brilliant plan.


    "Is there any brothel in Kunming?" Wei Xiaobao suddenly asked.


    Qian Laoben and the others, three people, looked at each other; they thought, "Wei Xiangzhu wants to visit a prostitute?" Qian Laoben laughed and said, "Naturally there are some."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "If we invite Priest Xuanzhen to take a stroll in a brothel, will he be willing to go?" he asked.


    Qian Laoben shook his head and said, "Daozhang has left home, I am sure he won''t want to go. If Wei Xiangzhu has an interest, subordinate may keep you company."


    "You will definitely go," Wei Xiaobao said, "But Xuanzhen Daozhang is big and tall; among our brothers, he is the only one with similar built as that big beard."


    As soon as the three people heard it, they understood that Priest Xuanzhen was to impersonate Hantiemo. Gao Yanchao laughed and said, "For the sake of our Society''s important matter, I am sure Xuanzhen Daozhang will follow orders to visit a brothel." The four of them burst into laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Please ask Daozhang to wear the big beard''s clothes and take the big beard''s belongings, paste the ''genuine goods at fair prices'' yellow beard shaved from the big beard''s face on his chin. The rest of the brothers, keep the Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards'' uniform you are wearing now; pick a big brothel, go and drink and make trouble there. Everybody grabs a prostitute [orig. good-looking powder head], in the fight that ensues, Qian Laoben stabs Daozhang to death ��"


    Qian Laoben was startled, but he understood immediately; naturally he would not kill people for real. He laughed and said, "Wei Xiangzhu''s idea is great. Xuanzhen Daozhang and I will fight over a beauty, we will mumble something, speaking in Mongolian tongue �� But we must have another corpse ready."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "Right," he said, "Go look around, find a criminal in Kunming whose stature is more or less the same as the big beard, catch him and kill him, hide his body by the brothel. After Boss Qian kills Daozhang, shoo the prostitutes out. Daozhang will turn back to life, and put the big beard''s clothes on the dead body."


    Gao Yanchao laughed and said, "The dead man''s face must be chopped into pulp, and throw the clump of yellow beard under the bed, let Wu Sangui''s subordinate find it, and then they will think that the murderer intends to conceal the fact that Hantiemo is dead."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Gao Dage''s thought is more thorough than mine. Everybody, take some money, go visit the brothel! This is so much fun, too bad I cannot go with you."


    [1] Posthumous title of Hung Taiji (1592-1632), eighth son of Nurhaci; reigned 1626-1636 as Second Khan of Later Jin dynasty, then founded the Qing dynasty and reigned 1636-1643 as Emperor.


    [2] In original Chinese, the word ''a team of four horses'' sounds like the word ''dead'' (si).


    [4] A fudutong (����ͳ) actually was a 2a rank (����Ʒ; zhengerpin). It was equal in rank to a Regional Commander (�ܱ�; zongbin). During the Qing Dynasty, the system of nine pin-ranks (Ʒ) was used. Each pin-rank was divided into upper class (zheng [��]/a) and lower class (cong/b) (Courtesy of Ace High).


    [5]A little bit of explanation here: so far, the people in blue had always called him ''Xiao Jiangjun'' �C Little/young general, now Yuan Yifang was calling him ''Da Jiangjun'' �C Big/great general.


    [6] Orig. ''fashi'' - one who has mastered the Buddhist sutras.


    [7] Mythical bird, related to Phoenix.


    [8] Shaoshi Peak was the location of Shaolin Temple.


    [9][10] From the dictionary: Buddha''s name for himself, having many layers of meaning - Sanskrit: thus gone, having been Brahman, gone to the absolute etc.


    [11] The character ''gao'' in Gao Seng (Senior Monk) literally means ''tall''.


    [12] Buddhist monk''s knife (not used for killing).


    [13] ''Damo'' - Dharma, the teaching of Buddha, ''Bo''re'' - Prajna, the great wisdom. Actually, for Damo, the original Chinese uses ''courtyard/institution'' (yuan) instead of ''hall'' (tang), but since the term ''Damo Hall'' is widely known, I decided to use ''Damo Hall''.


    [14] Not sure about this, Shanxi Luhe Dao literally means ''six-direction (north, south, east, west, and up and down) saber of Shanxi''.


    [15] Li Shimin was the personal name of second Tang Emperor Taizong, Wang Shichong was a general of late Sui, opponent of early Tang.


    [16] Bookworm: orig. ����� (shu daizi) - bookish fool; Cheng Guan was a ����� (wu daizi) - martial art fool.


    [17] The character ''shao'' of Shaolin means ''young/little/lesser/minor''. Shaolin means ''lesser forest'', Shaonu means ''young maiden''.


    [18][19] Referring to poster, envelope, etc. made of red paper, used especially at Chinese Ney Year.


    [20] Er Lang Shen is a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.


    [21] Orig. ''Wei Menyao Shi'', shi �C maiden name. Menyao �Cshaking/rocking the gate.


    [22] From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_sermon. Mahakasyapa actually means ''Great Kasyapa''.


    [23] Toutuo is Buddhist monk who did not shave his head.


    [24] Reminder: the main hall of a Buddhist temple containing the main image of veneration.


    [25] Reminder: fashi is one who has mastered the sutras.


    [26] Reminder: daren [lit. big man] is a title of respect toward government official.


    [27] Transliteration of Sanskrit term, Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi - "Obtaining no greater passing over, all pervading perfect awakening" (Courtesy of Ace High).


    [28] Referring to the Three Precious Treasures of Buddhism: the Buddha himself, his teaching (Dharma) and his monastic order (Sangha).


    [29] Jin Gang �C Buddha''s warrior attendant or diamond (or hard metal), hu ti - protect the body, shen gong �C divine ability.


    [30][31] According to Mahayana Buddhism, there are six Paramitas:


    1. Dana Paramita, the perfection of generosity (��ʩ���_��)


    2. Sila Paramita, the perfection of ethics (�ֽ䲨�_��)


    3. Kshanti Paramita, the perfection of patience (���貨�_��)


    4. Virya Paramita, the perfection of joyous effort, vigor / enthusiastic perseverance (���M���_��)


    5. Dhyana Paramita, the perfection of concentration (�U�����_��)


    6. Prajna Paramita, the perfection of wisdom (�ǻ۲��_��)


    (Courtesy of Gubrak)


    [32] During the Qing Dynasty, the system of nine p��n-ranks (��Ʒ������/��Ʒ���˷�) was used. Some of the p��n-ranks were further divided into zh��ng (��; regular), c��ng (��; deputy), sh��ng (��; upper) and xi�� (��; lower) grades. Therefore in theory, the whole classification system actually holds more than eighteen grades (��; d��ng). In reality the subdivisions were customized in specific central and local departments; for instance, one department can consist of twelve ranks whereas another composed of sixteen.


    1a


    1b ProvincinalCommander (�ᶽ), Commander-in-Chief (��ͳ)


    2a Regional Commander (�ܱ�), Vice Commander-in-Chief (����ͳ)


    2b Regional Vice-Commander (����)


    3a Administrator (�ν�), First Grade Bodyguards (һ������) or Bodyguards Supervisors (�������)


    3b Brigade Commander (�λ�)


    4a Vice Brigade Commander (��˾), Second Grade Bodyguards (��������)


    5a Commandant (�ر�)


    6a Company Commander (ǧ��)


    7a Squad Leader (����)


    8a Detached Fiscal Commissioner


    There are some confusion on a Commander''s (��ͳ) pin-rank which I can''t elaborate without giving a lot of spoiler. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [33] ''Wearing green hat'' is an expression about a husband whose wife is having an extra-marital affair.


    [34] Reminder: Mount Wutai literally means ''five platforms''.


    [35] Buddhist knife and Buddhist staff, respectively, neither are supposed to be used to kill.


    [36] Buddhist round meditation mat, usually made of woven cattail.


    [37][38] Manjushri, the Boddhisattva of keen awareness.


    [39] Reminder: fashi �C one who has mastered the Buddhist sutras.


    [40] The ''chi'' character is the same as his name ''Xing Chi'', meaning ''imbecile / sentimental / stupid / foolish / silly''. ''Er'' is a term of endearment. I don''t know why he called his own son ''the silly one''.


    [41] ''Fu'' can mean ''poetic essay / taxation / to bestow on / to endow with''.


    [42] In original Chinese, the words slaughter ''tu'' sounds like gamble ''du''.


    [43] Wei Xiaobao said ''gao shan liu shui'' �C high mountain flowing water [reminder: these two idioms were the name of Mu Palace''s stances], Kangxi corrected him ''utterly defeated'' [''luo hua liu shui'' �C falling flower flowing water].


    [44] Ding Nan Wang, the King who Stabilized the South. Kong Yu De (? - 1652) was given Guangxi Province for his services in conquering China. He was one of the three leaders of Chinese Bannermen who has went over the Manchus in early 1630''s. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [47] Palace beauty, orig. Chinese Gong''E (as in Tao Gong''E).


    [48] Shitai is a term of respect to address Buddhist nuns, the counterpart of Dashi [great master].


    [49] Kun �C one of the Eight Trigram (Ba Gua), symbolizing earth/female principle. Ning �C peaceful.


    [50] Orig. Aixin Jueluo, Manchu: Golden Clan, the surname of the Qing Emperors.


    [51] Dudou is an undergarment covering chest and abdomen.


    [52] Wu �C martial art, ''yi'' refers to non-Han people, especially to the east of China. It could be simply ''a foreign sect''.


    [53] Jun �C county/region, wang �C king.


    [54] Qigong (chi kung) �C a system of deep breathing exercises.


    [55][56] Orig. Jing Mai �C channel of traditional Chinese medicine, the passage through which vital energy (qi or chi) circulates.


    [57] Orig. ''wen'' and ''wu'', literary and martial art.


    [58] Reference to Li Zicheng, the Chuang Wang �C roaming king, a Chinese rebel leader who overthrew the Ming Dynasty and ruled over China briefly as emperor of the short-lived Shun Dynasty.


    [59] Reminder: Ping Xi Wang means ''King who pacifies the west''.


    [60] Common people usually address bandits or robbers as ''kings''.


    [61] Da Guniang; ''big'' here is not derogatory, but showing respect, as in ''first/oldest'' or ''great''; i.e. Dolong was being respectful.


    [62] According to the dictionary, it is between 7 and 9 pm; however, during the Eagle Shooting Hero project, the source I used described it as between 11 pm and 1 am.


    [63] Also known as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, (685-762, reigned 712-756).


    [64] ''wang'' �C king, ''ba'' �C eight, ''dan'' �C egg; strung together, it means ''b@stard'' or son of a b1tch. ''Wangba'' can also mean ''tortoise'' or ''cuckold''. He was simply increasing the level of ''b@stardness'' by one degree.


    [65] I don''t know if there is any English word for this, basically ''Cha'' is ''yes'', used by a subject to the Emperor. (Not that I am an expert, but I''ve watched enough movies to know this �� J)


    [66] In mythology or popular fiction, the army of the Dragon King or the Eastern Sea. It simply means ''useless troops''.


    [67] Yue Fei (1102-1142), Song Dynasty''s patriot and fames general. Qin Hui (1090-1155), Song Dynasty official who betrayed General Yue Fei and had him executed.


    [68]"Iron-Capped Prince", refers to a royal title, which is hereditary, and, in theory, passed down into perpetuity. For most titles given during the Qing dynasty, the son of the person who was awarded a royal rank would inherit a "diluted" title which is one rank lower than their father''s title (and their son would inherit a title one rank lower than their own, and so on and so forth). But those princes who were awarded an "Iron-Capped" title would be able to pass their title down to their children undiluted, and so on and so forth.


    [69] Manchurian for Viscount of the Third Class. WXB''s peerage title of Z�� (��), was actualy only used in the 18th century onwards. Therefore, WXB should be a First Class Jing Qi Ni Ha Pan [һ�Ⱦ��������], rather than a First Class Zi [һ����]. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [70] Set of expression, often made up of four characters, or two couplets of four characters each, often alluding to a story or historical quotation.


    [71] Orig. ''luan'' �C a mythical bird related to Phoenix.


    [72] An �C calm/safe/peace, Fu �C abundant/mound.


    [73] Qian �C abbreviation for Guizhou province, Guo Gong �C State Duke.


    [74] Wu �C five, Hua �C abbreviation for China/splendor/grand.


    [75] Zhong Kui, mythological character, supposed to drive away evil spirit.


    [76] The original, ''Xiang Hao'' ( ��� ) carries a deeper connotation that simply a ''friend'', but not as deep as ''beloved'' ( �װ� ), or (������).


    [77] Demon in Buddhism, the same ''Luocha'' as in Yu Luocha (White-haired Demoness), and the Yu Luocha of Luocha Cult (Lu Xiaofeng Book 4, Silver Hook Casino).


    [78] Tianshan: Mountain range between Xinjiang and Mongolia and modern day Kyrgyzstan.


    [79] League: a subdivision corresponding to prefecture in Inner Mongolia.


    [80] Lit. Impoverished (Taoist) priest, referring to self.


    [81] The original refers to a move in (a game of) chess.


    [82] The character ''qin''�� means ''relatives''. I think it is a prince related by blood to the royal family. Prince Kang was a Qin Wang. I don''t know why Wu Sangui was also a Qin Wang.


    [83] King who attacked the East, King who swept the North, and King who stabilized the South, respectively. Reminder: Wu Sangui''s title Ping Xi Wang means King who pacified the West.

 Chapter - 31 (31)

    Massive army of Luodian formed a deep barrier, great waves boiled in thousand-qing Dianchi


    After dinner, Wei Xiaobao waited for more than an hour before strolling toward Princess Jianning''s room. The Princess had been waiting anxiously; seeing Wei Xiaobao, she angrily said, "Where have you been? I have been waiting for you."


    Wei Xiaobao angrily responded, "Your Gonggong [father-in-law] held me up to talk to him, he spoke treason and heresy, I argued with him for half a day. If I wasn''t anxious to see you, I would still be arguing with him right now."


    "What did he say?" the Princess asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He said that His Majesty always suspected him as a treacherous court official, he is very upset about it. I said if His Majesty suspected him, how could he send the Princess down here to marry your son? He said that it must be that His Majesty did not like you, he intentionally sent you down the pit to harm you."


    The Princess was enraged; she slapped the table heavily and shouted, "The old turtle is talking nonsense, I''ll tear off his beard. Tell him to see me quickly."


    Wei Xiaobao also put an angry look on his face. "His granny," he cursed, "I was ready to risk my life against him. I said: the Princess is His Majesty''s favorite, she is good-looking, and intelligent too; which of your son''s quality can surpass her? I also said: you dare to speak such thing, the Princess won''t want to get married, we will return to Beijing tomorrow. Based on the Princess'' status, I don''t know how many men in the world who would fight to have her as his wife. There is something in my heart that I did not speak it out. I really wanted to tell the old turtle: I, Wei Xiaobao, am dying to marry the Princess myself."


    The Princess immediately beamed with joy. "Right, right!" she said, "Why didn''t you tell him that? Xiaobao, let us go back to Beijing tomorrow. I will tell Huangdi Gege: I must marry you."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "When the old turtle heard me, he calmed down immediately, saying that just now he was babbling nonsense, he was merely cracking jokes, and that I must not take him seriously; what''s more, I must not let the Princess hear anything he had just said. I said: nobody is more loyal to His Majesty and the Princess than I, the one surnamed Wei, I have never dared to speak even half a word of lie to His Majesty and the Princess."


    The Princess held her arms around his neck, and gently kissed his face. "I always knew you are very loyal to me," she said.


    Wei Xiaobao kissed her back and said, "The old turtle was so frightened that he almost kneeled down to ask for my help. He also gave me a pair of Luocha people''s guns, he wanted me to do my best to cover up for him." Finished speaking, he took out the gun, put some gunpowder and an iron bullet, and let the Princess shoot toward the garden.


    The Princess opened fire. There was a loud explosion, followed by a large tree branch broke and fell down. She stuck out her tongue and said, "How fierce!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You take one, I take the other, the two guns were originally a pair."


    The Princess sighed and said, "Two guns, one female one male, sleeping side by side inside this wooden case, how intimate is that? As soon as you separate them, both will be alone and very desolate. I don''t want it, you keep them together." When saying that, she recalled that in the end, the Emperor''s decree could not be altered. Her desire to marry Wei Xiaobao was eventually an empty word.


    Wei Xiaobao held her in his arms and gently comforted her, he whispered some frivolous words into her ears. Listening to the intense emotion, the Princess could not stop her cheeks from blushing red, and she giggled happily. Wei Xiaobao gently undressed her and pulled the brocade quilt over her naked body. He thought, "Why haven''t the big traitor''s subordinate lighted the fire yet? It would be best if when they rush in here to search, they found the Princess to be stark naked. Then the Princess would break out in anger."


    He sat on the bed, caressing the Princess'' cheeks gently, while raising up his ears to listen to the activity outside. The Princess was breathing heavily, she said in an intimate voice, "I �� I want to sleep. You �� you ��"


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "The old turtle must be setting up the fire, he wants to burn you and I, two people to death to shut our mouths, to prevent us from divulging his ridiculous talk today."


    The Princess was frightened even more. "What �� what should we do?" she asked.


    "Don''t be afraid," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wei Xiaobao has a red-bellied devotion to you; even if I cannot protect my own life, I still have to protect my beloved Princess to ensure your complete safety." He gently pried her arms from his neck, and walked toward the door. As soon as he saw people rushing in, he would get out of the Princess'' bedroom first.


    But he heard the noise outside was like ''a boiling cauldron of voices'', all around people were shouting, yelling and screaming, "Fire! Fire! Quickly protect the Princess!" Wei Xiaobao looked out the window, and saw a dozen or so people rushing in from the flower garden outside. He mused, "The big traitor''s subordinates came this quick. They must have entered Anfu Garden early on, and hid themselves around here; they rushed over as soon as they heard the fire alarm." Turning his head toward the Princess he said, "Princess, it is not such a big fire, you don''t have to be afraid. The old turtle is here to catch some adultery."


    "Catch �� catch what?" the Princess said with a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He must have suspected that you are good to me, hence he is hoping that he could catch us committing adultery." Finished speaking, he pushed the door open and said, "Just lie on the bed, don''t get up, I am going to stand outside your door. If there is real fire, I will carry you out to safety."


    The Princess was very grateful. "Xiaobao," she said, "You �� you are very good to me."


    Wei Xiaobao stood outside the door for a moment, and then he raised his voice, "Everybody, protecting the Princess is most important."


    Amidst the hubbub, a captain of Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards rushed over. "Wei Jueye," he called out, "The Garden is on fire, Shizi [Heir Apparent] has come here personally to protect the Princess."


    He saw from the northeast corner came two rows of lanterns, a group of people were coming his way. They arrived quickly; he saw that the one in the front was precisely Wu Yingxiong. Wei Xiaobao thought, "To search for that big beard Mongolian, unexpectedly the little traitor himself is leading the effort; obviously they consider the big beard to be very important. The conspiracy with Mongolia and Luocha Country, as well as the rebellion plot must be true."


    While he was still some distance away, Wu Yingxiong called out, "Is Her Highness the Princess alright?"


    A guard responded, "Wei Jueye is already here to protect her."


    "That''s wonderful!" Wu Yingxiong said, "Wei Jueye, sorry for bothering you; Xiongdi can''t thank you enough."


    "Why am I bothered?" Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Princess and I are embracing each other intimately, was that a bother? Are you thanking me for this? In that case, you are welcome."


    In the meantime, the Imperial Bodyguards, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade chiefs under Wei Xiaobao''s command had also rushed in one after another. They were awakened from their slumber, their clothes were in disarray, some were even barefooted, some had not put on their jacket, they all looked pathetic. When they heard the fire-alarm, their first thought was: "If the Princess is burned to death, I will lose my head." Therefore, they all rushed over.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to guard the perimeter of the Garden. Zhang Kangnian tugged Wei Xiaobao''s sleeve; Wei Xiaobao went with him several steps away from the crowd. "Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]," Zhang Kangnian said in a low voice, "There''s something fishy here."


    "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Zhang Kangnian replied, "As soon as there was fire-alarm, Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards jumped in over the wall from all directions [orig. four sides, eight directions]; obviously they were already prepared. With their mouths they cry out to fight the fire, but they entered every room searching for something. Our brothers shouted and scolded them to stop, but it was useless; several of us had already fought with them."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Wu Sangui suspected that we know his plan," he said, "I think he is going to rebel!"


    Zhang Kangnian was shocked; he cast a glance toward Wu Yingxiong, and then with a low voice said, "Is it true?"


    "Let them search," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t stop them." Zhang Kangnian nodded; quietly he passed on the order to the officers and soldiers who came from Beijing.


    By this time they could see a faint blaze of the fire on the southwest and southeast corners of the Garden. A dozen or more fire hoses had already spurting water, but the water was directed to the sky; columns of water swayed in the air, it looked like a large water fountain.


    Wei Xiaobao went over to Wu Yingxiong and said, "Xiao Wangye, your divine ability to predict the future is indeed very admirable. Zhuge Liang and Liu Bowen


    [1] of the past are definitely inferior to you."


    Wu Yingxiong was startled. "Wei Jueye is making fun of me," he said.


    "Not at all," Wei Xiaobao said, "It is obvious that you have already predicted that tonight, at the second watch of the night, Anfu Garden was going to catch fire, and may burn the Princess to death. You decided it was not going to be fun; therefore, you have prepared everything well in advance, and kept watch outside the Garden, waiting patiently for the fire. As soon as the fire broke, you gave your command, everybody immediately jumped in to fight the fire. Ha ha �� good skill, good skill."


    Wu Yingxiong''s face reddened; he said, "I did not prepare it beforehand, it was a pure coincidence. Tonight my Jiefu [older sister''s husband] Xia Guo invited me to dinner; Xiongdi was on my way home after eating and drinking, accompanied by my family bodyguards, passing by this place. We happened to see the Garden is on fire."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "So that''s what happened," he said, "I remember a storyteller said: ''In all his life, Zhuge had always been cautious''; I said: Wangye actually surpasses Zhuge Liang. I was not wrong at all. Xiao Wangye went to your Jiefu''s home to drink wine; bringing along a team of fire fighters is definitely a big plus. Were you thinking of using it here?"


    Wu Yingxiong knew that Wei Xiaobao had seen through his ploy; his face turned red again as he sheepishly said, "This time of the year the wind is strong the weather is dry, it is so easy to catch fire. We''d better be a bit more careful; this is called ''preparedness averts peril''."


    "Absolutely," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Too bad there is one thing Xiao Wangye did not prepare."


    "Please advise," Wu Yingxiong said.


    "Next time Xiao Wangye go to your Jiefu''s home to drink wine, it would be best if you also bring a team of bricklayers and carpenters, as well as tiles and bricks, lumber, lime and nails."


    "I wonder what for?" Wu Yingxiong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There might be a one in ten thousand chance that your Jiefu''s home will catch fire. The fire fighters only spurting water upwards, they are unwilling to put out the fire, unavoidably your Jiefu''s house will be burned down to the ground. Xiao Wangye can issue an order immediately to have the bricklayers rebuild your Jiefu''s multi-story home. Now that, I''ll say, is called ''preparedness averts peril''."


    "Hey, hey, hey," Wu Yingxiong let out several hollow laughs. He turned to a guard by his side and said, "Wei Jueye thinks the fire-fighters are not doing their best in putting out the fire. Go grab the captain and his deputy, and break their dog''s legs." The guard complied and left.


    "Xiao Wangye," Wei Xiaobao asked, "After breaking the fire-fighter team''s captain and his deputy''s dog''s legs, which official post are you going to promote them to?"


    Wu Yingxiong was startled. "Wei Jueye," he said, "I am afraid I don''t understand your words."


    "I don''t understand either," Wei Xiaobao said, "I thought, ''Hey, Xiao Wangye will have to build two more big prisons, so that he can promote these two, the captain and his deputy, to be the wardens''."


    Wu Yingxiong''s countenance changed; he thought, "This kid is indeed formidable. Lu Yifeng became the Hei Kanzi prison''s warden, unexpectedly you also knew." Pretending to be oblivious of this matter, he laughed and said, "Wei Jueye is indeed very good in making jokes, no wonder His Majesty is very fond of you." While in his heart he made up his mind, "As soon as I am back, I will send someone to get rid of Lu Yifeng; let this kid finds that the dead cannot testify."


    Soon afterwards, one after another the Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards returned to report that the fire did not spread too far, and that gradually the fire was dying down. Wei Xiaobao listened carefully as these people were giving their report, but he could not detect any code word. He noticed that as Wu Yingxiong listened to each person''s report, he did not seem pleased; apparently he knew that Hantiemo had not been found yet. He was wondering if there is a secret signal. Looking at these people''s expression as they gave their report, he did not see anything out of ordinary either.


    Suddenly he saw an officer rushed over and reported that the fire intensity had increased and that it seemed to be heading their way; it would be best if the Princess was to be awakened and alerted of the fire. Wu Yingxiong nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao was standing on the side; he did not seem to be paying any attention, but actually he watched closely the guard''s expression and posture. He noticed that Wu Yingxiong was looking down toward the guard''s right thigh. Wei Xiaobao followed his gaze, and saw that the guard had the thumb and index finger of his right hand formed a circle, which he placed by his knee. Wei Xiaobao immediately understood, "Turns out two fingers make a circle means they have not found Hantiemo; they do not use any code word at all."


    "Wei Jueye," Wu Yingxiong said, "The fire is heading this way, we''d better ask the Princess to move her sacred self. If the Princess is frightened, we are guilty and deserve ten thousand deaths."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards had looked everywhere and did not find Hantiemo. In the Garden, the Princess'' bedroom was the only room they had not searched. Since they already started, they might as well continue to the end; hence they wanted to also search the Princess'' bedroom. Wei Xiaobao could not help but was enraged. In that instant, his childish behavior flared-out, he raised his right hand with thumb and index finger forming a circle, and waved it in front of Wu Yingxiong''s face several times.


    As soon as he saw this signal, naturally Wu Yingxiong was shocked; the countenance of his subordinates the guards also changed greatly. "Wei �� Wei Jueye," he stammered, "This �� what is the meaning of this?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Are you saying that you don''t understand the meaning of this signal?"


    Wu Yingxiong composed himself and said, "This signal �� this signal �� um, I got it. That''s a copper coin. Wei Jueye is saying that you want silver and copper coins before the Princess can move her sacred self."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "The little traitor''s brain actually can move very quickly." Thereupon he laughed without saying anything.


    Wu Yingxiong laughed and said, "About the silver and copper coins, we are brothers, naturally we can talk over everything."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since Xiao Wangye is so generous, let me thank you on behalf of our brothers here. Xiao Wangye, about the moving of Princess'' sacred self, please handle it yourself." After a chuckle, he continued, "You are husband and wife, you can talk over everything. In the middle of the night, it is inappropriate for Xiao Jiang to enter the Princess'' bedroom." He continued in his heart, "So that you can see for yourself whether that Mongolian big beard is in the room or not."


    Wu Yingxiong hesitated slightly, and then he nodded, pushed the door open and entered the outer hall. He stopped in front of the bedroom door and spoke in a loud and clear voice, "Subject Wu Yingxiong is here to supervise and lead the fighting of the fire, and to protect the Princess. Currently the fire is spreading this way; would Princess please move, so that we can guarantee your complete safety?"


    A moment later they heard a gentle and charming grunt from the inside, "Mm."


    Wu Yingxiong thought, "Although you and I have not officially married, I am the prince consort, it has been officially declared. Right now it is an emergency, by coming into your room, I cannot be considered overstepping my boundary. If I don''t investigate clearly this time, in the end it won''t be appropriate. Except me, other people should not enter your bedroom." Thereupon he shoved the door open and entered.


    Wei Xiaobao and a hundred or so Imperial Bodyguards, Valiant Cavalry officers and Ping Xi Wang Mansion guards were waiting outside the room. A long time passed, they did not hear anything from inside. After another while, they started to ''you look at me, I look at you'', a smile started to appear on their eyes and on the corner of their mouths; everybody had the same thought, "This betrothed couple has never seen each other, suddenly they met inside the Princess'' lady chamber; it must be a romantic meeting. I wonder what they are talking about. Would Xiao Wangye embrace the Princess? Would he hold her in his arms? Would he kiss her?"


    Wei Xiaobao was the only one consumed by jealousy; although he knew that Wu Yingxiong''s real intention was to look for Hantiemo, and it was unlikely that at this time he was in the mood to be intimate with the Princess, but he also knew that the Princess was a loose woman who could do anything. Whether she was intimate with Wu Yingxiong willingly or not, it would be very difficult to tell.


    Suddenly they heard the Princess screamed, "You dare to be rude? You �� you �� stop! Get out, now!"


    Outside, the people looked at each other, some giggled. They all thought, "Xiao Wangye cannot bear not to make his move."


    They heard the Princess screamed again, "You �� you must not �� must not take off my clothes. Get out! Aiyo! Help! Help! This man is raping me! He rapes me! Help! Help!"


    Everybody could not help but was amused; they thought that Wu Yingxiong was overly anxious, he was also too brazen. Although the Princess would be his wife eventually, they had not yet married; how could he act rashly like that? Several military officers could not refrain from letting out an audible laugh. The Imperial Bodyguards looked at Wei Xiaobao, waiting for his signal, whether they should protect the Princess or not. They all thought, "This fellow Wu Yingxiong is raping the Princess. Although he is rude, in the end it is a private affair between them, husband and wife. If we as the servants rashly intervene, we will definitely invite trouble for ourselves."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding madly, "This little traitor is so shrewd, how could he fool around like this? Could it be �� could it be that he really wants to harm the Princess?" Thereupon he called loudly, "Xiao Wangye, please get out quickly; you must not offend the Princess."


    The Princess suddenly screamed, "Help!" Her voice was extremely sad and shrill.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he waved his hand and shouted, "Forgive my offense, this is an emergency." And then he rushed into the room. Several Imperial Bodyguards and the Mansion guards followed behind him.


    They saw the bedroom door was opened wide, the Princess curled in the corner of the bed, her body was covered in embroidered quilt, a snow-white leg was exposed outside the quilt, both her arms were bare, it was clear that she was naked. Wu Yingxiong''s naked body was lying on the floor, motionless. The lower part of his body was bloody; his right hand was grasping a short blade. Seeing this scene, everybody was shocked and was momentarily at a loss. The Mansion guards hastily went over to Wu Yingxiong to see whether he was dead or still alive. They checked for breath, and found that he was still breathing, his heart was also still beating, he was merely fainted.


    The Princess cried and said, "This man �� this man is rude to me �� Who is he? Wei Jueye, quickly arrest him and kill him."


    "He is the Prince Consort Wu Yingxiong," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "No, no, he is not," the Princess cried out, "He tore off my clothes, then he took off his own clothes, he raped me �� This bad guy, quickly kill him."


    The Imperial Bodyguards were angry, the Emperor sent them on a mission to protect the Princess. The Princess was the current imperial younger sister, her noble body was like golden branch, jade leaves, yet this fellow Wu Yingxiong had humiliated her like this. It could be said that they failed in their duty.


    The Mansion guards looked awkward; deep in their hearts they were ashamed. There were several astute and competent men among them, these people thought that since things had come to this, if they could find Hantiemo inside the Princess'' room, perhaps they could make a false counter-charge against the Princess, or at least they could somehow deny the accusation or gain a little bit of leeway. Thereupon they busied themselves, pretending to administer first-aid to Wu Yingxiong, while actually they were looking everywhere, including underneath the bed, but how could they find any sign of Hantiemo''s?


    Suddenly, one of the Mansion guards cried out, "Shizi �� Shizi''s lower body �� lower body ��" Wu Yingxiong''s lower body was drenched with blood, everybody could see that, but at first they thought it was due to his rudeness toward the Princess. But now after they heard the man''s cry, they all looked at his lower body. They saw the blood was still gushing out, apparently he was injured. The Mansion guards panicked; those with metal cut medication in their possession busily tried to apply it on his wound.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted harshly, "Wu Yingxiong is rude to the Princess, he committed grave offense by greatly disrespectful toward her. Arrest him first, we''ll present a memorial to the Emperor, let His Majesty decide on his punishment." The Imperial Bodyguards complied at once, they rushed forward to pull Wu Yingxiong up.


    The Mansion guards had heard with their own ears, and seen with their own eyes, that Wu Yingxiong was indeed being rude to the Princess; they simply could not deny it. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, they all groaned inwardly, "Bad, really bad!" Nobody had the heart to offer the slightest resistance. A Mansion guard bowed and said, "Wei Jueye, please show mercy. Shizi is injured, we are asking Wei Jueye to allow Shizi to return to the Mansion and have his wound treated. Our Wangye will be most grateful. Shizi is definitely guilty, but we ask the Princess to be magnanimous. Wei Jueye, please plead on his behalf."


    Maintaining a wooden expression Wei Xiaobao said, "This kind of grave offense, we do not dare to conceal it from His Majesty, who would dare to plead on his behalf? Let''s talk it over outside; we all gather inside the Princess'' bedroom like this, where are our manners? How can there be such thing?"


    The Mansion guards repeatedly bowed in agreement, they carried Wu Yingxiong out. The Imperial Bodyguards also withdrew, leaving the Princess alone with Wei Xiaobao.


    The Princess suddenly smiled, she beckoned Wei Xiaobao to come over. Wei Xiaobao came to the bed, the Princess wrapped her arms around his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "I castrated him."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "You �� you what?" he asked.


    The Princess blew softly into his ear, she laughed in low voice and said, "I pointed the gun to him, forcing him to strip naked, and then using the gun handle I gave his head a knocking, so that he passed out, and then I cut his loathsome thing. From now on, he can only be my eunuch, he can''t be my husband."


    Wei Xiaobao found it amusing, but was also shocking. "You brazenly fool around like that, the disaster you brought is not small."


    "What disaster?" the Princess said, "I did this wholeheartedly for your sake. If I marry him, our marriage would be a fake marriage. In short, I simply cannot let you wear a green cap and be a turtle [i.e. someone whose spouse was cheating]."


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was churning, but this matter was indeed too far beyond his expectation, he did not know how to deal with it.


    The Princess continued, "The rape and the rude treatment are all fake, but when I screamed and yelled, you heard it from the outside, didn''t you?" Wei Xiaobao nodded. The Princess smiled and said, "And so, what are we afraid of? Even is Wu Sangui is angry, he only knew that his own son is no good."


    Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh. "If he died because of your cut, then what should we do?" he asked.


    "How could he die because of my cut?" the Princess said, "There are several thousand eunuchs in our Palace, which one died because of the cut?"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You will stick to your statement: he was raping you, he took the knife to force you, in your desperate struggle to resist him, you reached out to push him. He had the knife in his hand, and he was stark-naked. One pushing the other wielding, he cut himself."


    The Princess buried his head inside the embroidered quilt to stifle her laughter. "That''s right," she said in a low voice, "Let''s say it that way: he cut himself."


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the bedroom, and told the Imperial Bodyguards in low voice how with a knife in his hand Wu Yingxiong had threatened the Princess, how the Princess desperately fought to resist him, how in the struggle Wu Yingxiong had castrated himself. The Imperial Bodyguards were shocked and amused at the same time; they all said that Wu Yingxiong''s lust had reached the heavens, hence what happened to him was a retribution well-deserved. There were several of Wu Yingxiong''s guards still lingered around to find out what had happened; they stood on the side and eavesdropped, ashamed look appeared on all their faces.


    With such a major event going on in the Anfu Garden, the Mansion guards quickly extinguished the fire, then they flew back to report to Wu Sangui, while at the same time summoning a physician to treat Wu Yingxiong''s injury. The Imperial Bodyguards immediately spread the news about the root cause of Wu Yingxiong''s injury, so that even all the Mansion guards also agreed unanimously that it was because their Heir Apparent was being rude to the Princess.


    Inevitably they added some oil and soy paste to the story; some said that they heard it when the Heir Apparent ripped the Princess'' clothes, some described how the Heir Apparent coerced the Princess with the knife in his hand. As for how the Heir Apparent finally got castrated, each storyteller narrated it with ''living spirit, living image'': how the Heir Apparent put the knife on the Princess'' neck, how the Princess struggled to fight him, how she pushed the Heir Apparent''s hand, how the knife slipped and what a bad luck for him. All kinds of circumstances were described as if they were witnessing it with their own eyes. They were telling the story with gusto, their spittle splattered everywhere, their hands and feet were flailing; the audiences were dumbfounded, and did not stop nodding their heads.


    Less than an hour later, Wu Sangui obtained the urgent report; he jumped onto his horse and flew to the Garden, and immediately kowtowed in front of the Princess'' bedroom to beg for forgiveness. Flustered and exasperated, he repeatedly said, "The guilt deserves ten thousand deaths!"


    Wei Xiaobao stood by his side, showing concerns. "Wangye, please rise," he said, "Let Xiao Jiang come in to probe the Princess'' mood."


    Wu Sangui took out emeralds, jade and pearls from his bosom, stuffed it into Wei Xiaobao''s hand, and said, "Wei Xiongdi, Xiao Wang was in a hurry, I did not have time to grab some banknotes; please kindly divide these jewels to the Imperial Bodyguard brothers. In front of the Princess, please urgently request an audience."


    Wei Xiaobao returned the jewels to him and said, "Wangye, please set your heart at ease. As long as it is within Xiao Jiang''s power, I will definitely do my best; for the time being I cannot accept Wangye''s gift. In all honesty, this matter is simply too big, I don''t know what it is that the Princess has in mind. Ay, this Princess is hot tempered and proud, she is ''three-chaste nine-upright'' [i.e. exemplary in remaining faithful to one''s husband until death], a virgin who is pampered and spoiled since childhood, that even the Empress Dowager and His Majesty also yielded to her thirty-percent of the time. Shizi is indeed �� indeed a bit too daring."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Sangui said, "Wei Xiongdi, please speak to the Princess, I must have an audience with her."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, his expression was serious, he walked toward the Princess'' door and said in a loud and clear voice, "Reporting to the Princess: Ping Xi Wangye personally came to apologize for the offense, would Princess remember he is an old minister who has rendered great merit, and deal with him leniently."


    Wu Sangui said in a low voice, "Yes, yes! The old minister is kowtowing in here, would Princess deal with me leniently."


    After half a day, they still heard nothing from the Princess'' room. Wei Xiaobao repeated his words. Suddenly they heard crashing noise, sounded like a stool fell down to the floor. Wei Xiaobao and Wu Sangui looked at each other in bewilderment. They heard a palace maid screamed, "Princess, Princess, you must not commit suicide!"


    Wu Sangui was so frightened that his face was drained of any color; he thought, "If the Princess really killed herself, although right now everything is not completely ready, I will have no choice but to deploy the troops to stage a rebellion immediately. How can I face the charge of hounding the Princess to death?"


    He heard several palace maids were wailing inside. A palace maid came out hurriedly and said with a cry, "Wei �� Wei Jueye, Her Highness the Princess hanged herself on the beam, you �� you come quickly and help �� help her ��"


    Wei Xiaobao hesitantly said, "The Princess'' bedroom, it is inappropriate for us as the servants to come in."


    Wu Sangui lightly pushed his back and said, "Act according to special circumstances, rescuing the Princess is more important." Turning toward a Mansion guard, he said, "Quickly summon the physician." Finished speaking, he gave another push on Wei Xiaobao''s back.


    Wei Xiaobao scrambled inside. He saw the Princess was lying on the bed, surrounded by seven, eight palace maids who were weeping around her. Wei Xiaobao said, "I know internal energy, I can help resuscitate the Princess."


    The palace maids stepped aside. The Princess'' eyes were tightly closed, her breathing was weak, and there was really a strip of red mark on her neck. A piece of rope was hanging from the beam, the other half of the rope was lying by her head, and an overturned stool was lying on the floor. Wei Xiaobao laughed inwardly; he thought, "What a performance! This Princess who loves to fool-around blindly is actually not an idiot." He rushed to the bed and stretched his finger to pinch the ''renzhong'' [human center] acupoint on her upper lip heavily.


    The Princess moaned and slowly opened her eyes. "I �� I don''t want to live," she said vehemently, but weakly.


    "Princess," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are a thousand-gold lady, you have to come to accept an unpleasant fact. Ping Xi Wang is kowtowing outside, begging for your forgiveness."


    The Princess cried and said, "You �� you tell him to quickly kill that evil man."


    Blocking the palace maids'' eyes with his body, Wei Xiaobao put his hand inside the quilt and pinched the Princess'' waist a little. The Princess struggled hard not to laugh; she grabbed his arm and ferociously dug her fingernails in his flesh, as she wailed, "I don''t want to live, I �� how am I going to conduct myself from now on?"


    Outside the room, Wu Sangui heard the Princess'' cry faintly; learning that her attempt to kill herself was unsuccessful, he could not refrain from heaving a deep sigh. And then he heard her cry, ''how am I going to conduct myself from now on'', he thought, "I can''t really blame her for getting angry. Young husband and wife fighting with each other using spear or saber is not a big deal, they might injure the other anywhere. It''s just a real bad luck that the knife happened to cut right there. Even if Yingxiong is healed in the future, the Princess will only be a living widow for the rest of her life. Presently we must strive to cover this matter up, and not let it be widely known."


    Half a day later, Wei Xiaobao came out of the room, he did not stop shaking his head. Wu Sangui hastily stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "What did the Princess say?"


    "She is not going to die," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But the Princess is unyielding, if she is determined to do something, she won''t listen to anybody''s advice, she would definitely try to kill herself again. I already instructed the palace maids to wait upon her well, and not to leave her side even for half a step. Wangye, I am afraid she would take poison."


    Wu Sangui''s countenance changed. He nodded and said, "Yes, yes. We must guard against that possibility."


    "Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "If by any chance the Princess met any unexpected misfortune,while Xiao Jiang was sent by the Emperor to protect the Princess, this little life of mine will be difficult to protect. If that ever happened, Wangye, you must arrange a way out for me."


    Wu Sangui shivered with fear. "What way out?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I can''t tell you anything right now, I only hope that the Princess will be safe and sound, everybody will be happy. But her life is her own, if she really wants to die, we may be able to prevent her for three, four days, but we can''t stop her for ten days of half a month. Xiao Jiang has a selfish intention: I only hope that the Princess would marry into your Mansion sooner, so that Xiao Jiang will be relieved of my responsibility for the most part."


    Wu Sangui was secretly delighted. "In that case, let us have the wedding immediately," he said, "My son is creating the trouble, he was rushing and thus resulting in this disaster. Wei Xiongdi is doing your best to maintain order, Xiao Wang is deeply grateful, I won''t possibly add another burden on Wei Xiongdi''s shoulder." Lowering his voice, he said, "I just don''t know if the Princess is still willing �� willing to be married?" He was thinking, "My son has become a useless person, I just hope that the Princess'' age is young and her experience shallow, she does not understand the matter between men and women yet. The cutting just now, she might not necessarily understands where the knife landed. She will get married confused and ignorant, the timber has turned into a boat, she will have nothing to say. Who knows? Perhaps she still thinks that all men in the world are like that."


    Wei Xiaobao also lowered his voice, "The Princess is young, she does not understand this kind of matters. She is a respectable person, she won''t say anything."


    Wu Sangui was greatly delighted; he mused, "Heroes usually agree [i.e. great minds think alike]." But then he immediately thought, "Damn it, what kind of hero is this kid anyway? How can he discuss things with me on equal terms?" He said, "Yes, yes, let''s do it. What happened just now, it''s not that we dare to conceal it from His Majesty, but the Lord of Ten-thousand Year has to deal with ten thousand different matters daily, he is taking care of the affairs of the nation, and is extremely busy. We, as the servants, are loyal to our master and love our country, we must not increase His Majesty''s concerns. The Empress Dowager and His Majesty treasure the Princess; if they hear this kind of matter, they might not be happy. Wei Xiongdi, being government officials, the secret of our success is to report only the good news, not the bad news."


    Wei Xiaobao patted his chest and flicked his own hat; he said magnanimously, "Hereafter Xiao Jiang will rely on Wangye to train me to get promotion. In this matter, I will stake my own little life in handling it according to Wangye''s instruction." Wu Sangui repeatedly expressed his thanks. Wei Xiaobao said, "However, there are many people who witness this scandal tonight, if someone else reveals the secret, you can''t hold Xiao Jiang responsible."


    "Naturally," Wu Sangui said. But in his heart he had already formulated a plan: he was going to dispatch his troops and horses, disguised as robbers, deep inside Guangxi to set an ambush. When Wei Xiaobao''s delegation returned to Beijing, he would have them all massacred. Guangxi was Sun Yanqing''s territory. His wife Kong Sizhen was the daughter of Kong Youde, the Ding Nan Wang [King who stabilized the South]. The Empress Dowager had taken her as her adoptive daughter, and bestowed her the title of Heshuo Gege [Hoxud or Xoshut Keke (princess, Manchu word)]; she was the darling of the Imperial Court. Let Kong Sizhen deal with the criminal charge of disturbance within her territory, robbers killing government officials within her jurisdiction.


    Although Wei Xiaobao was quick-witted, he could not match Wu Sangui''s rigorous scheme and deep foresight. Seeing Wu Sangui was deep in thought, he still thought that Wu Sangui was worried over this matter might leak out; he laughed and said, "Wangye, don''t worry. Xiao Jiang will do my best to restrain my subordinates, I will order them not to speak thoughtlessly or make irresponsible remark."


    Wu Sangui said, "Today Wei Xiongdi has helped me with this major problem, it''s not enough to thank you with gold, silver and jewels. But the officers and men under Wei Xiongdi''s command is not a few, to close their mouths, you must let Xiao Wang do my best to send my regards. As soon as I am home, I will send someone to deliver it to you."


    "Let me thank you very much then," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I wonder how is Shizi''s condition; let us go take a look, I hope his injury is not so serious." Wu Sangui and Wei Xiaobao went to visit Wu Yingxiong.


    The physician knitted his brows. "Shizi''s life is not in danger," he said, "It''s just that �� it''s just that ��"


    Wu Sangui nodded and said, "His life is not in danger, that''s good." Afraid that Wei Xiaobao might detain his son, he ordered the Mansion guards to immediately escort the Heir Apparent back to the Mansion to recuperate. He personally kept Wei Xiaobao busy, to prevent him from changing his mind. It was not before Wu Yingxiong finally left Anfu Garden did he take his leave.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "When the little traitor regains his consciousness, he will definitely tell what has really happened, but what''s the use? Who would believe a golden-branch-jade-leaves Princess would castrate her own husband for no reason at all? I would think that even the big traitor himself would not easily believe him, most likely he would give his son a severe scolding." He also thought, "When the Princess is married, during our way back to Beijing, I must spend a lot of effort with Ah Ke."


    Returning to his quarter, Xu Tianchuan, Xuanzhen, and the others had already obtained the news, nobody did not clap their hands to express their delight. Wei Xiaobao did not wish to tell them the truth, he asked them how their visit to the brothel was. The warriors told them that everything went smoothly according to their plan. Wei Xiaobao thought that tonight an important matter had just happened, if they dispatched troops to return to the Capital right away, the big traitor would definitely suspect that they were going to report to the Emperor. Therefore, it would be best if they waited until things had calmed down before they sent the Mongolian big beard out.


    After a flustered night, the warriors were about to withdraw, suddenly the Imperial Bodyguard Zhao Qixian rushed toward the door and said, "Reporting to Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]: Ping Xi Wang is attacked by an assassin!"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Assassinated?" he busily asked, "Who is the assassin?" He did not want Zhao Qixian to see the Tian Di Hui warriors in his room very late at night, hence he went outside the door and asked again, "The big han


    [2] �� big �� did Ping Xi Wang die?"


    "He did not," Zhao Qixian said, "I heard he only suffered light injury. The assassin was arrested on the spot, turned out �� turned out she is a palace maid serving the Princess."


    Wei Xiaobao was even more shocked. "Palace maid serving the Princess?" he asked, "Which one? Why would she want to assassinate Ping Xi Wang?"


    "I don''t know the details," Zhao Qixian replied, "As soon as subordinate obtained the news that Ping Xi Wang was attacked by the assassin, I rushed here to report."


    "Go quickly, investigate clearly and report back to me," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Zhao Qixian complied and left. He had just taken a few steps when Zhang Kangnian walked in in quick steps; he said, "Reporting to Fu Zongguan: the palace maid assassinated Ping Xi Wang is called Wang Ke''er."


    Wei Xiaobao''s head spun; he said with a trembling voice, "She �� she �� why did she do that?" Wang Ke''er was Ah Ke''s alias, it was the character ''Ke'' [��] divided into character ''Wang'' [��] and character ''Ke'' [��].


    Zhang Kangnian said, "Ping Xi Wang has brought her back to the Mansion, saying that he would personally interrogate her: who was the mastermind behind the attack."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard that his beloved was arrested, his mind was in chaos, he could not think anymore.


    Zhang Kangnian said, "Everybody says, who else would send her? This Wang Ke''er is only a sixteen, seventeen years old girl, she must be very loyal to the Princess, seeing that Princess was humiliated until she wanted to kill herself, she must be very upset, and thus she went to avenge the Princess to vent off her anger."


    In the darkness of his mind, Wei Xiaobao suddenly saw a spark of light. "Right, right," he busily said, "That must be it. Such a beautiful young girl, what enmity might she have against Ping Xi Wang? Even if we wanted to assassinate Ping Xi Wang, we would not send a young girl like her."


    Zhao Qixian and Zhang Kangnian looked at each other; they thought, "Wei Fu Zongguan must be confused; why would we want to send anybody to assassinate Ping Xi Wang?" Zhang Kangnian said, "I think Ping Xi Wang also did not suspect anybody else. If this matter were known, who would gain from it? Most likely he would quietly send someone to kill this palace maid, and be done with it."


    "She must not be killed, she must not be killed," Wei Xiaobao said with a trembling voice, "If he killed her, laozi will fight him to the death, I will fight with that old turtle, the big traitor, ''white blade coming in, red blade coming out''."


    Zhao and Zhang, two men, looked at each other again; they were doubting in their hearts, "Could it be that Wei Fu Zongguan is angry because the Princess was humiliated, and he sent this palace maid to assassinate?" The two of them stood with hands hanging by their sides, they did not dare to say anything.


    "What should we do? What should we do?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Seeing he seemed to be not in his right mind and was extremely anxious, Zhang Kangnian comforted him, "Wei Fu Zongguan, this matter is indeed a big trouble, but if we report to His Majesty and have the main offender investigated, it is still Wu Sangui, father and son, who are in the wrong. Raping the Princess, what was he thinking? Besides, Wu Sangui did not die. Even if he investigated who incited the assassination, we can categorically deny that we do not know the person; he can''t do anything."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head with a bitter laugh, "I swear it was not me who incited her," he said, "We are brothers, could I be concealing the truth from you?"


    Zhao Qixian and Zhang Kangnian were relieved instantly; they heaved a deep sigh together. "It''s easy then," Zhao Qixian said, "We''ll say that we are asleep, we feign ignorance, and that''s that."


    "No, can''t do," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am afraid I will have to brother two Dage: please take my visiting card to Ping Xi Wang, tell him that Wang Ke''er has offended Wangye, which is major offense, and that I am enraged. But she is the Princess'' personal palace maid, I am asking Wangye to hand this little girl to you, let me make a report to the Princess, and have her flogged heavily to vent Wangye''s anger."


    Zhao and Zhang, two people complied and left. They both felt that Wei Xiaobao was a bit superfluous; it would be better to have Wu Sangui kill this palace maid quietly, ''the gods do not know, the ghosts are not aware'', everybody''s happy.


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly went to Jiu Nan''s room. When he pushed the door and went in, he saw she had just finished meditating and was still sitting on the bed; he said, "Shifu, do you know that Shijie �� Shijie �� about Shijie?"


    "What about her?" Jiu Nan asked, "Why are you so flustered?"


    "Shi �� Shijie �� she �� she went to assassinate the big traitor," Wei Xiaobao said, "But she �� she was caught."


    Rays of light flashed in Jiu Nan''s eyes. "Did she kill him?" she asked.


    "She did not," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But �� but Shijie was caught by him."


    "Humph," Jiu Nan snorted. There was a disappointment on her face. "What a useless thing," she coldly said.


    Wei Xiaobao felt strange; he mused, "She is your disciple, and she is caught by the big traitor, yet you don''t seem to care?" But after thinking it over, he understood. "Shifu," he said, "You have a way to rescue Shijie, don''t you?"


    Jiu Nan stared at him; she shook her head and said, "I do not. She is such a useless thing!"


    Along the way, Wei Xiaobao had noticed that his master was always cold and indifferent toward this martial sister, she did not seem to love her dearly, in fact, she did not treat her as well as she treated him. However, even if Shifu did not like her, I, Wei Xiaobao, liked her like crazy. He anxiously said, "The big traitor is going to kill her. I am afraid by this time he has already had her flogged that she is hovering between life and death; he wanted to �� to find out who incited her."


    "It was me who incited her," Jiu Nan coldly said, "If the big traitor has the ability, let him come to deal with me."


    Jiu Nan sent her disciple to assassinate Wu Sangui, Wei Xiaobao was not the least bit surprised. She was the former Ming Dynasty''s Emperor Chongzhen''s daughter, Wu Sangui was the person who delivered the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains on a platter, naturally she hated this man to her bones. Even she herself had tried to assassinate Kangxi on Mount Wutai. But Ah Ke''s martial art skill was mediocre, Wu Sangui had countless martial art experts as his guards by his side. Even if the assassination succeeded, it would be difficult for her to escape. Shifu sent her on this kind of mission, wouldn''t it be clear that she wanted her to deliver her own life?


    Wei Xiaobao had myriads of doubts and suspicions in his heart, yet he did not dare to ask her openly. He said, "Shijie will never confess it was Shifu who sent her."


    "Is that so?" Jiu Nan said, and closed her eyes.


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ask anything anymore, he went out of her room.


    Since Zhao and Zhang, two people, went to Wu Sangui to ask for Ah Ke, he did not expect them to return quickly. He paced back and forth in the hall, until the sky gradually brightened. Three times he sent some Imperial Bodyguards to see if there was any news, but none of them came back to report anything. Finally he could not bear it anymore, selecting a squad of Valiant Cavalry sergeants, he personally led them toward to Ping Xi Wang mansion. About three li from Ping Xi Wang Mansion, he stopped at the Fa Hui [lit. Dharma wisdom/intelligent] Temple, and sent several Imperial Bodyguards ahead to find any news.


    About the time needed to eat a meal later, he heard the urgent sound of hooves, Zhang Kangnian galloped over and reported to Wei Xiaobao: "Subordinate and Zhao Qixian went to see Ping Xi Wang under Fu Zongguan''s order. All along Wangye did not receive us. Zhao Qixian is still waiting outside the door."


    Wei Xiaobao was anxious and angry at the same time. He stomped his foot and cursed, "Damn it, Wu Sangui is putting on air!"


    Zhang Kangnian said, "He is a king holding power over a territory; in the world, other than His Majesty, he is the most powerful. He is not willing to see us, lowly Imperial Bodyguards, this is a very normal occurrence."


    Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "I will personally come to see him. All of you come with me!" Wei Xiaobao turned his head toward a Valiant Cavalry Zuoling [company commander], "Call all of our troops, have them ready outside Wu Sangui''s doghouse, waiting for my order." The Company Commander accepted the order and left.


    When Zhang Kangnian and the others heard the order, they all panicked; looking at Wei Xiaobao''s flustered and exasperated appearance, it seemed to them that Wei Xiaobao was determined to go into conflict with Wu Sangui. But Ping Xi Wang''s troops and horses were numerous, while the people escorting the Princess from Beijing to Yunnan was only a little over two thousands men. If a war broke, perhaps in less than an hour they would all be decimated.


    "Wei Fu Zongguan," Zhang Kangnian said, "You are an imperial envoy, a high-ranking minister, you received His Majesty''s order to come to Kunming. Whatever happens, you must talk it over with him. Ping Xi Wang can''t possibly not give you any face. In your subordinate''s opinion, there is no harm in us coming slowly."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "What ''thing'' is Wu Sangui anyway? If we are coming slowly, he would kill my w �� kill Wang Ke''er, and then who''s going to save her?"


    Looking at his hasty words and stern countenance, Zhang Kangnian did not dare to say anything anymore; he thought, "Killing a palace maid, what''s the big deal? She is not your Meizi [younger sister], why would you want to mobilize the entire force to go to war?"


    "Get the horse, get the horse!" Wei Xiaobao repeatedly called. He turned around and jumped onto his horse, and galloped away toward Ping Xi Wang mansion. Seeing the minister, the imperial envoy''s arrival, the guards at the gate busily welcomed him and escorted him into the main hall, while a guard rushed inside to report.


    Xia Guoxiang and Ma Bao, two Zongbing [Regional Commander] went out to meet him. Xia Guoxiang was Wu Sangui''s son-in-law, the head of the ten Zongbing under Wu Sangui''s banner. After saluting Wei Xiaobao, he said, "Wei Jueye, it may be assumed that you have already obtained the news that Wangye was attacked by an assassin. Wangye''s injury is not light, he is unable to personally welcome you, please forgive his offense."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Wangye is injured?" he asked, "Didn''t they say he was not injured?"


    With concern all over his face, Xia Guoxiang said in low voice, "The pit of Wangye''s stomach was stabbed by the assassin''s sword, the wound is about three, four cun deep ��"


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in shock, "That''s terrible."


    With knitted brows Xia Guoxiang said, "Whether Wangye can �� can come out alive this time, right now it is still very difficult to say. We are afraid that the people''s hearts will be shaken, hence we did not announce it; we only said that he is not injured at all. Wei Jueye is one of us, naturally we must not conceal anything from you."


    "I want to visit Wangye," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Xia and Ma, two people looked at each other. Xia Guoxiang said, "Let Xiaoren show the way."


    Arriving at Wu Sangui''s bedroom, Xia Guoxiang said, "Yuefu [father-in-law], Wei Jueye is here to visit you, Senior."


    They heard Wu Sangui groaned behind the curtain several times, but he did not say anything. Xia Guoxiang lifted up the mosquito net. Wu Sangui was frowning with clenched teeth, as if he was suppressing the pain. There were splatters of blood on the quilt and the mattress. His chest was bandaged, from which blood did not stop seeping out. Two physicians were standing by the bed, with knitted brows and worried look on their faces.


    Wei Xiaobao did not expect Wu Sangui''s injury to be this heavy. The anger that was filling his heart vanished into thin air in an instant; he could not help but was deeply anxious. He did not care whether Wu Sangui would live or would die, but if he died from his injury, it would be much more difficult for Wei Xiaobao to save Ah Ke. "Wangye," he asked in a low voice, "Is your wound very painful?"


    Wu Sangui let out some ''he, he'' groans, he opened his eyes, there was no luster in them at all. "Yuefu," Xia Guoxiang said said, "Wei Jueye is here to visit you, Senior."


    "Aiyo, aiyo," Wu Sangui groaned several times, "I �� I won''t make it. You �� go kill Yingxiong �� Yingxiong, that little animal. It was he �� he who brought me to my death."


    Xia Guoxiang did not dare to reply; he gently laid down the curtain, and went out the room with Wei Xiaobao. As soon as they were outside, Xia Guoxiang covered his face and cried, "Wei Jueye, Wangye �� Wangye �� won''t make it. All his life the Senior displayed utter loyalty to his country, but he will end up succumbing to this fate. Really �� really the Emperor of Heaven does not bless a good man."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Display fart loyalty to his country! The Emperor of Heaven does not bless the big traitor, that is indeed the heaven''s law and earth''s principle." He said, "Xia Zongbing, in my opinion, although Wangye''s injury is heavy, he won''t die for certain."


    "Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth," Xia Guoxiang said, "If only it will be as Jueye''s golden mouth said. But I wonder how did you know?"


    "I can tell fortune by looking at someone''s facial features," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wangye''s appearance is unspeakably noble. In the future, his status will be a hundred times better than it is today. This time he will definitely not die."


    As soon as Xia Guoxiang heard this, his countenance changed greatly. "The Emperor''s benevolence is vast and mighty," he said, "Our Wangye''s rank and nobility has already reached the peak, he cannot rise higher than he currently is. I just hope that as Wei Jueye''s golden mouth said, the Senior will turn misfortune into blessing, from death back to life."


    Wei Xiaobao saw his look; he thought, "Wu Sangui is going to rebel, nine out of ten you already knew; otherwise, when I said that he will rise a hundred times higher, why would you look that scared? I might as well scare him some more." Thereupon he said, "Xia Zongbing, please set your heart at ease; I look at your facial feature, your appearance is also unspeakably noble. Someday I might ask you for much promotion, for much improvement."


    Xia Guoxiang bowed and cupped his fists; he said respectfully, "Imperial Envoy Daren words are too heavy. Daren has strived to encourage me, Xiao Jiang will be loyal and dedicate myself to the service of my country; I do not dare to bear Imperial Envoy Daren''s high hope for me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Hey, hey, you are doing well! Your Heir Apparent becomes the Prince Consort, he is bestowed the titles Shao Bao [young protector] and Taizitaibao [tutor to the crown prince] simultaneously. In the past, Yue Fei, Grandfather Yue, who routed the Jin army at the Zhuxian town, massacred the Jins and drove them scared shitless, was only bestowed the title Shao Bao. Only by being the Princess'' husband one would reap this kind of benefit. Xia Zongbing, you are doing well!" They were talking while walking out.


    Xia Guoxiang was so scared that the palms of his hands were wet with cold sweat; he thought, "Listening to this kid, it looks like he knew that my father-in-law wants to be the emperor. Could it be �� could it be that this matter has leaked out? Or perhaps this kid does not know the immensity of heaven and earth and just casually talking rubbish?"


    When they reached the winding corridor, Wei Xiaobao halted his steps and asked, "The assassin who attacked Wangye, did you catch him? Who is he anyway? Who sent him? Was it the remaining evil element of the previous Ming? Or perhaps Mu Family people?"


    "The assassin was a woman," Xia Guoxiang replied, "Her name is Wang Ke''er. Someone talked nonsense �� that she is a palace maid serving the Princess. Xiao Jiang does not believe it, most probably she pretended to be a palace maid. Imperial Envoy Daren, please understand, Xiao Jiang is almost certain that this person was sent by the Mu Family."


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao was frightened, he groaned inwardly, "Not good! They do not dare to offend the Princess, hence falsely accuse Ah Ke as Mu Family people, so that they could execute her at will. This is terrible!" He said, "Wang Ke''er? The Princess indeed has a palace maid serving her by the name Wang Ke''er. The Princess likes her very much, she would not allow her to leave her side even for a short time. Isn''t this girl about seventeen, eighteen years old, slim, and very pretty?"


    Xia Guoxiang hesitated. "Xiao Jiang''s mind was occupied solely by Wangye''s injury, I did not pay any attention to the assassin at all. If this woman did not impersonate a palace maid, then she must have used fake name. Imperial Envoy Daren, please think: if this woman surnamed Wang is really the Princess'' favorite palace maid, then she must have received Princess'' instructions; she must be well-educated and understand propriety, gentle and obedient, how can she go and assassinate Wangye? It does not make any sense."


    The more he asserted that the assassin was not a palace maid serving the Princess, the more Wei Xiaobao was frightened. With a trembling voice he asked, "Have you �� have you executed her?"


    "Not yet," Xia Guoxiang replied, "We want to wait for Wangye to heal and recover completely, then he can interrogate her in person to ascertain who is the mastermind behind the assassination."


    Wei Xiaobao was relieved. "Take me to see the assassin," he said, "Whether she is a real palace maid or a fake one, I will know as soon as I see her."


    Xia Guoxiang said, "We do not dare to toil Imperial Envoy Daren''s honorable self in this matter. This woman is definitely not a palace maid serving the Princess. There are many rumors floating outside, Daren need not pay any attention."


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance sank; he said, "Wangye was attacked by an assassin, his injury is very heavy, supposing there is ''three-long two-short'' or ''two-short three-long''


    [3], nobody would escape the responsibility. When I return to Beijing, His Majesty will definitely ask me in details what happened, who was the assassin, who was the mastermind? If I don''t see it clearly with my own eyes, and His Majesty raises the question, how am I going to respond? Could it be that you want me to talk nonsense? This guilt of deceiving our lord, naturally I cannot take it upon myself. Xia Zongbing, hey, hey, I am afraid neither can you."


    As soon as he brought up the Emperor''s name, Xia Guoxiang did not dare to disobey anymore. "Yes, yes," he repeatedly said, but did not move a single step.


    Wei Xiaobao''s face showed his displeasure. "Xia Zongbing always uses all sorts of excuses, what trick are you playing?" he said, "If you have any trick, or prepare some trap, there is no harm in bringing it on, let''s see if I, the one surnamed Wei, can handle it or not."


    Because his beloved was captured, he believed unfortunate fate was more likely to befall her than a fortunate one; in his anxiety, in his speech he unexpectedly did not give Xia Guoxiang any leeway, the hypocritical fa?ade of the officialdom was completely ripped down.


    Xia Guoxiang anxiously said, "How can Xiao Jiang dare play any trick on the Imperial Envoy Daren? It''s just that �� it''s just that I really have some difficulties."


    "Is that so?" Wei Xiaobao coldly said.


    Xia Guoxiang said, "I am being honest to the Imperial Envoy Daren, our Wangye has always been very strict to his subordinates. Xiao Jiang is the Senior''s son-in-law, Wangye is twice as strict toward Xiao Jiang, so that the other subordinates cannot say behind his back that Wangye is unfair."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You are his son-in-law, but you do not make a good use of your position. I heard Wangye''s queen is called Chen Yuanyuan, the number one beauty under the heavens. Our Great Qing''s rivers and mountains have strong connection with Chen Wangfei [wife of a king]. Your mother-in-law has a ''bashful flower obstructing the moon'' appearance, naturally your wife also has a ''fish sink, goose alights'' appearance


    [4]. If you want to take full advantage of your position as the son-in-law, you only need to look at your mother-in-law several times more often, lick your father-in-law''s behind several times more often, you are not doing too bad ��"


    "Xiao Jiang''s wife ��" Xia Guoxiang started, but Wei Xiaobao cut him off, he said happily, "As the saying goes: when the mother-in-law sees the son-in-law, her saliva is dripping greedily. In my opinion, however, your mother-in-law is such a beauty, the saying must be reversed: when the son-in-law sees the mother-in-law, he swallows his saliva into his tummy. Ha ha, ha ha ��"


    Xia Guoxiang looked awkward; he thought, "This kid talk''s rubbish, the way he speaks is just like a marketplace hoodlum, there is not even half a point of high-ranking official''s manners." He said, "Xiao Jiang''s wife is not Chen Wangfei''s daughter."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed, "What a pity, what a pity. Your luck is not good." His countenance sank as he said, "I want to interrogate the assassin, yet you are talking about this and that, even steered the conversation toward your mother-in-law. Hey, hey, it''s really strange."


    Xia Guoxiang''s anger was rising, but he maintained a respectful expression as he said, "Imperial Envoy Daren wants to interrogate the assassin, nothing can be better than that. Imperial Envoy Daren''s one question surpasses a hundred questions, a thousand questions of ours; but I am afraid Wangye �� Wangye ��"


    "Wangye what?" Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "He won''t allow me to interrogate the assassin?"


    "No, no," Xia Guoxiang hastily said, "Imperial Envoy Daren must not misunderstand; if Daren can look at the assassin and investigate her background, our Wangye can only be grateful to you, he will not detain you, absolutely. Please forgive Xiao Jiang for being bold, I have something to say, and ask that Daren not to take offense."


    Wei Xiaobao stomped his foot and said, "Ay, you are always humming and hawing, there is not the least bit of real man''s lofty quality. You must be kneeling in front of your wife''s bed a lot. Speak up! Speak up!"


    Xia Guoxiang cursed in his heart, "Your surname Wei''s eighteen generation ancestors are b@stards." He said, "I am only afraid that if by any chance the assassin is indeed a palace maid serving the Princess, when Daren sees her, you would take her away, and then when Wangye wants to see her, Xiao Jiang cannot hand her over; that �� that would be terrible."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "This fellow is very crafty indeed; he wants me to promise in advance that I will not take the assassin away. Your granny, this assassin is my dear wife; how can I let you bully her?" He laughed and said, "But you said the assassin is definitely not the Princess'' palace maid, why worry?"


    "That was Xiao Jiang''s guess," Xia Guoxiang said, "As for the actual fact, actually I am not clear myself."


    "So you won''t allow me to take the assassin away?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I do not dare," Xia Guoxiang replied, "Would Imperial Envoy Daren please sit down in the hall and make yourself comfortable, let Xiao Jiang report to Wangye, and then Imperial Envoy Daren may discuss this matter with Wangye later. If Wangye is angry, he cannot blame Xiao Jiang."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Turns out you are afraid your father-in-law might spank your bottom, you don''t dare to take on the responsibility." He let out a ''hey, hey'' laugh, and said, "Alright, go and report. But let me tell you this: I don''t care if Wangye is asleep or awake, I want you to come back to me immediately. Your Wangye''s health is important, our Princess'' life or death is not a trivial matter either. After Her Highness the Princess was bullied by your Heir Apparent, I don''t know her condition right now, I must hurry back to check on her." He was afraid Wu Sangui was still unconscious and was not awake, and thus Xia Guoxiang would stay by his bed and did not come out again.


    Xia Guoxiang bowed and said, "I definitely do not dare to harm Imperial Envoy Daren''s business."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted. "This is your business, not mine," he said with a cold laugh.


    However, after Xia Guoxiang went in, it was quite a while before he came out again. Wei Xiaobao lost his patience, he repeatedly stomped his feet.


    "Wangye is not awake yet," Xia Guoxiang said, "Xiao Jiang was afraid Imperial Envoy Daren is waiting anxiously, as soon as I finished my report, without waiting for Wangye''s instruction I came out to serve Imperial Envoy Daren to examine the assassin. Imperial Envoy Daren, please."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, and followed him inside. After passing through several winding corridors, they arrived at a garden. He saw several dozen guards with weapons in their hands, patrolling back and forth; the garden was heavily-guarded.


    Xia Guoxiang led him toward a rock garden, where he showed a golden arrow banner of command to the military officer guarding in front of it. "Wangye''s order," he said, "I am here to serve the Imperial Envoy Daren to examine the assassin."


    The military officer checked the arrow banner of command, bowed and said, "Imperial Envoy Daren, please. Zongbing Daren, please." As he stepped aside to let them pass.


    Xia Guoxiang said, "Let Xiao Jiang show the way." And he entered into the cave in the rock garden.


    Wei Xiaobao followed in. Only several steps later, he saw a large iron door. Two armed-guards stood on either side of the door. Turned out this rockery was the entrance to a dungeon. They walked through three such doors in succession; the path was sloping down. Finally they arrived in front of a small room. There were thick iron bars in front of the room, behind the bar a young girl was sitting on the floor, with both hands holding her head, she was sobbing quietly. There were several oil lamps hanging on the wall, illuminating the room with its pale yellow light. Wei Xiaobao rushed forward; with both hands gripping the iron bars, he focused his eyes on the young girl.


    Xia Guoxiang shouted, "Stand up, Imperial Envoy Daren has some questions for you."


    The young girl turned her head around, the lantern light shone on her face. Wei Xiaobao''s and the girl''s four eyes met, "Ah!" both exclaimed in shock. The girl immediately stood up, the shackles on her hands and feet created clanking noise. "How �� how did you get here?" she asked. They were both utterly amazed.


    After calming himself down, he turned his head around to ask Xia Guoxiang, "Why is she locked up in here?"


    "Daren knows the assassin?" Xia Guoxiang asked, "Is she �� is she really a palace maid who serves the Princess?" His shock was not below Wei Xiaobao and Mu Jianping''s.


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is she �� is she the swordsman who assassinate Wu �� assassinate Wangye?"


    "That''s right," Xia Guoxiang said, "This woman has a gargantuan nerve, she dares to commit this kind of crime, rebelling against the Emperor. In the end, who sent her? Would Daren please interrogate her clearly?"


    Wei Xiaobao was slightly relieved. "Turns out it''s a big misunderstanding," he thought, "The assassin who tried to kill Wu Sangui is not Ah Ke; actually, it''s the Mu Family''s Xiao Junzhu. Her father was killed by Wu Sangui. She tried to assassinate him, obviously it is to avenge her father. It''s not surprising at all." He asked Xia Guoxiang again, "Did she say that her name is Wang Ke''er? And that she is a palace maid serving the Princess?"


    Xia Guoxiang said, "After we captured her, we asked her name, surname and origin, as well as who sent her here. But she was unwilling to say anything. However, someone recognized her as the palace maid Wang Ke''er; I don''t know whether she is or she isn''t. We ask Daren to verify."


    Wei Xiaobao pondered, "Xiao Junzhu is captured, I have to try to save her. She is also my wife, I must not be partial." He said, "Naturally she is a palace maid serving the Princess. Princess is very fond of her." While saying that, he signaled Mu Jianping with his eyes. "Why did you assassinate Ping Xi Wang?" he asked, "Don''t you want your little life anymore? Who sent you? Quickly confess, otherwise you will suffer."


    Mu Jianping boldly said, "Wu Sangui is a big traitor to Han people, he acknowledge the criminal as his father, he handed over the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains to the Tatars. Among all Han people, which one does not wish to take his life? I only feel sorry that I failed to kill this traitor."


    "Little servant girl!" Wei Xiaobao pretended to be angry, "You dare to disregard the law and natural morality. You have lived in the Palace so long, unexpectedly you did not understand any rules and regulations, you dare to speak such treason and heresy? Aren''t you afraid you might lose your head?"


    Mu Jianping retorted, "You have lived in the Palace a lot longer than I have, what rules and regulations do you know? If I am afraid of losing my head, I would not come to Kunming to kill that big traitor Wu Sangui."


    Wei Xiaobao took a step forward and shouted, "Quickly confess, who sent you to assassinate? Who else is your conspirator?" While talking, he curled his right thumb, and waved it several times toward his back, indicating that Xiao Junzhu should implicate Xia Guoxiang. His body was covering his thumb; since Xia Guoxiang was standing behind him, he did not see Wei Xiaobao was making signals with his finger and his eyes.


    Mu Jianping caught his signals; pointing to Xia Guoxiang, she loudly said, "My conspirator is him! He was the one who sent me here."


    Xia Guoxiang was enraged. "Rubbish!" he shouted.


    "You still want to deny?" Mu Jianping said, "You told me to assassinate Wu Sangui. You said that Wu Sangui is extremely evil, everybody hates him to the death. You said �� you said that after I assassinated Wu Sangui, you would �� you would ��" She did not know Xia Guoxiang''s status, plus she was not good in telling lies, hence momentarily she was at a loss.


    Wei Xiaobao prompted, "He would be promoted and gain wealth, and hereafter nobody would beat him or curse him?"


    "That''s right!" Mu Jianping said loudly, "He said that Wu Sangui often beats him, scolds him, and is very ruthless to him. In his heart he resents it very much; he had always wanted to personally kill Wu Sangui, but �� but he didn''t have the guts to do so." Xia Guoxiang was cursing and yelling, but Mu Jianping did not pay him any attention.


    "Be careful of what you say!" Wei Xiaobao shouted, "Do you know who this general is? He is Ping Xi Wang''s son-in-law Xia Guoxiang, Xia Zongbing. Although Ping Xi Wang often beats him, scolds him, it was for his own good." While saying that, he raised his thumb in front of his chest, indicating that he approved of what she said.


    Mu Jianping continued, "This Xia Zongbing told me that as soon as Wu Sangui is dead, he himself will be the Ping Xi Wang. He said that whether the assassination is successful or not, he would let me go, that he would not let me suffer the least bit of suffering. But he actually locked me up in here. Xia Zongbing, I have obeyed your order, I have finished the mission, when are you going to let me go?"


    Xia Guoxiang was extremely angry; he thought, "This stinky girl originally did not know me, it was this kid who told her. This muddleheaded kid is playing a joke with laozi in order to save you. Turns out the two of you know each other; I really did not expect it." He shouted, "If you keep talking nonsense, I''ll beat you until your skin is broken and your flesh lacerated, you are hovering between life and death."


    Mu Jianping was scared; she did not dare to say anything anymore. She thought that if Wei Xiaobao failed to save her, this military officer would definitely deal with her maliciously.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Whatever you want to say, there is no harm in you saying it. This gentleman, Xia Zongbing is my good friend. If it is really he who incited you to assassinate Ping Xi Wang, you can honestly tell me, I will not reveal it to anybody." While saying that, he repeatedly signaled with his eyes.


    Mu Jianping said, "But he �� he is going to beat me to death, I don''t dare to speak."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "What you said earlier was the truth." He sighed, took several steps back, and shook his head.


    Xia Guoxiang said, "Daren please understand: rebellious-thief slanders senior official is a common occurrence, naturally you must not take her seriously."


    Wei Xiaobao hesitantly said, "You are not wrong. However, Ping Xi Wang is usually very strict toward Xia Zongbing; Xia Zongbing resents him very much, hence you wanted to kill the old man, your father-in-law. I am afraid a little girl like her cannot fabricate baseless rumor like that. After Ping Xi Wang is completely healed from his wound, I will try to persuade him, so that the two of you, father-in-law and son-in-law, will not become �� become water something and fire something."


    Previously, when Xia Guoxiang heard Mu Jianping slandering him, although he was angry, he did not care too much, because his achievement, riches and honor, everything was actually bestowed by Ping Xi Wang; nobody would believe that he would conspire against him. However, if Wei Xiaobao really brought this matter up in front of Ping Xi Wang, his father-in-law might think that he was harboring a grudge, and that he complained to an outsider about it. For the past few years his father-in-law was short-tempered; he dealt with his subordinates even more strictly. If he heard this kind of talks, very likely Xia Guoxiang would suffer some misfortune. Thereupon he hastily said, "Wangye has always treated Xiao Jiang with extreme benevolence, he treated me just like his own son, Xiao Jiang is very grateful to him. Imperial Envoy Daren absolutely must not say such thing to Wangye."


    Seeing Xia Guoxiang was very anxious, Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "People do not wish to harm the tiger, the tiger wants to harm people. Biting the hand that feeds him is not uncommon in the world. Ping Xi Wang treats me pretty good, I must warn him to be vigilant, so that he won''t fall into his own people''s evil scheme. Ping Xi Wang has strong soldiers and sturdy horses, with countless martial art experts to guard him; if there is any outsider wanting to harm him, how could he succeed? However, inside thief is difficult to guard against, if one of his own people is backstabbing him, I am afraid he cannot dodge it."


    The more Xia Guoxiang heard it, the more frightened he was. He knew perfectly well that Wei Xiaobao was simply making it up, with the sole intention to save this young girl. But Ping Xi Wang tended to be overly suspicious of everything and everybody. Just a few days ago his own brother Wu Sanmei walked into the rear hall but forgot to take the saber hanging on his waist off. He personally tore the saber off and reprimanded him severely. If Wei Xiaobao ever mentioned anything like ''outside enemy easy to resist, inside thief difficult to guard against''; granted that Ping Xi Wang might not believe him, but these words would plant a root in his heart, and then Xia Guoxiang''s future advancement might be greatly hindered. Thereupon he said in a low voice, "Imperial Envoy Daren''s advice on my promotion and future advancement, Xiao Jiang will forever never dare to forget your, Senior''s great kindness and great benevolence. If Daren has any order, Xiao Jiang will go through water and tread on fire, will not decline under any circumstances. Even if it involves huge responsibility, Xiao Jiang will do my best to accomplish it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I was just giving you food for thoughts. What this little girl said, the Heaven knows, the Earth knows, you know, I know, plus the little girl herself knows, a total of three people. Actually, you should have killed her early on to close her mouth, nice and clean. But now the words have entered my ears; if you want to eliminate potential informants, then you must kill me as well. I have Imperial Bodyguards and troops and generals under my command, right now they are already on guard against this matter, several thousand people are waiting outside the Mansion. If you kill me, you will still find it difficult to overcome this matter."


    Xia Guoxiang''s countenance changed; he bowed with cupped fist and said, "Xiao Jiang will never dare to do that."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Since you cannot kill us to shut our mouths, sooner or later Ping Xi Wang will hear about this matter. Xia Zongbing, you are the leader of the ten Great Regional Commanders, plus you are the Ping Xi Wang''s son-in-law; I am afraid among the other nine Regional Commanders, as well as other civil and military officials of the Mansion, there are quite a few people are jealous of you [orig. ''drinking your vinegar'']. As the saying goes: When you open the door, among the seven ingredients: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy, vinegar and tea


    [5], there bound to be a few people who drink vinegar, and add some oil and soy paste. As soon as this rumor is leaked, even for a little bit, Ping Xi Wang''s ears will not be peaceful. Everybody will speak malicious words about you on the Senior''s ears, adding firewood and straw to it, and fan it into flame. Ping Xi Wang is injured; in his illness, how can his temper be good? This �� this �� ay!" While saying that, he continuously shook his head.


    Wei Xiaobao was merely speculating, yet Xia Guoxiang thought that this kid really understood my Mansion''s affair clearly; the number of people who are jealous of me was indeed not a few. He said, "Daren gives Xiao Jiang food for thought, Xiao Jiang can''t thank you enough, but I wonder what should I do?"


    "This problem is actually very difficult to solve," Wei Xiaobao said, "Alright, let me carry some of the responsibility, just hand it over to your friend here. Give this little girl to me, I will take her away, and say that the Princess wants to personally interrogate her." Lowering his voice, he whispered into Xia Guoxiang''s ear, "Tonight, I will kill her, and announce that she prefers death than confessing her crime; she is tortured, cannot endure it, and thus she meets her fate. Won''t that mean we turn big matter into small, small mater into nothing, clean and clear?"


    Xia Guoxiang had already expected that Wei Xiaobao would say those words; he cursed in his heart, "Damn it, muddleheaded stinky kid, you want to save this girl, yet you make it as if you are doing me a favor, that you, the stinky kid, are helping me avoiding big problem. But how did you know this little girl? It really surprises me." He asked, "Daren, could you confirm again: is she a palace maid serving the Princess? A while ago Xiao Jiang interrogated her, but she does not seem to know the Princess'' appearance and age, as well as general situation around the Palace."


    "She is unwilling to implicate the Princess, naturally she intentionally did not answer your questions correctly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "This girl is loyal to the Princess, plus she did not fail Xia Zongbing''s great trust. Very good, very good."


    Xia Guoxiang understood that once again Wei Xiaobao was turning this matter around and put the blame on his head; he hastily said, "Daren''s ingenious plan is indeed brilliant. Would Daren please put in writing that you order Xiao Jiang to hand over the prisoner, so that Xiao Jiang can give account for it in front of Wangye?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and cursed, "Damn it, laozi is totally illiterate, what hand order or foot order


    [6] is there to write?" Puting his hand into his pocket, he drew a short gun and said, "This is a gift from your Wangye. Take it and show it to Wangye, tell him that I am under the Princess'' order to take the prisoner away. This gun is the proof."


    Xia Guoxiang received the gun with both hands, and put it inside his pocket. He went out and came back with two military officers; he ordered them to open the iron bars, and removed the shackle on Mu Jianping''s feet, but left the handcuffs binding her hands. Xia Guoxiang grabbed the iron chain of the manacles and dragged her out of the Mansion''s gate, where he handed the iron chain over to Wei Xiaobao. He also gave the key to the handcuffs to him, and said in a loud voice, "Imperial Envoy Daren receives Her Highness, the Princess''s order to take the prisoner away for questioning. Everybody must guard the prisoner carefully, don''t let her escape."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Are you afraid that I would deny taking the prisoner from you?" he said, "Everybody here has seen it, they all have heard it. I cannot deny it even if I wanted to."


    Xia Guoxiang bowed and said, "Daren is making fun of me. Xiao Jiang does not have that intention."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Go tell Wangye, I am very concerned about the Senior''s well-being, I will come back tomorrow to pay my respect and wish him well."


    Xia Guoxiang bowed again and said, "I do not dare."


    Wei Xiaobao took Mu Jianping back to Anfu Garden, straight into his room. He bolted the door, and asked with a giggle, "Good wife, what has actually happened?"


    Mu Jianping''s little face turned deep red from embarrassment; she angrily said, "We have just met and nothing good coming out of your mouth?" She raised her hands, the iron chain of the manacles made ''ding ding dang dang'' noise. She said, "Remove this thing first, and then we''ll talk."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I have to enjoy some intimacy with you first. As soon as the handcuffs are removed, you won''t be willing." While saying that, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and embraced her.


    Mu Jianping was greatly anxious. "You �� you are bullying me," she said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, I won''t bully you. You can bully me." He put his cheek toward her lips and touched it gently, and then taking out the key given by Xia Guoxiang, he unlocked the handcuffs. He pulled her to sit side-by-side with him on the bed before he finally asked her about the story behind Wu Sangui''s assassination.


    Mu Jianping said, "Hong Jiaozhu and Madame were very delighted to receive the thing that you sent; they let me take the antidote, so that the poison in my body is neutralized. They sent the Scarlet Dragon Vice Envoy to take me here to see you, so that you will work for them loyally. Madame said that Jiaozhu and Madame knew that you missed me, therefore �� therefore ��"


    Wei Xiaobao grabbed her hand and said, "Therefore they sent you here to become my wife?"


    "No, not that," Mu Jianping anxiously said, "Madame said that they were afraid in your heart you were anxious about me, and would not be able to do your work in peace. She really did not say anything else."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Madame must have said it, you are simply concealing it from me."


    Mu Jianping said, "If you don''t believe me, when you see Madame later, you can ask her yourself."


    Wei Xiaobao saw that she was so anxious that her eyes were brimming with tears; afraid that she would cry because of his teasing, he said warmly, "Alright, alright. Madame did not say that; but what about you? Don''t you miss me? Didn''t you want to see me?"


    Mu Jianping turned her head away and nodded gently. Wei Xiaobao said, "What about the Scarlet Dragon Vice Envoy? Why did you assassinate Wu Sangui?"


    "We arrived at Kunming three days ago," Mu Jianping replied, "We wanted to see you right away, but unexpectedly we met my Gege and Liu Shifu outside the western gate."


    "Ah," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Your Gege and Liu Shifu are in Kunming? I did not know that."


    Mu Jianping said, "Ao Shige, Liu Shige, and the others have also arrived; only Wu Shishu did not come because he fell sick. Everybody has arrived at Kunming to set up a mission to assassinate Princess Jianning."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Assassinate Princess Jianning?" he asked, "But why? The Princess has never offended your Mu Family."


    "According to my Gege," Mu Jianping said, "We want to topple the big traitor Wu Sangui, and right now we saw a very good opportunity. The Tatar Emperor is giving his Meizi in marriage to Wu Sangui''s son; if we can assassinate the Princess, the Emperor would definitely blame Wu Sangui for not protecting her satisfactorily. If an imperial decree was issued to chastise him, most probably Wu Sangui would be compelled to rebel."


    Listening to this, the palm of Wei Xiaobao''s hands were wet with cold sweats. He thought, "This plan was very malicious. I was so engrossed in scheming against Wu Sangui that I did not think of protecting the Princess well. If the Mu Palace struck first and gained the upper hand, I would be in a terrible mess." He asked, "And then what happened?"


    Mu Jianping said, "My Gege told me to dress as a palace maid to get close to the Princess and assassinate her. They were waiting outside to provide support. As soon as I succeeded, they would get me out. The Scarlet Dragon Vice Envoy heard their plan, he told me that since the White Dragon Envoy is in charge of protecting the Princess; if we killed the Princess, perhaps you would be implicated. I thought that he was right, and I wanted to discuss it with you. Unexpectedly Liu Shifu found out about it, he killed the Scarlet Dragon Vice Envoy with a chop of the saber." Speaking to this point, her body trembled slightly; obviously she was recalling the circumstance at that time, and still had lingering fear.


    Wei Xiaobao held Mu Jianping''s hands tightly and comforted her, "Don''t be afraid, don''t be afraid. You did that for my sake, I appreciate that very much."


    Mu Jianping''s tears trickled down her face; sobbing and sniffling she said, "But �� but when you saw me, you bullied me, and �� and you did not believe me."


    Wei Xiaobao lifted her hand and slapped it on his own face. "Scoundrel, you deserve to die, I''ll kill you, you son of a wh0re!" he cursed himself.


    Mu Jianping hastily pulled his hand and said, "No, I don''t want you to beat yourself, to curse yourself."


    Wei Xiaobao lifted her hand again and gently slapped it on his own cheek; he said, "Wei Xiaobao still deserves to die. Your good wife, the dear little precious thing from Mu Family was caught by Wu Sangui, why didn''t you rescue her earlier?"


    "Haven''t you rescued me out?" Mu Jianping said, "But we must think of a way to also save Gege and Liu Shifu."


    Wei Xiaobao was slightly startled. "Your Gege and Liu Shifu are also captured?" he asked.


    "The night before last," Mu Jianping told him, "The place where we stayed was suddenly surrounded by Wu Sangui''s guards. There were so many of them, there were more than twenty among them with superior martial art skill. We were only a few, and were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Ao Shige was killed on the spot. My Gege, Liu Shifu and I were captured by them."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Ao Shixiong was killed by the big traitor; what a pity, what a pity." He also asked, "After you were captured, how did you manage to assassinate Wu Sangui?"


    "Assassinate Wu Sangui?" Mu Jianping asked, "I did not. Naturally I wanted to kill the big traitor, but �� but those evil men put me in fetters and handcuffs, how can I assassinate him?"


    The more Wei Xiaobao listened, the more surprised he was. "You were captured the evening of the day before yesterday?" he asked, "Where were you in the last two days?"


    "I was always locked up in a dark room," Mu Jianping said, "Just today they took me to be locked up in that dungeon. Not too long afterwards, you came in."


    Wei Xiaobao had a nagging feeling in his heart that something was wrong; clearly he had fallen into Xia Guoxiang''s big trap, but as for what actually went wrong, he could not say. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Today Wu Sangui was assassinated, he received quite a heavy injury; was it you who assassinated him?"


    "Of course not," Mu Jianping replied, "I have never seen Wu Sangui. Will he die?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I don''t know," he said, "Have you ever told them your identity or background?"


    "I have not," Mu Jianping replied, "I did not say anything. The military officer who interrogated me was very mad; he asked me whether I was mute. Wei Dage, you have also said that I was a mute."


    Wei Xiaobao gently kissed her cheek; he said, "You are my dear little mute. I also said that I was going to carve a little turtle on your face."


    Mu Jianping was shy and delighted at the same time, her eyes were brimming with tenderness, but she did not dare to turn her head to look at him. But Wei Xiaobao was too busy thinking to notice, "Why did Xia Guoxiang want Xiao Junzhu to pretend to be a palace maid? Right, he must be testing me, whether I knew Mu Palace people or not. This time I rescued Xiao Junzhu, it was a clear indication that we belong to the same group. He spread a trap, and luring me to tread on it and fall into it. This time laozi was not careful and has fallen into his trap. This is bad; this is really bad. Now that laozi is in this big mess, what is my next step to get out of this mess?"


    Although he was sharp-witted and crafty, when all is said and done, he was still young. In dealing with a really important matter, he was not Wu Sangui, Xia Guoxiang, those extremely sly old traitors'' match. His heart was anxious, his body was drenched in sweats. "My dear good wife," he said, "Please wait here, I must discuss with other people how we are going to rescue your Gege and Liu Shifu."


    Immediately he went to the western wing. After summoning the Tian Di Hui warriors, he explained the situation clearly. As soon as Xu Tianchuan and the others heard it, they all agreed that there was something really fishy going on.


    Xuanzhen said, "Could it be that Wu Sangui was able to see through our stunt of impersonating Hantiemo and have him killed?"


    Qian Laoben said, "I wonder how did Wu Sangui get the information that he managed to capture the Mu Palace friends in the middle of the night?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved. "There is a fellow in the Mu Palace called Liu Yizhou," he said, "This man harbors a grudge against me, plus his character is ''greedy for life, afraid of death''. Most likely he was the one who disclose the information under interrogation."


    "Probably so," Qian Laoben said, "But Wei Xiangzhu, you are the Tatar Emperor''s favorite and trusted Imperial Envoy Minister, no matter what the big traitor can''t possibly suspect you to have any connection with the Mu Palace people. There must be something else in this matter ��" Knitting his brows, he pondered deeply.


    Qi Biaoqing said, "My guess is that the big traitor did not suspect Wei Xiangzhu to have any connection with the Mu Palace people; it was just a coincidence."


    Wei Xiaobao busily asked, "What do you mean it was just a coincidence?"


    "Most likely the one assassinating the big traitor was indeed that palace maid who served the Princess, Wang Ke''er," Qi Biaoqing said, "Everybody said the same thing, I don''t think they are making it up."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "That Wang Ke''er is really missing; she must have been caught by the big traitor."


    Qi Biaoqing said, "The big traitor naturally expected that the Princess would send Wei Xiangzhu to ask for her maid back. Looking at the Princess and the Imperial Envoy Daren''s faces, he won''t have any choice but to release her; but he actually is unwilling to set the assassin free. By lucky coincidence, they caught the Mu Family''s Xiao Junzhu. Hence they say that she was the assassin. When Wei Xiangzhu came to the prison and looked at her, naturally you would say that she was not Wang Ke''er. This way, Wei Xiangzhu would have your hands bound and would be unable to do anything about it."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh. "Right, right," he said, "After all, Qi San Ge is a scholar, your thinking is very clear and logical. Even if they did not capture Mu Family''s Xiao Junzhu, they would randomly find a girl and press me to accept it, saying, ''Imperial Envoy Daren, here is the assassin, do you, Senior, want her? If you want her, just take her away, don''t be polite. She is not a palace maid serving the Princess? That''s wonderful!'' His granny, at that time, the most laozi could say would be that the Princess is missing a palace maid, and ask them to diligently seek for her within the Kunming city walls, but I could not insist on taking the prisoner away. To their surprise, I knew the Mu Family''s Xiao Junzhu, it must be beyond their expectation. If the big traitor bring this matter up, it won''t be easy for me to dodge the question."


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Qi Biaoqing said, "Things have come to this, you have no choice but to tough it out with Wu Sangui. Tell him that you have received the Emperor''s Imperial Edict to make friends with the Mu Family."


    Wei Xiaobao was reminded by his speech; he laughed aloud and said, "That''s right, that''s right. I released Wu Lishen and his gang, it was indeed ��" But speaking to this point, he held his tongue, thinking, "His Majesty personally ordered me to release Wu Lishen and the others, but I definitely cannot tell them this." Thereupon he changed the subject, "Although I can say that I received the Emperor''s Imperial Edict, I am afraid I cannot deceive the big traitor."


    Qian Laoben said, "To really deceive the big traitor, naturally it won''t be easy. But if Wei Xiangzhu stick to your statement that it was the Emperor''s idea, even if the big traitor do not believe it, he would not have any choice. In short, Wei Xiangzhu must not become hostile to him, wait till we are out of Yunnan Guizhou, two provinces, then we won''t have to be afraid of him."


    Xu Tianchuan nodded and said, "This is a brilliant plan. The big traitor has committed shameful deeds, inevitably he is overly suspicious, he is afraid the young Emperor would find out about his plan to rebel."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Mu Palace people knew very well that I am on imperial order to protect the Princess, yet they still wanted to assassinate her; indeed they did not uphold yi qi too much. If Wu Lishen, Wu Er Ge was here, he would definitely not approve."


    Qi Biaoqing said, "They knew that Wei Xiangzhu ''live in Cao camp but his heart is in Han camp'', it''s not that he is really faithful in working for the Tatar Emperor, for this reason, they might have some misgivings in this matter. Although our Tian Di Hui made a bet with the Mu Palace, but everybody unites against a common enemy. Liu Dahong and the others have resounding reputation as real men, we simply cannot watch with folded arms and ignore them."


    However, speaking about how to save Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong, and the others, this matter was really not easy, the warriors could not come out with the best plan. After discussing it for a long time, Wei Xiaobao said, "I am afraid we cannot use any of these plan. I am going to see the big traitor again, then we''ll look for another opportunity."


    After the warriors were dismissed, Wei Xiaobao thought, "Perhaps Ah Ke that wife of mine did not really go to assassinate the big traitor, neither was she captured by the enemy. Perhaps it was all false report from outsiders."


    He went to Jiu Nan room, but did not see Ah Ke. "Shifu," he asked, "Is Shijie here?"


    Jiu Nan only stared at him blankly. "Has Wu Sangui released her?" she asked, "He �� he knows?" When speaking the last sentence, her expression looked different, her voice was slightly trembling.


    Wei Xiaobao felt strange, "Wu Sangui knows what?" he asked.


    Jiu Nan was silent. A moment later, she asked, "How is the big traitor''s injury?"


    "Very heavy," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Disciple has just gone to see him, he was still unconscious, perhaps he won''t live."


    A happy expression appeared on Jiu Nan''s face briefly; immediately her brows were knitted again as she said in a low voice, "Must really let him know."


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to ask what is it that she wanted him to know, but looking at his Shifu''s grave expression, he did not dare to ask too much; he then excused himself.


    In his heart, he still had a one-in-ten-thousand hope; hence he went around to inquire about Ah Ke''s whereabouts. Usually this palace maid ''Wang Ke''er'' very rarely made an appearance, in her disguise, her beauty was well covered, hence nobody paid her any attention. All the palace maids, eunuchs and Imperial Bodyguards in Anfu Garden said that they had never seen her. An Imperial Bodyguard remarked, "Wang Ke''er? Isn''t she the palace maid who went to assassinate Ping Xi Wang? Has Ping Xi Wang released her? But I have not seen her."


    After being busy for the whole day and night, Wei Xiaobao was very tired. Returning to his room, he made some small talk with Mu Jianping, and then put his head down on the bed and fell asleep immediately.


    Book note: Luodian (county) is located in central Guizhou (province), it was where Wu Sangui stationed a massive military force. Dianchi is a lake in Yunnan. Qing is a unit area, approximately 6.67 hectares (16.5 acres).

 Chapter - 32 (32)

    Breaking singing voice continued by string instrument, dancing sleeve capable of listening to prolonged guest''s boasting.


    The next day he went to find out about Wu Sangui''s injury. Wu Sangui''s second son came out to meet him, thanking the Imperial Envoy officer for his visit, telling him that Wu Sangui''s condition did not change, that right now he was sleeping peacefully, that it was inappropriate to disturb him. Wei Xiaobao asked about Xia Guoxiang, but was told that he was on duty leading the troops to quell a disturbance, to guard against the unrest among the people, and that there was some changes going on in the city. When asked about Wu Yingxiong''s condition, he did not give specific answer.


    Wei Xiaobao had a faint feeling that there was great suspicion rising within the Ping Xi Wang Mansion, almost to the point of hostility. If he insist on rescuing Mu Palace people, it would be difficult to succeed. Rescuing Ah Ke would be more difficult than difficult. Perhaps if he stir up the Palace to resort to force immediately he would only deliver his own little life in Kunming.


    Another day passed. He was having a discussion with Qian Laoben, Xu Tianchuan, Qi Biaoqing, and the others, when Gao Yanchao walked in, announcing that an old Taoist Priestess was seeking an audience. Wei Xiaobao was surprised. "Old Taoist Priestess? Why is she looking for me? Is she asking for alms?"


    "Subordinate asked her the purpose of her visit," Gao Yanchao replied, "She said she received orders to deliver a letter to the Imperial Envoy Daren." While saying that, he presented a letter in yellow envelope.


    Wei Xiaobao frowned and said, "I must trouble Gao Dage to open and look, what is written in there?"


    Gao Yanchao opened the envelope and took out a piece of yellow paper, looked at it for a moment, and read, "Ah Ke in trouble ��"


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard those four words, he sprang up and anxiously said, "What Ah Ke in trouble?" The Tian Di Hui warriors did not know about Jiu Nan and Ah Ke; they all just stared at him with a blank look on their faces.


    Gao Yanchao said, "That''s what''s written in this letter. It has neither a head nor a tail, and there is no signature either. It only says for you to come with the bearer, to take the trouble of visiting the writer to discuss a plan to save her."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is the Taoist Priestess outside?"


    Gao Yanchao has just said one sentence, "She is outside," Wei Xiaobao had already bolted out the door.


    When he reached the side room beside the front door, he saw a grey-haired Taoist Priestess sitting on a wooden bench, waiting for him. The Imperial Bodyguard on duty loudly announced, "Imperial Envoy Minister has arrived."


    The Taoist Priestess stood up and bowed to pay her respect. Wei Xiaobao asked, "Who sent you to see me?"


    The Taoist Priestess said, "Would Daren please step out? You will find out at the appointed time."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Where are we going?"


    "Please come with Pindao [impoverished Taoist, referring to self]," the Taoist Priestess said, "It''s not convenient to talk here."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will come with you." He shouted, "Prepare a carriage, saddle the horse!"


    "Would Daren take the carriage?" the Taoist Priestess said, "That way we won''t alarm other people."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. He went out the door together with the Taoist Priestess and climbed into the carriage. Afraid that it was the enemy''s trap, Xu Tian Chuan, Qian Laoben, and the other followed some distance away. The Taoist Priestess gave the direction they were to take, the carriage headed west, and went out of the western city gate. Seeing the landscape was getting more and more desolate, Wei Xiaobao was feeling slightly uneasy; he asked, "Where are we going?"


    "We will arrive soon," the Taoist Priestess replied.


    After traveling for more than three li, they turned north. The road narrowed, it was barely enough for one carriage. Shortly afterwards they arrived in front of a tiny Buddhist nunnery. "We are here," the Taoist Priestess said.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped down the carriage. He saw a wooden tablet on top of the door to the nunnery. There were three characters written on the tablet, the first one was ''Three'', the other two he did not recognize. Turning his head and taking a glance, he saw Gao Yanchao and the others in the distant, presumably they would wait around this place; thereupon he followed the Taoist Priestess into the nunnery.


    He saw all around him the nunnery was untainted by even a speck of dust. The courtyard was adorned with several bushes of camellia, and a Chinese redbud tree [Cercis chinensis]. In the middle of the sacrificial hall there was an image of Guanyin [Goddess of Mercy] in white. The image''s appearance was very beautiful, in the dignified Buddhist imagery, there was thirty-percent of prettiness.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I heard among Wu Sangui''s wife, there is one nicknamed Four-sided [or Four-Faced] Guanyin, there is also one nicknamed Eight-sided [or Eight-Faced] Guanyin. I wonder if they are really as pretty as Guanyin Pusa [Bodhisattva]. Damn it, the big traitor''s luck in love is not shallow."


    The Taoist Priestess led him to the eastern side chamber, and served him tea. Wei Xiaobao opened the teacup lid, a burst of delicate fragrance greeted his nostrils. The tea inside the cup was dark green, unexpectedly it was a freshly brewed Longjing tealeaves. He felt a bit strange, "These Longjing tealeaves were brought all the way from Jiangnan to this place, the price would be prohibitive. How can the Taoist Priestesses or Buddhist nuns in this nunnery be this ostentatious?"


    The Taoist Priestess returned with a lacquered wooden tray in her hands, with assortment of eight different delicacies, arranged on white tray cloth. There was pine-nut candy, hickory cake, walnut flakes, rose cake, apricot candy, mung bean cake, lily crackers, and osmanthus scented red bayberry preserved in honey. All were Suzhou-style light refreshments, and all were exceptionally exquisite. Wei Xiaobao was not a stranger to this kind of Jiangnan delicacies, when he was at the Yangzhou brothel in the past, when the patrons arrived and the procuress [lit. female brothel keeper] wanted to entertain the guests, taking advantage when nobody was watching, he often nibbled a slice or two pieces. Unexpectedly coming across an old friend in a tiny Buddhist nunnery in Yunnan, he was very happy. "Laozi is back at the Yangzhou''s Lovely Spring Courtyard," he mused. After serving the light refreshments, the Taoist Priestess withdrew immediately.


    There was a copper incense burner on the small side table, a thin wisp of blue smoke rose up in spirals, the scent was that of precious sandalwood incense. Wei Xiaobao was familiar with this kind of scent; each time he came to see the Empress Dowager at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, he would always smell this sandalwood fragrance. Suddenly he sprang up in fear. "Aiyo! Not good! Could it be that the old wh0re is here?"


    He heard intermittent sound of footsteps outside the door. A woman walked in. She put her palms together toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Nun [or Priestess, see footnote] Jijing


    [7] pays her respect to Wei Daren." Her voice was clear and supple, she spoke in Suzhou accent.


    The woman was approximately forty-years old, she was wearing light yellow Taoist gown, she had a beautiful face [orig. ''like painting''], so clear and attractive that it was difficult to describe with words. In all his life Wei Xiaobao had never seen such a beautiful woman. He was holding the teacup with both hands, and was about to drink; but right now his mouth was open wide, unexpectedly he was unable to close it. In that instant he was dumbstruck and was at a loss to know what to do. The woman smiled and said, "Wei Daren, please sit down."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao absent-mindedly replied. His knees went soft, he plopped down into his chair, the tea in his hand splashed, the front piece of his jacket was immediately wet for the most part.


    In all her life, the beautiful woman had seen many men all over the world lost their soul and dropped their spirit when they saw her for the first time, hence she was not the least bit surprised; but Wei Xiaobao was only a fifteen, sixteen years old teenager, unexpectedly he was also intimidated by her peerless glowing countenance. The beautiful woman smiled and said, "Wei Daren is young yet have great talent. I heard that in the past Gan Luo became the prime minister at the age of twelve, Wei Daren actually do not lose to him."


    "I don''t dare," Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo! All those women, Xishi, Yang Guifei


    [8], are definitely inferior to you."


    The beautiful woman raised her sleeve to cover half of her jade cheek; she smiled sweetly, immediately hundreds of charms grew without restraint. Following which her countenance turned solemn as she said, "Xishi, Yang Guifei, they all women with cruel fate. Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman, referring to self] only regrets that the Heaven bestowed me with such countenance, and thus harming the common people under the heavens, making their lives miserable. Because of that I now live with the clear lantern of Buddha as my companion, persistently live in repentance. Ay, even if I strike through the wooden fish [Buddhist instrument] or chant the sutra until it rots, I still cannot redeem even one of the ten thousand sins of my past." Speaking to this point, her eyes turned red, she could not stop the tears from flowing down.


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand what she was talking about, but seeing how when she smiled the divine light was meeting and parting, how in her distress she looked so lovely and moving, he could not help but feeling compassion toward her. He did not even know her background, but the blood in his breast bubbled up, he only felt that even if his body was torn and his bones crushed for her sake, he would take it ''as sweet as syrup'' [an idiom from the Book of Songs: to endure hardship gladly]. Striking his chest he stood up and fervently said, "Who bullied you? I will stake my life for you. Whatever difficulty you have, please feel free to hand it over to me. If I cannot deal with it, I, Wei Xiaobao, will cut my head and give it to you." While saying that, he raised his right palm and chopped it heavily on the back of his own neck. Such a lofty spirit of a real man was indeed rare, but this time it was not the least bit superficial.


    The beautiful woman stared at him for half a day; she said with a sob, "Wei Daren''s righteousness reaches the cloud in the sky, Xiao Nuzi does not know how to repay it." Bending her knees, she suddenly kneeled down and gracefully prostrated herself in front of him.


    "Not right, not right," Wei Xiaobao called out. Promptly he also dropped down on his knees and ''dong, dong, dong'', kowtowed to her several times, saying, "You are immortal descending into the world, Guanyin Pusa reincarnated; you deserve my kowtows."


    The beautiful woman said in a low voice, "I really don''t deserve this." Holding out her hands, she pulled his arms and helped him up. The two of them stood up together.


    Seeing several drops of tears hanging on her cheeks, sparkling and translucent like beads of pearl, Wei Xiaobao busily stretched out his sleeve and gently wiped her face. "Don''t cry, don''t cry," he said tenderly, "Even a gargantuan problem, we will deal with it fair and square."


    Based on that beautiful woman''s age, she could be his mother. But in her appearance, manners, speech and expression, there was sweetness, charm, grace and loveliness that other people could not help but feeling tenderness and pity toward her. "Actually, why are you sad?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The beautiful woman replied, "After Wei Daren saw the letter, you came immediately, Xiao Nuzi is really grateful ��"


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, as he slapped his own forehead, "Muddle head! It is for Ah Ke''s sake ��" He stared blankly at the beautiful woman; suddenly he came into realization, "You are Ah Ke''s Mama!" he loudly said.


    The beautiful woman said in a low voice, "Wei Daren is very smart. I was not going to tell you, but you have guessed correctly."


    "That was easy," Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of you look very much alike, but �� but Ah Ke Shijie is inferior to �� to your beauty."


    A blush appeared on the beautiful woman''s face, her bright, smooth and white, soft skin exuded a tender pink color, as if she had just applied a layer of rouge on her jade-white face. "You call Ah Ke your Shijie?" she asked in a low voice.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "She is my Shijie." Without concealing anything, he told her how he first met Ah Ke, how he was beaten by her that his arm bones were dislocated, how he did obeisance to Jiu Nan and took her as his master, how they came together to Kunming. He even told her how he adored Ah Ke, but Ah Ke did not even consider him in her eyes; all kinds of feeling and reasons, he calmly gave her a straightforward account. Only about Jiu Nan''s real identity, as well as his intention to bring Wu Sangui''s conspiracy to a bad end, which he thought the implication would be too great, he skipped completely and did not mention even a single word.


    The beautiful woman listened quietly. When he finished, she sighed and said quietly, "How can a wife be involved in something of a paramount importance? A hero is helpless to overcome his passion. Young beauty is the source of trouble. The problem at hand can''t be more clear. Wei Daren has a future full of promise ��"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "Not right, not right," he said, "Young beauty is the source of trouble; I have heard the storytellers said the same thing, that Daji


    [9], Yang Guifei, were responsible for causing the harm of the nation. Actually, if there was no wretched man, no wretched emperor in the world, even if the woman was more beautiful, she can''t possibly bring the harm to the country. Everybody said that for the sake of Chen Yuanyuan, Ping Xi Wang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. In my opinion, if Wu Sangui was really loyal to the Ming Dynasty, eighteen Chen Yuanyuan would not make his granny Wu Sangui surrenders to the Qing Dynasty."


    The beautiful woman stood up, gracefully kneeled down and bowed respectfully to him and said, "Thank you Wei Daren for seeing clearly, for distinguishing the unredressed injustice that plagued jianqie


    [10] for all eternity."


    Wei Xiaobao hurriedly returned the propriety. He wondered out loud, "You �� you �� Ah �� aiyo, that''s right, I am indeed a complete muddle head. If you are not Chen Yuanyuan, where in the world would there be such �� such �� a beautiful woman like you? It''s just that, ay, I am more and more confused; aren''t you Ping Xi Wang''s Wangfei [wife of the king]? Why are you here living a pious life? How can Ah Ke Shijie be �� be your daughter?"


    The beautiful woman stood up and said, "Jianqie is indeed Chen Yuanyuan. The story behind it is complicated and not easy to express succinctly; but first, Jianqie needs help from Wei Daren, hence I do not dare to conceal anything; second, I have just heard how Wei Daren is able to recognize Jianqie''s unredressed injustice, in my heart I am very grateful. For more than twenty years Jianqie has suffered enough insult from the people all over the world, they put the blame of the fall of our country on Jianqie''s head. At the present age, only two gifted scholars understand that Jianqie has received unjust treatment. One is the great poet Wu Meicun, Wu Caizi [gifted scholar]. The other is precisely Wei Daren."


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao was completely ignorant and did not have any knowledge of national affair, he did not have any clue if Chen Yuanyuan was wronged or not. It''s just that he saw how in her frightened state she did not lose her graceful appearance; he admired her greatly. Plus he utterly detested Wu Sangui, and she was Ah Ke''s mother. Even if she had a thousand shortcomings, committed ten thousand mistakes, it was not a mistake at all. In his mind, not even half of it was not Wu Sangui''s fault.


    Listening to her praising him as a gifted scholar, he was self-conscious; he waved his hand and hastily said, "I don''t know a single character as big as a watermelon. If you want to call me a gifted scholar, you might as well add two characters ''dog fart'' in front of it, then it will become ''dog fart gifted scholar'' Wei Xiaobao."


    Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Being able to write verses and literary works will make you no more than little gifted scholar; having knowledge and experience, having responsibility, will put you into the great gifted scholar category."


    Hearing these few words of flattery, Wei Xiaobao could not stop the bones in his entire body from going soft; he thought, "She is the world''s number one beauty, yet unexpectedly she said I am a big gifted scholar. Ha ha �� turns out laozi''s talent is really not low. Damn it, ever since I came out of my mother''s womb, this is the first time I have ever heard this."


    Chen Yuanyuan stood up. "Would Daren step inside?" she asked, "Let Xiao Nuzi relates everything to you."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He followed her along a gravel pathway in the garden, toward a small room.


    The room was bare, no table, no chair, but there were two putuan [meditation mat] on the floor. A scroll of calligraphy hung on the wall, it looked densely populated with a lot of characters. Next to the scroll hung a pipa [Chinese lute].


    "Daren please sit down," Chen Yuanyuan said.


    She waited until Wei Xiaobao was seated on one of the putuan before she walked over to the wall and took the pipa down, carried it in her arms, and sat down on the other putuan. Pointing to the calligraphy scroll on the wall she said softly, "This is the long poem the Great Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun wrote for Jianqie. It is called ''Yuanyuan Song'' [yuan literally means circle/round]. Today we are brought together by fate, I''d like to play and sing for Daren, but the grime will be clearly heard."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Wonderful, wonderful," he said, "But when you sing several verses, you must explain it to me, I am a dog fart gifted scholar, my learning is very much so-so."


    Chen Yuanyuan smiled. "Daren is too modest," she said. Thereupon she tuned the pipa, ''ding ding dong dong'', she plucked the strings several times, and then said, "I have not played for a long time, please don''t blame me for being rusty."


    "There is no need to be polite," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if you played wrong, I would not know."


    He heard she lightly and slowly twirled her fingers and plucked several notes, and sang in a drawn-out voice


    [11], "At that time when the emperor abandoned the human world, Wu crushed the enemy and captured the capital, bearing down from Jade Pass. The six armies, wailing and grieving, were uniformly clad in the white of mourning. One wave of headgear-lifting anger propelled him, all for the sake of the fair-faced one."


    Singing these four lines, she said, "It is talking about the time Chong Zhen, the Son of Heaven returned to the heaven, Ping Xi Wang and the Manchurian Qing joined arms, defeating Li Zicheng and advancing into Beijing. The officers and soldiers were all wearing mourning apparel for the Emperor. Hence Ping Xi Wang sent his troops, it was actually for me, this unlucky woman."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "You are such a beautiful woman, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Great Qing for your sake, I can''t really blame him. If it were me, Wei Xiaobao, I would surrender as well."


    Chen Yuanyuan rolled her beautiful eyes; she thought, "You are just a baby, yet you are also teasing me." However, when she looked at him, she saw his solemn expression and knew that he was being sincere; she could not help but was touched by the friendship shown. She continued to sing, "The fair-faced one, drifting and fallen, was not what I longed for. The offending bandits, smote by heaven, wallowed in wanton pleasures. Lightning swept the Yellow Turban, the Black Mountain troops were quelled. Having wailed for ruler and kin, I met her again."


    She explained, "Here he was talking about Wangye defeating Li Zicheng. The poem says: Li Zicheng''s endeavor failed because he himself was no good, after he reached Beijing, his conduct was preposterous. When Wangye saw this verse, he was very unhappy."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "The song obviously says that the defeat of Li Zicheng was not his merit at all."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "The later section of this song tells the story of Jianqie''s life." She sang, "Meeting for the first time going through the field of Dou Family, the singing and dancing of the nobleman'' gate was like flower. Allowing the display of konghou [Chinese harp] craft in the midst of grief, waiting to fetch the General in lacquered carriage. In the Huan Hua [lit. washing/rinsing flower] of hometown Suzhou, little girl Yuanyuan as delicate as openwork silk gauze. Dreaming to roam the Fu Cha''s


    [12] park, the palace beauty supports the rise of the sovereign king. In the front was a lotus picking person, in front of the door was a strip of pond."


    The melody tender and charming, winding and turning, the sound of pipa was undulating slowly, just as a breeze rising and falling, or a gently ripple of the water of the lotus pond.


    Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, "Here the poem is comparing Jianqie to Xi Shi; it''s rather overpraised."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Incorrect comparison, incorrect comparison!"


    Chen Yuanyuan was slightly startled. Wei Xiaobao continued, "How can Xi Shi be superior to you?"


    A slight blush appeared on Chen Yuanyuan''s face. "Wei Daren is making fun of me," she said.


    "I am not making fun of you at all," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have a strong reason. I heard people say that Xi Shi was from Zhuji [county level city] of Shaoxing [prefecture], Zhejiang [province]; although she was beautiful, Shaoxing people speak ''niang ge jian tai ta ta jiao


    [13]'', how can they compare to you, Suzhou people who speaks coyly and string all words together?"


    Chen Yuanyuan laughed sweetly, "Turns out there is that reason," she said, "Come to think about it, King Wu Fu Cha [see previous note] was also a Suzhou native, how could he like Xi Shi?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head and said, "That King Wu Fu Cha''s ears were not too clear, so it was possible."


    Chen Yuanyuan covered her mouth as she squealed, her face blushed profusely, her glance was graceful, her cherry lips were trembling slightly, her anxious look lasted for a while, yet her overall appearance seemed sweet and charming. Wei Xiaobao only felt comfortably warm, as if he was drunk, and in his confused mind he did not know where he was.


    He heard she continued singing, "A pair of oars flying on the surface of the strip of pond, where could the heroic family return to? How could they know that there were not born under an unlucky star? Right now, only tears wetting the clothes. The scent of sweet-smelling grass links the apartments of the Palace, nobody pities the beautiful woman [orig. bright eyes and white teeth]. Insisting on returning home, the Eternal Alley was closed to respectable families, it only leans to let the new sound of guests to enter."


    Singing to this point, she sighed gently, and said, "Jianqie came from the windblown dust [i.e. prostitution], I don''t need to conceal my origin ��"


    "What do you mean coming from the windblown dust?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Please don''t speak in literary terms with me, I don''t know anything about literary terms."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Xiao Nuzi was originally a Suzhou house''s prostitute ��"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his knee and called out, "Wonderful!"


    Chen Yuanyuan''s face looked hurt, she said in a low voice, "That is Jianqie''s unkind fate."


    Wei Xiaobao was happy and excited. "You and I are kindred spirits," he said, "I also came from the windblown dust."


    Chen Yuanyuan opened wide her pair of as-clear-as-water phoenix eyes, she started blankly at him, while saying in her heart, "Obviously he does not understand the meaning of ''coming from the windblown dust''."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You came from a brothel, I also came from a brothel; only you are from Suzhou, I am from Yangzhou. My Mama is a prostitute at the Lovely Spring Courtyard of Yangzhou. Only her appearance cannot be compared to you; one is heavenly, the other is down to earth."


    Chen Yuanyuan was greatly surprised; she asked in a tender voice, "You are not joking?"


    "Why would I joke with you?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Ay, I was just too busy. I should have sent people to fetch Mama, I should not let her be a prostitute anymore. But I saw that at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, she was living a cheerful life, bustling with noise and excitement; if I brought her to Beijing, I am afraid she would be in low spirit."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "A hero is not afraid of low family background. Wei Daren is open and candid, you do not refuse to talk about it, it is precisely the natural quality of a hero."


    "I only told it to you," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have never told it to anybody else; otherwise, people would point their fingers at me and call me a wh0re''s b@stard. I can''t take it. In front of Ah Ke, you must not mention it even more. She is already looking down at me; if she found out about it, she would never pay any attention to me forever."


    "Wei Daren, don''t worry," Chen Yuanyuan said, "Jianqie won''t talk too much. Actually, Ah Ke, she �� her own Mama is not any wise and virtuous woman from a well-known family."


    "It would be best if you do not mention it," Wei Xiaobao said, "She hates prostitutes the most, she said that this kind of woman is extremely bad."


    Chen Yuanyuan hung down her head and said in a low voice, "She �� she said that brothel''s women are �� are extremely bad?"


    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Please don''t feel sad, she was not talking about you."


    Chen Yuanyuan was low-spirited. "Naturally she was not talking about me," she said, "Ah Ke did not even know that I am her Mama."


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised, "How can she not know?" he asked.


    Chen Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "She does not know."


    Cocking her head sideways, she was lost in thought for a moment before slowly said, "The Empress Dowager of the Son of Heaven Chong Zhen was surnamed Zhou, she was also Suzhou native. Son of Heaven Chong Zhen doted on Concubine Tian. The fight between the Empress Dowager and Concubine Tian was very fierce. The Empress Dowager''s father Jia Dingbo bought me out of the brothel and sent me into the Palace, hoping to take away the favor from Concubine Tian ��"


    "That was a great idea," Wei Xiaobao said, "Concubine Tian would be in big trouble."


    "It was not such a big trouble," Chen Yuanyuan said, "Son of Heaven Chong Zhen worried about the affairs of the nation, he was not interested in women. I haven''t lived in the Palace for long when the Emperor ordered the Empress Dowager to send me out of the Palace."


    "Strange, strange!" Wei Xiaobao loudly exclaimed, "I heard that Emperor Chong Zhen had eyes but failed to see; he only believed treacherous officials but had Yuan Chonghuan, a greatly loyal minister, killed. Turned out he did not have any foresight toward men, but he did not have any foresight toward women even more, that he did not want a woman like you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk." He shook his head repeatedly, thinking that among the strange things in the world, nothing was more strange than this.


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Some men like scholarly honor [in imperial exams] and the riches that come with it. Some like gold, silver and jewels. As the Emperor, he had to think about how to solve the country''s problems. Not everybody loves good-looking women."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I want scholarly honor and riches, I also want gold, silver and jewels. I want good-looking women even more. One thing I don''t want is being the Emperor; even if it given to me, I won''t do it. Aha! In this city of Kunming, there is a dear friend of mine who is the number one high-ranking official under the heavens, he has become the richest old man in the world, he married the number one beauty in the world, unexpectedly he still toys with the idea of becoming the Emperor."


    Chen Yuanyuan''s countenance changed slightly. "Are you talking about Ping Xi Wang?" she asked.


    "I won''t mention any names," Wei Xiaobao said, "In short, it is not you, Chen Yuanyuan, and it is not me, Wei Xiaobao."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "The next part of the song talks about how I met Ping Xi Wang. After he asked for me from Jia Dingbo, he left for Shanhai Pass to guard the border, leaving me behind at his house in Beijing. Not long afterwards, Li �� Li �� Li Chuang


    [14] attacked the Capital."


    She sang, "The sitting guest flies the goblet toward the red sunset, the sorrowful song of string, to whom would it complain to? The youngest of Marquis Bai Xitong, looking back, time and again the flowering branch was chosen. The morning brings the frail bird out of the cage, when will it cross the Milky Way? The end of the military document ordering hateful killing was extremely urgent, hurting the people who must be painstakingly left behind. Wanting to meet deep kindness, wanting to see each other is difficult, the dynasty''s ant thieves crowd Chang''an. With pity thinking about the willow at the front of the women''s storied building, looking at the horizon as white cotton wadding." Singing to this point, the pipa stopped, she stared blankly at the wall, lost in thought.


    Wei Xiaobao thought the song had reached its end, he clapped and cheered, "Are you done?" he asked, "You sing well, your singing is wonderful, your singing is top-notch."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "If I died at that time, the song would naturally end here."


    Wei Xiaobao''s face turned deep red; he thought, "Damn it, laozi is uneducated. Li Chuang broke into Beijing, my Shifu''s father Emperor Chong Zhen''s song has come to an end. But Chen Yuanyuan''s song has not ended."


    Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, "Li Chuang seized me away. Afterwards, Ping Xi Wang snatched me back. I was not a human, I am only an object; whoever is stronger, he can take me away." She sang, "Searching everywhere the green pearl is encircled in the inside, the powerful call of golden eagle coming out of purple-red tree fence. Were it not for the brave soldier achieving complete victory, would the beautiful woman return on a horse? The woman on the horseback called, the silver hair on the temples stood in fright. The candle flame forge ahead to the battlefield, streak of tears left red marks of makeup across her face. Dreary beating of the drums on a personal expedition toward Sichuan, thousands of riders and chariots heading toward Jinniu [lit. golden ox, district of Chengdu, Sichuan]. Sloping valley going deep above the cloud in the painting on the multi-story building, vanishing beyond the pass toward the sunset as seen through the vanity mirror. The incoming news filling the rivers and villages, red Tallow tree [sapium sebiferum] has gone through ten seasons of frost. The master who teaches singing still has pity, taking the gauze-silk (female) companion down memory lane. Old nest shared by clay swallows, flying to the tip of the branch, they transformed into a pair of phoenix, constantly conveying their deep grief to the respected senior generations; some men arrogate to themselves the marquis king position."


    When singing about ''arrogating to themselves the marquis king position'', she seemed to be entranced. This time Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ask whether she had finished singing or not; he had made up his mind, "Unless she says that she is finished singing, I am not going to ask too much, so that I won''t make a fool of myself."


    He heard she said grimly, "I came with Ping Xi Wang when he invaded Sichuan, where he was conferred the title ''King''. When the news reached Suzhou, all my former sisters of the courtyard were envious, saying that my luck was good. They still have to do that kind of shady business in the courtyard until they are old."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When I was at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, I often heard they say something like ''every night there is someone new in the bridal room'', ''freshness is exciting'', nothing wrong with that."


    Chen Yuanyuan cast him a glance; seeing that he did not seem to be sarcastic, she gently sighed and said, "Daren, you are still young, you don''t understand this kind of distress."


    Plucking her pipa, she sang, "At that time receiving reputation by association, noble grief causing famous warrior prolonged struggle. One piece of jewel ten thousand pieces of anxiety, slender waist wandering along the fortresses and mountains along the Great Wall. Misplaced blame like a gale made the flowers fall, colors of spring without boundary covering the heaven and the earth. Taste and smell of the demise of the nation coming from everywhere, turning-over envoy minister received notoriety. How could a wife consent to shut down such a matter of paramount importance? Reluctant hero is full of affection. The bones of the entire family turn to dust, a generation of festive female clothing reflecting youthful perspiration."


    With eyes brimming in tears she stopped her pipa. "Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun knew that although my fame spread all over the world, my heart was in pain," she said while sobbing, "Common people scolded me as the young beauty who brings disaster to the water, harming the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains. Gifted Scholar Wu knew that I was a mere young girl, what can I possibly do? Be it good or bad, it''s the men who did all these things."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "When the Great Qing''s troops and horses attacked by the thousands and tens of thousands, you are only a delicate and pretty young woman, how could you possibly stop them?" He thought, "She could play and tell stories this well, just like the mister storyteller at Suzhou singing ballad with pipa accompaniment. I could banter with her several sentences, or provide vocal accompaniment to her singing, I can be the assistant to the mister storyteller. If the two of us going to Yangzhou and open a business at the teahouse, I guarantee we will cause a sensation within the Yangzhou city walls, so much so that the teahouse will burst at its seam. I will hold the signage over her head, naturally I would also enjoy the limelight."


    While he was feeling very pleased with himself, he heard she continued singing, "The lord did not see, when the baby first rose in the hall, it was like the mandarin ducks lodging for the night. One will never be satisfied to look at the flowery Yue maiden, the cry of bird arose from the fragrant dusty footpath, the wooden shoes were lined with green moss. A thousand li of worry moved out of the Palace, pearl song, green jade dance, out of ancient Liang prefecture. For the sake of the lord, do not sing the Wu Palace song, to the southeast day and night the Han River flows."


    When she sang the word ''flow'', she held the last note long, seemingly unending, while the pipa climbed higher and higher, gradually drowning the singing voice. After a moment, the pipa gradually slowing and softer, like the water trickling down a distant creek, until it finally died down.


    Chen Yuanyuan heaved a deep sigh, tears streaming down her face, with a choking voice she said, "I am displaying a disgraceful performance."


    Standing up, she hung the pipa on the wall, and then walked back to the putuan and sat down. She said, "The last part of the song was talking about King Wu Fu Cha perishing for the country. I did not understand it in the past, the song was talking about my life''s story, why did it mention the Wu Palace? Even if it was comparing me to Xi Shi, it is already mentioned in the front. Wu Palace, Wu Palace, could it be that it is talking about Ping Xi Wang''s Imperial Palace? In recent years I started to understand. Wangye drilled the troops and trained the horses extravagantly, I am afraid �� I am afraid �� ay, I exhorted him several times, but he was offended and was very angry. I left home in this San Sheng An [three sages nunnery], wearing my hair leading a pious life, repenting of my whole life''s sin, hoping that everybody will live in peace and harmony, spending the rest of my life in here. Who would have thought �� who would have thought Ah Ke �� Ah Ke ��" Speaking to here, she broke into a noiseless sob.


    Chen Yuanyuan was startled. "What''s bad?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was in turmoil, "No �� nothing," he casually replied. Actually, he suddenly realized that since Ah Ke had already looked down on him, now that she was Ping Xi Wang''s princess, the distant between she and this son of a prostitute was even farther away.


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "When Ah Ke was two years old, she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night. Wangye sent people to search everywhere in the city, but there was no trace of her. I suspected �� suspected ��" Suddenly she blushed and turned her face away from him.


    "What did you suspect?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "I suspected it was Wangye''s personal enemy who kidnapped this girl, perhaps to threaten him, or to blackmail him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are so many martial art experts working as bodyguards and military officers in the Palace, unexpectedly someone was able to sneak in [orig. ''the gods did not know, the ghosts are not aware''] and stole Ah Ke Shijie away. That person''s ability must be very high."


    "That''s right," Chen Yuanyuan said, "At that time Wangye was so angry, he had two bodyguard chiefs executed; he also had the Tidu [provincial commander] and Zhifu [prefectural magistrate] envoy of the City of Kunming removed. After searching for several days without finding any clue, Wangye was about to kill more people. Finally I managed to calm him down. For the last dozen of years, I have not heard any news about Ah Ke. I thought �� I thought she had already died."


    "No wonder Ah Ke says that her surname is Chen," Wei Xiaobao said, "Turns out she is taking your surname."


    Chen Yuanyuan leaned sideways. "She �� she said her surname is Chen?" her voice quivering, "How did she know?"


    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration, "Day and night the old traitor is always afraid that someone would come to assassinate him, the security around him must be very strict," he mused, "Perhaps kidnapping a baby out of the Palace is more difficult than assassinating him. In this world, other than Shifu Jiu Nan, I am afraid there is nobody else." He said, "Most likely the person who kidnapped her told her that."


    Chen Yuanyuan slowly nodded and said, "That''s right. But �� but why didn''t he say that her surname was �� was ��"


    "That her surname was Wu?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Humph, there is nothing necessarily radiant with Ping Xi Wang''s surname."


    Chen Yuanyuan was gazing out the window, she was staring blankly as if she did not hear him. Wei Xiaobao asked, "And then what happened?"


    "I thought about her a lot," Chen Yuanyuan said, "I hoped the Heaven would pity me; as long as she did not die, I hoped one day I can see her again. Yesterday afternoon I received news from the Palace, saying that Wangye has been attacked by an assassin, and was seriously injured. I hurriedly went to the Palace to see him. Wangye was indeed attacked by an assassin, but he was not injured."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "So he was only pretending to be seriously injured?" his voice was quivering.


    "Wangye said," Chen Yuanyuan continued, "He pretends to be seriously injured so that the adversary would act blindly without thinking, and thus he could catch everything in one net."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly taken aback. "He is indeed pretending," he mumbled, "I �� I am such a big fool, I should have guessed early on." He said in his heart, "The big traitor is indeed very suspicious of me."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "I asked him what kind of person was the assassin. Wangye did not say anything, but he took me to a side room. On the bed sat a young woman, her hands and feet were shackled. I did not need to take a second look, I knew she was my daughter. She looked exactly like me when I was her age. As soon as she saw me, she stared at me blankly, and then asked, ''Are you my Mama?'' I nodded; and then pointing to Wangye, I said, ''Greet your father


    [15]''. Ah Ke angrily said, ''He is the big traitor to China, he is not my father. He killed my father, I want to avenge father.'' Wangye asked her, ''Who is your father?'' Ah Ke replied, ''I don''t know. Shifu told me that when I see my Ma, Ma will tell me''. Wangye asked her who her Shifu was, she was unwilling to talk. But eventually she revealed that she had received her Shifu''s order to assassinate Wangye."


    Listening to here, Wei Xiaobao understood about 70, 80% of the story. He presumed his Shifu Jiu Nan hated Wu Sangui to the bones; killing him alone was not enough to vent her anger, hence she kidnapped her daughter, taught her martial art, and sent her to assassinate her own father [orig. fuqin, formal]. He stood up, went to the window, and thought, "That''s right, Shifu has never liked Ah Ke. Although she taught her martial art styles, she did not pass on the least bit of internal energy cultivation. Although Ah Ke''s style is indeed brilliant, it is actually a big mess; it encompasses different martial art styles from all kinds of school and sect. Old Monk Cheng Guan has such profound knowledge, yet he could not figure out her school. Um, Shifu did not let her enter the Tie Jian [Iron Sword] School; I, Wei Xiaobao, am actually the first disciple of Tie Jian School." Thinking about the viciousness of Jiu Nan''s revenge, he could not help but shiver with fright.


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Her Shifu has deep plans and distant thoughts, he hated Wangye so much that he set up this stratagem. If Ah Ke succeeded in assassinating Wangye, his big enmity would be avenged. If the assassination failed, Wangye would still find out that the assassin who was trying to take his life was his own flesh and blood daughter; needless to say, his heart must be grieved."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Right now there is no problem. She has not stabbed Wangye, your family is reunited instead. You can explain everything to Ah Ke, won''t everybody be happy then?"


    Chen Yuanyuan sighed. "If only it''s that easy," she said, "Then I would thank the Heaven and thank the Earth."


    After a short pause, he continued, "Wangye did not wish to let Ah Ke go, could it be that he wanted to have her flogged? She was kidnapped when she was only two, how could she know her own origin? Therefore, how can he blame her?"


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Wangye said, ''Since you don''t recognize me, naturally you are not my daughter. Forget the fact that you are not my daughter, even if you were my flesh-and-blood daughter, by committing this kind of rebellious defiance against your superior, disregarding the law and natural morality, I must not let you live.'' While saying that, he rubbed his nose."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled, "Does he like to rub his own nose?" he asked.


    Chen Yuanyuan''s voice trembled, "You don''t know," she said, "That is Wangye''s habit; when he rubbed his nose, that means he wanted to kill people; it never fails."


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "How can that be good? He �� has he killed Ah Ke?"


    "For the time being he has not," Chen Yuanyuan replied, "Wangye �� he wanted to investigate who the mastermind is, he also wants to find out who Ah Ke''s father really is."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wangye is overly suspicious; really, it''s getting silly. As soon as I saw you, I knew you are Ah Ke''s Mama. How could he not be Ah Ke''s Papa? It must be because Ah Ke was trying to assassinate him, he became very angry." Speaking to this point, his expression turned serious as he said, "We must quickly think of a way to save Ah Ke. If Wangye rubs his nose again, it won''t be too good."


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Xiao Nuzi brazenly invited Daren to come over, it was precisely to discuss this matter. I am thinking that Daren is the Imperial Envoy Minister, sent by His Majesty himself, Wangye would definitely want to give you some face. Ah Ke masqueraded as a palace maid serving the Princess, as long as Daren personally appears, saying that the Princess wanted her maid back, I have no doubt that Wangye would not refuse."


    Wei Xiaobao bent the index finger of his right hand and continuously tapped it onto his own forehead. "Idiot, idiot," he said, "I have fallen into his trap."


    "This plan of yours," he said, "Not only I have thought about it ahead of you, I have even executed it. Who would have thought this big �� big Wangye is one step ahead of me, he had the little idiot''s hands and feet tied up. I have already asked Wangye for the assassin, and Wangye has already given her to me, it''s just that she was not Ah Ke."


    Thereupon he told her in details how Xia Guoxiang brought him to the dungeon to identify the assassin, how he saw a well-acquainted young woman, how he believed the rumor was false, i.e. the assassin was really not Ah Ke, how he convinced Xia Guoxiang that the young woman was indeed a palace maid serving the Princess, and how he ended up taking her out of the prison. He also said, "This servant Xia Guoxiang has prepared a scheme beforehand, he spoke in loud voice in front of the several hundred people in front of the Mansion, stating that he has handed over the Princess'' palace maid to me; how could I come back to him and ask for the second person? Needless to say, this servant would definitely talk officiously, saying something like, ''Wei Daren, you must not play a joke with Xiao Jiang. The Princess'' palace maid has assassinated Wangye, Xiao Jiang boldly acted for the sake of Wei Daren''s face, risking the cap on my head, risking Wangye''s flogging and martial punishment, I let Daren take her away. Hundreds and thousands of people in front of the Palace are my witness. Wangye has ordered: he is hoping that Daren would discipline the palace maid rigorously, that you would investigate who was behind it? Now Daren comes again to ask for someone else. This �� this joke may be too much." He was imitating Xia Guoxiang''s accent and mannerism, and was actually doing a pretty good job.


    Chen Yuanyuan knitted her eyebrows. "Daren is right," she said, "Son-in-law Xia is indeed that kind of person. Turns out �� turns out they have already set up a trap to shut Daren''s mouth."


    Wei Xiaobao stomped his foot and cursed, "His granny, that male ��" he cast a glance toward Chen Yuanyuan and said, "If they touch a strand of Ah Ke''s hair, laozi will fight that big �� big b@stard to the death."


    Chen Yuanyuan pulled her sleeve and bowed to him with cupped fist, saying, "Daren cherishes my daughter this much, Xiao Nuzi wants to express my gratitude in advance. It''s just that ��"


    Wei Xiaobao hastily returned the propriety and said, "I am going to lead our troops and horses to crash into Ping Xi Wang Mansion, to kill him until he is in a sorry state. If I can''t save Ah Ke out, I will take the big traitor''s surname. Laozi won''t have Wei as my surname, my surname will be Wu! Damn it, laozi will be Wu Xiaobao!"


    Seeing how agitated he was, and how he was speaking nonsense, Chen Yuanyuan was rather scared. She said in a gentle voice, "Daren''s good intention toward Ah Ke ��"


    "What Daren or Xiaoren?" Wei Xiaobao cut her off, "If you consider me as one of your own, you must call me Xiaobao. I should have called you Auntie


    [16], but thinking about that damned Uncle, I am seething with rage."


    Chen Yuanyuan walked over and gently put her hand on his shoulder; she said, "Xiaobao, if you don''t look down on me, you can just call me Ah Yi [Auntie


    [17]]."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he said, "I''ll call you Ah Yi. When I was at the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou ��" Speaking to this point, he suddenly stopped.


    Actually, Chen Yuanyuan also understood that at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, he called all the prostitutes ''Ah Yi''. She understood worldly affairs, and understood Wei Xiaobao''s good intention; she said, "I am extremely happy to have such a good nephew as yourself. Xiaobao, we must not use force against Wangye, in the City of Kunming, his troops and soldiers are numerous; even if you defeat him, he could kill Ah Ke with one stab first, and then you and I, two people, will be grieving for the rest of our lives."


    She was speaking with the soft accent of the Wu dialect; first, her voice was very pleasant to listen to, second, in her speech she was treating Wei Xiaobao as one of her own. Upon hearing her, the rage that was filling his heart immediately vanished into thin air. "Good Ah Yi," he asked, "Then what should we do to rescue Ah Ke?"


    Chen Yuanyuan pondered for a moment before saying, "I could urge Ah Ke to admit Wangye as her father. Even if he were more heartless, he would not kill his own flesh-and-blood daughter ��"


    Suddenly from outside the door someone was shouting loudly, "Acknowledging the bandit as one''s father, how can this be so?"


    The curtain on the door rose up, a big and tall old monk walked in in large strides. He had a thick steel monk''s staff in his hand, which he stomped onto the floor. The iron rings on the head of the staff created a random ''dang dang'' noise. The old monk had a square face, he had an ash-grey beard underneath his chin, his eyes were flashing like lightning, his overall appearance was impressive. Just by standing like that, he looked like a small mountain covering the doorway. His waist was sticking out his back straight, like a tiger or a lion, his grandeur was indeed overwhelming.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he withdrew three steps back, and almost wanted to hide behind Chen Yuanyuan. Chen Yuanyuan, however, looked happy. Her countenance brightened as she walked over to the old monk and said softly, "You have come!"


    "I have come!" the old monk replied. His voice turned lower, his eye turned gentler. Their gaze met, their eyes revealed admiration and joy.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "Who is this old monk?" he wondered in his heart, "Could he be �� could he be Ah Yi''s lover? An old customer when she was still a prostitute? Monk visits prostitute; that is out of question. Um, not surprising, actually, when laozi was a monk, I also went to a brothel."


    "Have you heard?" Chen Yuanyuan asked.


    "I have heard," the old monk replied.


    "Thank Heaven and thank the Earth," Chen Yuanyuan said, "That child is still �� still alive. I �� Wah!" suddenly she broke out crying and threw herself into the old monk''s bosom.


    The old monk reached out with his left hand and gently stroked her hair. "Whatever happens we must save her," he said consolingly, "Don''t worry." His majestic voice was brimming with deep emotion. Chen Yuanyuan buried her face in his bosom as she sobbed softly.


    Wei Xiaobao was amazed and scared at the same time, he did not dare to move at all. "The two of you regard me as a dead man," he mused, "Laozi better act as a dead man."


    After crying for a while, Chen Yuanyuan sobbed, "You �� can you really save that child?"


    "I will do everything possible," the old monk replied in an awe-inspiring voice.


    Chen Yuanyuan straightened up and wiped her tears. "What shall I do?" she asked, "Tell me, what shall I do?"


    The old monk frowned. "In short," he said, "We must not let her acknowledge the traitor as her father."


    "Yes, yes," Chen Yuanyuan said, "I was wrong. Because I wanted to save the child, I was not thinking about you. I �� I have offended you."


    "I understand," the old monk said, "I don''t blame you at all. But she must not admit him as her father. She must not, absolutely not." His voice was not loud, but there was strong imposing aura in it that if there were ''thousand troops ten thousand horses'' in front of him, they would bow their heads and obey his commands.


    Suddenly they heard the sound of thumping boots outside the door, someone let out a long laugh and said in a loud and clear voice, "An old friend has graced Kunming with his presence, Xiao Wang''s face is a lot brighter!" It was none other than Wu Sangui''s voice.


    Immediately Wei Xiaobao and Chen Yuanyuan''s countenance changed. The old monk acted as if he did not hear anything, only his eyes suddenly brightened.


    ''Swish, swish!'' out of the blue white light flashed, two swords slashed, the curtain hanging on the door was cut. Wu Sangui appeared at the doorway with a smile on his face. Followed by ''Crash, bang!'' plaster, dust, and fragments of wood flew everywhere, the four walls, along with the windows on them, were demolished by men wielding iron sledge-hammers. On each hole several guards appeared, some with strung bows and arrow, some with raised lances in their hands. The tip of the arrows and lances was aimed inside. Wu Sangui only needed to issue an order, the arrows and lances would immediately fly into the bodies of the three people inside, turning them into hedgehogs.


    "Yuanyuan, come out!" Wu Sangui shouted.


    Chen Yuanyuan hesitated. She took a step forward, stopped, and shook her head. "I won''t come out," she said. Turning her head around, she gently pushed Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said, "Xiaobao, this matter has nothing to do with you, you go out."


    Wei Xiaobao knew she sincerely wanted to protect him, and was deeply moved. "Laozi won''t go out," he said loudly, "Hot piece mama, Wu Sangui, if you have guts, go ahead and kill laozi as well."


    The old monk shook his head and said, "The two of you go out. The old monk should have died more than twenty years ago."


    Chen Yuanyuan walked over to him, pulled his hand and said, "No, I will die together with you."


    Wei Xiaobao loudly said, "Ah Yi have yi qi, do you think Wei Xiaobao is greedy for life, afraid of death? Ah Yi, I will also die together with you."


    Wu Sangui raised his right hand and angrily shouted, "Wei Xiaobao, you conspire with big rebel against the law. I will kill you and present a memorial to the Emperor, explaining everything, my merit will not be small." Turning to Chen Yuanyuan, he said, "Yuanyuan, why are you so muddleheaded? Still not coming out?"


    Chen Yuanyuan shook her head. Wei Xiaobao said, "What do you mean conspiring with big rebel against the law? You are falsely accusing good people."


    In his extreme rage, Wu Sangui laughed instead. "Little baby," he said, "I''ll say you still don''t know who this old monk is. He has kept you hoodwinked inside a drum. By the time you reach the gate of hell, you still don''t know for whom you have delivered your life."


    The old monk sternly said, "Laofu [old man, referring to self] has never changed either my surname or my given name. The Emperor of Heaven has bestowed me the surname Li and given name Zicheng."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "You �� you are Li Chuang, Li Zicheng?" he stammered.


    "That''s right," the old monk said, "Xiao Xiongdi, you go out! A real man is fully responsible for what he''s done. The Ol'' Li has undergone hundreds of battles, I have lived for more than seventy years; I don''t want a little Tatar official like you to accompany me delivering our lives."


    Suddenly white shadow flashed; someone leaped down from the roof, pouncing toward the top of Wu Sangui''s head. Wu Sangui let out an angry roar; the four guards behind him moved their swords together toward the white shadow.


    The shadow flicked his sleeve, a gust of strong wind swept away, jolting the four guards backwards; followed by a palm strike toward Wu Sangui''s back. Wu Sangui could not hold his stand; he was thrown into the room. Just like Wu Sangui''s shadow the person also leaped in, his palm hacked down and struck Wu Sangui''s shoulder. Wu Sangui grunted and fell sitting down on the floor. The person then put his palm on the ''tian ling'' [sky spirit] acupoint on the top of Wu Sangui''s head, and barked his order to the guards surrounding them, "Quickly release the arrows!"


    This turn of events happened so quickly that the guards were taken by surprise. Seeing their Wangye had fallen into the enemy''s hand, who dared to make any move?


    "Shifu! Shifu!" Wei Xiaobao called out happily. The person who jumped down from the roof and subdued Wu Sangui was precisely Jiu Nan.


    When Wei Xiaobao went to the Three-Sage Nunnery, she followed him in secret, and all along she had been hiding on the roof. When Ping Xi Wang''s Mansion guards arrived by the thousands and surrounded the Three-Sage Nunnery, Gao Yanchao and the others, who were guarding outside the nunnery, did not dare to move rashly. Jiu Nan''s qinggong had reached the pinnacle, she curled up underside the eaves, unexpectedly the guards did not detect her presence.


    Jiu Nan stared at Li Zicheng. "Are you really Li Zicheng?" she asked in a majestic voice.


    "That''s right," Li Zicheng replied.


    "I heard you were killed on Mount Jiugong, turns out you are still alive today?" Jiu Nan asked.


    Li Zicheng nodded. Jiu Nan asked, "Was Ah Ke born to you and her?"


    Li Zicheng sighed. He cast a glance toward Chen Yuanyuan, and then nodded.


    "I should have known," Wu Sangui angrily said, "Only a traitor and rebel like you can sire that ��"


    Jiu Nan kicked his back; she cursed, "Both of you are traitors and bandits, ''half-jin eight-liang'' [half-pound eight-ounce]; I don''t know which one is a bit more wicked."


    Li Zicheng raised his monk staff and stamped in on the ground, ''Bang! The green brick immediately shattered into several pieces. "Lowly Nun!" he shouted, "Who do you think you are, dare to speak nonsense like that?"


    Seeing his Shifu had arrived, Wei Xiaobao''s courage was greatly boosted; although Li Zicheng was intimidating, he did not fear him the least bit. "You dare to offend my Shifu, are you bored of your life?" he shouted back, "You are a traitor and rebel; my Shifu, the Senior has never said anything incorrect ��"


    Suddenly he heard ''whoosh, whoosh'' noise; three lances flew in from outside the window, swiftly shooting toward Jiu Nan. Jiu Nan slightly turned her head to evade, the sleeve of her left arm swept, it coiled around two lances, which she then threw back out the window, while with her right hand she caught the third lance. ''Ah, ah'' two blood-curdling screech were heard outside the window, two guards were hit by the lances on the pit of their stomach, and died instantly. Jiu Nan placed the tip of the third lance right in the middle of Wu Sangui''s back.


    Wu Sangui called out, "Don''t act rashly, everybody withdraw ten steps." The guards chorused their compliance, and withdrew several steps.


    With a cold laugh Jiu Nan said, "What a coincidence. In this tiny meditation room today we have the number one big rebel without any equal since time immemorial, and the number one big traitor without any equal since time immemorial."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "And we have the number one beauty without any equal since time immemorial, and the number one martial art master without any equal since time immemorial."


    Jiu Nan could not stop her grave and stern face from revealing a slight smiling expression. She said, "Number one martial art master? How could I dare? But you are the number one little smart-aleck without any equal since time immemorial."


    Wei Xiaobao burst out in laughter, Chen Yuanyuan also chuckled; but Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng pulled their faces, their minds racing, trying to find a way to escape. All their lives these two men were used to lead large armies, they were ambitious and ruthless characters who were used to fighting in one place after another all over the world, God knows the number of dangers, difficulties and bad risks they had encountered in all their lives; however, in the situation they were currently facing, unexpectedly they were at their wits'' end. They racked their brains thinking about dozens different scenarios, yet they felt none would be effective.


    With stern voice Li Zicheng shouted to Jiu Nan, "What do you want?"


    Jiu Nan laughed coldly and said, "What do I want? Naturally I want to kill you with my own hands."


    "This Shitai," Chen Yuanyuan said, "You my daughter, Ah Ke''s Shifu, aren''t you?"


    With a cold laugh Jiu Nan replied, "I took your daughter away, I taught her martial art not because of kindness, I want her to assassinate the big traitor with her own hands." While saying that, she added the strength of her right hand a little bit, the lance sank down, the tip of the lance penetrated about half a cun into Wu Sangui''s flesh. "Ah!" he could not bear not to cry out in pain.


    "This Shifu," Chen Yuanyuan said, "He �� he is a total stranger to you, Senior; he has neither grievance nor enmity with you."


    Jiu Nan tossed her head backward and laughed aloud. "He �� he has neither grievance nor enmity with me?" she said, "Xiaobao, tell her who I am; also make the big traitor and the big rebel, two people, to understand clearly."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My Shifu, the Senior, is the Princess born to the Emperor Chong Zhen of the Great Ming, Princess Changping!"


    "Ah!" Wu Sangui, Li Zicheng and Chen Yuanyuan exclaimed together; they were all stunned.


    Li Zicheng laughed aloud. "Very good, very good," he said, "I have caused your father''s death in the past, today I can die in your hand, it is a hundred times better than dying under this big traitor''s hands." While saying that, he took two steps forward, and drove his monk staff to the ground. The tail of the staff went about a chi into the floor. With both hands he pulled his clothes, ''rip!'' the front part of his robe was torn, exposing his hairy chest. "Princess," he said with a laugh, "Make your move. The Ol'' Li didn''t die under the traitor''s hands, didn''t die under the Tatars'' hands, but I am losing my life under the Great Ming Princess'' hand; that is very good!"


    In all her life, Jiu Nan hated Li Zicheng to the bones, but she always thought that he had already died on Mount Jiugong of Hubei (province), hence it would be difficult for her to avenge this great enmity with her own hand. Today she found out that he was still alive, it was an unexpected delight. However, presently she saw his heroic and open-minded spirit, how in the face of death he maintained his calm and did not show the slightest bit of fear; she could not help but admiring him in her heart. She coldly said, "Sire is indeed a real man. I am going to kill your enemy first today, before taking your life. I''ll let you see it with your own eyes your enemy lose his head, so that you can die happily."


    Li Zicheng was greatly delighted; he cupped his fist and said, "Many thanks Princess, zaixia cannot thank you enough. In all my life my greatest hope is that I will see with my own eyes this big traitor die a violent death."


    Seeing Wu Sangui was groaning under the lance, without any strength to resist, Jiu Nan was unwilling to kill him with the spear just like that; she said to Li Zicheng, "You might as well fulfilling the desire of your heart; come and kill him!"


    Li Zicheng was delighted. "Thank you very much!" he said. Looking down toward Wu Sangui he said, "Traitor, in the battle of Shanhai Pass, your braided troops helped you, hence I was unfortunate and my troops lost. Right now you are captured by the Princess, if I kill you just like that, it will be too easy for you; even if you are dead, you won''t be convinced." Looking up, he said to Jiu Nan, "Your Highness the Princess, please release him, let me stake my life to see who would live and who would die."


    Jiu Nan lifted up the lance and said, "I want to see who would kill whom first."


    Still crouching on the floor, Wu Sangui groaned several times. Suddenly he sprang up, seized the monk staff, and ferociously swept it across Jiu Nan''s waist.


    "Reckless thing!" Jiu Nan scolded. The lance in her hand turned around, pressing the monk staff down. She exerted her internal energy, Wu Sangui felt his arm numb and aching, the monk staff fell to the ground. The tip of the lance swiftly moved toward his throat. Although Wu Sangui was a brave soldier, in front of martial art expert with profound internal energy like Jiu Nan, he was as helpless as a baby that he was unable to withstand a single move. His face turned ash-grey as he repeatedly withdrew, but the tip of the lance was always pointing at his throat.


    Li Zicheng stooped down to pick up the monk staff. Jiu Nan turned the lance around and handed it over to Wu Sangui, saying, "The two of you fight fair and square."


    "Alright!" Wu Sangui shouted. His lance went straight toward Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng waved his monk staff to parry, followed by a counterattack with the staff. Thereupon these two men were engaged in a fierce battle in this tiny meditation room.


    Jiu Nan pulled Wei Xiaobao away and told him to stand behind her, to guard against the staff and the lance from injuring him.


    Chen Yuanyuan withdrew to the corner of the room; her countenance was deathly pale, she closed her eyes tight, yet the scene from her past flashed in her mind, "When I was in the Ming Dynasty Palace, when Chong Zhen came to visit at night fall, he highly praised my beautiful appearance. The next day the Emperor did not attend the morning court, he stayed in the bedroom in my company, he told me to sing songs for him, he told me to put on rouge and powder, he even picked up eyebrow brush and drew my eyebrows for me. He promised me that he would make me an imperial consort, and then in the future he would make me the Empress. He said that from now on, he would not cast another glance toward all the imperial concubines and consorts in the Palace.


    The Emperor was very young; when he was laughing joyously and freely, he could suddenly anxiously stop in daze. He was the Emperor, but in my heart, he was no different than those young masters of nobility or rich families who visit the prostitutes at the courtyard. In three days, day and night he did not leave me even for a single step. Early morning the fourth day, I woke up before he did; I saw a bloodless face on the pillow next to me, his cheeks were hollow, his eyebrows knitted closely. He was anxious even in his sleep. I thought, ''Is this the Emperor? If he is the Emperor, why is he unhappy like this?''


    That day, he went to the morning court. When he returned in the afternoon, his countenance was even paler, his eyebrows wrinkled even tighter. He suddenly threw a fit at me, he accused me of interfering with the national affairs. He said that he was a brilliant ruler, hence he must not lose himself in female charms and turn into a muddleheaded ruler. He wanted to strive harder; therefore, he immediately ordered Empress Zhou to send me out of the Palace. He said that I was a witch who harmed the country, and that while I was in the Palace for three days, the rebel thief Li Zicheng had already broken through three cities.


    I was not grieved; men are just like that, whenever something unpleasant happens, they always blame the women. The Emperor was worrying all day, his heart was scared; he was afraid of this man named Li Zicheng. At that time I thought, ''Li Zicheng is such an amazing man, he can make the Emperor afraid; I wonder what kind of man is he?''"


    Chen Yuanyuan opened her eyes; she saw Li Zicheng was brandishing his monk staff, striking Wu Sangui again and again. Wu Sangui was dodging and evading, fast and nimble, all along the monk staff failed to hit him. Chen Yuanyuan thought, "His movement is still very fast. These last several years, he still train martial art every day, because �� because he wants to be the Emperor, he wants to lead his troops to attack Beijing."


    She remembered that when she left the Palace, she returned to the Zhou Guo Zhang [lit. the Emperor''s father-in-law] Mansion. One day, the Guo Zhang Mansion held a big feast, inviting many guests. She was ordered to come out to sing and dance, to entertain the guests. It was that night that Wu Sangui saw her. To this day, she could still remember it clearly, under the candlelight, she saw his eyes were burning with desire as he stared at her across the banquet table. In all her life she had seen this kind of stare too many times. Following the stare, the man, who was like a beast, may pounce on her, he may embrace her tightly, and may tear away her clothes. It''s just that at that time it was a public place with a big crowd ��


    Suddenly she thought, "When that baby high-ranking official saw me a moment ago, his eyes also revealed that kind of look. It''s so funny. Such a young baby also shows a burning desire toward me. Ay! All men are like that, old men are like that, little boys are also like that."


    She looked up and cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao. She saw his face was full of excitement as he watched the fight between Li and Wu, two people. By this time Wu Sangui had begun to counterattack, the lance in his hand continuously attacked the enemy.


    "He asked Zhou Guo Zhang for me," she continued her reminiscing, "In just a few days, the Emperor sent him to guard the Shanhai Pass, to defend the border against Manchurian troops'' invasion. But Li Zicheng broke through Beijing first, Emperor Chong Zhen hung himself on the Coal Hill. Li Zicheng''s troops captured me, and presented me to him. This straightforward man, is he the one the Emperor Chong Zhen dreaded even in his sleep? He had broken into Beijing, but he was very busy. The Ming Dynasty''s officials were murdered by him by the dozens. His troops raped and pillaged Beijing, they arrested countless people, tortured them and demanded ransom for them; countless innocent common people were also massacred by them. But every night when he came to accompany me, he was always very happy, his laughter was very loud. His snoring was also very loud, he often woke me up in the middle of the night with the noise of his snoring. The hair on his arms, his legs, and his chest was very long, very thick. I have never seen a man like him.


    Actually, Wu Sangui had already surrendered to him. But as soon as he heard that he had snatched me, he borrowed Manchurian troops, leading them to breach the Pass. Ay, this is the ''One wave of headgear-lifting anger propelled him, all for the sake of the fair-faced one'' part. Li Zicheng led his army out to meet him, he fought Wu Sangui on a slab of stone. Manchu''s elite troops suddenly appeared, Li Zicheng''s army was utterly defeated. They said that on the slab-of-stone battlefield there was blood everywhere; along several dozen li road, there were dead bodies everywhere. They said that these people died because of me; it was me who caused these several tens of thousands people''s death. Have I really heaped such a heinous sin upon myself?


    After his defeat, Li Zicheng returned to Beijing and ascended the throne as the Emperor, he called himself the Emperor of the Great Shun Country. He took me fleeing to the west, Wu Sangui was hot on our trail. Although Li Zicheng was defeated, his laughter was still very much straightforward. The soldiers and officers under his command numbered less and less as the days gone by, his situation was more and more unfavorable, but he did not seem to care. He said that he started with nothing, at worst he would end up with nothing; what''s so strange about that? He said that there were three things he was most proud of in all his life: first, he had hounded the Ming Dynasty Emperor to his death, second, he had been an emperor, and third, he had slept with the number one beauty in the world. This man''s talk was very vulgar; he said that among those three accomplishments, he was most proud of the third.


    Wu Sangui also wholeheartedly wants to be the Emperor; he has never said it, but I know. It''s just that in his heart he is afraid, he always hesitates; he thought about making his move, but did not dare to do so. As long as he did not die today, there will come a day that he may become the Emperor. It''s all right if he became the Emperor here in Kunming, it''s all right if he became the Emperor only for a day.


    Emperor Yong Li fled to Myanmar, Wu Sangui pursued him and killed him. People say that three Emperors have died in my hands: Chong Zhen, Yong Li, and this Emperor Li Zicheng of the Great Shun Country. How did I become responsible of Emperor Chong Zhen''s account? I wonder if Wu Sangui is going to die today. If he became the Emperor in the future, will they say that I killed another Emperor? The Great Ming''s rivers and mountains, several hundred thousand soldiers, several millions common people, plus four Emperors; it was I, Chen Yuanyuan, who killed them all. Yet I have not committed even a single bad deed, I have not even uttered any harmful word to anybody."


    Her ears kept hearing the ''bing, bing, bang, bang'' of the weapons colliding with each other; when she looked up, she saw Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui were jumping high and crouching low, their fight was very fierce. Although these two men were already old, their movements were still very agile. In all her life, she was most afraid of watching men killing each other, and right now that loathing feeling was evident on her face. She also recalled what happened in the past, "After the crushing defeat, the troops and soldiers under Li Zicheng''s command scattered everywhere. Even in the night, he was no longer with me. Wu Sangui''s subordinates found me, and hastily presented me to their commander-in-chief. Naturally he was overjoyed. He said that people cursed him as the big traitor, but for my sake, bearing this bad reputation was worth it. I really appreciate his affection. I don''t care if he is the big traitor or a big loyal minister, because he was being true to me; for my sake, he would do anything. Other than him, nobody has ever treated me this way.


    At that time I thought that from now on I would live a peaceful and happy life. I don''t care about first-pin rank Madame, or second-pin rank Madame; I only hoped that I would not have to run around in circles from one man''s hand to the other. But �� but �� after living in Kunming for several years, he was bestowed the title Qin Wang [Prince], and a Qin Wang must have a fujin [Manchurian word for ''wife'']. His first wife has passed away early on. His younger brother Wu Sanmei came to me and told me that because of this fujin matter, Wangye was in great distress. By right, he should have taken me as his fujin, but everybody in the world knew my family background. If he reported my name so that the Emperor could confer an honorary title by imperial edict, unavoidably he would profane the imperial court. Naturally I understood that as a Qin Wang, he resented my background as a lowly woman, a prostitute; that I was not fit to receive honorary title by the Emperor. I did not want to make things difficult for him; without waiting for Wu Sanmei to finish, I told him that it was an easy matter, I told him to ask Wangye to pick a wise and virtuous woman from a famous family as his fujin, to avoid smearing his reputation. He came to apologize to me, telling me that he had indeed been unfair to me. Humph, becoming fujin or not, what''s the big deal? It''s just that eventually I understood that his affection to me had also reached its end. I moved out from the Mansion, because Wangye wanted to officially marry, he had to establish his fujin.


    Right around that time, Li Zicheng suddenly appeared in front of me. He has become a Buddhist monk. I was scared out of my wits. I thought he had already died, and I was grieving for him for several days; who would have thought that he is still alive? Li Zicheng said that he wore Buddhist monk attire simply to deceive people''s ears and eyes, while it also give him the excuse of not shaving his head and wearing the Tatars'' attire. He told me that for the last several years he had been thinking about me daily; he had been living in Kunming for more than three years, and had always been looking for an opportunity to see me, until that day. Ay, could it be that his affection to me was a lot deeper than Wu Sangui''s?


    Every night he came to accompany me, until finally I got pregnant with this little baby girl. I could not see him anymore, I must return to the Mansion immediately. I told Wangye that I missed him very much, and I wanted him to accompany me. Wangye has never had heartfelt fondness toward his fujin anyway, he happily took me back. Afterwards the baby girl was born. I wonder if he ever had any suspicion.


    When the baby girl was a little over two years old, she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night. Although I hate to part with her, I thought it was Li Zicheng who sent someone to kidnap her. She is his child, if he wanted her, then that''s good. He was alone, he must be distressingly lonely, if there was a child by his side, he would not feel so much alone and forsaken. Who would have thought �� ay, who would have thought that that was not the case ��"


    Suddenly a drop of liquid fell on the back of her hand; when she looked down, it was a drop of blood. She was shocked and quickly looked up to the two men who were still fighting. She saw there was blood all over Wu Sangui''s face, but he was still brandishing his lance in a hard fighting. The drop of blood naturally was splashed from his face.


    Outside the room, the officers and men were shouting and cheering loudly, some were hurling threats toward Li Zicheng and Jiu Nan, but nobody dared to join the fight for fear that they would hurt their Wangye.


    Wu Sangui was panting continuously; there was fear in his eyes. Suddenly the tip of the lance changed direction and went straight toward Chen Yuanyuan''s chest.


    "Ah!" Chen Yuanyuan cried out in alarm. "He wants to kill me!" This thought flashed in her mind.


    ''Dang!'' the lance was parried by Li Zicheng. It was as if Wu Sangui had gone mad; he thrust his lance repeatedly, each one was directed to Chen Yuanyuan. Li Zicheng bellowed in rage, while desperately blocking and parrying; he was no longer able to attack Wu Sangui.


    Wei Xiaobao was hiding behind his Shifu''s back, he was greatly astonished, "Why would the big traitor not attack the monk, but attacking his wife instead?" Bu he immediately understood, "Ah, right; he must be angry that his wife has sneakily met the monk, hence he wants to kill her to vent his anger."


    But Jiu Nan had been able to see Wu Sangui''s real intention, "This evil man is extremely treacherous. He cannot beat Li Zicheng, hence he resorted to this evil scheme."


    Sure enough, because Li Zicheng wanted to save Chen Yuanyuan, he was flustered and his mind was thrown into disorder, several gaps appeared in the movement of his staff. Wu Sangui''s lance changed direction again, ''stab'', he suddenly hit Li Zicheng''s shoulder. Li Zicheng lost the strength of his right hand, his monk staff fell. Wu Sangui seized this opportunity to pounce, he pointed the lance toward the pit of Li Zicheng''s stomach. Laughing maliciously, he said, "Rebel, aren''t you going to kneel down and surrender?"


    "Yes, yes," Li Zicheng replied. Slowly he bent his knees.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I always thought that Li Zicheng was such an amazing man, but actually he is greedy for life ��" He had just had that thought, suddenly Li Zicheng rolled away to evade the tip of the lance, grabbed his monk staff from the floor, and swept it horizontally toward Wu Sangui''s calves. Li Zicheng then sprang up, the monk staff struck down on Wu Sangui''s shoulder, and in the third strike the staff shot down onto the top of Wu Sangui''s head.


    Wei Xiaobao did not know that when the circumstance was unfavorable, surrendering in order to take a breather and then seizing the opportunity to gain an upper hand, was exactly the tactic Li Zicheng was very good at in all his life. When he was leading the rebel troops in the past, on the seventh month of his seventh year Chong Zhen surrounded him and trapped him in the bottom of Juxiang Gorge at Xing''an county of Shaanxi Province, the imperial army laid a siege all around, there was no way out, the troops had no food, the horses had no straw; at a glance it looked like a total annihilation. Li Zicheng surrendered, and was taken into the imperial army. As soon as he was out of the plank road, he rose into rebellion again immediately. When he bent his knees to feign surrender to Wu Sangui just now, it was no more than executing his old trick once again.


    Jiu Nan thought, "These two men are equally ruthless and crafty, no wonder the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains were lost in these two men''s hands."


    They all saw that if Li Zicheng''s third strike hit, Wu Sangui''s brains would burst out. Chen Yuanyuan suddenly jumped and threw herself on top of Wu Sangui''s body, "Kill me first!" she called out.


    Li Zicheng was shocked, the momentum of his staff strike was swift and fierce, his right shoulder was injured, he had no strength in his right hand to hold the staff. Immediately his left hand pushed to the right, ''Bang!'' the iron monk staff struck the wall. "Yuanyuan," he angrily shouted, "What are you doing?"


    "He and I were husband and wife for more than twenty years," Chen Yuanyuan replied, "In those years he �� he was sincerely treating me very well. I cannot let him die because of me."


    "Get out of the way!" Li Zicheng shouted, "He and I have enmity as deep as the ocean. I must kill him."


    "Then kill me too," Chen Yuanyuan replied.


    Li Zicheng sighed. He said, "Turns out �� turns out your heart is still leaning toward him."


    Chen Yuanyuan did not answer, but in her heart she thought, "If he wants to kill you, I will also die with you."


    From outside the room, the officers and soldiers saw Wu Sangui fell, they also cried out loudly while surging forward. A general shouted loudly, "Quickly release Wangye, or all of you will die." It was precisely Wu Sangui''s son-in-law Xia Guoxiang. He continued shouting, "Your companions are all here, if you harm a strand of Wangye''s hair, their heads will fall to the ground immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao looked outside, and saw Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong and the other Mu Palace people, and Xu Tianchuan, Gao Yanchao, Priest Xuanzhen and the other Tian Di Hui people, Zhao Qixian, Zhang Kangnian, and the other Imperial Bodyguards, Valiant Cavalry Canling [Regimental Commander] and Zuoling [Company Commander]; all of them with hands tied, each of them had a Ping Xi Wang military officer behind his back, with unsheathed saber placed on their neck.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Even if Shifu could take me out of Kunming, all these friends will inevitably die. We want to kill Wu Sangui, but there is no hurry to do it at this time." Thereupon he pulled his dagger and put it on Wu Sangui''s back; he said, "Wangye, all of us die together, there is no sense in it; it would be better for us to do a business transaction."


    "Humph," Wu Sangui grunted, "What business transaction?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You promise to let everybody go, my Shifu will spare your life."


    Li Zicheng said, "This traitor is a lowly person, a repeat offender; what he says cannot be trusted."


    Looking at the people with their hands bound outside, Jiu Nan also felt that she could not kill Wu Sangui today; she said, "You give an order to let everybody go, I will also let you go."


    "What about Ah Ke?" Wei Xiaobao said in a loud voice, "That female assassin?"


    Xia Guoxiang shouted, "Bring the assassin here."


    Two Mansion guards pushed a young woman, which was none other than Ah Ke. Her hands were also tied behind her back, and a glittering saber was also placed on her neck.


    Chen Yuanyuan said, "Xiaobao, you �� you are always thinking of saving my child''s life."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "That''s strange, you did not ask your husband, did not ask your lover, but came to ask me. Could it be that Ah Ke was born for me and you?" But as soon as he saw Ah Ke''s lovely yet pitiful look, he had made up his mind, even if he did not want his own life, he simply must save her life; on top of that, he now saw Chen Yuanyuan''s lovely yet pitiful look as she beseeched him, he did not need to think twice.


    "The two of you," he pointed to Li Zicheng, "If you give me your word to allow Ah Ke to be my wife, how could I not save my own wife''s life?"


    Jiu Nan glowered at him. "In time like this you still talk this kind of frivolous talk!" she shouted.


    Although Chen Yuanyuan knew Wei Xiaobao only for a short time, yet her knowledge of his temperament and intention had already far surpassed Jiu Nan''s; she knew that if this little smart-aleck did not take advantage of other people''s misfortune, to fish in troubled water, he would not be a high-ranking official in such a young age. Thereupon she said, "Fine, I give you my word."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head toward Li Zicheng and asked, "And you?"


    There was an angry look on Li Zicheng''s face, he was about to curse, but then he saw the earnest pleading expression on Chen Yuanyuan''s face, hence he struggled to suppress his anger. "Humph," he snorted, "Whatever she said, let it be that way."


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and turned toward Wu Sangui, "Wangye, you and I are ''river water does not interfere with well water'', why not get the best of both worlds? You can be the Ping Xi Wang, let me be the Wei Jueye?"


    "Very well," Wu Sangui said, "What did I do to make life difficult for Wei Jueye?"


    "Then issue an order to free all of my friends," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will also ask my Shifu to release you. This is just like playing Pai Jiu [pai gow], in the front we have ten, at the back we have supreme, nobody loses nobody wins, nobody kills nobody pays. You are not thinking of making a big kill on the three directions, I will not shovel your bank. Not losing in gambling is better than everybody''s head falls down on the ground."


    "So be it," Wu Sangui replied, while slowly standing up.


    "Please ask Shizi to come here, and the Princess as well," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will also have to toil Wangye to personally escort us out of the City of Kunming, and I ask that Shizi will accompany the Princess to go back to Beijing and bow to the heaven and the earth and get married there. Wangye, although we have had the agreement, I still cannot set my heart at ease, I need to have Shizi as my guarantee. If you suddenly change your mind and dispatch your troops to give us a chase, we will have no choice but to split Shizi with a saber. Wu Yingxiong, Wei Xiaobao, plus Princess Jianning, everybody will happily go together to see Yan Wang. Our journey to the underworld will be exciting and fun."


    Wu Sangui thought that this kid was indeed very shrewd; he would not easily let me go based on my words alone. Since he was presently in a dangerous territory, the sooner he escaped the better; therefore, after making a prompt decision he said, "Fair enough, we will do as you said." Raising his voice, he called out, "Xia Zongbing, quickly send someone to fetch the Princess and Shizi and bring them here."


    Xia Guoxiang said, "I heard and obey. When Shizi heard the news, he promptly led the troops here."


    "Good filial son," Wei Xiaobao praised, "What a little darling meek, garlic chives saut��ed in leek!"


    Not too long afterwards, Wu Yingxiong did indeed arrive leading his troops. His injury had not healed, he arrived outside the building, riding on a soft sedan chair carried by eight of his personal attendants.


    Wu Sangui said, "Shizi has arrived, everybody can go." He also issued an order, "Untie our friends'' hands." To Wei Xiaobao he said, "You and Shitai follow me closely, let me take you out. If laofu go back on my word, naturally you could stab me on my back. Shitai''s martial art skill is superior, even I cannot escape her Tathagata Buddha''s palm."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Wonderful," he said, "Wangye is indeed frank and straightforward; when you lose, you lose, when you win, you win, you wanted to oppose the Ming, you opposed the Ming, you wanted to surrender to Qing, you surrender to Qing. Indeed there is not the least bit of wishy-washiness in you."


    Wu Sangui''s face turned ashen. Pointing to Li Zicheng he said, "This rebel, I wonder if he is also Wei Jueye''s friend?"


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward Jiu Nan. Before he could respond, Li Zicheng announced in a loud voice, "I am not this Tatars'' little dog official''s friend."


    "Good," Jiu Nan praised him, "You, this rebel, actually have hard bones! Wu Sangui, let him go with us."


    Chen Yuanyuan looked at Jiu Nan, her eyes revealed her gratitude, but they also carried a pleading look. "Shitai ��" she said. But Jiu Nan turned her head away, she was unwilling to meet her eyes.


    Wu Sangui was only concerned over his own survival, he did not care whether he could kill Li Zicheng or not. Walking toward the opening, he called out, "Shizi is going to escort the Princess back to the Capital to have an audience with His Holiness, to respectfully escort the holy self of Her Highness the Princess."


    The sergeant under Ping Xi Wang''s command blew the bugle, the troops lined up in formation to send them off. Wei Xiaobao and Wu Sangui walked out of the room side-by-side, with Jiu Nan following closely behind them.


    Wei Xiaobao walked toward the sedan chair and said, "Whether the goods is genuine or fake, one examination will confirm it." He raised the sedan chair curtain and looked in. He saw Wu Yingxiong''s face was completely without color. Leaning inside, he said with a laugh, "Shizi, how are you?"


    Wu Yingxiong called out, "Father, you �� are you all right?"


    Of course he was calling out to Wu Sangui, but Wei Xiaobao replied, "Very good, I am all right."


    When they were outside the Three-Sage Nunnery, he looked around; east, south, west and north, everywhere was tightly packed with troops and horses, their number could not be counted. "Wangye," Wei Xiaobao praised, "Your troops and horses are indeed not a few. If you are going to attack Beijing, I think you already have enough."


    With a calm face Wu Sangui said, "Wei Jueye, when you see His Majesty, if you talk nonsense, I will certainly also present a memorial to the Emperor, reporting that you are colluding with the rebel thieves Mu Family of Yunnan and Li Zicheng."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Uh, that''s strange. Li Zicheng only loves to collude with the number one beauty in the world, how could he collude with me, the number one smart-aleck in the world?" Wu Sangui was furious; he clenched his fist and wanted to punch the bridge of Wei Xiaobao''s nose very much.


    "Wangye must not be angry," Wei Xiaobao said, "You, Senior, must calm down. Being an official for a thousand li is only for the sake of wealth. If I talk rubbish to His Majesty, whatever reward His Majesty bestows to me, it will fall short of what you, Senior, send as a gift year after year, what you spend in soldier''s pay and provision year after year. The two of us brothers are striking a business deal, when I return to Beijing, I will only praise you as a loyal and devoted minister, matchless under the heavens. I will do my best to protect Shizi, at New Year and other holidays, you will send a little bit of gold and silver as a gift to Xiao Jiang; what do you say?" While saying that, he walked alongside Wu Sangui.


    "Wealth is merely worldly possessions," Wu Sangui said, "If Wei Jueye really want to use some, I can''t see any reason why you cannot. However, if you really want to make things difficult for me, although laofu lives in Yunnan, with a massive military force at hand, I am not afraid of you."


    "Naturally," Wei Xiaobao said, "With a lance at hand, Wangye''s bravery is unstoppable, you killed the rebellious thieves around the world that they piss in their pants in terror. Xiao Jiang is taking my leave today, the spending money Wangye promised earlier, please bestow it now."


    Listening to him chattering and unceasingly asking for bribe, Jiu Nan was getting more and more annoyed. "Xiaobao," she shouted, "How could you talk so shamelessly like that?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Shifu, you did not know, but the number of people under me is quite a lot. When I return to the Capital, the civil and military officials of the imperial court, the imperial concubines and court eunuchs in the Palace, all of them must be given a present. If the gift is unsatisfactory, everybody may put the blame on Wangye."


    "Humph," Jiu Nan snorted, but she no longer say anything.


    Actually, as the guest Wei Xiaobao demanded bribe, his main reason was to escape with their lives. He repeatedly talked about bribe with Wu Sangui, his intention was to occupy Wu Sangui''s mind, so that he would not change his mind or have the thought of killing them; besides, after giving the bribe, he could not possibly make things difficult for Wei Xiaobao. It was a standard practice of officialdom. By saying all those things, Wei Xiaobao was trying to make Wu Sangui feel relieved. Naturally Jiu Nan did not understand this reasoning.


    As expected, Wu Sangui was really thinking, "He wants the money, this matter is easier to manage." Turning toward Xia Guoxiang, he said, "Xia Zongbing, quickly get 500,000 taels of silver for Wei Jueye to give to the officers and men of the Imperial Bodyguards; also, prepare a generous gift for Wei Jueye, so that when he return to the Capital, he can distribute it for our behalf." Xia Guoxiang complied, and turned toward his trusted aide to prepare everything.


    Wu Sangui and Wei Xiaobao mounted their horses and rode side-by-side. Jiu Nan also mounted a horse and followed closely behind them. Knowing that this nun''s martial art skill had reached perfection, Wu Sangui abandoned all hopes of running away from her; he also thought, "Things ended this way, it is actually very satisfactory. Otherwise, even if I could kill this nun and this little smart aleck, kill Li Zicheng and all those rebellious thieves, injuring an Imperial Envoy carried a maximum penalty; I would be forced to deploy my troops immediately. This moment the help from the outside has not been properly decided; acting with confusion will only result in endangering this matter. Humph, when Beijing is broken later, will I have to be afraid that this little smart aleck would fly to the sky?" Therefore, he did not want to go back on the deal right away; along with Jiu Nan and Wei Xiaobao he went to Anfu Garden to fetch the Princess, and then escorted them out of the City of Kunming.


    Although the soldiers had their suspicion, seeing their Wangye came out unscathed, they did not have any choice but to obey the orders and did nothing else.


    Wei Xiaobao inspected the troops and horses under his command, undoubtedly Ah Ke stayed by his side, the others included Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace people, as well as Imperial Bodyguards, officers and men, nobody was lacking. He turned toward Wu Sangui and said with a laugh, "Wangye sends us off a long way out of town, you are extremely courteous. This time we received Wangye''s generous treatment, next time Wangye come to Beijing, let Xiao Jiang invite you."


    Wu Sangui laughed aloud and said, "I will definitely disturb Wei Jueye."


    The two men cupped their fists farewell. Wu Sangui walked toward the Princess'' sedan chair to pay his respect and bid her farewell, and then he stuck his head in Wu Yingxiong''s sedan chair and whispered something for a while, before leading his troops back to the city.


    Although Wu Sangui''s troops did not show any sign that they intend to attack, Wei Xiaobao did not feel at ease; he said, "This fellow''s words cannot be trusted, let us leave quickly, the farther we are from Kunming the better." Thereupon the group left immediately.


    After traveling for more than ten li and did not see any troop chasing them, they stopped for a while to take a rest.


    "Princess," Li Zicheng said to Jiu Nan, "I have received your kindness in saving me so that I did not die under the big traitor''s men''s hands, I really am deeply grateful. Now please make your move." While saying that, he took the saber he was wearing, reversed the hilt, and handed it over to her.


    "Hey," Jiu Nan mumbled, with an awkward expression on her face; she thought, "He is the big enemy who killed my father, how can I not avenge this enmity? But he has his hands tied waiting for the butcher, I can''t kill him just like that." Turning her head toward Ah Ke, she cast her a glance, and muttered, "Turns out she �� she is your daughter ��"


    "He is not my father," Ah Ke said loudly.


    "Nonsense," Jiu Nan angrily said, "Your Mama admitted it herself, how can it be wrong?"


    "Naturally he is your father," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "He and your Mama have betrothed you to me to be my wife; this is called ''a father and mother''s order ��''"


    Ah Ke''s heart was filled with resentment and indignation, yet she could not vent it out anywhere; suddenly she sprang up and punched Wei Xiaobao''s face. He was caught off-guard, the punch hit the bridge of his nose; immediately blood flowed in abundance.


    "Aiyo," Wei Xiaobao cried out, "You are murdering your own husband."


    Jiu Nan angrily said, "The two of you stop speaking unreasonable words! Stop making a mess!"


    Ah Ke retreated several steps back, her small face was completely red; she pointed her finger to Li Zicheng and angrily said, "You are not my father! That woman is not my mother." Pointing Jiu Nan she said, "You �� you are not my Shifu. You �� you are all bad people, you bullied me. I �� I hate you ��" She covered her face and cried loudly.


    Jiu Nan sighed. "You are right," she said, "I am not your Shifu, I snatched you away from Wu Sangui, not with good intention. You �� you can go on your own. But your birth parents, you cannot not acknowledging them."


    Ah Ke stomped her foot and said, "I don''t want to acknowledge them, I don''t want to acknowledge them. I don''t have any father, I don''t have any mother, and I don''t have any Shifu."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "But you have me, your husband!"


    Ah Ke''s anger shot to the roof, she picked up a stone and hurled it to him. Wei Xiaobao dodged sideways. Ah Ke turned around and ran along a small path toward the west.


    "Hey, hey," Wei Xiaobao called out, "Where are you going?"


    Ah Ke halted her steps, turned around and hatefully said, "There will come a day that you will die in my hands."


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to pursue anymore; he looked on helplessly as she ran away. Gloomy mood filled Jiu Nan''s heart, she waved her hand toward Li Zicheng without saying anything and rode off.


    "Yuefu [father-in-law] Daren," Wei Xiaobao said, "My Shifu won''t kill you, you''d better go quickly."


    In his heart Li Zicheng also felt inexplicably unhappy; he turned toward Wei Xiaobao and glowered at him. Being stared at like that, the hair on Wei Xiaobao''s body stood up; he was scared and withdrew two steps back. "Pei," Li Zicheng spat on the ground, turned around and strode toward a small path.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, thinking, "Even her own father and mother Ah Ke does not want to acknowledge, naturally she won''t acknowledge me, her husband, even more." When he turned around, he saw Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao standing behind him with weapons in their hands. The two men were afraid Li Zicheng would suddenly assault and harm their Wei Xiangzhu.


    "This man turned the sky and the earth upside down in the past, and ruined out Great Ming''s rivers and mountains," Xu Tianchuan said, "Until he is old he still carries the lofty quality of a hero like that."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. "He is very fierce," he said; and then he asked, "Did you bring that Hantiemo?"


    "He is a very important character," Xu Tianchuan replied, "We did not dare to leave him."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Gentlemen must be very careful in taking care of him, don''t let him escape along the way."


    The party continued their journey northward. Wei Xiaobao went over to Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong and the others to exchange some pleasantries. In their hearts Mu Jiansheng and the others were also very unhappy; they all thought, "All our lives were saved by him, from this day onward, how can our Mu Palace strive for superiority against their Tian Di Hui?"


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Liu Dahong said, "About toppling Wu Sangui or what have you, we cannot compete against Tian Di Hui anymore. Please report to Chen Zongduozhu on our behalf, tell him that henceforth the Mu Palace concede defeat to Tian Di Hui. Wei Xiangzhu''s kindness in saving our lives, I am afraid in our whole life we will never be able to repay."


    "How could Liu Laoyezi [old master] say such thing?" Wei Xiaobao said, "All of us were in mortal danger and we escaped alive; we all managed to snatch our lives back."


    "That little thief Liu Yizhou," Liu Dahong hatefully said, "There will come a day when I will make mincemeat of him."


    "Was it him who disclose your secret?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "If not him then who else?" Liu Dahong replied, "This kid �� this kid ��" Speaking to this point, his anger shot up to the heavens.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Did he remain at Wu Sangui''s place?"


    "Most probably," Mu Jiansheng said, "That day Liu Shifu sent him out to scout the enemy; he was captured by Wu Sangui''s men. That very same night, a large number of troops and horses surrounded our residence. The place we stayed was extremely secret, if that man did not tell, there is no way Wu Sangui would ever find us." Speaking to that point, he heaved a deep sigh before continuing, "It''s a pity that Ao Dage has sacrificed his life for his country." Cupping his fist toward Wei Xiaobao, he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, if Tian Di Hui has anything in the future, the one surnamed Mu will obey the order. The green mountain will not change, the crystal-clear water will always flow, let us part here."


    "This place is still the big traitor''s territory," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us be together, there is strength in number. When we leave Yunnan, we will go our separate ways."


    Mu Jiansheng shook his head and said, "Thank you for Wei Xiangzhu''s good intention, if we ever fall head first into the big traitor''s hands again, we will not have any face to live among the people." Thinking, "Mu Palace is at home in Yunnan, if we still rely on Tatar officers and soldiers for protection, what else can we say?" Therefore, leading the Mu Palace people, he bade his farewell and left.


    Mu Jianping walked at the very last of the line; after only a few steps, she turned around and said, "I am leaving, you �� you take care of yourself."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "You must do the same." Lowering his voice, he said, "You stay with your Gege, don''t come back to Shen Long [Divine Dragon] Island. I will think about you every day."


    Mu Jianping nodded; she said in small voice, "I will too ��"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the horse he was riding and turned the reins over to her hand, saying, "I give this horse to you."


    Mu Jianping''s eyes turned red; receiving the reins, she straddled the horseback and rode away to catch up with Mu Jiansheng and the others.

 Chapter - 33 (33)

    Those without chronic disease find it hard to laugh, being distinguished and accomplishment are not the same.


    After several days of travel, they had left the City of Kunming far behind them. Since all along they did not see Wu Sangui''s troops or horses pursuing, gradually everybody was relieved. One particular day they arrived at Qujing [prefecture, still in Yunnan]. When the night fell, four riders were rushing directly toward them. One rider jumped down for the horse and talked to the Valiant Cavalry vanguard that they had an urgent military intelligence to report to the Imperial Military Minister.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao received the report, he granted them an audience at once. He saw that the one in the front was a thin and small man with dark complexion; he had just about to ask the man what kind of military intelligence, when Qian Laoben, who was standing behind him, suddenly said, "You are Kuang Xiong, are you not?"


    The man bowed and said, "Xiongdi is indeed Kuang Tianxiong. Qian Dage, how are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao looked at Qian Laoben. Qian Laoben nodded and said in a low voice, "Our own people."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Kuang Laoxiong has toiled much, let us go sit at the back."


    They went to the rear hall; all the attendants were Tian Di Hui brothers. Qian Laoben said, "Kuang Xiongdi, this is our Green Wood Hall''s Wei Xiangzhu."


    Kuang Tianxiong bowed with cupped fist; he said, "By Heaven my father and Earth my mother, fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. Scarlet Fire Hall''s Gu Xiangzhu''s subordinate Kuang Tianxiong pays his respect to Wei Xiangzhu and all Green Wood Hall Dage."


    "Turns out it is Scarlet Fire Hall''s Kuang Dage, nice to meet you, nice to meet you," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Qian Laoben had met this Kuang Tianxiong several times in Hunan in the past; presently he introduced Li Lishi, Qi Biaoqing, Feng Jizhong, Xu Tianchuan, Priest Xuanzhen, Gao Yanchao, and the others to him. In turn, Kuang Tianxiong also introduced his three Scarlet Fire Hall brothers. Everybody knew that the Scarlet Fire Hall was in charge of Guizhou province. In just a few days they would reach Guizhou border. Having made contact with their fellow Society brothers, the Green Wood Hall warriors were very happy.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Last time I parted with Gu Xiangzhu in Zhili, and we have not seen each other ever since. Is everything going well with Gu Xiangzhu?"


    "Gu Xiangzhu is well," Kuang Tianxiong replied, "He instructed subordinate to send his regards to Wei Xiangzhu and all Green Wood Hall Dage. We have heard that Wei Xiangzhu and all Dage have accomplished many important matters in recent days, and we admire you very much. Today we can pay a formal visit, this is indeed the blessing of three lifetimes."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We are all brothers here, there is no need for words of politeness. In just a few more days we are going to arrive at your honorable province, I wish to chat with Gu Xiangzhu."


    Kuang Tianxiong said, "Gu Xiangzhu instructed subordinate to report to Wei Xiangzhu that it would be best if gentlemen change route eastwards, do not go through Guizhou."


    Wei Xiaobao and the warriors were startled. Kuang Tianxiong said, "According to Gu Xiangzhu, he also wishes very much to have a chat with Wei Xiangzhu and all Dage, however, it would be best to meet within Guangxi."


    "And why is that?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Kuang Tianxiong replied, "We obtained information that Wu Sangui has dispatched troops and horses to Xuanwei [county level city in Qujing], the town of Hongqiao, and Xin Tian Pu district to intercept Wei Xiangzhu and all Dage to bring you harm."


    "Ah!" all Green Wood Hall warriors exclaimed in surprise. Wei Xiaobao was shocked and angered at the same time. "His granny," he cursed, "This traitor is indeed unwilling to concede. He is even willing to forfeit his own son''s life."


    "Wu Sangui is very sinister and ruthless," Kuang Tianxiong said, "He dispatches not a few martial art experts, saying that they are to deal with certain Shitai by Wei Xiangzhu''s side, whose martial art skill was extremely high, and then have his son, the Tatar Princess, and Wei Xiangzhu captured, while the rest of the people would be killed to shut their mouths. Presently the Shaoguan mountain pass between Qujing and Zhanyi [another county in Qujing] has been closed, nobody could go through. The four of us took a detour through small paths on the mountain to get here; we were afraid that Wei Xiangzhu would come too late and fall into the big traitor''s scheme, hence we hurried along day and night to catch up."


    Wei Xiaobao saw the four people''s eyes were bloodshot, their cheeks hollow, obviously they were extremely weary. He said, "Four Dage have toiled very much, we are very grateful."


    Kuang Tianxiong said, "Finally we managed to deliver the news in time and have not harmed the important matter." He sounded very relieved.


    Wei Xiaobao asked his subordinates, "All Dage, what do you think?"


    Qian Laoben said, "I wonder if Kuang Dage know the total number of troops that Wu Sangui sent to ambush us."


    Kuang Tianxiong replied, "Wu Sangui did not have enough time to dispatch his troops from Kunming. I heard he sent the letter via flying pigeon to mobilize northern Yunnan and southern Guizhou''s military forces, altogether there will be more than thirty thousand men."


    Everybody cursed and swore. The number of troops under Wei Xiaobao''s command was no more than two thousand men, less than 10% of the opposite party''s force; indeed the few are no match for the many.


    Qian Laoben asked again, "Did Gu Xiangzhu say where in Guangxi he wants to meet us?"


    Kuang Tianxiong said, "Gu Xiangzhu has already sent people to notify our Society''s Latter Family Hall''s Ma Xiangzhu in Guangxi; if Wei Xiangzhu agrees, the three Xiangzhu can meet at Lucheng, Guangxi. From here to Lucheng in the east, the road is not too easy to travel, the distance is farther, but there won''t be Wu Sangui''s troops guarding it. Latter Family Hall''s brothers will provide support along the way, nothing should go wrong."


    When he heard that Wu Sangui had deployed more than thirty thousand troops to intercept them, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was already trembling in fear; but when he heard that Gu Xiangzhu had made appropriate arrangement and Ma Xiangzhu would also send people to provide support along the way, his spirit was boosted instantly. "Good," he said, "We are going to Lucheng. That old fellow Wu Sangui, damn it, there will come a day we will show him good." Immediately he issued an order to change their course southeast. He also ordered Kuang Tianxiong, four people, to sit in a large carriage so that they could rest.


    When his troops heard that Wu Sangui was sending his army to intercept and kill them, nobody was not alarmed; knowing that they were in a dangerous place, they all hastened on with their journey. Not daring to alert the local authorities, every night they pitched camp in the wilderness.


    One day they arrived at Lucheng. Ma Chaoxing, the Xiangzhu of Latter Family Hall and Gu Zhizhong, the Xiangzhu of Scarlet Fire Hall of Tian Di Hui, as well as the other brothers holding leadership positions of the two Halls had already waited in Lucheng. As the three Halls'' brothers met, the meeting was very warm.


    That evening Ma Chaoxing prepared a large banquet to welcome Wei Xiaobao and the Green Wood Hall warriors. During the banquet they talked about how the Mu Palace had conceded to Tian Di Hui; everybody was in high spirit.


    After the banquet, the Scarlet Fire Hall''s sentry post reported an incoming message: Wu Sangui''s troops found out about Wei Xiaobao making a detour into Guangxi, they urgently pursued, and were currently at the Guangxi border, but did not dare to enter. They had already sent urgent report to Kunming, asking for instructions, whether they should disguise themselves as robbers and infiltrated Guangxi to handle this matter.


    Ma Chaoxing laughed and said, "Guangxi is not Wu Sangui''s territory. If that traitor leads his troops across the border, it will mean open rebellion. If he sends his troops masquerading as robbers, thinking that he could push the blame toward Guangxi''s Kong Sizhen, even though he is rushing, it would still be too late."


    They rested in Lucheng for one day. Wei Xiaobao still thought that they were too close to Yunnan, he was still afraid, hence he urged his party to continue their journey eastwards. By early morning the third day, he took his leave from Gu Zhizhong and Scarlet Fire Hall brothers, and led his entourage heading to the east. Ma Chaoxing and the Latter Family Hall''s brothers accompanied them.


    The farther they left Yunnan, the more Wei Xiaobao felt at ease. Along the way, they never stopped more than a day in one place, until they finally reached central Guangxi. After being frightened and were in limbo for a while, the Imperial Bodyguards and other officers and soldiers reverted back to their old ways, once again they extorted the local prefecture and county officials and harassed the region.


    One day they reached Liuzhou [prefecture, Guangxi]. When the local prefectural magistrate heard about the arrival of the Princess, he did his utmost to curry her favor by supplying everything, nothing was too difficult. The Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry officers and soldiers were like fish back in water; they gorged themselves and indulged themselves everywhere in the city.


    In the evening of the third day, Wei Xiaobao was having idle talk with Ma Chaoxing and other Tian Di Hui brothers in a side room, when the captain of the Imperial Bodyguards Zhang Kangnian hurriedly walked in, and called in a loud voice, "Wei Fu Zongguan," and stopped without continuing, his face looked awkward.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that the left part of his face was swollen, his right eye was black; obviously he had been fighting and lost. Wei Xiaobao thought, "The Imperial Bodyguards don''t hit people, others are already happy; who would be brazen enough to beat him up?" He did not want the Imperial Bodyguard to lose face in front of the Tian Di Hui brothers, hence he said to Ma Chaoxing, "Ma Dage, please continue sitting at ease, Xiongdi must excuse myself for a while."


    "You are too kind," Ma Chaoxing said, "Wei Jueye, please do as you wish."


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the side room, with Zhang Kangnian followed behind him. As soon as they were outside, he said, "Reporting to Fu Zongguan, Zhao Erge is arrested." What he meant by ''Second Brother Zhao'' was the other Imperial Bodyguard captain, Zhao Qixian.


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Who has the guts to do that? Is it Liuzhou guard? Or prefectural magistrate yamen? What did he do? Kill people?" He was thinking that if it were not for major violation, the local authorities would not dare to arrest Imperial Bodyguards.


    Zhang Kangnian looked embarrassed. "Not local official," he said, "It''s �� it''s a gambling establishment."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. "His granny," he said, "Liuzhou casino dares to detain Imperial Bodyguards, it''s indeed huge news. You lost, didn''t you?"


    Zhang Kangnian nodded. With a forced laugh he said, "The seven of us went to gamble, it was ''big or small''. Damn it, that casino has a ghost in it, thirteen times in a row it produced ''big''; the seven of us lost more than two thousand taels. Before the fourteenth throw, Zhao Erge and I both said that this time it must be ''small'' ��"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Wrong, wrong. Most likely it would be ''big''."


    Zhang Kangnian said, "Too bad we did not invite Fu Zongguan to guide us in gambling, otherwise we would have not fallen into this mess. The seven of us cleaned up our silver and banknotes, and bet everything on ''small''. Ay!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "When it was opened, it was ''big'', wasn''t it?"


    Zhang Kangnian spread out his arms with the palm up, gesturing a hopeless situation. He said, "The banker wanted to take our money, we did not allow him; we said that in all gambling establishment under the heavens, there is no way you could have fourteen ''big'' in a row; they must be cheating. The casino owner came out to help to resolve the dispute, he said this time it did not count, nobody wins, nobody loses. Zhao Erge said no, he did not accept; this time it should have been ''small'', the banker must have been cheating. We have lost such a lot of money, and this time obviously we won big, how could he say it did not count?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Damn it," he cursed, "You guys have no shame; clearly you lost, yet you still made a scene. Fourteen ''big'' in a row is nothing, I have seen twenty four ''big'' in a row."


    Zhang Kangnian said, "The casino owner said the same thing, but Zhao Erge said that in Beijing, under the Son of Heaven''s foot, there is no such rule. He threw a fit. I pulled my saber. The casino owner was so scared that his face turned white. He said that he was indebted to the Imperial Bodyguard Daren for our visit, he said that for the last several play, how could they dare to win our Imperial Bodyguard Daren''s money. Whatever amount the Imperial Bodyguard Daren lost, Xiaoren would return everything along with his gratitude. Zhao Erge said, ''Alright, we did not lose, you just swindled our money, three thousand one hundred fifty three taels. We don''t want the change, just consider it our bad luck; you can pay us back only three thousand taels.''"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. In the meantime, they had reached the garden. "Doesn''t it mean that you have just gotten rich?" he asked, "Did he pay?"


    Zhang Kangnian said, "The casino boss was also very straightforward, he said that with friends, yi qi must be held first and foremost. He presented three thousand taels with both hands and handed it to Zhao Erge. Zhao Erge took it without so much of a thanks, he said that he accepted his gesture, just consider it his good luck. If he cheats again next time, he would not let him go."


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows and said, "This time it is clear that Zhao Qixian is in the wrong. Others have given you face, plus let you walk out with shining white silver in your hands; not only you have your face intact, you also gain wealth, why would he say such thing?"


    "That''s right," Zhang Kangnian said, "If Zhao Erge said some pleasant talk and thanked him, it would be all right. But, after taking the money he still had to say offensive words ��"


    "Correct!" Wei Xiaobao said, "We eat and make our living in Jianghu; stealing, robbing, swindling, everything is permissible, but we must never offend our friends. There is a saying, ''When one split the bamboo into two, one must not harm the bamboo shoot.''"


    "Yes, yes," Zhang Kangnian replied, but in his heart he thought, "Clearly we make our living in the Palace, you are the Imperial Envoy Minister, first class viscount; how could you say that we eat and make our living in Jianghu?"


    Wei Xiaobao asked further, "So how did the fight start? That casino owner''s martial art skill is very high?"


    "It''s not that," Zhang Kangnian replied, "The seven of us took the money, we were about to leave the casino, when one of the casino guests suddenly cursed, ''Damn it, if getting rich is that easy, why would we have to gamble a fart? It would be better if everybody just enter the imperial palace to serve the Emperor �� Emperor ��'' Fu Zongguan, when that rebel thief mentioned His Majesty, he spoke very disrespectful words, I do not dare to repeat it."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I understand," he said, "This fellow''s nerve is indeed not small."


    "Isn''t that so?" Zhang Kangnian said, "When we heard him, naturally we were enraged. Zhao Erge threw the money onto a table; he drew his saber, and tried to grab that man''s chest with his left hand. ''Bang!'' that man punched Zhao Erge that he passed out. The rest of us, six people, made our move together. This rebel thief''s martial art skill is indeed not low. Before I could see clearly, my face was punched; I was thrown out of the casino door, immediately the sky was dark and the earth black. I did not know what happened next. When I woke up, I saw Zhao Erge and the five brothers lying on the floor. That man put his foot on Zhao Erge''s head and said, ''There are seven animals in here, one thousand taels each. You go quickly to get the money to redeem them. Laozi will only wait for four hours [orig. two sichen]. After four hours, if you don''t come back, laozi will slaughter them and sell them off. For ten taels a catty, if the business is not bad, I can sell one animal for more than a thousand taels."


    Wei Xiaobao was amused and shocked at the same time; he asked, "Do you know which group this fellow belongs to? Did you manage to find out?"


    Zhang Kangnian replied, "This man is very tall, his fist is bigger than a rice bowl, his face is covered in grizzled beard, his clothes were tattered, he almost looks like a beggar."


    "How many companions does he have?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Zhang Kangnian replied, "This �� this �� subordinates is not too clear. There were about seventeen, eighteen guests in the casino at that time, but I don''t know if they are his companions or not."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that since Zhang Kangnian was beaten by the man that he passed out, naturally he wanted to get away as soon as he could without daring to look around too much. He thought, "This old beggar must be a Jianghu hero; seeing the Imperial Bodyguards gambled shamelessly, he could not refrain from making his move. He would not necessarily want to slaughter them and sell them. I don''t think anybody would agree to pay ten taels a catty of Zhao Qixian''s meat. If I deployed large military force to deal with him, one person, it''s not the conduct of a real man."


    He thought further, "This old beggar has a very good martial art skill. If I ask Shifu to help me deal with him, I am sure it would be a cinch; but how could Shifu be willing to spend some effort for the Palace''s Imperial Bodyguards? If I let this matter known to Ma Ziangzhu and the others, they would definitely laugh at my subordinates, thinking that the Imperial Bodyguards are useless." Hence he also thought that asking for Feng Jizhong, Xu Tianchuan or the other''s help would also be inappropriate. Suddenly he remembered two people. "Don''t be anxious," he said, "I will personally look at this matter."


    Zhang Kangnian''s face lit up. "Yes, yes," he said, "I''ll get a hundred men, I think it should be enough."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "No need to bring that many."


    "Fu Zongguan should be a bit more careful," Zhang Kangnian said, "That old beggar''s hands and feet were very fierce."


    "No worries," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have me."


    Returning to his own room, he fetched a large fold of banknotes, a dozen or so gold ingots, and stuffed everything into his pocket. Next he went to a room in the eastern wing and knocked, "Are the two gentlemen here?" he called.


    The door opened, Lu Gaoxuan appeared and said, "Please come in."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Could the two gentlemen come with me? We have something to handle."


    Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo were wearing Valiant Cavalry Sergeant uniform; they always go with Wei Xiaobao as his companions, but in Kunming and along the way, they had not done anything for fear that other people might recognize their identity. Day in and day out they always hid in their room, and were quite bored. Hearing Wei Xiaobao was going to take them on some errand, they followed him enthusiastically.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was only taking two Valiant Cavalry Sergeants, Zhang Kangnian was greatly disappointed. "Fu Zongguan," he said, "Let subordinate call several Imperial Bodyguard brothers to wait upon Fu Zongguan."


    "No need," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Too many people will be troublesome instead. You brought a hundred people, if he gets us all, a thousand taels each, a hundred thousand taels total, it is going to hurt me a little bit. But if only four of us going, it is only four thousand taels, merely a trifle, I won''t take it to heart."


    Zhang Kangnian knew he was only joking, but seeing him casually bringing only two sergeants to face such a serious danger, he thought Wei Xiaobao was pulling his rank too much. "Yes, yes," he said, "But that rebel thief''s martial art skill is really high."


    "Fine," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me have a match with him. If I lose, he only needs to cut my flesh in pieces and sell it; it''s not such a big deal."


    Zhang Kangnian knitted his brows, he did not dare to say anything anymore. He did not know that these two Valiant Cavalry Sergeants were first-class characters of the Wulin world. Any rogue character of the casino, no matter how high his martial art skill, he could not possibly surpass the two martial art experts of the Divine Dragon Cult.


    Zhang Kangnian took Wei Xiaobao to the gambling establishment. They had just reached the door when they heard someone inside the casino called out loudly, "I have a pair of seven here, isn''t it big enough?"


    Another man laughed aloud and said, "Awfully sorry, in Xiongdi''s hand, I just happen to have a pair of eight." Followed by a loud slap, apparently the first man slapped his tiles [of card] onto the table, while cursing loudly.


    Wei Xiaobao and Zhang Kangnian looked at each other; they thought, "How come they are still gambling inside?" Wei Xiaobao stepped in. Zhang Kangnian cowered behind him. Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo stepped into the door and stopped at the threshold, waiting for Wei Xiaobao''s instruction.


    They saw a large platform in the hall, four people were sitting on the four corners, gambling. Zhao Qixian and five Imperial Bodyguards were lying on the floor. On the east sat a man, his face was covered in grizzled beard, his clothes were tattered, from the holes in his garment they could see hairy, dark-colored muscles; he must be the old beggar.


    On the south sat a young, handsome scholar. Wei Xiaobao was startled, he recognized the man as Li Xihua, whom he had met in Beijing. His martial art skill was rather good, he was hit by Chen Jinnan''s ''Blood Clotting Divine Claw'', and since then Wei Xiaobao had never seen him. Unexpectedly now they met again at a Liuzhou gambling establishment.


    On the west sat a man dressed as a farmer, a peasant, about fifty years or so, with an anxious expression, drooping eyebrows and lowered eyes; evidently he had lost and could not recover his money.


    The one sitting on the north looked very peculiar, he was very short and very fat, his entire body looked like a meatball, but his clothing was extremely luxurious, his long robe and magua [buttoned mandarin jacket] were embroidered. The five sense organs on his face [i.e. nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears] were crowded together, as if someone had taken his head and rubbed it between his palms, turning it into a ball. This short and fat man''s hands were holding a pair of dominoes, his pair of big eyes turned into a slit, as he focused his attention to the tiles.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I wonder if this Li Xihua recognizes me? It has been a long while, plus I am wearing officer''s uniform today; most likely he does not recognize me. There is no hurry to greet him." Thereupon he laughed and said, "Four friends look very exciting, Xiongdi also wants to play a hand, I wonder if I can?"


    While saying that, he walked over to the table. He saw piles of money, about five or six thousand taels, and surprisingly, the pile in front of the peasant was the biggest. He was the biggest winner, yet his face carried the biggest loser expression; Wei Xiaobao felt a bit strange.


    The short and fat man reached out to slowly draw a tile with his three fat fingers. Suddenly, "Aha!" he yelled. Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. The short and fat man laughed aloud and said, "Wonderful, wonderful! This time I won''t lose to you, will I?" ''Slap!'' he slapped the tile onto the table. It was a ten-dot, a ''plum blossom'' [i.e. five dots and five dots].


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Most likely the tile in his hand is also a ''plum blossom''; a pair of plum blossoms'' chance of winning is very high." The short and fat man was all smiles. ''Slap!'' he slapped the other tile onto the table.


    As the other people looked at it, they were staring blankly for a moment, and then broke into hearty laugh. Turned out it was a ''four and six'', also a ten-dot; ten-dot plus ten-dot was no more than a departing ten. In Pai Jiu [paigow], nothing is smaller than a departing ten. He was only a player; even if the banker also had a departing ten, departing ten beats departing ten, the banker still wins.


    The peasant still had a distressed look on his face, it did not have the least bit of smiling expression. Wei Xiaobao looked at the tiles in front of him, it was a pair of nine. Currently he was the banker, hence the difference between his pair and the short and fat man''s was 108,000 li. Wei Xiaobao thought, "This man has neither word nor movement; he is a very formidable gambler."


    "What''s so funny?" the short and fat man asked. He turned to the peasant, "My pair of tens beats your pair of nines. A hundred taels, quickly pay."


    The peasant shook his head, "You lost," he said.


    The short and fat man was angry. "Are you nuts?" he cried out, "Count it; this tile has one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ten dots. That tile also one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ten dots. Aren''t they a pair of tens?"


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward Zhang Kangnian; he thought, "This short and fat man will make a good Imperial Bodyguard; winning he takes the money, losing he makes a racket."


    The peasant still shook his head, saying, "This is a departing ten. You lost."


    The short and fat man could not restrain his rage, he sprang up. However, as he stood up, unexpectedly he was a head shorter than when he sat. Turned out when he sat on the stool, his legs were hanging in the air, hence he was taller compared to when he was standing up. Extending his fat hand, he pointed his finger to the peasant''s nose and shouted, "I got an a departing ten, you got a departing nine. Naturally departing ten beats your departing nine."


    The peasant said, "Mine is a pair of nines, yours is a departing ten. Departing ten means zero."


    The short and fat man said, "Isn''t this a plain bullying?"


    Wei Xiaobao could not hold his peace much longer. "Laoxiong," he interjected, "What you have is not a pair." While saying that, he picked a plum blossom, and a four-and-six from the tiles scattered on the table, then he paired the plum blossom with the other plum blossom, and the four-and-six with the other four-and-six. "Now these," he said, "Are pairs. Your two ten-dots have different pattern, plum blossom are all black, while four-and-six have some reds on it. They are not a pair."


    The short and fat man still refused to accept; pointing to the pair of nines, he said, "Are you saying that your pair of nines has the same pattern? One tile is entirely black, the other has some reds on it, they are not the same. Ten dots is bigger than nine dots."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that this man was stubborn and always wanted to win the argument; temporarily he was at a loss as how to make him understand. He said, "This is Pai Jiu''s rule, it has been always like that."


    The short and fat man said, "Even if it has been always like that, it is still illogical. Anything illogical is out of the question. Are we following reason or not?"


    All along, Li Xihua and the old beggar were only sitting quietly with a smile on their faces, they did not interrupt at all. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Naturally in gambling we must follow the rule; if there is no rule, how can we gamble?"


    "Alright," the short and fat man said, "Let me ask you, the little baby: why is it that my ten dots cannot beat his nine dots?" While saying that, he picked a pair of plum blossoms and slammed it in front of him.


    "Uh, yours was not this pair," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The short and fat man was furious; both sides of his cheeks were bulging, as he shouted, "Muddleheaded kid, who says mine was not this pair?" Picking up the pair of plum blossoms, he casually flipped it over, slapped it onto the table in front of him, flipped it back up, and said, "When I slapped it earlier, it left a mark on the table, just look!"


    He saw a clear impression of the tiles on the table, as if the dots of a pair of plum blossoms were embossed on the wood. His hand strength was indeed not weak; Wei Xiaobao was agape and tongue-tied, he was speechless.


    The peasant said, "Right, right, laoxiong won. Here''s a hundred taels." He picked a silver yuanbao and pushed it to the front of the short and fat man. And then he picked thirty-two tiles and turned them over. After shuffling it for a while, he arranged the tiles, eight tiles in a row, four rows in total, neat and tidy rows of tiles. Lightly he pushed the rows of tiles to the middle of the table, and then he also pushed the large pile of money in front of him forward.


    Wei Xiaobao had keen eyes; he could see a neat and tidy impression of the thirty-two tiles on the table. Although the impression was not as deep as the plum blossoms earlier, it was only a faint and barely visible imprint on the wood, but considering his movement was very light, apparently his martial art skill was not below that of the short and fat man''s. As he pushed the tiles forward, most of the imprint was uncovered. In a glance Wei Xiaobao could see pair by pair of ''heaven'', ''earth'', and ''men'' in a row. He knew the peasant was secretly playing tricks.


    The short and fat man pushed two hundred taels toward the Heaven Gate as his stake. "Throw the dice, throw the dice!" he called out. Turning toward Li Xihua and the old beggar he said, "Quickly put your bet down, why are you so slow?"


    Li Xihua laughed and said, "Laoxiong is so impatient, why don''t the two of you gamble?"


    "Very well," the short and fat man said. Turning to the old beggar he asked, "Are you going to make a bet?"


    The old beggar shook his head. "I won''t. Departing ten beats departing nine, this kind of Pai Jiu I don''t know how to play."


    The short and fat man was angry. "Are you saying I was wrong?" he asked.


    "I said I don''t know how to play," the old beggar replied, "I have never said you were wrong."


    "Damn it," the short and fat man angrily cursed, "You are all not a good thing. Hey, little baby, you are babbling nonsense in here, are you going to gamble or not?" Naturally the last question was directed toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Let me help the banker," he said, "Dage here, I want to form partnership with you to be the banker; can I?" While saying that, he took eight or nine small gold ingots from his pocket and put them on the table. The shiny gold was gleaming, it worth at least a thousand taels of silver.


    "Alright," the peasant said, "Xiao Xiongdi has good fortune and good luck, we are guaranteed to win."


    The short and fat man angrily said, "Are you saying I am guaranteed to lose?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If you are afraid of losing, you may bet a little less."


    The short and fat man was furious. "I want to bet two hundred more taels," he said, while taking two more yuanbao and put them on the Heaven Gate.


    The peasant said, "Xiao Xiongdi''s luck in gambling is good; you throw the dice."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao replied. Picking up the dice, he weighed it in his hands, and to his great delight, he found out that the dice were loaded with lead. He thought, "Unexpectedly the dice in this gambling establishment also have this kind of secret." At first he was afraid that he was a bit rusty, his hand was out of practice, but as soon as he picked the lead-loaded dice, he felt relieved instantly. His mouth mumbled, "Spirit of Heaven, spirit of the Earth, the first spirit of gambling deity, Bodhisattva, little demon of the dice carrying the yuanbao, one by one enter in! Clear kill!" While his mouth was shouting, his fingers turned, he threw the dice into the bowl; as expected, he got seven dots. The Heaven Gate took the first set, the banker took the third set.


    By looking at the impression on the table, Wei Xiaobao knew that the short and fat man had a ''four and six'', and a ''tiger head'' [i.e. five and six], valued at one dot, while his side got two pairs of ''earth'' [i.e. double one]. "Laoxiong," he said to the peasant, "I threw the dice, you look at the tiles. Win or lose, it is decided by the mandate of Heaven."


    The peasant picked the tiles, felt it with his fingers, and put it down on the table.


    "Ha!" the short and fat man exclaimed as he flipped the ''four and six'' tile. "Ten dots," he said, "Wonderful!" And then with another ''Ha!'' he flipped the ''tiger head'' and said, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven; eleven dots. Wonderful!" Reaching out, the opened up the banker''s tiles and said, "One, two, three, four; four dots altogether. My twenty-one dots eat your four dots. I win!"


    Wei Xiaobao and the peasant looked at each other in dismay. The short and fat man said, "Quickly pay!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "More dots win, less dots lose, regardless of heaven or earth, pair or no pair, is that right?"


    "Why not?" the short and fat man said, "How can more dots lose to less dots? Your four dots want to win against my twenty-one dots?"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s the rule." He paid the short and fat man four small gold ingots, saying, "Each gold ingot worth a hundred taels of silver. Place your bet."


    The short and fat man was very happy; he laughed and said, "I still bet four hundred taels, if I bet more, I am afraid you will lose and become anxious."


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the tile imprint on the table, he threw five dots. The banker picked the tiles first, it was a pair of ''heaven'' [i.e. double six]. The short and fat man got a ''long three'' [i.e. double three] and a ''bench'' [i.e. double two]. Both tiles combined, the number of dots was still less than one ''heaven'' tile. He cursed under his breath, yet he had no choice but to pay. And then he bet four hundred taels again.


    Three sets of hand later, the short and fat man lost everything, there was not a single tael left in front of him. His face was bulging deep red like a blood ball. His short and fat arms groped around his pocket, but he could not find anything that he could bet. Suddenly he pointed to Zhao Qixian, who was still lying on the floor, and said, "This fellow worth several hundred taels, doesn''t he? I bet him." While saying that, he picked Zhao Qixian and put him on the table.


    Zhao Qixian''s acupoints were sealed, he could not move a hair. The old beggar suddenly said, "Wait a minute, it was zaixia who caught these several Imperial Bodyguards, how could laoxiong take them as your bet?"


    The short and fat man replied, "I just want to borrow them, can I?"


    "If you lost, how are you going to pay me back?" the old beggar asked.


    The short and fat man was startled. "I won''t lose," he said.


    "Just in case laoxiong''s luck is not good, and you lost?" the old beggar asked.


    "That''s easy," the short and fat man said, "Presently in the city of Liuzhou Imperial Bodyguards are indeed not a few; I''ll just go grab some and pay you back."


    The old beggar nodded. "That will work," he said.


    The short and fat man urged Wei Xiaobao, "Quickly throw the dice."


    By this time the set of tiles had already been used up. Wei Xiaobao said to the peasant, "Would laoxiong shuffle and arrange the tiles just like before?"


    Without saying anything the peasant shuffled the thirty-two tiles back and forth on the surface of the table. After a while, he arranged the tiles in a square. Wei Xiaobao was startled; not only he did not see any new imprint on the table, even the previous imprint was also erased by him secretly exerting his internal energy while he was pushing and rubbing the tiles around; what''s left was only faint traces of horizontal and vertical lines so that Wei Xiaobao could not distinguish the dots anymore.


    If the short and stout man was still betting gold and silver, Wei Xiaobao would not mind too much, he would let the peasant gamble with him; who would win, who would lose, it had nothing to do with him. But right now, placed on the Heaven Gate as the bet was Zhao Qixian, while he could not shirk from being the banker. Since he would not know where the strong suit would be, loaded dice or not, it would be worthless.


    "Since only two people gambling," he said, "Why must we play Pai Jiu? Won''t it be better just to play dice? He who has more dots, win."


    The short and fat man shook his round head like a kettledrum, "Laozi loves to play Pai Jiu," he said.


    "You don''t understand Pai Jiu," Wei Xiaobao said, "What will you play?"


    The short and fat man was furious; he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s chest, raised him up, and gave him a good shaking. "Your granny," he said, "Are you saying I don''t understand Pai Jiu?"


    Being shaken randomly like this, the bones in Wei Xiaobao''s body were crackling. Suddenly he heard someone behind him calling out, "Let him go, you must not do that!" It was precisely Fat Toutuo''s voice.


    The short and fat man''s right hand raised Wei Xiaobao high in the air. "Uh, how can you be here?" he asked in surprise, "Why can''t I do this?"


    They heard Lu Gaoxuan''s voice replying, "This is Wei �� Wei Daren; he has a very special background, you must by all means not offend him. Quickly put him down."


    The short and fat man was delighted. "He �� he is Wei �� Wei �� damn it, he is Wei Xiaobao? Ha ha, wonderful, wonderful! I happen to be looking for him. Ha ha, finally I found him." While saying that, he turned around and headed out toward the door, with his right hand still carrying Wei Xiaobao.


    Both Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan barred his way. "Shou Zunzhe [lit. thin revered master]," Lu Gaoxuan said, "Since you already knew Wei Daren''s background, why are you still this rude? Quickly put him down."


    The fat and short man said, "Even if Jiaozhu is here personally, I would still not letting him go. Unless he gives me the antidote."


    "Don''t make a scene," Fat Toutuo said, "You did not take the leopard �� that pill, what do you need the antidote for?"


    "Humph," the short and fat man replied, "You don''t understand anything. Quickly get out of the way, don''t blame me for being impolite to you."


    With his body hanging in the air, Wei Xiaobao heard the exchange between these three people, he mused, "So this short and fat man is actually Fat Toutuo''s Shixiong, Thin Toutuo. No wonder he is unusually fat, and amusingly short."


    At the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful the other day, there was a big-meatball-like freak hiding inside the fake Empress Dowager''s quilt, who was then ran out stark naked while carrying her out of the Palace. Afterwards Wei Xiaobao inquired of Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, and found out that it was Fat Toutuo''s martial brother Thin Toutuo. It was because that day he was running away so fast that Wei Xiaobao did not see his appearance clearly, so much so that although he had been gambling with him for half a day, he had not recognized him.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was churning, "Fat Toutuo once said that in the past he and his Shixiong, Thin Toutuo, two men, were sent on a mission overseas by Jiaozhu, and were unable to return within the appointed time, to such an extent that the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill they took flared up. Fat Toutuo became tall and thin, while thin Toutuo became short and fat. By this time the two of them have already taken the antidote, yet their original stature did not return. So why would this short and fat man want the antidote? Ah, right, the poison of the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill in the old wh0re fake Empress Dowager''s body has not been neutralized. This Thin Toutuo slept with her under the same quilt, obviously they are lovers." He said in a loud voice, "You want the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill antidote, yet you still have not put me down?"


    As soon as Thin Toutuo heard the five characters ''leopard embryo tendon-altering pill'', his entire fat body immediately shivered. Bending his right arm, he put Wei Xiaobao down, stretched out his left hand and said, "Bring it out quickly."


    "You are so rude to me, humph, humph! What did you just say to me?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Thin Toutuo suddenly leaped forward, pressed his left hand on Wei Xiaobao''s back, and shouted, "Bring the antidote out quickly." The point his fat left hand pressed on was precisely the ''Da Chui'' [big hammer/spine] acupoint. If he exerted a bit of strength in his palm, Wei Xiaobao''s heart arteries would be shaken and would break immediately.


    Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan called out together, "You must not do that!"


    Their voice had not disappeared, three palms already landed on Thin Toutuo''s body. The old beggar''s palm rested on the ''bai hui'' [hundred meeting] acupoint of the crown of his head. Li Xihua''s palm was pressing on the ''yu zhen'' [jade pillow] acupoint on the back of his head. The peasant''s palm was actually pushing on his face, the forefinger and middle finger were pressing above his eyelid. The ''bai hui'' and ''yu zhen'' were two vital acupoints on a human''s body, plus if the farmer exerted slightly more strength onto his fingers, he would be able to dig the Thin Toutuo''s eyeballs out. Thin Toutuo, however, was really too short; compared to Wei Xiaobao, he was still half a head shorter, so that when the three of them made their moves together, they had to target his round head, because they could not conveniently reach the vital acupoints on his chest or back.


    When Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan saw the way the three men move, they knew that these three were martial art experts. If the three of them exerted their strength simultaneously, perhaps Thin Toutuo''s fat head would be immediately crushed to pulp. "You must not do that!" they cried out together.


    "Short and fat," the old beggar said, "Quickly let him go."


    "As soon as he give me the antidote, I''ll let him go," Thin Toutuo replied.


    The old beggar said, "If you don''t let go, I''ll exert my strength!"


    Thin Toutuo said, "If I have to die anyway, we''ll perish together ��" Suddenly, Fat Toutuo''s right palm moved toward the old beggar''s flank, while Lu Gaoxuan''s palm went toward the back of Li Xihua''s neck.


    Fat and Lu, two people, were standing really closed behind them. They were wearing the uniform of Valiant Cavalry Sergeant. Although from the earlier exchange the old beggar and Li Xihua knew that these two men were acquainted with Thin Toutuo, they had never expected that these two people''s martial art skill was extremely superior. In just one move they already fell under their control.


    Fat and Lu, two people, spoke at the same time, "Everybody let go!"


    The peasant suddenly removed his palm from Thin Toutuo''s face, and swiftly moved both palms toward Fat and Lu, two people''s backs. "You two let go first," he said.


    "Ha ha," Li Xihua laughed, "This is fun! Interesting, interesting!" He removed his palm from Thin Toutuo, but quick as lightning the palm landed on the top of the peasant''s head.


    This way, Wei Xiaobao, Thin Toutuo, Li Xihua, Lu Gaoxuan, Fat Toutuo, the peasant and the old beggar, seven people were under the other''s control, each one of them had his vital point under the other''s palm. In that instant the seven of them were like clay figurines or wooden statues, nobody dared to make a reckless move. Wei Xiaobao was the only one being threatened, but did not threaten anybody else. He was also the only one who was fully aware of why his vital point was under someone else''s control; it was an unfathomable mystery to the other six people.


    "Zhang Kangnian!" Wei Xiaobao called out.


    By this time, other than several casino workers huddled at the corner, only Zhang Kangnian remained inside the gambling establishment. "Cha!" he replied. ''Shua!'' he pulled his saber.


    "Dog Imperial Bodyguard," Thin Toutuo yelled, "Come here if you have guts!"


    Zhang Kangnian raised his yaodao saber; but afraid that this short and fat man might harm Wei Xiaobao, he did not dare to take even one step closer.


    Wei Xiaobao was surrounded in the middle. He felt that in among the strange things that had happened to him in his entire life, nothing was more strange than this. "Interesting, interesting!" he called out, "Short and fat, kill me with one palm, it''s not a big deal. You yourself will die, it''s not a big deal. But you will never get the leopard embryo tendon-altering pill''s antidote. That old lover of yours, the flesh of her entire body will rot piece by piece; she will have a rotten bald head first, and then ��"


    "Stop it!" Thin Toutuo shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Her face will rot, one by one her eyes, nose, ears will fall, the holes will appear ��"


    Right this moment, suddenly from the entrance of the hall someone said, "In here!" And then someone else said, "Seize them all!" Everybody turned their heads at the same time toward the entrance. Suddenly a white ray flashed; someone with a sword in his hand circled around them. They felt the vital points on their back, flank, waist, shoulder, slightly went numb, as their acupoints were sealed. In an instant, they all went down to the floor.


    They saw three people were standing at the door. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Ah Ke," he called out, "You have finally come ��" But as soon as the word ''come'' came out of his mouth, his heart sank, and he stopped immediately. He saw two men standing by her side, on her left was Li Zicheng, on her right was the person he loathed the most in all his life, Zheng Keshuang. On the east was a man who had just put the sword back into its sheath, standing with arms akimbo, and a cold laugh on his face; it was none other than ''One Sword without Blood'' Feng Xifan.


    Thin Toutuo, the old beggar, Li Xihua, Fat Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan and the peasant, six martial art masters had their hands threatening each other''s vital points; this one did not dare to move, that one also did not dare to move. Suddenly another martial art master appeared, without expending the slightest effort he managed to paralyze them all; even Zhang Kangnian was also hit by the sword.


    Thin Toutuo was sitting on the ground, but compared to when he was standing, he actually did not appear too much shorter. "What kind of ''thing'' are you?" he angrily shouted, "You dare to seal laozi''s ''yang guan'' [positive pass] and ''shen tang'' [divine hall] acupoints."


    With a cold laugh Feng Xifan said, "Your martial art skill is not bad at all, unexpectedly you know which acupoints of yours are being sealed."


    Thin Toutuo angrily said, "Quickly unseal laozi''s acupoints, I''ll fight you. What kind of damn hero are you, launching a sneak attack like that?"


    Feng Xifan laughed, "Are you a hero?" he said, "Damn it, a hero who is lying on the floor, unable to move at all."


    Thin Toutuo angrily said, "Laozi is sitting on the floor, not lying on the floor. Damn it, don''t you have eyes?"


    Feng Xifan raised his left foot and lightly pushed on Thin Toutuo''s shoulder. Thin Toutuo fell face up. But the fat on his buttocks was unusually thick, the weight on his entire body was concentrated there, so that when he fell down, although he could not exert any strength, his body involuntarily sat back up.


    Zheng Keshuang laughed aloud and said, "Ke Mei, look, don''t you think this roly-poly toy is fun?"


    Ah Ke smiled and said, "It''s very strange."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "You wanted to find this little demon to take revenge, finally your cherished dream has arrived. Are we going to catch him and slowly control him, or just kill him with a stab of the sword?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he thought, "Little demon, these two characters can only mean me; could it be that Ah Ke is looking for me to take revenge? But I have never offended her."


    Clenching her teeth, Ah Ke said, "As soon as I see this man, I get angry; I''ll just kill him with a stab of the sword." While saying that, ''shua!'' she drew the sword and walked toward Wei Xiaobao.


    "Don''t kill him!" Thin Toutuo, Fat Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, the old beggar, Li Xihua, and Zhang Kangnian, six people shouted together.


    "Shijie," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have never ��"


    "I am not your Shijie!" Ah Ke angrily said, "Little demon, you are always thinking of harming me, of humiliating me!" Lifting her sword, she thrust it toward the pit of Wei Xiaobao''s stomach.


    Everybody cried out in alarm. But they saw the sword bounced back. Turned out Wei Xiaobao was wearing his treasured vest to protect his body, the sword was unable to penetrate.


    Ah Ke was startled. "Pierce his eyes!" Zheng Keshuang said.


    "Right!" Ah Ke said. Raising her sword, she thrust it forward again.


    Suddenly from the corner of the roof someone flew down and threw himself on Wei Xiaobao''s body. The sword stabbed the person''s shoulder. Holding Wei Xiaobao in his arms, the person brought him rolling toward the corner of the hall, away from the sword, while pulling the dagger from Wei Xiaobao''s boot and held it in his hand. This person was also wearing Valiant Cavalry Sergeant uniform, his movement was nimble, his stature short and small, his face was covered in mud and dirt, hence his appearance was unclear.


    Seeing he willingly took the sword on Wei Xiaobao''s behalf, everybody thought, "This person is very loyal."


    Feng Xifan drew his sword and slowly walked over. He shook his sword that it turned into a flower sword with more than a dozen petals. Suddenly there was a ''Ding!'' the sword in Feng Xifan''s hand was cut into two, while blood was gushing from the Valiant Cavalry Sergeant''s shoulder. Turned out the person used Wei Xiaobao''s dagger to break the sword in the opponent''s hand; if not for the fact that Wei Xiaobao''s dagger was incomparably sharp, perhaps by this time he was dead. With the sword stab from Ah Ke on his shoulder earlier, his shoulder suffered two sword wounds in a row.


    Feng Xifan''s countenance turned pale. "Humph," he snorted, and threw the broken sword to the floor. Temporarily he could not make up his mind; should he fetch another sword and attack again or not?


    "Ha ha," Wei Xiaobao called out, "One Sword without Blood Feng Xifan, you stab a soldier under my command that he shed this much blood. Your title should be changed, you should be called ''Half Sword with Blood'' Feng Xifan."


    With his left hand pressing on the wound on his shoulder, with his right hand the Valiant Cavalry Sergeant massaged the acupoints on Wei Xiaobao''s chest and back, trying to unseal them.


    Fat and Thin, two Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, Li Xihua, and the others were controlling each other when suddenly someone else launched a sneak attack and hence all of them had fallen into this plot, in their hearts they all were very dissatisfied. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, they all burst out laughing. The old beggar said in a loud voice, "Half Sword with Blood Feng Xifan, marvelous, marvelous! Speaking about shameless people in the world, Sire can be considered number two."


    "Why is he considered number two?" Li Xihua asked, "Would you care to advice?"


    The old beggar said, "Compared to Wu Sangui, this Half Sword with Blood''s skill seems to be a bit lacking."


    They all burst out laughing. Li Xihua said, "In my opinion, the difference is quite a lot."


    Feng Xifan had always been extremely proud of his martial art skill; hearing everybody was scoffing at him like that, he could not stop his entire body from trembling. If right now he picked another sword and attacked that Valiant Cavalry Sergeant, to injure him would be as easy as turning his hand over; but of course it would not be fitting to his status. Staring at the sergeant, he asked, "What''s your name? I won''t take your life today, but next time you come into my hand, I will make you die a miserable and unspeakable death."


    The sergeant replied, "I �� I ��" His voice was very tender and delicate.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in surprise and delight, "You are Shuang''er, my precious, good Shuang''er!" Reaching out, he removed her hat, her long hair fell down, draping over her shoulder. Wei Xiaobao embraced her waist with his left arm, and said, "She is my little servant girl. Half Sword with Blood, you can''t even defeat my little servant girl, yet you are still tooting your horn?"


    Feng Xifan was extremely angry; he raised his left foot, ''Crash! Bang!'' he kicked the gambling table in the middle of the hall, along with all the piles of coins and yuanbao, plus Zhao Qixian who was lying on the table. The table flew up and crashed onto the roof. Money and Pai Jiu tiles rained down on Thin Toutuo and the others'' heads; they all cursing and yelling. Without saying anything Feng Xifan turned around and left.


    Right this moment, two men walked side-by-side through the main gate. "Get out of my way!" Feng Xifan shouted, and pushed with both hands. The two men blocked with their palms; as their two palms met Feng Xifan''s two palms, the three of them made stifled grunts. The two men fell back several steps, their backs crashed heavily onto the wall. Feng Xifan swayed; he took a deep breath, and walked out in big strides. ''Wah!'' the two men spurted out a mouthful of blood. Turned out they were Feng Jizhong and Priest Xuanzhen.


    In quick steps Wei Xiaobao walked over to support Feng Jizhong, while asking Priest Xuanzhen, "Daozhang [Taoist priest], are you alright?"


    Xuanzhen coughed twice before answering, "I am alright. Wei �� Wei Daren alright?"


    "Not bad," Wei Xiaobao replied, as he turned his head to look at Feng Jizhong. Feng Jizhong nodded with a forced laugh. His martial art skill actually far surpassed Xuanzhen, but when exchanging palm strike just now, he happened to receive Feng Xifan''s right palm, hence he received a lot stronger palm force, consequently, his injury was heavier than Xuanzhen.


    "Wei Xiongdi," Li Xihua said, "In your Valiant Cavalry Regiment the number of capable persons is indeed not a few!" Turns out the clothes Feng Jizhong and Xuanzhen were wearing were also Valiant Cavalry Sergeant uniform.


    "Ashamed, ashamed!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He heard more footsteps, Qian Laoben, Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao, three people also walked in.


    Seeing the increasing number of Wei Xiaobao''s subordinates, Ah Ke signaled Li Zicheng and Zheng Keshuang with her eyes, she wanted to retreat.


    Li Zicheng walked over to Wei Xiaobao, he stomped the monk staff in his hand heavily to the ground, and said in a stern voice, "A real man clearly distinguish gratitude and grudges; the other day your Shifu did not kill me, today I will spare your life. From now on, if you cast a glance toward my daughter, speak a word to her, I will smash your body into mincemeat."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "A real man gave his words, so what? The other day at the Three-Sage Nunnery you and your lover Chen Yuanyuan have already promised to give Ah Ke to me in marriage, could it be that you want to renege? You won''t allow me to cast a glance toward my own wife, to speak a word to her, how can there be such a father-in-law in this world?"


    Ah Ke was so mad that her face turned deep red. "Father," she said, "Let''s go. Don''t talk rubbish with this kid! He �� his dog mouth will never grow ivory, how can he speak anything good?"


    "Very good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Finally you acknowledge him. This is your parents'' order, are you going to obey or not?"


    Li Zicheng was angry; raising his monk staff up, he shouted, "Little b@stard, you haven''t shut up?"


    Qian Laoben and Xu Tianchuan charged forward immediately; two sabers went to chop Li Zicheng''s back. Li Zicheng swung his monk staff backwards, ''Dang!'' he parried the two sabers.


    Gao Yanchao had already drawn his saber and held it across his chest, while he stood in front of Wei Xiaobao to protect him. He shouted, "Li Zicheng, in the city of Kunming, who has saved your lives, father and daughter? Forget favors and violate justice, you have no sense of shame!"


    In the past Li Zicheng ran amuck in the world, founded a dynasty and called himself the Emperor, nobody in the world did not know that. As soon as Gao Yanchao shouted his name, the old beggar, Thin Toutuo and the others cried out in alarm.


    Li Xihua loudly said, "You �� you are Li Zicheng? You are unexpectedly not dead? Good, good, good!" His voice was filled with rage.


    Li Zicheng stared at him. "What is it?" he asked, "Who are you?"


    Li Xihua angrily said, "I wish I could eat your flesh and sleep in your skin. I thought you have died long ago. Laotianye have eyes. Very good!"


    "Humph," Li Zicheng snorted. "In all my life laozi have killed people like scything flax," he said with a cold laugh, "I don''t know how many tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands people in the world wanted to kill me to take revenge, yet isn''t laozi still alive and well? You want to take revenge, I am afraid it won''t be that easy."


    Ah Ke pulled his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Father, let''s go." Li Zicheng stomped his monk staff on the ground again, and then he turned around and walked toward the door. Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang followed behind him.


    "Li Zicheng," Li Xihua called out, "By this time tomorrow, I am waiting for you in here. If you are a hero, come and fight me one on one, we''ll decide who will live and who will die. Do you have the guts?"


    Li Zicheng turned his head to look at him, his face showed contempt; he said, "When laozi traversed the earth, you, this kid, have not even been out of your mother''s womb. Whether the Ol'' Li is a hero or not, I don''t need Sire to tell me." Stomping his monk staff, he went out.


    Everybody looked at each other in silence; they all thought that there was a truth in what he just said. Li Zicheng killed people like scything flax, common people slandered him much but praised him little. Yet he was a hero who dared to do what he said he would do. Even people who hated him to their bones cannot deny this fact. By this time he was already old, yet he still carried that god-like imposing aura around him. Almost nobody in the hall had weak martial art skill, they were all Jianghu veteran, yet when he swept them with his gaze, they still could not stop fear from creeping up their hearts.


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You clearly betrothed your daughter to me to be my wife, but now you denied it. I say you are a coward, a fart hero."


    Seeing Shuang''er was tearing her clothes to wrap the wound on her shoulder, he helped her attending to her injury. "Good Shuang''er," he asked, "How did you come? I am lucky that you arrived coincidentally to save me, otherwise my wife would have committed premeditated murder on her own husband, she would have pierced my eyes blind."


    "It was not a coincident," Shuang''er replied in a low voice, "I have always been by Xianggong''s side. It''s just that you did not know."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised. "You were always by my side?" he repeatedly asked, "How can that be?"


    "Hey," Thin Toutuo called out, "Quickly unseal my acupoints, quickly give me the antidote; otherwise, humph, humph, laozi will immediately smash your head into pulp!"


    Suddenly the hall was filled with ha ha, heh heh, hey hey, and hee hee laughter. Wei Xiaobao''s subordinate kept coming in, while this extremely short and extremely fat fellow had his acupoints sealed, he was unable to move a single step, yet he unexpectedly uttered some threatening words; everybody thought it was laughable.


    Thin Toutuo angrily said, "What are you laughing at? What''s so funny? When my acupoints are unsealed and he still has not given me the antidote, you''ll see if I am going to smash his head into pulp or not."


    Qian Laoben raised a single-blade saber and with a giggle he came over, saying, "Right now if I chop your damn head three times, I wonder if laoxiong''s head will burst open or not?"


    "Do you have to ask?" Thin Toutuo angrily retorted, "Naturally it will burst open!"


    Qian Laoben laughed and said, "While your acupoints are not opened yet, I will smash your head into pulp first, so that when your acupoints are unsealed, you can''t smash my master''s head into pulp." When the people heard this, they roared in laughter again.


    "My acupoints are not sealed by you," Thin Toutuo angrily said, "If you smash my head into pulp, you can''t be considered a hero."


    Qian Laoben laughed. "Why do I care whether you consider me a hero or not," he said, "I am not a hero to begin with." While saying that, he raised his saber.


    Fat Toutuo called out, "Wei �� Wei Daren, my Shixiong is rude and has offended you, please forgive him, let subordinate apologize on his behalf. Shige, quickly apologize. Wei Daren is also your superior; don''t you know it?" He could not turn his neck, so when he talked to Wei Xiaobao and Thin Toutuo, he was unable to face them.


    Thin Toutuo said, "If he gives me the antidote, let''s not talk about apologizing, I am even willing to kowtow, or be his ox or his horse. But if he does not give me the antidote, I am going to smash his melon head into pulp."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "What''s so good about that old wh0re that you unexpectedly show her this much kindness and devotion?"


    While they were still talking, suddenly they saw the peasant cupped his fist and walked out from among the crowd, saying, "Everybody, Xiongdi must say good bye now."


    All of them were shocked; the eight of them had their vital acupoints sealed by Feng Xifan. Other than Wei Xiaobao who had his acupoints massaged by Shuang''er, the remaining seven people were unable to lift a finger. Feng Xifan''s internal energy entered the acupoint via the tip of his sword, it was very formidable, even people with higher martial art skill would still need two to four hours to be able to move again. This peasant''s appearance was just like ordinary farmer of rural area. When he was playing Pai Jiu a moment ago he was able to press the tiles until they created an impression on the table; obviously he was a martial art master with profound internal energy; however, in just a short period of time he was unexpectedly able to open his own acupoints, it was indeed a skill that was seldom heard. They saw him dragging his shoes as he limped away.


    Wei Xiaobao told Qian Laoben, "Unseal our brothers'' acupoints. This Li �� Mr. Li is also one of our own." While saying that, he pointed toward Li Xihua.


    "Yes," Qian Laoben complied.


    He put the saber back into its scabbard, and was about to unseal Li Xihua''s acupoints when suddenly the old beggar said, "Ming restore Qing fought, mother Earth father Heaven." [ming fu qing fan, mu di fu tian]"Ah," Qian Laoben exclaimed in surprise. Xu Tianchuan stepped forward to massage the old beggar''s back several times, and then he walked around to face the old beggar with the thumbs of both hands bent toward the old beggar''s face.


    Tian Di Hui brethren were numerous; it was hard for them to know their fellow brothers. When someone was initiated into the Society, often times they would use the phrase ''Heaven is my father, Earth is my mother, Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming'' [tian fu di mu, fan Qing fu Ming] eight characters to recognize a fellow brethren. But in the presence of outsiders, they must not reveal their secret; hence they usually reversed the eight characters, so that even if the outsiders heard it, they could not make head or tail of it. Xu Tianchuan saluted the old beggar with crooked fingers was also part of the secret signal they used in front of other people.


    Qian and Xu, two people successively opened the sealed acupoints of Li Xihua, Fat Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, three people. Only Thin Toutuo was left sitting on the floor. His entire face was bulging red, as he shouted, "Shidi, why haven''t you unsealed my acupoints? Damn it, what are you waiting for?"


    "Unsealing acupoints is not difficult," Fat Toutuo replied, "But you must not be rude toward Wei Daren."


    "Who told him not to give me the antidote?" Thin Toutuo angrily said, "It is he who offends me, not I offend him! If he gives me the antidote, I''ll consider he apologizes to me, laozi will let bygones be bygones, and that''s the end."


    Fat Toutuo was hesitant, "This is difficult," he said.


    The old beggar shouted, "You, this short and fat fellow, you keep rambling on and on. Let''s not talk about Wei Xiongdi does not give you the antidote, even if he wanted to give, I will urge him not to give." Stretching out his right hand finger, ''Chi!'' a gust of strong wind shot toward Thin Toutuo. Followed by two fingers, ''chi, chi'', the acupoints on Thin Toutuo''s body were immediately opened.


    Suddenly a large meatball shot up from the floor and pounced on Wei Xiaobao. ''Whoosh!'' the old beggar''s palm swiftly struck out, Thin Toutuo''s body was still in the air, his palm also struck out, his body shot up again. His martial art skill was indeed superior. He flipped midair, and pounced on the old beggar with both palms struck toward the top of the beggar''s head. The old beggar''s left foot flew up toward Thin Toutuo''s lower back. Thin Toutuo swiftly reversed his palms. The force of his palms collided with the force of the old beggar''s leg, his fat body flew up to the air.


    Thin Toutuo''s body stayed in the air like a big rubber ball. The old beggar striking with his palms and kicking with his feet, but all along he failed to hit him. This short and fat fellow looked clumsy and funny, yet he was surprisingly very agile; his feet never touched the ground, yet he was able to turn around as he pleased.


    Li Xihua and the Tian Di Hui warriors could be considered experienced and knowledgeable, yet in all their lives they had never seen movements like Thin Toutuo was demonstrating just now. Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan watched the fight with rapt attention. They saw how in each move the old beggar''s strength was swift and fierce; Thin Toutuo''s more than two-hundred-catty body was kept fluttering in the air and did not fall down by the old beggar''s sheer power.


    The two people fought tighter and tighter, the wind from the fists and palms were forcing the spectators to stand with their backs against the wall. Suddenly they heard Thin Toutuo shouted with his strange voice as he launched the move ''five nails opening the mountain''; his left palm struck out first, his right fist followed, both were aimed at the crown of the old beggar''s head.


    "Good move!" the old beggar shouted. He squatted and launched the move ''the King of Heaven supporting the pagoda'', to meet the attack head-on.


    Two tremendous forces collided. Thin Toutuo soared back into the air, his back crashed onto the beam. ''Crack! Bang!'' The roof tiles, mud and dirt rained down; the dust and sand in the hall rose up. Thin Toutuo pounced down again, the old beggar pulled back to evade. Thin Toutuo''s attack hit an empty space, ''Crash!'' he fell heavily to the ground.


    The old beggar roared in laughter, but before his laugh stopped, Thin Toutuo had already shot up again; fast and nimble beyond belief his head flew toward the old beggar''s chest. Everybody could see that this strike carried an overwhelming power. The old beggar sidestepped; his right palm landed on Thin Toutuo''s buttocks, with a loud shout he exerted his internal energy to give him a push.


    The momentum of Thin Toutuo''s strike was already huge, on top of that, the old beggar''s internal strength was also very powerful; two tremendous forces worked together, Thin Toutuo flew even faster, his head crashed into the wall. Everybody thought that his brains would definitely burst open from the impact. They all cried out in alarm. Fat Toutuo grabbed a casino worker standing on the corner and threw him toward the wall. ''Bonk!'' Thin Toutuo''s head struck his chest and abdomen, penetrated his belly and crashed into the wall, creating a big hole on the wall.


    He stood up shakily, his big fat head hung down, dripping with the casino worker''s blood and intestines. Frantically he wiped his face with both hands while cursing angrily. "Damn it, what trick was that?"


    Everybody was overwhelmed with shock and amazement. The old beggar shouted, "Are we going to continue fighting or not?"


    "If my body was still big and tall like in the past," Thin Toutuo replied, "You would not be able to beat me."


    "What about now?" the old beggar asked.


    Thin Toutuo shook his head. "Now I cannot beat you," he said, "I am finished, I am finished!" Suddenly he leaped and slammed through the wall. With a loud rumble another large hole appeared on the wall, even the casino worker''s body also vanished into the hole.


    "Shige, Shige!" Fat Toutuo called out, and flew out through the hole.


    "Wei Daren," Lu Gaoxuan said, "I''ll go take a look." With feet first his body flew horizontally out through the hole, he still managed to cup his fist to salute Wei Xiaobao; his style was amazing, the people cheered together.


    Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben and the others all thought, "Where did Wei Xiangzhu get these two subordinates? Their martial art skill is surprisingly amazing; it is ten times higher than ours."


    Li Xihua cupped his fist and said, "I can''t accompany you much longer." And he left via the main door in quick steps.


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist toward the old beggar. "Xiongtai [another way of saying ''brother'']," he said, "Would you let them go?" While saying that, he pointed to Zhao Qixian and the others.


    The old beggar chuckled and said, "Sorry for the offense." Casually he pulled Zhao Qixian and the others up. Nobody saw him massaging those men, but with just these grabs, he had opened these Imperial Bodyguards'' acupoints.


    "Many thanks," Wei Xiaobao said, and ordered Zhao Qixian, Zhang Kangnian and the others to return first.


    Xu Tianchuan looked at Shuang''er and asked, "Is this Miss Wei Xiangzhu''s trusted friend?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We don''t need to conceal anything from her."


    The old beggar said, "Although this Miss is young, her loyalty and righteousness is difficult for others to follow. If she had not acted boldly, disregarding her own safety just a moment ago, protecting her master with devotion, Wei Xiongdi''s eyeballs could not be protected."


    Pulling Shuang''er''s hand, Wei Xiaobao said, "True, true. Luckily she has saved me."


    Listening to these two people complimenting her in front of everybody, Shuang''er was bashful; her entire face reddened, she lowered her head and did not dare to meet anybody''s gaze.


    The old beggar replied, "Henceforth it is passed on to the brothers, afterwards we will know each other and have a reunion."


    When Wei Xiaobao was initiated into the Heaven and Earth Society, the brethren had informed him on all kinds of ceremonial protocol and secret codes within the Society, they also made sure that he memorize everything well. The secret codes were actually very unrefined and common, the sentences seemed to make sense, yet they did not really made any sense. Tian Di Hui brethren were mostly Jianghu people, more than half came from the same background as Wei Xiaobao; their eyes could not recognize the letter ''T'' [i.e. totally illiterate]. If the secret codes were too abstruse, how could the Society brothers remember?


    When he heard the old beggar reciting the secret codes to identify each other, Wei Xiaobao immediately caught on, "Entering the Hong Gate for the first time, one swears brotherhood with older brothers; that day the oath was clearly made with sincerity."


    The old beggar recited, "Two trees pine and cypress standing on the left and right, in the middle was Hong Flower Pavilion where the oath of brotherhood was made."


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "The brothers are in front of the Loyal and Righteous Hall, the elected general with millions of soldiers in the middle of the city."


    The old beggar said, "Coming to the front of Fu De [lit. good fortune and virtue] Ancestral Hall willing to swear brotherhood, fighting the Qing restoring the Ming I am Hong Ying."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiongdi Wei Xiaobao, the current Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu; may I ask Xiongzhang''s [I don''t understand why the Chinese use so many different words for ''brother''] respected surname and great given name? Which Hall do you belong to? And which duty do you currently serve?"


    The old beggar said, "Xiongdi Wu Liuqi, currently serving as the Red Banner Xiangzhu of the Great Obedience Hall. Today I can meet Wei Xiangzhu and the other brothers, truly I am delighted."


    Everybody was pleasantly surprised to learn that this man was unexpectedly the well-known-throughout-the-world ''Iron Beggar'' Wu Liuqi; they all bowed with cupped fist to pay their respect. Xu Tianchuan and the others announced their surname and given name; they all said that they have long admired him.


    Wu Liuqi was the provincial governor of Guangdong, commanding the massive military force in the whole province. In the past he was advised by Zha Yihuang, and his ''fighting the Qing restoring the Ming'' spirit was aroused; he secretly joined Tian Di Hui, and had held the Red Banner Xiangzhu position of the Great Obedience Hall ever since.


    Tian Di Hui paid special attention to the character ''Hong''. First, it was because Ming Taizu''s [first Ming Emperor] regnal name was Hong Qu. Second, the ''hong'' ( �� ) character was actually the character ''han'' ( �h ) minus the character ''tu'' [earth] ( �� ); the idea was that our Han people had lost our land, had become captive in an occupied land. Thereupon the Tian Di Hui brethren call themselves ''Hong Ying'', signifying they would not forget their origin, and that they were determined to restore their land.


    The Red Banner Xiangzhu was not the official Xiangzhu, it did not involve commanding the Hall''s brethren either, but this position was actually above the official Xiangzhu, a position that was highly respected in the entire Society, second only to their Zongduozhu. The fact that Wu Liuqi was the Red Banner Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui was a top secret, even Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben, and the others did not know.


    Wu Liuqi pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand and said with a laugh, "Wei Xiangzhu, you went to Yunnan on a mission to deal with the big traitor Wu Sangui, Zongduozhu dispatched an order to our Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, four provinces'' brothers to provide support as the circumstances allow. As soon as I received the order, I sent ten competent brothers to Yunnan to provide help in secret. However, Wei Xiangzhu handled everything appropriately, Green Wood Hall brothers are also very able, in everything you were able to turn peril into safety; our Great Obedience Hall did not need to help anything. A few days ago we heard that Wei Xiangzhu and the brothers have arrived in Guangxi, hence Xiongdi put on my disguise to rendezvous with you, brothers."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "My Enshi [benevolent master], the Senior is very attentive; Wu Xiangzhu''s good intention, your Xiongdi is indeed very grateful. Wu Xiangzhu''s great name, on the four seas no one has not heard; turns out you are our Society brother, that is a top-notch, made-me-want-to-jump-with-joy, seriously-pleasant kind of news." Actually, today was the very first time he ever heard of Wu Liuqi''s name, but seeing Xu Tianchuan and the others showed deep veneration to him, their faces lit up with delight, he simply blurted out several bootlicking sentences.


    Wu Liuqi laughed and said, "Wei Xiongdi killed the big treacherous court official Oboi with your own hand, now that is something ''on the four seas no one has not heard''. We are all on the same side, no need for words of politeness. I have offended the Imperial Bodyguards under Wei Xiongdi''s command, it was only to invite you to come here; please do not blame me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "His granny," he said, "Those fellows are dog skin who were unlucky, they lost money yet did not want to accept. Wu Dage made them eat a little bit of suffering, you taught them a lesson, so that next time they gamble they would follow the rule. Xiongdi still needs to thank you very much." Wu Liuqi roared in laughter.


    After they were all seated, Wu Liuqi asked about the Yunnan mission. Wei Xiaobao briefly explained to him. When Wu Liuqi heard that they had obtained conclusive evidence that Wu Sangui was about to revolt, he was greatly delighted, and talked incessantly of his commendation. "When this traitor rises into rebellion, he will definitely attack Guangdong. This time we must go all out with him. When this treacherous bandit has been defeated, we will withdrew the troops again to the north to strike Beijing."


    While they were still talking, the Latter Family Hall Xiangzhu Ma Chaoxing rushed in; he was introduced to Wu Liuqi, it was a warm meeting. They talked about what had just happened in the gambling establishment. Wu Liuqi cursed Feng Xifan all around, saying that he surreptitiously carried out sneak attack, that he was treacherous and despicable, and that Wu Liuqi would definitely have a good fight with him. Wei Xiaobao also told them about how Feng Xifan was trying to kill Chen Jinnan in Beijing. Wu Liuqi stretched out his hand and heavily slapped the gambling table, saying, "In this case, we will deal with him in here; first, to avenge Guan Fuzi, second, to get rid of one big danger from a trusted aide for Zongduozhu, third, to wipe away the humiliation we suffered today from his sneaky scheme." In all his life he seldom met a worthy adversary; this time he unexpectedly fell under Feng Xifan that he was unable to move a finger, no wonder he was incomparably furious.


    Ma Chaoxing said, "Li Zicheng was the big rebel who caused the Son of Heaven Chongzhen''s death; since he has come to Liuzhou, we must not let him off easily." Tian Di Hui was loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen was hounded by Li Zicheng until he finally hanged himself on Coal Hill. Since that time, Tian Di Hui had been regarding Li Zicheng as their enemy.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Zheng Family of Taiwan flaunts the Great Ming''s Banner, yet this fellow Zheng Keshuang is going the same way as Li Zicheng, in which case he also has become a rebel. Since we started, we might as well carry it through whatever happens, we''ll deal with him as well. We will get rid of one more big danger from a trusted aide for Zongduozhu."


    Everybody looked at each other in dismay, nobody said anything. Tian Di Hui was a subordinate of the Zheng Clan of Taiwan. There was no harm in killing Feng Xifan, but they must not kill Zheng Er Gongzi [Second Young Master]. Besides, it was very clear in everybody''s mind that Wei Xiaobao wanted to kill Zheng Keshuang, 99% was to use his official authority for private interests.


    Wu Liuqi changed the subject by asking Wei Xiaobao about the background of the Fat and Thin Toutuo. Wei Xiaobao gave a vague answer, saying that Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan were Jianghu friends who were indebted to him, hence those two were very loyal to him. Wu Liuqi admired that peasant who was able to unseal his own acupoints very much, he said, "In all my life Xiongdi only submit to very few people, this gentleman''s martial art is extremely brilliant, Xiongdi is ashamed of my own inferiority. There are very few people with this kind of skill in Wulin world. I have racked my brain trying to think it over, yet I cannot find out his identity."


    They all discussed it over briefly. Ma Chaoxing sent his Hall''s brothers to investigate where Li Zicheng, Feng Xifan''s and the others were staying, while helping Feng Jizhong, Xu Tianchuan and Shuang''er to tend to their injury.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Shuang''er how did she follow him along the way? What happened was that after she lost contact with Wei Xiaobao on Mount Wutai, she looked for him everywhere. Later on she learned from the monks at the Qing Liang Temple that Wei Xiaobao had returned to Beijing, hence she also returned to Beijing, naturally the man Wei Xiaobao sent to summon her could not find her. By that time Wei Xiaobao was heading south, immediately she set on a journey to catch up with him, and managed to overtake him before they even reached the border of Hebei province. Being a young girl, she had different thought; she was worried that after Wei Xiaobao became a high ranking Tatar official, he would not want her to serve him anymore. Thereupon she stole a set of Valiant Cavalry Sergeant uniform, disguised herself and mingled among the Valiant Cavalry Brigade. She had been following him to Yunnan and back to Guangxi. It was at the gambling establishment did she see Wei Xiaobao was in danger, Ah Ke was about to stab his eyes, that she boldly jumped forward to save him.


    Wei Xiaobao was very grateful in his heart, he held her in his arms and kissed her cheek gently. "Silly girl," he said with a laugh, "How can I not want you to serve me? I want you to serve me for the rest of my life, unless you yourself are not willing to take care of me, you want to go off and get married."


    Shuang''er was happy and bashful at the same time, her face blushed as she said, "No, no, I �� I won''t possibly go off and get married."


    That evening Ma Chaoxing arranged a banquet in honor of Wu Liuqi in a Liuzhou brothel. When they were drinking, the Society brothers arrived to report that they have found Li Zicheng and his party, they were in a wooden raft hut on Liujiang River. Liuzhou was rich in lumber. Liuzhou coffins were world-famous. There was a saying, ''Live in Suzhou, doing business in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou.'' The lumber were tied together into rafts, and floated east on Liujiang River. There were countless wooden rafts on Liujiang River. When someone went to hide in one of the raft, it would be difficult for others to find him. If not for the fact that Tian Di Hui had a large number of people locally, perhaps they would be unable to find out.


    Wu Liuqi slapped the table and stood up. "Let us quickly go," he said, "No need to drink the wine."


    Ma Chaoxing said, "It''s still too early, gentlemen may drink slowly. Let Xiongdi make arrangement first, they won''t be able to run away." And he walked out to instruct his subordinates.


    By the second watch that night [between 9-11pm], Ma Chaoxing led everybody to the bank of Liujiang River, and they all boarded two boats. The three Xiangzhu rode on one boat. Without waiting for any instruction, the boatmen rowed immediately. Soon afterwards, seven or eight boats followed some distance away. After rowing for about seven, eight li along the river, the boat stopped. A boatman entered the cabin and said in a low voice, "Reporting to three Xiangzhu: the target is inside the wooden raft directly in front of us."


    Wei Xiaobao peeked out from the cabin''s curtain, and saw a small cabin on the raft, from which came a flicker of yellow light. He looked around and saw boats to the east, and boats to the west; at least there were thirty, forty boats altogether. Ma Chaoxing said in a low voice, "Those boats are ours."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he thought that if one boat had ten people in it, they had three, four hundred people on their side; even if Li Zicheng and Feng Xifan were more formidable, could they fly up to the sky?


    Right this moment, suddenly they heard someone calling out from the river bank while dashing along the same direction the boat was traveling, "Li Zicheng �� Li Zicheng �� you shrink your head like a turtle, where do you think you can hide? Li Zicheng �� come out if you have guts �� Li Zicheng ��" It was Li Xihua''s voice.


    From the wooden raft cabin someone shouted, "Who is making a racket in here?"


    From the riverbank a shadow leaped toward the wooden raft, the sword in his hand flickered under the cold moonlight. Someone came out of the wooden raft cabin, holding a monk staff in his hand; he was none other than Li Zicheng. "You are bored of living, aren''t you? You want laozi to deliver your little life away, don''t you?"


    "I am going to take your life today," Li Xihua replied, "I am just afraid that in your death you will be a confused ghost. Do you know who I am?"


    "The Ol'' Li killed people by millions," Li Zicheng said, "How could I ask their names one by one? Come up here!" These three words ''come up here'' sounded like clap of thunder in the air; it echoed far on the river. With a loud shout the staff swept toward Li Xihua.


    Li Xihua leaned sideways to evade, he stuck the flat of his sword against the body of the staff, and leaped up. And then the tip of his sword shot down from the air. Li Zicheng thrust his staff straight up. Since he was still flying in the air, Li Xihua had no way of evading it, his left foot kicked the head of the staff, borrowing the momentum he made a somersault backward and landed on one foot at the edge of the wooden raft.


    Wu Liuqi said, "Row the boat closer so we can see clearly." The boatmen pulled the oars that the boat moved forward.


    Ma Chaoxing said, "While someone else is holding him, we''d better make our move." Turning to a boatman standing at the bow he said, "Send the signal."


    "Yes," the boatman replied. He took a red lantern from the cabin and hung it on the mast. Immediately from the boats all around them people were slipping into the river.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he repeatedly exclaimed. His martial art skill was too low, he was not too interested in watching one-on-one combat. This time there were several hundred people on his side besieging two people of the opposite party; it was a ''grasp it and victory is assured'' situation, exactly where he wanted to be. Moreover, the people on his side were all skilled in water, they only had to swim to the bottom of the raft, cut the ropes connecting the raft, and the logs would immediately separate. Wouldn''t capturing the opposite party be as easy as stretching their hands?


    As soon as he thought about the wooden raft disintegrating, he said busily, "Ma Dage, there is a young woman in that little cabin, she is Xiongdi''s betrothed wife; you must not let her drown."


    Ma Chaoxing laughed and said, "Wei Xiongdi, don''t worry, I have already arranged it. Among the brothers going down into the river, ten are specifically tasked with rescuing your Madame. These ten brothers have first-class water skill, even live fish will not escape their grasp; I guarantee there won''t be any accident."


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "That''s wonderful." He thought, "It would be best if they let Zheng Keshuang drown." He wanted to ask Ma Chaoxing to issue an order not to save Zheng Keshuang, but eventually he was unable to say so.


    The boat slowly came near. They saw a clump of black shadow and a strip of white shadow circled around and fluttered on the wooden raft in a tight combat. Wu Liuqi shook his head and said, "Li Zicheng has not trained upper-class martial art, he only relies on brute force; in no more than thirty moves, he is going to lose his life under Li Xihua''s sword. It''s hard to imagine that an ambitious and ruthless character of our generation will unexpectedly meet his fate on Liujiang River."


    Wei Xiaobao could not see the fight clearly; he only saw that Li Zicheng was forced to withdraw step by step. Suddenly he heard Ah Ke''s voice from the cabin saying, "Zheng Gongzi, please ask Feng Shifu to quickly help my father."


    "Very well," Zheng Keshuang said, "Shifu, please drive that kid away!" The cabin''s door opened, Feng Xifan walked out with a sword in his hand. By this time Li Zicheng had been forced to withdraw to the edge of the raft; just one more step and he would have fallen into the river.


    "Hey little kid," Feng Xifan called out, "I am going to stab the ''ling tai'' [spirit platform] acupoint on your back." His sword slowly moved forward, it was really going to stab Li Xihua''s ling tai acupoint.


    Li Xihua was about to swing his sword backward to block, suddenly from the cabin''s roof someone shouted, "Hey little kid, I am going to stab the ling tai acupoint on your back!" White light flashed, like a bird someone pounced down, the weapon in his hand went straight toward Feng Xifan''s back.


    This turn of events was indeed beyond everybody''s expectation; nobody expected someone was hiding on the roof of the little cabin. Feng Xifan could not continue his attack toward Li Xihua, he sidestepped and raised his sword to parry the enemy''s blade. ''Dang!'' there was a continuous ringing. The weapon in the newcomer''s hand was a single-edged saber. As two blades collided, both of them were forced to take a step back. "Who''s there?" Feng Xifan shouted.


    The man laughed and said, "I know you are the ''Half Sword with Blood'' Feng Xifan; don''t you know me?"


    Wei Xiaobao and the others were able to see clearly by now, the man was wearing coarse homespun cloth clothing, a plain white cloth was wrapped around his head, a strip of wide blue cloth was wrapped around his waist, and a pair of straw sandals on his feet; he was none other than the peasant who was able to open his own sealed acupoints in the gambling establishment earlier that day. Presumably he was unhappy because had fallen under Feng Xifan''s sneak attack, and had come to avenge the humiliation by the sword.


    Feng Xifan imposingly said, "Based on Sire''s skill, why did you act like a nameless character, hiding the head showing the tail, sneaky and evasive like this?"


    The peasant replied, "Even if I am a nameless character, I am still better than a ''Half Sword with Blood''."


    Feng Xifan was furious; he raised his sword and stabbed straight forward. The peasant neither evaded nor blocked the attack, he simply lifted his saber and chopped down on Feng Xifan''s head. It looked like a desperate move in a fight where both side would suffer, but actually while the saber started to move later, it arrived earlier; the speed was extraordinary. The tip of Feng Xifan''s sword was still about a chi away from the opponent, the opponent''s saber had already reached his forehead. In great alarm he jumped to the left to evade.


    The peasant swept his saber horizontally toward Feng Xifan''s waist. Feng Xifan waved his sword down to parry. The single-blade saber in the peasant''s hand suddenly changed direction, light as feather, hacking down on Feng Xifan''s left arm. Feng Xifan leaned sideways to evade, and counterattack with a stab. Still the peasant did not block, he simply turned his saber toward Feng Xifan''s wrist.


    The two of them had exchanged three moves, unexpectedly the peasant had attacked three times. His appearance was simple, wooden and slow, with 30% sign of stupidity, but his saber technique was swift, fierce and ruthless. Saber technique like his was seldom seen in Wulin world. Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing were secretly surprised and amazed.


    "Hold on!" Feng Xifan called out suddenly. Leaping two steps back, he said, "Turns out Sire is the Hundred Victory ��"


    "If you want to fight then fight," the peasant shouted, "Why talk too much?" Leaping forward, ''whoosh, whoosh, whoosh'' his saber attacked three times.


    Feng Xifan was unable to speak leisurely, he had no choice but to brace himself to counter every move. Feng Xifan''s swordsmanship had also reached profound attainments; since he now focused all his attention to withstand the enemy, the peasant could no longer hold the upper hand. The sword and saber moved sometimes fast sometimes slow, sometimes the two weapons collided with each other several dozen times in rapid succession, sometimes they circled around each other without colliding for even once.


    On the other front, Li Zicheng and Li Xihua were still fighting fiercely. Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke, each with unsheathd weapon in their hand, were standing close to Li Zicheng, ready to help. Li Zicheng brandished his monk staff to block each attack, the power behind it was ''hard'' and violent; although Li Xihua''s swordsmanship was exquisite, for a short while he was unable to close the distance.


    After fighting for a while, Li Xihua suddenly pulled his arms and legs close to his body, and rolled around. When he rolled close to the enemy''s legs, suddenly the tip of his sword went up diagonally toward Li Zicheng''s lower abdomen. "Do you think you can live pass today?" he shouted.


    It was the move ''lying on overturned cloud'', the unique skill handed down by Song Dynasty''s Liangshan Lake hero Langzi [wanderer] Yan Qing, a very exquisite technique, incomparably fast and nimble, impossible for the opponent to guard against. Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang were shocked; but by the time they realized Li Zicheng was under the enemy''s control, it was already too late to help.


    Suddenly Li Zicheng threw his head back and roared. Everybody was stunned, their ears were buzzing. The power behind this roar was just like a jolt of thunder. Li Xihua was startled, unexpectedly the sword fell from his hand. Li Zicheng''s left leg flew up and kicked him, sending him tumbling away. The head of the monk staff rested against his chest, Li Xihua was pressed in between the staff and the raft, he was unable to move a single step.


    In just a split second the victory and defeat was easily flipped; Li Zicheng only had to pound his monk staff and the ribs in Li Xihua''s chest would be broken, his heart and lungs would shatter into pieces, and he would not be alive anymore. Li Zicheng shouted, "If you admit defeat, I will let you live."


    "Just kill me quickly," Li Xihua replied, "I cannot avenge my father''s big enmity, how can I have the face to live in this world?"


    Li Zicheng let out a long laugh, and then said, "Very good!" He was about to send his strength to his arms to push the monk staff into Li Xihua''s body when a ray of clear, cold moonlight from behind happened to illuminate Li Xihua''s face. He saw his face looked tranquil, with a faint smile on his lips; unexpectedly there was not a trace of fear on it. Li Zicheng''s heart was shaken. "Are you a Henan man by the surname of Li?" he shouted.


    Li Xihua replied, "It''s a pity that from our surname Li there is someone as narrow-minded as you are, a coward who failed to accomplish great things."


    Li Zicheng''s voice was trembling, "Li Yan, Li Gongzi, who is he to you?"


    "So you know," Li Xihua replied, "That''s very good." While saying that he showed a faint smile.


    Li Zicheng lifted the monk staff and asked, "You are Li Xiongdi �� Xiongdi''s son?"


    Li Xihua said, "It''s a shame you still have the face to call my father ''brother''."


    Li Zicheng''s body swayed several times, his left hand was pressed on his own chest. "Li Xiongdi left behind a descendant?" he muttered to himself, "You �� you are Hong Niangzi''s


    [18] son?"


    Seeing Li Zicheng''s monk staff was raised several chi up, Li Xihua sternly said, "Quickly make your move! What do you bring these matters up for?"


    Li Zicheng withdrew two steps back, he rested the monk staff on the wooden raft, and said slowly, "My first blunder in life was precisely harming your father. You cursed me as narrow-minded, a coward who failed to accomplish great things. You are right, absolutely right! You want to avenge your father, which is only natural. In all my life I, Li Zicheng have killed people beyond counting, and I never take it to heart. But killing your father, I �� I am truly ashamed." Suddenly ''Wah!'' he threw up a mouthful of blood.


    Li Xihua had never expected this turn of events; he leaped up and picked his sword. Seeing Li Zicheng''s white beard was full of drops of blood, Li Xihua could not thrust his sword forward. He said, "Since I have seen the shame and remorse in your heart, it beats killing you with the sword." He flew up, his left foot kicked on the very thick rope connecting the wooden rafts, with several leaps he reached the shore, and then after bounding ups and downs several time, he disappeared into the darkness.


    "Father!" Ah Ke called out, and rushed toward Li Zicheng to support him.


    Li Zicheng shook his hand. He walked to the edge of the raft, his left foot stepped out, his body then went down into the river. "Father!" Ah Ke cried out in fear, "You �� you must not ��" They all saw no movement on the surface of the river, and thought that he must have killed himself by drowning; they were all startled and found it surprising.


    After a while, they saw the top of Li Zicheng''s head appeared on the surface of the river. Turned out he was holding his breath while walking along the bottom of the river. The iron monk staff in his hand was very heavy, hence his body did not float.


    They saw his head and shoulder gradually emerged from the river as he treaded on the shallow water of the river bank. Step by step he climbed up the shore, dragging the iron monk staff, hobbling away slowly.


    Ah Ke turned around and said, "Zheng Gongzi, my father �� he �� he''s gone." ''Wah!'' she broke into crying and threw herself into Zheng Keshuang''s bosom.


    Zheng Keshuang wrapped his left arm around her and gently patted her back with his right hand. "Your father is gone, but you still have me!" he consoled her. But before he could finish, the logs beneath his feet disintegrate. "Aiyo!" they both screamed and fell into the river.


    The experts of Tian Di Hui''s Latter Family Hall who were proficient in water skill dived into the river and cut the bamboo rope binding the wooden raft; the logs separated immediately. Feng Xifan anxiously leaped up; spotting a large log, he lightly landed on it. The peasant also leaped after him. ''Whoosh!'' his saber hacked down on Feng Xifan''s head. Feng Xifan brandished his sword to parry. The two of them continued their fierce combat on the log.


    This fight was several times more difficult compared to the fight they just had on the wooden raft. The log was rolling continuously on the water, hence it was difficult to get a steady footing, plus they could not use it as the base with which they could jump around; yet Feng Xifan and the peasant were able to fight steadily; saber and sword moved back and forth without slowing down the slightest bit. Brought by the river''s current, gradually the log floated to the middle of the river.


    "Aiyo!" suddenly Wu Liuqi exclaimed, "I remember now. This Xiongdi is the ''Bai Sheng Dao Wang'' [Hundred Victory Saber King] Hu Yizhi. He �� how did he turn to be like that? Quickly pursue them, row the boat!"


    "Hu Yizhi?" Ma Chaoxing asked in surprise, "Isn''t he also nicknamed ''Mei Dao Wang'' [Handsome (lit. beautiful) Saber King]? This man is outstandingly handsome; it was said in the past that he was the number one handsome man of Wulin; unexpectedly he disguises himself as a stupid-looking peasant!"


    In the meantime, Wei Xiaobao kept asking, "Have you rescued my wife?"


    Wu Liuqi showed a displeased expression, he stared hard at him, obviously he was saying, "''Bai Sheng Dao Wang'' Hu Yizhi is encountering a powerful enemy, the water surface is treacherous, how can we not immediately go forward to help him? You are only concerned about your woman, you are paying more attention to a lover than friends; it''s not a hero''s conduct."


    Ma Chaoxing called out, "Quickly pass the order: get more people, we must rescue that girl." The boatman on the stern shouted the order.


    Suddenly they saw two men appeared on the surface of the river, holding soaking wet Ah Ke. "We got the girl," they called out. Immediately afterwards, someone on the left also appeared, pulling Zheng Keshuang''s collar and pushed him up to the boat; the man called out, "We also got the boy." Everybody burst into loud laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao felt relieved immediately. Beaming from ear to ear he said, "Let''s go to that ''Hundred Victory Saber King'', see how he is doing against that ''Half Sword with Blood''."


    Under Wu Liuqi''s urging, the four oars had already been rowing that the boat rapidly approached the big log on which Hu and Feng, two people were fighting. Under the bright moonlight they saw white rays flashing on the surface of the river; the two of them were still engaged in close combat.


    Originally these two''s martial art skill was more or less equal, but when Feng Xifan exchanged palm strikes with Feng Jizhong and Priest Xuanzhen earlier during the day, due to Feng Jizhong''s strong internal energy, he had already felt the chi and blood in the pit of his stomach could not flow unimpeded. This moment, after a prolonged battle, he started to feel a dull ache on the right side of his chest.


    Fighting on a continuously rolling log, other than advancing or retreating a step or half step, really there was no room for freedom of action. Hundred Victory Saber King Hu Yizhi''s saber technique was dangerous, the power behind it was fierce, he only attacked and did not defend, each saber strike looked to be a desperate attack with the intention of perishing together. Fighting technique like this, if it was used by someone with mediocre martial art skill, would appear brutish, brazen act of playing dirty; but Hu Yizhi''s saber technique was a style of its own, although it looked dangerous, it was actually executed in calmness. His martial art was strange to begin with, and now he was attacking swiftly and fiercely in a seemingly desperate all-out effort with total disregard of his own life, Feng Xifan could not help but was intimidated, plus he also noticed the boat that was coming fast. On the bow stood several men, as he took a quick glance, he was surprised to recognize the old beggar, whom he had met at the casino earlier, was among those men.


    Giving a loud shout, Hu Yizhi struck to the left once, and to the right twice, he struck upward once, and downward twice; six saber strikes altogether, one after another. Feng Xifan did everything he could to block, yet in his frantic effort he still managed to counter with two sword strikes. His defense was exceptionally tight.


    "Good saber technique! Good sword technique!" Wu Liuqi praised.


    Hu Yizhi brandished his saber directly onto Feng Xifan''s face. Feng Xifan retreated half a step, while bending his upper body backward to evade, his sword swept to the front to shield his body. By this time his left foot was stepping on the tip of the log, his heel was already in the water, he could not retreat even for half a cun more. Hu Yizhi chopped down three more times, Feng Xifan countered with three sword strikes, unexpectedly he did not retreat at all. With a loud shout, Hu Yizhi raised his saber up and hacked down. Feng Xifan leaned sideways to evade, to his surprise, however, Hu Yizhi did not pull back, the saber continued chopping down. ''Crash!'' he chopped the log into two sections. Feng Xifan was standing on the tip of the log, as soon as the log was cut, "Ah!" he cried out and fell into the water.


    Hu Yizhi threw his saber toward Feng Xifan. Submerged in the water, Feng Xifan did not have any way of evading, seeing the steel saber flying toward him, he also quickly threw his sword. ''Clang!'' the saber and the sword collided midair, creating sparks in the dark; both weapons were thrown far away and fell into the river. Feng Xifan dived into the water and disappeared.


    Hu Yizhi was secretly alarmed, "This man has a superb water skill; had I fell into the river together with him a moment ago, I would have fallen into his evil scheme."


    Wu Liuqi called in a loud and clear voice, "Hundred Victory Saber King, your name is not in vain! I have witnessed your divine skill today, it has indeed broaden my horizon. How about coming onboard and drink a cup of wine?"


    "Thank you for your hospitality!" Hu Yizhi replied, and leaped onto the boat.


    The bow was only sinking slightly, unexpectedly the hull did not sway at all. Wei Xiaobao did not understand the difficulty of this jump, but Wu Liuqi, Ma Chaoxing and the others were full of admiration. Wu Liuqi cupped his fist and said, "Zaixia Wu Liuqi. This gentleman is Ma Chaoxing Xiongdi, this one is Wei Xiaobao Xiongdi. We are all Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu."


    Hu Yizhi raised his thumb and said, "Wu Xiong, the fact that you belong to Tian Di Hui is a top secret; if this matter is leaked out, the lives of your entire family cannot be protected. We just met for the first time today, yet you did not conceal anything to Xiongdi. This kind of heroic spirit is worthy of other people''s admiration."


    Wu Liuqi laughed and said, "If I don''t trust Hundred Victory Saber King, won''t that mean Xiongdi is a despicable lowly person?"


    Hu Yizhi was greatly delighted; he grabbed Wu Liuqi''s hands and said, "These years Xiongdi lives in seclusion, growing vegetables, no longer pay any attention to Jianghu matters; yet unexpectedly today I can become good friends with the Iron Beggar Wu Liuqi." While speaking, they walked hand-in-hand into the cabin. He merely nodded slightly toward Ma Chaoxing, Wei Xiaobao, and the others, and did not pay them any attention.


    Seeing he had defeated Zheng Keshuang''s shifu, Wei Xiaobao was full of admiration and gratitude; he said, "Hu Daxia [great hero] defeated Feng Xifan and threw him into the river, the turtles and terrapins in the river must be biting his body bloody. The ''Half Sword with Blood'' has turned into ''Without Sword with Blood''. Ha ha ��"


    Hu Yizhi smiled and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, your skill in throwing dice is indeed not bad." In saying that, he was actually mocking Wei Xiaobao in that his martial art skill was lacking, that he was only skilled in throwing the dice, in cheating those ''cattle''.


    But Wei Xiaobao did not think it was an insult; he felt very proud instead. He laughed and said, "Hu Daxia''s skill in arranging the tiles is first-class. The two of us brothers working together as the banker, we won not a few of that short and fat fellow''s money. Hu Daxia owns half, when we return, I will give you your share."


    Hu Yizhi laughed and said, "Next time when Wei Xiangzhu becomes the banker, Xiongdi will still help you. Gambling with you, I will definitely not lose."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wonderful, wonderful!"


    Ma Chaoxing ordered his men to replenish the wine. They drank on the boat together. After drinking several cups, Hu Yizhi said, "Since as soon as we met we hit it off right away, Xiongdi does not dare to conceal my problem. Speaking of which, I am actually quite ashamed. For more than twenty years Xiongdi has withdrawn from Jianghu, and live in seclusion at the outskirts of the city of Kunming; it was all because of a woman."


    "In her song," Wei Xiaobao said, "Chen Yuanyuan did mention some hero''s affection. Since he is a hero, naturally he is passionate."


    Wu Liuqi knitted his brows; he thought, "Little kid loves to speak nonsense. What do you know anyway?"


    Unexpectedly Hu Yizhi''s countenance changed slightly; he sighed and spoke slowly, "A hero has no choice but to be passionate. Wu Meicun''s poem was very well-written, but that Wu Sangui is not a hero, he is not passionate either; he is no more than a dirty old man." And then he hummed ''Yuanyuan Song'' softly, "How could a wife consent to shut down such a matter of paramount importance? Reluctant hero is full of affection." Turning to Wei Xiaobao he said, "Wei Xiangzhu, when you were at the Three-Sage Nunnery that day, you listened to Miss Chen singing this song; your ears'' good fortune is indeed not shallow. I have lived by her side on and off for twenty-three years, I have heard this song three times. The last time was thanks to your good luck."


    Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise, "You have lived by her side for twenty-three years? Are you �� are you also Chen Yuanyuan''s love �� lover?"


    With a bitter laugh Hu Yizhi said, "She �� she �� hey hey, she has never even looked at me straight in the eye. I live in the Three-Sage Nunnery, growing vegetables and sweeping the floor, chopping firewood and carrying water, she only knew me as a countryside farmer."


    Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing looked at each other, they both felt strange, thinking that this ''Handsome Saber King'' must be infatuated with Chen Yuanyuan''s beauty so much so that he was willing to be her servant. This man''s martial art skill was very high, his prestige was grand; in the past, he was considered as a first-class character of the Wulin world. Unexpectedly he was most willing to humble himself and do servile work; it was indeed very puzzling. Looking at Hu Yizhi, they saw a man with grey hair, his sparse beard had more white than black, his face was full of wrinkles, his skin dark; how could he be called ''handsome''?


    "Hu Daxia," Wei Xiaobao asked in amazement, "Your martial art skill is superb; why didn''t you just grab Chen Yuanyuan and take her go?"


    When Hu Yizhi heard this, an angry look flitted through his face, a murderous intent flashed through his eyes. Wei Xiaobao was terrified; his grip loosened, the wine cup in his hand dropped, the wine splashed all over the place. Hu Yizhi lowered his head, sighed and said, "That day I was in Chengdu, Sichuan when inadvertently I caught a glimpse of Miss Chen. Ay, that was a predestined relationship. Since that day my soul and spirit turn upside-down, I can''t no longer free myself. Wei Xiangzhu, the ol'' Hu is someone without any future prospect, a man without any ambition. When Miss Chen was in Ping Xi Wang mansion, I became a gardener in the mansion, growing flowers and pulling the weeds for her. When she moved to the Three-Sage Nunnery, I followed her and gathered firewood for her. I have no other desire than to stole a glance of her every morning and evening, and then I would be perfectly contented. How �� how could I treat a beautiful woman with the slightest degree of rudeness?"


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "In that case, you love her this much, but these past twenty years or so, she did not know?"


    Hu Yizhi shook his head with a bitter laugh, "I am afraid to reveal my real identity. Usually, I rarely speak more than three sentences in one day, in her presence I became even more dumbstruck and unable to reply. These past twenty-three years, I only spoke thirty-nine sentences to her. In return, she has spoken to me fifty-five sentences."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You remember very clearly."


    Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing felt sorrowful, they both thought that he even counted clearly the number of time those two people spoke; it was indeed a case of infatuation to the extreme. Wu Liuqi was afraid Wei Xiaobao would babble more nonsense and hence hurt his feeling, so he said, "Hu Dage, our nature is different from each other. Some people like to study martial art like crazy, some love to drink wine, some like to gamble. Chen Yuanyuan is the number one beauty in the world, you appreciate beauty, but your feeling toward her is pure, it is really rare. Xiongdi is being bold, I would like to offer an advice, I wonder if it can be accepted."


    Hu Yizhi replied, "Wu Xiong, please speak."


    Wu Liuqi said, "Thinking about that Chen Yuanyuan, naturally in the past her beauty was incomparable, but by this time, she is growing old, it may be assumed that ��"


    Hu Yizhi repeatedly shook his head, he was unwilling to hear the rest. "Wu Xiong," he said, "Some people are ambitious, yet Xiongdi is a silly big melon. If you look down upon me, let us part now." While saying that, he stood up.


    "Wait a minute!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Hu Xiong, Chen Yuanyuan''s beauty, no one in the mortal world has it; she is like the eternal, celestial fairy. Fortunately Wu Xiangzhu and Ma Xiangzhu have never seen her; otherwise, as soon as they saw her, I am afraid they would also be willing to grow vegetable and fetch water for her, and then our Tian Di Hui will be short two Xiangzhu ��"


    Wu Liuqi secretly cursed in his heart, "Damn it, the little demon is speaking without thinking."


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "�� I have seen her with my own eyes. Her daughter Ah Ke is only half as beautiful as she is, but to be really honest with you, I have already made up my mind that even if I am hacked to pieces, that my body is torn and my bones crushed, I simply have to take her as my wife. At the casino yesterday, she wanted to dig my eyes out, she was vicious and merciless, yet laozi did not care. This matter, laoxiong has seen it with your own eyes, this is not a pretense at all."


    When Hu Yizhi heard this, he was overwhelmed with the feeling that they were fellow sufferers who empathized with each other. He sighed and said, "In my opinion, that Ah Ke seem to be a bit uninterested in Wei Xiongdi."


    "What do you mean a bit uninterested?" Wei Xiaobao said, "She practically hates me to the bones. Damn it �� Hu Dage, please don''t misunderstand, I am simply cursing thoughtlessly, I was not cursing her Ma, Chen Yuanyuan �� [note: damn it (ta ma de) lit. ''his/her mother''] Didn''t that Ah Ke already pierce my chest hatefully with her sword? Later on she also pierced my eyes; if not for my luck was good, she would have murdered her own husband early on. She �� she �� humph, she has taken a liking to that Zheng Gongzi of Taiwan, she is concentrating her thoughts and efforts to be husband and wife with him. Unfortunately that surnamed Zheng did not drown to his death in the river."


    Hu Yizhi sat down, held his hand, and said, "Xiao Xiongdi, in this world, a matter involving feeling like this cannot be forced. You can meet Ah Ke, and can have Shijie Shidi relationship with her, it was already predestined affinity, not whether you can be husband and wife with her. In all your life, you have already seen her many, many times, you have talked to her many, many times. She beats you, she curses you, she uses blade to stab you, it can be said that in her heart she already has you. This is your share of enormous good fortune."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "What you said is very true," he said, "If she take no notice and ignore me, that means in this world there is no me; this feeling is definitely very unpleasant. I''d rather she curses me and beats me, using blades trying to kill me; as long as she does not kill me, it''s alright with me."


    Hu Yizhi sighed and said, "Even if she killed you, that would be very good. If she killed you, she would inevitably feel a little bit guilty. When she is asleep in the night, perhaps she would dream of you; when she is idling with nothing to do during the day, she would occasionally be thinking of you. Don''t you agree that it surpasses the thought that she has never had you in her heart?"


    Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing looked at each other in amazement; they both thought that this man had brought the word ''sentimental'' to the extreme. If not for the fact that they had witnessed his battle against Feng Xifan just now, that they had also seen his martial art skill, which had reached perfection, they would have not believed that this man was the distinguished and accomplished, the elegant ''Handsome Saber King'', whose name was well-known in the four seas.


    Wei Xiaobao was nodding his head again and again, however, as he said, "Hu Dage, indeed you cannot say those words more clearly than that. I had not thought about it before, but when I like a woman, I am determined to make her my wife; I don''t have patience like yours. If Ah Ke really wants me to grow vegetables and fetch water, if she wants me to accompany her for a lifetime, naturally I would do it. But if that Zheng Gongzi is also by her side, laozi will stab him with the knife that a white blade came in, a red blade came out."


    "Xiao Xiongdi," Hu Yizhi said, "What you said is not exactly correct. If you like a woman, you must make her happy, for her sake, not for yours. If she wanted to marry that Zheng Gongzi, then you should help her accomplish her heart''s desire by ''thousand ways, a hundred plans''. If someone is going to harm Zheng Gongzi, for the sake of your beloved, you ought to protect Zheng Gongzi with all your strength; even if you have to deliver your life in the process, you must not harm the essentials [?? Not sure]."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I am afraid I must harm the essentials. Doing business and suffer a loss, Xiongdi is not willing to do. Hu Dage, Xiongdi admires you very much, I really want to bow to you and take you as my master. Not to learn your saber technique, but to learn about your infatuation toward Chen Yuanyuan. This kind of skill, Xiongdi is far inferior to you."


    Hu Yizhi was greatly delighted. "Bowing and taking me as your master is not necessary, but there is no harm in the two of us brothers compare notes and encourage each other."


    Both Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing have never had any regards for women, they thought that the joy houses had no lack of pretty women, as long as they produced white, shiny silver, they could get however many they wanted. It seemed to them that Hu and Wei, these two fellows, had lost their minds and went insane. But the more Hu and Wei, one was old the other young, talked to each other, the more they found out that they shared much in common, they both felt regret of not meeting each other earlier.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao''s desire to take Ah Ke as his wife was a firm resolution, he was determined to overcome countless difficulties, and was willing to undergo any hardship to the end; it was completely different from Hu Yizhi''s infatuation. One was passionately devoted to Chen Yuanyuan, the other was set on possessing Chen Yuanyuan''s daughter. Although their aspirations differed, they found some common ground in this matter. Besides, Hu Yizhi had already concealed this affection in his heart for twenty-three years, he had never revealed it to anyone else. This moment he freely poured out his heart, unexpectedly there was someone nearby who sighed in admiration. Being able to ramble on incessantly, the delight in his heart was unspeakable.


    Seeing Hu and Wei, two people were chatting amiably, Ma Chaoxing felt it was inappropriate to break the two people''s moods. At first he was still listening to their conversation, but as time went by, he felt it was growing more offensive. Both he and Wu Liuqi frowned secretly, they thought, "Wei Xiangzhu is a little child who does not understand anything, nothing we can do about it. You, Hu Yizhi, are old but do not show respect of your seniority, teaching this youngster bad things." They could not stop the disdain in their hearts to grow several points.


    "Xiao Xiongdi," suddenly Hu Yizhi said, "You and I feel like old friends at the first meeting. The one hardest to come by in this life is an intimate friend. As the saying goes, ''Finding a good friend, dying will have no regret''. The Ol'' Hu used to have acquaintances all over the world, but not one person knew me intimately. Today we are brought together by fate, how about the two of us swear brotherhood?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "That is very good," he said; but suddenly he hesitated. "I am afraid there is something that is not proper," he said.


    "What is it?" Hu Yizhi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In case you and I both accomplish our hearts'' desire, you marry Chen Yuanyuan, and I marry Ah Ke, you will be my wife''s father. If we become brothers now, it won''t be appropriate later."


    As soon as Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing heard this, they could not help but bursting into loud laughter. Hu Yizhi''s countenance changed, "Ay," he said indignantly, "You never understand my affection toward Miss Chen. In all my life, I will never raise a finger to touch the corner of her clothes. If I am speaking empty words, let me be like this table." While saying that, he reached out with his left hand, ''crack!'' he grabbed a corner of the small table inside the boat''s cabin, and rubbed it between his hands, the piece of wood turned into splinters, which rained down to the floor.


    "Good martial art skill!" Wu Liuqi praised.


    Hu Yizhi cast him an angry look; he thought, "What''s so good about my martial art skill? My deep love is what''s considered rare. Obviously you are not my intimate friend."


    Wei Xiaobao did not have the ability to copy him grabbing the wood and turning it into dust; he pulled his dagger and lightly cut the other corner of the table, put it on the table, raised the dagger, and conveniently chopped it several times, turning the wood into several small pieces. He said, "If Wei Xiaobao cannot marry Ah Ke to be my wife, let me be like the corner of this tea table, cut by other people into eight pieces, without able to retaliate."


    When the others saw the sharpness of this dagger, they were all amazed, but listening to his oath, they were all amused. Wei Xiaobao said, "Hu Dage, in that case, in all my life I won''t be your son-in-law; let''s swear to be brothers then."


    Hu Yizhi laughed heartily. He pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hands to the bow, took him kneeling down side by side toward the moon, and said, "Hu Yizhi today swear to be brothers with Wei Xiaobao. Hereafter blessing will be enjoyed together, difficulties will be faced together. If I violate this oath, let me be drowned in the river."


    Wei Xiaobao repeated the oath, but on the last sentence, he changed it to ''let me be drowned in this Liujiang River''. He thought, "Definitely I will never betray Hu Dage, but if by any chance I commit a mistake, from now on I won''t come back to Guangxi, hence I won''t be drown in this Liujiang River. If it was any other river, it does not count."


    The two of them laughed aloud, and returned to the cabin hand-in-hand; they looked very intimate to each other already. Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing congratulated the two, the four of them made a toast and drank together. Wu Liuqi was afraid that if these two lovesick sworn brothers would talk about Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke again, he would be sick of listening to them, thereupon he said, "Let''s go back."


    Hu Yizhi nodded his head. "Very well," he said, "Ma Xiong, Wei Xiongdi, I have a request: I want to bring this Miss Ah Ke back to Kunming."


    Ma Chaoxing did not care. Wei Xiaobao, however, was greatly shocked. "Whatever for?" he busily asked.


    Hu Yizhi sighed and said, "That day when Miss Chen saw her daughter for the first time at the Three-Sage Nunnery, that very same night she fell ill. She only called, ''Ah Ke, Ah Ke, why haven''t you come to see your mother?'' She also said, ''Ah Ke, mother only have you, my darling, my precious; mother misses you very much.'' I could not endure listening to her, hence I hurried along to catch up with you. Along the way I painstakingly persuaded Miss Ah Ke to come back, to accompany her mother, but no matter what she flatly refused. This matter cannot be forced; my hands are bound and I am unable to do anything. My only choice was to follow her in secret; my only hope is to persuade her to change her mind. Now she has fallen into your hands, if Ma Xiangzhu wants her to promise that she returns to Kunming to see her mother before you can release her, perhaps she won''t have any choice but to comply."


    Ma Chaoxing said, "In this matter Zaixia does not have any objection; I''ll leave it to Wei Xiangzhu''s discretion."


    "Xiongdi," Hu Yizhi said, "You want to take her as your wife, there will be enough time to do that later, but if Miss Chen does not recover from her illness, she may not see her daughter anymore. This �� this will be a lifelong regret." While speaking the last sentence, his voice broke.


    Wu Liuqi shook his head secretly; he thought, "This man''s heroic spirit has worn down completely, he had turned into a fainthearted man. For the sake of Wu Sangui''s beloved concubine unexpectedly his spirit and soul have turned upside-down like this; where has the lofty quality of a hero and warrior gone? Chen Yuanyuan is one of the chief offenders who forfeited the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains; next time laozi leads my troops to invade Kunming, I will stab her with a knife first."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Dage wants to take her to Kunming, of course you can. But �� but let me be honest with Dage: she and I have been officially wed, we have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth long ago, acting as the matchmaker was Mu Family''s Shaking-head Lion Wu Lishen. Unfortunately my wife is unwilling to get married with me, she wants to remarry that Zheng Gongzi. If she agrees to be husband and wife with me, naturally we can let her go."


    Listening to this point, Wu Liuqi flew into a rage; he could not endure patiently anymore. Raising his palm he slapped the small table heavily, all the wine pot and cups were overthrown. "Hu Dage, Wei Xiongdi," he said in loud voice, "This little girl is unwilling to see her mother; she greatly violates filial piety. She and Wei Xiongdi have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth, and thus they are bound in marriage contract as husband and wife, yet she still wants that Zheng Gongzi, she greatly violates chastity. This kind of unfilial and unchaste woman, why should we let her live in the world? The more beautiful her appearance, the worse her moral quality is. I might as well go and wring her neck, ''crack!'' and be done with it, so that those who hear it won''t be annoyed, those who see it won''t be provoked to anger." With a stern voice he ordered the boatmen, "Row faster, row faster!"


    Hu Yizhi, Wei Xiaobao and Ma Chaoxing, three people looked at each other with changed countenance. They saw his awe-inspiring presence, his scathing murderous intent, the blue veins on his forehead were bulging; obviously he was extremely angry, who would dare to persuade him?


    Their boat gradually approached the river bank. Wu Liuqi called out, "Where are those boy and girl?"


    "They are bound in here," someone on another boat replied.


    Wu Liuqi signaled the boatmen, their boat turned easterly toward the other boat. Wu Liuqi said to Wei Xiaobao, "Wei Xiongdi, you and I are brothers of the same Society, we are as close as flesh and blood brothers. As your Gege, I cannot bear to see you making mistake because of woman''s charm, and thus ruining your life. Today I am going to break it for you."


    With a trembling voice Wei Xiaobao said, "This matter �� must be �� must be discussed carefully."


    "What is there to discuss?" Wu Liuqi said in a stern voice.


    The two boats were getting close to each other. Wei Xiaobao was very anxious as if he was burning inside, he had no choice but to turn to Ma Chaoxing to appeal for help, "Ma Dage, please persuade Wu Dage."


    "There are a lot of good women in the world," Wu Liuqi said, "Your Gege will guarantee that I will find you a wife from an agreeable home to your satisfaction. Why do you reluctant to part with this kind of lowly woman?"


    Wei Xiaobao looked distressed. "Ay, this �� this ��" he said.


    Suddenly, ''whoosh!'' someone leaped up toward the bow of the opposite boat; it was Hu Yizhi. They saw him entering the cabin, and went out from the stern; there was someone in his arms. His movement was extremely fast and nimble, immediately he leaped onto the shore, and then with several ups and downs he was already several dozen zhang away. His voice came from the distance, "Wu Dage, Ma Dage, Wei Xiongdi, I am really sorry for the offense. Someday I will visit you to beg forgiveness and receive punishment." His voice gradually went far away, but because of his abundant chi, it could still be heard clearly.


    Wu Liuqi was startled and angry; he was about to jump to chase after him, but then he saw that Hu Yizhi was already far away. After thinking the better of it, he could not help but roaring in laughter. Wei Xiaobao also clapped his hands and cheered; he presumed that Hu Yizhi took Ah Ke away, naturally he was taking her to see Chen Yuanyuan.

 Chapter - 34 (34)

    Rise and fall of a document to take care of restoring the deer, thousand years of ash to take the great wild goose from the deep by force.


    Shortly afterwards the two boats drew close to each other. The Tian Di Hui brothers pushed Zheng Keshuang out.


    "His granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "You murdered Tian Di Hui brothers, and wanted to harm Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu; I must cut your chest and open your belly. Hot piece mama, you know very well that Ah Ke is my wife, yet you dare to fool around with her." While saying that, he stepped closer and ''slap, slap, slap, slap'', he slapped him on the face from left and right four times.


    Zheng Keshuang had drunk a lot of river water, he had lost the will to resist; seeing Wei Xiaobao''s devilish appearance, he begged, "Wei Daren, please consider my father''s face and spare my life. From this day forward, I �� I will no longer dare to speak one sentence to Miss Ah Ke."


    "What if she speaks to you?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I will not reply," Zheng Keshuang said, "Otherwise �� otherwise ��" Whatever it was, momentarily he was not able to decide.


    "You speak like you fart," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''d better cut your tongue first, so that even when you want to speak to Ah Ke, you won''t be able to." While saying that, he pulled his dagger, and then shouted, "Stick out your tongue!"


    Zheng Keshuang was greatly alarmed. He hastily said, "I won''t speak with her; if I speak even one word, I am a scoundrel b@stard."


    Wei Xiaobao was afraid Chen Jinnan might punish him, hence did not really dare to kill Zheng Keshuang. "In the future, if you ever be rude to Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu and brothers later, if you ever dare do some dubious thing to my wife, thinking to make a green hat for laozi to wear, laozi will insert a sword into your adulterer head." He raised the dagger and lightly tossed it forward. The dagger went straight into the bow of the boat.


    "I don''t dare, I don''t dare," Zheng Keshuang hastily said, "I will not dare to do that anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head toward Ma Chaoxing and said, "Ma Dage, it was your Latter Family Hall who caught him, please deal with him."


    Ma Chaoxing sighed and said, "Guoxing Ye [Koxinga, lit. ''Master of Guoxing''] is such a hero, his grandson is actually a good-for-nothing kid."


    Wu Liuqi said, "When this man returns to Taiwan, he would surely make things difficult for Zongduozhu, we''d better cut him into two, then I guarantee we won''t have any future trouble."


    Zheng Keshuang was greatly alarmed. "No, it won''t happen," he busily said, "When I return to Taiwan, I will ask my father to make Chen Yonghua, Mr. Chen an officer, a very high-ranking officer."


    "Humph," Ma Chaoxing snorted, "Do you think Zongduozhu will like that?" Lowering his voice, he said to Wu Liuqi, "This man is Zheng Wangye''s son; if we kill him, I am afraid the charge of ''killing the master'' will fall upon Zongduozhu."


    Tian Di Hui was founded by Chen Yonghua under Zheng Chenggong''s [Koxinga''s real name] order. Chen Yonghua was the head of Tian Di Hui, but he was still an officer under the Taiwan''s Yanping Jun Wang. If the Society brothers killed Yanping Jun Wang''s son, although Chen Yonghua was not present, he would not escape responsibility.


    Wu Liuqi thought he was right; pulling with both hands, he snapped the ropes binding Zheng Keshuang. Standing him up, Wu Liuqi shouted, "Get lost!" and threw him to the shore. Immediately Zheng Keshuang flew out as if he was soaring over the clouds or riding on the mists, crying out ''wah, wah'' while still in the air; he must have expected that when he dropped, his muscle would be broken and his bones fractured. Who would have thought that as his butts landed on the ground, he slid over a grassy lawn? Although his body was aching from the shock, he was not injured at all. Quickly he crawled up and ran away. Wu Liuqi and Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter.


    Ma Chaoxing said, "This fellow disgraced Guoxing Ye''s face."


    Wu Liuqi asked, "How did this fellow murder our Society brothers and harm our Zongduozhu?"


    "It''s a long story," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Let''s go ashore, Xiongdi will tell Dage in details." Looking at the horizon, he said, "There are black clouds over there, I am afraid heavy rain is coming; let us come ashore quickly." A burst of strong wind came, it blew everybody''s clothes that it made rustling noise; they mouths and noses were blown by the wind.


    Wu Liuqi said, "This storm will be most likely a big one, let us sail to the middle of the river, we can drink wine and talk in the midst of big wind, big rain; it must be very interesting."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he hastily said, "This little boat may not be able to withstand the wind; if it capsized, won''t it be bad?"


    Ma Chaoxing smiled. "No need to worry about that," he said. Turning his head around, he gave the boatman some orders; the boatman complied, he went to the bow and raised the sail.


    By this time the wind was picking up speed, the sail received the full force of the wind, like an arrow the boat sailed to the middle of the river. The waves billowed, the small boat went up and down abruptly, the water from the river splashed into the cabin. Wei Xiaobao bore the nickname ''little white dragon'' in vain, since he did not have any water skill. While it''s true that he was still ''little'', and by now his face was ''white'' from the terror, apparently he had nothing to do with the character ''dragon''.


    Wu Liuqi laughed and said, "Wei Xiongdi, I don''t have any water skill either."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised. "You can''t swim?" he asked.


    Wu Liuqi shook his head, "I never learn," he said, "As soon as I saw water, I am dizzy and light-headed."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Then �� then why did you tell the boat to sail to the middle of the river?"


    Wu Liuqi laughed and said, "Everything in the world, the more frightening it is, the more I wanted to try it. The worst that could happen is that the billow will overthrow the boat, then everybody will become Liujiang River ghosts; it''s not such a big deal. Besides, Ma Dage''s nickname is ''Xijiang Divine Dragon


    [19]''; how excellent do you think his water skill is? Ma Dage, let us agree in advance: if the boat did capsize, you must rescue Wei Xiongdi first, and then rescue me next."


    Ma Chaoxing laughed. "Alright," he said, "It''s a deal." Wei Xiaobao felt slightly better.


    Presently the wind and waves were getting stronger, the little boat was tossed around, sometimes it went up more than a zhang into the air, and then suddenly dropped straight down as if the boat was heading to the bottom of the river. Wei Xiaobao was thrown up, and then ''bang!'' he landed heavily on the cabin''s floor. "My goodness; that was serious!" he cried out in a shrill voice.


    The sail made a loud flapping noise, the rain poured down, followed by a burst of gale, blowing the lanterns on the bow and the stern of the boat off; the lantern inside the cabin also went off. Wei Xiaobao cried out again, "Aiyo, not good!" From inside the cabin he peered outside, and saw the surface of the river was white with the surging waves. The wind was strong, the rain heavy; there was grandeur in the power of nature.


    "Xiongdi, don''t be afraid," Ma Chaoxing said, "This storm is indeed violent, I will take the helm." Walking to the stern, he shouted at the boatman, ordering them to go into the cabin. The storm was usually bad, the two boatmen had just reached the mast when they were blown by the wind that they nearly fell into the river. They held on to the mast tightly and did not dare to let go.


    In the big storm, the boat was suddenly blown that it leaned to one side. Wei Xiaobao was thrown to the left; he screamed in terror, while in his heart he cursed, "This is the old beggar''s damned weird idea. You yourself don''t know how to swim, you don''t want to go someplace else to play, yet you are going to this gale and heavy rain in the river to play a joke? The wind is big the rain is big, your Mama''s belly is also big."


    The gale brought torrential rain with it. Burst after burst of rain invaded the cabin. Wei Xiaobao was already drenched from head to toe. Suddenly they heard loud crashing noise, the sail mast broke, the hull leaned to the side. Wei Xiaobao was thrown to the right. ''Crash!'' his head bumped onto the small table. Suddenly he had a thought, "I have not been unfair to Hu Dage, why should I be drowned to death in Liujiang River today? Aiyo, that''s right, when I made that oath, I was having evil designs in my heart that someday I would cheat on him. Jade Emperor, Yan Wang of the Ten Palace, Guanyin Bodhisattva who helps those in distress, with all sincerity Wei Xiaobao wants to enjoy blessing and endure hardship together with Hu Dage. But what blessing would we enjoy together? If he marry Chen Yuanyuan �� could it be that I will also ��"


    Amidst the wind and the rain, suddenly he heard Wu Liuqi opened his mouth and sang loudly, "Walking to the waterfront, the heart is filled with resentment, but to whom can I talk to? Old tears are blown by the wind, a lone city walls, the eyes piercing the distance hoping for a rescue, exerting all my strength to destroy the troops in bloody battle. Jumping out the tight encirclement, longing with grief of the old country, who knew the song would end leaving the bamboo mat empty? Along the Chang Jiang [Yangzte River], the head in Wu and tail in Chu in three thousand journeys, home exhausted the surname left behind, the rain turns over the cloud changes. Cold wave rolls up to the east, everything is handed over to the smoke in the air. The spirit moves in a prominently big way, the voice pursues the horizon where the sea meets the sky."


    The sound of singing was carried far on the surface of the river; although the wind and the rain were loud, they could not suppress his voice. From the stern Ma Chaoxing did not stop cheering. He called out, "What a good verse! The voice pursues the horizon where the sea meets the sky!"


    Listening to him singing fervently, Wei Xiaobao did not understand what he was singing about. He cursed in his heart, "You have such a nice voice, why don''t you go up the stage and become an actor [orig. ''hua mian'' �C flowery/fancy face]? The Old Beggar, with a loud voice calls, ''Master, Madame, please give alms some leftovers and cold rice'', then you won''t die hungry."


    Suddenly from the distance someone with a clear and resonant voice called out, "Throughout the ages the Southern Dynasties'' words were passed on, grieving heart and tears of blood scattered on mountains and plains."


    The call was coming from a very far distance, yet in the mid of storm it was heard very clearly; obviously that man''s internal energy was very profound. Wei Xiaobao was startled. He heard Ma Chaoxing called out, "Is that Zongduozhu? Xiongdi Ma Chaoxing here."


    "Precisely," from the other side came the reply, "Is Xiaobao there?" It was indeed Chen Jinnan''s voice.


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised. " Shifu," he called out, "I am here." But in that storm, how could his voice travel far?


    Ma Chaoxing called out, "Wei Xiangzhu is here. We also have Great Obedience Hall''s Red Banner''s Wu Xiangzhu."


    "Wonderful!" Chen Jinnan replied, "No wonder he sang a song on the river, his voice resounding into the clouds." From his voice it was evident that he was genuinely happy.


    Wu Liuqi said, "Subordinate Wu Liuqi pays his respect to Zongduozhu."


    "We are all brothers here," Chen Jinnan said, "No need to be polite." His voice sounded closer, the boat he was riding was approaching fast.


    The storm had not abated, from inside the cabin Wei Xiaobao looked out, the river was pitch black, with only a dot of light slowly moving on the river''s surface toward them, Chen Jinnan''s boat still had a lantern on it.


    After quite a while, the lantern arrived near them. The bow of their boat sank slightly; Chen Jinnan had already jumped onboard. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Shifu is here, this time my little life will be saved." He rushed toward the cabin entrance, but in the darkness he could not see Chen Jinnan''s face, so he only called out again, "Shifu!"


    Chen Jinnan pulled his hand and dragged him back into the cabin. "This storm is really bad," he said with a laugh, "Are you scared?"


    "Not bad," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing also entered the cabin to pay their respect. Chen Jinnan said, "I went into the city, and was told that you went to the river, hence I came to look for you. I did not expect the storm to be this bad. If it were not for Wu Dage singing loudly, I would never found you."


    Wu Liuqi said, "Subordinate''s spirit was aroused, I was only incurring Zongduozhu''s ridicule through my poor performance."


    Chen Jinnan said, "We, brothers, match each other. The song Wu Dage sang, was it the ''Sinking in the River'' from the play ''Peach Blossom Fan''?"


    "Precisely," Wu Liuqi said, "This song was written about the history of Ge Bujing who loyally fought the enemy, and sacrificed himself by drowning in the river. Xiongdi usually love to listen to this song the most. This time the storm flared up on the river, I could not stop myself from singing it."


    "You sang very well," Chen Jinnan praised, "Indeed very good."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out this song is called ''Sinking in the River''. Why didn''t you sing form a good play, but sang this bad luck play instead? If you want to sink into the river, please excuse Xiaodi for not keeping you company."


    Chen Jinnan said, "The other day on the Jiaxing boat, Zhejiang, I heard Mr. Huang Zongxi, Mr. Lu Liuliang, and Mr. Zha Yihuang, the three Jiangnan scholars telling me about Wu Xiong''s past achievements; Xiongdi was full of admiration. Although you and I are brothers of the same Society, Xiongdi has so many complicated businesses I need to take care of; all along I failed to pay you a visit in Guangdong. Wu Xiong''s capacity is unusual, you cannot come to the north either. Unexpectedly today we can be together here; this is indeed a great comfort in my life."


    Wu Liuqi said, "Ever since Xiongdi entered Tian Di Hui, there was not a day I did not wish to see Zongduozhu. There is a saying in Jianghu, ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain.'' Starting today, I can call myself a hero. Ha ha, ha ha ��"


    Chen Jinnan said, "Jianghu friends praised me too much, I am really ashamed."


    The two of them were genuinely happy to see each other, there was instant bond between them as they talked freely about their long life''s aspiration; immediately they forgot the wind and the rain outside the boat.


    After chatting for a while, the storm gradually subsided. Chen Jinnan asked about Wu Sangui''s affair, Wei Xiaobao told him everything in thrilling details, unavoidably he added spices and soy paste; as well as everything else they had been through, so that it was the first time even for Ma Chaoxing to hear about it. Chen Jinnan was very delighted to hear that they had obtained the Mongolian emissary Hantiemo, a conclusive proof that Wu Sangui would definitely raise arm to rebel. When he heard about Luocha Country was going to respond Wu Sangui from the north by seizing a large of territory outside the Pass, he could not help knitting his brows and did not say anything for half a day.


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Luocha Country people have red hair and green eyes, those we do not need to be afraid, at most we won''t look at their faces too much and that''s the end. Their firearms, however, are very formidable. When their guns explode, no matter what kind of hero or warrior you are, you won''t be able to withstand."


    "That is the reason I am worried," Chen Jinnan replied, "Wu Sangui and the Tatars fighting each other until both sides suffer, that is exactly the golden opportunity bestowed by the Heaven to restore our Han people''s mountains and rivers. However, we drive the tiger out from the front door, and let the wolf come in from the back door. We drive away the Tatars, the Luocha Country, who is more ferocious that the Tatars, will come and occupy our beautiful rivers and mountains. How can that be good?"


    Wu Liuqi asked, "Is there really nothing we can do to handle the Luocha Country''s firearms?"


    "There is one person," Chen Jinnan replied, "I may introduce him to the two gentlemen." Walking to the cabin''s mouth, he called, "Xingzhu, come over here."


    From the opposite boat someone replied, "Yes." He leaped onboard and entered the cabin. He bowed slightly toward Chen Jinnan. This man was about forty years old, his stature was thin and small, his face carried a heroic expression.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Please meet Wu Dage, Ma Dage. And this is my disciple, surnamed Wei." The man bowed with cupped fist. Wu Liuqi and the others stood up and returned the propriety.


    Chen Jinnan said, "This is Lin Xingzhu, Lin Xiongdi. He has been in Taiwan working with me, a very competent man. When Guoxing Ye defeated the red-haired devils in the past and captured Taiwan, Lin Xiongdi has rendered great merit."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Lin Dage has fought with the red-haired devils; that is very good. Luocha devils have firearms, the red-haired devils also have firearms. Lin Dage must have a way to deal with them."


    Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing applauded together; they both said, "Wei Xiongdi''s brain is very quick."


    At first Wu Liuqi did not take Wei Xiaobao seriously, he thought that it was only because he was the Zongduozhu''s disciple that he achieved such a high position as the Xiangzhu of the Green Wood Hall. Although for the past few years the Green Wood Hall had accomplished not a few meritorious deeds, it was not necessarily because of this young fellow. Seeing him to be infatuated with Ah Ke, his despise was elevated by several degrees. However, this time he could not help but admiring him, "This little baby can see matters very quickly, he must have some ability."


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "When Guoxing Ye attacked Taiwan in the past, the red-haired devils'' firearms were very formidable, it was indeed extremely difficult to withstand. At that time we built earth embankment, encircling several thousands of the red-haired troops in the city. We cut the water supply to the city, so that they had no water to drink. The red-haired troops could not endure anymore, they charged out of the city. We did not fight during the day, we only engaged them at night. Xingzhu, why don''t you tell everybody how we fought the battle?"


    Lin Xingzhu said, "Our Jun Shi''s [lit. army master �C military strategist] divine strategy was very clever ��" Chen Jinnan was serving Zheng Chenggong as his military strategist, and was able to render great merit, hence the armed forces called him the ''Jun Shi''.


    "Jun Shi?" Wei Xiaobao questioned. He saw Lin Xingzhu was looking at Chen Jinnan, his Shifu smiled; immediately he understood. "Ah," he said, "Shifu, turns out you are Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Jun Shi defeated the rattan-armored troop, Chen Jun Shi defeated the red-haired troop."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "Guoxing Ye offered sacrifice on the river on the first day of the second month of Yong Li''s fifteenth year, leading all civil and military officials, personal guards and armed self-defense troops. They sailed on battleships, from Ke Luo Bay out to the ocean, and reached Penghu [county, Pescadores Islands, Taiwan] twenty-four days later. By the first of the fourth month they arrived at Taiwan''s Lu Er Men [lit. deer ears gate]. There was sandbar outside the Gate, several dozen li long, the red-haired troops drilled holes on their ship and scuttled it to block the harbor, our battleship could not enter. While we were at a loss of what to do that time, suddenly the tide sharply rose, the soldiers'' cry of joy shook the heavens, our battleships rode the water and went ashore at the naval base port. The red-haired troops opened fire. Guoxing Ye told everybody that if we retreated a single step and were driven back to the ocean, it would mean we die without a burial site. Although the red-haired devils'' firearm was formidable, everybody charged forward courageously. The troops followed the order together, with Jun Shi personally led the assault. Suddenly, there was an explosion by my ears, as if several hundreds or thousands thunderclap struck together, a row of the brothers in front fell down. We panicked and ran away."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The first time I heard the red-haired gun exploded, I was also so scared that I collapsed and lost my mind."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "Just as I was moving my hands and feet in confusion like a fly without a head, I heard Jun Shi''s loud voice, ''After red-haired devils fire their guns, they must reload the gunpowder and the bullet, everybody charge!'' I hastily led the brothers to charge forward. Sure enough, for a short while the red-haired devils could not open fire. However, we have just charged forward, the red-haired devils opened fire again. I immediately rolled down on the ground to evade, not a few brothers were killed. There was no other way; we were forced to retreat. The red-haired devils did not dare to pursue. Several hundred brothers died in this battle, we were all crestfallen. Thinking about the red-haired devils'' firearms, ''our heart was alarmed, our flesh leaping''."


    "And then Jun Shi figured out an ingenious plan?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "That''s right!" Lin Xingzhu shouted, "That evening, Jun Shi came to me and asked, ''Lin Xiongdi, you are a disciple of Mount Wuyi''s [in Fujian] Di Tang [paradise terrestrial] School, are you not?'' I said yes. Jun Shi said, ''When the red-haired devils opened fire earlier, you immediately rolled down on the ground; your movement was very nimble.'' I was extremely ashamed; I said, ''Reporting to Jun Shi: Xiao Jiang [little/lowly general �C referring to self] will not dare to be greedy for life, afraid of death anymore. In the battle tomorrow, I will definitely not dare to roll around to evade, and thus damaging our Great Ming''s officers and men''s power and prestige. Otherwise, you may just chop my head.''"


    "Lin Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "My guess is that Jun Shi did not blame you for being greedy for life, afraid of death; he was praising the way you rolled around to evade as very good, and he wanted you to impart that skill to the other brothers."


    Chen Jinnan cast him a glance; there was a hint of smile on his face, apparently he was praising his disciple. Lin Xingzhu slapped his thigh and loudly said, "That''s right. You are Jun Shi''s disciple, indeed brilliant master produces brilliant student ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are my Shifu''s subordinate, indeed there are no weak soldiers under a capable general." Everybody laughed.


    Lin Xingzhu continued, "That night Jun Shi indeed instructed me just that. He said, ''You must not misunderstand my meaning. I think your Yan Qing [lit. swallow green] Eighteen Tumble, Flying Squirrel on the Grass'' style will be very useful; you can roll to the enemy, and then use the saber to hack their legs. How''s your mastery of Di Tang Saber Technique?'' When I heard that Jun Shi was not scolding me as a coward who was afraid to die, I was relieved. I said, ''Reporting to Jun Shi: Xiao Jiang did practice some Di Tang Saber Technique. In the past Shifu told me that if I go into battle, I could roll forward and hack the enemy horse'' legs; but the red-haired devils do not ride on horses, I am afraid it is useless.'' Jun Shi said, ''Although the red-haired devils do not ride horses, we can chop their legs; why can''t we?'' When I heard that, I suddenly saw the light. ''Yes, yes,'' I repeatedly said, ''Xiao Jiang''s brain did not work, I did not think about that.''"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled; he mused, "Just because your Shifu told you that this saber technique could be used to chop horses'' legs, you assumed it cannot be used to chop people''s legs. Laoxiong''s [old fellow] brain is really not too bright."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "And then Jun Shi instructed me to demonstrate the saber technique. He praised my mastery as adequate, he said, ''Your Di Tang School''s saber technique, if you had not had ten summers and winters worth of training, you would not have reached this level. But we must fight the battle tomorrow, if we want everybody to train, there won''t be enough time.'' I said, ''Yes, Xiao Jiang''s training in this Di Tang School Saber Technique is not good, but I have indeed trained it for more than ten years.'' Jun Shi said, ''We will catch-up by building earth embankment, and defend it with bow and arrow. You will immediately teach the soldiers and generals the technique of rolling and chopping the enemy''s legs. If everybody can learn only three or four styles, that will do. You should not need to teach them the profound martial art of Di Tang School.'' I accepted Jun Shi''s order, and that very same night I taught the troop of our own team. Early in the morning the next day, the red-haired devils attacked. We returned with bows and arrows. Our team had mastered five moves of the Di Tang Saber Technique, in turn they taught the officers and soldiers of other teams. Jun Shi also instructed everybody to cut down tree branches and tie them together as shields to keep off the red-haired troops'' lead bullets. Early morning the fourth day, the red-haired troops launched a large-scale attack. We went up to meet the enemy head-on. Rolling forward, we managed to completely rout the red-haired devils. The battlefield was littered with several hundred hairy legs. Even the head of the red-hairs, Chikan City''s garrison commander''s left leg was also chopped down. And thus this head of the red-haired devils surrendered. Afterwards, when we attacked the defense cities, we also used the same method."


    Ma Chaoxing happily said, "When we fight the war against the Luocha devils someday, we can use this skill to deal with them."


    "However," Chen Jinnan said, "The situation is somewhat different. In those days, there were no more than three, four thousand red-haired troops in Taiwan; we kill one, their number decreases by one. If Luocha troops came to invade, at least there would be several tens of thousands people. If they come in a steady stream, we won''t be able to kill them all. What''s more, Di Tang Saber Technique can only be used in close combat. If Luocha troops used cannon to bombard us, it would be difficult to withstand."


    Wu Liuqi nodded his agreement. "In Jun Shi''s opinion, what should we do?" he asked. He noticed that when Chen Jinnan introduced him to Lin Xingzhu, he did not address Wu Liuqi as ''Xiangzhu''; presumably because Lin Xingzhu did not belong to Tian Di Hui. Therefore, he also refrained from addressing Chen Jinnan as ''Zongduozhu''.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Our China''s land is vast and its people numerous; if there is no traitor who respond to them from the inside, it will be extremely difficult for foreigners to force their way in."


    "Precisely," everybody said, "The Tatars occupies our rivers and mountains, they were entirely dependent upon that traitor Wu Sangui to lead the way."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Nowadays Wu Sangui is colluding with the Luocha Country. When he deploys his troops to rebel, in one vigorous effort we must try to destroy him first. If Luocha Country does not have anybody inside to respond, they will not invade rashly."


    Ma Chaoxing said, "But if Wu Sangui is defeated too quickly, he won''t fight the Tatars until both sides suffer."


    "That is also correct," Chen Jinnan said, "But in term of formidable power, Luocha people are more dreadful than the Tatars."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Tatars also have yellow skin, black eyes and flat nose; not much different than us. Their language is also similar. Foreign devils have red hair and green eyes, plus they talk gibberish; who could understand?"


    They discussed the affair of the country for a while. The sky gradually brightened, the storm had also abated. Ma Chaoxing said, "Everybody''s clothes are wet, please come ashore and drink a cup to drive the cold away."


    "Very well," Chen Jinnan said.


    The storm had blown the boat more than thirty li; by the time they returned to Luizhou, it was already almost noon. They all disembarked from the same dock they left. They saw someone rushed over and called out, "Xianggong [young master], you �� you are back." It was none other than Shuang''er. Her whole body was dripping wet, but her face looked happy.


    "Why are you here?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shuang''er replied, "There was a big storm last night, and you were travelling by boat; I was really worried. I only hoped Xianggong would come back sooner safe and sound."


    "And you have been waiting here all along?" Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise.


    "Yes," Shuang''er replied, "I �� I �� was worried ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Worried that the boat I ride on would sink?"


    Shuang''er said in a low voice, "I know your luck is good, your boat can''t possibly sink, but �� but ��"


    A boatman standing nearby on the dock said with a laugh, "This young master, late at night last night, when the storm was the fiercest, wanted to hire our boat to go to the river, saying that he must look for someone. At first he offered fifty taels, nobody took it. And then he offered a hundred taels. Zhang Laosan [ol'' Zhang the third] was greedy for the money; he agreed. But as they were about to set sail, ''crack!'' the storm blew his mast and broke it. When that happened, nobody dared to go. He was so anxious that he could only cry."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was touched; he grabbed Shuang''er''s hands and said, "Shuang''er, you are very good to me." Shuang''er blushed, and lowered her head.


    The party arrived at Ma Chaoxing''s temporary lodging and changed their clothes there. Chen Jinnan instructed Ma Chaoxing to send his people out to investigate Zheng Gongzi and Feng Xifan''s whereabouts. Ma Chaoxing complied. He sent his people to investigate, and then he reported the Latter Family Hall''s business.


    Ma Chaoxing prepared a banquet and asked Chen Jinnan to sit on the seat of honor, with Wu Liuqi sat on the seat next to him. He asked Wei Xiaobao to sit on the third seat, but Wei Xiaobao said, "Lin Dage broke through Taiwan, Di Tang Saber chopped the red-hair''s ham. He has established such a great merit, even if Xiongdi has to stand up to accompany him drinking, I am most willing. This kind of hero, how could Xiongdi dare to sit above him?" He pulled Lin Xingzhu and had him sit on the third seat. Lin Xingzhu was greatly delighted; he thought that although Jun Shi''s disciple was young, he was truly a good friend.


    After the banquet was over, the four Tian Di Hui men gathered in the side room to discuss official business. "Xiaobao," Chen Jinnan said, "You have an important matter at hand, this time we, master and disciple, still cannot be together too long. Tomorrow you may head north."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s a pity that this time I cannot listen too much to Shifu''s instruction. Actually, I also wanted to listen to Wu Dage''s heroic exploits, but I have to wait until Wu Sangui is defeated before I can listen to his story."


    Wu Liuqi laughed and said, "Your Wu Dage does not have any heroic exploits. In all my life, I have actually committed not a few bad things. If not for Mr. Zha Yihuang giving me a lesson, I would have still acted as an accomplice to the tiger, haplessly giving my life for the Tatars."


    Wei Xiaobao took out the foreign-made gun presented by Wu Sangui as a gift, and said to Wu Liuqi, "Wu Dage, you have travelled far to see Xiongdi, I really can''t thank you enough. Please take this Luocha Country''s gun as a souvenir." Actually, Wu Sangui gave him a pair. When Wei Xiaobao was rescuing Mu Jianping, he gave the other one to Xia Guoxiang as a proof. And then in his rush to leave Yunnan, he did not have time to ask it back.


    Wu Liuqi thanked him and received the gun. He packed the gunpowder and installed a bullet in it. Igniting the fuse, he aimed the gun toward the front courtyard. There was a spark, followed by a loud bang; the green flagstone on the front courtyard shattered, fragments of stone flew everywhere. Everybody was scared.


    Chen Jinnan knitted his brows, thinking, "Luocha Country''s firearms are surprisingly this sharp; if they send troops to invade, it would be really hard to stop them."


    Wei Xiaobao took out four sheets of five thousand taels banknote, and gave them to Ma Chaoxing; he said with a laugh, "Ma Dage, I will have to bother you to invite your precious Hall''s brothers to drink a cup of wine."


    Ma Chaoxing laughed and said, "Twenty thousand taels? Might be too much. Even if we drink for three years, there will still be some left over." He thanked him and accepted the gift.


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down in front of Chen Jinnan to take his leave. Chen Jinnan reached out to help him up; he patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said with a laugh, "You are very good, you become Chen Jinnan''s disciple not in vain."


    Wei Xiaobao stood close to him, he could see him clearly; he saw both sides of his temples were graying, his countenance was thin and pallid. Wei Xiaobao thought that his Shifu was always on the go in Jianghu over the past few years, braving the wind and frost and hardships; he could not help but was grieved, and wanted very much to give something to him. He mused, "Shifu does not want money; jewels, curios or toys he also does not like. Shifu''s martial art skill is superb, he won''t want my dagger or precious clothes." Suddenly he said on impulse, "Shifu, there is something I need to report to you, Senior."


    Knowing that those two, master and disciple had something to discuss, Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing withdrew.


    Chen Jinnan was greatly astonished. "What are those?" he asked.


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao told him everything about the history of these pieces of skin. The more Chen Jinnan listened, the more his face turned serious. He heard about the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, Oboi, the Great Lama of Tibet, the one-armed nun Jiu Nan, the Cult Leader of Divine Dragon Cult, and the others, people with special background, not one of those people did not rack their brains trying to get these pieces of skin. He heard about the secret hidden in these skins involving Manchurian Qing Tatars'' dragon vein and large amount of treasure. Not even in his wildest dream would he think about these things. He questioned Wei Xiaobao in details, and Wei Xiaobao told him everything. Naturally some details, like the Cult Leader of Divine Dragon Cult taught him some moves, and that he bowed to Jiu Nan to take her as his Shifu, were skipped.


    Chen Jinnan was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he said, "This package is really no small matter; we, master and disciple, could lead the brothers of our Society to dig the Tatars'' dragon vein, take out the treasure, send the troops in an uprising; this is indeed an amazing merit of our age. However, I am about to return to Taiwan to appear before Wangye. If I carry this package with me on the sea back and forth, I am afraid I might lose it. For the time being you''d better keep it. When I am back from Taiwan, I am going to Beijing to see you, and then we will attempt to do this important matter together."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case, Shifu, please come to Beijing as quickly as possible."


    "Don''t worry," Chen Jinnan said, "I won''t stay a moment longer. Xiaobao, your Shifu has been rushing about all his life, for the sake of conspiring to restore the Ming. I see it with my own eyes that as the days go by, the previous dynasty is gradually fading from the common people''s mind. The Tatars'' young emperor is running the administration very properly; the great undertaking is getting more and more uncertain. Unexpectedly Wu Sangui is finally going to raise the troops in rebellion, plus you obtained this buried treasure map. This is indeed a huge favorable turn of events." Speaking to this point, his countenance brightened considerably.


    His facial features were actually elegant, but he always appeared to be filled with concerns. This moment his spirit was greatly aroused, Wei Xiaobao was very happy to look at him.


    "How is the poison in your body?" Chen Jinnan asked, "Is it better?"


    "Disciple has taken the antidote given by Shen Long Jiao''s Hong Jiaozhu," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The poison is completely neutralized."


    "That''s very good," Chen Jinnan happily said, "You are bearing the ten-thousand catty of great responsibility of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming on your shoulders, in everything you must take a good care of yourself." While saying that, he put his hands on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Disciple is a hideous mess, I don''t understand anything. Obtaining these pieces of skin is no more than stroke of luck. Each time it was just like I was being the banker, eating the bounty of the family for free. Heaven''s pole eats heaven''s pole, departing ten eats departing ten; winning is very easy."


    Chen Jinnan smiled. "When you get back to Beijing," he said, "Bolt your door and close your window at night, slowly piece these skins together, construct the map, and then record the map firmly in your mind, memorize it well. After you can remember it without any mistake, disassemble the pieces of skin, divide it into seven or eight packages, and hide them in different places. Xiaobao, there will always be good things and bad things about someone''s luck; you can''t expect to always have propitious wind throughout the journey. In such an important matter like this, we must not depend on good luck alone."


    "Shifu is right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Just like when I play Pai Jiu and become the banker, until now I have won eight plays; if I happen to lose and have to compensate, this package of pieces of skin might be taken away by other people, won''t that be a total defeat of an army, a leveling off of my bank? Therefore, after successively winning eight plays, I have to stop being the banker."


    Chen Jinnan thought that this child''s gambling character was really strong. He smiled and said, "It''s good that you understand this logic. Winning or losing in gambling is not a big deal. In the important matter we are planning, even if we have to deliver our lives, it is also a common matter. But the object in this package involves the lives and properties of million upon millions of people in the world; you must absolutely not lose it."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "After I won, I brought the money home, and hid it under my bed. I would chop my finger so that I cannot gamble anymore; that way I will never lose."


    Chen Jinnan walked to the window and looked up to the sky. "Xiaobao," he softly said, "After hearing this news, even if I had to die immediately, my heart is very happy."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "When I saw Shifu in the former days, he was always in high spirit; why is it this time he is always thinking of dying?" He said, "Shifu, whatever it is that you have to attend to at the Yanping Wang palace, your heart is not too happy; is that right?"


    Chen Jinnan turned around with a surprised look on his face. "How do you know?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I can see that Shifu does not appear to be very happy. But I know that in this world, even more difficult things, you have never taken it to your heart. All heroes and warriors of Jianghu are also holding you in high regards. I think that you are not afraid of even the Emperor himself. Throughout the world, only Zheng Wangye, one person, could give you reason to worry."


    Chen Jinnan sighed. After half a day of silence, he said, "Wangye has always treated me with respect, plus he relies on me heavily."


    "Um, it must be that fellow Zheng Er Gongzi [second young master] who put on damned obnoxious airs and offended you," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "In the past," Chen Jinnan said, "Guoxing Ye''s kindness to me was as heavy as the mountain. I have early on pledged my life to repay it, to bend to a task and spare no effort in attending to his Zheng family''s matters until the day I die. Zheng Er Gongzi is young, he may have said some improper things to me, but I do take it to heart. Wangye''s heir apparent is wise and loves the people, but he is born of a concubine."


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand, "What do you mean ''he is born of a concubine''?"


    "That means he was not born to the Wangfei [wife of a ''king'', I guess the western equivalent would be a duchess]," Chen Jinnan explained.


    "Ah, I understand," Wei Xiaobao said, "He was born of Wangye''s mistress."


    Chen Jinnan felt that Wei Xiaobao''s wording was too vulgar, but remembering that he was uneducated, he did not care too much. "Right," he said, "In the past, Guoxing Ye''s death was also closely related to this issue, for this reason Wangtaifei [mother of the ''king''] did not like the heir apparent very much. She repeatedly told Wangye to depose the heir apparent, and set up the Er Gongzi as the heir apparent."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head vehemently and said, "Er Gongzi is a useless muddle head, and he fears death; that won''t do! This fellow is a scoundrel, useless, a damned b@stard son of a b1tch. The other day he was trying to kill Shifu, you, Senior."


    Chen Jinnan''s countenance sank slightly. "Xiaobao," he reprimanded, "Clean your mouth a bit! Didn''t that mean you were cursing Wangye?"


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, while pressing his hand over his mouth. "I deserve to die!" he said, "I must not curse people with these three characters ''wang ba dan'' [s.o.b.] casually."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Comparing those two young masters, in everything Er Gongzi cannot surpass his Gege; only his facial features are smart, his mouth is sweet, he knows how to make his [paternal] grandmother happy ��"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh. "That''s right," he said, "Womenfolk don''t know anything; seeing a pretty boy who knows how to flatter, they thought he is a treasure."


    Chen Jinnan did not know Wei Xiaobao was referring to Ah Ke. He shook his head and said, "Wangye has not agreed to change the heir apparent. All the civil and military officials are also urging Wangye not to change his mind. Consequently, while it''s true that these two young masters have become estranged, oftentimes Taifei and Wangye, mother and child, are also in disagreement with each other over this matter. Sometimes when Taifei is angry, she would summon us to vent her anger."


    "This old ��" Wei Xiaobao started; he was about to say ''old wh0re'', three characters [lao biao zi], but managed to stop just in time. Hastily he changed his statement, "When elderly ladies [orig. lao tai tai] grow old, they become muddleheaded. Shifu, since you cannot solve the Zheng family problem and you cannot offend them, you might as well let each of them sweeping the snow from their own front door, don''t care if there is frost on the tiles of their roof."


    Chen Jinnan sighed, "My life is no longer mine," he said, "I have already sold it to Guoxing Ye long time ago. In this life, when you receive kindness you ought to repay. In the past Guoxing Ye has entrusted our country''s territory to me, I should be responsible for our country''s territory to repay him. Presently the number of capable people by Wangye''s side is diminishing with each passing day, I simply cannot cultivate my own moral worth and abandoning him. Ay! The great undertaking is difficult. All I can do is to let this matter runs its own course." Speaking to this point, he sounded like he had lost any enthusiasm.


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to say something to console him, but momentarily he did not know what to say. After a while he said, "Yesterday we were originally going to ��" while saying that, he raised his hand and ran it across his neck, "�� with one knife cutting that Zheng Keshuang into two, to get rid of him completely. But Ma Dage said that if we do that, we may make Shifu lose your standing, you would be charged with something like ''tearing the master'' [si zhu] accusation."


    "Yes, ''killing the master'' [shi zhu]," Chen Jinnan said, "Ma Xiongdi is absolutely right. If you killed Zheng Gongzi, how could I have the face to see Wangye? Another day in the next world [orig. nine springs], I will have no face to see Guoxing Ye."


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why don''t you take me to see this Wangtaifei of the Zheng Family? Disciple has various techniques to deal with this kind of elderly lady." He thought that since he managed to deal with the fake empress dowager, that even the real Empress Dowager was very obedient to him, dealing with one Wangtaifei should not be any problem.


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Don''t fool around!" Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand, he took him out of the room.


    [Book note


    [20]: Taiwan''s Yanping Jun Wang Zheng Jing''s eldest son, Keshang, was Chen Yonghua''s son-in-law; he was a resolute and decisive man. Zheng Jing appointed him as the heir apparent, and to act as the Regent in military campaigns. As Keshang solidify his power and win public approval, his numerous [younger] uncles and [younger] brothers became resentful of him. They made up a story that his mother pregnancy was with certain Butcher Li. After the deaths of Zheng Jing and Chen Yonghua, Keshang murdered Dong Taifei and his numerous [younger] brothers.]Immediately Wei Xiaobao took his leave from his Shifu, Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing. Wu and Ma, two people, walked him to the door.


    "Wei Xiongdi," Wu Liuqi said, "Your little servant girl, Shuang''er, I have sworn brotherhood with her, we are now brother and sister."


    Wei Xiaobao and Ma Chaoxing were stunned. They turned their head to look at Shuang''er, and saw her looking down, but her cheeks were blushing; she looked extremely bashful.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wu Dage is very good at making jokes."


    With a serious expression Wu Liuqi said, "It''s not a joke. My Yi Mei [foster/sworn younger sister] is loyal, righteous and brave; she surpasses men. She is precisely the woman of our generation. As her Gege, I respect her very much. I saw how you swear brotherhood with the ''Hundred Victory Saber King'' Hu Yizhi; your brotherhood is very strong. I wanted to follow suit, thereupon I wanted to become the sworn brother of Shuang''er. She said she did not want to, no matter what, saying that she could not climb the social ladder. I told her I am an old beggar, what climbing or descending social ladder? I simply must swear brotherhood with her. She had no choice but to comply."


    Ma Chaoxing said, "So when the two of you had a private discussion in that room a moment ago, you were talking about this brotherhood."


    "Exactly," Wu Liuqi said, "Shuang''er Meizi [younger sister, term of endearment] told me not to say anything about this. Ha ha �� becoming sworn brother and sister is just and honorable; why can''t I tell anybody?"


    Only after listening to him did Wei Xiaobao realize that he was not joking. He looked at Wu Liuqi, and then he looked at Shuang''er, he felt it was very strange.


    "Wei Xiongdi," Wu Liuqi said, "From now on you must view this Yi Mei of mine in a new light. If you offend her, I will make life difficult for you."


    "No �� that''s impossible," Shuang''er busily said, "Xianggong, he �� he treats me very well."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "With a Dage like you supporting her, even the Jade Emperor, the old man Yanluo [Yama, King of Hell] would not dare to offend her." The three of them roared in laughter. They cupped their fists across their chests and bade farewell.


    Returning to their temporary lodging, Wei Xiaobao asked Shuang''er about the sworn brotherhood business. Shuang''er was very bashful, she said, "That Wu �� Wu Ye [master] ��"


    "What Wu Ye?" Wei Xiaobao cut her off, "Dage is Dage; you have sworn brotherhood with him, don''t tell me it did not count."


    "Yes," Shuang''er said, "He said that in his opinion, I am not bad; hence he was determined to become sworn brother and sister with me." From her pocket she took out the gun and said, "He said that he did not bring anything good with him; this gun was presented by Xianggong as a gift to him. In turn, he gave this to me. Xianggong, please take it to defend yourself."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand repeatedly; he said, "It was a gift from your Dage, how can you return it to me?"


    Remembering Wu Liuqi''s conducts had always been beyond other people''s expectation, he could not help but clicking his tongue in wonder; he also thought, "His name is ''Liuqi'' [six strange/wonderful/weird]; no wonder, no wonder! I wonder what are the other five?"


    The party slowly headed back to the Capital. Along the way Jiu Nan taught Wei Xiaobao a boxing technique, and told him to practice. But Wei Xiaobao was unstable and jumpy, no matter what he just could not concentrate on learning martial art. Jiu Nan told him to demonstrate in her presence, but from her disciple''s stance and style, she could tell that he had not learned even half a part of real martial art. She sighed and said, "Although you and I have a master-disciple relationship, but looking at your temper, frankly you are not a martial art practitioner material. Very well, let''s do it this way: our Tie Jian Men [Iron Sword School] have a skill called ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine line hundred changes], it was created by my Enshi [benevolent master] Priest Mu Sang. It is the chief among the qinggong skills in the world. This type of qinggong needs profound internal energy as its foundation that even you will not be able to comprehend. You don''t have even one school''s skill on you; someday when you meet a danger, how would you deal with it? I have no choice but to teach you a technique with which you can escape."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said, "When the soles of the feet can rub oil, fighting is nothing to worry about. If Shifu teach me the technique to escape, definitely no one can overtake me."


    Jiu Nan smiled and said, "''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' is incomparable in the world, in those days its prestige shook Wulin, yet now you only want to use it to rub oil on your feet. If under the ground Enshi knew, he would not want to acknowledge a lacking-prospect grand-disciple like you. However, apart from this, I have no other skill to pass on to you that you can learn."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Shifu accepted a lacking-prospect disciple like me, you have already shown great favor. However, in gambling there are winning and there are losing; this time Shifu''s luck is no good and thus have accepted this kind of disciple. It can be considered that you have lost big. Laotianye has eyes; He will bless Shifu so that in the future Shifu will win eight plays in a row, you will accept eight good disciples whose prestige will shake the world."


    Jiu Nan let out a ''hey, hey'' laugh; she patted his shoulder and said, "Those with good martial art skill are not necessarily good people. You don''t like learning martial art, it was your inborn nature; we can''t force it. Other than your glib tongue, you can be considered my good disciple."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, there was a burst of excitement bubbling up in his heart, and on impulse he wanted to give the sheepskin pieces to Jiu Nan; but then he thought, "I have already given these skin pieces to my man Shifu, I can''t give it to my woman Shifu as well. Fortunately both Shifu wish to drive the Tatars away, to recover our Han people''s rivers and mountains, it does not matter if I give it to one or the other."


    Thereupon Jiu Nan explained a little bit of the stance and footwork of the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' that did not require any internal energy foundation. Strange things happened. Generally, when he learned fist technique or palm technique, he would dabble and stop, and was unwilling to train diligently. Toward this escape technique, however, he showed great interest. The whole journey he learned it with keen interest; as soon as he was free, he would practice. Sometimes he would ask Xu Tianchuan, whose qinggong was outstanding, to chase him around, while he would run to the east and flee to the west to evade. Seeing his marvelous movements, Xu Tianchuan was quite impressed. Initially Xu Tianchuan was able to overtake him several times, but as Jiu Nan continuously imparted new tricks, by the time they reached Zhili''s border, no matter what Xu Tianchuan was not able to catch him anymore.


    Seeing that Wei Xiaobao seemed to have a predestined affinity to the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' qinggong, Jiu Nan herself was also greatly amazed. She said, "Looks like you were born with a natural talent in ''escaping without a trace''."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Disciple''s training is inadequate. The ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' has become the ''Shen Xing Mo You'' [divine line rubbing oil]; in the end it was not a total failure."


    He poured a bowl of fresh tea and presented it with both hands to Jiu Nan. "Shifu," he asked, "Since Shizu [ancestor master] Priest Mu Sang has passed away, in the world today, you, Senior, are the number one in martial art?"


    Jiu Nan shook her head. "I am not," she said, "How can I dare to make the claim those six characters ''the world''s number one martial artist'' [tian xia wu gong di yi] without justification?" She cast her glance outside the window and grimly said, "There is someone who deserves the title ''the world''s number one martial artist''."


    "Who is that?" Wei Xiaobao hastily asked, "Disciple surely must call to pay my respect."


    "He �� he ��" Jiu Nan said; suddenly her eyes reddened and she stopped talking.


    "Who is this Senior?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "If by fate someday disciple is able to meet him, I will respectfully kowtow several times to him."


    Jiu Nan waved her hand, telling him to get out. Wei Xiaobao was very baffled; he slowly stepped out, while thinking, "Shifu''s expression is very strange. Could it be that this ''number one martial artist in the world'' was her old lover?"


    At this moment Jiu Nan''s mind was precisely on Yuan Chengzhi, who was ten-thousand li away across the sea. She had fallen in love to Yuan Chengzhi, but Yuan Chengzhi''s feeling toward her was different. For more than twenty years this feeling had been buried deep at the bottom of her heart, but this time it had resurfaced due to Wei Xiaobao''s provocation.


    The next day he came to Jiu Nan''s room to pay his respect, but she had already left, and left only a brief note. Wei Xiaobao took the note and asked Xu Tianchuan to read it for him, it says, ''Do your best'' [hao zi wei zhi], four characters. Wei Xiaobao felt a twang of heaviness in his heart; he mused, "I asked Shifu yesterday about ''the world''s number one martial artist''; is it possible that my question have offended her?"


    One day the party arrived in Beijing. Princess Jianning and Wei Xiaobao went to have an audience with the Emperor together. Kangxi had already received the memorial to the throne, and had issued an imperial decree to allow Wu Yingxiong to come to the Capital to conclude the wedding ceremony. Upon seeing his younger sister and Wei Xiaobao, his heart was very happy.


    Princess Jianning threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Kangxi. Bursting into tears, she said, "That fellow Wu Yingxiong bullied me."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "That fellow is this brazen, let me spank his bottom later. How did he bully you?"


    The Princess cried, "You ask Xiao Guizi. He bullied me, he bullied me! Huangdi Gege [big brother emperor], you must back me up." While crying, she repeatedly stomped her foot.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Alright, why don''t you go back to your room and take a rest. I will ask Xiao Guizi."


    Early on Princess Jianning and Wei Xiaobao had decided on how they were going to report Wu Yingxiong''s rudeness when they saw Kangxi. As soon as the Princess withdrew, Wei Xiaobao then told Kangxi in details.


    Kangxi frowned, he listened quietly until Wei Xiaobao finished. After pondering for half a day, he suddenly said, "Xiao Guizi, you are very brazen!"


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. "Your servant does not dare," he said hastily.


    "You are in cahoots with the Princess, you dare to deceive me," Kangxi said.


    "I did not," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can your servant dare to deceive Your Majesty?"


    Kangxi said, "Wu Yingxiong being rude to the Princess, you did not see it with your own eyes. How could you report to me in this way based on the Princess''s one-sided statement?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "My goodness, this is serious. The young Emperor is very formidable; he is able to look through the flaw." Busily he kneeled down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty can see clearly for ten-thousand li. As how Wu Yingxiong was being rude to the Princess, your servant indeed did not see it with my own eyes; but at that time there were many people standing outside the Princess'' window. Everybody could hear it with our own ears."


    "That is even worse," Kangxi said, "This man Wu Yingxiong, I have met him twice. He is competent and efficient, a talented individual. Plus he is not too young, I don''t know how many good-looking concubines he had in his house; how could he have the audacity to be arrogant and treated the Princess impolitely? Humph, do you think I don''t know the Princess'' temperament? It must be that she had some disagreement with Wu Yingxiong, and she cut �� she cut his damned eggs." Speaking to this point, he could not help but bursting in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao also laughed; he stood up and said, "It''s not convenient for the Princess to tell this kind of matter in details; your servant naturally did not dare to ask too much. Whatever Princess said, that was what your servant reported."


    Kangxi nodded. "You are right," he conceded. "This fellow Wu Yingxiong has been wronged. Go pass on my edict, tell them to select an auspicious date to conclude the wedding in the Capital. After a full month, they may return to Yunnan."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Concluding the wedding is not a big deal, that fellow Wu Sangui is about to rebel, you must not let the Princess return to Yunnan."


    Kangxi remained calm and collected; he simply nodded and said, "So Wu Sangui is about to rebel. What did you see?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao told in details how Wu Sangui colluded with Tibet, Mongolia, Luocha Country and Divine Dragon Cult. Kangxi listened with serious expression, he was deep in thought and did not say anything. After quite a while, he finally said, "That traitor! Unexpectedly he is colluding with that many foreign powers!"


    Wei Xiaobao knew early on that this matter is extremely thorny; hence he did not dare to make a sound.


    After a while, Kangxi asked again, "And then what happened?"


    Wei Xiaobao told him that they had captured the Mongolian Prince''s emissary. He recounted how he pretended to be Wu Sangui''s younger son and swindle the emissary into spilling everything; how Wu Yingxiong wanted to seize Hantiemo back by setting the Princess'' dwelling on fire, but suffered castration instead; how Wei Xiaobao sent the troops under his command to masquerade as the Palace''s guards, and fight in a brothel over some beauties, and thus gave the impression that they killed Hantiemo.


    Kangxi was listening leisurely while stretching on his chair; he said, "That''s much more fun." He continued, "This man Wu Sangui, I have never seen him. That day there was news spreading in the Palace that when Fu Huang [father emperor] returned to Heaven, Wu Sangui led a massive military force to the Capital to offer sacrifice. I wanted to go see him, several regent ministers wanted to guard against him entering the Capital with his soldiers and suddenly revolted; therefore, they told him to mourn and offer sacrifice outside Beijing, they did not allow him to enter Beijing''s city walls."


    Speaking to this point, he stood up, paced back and forth, and said, "That servant Oboi failed to see this matter clearly. If he was worried that Wu Sangui would enter the Capital and revolt, he only need to issue a decree granting them, father and son, to enter the Capital to worship, while his large army must remain outside the city; what could he possibly achieve? If he did not dare to enter the City, that means his etiquette was lacking. By not allowing him to enter the city, the message was clear: ''We are afraid of your large army, we are afraid that you will enter the Capital and revolt. You must not come in!'' Hey, hey, it was a display of utmost weakness! Wu Sangui must know that the imperial court is suspicious and jealous of him and also afraid of him; how can he not know? Perhaps his rebellion scheme was born because of this incident."


    Listening to Kangxi''s detailed analysis, Wei Xiaobao''s admiration grew from the bottom of his heart. "Supposing he saw Your Majesty that time," he said, "Your Majesty could enlighten him well, maybe he would not dare to revolt."


    Kangxi shook his head. "At that time I was too young," he said, "I did not understand military and national affairs. If I did see him, I would not have any formidable things to say to him, he might rise in rebellion sooner." And then he inquired in details Wu Sangui''s appearance and mannerism. He also asked, "About that white tiger skin in his study, what exactly is that?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he described the appearance of the white tiger skin, and then said, "Even small matter like that Your Majesty also knows."


    Kangxi smiled, but did not say anything. He then asked about Wu Sangui''s troops and horses deployment, about the temperament and talent of the ten great zongbing [regional commander] under Wu Sangui''s employment. In these questions, he seemed to have a detailed knowledge of Wu Sangui''s situation; he knew which great general under Wu Sangui was greedy for money, which one was given to lust, which one was courageous, which one was muddleheaded. He clearly understood everything.


    Wei Xiaobao was already stunned, now he was full of admiration. "Your Majesty," he said, "You have not been to Yunnan, yet you know about Ping Xi Wang Mansion''s inside situation better than your servant." He suddenly realized, "Ah, right, you must have sent not a few spies to Kunming."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "This is called ''know yourself, know your enemy, emerge victorious in every battle''. He wholeheartedly wants to rebel, do you think we will simply ignore him? Xiao Guizi, your merit this time is very big, you managed to verify Wu Sangui''s collusion with Tibet, Mongolia and Luocha Country. My spies are not able to uncover this big secret. They can only find minor matters, but cannot investigate important matters."


    Wei Xiaobao felt the bones in his body were considerably lighter. "This is all due to Your Majesty''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens," he said.


    Kangxi said, "Bring that Hantiemo into the Palace; let me interrogate him personally." Wei Xiaobao complied. Leading ten Imperial Bodyguards, he brought Hantiemo to the Upper Study Room.


    As soon as Kangxi saw him, he started questioning him in Mongolian. Hantiemo was surprised to hear his native tongue Mongolian was spoken, but he also felt warmness in his heart. Seeing the grandeur of the Palace, he no longer dared to cover up the truth, he told Kangxi everything he wanted to know ''in fives and tens''.


    Kangxi interrogated him for more than four hours; other than about the collusion between Mongolia and Wu Sangui, he also asked in detail about Mongolian military strength and disposition, the monetary, grain and production situation, the mountain and river topography, local conditions and customs, as well as various Mongolian ruling class, the princes and dukes: who were astute, who were mediocre, who had enmity with whom, and who had close relationship with whom.


    All along Wei Xiaobao was waiting on Kangxi on the side, listening to these two people talking gibberish incessantly. He saw sometimes Hantiemo looked impressed, some other times he looked afraid, until finally he went down on his knees and kowtowed repeatedly, as if he was expressing a deep gratitude. And then Kangxi ordered an Imperial Bodyguard to take Hantiemo back to prison.


    A little eunuch delivered a bowl of ginseng soup. Kangxi received it and drank it. He said to the little eunuch, "Pour another bowl for Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]." Wei Xiaobao kowtowed to express his gratitude for the kindness shown, and drank the soup.


    They heard the sound of footsteps outside the Study Room. A little eunuch appeared and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Nan Huairen


    [21] and Tang Ruowang


    [22] are here to serve Your Majesty." Kangxi nodded. The little eunuch called out the notification. Two big and tall foreigners came in, kneeled down and kowtowed before Kangxi.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he mused, "How come we have foreign devils in the Palace? This is really strange."


    After doing their obeisance, the two foreigners both took a scroll from their bosom, and placed the scrolls on Kangxi''s desk. The younger one, the foreigner by the name of Nan Huairen said, "Your Majesty, we are going to discuss about the shooting of the cannon today."


    Wei Xiaobao could hear Beijing dialect in his speech, sharp, clear and fluent; he could not help but exclaiming in surprise. In great amazement he thought, "Strange, strange, very strange; the devils cannot release foreign fart."


    Kangxi laughed at Wei Xiaobao, and then he turned his attention to the scroll on his desk. Nan Huairen stood by Kangxi''s side; with finger on the scroll he made some explanations. Whenever Kangxi saw something he did not understand, he immediately asked.


    Nan Huairen talked for about an hour. The other foreigner, the old and white-bearded Tang Ruowang, continued by speaking about astronomy and calendar system; he also talked for about an hour. And then the two of them kowtowed and withdrew.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "The foreigners speak our Chinese language, you were surprised, weren''t you?"


    "At first your servant felt it was very strange," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But after thinking about it, I am not surprised anymore. The Sacred Son of Heaven is blessed by a hundred gods. The Luocha Country conspires against you, the Heaven then sent two foreign devils who can speak Chinese language to assist the Sacred Dynasty in manufacturing firearms to sweep away the Luocha."


    Kangxi said, "Your mind is quick. However, the foreign devils can speak Chinese is not due to divine providence. That old man arrived in China during the Ming''s Tianqi Emperor


    [23]; he is a German. The younger one is from Belgium, he came during Shunzhi''s reign. They are Jesuits clergymen, and came to China to do missionary work. To preach, they need to learn how to speak Chinese."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant has always been worried that Luocha Country''s firearms are too formidable. After listening to those foreigner talking clearly and logically about those cannon or short gun today, I am relieved."


    Kangxi paced back and forth slowly in the Study Room. "Luocha people are humans," he said, "We are also humans. If they can build firearms, we can do the same thing. It''s just that all along we did not understand how. When we fought the Ming Dynasty at Liaodong Peninsula in the past, the Ming troops had cannon, we suffered quite a bit of defeat. Taizu Huangdi [posthumous title for the founder of a dynasty] was injured by gunfire, he rode the dragon and returned to Heaven. However, didn''t we still manage to take the Ming Dynasty''s land under the heavens? It can be seen clearly that firearm is important for the people to use, but if the people using it fail to live up to expectations, even a more formidable firearm will be worthless."


    "Turns out Ming Dynasty had cannon," Wei Xiaobao said, "I wonder where are those cannons now? We can take them and blast Wu Sangui that old fellow, blast him so that one Buddha get reborn, two Buddhas ascend to heaven!" [not sure about this]Kangxi smiled and said, "Ming Dynasty''s cannons were only a few, they were purchased from Aomen''s [Macao] red-haired people. Only buying the devils'' firearm is useless. If we fight a battle against the devils, they will refuse to sell it to us, won''t that be terrible? We must build it ourselves, then we won''t be afraid other people would make us desperate."


    "Very true, very true," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty is still concerned that those Jesuits clergymen would build western cowrie shells to swindle you, thus you personally want to know how to do it. From now on, let those devils give an exaggerated account of things, trying to confuse you [orig. seven meat eight elements], you won''t be deceived."


    "You understand my intention," Kangxi said, "The technique to build firearm is very complicated and very difficult. Just to refine the highest quality fine iron is greatly not easy."


    "Your Majesty, let me go get all blacksmith inside and outside of Beijing," Wei Xiaobao volunteered, "We call them together, everybody pump the bellows, push and pull, push and pull, refine several million catties of those fine iron."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "When you were in Yunnan, we have already refined several tens of thousands catties of fine iron. Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen are in the process of supervising the building of cannons. When the time comes, you will come with me to take a look."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "That is very good," he said. Suddenly he remembered something and said, "Your Majesty, foreign devils are malicious and two-faced, we must guard against either one of those. The place we build cannon will have gunpowder and lots of ironware. Your Majesty must not go personally, let your servant supervise it for you."


    "No need to be worried," Kangxi said, "This matter concerns the country''s destiny. I won''t feel reassured if I do not see it with my own eyes. Nan Huairen is loyal and upright. Tang Ruowang''s old life was rescued by me, he is very grateful to me. These two men can''t possibly have different feelings toward me."


    "Unexpectedly Your Majesty has saved the foreign old devil''s old life," Wei Xiaobao said, "That is indeed strange."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "Kangxi''s third year, Tang Ruowang said that the imperial observatory''s calculation of the solar eclipse contains errors; he and the imperial observatory''s Chinese officials had a sharp debate. Imperial observatory Chinese official Yang Guangxian


    [24] argued, but failed to find any flaw in Tang Ruowang''s argument; hence he submitted a memorial to the throne, saying that Tang Ruowang formulated the document ''Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar'', in which he calculated a total of two hundred years. But our Great Qing has obtained the Heaven''s provision, the divine blessing has no bound, our rivers and mountains will last tens of thousands of years. Tang Ruowang''s calendar stops at only two hundred years. Isn''t that the same as putting a curse on our Great Qing that it will only last for two hundred years?"


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. "Formidable, formidable! This foreign old devil can calculate astronomy and geography, but he cannot calculate the trick of the government official."


    "Isn''t that so?" Kangxi said, "At that time Oboi was in power. That fellow randomly accused Tang Ruowang of cursing the imperial court, hence he deserved to be executed by lingering death. The decree was sent to me to review, immediately I was able to see a flaw in it."


    "Kangxi''s third year, that means you were only ten," Wei Xiaobao said, "Yet you were already able to see the deceit in it. Indeed the Sacred Son of Heaven is intelligent and wise, a rarity from time immemorial."


    Kangxi laughed. "You should pat the horse hindquarters less," he said, "Actually, this case was quite shallow. I asked Oboi, when did Tang Ruowang finish the ''Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar''? He said he did not know. Upon further investigation, he returned with a report that it was finished during Shunzhi''s tenth year. At that time the Late Emperor bestowed a commendation by conferring him the title of ''Tong Xuan Jiao Shi'' [lit. master/teacher who understands mystery]. I said, ''That''s right, because when I was six, seven years old, I have already seen this ''Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar'' book in the Study Room. This document was finished ten years ago, why didn''t anybody say that he was wrong back then? At this time someone is having a strife with him, isn''t that simply settling an old debt? This is not fair. Oboi thought I was right, hence he did not have him killed, but have him locked up in prison. Afterwards I have forgotten about this matter. Only recently Nan Huairen brought it up to my attention, and then I issued a decree to have him freed."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let your servant put some thoughts in him to create the ''Great Qing Ten Thousand Year Calendar''."


    Kangxi chuckled for a moment, and then his expression turned serious as he said, "I have read the previous dynasty''s history book; those who cherish common people were sure to reign for a long time, otherwise, what good would it bring to simply say auspicious speech? Since the ancient times, everybody always call the Emperor as Lord of Ten Thousand Years, while in reality, forget ten thousand years, not one of the emperors had ever reached a hundred years. What ''ten thousand years of boundless longevity''? It''s all nonsense to deceive people. Fu Huang earnestly urged me to obey his particular instruction of ''never raise taxes''. As long as I observe these four characters [yong bu jia fu], our rivers and mountains will be as strong as iron. All those foreigners'' cannon, Wu Sangui''s troops and horses, are nothing to worry about."


    Kangxi was greatly delighted. "Very good, very good," he said, "The Empress Dowager is always concerned over this matter. I''ll go and present it to her, the Senior, and then take it to the imperial ancestral temple and cremate it there. No matter what secret is hidden inside, henceforth nobody will find out."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "It is best that you are burning it! This is called ''destroy the corpse and leave no trace''. Nobody will ever find out that I stole the pieces of thin leather inside the sutra."


    He returned to his viscount mansion. When the night fell, he bolted the door, took out the bundle of skin pieces, and summoned Shuang''er. "I have a ''rubbing the water'' job I''d like you to do for me," he told her. And then ordered her to assemble and restore the several thousand pieces of thin leather into its original state.


    Bending over the table, Shuang''er slowly looked at the cutting mark, and paired the pieces one by one to see if there was a match. But these several thousand pieces of skin were jumbled together at random; restoring the pieces into the original condition was indeed easier said than done.


    At first Wei Xiaobao was still sitting by the table, offering some advice, taking a piece from the east, a piece from the west, trying to find a match. But after doing it for half a day, he could not find even a pair of matching pieces; his interest waned, he went to sleep without saying anything.


    When he woke up the next morning, he noticed that there was candlelight in the outside room. With a piece of skin in her hand, Shuang''er was staring at the table as if she was in daze. Wei Xiaobao tiptoed behind her back, and then ''Ha!'' he yelled. Shuang''er jumped in fright. She laughed and said, "You are awake?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These pieces of skin are very troublesome, I don''t need it right away, why didn''t you sleep the whole night? Quickly go to bed!"


    "Alright," Shuang''er said, "I will tidy up first."


    Wei Xiaobao saw a large sheet of white paper on the table, on which about eleven or twelve pieces of skin were pinned down with embroidery needles; the pieces were joined together in a good fit, he was delighted. "You have fitted quite a few pieces," he said.


    "The beginning was the most difficult," Shuang''er said, "Right now I already understood some logic behind it, later on I should be able to assemble the pieces a bit faster." She put the pieces back into the bundle and carefully wrapped it with oilcloth, along with the large sheet of white paper, and locked everything inside a gold-painted chest.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These pieces of skin are very useful, we must not let anybody steal it."


    Shuang''er said, "I will stay to guard here, I won''t leave even for half a step. I am only afraid if I fell asleep, something bad might happen."


    "No worries," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will get a small group of Valiant Cavalry Brigade sergeants to guard outside the room, and guard you as well."


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "I feel much better."


    Wei Xiaobao saw her pair of beautiful eyes was bloodshot, obviously she worked really hard the previous night; he felt tenderness toward her. "Quickly go to sleep, I''ll carry you to the bed."


    Shuang''er''s face blushed of shyness, she repeatedly waved her hand and said, "No, no, not good."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "What do you mean good or not good? You helped me, you worked hard the entire night, I carry you to the bed, what''s the big deal?" While saying that, he reached out to carry her. Shuang''er squealed and slipped out of his arms.


    Wei Xiaobao tried to grab her several times, but each time he only caught empty air. He knew that his qinggong was far below hers, in his heart he was quite dismayed. Taking a deep sigh, he sat down on a chair. Shuang''er chuckled and came near him, saying, "Let me serve you have a wash and eat light breakfast, and then I''ll go sleep."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head without saying anything. Seeing him in low spirits, Shuang''er was worried. "Xianggong," she said in a low voice, "Are you �� are you angry?"


    "I am not angry," Wei Xiaobao replied, "My qinggong is too lacking. Shifu taught me a lot of good techniques, I always cannot learn it. Even a little girl like you I cannot catch, what a useless fart am I?"


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "You wanted to carry me, naturally I ran away desperately."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly sprang up and called out, "I must catch you." With arms spreading wide, he threw himself toward Shuang''er. Shuang''er giggled and leaned sideways to evade. Wei Xiaobao pretended he was pouncing to the left, but as soon as she fled to the right, he reached out to grab the corner of her garment. "Ah!" Shuang''er cried out. Afraid that he might tear the garment, Shuang''er did not dare to pull too hard. Wei Xiaobao reached out with both arms and grabbed her waist. Shuang''er only giggled. Wei Xiaobao''s right hand went down behind her knees, and carried her horizontally across his chest, and put her on his own bed.


    Shuang''er blushed deep red. "Xianggong," she cried, "You �� you ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "I what?" he said. Pulling the quilt, he covered her body. And then he bent over and planted a gentle kiss on her face. "Quickly close your eyes," he said with a laugh, "Go to sleep." And he turned around, walked out the room, and closed the door behind him. "This girl was afraid that I was angry, she deliberately let me catch her," he mused. When he got to the hall, he ordered his personal guard to summon a squad of Valiant Cavalry Brigade sergeants to guard outside his room.


    For the next several days he distributed the money and gifts he received from Yunnan to the imperial concubines, princes and dukes, court ministers, imperial bodyguards and palace eunuchs; scheming in his heart, "If I said it is a gift from Wu Sangui, that means these people would receive favor from that old fellow. I''d better let laozi be the good man." Therefore, these several hundred thousand taels of gold and silver from Wu Sangui became the Imperial Envoy Minister, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade Commander Wei Xiaobao''s gifts. Naturally the recipients of his gifts poured high praise on him. Everybody in the Palace and the Imperial Court said that the Emperor was indeed an enlightened sage, he promoted this astute, capable and experienced young commander into a very fitting official position.


    These days, Shuang''er worked hard every day assembling the pieces of sheepskin. Each time she found a matching piece, she would pin it to the sheet of paper with an embroidery needle. Wei Xiaobao watched her every night; he saw the finished section was growing bigger and bigger. As expected, he saw mountains and rivers terrain drawn on the map, there were also curvy characters written on the map. "These are foreign characters," Shuang''er said, "I do not recognize even one of them."


    Wei Xiaobao had lived in the Palace for a long time, hence he knew that those were Manchurian characters; but since he did not know even Han characters, he could not care less of what were written on the map.


    At the evening of the eighteenth day, Wei Xiaobao returned to his residence, and saw Shuang''er with happy expression all across her face. He reached out to stroke her chin, and asked, "What is it that makes you this happy?"


    Smiling, Shuang''er said, "Xianggong, go ahead and guess."


    Before he went to sleep the previous night, Wei Xiaobao saw there were still two, three hundred pieces not assembled yet. In this kind of assembling effort, one piece assembled means one piece less remaining, and the task became one part easier. The first one or two days were the most difficult, in one sichen [2 hours] she may not necessarily be able to find two matching pieces; afterwards, however, she was able to make a rapid progress.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You found and picked up a treasure from the floor?"


    "No," Shuang''er said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Yi Xiong [foster/sworn older brother] sent some good things for you from Guangdong?"


    "No," Shuang''er replied, "He is so far away, how can he send something for me?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The Zhuang Family''s Third Mistress sent a letter to you?"


    Shuang''er shook her head, her eyebrows slightly knitted. "She did not," she said softly, "I wonder how the Zhuang Family''s Third Mistress and the others are doing? I often think about them."


    "I got it!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Today is your birthday."


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "It''s not. My birthday is not today."


    "When is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shuang''er said, "It''s ninth month ten


    [25] ��" Suddenly she blushed and said, "I forget."


    "You lie," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can you forget your own birthday? Right, right, it must be the old monk, your friend when you live by Shaolin Temple, came to visit you."


    "Pfft!" Shuang''er stifled her laugh. "Xianggong is funny," she said, "How can I have a Shaolin Temple old monk as a friend? It is you who have some."


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head and muttered, "It''s neither this nor that; this is a difficult riddle. I was actually going to guess that you have finished piecing the map together, but last night I saw there were still two, three hundred pieces not joined together yet, at the quickest you will need five, six more days."


    Shuang''er''s pairs of eyes were gleaming with delight as she smiled and said, "What if I finished it today for real?"


    "You are deceiving me," Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I don''t believe you."


    "Xianggong," Shuang''er said, "Come and see, what is this?"


    Wei Xiaobao followed her to the table and saw the large white sheet was full of several thousand embroidery needles, the several thousand pieces of skins had been assembled together into a complete, whole large map. What was amazing was that several thousand pieces of skin fit together; there was not a single extra piece, and there was not a single hole either.


    Wei Xiaobao cried out in delight, turned around and gave Shuang''er a hug. "It is a great success, you deserve a kiss," he called out, while planted a kiss on her mouth.


    Shuang''er was shy, her face blushed as she turned her head sideways, so that Wei Xiaobao''s kiss landed on her earlobe. Shuang''er felt her body had turned into a jelly. "No, I don''t want it!" she cried out in fear.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and let her go. He pulled her hand and had her stood next to him as they looked at the map together, while he clucked his tongue incessantly and praised her, saying, "Shuang''er, if you did not help me with this task, if I had to do it myself, I am not sure if I would not be able to piece everything together in three years and six months."


    Shuang''er said, "How many important matters you have to manage? How can you find the time to do this kind of stupid effort?"


    "Aiyo," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Did you call this a stupid effort? This is the most brilliant effort in the world."


    Hearing his praise, Shuang''er was very happy.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the map and said, "This must be a mountain, and this is the river." He pointed at a bend of a big river, where eight small circles with different colors gathered together, and said, "The entire map is drawn in writing brush, but these eight small circles are red, white, yellow, blue, and there''s yellow circle with red border. Ah, I know, these are Manchu people''s eight banners. The location of these eight small circles must be very special. I wonder what mountain this is, and what river this is."


    Shuang''er took out a pack of thin cotton paper, there were more than thirty sheets altogether, each sheet had some curvy Manchurian characters. She gave the papers to Wei Xiaobao. "What is it?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Who wrote it?"


    "I did," Shuang''er replied.


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised. "Turns out you know Manchurian characters," he said, "You were deceiving me a few days ago." While saying that, he stretched out his arms to hug her.


    Shuang''er hastily moved aside to evade. "I didn''t deceive you," she said with a laugh, "I don''t know Manchurian characters. I only put these thin sheets on the map and traced every stroke every line."


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "Good Xianggong, smart Xianggong, as soon as you saw it you have guessed my intention correctly."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s a great success, you deserve a kiss." As soon as Shuang''er heard him, she turned around and leaped, fleeing outside the room.


    When Wei Xiaobao went out to the hall, he ordered one of his personal guards to summon the Valiant Cavalry Brigade''s Manchurian clerk. He took out a sheet from his pocket and asked him the meaning of the Manchurian characters written on it. The clerk replied, "Reporting to Dutong [commander] Daren: these are ''Argun River'', ''Jing Qili River'', Huma Erwoji Mountain'', they all are our Manchuria place name outside the Pass."


    "What ''Jili Gulu'' [lit. gibberish] River, ''Huni Made'' [lit. shouting at your mother] Mountain? Those are so vulgar," Wei Xiaobao said.


    The clerk said, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: Argun River, Jing Qili River, Huma Erwoji Mountain are great rivers and great mountain of our Manchuria."


    "Where are they?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The clerk replied, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: they are at the extreme north outside the Pass."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted, "That''s right," he mused, "These places must be where the Manchu people hiding their treasure. They moved the gold, silver and valuables outside the Pass, naturally the farther they hide it the better." He said, "Write these Jili Gulu River and Huni Made Mountain names in Chinese characters." Following his order, the clerk wrote the names.


    Wei Xiaobao took out another sheet and asked, "And what river and what mountain are these?"


    The clerk replied, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: this is Silimu River, Amur Mountain and Amur River."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "It''s getting stranger and stranger! Are you sure you are not just speaking nonsense? Why didn''t you pick good names, but picked something like Xini Made [lit. admiring your mother], Ama''er [''amah''], Aba''er [''abba'']?"


    The clerk''s face was filled with terror, he bowed in respect and said, "Lowly officer does not dare to speak nonsense. In Manchurian, those names have different meaning."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You write down those Ama''er, Aba''er, and that Xini Made River in Han characters on these papers. Later I am going to ask other people, I want to see whether you are talking drivel or not."


    "Yes, yes," the clerk said, "Even if lowly officer had gargantuan nerve, I would not dare to talk drivel with Dutong Daren."


    "Ha, do you have gargantuan nerve?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    "No, no," the clerk replied, "Lowly officer is a coward like a mouse."


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. "Guard," he called, "Go get fifty taels for this friend who is a coward like a mouse. Hey, if you ever mention these Xini Made River, Xini Bade Mountain to other people and I find out about it, I will immediately take your fifty taels back, both principal and interest, a total of a hundred fifty taels."


    The clerk was overjoyed at the unexpected good news; his monthly soldier''s pay was no more than twelve taels of silver. Dutong Daren bestowed fifty taels, busily he bowed to express thanks and repeatedly promised, "Lowly officer will definitely not dare to talk at random." While thinking, "With fifty taels capital you want a hundred taels interest. My mother, what a heavy interest. Even if you cut my head, I won''t be able to pay it."


    Wei Xiaobao committed the map and the places'' names into memory, he also told Shuang''er to memorize it. Thinking that if these pieces of skin were taken away by other people, inevitably the secret would be leaked; thereupon he threw it into the stove to burn it. Seeing the blazing fire, he felt an unspeakable joy in his heart. He thought, "Shifu told me to divide it into several packages and bury it in several different places, but other people might still be able to find it. Right now it is buried in my heart; even if they dig my heart out, they won''t find the map inside. It''s just that naturally I must not let anybody dig my heart out."


    Turning his head around, he saw the flame illuminated Shuang''er''s face; she looked rosy and very tender and beautiful. "My little Shuang''er is very beautiful," he praised in his heart.


    Being stared by him, Shuang''er was bashful, she lowered her head. "Good Shuang''er," Wei Xiaobao said, "We have pieced together the map, we have found out the places'' names, those Xini Made River, Xini Bade Mountain, have also been stored in our hearts; don''t you think it was a great success?"


    Shuang''er hastily leaped back, and said with a laugh, "Oh no, no �� you don''t."


    "What do you mean I don''t?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shuang''er laughed while rushing out through the door. "I don''t know," she said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and ran after her. "You don''t know, but I do," he said.


    Suddenly he saw a personal guard hurriedly walked in and said, "Reporting to Dutong: His Majesty summons you, he wants you to come quickly."


    Wei Xiaobao made faces to Shuang''er, and went out to the Palace. He saw a row of Guards of Honor lined up at the Palace gate, Kangxi''s imperial chariot was just coming out from the Palace. Wei Xiaobao circled behind the cavalcade, and knelt and kowtowed by the road. Kangxi saw him; he smiled and said, "Xiao Guizi, come with me to see the foreigners testing the cannons."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "That''s great," he said, "They managed to finish the cannon very quickly."


    The party arrived at the Long Tan [dragon pool] Artillery Field inside the Zuo''anmen [lit. left peaceful gate]. Nan Huairen and Tang Ruowang had already knelt far away by the street to welcome the imperial chariot. "Rise up, rise up," Kangxi said, "Where are the cannon?"


    Nan Huairen said, "Reporting to Your Holiness


    [26]: The cannon are outside the city. Respectfully request Your Holiness to take the trouble to visit and do the inspection."


    "Very well!" Kangxi said. He stepped out from the chariot. Surrounded by the Imperial Bodyguards, he went out the Zuo''an Gate and saw three cannon arranged in a row.


    Kangxi approached the cannon; he saw the cannon''s body was shiny gunmetal blue, the barrel was thick, the wheel, axle and so on were all built extremely solid. Kangxi was delighted. "Very good," he said, "Let us try firing the cannon several times."


    Nan Huairen personally loaded gunpowder into the barrel, and packed it solid with iron rod. Picking up a cannonball, he loaded it into the barrel; and then he turned around and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: this cannon''s firing range is a li and a half; the target has been set up over there."


    Following his finger, Kangxi looked up into the distance. He saw about a li and a half away, there were ten earthen blocks standing side by side. He nodded and said, "Good, you may fire."


    Nan Huairen said, "Respectfully request Your Majesty to take the trouble to move ten zhang away; that way, you will be completely safe." Kangxi smiled and withdrew to get out of the way.


    Wei Xiaobao volunteered, "Let your servant fire the first shot." Kangxi nodded. Wei Xiaobao walked toward the cannon''s side and said to Nan Huairen, "Foreign Old Friend, you aim, I ignite."


    Nan Huairen had already calibrated the muzzle''s height, this time he checked the alignment one more time. Wei Xiaobao received the flare; he lighted the fuse and hurriedly jumped back. Casting the flare aside, he lifted his hands to tightly cover his ears.


    There was a flash, followed by a loud explosion, black smoke rose up, and then one earthen block in the distant exploded, a column of flame ascended to the sky. Turned out there was a large amount of sulfur hidden inside the earthen block. As the cannonball landed, it ignited the sulfur so that the power of the cannon appeared more astonishing.


    The crowd of sergeants cheered in one voice, they turned toward Kangxi and shouted, "Long live, long live, long, long live


    [27]!"


    The three cannon were fired in turn, altogether they shot ten cannonballs, and hit seven earthen blocks; only three blocks were not hit squarely, they leaned sideways, but did not explode. Kangxi was extremely pleased, he bestowed great rewards to Nan Huairen and Tang Ruowang; he promoted Nan Huairen as the Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory on the spot. Tang Ruowang was originally a high-ranking official of the Minister of Ceremonies department and a government communication envoy, with the title ''Tong Xuan Jiao Shi''. He was removed from office during Oboi''s reign. Later on Kangxi reinstated his office, but changed his title to ''Tong Wei Jiao Shi'' [lit. master/teacher who understands profound matter]. Kangxi''s given name was ''Xuan Ye'' [lit. mysterious blaze of fire]; therefore, the character ''Xuan'' became taboo and must not be used for other people. The three cannon were dubbed the ''Shen Wu Da Pao'' [Cannon of Supernatural Might].


    Returning to the Palace, Kangxi summoned Wei Xiaobao into the Study Room; with a grin on his face he said, "Xiao Guizi, we will work around the clock to build several hundred ''Shen Wu Da Pao'', set them up in a row, and damn blast that old fellow Wu Sangui. Do you think he will still rebel?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "With divine strategy and amazing calculation, even if there was no ''Shen Wu Da Pao'', to Your Majesty, dealing that old fellow Wu Sangui is as easy as stretching a hand and grab it. But with the ''Shen Wu Da Pao'', it''s like �� like �� like a dragon that has grown wings." He was about to say ''like a tiger that has grown wings''; but then he thought that comparing an emperor with a tiger was very disrespectful.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You said those words without any knowledge. The dragon can fly in the sky, why would it need wings?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Yes, yes," he said, "It can be seen clearly that even without the cannon, Your Majesty still does not fear Wu Sangui."


    Kangxi laughed, "You always know what to say," he commented. Suddenly he frowned and said, "Speaking of dragon, I remember something: Wu Sangui colludes with Mongolia, Tibet and Luocha Country, and also with a certain Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult]. That old wh0re to committed treason and heresy by masquerading the Empress Dowager, she was sent by Shen Long Jiao to bring filth and chaos in the Palace, wasn''t she?"


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi said, "If I don''t catch this rebel and cut her to pieces, how can I avenge the enmity of my queen mother''s murder and the disgrace of Empress Dowager''s imprisonment?" Speaking to this point, he gnashed his teeth, obviously he was extremely enraged.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "From the tone of his voice, the Emperor wants me to catch the old wh0re. But that old wh0re is with that short and fat Thin Toutuo; I don''t know where they are right now. To catch this person is indeed not easy." In his hesitation, he did not dare to say anything.


    Sure enough, Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, this matter is top secret, other than sending you to deal with it, I can''t send anybody else."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I was just wondering where did that old wh0re run away? That meatball lover [orig. male adulterer] of hers seems to know some witchcraft."


    Kangxi said, "If the old wh0re ran to some remote mountain or desolate land, naturally catching her will not be easy. But there is a clue you may follow. You lead the troops, go and eliminate the Divine Dragon Evil Cult, arrest the evil cult''s henchmen, interrogate them one by one, you will most likely find the old wh0re''s whereabouts." Noticing the awkward expression on Wei Xiaobao''s face, he said, "I know this matter is like fishing a needle from the sea, it is very difficult to do. However, one, you are very competent, two, you are a person with tremendous good luck. Other people may find some matters to be extremely thorny, but in your hands, oftentimes it turned into instant success. I won''t set any time limit for you, I will send you outside the Pass first to handle several matters for me. Once you are out of the Pass, you mobilize your force at Fengtian [modern day Shenyang, Liaoning province], and wait for an opportunity to break into Shen Long Island."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The Emperor is licking my behind. If I did not accept this mission, it would be inappropriate." He said, "Your servant''s good fortune was bestowed by Your Majesty. Your Majesty has shown me particularly great favor, naturally my portion of good luck is also great. I only hope that by relying on Your Majesty''s flood of good luck this time, I can capture the old wh0re."


    Hearing that he was willing to go, Kangxi was overjoyed. He patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said, "Although taking revenge and wiping out old grudge is important, compared to national security, it is a small matter. If you can capture the old wh0re, no doubt it would be the best; but the most important matter is still breaking through the Shen Long Island. Xiao Guizi, outside the Pass was where our Great Qing''s dragon arose. Shen Long Jiao is staring maliciously from the side. If they join hands with Luocha people and occupy the area outside the Pass, the Great Qing will lose its foundation. By breaking the Shen Long Island, it''s just like you are cutting off the stretched-out five fingers of the Luocha people."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Precisely." Suddenly he raised his voice and cried out, "Ahluowu! Guluhu!" while lifting up his right hand and fling it around randomly.


    Kangxi laughed and asked, "What are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Luocha Country broke its five fingers, naturally they are crying in pain in Luocha language."


    Kangxi burst out laughing. "I promote you to be Viscount First Class," he said, "And I bestow you the title ''Ba Tu Lu'' [I think this is Manchurian word, ba �C long for/wish/close to/next to, tu �C diagram/map/drawing, lu �C crass/stupid/rude]. Your mission will be to mobilize the troops and horses stationed to guard Fengtian, to eradicate the rebels of Shen Long Island."


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to express his gratitude; he said, "Your servant''s official position is rising higher and higher, my portion of good fortune is also increasing bigger and bigger."


    Kangxi said, "This matter must be kept without any fanfare to guard against Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and the others knew about it, and then their hearts would be troubled and they may rebel earlier. Everything must be done ''the gods did not know, the ghosts did not realize''; Shen Long Jiao must be destroyed in complete surprise. Let''s do it this way: tomorrow I will send you as an imperial envoy minister to offer sacrifice at Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain is the sacred place where my Aisin Gioro [Manchu: Golden Clan] ancestors were born. I am sending you to offer sacrifice to my ancestors, nobody would suspect anything."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "With Your Majesty''s divine strategy, the Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu''s long life will be the same as the insect''s."


    "What do you mean his long life will be the same as the insect''s?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That Jiaozhu''s life span will be no more than a small insect''s; he won''t live much longer."


    In Kangxi''s presence Wei Xiaobao braced himself to accept this mission; however, thinking about Cult Leader Hong''s unsurpassed martial art skill, about the martial art masters surrounding him like a cloud, while he would bring some troops who could only whirling the sabers in their hands or shooting some arrows to attack Shen Long Island, he knew that most likely it would be Wei Xiaobao whose long life the same as the insect''s.


    Leaving the Palace, Wei Xiaobao was depressed. But then he had a thought, "Laozi definitely won''t go to Shen Long Island. Even if Xiao Xuanzi treated me better than this, it''s not worth losing my life in vain for his sake. My life as a government official has reached the end; as soon as I am outside of the Pass I''d better seize the opportunity to go to Lu Ding Shan north of Heilong Jiang, to dig the buried treasure, to obtain great wealth in one stroke, and then quietly return to Yunnan, to get Ah Ke''s hand in marriage. Henceforth I will hide: I will gamble and watch the play every day; won''t I be happy, free and unfettered?"


    Thinking about this, his anxiety was somewhat reduced. He thought, "Although running away just before the battle is not so brilliant on the face, plus I am turning my back on Xiao Xuanzi''s great trust, but this is a matter of life and death; how can I play a joke on it? After digging the buried treasure, I won''t dig and cut Manchu people''s dragon vein; this way I am also doing the right thing for Xiao Xuanzi."


    During the audience with the Emperor the next day, Kangxi proclaimed a decree, raising Wei Xiaobao''s official position, and sending him to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice to the ancestors. After the court was adjourned, one after another the nobles and the ministers came to congratulate him.


    Songgotu burst into loud laughter; he said consolingly, "You don''t have to worry about that, when I go home, I will send you a fire sable overcoat here, so that Xiongdi can resist cold. Inside the warm sedan chair put some coal pots, then you won''t feel too cold. Xiongdi, going on a mission outside the Pass still has some benefits."


    "This Liaodong is a place where people could freeze their noses off," Wei Xiaobao said, "How can I reap any benefit? Would Dage please advise?"


    Songgotu said, "Our Liaodong has three treasures ��"


    "That''s great," Wei Xiaobao said, "Three treasures. If I can get one, I can spend it all."


    Sonngotu laughed. "There is a saying in Liaodong, I wonder if Xiongdi has heard it?" he said, "It is called ''Guandong


    [28] has three treasures: ginseng, mink fur and wula grass''."


    "I have never heard it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Ginseng and mink fur are valuable goods. But that wula grass, what''s so valuable about it?"


    "Wula grass is Kuhaha''s treasure," Songgotu explained, "When winter arrives in Guandong, the weather gets cold, the ground gets frozen. Poor people cannot afford mink fur, they cannot take warm sedan chair to travel; if their feet are frozen, who would carry Wei Xiongdi''s sedan chair? You can find Wula grass everywhere in Guandong, as long as you pull a handful, dry it in the sun, and pound it into pulp, you can stuff it into your shoes, and your feet will very nice and warm."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wula grass is a treasure, but we have no need of it. But there is no harm in getting several dozen shoulder pole buckets of ginseng and several thousand mink fur to bring back, and then I can divide it to relatives and friends." Songgotu roared in laughter again.


    The personal guard complied and went out to inform the guest. Wei Xiaobao still did not feel at ease; he called another personal guard, "Quickly summon Ah San and Ah Liu [ol'' third and ol'' six, respectively]." Ah San and Ah Liu were Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan''s fictitious names.


    "What kind of friendship Wei Xiongdi have with Shi Jinghai


    [29]?" Songgotu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao was rather shaken. "Shi �� Shi Jing what?" he asked.


    Songgotu said, "Shi Tidu was conferred the nobility title ''Jing Hai Jiang Jun'' [lit. the general who pacifies the ocean], don''t Wei Xiongdi know him?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Never met him," he said.


    While they were speaking, Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan, two people arrived; they stood behind Wei Xiaobao. With these two great martial art masters to protect him, Wei Xiaobao felt a bit better.


    The personal guard returned to the inner hall, carrying a tray in his hands. He reported, "General Shi presents the Viscount this gift."


    Wei Xiaobao saw an open brocade box on the tray, inside the box there was a white jade bowl, and inside the bowl there were several rows of characters engraved on the surface. The jade bowl was pure white, it was of extremely fine quality jade, the engraving was also very exquisite. Wei Xiaobao thought, "He gives me a present, apparently he is not here to deal with me; but I must still guard against him."


    Songgotu laughed and said, "This gift is not light, the meticulous effort Old Shi spent must not be small either."


    "What?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Songgotu explained, "The engraving inside the jade bowl has your, laodi


    [30], respected name, and the four characters ''jia guan jin jue'' [to confer a title of official position/to be promoted], and then below it says ''Junior Shi Lang respectfully present''."


    Wei Xiaobao muttered to himself, "This man and I are total strangers, yet he is this courteous to me, he must be harboring malicious intentions."


    Songgotu laughed and said, "The Old Shi''s intention cannot be more clear. He wholeheartedly wants to attack Taiwan, to avenge his father and mother, wife and children. These last several years is always entangling us, wants us to talk to the Emperor on his behalf. For this matter, he has spent if not twenty thousand taels, then at least fifteen thousand taels. He knew Xiongdi is His Majesty''s most favorite person; naturally he is here to get the right social connection."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly relieved. "So that''s how it is," he said, "Why is he bending on attacking Taiwan?"


    Songgotu said, "The Old Shi was originally a great general under Zheng Chenggong. Later on Zheng Chenggong suspected that he was about to rebel, hence he was going to be arrested, but he managed to escape. Zheng Chenggong was so angry that he had Shi Lang''s father and mother, wife and children ��" he ran his right palm across his neck to the left, signaling execution; and then he continued, "This man is very skilled in naval warfare. After surrendering to the Great Qing, he led a battle against Zheng Chenggong, and unexpectedly he defeated Zheng Chenggong."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. He said, "Even such a hero and warrior like Zheng Chenggong also suffered defeat in his hands; this kind of person, I simply must see." Turning to his personal guard he said, "If General Shi has not left, tell him that I am coming out." Turning to Songgotu, he said, "Dage, please come with me to see him."


    Although he had Fat and Lu, two people to protect him, there was still dread toward Shi Lang in his heart. Songgotu was an imperial court minister of the first-pin rank; with him by his side, supposedly Shi Lang would not dare to play rough without careful consideration. Songgotu laughed and nodded. Hand in hand they entered the main hall.


    Shi Lang was sitting on the farthest seat on the right, the lowest seat. As soon as he heard the sound of boots, he stood up. Seeing the two people walking out from the inner hall, he immediately took several steps forward and bowed respectfully. "Suo Daren, Wei Daren, lowly officer Shi Lang pays his respect," he called in a loud and clear voice.


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the propriety and said with a laugh, "I do not dare to accept the honor. You are a general, I am only a small Dutong [commander]; how can I accept the propriety? Please sit down, please sit down; everybody should not use too much formality."


    Shi Lang respectfully said, "Wei Daren is so modest, you make other people full of admiration. Wei Daren is a first-class Viscount, your nobility rank is a lot higher than lowly officer; much less Wei Daren rises to your current rank when you are still young. To be conferred the title ''Gong'' [Duke] or ''Hou'' [Marquis] is just a matter of time; in less than ten years, Wei Daren will surely be conferred the title ''Wang'' [king]."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "If that day indeed comes, I should thank your precious words [orig. golden mouth]."


    "Old Shi," Songgotu said with a laugh, "Being in Beijing these past several years, you have learned how to be oily-mouthed and talk smoothly, unlike when you first came to Beijing, you offended people left and right."


    "Lowly officer is an uncouth military man; I did not understand the compass and set square," Shi Lang replied, "It was entirely due to all Daren who tolerated me graciously that now lowly officer can thoroughly rectify my misdeeds."


    "You have learned everything well," Songgotu said with a laugh, "Unexpectedly you knew that Wei Daren is His Majesty''s most favorite officer. By using him to get the right social connection, your chance of success is better than if you ask ten or even a hundred princess and dukes, or various ministers."


    Shi Lang bowed respectfully to the two people and said, "For all two Daren''s advice and instructions, lowly officer will be eternally grateful."


    Wei Xiaobao sized Shi Lang up; he estimated his age to be about fifty, his physique seemed to be solid and his eyes bright, indeed he had a heroic aura around him. However, his countenance was wan and sallow, rather like someone who was weary of the wind and the dust. "General Shi gave me that jade bowl; it is very valuable," he said, "But there is something that is not so good."


    Shi Lang was quite terrified; he sprang up immediately. "Lowly officer is a muddle head," he said, "I wonder which part of the jade bowl is defective; would Daren please advise?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "There is no defect," he said, "It''s just that it is too much of a liability. When I eat rice, I would hold it in my hand with fear and trepidation. I am scared that if I am not careful, I would shatter the rice bowl. Ha ha, ha ha ��"


    Songgotu also roared in laughter. Shi Lang had no choice but to accompany by letting out some hollow laugh.


    "When did General Shi arrive in Beijing?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Lowly officer has already been in Beijing for three whole years," Shi Lang replied.


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised. "General Shi is Fujian''s Navy Tidu," he said, "You are not leading the troops in Fujian, but having fun in Beijing instead, why is that? Ah, I know, General Shi surely has a good sister in Beijing brothel, with whom you are reluctant to part."


    "Wei Daren is teasing me," Shi Lang said, "His Majesty summoned lowly officer to the Capital to discuss the strategy to pacify Taiwan. Lowly officer is muddleheaded, I failed the imperial decree, all along His Majesty has not instructed me to proceed. Lowly officer stays in the Capital, it is precisely to wait respectfully on His Majesty''s order."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The young Emperor is very astute; among the important matters he is thinking in his heart, other than securing the three borders, is how to attack and seize Taiwan. Even if your speech were not pleasant to hear, as long as you really know what you are doing, His Majesty would definitely tolerate you. There must some other reason behind this."


    Thinking about what Songgotu had told him earlier, he thought, "This man has rendered not a few merits, he must be arrogant. His Majesty summoned him to the Capital, he definitely did not admit being in the wrong at all, and thus has offended not a few people of authority, to such an extent as they deliberately gave him a lot of trouble."


    Therupon he laughed and said, "His Majesty is extremely wise, if he wants General Shi to wait for his decree in the Capital, he must have a profound reason. You don''t need to be impatient, the time has not yet come, worrying is useless."


    Shi Lang stood up and said, "I have received Wei Daren''s instruction today, the murky darkness suddenly opens. For the last three years, lowly officer has been terrified in my heart, I was afraid I had been disobedient and offended His Majesty. Turns out His Majesty have some other profound reason, lowly officer feels a lot better. Wei Daren''s enlightenment is an immeasurable kindness. When lowly officer return home today, my rice I will be able to eat, my sleep I will be able to enjoy."


    Wei Xiaobao was very good at patting the horse''s back, hence he also did not take other people''s flattering seriously; however, listening to Shi Lang flattering him, he was nonetheless happy. He said, "His Majesty has said that when someone is too arrogant, he will be unfit for anything; hence his arrogance must be set back first. Let''s not talk about His Majesty did not strip you of your official post, even if he take away your troops, have you beaten and put you in prison, it is all to cultivate your good intention."


    Shi Lang repeatedly voiced his agreement; he could not stop the palm of his hands from sweating. Songgotu stroked his beard and said, "That''s right, nothing is more correct than what Wei Jueye has just said. If the jade is not cut, it won''t become a utensil. If your jade bowl were not shaped with a lathe and ground, it would stay a block of rough stone; what''s the use?"


    "Yes, yes," Shi Lang said.


    "General Shi, please sit down," Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard you used to be Zheng Chenggong''s subordinate, for what matter did you have fallout with him?"


    Shi Lang said, "Responding to Daren''s question: lowly officer was originally Zheng Chenggong''s father, Zheng Zhilong''s subordinate, afterward I was transferred under Zheng Chenggong''s command. Zheng Chenggong raised troops in rebellion, lowly officer could not see this matter clearly, in my confusion I followed the order by working for him."


    "Um, you fought the Qing restoring ��" Wei Xiaobao started; he was going to say, ''You fought the Qing restoring the Ming, so you should do what you were supposed to do.'' He was used to be with the Tian Di Hui brothers, hence he was used to the way they speak, and almost reveal his secret; fortunately he managed to stop in time, and hastily said, "And then what happened?"


    Shi Lang said, "That year Zheng Chenggong fought a battle in Fujian; originally he was based in Xiamen, the Great Qing''s troops launched a surprise attack and captured Xiamen. Zheng Chenggong had no choice; he was in a very difficult situation. Lowly officer indeed deserve to die ten thousand deaths, not understanding to which king and master I should vow my loyalty and devotion, unexpectedly I led my troops and seized Xiamen back from the Great Qing troops'' hand."


    "Hence you rendered a very great merit to Zheng Chenggong," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "At that time Zheng Chenggong also promoted lowly officer''s rank," Shi Lang said, "He bestowed not a few gifts. However, because of a minor matter later on, we had a big argument."


    "What matter was that?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shi Lang replied, "Under lowly officer''s command there was a low-rank soldier, lowly officer sent him out to spy the enemy. Unexpectedly, not only this person was afraid of death, he was also lazy; he went out to the wilderness and slept for several days. When he returned, he spoke some nonsense. As I listened to him, I knew something was not right. Upon careful investigation, I found the truth. Immediately I ordered him to be locked up and beheaded the next day. Unexpectedly this low-rank soldier was very sly; he escaped in the middle of the night and ran to Zheng Chenggong''s mansion, he complained tearfully to Mrs. Zheng Chenggong, Madame Dong, saying that I have wrongly accused him. Madame Dong''s heart was soft; she sent someone to plead with me, asking me to forgive this low-rank soldier, saying that when I sent someone on a mission, I must not kill my subordinate without authorization, so as not to terrify the soldiers."


    Hearing him mentioning Madame Dong, Wei Xiaobao remembered Chen Jinnan told him that this Madame Dong favored her grandson Keshuang and that she repeatedly wanted to set him up as the heir apparent. He could not stop his anger from flaring up, "That old wh0re," he cursed, "What did that woman know about military matter? His granny, important things in the world fail in this kind of old wh0re''s hands. If a soldier violating martial law was not beheaded, everybody would violate martial law; how can you lead troops to war that way? This old wh0re is thoroughly muddleheaded, she only knows how to favor ''little white face'' [i.e. pretty boy]."


    Shi Lang had never expected that when he heard about this matter, Wei Xiaobao would be that angry; immediately feeling of friendship arose in Shi Lang''s heart. Slapping his thigh, he said, "Nothing can be truer than what Wei Daren has just said. You are also accustomed to leading the troops, you know martial law is as rigid as the mountain. Subduing the enemy and scoring a victory all depend on strict commands."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You don''t have to pay attention to that old wh0re; just grab that low-rank soldier or high-rank soldier, ''ka-cha'', one saber and it is done."


    Shi Lang said, "Lowly officer''s thought at that time was exactly the same as Wei Daren''s. I said to the person sent by Madame Dong that the one surnamed Shi was Guoxing Ye''s subordinate, I only accept Guoxing Ye''s military order. My meaning was that I was not Madame Dong''s subordinate, hence I was not obligated to accept Madame Dong''s order."


    "Absolutely right," Wei Xiaobao was fuming, "Whoever wanted to be the old wh0re''s subordinate must be a big pustule."


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao repeatedly cursing Madame Dong as the old wh0re, Songgotu and Shi Lang were amused; but how could they know that Wei Xiaobao had a different, selfish reason?


    Shi Lang said, "That old �� that Madame Dong was angry at lowly officer''s reply, unexpectedly she made that low-rank soldier a Mansion''s personal guard, and also sent words to me, saying that if I had the ability, to capture and kill that low-rank soldier myself. Momentarily lowly officer could not endure that kind of words, I personally went to grab that low-rank soldier, and with one chop I separate his head from his body."


    Wei Xiaobao clapped and praised him greatly, "Kill him well, kill him swell, kill him neatly, send him packing to hell, to the satisfaction of everyone."


    "After lowly officer killed that low-rank soldier," Shi Lang continued, "I realized I had run into a disaster, hence I thought I would go to Zheng Chenggong to apologize. I thought I had rendered great merit, a troop under my command violated martial law, killing him was not wrong at all. But Zheng Chenggong was listening to the Madame''s words, he said I had offended my superior and was insufficiently respectful to her, so he put me in custody. I thought Guoxing Ye was a hero and a broadminded man, momentarily he was upset and had me locked up several days, so I did not mind much. Who would have thought that after quite a long time, my father and my younger brother, as well as my wife and children, were all arrested and put in prison. It was then that I knew this matter was far from good, Zheng Chenggong wanted to chop my head. Taking advantage when the man in charge of me was being negligence, I escaped. Not too long afterwards, I received the news that Zheng Chenggong had executed my whole family that not even one survived."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and heaved a deep sigh; he repeatedly stated, "It''s all because that old wh0re Madame Dong was not good."


    Gnashing his teeth, Shi Lang said, "My enmity with the Zheng Family is as deep as the ocean. It''s a pity that Zheng Chenggong had already died, it''s hard for me to avenge my enmity. Lowly officer has sworn a heavy oath, there will be a day I will kill the Zheng Family, each and every one of them, I will wipe them clean."


    Wei Xiaobao was already aware that Zheng Chenggong was an overseas king, a big hero, but hearing that Shi Lang wanted to kill the entire Zheng Clan, which naturally included his big rival Zheng Keshuang, he felt Shi Lang and he were like-minded. Nodding his head repeatedly, he said, "You should kill them, you should kill them! If you do not avenge this enmity, you are not a hero or a warrior."


    Ever since Shi Lang was summoned by Kangxi to Beijing, he only saw the Emperor one time, and then he was lying idle in Beijing. His official position was Fujian''s Naval Tidu, his nobility title was still ''Jinghai Jiangjun'' [the general who pacify the ocean], but in Beijing he received his soldier''s pay in vain, because he did not hold any authority; in fact, compared to a lowly officer of Shun Tian


    [31]yamen, his power was still inferior. To an aggressive and grand man like him, naturally being confined in the city with an anxious heart, he was like an ant in a hot pot.


    For the last three years, every few days he would go to the Ministry of War to beat around the bush. He gave present excessively, and had spent considerable amount of money; the savings that he accumulated from his career over the years had actually been thrown away into the bottomless pit of Beijing bureaucracy, but the Emperor no longer granted him any interview. He did not even know when would he receive the imperial edict sending him back to his official post in Fujian. Afterwards, when the Ministry of War yamen heard Shi Lang''s name, they would feel a headache. His personal fund had been depleted, he no longer had money to give gifts, nobody paid him any attention anymore. This time, hearing Wei Xiaobao was in complete agreement with everything he said, he felt that returning to his duty in Fujian was no longer a hopeless desire, his face was full of excitement.


    "General Shi," Songgotu said, "Zheng Chenggong killed your entire family, he really should not do that. However, you are also reaping a profit from this disaster: you renounced the dark and sought the light. If this matter did not happen, I am afraid by this time you would still be in Taiwan defying your king and master, committing those treason and heresy."


    "Suo Daren is right," Shi Lang said.


    "Zheng Chenggong killed your entire family, and then in rage, you surrendered to the Great Qing?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Yes," Shi Lang replied, "The Late Emperor''s benevolence was as heavy as the mountain; when lowly officer surrendered, the Late Emperor sent me to Fujian on a mission. Lowly officer was grateful and seeking to repay the kindness, I dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety, and set up some minor merits, hence I was promoted to be the Fujiang [deputy general] of Tong''an [district of Xiamen city], Fujian. As it turns out, Zheng Chenggong led his troops to attack, lowly officer staked everything I had against him, relying on the Late Emperor''s flood of good fortune, I seized total victory. By his great benevolence, the Late Emperor promoted me to be Tong''an''s Zongbing [regional commander]. Later on I captured Xiamen, Jinmen and Wuyu; and then in alliance with the red-haired troops, riding large sailing ship and using foreign firearms and ocean cannon, we beat Zheng Chenggong out to the sea. The Late Emperor promoted lowly officer to be the Fujian Naval Tidu, and bestowed the title ''Jinghai Jiangjun''. Actually, lowly officer did not have even half a part of contribution; one, I was a dog, enjoying great part of Qing Emperor''s good fortune, two, I received appropriate instruction from various Daren of the Imperial Court."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You were formerly in Zheng Chenggong''s army, and you have won several tough battles with him in Fujian, naturally you are also very familiar with the situation in Taiwan. His Majesty summoned you here to discuss the strategy to attack Taiwan, what did you tell him?"


    Shi Lang said, "Lowly officer submitted a report to His Majesty: Taiwan is sitting alone in the ocean, it is easy to guard, hard to attack. The officers and soldiers of Taiwan are crack troops who have followed Zheng Chenggong in hundreds of battle in the past. If we want to attack Taiwan, our officers and men must be united under one command, there must not be any pulling or elbowing inside, people who act as they see fit; only then we will achieve success."


    "Are you saying that you want to take charge in this important task and to let you one man have the authority to boss people around?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Lowly officer does not dare to have such arrogance," Shi Lang replied, "But attacking Taiwan must be done when it is the least expected, attack when they are not prepared. The Capital and Fujian are several thousand li apart, when the good opportunity to attack Taiwan arises, and we have to submit a memorial to the throne to ask for instruction, by the time the imperial court makes decision, perhaps the good opportunity will be lost. Taiwan''s various generals and officers are not a big deal; there is one Chen Yonghua who is full of stratagems, and then there is one Liu Guoxuan who is brave and good at fighting. In all honesty, these two are greatly formidable opponent. If we send the troops in haste, victory will be hard to grasp."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "That is true. His Majesty is extremely brilliant, he would not blame you as saying wrong things. What else did you tell him?"


    Shi Lang said, "His Majesty also inquired about the strategy to attack Taiwan. In response to the imperial inquiry, lowly officer reported: Although Taiwan''s troops are exquisite, when all is said and done, their number is small. When the Great Qing attacks Taiwan, we should attack one problem from two angles at the same time [orig. ''painting using two brushes'']. The first step is to use spies, we scheme to set the people inside to be at odds with each other. It would be best if we could disseminate rumors, saying that Chen Yonghua is harboring the desire to abandon his master and be independent, that he and Liu Guoxuan, two people, are plotting to seize the throne. As soon as Zheng Jing is suspicious, there is a good chance that he would kill Chen and Liu, two people. Even if he did not kill them, he would not put them in important position, he would strip them of any authority. Chen and Liu, two people, one an important figure the other a general, they are indeed Taiwan''s two pillars. If we can deal with both, that is certainly the best. But if we can only get rid of one of them, one of them working alone, a single log cannot support a large building."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly shocked, "Damn it," he mused, "You want to harm my Shifu." He asked, "Isn''t there a certain ''One Sword Without Blood'', Feng Xifan?"


    Shi Lang was greatly surprised, "Unexpectedly Wei Daren also know about Feng Xifan."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard His Majesty mentioned it when we were chatting. His Majesty is very clear about Taiwan''s inside story! His Majesty said, ''Madame Dong is fond of her ''little white face'' grandson Zheng Keshuang, she does not like the heir apparent Zheng Keshang; she wants her son to change the heir apparent, but Zheng Jing is unwilling. Is there really such thing?"


    Shi Lang was startled, but was also full of admiration, "The Holy Son of Heaven is intelligent and wise, indeed a rarity since the dawn of time. He resides deep in the Palace, but can see clearly ten thousand li away. His Majesty''s words are not the least bit incorrect."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said that there are two ways to attack Taiwan; one is using scheme to kill Chen Yonghua and Liu Guoxuan, what is the other one?"


    Shi Lang said, "The other is to attack using naval force. Attacking only in one direction won''t be easy to succeed, we must attack it from three directions at once. From the north attack Jilong Gang [lit. chicken coop port], in the middle attack Taiwan''s government seat, from the south attack Dagou Gang [lit. beating a dog port; my dictionary says ''old name for Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan'']. As long as one direction succeed, the landing will definitely plant our feet in Taiwan, the people''s heart will be thrown into confusion, it will be a clean sweep."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Leading naval forces, fighting naval battle, you are the expert."


    Shi Lang said, "In all my life lowly officer has been in the navy, I am well acquainted with naval warfare."


    Wei Xiaobao had a brainwave; he pondered, "This man wants to kill the entire family of surname Zheng, hence he will get rid of that kid Zheng Keshuang; that won''t be so bad. However, Zheng Chenggong was a great hero, killing his entire family cannot be justified. Much less attacking Taiwan means bringing harm to my Shifu; that won''t be good at all. This man is an expert in naval battle, by sending him on this mission, I will kill two birds with one stone."


    Turning toward Songgotu he asked, "Dage, what do you think we must do?"


    Songgotu said, "His Majesty is wise, he stands tall and sees far, his reckoning will not fail. As his servants, all we need to do is just listen to his instruction, and that''s that."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "What a crafty fellow you are; you are unwilling to take any responsibility." He picked up the teacup with both hands. The servant waiting on them loudly announced, "See the visitor out!"


    Shi Lang stood up, saluted, and took his leave. Songgotu stayed for a short chat, and then he also took his leave.


    Wei Xiaobao went to the Palace to see the Emperor, he reported Shi Lang''s wish to attack Taiwan. Kangxi said, "Eliminate threats from three borders first, then pacify Taiwan; this is the basic order of priority. This man Shi Lang indeed has talent, but I am afraid after I let him go back to Fujian, this man will become impatient to render merit and take revenge, he would act blindly without thinking, and then Taiwan would be alerted instead; therefore, all along I keep him in Beijing."


    Wei Xiaobao was immediately enlightened. "Right, right," he said, "As soon as Shi Lang reached Fujian, he would want to build battleships and recruit the troops, he would beat the grass to scare the snake. While if we want to attack Taiwan, it has to be ''the gods did not know, the ghost did not realize''; everybody has to think that we are not attacking, and then we suddenly attack, so that the kid surnamed Zheng will be thrown into confusion."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "That should be the way to move the troops. Besides, dispatching a general is not as good as stimulating a general; I keep Shi Lang in Beijing, so that his strength won''t be used, he will be bored half-dead. By the time I send him out, he will do everything he can to follow my order, and will not dare to goof off."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This strategy of Your Majesty''s, even Zhuge Liang cannot surpass. Your servant has seen the play ''Ding Jun Shan'' [lit. Fixing-the-army Mountain], Zhuge Liang stimulated Huang Zhong


    [32] that he staked everything and fought ruthlessly, and thus with one saber he chopped that ''chunxiaqiudong'' [spring, summer, autumn, winter �C the four season] painted-face."


    Kangxi smiled, "Xia Houyuan," he said.


    "Right, right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty''s memory is really good, you watched the play, and remember that big painted-face''s name."


    Kangxi laughed. "That big painted-face''s name is actually written in the book," he said, "What did Shi Lang give you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised. "Your Majesty knows everything," he said, "That Shi Lang gave me a jade bowl, but I don''t like it too much."


    "So what''s not good about the jade bowl?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Although the jade bowl is precious, once it fell it breaks. Your servant has worked for Your Majesty, my pair of hands are holding a golden rice bowl [an allegory to ''secure and lucrative job''], which for a thousand years won''t break when it fell, for ten thousand years won''t rust. That is the big difference."


    Kangxi burst out laughing. Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, your servant suddenly thinks of an idea, would you hear it and tell me if it is possible?"


    "What idea?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That Shi Lang said that he is a naval commander, and is very good at naval warfare ��"


    Kangxi slapped his left hand on the table. "Good idea, good idea," he said, "Xiao Guizi, you are very smart. You may take him to Liaodong, send him to attack Shen Long Jiao."


    Wei Xiaobao was very amazed in his heart, he stared at Kangxi for half a day before saying, "Your Majesty must be an immortal descending into the world; your servant had not even said the thought in my mind, Your Majesty already knew."


    Kangxi smiled. "Enough patting the horse''s butt," he said, "Xiao Guizi, that is a wonderful idea. I was anxious, you are going to attack Shen Long Jiao, I don''t know if you will succeed. This Shi Lang is a talent in naval warfare, I''ll have him going Shen Long Island to practice first, but he must not leak the secret beforehand."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao hastily said.


    Kangxi sent for Shi Lang at once. When he arrived, Kangxi said, "Zhen is sending Wei Xiaobao to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice to the Heaven. He highly recommends you, saying that you handled matters competently; he wants to take you along. Zhen accepted his words a bit reluctantly, I am not quite convinced yet."


    Wei Xiaobao was amused inwardly. "Zhuge Liang is stimulating the Old Huang Zhong," he thought.


    Shi Lang repeatedly kowtowed; he said, "Your Servant [orig. ''chen'', a minister referring to self in front of the Emperor] will go with Wei Dutong on this mission, I will definitely display utter loyalty in obeying his order, I will dash on bravely with no thought of personal safety, in order to repay Your Majesty''s as-high-as-the-sky kindness."


    Kangxi said, "This is a test for you. If you succeed, I will send you on different mission in the future."


    Shi Lang was greatly delighted; he kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty''s kindness ascends the sky, it is broad and powerful."


    Kangxi said, "This is a secret mission, other than Wei Xiaobao one person, nobody else in the Imperial Court knew about it. In everything you are to follow Wei Xiaobao''s order. You are dismissed."


    Shi Lang kowtowed. He was about to withdraw, Kangxi suddenly smiled and said, "Wei Dutong treats you well; go, send him a big golden rice bowl."


    Shi Lang complied, in his heart he did not understand a thing, he was unclear of the Emperor''s intention; but seeing ''the Heaven''s countenance'' was very happy, he believed it must not be a bad thing.


    By the time Wei Xiaobao returned to his viscount mansion, he saw Shi Lang was already waiting at the gate, saying a lot of things about gratitude for the promotion. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "General Shi, this time I have no choice but to wrong you: I would like you to be a tiny Canling [Regimental Commander


    [33]] in my brigade, to protect against outsider knew about this."


    Shi Lang was greatly delighted; he said, "In everything I will follow Dutong Daren''s instruction." He realized that the lower the official position Wei Xiaobao assigned to him, that means the more Wei Xiaobao considered him as his own people, the more opportunity for him to gain meteoric rise [orig. ''the divine steed Huang flashes past''] in his career later on. If Wei Xiaobao assigned him to be his personal guard, that would be even better. He also said, "His Majesty instructed lowly officer to make a golden bowl and present it as a gift to Dutong; I wonder which style Dutong Daren likes the most, lowly officer will send for some master artisan to manufacture one overnight."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That was His Majesty''s grace; no matter what style, we as the servants will hold the golden bowl with both hands to eat our rice, with our hearts full of gratitude for the vast and mighty benevolence of the Emperor." Shi Lang repeatedly voiced his agreement.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Laozi originally wanted to escape without a trace, to resign and not have anything to do with government anymore. And now I found you, this scapegoat, it would be best if you fight desperately with Hong Jiaozhu that both of you perish together; then you two brothers'' long lives will be the same as the bugs."


    After Shi Lang left, Wei Xiaobao summoned Li Lishi, Feng Jizhong, Xu Tianchuan, Priest Xuanzhen, and the other Tian Di Hui brothers; he told them what had happened in details. Li Lishi said, "This thief surnamed Shi rebelled against Guoxing Ye, and he wants to attack Taiwan and frame Zongduozhu; it''s by the Heaven''s providence that he came across Wei Xiangzhu. What should we do to manipulate him?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shen Long Jiao colludes with Wu Sangui and Luocha Country, presently the Emperor is sending me leading Shi Lang to destroy Shen Long Jiao. Let''s let this surnamed Shi fight with Shen Long Jiao until the sky turns dark and the earth black, until both sides suffer, and then we''ll come to pick the fish out of the net." Everybody approved this plan in one voice.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This surnamed Shi is astute and competent, I need to rely on him to strike Shen Long Island, so we cannot kill him yet. All Gege must be careful, don''t let him see through our secret."


    Gao Yanchao said, "We will dress as Valiant Cavalry Brigade Tatars; ordinarily we won''t see him too much. Even if we do, he won''t dare to offend the Tatars."


    By the afternoon of the next day, Shi Lang came to the viscount mansion asking for an audience, carrying a brocade box with both hands. Wei Xiaobao opened the brocade box, and sure enough, he saw a big golden rice bowl, weighed at least six or seven taels


    [34]. Shi Lang said, "Lowly officer should make it a bit bigger, but I am afraid �� I am afraid it would not be convenient for Dutong Daren to use."


    Wei Xiaobao weighed the golden bowl with his left hand. "It''s heavy enough," he said with a laugh, "General Shi, what do these many characters say?"


    Shi Lang said, "The middle four large characters say, ''Gong Zhong Ti Guo'' [serving one''s country loyally''. This line of little characters above it says, ''Personally presented to Internal Imperial Bodyguard Deputy Minister, simultaneously holding Valiant Cavalry Brigade Plain Yellow Banner Dutong position, the wearer of Yellow Magua, Batulu Brave title, First Class Viscount Wei Xiaobao.'' Below, in even smaller characters, are ''Made by Minister Jinghai Jiangjun Shi Lang on imperial orders.''"


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he laughed and said, "Thank you very much for this." He said in his heart, "That''s right, my golden bowl is bestowed by His Majesty; how can you give me any golden rice bowl [i.e. secure and lucrative job]? This Old Shi is actually not a fool?"


    Two days later, Kangxi proclaimed the imperial edict, ordering Wei Xiaobao to take the ten ''Shen Wu Da Pao'' and set out to sea from Dagu


    [35], passing through Liaodong Bay to the north; first to offer sacrifice at Liaohai [east and south of Liaoning province], and then to land at Liaodong, travel to Changbai Mountain and set off the cannon to offer sacrifice to the Heaven.


    Wei Xiaobao accepted the imperial edict; thinking that since this time they were going to attack Divine Dragon Cult, he could not bring Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan along, hence he ordered the two of them to stay in Beijing. He brought Shuang''er and Tian Di Hui brothers, leading the Valiant Cavalry Brigade troops, and set off to Tianjin.


    Hundreds of civil and military officials welcomed the Imperial Envoy Minister; some of them were respectful and solemn beyond ordinary, a hundred-percent bootlicking; some of them flattered appropriately, it was just perfect. There was only one bearded military officer with haughty air, when he saluted, it was clear that he was saluting half-heartedly, obviously he did not have any regard toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao was angry, he was about to lash it out immediately when he had a second thought, "His Majesty''s order: this time everything must be kept in strict confidence, must not create too much disturbance and attract unnecessary attention. You look down on me, do you think Laozi will look up to your big beard? Let us, two boys, have a contest, whose official position is higher?" And then another official highly praised him for his heroic deed in killing Oboi with his own hand. Wei Xiaobao was immensely proud of himself, and was no longer bothered with the big beard.


    That evening Wei Xiaobao invited Tianjin''s Naval Zongbing [regional commander] to come over, and showed him Kangxi''s secret order. The Naval Zongbing was called Huang Fu. He read the imperial decree ordering him to lead the naval officers and men to board the ships and follow the Imperial Envoy Minister''s direction, in an important clandestine military mission. He received the imperial decree and bowed, saying he was ready to hear the direction. Wei Xiaobao inquired about the strength of the navy: how many sailors they had, how many boats were available, and so on. And then he summoned Shi Lang to join them. He ordered Shi Lang and Huang Fu to discuss the plan to go to sea, while he himself went to the rear barrack and gambled and played Pai Jiu with the soldiers.


    They stopped over in Tianjin for three days, the Naval Force Brigade loaded food, fresh water, ammunition, bows and arrows and other stuffs onto the ships. Wei Xiaobao led the Naval Force Brigade, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, ten big battleships, and thirty-eight second-class battleships, to set sail.


    It was not until after they left Dagu and reached the open sea that Wei Xiaobao announced the imperial decree, that their mission this time was to eliminate Divine Dragon Island, that all officers and men must follow the order bravely, and that after their success, there would be promotion and rewards all around. The officers and soldiers saw that their side had overwhelming numerical strength, plus the Imperial Envoy Minister had ten western-style cannon, while their opponent on the Divine Dragon Island was no more than a bunch or pirate who illegally occupied the island. With a series of bombardments from the cannon, the pirates would be struck that none will remain. This time meritorious service and promotion were guaranteed. Immediately they broke out in cheers, their spirit was boosted a hundred times.


    Wei Xiaobao rode the main ship. He reminisced about the last time he went to the Divine Dragon Island under Fang Yi''s deception. Although that young woman was crafty, looking back this time, he was greatly charmed by the warmth of their being together for several days on the ocean. He thought, "As soon as we reach the Island, if the cannon fire randomly, most of the Cult members of Shen Long Jiao will die by the explosion first. Once the several thousand officers and soldiers rush ashore, even if Hong Jiaozhu''s martial art skill were higher, he won''t be able to resist the enemy. However, if this happens, perhaps my Xiao Niang Pi [little mother skin] Fang Yi will be blasted to death; that will be very far from good. Even if she did not die, if she lost an arm in the explosion, that will be too bad."


    Originally, he was afraid of Cult Leader Hong, and only wanted to smear oil to the soles of his feet and would feel very lucky if he could escape alive; but now with Shi Lang in charge plus several dozen battleships deployed to the ocean and ten newly-manufactured ''Shen Wu Da Pao'', this battle would only result in victory and not defeat. If only he could find a way to guarantee Fang Yi''s safety while destroying the Divine Dragon Cult completely, then he would get the best of both worlds. Thereupon he summoned Shi Lang and asked him about the plan of attacking the Island.


    Shi Lang opened the file he brought along in his hand; he took out a large map and spread it out on the table. Pointing to a small island on the map, he said, "This is the Shen Long Island."


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that there was a red circle drawn on the island, with three arrows from north, east and south pointing to the red circle. He was full of admiration, saying, "Turns out you have already prepared a plan to attack the Shen Long Island. I only announced the Emperor''s secret order after we left Dagu, how could you have a nautical chart ready?"


    Shi Lang replied, "Lowly officer heard that Daren was going to leave Dagu and proceed toward Liaodong by the sea, thereupon I prepared this nautical chart. Lowly officer has always loved to have a career in the ocean, I am accustomed to look at nautical charts."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "Apparently in our mission this time we are bound to win a victory on raising the flag, to succeed upon embarking the ships."


    "That is entirely dependent on His Majesty''s sacred virtue and Wei Daren''s prestige," Shi Lang said, "In Lowly officer''s humble opinion, we must divide our forces into three groups; we''ll launch tree-pronged attack from the north, east and south of the Island, and leave the west side of the Island free of any assault. After the cannon blast, the bandits on the Island won''t be able to withstand, most likely they would run to the west of the Island to escape to sea. Behind this little island about thirty li or so west of the Island, we prepare an ambush of twenty ships. As soon as the bandit escapees arrived, these twenty battleships will appear to cut their escape route, the cannon blast, the battleships from the north, east and south will catch up, and surround the pirate ship in the middle. At that time we can catch everything in one net, not one pirate would be able to escape alive."


    Wei Xiaobao cheered and applauded, repeatedly saying that it was an ingenious plan. Shi Lang said, "I am asking Daren to lead the troops, by setting up a central command and supervise the battle from this nameless island, please do not get on the boat and join the battle. The central command must be as steady as Mount Tai. If there is any slightest damage to the command flagship, the mast is broken by the gale or what have you, inevitably the morale of the troops will be shaken. Lowly officer will lead the battleships to launch the three-pronged attack. Huang Zongbing will lead the ambushing ships to intercept the enemy. Ten little ships will come and go to communicate military intelligence. About how the operation should be executed, Daren may give orders at any time, Lowly officer and Huang Zongbing will follow."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "This man is actually very perceptive; he knew perfectly well than I am afraid of death, hence he let me assume personal command on this little island more than thirty li away, so that I will be absolutely safe. Even if you are completely wiped out, laozi will still have enough time to go onboard a ship and make a dash out of there. Ingenious plan, ingenious plan." Thereupon he praised him greatly.


    Shi Lang said, "When Lowly officer first heard of Wei Daren''s prestige, I found out that Wei Daren has killed the Manchu''s Number One Warrior Oboi with your own hand, and has snatched the title Manchurian-Han''s Number One Warrior; therefore, you were bestowed the ''Batulu'' title of bravery, your courage became famous all over the world. Lowly officer is only afraid that in your desire to repay the Heaven''s benevolence, Daren might dash on bravely in battle with no thought of personal safety. Supposing the cannon harm Daren''s one little finger, His Majesty would surely greatly blame Lowly officer. That my whole life career would be ruined is not a big deal, but I would fail to live up to Daren''s kindness by entrusting this heavy responsibility to me, a crime that Lowly officer will not be able to redeem by ten thousand deaths. Therefore, I urgently ask Daren''s to show understanding by taking a good care of your ten-thousand-gold body."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Fighting a battle on a ship is a very interesting experience. I originally wanted to personally lead the attack and capture that Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu. But since you put it that way, I have no choice but to let you do it."


    "Yes, yes," Shi Lang said, "Daren is showing understanding, Lowly officer is deeply grateful."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You were simmering in Beijing for three years, already you are very proficient in the way of the government officials. Laozi originally wanted to deal with you, but seeing you this well-behaved, I cannot bear to do it. This is the first time I''ve ever heard the title ''Manchurian-Han''s Number One Warrior''; only you can fabricate such title." He said, "There are several hundred young women on Shen Long Island, including several women who escaped from the Palace. His Majesty instructed that they must be captured alive. When attacking the Island, you must be very careful, the cannon cannot be fired randomly. If those several palace maids die in the blast, His Majesty will definitely blame us; even if you render bigger merit, your merit cannot make up for it. This is most important."


    Shi Lang was shocked; he said, "If not for Daren''s warning, Lowly officer nearly rush into a disaster. When we attack the Island, as long as it is a female, we will capture her alive, no one can kill or injure them; we''ll send them all to Daren to be dealt with."


    "So be it," Wei Xiaobao said, "I have seen these several palace maids, as soon as I see them, I would be able to recognize them. But this kind of imperial palace''s matter, um, you know."


    "Yes," Shi Lang replied, "Daren please set your heart at ease, Lowly officer will guard my mouth like a closed bottle. The matter of the Palace, who dares to speak thoughtlessly and talk randomly?"


    The battleship continued their voyage northeasterly, they happened to meet headwind, hence the progress was very slow. One day Shen Long Island was not too far away ahead. Shi Lang pointed to a small island to the port side and said, "That is the place where Dutong Daren will set up your command station. This small island does not have any name, would Daren bestow a name to it?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head, "You want me to think of a name is like you want me to deliver my old life," he said, "Hmm, this time I am the banker, you are my subordinate, the banker''s assistant who opens the corner of the tiles; we are playing Pai Jiu, and we must beat Shen Long Island and sweep it clean. Hence, this small island will be called ''Tong Chi'' Island


    [36]."


    Shi Lang laughed. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he said, "Wei Daren assumes personal command on Tong Chi Island, indeed it is great luck, great profit; no matter how strong or formidable the enemy is, we will always ''eat'' them clean. Daren was dealt ''heaven'' pair first, this is Daren''s own hand. Later you''ll be dealt ''supreme treasure'', that will be His Majesty''s. With these two sets of card, how can we not sweep the deck (of cards) clean?"


    Wei Xiaobao burst out in laughter. "Generals!" he shouted, "Move the troops to Tong Chi Island!" He had seen an actor shouted that order on the stage; now he shouted it out, it was indeed majestic, extremely high-spirited and vigorous.


    Dozens of battleships all around followed the flagship of their commander-in-chief, slowly sailed to the Tong Chi Island. Suddenly a sailor in one of the smaller ships shouted. Soon afterwards the small ship came near to report, saying that they saw a body floating on the water. Wei Xiaobao frowned; he thought, "It''s a bad omen for the deployed troops to come across a floating corpse! Could it be that this time I become the banker I must pay all


    [37]?"


    Shi Lang said, "Congratulations Daren on winning a victory on raising the flag; before we even fire the cannon and shoot the arrows, one of the enemy is already dead; this is indeed a greatly lucky omen. Let lowly officer go over to look." Finished speaking, he jumped onto the small ship.


    A moment later, Shi Lang returned to the flagship and said, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: the floating corpse has its hands and feet tied behind its back. Apparently the pirates killed him for his money and pushed him into the ocean." Just as he spoke, there was another shout from the small ship, saying that they saw two more floating corpse.


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance turned really ugly. This time Shi Lang could not say anything auspicious. He jumped onto the small ship again, and when he returned to the command ship, there was a happy expression across his face. "Reporting to Daren," he said, "It seems that these three floating corpses came from Shen Long Island."


    "How did you know?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shi Lang said, "The first corpse did not show anything, but the following two corpses are obviously pirates; their bodies look strong, clearly they knew martial art."


    "Could it be that there is an internal strife within the Shen Long Island?" Wei Xiaobao wondered.


    Shi Lang said, "The wind is blowing from the Shen Long Island''s direction, most probably these three corpses were blown here by the wind. If there is indeed an internal strife within the enemy''s rank, this time Wei Daren become the banker, you can eat them all as simmer-fried tofu; no need to bite, just swallow them all clean."


    Wei Xiaobao cast his gaze to the distance, but fog was rising from the ocean, the white mist filled the air, he was unable to see Shen Long Island. Suddenly he seemed to see something like a ball bobbing up and down on the surface of the water, the ball gradually floated near. "What is that?" he asked.


    Shi Lang focused his gaze. "There is something strange about that thing," he said. He transmitted an order to the small ship to fish the object up. Following the order, the small ship sailed away to dredge the object up from the water. The officer on the ship shouted loudly, "Another floating corpse. It''s a short and fat guy."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved. "Could it be him?" he mused. He said, "Lift it up here, let me look."


    Three sailors heaved the floating corpse onto the flagship, and lay it down on the deck. This floating corpse''s hands and feet were also bound with leather rope. As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw it, sure enough, it was Thin Toutuo. He was already very fat, and by this time he had drunk a lot of water, his belly was bloated up, just like a fully blown leather ball. He saw sea water gurgling out from his mouth, after a while, his fat tummy started to rise and fall, he started to breathe. The soldiers called out, "The floating corpse came back to live!"


    Shi Lang raised Thin Toutuo and propped his lower back on the chain block at the bow of the ship. With head hanging down, the stream of seawater from his mouth flowed faster. After a while, Thin Toutuo jerked up and cursed, "Your granny!" But then he dropped down again, sitting on the bow. The soldiers were scared, but then they roared in laughter.


    Thin Toutuo struggled, but the leather rope was wet with seawater, it became even more tough and pliable, how could he break it? He shook his head with a bewildered look on his eyes "Damn it," he said, "Is this the Dragon Palace


    [38], or the underworld?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is the Dragon Palace, and I am Hai Long Wang [sea dragon king]." The officers and soldiers roared in laughter again.


    Thin Toutuo opened wide his pair of slit eyes, and stared hard at Wei Xiaobao. "You �� you �� why are you here?" he said.


    For fear that he might reveal his secret, Wei Xiaobao said, "This man is a freak, perhaps he knows the inside information on Shen Long Island. Quickly take him to my cabin, let me interrogate him." Two personal guards brought Thin Toutuo into Wei Xiaobao''s cabin. "Wait outside," Wei Xiaobao ordered them, "If you do not hear my call, don''t come in."


    After the personal guards closed the cabin''s door, Wei Xiaobao asked, "Thin Toutuo, your martial art skill is very high, how could you get tied and thrown into the ocean?"


    Thin Toutuo said, "Laozi is not the number one martial artist under the heavens, why can''t I get tied and thrown into the ocean?"


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback. "Ah, you are unable to defeat Jiaozhu," he said with a laugh.


    Thin Toutuo said, "What''s so funny about that? And who can possibly defeat Jiaozhu?"


    "How did you offend Jiaozhu?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Who dares to offend Jiaozhu, the Senior?" Thin Toutuo said, "Madame said that Mao Dongzhu did not do her best in her mission in the Palace, she deceived Jiaozhu, therefore, she was to be sent into the Divine Dragon Cave to be fed to the dragons. I �� I �� I ��" Speaking to this point, his eyes were bulging, his teeth clenched, the expression on his face showed that he was extremely outraged.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly understood; that night at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful the fake Empress Dowager, the old wh0re told his Shifu Jiu Nan that she was the daughter of a great general of the Ming Dynasty by the name of Mao something Long, her real name was Mao Dongzhu. He laughed and said, "In the Palace you slept with Mao Dongzhu under the same quilt; that was extremely fun!"


    Thin Toutuo looked very pleased with himself. "Isn''t that so?" he said.


    "I have saved your life, haven''t I?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Just consider it yes," Thin Toutuo said.


    "What do you mean just consider it or not consider it yes?" Wei Xiaobao said, "If you want to say that I did not save your life, isn''t that also very easy?"


    "What do you mean very easy?" Thin Toutuo asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I''ll simply push you back into the ocean, then you can consider that I did not save your life; that''s it."


    "That won''t do, that won''t do!" Thin Toutuo yelled, "You drown me, it''s not a big deal, but my Dongzhu Meizi [younger sister, term of endearment] won''t stay alive."


    "Whether she will stay alive or not, in any case you are dead," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "That won''t do, that won''t do!" Thin Toutuo yelled.


    "If I let you go," Wei Xiaobao asked, "What are you going to do?"


    "Then I will thank you very much," Thin Toutuo replied, "But I still have to return to Shen Long Island to save my Dongzhu Meizi."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his thumb and praised him, "You have both the passion and the righteousness!" while thinking in his heart, "His Majesty wanted me to capture the old wh0re, I was just worried that I could not find her, now I am certain I will find the old wh0re from this fat and short fellow. But this man''s martial art skill is superior; if I let him go, it will be like ''releasing the tiger is easy, catching the tiger is difficult''. Can''t say for sure, perhaps with an ''Ahoy'', he will bite me instead."


    Thin Toutuo said, "Luckily there is fighting on Shen Long Island that the sky and earth are turning upside down; it will be a lot more convenient to save someone."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard it, his heart was shaken. "How can there be fighting on Shen Long Island that the sky and earth are turning upside down?" he busily asked.


    Thin Toutuo said, "The Five Dragon Gates, you hit me, I strike you, they have been fighting for more than ten days. Whoever got caught by the other party would be immediately bound hands and feet and thrown into the sea to feed the Dragon King."


    "Why are they fighting?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Thin Toutuo leaned his fat head sideways, he cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Dongzhu Meizi said that you are our Cult''s White Dragon Envoy, wielding the Five Dragon Command; how can you not know?"


    "I received Jiaozhu''s order to go to the Central Plains on a mission," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Hence I am not clear of what''s been happening on the Island."


    Thin Toutuo suddenly cried out some strange noises. Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright and withdrew two steps back. The four personal guards outside the door heard the strange noise. Afraid that this fat and short man might injure their Commander, with sabers in their hands they burst into the room. Ony after seeing the fat and short man was still bound hands and feet and was sitting nicely on the floor did they feel relieve. Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said, "You may get out, I am all right." The personal guards withdrew from the room.


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Why did you let out those strange noises?"


    "That''s bad!" Thin Toutuo said, "You are Jiaozhu and Madame''s trusted aide, but I''ve told you everything."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s not that bad. You can just consider that I have not saved you, that you are still floating around on the ocean, ''glug, glug'', drinking the seawater to your heart''s content."


    "His granny," Thin Toutuo said, "That saltwater really does not taste good."


    "If you don''t want to drink saltwater," Wei Xiaobao said, "Then tell me truthfully, why did the Five Dragon Gates fight each other?"


    "By the time Dongzhu Meizi and I returned to Shen Long Island, they have already been fighting for a few days," Thin Toutuo said, "When I asked someone, I was told that the Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting was suddenly murdered one night. There was one bloody saber on the floor. After some investigation, turned out this bloody saber belonged to the Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen''s first disciple, He Sheng."


    Hearing that Xu Xueting was murdered, Wei Xiaobao was slightly startled. He immediately thought, "Most likely Hong Jiaozhu sent someone to kill him."


    "But that is the Scarlet Dragon and Blue Dragon, two Gates'' business," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why did you say the Five Dragon Gates are fighting each other silly?"


    "I don''t know why," Thin Toutuo said, "But Black Dragon Gate helped the Blue Dragon Gate, Yellow Dragon Gate helped Scarlet Dragon Gate; you kill me, I kill you, they have been fighting to their hearts'' delight."


    "What about my White Dragon Gate?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Thin Toutuo stared at him; he said, "You are the White Dragon Envoy; how come you did not know your own Gate''s business?"


    "I have told you," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I was not on the Island; naturally I did not know."


    "Your Gate is divided into two factions," Thin Toutuo said, "Older brothers became one faction, helping Blue Dragon Gate; the younger disciples are the other faction, helping the Scarlet Dragon Gate."


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows. "The Five Dragon Gates are beating each other, could it be that Jiaozhu does not pay any attention?" he asked.


    Thin Toutuo said, "Everybody is rising on their own, Jiaozhu is unable to suppress it."


    Right this moment, suddenly they felt that the ship had stopped; they heard the sailors yelled, the chain rattled, dropping the anchor into the sea. They had arrived at the Tong Chi Island.


    Wei Xiaobao stepped out to the bow. He saw lush vegetation on the island, rolling hills all around; it was indeed a very good place. Turning to Shi Lang he said, "There are snakes everywhere on the island, you need to send people to scout first whether there are snakes on Tong Chi Island or not."


    Shi Lang complied and transmitted the order. Immediately ten small boats were rowed onto the island. The sailors went ashore and entered the woods to look for snakes. Not too long afterwards they lighted a torch to signal that the island was peaceful and nothing to worry about, there was no footprint, and there were no poisonous snakes.


    The vanguard landed first, and put up army tents. One large command banner, embroidered with a large graceful character ''Wei'', was raised in front of the tents. Wei Xiaobao then disembarked; with Shi Lang and Huang Zongbing walking on his left and right he stepped down onto Tong Chi Island. Bugle horns and firecrackers sounded, the troops bowed to salute. With head held high Wei Xiaobao entered the army camp and took his seat. He ordered his personal guard to imprison Thin Toutuo at the back of the tent, and to give him some wine and meat for him to eat, but not to loosen the leather rope binding his hands and feet; instead, he added several links of iron chain to bind him before Wei Xiaobao felt completely safe.


    Following which, he issued an order to have Shi Lang leading thirty battleships and attack the Shen Long Island from the east, north and south, three directions; he also ordered Regional Commander Huang to lead the rest of the battleships hiding on the west side of the Tong Chi Island. As soon as they hear Shi Lang''s cannon signal, they were to appear and cut the enemy''s escape route. Which battleship would sail in the front, which battleship would provide support, how to launch the assault, how to make flank attack. All assignments were laid out clearly and in orderly manner, the directives were very detailed.


    Regional Commander Huang, as well as the deputy generals and the regimental commanders of the Navy, the garrison commanders, the Valiant Cavalry Brigade''s regimental commanders, the company commanders, and the others military officers, high and low, all gasped in admiration to see that although their Dutong Daren was young, he was surprisingly very well versed in naval warfare; his tactic was exquisite, his commands were appropriate. They did not know that it all came from Shi Lang''s scheming, this Dutong Daren was no more than an actor in front of the stage, singing a shuanghuang


    [39].


    That evening the troops stuffed themselves with eve-of-battle dinner. When the night fell, one by one the battleships sailed out. The three-pronged attack was scheduled at dawn, at the maoshi hour [between 5-7 am].


    The next day at dawn, Wei Xiaobao climbed onto the observation tower the sergeants erected in haste. He looked eastwards, and heard the distant sound of artillery, saw faint flash of sparks, and gusts of thick smoke rising up from the surface of the ocean. He knew that Shi Lang had already started the assault, and could not help but was anxious over Fang Yi''s safety. However, thinking that Shi Lang would handle this matter discretely, plus he himself had repeatedly warned Shi Lang not to harm the women on the Island, he presumed Shi Lang would definitely be particularly careful.


    After standing on the observation tower for a while, his feet were aching. He returned to the command tent and asked for six dice. He mused, "If we seize total victory this time, let me throw a hall full of red


    [40]." But when he threw the dice, unexpectedly all were blacks, not even one red dot turned up.


    "Damn it," he cursed, "You are messing up with me!" Employing his cheating technique, he held the dice in such a way that all three-dots are facing up, and then using a bit of strength in his hand he rolled the dice. This time, as expected, there were five dice showing reds, all four-dots. There was only one showing blacks, a five-dot. He was fully aware than he cheated, hence it could not be considered as a good throw; yet he was quite happy.


    Shuang''er came with a bowl of tea for him. "Xianggong," she said, "Don''t be anxious, this time we will definitely have a greatly successful battle."


    "How do you know?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shuang''er said, "We have fired the cannon many times, how can the enemy withstand it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Come, Shuang''er, throw the dice with me. If you win, I''ll give the control to you. If I win, this can be considered great success."


    Shuang''er blushed; she hastily said, "No, I won''t come, I won''t come."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Let''s gamble for money then," he said, "If I win, you pay me one qian [one-tenth of a tael]. If you win, I will pay you one tael of silver. Won''t you say this way you''ll have nothing to lose?"


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "I have no money to lose to you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You want money? That''s not easy." But he took out some banknotes from his pocket and gave them to her.


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "I have no use of money."


    "Ay," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have no gambling nature. I''d better release that fat and short man and have him gamble with me."


    Speaking to this point, suddenly they heard repeated cannon shots. Wei Xiaobao sprang up to embrace Shuang''er. "Great success," he said, "You deserve a kiss."


    Shuang''er hastily laughed and lowered her head. Wei Xiaobao planted a couple of kiss on the back of her neck. "Your neck is really white!" he said.


    They heard the ''toot, toot'' of bugle horn, he rushed out of the command tent and climbed up the observation tower. He saw in the distant three columns of flame rose up from Shen Long Island, went up straight to the sky, while the whole island was blanketed in black smoke; presumably the explosion had turned Shen Long Island into a piece of scorched earth. He also saw one by one the battleships were sailing eastwards; he thought, "This fellow Shi Lang calculates like a half smelly cobbler, his ''prophecy with supernatural accuracy'' is not worth mentioning, his ''predicting future matter like a ghost'' is only so-so."


    The battleships went back and forth on the ocean very slowly, he had been standing on the observation tower for half a day, yet did not see any ships from Shen Long Island escaping his way, let alone seeing Shi Lang and Regional Commander Huang''s converging attack from east and west; thereupon he returned to the command tent to take a rest.


    After waiting for more than four hours, his personal guard came to report that he had just seen fireworks signal, two groups of battleships were reporting their success to Dutong Daren. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "Laozi sits quietly in the command tent, my eyes see victory report arrives, my ears hear good news. In this battle victory comes as easy as blowing off dust. I just hope that Fang Yi, that ''little mother skin'', won''t have even a strand of her hair scorched by the cannon."

 Chapter - 35 (35)

    Once following the road east, west, south and north, there is only a fate of ice, frost, rain and snow


    More than two hours later, the sun was slanting to the west; a personal guard came to report that several boats carrying prisoners were heading toward Tong Chi Island. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he sprang up and rushed to the shore. Sure enough, he saw five boats were sailing to the island. Wei Xiaobao ordered the personal guard to shout the question, "Who are the prisoners?"


    The people on the boat shouted back the answer, "These are the women; the men will come later."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, "Shi Lang indeed works reliably." Focusing his eyes, he tried to look for Fang Yi''s beautiful figure. Naturally it would be best if they could capture the old wh0re alive; if they also caught the ''thousand-tender hundred-charm'' Madame Hong, so that he could look at her several times a day on the boat, it would be too wonderful for words.


    After waiting for a good while, the five boats reached the shore. The Valiant Cavalry Brigade troops cheered; they have captured more than two hundred women. Wei Xiaobao looked at them one by one, he noticed that these women were the young girls of the Scarlet Dragon Gate. They all hung their heads dejectedly, some had tattered clothes, some were injured. But after looking at all of them, Wei Xiaobao did not see Fang Yi at all. Wei Xiaobao was quite disappointed. "Are there any more women?" he asked.


    A zuoling [company commander] replied, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: there are more coming. We have three teams searching around the Island, it''s just that there are too many poisonous snakes, the search was quite slow."


    "Has the Shen Long Jiao''s Jiaozhu been captured?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "How did the battle go?"


    The zuoling replied, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: early in the morning today, thirty battleships approached the shore, while firing the cannon at the same time. Everybody was following Daren''s instruction; we fired the cannon three times, and then paused. We only hit empty space on the Island. When the people of the Island went out to fight the enemy, we fired repeatedly. Dutong Daren predicts things like a deity, using this technique, we only need to fire three times, four, five hundred Cult bandits died of the explosion. Afterwards there was a large group of young men who were not afraid of death came charging in, their mouths shouted something like ''Hong Jiaozhu emerge victorious in every battle, he lives as long as Mount Nan ��"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Wrong," he said, "It''s Hong Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life the same as the heaven''s."


    "Yes, yes," the zuoling said, "Turns out Dutong Daren has already had thorough understanding of the Cult bandits, no wonder as soon as we deploy the troops, we make a clean sweep of the enemy. The Cult bandit shout was indeed ''his long life the same as the heaven''s''. Lowly officer has spoken incorrectly."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and asked, "And then what happened?"


    The zuoling said, "Those young men acted like they were crazy, they charged toward the beach and got into their boats, thinking that they could board our big ship and seize the cannon. We did not pay them any attention; we waited until the several dozen small boats sailed into the ocean, then we fired the cannon. ''Bang, bang, bang'', more than thirty small boats sank into the ocean, more than three thousand boys, the Cult bandits, were buried at the bottom of the ocean. At the death''s door, those little bandits was still shouting Hong Jiaozhu''s long life the same as the heaven''s."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You exaggerate military intelligence. Shen Long''s young disciples are at most eight, nine hundred people; how can there be more than three thousand boys? Fortunately, killing more enemy means bigger merit, even if you reported four thousand, five thousand, what harm is there in doing that?"


    The zuoling continued, "After the children Cult bandits were gone, there was a large group of people fleeing to the west, they got on the boats and ran away. Following Dutong Daren''s directive, our battleships chase after them. Lowly officer led my team searching on the Island. Men and women, we caught about three, four hundred of them. Shi Daren instructed us to send the women Cult bandits to Tong Chi Island first for Dutong Daren to interrogate."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. Although this battle was a great success, not being able to see Fang Yi, he felt quite uneasy; he wondered if she was killed by the cannon blast. Turning around, he scanned the group of women again. Suddenly he saw a young girl with round face; immediately he remembered that when he was summoned by the Cult Leader to the general assembly the other day, this young girl had said that Wei Xiaobao was Fat Toutuo''s b@stard son; she also pinched his cheek and kicked his butt. Recalling these past events, his mischievous intention was aroused. Walking toward her, he reached out and pinched her cheek as hard as he could.


    The young girl screamed and cursed, "Dog Tatar, you �� you ��"


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "Ma, don''t you remember your son?"


    The girl was greatly surprised. She started at him, and vaguely felt that his face looked familiar; but no matter what she could not remember that this Qing troops'' commander was their own Cult''s White Dragon Envoy.


    "What''s your name?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Quickly kill me," the girl said, "Whatever you want to ask, I won''t answer one word."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You don''t want to talk? Guards!"


    "Cha!" several dozen personal guards immediately responded.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Take this girl down, strip her clothes, her pants, everything, flog her butt a hundred times."


    The personal guards chorused again, "Cha!" And stepped forward to drag the girl away.


    The girl was so scared that her face was devoid of any color. "No, don''t!" she hastily said, "I''ll talk, I''ll talk!"


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand to stop the guards; he smiled and said, "Alright, what''s your name?"


    For a few moments the young girl was extremely terrified; only now did she burst into tears. "I �� I am called Yun Sumei," she said.


    "You are Scarlet Dragon Gate disciple, aren''t you?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Yun Sumei nodded. "Yes," she said in a low voice.


    "In your Scarlet Dragon Gate there is a certain Fang Yi, Miss Fang, who later on joined the White Dragon Gate. Do you know her?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I do," Yun Sumei replied, "After joining the White Dragon Gate, she was promoted to be a platoon leader."


    "Good for her, she is promoted," Wei Xiaobao said, "Where is she now?"


    "This morning," Yun Sumei said, "When you �� when you opened fire, I still saw Fang Jiejie; afterwards �� in the chaos that follows, I did not see her anymore.


    Hearing that Fang Yi was still on the Island that morning, Wei Xiaobao felt slightly relieved. Thinking that that day you kicked my @ss, today this b@stard son of yours was going to return this one kick to you. Thereupon he circled behind her and lifted his leg. He was just about to kick her when outside the tent a personal guard reported, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: another batch of prisoners arrived."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; his leg did not continue. Rushing toward the beach, he saw a small battleship sailed toward the island. He ordered his personal guard to shout, "Are the prisoners women or men?"


    At first, since the distance was still too great, the men on the ship did not hear. A moment later the battleship was close enough that a military officer standing on the bow responded, "There are men and women."


    Another moment later, Wei Xiaobao was able to see clearly that there were three or four women standing on the bow, he could vaguely recognize one of them as Fang Yi. In his great delight, he rushed to the water until the water reached his knees. Focusing his eyes, while the battleship was several zhang closer, he could see that the woman was indeed Fang Yi.


    To say that his delight this time was mild would be a gross understatement. "Quick, quick, make the ship move faster!" he called out.


    Suddenly the battleship shook; unexpectedly it spun around. The sailors on the ship cried out, "Aiyo, we hit a shoal, we run aground!"


    Suddenly Fang Yi''s voice was heard, "Xiaobao, Xiaobao, is that you?"


    By this time Wei Xiaobao had already forgotten all about his status as Dutong Daren; he called out, "Good Jiejie, it''s me, Xiaobao is here."


    "Xiaobao," Fang Yi called out, "Come quickly and save me. They tie me up. Xiaobao, Xiaobao, come quickly!"


    "Don''t worry," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am coming to save you." Jumping into the skiff used to pass on military intelligence, he ordered the sailor, "Quickly row, quickly row." The four sailors on the skiff raised the oars and immediately rowed away.


    Suddenly someone jumped from the shore into the skiff; it was Shuang''er. "Xianggong," she said, "I am coming with you to take a look."


    Wei Xiaobao was elated. "Shuang''er," he said, "Do you know who she is?"


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "I do. You told me that she is Shaonainai [wife of the young master]. That day I called her ''Shaonainai'', but �� but this Shaonainai was unwilling to respond."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "She was just bashful at that time," he said, "This time you call her, she will definitely respond."


    The battleship was still spinning slowly, the skiff was rowed rapidly toward it. Fang Yi called out, "Xiaobao, it is really you." Her voice was brimming with happiness.


    "It''s me," Wei Xiaobao called back. He shouted to the military officer standing next to her, "Quickly remove the Miss'' binding."


    "Yes," the military officer responded. He leaned over to untie the rope on Fang Yi''s hands.


    Fang Yi opened her arms wide, waiting for Wei Xiaobao to come over. As the two boats getting closer to each other, the military officer on the battleship said, "Dutong Daren, please be careful."


    Wei Xiaobao leaped up, the military officer reached out to pull him up. As soon as Wei Xiaobao reached the bow, he threw himself into Fang Yi''s embrace. "Good Jiejie," he said, "I miss you so much that I feel like dying." They hugged each other tightly.


    Holding Fang Yi''s soft body, smelling the fragrant perfume on her body, Wei Xiaobao''s mind went blurry, he did not know where he was. The last time he came to Shen Long Island with Fang Yi, it was the first time he began to be interested in the opposite sex; also, he did not understand the matter between men and women too clearly yet. Later on during his journey to Yunnan, he recklessly fooled around with Princess Jianning. This time he was back in Fang Yi''s embrace, he could not help but was flushed with excitement [orig. ''face red, ears scarlet''].


    Suddenly the hull rocked. Wei Xiaobao was too busy to think about it, he simply held Fang Yi tighter, and even wanted to kiss her lips. Suddenly he felt the back of his neck tightened, someone was grabbing his collar. A sweet and charming voice spoke, "White Dragon Envoy, how are you? This time you brought people to destroy Shen Long Island, your merit is indeed not small."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this, he recognized it as Madame Hong''s voice; he felt his soul was flying to Heaven. Knowing that the turn of events was far from good, he struggled hard to free himself, but Fang Yi was holding him tight that he was unable to move a single step. And then there was a stab of pain on his waist, someone sealed his acupoint.


    This unforeseen event happened so suddenly, all along Wei Xiaobao felt it was like a dream; the only thought in his mind was, "Bad, bad, this little wh0re Fang Yi swindled me again." However, with his mouth he yelled, "Guards, guards! Come and help me!"


    Fang Yi gently let him go and retreated to the side. Since his acupoint was sealed, Wei Xiaobao was not able to stand, he fell dejectedly in sitting position to the deck. He suddenly noticed that the battleship had hoisted its sail and was sailing rapidly to the north; while the skiff he took earlier had already more than ten zhang away. Vaguely he could hear the officers and soldiers on the beach were shouting and yelling.


    He secretly prayed, "Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, let Shi Lang and Huang Zongbing quickly send boats to intercept, just don''t let them fire the cannon." However, he heard the voices from Tong Chi Island gradually diminished, until finally he could not hear them anymore. Looking at four directions, what he saw was boundless ocean, unexpectedly not a single ship was in sight. Although the ships under his command were numerous, all of them were sent to attack Shen Long Island, some were stationed between Shen Long Island and Tong Chi Island to intercept the enemy. Let''s not say that they did not know that their Commander-in-chief was captured; even if they did, they were separated several dozen li away, how could they possibly catch up with him?


    Sitting on the cabin''s deck he slowly raised his head, and saw several Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers was looking at him with cold laugh on their faces. His brain was muddy; he tried to clear his head, and was able to see clearly. He saw an ugly, fat and round face of Thin Toutuo''s, a lean and slim face of Lu Gaoxuan, an extremely long face, almost like a horse''s, of Fat Toutuo. He was baffled, "The short winter melon is tied up behind my command tent; he must be rescued by Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo. But these two are clearly in Beijing; how can they be here?" Turning his head the other way, he saw the beautiful, sweet and pretty face, which belonged to Madame Hong.


    She was looking at Wei Xiaobao while chuckling gently; reaching out, she pinched his cheek and said with a laugh, "Dutong Daren, you are young yet you are very formidable."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s. This time subordinate did not do my job properly, I did not render any merit."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "It''s very appropriate, nothing is improper. Jiaozhu, the Senior, greatly commended you, saying that you are leading the Qing troops to blast the Shen Long Island''s trees and houses to ashes. He, the Senior, has always prophesied with supernatural accuracy, yet this time unexpectedly he was mistaken. He is very full of admiration to you."


    Wei Xiaobao understood the trouble he was in; he knew that his life was in their hands, begging for his life would be useless; thereupon his only chance presently was to make up wild stories and act according to the circumstances. He laughed and said, "Jiaozhu, the Senior, has the good fortune of always in good health, I long to see him again very much. These days subordinate has always been thinking about Madame; every day I pray that you will grow younger and younger and more good looking, so that when Jiaozhu is in your company, he will enjoy immortal good fortune forever!"


    Madame Hong giggled and said, "You, this little monkey, are still acting recklessly until now, you are still being oily mouthed and smooth talking to me. Tell me, am I growing younger and younger and more beautiful?"


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Madame, you deceived me so much that I have to suffer like this."


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "In what matter did I deceive you?"


    "Just now the Qing troops captured a group of sisters from the Island," Wei Xiaobao replied, "All are Scarlet Dragon Gate''s young ladies. And then I was told that there was another boat-load of sisters coming. I stood on the beach to look; I saw Madame, but temporarily could not recognize you. I said to myself, ''Aiyo, since when did the Scarlet Dragon Gate have this kind of young and pretty lady as new member? Is she Madame Jiaozhu''s younger sister? Such a beautiful woman, I would have seen her earlier.'' Madame, I was so flustered and my heart was in turmoil that I scrambled on to the boat to look at this beautiful girl. Who would have thought that it was you, yourself, Madame."


    Hearing this, Madame Hong let out a peal of laughter, her body was shaking uncontrollably. Although she was wearing Valiant Cavalry Brigade''s officer''s uniform, the clothes could not conceal her outstandingly graceful figure.


    Thin Toutuo lost his patience; he shouted, "You, lecherous little demon, in front of Madame you still dare to talk rubbish. Let''s see if I don''t pull your tendon apart and peel you skin!"


    "You are such a muddle head," Wei Xiaobao retorted, "I don''t have any desire to talk rubbish with you."


    "How can I be a muddle head?" Thin Toutuo angrily said, "You are the muddle head. I pretended to be a corpse floating on the sea, you could not see through my ploy; unexpectedly you rescued me and inquired about the affair of Shen Long Island. I follow Jiaozhu''s instruction and talked nonsense to you, yet you accepted it as the truth."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Muddle head, muddle head! This fellow, Wei Xiaobao really deserves to die; how could you not think that Thin Toutuo''s internal energy is profound, to pretend to be floating corpse is very easy. Yet unexpectedly I believed his words firmly and had no doubt at all; I believed that on the Shen Long Island an internal strife did indeed arise. I did not guard against him at all." He said, "I have fallen into Jiaozhu and Madame''s scheme; it was not that I am a muddle head."


    "Humph," Thin Toutuo said, "You are not a muddle head, are you saying that you are smart?"


    "Naturally I am very smart," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But let me tell you this: even the smartest man in the world, as long as he falls into Jiaozhu and Madame''s hands, nobody can escape. This is Jiaozhu and Madame''s divine strategy and wonderful calculation, none of their calculations failed, sweeping with irresistible force, a great success ��" When he spoke about ''great success'' four character [da gong gao cheng], he could not help but casting his glance toward Madame Hong''s red-like-cherry small lips, which was slightly trembling.


    Madame Hong laughed, exposing a row of spotlessly white fine teeth. "White Dragon Envoy," she said, "You are after all a lot smarter than Thin Toutuo; he will never win arguing against you. Why do you say he is a muddle head?"


    "Madame," Wei Xiaobao said, "This Thin Toutuo has seen you, a young woman whose beauty is like the immortals. Actually, whoever has seen Madame one time, how could he look at the second woman? I said he is a muddle head because I know that in his heart he always remembers and is anxious for the second woman. Thin Toutuo, who is this woman? Do you want me to say it?"


    Thin Toutuo roared; he shouted, "You cannot say it!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "You don''t want me to say it, then I won''t," he said, "Your Shidi is a lot smarted than you are; ever since he saw Madame, he said that henceforth he will have no interest in looking at the second woman."


    Fat Toutuo''s horse face blushed; "Nonsense," he muttered, "How can there be such matter?"


    "There isn''t?" Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise, "Are you saying that after you see Madame, you still want to see the second woman?"


    Fat Toutuo lowered his head and said, "Lao Na [old cassock] has left my home, six purifying from defiling illusion, four elements are vanity, since long ago there is no more man-woman affair in my heart."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Wei Xiaobao clucked his tongue, "Old Monk recites sutra, but gives lip-service. Your Shige is just the same as you are, he is also a Toutuo; but why does he remember his good friend daily?" While in his heart he said, "I clearly ordered him and Mr. Lu to stay in Beijing waiting for me, how did they get together with Madame? It''s very strange."


    Fat Toutuo said, "Shige is Shige, I am me, you cannot lump two different matters together."


    "I''ll say the two of you are more or less the same," Wei Xiaobao said, "Although your Shige is more muddleheaded than you are, but he is comparably more honest than you. However, you two martial brothers have spoiled Jiaozhu and Madame''s important matter; indeed your crime is great, your evil extreme."


    "Rubbish!" Fat and Thin, two Toutuo said together, "How did we spoil Jiaozhu and Madame''s important matter?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed coldly, but did not reply. Actually, for the time being he could not find any false accusation to be charged to those two men; however, he needed to lie low first, he had to understand how Fat and Lu, two men could go from Beijing to Shen Long Island before he could fabricate something to accuse them, to rise Madame Hong''s suspicion.


    He turned his head around to look at the ocean; unexpectedly there was not a single ship to be seen on that vast and boundless ocean. Occasionally he would hear the sound of cannon from a distant, presumably Shi Lang and Regional Commander Huang were still leading the battleships to surround and annihilate the escaping boats from the Divine Dragon Island.


    Seeing his twinkling eyes, Lu Gaoxuan said, "Madame, this man is a big criminal of our Cult. Let''s report to Jiaozhu and then throw him into the ocean to feed the ocean dragon."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he mused, "I, the Little White Dragon, am a western cowrie goods [i.e. a fake]; fake white dragon enters the sea, I will lose my life."


    Madame Hong said, "Jiaozhu still wants to talk to him."


    "Yes," Lu Gaoxuan replied. He pushed Wei Xiaobao''s back and said, "Go pay your respect to Jiaozhu!"


    Wei Xiaobao secretly groaned, "In front of Madame, I can still give her graceful words, flowery speech, I can make her roar in laughter. Turns out Jiaozhu is also on board, today if the Little White Dragon did not enter the Palace of the Dragon King, it would be indeed an offense to Heaven and to reason."


    Casting a glance toward Fang Yi, he saw her wooden expression, completely devoid of any emotion. "Stinky wh0re," he cursed in his heart, "Little mother skin!" But in his mouth he said, "Miss Fang, congratulations!"


    "For what?" Fang Yi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You have set up great merits for the Cult; didn''t Jiaozhu give you promotion?"


    "Humph," Fang Yi snorted, but did not say anything.


    Madame Hong said, "Everybody come in." Lu Gaoxuan grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck and carried him into the cabin.


    He saw Cult Leader Hong was sitting grandly in the cabin. With his body still hanging in the air, Wei Xiaobao seized the opportunity to say, "Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s. Subordinate White Dragon Envoy pays his respect to Jiaozhu and Madame."


    Lu Gaoxuan put him down. Fang Yi and the others bowed together and chorused, "Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s." Although they also wanted to win Madame Hong''s favor, but they were accustomed to say these words, they did not have the thicker face to add the three characters ''Madame Hong'' [Hong Fu Ren].


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that Cult Leader Hong''s eyes were gazing at the ocean outside the cabin, as if he did not hear anything. He also noticed that there were four men standing by his side, namely, Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen, Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Jin, Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting, and Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue. Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration. Turning toward Thin Toutuo he shouted, "You, this fellow blindly fabricated rumor, saying that Jiaozhu and Madame were in danger. Disregarding everything I rushed over to save their honorable selves; who would have known that Jiaozhu and Madame are not in the least bit of trouble? Why did you say that these several Zhangmenshi were revolting?"


    "What did you say?" Cult Leader Hong coldly asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate received Jiaozhu and Madame''s order to infiltrate the Imperial Palace. I obtained two sutras, and later on I went to Yunnan, Wu Sangui Ping Xi Wang''s mansion, and obtained three more."


    Cult Leader Hong raised his eyebrows slightly. "You obtained five sutras? Where are they?" he asked.


    "The two I obtained in the Imperial Palace," Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate has already sent Lu Gaoxuan to present them to Jiaozhu and Madame. Jiaozhu and Madame said that subordinate handled this matter reliably, and sent Lu Gaoxuan to bestow the immortal medicine."


    Cult Leader Hong nodded. Wei Xiaobao continued, "The three copies that subordinate obtained in Yunnan, I keep it in a very secure place in Beijing, and ordered Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan to guard ��"


    Fat Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan''s countenances immediately changed greatly, "Did �� did not," they said, "How can there be such thing? Jiaozhu, you Senior should not listen to this boy''s nonsense."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Altogether there are eight copies of sutra. Subordinate has found the trail, I am optimistic to get my hands on the other three. I was prepared that as soon as I obtained the rest, I will present them all together to Shen Long Island. After obtaining those three copies, subordinate was afraid someone might steal them; for that reason I hid them inside the wall. I ordered Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo to keep an eye on them. Lu Gaoxuan, Fat Toutuo, I ordered you to guard inside the house, you must not come out, why did you come here? If the treasured sutra is lost, we will spoil Jiaozhu and Madame''s important matter; who would bear this heavy responsibility?"


    Fat and Lu, two people looked at each other in dismay, they were at a loss. After a while, Lu Gaoxuan was able to open his mouth, "You did not say anything about sutra inside the wall; how could we know?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The matter that Jiaozhu and Madame entrusted to me, the more secretive it is the better. One more person knows about it, the danger of the secret being revealed will increase by one part. To be frank with you, I do not trust the two of you too much. Every day I wake up I always recite aloud, ''Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s.'' Every day before I eat, every day before I sleep, I always recite one time. But ever since the two of you left Shen Long Island, you have never praised Jiaozhu''s extensive magical power, ''raw bird fish soup'' [niao sheng yu tang]." He did not know that the phrase ''yao shun yu tang'' was only applicable to be used in singing praises to the Emperor. But although he said it, nobody else understood his meaning anyway.


    Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo''s faces alternated between green and white; they both were secretly shocked. After they left Shen Long Island, they indeed had never recited ''Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s''; they did not expect that this boy would use it against them. But when did this boy ever recite it?


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "You have committed a monstrous crime, yet at this time still uttering graceful words, flowery speech, desiring to win Jiaozhu and Madame''s favor so that they would spare your life. Humph, this time the casualties among our brothers on the Island, young and old, are serious. Jiaozhu''s dozens of year''s painstaking effort in establishing the Cult, everything is destroyed in your hands. You still think of escaping alive? Dream on!"


    "You are greatly mistaken," Wei Xiaobao said, "As we throw our lives to be Jiaozhu and Madame''s subordinates, early on our lives already did not belong to us anymore. Whatever Jiaozhu and Madame send us to do, everybody ought to do it with loyalty and dedication, ten thousand deaths should not prevent us. Jiaozhu and Madame want us to die, then we will die; Jiaozhu and Madame want us to live, then we will live. If you want to make decisions for yourself, that means you are not ''heart is dead, no plans for anything new'' enough toward Jiaozhu and Madame, you are not displaying utter loyalty enough toward Jiaozhu and Madame."


    Hearing his speech, Hong Jiaozhu stroke his beard and nodded slowly. Turning to Fat and Lu, two people, he said, "You said that White Dragon Envoy led the navy to do some harmful business toward our Cult; what did actually happen?"


    Lu Gaoxuan caught the displeased tone in the Cult Leader''s voice; he hastily said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: the two of us received the order to keep a close watch over the White Dragon Envoy, to be very careful toward his every movement, to be in constant alert; we did not dare to have the least bit of negligence. The day the Emperor promoted his official position, Navy Tidu [local commander] Shi Lang came to pay him a visit. Subordinates, two people listened to their discussion closely. We have reported this matter to Jiaozhu. Not many days later, the White Dragon Envoy went to take Shi Lang on an official business, but he wanted him to pretend to be a lowly official in the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, plus he did not want subordinate and Fat Toutuo to accompany him. In my heart subordinate was very suspicious."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Good; turned out Jiaozhu sent the two of you to spy on me."


    He heard Lu Gaoxuan continued, "Several days earlier, subordinate searched the wastepaper basket in White Dragon Envoy''s room to find out what''s going on; I found a lot of torn scrap papers. When I pieced them together, I saw that it was actually names of places in Liaodong, written in Manchurian and Han characters. The White Dragon Envoy is illiterate, even more, he did not know Manchurian script; naturally these names of places were written by the Emperor for him. Later on I also found out that in this journey, he is to bring many cannon. The two of us subordinates talked it over, and came to the conclusion that White Dragon Envoy received the Emperor''s order to travel to Liaodong region, accompanied by high-ranking naval officers, and to bring cannon; naturally he did not have any favorable intention toward our Cult. Therefore, as soon as the White Dragon Envoy left the Capital, subordinates two people rode on fast horses, we travelled day and night to hurry back to the Shen Long Island to report. Madame still said that White Dragon Envoy is devoted and loyal, he could not possibly do this. Who would have thought that one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature? This White Dragon Envoy has the heart of wolf and the lungs of dogs [i.e. cruel and unscrupulous]; he failed to live up to Jiaozhu''s trust."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed; he shook his head and said, "Mr. Lu, you think you are intelligent and competent, but how can you reach ten-thousandth of Jiaozhu and Madame''s intelligence? Let me tell you: you are wrong. Only Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally right."


    Lu Gaoxuan angrily said, "You speak non ��" As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he knew he had committed a blunder. Although he did not continue, everybody knew that after the word ''non'', the next word must be ''sense''.


    "Did you say I spoke nonsense [orig. ''hu shuo'']?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I said you are wrong, only Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally right. You are not convinced? Could it be that Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally wrong, and only you, Mr. Lu is eternally right?"


    Lu Gaoxuan''s face turned beet-red. "That''s not what I mean," he said, "It was you who said it, I didn''t say it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Jiaozhu and Madame said that I, the White Dragon Envoy am loyal and devoted, and can''t possibly defect. The two Seniors predict like deities, how could they be wrong? Let me tell you, the Emperor sent me to bring naval cannon and go to Liaodong, we said we are going to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice, but actually �� actually �� humph, what do you know?" While his mind was racing, "What should I say, the Emperor sent me to do what?"


    "So?" Hong Jiaozhu asked, "The Emperor sent you to do what?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This matter is actually top secret, no matter what I cannot say it; once it leaks, the Emperor would want my head. But since Jiaozhu asked, in subordinate''s heart, Jiaozhu and Madame are a hundred times higher than the Emperor; he is ''ten-thousand years'', you are ''million-years''. He is ''long live, long, long live'', you are ''hundred times longer live''. Jiaozhu wants me to say, naturally I cannot conceal it." While thinking, "How should I say it so that Jiaozhu and Madame will be convinced?"


    Listening to Wei Xiaobao''s wave of flattery, Hong Jiaozhu did not have the slightest suspicion; he twirled his moustache with a slight smile on his face. Looking happy and content, he slowly nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Reporting to Jiaozhu and Madame: by his side, the Emperor has two red-haired foreigners. These two men, one is called Tang Ruowang, the other Nan Huairen. They were bestowed official position as supervisors of the Imperial Observatory."


    Hong Jiaozhu said, "This name Tang Ruowang, I have heard about it. I heard he understands astronomy, geography, yin and yang calculation, and such science."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Wei Xiaobao clucked his tongue in praise, "Jiaozhu did not go out, yet you know the matter of the world. After much calculation, this Tang Ruowang has calculated that on the north there is a Luocha Country, who is planning to do some harmful things to the Great Qing."


    Hong Jiaozhu''s eyebrows rose up. "And then what happened?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao had heard the big beard Mongolian Hantiemo mentioned that Wu Sangui was colluding with Luocha Country and Divine Dragon Cult. Wu Sangui was in the far away Yunnan, he could not use him to his advantage; however, Luocha Country was next to Liaodong region. Sure enough, at the mention of the three words ''Luocha Country'' [luo cha guo] Hong Jiaozhu''s expression changed at once. Wei Xiaobao knew that this subject fit the opposite party''s concern; he was greatly delighted.


    "When the young emperor heard this," he continued, "He was immediately being cautious and worried. He immediately asked Tang Ruowang to calculate the auspicious day, to quickly offer sacrifice. Tang Ruowang presented a memorial to the Emperor: ''Let your minister go back and look at the heavens at night, calculate yin and yang during the day, and calculate everything carefully.'' Several days later, he came back to present a memorial: Luocha Country''s dragon vein is in Liaodong, on something like ''hu tamade'' [shout his mother/crying ''damn it''] mountain, and some ''ama''er'' [amah] river."


    Hong Antong had lived in Liaodong for a long time, he was very familiar with local mountain and river. Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s explanation, he turned to Madame Hong and said with a laugh, "Madame, did you hear this boy said some amusing things? He changed Huma''erwoji Mountain to ''hu tamade'' mountain and Amur River [amu''er] to ''ama''er'' river. Ha ha, ha ha ��!" Madame Hong also squealed in laughter.


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "There is nothing that Jiaozhu did not know, there is no place you did not understand; subordinate greatly admires you. That foreign red-haired demon also said a lot other things, which subordinate could never remember. The young Emperor then wrote everything down in Manchurian and Han scripts, and handed it to me. But subordinate is illiterate, these ''hu tamade'' mountain and ''ama''er'' river, I can never remember."


    Hong Jiaozhu burst into a ''hee hee'' laughter. He turned his head, and shot a sidelong glance toward Lu Gaoxuan, his gaze was harsh. Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo groaned inwardly.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That Tang Ruowang said that we must quickly manufacture ten red-haired cannon, and transport them to Liaodong via the ocean, and aimed them at that whatever river and whatever mountain and fire two hundred times to destroy the Luocha Country''s dragon vein; and hereafter for the next two hundred years the Great Qing will have peace and security without any trouble. It is called ''one cannon shoot guarantees one year of peace and security''. The young Emperor said, ''In that case, if we fire one thousand cannon, won''t we have one thousand years of peace and security?'' Tang Ruowang replied, ''On the contrary, too much cannon fire will not work''. He also said something like ''mysteries of heaven must not be revealed'', yellow way and black way


    [41], and some other gibberish for half a day. Subordinate did not understand even half a word; listening to them I was bored to death."


    Hong Jiaozhu nodded. He said, "That Tang Ruowang authored the book ''Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar''; there is indeed only two hundred years. Apparently the Manchurian Qing destiny will last at most for two hundred years."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that there is a trick in lying; all the little details must be comprehensive, furthermore, they must be completely verifiable. Only in the significant juncture he could talk a bit of rubbish. He learned this technique from when he was still living in brothel. By lucky coincidence, Hong Antong was a very learned man; he knew the content of Tang Ruowang''s ''Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar''. Hence Wei Xiaobao''s lie was unexpectedly fit together with the truth.


    Madame Hong said, "In that case, the young Emperor is sending you to Liaodong to fire the cannon?"


    Wei Xiaobao pretended to be amazed. "Uh," he exclaimed, "How did Madame know?"


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "I''ll say that what you said is not a complete truth. The young Emperor is sending you to Liaodong; how did you end up at Shen Long Island?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That foreigner said: Luocha people''s dragon vein is an ocean dragon; for this reason these ten cannon must be transported by the ocean. When the cannon are aimed at the dragon''s mouth, and after careful calculation of the best time, waiting for the right time when it just about to take water from the ocean, the cannon will be immediately fired. The dragon''s body will be seriously injured, and it will not be able to move. If the cannon are fired from land, the dragon will eat one cannon and immediately fly to the sky. One cannon guarantees one year of peace and safety, next year we must comeback and fire another one; that would be very troublesome. He said that our cannon must be transported by the ocean, taking the long way around, so that we won''t alert the dragon vein."


    From the beginning, when fengshui and divination are mentioned, people always pay particular attention to ''dragon vein''. But when talking about terrains that look like a dragon, it is not a real ''dragon''. Therefore, the dragon vein could be alerted and flee to the sky and so on was entirely Wei Xiaobao''s fabrication. When Hong Antong heard this, he could not help feeling half believing and half doubting.


    Seeing his changed countenance, Wei Xiaobao realized that he was not too convinced; thereupon he busily said, "That foreign demon can speak Chinese; he drew quite a few pictures to show to the young Emperor. He took several measurements, drew a circle here, a line there, explaining how the dragon vein could flee. Subordinate was too stupid, I did not understand the least bit. But actually the young Emperor was listening with keen interest."


    Hong Antong nodded; he thought that when foreigners practice fengshui, they must have different technique, which was superior to Chinese fengshui.


    He said, "One day the young Emperor ordered the Imperial Observatory to select a yellow way propitious day, he issued an imperial decree sending me to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice to the Heaven. There was a Fujian Navy Tidu Shilang, who surrendered from Taiwan, came over. He said that even Zheng Chenggong had suffered defeat under his hands. This man is adept at firing cannon from the ship. The young Emperor sent him to go with me. He warned repeatedly ten million times that this affair must be kept in the strictest confidence; if it is leaked out, this important matter will be spoiled, maybe the Luocha Country would send seagoing ships to intercept. We were to go out to sea from Tianjin, going around the longer distance, to quietly go to Liaodong. Who would have thought that yesterday afternoon we saw a lot of floating corpses on the sea; some were fake, and among the fakes was this Thin Toutuo. With good intention I rescued him. He said the situation was freakily and desperately serious; the fighting on the Shen Long Island has turning the sky and the earth upside down, Hong Jiaozhu has sent someone to murder Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting."


    "False!" Thin Toutuon yelled, "I did not say Jiaozhu murdered Blue Dragon Envoy!"


    Madame Hong''s beautiful eyes glowered at him. "Thin Toutuo," she said, "In front of Jiaozhu, do not shout and quarrel."


    "Yes," Thin Toutuo said.


    "You said that the Blue Dragon Envoy was murdered, didn''t you?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Yes," Thin Toutuo replied, "It was Jiaozhu who instructed me to deceive you like that."


    "Jiaozhu told you to play a joke on me; that is possible," Wei Xiaobao said, "But you said that in order to take revenge, Jiaozhu has murdered Blue Dragon Envoy and Scarlet Dragon Envoy. Jiaozhu puts the common good above everything with no regard for personal interests, he has great kindness and great righteousness, there is no way he would bear grudges toward his subordinates!"


    For each sentence that he said, Thin Toutuo yelled one word, "False!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said that in order to take revenge, Jiaozhu has murdered Blue Dragon Envoy and Scarlet Dragon Envoy!"


    Thin Toutuo said, "False! I did not say that."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Jiaozhu puts the common good above everything with no regard for personal interests."


    Thin Toutuo said, "False!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He has great kindness and great righteousness!"


    Thin Toutuo shouted, "False!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There is no way he would bear grudges toward his subordinates."


    Thin Toutuo said, "False!"


    Lu Gaoxuan knew that Thin Toutuo was hot-tempered and na?ve, he had already set foot in Wei Xiaobao''s trap; he did not stop yelling ''False!'', each time he shouted that, Jiaozhu''s countenance turned one degree uglier. Lu Gaoxuan was afraid that if Thin Toutuo continued yelling, the Cult Leader might lose his temper, it would be beyond redemption; therefore, he tugged Thin Toutuo''s sleeve and said, "Just listen to him reporting to Jiaozhu, don''t interrupt his train of thought."


    "This boy spouts nonsense," Thin Toutuo said, "Are you saying that I should let him continue endlessly?"


    "Jiaozhu is intelligent and wise," Lu Gaoxuan said, "There is nothing he did not know, nothing he did not understand, you don''t have to worry, naturally Jiaozhu understands clearly."


    Thin Toutuo said, "Humph! That may not necessarily ��" As soon as he said those words, his mouth stayed open but nothing came out of it; his entire face looked terrified.


    Wei Xiaobao''s pair of eyes was gazing fixedly at him; suddenly he made faces. Both of them were short, but Thin Toutuo was shorter. When he made faces, Wei Xiaobao was looking down, hence nobody else saw it, but Thin Toutuo could see it clearly. Immediately his temper flared, but he was afraid to enrage the Cult Leader, hence he struggled hard to curb it. His expression looked awkward. In that instant the cabin was quiet, save for Thin Toutuo''s labored breathing.


    After quite a while, Hong Jiaozhu asked Wei Xiaobao, "What else did he say?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: he also said that Jiaozhu stirred up trouble, inciting disharmony between the Scarlet Dragon Gate and Blue Dragon Gate ��"


    "I didn''t say that ��" Thin Toutuo called out.


    Hong Jiaozhu glowered at him; he spoke harshly, "Can''t you shut your beak for me? You squawk one more time, I am going to split you, this short winter melon, into two damn sections."


    Thin Toutuo''s face bulged purple; Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo were also overwhelmed with shock that their faces turned white. Everybody knew that Cult Leader Hong was very reserved; ordinarily, whether he was happy or angry, he would not show it on his face. It was very seldom that he spoke roughly or threw a fit. That he cursed Thin Toutuo harshly like that, he must be extremely angry.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought that since Thin Toutuo could not open his mouth anymore, whatever Wei Xiaobao said, he could not refute at all. Thereupon he said, "Jiaozhu, please stop being angry. This Thin Toutuo did not say anything that dishonor Jiaozhu; he only said that Jiaozhu was narrow-minded. Last time everybody plotted rebellion but failed, that important matter was spoiled by subordinate, one child; everybody was indignant, but Jiaozhu wanted to seize the chance to take revenge. He said that Jiaozhu was sending someone named He Sheng to do the deed. This man was Priest Wugen''s head disciple. Your disciple actually did not know if there is indeed someone by that name in our Cult."


    "There is indeed someone named He Sheng," Madame Hong said, "So what?"


    Wei Xiaobao had an idea, "This He Sheng is Priest Wugen''s disciple, he must be a young fellow." He said, "Thin Toutuo told me that this He Sheng saw Madame''s beautiful appearance, these past several years he always do this and that to Madame; he said many things that are unpleasant to hear. Your disciple was furious, I was angry that he was being disrespectful toward Madame behind her back; I ordered my men to slap his mouth. At that time he was still tied with leather rope, hence he could not resist. After we beat him more than a dozen times, he did not dare to speak anymore."


    Madame Hong was so angry that her countenance paled. "Did he really drag me down like that?" she hatefully asked.


    Thin Toutuo said, "I �� I did not say it."


    "Jiaozhu did not let you open your mouth, you should not speak," Wei Xiaobao said, "I ask you: did you or did you not tell me about this man called He Sheng? If yes just nod your head, if no just shake your head." Thin Toutuo nodded.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "You told me that He Sheng and Xu Xueting were fighting over jealousy, they strived to win Madame''s favor by fawning on her; thereupon this He Sheng had killed Xu Xueting, and Madame was very happy. He also said that Jiaozhu was kept hoodwinked inside a drum; he did not know anything. You said that Blue Dragon Envoy was killed by He Sheng, and that a saber was found lying on the floor inside the room, and that the saber belonged to He Sheng, isn''t that so? Did you or did you not say those things?"


    Thin Toutuo nodded his head and said, "But the front ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you already admitted it, that''s enough." Actually, Thin Toutuo only said the last half, the front half was added by Wei Xiaobao. However, by nodding his head, Thin Toutuo seemed to admit that he did say the whole thing.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said the Blue Dragon Gate, Scarlet Dragon Gate, Yellow Dragon Gate, Black Dragon Gate, plus my White Dragon Gate, were fighting each other silly. Jiaozhu had already lost his authority, that he was completely helpless to put down the fight, yes or no?"


    Thin Toutuo nodded his head. Wei Xiaobao said, "You said that everybody on the Shen Long Island revolted, that Jiaozhu and Madame were being captured, that Madame''s clothes were stripped clean and she was paraded publicly on the Island. You said that Jiaozhu''s beard were pulled clean, and that he was dangled upside down on a tree, and that he was deprived of any food or drink for three days and three nights. These words, I am sure nowadays you are unwilling to admit; isn''t that so?"


    To this question, nodding his head would be wrong, shaking his head would also be wrong; Thin Toutuo''s face was bulging very red, as if the blood inside his skin was about to burst. Wei Xiaobao said, "This moment you certainly want to deny, and don''t want to admit that you have said those words; isn''t that so?"


    Thin Toutuo angrily said, "I did not say those words."


    "You said that you fought with Jiaozhu," Wei Xiaobao said, "You kicked Jiaozhu twice, and struck Jiaozhu''s face three times, but Jiaozhu''s martial art skill was higher than yours, you were unable to defeat him, hence Jiaozhu tied you up and throw you into the ocean, didn''t you? You said that our Cult was in complete chaos that they sky and earth were turning upside down, and that it has collapsed silly. You said that the people, more than half were tied up by Jiaozhu and were thrown into the ocean, the rest were you kill me, I kill you; Jiaozhu and Madame were already in an extremely sorry condition that even if by now they had not died, they would not live much longer; didn''t you?"


    "I �� I �� I ��" Thin Toutuo stammered. He was so confused by Wei Xiaobao that he did not know what to say. He definitely said that he was unable to defeat the Cult Leader, and that the Cult Leader had tied him up and thrown him into the ocean; he also said that on Shen Long Island, the Five Dragon Gates were massacring each other that the Cult had collapsed silly. However, it was definitely not the same as what Wei Xiaobao had said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: Subordinate was originally leading the navy ships toward Liaodong, to blast away the Luocha Country''s dragon''s vein, but as the ships reached here, subordinate was concerned about Jiaozhu and Madame, plus that Miss Fang. Because subordinate is thinking �� is thinking of taking her as my wife, I wanted to see her; it would be best if Jiaozhu and Madame would allow me to take her go. Consequently, I ordered the ships to slowly proceed near the Isand; even if I could only look from the distant, I would be satisfied. If I could see Jiaozhu and Madame one time ��"


    Madame Hong smiled and said, "And that Miss Fang."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "This is subordinate''s selfish desire, I was not wholeheartedly loyal and devoted to Jiaozhu and Madame. I indeed deserve to die."


    Cult Leader Hong nodded. "You may continue," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Who would have thought that Thin Toutuo was rescued from the sea, I did not know what thought he harbored, unexpectedly he unreservedly reviling Jiaozhu and Madame. Subordinate was a muddle head; as soon as I heard him, I panicked, and wished very much that I could grow wings and fly to Shen Long Island, to stand by Jiaozhu and Madame''s side, and fight to the death against all those renegades. Subordinate immediately opened my mouth to curse, saying that that day Jiaozhu has solemnly commanded us that the matter of the past should not be regarded as bad debts, that we are not supposed to even raise it up; how could they harbor hard feelings and rebel against Jiaozhu? Subordinate was only worrying about the danger Jiaozhu and Madame were in, I thought about Jiaozhu, who was hung upside down by the rebels, I thought about Madame, who was stripped naked by them; I could not bear to wait even for a second more. I was really muddleheaded and deserve to die, all along I have never thought that Jiaozhu''s magical power is extensive; if some people are rebelling against their superior, Jiaozhu only needs to stretch out several fingers, and they would be pinched dead like ants. How could Jiaozhu be possibly humiliated by the rebels? It''s just that subordinate was anxious, immediately I ordered all our ships to go out to sea to attack Shen Long Island. I instructed them: the good people on the Island are being caught by the bad people, if anybody come out to resist, you may fire at will to bombard them. As soon as you come ashore, quickly search for one majestic Senior, whose appearance grand, who looks like the Jade Emperor, who look like the deity Bodhisattva; that is precisely the Shen Long Jiao''s Hong Jiaozhu, everybody must listen to his command. Subordinate also told them: the women on the Island must not be offended, especially the young woman who is as delicate as a flower, as refined as a precious jade, whose appearance is beautiful, who looks like immortal descending to the world, who is precisely Madame Hong; everybody must be even more respectful."


    Madame Hong giggled and said, "So from what you said, the only reason you sent the troops to attack Shen Long Island was because of your loyalty to Jiaozhu? Not only you are innocent, you have rendered merit instead?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate does not have the least bit of merit; it''s just that seeing Jiaozhu and Madame are safe and sound, several Zhangmenshi are still loyal and devoted, and still serving Jiaozhu and Madame well, my heart is very happy. Subordinate''s first hope is that Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s. The second hope is that in our Cult, everybody will display utter loyalty and dedicate ourselves to the service of our country; whatever Jiaozhu says, everybody will act accordingly. The third hope �� the third hope ��"


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "The third hope is to have Miss Fang as your wife."


    "This is a minor matter," Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate has already decided in my heart that as long as I perform my duty with every effort to Jiaozhu and Madame''s liking, Jiaozhu and Madame naturally will not treat your subordinate unfairly."


    Hong Antong nodded. "Your mouth surely can talk really well," he said, "But you said you were concerned about me and Madame; why didn''t you lead the troops personally to the Shen Long Island? Why did you send people to open fire and shoot randomly, while you yourself hid faraway in the back?"


    This question actually hit the key point, Wei Xiaobao was agape and tongue-tied, momentarily he was speechless, knowing that as long as his answer was not completely convincing, Hong Jiaozhu would be suspicious, and then the previous big lie would be exposed, and then even his little life would be difficult to protect. In a moment of desperation, he had no choice but to say, "Subordinate really deserves to die; in all honesty, I was not loyal enough to Jiaozhu and Madame. When I heard from Thin Toutuo how vicious the people on the Island were, that even Jiaozhu and Madame were caught by them, subordinate was terrified. Last time �� last time they betrayed Jiaozhu, it was subordinate who spoiled their major effort. If they caught me, they would definitely pull my tendon apart and peel my skin. Subordinate is afraid of death, hence I hid myself faraway in the back and only sent the troops under my command to save Jiaozhu and Madame. This �� this �� I really deserve to die."


    Cult Leader Hong and Madame looked at each other, and nodded slowly. They both thought that since this child admitted that he was afraid of death, he must be telling the truth. Cult Leader Hong said, "Whether you are telling the truth or you are lying, I will examine carefully. If I find out that you are lying, humph, humph, you know what''s coming."


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Whatever punishment Jiaozhu and Madame decide, subordinate will accept it delightedly. However, please do not hand subordinate over into Fat Toutuo, Thin Toutuo, and Lu Gaoxuan''s hands. This time �� this time they set up an ingenious plan, swindling the Qing troops into bombarding Shen Long Island, killing not a few brothers and sisters; it was a huge plot. In my subordinate''s opinion, this Lu Gaoxuan surely wants to be Lu Jiaozhu. When we were in Yunnan, he said, ''I don''t want to enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s; as long as I can enjoy his fifty years of good fortune, it would suffice very much ��''"


    Lu Gaoxuan roared angrily, "You �� you ��" Waving his palm, he struck toward Wei Xiaobao''s back.


    Priest Wugen rushed a step forward with outstretched arm to block. ''Bang!'' Lu Gaoxuan was jolted back two steps. Priest Wugen was only shaken that his body swayed. "Lu Gaoxuan," he shouted, "How could you dare to commit violence to injure someone in front of Jiaozhu?"


    Lu Gaoxuan looked deathly pale. He bowed and said, "Jiaozhu please forgive me, hearing this fellow fabricated a lie, subordinate could not hold back; it was indeed very disrespectful."


    "Humph," Hong Jiaozhu snorted. He said to Wei Xiaobao, "You may go down." Turning to Priest Wugen, he said, "You guard him personally, don''t let anybody harm him, and don''t let him wander about aimlessly. Don''t speak with him. This child is full of devilish tricks and cunning stratagems, you must be particularly careful." Priest Wugen bowed in compliance.


    Henceforth for the next several days Wei Xiaobao stayed in the same cabin with Priest Wugen day and night. Early morning every day he saw the sun was rising up on the starboard and setting down on the port side, hence he knew the ship was sailing north. The first day or two he was still hoping that Shi Lang and Huang Fu''s navy ships would be able to catch up and rescue him, but as time went by, he lost all hopes. "My nonsense talk," he mused, "Jiaozhu and Madame believed about ninety percent; it''s just that I led the troops to blast Shen Long Island that it collapsed silly, even if it stemmed from good intention, in the end I am still guilty. Fortunately that short winter melon deceived me by pretending to be floating corpse was Jiaozhu''s own idea. Otherwise, there is a good chance that in his anger he might lump me together with the short winter melon and kill us, and make a pot of little treasure [xiao bao] winter melon soup." He also thought, "This ship is sailing to the north; could it be heading toward Liaodong?"


    He tried to ask Priest Wugen several times, but Priest Wugen always replied, "I don''t know."


    Wei Xiaobao teased him to talk, Priest Wugen said, "Jiaozhu''s order, I must not talk to you." He also did not allow Wei Xiaobao to leave the cabin even for one step.


    Wei Xiaobao was bored, he thought, "That dead girl Fang Yi is clearly on the ship, yet she did not come to accompany laozi to divert my mind from boredom." He recalled that this time he got captured by Divine Dragon Cult was also because of Fang Yi who lured him. "If laozi could escape this time," he mused, "If later on I cast even a glance toward that little mother skin Fang Yi, laozi is not surnamed Wei. I have fallen into her trick twice, how could I let myself to fall again the third time?" Yet thinking about Fang Yi''s tender and beautiful appearance, her gentle manner, he could not restrain his heart from being moved. On the second thought, he mused, "So what if I am not surnamed Wei? Laozi does not even know my father, what is my real surname anyway?"


    The ship continuously sailed northward, the weather was getting colder and colder. Priest Wugen had profound internal energy, he was not affected by the cold. Wei Xiaobao, however, felt so cold that he did not stop shivering, his teeth chattered, making ''click-click'' noise.


    Several days later, the north wind roared, the sky was dark, suddenly heavy snow fell. "I am freezing to death here," he called out. He thought, "Songgotu Dage sent me a mink fur robe, too bad I left it in the camp and did not bring it here. Ay, if I have known that Fang Yi, that little mother skin, was going to swindle me again, I should have worn that mink fur robe when I embraced her, so that I would not freeze to death on the ship. Frozen White Dragon Envoy; it''s terrible indeed."


    The ship sailed into the night. Suddenly he heard continuous clanking noise. After listening carefully, Wei Xiaobao realized that it was the sound of ice on the surface of the sea breaking; he was shocked. "Aiyo, not good!" he cried out, "If the ship freezes in the middle of the ocean, won''t that be terrible?"


    Priest Wugen said, "The ocean can''t possibly freeze; we must be nearing land."


    "Have we arrived in Liaodong?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Humph," Priest Wugen snorted, but did not say anything.


    The next morning, when he pushed open the cabin window to look outside, Wei Xiaobao saw vast expanse of whiteness; the ocean was full of ice floe, with white snow accumulated on the ice. In the distant he vaguely saw land. That evening, the battleship sailed toward the shore and dropped anchor; it appeared that the next morning they were going to ride the skiff to come ashore.


    That night myriads of thought surging through Wei Xiaobao''s mind: how would Hong Jiaozhu deal with him? It was not easy to guess. He seemed to believe Wei Xiaobao''s explanation, but did not seem to believe it either. Why did they go to this world of ice and snow?


    After thinking for a while, he finally fell asleep. In his sleep he saw Fang Yi suddenly sat by his side; he reached out to embrace her. In his daze, he seemed to hear Fang Yi said, "Don''t make trouble!"


    "Dead wife," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I want to make trouble." He felt Fang Yi was struggling in his embrace.


    Still half-asleep, he heard the person in his bosom said in a low voice, "Xianggong, we have to leave quickly!" It sounded like Shuang''er''s voice.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, and sobered immediately. He felt there was indeed a soft and tender body in his embrace, but since it was dark, he could not see who she was. "Is it Fang Yi? Is it Madame Hong?" he wondered in his heart. There were only those two women on the battleship. He thought, "I don''t care if it is Fang Yi or Madame Hong, I would kiss her first and talk later; I''d better take this advantage!" He held the person in his bosom tighter and tried to kiss her lips. The person laughed softly and turned her head to avoid. This time, although the laugh was soft, it was very clear that she was indeed Shuang''er.


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he whispered on her ear, "Shuang''er, how did you get here?"


    "Let''s go quickly," Shuang''er said, "I will tell you slowly."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am freezing to death, you quickly get into my quilt, you are so warm and nice."


    "Ay," Shuang''er said, "Good Xianggong, you really love to make trouble, and you also don''t want to think about what time it is."


    Wei Xiaobao held her even tighter. "Where are we going to flee?" he asked.


    Shuang''er said, "We are slipping away from the aft, and row the skiff to come ashore. Even if they find out, they won''t be able to pursue."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Brilliant scheme, brilliant scheme!" he called out, "Aiyo, how about that priest?"


    Shuang''er said, "I sneaked into the cabin and sealed his acupoint."


    The two of them tiptoed out of the cabin. A burst of cold wind assaulted their faces. Wei Xiaobao''s entire body nearly froze; he quickly turned back into the cabin, peeled the Taoist robe from Priest Wugen''s body and wrapped it around his own. The sky was cloudy, the moon and stars did not shine, heavy snow was still coming down incessantly. The two of them stealthily went toward the stern, their ears did not hear any noise anywhere. The ship had already dropped anchor, even the helmsman who operate the rudder had also went into the cabin to sleep.


    Holding Wei Xiaobao''s hand, Shuang''er led him step-by-step to the aft. She said in a low voice, "I jump down first, you follow!" Taking a deep breath, she quietly jumped into the skiff tied behind the ship.


    Wei Xiaobao looked down; it was pitch-black and he was scared. Closing his eyes, he jumped down. Shuang''er raised her palms to catch his back and his buttocks. She had to circle around on the skiff to break the momentum of the fall before she could finally set him down.


    Suddenly from the hold of the ship someone shouted, "Who''s there?" It was the Cult Leader Hong''s voice.


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er were shocked; they crouched at the bottom of the skiff, did not dare to make any noise. They heard a clatter, then saw flame from the window of the cabin. Shuang''er knew that Hong Jiaozhu had heard the noise and lighted a candle to look. Hastily she picked up the wooden oar on the skiff and rowed furiously.


    She only rowed twice when Hong Jiaozhu''s was shouting loudly, "Who is it? Don''t move!" Suddenly the skiff shook and stopped moving forward. Turned out in their panic they forgot to untie the mooring rope of the skiff. Wei Xiaobao hastily reached out to untie; it was ice-cold. Actually, the skiff was tied to the ship with iron chain.


    They heard quite a number of people shouting on the big ship, "White Dragon Envoy disappeared!" "This boy has run away!" "Where did he go? Pursue quickly, pursue quickly!"


    Wei Xiaobao pulled the dagger from his boot and swung it forcefully. ''Shua!'' the iron chain broke, the skiff immediately shot forward. As soon as the noise was heard, one after another Hong Jiaozhu, Madame Hong, Fat and Thin Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, and the others rushed to the stern. Under the reflection of the light from the ice and snow, they could see the skiff was already several zhang away from the big ship. Hong Jiaozhu reached out to grab a piece of wood from the ship''s side and hurled it toward the skiff. Although his internal strength was deep, the wood was too light, it was two chi short from the skiff. ''Splash!'' it plunged into the water.


    At first Lu Gaoxuan, Fat Toutuo, and the others were unclear of Hong Jiaozhu''s intention, they did not dare to shoot secret projectiles for fear that they would harm the White Dragon Envoy and would have to bear the responsibility instead; but when they saw the Cult Leader grabbed the block of wood from the ship''s side and threw it out to strike, they understood his intention. Those with secret projectiles in their possession immediately shot their weapons. However, in such a short period of time the skiff was already rowed two more zhang forward. Secret weapons were usually small, it was difficult to reach far. Arrows, steel dart, flying locust stone, and various heavy objects were not close at hand; people could only shoot spring-loaded arrow concealed in their sleeve, poison needles, and so on, which all fell into the ocean.


    Thin Toutuo said, "This boy is so sly, I knew it all along that he is not a good person; we should have just kill him with a chop, by letting him alive we only ask for trouble."


    Hong Jiaozhu was already furious; with this cynical remark Thin Toutuo was obviously mocking him for not able to see the matter clearly. Reaching out with his left hand, he grabbed the back of Thin Toutuo''s neck and shouted, "Quickly go and catch him back for me." His left hand went up, he lifted Thin Toutuo up into the air, with his right hand he grabbed Thin Toutuo''s buttocks, and shouted, "Quickly go!" He pulled his arms slightly, and then exerting all the internal energy into his arms, he hurled him out.


    Shuang''er gave everything she had to paddle. "Aiyo, not good!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "Incoming human cannonball!" His cried had not finished, ''splosh!'' Thin Toutuo plunged into the ocean. He fell only a few chi behind the skiff. As soon he resurfaced, his left hand managed to grab the edge of the skiff.


    Shuang''er lifted up the oar and smashed it down as hard as she could, she struck his skull. Thin Toutuo grunted out in pain, but his right hand also grabbed the edge of the skiff. Shuang''er was greatly anxious; she struck down again, ''crack!'' the wooden oar broke into two, the skiff immediately spun around. Thin Toutuo was dizzy, he shook his head to clear it up. Wei Xiaobao scratched with his dagger, four of Thin Toutuo''s right hand fingers were cut clean. In severe pain, he was unable to hold himself; his right hand loosened, his body bobbed up and down in the water, as he screamed and cursed.


    Shuang''er picked up the remaining oar and paddled desperately; the skiff once again sailed toward the shore.


    After sailing for a while, they left the big ship far behind, and knew that those people could not possibly overtake them. The big ship only had one skiff. Although Hong Jiaozhu and the others possessed high level of martial art skill, they would not dare to jump into the sea and swim to pursue them, not in this weather where the cold penetrated their bones and marrow. Besides, even if they swam faster, they would still be unable to catch up with the skiff.


    Wei Xiaobao took out a plank from the bottom of the skiff and helped paddling. They heard the faint noise of people on the big ship cursing angrily. But a moment later, the north wind finally masked the people''s voices. Wei Xiaobao let out a deep breath and said, "We finally escaped!"


    The two of them rowed for almost an hour before they finally reached the shore. Shuang''er jumped into the water. The water reached her knees. She pulled the skiff by the remaining half of the iron chain to get it closer to the shore. "It''s enough!" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped out of the skiff and landed on the shore. "Great success!" he called out.


    Shuang''er giggled and retreated a few steps. "Xianggong, please don''t fool around," she said, "We must leave quickly, don''t let Hong Jiaozhu and the others catch up with us."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "What kind of ghost place is this?" he asked with knitted brows. He looked around, but all he could see was brilliant white snow covering a boundless plain. In the dark of the night he could see nothing else.


    "I don''t know what kind of place this is," Shuang''er replied, "Xianggong, where do you think we should go?"


    Wei Xiaobao was so cold that he did not stop trembling, his brain seemed to be frozen stiff as well, unexpectedly he could not think of even half of a good idea. "His granny," he cursed, "It''s all Fang Yi, that dead little mother skin''s fault; she harmed us so that we''ll freeze to death in this snowy place."


    "Let''s go," Shuang''er said, "Walking will make our body warmer."


    The two of them started to walk toward the snowy area. The snow accumulation was about a chi thick, as they stepped into it, their entire calf was submerged; hence taking stride was very difficult.


    Although it was a hard going, Wei Xiaobao pressed on, remembering that Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power was extensive [i.e. resourceful], he would find a way to come ashore. But on this snowy ground their footprints were really deep, where could they escape? Even if they continued running for several days, most likely that in the end they would still be captured; therefore, he did not dare to pause even for a moment. While they were rushing along, he asked Shuang''er how she ended up in the ship.


    Turned out when Wei Xiaobao saw Fang Yi that day, with ''lost soul, dropped spirit'' he rushed over to talk to her, while Shuang''er was following him on the skiff. When Wei Xiaobao fell and was captured, while everybody''s attention was on him, Shuang''er was very sharp-witted; she immediately hid on the stern. This battleship was seized by Hong Jiaozhu and the others from Qing troops'' hands, the helmsman, the sailors, everybody on the ship was Qing troops. Shuang''er was wearing Valiant Cavalry Brigade officer''s uniform; mingled among the other officers and soldiers, nobody detected her. It was only after the ship reached the shore that she came out in the middle of the night to rescue him.


    Wei Xiaobao greatly praised her intelligence and quick-wit; he said, "Fang Yi that dead girl always swindles me, always do me harm; Shuang''er this sweet treasure always saves my life. I do not want her to be my wife, I want you to be my wife."


    Shuang''er hastily pulled her hands away and drew back several steps. "I am your little servant girl," she said, "Naturally with one heart one mind I will take care of you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "To have you as my little servant girl, my previous generation ancestors must have tapped four times seven, twenty-eight wooden fish


    Shuang''er giggled and said, "Xianggong always know how to talk."


    When the dawn arrived, they had walked far away from the shore. Looking back, they saw two sets of clear footprints on the snow, stretching out to the horizon. Looking forward, the plain seemed to be vast and limitless. Although Hong Jiaozhu and the others had not caught up with them, it seemed to be just a matter of time.


    Wei Xiaobao was very anxious in his heart. "Even if we walk ten more days and nights, in the end they will still overtake us," he said.


    Shuang''er pointed to the right and said, "That looks like a forest; if we enter the forest, it would not be easy for Hong Jiaozhu and the others to find us."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If that is indeed a forest, it would be great, but it does not look like a forest."


    The two of them changed their course; picking up speed, they walked uphill toward the snowy mound. But after walking for two hours, they could see clearly that it was nothing more than a knoll rising up in the middle of the great plain; it was not a forest at all.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s go around the hill, perhaps we''ll see some place we may hide." By this time he was already panting, his strength had almost gone.


    After walking for another hour, they reached the back of the hill, but all they saw was still a vast white plain, just like a snow-covered ocean; there was no place to hide. Wei Xiaobao was weary and was very hungry; he plopped himself down on the snowy ground and said, "Good Shuang''er, if you don''t hug me, give me a kiss, I won''t have any strength to walk anymore."


    Shuang''er blushed; she thought about complying, but she also thought that this matter was very improper. While she was hesitating, suddenly ''crack'', they heard a noise behind their backs. Turning their heads, the two of them saw seven, eight big deer appeared from behind the small hill.


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "My tummy is starving to death!" he said, "Do you happen to know a way to catch a deer and kill it? Then we''ll have roast venison to eat."


    "Let me try," Shuang''er said. Suddenly she leaped toward those several big deer.


    Who would have thought that with their four extremely long legs, these Spotted Deer [orig. ''plum blossom deer''] were able to leap as if they were flying; as soon as they turned around and ran, they already rushed several dozen zhang away. It was impossible to run after them. Shuang''er shook her head and said, "I can''t catch them."


    Actually, these spotted deer were not afraid of human; seeing Shuang''er stopped, they also stopped and turned their heads. Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us lie down on the ground, pretend to be dead. Let''s see if the deer would come over or not."


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "Alright, I''ll give it a try." Finished speaking she immediately lay down on the snowy ground.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am already dead, my wife good Shuang''er is also dead. The two of us are buried in the grave, cannot move anymore. Good Shuang''er and I had eight sons and nine daughters, they all are in front of the grave, crying loudly, ''Ah my father, oh my mother ��''"


    "Pfft," Shuang''er let out a giggle, her entire small face blushed bright red; she said, "Who is going to give birth to that many sons and daughter for you?"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Eight sons and two daughters are too many, then we''ll have three!"


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "Not ��"


    Several spotted deer slowly walked toward the two, apparently they were very curious. In the animal kingdom, deer''s intelligence is very low, far inferior to dogs, horses and foxes; as a result, there is a saying, ''stupid like deer and swine''. These several spotted deer lowered their heads to scratch and sniff Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er''s faces with their nose, while letting out some noises.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "Turn over and get on the horse, Di Qing subdued the dragon!" He sprang up and mounted the deer''s back, while reaching out to hold onto the antler. Shuang''er lightly and deftly also jumped onto another spotted deer''s back.


    The flock of deer was startled, they kicked their hoofs and leaped away. Shuang''er called out, "Use your dagger to kill the deer!"


    "No hurry to kill," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We ride the deer and run for our lives, Hong Jiaozhu will never catch up with us."


    "Yes, absolutely right," Shuang''er said, "But we must not separate." She was afraid that the two deer, one would run to the east, the other rush to the west, then it would be bad for them. Fortunately spotted deer are usually in flocks; these eight big deer ran together for quite a while. And then there were other seven or eight big deer joined the flock. Spotted deer has tall body and long legs, when they run, their speed is not inferior to that of fine horse; it''s just that riding on a deer was very rough, they were jolted and shaken very bad.


    The flock ran northwesterly and covered a stretch of several li before slowing down. The two deer with riders on their backs were bucking and kicking, trying hard to shake their riders loose, but Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er held on to the antler tightly, whatever happened they won''t be thrown down. Wei Xiaobao called out, "Once we get down, it would be difficult to get back up; we might as well run away the farther the better. This is called ''A real man gave his words, live deer cannot chase.''"


    That day, although the two of them were so hungry that they almost fainted with blurred vision, they still held on tight to the deer''s neck and grabbed the antler, letting the flock of deer galloped on the vast and obscure, limitless snow-covered plain. They knew that the longer the flock of deer ran, the farther away they were from Hong Jiaozhu and the others, while at the same time the snow would not have their footprints anymore.


    By nightfall, the flock of deer entered a forest. Wei Xiaobao said, "Good enough! Let''s get down!" Pulling his dagger, he ran it across the male deer''s neck. The deer ran a few steps before it collapsed to the ground.


    Shuang''er said, "One deer is enough, let''s spare my deer." And she leaped down from the deer''s back.


    Wei Xiaobao''s body was weary, his strength exhausted, the bones in his entire body felt like they were about to disintegrate. He was lying on the ground, gasping for breath for quite a while. Finally he crawled toward the stag''s neck and put his mouth on the cut. ''Glug, glug'' he drank several mouthful of the warm blood. "Shuang''er," he called out, "Come and drink some." Quite a bit of deer blood entered his stomach, his spirit was revived, his body was also slowly warming up.


    Shuang''er also drank the deer blood. She sheared a deer leg with the dagger, gathered some dry sticks, and built a fire to roast it. "Oh deer," she said, "You have saved our lives, but we kill you and eat you instead. We have really wronged you."


    After eating the roasted deer leg, the two of them were in high spirit. "Good Shuang''er," Wei Xiaobao said, "You and I should live in this forest as a pair of huntsman and huntswoman; let''s not return to Beijing."


    Lowering her head, Shuang''er said, "Wherever Xianggong go, I will follow and serve you. I don''t care if you return to Beijing to be a high-ranking official, or live here as a hunter. I will always be your little servant girl."


    The flame shone on her face, Wei Xiaobao saw a rosy, tender, beautiful and cute face. He laughed and said, "In that case, didn''t we achieve great success?"


    "Ah!" Shuang''er cried out and leaped onto the pine tree above her head. She laughed and said, "We did not, we did not."


    That night the two of them huddled up by the bonfire, and slept peacefully for the whole night. The next morning they woke up, Shuang''er roasted some more deer meat. The two of them ate to their hearts'' content. During the riding on the deer''s back the previous day, Wei Xiaobao''s hat fell down. Shuang''er peeled some deer skin and made one for him.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We ran away for a whole day yesterday, it won''t be easy for Hong Jiaozhu and the others to find us, but there are still some dangers that they would. We''d better ride the spotted deer and rush to the north three, four more days, then I, Wei Jiaozhu and you, Madame Shuang''er, would enjoy immortal good fortune forever, our long lives would be the same as the heaven''s."


    Shuang''er laughed and said, "What Madame Shuang''er? So unpleasant to hear. You want to ride the deer? That won''t be difficult, isn''t that another flock of deer coming over?"


    Indeed they saw more than twenty big deer and little deer from the east strolling over the snowy ground. They stretched out their necks to chew the tender leaves of the trees. Human''s footprints were rare in this forest, when the flock of deer saw these two, they were not afraid at all.


    "Deer are very good-natured," Shuang''er said, "It would be best if we don''t kill them too much. This big deer of yesterday is enough for us to eat for a dozen of days." She cut several large chunks of meat from the dead deer, and using deer skin as ropes she wrapped the meat and divided it between Wei Xiaobao and herself to be carried on their backs; and then they walked slowly toward the deer.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to gently pet a big deer. The deer turned its head around and licked his face; it was not scared at all. Wei Xiaobao called out, "Aiyo! This deer has achieved great success with me."


    Shuang''er giggled and said, "You get up first." Only after the two humans leaped onto their backs that the two deer were startled and ran.


    The flock of deer ran along the forest. The two humans held on to their antler to steer them to the north, leaving Hong Jiaozhu and the others farther and farther away. By this time Wei Xiaobao had learned how to ride the deer; it was not difficult at all. After riding more than four hours, he and Shuang''er jumped down and let the flock of deer run on their own.


    Traveling this way, they rode the deer in the forest for more than ten days. Occasionally they did not meet any deer, in which case they would go on foot slowly. When hungry, they would eat roast venison. Their original clothes were already unbearably tattered by the thistles and thorns of the forest, Shuang''er made new sets of upper garment and underpants from deerskin. Even their shoes were made of deerskin now.


    One day they were out of the forest, suddenly they heard the rumbling noise of water. After walking for a while, they reached the bank of a big river. They saw in the river the water was surging up violently, the current was very strong. The two of them had been in the dense forest for more than ten days, suddenly seeing this big river, they felt that the darkness in their heart was suddenly lifted up.


    After walking for several hours northward along the river, they suddenly saw three men wearing animal skin clothing; they had hoe and iron fork in their hands, from their appearance, they seemed to be hunters. Wei Xiaobao had not seen any other people for quite a while, he was greatly delighted. Hurriedly he came forward and asked, "Three Dage, where are you heading?"


    A man about forty something replied, "We are going to the market at Mudanjiang


    [43]. Where are you going?" His accent sounded very strange.


    "Aiyo," Wei Xiaobao said, "So Mudanjiang is that way? We took a wrong turn. Nothing can be better than following the three Dage." Immediately they followed the three hunters.


    Bit by bit Wei Xiaobao tried to strike conversation with them. Turned out the three men were Tungus people who made a living by hunting and gathering ginseng. They always went to the market at Mudanjiang to do their business with Han people, hence they knew a little bit of Han language.


    Mudanjiang was actually a small town of considerable size. Wei Xiaobao had always had the banknotes, he never lost it; he invited the three Tungus men to an inn to drink some wine. While they were still drinking, suddenly he heard someone on the adjacent table said, "This wooden club of yours looks very fine. Last month, there is someone who came down from Huma''erwoji Mountain ��"


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er heard the words ''Huma''erwoji Mountain'', their hearts were shaken. They looked at each other, and then turned toward the speaker. They saw two old men fiddling with newly picked ginseng, tied with a strip of leaf, in their hands. Wei Xiaobao took out an ingot of silver and handed it over to the waiter, telling him to get more wine and meat, and a large slice of cooked beef, two catties of white wine, and deliver everything to the next table.


    The two ginseng pickers were greatly surprised; they wondered why this young hunter was so hospitable, immediately they expressed thanks repeatedly. Wei Xiaobao went over to their table and toasted them several cups. With his eloquence, in just a few words he was able to find out the location of Huma''erwoji Mountain. Turned out it was located due north of where they were, still two, three thousand li away; but those two ginseng pickers had never been there either. Wei Xiaobao called Shuang''er over, and told her to ask about some mountain and river''s names on the map. The two ginseng pickers gave direction to those places one by one, along with the general situation of those places. Indeed their explanation did not the slightest bit disagree with the information from the map.


    After drinking wine and eating their meal, they took their leave from the Tungus men and the ginseng pickers. Wei Xiaobao pondered in his heart, "Turns out that Lu Ding Shan [deer and cauldron mountain] is still several thousand li from this place. But since we don''t have anything else to do, we might as well go dig some treasure."


    Actually, whether to dig or not to dig the treasure, he did not care too much. In the deepest part of his heart, he was afraid to meet Hong Jiaozhu, Thin Toutuo, and that bunch of people. Since Hong Jiaozhu and the others were in the south, if he went north two, three thousand li, no matter what Hong Jiaozhu would not be able to find him. He thought further, "If Shuang''er and I wait for him in the wild, mountainous country for ten or eight years, Hong Jiaozhu will definitely die. Could it be that his long life is as long as the damn heaven''s?"


    Thereupon he went to a leather store and bought two sets of fine mink fur coat, which he and Shuang''er put on immediately. Afraid that Hong Jiaozhu would still be able to overtake them, outside the mink fur coat they were still wearing the coarse deerskin clothing. They also used soot to blacken their faces, so that even if they were overtaken, he hoped that they would not be recognized. He hired a large carriage, and travelled north. Inside the carriage he chatted with Shuang''er. Occasionally he would ''achieve great success''; their relation was warm and happy.


    They rode the carriage for more than twenty days. The farther north they went, the colder the weather got, until finally the road was covered with ice and snow that the large carriage could not continue. The two of them then bought horses and continued north, until even the horses could not continue anymore, hence just like in the forest before, they continued on foot on snowy ground.


    Luckily treasure hunting, along with seeking refuge, was what Wei Xiaobao was good at; seeing the barren hills and treacherous rapids, uninhabited open plain everywhere, he felt safer instead. Shuang''er''s memory was very good, following the direction on the map, they searched slowly to the north. Whenever they met hunters or ginseng pickers, they would inquire about the name of the place to verify their location based on the map. The map had eight small circles in four colors, which marked the location of Lu Ding Shan, where two great rivers converged.


    One particular day, according to their calculation they were not too far from their destination. The two of them were walking hand in hand in a pine forest. Suddenly there was a loud bang from the northeast direction, it sounded like a firearm was being shot. Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Aiyo, not good!" he cried out, "Hong Jiaozhu has caught up with us." Hastily he pulled Shuang''er and hid in the long thick patch of grass behind a tree. And then they heard more than a dozen people were shouting and screaming as they rushed over toward them, followed by the sound of hoof beats.


    Wei Xiaobao was only afraid that Hong Jiaozhu was coming to capture him, to pull his tendon and peel his skin; this moment, as he heard the noise had nothing to do with Hong Jiaozhu, he felt slightly relieved, and looked out from among the thick patch of grass. He saw more than a dozen Tungus hunters screaming wildly while running for their lives. Suddenly there were unending ''bang, bang, bang''; the Tungus hunters fell down, rolled around several times, and died, blood was seeping out from their bodies. Wei Xiaobao gripped Shuang''er''s hands; he thought, "This is foreign devils'' firearms."


    Following the sound of hoof beats, seven or eight riders charged in; the riders were indeed yellow-bearded, blue-eyed foreign troops. Each and every one of them was tall and powerfully built, with fiendish expression. Some were holding guns, some brandishing their cutlass wildly. In just a short period of time the rest of the Tungus hunters were all hacked to death.


    The foreign troops laughed aloud, jumped down from their horses, and started raiding the hunters'' belongings; they took away several sheets of mink fur, six or seven silver fox fur, talked gibberish for a while, and then mounted their horses and left.


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er waited until the sound of hoof beats go far away before they slowly came out of the thick patch of grass. When they looked at the hunters, they found not one person was alive. The two of them looked at each other in dismay, they both saw abject terror on each other''s eyes. Wei Xiaobao said quietly, "Those foreign devils are robbers."


    "They are more vicious than robbers," Shuang''er said, "After robbing their belongings, they also killed the people."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered something. "How could there be foreign robbers?" he wondered aloud, "Could it be that Wu Sangui already arise in rebellion?" He knew Wu Sangui and Luocha Country had made a pact; as soon as Yunnan sent their troops, Luocha Country would attack from the north. This moment they suddenly saw a lot of foreign troops, could it be that for several weeks they did not hear any news from outside, Wu Sangui had already made his move? Thinking about the troops and horses under Wu Sangui''s command were numerous, he could not help feeling anxious for Xiao Xuanzi. Looking at the bodies scattered around on the ground, he only felt worry.


    Shuang''er sighed and said, "These hunters are really pitiful; right now their father and mother, wife and children at home must be waiting for them to come back."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao mumbled. Suddenly he said, "I want to see the young Emperor."


    Shuang''er was greatly surprised, "You want to see the young Emperor?" she asked.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wu Sangui is sending his troops to revolt, the young Emperor must have a lot of things he wanted to talk to me. Even if I cannot offer any ideas, I can still talk to him to relieve his boredom. Let us go back to Beijing."


    "We are not going to Lu Ding Shan?" Shuang''er asked.


    "Not this time," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We''ll go again next time." Although he was eager to find the treasure, but he had already amassed gold, silver, money and valuable that he did not even know to spend it all. Thinking that Lu Ding Shan was related to Xiao Xuanzi''s dragon vein, in all honesty he did not really want to unearth it; he was afraid that as soon as he dig it out, he would jeopardize Xiao Xuanzi''s life.


    Shuang''er did not have any idea, naturally she would follow obediently. Wei Xiaobao said, "We go back to Beijing, but must be careful not to bump into any foreign robbers. We''d better follow the riverbank and see if we can catch a boat."


    Immediately they entered the forest and walked toward the east. Traveling until the afternoon, they reach the bank of a big river. In the distant they saw a fortified city wall. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "When we reach the city, we can either hire a boat or ride on horses. Having money makes everything easy." Thereupon he walked faster.


    After walking several li, they saw another big river winding from the northwest and merged with this turbulent-water big river. Shuang''er suddenly said, "Xianggong, these are Amur River and Heilongjiang [river], and that �� that �� that must be Lu Ding Shan." While saying that, she pointed to the fortified city.


    "Are you sure you remember correctly?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "This is such a happy coincidence."


    Shuang''er said, "The map is indeed drawn like this, but on the map there were only eight colored circles, it did not say anything about fortified city."


    "There is a fortified city on Lu Ding Shan; that''s really strange," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll say this city cannot be trusted. Let''s not go in there."


    "What do you mean the city cannot be trusted?" Shuang''er asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Look, there is a demon cloud above the city, apparently there is a big demon inside the city."


    Shuang''er jumped in fright. "Aiyo!" she hastily said, "I am most afraid of demon. Xianggong, let''s go quickly."


    Right this moment, suddenly they heard sound of hoof beats, several dozen riders were galloping along the riverbank from the south. All around them was open plain, there was no where they could hide. Wei Xiaobao pulled Shuang''er, the two of them rolled away from the river shore and withdrew behind a large rock by the riverbank. Not too long afterwards, they saw a group of horses sweeping past; the riders were indeed foreign officers and men.


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue; he followed the foreign troops with his eyes until they disappeared into the city wall. "Didn''t I tell you?" he said, "I said this city cannot be trusted, and I was right. Turns out that is not demon cloud, those are foreign cloud."


    Shuang''er said, "We have found Lu Ding Shan with great difficulty, who would have imagined that this mountain has been occupied by foreign robbers?"


    "Aiyo," suddenly Wei Xiaobao exclaimed; he sprang up and cried out, "Bad, bad!"


    Seeing the huge change on his face, Shuang''er busily asked, "What is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The foreign robbers must have found out the secret of the map, otherwise how can they be here? The hidden treasure and the dragon vein cannot be guaranteed."


    Shuang''er had never heard him mentioning anything about hidden treasure and the dragon vein, but the map was constructed with great difficulty, hence she had already guessed that the secret of Lu Ding Mountain must be concerning something of grave importance. Seeing the deep frown on Wei Xiaobao''s face, she said consolingly, "Xianggong, if the foreign soldiers have found the secret first, there is nothing we can do. Foreign robbers have firearms, they are very ferocious, the two of us cannot fight with them."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "I just feel strange, after we put the map together, it was only a few days before we burned it; how did the secret leak? I wonder if the foreign robbers have dug the hidden treasure and broken the young Emperor''s dragon vein. We must investigate clearly."


    Thinking about the viciousness and ruthlessness of the foreign soldiers when they massacred the people in the woods a moment ago, he could not help but shiver. "I want to go to Lu Ding Shan to investigate clearly," he muttered to himself, "But it''s too dangerous. I must think of a better way. Good Shuang''er, let''s wait until it is dark before going, that way it won''t be too easy for the devils to detect us."

 Chapter - 36 (36)

    Predator birds over ten-thousand li of barbarian flower''s sky, the beginning of the edge of the clouds over thousand winding snowy roads.


    The two of them ate some dried venison, and then slept on the beach; by the time the second watch of the night [between 9-11pm] arrived, they quietly moved toward the fortified city. It was quiet all around, that night the moonlight was bright. They noticed that the fortified city was constructed from big lumber and big stones, the circumference was indeed not small; it was definitely not a one-day, one-night effort. Wei Xiaobao thought, "This fortified city was built sometimes ago, so nobody peeked at my map and informed Luocha people to come over here and build the city."


    He saw his own shadow as well as Shuang''er''s on the ground, and could not help but was afraid, thinking that if there were Luocha soldiers guarding on the wall, with several shots, Wei Xiaobao would turn into Wei Sibao [xiao bao �C little treasure, si bao �C dead treasure]. Thereupon he pulled Shuang''er and crouched on the ground, trying to see if anything was astir. He saw on the southeast corner of the fortified city there was a small log cabin, with light coming out from the window; apparently it was where the guards lived. Wei Xiaobao whispered on Shuang''er''s ear, "Let''s go over there to take a look." The two of them slowly crawled toward the log cabin.


    Just as they were outside the window, suddenly they heard a woman''s laughter from the inside, the laughter sounded so lascivious. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er looked at each other; they both felt strange, "How could there be a woman?"


    Wei Xiaobao peeked through a small crack on the window. But the weather was cold and the wind strong, all the cracks on the window were tightly sealed; he could not see anything. Yet the voice from the inside continued, one man one woman, they were talking and laughing gibberish that Wei Xiaobao did not understand at all. He knew that this pair of Luocha man and woman was not doing any good deed; his heart was moved. Reaching out, he embraced Shuang''er in his bosom. Shuang''er heard the voices from the inside, she seemed to understand, but not quite understood; there was a vague feeling in her heart that it was improper. When she was held in Wei Xiaobao''s arms, for fear that they would be found by the people inside, she did not dare to make any noise.


    To Wei Xiaobao, it was exactly what he wanted. His left arm hugged her even tighter, his right hand gently stroked her cheek. Shuang''er''s body went weak, she leaned on his bosom. Unexpectedly, since the ground was packed with ice, in his eagerness Wei Xiaobao forgot to mind where he stood; his foot slipped, he could not hold his stand, ''bang!'' his head hit the window heavily. "Aiyo!" he could not help but letting out a cry.


    The voices inside stopped; a moment later a man''s voice shouted a question. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er crouched on the ground, and were momentarily at a loss of what to do. They heard a latch being pulled, the wooden door creaked open, someone with a lantern in his hand standing at the door looking outside. Wei Xiaobao sprang out lightly with his dagger going straight into the man''s chest. The man did not even grunt; his body slumped and he fell down without any noise.


    Shuang''er rushed into the room, but she saw the room was absolutely empty, there was no one inside. "Uh," she exclaimed in surprise, "Where''s that woman?"


    Wei Xiaobao followed her inside. He saw a kang [heatable brick bed] inside, a wooden table, and a wooden trunk; the room was illuminated by a bear fat candle on the table, but the woman had actually disappeared without a trace. "Search her quick, don''t let her go announcing our presence." He noticed that other than the front door, this house did not have any other exits.


    He dragged the dead body inside and closed the door. He saw the dead man was a foreign soldier, the lower part of his body was naked, he did not were any pants. Wei Xiaobao looked up to examine the beam, but did not see anything out of ordinary, "She must still be here," he said. He rushed to the trunk''s side, opened the trunk lid, and quickly stepped aside to guard against the Luocha woman opened fire.


    After a moment without seeing anything astir, Shuang''er said, "She is not inside the trunk. This is really strange."


    Wei Xiaobao went near the trunk to examine it, and saw the trunk was full with fur clothing. He reached in and scooped some, but underneath it was also fur clothing. Suddenly he sniffed a strong fragrant; obviously it was the smell of women''s cosmetics. "Something can''t be trusted in here," he said. He grabbed the fur clothing and tossed them all to the ground. To his surprise, there was a hole at base of the trunk. "In here!" he cried out in delight.


    Shuang''er said, "Turns out there is a tunnel in here."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly intercept that Luocha woman. If she talked, a large group of foreign robbers will swarm over, we will be in a terrible mess." Hurriedly he took off the leather clothing that he bundled up on his body, pulled his dagger, and crawled into the hole. He was very afraid of foreign troops, but he did not take foreign women to heart.


    The tunnel was inclining downward, and he could only crawl, but he was slim and agile, he was able to crawl fast and nimble in the tunnel. After crawling for more than ten zhang, he heard voices ahead. He increased the strength in his hands and feet, and crawled even faster. The voice ahead was getting closer. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed as hard as he could, and touched a smooth and soft calf. The woman cried out in low voice, and frantically fled forward. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "If I kill you with one stab, I am not a hero or warrior. Good man does not fight with women, Chinese men do not fight with Luocha demon granny


    [44]. Foreign male demons I have seen a lot, but what foreign female demons look like, I must take a good look."


    He re-inserted the dagger into its sheath, and charged more than a zhang forward. With both hands he grabbed the woman''s calf. Inside the tunnel, the woman was unable to turn around; she crawled forward desperately. The woman''s strength was indeed not small, unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao was unable to pull her back, instead, he was pulled forward about a zhang or so. Wei Xiaobao spread his legs toward the tunnel wall to brace himself, only then did he manage to hold himself and not dragged forward by the woman.


    The woman struggled hard, Wei Xiaobao''s hands slipped; unexpectedly the woman was able to free herself. She quickly crawled forward. Wei Xiaobao threw himself to her and grabbed her waist. Suddenly he felt his head was free; they had actually reached the part of the tunnel, which was fairly spacious. The woman let out a couple of soft laughter; she turned around and kissed him. But since it was dark, she kissed his nose instead.


    A burst of strong fragrant assaulted Wei Xiaobao''s nostrils, the body of the woman in his bosom was smooth and slippery; to his surprise, she did not wear even one thread. He felt the woman reached back and embraced him; his mind was blurry. He heard Shuang''er asked in a low voice, "Xianggong, what is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao hummed and hawed; he was just about to reply when the woman in his bosom suddenly kissed his mouth. Immediately he was unable to speak. Suddenly he heard a voice above his head saying, "We found out that Zongdu [governor-general] has arrived at Yakesa


    [45], therefore, we rushed over to meet him."


    As soon as these words entered Wei Xiaobao''s ears, it was as if a bucket of iced water was drenched over his head. The speaker was unexpectedly the Divine Dragon Cult''s Cult Leader Hong. How could Hong Jiaozhu be over his head? And the Luocha woman in his bosom, how could she be so flirtatious and intimate? The number of unusual things he had seen in his life was indeed not small, but what he came into tonight in this tunnel was totally new and unthinkable. The woman in his bosom was like a warm, fragrant soft jade; the Hong Jiaozhu in his mind wanted to pull his tendon and peel his skin. In his terror, hastily he pushed away to woman in his bosom, he wanted to turn around and flee; who would have thought that the woman embraced him tightly, and did not want to let him go.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious; he said in her ear, "Jiligulu, xilihuala, hulihutu." He only hoped that she would understand this made-up Luocha language. The woman let out soft laughter, twice, and said a few words in his ear; presumably she was speaking genuine Luocha language. And then she reached out to his cheek and twisted it hard.


    Right this moment, a man overhead was speaking a string of gibberish foreign words. When he finished, another man said, "Zongdu Daren said, Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao have honored us with your presence; he wishes to welcome you very much, yet did not come to greet you, it was very lacking in manners, hence he begs for Jiaozhu''s forgiveness. Zongdu Daren wishes Hong Jiaozhuon a long life of a hundred years, great good fortune and great longevity, that everything will be according to your wishes, and wishes to be good friends with Hong Jiaozhu, to work with a common purpose, attempting the important matter together."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "This interpreter


    [46] is uneducated; he changed the ''enjoy immortal good fortune forever, long life the same as the heaven''s'' into ''long life of a hundred years, great good fortune and great longevity''."


    He heard Hong Jiaozhu responded, "Biren [humble one, referring to self] wishes Luocha Country Emperor ten thousand years of boundless longevity, wishes Zongdu Daren good fortune, long life, health and peace, and to rise in promotion soon. Biren will do my utmost wholeheartedly, to work with Luocha Country on a common goal, attempting the important matter together. From now on blessing will be enjoyed together, difficulty will be faced together, both sides will not renege on this oath forever." The interpreter spoke for a moment, the Luocha Country governor-general responded with some continuous gibberish.


    Wei Xiaobao asked the woman in a low voice, "Who are you? Why aren''t you wearing any clothes?"


    The woman laughed in a low voice and said, "Who are you? Why are you wearing some clothes?" While saying that, she reached out to untie Wei Xiaobao''s undergarment.


    In this kind of situation, how could Wei Xiaobao have the mood to do this kind of loose, merry-making shady business? He had heard Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen spoke Chinese; now he heard this Luocha woman spoke Chinese, he was not surprised. "It is very dangerous in here," he busily said, "Let us get out quickly."


    The woman said in a low voice, "Don''t move! Don''t move! You move, they hear." Although she spoke Chinese, the tone was very stiff, it sounded very awkward. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao stayed still, he did not dare to make the slightest move.


    He heard Cult Leader Hong and the Luocha Country governor-general discussing how as soon as Wu Sangui deployed his troops from Yunnan, Divine Dragon Cult and Luocha Country would attack Manchurian Qing from two sides. They laid out the plan, and sure enough, it was identical to the one explained by the Mongolian big beard Hantiemo. As the discussion progressed, Cult Leader Hong offered an idea, saying that if Luocha Country attacked from Liaodong, not only the distance was great, the route was tightly guarded by Qing troops. It would be better to take the sea route and land in Tianjian, and then go straight to Beijing with firearms and cannon; that way they might take over Beijing earlier compared to Wu Sangui. The governor-general was greatly delighted; he repeatedly praised it as wonderful plan, he said that Cult Leader Hong was so loyal that in the future he would definitely take control of several provinces of China, and would be established as ''king''. Cult Leader Hong did not stop expressing his thanks.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled and angry at the same time; he thought, "This fellow Hong Jiaozhu is also a big traitor to China, not the least bit different than Wu Sangui. His plan is very vicious, I must report to the young Emperor and have him install a lot of cannon at the Tianjin seaport. When the Luocha Country warships come to attack, ''bang, bang, bang, bang'' we''ll blast those damn ships."


    He heard Hong Jiaozhu said, "Zongdu Daren has come from afar to China, we do not have anything good as a present to you; hereby we present a hundred Dadong [district, Liaoning] pearls, a hundred sheets of mink fur, and a hundred catties of ginseng to Zongdu Daren. Outside we also have tribute to be presented to Luocha Country Emperor."


    Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao thought, "Unexpectedly this old dog has prepared these many gifts; indeed his magical power is extensive."


    Suddenly he felt his face was warm, the woman put her cheek against his, and then he felt she reached out to grope about his body. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "You grope me, I won''t be polite to you." He also reached out to grope around her breasts. The woman suddenly let out a squeal, and broke into laughter.


    This laughter was not soft, Hong Jiaozhu immediately heard it, but he thought that the governor-general hid a woman in his room, it was nothing out of ordinary; thereupon he pretended not to hear. After exchanging some pleasantries, he said that they would discuss everything in more details the next day, and then he took his leave.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly heard a racket above his head, followed by a dazzling light. Turned out he and the woman in his bosom were inside a large wooden trunk, and the trunk''s lid had just been opened by someone.


    The woman giggled tenderly, and then jumped out of the trunk. She took a robe to cover her own body, and then said to Wei Xiaobao with a laugh, "Come out, come out!"


    Wei Xiaobao slowly stepped out of the trunk. He saw a tall and powerfully built foreign military officer standing by the trunk with his hand pressed on the hilt of a saber hanging on his waist. The woman laughed and said, "There is one more!"


    Shuang''er originally wanted to hide inside the trunk, if Wei Xiaobao got into trouble, she would think of a way to rescue him, but since the woman had already called out, she had no choice but to jump out of the trunk as well.


    Wei Xiaobao saw the woman''s hair was yellow like gold, draped over her shoulder; her pair of dark green eyes looked very lively. Her skin was snow white, her appearance was very beautiful, it''s just that her nose was a bit too high, and she was also half a head taller than he was. Wei Xiaobao had never seen a foreign woman before, he could not guess how old she was, but he presumed she must be around twenty.


    The woman was looking at Wei Xiaobao with a grin on her face, she said, "You, little child, groped me, scoundrel, hee hee ��"


    The governor-general''s face looked calm and collected; he mumbled something in foreign language. The woman also mumbled something in reply. The governor-general''s manner was very respectful, he bowed several times. The woman spoke several sentences, she pointed to Wei Xiaobao. The governor-general opened the door and summoned the Chinese interpreter back into the room. All the time the man and the woman did not stop talking to each other.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed the room was furnished with quite a bit of fur, there were quite a few glittering female clothing spread on the couch. Looking at half-exposed woman''s snow white, silky breasts, her sparkling and translucent calves and skin, he thought, "I had this woman in my bosom just now, why did I only grope her carelessly and simply let it pass like that? I got a very good pair of cards in my hand, but forgot to make a kill. That Hong Jiaozhu has frightened me silly."


    He heard the interpreter said, "The Princess and Zongdu Daren ask: who are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised. "She is the Princess?" he asked.


    The interpreter replied, "This is the Luocha Country Emperor''s imperial elder sister, Her Highness Princess Sophia. This is His Excellency Governor General Galitzine. Quickly kneel down to pay your respect."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Her Highness the Princess, how could she be so wild?" But he immediately recalled Kangxi''s imperial younger sister Princess Jianning was also very wild, in fact, in term of wildness, she was not inferior to this Luocha Country Princess. All the emperors'' imperial older sister or younger sister must be beautiful and wild, so this princess must be a genuine article. Thereupon with a giggle he bowed to pay his respect, saying, "Your Highness the Princess, how are you? You are extremely beautiful, you look like a celestial fairy descending into the world. In our China, there has never been any woman as beautiful as you."


    Sophia knew several most shallow Chinese words; hearing Wei Xiaobao, she knew he was praising her beauty; immediately she beamed up and said, "Little child, very good, must reward." She went over to the desk, pulled a drawer, took a dozen or more gold coins, and put the coins in Wei Xiaobao''s hand.


    "Thank you very much," Wei Xiaobao said. He held out his hand to receive the coins. Under the candlelight, he saw the Princess'' five fingers were indeed like green jade; he could not stop himself from reaching out to grab her hand, and brought it to his mouth and kissed it.


    The interpreter was greatly alarmed; "Don''t be rude!" he shouted. He did not know that the ritual of kissing one''s hand was actually in general use in western foreign country, it was an expression of utmost respect to the ladies of nobility. Wei Xiaobao was acting without thinking, unexpectedly he did the right thing. Only he should have kissed the back of the lady''s hand, but he was grabbing Princess Sophia''s palm and sucked her fingers randomly, hence it appeared rather awkward. Sophia giggled tenderly, but surprisingly she did not pull her hand away.


    "Little child," Sophia asked with a laugh, "What you do?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Little child, go hunting."


    Suddenly from outside the door a loud and clear voice said, "This little child is a high-ranking minister under China''s Emperor, don''t be deceived by him." It was precisely Hong Jiaozhu''s voice.


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul had flown to the outer space; pulling Shuang''er''s sleeve, he wanted to dash out of the door. But as soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Hong Jiaozhu was blocking his exit with arms spread open. Shuang''er leaped forward with a direct punch. Hong Jiaozhu parried with his left hand, while his right hand finger went toward Shuang''er''s waist. Shuang''er groaned and fell to the ground.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Hong Jiaozhu, you, Senior, enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s. Where is Madame? Has she also come?"


    Hong Jiaozhu did not reply, his left hand grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck, and he brought Wei Xiaobao back inside. "Reporting to Your Highness the Princess and Zongdu Daren," he said, "This person is called Wei Xiaobao, he is a high-ranking minister most trusted by the Chinese Emperor, he is the Fu Zongguan [deputy chief] of the Emperor''s Imperial Bodyguards, personal guards'' Dutong [commander], Imperial Envoy Minister, and was conferred the title First Class Viscount."


    Hong Jiaozhu said, "Biren has the proof." Turning his head around, he said, "Bring this kid''s clothes over."


    Wei Xiaobao saw Lu Gaoxuan entered in, carrying a bundle wrapped in cloth. When he opened it, surprisingly it was Wei Xiaobao''s original hat, clothing and personal adornment. Wei Xiaobao was greatly amazed, "How could these clothes end up in his hands? Hong Jiaozhu''s magical power is indeed extensive."


    Hong Jiaozhu ordered Lu Gaoxuan, "Put the clothes on him." Lu Gaoxuan complied. He shook off the clothes and put them onto Wei Xiaobao.


    These clothes, along with the yellow magua, were torn apart by the thistles and thorns of the forest, but put on Wei Xiaobao''s body, obviously it was extremely well-fitting. The hat, with the peacock feather on it, obviously belonged to a high-ranking minister of the Qing court. If these clothes did not belong to Wei Xiaobao, it would be very difficult to find such a high-ranking official uniform in such a small size on the earth.


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "Hong Jiaozhu, your ability is indeed not small; I threw those clothes along the way, but you picked them all up from the roadside along the way."


    Hong Jiaozhu ordered Lu Gaoxuan, "Search his body, see if you can find anything."


    "No need to search me," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll get everything out." He pulled a big wad of banknotes from his pocket, the amount was staggering.


    The governor-general had lived in Liaodong for a long time, he knew banknotes. Casually he flipped some, and was greatly amazed. He turned to the Princess and mumbled something, as if he was saying, "This child indeed has some background, the money he brings is really a lot."


    Hong Jiaozhu said, "This little demon is very crafty, search his body."


    Lu Gaoxuan searched Wei Xiaobao and took everything out of his pocket, including the secret order written in Kangxi''s personal hand writing, which said, ''Imperial Envoy Minister, Deputy Commander Minister of the Internal Imperial Bodyguards, holder of concurrent office of the Commander of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade of the Manchuria Plain Yellow Banner, has been granted by the Emperor himself bravery title of Batulu, and the right to wear yellow magua, the Viscount First Class Wei Xiaobao, is ordered to go to Liaodong region on official business. The civil and military officials along the way are to wait for his instruction and render their assistance.'' The top of this imperial edict bore the imperial seal.


    The interpreter read the edict in Luocha language. When Princess Sophia and Governor General Galitzine heard it, they clucked their tongue in praise and amazement.


    Hong Jiaozhu said, "Reporting to Princess: Chinese Emperor is a young child, and loves to use young children as high-ranking officials. This little child loves to play games and joke around with the Chinese Emperor, he is good at patting the horse''s buttocks, he is good at blowing the cowhide, the young Emperor likes him."


    Sophia did not understand ''patting the horse''s buttocks'' and ''blowing the cowhide''; after asking the interpreter, she giggled and said, "I also like people patting the horse''s buttocks and blowing the cowhide." Wei Xiaobao was immediately delighted. But Hong Jiaozhu''s countenance turned very unsightly.


    Sophia asked further, "Chinese young Emperor, how old?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Chinese big Emperor, seventeen years old."


    Sophia laughed and said, "Luocha big Tsar, is my little brother, is also a child, twenty years old, not a tou laozi


    [47]."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "What tou laozi?" he mused, "Ah, she spoke incorrectly, it must be laotouzi


    [48] and she said tou laozi." Thereupon he pointed at her and said, "Luocha beautiful princess, not tou laozi, very good." Pointing at himself, he said, "Chinese high-ranking official, not tou laozi, very good!" Pointing at Hong Jiaozhu, he said, "Chinese bad egg [scoundrel/b@stard], tou laozi, not good, not good!"


    Sophia bent over with laughter. The Luocha Country governor-general was a young man of about thirty; he also laughed aloud. Hong Jiaozhu''s countenance, however, turned iron-grey, he so wished to strike Wei Xiaobao dead with one palm.


    Sophia asked, "Chinese high-ranking official, come here, for what?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Chinese Emperor heard Luocha Country''s high-ranking official is coming to Liaodong, he sent me to take a look. His Majesty knew Luocha Country Emperor is not a tou laozi, he knew Luocha Princess is a fairy descending to the world, he sent Xiaoren to present gifts, to give Princess and Zongdu Daren two hundred Dadong pearls, two hundred catties of ginseng. Unexpectedly en route we came across this big robber who took the gifts away ��"


    Wei Xiaobao had not finished speaking, Hong Jiaozhu was already unable to restrain his anger; raising his right palm, he chopped down at the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head. When he was inside the trunk, Wei Xiaobao had heard Hong Jiaozhu was presenting not a few precious gifts to the governor-general, thereupon he doubled the amount, and said that it was a gift from the Emperor. When his mouth was busy talking, he paid full attention on Hong Jiaozhu. As soon as he saw he raised his palm, he immediately executed the qinggong ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine line hundred changes] taught by Jiu Nan, and slipped away behind Princess Sophia.


    ''Crack, crash!'' one wooden chair was destroyed by Hong Jiaozhu''s palm strike. Galitzine was shocked; he pulled his short gun and pointed it at Hong Jiaozhu, ordering him not to move randomly.


    Hong Jiaozhu anxiously said, "No, no. This kid is very good at talking nonsense, Princess must never believe him." He saw the Luocha governor-general was pointing the gun at him, although western firearm was formidable, but based on his martial art skill, he was not afraid. However, they were in the middle of conspiring on more important matter, he needed the Luocha Country''s strong support, he must not offend the governor-general just because he could not control his anger. Thereupon he slowly withdrew toward the door without showing any sign of resistance.


    Galitzine pulled back his gun and spoke several sentences. The interpreter said, "Zongdu Daren is asking Hong Jiaozhu not to be angry. He knew this little child is spouting nonsense. Princess Sophia has come to the east in secret, it''s impossible that the Chinese Emperor would find out about it. It is also improbable that the Chinese Emperor would give gifts to a Luocha Country Zongdu."


    Hong Jiaozhu''s anger subsided; he smiled and said, "Zongdu Daren is wise, you are able to see things clearly; indeed you would never fall under this kid''s deceit."


    With a grin on her face, Princess Sophia was looking at Wei Xiaobao with great interest; apparently, the more Hong Jiaozhu said that Wei Xiaobao was unpardonably wicked, the more she was delighted.


    Galitzine was deep in thought for half a day before asking, "Chinese Emperor likes this little child very much?"


    "That''s right," Hong Jiaozhu replied, "Otherwise, he is this young, how could he hold a very high official position?"


    "This little child must not be killed," Galitzine said, "Send a letter to Chinese Emperor, tell him to get a large quantity of gold, silver and jewels as an exchange if he wants him back."


    Wei Xiaobao took the wad of banknotes back and divided it into three packs. One pack he gave to Princess Sophia, the other pack he gave to Galitzine, from the third pack he took two banknotes worth a hundred taels each, and gave it to the interpreter, and then he put the rest into his own pocket.


    Sophia, Galitzine and the interpreter were very happy. Sophia ordered the interpreter to count the money, she wanted to know how much in total, and then she ordered him to think of a way to send someone inside the Pass to exchange the banknotes into hard cash. Upon counting the banknotes, the total came to more than a hundred thousand taels; suddenly finding unexpected great wealth, they could not help but were ecstatic. She hugged Wei Xiaobao, and repeated kissed his cheeks left and right; she said, "The money is enough, let the child go back!"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that if he was let go this time, Hong Jiaozhu would definitely pull his tendon and peel his skin; thereupon he hastily said, "Such a beautiful princess, I have never seen one. I want to see you for several more days."


    Sophia giggled tenderly; she said, "We, tomorrow, return to Moscow."


    Wei Xiaobao had no idea what kind of place was this ''Moscow'', he said, "Beautiful Princess, go to Moscow, little child high-ranking official, also go to Moscow. Beautiful Princess, go to the moon in the sky, little child high-ranking official, also go to the moon in the sky."


    Seeing his wit, Sophia was very fascinated; she nodded and said, "Very well, I take you to Moscow."


    Galitzine knitted his brows slightly; he was about to prevent her, but then he smiled and nodded. "Very good," he said, "We will take you to Moscow." And then he waved his hand toward Hong Jiaozhu.


    Hong Jiaozhu did not have any choice but to take his leave. As he walked out the door, he glowered at Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue to him and made faces; he said, "Hong Jiaozhu enjoys immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s." Hong Jiaozhu was extremely angry; he led Lu Gaoxuan and the others leave without saying anything.


    Luocha Country Emperor was called the Tsar, that year he was twenty years old, his name was Fyodor the Third


    [49]. Sophia was his older sister. This Fyodor III was born with disability, he was unable to move freely; day-to-day he handled the national affair from his bed.


    Luocha''s social custom was greatly different from China''s propriety, the relationship between men and women was always casual. Sophia''s natural disposition was unrestrained, plus she was beautiful; considerable number of princes and dukes, and high-ranking military officers were her lovers. Governor-general Galitzine was handsome and elegant, he was the Princess'' favorite. He was sent to the East, to two fortified cities Nerchinsk and Yakesa, to attempt to enter and scout China''s Mongolia and Liaodong. The city of Yakesa happened to be the place where the Manchurian Eight Banners'' treasure was hidden. This place was the major crossroad where two great rivers converged; unexpectedly as if by prior agreement Manchu people and Luocha people picked this very same place.


    By nature the Princess was very active and always wanted to have a good time, hearing that the East was mysterious and strange, plus she missed her lover, she went so far as to come after him, traveling tens of thousands li from Moscow to this remote place. Although Sophia liked Galitzine, she would never dream of being faithful and single-minded. That day she discovered the tunnel inside Galitzine''s room, her interest was piqued, hence she went down to investigate. The tunnel went outside of Yakesa city, it was connected to the sentry post cabin; originally it was prepared by the governor-general as an escape route for fear that there was a rebellion in the city. When Sophia saw that guard, she spoke to him and teased him, and then fooled around with him.


    At this time hearing that Wei Xiaobao wanted to go to Moscow with her, she thought that it was a fascinating idea, hence she decided to take him and Shuang''er along. Sophia had a team of two hundred Cossack soldiers as her escort; sometimes they rode horses, sometimes they sat on sleds, journeying westward every day on the boundless great snowy plain.


    After traveling for more than twenty days, they had left Yakesa city very far behind, Hong Jiaozhu could not possibly catch up with them anymore. When Wei Xiaobao asked, to his surprise he learned that Moscow was still more than four months away; he could not help but was shocked. "Isn''t that at the ends of the earth?" he asked, "Traveling for four more months, Chinese little child will turn into foreign tou laozi."


    "Do you want to go back to Beijing?" Sophia asked, "Are you tired of looking at me?"


    "Looking at beautiful princess for a thousand years, ten thousand years, I will never tire," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But I am scared of a journey this far."


    Now that Sophia heard that he wanted to return to Beijing, she could not help but feeling somewhat reluctant to part with him. "I won''t allow you to go," she said, "You escort me to Moscow, accompany me for a year, then I let you go back."


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly. After being together with her for the last several days, he knew that the Princess was resolute; if he did not follow her wish and decided to simply leave, most likely she would send the Cossack soldiers to kill him. Thereupon with smile across his face, he repeatedly said that he was utterly delighted.


    That evening, he quietly discussed with Shuang''er whether they might have an opportunity to escape. Shuang''er said, "Whatever Xianggong thinks is the best, I will follow your instruction."


    Wei Xiaobao turned his gaze toward the boundless snowy plain, and heaved a deep sigh. He shook his head, knowing that if the two of them run away without enough provision, even if Sophia did not send anybody to pursue them, they would definitely freeze or starve to death in this great snowy plain. Previously, in the forest and snowy plain of Liaodong, although it was desolate and frigid, they could still go hunting and look for food. This time, even small birds were barely seen; sometimes they travelled for a whole day without seeing a single track of animal footprints, let alone spotted any deer. Without any other choice, they had to follow Sophia to the west.


    At first Wei Xiaobao was worried about the young Emperor, whether Wu Sangui had started the rebellion, whether that beautiful little girl Ah Ke was in Kunming or not; he also wondered where Hong Jiaozhu and Fang Yi had gone. But after traveling on the great snowy field for more than a month, even these thoughts had gradually faded away. In this world of ice and snow, it seemed like his brain had also frozen into ice. Luckily his natural disposition was cheerful and carefree without any worries; sometimes he spent time with Sophia telling nondescript Luocha jokes, sometimes he told Shuang''er some crazy tale that he invented himself, this way he did not feel too lonely.


    One day they finally reached the outskirt of Moscow. By that time it was already the fourth month, the weather was getting warmer, ice and snow had already melted. He noticed that although Moscow city wall was solid, thick and gigantic, the construction was very crude. Looking far toward the city, he saw that the buildings inside were also filthy, simple and crude. Forget about comparing it to Beijing, Yangzhou or other big cities, even compared to Central Earth''s small and medium-sized towns, it was still far inferior. Only several big cathedrals with domes and spires looked magnificent.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw all these, he held Luocha Country in contempt, "Dog-fart Luocha Country, what''s so great about it? In our China, this kind of place is only fit to raise cattle and raise pigs. Yet along the way this Princess has always been tooting her horn about the bustling city of Moscow."


    When they were still several dozen of li from Moscow, the Princess'' guards had already galloped into the city to report. They heard the bugle, from the city a squad of soldiers carrying firearms came out on their horses. By nature Luocha people loved to invade and occupy, and annex their neighboring countries, as a result, their territory was vast, from east to west the distance was several tens of thousands li. The people were mixed. The nation''s elite troops were Cossack cavalry; they charged to the east and fought to the west, besieging towns and seizing lands, subduing people of various races. The other one was firearm battalion, a brigade of sharp-shooters; they were the Tsar''s personal guards who surround and protect the national capital.


    When these gunmen


    [50] galloped near, Sophia was shocked because she saw black feathers on the numerous officer and soldiers'' hats and black cloth hanging from their guns. It was the sign of national mourning. Hastily she galloped her horse forward and asked loudly, "What happened?"


    The firearm brigade captain dismounted and stepped forward; he bowed and said, "Reporting to Princess: His Majesty has suffered the misfortune of being summoned by God, and has left the country and its people to go to the Paradise."


    Sophia was deeply grieved; with tears in her eyes she asked, "When was that?"


    The captain said, "If Princess were to arrive four days earlier, you would be able to bid farewell to His Majesty."


    Although Sophia was aware that her Tsar brother was weak and she knew that he would not live long, but suddenly receiving this terrible news, she was still unbearably grieved; she bent down on the saddle and cried bitterly.


    Seeing the Princess suddenly cried, Wei Xiaobao asked the interpreter, and learned that the Luocha Country Emperor had passed away. He was inwardly delighted, "Luocha Country Emperor did not enjoy immortal good fortune, the country must be chaotic for a period of time; it won''t be easy for them to dispatch troops to attack China."


    Sophia and her retinue followed the captain entering the city; she wanted to go straight to the Palace. The captain said, "Empress Dowager instructed me to ask the Princess to rest in the Hunting Palace outside the city."


    Sophia was both startled and angry. "What Empress Dowager?" she shouted, "Which Empress Dowager wants to deal with me?"


    The captain waved his left hand, the gunmen raised their firearms and took aim at the guards escorting the Princess, telling them to surrender their swords and spears and ordering the guards to dismount.


    The Princess angrily said, "You want to rebel?"


    The captain said, "Empress Dowager is afraid that when Princess is back, you won''t obey the new Emperor''s imperial decree, thus she ordered Xiao Jiang [lowly general] to protect Princess."


    Sophia''s face was bulging red. "New Emperor?" she said angrily, "Who is the new Emperor?"


    The captain replied, "New Emperor is His Majesty Pyotr the First."


    Sophia tossed her head backward and laughed aloud. "Pyotr?" she said, "Pyotr is a ten-year old little child, what kind of Tsar can he be? You said about Empress Dowager, are you talking about Natalya?"


    "Precisely," the captain replied.


    Sophia''s father, Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich married two empresses. The first empress gave birth to many sons and daughter, the former Emperor Fyodor the Third and Princess Sophia were her offspring, she had another little child names Ivan. The second empress Natalya was a lot younger, she only gave birth to one child, which was Pyotr.


    Sophia said, "Take me to the Palace, let me see Natalya to reason with her. My younger brother Ivan is older than Pyotr, why not set him up to be the Tsar? What about the cabinet ministers in the imperial court? Don''t anybody talk reason anymore?"


    The captain said, "Xiao Jiang only follow Empress Dowager and Tsar''s order, Princess please don''t take any offense." Finished speaking, he took the bridle of Sophia''s horse and led it eastwards.


    Sophia was seething in anger; in all her life, who dared to be this rude to her? Raising her horsewhip, she lashed it out on the captain''s head. The captain simply smiled and moved sideways to evade. He jumped onto his own horse, and then led his troops to surround the Princess, along with Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er, and took them to the Hunting Palace outside the city. The firearm brigade then set up a perimeter guard to prevent anybody from going out.


    Sophia was crazy with rage; she trashed the furniture and whatever she could find in the bedroom. The Hunting Palace chef had already prepared food and beverage for her, it was also thrown onto the chef''s face.


    After several days like this, they saw the guarding outside the Hunting Palace was not the least bit relaxed. Sophia summoned the captain, she asked how long they would shut her off in this Palace. The captain said, "Empress Dowager''s order: Princess is to rest in here until His Majesty Pyotr the First celebrate his fiftieth year of ascending the throne. By that time Princess is going to be released to participate in the celebration."


    Sophia was furious, "What did you say?" she asked, "Pyotr celebrates his fiftieth anniversary of ascension, won''t that mean I will be confined here for fifty years?"


    The captain smiled and said, "Xiao Jiang will turn forty this year, I believe I won''t be able to serve the Princess for fifty years. In ten or fifteen years, there will be a younger captain who is going to take my place."


    Thinking that she would be confined in this place for fifty years, Sophia shivered all over although it was not cold. Forcing a laugh, she said, "Come here Captain, I think you are exceptionally handsome." She was thinking of enticing him by her beauty, let the captain grovel under her flowing skirt, and then in his confused state of mind he would let her go.


    The captain bowed deeply and took a step back instead. He said, "Princess please forgive me. Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree: all the officers and men of the firearm brigade, whoever touches just one of Princess'' fingers will be beheaded immediately. If the captain is killed, deputy captain will rise to take his place; if the deputy captain is killed, the first squad''s platoon leader will rise to take his place. Everybody wants to get promoted, they are watching everybody else very closely." Turned out the Empress Dowager had known for some time that the good-looking Sophia was a loose woman; if she did not issue this stipulation, perhaps they would not be able to lock her up.


    After the captain withdrew, Sophia had no strategy left to try, she could only crouch on the bed and cry, while continuously hurling curses to Empress Dowager.


    After being locked up in the Hunting Palace for many days, Wei Xiaobao saw that the Princess was throwing a temper tantrum every day, the musketeers who were guarding them were also very rude and cruel; he thought that it was only natural that a demon place like this would have demonic air. He talked it over with Shuang''er several times, they both felt that to escape from this Hunting was achievable; however, if they wanted to return to the Central Earth, it would be more difficult than difficult. If they had no one to guide them, they could be lost in the great prairie. Forget about riding on a carriage or on horseback for four to five month to reach Beijing, they would be confused and disoriented only after four or five days of travel, and would not know east from west or south from north. The two of them were at their wit''s end. With nothing better to do, Wei Xiaobao spouted nonsense endlessly just to win Shuang''er''s laughter and to ease the load in their minds.


    One particular day he was telling the story of Tang Xuanzang leading Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie to the Western Paradise to fetch the Sutra. Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll wager that the Western Paradise that Tang Xuanzang visited was not as far as Moscow. Therefore, I am more formidable than Tang Xuanzang. If you don''t believe me, let''s make a bet."


    Shuang''er had no interest in gambling at all; she said, "If Xianggong says that you are more formidable than Tang Xuanzang, then so be it. I don''t want to bet with you. I am not as formidable as Zhu Bajie." While saying that, she pursed her lips and laughed.


    Suddenly from the Princess'' room they heard the noise of things thrown down, the rattling of the bed, the stomping of feet, and the sound of crying. Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "I''ll go to console her; always crying and making noise, what''s the use?" Going to the Princess'' room, he said, "Princess, don''t cry. Let me tell you some jokes."


    Sophia was lying face down on the bed, her feet kicking randomly. "I don''t want to hear, I don''t want to hear," she said while crying, "I want the Tsaritsa [English: tsarina or czarina] to go to hell, I want Tsaritsa Natalya to go to hell."


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand the meaning of ''Tsaritsa'', upon inquiring, he learned that it means ''Tsar''s Mama''; instantly he was very happy. "I wonder what kind of evil person a Tsaritsa was, turns out she is the Empress Dowager," he said, "Let me tell you: Chinese Tsaritsa was called the old wh0re; she was also a greatly evil person. Later on I thought of a way to drive her out of the Palace. The Emperor was very happy, hence he made me high-ranking official."


    Sophia was greatly delighted; she turned around and sat up. "How did you do that?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I expelled the old wh0re just because she was the fake Empress Dowager. Your Luocha old wh0re is actually genuine goods at fair prices, the real Tsaritsa. Naturally my way won''t work here." He said, "I was in cahoots with the young Emperor in dealing with Chinese Tsaritsa."


    Sophia knitted her brows, "Pyotr loves his mama very much, he won''t listen to me to fight against the Tsaritsa. If only �� if only ��" She shook her head, got out of bed, and paced back and forth barefooted on the carpet, while biting her lip in deep thinking.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In China we had a female emperor, called Wu Zetian


    [51]. This female emperor married many male empresses and male wives, she was very merry. Princess, I''ll say you are more or less the same as she was, it would be better for you to be the female Tsar."


    Sophia''s heart was moved. She had never thought about it, Luocha Country had never had female Tsar, she always thought that women could not be Tsar. If China has had female emperor, why can''t Luocha Country have female Tsar? Ever since she was kept prisoner in the Hunting Palace, she was frightened and angry; her brain had never stopped churning, but she was only thinking about how to escape the Palace. Even if she had to go east to Yakesa and be with Governor-general Galitzine, it would be much better than being imprisoned by the Empress Dowager in this place. Hearing Wei Xiaobao bringing up ''female Tsar'' just now, it was as if a new heaven and earth had just appeared before her eyes.


    She turned around, with sparkle in her eyes she placed her hands on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulders, planted a light kiss on his left cheek, and said with a smile, "If I become a female Tsar, I will make you my empress."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart jumped in fright; he thought, "This absolutely must not happen." He said hastily, "I, Chinese, cannot be Luocha Country''s male empress; you can make me high-ranking official."


    Sophia said, "You can be the empress and high-ranking official at the same time."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You don''t even know if presently your life can be guaranteed, yet you are exhausting your delight by making me the empress and high-ranking official at the same time."


    Sophia said, "Quickly think of a way to make me female Tsar."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned; speaking about important military or national matters, his knowledge and experience was indeed very shallow. Undoubtedly compared to Kangxi it was like the difference between the heaven and the earth; but compared to Chen Jinnan, Songgotu, Wu Sangui, and the others he was still far too inferior. "Princess," he said, "This matter is very difficult, I cannot think of anything. Let me go back to Beijing immediately, and ask our young Emperor, let him come up with an idea. And then I will come back here with a group of highly skilled people to catch that Tsaritsa Luocha old wh0re, and catch young Tsar Pyotr; it will be a great success." When he spoke about ''great success'', four characters [da gong gao cheng], he could not stop himself from embracing Sophia and kissing her.


    "Oh," Sophia exclaimed, "That won''t do! That won''t do! You return to Beijing and come back to Moscow, a year won''t be enough. I will be dead by then, go to Paradise."


    Wei Xiaobao thought she was right; he sighed and said, "Beautiful Princess, go to Paradise, Chinese little child high-ranking official, also go to Paradise."


    Sophia pushed him back gently, she said, "Chinese little child, know how to speak and deceive people. Joyous roar of the crowd, useless. Pat �� pat cow''s buttocks, blow horse''s skin."


    Hearing her saying ''pat horse''s buttocks, blow cow''s skin'' [both idioms mean ''to flatter'' or ''boot-licking''] backward, Wei Xiaobao could not help but roared in laughter. But then he saw the despising look on her eyes, obviously she was looking down on him; he was enraged. He pondered hard, "How can I make her a female Tsar? How did Wu Zetian become female emperor? There is no harm in us in Luocha Country to leave our mark in history [orig. make a stamp on the board]. Too bad it''s too far away from Beijing, there''s no way for me to ask young Emperor or Suo Dage."


    Wei Xiaobao''s literary knowledge came from, one, listening to the storytellers, two, watching the opera. Ever since he became a high-ranking official, he did not listen to the storytellers too much anymore, although he had watched operas more. However, he had never heard or watched the tale on how Wu Zetian became a female emperor.


    Gazing out window, he stared blankly and was lost in thought. Myriads of stories and plays flashed through his mind: "Female emperor I do not know, how about the male emperors? How did they become emperors? Zhu Yuanzhang [Ming Dynasty founder] appeared to the world by fighting, under his command there were great generals Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Hu Dahai, Mu Ying ��" He gleaned this fact from the tale ''Legend of Heroic Deed of Ming Dynasty''. He also thought, "Li Zicheng led his troops to attack Beijing, thus my Sifu''s Papa, Emperor Chongzhen was forced to hang himself, and Li Zicheng became the Emperor. Qing troops then defeated Li Zicheng, old master emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne to become the Emperor. Wu Sangui wants to be the emperor; hence he raises troops to revolt. It seems that no matter who wants to be the emperor must raise arms and fight a great war, must kill until the sandstorm rolled on, until the blood flow and become a river, until the bones pile up like mountain."


    As soon as he thought about war, he was scared. He thought further, "We are being locked up in here, what troops do we have? What war do we fight? If we don''t fight the war, how can we become the emperor?" His knowledge of China''s history was indeed very limited, he only knew that the only person who became the Emperor without fighting a war was the young Emperor Kangxi, and that was because the old Emperor left home and abdicated the throne for him. Naturally he could not use this method.


    He thought further: in the many operas that he watched, there was this story ''Beheading Yellow Robe'', in which the Song Dynasty Emperor Zhao Kuangyin [Song Dynasty founder] killed the great general Zheng En. His wife and children raised the troops to avenge their husband and father. Zhao Kuangyin was no match for them, he was forced to entreat piteously. He took off his yellow robe and let her chopped it with a saber into two pieces, it was considered a substitute for the Emperor to let Madame Zheng venting her anger. The Emperor was greatly humiliated.


    And then there was this historical opera ''Hatred of the Deer Platform'', about the tyrannical King Zhou. Jiang Taigong


    [52] helped raising the troops for Zhou [different spelling] Wuwang


    [53], forcing King Zhou to be burned to death on Deer Platform, and thus Zhou Wuwang became the Emperor. (Book note: naturally Wei Xiaobao did not know that at that time there was no ''Emperor'' yet.)


    How about Cao Cao


    [54]? How did that big white face treacherous court official become the Emperor? The historical opera ''Fording the River Free and Unfettered'' depicted Cao Cao leading his troops to hound Emperor Han something to death, and then he rose to the throne to be the new Emperor. The great generals under his command, Zhang somebody, and Xu somebody, were very formidable. (Book note: Wei Xiaobao remembered it wrong, Cao Cao did not become the emperor.)


    And then there was Liu Bei; how did he become the Emperor? Wei Xiaobao did not know. It must be Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun helped him fighting the battle.


    In short, to become the Emperor, one must fight. Even after one become the Emperor, if he was unable to defeat other people, then other people may snatch the Emperor position away, or if other people did not snatch it away, they may humiliate the Emperor and he would have bad luck.


    The storytellers told the tale of ''Military Instructor Lin''s fiery alliance with Wang Lun'' of the ''Water Margin'' [Outlaws of the Marsh], Chao Ge wanted to become the leader of the bandits, he colluded with Lin Chong to kill the original big boss of the Liangshan Marsh, Wang Lun. It can be clearly seen that even to become the boss of the bandits, one must fight.


    Seeing him gnashing his teeth and punching the air with clenched fist Sophia laughed and asked, "What are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled and awakened from his deep thought. "Want to be the Emperor, one must fight," he said.


    Sophia stared at him blankly. "Fight?" she asked, "Fight whom?"


    "Naturally fight Luocha old wh0re," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Sophia heard him saying ''the Luocha old wh0re'' several times, but did not understand what ''the old wh0re'', three characters [lao biao zi] mean. She was just about to ask, suddenly the door was pushed open, the firearm brigade captain entered the room. He grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s chest, while speaking some gibberish, and then dragged him out and kicked him heavily on the butts.


    The captain burst into loud laughter, and sent another kick to him. Wei Xiaobao was furious, suddenly he leaped up and made somersault in the air and landed on the captain''s shoulder. It was precisely the ''Di Qing Subduing the Dragon'', one of the three moves to save his life taught by Hong Jiaozhu. Actually, he had not trained this move perfectly, if it was used against a martial art master, it would be far too inferior; however, how could this Luocha captain know Central Earth martial art? Although Wei Xiaobao carelessly and haphazardly turned over and leaped, unexpectedly he still succeeded. With the forefinger of both hands pressed against the captain''s eyes, he shouted, "Don''t move! Eyes, dead!"


    He wanted to say ''Don''t move, otherwise I''ll dig your eyes out'' in Luocha language, but did not know how; without any better option, he simply said, "Eyes, dead!" But the captain''s perception was not weak, unexpectedly he understood. In great shock he stopped moving altogether.


    With his right hand Wei Xiaobao pulled the captain''s right ear and shouted, "Go!" Then, just like riding a horse, he steered him back into the Princess'' room. "Close door! Firearms, take."


    Sophia was startled and delighted at the same time; busily she closed the door and took the short gun from the captain''s side, and pressed it against the captain''s back. Wei Xiaobao jumped down from his shoulder. He loosened the captain''s waistband to tie up his feet, and then he loosened up the belt of his pants to tie his hands behind his back. As soon as the belt was taken off, the captain''s pants fell down, exposing his naked lower part of the body. Sophia and Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. The captain''s entire face blushed deep red; he gnashed his teeth in extreme anger.


    The door was pushed gently, Shuang''er stuck her head inside and asked, "Xianggong, is everything alright?"


    Wei Xiaobao beckoned her to come in and close the door. Seeing the captain''s distressed situation Shuang''er was amused and puzzled at the same time. Sophia asked, "We caught the captain, what for?"


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao caught the captain simply because he was furious, he did not expect to use him for anything. But now that Sophia asked, a bright idea suddenly occurred. "Tell him to led the troops to rebel," he said. He did not know how to say the word ''rebel'' in Luocha language, hence he said it in Chinese. He also said, "Tell him to kill Tsaritsa, kill Tsar, you, become female Tsar."


    Sophia did not understand the Chinese word ''rebel'', but she understood the sentence ''kill Tsaritsa, kill Tsar, you, become female Tsar'' perfectly well. She was taken aback, but was immediately delighted. Turning toward the captain, she spoke some gibberish.


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand a word of Luocha language the two were speaking in, but he saw the captain repeatedly shook his head; presumably he was unwilling to comply. Wei Xiaobao called out, "He doesn''t want to listen to you, kill him." From his boot he pulled his dagger and swiped it on the captain''s left cheek. ''Chi!'' a large clump of beard was shaved instantly.


    "What a sharp dagger," Sophia said with a laugh.


    The captain was so scared that his face turned ash grey; he thought, "Turns out this little barbarian still has a dagger hidden in his leather boot; that''s really strange, why didn''t he use it that time?"


    "Are you willing to surrender or not?" Sophia asked, "And support me as the female Tsar?"


    The captain said, "It''s not that I don''t want to support Princess, but the troops under my command won''t possibly obey my order. Moscow has twenty firearm brigades; we are only one of them. Even if we revolt, we cannot fight the other nineteen brigades."


    When Sophia heard this, she had to agree that what he said made sense; however, she had a hard time explaining it to Wei Xiaobao. Without better option, she had to resort to sign language; when she tried to explain about the twenty firearm brigades, ten fingers were not enough, she had to take off her shoes and used her ten toes before she could count to twenty.


    With great difficulty finally Wei Xiaobao was able to understand her. He thought that it was a very difficult matter indeed. Sitting on a chair, he painstakingly pondered, "This captain is unwilling to rebel, killing him would be useless." He said to Sophia, "Captain unwilling, get the deputy captain to rebel."


    "Deputy captain?" Sophia asked.


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Call the deputy captain."


    Sophia pushed the captain toward the door; with the gun on his back, she said, "Call the deputy captain in! If you warn him, I''ll shoot you immediately." The captain had no choice, he called loudly to summon the deputy captain.


    A moment later, the deputy captain pushed the door and came in. Shuang''er had already hidden behind the door, as soon as the deputy captain came in, Shuang''er stretched out her finger to jab at his back several times, sealing his acupoints, rendering him immovable. "Xianggong," Shuang''er said delightedly, "Foreigner devils'' acupoints are just the same as ours; I was afraid the devils'' acupoints would be different."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Foreign devils also have eyes, have nose, have hands and feet; naturally they also have acupoints." He drew the girdle ornament saber the captain wore on his waist, and said to Sophia, "Tell him to kill the captain and rebel. He is unwilling, call the platoon leader here to kill him."


    Sophia thought it was a wonderful idea; she said to the deputy captain, "Kill the captain, lead the firearm brigade, you become the captain, obey my command. You are unwilling to kill the captain, I''ll get the platoon leader to kill you and the captain, and I''ll make the platoon leader captain. Will you kill or not?"


    "Shuang''er," Wei Xiaobao said, "Open the acupoints on his body, but do not untie the ones on his legs." Following Wei Xiaobao''s order, Shuang''er unsealed the acupoints on the upper part of his body; she also handed the saber over to him.


    Sophia asked one more time. The captain swore and repeatedly threatened her. Ordinarily the deputy captain was not in a good term with the captain. When he was asked to rebel, he was actually scared, but hearing the captain''s malicious swearing, he thought, "If I don''t kill you, the first platoon leader who wants to be captain will definitely kill you, and then I will also lose my life." Thereupon he raised the saber, ''Ca!'' he chopped the captain''s head.


    As the saber chopped down, Sophia, Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er, three people cheered at once. It''s just that Sophia was cheering in Russia, "Helaxiao!" while Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er naturally cheered in Chinese.


    Sophia held the deputy captain''s hand and repeatedly praised his bravery and loyalty. She promoted him to be the firearm brigade on the spot, saying, "Sit down, we will discuss it in details."


    The deputy captain knitted his brows; pointing to Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er, he said, "These two foreign children used magic; the lower part of my body cannot move."


    Sophia turned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Please, magic, gone!" Shuang''er smiled and unsealed the acupoints on the deputy captain''s lower body.


    Sophia ordered the deputy captain, "Go, call three platoon leaders and their deputies, I want the Chinese children to use their magic so that their hands can move, but their legs cannot." And she repeated her words in Chinese to Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er.


    The deputy captain complied and left. Not too long afterwards, six platoon leaders and their deputies were lining up outside the door. The deputy captain called them to come in one by one. One by one Shuang''er sealed the ''zhi she'' [abandon hope] acupoint on their waist and the ''huan tiao'' [jumping the hoop] acupoint on their thigh.


    Sophia said, "The deputy captain is determined to support me to be the female Tsar; we are going to dispatch the troops to kill Tsaritsa. Will you obey or not?"


    The six platoon leaders and their deputies saw the captain''s body lying on the floor, they knew that the situation was far from good; listening to Sophia, they were even more fearful and apprehensive, and could only looked at each other in dismay, nobody dared to say anything.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "When the Manchurian Qing entered China and robbed our rivers and mountains, in the ''Ten Days of Yangzhou'', Tatar troops killed and burned, raped and pillaged, and thereupon the old emperor became the Emperor. Damn it, I''ll have them do ''Ten Days of Moscow'', stir the whole country in rebellion, the more chaotic the better. Monk holding an umbrella, no hair no sky! [i.e. no protection from the law, ''fa'' (hair) sounds like ''fa'' (law, Buddhist teaching)] If we did not do this, how can we become the Emperor?" He said to Sophia, "Tell them to enter Moscow and fight, kill people, set fire, promise them that they will become generals and high-ranking officials, plus lots and lots of gold and silver, everybody can seize beautiful women as their wives!"


    Sophia thought it was not a bad idea; she said to the deputy captain, "Go gather all the gunmen, I want to speak to them."


    More than 600 gunmen assembled on the Hunting Palace square. The deputy captain sent for twelve gunmen and had them carried the six platoon leaders and their deputies, whose acupoints were still sealed, to the square.


    Sophia stood on the stone steps and spoke loudly, "Gunmen, you are Luocha Country''s brave warriors, you have rendered great merits for the country, but your pay is too low; you have no beautiful women, no money to spend, not enough wine to drink, the house you live in is too small, too uncomfortable. Inside Moscow there are many rich people, they have big houses, with lots of servants, and lots of beautiful women, which you do not have. Is this fair?"


    When the numerous gunmen heard this, they all shouted together, "It''s not fair! It''s not fair!"


    "Those rich people are fat and stupid," Sophia continued, "Probably they eat fat pigs every day. If they have a duel with you, can they beat you? Can those wealthy people''s marksmanship surpass yours? Can their swordsmanship surpass yours? Have they rendered any merit to the country? To the Tsar?"


    For each question she asked, the crowd of gunmen replied in loud voice, "Niante!" [I think this is supposed to be ''nyet'', Russian word for ''no''] Wei Xiaobao heard the crowd responding with ''Niante'' after ''Niante''; he knew that in Luocha language, this word means ''no''. He did not understand what Sophia was saying, he thought the Princess was still trying to persuade the gunmen to rebel, but the crowd was unwilling to listen and obey; he could not help but was worried.


    Sophia continued, "You deserve to be generals, to be rich! Each and every one of you deserves to be promoted and gain wealth."


    The crowd of gunmen cheered loudly. Someone asked, "Princess Sophia, what can you do to make us get promoted and gain wealth?"


    "Do you want to be generals?" Sophia asked.


    "We do!" the crowd of gunmen shouted.


    "Do you want to have lots and lots of money?" Sophia asked.


    "Of course we do!" the crowd of gunmen shouted.


    "Do you want to have beautiful women?" Sophia asked.


    The crowd of gunmen roared in laughter; "We do! We do!" they shouted even louder.


    "Alright!" Sophia said, "All of you, go to Moscow, enter the city and tell the other nineteen firearm brigade that you are under Princess Sophia''s order, I am the female Tsar, the entire Luocha Country must obey my command. I am allowing you, every gunman, to pick a wealthy man''s house, challenge that big fat pig rich man for a duel; whoever can kill him, that rich man''s big house, his gold and silver, his beautiful women, carriage, steed, clothes, servants, maids, fine wine, everything will belong to that brave gunman. Do you have the guts? Are you a man, a real man? Do you dare to kill people, to seize their money, their women?"


    The crowd of gunmen yelled with one voice, "We dare, we dare, we dare! Killing people, seizing their money, seizing their women, why should we be afraid?"


    Sophia was greatly delighted. "That''s very good," she shouted, "I was afraid you are all cowards, you don''t dare to do great things! Quickly get the vodka! Hey, go to the cellar, bring the best vodka out."


    There were several bottles of decades-old vodka stored in the cellar of the Tsar''s Hunting Palace, very famous and valuable; originally it was intended for the enjoyment of the Tsar, the Empress, the Princess, the Prince, as well as the aristocrats and high-ranking ministers, how could these gunmen ever have a taste? Upon hearing Sophia''s order, the crowd of soldiers exploded in cheers; immediately several dozen of them rushed to get the wine.


    Shortly afterwards, the soldiers in the square drank bottle after bottle of vodka to their hearts'' content; they yelled in delight, "Sophia, female Tsar, Wula, wula, wula! Sophia, female Tsar, Wula, wula, wula!"


    In Luocha tongue, ''Wula'' means ''long live'' [orig. ten thousand years]. Although Wei Xiaobao did not understand, seeing the crowd of soldiers yelling ''Sophia, female Tsar, Wula, wula, wula!'' incessantly, he guessed they were giving their allegiance to her. Tugging Sophia''s sleeve, he said, "Tell them to kill the twelve platoon leaders and their deputies, there will be no turning back." [I checked both the online text and the book, and both have ''twelve''; I think Jin Yong made a mistake here.]Sophia nodded again and again; she called out in a loud and clear voice, "Luocha Country''s handsome and strong warriors! Everybody listen to me: I order you to kill wealthy men, seize their money, seize their women, but the Tsaritsa won''t allow you, she sent these scoundrels to control you so you won''t commit any crime!" While saying that, she pointed to the twelve platoon leaders and their deputies.


    Immediately a dozen or so gunmen drew their sabers and shouted, "Kill the scoundrels!" More than a dozen sabers chopped down, hacking the six platoon leaders and their deputies to their death.


    Luocha people were originally violent and insolent; now that they drank some vodka, their body temperature rose. Immediately the flesh and blood of the twelve platoon leaders and their deputies flew everywhere; these people were even more uncontrollable. They yelled, "Kill the scoundrels, seize their money, seize their women!"


    Sophia said, "Go to Moscow, tell the other nineteen firearm brigades to do this together. Whichever captain is not willing, kill him immediately. Whichever aristocrat, general, or high-ranking minister does not allow you, kill him immediately, seize the gold, silver, beautiful wives and daughters in their homes and divide it among yourselves. Set those scoundrels'' homes in fire."


    The crowd of soldiers cheered loudly; one after another they drew their long sabers, slung their firearms, pulled their rides, and turned around and mounted their horses. A moment later, they heard the hoof beats as the soldiers galloped toward Moscow.


    Sophia said to the deputy captain, "Why don''t you go too? Why be polite? The most important thing is: don''t have any conflict with the other firearm brigades, everybody must fight together. You led your people into Kremlin, arrest the Tsaritsa and Pyotr. Have everybody seize all the gold, silver and jewels, and beautiful maids in the Palace, as much as possible; I am bestowing everything to you all." The deputy captain was greatly delighted; he complied and mounted his horse and left.


    Sophia sighed, she felt her entire body was devoid of any strength, she sat down on the stone steps and said, "I am so tired!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me help you to rest inside."


    Sophia shook her head. After a while, she said, "Let us go to the watchtower to look."


    The entire Hunting Palace was constructed of thick granite, the watch tower was about eight or nine zhang high [about 80, 90 feet], it was intended to be used to observe the enemy situation. Before Luocha Country was established, it was originally called the Grand Duchy of Moscow, where Moscovian dukes and independent warlords established themselves as Tsars. The previous dynasty''s tsars was afraid that when they went hunting, the enemy would seize the opportunity to attack, therefore, they built the Hunting Palace outside the city of Moscow, so that when the enemy arrived, they would be prepared to help in defending the city.


    Sophia took Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er to climb the watchtower. Looking to the west, they faintly saw dots of light inside Moscow''s city wall. In the dark of the night, the city looked very tranquil. Sophia started to worry. "Why haven''t they fought? They, afraid?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not know Luocha soldiers'' character, he was not sure if they would cower in battle or not; he had no choice but to console her, "Don''t worry, don''t worry."


    Sophia asked, "How did you know that by telling the soldiers to kill people, to seize their money and seize their women, they will kill Tsaritsa and Pyotr?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Chinese are always like that."


    He recalled what happened in Yangzhou city in the past; he had listened when older people telling about how the Manchurian Qing soldiers besieged the city. After the Manchurian Qing entered the Pass, they met fierce resistance by the Han people in places such as Jiangsu and the others, especially Yangzhou, which held fast to their defense. The Qing army commander-in-chief hence permitted the soldiers, after they broke the city defense, to rape and pillage for a total of ten days. This ''Ten Days of Yangzhou'' was incomparably tragic and atrocious. Wei Xiaobao grew up in Yangzhou; how the Manchurian Qing troops besieged the city without being able to break it, how the commander-in-chief gave permission to the common soldiers to seize money and women, how the Qing troops assaulted relentlessly, he had heard all these stories since his childhood, a lot.


    Afterward, when he was in Beijing, he also listened to people telling the story of how Li Zicheng''s soldiers also robbing money and seizing women; how Zhang Xianzhong


    [55] always promised his troops that when they broke the city''s defense, they would be allowed to plunder for three days. Apparently, if they wanted the rebellion to succeed, they must incite the whole country into rebellion. To incite the whole country into rebellion, they must allow the common soldiers to rob money and seize women. Therefore, when he saw that the firearm brigade troops did not dare to revolt, he automatically mentioned the five magic words ''seize money seize women'' [qiang qian qiang nu ren]. Sure enough, Luocha troops and Chinese troops were just the same; as soon as the five magic words were uttered, it did work like magic.


    After waiting for a long time, in the darkness they suddenly saw fire in the city of Moscow. Sophia was greatly delighted. "They have made their move!" she shouted. Hugging Wei Xiaobao, she kissed him while jumping up and down.


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "They have started the fire. This will work. Killing and burning will definitely work in tandem."


    Shortly afterwards, they saw fire sprang up everywhere in the city, black smoke arose on the east side, flame blazed on the west side. Sophia clapped her hands and cheered, "Everybody is killing and burning. Xiaobao, you are really smart, the stratagem you thought is very clever."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled; he thought, "Speaking about killing and burning, rising in rebellion, our Chinese people''s skill is a hundred times better than your Luocha demons''. What''s so strange about this stratagem? We have always done it this way."


    Sophia said, "You told everybody to kill the captain, kill the platoon leaders, everybody did not have any choice but to continue; even if they wanted to turn back, they cannot. Little child, very smart, Chinese high-ranking official, amazing."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is called ''throwing away one''s good name/reputation'' [tou ming zhuang]."


    "What ''throwing/losing one''s life'' [diu ming shang]?" Sophia asked.


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter, "Yes, they are throwing away their lives, they have to fight desperately." In his heart he scolded Luocha people as being unlearned.


    In the Chinese lulin [green wood, crime world], when someone was about to join the band of bandits, the bandit chief would definitely send the new brother to make a legal case, oftentimes by killing someone. After this person committed major crime of homicide, henceforth he would not inform the authority against the band of bandits. In the ''Shui Hu Zhuan'' [Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh], when Lin Chong went up Liangshan Marsh to join the group, Wang Lun ordered him to kill someone and hence made a legal case; it was called ''throwing away his good name''. Wei Xiaobao had heard many stories from the storytellers, he was well-accustomed to this practice; he thought, "Our Chinese people''s way of doing things, Luocha demons did not understand even one. It seems that although these Luocha people are vicious, harsh and rough, in the end it''s not that hard to deal with them."


    Seeing the fire in Moscow was getting bigger and bigger, and it spread all over the place, Sophia started to worry again; she was not sure what the situation would be after the firearm brigades officers and soldiers finished their random killing and pillaging. She asked Wei Xiaobao, "After killing and burning, seizing money and women, and then what?"


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback; he only knew that to rebel one must incite the soldiers to kill and burn, rob money and seize women; but what happen after that, he had no idea. Without anything better to say, he said, "That? When they rob enough money, they will stop robbing. When they kill enough people, they will stop killing."


    Sophia knitted her brows; she thought that it was not what she meant, but momentarily she was also left with nothing else to do. The three of them watched for a while, and then they returned to the Palace to quietly wait for the news.


    Early in the morning the next day, the deputy captain of the firearm brigade returned to the Hunting Palace, accompanied by a small group of riders, to report to Sophia: the previous night all twenty firearm brigades obeyed the female Tsar''s order; they rampaged for the entire night, and gained gold, silver and beautiful women that their number cannot be counted; they had also killed the Tsaritsa Natalya.


    Sophia was greatly delighted; she sprang up and called out, "Natalya is killed? How about Pyotr?"


    The deputy captain said, "Little Pyotr is arrested and is being locked up in Kremlin''s wine cellar."


    "Helaxiao! Helaxiao!" Sophia yelled.


    They heard sound of hoof beats, a large number of riders was rushing over. Sophia''s countenance changed. "Who are they?" she asked in alarm.


    The deputy captain replied, "Moscow''s princes and dukes, cabinet ministers and generals are coming to ask Your Majesty to ascend the throne, to be Luocha Country''s female Tsar."


    Sophia was ecstatic; she hugged Wei Xiaobao and repeatedly kissed his cheeks left and right. "Chinese little child," she called out, "Good strategy!"


    They heard the sound of hoof beats stopped outside the Hunting Palace, followed by the sound of leather boots striking the ground; a group of people entered the Palace. The leader was the chancellor, Prince Bodonich. He walked to Sophia, bowed and said, "The nobility, ministers and generals have reached unanimous agreement to ask Princess Sophia to return to the Palace to preside over the present situation, to pacify the upheaval and restore peace and order."


    With smile all across her face, Sophia nodded her agreement. She asked, "The renegade faction chief Natalya, has she been killed already?"


    Prince Bodonich reported, "Natalya disturbed the country, she murdered loyal subjects, she arrogated power out of selfish ambition, she harbored evil intentions. She had already obeyed the Heaven''s decree and was executed to the satisfaction of everyone."


    "Very good," Sophia said, "We go to Kremlin." The numerous ministers and the firearm brigade soldiers flocked behind Sophia to go to Moscow.


    In short moment, the Hunting Palace was deserted with only Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er remained. In his heart Wei Xiaobao was furious. "Damn it," he cursed, "This Luocha Princess crossed the bridge and pulled the plank; the bride and groom entered the chamber, the matchmaker is pushed aside to the wall. She has become the female Tsar, now she does not want us."


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "You want the female Tsar to make you a male empress, don''t you?"


    "Ah, you are making fun of me?" Wei Xiaobao said, "You think I cannot catch you?" Finished speaking, he pounced on Shuang''er. "Pfft!" Shuang''er laughed and leaped sideways to evade.


    By this time it was already summer, the weather was sunny and warm, mass of flowers covered the Hunting Palace ground like brocade, hundreds of birds were singing. Only Luocha Country''s flowers and plants, birds and bugs are greatly different from the ones in China, the flowers'' beauty and fragrance, as well as the chirping of the birds, was considerably different. Wei Xiaobao grew up as uncouth marketplace boy, he did not pay any attention to such distinctions. Together with Shuang''er he roamed around the Hunting Palace ground, nobody came to disturb him; contrary to his expectation, he was quite enjoying himself.


    After spending seven or eight days in peace and quiet, Sophia suddenly sent a squad of soldiers to take the two of them to the Palace. As Wei Xiaobao entered Sophia''s bed chamber, he saw her hair was in a mess, she was walking around kicking the furniture that everything was crashing down in loud noise; she was throwing a fit. When she saw that Wei Xiaobao had arrived, immediately her face looked happy. "Chinese little child, quickly come," she called out, "Make a plan, think of a way."


    Sophia continuously shook her head. "I, female Tsar, no. They, don''t agree, I, female Tsar, cannot do."


    After talking for half a day Wei Xiaobao finally understood. Turned out Luocha Country had always followed the rule that women cannot be the Tsar. Although the Empress Dowager Natalya had died, a large number of generals were still throwing their support to the young Tsar Pyotr, they resolutely refused to depose him as the Tsar. By this time the riots in the city had already been stilled. Although Sophia still had the firearm brigades supporting her, the numerous ministers were well-prepared, they stationed a large number of Cossack cavalry outside the city, ready to respond by entering the city at any time. It would not be easy for Sophia to summon the firearm brigade to rise in revolution again.


    For the last few days the princes and dukes, cabinet ministers and generals were having a general assembly in Kremlin, they were divided into two factions; one faction supported Sophia, the other faction supported Pyotr. Each side refused to concede to the other. The people who supported Tsar Pyotr were mostly cabinet ministers and generals who were already in power; they were afraid that when the female Tsar ascended the throne, she would stripped away their power and gave it to new people. The ones who supported Sophia were dissatisfied aristocrats and businesspeople who were hoping that with the new ruler rising to power, they would be able to fish up some oil from the water. Sophia was fortunate enough to have the firearm brigades'' support, to have the military power in her hands, so that the monarchists [''emperor defenders''] did not dare to be reckless. But the monarchists had control over the Cossack cavalry, whose strength must not be ridiculed. If the two factions clashed, victory or defeat would be hard to tell.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This kind of national affairs, I don''t have a clue; what kind of fart stratagem can I think of? I''d better slip away, roll the damn salted duck egg, so that when those two factions engage in free fight, Wei Xiaobao will not be blasted away and turn into Luocha caviar."


    Rolling his eyes, he said, "That''s very easy; naturally I have an idea. But I have �� I want to knock on bamboo pole." He wanted to say, ''I have a condition'', but he did not know how to say that in Luocha language, hence he just said it in Yangzhou dialect, ''knocking on bamboo pole'' [qiao zhu gang].


    "What is ''knocking on pig''s jar'' [also ''qiao zhu gang''; different characters, different intonation]?" Sophia asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Knocking on bamboo pole is �� this �� the idea that I have, it''s not enough to simply give it to you. You give me something, lots and lots of things, then I will give you my idea."


    Sophia was greatly delighted. "Very good, very good," she busily said, "Knocking on pig''s jar; we will knock on pig''s jar together! Whatever you want, I give you. You want to be my male empress?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "This, I do not dare to oblige, thank you," he mused, "If I want to take a wife, Ah Ke is much better than you. Even Shuang''er that little servant girl is a lot better than you, Luocha woman whose whole body is hairy." He laughed and said, "To be your male empress is naturally very good, but if this happens, you cannot be female Tsar."


    Sophia asked, "Are you saying if Chinese man becomes male empress, Luocha people won''t be happy?"


    "That''s right!" Wei Xiaobao hastily replied, "Luocha men, they say they, themselves, are good-looking, cannot be male empress. They will hate you, beat you."


    Sophia thought he was right, Luocha men would be jealous. She said, "You won''t be my male empress. Whatever else you want, I''ll give you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "First, I want to be Luocha high-ranking official."


    "That''s easy," Sophia replied, "After I become the female Tsar, I will bestow you the title of Earl, ruling over the eastern Tatars. You have yellow face, low nose; Tatars also have yellow face, low nose. They will submit to you."


    "Second," Wei Xiaobao continued, "You and Chinese Emperor must not go to war. You write a letter, I will deliver it to Beijing. The female Tsar of Luocha and Chinese Emperor, be good friends, kissing each other, hugging each other. Chinese soldiers are very formidable, everybody knows magic, once they point their fingers, Luocha soldiers cannot move. If you go to war, Luocha people will die. I love you, you die, I cry!"


    When Sophia heard this, she was deeply touched. Shuang''er made her move by sealing acupoints, the firearm brigade''s deputy captain and the six platoon leaders and their deputies immediately could not move; Sophia had seen it with her own eyes. She did not know that it was Chinese''s upper-class martial art skill, it was extremely difficult to learn that even Wei Xiaobao could not do it. She thought that everybody in China knew this enchantment; she thought that if she went to war against the Chinese Emperor, she would only lose without any chance of victory. She was even more touched that this Chinese little child expressed his true feeling to her; immediately she reached out to hug him and planted a deep kiss on his lips. "Chinese little child," she said, "I love you too. Very well, Luocha troops cannot defeat Chinese troops, everybody won''t fight, we''ll be good friends." Clicking her tongue, she kissed him again, and then asked, "What else you want to knock on the pig''s jar? Knock again, knock again!"


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a while, and then said, "Nothing else."


    "Very well," Sophia said, "Quickly teach me, how to become female Tsar."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that it was not an easy task; he had no choice but talking about this and that, inquiring the affair of the imperial court, but still could not come up with an idea, hence he pretended not to understand her.


    Sophia gradually sensed that he was using deceit; her countenance turned ugly as she said, "If you lie to me, I''ll kill you."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious. "No lies, no lies!" he busily said.


    Sophia said, "In that case, I want to be the female Tsar; how?"


    "This �� this ��" Wei Xiaobao stammered.


    Sophia was furious. "What ''this'' or ''that''?" she said, "In the court, one faction supports me, the other faction opposes me. If these two factions fought each other and my faction lost, what do I do?"


    [56]. (Book note: it was only natural that Wei Xiaobao was not able to remember the names of the four Beilei correctly.) At that time all four Beilei had his own power; hence there was power-struggle among them. Afterwards the fourth Beilei Huang Taiji won the support of the first Beilei Daishan, and then he was able to overpower the opposition, and was able to seize the great position. For this reason Daishan still had a tie with the throne, and was able to maintain his power somewhat. The prominent Prince Kang was precisely Daishan''s descendant.


    Thinking about this matter, he said, "Don''t fight, take your time. You and Pyotr can be the Tsars. In the future, the cabinet ministers and generals who oppose you, one by one, you can kill slowly. And then you can kill Pyotr, and be the female Tsar."


    Sophia thought that this idea was actually very brilliant, but the ministers repeatedly said that women could not be Tsar; she was exasperated, hence she told Wei Xiaobao the situation.


    Wei Xiaobao thought that when the Qing Dynasty was first founded, Emperor Shunzhi was still a young emperor; the real power lay on the Regent Dorgon''s hands. Thereupon he said, "You cannot be the female Tsar, you can become the Prince Regent first."


    "What is Prince Regent?" Sophia asked.


    "Prince Regent is not the Tsar," Wei Xiaobao explain, "But he can issue a decree to kill people, beat people''s buttocks, can give reward, promote their official position. Tsar, fake, no power. Prince Regent, real, has power; can kill people, beat people''s buttocks, can promote their official position, can give rewards, everybody is afraid, everybody listen to Prince Regent, does not listen to the Tsar."


    Sophia was greatly delighted. "Helaxiao! Helaxiao!" she shouted.


    The number of princes, dukes and generals who supported Sophia was actually in the minority. Sophia summoned the leaders into the Palace to discuss the strategy presented by Wei Xiaobao. Sophia had the military leadership of Moscow in her side, but she could not ascend the throne to become female Tsar, the main reason being because there was no precedent. When the numerous ministers heard the idea of ''regency'', they thought that it was a brilliant strategy. As long as they had the power in their hands, becoming the Tsar or not would not make any difference.


    After deliberating for quite a while, they came up with another idea: set up Sophia''s sibling, younger brother Ivan as the senior Tsar, let Pyotr still be the Tsar, but he was the junior Tsar. Senior and junior Tsars ruled side-by-side, to avoid opposition from the faction of supporters of Pyotr. Princess Sophia became the ''Queen Regent'', she would handle all imperial court politics.


    As soon as the decision was made, Sophia immediately gathered the firearm brigades, and summoned all princes, dukes and ministers, and declared the new system. She also made a guarantee to all ministers that no one would be recalled or removed from his post, and that everybody who supported the new system would be promoted and rewarded. Seeing that their authority and interest would not be harmed, plus the previous dynasty''s custom would not be broken, none of the numerous princes, dukes and ministers raised any objection.


    Someone from the ''Sophia supporter faction'' took the initiative to step forward and bow to Queen Regent Sophia; the rest of the people followed. Sophia was greatly delighted, she sent someone to invite her younger brother Ivan, and release the Junior Tsar Pyotr from the wine cellar, and have the two of them sat side-by-side as the Tsars; while she herself sat on the right hand seat of her two younger brothers. The hundreds of ministers'' affairs: memorial to the throne, promotion and reward, dismissal and appointment, everything was adjudicated by the Queen Regent. That time Ivan was sixteen, Pyotr was ten; they were young and their knowledge shallow, in everything they listened to their elder sister''s advice.


    Sophia was in a position of power; she thought that in this matter, that Chinese little child high-ranking official had rendered a great service. If he did not repeatedly come up with these several ingenious ideas, at this time she would have been still locked up in the Hunting Palace, and then several months later, most probably the Empress Dowager Natalya would force her to leave the secular world to become a nun and would be hidden and locked up in some convent for the rest of her life. Thinking about this tragic fate, the warm sunny days would immediately turn into severe winter. Immediately she sent for Wei Xiaobao and praised him greatly.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, those methods of mine are not the least bit special to Chinese people; in China, I was a stinky cobbler, but in Luocha Country, I turned into Zhuge Liang, this is really funny. He was thinking of tooting his horn a bit, but then he suddenly realized that it was not a good idea; if from now on this Luocha Princess wants me to be the ''Luocha Zhuge Liang'', and wants me to remain by her side and will never allow me to return home, won''t it be desperately serious? Therefore, he said, "Lady Queen Regent, you have become the Regent, to become female Tsar in the future is very easy. Only you must observe one thing, and everybody will submit to you."


    "What is it?" Sophia asked, "Tell me quickly."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Once you give your word, three-horse chariot cannot pursue it." Actually, Luocha people''s horse-drawn carriage only used three horses to pull, unlike Chinese carriages, which used four horses. For this reason, Chinese saying ''a team of four horses cannot pursue'', in Luocha Country it became ''three-horse chariot cannot pursue''.


    Sophia did not understand. "What is ''three-horse chariot cannot pursue''?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Once you gave your word, you must keep your promise. In China, our Emperor''s words are called the Emperor''s golden mouth, he must never go back on it."


    Sophia was suddenly enlightened; she laughed and said, "My promise to you, you are afraid I might renege, aren''t you? My darling Chinese little child, Luocha Queen Regent''s word is precious stone mouth; it is more precious than your Chinese Emperor''s golden mouth."


    Immediately she proclaimed an edict in the name of the senior and junior Tsars, conferring Wei Xiaobao the title of Earl, governing the Eastern Tatar. She also ordered a minister to write an imperial document to be delivered to the Chinese Emperor. She sent Wei Xiaobao off, accompanied by a Russian ambassador, escorted by two squads of Cossack cavalry, bringing gold, silver and precious objects, and not a few of rewards. The several tens of thousands taels banknotes that Wei Xiaobao bribed her was returned to him. In addition, she also sent a lot of presents to the Chinese Emperor, such as mink fur, precious stones and other Luocha Country special products.


    By this time Sophia had already picked several good-looking Luocha Country men to accompany her, so she was not intimate with Wei Xiaobao anymore. But when the day Wei Xiaobao was taking his leave arrived, Sophia remembered the affection of the past several months, she was also grateful for his great merit in establishing her as the ruler, hence she was really reluctant to part with him.


    According to Russian true historical record, the firearm brigades'' rebellion lasted for three days between the fifteenth and the seventeenth of the fifth month. By the twenty-ninth of the fifth month, the firearm brigades, under Sophia''s prompting, presented a petition requesting Ivan and Pyotr to be joint Tsars, and asked Sophia to be the Princess Regent, adjudicating the military and national affairs. By the time the chaos was resolved, it was already the middle of the sixth month.


    The weather was sunny and warm; Wei Xiaobao was striding over a fine horse, under the protection of two squads of Cossack cavalry, speeding eastwards along the great Siberian prairie. The gentle breeze stroked his face; the sound of hoof beats filled his ears. Glancing to his left he saw his smart servant girl Shuang''er, with skin as white as snow and lips like cherry. Looking to his right he saw the Luocha Country Ambassador with his bluish green eyes and yellow beard. Mink fur and gifts, in fully loaded carts, followed behind them. Wei Xiaobao was extremely high-spirited; he thought, "This time I escape alive from mortal danger, not only my little life is protected, I also rendered great service to the Luocha Princess; and it was all because laozi had heard many stories and watched a lot of plays."


    China has been established for several thousand years, in terms of struggles to gain imperial power as the emperor, rebellion and massacre, it has abundant experience, unequalled throughout world. What Wei Xiaobao knew was superficial knowledge circulated among the common people, yet it was enough to strike awe in foreign land; unexpectedly he was able to help someone scheming against the imperial court and usurping the throne, bringing peace and order to the country.


    Actually, this matter was not surprising at all; the founding commander-in-chief of the Manchurian Qing was an uncouth, unlearned man. The strategies he used in marching the troops into battle mainly came from the novel ''The Romance of The Three Kingdoms''. In those years Qing Taizong [founder of Qing Dynasty] employed the stratagem of sowing dissension, he swindled Emperor Chongzhen into destroying the Great Wall by killing his great general Yuan Chonghuan. The stratagem was copied from the story in ''The Romance of The Three Kingdoms'', in which Zhou Yu ordered Cao Cao to behead his own navy''s commanding officer.


    In the real historical record, Zhou Yu swindling Cao Cao into killing his naval unit commander did not exist; it was fabricated by the novel writer. Unexpectedly, later on the novelist''s words became a fact, shaping China''s destiny for several hundreds of years. The things in life are strange, even stranger than the story in the novel. After the Manchus entered the Pass, they opened up new territory and expanded their lands, tripling the original China''s territory during the Ming Dynasty, far surpassed the Tang Dynasty, where the history of Han people was at its peak. Until today, the merit of novel, play, storytelling, et cetera has not died.


    (Book note: Russian gunmen rebellion, Ivan and Pyotr, Senior and Junior Tsars'' co-existence, Sophia became Queen Regent, and so on, were historical facts. However, Wei Xiaobao''s involvement in this matter was considered by Russian people to be morally offensive and brought disgrace to their national prestige; therefore, history books did not have any written account on this matter. In the meantime, since Chinese court recorders have not witnessed it, plus it was a strange occurrence in some barbarian foreign land, it was considered nothing more than hearsay, not suitable to be recorded in China''s history, so much so that this matter had passed into oblivion.)

 Chapter - 37 (37)

    Whoever in Yamen submits a plan to pacify the barbarian, the imperial court will suggest to send out an Imperial Edict of Sichuan Document first.


    One day Wei Xiaobao and the Luocha Country Ambassador arrived in Beijing. Seeing his return, Prince Kang, Songgotu and all the other princes, dukes and ministers were surprised and delighted at the same time. Ever since he went out to sea with the Navy, nobody knew his whereabouts. Several times the imperial court sent expeditions trying to locate him, all came back saying that on the boundless ocean there was no track of him at all, unexpectedly not a single battleship, not a single soldier came back. Kangxi thought that the fleet came across hurricane in the ocean and everybody perished; each time he remembered this, he was always downhearted. As the news reached the Palace, Kangxi immediately summoned Wei Xiaobao for an audience.


    Wei Xiaobao saw smile all across Kangxi''s whole face; after kowtowing to him, Wei Xiaobao summarized his experience straight away. This time Kangxi sent him out to sea, the primary mission was to exterminate Divine Dragon Cult and capture the fake empress dowager. At this moment, as he heard that the Divine Dragon Cult was destroyed, although the fake empress dowager had not been captured, they had forged an alliance with the Luocha Country. Ever since Kangxi interrogated Hantiemo, the Mongolian envoy who was sent to visit Kunming, and learned that Wu Sangui was colluding with Luocha Country, Mongolia, and Tibet, three strong allies, Kangxi was deeply concerned. As for Shang and Geng, two border defenses, as well as Taiwan rebel Zheng Clan, he merely consider them as secondary. Seeing Wei Xiaobao returned safe and sound, he was already genuinely delighted, now that he learned about the arrival of the Luocha Country Ambassador to cultivate friendship, he was even more pleased. Busily he asked for more details.


    Wei Xiaobao told him from head to tail, about how he taught Sophia to instigate the firearm brigades to rebel, how he taught her to set up two little Tsars, while she herself became the regent. Kangxi laughed aloud and said, "Damn it, you have learned our Great Qing''s shrewdness, and was able to teach this Luocha Country''s female demon."


    The next day during the morning audience, Kangxi summoned the Luocha Country Ambassador. In the imperial court, Wei Xiaobao was the only one who understood Luocha language. Actually, Luocha language was very difficult to learn, in those short several months, he only learned limited numbers of Luocha words, while the Luocha Country Ambassador''s words were full of eulogy. Out of ten words, he did not understand nine of them. Taking advantage of the fact that the others did not understand either, he fabricated the speech, he went as far as to recite the inscription made up by Lu Gaoxuan the other day, such as ''In a thousand years, the Great Qing will be loved'', and ''its supernatural spirit reaches out to relieve, its grand, awe-inspiring might is all powerful''; subsequently he recited several sentences.


    While reciting, he stole a glance to see Kangxi''s expression, but he saw Kangxi was beaming with smile; hence Wei Xiaobao knew that the inscription had come in useful. Thereupon he continued with a loud voice, "Subduing monsters conquering demons like a rising sun. The feathered wings support his rule, breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh air. Ten thousands luck a hundred good fortune, there will never be a year without plentiful harvest. Immortal happiness will be enjoyed forever, all the world will venerate. Its long life will be the same as the Heaven''s, a kind sage of both pen and sword. In a moment, in the sky ��"


    As the words ''in the sky'' came out of his mouth, he stopped talking immediately; thinking that if he continued, he would expose the fox''s tail


    [57]. Therefore, he said, "Luocha Country young Tsar, the Queen Regent, respectfully wish Chinese Great Emperor, the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, the Holy Sage, good health."


    These sentences were originally composed by Lu Gaoxuan as a eulogy to the Cult Leader Hong, and now Wei Xiaobao recited it out; although it felt a bit nondescript, but ''all the world will venerate'', or ''sage of both pen and sword'' and so on were well-disposed praise and good wishes. As they heard it, the numerous ministers repeatedly nodded their heads.


    [58].


    Immediately the Luocha Country Ambassador presented the gifts. Luocha Country was even colder than Liaodong, the black fox and mink furs it produced were even more gorgeous and richer than Liaodong products. Manchu high-ranking officials were people who can judge the quality of goods; as soon as they saw it, no body did not utter praise. Immediately Kangxi ordered Wei Xiaobao to receive the gifts properly and prepare Chinese gifts in return.


    After the morning audience was over, Kangxi summoned Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen, two people, he ordered them to see the Luocha Country Ambassador. Nan Huairen was a Belgian, whose language was similar to French. The Luocha Country Ambassador could speak French, hence the two of them were able to communicate. Nan Huairen praised Kangxi''s brilliance and benevolence, which was seldom found among the monarchs since times immemorial. He told other things so that the Luocha Country Ambassador was convinced.


    The next day, Kangxi ordered Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen, two people to demonstrate the cannon on Nanyuan [lit. southern park], and then, along with Wei Xiaobao, he accompanied to Luocha Country Ambassador for an inspection. Seeing the sharpness and accuracy of the cannon, he was inwardly quite impressed. He asked Nan Huairen to convey to the Emperor that the Queen Regent of Luocha Country was determined to cultivate friendship with China, and to be nation brothers forever.


    After the Luocha Country Ambassador took his leave and returned to his country, Kangxi recalled that Wei Xiaobao went to a military campaign this time, he managed to get rid of two strong allies of Wu Sangui in one stroke, his merit was indeed not small. Thereupon Kangxi issued an edict to grant Wei Xiaobao the title of First Class Loyal and Brave Count. Immediately the princes, dukes and cabinet ministers thronged to congratulate him.


    Wei Xiaobao remembered Shi Lang, Regional Commander Huang, and the others, who, unexpectedly, not a single person returned. He presumed it was because their commander-in-chief went missing on the sea. He was the number one favorite of the Emperor, the person closest to him. If the Emperor was furious, he might charge them with ''fault in military operation, shrinking back on approaching the battlefield, crime for letting the commander-in-chief fallen into the deathtrap'', et cetera, all kinds of criminal charges added together, so that everybody was afraid to be beheaded, hence they wander destitute around the Tong Chi Island and did not dare to come back.


    When the Manchurians sent the troops for the first time, their military law was extremely strict; when they went to war, if the captain of a unit died in battle, and the troops shrank back and ran away, frequently the entire unit would be executed. Even until the Manchus enters the peaceful years, this law still existed; for this reason, Manchurian troops were very refined and unrivalled. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao sent out two envoys toward Tong Chi Island and Shen Long Island, to summon Shi Lang and the others back to the Capital.


    One day Kangxi summoned Wei Xiaobao to the Upper Study Room. Pointing to three memorials lying on the desk, he said, "Xiao Guizi, these three memorials came from three different places; can you guess whose memorials these are?"


    Wei Xiaobao craned his neck to look at the three memorials; but he did not see anything that would give him any clue. "Your Majesty must give me a bit of clue, then your servant can guess well," he said.


    Kangxi smiled; he raised his right palm and made chopping gestures, as if he was beheading someone, three times. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ah, that''s right; it must be that big �� big treacherous officials Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong, those three fellows'' memorial."


    Kangxi laughed. "You are very smart," he said, "Guess again: what do these three memorials say?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head. "It''s very hard to guess," he said, "Did those three memorials arrive at the same time?"


    "Some arrived earlier than the other," Kangxi replied, "But the difference is not much."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those three treacherous officials are harboring malicious intentions, they must have the same ideas; your servant guesses that the content of the memorials are more or less the same."


    Kangxi lightly patted the memorials on the desk and said, "Precisely. The first memorial arrived was from that old fellow Shang Kexi. He said that he is old, and wanted to return to Liaodong. He asked to have his son, Shang Zhixin to replace him in guarding Guangdong. I wrote a comment on the memorial: if Shang Kexi wants to return to Liaodong, he does not need to leave his son in Guangdong. When Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong heard the news, one after another they also submitted memorial to the throne."


    Picking up a memorial, Kangxi said, "This one is the old fellow Wu Sangui''s. He said, ''For twenty years the minister has received the Heaven''s kindness, with wasted contribution it is hard to repay; only wearily guarding the border for a period of time, how can I dare to ask rest from responsibility? Today I heard Ping Nan Wang [king who pacify the south] Shang Kexi has given a full account in a memorial to the Emperor, and has already received favor, to be allowed to withdraw completely from guarding the border. Relying on great compassion, I boldly ask the Heaven to listen, asking to be removed from this assignment.'' Humph, he is testing me, he wants to see whether I dare to remove him from guarding the border? He is not doing it alone, he must have communicated with Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong, the three of them together trying to scare me!"


    Kangxi picked up another memorial and said, "This one is Geng Jingzhong''s. He said, ''Minister has held two hereditary rank of nobility simultaneously, my heart longs for the Emperor''s imperial city watchtower, only because of the ocean atmosphere I dare not suddenly ask to cease leading the troops. Recently I saw Ping Nan Wang Shang Kexi submitted a memorial begging to return, and has received the imperial decree. Remembering that minister has led officers and men into punitive expedition to the south for more than twenty years, I am looking up in earnest on the Emperor''s kindness, asking to be removed from this assignment.'' One in Yunnan, the other in Fujian, separated by ten thousand li, how could the wording of these two letters be similar? In one hand they say they must not cease leading the troops, on the other hand they beg to withdraw. These fellows, do you think they still have me in their eyes?" While saying that, he angrily tossed the memorials unto the desk.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "These three memorials contain heresy and treason, it is actually rebellion''s war declaration. Your Majesty, we dispatch the troops, seize the three rebel thieves and bring them to the Capital, the whole families �� humph, the whole family, the males must be killed, the females must be given to meritorious ministers as slaves." He was about to say ''the whole family must be executed unto the third generation'', but suddenly remembered Ah Ke and Chen Yuanyuan; thereupon midway he changed his statement.


    Kangxi said, "If we dispatch the troops, we will give the common people of the world a reason to say that I slaughter meritorious ministers; to say that the birds are no more, the bow is put away; the rabbit is dead, the dog is boiled alive. It would be better to remove their posts as border defense, and see what those three men would react. If they obey the Emperor''s decree and withdraw from the border, respectfully and submissively obey the Mandate of Heaven, so be it; otherwise, if they deploy the troops to battle, I will have enough reason to send the troops on a punitive expedition."


    "Your Majesty prophecy with supernatural accuracy, your servant has only utmost admiration," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s just like in the opera: Your Majesty asked: ''Who''s there kneeling down?'' Wu Sangui replied, "Minister Wu Sangui is here to have an audience with the Emperor.'' Your Majesty shouted, ''How dare you Wu Sangui, why don''t you look up?'' Wu Sangui said, ''Minister is guilty and does not dare to look up.'' Your Majesty said in singing, ''What offense have you committed?'' Wu Sangui replied, ''Your servant is unwilling to withdraw from the border, I want to revolt.'' Your Majesty shouted, "Ay, what a brazen thing! Wei Xiaobao!'' And then I strode into the stage and sank to my knees, saying, ''Xiao Jiang [little general, referring to self] is here!'' Your Majesty called out, ''Here is the arrow banner of command! I send you to lead a hundred thousand troops to suppress the rebel thief Wu Sangui!'' Your servant received the arrow banner of command, and called out, ''I obey!'' and my leg flew, kicking Wu Sangui on his buttocks; immediately Wu Sangui was kicked around that he piss in his pants in terror. All is lost!"


    Kangxi roared in laughter. "You want to lead the troops to attack Wu Sangui?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao could see the teasing in Kangxi''s eyes, hence he knew the young Emperor was just joking. He said, "Your servant is so young, and has no ability at all, how can I lead the army? It would be best if Your Majesty personally becomes the Grand Marshal, I will become your vanguard officer; coming across a mountain I will open up a path, encountering water I will build a bridge. Majestically we will rush to Yunnan to strike."


    Listening to him, Kangxi''s heart leaped in excitement, thinking that if the Emperor personally leads his troops into battle against Wu Sangui, it would be so much fun. He said, "Let me give it a careful thought."


    Early morning the next day, Kangxi convened the princes, dukes and cabinet ministers at the Hall of Supreme Harmony to discuss military and national affairs. Although Wei Xiaobao had been promoted several ranks in succession, his official position in the imperial court was still low; actually, he was not qualified to participate in discussion of national affairs at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Kangxi issued a special decree, saying that since Wei Xiaobao was sent as the imperial envoy to Yunnan, he was privy of Border Defense Wu''s inside information, hence he was summoned to accompany the Emperor in this high-level meeting.


    Kangxi handed over Shang Kexi, Wu Sangui, Geng Jingzhong''s, three memorials to the Hall of Central Harmony''s [Zhong He Dian] Da Xue Shi [lit. senior ministerial of great learning], who simultaneously acting as the Director of Board of Rites, Batai; he said, "Three border defenses submitted memorial, pleading to be removed from the border. How we should respond, everybody present me your own memorial."


    After the various princes, dukes and ministers read and circulated the memorials, Prince Kang Giyesu said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: in your servant''s humble opinion, the three border defenses pleading to be removed from the border, it was not due to their own conscience; it seems that they are merely feeling out the imperial court."


    "How did you see it?" Kangxi asked, "Explain."


    Giyesu said, "In these three memorials, they all said that the responsibility over local military affairs is heavy, they did not dare to depart without authority. Since they knew that the military affair is a heavy responsibility, why would they plead to withdraw from the border? Obviously it is self-contradictory." Kangxi nodded.


    The Hall of Preserving Harmony''s [Bao He Dian] Da Xue Shi Wei Zhouzuo was a very old man with white hair and white beard; he said, "In minister''s humble opinion, the imperial court should issue a warm imperial decree to comfort and exhort them, saying that the three border defenses'' meritorious service were outstanding, His Imperial Majesty rely heavily upon them, they must do their jobs diligently, acting as the screen to guard the border. The matter of withdrawing from the border need not be considered."


    Kangxi said, "So in your opinion, the three border defenses should not be removed from their posts?"


    Wei Zhouzuo said, "The Holy Sage [referring to the Emperor] understands it very well: Lao-tze


    [59] said, ''Fine soldier is inauspicious''; even if they are good soldiers, they are still inauspicious. Some critics said that the character ''fine'' (��) was an error, it should be ''only'' (Ω); thus it should say ''only soldier is inauspicious'', then it will be even clearer. Laozi had another saying, ''troops are inauspicious tool, the wrong tool of a nobleman, to be used against his will''."


    Wei Xiaobao was inwardly bewildered, "This old fellow is so brazen; in the Emperor''s presence he unexpectedly dared to say Laozi this and Laozi that. And the Emperor is not angry." He did not know that this ''laozi'' was a sage of antiquity, Li Er, not the ''laozi'' [I, your father] used jocularly by the people of the marketplace to refer to themselves.


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Troops are vicious, battles are dangerous; the ancient has clear examples. When there was military expedition, inevitably the living thing would turn into charcoal. So you say that if Zhen issue a warm imperial decree to comfort and exhort them, not allowing them to withdraw from the border, this matter will be settled?"


    The Da Xue Shi of Hall of Literary Glory [Wen Hua Dian] Dui Kana said, "Please Your Majesty understand: since Wu Sangui guarding Yunnan, that region is peaceful, the barbarians do not dare to disturb, the southern part of our Dynasty does not have any trouble. If he is relocated to Liaodong, perhaps Yunnan and Guizhou will suffer. If the imperial court does not allow him to withdraw from the border, Wu Sangui will be grateful and will strive to repay the kindness, Geng and Shang, two border defenses, as well as the Kong army of Guangxi, will definitely look up to respect the Heaven''s kindness. Henceforth the Yellow River is clear and the sea is calm, the whole world is at peace."


    Kangxi said, "You are very much afraid that after the border defense is removed, the southwest region will lack a strategic town, and perhaps there would be foreign invasion?"


    "Yes," Dui Kana said, "Wu Sangui''s troops and defense is highly perfected, it usually is prestigious, the barbarians are afraid and submit to him. Once this defense is removed, whether it will bring good fortune or calamity, it will be hard to predict. In minister''s humble opinion, one more problem we have is not as good as one less problem."


    Minister of Revenue Mi Sihan said, "Since the ancient time the Holy Sages ruling the country, they always esteem Huang Lao''s technique [not sure]. When Western Han governed the world, they abide by the rules laid down by their predecessor, seeking peace and inaction [referring to Taoist doctrine of inaction] in politics. Your Majesty is an enlightened sage, your virtue is nearing the Three Sovereigns, who is rarely matched even by people in the most flourishing period of Han and Tang. In the years that Your Majesty rises in position, you grasp the political power, give the people rest, and harmonize the four barbarians; all the world is grateful for your kindness. In minister''s shallow opinion, the matter of the three border defenses can only be handled according to the old rule, there is no need to restring our bow by having a reform and start all over again, since right now we have favorable weather for the crops, the country prospers, the people at peace. The Holy Son of Heaven rules by hanging down the bow, there is no need to entertain such thought."


    Kangxi asked Da Xue Shi Du Lide, "What do you think?"


    Du Lide said, "The three defenses were originally established as a reward and an opportunity to render merit. Right now the three defenses do not have any serious offense, if they are suddenly withdrawn, I am afraid there will be ignorant people who will say that the imperial court fails to be lenient toward former minister who has given outstanding service, perhaps there will be someone who would hinder the Sage''s court political aspiration."


    After much discussion, the princes, dukes and cabinet ministers all stated their position that the border defenses must not be removed.


    Listening to all these people''s speech, where everybody dropped quotations to appear learned, although he did not understand what they were saying, Wei Xiaobao knew that everybody advised against removing the border defenses; in his heart he was anxious. Busily he tried to attract Songgotu''s attention and signaled him with his eyes, while slightly shaking his head, hinting him to speak against everybody else''s proposition.


    Seeing him shaking his head, Songgotu misunderstood his meaning, he thought that Wei Xiaobao also advised him to oppose the removal of the defense. He thought that Wei Xiaobao understood clearly the Emperor''s true regard, and he noticed how Kangxi showed neither approval nor disapproval to the discussion, he presumed the young Emperor must be afraid to fight with Wu Sangui. Songgotu said, "Wu, Shang, and Geng, three people are adept at using military force, if the imperial court removes the border defense, and in spite of everything the three defenses refuse to accept orders, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi, five provinces deploy their troops at the same time, perhaps there will be other rebels responding by sending out their troops, it won''t be easy to deal with. In your servant''s opinion, Wu Sangui and Shang Kexi are already old, they won''t live too much longer, there is no harm in waiting a few more years, let those two people die of old age. The three defenses'' veterans of a hundred battles, a large number of the old troops and veteran generals will also die; if the border defense is removed at that time, our chance of victory will increase a lot."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "That is the plan coming from your experience and knowledge."


    Songgotu thought the Emperor was praising him; busily he kneeled down and kowtowed to express his gratitude. "In discussing the important matter of the country, your servant does not dare not to be completely loyal and exhaust all considerations to come up with a completely safe plan."


    Kangxi asked Da Xue Shi Tu Hai, "You are skilled with both the pen and sword, have deep understanding of three military strategies and six plans, adept at maneuvering troops; what do you think of this matter?"


    "Your servant''s talent and wisdom is mediocre, it was all due to Your Majesty''s grace that I am promoted to this position," Tu Hai replied, "Your Majesty can see clearly for ten thousand li; imperial court''s military forces are in excellent condition, if the three defenses have rebellious intention, they won''t be a major problem. It''s just that if all tens of thousands people under the three defenses'' command depart for Liaodong at the same time, we have to carefully consider one thing."


    "What matter we have to consider carefully?" Kangxi asked.


    Tu Hai said, "Liaodong is the place where our Great Qing originated, the place where our ancestors and predecessors were buried; if the three defenses indeed have disloyal intention, tens of thousands people making a ruckus and acting unreasonably in Liaodong, it would not be easy to guard against."


    Kangxi nodded. Tu Hai continued, "If the three border defenses'' troops withdraw from their original posts, the imperial court must deploy other military forces toward Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian to be stationed there. Several tens of thousands large army moving north, several tens of thousands large army moving south, no matter how you look at it, it is a great waste of resources, undoubtedly there will be trouble in those places. The three border defenses'' troops have been quite harmonious with the local people for quite some time, and there is no news of any conflict. Guangdong and Fujian''s dialect is very strange and unusual, when the new army arrived, they have to adjust, everybody can''t understand each other, the custom is different, perhaps it will stir up mass uprising; and then Your Majesty''s sacred intention to love common people as your own children would be harmed."


    The more Wei Xiaobao listened, the more anxious he was; he knew the young Emperor had made up his mind to remove the border defense, yet each and everyone of the princes, dukes, and cabinet ministers was timid and was afraid of getting involved. His own official position was too low, in term of age, he was too young, he could not speak rubbish in the imperial court; hence he was in a very difficult position.


    Kangxi asked the high official of the Ministry of War, Ming Zhu, "Ming Zhu, this is the Ministry of War''s business. What do you think?"


    Ming Zhu replied, "The Holy Sage Son of Heaven is very bright, you stand tall and see far, your view of this matter is a hundred times better than the ministers. After giving this matter a careful consideration, your servant thinks that removing the border defense has some advantages, but not removing the border defense also has its own advantages; in my heart I find it difficult to make up my mind, for several days I lost sleep over this matter. Afterward I suddenly recalled something, and then I was relieved immediately, and last night I was able to fall asleep. Your servant thought that Your Majesty has given this matter meticulous consideration. All the thoughts that the ministers have, Your Majesty has already foreseen each and everyone accurately. The stratagems that all your servants could think of, even if it were more brilliant, it would not be more brilliant than Your Majesty''s direction. Your servant only has to listen to Your Majesty''s instruction on how to handle this matter. Whatever Your Majesty say, all your servants need to do is advance bravely with dead heart, without any plan for anything new. In the end we will definitely obtain great luck, great profit, and have everything our hearts desire."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this, he was admired him greatly; he mused, "All these civil and military ministers of the court, nobody surpasses this fellow''s skill in becoming a government official. This man''s skill in bootlicking has reached perfection; laozi should do obeisance to him and take him as my master. In the future this fellow''s career will enjoy meteoric rise; his scholarly achievement, fame and honor will be immeasurable."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "I asked you to think of an idea, not to sing praises."


    Ming Zhu kowtowed and said, "Holy Sage, please understand: your servant is not singing the praise, it was really the truth. Ever since the Ministry of War learned the news about the instability of the three border defenses, day and night your servant was anxious, thinking about how to deal with this matter. If by any chance we must use military force, how to move the troops and send the generals. If we want to assure victory, we must let the Master not to have the least bit of worry. However, after thinking back and forth, in all honesty the Master is simply too brilliant, while your servants are too worthless. We rack our brains painstakingly, the end result will definitely be inferior to Your Majesty''s casual thought. The Holy Sage Son of Heaven is the crape myrtle star descending to the world, naturally not someone ordinary people like your servant could even reach. For this reason, your servant thought that as long as Your Majesty issues your order, I am sure it will be the best. Even if your servants do not understand, as long as we do it with all our hearts, in the end we will see the light."


    When the numerous ministers heard this, they all cursed him in their hearts as being shameless, flattering the Emperor in front of everyone else, being completely unscrupulous; yet they had no choice but to parrot him.


    Kangxi said, "Wei Xiaobao, you have been to Yunnan, let me hear your thought: how should we deal with this matter?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, please understand: your servant does not understand national affairs, it''s just that Wu Sangui has spoken a few words to your servant. He said, ''Wei Dutong, if there is some unforeseen event in the future, you don''t have to worry. Your Dutong [commander] position can only go up, not go down.'' Your servant did not understand, hence I asked, ''What unforeseen event in the future?'' Wu Sangui laughed and said, ''When the moment comes, you will naturally know.'' Your Majesty, Wu Sangui is thinking of rebelling. This matter is absolutely true; right now I am afraid he has already prepared the dragon robe. He compared himself as a fierce tiger, and compared Your Majesty as a black-naped oriole."


    Kangxi knitted his brows slightly, "What fierce tiger, black-naped oriole?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed several times and said, "That servant Wu Sangui has spoken a good deal of treason and heresy talks, your servant will not dare to repeat it no matter what."


    "You''d better repeat it," Kangxi said, "It''s not like you are speaking on your own account."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wu Sangui has three treasured items. He said that although these three treasures are fine, he regrets the fact that there is a fly in the ointment. The first treasure is a red ruby as big as a pigeon egg, it''s really as red as chicken blood; he has it embedded in his hat. He said, ''The gem is very big, it''s a pity the hat is too small.''"


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted. The numerous ministers were looking at each other; they all thought that by saying ''the gem is very big, it''s a pity the hat is too small'', he was implying that he wanted to wear the crown on his head.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "His second treasure is white-based, black-striped white tiger skin. Your servant has been waiting upon Your Majesty in the Palace for a while, yet I have never seen this kind of white tiger skin. Wu Sangui said that this kind of white tiger is rarely seen even once in several hundred years. In the past the Song Taizu [founding emperor of Song] Zhao Kuangyin had one, Zhu Yuanzhang also found one, Cao Cao and Liu Bei each has also had one. He has the white tiger skin draped on his chair, saying, ''White tiger skin is hard to come by, it''s a pity the chair is too ordinary.''"


    Kangxi nodded again; he was secretly amused, he knew that Wei Xiaobao was speaking without thinking, framing Wu Sangui. He also knew that Wei Xiaobao was completely uneducated, thinking that Cao Cao was also an emperor.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "The third treasure is a piece of large marble screen, with painting of natural scenery. In the painting there was a little black-naped oriole perching on a tree, underneath the tree there was a big tiger. Wu Sangui said, ''This screen is very valuable; it''s a pity that the tiger is underneath the tree, yet the little black-naped oriole is standing on high branch.''"


    Kangxi said, "Those three things he said are no more than metaphors, it does not necessarily mean that he had a mind to rebel."


    "Your Majesty is magnanimous, you are cherishing your servants," Wei Xiaobao said, "If Wu Sangui only has thirty-percent of conscience, and know how to be grateful and seek to repay the kindness, that would be great. However, it''s a pity that he gives present to the princes, dukes and ministers of the court; this prince a thousand taels of yellow gold, that duke twenty-thousand taels of white silver. He is desperately serious in spending his money. Those three treasures of his, however, are not part of the tribute to Your Majesty."


    Kangxi laughed. "I do not covet his belongings," he said.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Sangui always want to pay the imperial court''s salary, to treat them with rewards; most of the money he obtained stay in Beijing, given to civil and military officials. Your servant said to him, ''Wangye, you sent all those gold and silver to the high-ranking officials of the court, you are indeed too generous, I can do the spending for you.'' Wu Sangui laughed and said, ''Xiao Xiongdi, all those gold and silver only stay in their homes temporarily, let each and every one of them help me speak good words on my behalf. In a few years, they will nicely add the interest, and then both principal and interest will return to me.'' Your servant did not understand it, so I asked, ''Wangye, once those belongings enter other people''s home, how can they return it to you? You were willingly giving it to them, it''s not that they borrow the money from you, how can you expect any interest?'' Wu Sangui laughed aloud; he patted my shoulder, took a brocade bag and gave it to me, and said, ''Xiao Xiongdi, this is a small token Xiao Wang is giving you, with the hope that in front of His Majesty, you would speak good words on my behalf a lot. If His Majesty wanted to remove the border defense, you must say that the border defense must never be removed. Ha ha �� don''t worry, these things, I will not ask you to return to me in the future.''"


    While saying that, Wei Xiaobao took a brocade bag from his pocket and held it up high above his head. Everybody could see that the bag was embroidered with four red characters, ''Ping Xi Wang Fu'' [King who pacify the west''s mansion]. He bent down to squat, opened up the bag''s mouth and poured out the contents. A series of ''ding ding dang dang'' was heard, pearls, precious stones, emerald, gems, several dozens of valuable objects scattered on the Hall''s floor. The pearls sparkled the gems shone, the light dazzled everybody''s eyes. Some of these gems were indeed gifts from Wu Sangui, some were given by other people as gifts or bribes to Wei Xiaobao. But in that moment, who would know the difference?


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You went to Yunnan this time, you have actually attained much."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These pearls and jewels, your servant does not dare to desire, would Your Majesty bestow it to others?"


    Kangxi giggled and said, "They were gifts from Wu Sangui, how can I take them from you and gave to others?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Sangui gave them to your servant, because he wanted me to tell lies in front of Your Majesty, to help him speaking good words on his behalf, to say that the border defense must never be removed. Your servant is loyal and devoted to Your Majesty, I must not covet a bit of gold, silver, money and valuables, and say that a rebel thief was a loyal minister. But on the other hands, having received Wu Sangui''s thing, I feel a bit unfair to him. In any case, gold, silver, money and valuables throughout the world belong to Your Majesty. Whomever Your Majesty wishes to give it to, it is Your Majesty''s benevolence, no need to make Wu Sangui a good person by letting him buy the people''s heart."


    Kangxi roared in laughter. "You are exceptionally loyal to Zhen," he said, "In that case, just consider I give these pearls and jewels as a reward to you." From his pocket he took out a western spring gold watch and said, "And I am giving you another treasure from the west."


    Wei Xiaobao hastily kneeled down and kowtowed. He took several steps forward and received the gold watch with both hands.


    These two, a ruler and his minister, were displaying such an artificial show, the numerous high-ranking ministers were watching with knowing expressions; who did not understand Kangxi''s intention? These high-ranking ministers had received Wu Sangui''s bribe, the most recent it was delivered by Wei Xiaobao himself. They thought that if they were not being tactful, and Wei Xiaobao shook the imperial court with ''venerating Yunnan'' tactic again, the Emperor might be furious, and then all of them might be charged with ''acting as liaison of foreign vassal state, conspiring against the law''; if they were not beheaded, then they would be banished to an army post.


    Wei Xiaobao''s speech to frame Wu Sangui was indeed very childish and ridiculous; even if Wu Sangui really had the intention to rebel, he would never divulge his secret in front of an imperial envoy sent by the Emperor himself. Wei Xiaobao also spoke about Wu Sangui sending gold and silver to the high-ranking ministers of the imperial court, and that in the future he would want to get both the principal and the interest back, suggesting that when the rebellion succeeded in the future and he became the emperor, he would want the high-ranking ministers to pay him back the gold and silver. This was definitely a child''s idea; Wu Sangui was a man of rigorous schemes and deep foresight, how could he haggle over how much gold and silver he had given to each minister? Yet they knew perfectly well that Wei Xiaobao could not be contradicted, he had the Emperor''s support; who would dare to bring trouble to himself by saying anything to refute him?


    Ming Zhu''s brain was the quickest; he immediately said, "Wei Dutong is young, yet he is brave and talented; he understands the matter of the world and has a red-bellied devotion toward His Majesty, he can see through Wu Sangui''s tiger cave, and obtain the actual facts, indeed he is worthy of other people''s admiration. If not for Your Majesty was able to illuminate the cave, seeing the plot first by sending Wei Dutong to personally investigate, how would we, who work in Beijing, know that Wu Sangui that old fellow has received the country''s kindness, yet unexpectedly harboring the desire to rebel?"


    With these words, he had flattered Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao, while gently exonerated himself and the entire court, and asserting the criminal charge against Wu Sangui. Everybody in the Hall of Supreme Harmony felt that his speech was really pleasant to their ears. The various high-ranking ministers were originally anxious and uneasy; this moment they could not help but heaving a sigh of relief.


    Prince Kang and Songgotu were always in good terms with Wei Xiaobao, naturally at this time they threw their lot with him and threw their stones to one who fell down the well; they loudly said Wu Sangui was wrong. The numerous ministers also ''you said a sentence, I said a sentence'', everybody said the border defense should be removed, some even chided themselves for being muddled, fortunately the Emperor had straightened them up, as if the clouds and mist were pushed aside that they saw the blue sky. Some even went farther by offering plans how to remove the border defense, how to seize Wu Sangui''s capital, how to raid his house. Wu Sangui''s riches matched those of the enemy''s country, as soon as they talked about how to raid his house, everybody thought that it was a greatly profitable mission; but then they had a second thought, they felt it may not be easy to do, when Wu Sangui became hostile, before you could raid his house, he would chop your head first.


    Kangxi waited until everybody finished talking before saying, "Although Wu Sangui has intention that is against the law, this rebellion accusation has not been revealed. Our discussion in this place today, nobody can leak it out even for one sentence. We must give him an opportunity to reform and start afresh."


    The numerous ministers chorused their praises of the Emperor''s vast and mighty benevolence, for his broad and deep mercy.


    From his pocket Kangxi extracted a piece of yellow paper; he said, "Here is the imperial edict, I want you to see if there is anything improper."


    Batai bowed and received it. Holding it high with both hands, he read aloud, "Receiver of the Mandate of Heaven the Emperor''s imperial order says: From time immemorial the Emperors and Kings pacify the world, always rely on ministers, master of military affair''s strength. Reaching up to the peace and quiet of the ocean and the universe, rousing the spirit to travel and return in triumph, resting the soldiers, enabling the important minister of the border region to leisurely look after it, bestowing him with prolonged abundant life, pampering him with the rivers and the mountains, in an extremely grand ceremony!"


    Reading to this point, he paused. The numerous ministers broke into murmur, clucking their tongues, praising the Emperor for producing such a magnificent writing. Batai let out a gentle cough, turned his head around twice, as if he was enjoying a Han Liu Ou Su''s


    [60] exquisite literary work; and then with elongated intonation he continued reading, "The King has always been sincere, loyal and dependable, subduing, setting forth, planning and strategizing, with all his strength exerting himself on behalf of others, guarding the cliff of the border, releasing Zhen from concern over the South, rendering such a splendid meritorious deed!" Reading to this point, he paused, sighed softly and said, "What an excellent literary work!"


    Songgotu said, "Your Majesty''s kindness reaches the heavens, if Wu Sangui has a bit of humanity in him, when he kneeled to read this imperial edict, perhaps he would be ashamed to death."


    Batai continued reading, "Remembering the King''s years already high, master and followers are laid bare, for a long time stationed in an out-of-the-way places, yearning for good rest. Since the adjacent places are in order, it''s only fair to grant the King''s request to be removed from your position. Now, such-and-such and such-and-such are especially sent to announce Zhen''s imperial intention. The King''s, along with the officers and men under his command, interest in packing up and go north, has reassured Zhen to think fondly of you all; if only the cycle of dawn and dusk stops, the ruler and his ministers share the joy, guaranteed endless rest forever. When this matter is settled, a place will be meticulously prepared. The day the King arrives, there will be peaceful place so that you will not have any worry. By the Emperor himself."


    Batai read with sonorous voice, the intonation with which he read the imperial edict was as if he was reading literary work. When he finished reading, none of the numerous ministers did not praise him. Ming Zhu said, "If only the cycle of dawn and dusk stops, the ruler and his ministers share the joy, these eight characters [dan xi gou zhi, jun chen xie le] truly make people feel unsurpassed gratitude. When your servants heard it, there was a burst of nice and warm feeling in the pit of our stomachs."


    Tu Hai said, "Your Majesty has given this matter a very careful consideration, you have stated in advance that as soon as he arrives in Beijing, there will be a place for him to stay. Otherwise, he might use all sorts of excuses, saying that he must send people come to the Capital to set up a house. Stalling and delaying, he might tarry three or five more years."


    Kangxi said, "It would be best if Wu Sangui can follow orders and respond to the imperial court, so that the common people will be exempt from the horrors of war. We must send two people who can talk really well to Yunnan to announce Zhen''s intention."


    When the numerous ministers heard what the Emperor just said, they all turned their gaze toward Wei Xiaobao. Being at the receiving end of everybody''s gaze, Wei Xiaobao was flustered; he thought, "My goodness, this is not a plaything. Last time I delivered the new daughter-in-law, I nearly delivered my own life as well. This time I go to remove the border defense, how could Wu Sangui not have the intention to kill the imperial envoy minister?" Thinking that if he went to Yunnan he might see Ah Ke, his heart warmed up involuntarily; but in the end his life is still more important.


    Ming Zhu saw Wei Xiaobao''s ashen countenance, he deduced correctly that Wei Xiaobao did not dare to go; thereupon he said, "Your Majesty, please understand: with regard to the ability to talk really well, Dutong Wei Xiaobao is very competent. However, Wei Dutong hates the wicked as if they were his personal enemies; knowing that Wu Sangui disrespected the Emperor, he hates him to the bones. If he sees even half of his face, he would reprimand Wu Sangui immediately; I am afraid that he might spoil this important matter. In your servant''s humble opinion, it would be better to send the Ministry of Rites'' assistant minister Zhe''erken, and Imperial Hanlin Academy Xueshi [equivalent to bachelor''s degree] Da''erli to go to Yunnan and announce the imperial edict. These two people are refined in manner and have fine reputation, they might be able to influence mischievous wicked man to a better life; we never know."


    What he said suited Kangxi''s intention, he approved on the spot for Zhe''erken and Da''erli two people to go and announce the imperial decree.


    The numerous ministers realized that the Emperor had decided early on to remove the border defense that he even prepared the imperial edict in advance; they all regretted that they spoke good words on Wu Sangui''s behalf earlier. By now they all changed direction, they said many fabricated indictments, that Wu Sangui was big traitor, major criminal, that his crime must not be pardoned.


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Although Wu Sangui is bad, it''s unlikely that he would go as far as that. All of us must seek the truth from facts, and handle this matter carefully." Standing up, he beckoned Wei Xiaobao to follow him into the rear hall.


    Wei Xiaobao followed behind the Emperor toward the imperial garden. Kangxi laughed and said, "Xiao Guizi, you are really quite something! If you did not take that bag of pearls and jewels and poured them out on the floor, those damn old fellows would still speak good words about Wu Sangui."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, Your Majesty only needs to say, ''Removing the border defense is better'', then everyone would say, ''Indeed removing the border defense is better''. It''s just that to have them say it with their own mouth is a bit more interesting."


    Kang nodded and said, "Those old fellows are striving to secure their positions, everything they have in their mind cannot be spoken incorrectly. However, as the matter stands, if we let Wu Sangui act whenever he wants to act, everything will be in his hand, and then it will be greatly disadvantageous to us. By removing his border defense first, we may greatly disturb his footsteps."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Just like playing Pai Jiu, how can we always let Wu Sangui be the banker? Your Majesty must also throw several throws of dice."


    "Your analogy is correct, we must not let him be the banker all the time," Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, we have thrown the dice, but that fellow Wu Sangui is really not easy to fight. The generals and soldiers under his command are all formidable veterans of a hundred battles. When he deploys his troops in rebellion, if the Han people throughout the world respond to him, that will be bad!"


    For the last several years Wei Xiaobao went around all over the country, the number of time he heard Han people cursed the Tatars was indeed not a few. Han people were numerous, for every hundred of Han people, there might not necessarily be one Manchu person. If the Han people throughout the world rose in rebellion, no matter what Manchu people would not be able to resist. However, although the number of people who curses the Tatars was many, there were even more people who detested Wu Sangui. Thinking about this fact, he said, "Your Majesty, please don''t worry. Not one of the Han people throughout the world likes that fellow Wu Sangui. If he wants to revolt, other than his own trusted aides, nobody would support his effort."


    Kangxi nodded. "I have thought about that too," he said, "Previous Ming''s King Gui ran away to Burma, it was Wu Sangui who captured him and killed him. Wu Sangui wants to rebel, he can only say Han people rebelling against the Manchu, he cannot say fighting the Qing to restore the Ming." Speaking to this point, he took a short pause, and then asked, "Previous Ming''s Emperor Chongzhen, when did he die?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head. "This ��" he stammered, "At that time your servant has not been born; actually I am not �� not too clear."


    Kangxi laughed aloud. "I was asking blindly," he said, "At that time I have not been born either. Right, on the anniversary of his death, I will send several Princes and Beilei to go to Chongzhen''s tomb and offer sacrifice, so that the common people throughout the world will be grateful to me and hate Wu Sangui even more."


    "Your Majesty can calculate and scheme like deity," Wei Xiaobao said, "But if the anniversary of Chongzhen''s death is still some time away, what if Wu Sangui rise in rebellion first?"


    Kangxi paced back and forth, and then he smiled and said, "All these times you were on imperial orders to work for me, you have indeed suffered not a few hardships. Mount Wutai, Yunnan, Shen Long Island, Liaodong, and lastly you even went to Luocha Country. This time I am going to send you to a good place, to make up for it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The best place in the world is by Your Majesty''s side. As long as I can hear Your Majesty''s voice, I can see Your Majesty''s face, my entire body will be filled with vigor, my heart will be unspeakably comfortable. Your Majesty, this word is absolutely true, it''s not boot-licking."


    Kangxi nodded. "I know it''s the truth," he said, "I and you, a ruler and his minister, are congenial, that is also predestined affinity. You and I have friendship that goes far to our fights when we were children, this friendship indeed stands out from the masses. When I see you, my heart is also very happy. Xiao Guizi, that half a year when I did not hear anything about you, I thought you drowned in the ocean; I was full of regret, I should have not sent you to take that kind of risk, I was really broken-hearted and grieved."


    Wei Xiaobao was deeply touched. "If �� if only I can take care of you for the rest of my life," he said, with a hint of sob in his voice.


    "Alright, alright," Kangxi said, "I will become the Emperor for sixty years, you will become high-ranking officer for sixty years. We, a ruler and his minister, have kindness and brotherhood, we will carry things through to the end." It was extremely rare for an emperor to say such word toward his subject. One, Kangxi was young, he spoke frankly; two, he and Wei Xiaobao had been friends since their teenage years, they were mutually since.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You will become the Emperor for a hundred years, I will work for you for a hundred years; whether I become high-ranking official or not, I don''t care."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Isn''t sixty years as the Emperor enough? One must not not knowing enough is enough." He paused a moment, and then continued, "Xiao Guizi, this time I am sending you to Yangzhou, to come back to your hometown in silken robes."


    As he heard ''go to Yangzhou'' three characters, Wei Xiaobao''s heart skipped a beat. "What is ''come back to one''s hometown in silken robes''?" he asked.


    "You have become a high-ranking minister in Beijing," Kangxi said, "Returning to your hometown to see your relatives and friends, you must create quite a stir; let everybody envy you, won''t that be great? Have your subordinate help you write a memorial to the throne, to have your father, mother, and your household be granted titles, let them be well-regarded, well-off."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Many thanks for Your Majesty''s kindness."


    Kangxi noticed Wei Xiaobao''s somewhat awkward expression. "Uh, you don''t like it?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "I like it very much," he said, "It''s just that �� it''s just that I don''t know who my father is."


    Kangxi was taken aback; recalling that his own father had left home to become a monk on Mount Wutai, he felt that the two of them were fellow sufferers who empathize with each other. He patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder and said warmly, "When you get to Yangzhou, there is no harm in investigating it slowly. Perhaps the Heaven will have pity on you and let you, father and son, have a reunion. Xiao Guizi, you go to Yangzhou, your mission this time may be very easy to accomplish, I am sending you to build a martyr shrine [������ zhong lie ci]."


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head, "Grow chestnut [������ zhong li zi]?" he asked, "Your Majesty, if you want to eat chestnut, I''ll go to the street and buy some for you; sugar-coated deep-fried Liangxiang [town in Beijing municipality] sweet-scented osmanthus chestnut is savory and glutinous; we don''t need to go to Yangzhou to grow some."


    Kangxi roared in laughter. "Damn it," he said, "Xiao Guizi is unlearned. I said ''Martyr Shrine'', but you muddle things together and changed it to ''grow chestnut''. Martyr shrine is a memorial hall, to enshrine and worship loyal minister who was martyred."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Your servant is indeed very stupid," he said, "Turns out you want me to build something like Guan Di [I am not sure, but I think it refers to Guan Gong (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)] temple."


    "Now you are talking," Kangxi said, "When the Qing troops entered the Pass, their massacre of Yangzhou and Jiading people was very tragic, to such an extent as to create those ''Ten Days of Yangzhou'', ''Three-slaughter of Jiading'', and so on. Thinking about these matters, my heart is always uneasy."


    "The massacre was indeed very tragic," Wei Xiaobao said, "There were bodies everywhere within Yangzhou''s city wall. Even after ten years, it was not uncommon to find human bones in the wells and in the rivers. But that time I was not even born yet, you have not been born either; the blame cannot be placed on our heads."


    Kangxi said, "You said it right; however, it was my ancestor''s affair, hence it is my affair. At that time, there was this Shi Kefa; have you heard of him?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shi Gebu, Shi Daren defended Yangzhou to the death, he was a greatly loyal minister. When the older people of our Yangzhou mentioned him, they all shed some tears. In our courtyards we have a memorial tablet that reads ''Memorial Tablet of Nine-Tattooed-Dragon Shi Jin


    [61]''. On the first and the fifteenth of each month, everybody would kowtow to this memorial tablet. I heard people say that it was actually Shi Gebu, but was hidden from the government officials."


    Kangxi nodded, "Loyal minister martyred, leaving behind affection in the people''s hearts," he said, "Turns out the common people enshrine and worship Nine-Tattooed-Dragon Shi Jin''s memorial tablet, burn incense and kowtow to it, is actually to commemorate Shi Kefa. Xiao Guizi, what kind of courtyard do you have at home?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s entire face blushed. "Your Majesty," he said, "This is actually not too pleasant to hear. In our home we open a brothel, called the Lovely Spring Hall; it is reckoned to be first or second best brothel in Yangzhou."


    Kangxi smiled; in his heart he said, "Your mouth is full of marketplace nonsense, I knew early on that you did not come from any scholar or aristocratic family. This boy is very loyal to me that he did not conceal even this kind of shameful matter from me."


    Actually, by saying that his family opened a brothel or whatever, Wei Xiaobao was merely tooting his horn; his mother was no more than a prostitute, not some brothel proprietress.


    Kangxi said, "You present my imperial edict and announce it in Yangzhou. I am commending Shi Kefa''s loyalty to the end in his dedication to the service of his country, loyal to his lord and loving the people, a greatly loyal minister, a great hero and warrior. We, the Great Qing, respect loyal ministers and patriots, while looking down upon rebels and traitors. I am building a nice memorial hall for Shi Kefa, for his bravery as the loyal minister who sacrificed himself in defending Yangzhou city in the past, everybody can enshrine and worship him in the memorial hall. Take another three hundred thousand taels, to comfort and aid bereaved families, to give relief to the needy in Yangzhou and Jiading, two cities. I will issue another edict, to excuse these two places from taxes for three years."


    Wei Xiaobao let out a deep breath. "Your Majesty," he said, "Your grace this time is indeed too great. I must simply kneel down and kowtow to you several times in sincerity and wholeheartedly." While saying that, he went down on his knees, and ''dong, dong, dong'' kowtowed three times.


    Kangxi laughed and asked, "When you kowtowed to me in the past, you were not being sincere and wholehearted?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Sometimes it was sincere and wholehearted, other times it was no more than half-heartedly."


    Kangxi laughed aloud; he did not consider it a disobedience. He thought, "Those people who kowtow to me, out of a hundred, perhaps 99 are doing it half-heartedly, yet only Xiao Guizi dares to say it out loud."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, this stratagem of yours is indeed shooting two birds with one arrow."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "What do you mean shooting two birds with one arrow? It is called ''one arrow, two golden eagles''. Tell me, which two birds are you talking about?"


    "By building this Martyr Shrine," Wei Xiaobao said, "The Han people under the heavens will know that Your Majesty treats the common people very well. Formerly, the Ta �� formerly, the Qing troops massacred Han people in Yangzhou and Jiading randomly, Your Majesty is full of remorse in your heart, and thought of something to make amend. If Wu Sangui rebels, or perhaps Shang Kexi, Geng Jingzhong rise in rebellion, saying they want to restore the Ming Dynasty or whatever, common people will say, what''s not good about the Manchurian Qing? The Emperor is very good."


    Kangxi nodded. "You are right," he said, "But you are a bit ''gauging the abdomen of a gentleman with a lowly man''s heart''. I think that ''Ten Days of Yangzhou'' and ''Three Massacres of Jiading'' of the past were definitely the sorrow of their hearts; sending out money to comfort and aid bereaved families and reducing taxes, it is not entirely for the sake of buying the hearts of the people. So what''s the second bird?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty builds this memorial hall, everybody will know that being a loyal minister and a patriot is good, being a rebel and a traitor is not good. Wu Sangui wants to rebel, he is a rebellious thief, hence the common people will look down on him."


    Kangxi reached out to slap Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder heavily; he laughed and said, "Right! We must proclaim it without restraint, loyal subjects who repay their lord are good people. Of the common people in the world, which one is willing to become a bad person? If Wu Sangui does not deploy his troops, then that''s the end of it; but if he does, nobody will follow him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I heard the storytellers tell the tales, the most amazing loyal minister and patriot, one was Yue Fei, Yue Yeye [grandpa], the other was Guan Di, Guan Wangye. Your Majesty, this time we go to Yangzhou to build Martyr Shrine, it would be better to also repair Yue Yeye, Guan Wangye''s memorial halls."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Your mind is exceptionally quick; it''s a pity that you don''t read books, you don''t have knowledge. Repairing Guan Di Temple is very good; Guan Yu repaid his lord with loyalty, he had strong yi qi, I can grant him an honorary title. But that Yue Fei fought Jin troops. Our Great Qing was originally called Later Jin (Dynasty). Jin is Qing, Jin troops are Qing troops. This Yue Wang [King Yue] Temple, you don''t need to pay attention."


    "Yes, yes, so that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao replied; in his heart he mused, "Turns out you, Tatars, are Jinwuzhu, Hamichi''s descendants. Your ancestors are very disappointing."


    Kangxi said, "Henan Province''s Wangwu Mountain, there seem to be a group of troops and horses who lean toward Wu Sangui, is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "That''s right," he replied, but in his heart he said, "If you did not mention it, I would have forgotten about this matter."


    Kangxi said, "That time you investigated Wu Sangui''s plan to rebel, and sent people to submit memorial to me, I rebuked you instead; do you know the reason?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Presumably because we are not prepared to deal with Wu Sangui''s military force yet, thus Your Majesty pretended not to believe, to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake."


    Kangxi laughed. "Correct!" he said, "Beat the grass to scare the snake, you have used this idiom correctly. In the imperial court, Wu Sangui must have a lot of confidants. This old thief knows our each and every move very clearly. The matter of Situ Bolei of Wangwu Mountain, if I followed up with the investigation at that time, Wu Sangui would definitely find out. If he was alerted, he might dispatch his troops immediately in rebellion. At that time he knew the real situation of the imperial court, but of his military strength, deployment and what have you, I did not have the slightest idea. If we went to war, we would definitely lose. We must know ourselves, and know our enemy, then we will emerge victorious in every battle."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "At that time Your Majesty sent people to scold me a bit, the entire brigade''s officers knew about it. If Wu Sangui had spies in my military camp, they were bound to report to the old fellow. Perhaps in his heart the old fellow snickered at Your Majesty''s muddle-headedness."


    Kangxi said, "This time you go to Yangzhou, take with you five thousand troops and horses, go to Henan''s Jiyuan, take them by surprise, destroy the bandit cave on Mount Wangwu completely. Wu Sangui has supporting troops hidden too close to the Capital, it is calamity within our bosom."


    "That''s much more wonderful," Wei Xiaobao said happily, "Your Majesty, it would be better for you to personally lead the troops into battle, kill Wu Sangui in an initial show of strength."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "There are only a thousand or two bandits on Mount Wangwu, among those, more than half are the old, the weak, women and children. That man surnamed Yuan was boasting, he said more than thirty thousand men, it''s entirely bogus. I have already sent people to go up the mountain to investigate clearly. Against a thousand or so bandits, you want me to personally lead the troops into battle, I will be the laughingstock of the people! Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Wei Xiaobao followed with some hollow laughs, he thought that the young Emperor was indeed very astute, false report of large number would not work on him.


    Kangxi said, "On how to exterminate Mount Wangwu bandits, you think about it, come back here in one or two days to make your report."


    Wei Xiaobao complied and withdrew. He pondered it over, "This matter of marching an army and go to war, laozi is not too adept at it. That day in the naval battle I relied on Shi Lang; in the land battle, whom should I rely on? Get it. I should have Guangdong Tidu [local commander] Wu Liuqi as my assistant, I simply must listen to his advice in everything. This man is an expert in fighting battles." But then he had a second thought, "His Majesty wanted me to think of a good strategy and report to him in one or two days. Going to Guangdong to invite Wu Liuqi and come back here, at least I need a month; there won''t be enough time. In Beijing, who is the expert in fighting battles?"


    After thinking for half a day, the number of well-known military leaders in Beijing was actually not a few, but they were mostly Manchu generals; if not they had received the title ''Gong'' [duke] or ''Hou'' [marquis], then they must be high-ranking military officer or local commander. Wei Xiaobao was a lowly Dutong [commander], he could not order them around.


    His own nobility title was ''Bojue'' [count/earl]. Within the Manchurian Qing system of government, ''Zijue'' [viscount] was one-pin rank, ''Bojue'' was above it; it was above the pin rank system, it was even higher compared to the Da Xueshi [great bachelor (master''s degree?)] and Shangshu


    [62] pin rank. But of course it was an empty title, although he was respected, in reality he did not have real power. He was really young, it was really not easy if he wanted a famous minister or brave general to obey his order.


    He paced back and forth in his room, lost in thought. He saw the jade bowl presented by Shi Lang as a gift sitting on the table, and thought, "In Beijing Shi Lang was dissatisfied, hence he came to me for help. The number of dissatisfied military officers in Beijing should be a lot. But those who are dissatisfied and those who have skills may not necessarily be together. Those without skills but enjoy meteoric rise in career advancement, in Beijing there are not a few; I, Wei Xiaobao, am one. Ha ha ��!"


    Walking over to the table he held the jade bowl with both hands; he thought, "The choice of these four characters ''jia guan jin jue'' [to confer a title of official position/to be promoted] is very effective; when he sent me this jade bowl, I was a ''Zijue'', but now I am promoted to ''Bojue''. What kind of skill do I rely on to be ''jia guan jin jue''? My biggest skill is boot-licking, patting the young Emperor''s back so that he would feel comfortable. Other than that, laozi''s real skill is damn too ordinary. Looks like people with real skill do not like to flatter; those who like to flatter will be more or less the same as laozi."


    Looking up, he pondered deeply: among his acquaintances, which military officer was unwilling to flatter? Tian Di Hui warriors were heroes who definitely would not flatter casually; but other than his shifu Chen Jinnan and Wu Liuqi, everybody else only knew internal strength and external skill, they could not lead troops and fight a battle. Shifu''s subordinate Lin Xingzhu could fight a battle, too bad he had returned to Taiwan.


    Suddenly he remembered something: that day when he and Shi Lang led the troops to Tianjin, and then detoured to Tanggu and went out to sea, the Naval Zongbing [regional commander] Huang Fu fawned on him attentively; yet there was a military officer in Tianjian, one with big beard, who received him with knitted brows and flat mouth, someone who acted as if he was looking down on him, who was not willing to utter even a sentence of boot-licking. Who was that fellow? If at that time he did not pay attention to this military officer''s name, by now naturally he could not remember even more. He mused, "Those who flatter have no skill; this big beard was unwilling to flatter, he must have skills."


    He got an idea; immediately he went to Ministry of War Shangshu yamen to find Shangshu Ming Zhu, asking him to send for a big-bearded officer of the Tianjin Guard Regiment and have him by carriage to Beijing as quickly as possible. This big beard''s military rank was neither high nor low, if not a Fujiang [deputy general/regional vice-commander, equivalent to brigadier general], then he must be a Canjiang [administrator, equivalent to colonel].


    Ming Zhu felt this matter was rather strange; this big beard had no name no surname, how to summon him? However, Wei Xiaobao was presently the Emperor''s most favorite person, forget that he had to send for a military officer from Tianjin, even something ten times more difficult, he must find a way to accomplish it; with a smile on his face he complied at once. He personally wrote a ''600-li urgent message'' to the Tianjin Guard Regiment Zongbing, ordering him to send all military officers with big beard under his command to go to Beijing and have an audience at the Ministry of War.


    Around noon the next day, Wei Xiaobao had just finished his lunch when his personal guard came in to report that Ministry of War Shangshu was asking for an audience. Wei Xiaobao went to the front door to welcome the visitor, he saw Ming Zhu and about twenty big bearded military officers behind him; some had black beard, some white beard, some grizzled beard. All of them were covered in sweat and dust. Ming Zhu said, "Wei Jueye [master noble], you instructed me to summon a man, Xiongdi found a group of men. Please make the selection yourself, I don''t know which one you wanted."


    Suddenly seeing these many big-bearded military officers, Wei Xiaobao was startled, and then he could not help but bursting in laughter. "Shangshu Daren," he said, "I only ask you to find a big-bearded man, you are handling this matter really thoroughly. Once you looked for people, you found twenty. Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Mingzhu said with a laugh, "I was afraid I might summon the wrong person, not the one Wei Jueye has in your mind."


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter again; he said, "Turns out under Tianjin Guard Regiment Zongbing there are so many men with big beard ��" He had not finished speaking, someone from among the crown suddenly bellowed in his thundering voice, "So what about the big beard? You created a lot of trouble just for a joke?"


    Wei Xiaobao and Ming Zhu were shocked; they turned their heads toward that man. They saw a tall and sturdy man; standing among the other military officers, he was still half a head taller. There was an angry look on his entire face, his thick big beard looked as if they were standing up from the roots. Wei Xiaobao was startled, but then he delightedly said, "That''s right, that''s right, it''s precisely laoxiong [ol'' big brother] that I wanted to see."


    The big beard angrily said, "Last time you came to Tianjin, I have offended you. I knew early on that you would retaliate to vent your anger. Humph, I have not committed any crime; if you want to lodge an accusation against me, I am afraid it won''t be easy."


    "What''s your name?" Ming Zhu rebuked him, "Why are you this rude in front of your superior?"


    The big beard had just arrived at the Ministry of War''s yamen and paid his respect to Ming Zhu, hence he knew that Ming Zhu was his big boss; therefore, he did not dare to recklessly contradict him. Immediately he bowed down and said, "Reporting to Daren: lowly officer is Tianjin Fujiang Zhao Liangdong."


    Ming Zhu said, "This is Wei Dutong, whose nobility is revered; he is generous and is a good friend of our ministry. How did you offend him? Quickly step forward and admit your guilt."


    Zhao Liangdong struggled hard to suppress his anger; furiously he cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao, thinking, "This playboy''s smell of mother''s milk has not yet dried, why would I want to admit my guilt to you?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zhao Dage, please don''t blame me. It was Xiongdi who offended you, Xiongdi is the one who should admit my guilt to you." Turning around, he addressed the group of military officers, "Xiongdi has something important I need to discuss with Zhao Fujiang, but momentarily I could not remember his honored surname and great given name, thereupon the Ministry of War Daren invited all of you gentlemen to come to Beijing, tiring everybody in an all-night journey. In actuality I feel very bad." While saying that he repeatedly cupped his fist and bowed.


    The crowd of military officers hastily returned the propriety. Seeing his modesty, which was entirely beyond his imagination, the anger in Zhao Liangdong''s heart vanished immediately; he said to Wei Xiaobao, "Xiaojiang [lowly general] apologize," and bowed with cupped fist.


    Wei Xiaobao returned his salute and said with a laugh, "No need to be polite." Turning toward Ming Zhu, he said, "Daren, would you honor me with your presence? Please come inside and sit, Xiongdi wants to propose a toast to express my gratitude. Friends of Tianjin Guard Regiment, please also come in." Ming Zhu had a mind to befriend Wei Xiaobao, hence he happily complied.


    Wei Xiaobao prepared a grand banquet; he asked Ming Zhu to sit on the seat of honor [lit. ''head seat''], and invited Zhao Liangdong to sit on the second seat, while he himself accompanied on the host position. The rest of Tianjin military officers sat on three separate tables. The Count Mansion banquet was extremely sumptuous, the wine made three rounds, the performers put on a play in front of the banquet tables. Among the military officers from Tianjin who went to the Capital this time, some were no more than low-ranking officers; it was only due to their big beard that they unexpectedly were able to drink wine and watch a play together with Ministry of War Shangshu and Bojue Daren [Lord Count] in the Count Mansion. It was indeed a chance in a lifetime that even in their dreams they did not dare to expect.


    Although Zhao Liangdong was temperamental and obstinate, he was a careful man; seeing Wei Xiaobao did not mention anything about what he wanted to discuss during the banquet, he did not ask. He only listened to Wei Xiaobao recounting strange manners and different customs of Luocha Country. He thought, "Little child is talking nonsense, how can there be any man and woman hugging and jumping around in public? How can there be such shameless matter in the world?"


    After drinking several cups of wine and watching a round of play, Ming Zhu stood up to take his leave. Wei Xiaobao sent him off to the main gate, and then he returned to the main hall to accompany the military officers until the play was finished and they had drunk and ate to their hearts'' content, before he invited Zhao Liangdong to the inside study room to speak in detail.


    Noticing that the bookshelf was full of books, Zhao Liangdong could not help but feeling deep veneration toward Wei Xiaobao, "Although this child is young, he is actually very well-learned; he must be a lot wiser than us, crude people."


    Seeing his eyes were on the books, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zhao Dage, let me be honest with you: these books are here to keep up appearances only. The number of characters that Xiongdi knows, added together is less than ten. My own name ''Wei Xiaobao'', three characters, if they are put together, I always recognize them; but put them apart, there''s no guarantee I would know them. Apart from those characters, I have no choice but to watch these damn books helplessly."


    Zhao Liangdong burst into loud laughter; he relaxed considerably, thinking that this young commander was actually very frank, he did not put on airs. "Wei Daren," he said, "Lowly officer has offended you previously, please don''t take any offense."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "What offense? There is no harm in you and I become brothers. You are older, I call you Zhao Dage, you call me Wei Xiongdi."


    Zhao Liangdong hastily stood up and bowed with cupped fist. "Dutong Daren must not speak such words," he said, "Xiaoren is too undeserving."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Please sit down, please sit down," he said, "I just have good luck, I happened to accomplish some matters which satisfied His Majesty and made him happy; you still think I really have some dog fart skill? I became this high-ranking official, honestly I am very ashamed. How could I be like Zhao Dage, who gain merit by hard work, one saber one spear at a time, completely depending on your real skill to achieve it."


    Zhao Liangdong was very pleased to hear him. "Wei Daren," he said, "I am a coarse man, whatever it is that you want, do not hesitate to instruct me. As long as Xiaojiang can do it, I will definitely stake my life in doing it for you. Even if it is impossible for me to achieve it, I will still stake my life in doing it."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "I don''t have anything important," he said, "It''s just that last time at the Tianjin Guard Regiment I saw Zhao Dage, I noticed your grand appearance, a model of a man of talent. I was the imperial envoy minister, everybody else was patting my behind, only Zhao Dage was unwilling to sell your integrity."


    Zhao Liangdong looked rather awkward, he said, "Xiaojiang is an uncouth military man, I am not good in flattering my superiors; it was not that I deliberately wanted to be rude to the imperial envoy minister."


    "I did not mind at all," Wei Xiaobao said, "Otherwise, I would not ask you to come here. I have a logical explanation: those without any skills will have no choice but to rely of flattery to be promoted and gain wealth; those who are unwilling to flatter must be people with real skill."


    Zhao Liangdong delightedly said, "Indeed Wei Daren''s word is extremely refreshing. Xiaojiang does not have any skill, but when I hear people tooting their horn and patting the horse''s butt, I would become angry, and thus offended my superior and had a row with my colleague. The reason I cannot win a promotion, is precisely due to this stubbornness [orig. ''ox temperament'']."


    "You are not willing to flatter, you must have skills," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Zhao Liangdong''s jaw dropped; he did not know what to say, he only thought, ''my father and mother who gave birth to me did not know me as well as Wei Daren.''


    Wei Xiaobao ordered another banquet in his study room; the two of them sat face-to-face, drinking and chatting. Zhao Liangdong told him about his lot in life; he was a native of Shaanxi, started his career as a leader of a squad of five soldiers, he advanced bravely in battles, amassing merit and gained promotion until he reached the rank of Fujiang. Hearing he was adept in fighting battles, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he mused, "I really did not misread this man." Thereupon he asked him about how to attack the enemy on a mountaintop.


    Zhao Liangdong did not read any military book, but he was battle trained, his experience was extremely vast; as soon as he heard Wei Xiaobao''s question, he thought his skill was being tested. Like an unceasing torrent he immediately talked with great gusto; he took down the four books and five classics from the bookshelf, and spread it around on table, using the books to model mountain peak, valley, river, and pathways. He explained where to set up ambush, where to feign an attack, where to intercept the enemy, where to assault; one by one he explained in great detail.


    What he explained was a battle strategy where presumably both sides have equal strength. Wei Xiaobao asked, "If the enemy only has one thousand men, and we have five thousand troops and horses, how do we attack to guarantee victory?"


    "There is no such thing as guaranteed victory," Zhao Liangdong replied, "But our military strength is several times bigger than the enemy''s; if it were Xiaojiang who is leading the troops, if we lost, how could we consider ourselves human beings? We simply must capture the enemy alive, don''t let even one escape our net; only then will it be great."


    Wei Xiaobao ordered his servant to get several thousand-wen worth of copper coins, which he used as troops and horses. Zhao Liangdong thus spread it out to make battle formation. Wei Xiaobao memorized everything he said. That night he had Zhao Liangdong stayed in his Mansion for the night.


    The next day he saw Kangxi, he imitated Zhao Liangdong by spreading the formation around the Upper Study Room. He did not dare to recklessly move the Emperor''s books, as long as he could roughly capture the scope, it would be good enough.


    Kangxi pondered for half a day. "Who taught you this strategy?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao did not conceal the truth, he told Kangxi about Zhao Liangdong. Hearing that Ming Zhu summoned twenty some big bearded military officers to travel overnight from Tianjin to Beijing just to let Wei Xiaobao select one, Kangxi could not help but burst out in loud laughter. "How did you know Zhao Liangdong has skill?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to say that it was because this big beard was unwilling to flatter. He himself was the ''big king'' of bootlicking; naturally he could not let the Emperor know this trade secret. Thereupon he said, "Last time Your Majesty sent your servant to Tianjin, I noticed that this big beard performed the military drill very well. I thought that the day will come that we must deal with Wu Sangui''s troops movement, this big beard is a very good talent."


    Kangxi nodded and said, "You have ''how to deal with Wu Sangui'' constantly in your mind; that is very good. Those old fellows in the imperial court, humph, they have ''how to curry favor with Wu Sangui'' constantly in their minds, how to get him to bribe them. That Zhao Liangdong is currently a Fujiang, isn''t he? When you return, promise him that you will do your best to ensure that he will get good recommendation for promotion. I will especially issue an imperial edict to promote him to Zongbing, let him owe you, so that in the future he will help you in your mission with all his heart."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted, "Your Majesty is very considerate toward your subjects, you are very meticulous."


    Returning to his Count Mansion, he told Zhao Liangdong about the promotion. Sure enough, a few days later the Ministry of War issued a statement, promoting Zhao Liangdong to be a Zongbing, assigned to serve under Dutong Wei Xiaobao. Zhao Liangdong was deeply grateful, thinking that following this young boss, even without flattery he could enjoy rapid promotion; indeed it was the number one great pleasure of one''s life.


    In recent days the high-ranking ministers of the imperial court were waiting for the news whether the three border defenses accepted the imperial order of the removing of the defenses, or they would rise in rebellion; in their hearts they were quite anxious.


    One day Wei Xiaobao was chatting with Zhao Liangdong in his mansion when someone came to ask for an audience; the Prince Consort Wu Yingxiong invited him to his mansion for little drink and refreshments. The messenger was Wu Yingxiong''s personal attendant; he said, "Prince Consort has not seen Wei Daren for a long time, he is very concerned; he is asking Wei Daren for the honor of your presence. Prince Consort said that the ''thank-the-matchmaker'' wine has not been drunk by you, Senior."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This Fuma Ye [emperor''s son-in-law] has a name but no reality, you want to thank what matchmaker? However, speaking about this word ''thank you'', you guys surnamed Wu cannot simply settle your matter with me over a cup of wine. There is no harm in going, here''s a chance to get rich easily, why not?" Therefore, taking Zhao Liangdong along with his personal guards from the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, he went to the Prince Consort''s mansion.


    After Wu Yingxiong got married with Princess Jianning, he was given a residence in Beijing, which was different from the temporary residence he used to stay when he visited Beijing in the past. Leading several military officers, Wu Yingxiong went out the main gate to greet him. "Wei Daren," he said, "We are brothers, today we are going to chat, there is no other guest. I only have these several friends who have just arrived from Yunnan, I invited them over to accompany Zhao Zongbing drinking wine."


    "Zhang Dage," Wei Xiaobao asked Zhang Yong, "Last time Xiongdi went to Yunnan, how come I did not see the three of you?"


    Zhang Yong replied, "At that time Wangye happened to send Xiaojiang, three people, to go out on border patrol, we could not be in Kunming to wait upon Wei Daren."


    "Ay, what Daren, Xiaojiang?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s just be straightforward; I call you Zhang Dage, you call me Wei Xiongdi. We are brothers who are happy to meet by chance!"


    Zhang Yong laughed and said, "If Wei Daren say it that way, how can we dare not to do it?"


    They were chatting and laughing as they went into the reception hall. As soon as they were seated, the servants appeared to serve them tea. Another servant came to Wu Yingxiong and said, "Princess is asking the Prince Consort to accompany Wei Daren to come in for a visit."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping madly, he thought, "Maybe I should not see this Princess." He recalled the time she and he together during their journey to Yunnan, along the way ''the wind and the light were charming and gentle'', just like newly married couple; he could not stop his blood from boiling and bubbling up inside him, his face turned deep red.


    Wu Yingxiong laughed and said, "Princess often says that our marriage, predestined by fate was brought together by Wei Daren; we simply must present the ''thank-the-matchmaker'' cup of wine to you." Finished speaking he stood up and said to Zhang Yong and the others with a laugh, "Gentlemen, please sit and relax here." Accompanied by Wei Xiaobao, he went into the inner hall.


    Passing through two halls, they arrived at the wing. Wu Yingxiong held his hand against the door, with serious expression on his face, he said, "Wei Daren, I have a big favor I must ask for your help."


    Wei Xiaobao''s face turned red again; he thought, "You were castrated by the Princess, you can''t be a husband, do you want me to do you this big favor?" He stammered, "This �� this �� this is rather improper."


    Wu Yingxiong was taken aback, "If not for Wei Daren lending your hand for the sake of loyalty, helping us in this dire distress, who else has this kind of ability?"


    Wei Xiaobao looked even more embarrassed; he thought, "The Princess must have forced him to ask me; otherwise, why would she insist on me and not allow others to help?"


    Looking at Wei Xiaobao''s strange expression, Wu Yingxiong thought he was unwilling to lend his hand. "This matter," he said, "I understand it is very difficult to do. But if we succeed, Fu Wang [father king] and Xiongdi will never forget Wei Daren''s favor."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Why would even Wu Sangui be grateful to me?" Ah, right, Wu Sangui does not have any grandson, he wants me to help him get one. But whether I can get him a grandson or not, I have no guarantee." He said, "Fuma Ye, I cannot guarantee anything. Wangye and you want to thank me in advance, if I fail, won''t I let you down?"


    "Not a big deal, not a big deal," Wu Yingxiong said, "As long as Wei Daren is doing everything in your power, we, father and son, will be grateful just the same. Even the Princess will also be deeply grateful."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You want me to really put out my energy for you, that is for sure." And then he continued in serious voice, "Regardless of success or failure, I will definitely guard my mouth like a closed bottle; Wangye and Prince Consort can set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease."


    "Naturally," Wu Yingxiong replied, "Who would dare to leak the secret? I must ask for Wei Daren''s kind effort, the quicker the better."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Can''t we just do it now?" Suddenly he remembered something, "Aiyo, it''s not right! I am helping him to get a son is not a big deal, but he, father and son, are going to rebel, inevitably they will be executed unto the third generation. Won''t that mean including my son''s head will be chopped down?" But then he had another thought, "The young Emperor can''t possibly kill Princess Jianning. To the Princess'' son he will naturally also open up two sides or three sides of the net."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s expression alternated between gloomy and bright, Wu Yingxiong took a step forward and said in a low voice, "The news of border defense removal has not reached Yunnan yet, Zhang Tidu and the others do not know. If Wei Daren can hurry to see Your Majesty and speak to him to withdraw the order to remove the border defense, we can send a ''600-li urgent message'' to Yunnan, the edict to remove the border defense can still be intercepted and withdrawn."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "You �� you are talking about the border defense removal?" he asked.


    "That''s right," Wu Yingxiong replied, "What other matter at present is more important than the border defense removal? It can be said that toward Wei Daren, His Majesty would see, hear and obey; only if Wei Daren act will we be able to pull back the raging tide."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out I misunderstood completely; it''s really funny." He could not help but roaring in laughter.


    Wu Yingxiong was bewildered. "Why does Wei Daren laugh? Did I say anything wrong?" he asked.


    "No, no," Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "I am sorry, I suddenly remember something funny."


    Wu Yingxiong''s face showed a rather hurtful look; he secretly gnashed his teeth in anger, "Right now I have to bear your savageness, wait till Fu Wang raise up his righteous banner, we will sweep our way to Beijing. You, this boy will be captured; it will be a wonder if I don''t hack you into pieces."


    "Fuma Ye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Early in the morning tomorrow, I am going to kowtow to His Majesty, I will tell him that Prince Consort Wu is His Majesty''s younger sister''s husband, Ping Xi Wang is His Majesty''s honorable relative; even if he will no longer confer a title or official position, he must not take away his honorable relative''s title of nobility, since doing that will wrong the Princess."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Yingxiong happily said, "Wei Daren''s brain moves so fast, in just a short while you are able to come up with great argument; please do as you suggested. Let us see the Princess now."


    He led Wei Xiaobao to the Princess'' door and asked for an audience. From the Princess'' room a palace maid came out, inviting Wei Xiaobao to wait in the reception pavilion at the side of the room. Not too long afterwards the Princess came out to the pavilion. "Xiao Guizi," she sternly said, "You did not see me for such a long time; you want to die? Get lost!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and paid his respect; he said with a laugh, "Princess, may you have ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold. Xiao Guizi is thinking about Princess daily, it''s just that His Majesty sent me out on a mission all the way to Luocha Country; I just got back a few days ago."


    Princess'' eyes turned red. "You are thinking about me daily?" she said, "Looking at your craftiness, I �� I ��" speaking to here, her tears flowed down like rain.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed the Princess'' jade countenance was gloomy, her face looked thin and pallid, presumably after she got married to Wu Yingxiong she was depressed. He thought, "This fellow Wu Yingxiong is a eunuch; married to a eunuch, naturally she is not happy." Seeing the Princess'' situation, and remembering the feeling of the former days, he could not help but feeling tenderness toward her. He said, "Princess misses His Majesty, His Majesty also misses the Princess; in a few days, he is going to invite Princess into the Palace to chat about the sentiment of the brother and sister." He made up a fake imperial decree; Kangxi had never said anything about the Princess.


    For the last several months Princess Jianning had lived in the Prince Consort Mansion, she was extremely bored. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, she was greatly delighted. "When?" she eagerly asked, "Tell Huangdi Gege [big brother Emperor], tomorrow I am going to see him."


    "That''s great!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Prince Consort has something he wanted me to present to His Majesty tomorrow, I''ll present another memorial to ask His Majesty to receive Princess into the Palace."


    Wu Yingxiong was also very happy, "With the Princess helping to talk, His Majesty can''t possibly refuse even more," he said.


    The Princess pouted and said, "Humph, I only talk about daily life of a family with Huangdi Gege, I won''t help you talk about any national affair."


    Wu Yingxiong laughed with her, "Very well," he said, "Whatever you love to talk, just talk about that."


    The Princess rose up slowly, "Xiao Guizi," she said, "I haven''t seen you for such a long time, you have grown tall and big. I heard in Luocha Country you have a very good demon miss friend; is that true?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How can there be such matter?" Suddenly ''slap!'' his face was burning, as he took the Princess'' slap on his face. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out and jumped.


    The Princess laughed and said, "You speak dishonest words endlessly, you dare to lie to me?" Raising her hand, she wanted to slap him again. Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways to evade, her palm did not strrike him. The Princess said to Wu Yingxiong, "I have something I''d like to question Xiao Guizi, I don''t want you to be here to hear it."


    Wu Yingxiong smiled and said, "Fine, I''ll accompany the military officers outside drinking wine." He thought that if Wei Xiaobao was taking a beating and he could only look helplessly, it would not be good for his ''face''; thereupon he withdrew from the reception pavilion.


    The Princess reached out to twist Wei Xiaobao''s ear. "Dead little demon," she shouted, "You have forgotten me." While saying that, she twisted his ear really hard.


    Wei Xiaobao yelped in pain. "No, I have not!" he busily said, "Haven''t I come to see you?"


    The Princess'' foot flew up and kicked his lower abdomen. "You have no conscience," she cursed, "See if I don''t cut you to pieces. If I did not call you to come, even after three years you won''t possibly come to see me."


    Seeing there was no one else in the hall, Wei Xiaobao reached out to embrace her; he said in a low voice, "Don''t punch and kick, tomorrow you and I can chat in the Palace."


    The Princess blushed, "Chatting what?" she asked, "Chatting about you, this little demon!" She reached out toward his forehead and knocked him that he grew a bump the size of a chestnut.


    Wei Xiaobao wrapped his arms around her tightly, he said, "I use the move ''A pair of dragons fighting over a pearl''!" The Princess spat at him and struggled hard to free herself. Wei Xiaobao said, "If we are being intimate in here, I am afraid Fuma Ye will be suspicious. Tomorrow I''ll see you in the Palace."


    The Princess'' cheeks blushed, "What does he suspect?" she said. Her coquettish glances as smooth as silk as she looked at him with the corner of her eyes. With a smile that did not look like a smile she said, "Little demon, get out of here!"


    Book Note: During the Jin Dynasty, the pacifying of barbarian region in the present day Qujing, Yunnan area, the classical quotation ''Imperial Edict of Sichuan Document'' was referring to Han Wudi [Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (141-87 BC)], when he wanted to communicate with the barbarian in southwest China, he sent Sima Xiangru to visit Bashu [i.e. Sichuan] first to announce the edict, telling the officers and people of southwest region to comply with the imperial decree.

 Chapter - 38 (38)

    Criss-crossing the field a herd of horses flew across the road, domineering kite streaks across the sky


    All smiles Wei Xiaobao returned to the main hall, he saw Wu Yingxiong was chatting with the four generals. Zhao Liangdong and Wang Jinbao were involved in some heated argument on the side; both men were flushed with anger, they talked with raised voice. When they saw Wei Xiaobao, they both stopped. Wei Xiaobao laughed and asked, "What are the two of you arguing about? Can you tell it to me?"


    Zhang Yong replied, "We are talking about horses. Wang Fujiang [deputy general] has an original insight in horses, the horses that he picked were always good colts. Just now everybody was talking about the beast of burden, Wang Fujiang praised Yunnan horses as very good. Zhao Zongbing [regional commander] did not believe him, he says that Sichuan horses, Yunnan horses have short legs, they can''t run fast. But Wang Fujiang says that Sichuan horses, Yunnan horses have enduring power, within ten li, they are not any better than other horses, but after running for twenty, thirty li, the more they run, the more they have vigor."


    "Is that so?" Wei Xiaobao said, "Xiongdi has several mounts, would Wang Fujiang please take a look?" He ordered his personal guard to go back to his mansion to fetch several good horses from the stable and bring them here.


    Wu Yingxiong said, "Wei Dutong''s mount was given by Prince Kang, a famous Ferghana [orig. Dayuan, Central Asia] colt, called Yu Hua Cong [Jade Flower Buckskin Horse]; how can our Yunnan horses match this horse?"


    Wang Jinbao said, "Wei Daren''s horse is naturally a very good horse. Dayuan produces good horses, lowly officer has heard about it. When lowly officer was in Gansu and Shaanxi, I have ridden many famous Ferghana colts. In short distance sprint, they can run very fast, no other horses can compare to them."


    "How about long distance race?" Zhao Liangdong asked, "Are you saying that Ferghana horse cannot beat Yunnan horse?


    "Originally, Yunnan horse are not good at all," Wang Jinbao replied, "But after surviving hardship and hard work, they have enduring strength. These past few years lowly officer has raised horses in northern Yunnan, I mated Sichuan horses with Yunnan horses, and contrary to expectation, the new species is not bad."


    "Laoxiong," Zhao Liangdong said, "You are an amateur. Horses must be purebred; the more pure they are bred, the better the result. I have never heard mixed stallions are better than the purebred."


    Wang Jinbao''s face was bulging red, "Zhao Zongbing," he said, "I am not saying that all mixed-bred horse are good. There are different uses of horse; some are use to break through enemy lines, some are use to pull heavy military load. Even battle horses are greatly different from each other, some are hundred-li horses, some are thousand-li horses, some are long distance horse, some short distance; they are completely different."


    "Humph," Zhao Liangdong said, "Surprisingly some people think mixed breed are better."


    Wang Jinbao was furious; he suddenly stood up and shouted, "Who are you calling mixed breed? What a foul-mouthed remark!"


    Zhao Liangdong laughed coldly and said, "I was talking about horses, I am not talking about you. Whose breed is not pure, is a thief lacking in conscience; there is no need to get angry without any reason."


    Wang Jinbao was even more furious. "This is the Prince Consort Mansion," he said, "Otherwise, humph, humph!"


    "Humph, humph what?" Zhao Liangdong replied, "You want to fight with me?"


    Zhang Yong intervened, "Gentlemen, you have just met each other for the first time; why would you fight over beast of burden? Come, come, come, let me toast both of you a cup, everybody must not fight." He was a Tidu, his official rank was higher than Zhao Liangdong and Wang Jinbao. The two of them did not dare not to give him some face, they did not have any choice but to drink the wine.


    The two of them ''I stare at you, you stare at me''; if not for the fact that their superiors were present, these two men with fiery temper would definitely fight on the spot.


    Shortly after, Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards returned from his mansion, with the stable hand led the horses. Everybody went to the stable at the back of the mansion to look at the horses. Wang Jinbao indeed understood horses, with just a quick look he was able to tell good aspects and weak points of each horse; he was even able to guess each horse''s nature and temperament with about seventy, eighty percent accuracy. The Wei Mansion''s stable hands were very impressed; they all praised Deputy General Wang''s keen insight.


    Finally they looked at Wei Xiaobao''s mount, the Jade Flower Buckskin. This horse''s legs were long and fat, it''s appearance was like divine steed, its entire body was snow white with rouge spots everywhere, its coat was smooth and shiny, in short, it was a beautiful horse; everybody cheered incessantly. Wang Jinbao, however, showed neither approval nor disapproval. After looking for a long time, he said, "This horse''s intrinsic quality is superb, it''s a pity that it was raised incorrectly."


    "How was it raised incorrectly?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Please advise."


    Wang Jinbao said, "Wei Daren''s horse can be counted as a very good colt that is seldom found in the world. This kind of good horse has to be sprinted a dozen li or so, and let it canter several dozen of li every day; the more it is tempered the better. However, Wei Daren treasured it too much, he was unwilling to ride it too much. This beast has passed too many of comfortable days, eaten too much of good refined grain, it is seldom ridden for more than two trips a year. Ay, what a pity, what a pity; just like the children of rich and noble families, it is too spoiled."


    When Wu Yingxiong heard this, his countenance changed slightly; he uttered a soft ''humph''. Wei Xiaobao noticed that, and knew that Wang Jinbao''s last few sentences had offended Wu Yingxiong. He thought, "There is no harm in my seizing this chance to sow dissension, let them, Yunnan''s commanders, not get along well with each other." Thereupon he said, "I am afraid Wang Fujiang is only half right; children on rich and noble families can also have enormous skill. Take Prince Consort for example, he is your Wangye''s Heir Apparent, since childhood he holds golden bowl to eat rice, and jade bowl to drink his soup, yet he is not the least bit spoiled."


    With a bulging red face Wang Jinbao busily said, "Yes, yes. Wangye''s Heir Apparent is naturally not the same. Lowly officer was not talking about Prince Consort."


    With a cold laugh Zhao Liangdong said, "In your heart, I am afraid there is no difference."


    "Zhao Zongbing," Wang Jinbao angrily said, "Why do you always make life difficult for Xiongdi? Xiongdi did not offend you at all."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, don''t harm the friendship over a small matter. As military officers, some people often look down on young high-ranking minister of the imperial court; I have seen it."


    Wang Jinbao said, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: lowly officer does not dare to look down on you."


    "But you look down on the Prince Consort," Zhao Liangdong said.


    "I did not!" Wang Jinbao almost shouted.


    "Wang Fujiang," Wei Xiaobao said, "Too bad that the good horses you raised are all in Yunnan, otherwise you might be able to let us increase our knowledge."


    Wang Jinbao said, "The horses that I raised �� yes, yes, I do not dare."


    Wei Xiaobao felt a bit strange, "Why did he called out, ''yes, yes, I do not dare''?" he mused.


    Zhao Liangdong said, "In any case, since Wang Fujiang''s good horses are in Yunnan, the dead cannot testify. Wei Dutong, ourside the Pass, Xiaojiang has also raised several hundred good horses, each one is capable of running three thousand li during the day, running two thousand li at night. It''s a pity that they all far away, I can''t have Dutong Daren take a look at them." Everybody burst into loud laughter; they knew he was intentionally ridiculing Wang Jinbao.


    Wang Jinbao was so angry that his face turned pale; pointing to the stable on his left, he said in a loud voice, "The several dozen of horses over there are precisely the one I brought from Yunnan this time. Zhao Zongbing, you may select ten horses of yours, and randomly pick ten of mine; have the horses compete in leg strength. We''ll see who wins who loses."


    Zhao Liangdong saw the Yunnan horses are thin and small, their coat bald, their skin dry, altogether there were fifty, sixty horses; he thought, "What''s so amazing about your beggar horses?" He said, "Indeed you have a lot of horses, but they are a bit ''five tuberculosis seven wounded''. I guarantee that if I randomly pull several horses from Wei Dutong''s Mansion, they will surpass Wang Fujiang''s darling treasures that you personally raised."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We all are arguing in vain. Prince Consort, let us each pick ten horses, we''ll have a race. Both sides place a bet."


    Wu Yingxiong said, "How can our Yunnan''s little horse compete against Wei Dutong''s Ferghana horse? No need to compete, of course we will lose."


    Wei Xiaobao noticed Wang Jinbao was fuming; his expression shows that he clearly did not accept defeat. Wei Xiaobao said, "Prince Consort admits defeat, but Wang Fujiang does not concede. How about this: I''ll get ten thousand taels of silver, Prince Consort also get ten thousand taels of silver, in a moment we all go outside the city to have a horse race. Whoever wins six races, the rest do not have to race. What do you say?"


    Wu Yingxiong was about to decline again, suddenly he had another thought, "This boy is young and eager to win, let me deliberately lose ten thousand taels to him and let him be happy." Thereupon he laughed and said, "Very well, let''s do it. Wei Daren, if you lose, you must not be angry."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Winning must be in style, losing must be graceful; where''s the logic in getting angry when losing?" As he took a glance, he caught Wang Jinbao''s eyes flickered with delight; he thought, "Aiyo, looking at this Wang Fujiang''s expression, he seems to be very sure of victory; could it be that these sickly looking horses really have good endurance? Not good, not good, I must resort to trickery." In all his life, he loved to cheat at gambling; seeing that in this horse race he might not necessarily win, he immediately cooked up some plan. He thought, "If we have the race today, there won''t be enough time to rig up a scam." Thereupon he said, "Since we are going to make a bet, I must carefully select the ten horses; how about if we have the race tomorrow?"


    Wu Yingxiong had made up his mind not to go all-out, in ten races, he decided to let Wei Xiaobao win eight or nine. Today or tomorrow did not make any difference to him; thereupon he nodded his approval immediately. Wei Xiaobao continued drinking wine and watching the opera in the Prince Consort Mansion, he no longer said anything about the race. He invited Wu Yingxiong, along with Zhang Yong, Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike, three people to come over to his own mansion to have some drink that evening. Wu Yingxiong happily accepted the invitation. They went to Wei Xiaobao''s Count Mansion together.


    After they were seated and were offered some light refreshment and tea, Wei Xiaobao excused himself, "Please sit down and enjoy yourselves, Xiongdi needs to make some arrangement."


    Wu Yingxiong laughed and said, "We are family, no need to be polite."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Honored guests grace me with their presence, I can''t be too shabby and crude in my hospitality."


    Going to the inner hall, he instructed his manager to prepare a feast and theatrical troupe; and then he summoned his mansion''s head stable hand, gave him three hundred taels of silver and said, "My Yu Hua Cong and other horses are still at Prince Consort''s Mansion; go and fetch them back. While you are at it, invite the Prince Consort''s stable hands for a drink; have them drink the damn wine until they are drunk rotten." The head stable hand complied.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Give the horses something, make them weary and their legs soft that they won''t have any strength to run. Just don''t poison them dead."


    The head stable hand said, "Whatever it is that Jueye wants, Xiaoren will strive my hardest to do it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I guess it''s not a big deal to tell you: Prince Consort has a batch of horses just arrived from Yunnan. They boast that the horses'' endurance strength is superb. Tomorrow they are going to have a race with us. We cannot let them win over us, can we?"


    The head stable hand understood immediately; he laughed and said, "Jueye wants Xiaoren to concoct something and have Prince Consort''s horses eat it, so that during the horse race tomorrow we will win?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed. "Correct," he said, "You are very smart. In the horse race tomorrow, we have a bet. If we win, I''ll divide the gold and you will get your share. Do this quietly, you must never let Prince Consort Mansion''s stable hands know. Take this three hundred taels of silver, give a dinner party, take them to a drink, to gamble, to visit prostitute, damn it, just do whatever you need to do, make them fall into dark sky and black earth before you drug the horses."


    The head stable hand said, "Jueye set your heart at ease, I won''t make mistake. Xiaoren will go buy several dozen catties of croton seed


    [63], mixed them inside the pea grain, and feed it to Wu Mansion''s horses, let those horses defecate all night long. In the race tomorrow, even a turtle will outrun them."


    Wei Xiaobao immediately went out to accompany Wu Yingxiong and the others drinking wine. He was afraid when Wu Yingxiong and the others came back, Wang Jinbao would go see the horses and would be able to see through their scheme; hence he attentively served them and constantly urging them to drink more wine. Zhao Liangdong''s drinking capacity was extremely great, all along he had a drinking competition against Wang Jinbao. Very late that night, other than Wei Xiaobao and Wu Yingxiong, the four military commanders were dead drunk.


    After the morning audience the next morning, Wei Xiaobao went to the Palace to wait upon the Emperor. Kangxi was smiling from ear to ear, he was in a very good mood. "Xiao Guizi," he said, "I have good news I want to share with you: Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong have accepted the imperial decree of border defense removal. In the coming days they are going to leave for the Capital."


    "Congratulations Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Shang and Geng, two border defenses accepted the imperial decree, that old fellow Wu Sangui''s one palm cannot clap hand ��"


    Kangxi laughed, "It''s hard to clap with only one hand," he corrected.


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "It''s hard to clap with only one hand. We''ll beat him that he will be in a sorry state."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "What if he also accepted the imperial decree of border defense removal?"


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback, "That would be great," he said, "If he came to Beijing, Your Majesty wanted to roll him in your palm and make him round, he would not dare to be flat; Your Majesty wanted to knead him flat, no matter what he would not dare to be round."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You know this logic too?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That time, he would be like ''dragon


    [64] stranded on the sandy beach'', this old fellow would be like ''tiger fell onto level ground ��''" Speaking to this point, he stuck out his tongue and knocked his own forehead trying to remember the rest.


    Kangxi roared in laughter; he said, "It is called ''tiger fell onto flat land, you can take unfair advantage of it''. At that time, not only he would not dare to offend me, he would not even dare to offend you."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "That will be extremely amusing."


    Kangxi said, "I have finished the imperial order to build Martyr Shrine in Yangzhou, I had a Hanlin Academy scholar wrote it. Bring it to Yangzhou, and have it engraved on a vertical stone tablet. Pick an auspicious day and make your journey."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If all three border defenses accepted the imperial order, do we still need to build the Martyr Shrine?"


    "We don''t know whether Wu Sangui will accept or not," Kangxi said, "Besides, commending martyrs is a good deed; even if Wu Sangui did not revolt, we still need to do it."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. When chatting, he mentioned Princess Jianning was asking to have an audience with the Emperor. Kangxi nodded, he ordered the court eunuch serving him to immediately announce to Princess Jianning that her request had been granted.


    Kangxi''s mood was really good; he asked in details about Luocha Country''s natural condition and social customs, as well as about the people there. He also wanted to know how the gunmen revolted, how Princess Sophia suppressed the rebellion, how the Senior and Junior Tsars could co-exist. After talking for a while, the Princess arrived at the Upper Study Room.


    As soon as they saw each other, the Princess threw herself to Kangxi''s feet, she hugs his legs and bawled. "Huangdi Gege," she said, "From now on I want to accompany you in the Palace, I don''t want to go back again."


    Kangxi stroked her hair. "What is it?" he asked, "Prince Consort bullies you?"


    The Princess cried; she said, "He won''t dare. He �� he ��" and broke into crying again.


    Kangxi said in his heart, "You castrated him, you made him unable to be your husband. You did it yourself and you suffer the consequence." He consoled her for a moment, and then said, "Alright, alright, don''t cry. You can accompany me for a meal."


    The Emperor ate his meals not on a fixed schedule; whenever he was in the mood, the meal must be served at any time. At once the eunuchs from the imperial kitchen served the meals, while Wei Xiaobao waited upon him on the side. Although the Emperor extremely doted on him, he simply cannot accompany the Emperor eating and drinking. Kangxi bestowed on him a dozen or more big bowls of dishes, which he ordered the eunuchs to deliver the dishes to his mansion, to be eaten later when he came back home.


    After drinking several cups of wine, the Princess'' face blushed, her eyes watery as she cast glance after glance toward Wei Xiaobao. In the Emperor''s presence Wei Xiaobao did not dare to show the slightest bit of rude behavior, all along he did not meet the Princess'' eyes, while his heart was thumping wildly. "If after drinking the Princess reveal the secret and the Emperor finds out," he mused, "This head of mine won''t be too secure." He escorted the Princess on imperial order to Yunnan to complete her marriage, yet on the journey he embezzled the goods by having illicit relationship with the Princess; the criminal charge against him was indeed not small. In his heart he started to regret, he really should not have mentioned to the Emperor that the Princess was seeking for an audience.


    The Princess suddenly said, "Xiao Guizi, get me some rice." While saying that, she held the empty bowl in front of his face.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You have a good appetite."


    "To be able to see Huangdi Gege, I can eat my rice," the Princess replied.


    Wei Xiaobao filled the bowl with rice, and then holding it with both hands, he respectfully put the bowl on the table in front of the Princess. Princess'' left hand dropped down, she heavily twisted his thigh. It was painful, but Wei Xiaobao did not dare to make any noise, he did not even dare to reduce the smile on his face for half a part; only inevitably his smile became awkward, his overall expression became rather strange. "Dead wh0re," he cursed in his heart, "Why is it that each time you see me you always twist me?"


    The cursing in his heart has not finished, his head was suddenly jerked backward; the Princess had reached to his back and forcefully pulled his braid.


    This time Kangxi saw it; he smiled and said, "Princess is married now, yet you are still this naughty."


    The Princess pointed at Wei Xiaobao and said with a laugh, "It''s he, it''s he ��" Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious, he wondered what it was that the Princess was about to say. Luckily the Princess only broke into giggles. She said, "Huangdi Gege, your reputation is getting better and better. I did not know it when I was still in the Palace, but during the round trip to and back from Yunnan, I heard the common people all say that with you as the Emperor, the days of the common people throughout the world are really good. Even this boy," speaking to here, she cast Wei Xiaobao a malicious look, and then continued, "His official position was rising higher and higher. Only your little sister is actually getting more and more bad luck."


    Kangxi''s mood was very good to begin with, and now Princess Jianning''s compliment was just perfect; he laughed and said, "You are married to a dependable and noble husband. If Wu Yingxiong, father and son, nicely obey the imperial order of border defense removal, the whole world will be at peace. I promise you I will raise his official position."


    The Princess'' small mouth pouted; she said, "You raise Wu Yingxiong, this fellow''s official position or not, it has nothing to do with me. I want you to raise my official position."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "And what official position do you want?"


    The Princess said, "Xiao Guizi said that the Luocha Country Princess became some Queen Regent. You can make me a great marshal, send me to fight foreign country."


    Kangxi burst into loud laughter. "How can women be great marshals?" he said.


    The Princess said, "In the past, Fan Lihua, Yu Taijun, Mu Guiying


    [65], which one did not seize the seal of authority and become the great marshal? Why can they be one, but I can''t? If you say my martial art skill is inadequate, let''s try it." While saying that, she stood up with a giggle.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You did not want to study, just like Xiao Guizi, you both do not have the knowledge, you only know the stories from the opera. In the previous dynasties, there were indeed women who became marshals. Tang Taizong Li Shimin''s meizi [younger sister] Princess Pingyang, helped Tang Taizong pacifying the world. She was a marshal, commanding a division of army called Niangzi Jun [women''s corps]. The mountain pass where her troops were stationed was called Niangzi Guan [women''s Pass], it was very formidable."


    The Princess clapped her hands and said, "That''s it then. Huangdi Gege, as an emperor, you surpass Li Shimin; let me be like Princess Pingyang. Xiao Guizi, what do you want to be? Gao Lishi? Or Wei Zhongxian?


    [66]"


    Kangxi roared in laughter; he shook his head repeatedly and said, "You are speaking nonsense again. Xiao Guizi was a fake eunuch. Besides, Gao Lishi and Wei Zhongxian were both court eunuchs serving under muddleheaded rulers; by saying that, aren''t you scolding me?"


    The Princess laughed and said, "I am sorry Huangdi Gege, you should not be offended; I did not know."


    Thinking about ''Xiao Guizi was a fake eunuch'', she could not refrain herself from casting a glance toward Wei Xiaobao; the thoughts of love surged in her heart. She said, "I should go kowtow to the Empress Dowager."


    Kangxi was startled; he thought, "The fake Empress Dowager has become the real Empress Dowager; your mother has run away from the Palace." He has always loved this younger sister dearly, he could not bear to see her be embarrassed. "These past few days Empress Dowager is not feeling very well," he said, "There is no need to tire her, the Senior. Just go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and kowtow and pay your respect outside."


    The Princess complied. "Huangdi Gege," she said, "I am going to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, and will be back to talk to you again. Xiao Guizi, you come with me."


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to comply. Kangxi signaled him with his eyes, telling him to try to stop the Princess, not to let her see the Empress Dowager. Wei Xiaobao understood his intention; he nodded to signal that he received the Emperor''s order, and at once went to accompany the Princess toward the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered a little eunuch to run ahead to report to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful first. As expected, the Empress Dowager instructed them that she was unwell, hence they did not need to kowtow and pay their respect. The Princess had not seen her mother for quite a long time, she was quite worried. "Empress Dowager is not feeling very well, I simply must take a look," she said, while picking up speed, rushing toward the Empress Dowager''s personal quarter; how could the numerous court eunuchs and palace maids dare to stop her?


    "Your Highness, Your Highness," Wei Xiaobao anxiously called, "Empress Dowager, the Senior, catches cold; she must not be blown by the wind."


    The Princess said, "I will enter slowly, there won''t be the slightest wind." Pushing the bedroom door open, she raised the door curtain, but saw the gauze screen was hanging down, the Empress Dowager was sleeping in the bed, with four palace maids stood by the bed. The Princess said in a low voice, "Empress Dowager, your daughter is here to kowtow to you." While saying that, she went down on her knees and kowtowed several times.


    She heard several groans from the Empress Dowager inside the gauze screen. The Princess walked toward the bedside; she was about to lift the mosquito net, a palace maid said, "Your Highness, Empress Dowager instructed us that nobody is to alarm Empress Dowager."


    The Princess nodded. She opened the net a slit and looked inside. She saw the Empress Dowager was facing inside, she seemed to be in a very deep sleep. The Princess called in low voice, "Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager." The Empress Dowager did not respond at all. The Princess had no choice but to put the screen down and withdrew quietly. Her heart ached; she could not help but broke into crying.


    Seeing she did not discover the truth, it was as if a large rock was removed from Wei Xiaobao''s heart; he persuaded her, "Princess lives in the Capital, you can enter the Palace at any time to pay your respect. Wait until Empress Dowager is well, you can come back to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful."


    The Princess thought his advice was reasonable; she wiped her tears immediately and said, "I wonder how my former dwelling place is, I want to take a look." Finished speaking she turned toward her former bedroom. Wei Xiaobao followed behind her.


    The Princess''s former personal quarter, Jianning Palace was located next to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful; they arrived after only a short walk. After the Princess was married, Jianning Palace was dusted, swept, and looked after by eunuchs and palace maids, just like before.


    The Princess stopped at the bedroom door, she saw Wei Xiaobao was standing outside, giggling; he did not follow her inside. The Princess blushed and said, "Dead eunuch, why aren''t you coming in?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I was a fake eunuch, I can''t come into the Princess'' bedroom."


    The Princess reached out to twist his ear; she shouted, "You don''t come in, I''ll twist your dog ear off." She pulled hard, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to come into the bedroom. The Princess closed the door and bolted it behind her.


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his heart was thumping madly. "Princess," he said in a low voice, "We must not fool around in the Palace, I �� I �� I might lose my head!"


    The Princess'' eyes were watery, as if drops of water were about to fall down; in a seductive voice she said, "Wei Jueye, I am your servant, let me serve you." Reaching out with both arms, she hugged him tightly.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "No, we must not!"


    The Princess said, "Alright, I''ll go tell Huangdi Gege, you coerced me on the journey, you told me to castrate that fellow Wu Yingxiong, and now you are ignoring me." Reaching down to his thigh, she pinched and twisted him really hard.


    It was quite a long time before the two of them emerged from the Princess'' bedroom. The Princess''s face was beaming with joy; she said, "His Majesty ordered you to tell me about the Luocha Country Princess; how come you have not finished telling me yet you already want to leave?"


    "Your servant is extremely tired," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I don''t have the strength to tell you a story."


    The Princess laughed and said, "Next time you have to come again to tell me about how you caught fox-spirit [i.e. enchantress] in Liaodong."


    Wei Xiaobao squinted and cast her a sidelong glance; he said in a low voice, "If your servant talk much longer, I won''t be able to move."


    The Princess giggled; she reached out backhandedly and ''slap!'' she made a mark on his face with her palm. The eunuchs and palace maids at the Jianning Palace were old timers, they knew that the Princess was pampered and was rough; seeing her slapping someone, they all thought, "Princess is married, but her old temperament has not changed a bit. Wei Bojue [Count] is the minister His Majesty most doted on, unexpectedly she still slaps him."


    The two of them returned to the Upper Study Room, she wanted to take her leave. The sky was getting dark. They saw Kangxi was looking at a large map on the desk; he looked deep in thought. The Princess said, "Huangdi Gege, Empress Dowager is unwell, I could not see her. I will be back in a few days to kowtow and pay my respect."


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Next time wait for her to summon you before you come here." With right hand finger pointing to the map, he asked Wei Xiaobao, "You entered Yunnan from Guizhou, but came out from Guangxi; which route is easier to take?" Turned out he was studying Yunnan''s terrain.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Yunnan''s mountains are very high, it does not matter whether we enter from Guizhou or Guangxi, both are very difficult. The majority of the roads cannot be traveled by marching troops. The Princess had to take sedan chair, your servant rode a horse."


    Kangxi nodded. Suddenly he remembered something; he ordered a eunuch, "Summon the officer in charge of the carriage of the Ministry of War." And then he turned toward the Princess and said, "Go back to your mansion, you have been out the whole day, the Prince Consort is waiting for you."


    The Princess pouted and said, "He can''t possibly wait for me." She was thinking of leaving the Palace together with Wei Xiaobao; it would be good if she could only talk to him some more along the way. But hearing the Emperor was summoning an official to discuss national affair, she said, "Huangdi Gege, it is already late, you still worry about national affairs. Even in the past Fu Huang [father emperor] did not work over government affairs as hard as you do."


    Kangxi''s heart ached, remembering his father emperor lived in seclusion on Mount Wutai as a monk; he said, "Fu Huang was bright, wise and farsighted; the matter that he managed to do in one sichen [i.e. two hours], I cannot finish it in three sichen."


    The Princess smiled and said, "I heard people say that Huangdi Gege has heaven-sent wisdom, which is rarely found since the dawn of time. Nobody dares to say that you surpass Fu Huang; however, they say that you are a good Emperor who is seldom seen in China for the last several thousand years."


    The Princess noticed that as Kangxi spoke, he was staring without blinking at the map on the table; she did not dare to talk too much, hence she cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, her arms were hanging down, but her finger pointed toward him, and then she turned her finger around to point to herself; her meaning was that Wei Xiaobao should see her often. Wei Xiaobao understood; he nodded slightly. The Princess paid her respect to Kangxi and withdrew.


    A moment later, Kangxi looked up and said, "In that case, I am afraid the cannon we make are too heavy and too big, not easy to haul over those mountainous roads."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he understood immediately that Kangxi was thinking of transporting the cannon to Yunnan to attack Wu Sangui. "Yes, yes," he said, "Your servant is muddleheaded, I had not thought of this. It would be best if we could make small cannon that can be pulled by two horses; entering Yunnan will be a lot more convenient."


    Kangxi said, "Decisive engagement between opposing army on the mountainous region cannot depend on magnificent army with thousands of men and horses rushing in at the same time; infantry will be even more important than cavalry."


    Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of War''s three Manchu officials and one Han official in charge of the horse and carriage arrived together and kowtowed in front of Kangxi. Kangxi asked, "How''s the horse preparation?"


    This particular department of the Ministry of War was in charge of relay station and moving vehicle logistics. Immediately the officers reported in details: how many horses they purchased from Western Region and Mongolia, how many horses they transported from outside the Pass, presently they had a total of more than 85,000 good horses, and they were still continuing to buy and raise more horses. Kangxi was very pleased; he uttered some words of praise. The four officials kowtowed to express their gratitude for the compliments.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Sichuan, Yunnan''s horses are not the same as the outside the Pass and Western Region horses; although their body is smaller, they have good endurance and good at traveling on the mountainous road; I wonder if that''s true."


    Kangxi asked the four officials, "Is that true?"


    The Han official replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Sichuan horses, Yunnan horses, are able to resist hardship and carry heavy load, their endurance is very good, and their ability to travel over mountainous roads is indeed very good. However, to charge and break through the enemy lines on flat land, they are far inferior to horses from outside the Pass and Western Region. For this reason, in the armed force we do not use Sichuan and Yunnan horses."


    Kangxi cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, and then asked the official, "How many Sichuan horses, Yunnan horses do we have?"


    The official replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: in the defense forces stationed in Sichuan and Yunnan, Sichuan horses and Yunnan horses are not a few; however, in other places there are very few. In the defense force stationed in Hunan, we have more than 500 horses."


    Kangxi nodded, "Dismiss," he said. He did not want to reveal to these officials his intention to attack Yunnan. After the four officials withdrew, he said to Wei Xiaobao, "Luckily you reminded me. Tomorrow I must issue a decree, ordering Sichuan Zongdu [governor-general] to immediately buy Sichuan horses in large quantity. It would be best if we can keep this matter top secret."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly giggled with a very complacent look on his face. "What is it?" Kangxi asked.


    "Prince Consort Wu has just had one batch of Yunnan horses shipped here from Yunnan," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He boasted that these horses have excellent endurance. Your servant did not believe him, so I made an appointment with him to have a race. Whether Yunnan horses really have good endurance, we will find out in a little bit."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You should race him well then. How are you going to race?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We agreed to race ten pairs, he who wins six will win the bet."


    Kangxi said, "Only race ten, you won''t necessarily find out if Yunnan horses indeed have the good quality. Do you know how many Yunnan horses did he ship in?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I looked at his stable, there are at least fifty, sixty horses. All are newly shipped."


    Kangxi said, "Then you''d better race with him fifty, sixty pairs. Take the long route, it will be best if you go to Xishan [western mountain], run along the mountain roads." Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s expression was bit strange, he said, "Damn it, you have no prospect! If you lose, I''ll pay you back your gold."


    Wei Xiaobao felt it was inappropriate to tell the Emperor honestly that he had played some trick in Wu Yingxiong''s stable. In this race his chance of victory was 99%, but when the race finished, the Emperor would think that Yunnan horses were useless; and then when they march to fight the war in the future, perhaps Wei Xiaobao had brought harm to this important matter. He smiled and said, "It''s not about the gold ��"


    "Uh," suddenly Kangxi exclaimed, "Yunnan horses have good endurance, that fellow Wu Yingxiong has a large quantity of Yunnan horses shipped to Beijing; what for?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It must be that he wanted to create quite a stir, boasting that his Yunnan horses are good."


    Kangxi frowned. "Not right!" he said, "This �� this boy wants to escape."


    Wei Xiaobao still has not understood. "Escape?" he asked in surprise.


    "That''s right!" Kangxi said, "Guards!" he called out. When several eunuchs appeared, he ordered them, "Issue a decree at once, close the Nine Gate, nobody is allowed to get out of the city, summon Prince Consort Wu Yingxiong to the Palace to see Zhen."


    The eunuchs complied and went out to issue the decree. Wei Xiaobao''s countenance changed slightly, "Your Majesty," he said, "Are you saying that that fellow Wu Yingxiong is that audacious that unexpectedly he is going to escape?"


    Kangxi shook his head, "I wish that my premonition is incorrect," he said, "Otherwise, we will have to resort to arms immediately against Wu Sangui. At this time our preparation is insufficient."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If we are not prepared, Wu Sangui is not necessarily prepared either."


    There was a concerned look on Kangxi''s face as he said, "You''re wrong. Before he even reached Yunnan, Wu Sangui has already recruited soldiers and bought horses, he already has the intention to revolt. He has been prepared for a dozen or so years, while I only started large scale deployment in the last year or two."


    Wei Xiaobao could only speak some comforting words, "But Your Majesty is brilliant and wise; your one year deployment is equal to Wu Sangui''s twenty years."


    Kangxi raised his foot and pretended to kick Wei Xiaobao as he said with a laugh, "I kick you once, it''s equal to Wu Sangui kicking you twenty times. Damn it, Xiao Guizi, you must not take Wu Sangui too lightly. This old fellow is very good at deploying troops and fighting a battle. Li Zicheng was that formidable, yet he was defeated by him. Within the imperial court, not one general is his match."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We rely on numbers to gain victory. Your Majesty sends ten generals; ten beat damn one."


    "Even so," Kangxi said, "Only if we send out capable great marshals will we succeed. If under my command I have Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, or perhaps Mu Ying, then I won''t have to worry."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty personally lead your troops into battle, you surpass Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Mu Ying. In the past Ming Taizu defeated Chen Youliang, he also personally led his troops into battle."


    [67], the Emperor believed eunuch Wang Zhen, he personally led the army into battle, several hundred thousand troops suffered total defeat under this eunuch''s muddleheaded advice that even the Emperor was captured by the enemy."


    Wei Xiaobao was scared; he busily said, "Your Majesty, your servant is a fake eunuch."


    Kangxi roared in laughter; he said, "You don''t have to be afraid. Even if you were a real eunuch, I am not a muddleheaded ruler like that previous Ming''s Yingzong; how can I let you mess up with me?"


    "Right! Right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty''s divine strategy is indeed not a small matter. There is a saying in the opera, it''s called �� it''s called inside something something, something is ten thousand li away."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "That saying is too difficult; I am not going to teach you."


    While they were still talking, a eunuch came to report that Nine Gates'' Tidu already received the imperial order to shut the city walls. Kangxi was just feeling slightly relieved when another eunuch came to report, "The Prince Consort went hunting and has not returned, the city gate is already shut, we cannot go out of town to summon him."


    Kangxi slapped the table; he stood up and called out, "He has really left." He asked, "What about Princess Jianning?"


    The eunuch said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Her Highness the Princess is still in the Palace."


    "That fellow," Kangxi hatefully said, "Unexpectedly he does not have the slightest bit feeling between husband and wife."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let your servant pursue this fellow and get him back; he has an agreement with your servant for a horse race today, unexpectedly he went hunting out of town; indeed it''s not right for him to do so."


    Kangxi asked the eunuch, "When did the Prince Consort go out of town?"


    The eunuch replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: when your servant went to the Prince Consort''s Mansion to announce the imperial decree, the Prince Consort''s Mansion zongguan [manager] said that Prince Consort left early this morning to go hunting."


    "Humph," Kangxi said, "This fellow must have received the news this morning that Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong accepted the imperial orders of border defense removal. I am guessing that he knew that his old man is going to revolt immediately, hence he sneaked out at once." Turning toward Wei Xiaobao he said, "He has gone for six, seven sichen [i.e. 12 or 14 hours]; you won''t be able to catch up with him. He had several dozen of Yunnan horses shipped here from Yunnan, it is precisely so that he could exchange horses all the way to Kunming."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The Emperor indeed can prophecy with supernatural accuracy; as soon as he heard that Wu Yingxiong had a large quantity of Yunnan horses shipped here, he could guess that he was planning to run away." Seeing Kangxi''s countenance was not good, he did not dare to flatter randomly; but suddenly he remembered something. "Your Majesty," he said, "Please don''t worry, perhaps your servant has a way to catch this fellow and bring him back."


    "How are you going to do that?" Kangxi said, "Rubbish! If Yunnan horses really have good endurance, and he has left Beijing far away, if he changed his appearance in disguise, you won''t be able to overtake him at all."


    Wei Xiaobao was not sure if his head stable hand managed to feed crotons to Wu Yingxiong''s Yunnan horses, hence he did not dare to boast extravagantly in front of the Emperor. He said, "Eating the ruler''s good fortune, loyal to the ruler''s matter. Let your servant try to pursue him; if I really cannot overtake him, there is nothing we can do anyway."


    Kangxi nodded. "Very well!" he said. Taking a brush-pen in hand, he quickly wrote an imperial edict, and stamped it with the imperial jade seal, ordering the Nine Gates'' Tidu to open the city gate to let Wei Xiaobao out; he said, "Take more Valiant Cavalry Brigade''s sergeants with you; if Wu Yingxiong resists arrest, overcome him with force." Kangxi also handed over the golden seal to give him the authority to mobilize the troops.


    "I obey the order!" Wei Xiaobao replied; he received the imperial edict and dashed out the Palace.


    The Princess was waiting at the Imperial Palace gate. Seeing Wei Xiaobao hurrying out in quick steps, she called out, "Xiao Guizi, what are you doing?"


    "It''s desperately serious," Wei Xiaobao called back, "Your husband ran away." Unexpectedly he did not stop, but ran even faster instead.


    "Dead eunuch," the Princess cursed, "You have no manners; quickly halt for me."


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "I am going to catch the Princess'' husband, I will go through water and tread on fire, I will not decline under any circumstances, I will travel through night and day, my horse will not stop to rest ��" While babbling nonsense, he had already gone far.


    Outside the Palace, Wei Xiaobao mounted his horse and galloped back to his mansion. He saw Zhao Liangdong was accompanying Zhang Yong and the others, three men, drinking in the reception pavilion. Immediately he turned around, summoned several dozen of his personal guards, and shouted his order to arrest Zhang Yong and the others, three generals. The personal guards immediately tied the tree generals up.


    With an imposing voice Zhang Yong said, "May I ask Dutong Daren, what crime did Xiaojiang and the others commit?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have the imperial edict here, I don''t have time to talk to you." While saying that, he waved the imperial edict in his hand, and fired up several orders in succession, "Get one thousand Valiant Cavalry Brigade Sergeants and fifty Imperial Bodyguards here to this Mansion immediately to receive order. Prepare horses." His personal guards complied and left.


    Wei Xiaobao told Zhao Liangdong, "Zhao Zongbing, that fellow Wu Yingxiong ran away. Wu Sangui is about to revolt. We must go out of the city to pursue."


    "That fellow is too brazen," Zhao Liangdong called out, "Lowly officer receives the order and ready to go."


    Zhang Yong, Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike, three people were greatly shocked; they looked at each other in dismay. Wei Xiaobao ordered his personal guards, "Guard these three men well. Zhao Zongbing, let''s go."


    "Wei Dutong," Zhang Yong called out, "We are Western Liang men, and we are Great Qing''s officers, we have never been Ping Xi Wang''s direct subordinates. Formerly the three of us were serving as military officers in Gansu, afterwards we were transferred to Yunnan on a mission, all along Wu Sangui has always pushed us out. He transferred us elsewhere, he wanted us, three people to leave Yunnan, because he knew perfectly well that the three of us are unwilling to associate ourselves with traitors; he was afraid we might spoil his plan."


    "How do I know that you are telling the truth and not lying to me?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Sun Sike replied, "Last year Wu Sangui was about to kill me, it was only because Zhang Tidu''s protection that lowly officer was able to preserve my head. In my heart I hate that old b@stard to the bones."


    Zhang Yong said, "If lowly officers, three people are Wu Yingxiong''s accomplices, why didn''t we run away with him?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought that he was right; he hesitantly said, "Alright, whether you are in cahoots with Wu Sangui or not, I will examine when I come back. Zhao Zongbing, pursuing people is more important, let''s go."


    "Dutong Daren," Zhang Yong said, "Wang Fujiang is very good at tracking horses'' footprints, he can tell Yunnan horses'' hoof print as soon as he sees it."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded, "That skill is definitely very useful," he said, "But if I bring you along, and on the way you pound the egg, laozi may fall into your great trap."


    In a loud and clear voice Sun Sike said, "Dutong Daren, you can tie Xiaojiang in here, take Zhang Tidu and Wang Fujiang along in pursuit. If the two of them have a change of heart, when you come back, you may kill Xiaojiang with a chop."


    "Good," Wei Xiaobao said, "You actually have yi qi. I am still rather undecided in this matter. Come, come, come, Zhang Tidu, let you and I throw the dice three times. If you win, I will listen to you, if I win, I have no choice but to borrow the three gentlemen''s heads." Without waiting for Zhang Yong to respond, he called loudly, "Guards, get some dice!"


    Wang Jinbao said, "Xiaojiang has dice with me, loosen my bondage, let Xiaojiang gamble with you."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he ordered his personal guard to loosen the rope binding him. Wang Jinbao groped into his pocket and sure enough, he had three dice. ''Clink, clink, clink'' he threw the dice onto the table, his technique was very good. "Why do you carry dice in your pocket?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wang Jinbao replied, "In my whole life Xiaojiang loves gambling the most, hence I always carry dice in my pocket. If I have nobody to gamble with, my left hand will gamble against my right hand."


    Wei Xiaobao was even more interested. "Your own left hand gamble against your right hand?" he asked, "How do you decide win or lose?"


    Wang Jinbao replied, "If my left hand loses, my right hand will punch my left arm; if my right hand loses, my left hand will punch my right arm."


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. "Interesting, interesting," he repeatedly said. "Laoxiong," he added, "You and I are like-minded, you must be a good man. Come, I''ll release these two generals as well. Wang Fujiang and I will throw three times, no matter who win or lose, the three of you will come with me to pursue Wu Yingxiong. If I win, just consider my offense to the three of you just now is settled. If you win, I will kowtow to the three of you to apologize."


    Zhang Yong and the others, three men roared in laughter; they all said, "We do not dare."


    Wei Xiaobao took the dice. He was about to throw when his personal guard came in to report that the Valiant Cavalry Brigade Sergeants and Imperial Bodyguards have assembled outside the Mansion awaiting orders. Wei Xiaobao collected the dice and said, "There''s no time to lose, pursuing people is more important. Four generals, let''s go!" Taking Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, and the others, four people, and leading the Valiant Cavalry Brigade Sergeants and Imperial Bodyguards, he went out of the city heading south to pursue.


    Wang Jinbao led the way in front. After pursuing for several li, he dismounted to look at the hoof print on the road. "Dutong Daren," he said, "This is really strange; when the party reached this place, they turned eastwards."


    "It is indeed strange," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He is running away to Yunnan, he should be going south. Alright, everybody, let''s go east."


    Suspicion arose in Zhao Liangdong''s heart, "Running away to the east? It does not make sense. Could it be that this fellow Wang Jinbao is deliberately leading us on the wrong road, so that Wu Yingxiong can escape?" He said, "Dutong Daren, is it possible for Xiaojiang to lead a team of men and horses to continue pursuing southwards?"


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward Wang Jinbao. Noticing the angry look on his face, he said, "No need, we will all follow Wang Fujiang''s lead. Yunnan horses were raised by him, he will not recognize it incorrectly." He ordered his personal guards to bring some weapons and let Zhang Yong and the others, three people to choose.


    Zhang Yong selected a broadsword on staff; he said, "Dutong Daren is young, yet you are amazingly broad-minded and open. We are military officers from Yunnan, Wu Sangui is about to rebel, unexpectedly Dutong Daren gives us your bare heart and let us keep it without the slightest doubt."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You don''t need to praise me. I am gambling here, I put all my valuables, all my money on the table. If I win, I will win big: capturing Wu Yingxiong and gain three good friends. If I lose, I will also lose big: I will have my head chopped by you, laoxiong."


    Zhang Yong was greatly delighted; he said, "We are real men of Western Liang, we love to make friends with heroes and warriors the most. I am indebted that Wei Dutong holds me in such a high esteem, the one surnamed Zhang will throw my life for you forever." While saying that, he tossed his broadsword to the ground and did obeisance toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike also fell on their knees. Wei Xiaobao jumped down from his horse and kneeled down on the road to return the salute. The four of them kowtowed to each other, then they stood up and laughed heartily. Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhao Zongbing, please also come, let''s salute each other. From now on we will be like brothers, blessing we will enjoy together, difficulty we will face together."


    Zhao Liangdong said, "I only don''t trust this Wang Fujiang. I want to wait until he catches Wu Yingxiong, and then I will become sworn brothers with him."


    Wang Jinbao angrily said, "Although my official rank is low, I am a real man; why would I covet becoming sworn brothers with you?" While saying that, he jumped onto his horse and galloped ahead, following the trail.


    Speeding along eastwards for ten or so li, Wang Jinbao jumped down the horse to look at the hoof print on the road and some manure. He knitted his brows and said, "Odd, odd."


    "What is it?" Zhang Yong hurriedly asked.


    Wang Jinbao said, "The horse dung is pulpy, I don''t know the reason. This does not look like our Yunnan horses'' manure."


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard this, he was greatly delighted; he laughed aloud and said, "That''s it, this is genuine goods at fair prices, treating both the young and the old honestly. This is indeed Wu Yingxiong''s caravan."


    Wang Jinbao muttered to himself, "The hoof print is correct, but the manure is too strange."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Not strange, not strange! Yunnan horses got to Beijing, they are not accustomed to the climate, their excrement will definitely become mushy; must wait seven or eight days before they get better. As long as the horse dung is pulpy, this is definitely Yunnan horse."


    Wang Jinbao looked at him; seeing Wei Xiaobao''s strange expression, like a smile yet not a smile, he could not help but half believing and half doubting.


    They continued following the trail. After galloping for a while, they saw the hoof print turned southeast. Zhang Yong said, "Dutong Daren, Wu Yingxiong is running toward Tianjin, he wants to go out to sea from Tanggu. He must have prepared a boat on the shore, going to Guangxi by boat, and then continued on to Yunnan, in order to avoid government army cutting him off along the way."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "True!" he said, "From Beijing to Kunming, a great distance of a hundred and eight thousand li, he could be stopped by government army any time. Going on sea route is much safer."


    "We must pursue him even faster," Zhang Yong said.


    "Why?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Zhang Yong replied, "From the Capital to the seaside is only several hundred li. He does not need to empathize with the horses, he will definitely run desperately fast."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhang Dage can prophecy with supernatural accuracy; indeed you have the talent of a great general." Hearing Wei Xiaobao calling him ''big brother'', Zhang Yong was even more delighted.


    Wei Xiaobao turned around and ordered a team of Valiant Cavalry Brigade to urgently run toward Tanggu harbor to transmit order to the naval commander there, to seal off the seaport and not allowing any ship to go out to sea. A zuoling [company commander] received the order and led his troops galloping away.


    Before long, they saw two horses fell dead on the roadside, the horses were indeed Yunnan horses. Zhang Yong happily said, "Dutong Daren, the path Wang Fujiang picked to pursue is indeed not bad." Yet Wang Jinbao was frowning and worried, his countenance looked very distressed.


    "Wang San''ge [third brother]," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why aren''t you happy?"


    Wang Jinbao thought, "I am not number three, why do you call me ''San Ge''?" He said, "Xiaojiang raised these Yunnan horses, each one is a good colt, one in a thousand, how could they produce pulpy excrement and fall dead on the road? Even if Wu Yingxiong urged them desperately, those horses cannot be this useless! Ay, what a pity, what a pity!"


    Wei Xiaobao knew he loved horses, hence he did not dare to mention about they sneakily feed the horses with crotons; he said, "That fellow Wu Yingxiong is solely engrossed in escaping, hence he worked these horse to their deaths, he wasted Wang San''ge''s heart and blood. Damn it, this fellow was not raised by humans."


    Wang Jinbao said, "How can Dutong Daren call Xiaojiang ''Wang San''ge''? I really do not dare to accept."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zhang Dage, Zhao Er''ge, Wang San''ge, Sun Sige [first, second, third, and fourth brother, respectively]; I only looked at which one has more grizzled beard, I considered him a bit older."


    "So that''s how it is," Wang Jinbao said, "Wu Sangui''s entire family does not have even one good person. If those who serve in the army do not love horses, they won''t have a good fate." While saying that, he heaved a deep sigh.


    Not even several li later, they saw three more horses fell dead on the roadside. The farther they went, the more they saw dead horses. Zhang Yong suddenly said, "Dutong Daren, Wu Yingxiong''s horses get sick because they ate bad food, they cannot be forced to run. But we must guard against him dismounting and running into the countryside to hide."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhang Dage can indeed foresee everything, Xiongdi is full of admiration." At once he transmitted his order to the Valiant Cavalry Brigade to spread out and outflank the area ahead of them.


    Sure enough, several li later a team of Valiant Cavalry Brigade on the north side cried out joyfully, "We get Wu Yingxiong!"


    Wei Xiaobao and the others were greatly delighted; following their voice, they rushed ahead and saw in the distant several hundred Valiant Cavalry Brigade sergeants forming a circle in the wheat field by the main road. This area had just had rain the previous day, the wheat field was muddy. Wei Xiaobao and the others urged their horses to run toward them. The sergeants were surrounding several men who were covered all over in mud and looked very dirty. The one in front was indeed Wu Yingxiong, only he was wearing marketplace small merchant attire, the graceful and luxurious ''golden horse jade hall'' appearance was completely gone.


    Wei Xiaobao jumped down from his horse, paid his respect and said, "Prince Consort, are you dressing up to play the opera? His Majesty suddenly carried away by a whim to watch an opera, he instructed Xiaode [little/lowly one, referring to self] to summon you. If you perform in front of His Majesty, I think it is very fitting. Ha ha �� You dress as a beggar, isn''t it Mo Ji from the story ''Precious [orig. gold and jade] Slave Stick Beating Unkind Boyfriend''?"


    Wu Yingxiong was already scared that his entire body trembling; hearing Wei Xiaobao''s ridicule, he did not respond a single word. Wei Xiaobao was very happy and excited; with Wu Yingxiong in his custody he returned to the Capital. By the time they arrived at the Palace, it was already around noon the next day. Kangxi had already received the report brought by the Imperial Bodyguards riding fast horses. He immediately summoned Wei Xiaobao for an audience.


    Wei Xiaobao deliberately did not wipe the mud and dust from his face. When Kangxi saw him, naturally he thought that this man handled this matter loyally, that he had worked hard and rendered extremely great merit. Kangxi reached out and patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder, as he laughed and said, "Damn it, Xiao Guizi, what kind of skill do you have? Unexpectedly you succeeded in catching Wu Yingxiong."


    Wei Xiaobao no longer concealed anything, he told Kangxi about his scheme of poisoning the horses. He laughed and said, "Actually, your servant was only hoping to win his ten thousand taels of silver, teaching him a lesson that he won''t boast, while at the same time your servant will have extra money to be spent, so that after working for Your Majesty, I won''t have to embezzle any money. Who would have thought that Your Majesty''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens; your servant fooled around a little bit, unexpectedly I obstructed Wu Sangui''s sinister plot from prevailing. It is obvious that that old fellow''s rebellion is doomed to failure."


    Kangxi laughed aloud. He also felt that in the heart of this matter there seemed to be a divine intervention, that his own good fortune was indeed not small. He laughed and said, "I am a blessed Son of Heaven, you are a lucky general. You may go and take a rest."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That fellow Wu Yingxiong has been handed over to the Imperial Bodyguards; we are waiting for the Holy Sage''s decision on how to discipline him."


    Kangxi hesitated. "For the time being, we must not say a word or make any movement," he said, "Put him back in the Prince Consort Mansion. See if Wu Sangui is making any movement. It would be best if he knew that his son has been captured back and I did not kill him, perhaps he would be grateful for this and no longer want to revolt."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty is magnanimous, raw bird fish soup."


    Kangxi said, "Send a team of Valiant Cavalry Brigade to guard all the doors of the Prince Consort Mansion. Interrogate in details everybody going in and out of the Mansion. Take all horses and mules in his mansion out, don''t let even one animal remains." For each order he spoke, Wei Xiaobao said ''yes'' once.


    Kangxi said, "All personnel who render merit this time, make a list and submit it to me, give them reward and promotion as appropriate. Even the head stable hand who fed crotons to the horses, promote him to be a petty official. Ha ha ��"


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to express his gratitude; he mentioned Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike, four people''s names, and also said, "Zhang Yong and the others, three generals, were Yunnan''s high-ranking military officers, but it is clear that they vow loyalty and devotion to Your Majesty, they exerted themselves in the capture of Wu Yingxiong. It can clearly be seen that if Wu Sangui wants to revolt, the generals under his command are bound to surrender one after another."


    Kangxi said, "Zhang Yong and those two Fujiang do not wish to be associated with traitors, that is very good. Zhang Yong was originally Gansu''s Tidu, most likely the other two Fujiang are not Wu Sangui''s former subordinates."


    "Your Majesty is an enlightened sage," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Leaving the Palace, Wei Xiaobao personally escorted Wu Yingxiong back to the Prince Consort Mansion. "Fuma Ye [emperor''s son-in-law], only after I spoke not a few words of praise on your behalf in front of His Majesty that you can preserve your head. Next time you run away again, I cannot guarantee even my own head."


    Wu Yingxiong repeatedly expressed his thanks, but in his heart he did not stop cursing. On how dozens of good horses fell dead one after another on the road, to such an extent as he failed within sight of success, he could never figure it out.


    Several days later, an imperial decree was issued, commending Wei Xiaobao, Zhang Yong, and the others for their effort, and promoting all of them one level up. Kangxi did not wish to make this matter widely known, to avoid inciting Wu Sangui to rise in rebellion. For this reason, the citation in the imperial edict was obscure, it only said that these people had worked efficiently.


    Because of Wu Yingxiong''s attempted escape, Kangxi deduced that Wu Sangui''s rebellion was imminent. But because Wu Yingxiong was captured back, he hoped it would instill fear in Wu Sangui''s heart, perhaps it would slow down the rebellion plan somewhat. These days Kangxi was ''moving the army and sending the general'', he manufactured cannon and purchased horses; he was very busy. It''s just that the treasury coffer was rather limited. Supposing the three border defense rose up in rebellion together, plus Taiwan, Mongolia and Tibet, three places, so that he had to deal with six armies at the same time, the military expenditure would be spent like running water. Managing the money was indeed not easy; if he could delay for one day, he would have one more day to raise soldier''s pay and prepare the provisions.


    Kangxi thought that luckily Wei Xiaobao managed to break the Divine Dragon Island, and win the Luocha Country over. Divine Dragon Island was inconsequential, but Luocha Country was a real threat. This person was without learning or skills, yet he had tremendous luck; thereupon Kangxi issued an imperial edict, sending him to Yangzhou to build the Martyr Shrine, with a secret mission to detour south to Henan, to destroy the Mount Wangwu''s Situ Bolei''s gang of bandits, hence eliminating any ''calamity within their bosom''. Wei Xiaobao presented a memorial, requesting Zhang Yong and the others, four generals to be allocated under his command. Kangxi promptly granted his request.


    One day Wei Xiaobao, accompanied by Zhang Yong and the others, four generals, was ready to leave. Suddenly Shi Lang, Huang Fu, as well as Tian Di Hui''s Xu Tianchuan, Feng Jizhong, and the others arrived. As they see each other, they all were very happy. Turned out when Wei Xiaobao fell into Cult Leader Hong''s ''beautiful woman trap'' and was captured, it was not that Shi Lang and the others did not dare to come back, rather, every day they sailed the battleships to look for him in every island, with the hope that they were able to save him. Xu Tianchuan and the others even separated themselves to look for him in Liaodong, Zhili, and Shandong, three provinces'' coastal area. It was not until they received Wei Xiaobao''s news, which he sent from the Capital that they finally returned to the Capital to see him.


    Naturally Wei Xiaobao did not want to talk about the shameful way he was captured; he simply babbling nonsense a little bit to conceal his fault. Shi Lang and the others did not believe him, but nobody dared to ask too much question. Wei Xiaobao went back to present another memorial to the Emperor, reporting Shi Lang and the others'' merit; hence everybody was duly rewarded. Xu Tianchuan and the other Tian Di Hui brothers did not receive Qing Court''s officer''s salary, hence Wei Xiaobao did not even mention their names. They all had a big feast in Beijing for a day, the next day they all left together.


    One day they arrived at the foot of Mount Wangwu. Wei Xiaobao quietly informed the Tian Di Hui brothers about his mission to exterminate Situ Bolei. Everybody was shocked. Li Lishi said, "Wei Xiangzhu, we must not do that. Situ Bolei''s aspiration is to restore the Ming, he is one great hero and a warrior. If we destroy Mount Wangwu, that means we are working for the Tatars."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "When I saw Ol'' Situ''s disciples, I noticed that they have the lofty quality of a hero. But I receive the imperial decree to destroy Mount Wangwu; this is a difficult thing to do."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "Wei Xiangzhu''s official position in the imperial court is getting higher and higher, I am afraid it is a bit inappropriate. In my opinion, we join hands with Situ Bolei, and rise in rebellion."


    Qi Qingbiao shook his head and said, "Our first step is to borrow the Tatars'' hand to deal with that big traitor Wu Sangui. If Wei Xiangzhu rebel at this time, there is a possibility the Tatar Emperor would ally himself with Wu Sanhui instead, and then we will ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful."


    Wei Xiaobao did not want to rebel against Kangxi to begin with, as soon as he heard this, he hastily said, "Right, right! We must get rid of Wu Sangui first before we do anything else; this is the number one important matter. Situ Bolei only has several hundred people on Mount Wangwu, this is a trivial matter, we must not save a little only to lose a lot."


    "The matter at hand," Xu Tianchuan said, "Is how to dodge the Tatar Emperor''s order and explain to him. Besides, the Tatar Emperor has a heart to build Martyr Shrine for Shi Gebu in Yangzhou; in this matter, we must not spoil his plan."


    Shi Kefa''s utter devotion, his death for the country, none of the heroes and warriors of the world did not respect greatly. Hearing Xu Tianchuan, the Tian Di Hui warriors nodded their agreement. As for how to explain to the Emperor, nobody had better skill than Wei Xiaobao, thereupon everybody turned their eyes to him, waiting for him to come up with an idea.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Since we must not strike Wangwu Mountain, we can send a letter to Situ Laoxiong, asking the old brother to keep away."


    They all deliberated for half a day, yet in the end they all thought that this stratagem was the most feasible. Wei Xiaobao recalled when he threw the dice betting on their lives that day, Wangwu Pai had a melon seed faced little Miss Zeng Rou, with big round eyes, and was very graceful and lovely. He thought, "I do not have any friendship with the Ol'' Situ; if I want to do a favor, I might as well do it for Miss Zeng."


    Right this moment, Zhang Yong and Zhao Liangdong separately sent their people to report: they had Wangwu Mountain surrounded, all access to and from the mountain had been blocked. Turned out as soon as Wei Xiaobao entered Henan province''s border, he quietly informed Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, and the others, four generals, about the imperial edict to encircle and annihilate Mount Wangwu. Without a word or movement, the four generals separately let their troops to guard all access and strategic locations at the foot of Mount Wangwu; they were only waiting for the order to attack the mountain.


    After the four generals followed Wei Xiaobao, only by capturing Wu Yingxiong, such an easy assignment, they all enjoyed promotion; hence they were very grateful, they hoped that this time they could strive to render meritorious service. They dug pits around the access roads everywhere, and covered the pits with horse-tripping ropes. Archers, hooks, scythes and spears guarded four sides and eight directions. The plan was to capture everybody from the mountain alive, not to let even one person escape. All four generals thought, "More than five thousand officers and soldiers attacking about a thousand bandits on the mountain, if we win, what''s so special about it? Only if we manage not to let even one person escape from the net will we be considered as rendering a tiny merit."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Capturing Situ Bolei and those bunch of old heads cannot be considered great merit; Tian Di Hui Xiongdi also greatly disapprove. The heroes of Jianghu attach most importance to yi qi, I simply must not offend my friends."


    While he was busy thinking about how to send letter to Zeng Rou and set Wangwu Pai master and disciples free, suddenly he heard sound of drums from the east side, and numerous sergeants shouting and yelling, followed by a sentry came in to report that some people were rushing and killing down the mountain. Wei Xiaobao thought, "In all three armed forces, I must not issue the order to let anybody go; we can only capture them alive and talk later, then I can slowly think of a way to set them free." He ordered, "Capture all of them alive, not a single one can be killed or injured." His personal guards went out to transmit the order. Wei Xiaobao added, "Especially the women, they must not be harmed even more." With a glance he saw Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben and the others'' expression, and could not help but blushing a little. He said in his heart, "Don''t worry, this time it won''t be like Shen Long Island, where I fell into ''beautiful woman trap'' and was captured."


    Leading the Tian Di Hui warriors, he went toward the mountain road on the eastern end to observe the battle, he saw halfway up the mountain a hundred or so men rushing down. The officers and men had received their commander-in-chief''s order, they did not dare to release any arrow, they only rushed upward to stop. They heard the shouts repeated continuously as the people rushing down fell into the trap one by one, and were captured by the soldiers wielding hooks, scythes and spears. Wei Xiaobao wanted to see if Zeng Rou had been captured, but the distant was too far, he could not see clearly.


    Suddenly they saw someone leaping as if he was flying from one tree to the other, going down the mountain. The officers and men rushed forward to block, the man was extremely vigorous and nimble, unexpectedly nobody could stop him. Priest Xuanzhen sighed in admiration, "Good skill!"


    The man gradually came near, in just several dozen more zhang he would have reached the foot of the mountain. Qian Laoben said, "This man''s martial art skill is this superb, could he be Situ Bolei?"


    Xu Tianchuan said, "Other than Old Hero Situ, I am afraid other people would not have this kind of ��" Before he could finish, Sun Sike suddenly called out, "That man looks like Wu Sangui''s guard." While they were speaking, the man had dashed several zhang nearer. "Capture him first, talk later!" Wei Xiaobao shouted.


    The Tian Di Hui warriors rushed to encircle the man. The man brandished a steel saber; with each wave of his saber, he hacked down a sergeant. Sun Sike stuck out his long spear to meet him; after he saw clearly the man''s face, he called out, "Ba Langxing, what are you doing in here?"


    This man was precisely Wu Sangui''s trusted aide, Ba Langxing. He replied in loud voice, "I am under Ping Xi Wang''s order to remove evil from the imperial court, to kill this rebel thief Situ Bolei. Why are you hindering me?"


    When Xu Tianchuan and the others heard this, they were greatly shocked; they saw hanging on his waist was a bloody, badly mutilated head, but they were not sure if it belonged to Situ Bolei or not. They swarmed around to surround him. Sun Sike said, "Wei Dutong is here, lay down your weapon and go up to pay your respect, let''s hear what Dutong Daren has to say in dealing with the offender."


    "Alright!" Ba Langxing said. Putting the saber back into the scabbard, he strode toward Wei Xiaobao and said in a loud voice, "I pay my respect to Dutong Daren."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You are here ��" Ba Langxing suddenly leaped with two outstretched claws toward Wei Xiaobao''s face and pit of his stomach.


    "Aiyo! Mother!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, turned around and ran away.


    Ba Langxing''s martial art skill was highly perfected and strong; he sneered and reached out to grab the clothes on Wei Xiaobao''s back with his left hand, while with right hand he grabbed the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head. Suddenly he felt a kick aimed at his right flank, a powerful and extremely fast kick. Ba Langxing leaned sideways to evade, the attacker followed up by a head-on palm strike; it was Feng Jizhong.


    Ba Langxing raised his palm to parry, his body swayed, suddenly he felt his lower back tightened, Xu Tianchuan grasped him. Qian Laoben stretched out his finger to jab the pit of his stomach, Ba Langxing grunted. Feng Jizhong''s left leg swept across, Ba Langxing could not stand his ground, he fell down to the ground. Qian Laoben pressed him firmly down, Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards came over to tie him up and pushed him in front of Wei Xiaobao.


    Ba Langxing loudly said, "Ping Xi Wang''s great army will arrive any day, at that time all of you will die without burial site, quickly surrender now."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ping Xi Wang has dispatched his troops into battle? I did not know that. Is he, Senior, well?"


    Seeing his genial manner, momentarily Ba Langxing was unclear of Wei Xiaobao''s intention. "Imperial Envoy Minister," he said, "You have been to Kunming, Ping Xi Wang also have a very high regard of you. You are an intelligent person, why do you want to be Tatars'' servant? It would be better for you to pledge allegiance to Ping Xi Wang as soon as you can."


    Xu Tianchuan kicked his buttocks and shouted, "That big traitor Wu Sangui is mean and shameless, and you become his servant, you are even more shameless." Ba Langxing was very angry, he turned his head around and spat toward Xu Tianchuan. Xu Tianchuan sidestepped, the spittle hit a personal guard''s face.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Ba Laoxiong, you want to say something, say it nicely, no need to get angry. You want me to pledge my allegiance to Ping Xi Wang, that is not a bad advice. You came to Mount Wangwu, for what purpose?"


    Ba Langxing said, "It''s not a big deal to let you know; in any case I have already killed Situ Bolei." While saying that, he cast a glance toward the severed head hanging on his waist.


    "Why did Ping Xi Wang want to kill him?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Ba Langxing replied, "You can go see Ping Xi Wang with me, the Senior will definitely tell you."


    Xu Tianchuan and the others were greatly angry; they raised their fists to beat him. Wei Xiaobao signaled them with his eyes to stop, he ordered his personal guards to drag Ba Langxing into his tent to be interrogated. Who would have thought that this man was extremely obstinate, and was very loyal to Wu Sangui; he merely urged Wei Xiaobao to surrender, but unwilling to reveal anything else even for half a word. When he was searched, they found a document stamped with vermillion seal. Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to read it for him. Turned out it was a fake imperial order written by Wu Sangui, bestowing Situ Bolei the title ''Kai Guo Jiang Jun'' [general who found a state]. When asked about the origin of this document, Ba Langxing only glowered at him without saying anything.


    Realizing he would not find anything from Ba Langxing, Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to detain him. He had the other people who were captured flogged and interrogated. Some could not endure the torture and spilled everything. Turned out these days Wu Sangui was about to deploy his troops in rebellion, he sent his trusted aide Ba Langxing, leading a small team of soldiers, to go see his former subordinate Situ Bolei, wanting him to respond to the uprising. Wu Sangui told Ba Langxing that if Situ Bolei accepted the order, nothing can''t be better, but if he did not, he was to be killed to guard against him leaking the conspiracy.


    When Situ Bolei heard about the uprising to ''fight the Qing'', he was greatly delighted, and immediately promised to join the righteous uprising; however, when he asked about the particulars, he learned that Wu Sangui did not have ''restoring the Ming'' in mind; rather, he wanted to be the Emperor. Hence the title ''Kai Guo Jiang Jun'' could not be clearer. Situ Bolei was unwilling to accept the fake imperial order, he told Ba Langxing to return and inform Wu Sangui that if he pledge his allegiance to Ming Emperor''s later generations, Situ Bolei would definitely march at the front and would not balk at ten thousand deaths. But Wu Sangui murdered King Gui in the past, and now he wanted to be the Emperor, the world''s loyal-to-the-Ming-Dynasty patriots would never submit to him.


    Ba Langxing persuaded him several times, Situ Bolei slapped the table and rained curses on him, telling him that Wu Sangui forfeited Han people''s rivers and mountains, he committed ten thousand evils and was beyond any pardon. If he was willing to reform and start afresh, he might still be able to atone his crimes by meritorious acts, otherwise Situ Bolei was ready to feed on his flesh and sleep in his skin.


    Ba Langxing did not say anything else, that evening he caught Situ Bolei off-guard and killed him, cut his head, and led his troops escape down the mountain. Because Wangwu Pai disciples were unaware, it was too late for them to pursue. As luck had it, the officers and men happened to surround the mountain right that moment, hence Wu Sangui''s troops fell into the trap and were captured. Ba Langxing''s sudden attack to Wei Xiaobao was with the intention of capturing the commander and used him as a hostage so that they could escape.


    After finding all the details, Wei Xiaobao convened Tian Di Hui warriors in private discussion. Li Lishi said, "Wei Xiangzhu, Old Hero Situ was a person of loyalty and righteousness [orig. ''loyal liver righteous guts''], it was unfortunate that he lost his life in a crafty scoundrel''s hand. It''s only right for us to give him a proper burial."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have an idea." And then he explained what he had in mind. Everybody clapped and praised his idea was good. Thereupon they went their separate way to make preparation.


    That day not all of the officers and men attacked the mountain. As for Wangwu Pai people, because their leader was killed, they were thrown into confusion, they only guarded the mouth to their mountain strictly.


    Early in the morning the next day, Wei Xiaobao led the Tian Di Hui warriors plus a team of Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers and men, bringing everything they had prepared, halfway up the mountain, where he ordered the officers and men to stay and guard, waiting for his order. He himself and Xu Tianchuan and the others, along with several of his personal guards, continued up the mountain. After walking for several li, they saw a dozen or so Wangwu Pai disciples with weapons in their hands blocking their way.


    Xu Tianchuan stepped forward, alone, holding a white visiting card with both hands. The visiting cards had these words written on it: ''Junior [orig. later generation] Wei Xiaobao, accompanied by Li Lishi, Qi Qingbiao, Priest Xuanzhen, Feng Jizhong, Fan Gang, Qian Laoben, Gao Yanchao and the others, solemnly come to deliver Old Hero Situ''s coffin and offer sacrifice.''


    The Wangwu Pai disciples saw that the incoming people did not seem to carry any animosity, behind them there were some people carrying a coffin, and they also brought incense stick and candles, ritual paper money and other things; the disciples were greatly baffled. "Gentlemen, please wait, Zaixia will go up to report," they said. Immediately one of them dashed up the mountain; while the rest of them still guarded the mountain road strictly. Wei Xiaobao and the others withdrew several dozen steps and sat on mountain rocks to rest.


    Not too long afterwards, from up the mountain several dozen people walked down; the leader was Situ He, whom they had met in the past. He was Situ Bolei''s son; as the leader of the mountain passed away, he was to be in charge of Wangwu Pai''s affairs. Wei Xiaobao''s eyes, however, were looking at the people behind him; he saw a young, slender woman, wearing white flower on her head, which was precisely Zheng Rou. He could not help but was delighted.


    In a loud and clear voice Situ He said, "Gentlemen have come to our humble place, I wonder for what purpose?" While saying that, he had his hand pressed on the hilt of the sword hanging on his waist.


    Qian Laoben stepped forward with cupped fist and said, "Our superior Lord Wei learned that Old Hero Situ was unfortunate and was harmed by crafty scoundrel; he is deeply grieved, hence he leads Zaixia and the others to deliver the Old Hero''s coffin and offer sacrifice."


    Situ He looked at Wei Xiaobao from the distance and said, "He is a Tatar Imperial Court official, he leads imperial officers and men to surround the mountain, he is definitely harboring malicious intentions. You are planning evil schemes, we are not going to fall into your trick."


    Qian Laoben said, "May I ask, who is the assassin murdering Old Hero Situ?"


    Gnashing his teeth, Situ He said, "He is Wu Sangui''s warrior, Ba Langxing, plus his subordinates, a bunch of evil thieves."


    Qian Laoben nodded and said, "Situ Shaoxia [young hero] does not believe our superior''s good intention, this is not surprising at all. Let us present the sacrificial offering first." Turning his head around, he called out, "Bring it up!"


    Two personal guards dragged a man slowly up the mountain. This man''s hands and feet were shackled, his head was covered in black cloth. Wangwu Pai disciples were greatly baffled; they wondered what kind of trick the other side was playing. When the man reached Qian Laoben, the personal guard held back the iron chain to stop him from walking further.


    Qian Laoben said, "Situ Shaoxia, please look!" Reaching out, he pulled the black cloth covering the man''s head; they saw the man had furrowed brows and blazing eyes, he was none other than Ba Langxing.


    As soon as Wangwu Pai disciples saw him, they shouted angrily, "That''s the treacherous bandit! Quickly kill him!" A series of ringing sound was heard as every one drew their weapons out, ready to chop Ba Langxing into pieces.


    Situ He raised his hands to block in front of everybody. "Wait a moment!" he said. Cupping his fist toward Qian Laoben he asked, "Sire has caught the crafty scoundrel, I wonder how you are going to handle him."


    Qian Laoben said, "My superior highly esteemed Old Hero Situ; that day he also had predestined affinity to meet Situ Shaoxia. Today we apprehended this crafty scoundrel who committed the violent crime, along with the numerous evil thieves that he brought, we want to have everything hacked to pieces in front of Old Hero Situ''s coffin, to console the Old Hero''s spirit in Heaven."


    Situ He was surprised, thinking that how could there be such good deed in the world? He turned to look at Ba Langxing, in his heart he was half believing, half doubting, thinking, "Tatars are crafty; there must be an evil scheme behind this."


    Ba Langxing suddenly opened his mouth in curses, "F*ck your granny, you look at laozi''s bird, that old fellow of yours was killed by laozi ��"


    Qian Laoben''s right palm slapped on his back, his left foot flew and kicked his buttocks. Ba Langxing''s hands and feet were shackled, he could not dodge, his body tumbled forward, he was thrown toward Situ He, and was unable to crawl back up.


    Qian Laoben said, "This is my superior''s small gift; Sire may handle this crafty scoundrel any way you wish." Turning his head around, he called out, "Bring them all up."


    A team of personal guards dragged a hundred or more prisoners who had their hands and feet shackled, and their heads covered in black cloth. When the black cloths were removed, their faces were exposed; they were precisely Ba Langxing''s men. Qian Laoben said, "Situ Shaoxia may take them all away."


    Things had come this far, Situ He''s suspicion vanished. Turning toward Wei Xiaobao, he bowed from a distant and said, "Honored Sir''s great kindness, my humble Sect''s gratitude is inexplicable." In his heart he mused, "He extended this kind of great friendship to us, I wonder what he wants from us. Could it be that he wants us to surrender to the Tatars? That is absolutely impossible."


    Wei Xiaobao quickly stepped forward to return the propriety; he said, "That day I threw the dice with Situ Xiong, Miss Zeng; I have always remembered that. I only hoped that some day we could play again." Pointing to the coffin behind him, he said, "Old Hero Situ''s remains is in that coffin, please take it up the mountain, put it together with his body and give him a proper burial."


    Situ Bolei was decapitated, his severed head was brought down the mountain by Ba Langxing, none of Wangwu Pai numerous disciples was not extremely grieved. Situ He was still afraid they were being tricked; he walked over to the coffin, and saw the coffin lid had not been nailed down. When he uncovered it, he indeed saw his father''s severed head inside; he could not help but was overcome with grief, he kneeled down on the ground and cried loudly. When the rest of the disciples saw him like that, they also kneeled down and wept in sorrow.


    Situ He stood up, he ordered four of his martial brothers to take the coffin up the mountain. He said to Wei Xiaobao, "Would Honored Sir visit my deceased father''s spirit tablet to burn an incense stick?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "We ought to kowtow in front of the Old Hero''s spirit tablet." He ordered his personal guards to wait at the mouth of the mountain, and only brought Shuang''er and Tian Di Hui brothers to follow Situ He going up the mountain.


    Wei Xiaobao walked over to Zeng Rou and said in a low voice, "Miss Zeng, how are you?"


    The tears on Zeng Rou''s face had not dried yet, she cried so much that her eyes were red; she looked even more adorable and pitiful. She lifted up her head and with sobs and sniffles she said, "You �� you are General �� Huacha �� Huacha?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "You remember my name?" he said.


    "Um," Zeng Rou mumbled while lowering her head; her face blushed slightly.


    Seeing her blushing, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was shaken, "Why is she blushing when she saw me? When a man is all smiles, it''s not a good thing; when a woman''s face is blushing, she is thinking about a husband. Could it be that she is thinking of me as her husband? I wonder if the dice I gave her is still here." In a low voice he asked, "Miss Zeng, last time I gave you something, do you still have it?"


    Zeng Rou blushed again and looked the other way. "What thing?" she asked, "I forget."


    Zeng Rou no longer paid him any attention; she quickened her steps and walked by Situ He''s side.


    All four sides of Wangwu Mountain appeared like they were cut, the shape was like the top of a royal carriage; hence it got the name ''Wang Wu'' [king''s room]. The peak was called ''Temple of Heaven''; on the east there was ''vibrant sun peak'', on the west there was ''lunar corona peak''. The party followed Situ He to the Wang Mu Dong [queen mother cave] on the north side of Temple of Heaven. Along the way the pines were dark blue, the cypress bluish-green, the mountain scenery was beautiful and secluded.


    Mount Wangwu was mentioned in literature as ''Clear and Void Little Paradise


    [68]''. Among the thirty-six paradises under the heavens, it ranked number one. According to legend, it was the place the Yellow Emperor prepared as the dwelling place of Queen Mother. Wangwu Pai people lived in Wang Mu Cave and other caves nearby, where it was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, better than regular buildings. Situ Bolei''s memorial tablet was located inside the Wang Mu Cave. The disciples stitched the severed head together with the body and put him inside the coffin.


    Wei Xiaobao led the Tian Di Hui brothers lighting the incense sticks and offered sacrifice in front of the spirit tablet. He kneeled down and kowtowed, thinking, "If I want to flatter Miss Zeng, I must act grieved, the more sorrowful the better."


    Pretending to cry was actually the trick he was an expert at. He recalled to mind the tragic suffering several times the old wh0re beat him up in the Palace, and then the dangerous situation when the Cult Leader Hong caught him, the repeated bad luck he had to suffer from Fang Yi cheated on him time and again, the helplessness he felt because Ah Ke loved Zheng Keshuang; he was overwhelmed with grieve, and burst into tears.


    At first his crying was somewhat strained, yet as soon as he started to cry, it is only logical that the more he cried, the sadder he was. "Old Hero Situ," he cried loudly, "For a long time Junior has heard that you are a loyal minister, a patriot, a great hero and warrior. In those days I saw your honorable son''s swordsmanship, I was even more convinced that your martial art was superb. I was hoping that I could do obeisance to you and be your disciple or grand-disciple; learning several moves of your martial art would be enough to feel proud and elated in the Jianghu. Who would have thought that you, Senior, was actually harmed by crafty scoundrel. Boo hoo �� boo hoo �� It really makes people exceedingly broken-hearted."


    Situ He, Zheng Rou and the others were already inconsolably heart-broken; listening to his crying, the cries of grief inside the Wang Mu Cave shook the heavens, the anguished wailing moved the earth. Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben, and the others originally did not want to cry, yet they were touched by the people''s mournful cry, and could not help but shedding some tears.


    Wei Xiaobao beat his breast and stamped his feet, while continuously crying loudly; it was not until the Wangwu Pai disciples repeatedly consoled him instead that he finally held back his tears. He asked for Ba Langxing to be brought out; fetching a steel saber he handed it over to Situ He and said, "Situ Shaoxia, kill this treacherous bandit, avenge your esteemed father."


    With one chop of the saber Situ He severed Ba Langxing''s head and put it on the sacrificial table. Wangwu Pai disciples bowed down together to Wei Xiaobao to thank his great kindness. Actually, Wei Xiaobao was young, he would not think about the strategy of ''buying people''s hearts''; he learned it from the opera ''Wolong [i.e. Zhuge Liang] Condolence Visit''. After Zhou Yu was angered to his death by Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang himself came to Chaisangkou


    [69] to offer sacrifice, and cried with utmost grief on his knees, causing the various generals of Eastern Wu to have deep feeling toward him. Fortunately the Zhuge Liang in the opera recited a rather long memorial, his poetic oration was too elegant, so that Wei Xiaobao did not understand a single sentence; otherwise he would have copied the opera by reciting muddled memorial on Mount Wangwu, and thus would immediately expose the fox''s tail.


    As such, naturally Wangwu Pai people were deeply grateful to him, to say nothing of when the other day after Wei Xiaobao captured Situ He and the others, he set them free and presented them silver as a gift, hence he had sold great friendship toward these people. However, he was a noble official of the Qing court, hence all along the people were quite baffled with his actions.


    Qian Laoben then pulled Situ He aside, and explained that he and his companions were actually brothers of the Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui. Only he did not reveal Wei Xiaobao''s real status as he acted as an official of the imperial court, for fear that as soon as it leaked, their great endeavor might be spoiled. Qian Laoben only gave vague explanation that Wei Xiaobao had strong yi qi, that he ''lived in Cao camp, but his heart was in Han camp'', that all the brethren regarded him as a good friend.


    When Situ He heard this, he was enlightened at once; he repeatedly expressed his gratitude. This time he spoke most sincerely; completely different compared to a while ago, when misgivings in his heart had not yet explained.


    They also discussed Wangwu Pai''s future. Situ He said that since their Sect had just suffered great mourning, plus there were officers and men surrounding the mountain, they had not really thought about this matter. Qian Laoben tried to attract their interest a little bit, by saying that in Jianghu, Tian Di Hui''s prestige was extremely resounding, that they were the present day leader of the fighting the Qing restoring the Ming movement, which Wangwu Pai had always respected and admired, plus they had a common goal.


    When Situ He heard this, he was greatly delighted; straight away he discussed with the elders and all brothers of the Sect, and they all approved. Immediately he spoke to Qian Laoben, requesting to join the alliance. It was then that Qian Laoben explained clearly that Wei Xiaobao was actually the Xiangzhu of their Green Wood Hall.


    In the afternoon of that very same day, Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall held a general assembly in Wang Mu Cave to admit Wangwu Pai brothers into their Society. They all bowed in respect to their Xiangzhu, and became Wei Xiaobao''s subordinates. Wei Xiaobao was very happy; after drinking the ''forming of an alliance'' wine, he wanted to have a gambling session with the old and new brothers. Li Lishi, Qian Laoben and the others promptly advised him against gambling, saying that if they were gambling in high spirits, unavoidably it would be too disrespectful to Situ Bolei who had just passed away.


    Wei Xiaobao was somewhat disappointed; he then asked how would they deal with the aftermath of this Wangwu Pai affair. Li Lishi said, "Wangwu Mountain is located on the common boundary of Shanxi and Henan, two provinces; they are outside our Green Wood Hall''s jurisdiction. According to our Society''s rule, there is no harm in accepting brothers into our Society across the border, but each Hall''s brothers cannot overstep the boundary in handling our matters. It would be best if Situ Xiongdi and the others move away to Zhili province and establish your residence there."


    Qian Laoben said, "Tatar Emperor sends Wei Xiangzhu to attack Wangwu Mountain, Situ Xiongdi and the others cannot stay on Wangwu Mountain anymore, Wei Xiangzhu most likely has to report to his superior."


    "Exactly," Situ He said, "Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] will respectfully follow all Dage''s instruction."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Situ Dage, right now we are heading to Yangzhou to build a Martyr Shrine for Shi Gebu. After this memorial hall is completed, everybody will go to fight Wu Sangui."


    Situ He stood up and said loudly, "Wei Xiangzhu is going to attack Wu Sangui, subordinate wishes to be in the vanguard, leading my martial brothers and sisters to fight that wicked thief Wu Sangui to the death, to take revenge and wipe out a grudge for my deceased father."


    Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, "Nothing can be better than that. In that case gentlemen may come with me to Yangzhou. It''s just that you must disguise yourselves as Tatar officers and men; I am afraid you will feel slightly wronged."


    Situ He said, "In order to fight Wu Sangui, we are willing to endure greater grievance. Wei Xiangzhu becomes Tatar officer, we will also become Tatar soldiers. Besides, don''t Li Dage, Xu Dage, and the others also disguise yourselves as Tatar soldiers?"


    That evening they buried Situ Bolei, and then packed their belongings to go down the mountain. The men with martial art skills would come with Wei Xiaobao to Yangzhou. The old, the weak, women and children would go to Baoding [prefecture, Hebei] and picked a place where they would settle down. In that area there were small branches of Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall, hence they would be well taken care of.


    Wei Xiaobao talked to Zhang Yong and the others, he explained that when the Wangwu Mountain bandits saw that they were surrounded by large army, they knew that they could not escape. After a bit of enlightenment, everybody agreed to surrender. He had already offered amnesty and enlisted the rebels as soldiers, incorporating them into their troops.


    Zhang Yong and the others immediately congratulated him; they said that without any blood on the men''s blade Dutong [commander] had pacified Wangwu Mountain fierce bandits, hence he had set up great merit. Wei Xiaobao said, "This is the Four Generals'' merit; if you did not encircle the mountain so that the bandits were unable to escape even in they grew wings, they would not have agreed to surrender. Later Xiongdi will report to the Imperial Court, there will be reward and promotion for everybody."


    The four generals were greatly delighted; they knew that Ming Zhu, the Ministry of War''s Shangshu, would do everything he could to fawn on him. As long as it was Commander Wei who reported the merit, the Ministry of War would definitely give it preferential treatment.


    At first Wei Xiaobao was worried that Zeng Rou would follow Wangwu Pai''s women and children to go to Baoding to settle there. He was thinking of assigning her to come with him to Yangzhou, but felt it was rather inappropriate. When he saw her putting on men''s clothing, ready to march with Situ He and her martial brothers, the delight in his heart was unspeakable.


    All through the journey, he was always looking for an opportunity to have an intimate time with her, but Zeng Rou was always following her martial brothers closely. Each time she saw him, she only smiled shyly without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao wanted to say something intimate to her, but all along he did not have the opportunity to do so; inevitably his heart was unbearably itching. If as the Qing army''s commander-in-chief he wanted to use his official authority for private interests, he could simply transfer her into his personal guards brigade; however, in the capacity of a Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu, he knew that taking liberties with a woman, especially the woman of their Society, was a strict prohibition. Plus it would be unsightly in the eyes of the numerous brothers. Therefore, all he could do was swallowing his own saliva while waiting for a good opportunity.

 Chapter - 39 (39)

    Men seeking pleasure selectively, young men leaving floating footprints like duckweed.


    Along the journey, government officials welcomed them and delivered bribe in abundant. Naturally Wei Xiaobao refused nobody; the farther they travelled south, his luggage became heavier and heavier. To his Tian Di Hui brothers he explained that they were corrupting Tatars'' government; the more bribes they received, the more the common people would grumble, hence the reputation of the government officials everywhere would be damaged. When the time came to rise in rebellion, it would be easier to succeed. Xu Tianchuan and the others believed he was right.


    One day they arrived in Yangzhou. The Zongdu [governor-general] of the Two Rivers


    [70] Ma Leiji, the Xunfu [inspector-general/provincial governor] of Jiangning Ma You and his subordinates: provincial administrative commissioner, surveillance commissioner, provincial educational officer, Huai River road construction, supply line, river control work managers, Yangzhou prefectural magistrate, Jiangdu County head magistrate, as well as military officers of all levels, had already received the news; they all were waiting several li outside the city.


    The imperial envoy field office was setup at the Huai River Taotai [lit. raised circuit, or ancient official title; circuit intendant?] Yamen. Wei Xiaobao thought that the place was too constraining; he only stayed for one night, and the next day he requested to be moved to different place. He felt that the best place for the imperial envoy field office would be his old home, the Lovely Spring Courtyard, since he was bestowed honor by the Emperor himself, it would be fitting to come back to his former residence in silken robes. But he could not find any justification to have the imperial envoy field office in a brothel. Thinking about his past in Yangzhou, his most cherished desire, other than opening several big brothels, was to pull all the Chinese peony flowers in the Chinese Peony Garden in front of the Chanzhi [Dhyana/Zen wisdom] Temple from their roots.


    Yangzhou''s Chinese Peonies were claimed to be the most famous in the world, the Chinese Peony Garden in front of the Chanzhi Temple was especially grand; the different variety in the garden numbered in hundreds or thousands, the flowers were as big as rice bowls. When Wei Xiaobao was around ten years old, he, along with a group of street urchins, went out to play there. Seeing the beautiful blooming peonies, he picked two flowers to play. The monk of the Temple saw him, snatched the flower back, and slapped him twice on his ears. Wei Xiaobao kicked and bit; he created quite a ruckus with the monk, and was able to push the big and fat monk to the ground, and kicked him several times. The rest of the urchins roared and swarmed into the garden, randomly pulling the Chinese peonies.


    The monk cried out for help, a bunch of monks and kitchen helpers rushed out from the Temple with clubs in their hands, to chase the urchins away. Because Wei Xiaobao was the chief offender, he suffered quite a bit of beating with the clubs, his head grew a big lump. When he returned to the Lovely Spring Courtyard, his mother punished him by not giving him any supper that night. Although eventually he managed to go to the kitchen and stole some food until he was full, but the ''Chanzhi Temple Picking Flower Disgrace'' was deeply etched in his heart. The next day he returned to the Temple to rain curses from a distant; he cursed the monks, from ''Tathagata Buddha''s mama'' all the way to cursing the monks'' daughters. He swore, "There will come a day when laozi will pull out all the Chinese peonies in front of this Temple clean, will tread on your stinky temple to level it to the ground, will dig hole in it as latrine pit." He cursed until the monks of the Temple chased him away, and then he ran away as fast as he could.


    Many years later, he had already forgotten about this matter. It was not until that day he returned to Yangzhou and was looking for a place to setup his field office did he remember Chanzhi Temple; immediately he told the Huai River Taotai about his intention. The Taotai thought, "Chanzhi Temple is a well-known Buddhist place, a thousand-year old ancient temple. If the imperial envoy stays there, I am afraid he would disturb the peace and stir up confusion." Thereupon he said, "Reporting to Daren: the scenery in the Chanzhi Temple is indeed magnificent, Daren has a superb idea, lowly officer admires it exceedingly. However, I am afraid it won''t be too convenient to have non-vegetarian food and wine in the Temple."


    "What''s not convenient?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Just move the Bodhisattva inside the Temple out; problem solved."


    Hearing that he wanted the Bodhisattva to be moved, the Taotai was even more scared; he thought that it would invite misfortune. If the common people inside Yangzhou''s city wall were angered, they would be very difficult to handle. Therefore, with a force laugh he bowed with cupped fist and said in a low voice, "Reporting to Daren: Yangzhou''s prostitutes are famous throughout the world. Along the way Daren has toiled to render great merits, now that you have arrived at my humble place, lowly officer ought to serve you with all my heart; I have already selected not a few good-looking girls who are adept at strumming the lute and singing songs, ready to be inspected by Daren. The monks'' temple has hard bed and stiff backless stool, I am afraid it will spoil the fun very much."


    Wei Xiaobao thought what he said actually made a lot of sense; he laughed and said, "In your opinion, where should we set the field office?"


    The Taotai said, "Among the salt merchants of Yangzhou, there is one surnamed He, his home is called the He Garden, it is considered the most famous garden in Yangzhou. He has a mind to curry favor with Imperial Envoy Minister, and has already prepared proper invitation card, with the hope that Daren would honor him with your presence. It''s just that his scholarly honor (in imperial exams) is too low, he did not dare to speak out. If Daren does not look down on him, there is no harm in you taking the trouble to visit and take a look."


    This salt merchant surnamed He was very rich and powerful; when he was a kid, Wei Xiaobao often walked by the high wall outside his house. He heard the sound of string and wind instruments from the inside, and was very envious; however, he had never had any opportunity to look inside. Thereupon he said, "Very well, I''ll stay there for several days; if it is not enjoyable, we''ll move again. There are a lot of salt merchants in Yangzhou; we can stay from one house to the next. Even if we eat there, we won''t make them poor."


    The He Garden''s rooms were connected like clouds, there were serene rocky small streams winding around the garden, the pavilions were elegant, the construction was exquisite; with just a glance one could tell that each foot of land had cost not a few gold and silver. Wei Xiaobao was very satisfied; he ordered his personal guards to also stay in the garden. Zhang Yong and the others, four generals, as well as the troops under their command were spread around neighboring government officials'' private residences.


    By this time Yangzhou was flourishing, it was considered one of the most bustling cities in the world. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying about Yangzhou: ''ten li of pearl curtain, twenty-four romantic bridges''. At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, it had become the collection and distribution center Huai River salt, thus it became even more prosperous. According to historical records, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were a total of more than 375,000 ''ding'' (men sixteen years old and older). During the Ming-Qing transition, Yangzhou suffered Qing troops'' massacre, by Shunzhi''s third year, there were only 9,320 ''ding'' remained, but by Kangxi''s sixth year, the number increased again to more than 397,900 ''ding''. Not only the vitality was completely restored, it even surpassed its former glory.


    Early morning the next day, all government officials, big and small, within Yangzhou''s city wall appeared at the Imperial Envoy Field Headquarters to pay their respect. Wei Xiaobao received them, and then he read aloud the Imperial Edict. He did not know any character in Kangxi''s imperial edict, hence earlier he asked the secretary to read it and he memorized it. This time he recited character by character; his memory was quite good, he did not make any mistake. In his haste he only held the imperial edict carelessly, but nobody detected anything.


    When the numerous officials heard that the Emperor issued an edict to exempt Yangzhou''s residents in every county three years of land tax, plus compensation to the orphans and widows of the victims of disaster during the founding of the country, and construction of Martyr Shrine for the loyal minister Shi Kefa, none did not shout ''long live'', and kowtowed to thank the vast and mighty imperial kindness.


    Finished announcing the imperial decree, Wei Xiaobao said, "Gentlemen, Daren, when Xiongdi left the Capital, His Majesty instructed me that Jiangsu province''s output is prosperous, but for the past few years, the government is somewhat relaxed, troops preparation is also not in order; Xiongdi was ordered to investigate and reorganize properly. His Majesty cherished Yangzhou''s common people so much, as government officials, we ought to spare no effort to repay the Holy Sage''s grace."


    All the civil and military officials voiced their agreement, but they could not help being secretly anxious. Actually, these words were taught by Songgotu. Wei Xiaobao knew that to receive a lot of bribes, first, have the opposite party asking for a favor; second, have the opposite party somewhat afraid. For this reason, he threatened Jiangsu''s civil and military officials a bit; he must flaunt his authority, but the threat must be neither too light nor too heavy, it must be just right, yet must be discreet and completely delivered in government official lingo. He would not be able to do this if Songgotu did not coach him.


    With the bureaucratic protocol completed, he had the local official selecting the location for the Martyr Shrine, and also drawing up a plan to get the victims'' names registered. He sent people to the four townships to announce the edict about Emperor''s benevolence in exempting the people from land tax. All these businesses were not something that could be done in one morning one evening; while waiting, he lived comfortably in a golden nest in Yangzhou. For the next several days, the governor-general and inspector-general prepared banquet for him, the administrative commissioner and chief of police prepared banquet for him, various departments'' officials prepared banquet for him. In every banquet room, delicacies were spread out, it was extremely extravagant, no expense was spared.


    Every day Wei Xiaobao was thinking of going to the Lovely Spring Courtyard to visit his mother, but the exchange of toasts never stopped, from the beginning it was never convenient for him to do so. Imperial Envoy high-ranking official''s mother worked as a prostitute in Yangzhou, this matter must never be exposed. The disgrace and loss of face was a minor matter, but the loss of imperial court''s dignity was a major issue. Much less Wei Xiaobao had been a high-ranking official for quite a long time, all along he did not fetch his mother to live a happy and prosperous life with him in the Capital, instead he allowed her to be reduced to prostitution; it was a greatly unfilial thing. If this matter was ever found out by the imperial censor, even the Emperor would find it difficult to protect him.


    He was thinking that as soon as things had settled down, he would quietly put on a disguise and go to the Lovely Spring Courtyard to take a look, and then he would have his personal guard escorted his mother to settle down in Beijing. He thought that it would be best if the gods did not know and the ghosts did not detect.


    At first he had always had a plan to escape [orig. ''anoint oil at the bottom of his feet''], as soon as he saw something amiss, he would immediately ''spur the horse to full speed'', and escape without a trace. Unexpectedly his official position was getting higher and higher, the longer he was in office, the happier he was. By the time he actually had a thought to fetch his mother back to the Capital, he had already been in office for too long.


    Several days later, it was Yangzhou''s prefectural magistrate Wu Zhirong''s turn to invite him to a banquet and wash the dust from the Imperial Envoy''s feet. Wu Zhirong had heard from the Taotai that the Imperial Envoy has had a thought to make Chanzhi Temple his field office. He thought that the Chanzhi Temple''s best feature was merely the Chinese peony garden in front of the Temple, the Imperial Envoy set his heart on the Temple, it must be because he appreciate the flowers'' beauty. He was very good at flattery, hence several days ahead of the banquet, he had a flower canopy built at the bank of the Chinese peony garden. He had artisans built it, the pine frame still had its bark intact, the branches and leaves remained on the trunk, inside the canopy the table and chairs were made of natural trees and rocks, the floor inside the canopy was covered with shrubs and grass, they used bamboo pieces to channel water to create streams around the canopy, complete with its gurgling noise, the details were extremely well-thought, it was as if the banquet was held on the mountain and fields, compared to rich people home''s engraved beams and jade-brick hall, it had different feeling and local flavor.


    Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao was an unbearably uncouth person, who did not have even half an elegant bone in his entire body; when he arrived at the flower canopy, the first question he asked was, "How can there be an arbor here? Ah right, it must be the Temple monks built it for their Buddhist ceremony; they are going to set it on fire, and put some food in here to feed the hungry ghosts."


    Wu Zhirong''s meticulous effort was totally in vain; he could not help but looking very awkward. He still thought that the Imperial Envoy was intentionally ridiculing him; with no other choice he let out a forced laugh and said, "Lowly officer''s knowledge and experience is shallow and crude, I failed to make arrangement that satisfies Daren''s taste; indeed I deserve to die."


    Seeing that the other guests had already stood respectfully to wait for his arrival, Wei Xiaobao greeted them and then took a seat. After socializing with Wei Xiaobao for several days, the governor-general of the Two Rivers had already returned to Jiangning to do his duty. The inspector-general of Jiangsu province and administrative commissioner had their administrative offices in Suzhou, but they all stayed in Yangzhou to accompany the Imperial Envoy. As for the rest of the guests, if not famous scholar, then they must be salt merchants with scholarly honor in imperial exam, or have some official position in Yangzhou.


    Yangzhou''s banquet was very elegant and very rich in variety. Just the pre-banquet tea, fruits and delicacy were already more than a dozen varieties. Although Wei Xiaobao was born and raised locally, he could not know everything. After drinking a round of tea, the sun was gradually tilting to the west, the sun illuminated the several thousand Chinese peony outside the canopy, like glorious and magnificent luster of gems, just like brocade clothes. But the more Wei Xiaobao looked at it, the angrier he got, thinking about the grudge of the past, when he was beaten and humiliated by the monks of the Temple. Right then and there he was thinking of having all the Chinese peony pulled and burned, but he must have a legitimate pretext to do that.


    While he was mulling over this, the Inspector-General Ma You said with a laugh, "Wei Daren, listening to Daren''s accent, it seems that you have lived in Huai Yang region before. Huai Yang''s water and soil is rich, thus it produces talented persons, as well as good flowers."


    The rest of the officials only knew that the Imperial Envoy was a Yellow Banner Manchu, the last several days the Inspector-General heard him speaking, he could detect Yangzhou accent in his speech, thereupon he seized this opportunity to flatter him a little bit.


    Wei Xiaobao was thinking about the hateful monks of Chanzhi Temple. "Yangzhou''s monks are no good," he blurted out.


    The Inspector-General was startled, he was not sure what Wei Xiaobao was referring to. The administrative commissioner Mu Tianyan was a very perceptive, as well as highly educated; he interrupted, "Wei Daren''s observation is very true. Yangzhou monks selfishly concerned with gaining advantages for themselves, they fawn on local authorities, humiliate the poor; they were just like that since ancient times."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he laughed and said, "That''s right. Mu Daren is a scholar, you knew that it was written in the books."


    Mu Tianyan said, "Isn''t the story of ''Jade Green Muslin Covering'' by Wang Bo of the Tang Dynasty set in Yangzhou?"


    Wei Xiaobao just loved to hear stories; he hastily asked, "What is the story of ''yellow cloth [huang bu] versus sandy dragon'' [bi sha long, same pronunciation, different characters from ''Jade Green Muslin Covering'']?"


    "The story happened in Yangzhou''s Shita [stone pagoda] Temple," Mu Tianyan said, "During the early Qian years of the Tang Dynasty, the Shita Temple was called Mulan [lily magnolia] Courtyard. When the poet Wang Bo was young, his family was poor ��"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out this person was called Wang Bo, not a piece of yellow cloth." He heard Mu Tianyan continued, "�� he lived away from home in Mulan Courtyard. The monks in the temple rang a bell to signal meal times, when Wang Bo heard the bell, he went to the dining hall to eat. The monks disliked him, there was one time when everybody ate first, and rang the bell after they all finished eating. Wang Bo heard the bell, he went to the dining hall, but saw that the monks had already dispersed, the food had already been eaten clean ��"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and angrily said, "Damn monks are so repulsive."


    "That''s right," Mu Tianyan said, "Just a meal, how much does it cost? At that time Wang Bo was very ashamed, he inscribed a poem on the wall, ''Attending a lesson from west to east, ashamed returning to black after-meal bell.''"


    "What kind of fellow was this ''Hui Li'' [return black]?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The numerous officials had been in contact with him these past few days, they knew that the Imperial Envoy was not a scholar; in fact, a lot of famous, rich and honorable banner men did not come from academic field, hence nobody thought it strange. Mu Tianyan said, "Hui Li means monk."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "So they are the bald thieves," he said, "And then what happened?"


    Mu Tianyan said, "And then Wang Bo became a high-ranking official, the imperial court sent him to guard Yangzhou, and he returned to Mulan Courtyard. Naturally those monks were fawning on him. He went to see if the poem he inscribed on the wall was still there or not, but he saw a piece of expensive jade green muslin pasted on the wall, covering the two lines of poem he wrote, in order to avoid it being damaged. Wang Bo was deeply moved, he added two more lines after the original poem, ''Thirty years ago dust covered the surface, only now it is covered with jade green muslin.''"


    "Surely he arrested those bald thieves and had them flogged?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Mu Tianyan said, "Wang Bo was an elegant scholar, he thought that the two lines of poem already ridiculed them, hence he let it pass."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If it were me, how could I give up that easily? But if I had to write a poem, I don''t have that kind of skill. Laozi can only defecate, cannot write a poem."


    After the story, the tea was removed and the wine was poured. Wei Xiaobao looked around. He caught Wang Jinbao on separate table was pouring a cup of wine into his mouth; the way he drink was very straightforward. Wei Xiaobao had an idea, "General Wang," he said, "You told me once that the war-horses that eat Chinese peony are especially full of power and grandeur, didn''t you?" While he spoke, he winked at him.


    Wang Jinbao did not understand his intention, "This ��" he stammered.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty selects and uses famous species of good horses: Mongolian horses, Western Region horses, Sichuan horses, Yunnan horses, what have you. His Majesty instructed us to raise those horses carefully, didn''t he?"


    Wang Jinbao knew about Kangxi accumulated war horses with diligent care. "Daren is right," he said.


    "You are well acquainted with horses'' character," Wei Xiaobao continued, "When we were in Beijing, you said that if war-horses are fed Chinese peony, their running speed will double. His Majesty loves horses like this, we as his servants should uphold the Holy Sage''s intention. If we dig the Chinese peony in this place and send it to the Capital, so that the Ministry of War''s carriage manager can feed the horse. When His Majesty finds out, his dragon countenance will surely be very pleased."


    When the people heard this, their countenance looked extremely strange; Chinese peony flowers can strengthen the horse? It was the first time that they heard about it. Looking at Wang Jinbao, they noticed his expression was ambiguous, apparently he disagreed, but did not dare to object blatantly. Yet Wei Xiaobao kept saying His Majesty this and His Majesty that, he was ''lifting high the Emperor''s hat''; who would dare to show the slightest objection? They all could see that these several thousand famous varieties of Chinese peony would be destroyed in his hands. Henceforth Yangzhou would lose one scenic spot. But why did this Wei Daren hate these Chinese peonies so much? Everybody looked at each other in dismay, nobody could say anything.


    Prefectural magistrate Wu Zhirong said, "Wei Daren''s scholarly knowledge is profound, indeed worthy of other people''s admiration. This Chinese peony''s root is called Scarlet Peony. The Compendium of Medical Herbs


    [71] mentions that its function is to reduce internal blood clot and improve blood circulation. The name Chinese peony [shaoyao] itself has the character ''yao'' [medicine] in it; apparently the people of old recognized its good medicinal character. When the horse eats Chinese peony, its blood vessels unimpeded, naturally it can run like flying. When Daren returns to the Capital, lowly officer will have all the Chinese peony flowers here dug out and have Daren carry it back to the Capital."


    When the other officials heard this, in their hearts they all scolded Wu Zhirong as despicable and shameless, in order to curry favor with a superior officer, he was willing to go as far as destroying Yangzhou''s beautiful scenery. Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, "Wu Daren is capable and experienced. Very good, very good."


    Wu Zhirong felt much honored; he hastily stood up to bow and said, "Thank you for Daren''s compliment."


    The administrative commissioner Mu Tianyan walked out of the canopy toward a cluster of Chinese peonies. He picked a big Chinese peony, as big as a rice bowl, and returned to the table; with both hands he presented the flower to Wei Xiaobao and said with a laugh, "Would Daren please stick this flower on your hat? Lowly officer has a story for Daren to hear."


    Hearing that he was about to listen to another story, Wei Xiaobao received the flower; he saw that the Chinese peony''s petals were dark red, with a yellow line running right in the middle of each petal, it was indeed a tender and beautiful flower, hence he inserted it onto his hat.


    Mu Tianyan said, "Congratulations Daren, this Chinese peony has a name; it is called the ''Gold Band All Around''. It is a very rare variety, there is a writing in the ancient books that whoever can see this ''Gold Band All Around'', in the future he could be the Prime Minister."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How can there be such thing?"


    Mu Tianyan said, "The story originated during the Northern Song Dynasty. In those days Han Weigong [Duke of Wei], Han Qi, was guarding Yangzhou. In the Chinese peony garden, right here, in front of the Chanzhi Temple, suddenly four big flowers bloomed on one Chinese peony tree, the petals were dark red, with gold thread right in the middle; it was precisely this ''Gold Band All Around''. This kind of Chinese peony had never been seen before, it was extremely rare. His subordinates promptly reported this, Han Weigong graced the garden with his presence to enjoy the scenery; he was very happy. Seeing there were four flowers, he thought about inviting three guests to enjoy the flowers together."


    Wei Xiaobao took down his hat to look at the flower again; indeed the red and yellow produced stark contrast, it was exceptionally marvelous. The lines of golden stripes may not be found in a hundred flowers.


    Mu Tianyan said, "At that time there were two well-known persons in Yangzhou, one was Wang Gui, the other Wang Anshi


    [72]; both were people of talent and learning, of knowledge and experience. Han Weigong thought, there were four flowers, but only three people; unavoidably ''everything is fine except for one small defect''. If he were to invite other person, their prestige may not fit the other three. While he was hesitating, suddenly someone came to pay respect to him; it was Chen Shengzhi. He was also a famous scholar. Han Weigong was greatly delighted; the next day he held a big feast in front of the Chinese peony garden. He had the four ''Gold Band All Around'' flowers picked and inserted into each man''s hat. This story is called ''The Feast of Four Prime Ministers with flowers on their hats''. These four men later on became Prime Ministers."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Interesting. These four honorable friends were all famous intellectual, people who could write poem and write essays. Xiongdi cannot be compared to them."


    "That is not necessarily so," Mu Tianyan replied, "During the Northern Song Dynasty, only intellectuals can become Prime Ministers. Our Great Qing conquered the world on horseback. The ones esteemed the most by His Majesty are brave and cunning heroes and warriors." Hearing the comment ''brave and cunning heroes and warriors'', nine characters [you yong you mou de ying xiong hao han], Wei Xiaobao could not help but was very happy. He nodded his head repeatedly.


    Mu Tianyan continued, "Han Weigong was conferred the title Duke of Wei Country, it goes without saying. Wang Anshi was bestowed the title Duke of Jing Country, Wang Gui was made Duke of Qi Country, and Chen Shengzhi became Duke of Xiu Country. Not only these four famous feudal officials became Prime Ministers, they were all bestowed the title ''Country Duke''; not only each one had riches and honor, they also had long life. Wei Daren attained much in your youth, right now you are bestowed the title Bojue [Earl/Count], if you are promoted one more level, you will be Houjue [Marquis]; one more level and you will become Gongjue [Duke]. Even Wang [King] or Qinwang [Prince (royalty)] is just a matter of time."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud and said, "If only it will be according to Mu Daren''s golden mouth, then everybody here will also be promoted and gain wealth."


    All the officials rose and held the wine cups with both hands; they said, "Congratulations to Wei Daren for your upcoming promotions, Gong and Hou for ten thousand generations."


    Wei Xiaobao also stood up and drank the toast together with the numerous officials; he thought, "This official is both scholarly and eloquent, he can tell stories and attract people''s attention. If I call him to Beijing to work for me, I can frequently listen to his stories, won''t it be better than listening to the storytellers? By nature this man is a big king of flattery, he was given the name Mu Tianyan [lit. admiring heaven''s countenance]; clearly he always wanted to have an audience with the Emperor."


    Mu Tianyan continued, "Afterwards Han Weigong led the troops to guard the western border. Seeing him, Western Xia people were scared to death, they did not dare to send any troops to disturb the border. At that time the Western Xia people feared two Song Dynasty ministers, one was Han Weigong, Han Qi; the other was Fan Wenzhenggong


    [73], Fan Zhongyan. At that time there was a saying, ''With a Han in the army, western thieves hear it and their hearts tremble; with a Fan in the army, western thieves hear it and were frightened that their guts busted''. In the future Wei Daren will lead the troops to guard the western border, there will be a saying, ''With a Wei in the army, western thieves see it and hastily kneel down''!"


    [74]Wei Xiaobao loved it very much; he said, "These two characters ''western thieves'' are very clever. Ping Xi Wang that western ��" Suddenly he remembered, "Wu Sangui has not yet risen in rebellion; I cannot call him ''western thief''." Hastily he corrected himself, "Ping Xi Wang is guarding the western border, we have peace and security without any problem; he has rendered very great merit."


    Wu Zhirong said, "Ping Xi Wang is brave and resourceful, he performs high service through hard work, he was bestowed the title Qinwang, the heir apparent has become the Prince Consort. In the future Wei Daren will have great riches and great honor, will live as long as Mount Nan, definitely you will be no different than Ping Xi Wang."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Hot piece mama, you want me to be no different than Wu Sangui that big traitor. This old turtle will have his head removed any day, you want me to be the same as him?"


    Mu Tianyan usually paid closed attention to what''s happening in the imperial court, just a few days ago he saw the imperial bulletin that the Emperor has issued the imperial decree of border defense removal. He immediately foresaw that Wu Sangui would be in deep trouble. Right now, seeing Wei Xiaobao''s countenance slightly changed, his suspicion was confirmed and he understood it clearly. He said, "Wei Daren is promoted by the Emperor himself, he is the trusted aide that the Holy Sage depends on, the pillar of the imperial court, the ridgepole and beams of the nation. Ping Xi Wang, on the other hand, while his official ranking right now is high, in the end he cannot be compared to Wei Daren. Wu Fuzun [prefectural magistrate] comparison is not too correct. Wei Daren''s ancestor was Tang Dynasty''s Zhongwu Wang [lit. loyal martial/military king] Wei Nie; who once destroyed four hundred and eighty thousand foreign troops, whose prestige shook the western frontier. When Zhu Ci rebelled that time, he sent people to invite Wei Zhongwu Wang to send troops into battle together. Zhongwu Wang was loyal to the Emperor and was not double-minded, how could he be willing to do such treason and heresy? Immediately he had the rebel thief''s envoy beheaded, and then he sent his troops to help the imperial court defeat and pacify the rebel thieves, hence he set up great merit. Wei Daren appearance is stately, his good fortune great, incomparable; in all likelihood, he inherits Wei Zhongwu Wang''s good fortune."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and nodded. Actually, he did not even know his own surname; it was only because his mother''s name was Wei Chunfang that he went by his mother''s surname. It had never occurred to him that surname Wei had this kind of high-profile persona, this administrative commissioner even said with conviction that he was his own ancestor. It seemed that the administrative commissioner was determined to ''paste gold onto Wei Xiaobao''s face''. From the tone of his voice, it seemed that he already figured out that Wu Sangui was about to revolt. This man''s ability and wisdom was really amazing.


    Being refuted by him, Wu Zhirong was dissatisfied, but he did not dare to openly contradict his senior; he said, "I heard that Wei Daren is a Plain Yellow Banner man." His implication was clear: he was a Manchu, how could he have anything to do with Wei Nie of the Tang Dynasty?


    Mu Tianyan laughed and said, "Wu Fuzun only knows one does not know two. The present Holy Sage reigns the world; toward the millions of people all over the world, he treats everyone equally favorably. Manchu and Han are one family, why make any distinction between the two?" This argument was actually rather forcing the logic, but Wu Zhirong did not dare to argue. He thought that if he spoke several more sentences, he might very well offend the Imperial Envoy; hence he repeatedly stated his agreement.


    Mu Tianyan said, "Ping Xi Wang is our Yangzhou''s Gaoyou [county] man, do Wu Fuzun and Ping Xi Wang belong to the same family?"


    Wu Zhirong was really not from Gaoyou, hence he did not have any relationship with Wu Sangui, but at that time Wu Sangui''s power and influence was overpowering, hence he hurriedly borrowed the influence and claimed some honor due to his surname Wu. He said, "According to genealogy, lowly officer is one generation younger than Ping Xi Wang; I should call Wangye my uncle."


    Mu Tianyan nodded, no longer paid him any attention. He said to Wei Xiaobao, "Wei Daren, although this ''Gold Band All Around'' Chinese peony is not as rare as it was during the Song Dynasty, yet it is in full bloom like this, it is also exceptionally rare. Today Wei Daren arrived and enjoy the flower when it is in full bloom, this is not a coincidence; it must be the Heaven''s will. Lowly officer has a tiny bit of idea, would Daren listen to me?"


    "Laoxiong, please give your advice," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Giving Advice, these two characters, how can I dare?" Mu Tianyan said, "The root of the Chinese peony indeed has some medical benefit. Daren wants to use it to feed the horse, if it is further refined by drug store, the effect will be even more powerful. Lowly officer will order my men to procure a large quantity of it, and will have medicine expert in Beijing process it. As for the Chinese peony in this place, to think that they have merit in announcing the good news to Daren, is it possible to leave them behind? When the day come in which Wei Daren takes command to destroy the thieves, and you are bestowed the title Wang [king], just like Han Weigong, Wei Zhongwu Wang, you can come back here to enjoy the flower. At that time I am sure the ''Gold Band All Around'' will be in full bloom again to welcome the noble; won''t that be a beautiful thing indeed? In lowly officer''s opinion, in the future there will be an opera developed based on this story."


    Wei Xiaobao was happy and excited, "Are you saying that there will be an actor playing me in the opera?"


    "That''s right," Mu Tianyan said, "Naturally there will be an elegant, attractive young actor playing the role of Wei Daren. But there will also be actors with white beard, black beard, ''big flower face'' [referring to lots of makeup], and ''white nose [cunning/sly person] little clown'' playing us, the officials." The government officials roared into laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and asked, "What will this story called?"


    Mu Tianyan turned to the inspector-general Ma You and said, "For that, please Futai [inspector-general (old)] Daren pick a good name." He noticed that the inspector-general has been very quiet, he thought that they must not give him a cold shoulder.


    Ma You laughed and said, "Wei Daren will be bestowed the title Wang in the future, how about this opera is called ''Wei Wang inserts the flower on his hat''?" The numerous officials voiced their approval together.


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was delighted, he no longer desired to haggle over the old grievance of the past. He thought, "Laozi will never be a prime minister, or destroying western thieves. Being a wangye just for fun, perhaps I can, but if I pulled these Chinese peonies, I am afraid I will bring bad omen." Looking at the flower garden, he saw that there were at least several dozen more of ''Gold Band All Around''; he thought, "How can there be this many prime ministers? Could it be that all of you will become prime ministers? Futai or Fantai [vassal state governor (old)], there is still hope. This Wu Zhirong has a thief head and dog brain, no matter what he won''t be a prime minister. In the future, the ''white nose little clown'' must be playing his role."


    He was fully aware that this administrative commissioner spoke in a roundabout way, spending a lot of effort planning his speech, his main intention was to save these several thousand Chinese peonies in front of the Chanzhi Temple. This was government official trick that was passed through in front of everybody; it was called ''flowered sedan chair people lift the people'', since you have lifted me up, I cannot be obstinately clinging to my own way. He could not make these Yangzhou officials lose face. Thereupon he no longer mentioned anything about the Chinese peony. He laughed and said, "In the future, if there is indeed an opera like that, we can''t watch it anyway. Right now, why don''t we listen to songs first?" The numerous officials voiced their approval at once.


    Wu Zhirong had already prepared everything, he issued the order, from outside the canopy they could hear the tinkling noise of girdle ornament, followed by a whiff of perfume. Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was aroused; he thought, "There''s a beauty I can look at."


    Sure enough, a woman gracefully walked into the flowered canopy, paid her respect to Wei Xiaobao and with a delicate voice she said, "May Imperial Envoy Daren and all Daren have ten thousand good fortune and peace like gold. Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman] will serve by singing a song." The woman was approximately thirty years old, her attire was gorgeous, but her facial features were only average.


    The flute player started to blow the bamboo flute, and she sang. The song she sang was Du Mu''s [(803-852) Tang Dynasty poet] two-stanza Yangzhou poems: "There are faint green mountains and far green waters, And grasses in this river region not yet faded by autumn; And clear in the moon on the Twenty-Four Bridges, Girls white as jade are teaching flute-music


    [75]." "With my wine-bottle, watching by river and lake, For a lady so tiny as to dance on my palm; I awake, after dreaming ten years in Yangzhou, Known as fickle, even in the Street of Blue Houses.


    [76]"


    The flute was melodious, the singing voice winding amidst the music; it was very pleasant to listen to. But looking at this courtesan, Wei Xiaobao felt rather impatient.


    When the woman finished singing, another courtesan walked in. This woman was around thirty-four or thirty-five years old, her bearing was elegant, her voice was even more trained, she was able to sing the most complicated melody. Her voice remained even while the pitch and rhythm were dynamically rising and falling. The song she was singing was Qin Guan''s poem, ''Watching The Waves''


    [77]; "The stars divide the Niu [ox] and Dou [big-dipper] constellations, the horizon borders Huai River and the ocean, Yangzhou''s ten thousand wells raised to prominence. Flowers along the streets emitted its fragrance, at the hawk''s cry the people arise, ten li of Vermillion curtain brought the spring breeze. Hero''s aura like a rainbow, dragging the spring''s gold and purple out, flying pass each other over the canopy. The lane enters hanging down poplar, painting of a bridge running north and south behind the bluish-green smoke."


    The poem was definitely sung very beautifully, but listening to it, Wei Xiaobao was extremely bored; he could not help but yawning loudly. The ''Watching The Waves'' was only sung halfway, Wu Zhirong was very perceptive, seeing the Imperial Envoy was not interested, he waved his hands, the courtesan immediately stopped singing, saluted, and withdrew. With a forced laugh Wu Zhirong said, "Wei Daren, these two courtesans are the most well-known in Yangzhou, they were singing about the liveliness of Yangzhou. I wonder what does Daren think?"


    It never occurred to him that for Wei Xiaobao to listen to songs, first, the singer must be young and good-looking, second, the song must be romantic and simple, third, the way she sang it must be flirtatious. That day when Chen Yuanyuan sang about the downfall of the country, she had the gorgeous appearance, plus she added explanation to the verses all the way through before he could finish listening to the ''Yuanyuan Song''. Right now these two courtesans'' appearance was mediocre, their expression stiff, and he did not have any idea what they were singing about. He was only yawning; it could be considered that he was being extremely polite.


    Hearing Wu Zhirong''s question, he said, "Not bad, not bad, it''s just that they are a bit too old. This kind of aging goods and old stock, Xiongdi does not have much appetite."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong said, "Du Mu was a Tang Dynasty man, Qin Shaoyou was a Song man, indeed they are too old-fashioned. There is one new poem, written by a new poet, called Zha Shenxing; he made his name not too long ago. He was writing about the charm of Yangzhou''s farmer family girl; it''s really fresh, really fresh." Signaling with his hand, he ordered his attendant to summon another courtesan.


    When Wei Xiaobao talked about ''aging goods and old stock'', he was referring to the courtesans, but Wu Zhirong thought that the songs and poems were too old-fashioned. Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest idea about the Du Mu or Qin Shaoyou that he was talking about, he did understand, however, about ''the charm of Yangzhou''s farmer family girl; it''s really fresh, really fresh''. He thought, "Since it''s about a very fresh Yangzhou''s farmer family girl, there is no harm in taking a look."


    When the courtesan entered the flowered canopy, it would be alright if Wei Xiaobao did not look at her, but as soon as he looked, he could not stop anger from rising in his breast, malicious intent arose to the edge of his guts, ready to flare up. Turned out this courtesan, perhaps she was not quite fifty yet, but for sure she was way over forty; there were graying hair on her temples, lots of wrinkles on her forehead. Her eyes should be big and round, but they were thin instead, her mouth should be small, but it was huge instead. Seeing this courtesan was holding a pipa, Wei Xiaobao''s anger ablaze; he thought, "Someone like you wants to copy Chen Yuanyuan!"


    Soon the strings were plucked, like the sound of jade or leaping pearls, singing oriole or twittering swallow; it was very pleasant to hear. And then she sang, "Reflection of distant mountain on Huai River so bluish-green, overflowing water on Huai River so clear. Inverted image enters the tower, the entire fence is draped with flower. Who would have guessed that outside the marketplace fence and gate the reed hut is still there? When the woman with light makeup appears, her dark green skirt drags a long tail."


    Her singing voice was simple yet elegant, each line was accompanied by beautiful segment of pipa melody; sometimes it sounded like gurgling water, other time it sounded like the ringing of silver bells. On the final line ''her dark green skirt drags a long tail'', the pipa was diminishing into soft ritardando. None of the government officials did not feel ''their heart untroubled, their spirit pleased''. Some closed their eyes in concentration, some shook and swayed their heads in keeping with the music. When last note of the pipa vanished, the government officials cheered together.


    Mu Tianyan said, "Good poem, good song, good pipa. It is indeed chaste tree branch hairpin and plain cloth skirt does not cover ''divine fragrance, national grace'' [i.e. outstanding beauty]. It doesn''t matter if it is a poem or a song, natural beauty can be seen from simplicity and elegance. This is a first class skill."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted; he asked the courtesan, "Do you know the song ''Eighteen Touches''? Sing it for me."


    As soon as the government officials heard the request, their countenance turned pale. The courtesan''s countenance changed even more. Suddenly tears streamed down her face; she turned around and ran out. ''Crash'', the pipa in her hands fell to the ground, the courtesan did not even pick it up, she continued running out.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily and said, "You can''t sing the song, I won''t punish you; why are you so scared?"


    The ''Eighteen Touches'' was actually an extremely obscene folk song, it was about touching eighteen parts of a woman''s body, each touch was accompanied by a metaphor to describe it. Although all the government officials had heard this song, but in this grand feast of distinguished assembly, who dared to mention it openly? Wouldn''t that be a major disgrace to their reputation as government officials? The courtesan''s pipa playing skill and her singing voice had a long standing reputation in Yangzhou. Not only she was good at singing poems, she was also good at composing poems, her fame spread among the high-ranking court officials. Even Yangzhou''s rich merchants and powerful families could not casually see her. Wei Xiaobao''s request was a major humiliation to her.


    Mu Tianyan said in a low voice, "If Wei Daren loves to hear folk songs, we''ll find someone who can sing, so you can enjoy it."


    "Even the ''Eighteen Touches'' she couldn''t sing, this old wh0re is really disappointing," Wei Xiaobao said, "Next time I''ll take you to Lovely Spring Courtyard at Ming Yu Alley, the prostitutes over there know a lot of folksongs." As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he immediately felt it was improper; he thought, "No matter what I cannot invite him to Lovely Spring Courtyard. Luckily there are a lot of brothels in Yangzhou; for nine brothels with big names, there are nine brothels with small names. Any courtyard will provide the amusement." Lifting up the wine cup, he laughed and said, "Let''s drink, let''s drink."


    When the civil government officers heard his vulgar talks, they all felt embarrassed, they all raised their cups and drank, pretending not to hear anything. The military government officials, however, were delighted; they thought that the Imperial Envoy Minister was somewhat like-minded with them.


    Right this moment, he saw a yamen bailiff walked out of the flowered canopy with lowered head. Wei Xiaobao only saw his back, but his heart was moved, "This man''s back looks very familiar; who is he?" But the bailiff never returned. After a while, Wei Xiaobao forgot all about him.


    After drinking several more cups of wine, Wei Xiaobao felt that socializing with these civil government officials was dull and boring; since there was no opera and no gambling, he was extremely bored. To amuse himself, he sang the ''Eighteen Touches'' in his heart, "One touch, two touches, touching the end of Jiejie''s [older sister, used in more intimate way] hair." Unable to endure the boredom anymore, he stood up and said, "Xiongdi has enough wine, I''ll take my leave now." He bowed with cupped fist toward the inspector-general, the administrative commissioner, the chief police officer, and other high-ranking officials before walking out. All the government officials also arose and send him off, out of the flowered canopy, and waited until he sat on a large sedan chair.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his field headquarters and told his personal guards that he wanted to rest; any guest, no matter who, must not be allowed to see him. Entering his bedroom, he changed into a set of tattered clothing. Several days ago he ordered Shuang''er to go to the marketplace to buy a set of old clothing. He tore the clothing in several place, trampled it on the ground, and poured some lantern oil on it, so that the clothes were unbearably filthy and greasy. His hat, shoes and socks, even the string tying his braid were all exchanged with shabby, low-quality goods. From the wood burning stove he grabbed a handful of ashes, diluted it with water, and smeared it all over his face, his arms and hands. When he looked in the mirror, his appearance had indeed returned to that of the little servant at the Lovely Spring Courtyard many years ago.


    Shuang''er helped him changed; she laughed and said, "Xianggong, in the opera there is the Imperial Envoy Minister Bao Longtu


    [78] took a disguise to make private investigation; I wonder if he''d look like you?"


    "More or less," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But Bao Longtu was born with dark skin, he did not need to rub ashes on his face."


    "Is it all right if I go with you?" Shuang''er asked, "You are going alone, if something bad happens, no one is going to help you."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The place that I am going to, a good looking young lady like you must not go." Finished speaking, he hummed the song, "One touch, two touches, touching the side of my good Shuang''er''s cheek ��" Reaching out to her, he stroked her face. Shuang''er blushed and giggled, she stepped away to evade.


    Wei Xiaobao took a big wad of banknotes and stuffed it into his pocket, he also took a bundle of loose money, grabbed Shuang''er, and lightly kissed her face, before he slipped out from the back door.


    The personal guard on guard duty at the back door shouted, "What are you doing?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am the He Family''s wet-nurse''s son''s older [male] cousin''s younger sister''s husband. Do you understand the family relationship?" The personal guard was startled; before he was able to figure out the family relationship, Wei Xiaobao had already slipped out of the door.


    None of Yangzhou''s main streets and small alleys he did not know thoroughly, so much so that he would not get lost even if he was blindfolded. Not too long afterwards he had already reached the Ming Yu Alley by the bank of Shouxi Lake; faintly he heard from behind the doors everywhere the sound of pan pipes, drum, string and woodwind instruments, intersperse with the sound of finger-guessing game, of singing, and people shouting ''Six!'' When these sounds entered his ears, he felt it was ten times better than listening to great immortals'' heavenly music; there was an unspeakable comfort and joy in his heart.


    When he arrived at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, he saw that the gate and the front courtyard were just as before, there was no difference from when he left many years ago. He quietly walked around to the side, pushed open the side door, and slipped in. He tiptoed toward his mother''s room. Peeking inside, he did not see anybody, hence he knew that his mother was accompanying a guest. He mused, "Hot piece mama, I wonder which pest is visiting my Mama this time to be my foster father tonight."


    Entering the room, he saw the bedclothes was the same as he remembered it, it''s just that it looked a lot more worn-out. He mused, "Mama''s business is not too good, my foster fathers are not too many." Turning sideways, he saw his own little bed was still standing against the wall. In front of the bed there was his own pair of old shoes. The bedding on the bed had been washed and starched clean. He walked over and sat down on the bed. Seeing his old bamboo-green long gown was folded neatly on the corner of the bed, there was a tinge of regret in his heart, "Ma is waiting for me to come back. Damn it, Laozi is living merrily in Beijing, I did not send anybody to deliver money to Ma. I really don''t have a good heart." He reclined on the bed, waiting for his mother to come back.


    The rule in the brothel was that if the patron wanted to stay overnight, another fine, clean and big room would be prepared for them. The prostitutes'' own rooms were smaller, and rather simple and crude. Young and beautiful, popular prostitutes would have comparatively better accommodation. Women like Wei Xiaobao''s mother, Wei Chunfang, for example, their age was not young anymore, business was scarce; naturally the brothel proprietress treated them very carelessly, their rooms were made of thin boards.


    Wei Xiaobao lay down for a while. Suddenly he heard someone in the adjacent room was shouting in stern voice, it was the brothel proprietress'' voice, "Laoniang [old lady, referring to self] bought you with white shining silver, you use all kinds of excuses, always refuse to receive patrons. Humph, do you think I bought you to put you in the courtyard to be Bodhisattva Guanyin that we offer sacrifice to, so that we will look good? Beat her; beat her well for me!" Right away there was the sound of whip lashing on flesh, the cry of pain, the weeping, and the cursing noises mixed into one.


    Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to hear this kind of noise since he was little; he knew that the brothel proprietress had just bought a young girl, forced her to receive a patron, and whipped her for a while. It was quite common. If the young woman still refused, pricking her fingernail with needle, branding her skin and flesh, all kinds torture could be used on her one by one. This kind of sound never failed to be absent in the brothels. It''s just that he had left for a long time that this time he heard the noise again, he felt he was reliving past experience. Toward the young girl, however, he did not feel any pity.


    The young girl cried and said, "Just beat me to death; I won''t receive any patron even if I am dead, I''d rather bash my head against the wall and let you see!"


    The brothel proprietress instructed the ''turtle slave'' to beat her fiercely. After twenty, thirty lashes, the young girl was still crying and shouting that she would not give in. The turtle slave said, "We can''t beat her anymore today, let''s talk it over again tomorrow."


    The brothel proprietress said, "Drag this little s1ut out."


    The turtle slave helped the young girl out. A moment later he came back. The brothel proprietress said, "This s1ut is impossibly stubborn, we must use soft technique, give her Mi Chun [lit. confused/lost spring] wine."


    The turtle slave said, "She won''t drink wine."


    "Idiot!" the brothel proprietress said, "Put the Mi Chun wine inside the meat. That will do the trick."


    "Yes, yes," the turtle slave said, "Qi Jie [seventh (older) sister], you are just amazing!"


    Wei Xiaobao peeped through a crack on the wooden partition, and saw the brothel proprietress was standing in front of the cupboard; she took out a bottle of wine, and poured a cup, which she then gave to the turtle slave. He heard her saying, "Have Chunfang accompany those two gongzi [young master] drink. The money they bring is indeed not a few. They said they want to stay overnight in the courtyard, waiting for a friend. This kind of young, inexperienced people would not fancy Chunfang, later I will talk to them, to see if they want to ''comb the covering'' of this s1ut. If we are lucky, I won''t be surprised if we''ll swindle three, four hundred taels from them."


    The turtle slave laughed and said, "Congratulations Qi Jie on ushering in wealth and prosperity; I will also hold on to your good fortune, that way I will strike my gambling debt in one stroke."


    The brothel proprietress cursed, "Lowly road kill [orig. lowly embryo, a corpse who died along the road], painstakingly we earn several taels, and you lost it all in thirty-two domino tiles. This is not good, watch out or I''ll cut your turtle tail."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that Mi Chun wine was a type of drug wine, those who drink it will lose their conscience. All brothels used this kind of drug toward young prostitutes who were unwilling to receive guests. When he was little, he thought this was very mysterious, but now he realized that it was no more than knockout drug mixed into the wine; to him this matter became very ordinary. He thought, "Today my foster fathers are two young gongzi? What kind of fellow are they? I must take a look."


    He quietly slipped away toward the Sweet Nectar Hall, where they usually received rich merchant or grand guests. He stood on the round stone block outside the hall where he used to stand and peeked inside. In the past, whenever there was a grand guest coming to visit the brothel, he would always stand on this round stone block to peep inside, right here the crack on the window was especially big, when he looked inside, he could get a very clear view. The guests usually sat with their side to the window, hence they never saw any shadow outside the window. He had peeped several hundred times before, and had never bumped into a nail.


    He saw the red candle inside the room was burning hot, his mother''s face was covered in makeups, she wore a pink satin gown, and a red flower on her head; she was pouring wine for the guests with a smile on her face. Wei Xiaobao took a good look at his mother; he thought, "Turns out Ma is already old; she won''t be in this business for long, only blind pest like these two rookies can possibly call her to accompany them drinking. Ma''s folksong is also not too pleasant to hear; if it were me who visited the courtyard, if she were not my Ma, even if I lose twelve-hundred taels I would not have called her."


    He heard his mother said with a laugh, "When two gongzi drink this cup, I will sing ''Lovesickness Before Dawn'' tune to accompany you downing your wine."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed inwardly; he mused, "Ma''s folksongs are very limited; if not ''Lovesickness Before Dawn'' [orig. thinking of each other at the fifth hour (between 3-5am)], then it must be ''One Straight Black Bamboo Sprout'', or ''One Folding Fan Seven Cun Long'', or ''One Person Fanning Two Persons Cool Down''. She never wanted to learn some more. As a prostitute, she is not diligent." Suddenly he had a brainwave and almost burst out laughing, "In learning martial art I am not diligent either; turns out my lazy character I inherited from Ma."


    Suddenly he heard a tender and delicate voice saying, "No need!" As soon as he heard these three words [bu yong le], Wei Xiaobao''s entire body shook, he almost slipped down from the stone block. Slowly he squinted and saw a slender jade-white hand holding a wine cup; his eyes traced the delicate hand through the sleeve and up to the face. He saw the side of a pretty face; who else but Ah Ke? Wei Xiaobao''s heart leaped in joy, the surprise and delight in his heart was hard to suppress. "How could Ah Ke be in Yangzhou?" he mused, "How could she come to the Lovely Spring Courtyard and called my Ma to accompany her drinking? She''s a woman dressed as a man and did not call anybody else but only my Ma, she must be eager to see me. Turns out in the end she still has conscience, she remembered that I am her husband who has bowed to the heaven and the earth with her. Aha! Wonderful, wonderful! You and I, husband and wife are having reunion, today we can have wedding festivities [orig. bridal room and ornamented candles], I will wrap my arms around you ��"


    Suddenly he heard a male voice, "Right now Wu Xiandi [worthy brother surnamed Wu] is not drinking anything, but when those Mongolian friends arrived ��" Wei Xiaobao''s ears were buzzing; immediately he knew things were far from good. Before his eyes the sky spun and the earth went around, for a moment his eyes were blurry; he closed his eyes and calmed himself. When he opened his eyes and looked at the young master who was sitting by Ah Ke, he saw who else but Taiwan''s Er Gongzi [second young master] Zheng Keshuang?


    Wei Xiaobao''s mother Wei Chunfang said with a laugh, "Since Xiao Xianggong [little/younger ''young master''] does not drink, Da Xianggong [big/older ''young master''] must drink one more cup." While pouring a cup of wine for Zheng Keshuang, her butts sat on Zheng Keshuang''s lap.


    "Hey," Ah Ke said, "Show some respect."


    Wei Chunfang laughed and said, "Aiyo, Xiao Xianggong''s face is too tender, you cannot bear to see this kind of teasing. After this you should come here every day to have fun, I am afraid you will not like it if people do not flirt with you enough. Xiao Xianggong, let me get a young miss to accompany you, what do you say?"


    "No, no, don''t!" Ah Ke busily said, "You sit nicely on the side!"


    Wei Chunfang laughed and said, "Ah, you are jealous! You blame me for accompanying Da Xianggong and not you." She stood up, and sat on Ah Ke''s lap.


    When Wei Xiaobao saw that, he was irritated, but amused at the same time. He thought, "Unexpectedly there is such thing in the world, my wife came to patronize [''visit a prostitute''] my Mama."


    He saw Ah Ke stretched out her hand to push. Wei Chunfang could not stand, she spun and fell on her buttocks. Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he thought, "Little wh0re, you pushed your mother-in-law; so lacking in manners!"


    But Wei Chunfang was not angry, with a giggle she stood up and said, "Xiao Xianggong is afraid of disgrace; how about you come and sit on my lap?"


    Ah Ke angrily said, "Not good!" [A bit of explanation: when asking ''is it alright?'', Chinese use the phrase ''hao bu hao?'' (good or not good)] She turned to Zheng Keshuang and said, "I want to leave! We can meet people any place, but why did you insist on this place?"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "We have agreed to meet here; we won''t leave until we meet. I did not know that this is actually a dirty place. Hey, I want you to sit properly." The last sentence was directed toward Wei Chunfang.


    The more Wei Xiaobao thought, the angrier he got; he mused, "That day in Guangxi by the River Liujiang, you pleaded laozi to spare your dog life, you swore a heavy oath that you would not speak to my wife even for one word. Today, in spite of everything, you came together to patronize my Mama. Patronizing my Mama is still alright, but you have spoken I don''t know how many thousand words, tens of thousand words. That day I did not cut your tongue, it was really laozi''s biggest blunder."


    Wei Chunfang was in high spirit, she reached out to wrap her arm around Zheng Keshuang''s neck. Zheng Keshuang pushed her arm away and said, "Wait for us outside. The two of us brothers have something we need to discuss, don''t come in before I call you."


    Wei Chunfang had no choice but to leave the room. Zheng Keshuang lowered his voice, "Ke Mei [younger sister, term of endearment], small disturbance must not harm big scheme, if we want to accomplish big thing, we have to endure small inconvenience."


    Ah Ke said, "That Prince Galdan is not a good person, why would he want us to meet him here?"


    Hearing the words ''Prince Galdan'', Wei Xiaobao mused, "That Mongolian scoundrel is also coming; marvelous, marvelous. Most likely they are going to discuss rebellion plan. Laozi can move an army and send a general to catch them in one net."


    He heard Zheng Keshuang said, "These days Yangzhou''s security is so tight. If the guests to the inns and hotels are not frequent visitors, the yamen and local military troops would ask endless questions. If we reveal the least bit of our background, it would not be good at all. This brothel does not have any officers coming to harass us, it is much safer for us to stay here. You and I are still alright, but Prince Galdan and his party, a group of Mongolians'' appearance will be too conspicuous. Besides, with your appearance like an immortal, if we stayed in an inn, all Yangzhou''s men would want to come to see you. Sooner or later something bad will happen."


    Ah Ke let out some soft giggles, "You don''t need to be oily-mouthed and smooth talker to fawn on me."


    Zheng Keshuang stretched out his arm around her shoulder, and landed a light kiss on the corner of her mouth. He said with a laugh, "When was I ever be oily-mouthed and smooth talker? If there was any immortal as beautiful as you, those Lu Chunyang, Iron Crutch Li, and the others would not want to descend to the world, all deities would stay in Heaven, unable to take their eyes off my little treasure."


    "Pfft," Ah Ke stifled her laughter, and lowered her head. Wei Xiaobao''s rage shot to the heavens, he could not endure it anymore; his hand reached his dagger, he was ready to charge inside. Immediately he had a second thought, "This fellow''s martial art skill is stronger than mine. Ah Ke will definitely help him. If I rush in, this adulterous couple will surely murder her own husband. In the world, people can be anything, except big wanderer without martial art skill." Thereupon he struggled to suppress his anger, and had no choice but to close his eyes so that he would not see the intimacy of those two people.


    He heard Ah Ke said, "Gege [big brother, term of endearment], actually ��" As soon as she said this word, ''Gege'', Wei Xiaobao''s heart was filled with bitterness and anger. "Damn it," he mused, "No sense of shame at all; you even call him ''Gege''."


    He did not hear the rest of Ah Ke''s words, but he heard Zheng Keshuang said, "He is in the open, while we are in the dark. Galdan''s warriors are really formidable; leave it to me, this time we will definitely stab several open holes on his body."


    "That fellow really bullies intolerably," Ah Ke said, "If this hatred is not avenged, all my life I won''t be happy. Did you know that I originally did not want to acknowledge my father? It was simply because he promised that he would send eight martial art experts to accompany me dealing with this matter that I finally agreed to acknowledge him."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "Who offended you? If you want revenge, you can simply tell your husband. Nothing is impossible, you did not need to acknowledge Wu Sangui, that big traitor as your father."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "It''s really not difficult to stab him dead, it''s just that the Tatars officers and men are taking strict precautions. After assassinating him, to withdraw and escape alive is not too easy. We have to think an entirely different strategy before we make our move."


    Ah Ke said, "Father promised to send people to kill him was not entirely for my sake. He wants to deploy his troops to attack the Tatars, and this man is a major roadblock. He instructed me that I should never let Ma know, I suspect he has his own selfish reason."


    "Have you told your Ma?" Zheng Keshuang asked.


    Ah Ke shook her head, "I have not," she said, "In this kind of matter, the more secretive the better. You never know, Ma might say something to stop me. If I did not obey her, that won''t be good. I might as well not say anything to her."


    Wei Xiaobao wondered, "Who is it that she wants to assassinate? Why is this person a roadblock to Wu Sangui''s plan of deploying his troops?"


    He heard Zheng Keshuang said, "These days I am watching his coming and going, the security is indeed very tight, it is very difficult to come near him. I gave it a lot of thought, this fellow is a lecher, someone disguised as a courtesan might be able to get very close to him."


    "A lecher?" Wei Xiaobao wondered in his heart, "Is he talking about Futai [inspector-general]? Or Fantai [vassal state governor]?"


    "Only if Shijie and I disguise ourselves," Ah Ke said, "But I don''t want to disguise myself as that kind of lowly woman."


    "Or we attempt to bribe the cook," Zheng Keshuang said, "Put some poison in his wine."


    Ah Ke hatefully said, "Killing him by poison, my anger cannot be vented. I want to chop his hands, to cut his tongue that always talks nonsense to me! That little demon, I �� I hate him!"


    As soon as the three words ''that little demon'' entered his ears, Wei Xiaobao''s head spun. Instantly he understood; he said repeatedly in his heart, "Turns out you want to kill your own husband." Although he knew that Ah Ke wholeheartedly leaned toward Zheng Keshuang, he had never imagined that she hated him that much. "When did I ever offend you?" he wondered in his heart.


    This doubt was instantly answered, as he heard Zheng Keshuang said, "Ke Mei, this fellow is infatuated with you, he has never dared to offend you the least bit. I know the reason you wanted to kill him is because you want to vent my anger. You have this kind of affection to me, I �� I really don''t know how to repay you."


    Ah Ke said in a gentle voice, "I hate him more for humiliating you one part compared to him humiliating me ten parts. If he beats me, curses me, I look at Shifu''s face, and swallow my hatred, but toward you he �� he repeatedly treated you that rude. When I remember it, I really wish I could make mincemeat of him."


    "Ke Mei," Zheng Keshuang said, "How about if I repay you right now?" His right arm also reached out to embrace her body. Ah Ke''s face looked so lovely and bashful, she buried her head in his bosom.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was aching, angry, and bitter at the same time. Suddenly his head was jerked back, somebody grabbed his braid. He was greatly shocked; immediately afterwards somebody twisted his ear. He was about to scream when a voice that he was very familiar with spoke near his ear in a low voice, "Little b@stard, come with me!" [the word here is ''wang ba dan'' �C turtle (derogatory way) egg]In all his life, he could not remember how many hundreds or thousands times he has heard this scolding ''little b@astard''; without thinking he obeyed immediately. The grabbing of his braid and the twisting of his ear was executed very skillfully; it was also something that he could not remember how many hundreds or thousands times he has had his braid pulled and his ear twisted like that. He knew it was his mother Wei Chunfang.


    The two of them arrived at her room. Wei Chunfang kicked backward to slam the door closed. As soon as she released his braid and ear, Wei Xiaobao called out, "Ma! I am back!"


    Wei Chunfang stared at him for quite a long time. Suddenly she threw herself onto him and hugged him tightly, while crying and sobbing uncontrollably. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Haven''t I come back to see you? Why are you crying?"


    Still sobbing and sniffling, Wei Chunfang said, "Did you die? Where did you go? I looked for you everywhere inside and outside Yangzhou, I beseeched the deity and worshipped Buddha, I don''t know how many times I raised my prayers, how many times I knocked my head. Dear Xiaobao, finally you return to Mother''s [''niang''] side."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am not a child anymore, I went out to roam outside, you don''t have to worry."


    With tears still in her eyes, Wei Chunfang''s eyes were blurry. She saw her son had grown tall, his build was thick and solid, she was very happy. She broke into crying again and scolded him, "You little b@stard, without saying anything to your Niang, you went away that long. This time if I don''t ferociously feed you saut��ed bamboo shoots in meat, little b@stard won''t know his laoniang''s fierceness."


    The so-called ''saut��ed bamboo shoots in meat'' was spanking of his bottoms by feather duster with bamboo stick handle. Wei Xiaobao has not had that in a very long time. Upon hearing his mother, he could not help but laughing in amusement.


    Wei Chunfang also laughed. She took out her handkerchief to rub the mud and filth from his face. After wiping for a while, she looked down and saw the front lapel of her new satin gown was stained with tears and snoot, plus a lot of charcoal ashes from her son''s face; she could not help but feeling upset. ''Slap!'' she heavily struck his face and scolded him, "This is my new clothes, I just sewed it to celebrate the New Year three years ago, I haven''t worn it quite several times yet. Little b@stard, you came back is not a good thing, you made your laoniang''s new clothes dirty. How am I going to accompany the guests?"


    Seeing how his mother treasuring the new clothes, making noises with flushed face and looked very angry, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ma, don''t worry about your new clothes. Tomorrow I am going to have a hundred new clothes sewn for you, they will be ten times better than this one."


    Wei Chunfang angrily said, "Little b@stard can only talk big; what kind of skill do you have? Looking at your revolting behavior, can you get rich outside and come back here?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Riches, I haven''t gotten any, but my gambling luck has been good, I won some money."


    Wei Chunfang had a 30% confidence in her son''s ability to cheat in gambling; she held out her palm and said, "Give it to me! When you have a bit of money in you, not too long afterwards you would spend it all."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This time I won really big, too big that no matter what I cannot spend it all."


    Wei Chunfang raised her palm and slapped him again. Wei Xiaobao ducked, the palm missed. He thought, "As soon as she sees me she wants to beat me. I have the Princess in the north, and my laoniang in the south."


    He was just putting his hand into his pocket to get some money out when the turtle slave outside called, "Chunfang, the guests want you. Come quickly!"


    "I am coming!" Wei Chunfang said. She walked over to the table and picked the mirror box, hurriedly put up some cosmetics in front of the mirror inside the lid of the box. "Just lie down here," she said, "When Laoniang is back, I want to examine you carefully. You �� you must not go away!"


    Wei Xiaobao saw his mother''s eyes were brimming with concern, she was afraid that he would be gone missing again, thereupon he laughed and said, "I am not leaving, don''t worry!"


    "Little b@stard," Wei Chunfang cursed again, but her face looked happy. Brushing off her clothes, she left the room.


    Wei Xiaobao lay down on the bed, he pulled the quilt to cover himself. He only lay down for a moment, Wei Chunfang was back in the room, carrying a wine pot. Seeing her son was lying on the bed, she was relieved. She turned around to go out. Wei Xiaobao knew that Zheng Keshuang ordered her to get more wine. Suddenly he had an idea. "Ma," he said, "Are you getting some wine for the customer?"


    "Right," Wei Chunfang replied, "Just lie down nicely for me, when Ma returns, I will swindle something good for you to eat."


    "Get some more wine," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me drink some."


    "Gluttonous ghost," Wei Chunfang scolded him, "Little child is not supposed to drink wine." She took the wine pot away.


    Hastily Wei Xiaobao peeked through the wooden partition. Seeing nobody in the adjacent room, like an arrow he dashed out of the room and entered the adjacent room, opened the cupboard and took the brothel proprietress'' bottle of Mi Chun wine, returned to his own room and hid the bottle underneath the quilt. Pulling the cork out, he said in his heart, "Zheng Keshuang you little b@stard [the word here is ''za zhong'' �C mixed breed], you want to put poison in my wine, today laozi will strike first and gain the upper hand!"


    Before long, Wei Chunfang returned, carrying a pot brimming with wine. Upon entering the room, she said, "Quickly drink two mouthfuls."


    Still lying down on the bed, Wei Xiaobao received the wine pot. He sat up and drank a mouthful. Wei Chunfang looked at her son stealing brothel patron''s drink, she was not able to refrain her face from revealing overflowing tenderness.


    "Ma," Wei Xiaobao said, "There is a big soot on your face."


    Wei Chunfang hastily went to the mirror to look. Wei Xiaobao brought the wine pot into the quilt, and poured more than half a bottle of the Mi Chun wine.


    Seeing her face was clean, without any soot in sight, Wei Chunfang realized that her son had been playing trick with her, to get her attention away from him, so that he could steal a big mouthful of wine. She turned around at once, snatched the wine pot and cursed, "Little b@stard came out of laoniang''s belly; how could I not know your trick? Humph, formerly you could not drink wine, after loitering around outside these days, you learned all kinds of bad deeds."


    "Ma," Wei Xiaobao said, "That Xiao Xianggong''s temperament is not good. No matter what you must give him several more cups to drink. After he is drunk and does not make any sound, it will be easier to swindle that Da Xianggong''s money."


    Wei Chunfang said, "Laoniang has been in this business all my life, do I still need you to teach me this child''s play?" But in her heart she secretly agreed that her son''s idea was good. She also thought, "Little b@stard is home, this is indeed a tremendously happy occasion. Tonight I''d better not have any pest asking me to spend the night with him, laoniang wants to be with my son." Taking the wine pot, she hurriedly left.


    Wei Xiaobao lay back down on the bed, anger and complacency alternated in his mind, he thought, "Laozi is really lucky. That stinky thief surnamed Zheng did not visit other prostitute, he came here to give me advantage, he wanted to be laozi''s foster father. Let''s see if I don''t stab him with a sword and scatter some corpse transforming powder." He thought about how after sprinkling some corpse transforming powder on his wound, Zheng Keshuang would soon turn into a puddle of yellow liquid; when Ah Ke''s drunkenness was over, her ''Gege'' would have been disappeared without a trace, his whereabouts unknown, even if she broke her head she would never figure out what happened. "Damn it," he mused, "If you want to call your ''Gege'', quickly call him several more time. Very soon you won''t be able to call at all."


    He was very happy. Crawling out of his bed, he went back to the Sweet Nectar Hall to peek inside. He saw Zheng Keshuang had just downed a cup of wine. Ah Ke had a cup on her lips, which she daintily sipped. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he saw his mother poured another cup for Zheng Keshuang. Zheng Keshuang waved his hand and said, "Out, out, we don''t need you to serve."


    Wei Chunfang complied. When she put down the wine pot, her sleeve covered a dish of sliced ham. Wei Xiaobao smiled and said in his heart, "I am going to eat some ham tonight." He hastily returned to the room.


    Not too long afterwards, Wei Chunfang came back with a plate of sliced ham. She laughed and said, "Little b@stard, when you were dead outside, did you have this kind of good food to eat?" Grinning from ear to ear she sat on the bed, watching her son eating with gusto; she felt better than if she was eating it herself.


    "Ma," Wei Xiaobao asked, "Did you drink the wine?"


    "I did, several cups," Wei Chunfang replied, "If I drank some more I am afraid I will be drunk, and then you''ll slip away."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I did not drug Mama, I could not achieve big thing." He said, "I won''t leave. Ma, I haven''t accompanied you sleeping for a long time. Tonight don''t go to keep those two pests company, you stay here with me."


    Wei Chunfang was greatly delighted; her son hated to leave her like this, the last time it happened he was about seven, eight years old. She could not believe that after suffering outside, he finally remembered to love his mother. She could not help but beaming with joy as she said, "Alright, tonight Niang will accompany obedient Xiaobao to sleep."


    "Ma," Wei Xiaobao said, "Although I was outside, I remembered you every day. Come, let me take your clothes off."


    His bootlicking skill had been used on the Emperor, the Cult Leader, the Princess and his masters; it was honed to perfection. Presently he was using it on his own mother, unexpectedly he received an unusual reaction. Wei Chunfang was used to social interaction with the patrons of the brothel, men''s hand groping her body, she just hardened her heart. But when her own son''s hand was extended to unbutton her clothes, she could not stop her body from turning weak; she let out a giggle. After Wei Xiaobao took off his mother''s outer clothes, he proceeded by loosening her trousers'' belt. "Pei," Wei Chunfang spat, and gently slapped his hand; she said with a laugh, "I can do it myself." Suddenly she felt shy, she went inside the quilt and took off her trousers, and from underneath the quilt she put it on top the quilt.


    Wei Xiaobao fished two ingots of silver, altogether worth more than thirty taels, and stuffed it into his mother''s hand; he said, "Ma, I am giving this to you."


    Wei Chunfang was very happy; suddenly she burst into tears. "I �� I''ll keep it for you," she said, "In �� in a few years I''ll give it back to you to get yourself a wife."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "I already have." He blew the oil lantern off and said, "Ma, quickly sleep. I will wait for you to fall asleep, before I go to sleep myself."


    Wei Chunfang laughed and said, "Little b@stard, you really have a lot of tricks," and then she closed her eyes.


    She was tired after working all day, plus she drank several cups of wine; seeing her son returned, she was unbearably happy. As soon as she closed her eyes, it did not take long before she dozed off.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard her snore, he tiptoed toward the door. An idea struck him, hence he returned and took his mother''s trousers and tossed it on top of the mosquito net; he thought, "When she wakes up, without trousers she won''t be able to catch me."


    He went outside Sweet Nectar Hall, and saw Zheng Keshuang splayed on his chair face up, and Ah Ke slumped face down on the table; they were both motionless. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he waited for a moment, seeing that the two of them were still unmoving, he entered the hall. He was about to close the door behind him when he suddenly had a second thought, "There is no hurry to close the door. If this fellow only pretend to be drunk, I can''t escape if the door is closed."


    Pulling his dagger, he walked over to him, and pushed Zheng Keshuang with his right hand. He was completely motionless; it was obvious that he had lost his consciousness. Wei Xiaobao also pushed Ah Ke; she mumbled something, but did not sit up. He thought, "The wine she drank was too little; I am afraid she will wake up soon, and that will be dangerous."


    Inserting the dagger back into his boot, he propped her up until she was sitting up. Ah Ke''s eyes were closed, "Gege," she mumbled incoherently, "I �� I can''t drink anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Good Meizi, drink one more cup." He poured a cup full of wine and pushed it into her little mouth with his left hand that the wine trickled down. Still in a daze Ah Ke swallowed the Mi Chun drugged wine. Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "You and laozi have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth in an official wedding, you were unwilling to celebrate the wedding festivities with your husband, but came to Lovely Spring Courtyard to be a little wh0re, you want your husband to be the pest who ''comb your covering''. You are indeed a lowly pervert."


    Ah Ke''s beauty was originally matchless. Now that she was drunk, under the red candle''s light, she looked even more ''thousand-adorable hundred-charm''. Wei Xiaobao''s sexual desire was greatly aroused. No longer cared whether Zheng Keshuang was dead or alive, drunk or awake, he carried Ah Ke in his arms toward the large bedroom next to the Sweet Nectar Hall.


    The large bedroom was prepared for grand patrons who wanted to spend the night. The big bed was at least six chi [foot] wide. The mattress and quilt were embroidered, the furnishing was magnificent. Wei Xiaobao gently put Ah Ke down on the bed. He went back outside to pick the candlestick, which he put on the table next to the head of the bed. Looking at Ah Ke''s rosy complexion, he could not stop his heart from thumping madly. Leaning over her, he took her long robe, exposing her thin, close-fitting light green undergarment.


    He reached out to loosen the knots on her thin underpants, suddenly he heard footsteps behind his back; someone was rushing in. He was about to turn around when his braid tightened, his ear was twisted; once again he was grabbed by Wei Chunfang. "Ma," Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Let go, quickly!"


    "Little b@stard," Wei Chunfang cursed, "Although we are poor, we must not violate the courtyard''s rule. Among the nine famous courtyards of Yangzhou, which one ever had the guest''s money stolen? Quickly return it!"


    "I did not steal anybody''s money," Wei Xiaobao anxiously said.


    Wei Chunfang pulled his braid as hard as she could, and forcefully dragged him back to their own room. She scolded, "If you did not steal money, why did you take people''s clothes off? These several tens of taels, you must have become little thief and stole it. I raised you up with great trouble, it had never occurred to me that you would become a thief." In her bitter anger, she burst into tears. She took the two ingots of silver at the head of the bed and threw it to the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao found it hard to explain; if he said that the guest was a woman dressing up as a man, and that she was his own wife, one, it was complicated and was not easy to express succinctly, two, no matter what his mother would not believe him. He could only say, "Why would I want to steal anybody''s money? Look, I have a lot of money." From his pocket he took out the big wad of banknotes. "Ma," he said, "I wanted to give all this money to you, but I was afraid I might scare you off, hence I am going to give it to you slowly."


    Wei Chunfang saw several dozen sheets of banknotes worth several hundred taels each, she was so scared that her eyes grew big. "This �� this �� little thief," she stammered, "You �� you �� didn''t you take this from those two xianggong? Even if you re-enter the womb and reincarnate as little b@stard ten lifetimes, you won''t make this much money. Quickly return other people''s money, we do business in the courtyard, if we have the ability, we may swindle other people''s money a hundred or eighty thousand taels, but the pest has to be most willing to do it, he has to present it with both hands. If you ever steal one thing from other people, Er Lang Shen [deity with three eyes] would never spare you, you will still do the same thing to earn a living in your next life. Xiaobao, Niang is doing this for your own good!" When she spoke the fast few sentences, her tone turned gentle. She also said, "When those people wake up tomorrow and do not see this much money, won''t they raise a ruckus? And then officials from yamen will come to investigate, they will arrest you, won''t they beat you until your skin breaks and your flesh rotten? Obedient Xiaobao, we cannot covet this much money belonging to other people."


    After talking back and forth, the bottom line was that she wanted her son to return the money. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Ma making a lot of fuss, this matter cannot be explained succinctly. If the noise reaches the brothel proprietress, the turtle would find out, everybody will make a fuss, then this matter will turn for the worst." His heart was moved, he had an idea, "Alright, alright," he said, "Ma, I will listen to you."


    Pulling his mother''s hand along, he went back to the Sweet Nectar Hall, and stuffed his wad of banknotes into Zheng Keshuang''s pocket. He pulled his own two pockets inside out and brushed his body, saying, "I don''t even have one tael left on me; you feel better?"


    Wei Chunfang sighed and said, "Good, you are doing the right thing."


    Returning to their own room, Wei Xiaobao noticed that his mother was wearing a pair of old trousers, he could not help but scoffing. Wei Chunfang bent her finger and knocked his forehead with her knuckle; she scolded, "I woke up to use the toilet, and could not find my trousers, hence I knew you were not doing a good thing." Finished speaking, she could not refrain from laughing.


    "Aiyo, not good," Wei Xiaobao said, "I need to sh1t." Hugging his belly, he rushed out.


    Wei Chunfang was afraid he might return to Sweet Nectar Hall; seeing he was running toward the latrine [orig. thatched hut] at the back garden, she was relieved. "You want to go to the reception hall again, you won''t escape laoniang''s eyes," she mused.


    Wei Xiaobao exited from the side door and dashed back to the He Garden. The personal guard on duty raised his arms to block, "What do you want?" he shouted.


    "I am the Imperial Envoy Minister," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t you know me?"


    The personal guard was startled; he looked closer, indeed it was the imperial envoy minister. "Yes, it''s Daren ��" he hastily said.


    Without waiting for him to finish, Wei Xiaobao quickly returned to his room and said, "Good Shuang''er, quick, quick, help me change back into Imperial Envoy Minister." While talking, he pulled off the long robe he was wearing.


    Shuang''er served him washing his face and changing his clothes; she said with a laugh, "Imperial Envoy Minister going out to make personal investigation, have you found the actual facts?"


    "I have," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We are going to make arrest right now. Quickly wear your personal guard uniform, go get eight personal guards and follow me."


    "Do you want me to get Xu Laoyezi [old master] and the others?" Shuang''er asked.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Zheng Keshuang and Ah Ke are already unconscious, just stretch a hand and grab it, it''s going to be as easy as blowing off dust. If Xu Tianchuan and the others come with me, they won''t let me kill that stinky fellow surnamed Zheng. Taking personal guards with me, I can put on airs and scare my Niang, scare the brothel proprietress, the turtle." Thereupon he said, "No need."


    Shuang''er put on her personal guard uniform, "How about taking Miss Zeng along?" she asked.


    Within the personal guard squad, only she and Zeng Rou were women dressed as men. These days these two girls were in contact with each other, and were already very close to each other. Wei Xiaobao thought, "If I want to carry Ah Ke back here, Shuang''er alone cannot do it, I must have two persons carrying her. Imperial Envoy Daren cannot do the job himself in front of other people, and I can''t let any personal guard''s stinky hands touch my wife''s fragrant body, can I?" He said, "Very well, you may take her along. Just don''t call those Wangwu Pai people."


    Zeng Rou quickly put on the personal guard uniform and was ready in a short time. Leading the two women and eight personal guards, Wei Xiaobao returned to the Lovely Spring Courtyard. Two personal guards went up to knock on the door, "Canjiang [administrator/colonel] Daren is here," they shouted, "Quickly open the door and greet him." The personal guards were instructed to say that Wei Xiaobao was a Canjiang; to scare the brothel proprietress and the turtle, a Canjiang is more than enough.


    After beating the door for half a day, the main gate was finally creaking open, a turtle slave came out to meet them. "Visitors!" he shouted. The word was called out in such a bored way.


    Wei Xiaobao was afraid he might be recognized, he did not dare to look at the man. A personal guard shouted, "Canjiang Laoye [old master] personally arrived, tell laobao [brothel keeper] to serve him well."


    Wei Xiaobao went to the main hall, the brothel proprietress came out to greet him; she did not even look at Wei Xiaobao as she said, "Laoye please come to the reception pavilion for some tea."


    Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "It''s best that you did not look at me, so that you won''t recognize me; I also don''t need to see my Ma. I ought to simply tell them to bring Ah Ke and Zheng Keshuang out and leave this place." However, usually this brothel proprietress was very attentive in receiving the guests, she was even more deferential and polite toward government officials, yet today she was that cold, the way she spoke was very odd, unconsciously he was rather astonished.


    When he entered the Sweet Nectar Hall, he saw that the feast had not been cleaned up, Zheng Keshuang was still splaying face up on the chair. He was about to give order when suddenly a man with magnificent attire walked in. "Wei Daren, how are you?" the man said.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "How did you know me?" he mused, and looked at him. His shock was not a small matter. Immediately he stooped down to pull the dagger from his boot, suddenly his hand tightened; somebody behind him grabbed his wrist, and coldly said, "Sit down nicely, don''t make unnecessary move!" With his left hand the man grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao''s neck and lifted him up and dropped him into a chair.


    Wei Xiaobao groaned secretly. He heard Shuang''er''s tender voice shouting and yelling as she fought the man. Zeng Rou also stepped forward to join the fray. A young master in brocade clothes sent a palm to hack at her, the two of them immediately fought. Wei Xiaobao focused his attention to look, turned out this young master in brocade clothes was a woman dressed as a man, she was none other than Ah Ke''s martial older sister Ah Qi. The man fighting Shuang''er was tall and thin, he was actually Tibetan Lama Sangjie; only right now he was wearing casual clothes, complete with a hat on his head and a fake braid. The first man with magnificent attire was Mongolian Prince Galdan.


    "I am too muddleheaded," Wei Xiaobao mused, "I plainly heard Zheng Keshuang said that they have an appointment with Galdan in here; why didn''t I guard against this? As soon as I saw Ah Ke, I was in a daze that I don''t even remember laozi''s own surname. Damn it, laozi''s surname, I actually do not know; no wonder ��"


    He heard Shuang''er cried out, "Aiyo," as the acupoint on her waist was sealed by Sangjie, and she fell to the ground. In the meantime, Zeng Rou was still engaged in fierce battle with Ah Qi. Although Ah Qi''s style was exquisite, her attacks were lacking strength; several times she hit Zeng Rou, but failed to injure her. Sangjie came over, and in just two moves he was able to seal Zeng Rou''s acupoint too. The eight personal guards either had their acupoint sealed by Sangjie, or were killed by Galdan; their bodies were scattered around the courtyard outside the hall.


    Sangjie let out a ''hey, hey'' laugh and sat down. "Wei Daren," he said, "Where is your Shifu?" While saying that, he stretched out both his hands with the fingers right in front of Wei Xiaobao''s face.


    Wei Xiaobao saw that all ten of his fingers were short by one section; human fingers originally have three sections, right now his fingers only have two sections left. It looked extremely strange and scary. Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "That day he flipped through the Sutra, the tips of his fingers were moistened by my poison. This man is unexpectedly very ruthless; he has the heart to cut his own ten fingers. Today laozi has fallen into his hands, if he wants to take revenge, he would chopped all my ten fingers, which is not a big deal; but what if he also want to cut a section of my head?"


    Seeing that Wei Xiaobao was so scared that he was merely staring blankly; Sangjie was very proud of himself. "Wei Daren," he said, "That day I saw you were just a small kid, I did not know that you are a person of high rank within the imperial court; I have offended you much."


    "I don''t dare to accept the honor," Wei Xiaobao replied, "That day I only thought you were an ordinary Lama, I did not know that you are a really great hero; I have offended you much."


    "Humph," Sangjie snorted; he asked, "How do you know I am a hero?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Someone put violent poison on the Sutra, with the intention of harming my Shifu. Shifu was able to see through the scheme, she did not dare to reach out and touch it. You insisted on looking at the Sutra, my Shifu had no other choice but to give it to you. Great Lama, after your fingers were poisoned, you made prompt decision to chop your fingers at once, it is really amazing! People swipe their own neck to suicide is easy, people chop their own ten fingers, since ancient times there has never been one great hero who had done it. Back then Guan Yunchang scraped his bone to remove poison, without knitting a single brow, but it was someone else who scrape his bone for him; for him to chop his own fingers, I don''t think he can do that. You are more formidable than Guan Yunchang; doesn''t it mean that you are a great hero, the first under heaven since ancient times?"


    Unconsciously, a hint of smile appeared on the Great Lama''s grim face. "Wei Daren," he said, "We found out that you have graced Yangzhou with your presence; hence we all agreed to meet you here. You especially caused trouble for Ping Xi Wang, spoiling not a few of his, the Senior''s important matters. When the Prince Consort wanted to return to Yunnan to visit his family, he was also blocked by you; is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Gentlemen''s information is actually very quick, it is indeed incredible! This time I left the Capital, I wonder if Gentlemen knew what His Majesty instructed me to do."


    "Please advise," Sangjie said.


    "With pleasure, with pleasure," Wei Xiaobao replied, "His Majesty said, ''Wei Xiaobao, you are going to Yangzhou on a mission, I am afraid Wu Sangui would send people to assassinate you, Zhen is somewhat uneasy. Luckily his son is in Zhen''s hands; if you ever meet unexpected misfortune, Zhen will treat this fellow Wu Yingxiong the same as whatever they are doing to you. Wu Sangui sends people to cut the tip of your little finger, inevitable this fellow Wu Yingxiong will also lack the tip of his little finger. That old fellow Wu Sangui sends people to kill you, it''s is equal to killing his own son.'' I said, ''Your Majesty, I can be anybody''s son, but I definitely don''t want to be Wu Sangui''s son.'' His Majesty roared in laughter. As such, I am coming to Yangzhou."


    Sangjie and Galdan looked at each other, their countenances changed slightly. Sangjie said, "His Highness the Prince and I this time go to Yangzhou to find you, at first we thought that the Imperial Envoy His Majesty sent must be an extraordinary character, who would have thought that when the two of us looked from afar, turned out it was an old acquaintance. Even this Miss Ah Qi also knew you."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "We are indeed old friends."


    Ah Qi picked up a chopstick from the table and jabbed it on Wei Xiaobao''s forehead. She spat and said, "Who wants to be old friend with you?"


    Sangjie said, "We made appointment to meet Taiwan''s Zheng Er Gongzi in here, originally it was to discuss how to deal with you. Who would have thought that you personally came to pay a visit, hence you saved us a lot of trouble."


    "Precisely," Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty interrogated that big beard, the Prince''s subordinate Hantiemo for three days; we know everything."


    When Sangje and Galdan heard the name Hantiemo, they were greatly shocked; they both rose up and asked, "What?"


    "It''s nothing really," Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty and Hantiemo talked in Mongolian, jabbering words that I did not understand even one. Afterwards His Majesty bestowed him quite a lot of money, and sent him to the Ministry of War to work for Shangshu Ming Zhu Daren. Less than three days later, he sent me to rush him to draw some maps. This is military stuff; I don''t know anything. I said to His Majesty, ''Your Majesty, Mongolia and Tibet are too cold, if you want to send troops to fight a war, your servant is considering to have a vacation with you, I want to go to beautiful world of Yangzhou to have a stroll.''"


    Galdan''s face showed concern; he asked, "Did you say the young Emperor is going to dispatch troops to attack Mongolia and Tibet?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "This kind of matter, I am not really clear. His Majesty said: it would be best if we deal with the old fellow, one person. If Mongolia and Tibet want to help us, then we''ll consider them as friends; if they help the old fellow, there is no other way, we have to gain the initiative by striking first.''"


    Sangjie and Galdan looked at each other; they felt relieved, and sat down. Galdan asked about Hantiemo, Wei Xiaobao described his appearance and mannerism vividly and realistically, Galdan and Sangjie could not not believe him. Noticing that these two men were frowning slightly, Wei Xiaobao guessed that as the two of them find out that Hantiemo had surrendered to the Qing, they expected that the collusion between Mongolia, Tibet and Wu Sangui could not be concealed from the young Emperor, hence they were afraid Kangxi would gain the initiative by striking first.


    Wei Xiaobao saw Shuang''er and Zeng Rou had their acupoints sealed and were lying on the floor, while most of the eight personal guards had perished. This time he quietly went to the Lovely Spring Courtyard; because he was afraid other people might know his life''s secret, Xu Tianchuan, Zhang Yong, Zhao Qixian, and the others did not know at all. It seems that even if he was chopped into mincemeat, made to be the famous Yangzhou''s lion''s head [i.e. pork meatball], perhaps simmer-fried or steamed in broth, or cooked with crab meat, nobody would come to rescue him. Since he had no way out anyway, he might as well babble anything, it was better than sitting and waiting for death quietly.


    "His Majesty heard that Prince Galdan''s martial art skill is superior, that he is an unparalleled hero," he continued, "He is very full of admiration."

 Chapter - 40 (40)

    The wait for rabbit suspecting the tree trunk can be guard against, the search for fish regretting the tree is difficult to foretell.


    The sedan chair carrying Madame Hong had just left, Wei Xiaobao was just about to turn around to go inside, a large sedan chair arrived at the main gate; Yangzhou Prefectural Magistrate had come to pay his respect. Seeing that the beauties he had in his hand left one by one, Wei Xiaobao was in a particularly bad mood, he had no interest to chitchat. "What do you want?" he asked.


    Prefectural Magistrate Wu Zhirong paid his respect and saluted before saying, "Lowly officer has some classified military intelligence to report to Daren."


    Only after hearing the words ''classified military intelligence'' did Wei Xiaobao let him come in. He said in his heart, "If it is not important classified matter, I will beat your butts."


    When they got to the inner study room, Wei Xiaobao sat down, but did not offer any seat to Wu Zhirong. "What classified military intelligence?" he asked.


    Wu Zhirong said, "Would Daren please dismiss these people?" Wei Xiaobao waved his hand to order the personal guards to go out.


    Wu Zhirong walked over and said in a low voice, "Imperial Envoy Daren, this is a very important matter, if Daren submits a memorial to the Emperor, your merit will be extraordinarily big. Lowly officer will also receive the benefit of the light behind the shade of Daren''s good fortune. Therefore, lowly officer was thinking of not reporting this to Futai [inspector-general (old)] and Fantai [vassal state governor (old)], the two Daren just yet."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned, "What important matter?" he asked, "Why is it so urgent?"


    Wu Zhirong said, "Reporting to Daren: only because His Majesty''s good fortune is great, Daren''s good fortune is great that lowly officer managed to obtain this information."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao said, "You, Wu Daren''s good fortune is also great."


    "I don''t dare, I don''t dare," Wu Zhirong replied, "Lowly officer has received His Majesty''s grace and Imperial Envoy Daren''s promotion that day and night I always think about how to repay the great kindness. After accompanying Daren enjoying the Chinese peony outside the Chanzhi Temple yesterday, I thought about Daren talking about elegant styles, the admiration in my heart is exceedingly great, I only wish that I can work for Daren every day, to receive Daren''s advice at all times."


    "That''s great," Wei Xiaobao said, "Then you don''t need to be a prefectural magistrate. I can see that you are clever and quick-witted, it would be better to �� be better to ��"


    Wu Zhirong was greatly delighted; busily he bowed with cupped fist, "Thank you for Daren''s benefaction."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "It would be better for you to be my door keeper, or else my sedan chair carrier. Every day when I go out, you will be able to see me. Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Wu Zhirong was furious; his countenance changed slightly, but immediately he said with a forced laugh, "That will be wonderful. Being Daren''s door keeper is definitely better than being a prefectural magistrate in Yangzhou. Lowly officer usually sends quite a lot of idle people to make discreet inquiry and find information everywhere, if there is someone who harbor the desire to rebel or slander His Majesty, or disparage cabinet minister, lowly officer will find out immediately. This kind of heresy confuses the people and incites those who hear it; it is a major crime, lowly officer always take more rigorous precautions to administer justice."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao said, thinking that this man was capable of skirting the issue of being door keeper or sedan chair carrier in just one sentence; he really knew how to be a government official, he was indeed amazing.


    Wu Zhirong said, "If it were peddlers and carriers, lowly people of marketplace babbling some nonsense, it would not create much harm; the ones we must be most vigilant are the intelectuals. This kind of people compose poems and write essays, oftentimes they take events from the past to mock the imperial court politics, when ordinary people read it, oftentimes they do not know that these scholars are having malicious intention by using the past to disparage the present."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If others read it and don''t understand, then there''s no harm done."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong said, "Although that is true, in the end this malicious intention must be punished. These poisonous poetry and literature of treason and heresy must never be allowed to spread throughout the world." From his sleeve he took out a piece of letter and presented it with both hands. "Daren please take a look," he said, "This is a poetry antology lowly officer obtained yesterday."


    If he fetched a stack of banknotes from his sleeve, Wei Xiaobao''s countenance would immediately show favorable expression toward him, but seeing that it was a document, he was quite disappointed, when he heard that it was a poetry anthology, immediately he yawned big. Without receiving the document, he looked up and did not pay him any attention.


    Wu Zhirong felt rather awkward; he slowly withdrew his hands that were holding the poetry anthology. "During the banquet yesterday," he said, "There was a woman singing a new poetry depicting peasant women of Yangzhou, Daren was not too happy listening to it, hence lowly officer went out to investigate the poetry anthology from which the song came. I found quite a number of offensive and heretical sentences."


    "Is that so?" Wei Xiaobao lazily said.


    Wu Zhirong opened up the book and pointed to a poem, "Daren, please look at this," he said, "The title of this poem is ''Hongwu''s Copper Cannon Song'' written by Zha Shenxing; it was about the previous dynasty''s Zhu Yuanzhang using copper cannon."


    When he heard this, Wei Xiaobao''s interest was mildly piqued. "Did Zhu Yuanzhang also use cannon?" he asked.


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "Presently our Great Qing''s Holy Sage Son of Heaven is on the throne, yet this man surnamed Zha wrote a song to praise Zhu Yuanzhang''s copper cannon; won''t that incite everybody to cherish the memory of the previous dynasty? This poem exaggerates Zhu Yuanzhang''s power and prestige, this is not right. The last four sentences say, ''I have come to see you in thistles and thorns, not at all like the rivers and mountain in my memory. Golden low-ranking public official gently wipe the everflowing tears, passionately strive for and endure the ever-rising ascend to gaze afar.'' The content of this man''s heart cannot be more clear than this. Our Great Qing received the Mandate of Heaven to drive out the Zhu''s Ming, all common people are overjoyed to no end, but why did this man look at Zhu Yuanzhang''s cannon and want to visit the rivers and mountains of his memory? Why must he shed tears?"


    (Book note: Zha Shenxing''s earlier poem had considerable reminiscent of the previous Ming; later on Kangxi''s literature chamberlain minister changed the style of the poem.)


    "Where is this copper cannon?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "I want to see it. Can you locate it? His Majesty loves cannon very much."


    Wu Zhirong replied, "According to the poem, these copper cannon are in Jingzhou."


    With a wooden expression Wei Xiaobao said, "Since they are not in Yangzhou, why do you bother? You are the Prefectural Magistrate of Yangzhou, not the Prefectural Magistrate of Jingzhou. Wait till you become the county head magistrate of Jingzhou before you investigate these copper cannon."


    Wu Zhirong was greatly shocked; being the county head magistrate of Jingzhou would mean that he was being demoted. He must not raise this subject anymore; hence he put the poetry anthology back into his sleeve and took out two other books. "Imperial Envoy Daren," he said, "That Zha Shenxing''s book has slight improper tone; by Daren''s grace we won''t make further investigation. But these two books absolutely must not be ignored."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned, "Which fellow wrote them?" he asked.


    Wu Zhirong replied, "One was written by Zha Yihuang, called ''The Diary of a Country'', the content is a full commendation of the anti-Qing movement. The other is Gu Yanwu''s poetry anthology; it is even more extremely disregarding the ruler and superior, disregarding the law and natural morality."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly shocked. "Mr. Gu Yanwu and my Shifu are the military strategists of the Turtle Slaying Assembly," he mused, "How did his book fall into this government official''s hands? I wonder if our Tian Di Hui is mentioned there?" He asked, "What is written in the book? Tell me in detail."


    With his right hand index finger he pointed to the book and read, "''On the seventeenth of the fourth month, the Qing troops attacked Yuan Huaji, they retreated via Tong Yuan. Meiji supervised Ling, Yang, Zhou and Wang, various patriots, leading five hundred ships, more than five thousand men, all with white cloth wrapped around their heads, by the seventh earthly branch [between 11am �C 1pm, noon] the battle was over, they pursued the enemy to the end, beheading the first hundred or more low-rank troops, achieving great victory, striking fear to the enemy, that they went ashore and ran away.'' You see Daren, they called the rebels ''patriots'', but called our Great Qing''s elite troops ''the enemy''. Don''t you think he really deserve to die?"


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What did Gu Yanwu write in his book?"


    Wu Zhirong put down the ''Diary of a Country'' and picked up Gu Yanwu''s poetry anthology. Shaking his head he said, "The poems that this man wrote, not a single one does not speak of rebellion and conspiracy against the state. This poem''s title is ''Qiang Hu''


    [84]; this is clearly a slander against our Great Qing."


    His finger pointed to a verse and read, "Our country''s golden bowl was originally whole, it was thrown into confusion like a newborn from a barbarian concubine. Recruiting the troops to establish provinces, accumulating soldier''s pay to establish provinces. There''s concern over tribal chieftains rebelling against the Western Sichuan, a worry about bewitched people singing over Shandong, so much so that among Shenzhou''s [old name for China] half-banished thieves, whoever raise his voice and make a vow can be barbarian tribal chief. Four adjoining outskirts and boundaries opressing Shandong culture, destroying villages and massacre uncountable people. Cut open abdomen, broken intestines, snapped necks and fractured jaws, pile of corpse like a pond. Those fortunate enough were taken prisoners and join the barbarians. Barbarians speak ''ya, ya'', like chisling tooth to mend the denture. Establishing worm banners


    [85], mounting thick weeds carriages. Looking at shedding blood in thousand cities, gathering beautiful women like flowers. Alas, the barbarians destroyed it like this, but speaking as if that it was the Heaven''s will for the country ��"


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hands and said, "Enough, stop reading. Yi yi


    [86] ya ya, I don''t know what you are talking about."


    "Reporting to Daren," Wu Zhirong said, "The poem says that we, the people of Manchuria, are barbarians, it says that it was in order to fight the war against Manchu people to keep the provinces that the Ming Dynasty recruited troops and raised the soldiers'' pay, inciting the whole country to rise in rebellion. It also says that we, Manchu people, massacred people, cut open their belly, broke their intestines, and seized beautiful women."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "Seizing beautiful women, that''s very good. When the Qing troops broke into Yangzhou, didn''t they kill a lot of common people? If not because of this matter, how could His Majesty exempt Yangzhou of three years'' land tax? Hm, this Gu Yanwu''s poem is so honest."


    Wu Zhirong was greatly shocked; he thought, "You are too young and do not know what''s important. Luckily it was you who said it; if it were from someone else''s mouth, I report it up, do you think the gauze hat [i.e. job as an official] you are wearing would stay steady on your head?" But he knew that Wei Xiaobao was the Emperor''s most favorite person; how could he dare to set himself against the Imperial Envoy Minister? Repeatedly he said several ''yes'', and with a forced laugh said, "Indeed Daren has wise opinion; lowly officer was in murky darkness and suddenly it opens. Would Daren please give direction on this poem, ''Song of the history of the heart inside the well''? This poem has a rather lengthy preface; it is indeed wildly rebellious."


    Holding the book up, his head swayed in time with his reading: "In the winter of Chongzhen''s eleventh year, the drought of the well in the Chengtian [lit. bearing (the load) of heaven] Temple in Suzhou''s capital had already deepened; obtaining a case, on the outside was written ''The Great Song (Dynasty) Iron Case Sutra'', and it was very heavy ��"


    ("Daren, it tells about finding an iron box inside the well."


    "Iron box?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Was there any gold, silver or treasure inside?")


    "Inside there was a scroll of book, the title was ''Xin Shi'' [history of the heart], it said ''the solitary minister of the Great Song Zheng Sixiao''s hundred songs of worship''. The nickname ''Sixiao'' actually means ''south'', the Song lost its people, its reputation was recorded in ancient history book. The days of the book collection enjoyed divine protection were nine years. After the demise of Song, just as day and night expecting Prime Minister Chen, Zhang Shaobao [junior guardian] gathered the troops overseas, trying to restore the Great Song''s three hundred years of soil."


    ("Daren, the essay was talking about the Song Dynasty, but actually he was referring to the Great Qing. Gu Yanwu is hoping that Taiwan''s rebel Zheng would gather the troops overseas to restore the soil of the Great Ming.")


    "Not yet repelling the barbarian Yuan back to the northern desert, could only weep in bitter tears, and pray to the Heaven and the Earth, submitting oneself to the Great God, speech failed, attention diverted, certainly there would be a day the barbarians will turn into summer."


    ("Daren, he cursed us, Manchurian Qing as Tatars, he wanted to repel us out."


    "Are you a Manchu?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "This �� this �� lowly officer is a servant of His Majesty of the Great Qing, a subordinate of Manchu Daren, indeed I am concentrating my thoughts and my efforts in dedication to Manchu people.")


    "Thereupon when the people of the country saw this, none did not bow their head in amazement. The Xunfu [inspector general] Duke Du Yuanzhang preserved the writing for later time, as well as set up a memorial hall in the south, and hid the box in the memorial hall. Before long, the country met with difficulties, just like the final years of the divine protection. Alas, what a sorrow!"


    ("Daren, the Great Qing''s army entered the Pass, it was to console the people and punish the tyrant, yet this Gu Yanwu said that the country met with difficulties, he also said ''alas, what a sorrow''; can we bear not to question this man''s intention?")


    ("Daren, these three rebels did not acknowledge allegiance to our Great Qing, fortunately they died early, otherwise, they would definitely be executed along with their families unto the third generation.")


    "Only the untalented me, drifting along in this life, heading toward the grieving years, enduring the net that is getting tighter and tighter."


    ("Daren, he said that the imperial court supresses essays with rebellious intent, it''s getting harder and harder; yet this fellow is clearly has the audacity [orig. ''hair grows on his guts''] and is unafraid.")


    "See whatever is worthy, think to imitate; standing alone without fear, expressing this matter, showing the ministers how to change in conducting themselves, pretending to write this song."


    As he was listening to this, Wei Xiaobao repeatedly yawn; he only wanted to know what was written in Gu Yanwu''s book, hence he endured patiently until Wu Zhirong finished reading the lengthy preface. "Are you done?" he asked.


    "Next comes the poem," Wu Zhirong said.


    "If there is nothing important, you don''t need to read," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Very important, very important," Wu Zhirong replied. He read, "Minister Zheng Sixiao of the late Song, cried bitterly over barbarian Yuan [i.e. Mongol] moving nine ancestral shrines, all by himself holding on to Han cauldron with difficulty, alone devotedly desiring and wishing with lamentation on the weary Hunan. Writing a book, roll by roll to become ''Xin Shi'', the content of ten thousand ancient hearts. A thousand searches hidden away inside the iron case in the well, a hundred worship songs that have yet to die today. In barbarian captivity not even a hundred years, perhaps by chance the divine ancestor would re-open the Heaven ��"


    ("Daren, by saying this sentence ''In barbarian captivity not even a hundred years'', he is really really deserve to die. He is cursing our Great Qing to reign not even a hundred years, saying that Han people may have some ''divine ancestor'', which will come to open the Heaven. What opening the Heaven? He is thinking of overthrowing our Great Qing!")


    "I heard His Majesty said," Wei Xiaobao spoke up, "Only if the Great Qing treats the common people well will our rivers and mountain be steady. Otherwise any empty talk of thousand years, ten thousand years, everything will be in vain. There is a foreigner by the name Tang Ruowang, he is the Director of Imperial Observatory; do you know him?"


    "Yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "Lowly officer has heard about him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This man wrote an almanac, his projection is for 200 years. Some people accused him, saying that the Great Qing''s dominion will last for tens of thousands of years; why did he project only 200 years? At that time Oboi was in charge of the nation, he was completely muddleheaded, unexpectedly he was going to chop his head. Fortunately His Majesty is an enlightened sage, he reprimanded Oboi severely, and had the person who lodged the complain executed, along with his entire family unto the third generation. His Majesty dislikes the most people who wrongly accused good people, by saying nonsense about the Great Qing dominion lasts for a hundred years, or two hundred years to harm others. His Majesty said that really good ministers will cherish common people, and work diligently for the imperial court. As for people who love to lodge false accusation against others, always pick mistakes inside a poem or an essay, which is called ''seeking for bone inside the egg'', definitely those people are the painted face treacherous officials [in the opera], he ordered me that if I see this kind of fellow, to immediately tie him up and chop his damn head."


    Wei Xiaobao was determined to protect Gu Yanwu at all cost, he was afraid that Wu Zhirong reported to him but failed, he might go to different government official and raise some noise. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao spoke more and more harshly, trying to scare Wu Zhirong that henceforth he would not dare to raise this matter anymore.


    He did not know that Wu Zhirong obtained his prefectural magistrate position entirely because he reported the ''Ming Shi'' [history of the Ming Dynasty], the writing of Zhuang Tinglong of Huzhou, Zhejiang, which talked about the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, which had words and sentences that were disrespectful toward the Qing Dynasty. Provoking literrary inquisition to seek fame and fortune was this man''s expertise.


    This time Wu Zhirong found some flaws in the literary work of Gu Yanwu, Zha Yihuang and the others, he was unable to contain his joy. He believed that he found heaven-sent wealth and promotion, he might even gain three classes of promotion at once; who would have thought that the Imperial Envoy Minister would talk to him like that? In that instant, cold sweat started to drench his back; he thought, "In the ''Ming Shi'' case, Oboi Daren personally handled this matter. Now Oboi Daren has been deposed by His Majesty, it seems that His Majesty''s temper is totally different from Oboi Daren; this time I am indeed in a very bad situation."


    On how Kangxi captured Oboi, since it was not too honorable, it was not openly discussed. The high-ranking ministers racked their brains with ideas, but among the government officials, very few talked about it. Wu Zhirong''s official rank was rather low, plus he was stationed in a prefecture far away from Beijing, thereupon he did not know that the only connection he had in the high place, Oboi Daren was dead precisely in the hand on this Wei Daren in front of his eyes. Otherwise, he would be even more terrified.


    Seeing his earthly gray countenance and his trembling body, Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted; he asked, "Have you finished reading?"


    Wu Zhirong replied, "This poem, there is still �� still �� half."


    "So, what does it say?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Trembling with fear, Wu Zhirong continued reading, "The Yellow River did not wait for clear person [Qing], the deep water retain its splendor. Suddenly appeared strange book out of the world, alarming the barbarian riders filling the rivers and mountains. The Heaven knows the way of the world will be repeated, hence this book revealed the goal of the government ministers. To meet again more than thirty years later, with one heart one mind restored at the same time. Duke Lu died at the cliff''s door, those who trust the country sacrifice their lives at swallow market. In olden days reciting poetry lamenting people of old, in secluded bamboo groove and restful woods worrying about mountain ghosts. Alas, cattail yellow''s [�ѻ� - ''pu huang'', cattail pollen or pollen typhae] lifetime is so long! How would the South see it?" He read it without taking a breath, and he did not dare to add explanation either; with great difficulty he finally finished reading, his sweats dripped on the pages of the book.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "There is nothing out of ordinary in the poem. It talks about some mountain ghosts, some faded old woman [������ �C ''huang lian po'' (yellow-faced old woman)]; it''s really amusing."


    Wu Zhirong said, "Reporting to Daren: the ''pu huang'' in the poem was referring to Song Dynasty''s high-ranking ministers Pu Shougeng and Huang Wanshi who surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty; it is a ridicule to the Han people who become government officials of the Great Qing."


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance sank. "I said it was ''huang lian po'', then it is faded old woman," he said sternly, "Is your wife''s [lao po, same ''po'' character] face very yellow? Why did anybody write a poem to make fun of faded old woman and you cannot stand it?"


    Wu Zhirong took a step back, his hands trembling, ''pat!'' the book in his hands fell. "Yes, yes," he said, "Lowly officer deserves to die."


    Wei Xiaobao seized the opportunity to flare-up; he shouted, "What a nerve! I courteously recited His Majesty''s imperial edict to enlighten you. You are a very minor government official, yet you dare to throw things at me, to lose your temper at me! You look down upon His Majesty''s imperial edict; aren''t you rebelling?"


    ''Bonk!'' Wu Zhirong dropped on his knees and repeatedly kowtowed. "Da �� Daren please spare my life, forgive �� forgive Xiaoren''s muddleheadedness."


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "You threw things at me, you lost your temper, that''s fine, at most you will be charged with humiliating the Imperial Envoy. Heavy punishment would be beheading, light punishment would be banishment; it''s a trivial matter ��"


    Hearing the charge was getting heavier, from banishment to beheading, Wu Zhirong kowtowed even more fervently, his head was like pounding on garlic. "Daren, please be magnanimous, Xiao �� Xiaode [lowly one] knew my guilt."


    "You look down on His Majesty''s imperial edict," Wei Xiaobao barked, "Can I let it pass just like that? Your family, wife, sister-in-law, son, daughter, mother-in-law, paternal aunt, servant girl, mistress, a bunch of heads must be chopped down."


    Wu Zhirong was shaking all over, his teeth chattered, making a clicking noise, he no longer dare to say anything.


    Seeing that he had scared him enough, Wei Xiaobao asked sternly, "Where is that Gu Yanwu now?"


    Wu Zhirong replied in trembling voice, "Report �� reporting to Daren �� he �� he �� he is at ��" his teeth bit his own tongue that his speech was not clear. After quite a while, he managed to continue, trembling with fear, "Lowly officer was too brazen, I had Gu Yanwu and that surnamed Zha, also �� also one surnamed Lu, detained �� detained at the yamen."


    "Have you torture and question them?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "What did they say?"


    Wu Zhirong said, "Lowly officer only casually asked a few questions, the three of them were unwilling to confess."


    "Are they really unwilling to say anything?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wu Zhirong said, "They �� they are not. But �� but we found a letter in that surnamed Zha''s pocket; as a matter of fact, it carries great responsibility. Daren, please take a look." From his side he took a cloth bundle, opened it to produce a letter, and presented it with both hands.


    Wei Xiaobao did not take the letter, he asked, "What does it say? What kind of essay?"


    "No, it''s not that," Wu Zhirong said, "It was written by Guangdong Tidu [local commander] Wu �� Wu Liuqi."


    When Wei Xiaobao heard ''Guangdong Tidu Wu Liuqi'', seven characters, he was shocked. "Wu Liuqi?" he busily asked, "He also write poetry?"


    "It''s not that," Wu Zhirong replied, "Wu Liuqi is plotting rebellion, this letter is irrefutable evidence, he won''t be able to deny at all. When a while ago lowly officer mentioned military intelligence and that we will render great merit, I was talking about this matter."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao said, while in his heart he groaned, "It''s bad!"


    "Reporting to Daren," Wu Zhirong continued, "Scholars compose poem or write articles with somewhat rebellious content, Daren bravely made decision that it was not a big deal; lowly officer is full of admiration. There''s a common saying: Xiucai [a person who has passed county level imperial exam] rebelling, in three years he won''t have any result. Presumably it''s not something we should be worried about. But this Wu Liuqi is in command of the entire province''s troops. If he wanted to rise in rebellion, and the imperial court did not gain the initiative by striking first, then �� then it would desperately serious." Talking about Wu Liuqi rising in rebellion, immediately his eloquence came back.


    All along he had been kneeling on the floor; now that he saw Wei Xiaobao''s expression alternated between grim and clear, obviously he was very interested in this matter, Wu Zhirong slowly stood up. "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, and glowered at him. Wu Zhirong was startled; he immediately dropped down on his knees again.


    "What does the letter say?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Reporting to Daren," Wu Zhirong replied, "The writing in the letter is very obscure; he said something about the important event in the southwest, that the undertaking of the real men is in full swing. He invited the one surnamed Zha to visit Guangdong to give directions and principles of action. The letter says, ''Passionately planning the matter of Zhong Shan [lit. central mountain], the great feat of Kaiping [county, Jiangmen, Guangdong], will not be accomplished without Mr. Qing Tian''s [lit. clear (rice) field; see next section] planning the operation.'' That was definitely a reference to rebellion."


    "You are talking rubbish again," Wei Xiaobao said, "Do you know what important matter they are talking about? You are a minor official, how would you know His Majesty and the imperial court''s classified strategic decision?"


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "But in his letter he clearly mentioned the plan to rebel; we really must not easily neglect it."


    Wei Xiaobao took the envelope and extracted the letter; he saw the paper was full of walnut-size characters. He could tell that the ink was very dense, the strokes were very coarse, but he did not recognize a single character. He said, "The letter did not mention anything about rebellion."


    "Reporting to Daren," Wu Zhirong said, "About the rebellion, naturally he cannot write it openly. This Wu Liuqi wanted to be Zhong Shan King, Kaiping King, and he wanted that surnamed Zha to be Mr. Qing Tian; that is rebellion."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Rubbish! People who take official post, which one does not wish to become ''King'' or ''Duke''? Are you saying you don''t want to? This Wu Junmen [lit. army gate, no idea what it is] has rendered great merit, he wanted to set up another great service for the imperial court, hoping that His Majesty would grant him the title King, it is a sign of great loyalty."


    Wu Zhirong had a very awkward expression on his face; he thought, "Talking with an ignorant and incompetent disciple like you, I can''t make anything clear. Today I have offended you; if I do not set up a merit through this matter, my career will most likely not have any future." Thereupon suppressing his temper, he forced a laughter and said, "Reporting to Daren: the Ming Dynasty had two great generals. One was called Xu Da, the other Chang Yuchun."


    Ever since he was little, Wei Xiaobao had heard mister storytellers talked about ''The Great Ming''s Legend of Heroic Deeds''; he knew the stories surrounding the founding of the Ming Dynasty by heart [orig. ''ripe as a melon that rolls from its vine'']. As soon as he heard Wu Zhirong mentioning Xu and Chang, two great generals, immediately his spirit was aroused, totally unlike when he was drowsily listening to him reciting poetry and literature. He laughed and said, "Those two great generals'' prestige is known in eight directions, they are indeed very formidable. Do you know what weapon Xu Da used? What weapon Chang Yuchun used?"


    This time he stumped Wu Zhirong. Because of the ''Ming Shi'' Wu Zhirong enjoyed meteoric rise in his political career, hence he was very familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty; however, nothing was said about the kind of weapon Xu Da and Chang Yuchun used. With a forced laugh he said, "Lowly officer is of humble talent and shallow learning; I do not know. Would Daren please advise?"


    Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself. He said with a smile, "You guys only read the book rotten, but don''t know about this kind of matters. Let me tell you: Great General Xu was the reincarnation of the Song Dynasty''s Yue Fei, Yue Yeye [grandpa]; he used a steel spear with cast iron point, on his waist he carried eighteen wolf tooth arrows, he shot with great precision, his arrows never missed. General Chang was the reincarnation of Yan man Zhang Yide from the Three Kingdom era; he used an eight-snake spear one zhang [about 10ft/3m] long, ten thousand men could not withstand his bravery." And then he rambled on and on about how these two generals Xu and Chang broke the Yuan army. These stories came from the storytellers, naturally it was a lot more fantastic, but not much of the actual fact.


    Wu Zhirong was listening to the stories while he was kneeling on the floor. His knees were growing more and more painful. However, in order to make Wei Xiaobao happy, he had no choice but to pretend that he was listening with keen interest; he repeatedly gasped in admiration, and with great difficulty forcing himself to listen to the end before saying, "Daren has wide learning and retentive memory, lowly officer is full of admiration. Those two, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun''s merit was indeed very great; after their deaths, Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed the title of ''King'' to the two of them, one was Zhong Shan Wang [king], the other was Kaiping Wang. Zhu Yuanzhang also had a military strategist ��"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao cut him off, "That military strategist was Liu Bowen; looking up he knew astronomy, looking down he knew geography, looking ahead he knew three thousand years, looking back he knew a thousand years." And then like an unceasing torrent he narrated about how Liu Bowen gained his capability of knowing everything under the heavens, that even the gods and demons could not understand his scheme, how he planned this and that strategy in fighting this war or that, how to predict things that happened a thousand li away.


    Wu Zhirong''s legs went numb, he could not endure anymore; he slid back and sat on the floor, and said with a forced laugh, "Daren''s story is so pleasant to hear, lowly officer''s spirit is aroused. By Daren''s grace, lowly officer is thinking of listening while standing up, I wonder if it is possible?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Alright, stand up."


    Propping himself against a chair, Wu Zhirong slowly stood up. "Reporting to Daren," he said, "The ''Mr. Qing Tian'' Wu Liuqi mentioned in his letter was precisely Liu Ji, Liu Bowen. That Liu Bowen was a Qingtian [county, Lishui] man from Zhejiang. Wu Liuqi himself wanted to be Xu Da or Chang Yuchun, and wanted that man surnamed Zha to be the Liu Bowen."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He wants to be Xu Da or Chang Yuchun, that''s great. That man surnamed Zha wants to be the Liu Bowen, humph, he may not necessarily have that kind of skill. Do you think it''s easy to be Liu Bowen? Liu Bowen''s ''Shaobing Song'' [lit. baked sesame seed-coated cake] said, ''Hand grasping a steel knife ninety-nine, killing the barbarians to the end before putting it down.'' Hey, formidable, formidable!"


    Wu Zhirong said, "Daren is really smart, you are absolutely correct. That Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and Liu Bowen, three men, were all fighting the Yuan army, they help Zhu Yuanzhang driving out the barbarians. The things that Wu Liuqi said in his letter clearly mean that he wanted to rise in rebellion, he wanted to kill Manchu people."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he thought, "Wu Dage''s intention, how can I not know? Do I need you to tell me? This letter indeed has enormous repercussion; it is by Heaven''s providence that it fell into my hands." Thereupon he repeatedly nodded and reached out to pat Wu Zhirong''s shoulder. "Good!" he said, "Our luck is very good! If you did not come and tell me about this, it would be terrible. His Majesty said that I am a general who depends on good luck; indeed the Holy Sage''s golden mouth is proven to be right again."


    Having his shoulder patted several times, Wu Zhirong felt the bones in his entire body went soft; he felt that ever since he came out of his mother''s womb, he had never had such glory. He could not help but was deeply touched; with a choking voice he said, "Daren showed such affection, this kindness and grace, even if lowly officer has my body torn and my bones crushed, it is still hard to repay. Daren is good-luck general, lowly officer will follow you, being a good-luck soldier or good-luck servant, or even good-luck dog or good-luck horse; that will still bring honor to my ancestors."


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter; he raised his hand to stroke Wu Zhirong''s head. "Very good! Very good!" he said.


    Wu Zhirong was tall. Realizing that it was not too convenient for Wei Xiaobao to reach out and stroke his head, he busily lowered his head to let him stroking the top of his head. Previously Wei Xiaobao was very angry; Wu Zhirong kneeled down, kowtowed and took off his hat, Wei Xiaobao pressed his palm on the smooth scalp where the hair was shaved, and slowly stroked toward his back, just like stroking a dog who begged to be petted while wagging its tail. When his palm reached the back of Wu Zhirong''s head, Wei Xiaobao thought, "I don''t want your torn body and crushed bones either, I just need to chop a damn blade right here." He asked, "Other than you, is there anybody else who knew about this matter?"


    "No one, no one," Wu Zhirong replied, "Lowly officer realized the stake is very high, I did not dare to leak the least bit of rumor. If that rebel thief Wu Liuqi finds out that his rebellious conspiracy has been exposed, he might immediately rise in rebellion, and then Daren and lowly officer will not have the least bit of merit."


    "True," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are very thoughtful. We must be very careful, we must not let Futai and Fantai know about it, they might rush to submit a report to the imperial court, hence snatching away your great contribution."


    Wu Zhirong was over the moon; he bowed with cupped fist repeatedly. "Yes, yes," he said, "I completely rely on Daren''s support."


    Wei Xiaobao put Gu Yanwu''s letter into his pocket and said, "Just leave all these poetry anthology here, you quietly get Gu Yanwu, those several people here, after I interrogate them clearly, I will select troops and horses to escort you to Beijing. I will personally submit a report to His Majesty. In this great contribution, you are the first, I receive the benefit of your splendor and be the second."


    Wu Zhirong was unable to contain his joy. "No, no," he busily said, "Daren is the first, lowly officer is second."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "After you go to see His Majesty, whatever you want to say to him, I will carefully teach you. As long as His Majesty is pleased, you want to be Xunfu or Fantai, just leave it to me."


    Wu Zhirong was so happy that he almost fainted; with both hands he put the poetry anthology books on the table, and ''dong, dong, dong'' knocking his head on the floor before taking his leave. Wei Xiaobao was afraid he might change his mind midway, hence he appointed a team of Valiant Cavalry sergeants under the leadership of a Zuoling to accompany Wu Zhirong in escorting prisoners.


    Upon returning to the inner hall, he sent someone to summon Li Lishi and the others for a discussion. Suddenly he saw Shuang''er came into his presence, kneeled down, and crying, "Xianggong," she said with a sob, "I want to ask you something."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly baffled; hastily he reached out to hold her hands and pull her up. Without letting her hands off he said tenderly, "Good Shuang''er, you are my lifeblood. Whatever it is, I will definitely do it for you." Seeing the tears kept streaming down her cheeks, he raised his left hand and wiped the tears with his sleeve.


    "Xianggong," Shuang''er said, "This is a very difficult matter, but I �� I simply must ask you."


    Wei Xiaobao wrapped his left arm around her waistand said, "The more difficult thing to do, if I can get it done for you, the more it will prove that I dote on my good Shuang''er. What is it? Quickly tell me."


    A hint of blush appeared on Shuang''er''s pale face. "Xianggong," she said in a low voice, "I �� I want to kill that government official who has just left. But you must not be angry with me."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "In this matter you and I are like-minded; now you came to ask me, this is extremely wonderful." He asked, "How did this government official offend you?"


    Sobbing and sniffling, Shuang''er replied, "He did not offend me. This Wu Zhirong is my family''s archenemy. The Zhuang Family''s Laoye, Shaoye [old and young master, respectively] were all killed because of him."


    Wei Xiaobao immediately understood; that night at the Zhuang Family''s house, he saw everybody there was a widow, and there were a lof of memorial tablet arranged in one of the rooms, turned out the criminal ringleader, the main offender, was this man. "Are you sure you did not misidentify the person?" he asked.


    Shuang''er''s tears poured down her cheeks again as she said with a sob, "No �� I can''t possibly mistook him for someone else. That day he �� he brought officers from yamen to the Zhuang Family to arrest people. I was still little, but his ferocious appearance, I cannot forget it no matter what."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I must appear to be in a very difficult situation, then she would greatly see the favor I am giving her." Knitting his brows, he pretended to ponder deeply for half a day before hesitantly said, "He is a government official appointed by the imperial court, the Prefectural Magistrate of Yangzhou prefecture, the Emperor happened to send me to Yangzhou on a mission, if you killed him, I am afraid my official position will be in jeopardy. Just now he came to me with a very important matter; if you kill him, I am afraid �� I am afraid ��"


    Shuang''er was deeply anxious, she said in tears, "I �� I actually knew that I am going to give Xianggong a lot of trouble, but �� Zhuang Family''s Laotaitai [old Madame], San Shaonainai [third young mistress], they �� they kowtowed in front of the memorial tablets every day, vowing to kill this evil government official surnamed Wu to take revenge and wipe out the grudge."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and said, "Alright! It''s my good Shuang''er who asked me, even if you asked me to kill the Emperor, you asked me to kill myself, I will comply to your request, much less just one tiny Zhifu? But you have to give me a kiss on the mouth."


    Shuang''er''s entire face turned beet-red, she was happy and bashful at the same time; turning her head away, she said in a low voice, "Xianggong treats me this well, I �� I have been yours long time ago. You �� you ��" Speaking to this point, she lowered her head.


    Seeing her graceful, beautiful, and submissive demeanor, Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned soft. He could not bear to be frivolous toward her anymore. "Very well," he said with a laugh, "When we achieve great success, I am going to kiss you on the mouth, you must not flee."


    Shuang''er blushed even deeper; she nodded her head slowly.


    "If you killed him right now," Wei Xiaobao said, "The revenge will not be sweet enough. I will let you bring him to the Zhuang Family, have him kneel down before all Zhuang Family Laoye, Shaoye''s memorial tablets, let San Shaonainai and the others kill this dog''s head with their own hands. What do you say?"


    Shuang''er thought that it was a really great idea, but may not be necessarily real. With her round eyes opened wide, she looked at Wei Xiaobao, not daring to believe. "Xianggong," she said, "You are not lying to me, are you?"


    "Why would I lie to you?" Wei Xiaobao said, "This dog official is your enemy, he is not mine. He was going to send me great riches and honor, yet I don''t give it a damn. As long as little Shuang''er is sincerely nice to me, it is stronger than anything in the world!"


    Shuang''er was very grateful in her heart, she leaned on him, and could not help but broke out in crying again. Wei Xiaobao pulled her soft, slender waist closer, he was very happy in his heart; he mused, "This readily available passion, even having it ten or eight a day, it''s can''t be considered too much. Why didn''t that dog official Wu Zhirong kill Ah Ke''s father? If Ah Ke also came to me asking me to avenge her, and let me to embrace her tightly, wouldn''t it be nice?" But he immediately had a second thought: Ah Ke''s father was either Li Zicheng or Wu Sangui, how could Wu Zhirong kill them?


    They heard footsteps outside, and knew that Li Lishi and the others have arrived. "Don''t worry about it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Right now I have something important I need to discuss with these people, go guard outside the door, don''t let anybody come in, and don''t eavesdrop our conversation either."


    "Yes," Shuang''er replied, "I have never eavesdropped on your conversations." Suddenly she pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand, stooped down and kissed his hand, and then slipped out of the door.


    Li Lishi and the other Tian Di Hui warriors entered the room and sat down. Wei Xiaobao said, "All Gege, last night I heard big news, it was an urgent matter, there was not enough time to discuss it with you all, hastily I went to Lovely Spring Courtyard. In the end my luck was not bad, although I created chaos, in the end I managed to save Mr. Gu Yanwu and Wu Liuqi Dage''s lives."


    The warriors were greatly surprised; the previous night Wei Xiangzhu did indeed create preposterous scene. Visiting prostitute in a brothel was not a big deal, but taking out a big bed out of the brothel, transporting seven women and parading the bed along the streets, it was indeed a hideous mess; turned out it was in order to save Gu Yanwu and Wu Liuqi. Even if they think until their heads explode, they would never have figured it out. Immediately everybody asked him for the details.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "When we were in Kunming, all Gege masqueraded as Wu Sangui''s warriors and went to the brothel to drink and fight. Xiongdi thought this trick was not bad, hence last night I repeated the fun and went one more time."


    The crowd of warriors nodded; they all thought, "So that''s what happened."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that if he talked too much, he would inevitably reveal the cloven foot; thereupon he said, "We do not need to talk about this matter in details." Putting his hand into his pocket, he groped for Wu Liuqi''s letter and took it out.


    Qian Laoben received it, spread it out on the table, and they all reviewed it together. They saw at the beginning of the letter it was written ''To be inspected by my dear friend Mister Yihuang'', while at the end the signature said, ''Iron Beggar in the snow'', four characters [xue zhong tie gai]. Everybody knew that ''Iron Beggar in the snow'' was Wu Liuqi''s nickname, but they did not know who Mr. Yihuang was.


    These people''s knowledge about literature was rather limited, when they read about ''important event in the southwest'' they thought he was referring to Wu Sangui''s rebellion, but about ''Passionately planning the matter of Zhong Shan, the great feat of Kaiping'', or something about ''can''t be accomplished without Mr. Qing Tian''s planning'', et cetera, the secret language, allusion to classic story, they were completely at a loss. They all looked at each other in dismay, quietly waiting for Wei Xiaobao to explain.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Xiongdi''s tummy is stuffed with Yangzhou''s steamed dumpling and long fish noodle, there is not the least bit of ink in it. I presume that in all Gege''s tummy there are more old wine than ink. Mr. Gu Yanwu will arrive shortly, we will invite him, old mister, to explain."


    While they were still talking, a personal guard came to report that there were guests came to visit, one was a Great Lama, the other was a Mongolian Prince. Wei Xiaobao asked the Tian Di Hui warriors to act as his personal guards in receiving the guests, he was afraid that these two ''sworn brothers'' would become hostile to him, while at the same time he also invited Ah Qi to come out.


    When they met, Sangjie and Galdan was very warm, they praised Wei Xiaobao for holding yi qi in a very high regard. When Ah Qi finally appeared, they happily met each other, Galdan was bursting with joy. By this time Ah Qi''s manacles had been removed, she wore heavy make-up and was dressed neatly.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Fortunately two Gege''s martial art skill is unrivalled that the sorcerers were killed and drove out; otherwise, Xiongdi''s little life could not be protected. That bunch of sorcerers'' martial art skill was not weak, their number was superior. Two Gege used the few to defeat the many, you beat them until they piss in their pants in terror, and flee to the wilderness; Xiongdi is full of admiration. Let us have a feast to celebrate the heroic deed, to congratulate two Gege for your formidable renown over all the world, for your triumphal return."


    Sangjie and Galdan understood clearly that they were captured by the Divine Dragon Cult, fortunately Wei Xiaobao released Madame Hong for an exchange of the two of them, yet going by Wei Xiaobao''s speech it appeared that the two of them had defeated the enemy and inflicted heavy loss on them. Sangjie''s face looked ashamed, but in his heart he was appreciative. But Galdan was radiant with delight, he was immensely proud in front of his sweetheart.


    As soon as the Imperial Envoy mentioned a ''feast'', the feast was immediately set up in the main hall. Wei Xiaobao stood up with a wine cup in his hand, flattering words continuously bubbling up toward his two sworn brothers, until finally even Sangjie had forgotten about the disgrace of being captured. Only when Wei Xiaobao praised his martial art skill as number one under the heavens that he repeatedly shook his hand, realizing that compared to Cult Leader Hong he was far inferior.


    The two of them were greatly delighted; they both saw the logic behind it. Wei Xiaobao took the two of them into the study room. Galdan said, "Your uncouth brother is not too competent in writing, how about Xiongdi write the memorial for me?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Xiongdi''s own name, only the character ''Xiao'' (С) I can guarantee I write it correctly, my character ''Wei'' is not reliable, and the character ''Bao'', no matter how I do it, there''s always something not right about it. Let''s just get the secretary to write it for us."


    Sangjie said, "This matter is highly confidential, we can''t let other people know about it. Your uncouth brother''s writing is not too favorable either, but just let me do it. Fortunately we are not taking the exam for ''zhuangyuan'' title, His Majesty also will not care if the writing style is good or not, as long as the intent is correct."


    Every single one of his fingers lost one section, but he was still able to write; thereupon he wrote is own memorial, and then wrote another one on Galdan''s behalf, and have Galdan put down his hand print and draw his signature.


    The three of them reaffirmed their oath earlier that in the future they would enjoy riches and honor together, and support one another in trials and tribulations, and that they would never turn their back on the brotherhood sentiment. Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to fetch three trays of gold and presented the gold to his two sworn brothers and Ah Qi. He also had the men prepared horses and sedan chair and respectfully walked them out of the door.


    Back to the main hall, his personal guard reported that Prefectural Magistrate Wu has arrived with the prisoners. Wei Xiaobao ordered Wu Zhirong to wait in the eastern reception hall, while he took Gu Yanwu and the others, three men, into the inner hall. He personally opened their manacles, and then ordered his personal guards to withdraw, only Tian Di Hui warriors remained. Then he closed the door and bowed and saluted. "Tian Di Hui Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu Wei Xiaobao, leading my fellow brethren pays our respect to Gu Junshi [military strategist] and Mr. Zha, Mr. Lu."


    That day when Zha Yihuang received Wu Liuqi''s secret letter, in his delight he sent a message to Lu Liuliang to go to Yangzhou to see Gu Yanwu to discuss this matter. Unexpectedly Wu Zhirong happened to be investigating Gu Yanwu''s poetry anthology, so that when the officers from yamen came to arrest him, they also arrest Zha and Lu, two people along. When the three of them were searched, Wu Liuqi''s secret letter was found in Zha Yihuang''s pocket. They were so ashamed and remorseful that they wished to die, thinking that their own lives were not a big deal, but if Wu Liuqi''s conspiracy was exposed, their great undertaking might be spoiled. Who would have thought that a strange mountain peak suddenly appeared, the Imperial Envoy Minister unexpectedly professed himself as a Xiangzhu of Tian Di Hui? They could not help but were astonished and delighted, they felt as if they were dreaming.


    During the Turtle-Slaying Assembly at Hejianfu the other day, Wei Xiaobao did not show his face at all, but Li Lishi, Xu Tianchuan, Priest Xuanzhen, Qian Laoben and the others were acquainted with Gu Yanwu. In the past, when Gu, Zha and Lu, three people were in distress on the boat at the canal, they received help from Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan. When they learned that the young imperial envoy in front of them was none other than Chen Jinnan''s own disciple, all their doubts were gone; hence they happily chatted with each other.


    Zha Yihuang explained the allusions of ''Zhong Shan, Kaiping, Mr. Qingtian'', and so on in Wu Liuqi''s letter for the benefit of Tian Di Hui warriors; they all agreed that it was indeed dangerous. Lu Liuliang sighed and said, "In the past, the three of us, plus Huang Lizhou, Huang Xiong, have received your revered master''s help. Today we were not being careful and stirred up trouble, again we are rescued from disaster by Wei Xiongdi. Ay, indeed out of a hundred scholars not one is useful; worthy master and disciple''s great benevolence and kindness will be even more difficult to repay."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We are all on the same side, why would Mr. Lu be modest?"


    Zha Yihuang said, "When the Yangzhou yamen officers suddenly broke in, it was indeed like lightning on our ears. Realizing the situation was amiss, I hastily picked up Wu Xiong''s letter to rip it up, but my arms were grabbed by the officers and twisted behind my back. I knew the catastrophe would not be minor. Xiongdi then decided on a plan, if I am tortured, I will confess that the writer of this letter, the ''Iron Beggar in the snow'' is Wu Sangui. In any case Xiongdi''s old life cannot be guaranteed, but I must do everything I can to protect Wu Liuqi, Wu Xiong''s life."


    Everybody burst into loud laughter; they all said that this trick was very clever. Zha Yihuang said, "That would be my last effort if I have no other choice. The name ''Iron Beggar in the snow'' is renowned throughout the world, I am afraid I cannot put it on Wu Sangui''s head. If the interrogator examined Wu Xiong''s handwriting, upon investigation it will be found to be a match, and then the truth will be revealed for sure."


    Gu Yanwu said, "Twice we have leaked Wu Xiong''s secret, and twice we were saved; it can clearly be seen that there is an invisible Will of Heaven at work. Tatars'' fate won''t last long, Wu Xiong''s great merit will succeed. But from now on this matter can never be mentioned anymore. Perhaps for the third time we won''t be as fortunate."


    Everybody voiced their agreement. "Wei Xiangzhu," Gu Yanwu asked Wei Xiaobao, "What do you think we have to do for damage control?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is rare that we can meet with the three gentlemen, please stay here for a few days, we can enjoy wine together. We''ll have that dog official Wu Zhirong come and let him stand on the side to watch, and so we will scare him to death. In the event that the dog official has guts and he did not die of fear, we''ll simply chop his dog head with a saber."


    Gu Yanwu laughed and said, "Although by doing this we vent the resentment in our hearts, I am afraid the information will leak. This dog official was appointed by the imperial court, if Wei Xiangzhu wants to kill him, we must have a criminal charge on him."


    Wei Xiaobao pondered for a moment and then said, "I got it. I am going to ask Mr. Zha to forge a letter, supposedly written by Wu Sangui, addressed to the dog official. This dog official loves to brag, he said that according to the genealogy, Wu Sangui is his distant uncle. If forging a letter is too much trouble, just copy Wu Dage''s letter all the way through, but change the names on top and bottom. No matter who colludes with Wu Sangui, I will chop his head, the young Emperor will definitely approve."


    Everybody agreed that it was a good plan. Gu Yanwu laughed and said, "Wei Xiangzhu is creative and quick-thinking. This ''grafting flowers onto a tree'' stratagem can be said ''one arrow, two golden eagles''; namely, we use the opponent''s own methods to obtain retribution. Yihuang Xiong, please pick up your brush and start to write."


    Zha Yihuang laughed and said, "I would never imagine that today I will write a letter on Wu Sangui, that old thief''s behalf."


    Wei Xiaobao had judged others by himself, thinking that forging a letter would be very difficult; hence he proposed to simply make a copy. But Gu, Zha and Lu, three people were famous scholars, to them, writing letters was just like Wei Xiaobao throwing dice or play Paigow, it was right down their alley; why would they want to copy someone else''s letter?


    Zha Yihuang picked up the brush and was ready to write; he asked, "I wonder if Wu Zhirong has an alias? If Wu Sangui wrote a letter using his alias, it will appear even more authentic."


    "Gao Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please ask the dog official."


    Gao Yanchao went out to inquire. When he returned, he said with a laugh, "The dog official''s alias is ''Xianyang''. He asked why we wanted to know his alias, I said that Imperial Envoy Minister wanted to write a letter to the two Shangshu of the Ministry of Appointments and Ministry of Justice in Beijing, to commend his meritorious service in details, submitting his official position and alias. The dog official smiled so wide that his mouth could not close, he rewarded me ten taels of silver." While saying that, he tossed a silver ingot in his hand up and down. Everybody roared in laughter.


    Zha Yihuang finished the letter and handed it to Gu Yanwu; he said, "Ting Lin Xiong, do you think it can be used?"


    Gu Yanwu took the letter. Lu Liuliang scooted next to him, they read together. "Marvelous," they both said.


    Lu Liuliang laughed and said, "This sentence, ''Who would have known that our Taizu [great ancestor, posthumous title for the founder of a dynasty] Emperor Gao''s title Wu Guo [Wu state] unexpectedly agrees with our uncle and nephew''s family name of three hundred years later?'' This ''Wu'' character will seal his death sentence; he can''t offer excuses anymore."


    Gu Yanwu laughed and said, "These two sentences, ''Desiring to behead the white snake and bestow a gale, hoping for my nephew to retrieve the shoe from underneath the bridge; consider to strive to get out of the trench and answer all calls from heaven, I sincerely hope my nephew will reach nobility.'' That is a modification of Liuqi Xiong''s ''Passionately planning the matter of Zhong Shan, the great feat of Kaiping, will not be accomplished without Mr. Qing Tian''s planning the operation.''"


    Zha Yihuang laughed and said, "Blindly using the same pattern, copying the way they walk in Handan [i.e. slavishly copying others, one risks becoming a caricature]."


    Tian Di Hui warriors looked at each other in dismay; they did not know what these three were talking about, they thought it was a code word of some secret society or secret language of Jianghu. Thereupon Gu Yanwu explained to everybody: Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang at first called himself ''Wu Guo Gong'' [state duke Wu], afterwards he was also known as ''Wu Wang'' [king Wu]; the ''Wu'' was identical to Wu Sangui, Wu Zhirong''s family name. Beheading the white snake, bestowing a gale was a reference to Han Gaozu Liu Bang [first Han emperor, reigned 207-195 BC]. Retrieving a shoe from underneath the bridge was the old story of Zhang Liang. Zhu Yuanzhang rose up from the trench and was determined to answer all calls from heaven. Conferring nobility title in sincerity was a reference to Liu Bowen.


    Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, "This letter is better than the one Wu Liuqi Dage wrote; that Wu Sangui actually wanted to be the Emperor, it''s just that comparing him to Hao Gaozu and Zhu Yuanzhang is holding him a bit too high."


    Lu Liuliang laughed and said, "This is Wu Sangui holding himself too high, not Mr. Zha holding him up."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Right, right! I forgot that it was written by Wu Sangui himself."


    Zha Yihuang asked, "How do we sign the letter?"


    "This letter," Gu Yanwu replied, "No matter who look at it, will know that it was written by Wu Sangui. The more obscure the signature, the more it will look authentic. Just sign it ''shu xi shou zha'' [lit. uncle west hand write-down], four characters." Turning to Qian Laoben he said, "Qian Xiong, would you write down these four characters? Our writing is too scholarly, not like a military man who is used to lead troops."


    Qian Laoben picked up the brush and gingerly wrote the four characters. He said apologetically, "These four characters are wobbly, they are too shapeless."


    Gu Yanwu said, "Wu Sangui is a military man, naturally he would have this letter written by a scribe. These four-character signature is very good, they do not follow certain stroke rule, but look very bold, just like a military general''s handwriting."


    On the envelope, Zha Yihuang wrote, ''Personally presented to Yangzhou Zhifu Laoye [Prefectural Magistrate Master], private.'' He put the letter into the envelope, and gave it to Wei Xiaobao. He smiled and said, "Forging a letter will unavoidably be harmful to our secret virtue, it''s not men of honor''s conduct, but in order to achieve the great undertaking, we are forced not to bother about trifles."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "To deal with this kind of dog thief Wu Zhirong, what''s the big deal about forging a letter? Scholars are really ridiculous." He received the letter and said, "After this matter is accomplished, we are going to have a drink, we will have a reception for the three gentlemen."


    Gu Yanwu said, "Wei Xiongdi and Liuqi Xiong, one ''wen'' the other ''wu'' [civil and military], are definitely the pillars of Ming family resurgence; Deng Gaomi and Guo Fenyang were no more than this. If we can really pull down that old thief Wu Sangui, it will be like severing one arm of the Tatars. Wei Xiongdi''s cup of wine, we''ll wait until we achieve great success before we drink it. Hereby the three of us are taking our leave, so as not to tarry here too long, the information might leak, and spoil the important matter."


    Although in his heart Wei Xiaobao held Gu Yanwu in high regard, but these three scholars talked like they were ''biting words and chewing characters'', with an allusion in every sentence so that even to understand half of what they say was not too easy; if he talked to them a bit too long, he would not feel comfortable. Thereupon when he heard that they were leaving, it was exactly what he had been hoping for. He thought, "I am sure the three of you gentlemen do not like to gamble; I am afraid if I asked you to go to the brothel to see the young women, your body and soul will be separated. If I cursed one time, ''damn it'', your eyes will grow big, and your beard will stick out. It''s better for you to quickly excuse yourselves." Thereupon he took out a fold of banknotes, and presented three thousand taels to each person as their traveling expense. And then he asked Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao to escort them via the back door, and out of the city.


    As soon as Gu, Zha and Lu, three people left, Wei Xiaobao immediately felt relieved. He thought, "Those people in the imperial court are also scholars, but they are interesting. Those high-ranking officers of Jiangsu province, such as Ma Futai, Mu Fantai, are also more interesting than Mr. Gu, Mr. Zha, and the other. Speaking about making friends, that dog head Wu Zhirong is still better than those three old misters."


    While he was still thinking about the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner, his personal guard came to report than the inspector-general and the administrative commissioner were asking for an audience. Wei Xiaobao shivered, "Could it be that the information has leaked already?" he mused.


    Wei Xiaobao went out of the hall to see the guests; seeing the two men''s solemn expression, he could not help but feeling anxious.


    The host and guests saluted each other and sat. The inspector-general Ma You took out a document from his sleeve pocket, stood up, and presented it with both hands. "Imperial Envoy Daren," he said, "There is an important matter."


    Wei Xiaobao received the document, and handed it over to the provincial administrative commissioner Mu Tianyan; he said, "Xiongdi is illiterate, would Laoxiong please read it?"


    "Yes," Mu Tianyan said, and opened the document. He already knew the content of the document; thereupon he said, "Daren, the Ministry of War in the Capital sent a 600-li urgent message, instructed us to pass it on to Daren: Wu Sangui, that rebel thief has raised arm in rebellion."


    As soon as he heard it, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he could not refrain from springing up and called out, "Damn it, that old fellow has really done it."


    Ma You and Mu Tianyan looked at each other in consternation. The imperial envoy minister heard the big news of Wu Sangui''s rebellion, unexpectedly he was wildly delighted; they wondered why he did that.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "His Majesty has a divine foresight; he had foreseen this matter long ago. Gentlemen do not need to panic, His Majesty''s troops and horses, army provisions, cannon, gunpowder, money for soldier''s pay, weapons, everything has been adequately prepared. It''s fine if that old fellow Wu Sangui does not revolt, but if he rebelled, we will definitely capture his Chen Yuanyuan."


    Although to Ma You and Mu Tianyan his words were neither fish nor fowl, when they heard that the Emperor was well-prepared, they were quite relieved. Wu Sangui was adept in the art of war, and under his command there were strong soldiers and sturdy horses. When they heard that Wu Sangui rose in rebellion, all government officials were trembling with fear; they were apprehensive that the black hat on their heads [i.e. official position] could not be guaranteed anymore.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s one thing I found it very strange."


    "Please advise," the two men said together.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This news, did gentlemen learn about it just now?"


    "Yes," Ma You replied, "As soon as lowly officer received the Ministry of War''s document, I immediately notified Fantai Daren, and rushed over to Daren''s field headquarters."


    "Really no leak?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The two of them replied together, "This is national affair involving military intelligence, we must ask Daren to decide. Lowly officer absolutely did not dare to leak it out."


    "But Yangzhou''s Zhifu already knew about it," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t you think it''s a bit strange?"


    Ma You and Mu Tianyan looked at each other again, they were very surprised. Ma You said, "May I ask Daren, what did Prefectural Magistrate Wu say?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now he secretively came to see me, telling me that there is something big happening in the southwest, someone wanted to make him Liu Bowen. He advised me to adapt to circumstances, and to close my mouth in front of the two of you. When I heard it, I did not understand; what Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen, and all that nonsense? While I was about to scold him, the two gentlemen arrived."


    The two men were shocked; their countenance changed greatly. Ma You''s intelligence was mediocre, but Mu Tianyan was rather good at adapting himself to changes, he said in a low voice, "If that Ol'' Wu really said that, it means that he was advising Daren to rebel. He really does not want his head anymore."


    "I don''t understand what he was talking about," Wei Xiaobao said, "I was going to ask him to explain a bit clearer. He always throws literary stuff, something about arising first [xian fa] or arising later [hou fa]. I said Lao Tze was young, yet he had become high-ranking official, couldn''t it be regarded as arising first?"


    Ma You and Mu Tianyan both thought, "That Wu Zhifu must have said, ''gaining the initiative by striking first [xian fa zhi ren], arising later to control the people [hou fa zhi ren]''. Imperial Envoy Daren is unlearned, he thought it was ''developing first, developing later'' [xian fa da, hou fa da]." The two of them were mature and experienced, they did not say anything.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao had heard the expression ''gaining the initiative by striking first'' countless times from the storytellers since he was little; this time it was not because he was unlearned, rather, he was playing dumb.


    Ma You said, "What a big guts this Wu Zhifu has! I wonder if he has left?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He is still waiting here, he said he wanted to discuss important matters with me. Humph, he is just a tiny prefectural magistrate, what large-scale program of lasting importance he can possibly discuss with me? If it is Wu Sangui''s large-scale program, Xiongdi would rather discuss it with the two gentlemen, I won''t possibly listen to minor prefectural magistrate''s long-winded words."


    "Yes, yes," Ma You said, "Is it possible for Daren to call Wu Zhifu over? Let lowly officer ask him a few questions."


    "Very good!" Wei Xiaobao said. He turned toward his personal guard, "Invite Wu Zhifu here."


    As Wu Zhirong entered the hall, seeing the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner were present, he could not help feeling delighted and anxious and the same time. Delighted because the Imperial Envoy Minister attached great importance to his secret report that he unexpectedly summon both Futai and Fantai over to discuss this matter, anxious because since the information already leaked out, the inspector-general and the administrative commissioner would inevitably share his great merit. Immediately he stepped forward to salute and pay his respect, and then stood with arms hung down.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Wu Zhifu, please sit down."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "Thank you very much Daren for granting me a seat." He sat with his buttocks barely covered the chair.


    "Wu Zhifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "You have an important matter you wanted to discuss with Xiongdi, although you repeatedly said that we can''t let Futai Daren and Fantai Daren know about it, this matter is of an utmost importance, I have no choice but to invite two Daren to discuss it over; please do not take offense."


    Wu Zhirong''s countenance looked awkward; hastily he stood up and bowed to Wei Xiaobao and Futai and Fantai and said with a forced laugh, "Lowly officer was too brazen, would three Daren please understand, this �� this ��" He wanted to gloss over several things, but Wei Xiaobao got right to the point [orig. ''open the door and see the mountain''] and said it out, hence he found it very difficult to cover up. No wonder the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner''s countenance looked very unsightly.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Wu Zhifu''s information is very quick; he said that in the southwest there is a great general with authority over troops and horses that is going to deploy troops in rebellion one of these days. The way he deploy troops is desperately serious, it will shake the world, His Majesty''s dragon palace courtyard will be unstable, can''t say for sure our heads might also fall down. Is that right?"


    "Yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "But three Daren''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, naturally the misfortune will turn into blessing, ominousness will turn into auspiciousness, definitely all taboos are off."


    "In this matter we will have to depend on Wu Daren''s good fortune," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Daren, this general shares the same ancestor with you, he is also surnamed Wu?"


    "Yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "This is our ancestor''s ��"


    Wei Xiaobao cut him off, "You have obtained this general''s letter, it was written personally by him, are you sure it is not fake?"


    "Absolutely not," Wu Zhirong replied, "Definitely it is not fake."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Although in this letter there is no mention of deploying troops in rebellion, but it did mention Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen, what have you. Xiongdi did not study books, I do not understand what is written in the letter, Wu Daren explained in details the meaning of the letter, you wanted Xiongdi to take immediate action, something about arising first or arising later, you said it''s a chance that''s hard to come by in a hundred years, that great riches and honor certainly cannot be disposed of, that Xiongdi may be granted the title Wang [king], and Wu Daren may be granted the title Bojue [earl], is that right?"


    Wu Zhirong replied, "That was lowly officer''s erroneous views, Daren''s clear judgment is a hundred times better compared lowly officer''s. The content of the letter is indeed as Daren said."


    From his right hand sleeve Wei Xiaobao took out Wu Liuqi''s letter and held it in front of Wu Zhirong. His body leaned sideways to cover up the letter. "This is the letter, isn''t it?" he asked, "Look carefully, this is of a grave importance, must not make mistake."


    "Yes, yes," Wu Zhirong replied, "This is the letter, it can''t be wrong."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said." He put the letter back into his right hand sleeve, and returned to his seat. "Wu Zhifu," he said, "Please withdraw momentarily, I will discuss it over with Futai Daren and Fantai Daren. It seems that our three people''s glory, riches and honor, will have to depend entirely on you, Wu Daren. Ha ha ��"


    Wu Zhirong could not conceal the complacent look on his face; he bowed to salute the three men again, and said, "I depend entirely on three Daren''s cultivation." Bowing, he slowly withdrew.


    Wei Xiaobao waited until he reached the door before asking, ""Wu Zhifu, what is your alias?"


    "I don''t dare," Wu Zhirong said, "Lowly officer''s humble name is Zhirong [lit. his glory], in manuscript character Xianyang [to praise/commend/hallow]."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "That''s all," he said.


    When Wei Xiaobao was interrogating Wu Zhirong, in their hearts Ma You and Mu Tianyan were furious, but according to bureaucratic rule, when the superior officer was talking, the subordinate must not interrupt. Ma You was hot-tempered, he was about to lash it out, but Wei Xiaobao ordered Wu Zhirong to withdraw, hence he could not help the veins from bulging out his forehead, his entire face from swelling deep red.


    From his left hand sleeve Wei Xiaobao took out the letter Zha Yihuang forged. "Gentlemen, please take a look at this letter," he said, "That servant [usually used in derogatory way] Wu Zhirong said that this letter is indeed serious. Xiongdi has never learned books, I don''t know if he was telling the truth or a lie."


    Ma You received the letter. He saw written on the envelope was ''Personally presented to Yangzhou Zhifu Laoye, private.'' He pulled the letter out and look at it together with Mu Tianyan. They saw the addressee was ''Xianyang my nephew''.


    The more the two people looked, the angrier they were. Without waiting until he finished reading, Ma You slapped the table and shouted, "That dog head is too audacious, let me kill him with a saber."


    Mu Tianyan was more careful, he thought Wu Zhirong dared to openly advise a superior officer to rebel, it was a bit too unreasonable. However, just now Wei Xiaobao questioned him in their presence, they heard each sentence the opposite party gave in answer, why would he doubt it? The previous day in front of the Chanzhi Temple enjoying the Chinese peony, Wu Zhirong did say that Wu Sangui was his distant uncle. Apparently Wu Zhirong knew that Wu Sangui rebellion would be successful, he must be so pleased that he lost his senses and hence had been acting absolutely unrestrained.


    "Is this letter really written by Wu Sangui for him?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "That dog head himself said that it absolutely true," Ma You replied.


    "The letter is lengthy and talked about many things," Wei Xiaobao said, "What exactly is it saying? Would two gentlemen explain it to Xiongdi?"


    Thereupon Mu Tianyan explained line by line, the classical quotations about ''Beheading the white snake and bestow a gale'', and ''Retrieving the shoe from underneath the bridge'', ''Striving to get out of the trench and answer all calls from heaven'', and ''reaching nobility in sincerity'', and so on.


    Ma You said, "Just this sentence alone, ''Our Taizu Emperor Gao''s title Wu Guo'' is enough to have his entire family exterminated."


    Mu Tianyan nodded; he said, "I heard that in this rebel Wu matter, it has something to do with the third Zhu crown prince''s appeal, something about restoring Ming Family."


    While they were still talking, suddenly came the report that the Imperial Bodyguards from the Capital had arrived to announce the Imperial Edict. Wei Xiaobao and Ma You and Mu Tianyan kneeled down to receive the decree; actually, Kangxi was summoning Wei Xiaobao to hurry back to the Capital, as for the imperial order to build Martyr Shrine in Yangzhou, it was to be handed over to Jiangsu Province''s Administrative Commisioner to finish it. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he thought, "The young Emperor is fighting Wu Sangui; if he sent me to be the Grand Marshal, that would be very impressive."


    Ma You and Mu Tianyan could hear the encouragement and exhortation tone in the Imperial Edict, they immediately congratulated him on his coming promotion. Wei Xiaobao said, "Tomorrow Xiongdi will return to the Capital. When I kowtow in front of His Majesty, I will commend on two gentlemen''s great accomplishment in your official duty. It''s just that how well two gentlemen are doing your official duty, I am ashamed to admit, but honestly Xiongdi is not too clear; I am forced to ask two gentlemen to tell me."


    Futai and Fantai were greatly delighted, they cupped their fist to express their thanks. And thus Mu Tianyan spoke highly of the inspector-general''s political achievements. He racked his brains to recall Kangxi''s temperament, and tried his best to explain how Ma You worked diligently in the government, how he loved the people, how he promoted religion and virtue, and so on. Among these, nine out of ten were bogus. Ma You listened with smile so wide that he was unable to put his lips together. Afterwards Mu Tianyan also listed several achievements of his own; although the words were simple, all were real meritorious service.


    "I have remembered all of these," Wei Xiaobao said, "We will also add another big contribution: Rebel Wu''s Rebellion. His Majesty abhorred this matter extremely, this Wu Zhirong wanted to be the one who respond from within, he wanted all civil and military officials of the entire province of Jiangsu to revolt together, fortunately the three of us investigated and found it out. Once this report goes up, we won''t be able to avoid titles and rewards. Tomorrow Xiongdi will leave for the Capital, two gentlemen please write a memorial to the Emperor."


    Futai and Fantai spoke together, "This is Wei Daren''s great merit, lowly officers do not dare to claim credit due to others."


    "No need to be polite," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s just consider the three of us render the merit together."


    Mu Tianyan added, "Zongdu [governor-general] Ma Daren has returned to Jiangning, when Imperial Envoy Minister returns to present the memorial to the Holy Sage, it would be best if you also speak a few good words on Ma Daren''s behalf."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Speaking a few good words does not need any capital."


    Ma You and Mu Tianyan expressed their gratitude again before taking their leave. Wei Xiaobao immediately ordered Xu Tianchuan and the others to bind Wu Zhirong and stuffed his mouth with a piece of hemp cloth so that he could not talk even if he wanted to. The fear and bewilderment in Wu Zhirong''s heart was unspeakable.


    Early in the morning the next day, each and every one of civil and military officials in the city of Yangzhou had already lined up in the hall, waiting for the Imperial Envoy Minister to grant them audience. Each one had a heavy gift. Actually, being a government official in Yangzhou, they were already stationed at the world''s most plentiful place; each government official was not looking for promotion, they were only hoping that when the Imperial Envoy Minister returned to Beijing, he would say a few good words on their behalf, then they would be perfectly contented if they could occupy their current position for a few more years.


    The previous day the governor-general had also obtained the news, and had travelled overnight to Yangzhou. Naturally the gift he and the inspector-general brought was more serious. Yangzhou prefecture received three years of land tax exemption, there would be considerable amount of commission all-around. Although Wei Xiaobao did not have time to personally manage it, the Fantai had already presented the commission due him. The military leaders and personal attendants who came with Wei Xiaobao also received ample gifts and gold.


    Ma You already prepared a memorial to the throne, which he asked Wei Xiaobao to personally present it to the Emperor. In the memorial it was detailed how Wei Xiaobao opened inquiries and secret investigation, how he personally enter dangerous zone before he could uncover Wu Sangui and Wu Zhirong conspiracy, et cetera; naturally it was greatly exaggerated, even the governor-general, the inspector-general, and the administrative commissioner, three people, who were rendering their assistance on the side, were not without merit.


    Mu Tianyan said, "His Majesty is deploying the troops against Wu Sangui, it''s a pity that lowly officer is a civil officer, I do not have the skill to go into battle and kill the traitor. Lowly officer has received order from Zongdu Daren and Futai Daren that within ten days we are going to send a batch of army provisions to Hunan, to be used by His Majesty."


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "The main force has not been deployed, the army provisions are already in place. Three gentlemen are very thoughtful, His Majesty will definitely be very happy."


    After all the government officials were dismissed, Wei Xiaobao sent his personal guard to Lovely Spring Courtyard to pick his mother. He changed into civilian clothes and met his mother. Wei Chunfang did not know that her son was a high-ranking official, she thought he cheated in gambling, and had won a large sum of money. When she heard that he wanted to take her to Beijing to have a happy and prosperous life there, she shook her head at once and said, "Money from gambling, today the left hand wins it, tomorrow the right hand loses it. By the time I get to Beijing, you will have lost everything; perhaps you will sell Laoniang [your old mother] to the joy house. If Laoniang wants to do business, staying in Yangzhou is better. In Beijing, that bent-tongue language of the bureaucrat, Laoniang cannot speak."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ma, please set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease. When we get to Beijing, you will have servant girls and older female servants, you won''t need to do anything. The money that I have, we won''t be able to spend it forever."


    Wei Chunfang did not stop shaking her head, "If I don''t have anything to do, I will be suffocated to death of boredom. Servant girls and older female servants, Laoniang has never had the good fortune to enjoy it, in less than three days I would have to cut my braids."


    Wei Xiaobao knew his mother''s temperament; he thought that if she had to sit all day long in a big courtyard without doing anything, she would not have the least bit of interest. Thereupon he took out a stack of banknotes, altogether there were fifty thousand taels, and said, "Ma, I am giving you this money. Go and buy the Lovely Spring Courtyard, you can be the proprietress. I''ll say you can also buy three more courtyards; we can open Lovely Spring Courtyard, Lovely Summer Courtyard, Lovely Autumn Courtyard and Lovely Winter Courtyard, the four seasons. We can make money all year long."


    But in her bosom Wei Chunfang did not have high aims; she laughed and said, "I will go have someone look at these banknotes, whether they are genuine or fake. If they indeed can be cashed, Laoniang will be very happy to manage a small courtyard. If you want to open big courtyard, we''ll wait until you grow up, and then you can be the boss." Lowering her voice, she asked, "Xiaobao, your large sum of money, you did not get it from stealing or robbing, did you?"


    Wei Chunfang was greatly delighted and felt relieved instantly. She laughed and said, "Little b@stard has mastered this trick, even if you lose, you won''t be poor."


    (Book note: In the original block printed edition of Gu Yanwu''s poem, there were a lot of codeword, rhyming characters to substitute the intended words, such as ''yu'' [expect/anticipate] for ''hu'' [non-Han people, barbarian], ''zhi'' [support/sustain] for ''yi'' [barbarian], and so on, to avoid violating the taboo, making it hard for the later generations to decipher. Mr. Pan Zhonggui wrote ''Examination on Ting Lin Poems'' [''pavilion forest'' was Gu Yanwu''s alias]; he added comprehensive explanation to make the poems clear. Our book uses Mr. Pan''s work as reference.)


    [1] Zhuge Liang (181-234), military leader and prime minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms, where he is portrayed as a sage and military genius. Liu Bowen (1311-1375), general under the first


    Ming emperor Zu Yuanzhang, also has a reputation as a military genius.


    [2] ''Han jian'' literally means ''traitor to China (i.e. Han people)'', I usually just simplify it to ''traitor''. Here Wei Xiaobao was going to say ''da han jian''.


    [3] Three-long two-short ( �������� ) is an idiom means ''unexpected misfortune/accident''.


    [4] An idiom from Zhuangzi: female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts.


    [5] These seven substances are considered life''s daily necessities in ancient China.


    [6] The phrase ''written order'' is actually ''shou yu'', with ''shou'' means ''hand''.


    [7] Orig. ''chu jia ren'' �C those who left home to become monk or nun (applicable to either Buddhist or Taoist). Jijing literally means ''peace'' or ''quiet''. Reminder: ''Daren'' (lit. big person) is the term used by commoner/subordinate to address government official/superior.


    [8] Xi Shi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties, given by King Gou Jian of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu. Y��ng Gu��f��i, or Yang Yuhuan (719-756), famous Tang beauty, consort of Emperor Xuanzhong, blamed for extravagance and killed as a scapegoat during the Anshi rebellion.


    [9] Daji (c. 11th century BC), mythical fox spirit and concubine of the last Shang Dynasty Emperor Zhou Xin.


    [10] Lit. lowly concubine; it can also mean ''I, your servant'' (deprecatory self-reference for women).


    [11][12] ���, I am not sure what it is, a friend says that it was government official, like governor or deputy.


    [13] �����̥̤̤��, again, I don''t know what it is. Perhaps a saying or an idiom.


    [16] Orig. ''bo mu'' �C wife of father''s elder brother, a polite form of address for a woman who is about the age or older than one''s mother.


    [17] Ah Yi �C maternal aunt, a polite form of address for a woman who is younger than one''s parents.


    [18][19] Orig. ''Jiao'' �C a legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.


    [20] This book note does not exist in the book (3


    rd


    edition), but it does in the online text (2


    nd


    edition).


    [21] My dictionary did not give me any names, but Yahoo! Babelfish returned ''Ferdinand Verbiest''. Wikipedia has an article on him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Verbiest


    [22] Johann Adam Schall von Bell, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Ruowang.


    [23] Regnal name of the 15


    th


    [24] Yang Guangxian, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guangxian (Courtesy of Smurf120)


    [25] In Chinese, ten to nineteen start with the character ''ten'', shi, shi yi, shi er (ten, eleven, twelve), and so on. Hence Shuang''er birthday could be anywhere between ten and nineteen.


    [26] Orig. ''shengshang'' [lit. ''the saint''], courtier''s or minister''s form of address for the current Emperor.


    [27] Orig. ''wan shui'' �C ten thousand years.


    [28] Northeast China/Manchuria. Lit. ''east of the Pass'' (Shanhai Pass).


    [29] Jing �C quiet/peaceful/to make tranquil/to pacify, Hai �C ocean/sea.


    [30] Lit. old younger brother, an affectionate form of address to a much younger man.


    [31] Shuntian (lit. ''obey-the-heaven'') is an another name for Beijing.


    [32] A general of Shu in Romance of the Three Kingdons, portrayed as an old fighter.


    [33] FYI, Wei Xiaobao was a Dutong [commander], under him was Fu Dutong [deputy commander]; and then Canling. Hence he made Shi Lang two ranks below him.


    [34] 1 tael = 1/16 catty, approximately equal to modern 50 grams.


    [35] Da �C great, Gu �C abbreviation for Tianjin (also called Jin Gu).


    [36] Lit. ''eat all'', in the context of playing cards: ''sweeping the (card) deck clean''.


    [37] Orig. ''tong pei'', again, in the context of playing cards: ''lost to everybody''.


    [38] According to Chinese legend, the Dragon Palace is where the Dragon King resides, at the bottom of the Eastern Sea.


    [39] A form of theatrical double act, popular since Qing dynasty, with one player seated stage front and acted out the poem or song of the second player hidden backstage.


    [40] Hall full of red (Man tan hong) �C success across the board, victory in everything one touches.


    [41] Yellow way [huang dao] �C the ecliptic (plane of the solar system); Black Way [hei dao] �C usually refer to underground/clandestine operation.


    [42] Wooden percussion instrument used in Buddhist meditation.


    [43] A prefecture level city in Heilongjiang province, northeast China.


    [44] Orig. ''gui po'', foreign b1tch or foreign woman (Courtesy of Ren Wo Xing and CFT).


    [45] Albazino is a village (selo) in Skovorodinsky District of Amur Oblast, Russia, noted as the site of Albazin, the first Russian settlement on the Amur River. Later in 17th century, the town was center of a petty kingdom known as Yagsi (Manchu: Yaksa; Chinese: Yakesa). The name of state came from Nikifor Chernigovsky''s coat of arms - Jaxa.


    [46][47] Tou laozi: tou �C classifier for animal, laozi �C old man, father, ''I, your father''.


    [48] Laotouzi: old man, used contemptuously.


    [49] Fyodor (Theodore) III Alexeyevich of Russia (9 June 1661 �C 7 May 1682) was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682. (From Wikipedia)


    [50] The dictionary definitions are gunmen/musketeer (from ''musket''), but when the word ''musketeer'' my mind, I would imagine Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D''Artagnan; hence I opted to use the first definition. Addtitional info, courtesy of Ace High: Streltsy is the Russian version of musketeers. They were armed with firearms (arquebuses, muskets). They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops (�����֧ݧ֧�ܧ�� ����ۧ�ܧ�).


    [51] Wu Zetian (624-705), Tang Empress, reigned 690-705.


    [52] Jiang Ziya (dates of birth unknown - 1015 B.C.), a Chinese historical and legendary figure who resided next to the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. A sage and military strategist, Jiang Ziya was called upon by King Wen of Zhou to serve as prime minister. His purported teachings to King Wen form the basis of the Six Secret Teachings.


    [53] King Wu of Zhou (-1043), personal name Ji Fa, reigned 1046-1043 BC as first king of Western Zhou dynasty 1046-1043 BC


    [54] Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher, later warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi. Cao Cao was the main villain of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms.


    [55] Zhang Xianzhong (September 18, 1606 �C January 2, 1647), nicknamed Yellow Tiger, was a Chinese rebel leader who conquered Sichuan Province in the middle of the 17th century. Upon capturing it, he declared himself emperor of the Daxi Dynasty. According to Chinese chronicles, many scholars rejected that claim, so he had them massacred. After killing the scholars, he went after the women, merchants, and all the officials. Then he had his soldiers kill each other and the officers'' wives'' feet cut off and put on top of a mound.


    [56] Hung Taiji (1592-1643), eighth son of Nurhaci, reigned 1626-1636 as Second Khan of Later Jin dynasty, then founded the Qing dynasty and reigned 1636-1643 as Emperor; posthumous name Qing Taizu.


    [57] According to legend, fox demon often disguise itself as beautiful woman, but it was not able to hid its tail; hence the saying ''exposing the fox tail'' means ''revealing one''s evil nature''.


    [58] These idioms mean ''surreptitiously substitute one thing for another'', and ''walk off with someone else''s possession'', respectively.


    [59] Lao-tze, Chinese philosopher (c. 500BC), the founder of Taoism.


    [60] These four characters are surnames. I don''t know what it is, but I am guessing it refers to some great literary talent of the past.


    [61] Shi Jin is a fictional character in the Water Margin. He ranks twenty third of the thirty Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed Nine Tattooed Dragons. He is one of the Eight Tiger Cub Vanguard Generals of the Liangshan cavalry. He sports flowery tattoos all over his body, as well as nine dragon tattoos on his upper torso, which earns him the nickname Nine Tattooed Dragons. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [62] A sh��ngsh�� (��) is a board chairman, president or in this case, a minister. Ming Zhu is a Chairman/President of Board of War, or the Minister of War, possible the Left Minister of War. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [63] Croton has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat severe constipation since the seed of the plant can cause diarrhoea to human. Apparently, it has the same effect on horses. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [64] Orig. ''jiaolong'' �C legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.


    [65] All were female warriors. I could not find any useful information on them other than from Hong Kong TV series/movies: Fan Lihua from ''Lady Fan'' and Yu Taijun from ''Saving General Yang'', Mu Guiying from ''Legendary Amazons'' (Yang Saga/Stories of the Yang Clan). Additional info courtesy of Ace High:


    [66] Gao Lishi (684�C762), formally the Duke of Qi, was a eunuch official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian''s Zhou Dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang''s reign. He is believed to have been in charge of many decisions that were supposed to be the emperor''s responsibility during Emperor Xuanzong''s later years, and was believed to have been richer than many of the nobility of the era.


    Wei Zhongxian (1568 �C October 19, 1627) is considered by most historians as the most powerful and notorious eunuch in Chinese history. Originally a hoodlum and gambler, he took the step of becoming a eunuch and entering palace service to escape from his creditors. After entering the palace, he got into the service of Madam Ke, the wet-nurse of the future Ming emperor. The couple began manipulating the Tianqi Emperor, who renamed him Wei Zhongxian. The emperor''s favor later gave Wei absolute power over the court.


    [67] Tumu Rebellion or Battle of Tumu Fortress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumu_Crisis.


    [68] Paradise here refers to ''the dwelling place of Buddhist Immortals''.


    [69] Not sure if this is a place''s name. Chai �C firewood, Sang �C mulberry tree, Kou �C mouth/entrance.


    [70] The Viceroy of Liangjiang (�����ܶ�), fully referred to as the Governor General of the two Yangtze Provinces and surrounding areas, overseeing military affairs, food production; Manager of waterways; Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional viceroys in China proper during the Qing Dynasty of China. The Viceroy of Liangjiang had jurisdiction over the provinces of Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui. Because Jiangsu and Anhui were once the combined province of Jiangnan (South of the Yangtze), the province was known, along with Jiangxi (west of the Yangtze) as the two rivers (jiang), hence the name ''Liangjiang''. Chinese historians often rank the Viceroy of Zhili as the most honorable and powerful, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang as the richest of the eight (Courtesy of Ace High).


    [71] Compiled by Li Shizhen, c. 1596.


    [72] Wang Anshi (1021-1086), Song Dynasty politician and writer, one of the Eight Giants.


    [73] Duke of Wenzheng, ''wen (culture/literature/gentle) zheng (upright/just)'' being his posthumous title.


    [74] In these three phrases, the word ''tremble'' (han) rhymes with the surname Han, the word ''busted guts'' (po dan) rhymes with the surname Fan, and the word ''knee down'' [xia gui] rhymes with the surname Wei.


    [75] A Message To Han Cho The Yangzhou Magistrate, http://www.shiku.org/xlib/lingshidao/hanshi/dumu.htm


    [76] A Confession, from the same web site.


    [77]http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/qin-guan-wang-hai-chao-watching-the-waves/


    [78] ''Bao the Dragon Image'', fictional name used for Bao Zheng (999-1062), Northern Song official renowned for his honesty. Justice Bao stories were based on this character.


    [79] Gelugpa School of Tibetan Buddhism.


    [80] Wikipedia has a couple articles on Dzungar and Galdan, as well as Sangjie (Sengge). If you are interested, search using those three keywords.


    [81] Tang Bohu or Tang Yin (1470 �C 1523), Ming painter and poet, one of four great Jiangnan talents of the Ming Dynasty.


    [82] Hero and Heroines: Orig. ''qun xiong'' and ''qun ci'', with the word ''xiong'' and ''ci'' refer to ''male'' and ''female'' species, usually used to describe animals.


    [83] Xi Shi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties, given by King Gou Jian of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu. Yang Yuhuan or Yang Guifei (719-756), famous Tang beauty, consort of Emperor Xuanzhong, blamed for extravagance and killed as a scapegoat during the Anshi rebellion.


    [84] Qiang �C ethnic group of northwestern Sichuan, Hu �C non-Han people, barbarian.


    [85] The word ''banner'' here refers to Manchurian ruling class (Eight Banners).


    [86] Wu Zhirong read ''yi'' �C barbarians, Wei Xiaobao said ''yi'' �C onomatopoeia.

 Chapter - 41 (41)

    Galdan smiled and asked, "Did the Emperor also train martial art? How did he know about my martial art?"


    "Naturally His Majesty knows martial art," Wei Xiaobao replied, "And his skill is not bad at all. That day Your Highness fully displaying your capabilities at the Shaolin Temple, you beat Shaolin Temple''s Abbot that he concede defeat. The heads of Damo Hall, Luohan Hall, Bo''re Hall, three great halls, flee at the mere distant sight. Xiongdi told His Majesty everything." That day Galdan left Shaolin with his tail between his legs, yet right now hearing Wei Xiaobao tooting the horn on his behalf, giving him a lot of face in front of Sangjie, he could not refrain from showing a satisfied look on his face.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Shaolin Temple Fangzhang [abbot] Hui Cong Dashi''s martial art skill can be considered first or second best in Wulin, but Your Highness the Prince merely flicked your sleeve and Hui Cong Fangzhang could not hold his stand and fell sitting down. Fortunately when he fell, his buttocks happened to land on a putuan [round meditation mat used by Buddhists], hence he was saved from breaking a few of his old bones ��" Actually, it was Galdan who was brushed by Hui Cong''s sleeve that day, so that he landed on a chair and was unable to stand up; Wei Xiaobao turned the story around. He said in his heart, "Hui Cong Shixiong treatment to me was not bad, but today as his Shidi I am facing a calamity, in a moment I will die in a sitting posture [referring to Buddhism death] and leave for the Western Paradise. I have no choice but to treat emptiness as appearance, and appearance as emptiness; Shixiong''s victory as defeat, and other people''s defeat as victory."


    While his mouth was babbling nonsense, in his heart he let his imagination run wild, his eyes looked to the east and gazed to the west. In a glance he saw Ah Qi''s expression; she seemed to be smiling yet she was not exactly smiling, her pair of beautiful eyes was fixed at Galdan''s face, her gaze was brimming with affection.


    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration, "This wicked girl wants to be Mongolian Princess." Thereupon he said, "His Majesty said, ''Prince Galdan''s martial art skill is high, his appearance is handsome; if he wants to take a Princess, he ought to marry young, good looking, as well as with high level of martial art skill Miss ��" Stealing a glance toward Ah Qi, sure enough, he noticed that her face was blushing; it was obvious from her expression that she was paying full attention; hence he continued, "Although that Chen Yuanyuan is known as the first beauty under the heavens, but right now she is older; I wonder why Galdan is determined to marry her?"


    Ah Qi could not bear not to talk, "Who said he wanted to marry Chen Yuanyuan? You are talking nonsense!"


    Galdan shook his head, "How can there be such thing?" he said.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I said, ''Reporting to Your Majesty: His Highness Prince Galdan has a very good lady friend, called Miss Ah Qi ��''"


    Ah Qi spat, but her face looked very happy; Galdan cast her a glance with a smile on his face. Wei Xiaobao continued, "�� This Miss Ah Qi''s martial art skill is number three in the world, she is only below Great Lama Sangjie and His Highness Prince Galdan. Compared to Your Majesty, hee hee �� she is still a bit stronger. Your servant is telling the truth, Your Majesty must not take offense ��''"


    At first Sangjie was somewhat bored listening to his babbling, but when he heard that unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao told the Emperor that Sangjie''s martial art skill was the first under the heavens, he knew perfectly well that out of ten words that this little demon said, he ought not believe even half a word; yet he could not help feeling happy and content. His nose made a snort though, hinting that he did not believe him.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "His Majesty said, ''I don''t believe you. Even if this young lady''s martial art was stronger, can it be that she is superior to her Shifu?'' I said, ''Your Majesty did not know this, but this young lady''s Shifu is a Buddhist nun wearing white clothes, her martial art skill was actually very strong, she could be considered number three in the world. However, once upon a time, during a duel against Great Lama Sangjie, she was struck by Great Lama Sangjie''s palm. The Shitai could not resist, the entire internal energy in her body disappeared without any trace. Therefore, the title of number three martial artist in the world was snatched by her disciple.''"


    When Ah Qi heard him exposing her school background, she was surprised and baffled, "How did he know my Shifu?" she mused.


    Although Sangjie had not personally fought with Jiu Nan, his twelve martial brothers all died a violent death under her, master and disciples'' hands; it was really an extraordinary shame and disappointment of his life. This moment as he heard Wei Xiaobao asserted that Jiu Nan was struck by his palm that her internal energy dissipated, he knew that Wei Xiaobao was pasting a lot of gold on his face. Previously he and Galdan were most worried that Wei Xiaobao would unmask their disgrace, and thus both of them were thinking to kill this man as quickly as possible to close his mouth; but when they heard that he had reversed their great defeat into great victory, they thought that there was no harm in letting him live a bit longer.


    Sangjie turned his gaze toward Ah Qi for a moment; he thought, "This is the first time that I knew that you are the little nun in white''s disciple. There is something odd here."


    Ah Qi asked, "You mentioned Chen Yuanyuan; what about her?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That Chen Yuanyuan, I have seen her with my own eyes in Kunming. To tell Miss the truth, she is quite much older than I am; however, the title ''number one beauty under the heavens'' [tian xia di yi mei ren] six characters is indeed not in vain. When I saw her, immediately my soul flew out, my hands and feet ice-cold, I shook all over, my heart said, ''How can there be such a beauty in the world?'' Miss Ah Qi, your Shimei Ah Ke can be considered very beautiful, but compared to this Chen Yuanyuan, her appearance and her physique, she is far too inferior."


    Naturally Ah Qi knew that Ah Ke was stunningly beautiful, she was far above her; she also knew that Wei Xiaobao was ''spirit and soul upside-down'' toward Ah Ke. If even he could say those words, very likely it was the truth. But in her mouth she still said she was unconvinced, "You, little kid, is a little lecher, looking at people''s thirty-percent good looks, you said she was a hundred percent beauty. Chen Yuanyuan is at least forty years old this year, even if she was previously good-looking, nowadays she can''t be that beautiful."


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly shook his head. "Not right, not right," he said, "Just look at you, Miss Ah Qi. This year you are no more than eighteen, nineteen years old; it''s only natural that you are exceedingly beautiful. In thirty more years, definitely you will still be extremely beautiful. If you don''t believe me, you and I can make a bet. If after thirty years your appearance is not beautiful, I will cut my head for you."


    Ah Qi giggled. Any woman who hears other people call her beautiful will be delighted, especially if she was praised in front of her boyfriend, she would burst with joy even more. Much less she had quite a confidence in her own beauty to begin with, she believed that after thirty years, she could not possibly be a lot more uglier.


    Wei Xiaobao was hoping that she would accept the bet, so that Galdan would perhaps look at his beloved''s face and let Wei Xiaobao live thirty more years; when that time comes, it would not be too late to decide victory or defeat. Unexpectedly Sangjie snorted and said with a cold laugh, "Too bad you won''t live pass tonight. Miss Ah Qi''s beautiful appearance thirty years later, you won''t have the good fortune of seeing."


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "That''s not a big deal. I only hope that Great Lama and Your Highness the Prince will remember what I said tonight, thirty years from today, you will know that Wei Xiaobao already had the foreknowledge." Sangjie, Galdan and Ah Qi, three people, could not bear not to burst into laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I went to Kunming; that was a matter of several months ago; I escorted Princess Jianning to marry Wu Sangui''s son, the three of you already knew. It was originally a very happy occasion, but as soon as I entered the city of Kunming, I saw people crying and wailing loudly on the streets. Not several houses later, I saw a coffin; there were many women and children in mourning clothes, they cried until the sky darkened and the earth black."


    "Why is that?" Galdan and Ah Qi asked together.


    "I also felt it was very strange," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I asked Yunnan''s officer, everybody hummed and hawed but nobody gave me any answer. Afterwards I sent my personal guard to make discreet inquiry, and only then did I find out. Turns out early that morning Chen Yuanyuan learned about the arrival of the Princess, she wanted to personally welcome her. When she came out of the sedan chair, more than a hundred thousand Kunming men went wild; everybody rushed forward to see her, they all said that a celestial fairy has descended to the world of the immortals. You pushed, I throng forward, several thousand men were trampled to death. At first the military officers and soldiers under Ping Xi Wang''s command desperately tried to suppress the disturbance, but later on they saw Chen Yuanyuan, everybody''s sword and spear all fell to the ground; their jaw dropped, their mouth watered as they have their eyes fixed at Chen Yuanyuan."


    Sangjie, Galdan and Ah Qi, three people, were ''you look at me, I look at you'', while thinking, "This child definitely added oil and soya paste in his speech, but perhaps Chen Yuanyuan''s beauty is indeed out of the ordinary. It would be good if I can see it myself."


    Seeing that the three of them were gradually convinced, Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Highness the Prince, Ping Xi Wang has a zongbing under his command by the name of Ma Bao; have you heard this name before?"


    Galdan and Ah Qi nodded. The two of them went together with Ma Bao to the Shaolin Temple, how could they not know? Galdan said, "That day at Shaolin Temple, you have also met him."


    "Was it he?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t remember. That day I was only paying attention to Your Highness the Prince''s obviously marvelous skill, beating Shaolin Temple''s eminent monks, I did not have time to look at other people. Even if I did have a bit of free time, I would rather steal several glances toward Miss Ah Qi''s countenance of a flower, face like the moon." Ah Qi spat, but in her heart she was very happy.


    "What about Ma Zongbing?" Galdan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. He said, "Ma Zongbing was part of the problem that day. He received Ping Xi Wang''s order to protect Chen Yuanyuan, who would have thought that as he looked at Chen Yuanyuan several times, unexpectedly he was also in a daze, and went as far as stroking her white and tender little hand. Afterwards Ping Xi Wang found out about it, and had him flogged forty times with army club. Ma Zongbing quietly told other people: ''I stroked Chen Yuanyuan''s left hand, actually I expected Wangye to cut my hand. If I had known that I only got forty army-club floggings, I would have stroke her right hand too. Eighty floggings will not necessarily kill me.'' Under his command, Ping Xi Wang altogether has ten big zongbing, the other nine zongbing were really envious. These words of him were passed on to Ping Xi Wang, in turn, he passed on a military order: henceforth whoever stroke Chen Yuanyuan''s hand will have both his hands chopped. Ping Xi Wang''s son-in-law Xia Guoxiang was one of the ten big zongbing, right away he had a master artisan to create a pair of fake hands. He said that every now and then he might see this fairy-like mother-in-law, just in case he could not bear not to touch her hand, he might as well make false hands first, in case when that happens he did not have time to have the hands made to order. This is called ''anticipating trouble''."


    Galdan was listening with his mouth open and his eyes staring blankly as if he was entranced. Sangjie repeatedly shook his head and said, "Absurd, absurd!" But it was unclear whether he meant the ten big regional commanders were absurd, or that Wei Xiaobao''s story was absurd.


    "You have seen Chen Yuanyuan," Ah Qi said, "How come you did not stroke her hand?"


    "There is a reason behind it," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Before I went to see Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Yingxiong came to see me first, he said that I have travelled thousands of li to deliver the Princess to be his wife, he was very grateful. From his bosom he took out something, it was shiny yellow, fully inlaid with emerald, beautiful jade, ruby and kitten eyes; turned out it was a golden manacles."


    "How can manacles be that precious?" Ah Qi asked.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "At that time I asked him what kind of toy was that; I thought he was going to give it to me as a present. Who would have thought that ''clack'', he shackled my hands. I was gobsmacked. ''Prince Consort'', I cried out, ''Why are you arresting me? What crime did I commit?'' Wu Yingxiong said, ''Imperial Envoy Daren, you must not misunderstand, Xiongdi only has good intention toward you. You are going to see my Chen Yiniang [father''s concubine], you simply must wear this manacles, in case you cannot restraint yourself and reach out to touch her. If you only touch her hand, Fu Wang [father king] may look at your face as the Imperial Envoy Daren, and may not do anything. But I am afraid you will touch her once, touch her twice, touch her three times or more. Fu Wang will inevitably commit major offense by killing Imperial Envoy Daren. While admittedly it was Daren who was being improper, our Wu family will be ruined.'' I was so scared that I wore the manacles to see Chen Yuanyuan."


    The more Ah Qi listened, the more she thought it was ridiculous. "I don''t believe you," she said.


    "Next time you go to Beijing," Wei Xiaobao said, "Ask Wu Yingxiong to show you these golden manacles, then you cannot not believe. He always has it with him, so that as soon as he sees Chen Yuanyuan he can immediately take it out and put it on. If he was one step slower, it would be desperately serious."


    "Humph," Sangjie said, "Chen Yuanyuan is his shu mu [concubine mother], could it be that he has the audacity to be impolite to her?"


    "Naturally he doesn''t," Wei Xiaobao replied, "And that''s exactly why he is carrying the golden manacles."


    Ah Qi said, "He is in Beijing now, why would he want to carry it?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he mused, "Bad! The horn I tooted is broken." But his brain could move very fast; he said at once, "Wu Yingxiong was thinking of returning to Kunming immediately, he did not expect to stay in Beijing for long. He stayed in Beijing against his will."


    Sangjie glowered at him and said, "In that case, you repaid kindness with evil. Others lent you manacles, showing you a lot of friendship, but you stopped him, you did not let him return to Yunnan."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "What kindness did Wu Yingxiong show to me? He and I have an enmity that we cannot live under the same sky."


    Sangjie was surprised, "What did he do to offend you?" he asked.


    "Why hasn''t he offended me?" Wei Xiaobao said, "He loaned the manacles to me, it was more malicious than having my laozi [in this case, old man, father] killed. At that time, if I did not wear that manacles, I would have touched even Chen Yuanyuan''s face. Ay, Great Lama, Your Highness the Prince, at that time, if only I could touch Chen Yuanyuan''s face, which is ten thousand times more beautiful than the petal of a flower, what do I care even if Wu Sangui chopped both of my hands? Even if he chopped both of my legs to be made Yunnan''s Xuanwei Ham, I consider it nothing."


    Three people''s thoughts flew to the southern sky, imagining Chen Yuanyuan''s peerless glowing countenance; listening to Wei Xiaobao, unexpectedly they did not laugh.


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice and with a mysterious expression he said, "I have a very top secret, the three of you must not divulge it. Actually I should not say it, but the opportunity to chat amiably with you is very rare; there is no harm in telling our own people."


    "What secret?" Galdan hastily asked.


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice even more, "His Majesty is about to move an army and send a general to attack Wu Sangui."


    Sangjie and the others, three people, looked at each other and laugh; they all thought, "What kind of secret is that? If the Emperor does not attack Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui will deploy his troops to attack the Emperor."


    "Do you know why the Emperor is deploying his troops to Yunnan?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "This is rather difficult to guess."


    "Could it be also because of Chen Yuanyuan?" Ah Qi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table, he appeared extremely amazed. "Uh! How did you know?" he asked.


    "Casual guess," Ah Qi replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Miss is indeed a female Zhuge, you can prophecy with supernatural accuracy. As the Emperor, His Majesty has everything; the only thing that is lacking is this ''number one beauty under the heavens''. Why do you think last time His Majesty sent me, a little child to Yunnan, and not some people of virtue and prestige, a cabinet minister who has rendered great merit through hard work? It was precisely because he wanted me to take a look, whether this woman was really extremely beautiful. He also wanted me to sound out Wu Sangui, whether he would be willing to present Chen Yuanyuan to the Palace. If he sent a white-bearded high-ranking minister to handle this matter, it would be rather embarrassing, wouldn''t it? Who would have thought that as soon as I raised this subject, Wu Sangui furiously slapped the table and said, ''You deliver one Princess here, and want to have my living Guanyin in exchange? Humph, humph, even if you give me a hundred princesses, I won''t give you any.''"


    Sangjie and Galdan looked at each other, they both had a nagging feeling that they had fallen into Wu Sangui''s ruse; turned out this matter involved this kind of beauty entanglement. When Wu Sangui ''flushed the crown in anger due to beautiful woman'' in the past, it was precisely because of Chen Yuanyuan that he forfeited the Ming Dynasty''s three hundred years'' rivers and mountains; everybody in the world knew about it. The young Emperor was young and romantic, hence this matter actually made sense.


    "One evening," Wei Xiaobao continued, "That big beard Hantiemo came to see me. He said he was sent by His Highness the Prince to Kunming to establish contact with Wu Sangui. But in Kunming he discovered that something was not right. He said that Mongolians are descendants of Geng something Khan, that each one is a hero and a warrior; why would they go to war and deliver their lives for the sake of Wu Sangui''s beautiful woman? He asked me to smuggle him back to Beijing to see the Emperor, he wanted to personally tell the Emperor that Chen Yuanyuan has nothing to do with Mongolian Prince and Tibetan Lama, that Mongolian Prince Galdan has already had Miss Ah Qi, he can''t possibly want to have Chen Yuanyuan. Tibetan Great Lama also has �� has a lot of good-looking Tibetan girls ��"


    "Nonsense!" Sangjie shouted, "We, Yellow Hat


    [79] Lama strictly maintain purity, rule and monastic discipline, we can''t possibly have a voracious desire for beauty and lust."


    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "It was Hantiemo who said that, it has nothing to do with me. Great Lama, to win favor from the Emperor, I am afraid Hantiemo told him not to worry, he can be rest assured that you will not fight over Chen Yuanyuan."


    "Humph," Sangjie said, "Next time I see Hantiemo, I will ask him clearly, whether he was telling lies, or it was you who told lies, and thus ruin my clean reputation."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted, "He wants to ask Hantiemo, apparently he won''t kill me right away." He busily said, "Yes, yes, next time you can tell me to confront Hantiemo. You are helping Wu Sangui to revolt, honestly you won''t get any benefit. Even if the rebellion was successful, if the two of you don''t have any manacles handy, you will always be fearful and apprehensive ��" Suddenly seeing angry expression appeared on Sangjie''s face, he said hastily, "Great Lama, you treat emptiness as appearance, and appearance as emptiness; when you see Chen Yuanyuan, naturally your heart will not be tempted, it''s just that, it''s just that �� ay!"


    "It''s just that what?" Sangjie asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Last time I went to Kunming, Chen Yuanyuan came out to welcome the Princess, were not several thousands of people being crushed to death? These dead people''s families wanted to conduct burial ceremony, but suddenly they could not invite any Buddhist monk or Taoist priest."


    "Why?" Ah Qi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Many of those monks who saw Chen Yuanyuan had their worldly desire aroused; in one day, several thousand monks in Kunming returned to secular life, they did not want to leave home anymore. Just think, suddenly the number of monks decreased by several thousands, naturally there was not enough monks to perform the ceremony."


    Galdan and the others, three people, were half believing and half-doubting; they all thought that his story was rather too unbelievable, but toward Chen Yuanyuan''s beauty, they had no doubt at all. Ah Qi cast a glance toward Galdan, she said softly, "Kunming is a strange place, I don''t want to go there. If you want to help Wu Sangui, you can go alone."


    "Who said that I want to go to Kunming?" Galdan hastily said, "I do not wish to see Chen Yuanyuan. In my opinion, our Miss Ah Qi is not necessarily inferior to Chen Yuanyuan."


    Ah Qi''s countenance sank, she said, "You said that I am not necessarily inferior to Chen Yuanyuan, obviously you are saying that I am inferior to her. You definitely want to see her." While saying that, she stood up and said, "I am leaving!"


    Galdan was greatly embarrassed; he hastily said, "No, no! I swear to the Heaven, in my whole life, I will not cast a single glance to Chen Yuanyuan." Ah Qi turned from anger to happiness; she sat back down.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You will not cast a single glance to Chen Yuanyuan, you are speaking correctly. No matter who, as soon as he sees her, will one glance be enough? A hundred glances, a thousand glances will not be enough."


    "You little devil," Galdan cursed, "You only know how to talk nonsense. I swear not to see Chen Yuanyuan forever, and that''s that. If I see her, let my eyes be blind immediately." Ah Qi was greatly delighted; she gazed at him full of tender feelings.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I listened to the young Emperor speaking, he really did not understand why the two of you want to help Wu Sangui. If it is because of Chen Yuanyuan, then nothing we can do; there is only one Chen Yuanyuan under the heavens, even the young Emperor does not have it. Other than because of this beautiful woman, whatever Wu Sangui has, the young Emperor has ten times as much. If the two of you are willing to help the Emperor, gold, silver, money and valuables, you will get whatever amount you want."


    Sangjie coldly said, "Although Tibet and Mongolia are poor, we do not covet gold, silver, money and valuables."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "These two do not want gold, silver, money and valuables, they do not want beautiful women, what do they want the most?" He had a second thought, "That''s right," he mused, "Lowly men cannot survive a day without money, great men cannot survive a day without power. I, Wei Xiaobao, am a little man, these two are great men." Thereupon he said, "The young Emperor said, Galdan is only a prince, his power is not high enough, if he helps me fighting Wu Sangui, I will make him the Mongolian King."


    Galdan''s eyes shone with delight; he said excitedly, "The Em �� Emperor really said that?"


    "Of course!" Wei Xiaobao replied, "Why would I lie to you?"


    "There is no such thing as ''Mongolian King'' in the world," Sangjie said, "If the Emperor can really help His Highness to be the Dzungar Khan [orig. ''zhun ka''er han''], His Highness will be perfectly contented."


    "Possible, possible!" Wei Xiaobao said, "This title ''zheng ge''er hao'' [complete/total good], the Emperor will definitely agree to grant." While in his heart he mused, "What in the world is damned ''total good''? Could it be there is another title ''half good''?"


    Looking at his expression, Sangjie knew that Wei Xiaobao did not understand; he said, "Mongolia is divided into several divisions, among those, the Dzungars


    [80] are the biggest. Mongolian rulers are not called ''Kings'', they are called ''Khans''. His Highness the Prince is not a Khan yet."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "As long as Your Highness the Prince helps His Majesty, won''t become one or two Zhengge''er [complete/total] Khan be easy? The Emperor can issue an edict, send several tens of thousands troops and horses, will the other Mongolian people dare to resist?"


    Hearing this, Galdan was very happy; he said, "If the Emperor is willing to do that, naturally it will be easy."


    Wei Xiaobao struck his chest and said, "You don''t have to worry, leave it to me, I''ll accomplish it for you. His Majesty hates only Wu Sangui, one person. Although Miss Ah Qi is beautiful, as long as you keep the Emperor from laying his eyes on her, I guarantee that he won''t snatch her from you. As for Great Lama Sangjie, if you help the Emperor, His Majesty can make you the grand ruler of the entire Tibet." He did not know what they called the grand ruler of Tibet, hence he did not dare to speak irresponsibly.


    Sangjie said, "The entire Tibet is under the Living Buddha Dalai Lama''s rule, the office cannot be casually bestowed by the Emperor."


    "Others can be the Living Buddha," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why can''t you? In Tibet, how many Living Buddhas are there?"


    Sangjie said, "There is also Panchen Lama Living Buddha, altogether there are two."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "One sky cannot have three suns, but everything else must have three to make sense. We can ask His Majesty to grant the title Living Buddha Sangjie. Grand Living Buddha Sangjie will be in charge of Da something, Pan something, two little Living Buddhas."


    Sangjie''s heart was moved; he mused, "This kid talks nonsense, but he actually made some sense." Thinking about this, a smile appeared on his thin face.


    This moment Wei Xiaobao was only trying to survive and escape with his life, whatever the opposite party asked, he would readily agree. Much less granting these people the titles of Dzungar Khan or Tibetan Grand Living Buddha did not cost him one tael of silver. He said, "I am not tooting my horn, whatever plan Xiongdi suggested to the Empeor, 99% he will see, hear and obey. Besides, the two of you agree to fight Wu Sangui, not only the Emperor will bestow the title to you, Xiongdi will render great merit as well, I will definitely enjoy promotion and gain wealth. As the saying goes: ''the imperial court needs good people to be the officials''. In the imperial court, Xiongdi is a high-ranking official, the two gentleman separately become high-ranking officials in Mongolia and Tibet; I''ll say it would be better if the three of us do obeisance and become sworn brothers. From now on the three of us will enjoy blessing together and will face difficulty together; we are not fated to be born on the same year same month same day, but willing to die on the same year same month same day. In this world, other than the young Emperor, the three of us are the greatest; won''t that be wonderful?" He thought, "To die on the same year same month same day, these words are important. As soon as the two of them nodded their heads in approval, they cannot kill me. If they do, it will be the same as committing suicide."


    Before Sangjie and Galdan went to Yangzhou, they had already investigated carefully, and knew that this young Imperial Envoy was the number one favorite among the people who served in front of the Emperor, his career has enjoyed meteoric rise, his promotion was speedy; it''s just that they had never imagined that he was the same youngster they had met in the past. Galdan did not have any enmity with him to begin with. Sangjie had his twelve younger martial brothers killed by his master and he, and had his ten fingers chopped because of him; originally he hated Wei Xiaobao to the bones, but after listening to his talk, he thought that his martial brothers were dead, they could not be brought back to live, his fingers were chopped and would not grow anymore. Even if he could strike this man dead with his palm, he was merely venting his anger; nothing more. If he helped Wu Sangui accomplishing his goal, he would simply exert his strength in vain, without any benefit to himself. But if he became sworn brother with him, he would absolutely reap tangible benefit, the advantage to him was really great. The two of them ''you look at me, I look at you'', they both slowly nodded their heads.


    Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed at the unexpected turn of events; he would have never imagined that his speech would move these two evil people''s hearts. Afraid that they might change their mind, he hastily said, "Da Ge, Er Ge, Er Sao [big brother, second brother, second sister-in-law, respectively], let us swear brotherhood right now. It does not matter if Er Sao wants to join us or not, as soon as you bow to the Heaven and the Earth with Er Ge, we become one family." Blushing, Ah Qi spat, but in her heart she felt that this little kid really know how to make people happy.


    Sangjie suddenly stretched out his hand and ''slap!'' he broke a corner of the table. Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "What is he doing?" he mused.


    He heard Sangjie said in stern voice, "Wei Daren, whatever you told me, today I believe you. But if in the future you repeatedly changing, you don''t live up to your promises, let the corner of this table become your example."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Whatever Da Ge says, the three of us brothers will do it together, everybody will reap the benefit. If Xiongdi deceive the two of you, you can dispatch army from Mongolia and Tibet to give the Emperor some trouble; if the Emperor is angry, he would definitely have my head chopped. Two Gege please think, will Xiongdi dare to do you wrong?"


    Sangjie nodded and said, "Well said, you are right."


    Immediately the three of them arranged the red candle in the hall, kneeled down and bowed toward the outside to become sworn brothers. Sangjie was the oldest, Galdan next, Wei Xiaobao became the third brother. He bowed to the first brother and the second brother, and then also kowtowed to Ah Qi, while calling her ''Second Sister-in-law'' in a very intimate way. He thought, "Now that you have become my Er Sao, next time I am fooling around with my own wife Ah Ke, I wonder if you''d feel embarrassed to do so."


    Ah Qi picked up the wine pot and poured four cups; she laughed and said, "Today the three of you boys swore brotherhood, I wish from now on you will carry things through, that you will accomplish this great undertaking. Xiaomei [little sister, referring to self] toast the three of you a cup."


    Sangjie also laughed; he said, "Naturally I must drink this toast." Finished speaking, he picked up the wine cup.


    "Dage, wait!" Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "This wine is spoiled, it''s not too clean, we must have it replaced. Waiter!" he called out loudly, "Quickly get some wine." He felt something was not right, "What happened in Lovely Spring Courtyard? It''s been quite a while and I haven''t seen anybody serving us." But then he remembered, "Ah right, seeing a fight, plus some government officers get killed, the brothel proprietress, the turtle slave must have run far away."


    Right this moment, he saw a turtle slave came in with head hung low. "What is it?" the man mumbled.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "The turtle slaves of Lovely Spring Courtyard, which one I did not know? This fellow must be new, how can he be this without-propriety toward the guest? He must be so scared that he turned silly." He shouted, "Quickly get two pots of wine."


    "Right away!" the turtle slave replied, turned around and left.


    Looking at the turtle slave''s back, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was moved. "Uh! Who is this man? I have seen him during the day at the Chinese peony garden outside the Chanzhi Temple; how can he be a turtle slave in here? Something''s strange here." He pondered deeply, and soon his back was wet with cold sweats. "Ah!" he exclaimed, and sprang up.


    "What is it?" Sangjie, Galdan and Ah Qi, three people asked in chorus.


    Wei Xiaobao spoke in a low voice, "This man is Wu Sangui''s martial art expert warrior in disguise. He must have heard everything we said just now."


    Sangjie and Galdan were shocked; they both said, "In that case we can''t let him live."


    "Two Gege," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please �� please don''t act too soon. Let''s pretend we did not know, we''ll see how many are they, and �� and what trick they are playing." While saying that, his voice was actually trembling.


    If that turtle slave was really Wu Sangui''s warrior in disguise, he would not be this panic-stricken; actually, that man was Divine Dragon Cult''s Lu Gaoxuan. This man was coming with him from the Divine Dragon Island to Beijing, and had been in contact with Wei Xiaobao for quite a long time. This time his disguise was extremely ingenious, his real face was completely unrecognizable; but looking at his back, Wei Xiaobao had a feeling that it looked familiar. Outside the Chanzhi Temple that day, he had not recognized him; but now at the Lovely Spring Courtyard he saw the same back once again, he felt something was not right, hence he gave it a careful thought, and only then did he realize who the man was.


    If it was only Lu Gaoxuan, one person, Wei Xiaobao had nothing to fear. It seemed that outside the Chanzhi Temple Lu Gaoxuan had overheard Wei Xiaobao accidentally said that he wanted to go to Lovely Spring Courtyard to listen to songs, hence Lu Gaoxuan also came and disguise himself as a turtle slave. But since he was here, most likely Fat and Thin Toutuo were also here. Perhaps even Cult Leader Hong has also personally come. If Wei Xiaobao wanted to repeat his ruse by having Hong Jiaozhu to swear brotherhood with him, to pledge that they were going to die on the same year same month same day, it would be extremely difficult. The more he thought about it, the more he was scared. Beads of sweats appeared on his forehead.


    He saw Lu Gaoxuan came in, carrying a wooden tray with two pots of wine. With his head hung low, he put the wine pots on the table. Wei Xiaobao mused, "He hangs his head low, must be because he is afraid I might see through his disguise. Humph, I wonder who else is coming?" He said, "How come there''s only you in the Courtyard? Quickly call some more people to serve us."


    Lu Gaoxuan let out an ''Um'', and quickly turned around and left. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Da Ge, Er Ge, Er Sao, wait for my signal. If I roll my eyes and throw my head back, you must act immediately, kill whoever comes in. This man has superior martial art skill, it is no small matter."


    Sangjie and the others nodded their compliance; but in their hearts they thought, "What''s so amazing about Wu Sangui''s warrior even if his martial art skill were higher? There is no need to make such a big fuss over nothing."


    A moment later, Lu Gaoxuan came back with four prostitutes, who then separately sat by the four people''s side. When Wei Xiaobao saw them, he did not recognize all four prostitutes, they were not the original Misses of the Lovely Spring Courtyard. All four of them were extremely ugly, some had drooping eyes, some had twisted mouth, or sickly yellowish skin or dark skin, or perhaps bumpy face like they had edema, or face full of scars. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Lovely Spring Courtyard''s girls are very pretty."


    He saw the one sitting by Sangjie, a young woman with face full of scars, winked at him, and signaled him with her eyes. Wei Xiaobao saw her eyes were alive, her glance was very beautiful; he thought, "These four are from Shen Long Jiao, deliberately disguising themselves like this, but she is repeatedly signaling me with her eyes, I wonder what''s her intention?" He picked the original Mi Chun wine and poured one cup each for the four prostitutes. "Everybody must drink one cup!" he said.


    In the brothels, there was no such thing as the guest pours the wine for the prostitutes. As soon as the guest reaches out toward the wine pot, the prostitute would immediately pour the wine; but these four prostitutes only sat down with their heads hung low. Wei Xiaobao pour the wine for them, unexpectedly the four of them did not say a single word. Wei Xiaobao mused, "These four women masquerade as prostitutes, their skill is extremely lacking." He said, "You are here to serve the guests, how come you did not understand the custom? You must drink one cup first." While saying that, he poured another cup and said to Lu Gaoxuan, "Are you new? You can''t even be a turtle. All of you are disrespecting the guest'' wine; if the guest is angry, would he spend his money?"


    Lu Gaoxuan and the four prostitutes thought that it was really a brothel''s custom, they all replied, "Yes!" and picked up the wine and drank it.


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Now that''s good. Are there more turtles and prostitutes in the courtyard? Call everybody here for me. Such a big Lovely Spring Courtyard, how come there are only the five of you? I am afraid this is rather strange."


    The prostitute with swelling yellowish face signaled Lu Gaoxuan with her eyes. Lu Gaoxuan turned around and left. When he returned, he brought two turtle slaves along. With a hoarse voice he said, "No more prostitutes, but we have two more turtles."


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused; he thought, "Prostitutes, turtles, are the terms people say behind your back; you are a turtle slave yourself, how can you say ''prostitute'' and ''turtle''? Even if you are a patron of the brothel, you can''t be this rude. In the courtyard, you would say ''Miss'' and ''waiter''. I just tested you, and immediately you ''reveal the horse''s foot''. Humph, humph, Hong Jiaozhu can prophecy with supernatural accuracy, but even in his dream he would never imagine that I, Wei Xiaobao, grew up in this Lovely Spring Courtyard."


    He saw that both the two turtle slaves were big, fat and tall. One was Fat Toutuo in disguise; he could tell with just one look. The other one vaguely reminded him of Thin Toutuo, but how come he was this tall? After a quick thinking, he knew that his feet must have stepped on some elevated platform; if Wei Xiaobao had not known in advance, he could never have guessed. Wei Xiaobao poured two more cups of wine and said, "The guest tell you turtles to drink, you two turtles must drink!"


    Fat Toutuo quietly picked up the cup and drank; Thin Toutuo was hot-tempered, he could not show restraint. "You, little b@stard, are a turtle!" he cursed.


    Lu Gaoxuan hastily pulled his sleeve and shouted, "Quickly drink the wine! How could you dare to offend the guest?"


    This time Thin Toutuo became a turtle slave, he had received the Cult Leader''s strict warning. He was startled and quickly drank his wine.


    "Is everybody here?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is there anybody else?"


    "Nobody else," Lu Gaoxuan replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Is Hong Jiaozhu also masquerade as a turtle?" When he said those words, he rolled his eyes and threw his head backwards.


    As soon as Lu Gaoxuan and the others, seven people, heard this, they were shocked; the four prostitutes rose up at once. Sangjie had been preparing himself by circulating his chi, his hands moved simultaneously and hit Thin Toutuo and Lu Gaoxuan''s waists. As soon as these two fingers moved, Lu Gaoxuan fell down immediately; but Thin Toutuo only grunted before he swiped his palm in a hacking move toward Sangjie''s head. Sangjie was surprised; he thought that his ''two Zen-fingers'' skill could be considered unparalleled in the world. After his fingers were poisoned and shortened by one section, his movement was not as agile as before; but precisely because the fingers were one section shorter, when it hit the enemy''s body, the power was thirty percent stronger than before. This moment he was very sure that he had hit the acupoint on this big and fat man''s waist, why did the man act as if nothing had happened to him? Could it be just like Wei Xiaobao, he had also trained ''Jin Gang Hu Ti Shen Gong'' [Vajra''s (Budha''s warrior attendant) (or diamond) divine skill to protect the body] to perfection?


    Actually, these two did not have any ''Jin Gang Hu Ti Shen Gong'' at all. Wei Xiaobao was impervious of saber and spear, because he was wearing the treasured vest to protect his body, while Thin Toutuo was standing on stilts so that he was one chi taller. Sangjie thought that he was really a tall and sturdy person, so that when he aimed his jab, his middle finger actually hit the outside of Thin Toutuo''s thigh. Thin Toutuo felt a sharp pain, but his acupoint was not sealed.


    By this time Fat Toutuo already fought Galdan. The prostitute with face full of scars fought with Ah Qi. Another prostitute pounced on Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Are you crazy? [the original word implies ''sexual craziness'', sex maniac] Why are you dressed in ugly appearance ugly shape like this?"


    He saw like a pair of claws, the prostitute''s ten fingers came swiftly and viciously toward him. He was shocked; immediately he ducked down and crawled underneath the table. Stretching out his hand, he pushed the prostitute''s legs. The prostitute had drunk the Mi Chun wine, by this time the drug was starting to take effect; her mind blurred, as soon as Wei Xiaobao pushed, she was unable to stand, she swayed several times before her buttocks landed on the floor, and then she was unable to stand anymore. The other three fake prostitutes also fainted one after another.


    Thin Toutuo and Sangjie exchanged several moves. Thin Toutuo did not like the stilts as they impeded his movements; sending his strength to his legs, ''crack, crack'', he broke the stilts. Sangjie cursed, "Turns out you are a dwarf."


    Thin Toutuo angrily said, "Formerly Laozi was a lot taller than you are; I like to be a dwarf, what does it have to do with you?"


    Sangjie laughed aloud. While their mouth exchanged words, their hands and feet did not stop moving least bit. Both of them were martial art experts; after exchanging several moves, they both admired each other. Sangjie thought, "Unexpectedly there is such fat and short warrior under Wu Sangui''s command with this kind of superb martial art skill." While Thin Toutuo thought, "Although your martial art skill is high, you have been made a hunting dog [i.e. lackey] by this little demon Wei Xiaobao; not a really good role [referring to Chinese opera]."


    On the other front, after several moves Galdan proved to be no match for Fat Toutuo. It''s just that Fat Toutuo had drunk Mi Chun wine, his hands and feet were not too agile, hence the reason Galdan had not been knocked down yet. Ah Qi saw that the prostitute who fought with her had very exquisite style, but after no more than several moves, the prostitute fainted; Ah Qi was baffled. Turning her head, she saw Galdan withdrew repeatedly; hastily she rushed to help him.


    Fat Toutuo''s vision blackened, his body swayed several times, he felt the enemy struck the pit of his stomach with a palm, but the power behind the palm was not formidable. He closed his eyes and stretched out his hands in different directions to parry the opponents'' arms. The index fingers of both hands hit the enemies'' armpits. Ah Qi immediately felt her body weakened and slowly slumped to the ground; she collapsed on top of Lu Gaoxuan''s back. While panicked, she saw Fat Toutuo suddenly lurched forward and fell.


    "Ah Qi, Ah Qi," Galdan called out, "Are you alright?" Suddenly Fat Toutuo leaped up and sent a punch toward Galdan''s chest, sending him back several zhang that he heavily crashed onto the wall.


    Fat and Thin Toutuo''s internal energy was really deep; although they had drunk the Mi Chun wine, it was no more than ordinary knock-out drug used by the brothels, not something that was difficult to deal with. Although the two of them were dizzy, their internal strength was enough to overcome the drug''s effect. By this time Thin Toutuo felt as if his eyes were covered by a veil of mist, Sangjie''s shadow blurrily swayed back and forth in front of him. Each strike he sent was easily parried by Sangjie, while his left shoulder and right cheek successively ate two fists.


    Sangjie''s fist power was very heavy, even though Thin Toutuo''s skin was rough his flesh thick, he could not endure it. He could not help but repeatedly howling before turning around and running out of the door.


    Lu Gaoxuan shakily tried to stand up; the acupoint on the upper part of his body had not been unsealed, with a blurry vision he also rushed out of the door.


    Galdan was hit by Fat Toutuo that he crashed onto the wall, he felt as if his back was about to break apart. In his heart he was actually scared, but he saw the enemy was supporting himself against the table with his left hand, while his eyes were closed, and his right palm constantly moving in front of the pit of his stomach, as if he was afraid the enemy would attack. Galdan seized this opportunity by leaping forward and sending a violent kick toward Fat Toutuo''s buttocks. Fat Toutuo roared, his left hand reached backward to grab the pit of Galdan''s stomach and raised him up. Sangjie rushed forward to help. Fat Toutuo suddenly opened his eyes; still grabbing Galdan, he rushed out of the Sweet Nectar Hall, and flew over the wall.


    "Put him down!" Sangjie shouted, as he ran after him and leaped over the wall in hot pursuit. The sound of the two men shouting gradually vanished in the distance.


    Wei Xiaobao crawled out from underneath the table. He saw a bunch of people sprawling all over the floor; Shuang''er and Zeng Rou lay down on the corner of the hall, four fake prostitutes fainted on the floor, Zheng Keshuang was originally slumped over the table, during the fight the chairs were pushed over that he rolled down under the table. The lower part of Ah Qi''s body was draped over an overturned chair, the upper part of her body was lying on the floor. All these people were motionless; some had their acupoints sealed, some were unconscious because of the Mi Chun wine, it was as if they were all dead.


    The one Wei Xiaobao most concerned of was Shuang''er; hastily he held her up. Seeing her eyes were turning and she was breathing as usual, he was relieved; it''s just that he could not unseal her acupoint, hence he had no choice but to lift Shuang''er, Zeng Rou and Ah Qi, three women, up and sat them on the chairs.


    Concerned over his mother''s safety, he rushed toward her bedroom. He saw Wei Chunfang was lying on the floor by the bed and was greatly shocked; hastily he helped her up. He saw her body limp, yet her breathing and heartbeat were normal, he guessed her acupoint must have been sealed by Divine Dragon Cult people. In the Lovely Spring Courtyard, all the prostitutes and turtles must have had their acupoints sealed too, they should be able to wake in several sichen [two hours], hence he did not have to worry.


    Returning to the Sweet Nectar Hall, he cocked his ears to listen attentively, and did not hear the least bit sign that Fat and Thin, two Toutuo or Sangjie and Galdan had returned; he mused, "The fake prostitute with face full of scar was signaling me with her eyes, apparently she was telling me to be careful. This person''s conscience is good, I wonder who she is." He walked over and stooped down to wipe the woman''s face several times. A layer of plaster flaked off, exposing a tender and lovely, white and soft cheek. Wei Xiaobao cheered; turned out this woman was Xiao Junzhu Mu Jianping.


    Lowering his head, he kissed her face gently and said, "When all is said and done, you still have conscience toward me; you must have been forced by them to deceive me." Suddenly his heart jumped, "Who are those three fake prostitutes? Is Miss Fang among them? That little wh0re is a specialist in harming me, if this time she is not here, I will be greatly surprised." Thinking about Fang Yi, his heart was both sweet and bitter. He saw that the woman with swollen yellow face had a slim and graceful body, most likely she was Fang Yi. Thereupon he reached out to wipe the makeup from her face. The putty powder fell, exposing an attractive, beautiful and charming face; she was around five, six years older than Fang Yi, but her countenance was more beautiful than Fang Yi. Turned out she was Madame Hong Jiaozhu.


    After she was drunk, her cheeks looked like peach blossom, her skin looked as if it exuded water. In the past, although Wei Xiaobao felt that Madame Hong was beautiful and alluring, he had never dared to look at her with the least bit of frivolous intention. This time she was as drunk as mud, the opportunity had presented itself. Extending his right hand, he pinched her cheek, and saw her eyes tightly closed; she did not feel the pinch at all. His heart was thumping wildly, he pinched her other cheek.


    Turning around, he walked over to the other two women. These two women''s bodies were obese, they did not look like Fang Yi at all. One of these women had fiercely pounced on him. Wei Xiaobao picked up the wine pot and drenched her face with the wine, and then pulling her lapel, he used it to wipe her face, exposing her real face; surprisingly she was the fake empress dowager. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "I am rendering a really great service. His Majesty and Empress Dowager wanted me to arrest this old wh0re for revenge. With thousand ways, a hundred plans I failed to arrest her, who would have thought she unexpectedly came to the Lovely Spring Courtyard on her own to be an old wh0re. It can clearly be seen that by calling her the old wh0re, all along it was a divine strategy, early on I have a foresight."


    Wiping the fourth fake prostitute''s makeup, he found out that behind the makeup was Fang Yi''s face. Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked, "How did her waist become so thick? Could it be that she had an illicit intercourse with a man and conceive a child? By the heaven and the earth, the old wh0re really became an old wh0re, could it be that Little Turtle Wei has indeed become a little turtle?" Reaching out, he ran his hand over her undergarment, his hand did not touch skin and flesh; when he pulled it, turned out it was a pillow. Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he said with a laugh, "Your conscience is a lot worse than Xiao Junzhu''s. For fear that I might fall into your evil scheme, she repeatedly signaled me with her eyes. But for fear that I might recognize you, you even dare to disguise yourself as a big-bellied woman. Ha ha �� you, little wh0re, become a big-bellied woman in Lovely Spring Courtyard, I will have an abortion for you. Early morning abortion or late night abortion, I will have the pillow taken out of you."


    Walking out of the hall, he saw several personal guards lying dead on the ground. The courtyard was without lantern, without any flame; there was not even a whisper to be heard. He thought, "Fat and Thin Toutuo have drunk the drugged wine, in the end they won''t be able to defeat those two sworn brothers of mine, but if Hong Jiaozhu and the others waiting to rescue them on the outside, the outcome will be very difficult to say. Two Gege, if today you return to heaven, please forgive Xiaodi [little brother] for not accompanying you dying on the same year the same month and the same day!"


    Returning to the hall, he saw Madame Hong, Fang Yi, Mu Jianping, Shuang''er, Zeng Rou, and Ah Qi, six beautiful women were either unconscious or unable to move. Each one had her own beauty, each one had her own charm; his heart was greatly moved, he mused, "There is another good-looking young Miss inside on the bed, she is a lot more beautiful than these six persons, the one I already bowed to the Heaven and the Earth with, but have not consummate the marriage in bridal room with ornamented candles. Tonight you anxiously looked for me, if your husband did not pay you any attention, won''t I be too cold and ruthless [orig. ''without any sense of justice'']? Won''t I wrong you too much?"


    He was about to step inside when he noticed Zeng Rou''s pair of pretty eyes was fixed on him, her cheeks were blushing, her expression was tender and bashful; he thought, "From Wangwu Mountain to Yangzhou, along the way you, this little girl, were always avoiding me, I can''t even talk to you one more sentence. Tonight I must not be too polite to you." He carried her in his bosom into the room and put her by Ah Ke''s side.


    He saw Ah Ke was still fast asleep; her long eyelashes hung down, the corner of her lips slightly curled into a smiling expression. Most likely in her stupor she was having a very sweet dream, she was being intimate with Zheng Keshuang.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Either give up, or go through to the end. I might as well have this bunch of old wh0re, fake prostitutes, good Miss, bad women, everybody moved in. This is Lovely Spring Courtyard, women came to a brothel, what good could they possibly do? It was you who came here, when you are awake, you can''t blame me."


    Since childhood, his lofty ambition was to open a big brothel in Yangzhou, to come to Lovely Spring Courtyard and have dinner party with singsong girls, to have the prostitutes of the entire courtyard to accompany him. This moment, although the situation was not the same as the plan he drew in the former days, actually it was quite a magnificent feat, not a small matter indeed.


    Immediately he carried Shuang''er, Ah Qi, Madame Hong, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, one by one into the room. Finally even the fake empress dowager was also brought in. Eight women lay side by side on the bed. Suddenly he recalled, "Must not take unfair advantage of a friend''s wife. Er Sao, you are my older brother''s wife; we are heroes and warriors, must uphold yi qi." Hence he carried Ah Qi back into the hall and sat her properly on the chair. He saw there was a considerable praise in her gaze. Seeing her lovely and pretty countenance, her labored breathing, her chest moved up and down endlessly, Wei Xiaobao suddenly felt regret, "I become sworn brothers with Great Lama and Mongolian Prince, it was not because we have affinity with each other, but simply because of a scheme, so that they won''t come to kill me; those Da Ge, Er Ge are nonsense. This Miss Ah Qi is so pretty, it''s a pity to call her Er Sao, I might as well make her my wife. The storyteller has told the story of ''Three Laughing Marriage Affinities, Nine-Beauty Scheme'', Tang Bohu


    [81] had nine wives. If I include Ah Qi, I only have eight beauties, still short one beauty. Pei, pei, pei!" he spat, "The old wh0re is old and vicious, how can I consider her as a beauty?"


    Compared to Tang Bohu, he was short one beauty; it was still acceptable. But now he had to lose two beauties, he was actually quite disappointed. Thereupon he brought Ah Qi back into the room. But only a few steps later, he suddenly recalled, "Guan Yunchang escorted Huang Sao [older brother the emperor''s wife] for a thousand li; he did not turn Liu Da Sao into Guan Er Sao [referring to Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Romance of the Three Kingdoms]. Wei Xiaobao escorted Er Sao for seven steps, I can''t ignore yi qi too much. If I have to have two less beauties, then let me short two beauties; why afraid that I can''t get it back in the future?" Thereupon he immediately turned around and put Ah Qi back on the chair.


    Ah Qi did not know the raging battle inside his mind; being brought back and forth like that, she wondered what kind of trick he was playing, and was a bit surprised.


    Wei Xiaobao entered the room and said, "Miss Fang, Xiao Junzhu, Madame Hong, the three of you entered the Lovely Spring Courtyard to be prostitutes on your own. Shuang''er, Miss Zeng, the two of you voluntarily came with me to Lovely Spring Courtyard. What kind of place this is, although when you came you did not know, but since little girls have come to this kind of place, it won''t be right if you don''t accompany me. Ah Ke, you are my wife, you came here to patronage my Mama, that is, you patronage your own mother-in-law. Your husband is going to patronage you." Stretching out his hand he pushed the fake empress dowager far away to the corner of the bed. He shook and spread the quilt to cover the remaining six women. Kicking his shoes off, with a loud shout he crawled into the quilt.


    Heaven and Earth in confusion. After an unknown period of time had passed, the candle on the table went out, the room became completely dark. Also a long time had passed, Wei Xiaobao hummed the ''eighteen touches'' in a low voice: "A hundred and seven touches, touching Jiejie Meimei''s [older and younger sisters] seven hands �� a hundred and eight touches, touching Jiejie Meimei''s eight feet ��"


    During this ''seven-hand, eight-feet'', suddenly he heard tender and gentle voice softly said, "No �� don''t �� Zheng �� Zheng Gongzi �� is that you?" It was precisely Ah Ke''s voice. She drank the Mi Chun wine the earliest, after sleeping for a long time, the drug effect gradually diminished, and she slowly regained her consciousness.


    Wei Xiaobao was furious; he thought, "Even in your dream you are thinking of Zheng Gongzi, thinking that he is climbing onto your bed; is it good?" Lowering his voice he said, "It''s me."


    "No, no!" Ah Ke said, "You must not ��" She struggled a little bit.


    Suddenly they heard Zheng Keshuang''s voice calling out from the hall, "Ah Ke, Ah Ke, where are you?" Crash! Bang! There was a lot of noise as the chair, as well as the cups and plates on the table fell down to the floor.


    Since his voice was coming from the hall, naturally the one embracing her was not him; in her shock Ah Ke''s mind sobered a little bit. With a trembling voice she said, "You �� who are you? Why �� I �� I ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "It''s your own husband; don''t you recognize me?"


    To say that Ah Ke was mildly surprise was a gross understatement. She struggled desperately to break away from his embrace, but her body was limp and without any strength. "Zheng Gongzi, Zheng Gongzi!" she cried out in fear.


    Zheng Keshuang staggered into the room, but there was not the least bit of light inside, ''Bang!'' his forehead bumped onto the doorframe. "Ah Ke, where are you?" he called out.


    "I am here!" Ah Ke replied, "Let me go! Little demon, what did �� what did you do?"


    "What?" Zheng Keshuang was baffled; he did not know that the last two sentences were addressed to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao was very excited and in high spirit, how could he be willing to let her go? "Good Shidi," Ah Ke pleaded, "Please, let me go."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I said I won''t let go, then I won''t let go! A real man gave his words, dead horses cannot pull it back."


    Zheng Keshuang was startled and angry at the same time, "Wei Xiaobao," he said, "Where are you?"


    With an air of complacency Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am on the bed, embracing my wife. I am in the bridal room with ornamented candles; what are you doing here? You want to disturb the bridal chamber?"


    Zheng Keshuang was furious. "Disturb your Ma''s bridal chamber!" he cursed.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You want to disturb my Ma''s bridal chamber? Not today, because today she does not accept any visitor, unless you yourself want to be the groom."


    "Rubbish!" Zheng Keshuang yelled angrily. Following the direction of the voices, he pounced toward the bed. He wanted to uncover Wei Xiaobao, but in the dark he grabbed an arm. "Ah Ke," he asked, "Is this your arm?"


    "It''s not," Ah Ke replied.


    Since it was not Ah Ke''s arm, Zheng Keshuang thought it must be Wei Xiaobao''s. Thereupon he fiercely pulled with all his strength. Unexpectedly he pulled the fake empress dowager, Mao Dongzhu''s arm.


    After drinking the Mi Chun wine, her brain was murky, but feeling that someone was pulling her arm, instinctively her left hand went up and slapped backhandedly. It happened to strike the top of Zheng Keshuang''s head. Her strength had gone about 80, 90%, this palm strike did not have any real power behind it. But Zheng Keshuang was greatly surprised; he quickly turned around to withdraw. His head happened to hit the pillar of the bed and he fainted right away.


    "Zheng Gongzi, what happened to you?" Ah Ke cried out in alarm, but she heard no response.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He went to disturb the bridal chamber; he has crawled under the bed."


    Crying, Ah Ke said, "He did not. Quickly let me go!"


    "Don''t move, don''t move!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Ah Ke struck with her elbow and happened to hit his throat. Feeling severe pain, Wei Xiaobao threw his head backward. Ah Ke struggled free and hastily wanted to get off the bed. As soon as she rolled around, her body pressed the pit of Mao Dongzhu''s stomach. Mao Dongzhu screamed from the pain and reached out to wrap her arms tightly around Ah Ke''s body. In the darkness, Ah Ke did not have any idea who was holding her; in her abject terror, she lost all the strength in her body. Suddenly she felt that someone got hold of her right foot. She was so scared that her body was drenched in cold sweats, "There are so many men on the bed!" she thought.


    Wei Xiaobao could not find Ah Ke in the darkness. "Ah Ke," he called, "Quickly make some noise, where are you?"


    Ah Ke said in her heart, "Even if you chop my head, I won''t make any noise."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "You won''t make any noise, I will touch one, I will touch two, I will touch everywhere, in the end I will touch you." He suddenly sang the folksong, "One touch, two touches, touching the beautiful woman. The beauty''s face is like melon seed, could it be that you are the old wh0re?" [The original rhymes: melon seed �C guazi, wh0re �C biaozi.] While his mouth was singing the folk song, his hands were busy groping.


    Suddenly they heard the clamor of voices outside the courtyard, some people shouted orders, a large number of troops had several brothels surrounded; and then there were footsteps, some people were entering the Lovely Spring Courtyard. Wei Xiaobao knew that these people must be either his own troops or Yangzhou''s local officials; he was very happy. He was about to crawl out from underneath the quilt, but unexpectedly the incoming people were very fast; he saw torches and very soon those people had already entered the Sweet Nectar Hall. He heard Priest Xuanzhen''s voice calling out, "Wei Daren, are you in here?" His voice was filled with anxiety.


    Before he could even think, Wei Xiaobao blurted out, "I am here!"


    As soon as Tian Di Hui warriors found out that Wei Xiaobao had disappeared, for fear that he might be in danger, they came out to look for him. They knew that he took several personal guards toward the Ming Yu Lane area, hence they investigated that area and found out that there was a fight in the Lovely Spring Courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw several dead personal guards lying on the ground and were greatly shocked. It was not until they heard his voice replying that they felt relieved.


    Wei Xiaobao heard people shouting and calling, and then everybody seemed to swarm this way. He hastily stood up to let the mosquito net down, in the process his feet were stepping on several bodies, but he could not care less on whose bodies.


    The mosquito net had just come down, Priest Xuanzhen and the others already entered the room. Each person had a torch in his hand; in one glance they all saw Zheng Keshuang fainted in front of the bed, and were very surprised. Someone called out, "Wei Daren, Wei Daren!"


    Wei Xiaobao called back, "I am in here. Don''t open the mosquito net."


    Hearing his voice, they all cheered. Everybody ''you look at me, I look at you'', with smiling expression on their faces; they all thought, "Everybody was worried, you are actually here to have fun."


    Under the torch light Wei Xiaobao put on his clothes, found his hat and wore it, and then crawled out of the bed. While putting on his shoes he said, "I used some trick to capture quite a few offenders, they are all on the bed. This time everybody''s merit is not small."


    They all felt very strange, but they knew for some time that the way he worked was like ''gods appear and devils vanish''; for the time being it was inconvenient to ask too much.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered the men to have Zheng Keshuang bound, and have Ah Qi carried to the field headquarters on a sedan chair. He also had the edges of the mosquito net squeezed firmly underneath the bedding, and then asked for ten personal guards and ordered them to take the big bed back to the Imperial Envoy Field Headquarters. The captain of the personal guards said, "Reporting to Daren: the door is too small, we cannot lift the bed out."


    "Idiot," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Can''t you tear the wall open?"


    The captain understood immediately, he repeatedly said ''yes'', and shouted his order. The personal guards set to work immediately, tearing the three walls of Lovely Spring Courtyard open. About a dozen personal guards fetched six or seven sedan chair poles and set the poles at the bottom of the bed, and then they lifted up the big bed, level and steady, and brought it out of the room.


    By this time it was already daylight, the big bed was paraded through the main streets and marketplace of Yangzhou. The personal guards carried the ''do not panic'' and ''step back'' signs, with a gong and herald to clear the way, while the rest of the party marched behind the bed. When the common people of Yangzhou saw it, none of them did not click their tongue in amazement.


    The big bed arrived at the He Garden, the gate was still too small. Learning from experience, this time the captain of the personal guards did not wait of the Imperial Envoy Daren''s instruction, he immediately ordered his men to tear the wall open and brought the big bed into the reception pavilion, and set it down in the middle of the hall. Wei Xiaobao passed on his order: the captured offenders on the bed were not a small matter, he ordered several dozen higher-rank military officers to lead the troops with bows strung, with sabers unsheathed, to form a tight perimeter around the garden. He also had Xu Tianchuan and the others guarding outside the room, to prevent Thin Toutuo and the others from coming in and seizing the prisoners by force.


    Although there were multitude men guarding all around the reception pavilion, in the hall itself Wei Xiaobao was left alone with the big bed. He thought, "In the Lovely Spring Courtyard a moment ago, it was such a good opportunity, but out of seven beauties, apparently I only embraced less than half. Besides, in the darkness I did not know which one I already embraced, and which one I have not embraced. I''d better start anew, from the first line of ''one touch''." Thereupon he hummed softly, "One touch, two touches, touching Meimei ��" pulling the mosquito net open, he threw himself onto the bed.


    Suddenly his braid tightened, followed by a sharp pain on his throat; someone pulled his braid and lifted it up, the person''s left hand fingers were wrapped around his neck. It was none other than Madame Hong. After all these time, the effect of Mi Chun wine had disappeared. Madame Hong, Mao Dongzhu, Fang Yi, and Mu Jianping, four women, had already awakened; while the acupoints on Shuang''er and Zeng Rou''s body had gradually unsealed. It''s just that the bed was carried along Yangzhou''s streets, the bed was surrounded by numerous officers and soldiers, so that the seven women on the bed did not dare to move, they did not dare to make noise. This moment Wei Xiaobao wanted to enjoy tender, amorous good fortune, as soon as he climbed onto the bed he was grabbed by Madame Hong.


    Madame Hong had a ''smile, yet not a smile'' look on her face; she sternly said in low voice, "Little demon, you have the nerve to amuse yourself even with me!"


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul flew to the outer space; with a forced laugh he said, "Madame, I �� I did not amuse myself; this �� this ��"


    "What song did you sing?" Madame Hong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That was something that I heard randomly in the brothel, you must not take it seriously."


    Madame Hong said in a low voice, "Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Subordinate White Dragon Envoy respectfully wishes Madame and Jiaozhu to enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven''s. Madame''s order, subordinate will receive and obey without delay."


    Madame Hong noticed that he was speaking those words frivolously, without any respect or sincerity. She spat and said, "You must remove the officers and soldiers around the hall first."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Won''t that be easy? Let me go, I will issue the order."


    Madame Hong said, "Issue the order from here."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice, he loudly called out, "Everybody outside, Zongdu [governor general], Xunfu [inspector general], Ministry of War Shangshu [department head], Minister of Revenue Shangshu, listen up: all officers and soldiers must withdraw, no one is allowed to remain here."


    Madame Hong pulled his braid and shouted, "What Ministry of War Shangshu, Minister of Revenue Shangshu? Rubbish!" While saying that, she pulled his braid again, hard.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao screamed, "I am dying!"


    When the officers and soldiers outside heard him calling Zongdu, Shangshu, and so on, they were already suspicious, as soon as they heard him crying in pain, several dozen men with sabers and spears in their hands immediately rushed into the hall. "Imperial Envoy Daren," they asked, "What is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "No �� nothing! Aiyo, Mama!"


    The officers looked at each other in dismay, they were at a loss of what to do.


    Madame Hong was furious; she raised her hand, ''slap!'' she heavily struck Wei Xiaobao''s face. Wei Xiaobao cried out again, "Mama! Don''t hit your son!"


    Although Madame Hong did not know that when Wei Xiaobao called someone his mother, he was actually cursing her as a prostitute, yet seeing his mischief, she raised her palm again to strike. Suddenly the ''tian zong'' [heaven reservoir] and ''shen tang'' [divine hall] two acupoints behind her shoulder went numb, her right arm went limp and dropped down. Madame Hong was startled; she quickly turned her head around to see who had sealed her acupoints. But the person closest to her back was Fang Yi.


    "Miss Fang," she said with a cold laugh, "Your martial art skill is not bad at all!" Her left hand swiftly moved toward Fang Yi''s eyes.


    "It wasn''t me!" Fang Yi cried out, while leaning her head sideways to evade.


    Madame Hong was about to attack again, suddenly two hands behind her back reached out and grabbed her left arm; it was Mu Jianping. "Madame," she called out, "It was not my Shijie who sealed your acupoints!" She saw that it was Shuang''er who sealed Madame Hong''s acupoints.


    Mao Dongzhu raised her hand to strike Mu Jianping, fortunately she lost her internal energy that Mu Jianping did not suffer any injury. Mao Dongzhu''s second palm strike came, Fang Yi stretched out her hand to block.


    Seeing the four women were fighting each other, Ah Ke turned around, she wanted to get down of the bed. Her right foot had just stepped out of the quilt, "Ah!" she cried, and immediately pulled her foot back. Wei Xiaobao was pulling her left foot. "Don''t go!" he said.


    Ah Ke struggled hard and cried out, "Let me go!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You guess: will I or will I not let you go?"


    Ah Ke panicked; she turned around and sent out a punch. Wei Xiaobao ducked, ''Bang!'' her fist landed on Zeng Rou''s left cheek. "What did you hit me for?" Zeng Rou shouted.


    "I �� I''m sorry �� Aiyo!" Ah Ke said, but she was hit by Fang Yi''s palm.


    In an instant the bed was in great confusion, seven women beating and twisting randomly. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he mused, "This is called ''the whole country in rebellion, the heroes ��'' no, ''the heroines


    [82] fight each other in muddled battle!''"


    While he was thinking to fish in troubled water, suddenly ''crack, crash!'', the big bed collapsed. Eight people ''you press on my hand, I push down your leg''. Seven women screamed together. Witnessing this scene, the officers and soldiers were dumbstruck. Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter while crawling out from among the crowd. But someone grabbed his left leg and twisted it. "Everybody, let go!" he shouted, "Officers, arrest all my wives, young and old!"


    The officers stood in circle, but nobody dared to make any move. Wei Xiaobao pointed to Mao Dongzhu and said, "This old wh0re is a criminal, you must never let her escape."


    The officers felt strange, "You said these women are all your wives, young and old, how come one of them is a criminal, and two of them dressed as personal guards?" Immediately some of them pointed their sabers and spears to Mao Dongzhu, while some others dragged her out. ''Click, click!'' they put manacles on her hands.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to Madame Hong and said, "This Madame is my superior, but we''d better put her in shackles as well."


    The officers were even more surprised, but they put manacles on Madame Hong''s hands anyway. Madame Hong''s martial art skill was high, but her acupoints were sealed by Shuang''er, half of her body was numb and aching, it would be difficult for her to resist.


    By this time Shuang''er and Zeng Rou managed to extricate themselves from the crowd. Recalling last night''s experience, they were blushing, but also found it very amusing.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to Fang Yi and said, "She is my first concubine!" Pointing to Mu Jianping he said, "And she is my second concubine. First concubine needs to be put in shackles, second concubine does not need."


    The officers put manacles on Fang Yi''s hands. The Imperial Envoy Minister''s strange words and weird speech came out one after another, but by this time the officers had heard a lot, hence nobody thought it strange.


    By this time, only Ah Ke was left sitting on the floor. They saw her hair was in a mess, her clothes was in disorder, she was wearing men''s clothes, nevertheless her countenance was bright and outstandingly beautiful; her hands were holding down the hem of her long gown tightly to cover her naked legs. Her head was hung low, her cheeks were blushing. The officers and soldiers all thought, "Of all Imperial Envoy Daren''s wives, young and old, this wife is the most beautiful."


    They heard Wei Xiaobao said, "She is my officially wedded wife, let me help her up." He took two steps forward and said, "Niangzi [wife (formal)], please rise!" while extending his hand to help her up.


    Suddenly there was a ''Slap!'' sharp and clear, the Imperial Envoy Daren''s face was heavily slapped. With head hung low, Ah Ke cried and said, "All you can do is bully me. Just kill me. I �� even if I die I don''t want to marry you."


    The officers looked at each other in dismay; they were all shocked. The Imperial Envoy Minister was beaten in public. As the officers, it was their official duty to protect him with all their might. But the person beating and disgracing him was the Imperial Envoy Minister''s own lawful wife; they could not step forward to stop her with force, but shouting to berate her also did not seem to be the proper thing to do. For a moment they were at a loss.


    Caressing half of his face which was hit, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How can I be willing to part with you by killing you? Niangzi needs not be angry, otherwise I''ll have my men kill Zheng Gongzi." He raised his voice to ask, "Where is the man arrested at the Lovely Spring Courtyard?"


    A Zuoling [Company Commander] replied, "Reporting to Dutong [Commander]: this fellow has his hands and feet shackled and is being guarded well."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "If he wants to run away, chop his left leg first, and then cut his right leg ��"


    Ah Ke was scared. "Don''t �� don''t �� cut his legs," she called out anxiously, "He �� he won''t run away."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If you want to run away, I will chop Zheng Gongzi''s hands." Sweeping his gaze on Fang Yi, Mu Jianping, and the others, he said, "If these first concubine, second concubine of mine ran away, cut Zheng Gongzi''s ears and nose."


    Ah Ke anxiously said, "You �� you �� what do these women have to do with Zheng Gongzi? Why do you put the blame on him?"


    "Naturally they have something to do with him," Wei Xiaobao replied, "My women all have countenance of a flower, face like the moon, while Zheng Gongzi is a sex maniac. If he saw them, he would definitely harbor evil designs."


    Ah Ke thought, "It''s still not his responsibility." But she knew that this person spoke without reason; it was useless to argue with him. In her anxiety, she broke into crying again.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The women with manacles, take them away and guard them well, put fetters on their legs. Tell the kitchen to set up a banquet, the good Miss without manacles are to accompany me drinking wine in here." The personal guards complied with loud voice.


    Still crying, Ah Ke said, "I �� I don''t want to accompany you to drink. Just put shackles on my hands."


    Without saying anything Zeng Rou walked out with her head hung low. "Hey," Wei Xiaobao called, "Where are you going?"


    Zeng Rou turned her head around and said, "You �� you are really shameless! I don''t want to see you again!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Why?" he asked.


    "You �� you still ask me why?" Zeng Rou said, "Others are not willing to marry you, you compel them to. You are a high-ranking official, do you think you can bully common people like this? Previously I thought you were a �� a hero, who would have thought ��"


    "Who would have thought what?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Suddenly Zeng Rou broke into crying; covering her face, she said, "I don''t know! You �� you are an evil man, not a good person." While saying that she ran toward the door.


    Two military officers raised their saber to block; they shouted, "You insulted Imperial Envoy, you must not leave. Wait for Imperial Envoy Daren''s decision on how to punish you."


    Reprimanded by Zeng Rou like that, the happiness in Wei Xiaobao''s heart immediately vanished into the thin air; he thought that what she said actually made a lot of sense. Being a Tatar high-ranking officer, he was relying on force to bully others, thus he was no different from the treacherous court officials and evil tyrants that the storytellers were talking about. He thought, "I can''t be a hero; that''s fine. But I must not be a treacherous court official."


    Heaving a deep sigh he said, "Miss Zeng, please come back, I want to say something."


    Zeng Rou turned her head and boldly said, "I offended you, you might as well chop my head."


    Shuang''er had a good relationship with her; she hastily urged, "Zeng Jiejie, don''t be angry, Xianggong can''t possibly kill you."


    Wei Xiaobao low-spiritedly said, "You are right, if I force them to marry me, I am like the painted face treacherous court official (in the opera) seizing common people''s daughter, just like the Tiger Wang kidnapping the bride in the ''Three Laughing Marriage Affinities''."


    Pointing to Ah Ke, he said to the Zuoling, the captain of his personal guards, "Take this Miss out, also release that man surnamed Zheng, let them go and be husband and wife." When speaking those words, he was extremely grieving. He also pointed to Fang Yi and said, "Take her manacles off, release her as well, let her go find her beloved Liu Shige. Ay, my lawful wife loves her lover, my first concubine also loves her lover. Damn it, what kind of Imperial Envoy Daren, Dutong Daren am I? I am a double cuckold Daren."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was throwing a fit, the Zuoling was so scared that he stood with head hung low; he did not dare to make any noise. Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly take these two women out." The Zuoling complied, he escorted Ah Ke and Fang Yi out.


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the two women''s back; in his heart he was really reluctant to let them go. As they walked out, Fang Yi and Ah Ke did not even turn their heads; there was not a word of thanks, there was not a single grateful glance.


    Zeng Rou took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "You are a good person! You �� please punish me." There was a deep regret on her tender face.


    Wei Xiaobao''s spirit was immediately aroused; he was beaming with joy as he laughed and said, "Right, right! I must punish you. Shuang''er, Xiao Junzhu, Miss Zeng, the three of you are good women. Come, let us go in and talk."


    He was about to take the three women into the inner hall and had some intimate time with them when a military officer walked in and said, "Reporting to Dutong Daren: there is someone outside, saying that he was sent by Hong Jiaozhu, asking to have an audience with Daren."


    Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits; he hastily said, "What Red Jiaozhu, Green Jiaozhu [the word ''Hong'' sounds like ''Red'', different characters]? I don''t want to see, I don''t want to see! Quickly kick him out."


    The officer bowed and said, "Yes!" He took a step backward, and then said, "That man also said that they have two men in their hands, they want to trade them with two women in Dutong Daren''s hands."


    "Trade with two women?" Wei Xiaobao said. His gaze swept on Madame Hong and Mao Dongzhu''s faces; he shook his head and said, "He must be joking! Such good merchandise, why do I want to trade?"


    "Yes," the military officer said, "Let lowly officer drive him away."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What kind of men he wanted to trade with? Damn it, what''s so good about men? Trading men for women, I will suffer too much loss."


    The officer said, "That man is talking nonsense, he said one was a Lama, the other was a Prince; they both are Dutong Daren''s sworn brothers."


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed; he thought, "Turns out Sangjie Lama and Prince Galdan are caught by Hong Jiaozhu." He said, "A Lama and a Prince, what am I supposed to do with them? Go tell that fellow, these two women, even if he offered two million men, I don''t want to trade." The officer repeatedly said yes, then he withdrew.


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance to Zeng Rou; he thought, "Previously she said that I am an evil man, not a good person. I have to let my own wives go, to let them marry their lovers before she considered me a good person. Humph! To be a good man, the capital is indeed not small. Sangjie and Galdan, two men, have already sworn brotherhood with me, if I don''t trade them back, Hong Jiaozhu will definitely have them killed. Even if I keep Madame Hong, what do I do with her? Although she is extremely beautiful, she won''t agree to enjoy immortal good fortune together with me, to have live as long as the heaven''s with me. Damn it, paying more attention to a lover than friends is not a hero!" "Hold on!" he shouted.


    "Yes!" the officer replied. He bowed to await the order.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Go tell him: have Hong Jiaozhu release those two men, I will return Madame Hong to him. This Madame has countenance of a flower, face like the moon; she is better than Xi Shi and Yang Guifei


    [83], she is the world''s priceless treasure. Originally even if he killed me I would not want to release her; to have me trade his two men with her, actually it is greatly advantageous to him. As for the other woman, although she is disappointing, I can''t let her go." The officer complied and withdrew.


    All along Madame Hong maintained a wooden expression; only this moment she showed a smiling expression as she said, "Imperial Envoy Daren really knows how to compliment others."


    "Madame," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are seriously beautiful, why be modest? We must be good people to the end, if I have to eat into my capital, then so be it. Deliver the goods first, receive the payment later. Guards! Quickly open my boss'' manacles." Receiving the key, he personally unlocked Madame Hong''s manacles and walked her out.


    When they reached the main hall, they saw the officer was talking to Lu Gaoxuan. Wei Xiaobao said, "Mr. Lu, you must serve Madame well on her way back. Madame, your subordinate respectfully sends you, Senior, off in a triumphal return, wishes you and Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long lives will be the same as the Heaven''s."


    Madame Hong giggled tenderly; she said, "And I wish Imperial Envoy Daren promotion and wealth, a life as long as Mount Nan, lovely wife and beautiful concubines, and to be rewarded nobility titles as Duke and Marquis for ten thousand generations."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed; he shook his head and said, "To be promoted and gain wealth is easy, to have lovely wife and beautiful concubines, that will be difficult." Raising his voice he ordered, "Play the music, send the guest off, prepare a sedan chair."


    Amidst the sound of music, he personally walked her off to the main gate, and watched as Madame Hong climbed onto the sedan chair.

 Chapter - 42 (42)

    Yuyang instigation sends drunkenness toward the heavens, excessive supervision with poor planning will bring regret too late.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao led his companions, the troops and horses, with Wu Zhirong and Mao Dongzhu in custody, leaving Yangzhou heading for the Capital. Kangxi''s imperial edict to summon him back was very urgent, the party did not dare to tarry too long when they lodged for the night, inevitably they had to skip quite a bit of opportunity to invite wealth by accepting bribes along the way. The news on the street was that after Wu Sangui started deploying his troops, Yunnan''s Tidu [local commander] Zhang Guogui, Guizhou''s Xunfu [inspector-general] Cao Shenji and Tidu Li Benshen had surrendered, while Yunnan''s Xunfu Zhu Guozhi was killed, and Yunnan and Guizhou Zongdu [governor general] Gan Wenkun committed suicide.


    One day they arrived in Shandong. The local official grabbed the imperial bulletin and presented it to the Imperial Envoy Minister. It was an edict in which Kangxi denounced Wu Sangui. Wei Xiaobao summoned the secretary to read it for him. The secretary held the imperial edict with both hands and read aloud, "Rebel thief Wu Sangui desperately trying to gain authority. Remembering his surrender, my ancestors Emperor Zhang awarded him the troops and conferred the nobility title ''Wang'' [king], as he bound himself to our mountains and rivers. With his pledge of allegiance he earned the cap (of officialdom), the esteemed hereditary office, with favor bestowed to him on top of everything: wide open space of Yunnan and the south, and whole-hearted responsibility to rely on. By Zhen''s time, distinguished and grand favors have been repeatedly granted, his rise through nobility has brought him the title Qinwang [prince], the country has heavily relied on him to manage the cities, indeed he was the backbone of the country. Special favor superior gift, resonating throughout the world with no precedence since the ancient times."


    Listening to the secretary''s reading, Wei Xiaobao nodded his head continuously; he said, "Indeed His Majesty treated this rebel thief very well, it was not an exaggeration at all. Take me, Wei Xiaobao, for example, I am completely loyal and devoted to the Emperor, yet I am given no more than the title Bojue [earl]. If I want to reach Qinwang, the road I have to take is still missing a large chunk."


    The secretary continued reading, "How it surprised me that Wu Sangui''s nature is poor and odd, in his bosom there is spying and cheating heart, he is pampering pride and scheming to go against the law. Just in the seventh month of this year, he himself was asking to be removed from his post. Depending on Wu Sangui''s sincerity, and remembering the years his strength is waning, and that master and disciples have been in garrison for a long time, Zhen has granted his request and ordered him to rest. Therefore, the placement minister was assigned to prepare a place for him, and special minister was dispatched to announce the content of Zhen''s heart. It could be said that Zhen had profound sentiment toward Wu Sangui, no more, no less. Reviewing Chuan Hu


    [1]Zongdu Cai Yurong and the others'' memorial: Wu Sangui is on his path to rebel; after the kindness of the imperial court to bear the burden of looking after his needs, he is showing off his power, sowing violence and rebellion, blotting out and burning the living beings, reasons and laws cannot contain, hated by both man and god."


    For each sentence that he heard, Wei Xiaobao uttered a sentence of praise, "His Majesty is magnanimous; he did not curse Wu Sangui''s granny, it can be considered very polite."


    Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, Wang Jinbao, Sun Sike, as well as Li Lishi and the others were listening on the side. They all thought, "The imperial edict only says that the Emperor''s treatment to him cannot be better, while reprimanding Wu Sangui for forgetting favor and violate justice; it did not mention even half a sentence of Manchu-Han relation, as well as how he murdered Ming Dynasty''s royal family, it''s extremely brilliant, so that the world only feel that Wu Sangui''s rebellion is something that he should not have done."


    The secretary continued reading, "The imperial edict urges and instructs local official and the people not to associate with the rebels. If by mistake they already join the thieves, as long as the conviction to turn back is sincere, they will not have to be investigated, their relatives who live in the provinces where the local officials live will not be charged with guilt by association, they will not be doubted. The edict also states: ''Whoever is able to capture Wu Sangui and present him to the army will be granted his nobility title promptly; whoever is able to capture or put the rebel leaders under his command to death, as well as take back the troops, horses, and the cities, will enjoy preferential treatment upon evaluation of his merit. Zhen will not go back on my word.''"


    Hearing the secretary read, ''His Majesty promises that whoever is able to capture Wu Sangui and present him to the army, His Majesty will make him Ping Xi Qinwang'', Wei Xiaobao could not help to have an itch in his heart that was difficult to scratch. He turned his head around to Li Lishi and the others and said, "Let''s go catch Wu Sangui, then we can be Ping Xi Qinwang; it will be very interesting." Everybody voiced their agreement.


    Zhang Yong and the other military generals thought, "Wu Sangui''s troops numerous, his generals many; catching him is easier said than done."


    Li Lishi and the others thought, "We want to kill Wu Sangui because he overthrew Han people''s rivers and mountains, do you think that we want to strive for the sake of Tatar Emperor? But if Wei Xiangzhu can be Ping Xi Qinwang and lead troops in Yunnan, he can rise in rebellion again; it won''t be too bad."


    Finished listening to the imperial edict, Wei Xiaobao ordered immediate departure, he wanted to reach Beijing as soon as possible, he wanted to be sent to the battlefield, so that he would be the first to capture Wu Sangui and snatch the nobility title Ping Xi Qinwang.


    One day they arrived at Xianghe [county, Langfang, Hebei], which was not far from the Capital. Wei Xiaobao commanded Zhang Yong, leading a large number of troops, to wait here and closely guard offender to the throne Mao Dongzhu, while he and Shuang''er and Tian Di Hui warriors, with Wu Zhirong in custody, turned southwest toward the big house of the Zhuang Family. He wanted to personally deliver Wu Zhirong to the Third Mistress to repay her generous gift of Shuang''er, such a good servant girl.


    By that evening they arrived at a small town about twenty li away from the Zhuang Family''s big house. The party stopped at a restaurant to eat dinner. All of them have changed into civilian clothes. They sealed Wu Zhirong''s mute acupoint, as well as several acupoints on his body, but did not bind him to avoid drawing other people''s attention. They all sat around two wooden tables. Nobody wanted to sit at the same table with Wu Zhirong. Shuang''er was afraid that he might run away, she was the only one who was willing to sit at his table, to keep a close watch on him.


    The food was delivered. Everybody was eating when a dozen or so soldiers entered the inn, led by a Shoubei [captain]. Outside the inn, the horses were neighing continuously, two ordinary soldiers fetched water and fed the horses. A Bazong [squad leader] shouted loudly, ordering the innkeeper to quickly kill the chicken and prepare a meal, saying that they were in urgent official business and wanted to reach the Capital as soon as possible to report. The innkeeper said ''yes, yes'' repeatedly, while urging the waiters to wait upon the guanlaoye [master government official]. He personally wiped the captain''s table and chair.


    The soldiers had just sat down, from the mouth of the town came the sound of cartwheel and hoof beats. The carriage and horses stopped in front of the inn, several people entered the restaurant. At the front were two big muscular men; the third was a middle-age man with the appearance of a tuberculosis ghost, short and thin, his cheeks were deep and hollow, his cheekbones high, his complexion wax-yellow, without any trace of even half a part of blood, there was a faint darkness surrounding his appearance, every few steps he coughed a bit.


    Behind him were an old man and old woman walking side by side, they both appeared to be over eighty years old. The old man was also short and thin, but he looked spirited and full of life, his white beard floated in front of his chest, his face was ruddy. The old woman was slightly taller than the old man, her waist and back was straight, her eyes were bright and full of expression. At the rear were two twenty-something women.


    Looking at the way these seven people dressed, the sick looking man''s clothes was luxurious, he appeared to be a landlord from a very wealthy family. The two men and two women were menservants and maidservants. The old man and old woman dressed in dark green robes, the material was very coarse, but very clean. It was unclear what their status was.


    The old woman said, "Zhang Ma [nurse Zhang], get a bowl of hot water, help Shaoye [young master] taking his medication."


    One of the maidservants complied; she took out a china bowl from her basket, lifted up the copper kettle in the inn, and poured the hot water into the china bowl. She shook the bowl several times before throwing the water away, and then she poured half a bowl of hot water, and set it down in front of the sickly man.


    The old women took out a porcelain bottle from her bosom, pulled the cork out, and tipped out a red pill, which she brought to the sickly man''s mouth. The sickly man opened his mouth and held the pill on his tongue. Picking up the water bowl he drank it to swallow the pill. After taking the pill, the sickly man panted endlessly, while also coughing nonstop.


    The old man and the old woman fixed their gaze at the sickly man, their expression showed concern, but they also looked worried. After seeing his breathing slowing down and his coughing stopped they heaved a deep sigh. The sickly man frowned and said, "Dad, Ma, why are you always worried about me? I won''t die."


    "Humph," the old man snorted, and turned his head away. The old woman laughed and said, "What are you talking about, dead or alive? My child will live to be a hundred years old."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Even if this fellow took the Jade Emperor''s miracle pill, he won''t last a few days. Turns out this old man and the old woman are his parents. This tuberculosis ghost is spoiled by his parents since he was little, his dad and mom only looked at him a bit more, his temper flared."


    The old woman said, "Zhang Ma, Sun Ma, go warm Shaoye''s ginseng soup, and then cook the meal." The two maidservants complied. Each woman carried a basket as they walked toward the rear of the inn.


    The captain inquired about the way to Beijing from the innkeeper. The innkeeper said, "Gentlemen may continue your journey twenty, thirty more li today, and stop-by for the night in the small town ahead. Tomorrow you may leave early in the morning, you should reach the Capital by the afternoon."


    "We have to continue over night," the captain said, "No time to stay in any inn. Innkeeper, within a year from today, I guarantee your business will flourish. You''d better prepare some good food, good wine, so that when the moment comes you won''t be caught in confusion."


    The innkeeper laughed and said, "Laoye [old master] said it well. Small inns'' business is always ordinary. Business like today seldom comes by, usually only a few days in a month; it is because Laoye and other guests are showing consideration, how can I expect to have a lot of guests honoring us with your presence every day?"


    The captain laughed and said, "Innkeeper, let me tell you something: Wu Sangui is rebelling, right now he has reached Hunan. We are hastening to the Capital to deliver military document. Once the big battle breaks out, at least it will take three to five years to defeat him. The troops who send reports of military intelligence every day will pass this place, hereafter you will gain wealth."


    The innkeeper repeatedly expressed his thanks, but in his heart he was grumbling incessantly, "Soldiers like you, what good business is there to make? You''ll eat and drink as much as you like, if you are generous at most you''ll give tips of a few qian. After ferociously beat and curse people, you''ll pat your buttocks and leave. Forget three to five years, in just half a year or a year, I will have to hang myself."


    Hearing that Wu Sangui had reached Hunan, Wei Xiaobao, Li Lishi and the others were shocked. "That servant moves very fast," they thought.


    In a low voice Qian Laoben said, "I ask?" Wei Xiaobao nodded. Qian Laoben walked over to the Captain and with a face full of smile he cupped his fist and said, "Just now I heard Jiangjun [General] Daren said that Wu Sangui has attacked Hunan. Xiaoren''s wife and children are actually in Changsha [prefecture, capital of Hunan]; I am very concerned. I wonder how is the situation over there? Is Changsha still safe?"


    Being called a ''general'', the captain was delighted; he said, "Whether Changsha is safe or not, I do not know. Wu Sangui dispatched his subordinate great general Ma Bao from Guizhou to attack Hunan; Yuanzhou has fallen, Zongbing Cui Shilu was taken prisoner. Wu Sangui''s subordinates Zhang Guozhu, Gong Yinglin, and Xia Guoxiang separately attacked to the east. Another great general Wang Bingfan went out to attack Sichuan; I heard his troops are very powerful. People of Sichuan and Hunan region are fleeing."


    Qian Laoben showed great concern on his face, "This �� this is far from good," he said, "But the Great Qing''s troops are very formidable, Wu Sangui won''t necessarily win, will he?"


    The captain replied, "At first, everybody said so; but after Yuanzhou fell, we knew Wu Sangui''s troops and horses are not easy to resist. Ay, the situation is very difficult to say."


    Qian Laoben cupped his fist and returned to his seat. Some Tian Di Hui warriors thought, "We must not let this big traitor Wu Sangui becomes the Emperor." Some other thought, "It would be best to let Wu Sangui attacked Beijing, let him fight with Manchurian Qing Tatars until both sides suffer."


    The soldiers ate and drank in a hurry. The captain stood up and said, "Innkeeper, I deliver to you good news, you should just invite us as your guests."


    The innkeeper bowed and said with a forced laugh, "Yes, yes. I should, I should. Gentlemen, Daren, please take care."


    The captain walked toward the door. When he was passing the old man, the old woman, and the sickly man''s table, suddenly the sickly man reached out and grabbed his chest. "You are going to Beijing to deliver what document?" he asked, "Take it out, let me look."


    The captain''s body was thick and solid, but grabbed by this sickly man, he immediately buckled, his body shortened by one section. "Damn it," he angrily shouted, "What are you doing?" He struggled hard until his face was bulging red, but was unable to move a single step.


    ''Rip!'' the sickly man''s right hand tore the front piece of the captain''s clothes by his chest and took out a large envelope. The sickly man pushed lightly with his left hand, the captain was thrown out, and crashed onto two tables, turning everything upside down. ''Bing, bing, bang, bang!'' bowls and plates fell to the floor and broke into pieces.


    The rest of the troops shouted, "Rebellion, rebellion!" One after another they pulled their spears and sabers and pounced on the sickly man. The sickly man''s two menservants raised their fists and legs, punching and kicking, throwing down the soldiers. In an instant the soldiers were sprawled over the inn''s floor.


    The sickly man tore the envelope open, removed the document and read it. The captain was scared out of his wits; in trembling voice he shouted, "That is a memorial to the Emperor; you �� you dare to tear up the document, this �� this �� isn''t this rebellion?"


    The sickly man read the document and said, "Hunan Xunfu is asking Tatar Emperor to send reinforcement to fight Ping Xi Wang. Humph, even if he sent a million troops, they will still �� (cough, cough) �� they will still be wiped out by Ping Xi Wang clean." While speaking, he crumpled the document in his hand, pressed it into the hollow of his palm, and by the time he finished speaking, he spread out his palm and waved it in the air, countless pieces of paper fluttered like butterflies flying in the wind, scattered in all directions.


    Seeing this kind of internal energy, the Tian Di Hui warriors'' countenance changed; they all thought, "From the tone of his voice, he seems to be Wu Sangui''s subordinate."


    The captain struggled to crawl up. Pulling the saber hanging on his waist he said, "You destroyed the document, Laozi cannot live anyway, I will fight you to the death!" Raising his saber he leaped forward and hacked it down with all his might to the top of the sickly man''s head. The sickly man stayed sitting, he merely raised his left hand and pushed slightly on the captain''s lower abdomen, as if he did not want him to cause trouble. Suddenly the captain''s arm that was holding the saber slowly drooped down, his body slowly slumped down until he sat on the floor. He opened his mouth wide to gasp for breath, but found out that he could not breathe.


    Some of the overthrown soldiers crawled up, but they all stood far away. They shouted curses, but were powerless to anything. Nobody dared to step forward to help their superior.


    Holding a bowl of hot soup with both hands, a maid carefully set it down in front of the sickly man; she said, "Shaoye, please take the ginseng soup."


    The old man and the old woman acted as if they were completely oblivious of the commotion happening around them; they did not pay the slightest bit of attention, their gaze was fixed on their son''s expression.


    Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, "These people are quite demonic, let us leave." Gao Yanchao paid for the food and drink, and then they all quietly walked out the door. They saw the old woman held the ginseng bowl; she gently blew the steam and brought the bowl to the sickly man''s mouth to feed him the soup.


    It was not until Wei Xiaobao and the others reached the outskirt of the small town did they break into discussion as the affiliation of the sickly man. Xu Tianchuan said, "That man ripped the officer''s clothes, his strength is that formidable, it''s really �� really rare."


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "He only pushed the officer''s lower abdomen lightly, it appeared very sloppy and ordinary, but to evade or block that move is really not easy. Feng Xiongdi, what do you think?"


    Feng Jizhong said, "Should not go near him three chi [foot]."


    The warriors thought about it, and agreed that it made sense; it doesn''t matter if they wanted to dodge or to block, they could only do it if they were tree feet away from him, if they were too close, they would not be able to evade or to block. Xu Tianchuan suddenly said, "If I grabbed his wrist ��" but before finishing it, he shook his head, knowing that the opponent''s internal energy was too strong; even if he managed to grab his wrist, as soon as the man flipped his palm and twisted, it would be highly likely that his finger bones, his wrist bones, would all be broken.


    Everybody understood that the sickly man was on Wu Sangui''s side, but after seeing him violently injured people, nobody dared to make a move to stop him. Although the people he injured were Tatar military officers, in the end, it was not their habit as chivalrous heroes not to do anything. In their hearts they were quite ashamed, inevitably their mood was dampened; after talking for a while, no one was interested to discuss it any longer.


    After traveling for several li, suddenly they heard hoof beats from behind, two riders galloped fast. The road they were traveling on was a small path leading to the Zhuang Family''s big house, it was not wide enough for two riders to ride side by side. The warriors were not in a good mood, although they heard the urgency of the hoof beats, other than Feng Jizhong and Shuang''er who reined their horses and stepped toward the side of the path, nobody else was willing to give way.


    In a flash the two riders had reached their backs. The warriors turned their heads together, and saw that the two riders were unexpectedly the menservants of the sickly man. One of the menservants called out, "Our family''s Shaoye is asking gentlemen to wait a moment, he has something to ask gentlemen."


    Although it was not rude, the feeling of condescending could not be clearer. When the warriors heard it, they were all indignant. Priest Xuanzhen shouted, "We are busy, no time to wait. We are strangers, what do you want to ask?"


    The servant replied, "It''s our family''s Shaoye''s order, it would be better if gentlemen wait, so that everybody won''t be inconvenienced." This time the threat was obvious.


    Qian Laoben said, "Is your master Wu Sangui''s subordinate?"


    "Pei!" the servant spat, "What do you think my master''s status is? How can he be Ping Xi Wang''s subordinate?"


    The warriors thought, "He did not say ''Wu Sangui'', but addressed him as ''Ping Xi Wang''; they must have some relation with that traitor Wu."


    Right this moment, they heard the sound of carriage wheels, a large carriage quickly caught up with them. The servant said, "Our master has arrived." Turning his horse around, he rode back to welcome the carriage.


    If this moment the warriors dismounted their horses and walked over, it would appear that they were afraid of the sickly man; thereupon they stayed on horseback, waiting.


    The carriage approached fast, one of the maidservants drove the carriage, the other maid raised the carriage curtain, and they saw the sickly man was sitting right in the middle, his father and mother sat in front and behind him. The sickly man stared at the warriors and asked, "Why did you seal this man''s acupoint?" While saying that he pointed to Wu Zhirong, and then he asked again, "Who are you? Where are you going?" His voice sharp, his tone very arrogant.


    Priest Xuanzhen said, "And what is Sire''s honored surname and great name? We are total strangers, river water does not interfere with well water, why are you meddling in other people''s business?"


    "Humph," the sickly man snorted, "You are not fit to ask my name and surname. Just now I asked you two questions, didn''t you hear? Why you did not answer?"


    Priest Xuanzhen angrily said, "I am not fit to ask your name and surname, you are not fit to ask our business either. Wu Sangui started a rebellion, he is a great traitor, you kept calling him Ping Xi Wang, you must be of the same group as this traitor. I can see that Sire''s disease has already attack your vital organs, you had better go home as soon as possible so that you can die in your own bed; otherwise you''ll catch cold and cough, and will breathe your last."


    Amid the Tian Di Hui warriors'' hearty laughter, suddenly a shadow flashed, ''Slap!'' Priest Xuanzhen''s left cheek was heavily hit by a palm, followed by another palm strike on the left side of his torso that he was thrown down from his horse. These two palm strikes were fast and nimble beyond belief; it was not until he fell to the ground did the warriors see clearly that the one making the move was the old woman. After knocking down Priest Xuanzhen with two palm strikes, she kicked the ground with both feet, and flew back into the carriage.


    The warriors broke into a clamor and pounced toward the large carriage. The sickly man grabbed the maid''s, who was driving the carriage, back, lightly lifted her up, and swiftly swapped places with her; he tossed the maid into the carriage and took her seat as the carriage driver. Right this moment Qian Laoben happened to leap with both palms striking down. The sickly man sent out a left punch to meet his palms, surprisingly it was totally silent. Qian Laoben only felt a gust of powerful force rushing toward him, throwing him somersaulting backward twice in the air. As he landed on the ground, he tried to steady his legs, but suddenly felt his knees were without strength and felt that he was about to kneel down. In his shock he hastily struggled to throw himself backward so that he fell face up, hence he avoid being disgraced by kneeling in front of the enemy.


    Qian Laoben had just fallen down, Feng Jizhong pounced; the sickly man sent out another punch. Feng Jizhong did not dare to meet the punch head-on, his right palm changed direction midway, suddenly it chopped down on the sickly man''s neck. "Ah!" the man exclaimed, as if he was surprised by the opponent''s superb martial art. His thumb hooked on his middle finger, and he flicked at the hollow of Feng Jizhong''s palm. Feng Jizhong quickly pulled back his palm, his right foot stepped on the mule''s back.


    Gao Yanchao and Fan Gang separately attacked the two menservants. The two menservants leaped away from the horseback, "Let Shaoye deal with you," they called out.


    Gao and Fan, two people were actually thinking that by fighting the opponent''s menservants they were having an unfair advantage; seeing the two menservants withdrew, which was in agreement with their original thought anyway, they turned around at once and leaped together to attack the sickly man''s left flank.


    Suddenly the mule let out a long neigh and limply dropped down to the ground, pulling the large carriage along that it leaned to one side. Turned out when Feng Jizhong stepped on the mule''s back, he secretly exerted his internal energy to his sole that as soon as he kicked, the mule''s backbone broke.


    The sickly man''s feet did not seem to leap, his body did not seem to move, but amid his coughing sound he was already standing on the ground. The old man and the old woman in the carriage, each carrying a maid, also leaped out of the carriage. These three people''s movement did not seem too fast, yet they were out of the carriage before the large carriage began to topple.


    Qian Laoben and Xu Tianchuan attacked the old man and the old woman. The old woman shook her left hand, while with her right hand she pointed toward the sickly man. "Go over there," she said with a laugh, "Accompany my child playing." Her meaning was clear; she wanted these two men to suffer her son''s punches to make him happy.


    Xu Tianchuan''s right fist shot down on the top of the old man''s head; it''s just that because he saw the old man was really old, although he knew the old man''s martial art skill was not weak, Xu Tianchuan was afraid he might kill him with one punch, thereupon he shouted, "Watch the fist!" He only used 30% of his strength in this punch. Ever since he accidentally killed Bai Hansong and thus created quite a few of trouble with the Mu Palace, he had been very cautious.


    The old man stretched out his hand to catch Xu Tianchuan''s fist. This old man was thin and short, unexpectedly his palm was unusually big; as he squeezed Xu Tianchuan''s fist, he said, "Go over there to play!" Although Xu Tianchuan was considerably younger than the old man, he was, after all, a white-haired old man; yet the way the old man talked to him was like he was addressing an urchin.


    Xu Tianchuan exerted his strength to pull his right hand back, while with his left fist he sent out another punch. It was the move ''Azure Dragon White Tiger'', a complementary style, in which the left punch was not really intended to strike the opponent, it was only to force the opponent to relinquish his grip; however, if the opponent did not want to let go, this punch would strike the bridge of his nose.


    The old man spread his arms while letting go of his grip. Xu Tianchuan only felt a blast of muddy, thick and extremely strong force pushing him away; coupled with his own strength, his left fist punching forward and his right hand pulling back, his body whirled around like a spinning top, straight toward the sickly man.


    The sickly man was fighting Feng Jizhong, Gao Yanchao, Fan Gang and Li Lishi; seeing the incoming Xu Tianchuan, he clapped his hands and said with a laugh, "It''s fun, it''s fun!" The four men''s punches and kicks rained down on him like storm, unexpectedly he still had time to clap and cheer; followed by reaching out to push. Xu Tianchuan changed direction; at first he was turning right, but now he was turning left, spinning at great speed toward the old man.


    "Dad," the sickly man said with a laugh, "It''s very fun, send this spinning top back to me!"


    Xuanzhen did everything he can to attack. The sickly man casually push and pull, push and pull, unexpectedly he also turned Xuanzhen, Gao Yanchao, Fan Gang, and Li Lishi, four men into spinning tops. Only Feng Jizhong was not spinning, but he felt the chi and blood in the pit of his stomach were bubbling up in his chest; hastily he leaped three steps back with his palms as a shield in front of his body.


    Five Tian Di Hui warriors were spinning incessantly; they wanted to exert their strength to stop spinning, but no matter what they do, they were unable to stop. When one of them was slowing down, the sickly man would leap and push and pull, immediately he would spin faster again. It was like a child playing with copper coins on the table; he spun five coins like tops, whichever was slowing down and was about to fall, the child would use his fingers to flick it so that the coin would continue spinning.


    Watching all this, Wei Xiaobao was stunned; he was completely horrified. Shuang''er stood in front of him, trying to protect him while she herself was very scared and on edge. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "We must execute the thirty-sixth stance." [i.e. run away]"Quickly go to the Zhuang house," Shuang''er replied.


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Once we reach the Zhuang house, great luck, great profit. As the banker we can eat the leg vise, and make big killing on the three directions


    [2]." He turned around and ran. Pulling Wu Zhirong along, Shuang''er ran after him.


    The sickly man was having so much fun playing spinning tops, the old couple watched their son with smile on their face. The four menservants and maidservants were clapping and cheering while standing on the side, watching their young master having fun.


    Seeing Feng Jizhong was standing firm on horse stance, his left palm high, right palm low, in the style ''Ancient Pine Standing Up Strong'', the sickly man immediately stepped forward and stretched out his hand to push Feng Jizhong''s right shoulder. Feng Jizhong pulled his right foot one step, hence his shoulder also leaned sideways to evade the push, but he did not dare to strike back with his palm.


    The sickly man angrily said, "You are a bad man, you don''t want to spin around?" Stretching out his hand again, he tried to push Feng Jizhong''s right shoulder.


    Feng Jizhong withdrew another step; to his surprise a burst of strong force came pushing the back of his left shoulder, immediately he lost his balance and amidst the sickly man''s loud laughter his body started to spin in great speed. He wanted to use ''thousand-catty drop'' to stop, but the sickly man gave him another strong push at the back of his waist that he continued spinning.


    Seeing the sickly man was giving his opponents trouble, Wu Zhirong realized a good opportunity has presented itself; thereupon after walking a few steps he pretended to trip and fall to the ground. Shuang''er pulled him up, but he was unwilling to get up. Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious; afraid that Wu Zhirong would tell the enemy the truth, he grabbed his lower jaw and pinched as hard as he could so that Wu Zhirong opened his mouth. Wei Xiaobao pulled the dagger from his boot and swiped it in Wu Zhirong''s mouth, cutting most part of his tongue. Wu Zhirong fainted from the pain.


    Shuang''er thought Wei Xiaobao had killed the traitor. "Xianggong," she called out, "Hurry up!" The two of them dashed forward.


    They had only run for less than a li when they heard the sound of hoof beats from behind, someone was pursuing them on horseback. Wei Xiaobao pointed to the rocky ridge to the left, the two of them left the path and scrambled over the pile of rocks. Riding on horses, the sickly man and one of his menservants soon caught up with them. Seeing the horses could not enter the rocky ridge, the servant jumped down the horse and called out, "Two children don''t be afraid. Our family''s Shaoye wants you to play with him. Come back quickly!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "To be a spinning top, laozi don''t want to do." He ran even faster. The servant chased into the rocky ridge, but Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er were able to run very fast, the servant was unable to catch up with them.


    The sickly man called out, "Do you want to play hide-and-seek? It''s fun, it''s fun!" He dismounted; while coughing incessantly, he cut them off from the south.


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er turned and ran toward the northeast, rushing straight toward the servant. The servant pounced to catch Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao used the moved ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine walk hundred changes] taught by Jiu Nan; he leaned sideways, the servant landed on empty space.


    Shuang''er sent a backhand palm strike toward the servant''s lower back. Seeing she was only a little girl, the servant did not take her seriously at all, unexpectedly he did not even try to parry but stretched out his arm to twist her right arm instead. Shuang''er swiftly pulled her right palm back, ''Crack!'' the edge of her palm hit his lower back. "Ah!" the servant cried out in pain. Right this moment, Shuang''er already grabbed his right wrist and twisted it backward. Another ''Crack!'' ensued, his elbow joint was dislocated.


    "Eh?" the sickly man exclaimed in surprise. Jumping from rock to rock, just in a few ups and downs he had landed in front of Shuang''er. With a sweep of his left hand he knocked the hat on Shuang''er''s head that her head-full of fine hair came loose. The sickly man laughed and said, "It''s a girl!" He reached out to grab her hair.


    "Ah!" Shuang''er screamed; with the move ''a pair of dragon return'' both her elbows struck backward. The sickly man laughed and said, "Good!" His left hand swept from left to right and grabbed both her fists, pulled the fists behind her back, and then with his right hand he pulled her long hair and coiled it twice around her wrists and tied it into a knot, while laughing aloud.


    Shuang''er was so anxious that she cried. "Xianggong," she called out, "Quickly run, quickly run!"


    The sickly man stretched out his finger to jab lightly on her waist to seal her acupoint. "He won''t run away," he said with a laugh. Tossing Shuang''er down, he ran after Wei Xiaobao, and in just a short time managed to get near him.


    Wei Xiaobao''s internal strength was lacking, after running around for a while, he was already gasping for breath. Knowing that in a short while he would be caught, he called out, "You can''t catch me, now it''s my turn to catch you. Quickly run, I am going to catch you." While saying that, he turned around and pounced on the sickly man.


    The sickly man giggled, and surprisingly enough he did turn around and run around the piles of rocks. Wei Xiaobao had already figured out that although his martial art skill was superior, his conduct was silly like an imbecile; his age must be over forty, but his behavior was like that of a child. Yet he was able to move back and forth among the rocks swiftly; Wei Xiaobao had just seen him on the east, in a flash his shadow suddenly appeared on the west; his lightning speed movement was indeed like a ghost.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished, but also full of admiration. "I will definitely catch you," he called out, "You won''t be able to escape!" Pretending to run after him, he rushed toward Shuang''er, picked her up, and called loudly, "Hey, even by carrying a person I will catch you."


    The sickly man roared in laughter, "Toot, toot, toot, you are blowing your conch, (cough, cough) �� tweet, tweet, tweet, you are blowing your cowhide!" [Both mean: tooting your horn.] Carrying Shuang''er in his bosom, Wei Xiaobao pretended to run after the sickly man, but he ran farther and farther away.


    The sickly man called out, "Useless little thing, you can''t catch me �� (cough, cough) ��" and ran a few steps closer to Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao yelled back, "See if this time I won''t catch you. You can''t run away when you are coughing." While saying that he struck a posture like he was about to pounce.


    "Little demon!" the old woman angrily shouted from far away, "You dare to make my child coughing!" ''Zip!'' a pebble split the air. Although the pebble was small, the sound was astonishingly loud.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out and squatted down to evade. But he was still one step too late, the pebble hit him behind his knee and he tumbled down and rolled around, along with Shuang''er in his bosom, on the ground.


    "Catch them!" the old woman called out. The other servant pounced on Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er; he caught their backs, brought them to the old woman and tossed them on the ground. The sickly man giggled and clapped his hands and sang, "Useless lot, can only eat shallot, (cough, cough) �� drop a lot, bonk, bonk loud!"


    Wei Xiaobao was scared and angered at the same time; he saw Xu Tianchuan, Feng Jizhong, and the others were strung together with a long rope into a human chain, with one of the maidservants holding the end of the rope; even Wu Zhirong was also tied at the end of the chain. Everybody had his head hung low in front of his chest, their eyes were closed, it seemed that all of them had passed out.


    The old woman said, "You, baby girl who dress as a man, where did you learn your ''separating tendon dislocating joint'' skill? And you, boy, where did you learn the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' skill?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he thought, "This granny''s vision is indeed formidable, she knew the name of my school''s unique skill." Thinking that since other people were able to recognize it, his ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' skill must have been trained to almost perfection; he could not help feeling very proud of himself as he laughed and said, "What ''Shen Xing Bai Bian''? Did you say that I know ''Shen Xing Bai Bian''?"


    "Pei!" the old woman spat, "Your doggy leaps did not look like doggy leap, your crabby crawls did not look like crabby crawl; can it be considered ''Shen Xing Bai Bian''?"


    Wei Xiaobao sat up and said, "It was you who said ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'', I did not say it. How do I know if it was ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' or ''Shen Pa Bai Bian'' [divine crawl hundred changes]?"


    The sickly man clapped his hands and said with a laugh, "You know ''Shen Tiao Bai Bian'' [divine jump/hop hundred changes] and also know ''Shen Pa Bai Bian'', ha ha �� interesting." He leaned over and poked a finger on Wei Xiaobao''s back.


    Wei Xiaobao only felt a whiff of boiling heat stream from his finger penetrating his body, and the numb and aching feeling on his lower limbs immediately disappeared. He stood up and said, "Your unsealing acupoint skill is very brilliant."


    The sickly man said, "Quickly crawl. I want you to crawl in a hundred different styles; crawl like a tortoise, crawl like a frog, then you can call it ''Divine Crawl a Hundred Changes''."


    "I don''t know any ''Shen Pa Bai Bian''," Wei Xiaobao said, "If you do, show me how to crawl."


    "I don''t know either," the sickly man replied, "My Dad says masters of martial art should not simply learn other people''s skill, but must be able to display originality, must show creativity, only then he can be called a ''master''. Dad, in the martial art study, is there such thing as ''Shen Pa Bai Bian'' skill?" The old man frowned; he shook his head.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You are a martial art master. Since there is no such thing as ''Shen Pa Bai Bian'' skill, you can create one, you can found Shen Pa School ��"


    Before he could finish, his buttocks were kicked by the old woman; he heard her thundered, "Don''t talk nonsense!" The old woman cast a sidelong glance toward her son, her face showed a concerned expression. Apparently she was afraid her son would listen to this youngster''s advice and really created this new skill ''Divine Crawl a Hundred Changes''. She did not want her son to think too much; hence she asked Wei Xiaobao again, "What''s your name? Who is your Shifu?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "These two old monsters and one little monster �� no, one midsize monster''s martial art skill is too strong, Laozi cannot fight them. A hero must not suffer humiliation in front of their eyes, I had no choice but to deceive them. If Laozi pretends to be Wu Sangui''s friend, perhaps they will not dare to give me trouble." His glance caught Wu Zhirong, and he had a sudden inspiration; he said, "I am surnamed Wu, my name is Wu Zhirong, alias Xianyang, a native of Gaoyou county in Yangzhou. Hot piece mama, before long my bofu [paternal (older) uncle] Ping Xi Wang will attack Beijing. If you offended me, Ping Xi Wang will not be polite toward you!"


    The old couple and the sickly man were greatly astonished; they looked at each other. "Fake!" the sickly man said, "How could Ping Xi Wang have a nephew like you?"


    "How can it be fake?" Wei Xiaobao replied, "There is no harm in you asking me anything about Ping Xi Wang''s household. If I give you one wrong answer, you can just kill me."


    "Alright!" the sickly man said, "What is Ping Xi Wang''s favorite thing?"


    "Are you talking about object, or people?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Previously, the person he loves the most was Chen Yuanyuan; later on when Chen Yuanyuan grew older, he was then very fond of a beautiful woman called ''four-face Guanyin''. Nowadays, his most beloved beauty is called ''eight-face Guanyin''."


    "What''s so good about beautiful women?" the sickly man said, "I am talking about his most beloved object."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Ping Xi Wang has three treasures he loves the most. The first is a sheet of white tiger skin, the second is a ruby the size of a chicken-egg, the third is a marble screen with a painting of a tiger."


    The sickly man laughed and said, "Ha ha �� you really know. Look here!" Unbuttoning his clothes, his left hand grabbed the front lapel of his long robe and lifted it up, revealing a fur coat he wore on the inside. The fur coat was white with black stripes; it was made of white tiger skin.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "Uh, oh! This is Ping Xi Wang''s most beloved object, the white tiger skin. You �� you �� how did you steal it?"


    With an air of complacency the sickly man said, "What do you mean ''steal''? Ping Xi Wang gave it to me."


    Shaking his head, Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t believe you. I heard my jiefu [older sister''s husband] Xia Guoxiang said ��"


    "Xia Guoxiang is your jiefu?" the sickly man asked.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "My tang jiefu [paternal female cousin''s husband]; my paternal cousin Wu Zhi �� Wu Zhifang is married to him. My jiefu is an expert in battle, he is one of the ten great Zongbing under Ping Xi Wang''s command."


    The sickly man nodded. "So be it," he said, "Ping Xi Wang invited my Dad, Ma and myself to drink wine, my Dad and Ma did not go, I went alone. Ping Xi Wang accompanied me personally, the ten Zongbing under his command all came, your jiefu ranks the first."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "And then there are Ma Bao, Ma Dage, Wang Pingfan, Wang Dage, Zhang Guozhu, Zhang Dage; those are tops generals, expert in battle, great power and prestige, great aura of death!"


    The sickly man said, "What did your jiefu say about this white tiger skin?"


    Wei Xiaobao was determined to win his favor, he spoke without thinking, "My jiefu said, when Chen Yuanyuan was still Ping Xi Wang''s favorite, whenever she was under the weather, got a cold or a cough, people were saying that as long as this white skin tiger was used as a blanket, after three days under the cover, she would get well. She wanted to ask Wu �� Ping Xi Wang for this white tiger skin. Ping Xi Wang said, ''I don''t mind to lend you this blanket for a few days, but there is no way I would give this to you. This is the most auspicious treasure in the world, white tigers only appear once every eight hundred years. Even if it did appear, we can''t necessarily catch it, can''t necessarily skin it. If one has this white tiger skin in the house, when demons, ghosts, evil spirits saw it, they would immediately flee far away. When one is sick, no need to take any medicine, just use this white tiger skin as a blanket; a few days under the blanket, the skin will get rid of the illness. In the game of Pai Jiu [pai gow], the left gate is called Green Dragon, right gate is called White Tiger. Green dragon skin, white tiger skin, both are priceless treasures."


    The old woman listened as Wei Xiaobao was talking with ''living spirit, living image''; her son was sick, and that was her only concern. When she heard that when used as a blanket the white tiger skin was capable of curing coughing, although she was not completely convinced, deep in her heart she hoped that it was true. "Son," she said, "Ping Xi Wang gave this treasure to you, your face indeed is not small. You made the skin into a robe that you can wear, it was very clever. If this white tiger skin can really cure illness ��"


    The sickly man frowned and said, "I am not sick; why do you keep mentioning it?"


    The old woman laughed and said, "Yes, yes, you are as lively as a dragon and as animated as a tiger. These people are Jianghu warriors, but you made them into spinning tops or shooting stars, you are having so much fun playing with them."


    The sickly man roared in loud laughter, interspersed with several coughing. The old woman said, "When you go to bed at night, we must remember to wear the skin robe as a blanket." The sickly man turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge her.


    The old man pointed to Feng Jizhong and the others and asked, "Are they all Ping Xi Wang''s subordinates?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "I pretend to be the old traitor''s nephew, it''s not a big deal; but to ask Xu San Ge [third (older) brother] and the others to acknowledge that they are Wu Sangui''s subordinates, they would never agree. They are hardheaded, I must not let them say anything that will reveal the horse''s foot." He said, "They are my subordinates. We heard that Ping Xi Wang arises in rebellion, Prince Consort and the Princess are still in Beijing, they cannot escape. This Wu Yingxiong Gege loves to chat with me the most, we have the best friendship. I am taking these friends to Beijing to rescue the Prince Consort. Although it is a dangerous mission, all of us attach most importance to yi qi; this is called ''going through the water and tread on fire, under no circumstances we will decline, knowing full well that it is a mountain of sabers or a forest of swords, we still want to charge through it.''" These words were spoken with extreme vehemence.


    The old man nodded. He walked over; both hands pulled several times, immediately the long rope binding Feng Jizhong and the others fell off. And then he lightly patted each person''s back, twice, followed by massaging their back a bit, unsealing everybody''s acupoint. One of the maidservants went over to Shuang''er and untied her hair from her wrists. The old man turned to Wei Xiaobao, "I cannot trust you completely just by what you said. This matter is of grave importance, you said you are Ping Xi Wang''s nephew, but how can you prove it?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Laoyezi [old master], this is difficult. I do not have my Dad and my Mom in here. How about this: let us go to Beijing and see Prince Consort. If he is arrested by the Emperor, then we''ll go see Princess Jianning. I am sure Princess will tell you whether I am a genuine goods at fair prices, cheating neither old nor young, the real Wu Zhirong." He thought that when he got to Beijing, why would he be afraid of them? In case they really twisted his arm and brought him to see Princess Jianning, even if he wanted to pretend to be the Jade Emperor of the Heaven, the Princess would definitely nod her head and confirm that it was true.


    The old man and the old woman looked at each other, both were still unconvinced. Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered something; he laughed and said, "Ah, I know, I have a letter written by Ping Xi Wang. If I show this letter to other people, unavoidably my whole family will be executed unto the third generation. But since you are Ping Xi Wang''s friends, there is no harm for you to take a look." While saying that he put his hand into his pocket to retrieve the letter forged by Zha Yihuang, and handed it over to the old man.


    The old man took the letter, and read it under the dim twilight. Wei Xiaobao was still afraid they might not understand the letter, he tried to explain, "Desiring to behead the white snake and bestow a gale, all those things are talking about Zhu Yuanzhang ..." Since he did not understand it himself, as soon as he opened his mouth he had already made a mistake; it was a reference to Liu Bang and not Zhu Yuanzhang. Fortunately the old man and the old woman''s attention was focused on the letter, they did not even hear what he was saying.


    After reading the letter, the old woman said, "Indeed it''s true, Ping Xi Wang wants to be Han Gaozu, Ming Taizu, and he wants him to be Zhang Zifang, Liu Bowen. Er Ge [second (older) brother], Ping Xi Wang said that the insurgence is for the sake of restoring the House of Ming; but judging from the tone of this letter, humph, he ... his own ambition is definitely not small." Casting a glance toward Wei Xiaobao she said, "You are still young ..." Obviously in her heart she was saying, "You are still a baby, do you think you fit to be Zhang Zifang or Liu Bowen?"


    The old man folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. Returning it to Wei Xiaobao, he said, "You are indeed Ping Xi Wang''s virtuous nephew. We have offended you much."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are too kind, you are too kind! One who does not know is not guilty."


    By this time Xu Tianchuan and the others already regained their consciousness; hearing Wei Xiaobao claimed himself to be Wu Sangui''s nephew, and the opposite side unexpectedly believe without any doubt, they were all greatly surprised, but they were used to their young Xiangzhu''s wily and mischievous conduct, thereupon they all kept silent.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Laozi pretended to be Wu Sangui''s son in front of that big beard Hantiemo; since I have been his son, what''s the harm of being his nephew this time? Next time I''ll pretend to be Wu Sangui''s papa. As long as I can pull this trick, I won''t suffer any loss."


    The sky had already darkened, they were all standing in a desolate area, waves of cold breeze were blowing, the sickly man did not stop coughing. Wei Xiaobao said, "May I ask Laoyezi, Laotaitai [old madame], what is your respected surname?"


    "We are surnamed Gui [lit. return]," the old woman replied.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Why didn''t you pick a good surname but pick the ''Gui'' from ''wugui'' [turtle, different character] as your surname? It''s a ridiculous joke."


    The old woman looked at her son and said, "It''s getting dark, we''d better find a place to lodge, other things can be discussed slowly."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now when I was on that hill, I saw smoke coming out from that side, there must be a lot of houses, let us go to ask for lodging." While saying that, he pointed to the direction of the Zhuang Family''s big house. Actually, this place was still about ten li away from the Zhuang Family''s big house, separated by a hill; how could he see any smoke?


    The menservants pulled two horses for the old man, old woman and the sickly man. The old woman rode with the sickly man, she sat behind her son, wrapping her arms around him. Wei Xiaobao and the others had their own mounts; they all jumped to their horses and left. The four menservants and maidservants walked.


    After traveling for a while, Wei Xiaobao talked to Shuang''er loudly, "Go ride faster, see if ahead is a small town or a village. Find a big house or two and ask for lodging, and prepare hot water immediately. Gui Family Shaoye must drink warm ginseng soup. We will wash our feet first with hot water before eating and drinking wine. Give them a bit more money."


    For each sentence, Shuang''er said ''yes'' one time. From his pocket Wei Xiaobao took out a big ingot of silver, along with a packet of knock-out drug. Shuang''er received both, and galloped away.


    The old woman''s face light up; Wei Xiaobao ordered Shuang''er to boil water and warm the ginseng soup, obviously it was the thing that she intended to do.


    After traveling several more li, Shuang''er galloped back. "Xianggong," she said, "Ahead is not a small town, and not a village either; it''s just a large house. The people in the house said that all the men in that house have left, hence they cannot receive guests. I offered them money, they still refused."


    "Stupid girl," Wei Xiaobao scolded her, "I don''t care if they want to receive us or not, we''ll just go there."


    "Yes," Shuang''er replied.


    The old woman said, "We only need to stay for one night. They don''t have any men, can''t we just force them to receive us in their house?"


    The party arrived at the Zhuang House. A servant stepped forward to knock on the door. After a long time an elderly maid came out and opened the door; she was half deaf, and she mumbled indistinctly on and on about there was no man in the house.


    The sickly man laughed and said, "There is no man in your house, don''t you see there are a lot of men coming into your house now?" He slipped past her into the house, squeezing the old maid to the side.


    Everybody followed him inside and sat in the main hall. The old woman said, "Zhang Ma, Sun Ma, go boil some water and prepare some meal. The host does not like visitors, we will do everything ourselves." The two maidservants complied and went inside to find the kitchen.


    Xu Tianchuan had been to the Zhuang House before; later on he heard Wei Xiaobao talking with graceful words, flowery speech, swindling these three martial art experts whose skill was deep and immeasurable, Xu Tianchuan was secretly delighted. Thereupon he took the Tian Di Hui brethren to sit on the steps, far away from the sickly man and Wei Xiaobao, so that they would not reveal the horse''s foot.


    Pointing to Wu Zhirong, the old man asked, "Who is this fellow with bloody mouth?"


    "This fellow is an official of the imperial court," Wei Xiaobao replied, "We met on the road. Afraid that he might inform the authority on our whereabouts, we then �� then cut off his tongue."


    The old man was quite some distance away from him, but looking at his eyes, it was obvious that he still harbor suspicions in his heart. This time hearing Wei Xiaobao''s reply, he was still half-believing half-doubting. Walking over to Wu Zhirong, he asked, "You are an imperial court official, aren''t you?" Wu Zhirong was already hovering between life and death from the pain, he nodded immediately.


    The old man asked again, "You knew there was going to be rebellion, and you were thinking of reporting it, is that right?" Wu Zhirong thought that he could not deny even if wanted to anyway, plus he was hoping that this old man would save him; thereupon he repeatedly nodded.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "He knew that in the south there is a military general with authority over military force who was going to rebel; this military general is surnamed Wu, and when he starts rising in rebellion, it will be desperately serious."


    "Is that right?" the old man asked Wu Zhirong. Wu Zhirong nodded. The old man did not have any suspicion anymore, his trust in Wei Xiaobao increased several parts. Returning to his seat, he asked Wei Xiaobao, "I wonder which Shifu has taught Wu Xiongdi martial arts?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have quite a number of Shifu; one, two, three, altogether there are three, but I �� I am stupid and lazy, I haven''t mastered any skill."


    The old man mused, "You haven''t mastered any skill, do you think I did not know it?" Yet he was still having a nagging suspicion about Wei Xiaobao''s ''divine walk hundred changes''. Although Wei Xiaobao only used superficial technique of the said skill, his stance and footwork was no doubt the first-class qinggong ''Shen Xing Bai Bian''. So he asked again, "Where did you learn your qinggong from?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "He determined to know who taught me qinggong, he must have some enmity with that Shitai, Shifu of mine; I must not mention her name. He is of the same party with Wu Sangui, most likely he also have good relationship with Tibetan Lama." Thereupon he said, "There is a Great Lama from Tibet, his name is Sangjie. He saw me at the Ping Xi Wang''s Wuhua Palace in Kunming, he said that my martial art skill is too lacking, I won''t be able to fight anybody, it would be better for me to learn some technique to escape, so he taught me for several days. I practiced very hard, believing that I was doing a great job; who would have thought that as soon as I came across you, Laogonggong [old grandpa], Laopopo [old grandma], and this young and vigorous Gui Shaoye, whose vitality is a hundredfold, it was completely useless."


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao complimenting her son as young and vigorous with a hundredfold vitality, the old woman was happier than if she was hearing any other flattering words; she could not help breaking into a big smile, and cast her glance toward her son, happiness bubbled up from the bottom of her heart. "Er Ge," she said, "This past few days our child''s vitality seems to be flourishing."


    The old man nodded slightly; however, as he looked at his half-awake, half-asleep son who was slouching on a chair, he was actually very dispirited, he could not help but was very grieved. He turned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "So that''s how it is."


    The old woman asked, "How did Sangjie know Tie Jian Men''s [iron sword school] qinggong?"


    "Ah, yes," the old woman said, "He was Priest Musang''s Shidi. Most likely he passed on his skill to someone in Tibet." Turning toward Shuang''er, she asked, "Little Miss, where did you learn your martial art skill?"


    The old couple fixed their gaze at her; it appeared that her martial art school background was very important to them. Being stared at like that, Shuang''er was somewhat flustered. "I �� I ��" she stammered. She was not used of telling lies, hence she did not know how to answer.


    "She is my servant girl," Wei Xiaobao said, "That Sangjie Lama also gave her some directions in martial art."


    The old man and the old woman shook their heads together, "Definitely not," they said together with very serious expression.


    Right this moment suddenly the sickly man let out loud coughing; the more he coughed, the worse it was. The old woman quickly went over and patted his back gently. The old man also turned his head to look at his son. The two maidservants came out of the kitchen carrying ginseng soup and hot tea on wooden trays. They stood in front of the sickly man; they waited for his cough to stop before serving him the ginseng soup, and then they distributed the teacups to everybody, even Xu Tianchuan and the others also received a cup each.


    The old man drank his tea and was about to quiz Shuang''er further, but he saw she was already went to the rear hall. The old man stood up suddenly and asked Shun Ma, "Where did you get the water to make the tea?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; his heart was thumping madly. "Bad, bad!" he groaned inwardly, "This old die-hard man knew."


    Sun Ma replied, "Zhang Ma and I boiled it ourselves."


    The old man asked, "What kind of water did you use?"


    Sun Ma replied, "We got it from the water jar in the kitchen."


    "We have inspected it carefully," Zhang Ma added, "It was very clean ��" Before she could finish, ''bonk, bonk!'' the two menservants tumbled down to the floor and fainted.


    The old woman sprang up, her body swayed; holding her head in her hand she called out, "There''s poison in the tea!"


    Xu Tianchuan and the others had not drunk their tea, they signaled each other with their eyes and fell down together, pretending to pass out. ''Bing, bing, bang, bang'' the teacups fell to the ground.


    "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out and fell to the ground with closed eyes.


    He heard Zhang Ma and Sun Ma spoke together, "We cooked the water ourselves, there was no one else in the kitchen."


    The old woman said, "The water in the jar is drugged. Son, how do you feel?"


    The sickly man replied, "Not bad, not ��" His head slumped, he also passed out.


    Sun Ma said, "We did not add any water to the ginseng soup, we boiled and brought the water in the ginseng soup ourselves."


    The old man said, "When you boiled the water and warmed the soup at the same time, the steam might enter into the soup."


    "Right!" the old woman said, "And our child''s body is weak; this �� this ��" Hastily she reached out to touch the sickly man''s forehead, her palm was trembling continuously.


    The old man circulated his strong internal energy to suppress the poison inside his stomach so that it did not disperse to other organs. "Go get two pots of cold water," he said.


    Zhang Ma and Sun Ma did not drink the tea, seeing the strange and out-of-control turn of events, they panicked and ran toward the inside.


    The old woman said, "There is something strange about this house." Since she did not carry any weapon, she stooped down to get a saber from one of the menservants'' waist, but as soon as she lowered her head, she felt as if the sky spun, the earth went around; she was unable to stand and was forced to sit down. She managed to touch the hilt of the saber, but did not have any strength in her grip.


    The old man propped himself against the back of a chair with his left hand. His eyes were tightly closed, his body slightly swayed. Wei Xiaobao was lying on the floor; he took a furtive glance, and saw Shuang''er came out, leading a group of women.


    The old man suddenly leaped with outstretched palm to hack onto a woman in white clothes, sending her about a zhang backward until she crashed onto a chair. Xu Tianchuan and the others yelled and shouted while leaping up toward the old man, but they saw that the old man had already passed out. Feng Jizhong quickly sealed his acupoints; he also sealed the old woman and the sickly man''s acupoints.


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up with loud laughter. "Zhuang San Shaonai [third young mistress], how are you?" he called out, while bowing in respect toward a woman in white.


    That woman was indeed the Third Mistress of the Zhuang Family; she hastily returned the propriety and said, "Wei Shaoye, you have captured our archenemy and brought him here, I really don''t know how to repay. Laotianye [God/Heaven] has eyes, He lets us avenge our deep enmity. Wei Shaoye, please meet our Shifu." And she took him to a woman wearing yellow garment.


    The woman in yellow was massaging the back of the woman struck by the old man. ''Wah!'' the woman vomited a mouthful of blood, and then a moment later she vomited another mouthful of blood. The woman in yellow smiled and said, "No more danger." Her voice was soft and was very pleasant to hear.


    Wei Xiaobao saw that this woman was already old, but her voice sounded like a young girl. On her head she wore a gold headband, her feet were bare, her waist was adorned with an embroidered belt; all in all, her attire was quite unusual. Although her hair was greyed, her face was fair and tender, it''s just that the corner of her eyes were full of wrinkles. How old she actually was, it was hard to say. Looking at her hair, she looked about sixty, looking at her face, she looked about thirty. He thought that since she was the Third Mistress'' Shifu, he immediately stepped forward and kowtowed to her, saying, "Popo Jiejie [granny older sister], Wei Xiaobao pays his respect."


    The woman laughed and asked, "Child, what did you call me?"


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "You are San Shaonai''s Shifu, I ought to call you Popo, but looking at your appearance, at most you are no more than my Jiejie; therefore, I call you Popo Jiejie."


    The woman giggled. "At most I am no more than your Jiejie?" she said, "I wonder if I can be your Meizi [younger sister]?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If I were next door and I heard your voice, I would have called you Popo Meimei."


    The woman laughed so hard that her body was shaking. "This little ''slippery head'' is so amusing," she said, "His mouth is so full of guile and cunning, he really knows how to make others happy, no wonder even such a great hero like my Gui Shibo [older martial uncle] also fell under your ruse."


    As soon as she said those words, everybody was shocked. Wei Xiaobao pointed to the old man and said, "This �� this Laogonggong is Popo Jiejie''s Shibo?"


    "Why not?" the woman said with a laugh, "The Senior and I have not seen each other for about thirty years; at first I did not recognize him, it was not until the Senior made his move that I knew it was him. His palm strike, ''Snow-covered Qinling [mountain range, Shaanxi]'' is so bold and powerful, in the Central Plains, there is no second person who can use it like that."


    Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "Since he is on our side, what should we do?"


    The woman shook her head and said with a laugh, "I don''t know what we should do either. If my Shifu found out, he would definitely scold me until I am stinking-dead." Looking at several maidservants standing on the side with thick ropes in their hands, she laughed and said, "If you ordered them to bind these people, you must issue the order yourself, I don''t want to be involved. Shibo is not bound by me; but if he is not tied, when the Senior wakes up, I won''t be his match. Xiao Didi [little brother], do you think you can beat him?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly amused; he laughed and said, "If you can''t beat him, I can''t beat him even more." He knew she was simply trying to escape responsibility, yet without any meaning to protect her martial uncle; busily he addressed Xu Tianchuan and the others, "These few people are on Wu Sangui''s side, they are not good people. We, Tian Di Hui, tie them up; it has nothing to do with Popo Jiejie."


    Xu Tianchuan and the others were just subjected to the sickly man''s jesting, it was an extraordinary shame and humiliation that they had never experienced in all their lives; they had been hatefully gnashing their teeth and were itching for revenge. Immediately they took the ropes and bound the old man, the old woman, the sickly man and the two menservants tightly.


    The woman in yellow asked, "How can my Gui Shibo be on the same side as Wu Sangui? How are you going to deal with this matter?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao explained how they encountered the old man at the restaurant earlier. Naturally he skipped the part where the sickly man used Xu Tianchuan and the others as his toy, he only said that this tuberculosis ghost''s martial art was very formidable, and that everybody was not his match.


    The woman said, "The Gui Family''s Xiao Shidi''s [little younger martial art brother] life was saved by my Shifu. Since he was little he has been suffering a serious illness, until today he has not been well. He is Gui Shibo couple''s only child." After casting a glance toward the old man, she continued, "Gui Shibo is an upright man, how can he become that big traitor Wu Sangui''s ally? If that''s the case, my Shifu can''t possibly scold me. Hee �� hee ��" From the tome of her voice, apparently she was extremely afraid of her Shifu.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Whoever helps Wu Sangui deserves to be killed. If your Shifu knew, he would greatly praise you."


    The woman laughed and said, "Is that right?" She looked at the old man and the old woman, and then felt the sickly man''s breathing. "San Shaonai," she said, "When my Shibo awakes, he will be very angry; yet we cannot kill him. Let''s do it this way: leave them here, we all will go away quietly, so that they won''t know forever who tied them up. What do you think?"


    The Third Mistress replied, "Shifu commanded, we will do as instructed." But thinking that they had lived there for many years and now suddenly they had to leave, in her heart she was very reluctant, plus she felt that moving everything away was really not easy; hence she could not help showing signs of unwillingness.


    An old maidservant wearing white clothes said, "The enemy has been obtained; let us offer sacrifice in front of all the masters, and then the memorial tablets can be cremated."


    The Third Mistress said, "Popo is right."


    Thereupon everybody thronged to the mourning hall, dragging Wu Zhirong along. They made him kneel on the floor. The Third Mistress took a book from the sacrificial table and held it with both hands in front of Wu Zhirong. "Wu Daren," she said, "Do you know what book this is?"


    The Third Mistress continued, "Look carefully, the memorial tablets on this sacrificial table, you know them all."


    Wu Zhirong focused his attention to read the names on the memorial tablets, and he noticed that the memorial tablets bore these names: Zhuang Yuncheng, Zhuang Tinglong, Li Lingxi, Cheng Weifan, Li Huan, Wang Zhaozhen, Mao Yuanxi �� more than a hundred names on the memorial tablets, each one was executed because of his report to the imperial court in the case of ''History of the Ming Dynasty''. Wu Zhirong read eight or nine names, and his soul had already flown to the sky. His tongue was cut, it was still bleeding continuously; he was already two-third dead anyway. This moment his body went weak and he slumped down on the ground, while trembling non-stop.


    The Third Mistress said, "Due to your lust for fame and fortune you have killed this many people, other masters and mistresses of their families suffered torture in the prison and perished, some suffered the death of a thousand cuts, their bodies were subjected to thousand blades ten thousand cuts. If we did not receive Heaven''s providence and were saved by Shifu, we would have been died because of you. Today if we killed you with one blade, it would be too easy for you. However, the way we handle matters is not as merciless as you did. If you want to die easy, you may make your own decision." While saying that, she unsealed the acupoints on his body. ''Dang!'' she also tossed a short blade to the ground.


    Wu Zhirong was shaking all over; he picked up the blade, but how could he find the courage to kill himself? Suddenly he turned around and made a dash out of the mourning hall. But he only took one step, he saw his way was blocked by several dozen women in white. His throat made a repeated ''he, he'' noise as he slipped and fell, twisted several times, and then stopped moving altogether.


    The Third Mistress pulled his body over and found that his breathing had stopped, his face was full of blood, his eyes were open wide, his expression was full of terror. "Evil has its retribution," she said, "At last this traitor is dead." Kneeling in front of the memorial tablets she said, "All of you Xianggong, your big enmity has been avenged, may your spirits in Heaven rest in peace." All the women prostrated themselves on the ground as they cried loudly.


    Wei Xiaobao and the Tian Di Hui warriors also bowed in front of the spirit tablets. The woman in yellow garment stood still and silently on the side with knitted eyebrows.


    After crying for a while, the women turned to kowtow to Wei Xiaobao, thanking him for capturing the enemy and bringing him over. Wei Xiaobao hastily kowtowed in return and said, "A piece of cake, why be polite? If you still have other enemies, please tell me, I will catch them for you."


    The Third Mistress said, "Wicked minister Oboi was killed personally by Wei Shaoye, Wu Zhirong was also caught and brought over by Wei Shaoye. Our great hatred has been avenged in full, there are no more enemies." Immediately the women disassembled the sacrificial table and cremated the memorial tablets.


    The woman in yellow watched as these women performed their convoluted and overelaborate ritual, while making endless noise. Finally she lost her patience and went out to take a look at the people they caught. Wei Xiaobao and Tian Di Hui warriors followed her out. They saw the old man, the old woman and the sickly man were not awake yet.


    The woman in yellow smiled and said, "Little baby, if you want to poison these people, you should really learn how to do it well."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Junior put knock-out drug because I really did not know what else to do, their martial art skill is too strong; if I did not use any trick, my neck would have been wrung by them. By using this trick, the heroes and warriors of Jianghu will look down on me. I know I was wrong, next time I will not dare anymore."


    The woman in yellow smiled. "What look down or look up?" she said, "Killing people is killing people; using blade to kill people, using fist to kill people, using poison or drug, won''t it all comes down to one thing: killing people? The heroes and warriors of Jianghu will look down on you? Humph, who needs their opinion anyway? Take that Wu Zhirong for example; he went to report to the imperial court and killed several thousand, several hundred people. He did not use poison, are you saying that we ought to have a high regard for him?"


    Every single word had caused happiness and delight to rise from the bottom of Wei Xiaobao''s heart; he could not help but beaming with joy as he said, "Popo Jiejie, what you said is very true. When I was a kid, I helped people fighting by scattering lime on the enemy''s eyes; I helped him win the fight and saved his life, but instead of thanking me, he scolded me of using third-class method and he slapped me heavily on the face. Too bad at that time Popo Jiejie was not around, otherwise you would have taught him a lesson."


    The woman in yellow said, "But you poisoned my Gui Shibo, I should have slapped you heavily on the face several times."


    "At that time I did not know he was your Shibo," Wei Xiaobao hastily said.


    The woman said, "If you knew that he was my Shibo, and that he was going to wring your neck, while you have the poison in your hand, would you or would you not poison him?"


    Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, "My life was threatened, I would have no choice but to offend him."


    "You are telling the truth," the woman said, "Others want to take your life, how could you not want to take their lives first? I said I wanted to slap you, only because you really did not know what''s good for you. Others are people with grand reputation, ''Divine Fist Without Equal'' Gui Xinshu, Gui Erye [second master], how deep of a power does he have? You just used the dog-fart knock-out drug to make his head dizzy and make his eyes not able to see, the Senior would just regard it as ground pepper."


    "But he �� he ��" Wei Xiaobao stammered.


    The woman said, "You mixed your not-up-to-the-task knock-out drug in the tea, others are eighty-year old Jianghu veteran, would he simply being a muddle head and drink it? That is the cheap trick used by black inn criminals. If you want to use poison, you must use first-class one."


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised and delighted at the same time. "Turns out �� turns out Popo Jiejie replaced it with first-class poison," he said.


    "Rubbish!" the woman said, "I did not replace it. Gui Shibo and the others were tired, they had headache and passed out; what do I have to do with it? One is a tuberculosis ghost, the others are eighty years old Lao Gonggong and Lao Popo, they suddenly fainted; what''s so strange about it?" Her mouth was speaking in deadly earnest, but her eyes were gleaming with mischievous looks.


    Wei Xiaobao knew that she was afraid her Shifu might find out later and scold her, and thus she did not want to admit it; in his heart he had an unspeakable admiration toward this kindred spirit. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and said, "Popo Jiejie, I bow to you as my master, please take me as your disciple, I will call you Shifu Jiejie."


    The woman giggled; she reached out with her right arm and placed her palm under his chin. Wei Xiaobao felt a hard object on his chin; definitely it was not a human hand. When he looked down, he was utterly shocked; what he saw was bluish-black iron hook, the tip of the hook was very sharp, it gleamed under the light.


    The woman laughed and said, "Look carefully." With her left hand she pulled her right sleeve to expose a snow white upper arm, but it was cut at the wrist, there was no hand at all, the iron hook was fastened onto her wrist. "If you want to be my disciple," the woman said, "I have no reason not to accept you, you simply need to cut your hand, then I''ll give you an iron hook."


    The woman in yellow was none other than the Cult Leader or Five-Poison Cult He Tishou [lit. iron hand], whose fame shook the world in the past. Afterwards she bowed to Yuan Chengzhi to be his disciple, and changed her name to He Tishou [lit. guarding respectfully]. After the Ming Dynasty fell, she accompanied Yuan Chengzhi traveling overseas. That year she was sent on a mission by her master to the Central Plains, by chance she saved the Zhuang Family''s Third Mistress and the other widows, and taught them martial arts.


    This time she came again, by chance she saw Shuang''er took out the knock-out drug and told her the situation. Although she did not know who the enemy was, she knew that since their martial art skill was high, ordinary knock-out drug would be quite useless; thereupon she put another drug into the water jar.


    He Tishou''s skill in using poison was unparalleled in her time, only after entering Hua Shan Pai she did not use this skill for a long time. Suddenly seeing someone putting drug into the water jar, she could not stop her hand from itching to try her skill again; as soon as she made her move, who in the world would be able to resist it? Were it not for her, Gui Xinshu''s internal energy was very deep, it was even superior to her own Shifu Yuan Chengzhi''s internal strength, how could the ordinary package of knock-out drug Wei Xiaobao obtained from the Imperial Bodyguards drug him that he fainted?


    The sickly man, Gui Zhong, had been ill since he was still in his mother''s womb, he was actually not expected to live, later on he took a precious miracle drug that his life was spared, but his body and brain had been damaged, he would never be strong and healthy like ordinary people. Gui Xinshu, husband and wife, only had this child, they loved him more than life. Due to his lingering illness since childhood, inevitably the couple spoiled him rotten and failed to discipline him. Although Gui Zhong had mastered superior martial art skill, even though he was middle-age by now, his character and mental development was no different than an eight or nine years old child.


    When He Tishou put poison, she did not know who the opponent was; after she found out that it was her own Gui Shibo and his family, she could not help feeling anxious. But things had come to this, she knew it was too late to worry. Listening to Wei Xiaobao''s amusing words, her fondness toward him grew. She thought how could there be such a witty and naughty boy outside the island?


    When he heard that he had to cut his hand before he could take her as his master, Wei Xiaobao brought his hand in front of his eyes. He was afraid of pain, plus he really did not want to part with his hand; his face carried an awkward expression. He Tishou laughed and said, "You don''t need to bow to me as your Shifu, I don''t have time to impart you any martial art skill either. But I do have a very amusing secret projectile that I''d like to give to you, so that you won''t grieve in your heart that you have kowtowed to me and called me Shifu Jiejie in vain."


    "Shifu Jiejie," Wei Xiaobao said, "That was not an empty call; even if you did not teach me any martial art skill, you did not give me anything, you are such a pretty young lady, I would be very happy to call you Shifu Jiejie several more times."


    He Tishou giggled and said, "Oily-mouthed and smooth talking little monkey, you talked drivel to your Popo with no respect to your seniors." She was a Miao [ethnic group of southwest China] woman, and had never cared about Han people''s etiquette and compass and set-square. Wei Xiaobao praised her as pretty; she did not feel it was inappropriate, on the contrary, she was delighted. She laughed and said, "Little monkey, call me again."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Jiejie, good Jiejie!"


    He Tishou laughed and said, "Aiyo, it''s getting more and more indecent." Suddenly her left hand grabbed the back of his neck, lifted him up to the left, and then ''zip, zip, zip!'', three candles on the table were extinguished immediately, followed by a series of dull thuds on the wooden partition on the opposite site, like the resounding patter of rain on wooden board.


    Wei Xiaobao was startled and delighted at the same time, "What secret weapons are those?" he asked.


    He Tishou laughed and said, "Go look yourself." And then she released her grip to let him fall to the floor.


    Wei Xiaobao picked up a candlestick from the side table and went over to the wooden partition to take a closer look. He saw dozens of flickering steel needles nailed deeply into the wooden wall. He was very impressed. "Jiejie," he said, "You did not even move, how did you shoot these many steel needles? This kind of secret projectiles, who in this world would be able to dodge?"


    He Tishou laughed and said, "In the past I used these ''Han Sha She Ying''


    [3] secret projectiles against my Shifu, but he was able to dodge; not a single needle was able to hit him. Other than my Shifu, I am afraid not too many people would be able to do it."


    "Your Shifu must have told you to try to shoot him," Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s why he was prepared. But if you shoot him suddenly, even if the Senior''s martial art skill was higher, how could he evade this kind of shadow-less, trace-less secret projectiles?"


    "At that time Shifu and I were opponents," He Tishou said, "We were in a hard fighting. He did not ask me to try to shoot him, he was completely without advance knowledge."


    "That is so," Wei Xiaobao said, "But your Shifu was concentrating his attention completely on you, hence he was able to dodge. Supposing that time you pointed to the east and turned your head that way and called out, ''Eh, who''s coming?'' Your Shifu would definitely turn to look to the east as well; if at that time you suddenly shot him with the secret projectiles, very likely he would be hit."


    He Tishou sighed and said, "Perhaps you are right. These steel needles have acute poison on them, if at that time my Shifu failed to evade, he would be killed immediately. At that time I did not wish to kill him at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In your heart you were in love with your Shifu, weren''t you?"


    He Tishou''s face blushed slightly. "Pei!" she spat, "There''s no such thing. Don''t talk rubbish. If my Shiniang [Shifu''s wife] heard it, she would definitely cut half of your tongue."


    The past events when she was young suddenly appeared in her heart; although it was a matter of several decades ago, He Tishou still could not stop her face from blushing. She took out two deerskin finger sheaths, which she put on her left thumb and index finger, and then she pulled the steel needles from the wooden partition one by one. She also reached into her pocket and took out an iron band, with a steel case mounted on the band, the lid of the steel case had a lot of small holes. Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized; he clapped his hands and called out, "Jiejie, this secret projectile is really ingenious. Turns out you wore it inside your clothes, and then you only need to activate the mechanism on the iron band, and the steel needles inside the iron case will shoot out." He assumed that most likely the secret projectile she promised to give to him was this object; he could not help but was bursting with joy.


    He Tishou smiled and said, "Even a secret projectile that is a lot more formidable than this will have to rely on the power and accuracy of the hand to shoot it. But your martial art skill is too lacking, other than this ''Han Sha She Ying'', you can''t use anything else."


    Immediately she inserted the steel needles one by one into the case and told him to lift up his robe, and fastened it on his body; the steel case was positioned right on the pit of his stomach. She taught him how to activate the mechanism, she also taught him the ingredients and how to make the poison on the steel needle, as well as the antidote. She said, "The steel needles inside the case can be used for a total of five times. After that you will have to replenish the needles. My Shifu repeatedly warned me never to injure the innocent. These steel needles were originally dipped into lethal poison, but now the poison is not to take anybody''s life. When someone is hit, his body will be unbearably itchy and he will lose all his strength. But you still must not use it indiscriminately."


    Wei Xiaobao did not open his mouth to respond, he dropped on his knees again to express his gratitude. He Tishou said, "Go and help those three to sit up properly."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He helped Gui Xinshu into a chair first, but when he was helping Gui Zhong, he bumped onto a round and bulging object hanging on his waist, something like a wine gourd. When he lifted up his robe to look, turned out it was a leather sack. Wei Xiaobao''s curiosity was piqued; he untied the leather string of the sack and looked inside. Suddenly he cried out, "Aiyo, it''s a human head; he �� he �� he is staring at me."


    He Tishou also felt strange; she said, "I wonder what kind of important character he killed, why would he carry the severed head on his waist? Take it out and look."


    "Dead man, oh dead man!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I am going to take you out, you must not bite me." Slowly he put his hand into the sack, grabbed the severed head by its braid, and took it out and placed it on the table. Under the candlelight he could see clearly, this severed head had its big and round eyes opened wide, its dragon-like beard was long and pointy. Wei Xiaobao screamed and withdrew three steps. "It''s �� it''s Wu Dage," he cried out in fear.


    He Tishou was slightly startled. "You know him?" she asked.


    "He �� he is our Society brother," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wu Liuqi, Wu Dage!" His heart was grieving, he sobbed loudly.


    The Tian Di Hui warriors heard Wei Xiaobao was screaming and crying loudly, they rushed into the hall, and saw Wu Liuqi''s severed head. They were all shocked with grief and indignation. Everybody pressed their hands on the hilt of their weapons while keeping their gaze fixed on He Tishou, thinking that Wu Liuqi was killed by her.


    Soon Shuang''er also rushed inside. Wei Xiaobao pulled her hand and pointed to the severed head, shouting, "Shuang �� Shuang''er, this is your sworn brother Wu Dage, he �� he was murdered by this evil thief!" While saying that, he scrambled toward Gui Zhong and kicked him several times. He then turned to Xu Tianchuan and the others and said, "I found Wu Dage''s severed head hanging on this evil thief''s body."


    When everybody examined the severed head carefully, they saw that the blood was already dry, the neck was covered in lime; obviously they used some medicaments and lime to preserve the head so it would not rot.


    Shuang''er stroked the severed head while sobbing loudly. Li Lishi said, "Let''s use cold water to wake this evil thief up, we must get the full details from him, and then we''ll kill him to pay for Wu Dage''s life." All the warriors voiced their agreements.


    He Tishou said, "This man is my Shidi, you must not touch a single strand of his hair!" While saying that, she stretched out her right hand iron hook and swept it across a candle on the table several times, before flying into the inner hall.


    Priest Xuanzhen angrily shouted, "Even if he was your Shifu, I still want to chop him into mincemeat ��"


    "Uh!" suddenly Feng Jizhong exclaimed. With two fingers of his left hand he held a piece of candle, about seven or eight fen long [1 fen is approximately 1/3 of a centimeter or 1/8 of an inch], and picked it up. The candle on the candlestick was originally still seven or eight cun long [1 cun approx. 2.5cm or 1 inch], but now it was cut into six or seven pieces, each piece was less than a cun long, and still neatly stacked together; the candle did not collapse at all. This kind of martial art skill was truly shocking. None of the Tian Di Hui warriors'' countenance did not change.


    ''Shua!'' Priest Xuanzhen pulled the saber hanging on his waist and said, "I''ll kill this servant to avenge Wu Dage, let that woman kill me."


    "Hold on!" Li Lishi said, "We must ask clearly first, and then we''ll kill the three of them together."


    "Right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "That Popo Jiejie is afraid of her Shibo. If we eliminate her Shibo and Shibo''s wife altogether, it should be all right. Shuang''er, go get a pot of cold water, but don''t get the poisoned water from the kitchen."


    Shuang''er went in and came back with a large basin of cold water. Xu Tianchuan took the basin and slowly poured the cold water onto Gui Zhong''s head. Gui Zhong sneezed several times and slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he tried to move, he realized that his hands and feet were bound, and the acupoint on his waist was sealed. "Who?" he said furiously, "Who is joking with me?"


    Xuanzhen lightly tapped the blade of his saber on his face and swore, "Your ancestor is joking with you." Pointing to Wu Liuqi''s head, he asked, "Did you kill this man?"


    "Correct!" Gui Zhong replied, "Mama, Daddy, where are you?" He turned around and saw his father and mother were also bound; he was so scared that he almost cried. In all his life he had always followed his father and mother, everything happened as he wished, he had never experienced any setback; when did he ever experience such a scary situation? With a sullen expression he said, "You �� what are you doing? You cannot beat me, why �� why did you tie me up? Why did you tie my Daddy, my Mama?"


    Xu Tianchuan raised his hand and slapped him on the face with the back of his palm, "How did you kill this man?" he shouted, "Quickly tell us, if there is half a word of lies, I will poke your eyes blind immediately." While saying that he raised his saber and pointed the tip toward Gui Zhong''s right eye.


    Gui Zhong was scared out of his wits; he coughed continuously as he said, "I �� I''ll talk �� don''t poke my eye blind. If I am blind, I can''t see �� can''t see �� (cough, cough) �� (cough, cough) �� Ping Xi Wang said that Tatar Emperor is a big, big ''bad egg''; he occupies �� occupies our �� our Great Ming''s rivers and mountains. He asked me to �� to kill Tatar Emperor ��"


    Tian Di Hui warriors looked at each other in dismay; they all thought, "What he said is not wrong."


    But Wei Xiaobao flatly refused to accept. "Hot piece Mama," he cursed, "Wu Sangui is a damn good thing?"


    Gui Zhong said, "Ping Xi Wang is your Bofu; he �� he �� he is not a good thing, then you are not a good thing either."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him heavily; he cursed, "Nonsense! Wu Sangui is a big traitor, how can he be Laozi''s uncle? Wu Sangui is your uncle!"


    Gui Zhong yelled, "You said it yourself. Aiyo, so you want to renege on your words? I don''t come, I don''t come!" [renege �C �� ''lai'', come - �� ''lai'']Seeing him muddling things together, Li Lishi asked, "Wu Sangui asked you to kill Tatar Emperor, why did you kill him then?" While saying that, he pointed to Wu Liuqi''s severed head.


    Gui Zhong said, "This man was high-ranking officer of Guangdong, Ping Xi Wang said that he was a big traitor, who determined to protect the Emperor. Ping Xi Wang wanted to move the troops to attack Guangdong, hence he must have him killed first. Ping Xi Wang gave me a lot of tonic to treat my coughing, he also gave me the white tiger skin. My Ma said that big traitor must be killed. (Cough, cough) �� this man''s martial art skill was very good, I �� my Ma and me fought him together before he could kill him. You must quickly let me go, release my Dad, my Ma. We are going to Beijing to kill Tatar Emperor, it will be an enormous service ��"


    Wei Xiaobao cursed, "Killing the Emperor is not for you, a tuberculosis ghost, to do. All Gege, let''s kill these three fellows. I will deal with Popo Jiejie later."


    Suddenly they heard outside the manor several dozen people shouted together, "Tuberculosis ghost, get out quickly, we''ll hack you to pieces to avenge Wu Dage!" In front of the manor, behind the manor, they heard people all around; even all over the roof there were people shouting and yelling; apparently the manor was surrounded on all directions.


    Tian Di Hui slogan was ''Heaven is my father, Earth is my mother, Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming'' [tian fu di mu, fan Qing fu Ming], but in front of unidentified people, these eight characters were reversed. If they were their own Society''s brethren, they would know how to respond; if it were outsiders, the opposite party would not know what they were talking about, hence their real identity would not be exposed.


    There were seventeen or eighteen people outside, as well as on the roof of the manor, responding in chorus, "The earth shook the high ridge, a row of mountain creeks gracefully flow for all eternity."


    The warriors in the hall called out, "Morning gate facing the ocean, the water of the Three Rivers flows for ten thousand years."


    Someone on the roof asked, "Brothers from which Hall are in here?"


    Qian Laoben replied, "Green Wood Hall brothers welcome our older brothers. Gege from which Hall have arrived?"


    The door to the hall opened, someone came in and called, "Xiaobao, are you here?" This man was tall and slim, his expression elegant, he was none other than Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he rushed forward and kneeled down. "Shifu, Shifu," he called repeatedly.


    "Everybody is well!" Chen Jinnan said, "Unfortunately ��" Seeing Wu Liuqi''s severed head on the table he rushed over; he propped himself against the table and was overcome with grief, tears streamed down his face.


    One after another people came into the hall; Guangxi''s Latter Family Hall Xiangzhu Ma Chaoxing, Guizhou''s Scarlet Fire Hall Xiangzhu Gu Zhizhong, and the others were there. When they saw Gui Zhong, they all pulled their sabers. There were more than twenty Guangdong''s Great Obedience Hall brethren in there, their hatred had reached the extreme. Seeing all these people had fiendish expression on their face, Gui Zhong coughed twice, and then he passed out.


    Chen Jinnan turned around and asked, "Xiaobao, how did you all capture these three evil thieves?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao narrated what they had been through; naturally he skipped the shameful matters where Gui Zhong was amusing himself by playing with Xu Tianchuan and the others and where he was pretending to be Wu Zhirong. Finally he said, "These three evil thieves'' martial art is very formidable, we were no match for them, fortunately there was one Popo Jiejie who came to our rescue before we were able to capture them. However, Popo Jiejie also said that this old man is her Shibo, hence she did not allow us to kill him to avenge Wu Dage."


    Chen Jinnan frowned. "What Popo Jiejie?" he asked.


    "Although based on her age she is a Popo, her appearance looks like a Jiejie, hence I call her Popo Jiejie," Wei Xiaobao explained.


    "Where is she?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    "She is hiding in the back," Wei Xiaobao replied, "She is unwilling to meet her Shibo. Shifu, Gu Dage, Ma Dage, how did all of you get here?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "This evil thief harmed Wu Dage, as soon as we received the news, we all pursued to four sides eight directions."


    The Green Wood Hall warriors and the incoming people greeted each other; turned out there were brothers from all the Halls in Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Anhui, most of them were guarding outside all around the manor. Gu Zhizhong and Ma Chaoxing said, "Wei Xiongdi has rendered this great merit once again, Wu Dage''s spirit in Heaven will definitely feel deeply grateful."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu Dage treated me very well, avenging him is something that I ought to do."


    Li Lishi said, "Reporting to Zongduozhu: this evil thief has just said that they are going to Beijing to assassinate the Tatar Emperor, he also mentioned some Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming matters, I don''t know the real story behind it."


    "What real story?" Wei Xiaobao said, "He was afraid we might kill him, hence he spoke some nonsense. He is wearing this white tiger skin, which was given by Wu Sangui. How can there be any good thing among Wu Sangui''s pig friends and dog companions? We''d better open these three evil thieves'' chests and scoop out their hearts to avenge Wu Dage, end of story."


    "Wake these three people up," Chen Jinnan said, "We''ll ask them clearly."


    Shuang''er fetched another bucket of cold water and doused Gui Xinshu, husband and wife, as well as Gui Zhong to wake them up. As soon as Gui Erniang [second lady] awoke, she cursed and swore, saying that putting poison to drug people was Jianghu''s despicable and shameless shady business; but Gui Xinshu did not say a word.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Looking at your skill, you are not a nobody. What''s your name? What enmity did you have against our Wu Liuqi, Wu Dage? Why did you commit evil scheme and harm his life?"


    Gui Erniang angrily said, "You are stinky stuff, shameless little thieves who drugged people, do you think you fit to ask Laoniang''s [old lady] name and surname?"


    Gu Zhizhong raised his saber threateningly, Gui Erniang was hot-headed, her cursing became even more vile.


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "They are surnamed Gui, the ''gui'' of ''wugui'' [turtle]; two old turtles and one little turtle. Let me kill the little turtle first and then we''ll talk." Pulling his dagger, he pointed the tip to Gui Zhong''s throat.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was going to kill her son, Gui Erniang panicked. "Little demon," she called out, "If you have guts, come and kill Laoniang; just don''t touch a single strand of my child''s hair."


    "But I love to kill little turtle," Wei Xiaobao replied. He lightly pushed the tip of his dagger into Gui Zhong''s throat. The dagger was extremely sharp, although the push was very light, Gui Zhong''s throat immediately spewed blood.


    "Ma," he cried loudly, "He �� he is killing me."


    "Don''t �� don''t kill my child!" Gui Erniang shouted.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My Shifu asks you a question, you obediently answer. Within an hour, your tuberculosis ghost son will not die."


    "My child is not sick," Gui Erniang angrily said, "You are the tuberculosis ghost." But hearing that Wei Xiaobao promised not to kill her son for the time being, she felt relieved instantly.


    Wei Xiaobao pretended to cough; imitating Gui Zhong''s accent he said, "Ma, I �� I �� (cough, cough) �� I almost die �� Good Mama, quickly answer them truthfully �� (cough, cough) �� (cough, cough) �� I don''t have tuberculosis, I am suffering from broken-steel-blade sickness �� (cough, cough) �� also from dagger-penetrating-the-throat illness, whole-body-become-mincemeat illness �� (cough, cough) ��"


    He had an uncanny ability to imitate people''s accent that Gui Erniang was absolutely horrified. "Don''t talk like that! Don''t imitate my child!" she yelled.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Ma, if you don''t answer their questions, I �� I �� (cough, cough) �� I will also contact the belly-cut-open sickness, intestines-flowing-out illness ��" While saying that, he pulled open Gui Zhong''s robe and moved his dagger back and forth in front of Gui Zhong''s scrawny chest.


    Gui Erniang could not bear any longer. "Alright!" she said, "We belong to Huashan Pai, our family is known as Shen Quan Wu Di [divine fist without equal] Gui Er Xia [second hero]. When our prestige was shaking the Central Plains, you, this bunch of little hairy thieves have not been reincarnated."


    Hearing that these two were unexpectedly the famous Shen Quan Wu Di Gui Xinshu, husband and wife, Chen Jinnan could not help but feeling deep veneration toward them. He also remembered how established Wu Liuqi''s martial art skill was. According to the Great Obedience Hall brethren who witnessed how he was harmed by this people, only the old woman and the tuberculosis ghost went into action, yet they were able to overthrow a dozen or more Great Obedience Hall''s martial art experts. The two of them attacked Wu Liuqi together and killed him, cut his head. These people were not impostors. Divine Fist Without Equal Gui Xinshu had become famous for a long time, but for the last several decades their movement in Jianghu was never heard. It was unclear how they were involved in this terrible tragedy; there must be a strong reason behind it.


    Immediately Chen Jinnan stepped forward to bow with cupped fist in front of Gui Xinshu; he said, "Turns out you are Huashan''s Shen Quan Wu Di Gui Er Xia husband and wife. Xiaoren Chen Jinnan, indeed I have been lacking in manners." Reaching out, he pulled and broke the ropes binding Gui Xinshu, and then he also massaged his back and his waist to unseal his acupoints. Turning around, he also pulled and broke the ropes binding Gui Erniang and Gui Zhong.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly worried. "Shifu," he said, "These three people are very formidable; we must not release them."


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "Gui Erniang scolded us for using knockout drug, which is the conduct of Jianghu''s despicable low-class people. We, Tian Di Hui, have never used knockout drug. Even if we did, Gui Er Xia''s internal energy is very profound, how can despicable low-class people''s knockout drug affect him, the Senior ��"


    "Right, right," Wei Xiaobao said, "We, Tian Di Hui, did not use the knockout drug." He thought that since the drug came from Popo Jiejie, and it was she who swapped it, technically they could not be considered drugged by Tian Di Hui. Besides, the drug was really not a knockout drug.


    Gui Xinshu''s left hand brushed off his wife and son''s backs to unseal their acupoints. His technique was a lot faster than Chen Jinnan''s. He nodded and said, "It was not an ordinary knockout drug; it was a lot more powerful drug." He stretched out his hand to feel his son''s pulse.


    Gui Erniang fixed her gaze on her husband''s expression, "How is it?" she asked.


    Gui Xinshu said, "For the time being he seems to be all right."


    He recalled that just before passing out, he had exchanged a palm strike with someone. Although that person''s martial art skill was very shallow, yet the internal energy cultivation was definitely from Huashan Pai. He also recalled the way Shuang''er run among the rocks on that hill, it was definitely Huashan Pai''s qinggong. In a glance he saw her among the crowd.


    Seeing his bright and flickering gaze, Shuang''er could not help feeling afraid; she shrunk herself behind Wei Xiaobao. Gui Xinshu said, "Little girl, come here. You belong to Huashan Pai, don''t you?"


    "I am not coming!" Shuang''er said, "You killed my sworn brother Wu Dage, I want to take revenge for him. I �� I don''t belong to any Huashan Pai either."


    When He Tishou taught martial arts to the Third Mistress Zhuang, Shuang''er and the others, she did not officially accept them as her disciples, hence she did not mention her own sect or school either. These three words ''Huashan Pai'', Shuang''er had just heard it for the first time today.


    Gui Xinshu did not want to argue with this little girl. Suddenly he gathered his chi on his dantian, and with a loud and clear voice said, "Disciples and grand-disciples of Feng Nandi, come out." Although his voice was not loud, his chi surged out, the dust on the roof rained down.


    He thought that among the three martial brothers, Yuan Chengzhi''s disciples were all overseas, his Da Shixiong [oldest martial brother] Huang Zhen had passed away long time ago, but Huashan Pai still had Huang Zhen''s first disciple Feng Nandi who wielded some power; therefore, the Huashan Pai people in the manor must be Feng Nandi''s disciples. Who would have thought that after waiting for a long time, no noise came from the inner hall?


    Chen Jinnan said, "Last year the heroes from all over the world held a general assembly at He Jian Fu, we swore an oath smearing our lips with blood, determined to work as one to kill the big traitor Wu Sangui. Your virtuous Shizhi [martial nephew], Senior Feng Nandi was the host of the Turtle-Slaying Assembly of He Jian Fu. Why would Senior Gui join hands with Wu Sangui instead and kill our humble Society''s patriot Wu Liuqi Xiongdi? Wouldn''t it be ''enduring pain for the loved-one, acting in haste for the enemy''?" He said those words politely, but his remark was pointed and powerful.


    Gui Erniang cast him a glance; she said, "I heard people say, ''Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain,'' but before Sire was born, we, husband and wife, have already criss-crossing the world. If the saying was true, we should have waited for Sire to be born before we could be called ''hero''. Hey, hey, ridiculous, ridiculous."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Based on martial art skill, Zaixia only worth a laugh in front of Gui Er Xia, worthy husband and wife. Jianghu friends think highly of Zaixia, they are no more than saying that Zaixia understands right and wrong, that I am not likely to commit outrages and make friends with bandits."


    Gui Erniang was furious. "Are you saying we committed outrages and made friends with bandits?" she said.


    "Wu Sangui is a big traitor!" Chen Jinnan retorted.


    Gui Erniang said, "This Wu Liuqi acted as accomplice to the tiger, he became the Tatars'' high-ranking officer, bullying our Han''s common people, yet you open your mouth left and right and calling him Dage? Isn''t that committing outrages and making friends with bandits?"


    Ma Chaoxing loudly said, "Wu Dage lived in Cao camp but had his heart in Han camp. He was Tian Di Hui''s Great Obedience Hall Red Banner Xiangzhu. He held power over Guangdong military force, as soon as opportunity arrives, he would move the troops to fight the Tatars. Great Obedience Hall brothers, will you or will you not say that it was so?"


    "It''s true!" more than twenty subordinates of Great Obedience Hall replied in chorus.


    Ma Chaoxing said, "Bare your chests, let these two great heroes have a look." Twenty some men pulled the front piece of their jacket with both hands and parted it outward, the dozen or so buttons in front of their chests popped out, exposing their chests. They saw that on each man''s chest these eight characters were engraved deep into their flesh: ''tian fu di mu, fan Qing fu Ming'' [Heaven is my father, Earth is my mother, Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming].


    All along Gui Zhong was silent, but now seeing more than twenty men had their chests engraved with eight characters, he clapped his hands and laughed, "Interesting, interesting!" The Tian Di Hui warriors glowered at him.


    Chen Jinnan said to Gui Xinshu, "Your esteemed son thinks it is interesting, what do Gui Er Xia, husband and wife think?"


    Gui Xinshu was extremely dejected; he shook his head and said to Gui Erniang, "Killed the wrong man."


    Gui Erniang said, "We killed the wrong man! We have fallen into that traitor Wu Sangui''s trick." Stretching out her left hand, she pulled the single-blade saber from Ma Chaoxing''s waist and swept it across her own neck.


    "Don''t ��" Chen Jinnan shouted, while swiftly stretching out his right hand to grab her left wrist.


    Gui Erniang sent out her right palm, Chen Jinnan raised his left palm to parry, both people swayed. Chen Jinnan stretched out two fingers of his left hand to pinch the back of the blade. Gui Erniang sent out another right palm strike toward the pit of his stomach. If Chen Jinnan withdrew, he would not be able to seize the saber away, and he was afraid that she might try to kill herself again. By exchanging palm strikes with her just now, Chen Jinnan knew that although she was really old, her internal energy was not as strong as his; however, her movement was lightning fast, her fist and palm technique was extremely refined. If he withdrew even for a single step, his bare hand would not be able to snatch the blade from her hand away. Thereupon he braced himself and took the palm on his chest. ''Bang!'' he was hit by the palm strike.


    Gui Erniang was taken aback. Chen Jinnan''s left hand''s two fingers caught her saber and snatched it away. He withdrew two steps back, ''Wah!'' and spurted a mouthful of fresh blood.


    When Gui Erniang was swiping the blade to kill herself, if Gui Xinshu made his move, he could have prevented her; however, since he killed Wu Liuqi by mistake, he was ashamed and full of regrets, he even had thoughts of killing himself to apologize, hence he did not try to stop his wife at all. After seeing Chen Jinnan did not hesitate to put his own life in danger to seize the steel blade in Gui Erniang''s hand, he was even more ashamed. His clumsy words were only, "Chen Jinnan is a hero of the present age, your name is not in vain."


    Chen Jinnan supported himself against the table while regulating his breathing. Only after half a day he managed to say, "One who does not know is not guilty. The criminal ringleader, the main offender in the murder of Wu Dage is Wu �� Wu San ��" speaking to here, he threw up another mouthful of blood.


    Although Gui Erniang was old, most of her power of the former years remained. In order to snatch her blade away, Chen Jinnan was unable to circulate his chi to protect himself; the palm strike he suffered was really not light. Gui Erniang said, "Chen Zongduozhu, if I tried to kill myself again, I would betray your great kindness. We, husband and wife, are determined to kill the Tatar Emperor, and then we will kill that traitor Wu Sangui." Finished speaking, she kneeled down and kowtowed toward Wu Liuqi''s severed head three times.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Wu Liuqi Dage''s conduct was always very secretive, a lot of Jianghu people also revile him. Virtuous husband and wife making your move this time, your intention was to kill the traitor; it just that unfortunately �� unfortunately ��" Speaking to this point, he could not stop the tears from flowing down his face again.


    Gui Xinshu, husband and wife, had the same thought; they made up their minds to kill Kangxi and Wu Sangui, and then they were going to kill themselves to apologize to Wu Liuqi. But this moment they did not want to talk too much, they cupped their fists toward Chen Jinnan and said, "Chen Zongduozhu, we''ll take our leave now."


    "Would you stay for a moment?" Chen Jinnan asked, "Zaixia has something to report." The Gui couple had already taken their son''s hand and were on their way out; hearing this, they stopped and turned around.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Wu Sangui is deploying his troops from Yunnan, very soon the whole country will be in rebellion, this is a golden opportunity to reinstate our Han people''s rivers and mountains. There will be quite a number of heroes who in the coming days will gather in the Capital to discuss countermeasure for dealing with current situation. Everybody will be like-minded, how about the two Seniors consider going to Beijing to join the conference?"


    In his heart Gui Xinshu was ashamed, he did not have any desire to see other people; hence he shook his head, and started to walk out again.


    Wei Xiaobao heard the two of them said that they were going to assassinate the Emperor. He thought these three fellows surnamed ''turtle'' had a very high level of martial art skill, the young Emperor had never guarded against them, he must prevent them from killing the emperor. "This is a very important matter concerning the world," he called out, "Your Gongzi''s [young master] conduct is a bit messed up. If this time you spoil this matter, even if the three of you kill yourselves, inevitably your names will �� will be a stench for ten thousand years." He had heard the saying ''yi chou wan nian'' [to have one''s name go down in history as a byword for infamy], but he could not remember the exact words, hence he said ''chou qi wan nian'' [stench for ten thousand years].


    Although he did not say it correctly, the Gui couple understood his meaning clearly. Gui Xinshu knew that in term of martial art skill he was quite superior, but in term of ability to see things clearly he was rather weak, otherwise he would not have blindly accepted Wu Sangui''s one-sided story as the fact, and thus committed this kind of blunder. Hearing Wei Xiaobao, he could not help but shivered inwardly. He thought, "Assassinating the Emperor is indeed an important matter concerning the fate of the nation."


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Right now the Emperor is still young, he is not too sensible yet, as soon as Wu Sangui arose in rebellion, he would collapse silly. If you kill him, another Tatar, older and more formidable, will become the Emperor, then our Han people''s rivers and mountains will be spoiled under your hands." Gui Xinshu nodded slowly and turned around.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Two Seniors, this child is young, he talks with no respect for his elders, please don''t be offended." While saying that he cupped his fist to apologize. And then he continued, "But it seems that his concern needs to be considered at length. Such an important matter like this, we must discuss and decide what would be the best course of action?"


    Gui Xinshu thought that he had committed one mistake and must not commit another mistake; just because right now he was ashamed and indignant, he must not let himself to be a sinner for all ages. Thereupon he said, "Very well! I will sincerely listen to Chen Zongduozhu''s instruction."


    "That word ''instruction''," Chen Jinnan said, "I absolutely do not dare to give. Tomorrow morning we will all go to Beijing. In the evening we will meet at this child''s residence to discuss this important matter. What do the Seniors think?" Gui Xinshu nodded.


    Chen Jinnan asked Wei Xiaobao, "Have you moved?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Disciple still lives at Tong Maozi [copper hat] Lane in Dongcheng [district, central Beijing]."


    "Seniors," Chen Jinnan said, "Tomorrow night Zaixia will wait respectfully for the two Seniors'' honorable presence in this child''s Zijue Fu [Viscount Mansion] at Tong Maozi Lane in Dongcheng district in Beijing."


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please don''t be angry, right now it is called Bojue Fu [Earl Mansion]."


    "Hey, you have been promoted," Chen Jinnan said.


    Gui Erniang stared at Wei Xiaobao. She asked, "You are Wu Sangui''s nephew, but also ''live in Cao camp but have the heart in Han camp''; will you place righteousness before family?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am not Wu Sangui''s nephew, Wu Sangui desperately wanted to be my grandson."


    Chen Jinnan scolded him, "Don''t be rude in front of the Seniors. Quickly kowtow and apologize."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He struck a posture ready to kneel, but he did so exasperatingly slowly.


    Gui Xinshu waved his hands; he took his wife and child, as well as his servants, out of the door without saying anything. He knew perfectly well that there was no other place they could lodge for the night, but he would rather go hungry and spend the night in the wilderness since he did not want to be face the face with Tian Di Hui warriors.


    Gui Zhong never had any playmate since he was little, seeing that Wei Xiaobao was very clever with words, plus was still young, he found him very amusing. He waved to him and said, "Baby, come with me, accompany me playing."


    "You killed my friend," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am not playing with you."


    Suddenly there was a ''whoosh!'' a shadow flashed, Gui Zhong leaped over, grabbed Wei Xiaobao, and brought him to the door. His movement was very fast, while Chen Jinnan had just suffered quite a heavy injury, plus he was quite some distance away; unexpectedly not a single Tian Di Hui warrior had enough time to react.


    Gui Zhong laughed aloud and shouted, "You must play hide-and-seek again with me, we will have a lot of fun!"


    Gui Xinshu''s countenance sank; he said sternly, "Child, put him down."


    Gui Zhong did not dare to disobey his father, he was obliged to let Wei Xiaobao down, but his lips were already flat, obviously he was about to cry. Gui Erniang said consolingly, "Child, let us go buy two page boys to accompany you playing."


    "Page boys are no fun," Gui Zhong said, "This baby is fun, let us go buy him."


    Seeing his son making a fool of himself, Gui Xinshu pulled his hand and went out the door in quick steps.


    The crowd of warriors looked at each other in dismay; they all felt that Wu Liuqi was a hero, yet he died for no reason under the hands of an idiot. It was indeed too much of injustice.


    "Shifu," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me invite Popo Jiejie here to meet everybody." Together with Shuang''er he went into the inner hall. Who would have thought that He Tishou had already left?


    The Third Mistress said that it was inappropriate for the womenfolk to meet the heroes, she only instructed the maidservants to prepare food and drink and to be hospitable to the guests.

 Chapter - 43 (43)

    Hazy sky outside the imperial watchtower at Jiu Zhong [nine heavy] city walls, blowing wind and cloud spitting discontent.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao took his leave from the host, and then he and Chen Jinnan went separately to the Capital. Chen Jinnan said, "Xiaobao, Gui Er Xia, husband and wife are going to assassinate the Emperor. They have agreed to accept the decision after everybody has discussed it over. When you reach Beijing, you must not notify the Emperor so that he will be on guard."


    Wei Xiaobao did indeed have this intention, but since his Shifu hit the nail on the head, he hastily said, "Of course; his Tatars occupy our Han people''s rivers and mountains, I became an official in the imperial court under Shifu, you, Senior''s order, how can I support him for real?"


    "Then so be it," Chen Jinnan said, "If you say something without meaning it, and do something to let everybody down, I will be the first who will not spare you."


    "Shifu, please let your hundred and twenty hearts at ease," Wei Xiaobao said, while in his heart he said, "Let your hundred and nineteen hearts at ease! I, myself, am not too much at ease."


    Taking Shuang''er, Xu Tianchuan and the others, he went back to where Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, and the others were waiting. With Mao Dongzhu in custody, they returned to Beijing.


    As soon as he was back at the Tong Maozi Lane, he immediately wanted to see Kangxi, thinking, "The young Emperor is my good friend, how can I let him die under those three turtles'' hands? I got it; I will go to the Palace and order the Imperial Bodyguards to be on high alert, to form tight security. I promised Shifu I won''t tell the Emperor, a real man speaks and keeps his promise, I can''t tell him then I won''t tell him, but I can prevent those three turtles from succeeding."


    Just when he was going out the door, Chen Jinnan, taking Gu Zhizhong and Ma Chaoxing, arrived. Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly. "How could you arrive so quickly?" he thought in his heart. Without any choice he raised his spirit to prepare the reception banquet.


    Not long afterwards one after another Tian Di Hui warriors arrived in small groups, followed by Mu Jiansheng, leading his companions, the Iron Back Blue Dragon Liu Dahong, Shaking-Head Lion Wu Lishen, Divine Physician Hermit Su Gang and the others also arrived. Actually Mu Palace people were already in Beijing; they came together after they received the information about the conference.


    Everybody finished eating and drinking, and waited for quite a long time before the three Gui Family arrived. Wei Xiaobao ordered his servants to prepare another banquet. "We already ate," Gui Erniang said indifferently.


    Gui Zhong glanced around; looking at the grand and luxurious mansion he said, "Baby, the appearance of your house is not too far below Ping Xi Wang''s Wuhua Palace. You did not lie, Wu Sangui is indeed your Bofu [father''s elder brother]."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Wu Sangui is your ��" when he said the word ''your'', suddenly he closed his mouth, thinking that if blurted out that sentence casually, Shifu must be angry with him. Thereupon he changed his statement to, "Since the three of you have already eaten, please come to the eastern hall to have some tea."


    They all went to the eastern hall to enjoy some green tea and light refreshments, and then Wei Xiaobao sent all the servants out. Chen Jinnan also sent a dozen or so Society brethren to guard around and on the roof of the hall before he closed the door, bolted it, and started the meeting.


    Chen Jinnan introduced Gui family husband and wife with the Mu Palace people, but he did not mention anything about Wu Liuqi. Although Gui family husband and wife had lived in seclusion for a long time, Liu Dahong, Wu Lishen, and the others were still full of admirations, they were very respectful to them.


    Gui Erniang got straight to the point, "After declaring war Wu Sangui attacked Hunan and Sichuan. The power of his troops is very sharp, as they swept everything. Although in the past Wu Sangui surrendered to the Tatars and forfeited the Great Ming''s world, his crime was great, his evil extreme, but he is, after all, still one of our Han people. In our Gui Er Ye''s [second master] opinion, we want to enter the Palace and assassinate the Tatar Emperor, so that the Tatars will be like a dragon without a head, and will be thrown into confusion. Gentlemen, what''s your wise opinion?"


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Surely the Tatar Emperor ought to be killed, but if we do that, won''t that mean we give Wu Sangui that traitor a big help?"


    Gui Erniang said, "In the past Wu Sangui killed Mu Wangye, naturally Mu Gongzi does not want to let him off. But the distinction between Manchurian and Han is of utmost importance, we must kill the Tatars first, it won''t be too late to slowly deal with Wu Sangui later."


    Liu Dahong said, "If in this rebellion Wu Sangui triumphs over the opponent, he himself will become the Emperor; to shake him later will not be easy. In Wanbei''s [Junior] opinion, we''ll let the Tatars and Wu Sangui massacre each other, fighting desperately against each other until you die, I live. And then we''ll reap the benefit of spreading the net over them. Thus Junior believes that it is inadvisable to assassinate the Tatar Emperor right now." Although he had a chin full of white beard, Gui Family husband and wife had made their name long time ago, thus the reason he called himself ''Junior''. Mu Palace''s enmity against Wu Sangui was as deep as the ocean; they would be very pleased to see his destruction first.


    Gui Erniang said, "Wu Sangui is fighting for the Ming to demand prisoner of war, to rise the banner in assistance of the Third Zhu Crown Prince to ascend the throne. Here we have dispatch order from Wu Sangui, everybody please see." From her pocket she took a large sheet of paper and spread it out on the table.


    Chen Jinnan immediately read it aloud, "Former Shanhai Pass Guard Zongbing, current grand marshal under imperial orders to preside over water and land under the heaven, great general Wu to rise the Ming to demand prisoner of war, writing to make all civil and military officers, government officers, military soldiers and common citizens under the heavens know: our garrison profoundly received the benefit of the Great Ming''s nobility rank, to unite the garrisons of the Shanhai Pass ��"


    Chen Jinnan knew that most warriors did not understand literature; he read several sentences, then explained these sentences. After explaining clearly the first paragraph, he continued reading. The following section explained how Li Zicheng broke into Beijing, how Chongzhen returned to Heaven, how in order to avenge his lord father''s enmity he acted against his will to turn toward Manchurian Qing''s troops and gave them the opportunity to break in. After that he said, "Fortunately the main offender received favor under successive rulers, inherited command, received duty to guard the border, compensated the Manchu tribal chief. Caught unprepared by the deceit of going against the oath to the Heaven, availing myself to my inner void, grandly I seize Yanjing [old name for Beijing]. Humbly I become the divine tool of the former Dynasty, transforming my China''s crown and lower garment: fully aware that I must repel the entering wolves, and correcting the mistake of carrying firewood to put out a fire."


    Gui Erniang said, "Afterwards he was aware that lending assistance to Manchu troop was wrong, unfortunately it was too late."


    "Humph," Liu Dahong snorted, "That traitor really know how to talk, it''s all a lie."


    "Chen Zongduozhu," Gui Erniang said, "Please read on."


    "Yes!" Chen Jinnan said, and continued reading, "Our garrison pierce the heart and vomit blood, my remorse reaches the extreme, desiring to return to the north, wiping out the stench, receiving the late Emperor''s Third Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was only three years old, he did not remember the assassination, he lived as an orphan, he depended on his ancestor''s associates. For the time being drinking blood, waiting patiently, growing up in the dark waiting for an opportunity, selecting generals training soldiers, secretly drawing plans to rise and restore, until today, thirty years later!"


    Listening to this part, Liu Dahong could not hold his patience any longer. He slapped the table and said, "Fart! Fart! This thief with a heart of wolf and lungs of dog whom the Heaven and the Earth cannot tolerate, if he really have half a heart of rising and restoring the Great Ming, why did he murder Emperor Yongli in the past? The Crown Prince Yongli! This matter is well known throughout the world, how would you deny that?"


    When the crowd of heroes saw the look of Liu Dahong''s halberd-like eyebrows, none did not admire his loyalty. They thought that the fact that twelve years ago in Kunming City Wu Sangui hanged Emperor Yongli, father and son, could not be disputed.


    Gui Erniang said, "Liu Dage is not wrong, Wu Sangui is definitely not a loyal subject or a patriot, even a three-year old knows that. The reason we want to assassinate the Tatar Emperor is to fight the Qing and restore the Ming, it is not to help Wu Sangui to become the Emperor."


    Chen Jinnan said, "Let me finish reading this dispatch order, everybody may take your time in reaching the decision." He continued reading, "And now, to capture the tyrannical tribal chief, crafty and evil person of high status, let the scholars of righteousness and justice, colleagues who know: narrow-minded generation, all occupying prominent post ��" Reading to this point, he laughed toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Xiaobao, this sentence is talking about you."


    Listening to his Shifu reading the document, Wei Xiaobao only felt that his intonation, the falling and rising of his voice was very pleasant to hear. Suddenly he heard that Wu Sangui''s document was mentioning him, he could not help but was pleasantly surprised. "Shifu," he hastily asked, "What did he say about me? That fellow can''t be talking anything good about me."


    Chen Jinnan said, "He said that well-educated, virtuous good men only become sesame-seed and mung-bean petty officials; those fellows without any skill whatsoever can be high-ranking officer. Isn''t he talking about you?"


    "What about himself?" Wei Xiaobao said, "His official rank is higher than mine; wouldn''t it mean that he is more useless than I am?"


    Everybody roared in laughter; they said, "That''s right! No one in the imperial court has a higher official position than Ping Xi Qin Wang."


    The final paragraph of the document said, "The mountains miserable the water anxious, women cry children sob, to such an extent as the comets fell the sky above shows its wrath, the landslide the soil cracks, the earth below voices its complaint. Our garrison look upward to observe and look down to examine, in sincerity dispatching expedition against cruelty to rescue the people, obeying the Heaven responding to the people''s days. Lovingly forecasting the first day of the first month of the Jiayin year [51


    st


    year of the 60-year cycle], respectfully presenting to the Crown Prince, offering sacrifice to inform the heaven and earth, in veneration ascending the great treasure. Establishing the first Zhou consultant."


    Finished reading, Chen Jinnan explained the document. With the exception of Chen Jinnan and Mu Jiansheng two people, these people had never read any literary works, they all thought that this dispatch order seemed to be clear and logical; if there was anything not right in it, they could not tell.


    Mu Jiansheng pondered deeply for a moment before saying, "Chen Zongduozhu, if he wanted to present tribute to the Third Crown Prince Zhu and offer him to ascend the Great Treasure, why didn''t he reinstating the Great Ming''s dynasty title, but wanted to change the dynasty title to Zhou? There must be a very big hole in his argument. Let alone we do not know if the Third Crown Prince Zhu or what have you is real or fake; nobody has ever heard anything about him, but all of a sudden he appeared without a head without a brain. Most likely Wu Sangui went out to find a child who does not understand anything, and called him the Third Crown Prince Zhu to appeal to the heart of the people, while in reality he would use him as a puppet." Everybody nodded their agreement.


    Gui Erniang said, "Wu Sangui uses the Third Crown Prince Zhu as his puppet, naturally I do not doubt it. Whether this person is real or fake, there is not much difference. It''s just that the Third Crown Prince Zhu is not a little child, the late Emperor died for his country already thirty years ago, if the Third Crown Prince Zhu is real, at least he would also be in his thirties."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Thirty something baby who does not understand anything is not nonexistent, hee �� hee ��" While saying that he cast a glance toward Gui Zhong.


    Several warriors were not able to stifle their laughter. Gui Erniang''s eyebrows stood up, she was about to lose her temper, but then she had a second thought: Wei Xiaobao was right, her own precious son was already over thirty years of age, but he was still a little baby who did not understand anything. She could not help sighing softly.


    They talked for a long time. Some proposed to leave Kangxi alone and get rid of Wu Sangui first, and then draw a plan to restore the country; some thought that although Wu Sangui was crafty and evil, in the end he was still a Han, they ought to help him driving out the Tatars, after the Han people''s rivers and mountains were restored, then they would remove him. They kept debating on and on but could not reach the final conclusion. After a long time, they all turned their eyes toward Chen Jinnan, knowing that he was resourceful, certainly he would have a wise opinion.


    Chen Jinnan said, "We attach most importance to our country. If at this moment we kill Kangxi, admittedly Wu Sangui''s momentum will get a lot of boost. But Taiwan''s Zheng Wangye can also cross the ocean and attack to the west; their troops could enter via Fujian and Zhejiang, and attacked straight toward Jiangsu. With this east-west converging attack, the Tatars will definitely collapse. At that time, if Wu Sangui wants to be the Emperor, Zheng Wangye''s force, combined with Mu Palace, Tian Di Hui and heroes from all over the world will be able to control and overpower him."


    Su Gang coldly said, "By saying that, isn''t Chen Zongduozhu leaning somewhat heavily toward the Taiwan''s Zheng Wangye?"


    Chen Jinnan replied sternly, "Zheng Wangye''s loyalty is well-known throughout the world, could it be that Su Xiong did not believe him?"


    Su Gang said, "Chen Zongduozhu is loyal, brave and chivalrous, everybody respect and submit to you. But by Zheng Wangye''s side, devious and despicable lowly people are abounded."


    Wei Xiaobao could not bear not to speak up, "That is absolutely correct; take that ''One Sword Without Blood'' Feng Xifan for example, and then there is Zheng Wangye''s younger son Zheng Keshuang. They all are not good people."


    Hearing that Wei Xiaobao did not align himself with him, Chen Jinnan was slightly surprised; but thinking that what he said was not wrong, he could not refrain from heaving a sigh.


    Gui Erniang said, "Driving out the Tatars is the most important task; as for who will be the Emperor, we have no right to interfere. Fighting the Qing is something we have to do, whether we restore the Ming or not, there is no harm in discussing it slowly. Emperor Chongzhen of the Great Ming was not a good thing anyway."


    Chen Jinnan and Mu Palace warriors had always been loyal to Zhu Family of Ming; as soon as they heard that, their countenances changed greatly. Mu Jiansheng said, "If we fail to support the offspring of the Zhu Clan to regain the throne, won''t that mean we are supporting that big traitor Wu Sangui?"


    Gui Zhong suddenly said, "Wu Sangui is a good man. He gave me this white tiger skin to be made as my robe. Have you seen it?" While saying that, he opened up the lapel of his robe to expose the white tiger skin underneath, seemingly very pleased with himself.


    Gui Erniang said, "Child, don''t talk nonsense in here."


    With a cold laugh Su Gang said, "In Gui Shaoye''s opinion, a leather robe is more important than our Han''s rivers and mountains."


    "Child," Gui Erniang angrily said, "Take that leather robe off!"


    Gui Zhong was shocked, "But why?" he asked.


    Gui Xinshu stretched out his hand to pull the sword hanging on his son''s waist. White light flashed, ''swish, swish!'' the sword in Gui Xinshu''s hand continuously flitted across his son''s chest, back, shoulders and arms. Everybody was shocked; they all leaped back from their chairs, they thought Gui Xinshu was killing his son. But then they saw that the leather robe Gui Zhong was wearing had become seventeen or eighteen pieces, falling around his body, revealing the short silk, cotton-padded undergarments. Gui Xinshu''s sword moved very fast; it cut the leather robe into pieces, yet it did not touch the cotton-padded silk undergarments at all. When the crowd of warriors had seen clearly, they all cheered.


    Gui Zhong was so scared that he could only stared blankly, while coughing incessantly. He almost cried as he said, "Dad �� (cough, cough) �� (cough, cough) �� Dad �� (cough) �� I ��"


    Gui Xinshu waved his hand, the sword went back into its sheath, and then he took off his own cotton robe and draped it over his son''s body. "Put it on!" he said.


    Gui Erniang picked up the pieces of white tiger skin from the floor and threw them into the blazing stove; immediately the fire blazed higher, a burst of burning leather smell arose, the white tiger was gradually burned into ashes. "What a pity, what a pity," Wei Xiaobao repeatedly stated.


    "Let''s go," Gui Xinshu said. He pulled his son''s hand and led him toward the door.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Gui Er Xia is going to attempt great things, we would like to offer some plans."


    "I do not dare!" Gui Xinshu said, "No need!" While saying that, he walked toward the door of the hall.


    Wei Xiaobao knew Gui Xinshu was going to make his move at once, it would be too late to inform the Emperor, he must use all kinds of delaying tactics. Blocking in front of Gui Xinshu, he said in a loud voice, "The number of rooms in the Palace, if not ten thousands, then there are at least five thousands. Do you know where the Tatar Emperor live?"


    Gui Xinshu was startled; he realized these words made a lot of sense. Turning his head around he asked, "Do you?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Nobody does," he said, "Tatar Emperor is afraid someone might come to assassinate him, each night he moves from place to place to sleep. Sometimes he sleeps at the Chang Chun [eternal spring (season)] Palace, sometimes he sleeps at the Jing Yang [Bright (scenery) Positive] Palace, sometimes he sleeps at the Xian Fu [harmonious good fortune] Palace, Yan Xi [extended joy] Palace, or perhaps at the Li Jing [beautiful scenery] Pavilion, Yu Hua [rain flower] Loft, or Yu Qing [nurturing (a child) celebration] Palace." In one breath he mentioned seven or eight different Palace or Pavilion names.


    Listening to him, Gui Xinshu frowned. Wei Xiaobao added, "Even the court eunuchs and Imperial Bodyguards who serve on the Emperor''s side do not know where the Emperor will sleep tonight."


    "So how are we going to find the Emperor?" Gui Xinshu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When the Emperor holds the morning audience, all civil and military officials will see him. As he entered the building, he will come to see you, others will never find him." Actually the situation was not as dire as he made it to be, Kangxi did not frequently move around to lie down, but Gui Xinshu, husband and wife, were ''uncultivated land'' and ''cloth clothes''; how could they know the Imperial Palace''s inner courtyards'' practices? Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s crazy nonsense, they thought that the Emperor taking strict precautions against assassins was rightly so, hence they were greatly hesitating.


    Looking at Gui Xinshu''s expression, Wei Xiaobao knew that he realized the difficulty of this situation; in his heart Wei Xiaobao was very pleased. "Gui Laoyezi [old master]," he asked, "Do you know how many concubines the Emperor has?"


    "Humph," Gui Xinshu snorted; he stared at Wei Xiaobao without saying anything.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The storytellers said that the Emperor has three palaces and six courtyards, the chambers of imperial concubines'' beautiful girls �� beautiful women are around three thousand. The Tatar Emperor does not have that many wives, I don''t think he has three thousand, but I''ll say he has at least eight or nine hundreds. Every night he becomes the groom; today he sleeps at the 351


    st


    imperial concubine''s room, tomorrow he''ll sleep at the 634


    th


    imperial concubine''s room. Even the imperial concubines themselves will not know where the Emperor will spend the night. They might have to wait three years, four years, and still do not know if the Emperor is coming or not."


    "Xiaobao," Chen Jinnan said, "You have lived in the Palace for a long time, you must know a way to find the Emperor."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "During the day it is easy to find him, but in the night, no matter what I have no idea how to find him."


    Chen Jinnan said, "In that case, during the day tomorrow we disguise ourselves and with you leading us, we''ll sneak into the Palace to execute the mission. Last time didn''t you take Qian Xiongdi and Wu Er Ge in and out of the Palace?" While saying that he pointed to Qian Laoben and Wu Lishen, two men.


    "Qian Dage only went as far as the imperial kitchen," Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as Wu Er Ge and the others entered the Palace, the bodyguards �� the bodyguards discovered them. To see the Emperor''s face, it was still a hundred and eight thousand li away. Qian Dage, Wu Er Ge, don''t you agree?"


    Qian and Wu, two men, nodded their heads. The two of them knew that to enter the Palace and look for the Emperor was like fishing a needle from the bottom of the ocean.


    "Disciple has a way," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "What way?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Disciple is going to see the Emperor tomorrow, he will surely want to talk about Wu Sangui''s rebellion, how to send the troops to fight, disciple will advise him to come out and inspect the cannon. As long as he is out of the Palace, it would be a lot easier to make our move. Whether the assassination attempt is successful or not, we can put oil on the soles of our feet, and will be able to escape a lot easier; it will be a lot less dangerous."


    With a cold laugh Gui Erniang said, "So the Emperor will listen to you, a baby? If you do not come out of the Palace for three years, do you think we should wait for three years? You use all sorts of excuses, in the end you are not willing to lead us in, is that it?"


    Mu Jiansheng said, "To enter the Palace and assassinate the Emperor, Xiongdi has done it. It was shameful actually, our Mu Palace lost quite a number of Xiongdi. My own little sister, along with Fang Shimei, also this Wu Shishu, as well as two other Shidi, were trapped inside the Palace and met quite an unexpected fate. Fortunately we received Wei Xiangzhu''s help for the sake of loyalty before we could get out of the danger. It''s not that we are coward who are afraid to die, this matter is truly difficult to succeed."


    Gui Erniang looked coldly at Wei Xiaobao; she asked, "You can rescue them out of danger?"


    Wu Lishen hastily said, "Although Wei Xiangzhu is young, his benevolence and righteousness surpass others, he is quick-witted and smart; Xiongdi owes my life entirely to him."


    Gui Erniang said, "Mu Palace failed, that does not necessarily mean that surnamed Gui will also fail for sure."


    Liu Dahong stood up abruptly and said, "Gui Family husband and wife are Divine Fist Without Equal; it''s only natural that you surpass us, tiny Mu Palace, by a hundredfold. I would suggest you go at once, we will be waiting in here for good news."


    A brother from Great Benevolence Hall said, "Wei Xiangzhu, you''d better also go to the Palace. Wait until the Gui Family Three Da Xia [big hero] are captured by the Tatar bodyguards, you''d better find a way to rescue them." He was still bitter over the Gui Family, three people murdered Wu Liuqi, so that even though they were in the presence of their Zongduozhu, he could not refrain from mocking them a bit.


    Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "If the three of you turtles enter the Palace and are caught, even if my head is chopped I won''t save you out." He laughed and said, "How can the Gui Family Three Da Xia be caught by the Tatar bodyguards? There are more than eight thousand Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace, Gui Shaoye only needs to cough several times, these more than eight thousand guards will have their brains shaken and die." Quite a number of people from Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace broke out in laughter.


    Gui Zhong laughed. "Is there really such thing?" he said, "That will be really fun. So they are afraid to hear my (cough �� cough, cough) ��? (Cough, cough) �� (cough, cough) ��" The Gui couple was furious; one of them grabbed their son''s arm and the three of them walked out side-by-side.


    "Gui Er Xia," Chen Jinnan said, "Please calm down. Xiongdi has a plan."


    Gui Erniang always knew that Chen Jinnan was full of stratagems; she turned around, waiting for him to continue.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Gui Er Xia virtuous husband and wife are exceptionally skillful in martial arts, you are unequaled in the present age, but you are entering a very dangerous ground, all in all there will be multitude of enemies, but only a few friends. We''d better discuss a foolproof plan to ��"


    Gui Erniang cut him off, "I thought Chen Zongduozhu really had a brilliant idea, humph!" Turning around again, she walked toward the door.


    Liu Dahong and Wu Lishen suddenly rushed forward and blocked the door. Liu Dahong said, "If the two of you want to help Wu Sangui, we from Mu Palace absolutely will not allow it to happen."


    "What?" Gui Erniang said, "You want to fight?"


    Liu Dahong said, "The two of you might better kill me and my martial brothers clean first before going out this door to lend a hand to Wu Sangui."


    "Who says we are going to lend a hand to Wu Sangui?" Gui Erniang said.


    Liu Dahong said, "Although the two of you do not have any intention to help that traitor Wu, but if you succeed, that traitor Wu''s momentum will gain a lot of boost, he cannot be controlled anymore."


    "Get out of the way," Gui Xinshu said in a low voice, while taking a step forward.


    Liu Dahong spread his arms to block the door. Gui Xinshu stretched his left hand forward to grab Liu Dahong''s chest. Liu Dahong raised his hand to parry, ''smack!'' two palms collided, Liu Dahong''s body swayed two times, his entire face turned deathly pale. "I only used fifty-percent of my power," Gui Xinshu said.


    Wu Lishen shook his head and said, "There is no harm in you using a hundred-percent of your power so that all of us martial brothers will die violently."


    Gui Zhong said, "You want a hundred-percent, I''ll give you a hundred-percent." He raised both hands, one bent close to his body, the other outstretched. Wu Lishen stretched out his arm to parry. Gui Zhong pulled his hand back, Wu Lishen struck an empty space. Gui Zhong seized the opportunity when Wu Lishen was about to pull his hand back, quick as lightning his hands grabbed the acupoints on Wu Lishen''s chest and waist.


    Chen Jinnan rushed forward to stop them. "We are all good friends here," he persuaded, "Let''s not use force."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "We all argue incessantly, in the end we still don''t have any solution. Let''s do it this way: we throw dice, leave it all to luck. If Gui Laoyezi wins, not only we will not hinder the three of you from entering the Palace, Wanbei [junior] will explain in details the situation in the Palace to the two of you."


    "And if you win?" Gui Erniang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "In that case we will put this matter on the shelf for the time being, after Wu Sangui is dead, we will make our move against the Emperor."


    Gui Erniang thought, "If we do it on our own, Mu Family will most likely go to inform the Tatars, in the end this matter will be difficult to accomplish. We might as well listen to him." She turned to ask her husband, "Er Ye [second master], what do you think?"


    Gui Xinshu said to Wei Xiaobao, "If you lose you must not go back on your word."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "A real man gave his words, dead horses cannot pull it back. The Tatar young Emperor is not my laozi [old man], why would I want to protect him? It''s just that if we win, we must win it heroically, if we lose, we must lose gracefully. No matter who wins or loses, we must not harm our friendship."


    Chen Jinnan thought that his last sentence made a lot of sense; he said, "This matter involves great responsibility, in the end it will affect the calamity or good fortune of our great undertaking of restoring our country; it is difficult to predict. People of old used divination when they were in doubt, we will roll the dice, the idea is the same. Everybody needs not argue opinionatedly, let''s depend on the Will of Heaven."


    Gui Erniang said, "Child, let him go."


    "I won''t," Gui Zhong replied.


    "This little brother wants to play with you by rolling the dice," Gui Erniang said.


    Gui Zhong was delighted; immediately he relinquished his grip, releasing the acupoint on Wu Lishen''s chest. Wu Lishen felt the pain on the pit of his stomach was unbearable, his breathing could not flow freely, he shook his head continuously.


    "Gui Shaoye," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please take your dice out. We''ll use yours."


    "Dice?" Gui Zhong asked, "I don''t have any. Do you have some?"


    "I don''t have it either," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Who has some dice?" he asked around. Everybody slowly shook their head, they all thought, "We are not rotten gambling ghost, who would carry dice everywhere?"


    Gui Erniang said, "No dice, we''ll flip a coin."


    "Throwing dice is more fair," Wei Xiaobao said, "Genuine goods at fair prices, cheating neither old nor young. I am a boy, Gui Shaoye is an old gentleman, thus it is clear that we must throw dice. I am sure one of the personal guards would have some dice; I''ll go ask." Finished speaking, he pulled the bolt, open the door, and went out of the hall.


    He went out of the eastern hall, entered the main hall, and fetched six dice from his pouch. The dice were the talisman that he carried everywhere, but if he took out dice on the spot, Gui Family husband and wife would definitely suspect him. He sat down in the main hall for a moment before returning to the east hall and said with a laugh, "I found some dice."


    "How do you decide winning or losing?" Gui Erniang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The trick in throwing dice, I don''t understand the least bit. Gui Shaoye, how do you say we must gamble?"


    Gui Zhong picked up two dice and said, "You and I compete in accuracy." His finger flicked, ''chi, chi!'' the two dice flew and extinguished two candles, followed by ''pop, pop!'' the two dice embedded itself into the wooden partition. The crowd of warriors broke into praise, "Good skill!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have seen people throwing the dice; it''s a competition of the number of dots, big or small, not a competition of secret projectile throwing skill."


    "That''s right!" Gui Erniang said, "The two of you throw one time, who has the bigger number of dots wins."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Only throwing one time, maybe his luck is really good, all at once he rolls thirty-six dots." Thereupon he said, "Let''s do it this way: each one of us will throw three times, two out of three will win."


    Gui Zhong thought that the more they throw the dice the more he would have fun. He said, "Each one of us will throw three hundred times, whoever wins two hundred times will be considered the winners."


    "That will be too much trouble," Gui Erniang said, "Each one throwing three times is enough."


    Xu Tianchuan pulled the two dice embedded into the wooden partition and put them on the table. "Gui Shaoye," Wei Xiaobao said, "You throw first."


    Gui Zhong picked up the dice, and with a giggle he was ready to throw. "Hold on!" Gui Erniang said. Turning her head, he asked Liu Dahong and Mu Jiansheng, "If we win this game, will Mu Palace be considered lost too?"


    Just now Liu Dahong exchanged a palm strike with Gui Xinshu, the blood and chi in his chest was still bubbling up, by this time he had not been able to regulate it yet; he thought that the opponent had said that he was only using fifty-percent of his power, this man was a senior hero, it must be not an empty word. If he really wanted to go to the Palace to assassinate the Emperor, based on Mu Palace''s power alone, how could they stop him? Thereupon he nodded. Mu Jiansheng said, "Let the Heaven reveal its will, the decision will be based entirely on the throw of the two gentlemen."


    "Very well!" Gui Erniang said. Turning to Gui Zhong she said, "Throw it! The bigger the number of dots the better."


    Gui Zhong examined the dice carefully. He said, "The biggest number of dots is six, the smallest is two, and then there is this big indentation here."


    "That big indentation is one dot," Gui Erniang said.


    Gui Zhong said, "It''s so weird, the four dots are red." Waving his right palm, ''Slap!'' the six dice went into the tabletop, all top surfaces had six dots on them. Turned out he arranged the dice on his palm, with all dice have one dot facing up, so that when he slammed the dice down, naturally all six dots were facing up.


    Everybody was stunned, but they were also amused. This tuberculosis ghost seemed too weak to stand up to the wind, yet his internal energy was surprisingly this deep; but where in the world would there be throwing dice technique like this?


    "Child," Gui Erniang said, "That''s not the way to throw the dice." Stretching out her palm, she slapped the table once, the six dice immediately jumped up. Everybody cheered. Gui Erniang picked up the dice and rolled it gently. She said, "Whatever dots come up, that will be the number of dots you get. You can''t rely on your own desire."


    "So that''s how you do it," Gui Zhong said. Imitating his mother''s movement, he picked up the dice and gently tossed them on the table. The dice rolled. When they stopped, the number of dots was twenty. Six dice produced twenty dots, the chance of winning was slightly higher.


    Wei Xiaobao picked up the dice, his little finger pushed a little bit, he was secretly employing his trick, and then he shouted, "Eat ''em all!" while throwing the dice away. Five dice stopped to show seventeen dots, the last dice continued rolling. Based on Wei Xiaobao''s skill in cheating, the last die should stop at six dots, bringing the total to twenty-three dots, then he would win the first throw. Who would have thought that the die suddenly tripped into a little hole on the table, one of the holes created by Gui Zhong when he slammed the dice just a moment ago. The die shook slightly and stopped rolling altogether. The top surface showed one dot. Eighteen dots; he lost.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are holes on the table, this one did not count."


    He picked up the dice and was about to throw again. Chen Jinnan shook his head and said, "This is the Will of Heaven, you lost the first round."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "There are two more throws, I will definitely win." He handed the dice to Gui Zhong.


    Gui Zhong won the first round, he was extremely pleased with himself. He gently rolled the dice, but only got nine dots. When Mu family people saw that this round his lost was guaranteed, they could not help but standing up and cheering.


    Wei Xiaobao walked around the table to another corner, far from the six little holes, and threw the dice over there. Unexpectedly he got four dice at six dots each, and two dice at five dots each, bringing the total to thirty-four. Any combination of two dice already won. The victory was completely without any surprise without any risk.


    Both sides had won one round each, the third throw would decide win or loss. Gui Zhong threw the dice. Six dice rolled around for a good while, finally they stopped at thirty-one dots, the chance of winning was very high. Anxiety reappeared on the Mu Family''s people''s faces, thinking that to beat these thirty-one dots they would need enormous good luck. But Wei Xiaobao was not worried at all, he thought, "I will use the same trick, I''ll throw thirty-four dots to beat you."


    With little finger pressed on the hollow of his palm, he set up the position of the dice and then gently rolled them out. He saw the six dice rolled on the table and stopped one by one; six dots, five dots, five dots, six dots �� the first four dice all produced big numbers, he already had twenty-two dots. The fifth die also stopped at six dots, bringing the total to twenty-eight dots. The last die was still spinning. If it stopped at three, it would be a draw, then they would have to throw another round. One or two dots would mean he lost; four, five or six would give him victory. His chance of winning was 60%. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Even if it is three dots and we have to throw one more time, you won''t necessarily have the same good luck."


    The last die seemed to roll endlessly; they saw that it was going to land on six. "Good!" he shouted excitedly. Suddenly the die flipped over and rolled again. He was stunned. "There''s a ghost!" he cried out.


    When he took a glance, he saw Gui Xinshu was blowing gently toward the dice. Right this moment, the die stopped rolling, the big indentation was facing up to the morning sky. It was one dot. Everybody shouted in chorus.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked and angered at the same time, he had seen people cheating in dice countless times, but to see people blowing on the dice to flip it over, this was his very first time; he had never even heard about it before. This old man''s internal energy was outstanding to the extreme, he was able to blow a thin stream of air; not only he was able to turn the six dots into one, perhaps when Gui Zhong threw thirty-on dots just now, it was not entirely due to his good luck in gambling, but because his laozi [old man] on the side was blowing air to help him. With face bulging red he shouted, "Gui Laoyezi, you �� you �� (whoosh, whoosh, whoosh)!" While saying that he pursed his lips to blow.


    "Twenty-nine dots, you lose!" Gui Xinshu said. Reaching out, he picked the six dice and pinched them between his thumb and middle-finger. ''Crack!'' the dice shattered, a few drops of mercury flowed out; the drops scattered around the tabletop and immediately turned into hundreds or perhaps thousands of small beads, which rolled everywhere.


    Gui Zhong clapped his hands and cheered, "It''s fun, it''s fun! What is that thing? It looks like water, but also looks like silver."


    Seeing Gui Xinshu was exposing the mercury inside the dice to artificially increase their weight, Wei Xiaobao knew he could not argue over him blowing the dice. Pretending to be amazed, he said, "Turns out there is some mercury inside the dice. Laoyezi, you have taught Junior something new. The dice are made of ox bones, today I learned that mercury also come from cows. Previously I thought that it was silver plus water turned into mercury. Cows can cultivate soil, they also can produce mercury. Amazing, amazing!"


    Gui Erniang ignored his nonsense; she said, "Anybody has anything else to say? Wei Xiongdi, please explain in details the situation of the Imperial Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao cast a glance toward his Shifu. Chen Jinnan nodded his head, saying, "It''s the Will of Heaven, you must explain honestly to the two Seniors." He knew this disciple of his was very crafty, hence he added the word ''honestly''.


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind was churning; he had an idea, he said, "Since I have lost, naturally I can''t renege on the result of the bet. A real man steals, robs and cheats is not a big deal, but betting result must be honored. There are too many rooms in the Imperial Palace, even if I explain everything I can''t make you understand. I''ll draw a picture. Xu San Ge, Qian Dage, please accompany the guests, I''ll make the drawing." Cupping his fist toward everybody, he turned around, walked out of the hall, and entered his study room.


    This earl mansion was given to him by Prince Kang, inside the study room, the books filled the wall, writing brush and ink stone was prepared on the table. Wei Xiaobao was afraid his gambling luck would turn bad, books and loss [''shu'' and ''shu''] are homophone; normally he would not enter this Study Room [''shu fang'' �C book room, library] even for half a step. Right now he sat in front of the desk and shouted, "Grind the ink!" He had already summoned his personal attendant to serve him.


    The Bojue Daren [Earl] has never written any letter, the personal attendant was bewildered, but his face showed admiration. Immediately he pulled himself together and started to work. He put fresh water into the antique purple coiled dragon stone ink slab that used to belong to Wang Xizhi


    [4], took the pine-black fragrant ink that was a leftover from Chu Suiliang


    [5]Wei Xiaobao bent his palm like a tiger claw, using qinna [grab and capture/grappling] power he grabbed the shaft of the brush, dipped it into the ink until the brush was soaked, suddenly with a light ''plop!'' a large drop of ink dripped from the tip of the brush onto the paper, immediately staining the gold-patterned jade edition note-paper. The personal attendant thought, "Turns out Bojue Daren is not writing letters, he is going to paint, Liang-calligraphy style, by splashing ink onto the paper." But then he saw him making a straight vertical line down on the left of the dot, as if he was drawing a curvy tree trunk. And then on the left of the tree trunk he lightly put another dot. It appeared like the northern school''s Li Sixun''s hatchet hacking style, or perhaps the southern school''s Wang Mojie''s draping hemp cloth style. It was definitely a combination of the two schools'', north and south, major styles.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Go, summon Zhang Tidu here."


    The attendant complied and went out, thinking, "I wonder what Bojue Daren is going to write next?" But even if he guessed ten thousand times, he would never have guessed correctly.


    Actually, after the character ''Xiao'', Wei Xiaobao drew a circle. Underneath the circle, he drew a horizontal line, something that looked like stiff firewood or shoulder pole, and then a squiggly line like an earthworm passing through the shoulder pole. The earthworm passing through the shoulder pole was actually a ''Zi'' [��] character. This three-character string was actually Kangxi''s name, ''Xiao Xuanzi''. Since he did not know how to write the character ''Xuan'', he substituted it with a circle


    [6].


    He recalled that day when he was a monk in the Qingliang Temple, Kangxi drew some pictures in the imperial decree; Wei Xiaobao was happy and very impressed. Following the example of the Holy Sage, he respectfully copied what he did; today the situation was urgent, hence he submitted the memorial to the throne in drawings.


    After writing the name ''Xiao Xuanzi'', he drew a sword, with the tip of the sword penetrating the circle. If it meant to be a saber, it did not look like a saber, if it meant to be a sword, it did not look like a sword. Just by drawing these, his forehead was drenched in sweats.


    He had just finished the drawing when Zhang Yong arrived.


    Wei Xiaobao folded the gold-patterned jade edition note-paper and put it in an envelope. He sealed it well and handed it over to Zhang Yong, while saying in a low voice, "Zhang Tidu, this is a very important memorial to the throne. Please deliver it at once to the Palace and present it to His Majesty. Just say that this is my secret memorial, the Imperial Bodyguards and eunuchs will immediately announce your arrival."


    Zhang Yong complied. He received the envelope with both hands, and was about to put it into his pocket when they heard the two personal guards outside the study room asked in chorus, "Who''s there?" The door opened with a bang, three people burst in, they were none other than Gui Family husband and wife and Gui Zhong.


    In a glance Gui Erniang saw the memorial in Zhang Yong''s hand; both reached from left and right, she snatched the envelope away, and asked Wei Xiaobao in stern voice, "You are going to inform the Tatar Emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao was so stunned that he could only stare blankly. "No �� it''s not �� it''s not ��" he stammered.


    Gui Erniang tore open the envelope, took the letter out and looked at the strange drawing on the paper. She was puzzled. "Look at this!" she said, while handing it over to Gui Xinshu. "What is this?" she asked Wei Xiaobao.


    "I told him to go to the kitchen," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I am ordering some �� some �� some dumpling soup for the guests to eat, the small dumplings, not the big ones. I want some pattern to be carved on the dumplings. He �� he did not know what I mean, I drew some picture for him."


    Gui Xinshu and Gui Erniang nodded; their expressions softened. The drawing on the paper indeed looked like carving a pattern on the dumpling with a knife, so he was not trying to inform the Emperor at all.


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand to Zhang Yong and said, "Quickly go, quickly go!" Zhang Yong turned around and exited the study room. Wei Xiaobao said, "Tell them to prepare well, get more people, do it quickly! Everybody is going to eat soon, this is life-and-death situation, must not delay even for a moment." From the door Zhang Yong replied again.


    Gui Erniang said, "It''s just light refreshment, no need to rush. Wei Xiongdi, have you drawn the Imperial Palace map?"


    Wei Xiaobao took another sheet of gold-patterned jade edition notepaper, spread it on the desk, and handed the writing brush to Gui Erniang and said, "I tried drawing some, but it was not good. I''ll say, I''d better ask you to draw it."


    Gui Erniang received the brush, sat down, and said, "Very well. Please start."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that he had nothing to conceal, thereupon he started from Wu Men [Meridian Gate], to the north toward Jin Shui Qiao [Golden Water River Bridge]. Turning to the west, passing Hong Yi Ge [great/extensive righteousness pavilion (usually two-storied)], passing Tai He Dian [Hall of Supreme Harmony], Zhong He Dian [Hall of Central Harmony], Bao He Dian [Hall of Preserving Harmony], three main halls, passing Long Zong Men [grand ancestor gate] toward the imperial kitchen; Wei Xiaobao''s origin. From here to the east, passing Qian Qing Men, to Qian Qing Palace


    [7].


    And then turning toward Tai Dian [grand/safe/peaceful palace hall], Kun Ning Gong


    [8], Yu Huayuan [imperial (flower) garden], Qin An Dian [veneration safe/secure hall]; from the imperial kitchen going north was southern warehouse, Yang Xin Dian [Hall of Mental Cultivation], Yong Shou Gong [Palace of Eternal Longevity], Yi Kun Gong [respectable female (see note) palace], Ti He Dian [body/form harmony hall], Chu Xiu Gong [Palace of Gathering Elegance], Li Jing Xuan [beautiful bright pavilion], Shu Fang Zhai [rinsing fragrance study-room], Chong Hua Gong [repeated magnificent palace].


    From here southward was Xian Fu Gong [Palace of Universal Happiness], Chang Chun Gong [Palace of Eternal Spring (season)], Ti Yuan Dian [body/form origin/primary hall], Tai Ji Dian [supreme ultimate hall]. To the west was Yu Hua Ge [rain flower pavilion], Bao Hua Dian [magnificent guardian hall], Shou An Gong [long life safe/secure palace], Ying Hua Dian [brave magnificent hall].


    Turning south again was Xi San Suo [western three buildings], Shou Kang Gong [long life healthy palace], Ci Ning Gong [Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful], Ci Ning Huayuan [flower garden], Wu Ying Dian [Hall of Martial Valor]. Out of Wu Ying Men [Gate of Martial Valor], passing the bridge going east, passing Xi He Men [Gate of Prosperous Harmony], going back to Wu Men, was Zijincheng''s [Forbidden City] western half section.


    The Gui Family husband and wife listened as he rambled on for half a day, and only covered the western half section of the Imperial Palace. They could not even remember the names of ''gong dian ge lou'' [palace, hall, pavilion, two-storied buildings], hence they could not help but breaking in cold sweats. Gui Erniang dutifully wrote down the names of palaces and gates. Wei Xiaobao then talked about the palaces and gates of the eastern half section. Fortunately his memory was very good, plus he loved to play around everywhere in the Imperial Palace, hence he was very familiar with it.


    Gui Erniang wrote for quite a long time before she finally finished writing the position of the Imperial Palace''s Nine Inner Halls Forty-Eight Residences. She put down the writing brush, took a deep breath, smiled and said, "Sorry to bother Wei Xiongdi to explain everything this clearly. Thank you very much." When listening to Wei Xiaobao mentioning all the palaces and gates'' names and locations, she noticed that he was talking as if enumerating his own family''s valuables, without the slightest hesitation, hence she presumed that it was the truth. She thought that even if he wanted to fabricate fiction, he did not have that kind of ability.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is the price Gui Shaoye collected from winning the dice, you do not need to thank me." He also said, "The Emperor''s Imperial Bodyguards are usually waiting around the imperial sedan chair station by the Tong Hua Men [east magnificent gate], but now they are at war with Wu Sangui, the Tatar Emperor surely increases security. It may be assumed that in the Forbidden City''s forty-eight residences, there will be Imperial Bodyguards guarding inside." He thought, "I''d better warn them first, so that when Xiao Xuanzi receives my secret memorial and sends more guards, these three turtles will not suspect me of informing him."


    "That is only natural," Gui Erniang said.


    "Although there are a lot of Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace," Wei Xiaobao continued, "They are not martial art masters; only there are a lot of them. Manchu people''s archery skill is very formidable, but naturally the three of you do not care about it."


    "Thank you for the advice," Gui Erniang said, "We''ll take our leave now."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The three of you must eat some dumplings first, so that you will have the strength to work." Walking to the door, he said loudly, "Guards, send some refreshments here." The servant waiting outside the door responded loudly.


    "No need," Gui Erniang said. Taking her son''s hand, she exited the study room side-by-side with Gui Xinshu. Both husband and wife thought, "Most likely there will be some trick in your carved dumplings. Why would you carve something on dumplings? We fell into your trick once, we won''t fall the second time." In Wei Xiaobao''s mansion, these three people did not even drink half a sip of tea.


    Wei Xiaobao walked them out of the door; cupping his fist to bid them farewell, he said, "Junior''s eyes are looking towards the report of victory, my ears are waiting for good news."


    Gui Xinshu stretched out his hand toward the Chinese stone lion by the main gate, his palm struck the head of the lion, immediately fragments of stone swirled in the air. With a ''hey, hey'' cold laugh, he shook his sleeve and left.


    Wei Xiaobao stared blankly for half a day; he mused, "If that palm strikes laozi''s head, the feeling won''t be good at all. He is warning me not to spoil their important matter, otherwise he would strike me with his palm." Stretching out his hand, he also struck the lion''s head with his palm. "Ah!" he cried out, while jumping back; the hollow of his palm hurt really bad. The top of lion''s head was originally very smooth, but because of Gui Xinshu''s palm strike just now quite a bit of stone flaked out that it became jagged and sharp. Wei Xiaobao raised his hand to look at it under the lantern light, fortunately it was not bleeding of cuts.


    Returning to the eastern hall, he saw Chen Jinnan and the others were drinking wine. He reported to his Shifu that he had already explain the Forbidden City''s details to the Gui Family husband and wife, and he had just walked the three of them out. Chen Jinnan nodded and said with a sigh, "Even if the Gui Family husband and wife are able to assassinate the Tatar Emperor, I am afraid they won''t be coming back." The crowd of heroes drank their wine in silence, everybody was busy with their own thought. Occasionally someone would say something, but nobody responded.


    More than an hour later, someone outside the door said, "Reporting to Jueye: Zhang Tidu is seeking an audience."


    Wei Xiaobao was inwardly delighted; yet he said, "In the dead of the night, what urgent matter could it be? Tell him I am already asleep, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."


    "Yes," the man responded.


    Chen Jinnan said in a low voice, "Perhaps some news from the Palace; go and ask."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He went to the main hall and saw Zhao Liangdong, Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike, three men were standing in the main hall, their expressions showed that they were panic-stricken, but he did not see Zhang Yong. Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Where is Zhang Tidu?" he asked in a low voice.


    Wang Jinbao said, "Reporting to Daren: Something bad happened to Zhang Tidu, he collapsed outside the mansion''s gate, we brought him to the side room over there."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "How �� how did he collapse?" he asked, while rushing toward the side room. He saw Zhang Yong''s eyes were tightly closed, his countenance was deathly pale, the pit of his stomach was moving up and down incessantly. "Zhang Tidu, what happened to you?" Wei Xiaobao called out.


    Zhang Yong slowly opened his eyes, "Lowly �� lowly ��" he said. His eyes turned over and he fainted again. Wei Xiaobao busily reached out to feel his pocket, and found his own memorial was still there. He took out the envelope and sure enough it was his own ''mist-like pen stroke'' drawing; he could not help but groaning inwardly.


    Sun Sike said, "Just now the night patrol captain came to report that they found a military officer fainted on the curb several hundred steps outside the mansion gate. Someone went out to look, and recognized Zhang Tidu, hence they brought him back here. The blood on the back of Zhang Tidu''s head is already dry, apparently he has fainted for quite some time."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "He has been unconscious for a long time, the memorial has not been delivered, that means he met misfortune as soon as he was out of the mansion''s gate. Could it be that those three turtles sent people to set an ambush outside the mansion gate because they were afraid I might send someone to inform the Emperor, and thus they made their move against Zhang Tidu?" In his heart he was very anxious.


    By this time Zhang Yong had slowly regained his consciousness. Wang Jinbao busily raised the wine pot to let him drink several mouthful of Shaojiu [same as white wine]. Sun Sike and Zhao Liangdong used the Shaojiu to rub Zhang Yong''s palms. Zhang Yong''s spirit was somewhat aroused. "Lowly officer deserves to die," he said, "Just as I left the mansion gate �� not even �� several hundred steps, suddenly the pit of my stomach �� the pit of my stomach hurt like it was cut by a saber. I endured �� endured for several more steps, my eyes suddenly went black, I could not �� could not accomplish the task Daren entrusted to me. Lowly officer will immediately �� immediately go ��" While saying that, he propped himself, trying to get up.


    "Zhang Dage, please lie down to rest," Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Let these three gentlemen do it, it will be the same." Handing the memorial to Wang Jinbao, he ordered him and Zhao Liangdong and Su Sike, three men to contact the Imperial Bodyguards and rush to the Imperial Palace to submit the memorial. His heart was anxious, "Those three Guis have already left more than an hour ago, I am afraid Xiao Xuanzi''s life has already gone, we might as well give medicine to a dead horse." Wang Jinbao and the others, three men, received the order and left.


    Zhang Yong said, "That old fellow �� old fellow in Daren''s study room has a formidable martial art skill. As I walked out of the study room, he pushed lightly on my �� on my back �� (cough, cough). At that time I did not feel anything; who would have thought that I have already suffered internal injury. As soon as I left the mansion gate, it �� it flared out immediately �� I failed Daren''s important task ��"


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao understand that although Gui Xinshu saw the memorial was not a report to inform against them, he was still suspicious, hence he secretly dealt Zhang Yong a heavy hand, so that he would not be able to accomplish his mission. Seeing the ashamed look on Zhang Yong''s face, Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Zhang Dage, set your heart at ease and recuperate, I do not blame you the least bit. Damn it, that old turtle plotted against you, we cannot let it rest." After comforting Zhang Yong for a while, he ordered his personal guards to prepare some ginseng soup and summon the physician to treat his injury.


    Returning to the eastern hall, he said, "That was not news from the Palace. Zhang Tidu is heavily injured by Gui Er Ye, I am afraid his life can''t be guaranteed."


    Everybody was shocked. "Why did he injure Zhang Tidu?" they asked hastily.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Zhang Tidu was patrolling outside the mansion; seeing the three of them exited the mansion, he came forward to question them, Gui Er Ye then sent him a palm strike."


    Everyone nodded. They thought, "An ordinary military officer, how can he endure Shen Quan Wu Di''s little finger?"


    Wei Xiaobao was quite regretful, he mused, "If I had known that Zhang Tidu would fall into evil scheme and the memorial could not be delivered to Xiao Xuanzi, I should have not told them the Imperial Palace''s situation that clearly, I should have muddled east, south, west and north randomly. Laozi should move mountains and drain seas for them, changing the Huang Ji Dian to Shou An Gong, Zhong Hua Gong to Wen Hua Dian; let those three turtles wander around in the Imperial Palace, crawling confused and disoriented."


    They sat waiting; they heard the ''du di du tang tang tang tang'', signaling the fourth night watch period [1 �C 3am] from outside the hall. After a while, from the alley some distance away came the sound of barking dogs; they all sprang up while grabbing the hilt of their weapons. Bending their ear to listen attentively, they heard the barks continued for a while before gradually dying down.


    After a long while, a faint crow of a single rooster broke the quietness of the night, followed by roosters all around responded. From the lattice of the window they could see the faint streaks of dawn. "It''s daybreak," Wei Xiaobao said, "I must go to the Palace to ask around."


    Chen Jinnan said, "If the Gui Family, husband, wife and son, should meet misfortune and are defeated, you must find a way to save them. Wu Liuqi Dage''s affair was due to misunderstanding; we must not blame them indefinitely. We must attach most importance to virtuous cause and set aside personal matters. Their humiliation to us must not be taken too seriously."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu''s instruction, disciple will hold in high regard. It''s just that �� it''s just that if they have already killed the young Emperor, even if disciple stakes my little life, I won''t be able to help them out." Thinking that most probably by this time the young Emperor had been assassinated by the Gui Family''s three people, he could not stop grief from rising in his heart. Immediately his tears flowed, with a sob he said, "Poor Wu Dage ��" Seizing the opportunity, he broke into loud crying.


    Mu Jiansheng said, "Regardless of whether the Gui Family husband and wife are successful or fail, today Beijing will be in chaos. Xiongdi has quite a bit of friends outside, I must hurry up and go out to warn them to disperse and hide; after this storm is passed, we''ll talk again."


    "Definitely," Chen Jinnan said, "Quite a number of our humble Society brethren are also scattered throughout this city, everybody must go out separately to notify all Jianghu friends, we all must be a bit more careful, don''t invite any disaster. Tonight, early tenth hour [5-7 pm] we will meet here again to discuss what we are going to do next." Everybody agreed.


    Immediately four Tian Di Hui brothers were sent out first to go out and scout the situation; after they returned and reported that there was nothing unusual in that vicinity, they left the mansion in small groups.


    Wei Xiaobao also went out the door, as it happened, Sun Sike returned, reporting that the memorial had been handed over to the Imperial Bodyguards at the Palace gate. When the Captain of the Imperial Bodyguards heard that it was the Fu Zongguan [Deputy Chief] Wei Daren''s secret memorial, he received it at once and dashed in to present it to the Emperor. The three of them waited outside the Palace gate. Until the fifth drum strike, the Captain had not come out. At this moment Wang Jinbao and Zhao Liangdong, two men, were still waiting outside the Palace gate for the news. Afraid that Wei Xiaobao might be concerned over them, Sun Sike went back to report to him.


    "All right," Wei Xiaobao said, "You may go to take care of Zhang Tidu." Deeply worried and sick at heart, he ordered his personal guards to get the fake empress dowager Mao Dongzhu and put her in a small sedan chair and have her brought to the Palace to have an audience with the Emperor.


    Arriving at the Palace gate, he saw all around was quiet, about a dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards at the gate rushed forward to pay their respect; they all giggled and said, "Fu Zongguan must be exhausted. That place, Yangzhou, is very fun."


    Wei Xiaobao was relieved. He thought, "If the Palace is in great confusion, they would not be in the mood to chat about Yangzhou with me." He smiled and nodded his head. "These days," he asked, "Is everybody all right?"


    "Relying on Fu Zongguan''s good fortune, from top to bottom we are all safe and sound," an Imperial Bodyguard replied, "Only that old fellow Wu Sangui is rebelling, making His Majesty very busy. In the dead of the night he often summons cabinet minister to the Palace to discuss official business." Wei Xiaobao was even more relieved.


    Another Imperial Bodyguard said with a laugh, "With Zongguan Daren back in the Capital, you can help His Majesty handling important matter, His Majesty would have a bit more time for leisure."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You need not pat the horse''s butt. The stuff I brought back from Yangzhou, good Xiongdi all will have some share, nobody will be lacking." The Imperial Bodyguards were greatly delighted; they all paid their respect and expressed their gratitude.


    Pointing to the small sedan chair, Wei Xiaobao said, "That is the prisoner that the Empress Dowager and His Majesty personally wanted me to arrest. I want you to keep an eye on it."


    The attendants opened the sedan chair''s curtain to let the Imperial Bodyguards at the gate to search. The Imperial Bodyguards did their job by checking the sedan chair for any weapons or prohibited objects. They laughed and said, "Fu Zongguan Daren''s meritorious service this time is not small, we will be invited for a drink to congratulate your promotion."


    Wei Xiaobao entered the Palace. He inquired of the night guards of the Qian Qing Men, and was told that the Emperor was in conference with cabinet ministers at the Yang Xin Dian since the previous evening and had not withdrawn until now. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. He thought, "Turns out His Majesty was busy all night long and did not sleep. High-level meeting with cabinet ministers, naturally the security all around will be very tight. There were hundreds or thousands lanterns outside Yang Xin Dian, how could those three Gui Family turtles get near the Emperor? If Xiao Xuanzhi went to bed early, the lantern dark the fire black, I am afraid he might already meet calamity by now. It can clearly be seen that as the Emperor, indeed his flood of good fortune fills the heavens. Fortunately when that old fellow Wu Sangui went to war, he triumphed over the enemy, so that the Emperor is worried and he talked about it all night long."


    Arriving outside the Yang Xin Dian, he quietly stood to wait. Although he was the Emperor''s most favorite person, when the Emperor was talking about military and national affairs with princes and dukes, and cabinet ministers, he would not dare to come in without permission.


    After waiting for more than an hour, the night guards opened the door. He saw Prince Kang Giyesu, Ming Zhu, Songgotu, and the others came out one by one. When these high-rankings ministers saw Wei Xiaobao, they all smiled and cupped their fists in greeting, but nobody dared to say anything. The eunuch announced Wei Xiaobao''s arrival, Kangxi immediately summoned him for audience.


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed at the entrance of the Hall before standing up. Seeing Kangxi seated on the imperial throne and was in high spirits, Wei Xiaobao felt of burst of happiness. "Your Majesty," he said, "Your servant sees you, I �� I''m really happy." He was worried all night long; seeing Kangxi was safe and sound, he could not stop tears from flowing down his face.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "No wind no rain, why are you crying?"


    "It is tears of joy," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Seeing him revealing his real feeling, Kangxi laughed and said, "Very good, very good! That old fellow Wu Sangui really rises in rebellion. He attacked and snatched several victories; he thought I would be afraid to see him and would not dare to kill his son. Damn it, yesterday laozi chopped Wu Yingxiong''s head."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "Your Majesty has killed Wu Yingxiong?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Kangxi replied, "All ministers advised me against killing Wu Yingxiong, they said something like if the kingdom and troops are at disadvantage, we can still have peace talks with Wu Sangui, allowing him not to remove border defense and station him in Yunnan forever. They also said that as soon as we kill Wu Yingxiong, Wu Sangui will not have any apprehension anymore, and will be even more vicious. Pei! Those cowards."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty is brave and decisive. Your servant has watched the opera ''Distinguished Gathering'', in which Zhou Yu and Lu Su told Sun Quan that as ministers they could surrender to Cao Cao, but the Lord and Master must not surrender. Today we are in similar situation, they, as princes, dukes and cabinet ministers are reaching out to Wu Sangui to have peace talks, Your Majesty must absolutely not have any peace talks."


    Kangxi was greatly delighted; he slapped the table and got off from his seat. "Xiao Guizi," he said, "If you had arrived one day earlier, you could have explained that argument to the ministers, and then they would not dare to advise me to have peace talks. Humph, if they surrendered to Wu Sangui, they would still be ministers and generals, what advantage would they have?" He thought that although Wei Xiaobao was without learning or skills, he did not appear to be similar to those ministers who harbored selfish motives and only thought about their own selves.


    Pulling Wei Xiaobao''s hand, Kangxi took him to a large table with a large map spread on it. Pointing to the map, Kangxi said, "I have sent people to lead the elite troops, to guard all the way from Jingzhou [prefecture, Hubei] to Changde [prefecture, Hunan], all the way from Wuchang [district, Hubei] to Yuezhou [not sure where]; I''ve appointed Shun Cheng Jun Wang [king/prince, not of royal blood] Lei''erjin as the Great General Ning Nan Jing Kou [pacify the south quieting the bandit/enemy] to lead all the generals in destroying the enemy. Just now I also appointed Ministry of Justice Shangshu [dept. head] Moluo as Jinglue


    [9] to be stationed and defend Xi''an. Even if Wu Sangui obtained Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and attack Hunan, we won''t be afraid of him."


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please also send your servant to lead troops to deal with that old fellow Wu Sangui!"


    Kangxi laughed; he shook his head and said, "Marching to war is not for entertainment. You''d better stay in the Palace to accompany me. Besides, this time the ones I am sending out are all Manchu generals Manchu troops; I am afraid they won''t have you rule over them."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said. In his heart he thought, "Wu Sangui wanted the Han people all over the world to rise against the Tatars. I am a fake Manchu man, naturally His Majesty does not trust me."


    Kangxi could read his mind, he said, "You are loyal and devoted to me, it''s not that I do not trust you. Xiao Guizi, Wu Sangui''s troops and horses are very formidable, not in three or five years, or even seven or eight years, will we be able to subdue him. A few years ahead of us we will definitely suffer defeat. This is going to be a hard battle, we will taste bitter first and sweet later, defeat first victory later. Do you prefer defeat, or do you prefer victory?"


    "Naturally I love victory," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Throwing helmet dumping armor, fleeing in confusion, that won''t taste too good!"


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You are loyal to me, I won''t let you suffer defeat. The defeat in the three to five years ahead of us is just to let others fight and fight. When we have tired out that rebel Wu until his spirit weary, his strength exhausted, the general situation has been decided, then I''ll send you out to Yunnan to personally catch this old fellow away. Do you know what will my imperial edict about this rebellion be?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said, "Your Majesty''s benevolence is indeed as high as the heavens and as thick as the earth."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "I will proclaim it to the world, I will promise that whoever catches Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui''s official rank will be granted to him. Xiao Guizi, this will depend on your good fortune. Damn it, with your revolting behavior, do you think you can act like Ping Xi Wang? Ha ha, ha ha!" He cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao for a moment before laughing and saying, "Nowadays you look like a little monkey, so you won''t look like him the least bit. But in six or seven years, you will be over twenty, at that time you will be granted the title ''Wang'' [king], I am afraid you will be a bit off the chart. Ha ha ��"


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Ping Xi Qin Wang or whatever high-level title he has, I am afraid your servant will not have such good fortune to deserve it. But if Your Majesty would appoint me a great general, leading troops to Yunnan to catch Wu Sangui, the great general''s awe-inspiring authority resounds to eight direction, your servant will have a zhang-long eight-serpent spear in my hand as I shouted loudly, ''Wu Sangui, come out to surrender your name!'' It would be extremely awesome. Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, Wu Sangui did not die early on, your servant will personally bring him over to kneel in here and kowtow to Your Majesty."


    Kangxi laughed. "Very good, very good!" he said. Instantly his face grew serious as he said, "Xiao Guizi, the first few years of war ahead of us will be very difficult. Defeat in battle is not a big deal, but even if we are defeated, we must not be in disarray. We need generals of great talent to endure defeat without being thrown in confusion, to be able to stand his ground. You are a good-luck general, not a brave general or famous general, and definitely not a great general. Ay, it''s a pity that the imperial court does not have any great generals."


    "But Your Majesty, you are a great general yourself," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty already knew that in the few years ahead of us we will suffer defeat, yet even though defeated, definitely we will not be in disarray. Just like playing Pai Jiu [pai-gow], Your Majesty is the banker, you pay him seven or eight losses, you do not give it a damn. Our capital is abundant, a stone tablet is erected on Mount Tai to ward off evil spirit, we keep our composure, losing some money is just lending it to him. Later on, we will get the harmony pair [pair of ones and threes], man pair [all four], earth pair [all ones], heaven pair [all sixes], all the way to supreme pair [one, two, two, four]; pair by pair we beat him up, until we eat ''em all, kill ''em all, throwing that old fellow Wu Sangui''s men face up and their horses belly up, that he will be completely routed, completely empty-handed, his pocket inside out, his tiles [cards] are all turned up, each pair he has is a departing ten."


    Kangxi roared in laughter; he thought, "There is no great general in the imperial court, but I am a great general; he was right. These eight words ''enduring defeat without being thrown in confusion, maintaining our composure'' [sui bai bu luan, chen de shu qi], aside from myself, no other commander-in-chief or high-ranking minister in the imperial court is able to achieve." From the imperial table he picked up the secret memorial Wei Xiaobao presented to him. "You said some people are going to assassinate me, and you wanted me to be careful and be on guard?" he asked.


    "Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "At that time the situation was urgent; your servant was under other people''s eyes, I could not summon the secretary to write it, without any other choice I drew this picture. Your Majesty is very intelligent, just one look and you understood. Those assassins looked on helplessly, and still did not understand its meaning. The Lord of Ten Thousand Years'' flood of good fortune fills the heavens, rebels and traitors trying to scheme against you in vain."


    Kangxi asked, "What kind of renegade are they?"


    "They were sent to the Capital by Wu Sangui," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Kangxi nodded. "As soon as rebel Wu deployed troops, I tripled the imperial bodyguards. When I received your memorial last night, I added the night guards."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This time Wu Sangui sends assassins with really high martial art skill. Although the Holy Son of Heaven has a hundred deities to protect and bless, still we must be doubly careful, so that Your Majesty will not be frightened." Suddenly he remembered something, "Your Majesty," he said, "Your servant have a treasured vest, when worn on the body, swords and spears cannot penetrate. Your servant will take it off and ask Your Majesty to wear it." While saying that, he unbuttoned his long robe.


    Kangxi smiled, "You took it from Oboi''s house, didn''t you?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; although his face was really thick, but caught completely off guard this time, unexpectedly his face turned bulging red. He dropped on his knees and said, "Your servant deserves to die, nothing can be concealed from Your Majesty."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "This gold-silk vest was obtained from the previous Ming''s Palace, at that time Oboi rendered a lot of meritorious service; he charged and broke through enemy lines, hence the injuries from saber, spears, arrows and rocks he received were quite a few. For this reason the former Regent bestowed this vest to him. When I sent you to search and seize Oboi''s house that time, this vest is not listed among the confiscated items."


    Wei Xiaobao could only giggle nervously, his expression looked very awkward. Kangxi laughed and said, "Today you want to take it off and give it to me to wear, it goes to show that you have an outstandingly loyal heart. But I am in the Palace, with Imperial Bodyguard numbers in hundreds and thousands, even the assassins would not be able to get close to me. I have no need of this vest. You are outside, working for me, oftentimes you encounter dangers. Just consider I give this vest to you today. From this day onward, this stealing is excused."


    "Xiao Guizi," Kangxi said, "You are loyal to me, and I know that. But you should handle the matters following the rules and regulations. The vest that you are wearing right now, supposing in the future someone else is sent to search and confiscate your possession, and then that person secretly embezzles it, that won''t be good."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant will not dare anymore." The sweats on his forehead dripped down as he kowtowed several more times before standing up.


    Kangxi said, "The business in Yangzhou, you may return someday." Finished speaking, he yawned. He did not sleep the whole night, naturally he was very tired.


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Relying on Empress Dowager and Your Majesty''s good fortune, your servant has arrested that old wh0re whose crime is great, her evil extreme."


    As soon as Kangxi heard this, he cried out, "Quickly bring her in, quickly bring her in."


    Wei Xiaobao went out and ordered four guards to have Mao Dongzhu brought into the Hall, and have her kneeled in front of Kangxi. Kangxi walked over to her and shouted, "Look up!"


    Mao Dongzhu hesitated, then lifted her head, fixing her gaze on Kangxi. Seeing her deathly pale countenance, Kangxi was suddenly overwhelmed with grief, "This woman murdered my birth mother, grieved Fu Huang''s heart [father emperor] that he left home to become a monk, making me an orphan without father and mother. She also imprisoned Empress Dowager for many years and tortured her. Among those with great crime and extreme evil in the world, really nobody has surpassed her. But �� but �� I lost my mother when I was a baby, all along she was the one who raised me. Over the last few years, she actually treated me with bestowed kindness, just like if she was my own mother. Deep in the Palace, those who genuinely care about me, I am afraid only this woman in front of me, and this crafty troublemaker Xiao Guizi."


    In the deepest part of his heart he had an indistinct feeling, "If not for her assassinating Consort Donggo and Consort Donggo''s son Prince Rong, based on how deeply Fu Huang doted on Consort Donggo, the throne would definitely be passed on to Prince Rong. Not only I would not be the Emperor, perhaps I should be worried over my life. That being said, I can say that this woman has rendered me a meritorious service."


    A few years ago, Kangxi was still very young, he always thought that the thing he hated the most was losing his father and mother. But for the last few years, his personal political power had grown, he was fully aware that if someone else seized the throne from him, everything would be lost. In the deepest part of his heart, the imperial power of being the Emperor was heavier than the love of his father and mother. It''s just that obviously he must not declare this feeling publicly, that even when in his heart he was thinking about it, he would inevitably feel very guilty.


    Seeing Kangxi''s expression was changing indeterminably, Mao Dongzhu sighed and slowly said, "Wu Sangui is rebelling, Your Majesty must not be too anxious; you must take a good care of yourself. Do you still take Fu Ling Swallow Nest soup every morning?"


    Kangxi was still lost in his thought; hearing her question, he absentmindedly replied, "Yes, I still take it every day."


    Mao Dongzhu said, "The sins I have committed are too big, you �� please kill me with your own hands."


    A burst of sadness filled Kangxi''s heart. Shaking his head, he said to Wei Xiaobao, "Take her to Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to have an audience with Empress Dowager, tell her that I am asking the Holy Sage Empress Dowager to decide on how to deal with the offender."


    Wei Xiaobao bent his right knee and complied, "Cha!"


    Waving his hand, Kangxi said, "You may go."


    From his pocket Wei Xiaobao took out Galdan and Sangjie''s two memorials. Taking two steps forward, he presented the memorials with both hands and said, "Congratulations Your Majesty, Tibetan and Mongolian troops and horses are turning their backs against Wu Sangui, they are determined to strive for Your Majesty."


    For the last several days Kangxi was moving an army and sending a general, he always had deep worry in his heart that Mongolia and Tibet''s military forces would respond to Wu Sangui''s rebellion. Hearing what Wei Xiaobao had just said, he could not help but was pleasantly surprised. "Is there such thing?" he asked.


    Opening the envelope, he read the memorials, and was even more overjoyed at the unexpected good news. Waving his hand he ordered the Imperial Bodyguard to take Mao Dongzhu out of the Hall first, and then he asked Wei Xiaobao, "These two great services, how did you do it? Damn it, you are indeed a great good-luck general."


    By that time, Tibet and Mongolia, two places'' military power was considerably strong. Kangxi was aware than Sangjie and Galdan secretly colluded with Wu Sangui; hence he had already deployed massive military force in preparation to face these two fronts. Now that he saw that the wording in the memorials was deferent and sincere, and offered to be a strong support to suppress Wu Sangui instead, how could he not be overjoyed? It''s just that this turn of events was too abrupt that momentarily he could not believe it as the truth.


    Wei Xiaobao knew that whenever the young Emperor used the phrase ''damn it'' to him, it meant that the dragon heart was very happy; with a giggle he said, "Because of Your Majesty''s flood of good fortune, your servant has sworn brotherhood with them. Great Lama Sangjie is Dage [first brother], Prince Galdan is Erge [second], your servant is Sandi [third (younger) brother]."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "You really possess great magical power. For them to agree to help me beat Wu Sangui, what benefit have your promised them?"


    Kangxi roared in laughter. "Zhengge''erhao?" he asked, "Ah, right, he must want to be Zhun''ga''er''han [Dzungar Khan]. These two matters are not difficult; it won''t cost the imperial court anything. When the moment comes, I''ll write an imperial order while building imperial treasure, sending you as the Imperial Envoy Minister to announce the decree. Go tell your Dage and Erge that if they really strive for me, just consider that I agree to grant them the desire of their heart. But they must not be two-faced, three-knives [i.e. double-cross/back stabbing]; their mouth says one thing, their conduct says another, seeing the wind and set the helm, seeing which side has the upper hand and helps that side."


    "Your Majesty is right," Wei Xiaobao said, "These two sworn brothers of mine, their moral standing is not particularly brilliant. Your Majesty cannot trust them completely; we must put our guard up a little. As Your Majesty said, in the years ahead we will suffer some defeat, we must guard against not only they do not help the banker, they are helping the opponent instead, and place their bets on the Heaven Gate." He thought that it would be better for him to speak in advance, lest the responsibility he bore would be too big.


    Kangxi nodded and said, "You are right. But we are not afraid; if they dare to attack, Heaven Gate, left Green Dragon, right White Tiger, we will eat ''em all!"


    Wei Xiaobao burst into loud laughter; he was quite impressed. Turned out the Emperor was adept at playing Pai Jiu.


    (Book note: Later on Galdan and Sangjie separately rose in rebellion, and were separately suppressed by Kangxi. Galdan died in Kangxi''s thirty-six year, Sangjie died in Kangxi''s forty-forth year.)


    With Mao Dongzhu in custody, Wei Xiaobao went to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to see the Empress Dowager. The eunuch passed on the decree, ordering Wei Xiaobao to bring the offender to the throne inside. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Formerly I was a eunuch, hence I could enter the Empress Dowager''s bedroom [orig. palace hall to lie down]. But now I am a high-ranking officer, why would she want me to enter the bedroom? Perhaps when Empress Dowager heard that the old wh0re has been caught, she is so happy that she forgot that I am not a eunuch anymore." Thereupon with four eunuchs holding Mao Dongzhu, he went in.


    The bedroom was pitch-black, just like when the fake Empress Dowager was still living there. The Empress Dowager sat on the bedside, behind her the bed curtain was drooping down. Wei Xiaobao kneeled down and kowtowed, respectfully wishing the Holy Sage well. The Empress Dowager glanced at Mao Dongzhu, nodded, and said, "You have arrested the offender to the throne. Hmm, you may go!" Wei Xiaobao kowtowed again before withdrawing, leaving Mao Dongzhu in the bedroom.


    While walking out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, his heart was discontented, "I caught the Old Wh0re, rendering a great merit, but Empress Dowager did not appear to be happy at all, she did not even say half a sentence of praise. His granny, whoever lives in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful is a female b@stard; doesn''t matter if it was the real Empress Dowager or the fake Empress Dowager, they are all old wh0res."


    With a bellyful cursing and swearing he walked through the stone path of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful flower garden. While passing by the side of a rockery, suddenly a shadow flashed, three people jumped out from behind the rockery, one of them reached out and grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s left hand, and said with a laugh, "How are you?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; it was an old eunuch. He was about to ask sternly when he saw clearly that the old eunuch was actually Gui Erniang. His shock was no small matter; when he looked at the other two people by her side, he was not surprised to see Gui Xinshu and Gui Zhong, both were wearing night guard uniform. Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "Turns out the three of you are hiding in here."


    Since his left hand was grabbed by Gui Erniang, half of his body was hurting and numb. He knew that if he made the slightest noise, Gui Xinshu would lightly strike him with his palm, his head would immediately shatter into pieces, remembering that his head can''t possibly be harder than the stone lion''s head at the gate of his Earl Mansion. With a forced laugh he said, "Are you, Senior, well?" while his mind was thinking of a plan to escape.


    Gui Erniang said in a low voice, "Tell them not to move from here, I have something to say."


    Wei Xiaobao did not dare to disobey; turning his head around, he ordered the several Imperial Bodyguards who followed behind him, "You wait for me here."


    Pulling his hand along, Gui Erniang took several dozen steps forward and said in a low voice, "Take us to find the Emperor."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The three of you have arrived last night, why haven''t you found the Emperor?"


    Gui Erniang said, "We asked several eunuchs and Imperial Bodyguards, they all said that the Emperor was in a meeting with the cabinet ministers; he did not sleep all night. We had no way of coming in, hence we could not make our move."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now I was thinking of seeing the Emperor myself, I wanted to inquire what has happened to the three of you, but the Emperor has gone to bed, I could not see him. The three of you have put on your disguise, nothing can be better than that. Let us go out of the Palace."


    Gui Erniang said, "We have not accomplished our mission, why would you want to get out of the Palace?"


    "You can''t do it during the day," Wei Xiaobao said, "If the three of you wish, there is no harm in coming again tonight to give it another try."


    "We came in with great difficulty," Gui Erniang said, "Before the important matter is accomplished, we won''t go out. Quickly take us to wherever he is sleeping."


    "I don''t know where he is sleeping either," Wei Xiaobao said, "I must find a eunuch and ask."


    "I won''t allow you to talk to anybody!" Gui Erniang said, "A moment ago you said you were going to see the Emperor, how could you not know where he is sleeping? Humph, you are thinking of playing trick in front of laoniang? That won''t be easy." While saying that, her fingers tightened. Wei Xiaobao felt the pain was penetrating his bones, he felt like his five fingers were about to snap; he could not help making a loud grunt.


    Gui Xinshu reached out to stroke the top of his head gently. "Very good!" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao knew he was incapable of disobeying them; he had an idea, "I''ll take them to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, make a big fuss for a while, the young Emperor will hear it and will increase the guard. If they make their move by killing the Empress Dowager, it''s none of my business." Thereupon he said, "I have just walked out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful; perhaps the Emperor is seeing the Empress Dowager to pay his respect. Let us go back to look."


    Gui Erniang did see him walking out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, so he was not lying. She said, "Since the three of us are already inside the Palace, we are not thinking of coming out alive. If you make the slightest wrong move, I don''t have any choice but to take your little life. The four of us will go together to see Yan Wang [King of Hell], our journey will not be lonesome. My child would be very happy to have you as company."


    With a forced laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s no harm in accompanying you; let us spread out in the imperial garden! I''ll say we don''t have to take that journey to the underworld."


    Gui Erniang said, "Do you like to go to see Yan Wang, or to see the Tatar Emperor? You will have to see either one of these two fellows today."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Alright, let''s see the Tatar Emperor then. But I want to be clear, as soon as you see the Emperor, the three of you do whatever you want to do, I will not help you."


    "Who needs your help?" Gui Erniang said, "As long as you take us to see the Emperor, I will immediately let you go. What happens afterward won''t have anything to do with you."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "So be it."


    Coerced by the three people, Wei Xiaobao went back to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Seeing the peacocks and red-crowned cranes, Gui Zhong was very fascinated. Wei Xiaobao pointed this and that and chatted with him incessantly, he was hoping to stall as long as possible. Although Gui Erniang was impatient, thinking that her child was sick all his life, and that he would not live for too much longer, in the death''s door he was having a little bit of fun, she could not bear to hinder his keen interest.


    From a distance they saw a group of people coming out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, carrying two sedan chairs. With one hand pulling Wei Xiaobao and the other hand pulling her child, Gui Erniang ducked behind peony flower terrace. Gui Xinshu hid by her side.


    The party gradually came near. Wei Xiaobao saw the one at the front was the eunuch from the Empress Dowager''s room; the two sedan chairs followed behind him, one belonged to the First Imperial Concubine, the other one belonged to the Empress Dowager. Each sedan chair had several eunuchs carried the sedan chair poles, behind the sedan chairs there were eunuchs holding up large yellow gauze umbrellas. At the end of the procession there were several dozen eunuchs and palace maids, plus about a dozen night guards. Usually when the Empress Dowager was traveling within the Palace, she did not have any Imperial Bodyguards to escort her. It may be assumed that ever since the Emperor received his information, he increased the number of Imperial Bodyguards on duty. A bright idea suddenly occurred; he said in a low voice, "Careful! The one inside the sedan chair in the front is the Tatar Emperor, the sedan chair behind it carries the Empress Dowager."


    The Gui Family husband and wife saw the pomp and the prestige of this procession, plus they were coming out of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, it was only natural that they were the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. They could not refrain their hearts from beating faster, both looked at their child at the same time with tender expression.


    "Child," Gui Erniang said in a low voice, "The one sitting inside the sedan chair in the front is the Emperor. When they come near, I will say ''go!'' the three of us will attack together and beat him rotten!"


    Gui Zhong laughed and said, "Alright, this will be fun!"


    The two sedan chairs were coming nearer and nearer. Wei Xiaobao''s palms were wet with perspiration. His ear heard the eunuch from the Empress Dowager''s room calling out incessantly, "Chi! Chi! Chi!" telling people to get out of the way.


    In a low voice Gui Erniang commanded, "Go!" The three of them simultaneously charged forward.


    These three people''s power and speed were extraordinary, they arrived like unexpected storm. ''Bang!'' three people, six palms, struck together on the first sedan chair. Gui Xinshu and Gui Erniang were afraid their strike did not kill the Emperor, immediately they pulled the swords from their waists and stabbed forward. In an instant the swords were thrust into the sedan chair four, five times. Each time the swords were pulled, the blades were dripping with blood, even if the person in the sedan chair had ten lives, all ten lives would be gone.


    The escorting Imperial Bodyguards were greatly shocked; they shouted and yelled and pulled out their weapons to charge forward.


    Gui Erniang called out, "Success!" With her left hand she pulled her child and dashed to the north. Brandishing the sword in his hand, Gui Xinshu charged ahead to open the path; how could the Imperial Bodyguards stop him? They saw the three of them ran along the path in the flower garden west of Shou Kang Palace.


    The palace maids and eunuchs were shouting and screaming; it was a total chaos. From all directions came the sound of gongs, hundreds or thousands doors in the Palace were shut and bolted, the night guards and the Imperial Bodyguards quickly blocked all major access in and out of the Palace. Inside and outside the Palace wall, the officers and men of the three banners'' guard battalions, the Vanguard Battalion and the Valiant Cavalry Battalion formed layer after layer of defense with strung bows and unsheathed sabers.


    Wei Xiaobao was very happy to see the three people of the Gui Family had assassinated the First Imperial Concubine, how they were thinking that they had succeeded, and how they had escaped. Immediately he leaped out from behind the flower terrace and shouted loudly, "We must not panic, protecting the Empress Dowager is more important!"


    The Imperial Bodyguards were in confusion just like a housefly without a head; seeing Wei Xiaobao suddenly appeared and took command, their confidence returned. Wei Xiaobao barked his order again, "Everybody surround the Empress Dowager''s imperial sedan chair, if other assassin comes to assault, we must stake our lives to block!"


    The crowd of Imperial Bodyguards complied in chorus, "We receive the order!"


    Wei Xiaobao snatched a saber from a guard, he raised it high and said in a loud voice, "Today we display utter loyalty in dedicating ourselves to the service of our country, we fight to the death for the Empress Dowager, for the First Imperial Concubine; even a thousand or ten thousand assassins, everybody must protect the Empress Dowager''s holy self!"


    Again the crowd of Imperial Bodyguards complied in chorus, "We receive the order!" They saw the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards, the Bojue Daren''s [Earl] awe-inspiring presence, how he took command with confidence, his loyalty and devotion, viewing death as a return home, none did not admire him from the bottom of their hearts. They all thought, "Although he is young, he is actually a cut above the others!" About a dozen Imperial Bodyguards formed a fence around the Empress Dowager''s imperial sedan chair.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted to the crowd of eunuchs and palace maids, "What are you panicking for? Quickly form another circle outside to protect the Empress Dowager. If the assassin attacked, let him chop your people of little value''s heads first."


    The crowd of eunuchs and palace maids thought that although their heads were of little value, but they were not too willing to have it randomly chopped by others. However, seeing Wei Xiaobao brandishing his saber with imposing expression, nobody dared to disobey; trembling with fear, they had no choice but to form another circle outside the circle of Imperial Bodyguards. Several of them were so scared that they peed in their pants.


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao put down his saber and walked over to the Empress Dowager''s imperial sedan chair. He said, "Your servant Wei Xiaobao was too late to save your highness, and has alarmed the Empress Dowager''s holy self. I respectfully wish the Empress Dowager holy peace, the assassin has already killed and retreated."


    From inside the sedan chair the Empress Dowager said, "Very good!"


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to lift open the corner of the sedan chair''s curtain, he saw the Empress Dowager''s pale countenance, but she was smiling wide while nodding her head repeatedly. "Wei Xiaobao," she said, "You are very good, very good! You saved me once again."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Empress Dowager has ten thousand good fortunes and holy peace, your servant is extremely delighted," and he gently lowered the sedan chair''s curtain.


    Turning around, he pointed to two Imperial Bodyguards and said, "Quickly go to report to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager''s holy self is safe and sound, ask His Majesty not to worry. Tell him his servant Wei Xiaobao is wishing His Majesty holy peace. Summoning courage and determination, all the Imperial Bodyguards are protecting the holy selves; the assassins have attacked and retreated." The two Imperial Bodyguards received the order and left.


    Suddenly he heard Empress Dowager called in low voice, "Wei Xiaobao!"


    "Cha!" Wei Xiaobao responded, "Your servant is here."


    The Empress Dowager asked in low voice, "Are the two people inside the sedan chair in the front dead?"


    "Two people?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The Empress Dowager said, "Go look, be careful."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He was greatly baffled, "How could there be two people there? Why must I be careful?" He walked over to the first sedan chair, lifted up the sedan chair''s curtain, "Ah!" he could not help crying out; dropping down the curtain, he took several steps back. His knees went weak; he nearly fell down on his buttocks.


    The sedan chair was bloody and in such a mess; indeed there were two dead people inside! The two bodies had several sword cuts and blood was still flowing out of the wounds. One was the fake Empress Dowager Mao Dongzhu, the other was a short and fat man, his five sense organs were crushed by the palm strikes, but looking at his stature, there was no doubt that he was Thin Toutuo. These two people died in each other''s arms.


    He was not surprised to see Mao Dongzhu died in the sedan chair, it was he himself who held her in custody and brought her to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and handed her over to the Empress Dowager; but where did this Thin Toutuo come from? These two people unexpectedly sat inside the First Imperial Concubine''s sedan chair, accompanied by the Empress Dowager; but where were they going?


    After calming himself down, he returned to the Empress Dowager''s sedan chair and said in a low voice, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager: those two people are dead, they are dead in a confused heap, so dead that they could not be even more dead."


    The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "Very good! Let us go back to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Bring the other sedan chair as well, don''t let anybody open it and look inside."


    Wei Xiaobao complied; he passed on the order, and personally escorted the Empress Dowager''s imperial sedan chair back to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. He opened the curtain of the sedan chair and helped the Empress Dowager out. The Empress Dowager smiled to him again and said, "You are very good!"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled in return, but in his heart he was wondering, "What''s so good about me? Although the Empress Dowager is not young anymore, her appearance is extraordinarily beautiful."


    The Empress Dowager beckoned to him, telling him to follow her into the bedroom. She ordered the palace maids and the eunuchs to leave, and told Wei Xiaobao to close the door. Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping, he could not stop his face from blushing. "Aiyo," he groaned inwardly, "It''s desperately serious! The Empress Dowager continuously praised me very good, could it be that she wanted me to be Lao Huangye''s [old master Emperor] substitute? The fake Empress Dowager had a Shige who dressed as a palace maid; she also had Thin Toutuo inside her quilt. If this real Empress Dowager also wanted me to dress as a palace maid or squeeze into her quilt, what should I do?"


    The Empress Dowager sat on the edge of the bed, she was lost in thought for a half a day before saying, "That was really dangerous; and it all depended on you exerting yourself."


    "Your servant has received Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s great kindness," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if my body is torn and my bones crushed I cannot repay it."


    The Empress Dowager nodded her head and said, "You are very loyal. His Majesty employs you, it is also our good fortune."


    "That is by Empress Dowager and His Majesty''s grace," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant only know how to display utter loyalty and strive for the sake of my masters." While in his heart he said, "Jade Emperor, Guanyin Pusa, please bless and protect me, please don''t let her tell me to dress as a palace maid."


    The Empress Dowager smiled at him again; this smile made all the hair on Wei Xiaobao''s body stood up. He heard her say, "Take those two dead offenders to the throne, along with the sedan chair, and burn them all. Do not leak this matter even for half a sentence. The Imperial Bodyguards, palace maids and eunuchs who were present just now ��" Speaking to here, she hesitated and did not continue.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "May Empress Dowager has holy peace. Your servant has a way to make them not dare to even let out half a fart."


    Hearing Wei Xiaobao''s vulgarity, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly; she said, "Just finish the task well; it will be for your own benefit."


    Wei Xiaobao paid his respect and said, "Your servant will do it attentively. If anybody dares to leak the least bit of rumor, Empress Dowager can have your servant''s head."


    "Then I will feel relieved," the Empress Dowager said, "You may go!"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he kowtowed and withdrew.


    As he exited the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, he saw Kangxi''s imperial sedan chair was coming this way; several hundred night guards accompanied him in front, behind, left and right of the sedan chair. The security was several times tighter than normal. Wei Xiaobao stepped aside and waited. From inside the sedan chair Kangxi saw him. "Xiao Guizi," he called out, "Wait for me here."


    Wei Xiaobao complied. He knew Kangxi must be going to pay his respect to the Empress Dowager. He thought hard, "How could Thin Toutuo hide inside the First Imperial Concubine''s sedan chair? This is really strange!"

 Chapter - 44 (44)

    The body becomes like red cloud that always stay close to the sun, the heart follows green jade grass facing the wind.


    Kangxi went out from the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. Wei Xiaobao followed him back to Yang Xin Dian [Nurturing Heart Palace Hall], and waited outside to hall to be summoned. After waiting for a long time he saw the Vanguard Battalion Commander Ajichi came out of the Hall. Wei Xiaobao thought, "His Majesty must be mobilizing the Vanguard Battalion to intensify the guard against the assassins." And then a eunuch came out to summon Wei Xiaobao.


    Kangxi dismissed the Imperial Bodyguards and the eunuchs, and ordered Wei Xiaobao to close the Hall''s door. With knitted brows Kangxi paced back and forth in the Hall. It looked as if he had a difficult problem but was not sure how to deal with it. Seeing Kangxi like that, Wei Xiaobao was quite anxious and scared. The young Emperor was growing older, his power and influence was flourishing more and more by the day. For each time Wei Xiaobao saw him, he always felt that their closeness decreased by one part, while the fear toward him increased by one part; they were no longer the same boys who wrestled each other absolutely unrestrained.


    After a while, Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, there is one thing, but I don''t know what to do."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty is intelligent and wise, even Zhuge Liang would step down gracefully to you. Your idea must be brilliant."


    "This time even Zhuge Liang would be at a loss," Kangxi said, "You have rendered three great merits, yet I have rewarded you not a single thing. Capturing Mao Dongzhu is the first merit. Talking to Mongolia and Tibet that the two military forces surrender to us is the second merit. Just now you sent people to kill the rebel thief and saved the Empress Dowager is the third merit. You are very young, yet you are already bestowed the title Bojue [Earl]; I can''t grant you the title Wang [King]!" At this point he burst into loud laughter.


    Only then did Wei Xiaobao know that the Emperor was joking with him; he said happily, "These several merits are due to the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty''s flood of good fortunes, all merits are Your Majesty''s own meritorious service. Too bad Your Majesty cannot promote your own official rank; otherwise, Your Majesty should promote yourself three grades at once."


    Kangxi laughed. "Suffer what loss?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "After defeating and pacifying Wu Sangui, Your Majesty will greatly rewarded the ministers who have given outstanding service, the three armies; everybody will be promoted and gain wealth. Not only Your Majesty yourself will not be promoted, you will have to open wide the coffer instead; glistening yellow gold, shining white silver, will have to be carted out and spent; won''t that mean you will suffer financial loss?"


    Kangxi laughed. "You are unlearned, and don''t have any future prospect," he said, "After sweeping away the rebel Wu, the whole world at peace, common people live in harmony and work happily; that will be your lord''s promotion and gain."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said.


    Kangxi continued, "However, after the rebel Wu is wiped out, the ministers will definitely want to propose a title. This kind of ''boot-licking the big king'' is not something that Zhen wants to waste my time worrying about right now. When the task is successfully accomplished, they will come together to bootlick big time."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty has foresight of everything. When that time comes, we will quietly see which ministers will propose some honorific title for Your Majesty, who will bootlick the big king."


    Kangxi laughed. "Right!" he said, "At that time laozi will kick some damn dogs'' butt." Both the lord and his minister burst out in loud laughter.


    Indeed it happened as Kangxi had expected; as soon as Wu Sangui was subdued, the ministers immediately proposed honorific title, sang Kangxi''s praises, and bootlicked him big time. Kangxi issued an imperial edict: "Although the traitor has been subdued, the wound has not been healed; the ruler and his ministers should rebuild the country, give relief to the troops and support the people, spreading encouragement, in integrity restoring the affairs to its former condition, together delivering peace and security. If the mission is believed to be satisfied with achievements and virtue, honorific title will be granted; excessive request of grace is very shameful."


    The wording of the edict was very stern, but the ministers still did not understand, they thought Kangxi was only pretending to decline, hence they submit the proposal again. Kangxi issued another decree: "Since childhood Zhen has read books, and is aware of the ancient rulers'' conduct, from the beginning to the end very few have been able to escape from this narrow way of life, and I have always tried to guard against it. For fear that several affairs might be neglected, I exercise restrain to the end, eat late and get up early, in vast coldness and flourishing heat, do not dare to neglect. Occasionally feel unwell, also make an effort to go out and head and decide. In the middle of the night several proper memorials are reported, draping my clothes I go out, always planning on behalf of the people under the heavens. Today the efficacy of cleanliness and quietness is even more rare, the people are without abundant health but with rough lives, the ruler and his ministers are completely without merits and achievements that can be recorded. Supposing honorific title for Zhen is repeated, plus all of you officers get promoted in rank, this vanity is shameful, where is the honor and glory in that?"


    The crowd of ministers wanted to ''pat the horse''s buttocks'' [i.e. bootlick], but they patted the horse''s leg instead; after making so much noise their heads and faces were filthy with grime, so now they did not dare to propose anymore. All of these were something that happened later, our book will not show it.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Emperors who grant themselves honorific titles are indeed too many; it can''t be considered rare. The Ming Dynasty has a certain Emperor Zhengde


    [10], now that was rare."


    "This Emperor," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant has met him several times."


    "You met him several times?" Kangxi asked in surprise, "In your dream?"


    "No," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant saw him on stage. There is a play called ''Plum Dragon Town''; Emperor Zhengde was roaming the Jiangnan, in Plum Dragon Town he saw a young woman selling wine, Li Fengjie, who was very beautiful. He fooled around with her."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Emperor Zhengde loved to roam around in plain clothes, it is not known whether this Li Fengjie matter really happened or not. This Emperor did not grant himself any honorific title, but he loved to assign himself an official rank. He bestowed himself the title ''Zongdu [governor-general] Junwu [military affairs] Wei Wu [formidable/mighty, usually in military force] Dajiangjun [great general] Zongbing [regional commander] Guan [officer]'', coming across something like ''wind blowing grass moving''. He issued an imperial edict: ''to the northern bandit rebel boundary, specially assigned Zongdu Junwu Wei Wu Dajiangjun Zongbing Guan Zhu Shou in command of six armies took the journey.'' Zhu Shou was his name. Afterwards he fought a battle, which he actually lost, but he said it was a victory, his meritorious service was great, hence he issued another decree, bestowing himself the title of ''Zhen Guo Gong''


    [11], plus an official salary of five thousand dan of rice." [1 dan is approximately 100 liters or 100 quarts]Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter; he said, "This man did not want to be the Emperor, but wanted to be ''Zhen Guo Gong'' instead; he was really muddleheaded."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "At that time his high-ranking ministers opposed the idea, saying that if he took the title ''Zhen Guo Gong'', he must also confer posthumous title to his ancestors to the third generation. The Emperor became ''Zhen Guo Gong'' was not a big deal, but the Emperor''s three generation ancestors were all Emperors, they would definitely not agree to be demoted. Emperor Zhengde did not care, he was determined to be ''Zhen Guo Gong''. Later on he rendered another meritorious service and conferred himself the title of ''Taishi'' [imperial tutor]. Fortunately he died early, otherwise he would grant himself higher and higher title, until in the end he would have usurped his own throne and just be the Emperor."


    Hearing the word ''usurping the throne'', two characters [cuan wei], Wei Xiaobao did not dare to talk too much; he only let out some hollow laughs.


    Kangxi said, "Emperor Zhengde had done a lot of stupid things, he had caused the common people so much hardship. While it is true that he himself was not good, but half of those were from the eunuchs and ministers who taught him bad things."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Bad emperors loved to employ bad eunuchs and treacherous court officials, good emperors employ good eunuchs and loyal court officials."


    Kangxi shook his head slightly. "That is not necessarily true," he said, "Bad eunuchs and treacherous court officials also exist around a good emperor, it''s just that if the emperor is not muddleheaded, even if others deceived him, in the end he would be able to uncover the treacherous official''s sinister plot."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, his heart could not help thumping madly.


    Kangxi asked, "That s1ut Mao Dongzhu''s lover [orig. male adulterer], what''s his name?"


    "He is called Thin Toutuo," Wei Xiaobao replied, "His real name, your servant does not know."


    Kangxi said, "But he is so fat, he looked like a meatball, why was he called Thin Toutuo?"


    "I heard that he was originally very tall and very fat," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Afterwards he took Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu''s poison, he curled up and became a short and fat person."


    Kangxi asked further, "How did you know he and Mao Dongzhu were hiding inside Shen Taifei''s [first imperial concubine Shen] sedan chair, and were forcing the Empress Dowager to escort them out of the Palace?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s mind churned lightning fast, "First the Emperor said that I sent people to kill the rebel thief and save the Empress Dowager, and that my merit was very big. But now he said that those two people were hiding inside the Taifei''s sedan chair and the Empress Dowager was forced to take them out of the Palace. In that case the Emperor still does not know the matter of Gui Family''s three people assassination attempt. However, whether by this time the Gui Family trio have escaped, or are caught alive, or are killed, in the end this matter cannot be concealed. What should I say?"


    Seeing him hesitating without answering, Kangxi asked, "What is it? Is there something I shouldn''t know?"


    "No, no!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant is wondering in my heart, how could those two rebel thieves hide inside the Taifei''s sedan chair? I really cannot figure it out even after thinking about it until my skull cracks. I was about to ask Your Majesty to enlighten me."


    "Let me ask you first," Kangxi said, "How did you know that the one sitting in the sedan chair was not Taifei, and thus you ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to assault the imperial sedan chair?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out the Emperor still thinks that it was the Imperial Bodyguards of the Palace who killed Thin Toutuo and Mao Dongzhu. This matter will be exposed sooner or later, I''d better tell him the truth." Thereupon he said, "Your servant is guilty and deserves ten thousand deaths. Your Majesty, please forgive me." While saying that he dropped to his knees.


    Kangxi frowned. "What is it?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant received Your Majesty''s imperial decree to escort the offender to the throne Mao Dongzhu to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. When I walked through the imperial garden, suddenly from behind the rockery ''hua la!'' jumped out three people wearing Imperial Bodyguards and court eunuchs uniform. They grabbed your servant, and forced me to take them to see Your Majesty. These three people''s martial art was very high; pinched by them, your servant''s fingers were nearly broken." Speaking to this point, he lifted his left hand, and indeed his five fingers were black and swollen.


    "Why did they want to see me?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Those three must be the assassins sent by Wu Sangui; even if they pinched your servant to death, I would never agree to take them to violate your holy self. It just so happens that �� no, not just so happens, it was by good luck. By good luck the Empress Dowager and the First Concubine''s luan-selves [luan is mythical bird related to phoenix] came by. Those three assassins were muddleheaded; they thought inside Taifei''s sedan chair was Your Majesty''s holy self, right away they dashed out to commit the violent crime. It was due to the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty''s flood of good fortune that unexpectedly the rebel thieves killed other rebel thieves. I don''t know if by this time those three assassins have been killed by the Imperial Bodyguards, or have been captured alive. Your servant will go right away to find out and will come back to present a memorial."


    Kangxi said, "Those three assassins are not necessarily muddleheaded; most likely it was you who gave them direction, wasn''t it? You thought that rather that let the assassins violate my holy self, it would be better to harm Taifei. As soon as they made their move, the Palace would be thrown to confusion, they would not be able to harm me, and your little life would also be preserved; isn''t that so?" Having his innermost thought penetrated by Kangxi, Wei Xiaobao knew it was useless to deny, he could only kowtowed repeatedly.


    Kangxi said, "You pointed the assassins to endanger Taifei, you really deserve to have your head chopped, but considering you still have three-part [i.e. to some degree] loyalty and love to me ��"


    Wei Xiaobao busily said, "Not three-part, it''s ten-part [i.e. completely], a hundred-part, a thousand-part, ten-thousand-part loyalty and love."


    Kangxi smiled and asked, "Can it be proven?"


    "It can be proven, it can be proven," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Totally can be proven!"


    Kangxi stretched out his foot to kick lightly on his forehead. "Damn it," he said with a laugh, "Get up."


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his head was damp with sweats; he kowtowed several more times before standing up. Kangxi laughed and said, "You have rendered three great meritorious services; at first I did not know how to reward you, but now I have found a way. You gave directions to the assassins, hence you offended your superior with violent crime; you also do not have a heart to submit yourself to your master, but I am not going to punish you. You atone for your crimes by meritorious acts; we are even."


    "Marvelous, marvelous," Wei Xiaobao said, "Just like Your Majesty playing Pai Jiu, at first your servant wins, later on Your Majesty win, in the end we are even. Your Majesty did not eat my money, yet you also do not pay me anything." In his heart he said, "No promotion is fine. Do you think you are going to bestow me the title ''Wei Wu Dajiangjun'' [mighty great general], ''Zhen Guo Gong'' [duke of Zhen country]? Even if you bestowed me the title ''Taishi'' [imperial tutor], there''s nothing amazing about it. In those years Tang Bohu [Ming painter and poet] painted the Imperial Tutor Hua''s two sons, Hua Da and Hua Er [first and second son, respectively] as fools. The two sons that I, Wei Taishi, will have, Wei Da and Wei Er, will also be a mess, a really big mess."


    Kangxi said, "That short and fat thief, his motive was really malicious. After his lover was caught by you, he knew it was hard to seize her back, anticipating that you would eventually deliver her to the Palace to be dealt with by the Empress Dowager, he unexpectedly took a risk out of desperation and broke into the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, rebelling against the Emperor and coercing the Empress Dowager. At this moment the number of active Imperial Bodyguards was increased several times, the Palace is heavily-guarded, he could not like the last time taking us by surprise and jumped over the wall to escape. He was hoping that by sitting in Shen Taifei''s sedan chair, with the Empress Dowager personally escorted them to the Palace gate, the two of them could escape together. He had never even dreamed that demons and gods at work, unexpectedly you gave the assassins the direction to attack the First Concubine''s luan sedan chair, and killed the two rebel thieves."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly saw the light, "So that''s what happened," he said, "That Empress Dowager and Your Majesty have a flood of good fortune is indeed not the least bit incorrect." In his heart he mused, "No wonder when I delivered the old wh0re, the Empress Dowager put on a bad luck face, as if I owed her three million taels of silver and did not pay her back. Turns out at that time Thin Toutuo was already hiding in her bedroom, most likely he was hiding in her bed. Thin Toutuo had lived in the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful for many days, naturally he was familiar with the layout. Perhaps he had also slept in that big bed for many nights. We were really lucky that he was thinking of this scheme. I wonder how many days had he been hiding in the Empress Dowager''s bedroom? Perhaps it was several days already. Aiyo, not good! Thin Toutuo and Empress Dowager, one man one woman, hiding in the room for several days in a row, I wonder if they had done some other trick or not? The Buddhist hat on the Old Emperor''s head on Mount Wutai, perhaps it will turn somewhat green." [''wearing green hat'' �C a cuckold]Naturally Kangxi could not read his dirty mind; he laughed and said, "Empress Dowager and me have great good fortune, your own good fortune is not small either."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant actually does not have any good fortune, it''s because I have been with Your Majesty for such a long time that Your Majesty''s good fortune has rubbed on me."


    Kangxi burst into loud laughter. He asked, "That Gui Xinshu''s nickname, ''Shen Quan Wu Di'' [divine fist without equal], is his martial art really that formidable?"


    In the midst of his laughter Kangxi suddenly asked this question, in Wei Xiaobao''s ears it was like a thunderclap. His body shook, he felt instead of blood, vinegar was flowing through his legs; they turned limp and painful. "This �� this ��" he stammered.


    With a cold laugh Kangxi said, "Heaven is my father, Earth is my mother, Fighting the Qing, Restoring the Ming! Wei Xiangzhu, what a big guts you have!"


    Wei Xiaobao felt the sky spun, the earth turned around, his brain crumpled into a ball; the first thought he had was reaching out to pull the dagger in his boot, but he immediately remembered, "He knows everything! Since he even asked me that, that means his card is better than mine. His martial art skill is higher than mine, I cannot kill him with one stab. Even if I could, I am not sure if I can kill him!" Thereupon without hesitation he kneeled down and called out, "Xiao Guizi surrenders, I ask Xiao Xuanzi to spare my life!"


    As soon as these three words ''Xiao Xuanzi'' entered his ears, the memory of when they were playing and having martial art contest surged up in Kangxi''s mind. He could not help but heaving a deep sigh and said, "You �� all along you have concealed everything from me well."


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed and said, "Although your servant''s body in Tian Di Hui, toward Your Majesty I am loyal and devoted; I have not done anything that offend Your Majesty."


    Kangxi sternly said, "If you have the slightest rebellious thought, how could you live until today?"


    Listening to the tone of his voice, Wei Xiaobao could hear the leniency in it; busily he kowtowed again and said, "Your Majesty is ''raw bird fish soup'', you surpass Zhuge that Liang, your servant will be loyal to the end to my master, just like Guan Yun that Chang."


    Kangxi was unable to restrain a smile; in his heart he swore, "Damn it, what Zhuge that Liang, Guan Yun that Chang?" But it was such a critical junction in their relationship, if he showed a somewhat false expression, this clown would perform some impromptu comedic act [referring to the opera], would crawl up along the stick, and then Kangxi would not be able to subdue him. Thereupon he shouted, "Tell me everything from head to tail! If you speak half a word of empty words, I''ll chop you into dog meat in soy paste instantly!" Yet when speaking the last sentence, he could not refrain a smile from appearing on the corner of his mouth.


    Kangxi constantly inquired him of Tian Di Hui situation, Wei Xiaobao told him truthfully. After listening for a while, Kangxi nodded and said, "Five men share a poem, the Hong Ying in them nobody knows."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "The Emperor knew even the secret code used by my Society''s brothers to identify each other," he mused. He then recited, "Henceforth it is passed on to the brothers, afterwards knowing each other and have a reunion."


    Kangxi said, "Entering the Hong Gate for the first time, swearing brotherhood with elder brothers, that same day taking an open oath to show sincerity."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Pine and cypress [fig. chaste and undefiled] two branches on the left and right, in the middle the Hong Hua [flood/great flower] Pavilion to swear brotherhood."


    Kangxi said, "The brothers in front of Zhong Yi [lit. loyal and righteous] Hall, generals and millions of troops selected inside the city wall."


    Wei Xiaobao recited, "Taking an oath in front of the Fu De [good fortune and virtue] Ancestral Hall, our Hong Ying desire is to fight the Qing and restore the Ming."


    According to Tian Di Hui rule, once this exchange was finished, the two of them would then announce their names and surnames, and give an account of which Hall they were affiliated with, plus their rank and official duty within the Society. But Kangxi only smiled slightly.


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Turns out Your Majesty is also my Society brother. I wonder which Hall do you belong to? And how many incense stick do you burn ��" Speaking to here, he realized that he had been thoroughly muddleheaded; Kangxi was the Great Qing Emperor, how could he ''fight the Qing restore the Ming''? "Beat you this silly kid, beat you this silly kid!" he repeatedly said, while ''slap, slap!'' he gently slapped his own mouth.


    Kangxi stood up, he paced up and down the hall, and said, "You are an officer of our Manchu, you eat our Great Qing''s good fortune and rice, yet in your heart you harbor the idea of fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming. If I did not remember that you have rendered some tiny merit, even if you have a hundred heads, all would have been chopped down long ago."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Only because Your Majesty is magnanimous that your servant''s head can be preserved until today. Your servant will withdraw from the Society at once, I don''t want to be Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu no matter what. From now on I won''t fight the Qing restore the Ming at all, I will turn around and fight the Ming restore the Qing."


    In his belly Kangxi was secretly amused; but he cursed, "My Great Qing has not perished yet, what are you going to restore? A mouthful of nonsense!"


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Your servant will defend and protect my master''s rivers and mountains for ten thousand years. Whatever Your Majesty wants me to restore, I will restore that. Whatever you want me to fight, your servant will fight it."


    Kangxi lowered his voice, he spoke slowly, word by word, "Very well! I want you to fight Tian Di Hui!"


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao said; but in his heart he was groaning, automatically his face revealed a distressed look.


    Kangxi said, "You have a mouthful of graceful words, flowery speech, saying that no matter what you would be loyal and devoted to me, but I don''t know if that''s the truth or a lie."


    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "A hundred percent pure gold, a hundred percent pure gold! Nothing can be purer."


    Kangxi said, "I will examine you carefully, whether or not you have not committed any evil conduct in treason or heresy against me. If you obey my order, this time you incite Tian Di Hui, cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, kill all those rebels clean, then you will atone for your crimes by meritorious acts, I will pardon your guilt of deceiving your lord; maybe I will even reward you with something. If you are still craftily cheating me, being two-faced, three knives, humph, humph, do you think I cannot kill Tian Di Hui''s Wei Xiangzhu?"


    Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his back was drenched in cold sweats. "Yes, yes," he repeatedly said, "Your Majesty want to kill your servant, it will be like pinching an ant. But �� but Your Majesty is ''raw bird fish soup'', you won''t kill a loyal minister."


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted, "What loyal minister are you? You are big-white-face treacherous court official."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty please understand: while it''s true that there are something that your servant concealed from Your Majesty, in all honesty I am not a big-white-face treacherous court official. Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao


    [12], definitely I am not them."


    "Alright!" Kangxi said, "Even if you are not a big-white-face treacherous court official, you are a white-nose clown."


    The Emperor assigned him different roles of the opera, Wei Xiaobao was relieved instantly; he busily said, "Being a clown is fine. Just like �� just like Shi Qian, Zhu Guangzu, they can also render meritorious service to Your Majesty."


    Kangxi smiled slightly. "Humph," he said, "You always insist on presenting yourself as a good person. Very well, you select troops and horses, go get Tian Di Hui, Mu Palace, Gui Xinshu, and those bunch of rebel thieves'' heads and bring them here. If you short one head, I will chop one of your hands, if you leave four, I will chop your pair of hands and two legs. If you leave five, which part of you should I chop?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This �� this �� your servant has no choice but to become a real eunuch."


    Kangxi could not help bursting into loud laughter. "Damn it," he cursed, "You really know how to count your chickens before they are hatched."


    With a frown on his face Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty chops my two hands and two legs, most likely your servant won''t live. This head above my neck, whether you chop it or not, it would not make much difference." He thought, "He even knows about the Mu Palace; he is seriously well-informed."


    Kangxi put his hand into his sleeve and took out a sheet of paper. He read, "Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan, Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu Wei Xiaobao, subordinates Li Lishi, Xu Tianchuan, Priest Xuanzhen, Qian Laoben, Gao Yanchao, Feng Jizhong, and the others; Mu Family''s Mu Jiansheng, Liu Dahong, Wu Lishen and the others, the three assassins who entered the Palace were Gui Xinshu, Gui Erniang, Gui Zhong. One, two, three, four, five �� altogether there are forty-three rebel thieves. If you are not included, the total is forty-two names."


    Wei Xiaobao dropped on his knees again and knocked his head twice. "Your Majesty," he said, "Although this bunch of people say that they want to fight the Qing and restore the Ming, they have not been able to fight successfully, nor restore successfully. Let me talk to them. Above Your Majesty know astronomy, below you know geography, past and future, you know everything. Your Majesty have said that the Great Qing''s rivers and mountains will last ten thousand upon ten thousand years; that is definitely not wrong. Fighting the Qing they cannot fight successfully, it would be better if they disband their groups."


    Kangxi reached out and slapped the table heavily; he said in a stern voice, "You are stubbornly refusing to accept orders, unwilling to arrest the rebel thieves?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Heroes of Jianghu attach most importance to yi qi. If I arrest Shifu and the others, His Majesty will definitely chop their heads. If that happens, Wei Xiaobao is selling his friends, I become Wu Sangui. Ay, at that time why I did not masquerade as other people, but masqueraded as Xiao Guizi instead. Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi, isn''t that Wu Sangui''s son? [same ''gui'' character] I don''t want to be Bojue Daren anymore, I have to find a way to warn Shifu and the others to run away, to roll out of damn stinking duck egg."


    Seeing he did not answer, Kangxi was even more angry. "So what is it?" he barked, "Don''t you know that you have committed a great crime? I give you a chance to reform and start afresh, a golden opportunity to atone for your crimes by meritorious acts, you are still haggling with me?"


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "They wanted to come and harm you, I staked everything to stop them; your servant upheld yi qi toward you. Your Majesty wanted to arrest them, your servant stood in the middle, it''s hard for me to conduct myself, I have no choice but to plead with you; this is also for the sake of yi qi."


    Kangxi angrily said, "In your heart you are leaning toward the rebel thieves; that is ''undivided obedience toward the rebels, eyes not looking at the lord'', yet you are still talking about yi qi?" After a short pause he continued, "You have saved my life, you have saved Fu Huang, saved the Empress Dowager. If I kill you today, in your heart you won''t submit; you will say that I did not have yi qi toward you, will you not?"


    At this stage, Wei Xiaobao might as well harden his scalp. "That''s true," he said, "Your Majesty has promised that if your servant ever makes mistake, Your Majesty will spare my life. The Lord of Ten Thousand Year''s golden mouth, once said you cannot go back on your word."


    "Alright," Kangxi said, "You have deep plans and distant thoughts; you have prepared this move early on. Humph, your heart must be put to death."


    Wei Xiaobao did not understand the meaning of the four-word phrase ''your heart must be put to death''


    [13], but he presumed it was not a good word. Ever since he knew Kangxi, he had never seen him losing his temper like this; he mused, "My head has been chopped more than half. With the young Emperor''s bad temper, pleading for leniency is useless; I''d better reason with him." He said, "Your Majesty, I did obeisance to you as my master, you have agreed to take me as your disciple. That Chen Jinnan is also my Shifu. If I harbor any intention to harm you, that means I ''deceive my master exterminate my ancestor''. If I go to harm that other Shifu, that means I also ''deceive my master exterminate my ancestor''. Besides �� besides, an emperor chopping his servant''s head is of course perfectly normal. But Shifu chopping his disciple''s head, it''s a bit out of place."


    Kangxi thought, "Accepting him as a disciple was just a joke; it was clearly stated then. This kid relies on my favor and his pride, he is undisciplined and out of control, unexpectedly he talked about me and the bandit chief in one breath, he is really creating a lot of trouble ��" While he was thinking to this point, suddenly there was faint noise of people shouting and yelling from a distant, and ''bing bing bang bang'' noise of weapons clashing.


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up and said, "Seems like there are assassins. Shifu, please sit down and don''t move, let disciple block in front of you."


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted; he thought, "This kid has committed thousands of inappropriate deeds, but to me he actually has a loyal and loving heart." He said, "Later on you must not me Shifu anymore. You did not abide by the law of our school, as the Shifu, I am expelling you." Speaking those words, he could not help feeling amused.


    They heard footsteps, several people were rushing outside the Hall''s gate and stopped there. Wei Xiaobao rushed behind the door and immediately lifted up the latch to bolt the door. In a matter of life and death like this, his hands and feet could move very quickly, indeed it was unbelievable. "Who''s there?" he shouted.


    Outside someone said in a loud voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty: Three assassins are breaking into the Palace, the night guards have already surrounded them, very soon they will be captured."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "In the end the three people of Gui Family are not able to escape." He shouted, "His Majesty knew. Quickly get a hundred Imperial Bodyguards around Yang Xin Hall to protect the holy self, also station thirty guards on the roof." The Imperial Bodyguard Captain outside the Hall acknowledged the order and left.


    Kangxi thought, "He is very thorough. That day when I met with danger on Mount Wutai, that nun in white broke the tile from the roof and jumped down, it was indeed very hard to guard against. Luckily this kid dashed on bravely with no thought of his own safety and blocked the sword in front of me."


    After a while the sound of clamor gradually diminished, but a moment later the noise of clashing weapons arose again. Kangxi frowned and said, "Only three assassins and they cannot capture them. What if there are three hundred or three thousand assassins?"


    "Your Majesty need not be worried," Wei Xiaobao said, "People with background like Gui Xinshu are very few in the world, at most there are only four or five."


    Another moment passed, they heard footsteps and the ringing sound of swords and sabers; the deployed night guards arrived outside the Hall. They also heard noise from all around the roof; the night guards had leaped onto the roof of the Hall. The guards knew that the Emperor was inside the Hall, hence they all stood on the eaves and the corners of the roof; nobody dared to walk across the roof, otherwise it would be extremely disrespectful if they stood above the top of the Emperor''s head.


    Kangxi knew that around the Yang Xin Hall alone there were at least four or five hundred Imperial Guards protecting him, he had absolutely nothing to worry about, thereupon he no longer care about the assassins. "Look what I have here," he said. From inside his sleeve he took out a piece of paper and spread it out on the table.


    Wei Xiaobao came over to look; it was a drawing. In the middle there was a big building, with a flagpole and stone lions in front of the building; it looked a lot like his own Earl Mansion. There were a dozen or more cannon arranged all around the building, the mouths of the cannon were aimed at the big building. After he looked closer, the building looked more and more like his house. "Do you recognize the building?" Kangxi asked.


    "It looks a bit like your servant''s dog house," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "It''s good that you recognize it," Kangxi said. Pointing to the four characters above the drawing he asked, "Do you also recognize these four characters ''Zhong Yong Bo Fu'' [Loyal and Brave Earl Mansion]?"


    Realizing that the building was indeed his house, Wei Xiaobao could not help but breaking into cold sweats. That many cannon were set up around all four sides of his residence, naturally it was not a good thing. He had personally seen the two foreign devils Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen fired the cannon; when the cannon went off, with a loud bang a blaze rose to the sky, mud and rocks splashed several dozen zhang into the air. Even if he wore a hundred protective treasured vests, he would still be blown into dog meat paste. Thinking about the power of the cannon blast, he could not help but shuddered.


    Kangxi slowly said, "Tonight, your Tian Di Hui, Yunnan''s Mu Family, Huashan Pai''s surnamed Gui, plus Wang Wu Pai disciples Situ He and their people will convene at your house. Right now my twelve cannon are set up in private houses all around your house, the cannon are already loaded with cannonballs and gunpowder. We only need to open the window, exposing the muzzle, lighted the fuse, and I am afraid not a single rebel thief will be able to escape alive. If they are not dead from the bombardment and escape outside, several squads of Vanguard Battalion troops and horses are stationed in the surrounding area, they won''t be able to eat rice no matter what. Did you see Vanguard Battalion Commander Ajichi just now? He has gone to inspect the troops in preparation for the action. The Vanguard Battalion has never had a harmonious relation with the Valiant Cavalry Brigade under your command, they may not necessarily let you go."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty has considered everything, but you tell it clearly to your servant only now, it is because you want to spare your servant''s life. Whatever little merit your servant previously has, hereby it is used to atone for my crime; it is all used up, not the slightest bit is left."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "It''s good that you understand. Just like the two of us playing Pai Jiu, you won quite a bit of money first, but in one bet you lost everything to me. Your previous wins all at once are lost, from now on you neither win nor lose. If we want to keep playing, we have to start anew."


    Wei Xiaobao let out a gentle sigh, he said, "I really have to thank Your Majesty''s kindness. From now on your servant will concentrate on working for Your Majesty. Forget about Tian Di Hui, even Tian Jiu Hui''s [heaven nine society] Xiangzhu your servant will not want to do it." In his heart he was secretly worried, "Shifu and the others agreed to meet again at my house tonight, how can I warn them so they won''t come?" He said, "Your Majesty ordered your servant to capture this bunch of rebel thieves, you were simply testing your servant''s heart. The fact is that Your Majesty has already had divine foresight and amazing plan, everything else is a thousand-li distant."


    They heard someone outside the Hall said in a loud and clear voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty: the rebel thieves have been arrested!"


    Kangxi''s face showed delight. "Bring them in!" he shouted.


    "Yes!" Wei Xiaobao complied. He turned around and lifted the bolt and opened the Hall''s gate.


    Several dozen Imperial Bodyguards, with the Gui Family three people in the midst of them, came in. They shouted together, "Kowtow to His Majesty, kneel down!"


    The several dozen Imperial Bodyguards kneeled down together. Gui Xinshu, Gui Erniang and Gui Zhong, three people, were covered in blood, their bodies were full of wounds, but they stood upright and unafraid. All three of them were bound with thick ropes, each person had two Imperial Bodyguards standing by their side holding the other end of the ropes. The Imperial Bodyguard captain shouted, "Kneel down! Kneel down!" But how could the Gui Family trio pay him any attention?


    They heard dripping noise in the Hall, the blood from the three Gui Family people and the wounded Imperial Bodyguards was continuously dripping to the floor. Gui Erniang glowered at Wei Xiaobao and shouted, "Little traitor, you �� you are a stinky thief!" Seeing the miserable condition of these three people, Wei Xiaobao could not help feeling grieved; he did not even try to answer the insult.


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Turns out Shen Quan Wu Di Gui Xinshu is such an old man! How many of our men are dead or injured?"


    The Imperial Bodyguard captain replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty: the rebel thieves are extremely vicious, Imperial Bodyguards who died in the line of duty were more than thirty, those who are injured are more than forty."


    "Hey," Kangxi said, while waving his hand. Inwardly he praised, "Amazing!"


    The Imperial Bodyguard captain ordered his men to bring the three people out. Suddenly Gui Xinshu let out a loud shout and exerted his internal strength, his right shoulder crashed onto the Imperial Bodyguard standing by his side.


    "Ah!" the Imperial Bodyguard cried out, while his body flew out, his head crashed onto the wall, sending him to instant death.


    Gui Xinshu grabbed the rope binding Gui Zhong. Stretching and pulling, ''Snap!'' the rope broke. Gui Xinshu grabbed Gui Zhong''s body and shouted, "Child, quickly go, Mama and I will follow really soon." He threw Gui Zhong outside, Gui Zhong''s body flew out of the Hall''s gate.


    Right this moment the Gui Family husband and wife leaped together to pounce on Kangxi. Seeing this adverse turn of events, Wei Xiaobao was greatly shocked; he scrambled up to embrace Kangxi and pull him down underneath the table, his back was facing outward, acting as a shield to protect Kangxi.


    They heard ''slap, slap!'' twice, followed by several Imperial Bodyguards rushed over to protect Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao. When they looked at the Gui Family husband and wife, they saw that they were lying in a pool of blood, with seven or eight sabers and swords sticking out of their backs; looked like they were no longer alive.


    After strenuously killing several dozen Imperial Bodyguards, Gui Xinshu suffered serious injury, lastly, he used up his internal energy to break the rope binding his son before pouncing on Kangxi. Gui Erniang understood her husband''s intention. On one hand, at the death''s door they hoped to take the Tatar Emperor''s life with their last strike; on the other hand, they hoped that in the confusion their child would be able to escape. But their hands and feet were firmly tied, they had no strength left to break the ropes; therefore, they both leaped together to attack Kangxi. However, after the fierce battle outside, they were like drying oil lantern. Their bodies were in the air when their mouths spurted blood, they could not endure anymore and fell to the floor; even if the Imperial Bodyguards did not hack and chop, they would have died anyway.


    Kangxi calmed down a little bit. He frowned and said, "Pull them out, pull them out!" The Imperial Bodyguards replied in chorus.


    They were just about to lift the two bodies when from the Hall''s door a shadow flashed by. Someone was flying in, his movement was extremely fast, he threw himself to the Gui Family husband and wife''s bodies and called out loudly, "Ma, Dad!" It was Gui Zhong.


    Several Imperial Bodyguards hacked down with their sabers and swords, unexpectedly Gui Zhong did not evade at all. The blades landed on his body. They only heard him gasping for breath and said, "Ma, you �� you are not coming with me, what should I do? I don''t know the way ��" He coughed twice, his head drooped down and he died. In all his life he followed his mother closely; his mother took care of everything. This moment as he left his father and mother, he felt completely lost. Although he managed to leave Yang Xin Hall, in the end he came back to be with his father and mother.


    The Imperial Bodyguards Zongguan [chief] Dolong rushed into the Hall. He kneeled down and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: The assassins in the Palace have been completely �� completely purged ��" Seeing blood all over the floor of the Hall, he was terrified. He kowtowed and said, "The assassins have frightened the Holy Self, your servant �� your servant deserves to die!"


    Just now Kangxi was grabbed and brought down by Wei Xiaobao. Although it was such a sorry situation and was harmful to his dignity, this person was risking his life to protect the holy self; his loyalty toward the master was undoubtedly real. He said to Dolong, "There are still people outside who want to assassinate Wei Xiaobao. You must protect him well, don''t leave him even a cun or a step. You must not let him leave the Palace even more. Tomorrow early in the morning I will give you further instruction."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong hastily replied, "Your servant will strive to protect Wei Dutong."


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, "The Emperor is going to bombard Tian Di Hui tonight, he is afraid I might tip them off, hence he instructed Dolong to watch over me."


    Kangxi walked to the Hall''s gate; he thought, "Xiao Guizi is cunning and extremely crafty, this old boor Dolong is not his match." Turning his head around, he said, "Dolong, get more people, follow Wei Xiaobao closely, don''t let him talk to other people, also don''t let him send anything out of the Palace. In short, the situation is dangerous, you just have to treat him like an offender to the throne."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong replied, "Your Majesty treats your subject with kindness in every possible way." He thought that the Emperor treasured Wei Xiaobao so much that he did not want to give the assassins any opportunity to harm him.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty''s kindness, your servant cannot repay even if my body torn my bones crushed." In his heart he knew that by saying that, the Emperor was taking Wei Xiaobao''s face into consideration; in the future he might still find Wei Xiaobao useful.


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You won another round. Starting from tomorrow, we will play again. That golden rice bowl of yours, you must hold it firmly with both hands, don''t let it be broken and rotten!" Finished speaking he went out the Hall''s gate.


    Naturally only Wei Xiaobao understood what Kangxi was saying. Just now he had protected Kangxi''s holy self, hence Kangxi considered him rendering another merit. Tonight, after his Shifu Chen Jinnan and the others were killed, he would not have anything to do with Tian Di Hui anymore, the Emperor could reinstate him into an important position. The golden rice bowl was engraved with these four characters ''gong zhong ti guo'' [serving one''s country loyally]. The Emperor wanted him to be loyal and devoted to him, and not be two-hearted.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao frowning and worried, with blank expression on his face, Dolong patted his shoulder and said with a laugh, "Wei Xiongdi, His Majesty dotes on you like this, I wonder for how many previous incarnations you have cultivated good deeds? It doesn''t matter which, Princes, Beilei, Generals, Cabinet Ministers, of the imperial court, His Majesty has never sent any Imperial Bodyguards to protect him. Everybody says that before Wei Dutong reaches twenty, he will be bestowed the title Gong and Wang. You don''t have to worry, as long as you do not step out the Palace gate for one step, even if the rebel thieves have magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, they won''t be able to harm a single strand of your hair."


    Wei Xiaobao could only force a laugh as he said, "His Majesty''s benevolence is as high as the heaven and is deep as the earth, we as the servants can only do our utmost to repay it." He saw dozens of Imperial Bodyguards stood in front of him, behind him, on his left and right; to send a letter to Tian Di Hui brothers would be extremely difficult. He thought, "Any Gong or Wang title, Laozi does not want. I would rather the young Emperor kick me in the butt and shout at me: ''Get your Ma''s stinky duck egg out of here! From now on I don''t want you to see my face.'' This kind of protection can''t really protect my old life."


    Dolong said, "Wei Xiongdi, His Majesty instructed you not to move carelessly. Do you want to return to your old residence to rest, or do you want to go to the Imperial Bodyguard office, so that everybody can accompany you several rounds?" He knew throwing dice or playing Pai Jiu would definitely fit Wei Xiaobao''s fancy.


    Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration, he said, "Empress Dowager ordered me to do something very important, I have to do it right away. Would Duo Dage [''Dolong'' in Chinese is ''Duo Long''] come with me?"


    Dolong''s face appeared to be reluctant; he said, "Empress Dowager''s order, naturally you must do it immediately. It''s just that �� it''s just that His Majesty''s imperial decree was very strict, he said Wei Xiongdi must never ever leave the Palace ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is something that I have to do inside the Palace, Duo Dage needs not be worried."


    Dolong was relieved instantly; he laughed and said, "As long as you don''t go out the Palace gate, all taboos are off."


    Wei Xiaobao ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to bring the First Imperial Concubine Shen''s luan sedan chair to the burning ground west of Shen Wu Gate. He said, "Whoever opens the curtain of the sedan chair, Empress Dowager ordered me to immediately chop his head."


    Dolong and the Imperial Bodyguards were all aware about the assassins attacking the First Imperial Concubine''s sedan chair. Although they did not know the details, they all knew that it was the Empress Dowager''s secret, and all along they felt queasy about it. When they heard that Wei Xiaobao wanted to bring the sedan chair to be cremated at the burning ground, it meant they were getting rid of a fetus of a gargantuan disaster; everybody felt as if a large rock was taken off their heads.


    Right away Dolong came with Wei Xiaobao to get the luan sedan chair and bring it to the burning ground. Along the way, blood was still dripping from the sedan chair, as for who died in the sedan chair, naturally nobody dared to ask even half a question.


    Arriving at the burning ground, they had the sula [odd jobs/part-time worker] pile up firewood around the luan sedan chair and burn it. Wei Xiaobao picked up a piece of wood and with a charcoal drew a small sparrow on it. He cupped the piece of wood in hands as he faced the burning sedan and prayed, "Thin Toutuo, Old Wh0re, in this world you could not be husband and wife, in the underworld you can be husband and wife for a thousand years, ten thousand years. By this time the three Gui people who killed you are also dead. You two left first, they were right at your heels. If you meet each other at the bridge as you gaze toward the edge of the platform, everybody must be friendly with each other."


    Dolong and the others saw him moving his lips, they assumed he was praying for the departed spirit to be reincarnated soon. They saw him moving several pieces of rock and made a small pile, and then he stuck the piece of wood into the rocks, just like an incense stick. How could they know that it was a secret code between him and Tao Hongying when they wanted to communicate with each other?


    When the sedan chair and the corpses inside it were burned to ashes, Wei Xiaobao returned to his former dwelling place. Earlier some eunuchs who wanted to fawn on him had already come over and swept the place clean, and delivered food and drink as well as some light refreshments. Wei Xiaobao gave the eunuchs some tips and then he invited Dolong and the Imperial Bodyguards to have some.


    "Duo Dage," he said, "You and the gentlemen please sit and relax here, Xiongdi has been working all night last night for His Majesty, I am really tired."


    "Xiongdi," Dolong replied, "There is no need to stand on ceremonies, please go to bed quickly. Your Gege will protect you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That is really one thousand times, ten thousand times, I do not dare to accept. Duo Dage, what is it that you want His Majesty bestow to you? Tell me, Xiongdi will remember it in my heart. Next time I see His Majesty is happy, I will ask him on your behalf, I have 80% confidence that it will be successful."


    Dolong was greatly delighted. "Wei Xiongdi is willing to ask His Majesty on my behalf, how can it not be successful?" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Duo Dage''s business is Xiongdi''s own business; why would I not strive to accomplish it?"


    Dolong laughed and said, "Your Gege has been doing errands in the Capital for a while, I am somewhat tired, hence I am thinking of going to outside provinces for a change of pace."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and said with a laugh, "Dage is not wrong at all. Within the city of Beijing, I don''t know how many princes, dukes and high-ranking officials whose rank is higher than ours; in all honesty we cannot display our prestige at all. If we are out of the Capital, it will be free and easy. If we want several taels of silver, we only need to cough, other people will immediately deliver it with both hands." The two of them roared in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao went into the bedroom and lay down in the bed; he mused, "Duo Dage received the Emperor''s decree, he is keeping a very close watch on me. It''s impossible for me to go out of the Palace to warn Shifu. I will have to wait for Tao Gugu and ask her to pass on the message. It''s just that I am afraid she will come here too late in the evening. If she arrived in the depth of the night to see me, over there the cannon will already be fired, over here what can I do?" A moment later he thought, "Right now the only plan I have is to send some Imperial Bodyguards out to beat the grass to scare the snake."


    Once his mind was set, he closed his eyes to nap for about two hours. When he woke up, the sun was slightly slanting to the west; it was already passed Wei hour [between 1-3pm]. He walked out of the bedroom to talk to Dolong.


    "Duo Dage," he said, "Do you know the reason why those bunch of assassins wanted to make their move on me?"


    "That, I do not know," Dolong replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "One group is Tian Di Hui, the other is Mu Palace."


    Dolong stuck out his tongue. "Those two groups of rebel thieves are very formidable," he said, "No wonder His Majesty is very anxious."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I am thinking of hiding in the Palace for one day, but I don''t want to hide for life. Today although I have Duo Dage to protect me, but if the rebel thieves are not wiped out, they will cause no end of trouble."


    Dolong said, "By the time His Majesty summons us for the morning audience tomorrow, he will definitely have a marvelous plan. Wei Xiongdi does not need to worry."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "I won''t conceal it from Dage, in Xiongdi''s home, there are several girls whose appearance is like flower or like jade, whom Xiongdi loves very much. Apparently tonight the rebel thieves will come to my house to assassinate me. When they fail to harm Xiongdi, most probably they will kill these several girls; that �� that will be a pity."


    Dolong laughed and nodded his head. He recalled the instant when Wei Xiaobao wanted him to pretend and put on airs to give Zheng Keshuang some trouble, it was precisely for the sake of a beauty. This young brother was loose and lecherous; although he was still young, he must have had a collection of not a few good-looking concubines in his house. Thereupon he said, "That''s easy, I''ll send some men to Xiongdi''s mansion to protect them."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he cupped his fist to express his gratitude. "The young girls in Xiongdi''s house," he said, "There are three that I most dote on, one is Shuang''er, the second is Zeng Rou, and then there is another one called �� called Jianping (he thought that if he mentioned the name Mu Jianping, the word ''Mu'' might cause suspicion); their appearances are quite not bad. Xiongdi is really worried. I ask Dage to send the men to protect them, tell them that tonight some Tian Di Hui and Mu Family assassins will come over, tell them to hide immediately. It would be best if Dage send a bit more people to guard Xiongdi''s house, so that when the assassins arrive, they can capture that his granny bunch. Whichever brothers are working hard, I will heavily thank them with gifts."


    Dolong struck his chest and said with a laugh, "That''s easy. It''s Wei Bojue Mansion''s matter, who would not want to strive to step forward?" Immediately he ordered the Imperial Bodyguard captain to select several men and send them out.


    All Imperial Bodyguards knew that Wei Xiaobao was very generous; usually, even without any problem at all he would often tip them eight hundred or a thousand taels. This time it was to protect his beloved concubines, he would definitely reward them handsomely. Immediately they all happily accept the assignment. Inevitably those who were out of turn and not selected were sighing and moaning inwardly, blaming their own poor luck.


    Wei Xiaobao was somewhat relieved; he thought, "When Shuang''er and the others hear the Imperial Bodyguards'' message that the Palace is sending people to protect them, to wait for and arrest Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace''s assassins, they will tell my Shifu and the others to flee. But if my Shifu and the others stay out, Shuang''er, Miss Zeng and Xiao Junzhu, three people might die from the bombardment; that would be terrible! But with a large group of Imperial Bodyguards in my house, the gunmen outside will not open fire carelessly."


    He then had a second thought, "If the gunmen received the Emperor''s strict order, it does not matter if three by seven is twenty-one, they absolutely must open fire, and then what would happen?" Xiao Junzhu and Zeng Rou were not a big deal, but Shuang''er''s love and loyalty to him was very deep, she was the most important person in his heart, he simply must not let her delivering her life. Only it was such a dilemma for him; if he ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to get Shuang''er and the others out first, there would be nobody left to warn Shifu and the brothers. If he saved Shuang''er but did not save Shifu, he would be paying more attention to a lover than friends, then he would be a turtle b@stard. Momentarily he paced back and forth in his room in distress for not able to find an ingenious plan.


    More than an hour later the captain of the Imperial Bodyguards that was sent to Zhong Yong Earl Mansion returned and reported: they had not reach the Earl Mansion and were already stopped by Vanguard Battalion''s officers and men. The Canling [regimental commander] of the Vanguard Battalion said that they were on imperial orders to protect the Earl Mansion, there was no need for the Imperial Bodyguards officers to take the trouble. The Imperial Bodyguards wanted to come in to protect the women, but no matter what the Vanguard Battalion would not allow them, saying that everything had been arranged by His Majesty. Afterwards even the Vanguard Battalion''s Commander Ah [from ''Ajichi''] also personally stepped forward to stop them. The Imperial Bodyguards were unable to change their mind, and were obliged to return.


    When Wei Xiaobao heard this, he uttered a series of groaning in his heart. Dolong laughed and said, "Xiongdi, His Majesty is really considerate toward you, unexpectedly he sends the Vanguard Battalion to protect your pretty women. What else are you worried about? Ha ha, ha ha!"


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to accompany him with some hollow laugh. He thought, "In everything the young Emperor is a thousand li ahead of me. This time my Shifu and the others really face imminent catastrophe. The Vanguard Battalion must have received strict order to guard around my Earl Mansion; seeing common people, they let them come in, so that tonight they will be blasted to death together. If it is civil or military government officers, they won''t let them in."


    More than two hours later, the sky was gradually turning dark. Wei Xiaobao pushed the window to look out, and saw seven or eight Imperial Bodyguards patrolling back and forth outside his room, the security was extremely tight. He looked in all directions, but where was Tao Hongying''s shadow? Heaving a very deep sigh he dejectedly collapsed onto his bed; thinking that perhaps by this time quite a few of his friends had already inside the Earl Mansion. For every moment he was delayed, all his brothers were a step closer in their journey to the underworld.


    From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the big water jar standing at the corner of his building, it was the one Hai Dafu used to use. That day he was totally dependent on this big jar to kill Rui Dong; he thought, "Why don''t I lure Duo Dage to enter the room, and kill him with the secret projectile, and then set the room on fire? Then I can escape in the midst of confusion. Duo Dage''s treatment to me is not bad at all, without any reason whatsoever I am harming his life, in all honesty I am doing him too much wrong. But there is big yi qi and then there is small yi qi; the dozens of my Shifu and the others'' lives are somewhat more important than his, one person''s life."


    His mind was set, he took a fire-knife and a flint to light a candle; he thought, "The mosquito net will be burned the fastest; after I kill Duo Dage, I''ll set the mosquito net on fire."


    Right this moment he suddenly heard Dolong calling out from outside the room, "Wei Xiongdi, the food and drink is here, come out and drink some wine."


    "Let''s the two of us brothers eat inside!" Wei Xiaobao replied.


    "Alright!" Dolong said. He instructed the eunuch who deliver the food and drink to bring the food case inside.


    The eunuch was around sixteen, seventeen years old. When he entered the room, he paid his respect to Wei Xiaobao before opening the food case and taking out the food and drink. A divine light suddenly flashed inside Wei Xiaobao''s brain, he thought of an idea. "Stay here to serve us drinking the wine," he said to the eunuch.


    The little eunuch was extremely delighted; he had long understood that Wei Bojue was formerly the chief of the Imperial Kitchen, and had always treated the people working under him generously. Serving him eating and drinking would definitely be beneficial; thereupon delightedly he set up the bowls and chopsticks.


    Dolong followed inside; he said with a laugh, "Xiongdi, you have not been working in the Palace for quite a while, yet His Majesty did not take away your room. Even a prince or a Beilei would not receive such preferential treatment."


    "It''s not preferential treatment by His Majesty," Wei Xiaobao replied, "His Majesty is dealing with a lot of important matters in the world, how can he care about this kind of irrelevant small matter? Honestly speaking, Xiongdi living here is totally against the rule."


    Dolong laughed and said, "To others it may be against the rule, but to Xiongdi it''s not a big deal." He knew that the chief of the court eunuchs wanted to fawn on Wei Xiaobao, so nobody dared to send other people to live in this building. Besides, there was no lack of rooms in the Imperial Palace, plus there was nothing special with Hai Dafu''s residence, naturally the eunuch in charge of the imperial kitchen had other accommodation.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If Dage did not mention it, Xiongdi would have forgotten. Tomorrow I should notify Zongguan Taijian [chief manager eunuch] that I need to hand this room back. If we as external ministers lived in the Palace, if the external imperial censor found out and he submitted a report to our superior, it won''t taste very good."


    "His Majesty likes you," Dolong said, "Who would care about that?"


    "Please sit down, please sit down," Wei Xiaobao said, "This room has nothing special, it''s just that Xiongdi was accustomed to live here, it''s not that Xiongdi does not feel that living in the Earl Mansion is not as comfortable as living in here."


    He slowly walked around Dolong''s back, pulled his dagger, and said, with a laugh, "These eight bowls of dish are all the food that Xiongdi loves to eat; the imperial kitchen still remembers. Dage, how about trying this crab meat lion''s head [i.e. meatballs]?"


    Dolong said, "The food that Xiongdi loves to eat must be the best ��" before he could finish, suddenly he felt coldness on the left side of his back; he slumped to the table and stopped moving. Turned out Wei Xiaobao already aimed the dagger at the middle of his back, and thrust it in.


    The dagger was completely noiseless; the little eunuch did not notice at all, he was still pouring the wine. Wei Xiaobao walked over to his back and noiselessly thrust his dagger into his heart. Immediately he turned around and bolted the door, and quickly took off his clothes and cap, shoes and socks, leaving only his underwear and his protective vest. And then he wore the little eunuch clothes and hat, and put on his clothes and hat on the little eunuch. The two of them were more or less of the same height, hence their clothes and hats also fit on each other''s body. Afterwards he dragged the little eunuch''s body and sat it on the chair; raising his dagger, he made random cuts on the little eunuch''s face, destroying his facial features beyond recognition.


    While his hands were busy working, in his heart he said, "Duo Dage, you are a Tatar, our Tian Di Hui makes our living by killing Tatars, so I have to kill you. Today I harmed your life, I really am sorry. Luckily you are bound to die anyway. Tonight I escape, tomorrow His Majesty will definitely have your head chopped, so you died only half a day earlier, it can''t be considered big loss. Moreover, because I killed you, you died in the line of duty. If the Emperor chopped your head, your possessions will be searched and confiscated, your wife and children will be dragged into this; you might as well die half a day earlier, your family will receive pensions and gift for the bereaved. Come to think about it, you are actually in a much more convenient situation." But thinking that usually Dolong was really not bad toward him, and that he was compelled by circumstances to kill him, in his heart he was genuinely grieved and was unable to stop tears from flowing down his face.


    After wiping his tears, he turned around to look at the little eunuch; he said in his heart, "You, Xiao Xiongdi, are wearing the Yellow Magua, you look very impressive. Originally, even you reincarnate ten times, you could not dream of achieving even half a part of the Yellow Magua. On your head you are wearing Bojue Daren''s hat. Just the ruby alone is enough to last you seven or eight lifetimes. Hey, hey, you are being promoted and gain wealth, it could be the Will of Heaven. In those days I, Wei Xiaobao, masqueraded Xiao Guizi; since then I enjoyed meteoric rise, until I become a high-ranking officer. Today you masquerade Wei Xiaobao, whether you could enjoy meteoric rise in the future or not, it will depend on your ability."


    He also thought, "Previously I masqueraded a little eunuch, today I let a little eunuch masquerade me. The debt I previously owed, I pay it back fair and square. Xiao Xuanzi, oh Xiao Xuanzi, I do not do you any wrong."


    Straightening up his clothes and hat and did not see any flaw, he said in a loud voice, "Xiao Wa''er [lit. little baby], you may leave; no need to serve here anymore. Here''s five taels for you to buy some candy."


    And then with an unclear voice he said, "Thank you very much Bojue Daren."


    Raising his voice again he said, "I am drinking wine and have a heart-to-heart chat with Duo Zongguan in here, I don''t want anybody to come in and disturb us!"


    In the Palace, the court eunuchs'' assignment was to serve the Emperor, the Empress, the Imperial Concubines, princes and princesses, but it was not uncommon for the senior eunuchs with official duty to have little eunuchs serving them. Although Wei Xiaobao was not a eunuch anymore, previously his prestige in the Palace was impressive, he was a big time eunuch; for him to have a little eunuch serving him and then rewarding him with money was a very common occurrence. When the Imperial Bodyguards outside heard this, nobody notice anything was out of place. They saw the door opened, the little eunuch came out, carrying the food box in his hands, with head hung low he turned around to close the door.


    Carrying the food box, Wei Xiaobao walked to the main gate with head hung low. He saw the Imperial Bodyguards were getting rice and pouring wine, nobody paid him any attention. Wei Xiaobao was secretly delighted; he thought, "It will be at least two hours before the Imperial Bodyguards find out that the two people inside the room are dead; they would think that Wei Bojue and Duo Zongguan were murdered by the assassins. It will scare them off that they will piss in their pants in terror."


    Stepping over the main door, he saw a procession of several eunuchs and palace maids, the leader carried a lantern, the rest of them carried a sedan chair. The sedan chair was decorated like a pheasant tail and feather; it was called a ''long-tail pheasant sedan chair''. The eunuch leading the procession announced in loud voice, "Her Highness the Princess has arrived."


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked, "The Princess did not come late, she did not come early, but she came exactly at this moment. As soon as she enters the room, she will immediately see me, Wei Xiaobao, killed; won''t she raise a ruckus in the Palace like the sky and the earth turning upside down? Now it will be extremely difficult to go out."


    Momentarily he was at a loss of what to do. He saw the sedan chair stopped, Princess Jianning stepped out from the sedan chair. "Is Xiao Guizi inside?" she called out.


    Wei Xiaobao gritted his teeth; he stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Princess, Wei Jueye [noble master] is drunk, let your servant take Princess inside."


    The lantern was not too bright, the Princess did not recognize him. Seeing the Imperial Bodyguards coming out of the room together to welcome her, she thought, "Why are there so many people?" Frowning, she waved her left hand and said, "Everybody wait outside." In big stride she walked in.


    Wei Xiaobao followed her in. As soon as he was in, he turned around and closed the door. The Princess said, "You also go out."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Wei Bojue is in the inner room."


    The Princess entered in quick steps. She pushed the door open, and saw ''Wei Xiaobao'' and Dolong two men were slumping over the table; obviously they were very drunk. She knitted her beautiful eyebrows and sternly said, "You are still not out?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said in a low voice, "If I go out, I cannot burn the rattan-armored troops."


    The Princess was startled; she quickly turned around, and under the candlelight, she was shocked to see Wei Xiaobao standing behind her. She could not help but was surprised and delighted at the same time. "Ah," she cried out. "You �� what are you doing?" she asked.


    "Don''t make noise!" Wei Xiaobao hissed.


    The Princess looked at him, and then she looked at the ''Wei Xiaobao'' crouching on the table. "What trick are you playing?" she asked in a low voice.


    Wei Xiaobao pulled her into the room and closed the door. "Things are not good," he said in a low voice, "His Majesty wants to kill me!"


    "Huangdi Gege has already killed the Prince Consort," the Princess said, "Why does he want to kill you too? He �� he �� if he killed you, I will stake my life against him."


    Wei Xiaobao reached out and pulled her into her arms, he planted a kiss on her cheek and said, "Let us quickly flee from the Palace. His Majesty knew about you and me, he wants to chop my head."


    Being embraced and kissed by him, the Princess'' body went weak; she said in a tender voice, "Huangdi Gege has killed the Prince Consort, I thought he was going to give me to you in marriage, how �� how could there be such thing? How did he find out?"


    "It must be you who tip him off, wasn''t it?" Wei Xiaobao said.


    The Princess blushed. "It was not," she said, "I only asked several times, when are you coming back."


    "And you said it wasn''t you?" Wei Xiaobao said, "It does not matter. Anyway, the two of us are already husband and wife; let us quickly get out of the Palace."


    The Princess hesitated. "I will plead with Huangdi Gege tomorrow," she said, "He can''t possibly kill you. When he killed the Prince Consort, he already told me that he really offended me, and he promised to find another good Prince Consort for me. He is always very fond of you ��" Speaking to this point, she felt that the reeking of blood in the room was getting thicker and thicker. Sniffing twice, she asked, "What is ��" Suddenly a burst of bad chi bubbled up in the pit of her stomach, ''Wah!'' she leaned over the back of a chair and threw up; her throat felt nauseated, she vomited another mouthful of bad-taste clear liquid.


    Wei Xiaobao lightly patted her back and gently comforted her, "What happened? Did you eat any bad food? Are you feeling better?"


    The Princess threw up two more times; suddenly she turned around and shot a heavy slap on his face. "I ate some bad food?" she cursed, "It''s you who are not good, you are not good!" With both fists she punched the pit of his stomach continuously.


    The Princess had always been harsh, unreasonable, and rough; this moment she suddenly threw a fit, Wei Xiaobao did not think it strange; however, realizing the urgency of the situation, for every moment he was delayed, the time the cannon would be fired would also be a moment closer. He really could not afford to have unnecessary bickering with her. "Alright, alright" he said, "I am not good."


    The Princess twisted his ear and shouted, "You and I are going to see Huangdi Gege, the two of us are going to immediately bow to the Heaven and the Earth to become husband and wife."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious; he pleaded, "Leave the matter of bowing to the Heaven and the Earth to be husband and wife to me, but as soon as we see His Majesty, your husband will turn into a headless Prince Consort instantly. Let us flee out of the Palace immediately, it is very important."


    The Princess pulled Wei Xiaobao''s ear hard, he was in so much pain that he could not bear not to cry out. The Princes cursed, "You don''t have any head, what''s the big deal? You are a little demon, originally you did not have any head anyway. What shall I do with the baby little demon in my tummy?" Speaking to this point, ''Wah!'' she broke into crying.


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked, "What �� what �� baby little demon?"


    The Princess''s leg flew, she kicked his lower abdomen, while saying with a cry, "In my tummy there is a baby little demon; it''s you who are not good. If we do not become husband and wife immediately, my belly �� my belly will grow every day �� His Majesty knew Wu Yingxiong was a eunuch, he could not do it, I �� how can I conduct myself as a human?"


    Wei Xiaobao''s countenance turned deathly pale; right now a thousand pounds was hanging by a thread, he was facing an urgent matter, and then this highly embarrassing matter arose. He busily said, "If we don''t get out of the Palace quickly, the baby little demon won''t have any Dad. After we escape out of the Palace, we will immediately bow to the Heaven and the Earth and get married. You give birth to a baby little demon, won''t that �� won''t that be His Majesty''s nephew [orig. waisheng �C sister''s son]? His Majesty becomes a maternal uncle, he will become my dajiuzi [wife''s older brother], won''t he feel it''s embarrassing to kill his meifu [younger sister''s husband]?"


    "Why would he feel embarrassed?" the Princess said, "Wu Yingxiong was his meifu, didn''t he kill him with one chop of a saber?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty knew that Wu Yingxiong was a fake meifu, I, Wei Xiaobao, on the other hand, is the genuine goods at fair prices. He killed fake meifu, he can''t possibly kill real meifu. Good Princess, after our baby little demon is born, he will wrap his arms around your neck and call you Mama, won''t it be beautiful?" While saying that, he reached out to embrace her neck.


    The Princess let out a tender giggles; she happily said, "If I can get the beautiful thing, which is you, this son of a b1tch, I won''t want any baby little demon calling me Mama." Her mouth said those words, but her hand that was twisting Wei Xiaobao''s ear actually loosened up. She said in tender voice, "I haven''t seen you for such a long time; were you thinking of me?" While saying that, she threw herself into his embrace.


    "I was," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I was thinking of you every day, I was thinking of you every night, I think of you all the time." But in his heart he cursed, "This hopeless romantic is really a damn dead wh0re." He saw her lingering feeling, her blushing face, but this was really not a good time to be intimate with her, yet he did not dare to offend her. In a low voice he said, "As soon as we are out of the Palace, later on day and night we will be together, we won''t be separated anymore. Let us go now."


    The Princess wriggled herself free from his embrace. "Can''t do!" she said, "We must become husband and wife tonight."


    "Alright, alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "If you say tonight, then tonight it is. But we must get out of the Palace first and talk about it later."


    "What do you mean get out?" the Princess said, "Huangdi Gege loves me most, he is your Shifu, he also loves you the most. Tomorrow we will plead with him, he won''t be angry. Huangdi Gege hates Wu Sangui the most, you can ask him to issue an imperial decree, assigning you to lead the troops to attack Wu Sangui, I will go with you. I will be the grand marshal of the army, you can become my deputy, we will beat Wu Sangui that he will be utterly defeated. Huangdi Gege may bestow you the title Wangye." While saying that, she embraced him tightly.


    Wei Xiaobao was in an extremely difficult situation. Suddenly someone knocked the window lightly three times, and then after a short pause knocked again twice. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said in a low voice, "Is it Tao Gugu?" He gently pushed the Princess away, and scrambled toward the window to open it. A shadow flashed, someone leaped in; it was precisely Tao Hongying.


    As the two women faced each other, both were shocked. Tao Hongying called in a low voice, "Princess."


    The Princess angrily said, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Thinking it over, immediately her jealousy arose, thinking that in the dead of the night this palace maid hopped over the window into Xiao Guizi''s room, it couldn''t possibly be a good thing, could it? Doubtlessly she must be his lover. Although she saw that Tao Hongying was old, thinking that Xiao Guizi was fooling around with this old and ugly palace maid, she could not forgive him even more. She was feeling rather amorous, but this woman suddenly broke in and spoiled the mood, her fury blazed like crazy. "Gu ��" she loudly called out. Wei Xiaobao had already prepared against this possibility. As soon as he knew that she was going to yell ''guards'', he reached out and pressed his hand on her mouth.


    The Princess struggled hard; she slapped backhandedly to strike Wei Xiaobao''s face. In his panic and fright, Wei Xiaobao''s right hand reached to her neck and tightened his grip. "Dead wh0re," he cursed, "I''ll strangle you to death!" The Princess could not breathe, her hands and feet flailing randomly. Wei Xiaobao pulled his left hand to hammer it on her head twice.


    Seeing he dared to beat up the Princess, Tao Hongying was shocked; she knew immediately that this matter would get noisy really quick. Stretching out her finger, she jabbed the Princess'' waist and the pit of her stomach three times in succession, sealing several acupoints on the upper part of her body. It was only then did Wei Xiaobao let go of his grip.


    "Gugu," he said in a low voice, "Things have turned really bad, the Emperor wants to kill me, I have to escape right away."


    "There are a lot of Imperial Bodyguards outside," Tao Hongying said, "I have been here quite a while ago, I waited behind the flower terrace more than an hour before I was able to sneak in. Look." She quietly pushed the window a slit.


    Wei Xiaobao peeked out, and indeed he saw seven or eight Imperial Bodyguards patrolling back and forth with lanterns in their hands. He thought for a moment, Thin Toutuo and Mao Dongzhu came into his mind; he mused, "Those two people''s luck was not good, they came across Gui Xinshu, husband and wife. Laozi can imitate their method. Those three people from the Gui Family can''t possibly reincarnated in someone else''s bodies, I can ride in the Princess'' sedan chair."


    Turning to the Princess, he said, "Princess, please don''t drink vinegar [i.e. be jealous], she is my Gugu, my Dad''s Meizi [younger sister], my Mama''s Jiejie [older sister]. You must not throw a fit randomly."


    After her acupoints were sealed by Tao Hongying, the Princess was so angry that she nearly pass out; hearing Wei Xiaobao''s explanation, her heart calmed down. She did not think that ''Dad''s Meizi and Mama''s Jiejie'' couldn''t possibly be the same person. In any case, this woman was not Xiao Guizi''s lover, so there was no problem. Instantly her face showed a smiling expression as she said, "In that case quickly release me."


    Wei Xiaobao wanted to make her happy; he said, "You are my wife, quickly greet Gugu."


    The Princess was very happy, to everybody''s surprise, she really called, "Gugu!"


    Tao Hongying was bewildered; a moment ago these two were beating each other, how could the Princess suddenly call her ''Aunt''?


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Order the sedan chair to be carried inside the room, and then tell everybody to get out, close the door, and then you and I will ride inside the sedan chair. We will sneak out of the Palace, and immediately bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married. During the wedding ceremony, we must have an elder standing on the side as the witness, otherwise the ceremony will not count. Our Gugu can be the witness. What do you think?"


    The Princess was overjoyed; her face blushed as she said in a low voice, "Good!"


    Wei Xiaobao pushed her back away and urged, "Quickly go, quickly go!"


    Being rushed urgently like that, without waiting for the acupoints on her upper body to be unsealed, the Princess went to the door and ordered, "Bring the sedan chair into the room!"


    All the eunuchs and palace maids were baffled, but this Princess has always been unpredictable, the orders that she gave usually had very little common sense, but had a lot of wildest things imaginable; therefore, they complied in chorus and brought the sedan chair inside.


    The First Imperial Concubine Shen''s luan sedan chair could be brought into the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and quietly brought Thin Toutuo and Mao Dongzhu out. Wei Xiaobao''s door was only several chi wide, how could the Princess'' long-tail pheasant sedan chair be brought through the door? Only the two long sedan chair poles could go in, the body of the sedan chair was stuck on the doorway and could not get in.


    "Useless bunch," the Princess cursed, "Get out!"


    The two eunuchs carrying the front part of the sedan chair thought, "The door is too narrow, how can you blame us?" Immediately they slipped out from the side of the sedan chair.


    Wei Xiaobao whispered in the Princess'' ear, "Order the Imperial Bodyguards not to come in."


    The Princess raised her voice, "Xiao Guizi, you must accompany me in the room, I forbid you from going out."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied in loud voice, "It''s getting late, Your Highness the Princess please take a rest earlier."


    The Princess cursed, "But I definitely want to go out to have a stroll, what do you care?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied loudly, "There''s assassin in the Palace, it would be better if Your Highness the Princess is a bit more careful."


    The Princess said, "His Majesty raised these many Imperial Bodyguards, the only thing they are good at is eating. Have everybody stand outside, nobody can go in." The crowd of Imperial Bodyguards complied in chorus.


    Wei Xiaobao climbed into the sedan chair and sat down; he beckoned Tao Hongying to unseal the Princess''s acupoints. The Princess also climbed into the sedan chair and sat in front of his bosom. Wei Xiaobao wrapped his arms around her and said in a low voice to Tao Hongying, "Gugu, please accompany us out of the Palace." He thought that her martial art skill was superb; with her escorting them next to the sedan chair, if their trickery was discovered, she could help fighting and killing people.


    Tao Hongying readily agreed. She was wearing palace maid uniform, standing next to the Princess'' sedan chair, nobody would suspect anything. The Princess shouted, "Take the sedan chair out."


    The two eunuchs carrying the front part of the sedan chair slipped back into the room from the side of the sedan chair. Together with the two eunuchs carrying the rear part of the sedan chair they lifted the sedan chair poles. They brought the sedan chair in reverse for several steps, and then they turned around and carried the sedan chair away. In their hearts they were all puzzled, "How come the sedan chair suddenly grows heavier?"


    The Princess followed Wei Xiaobao''s direction and ordered their carrier to get out of the Palace via the Shen Wu Gate. When the long-tail pheasant sedan chair reached the Shen Wu Gate, as the Imperial Bodyguards guarding the Gate saw that the Princess'' long-tail pheasant sedan chair wanted to get out of the Palace very late at night, they stepped forward to inquire. The Princess leaped out from inside the sedan chair and shouted, "I want to get out of the Palace, quickly open the door."


    The captain of the Imperial Bodyguards on duty at the Shen Wu Gate that night happened to be Zhao Qixian. Immediately he bowed to salute and said with a laugh, "Reporting to Your Highness: there are assassins in the Palace tonight, it''s not too safe; would Your Highness please wait for the daybreak before going out of the Palace."


    The Princess angrily said, "I am in a hurry, I am not scared of the assassins."


    Originally Zhao Qixian would not dare to disobey, but he knew that the Prince Consort Wu Yingxiong has been put to death, the Princess wanted to get out of the Palace this late at night, perhaps this matter had something to do with Wu Sangui''s rebellion. If that was true and this matter was investigated, he would not escape grave responsibility. Thereupon he repeatedly bowed in respect, but all along he refused to open the gate. But because the Princess urgently pressing him, he said, "Since that is the case, let your servant ask for Duo Zongguan''s instruction. Would the Princess please wait a little bit, as soon as your servant receive the instruction, I will rush back to open the Gate."


    Inside the sedan chair Wei Xiaobao heard the Princess was getting angry, but no matter what Zhao Qixian refused to open the Gate. If he really went to find Dolong, things would turn from bad to worse. In desperation he said, "Zhao Qixian, do you know who I am?"


    Zhao Qixian had been following him in various missions for quite some times, naturally he recognized Wei Xiaobao''s voice. Pleasantly surprised, he asked, "Is it Wei Fu Zongguan [deputy chief]?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Exactly." Sticking out his head from inside the sedan chair he beckoned Zhao Qixian to come closer. Zhao Qixian hurriedly came over. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "I received His Majesty''s secret order to go on a top secret mission; if I show my face, I might spoil the mission. Therefore, His Majesty ordered me to sit inside the Princess'' sedan chair, and ask the Princess to cover me up as I go out of the Palace."


    Zhao Qixian was well aware that he was the Emperor''s most doted on and most trusted aide, and was very familiar with the secretive way [orig. gods disappear and devils vanish] he handled his missions; hence Zhao Qixian did not have any doubt. "Yes, yes," he busily said, "Lowly officer will open the gate immediately."


    Wei Xiaobao was suddenly struck by a brainwave, "Do you want to be promoted and gain wealth?" he asked in a low voice.


    Zhao Qixian had worked with him, and all these years his rank had been promoted twice; as for wealth, he had gained more than twenty thousand taels. As soon as he heard the four-character phrase ''be promoted and gain wealth'' [sheng guan fa cai], he knew that since Deputy Chief Wei had already asked the question, it meant that he was supporting him to be promoted to a higher job. Bursting with joy, hastily he bent his knees to pay his respects and said, "Thank you very much Fu Zongguan for supporting me. Whatever errand Fu Zongguan is sending me to do, even with torn body and crushed bones lowly officer will not decline under any circumstances."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You said it yourself. When the cannon bombard, blasting you until your body torn and your bones crushed, you said you won''t decline under any circumstances; you must not blame me." He said in a low voice, "There is a group of rebel thieves in collusion with Wu Sangui. His Majesty concocted a brilliant plan, this very moment we managed to lure them into my Earl Mansion. His Majesty is sending me to lead the Vanguard Battalion troops to capture them. The Vanguard Battalion are usually not in good term with my Valiant Cavalry Brigade; do you know why His Majesty is sending me to lead the Vanguard Battalion?"


    "Lowly officer is very stupid," Zhao Qixian replied, "I do not know."


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice even more, "The Vanguard Battalion''s Commander Ah colluded with Wu Sangui, His Majesty wanted to seize this opportunity to catch everything in one net. The Princess is Wu Sangui''s daughter-in-law, when they see the Princess, they won''t suspect a thing."


    Zhao Qixian suddenly saw the light, "So that''s how it is," he said, "I can''t imagine Commander Ah has the audacity to commit treason and heresy. Most likely this matter was uncovered by Wei Fu Zongguan''s investigation too, and you have set up another great merit."


    "This merit was set up by the Emperor himself, which he then handed over to me," Wei Xiaobao said, "We are good brothers; promotions we enjoy together, wealth we gain together. Take forty Imperial Bodyguards and come with me to render great merit."


    Zhao Qixian was greatly delighted; he thanked Wei Xiaobao profusely, while hurriedly asked the Princess to get on the sedan chair. He then selected forty Imperial Bodyguards who usually loved to lick his behind, telling them that they would act on instructions from a secret imperial decree. They opened the Shen Wu Gate wide and escorted the Princess'' long-tail pheasant sedan chair out of the Palace. He ordered the remaining sixty Imperial Bodyguards to increase their vigilance in guarding the Gate.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Under no circumstances this Palace Gate is to be opened tonight; unless there is a direct order from either Duo Zongguan or myself, nobody is to be allowed to leave the Palace." Zhao Qixian passed on Wei Xiaobao''s order. The remaining sixty Imperial Bodyguards guarding the Palace Gate complied in chorus.


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused, "This time Laozi left, I will never come back. I wonder if Duo Zongguan''s ghost can come back to give the order to open the Palace Gate?"


    Tong Mao''er [copper hat] Lane was not far from the Imperial Palace, not too long afterwards the party arrived at the Zhong Yong Bo Fu [Loyal and Brave Earl Mansion]. Along the way Wei Xiaobao''s heart was pounding rapidly, he was afraid that they only reached half way, ahead the cannon were already fired for days on end. Fortunately from beginning to end it was extremely quiet with no sound of activity to be heard.


    When they reached the mouth of the alley, the Vanguard Battalion Commander Ajichi, who had already been informed of the arrival of the Princess'' long-tail pheasant sedan chair, was already waiting to welcome her. In the sedan chair, the Princess was enjoying Wei Xiaobao rubbing his back as he gave her detailed instruction on what to say and how to act. When she heard that Ajichi announced his greeting, she immediately stuck out her head from behind the sedan chair curtain and said, "Commander Ah, His Majesty''s secret imperial order: the task at hand tonight is extremely important; have you prepared everything well?"


    Ajichi bowed and responded, "Yes, everything is ready."


    The Princess said in a low voice, "Those cannon have also been prepared?"


    "Yes," Ajichi replied, "It''s under Nan Huairen Daren''s personal direction."


    Inside the sedan chair, Wei Xiaobao was able to hear everything clearly; he mused, "The Emperor really did not lie to me. That foreign devil Nan Huairen is here to personally aim the cannon, how can they miss?"


    The Princess said, "His Majesty''s order: I am to enter the Earl Mansion to do something, you come with me."


    Ajichi replied, "Reporting to Your Highness: this is a critical time, we must not come in."


    The Princess angrily said, "What do you mean we can''t come in? This is an imperial edict; you dare to defy?"


    "Your servant does not dare," Ajichi replied, "But �� but �� it is really very dangerous. Your Highness'' ten-thousand gold body ��"


    Inside the sedan chair Wei Xiaobao coughed once, Tao Hongying stepped forward, her finger moved like the wind, she sealed the three acupoints on Ajichi''s body, left and right waist and the side of his torso. Ajichi cried out in surprised, the upper part of his body was immediately paralyzed; and then he felt his back turned cold, followed by a sharp pain, as a sharp blade made a long cut on his back. He was scared out of his wits and was totally at a loss.


    The Princess said, "His Majesty''s secret order: if you refused, you are to be chopped down immediately, along with the execution of your whole family unto the third generation."


    "Yes, yes," Ajichi replied in trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao had an idea, "These Imperial Bodyguards have come with me on various missions, they always obey my orders, why would I want to deliver their lives? I''d better have the Vanguard Battalion as the scapegoats." He whispered in the Princess'' ear, "Tell him to select fifty Vanguard Battalion officers and men to come with us inside."


    The Princess thundered, "Take fifty of your sergeants, come with us inside to work."


    Ajichi responded with trembling voice, "Yes �� yes ��" Immediately he passed on an order to have fifty sergeant follow behind the Princess'' sedan chair into the Earl Mansion.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered Zhao Qixian to lead his Imperial Bodyguards to guard outside the gate, while the sedan chair proceeded to the second reception hall. The Princess and Wei Xiaobao got off the sedan chair, and ordered the fifty sergeants to wait in formation in the courtyard. With Ajichi in custody, Tao Hongying followed the two of them into the reception pavilion.


    When they pushed the door open, they saw Chen Jinnan, Mu Jiansheng, Xu Tianchuan and the others inside the hall. Everybody was greatly puzzled to see Wei Xiaobao entered with a woman dressed in exquisite attire, a palace maid, and a military officer. Wei Xiaobao beckoned, they all crowded around him; he said in a low voice, "The Emperor found out about our meeting in here. The alley outside is surrounded by officers and men; plus there are about a dozen cannon aimed at this place."


    Everybody was shocked; their countenance changed greatly. Liu Dahong said, "Let''s charge out."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Can''t do!" he hissed, "The officers and men outside are a lot, and the cannon are even more formidable. I have brought dozens of officers and men. Let us strip their clothes and sneak out." The crowd of warriors all praised this brilliant scheme.


    Wei Xiaobao turned around to talk to the Princess. The Princess nodded and said to Ajichi, "Tell twenty sergeants to come in."


    Ajichi could readily see that the situation was far from good, but there was a steel blade pressed against his neck, how could he dare to disobey? Without any choice he issued the order. Tian Di Hui and Mu Palace warriors laid an ambush behind the door. As soon as twenty Vanguard Battalion sergeants entered the reception pavilion, punches, kicks, elbow-strikes and finger jabs flew everywhere, the twenty men were immediately knocked down.


    The second time they called fifteen people, the third time they also called fifteen people; after all fifty sergeants were overthrown, their uniforms were stripped. The crowd of warriors quickly changed their clothes. Even the Princess also changed her clothes.


    Wei Xiaobao saw Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou also changed their clothes, but he did not see Shuang''er; hastily he asked Zeng Rou. Zeng Rou said, "Shuang''er Meizi saw you entered the Palace and did not come back for a very long time, while Gui Er Xia and the others also went into the Palace to assassinate but we also have not heard any news, she was very anxious, hence accompanied by Feng Daye [big master, term of respect for older man] they went out to scout for information."


    Mu Jianping said, "The two of them left right after lunch; why haven''t they come back until now?"


    Wei Xiaobao knitted his brows; he was quite worried. Although he knew that Feng Jizhong was exceptionally skillful in martial arts and was quite capable of protecting Shuang''er thoroughly, but the two of them did not know about the Emperor''s plan. Supposing they returned after everybody else escaped and the cannon happened to fire, wouldn''t it be terrible?


    After short deliberation he said to Qian Laoben, "Qian Dage, Feng Dage and Shuang''er went out to scout for information and have not come back, we must leave a number of warning sign so that when they see it, they will immediately leave."


    Qian Laoben complied. The situation was urgent, he pulled a dagger, cut the thigh of two Qing soldiers, cut a piece of their clothes, dipped it to the blood on the two men''s wounds, and wrote two big bloody characters ''kuai tao'' [quickly flee] on the doors. In succession he wrote the characters on all eight doors, while everybody finished changing their clothes.


    Wei Xiaobao led everybody to the stable to get some horses. Four Tian Di Hui brothers masqueraded themselves as eunuchs to carry the Princess'' long-tail pheasant sedan chair. With Ajichi in custody they went out of the Earl Mansion. The fifty sergeants were left inside the Earl Mansion with either their acupoints sealed or their hands and feet bound. Wei Xiaobao was still sitting inside the Princess'' sedan chair. When they were out of the mansion, he sighed, thinking, "Those attendants, stable hands, cooks, personal guards, men and maidservants, in their respective rooms in the Mansion will inevitably die of the cannon blast. But if I told them to leave, the officers and men guarding outside would definitely see something was wrong." He also recalled, "That day on Mount Wutai by disguising ourselves as Lama, we saved the Old Emperor''s life. Today we are using the same trick. First this ''turtle shedding its shell'' stratagem saved the Old Emperor''s life, now it saves Xiao Guizi''s life. It is greatly useful."


    The crowd of warriors, with the Princess and Ajichi in the middle, reached the end of the alley. They saw officers and men on patrol, the security was very tight, but momentarily they were not able to see where the cannon were set up.


    Having escaped from danger, Wei Xiaobao heaved a deep sigh. Seeing his Shifu and all his friends escaped the disaster of artillery barrage, he was greatly comforted. He said to Zhao Qixian, "This Commander Ah rebels against the Emperor, he committed treason and heresy; I want you to put him in jail. Unless His Majesty personally wants to bring him to trial, wait for my return before you can let him go." Zhao Qixian complied.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "This man is an offender to the throne, His Majesty hates him to the bones; when hearing his name, he will be very angry. Tell the brothers, everybody must be a bit more careful, don''t let His Majesty hear this rebel thief''s name."


    Zhao Qixian received the order; leading the forty Imperial Bodyguards, they left with Ajichi in custody. With Ajichi in jail, Wei Xiaobao did not give a damn as to when he was going to be released.


    The group of warriors continued walking in silence toward a secluded area. After about a li or so, Wei Xiaobao abandoned the sedan chair and mounted a horse instead. Chen Jinnan asked, "After Gui Er Xia and the others entered the Palace to assassinate the Emperor, what happened next?"


    "The three of them ��" Wei Xiaobao started. Suddenly they heard ''bang, bang, bang!'' loud explosion, followed by black smoke rising from the direction of the Earl Mansion. From the distance they saw beams, tiles and bricks flew to the air. The group of warriors felt the ground under their feet was shaking. At this time the cannon blast was rumbling continuously, from the Earl Mansion red-blood flame rose high, reaching more than ten zhang into the sky. The group of warriors was already far away from the Copper Hat Lane, but they still felt blasts of hot air hit them on the face. They looked at each other, aghast; nobody had ever imagined that the cannon power was that formidable. If they were late even for a short moment, how could they stay alive?


    Liu Dahong cursed, "His granny, what an earth shaking ��" his voice was drowned in the subsequent cannon blast that nobody heard the rest of his words.


    Looking toward the Earl Mansion, they saw the flame subsided, but immediately afterwards it rose again to the sky, burning half the sky red. Wei Xiaobao thought, "The young Emperor must have heard the explosion, if he sent someone to get me, the trickery would be exposed immediately." Walking away from the sedan chair, he said to Chen Jinnan, "Shifu, we must leave the city without delay. As soon as the news spread, the questioning on the city gates will be very strict, it won''t be easy to leave town."


    "That''s right," Chen Jinnan said, "Let''s go."


    The Princess leaped out of the sedan chair immediately. Wei Xiaobao turned toward the Princess and said, "You should return to the Palace, after the situation is calmed down, I will come to get you."


    The Princess was shocked and angered at the same time. "What did you say?" she shouted. Wei Xiaobao repeated his words.


    The Princess shouted, "You burn the plank after crossing the bridge? You want to cast me away now?"


    "No, not that ��" Wei Xiaobao started. But before he could finish, ''Slap!'' his face was heavily slapped.


    The crowd of warriors was flabbergasted. Just now the bombardment was shaking the heaven and the earth, everybody thought that were it not for Wei Xiaobao''s scheme to save them, by this time each one of them had already turned into flying ash, there would not be any opportunity to flee for their lives at all. As a result, even though usually they did not hold this youngster Xiangzhu in such a high regard, this moment they could not refrain from being grateful and were filled with admiration. Suddenly seeing the Princess made her move and beat him, some people immediately stepped forward to push her away, while some others shouted and scolded her.


    The Princess cried loudly and threw a tantrum, "You said you wanted to bow to the heaven and the earth with me, so I obeyed you, I took you out from the Imperial Palace, I also told that Vanguard Battalion commander to save your friends. You �� you are a stinky thief, you want to deny, it''s not over between you and me. In my belly ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was afraid she might have a slip of the tongue and announce the scandal in public; he hastily said, "Alright, alright! You can come with me. Let''s get out of the city and then we''ll talk." The Princess turned tears into laughter; she turned around and mounted a horse.


    The party reached the Chao Yang Gate at the east side of the city. Wei Xiaobao called out, "His Majesty''s secret order: we must get out of the city to pursue and capture the rebel thieves. Quickly open the city gate."


    Valiant Cavalry Brigade, Guarding Military Camp [national guards?], Vanguard Battalion, three military units were the Emperor''s Yu Lin Jun [lit. imperial forest army] personal guards. Within the City of Beijing, they were the boss [orig. bashing sideways and colliding straight on]; all civil and military officials were somewhat afraid of them. When the officers and men guarding the gate saw a group of Vanguard Battalion sergeants, how could they dare to disobey? Besides, a moment ago they heard the rumbling of the cannon, there must be something big happening in the city; thereupon they opened the city gate at once.


    Everybody exited the city and galloped to the east. Wei Xiaobao and Chen Jinnan rode side by side, he told his Shifu briefly how Gui Xinshu and his family failed in their attempt to assassinate the Emperor, and how the Emperor discovered his secret. Chen Jinnan praised him, "Xiaobao, usually I see you as a flippant and insincere, very dishonest boy, but in this critical moment surprisingly you are able to attach most importance to yi qi, not coveting riches and honor by selling your friends; it is indeed rare."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I don''t care much about other friends, but ''cardinal offense of exterminating master'' [������ʦ �C da yi mie shi], I absolutely must not do."


    "What do you mean you don''t care much about other friends?" Chen Jinnan said, "As long as he is your friend, you must never betray him. As for ''cardinal offense of exterminating master'' these four characters, you did not use it correctly."


    Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue. "Disciple is unlearned," he said, "I said it wrong, Shifu must not blame me." Thinking about how in the past he was able to talk nonsense with the young Emperor and had a good time, but with what had been happening today he would never be able to see him face to face, he could not help feeling sad.


    Chen Jinnan said, "We came out dress as Vanguard Battalion sergeants, in less than a day the Tatars will find out. We''d better change our clothes as soon as possible."


    "Precisely," Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as we reach the small town ahead, we can buy some clothes and change."


    They galloped eastwards for more than twenty li before reaching a small town, but the town did not have any used clothing store. Chen Jinnan was a veteran in marching to battle, and was very adept in governmental affairs, but facing this kind of trivial matter, momentarily he felt as if he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything; seeing there was no place to buy change of clothes, he said, "Let''s go to the next town and see; I hope we can find a used clothing store there."


    Passing the small town, they saw at the end of the market there was a large house that must belonged to a rich family; it has high wall and vermillion gate, the building looked grand. Wei Xiaobao had an idea; "Shifu," he said, "Let us go into that house to borrow some clothes so that we can change."


    Chen Jinnan hesitated. "I am afraid they won''t let us borrow some clothes," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We are military officers. Military offices do not eat the rich, do not rob from the rich, who else should we eat, who else should we rob?" Leaping down from the horse, ''dang, dang!'' he banged the copper door knocker randomly.


    A manservant came out to open the gate, everybody swarmed in; whenever they saw someone, they would strip his clothes. The head of the household was a retired government official from the Capital who had returned to his hometown. Seeing these Vanguard Battalion sergeants were acting like wolves and tigers, he repeatedly called, "Gentlemen officers, please do not act rough, let Xiongdi order my people to arrange some food and drink that gentlemen can use, I will also prepare some travel expense for you ��"


    Before he could finish, someone already grabbed him and peel off the robe and socks he was wearing. In his fright he screamed, "Xiongdi is already old, this provocation is out of the question ��"


    Giggling and laughing, the crowd of warriors stripped several dozen men of their clothes. The retired officer and the womenfolk were frightened as if their souls have left their bodies. Luckily these bunch of Vanguard Battalion officers and men were acting strangely, they only stripped the men''s clothes, but did not insult the women at all. After they stripped the men''s clothes, they did not do any other shady business either. With roar of laughter they simply went out, leaped onto their horses and left. All the men in the house were left stark naked; they could only look at each other in bewilderment.


    When the group of warriors reached a secluded place, they stopped to change their clothes. The Princess, Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou, three women also changed into men''s clothing. And then everybody mounted their horse to continue their journey. Wei Xiaobao was very concerned about Shuang''er; he said, "I wonder what happened to Feng Dage and my servant girl in the Capital. I am thinking of asking a brother from out of the province whose appearance is not familiar in the Capital to come back and ask around about them." Two Tian Di Hui brothers from Guangxi accepted the order and left.


    Seeing that there were no government troops chasing them at all, the group of warriors felt rather relieved. After traveling for a little bit more, "Ah!" suddenly Mu Jianping cried out in alarm, but then she immediately broke into giggle. Turned out Zeng Rou''s mount suddenly excreted a large puddle of watery feces, it almost splashed onto Mu Jianping''s foot.


    Not too long afterwards, several more horses also excreted some watery feces. And then the horse Priest Xuanzhen was riding suddenly neighed and sank to the ground; no longer willing to stand up. "Daozhang [Taoist priest]," Qian Laoben said, "Let us two brothers ride on one horse!"


    "Alright!" Priest Xuanzhen replied. He leaped onto Qian Laoben''s horse to ride behind him.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized something; he could not help but was greatly alarmed. "Shifu," he called out, "Retribution! Retribution! This is bad!"


    "What is it?" Chen Jinnan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Wu �� Wu Yingxiong ghost is looking for me. He hated me �� hated me for capturing him back, also stole his �� his ��" he really could not bring himself to speak the last two characters ''lao po'' [wife].


    He remembered when he received the imperial order to pursue Wu Yingxiong that day, because the horses that Wu Yingxiong''s party were riding were fed with large amount of croton, along the way the horses constantly excreted watery feces, followed by one after another the horses fell dead. Because of this, Wu Yingxiong was not able to escape far and was captured back by Wei Xiaobao. If that time Wu Yingxiong managed to escape to Yunnan, naturally the Emperor could not kill him. So if he thought it over, Wu Yingxiong''s death was caused by him sending people to poison his horses. Now that it was his turn to run away, one by one their horses also suffered diarrhea and fell dead, what is it if not Wu Yingxiong''s ghost was playing trick on him? What''s more, in his escape Wei Xiaobao was taking Wu Yingxiong''s wife along. After Wu Yingxiong had become a ghost, he was still wearing a dark-green-emerald-inlaid one-pin-rank big green hat; naturally he was unwilling to let his wife go. The more Wei Xiaobao thought about it, the more frightened he was; he could not stop his body from trembling as he heard several horses whinnying, and two more horses fell down.


    Chen Jinnan could also see that something was amiss, hastily he asked for the full details. Wei Xiaobao then told him what happened that day when he captured Wu Yingxiong back; with a trembling voice he said, "Wu Yingxiong ghost lingers on, today he came back for revenge. This �� this ��"


    The Princess angrily said, "That fellow Wu Yingxiong, when he was alive he was stupid and cowardly, after he was dead, he is also a useless ghost. Why are you afraid of him?"


    Chen Jinnan frowned and said, "Clear sky under the sun, how could there be any ghost? That day you poisoned Wu Yingxiong''s horses, did the Tatar Emperor know about it?"


    "He did," Wei Xiaobao replied, "He even praised me as a good-luck general."


    Chen Jinnan nodded. "Right," he said, "Since the Tatar Emperor knew you are following the good-luck general way, he also knew that you have a good-luck general body. He is afraid you might escape, hence he had already sent people to feed croton to your horses."


    Wei Xiaobao instantly saw the light. "Right, right," he repeatedly said, "That day when we captured Wu Yingxiong, the young Emperor was very happy, he bestowed a petty official rank to my head stable hand, sending him to work for the officer in charge of the carriage of the Ministry of War. This time he must have sent him to poison my horses."


    "That''s right," Chen Jinnan said, "He is very familiar with your horses, he knew each horse''s temperament, naturally to poison the horse is ''a hundred shots a hundred hits''."


    Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "Next time I catch this stable hand, I will stuff all the watery feces in here into his mouth ��" Before he could finish, suddenly he felt the mount underneath his crotch lurched forward and dropped on its knees. Wei Xiaobao hopped down, and saw the horse was struggling to get up, but after struggling several times, its hind legs kneeled down again.


    Chen Jinnan said, "These animals are no good. We must buy some horses at the next town."


    Liu Dahong said, "It''s not easy to find dozens of horses all at once."


    "Absolutely right," Chen Jinnan said, "Everybody, let''s disperse for the time being." While he was still speaking, suddenly they heard faint noise of hoof beats on the road.


    Priest Xuanzhen happily said, "Soldiers are coming to pursue us. Let us kill the damn kids and grab their horses."


    Chen Jinnan called out, "Tian Di Hui brothers hide on the left of the road, Mu Palace and Wang Wu Mountain brothers hide on the right. Wait till the soldiers arrive, we will attack by surprise. Aiyo, not right ��"


    They heard the hoof beats was getting nearer, the ground was faintly shaking, the pursuing soldiers were at least one of two thousand men. The group of warriors did not need to ask him why he cried ''aiyo, not right'', these four words, their countenance changed greatly. The group of warriors was only several dozen men. Although their martial art skill was not weak, in broad daylight on an open plain fighting a large group of cavalry, the enemy troops would easily surround them several layers thick. Those with high level of martial art skill might escape alive, but most of the rest were bound to deliver their lives.


    Chen Jinnan made a prompt decision, "The pursuing troops are not a few," he called, "We cannot fight a head-on battle, everybody disperse into villages, hills and woods." He only spoke those few words, the hoof beats were getting even closer. As far as the eye could see, the dust on the road rose high into the sky, like a wide expanse of black cloud rolling near.


    "Bad, bad!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, and moved his legs to run.


    "Hey!" the Princess called, "Where are you going?" while running close behind him.


    "Go back to the Palace," Wei Xiaobao called out, "Coming with me won''t do you any good."


    "Stinky Xiao Guizi," the Princess cursed, "You want to run away? Not so easy."

 Chapter - 45 (45)

    People came to faraway and hard-to-reach land as the source of desperate fight, things brought so much grief that everybody was afraid of the truth.


    Wei Xiaobao did not stop whining; he mused, "To get away from the Princess is a lot more difficult than getting away from the pursuing troops." He saw at the northeast corner there was a field of tall sorghum plants, the plants were taller than a man, immediately he ran desperately toward the sorghum field.


    When he got near, he saw behind the sorghum field there were two farmer houses, other than that, he did not see anywhere else he could hide. Thinking that the pursuing troops were fast and that they would be here in a flash, he ran into the sorghum plants straightaway. Suddenly he felt his back tightened; someone grabbed him from behind, followed by the Princess'' laughter as she said, "Why are you lagging behind?"


    Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice; with a bitter laugh he turned around and said, "You go and hide over there. We''ll talk when the pursuing troops have gone."


    The Princess shook her head and said, "No way! I want to be with you." Immediately she crawled into the sorghum field and cuddled next to him.


    Before the two of them were able to hide properly, they heard footsteps, followed by Zeng Rou calling, "Wei Xiangzhu, Wei Xiangzhu!"


    Wei Xiaobao stuck his head out and saw Zeng Rou and Mu Jianping were running side-by-side toward him. "I am here," he said, "Quickly hide in." Following his order, the two women crawled in.


    The four of them went deep into the sorghum field, hiding among the branches and leaves; thinking that the pursuing troops would have a hard time finding them, they felt somewhat relieved.


    A short moment later, they heard group by group the pursuing cavalry galloped by on the main road. Wei Xiaobao thought, "That day I was with Ah Ke, Shitai Shifu, and that stinky fellow Zheng Keshuang, also four people, hiding inside the barley stack. Ay, if only by my side is not this mean Princess but Ah Ke, I will die happy. I wonder where is Ah Ke now? Most likely she has already become Zheng Keshuang''s wife. I don''t know what happened to Shuang''er."


    Suddenly they heard voices from a distance; some people were barking orders, followed by a group of cavalry reining their horses to stop. Clatters of hoof beats were moving near, unexpectedly they were searching toward this direction. The Princess was shocked, "They saw us."


    "Don''t make any noise," Wei Xiaobao said, "They haven''t seen us."


    "Aren''t they coming this way?" the Princess said.


    They heard someone shouted, "The rebel thieves'' horses are falling dead around here, they can''t run away too far. Everybody search carefully."


    "So that''s how it is," the Princess said in her heart, "Those dead horses really cause a lot of trouble." Reaching out, she gripped Wei Xiaobao''s hand tightly.


    Liaodong, outside the Pass, was vast, but sparsely populated, the soil was fertile; sorghum fields were oftentimes spread thousands of mu hundreds of qing, as far as the eye can see. [1 mu ~ 1/15 of a hectare or 1/6 of an acre, 1 qing = 100 mu]. The sorghum grew tall, it was known as ''green muslin screen''. It would be very difficult to find anybody hiding inside. But the sorghum fields in Beijing''s suburb were sparse and a lot shorter. The field where Wei Xiaobao and the others, four people were hiding was only twenty or thirty mu; as a large group of officers and men searched carefully, they would be found and captured in no time at all.


    When they heard the troops were getting closer and closer, Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, "Let''s go to the house over there." After tugging Mu Jianping''s sleeve, he crept toward the two farm houses; the three women followed behind him.


    Reaching the bamboo fence, they pushed the door and saw that the house was uninhabited, on one corner quite a few of farm tools were piled up. Wei Xiaobao grabbed several woven rush raincoat and handed them over to the three women, saying, "Quickly wear these." While he also put one on his body. Putting on a conical bamboo hat, he sat on a corner.


    The Princess laughed and said, "We are peasants now; it''s so much fun."


    Mu Jianping shushed her and said in a low voice, "They''re coming!"


    ''Bang!'' the plank door was pushed open, seven or eight officers and men came in. Wei Xiaobao and the others quickly turned their heads around.


    A moment later, someone said in a loud voice, "There''s no one here, the peasants are out to the field."


    Wei Xiaobao thought that this man''s voice and accent sounded familiar. He peeked from under the conical bamboo hat, and sure enough, it was Zhao Liangdong. He was delighted.


    A sergeant said, "Zongbing Daren, these four people ��"


    Zhao Liangdong thundered, "Everybody out! Let me search carefully. This room is so small. Damn it, with all of you crowding in here, I can''t even turn around." The soldiers voiced their agreement, they all trooped out.


    Zhao Liangdong asked in a loud voice, "Have you seen any strangers around here?" As he walked toward Wei Xiaobao, his hand went into his bosom to take out two gold yuanbao and three ingots of silver, which he gently put down by Wei Xiaobao''s feet. Raising his voice, he said, "Turns out those people are running to the north! They knew His Majesty has lost his temper; if they are captured surely they will be beheaded, thus they are fleeing far, running away as fast as they can. This time it is really serious!" Stooping down, he gave Wei Xiaobao a hug and gently shook him several times before turning around and out of the door, while shouting, "The rebel thieves have run to the north, everybody pursue them quickly!"


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. He thought, "Zhao Liangdong has a very strong yi qi toward me. If this matter is discovered, he won''t be able to protect his own head." He heard the clatter of hooves outside as the officers and men mounted their horses and galloped away to the north.


    The Princess was puzzled, "That Zongbing obviously saw us, why did he say �� Ah, and he gave you gold and silver too? He must be your friend."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s get out of here from the back door!" Stuffing the gold and silver into his pocket, he walked to the back.


    As they stepped across the rear courtyard, they saw eight or nine people were sitting on the porch. As soon as Wei Xiaobao took a glance, he cried out in fear, turned around and ran. But he only took a couple of steps when the back of his neck was yanked, someone grabbed him and lifted him up. The man coldly said, "You think you can still escape?"


    This man was none other than Cult Leader Hong. The rest of the people were Madame Hong, Fat Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting, Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen, Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue, and Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Jin. All Divine Dragon Cult most important characters were gathered here. There was also a young woman, Fang Yi.


    The Princess angrily said, "Why did you catch him?" Her leg flew toward Cult Leader Hong. Cult Leader Hong slightly bent his left hand, his middle finger flicked on the back of her foot. "Ah!" the Princess cried out and fell down to the ground.


    With his body hanging in the air Wei Xiaobao called out, "Jiaozhu and Madame enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the Heaven''s. Disciple Wei Xiaobao pays his respect."


    With a cold laugh Cult Leader Hong said, "It''s good that you still remember those few words."


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Those few words, disciple always remembers in my heart. Early morning when I get up I recite it once, when I wash my face I recite it once, when I eat my breakfast I recited it once, when I eat my lunch I recite it once, when I eat my dinner I recite it once, at night before I go to bed I also recite it once. Never once did I miss to recite it. Every now and then I would remember Jiaozhu and Madame''s benevolence, oftentimes I would be overwhelmed and recite it several more times."


    Ever since his old lair on the Divine Dragon Island was destroyed, his members dead or scattered all over, only several old brothers remained by his side, Cult Leader Hong wandered around in Jianghu; nobody recited the ode ''enjoy immortal good fortune forever, long life the same as the Heaven''s'' with the same vigor anymore, oftentimes he barely heard it once in a day. This time hearing Wei Xiaobao''s flattering words surged like the tide, he could not help feeling delighted. He set him down, and his ice-cold countenance revealed the slightest hint of smile.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Subordinate can see Jiaozhu today, from head to foot my spirit is greatly aroused. There is only one thing that I do not understand."


    "What is it?" Cult Leader Hong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "From that day I took my leave from Jiaozhu and Madame, not a few days has passed, how come Jiaozhu looks seven, eight years younger, and Madame even looks like you have turned into my little sister. It''s really strange."


    Madame Hong giggled tenderly, she reached out to pinch his cheek and said with a laugh, "Little monkey, your boot-licking skill can be considered number one under the heavens."


    The Princess was enraged; she shouted, "You, this woman, is so shameless; how come you casually grope [orig. moving hands moving feet] other people''s face?"


    Madame Hong laughed and said, "I only moved my hands, I did not move my feet at all. Alright! Now I am moving my feet." Lifting her left foot, ''smack!'' she heavily kicked the Princess'' buttocks. The Princess screamed in pain.


    Suddenly they heard hoof beats, in an instant all around them were horses, nobody knew how many officers and men had surrounded this farmhouse. The main gate opened, more than a dozen officers and men swarmed in. The two leaders entered the courtyard, they eyed everybody one by one, and then one of them said, "Only some unrelated farmers are here."


    Wei Xiaobao heard the voice and knew that it was Wang Jinbao''s. He was delighted and turned his head around. He saw the one by Wang Jinbao''s side was Sun Sike. The two men winked at him and waved their hands to order the sergeants to go out. Sun Sike said in loud voice, "Just some ordinary citizens. Hey, have you seen any escaping rebel thieves? No? Alright, we''ll go look someplace else."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was stirred, "This time I fall into Shen Long Jiao''s hands, no matter what graceful words, flowery speech I use, in the end my life is still difficult to protect. I''d rather be with Wang San Ge and the others, get out of Shen Long Jiao''s hands first, then ask those two to let me go." Seeing Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike were just turning around to leave, he called out, "Wang San Ge, Sun Si Ge, I am Wei Xiaobao. Please take me with you."


    Sun Sike said, "You are just countryfolks, quickly go far away."


    Wang Jinbao said, "This peasant Xiao Xiongdi asked you if you have some money. Do you bring some money?"


    "You want some money?" Sun Sike asked, "I have some, I have some!" From his bosom he took a fold of banknotes and handed it to Wei Xiaobao, saying, "There are some rebel thieves running away from Beijing, His Majesty is very angry, he sent several thousand troops and horses in hot pursuit, if they are caught, they will be beheaded immediately. Xiao Xiongdi, this place is very dangerous, if you are caught by mistake, you will deliver your life for sure. It''s really not worth it."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Please arrest me, I �� I''d rather come with you."


    Wang Jinbao said, "You want to come with us to be a soldier and eat army provision? It won''t be fun. Outside there is firearm brigade that His Majesty personally dispatched, they have blunderbuss. ''Bang, bang, bang, bang!'' the guns went off, even if your martial art skill were higher, you won''t be able to resist."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The firearm brigade; that''s even better. Even Hong Jiaozhu will not dare to move randomly." Hastily he said, "I have something I need to report to His Majesty. Please take me with you."


    Wang Jinbao said, "As soon as His Majesty sees you, he will chop your head. The Emperor also has two eyes and one mouth, why do you want to see him? Oh, we''ll leave you thirteen horses, so that you, thirteen countryfolks, can have a horse each. After ten years or eight, you must return the horses back to Beijing. If even one horse dies, you must pay us back. You absolutely must be very careful." While saying that, he walked out.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious, he stepped forward to stop him. "Wang San Ge," he called out, "Quickly take me with you."


    Suddenly, a large hand was pressed on the crown of his head, and he heard Clan Leader Hong said, "Xiao Xiongdi, the General has good intentions, he had just left the Capital, he knew His Majesty''s mind, you must not indulge in flights of fancy."


    Sun Sike loudly said, "That''s right, let us quickly go to pursue the rebel thieves."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that right now his life was hanging in Clan Leader Hong''s hands. He only needed to exert a bit of his internal energy, Wei Xiaobao''s brain would immediately shatter. But even if he did not die right now, not too long afterwards he would definitely die anyway. Thereupon he said in a loud voice, "You must quickly arrest me, I am Wei Xiaobao!"


    Everybody was taken by surprise; they halted their steps. Sun Sike burst into loud laughter and said, "Wei Xiaobao is a teenage boy, you, this old granpa, is nearly eighty years old, yet you raise your voice and play a joke; won''t you make people laugh until their mouths askew?" He tugged Wang Jinbao''s sleeve; the two of them walked out in big strides.


    A moment later they heard someone passing on the order, "Leave thirteen horses in here for the later pursuing troops to transmit information, burn these two thatched huts so that the rebel thieves cannot hide in it."


    The crowd of sergeants complied, "We receive the order!" and then someone set the cottages on fire. The sound of hoof beats was heard as the large group of troops and horses galloped north.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. He thought, "This time I will die for sure. Wang San Ge and Sun Si Ge are afraid I would stay and not leave, then when other pursuing troops arrive, they might not show the same symphaty." He saw the sogon grass on the corner of the hut started to burn, the flame slowly came near.


    With a cold laugh Clan Leader Hong said, "Your friends have outstanding yi qi, they gave you money, they also give you horses. Let''s go."


    Mu Jianping helped the Princess up, they all exited the hut from the rear door, and went around to the front. Sure enough, underneath the tree in front of the cottage they found thirteen fine horses. Two of the horses had exquisite saddle and bridle, obviously these two horses were Wang Jinbao and Su Sike''s personal mounts.


    They got on the horses and galloped eastwards. Wei Xiaobao and his companions, four people, were placed in the middle. Wei Xiaobao was hoping another team of pursuing troops would capture him. The young Emperor had deep friendship toward him, although this time he had offended him greatly, not necessarily he would have his head chopped. Cult Leader Hong was treacherous and murderous, falling into his hands would mean countless hardship for him. But for the whole journey he did not hear any sound of hoof beats of the pursuing soldiers. The horses they were riding were handpicked by Wang Jinbao, they could run like the wind. Even if there were pursuing troops behind them, there was little chance the troops might be able to overtake them. Much less Zhao, Wang, and Sun, three Zongbing [regional commander] had already led the pursuing troops to the north.


    Along the way, other than the Princess who was cursing and swearing, everybody else rode in silence. Afterwards Yin Jin sealed the Princess'' mute acupoint so that even though her heart was full of anger, she was unable to utter any curses.


    Cult Leader Hong led everybody riding through desolate areas as much as possible as they sped along to the southeast. Even at night they also stopped to rest in the wilderness. Several times Wei Xiaobao attempted escape, but Cult Leader Hong''s resourcefulness was not inferior to his, every time his body ended up suffering a few more punches; how could he get away from their grasp?


    Several days later they reached the seaside. Lu Gaoxuan took an ingot of silver from Wei Xiaobao''s bosom to hire a large ocean-going ship. Wei Xiaobao could only groaned inwardly; even hiring the sea-going ship they were using his silver, he was even more discontended.


    After boarding the ship, the boat raised its sail and they journeyed to the east. Wei Xiaobao thought, "I am sure this time we are going to Shen Long Island again, the old turtle must want to feed laozi to the snakes." Thinking about the vipers on the island would coil around his body and bite him, he could not stop his body from shivering. "I have to somehow find a way to bore a big hole on the bottom of the boat so that everybody will die together," he mulled over. But all the Divine Dragon Cult leaders knew that he was deceitful in many ways, they all guarded him carefully, how could he find the opportunity?


    Wei Xiaobao remembered that he had been to the Divine Dragon Island twice before; the first time he and Fang Yi were whispering sweet nothings to each other on the boat, enjoying her gentle and soft touch along the way. The second time he was leading a big navy, his prestige impressed eight directions. This time he suffer a lot of punching and kicking, and was always at the death''s door. The difference between the suffering and delight was as far as the heaven from the earth.


    Ever since he met Fang Yi at the farmhouse at the ourskirt of Beijing, along the way they rode together, now at sea they were in the same boat, yet she neither showed any delight nor anger, all along she maintained wooden expression without ever saying anything to him. Although she did not personally torturing him, yet all along she did not look at him either. Sometimes he thought that because she was under the Cult Leader Hong''s tyrannical grip, although she had a deep feeling toward him, she did not dare to reveal her feeling through her speech and facial expression. Sometimes he recalled that many times he had fallen into this little wh0re''s trick; that she was a treacherous and crafty woman, that no woman on earth could ever surpass her; he could not help gnashing his teeth in hatred.


    After traveling for many days, indeed the boat reached the Divine Dragon Island. Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo escorted Wei Xiaobao, the Princess, Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou, four people ashore. Yin Jin forced the sailors to leave the boat. A sailor protested. Yin Jin immediately killed him with a saber. The rest of the sailors were scared that their souls flew to the outer sky; who would still dare to make any noise? Without any choice they obediently followed.


    The trees on the island had withered, there were rubbles everywhere, the remains of the bombardments the other day. From the forest a strong stench assaulted their nostrils, skeletal remains of vipers strewn over the roads. When they arrived at the front of the main hall, they saw the walls had collapsed and the bamboo broken, several dozens bamboo structures had been completely obliterated. Cult Leader Hong stared hard without saying anything. Yin Jin and the others had angry look on their face, some glowered hatefully at Wei Xiaobao.


    Zhang Danyue shouted loudly, "Hong Jiaozhu has returned to the Island! All Cult disciples quickly come out to pay your respect to Jiaozhu!" His internal energy was abundant, as he raised his chi to shout, his voice could be heard for several li. After waiting for a short time, he shouted again twice, but they only heard the faint echo of his voice from the valley, "Returned to the Island! Pay your respect to Jiaozhu! Returned to the Island! Pay your respect to Jiaozhu!"


    After a long time, all around was still quiet, no sound was to be heard, not only they did not see a throng of disciples swarming over, they did not even hear a single disciple responding. Cult Leader Hong turned his head around toward Wei Xiaobao and said coldly, "You bombarded our Island, striking in such a way that a big Shen Long Jiao collapses like melting ice. Are you happy now?"


    Seeing the fury and malicious expression in his face, Wei Xiaobao could not stop the hair on his body from standing up; with a trembling voice he said, "The old has not passed away, the new will not �� not come. Hong Jiaozhu is all-powerful, your might greatly �� greatly spread out all over the map. You can �� can found a new Cult, open a business and get rich; this is called the more it is burned, the more it flourishes; the more it is bombarded, the more prosperous it becomes. Jiaozhu and Madame enjoy immortal good fortune forever ��"


    "Very good!" Hong Jiaozhu said. Suddenly he kicked him; Wei Xiaobao flew up and ''crash!'' he landed heavily on the ground. He felt all the bones and muscles in his body were about to break, he could not crawl up. Seeing Hong Jiaozhu was this vicious, although she was afraid, Zeng Rou still went over to help Wei Xiaobao up.


    Yin Jin stepped forward and bowed. He said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu, this little thief''s crime deserves ten thousand deaths, let subordinate cut him off one blade at a time, one piece at a time."


    "Humph!" Cult Leader Hong said, "There''s no rush!" After a short pause, he continued, "In this kid''s brain a great secret is hiding. The restoration and rise of our Cult rely on this important matter, for the time being we must not kill him."


    "Yes, yes," Yin Jin said, "Jiaozhu stands tall and sees far, subordinate is simple-minded and ill-informed, it''s hard for me to understand the subtlety of this matter."


    Cult Leader Hong sat down on a piece of big rock and was deep in thought for half a day. He said, "From the beginning, the road to great success has always been plagued with misfortunes. Our Cult is suffering a setback for the time being, but it''s nothing to be worried about. Right now our stars are scattered, we ought to think how to reorganize our flags and drums, there is no harm in everybody pouring out your insight."


    Yin Jin said, "Jiaozhu is brilliant and wise, even if we think for ten days and ten nights, it will be fall short of Jiaozhu''s bright idea that you find in a flash. It would be better if we ask Jiaozhu to point out a good plan, everybody will just follow your order to accomplish it."


    Cult Leader Hong nodded and said, "The most important business in front of our eyes is to gather again our disciples. Last time the Tatar soldiers bombarded our Island, although the casualty among our Cult disciple was not a few, it was no more than one pavilion out of three; the remaining two pavilions must be scattered all over the place. Right now I promote Lu Gaoxuan to be the White Dragon Envoy, to bring the number of Five Dragon Envoys to completion." Lu Gaoxuan bowed to express his gratitude.


    Cult Leader Hong continued, "In the next few days I want all Green, Yellow, Scarlet, White and Black Dragon Envoys to go to various regions to recruit former subordinates, and if you see young men and young women with desirable natural endowments, you may thus receive them under your command. Recruiting the old accepting the new, we can heavily flourish our Divine Cult."


    Yin Jin, Zhang Danyue, and Lu Gaoxuan, three people bowed and said, "We will obey Jiaozhu''s order." However, the Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen and Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting stayed silent.


    Cult Leader Hong cast a sidelong glance toward the two people and asked, "Scarlet Dragon Envoy and Blue Dragon Envoy, do you have something to say?"


    Xu Xueting said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu, subordinate has two things I''d like to ask, hoping that Jiaozhu will approve."


    "Humph," Cult Leader Hong snorted. "What is it?" he asked.


    Xu Xueting said, "Your subordinates here are always loyal to our Cult and Jiaozhu, but all along Jiaozhu did not trust our brothers, inevitably our hearts are discouraged. The first matter is this: I earnestly request that Jiaozhu will have mercy and bestow us the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' antidote, so that the hearts of our brothers are not worried, with heart and soul we will serve Jiaozhu."


    Cult Leader Hong coldly said, "And if I do not give you the antidote, you won''t serve me with your heart and soul?"


    "Subordinate does not dare," Xu Xueting replied. "The second matter is this: those young men and women were unable to accomplish anything but liable to spoil everything. As soon as they encountered big matter, everybody fled everywhere so that no one remained. Presently our Cult is facing trials and tribulations, from start to finish, those who follow Jiaozhu and Madame are us, several old brothers. Those younger disciples, ordinarily their mouths said that they would be loyal and would not be double-hearted, that they would go through water and tread on fire, ten thousand deaths would not prevent them, et cetera, but when things came to a head, which one actually exert themselves for Jiaozhu? In subordinate''s humble opinion, if we want to see our Cult flourish, we ought to gather responsible, courageous spirited real men. Those whose mouth say yes but their hearts say no, young boys and girls who talk in eight directions, just like this renegade, the little traitor Wei Xiaobao, we need not recruit."


    For each sentence that he spoke, Cult Leader Hong''s countenance turned one shade darker. Xu Xueting was trembling with fear, but he braced himself to finish his speech.


    Cult Leader Hong shot a piercing gaze toward Priest Wugen. "What do you say?" he coldly asked.


    Priest Wugen took two steps back. He said, "Subordinate thinks that there is some logic behind what Blue Dragon Envoy has said. The former cart is overturned, we cannot travel the same road anymore [overturned cart figuratively means disastrous policy]. You can''t gain knowledge without practical experience, since we have committed the fault, with Jiaozhu''s great wisdom and great intelligence, you understood that not only these young boys and girls are useless, they are also unreliable. Just like �� just like ��" while saying that, he pointed to Mu Jianping and said, "This little girl is my Scarlet Dragon Gate''s subordinate. Jiaozhu''s benevolence to her was not shallow, but as soon as we met disaster, she immediately committed apostasy by surrendering to the enemy. This kind of person must be tracked down and brought back one by one, have them hacked into pieces, to guard against this kind of apostasy."


    Cult Leader Hong''s gaze swept Lu Gaoxuan and the others. "Is this a common agreement among all of you?" he asked. The crowd fell silent.


    After a moment, Fat Toutuo said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu, we did not discuss it beforehand. However �� however, subordinate believes that Blue Dragon Envoy, Scarlet Dragon Envoy, two gentlemen''s opinion is somewhat reasonable."


    Cult Leader Hong stared at Zhang Danyue, waiting for him to talk. Trembling with fear, Zhang Danyue said, "This time our Cult met with danger, encountered the disaster of destruction; the main offender, without a doubt, was this little thief Wei Xiaobao. Toward this kind of people, subordinate absolutely cannot trust anymore."


    Cult Leader Hong nodded. "Very good," he said, "You are also of the same opinion as the other. Lu Gaoxuan, what about you?"


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Subordinate has received Jiaozhu''s great benevolence by promoting me to assume heavy responsibility as the White Dragon Envoy, I should strive to display utter loyalty in serving Jiaozhu. Blue Dragon Envoy and the others'' thought is in consideration of our Cult and Jiaozhu, there is no other intention."


    Yin Jin raised his voice, "What all of you said is very wrong. Jiaozhu''s wisdom is a hundred times higher than ours. There is no need for us to speak too much, all we need to do is just listen to Jiaozhu and Madame''s instructions. The Tatar troops bombarded our island, it was to wash away the dirt and disgrace of our Cult; those renegades who are not loyal to Jiaozhu were blasted away. Were it not for that, how could we know who was loyal and who was the traitor? We, the subordinates, were like the frog at the bottom of the well, our insight was narrow and shallow, all we saw was the gains and the losses of the moment, how can we be compared to Jiaozhu who can see through a hole and gaze at a hundred lifetimes?"


    Xu Xueting angrily said, "The reason why our Cult failed and was wiped over the floor, was mostly because of people like you, boot-licking ghosts. You flatter randomly, what good will it bring to our Cult? What good will it bring to our Jiaozhu?"


    "What do you mean boot-licking ghost?" Yin Jin said, "You �� you �� aren''t you rebelling?"


    Xu Xueting angrily said, "You are a shameless lowly person, you ruined our Cult. You are the rebel!" While saying that, his hand grabbed the hilt of his sword.


    Yin Jin took a step back, saying, "That day you started a rebellion and offended your superior, you betrayed Jiaozhu; fortunately Jiaozhu and Madame are magnanimous, so they did not hold it against you. Today �� today you want to rebel again?"


    Together Xu Xueting, Priest Wugen, Zhang Danyue, Lu Gaoxuan, and Fat Toutuo, five people turned their eyes toward Jiaozhu, suppressing their anger in silence.


    Cult Leader Hong turned his head to look at Yin Jin, his eyes blazed with cold light. Yin Jin was shocked; he took another step back. "Jiaozhu," he said, "These �� these five men conspire to go against the law, they must be punished by death."


    In deep and grim voice the Cult Leader Hong said, "What did you just say?"


    Seeing his ill expression, Yin Jin was even more terrified; he said in a trembling voice, "Subordinate is loyal �� loyal �� loyal to Jiaozhu; with these rebel thieves I �� I cannot exist together."


    Cult Leader Hong said, "That day we swore a heavy oath, if we ever raise the same old topic again, if we ever settle the account over what had happened in the past, then what will happen?"


    Yin Jin was so scared that his soul had flown into the outer sky. "Jiao �� Jiaozhu have mercy," he said, "Subordinate is only being loyal to you; I have no �� no other intention."


    Cult Leader Hong said, "That day Madame and I have sworn an oath, if in our hearts we remember the old grievance, we will enter the Longtan [Dragon Pool], to be devoured by ten thousand of snakes. This matter has been written off at one stroke a long time ago, everybody has already forgotten about it completely, only you still keep it in your mind constantly. As soon as you have the opportunity, you sow dissension; what is actually your intention? What is your motive?"


    Yin Jin''s face did not have the least bit of blood, his knees bent, he dropped down, kneeling. "Subordinate knows my error, from now on I will never dare to raise it up," he said.


    Cult Leader Hong sternly said, "When people of our Cult swear a heavy oath, can you casually violate it? If this oath cannot be applied to you, it will be applied to me. Tell me, do you think you should enter the Dragon Pool, or should I go?"


    Yin Jin screamed and leaped several zhang backward; he turned around and ran away like mad. The Cult Leader Hong waited until he was several zhang away before bending over to pick a piece of rock and threw it away. ''Whoosh!'' it hit Yin Jin on the back of his head. He let out a long miserable scream, leaped up, and then heavily crashed on the ground. He twisted several times, and died immediately.


    Cult Leader Hong saw how Xu Xueting and the others, five people had joined hands. Based on his martial art skill, if he joined forces with Madame and Yin Jin their strength would be enough to subdue these five people. However, after the strength of their Cult took a big hit, only very few people remained, while all Yin Jin could do was fawning and boot-licking, he did not have any real ability. If he killed these five people, it would mean that the troops under his command were completely obliterated. In that split second he weighed the severity of this case, the pros and cons, and took the decision to kill Yin Jin, while pacifying Xu Xueting and the others, five people''s anger.


    Zhang Danyue and Lu Gaoxuan bowed and said, "Jiaozhu''s word is like a mountain; you killed this treacherous villain, subordinates are full of admiration."


    Xu Xueting, Priest Wugen and Fat Toutuo, three men also said together, "Thank you very much Jiaozhu." These five people usually saw Yin Jin blindly resorted to bragging and flattering, his moral standing was low, they despised him very much; now that they saw that the Cult Leader personally put him to death, all of them were overjoyed.


    Cult Leader Hong pointed to Wei Xiaobao and said, "It''s not that I want to spare his life, but this kid knows that in Liaodong''s extreme north bitter cold ground an enormous amount of treasure is buried. Without him leading the way, we cannot find that place. After obtaining this treasure, for us to rebuild our divine cult is as easy as flipping our hands."


    After a short pause, he continued, "Just now the five of you said that those young boys and girls are unreliable, and advised me not to ''follow the track of an overturned cart'' [i.e. repeat a disastrous policy]. After thinking about it carefully, I agree that what you said was not without reason. I am going to follow your advice, hereafter the business of our Cult''s new recruits must be dealt with seriously, in order to avoid crafty villain sneaking in to infiltrate our Cult."


    Xu Xueting and the others'' face showed delight; they all bowed to express their thanks. Cult Leader Hong took two porcelain bottles from his pocket, from each bottle he took five pills; there were five yellow pills, and five white pills, and then he put the bottles back inside his pocket. With the pills in his left palm, he said, "These are ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'' antidote, each of you take two pills."


    Xu Xueting and the others were greatly delighted; they stepped forward to express their gratitude first before receiving the pills. "You may take the pills immediately," Cult Leader Hong said.


    The five of them put the pills into their mouths and swallowed. With a smiling expression on his face, Cult Leader Hong said, "That''s very good ��" Suddenly he shouted, "Lu Gaoxuan, what do you have in your left hand?"


    Lu Gaoxuan took two steps back. "No �� nothing," he said. But his left hand hung down, his fingers curled into a fist.


    "Open your left hand!" Cult Leader Hong sternly said. His voice thundered, everybody''s ears were buzzing.


    Lu Gaoxuan''s body slightly shook, he slowly opened his left hand, with a light ''pat'' a white pill fell to the ground. Xu Xueting and the others, four men''s countenance changed greatly. They were well aware that Lu Gaoxuan''s knowledge and experience was out of the ordinary, he had quite a wisdom and insight. By hiding this white pill and refusing to take it, he must have a strong reason; but the rest of them had already swallowed the pill, what should they do?


    With a stern voice Cult Leader Hong said, "Those white pills are Great Supplement Snow Ginseng pills to strengthen the body and invigorate the spirit; why do you suspect your leader and have the cheek to conceal it and not taking it?"


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Subordinate �� does not �� does not dare. Recently subordinate made a mistake in internal energy cultivation, the chi and blood channels in my body are disrupted, hence �� hence Jiaozhu''s benevolence in giving this great supplement pill, I am thinking that after sitting in meditation tonight, I will slowly take it, to avoid my lowly body cannot �� cannot withstand it."


    Cult Leader Hong''s countenance softened. "I see," he said, "Which chi and blood channels are disrupted? That''s very easy, I can help you regulate you inner breathing. Come here."


    Lu Gaoxuan took another step back. "I do not dare to toil Jiaozhu," he said, "Subordinate will slowly regulate it myself, then I will get better."


    Cult Leader Hong sighed and said, "So, in the end you still don''t trust me?"


    "Subordinate absolutely does not dare," Lu Gaoxuan replied.


    Pointing to the white pill on the ground, Cult Leader Hong said, "In that case, I want you to take that pill immediately. If after taking it your chi and blood channels are disrupted, how can I fold my arms and ignore it?"


    Lu Gaoxuan turned his gaze toward the pill; he stared blankly for half a day before saying, "Yes!" And then he stooped down to pick it up. But suddenly his middle finger flicked, ''swish!'' the pill flew to the air, and fell into a distant valley. He said, "Subordinate already took it. Thank you very much Jiaozhu."


    Cult Leader Hong burst into loud laughter. "Good, good, good!" he said, "Your guts is indeed not small."


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Subordinate has always strive loyally for Jiaozhu, Jiaozhu has given the antidote to neutralize the poison of the ''leopard embryo tendon altering pill'', but you also bestowed this white hundred-salivary gland pill, which toxicity is more formidable. Subordinate is innocent, I am unwilling to be punished."


    Xu Xueting and the others asked in chorus, "Hundred-salivary gland pill? What poison is that?"


    Lu Gaoxuan said, "Jiaozhu gathered the salivary glands of a hundred different types of poisonous snakes and insects, and mixed it into these pills. Whether it contains acute poison, I am not too clear; perhaps it really has tonic effect, but I am not sure either. Either way, my guts is very small; I do not dare to try it."


    Xu Xueting and the others were even more terrified; they all rushed toward Lu Gaoxuan. All five of them stood in a row, with eyes staring at Cult Leader Hong.


    Cult Leader Hong coldly said, "How do you know this is a hundred-salivary gland pill? You are speaking nonsense, sowing dissension, disturbing the people''s hearts."


    Pointing to Fang Yi, Lu Gaoxuan said, "That day I saw Miss Fang caught snails from the underbrush, I asked her what she was doing, and she told me that it was Jiaozhu''s order, she had to catch some snails as drug ingredient. I have also accidentally seen Jiaozhu''s hundred-salivary gland pill formula. Although the hundred-salivary gland pill''s toxicity will only flare-out in three years, but first, I doubt that Jiaozhu has ever mixed the hundred-salivary gland pill before; I don''t know whether it will truly flare-out after three years. Second, subordinate still want to live many more years, I do not wish to die in three years."


    The dark aura on Cult Leader Hong''s face grew thicker and thicker. "My formula," he thundered, "How could you see it?"


    Lu Gaoxuan cast a glance toward Madame Hong; he said, "Madame asked subordinate to find some medicine for her in Jiaozhu''s medicine chest. That formula was inside the medicine chest."


    "Rubbish!" Cult Leader Hong sternly said, "Even if Madame is not well, could it be that she won''t ask for some medicine from me? Why would she ask you? My medicine chest has always been sealed really tight, how could you dare to open it yourself?"


    "Subordinate did not open it myself," Lu Gaoxuan replied.


    Cult Leader Hong roared, "You did not open it yourself. Are you saying that I ordered you to ��" suddenly he had another thought. Turning his head toward Madame Hong he asked, "Did you open it for him?"


    Madame Hong''s countenance paled; she nodded slowly. Cult Leader Hong asked, "What medicine were you looking for? Why didn''t you ask me?"


    Madame Hong suddenly blush deep red, but immediately her face turned deathly pale. Her body shook several times, suddenly she clutched her lower abdomen, her throat made some ''ow, ow'' noise, and she vomited quite a bit of clear liquid. Cult Leader Hong knitted his brows; he asked in tender voice, "Are you feeling ill? Sit down and rest a little bit!"


    Princess Jianning suddenly shouted, "She has a baby. You old b@astard, you are going to have a child, and you don''t know it?"


    Cult Leader Hong was shocked; he leaped forward and grabbed Madame''s wrist. "Is she telling the truth?" he sternly asked.


    Bending down, Madame Hong did not stop throwing up, her body shook ever worse. Cult Leader Hong coldly said, "You wanted to find a medicine to abort the baby, didn''t you?"


    Other than Lu Gaoxuan, none of the listeners was not puzzled. Cult Leader Hong did not have any children, and he loved his wife dearly. If Madame gave her a child, it did not matter whether it was a boy or a girl, it would be a greatly good news; why would she want to abort the baby? They all thought that this time Cult Leader Hong had guessed wrong. Who would have thought that Madame Hong nodded slowly and said, "That''s right. I want to abort the baby. Quickly kill me."


    Cult Leader Hong raised his left palm; he shouted, "Whose child is this?"


    Everybody knew that his martial art skill was extremely high, as soon as this palm of his struck down, Madame Hong would immediately die a violent death; surprisingly she lifted her head high instead, and boldly said, "I told you to quickly kill me, why haven''t you made your move?"


    Cult Leader Hong''s eyes looked as if they were about to spout fire; with a deep and grim voice he said, "I won''t kill you. Whose child is this?"


    Madame Hong closed her mouth tight, with a very unyielding expression on her face. Obviously she had already disregarded her life.


    Cult Leader Hong turned his head around and glowered at Lu Gaoxuan, "Is it yours?" he asked.


    "No, no!" Lu Gaoxuan busily said, "Subordinate reveres Madame like an immortal, how could I dare to offend her?"


    From Lu Gaoxuan Cult Leader Hong''s gaze swept Zhang Danyue, Xu Xueting, Priest Wugen and Fat Toutuo one by one. Whomever his gaze landed, that person shivered in fear.


    Madame Hong loudly said, "It''s none of them. Quickly kill me, why do you ask too much?"


    The Princess called out, "She is your wife, naturally this child is yours, why blindly suspect others? Such a complete muddle head."


    "Shut up!" Cult Leader Hong bellowed, "You talk one more sentence, I''ll wring your neck."


    The Princess did not dare to speak anymore, but in her heart she refused to submit. How would she know that for the past few years Cult Leader Hong had been cultivating first-class internal energy so that he had not been near women for a long time? Although his feeling as husband and wife toward Madame was genuine, they did not have real husband-wife relationship. It was exactly because of this reason that he had always felt apologetic and uneasy toward her, so that ordinarily he treated her with double-affection.


    This moment, as he suddenly heard that Madame was pregnant, myriads of thoughts flitted through his mind: anger, shame, remorse, grief, pain, hatred, love, even fear. His palm was still hanging in the air, but he could not bring it down. Turning his head around, he saw Xu Xueting and the others had terrified look on their faces. He thought, "Today all of them have found out about this big shameful scandal; how can I still have the face to be their Jiaozhu? I must kill them all and not leave a single mouth alive. If even the least bit of rumor is leaked out, Jianghu heroes would sneer at me, how can I still be a hero or a warrior?" As soon as his murderous intention arose, suddenly his left hand let go of Madame, he leaped forward, grabbed Lu Gaoxuan, and shouted, "It''s all because of you, the renegade to the Cult, who caused mischief!"


    Lu Gaoxuan loudly said, "You want to kill people to shut their ��" the word ''mouth'' had not left his mouth, ''crack! Cult Leader Hong''s palm struck heavily on his forehead; immediately his eyes popped out, he gave up his breath and died instantly.


    Seeing this situation, Xu Xueting and the others knew that Cult Leader Hong wanted to kill them all to shut their mouths. All four of them immediately pulled their weapons to shield their bodies. Xu Xueting shouted, "Jiaozhu, this is your personal matters, it has nothing to do with your subordinates."


    Cult Leader Hong screamed at the top of his lungs, "Today everybody will return to heaven together, you can forget about staying alive." And he charged ferociously toward the four men.


    Fat Toutuo brandished his twenty-some catties big saber with nine steel rings on its back, he hacked it down head on, the momentum was extremely powerful. Cult Leader Hong leaned sideways to evade, his right palm shot down onto the top of Zhang Danyue''s head. Xu Xueting''s pair of judge pens successively struck Cult Leader Hong''s back twice, while at the same time Priest Wugen''s wild-goose tail saber also swept toward his waist. Cult Leader Hong let out a loud shout and leaped high into the air, but his palm still shot down toward Zhang Danyue.


    Zhang Danyue moved the pair of mandarin-duck daggers in his hands, it a split second he stabbed seven times. It was the move ''seven stars gathered around the moon'', the ultimate skill he developed his entire life. All seven stabs were swift and powerful. Cult Leader Hong''s right palm swept diagonally to press lightly on Zhang Danyue''s left shoulder; borrowing the momentum, he leaped away. Zhang Danyue roared and rolled on the ground. When he stood up, he felt the pain on the left side of his body was unbearable. "If we don''t kill him today, nobody will survive," he cried out. The four up them raised their weapons and surged forward to surround Cult Leader Hong.


    These four men were the first-class figureheads of the Divine Dragon Cult, especially Fat Toutuo and Xu Xueting, whose martial art skill was the highest. The nine steel rings on Fat Toutuo''s Big Hoop Saber made continuous ringing noise, as he moved the weapon in purely ferociously and ''hard'' way. Xu Xueting''s skill with his pair of judge pens, on the other hand, was small, delicate, and exquisite; move by move he threatened the vital acupoints on the opponent''s body. Priest Wugen brandished his Wild-goose Tail Saber into a circle of white ray. They all thought that after taking the hundred-salivary gland pill today, their lives would be difficult to protect anyway, hence before their deaths they wanted to kill this treacherous and vicious archenemy. Therefore, out of ten moves, nine were assault moves; their hope was to die together with the enemy.


    Actually, Cult Leader Hong''s martial art skill was far superior to these four men, if he wanted to take the life of one of them, it was really not difficult; however, the four of them attacked in succession, if he killed one, it would be hard for him to avoid injury. After fighting for more than forty rounds, the unbearable anger and resentment in his heart gradually calmed down, his mind cleared up, his moves were even more smooth and easy; his pair of bare hands weaved in and out among the four weapons'' siege, without any sign of weakness at all. He saw that Zhang Danyue''s left dagger gradually lost its power, hence he knew that this was the opponent''s weakest link, thereupon he focused his attention to break the powerful enemy.


    Seeing the four men fought ferociously, Wei Xiaobao quietly pulled Zeng Rou and Mu Jianping''s sleeves, and signaled the Princess to keep quiet. The four of them turned around and quietly walked down the mountain. Cult Leader Hong and the others, five people, were engaged in tight battle that nobody saw them. Even if they did, nobody could afford to get away from the fight to stop them.


    After walking for a while, the four of them had left Cult Leader Hong and the others far away, in their hearts they were secretly delighted. Wei Xiaobao turned his head around to look at the five men who were still involved in fierce fighting, saber''s ray flashed, palm''s shadow fluttered, for a moment it would be hard to decide victory or defeat. "Let''s go faster," he said.


    The four of them picked up their pace; suddenly they heard footsteps behind them, two people were rushing toward them, Madame Hong and Fang Yi. The four of them were shocked. Wei Xiaobao lamented the fact that when they were captured, the weapons and secret projectiles in their body were searched and confiscated. Fang Yi was not a big problem, but Madame Hong was really formidable. Thinking that they would not be able to fight the enemy, they had no choice but to run as fast as they could.


    After running several dozen steps, the Princess tripped on a rock and tumbled down on the ground; she cried out. Wei Xiaobao thought, "She has my child in her tummy, I cannot not help her." Thereupon he turned around to help her up.


    He saw in several leaps Madame Hong had already arrived in front of them. Standing with arms on her waist, she said, "Wei Xiaobao, are you thinking of running away?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We are not running away, the scenery is good over here, we came to enjoy it."


    With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, "Very well! You came here to enjoy the scenery, why didn''t you call me along?"


    While they were still talking, Fang Yi caught up. Seeing Wei Xiaobao was delayed by Madame Hong, Zeng Rou and Mu Jianping turned around and stood by Wei Xiaobao''s side. Mu Jianping said to Fang Yi, "Shijie, come with us. He �� he ��" she pointed to Wei Xiaobao, "He always treats you well. Formerly you have sworn an oath as well, have you forgotten about it?"


    "I am only loyal to Madame," Fang Yi replied, "I only take order from Madame."


    Mu Jianping said, "You just took Madame''s drug. Previously I also took some ��"


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized that Fang Yi repeatedly deceived him in the past because she was under Madame Hong''s coercion, not because she had any choice; the hatred and resentment in his heart vanished instantly. "Yi Jiejie," he said, "Please come with us."


    The last time he used these three characters ''Yi Jiejie'' to affectionately call her was when they were traveling together to Divine Dragon Island, enjoying the intimacy and touching emotions on the boat. Suddenly hearing it again, Fang Yi could not stop her face from turning red.


    Suddenly they heard Cult Leader Hong cried out in loud voice, "Madame, Madame! Ah Quan, Ah Quan! You �� where are you going?" His cry was full of fear and anxiety, it was obvious that he was afraid Madame Hong would abandon him and leave. But Madame Hong did not seem to hear. Cult Leader Hong called several more times, all along Madame Hong did not respond.


    Wei Xiaobao and the others, five people looked at Madame Hong; they all thought, "Why didn''t you answer? Jiaozhu is calling you, why don''t you go back?"


    They saw a faint blush on Madame Hong''s face; she shook her head and said in a low voice, "Let''s go quickly, let''s escape by boat!"


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he asked, "You �� you are coming with us?"


    Madame Hong said, "There''s only one boat on the Island, we cannot not coming together. Jiaozhu wants to kill me, don''t you know it?" Her face blushed again, and she walked away first.


    They all rushed several zhang down the mountain when they heard Cult Leader Hong calling out in loud voice again, "Madame, Madame! Ah Quan, Ah Quan! Quickly come back!" Suddenly someone let out a long miserable scream, obviously it was a cry just before death; although it was unclear which of Xu Xueting and the others, four people, had died.


    Cult Leader Hong called loudly, "Look, look! I have killed this old fellow Zhang Danyue. He had been by my side all his life until he grew old. Unexpectedly he still wanted to go against me, a complete muddle head. Ah Quan, Ah Quan! Why don''t you come back? I won''t blame you, I''ll forgive you in this matter. Ah! Damn it, you chopped me! Ha ha, Fat Toutuo, you think this palm cannot take your dog life? You brains didn''t work right, why did you follow others and rebel against me? Didn''t that mean you want to die? Ha ha!"


    Madame Hong halted her steps, her countenance changed. "He already killed two people," she said.


    "Let''s go faster," Wei Xiaobao urgently said; and ran even faster.


    Suddenly they heard Cult Leader Hong''s shout, "I will deal with you, two rebel thieves, later. Madame, Madame, quickly come back!" His voice was getting closer and closer; unexpectedly from up the mountain he ran after them.


    Wei Xiaobao looked back, and saw Cult Leader Hong, with disheveled hair, was running fast toward them; he was scared that his soul flew away and scattered. He ran as fast as he could in desperation.


    "Stop him, stop him!" Xu Xueting called out, "He is already injured, we must kill him today."


    Priest Wugen called out, "He can''t escape." With the weapons in their hands, the two people ran after him.


    Shortly afterwards Wei Xiaobao and the others reached the beach, but Cult Leader Hong, Xu Xueting and Priest Wugen, three people were coming fast; one running after the other, they rushed down the mountain, all three people''s faces and bodies were covered in blood.


    Cult Leader Hong shouted, "Madame, why didn''t you answer me? Where are you going?"


    Xu Xueting called out, "Madame does not want you anymore! She already has a young and handsome boyfriend."


    Cult Leader Hong was enraged. "Rubbish!" he shouted. Leaping up, his left palm shot down ferociously to the top of Xu Xueting''s head. Xu Xueting countered with the pen on his left hand. Priest Wugen caught up, he brandished his saber toward Cult Leader Hong''s waist.


    By this time Cult Leader Hong only had two opponents left, but his left leg was limping, his agility was also not as good as before. Cult Leader Hong called out, "Ah Quan, look at me; I am going to have these two rebel thieves under control very soon, kill those four little b1tches first, just don''t kill that little thief yet, let him take us to the treasure." His mouth was busy shouting, his palms still moved fast and powerful. Xu Xueting and Priest Wugen were not able to penetrate his defense.


    Madame Hong let out a soft cold laughter; her gaze swept Mu Jianping and the others one by one. Wei Xiaobao called out, "Madame, if you harm only one of these four girls, I will immediately kill myself. Even becoming a ghost I will not spare you. A real man gave his words, some �� some horses cannot pull it back." In a moment of desperation, he could not even remember ''dead horses cannot pull it back''.


    Suddenly ''whack!'' Xu Xueting''s waist was hit by a palm, his body swayed, and he fell to the ground. Cult Leader Hong roared in laughter, while leaping up to kick him. Xu Xueting also leaped up and threw himself at Cult Leader Hong, so that Cult Leader Hong''s leg hit the pit of his stomach. ''Crack!'' several of his ribs broke instantly, but he caught and firmly grabbed Cult Leader Hong''s right leg. Cult Leader Hong struggled hard to free himself, but unexpectedly he failed to throw Xu Xueting down.


    Fast as lightning Priest Wugen surged forward and swung his saber. Cult Leader Hong leaned his head sideways to evade and flipped his hand to parry. ''Wham!'' Priest Wugen''s lower abdomen was hit by a palm, but the saber also cut into Cult Leader Hong''s right shoulder. Priest Wugen spurted a mouthful of blood, all of which landed on the back of Cult Leader Hong''s neck. Priest Wugen wanted to lift his saber to hack again, but unexpectedly his Wild-goose Tail Saber had cut into Cult Leader Hong''s shoulder bone, while his own strength had nearly gone, hence was unable to pull the saber out. Cult Leader Hong called out, "Quick �� quickly come �� pull him away."


    It was not clear whether Madame Hong was scared that she was only staring blankly, or she really did not have the intention to help him. Seeing the three people were entangled in a fierce fight, unexpectedly she was standing still and did not show any sign that she was going to move.


    Xu Xueting picked up a judge pen from the ground and thrust it up as hard as he could into Cult Leader Hong''s waist. Cult Leader Hong roared wildly, his left foot kicked Xu Xueting, sending him flying out, followed by a backward strike of his left elbow. Priest Wugen''s body slowly slumped down. Cult Leader Hong laughed aloud and shouted, "These �� rebel thieves, which �� which one is my match? They �� they wanted to rebel, (cough, cough) �� (cough, cough), didn''t they �� didn''t they all get killed by me?" Turning toward Madame Hong, he said, "You �� why didn''t you help me?"


    Madame Hong shook her head. "Your martial art skill is number one under the heavens, why would you need someone else''s help?"


    Cult Leader Hong was enraged. "You also rebel against me?" he bellowed, "Are you also a renegade of our Cult?"


    "That''s right," Madame Hong coldly replied, "You only care about yourself. If I helped you, in the end you will still kill me."


    "I''ll strangle you to death, I''ll strangle the renegade to our Cult to death," Cult Leader Hong shouted, while pouncing on Madame Hong.


    "Ah!" Madame Hong screamed and hastily dodged.


    Even after suffering serious injury Cult Leader Hong''s movement was very fast; with his left hand he grabbed her arm, with his right hand he strangled her neck. "Speak up, speak up," he shouted, "If you say you are not, I''ll spare you."


    Madame Hong slowly said, "For a long, long time in my heart I am already rebelling against you. Ever since that day when you forced me to be your wife, I already hate you to the bones. You �� you''d better just kill me." The blood from Cult Leader Hong''s body did not stop dripping onto her head, her face, but unexpectedly Madame Hong''s eyes were staring at him without blinking at all.


    "Renegade, rebel thief!" Cult Leader Hong roared, "All of you are rebelling against me. I �� I will recruit new people, I will reorganize Shen Long Jiao!" His right hand tightened, immediately Madame Hong''s throat was blocked, her tongue stuck out.


    Watching from the side, Wei Xiaobao was extremely terrified. Seeing that Madame Hong was about to be strangled to death, he picked a large round stone from the beach and with all his might threw it toward Cult Leader Hong''s back. ''Bonk!'' it hit the center of his back. Cult Leader Hong''s vision darkened; the hand that strangled Madame Hong immediately loosened. He turned around and shouted, "You �� you little thief, I don''t want buried treasure anymore, I''ll kill you first and talk later." His palm swept toward Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao turned around and ran as fast as he could. Cult Leader Hong moved his legs and ran after him, leaving a long trail of blood on the sandy beach. Wei Xiaobao knew that if this time he was caught, he definitely would not survive; thereupon he desperately ran for his life. Suddenly ''rip!'' a piece of his clothes was caught and torn by Cult Leader Hong. If Wei Xiaobao was not wearing his treasured protective vest, perhaps a piece of flesh from his back would also be torn away.


    In sheer terror he ran even faster, unleashing the qinggong ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine walk hundred changes] he learned from Jiu Nan; he twisted to the east and slipped to the west, making random turns on the beach. Several times Cult Leader Hong nearly caught him, but in ''a thousand pounds hangs by a thread'' situation, he always managed to evade.


    If he ran straight up, with his very limited internal energy, he would have been caught early on. But this ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' was Tie Jian Men''s [iron sword school] supreme skill, plus during his time Priest Mu Sang had added several new ideas into it, so that the changes were extremely exquisite, strange and mysterious. Wei Xiaobao''s ''divine walk'' was actually not worth mentioning; the ''hundred changes'' part, however, was very similar to his inborn nature; therefore, he managed to master about thirty or forty percent of the skill. Consequently, although he was not a martial art master [orig. ''gao shou'' �C high/top hand]. He could be reckoned to be first or second best escape master [orig. ''gao jiao'' �C high/top feet] of the Wulin world.


    Cult Leader Hong was howling again and again; he launched several palm strikes in succession. Wei Xiaobao dodged two palm strikes, finally he failed to evade the third strike. ''Bang!'' the palm landed squarely on his back, sending him tumbling on the ground, twice.


    Fortunately Cult Leader Hong was seriously hurt, his palm power was greatly reduced, plus Wei Xiaobao was wearing his treasured protective vest; although he was hit that the sky darkened and the earth turned black, he did not suffer serious injury.


    He was just about to crawl up when suddenly he felt his shoulder tightened as Cult Leader Hong grabbed him with both hands. Wei Xiaobao felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest cavity. In his horror, he could not think about anything [orig. ''when hungry, you can''t pick what you eat'', and ''in panic, cannot choose the road to travel'']; ducking down, he crawled underneath Cult Leader Hong''s crotch, and suddenly remembered that this move was the first part on one move from the ''three moves to save life'' taught by Cult Leader Hong in the past. Whether the move was called ''imperial consort riding an ox'' or ''Xi Shi riding a goat''


    [14], how could he remember about it right now?


    With everything he had he leaped up and landed onto Cult Leader Hong''s neck. Actually he had not practiced this move to perfection; but even if he did, he would never be able to execute the move against a first class martial art master like Cult Leader Hong. It''s just that Cult Leader Hong had had a fierce battle against four Divine Dragon Cult''s martial art masters, and then Madame Hong denounced him; his mind was disturbed, plus he received several heavy blows one after another, the last one being the Wild-goose Tail Saber cutting deep into his bone, and a judge pen penetrating deep into his lower abdomen. After running for several hundred steps, he lost a lot of blood, his internal energy was depleted, his grab on Wei Xiaobao''s back was weak, so that as soon as Wei Xiaobao struggled he was able to free himself and finally rode on his neck. Riding on Cult Leader Hong''s shoulder, Wei Xiaobao was afraid he might be thrown down, instinctively he grabbed Cult Leader Hong''s head to get a hold, the middle finger of both hands happened to press on Cult Leader Hong''s eyelids.


    Something flashed like a lightning in Cult Leader Hong''s mind; he remembered that it was he himself who taught Wei Xiaobao this move. As soon as he managed to ride on the enemy''s neck, he should immediately dig the enemy''s eyes out. Cult Leader Hong would never had imagined that as a hero of this age, in the end he would lose his life under this little urchin''s hand. Not only that, the move he was using was exactly the one he taught him. It was indeed an appropriate retribution. Remembering the countless number of people he had killed during his lifetime, receiving this karma could not be considered injustice; he could not help but heaving a deep sigh, his hands drooped down by his side.


    As soon as Cult Leader Hong relaxed his body, he was unable to bear the load, hence he fell face up. Wei Xiaobao still thought that it was part of some formidable move; hastily he leaped back and ran away. He heard Cult Leader Hong said while gasping for breath, "Ah Quan, Ah Quan, come �� come here."


    Madame Hong took several steps closer, but she stopped more than a zhang away in front of him. Cult Leader Hong said, "The child in �� in your belly, actually �� actually whose child is it?"


    Madame Hong shook her head and said, "Why do you insist on knowing?" While saying that, she involuntarily cast a side long glance toward Wei Xiaobao, her face blushed slightly.


    Cult Leader Hong was shocked and angered at the same time; he shouted, "Could it be �� could it be this little demon?"


    Madame Hong bit her lip without saying anything; obviously it was a tacit approval. Cult Leader Hong bellowed, "I''ll kill this little demon!" He sprang up and pounced on Wei Xiaobao.


    With face full of blood, Cult Leader Hong opened his mouth wide, exposing badly damaged, broken yellowish teeth; his hands were also dripping with blood, as he pounced toward Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his body and soul separated; he turned around and crawled underneath Madame Hong''s crotch and hid behind her. With arms wide open Madame Hong confronted Cult Leader Hong; she said indifferently, "Your prestige has shaken the world, now it''s enough!"


    Cult Leader Hong was leaping in the air, the last ounce of real chi in his body disappeared without a trace, ''Wham!'' his body landed by Madame Hong''s feet. Yet he still fiercely said, "I am the Cult Leader, you �� you should obey �� obey my command. Why �� why �� did everybody rebel against me? You �� all of you are wrong, only �� only I am right. I will kill all of you, only I, one man can �� can enjoy immortal good fortune forever �� my long life �� the same as hea �� hea �� hea ��" Without able to finish the last word ''heaven'', his mouth gaped open, he breathed his last, but his eyes were still wide open.


    Wei Xiaobao crawled away several more steps and then he jumped to run away for several more zhang before he turned around and saw that Cult Leader Hong was lying on the ground unmoving. After a long time he took two steps closer, while taking the stance that he was ready to flee any time. "Is he dead?" he asked.


    Madame Hong sighed and said quietly, "He is dead."


    Wei Xiaobao took two more steps and asked, "He �� how come his eyes are not closed?"


    Suddenly ''slap!'' his face was heavily slapped, followed by a twist on his right ear; it was Princess Jianning. She also kicked Wei Xiaobao''s buttocks while cursing, "You, son of a b1tch, he did not close his eyes because you stole his wife. You �� why did you fool around with this shameless woman?"


    "Humph," Madame Hong snorted, while reaching out to grab the back of Princess Jianning''s neck, ''slap!'' she also heavily slapped her face. Waving her arm, she tossed the Princess backward to the ground. When this happened, Wei Xiaobao was the one who suffered the most, because the Princess'' right hand was still twisting his ear. As her body tumbled backward, she took Wei Xiaobao''s ear along that he fell on top of her.


    Madame Hong shouted, "You talk without compass and set square. I will kill you at once."


    The Princess was furious; she sprang up and charged toward Madame Hong. Madame Hong moved her left foot to hook, the Princess tripped and fell face down. The Princess charged again for the third time, and again she was thrown down to the ground. Finally she realized that her martial art skill was too far below the opponent''s. She sat on the ground and broke into crying and swearing. But she did not dare to curse Madame Hong; she merely repeated over and over, "Little b@stard! Dead eunuch! Little animal! Stinky Xiao Guizi!"


    Wei Xiaobao stroke his hurting ear, and felt blood on his hand. Turned out the Princess had pulled his ear too hard that she tore a long cut on it.


    Madame Hong said in a low voice, "He and I were always husband and wife, is it alright if I bury him?" Her voice was gentle, as if she was pleading that Wei Xiaobao would allow her to do so.


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he hastily said, "Of course it''s alright, we should bury him." Picking up the judge pen from the ground, he and Madame Hong started to dig a hole on the beach. Fang Yi and Mu Jianping came along to help. Together they put Cult Leader Hong''s body into the hole and bury him.


    Madame Hong kneeled down and kowtowed several times; she quietly said, "Although you forced me to marry you, but �� but after we got married, you have always treated me well. I have never had any feeling toward you. Now that you are dead, you might as well know about it, you don''t need to take it to heart." Finished speaking, she stood up, and could not stop the tears from streaming down her face.


    She stood in a daze for a moment, and then she wiped her tears and asked Wei Xiaobao, "Are we going to stay here, or go back to the Central Plains?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head, "We definitely cannot stay here," he said, "Hong Jiaozhu, Mr. Lu and the others'' ghosts will definitely demand our lives; it''s desperately serious. But if we return to the Central Plains, the young Emperor wants my head. It would be best if �� if we can find a peace and quiet place where we can hide." Suddenly he remembered a place. "I got it," he said happily, "Let us go to the Tong Chi Island. There''s no ghost there, and the young Emperor won''t be able to find me."


    "Tong Chi Island?" Madame Hong asked, "Where is it?"


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the west and said with a laugh, "There''s a small island over there, I call it Tong Chi Island." [reminder: tong chi means ''eat ''em all'' (gambling).]Madame Hong nodded. "If you like to go there, let us all go," she said. For some reason, she was very obedient to him [orig. ''a thousand compliance a hundred obedience''].


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Go, go!" he shouted, "Let us go together!" Going over to the Princess, he helped her up while saying with a laugh, "Let us go on board!"


    The Princess waved her palm, Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways to dodge. The Princess angrily said, "You go to hell! I am not going with you!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are lots and lots of ghosts on this island: headless ghosts, legless ghosts, and ghosts whose intestines were blasted by the cannon, and then multi-hand ghosts who love to stroke pregnant women''s belly ��"


    Hearing that, the Princess was extremely scared; she stomped her foot and said, "And then there''s chewing-maggot ghosts who love to speak nonsense." Her left foot flew out, she kicked Wei Xiaobao''s buttocks heavily. "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao screamed and jumped away.


    Madame Hong camly walked over. The Princess backed off several steps. Madame Hong said, "Later on if you hit Wei Gongzi one time, I will hit you ten times. If you kick him one time, I will kick you ten times. I have spoken, and my words always count."


    The Princess was so angry that her countenance turned deathly pale. She said angrily, "Who are you to him? Why do you protect him so? Your �� your own husband is dead, you want to snatch someone else''s husband?"


    Fang Yi interrupted, "Isn''t your own husband also dead?"


    The Princess was furious. "Little s1ut," she cursed, "Your husband is also dead."


    Madame Hong slowly said, "If you dare to speak one more rude sentence, I''ll leave you alone on this island and won''t let anybody accompany you."


    The Princess thought that this vixen was able to do whatever she was able to say; if she was left alone on the Island, and then a lot of ghosts with spilled intestine, ghosts with many hands came out, what should she do? All her life she lived as the Princess, she only needed to point her finger and people would jump to do her bidding; but this time she had no choice but to put aside her ''golden branch, jade leave'' status and her harsh and unreasonable, rough temperament, and obediently stopped making noise.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "This little vicious gal met her match today; from now on someone is able to control her, so that she would not hit me whenever she is not in a good mood." He raised his hand toward his ear, which was torn by her; it was throbbing with pain.


    Madame Hong said to Fang Yi, "Miss Fang, please tell the boatmen to prepare to set sail."


    "Yes," Fang Yi replied. She then added, "How could Madame be this polite to your subordinate? I really do not deserve it."


    Madame Hong smiled and said, "From this day onward we are sisters; there''s no more Madame and subordinate. You call me Quan Jiejie, I''ll call you Yi Meimei. The poison''s antidote, I''ll give it to you as soon as we get onboard. Henceforth you have nothing to worry about." Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were exremely delighted.


    They all went aboard, the boat sailed westward. Wei Xiaobao glanced to the left and right; he was very proud of himself. True to her word, Madame Hong took out the antidote and gave it to Fang Yi. She also opened the boat''s safe, took out Wei Xiaobao''s dagger, his ''han sha she ying'' secret projectile, his banknotes, everything, and gave them back to him. Zeng Rou''s and the others'' weapons were also returned.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How about from now on I also call you Quan Jiejie?"


    "Very good!" Madame Hong happily replied, "Let''s tell each other our age, see who is older and who is younger."


    Everybody told their birth date, month and year. Naturally Madame Hong, Su Quan was the oldest. Fang Yi was next, and then the Princess. Zeng Rou, Mu Jianping and Wei Xiaobao were born on the same year. Zeng Rou was three months older than he, while Mu Jianping was a few days younger.


    Su Quan, Fang Yi, and the others, four women called each other Jiejie and Meimei [older and younger sisters, respectively] affectionately. Only the Princess stood on the side, sulking. Su Qian said, "She is Her Highness the Princess, naturally she is unwilling to be sisters with us, common people. All of us should keep addressing her as Your Highness the Princess."


    The Princess coldly said, "I do not dare." She thought about how they unite and form a clique, leaving her alone without any ally; she also thought about the dead eunuch Xiao Guizi, who had no conscience, who was apparently a lot closer to those four women than to her. Thinking about her sad fate, she could not help feeling broken hearted and broke into tears.


    Wei Xiaobao leaned to her side, pulling her hand to comfort her, and said in a gentle voice, "Alright, alright; we are all happy here, please don''t cry ��"


    The Princess raised her palm, and slapped it hard, but suddenly she remembered Su Quan''s warning. This palm strike carried a lot of force, she was unable to hold it back. Without any other choice she changed direction midway, ''slap!'' it heavily slapped her own chest. "Ah!" she screamed in pain.


    Everybody else broke into loud laughter. The Princess was even more furious; she buried her face in Wei Xiaobao''s bosom and cried loudly. "Alright, alright," Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "No need to fight. Let''s throw dice, I''ll be the banker."


    But after searching carefully inside the Cult Leader Hong''s safe, they still could not find Wei Xiaobao''s pair of dice. It must be that when Lu Gaoxuan was searching his body, he tossed the dice away carelessly. Wei Xiaobao was quite dejected. Su Quan laughed and said, "We can carve two dice from a piece of wood."


    "Wood is too light," Wei Xiaobao said, "They are no fun to throw."


    Zeng Rou put her hand into her pocket, when she pulled it out, her hand was clenched into a fist. "Guess," she said with a laugh, "What is it?"


    "Is it copper coin?" Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s also good. Better than not gambling."


    Zeng Rou laughed and said, "Guess, how many?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Three?"


    Zeng Rou opened up her palm; lying on her pink palm were unexpectedly two dice.


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao cried loudly; he sprang up and asked repeatedly, "Where did you get it? Where did you get it?"


    With a soft chuckle Zeng Rou put the dice on the table. Wei Xiaobao scrambled forward, grabbed the dice and started to throw; his excitement knew no bounds. He felt that there was a slight imbalance of weight on these two dice; obviously these dice were loaded with mercury. He thought Zeng Rou was always gentle and shy, how could she possibly play with these kind of loaded dice to cheat some money? Upon further reflection, he remembered, and was very happy. Turning around and gave her a hug, he kissed her face and said with a laugh, "Thank you very much, Rou Jiejie, luckily you always keep these two dice by your side."


    Zeng Rou blushed profusely; she struggled and ran outside to the deck. What happened was that when Wei Xiaobao and the Wang Wu Pai disciples threw dice with their lives at stake that day, after he let everybody go, just before leaving Wei Xiaobao''s command tent, Zeng Rou had asked for these two dice. Wei Xiaobao had already forgotten about this, but Zeng Rou had always kept the dice with her.


    Now they had the dice, but not a single one of the women had any interest in gambling. Although they did play to keep him company, not only the stake was low, they did not care much about winning or losing either. After playing for no more than the time needed to eat a meal, everybody no longer had any interest in playing. Compared to the people in Yangzhou''s brothel or casino, or people in the Palace, or the people in military, who bet excessively and gamble ferociously, the difference was like night and day. Wei Xiaobao''s interest quickly waned. "No more playing, no more playing!" he blurted out, "You don''t know how to play."


    Thinking that from now on he was going to take refuge on the Tong Chi Island, although there would be five beauties to keep him company, but there would not be any money to gamble, not a play to listen to; his days would be very boring. Besides, even if there was ten million gold or silver, what''s the use? Gold and silver would just be like sand and stone; winning money would just like winning sand and stone. Moreover, the concern over whether Shuang''er was alive or was dead, and that Ah Ke''s whereabouts was unknown, was constantly in his mind; how could he cast away the thought about these two girls and simply forget about them?


    The more he thought about it, the more depressed he was. "Let''s not going to Tong Chi Island," he said.


    "So, where do you want to go?" Su Quan asked.


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment before replying, "Let''s go to Liaodong, to dig that great amount of buried treasure out."


    Su Quan said, "Won''t it be great if all of us just spend our days in peace and quiet on an uninhabited island? Even if we can dig the great treasure out, it will be quite useless."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Gold, silver, pearls and jewels by the thousands and tens of thousands, how can it be useless?"


    Fang Yi said, "The Tatar Emperor must have sent out troops and horses everywhere to look for you, we''d better hide and lie low until the fuss dies down. After a year or two, this matter will settle down; if you still want to go to Liaodong, then all of us will go, it won''t be too late by then."


    Wei Xiaobao asked Zeng Rou and Mu Jianping, "What the two of you think?"


    Mu Jianping said, "I think Shijie is right."


    Zeng Rou said, "If you are afraid of boredom, we''ll hide on the island for no more than several months." Seeing unhappy expression on Wei Xiaobao''s face, she added, "Every day we will accompany you throwing dice and play, whoever lose will be punish by having his or her palm slapped; is it all right?"


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Damn it, what''s so fun about slapping someone''s palm?" But looking at her tender and bashful face, her cute mannerism, he could not stop his heart from being swept away. "Alright, alright," he said, "I will listen to you all."


    Fang Yi stood up and said with a smile, "I have constantly wronged you in the past, let me make some dishes and invite you to drink wine; just consider it my apology to you, is it all right?"


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he busily said, "I really don''t dare to accept it."


    Fang Yi went to the stern to cook. Fang Yi''s culinary skill was indeed superb, she paid particular attention to the seasoning; although the boat did not have complete inventory of spices and seasoning, the people who ate it did not stop praising her.


    "Let''s play finger-guessing game," Wei Xiaobao shouted.


    Mu Jianping, Zeng Rou and the Princess had never played finger-guessing game before. Wei Xiaobao taught them ''two good brothers'', ''the brightest and best of the Five Classics'', ''four seasons safe and sound'' guesses. At first the Princess was sullen and unhappy, but after guessing several fists, and drank several cups of wine, she started to talk and laugh more.


    After spending a night on the boat, the next afternoon they arrived at the Tong Chi Island. They saw the remains of the camp of Qing navy built there, the thatched cottage used as the command tent in those days was still standing, but naturally the impressive air Wei Xiaobao set up as the great general was long gone. Yet Wei Xiaobao did not seem to mind at all; pulling Fang Yi''s hand along he laughed and said, "Yi Jiejie, that day it was right here that you tricked me into getting on the boat, and narrowly lose my little life, and was sent away to Luocha Country."


    Fang Yi giggled tenderly and said, "I have already apologized to you; are you saying that I should kowtow and apologize to you?"


    "No need to do that," Wei Xiaobao said, "But good intention has its own good reward; I suffered untold hardships, in the end I can really be with you today."


    From behind them Mu Jianping called out, "What are you two talking about? Can you share it with us?"


    Fang Yi laughed and said, "He said he wants to catch you, and carve a little turtle on your face."


    Su Quan said, "Let''s not fool around and play yet, it''s more important that we deal with serious matters first." Right away she ordered the boatmen to take all the provision and utensils from the boat and brought it to the island; she also ordered them to dismantle the sail, poles for punting boats, oars, ropes, the wooden rudder at the back of the boat, and brought everything to the island, and keep them inside a cave on an overhanging cliff.


    Wei Xiaobao praised her, "Quan Jiejie is really careful, we must look at these things, this boat must be torn apart, so we need not worry that they will escape."


    He had not finished speaking when from a distance they heard a ''bang!'' from the direction of the sea, it sounded like a cannon. The six of them were surprised; they all look to the ocean, and saw that amidts the white fog that filled the surface of the ocean, there were two ships heading this way. And then they heard ''bang, bang!''; obviously the ships opened fire two more times.


    "Not good!" Wei Xiaobao called out, "The young Emperor sends people to catch me."


    Zeng Rou said, "Quickly get on the boat and run away."


    Su Quan said, "The sail and the rudder are all ashore, there''s no time to assemble them; we''ll have to hide and act according to circumstances."


    Out of these six people, other than the Princess, the remaining five had experienced many hardships and perils, hence they did not panic at all. Su Quan said, "No matter how we hide, in the end the officers and men will find us. Let us hide inside the cave on that cliff over there; the officers and men could only attack up the cliff one by one. One comes, we kill one. This way we will not be swarmed by them."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "This is called ''a man is shut off, catching a turtle in a jar''."


    Su Quan smiled. "That''s right!" she said. But the Princess could not help bursting into loud laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao glowered at her. "What''s so funny?" he asked.


    The Princess pursed her lips. "Nothing," she said with a laugh, "You used your idiom really well, I am full of admiration."


    To some degree Wei Xiaobao knew his own limitation, he presumed that he must have used the idiom incorrectly, hence he glowered at the Princess.


    The six of them entered the cave. Su Quan brandished a saber to cut some branches and piled them up in front of the cave as a cover. They looked out from the gaps between the branches, and saw that the two boats, one in front the other behind it, sailed straight toward the Tong Chi Island. The ship on the back continuously fired its cannon, the shells landed on the water all around the ship on the front, columns of water rose up to the sky.


    "The boat on the back opens fire to attack the boat at the front," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Exactly," Su Quan said, "Turns out the two boats are fighting each other."


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "In that case perhaps those two boats are not here to look for us."


    "I hope so," Su Quan said, "It''s just that when they arrive on the Island, they will see the boatmen. As soon as they ask, they will know, and then they will definitely search for us. Even if we rush to kill the boatmen first, there''s not enough time to bury their bodies."


    "How come the ship in the front did not fire back?" Wei Xiaobao wondered, "Totally useless. It would be best if you fire me once, I fire you once, everybody is hit, both ships go down to the bottom of the ocean together."


    The boat at the front was comparatively smaller, the sail absorbed the entire force of the wind, it sailed really fast. Suddenly with a cannon blast the mast broke, the sailcloth caught fire. Wei Xiaobao and the others could not help crying out in alarm. The boat in the front immediately leaned to one side, the hull turned horizontal. The boat lowered a small skiff, about a dozen people got on the skiff and started rowing. By this time they were already near the Island, the boat on the back also gradually got near, but because the water was shallow, the bigger boat could not reach the shore. This boat also lowered some skiffs, five of them.


    The front one skiff trying to escape, the rear five skiff were pursuing them. Shortly afterwards, the front skiff reached the beach, the dozen or so people jumped ashore, they looked around carefully. Someone leaped forward and cried out, "The overhanging cliff overthere can be defended, everybody go that way."


    Hearing the voice, Wei Xiaobao thought it sounded like his Shifu Chen Jinnan. The dozen or so people climbed along the hillside and rushed toward the cliff. When they were near, one of them, with a sword in his hand, stood at the edge of the cliff, giving orders; who would it be if not Chen Jinnan? Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, from the cave he leaped out and called, "Shifu, Shifu!"


    Chen Jinnan turned around and saw Wei Xiaobao; he was also pleasantly surprised. "Xiaobao," he called out, "How can you be here?"


    Wei Xiaobao rushed toward him like flying. Suddenly he stopped dead on his track, because he saw that among the dozen or so people there was a young woman with bright eyes and snow white skin; unexpectedly it was Ah Ke. "Ah Ke!" he called at the top of his lungs, and scrambled over. But then he saw someone standing behind her; unsurprisingly, it was Zheng Keshuang. Since he saw Ah Ke, it was only natural that he would also see Zheng Keshuang; it was only to be expected. But he was greatly delighted, and then suddenly he saw this loathsome fellow, his heart sank instantly; he only stared blankly while his feet were rooted on the spot.


    From the side someone called out, "Xianggong!"


    Another person called out, "Wei Xiangzhu!"


    Wei Xiaobao acknowledge the call without thinking, he did not even cast any glance from the corner of his eyes toward these two people, he was only staring blankly at Ah Ke. Suddenly a soft small hand reached out to grab his left palm. Wei Xiaobao''s body shook; he turned his head around to look, and saw a pretty face full of smile was looking at him, with tears continuously streaming down her face. It was Shuang''er.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he pulled her into his embrace. "Good Shuang''er," he called out, "I miss you like crazy." He was so happy that he felt his heart was about to explode. In that instant, even Ah Ke was pushed to the back of his mind.


    "Feng Dage, Feng Xiongdi," Chen Jinnan called out, "Let us guard this pathway." The two men complied in chorus, each one pulled his weapon and stood side by side on the narrow path leading to the cliff. Turned out one was Feng Xifan, the other was Feng Jizhong [Note: different ''feng'' characters].


    Suddenly seeing these many people, Wei Xiaobao could only asked, "How did you all get here?"


    Shuang''er replied, "Feng Daye [term of respect for older men] took me to look for you, we came across Chen Zongduozhu, and we heard that you went into sea, thereupon �� thereupon ��" Speaking to this point, she was overwhelmed with joy that her throat choked and she was unable to continue.


    By this time the pursuing troops from the five skiffs had also arrived on the beach. Looking down from the cliff, they saw that the troops were Qing soldiers, altogether there were seventy or eighty men. The one in front was holding a long saber, his stature was tall and sturdy, but it was too far, they could not see his facial features too clearly. That man directed the Qing troops to form groups. One group of men stood far away, the general barked his order, the troops took long bows from their backs, and some feathered arrows from their quivers; they strung the arrows on the bow, aiming the arrowhead to the cliff.


    Chen Jinnan called out, "Everybody duck down!"


    Actually, caught in this kind of situation, Wei Xiaobao did not need his Shifu''s order; as soon as he saw the Qing troops with bows in their hands, he had already stationed himself behind a large rock. He heard the general shouted, "Release the arrows!" Immediately there was an unending sound of swishing arrows.


    The cliff was very high, shot from the bottom going up, by the time the arrows arrived, they already lost their momentum. Feng Xifan and Feng Jizhong, one with a sword, the other with a single-blade saber, braved the arrows and broke every single one of them.


    "Shi Lang," Feng Xifan called out, "You are a shameless traitor; if you have guts, come up here, let you and laozi have a man-to-man duel to the death."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out the one leading the troops down there is Shi Lang. Marching to war, this man is indeed an expert."


    He heard Shi Lang called back, "If you have guts, come down. One-to-one duel, Laozi is not afraid of you."


    "Alright!" Feng Xifan replied.


    He was about to come down, Chen Jinnan said, "Feng Dage, don''t fall into his trick, this man is contemptible and shameless, he is capable of doing anything."


    Feng Xifan was only taking one step before he stopped. He called out, "You said one-to-one duel, why did you send five skiffs �� damn it, six skiffs, even our skiff is also stolen. Stinky traitor, you sent the skiffs to get more people, isn''t that relying on number to gain victory?"


    Shi Lang laughed and said, "Chen Junshi [lit. army master, military strategist], Captain Feng, the two of you have superb martial art skill, Ol'' Shi has always been full of admiration. There is a common saying, ''a wise man submits to circumstances''. It would be better for you to take Zheng Gongzi down and surrender together, His Majesty will definitely bestow the two of you very high ranking official position."


    In the past Shi Lang was a great general under Zheng Chenggong''s [Koxinga] command; together with Zhou Quanbin, Gan Hui, Ma Xin, and Liu Guoxuan, four people, they were known as ''Five Tiger Generals''


    [15]. Chen Jinnan was a military strategist; although Feng Xifan was strong in martial art, his commanding and planning skill was not too good, hence he was made the captain of Zheng Chenggong''s bodyguards. Shi Lang had fought alongside Chen and Feng, two people, in bloody battle, they had shared trials and tribulations for a long time. This time he still addressed the two people as their former military rank.


    From the cliff down the distance was about seven or eight zhang, Shi Lang was standing far away, but his internal energy was abundant, every word he said could be heard clearly. Zheng Keshuang''s countenance changed; he said with a trembling voice, "Feng Shifu, you �� you must not surrender."


    "Gongzi, don''t worry," Feng Xifan replied, "As long as Ol'' Feng still has one breath left, I will never surrender to the Tatars."


    Although Chen Jinnan knew that Feng Xifan was treacherous and devious, that twice or three times he had attempted to harm him, he wanted to protect Zheng Keshuang in his conspiracy to gain the Yan Ping Jun Wang Heir Apparent position; yet as he heard him speaking with ''devotion to righteousness that inspires reverence'', Chen Jinnan was quite impressed. "Feng Dage," he said, "Today side-by-side you and I will fight to death; whatever happens we will protect Er Gongzi [second young master] through and through."


    "I will follow Junshi," Feng Xifan said.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "By protecting me, Junshi will render merit; when we get back to Taiwan, I will definitely present a memorial to let Fu Wang [father king] understand clearly, he will definitely bestow great �� great reward."


    Chen Jinnan said, "It is subordinate''s responsibility." While saying that, he walked toward the shore to evaluate the situation.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Zheng Gongzi, great reward is not needed. As long as you don''t become hostile and heartless by harming my Shifu, we will greatly appreciate it."


    Zheng Keshuang shot him a malicious look. Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice, "Shijie, we''d better capture Zheng Gongzi and present him to the Qing troops."


    Ah Ke spat and said, "As soon as we met, you did not say anything good. Why did you scare him?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Scaring him several times is fun, he won''t die of fright anyway. Even if he is scared to death, it''s not a big deal."


    "Pei!" Ah Ke spat again; suddenly she blushed and lowered her head.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Shuang''er, "How did all of you get together?"


    Shuang''er said, "Chen Zongduozhu took Feng Daye and me to go out to sea to look for you. I remembered you have been to this Tong Chi Island, so I told Chen Zongduozhu about it and we went this way to take a look. Along the way we happened to see the Qing troops pursuing Zheng Gongzi''s boat, shooting and sinking it. So we rescued him and we fled this way. Thank heaven and thank the earth, at last we found you." Speaking to this point, her eyes turned red.


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to pat her shoulder. "Good Shuang''er," he said, "These days, there was not a single day passed in which I did not think about you." It was not an empty talk; every day he thought about Ah Ke and Shuang''er, two women, if not ten times, then at least eight time. As a matter of fact, he was concerned over Shuang''er''s safety more than he thought about Ah Ke.


    "Brothers," Chen Jinnan shouted, "While Tatar''s reinforcement has not arrived, we go down to charge and kill the enemy. Otherwise, if six skiff-loads of Tatar soldiers arrive, it won''t be easy to deal with." Everybody voiced their agreement.


    This time, from among the dozen or so people who came to the Island, other than Chen, Feng, Zheng, Feng, as well as Ah Ke and Shuang''er, there were eight Tian Di Hui brothers, and three of Zheng Keshuang''s personal bodyguards.


    Chen Jinnan said, "Zheng Gongzi, Miss Chen, Xiaobao, Shuang''er, the four of you stay here. The rest of you, come with me!" Brandishing his sword, he was the first to rush down the cliff.


    Feng Xifan, Feng Jizhong, and the eleven men followed, with loud battle cry they rushed down hill, charging swiftly toward the Qing troops. The Qing troops released the arrows in succession, all were knocked down by Chen, Feng and Feng, three men. Previously they were fighting a naval battle, Shi Lang''s boat was a battleship, its cannon was formidable, Chen Jinnan and the others could only take a beating. Presently they were in a close combat, among the Qing troops, other than Shi Lang, one person, the other men''s martial art skill was mediocre; how could they fight martial art experts like Chen, Feng, and Feng, three men? Tian Di Hui brothers and Zheng Mansion''s bodyguards were also quite skillful; as soon as these fourteen men charged into the formation, the Qing troops were completely routed.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Shijie, Shuang''er, let us also charge a bit." Ah Ke and Shuang''er complied together.


    "I am going too!" Zheng Keshuang said.


    He saw Wei Xiaobao with a dagger in his hand charged down the cliff, Shuang''er and Ah Ke ran one after another behind him. Zheng Keshuang was only rushing down several steps before he halted his steps; thinking, "I have a thousand-gold body, how can I go to face danger together with these underlings?" He called out, "Ah Ke, you should not go either!" Ah Ke did not respond, she followed close behind Wei Xiaobao.


    Although Wei Xiaobao''s martial art skill was so-so, he had four treasures with him; charging into the enemy ranks, it was like crossing a ravine like a flat ground. Which four treasures? The first treasure: his dagger was extremely sharp, the enemy''s weapons broke upon contact; the second treasure: his protective treasured vest, impervious to sword or spear; the third treasure: his exquisite escaping-skill, no enemy could catch up with him; the fourth treasure: Shuang''er always stayed by his side, the Qing troops could not get close to him.


    Based on these four treasures, if he had to fight a martial art master, he would not be able to avoid defeat; however, dealing with the Qing troops, the four treasures were more than enough. In a flash he already injured several men; his impressive power was in full display, aura of death emanating from his body. He thought, "In the past Zhao Zilong charged seven times through the ranks of Cao Cao''s army, I am sure it was no more than this. Perhaps even I, Wei Xiaobao ��"


    They all charged and kill the enemy, the Qing troops fled to all directions. Chen Jinnan fought Shi Lang one on one, for a short white they were locked in a fierce combat. Feng Xifan and Feng Jizhong killed the Qing troops left and right like chopping melon slicing vegetables; in less than a time to eat a meal, out of eighty some Qing troops, fifty or sixty men were either dead or injured. The ruined army, defeated generals scrambled to the sea. These navy sailors were very adept in swimming, they hurriedly swam toward the big boat. On the other side two of Tian Di Hui brothers were dead, one was seriously injured. The rest of them surrounded Shi Lang.


    Shi Lang''s steel saber fluttered and flew, it clashed intensely with the sword in Chen Jinnan''s hand. Although trapped and heavily surrounded, he did not show the least bit of fear. Wei Xiaobao called out, "General Shi, if you don''t toss your saber away and surrender, very soon you will become dog meat paste." Shi Lang''s mind was focused on the fight, he neither saw nor hear the words and actions of the bystanders.


    The fierce combat continued. Chen Jinnan let out a long whistle, and thrust his sword forward three times in rapid succession. On the third strike his sword stuck to Shi Lang''s steel saber. Chen Jinnan flicked his wrist, and made two circles. "Ah!" Shi lang cried out, the steel saber flew out of his hand. The tip of Chen Jinnan''s sword flashed and stopped at his throat. "What do you have to say?" he shouted.


    "You have won," Shi Lang angrily retorted, "Just kill me and be done with it. What else do you want me to say?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "This moment do you still think yourself as a hero? You turned your back against your master and betrayed your friends, is that the conduct of a hero?"


    Shi Lang suddenly threw himself back and rolled on the ground. With this roll he broke away from the tip of the sword on his throat. With both legs he executed chain-kicks, his target was Chen Jinnan''s calf. Chen Jinnan pointed his sword in front of his legs. If Shi Lang continued to kick, he would only send his own legs to be impaled by the sword. In desperation he pressed his left hand to the ground to support himself, while with both legs he forcefully feigned a kick upward, and then quickly somersaulted backward. But as soon as he stood on his feet, the tip of Chen Jinnan''s sword was already waiting in front of his throat again.


    Shi Lang''s heart turned cold; he knew in term of martial art he was not Chen Jinnan''s match. "Junshi," he suddenly asked, "How did Guoxing Ye [Koxinga] treat me?"


    This question caught Chen Jinnan totally off-guard. In that instant, the entanglement of gratitude and grudges between Zheng Chenggong and Shi Lang flashed through Chen Jinnan''s mind. He sighed and said, "To be fair with you, Guoxing Ye did indeed wrong you. But we have received Guoxing Ye''s great kindness; although we received unjust treatment, what can we do?"


    Shi Lang said, "Are you saying that I should immitate Yue Fei, suffer false accusations and die?"


    Chen Jinnan said in stern voice, "Even if you cannot be Yue Fei, you must not be Qin Hui


    [16]. You ran away for your life, that was all right. But how can a real man surrender to the Tatars and become a traitor that is worse than a dog or a pig?"


    Shi Lang said, "My father and mother, my brothers, wife and children, what crime have they committed? Why did Guoxing Ye kill them all that not a single one survive? He murdered my entire family, I want to kill his entire family to revenge!"


    Chen Jinnan said, "Revenge is a small matter, becoming a traitor is a big thing. Today I am going to kill you. I want to know if you will have the face to see Guoxing Ye."


    Shi Lang straightened up his head and loudly said, "Go ahead and kill me. I am afraid it will be Guoxing Ye who won''t have the face to see me, not I don''t have the face to see him."


    Chen Jinnan sternly said, "Up to this point you still argue forcefully." He was going to thrust the sword into his throat, but could not help thinking about how in the olden days Shi Lang and he had marched to battle together, how they had gone through life and death together. Under Guoxing Ye, Shi Lang started as a lowly soldier; he rose through blood soaked and hard-fought battle, his meritorious service was indeed not small. If not for Madame Dong meddling with military affairs and actively insulting the generals, today this man would be the protective wall of Taiwan. Although going over to the enemy was a treason that could not be forgiven no matter what, his whole innocent family was killed, in all honesty this man deserved sympathy.


    "I''ll give you a path to life," Chen Jinnan said, "If you swear an oath to denounce your surrender and return to serve Zheng Wangye, today I will spare your life. From now on you can atone for your crimes by meritorious acts, striving your hardest to resume the great undertaking, and then you can still be considered as a magnificent real man. Shi Xiongdi, I encourage you with good words, hoping you would turn around." The last few words were spoken with utmost sincerity.


    Shi Lang lowered his head, his face bore an ashamed look; he said, "If I return to Taiwan, won''t I be a capricious lowly man?"


    Chen Jinnan put his sword back into its sheathe; he stepped forward to grip Shi Lang''s hand and said, "Shi Xiongdi, as decent human beings we must pay particular attention to righteousness and moral integrity. As long as henceforth you serve your country with red-bellied devotion, your muddled past, who would dare to laugh at you? Even Guan Wangye in the past also surrendered to Cao Cao."


    Suddenly a voice behind him said, "This evil thief said that my Yeye [paternal grandfather] killed his entire family. My Taiwan definitely won''t pardon him. You quickly kill him."


    Chen Jinnan turned his head around and saw that the voice belonged to Zheng Keshuang. "Er Gongzi," he said, "General Shi is well versed in the art of war; in those days he had no equal in Guoxing Ye''s army. If he surrenders back, he will bring very great benefit to our great cause of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming. We must attach most importance to our country; none of us should take personal gratitude and grudges of the past to heart."


    "Humph," with a cold laugh Zheng Keshuang said, "If this man returned to Taiwan and got a grip of military power, do you think our Zheng Family will survive?"


    Chen Jinnan said, "As long as General Shi swears a heavy oath, I am willing to guarantee with my own life, as well as my family''s, that he will not have a change of heart."


    With a cold laugh Zheng Keshuang said, "By the time he killed my entire family, do you think you and your family''s lives can compensate for ours? Taiwan belongs to our Zheng Family, not yours, Chen Junshi''s, Chen Family''s."


    Chen Jinnan was so angry that his hands and feet turned ice-cold. He struggled hard to contain his anger. He was about to reply when suddenly Shi Lang moved his feet and dashed away. "Junshi," he called out, "Your yi qi to me is profound, Xiongdi will never forget it. Xiongdi is unwilling to be Zheng Family''s slave ��"


    "Shi Xiongdi," Chen Jinnan called out, "Come back. Let''s talk ��" Suddenly he felt sharp pain on his back, a blade entered his back and went all the way until its tip came out of his chest.


    It was actually Zheng Keshuang who carried out his evil scheme behind Chen Jinnan''s back. Based on Chen Jinnan''s martial art skill, even ten Zheng Keshuang would not be able to kill him; however, he saw that Shi Lang was contemplating the idea of surrendering, but Zheng Keshuang cursed him that he left, Chen Jinnan knew that this person was a rare talent, he was hoping to pull him back, and had never expected that Zheng Keshuang, who was standing behind him, would unexpectedly carry out his evil scheme.


    After Zheng Chenggong captured Taiwan, he sent his son Zheng Jing to defend Jinmen, Xiamen


    [17]. Zheng Jing was very adept in military matters, but his conduct was not careful, he slept with a wet nurse and gave birth to a son. When Zheng Chenggong found out about it, he was exceptionally furious; he wanted to send someone with his arrow banner of command to go to Xiamen to kill Zheng Jing. The various generals under his command thought that it was a reckless order, hence they were unwilling to receive the order, together they submit a report, saying that the day to pay a debt of gratitude would come, they must wait indefinitely, and so on.


    Seeing his generals refused to follow his order, Zheng Chenggong was even more furious; not long afterwards he fell ill and died at the age of 39. Taiwan''s high-ranking military officers threw their full support to Zheng Chenggong''s younger brother Zheng Xi and made him their master. From Jinmen and Xiamen Zheng Jing returned to Taiwan and defeated the Taiwan''s defenders, hence he inherited the title Yan Ping Wang.


    Zheng Chenggong''s wife, Madame Dong saw that disaster had struck and that there would be changes in the family, their Wangye had died an untimely death, it was all because of the wet nurse giving birth to a son; for this reason she detested the wet nurse''s son, Zheng Kesang, and did everything in her power to support her grandson from Zheng Jing''s first wife, Zheng Keshuang to be the heir apparent. Zheng Jing, however, refused to obey his mother.


    Chen Jinnan had always been loyal and devoted to Zheng Jing. He gave his daughter to Zheng Kesang as his wife. Madame Dong and Feng Xifan conspired in secret; they knew that if they wanted to support Zheng Keshuang, they must kill Chen Jinnan first so that he would not be a stumbling block to their plan. Several times did they try to harm him, but each time he managed to escape. Unexpectedly this time he rescued Zheng Keshuang''s life, but had fallen into this person''s evil scheme instead.


    The stab from behind happened so suddenly, nobody had ever expected it. Feng Xifan was about to run after Shi Lang when he saw that Wei Xiaobao was thrusting his dagger toward Zheng Keshuang. Feng Xifan raised his sword to block. ''Swish!'' the sword in his hand broke into two sections; but the internal energy behind the sword thrust was profound, Wei Xiaobao''s dagger was also jolted and flew from his hand. Feng Xifan''s leg followed, he kicked Wei Xiaobao and sent him tumbling down on the ground. He was about to pursue and attack, Shuang''er rushed in front of Wei Xiaobao to block. Feng Jizhong and two Tian Di Hui brothers also rushed forward to attack Feng Xifan from left and right.


    Wei Xiaobao crawled up, picked up his dagger and howled in grief, "This vile creature killed Zongduozhu, everybody must fight him to the death!" while charging toward Zheng Keshuang.


    Zheng Keshuang leaned sideways to evade, while thrusting his sword straight toward the back of Wei Xiaobao''s head. His martial art skill was far superior to Wei Xiaobao''s, this sword move was quite ingenious, it was obvious that Wei Xiaobao would have difficult time evading it. Suddenly a saber from the side parried the sword thrust; it was Ah Ke. She called out, "Don''t harm my Shidi!" And then two Tian Di Hui brothers launched a converging attack toward Zheng Keshuang.


    Feng Xifan strenuously fought Feng Jizhong, Shuang''er and two Tian Di Hui brothers, four people, he was unable to gain the upper hand. ''Slap!'' he sent out a palm strike toward a Tian Di Hui brother, who spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell dead. Suddenly he heard Zheng Keshuang''s ''Wah, wah!'' loud cry; Feng Xifan abandoned his opponents and rushed toward Zheng Keshuang. With another palm strike he killed another Tian Di Hui brother.


    He knew that now that Chen Jinnan was dead, these people would follow Wei Xiaobao''s command, hence he must deal with the little demon first. Stretching out his hand, his palm shot down onto the top of Wei Xiaobao''s head.


    "Xianggong, run!" Shuang''er called out, while leaping toward Feng Xifan''s back.


    "You must be careful too!" Wei Xiaobao called back and ran away.


    Feng Xifan thought, "If I run after this little demon, Gongzi will have nobody to protect him." Reaching out with his left arm, he grabbed Zheng Keshuang and ran after Wei Xiaobao. Although he was carrying a grown man, he was still a bit faster than Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around to look and jumped in fright. He reached out to press the ''Han Sha She Ying'' mechanism, but because of this, his footsteps was somewhat delayed, Feng Xifan came very fast, his right palm already arrived. It was a ''thousand pounds hang by a threat'' situation, if Wei Xiaobao waited to release the secret projectile, most likely his brain would be busted by Feng Xifan''s palm. Without any choice he leaned sideways to evade, and then using the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' he ran away. Carried by his own momentum Feng Xifan ran several more steps before hastily halted his steps and turned around to chase him. Wei Xiaobao called out, "My Shifu''s ghost is coming! He is touching your head!" Because he spoke, his feet slowed down, Feng Xifan was one step closer.


    Behind, Shuang''er and Feng Jizhong also urgently gave chase; they were hoping they could cut Feng Xifan off. Wei Xiaobao fled to the east and rushed to the west in erratic pattern, while Feng Xifan was carrying Zheng Keshuang, hence his movement was not as nimble, for the time being he was unable to catch him. Shuang''er and Feng Jizhong were still several zhang behind.


    After running around for a while, Wei Xiaobao gradually felt he was out of breath. In a moment of desperation, he forced himself to run toward the cliff. Feng Xifan was greatly delighted, thinking that this time you are running to a dead-end yourself. He saw that other than a narrow pathway, all around the cliff was empty space, there was no way out; hence he relaxed his speed instead.


    Running along the narrow mountain path, Wei Xiaobao did not use the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' skill. He had just set his foot on the top of the cliff, Feng Xifan had also arrived. Wei Xiaobao shouted at the top of his voice, "First wife, middle wife, young wife, everybody quickly come out and help me, if you are not coming out, everybody will become widows."


    Actually, while he was running to the cliff, the five women on the cliff had already seen him. Su Quan saw Feng Xifan was carrying someone in his left arm, yet he was still able to run and leap like flying; indeed his martial art skill was very strong, perhaps just a notch inferior to Cult Leader Hong. Early on she already had a blade in her hand as she crouched by the side of the cliff. As soon as Feng Xifan caught up, ''Shua!'' her saber swiftly sliced across his waist.


    When Feng Xifan heard Wei Xiaobao shouting and calling earlier, he still thought that Wei Xiaobao was making a fuss to disturb his attention, he had never expected that someone was really hiding in this place. He saw this saber move was exquisite and unusual, it was indeed a superb move; he was slightly startled and took a step back. With a loud shout his left foot slightly swayed, his right foot suddenly flew out and kicked Su Quan''s wrist.


    "Ah!" Su Quan cried out, the willow-leaf saber left her hand and flew to the air. Wei Xiaobao seized this split-second opportunity to turn his body to face Feng Xifan, his right hand activate the ''Han Sha She Ying'' mechanism, with a series of ''chi, chi, chi'' noise a cluster of fine, thin steel needles shot out, all landed on Feng Xifan and Zheng Keshuang''s bodies.


    Feng Xifan screamed loudly, his grip loosened, Zheng Keshuang fell to the ground. The two of them rolled from the cliff along the narrow path down the mountain. Shuang''er and Feng Jizhong were rushing halfway up the mountain, seeing these two people rolling down fast, they leaped sideways to avoid collision.


    Zheng and Feng, two people rolled down to the foot of the cliff. As soon as the poison on the needles flared out, the two of them screamed and squealed like a pig being slaughtered, while still rolling down continuously. Fortunately after He Tishou entered Huashan Pai, she obeyed her master''s instruction; henceforth she discarded any sinister and acute poison she had been using. The poison on these ''Han Sha She Ying'' steel needles only had anesthetic effect, not life threatening poison at all. Otherwise, based on her status as the Cult Leader of the Five-Poison Cult, the poison on her concealed weapons would immediately seal the throat upon contact with blood, the person hit would immediately die a violent death; before Feng and Zheng, two people reached the foot of the cliff, they would have taken their last breath. Even so, as the steel needles hit their bodies, they still felt unbearably numb and itchy; it was as if several hundred scorpions and centipedes were crawling and biting all over their bodies at once. Although Feng Xifan was strong and healthy, he still could not bear not to scream unceasingly.


    Wei Xiaobao, Shuang''er, Feng Jizhong, Su Quan, Fang Yi, Mu Jianping, the Princess, Zeng Rou, Ah Ke rushed over one after another; seeing Feng and Zheng, two people''s condition, they were all aghast. Wei Xiaobao calmed himself down a little, and then still panting for breath, he rushed toward Chen Jinnan. He saw that Zheng Keshuang''s sword bored through Chen Jinnan''s chest; it was still stuck on his body, but he had not breathed his last. Wei Xiaobao could not help bursting into tears as he picked up Chen Jinnan''s body.


    Chen Jinnan''s power was very profound, his internal breathing had not yet dispersed. "Xiaobao," he said in a low voice, "Everybody will eventually die. I �� I have lived my entire life for my country, for my people, I have a clear conscience against the heaven and the earth. You �� you �� you don''t have to be grieved."


    "Shifu, Shifu!" Wei Xiaobao could only cry out. Actually, the days he spent with Chen Jinnan were very few; each time they met he was always afraid Shifu would check the progress of his martial art training, and thus he was always anxious and was always thinking about how to fob his master and offer lame excuses to cover up his unwillingness to make progress; but at least he was very grateful for his Shifu''s kind intention.


    This moment as he saw that Shifu was about to die, all the unspoken teachings Shifu usually taught him, the way Shifu treated him with the kindness and love of a father, choked his heart, making him wishing that he could die in place of Shifu. "Shifu," he said, "I really was not being good to you; you �� you taught me martial art, I �� I did not learn it at all."


    Chen Jinnan smiled and said, "As long as you are being a good person, Shifu is very happy. Whether you learn martial art or not, that �� that is not important at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I will definitely listen to you, I will be a good person, not �� not a bad person."


    Chen Jinnan smiled, "Good child," he said, "You have always been good."


    Gnashing his teeth, Wei Xiaobao said, "That evil thief Zheng Keshuang harmed you, (boo hoo, boo hoo), Shifu, if I can get hold of him, I will definitely chop him into mincemeat to avenge you, (boo hoo, boo hoo ��)" He wailed and talked at the same time, with tears raining down his face.


    Chen Jinnan''s body shook. "No, no!" he hastily said, "I am Zheng Wangye''s subordinate. Guoxing Ye''s kindness to me was as heavy as the mountain. No matter what we must not murder Guoxing Ye''s flesh and blood �� I would rather him being ruthless, but I must not be faithless. Xiaobao, I am going to die, you must not damage my loyal and righteous reputation. You �� you must by all means listen to me ��" His face was originally smiling, but right now he looked extremely anxious. "Xiaobao," he continued, "Promise me, you must let him return to Taiwan; otherwise, otherwise, I won''t die with closed eyes."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice; he was obliged to say, "Since Shifu spares this evil thief, I will �� I will obey your instruction."


    Immediately Chen Jinnan was relieved; he heaved a deep sigh and then said slowly, "Xiaobao, Tian Di Hui''s �� great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming, you must do it well. Our Han people work as one, in the end we will be able to restore our rivers and mountains; too bad �� too bad I won''t �� won''t live to see it ��" his voice was getting lower and lower, finally he was unable to inhale, and thus he died.


    Wei Xiaobao embraced his body and wailed, "Shifu, Shifu!" He cried himself hoarse, yet Chen Jinnan did not stir at all.


    All along Su Quan and the others had been standing by his side. Seeing Chen Jinnan died and Wei Xiaobao was unable to control his grief, they were all grief-stricken as well. Su Quan gently stroked his shoulder and said tenderly, "Xiaobao, your Shifu has passed away."


    Sobbing, Wei Xiaobao said, "Shifu is dead, he is dead!" He had never had any father, in the deepest part of his heart, he had always considered Shifu as his father to make up for his deficiency, only outwardly he did not realize it. Now that Shifu was dead, the pain in his heart was like flood breaking down the dike; it was hard to suppress. He finally came to the realization that he was after all a wild child without any father.


    Su Quan wanted to steer him away from his sorrow, "How are we going to deal with the murderer of your Shifu?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up and cursed, "Hot piece mama, little b@stard. My Shifu was your Zheng Family''s subordinate, but I, Wei Xiaobao, have never eaten even a mouthful of your Zheng Family''s rice, or spent a wen of your Zheng Family''s money. Your granny stinky thief, you still owe me ten thousand taels that you have not paid back. Shifu wanted me to spare your life, fine, I''ll spare your life. But I want you to pay me back the ten thousand taels right now. You still don''t want to pay it back? Then I''ll simply cut your body, one cut for each tael of silver." While his mouth was hurling curses continously, he pulled his dagger and walked over toward Zheng Keshuang, whom he then kicked randomly.


    The number of poisonous needles that hit Zheng Keshuang was comparatively less than those that hit Feng Xifan; by this time the pain was somewhat lessened. Hearing that Chen Jinnan wanted to spare his life, he was delighted beyond belief. But now that the debtor demanded payent, while he did not carry any money with him, he could only plead, "When I �� I will return to Taiwan, I will definitely add ten times; no, I''ll add a hundred times to the principal."


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him on the head and cursed, "You have a heart of wolf and lungs of dog, a stinky thief who forget favors and violate justice; you speak like fart. You cannot avoid these ten thousand cuts." Lifting up his dagger, he ran it over Zheng Keshuang''s face twice.


    Zheng Keshuang was so scared that his soul flew to the outer sky; he cast a glance toward Ah Ke, hoping that she would say something to help him. But suddenly he remembered, "Not right, not right! The one this little thief loves the most is precisely Ah Ke, if right now she speak on my behalf, this little thief will hate me even more. It seems like these ten thousand cuts will be unavoidable." He said, "One million taels of silver, I will definitely pay you back. Wei Xiangzhu, Wei Xianggong, if you don''t believe ��"


    Wei Xiaobao kicked him again, "Of course I don''t believe! My Shifu believed you, you killed him!" The grief and indignation in his heart was unbearable, he stretched out his dagger to stab Zheng Keshuang''s face.


    Zheng Keshuang cried out, "If you don''t believe me, then I''ll have Ah Ke to vouch for me."


    "Vouching for you is useless," Wei Xiaobao said, "She will vouch for you, later on you still won''t pay me back."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "I have a guarantee."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Leave you dog head as the guarantee; you pay me back one million taels, I will return your dog head to you."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "I''ll leave Ah Ke as the guarantee for you!"


    In that instant Wei Xiaobao felt the sky spun the earth went around, his hand loosened, the dagger fell to the ground, ''chi!'' it went deep into the mud, only a few cun away from Zheng Keshuang''s head. "Aiyo!" Zheng Keshuang cried out; hastily he pulled his head away and said, "I pawn Ah Ke to you, believe me, I will send one million taels to you, and then you can return Ah Ke to me."


    "It can be discussed," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "Cannot, cannot!" Ah Ke cried out, "I am not yours, how can you pawn me?" Speaking to here, she broke into crying.


    Zheng Keshuang anxiously said, "Right now I am facing imminent catastrophe, Ah Ke does not care about me at all, this woman is completely lacking any sense of justice, I don''t want her anymore. If Wei Xiangzhu agrees to take her, I will sell her to you for one million taels of silver. The two of us don''t owe the other anything; you don''t need to cut me ten thousand times anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In her heart she is always thinking about you, even if you sell her off to me it''s still useless."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "In her belly she already has your child, how could she think about me?"


    Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; his voice quivered, "You �� what did you say?"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "That day at the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou, you and she shared the bed, she has a baby ��"


    Ah Ke cried out loudly; she suddenly jumped up and rushed to the ocean while covering her face. Shuang''er caught up with her in several steps and pulled her arm to take her back. Ah Ke cried and said, "You �� you promised not to tell, why �� why did you say that? You speak like releasing �� releasing ��" Although she was ashamed and angry, she still thought the word ''fart'' was indecent, hence she could not say it out loud.


    Seeing the indeterminate changes on Wei Xiaobao''s countenance, Zheng Keshuang was afraid he might change his mind; he hastily said, "Wei Xiangzhu, this child is definitely yours. Ah Ke and I keep our purity, she said that only after bowing to the Heaven and the Earth with me will we become husband and wife. You �� you must not be suspicious."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This seems too good for Laozi, why didn''t you do it?"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Ever since she has your child inside her belly, she often thought about you; when she talked to me, she would mention you all day long. Listening to her I was bored to death, what do you want me to do with her?"


    Ah Ke stomped her feet repeatedly, her face alternated between red and white; she said angrily, "You told him �� you told him everything." By saying that, she indirectly admitted that he was telling the truth.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Alright!" he said, "In that case get your Ma''s stinky duck egg out of here!"


    Zheng Keshuang was also greatly delighted. "Thank you very much, thank you very much!" he hastily said, "I wish the two of you a hundred years of harmony; the congratulatory gift, Xiongdi �� Xiongdi will deliver later." While saying that he slowly crawled up.


    "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat a mouthful of saliva to the ground; he cursed, "In all my life I don''t want to see you, stinky thief, anymore." He thought, "I promised Shifu I will spare his life today. Someday there''s no harm in me sending other people to kill him to avenge Shifu. As long as the one I send is not from Tian Di Hui, other people cannot blame it on Shifu."


    All along the three Zheng Mansion bodyguards had been standing far away to the side, it was not until they saw that Wei Xiaobao spared their master''s life that they came over to help Zheng Keshuang up, as well as Feng Xifan, who was lying on the ground. Zheng Keshuang looked up to the sea, he hesitated. Shi Lang''s battleship had already sailed far away. There were two more boats moored at the beach; his own boat was shot by the Qing troops'' cannon, the mast was broken and the sail destroyed, they could not sail on it. The other boat could be considered in good condition, but obviously it was the boat Wei Xiaobao and the others were going to use; they definitely would not let him use it.


    "Feng Shifu," he said in a low voice, "We don''t have any boat; what can we do?"


    "Let''s get on the skiff first and talk later," Feng Xifan replied. The group of people slowly walked toward the beach.


    Suddenly from behind them someone shouted in stern voice, "Hold on! Wei Xiangzhu spared your lives, but I won''t spare it."


    Zheng Keshuang was shocked; he saw a man with steel saber in his hand rushed over. It was none other than Tian Di Hui''s martial art expert Feng Jizhong. Zheng Keshuang said in a trembling voice, "You �� you are Tian Di Hui Xiongdi, Tian Di Hui has always been under Taiwan''s Yan Ping Mansion''s command, you �� you ��"


    "I, I, what?" Feng Jizhong sternly said, "Stop right there!"


    Zheng Keshuang was scared; he had no choice but to reply, "Yes."


    Feng Jizhong returned to Wei Xiaobao and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, this man murdered Zongduozhu, he is the archenemy with whom our tens of thousands Tian Di Hui Xiongdi cannot live under the same sky; we simply cannot spare him. Zongduozhu had received Guoxing Ye''s great kindness; hence he was unwilling to kill his offspring. Wei Xiangzhu has agreed to fulfill his last wish, hence you cannot do it. But subordinate has never seen Guoxing Ye; Zongduozhu''s last wish was not addressed to me either. Today subordinate wants to put this evil thief to the sword to avenge Zongduozhu."


    With his right hand''s open palm behind his ear Wei Xiaobao cocked his head sideways as if he was trying to hear, "What did you say?" he asked, "My ears are suddenly blocked, I can''t hear anything. Feng Dage, whatever it is that you want to do, you might as well do it, there''s no need to wait for my order. There''s something wrong with my ears. Ay, must be that fellow Shi Lang''s cannon has deafened me." It could not be any clearer than that; if Feng Jizhong wanted to kill Zheng Keshuang, he could make his move immediately, Wei Xiaobao simply would not stop him.


    Seeing the hesitation on Feng Jizhong''s face, Wei Xiaobao added, "When Shifu was at the death''s door, he only ordered me not to kill Zheng Keshuang; he did not say that I should protect him for the rest of my life. As long as I do not personally make the move, it''s none of my business. There are millions and millions of people under the heavens, each one could kill him, who would be able to control it?"


    Feng Jizhong tugged Wei Xiaobao''s sleeve, "Wei Xiangzhu let''s go over there to talk."


    The two of them walked a dozen or so zhang away, Feng Jizhong halted his steps and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, His Majesty has always been very fond of you; is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly taken aback. "That''s right," he said, "So?"


    Feng Jizhong said, "His Majesty wanted you to kill Zongduozhu, you are unwilling, hence you flee to this place; it goes to show that you take yi qi very seriously. The heroes and warriors of Jianghu, everybody is full of admiration."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and ruefully said, "But in the end Shifu is still dead."


    "Zongduozhu was killed by that fellow Zheng Keshuang," Feng Jizhong said, "But the mission His Majesty assigned to Wei Xiangzhu can be considered accomplished ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly astonished. "You �� why did you say �� say such thing?" he asked.


    Feng Jizhong said, "In His Majesty''s heart, there are three people he is most afraid of. If these three are not eliminated, His Majesty''s dragon courtyard will never be stable. The first person is Wu Sangui; that goes without saying. The second person is precisely Zongduozhu; Tian Di Hui Xiongdi cover the whole world, the aspiration to fight the Qing and restore the Ming has never slacked off, giving His Majesty a lot of headache. Now that Zongduozhu is dead, one big load on His Majesty''s mind has been removed ��"


    Listening to this point, suddenly Wei Xiaobao felt as if a bright light had just flashed in his mind. "It''s you, it''s you. Turns out it is you!" he said.

 Chapter - 46 (46)

    Remaining bamboo piece used as a pole, can be used to check out the net of hearts in a deep pool.


    This moment, as Feng Jizhong said those things, Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized, "I really deserve to die," he thought, "Why have I never thought about this person? That day the young Emperor wanted me to bombard the Bojue [Earl] Mansion; all Tian Di Hui people were there, only he alone was not there. It should have been very clear to me, those who were in the Bojue Mansion could not be the spy; otherwise, when the cannon were fired, who would be able to escape with their live? Only because he had had the information in advance that he went away first. Ay, I am indeed a silly big melon; if he did not say anything, I would still be kept inside a drum."


    Feng Jizhong was a quiet and uncommunicative person, he appeared to be an extremely honest man; although his martial art skill was high, he always carried the mannerism of a ''stupid head wooden brain'' country bumpkin. Occasionally when Wei Xiaobao was thinking about who the spy might be, he was always thinking about a person with ''quick mouth and teeth'', perhaps an unscrupulous businessman like Qian Laoben; or perhaps someone who was light on his feet, shrewd and street-smart Xu Tianchuan; or perhaps a thorough, competent and experienced Gao Yanchao; or perhaps a hot-tempered, wine lover Priest Xuanzhen. Even the experienced and knowledgeable, outspoken and straightforward, honest and frank Fan Gang, as well as the aging Li Lishi, whose health had been deteriorating for the past few years, and sharp and cynical Qi Qingbiao, were all suspects in his mind. Only toward this did-not-look-like-a-spy Feng Jizhong he did not have the least bit of suspicion.


    Suddenly he thought of something else, "That time Shuang''er was also not in the Bojue Mansion; could it be that she �� she is also a spy, she is also going against me?" Thinking about this, he could not help but was heartbroken. But then he immediately understood, "Feng Jizhong must have intentionally taken Shuang''er out. He knew this girl is my lifeblood; if she was blasted to death, and later on this matter is exposed, I would have hated him for the rest of my life. He is no more than the spy sent by His Majesty to report some information in secret; as soon as Tian Di Hui is wiped out, His Majesty would not have any use of him. If in His Majesty''s presence I gave him some trouble, he would not be able to withstand it; hence he really did not dare to offend me."


    This thought was complicated and not easy to express succinctly, but in Wei Xiaobao''s mind it was a brain-wave that happened in a flash and he understood immediately. "Feng Dage," he said, "Thank you for taking Shuang''er out of Bojue Mansion so that the cannon blast would not kill him."


    "Ah!" Feng Jizhong exclaimed; his countenance changed instantly, and he backed off two steps with his hand on the hilt of his saber. "You �� you ��" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You and I have a tacit mutual understanding; His Majesty has already told me everything since long ago."


    Feng Jizhong knew the Emperor doted on him very much, he must be telling the truth. "Why didn''t you obey the imperial edict then?" he asked. As soon as he asked that question, it was the same as if he openly admitted everything.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Feng Dage, why are you asking a question that you already know the answer? This is called ''loyalty cannot satisfy both sides''. The way His Majesty treated me is without question really overflowing with imperial kindness; but Shifu''s treatment toward me was not bad either. Right now Shifu is already dead, what other apprehensions do I have left? It''s just that I do not know whether His Majesty would pardon my capital offence."


    Feng Jizhong said, "Now is a good chance to atone for your offense by meritorious acts. Just now I said that His Majesty is determined to get rid of three thorns in his side; other than Wu Sangui and Chen Jinnan, the third person is precisely Zheng Jing who occupies Taiwan illegally. We capture Zheng Jing''s son, and take him to Beijing; who knows? Maybe we can force Zheng Jing to surrender. If His Majesty is happy, even if Wei Dutong committed gargantuan offense, His Majesty may pardon everything." Since he no longer concealed his real identity in front of Wei Xiaobao, the way he was addressing Wei Xiaobao had also changed; now he called him ''Wei Dutong''. Even toward the Zongduozhu he now referred him by his given name.


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was very angry, "This traitor does not have any yi qi, unexpectedly he calls my Shifu by name." But thinking about the possibility of reconciliation with Kangxi, he was quite happy. It did not matter to him whether he could be government official or not, but thinking about the time he could spend chatting with the young Emperor was enough to give him unending delight.


    Feng Jizhong continued, "Wei Dutong, when we return to Beijing, we must keep everything in secret. If those Tian Di Hui people knew that Chen Jinnan is dead, most likely they would push you to become the Zongduozhu. Your yi qi is profound, you are willing to discard glory, splendor, wealth and rank; you did not want to be Bojue, you did not want to be Dutong, all because you wanted to save Tian Di Hui friends'' lives. This very moment this fact has been spread throughout the world. Right now Jianghu is bubbling and gurgling, everybody is talking about this matter; which one does not admire Wei Dutong''s heroic spirit?"


    Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself; he asked, "Did everybody really say that? You are not lying to me?"


    "No, no ��" Feng Jizhong replied, "Lowly officer definitely does not dare to lie to Dutong Daren."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Now he calls himself ''lowly officer''; I wonder what is his official rank?" Although curious, he did not dare to ask, because if he did, he would expose the horse''s feet immediately; ''His Majesty has already told me everything since long ago'' would then be a lie. But then he had a second thought, "There''s no harm in asking which rank he had been promoted to." Thereupon he smiled and asked, "You have rendered such a great merit, His Majesty must have promoted your rank; right now which official position are you holding?"


    Feng Jizhong said, "By His Majesty''s grace, he bestowed lowly officer the position Dusi." [��˾ �C Vice Brigade Commander.]Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out ''sesame seed mung bean'' lowly military official position; with Laozi the difference is damn seventeen twenty-eight levels."


    In the Qing Dynasty''s bureaucratic system, Bojue was beyond ''pin'' rank high-level officers. As the ''Dutong'' (commander) of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade, Wei Xiaobao was a ''one-pin'' rank officer. Han people''s Green Standard Army


    [18] military official''s highest rank Tidu [local commander, provincial governor] was also ''one-pin''. Zongbing [regional commander] was ''regular two-pin'', below this were Fujiang [deputy general], Canjiang [Administrator], Youji [Brigade Commander], and then Dusi [Vice Brigade Commander]. But looking at Feng Jizhong''s appearance, although his face still showed an extremely honest expression, there was a very proud look in his eyes. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao raised his cupped fist and said with a laugh, "Congratulations, congratulations! This is His Majesty''s personal promotion, you are definitely standing out from the masses."


    Feng Jizhong returned the propriety and said, "Later on I will rely on Daren to cultivate me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "We are on the same side, why did you say such thing? In term of working for His Majesty, your skill greatly surpasses mine."


    "How can lowly officer be compared to even a ten-thousandth of Daren?" Feng Jizhong replied, "Reporting to Daren, His Majesty has instructed lowly officer that if I see Daren, no matter what I must bring Daren back to Beijing, I must not disobey the imperial edict. Listening to His Majesty''s tone, lowly officer knew that His Majesty cares about Daren greatly; I can say that he miss you very much. This great merit of bringing Taiwan rebel''s son back to Beijing will make His Majesty happy; he will definitely raise Daren''s official position."


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case you should be promoted to Youji."


    Feng Jizhong said, "Lowly officer only wish to do my best for His Majesty. When His Majesty sees Daren, he will be happy, as his servants we will also greatly rejoice. Whether we are promoted or not, it''s entirely by His Majesty''s grace."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "I have always thought you were an honest person, turns out you really know how to talk in official jargon."


    Feng Jizhong continued, "If Daren assumed the Zongduozhu position of Tian Di Hui, you can gather the eighteen provinces Halls'' Xiangzhu and every place''s leaders together; we''ll say it''s the memorial ceremony for Chen Jinnan. At that time we''ll catch everything in one net, so that these conspirators against the law, the rebel thieves who commit heresy, will be unable to escape. This great merit will be ten times greater than when we bombarded the Bojue Mansion the other day. Daren, just think, if that day you obeyed the Emperor''s decree and killed Chen Jinnan, Li Lishi and those people, Tian Di Hui has rebel thieves in each province, one Zongduozhu is killed, another Zongduozhu will rise; we can''t wipe them out. Only by Daren yourself become the Zongduozhu will we be able to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, and then the big worry weighing His Majesty''s heart will disappear forever."


    Hearing this, cold sweats began to form on Wei Xiaobao''s back; he thought, "This evil scheme is really difficult to deal with, I don''t think even you can come up with this plan, I am 90% sure that this is the young Emperor''s stratagem. If I return to Beijing, most likely the young Emperor will pardon my great offense, but he will definitely want me to eradicate Tian Di Hui. This is a clever way with which he is dealing with me, I won''t be able to escape from his clutch anymore."


    The more he thought about it, the more terrified he was; he thought, "The young Emperor wants me to surrender, he wants to beat my buttocks, those are not a big deal; but he wants me to be Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu and kill all the brothers'' heads; this I must not do, not in a million years. If I did it, all the heroes throughout the world will f*ck my eighteen generation ancestors; when I die, I won''t be able to see Shifu. All the big girls, little girls in here will also look down on me from the bottom of their hearts. Even if other people don''t care, even if Wei Xiaobao''s conscience is not much, in the end I still have a little bit."


    He cast a glance toward Feng Jizhong, while his mouth uttered, ''Oh, oh,'' repeatedly; he thought, "If I don''t answer, he might become hostile to me immediately. If it comes to using force, a number of us might not necessarily lose to him, but this servant''s martial art skill is exceptionally strong, if one or two of my big girls, little girls are killed by him, it will be desperately serious. There''s no harm in me playing ''Han Sha She Ying'' again." He said hesitantly, "I will be very happy to go see His Majesty, it''s just that �� it''s just that to kill that many Tian Di Hui brothers, it''s inevitably going to violate yi qi too much. We must discuss it carefully before we trespass our friends."


    "Daren is right," Feng Jizhong said, "But there is a common saying, ''Those who measure small things are not people of noble character; a great man has to be ruthless'' [orig. no poison, no great man]."


    "Right, right!" Wei Xiaobao said, "A great man has to be ruthless �� hey, aiyo, how can that fellow Zheng Keshuang escape?"


    Feng Jizhong was startled; he turned around to look. Wei Xiaobao aimed his chest to him, he was about to reach down to activate the mechanism to release the poisonous needle when suddenly Shuang''er rushed over and called out, "Xianggong, what is it?"


    Turned out all along she was watching these two men talking endlessly, and was very concerned; thereupon she slowly crept near. When she suddenly heard Wei Xiaobao cried out ''aiyo'', immediately she leaped forward. If Wei Xiaobao released the ''Han Sha She Ying'', Feng Jizhong would be hit for certain, but Shuang''er would also be affected. Although this moment his hand had already reached the mechanism, he did not dare to press the mechanism.


    When Feng Jizhong turned his head around, he saw Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan were still standing on the beach, they had not moved at all. Immediately he knew something was not right; he ducked down and reached backward to grab Shuang''er and pulled her in front of his body as a shield. Based on Shuang''er''s martial art skill, Feng Jizhong should not necessarily be able to succeed in one grab; it''s just that he moved so suddenly, and Shuang''er did not guard against him at all, so that the main artery on her wrist was caught, her upper body went numb, she was unable to move a single step. In a deep voice Feng Jizhong said, "Wei Daren, please raise your hand."


    The golden opportunity to launch a sneak attack had gone, Shuang''er fell under the opponent''s control, Wei Xiaobao was put under disadvantageous position; he giggled and said, "Feng Dage, what kind of joke are you playing?"


    Feng Jizhong said, "Wei Daren''s no-shadow no-trace secret projectile is indeed too formidable, lowly officer is very afraid of it; please raise your hands, otherwise, lowly officer will have no choice but to offend you." While saying that, he pushed Shuang''er forward, while he himself hid behind her, so that Wei Xiaobao would not be able to release the secret projectile.


    From the other side Su Quan, Fang Yi, Ah Ke, Zeng Rou and the others saw the unforeseen event, one after another they rushed over. Feng Jizhong thought, "This kid loves this girl the most, he won''t dare to make his move; but those other women might not cherish her life as much, the one they cherish is this kid." With his left hand he pulled the steel saber hanging on his waist; stretching out his hand, he placed the edge of the blade on Wei Xiaobao''s throat. "Nobody come near!" he shouted.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao in danger, Su Quan and the others came to a halt. They were all anxious, but were also baffled; this Feng Jizhong was obviously Wei Xiaobao''s friend, they had just fought the enemy side-by-side, how could in an instant, as soon as they had disagreement, he immediately made his move? They supposed it must be because Wei Xiaobao wanted to release Zheng Keshuang, while Feng Jizhong wanted to kill him to avenge Chen Jinnan.


    Wei Xiaobao tipped his head backward slightly, the tip of Feng Jizhong''s saber followed forward. "Wei Daren," he shouted, "Please don''t move. Steel saber don''t have eyes; don''t blame me if I offend you. Please raise your hands."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice, he slowly raised both hands while saying with a laugh, "Feng Dage, you want to rise to high-ranking official position, you want to get rich, you should be a bit more polite to me."


    "While it''s true that to be promoted and gain wealth is important, the first step is till protecting my own life," Feng Jizhong replied. Suddenly his body slightly leaned sideways, he rushed behind Wei Xiaobao, reached out to draw the dagger in Wei Xiaobao''s boot, and pointed it to his back. "Wei Daren," he said, "Your dagger is very sharp, lowly officer has seen you using it several times."


    Wei Xiaobao could only smile wryly. He felt slight pain on his back, and knew that the tip of the dagger had pierced his outer clothing. Although he was wearing his treasured protective vest, it would not stop the treasured dagger.


    Feng Jizhong shouted, "Everybody turn around and throw your weapon down." Seeing this turn of events, Su Quan and the others did not have any choice but to follow his order; they turned around and tossed their weapons to the ground.


    Feng Jizhong saw there were still six Tian Di Hui brothers standing on the side; he shouted to them, "Come here, I have something to say." The six people did not know what was going on, they came over.


    Feng Jizhong raised his right elbow, ''slam'' the point of his elbow struck the ''da zhui'' [big spine] acupoint on Wei Xiaobao''s back; the steel saber in his left hand swept, accompanied by a series of ''cha, cha, ah, ah, aiyo'' sound, all six Tian Di Hui brothers were hit by the saber. In an instant he had hacked these six people to their deaths, each saber chop hit a vital point on a man''s body. His saber was swift, his attacks were fierce; it was indeed rarely seen.


    Hearing the miserable scream, Su Quan and the others turned around and saw the bodies of those six people scattered around on the ground; from the wound on either their heads, necks, chests, backs, waists, or flanks, blood was gushing out. None of the women did not cry out in fear, none of their faces did not change.


    Turned out that as Feng Jizhong saw that his face was exposed, he immediately made his move; he was alone, hence he had to strike first by killing these six Tian Di Hui brothers; first, to intimidate with his power so that Wei Xiaobao and the women would not dare to rebel; second, so that he had six less enemies. This way, although his opponents were numerous, they were no more than one youngster and seven women.


    He swung the saber in his left hand, turned around and pressed it against Wei Xiaobao''s neck. "Wei Daren," he said, "Let''s go down to the boat."


    He was thinking to take only Wei Xiaobao and Zheng Keshuang, two people, under arrest and presented them to the Emperor, and thus rendering a great service. These seven women would be left on the island, so that they would not add trouble to him on the boat. By being lenient and not kill these seven women, he was actually preparing a room for action for himself, to avoid incurring Wei Xiaobao''s hatred too much. How the Emperor would deal with this youngster later would be beyond anybody''s guess.


    "Humph," Feng Jizhong only snorted without paying her any attention. He had come with Wei Xiaobao escorting her to Yunnan to get married, so he knew she was the Princess, hence he did not dare to argue with his superior.


    Seeing he did not take notice of her, the Princess was even more angry; in this earth, other than the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, plus Wei Xiaobao and Su Quan, four people, she had no regard of anybody else. Stooping down to pick a saber on the ground, she leaped forward to hack down on Feng Jizhong''s head.


    Feng Jizhong leaned sideways to evade. ''Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!'' the Princess hacked three times in a row, Feng Jizhong dodged left and right. If it were another woman, he would have used his leg to kick her down. But the one holding the saber was the Emperor''s imperial younger sister, the golden branch, jade leaves Princess. The desire in his heart was only to render merit and get promoted, to repay the kindness of the imperial family; how could he dare to offend the Princess? Thereupon right now he could only dodge.


    "Stinky b@stard servant," the Princess cursed, "Stand still, don''t move! I want to chop your head. Why do you keep your stinking head running around in circles so that I cannot chop it down? I will tell Huangdi Gege, to have him make mincemeat of you!"


    Feng Jizhong was stunned; he thought that this woman was capable of doing what she was capable to say, she and the Emperor were brother and sister, while he himself was just a sesame seed mung bean little military official, how could he fight the Princess? But if he obeyed her command by keeping his stinking head steady and unmoving to let Her Highness the Princess'' ten thousand gold body''s precious hand''s saber chop it, he seemed to have difficulty in obeying it.


    While her mouth was busy hurling curses, the Princess'' saber hacked to the left and chopped to the right continuously. Feng Jizhong slightly sidestepped and leaned his body sideways, he lightly and easily evaded the attack; although the saber always flashed by a few cun away from his body, it was never able to chop him. The Princess became impatient; sweeping the saber horizontally, she hacked across his waist.


    "Careful!" Feng Jizhong shouted, and leaped up. It was obvious that the Princess would not be able to stop the momentum of the saber, it would chop Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder. While his body was still midair, Feng Jizhong''s left foot kicked on Wei Xiaobao''s body, throwing him down to the ground, while at the same time he borrowed the momentum to leap several more zhang away.


    Shuang''er pounced forward, grabbed Wei Xiaobao, and flew several steps away. Feng Jizhong was greatly alarmed; he rushed over with a saber in his hand. Shuang''er''s martial art was superb, but after all, her strength was still lacking. She was half a head shorter than Wei Xiaobao, carrying him in her arms like that she was only able to run several zhang when Feng Jizhong had already come near.


    The acupoint on Wei Xiaobao''s back was sealed, his four limbs did not obey his command; he could only said, "Put me down, let me release the secret projectile." But Feng Jizhong came really fast; Shuang''er wanted to let Wei Xiaobao down so that he could release the ''Han Sha She Ying'' secret projectile, but it was already too late. In desperation she threw him away.


    Feng Jizhong was greatly delighted; he rushed forward and stretched out his hand to catch Wei Xiaobao. Suddenly he heard a light ''click'' behind him, like the sound of fire-knife struck against a flint stone, followed by a loud ''Bang!'' His body was flying midair, suddenly it dropped down to the ground. He twisted several times, and then stopped moving altogether.


    Wei Xiaobao''s body landed on the sandy beach, he did not suffer any injury; he struggled for some time to crawl up, but was unable to do so. He saw a wisp of smoke in front of Shuang''er, her hand was holding a short gun; it was precisely the gift she received from Wu Liuqi the day they swore to become brother and sister. It was a refined firearm made in the Luocha Country; it was formidable beyond compare. Although Feng Jizhong possessed an extraordinary martial art skill, his flesh and blood body was simply unable to withstand it.


    Shuang''er herself was so scared that she could only stared blankly. When the gun went off, it shook her hand and arm that she felt numb and painful. Her hand trembled, the gun fell to the ground.


    For fear that Feng Jizhong had not died yet, Wei Xiaobao scrambled several steps forward, press the mechanism on his waist, and a cluster of steel needles shot out; all of the needles hit Feng Jizhong''s body. But Feng Jizhong did not budge at all; as soon as the gun went off, he was already dead.


    The women cheered in chorus and swarmed forward. Seven women plus one Wei Xiaobao, it was literally ''seven openings eight mouths'' [chaos (idiom)]; a hundred-percent ''you speak, I talk'', everybody wanted to know what was going on. Wei Xiaobao briefly explained to them.


    Shuang''er had been in contact with Feng Jizhong for quite a long time, on the journey he always displayed his honest, generous and simple character, treating her with respect and consideration. He was indeed a model of a man, who always did his duty without offending anybody; who would have thought that he was extremely shrewd? The more she thought about it, the more scared she was.


    She turned around to pick up the gun from the ground. Suddenly it dawned on her the profound meaning behind Wu Liuqi''s desire to swear brotherhood with her that day: this extraordinary Wulin talent was hoping that in the future Wei Xiaobao would take her as his wife, but she was only a servant girl, in term of status, they did not match. After becoming the sworn sister of Tian Di Hui''s Red Banner Xiangzhu, she would be fit to marry the Tian Di Hui''s Green Wood Hall Xiangzhu. Remembering her sworn brother''s good intention, also that he died in injustice, she could not stop tears from flowing down her face.


    Wei Xiaobao turned around and saw Zheng Keshuang and the other four people were walking toward the beach to board the skiff. He thought, "He has killed Shifu; if I let him leave safe and sound, it would be too easy for him." Therefore, with a dagger in his hand, he ran after them and called out, "Hold on!"


    Zheng Keshuang stopped and turned his head around; his countenance turned ash-grey. "Wei �� Wei Xiangzhu, you promised to let me �� let us go," he said.


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "I promised not to kill you. I have not promised not to chop your leg."


    Feng Xifan was furious; he was about to lash it out, but as soon as he raised his hand, his whole body felt limp and painful, he was unable to exert even half a part of strength.


    By this time Zheng Keshuang was already scared out of his wits, his knees went weak, and he dropped on the ground. "Wei �� Wei Xiangzhu," he said, "If you chop my leg, I �� I will definitely not able to live."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Whether you live or not, it''s not my concern. You owe me one million taels of silver, you said you want to use Ah Ke as the guarantee. But she and I have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth, she is my lawfully-wedded wife; in her belly she has my child, and she voluntarily wanted to come with me. How can you use my wife as your guarantee? How could there be such logic in the world?"


    By this time Su Quan, Fang Yi, Zeng Rou, the Princess, and the others were already standing by Wei Xiaobao''s side. "It''s preposterous!" they said in chorus.


    Zheng Keshuang''s mind was already in chaos, but he had a nagging feeling that something was just not right. "What �� what should I do then?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll chop your arm and your thigh first as the guarantee. When you pay me the one million taels of silver in the future, I will return your cutoff arm and leg to you."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Just now you said that I could sell Ah Ke off to you, the ten thousand taels �� ten thousand taels of silver I owed you is already written off at one stroke."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head vehemently. "Can''t do," he said, "Just now my head was muddled, and I fell into your big trick. Ah Ke is my wife, how can you sell my wife back to me? Alright, I will sell your mother back to you, she is worth one million taels of silver. I will also sell your father back to you, worth another million taels of silver. And then your paternal granny, worth one million taels of silver, plus your maternal granny, also at one million taels of silver ��"


    Zheng Keshuang said, "My maternal grandmother has already passed away."


    "I can still sell dead people," Wei Xiaobao said, "I will sell your maternal grandmother''s corpse to you; dead people only worth 80%, make it eight hundred thousand taels. The coffin is included, there''s no additional charge for it."


    The more he talked the more preposterous he was; Zheng Keshuang thought that he even wanted to sell dead people. If he had to buy his great-grandfather, his great-great-grandfather, his great-grandmother, his great-great-grandmother, even if the dead people were valued at 80%, or even 70, or 60%, he would not be able to tolerate it; but he did not dare to say that he was unwilling to buy. Without any choice he could only plead, "I �� I really cannot afford it."


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you can''t afford it, I''ll spare you. But those you already bought you cannot return. You owe me three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver. How are you going to pay?"


    The Princess laughed and said, "That''s right, three million eight hundred thousand taels. Quickly pay up."


    Scowling miserably, Zheng Keshuang said, "I don''t even have one thousand taels with me, where can I get three million eight hundred thousand taels?"


    "Never mind!" Wei Xiaobao said, "You don''t have any money, I''ll let you return the merchandise. Quickly give me back your father, mother, (paternal) granny, and dead (maternal) granny. Not a hair less."


    Zheng Keshuang knew that if this unreasonable argument continued, in the end there would still be no solution. He looked at Ah Ke, hoping that she would say something on his behalf, but against expectation she stood some distance away, turning her back on him, determined not to get involved. He was very anxious, looking at Wei Xiaobao, he seemed to be determined to chop his hand his foot; Zheng Keshuang did not have any choice but to repeatedly kowtow and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, I �� I killed Chen Junshi, it was really a crime deserving ten thousand deaths. I beseech your magnanimity to spare Xiaoren''s life. Even if I owe you, Senior, three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver, I �� I will definitely try to pay you back."


    Seeing that he managed to torment Zheng Keshuang so that he was in such a sorry state, Wei Xiaobao''s hatred was somewhat diminished; he said, "In that case you must write an I.O.U."


    Zheng Keshuang was greatly delighted. "Yes, yes," he busily said. Turning to his bodyguard he said, "Get some pen and paper." But in that uninhabited island, where could they find any pen and paper?


    The bodyguard was quite quick-witted; he tore a piece of his own long gown at once, and said, "There are many dead bodies over there, we can write using their blood as the ink." Finished speaking he wanted to drag Feng Jizhong''s body immediately. Wei Xiaobao reached out with his left hand to grab Zheng Keshuang''s right wrist. White light flashed, he sliced his dagger to cut one section of Zheng Keshuang''s right hand index finger.


    Zheng Keshuang screamed loudly. Wei Xiaobao said, "Use the blood from your finger to write."


    Zheng Keshuang was in so much pain that his whole body trembled; momentarily he was at a loss of what to do. Wei Xiaobao said, "Just write slowly, if your blood dry out, I''ll just cut your second finger."


    "Yes, yes!" Zheng Keshuang busily said. How could he dare to write slowly? Clenching his teeth he wrote with his cut finger on the piece of cloth, "I owe three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver exactly. Signed, Zheng Keshuang." After writing these thirteen characters, the pain was unbearable that he nearly passed out.


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "Shame on you as a magnificent Prince''s Mansion''s Gongzi, you did not work hard on your penmanship; the I.O.U you wrote, these several characters are trembling scrawls, all are faulty strokes, not a single one shows good penmanship." Taking the piece of cloth from Zheng Keshuang, he handed it over to Shuang''er, saying, "Take this, see if the amount is correct. This man is treacherous and sly, don''t let him write several taels less."


    Shuang''er said, "Three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver, no less." While saying that, she put the I.O.U. written in blood into her pocket.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he kicked Zheng Keshuang''s chin and shouted, "Get your dead (maternal) granny out of here!"


    Zheng Keshuang tumbled down and rolled away. His bodyguards rushed over to help him up and wrap his cut finger. Two bodyguards separately helped Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan to board the skiff, and rowed it out to the sea.


    Wei Xiaobao''s laughter continued; suddenly he remembered his Shifu''s tragic death, and could not help bursting into tears.


    After the skiff was rowed several dozen zhang away from the beach, panic started to settle into Zheng Keshuang''s heart; he said, "Let us seize the big boat and get away with it, I don''t think those goddamn male and female dogs will be able to pursue." But as they sailed toward the big boat, they found out that the boat was without the rudder and without any sailing equipment.


    Feng Xifan hatefully said, "Those goddamn male and female dogs have already taken care of it."


    They look at the vast and obscure ocean, at the billowing waves, while the skiff was without provision and water; how could they make a distant sea voyage? Zheng Keshuang said, "Let us beseech that little thief again, ask him to lend us their boat. At most I will have to write another three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver I.O.U."


    Feng Xifan said, "It''s their only boat, how can they lend it to us? I''d rather be buried inside the fish''s belly that begging that little thief."


    Hearing his tone was resolute and decisive, Zheng Keshuang did not dare to disobey; he had no choice but to heave a sigh and instructed his three bodyguards to row the skiff into the ocean.


    Wei Xiaobao and the others watched as Zheng Keshuang and the others rowed their skiff toward the big boat, and after finding out that the big boat was not sailable, they finally rowed the skiff away; Wei Xiaobao and the others could not help finding it hilarious.


    Su Quan saw Wei Xiaobao was crying and laughing, apparently he still could not get over his grief over his Shifu''s death; she wanted to say something to please him, thereupon she said, "This Zheng Family''s Er Gongzi is devious to the extreme, obviously he wanted to steal our big boat. Xiaobao, in my opinion, he won''t pay you the three million eight hundred thousand taels of silver he owes."


    "I was thinking the same thing," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Su Quan laughed and said, "Whatever you do, usually you are very astute, but just now that fellow sold you your own wife for ten thousand taels to pay his debt. You did not think about it and simply agreed. You must love Ah Ke Meizi so much that you turned silly. At that time, if he wanted you to find ten thousand taels to pay him, I think you might readily agree."


    Wei Xiaobao used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes; and then he laughed and said, "I don''t care if he said ''three sevens are twenty-one'' [i.e. the facts of the matter], I would have agreed first and talked later; I will slowly settle the account with him."


    Fang Yi asked, "And then what happened? Why did you suddenly remember that you have suffered a big loss?"


    Wei Xiaobao scratched his head. "After we killed Feng Jizhong, I did not have anything to worry about, suddenly my brain became very clear," he said.


    Actually, he had never had any suspicion against Feng Jizhong; it''s just that in the deepest part of his heart he had a nagging feeling that he had a great root of trouble nearby, but as for what kind of trouble, he himself was unclear, only he felt fear without any reason. When Feng Jizhong was killed, immediately he felt as if a heavy load had just been released, and he felt entirely free from worry. He thought, "Perhaps early on I was already afraid of this thief, only I did not realize it."


    They had just undergone a series of strange dangers, until now, where the powerful enemies were either dead or had run away. Now the island was back to peace and quiet. Everybody felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. Wei Xiaobao felt as if his legs weighed a thousand catties, he was unable to stand and hence he lay down on the sandy beach to rest. Su Quan rubbed his back to unseal the acupoint sealed by Feng Jizhong earlier.


    The water reflected the setting sun, swayed by the waves the surface of the sea looked like tens of thousands golden snakes crawling and leaping one over another; the scenery was singularly beautiful beyond compare. One by one the women sat down. Shortly afterwards, Wei Xiaobao was the first to snore, and not to long after that, one by one the women also fell asleep.


    More than two hours later, Fang Yi was the first to wake up. She went to the thatched hut that was used by Wei Xiaobao as his command tent in the past to prepare some food, and then she called everybody else to eat. In the main hall they lighted two pine torches so that the room was bright. The eight of them sat in a circle. After dinner, Fang Yi and Shuang''er cleaned up the bowls and the chopsticks.


    Wei Xiaobao swept his gaze on Su Quan, Fang Yi, the Princess, Zeng Rou, Mu Jianping, Shuang''er and Ah Ke, seven women''s faces one by one. Some were tender and beautiful, some were gentle and soft, some were lively, some were extremely beautiful, each one had her own strength; he could not help but was greatly delighted. This moment he ''leaned on red and cuddled on green-jade'', his heart felt so peaceful. Compared to the ''heaven and earth in confusion'' time at the Lovely Spring Courtyard when he was under the large blanket with seven women, he felt a lot more safe, peaceful, and happy. He laughed and said, "That day I called this small island ''Tong Chi Island'' [eat ''em all, gambling], turns out I already have foresight, knowing that seven Jiejie Meimei would be willing to be my wives; it was indeed a mystery of the underworld, the Will of Heaven, that even if we ran, we cannot escape. From this day onward, the eight of us will live on this Tong Chi Island, our long-life the same as the heaven''s, enjoy immortal good fortune forever."


    "Xiaobao," Su Quan said, "These eight characters [shou yu tian qi, xian fu yong xiang] are ominous, later on you must not say it."


    Wei Xiaobao immediately realized his mistake, he knew she did not want to hear anything related to the Cult Leader Hong. "Right, right!" hastily he said, "I was talking rubbish."


    Su Quan said, "When Shi Lang and Zheng Keshuang are home, most likely they will bring troops back here to take revenge, we must not live on this island for too long."


    Everybody agreed. Fang Yi said, "Quan Jiejie, where do you think we should go?"


    Su Quan cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao and said with a laugh, "Why don''t we hear Zhi Zunbao''s [most honorable/senior treasure] idea?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You call me Zhi Zunbao?"


    Su Quan replied with a laugh, "If not Zhi Zunbao, how can you sweep ''em all [tong chi]?"


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. "I do have a ''bao'' [treasure] in my name," he said, "Actually it was a tiny pair of treasure. Pair of fives or two wooden bench tiles, now those are the real Zhi Zunbao."


    Seeing the seven women''s eyes were fixed at him, he pondered a while and then said, "The Central Plains is definitely out of question. Shen Long Island is too close to this place, it''s not a good place either. We must go someplace comfortable but no people around."


    The problem was that desolate places with no people around are not comfortable, comfortable places surely have a lot of people in it. Besides, ''comfort'' in Wei Xiaobao''s eyes means gambling, opera, storytelling, many different kinds of sights, singing, good dishes, light refreshments, and good-looking young women; not a single one of these was not ''the more the merrier''. Other than good-looking young women, which, by the way, he already had quite a few by his side, those things could be found only if not in Beijing, then in Yangzhou or other first-class flourishing city in the world; exactly the places where it would be difficult for them to live in happiness.


    As he was thinking about these romantic and bustling places, his filial piety heart was suddenly moved. "We gather together in here, it can be considered very exciting," he said, "But I wonder how is my mother doing, all alone and helpless on her own."


    These women had never heard him mentioning his mother, they all thought that he had a filial heart, which was hard to come by. "Where is your mother right now?" they all asked. Some of them even thought, "Your mother is my mother-in-law, we ought to try to be together with her, to care for her, the Senior."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "My mother is at the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou."


    When the women heard the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou, five characters, other than the Princess, the other six immediately felt as if flying red clouds suddenly hit their faces. Some of them turned their heads away, some lowered their heads down.


    "Ah, Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou," the Princess said, "You have mentioned it before, that is the most fun place in the world; you promised to take me there to play."


    Fang Yi smiled and said, "He was swindling you, don''t believe him. That is the most indecent place on earth."


    "Why is it indecent?" the Princess asked, "Have you played there? Why all of you have such a strange expression on your faces?"


    Fang Yi stifled her laugh and was unable to reply. The Princess wrapped her arm around Mu Jianping''s shoulder. "Good Meizi," she said, "Tell me, what is it?"


    Mu Jianping blushed deep red; she said, "That is �� that is a brothel."


    The Princess still did not understand, "What is his Mama doing in a brothel?" she asked, "I heard that is the place where men come to have fun."


    Fang Yi laughed and said, "He always loves to talk rubbish, if you believe just half a sentence of what he said, it will be enough to give you headache."


    That day in the Lovely Spring Courtyard, Wei Xiaobao slept under the same blanket with seven women; other than the Princess and the old wh0re Mao Dongzhu, the remaining six women at this moment were sitting in front of him. In term of viciousness and roughness, the Princess was not inferior to Mao Dongzhu, but she was not as sinister, ruthless and dangerous as her mother, plus she was a lot younger and prettier than her mother. Wei Xiaobao was secretly congratulating himself, this time the switch was perfectly reasonable; if right now the one accompanied him was not the Princess but her mother, he would not have any idea of what to do. Perhaps after getting hold of her, he would become like the Old Emperor, he would want to leave home to become a monk on Mount Wutai. But if he absolutely must become a monk, he surely would want to have these seven wives coming with him.


    Looking at the blushing six women, he presumed they were thinking of the situation that night. He mused, "That night in the dark, I was just fooling around randomly, I don''t know which one I slept with. Ah Ke and Quan Jiejie have my child inside their tummies; that''s two. I remember one more, but I don''t know which one. I have to find out slowly." Smiling happily he said, "Even if we have to live on this Tong Chi Island forever, we won''t be lonely. Quan Jiejie, Princess, Ah Ke, the three of you have my child in your tummy; I wonder if someone else also has my child inside your tummy."


    As soon as they heard that, Fang Yi and the others, four women''s faces turned even redder. Mu Jianping hastily said, "I don''t have it, I don''t have it."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was looking at her, Zeng Rou shot him a malicious look, "Not me!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Good Shuang''er, it must be that we are highly successful."


    Shuang''er sprang up and hid in the corner of the room. "No, no!" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao turned to Fang Yi, "Yi Jiejie," he said, "What about you? When you were at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, you stuffed a pillow on your belly, pretending to be pregnant; you must have foresight."


    "Pft!" Fang Yi stifled her laugh, but then could not help laughing. "Pei!" she spat, "Dead eunuch, you and I have not �� how can I have ��"


    "Oh yeah," Mu Jianping said, "Shijie, Zeng Jiejie, Shuang''er Meizi and me, four people have not bowed to the Heaven and the Earth with you to get married, how can we have a baby? Xiaobao, you deserve to die; you bowed to the Heaven and the Earth with Quan Jiejie, the Princess and Ah Ke Jiejie, yet you did not tell me, you did not invite me to drink the wedding wine." In her mind, it was the tying of the knot in the ritual of bowing to the Heaven and the Earth that enable people to have children.


    Listening to her naivet��, everybody laughed. While still laughing, Fang Yi wrapped her arm around her waist and said, "Xiao Shimei, in that case, tonight you and he should bow to the Heaven and the Earth to be husband and wife."


    "No way," Mu Jianping replied, "There is no marriage sedan on this barren island. I have seen that the brides are always wearing crimson wedding gown, and phoenix crown with red clouds cape; we don''t have any of those."


    Su Quan laughed and said, "It won''t be a big deal if you are willing to put up with it a bit. We can pick some flowers and braid it into a flower garland, and consider it phoenix crown."


    He heard Mu Jianping said, "If we have to bow to the Heaven and the Earth in here, Fang Shijie must bow first."


    Mu Jianping said, "We are the people of a perished nation, why do you even mention Junzhu or not Junzhu?"


    Fang Yi smiled and said, "In that case, Shuang''er Meizi should bow to the Heaven and the Earth with him first; you have been with him the longest, you have been through life and death together, a friend in times of tribulations, you stand out from the masses."


    Shuang''er blushed. "If you say more, I am going to leave," she said, while walking toward the door; but Fang Yi laughed and hugged her.


    Su Quan turned to Wei Xiaobao and said with a laugh, "Xiaobao, you decide."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Bowing to the Heaven and the Earth can be discussed slowly. Tomorrow we must bury Shifu first."


    When the women heard that, they were immediately filled with respect; nobody expected this man''s reverence toward his master was this heavy that he could utter such righteous phrases. Who would have thought that what he said next exposed his true nature: "The seven of you are all my dear good wives, there is no distinction between early or late, older or younger. Later on, every night all of you will throw dice to decide winning or losing. Whoever wins, that one will accompany me." While saying that, he took the two dice from his pocket, blew it, and rolled it on the table.


    "Pei!" the Princess spat, "Do you think you are that sweet-smelling? Whoever loses is the one who should accompany you."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Right, right! Just like playing finger-guessing game, whoever loses must drink a cup of wine as a forfeit. Alright, who will roll first?"


    That night in the thatched hut on the inhabited island thoughts of love and warmth abound; there is no need to describe in details the throwing of dice, who won or who lost. From that day on, the throwing of dice among the women of the Wei family became usual practice. Originally Wei Xiaobao loved to throw dice with people to gamble, using gold, silver, money and valuables as the stake. The excitement of winning or losing always brought him abundant delight, but this time he decided on a method that from now on the women would have him as the stake, he would be compelled to stay out of the game. Although there was tenderness and happiness in his heart, the excitement of gambling was gone. Thus it was clear that ''the flowers do not always bloom, the moon has its full and crescent phases, the affairs of the world cannot be expected to always follow the people''s expectation''.


    The next day the eight of them slept until the sun was on top of the three poles before they got up. Wei Xiaobao led the seven women to bury Chen Jinnan''s remains. Seeing the yellow sandy soil covering his Shifu''s body, Wei Xiaobao could not help bursting in tears again. The women kneeled down together and did obeisance in front of the grave.


    The Princess really did not want to do it, she thought I am the Princess of the magnificent Great Qing, how can I kowtow to you, a rebel thief? But it was clear to her that although she was a ''golden branch, jade leaves'', perhaps in Wei Xiaobao''s eyes her rank was the lowest instead; in term of closeness, she was not as devoted as Shuang''er, in term of beauty she was not as pretty as Ah Ke, in term of martial art she could not beat Su Quan, in term of capability she was not as smart Fang Yi, in term of naivete and purity she was not as innocent as Mu Jianping, in term of gentleness she was not as refined as Zeng Rou. One day her shortcomings would catch up, she was nothing more than a harsh and unreasonable, rough and mean woman. If she did not pay her respect, perhaps henceforth Wei Xiaobao would view her in a new light, and might cheat on the dice; every night when they tossed the dice, he would cause her to achieve great victory. Therefore, feeling aggrieved as she was, she also kneeled down, while saying in her heart, "Rebel thief, oh rebel thief, I, Her Highness the Princess, bow to you, which you have never had the good fortune of receiving, until you go to the underworld, I am afraid you will suffer for your actions."


    When they finished paying their respect, they all stood up and turned around. "Aiyo!" Fang Yi suddenly cried out, "Where''s the boat? Where did it go?"


    Hearing her terrified cry, everybody turned their eyes toward the sea, and saw that the boat moored on the beach had vanished without a trace; none was not shocked. They looked to the distant and only saw the boundless bluish green sea all the way to the horizon where it met the blue sky, with several dozen white birds swooping up and down on the surface of the water. Su Quan ran up the overhanging cliff to survey the island all around, north, south, east and west, she did not see even the shadow of the boat. Fang Yi rushed to the cave to look at the rudder, sail, and other sailing gear, as expected, those things had gone missing.


    They all got back together and looked at each other in dismay; no one could stop fear from creeping into their hearts. Last night the eight of them were having too much fun and did not sleep until very late at night; they completely forgot to set up night guard duty, unexpectedly the boatmen stole the sailing gears and took the boat away. From now on they were trapped on an isolated island and would not be able to escape anymore. Wei Xiaobao thought about the possibility of Shi Lang and Zheng Keshuang returning with troops to take revenge, how could the eight of them fight the enemy? Even if Su Quan, the Princess and Ah Ke gave birth to three children without delay, their number would be no more than eleven.


    Su Quan comforted the rest, "Things have come to this, worrying is useless. Let us slowly think of a plan."


    Back to the thatched hut, everybody hurled curses toward the boatmen with different mouths, same voice; but after swearing and cursing for a couple of hours, they could not come up with any fresh cursing words anymore. Su Quan said to Wei Xiaobao, "Right now we must guard against the Qing troops coming here in large number. Xiaobao, what do you think?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If the Qing troops are coming, their number will not be a few for sure, we won''t be able to fight them. All we can do is hide, hoping that if they can''t find us in a short while, they would think that we have already sailed away."


    Su Quan nodded. "That''s true," she said, "The Qing Troops will never have guessed that our boat was stolen."


    Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "If I were Shi Lang," he said, "I won''t come again. He would presume that without a doubt we would immediately anoint oil on the soles of our feet; it would be foolish for us to stay here. Why would we want to wait for him to come back and arrest us?"


    The Princess said, "If he reported to Huangdi Gege, Huangdi Gege might send people to look for us. Even if we already left, they would search carefully for clues to see where we went."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Shi Lang will not report to the Emperor," he said.


    With eyes open wide the Princess asked, "Why not?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "If he did, naturally His Majesty would ask why he did not arrest and take us away. And then he would be forced to admit that he had been defeated in battle; wouldn''t he be inviting trouble for himself then?"


    Su Quan laughed and said, "Very true, very true. Xiaobao''s skill as government official is superior. Conceal from superior do not conceal from subordinate; that is government official''s most important trick."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If Quan Jiejie became government official, I guarantee you will be promoted to a high-ranking position and gain great wealth."


    Su Quan smiled. She thought, "The trick that those people in the Shen Long Jiao used in doing their job, isn''t that more or less the same as the one used by the government official?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As soon as Shi Lang speaks up, His Majesty will blame him as useless; that''s still all right, but His Majesty will definitely send him up with the troops to arrest us. Shi Lang thought we have already run away, where would he find us? Won''t that mean he is just inviting trouble for himself? It would be better for him to just shut up and gain wealth." When the women heard that, they agreed that it made a lot of sense, their anxiety diminished a bit.


    "What about that kid Zheng Keshuang?" the Princess asked, "From the tone of his voice, don''t you think he is unwilling to swallow his defeat just like that?" While saying that, she cast a quick glance toward Ah Ke. Everybody understood her meaning; she was saying, "A woman as delicate as a flower, as refined as a precious jade like Ah Ke, how could he give her up and not bring troops to seize her back?"


    Ah Ke''s face blushed deep red; she lowered her head and said, "If he comes back, I �� I will kill myself; I will definitely not go with him." Her voice was filled with determination.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought that Ah Ke had always been heartless toward him, it was he who resorted to all kinds of scheme, stealing, snatching and swindling just to get her. This time as he heard her, he was happier than if obtained ten big boats at once. Unable to restrain his joy, he wrapped his arms around her, and ''smack!'' he landed a kiss on her face. "Good Ah Ke," he said, "He won''t dare to come back. He still owes me three million eight hundred thousand taels. Even if he has gargantuan guts, will he dare to meet his creditor?"


    "Aiyo, how corny!" the Princess said, "He will bring the troops to catch you, snatch the I.O.U. from you, and seize Ah Ke away. And then he will sell your dad, mama, granny [nainai - paternal], and granny [waipo - maternal] to you; altogether seven million six hundred taels of silver. He will also cut your finger and tell you to write an I.O.U. saying that you owe him money."


    The more Wei Xiaobao listened to her, the more annoyed he got. If he was able to deal with it, he would not be so angry, but if Zheng Keshuang really did that, dealing with him in the same muddled manner, selling him back his own dad, mama, (paternal) granny, and (maternal) granny, mama was not a problem, but he never knew who his dad was. And if he did not know his dad, naturally he would not know his (paternal) granny. If Zheng Keshuang sold him these two people, who he himself did not even know, hence the starting price was raised by a hundred percent, how could he afford to pay? In rage, he spoke harshly, "Shut up! If that kid Zheng Keshuang comes with the troops, I won''t sell anybody else, except the most valuable person in the world, the Emperor''s imperial sister to him. The child she is carrying in her belly, I will price at ten million taels; so he will have to pay me two million four hundred thousand taels! Then the deal is done."


    "Wah!" the Princess cried, she covered her face and ran away. Mu Jianping quickly ran after her and consoled her, she told her that Wei Xiaobao would never do such thing, that he was just trying to scare her, that no need for her to feel sad.


    Even after lashing out his anger like that, Wei Xiaobao still felt that he had his hands bound and he was unable to do anything about it. In the end everybody listened to Su Quan''s direction. They found a large cave in the dense forest on the island, they swept and fixed it up as a place where they could take shelter and live their daily life. From that day onward, they never set foot inside the thatched hut anymore, hoping that if Shi Lang and Zheng Keshuang really came back, they would see that there was no human footprint on the island, and think that they had gone long ago; hence they would not search carefully.


    At first everybody was still scared and was on edge; day and night they took turn to watch the sea. After several months, not only they did not see a single Qing navy or Taiwan battleship, they did not even see a single fishing boat; everybody started to relax, thinking that Shi Lang did not dare to be meddlesome, and since Zheng Keshuang was riding a skiff, he must have been sunk by the stormy sea.


    On the island the eight of them spent their days fishing, hunting, shooting birds and picking fruits in peace and quiet. Fortunately the island did not lack birds and beasts, the sea was abound with fish and shrimp. Plus all eight of them knew martial art, hence they were able to fish and hunt quite easily; therefore, they never lacked any food.


    Autumn passed, winter came, the weather was growing colder as the days went by. Su Quan, the Princess and Ah Ke, three women''s bellies were also getting bigger as the days went by. Fang Yi and Shuang''er were busy skinning animals and sewing the hides to make winter clothes, they had also prepared enough infant clothing for the three babies.


    Another half a month passed, suddenly a big snow came, in one day and one night, the entire island was covered in pure white snow. The eight of them were prepared; they had abundant supply of cured fish, cured meat, firewood and dried fruit in the cave. Day in and day out they chatted with each other, each time the topic always drifted back to the three babies about to be born.


    One night the snow stopped falling, the north wind blew very strong, and cold wind continuously crept into the cave via the wooden plank door. Shuang''er added dry firewood to the bonfire. Wei Xiaobao took out the dice and let the women roll. After five women rolled the dice, Mu Jianping threw a three-dot, the lowest combination; it looked like tonight her lost was decided. Zeng Rou laughed and said, "Jianping Meizi lost; I don''t need to throw."


    Mu Jianping laughed and said, "Quickly throw, quickly throw! Maybe you''ll throw a two-dot."


    Zeng Rou picked the dice and held them in her hand; imitating Wei Xiaobao, she gently blew the two dice in her palm. She was just about to throw when a burst of north wind blew; in the midst of the wind they faintly heard something that sounded like human voice. Everybody''s countenance changed. Actually, Su Quan was already asleep, but suddenly she sat up. Eight people were ''you look at me, I look at you'', in that instant everybody''s face was drained of any blood. Mu Jianping cried out softly and buried her head into Fang Yi''s bosom.


    A moment later, the wind carried a loud shout; this time they could hear it clearly, the cry was, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi, where are you? Xiao Xuanzi is thinking about you!"


    Wei Xiaobao sprang up. "Xiao �� Xiao Xuanzi is coming to look for me," he said in a trembling voice.


    "Who is Xiao Xuanzi?" the Princess asked.


    "He is �� he is ��" Wei Xiaobao replied. Only he alone knew that ''Xiao Xuanzi'', three characters, was Kangxi, he had never told anybody else, naturally Kangxi himself would not let anybody know; yet suddenly people were shouting this name, plus the voice was this loud and clear? His whole body trembled, he felt this matter was very strange. Kangxi must be dead, his ghost was thinking of him, and had come to Tong Chi Island to find him. For a moment he could not stop his eyes from brimming with tears of excitement; from he cave he rushed out and called, "Xiao Xuanzi, Xiao Xuanzi, are you looking for me? Xiao Guizi is here!"


    He heard the voice called again, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi, where are you? Xiao Xuanzi is thinking about you!" The voice was very loud, it did not sound like it came from one person''s mouth, but it sounded like several thousand or several hundred people were shouting together. But several thousand or several hundred people shouting together can''t possibly shout this clearly; however, if it was one person shouting, no matter how outstanding his internal energy was, it would not sound like shaking thunder. Hence, it must be Kangxi''s ghost.


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was extremely grieved, tears flooding out from his eyes as he thought that Xiao Xuanzi''s yi qi to me was indeed very profound; after he is dead, his ghost is still coming to look for me. Usually he was extremely scared of ghosts, but this moment he simply must meet Xiao Xuanzi''s ghost no matter what. Thereupon he urged his feet to run faster, straight toward the voice, while calling out, "Xiao Xuanzi, don''t go, Xiao Guizi is here!"


    The ground was covered with ice and snow, it was extremely slippery, Wei Xiaobao fell tumbling down, twice, but each time he simply crawled back up and ran again. Rounding a hillside, he saw the beach was full of specks of flame clustered together like a vast sky full of stars. Several hundred people with lanterns and torches in their hands were standing in a neat and tidy formation. Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Aiyo!" he cried out, turned around and ran away.


    From the crowd a man rushed out and called, "Wei Dutong, finally we found you!"


    Wei Xiaobao only took two steps before realizing the situation; his track had been discovered. The opposite side had several hundred people, if they searched this tiny Tong Chi island, he would not be able to hide at all. Besides, he thought the voice sounded familiar. Therefore, he halted, braced himself, and slowly turned around.


    The man called, "Wei Dutong, we all miss you very much. Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, finally we find you." The voice was brimming with joy and full of emotion. The man lifted up high the torch in his hand and rushed over in quick steps. When he got near, Wei Xiaobao recognized the man was Wang Jinbao.


    To come across an old friend, Wei Xiaobao was also very happy. He remembered that day in Beijing outskirts under the imperial order Wang Jinbao was sent to arrest him, but he deliberately pretended not to see him, in complete disregard of his future career, even his own life, he let Wei Xiaobao go, indeed his yi qi was profound. He brought the troops today, although it was dangerous, there was still room for negotation. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Wang San Ge, your plan is marvelous, you can trick me to come out."


    Wang Jinbao threw his torch to the ground; bowing, he said, "Subordinate did not dare to play a trick, I really did not know Dutong is on the island."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Then it must be His Majesty''s imperial instruction from his brocade sack of miracle plans, isn''t it?"


    Wang Jinbao said, "The day His Majesty found out that Dutong had fled overseas, he sent subordinate with three sea-going ships bearing imperial order to search each and every small island for you. Each time we went ashore, we shouted like that in accordance with His Majesty''s imperial edict."


    By this time Shuang''er, Su Quan and the others arrived; they stood behind Wei Xiaobao. A moment later, Fang Yi, the Princess and Ah Ke, three women also arrived. Wei Xiaobao turned toward the Princess and said, "Your Huangdi Gege''s ability is really good, finally they found us."


    Wang Jinbao recognized the Princess; he kneeled down to pay his respect. The Princess asked, "Did His Majesty send you to arrest and take us back to Beijing?"


    "No, he did not," Wang Jinbao hastily replied, "His Majesty only sent Xiao Jiang [little/lowly general] to sea to look for Wei Dutong, we are completely unaware that Your Highness the Princess is also here." The Princess lowered her head to look at her bulging belly; her face blushed.


    Wang Jinbao turned to Wei Xiaobao, "Subordinate has left to sea for more than four months ago, and has come ashore, shouted and searched more than eighty small islands. Tonight we finally meet Dutong, I am really very happy."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "I am a big criminal, an offender to the throne, long ago I am not your superior anymore, let us get away from calling each other ''Dutong'' and ''subordinate''."


    Someone stepped out from among the crowd, it was actually Wei Xiaobao''s old acquaintance, the eunuch of the Upper Study Room, Wen Youfang. He walked over and said in a loud and clear voice, "Hear the imperial edict."


    Wen Youfang was a gambling friend Wei Xiaobao met when he first entered the Palace; he could not cheat in playing dice, a ''cattle'', who owed Wei Xiaobao countless amount of money. After Wei Xiaobao rose straight up in a clear sky [i.e. rapid promotion], each time they met, eighty times out of a hundred Wei Xiaobao always give him some tips.


    As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard the three-character ''hear the imperial edict'' [you sheng zhi], he kneeled down. Wen Youfang said, "This is a secret edict, other people must withdraw."


    As soon as Wang Jinbao heard that, he withdrew far away. Su Quan and the others also withdrew. But the Princess asked, "Huangdi Gege''s imperial edict, even I cannot hear it?"


    Wen Youfang replied, "His Majesty''s order: this is a secret imperial edict, only Wei Xiaobao, one person may know; if it leaks even for a character or half a sentence, your servant will be executed along with my whole family unto the third generation."


    "Humph," the Princess snorted, "How fierce! You''d better be executed along with your whole family unto the third generation then." But thinking that if she stayed nearby, he would not be willing to read the imperial decree anyway, hence without any choice she also withdrew.


    From his pocket Wen Youfang took out two yellow envelopes. Wei Xiaobao kneeled down immediately. "Servant Wei Xiaobao receives the imperial decree," he said.


    Wen Youfang said, "His Majesty''s order: this time you are to receive the imperial decree by standing up, you are not allowed to kneel down and kowtow, and you are not allowed to call yourself a servant."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, "Where''s the logic in that?" he said.


    Wen Youfang said, "His Majesty ordered me just like that, and now I am telling you just like that, whether there is a logic or not, you can ask His Majesty yourself when you see him."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to respond in loud and clear voice, "Yes, thank you Your Majesty for your grace." And then he stood up.


    Wen Youfang handed one yellow envelope to him and said, "You may open and look at it."


    Wei Xiaobao received with both hands, tear the envelope, and took out a sheet of yellow paper. Wen Youfang raised the lantern in his left hand to illuminate the yellow paper. Wei Xiaobao saw six pictures on that piece of paper. The first picture depicted two boys rolling and wrestling on the floor, it was the scene of he and Kangxi in the past wrestling and having martial art competition. The second picture depicted a bunch of boys catching Oboi; Oboi pounced on Kangxi, Wei Xiaobao stabbed Oboi with a dagger. The third picture depicted a little monk carrying an old monk on his back, running away like flying, with six or seven lama holding sabers in their hands pursuing from behind; it was the scene of him rescuing the old Emperor at Qingliang Temple. The fourth picture depicted a nun wearing white clothes pouncing down from high in the air, with sword straight down to assassinate Kangxi, Wei Xiaobao blocked in front of his body, taking the sword on his behalf. The fifth picture depicted Wei Xiaobao at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, with a foot on the fake Empress Dowager lying on the ground, while helping the real Empress Dowager get off the bed. The sixth picture depicted Wei Xiaobao with a Luocha woman, a Mongolian Prince, and and old lama, together they grabbed the braid of an old general; looking at the old general''s attire, he must be Ping Xi Qin Wang. It must be about Wei Xiaobao using a ruse to break up Wu Sangui''s three-way coalition forces.


    Kangxi was very adept at painting, the six pictures were very elegant and vivid; only because he had never seen Wu Sangui, Prince Galdan, Sangjie Lama, and Princess Sophia, four people, the picture did not look like their actual appearance, but the rest of the characters in his drawing were very much like the originals, particularly Wei Xiaobao''s mischievous and naughty expression, it was remarkably true to life.


    The six pictures did not have a single character on them, but naturally Wei Xiaobao understood that those are six of his great merits. Playing and fooling around and having martial art competition actually could not be considered any meritorious service, nevertheless Kangxi always remembered it in his heart. As for bombarding the Divine Dragon Island, capturing the fake Empress Dowager, arresting Wu Yingxiong and the other meritorious services, they were not worth mentioning in comparison to these six.


    Wei Xiaobao looked at the pictures in a daze; he stared blankly with tears streaming down his face. He mused, "He spent this much effort in drawing these six pictures, remembering my meritorious services, that means he does not blame me anymore."


    Wen Youfang waited for a moment before asking, "Have you looked at it clearly?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Wen Youfang opened the second yellow envelope and said, "I''ll read His Majesty''s secret imperial decree." Taking out a sheet of paper, he read, "Xiao Guizi, damn it, where have you gone? I miss you very much; you, this stinky fellow are heartless and inconsiderate, have you forgotten laozi?"


    Wei Xiaobao mumbled in reply, "I have not, I really have not."


    Ever since there were ''three sovereigns and five emperors'' in China, the Emperor using the word ''damn it'', three characters [ta ma de], or the Emperor calls himself ''laozi'', apparently Kangxi''s secret imperial edict was not only unprecedented, it was also never to be repeated in the future.


    Wen Youfang paused for a moment, and then continue reading, "You did not obey my order, you were unwilling to kill your Shifu; moreover, you kidnapped Princess Jianning and ran away. Damn it, aren''t you taking advantage of me to become your dajiuzi [wife''s older brother]? But your meritorious services are so great, plus you are very loyal to me, whatever crime you have committed, I forgive them all. I am going to get married, if you don''t come to drink the celebratory wine, laozi will really not be happy. Let me tell you, you surrender obediently, and come to Beijing immediately, I have already prepared another Bojue [Earl] Mansion for you, a lot bigger than the previous one ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy, "Alright, alright!" he said in a loud voice, "I am coming immediately to drink the celebratory wine."


    Finished reading the secret imperial decree, Wen Youfang asked, "Have you understood everything?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I have understood everything."


    Wen Youfang put the secret imperial decree into the lantern, lighted it with the candleflame; when he pulled it out, it was burning into ashes.


    Wei Xiaobao watched as the secret imperial decree caught fire and turned into flame, and then slowly turned into ashes; myriads of thoughts surging in his mind as he squatted and fiddled with the ashes a little bit.


    With smiles all over his face Wen Youfang paid his respect and said with a laugh, "Wei Daren, His Majesty doted on you so much, nothing could be better. Henceforth Xiaode [little/lowly one] will completely rely on you for my promotion."


    Wei Xiaobao sadly shook his head; he pondered, "He wanted me to wipe out Tian Di Hui. This matter will let down my friends too much. If I do such things, won''t I be the same as Wu Sangui, Feng Jizhong, that kind of people, become big traitor (to China), a turtle b@stard? Xiao Xuanzi''s bowl of rice is really not easy to eat. This time he spared me and did not kill me, but he said it clearly, next time he won''t spare me anymore. If I don''t go back, I wonder how he is going to deal with me?" He asked, "If I don''t go back to Beijing, what will His Majesty do? Did he tell you to arrest me and bring me back? Or did he tell you to kill me?"


    Wen Youfang''s face showed complete astonishment. "Wei Daren will not accept the imperial order?" he asked, "This �� how can there be such thing? This �� isn''t that �� ay, disobedient against the imperial decree? That kind of thing must not be even mentioned."


    "Tell me the truth," Wei Xiaobao said, "If I disobey the imperial decree, then what happens?"


    Wen Youfang scratched his head and said, "His Majesty only ordered Xiaode to do two things: the first is to deliver a secret imperial decree to Wei Daren, the other one is that after Wei Daren looked at the first imperial decree, to open the second secret imperial decree and to read it out loud. As for the contents of the secret imperial decree, Xiaode did not understand the least bit. About other things, naturally I do not know even more."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded his head; walking over to Wang Jinbao, he said, "Wang San Ge, in His Majesty''s secret imperial decree, he wants me to return to Beijing and do something for him. But �� but you see, the Princess'' belly is getting very big, I really cannot leave now. If I do not follow the imperial edict to return to the Capital, how did His Majesty want you to deal with me?" He thought, "I need to hear the opposite party''s setting price first. If he says to kill without negotiation, I will surrender. Otherwise, there''s no harm in haggling over the price."


    Wang Jinbao replied, "His Majesty only sent subordinate to visit each and every island on the sea to look for Wei Dutong; after we found you, to have Wen Gonggong to read the imperial decree. As for what happens afterward, naturally subordinate will follow Wei Dutong''s instruction."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "So His Majesty did not order you to arrest me, kill me?"


    "He did not, he did not," Wang Jinbao busily said, "How can there be such thing? His Majesty holds Wei Dutong in such a high regard. When Wei Dutong enters the Capital, naturally you will be put in powerful position; if not Shangshu [equivalent to department head], then it must be great general."


    "Wang San Ge," Wei Xiaobao said, "To be honest with you, His Majesty wants me to return to the Capital so that I can lead people to wipe out Tian Di Hui. I am a Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu, this kind of ''murdering friends'' matter, I absolutely cannot do."


    Wang Jinbao had always upheld yi qi, he had already understood clearly what happened to Wei Xiaobao; hearing him said so, he could not refrain from nodding his head repeatedly, thinking that selling out friends for the sake of promotion and wealth was worse than a dog or pig.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty''s kindness to me is as heavy as the mountain, but the thing that he commanded me to do, I just can''t do it. I do not dare to see His Majesty''s face, I have no choice but to work like an ox or like a horse in my next life to repay His Majesty''s great kindness. When you see His Majesty, please explain to him my difficulty. I know that loyalty cannot satisfy both sides, putting on a play ought to commit suicide to repay the master, although cutting the neck will be frighteningly painful, I have no way out, I might have to display utter loyalty by sacrificing myself to the service of my country."


    Wang Jinbao examined his own heart; if he was faced with this difficult problem, there would be only one way out, i.e. committing suicide to repay his lord and emperor for the kindness to recognizing his worth and employing him, but he would not be able to bear crossing over his friends and righteousness. Thereupon he hastily advised him, "Wei Dutong must not take this path, we can slowly think of a way out. Let subordinate report Dutong''s predicament to His Majesty. These past several months Zhang Tidu, Zhao Zongbing, Sun Fujiang several people have rendered some meritorious service, His Majesty are holding them in high regard. Disregarding our future prospects, all of us will kowtow and plead for leniency on behalf of Wei Dutong."


    Seeing he was flustered and exasperated, Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused, "To have Wei Xiaobao kills himself is just like expecting the sun to rise from the west. Forget suicide, laozi can''t even cut my own little finger. Besides, if Xiao Xuanzi wanted to kill me he would kill me immediately, if he wanted to spare me he would simply spare me; nobody knows how much idea he has in his head. Relying on you, several people, kowtowing to him, what good will it bring?" However, seeing Wang Jinbao''s profound yi qi, he was deeply grateful. Holding Wang Jinbao''s hand, he said, "If that''s the case, I will have to toil Wang San Ge to present a memorial to the Emperor, tell him that Wei Xiaobao has difficulty left and right, and was about to swipe a sword across my own throat, luckily you are here to rescue me that I did not die."


    "Yes, yes!" Wang Jinbao said, while in his heart he thought that eunuch Wen was standing on the side, he had witnessed everything; if Wang Jinbao was to deceive their lord like this, perhaps he would expose this trickery. Wang Jinbao''s face could not help showing awkward expression.


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter and said, "Wang San Ge need not take it seriously, I was only joking. His Majesty is fully aware of Wei Xiaobao''s conduct, committing suicide I am very afraid of the pain. Just report back everything according to the facts." Wang Jinbao was relieved.


    Wei Xiaobao thought that if he rode on Wang Jinbao''s ship and returned to the Central Plains, and then disappeared without a trace, the Emperor would definitely put the blame on him, most likely he would kill him. If Wei Xiaobao earnestly asked him, most probably Wang Jinbao would not refuse; but unavoidably Wei Xiaobao would wrong him too much. He said, "Our business is done. Wang San Ge, Xiongdi has not gambled on this uninhabited island for too long; it''s really so boring, what do you say we throw a couple of dice?"


    Wang Jinbao was greatly delighted, he was a serious gambler, his gambling urge was not below that of Wei Xiaobao''s; when he did not have any opponent, oftentimes his left hand would gamble against his right hand. Thereupon he immediately agreed and could not wait to start immediately. He ordered his soldiers to move a large rock with flat top over, six soldiers stood around with lanterns raised high, shouting and cheering while Wang Jinbao and Wei Xiaobao threw the dice. Before long, Wen Youfang, as well as several Canjiang [regimental commander] and Youji [brigade commander] joined in. The number of people standing around the large rock grew larger and larger.


    Mu Jianping watched all this dubiously; she quietly asked Fang Yi, "Shijie, why do they throw dice? Could it be that the loser will �� will �� but they are all men."


    "Pft," Fang Yi stifled her laughter; she said in a low voice, "Whoever lost the game will have to accompany you."


    Although Mu Jianping did not understand worldly affair, she knew there was no such thing. Stretching out her hand, she tickled Fang Yi''s armpit. The two women broke into giggles.


    The gambling continued until daybreak. The money in front of Wei Xiaobao had become three high piles, first, his luck in gambling was really good, second, he was playing a trick; from these crowd of officers and men, nine out of ten had lost to him. Wei Xiaobao was in high spirits; when he turned his head around, he saw the Princess, Ah Ke and Mu Jianping, three women had already fallen asleep crouching on the rocks, while Su Quan, Fang Yi, Shuang''er and Zeng Rou, four women, were struggling hard to keep their sleepy eyes open while they accompanied him on the side. He could not help feeling bad and apologetic toward them. He pushed the three large pile in front of him forward and said, "Wang San Ge, these several thousand taels, please bestow it on my behalf to the Xiongdi. Everybody has come to this barren island, I do not have anything to entertain you; I feel really bad."


    Originally the officers and men who lost had their countenances ash-grey; as soon as they heard him, thunderous happy shouts arose, they all expressed their gratitude in chorus. Wang Jinbao ordered the officers and men to row the skiffs back to the ships, and bring back from the ships rice grains, pork and lamb, good wine, medication, as well as bowls and chopsticks, tables and chairs, pots and pans, kitchen knife, and so on, skiff by skiff. He also ordered the soldiers to build several large thatched huts in the forest. Many people worked together, several hundred officers and men exerted their strength, in just several days everything was in place on the Tong Chi Island; only then did they bade their farewell from Wei Xiaobao.


    As he was about to leave, Wen Youfang found out that this island was called Tong Chi Island; he could not help stomping his feet and heaving deep sigh, saying that if he had known earlier, he would have asked Wei Xiaobao to let him be the banker for several rounds. On Tong Chi Island leisurely be a banker, how could he not eat ''em all?


    More than ten days later, Ah Ke gave birth to a baby boy first, the next say Su Quan also gave birth to another boy. It was more than a month later when the Princess gave birth to a baby girl. Seeing the other women gave birth to baby boys, while she gave birth to a baby girl, the Princess was angry; she cried repeatedly for the next several days. Wei Xiaobao constantly comforted her, telling her that he prefer a daughter over a son; only then did he coax her and turn her tears into laughter.


    For the three babies there were seven mothers. Although not a single mother had any experience with babies, with a lot of ''seven hands eight feet'' and hundreds of jesting, the three infants were healthy, strong and lively.


    The women respectfully asked Wei Xiaobao to give the babies names. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I am blind and do not know any letters, you want me to give my sons, my daughter names, that means you are giving me great difficulty. Let''s do it this way, we throw dice, whatever the result, that will be their names." Immediately he picked up the dice, with his mouth mumbling some prayers, "God of gambling Bodhisattva please bless, give me three good names. The first one!"


    He threw the dice, one produced six dots, the other five dots, a ''tiger head'' combination. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Ah Da''s [basically it means ''the first''] name is not bad, he will be called Wei Hutou [tiger head]."


    The second throw produced one-dot and six-dot combination, a ''copper-hammer''. Thereupon Lao''er [ol'' second] was named Wei Tongchui [you guessed it: copper hammer].


    The third throw. The first die rolled to two dots; the second die was rolling continuously, finally it stopped at also two dots, a ''wooden bench'' combination. Wei Xiaobao was taken aback, but then the burst out laughing. "Our Da Guniang''s [big/oldest miss] name is very strange; she will be called Wei Bandeng [wooden bench]!"


    The women were all shocked. The Princess angrily said, "So unpleasant to hear! Such a nice girl, how can you call her ''Bandeng, Bandeng''? Quickly pick another name."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It is the name picked by the God of gambling and Bodhisattva, how can we casually change it at random?" Picking up the baby girl, he landed a kiss on her face, ''smack!'' and then he said with a laugh, "Dear one Wei Bandeng little treasure, this name sounds so pretty."


    The Princess angrily said, "No way, no way! No matter what I don''t want to call her Bandeng. I was the one giving birth to the child; such an ugly name, I don''t want it."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao said, "You gave birth to the child, are you the only one who produced the child?"


    The Princess snatched the dice away and said, "I''ll throw. Whatever I throw, that will be her name."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice; he was helpless against her. "Alright," he said, "This time you cannot renege! What if you also throw a tiger-head or a copper-hammer?"


    "Just like her Gege, we''ll call her Hutou or Tongchui," the Princess replied. Shaking the dice continuously in her palm, she said, "God of gambling Bodhisattva, if you don''t give my daughter a good name, I am going to smash your two stinking dice." And then she rolled the dice.


    The two dice rolled around several times before they finally stop. Unexpectedly there is indeed such coincidence in the world, both dice produced two dots, it was still the ''wooden bench'' combination. The Princess'' eyes grew big as she stared blankly before ''Wah!'' she broke into tears.


    Everybody was amazed and amused at the same time. Su Quan laughed and said, "Meizi, don''t worry! Two dots make a pair, a pair of two-dots is Shuangshuang; our daughter will be called Wei Shuangshuang. What do you think?"


    The Princess turned the tears into laughter; immediately she perked up. "Good, good!" she said with a laugh, "The name is very interesting, it''s almost the same as Shuang''er Meizi''s name."


    Shuang''er was also very happy; she picked up Wei Shuangshuang and hugged her in her bosom with full affection. Mu Jianping laughed and said, "Shuang''er Meimei, since you love her that much, quickly feed her milk."


    Shuang''er blushed. "Pei!" she spat, "You''d better feed her yourself!" Reaching out, she tried to unbutton Mu Jianping''s clothes. Mu Jianping quickly ran away. The women roared in laughter.


    With the addition of these three babies, Tong Chi Island was even more lively. Since Wang Jinbao left a large quantity of foodstuff and appliances, they had more than enough of everything, there was no need to go fishing and hunting every day. Only whenever they felt like eating some fresh fish, shrimp or game did they go out to get some.


    At first everybody was still anxious that since Kangxi summoned Wei Xiaobao and he did not answer, there would be cataclysmic mishap, or perhaps bad repercussion to them. But after several months without any news, they gradually pushed this matter out of their minds.


    Wei Xiaobao was secretly worried, "Xiao Xuanzi is giving me these many things, I am afraid he wants me to live on this Tong Chi Island for the rest of my life." His natural disposition was restless; although he passed the time on the Island carefree and without worries, plus he had seven ''delicate as flower, refined as precious jade'' wives to accompany him, but he had passed the peace and quiet days for quite a long time, he was really bored. Every now and then he would recall past events, thinking about the time when he was still at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, where people grabbed his little braid and beat and cursed him, yet he felt alive and invigorated.


    The twelfth month of the same year, Kangxi sent Zhao Liangdong with yet another imperial decree, the Emperor appointed his second son Yun Reng to be the Crown Prince, general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the world, Wei Xiaobao''s nobility title was raised one rank, he was bestowed the title Second Class Earl of Tong Chi. Wei Xiaobao invited Zhao Liangdong for dinner and wine. During the banquest Zhao Liangdong told him about the crusade against Wu Sangui, saying that Wu Sangui''s troops and generals were formidable, various elite troops had suffered defeat.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Zhao Er Ge, when you are back, please report to His Majesty that I feel stifled in here and am very bored, I want to ask His Majesty to send me go fight that old fellow Wu Sangui."


    Zhao Liangdong said, "His Majesty has foreseen that Jueye is loyal to the ruler and love his country, when you find out about rebel Wu running wild, you would definitely volunteer to go into battle. His Majesty said, if Wei Xiaobao wants to fight Wu Sangui, he can, but he must destroy Tian Di Hui first. Otherwise, he''d better stay on Tong Chi Island fishing and catching turtles." Wei Xiaobao was on the verge of tears, he almost broke out crying.


    Zhao Liangdong said, "His Majesty said that once upon a time when the Han Dynasty''s Han Guangwu was young, he had a good friend called Yan Ziling


    [19]. After Han Guangwu became the Emperor, this Yan Ziling did not want to become a high-ranking officer, but lived in Fuchun River [in Zhejiang] to fish. His Majesty also said that in the past King Wu of Zhao had a high-ranking minister called Jiang Taigong [Jiang Ziya], who also loved to fish on the bank of Wei River. King Wu of Zhou and Han Guangwu were good emperors of the ancient times. Therefore, it is clear that every good emperor always has a high-ranking officer who loves to fish. His Majesty said that he wants to be raw bird fish soup. If Wei Jueye did not catch bird or fish for him, how can His Majesty become raw bird fish soup? Wei Jueye, subordinate is an uncouth man; why His Majesty wants Wei Jueye to catch bird and fish in here, I really do not understand. But His Majesty is very wise, there must be a very good reason behind it."


    "Yes, yes!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He could only smile bitterly. He knew Kangxi was joking with him; apparently because he did not agree to wipe out Tian Di Hui, the Emperor condemned him to catch fish in here for a lifetime. These five hundred officers and men were supposedly to protect the Princess, but they were actually prison warden, prison guards to monitor them strictly, so that he could not leave the island even for a single step. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he was. The banquet ended in haste, unexpectedly after drinking he did not even want to gamble. Returning to his room, he stared blankly with tears falling down his face.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao crying, his seven wives were astonished; they came together to console him. He told them what Kangxi had said. The Princess angrily said, "That''s right! Huangdi Gege really wanted to raise your official ranking and nobility, from third-class earl to second-class earl, so be it. But where''s the logic behind ''Tong Chi Bo''? Our Great Qing only has Zhao Xin Bo [bright trust; ''bo'' means Earl], Wei Yi Bo [staunch prestige], or else Xiang Qin Bo [help/assist hardworking/industrious], Cheng En Bo [continuing grace/kindness]. You are originally Zhong Yong Bo [loyal and brave], which was very good. These three characters ''Tong Chi Bo'' are clearly to make fun of you. He �� he �� does not care about me at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Earl of Tong Chi is not a big deal; I was the one who picked the name ''Tong Chi'' for this island, you cannot blame His Majesty. I am the Island Master of the Tong Chi Island, naturally my title is Earl of Tong Chi, which is a lot better than ''Earl of Tong Pei'' [''pei'' means paying for loss (in gambling)]. Quan Jiejie, can you think of a way to return to the Central Plains? I �� I really miss my Mama."


    Su Quan shook her head and said, "This is a really difficult matter, we can only wait patiently for an opportunity."


    Wei Xiaobao picked up a teacup, ''crash!'' he threw it down to the floor and it shattered into pieces. "You just don''t want to think of a way," he angrily said, "Fine, I will quietly sneak away alone in the future, you must not blame me. I �� I �� I would rather be at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, become a turtle who pick up the teapots; I don''t want to be a damn Earl of Tong Chi. The boredom really stifles me to death."


    Su Quan did not get angry; she smiled and said, "Xiaobao, don''t worry, there will come a day His Majesty is going to send you on a mission."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he stood up and bowed deeply. "Good Jiejie, I apologize to you. Please tell me quickly, His Majesty may send me on what mission? As long as it''s not to strike Tian Di Hui, I �� I will do anything."


    The Princess said, "What if Huangdi Gege sends you to the outhouse to wash the chamber pot?"


    "I will do it," Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "But every day I will send you to do it for me." Seeing he was in such a bad temper, the Princess did not dare to say anything anymore.


    Mu Jianping said, "Quan Jiejie, tell him quickly. Xiaobao is extremely anxious."


    Su Quan hesitantly replied, "Doing what, I do not know. But reckoning the Emperor''s mind, inevitably there will be one day he may call you back to Beijing. He wants to force you to surrender, he wants you to wipe out Tian Di Hui. For each day you did not agree, he is wasting one day of his time with you. Xiaobao, you want to be a hero or a warrior, you must give careful consideration to yi qi toward your friends, this little bit of suffering is the price you have to pay. You want to be a hero, but you also want to hear a ''powder head'' singing the Eighteen Touches. This hero thing is not easy to do."


    Wei Xiaobao thought what she said made a lot of sense; he stood up and said with a laugh, "I can be a hero, and sing the Eighteen Touches myself, do you think that''s possible?" And then he started to sing, "One touch, two touches, touching the edge of Quan Jiejie''s hair ��" while reaching out to stroke Su Quan''s hair. Everybody giggled; the little disturbance vanished without a trace.


    Since then, day after day, year after year, Wei Xiaobao and the seven women lived on Tong Chi Island. Each year on the twelfth month, Kangxi always sent people with gifts. He bestowed Wei Xiaobao a set of crystal dice, green-jade emerald Paijiu, and various gold-inlaid jade gambling equipment; so many that their number could not be counted. Fortunately there were five hundred officers and men on Tong Chi Island that Wei Xiaobao never lacked gambling opponent.


    One particular year Sun Sike came to deliver the gifts. Wei Xiaobao saw the red ruby on his hat, an insignia of a one-pin rank military officer, so Wei Xiaobao knew that he had been promoted to a Tidu [local commander]; hastily he congratulated him, "Sun Si Ge, congratulations on your promotion!"


    With smile all over his face, Sun Sike saluted and paid his respect, "It''s all because of His Majesty''s grace and Wei Jueye''s cultivation."


    He opened the imperial edict and read it out loud. Turned out it was about the imperial court pacifying the three border defenses: one after another Yunnan''s Ping Xi Wang [king who pacifies the west] Wu Sangui, Guangdong''s Ping Nan Wang [king who pacifies the south] Shang Zhixin, and Fujian''s Jing Nan Wang [''jing'' also means peace/tranquil/pacify] Geng Jingzhong, were subdued. Kangxi evaluated everybody''s merit and bestowed reward accordingly. The Second-class Earl of Tong Chi Wei Xiaobao was nominated to be a great general; based on his distinguished service, which was very commendable, he rose in nobility rank to First-class Earl of Tong Chi. Even his eldest son Wei Hutou was granted the title ''Yun Qi Wei'' [lit. cloud rider military officer


    [20]].


    Finished expressing his gratitude, Wei Xiaobao received various gifts sent by Kangxi, among which was unexpectedly a large marble screen, which he had seen in the study room at Wu Sangui''s Wuhua Palace, one of Wu Sangui''s three treasures. Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, Wang Jinbao, Sun Sike and the others have also sent generous gifts.


    That evening during the banquet, Sun Sike told Wei Xiaobao about the effort of pacifying Wu Sangui. Turned out Zhang Yong inflicted heavy damage on Wu Sangui''s main force in Gansu and Ningxia region, repeatedly rendered great merits. By this time he was conferred the title First-class Marquis and Shaofu [young tutor], the official tutor to the crown prince; his titles and honors were far above Wei Xiaobao''s. Sun Sike said that after Zhang Houye [master marquis] was struck by Gui Xinshu''s palm in the past, he had never recovered fully; he could not ride horse, he could not even stand, during the battle he always commanded his main forces sitting on sedan chair.


    Wei Xiaobao clucked his tongue in amazement; he said, "The sedan chair carriers must also be considered warriors; otherwise, when Zhang Laoge [old brother] cried out ''Charge!'' and the four sedan chair bearers retreated, won''t that be terrible?"


    "That''s right!" Sun Sike said, "Just before the battle, Zhang Houye always had an attendant behind the sedan chair carrying his axe-saber. If the sedan chair wanted to turn around, the big axe-saber would immediately chop down."


    Sun Sike also told him how Zhao Liangdong took over Yangping Pass, broke Hanzhong, subdued Chengdu, and attacked down to Kunming. His meritorious service was very great. The Emperor conferred him the title ''Yonglue Jiangjun'' [brave and cunning general], and appointed him the Zongdu [governor-general] of Yunnan and Guizhou, also appointed him to be the Shangshu [department head] of Ministry of War. Wang Jinbao and Sun Sike himself were also promoted to be Tidu due to their ardor in battle.


    Seeing Sun Sike was radiant with delight, while he did not personally participate in the excitement, Wei Xiaobao could not help feeling discontented and was not happy at all; but thinking that all four of his good friends had rendered great merit and were conferred titles as high-ranking officials, he was quite happy for them.


    Sun Sike said, "Several of us often talked about how these past few years we fought the battles, we really enjoyed it. There is a saying, ''when you drink water, think of its source''; it was all because of His Majesty''s grace in recognizing our worth and employing us, and because of Wei Jueye''s kindness in recommending us. If only Wei Jueye was appointed the Grand Marshal to Pacify the West, leading the four of us to fight Wu Sangui, then everything is perfect. Zhao Er Ge and Wang San Ge often quarrel with each other, their quarrel has reached His Majesty''s imperial presence; even Zhang Dage is helpless to keep them under control. Several times His Majesty mentioned Wei Jueye, saying that if they always quarrel like this, it means that there are letting you down. Only after that did they finally not dare to quarrel anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Those two always quarrel as soon as they see each other; even after they become great generals, why don''t their temperaments change?"


    "Isn''t that so?" Sun Sike replied, "The two of them individually submitted memorial to the Emperor, I say you are wrong, you say I am wrong. Luckily His Majesty is magnanimous, he did not investigate; otherwise, I am afraid both of them would face disciplinary action against them."


    "What happened to that old fellow Wu Sangui?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Did you grab his braid and kick that damn fellow several times?"


    Sun Sike shook his head, "That old fellow''s luck was really good ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "He escaped?" he asked.


    "It''s not that," Sun Sike said, "He suffered defeat everywhere, he lost the area he occupied one by one; seeing that he could not hold his ground anymore, just before his death he wanted to satisfy his craving of becoming an emperor. Thereupon he put on yellow gown, and ascended the great treasure, and called his capital Hengzhou. We heard that when he became an emperor, he made a big ruckus. After several big defeats, frightened and angered, he took his own life."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said, "That old fellow had it easy."


    "After the rebel Wu died," Sun Sike continued, "Various generals under his command threw their support to his grandson, Wu Shifan, to succeed the throne, and retreated to Kunming. Zhao Er Ge attacked Kunming, he captured rebel Wu''s great generals Xia Guoxiang and Ma Bao and beheaded them. Wu Shifan committed suicide. The world is peaceful once again."


    "There was a national treasure in Kunming," Wei Xiaobao said, "I wonder what happened to her?"


    "Which national treasure?" Sun Sike asked, "Subordinate has never heard about it."


    "It''s actually a living national treasure," Wei Xiaobao replied, "The Number One Beauty in the World, Chen Yuanyuan."


    Sun Sike laughed and said, "Turns out it''s Chen Yuanyuan. I did not hear anything about her whereabouts. I don''t know whether she died in the confusion of the battle, or whether she escaped alive."


    "What a pity, what a pity!" Wei Xiaobao repeatedly exclaimed. He thought, "Ah Ke is my wife, that means Chen Yuanyuan is my genuine goods at fair prices Senior, mother-in-law. If Zhao Er Ge captured her, and knew that she was my mother-in-law, he would undoubtedly send her to Tong Chi Island, to let her and Ah Ke, mother and daughter, have a reunion. They, mother and daughter, have a reunion is not a big deal, but we, mother-in-law and son-in-law having a reunion is significantly different. Forget everything else, just listening to her plucking her pipa, and singing ''Song of Yuanyuan'', ''Tune of Fangfang'' [yuan means round, fang means square], it''s really no small matter. On Tong Chi [eat ''em all] I cannot eat my wife''s mother, but I wonder if ''son-in-law looking at mother-in-law, greedily swallow my saliva into my belly'', is allowed?"


    "Ah Ke," he said, "This Hu Dage''s martial art skill is very high, you have personally seen it. To protect your mother, one person, is as easy as a hand''s turn." Ah Ke thought he was right, her knitted eyebrows spread out somewhat.


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and called out, "Aiyo, not good!"


    Ah Ke was startled. "What is it?" she asked, "Do you think my Niang [mother] is in danger?"


    "Your Niang is not in danger," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But I am in great danger."


    Ah Ke was puzzled, "What danger are you in?" she asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Hu Dage and I have sworn brotherhood. If in the turmoil and chaos of war he fool around and snuggle close to your Niang, won''t he be my father-in-law? This might be really confusing."


    "Pei!" Ah Ke spat and shot him a malicious look. "This Hu Bobo [uncle, older than one''s father] is the most upright and honest man I know, and you think all men in the world are just like you, as soon as you see a woman you''ll immediately fool around and snuggle close to her?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Come, come, come, let us fool around and snuggle close to each other!" While saying that he spread his arms wide to embrace her.


    After Wei Xiaobao was promoted to be the First-class Earl of Tong Chi, the number of cooks, menservants and maidservants on the Island increased by the dozens. Wei Hutou was still in diapers, yet he had already been conferred the title ''Yun Qi Wei''. Life on the barren island unexpectedly became full of luxury [orig. brocade garments, jade meals], with all the glory, splendor, and wealth according to his rank. It''s just that it was too easy and comfortable that Wei Xiaobao was bored. He tried with thousand ways, a hundred plans to create trouble and play some pranks; he came up with some weird tricks and preposterous plans, in total disregard of his own career. Unfortunately, the seven madams were deadpan in opposing him; day and night they watched over him closely. Even the Princess, who simply loved to act willfully and make a scene, this time refused to accompany him to incite trouble. This First-class Earl of Tong Chi was bound hands and feet; he could only heave a deep sigh dejectedly.


    He recalled Sun Sike''s story about the punitive expedition against Wu Sangui, big and small battles, some of them were full of all kinds of thrillers, some were saturated with delight, yet he was not involved at all, he did not have any chance to display his full capabilities; he was extremely disappointed. If he was in involved battle, he would not have let Wu Sangui to die that easily; he would think of a way to catch him alive, put him in a cage, from Hengzhou in Hunan all the way to Beijing, he would charge five qian to whoever wanted to see him, and one tael to whoever wanted to spit on him, children paid half-price, beautiful women free. Common people all over the world hated this big traitor to the bones, why should I, Wei Xiaobao, not take advantage to gain some spending money?


    Wu Sangui was defeated, there was no more war to fight; but other than fighting a war, there were so many interesting things in the world, as long as he was able to come to a place with many people, someplace bustling with noise and excitement. In short, he had to leave Tong Chi Island first. But with seven wives, two sons and one daughter, who would follow him closely, it was like ten large stones were hanging on his neck. If they wanted to stealthily leave Tong Chi Island together, it would be more difficult than difficult. It would be better to cast these ten people away, and then he could attempt to escape alone.


    Ever since he sent Sun Sike off, not a single day passed where he did not mule over this idea. Sometimes he would sit on a rock, fishing, imagining that he was sitting on the back of a big sea turtle, braving the wind and the billows, leisurely heading toward the Central Plains; wouldn''t that be pleasant?


    It was almost Zhongqiu [mid-autumn, the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month], the weather was blisteringly hot, Wei Xiaobao took his fishing pole and bait, and went fishing for a while. He was quite fidgety that day. Leaning on a big rock his mind went blurry as he was about to fall asleep. Suddenly he heard a voice speaking, "Reporting to Wei Jueye, Ocean Dragon King request the pleasure of seeing you!"


    Wei Xiaobao was surprised; focusing his eyes, he saw a big sea-turtle on the surface of the ocean, with its head raised high, but its mouth uttered human speech, "The Senior, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea is lonely and bored in the Crystal Palace, he especially sent Xiao Jiang [little/lowly general] to come and respectfully invite Wei Jueye for a feast, with gambling after the feast. Sea Dragon King will use coral and crystal to lay a bet, but everything is interchangeable with banknote used on land."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Wonderful, wonderful!" he cried out, "This distinguished gentleman is so polite, naturally I have to accompany him."


    The big turtle said, "In the Crystal Palace there will also be theatrical troupe, who are very good at playing ''Qun Ying Hui'' [meeting of heroes], ''Ding Jun Shan''


    [21], ''Zhong Kui married off his younger sister'', ''White Water Beach'', and all kinds of good stories. There will also be Mr. Storytellers, good at telling the Great Ming''s Legend of Heroic Deeds, Water Margin, and other great books. There will also be countless courtesans, who can sing all kinds of new folksongs, like ''Tan Wu Geng'' [sighing before dawn (fifth watch period, 03:00-05:00)], ''Eighteen Touches'', or ''Si Ji Xiang Si'' [missing each other throughout four seasons]; not a single one cannot sing. Sea Dragon King''s seven Princesses all have countenance of a flower, face like the moon. They have long admired Wei Jueye''s distinguished and accomplished intelligence, and all are looking forward to seeing you."


    There was an unbearable itch in Wei Xiaobao''s heart. "Good, good, good!" he repeatedly exclaimed, "Let''s go."


    The big turtle said, "Would Jueye please sit on Xiaode''s [little/lowly one] back, I will take you to the Crystal Palace."


    Wei Xiaobao leaped down and sat on the big turtle''s back. The big turtle left the beach and swam steadily toward the Crystal Palace. The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea personally welcomed him outside the Palace, hand-in-hand they entered the Palace. The Dragon King of the Southern Sea had already been waiting inside.


    During the feast, more guests arrived in an endless stream; there were Zhu Bajie [The Pig of Journey to the West] and Cow Demon King, two evil spirits, and then there were Zhang Fei, Li Kui


    [22], Niu Gao


    After the feast they started gambling; Wei Xiaobao became the banker. He casually grabbed the tiles, practiced fraud over and over, each set of his tiles was either supreme treasure [one, two, two, four], or pair of heavens [all sixes]. He won so big that those twelve people let out ''Wah, wah!'' cry. Gold, silver, money and valuables they lost piled up in front of Wei Xiaobao. Finally even King Zhou''s Daji


    [24], Emperor Zhengde''s older sister Lie Feng, as well as Zhu Bajie''s rake and Zhang Fei''s a zhang-long eight-serpent spear were also won over.


    When General Li Kui''s pair of broad axes was won over, Li Kui''s gambling character was not good, his black face was bulging dark red, he shouted, "Thief servant bird, as human being when you see something good you ought to restrain yourself. You won someone else''s women, it''s not a big deal, but you even want to have the tool with which laozi eat, you ignore yi qi too much." Grabbing Wei Xiaobao''s chest, he brought his vinegar-bowl-size fist up and punched down. ''Bang!'' he hit Wei Xiaobao above his ear, shaking him so much that his ears were buzzing.


    Wei Xiaobao screamed and raised both of his hands, the fishing line was flung upward, the hook hit him at the back of his neck, so that when he jerked the fishing pole up, the hook entered his flesh and his whole body was also jerked upward. In an instant Li Kui, Zhang Fei, Sea Dragon King and so on disappeared without a trace. Suddenly he realized it was just a dream of Nanke [i.e. dreams of grandeur, empty dream]. But he heard another loud ''Bang!'' from the direction of the sea.

 Chapter - 47 (47)

    Thousand li sail and mast going outside the country, nine firmaments wind and rain going through the city.


    Looking up, Wei Xiaobao saw more than a dozen huge battleships, with their sails fully opened to ride the wind, sailing fast toward the island. Wei Xiaobao knew something was amiss; he pulled the string, but was unable to get the hook off, on the contrary, the hook went deeper into the back of his neck that it hurt. Immediately he moved his feet and dashed away, dragging the fishing pole behind him. He thought it must be that young fellow Zheng Keshuang coming with his troops to settle the debt. Settling debt was originally very good, but before the debtor dropped in, he sent several cannon blasts first in torrential rush, certainly it was not a good omen.


    Before he even reached his house, Peng Canjiang [administrator/colonel] had already rushed over, flustered and exasperated. "Wei �� Wei Jueye �� things �� things look bad, Taiwan warships have arrived," he said.


    "How do you know they are Taiwan''s warships?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Peng Canjiang replied, "Lowly officer just �� just now used the telescope [orig. ''thousand li lens''] to took, the ship''s �� stern �� no, no, the ship''s bow is painted with a sun and a moon; that is Taiwan''s Zheng �� rebel Zheng''s insignia. If one ship carries five hundred troops and generals, two ships one thousand, thirteen ships means seven or eight thousands ��"


    Wei Xiaobao took the telescope from his hand and looked at the incoming ships. When he counted, there were indeed thirteen big ships. Looking at the bow, he also vaguely saw the painting of a sun and a moon insignia. "Quickly lead the troops for defense, guard along the shore," he barked his order, "When the enemy come ashore on skiffs, release the arrows!"


    Peng Canjiang repeatedly complied and rushed away. Hearing the commotion, Su Quan and the others came out. They heard the incoming ships fired their cannon again, ''Boom, boom boom!''


    "Ah Ke Meizi," the Princess said, "When you go to Taiwan, are you going to take Hutou along or not?"


    Ah Ke stomped her feet in anger. "You �� what joke are you playing?" she said.


    Wei Xiaobao was even angrier; he cursed, "Let the Princess strap her stinky Shuangshuang go to Taiwan ��"


    "Hey," Su Quan suddenly exclaimed, "When the shells fall into the sea, why isn''t there any splash of water?"


    They heard ''boom, boom'' again, twice, smoke came out of the cannon''s mouth, but nothing hit the shore, nothing hit the sea either. Wei Xiaobao was stumped, but then he burst out laughing, "Those are gun salute; they are not here to give us trouble."


    "Peaceful measures before using force!" the Princess said.


    "Where is that girl Shuangshuang?" Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "Quickly come out, laozi is going to spank her butt."


    The Princess was upset, "Without rhyme or reason, why do you want to beat your daughter?" she said.


    The ships were getting near. From the telescope he saw clearly that the flag rising above the ship was unexpectedly the Great Qing''s Yellow Dragon banner; it was not Taiwan''s sun and moon flag at all. Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised, he handed the telescope over to Su Quan and said, "You look, it''s really strange."


    Su Quan looked for a moment and then she smiled and said, "They are the Great Qing''s Navy, not Taiwan''s."


    Wei Xiaobao received the telescope back and looked again; he said with a laugh, "That''s right! They are definitely the Great Qing''s Navy. Aiya! What is it? It damn hurts!" Turning his head around, turned out Wei Hutou, who was carried in Ah Ke''s arms, was grabbing the fishing rod and pulled it hard; the fishhook was still attached to Wei Xiaobao''s neck, naturally when he pulled it Wei Xiaobao yelped in pain.


    Stifling her laughter, hastily Ah Ke gently took the hook off. "I am sorry," she said with a laugh, "Please don''t be angry."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Good son, still very young, yet already have Jiang Taigong''s


    [25] trick. Amazing!"


    "Humph!" the Princess snorted, "Partial (biased) ghost!"


    They saw Peng Canjiang ran back and called out, "Wei Jueye, the ships actually raised Great Qing''s flag, I am afraid it''s a trick."


    "That''s right!" Wei Xiaobao replied, "As soon as they send men on a skiff to come ashore, we''ll interrogate them clearly first and talk later." Peng Canjiang received the order and left.


    The Princess said, "It must be that kid Zheng Keshuang in disguise, raising the Great Qing''s flag. Obviously those are Taiwan''s ships!"


    "Very good, very good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Princess, lately you look so beautiful."


    The Princess was taken aback; hearing her husband''s praise, she could not help feeling happy. "I am still the same," she said with a smile, "What do you mean ''beautiful''?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your lips are red, your face white, your eyebrows curve like Chang''e [the lady in the moon in Chinese mythology] descending from the moon. When Zheng Keshuang sees you I am sure he will be very happy."


    "Pei!" the Princess spat.


    Shortly afterwards, the ships arrived near the shore. They dropped anchor, and six or seven sailors rowed a skiff toward the shore. Peng Canjiang ordered his troops to bend their bows with the arrows aimed at the skiff. When the skiff was near, someone picked up a megaphone [lit. speech cylinder, I don''t know the ancient name of this contraption] and put it on his mouth. "Imperial edict arrives!" he called out, "Navy Tidu Shi Junmen [lit. ''military gate''] delivering the decree to Wei Jueye."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Damn it," he swore, "What strange trick that fellow Shi Lang is playing? Why would he ride Taiwan''s ships to deliver a decree?"


    Su Quan said, "I am guessing he came across Taiwan ships on the ocean, attacked them and was victorious, he seized the Taiwan''s ships away."


    "Must be that," Wei Xiaobao agreed, "Quan Jiejie can prophesy with supernatural accuracy."


    The Princess was still not convinced, she whispered, "My guess is Shi Lang surrendered to Taiwan, Zheng Keshuang sent him off to deliver a fake imperial decree."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was happy, he did not bother to scold her; he pinched her bottom and slapped her before hurriedly went to the beach to receive the imperial decree.


    The man in the skiff was indeed Shi Lang. He stood on the sandy beach and announced the imperial decree in loud voice. Turned out Kangxi sent Shi Lang to attack Taiwan. In the battle of Penghu [Pescadores Islands, Taiwan], the Zheng Navy suffered a crushing defeat. Shi Lang pursued the retreating enemy into Taiwan. The Ming Dynasty''s Yanping Jun Wang Zheng Keshuang surrendered without even a fight, and thus Taiwan became the Great Qing''s territory.


    Kangxi evaluated everybody''s merit and bestowed reward accordingly. Based on the merit that in the past Shi Lang stayed in Beijing without doing anything, and it was Wei Xiaobao who sponsored and recommended him for service, Wei Xiaobao was promoted to be Second-class Marquis of Tong Chi, he was simultaneously bestowed the title Tai Zi Tai Bao [tutor to the crown prince]. His oldest son, Wei Hutou was promoted to be First-class Qing Che Du Wei [lit. light carriage military rank


    [26]].


    Finished expressing his gratitude, Wei Xiaobao stood and stared blankly; it never occurred to him that finally Taiwan was pacified by Shi Lang.


    Each time he and Zheng Keshuang met each other, they always hated each other, his Shifu Chen Jinnan was harmed by him, which drove his hatred deep to the bones; but Taiwan was subdued, it means not a cun of land was left of the Great Ming''s world. He could not help feeling depressed.


    He was still very young, and never went to school, all those talks about Manchu and Han differences; he had never really cared about the animosity between countries and races. However, he had been with Tian Di Hui for a long time, usually when he attended their meeting, he heard the brothers talked about it a lot, automatically he developed the feeling that Manchu people occupying our Han people''s rivers and mountains was completely inappropriate. This moment as he heard that Shi Lang had captured Zheng Keshuang and brought him to Beijing, he did not feel happy at all. He also thought about his Shifu exhausting his heart and strength throughout his life, hoping to restore the Great Ming''s world; even if this great undertaking was unsuccessful, at least he wanted to preserve a piece of land belonging to the Great Ming overseas. Who would have thought that not long after his Shifu was murdered, Zheng Keshuang had already surrendered? If in the underworld Shifu knew about it, he would definitely weep bitter tears.


    Wei Xiaobao recalled that the reason his Shifu was killed that day was because he had just had a hard fight with Shi Lang; his spirit was hard-pressed, his physique weary. Otherwise, Zheng Keshuang would not have been successful in plotting against him from his back. Looking at Shi Lang''s joyfully satisfied expression, he could not stop anger from rising in his chest. "Shi Daren has rendered great merit," he said, "I am sure you are promoted to be a high-ranking official."


    "Congratulations, congratulations!" Wei Xiaobao said, while in his heart he said, "Originally I was First-class Earl of Tong Chi; with one rank promotion I became Third-class Marquis of Tong Chi. The young Emperor promoted me two ranks in succession, turns out it is so that my rank will still be higher than Shi Lang, to avoid everybody became third-class marquis, which won''t feel very good." But thinking about Shi Lang went to battle and pacified Taiwan, what an exciting view it was, while he was bored to death on this barren island. His jealousy grew into anger, he could not help hating Shi Lang even more that his teeth itched.


    Shi Lang paid his respect, and then he said respectfully, "His Majesty summoned lowly officer and spoke warmly to me, he encouraged me a lot, and finally said, ''Shi Lang, this time you render great merit, do you know who has been supporting you for promotion? Previously you stayed in Beijing, nobody paid you any attention; who has given you guarantee and recommendation?'' Lowly officer replied, ''Reporting to Your Majesty, that would be Wei Jueye who guaranteed me and presented a memorial to the throne for my promotion, plus Your Majesty''s grace.'' His Majesty said, ''You did not forget your origin; that''s good. I want you to promptly go to Tong Chi Island to announce imperial decree to Wei Xiaobao, with my grace his nobility rank will increase, he has the capacity to judge a person''s qualities and thus has rendered meritorious service for the imperial court.'' For this reason lowly officer rushed over here."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed. He thought, "Each and everyone of the people I recommended rendered meritorious service, only I alone am imprisoned on this uninhabited island without able to move a single step. The young Emperor repeatedly raises my official ranking and titular honors, while in fact even if I become the King of Tong Chi, what so amazing about it?" He said, "Shi Daren, you sailed on these Taiwan battleship to come here, and gave me quite a fright; I thought it was Taiwan''s Navy coming to attack us. Who would have thought that it was you showing off your military strength?"


    Shi Lang hastily saluted and apologized. "I do not dare, I do not dare," he said, "Lowly officer received the imperial edict, I was impatient to see Jueye, Taiwan''s battleships were made well, they are able to sail a lot faster; for this reason I rode Taiwan ships to hurry over here."


    "So Taiwan''s battleships can travel faster," Wei Xiaobao said, "Because of the insignia of the sun and the moon on the ship I previously thought in my heart that perhaps Shi Daren wanted to set himself up as a king in Taiwan; I was quite worried."


    Shi Lang was shocked; he busily said, "Lowly officer is extremely muddleheaded, Daren''s direction is right. It was due to lowly officer''s negligence that I have not removed Taiwan battleships'' emblems."


    Actually, it was not because of his negligence, but because he had pacified Taiwan, he was extremely proud of himself; as he rode the captured Taiwan''s battleship north to Tianjin, and then south to Tong Chi Island, he intentionally did not remove the Taiwan insignia on the bow of the ships, so that people would see it and point fingers at it, and talk about the origin of the battleships. In short, it was to flaunt his outstanding military service. Unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao spoke up about his suspicion that Shi Lang wanted to set himself up to be King in Taiwan. It was indeed the biggest taboo for a court official; he could not stop cold sweats from covering his back, thinking that the young Emperor had always shown absolute special favor toward this youngster. Shi Lang went to a bloody battle to subdue Taiwan, this youngster comfortably lived on this island doing nothing, yet his meritorious service was still greater than Shi Lang''s. He was granted the title Second-class Marquis, while Shi Lang himself was only Third-class Marquis. If Wei Xiaobao returned to Beijing and spoke several sentences of complaint in front of the Emperor, Shi Lang would be in a very deep trouble.


    With this fear in mind, Shi Lang''s high and mighty manner that he bore when he first went ashore subsided. He ordered several officers who came with him to step forward and pay their respect. Among these people was someone with whom Wei Xiaobao had already met, it was Lin Xingzhu, the Ditang School''s martial art expert who came with Chen Jinnan at Liuzhou. Wei Xiaobao was startled, "He was Taiwan''s high-ranking military officer," he mused, "How did he become Shi Lang''s subordinate?" When Lin Xingzhu reported his own name and rank, Wei Xiaobao found out that he was a Dusi [Vice Brigade Commander/Major] in the Navy.


    As Lin Xingzhu went ashore and saw Wei Xiaobao, he was also puzzled and doubtful, "He is Chen Junshi''s [military strategist] young disciple, how did he become imperial court''s high-ranking official? Even Shi Tidu is very respectful to him?"


    Shi Lang pointed to Lin Xingzhu and another man called Hong Chao, a Navy Shoubei [captain], and said, "Lin Dusi and Hong Shoubei originally served in Taiwan''s military. Following Zheng Keshuang Jueye and Liu Gaoxuan Daren''s lead, they returned and surrender to the imperial court. These two gentlemen are very familiar with maritime matters, thus this time lowly officer brought them along and have them take care of Taiwan''s fleet."


    "Oh," Wei Xiaobao muttered, "I see." Looking at Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, he saw that both lowered their heads with ashamed expression on their faces.


    Ever since Zheng Chenggong [Koxinga] established government on the Island, Taiwan has had trading relations with Japan, Lu Song, Siam, An Nan, and other places; it was very prosperous. Shi Lang pacified Taiwan, he obtained a lot of foreign treasures and rare objects, but he himself did not take any, he presented everything to the imperial court. Kangxi told him to take some as a gift to Wei Xiaobao. Other than that, Shi Lang also brought some gifts of his own, but mostly were Taiwan''s local products, such as bamboo trunk, grass woven mat, and so on, mostly coarse and plain items.


    Seeing the gifts, Wei Xiaobao was getting more angry; he thought, "Zhang Dage, Zhao Er Ge, Wang San Ge, Sun Si Ge pacified Wu Sangui, they sent me such lucrative gifts; you, on the other hand, present me with these beggars'' rotten things. I wonder if you still have any regards toward me?"


    That evening Wei Xiaobao held a banquet to entertain the guests; he had Shi Lang sat on the seat of honor. There were four high-ranking Navy officers, as well as Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, two people. After the wine made three rounds, Wei Xiaobao asked, "Lin Dusi, originally Taiwan''s Yanping Jun Wang was Zheng Jing, Zheng Wangye, how did it become that fellow Zheng Keshuang? I heard he is Zheng Wangye''s second son, according to reason, he should not be the Wangye, should he?"


    Hearing that his Shifu''s daughter was murdered, Wei Xiaobao remembered Shifu, his heart ached. Slapping the table, he cursed, "Damn it, that kid Zheng Keshuang is stupid and a muddle-head, what kind of fart Wangye can he be?"


    "Yes," Lin Xingzhu said, "Er Gongzi ascended the throne, he bestowed his father-in-law Feng Xifan the title Tidu [local commander], all government affairs were handled by him. This man is unfair, he is very selfish. Whenever someone had the guts to speak several sentences about fairness, he would kill those people. Thus the hundreds of civil and military officials dared to be angry but did not dare to speak up. Da Gongzi and Madame Chen''s ghosts frequently appeared, finally in the fourth month Dong Guotai was scared to death by the ghosts."


    "Delighted, delighted!" Wei Xiaobao said, "When this Dong Guotai arrived in the nether world, Guoxing Ye [Koxinga] won''t possible let her get away with it."


    "Nobody says otherwise," Lin Xingzhu agreed, "Dong Guotai was scared to death by the ghosts, as soon as this matter was known, everybody was delighted. The entire Taiwan, from north to south, everybody released firecrackers for three days; they said it was to chase away the ghosts, but actually it was to celebrate this old revered grandmother''s death!"


    "Interesting, interesting!" Wei Xiaobao repeatedly exclaimed.


    Shi Lang said, "The ghost story is not necessarily true. Presumeably after murdering her oldest grandson and hounding his oldest granddaughter-in-law, Dong Guotai''s heart was disturbed. The elderly suspected there were ghosts in the dark, hence day and night she saw ghosts."


    "Evil spirits really exist," Wei Xiaobao said seriously, "Especially the people who died of persecution or died because others wronged them. After they become ghosts, they would definitely seek revenge. Shi Daren, this time you pacified Taiwan, you killed a lot of people. I am sure there are not a few ghosts on these Taiwan''s battleships; it would be best if Shi Daren is careful."


    Shi Lang''s countenance slightly changed, but immediately he laughed and said, "Going into battle in a war, inevitably we will have to kill people. If all the enemy troops and generals who died in battle became ghosts who seek revenge, all military officers will not die a good death."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "That is not necessarily the case," he said, "Shi Daren was originally a great general under Taiwan''s Guoxing Ye''s command, you returned and excessively killed Taiwan''s troops and generals. The dead people''s wronged ghosts are naturally dissatisfied. This is clearly different from other generals."


    Shi Lang did not say anything, in his heart he was enraged. He was a Fujian''s Jinjiang [county] native, from among Taiwan''s Zheng Wang''s troops, eight out of ten were Fujian people; there were especially a lot of Minnan [south Fujian] people. After he pacified Taiwan, he had heard not a few rumors and hearsays, cursing him as a traitor to Han, as well as a traitor to Min [short name for Fujian]. There was even an anonymous literary work in the form of a poem scolding him and satirizing him. In the deepest part of his heart he was actually ashamed; only Wei Xiaobao was the first person who openly mocked him on his face.


    Helpless against Wei Xiaobao, he vented his anger toward Lin Xingzhu. He glowered at him while saying in his heart, "As soon as we leave this island, laozi will deal with you really good."


    "Shi Daren," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your luck is really good; if Chen Junshi was not murdered, he would have defended Zheng Keshang in Taiwan; Dong Guotai, Zheng Keshuang, and the others could not possibly seize the throne. With Chen Junshi in command, from top to bottom the troops and the people defended Taiwan wholeheartedly, you may not necessarily be able to succeed."


    Shi Lang was silent; he thought that his own ability was definitely far inferior to Chen Jinnan''s; if this person did not die, naturally the situation was substantially different.


    Hong Chao suddenly interrupted, "Wei Jueye is right. All the people, troops and generals of Taiwan also said the same thing. Everybody hated Zheng Keshuang for murdering his loyal minister; he is the damaged Great Wall, indeed he is Guoxing Ye''s unworthy grandson."


    Shi Lang angrily said, "Hong Shoubei, since you have surrendered to the Great Qing, how could you dare to speak this kind of treason and heresy?"


    Hong Chao hastily stood up and said, "Lowly officer is muddleheaded, Daren please forgive my offence."


    "Hong Laoxiong [old brother]," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are speaking honestly; even if His Majesty heard it with his own ears, he would not possibly blame you. Sit down and drink some wine."


    "Yes," Hong Chao replied. Trembling with fear, he sat down. He picked up the winecup with both hands, but his hands were trembling so hard that more than half of the wine spilled out the cup.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Chen Junshi was murdered by Zheng Keshuang, everybody in Taiwan knew about it, didn''t they?"


    "Yes," Hong Chao replied, "When Zheng Keshuang returned to Taiwan, he �� he said that Chen Junshi �� was �� was ��" He cast a glance to Shi Lang, did not dare to continue.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "As long as you are telling the truth, nobody will blame you."


    "Yes, yes," Hong Chao said, "Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan, two people, along with several bodyguards were drifting on the sea in a skiff, they came across a fishing boat who rescued them and brought them back to Taiwan. Zheng Keshuang said that Chen Junshi was killed by General Shi. When Zheng Wangye heard about it, he wept bitterly for several days. Later on after Zheng Keshuang usurped the throne, he personally announced in public that he had killed Chen Junshi with his own hands; he even bragged that his martial art skill was so amazing. A lot of Chen Junshi''s subordinates did not want accept it; they inquired of him what crime has Chen Junshi committed. But they were all arrested by Feng Xifan and executed."


    Wei Xiaobao banged the wine cup in his hand heavily on the table. "F*ck his granny!" he cursed. Suddenly he roared in laughter and said, "Usually we swear at people''s granny, but this man''s granny is indeed rather not worthwhile. Only f*cking Zheng Keshuang''s granny is really ''made by Heaven and arranged by Earth'', ''ding three pays twenty four'' [don''t know what it is]; nothing is more fitting than this."


    When Shi Lang heard these few sentences, his heart was quite happy. Because he offended Zheng Chenggong his entire family was executed; it was all because of Dong Guotai''s provocation. He said, "What Wei Jueye said is very true, we can f*ck his granny. Guoxing Ye was a hero and a warrior, everything in him was good, only he took a wrong wife."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Other people can f*ck Zheng Keshuang''s granny, in this world only General Shi alone must not f*ck her. General Shi''s glory, riches and honor came from this old revered grandmother. Although your parents, wife and child were all murdered by her, in return you get Navy Tidu, Third-class Marquis of Jing Hai. You are better off doing this business deal."


    Immediately Shi Lang''s countenance turned deep red; in his heart he cursed, "Laozi wants to f*ck your, Wei Xiaobao''s, granny." Supressing his anger, he picked up the winecup with both hands and took a big mouthful. But his breathing was adversed, as soon as the wine entered his throat, he suddenly broke into violent coughing.


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "Looking at your face, in your heart naturally you want to f*ck my granny in a big way; too bad I don''t know who my dad is, I don''t know who my granny is even more. You want to f*ck my granny, you will definitely f*ck the wrong person. In your heart most likely you still want to be my laozi [old man], in that case my granny will be your ma. You want to f*ck my granny, won''t that mean you are at sixes and sevens with your own Niang, a complete confusion?" He looked at Shi Lang with an amused look.


    A navy Fujiang [deputy general] surnamed Lu was also sitting on their table, he was afraid these two people would vent their feeling toward each other; he said, "Wei Jueye, this time Shi Junmen pacified Taiwan, the success was entirely due to his sweat and blood in disregarding everything. Shi Junmen received the imperial order, from the fourth of the sixth month he commanded more than six hundred warships, and more than sixty thousand sergeants on the expedition to Taiwan. On the ocean we went against the wind, and it took eleven days for us to reach Penghu. We fought Taiwan troops under the command of Liu Guoxuan in big battle, so fierce that the sky darkened and the earth black, the sun and the moon gave forth no more of its light, even Shi Junmen was very concerned ��"


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that both Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao hung their heads with an angry look on their faces; he presumed these two were also fighting at the battle of Penghu, and he knew naturally in this battle Shi Lang was victorious, hence he did not want to hear Lu Fujiang telling him the story of Shi Lang''s proud past achievemens. He asked, "General Shi, that day when Guoxing Ye took Taiwan, he was also attacking from Penghu, wasn''t he?"


    "Exactly," Shi Lang replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "At that time you were under Guoxing Ye''s command, I wonder how did the battle go?"


    Shi Lang said, "The red-haired demons did not dispatch troops to defend Penghu."


    Wei Xiaobao asked Lin Xingzhu, "In those days Guoxing Ye crossed the ocean attacking east, I heard Lin Dage led cane-shield troops to chop the demons'' legs; I wonder how did you do that?"


    Lin Xingzhu thought, "About the cane-shield troops chopping the demons'' legs, I have already told you the story. And now you are asking me again, naturally it is because you don''t want to listen to the stinking history about Shi Lang subduing Taiwan, but want to listen to Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi''s heroic deeds instead. I must not talk about my own deeds too much, because if Shi Lang harbors a grudge in his heart, he would definitely deal with me. I''d better hold him up in good light." Thereupon he said, "Twice has Shi Junmen attacked Taiwan, his meritorious service is indeed very big. In those days Guoxing Ye assembled all the generals to dicuss whether or not they should cross the ocean and attack to the east. A lot of generals said that Taiwan''s natural barrier is difficult to attack, the wind and waves on the sea is very big, red-haired demons'' guns were difficult to deal with; this mission is indeed dangerous. But Chen Junshi and General Shi made a supreme effort to endorse it, and in the end they set up great merits." Hearing this, Shi Lang''s face showed a pleased expression.


    Lin Xingzhu continued, "It was Yongli''s fifteenth year second month ��"


    Shi Lang said, "Lin Dusi, the former Ming''s era name must not be mentioned anymore; it was the Great Qing Shunzhi''s eighteenth year."


    "Yes, yes," Lin Xingzhu said, "On the second month that year, Guoxing Ye moved his camp to Jinmen City. On the first day of the third month the entire force made a vow and offered sacrifice to the sea. For the first ten days afterwards, Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi assembled the troops under their command into Right Martial Guards, Left and Right Tiger Guards, Valiant Cavalry Camp, Left Vanguard, Center Attacking Force, Rear Guard Camp, Front and Rear Communication Team, Auxilliary Destroyer Rear Camp, into the navy ships and gathered them at Liaoluo Bay to wait for the wind. At that time the troops'' hearts were anxious, a lot of people were afraid to go out to sea, Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi, General Shi, separately went to the camps to encourage the hearts of the troops. We waited until noon of the twenty-third day before the sky was clear, the wind and the waves ceased to blow; thereupon the great force moved out. By the afternoon of the twenty-fourth we arrived at Penghu. But after we reached Penghu, the gale returned, the wind and the waves on the sea were growing, for several days we were unable to set sail. There was no food on all the islands of Penghu, there was food shortage in the troops, we had to live on eating sweet potatoes; the hearts of the troops started to panic. By the thirtieth, we simply could not wait anymore. Guoxing Ye gave his order to set off, regardless of big wind big waves, we must go into battle. That day in the middle of the night, after the first watch, Guoxing Ye''s central command''s warship flew the command banner and fired the cannon three times, the metal drums were sounded, the battleships raised their sails toward the east. At that time black clouds covered the whole sky, the great waves on the sea looked like small hills pouncing on the bow of the ships. Strong wind, heavy rain, everybody was soaked to the bones. Guoxing Ye stood on the bow, with a sword in his hand; he shouted, ''Display utter loyalty to defend our country, not afraid of the wind and the waves!'' Tens of thousands troops echoed in chorus, ''Display utter loyalty to defend our country, not afraid of the wind and the waves!'' The yelling was so loud that the sound of the gale and the billows were nearly drown."


    Wei Xiaobao said to Shi Lang, "At that time naturally General Shi also shouted like that?"


    Shi Lang replied, "That time lowly officer received the order to defend Xiamen, I did not go to Taiwan."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said, "What a pity, what a pity!"


    Lu Fujiang said, "When Zheng Wangye arrived at Penghu, he did not encounter strong wind and big waves, but Shi Junmen''s bloody battle; now that was ''startling the heart moving the soul''. Liu Guoxuan assembled the Navy at Penghu''s Niu Xin [ox heart] Bay, Ji Long [chickeen coop] Islet, and built earthen rampart for twenty li along the coast, each section of the rampart was reinforced with a cannon. When the Great Qing Navy arrived, the cannon on the shore were fired simultaneously; there were also rockets, mortars, it was desperately serious ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Lu Fujiang, I''ll say your gut is more or less the same as mine."


    "I do not dare," Lu Fujiang said, "How can lowly officer be compared to Jueye?"


    "You can''t be compared with me?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Naturally I can''t," Lu Fujiang replied.


    "That''s strange," Wei Xiaobao said, "I always thought I am as meek as a mouse; it''s considered very disappointing. Turns out you are even more useless than I am, ha ha �� that''s strange, that''s strange." Lu Fujiang face swollen red; he did not dare to make any noise.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Lin Xingzhu, "After Guoxing Ye took the troops to sea, and then what happened?"


    Lin Xingzhu said, "The battleships sailed in the gale and big waves for four hours; by the third watch of the night [11pm �C 1am] suddenly the breeze was still, the waves were quiet, the black cloud dissipated. A moment later, the wind turned into tail wind instead; the joyous cry of the troops thundered, everybody said Laotian [God/Heaven] was blessing them, the victory was guaranteed. Early morning on the first day of the following month, the battleships finally reached outside Lu Er Men [deer ear gate]. Using the bamboo pole to gauge the water, unexpectedly it was high sand shallow water; there was no way we could sail forward. Guoxing Ye was very anxious, he set up an incense burner table, to pray to the Heaven. Not too long afterwards, suddenly the tide arose, all battleships overflowed into the Lu Er Men. The red-haired troops on the shore opened fire to bombard us. Over there the red-haired demons had built two cities, one was called ''re lan zhe cheng'' [Fort Zeelandia], the other was called ''pu luo min zhe cheng''


    [27] ��"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The devils'' place names are so weird; what ''re lai che'' [hot covering], ''leng lai che'' [cold covering], ''na mo bo luo mi duo Guanshiyin Pu zhe'' [namo paramita Guanyin Bodhisattva]?"


    Lin Xingzhu smiled and continued his story, "At that time Guoxing Ye used the telescope to look, he saw the red-haired demons'' main force had two big warships, two battle cruisers, plus several hundreds small battleships and small boats. Thereupon he passed on an order, sending the Front Communication Team''s Commander Chen Ze to lead a fleet of ships to land on Lu Er Men Island, to guard North Shanwei to prevent other red-haired fleet from giving their assistance.


    Battle cry ensued; the surface of the sea was filled with gun smoke and flames. After fighting for more than two hours, there was a loud explosion; one of the red-haired demons'' main battleships was sunk by our troops. It was only later that I found out that it was the ''bei ke de ya'' [not sure, Becker or Baker something?], the red-haired demons'' Navy elite ship. The other ship, Maria, suffered serious damage; it escaped eastwards toward the ocean and its whereabouts was unknown. Two red-haired demons'' ships also retreated. At that time the brothers under Chen Ze''s command encountered red-haired demon troops, they all strived to be the first to fight; although the red-haired demons'' firearms were formidable, seeing our troops rushed in and killed the enemy courageously, they were so scared that they lost the will to fight, and retreated back into the city. Our troops landed at Chikan [Fort Provintia], and stormed toward ''pu luo min zhe cheng''."


    (Author''s note: When Zheng Chenggong attacked Taiwan, from Penghu he landed in the vicinity of modern day Tainan. At that time the Holland''s massive military force was also stationed in Tainan region.)


    Wei Xiaobao poured a cup of wine and handed it over to Lin Xingzhu with both hand. "Lin Dage," he said, "You fought well. I toast you a cup."


    Lin Xingzhu stood up to receive it; he expressed his thanks, and after drinking it up he continued, "After our troops landed at Provintia, local Chinese people swarmed out to welcome us, a lot of people were so happy that they cried. They said, ''This time our liberator has finally arrived.'' Wei Jueye, Guoxing Ye''s esteemed father, Zheng Taishi [imperial tutor] was originally doing business without capital on the ocean, Taiwan was his, the Senior''s lair. Later on the Senior brought his subordinate brothers back to the Central Plains. Hence Taiwan was separately occupied by Holland demons and Spain demons; Holland demons in the south, Spain demons in the north. Two demons fought each other, the Spain demons were defeated, and entire Taiwan fell under Holland demons'' grip. Our Chinese people on the island were mistreated and killed to death by the Holland''s red-haired demons. There was a brother, former subordinate of Zheng Taishi, called Guo Huaiyi; he was a warrior. He remained on the island and did not leave. Seeing Chinese people were bullied very badly by the red-haired demons, he assembled the brothers in secret, notified Chinese people everywhere that on the fifteenth of the eight month, the Mid-Autumn Festival, they were to move together to kill all the red-haired demons on the island. Unexpectedly there was a traitor, called Puzai, who went as far as to inform the red-haired demons ��"


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and cursed, "His granny, Chinese people''s affair was spoiled by a traitor."


    "That''s right," Lin Xingzhu said, "When Guo Huaiyi Dage saw that Puzai ran away, he knew the situation had turned worse. Immediately he led more than sixteen-thousand Chinese to attack ''pu luo min zhe cheng'', destroying and setting the red-haired demons'' government buildings and shops on fire. The red-haired demons deployed a large army to counterattack, their guns were formidable. Our Chinese people, other than several fiery-dragon spears, were only using broadswords, iron spears, hoes, wooden sticks, and similar types of weapons. In Provintia they fought for fifteen days straight. Guo Huaiyi Dage was unfortunate and was killed by the red-haired demon''s gun ��"


    "Aiya, that''s bad," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed.


    "It was," Lin Xingzhu said, "Guo Huaiyi Dage died, the snake was without a head; the Chinese people were defeated and driven out of the city. On the bank of the Great Lake the bloody battle continued for seven days and seven nights. The number of Chinese people killed on the bank of Great Lake totalled more than four thousand; women and girls also rather die than submit, more than five hundred of them were killed. The rest were captured by the red-haired demons, women were forced to be barracks'' prostitute, the men were either pulled to death by five horses running separate directions, or branded to slow death by branding irons ��"


    Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he cried out, "Red-haired demons are this cruel, they are more vicious than the Great Qing troops'' massacre of our people in Yangzhou!"


    Shi Lang and Lu Fujiang looked at each other in dismay; they could only smile wryly. They both thought, "The way this youngster talk is really without any regard of the gravity of things."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "It was Yongli''s sixth year, the eighth month ��"


    Hong Chao bent his fingers and counted, "Yongli''s sixth year, that is the Great Qing Shunzhi''s seventh �� eighth �� ninth �� Shunzhi''s ninth year."


    "Is that right?" Lin Xingzhu said, "Anyway, ever since that great massacre, the Chinese people of Taiwan and the red-haired demons cannot exist together. As soon as there is the tiniest reason, the red-haired demons would kill Chinese people randomly. Therefore, when they saw Guoxing Ye''s main forces, it was as if the Emperor Bodhisattva Savior has arrived. Men, women, young and old, everybody shared with us their grievance. That very evening, the red-haired demon governor knew defeat was imminent; he took his anger out on the Chinese people, he killed the Chinese who lived in Kun Shen; no matter young or old, he gathered them together and killed altogether more than five hundred people. The next day Guoxing Ye dispatched the troops to attack ''pu luo min zhe cheng''. Chen Junshi came up with a strategy, we trained the rattan shield troops to roll around on the ground to chop the demon troops'' leg; and thus ''pu luo min zhe cheng'' fell."


    "That is Laoxiong''s great merit," Wei Xiaobao said.


    "It was all due to Chen Junshi''s brilliant scheme," Lin Xingzhu replied, "Lowly officer did not have any merit." He continued, "Immediately afterwards Guoxing Ye deployed the troops to attack Fort Zeelandia, where the red-haired demon governor was stationed. The artillery barrage from the top of the city wall was very fierce, our troops suffered heavy casualties. But General Ma Xin and General Liu Guoxuan courageously attacked Yi Kun Shen. Seeing too many brothers died, Guoxing Ye built earthen rampart outside the city, surrounding Fort Zeelandia all around, and installed cannon on the rampart, pounding the city walls with artillery barrage. Before long our second Navy''s Left Attacking Force, Front Attacking Force, Wisdom Force, Valiant Troops, Amphibious Force, Palace Hall Troops, all ships have also arrived; our power rose up. While dispatching the troops to clear up the wild area for farming, Guoxing Ye also intensified the besieging of the city. Besieged until the fifth month, suddenly the red-haired demons'' reinforcement from Batavia arrived. The red-haired demons from the city came out to attack. There were big battles on land and sea, our troops dauntlessly rushed in and killed the enemy, the sea water was dyed red with blood."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and exclaimed, "Fierce, fierce!" Turning to Shi Lang he said, "Too bad at that time General Shi was in Xiamen; otherwise, you could keep up with these several big battles, and killed several hundreds of those damn red-haired demons, and then you can really be considered a hero." Shi Lang stayed silent.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Hong Chao, "Hong Dage, at that time which group were you in?"


    Hong Chao replied, "At that time lowly officer was under Liu Guoxuan, General Liu''s command; along with Chen Ze, General Chen''s navy we besieged the red-haired demons'' reinforcement, in a big battle at the North Shanwei region. The red-haired demons'' warships were huge, their guns very sharp; when the bullets from our firearms reached the red-haired demons'' big warship, they all bounced back from the armor plating, we could not harm the ship. Seeing we could not withstand the enemy, the Front Communication Team''s Lin Jinshen, General Lin personally led two-hundred-men suicide team, with their bodies covered in gunpowder they braved death by jumping into the red-haired demons'' big warship to damage and explode the cannon on the ship. Seeing us attacking violently with no fear of death at all, the red-haired demons'' were thrown into confusion. We killed a red-haired demon commander, captured two battleships, and utterly routed the red-haired demons'' navy. On land Chen Junshi led the troops in great battle also seized total victory. Later on seven red-haired demons'' lead bullets were dug out from Chen Junshi''s body."


    "Hey," Wei Xiaobao said, "My Shifu did not die under the red-haired demons'' guns; he died under his granny Zheng Keshuang, that kid''s sword. General Shi, real men kill foreign devils, now that is amazing. Chinese people kill Chinese people, even if he killed a lot, he cannot be considered a hero. Do you agree?"


    "Humph," Shi Lang snorted, but did not say anything.


    Lin Xingzhu said, "The red-haired demons suffered defeat after defeat, they wanted to burn our troops'' provision, but each time Chen Junshi always saw through their plan, they were never able to steal our chicken or nibble our grain. The red-haired demon governor was trapped in an isolated city, he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything about it. He sent people across the sea to contact the Great Qing''s Fujian and Zhejiang Zongdu [governor-general] Li Lutai, to ask him to send troops and rescued them. That Li Daren was an interesting fellow; he sent a letter asking the red-haired demons to come to Fujian first to crush Guoxing Ye''s garrisons in Jinmen and Xiamen regions, and then the Great Qing troops would come to Taiwan and launch converging attack from inside and outside. At that time the red-haired demons were powerless to defend themselves; they were like a turtle shrinking its head inside Fort Zeelandia, how could they send troops to Jinmen, Xiamen?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The red-haired demons speak like a fart; all along they didn''t want to attack Jinmen, Xiamen, did they? When Great Qing speak, we always keep our words; didn''t we eventually send troops to attack Taiwan? We''re only twenty, thirty years late; it''s not a big deal! When General Shi led the troops to attack Taiwan, I wonder if there were red-haired demons with whom you coordinate inside and outside offensives."


    Shi Lang could not endure patiently anymore; he stood up abruptly and said, "Wei Jueye, Xiongdi and you are ministers of the same palace hall, both of us are Great Qing officials; why do you always speak cold words and make sarcastic comments, always mocking Xiongdi?"


    "Eh? That''s strange," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise, "When did I ever mock General Shi? General Shi did not have any illicit relations with foreign country, that''s great. But if you do have an illicit relations with foreign country, I''ll say there''s still time. General Shi holds massive military power in your hands, red-haired demons, Spaniard demons, Portuguese demons, Luocha demons, will be very happy to make friends with you."


    Shi Lang shivered in his heart, "Not good!" he mused, "If this little demon made an accusation in front of His Majesty, framing me of having illicit relations with foreign country, my entire life would be destroyed in his hands." Just now his temper flared, he spoke rudely; he could not help feeling remorse. Hastily he forced a laugh and said, "Xiongdi has drank several cups too much, and has offended quite a bit, Wei Jueye please forgive me."


    When Wei Xiaobao saw that he was angry, originally he was rather scared, but then he saw that Shi Lang changed his attitude and offered an apology, he knew that Shi Lang was afraid of him. Thereupon he laughed and said, "If General Shi seriously wants to establish yourself as a king in Taiwan, it would be better for you to kill Xiongdi first to silence me, so that I would not report it to His Majesty. But if you are just making a loud of noise and throwing a fit, although Xiongdi''s gut is small, I am not afraid."


    Shi Lang''s countenance turned deathly pale. Leaving his seat he bowed deeply with cupped fist and said, "Wei Jueye, a person of great moral stature does not remember the offenses committed by one of low moral stature; lowly officer was preposterous, I am willing to accept punishment. But establishing myself as a king in Taiwan or having illicit relations with foreign country, lowly officer absolutely never has this intention. Lowly officer single-mindedly exerting myself for His Majesty, following his order with loyalty, definitely not double-minded."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Please sit down, please sit down. We will wait and see." Turning his head toward Lin Xingzhu he said, "Your story is more interesting than Mr. Storyteller. This episode, Guoxing Ye fought a bloody battle in Taiwan, the red-haired demons pissed in their pants in terror. And then what happened?"


    "By that time," Lin Xingzhu continued, "The news that Guoxing Ye led a large army to attack Taiwan had reached the inland. Huang Wu, Huang Daren immediately submitted a proposal to the imperial court, he submitted what was called ''Five Plans to Fortify Defenses and Raze the Fields in Pacifying the Ocean''."


    "Who is that Huang Wu?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Lin Xingzhu cast a glance toward Shi Lang, he coughed several times, but did not immediately reply. Shi Lang said, "This Huang Daren was originally also a subordinate of Guoxing Ye, his rank was a Zongbing [regional commander]. After he submitted to the imperial court, his political career took off smoothly. By the time of his death, his title was First-class Duke of Hai Deng [hai �C ocean, deng �C settling of liquid; maybe a place''s name.]."


    "Hey," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Turns out he was also a trai ��" in the end he forcibly swallowed the last syllable ''tor''.


    Shi Lang''s countenance turned red; he mused, "You curse me as a traitor, I''ll say you are a fake Manchu; we are no better or worse than the other."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "What kind of clever scheme did this Huang Wu use to pat His Majesty''s bottom that in a short while he was bestowed the title Duke? His skill is really not small! This trick we may want to polish and refine, and try to emulate."


    "This Huang Wu," Lin Xingzhu said, "In those days Guoxing Ye sent him to guard Hai Deng, but he surrendered Hai Deng to the imperial court. The officers and soldiers who were unwilling to surrender, he killed them all. At that time the imperial court was at a loss on how to deal with Guoxing Ye, suddenly there was this general in command of the troops from the other side who wanted to surrender along with the entire city; naturally the imperial court was overjoyed. Hence the reason he received such a preferential treatment."


    "So that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "What plan did he propose?"


    Lin Xingzhu sighed and said, "This Huang Daren really did a lot of harm to the common people. His ''Five Plans to Pacify the Ocean'', number one was to move all common people from the coastal area inland, so that those Jinmen, Xiamen, as well as Taiwan, would not get any material assistance. Number two was to burn down all ships and boats in the coast; henceforth not a cun of wood was allowed to go out to sea. Number three was to kill Guoxing Ye''s father, Zheng Taishi. Number four was to excavate the tomb of Guoxing Ye''s ancestors, to damage his fengshui [geomancy]. Number five was to relocate the officers and men, former subordinates of Guoxing Ye who had surrendered inland to open up land for farming in various provinces, to avoid future misfortune."


    "Hey," Wei Xiaobao said, "This fellow''s plans are indeed very malicious."


    "Aren''t they?" Lin Xingzhu said, "At that time Emperor Shunzhi had just passed away, His Majesty had just ascended the throne, his age was young, Oboi arrogated all powers. That treacherous bandit Oboi saw Huang Wu''s ''Five Plans to Pacify the Ocean'' and agreed that it made a lot of sense, he issued an order from Liaodong all the way to Zhili, Jiangsi, Zhejiang, Fujian, as well as Guangdong, nobody was allowed to live within thirty li from the coast, all vessels were to be burned down. In those days common people lived in the coastal area by the thousands and tens of thousands, none was not forced out from their homes and wandering about, a lot of them did not survive."


    Shi Lang spoke up, "Huang Wu''s scheme went indeed a bit too far. It was not until the current ruler took office, Wei Daren took down Oboi, that the sea ban was lifted. But the common people in seven coastal provinces have already suffered harmful effects. At that time the imperial court issued strict order, common people who violated the ban were arrested and immediately beheaded. A lot of people could not survive, they went to the seaside to catch fish; I don''t know how many were killed. At that time Zheng Taishi was also killed. Oboi sent the Minister of War Shangshu Sunahai on a special mission to Quanzhou''s [prefecture] Nan An Xian [South An County] in Fujian to dig out Zheng family''s ancestral tomb."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Oboi claimed to be a warrior, but he committed such a senseless act; if he really have skills, he should challenge Guoxing Ye with real swords, real spears. By relocating the coastal population inland, isn''t it clear that he was afraid? His Majesty cherishes common people, if Huang Wu''s plans were presented to His Majesty, he would definitely have his head chopped."


    "Exactly," Shi Lang said, "Huang Wu died early, it could be considered his luck."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "When the news of Zheng Taishi''s death reached Taiwan, Guoxing Ye was afraid it might shake the troops'' heart, so he said it was a lie and that they must not be gullible. But according to his personal guards, Guoxing Ye often cried bitterly in the middle of the night. Guoxing Ye also confided with Chen Junshi and several other generals that Huang Wu''s plot was indeed sinister. Fortunately they had gone on a punitive expedition to the east to Taiwan; otherwise, tens of thousands soldiers could not have a foothold in Jinmen and Xiamen. By then we have held our siege for a long time, several times the red-haired troops wanted to break the siege, each time they were beaten back into the city. Hence Guoxing Ye issued an order that before the New Year we must attack and bring Fort Zeelandia down." Turning toward Hong Chao he said, "We attacked on the twenty-third of the eleventh month, didn''t we?"


    "Yes," Hong Chao replied, "That day the wind was strong, with heavy rain. Our troops fired the cannon from all the earthen ramparts at the same time, damaging the corner of the city wall, the fortifications on the east and west of the city were also broken. The red-haired demons desperately rushed out, but after several hundreds of them died, they were driven back into the city. Thereupon the red-haired governor raised a white flag to surrender. At that time the Chinese people in Taiwan wanted to take revenge by killing the red-haired demons clean. Guoxing Ye enlightened the people that our China is a country with etiquette, the enemy surrendered must not be killed. He allowed the red-haired governor to write a letter of surrender with fourteen sections before he led the ruined army, defeated generals boarded the ships and left Taiwan to flee to Batavia. The red-haired demons occupied Taiwan since the Ming Dynasty''s Tian Qi''s fourth year, for a total of 38 years, until that year, the Yongli''s fifteenth year �� which was the Great Qing''s Shunzhi''s eighteenth year, eleventh month, twenty-ninth day, when Taiwan returned to be China''s territory."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "Guoxing Ye issued a military order not to kill the surrendering red-haired troops, but Chinese people were unbearably angry; they continuously spat on them and threw rocks at them. Little children even made up a song to mock them. The red-haired troops with broken hands broken feet, hanging their heads dispiritedly; they did not dare to utter even a single word of demon language. After their battleship set off, they lowered their flag, and fired a gun salute, saying that it was to show their humble respect to Guoxing Ye for his kindness of not killing them."


    "Good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "We, Chinese, have a really great power and prestige. The red-haired demons'' cannon were that formidable, to conquer Taiwan was really not easy, really not easy!"


    Hong Chao said, "Guoxing Ye changed the name Fort Zeelandia to Anping Zhen [lit. safe and peaceful, zhen �C small town], he changed ''pu luo min zhe cheng'' into Chengtian Fu [lit. supporting heaven, fu �C prefecture]; henceforth both have always been Taiwan''s strategic town."


    Lu Fujiang interjected, "When Shi Junmen took over Taiwan, the path he took was the old path taken by Guoxing Ye in the past; he went in from Lu Er Men ��"


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand to stop him; he yawned big and said, "Chinese defeating the red-haired demons and driving them out to see, that is an immensely enjoyable story. Our people defeating our people, it''s approximately no more than that. General Shi, we have drank quite a bit of wine, let''s adjourn now."


    Shi Lang stood up and said, "Yes, thank you very much Jueye for the dinner, lowly officer takes my leave."


    Wei Xiaobao went back to the inner hall and told his wives how he stopped Shi Lang from talking; in short he prevented him from boasting about his outstanding military service in taking over Taiwan. His six wives found the story amusing, only Ah Ke remained silent. She thought that if she was married to Zheng Keshuang, she would have been captured and taken prisoner together with him; brought to Beijing, as a concubine of a vanquished nation, it would be difficult to escape humiliation. That day when she saw Zheng Keshuang left Tong Chi Island on a skiff, she did not care about his life or death. This moment as she heard that his country perished and he surrendered to the enemy, she did not have the slightest concern. Recalling the past events, she was amazed that she was actually crazy about his elegant manner and his appearance, knowing full well that this man was someone without any backbone, a spoiled son of rich parents without any future prospects. She realized that it was as if she was blind by being deeply attached to him. This moment as she thought back, she was still feeling deeply ashamed.


    The Princess said, "Huangdi Gege was too generous to him, that fellow Zheng Keshuang surrendered, unexpectedly he bestowed him a first-class duke title, his nobility rank is above Xiaobao''s. It really upsets me."


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand, "Not a big deal, not a big deal. Guoxing Ye was a great hero, His Majesty was looking at Guoxing Ye''s face that he bestowed his offspring the title of first-class duke. Based on Zheng Keshuang''s own ability, at most he would only be bestowed the title first-class caterpillar."


    At noon the next day, Wei Xiaobao singled out Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, two people for a small banquet; he asked them about Shi Lang taking over Taiwan.


    Turned out the Qing troops and Taiwan troops were engaged in bloody battle for several days at Penghu Islands'' Niu Xin Bay and Ji Long islet. The first day Shi Lang lost, afterwards Qing''s Navy reinforcement arrived, the battle raged again. Taiwan''s vessels were burned and suffered heavy defeat, the number of casualties among the officers and soldiers reaching more than ten thousand men, the battleships were either sunk or burned, the total damage reaching more than three hundred boats. Liu Guoxuan led the defeated army back into Taiwan.


    Shi Lang led the Navy to attack Taiwan. Lu Er Men had shallow water, battleships could not enter; they dropped anchor on the ocean for twelve days, with no strategy left to try. Suddenly thick fog filled the sky, the tide swelled, Qing warships swarmed in. In Taiwan, everybody from top to bottom was greatly alarmed; they all said, "In the past because of the tide rose in Lu Er Men Guoxing Ye was able to enter Taiwan; and now Lu Er Men''s tide rises again, the natural barrier is lost, this is the Will of Heaven that made it so, fighting again is useless."


    When Zheng Keshuang was informed that the boats of Qing troops had entered Lu Er Men, he was already thrown into panic mode, when Feng Xifan advised him to surrender, naturally he readily agreed. It''s just that he was afraid Shi Lang would avenge his personal enmity and would make things difficult for Zheng Clan''s offspring that he was greatly hesitant. Immediately Liu Guoxuan sent a letter to Shi Lang, saying that they were willing to surrender, but Guoxing Ye''s descendants must be saved from harm, or else the entire Taiwan population, military and civilian alike, would recall fondly Guoxing Ye''s kindness and righteousness, and would rather fight to the last man. Shi Lang immediately replied, guaranteeing that he would not bother about the old grievance, otherwise, let Heaven and men abandon him, and let his descendants be cut-off from the earth. Thereupon Zheng Keshuang, Feng Xifan and Liu Guoxuan led Taiwan''s civil and military officials to surrender. The Ming Dynasty''s imperial clan Prince Ningjing Zhu Shugui committed suicide to die for his country, his five concubines were buried alive as sacrifice together with their husband, and thus the Ming family was cut short.


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "This Ming Dynasty Emperor''s descendants committed suicide to die for his country, five of his wives followed him in death. If I, Wei Xiaobao, commit suicide, I wonder from my seven wives, how many would want to accompany me? I am sure Shuang''er would, the Princess would surely apologize for not accompanying me. As for the other five, most likely they would throw dice to decide who would die and who would live. When Fang Yi throw the dice, she would definitely cheat, calling me, the dead person, a ''cattle''."


    Lin Xingzhu continued, saying that after Shi Lang led the troops to land, he indeed kept his words, he did not give the Zheng Clan offspring any trouble. He even personally went to Zheng Chenggong''s Yan Ping Jun Wang ancestral shrine to offer sacrifice and cried bitterly for a moment.


    Hong Chao said, "During the sacrifice he read a memorial in which there were some sentences like this: ''From Tong''an [district, Xiamen, Fujian] Hou [marquis] entered Taiwan, only then did Taiwan soil have inhabitant. Overtaking the bestowed confidence to open land and initiate the cliff boundary, who would dare to do it? Today by the authority of the Son of Heaven Lang leads military power, subduing this land, did not decline to wipe out the country and punish the guilty, for the reason of loyalty to the imperial court as well as to fulfill the duty to avenge father and brother. Alone Lang rose through the ranks, with Ci Xing


    [28] was as delighted as fish meet water, there was not the slightest bit of resentment, but it led to great violation. Lang and Ci Xing had enmity and hatred, but my feeling is still like minister and his master. The poor scholar in the midst of reed, justice will not be done. Righteousness and personal kindness, henceforth it is over.'' These several sentences were on everyone''s lips for a period of time."


    "What was he rambling about?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "The poor scholar in the midst of reed was Wu Zixu," Hong Chao replied, "In the past Wu Zixu wiped out the State of Chu, he dug Chu''s King Ping''s body from the grave and lashed the corpse three hundred times to avenge the enmity of him killing Wu Zixu''s father and brother. Shi Lang was saying that he definitely won''t do such thing."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao said with a cold laugh, "Does he dare? Although Guoxing Ye is dead, Shi Lang is still extremely afraid of him. He defeated the Zheng Family''s family estate, he is afraid Guoxing Ye''s brave spirit would find him and give him trouble, thereupon he went to Guoxing Ye''s ancestral shrine to kowtow and plea for leniency. This man is very treacherous, you must not fall into his trick." Lin and Hong, two people, voiced their agreement.


    "The story of Wu Zixu," Wei Xiaobao continued, "I have watched a play about him. Wu Zixu closed himself up, in one night the hair on his head turned white from fright, right?"


    "Yes, yes," Hong Chao replied, "Jueye''s memory is very good."


    Wei Xiaobao had not heard stories for a long time, thereupon he asked about Wu Zixu''s story from the beginning to end. By coincidence this Hong Chao was a Xiuxai [a person who has passed the county level imperial exam]; although he had not passed a university entrance exam, he had quite a bit of ink in his belly; thereupon he narrated the story in details [lit. count by fives and tens].


    Wei Xiaobao listened with keen interest and with pleasure; he said, "In this barren island I am truly bored to death, fortunately two gentlemen came to tell stories to relieve my boredom. It would be best if you two stay several days longer, there is no hurry to leave."


    Lin Xingzhu said, "We are surrendered enemy generals from Taiwan, while we were talking yesterday we have offended General Shi. If General Shi wanted to deal with us, it will be as easy as pinching an ant dead. All he needs is a carelessly spoken word with rebellious intent, then he will charge us with conspiracy against the law, immediately behead us first and submit report later. Even if after chopping our heads he did not submit any report, nobody would investigate. Wei Daren, please speak to General Shi on our behalf, tell him that you want us to stay here to serve you."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Hong Dage, what do you have in mind?" he asked.


    Hong Chao said, "Last night lowly officer and Lin Dage talked it over, if Wei Daren cannot save our lives, the two of us undoubtedly will die without burial site."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If the two of you want to follow me, you must listen to what I say."


    Lin and Hong, two people bowed together and said, "No matter what Wei Daren tells us to do, lowly officer will follow obediently."


    Wei Xiaobao was extremely delighted; he thought, "With these two good helpers, I have a way of leaving this ghost place."


    Kangxi sent Peng Canjiang with his troops to guard Tong Chi Island with strict imperial order in advance that they must not let Wei Xiaobao and his family to leave the island even for one step. Peng Canjiang''s brain was not too bright; he did not have any special skill either. But toward the Emperor''s imperial edict, even if his head was chopped seventeen, eighteen times, he would not dare to violate the least bit. Kangxi wanted him to guard closely, he would guard closely. If Wei Xiaobao wanted to take his life, it would be as easy as lifting his hand; but even if he wiped these 501 soldiers guarding him clean, without a boat, in the end he could not leave the island. Hong and Ling, two people were veteran generals of the Navy; certainly they had skill in handling ships and navigating the ocean.


    That evening he held another banquet for Shi Lang. This time he only invited Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, two people to accompany them. After some chitchat, Wei Xiaobao said, "General Shi, are you going to stay here for one or two months?"


    "Actually, lowly officer was thinking of staying a few days, to hear Daren''s instruction more often," Shi Lang replied, "But Taiwan has just started to be put in order, it can''t be left too long. I am thinking of taking my leave from Daren tomorrow."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said you wanted to stay here with me for a few days to hear my instruction more often. Are you serious, or did you just say that to make me happy?"


    "Naturally I am one-hundred percent serious," Shi Lang replied, "Lowly officer said it from the bottom of my heart. That year lowly officer followed Daren, the troops were stationed on Tong Chi Island, while we were bombarding Shen Long Island. Every day I had the pleasure of hearing Daren giving instructions, drinking wine, gambling, chatting and laughing with Daren; that kind of days, I had a great fun."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If you could have that kind of days, will you be happy?"


    "Naturally I will," Shi Lang replied, "Someday His Majesty will send Daren on an important mission with heavy responsibility involving national military, lowly officer still want to follow Daren."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "It''s very easy," he said, "You want to follow me, you want to hear me and joke with me, it''s not difficult at all. Tomorrow all of us will go to Taiwan together."


    Shi Lang was shocked. He stood up and said with a trembling voice, "This �� this �� this matter is not on His Majesty''s imperial edict; lowly officer does not dare to receive order. Please �� please Daren forgive me."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s not that I want to go to Taiwan to do anything, it''s just that I heard your story, it is so exciting. Guoxing Ye opened up new land in Tainan and Taipei, developing a new and colorful world, I want to see it with my own eyes. When we get to Taiwan, aren''t you going to hear my instruction more often? You said it so yourself. It''s just that I think you conduct yourself very well, plus you have followed me in the past; we are old boss, old subordinate, our friendship is more than ordinary, so I thought hard to find a way to grant your wish. I am going to Taiwan to play for a month or two, and then I''ll come back here. The gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive; if you don''t say anything, I don''t say anything, there is no way His Majesty will find out."


    Shi Lang''s expression looked very awkward. He bowed and said, "Wei Daren, this matter is really difficult to do. Whatever Daren commands, lowly officer will obey faithfully, but if His Majesty put the blame on me, it would be a great inconvenience. If lowly officer does not submit a memorial to the Emperor, it would be a great crime of deceiving one''s lord; lowly officer absolutely will not dare to do it."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Please sit down, please sit down. General Shi, since you are unwilling, it''s a trivial matter, no need to be mentioned anymore."


    Shi Lang felt as if a heavy burden had just removed from him; he repeatedly said ''yes'', and sat back on the banquet table.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Speaking about great crime of deceiving one''s lord, let me be honest with you: I have deceived His Majesty several times. It''s just that His Majesty is magnanimous; when he found out later, he only swore at me several times, but never made a big deal out of it."


    "Yes, yes," Shi Lang said, "Everybody says that His Majesty treated Wei Daren with deep kindness and profound benevolence; it is indeed very different. A ruler and his minister hit it off like this, it is unprecedented in history. But a small general, an external minister without any good fortune like lowly officer, I absolutely will not dare to follow Wei Daren''s example."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "General Shi speaks as if you are very timid, while in my opinion, your guts in the contrary are very big. I heard that after General Shi attacked Taiwan, you wrote a memorial and presented it as a memorial to Guoxing Ye; is there such thing?"


    Shi Lang said, "Reporting to Daren, the three characters ''Guoxing Ye'' are not supposed to be mentioned. Presently the national surname is Aisin Gioro [reminder: ''Guoxing Ye'' means ''Lord of the Imperial Surname'']. When we are talking about Zheng Chenggong, if we want to be a bit polite, we may say ''Former Ming''s Ci Xing'' [see Note 2 above]. As a result, lowly officer''s memorial only mentioned ''Ci Xing'', two characters; I definitely am not bold enough to violate the taboo."


    He presumed that since he was unwilling to take Wei Xiaobao to Taiwan, this little demon would be bound to look for bones in the egg, determined to find a setback for Shi Lang. The three-character ''Guoxing Ye'' was the name the people were accustomed to, but Zheng Chenggong was bestowed the surname Zhu by the Ming Dynasty, his national surname was Ming Dynasty''s national surname, not Qing Dynasty''s national surname. If Wei Xiaobao insisted to make a big deal of these three characters in the memorial, saying that Shi Lang keep in his mind constantly that the national surname was Zhu, and reporting it to the imperial court, this matter maybe big or maybe small, but it could also grow into a disaster. Thereupon he seized the initiative to offer an explanation first.


    Actually, Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest knowledge; he failed to grasp the crucial point of what Shi Lang was saying. After Shi Lang argued, Wei Xiaobao was able to find something to grab on instead. "General Shi," he said, "You have once received rank and emolument of nobility from the Ming Dynasty, it''s no wonder that the surname bestowed by the previous dynasty was constantly in your mind. If you are really loyal to our Great Qing, you should have called Zheng Chenggong ''Nixing'' [rebel surname], ''Weixing'' [bogus surname], ''Feixing'' [bandit surname], ''Gouxing'' [dog surname]."


    Shi Lang lowered his head in silence. Although in his heart he 120% disapproved, he felt it was inappropriate to debate over this matter with Wei Xiaobao. By calling Zheng Chenggong ''Ci Xing'', indeed it was an indication that he had not forgotten the previous dynasty''s idea.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "General Shi''s memorial must be written very well, I wonder if it is alright for you to recite it to me?"


    Shi Lang only knew how to lead the troops and go to war, how could he write a eulogy? This funeral oration was written by a secretary, one of his aides and advisors. This secretary was quite talented, the memorial was written with such passion and rich in imagery, the meaning behind it sincere. Shi Lang had heard not a few people praised it, he was very proud, thereupon he had memorized quite a bit of sentences from it to show off in front of other people. Immediately he said, "Lowly officer invented several sentences of crazy nonsense; I will only make Wei Daren laugh at me." Thereupon he recited several important passages from the memorial.


    Finished listening to the section ''Alone Lang rose through the ranks, with Ci Xing was as delighted as fish meet water, there was not the slightest bit of resentment, but it led to great violation. Lang and Ci Xing had enmity and hatred, but my feeling is still like minister and his master. The poor scholar in the midst of reed, justice will not be done. Righteousness and personal kindness, henceforth it is over.'' Wei Xiaobao nodded and praised, "Good essay, good essay. This memorial, let''s forget the fact that even if my head is chopped I will never be able to write one, even if someone wrote it for me and had me memorize it, I won''t be able to remember it in ten days or eight days. General Shi is well-versed in both civil and military affairs; your memory is very good. My admiration, my admiration."


    Shi Lang''s face blushed slightly; he said in his heart, "You know perfectly well that I can''t write something like that, someone else wrote it, I simply memorized it well and recited it back. You ridicule me like this, no need for me to talk to you too much."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "About that ''The poor scholar in the midst of reed, justice will not be done'', what does that mean? My learning is very disappointing, I don''t understand it."


    Shi Lang said, "''The poor scholar in the midst of reed'' was referring to Wu Zixu. In the past from the State of Chu he ran away to the State of Wu. When he reached the river bank, an elderly fisherman took him cross the river, and left to get him some rice to eat. Wu Zixu was afraid the pursuing troops would catch him; he hid in the cluster of reeds on the river bank. The elderly fisherman returned; seeing someone was hiding in the reeds, he called out, ''You in the reeds, you in the reeds, aren''t you the poor scholar?'' Afterwards Wu Zixu led Wu troops to attack and defeat the State of Chu. He dug the King Ping of Chu''s corpse from the grave and whipped the corpse three hundred times to avenge the enmity of him killing Wu Zixu''s father and brother. Ci Xing �� Zheng Chenggong has killed my father, brother, wife and child, Taiwan people were afraid after I broke Taiwan, I would also dig the grave to exact revenge. In this memorial lowly officer was saying that this kind of matter I resolved not to do. Zheng Chenggong''s spirit in heaven may rest in peace, Taiwan troops and people also have nothing to worry about."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said, "General Shi is comparing yourself to Wu Zixu."


    "Wu Zixu was a great hero, great warrior," Shi Lang said, "How can lowly officer dare to be compared to him? It''s just that Wu Zixu''s entire family ran into misfortune, he alone escaped. In the end he returned with the troops and avenged this big enmity. This part is similar to what lowly officer has gone through. That''s all."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded; he said, "I wish that General Shi''s outcome in the future will be greatly different from Wu Zixu, otherwise it will be really not good."


    Shi Lang immediately remembered that Wu Zixu rendered great merit in the State of Wu, but in the end he was killed by the King of Wu. He could not stop his countenance from changing greatly; his hand that was holding the wine cup was also trembling.


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "I heard Wu Zixu rendered great merit, he became conceited, and was very disrespectful toward the King of Wu. General Shi, you compared yourself to Wu Zixu, it was really inappropriate. I am sure that the memorial of yours has already relayed to Beijing, His Majesty also has seen it. If you have nobody help you to explain it to His Majesty, I think, hey, hey, ay, too bad, too bad, I am afraid a great meritorious service will be thrown into running water ��"


    Shi Lang hastily said, "Daren please understand, lowly officer said that I am not Wu Zixu, I do not dare to say that I want to be Wu Zixu. This �� this matter is entirely �� entirely different."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your memorial has spread everywhere, General Shi compared himself to Wu Zixu, everybody in the world knows that."


    Shi Lang stood up, his voice trembling, "His Majesty is an enlightened sage, his benevolence is like a mountain, he will save his subject with merit from harm. Lowly officer is serving a good master; compared to Wu Zixu, my good fortune is a lot better."


    "What you said is true," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am not too clear on Wu Zixu''s motive in the end, why he harbored evil intention. But I have seen the play, when the King of Wu was going to kill him, Wu Zixu said, ''Dig my eyes and embed them on the city gate, let me see the Yue troops breaching the city and the demise of the State of Wu.'' Afterwards I think the State of Wu was indeed wiped out. General Shi is adept in pen and sword, I am sure you know the story, is that true?"


    Shi Lang could not help feeling a slight chill from his back penetrated straight to his bones. Initially he only thought that after rendering great merit Wu Zixu was killed by the King of Wu, this matter was not clear in history books, he was already feeling uneasy, but he did not expect that at the death''s door Wu Zixu was uttering those words. His memorial said, ''The poor scholar in the midst of reed, justice will not be done.'' Although he did not do what Wu Zixu did, but the fact that he was comparing himself to Wu Zixu was very clear in other people''s eyes and ears. His memorial mentioned Wu Zixu, it only referred to ''whipping the corpse to take revenge'', who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao could pull the ''cursing the demise of the nation'' matter up? If other people charged him with this kind of grave accusation, the disaster would be truly unspeakable.


    What Wei Xiaobao had said, if it was conveyed to the Emperor''s ears, even if the Emperor was an enlightened sage and would not charge him with the guilt, in his heart he must not be too happy. Shi Lang was sure that he could forget the prospect of any future promotion. If, like Wei Xiaobao, the Emperor''s trusted aides also add oil to the fire, incite disharmony by saying that in his heart Shi Lang was harboring the thought of blaming and ridiculing the imperial court for killing minister who has given outstanding service, the head on top of his neck would really be difficult to protect.


    In that instant his thoughts were surging like the tide, he had a thousand regrets, ten thousand regrets, he really thought he should not offer sacrifice to Zheng Chenggong, he should not order the secretary to write this eulogy to such an extent as to have this freak elf little demon grabbed the ''foot of the pain''. He stood silently with a blank expression on his face, not knowing what to say to defend himself.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "General Shi, when His Majesty personally took over the government, what was the first major issue he dealt with?"


    "Killing the treacherous official Oboi," Shi Lang replied.


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "While admittedly Oboi was a treacherous court official, he was the appointed high-ranking minister who look after the government. During the besieging of towns and breaking the enemy, he rendered enormous merit to our Great Qing. His Majesty once said, ''I killed Oboi, perhaps someone would say that I do not empathize with minister who has given outstanding service, they would say something bird something bow.'' What did he say? I can''t remember it."


    Shi Lang said, "It''s ''the birds are gone, the bow is put away''."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even you said the same thing ��"


    "No, no," Shi Lang busily said, "I did not talk about His Majesty, it was the idiom."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You did say that idiom to describe His Majesty killing Oboi."


    Shi Lang anxiously said, "Daren asked me what that idiom is, lowly officer only answered Daren''s question; I absolutely do not dare �� do not dare to slander or speak ill of His Majesty."


    Wei Xiaobao fixed his gaze at him, he could see the panic in Shi Lang''s heart.


    Since the ancient times, when any feudal official thought that their merit was great but the reward was meager, the emperor would definitely hate it. The official did not need to speak up, as long as in their hearts they were ''harboring the thought of blaming or complaining'', four characters [''xin cun yuan wang''], it would mean immediate beheading.


    While his heart was shaken, Shi Lang was lured by Wei Xiaobao to say the four-character ''the birds are gone, the bow is put away'' [niao jin gong cang]. Immediately he knew things went bad, but he had said it, there was no way he could take it back. Besides, other than Wei Xiaobao, there were Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao on the side, there was no way he could deny it.


    Shi Lang was shocked and angered at the same time; he thought since things have come to this, he''d better go through to the end. You frame me like this, I might as well kill all three of you, to get rid of the root of future trouble. Entertaining this thought in his mind, he could not stop his eyes from exposing ominous glint.


    Wei Xiaobao could see the sinister expression suddenly appeared on Shi Lang''s face; he could not prevent his heart from shivering. Forcing a laughed, he said, "Once General Shi spoke the words, dead horse cannot chase it. Right now there are two roads you can take. The first is: immediately kill me along with Lin and Hong, two people, kill all my wives and children, and then lead your troops to Taiwan, immediately set yourself as the king. It''s just that the troops you have right now are the Great Qing''s officers and men, they may not necessarily be willing to follow you in rebellion, while Taiwan''s military and civilians may not necessarily submit to you."


    In his heart Shi Lang was pondering about the same thing, but as soon as Wei Xiaobao hit the nail on the head, he forced himself to restrain his ferocity. Busily he said, "Lowly officer does not have that thought at all, Daren must not be overly suspicious and add heavy criminal accusation on lowly officer. But I wonder what the second road that Daren was talking about is? Would Daren show favor by giving me directions?"


    Hearing the softening of the way Shi Lang spoke, Wei Xiaobao''s heart was relieved. With his toes on the ground he leaned forward and said, "The second road is: only by allowing Xiongdi and Lin and Hong, two gentlemen, to help you will you get out of trouble. Just now when General Shi mentioned the word ''bird'', it was a respectful eulogy to His Majesty as the ''raw bird fish soup'', which is very good. Someday when Xiongdi sees His Majesty, I will definitely say that General Shi is loyal in working for His Majesty, that you keep in mind constantly the vast and mighty imperial kindness, that while we were chatting, you often mentioned Wu Zixu''s forgetting favor and violating justice, that since the King of Wu dispatched an army to help him to avenge the enmity of his father''s murder, later on no matter what mission he was sent for, even if it was to enter the fire he ought to enter the fire, if it was to enter the water, he should have entered the water; how could he complain and harbor resentment in his heart? If General Shi were to become Wu Zixu, not only you would defend King of Wu''s rivers and mountains for ten thousand upon ten thousand years, not only you would save Xi Shi, this kind of beauty, you could even snatch Dong Shi, Nan Shi, Bei Shi, Zhong Shi, the whole bunch, and presented them to the King of Wu


    [29]. What Wu Zixu constantly had in his mind was only himself, while what General Shi constantly has in your mind is exactly our Great Qing''s enlightened sage the Son of Heaven. Good intention will have good reward, His Majesty bestows reward based on evaluation of merit, naturally General Shi will also have Duke and Marquis titles for ten thousand generations."


    Hearing this, Shi Lang was elated; hastily he bowed deeply with cupped fist and said, "If Daren really speaks those kind words in front of His Majesty, lowly officer will never dare to forget Daren''s benevolence forever."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up to return the propriety and said with a smile, "These words are a kind act that costs nothing; if my mood is good, I will definitely submit the memorial to His Majesty."


    Shi Lang thought, "If I don''t let you come to Taiwan, how can you, this kid, have a good mood?" Sitting back on his chair he said, "Taiwan has just been pacified, the hearts of the people are still in doubt. Lowly officer was just thinking of sending a memorial to explain everything to His Majesty, asking him to send a senior and revered high official to go on his behalf to declare the Holy Sage''s virtuous intention and reassure the hearts of the common people. Naturally Wei daren is the most appropriate high official. Lowly officer will immediately pay my respect and present the memorial, asking His Majesty to issue an imperial edict, to appoint Daren to go first and appease Taiwan."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "You pay your respect and submit memorial to the Emperor in Beijing, once you left, several months will pass, I am afraid the idle gossip that is going to enter His Majesty''s ears, if not a thousand sentences, it will be at least eight hundred sentences. This kind of matter cannot be delayed even for a moment. It would be best if General Shi asked a high official, one of His Majesty''s trusted aides to go to Taiwan and investigate thoroughly. Only then will you demonstrate that you did not have any intention to set up yourself as a king in Taiwan. The rumor outside is that you even have a title picked, something called ''Great Ming Taiwan King of Jing Hai''; is that right?"


    Hearing the seven characters ''da ming tai wan jing hai wang'', Shi Lang could not help jumping in fright. He thought you lived in an uninhabited island, yet you heard rumor like that? Certainly it is something you randomly blurt out. But if this rumor reached Beijing, surely the imperial court would rather believe it than dismissing it, and then Shi Lang would die without a burial site. Thereupon he hastily said, "That rumor, Daren absolutely must not believe it."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said indifferently, "You and I have known each other for a long time, naturally I did not believe it. But General Shi pacified Taiwan, you killed a lot of people, I am sure you made a lot of enemies. If your enemies want to slander you, I''ll say not much you can do about it; it would be hard for you to plead your innocence. There is a common saying, ''in the imperial court, everybody is a government official''. I wonder if there is a high or senior official in the imperial court who would be willing to disregard his body, family, even his life, and with all his strength defend General Shi."


    There was another shock in Shi Lang''s heart; he did not have any powerful support in the imperial court. Or else he would not have stayed in Beijing lying idle for a long time in the past. He went around everywhere trying to curry favor, yet there was no path or door he could take. Indeed the only one who could get him somewhere was only the gentleman in front of him right now, the Wei Daren. Therefore, clenching his teeth, he said, "Daren''s directions, lowly officer cannot thank you enough. Since this matter is urgent, lowly officer will be so bold as to ask Daren to leave for Taiwan tomorrow to investigate and ascertain the truth."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, but he thought that since now you are asking me, there is no harm in playing hard to get. He said, "Based on our, two brothers'' friendship, clearing up injustice on behalf of General Shi, even if I have to exhaust myself, it is nothing. It''s just that I have lived on this island for a long time, if I go out to sea I am afraid I will become seasick. Besides, I have my wives and children who are by my side every day, I would hate to be separated from them."


    Shi Lang silently cursed in his belly, "I don''t know how many times you have gone out to sea, I have never seen you dizzy in any damn boat!" Forcing a laugh he said, "Naturally Daren''s madams, young master and young lady may accompany you for a visit. Lowly officer will select the biggest ship for Daren to ride. These days there are no storms on the sea at all, Daren may set your heart at ease."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned and said, "In that case, Xiongdi has no choice but to brave the difficulty and take a trip with General Shi." Shi Lang repeatedly expressed his thanks.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao took his seven wives, his two sons Hutou and Tongchui, and his daughter Shuangshuang to board Shi Lang''s flagship. Peng Canjiang tried to stop them, Shi Lang immediately give his order to have him tied on a tree. The ships weighed their anchors and sailed away.


    Looking at Tong Chi Island, on which he resided for several years, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "The banker has left the Island, this place cannot be called Tong Chi Island anymore. Han Guangwu had Yan Ziling who loved to fish. Every enlightened sage the Son of Heaven must have loyal minister who loves to fish. His Majesty sent me here to fish, it''s only right if we change the name."


    "Absolutely," Shi Lang said, "What does Daren think, what name will be best?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment before answering, "One time His Majesty sent someone to deliver an imperial decree, saying that King Wen of Zhou had Jiang Taigong who loved to fish, let''s call this island ''Diaoyu Dao'' [diaoyu �C fishing (with line and hook), dao �C island]."


    Shi Lang clapped and praised, "The name Daren gives, nothing is better than that. On one hand it is a eulogy, comparing His Majesty with King Wen of Zhou and Han Guangwu; on the other hand it will appear that Daren is an expert in pen and sword just like Jiang Taigong, also like Yan Ziling who was pure, honest, and elegant. Right, right, from now on we are going to call this island Diaoyu Island."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "It''s just that my title the Marquis of Tong Chi should be changed to Marquis of Diaoyu. Someday when official rank is promoted and my nobility is advancing, I will be called Duke of Diaoyu [''diaoyu gong'', ''gong'' can also be used as a term of respect to address older men]; it doesn''t sound too good."


    Shi Lang laughed and said, "Elderly fisherman has great benefit, enjoying great, great harvest; it will sound very good."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "His Majesty conferred to me the title Earl of Tong Chi, Marquis of Tong Chi, I thought it sounded nice, but my several wives were not too happy. Someday I will submit a memorial asking His Majesty to change my title to Marquis of Diaoyu, perhaps everybody will be happy."


    In his tummy Shi Lang was amused; he thought, "What Earl of Tong Chi, Marquis of Tong Chi? His Majesty was just making fun of you, he treated you as a court jester, there was no meaning of respect. Even if you change it to Marquis of Diaoyu, what''s so nice about it?" But with his mouth he said, "There was an old story about a fisherman, a woodcutter, a farmer and a scholar; the fisherman ranked number one, the scholar was number four. The titles Duke of Diaoyu, King of Diaoyu, are more respectable than Hanlin''s Zhuangyuan


    [30]Whether in succeeding generations this Diaoyu Island became Diaoyutai Islands [Senkaku Islands, between Taiwan and Okinawa], it is a pity that this fact cannot be verified by historical records. If we could try to find historical remains of Wei Xiaobao on the island, we would know that during Kangxi''s early years, probably there were already our fellow countrymen who dwelled in that place for a long time, probably the five hundred troops who were stationed over there.


    One particular day, Wei Xiaobao, riding on Shi Lang''s flagship, arrived in Taiwan; they came ashore at Anping Prefecture. Along the way Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao showed how in those days Zheng Chenggong led the troops, how he routed the red-haired troops. Wei Xiaobao listened with keen interest and pleasure. Since Shi Lang had agreed to take him to Taiwan, he no longer ridiculed him in his talks.


    In the General Mansion Shi Lang prepared a large banquet, showing Wei Xiaobao grand hospitality. During the feast, suddenly he received a report that an imperial decree has just arrived from Beijing. Shi Lang hurriedly went out to receive the decree. When he returned, he carried a strange expression on his face.


    "Wei Daren," he said, "The imperial edict says we must give up defending Taiwan. This is really bad."


    "Why is that?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Shi Lang replied, "The imperial edict ordered lowly officer to make any preparation necessary to leave Taiwan. Entire Taiwan, military personnel and civilian alike, everybody has to move inland, not a single family, a single mouth is allowed to stay. Lowly officer asked the envoy minister who brought the decree, turns out there was a proposal by the cabinet ministers in the imperial court: Taiwan is a separate area overseas, easy to become robbers'' abyss and marsh [meeting place of fish and beast, i.e. breeding ground of crime], not easy for the imperial court to control. If they sent large army to defend, it will cost a lot of money for soldier''s pay and provision. Consequently, they decided they don''t want it."


    Wei Xiaobao pondered this matter silently for half a day. He asked, "General Shi, do you know the real intention of those high-ranking senior ministers of the imperial court?"


    Shi Lang was startled, "Could it be �� could it be that the talk about Wu Zixu has reached Beijing?" he asked in a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "There''s a common saying: ''Good deeds do not go beyond the door, evil deeds spread a thousand miles.'' The imperial court is worried that General really wanted to be some ''Great Ming Taiwan King of Jing Hai''; that''s certainly is a possibility."


    "What �� what should we do?" Shi Lang asked, "Taiwan''s common people numbers several tens of thousands people, they have lived here in peace and worked happily for decades; these bunch of people are sent inland, what are they supposed to do to pass their days? If they are forced to migrate, definitely there will be huge changes. Besides, as soon as the Great Qing''s officers and men leave, the red-haired troops will immediately take it over. We, the Chinese, worked hard in establishing the foundation, now we present it with both hands to the red-haired demons, how can the people be willing to do that?"


    Wei Xiaobao hesitated for half a day. "This matter," he started, "I believe it''s not completely irreversible. His Majesty is most compassionate toward common people, General must plead on behalf of common people, you never know, maybe His Majesty will grant your request."


    Shi Lang was somewhat comforted. He said, "But if there are already rumors and hearsays in the imperial court, and lowly officer plead with His Majesty like that, it would appear that I am unwilling to leave Taiwan, then I will appear �� appear not to have enough loyalty."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This time you must immediately go to Beijing, explain in person the hows and whys to His Majesty. Since you are in Beijing, if there is any rumor that says that you intend to establish yourself as king in Taiwan, naturally nobody will believe anymore."


    Shi Lang slapped his thigh and said, "Right, right! Daren''s advice is very true, lowly officer will leave tomorrow." Suddenly he was struck by an inspiration, "Taiwan''s civil and military official business, I will have to ask Daren to temporarily manage. There is no one His Majesty trusts more than Daren, only if Daren presides over Taiwan will no one in the imperial court dare to utter half a sentence of gossip."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought he could satisfy his craving of holding a government post, it would feel really great. He laughed and said, "You did not receive imperial edict, on your own initiative you hand over the power over military forces to me; if His Majesty blames you, then what?"


    When Shi Lang heard it, he was greatly hesitant. He pondered, "He is Chen Jinnan''s disciple, an accomplice of Tian Di Hui rebels. Although His Majesty dotes on him, over the years he was exiled on Tong Chi Island, without giving him any political power or mission to do. If he has this power over the troops and horses, and joins hands with Tian Di Hui and rises in rebellion, I �� I will commit capital offense." But then he had a second thought, "I only need to bring the entire Navy fleet with me, he will not dare to budge. If he brazenly takes any rash action, if he has the impertinence to revolt, the Navy will return and immediately pacify him." Thereupon he laughed and said, "If I hand over the power over the troops and horses to other people, maybe His Majesty will blame me, but if I hand it over to Daren, of course all taboos are off."


    Presently the banquet ended prematurely. That very night Shi Lang issued an order to have all high-ranking civil and military officials to pay their respect to Wei Xiaobao, giving him the full authority to conduct all government affairs as he saw fit. He also requested the secretary to put together a memorial to the throne on Wei Xiaobao''s behalf, stating that he was concerned over the national affairs, and had come to Taiwan with a specific purpose in mind to temporarily take control of the situation, so that the imperial court would have no reason to be concerned, and asked for forgiveness for the crime of acting without permission. He also said that the common people of Taiwan have live peacefully over there for a long time, that ''your servant'' the minister has seen Taiwan with his own eyes, it appeared that moving the people was not suitable.


    By the time everything was settled, it was already morning the next day. Shi Lang wanted to depart immediately. Wei Xiaobao asked, "There is one big thing, have you prepared it?"


    "I wonder which big thing?" Shi Lang asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Something to spend!"


    "Something to spend?" Shi Lang did not understand.


    "That''s right!" Wei Xiaobao replied, "This time you pacified Taiwan, your merit is not small. Those high-ranking ministers of the imperial court, how much gift are you going to give to each one?"


    Shi Lang was taken aback, he said, "This is all because of the Son of Heaven''s powerful benevolence, it was because the officers and soldiers were following the order that we succeeded in pacifying Taiwan. Those high-ranking ministers of the imperial court did not spend any effort."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head. "Ay, Old Shi, you are so proud of yourself, your old shortcoming flares out again. You pacified Taiwan, everybody thinks that you hogged the mountain of gold and the mountain of silver you found here and made a fortune. The officers in the imperial court, which one would not be jealous of you?"


    Shi Lang anxiously said, "Daren please understand, if for personal gain Shi Lang helped himself to even one tael of Taiwan''s money, this time I go to Beijing, let His Majesty hack me to pieces, let me be executed by lingering death."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You yourself want to be an honest and upright official, but you can''t expect everybody to follow you to be an honest and upright official. The more you are honest, the more people will find it easier to slander you; they will say that in Taiwan you bought the heart of the people, with the intention of going against the law. So, this time you go to Beijing empty-handed without bringing anything?"


    Shi Lang said, "I''ll bring some local products of Taiwan, such as wood carvings, bamboo basket, straw mats, leather suitcases ��"


    Wei Xiaobao burst into loud laughter. At first Shi Lang was flushed with anger, but suddenly he saw the light; in the end he resolved to make up for the previous mistakes. Immediately he bowed deeply with cupped fist toward Wei Xiaobao and said, "Thank you Daren for giving me directions. Lowly officer nearly rush into big disaster this time."


    Wei Xiaobao assembled the civil and military officials, he said, "This time General Shi is going to Beijing to plead on behalf of the common people; if he does not succeed, everybody will be destitute and homeless. This mission will cost money, could it be that General Shi has to cover the cost alone? Gentlemen, brothers, let''s everybody hurry to raise money, let''s share the pleading cost together!"


    When Shi Lang took the official position, he did it with honesty; all the time he was in Taiwan, he had never taken gold and silver from the people. This moment Wei Xiaobao took over his duty, the first order of business was to raise the ''pleading cost''.


    As soon as the people of Taiwan heard the news about moving inland, they already panicked. When they learned that Shi Lang was following Wei Xiaobao''s advice to go to Beijing to plead for the people so that they would not have to move, everybody was most willing to contribute to this ''pleading cost''. Fortunately there was no lack of riches and honor among the people of Taiwan; in just half a day they had raised more than three-hundred thousand taels of silver. Wei Xiaobao ordered the treasurer to advance more than six-hundred thousand taels, bringing the total to more than one million taels. He instructed Shi Lang on to whom he had to give more, to whom there would not be any harm if he gave less. Shi Lang could not thank him enough. It was not until the first watch of the night [7 to 9pm] that evening that he finally set sail.


    The next morning Wei Xiaobao held a general assembly; he addressed the officials, "General Shi left for Beijing last night. After calculating the ''pleading cost'' back and forth, we are still short by more than one million taels. In consideration to the entire people of Taiwan, Xiongdi has no choice but to scrape my personal savings over the year, also my seven wives'' pearls and jewels, and managed to collect one million taels, which I handed to General Shi to be brought away and used for this mission. Ay, taking an official post in Taiwan is really not easy. Xiongdi is just taking the office temporarily, the first day I already suffer one million taels deficit. This time I lose my family fortune, and am completely wiped out."


    The prefectural magistrate of Taiwan bowed and said, "Daren cherishes common people, you are being a father and a mother to the people, you are indeed the benefactor of ten thousand families. Other than the six-hundred thousand taels advance payment from the public treasury that we have to pay back, naturally the entire people of Taiwan will return Wei Daren''s one million taels with thanks."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Each one of you must also contribute some money, everybody has worked with ''both sleeves flowing in the breeze'' [i.e. unsoiled by corrupt practice] or something like that, I am not clear about it. Those with high official post should contribute ten thousand taels, those with lower official post''s contribution may vary from several thousand taels to several hundred taels. Everybody work as one, no matter how you look at it, in the end it is for the common people. This advance funds, naturally the locals will have to pay back. We, as father and mother officials of the people, should not extract interest from the people; everybody will have to suffer a bit of loss, as long as we can get our capital back, then that''s it. This is called, ''loving the common people as our own children''."


    The officials were greatly delighted; they all expressed their gratitude, thinking that this Wei Daren was very considerate toward the feeling of the masses, and was willing to spend his own wealth for them; he was indeed a good superior.


    The first day Wei Xiaobao took office, he had already scraped one million taels. Hereafter profits pouring in from all sides; his endless ingenuity need not be explained in details.


    Several days later, Wei Xiaobao instructed his subordinate to prepare an offering, he wanted to go to Zheng Chenggong''s ancestral hall to offer scrifice; he wanted to see what did this Guoxing Ye, whose fame shook the world, really look like.


    Arriving at the shrine, he looked up to see, and saw the statue of Zheng Chenggong sitting on a chair. His face was oval, his upper lip, his lower lip, as well as his lower jaw, were covered in short black beard; his ears were very big, but his eyes were very small. His eyebrows curved, he looked rather like a benevolent man; there was no bold and powerful, heroic air on him. Wei Xiaobao was quite disappointed. He asked the officials who were coming with him, "Did Guoxing Ye really look like this?"


    Lin Xingzhu replied, "This statue looks quite like Guoxing Ye. Guoxing Ye was born as a scholar; although he was a big hero and great warrior, he had a very elegant appearance."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said. He saw that on either side of the statue there was smaller statue; a women on the left and a man on the right. He asked, "And who are those two?"


    "The woman was Dong Taifei [grand concubine], the man was the heir Wangye," Lin Xingzhu explained.


    "What do you mean heir Wangye?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "He was the young master of Guoxing Ye," Lin Xingzhu replied, "Who succeeded him as the Wangye."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "Ah, it''s Zheng Jing," he said, "He looked a bit similar to that kid Zheng Keshuang. Where is my Shifu Chen Junshi''s statue?"


    "Chen Junshi did not have any statue," Lin Xingzhu replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This Dong Taifei was very bad, quickly pull her down. Don''t delay, get someone to make a statue in Chen Junshi''s image and put it here to accompany Guoxing Ye." Lin Xingzhu was greatly delighted; he personally climbed onto the idol platform, and took the Dong Taifei''s image down.


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down in front of Guoxing Ye''s image and kowtowed several times. "Guoxing Ye," he said, "You are a hero, a warrior. I am kowtowing to you, I assume you will receive it. This old revered granny spoiled your great undertaking, yet she accompanies you every day, you must be angry. I am helping you driving her out, and let my Shifu Chen Junshi come to accompany you." Thinking about his Shifu''s tragic death, he could not help shedding some tears.


    The entire population of Taiwan hated Dong Taifei to the bones, while they loved Chen Yonghua for stationing soldiers, developing farms and running schools, for always promoting what was useful and getting rid of what was harmful, plus for loving the people. Common people referred him as ''Taiwan''s Zhuge Liang''. When Zheng Keshuang took over the country, nobody dared to speak any malicious word against Dong Taifei, nobody dared to say any words of praise of Chen Yonghua.


    This moment Wei Xiaobao issued the order ''remove Dong install Chen'', the people were very happy. They also heard that he kowtowed and shed tears in front of Guoxing Ye''s image, all the people were even more grateful. Although this Wei Daren''s demand of money was, quite frankly, rather serious, first of all, he was Chen Junshi''s disciple, Taiwan''s military personel and civilians alike inevitably were fond of him. Secondly, Shi Lang led the Qing troops to take over Taiwan, he wiped out the last remaining rivers and mountains of the Great Ming overseas. For these reasons, although ''Shi was just and honest, Wei was corrupt'', contrary to expectation, the common people felt that this Wei Daren was affable; they would rather have him guarding Taiwan and thought that it would be best if Shi Lang never returned forever.


    However, things turn out contrary to the way they wished; after more than a month, Shi Lang, leading the Navy, came back to Taiwan. Wei Xiaobao waited on the shore to welcome him. He saw a high ranking officer wearing the attire of a one-pin rank high official accompanied Shi Lang as he disembarked from the boat. The high-ranking officer was still walking on the gangplank, he already called out loudly, "Wei Xiongdi, how are you? You made your Gege miss you very much." Turned out he was Songgotu.


    Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed; he scrambled forward. Two people pulled each other''s hand while they both were still on the gangplank, and both roared in laughter.


    Songgotu said with a laugh, "Xiongdi, congratuations, congratulations! His Majesty issued an imperial edict, you are to go to Beijing."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao was both delighted and worried; he thought, "If I wanted to go to Beijing, I would have gone long time ago. The young Emperor is so obstinate, he can''t possibly yield to me. I won''t agree to attack Tian Di Hui, he won''t want to see my face."


    Shi Lang chuckled and said, "The Emperor''s benevolence is vast and mighty, it is indeed unspeakable. His Majesty has agreed to withdraw the decree of moving Taiwan people inland."


    For the past month or so, day and night all Taiwan military-civilian were anxious, afraid that the Emperor would insist on evacuating Taiwan. Everybody said that the Emperor''s mouth was ''golden mouth''; whatever he said, he would not renege. As soon as Shi Lang spoke those words, the government officials on the shore heard it, they could not help but cheer loudly. They broke into loud cry together, "Long live, long live, long, long live!" The news spread like wildfire, sound of cheering rose up everywhere, followed by ''pi pi pa pa'' noise of firecrackers. The atmosphere was much more lively than the New Year celebration.


    Songgotu announced the imperial decree, Kangxi was giving Wei Xiaobao quite encouragement and exhortation, ordering him to go to Beijing as soon as possible because he had another appointment for him. After Wei Xiaobao finished expressing his gratitude, the two of them went to the inner hall for a private discussion.


    "Xiongdi," Songgotu said, "This time your face is indeed not small, afraid that you still have apprehensions, His Majesty ordered me to personally deliver the imperial edict in haste. Do you know what mission His Majesty is going to send you to?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "His Majesty''s divine intention, wonderful consideration, we as his servants will never be able to guess."


    Songgotu leaned forward and whispered in Wei Xiaobao''s ear, "Attack Luocha demons!"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; but then he sprang up and cried out, "Wonderful!"


    Songgotu said, "His Majesty said that as soon as you find out, you must be very happy. Sure enough, he was right. Xiongdi, ever since Shunzhi''s years, Luocha demons have been occupying our Heilongjiang region, and they run amock over there. The late Emperor and His Majesty are magnanimous, they refuse to be bothered about it. Who would have thought that Luocha demons won a cun [inch], they wanted a chi [foot], they took more and more of our land. Liaodong is the place where our Great Qing has our root, how can we let the demons threaten it? Right now the three border defense rebels and Taiwan''s Zheng Clan have all been pacified, there''s no problem in the world, thereupon His Majesty decided to use military force against the Luocha."


    Wei Xiaobao had stayed on Tong Chi Island doing nothing for several years, he was so bored that he felt like while playing Pai Jiu he repeatedly grabbed ten pairs of ''departing ten''. At this time as he heard the news, he was so happy that he grinned from ear to ear.


    Songgotu said, "In order to keep the peace, His Majesty has issued several imperial edicts to the Luocha Country''s Great Khan, but all along they never respond. Afterwards Holland''s envoy minister communicated the information that although Luocha country is big, it is actually a country of barbarians, in the entire country there is not a single person who understand Chinese characters. His Majesty''s imperial decrees that they received were just a completely unfathomable mystery to them, thereupon without any better option they decided not to respond. However, all along Luocha troops come to the east to occupy our land in endless stream. His Majesty said, our China pays particular attention to benevolence and righteousness, we can''t simply punish the barbarians without telling them first. We need to tell them their error first, and give them the opportunity to repent and change quickly and completely. If after the imperial edict they are still stiffnecked and refuse to accept the enlightenment, only then would we have to kill them. Among the ministers of the imperial court, only Wei Xiongdi, one person is proficient in Luocha language."


    (Book note: During the China-Russia negotiation, it was a known fact that neither party understood the other''s language and script. The history records that Russian Tsar delivered letter to Kangxi, saying, ''In the former times the Emperor bestowed a letter, our humble country did not understand the content, hence we did not go through it.'')


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Turns out it was because I understand Luocha demons'' language that the young Emperor surrenders to me." He could not help dancing and gesticulating for joy, feeling very proud of himself.


    Songgotu laughed and said, "Xiongdi is proficient in Luocha language, admittedly it is amazing; but there is one great skill that nobody can reach up to you. We heard that Luocha Country''s Queen Regent is the Great Khan''s Jiejie, this Queen is Xiongdi''s good old friend; is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter and said, "Luocha women''s whole body is covered in golden hair. This Queen Regent Sophia''s appearance is not bad, but when you caress her skin, it felt very rough."


    Songgotu laughed and said, "His Majesty wants Xiongdi to set out on a mission immediately and make an effort to brave the difficulty again, to caress her skin once again."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed while shaking his head. "I have no appetite, I have no appetite," he said.


    Songgotu said, "Xiongdi caresses her, two countries will be good friends, from now on we can avoid the calamity of blade and troops; this is a wonderful merit of bringing peace and stability to our country."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Turns out His Majesty did not send me to lead the troops to war, but he wants to unleash my ''shiba mo shengong'' [eighteen-touch divine skill; ''mo'' can mean touch/caress/feel (with hand) or grope]. Ha ha ��!" And then he started singing, "One touch, two touches, touching the side of Luocha Country Queen''s hair. The Queen''s hair is like gold, Suo Dage [reminder: Songgotu in Chinese is Suo E''tu] and Wei Xiaobao have all the money to spend!" The two of them roared in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao asked about the details of Luocha Country invading and occupying Heilongjiang, Songgotu told him everything he knew. Turned out during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty [1573-1619] Luocha people determined to invade east. (Book note: Luocha was Russia. The Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, commentaries by Lang Tan, et al. recorded, ''Russia was called Luocha, with different interpretation to the ears, slow and fast.'' The slow reading was Russia [Eluosi], the fast reading was Luocha. According to Russian original pronounciation, Luocha was closer.)


    One after another, Tomsk, Yeniseysk, Yakutsk, Okhotsk and the others in Siberia built fortification. In Shunzhi''s sixth year, Luocha people built fortification in Mount Luding, and called it Albazin (in China it was referred to as Yakesa [Jaxa]), while at the same time spreading to the east, robbing and plundering along the way.


    In Shunzhi''s ninth year, Manchurian Qing''s Liaoning Guta [district] Commander Ba Hai leading 2,000 troops routed Luocha troops at the bank of Heilongjiang [river]. Later on at the mouth of Songhua River, Manchurian Qing''s Commander in Ming Anda [county, Suihua, Heilongjiang] courageously fought Luocha troops and inflicted heavy damage. The Luocha troops withdrew to the west and built fortification in Nerchisk, while dispatching an envoy to Moscow to beg for assistance. Along the way the envoy spread rumors, saying that in Heilongjiang region gold and silver were everywhere, oxen and horses in large numbers, the houses of the people were inlaid with gold. The Luocha people dreamed of vast wealth, the troops marched to the east, robbing and plundering along the way, devastating the common people. Cossack cavalry was especially bloody and cruel.


    Manchurian Qing''s Liaoning Guta Commander Sha''erhuda, Liaoning Guta General Bahai led the troops to met the enemy, during Shunzhi''s sixteenth and seventeenth year they scored several victories, killing the Luocha troops'' commanders and generals, killing and beheading more than half Cossack cavalry. For this reason Luocha people did not dare to come to the bank of Heilongjiang anymore.


    During Kangxi''s early years, Luocha military and civilian marched to the east in large scale again, they made Yakesa their base of operations. After Kangxi grew older, he knew Luocha people had enormous ambition, hence he took more rigorous action in defense, by stationing Jilin Navy at Heilongjiang to guard the area. Luocha troops also received continuous reinforcements, and built Yakesa''s city wall to make it completely secured, while at the same time setting up stations along the major road all the way back to Luocha Country''s headquarters, determined to engulf the vast land of Heilongjiang region.


    At that time Kangxi was focusing all his resources to deal with Wu Sangui; he could not afford to divide his forces to defend against Luocha Country''s invasion. It was only after the three border defenses were pacified and the Zheng Clan of Taiwan surrendered, that he had no fear of trouble from the rear, did he finally turn his attention to deal with Luocha Country. He remembered Wei Xiaobao had been to Moscow; not only he was familiar with the nation''s situation, he also had a rather unusual relationship with the Queen Regent who held the power over Luocha Country, since he had offered her advice to escape from the trap and helped her seizing power, and was bestowed nobility title by her. It was a very powerful chess piece Kangxi had in his hand; why not use it? As soon as Kangxi learned that Wei Xiaobao had gone to Taiwan, he sent Songgotu to announce the summons.


    Wei Xiaobao took his wives and children, and had his servants carried the ''pleading wealth'' he had gained in Taiwan, ''both sleeves in the golden breeze'', went onboard the ship to sail north. Before departure he asked Shi Lang for original Taiwan''s high-ranking officers to come with him to assist him in the incoming mission: Lin Xingzhu, Hong Chao, as well as five hundred rattan-shield troops. Shi Lang knew that this time Wei Xiaobao went to the Capital, he would be put in an important position, while in order to maintain his position, Shi Lang himself needed somebody powerful in the imperial court to back him up; naturally he did not raise any objection, on the contrary, he sent off Wei Xiaobao and Songgotu with some serious gifts.


    Taiwan people knew that in the imperial court''s withdrawal of the decree to abandon Taiwan and move them inland, this Wei Daren had rendered a very big meritorious service; everybody was grateful. Tens of thousand people sent him off with countless umbrellas, ''protecting the people'' banners, and so on. When Wei Xiaobao was about to get on the boat, two elderly men took off his boots and held it high above their heads, saying that it was something left behind to consider. Originally this ''shedding of boots'' ceremony was only performed on upright and honorable local official that the common people loved and respected. Wei Xiaobao was a ''corrupt official'', unexpectedly he also enjoyed this rare honor; not only it was unprecedented; perhaps it would never happen again in the future. The crackling of firecrackers to send him off did not need to be mentioned.


    Book note: According to the historical records, when the Qing court determined to abandon Taiwan, the decision had been made; but because Shi Lang contended strongly, the Da Xueshi Li Lei mediated for him. It was only then did the court decide establish local government and set up garrison. At that time it seemed like a trivial matter, but it had significant effects toward the later generations. If at that time Shi Lang did not contend strongly, the Qing court abandoned Taiwan as soon as they pacified the Zheng Clan and moved the entire Taiwan military personel and civilians inland, the Dutch was bound to come back, henceforth Taiwan would not be part of China''s territory. For this reason, although some people pointed their fingers to Shi Lang as a traitor to China, with regard to the Chinese people, he strenously opposed the proposal to abandon Taiwan, keeping this wide expanse of land as China''s territory, his meritorious service can be considered enormous. Shi Lang also submitted a memorial to the Emperor to lower Taiwan''s land tax. Based on his proposal, Kangxi gave the common people of Taiwan quite some benefits.


    Shi Lang''s second son Shi Shilun was also an uncorrupted government official; whenever the commoners had any dispute with the ''red silk member of the gentry'', Shi Shilun always took the common people''s side. For this reason among the people he was called ''Shi Qingtian'' [Blue Sky Shi, i.e. upright and honorable official]; he was also the leading character of the later generations'' book ''Shi Gong''an'' [''gong an'' means judge''s desk/complex legal case].


    Shi Lang''s sixth son Shi Shibiao became the Tidu [local commander] of Fujian Navy. In Kangxi''s sixtieth year he was stationed in Taiwan; it was known in history as ''The thirteenth day of the eighth month, the disaster of strange wind and violent rain caught them unprepared, a lot of soldiers and civilians died. All through the night Shibiao stood outside. Because of this he fell ill. In the ninth month, he died on the line of duty. Imperial decree was issued as lamentation and expression of sympathy, bestowing him the title of Taizi Taibao'' [Tutor to the crown prince]. In the middle of the hurricane that attacked Taiwan this man stayed outside overnight to direct the relieve effort, until he fell ill and died; he could be considered a good officer who loved the people.


    Our country historians have always had prejudice against Manchurian-Han relations; they always attacked Shi Lang''s takeover of Taiwan as his fault, calling him ''a traitor (to Han)''. When our book was first written, it was also based on the same general impressions. Contemporary historians, however, persevere to rally the Chinese people to have a unified notion, giving Shi Lang''s contribution in integrating Taiwan a considerable praise.


    In commemorating this national hero, the author has visited Shi Lang''s native place of Quanzhou [Fujian] on a tour, witnessing how the locals erected Shi Lang''s statue by the sea, and built a ''Qing Hai Hou [marquis of ocean pacifier] Temple''; therefore, our book''s original views of negating Shi Lang is hereby slightly revised.

 Chapter - 48 (48)

    The banner pointing to the clouds went out in the autumn to take tactical border position, the sound of drum transmitted by the wind at the end of the night overlooked the Pass.


    One day the ship arrived at Tanggu. Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu and their men disembarked and continued their journey by land, passing through Tianjin and continuing to Beijing. When he entered the gate of the Capital, Wei Xiaobao felt as if it was a thing of the previous generation; his heart was bursting with joy, he felt his body was as light as the immortals. Immediately he went to the Palace to appear before the Emperor.


    Kangxi summoned him for an audience at the Upper Study Room. Wei Xiaobao walked to Kangxi''s presence, where he kneeled down and kowtowed. Before straightening up his body, his heart was suddenly overwhelmed with mixed feelings of grief and joy; he could not help bursting into tears while still crouching down.


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s arrival, the greater part of Kangxi''s heart was happy, but there was a small part of his heart that was enraged; he mused, "This kid is undisciplined and out of control, he has the cheek to repeatedly defy the imperial decree. This time although I am going to send him on a mission, I must discipline him well, lest he will rely on my favor and become arrogant, then I can''t control him any longer." Who would have thought that as soon as Wei Xiaobao saw him he unexpectedly cried loudly? Kangxi''s heart melted. He laughed and said, "Damn it, as soon as you, this kid, saw Laozi, why are you crying?"


    Still sobbing, Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant thought that for the rest of my life I won''t be able to see Your Majesty. Today we finally meet, my joy is unbearable."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Get up, get up! Let me look at you."


    Wei Xiaobao crawled up, his face was covered in tears and snot, but the corners of his mouth revealed a smile.


    Kangxi laughed and said, "Damn it, you, this kid, has grown." With childlike innocence he suddenly stood up and walked down his throne. "Let me see," he said, "Are you taller, or am I taller?" He walked pass him and stood back to back with him. Wei Xiaobao could see right away that in term of height the two of them were comparable to each other; but the Emperor wanted to compare height, how could he be taller than the Emperor? He slightly bent his knees at once.


    Kangxi held his hand above their heads to measure, he was about one cun taller. He laughed and said, "We are about the same height." Turning around and walked a few steps away, he asked with a smile, "Xiao Guizi, how many children do you have?"


    "Your servant is no good at anything," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I only have two sons and a daughter."


    Kangxi laughed heartily and said, "I am better in this matter. I already have four sons and three daughters."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty has great skill and strategy, naturally �� naturally you are also extraordinary in this matter."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "We have not seen each other for several years, your literary knowledge did not make the least bit of progress. What does having sons and daughters have anything to do with great skill and strategy?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "In the past King Wen of Zhou had one hundred sons; every good emperor certainly has a lot of sons."


    Kangxi laughed, "How do you know?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty sent your servant to fish; the two of us are like King Wen of Zhou and Jiang Taigong. King Wen of Zhou''s affairs, naturally your servant has to ask clearly, so that when I see Your Majesty, I can report back to my superior."


    These past several years Kangxi was busy fighting the war against Wu Sangui; day and night he worked hard, making plans, dealing with national affairs; he missed having this young minister, Wei Xiaobao, by his side, with whom he used to chat and joke to relieve boredom, so much so that sometimes he was extremely bored. This moment as the ruler and his minister reunited, he was very happy. After some more chitchat, he asked Wei Xiaobao about his life on Tong Chi Island, he also wanted to know Taiwan''s local conditions and the people there.


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Governance should not be a nuisance. The people have lived in peace and worked happily in Taiwan, forcing them to move inland is greatly disruptive. The high-ranking ministers of the imperial court do not understand Taiwan''s situation, they submitted this preposterous proposal and nearly spoiled the big affair. You and Shi Lang submitted the advice, your merit is not small."


    ''Poof'', Wei Xiaobao sank on his knees; he kowtowed and said, "Your servant repeatedly disobeyed the imperial decree, I deserve to be beheaded seventeen, eighteen times; no matter what merit, Your Majesty need not care about it. I am just asking Your Majesty''s grace, please spare your servant''s life, allow me to serve by your side."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You knew you deserve to be beheaded seventeen, eighteen times; too bad you don''t have eighteen heads. Otherwise, I would definitely chop seventeen of those heads."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant does not want too many heads either. Only one head with a mouth to speak and eat, and I will be perfectly contented."


    Kangxi said, "Whether your head will remain or not, I must see first whether you are loyal or not, whether you still dare to disobey the imperial decree."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In term of loyalty, your servant is loyal and devoted, I have a red-bellied devotion, I will display utter loyalty to dedicate myself to the service of my country."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In my heart I only have one ''loyal'' character, naturally I remember some. There''s �� there''s ''loyal to the lord love one''s country'', and then ''loyal minister are not afraid of death, those who are afraid of death are not loyal minister'' [naturally this last one is not strictly an idiom of four characters]. And then there''s ''loyal, considerate, open and guileless'' ��"


    "Get up!" Kangxi said, "If you are really ''loyal, considerate, open and guileless'', there is nobody in the world who is wicked, mischievous, and crafty."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty: I am loyal and devoted to you, one person, only. Regarding other people, I am not that loyal, sometimes I still swindle him a bit. Your servant''s character is a bit slippery, this fact Your Majesty also knows very well. However, toward Your Majesty I pay particular attention to ''loyalty'' [zhong xin], toward my friends I pay particular attention to ''spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice/code of brotherhood'' [yi qi]. When loyalty and righteousness cannot satisfy both sides, your servant has no choice but to shrink my head like a turtle and went fishing on Tong Chi Island."


    "No need to worry," Kangxi said, "We are going to talk about this day onward; I am not going to order you to attack Tian Di Hui."


    With hands behind his back Kangxi paced back and forth several times; he said slowly, "Toward your friends you uphold yi qi, that is a virtue; I can''t blame you for that. The sage [usually refers to Confucius] paid particular attention to loyalty and forgiveness; this ''loyal'' character does not necessarily refer only to the ruler, toward everybody we must spare no effort, and that is the real meaning of ''loyalty''. Loyal and righteousness [zhong yi], two characters, originally one cannot exist without the other. You would rather die than turning your back on your friends, you are unwilling to sell your friends for the sake of riches and honor, glory and splendor, it is also considered very rare, you really have the air of the ancient people. Since you are unwilling to turn your back on your friends, naturally you will not turn your back on me. Xiao Guizi, I pardon your guilt, not entirely because of your past meritorious service, not entirely because you and I are kindred spirits since we were young, but it is also because you attach importance to yi qi, which is really not a bad thing."


    Wei Xiaobao shed tears of gratitude; choking with emotion he said, "Your servant �� your servant does not understand anything. I only feel that other people sincerely treat me well, I really �� really cannot �� cannot do them wrong."


    Kangxi nodded his head and said, "Your Luocha Country''s Queen Regent, her treatment to you was not bad either, but now I am sending you to attack her; what do you think?"


    "Pft," Wei Xiaobao broke out in laughter. "She was locked up by others, her life almost could not be guaranteed. Your servant taught her to instigate the gunmen to start a rebellion and finally seize the throne; it can be considered I already repaid her kindness. She sent her troops, presumably to seize Your Majesty''s beautiful rivers and mountains, we simply cannot let her do that. This woman is a fickle; today she fools around with this man, tomorrow she will fool around with that man, she really must not do that. It''s a pity that Luocha Country is really too far, otherwise your servant will bring some troops to capture this Queen and have Your Majesty look at her. It will be quite interesting."


    "Luocha Country is really too far," Kangxi repeated, "These five characters are very important. Based on these five characters alone, once we go out to war, we must grasp the victory. Although Luocha Country''s firearms are sharp, their cavalry brave, but they are far, we are near. They came tens of thousands li to the east; their soldiers, horses, firearms, ammunitions, grain and straw, their clothes, everything is not easy to get. Presently I have already sent the Minister of Revenue Yu Sang''a to go ahead to Guta, Liaoning, to build the two cities Aigun and Kumarsk, to amass grain and straw and ammunition, also to set up ten relay stations for post horses, so that military logistic and army provisions can flow unimpeded, continuous from the source. The other day I also issued an imperical decree to Mongolia, forbiding them to have any trade relation with Luocha people. Moreover, I sent Heilongjiang General Sabusu to dispatch cavalry far and wide; if they see Luocha people''s rations and fodder and their vehicles, to set those damn things on fire, if they see Luocha troops'' horses, to immediately slaughter those damn horses."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said, "Your Majesty so deployed, whatever is near, whatever is thousand li distant, this war has already been won seventy, eighty percent."


    "That''s not necessarily true," Kangxi replied, "Luocha is a big country. According to Nan Huairen, the extent of their country is bigger than our China, we really must not underestimate the enemy. If we lose the war, Liaodong will fall, the foundation of our country will be shaken. If they are defeated, it won''t affect their present situation; all they have to do is retreat to the west. Hence in this war we must win and cannot lose. If you are defeated, I will have to personally lead the troops out of the Pass. The first order of business is to chop your head." While speaking the last sentence, his voice was stern.


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Please set your heart at ease. If your servant cannot save my neck, it is because Luocha troops chop it down, definitely I won''t let Your Majesty come and do it."


    "It''s good that you understand it," Kangxi said, "Weapons are ominous, war is dangerous, nobody can guarantee victory. I only tell you that you absolutely cannot be careless; war is not a matter of smooth talk and oily mouth."


    Wei Xiaobao respectfully replied, "Yes."


    Kangxi continued, "If the only thing I need is sending the troops to fight, I did not need to send you. But this time we start a war with Luocha Country, it is not to wipe them out at all, I only want them to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, and won''t dare to come and invade our territory, that''s all. Thus we must show them kindness and power at the same time, to make them deeply grateful, to have both countries live in harmony forever. If you indulge in killings, the Luocha Country''s monarch might become hostile out of shame, and incite the whole country to attack. Even if we can win, it will be a military disaster, the gains will not make up for the losses. Only if we can live in harmony, not fighting or wrong the other''s troops, will it be considered very auspicious. If you can persuade the Luocha Country Queen Regent to withdraw the troops, both countries make peace, it will be your greatest merit."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When your servant sees Luocha troop''s generals, I will enlighten them with Your Majesty''s imperial edict, and ask them to bring words back to Luocha Country Queen Regent."


    Kangxi said, "I have had quite a few western missionaries here, I asked them in details about Luocha Country history, dynasty and past events, their natural conditions and social customs, geography, military and administrative affairs ��"


    "Right, right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty knows them and knows ourselves, we will emerge victorious in every battle."


    Kangxi showed a faint smile; he said, "Those clergymen all said that Luocha people love to take unfair advantage of good people but are afraid of the evil ones. If we blindly speak good words with them, they win a cun and want a chi, they will be more and more vicious. We should explicitly show our true colors, let them know that we are not to be trifled with. Consequently, on one hand we must mobilize a large army, prepare everything well, so if we have to fight we''ll fight; on the other hand we must appear to be a righteous nation. China is a superior country, we won''t show off our power and bully people at will."


    "Your servant understands," Wei Xiaobao said, "Sometimes we put up our red face, draw our knife and use the damn thing; sometimes we put up our white face, laughing happily stroking him several times. Just like Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times, so that he would submit completely and henceforth did not dare to revolt."


    Kangxi let out a ''hey, hey'' laughter; he said, "That''s exactly it."


    Noticing Kangxi''s strange laughter, Wei Xiaobao had a second thought; he understood Kangxi''s mind. He laughed and said, "Just like the Lord of Ten Thousand Years captured Xiao Guizi seven times, so that your servant would be grateful and afraid at the same time, henceforth will not dare to play any trick. Xiao Guizi is just like Sun Wukong [Monkey King, Journey to the West]; in a word, he cannot jump out of the Lord of Ten Thousand Years'' Tathagata Buddha''s palm."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "As you grew several years older, you also become more and more modest. If you really want to jump out of my palm, I can''t really catch you."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant is very comfortable in Your Majesty''s palm, why would I want to jump out?"


    Kangxi said, "Speaking about pacifying Wu Sangui, your merit is really not small; this is one thing that you have not caught up yet. Presently I am sending you to lead the three armies of water and land, in a campaign against the Luocha. The city of Yakesa is built on Mount Luding [deer and cauldron], I confer to you the title of Third-class Duke of Luding, Great General of Fuyuan [county, Heilongjiang; ''fu yuan'' itself means ''consoling/pacifying (places) far away'']. In military affairs, Commander Peng Chun, Heilongjiang General Sabusu, and Liaoning Guta General Ba Hai will assist you. In the administrative side, Songgotu will assist you. We will set out four-way cavalry and infantry first, plus 5000-men Navy. If that is not enough, we will send whatever is necessary. All horses and logistics are in place. Aigun and Liaoning Guta are already stocked with provisions, enough to be used by the large army for a period of three years. There are 350 battlefield cannon, and there are fifty siege cannon. Do you think this is enough?"


    For each sentence Kangxi spoke, Wei Xiaobao thanked him for his grace. When Kangxi finished, Wei Xiaobao hastily kneeled down and kowtowed over and over.


    Kangxi said, "Luocha Country only has no more than six thousand cavalry and infantry at Yakesa and Nerchinsk. We have seven or eight times that number to deal with them, indeed it is the sound of thunder ten-thousand great power; I only hope that you won''t fail our magnificent China''s national prestige."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In this war your servant is fighting on behalf of Your Majesty; if we show even the tiniest setback, the Luocha people will look down on us. In spite of everything, Your Majesty please set your heart at ease."


    "Very good," Kangxi said, "What else do you need?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "From Taiwan your servant brought along five hundred rattan-shield troops to the Capital. They have been in battle with the red-haired troops, and are very good at resisting firearms. Your servant is thinking to take them to destroy Luocha."


    "That''s very good!" Kangxi said happily, "Zheng Chenggong''s troops have defeated Dutch''s red-haired troops, you bring them to fight Luocha troops, our chance of victory is increased by thirty-percent. Originally I was worried the Luocha troops'' firearms are formidable, I am afraid there will be too many casualties among our officers and soldiers."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Rattan shield can withstand flintlock musket''s bullet, these rattan-shield troops can roll pass their defense line and use broadsword to chop demon troops'' demon legs."


    Kangxi was greatly delighted, "Wonderful, wonderful!" he repeatedly exclaimed.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant also has a young concubine, in those days she came with me to Moscow, she is proficient in Luocha demon language. I want to ask Your Majesty''s gracious approval to let her come with the army to handle affairs." According to Qing Dynasty regulation, taking one''s family along in a military expedition was a grave offense; therefore, he had to ask permission first.


    Kangxi nodded. "I know," he said, "Now go and set up meritorious service!"


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed to take his leave. When he retreated toward the door, Kangxi suddenly asked, "I heard that your Shifu Chen Yonghua was murdered by Zheng Keshuang; is that right?"


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Yes," he replied.


    Kangxi said, "Zheng Keshuang has surrendered to the imperial court. I have agreed to preserve the entire Zheng Clan''s descendants. You must not give them any trouble." Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to say ''yes''.


    Before reaching the Capital this time, he had long planned on looking for Zheng Keshuang and made life difficult for him; who would have thought that Kangxi has already anticipated this and ordered him in this way? If he made his move, he would definitely disobey the imperial decree. He mused, "Could it be that I have to forget the big enmity of this kid murdering my Shifu?"


    As he walked away slowly with his head hung low, suddenly he heard someone said, "Wei Xiongdi, congratulations!"


    Wei Xiaobao thought the voice sounded very familiar. When he looked up, he saw a tall man with wide shoulder standing in front of him; the man looked at him with smile on his face. It was none other than the Imperial Bodyguard Zongguan [chief manager] Dolong. Wei Xiaobao''s shock was no small matter. When he escaped from the Palace that day, he had obviously stabbed Dolong to his death with a dagger in his residence; wasn''t this his ghost coming to demand his life back? In that instant Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his whole body trembled; he wanted to turn around and flee, he also wanted to kneel down and plead for mercy, but he felt as if his feet were nailed to the ground, he could not move even for half a step, all around the lower part of his body felt tense, in that instant he felt a very strong urge to defecate and urinate at the same time.


    Dolong came over, he pulled Wei Xiaobao''s hand and said with a laugh, "Good Xiongdi, I have not seen you for many years, your Gege miss you very much, and have come to make sure that everything is according to your wishes. I heard you went fishing for His Majesty on Tong Chi Island, and His Majesty constantly promotes your official ranking and titular honors. I am very happy to hear that."


    Wei Xiaobao felt Dolong''s palm was warm, under the sunlight illuminating the colonnade, he saw a shadow by Dolong''s side; apparently he was not a ghost, his fright was reduced somewhat. "Yes, yes," he mumbled in reply. He was also afraid that Dolong might remember the former enmity and wanted to settle this old debt. But the dagger clearly penetrated Dolong''s back and pierced his heart; how did he not die? In his panic, he could not think of anything.


    Dolong said, "That day in Xiongdi''s residence, your Gege has fallen into the enemy''s plot. Fortunately I received Xiongdi''s help who drove the assassin away so that my life was protected. I have never been able to personally thank you over this matter, I often thought about it in my heart. You also asked Shi Lang to deliver gift for me from Taiwan; I really owe you too much."


    Seeing his sincere expression, Wei Xiaobao decided that Dolong was not being sarcastic; he thought, "He is the Imperial Bodyguard Zongguan, a member of His Majesty''s inner ministerial circle. This time Shi Lang came to give presents, naturally Dolong received his share. Presumably he asked Shi Lang about me, and Shi Lang simply did me a favor with little cost to himself, saying that part of the gift was from me, so that it will appear that he and I have very deep friendship; in turn, people will look at my face and will not give Shi Lang any difficulty. By why did he say that I drove the assassin away? I really don''t understand."


    Dolong saw Wei Xiaobao''s face was white, alternating with blue; he also looked restless. Thinking that Wei Xiaobao must have just received Kangxi''s rebuke, Dolong tried to console him, "His Majesty''s temper has not been too good recently, most probably it''s because the Luocha Country bullies people too much; Xiongdi don''t have to worry about it. Wait till my shift is over, we''ll have a nice dinner together and chat."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty''s benevolence is as high as the sky and as deep as the earth. Just now he promoted my official rank again. Xiongdi is deeply grateful, I really don''t know how to repay our lord''s kindness."


    Dolong laughed and said, "Congratulations! Congratulations! Xiongdi is very competent, you can share His Majesty''s tribulations. To have your official ranking and titular honors raised, of course it is proper and to be expected." There was a hint of envy in his voice.


    Wei Xiaobao noticed the warmth and the envy in the tone of his voice and in his facial expression. Knowing that Dolong was a straightforward man, Wei Xiaobao knew he was not pretending; the fear in his heart vanished completely. He laughed and said, "Duo Dage [in Chinese, Dolong is spelled Duo Long], please wait a moment, Xiongdi really need to go pee. His Majesty summoned me for an audience, he gave me a lot of instructions and warnings, Xiongdi tried to hold it that long, but now I can''t hold it much longer."


    Dolong roared in laughter; he knew that when the Emperor summoned his ministers, if he did not indicate that the meeting was finished, the ministers would not dare to withdraw. If the minister had an urgent need to urinate, it would be an enormous difficulty. It''s just that only toward a favored minister like Wei Xiaobao would the Emperor talk for quite so long. With other ministers, usually the Emperor only talked for two, three sentences, and he was dismissed; hence there has never been any urgent need for the ministers to urinate or defecate. Dolong had always been close to Wei Xiaobao; today as they met again after a long time, he was genuinely happy. Immediately he took Wei Xiaobao''s hand and took him to the door of the latrine [orig. ''thatched hut''], and waited outside as Wei Xiaobao finished his business.


    That day, in order to save his Shifu''s life, as well as his Tian Di Hui brothers, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to stab Dolong. Recalling that ordinarily Dolong treated him well, in the deepest part of his heart Wei Xiaobao was actually quite regretful and uneasy; who would have thought that not only Dolong did not die, he also did not show any sign that he took offense of what had happened. Wei Xiaobao urinated with a happy heart. When he went out of the latrine, he casually sounded Dolong out on what happened that day.


    Dolong said, "When I woke up that day, I found out that I had been lying in bed for three days and four nights. The Imperial Physician Guan told me that fortunately I was born with an anomaly; my heart was slanted, so that the assassin''s blade only pierced my lung and did not harm my heart at all. He said that someone with a slanted heart like me, in a hundred thousand people you won''t necessarily find one."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao cried out, "Ashamed! So that''s what happened." He laughed and said, "I always thought that Dage is a hero with straight heart and intestine, who would have thought that Dage is a prejudiced man? [''slanted heart'' means partial/biased/prejudiced]. Dage is prejudiced, are you particularly doting on young Auntie, or on your son?"


    Dolong was taken aback. He then laughed and said, "If Xiongdi did not mention it, I would not have thought about it. I do dote on my eighth concubine Fang a bit more than the rest; it may be assumed that it is due to my slanted heart condition." The two of them roared in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "That assassin''s martial art skill was very high; he came to plot against Dage, unexpectedly Xiongdi was not aware of him in advance."


    "That''s right," Dolong said. Lowering his voice he added, "By coincidence at that time Princess Jianning came from the Hall to see Xiongdi. This kind of affair, as servants we do not dare to ask one question too many. I recuperated for three months and was completely healed. His Majesty revealed to me that it was Wei Xiongdi who courageously saved my life and personally killed the assassin. Xiongdi need not mention the particulars of this event; in short, your Gege owes you a lot."


    Wei Xiaobao''s skin was thick, during Kangxi''s reign, he could be reckoned as first or second best; however, listening to Dolong, he could not stop his face from turning red. Only then did he find out that the Emperor has concealed his secret. First, because it was the Emperor himself who told him, Dolong had no reason to be suspicious. Second, since it involved the Princess'' private business, the people in the Palace understood that the less it was brought up the better. Even if they had doubt as big as the sky, they had no choice but to bury it deep inside their hearts. Were it not for this, they would have to take a lot of trouble to concoct a lie to cover up the past events.


    Wei Xiaobao was ashamed; he also felt that he must repay this honest, considerate and na?ve man well. He said, "From Taiwan Xiongdi has brought some local products as souvenirs; as soon as I get home I will have someone deliver some to Dage''s mansion."


    Dolong repeatedly shook his hand, "No need, no need," he said, "We are family, why bother like this? Last time the gift Shi Lang brought was already too much."


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered something, "It''s a kind act that costs nothing," he mused, "Even if His Majesty finds out, he cannot blame me for disobeying the imperial decree." Thereupon he asked, "Duo Dage, after that kid Zheng Keshuang surrendered, how is he doing in Beijing?"


    "His Majesty treated him very well," Dolong replied, "He was bestowed First-class Duke title. This kid does not know how to do anything, he only relies on his ancestors'' fortune; unexpectedly his nobility is higher than you, Xiongdi."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When we joke around that day, we falsely accused him of owing the Imperial Bodyguards ten thousand taels of silver, and then Xiongdi took out some money to pay for him. Does Dage still remember that?"


    Dolong burst out laughing. "I remember, I remember," he said, "That Miss, Xiongdi''s good friend, what happened to her next? If she still follows Zheng Keshuang, we may go and take her back."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "That Miss has already become my wife long ago, she even gave birth to my son."


    Dolong laughed and said, ""Congratulations, congratulations! Otherwise, since that kid Zheng Keshuang is in Beijing, I don''t care if he is a first-class duke or second-class duke, in the end he will become a no-entitlement, no-power empty-headed Jueye [master noble]. Let us drop him a visit, so that this kid won''t dare to release a fart. This kind of surrendering border defense king, he spends his days trembling with fear, afraid that His Majesty might suspect in his heart he has not really surrendered and would rise again in rebellion."


    "Right, right," Dolong said, "That day he owed Xiongdi ten thousand taels of silver, not a few of our Imperial Bodyguard brothers witnessed this; we can go to demand payment from him."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "This kid has not made much progress. Only ten thousand taels of silver is nothing; afterwards he continuously amassed a lot of debt from Xiongdi. He has personally written an I.O.U. that I have it in my hand. For three generations his Zheng Family became Wangye in Taiwan, how much gold, silver, money and valuables they accumulated has he spent? He must have brought everything to Beijing. Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Jing were good people, presumably they would not milk common people dry; but this kid Zheng Keshuang, could he be polite? He became Wangye for a day, at least he would plunder above one million taels; two days two millions, three days three millions. He has become Wangye for several days, just calculate how much money he has acquired!"


    Dolong''s jaw dropped and his tongue was tied. "Awesome, awesome," he muttered.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "When Xiongdi is back home, I will have the loan receipt delivered to Dage. This money, Xiongdi does not want any ��"


    "We can''t do that," Dolong hastily said, "Your Gege will collect the payment for you, I guarantee that you won''t get a qian less. I will take my men the Imperial Bodyguards to pay a visit; even if he has guts as big as the sky he won''t dare not to pay."


    "This debt is rather large," Wei Xiaobao said, "In those days this kid spent his time in drinking and pleasure, he spent money like flowing water. To have him pay everything back at once is really not easy. Let''s do it this way: Dage bring people to collect, if within eight or ten days he cannot pay, let him break up the whole debt into pieces, have him write separate I.O.U., put the Imperial Bodyguard brothers'' names as the creditors. Each I.O.U. can be a thousand taels, two thousand taels, I don''t care. Whichever Imperial Bodyguard brother can collect the debt, let it be his."


    "Absolutely not!" Dolong said, "All Imperial Bodyguards are your old subordinates. Doing a trivial thing like collecting the debt for an old boss and still want some reward, where''s the logic in that?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "They are all my old subordinates, my good brothers, my good friends. For the last several years Xiongdi''s promotion to the nobility is like spurring the horse to full speed, yet all along I did not give any benefit to everybody; when I think about it, I find it quite embarrassing. I want the Imperial Bodyguard brothers to have a share on this several million taels."


    Dolong was stunned. "What �� there are several �� several million taels?" he asked in a trembling voice.


    Wei Xiaobao smiled, "Speaking about capital," he said, "I did not spend that much. Some of it was spending money, some was a trick; profit after profit, the total amount is not small. This money, Dage may take a bit bigger share."


    Dolong still did not believe; he mumbled, "Several million taels? This �� isn''t this too much?"


    "That''s why," Wei Xiaobao said, "I wanted him to break it up into smaller I.O.U.s. It''s going to be easier to collect." Lowering his voice, he said, "I cannot be involved in this matter; if the Imperial Censor found out, they might submit report, saying Xiongdi is in association with outside border defense, lending money and exacting interest. Whether it''s big or small, I will have to face criminal charge. But if the Imperial Bodyguards want to collect some gambling debt from him, each one collects one or two thousand taels, it won''t be such a big deal. If Dage is afraid to have the Imperial Bodyguards eating this money alone the responsibility is too great, there''s no harm in asking some Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers to come along. They are also my old subordinates; I should also share some benefits with them."


    Dolong repeatedly voiced his agreement. He had made up his mind, when this debt was collected, he would return at least half to Wei Xiaobao. Although Wei Xiaobao was generous and easy-mannered, Dolong could not let him lose his life savings.


    Wei Xiaobao was so proud of himself; he thought that if Dolong bring along these ''like wolves and tigers'' group of Imperial Bodyguards and Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers to collect the debt, this time Zheng Keshuang would definitely have a bad headache. Although the Emperor had ordered him in advance not to personally give Zheng Keshuang any trouble, this big enmity of murdering his Shifu, if he could not avenge it, at least he would make Zheng Keshuang lose half of his family property. In this matter most likely Zheng Keshuang would quietly suffer in silence [orig. ''eat yellow lotus''], and would not dare to make it public. If other people found out, it would be personal matters between Zheng Keshuang and the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers who collected gambling debt. People always said that Zheng Keshuang was a hedonistic son of rich parents, that he did not have a good family foundation, as soon as he arrived at the Capital, he gambled and made a scene; no one would put the blame on Wei Xiaobao.


    When he exited the Palace, Prince Kang Giyesu, Li Lei, Ming Zhu, Songgotu, Lei Dehong, Du Lide, Feng Pu, Tu Hai, Wang Xi, Huang Ji, Wu Zhengzhi, Zong Deyi, and the other Manchu-Han high-ranking ministers were waiting outside the Palace gate. One after another they stepped forward to congratulate him. With Wei Xiaobao in the middle, they all went to the Tong Mao''er [copper hat] Alley.


    When they reached the mouth of the alley, Wei Xiaobao saw a grand mansion towering above the houses around it, compared to his old earl mansion it was a lot bigger. Above the main gate there was a vermillion-painted horizontal inscribed board, but it was completely empty without a single character on it. Characters as big as watermelon, Wei Xiaobao''s knowledge was limited to only a handful, but even he was able to see that the board did not have any character on it; he could not help but was stunned.


    Prince Kang laughed and said, "Wei Xiongdi, His Majesty''s grace and favor to you is indeed as high as the sky and as deep as the earth. That year when your earl mansion caught fire and was burned down, you were not in town. When His Majesty was informed, he immediately ordered your Gege to build another mansion for you. The imperial edict did not mention any budgetary number; it only mentioned that all expenses are to be covered by the internal treasury. This is His Majesty bestowing you a reward, why would your Gege try to save His Majesty some money? Naturally I did not spare any expense. Xiongdi, look, is this acceptable?" While saying that, he stroked his beard with a smile on his face.


    Wei Xiaobao busily expressed his thanks. From the main gate he entered in. It was indeed a splendid and magnificent building, not much different compared to Prince Kang''s mansion. All the ministers clucked their tongues in praise, they all expressed their admirations.


    Prince Kang said, "This mansion has been ready for quite some time, all along it stayed empty, waiting for Xiongdi to come back and live in it. It''s just that we did not know what other grace His Majesty would bestow you, what title and honors he was going to confer to you, hence the plaque above the mansion''s gate is still empty. The ''Lu Ding Gong Fu'' [Duke of Deer and Cauldron''s Mansion], four characters, I will ask our Li Da Xueshi to move his brush."


    That evening Wei Xiaobao held a big banquet at the Duke of Luding''s mansion to entertain the high-ranking ministers who had personally come to congratulate him earlier. Zheng Keshuang, Feng Xifan, and other Taiwan people who surrendered also sent some gifts, but they did not personally come to congratulate him.


    After sending off the guests, Wei Xiaobao had another banquet for his family. His seven wives raised their wine cups to celebrate. Wei Xiaobao mentioned that he was going to take Shuang''er to accompany him in this punitive expedition to the north. The other six wives raised their voices at once to protest, saying that he was too partial. Wei Xiaobao was obliged to explain with graceful words, flowery speech, saying that it was His Majesty''s imperial edict; because he knew that Shuang''er has been to Luocha Country and understood Luocha language, he was sending her to serve in the army.


    The six wives did not have any choice but to drop this matter. Luckily Shuang''er was gentle and amiable, her friendship with every single one of the other wives was very good, so nobody was jealous of her. Only Princess Jianning was thinking that based on her status as the Emperor''s imperial sister, a golden branch, jade leaves, unexpectedly she could not compare to a little servant girl with humble background, in her heart she was quite angry. However, usually when the seven wives had an argument, the other six women would unite to deal with the Princess. Princess Jianning was on her own, even Wei Xiaobao did not side with her; for the past few years her fiery temper had mellowed considerably, she did not dare to rashly pick a quarrel.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao asked Shuang''er to take out Zheng Keshuang''s I.O.U. which was written in blood on Tong Chi Island that year. He invited Dolong to come over and handed it over to him. Dolong was greatly delighted; he said, "With a hand-written I.O.U. like this, we can even squeeze oil from a stone. If that kid Zheng Keshuang dares to renege and refuse to pay, we, the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry Brigade officers, won''t have any face to mingle in the Capital anymore."


    For the next several days, Kangxi repeatedly summoned Wei Xiaobao to the Palace. He gave Wei Xiaobao a giant map; how to advance, how to engage the enemy, how to besiege a city, how to strike at the enemy''s reinforcements, he gave Wei Xiaobao detailed instructions. With vermillion brush he drew on the map clearly.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This war is just like Your Majesty personally leading the troops and fighting it, your servant will not dare to act on my own initiative, I will do everything in accordance with Your Majesty''s instruction. Otherwise, even if I am victorious, Your Majesty will not be happy."


    During the years of Wu Sangui''s rebellion, Kangxi had to deal with a high-ranking minister, a veteran general. Wu Sangui was a fierce general, a veteran of a hundred battles, not a simple matter at all; if he had sent Wei Xiaobao, he would have been defeated for sure. By this time Kangxi had gained several years'' worth of war. Although he did not personally go to the front line, he always inquired in details that he understood clearly every military campaign, its merits and drawbacks, gains and losses; not a single battle he did not know like the palm of his own hand. From the actual combat he learned the art of war.


    This time he was about to start a war with the Luocha Country, he would deal with any matter, regardless of its importance; everything has been prepared properly. Before the main force even marched out the gate, he already had confidence that he would achieve victory. Indeed it was a far cry [orig. ''mustn''t speak of two things on the same day''] from when he was trembling with fear in dealing with Wu Sangui in the past.


    Since his departure for war was imminent, Wei Xiaobao did not dare to mess with Tian Di Hui brothers. He thought, "His Majesty did not tell me to exterminate Tian Di Hui, it means he has surrendered to me, it means he has given me enough face. If I am not being sensitive, and go to visit Li Lishi, Xu Tianchuan and the others, and His Majesty finds out, he might raise the former matter again. This is the same as Wei Xiaobao picks up a rock and smashes it against my own foot. Being a human being I must not be overly stupid and act too tactlessly."


    The directorate of astronomy picked up an ecliptic propitious day for the main force to set off on their punitive expedition to the north. That day Kangxi bestowed a feast at the Taihe Men [Gate of Supreme Harmony]. There was a large sandy field outside the Wu Men [Meridian Gate], where His Majesty''s yellow tent was erected. The imperial throne was set up, royal seal was on display, hundreds of princes and dukes and ministers congregated. Kangxi took his seat. The Great General Fuyuan, Duke of Luding Wei Xiaobao led his military officers Peng Chun, Sabusu, Lang Tan, Lin Xingzhu, and the others, the logistic officer Songgotu and the others, to step forward and kneel down. Internal courtyard cabinet minister declared the imperial order in Manchurian, Mongolian and Han, three languages. He handed over the great general seal of authority, and conferred a set of clothes, a horse, a bow and a saber.


    The officers going into battle separately sat on the north of Jinshui [golden water] Bridge. There were music everywhere, hundreds of play were being performed. Kangxi ordered the Great General to step forward toward the throne. When they were face-to-face, he personally conferred the imperial wine. The Great General received it, kowtowed, and drank it. The commanders, deputy commanders, and so on also stepped forward. The Emperor ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to bestow the drink. Afterwards he ordered the hundreds of government officials everywhere to offer the wine to the troops, along with money and some clothes. The hundreds of officials and all the troops expressed their gratitude, and then the main forces set out.


    Kangxi personally sent them off outside the Meridian Gate. The Great General and all the officers kneeled down to ask the holy self to return home. Afterwards the water and land main forces set off to the north. All the ministers saw Wei Xiaobao in his complete martial attire, happy and giggling, without the slightest bit of mighty air of the Commander-in-Chief of a large army. They already knew this man was without learning or skills, a marketplace hoodlum; he was leading the troops into battle, most likely he would spoil the great endeavor and might bring disgrace to the country and make it lose face. But they also knew that Kangxi doted on him very much; who would dare to utter even half a sentence of objection? Not a few of these princes, dukes and ministers put on a smile on their faces, but in their hearts they were sighing. It was:


    The ministers swarm around the stage like a school of fish, the general majestically ascends the sacrificial altar


    [31].


    Ever since Wei Xiaobao went out on mission for the Emperor, he has never gone out with this kind of pomp and circumstances; the pride in his heart need not be mentioned. He knew this time the stake was very high, in the army he exercised strong self-control, unexpectedly he did not dare to gamble at all. When boredom hit along the way, he would invite several high-ranking generals to throw some dice, the loser was punished by drinking some wine; nothing more.


    One day the main force went out the Shanhai Pass [eastern pass of Great Wall], and continued north to Liaodong [peninsula]. It was the place Wei Xiaobao previously visited, only that time he and Shuang''er had to catch deer in the forest to eat while they were hiding to the east and escaping to the west, battered and exhausted; there was no awe-inspiring authority like this time they went out of the Pass on a military campaign to the north.


    It was a crisp, clear autumn weather, the cloudless sky spread for thousands of li, the army marched farther and farther north, the north wind was getting stronger by the day. Until one day they were only a hundred or so li away from Yakesa. He You from the Vanguard Battalion reported to the main force: the reconnaissance team had been informed by the locals, common people, that Luocha troops had been harassing the people, killing people, burning houses, raping, robbing; no crime that they did not do. Every ten days or so they would come out once; hence he estimated that they would come out again in a few days.


    Wei Xiaobao had already received Kangxi''s instructions on what to do under given circumstances; he ordered the main force to pitch camp right there and did not advance farther. And then he ordered He You to lead ten hundred-man squadron to set ambush about thirty li from the city of Yakesa. If any Luocha troops came out in large number, they were to lie low and did not come out to avoid an open war. But if they encountered the enemy force in small groups, they were to attack, kill and captured all of them, no one was to be allowed to go back to the city. He You received the order and left.


    Several days later before noon they heard faint noise of firearms from the distant, shot after shot, long and continuous; the noise did not cease for quite a long time. Presumably the Vanguard Battalion was engaged in battle with the Luocha troops. Later that afternoon He You sent his people to the main force to report their success, saying that they wiped out twenty-fice Luocha men and captured twelve. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted.


    That evening the Vanguard Battalion escorted the twelve prisoners to the main force. Wei Xiaobao had them in his tent and personally interrogated them. Hearing Wei Xiaobao unexpectedly could speak Luocha language, the twelve Luocha troops were greatly astonished; however, everyone of them was extremely unyielding, they said they were ambushed, that Qing troops had superior number, that the victory was without honor. Wei Xiaobao was very angry; he ordered two Luocha troops to step forward. He took dice from his pocket and said, "You two throw the dice!"


    Throwing dice had existed in the West since ancient times, the ones excavated from ancient Egyptian tomb were no different than the ones used in China; Luocha troops had also been accustomed to playing with dice. Two Luocha troops looked at each other in shock; they wondered what kind of trick this young general if the Qing troops was playing. They followed his order and threw the dice. One got sevent dots, the other five.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the Luocha troop with five dots and said, "You lost! Simanji!" In Luocha language, ''simanji'' means ''death''. He turned his head around and ordered his personal guard, "Take him out and chop his head!"


    Four personal guards dragged the Luocha troop to the entrance of the tent and chopped his head, and then they presented the severed head to Wei Xiaobao. The remaining eleven Luocha troops saw this and their countenances changed greatly.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to two more Luocha troops and said, "You two throw the dice."


    How could the two men be willing to throw the dice? As if by prior agreement they both said, "I won''t throw!"


    "Alright, you won''t throw," Wei Xiaobao said. Turning to his personal guards he said, "Take both out and chop their heads!" In an instant two more people died.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to two more Luocha troops and said, "You two throw the dice."


    The two men knew that if they did not throw, they would be killed immediately, but if they threw, there was a fifty-fifty chance that they would live. One of them picked up the dice, while trembling with fear. He was about to throw when the other Luocha troop scrambled past him and said to Wei Xiaobao, "I''ll throw against you!" His expression looked extremely arrogant.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed, "Alright," he said, "Since you have the audacity to challenge me, you throw first."


    The soldier threw a seven-dot. Wei Xiaobao threw a ten. "How about it?" he asked with a laugh.


    The soldier looked distressed. "My luck is not good," he said, "I have nothing to say."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You came to China, how many Chinese people did you kill?"


    The soldier was upright and unafraid. "I lost track," he said, "At least seventeen, eighteen people. You kill me, I don''t lose out anyway."


    Wei Xiaobao commanded his guards to chop his head. Pointing to the other Luocha troop he said, "You throw."


    The soldier picked up the dice, his hand was trembling. The two dice rolled on the table one after another, surprisingly he got eleven-dot, his chance of winning was very big. Wei Xiaobao wanted to play the trick to get twelve-dot; who would have thought that due to the lack of practice his technique failed, the two dice did not have their six-dot sides facing upward but downward instead, producing only two dots. He was stunned, but then he laughed aloud and said, "I win!"


    The soldier hastily said, "I got eleven, you only got two; what do you mean you won?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This time the smaller dots win, the bigger dots lose."


    The soldier did not give in; he said, "Naturally the bigger dots win. In our Luocha Country the rule has always been so."


    Wei Xiaobao pulled a face and said, "Are we in China, or is this Luocha''s land?"


    The soldier replied, "It''s �� it''s China."


    "Since this is China, naturally we use Chinese rule," Wei Xiaobao said, "Who told you to come to China? Next time when I am in Luocha and I throw the dice against you, we can play with Luocha rule. You ''simanji''!" Turning toward his personal guards he said, "Take him out and chop his head!"


    He called another Luocha troop to come out. The soldier was careful, he asked first, "According to Chinese rule, is this time bigger dots win, or smaller dots win?"


    "According to Chinese rule," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Chinese people win. If the Chinese man''s dots big, then bigger dots win; if the Chinese man''s dots small, then smaller dots win."


    The soldier angrily said, "You are very unreasonable, you don''t follow logic at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You Luocha troop''s came to China, killing and robbing. It''s not us, Chinese people who came to Luocha killing and robbing. Is Luocha people unreasonable, or Chinese people unreasonable?" The soldier was speechless.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly throw, quickly throw!"


    "I will lose anyway," the soldier said, "Why bother?"


    "You don''t throw, simanji! Simanji!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    He called another Luocha troop to come out. This soldier was big and tall, with long whisker on his face; he said in a loud voice, "Chinese kid, you don''t need to play crafty trick, just be straightforward and kill me. This time you have superior number, you set an ambush on snowy ground and caught us by surprise; there is no honor in that kind of victory. When our Luocha Country''s main force arrives, each and every one of you will be killed."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You were caught by us, and in your heart you refuse to submit, is that right?"


    "Naturally I won''t submit!" the soldier replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If we have the same number of people, and have a battle face to face, you are so sure that you will win; is that right?"


    "Of course!" the soldier haughtily replied, "One of us, Luocha man, can beat five of you, Chinese men. Otherwise, we would not have come to China. I bet you, send five of your men to fight with me. If you win, you can chop my head, if I win, just let me go." This man was the most famous warrior of the Luocha army, he was born with supernatural power. Seeing all the generals and personal guards in Wei Xiaobao''s tent were at least a head shorter than he was, he thought that even fighting five to one, his chance of winning was still very high.


    All along Shuang''er has been sitting quietly on the side. This moment as she heard his arrogant talk, she opened her mouth for the first time, "Luocha men, useless. Chinese women, will beat you." While saying that she stood up and came over to stand by Wei Xiaobao''s side.


    Seeing her delicate figure, her beautiful face, the soldier could not help bursting in laughter. "You have to have a duel with me?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered his personal guard to cut the rope binding the man''s hands. He smiled and said, "Good Shuang''er, let him experience Chinese women''s fierceness."


    The soldier said, "Chinese woman, you can talk Luocha language. Very good, very good."


    Shuang''er''s command of Luocha language was actually far below Wei Xiaobao''s, she could not express her ideas very well, hence she was unwilling to talk to him too much. Waving her left hand, she launched a feign slap toward his face. The soldier hastily raised his head while stretched out his hand to block. Shuang''er''s right leg flew up, ''pow!'' she kicked his lower abdomen.


    The soldier howled in pain, he rained down punches with both hands. He was Luocha Country''s boxing champion, his punches were fast, heavy and powerful. Seeing his fierceness, Shuang''er leaped toward his back, using the move ''striking water right and left'', ''whack, whack!'' she kicked both sides of the small of his back with her left and right feet. It was so painful that the soldier squatted down. "You use your legs; a foul, a foul!" he hollered. Turned out according to Luocha people''s boxing rule, they must not use their legs.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is China, we fight according to Chinese rule."


    Shuang''er called out, "With Luocha rule, I still win." She dodged in front of the soldier; with her right fist she punched his lower abdomen. The soldier held out his hand to block. Shuang''er''s punch was actually an empty move; without waiting for his block to arrive, she pulled her right fist, and struck the pit of his stomach with her left fist. Again the soldier stretched out his arm to block. Shuang''er launched left punch, right punch; she sent twelve punches in succession. But all her punches were empty move, in Chinese martial art technique, it was called ''the mirage'', meaning everything is imaginary. Just because each move was not really striking and it was executed without any real power, it was several times faster than ordinary punch.


    The soldier blocked several times, but each time he blocked an empty punch; he laughed aloud and said, "Little girl''s trick, it''s useless ��" Before he could finish, ''whack, whack!'' twice, his left and right cheeks were hit by Shuang''er''s palms. The soldier roared, his two arms attacked violently up and down. Shuang''er leaned sideways to evade, the forefinger of her right hand suddenly jabbed, it hit the ''taiyang'' [sun] acupoint on the soldier''s right temple. The man was overwhelmed with dizziness, his body swayed. Shuang''er leaped up, her palm hacked down, and hit the ''yuzhen'' [jade pillow] acupoint on the back of the man''s head. It was a vital acupoint on human''s body, although the soldier was big and sturdy, he could not withstand it. ''Wham!'' he tumbled down to the ground and was unable to crawl back up.


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; holding Shuang''er''s hand, he kicked the soldier''s forehead and asked, "Do you submit now?"


    Still in daze, the soldier said, "Chinese woman �� use witchcraft �� she is a witch ��"


    "Stinky pig," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "What witchcraft? Take him out and chop his head! You, Luocha troops, which one of you won''t submit? Let him come out and have a duel."


    The remaining five Luocha troops looked at each other in dismay; they saw how their warrior was defeated, there was no way they could beat her. Nobody dared to say anything.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If you concede and surrender, you will be spared and won''t be killed. Otherwise, you may throw dice against me. We will play by Chinese rule; if you win, you will live, if you lose, then simanji!" While saying that his right hand made a beheading gesture.


    The five soldiers thought, "According to Chinese rule, it does not matter how many dots, he wins." Thereupon one soldier bowed and said, "I surrender!"


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "Very good! Get some wine and meat, let him eat."


    His personal guards went to the back of the tent and returned with a large bowl of wine and a large bowl of meat. The soldier was released from his bound and was free to eat and drink.


    In Luocha Country the weather was bitter cold, everybody drank wine. Although Wei Xiaobao was not a drinker, the wine in the army was the best quality sorghum wine. As soon as this bowl of wine was brought in, the aroma filled the entire tent; as soon as the four Luocha troops smelled the wine, their mouth watered. When they saw the surrendering soldier drank and his eyebrows rose up and his eyes twinkled, their hearts were unbearably itchy. One after another they all said, "Surrender, surrender! I want wine."


    Wei Xiaobao commanded his guards to untie the four soldiers and ordered four other personal guards to get four bowls of wine and meat and gave it to them. The Luocha troops ate and drank, but they were still not full. Wei Xiaobao ordered his guards to get another set of wine and meat for each of them. The five Luocha troops were drunk, they waved their hands around and sang. After singing for a while, they remembered that they had just escaped mortal danger, unexpectedly they could eat and drink as much as they liked; they were very happy and bowed to Wei Xiaobao to express their thanks.


    Afterwards, every several days He You continuously sent Luocha troops as prisoners, as many as sixteen, seventeen soldiers, and as few as one or two soldiers. After these prisoners talked with the five soldiers who surrendered first, they found out that if they threw the dice, they death was guaranteed; but if they surrendered, there would be meat and wine for their enjoyments. Thereupon everyone surrendered.


    These Luocha troops were originally scoundrels who fled to the east to avoid prison; if not thieves and robbers, then they must be criminals who were exiled by the court of law. Out of ten, perhaps eight or nine of them would not shrink from any crime. They went east to take their chances, nobody had any good intentions in their heart. When they first went out to kill Chinese civilians, their missions always went without a hitch, hence in their hearts they despised Chinese people. Therefore, when they were captured, they were still very arrogant. It was not until Wei Xiaobao had several troops executed and thus established his prestige that the rest realized how formidable the enemy was. These arrogant barbarians bullied good people but were scared of wicked ones; seeing the opposite side was even more barbarian and even more wicked, they obediently surrendered.


    By this time the Governor-general Galitzine had been summoned by Princess Sophia back to Moscow to hold higher office. The general in command of Yakesa troops was called Tu''erbuqing (Alexi Tolbusin). Small groups of Luocha troops went out to plunder, they went missing for several days running. Tolbusin sent out people to investigate, but these people also never came back. He felt something was not right, thereupon he picked half of the cavalry in the city, totaling more than two thousand men and horses, and personally led them out of the city to investigate.


    Along the way Tolbusin did not see any sign of the enemy; whenever he saw Chinese people''s farmhouse or residence, he ordered his men to burn it down, and killed the people, ordinary men and women. After traveling for more than twenty li, suddenly he heard hoof beats, a group of cavalry was charging their way. Tolbusin shouted his order to have his troops scattered. He saw a group of Qing cavalry galloped toward them, approximately five hundred men, shooting them with arrows. Tolbusin laughed aloud and said, "Chinese barbarians only know how to release arrows, how can they fight our Luocha Country''s formidable firearms?" He shouted his order, his men fired, a dozen or so Qing troops fell down from their horses.


    The Qing troops turned their horses around and galloped away to the south. Tolbusin ordered his men to pursue. The horses this Qing cavalry rode were all handpicked fine horses, they ran very fast, for a short while the Luocha troops were unable to catch up.


    After pursuing for seven or eight li, they saw a yellow dragon banner standing by the wooded area ahead of them, when the Luocha troops came closer, they saw seven, eight military tents belonging to the Qing troops. The Luocha troops rained their bullets to the tents, several dozen Qing troops ran out of the tents, while shooting arrows at the Luocha troops, and then mounted their horses and galloped southward.


    The Luocha troops on the front rushed into the tents, they saw the Qing troops had run away completely. Tolbusin dismounted his horse and entered the tent. He saw the wine, meat and vegetable dishes on the table were still steaming hot, while gold and silver ingots, as well as brocade clothes, pearls and jewels were scattered around on the ground. Tolbusin was greatly delighted. "The Chinese barbarian great general is running away in a hurry, he did not even have time to carry all these gold and silver. Everybody, let''s get on our horses and run after them! Whoever catches this barbarian great general will be rewarded heavily; the barbarian great general must be carrying a lot of gold and silver, we will seize everything away!"


    When the soldiers saw gold, silver, pearls and jewels, they just like ''you grabbed I took''; some even picked up the wine and meat from the table and ate it. Hearing their commander''s order, they cheered and rushed out of the tent, jumped onto their horses, and galloped toward the southeast, following the hoofprints. Along the way they saw gold ingots, silver ingots, swords and spears, bow and arrows scattered on the ground by the road. They all said that Chinese troops saw the arrival of Luocha troops, they were scared and pissed in their pants in terror, that they even threw their weapons away.


    After pursuing for a while, they saw several pairs of boots and several red-tasseled hats. Tolbusin called out, "Chinese barbarians'' marshal changed his clothes to run for his life; most probably he disguised himself as a lowly soldier. We must not let them hide him."


    His attendant said, "General can prophesy with supernatural accuracy; it must be so."


    Tolbusin ordered his men to pick up the boots and hat; he said, "When we catch the Chinese barbarians, it doesn''t matter if he is a lowly soldier or a gunman, tell them to try the hat, clothes and boots. If everything fits, most likely he is the great general." Again his subordinates chorused their praise, saying that the General was intelligent and wise, that no one could ever match him.


    After pursuing several more li, they attacked and seized another Qing army''s tent. Scattered on the ground, they saw not only gold, silver and weapons, but also a lot of red and green, bright colored women''s clothing. They even found rouge, face powder and other cosmetics, handkerchief, hairpins, and other women''s accessories. The soldiers'' sexual desire was aroused; they all cried out, "Quickly pursue, quickly pursue! Chinese barbarians brought some women."


    Pursuing this way, they successively seized seven more army tents before from ahead of them they heard faint noise of people shouting and screaming. Tolbusin halted his mount and took out his telescope to look. He saw several li ahead a group of Chinese soldiers were running for their lives; seemingly in great distress, their banner was in disarray, their formation in disorder. Tolbusin was greatly delighted, "We got them!" he shouted. Pulling out his saber, he waved it in the air several time while shouting, "Charge! Kill!" Leading his troops and generals, he swiftly charged forward.


    Along the way they saw more than twenty Qing army''s horses fallen dead on the road. The soldiers and generals happily said, "The barbarians'' horses had no strength left to run!" Urgently spurring their horses on hot pursuit, they pursued farther and farther away.


    They saw that the Qing troops had escaped via a narrow passageway in between two hills. Tolbusin pursued to the mouth of the road, and saw the dangerous terrain ahead. He was slightly startled. "If the enemy prepares an ambush here," he thought, "It won''t be good."


    Suddenly he heard from the valley ahead someone shouting in Luocha language, "Chinese barbarians, you have surrendered. Very good, very good!" Another voice called out, "Ha ha, this time Chinese barbarians suffer disastrous defeat." It was the voice of their own soldiers, no doubt about it.


    Tolbusin was greatly delighted, his suspicion was gone, he spurred his horse into the valley. Behind him more than two thousand cavalry followed in. Tolbusin called out, "Which unit is in the front? Where are you?"


    He only heard behind the mountain wall a dozen or so men responding in chorus, "We are here! Chinese barbarian soldiers have surrendered!"


    "Marvelous!" Tolbusin called out. He was just about to pull his horse''s reins when suddenly he heard ''bang, bang!'' from behind. Tolbusin was shocked; turning around, he saw the mouth of the valley was covered in smoke, fire flashed from the woods on the mountain walls on his left and right, volley after volley of firearms shot down. The Luocha officers and men screamed together. Tolbusin shouted, "Turn around, get out of the valley!"


    He heard from the top of the mountain walls on both sides several thousand people shouted together, "Luocha troops, surrender, surrender!" Countless large rocks and logs of wood rolled down, in an instant the mountain path was blocked. The Luocha officers and men were crammed into a narrow mountain path, you push I shove, the people screamed the horses neighed, it was a total chaos.


    From the top of the mountain the Qing troops looking down, arrows and bullets rained down continuously. Tolbusin groaned inwardly, he knew they had fallen into the enemy''s trick. Seeing the escape route was cut off, he had no choice but turn his horse again and shouted, "Everybody charge forward!"


    They only rushed out for several zhang, suddenly they heard ''Bang! Bang!'' loud explosions, cannon were fired at them, killing a dozen or so soldiers. Tolbusin was so scared that his soul flew to the outer sky; he had never anticipated that the Qing troops'' firearms were this sharp, unexpectedly they also had cannon on this rugged mountainous terrain. He jumped down his mount in panic and called out, "Abandon your horse! Focus our firepower, let''s charge out of the mountain road."


    One after another the Luocha troops dismounted from their horses, and crawled over the huge stones and logs blocking the entrance to the valley, while the team on the back opened fire at both sides of the mountain walls to provide cover for their comrades. Luocha troops'' firearms had greater firepower, the range was also farther, in the end they managed to kill not a few Qing soldiers. But the Qing troops'' cannon continuously bombarded them, the momentum was fierce.


    Several hundred Luocha troops were just crawling on top of the rocks blocking the way when suddenly a loud explosion was heard, the earth under their feet exploded, some of the several hundred officers and men were thrown a dozen zhang into the air, some of them lost their heads or limbs, flesh and blood flying everywhere. Those who were fortunate and did not die hastily crawled back down.


    Tolbusin saw there was no way out ahead and behind, he was completely helpless in this crisis. A very brave officer led several dozen troops in a suicide mission to climb the north side of the mountain wall, they attempted to kill the enemy to open up a way out. But the mountain wall was very steep, plus it was slippery, there was no place they could put their feet on; after climbing for several zhang, several dozen of them slipped and fell down, either dead or injured. The Qing troops on the hilltop threw rocks at them, wiping out the remaining several dozen troops. The officer leading the mission was thrown down, his skull was smashed and he immediately met a violent death.


    All this time the Qing army''s cannon did not stop firing, the mountain walls were full of Luocha troops'' wretched scream. Knowing that in just a short while they would be completely wiped out, Tolbusin called out, "Stop fighting! Ceasefire, ceasefire!" But the explosions and the scream of the troops drowned his voice. The officers and men around him immediately cried out together, "Ceasefire, ceasefire!" Soon the rest of his troops also cried out.


    The Qing troops halted the artillery barrage. Someone called out in Luocha language, "Throw down your guns, your sabers and swords, take all your clothes off!"


    Tolbusin was angry, he shouted back, "Throw the weapons, don''t take off your clothes!"


    Someone in Qing army called, "Throw down your guns, your sabers and swords, take all your clothes off! Helaxiao! Come out and drink wine. If you don''t take off your clothes, simanji!"


    Tolbusin called out, "We won''t take off our clothes!"


    As soon as those words went out of his mouth, there were explosions, the Qing cannon resume their firing. Some Luocha troops were afraid of death, at once they threw their weapons down and started to take off their clothes. Tolbusin raised his short gun and shot dead a soldier who was taking off his clothes. "Those who undress will be executed!" he shouted. But under the violent artillery barrage of the Qing army, nobody paid attention to their general''s strict order. More than a dozen soldiers, already stripped naked, clambered over the rocks blocking their way out.


    The Qing army on both sides of the mountain walls clapped their hands and cheered. "Quickly undress!" they shouted. More and more Luocha troops took off their clothes and fled for their lives. Tolbusin repeatedly fired his short gun, killing two more soldiers, but how could he stop his men?


    The Qing cannon temporarily stopped. From the top of the mountain wall someone called out, "Those who want to live, quickly take off all your clothes."


    By this time the Luocha officers and men had lost their will to fight; eight or nine out of ten people already took off their boots. Tolbusin heaved a deep sigh and put his gun toward his own temple, ready to kill himself. A lieutenant standing by his side wrestled the gun from his hand and said, "General, don''t! As long as the eagle still have its wings, it can still fly across the high mountain." It was a Luocha idiom, equivalent to Chinese idiom ''while the green hills last, there''ll be wood to burn''.


    They heard someone in the Qing army called in Luocha language, "Take Tolbusin''s clothes off, and then come out together; otherwise the firing will commence." These Luocha words were spoken with very articulate pronunciation, because it was actually a surrendering Luocha troop who was forced to say it.


    Tolbusin was unable to restraint his anger, but he was aware that several troops under his command were staring at him, clearly they harbored malicious intentions toward him. He reached out to pull the saber hanging on his waist, but as soon as his fingers touched the hilt, a soldier pounced him from behind and wrapped his arms around Tolbusin''s neck. Five or six soldiers pounced together, they pinned him to the ground. Seven hands eight feet, immediately his clothes were stripped clean before he was carried out.


    For each one of the Luocha troop who came out, there were two Qing troops who stepped forward to receive him, binding his hands behind his back, and leading him to walk several li toward a spacious empty field. In this incident, out of more than two thousand Luocha officers and men, six or seven hundred were killed or were seriously injured, the remaining eighteen hundred soldiers or so had their hands tied behind their backs and were forced to stand in line. The autumn wind was blowing, they could not help shivering from the cold.


    The Qing troops held Tolbusin in custody in front of the rows of Luocha troops. The Luocha troops were originally hanging their heads dejectedly, their hearts were alarmed, they were trembling in fear, but suddenly they saw this strict general, who was usually harsh and ruthless, was reduced to this kind of appearance, they were amused. When they saw their commanding general''s smooth naked buttocks, several dozen men could not help laughing. The laughter was getting louder and louder, not too long afterwards more than a thousand officers and men were laughing aloud.


    Tolbusin was furious; he turned around and shouted, "Stand in attention! What are you laughing at?" He was not wearing even a thread on his body, yet he was still assuming this awe-inspiring demeanor; it was extremely comical. Although the officers and men were usually very afraid of him, how could they refrain from laughing this time?


    In the middle of the laughter, suddenly the cannon were fired eight times, followed by the drums, as a squadron of Qing troops appeared from the back of the mountain, flying a yellow banner, and stood in formation on the east side. And then three more squadrons of Qing troops, flying red, white and blue, three colors banners, separately standing on the south, east and north, three directions, surrounding the Luocha officers and men in the middle. The Luocha officers and men saw all the Qing troops were carrying either long spears, broadswords, bow and arrows, or even firearms; their body armor and helmet were shining, their weapons looked sharp, while they themselves did not wear even a cun of thread. They were feeling even more intimidated by the enemy''s weapons, one by one they stopped laughing, while a great sense of dread started to overwhelm their hearts.


    When the Qing troops were in formation, the cannon from the back of the mountain were fired again three times; and then accompanied by string and flute instruments two large banners appeared. The large banner on the left had these characters on it: ''Fuyuan Great General Wei''; the large banner on the right had these characters on it: ''Great Qing Duke of Luding Wei''. Several hundred soldiers with broadswords in their hands marched out around a young general riding on a horse. This general was wearing red cap on his head and a yellow magua on his body, his eyebrows were raised, his eyes gleaming with laughter, he looked extremely wily. He lightly shook a feather fan in his left hand, just like Zhuge Liang; in his right hand he solemnly held a broadsword, just like Guan Yunzhang. It was none other than Duke Wei Xiaobao.


    He dismounted from his horse, threw his head back, and let out three laughter, "Ha ha ha!" Just like Caocao in the opera. Too bad that there was no lackey by his side who would ask, "General, why are you laughing?"


    By this time Tolbusin''s heart was filled with anger, yet he was unable to vent it out; in his rage he no longer cared about life or death. In a loud voice he cursed, "Chinese little demon, you use trick to capture me, you are not a hero. If you want to kill just kill, why do you humiliate me like this?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How did I humiliate you?"


    Tolbusin angrily said, "I �� I am like this, isn''t this �� isn''t this humiliation?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and asked, "Your pants, who took them off?"


    Tolbusin was speechless; his clothes and pants were stripped by his own subordinates, obviously he could not blame it on this little demon general. In his fury, his face was bulging deep red; he rushed forward, wanted to stake his life in desperate fight against Wei Xiaobao.


    Four personal guards by Wei Xiaobao''s side immediately rushed forward with long spears in their hands, the gleaming spearheads were pointing at him. Tolbusin had no choice but to stop; his hands involuntarily went down to cover his genitals. Seeing this, the officers and men of both sides roared in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Since you have surrendered, you will submit to the Great Qing, go to Beijing immediately to kowtow to the Chinese Emperor!"


    "I won''t surrender," Tolbusin said, "Chop me and make mincemeat out of me, but I won''t surrender."


    Raising his voice, Wei Xiaobao asked the rest of Luocha officers and men, "Are you all going to surrender or not?" The officers and men lowered their heads without saying anything.


    Wei Xiaobao pointed to the white flag on the west side and called out, "Officers and soldiers who surrender, stand over there!" The officers and men stood still. Some of them wanted to surrender, but seeing nobody did, they did not dare to go first.


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Since nobody surrenders, Cooks, come out!" From behind the group of personal guards ten cooks came out. Their upper body was bare, there were daggers and iron skewers in their hands; they stepped forward and bowed to take the order.


    Wei Xiaobao said to Tolbusin, "Your Luocha Country has some kind of dish called shashlyk [''xiashunike''


    [32]], I have enjoyed it in the past when I was in Moskow, the taste is really not bad. Right now I want to eat some!" Turning his head toward then ten cooks he said, "Make some shashlyk!"


    The ten cooks replied, "We receive the order!"


    Twenty soldiers pushed out ten iron stoves out, the charcoal in the stoves were glowing red. The Luocha officers and men looked at each other in astonishment; they wondered what trick this Chinese general was playing.


    Wei Xiaobao waved his hand, immediately twenty of his personal guards pulled ten Luocha troops out. Wei Xiaobao shouted in Luocha language, "Cut their flesh, roast it into shashlyk!" Shashlyk was beef on iron skewer, barbequed over open fire; it was Luocha Country''s most famous dish.


    The ten cooks walked over to the ten Luocha troops with the gleaming dagger in their hands raised high and thrust it down. The ten Luocha troops let out a blood-curdling screech. The personal guards dragged the ten Luocha troops toward the back of the hill, the ground was drenched with blood. Shortly afterward the iron skewers in the ten cooks'' hand had pieces of meat on it, which they brought to the charcoal stove and roasted it over the fire.


    The Luocha officers and men watched in horror. In the quietness that ensued, they heard the crackling noise of the fire, and the fat dripping onto the fire, making a ''chi, chi'' noise. Wei Xiaobao called out, "Get ten more Luocha troops, make more shashlyk!"


    Twenty personal guards immediately pulled more Luocha troops. From ten Luocha troops being pulled away, four immediately shouted, "Surrender, surrender!"


    "Alright," Wei Xiaobao said, "Those who surrender stand over there." The personal guards dragged the surrendering troops toward the white flag. Immediately several guards served them wine and meat.


    The personal guards dragged four more Luocha troops. These four soldiers saw that those who surrendered enjoyed wine and meat, while those who did not surrender had their body cut and roasted to be shashlyk. Although they did not see which body part was cut, they saw that the Qing troops'' gaze was always fixed on the lower part of their bodies, which was not a good sign at all. Heart alarmed, trembling in fear, they could not help but screamed, "Surrender!"


    By this time the six soldiers who previously did not surrender had also lost their stubbornness; they all cried out, "Surrender!"


    Since there were people who set the example by surrendering first, the rest of the soldiers did not dare to flaunt their bravery. Without waiting for the personal guards to pull them, some of them walked over to the white flag. In a short period of time, more than eighteen hundred Luocha officers and men had surrendered, leaving Tolbusin alone standing stiffly on his original position.


    "Are you going to surrender or not?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I would rather die than surrender!" Tolbusin replied.


    "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll let you go back to Yakesa." He ordered Hong Chao to lead five hundred troops to escort Tolbusin back to Yakesa.


    Tolbusin thought that since he was so unyielding, this Qing army commander would definitely kill him; unexpectedly he was willing to set him free, he was caught by surprise. "Since you agree to let me go, please return my clothes!" he said.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I can''t return your clothes." Turning to Hong Chao he said, "Escort him to Yakesa''s city wall, relay my message that we are going to besiege the city. Lead this naked-butt Luocha general around the city wall three times before letting him go into the city."


    Hong Chao received the order. He led the Qing troops away, shouting and laughing, dragging the stark naked Tolbusin along.


    Lin Xingzhu said, "May I ask Commander, since we already caught this Luocha general, why did we let him go? The subtlety of this matter, would Commander kindly enlighten me?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Today we scored a great victory, do you know which stratagem we are using?"


    "That is Commander''s divine strategy and amazing foresight," Lin Xingzhu replied, "Subordinate can only prostrate myself in admiration."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "It was not my divine strategy and amazing foresight," he replied, "It was the scheme that His Majesty has personally arranged. His Majesty said that in the past Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times, the strategy worked very well; he instructed me to imitate him. Have you seen the play ''Seven captures of Meng Huo''? If you haven''t, have you at least heard mister storyteller narrated this story? Zhuge Liang ordered the state of Wei to prolong the battle, they could only lose, must not win. After fifteen consecutive defeats, he let Meng Huo captured seven army camps, luring him to enter the Pan She [coiling snake] Valley, and then burned the rattan-shield troops. The stratagem we used today was exactly Zhuge Liang''s stratagem."


    All the generals voiced their admiration. Wei Xiaobao continued, "His Majesty is merciful, he said that Zhuge Liang was too cruel in burning the rattan-shield troops, there were too many lives lost. If the Luocha troops surrendered, their lives should be spared."


    Fu Dutong [deputy commander] Lang Tan said, "If not for Commander using that shashlyk tactic by cutting ten Luocha troops'' flesh and roasted it so that they were scared that their souls flew to the outer sky, these Luocha troops are extremely valiant, I am afraid they would not be willing to surrender. This stratagem is actually superior to Zhuge Liang''s."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Actually, the ten cooks have already prepared ten pieces of raw beef and hid them; they only made several cuts on the Luocha troops'' thigh, making them shouting and screaming loudly. The meat roasted on the stove is actually high-quality beef; as for what it tastes like, there is no harm in gentlemen having a taste." The generals burst out in laughter. They instructed the cooks to present the ten pieces of beef shashlyk, cut it in pieces and put it into their mouths. Sure enough, it was sweet and tender, the skewered beef was delicious.


    The generals asked again, "Since Commander has caught the enemy''s chief, yet you let him go, are you going to capture him seven times and release him seven times, so that he will not dare to rebel anymore?"


    "It''s not that," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Actually when I was still in Beijing I also asked His Majesty the same question. I said that His Majesty is a ''raw bird fish soup'', he is magnanimous, would he want to copy Zhuge Liang, capturing the Luocha commander and release him seven times? ''That''s not it,'' His Majesty said, ''If we want to copy Zhuge Liang, we must use strategy that is alive, not a dead one. Meng Huo was a barbarian tribal chief; if he said that he would not rebel, he would not rebel forever. We captured Luocha troops'' Commander-in-chief, even if he said he would not rebel, it would not do us any good. Luocha Country''s Tsar and Queen Regent may send other Commander-in-chief, and come here to infringe on our border."


    The generals nodded their head in agreement. Wei Xiaobao said, "Yakesa''s garrison soldiers are fierce and tough, their cannon formidable. If we kill Luocha Commander, the officers and men inside the city might elect another commander, who is more aggressive. Right now we stripped the Luocha Commander naked, and have him march around the city three times. From now on the Luocha troops inside the city will look down on him. He no longer has the prestige; when he boss people around later, he won''t be respected too much."


    The generals expressed their agreement together. Lin Xingzhu asked, "Was it part of His Majesty''s instruction to strip the enemy''s Commander-in-chief''s clothes and pants?"


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter and said, "How could His Majesty think about something so preposterous? His Majesty only told me to find a way to boost our own troops'' spirit, while breaking the Luocha troops'' power and prestige. His Majesty said, ''Luocha troops are big and tall, their entire body is hairy, they look like savages, plus their firearms are very sharp. When we go into battle against them, our troops will see their fierceness, most likely they will be afraid in their hearts; once their spirit is broken, it would be hard to achieve victory.'' His Majesty said, ''Xiao Guizi, you know a lot of tricks, find a way to make our troops, from top to bottom, to look down on those barbarians.'' I thought about it long and hard, but did not find anything good. Until one night, suddenly I remember when I was small I went to gamble."


    The generals all thought, "What does you went to gamble when you were little have anything to do with Luocha troops?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "When I was small I went to gamble with other people in Yangzhou. My gambling temperament was not good, when I won some money, I would leave my pouch behind; when I lost I would be so engrossed in it that I lost my mind, if someone provoked me I would fight him, I am not afraid. There was one time someone fixed me up really good; the winner grabbed me, stripped my pants and let me go home with naked butts. People on the street clapped their hands and laughed at me. From then on my gambling temperament made considerable progress." The generals roared in laughter.


    Wei Xiaobao also laughed and said, "His Majesty said that fighting war must be flexible and adaptable, His Majesty can only point out the strategy in large scale, the actual execution of the plan will depend on my own thinking. I remember when I was little, I was afraid people might take my pants off, how could these Luocha troops not afraid? Sure enough, as soon as their pants were stripped, they obediently surrendered."


    The generals chorused their agreement, they were all very impressed. Some even thought, "This ''pants stripping tactic'', even Sun Tzu''s ''The Art of War'' does not have it. This Wei Tzu''s Art of War is actually very formidable."


    Wei Xiaobao ordered to have the Luocha generals and soldiers to be dressed in Qing troops clothes and hats, and then he sent a Canjiang [regimental commander, colonel] leading two thousand Qing troops to escort the surrendering troops to Beijing to be presented as prisoners of war to the Emperor. He retained twenty surrendering soldiers with loud voice to be used later. The secretary composed a memorial to the Emperor, saying that following His Majesty''s imperial instruction Fuyuan Great General Wei Xiaobao has won a victory on raising the flag, that Luocha troops admired China as a superior nation, that their hearts were bathed in submission, and thus they acknowledged our Emperor as the Holy Sage whose heavenly virtue transformed the barbarians, and so on. That evening Wei Xiaobao bestowed great rewards to the three armies.


    By dawn the next day he personally led various army units to Yakesa. He saw smoke and fire covering the top of the city wall, within and without the city the cry of the battling soldiers shook the sky, the guns and cannon rumbled unceasingly. The besieging troops commander Peng Chun reported to the main force: the artillery barrage from the city was fierce, our besieging force suffered not a few injuries and deaths. Wei Xiaobao said, "Use our cannon, blast the damn city."


    Peng Chun left to relay the order. Not too long afterwards from east, south, west and north the cannon were fired simultaneously. Blast by blast the cannon bombarded the city. But Luocha people had lived in Yakesa for a long time, the defensive structure was built extremely strong, the soldiers and generals hid inside the solid rampart. Although the Qing troops had numerous cannon, the bombardment collapsed quite a number of building, the Luocha troops held fast and did not come out, in the end nothing could be done to them.


    After several day of heavy assasult, He You led a thousand warriors climbing up the wall, from the top of the wall the enemy fired down over and over, killing three to four hundred Qing troops. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Peng Chun beat the gong to recall the troops. The Luocha troops standing on the wall clapped their hands and cheered. Several dozens Luocha troops even pulled down their pants and shot their pee down the wall; they were extremely haughty.


    Heilongjiang''s general Sabusu was very angry, he personally led the troops to besiege the city. The troops on the wall rained down their bullets, Sabusu was shot and he fell from the horse. The Qing troops were immediately thrown into confusion. The city gate opened, several hundred Luocha troops charged out. Leading the rattan-shield troops Lin Xingzhu rolled down on the ground to intercept, brandishing his broadsword. The Luocha troops hastily jumped to evade.


    This rattan-shield team was personally trained by Lin Xingzhu, they were adept in ''Ditang Saber Technique''; as they rolled on the ground, the rattan-shield on their left hand blocked the enemy''s bullets, while the broadsword in their right hand hacked the Luocha troops'' leg. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Tolbusin hurriedly ordered his troops to withdraw. Lin Xingzhu was able to rescue Sabusu. The right side of Sabusu''s forehead was grazed by a bullet, luckily the bullet did not enter his skull; although his injury was serious, his life was not threatened. In this battle both sides suffered heavy loss, but the number of casualties on Qing troops'' side was higher.


    Taking the military doctor along, Wei Xiaobao personally went to Sabusu''s tent to express his sympathy and his wish for speedy recovery. He also rewarded Lin Xingzhu heavily. And then he issued an order to withdraw the camp five li away from the city wall. That night he held a general assembly in his command tent to discuss the strategy to besiege the city.


    Several generals said that that day the rattan-shield troops had set up great merit, tomorrow they should lure the demon troops to get out of the city so that the rattan-shield troops could chop the demons'' legs. Some said that the demon troops'' spirit was broken, perhaps they would not dare to get out and fight; it would be better to build long rampart to besiege the city all around, so that the enemy would die of starvation. Some proposed to dig tunnel and attack from underground.


    Digging tunnel in besieging a city was an ancient technique in China. This idea reminded Wei Xiaobao of the tunnel underneath Yakesa, which he himself had used in the past, when he embraced the stark-naked Princess Sophia. Presently she had become the Queen Regent wielding power over the Luocha Country''s army and government, while Wei Xiaobao fought with the troops and horses under her command in here. He mused, "If right now she is in the city of Yakesa personally commanding the troops, I can enter the city from the underground tunnel and climb into her bed, one touch, two touches, touching her whole body I make her weak, this loose woman will definitely cry ''surrender''."


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao was deep in thought but there was a hint of smile on his face, the generals thought that he had a brilliant idea. Immediately they all shut up and quietly wait for the Grand Marshal''s instruction. It never occurred to them that right this moment Wei Xiaobao was thinking about how to gently caress and stroke the golden-hair covered naked skin of Princess Sophia. They saw his eyes were closed, as he quietly muttered, "It''s so troublesome, even if I have the strength, I cannot eat her up completely."


    The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. They heard their Grand Marshal, "Damn it, with one kick she kicked me off the bed." The generals were even more at a loss. They heard he said again, "Although this Luocha s1ut is formidable, Laozi will eventually find a way to handle her."


    "Commander is right," Peng Chun said, "Even if Luocha demons are more formidable, we will eventually find a way to deal with them."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. He opened his eyes and said in surprise, "We? So you are going to touch her as well?" But immediately he burst into loud laughter and said, "Right, right! The tunnel is too narrow, only one person can crawl at one time; also, the exit is in the general''s room, I believe by this time he has already had it blocked. We must dig another tunnel." The generals were even more confused.


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and said, "All gentlemen generals'' ideas are very good, we are going to eat them all, Green Dragon, White Tiger and Heaven''s Gate. Early in the morning tomorrow, everybody will separately build long rampart, dig the tunnel, while at the same time firing the cannon, luring them to come out and fight, then we''ll send the rattan-shield troops to chop the demons'' leg." Since all their recommendations were accepted by their Commander-in-chief, the generals exited the tent with happy hearts.


    Just before dawn the next day, the generals ordered the troops under their command to do different tasks. Peng Chun supervised and directed the troops to carry soil and build the rampart. Lang Tan arranged and set up the cannon, Ba Hai excavated the tunnel. Heading five hundred soldiers Hong Chao went to learn cursing words from the Luocha officers and soldiers to be used under the city wall. Only a pity Luocha people were shallow and unlearned; their cursing vocabulary was rather limited. Although the soldiers could curse loudly, the meaning was only so-so; after cursing back and forth it all came down to something like ''you are a stinky pig'', or ''you ate feces'', and so on. How could it be compared to our Chinese cursing with a lot of flavor, many postures and endless variation? After listening for a while, Wei Xiaobao was completely bored.


    The Luocha troops suffered heavy setback the previous day by having their legs chopped; seeing the Qing troops'' might, they resolutely refused to come out; they only hid behind the city wall and cursed back.


    The Qing troops fired cannonballs into the city, but the damage was minimal. In those days, gunpowder was stuffed into the cannon''s barrel, ignited, and catapulted the iron cannonballs into the city. If it was a direct hit, it could break human''s tendon and smash the bones, but if it fell on the ground, it would not cause sufficient damage.


    For the last dozen of years or so, the common people in that area had suffered Luocha troops'' mistreating and killing them, countless families went bankrupt and more people died. When they learned about the Emperor sending troops to fight the Luocha demons, no one was not wildly delighted. Immediately some people brought wine and food to express their support for the officers and soldiers. Some even brought their hoes and shoulder poles to help building the earthen rampart. The news spread far and wide, even people from within several hundred li from this area also came to support the war.


    From the top of the city wall Tolbusin looked down, and saw people like ants, continuously carrying earth to build the rampart; the long barrier outside the city was growing taller and taller, he knew that if this situation continued, they would be trapped to death. His hope was that the Luocha troops from Nerchinsk to their west would come to their aid. Only with pincher attack from inside and outside would they have a hope victory. He did not know that Kangxi had already anticipated this and had dispatched another unit of cavalry to pretend to attack Nerchinsk, hence gaining control over the enemy''s movement. The defending general of Nerchinsk was also hoping that Tolbusin would come to their rescue.


    Luocha troops'' firearms had longer range, the Qing troops did not dare to be too close to the city. Yakesa was the base of Luocha troops'' operation on the east. Luocha people had grand ambition, they were planning on occupying the vast land over the Heilongjiang and Songhuajiang [Songhua River, Jilin province through Harbin] regions first, and then invade southward to collect the entire China into their domain, they wanted the millions upon millions people to acknowledge allegiance to them and became an empire. For this reason the Yakesa city wall was solid and thick, with enough ammunition in the city, army provisions piled up like a mountain, and would be able to withstand a siege for three years or five changes of seasons without suffering any deficiency. Deep wells were dug inside the city, there was no lack of fresh drinking water. Tolbusin was afraid the Chinese people inside the city would rise in revolt and join the attack from the inside, hence he brought all Chinese males to the city wall and killed them all, throwing their bodies down the city wall. When the Chinese soldiers and people outside the city saw this, they all hatefully hurled curses.


    Gradually the tunnel was dug closer to the city. Wei Xiaobao thought that Mount Luding was the place where the Emperor''s dragon vein was located; if they dug and cut the dragon''s vein, he would have caused Kangxi''s demise, it would be greatly inappropriate. Thereupon he issued an order not to dig straight into town, but only to the ground underneath the city wall so that they could bury explosive and blow up the city wall, and then the main force could break into the city.


    One day several wells inside the city suddenly dried up. Tolbusin was adept at military strategy, after receiving the report he thought about it for a while, and guessed correctly than the enemy troops were digging a tunnel, to such an extent that the source of underground water was cut somewhere upstream. Immediately he surveyed and evaluated the direction of the tunnel, and then dropped explosive on top of it. With a loud bang more than a hundred Qing troops digging the tunnel were killed, the tunnel was also blocked.


    The city of Yakesa could not be broken, the weather was turning colder as the days gone by. Late autumn in this extreme-north, bitter-cold place, the temperature drop was not a small matter. When winter came, a water drop would immediately turn into ice. If one was not sufficiently protected, oftentimes one''s nose or ear would freeze and fall off. The tip of one''s finger stiffen, hands and feet freeze rotten, was a common occurrence.


    After several days of heavy snow, the common people who helped the attack already could not withstand the cold; they bade their farewell to the officers and men, promising that they would return early summer the following year, when the ice thawed, to help the attack. They also advised the officers to withdraw to the south so that they would not freeze in this world of ice and snow.


    Sabusu, Ba Hai, and the other officers had been stationed in the north for a long time, they knew when the winter came, the situation would be extremely dangerous. If there was a cold wave attack in the night, it would not be surprising if more than half of the officers and men would freeze to death in just one night. The Luocha troops lived in buildings, the walls would stop the cold air, but the Qing troops lived in army tents on the wilderness. Even though they could make fire, it would not be of any use. Thereupon they submitted their recommendation to Wei Xiaobao to withdraw to the south to avoid the cold.


    Wei Xiaobao thought that the Emperor sent me to go into battle, not even a single city was taken, and he already wanted to withdraw the troops, inevitably he felt he was too useless; hence he hesitated for several days, without being able to make up his mind. His subordinate later reported that there were dozens of injured soldiers who were not able to withstand the cold and had been frozen to death. Wei Xiaobao was out of his wits when suddenly an imperial edict arrived.


    Kangxi''s imperial edict said, "The troops sent out under the Fuyuan Great General Wei Xiaobao have done well, their excellent effort is to be commended. Presently the Luocha''s surrendering generals have received the Great Qing''s imperial order to go to Moscow to announce the imperial edict to the Luocha sovereign, urging him to cease dispatching troops, both countries will be reconciled forever. Thinking about the bitter cold weather, the soldiers and generals toil and sleep outdoors on ice and snow, Zhen''s heart is sorrowful; hereby Wei Xiaobao is to withdraw the troops to the south and station in Aigun and Kumarsk, two cities, to rest the troops and recuperate the warriors. When spring arrives and the Luocha troops are still obstinately resisting, and refuse to accept the beneficial influence of the sovereign, then you can march the troops again and sweep away and pacify the enemy in one stroke. Hereby Fuyuan Great General, as well as the generals, commanders, vice commanders and all officers and men under their command are to be rewarded with a set of clothes, gold and silver, wine, and food according to their rank. Various officers and generals must comply with Zhen''s desire, to cherish common soldiers, not greedy of quick meritorious service. Elite troops are sent on a punitive expedition to the north, the original intention was to protect the people; soldiers are also people. By the Emperor himself."


    Wei Xiaobao and his generals expressed their gratitude for the imperial decree. The generals all said that the Lord of Ten Thousand Years cherished officers and soldiers, the imperial kindness was vast and mighty, only thinking about by withdrawing from the siege, inevitably they had to abandon the meritorious deed in front of their eyes, everybody thought it was a pity. The imperial envoy delivering the imperial decree went around the camp to announce the decree and bestow rewards, the sound of soldiers'' cheering shook the earth.


    The next day Wei Xiaobao ordered Sabusu to lead his troops to be the first to withdraw; he then ordered Ba Hai and Lin Xingzhu to stay behind, if the Luocha troops dared to get out of the city, they were to kill them and rout them completely.


    Seeing the Qing troops retreating, the sound of Luocha troops cheering inside the city rose up; more than a thousand Luocha troops stood on top of the city wall and shot their pee down. Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he ordered his troops to pee toward the city together. Tens of thousands Qing troops urinating together, it was indeed a magnificent sight. On top and below the city wall, the roar of laughter and cursing mixed together. However, the Luocha troops were on higher plane looking down, their urine shot down the city wall, while the Qing troops could not shoot their urine up; hence in this urine battle they had lost.


    There was urine everywhere under the city wall. When the cold wind blew, in an instant the urine turned into a layer of glistening yellow ice. Wei Xiaobao was so angry that he almost choked; pointing his finger to the top of the city wall he rained curses. The imperial envoy who had come to deliver the imperial edict tried to calm him down, "Luocha troops are just like beasts, Grand Marshal need not lower yourself to their level."


    "Can''t do," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If we lose, we lose too much face!" He ordered his men to fetch the fire hose.


    The fire hose was firefighting equipment; to guard against fire, whenever the troops march out and pitch camp, they always brought some. His personal guards came back, pulling more than a dozen fire hose equipment. Wei Xiaobao ordered them to push the equipment to the top of the earthen rampart. By this time the river water already froze, no water could be used. Thereupon he ordered the firefighting captain to melt ice and snow in a large cauldron, and pour the hot water into the hose. Wei Xiaobao pulled down his pants and peed into the hot water, and then he shouted his order to his personal guards, "Shoot to the top of the wall!"


    Seeing their boss, the Commander-in-chief came up with this brilliant trick, the personal guards were excited; in high spirit they pulled the lever of the fire hose, pumping the water in the pipe so that a stream of hot water shot straight toward the top of the city wall. The personal guards shouted together, "Grand Marshal Wei bestows Luocha demons some urine to drink!"


    As the hot water arrived, the Luocha troops shouted, cursed, and jumped around to evade. Some of the generals under Wei Xiaobao''s command inwardly exclaimed, "He''s making a scene!" Some others wanted to curry the Grand Marshal''s favor; they shouted and cheered on the side. It''s just that the weather was simply too cold, almost in no time at all the hot water inside the fire hose turned into ice so that they had to add more hot water.


    Wei Xiaobao was in high spirit; he boasted and praised himself, "Zhuge Liang set the Pan She [coiling snake] valley on fire; Wei Xiaobao shot urine on Mount Luding. Both are equally impressive!"


    Standing on the side, Vice Commander Lang Tan praised, "Grand Marshal''s urine shot greatly broke Luocha demons'' fighting spirit."


    Suddenly Wei Xiaobao was startled, his eyes grew big as he stared blankly. "Wow!" he cried loudly, jumped up and down, and laughed a loud. "Wonderful, wonderful!"


    Wei Xiaobao ordered the drum to be sounded to summon the generals into his command tent; he asked, "How many fire hose altogether we have in the camp?"


    The Canjiang in charge of military supplies responded, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: altogether we have eighteen units."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned. "Too few, too few!" he said, "Why didn''t you bring a bit more?"


    "Yes!" the Canjiang replied. In his heart he mused, "Army camp caught on fire very rarely happened, eighteen fire hoses are more than enough."


    "I want a thousand units," Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly send people to the cities and towns around here to get more. When can we have it?"


    That place was extreme north, close to the border, the area was vast, but sparsely populated, the nearest town was several hundred li away. These cities and towns only had several hundred families, the residents were impoverished and destitute, it was not likely that they would have fire hose in town; collecting a thousand fire hoses was a definite impossibility. The Canjiang looked distressed as he said, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: a thousand fire hoses, I am afraid we cannot find outside the Pass; we must go inside the Pass, to Beijing, Tianjin, and ship them here."


    "Fart!" Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "Go to Beijing, Tianjin and ship the fire hose back here, how long will it take? Fighting a war, even half a day delay is not acceptable!"


    The Canjiang mumbled his agreement, his countenance changed greatly; he thought, "This time my head will be removed."


    The imperial envoy was sitting on the side; he could not bear not to advise, "Grand Marshal, you have already shot your precious urine up the Luocha people''s city wall. This �� this precious spirit is not too honorable. We have already won the war, in Xiongdi''s humble opinion, it seemed that the cornered enemy �� the cornered enemy need not be shot again."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "No, can''t do!" he said, "Without a thousand fire hose, this great undertaking cannot be accomplished."


    The imperial envoy thought, "You, the Grand Marshal, is just acting willfully and make a scene; shooting urine to vent your grudge, playing joke once in a while is not a big deal, why would you want to do it with such great fanfare? The Young Emperor loves to use young general; these two, a ruler and his minister, are of kindred spirit, other people do not dare to talk too much. But if you are making a scene, excessively doing things not according with decorum, unavoidably we will be the laughingstock of the world."


    He wanted to advise further, but he heard Wei Xiaobao said, "Gentlemen, generals, which of you can propose a brilliant scheme to immediately obtain one thousand or two fire hoses, it will indeed be a meritorious service of utmost importance."


    Peng Chun said, "May I ask Grand Marshal: you want these thousand fire hoses, is it to be used for �� used for shooting urine to the top of the wall?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If we have the thousand fire hose and want to use it to shoot urine to the top of the wall, how can we have enough people to pee? One million soldiers will not be enough."


    "Precisely," Peng Chun said, "Subordinate is extremely stupid, I must ask for Grand Marshal''s direction."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now I saw our Marshal''s precious urine shot to the top of the city wall, it turned into ice instantly. If we use a thousand or two fire hose, day after day, night after night we shoot hot water into the city, what will happen?"


    The generals were startled. Those whose brain was quick cheered first, and then the rest also understood; joyous cheers thundered inside the big tent, all generals cried out, "Brilliant, brilliant! Water floods Yakesa, ice freeze Mount Luding!"


    After the joyous cheering subsided a moment later, someone said, "Even if we can have it shipped from Beijing and Tianjin, those thousand fire hose must be sent overnight." Immediately several Fujiang and Zuoling volunteered to accept the order to obtain the fire hose.


    Hong Chao''s official rank was rather low, he stood at the very back row. This moment he bowed and said, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: lowly general has a shallow opinion, would Grand Marshal hear it?"


    "You may speak!" Wei Xiaobao said.


    Hong Chao said, "Lowly general is a Fujian native, my hometown is very poor, we could not afford fire hose, when the countryside caught fire, everybody used bamboo tube as water guns to fight the fire. The bamboo water gun is made of coarse bamboo, with the blocks removed, at the tip we drilled a small hole, about the size of a copper coin. On the other end we used a wooden piston inserted into the bamboo tube. During the firefighting, the end with small hole was dipped into the water, the piston was pulled back, hence the bamboo tube sucks water until it was full, and then we pushed the piston, the water inside the water gun then shot out."


    "Hmm," Wei Xiaobao muttered; he was trying to figure out how the water gun would work.


    He You said, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: this water gun can be made big or small. When I was little, lowly officer played with my friends, we used water gun to shoot at people; it was fun. It''s a pity this area does not have big coarse bamboo. If we want to make water guns, this kind of coarse bamboo must be shipped from around the Changjiang [Yangtze River]."


    "Do you have a better idea?" Wei Xiaobao asked Hong Chao.


    Hong Chao replied, "Lowly general was just thinking, this area does not have big coarse bamboo, but big pine, big fir trees are abundant. We can chop down trees; if the center is gouged out, we can make big water guns."


    "Isn''t gouging the center of a big pine log not easy to do?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    A Fujiang [deputy general] surnamed Ban was born into a carpenter family in Shanxi; he said, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: this is actually not too difficult to do. We can saw the big log into two halves first, and then on the center of each half we can scoop out a semicircle groove, grind it really smooth, afterwards we join both halves together, the log will then have a hollow circular hole in the middle. When we put together the two halves, if we want to be exquisite, we can use bamboo shoot; but if it just a rough work, using big iron nails will also work."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. "Wonderful!" he cried out, "How long will it take for you to build this big water gun?"


    Ban Fujiang replied, "If lowly general work on it myself, I can make one in a day. If I work a day and a night, I may be able to produce two."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned, "Too slow, too slow," he said, "You go around the camp to select your assistants, do it together, you be the Shifu, teach your apprentice. This is a rough work, you are not making the bride''s red-painted chamber pot, or a rich man''s wife''s coffin. The tree bark outside the water gun need not be stripped, as long as it can shoot water into the city, it''s good enough. Generals, let''s do it right away, cut the trees to make water guns!"


    The generals received the order; they separately went out to lead their soldiers to do the assigned task. Some went to the woods to fell the trees. Some were dispatched on fast horses to common people''s houses to borrow hatchets, chisels, saws, carpenter''s planes, and other woodworking equipment.


    Outside the Great Wall there were pine and fir trees everywhere, Argun River area was practically a forest, with countless century-old towering trees everywhere. The Qing army set to work, in less than half a day they already felled several thousand big logs. The number of soldiers who were originally carpenters was more than a hundred.


    Ban Fujiang gathered these soldiers together, plus he selected four, five hundred handymen among the soldiers to be the assistants. They started to work that same night to make water guns. Ban Fujiang made the first water gun as the model. The water gun had a two-chi diameter hole in the middle [about 2 feet, 60cm], the barrel was about a zhang long [about 10 feet/3 meters]. At the end of the wooden piston he put a wooden crossbar, six soldiers, three on each side, were to pull and push this crossbar together. After the muzzle was put into hot water, Ban Fujiang gave the signal, six soldiers pushed the piston together, the hot water shot out of the water gun more than two hundred steps away.


    Watching the demonstration, Wei Xiaobao cheered repeatedly. He said, "This is not water gun, it is a water cannon. We must pick a good name for it. Let''s call it �� call it White Dragon Water Cannon." Taking out some gold and silver, he rewarded Ban Fujiang and the officers and men who helped him building the cannon, while ordering them to work day and night to build more.


    Seeing the Qing troops retreated, but then they came back, Tolbusin stood on the city wall to survey the situation; he saw countless logs piled up in the Qing army camp and thought, "Chinese barbarian cut down woods to build fire to warm themselves, apparently they wanted to continue the siege and not leaving. Humph, in half a month the blizzard will arrive, you will have to bear the brunt of it. Even if you build bigger fire, you won''t be able to block the ill wind and cold air in this ice hell." He went down the city wall, ordered his personal guards to add fuel to the stove heating his room, and then he poured some strong Luocha wine and summoned two Chinese young women prisoners to serve him drinking the wine.


    Peng Chun, He You, and the others dispatched the cavalry to go to the common people homes within several hundred li radius to borrow iron cauldrons and iron pots and brought everything to the main camp. They dug the ground to make furnace, piled the firewood, and collected ice and snow into piles so that from a distant the piles looked like small hills. They also covered each finished ''White Dragon Water Cannon'' with tree branches so that the Luocha troops would not find out about it.


    Several days later, Ban Fujiang reported that they had manufactured three thousand White Dragon Water Cannon. According to the position of the sun, the next day was an auspicious day, in the maoshi hour [between 5-7am] Wei Xiaobao was already out of his tent. The drums were struck to assemble the generals. He ordered the water cannon to be brought to the top of the rampart, with the muzzles aimed toward the city. The bugle horns were sounded, ''Bang! Bang! Bang!'' the signaling cannon were fired nine times in succession. Officers and soldiers of all units immediately moved; they shoveled the ice and snow into the iron cauldrons and pots to melt it.


    Tolbusin was sleeping peacefully underneath his warm blanket, suddenly he heard the cannon blasts outside the city. Hastily he jumped up and hurriedly put on his clothes, draped a sable fur coat over his shoulder, and ran to the top of the city walls to watch. At that time a blizzard was blowing, the sky looked like it was dusk; in the haze he saw wooden logs spread along the long rampart built by the Qing troops. While he was wondering what was going on, suddenly he heard the Qing troops shouted together, as if the mountain was split the earth cracked open, several thousand tree trunks suddenly shot water; from four sides eight directions water spurted into the city.


    Tolbusin was shocked. He could only cry out one word, "Aiyo!" as a stream of hot water hit his chest. Actually the weather was really too cold, so that when the hot water was shot, it did not burn at all, but the momentum was enough to knock him off his feet that he stumbled and fell on the top of the wall. The personal guard standing next to him hastily helped him up.


    They heard all around them people were screaming, while above their heads the water swooshing incessantly. Just like white dragons streams of water flew into the city. In an instant the city of Yakesa was covered in boundless thick fog, created by the water vapor condensing due to the contact with cold air. Tolbusin''s heart was shaken, "Chinese barbarians are using witchcraft!" he called out. Big tree trunks unexpectedly could spurt out water, no doubt it was witchcraft.


    In his fright, he shouted, "Everybody open fire, don''t let the Chinese barbarians break into the city!" However, ever since that day when the Qing troops stripped him naked and paraded him around the city three times, he had suffered great lost in term of prestige in the eyes of his people, when he barked his order, the troops under his command did not jump to it like before. It was only because the situation was urgent due to Qing troops'' siege that the Luocha troops were afraid that if the city was broken none of them could survive alive, hence they defended the city with everything they had.


    Suddenly seeing the huge and unexpected change this time, with several thousand columns of water shooting into the city, the troops scattered in all directions; how could they find the time to heed his order? Fortunately the Qing troops only shot water without trying to attack the city. After panicking for a while the Luocha troops started to calm down, yet they saw the water on the ground was turning into ice, while overhead streams of water freely rained down like it was poured from the sky, splashing down on them.


    By this time in the city of Yakesa all the Chinese males had been killed, only some young women left, forced to be army camp prostitutes and to provide degenerate pleasures to the Luocha troops. Other than Luocha soldiers and military officers, Yakesa residents included civil officers sent by Moscow, missionaries and army chaplains, some military merchants, some rogue characters who went to the east to get rich by ill-gotten wealth, and some small thieves and big robbers, and criminals who avoided prison. In no time at all everybody was drenched like a drowned rat.


    At first the water was still rather warm, but very soon the wet clothes turned cold; another moment, the wet clothes began to freeze. Everybody was shocked. In panic they took off their clothes, underpants and leather boots. They all knew that if the clothes froze, it would stick onto their skin; by that time their fingers would be too stiff to take it off. Even if someone helped them, oftentimes the skin would be torn, along with the clothes, pants, shoes or boots. It was really dangerous.


    The level of water on the ground rose steadily, it slowly solidified into something like thin porridge. Since the Luocha people were barefooted, the cold penetrated their bones; they could not help jumping around while screaming, "Chilled to the bones, chilled to the bones!" Everybody tried to scramble to higher elevation, some people even climbed up their roof. Someone in the crowd cried out, "Surrender, surrender! If we don''t surrender, all of us will freeze to death."


    Wearing sable fur coat and holding an umbrella in his left hand, Tolbusin rode on a big and tall horse going back and forth on inspection. Hearing someone cried ''surrender'', he shouted in anger, "Who is disturbing the troops'' heart here? Spy! Pull him down and shoot him dead!"


    Everybody could see that the sable fur coat he was wearing was waterproof, his body was warm, yet he was shouting and cursing in here, while other people were freezing and hovering between life and death; everybody was indignant. Immediately someone picked up a piece of ice chunk and made a snowball, and threw it to him. Tolbusin raised the short gun, ''bang, bang!'' he shot randomly toward the crowd, and killed two people instantly. The rest of the people immediately threw ice chunks and snowballs to him. Someone even pounced on him to pull him down from the horseback. His bodyguards brandished their saber to attack and kill, but how could they stop the mob?


    In this chaos a small team of cavalry rushed over, Luocha mob dispersed in confusion. Tolbusin crawled up from the ground. By lucky coincidence two streams of water above his head happened to pour down, immediately his entire body was drenched. He bounced around while cursing loudly, and had no choice but to order his bodyguards to help him shedding his clothes and boots.


    The Qing troops could see the sorry situation the Luocha troops were in, their shout of joy thundered over the earthen rampart. In mixed accent, north and south, they started to sing vulgar songs. One of the songs was inevitably Wei Xiaobao''s ''one touch, two touches'', the ''Eighteen Touches'' song.


    Peng Chun and the other officers were busy giving directions. The team of carpenters led by Ban Fujiang intensified their effort repairing the failed water cannon. The water-boiler team was busy adding firewood to maintain the fire, while continuously shoveling the ice and snow into the pots. The water-transporter team brought hot water bucket by bucket and fed it into the cannon''s muzzle. When the barrel was full of water, "One, two, three, fire!" Six gunners pushed the piston as hard as they could. A stream of water like arrow shot out of the muzzle and flew into the city.


    The Qing troops'' water cannon shot hot water columns as straight as a pillar. Some columns of water burst into water droplets as they reach the sky above the city, and sprayed down just like heavy rain. Some others were shot low, but maintained their shape and did not scatter as the stream hit a person. The quality of the water cannon differed one from another, some had great power and were able to shoot far, some had very short range, some even had their barrels cracked and burst open after only several shots; as a result not a few of the Qing troop''s ''gunners'' were scalded.


    After shooting hot water for more than two hours, out of three thousand water cannon, about six or seven hundred cannon went bad. At the same time, the water-boiler team could not boil ice and snow fast enough to feed the cannon, eventually the ''ammunition'' failed to keep up with the firing of the cannon. After shooting for more than another hour, more water cannon were damaged, the hot water supply diminished, only about eight or nine hundred water cannon were still operating, the assault power was greatly reduced.


    Wei Xiaobao was frustrated; suddenly he saw the city gate opened wide, several hundred Luocha troops rushed forth and shouting, "Surrender, surrender!"


    By this time the gunshot wound on Sabusu''s head was almost healed; immediately he led his thousand-man cavalry forward to intercept. "Those who surrender sit on the ground!" he shouted.


    The Luocha people looked at each other, they did not understand. One low-level officer in Qing army sat down on the ground, he shouted, "Sit down, sit down!"


    Right this moment, the city gate closed again. From the top of city walls several volleys of gunfire shot down, killing several dozen of surrendering Luocha people. The rest of them scattered in all directions. The Qing troops aimed the water cannon to the Luocha soldiers and generals who opened fire at top of the city wall, streams of water were shot, the Luocha troops fell on the city wall.


    By this time the water inside the city had reached two chi, and for the most part had turned into ice. For the whole city to be covered in ice and turned it into one big freezing city, it would need at least ten days to half a month. But the Luocha troops were without clothes without shoes, and they could not light fire, everybody was shivering in cold, their faces started to turn blue. Several soldiers pressed their bodies close together trying to warm themselves.


    Tolbusin ran around freely while shouting and berating his troops, ordering them to defend the city. But his troops turned their heads around and ignored him. Tolbusin was angry, he reached out to slap an officer. The officer turned around and ran, Tolbusin chased him. Suddenly his foot slipped on the ice and he fell to the ground. A soldier nearby reached down to push him into a hole to collect water on the ground. Tolbusin struggled hard, but his hands and feet were numb, he was unable to crawl up. "Help me, help me!" he cried out.


    The soldiers and officers all looked at him in despise, they congregated around the water hole. Not too long afterwards, the water in the hole started to freeze into ice, freezing Tolbusin along. His upper body was still outside the ice hole, he was still gasping for breath, but from the chest down it was as if he was buried alive in the ice.


    At this point everybody had the same thought; they opened the city gate and shouted, "Surrender!" and swarmed outside.


    In his ecstasy, Wei Xiaobao was dancing and flailing his hands and feet, while babbling nonsense. He tried to issue an order, but his words were completely unintelligible. Fortunately the high-ranking officers in the Qing army were all veteran generals who had been through many battles; they all responded, "We receive the order!" but actually they handled the surrendering troops on their own. They entered the city, disarmed the soldiers, and cleared up all formalities; everything was executed in clear and orderly manner, but actually it had nothing to do with Grand Marshal Wei''s order at all.


    When they previously shot water into the city, they were afraid it was not enough, but now they wanted to burn the ice to melt it, turning it into water and disgorged it outside the city; however, it was not easy at all. In the end they had to let nature take its course.


    Lang Tan led his troops to clear up the governor-general mansion first, they tidied it up properly before inviting Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu and the imperial envoy to enter. And then he went to the ammunition storage, firearm armory, gold and silver warehouse, and other strategic locations to seal them up, and assigned his troops to guard.


    In those days the Qing Dynasty was strong, discipline in the army was strict. Inevitably high-ranking officials like Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu and the others could seize the opportunity to make easy money, but military officers and soldiers did not dare to take even one object without permission.


    Inside and outside the city people were slaughtering the cattle and butchered the sheep in large scale celebration. Flattery from Songgotu and the others surged like the tide; they said that Grand Marshal Wei deployed the troops like deity, that even if Sunwu [Sun Tzu] of the ancient time was reborn, he would not be superior. The imperial envoy said, "This time Xiongdi went out, His Majesty repeatedly advised Grand Marshal Wei not to kill and injure too many people. Today Grand Marshal Wei took strong city, admittedly you have rendered amazing merit; what''s more impressive is that unexpectedly saber, spear, sword and halberd, bow and arrow and firearm, not a single one was used, not even one lowly soldier was killed in battle. In one day we devastated strong enemy, subdued famous city, without losing a single general a single troop; since ancient time, Grand Marshal Wei is the only one who can do this. Not only it is unprecedented, I am sure it will not be repeated in the future."


    Wei Xiaobao was immensely proud of himself; he blew his horn, "Breaking Yakesa would have not been difficult. The difficulty lies in the vast and mighty imperial kindness, who empathize with officers and soldiers, and do not allow too much casualties. For this reason Xiongdi wanted to wait until today to use this tactic, so that Imperial Envoy Minister can see it with your own eyes. We are working for His Majesty, fighting a victorious battle, that is nothing, anybody can do it, it cannot be considered rare. But to look up to honor His Majesty''s holy intention, to fight a victorious battle without killing people, this is a bit more difficult."


    All the generals thought that although he was tooting his horn, but to fight a victorious battle without killing people was indeed an enormous difficulty; thereupon they all nodded their heads. Songgotu said, "This is His Majesty''s flood of good fortune that Grand Marshal Wei is a genius."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Today, from top to bottom, everybody has rendered very big merit. If not for Imperial Envoy Daren and Suo Daren went in person to the front line, dauntlessly supervised and directed the battle, we would not achieve the victory this easy."


    The imperial envoy and Songgotu were greatly delighted, they were extremely grateful. During the battle just now, the two of them, civil officials, were hiding far away, for fear that they would be injured by firearm, arrow or rock; there was no such thing as ''going in person to the front line, dauntlessly supervising and directing the battle''. But since Wei Xiaobao said so, that means in the report of their success, there would be a mention of their part in rendering some great merit.


    Manchurian Qing army''s system of bestowing rewards for merit was most generous, far above any other meritorious service in other areas. There was a common saying, "Everybody carries the spending [money] sedan chair." Wei Xiaobao was deeply versed in the way of the government officials, giving the imperial envoy that kind of merit did not cost him anything, he also had nothing to lose. When the imperial envoy returned to Beijing, he would definitely report and brag on Wei Xiaobao''s behalf in front of the Emperor, increasing his contribution from fifty-percent to a hundred percent, while at the same time, if Wei Xiaobao had done something that was beyond army regulation or went over his boundary, the imperial envoy and Songgotu would definitely spare no effort in concealing it, in guarding their mouths like a closed bottle.


    After everybody had had their fill of food and wine, Sabusu''s subordinate who was in charge of the Luocha troops came to report that they had dug Tolbusin out of the icy hole, and brought him to the steps outside the building. By this time Tolbusin had already frozen to death, his whole body was blue. Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "This man picked an unlucky name. If he was not called Tu''er Bu Qing [this is the transliteration of Tolbusin''s name, with ''bu qing'' means ''spreading blue''], but Tu''er Bu Cai [''bu cai'' means ''spreading wealth''], he couldn''t possibly turn blue, but he could make a fortune." He ordered his men to fetch a coffin and prepare Tolbusin for burial.


    After the surrendering troops were counted and the property, equipment, weapons, etc. in the city were properly inventoried, Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu and the imperial envoy jointly prepared a memorial to the Emperor. They then dispatched riders on fast horses to Beijing to report the success of their mission to the Emperor.


    Book note:


    In the military campaign this time, Deputy Commander Lang Tan was acting as the famous general Wu Bai''s son. Wu Bai was originally conferred the title ''Jing Qi Ni Ha Pan'' (that is, ''viscount''). After rendering great merit in Yakesa, Lang Tan was also conferred nobility title.

 Chapter - 49 (49)

    Duhu cannot establish Yumen [jade gate] Pass, generals attach utmost importance to copper pillar as boundary marker.


    That evening Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er went to sleep in the governor-general''s bedroom. The fire was blazing high in the stove, they had fox fur quilt and sable fur mattress, the room was as warm as spring. This was the place he had previously visited. He opened the lid of the big wooden chest by the bed to look, inside the chest there were army uniforms and some firearms.


    Shuang''er smiled and said, "Xianggong is hoping that a Luocha Princess is going to come out of the chest, right?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are a Chinese Princess, much better than a Luocha Princess."


    Shuang''er said with a laugh, "Too bad your Chinese Princess is in Beijing, she is not here."


    "Good Shuang''er," Wei Xiaobao said, "Don''t you agree that today we have achieved ''great success''?"


    Shuang''er smiled sweetly, her cheeks blushed. Although she and Wei Xiaobao had been husband and wife for a long time, hearing her husband''s teasing she was still very bashful.


    Wei Xiaobao wrapped his arm around her waist, the two of them sat side-by-side on the bed. Wei Xiaobao said, "You pieced together the map, spending not a few heart''s blood, in the end we reached Mount Luding, His Majesty conferred me the title Duke of Mount Luding, most likely he would let me govern this city. Underneath this mountain countless gold, pearls and treasured objects are hidden, we can slowly dig it out. I, Wei Xiaobao can change my name to ''Wei Duobao'' [''xiaobao'' �C little treasure, ''duobao'' �C lots of treasure]."


    Shuang''er said, "Xianggong already has a lot of gold and silver, you won''t be able to spend it all in several lifetimes; more pearls and jewels will be useless. I think becoming Wei Xiaobao is better."


    Wei Xiaobao gently kissed her face. "Right, right!" he said, "These days I cannot make up my mind. If I dig the treasure up, I am afraid I would sever the Manchuria''s dragon''s vein, and kill the Emperor. His Majesty always treated me not too badly, if he is killed, I would be rather unfair to him. But if I don''t dig the treasure, I feel it''s a pity. So, let us for the time being not dig the treasure out, wait ''till His Majesty''s imperial self ascend to heaven, we turn poor and are hungry, then at that time we will dig."


    At this point, suddenly they heard a light ''crack'' in the wooden chest. The two of them signaled each other with their eyes, while fixing their gaze on the wooden chest; after quite a while, however, nothing astir. Wei Xiaobao lightly clapped his hands three times, Shuang''er went over to the door and opened it, the four personal guards on duty outside the room bowed to receive the order. Wei Xiaobao pointed to the wooden chest and said in a low voice, "Someone''s inside!"


    The four personal guards were shocked. They rushed over to the chest and opened the lid, but saw the chest was full of clothes. Wei Xiaobao signaled with his hands, the personal guards moved the clothes away, and lifted up the bottom of the chest, revealing a big hole. Right this moment, ''Bang!'' a shot rang from the hole. "Ah!" one of the personal guards cried out as his shoulder was hit by the bullet and he tumbled backward.


    Shuang''er hastily pulled Wei Xiaobao back and shielded him with her own body. Wei Xiaobao pointed to the charcoal stove and made a sign of dumping it. A personal guard picked up the charcoal stove and poured the blazing coals into the hole. They heard someone inside the hole cried out in Luocha language, "Don''t dump fire, I surrender!" followed by a series of coughing.


    Wei Xiaobao called out using Luocha language, "Throw your guns up first, and then climb out."


    A short gun was tossed out of the hole, followed by a Luocha soldier''s head. A personal guard grabbed his hair and pulled him up, another personal guard pressed a saber on his neck. The Luocha soldier''s beard was caught on fire and it has not been extinguished; he was in so much pain that he bawled out ''wah, wah!'' while climbing out of the hole in a very difficult situation.


    "Anybody else down there?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Someone in the hole cried out, "There''s one more! Surrender! Surrender!"


    "Throw your gun up!" Wei Xiaobao shouted. With a white flash a cavalry sword was thrown up the hole, followed by a ball of fire appeared. Turned out this Luocha soldier''s hair was on fire.


    The other personal guards outside heard the commotion in the Grand Marshal''s room, several of them rushed in. Seven or eight personal guards grabbed the two Luocha soldiers and put out the flame on the two''s head and beard before tying their hands behind their backs.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly pointed to one of the Luocha soldiers and called out, "Hey, you are Wangba Siji [lit. tortoise (b@stard) dead chicken]."


    The soldier''s face lit up. "Yes, yes," he said, "Chinese little child high-ranking official, I am Huabosiji [needless to say, completely different set of characters. Vassili Poyarkov (Courtesy of Ace High)]."


    The other Luocha soldier also called out, "Chinese little child high-ranking official, I �� I am Qiluonuofu [Onufriy Stepanov (Courtesy of Ace High)]."


    Wei Xiaobao stared at him for half a day; he noticed that his beard was burned into a mess, his face was red and swollen, but in the end he recognized him. "Right!" he said with a laugh, "You are Zhuluonuofu [lit. pig tribe coward]!"


    Stepanov was greatly delighted. "Right, right!" he called out, "Chinese little child high-ranking official, I am your old friend."


    Poyarkov and Stepanov were Princess Sophia''s bodyguards. That year from Yakesa they travelled back to Moscow together with Wei Xiaobao. The two of them joined the gunmen rebellion at the Hunting Palace, and had rendered great merit. After Princess Sophia grasped the power, she rewarded the imperial guards and promoted her personal bodyguards to be captains. Four of them went to the east wanting to render more merit and get rich. When the city fell, one died in battle, one froze to death, the other two quietly slipped into the underground tunnel, thinking that they could escape out of the city. Who would have thought that the tunnel entrance outside the city was already blocked long ago? These two men could not advance or retreat, finally their trail was discovered.


    In those days Wei Xiaobao called them ''turtle b@stard dead chicken'' and ''pig tribe coward'', how could the two of them understand the meaning? They only thought that the Chinese little child could not pronounce their names properly, hence they responded. They heard the Princess calling him ''Chinese little child'', then they simply followed their example by calling him ''Chinese little child''. After Wei Xiaobao rendered meritorious service, the Princess conferred him a nobility title. Thereupon the bodyguards also called him the ''Chinese little child high-ranking official''.


    Wei Xiaobao told them to tell him their story, and then he ordered his personal guards to untie them, and to take them out and serve them wine and food.


    The personal guards were afraid there were more spies in the tunnel, they went into the tunnel and searched carefully. Only after verifying that there was no other tunnel leading to the city wall did they withdraw from Wei Xiaobao''s presence. The personal guards'' captain was terrified and repeatedly admitting his guilt; he thought that he was indeed very luckly, if these two Luocha troops came out in the middle of the night and murdered Grand Marshal Wei, the captain would have been executed along with his whole family unto the third generation.


    The next morning Wei Xiaobao summoned Poyarkov and Stepanov, two people, and asked them the current situation of Princess Sophia. The two of them said that Her Highness the Princess was the Premier over the imperial court. The entire Luocha country, the princes and dukes, high-ranking ministers, generals and bishops, nobody dared to disobey her. The two Tsars were still young, in everything they obeyed their older sister.


    Stepanov said, "Her Highness the Princess miss Chinese little child high-ranking official very much, she sent us here to find any news about you. She told us that when we see you, we must invite you back to Moscow to play, Princess will heavily reward you."


    Poyarkov said, "Her Highness the Princess did not know that Chinese little child high-ranking official led the troops here to fight. Otherwise, we all are beloved sweethearts, we all are old friends, there is no need to fight the battle."


    "You are speaking nonsense," Wei Xiaobao said, "You lie!" The two of them swore an oath, saying that what they said was absolutely true, definitely not a lie.


    Wei Xiaobao pondered, "His Majesty actually wanted me to find a way to make peace with Luocha country, there''s no harm in having these two fellows convey my message to Princess Sophia." He said, "I''m going to write a letter, I want you to deliver it to the Princess, but I can''t write Luocha earthworm characters, you write the letter for me."


    Poyarkov and Stepanov looked at each other in dismay; they both had an awkward expression on their faces. They only knew how to ride horse and shoot firearms, but when it comes to take up the pen and write, it did not even enter a single aperture of their head. Stepanov said, "Chinese little child high-ranking official wants to write a letter, the two of us cannot do it. We �� we go find a priest to write." Wei Xiaobao agreed, he ordered his personal guards to take these two men to the Luocha prisoners to find someone who can write.


    Shortly afterwards, the two of them returned with a full-bearded army chaplain. At that time most of Luocha troops were illiterate; other than praying on their behalf and counseling the troops on spiritual matters, these clergies also had a very important duty, namely, writing letters for these troops to be sent home. The chaplain was wearing Qing troop uniform, but the uniform was too small; it looked as if the clothes were ready to burst at any time, he looked very ridiculous.


    Trembling with fear, the clergy followed the two captains to see Wei Xiaobao. He said, "May God bless Chinese Great General, the Great Nobility, I wish for the Chinese Great General''s entire family to be safe and sound."


    Wei Xiaobao told him to sit down; he said, "I want you to write a letter for me, to be sent to your Princess Sophia." The clergy repeatedly said yes.


    Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards had already prepared the four treasures of the study [i.e. brush, ink, paper, and ink stone] on the table. The clergy picked the brush, spread the paper, and wrote curvy Luocha characters. He felt the brush was too soft, the stroke varied thick and thin uncontrollably; it was unspeakably difficult, yet he did not dare to criticize Chinese pen and ink even for half a sentence, for fear that he might provoke this Chinese general.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You write: Since we parted, I often miss Princess, I only wish I could marry the Princess and take you as my wife ��"


    The clergy jumped in fright. The brush dripped a blot of ink on the paper. Stepanov said, "This Chinese little child high-ranking official is Her Highness Princess Sophia''s lover. Her Highness the Princess loves him very much, she often says that Chinese lover surpasses Luocha lover a hundred times." He wanted to curry Wei Xiaobao''s favor, inevitably he exaggerated greatly.


    The clergy nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes," he said, "Surpasses a hundred times." His heart was shaken, his train of thought in writing was distracted, but he did not dare to write what Wei Xiaobao had said verbatim; he had no choice but to write some clich�� that he usually wrote, which was the letter from the soldiers to their wives at home, some corny sentences like ''my dear sweetheart'', or ''last night I dreamed about you'', or ''I want to kiss you ten thousand times'', et cetera.


    Seeing his brush moved like flying, Wei Xiaobao was very satisfied; he said, "You, Luocha troops, occupy our Chinese territory, you killed many Chinese common people, the Great Emperor of China is very angry, he sent me leading the troops here, to catch all of you. I want to cut them all piece by piece, to roast them into ''xiashunike'' ��"


    The clergy was startled, "Ah!" he exclaimed, "Oh my God!"


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "But looking at you, the Princess'' face, I am not going to cut and roast them for the time being. If you promise that later on Luocha troops will not come again to violate our Chinese boundary, China and Luocha country will become friends forever. If you don''t obey, I will send troops to wipe out your Luocha men, and then you won''t have any Luocha men to accompany you in bed. If you want a man to sleep with you, you can only find Chinese man in the world."


    The clergy disagreed greatly in his heart; he thought, "Other than Luocha men, there are only Chinese men in the world, this sentence is too illogical." He also thought that this kind of disrespectful sentences should never be written to the Princess; therefore, he decided to revise these several sentences with more respectful and intimate ones, presuming that this Chinese general would not know the difference anyway. But he was a careful man; afraid that his trickery would be discovered, he changed these several sentences into Latin. After he was done, he could not refrain from smiling.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Now I am sending Wangba Siji and Zhuluonuofu to deliver this letter to you, along with my gifts. Whether you wish to be my lover or my enemy, you must decide for yourself."


    The clergy also changed the last sentence to a very respectful one. He wrote, "Cherishing the memory of Your Highness'' grace, the Chinese young minister sincerely offers tribute, as a token of his devotion and honesty. The young minister has grown over the year, but he has never been double-minded toward Her Highness. He hopes both countries to become reconciled, so that the Luocha army and civilian prisoners can be returned to their homeland; this would be Your Highness immeasurable benevolence." This last sentence was due to his own selfish desire; he thought that if the two countries could not find agreement, he and the rest of the surrendering Luocha people would undoubtedly die in a foreign land, and would not return to their homeland forever.


    When he finished writing, Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s it. Read it again for me."


    Holding the letter with both hands, the clergy read aloud; but when he reached the part where he revised the wording, he recited Wei Xiaobao''s original wording. Wei Xiaobao''s comprehension of Luocha language was rather limited. He heard the letter was seemingly more or less correct, how could he ever suspect that the clergy had the impertinence to alter it at will? He nodded his head and said, "Very good!" He took out the golden official seal ''Fuyuan Great General Wei'' and stamped the letter using vermillion ink.


    This letter was not exactly a love letter, yet it was not exactly an official document either. He ordered his guards to give the clergy a reward, and to summon the army secretary to put the letter into an envelope and write Princess Sophia''s name in Chinese characters on the envelope.


    The secretary ground the ink stick to make thick ink. Dipping his brush he started to write the first line, ''The Great Qing''s Fuyuan Great General Duke of Luding Wei offers the letter.'' The second line was, ''E''Luosi Queen Regent Sufeixia [�շ�ϼ] Her Highness the Princess Gulunchang.''


    The two-character ''Luocha'' in Buddhist texts carried the meaning of ''devil'', for this reason it was called ''E''guo'' [i.e. another name for Russia in Chinese], to avoid giving any offense; in the formal document, it became ''E''Luosi''. The secretary also felt that the three-character ''Su fei ya'' [�շ���] did not sound too elegant, since the character ''fei'' would remind people of ''luxurious fragrant grass'' [���ݷƷ� (fang cao fei fei)], which would appear to be mocking her entire body which was covered in hair; thereupon he changed it into ''Su fei xia'' [''fei xia'' means flying red cloud], an allusion to the classical quotation ''in the red cloud of the setting sun, a flock of ducks fly'', as well as the idiom ''like red clouds hitting someone in the face'' to describe a woman''s beauty. Princess Gulun Chang was a title granted to the Qing Dynasty''s most respected Princess. The Emperor''s older or younger sisters were ''Princess Chang'', the Emperor''s daughter was ''Princess''. Since this noble woman was the Regent, plus she was the older sister of the two side-by-side Tsars, naturally she was a first-class princess.


    Actually, not only the Chinese characters ''E''Luosi Queen Regent Sufeixia Her Highness the Princess Gulunchang'' were foreign to Wei Xiaobao, even the phrase ''The Great Qing''s Fuyuan Great General Duke of Luding Wei'', other than his own surname and two ''da'' [��, from ''Great Qing'' and ''Great General''] characters, he did not recognize a single character. Seeing the secretary wrote lines of character in front of and at the back of the envelope, he said, "Enough, enough. Your handwriting is very good, a lot better than the Luocha''s big beard."


    He ordered to have the secretary rewarded by precious gift, fortunately it came from the treasury of the captured Yakesa, he did not need to spend a single wen of his own capital. And then he had Poyarkov and Stepanov, two captains, summoned to his presence. He instructed the two of them to select one hundred Luocha soldiers as their escort, and to deliver the letter to Moscow immediately. The two captains were overjoyed at this unexpected news; they did not stop bowing to express their gratitude, they also picked up Wei Xiaobao''s hand and repeatedly kissed the back of his hand. Tickled by the two men''s moustache, Wei Xiaobao was unable to refrain from laughing aloud.


    The city of Yakesa was small, it could not hold the entire army. After discussing this matter with Songgotu and the imperial envoy, Wei Xiaobao assigned Lang Tan and Lin Xingzhu with two thousand troops to guard the city, while the main force would withdraw to the south, to Aigun and Kumarsk two cities to wait for the imperial decree. Before leaving, Wei Xiaobao solemnly warned Lang Tan and Lin Xingzhu, two people, not to dig well or excavate any tunnel within Yakesa''s city walls.


    The army marched south. Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu, Peng Chun and the others were stationed at Aigun. Sabusu let the other army unit to be stationed at Kumarsk. Wei Xiaobao ordered the surrendering Luocha troops to wear Qing army uniform, and sent someone to teach them Chinese language. He had them memorize sentences like ''Long live, long, long live to Our Emperor'', ''The Holy Son of Heaven lives ten thousand years of boundless longevity'', ''Chinese Emperor''s virtue reaches the four oceans, his imperial kindness vast and mighty'', and some others, and then he dispatched troops to escort them to Beijing. He told the prisoners to shout loudly along the main streets of Beijing, and when they had an audience with Kangxi, they must shout even louder. He said that the louder and more energetic they shout, the Emperor would reward them even more handsomely.


    Several months passed, the winter turned into spring. Although in Aigun Wei Xiaobao lived comfortably, he missed Ah Ke, Su Quan, and his other wives, as well as Hutou and the others, his sons and daughter. He even dispatched his personal guards to deliver gifts back home. In return, his six wives also sent back clothing and other supplies. They all knew that he was illiterate, hence they did not send any letter; they only told the personal guards to convey their oral message: everybody in the family, big and small, were safe and sound; they all hoped the Grand Marshal would return triumphantly soon.


    More than twenty days later, Kangxi''s written imperial order arrived; he greatly commended the officers and soldiers who went to war. Wei Xiaobao was promoted to be Duke of Luding, Second-class, the rest of the officers and soldiers were also promoted one rank. The imperial envoy who delivered the imperial edict handed a small wooden case sealed with burned lacquer to Wei Xiaobao, saying that it was a gift from the Emperor. Wei Xiaobao kowtowed to express his gratitude before opening the wooden case; he could not help but staring blankly. Inside the box was a golden rice bowl. The bowl was engraved with these four characters: ''Gong Zhong Ti Guo'' [serving one''s country loyally'']; very likely it was the rice bowl Shi Lang gave him in the past. It''s just that the engraving was damaged, but was repaired.


    Wei Xiaobao remembered that he left this golden bowl in his earl mansion at Tong Mao Alley; that night he escaped in panic, hence he did not bring it along. After thinking for a while, he understood the reason. After bombarding the earl mansion that night, the Vanguard Regiment sergeants must have been searching through the ruins to make a list of the remains of his property, to be presented to the Emperor.


    This golden bowl had been damaged once, this time he held it carefully in his hand, so that he would not damage it again. Wei Xiaobao thought, "The young emperor is upholding yi qi toward me. We are even, I must not dig his dragon''s vein."


    That night he held a grand banquet, the imperial envoy and various generals came to be his guests.


    Another month passed, Kangxi sent another imperial edict. This time he rebuked Wei Xiaobao harshly, saying that Wei Xiaobao deliberately acting willfully and making a scene by sending the surrendering Luocha troops to shout ''ten thousand years of boundless longevity''; it was extremely senseless. The imperial edict said, "As the ruler, guardian of the government, it is my duty to do the will of Heaven, to cherish the common people. Although Luocha is a barbarian country outside the sphere of civilization, its people are also human beings. Since they have already surrendered to submission, they should not be bullied and humiliated. You as a high-ranking minister must reflect the ruler''s way of loving the people. If Zhen favors the crowd, although not having long life, I will be wise ruler. If I am arrogant, presumptuous and tyrannical, this ''ten thousand years of boundless longevity'' will only bring suffering all over the world. High-ranking minister resorts to heretical flattery, it indicates the ruler is not virtuous. The guilt is the most grave, definitely it has to be prohibited."


    This time Wei Xiaobao wanted to pat the horse''s butts, but he patted the horse''s foot instead; he bumped into a hard nail. Luckily his face was very thick, he did not give it another thought. In front of the imperial envoy who delivered the edict he cursed himself, saying that he deserved to die, but in his heart he said, "Who in the world does not love to be flattered? It must be that those Luocha troops did not say the Chinese words correctly, so that the Emperor could not make any sense of it, hence he was angry." He summoned the several secretaries whom he ordered to teach the Luocha troops to speak Chinese, and reprimanded them severely. Finished cursing, he opened up a table and gambled with them; they threw several rounds of dice, Kangxi''s reprimand was already tossed beyond the topmost clouds.


    In the past the Emperor has bestowed a letter, our humble country did not understand the meaning, not because it was intentional. Until Nicolai and the others returned and inquired, still they stated that we do not owe the Celestial Empire''s Minister escaping people like Gentemu''er and the others, as well as any news of disturbance on the frontier. When we heard the Emperor is dispatching troops, it brings disgrace to the border, and loses the friendly relations. In the event that our humble country''s people who live on the border starting a dispute and rise in revolt, the Celestial Empire should dispatch an envoy to clearly indicate the situation, and propose a strict measure to control the guilt; why bother to easily resort to arms?


    Today receiving the imperial decree, only then did we understood the situation from beginning to end, thereupon we issue an order to dispatch our humble country''s officers and soldiers, by no means to engage in war. Respectfully requesting our people who started the rebellion to be sent back to face the law, while at the same time dispatching an envoy minister to agree upon the boundary of our countries, Xianlingmoqi, Fo''erweiniugao, Ivan, Fa''eluowa and the others [these must be Russian names, but I have no idea the correct transliteration] to rapidly confer the letter. Begging you to remove the siege of Yakesa, to document all cases in details, and let our humble country know. When all of these are put to rest, forever we will look back at it from the distant.


    Your precious country''s high-ranking minister, His Excellency Wei Xiaobao in the past has met our Her Highness the Imperial Sister Queen Regent Sophia, and from afar has visited our capital Moscow, has brought order out of chaos, and has rendered great merit to our humble nation. For your precious country''s favor, our humble country''s ruler and his ministers will not dare to forget. We sincerely send the heaviest gift to be presented to Your Majesty, the Great Sage Emperor, and next in line to be presented to His Excellency Minister Wei Xiaobao, to show our humble nation''s genuine desire to cultivate friendship with our neighbor."


    (Book note: This official document sent by Russia was verified in accordance with historical records. Only the last section pertaining Wei Xiaobao was perhaps only exist in the novel, and should not be taken at face value.)


    After Tong Guogang finished reading the official letter, the secretary explained in details the content of the letter to Wei Xiaobao. It was a standard procedure in the army; official documents come and go, sometimes the writing was rather complicated, while the number of illiterate generals leading the troops was in fact numerous. Although those generals went to school for several years, sometimes their knowledge was rather limited. Military communications concerned important military and intelligence information, if it was misunderstood, the responsibility was too great; for this reason, any Manchurian army unit always had a secretary who explains the provision of the document.


    Tong Guogang laughed and said, "This Queen Regent of Luocha country cherishes old friendships with Grand Marshal Wei quite a bit, the gifts she sent are indeed not a few. His Majesty instructed Xiongdi to bring everything to be handed personally to Grand Marshal Wei."


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist and said, "Thank you very much, thank you very much." And then he added, "Luocha people do not understand etiquette, they did not say that their gifts are light, they really blow their horn by saying that their gifts are heavy. The gift to His Majesty is heaviest, the gift to me is the next heaviest; they are not afraid people would laugh at them."


    "Yes," Tong Guogang replied, "The surrendering Luocha people Grand Marshal Wei presented to the Capital have been personally examined by His Majesty; he found out that among them, there is one high-ranking Luocha official ��"


    "Ah!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise, "Is there such thing?"


    Tong Guogang said, "This man is extremely crafty, he mingled among the lowly soldiers, not making the slightest bit of word or movement. That day His Majesty interrogated the surrendering people one by one, he had a Dutch missionary as the interpreter. After the interrogation, His Majesty spoke several Latin sentences to the missionary, among the surrendering Luocha people, there was one lowly soldier whose face suddenly changed. His Majesty asked him if he understood Latin. The lowly soldier repeatedly shook his head. So then His Majesty said in Latin, ''Take this soldier out and chop his head.'' The soldier''s countenance changed greatly. He kneeled down and begged for mercy, confessing that he understood Latin."


    "What is Latin language?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "When those Luocha people were talking about pulling able-bodied men to carry army provision


    [33], how can His Majesty understand?"


    "His Majesty is intelligent and wise," Tong Guogang replied, "Nothing that he does not know. Luocha people were talking about pulling able-bodied men, he can also talk like that."


    "Why is it when Luocha people speak about other thing His Majesty does not understand, but then they are talking about pulling able-bodied men he can understand?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Tong Guogang did not know how to answer that question; he laughed and said, "The reason behind it, none of us can understand. Next time the Grand Marshal have an audience with His Majesty, you may kowtow and ask him personally."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "What happened to that Luocha man?" he asked.


    Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty interrogated him carefully, in the end that man could not conceal the truth, bit by bit he told him everything. Turned out that man was called Ya''erqingsiji [Yerofei Khabarov?]; he was the governor-general of Nerchinsk and Yakesa, two cities."


    When everybody heard this, they could not help exclaiming, "Ah!"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This fellow''s official position is not low."


    "Isn''t that so?" Tong Guogang said, "Among the government officials Luocha country sent to the east, his official rank is the highest. When the city of Yakesa fell, he must have changed into lowly soldier''s uniform so that he was well-hidden."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said with a laugh, "When we made a breakthrough on the Yakesa city that day, Luocha''s generals, lowly soldiers, high-ranking officials, low-ranking officials, everybody was stripped naked. Looking back and forth, they all looked the same, there was really no distinction one from another. We could not see that those with higher official rank would have a bit bigger thingy. Xiongdi did not �� I could not recognize this high-ranking official, it''s actually not our fault." The generals roared in laughter; they then told Tong Guogang about the fall of city of Yakesa that day.


    Tong Guogang laughed and said, "So that''s how it is. No wonder. His Majesty said: Wei Xiaobao captured Nerchinsk and Yakesa, two cities; his meritorious credit is not small. But he thought this man was an ordinary soldier, the way he work is too muddleheaded. His merit compensates for his guilt, in this case there is no reward and no punishment."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and respectfully said, "His Majesty''s grace, his servant is extremely grateful."


    Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty interrogated this Ya''erqingsiji six days in a row. Luocha country''s army and government, territory and products, everything was questioned in details. His Majesty is indeed divinely brilliant, from this Ya''erqingsiji he found a secret. According to Grand Marshal Wei, when this man was captured, he was not wearing one thread; who would have thought that he had a way to conceal secret document?"


    "His granny," Wei Xiaobao cursed, "This A''erxiansiji [lit. ol'' second convulsing dead chicken] is really full of devilish tricks and cunning stratagem. Next time I see him, I must look at him really well. This secret document, where did he hide it? Could it be he hid it inside his @ss �� @ss ��"


    Tong Guogang said, "Before the surrendering Luocha people had an audience with His Majesty, naturally their whole body would be searched carefully by the Imperial Bodyguards; hair, beard, must be groped, pants and boots must be taken off and examined. Foreigners who conceal wicked intentions, if they hide sharp weapon in their body, what would happen then? Naturally this Ya''erqingsiji was also searched carefully, but nothing was found on him. However, His Majesty can see clearly down to the smallest detail; he saw his right shoulder was bulging, and he was constantly looking askance on it, so he asked him what the object on his shoulder was. Ya''erqingsiji pulled his sleeve, showing a thick bandage on his arm, saying that it was an injury he received in Yakesa. His Majesty ordered him to step forward, and then with force he pinched on his arm. Ya''erqingsiji cried out, ''Aiyo!'' but his voice did not sound like he was in pain."


    "Interesting, interesting!" Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "This Luocha demon''s injury is fake."


    "Isn''t that so?" Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty immediately ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to take off the bandage on his arm. Ya''erqingsiji''s countenance turned ash grey, he was so scared that his whole body trembled. Grand Marshal Wei, can you guess what was hidden in his bandage?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now you said it was a secret document, could it be it was exactly that?"


    From an envelope he took a document and read it in loud voice, "Thou shalt make Chinese Emperor aware: The owner of the entire Great E''luosi [Russia], the Minor Russia, the White Russia is the authoritarian monarch, the Great Sovereign Emperor and the Great King over many nations His Majesty Russian Emperor. When the Emperor arrives at distant places, the sovereign kings of many nations take refuge under His Majesty the Great Emperor''s supreme rule. That Chinese Emperor should also try to obtain the owner of the entire Great Russia, the Minor Russia, the White Russia, the authoritarian monarch, the Great Sovereign Emperor''s grace, and take refuge under His Majesty the Great Emperor''s supreme rule. His Majesty the Great Emperor will definitely love and protect the Chinese Emperor according to his vast and mighty imperial kindness; furthermore, he will protect him, will save him from the enemy threat. If that Chinese Emperor alone takes refuge under His Majesty the Great Sovereign, submit himself under His Majesty the Russian Emperor''s supreme rule, and everlastingly faithful, and bring tribute to the Great Sovereign, His Majesty the Great Sovereign''s subordinates shall be allowed to have freedom in setting up military camp and conduct trades within the Chinese border. For this reason the Chinese Emperor should agree to let His Majesty the Great Emperor''s envoys and ministers to pass freely without hindrance. Furthermore he should respond to His Majesty the Great Emperor''s letter."


    (Book note: This document is authentic. When Kangxi arrested Russian minister, he was imprisoned for half a month before being sent back to his own country. This document was confiscated from his possession, and was stored in the Palace''s archive. The original photograph can be seen in the ''Forbidden City Russian History''.)


    For each sentence Tong Guogang read, Wei Xiaobao cursed one word, "Fart!" By the time Tong Guogang finished, Wei Xiaobao already cursed several dozen of "Fart!"


    Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty issued an imperial edict: Luocha people has grand ambition, they are extremely rude. The Luocha Emperor who issued this secret document was the father of current two Tsars; he had already passed away. At that time he still did not know that we, Chinese people, are formidable. Now Luocha people have suffered hardship, presumably they would not dare to be as wanton as they used to be. But when we are negotiating peace with them, we still have to use gentle methods and force [i.e. carrot and stick]; we can''t be too careless."


    "Absolutely," Wei Xiaobao said, "His Majesty has commanded, we give them a few slaps on their mouths, a few kicks, but also a few pats on their shoulder, and a few rubs on their back."


    Tong Guogang continued, "That Queen Regent is very crafty, she pretended that she did not know that Yakesa has fallen into our hands, she issued an order that Luocha troops must not have armed confrontation with us. But the official document has exposed the horse''s foot, she asked the Emperor to send back the captured Luocha people so that they could face the law."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "How can it be so easy? She sent me several mink fur coats, several pieces of precious stones as the next heaviest gift, and then wanted us to release her officers and men?"


    Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty''s order: Since the Luocha people are looking for peace, there is no harm in negotiating peace with them. But we must bring the main force along, and set the terms of their surrender [orig. ''pledge under the city wall'']."


    "What is that ''pledge under the city wall''?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Tong Guogang explained, "When two countries are at war, our main force besieging a foreign city. The foreigners ask for peace, we set up peace treaty under his city walls. This is called ''terms of the surrender''. Although the foreigners can''t be considered surrendering, in the end they are admitting defeat."


    "I see," Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, we sent the troops to take down Nerchinsk, it was not too difficult."


    Tong Guogang said, "His Majesty''s imperial edict: to attack and take over several more cities is actually within our grasp. But Luocha is a big country in the present age, the number of small nations under its command is a lot. If they are defeated silly in the east, their prestige would suffer great damage, the smaller nations under its command would not accept it. If that happens, Luocha will definitely send their main force to retaliate, and then we will be ravaged by successive wars, which will last for I don''t know how many years, how many months. His Majesty interrogated that Ya''erqingsiji, and found out that west of Luocha there is another big country called Sweden, and these two countries are on the verge of a great war. If Luocha has to fight both wars, east and west at the same time, they will have a headache. If we seize this opportunity the set up peace treaty with them, it would be greatly advantageous to us. At least we can guarantee a hundred years of peace and security north of Xinjiang."


    After achieving great victory, Wei Xiaobao was still very fired-up that he wanted to take down Nerchinsk as well; but when he heard that the Emperor has agreed to pursue peace agreement with the Luocha country, his spirit was greatly dampened. However, this was the Emperor''s strategic decision, no matter what he wanted to do, or how far he wanted to go, he simply could not disobey the imperial edict. But then he thought, "You are His Majesty''s jiujiu [maternal uncle], hence you are also my wife''s jiujiu, so you can be considered my elder. You are a first-class duke, I have just been promoted to be a second-class duke. This time negotiating peace with Luocha people, His Majesty is sending you to be my assistant; the face His Majesty is giving me is indeed not small."


    Tong Guogang''s father, Tong Tulai was Kangxi''s mother, Empress Xiao Kang''s father, a Han. As a result, Kangxi''s lineage was actually half Manchu half Han. By this time Tong Tulai had already died, Tong Guogang inherited his title as the First-Class Duke. In his early years Tong Tulai surrendered to the Manchurian Qing outside the Pass, and joined the Bordered Yellow Banner. His military contribution was outstanding, his reputation was well-known. Only Wei Xiaobao thought that his name was quite disappointing. Tulai, Tulai, it sounded like someone lost in gambling and wanted to renege [''du'' �C gambling, ''lai'' �C renege; different characters from Tulai]; a magnificent country''s father-in-law, why would he want to do that?


    That evening, after the feast to welcome the guests, under the Grand Marshal Wei''s recommendation, they threw several rounds of dice. Indeed Tong Guogang lost; but pushing away six hundred taels, he did not even blink, not in the least wanted to renege. Seeing he could take the loss in a frank and straightforward way, without putting on an air at all, Wei Xiaobao was quite impressed. It was not until he returned to his bedroom and lay down on his bed that he suddenly realized, "His name is Tong Guguang [''gu'' �C bones, ''guang'' �C bright, different characters from Guogang], clearly I must beat him clean [''qing guang''] in dominoes [''gu pai'']. This man''s gambling character is fabulous, I can make friends with him."


    The next day Wei Xiaobao had a meeting with various ministers. Everybody agreed that since they were going to discuss the terms of surrender with the opposite side, there was no harm in bringing the main force along, to wait leisurely for the exhausted enemy. Wei Xiaobao nodded his approval, and promptly issued an order for the forces in Aigun and Kumarsk to start moving and meet outside the city of Nerchinsk. By this time it was already summer, the weather was warm, the snow had disappeared completely; the army marched very comfortably.


    One day they reached the bank of Hailar River, the vanguard unit came back to report that there was a small company of Luocha troops, the captain of this group was seeking an audience with the Grand Marshal. Wei Xiaobao summoned the captain. Turned out they were Poyarkov and Stepanov, two people.


    "Very good, very good!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Turns out it''s tortoise b@stard dead chicken [Wangbasiji] and pig tribe coward [Zhuluonuofu]." The two men bowed and saluted before presenting Princess Sophia''s letter.


    The letter said: Ever since we parted, I often think of you, hoping that after the peace treaty is signed, Wei Xiaobao can visit Moscow and rekindle old friendship. Wei Xiaobao is doted on by the rulers of both countries; therefore, he must explain and clear up all kinds of misunderstanding, remove the estrangement, and establish the foundation with which both countries will be reconciled for all ages.


    The letter also said: China and Luocha were separated east and west; furthermore, both are great countries of this age. If the two join hands and form an alliance, we can dominate the world, no other country will be able to defy. If the two countries are in hostility with each other, engaging in long-term conflict, inevitably both sides will suffer. For this reason I hope Wei Xiaobao can facilitate this matter; while admittedly he will set up great merit to China, Luocha country will definitely also reward him heavily. In addition, would Wei Xiaobao please talk to Chinese Emperor, to release the prisoners, the captured Luocha coutry''s officers and soldiers, so that their family and beloved will be delighted to meet again.


    Poyarkov said, "Her Highness the Princess wanted us to tell Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official that Her Highness the Princess miss you very much, Luocha men are not good, Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official is number one in the world, she insists on inviting you to Moscow."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao thought, "This is Luocha flattery [orig. confusing soup], absolutely cannot be trusted."


    Stepanov said, "Her Highness the Princess has a few other things she would like Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official to do. This is the gift Her Highness the Princess gives you." While saying that he removed a copper chain from his neck, at the end of the chain was a leather purse. Poyarkov also did the same. Presumably because the two of them were traveling a long and difficult trek, they were afraid they might lose it, thus they tied it on their neck using copper chain.


    The openings of these two leather purses were locked using copper locks. Poyarkov took out a key from his belt to unlock Stepanov''s copper lock. Stepanov also took out his own key to open the lock on Poyarkov''s leather purse. The two of them respectfully put the leather purses on the table in front of Wei Xiaobao.


    Wei Xiaobao turned the leather purse upside down, with a ''ding dang'' jingling noise several dozen precious stones came out, all kinds of sizes and colors, rich and diverse, glittering gloriously; there were huge ruby, sapphire, and yellow gem. The other purse contained diamonds and emeralds. Instantly the tent was filled with their glitter, dazzling and beautiful. Wei Xiaobao has seen countless jewels and precious stones in his life, but he had never seen these many big precious stones lumped together. He laughed and said, "Princess gives me this kind of heavy gift, I really cannot accept."


    (Book note: According to ''Yanjing [old name for Beijing] Scholarly Journal'', volume 25, Liu Xuanmin wrote the ''Examination on China-Russia early commercial trade'', Russia sent the ambassador Feodor Alekseyevich Golovin to negotiate with China on the boundary, trade relation, and economic affair. During his journey east, Golovin received imperial court''s secret order, seriously instructed him: if he could obtain favorable trade relationship with China, there was no harm in giving up Yakesa to the Chinese. Furthermore, as long as it did not damage the Russian Emperor''s prestige and within limit, he was authorized to secretly give considerable gifts to the Chinese delegation as a bribe.)


    Poyarkov said, "Her Highness the Princess said that if Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official succeed, there will be more precious gift for you; plus beautiful women from Great Russia, Minor Russia, White Russia, Cossack, Tatar, Sweden, Persia, Poland, Germany, and Denmark, ten countries, one from each country, each one is young and good looking, all are virgins, no widows at all. Everything will be delivered to Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official."


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. "I can''t deal with my seven wives already," he said, "With ten more beautiful women, Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official will immediately breathe his last."


    "Can''t be, can''t be," Poyarkov repeatedly said, "Her Highness the Princess has already prepared these ten beautiful women, we have seen them with our own eyes, everyone''s countenance is as pretty as a rose, their skin is as white as milk, their voice as beautiful as nightingale."


    Wei Xiaobao was hooked; he asked, "What does Her Highness the Princess want me to do?"


    Stepanov said, "First, both countries must become reconciled, the demarcation of boundary is fair, and from now on we won''t have armed-conflict."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The young Emperor also wants the same thing; consider it done." He said, "West of your Luocha country, there is a country called Swe �� Swe something; they send an emissary, wanting us to send troops together, to attack Luocha country from east and west, and divide your country evenly. At that time those Great Russia, Minor Russia, not-big-not-small Russia, Black Russia, White Russia, multi-colored Russia, no matter how many beautiful women we want, we will get, no need for your Her Highness the Princess to send us any. Besides, each one you sent will be too clumsy and miserable from the cold!"


    As soon as the two Luocha captains heard this, they were shocked. At that time Sweden was under the rule of King Karl XI, an astute and promising young monarch, who was training the army and refining the military; he was inclined to launch a military expedition to Luocha on the east. These days his large cavalry was moving to the east. All the civil and military officials in Moscow were concerned; unexpectedly Sweden wanted to form an alliance with China. Although Luocha was strong, if they had to face multiple enemies, their power would fail.


    Looking at these two men''s countenance, Wei Xiaobao knew that his empty threat has hit its target; thereupon he said, "But Her Highness the Princess and I are lovers and good friends; how could I agree to Swe something''s request? Right now our Chinese Emperor has not made up his mind; if Luocha country sincerely wants to make peace, I can chase that Swe something''s envoy back to his country."


    The two captains were greatly delighted; they repeatedly said, "Luocha country is one hundred per cent sincere, there is not the least bit falsehood. Would Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official quickly chase that Sweden envoy back to his country? Even better, with one chop of a saber, off with his head."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "Envoy''s head cannot be chopped at will, much less he also sent me a lot of precious stones, dozen or so beautiful women. This saber cannot be chopped down, can it?"


    The two captains repeatedly voiced their agreement; they thought, "Turns out Sweden pays particular attention to win their favor; they deliver gifts first and receive the payment later. This trick of the trade is more sophisticated than ours." They also thought, "Fortunately the Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official is our Princess'' lover; otherwise, this matter would turn significantly worse."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What other thing Her Highness the Princess wanted me to do?"


    Poyarkov smiled and said, "The thing that Her Highness the Princess really wants Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official to do is for you to go to Kremlin Palace in Moscow, and do it in the Princess'' bedroom."


    Wei Xiaobao made a ''hey'' sound; he thought, "This is Luocha''s confusing soup [see above], definitely a Luocha soup; I can drink it but I can''t trust it." He laughed and said, "Turns out Luocha men are unfit for anything."


    "It''s not that Luocha men are unfit for anything," Stepanov said, "It''s just that Her Highness the Princess particularly miss Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Another bowl of Luocha soup." He said, "Since that''s the case, the Princess does not have anything else in mind?"


    Poyarkov said, "Her Highness the Princess wants to ask His Majesty the Chinese Emperor''s permission to allow the merchants to come and go and trade freely across the two countries'' border."


    Stepanov said, "If the two countries'' merchants are coming and going in abundance, Princess could write a letter or send gifts more often."


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao mused, "Another bowl." He said, "In that case, the reason of two countries having trading relations is for Princess'' selfish desire, not for the public?"


    "Yes, yes," Stepanov said, "Totally for the sake of Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official."


    "Right now I am not a little child anymore," Wei Xiaobao said, "You must not call me Chinese Little Child High-ranking Official anymore."


    The two men bowed deeply together. "Yes, yes!" they said, "Your Excellency Chinese High Official."


    Wei Xiaobao smiled. "Alright, alright," he said, "Go and rest. We are going to Nerchinsk, you two may come with us."


    The two of them were startled; they looked at each other and thought, "What is Chinese army doing in Nerchinsk? Are they going to besiege it?"


    "Don''t you worry," Wei Xiaobao said, "I promise the Princess that the two countries are going to be reconciled, and not going to fight any war."


    The two men bowed together again, they said, "Thank you very much Chinese Little �� no �� Your Excellency High-ranking Official." Poyarkov added, "Princess heard that Chinese bridges are well-built; no matter how wide or how big a river, you are able to build the bridge using large stones, without stone pillars underneath it for support. Princess loves Your Excellency Chinese High Official, she also loves Chinese stuffs; therefore, she asks that Daren send several bridge craftsmen and technicians to Moscow to build several Chinese magical stone bridges. Her Highness the Princess will look at Chinese stone bridge every day, she will take a stroll on the bridge; it''s like seeing Your Excellency High-ranking Official every day."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Bowl by bowl Luocha soup is pouring; if I drink it again, I might vomit. The Princess especially likes our Chinese stone bridge; I wonder what''s the reason behind it? There must be some strange reason. I must not fall into this Luocha fox-spirit''s trickery." He said, "Princess miss me, there is no need to build a stone bridge, the project is too big. I''ll send her some Chinese silk quilt, several Chinese pillows, let her hold it in her arms when she sleeps; it will be as if every night there is an Excellency Chinese High Official accompanying her in bed."


    The two Luocha captains looked at each other; their expression looked very awkward. Stepanov said, "This �� it looks like ��" Poyarkov''s brain was a lot quicker; he said, "Your Excellency Daren''s idea is extremely lofty; Chinese silk quilt, Chinese pillows, we will definitely bring back some. The Princess cannot embrace Your Excellency Chinese High Official, holding Chinese silk quilt and Chinese pillows is all right. But after several years, silk quilt and pillows will be worn-out, it''s not as sturdy as a stone bridge. Therefore, we would like Daren to still please send the technical experts to build the stone bridge."


    Hearing the tone of the two men''s voice, Wei Xiaobao thought that Luocha imperial court seemed very eager to have the technical expert of building stone bridges; hence there must be crafty scheme behind this. He did not know that at that time Chinese technology in bridge building was the first under the heavens. When foreigners came to China and saw the construction of magnificent stone bridge, they would definitely click their tongue in amazement, and would admire incessantly. Seeing an arch bridge that can span the surface of the river without requiring pillars underneath it, they felt it was magical beyond human''s comprehension. Luocha people were hoping to learn this bridge building technology, actually it was due to their admiration to Chinese science and technology, not because any other crafty scheme.


    (Book note: In Kangxi''s fifteenth year, Russia did send N.G. Spatnary as the imperial envoy, leading his fellow countrymen, experts in precious stones and specialists in herbal medicine to Beijing. They submitted many requests, among which was ''To allow Russia borrow bridge building experts''. However, because the imperial envoy was unwilling to kowtow to Kangxi, the Qing imperial court expelled them back to their own country.)


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "The more you want it, the more laozi does not want to give you." He said, "I know, go now!" The two captains did not dare to say more; they saluted and withdrew.


    One day, Luocha imperial envoy minister Feodor in Nerchinsk received report that the large Qing army has arrived. Busily he sent people to send word, asking the Qing army to stop where they were, while he immediately set off to meet them.


    (Book note: Luocha imperial envoy who negotiated peace was actually Feodor A. Golovin, but at that time the Chinese did not know that western people has their given name first and surname last; thereupon in Chinese history book he was known as Feodor.)


    Wei Xiaobao said, "No need to be polite, we had better come to pay our respect!"


    With grandiose the Qing army pressed on to Nerchinsk city wall. Sabusu, Peng Chun, Ma La and the others separately leading the cavalry going around Nerchinsk to block all major roads on the north, west and south of the city; not only they were cutting off Luocha troops escape route from Nerchinsk, they were also stopping any reinforcement from the west. Wei Xiaobao personally commanded the main force on the east of the city. The army shot fireworks, cannon and fiery arrows to the sky to signal each other.


    Inside Nerchinsk, Luocha ministers, military generals, and the soldiers all were looking on as the Qing army coordinated the siege, displaying their magnificent military power; no one in the Luocha camp did not have their spirit shaken. At once Feodor prepared gifts and sent people to the Qing army to deliver a letter to the Chinese imperial envoy minister, saying that the emperors of both countries have agreed to cease-fire and negotiate peace, the purpose of the meeting this time was to sign a peace treaty, hence it was inadvisable to have the troops of both side to stay too close to each other, in order to avoid inciting armed conflict and thus damaging the good relationship of the two countries.


    Wei Xiaobao and the other ministers discussed this matter over. Everybody agreed that as a superior nation, China must not be rude and be a bully; that they must strive to use peaceful measures before using force. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao issued an order to have the troops withdrawn several li, and stationed at the Shilka River; he also ordered the Qing army on the north, west and south of Nerchinsk to retreat to the hills and wait for order.


    Seeing the Qing army retreated, Feodor was slightly relieved. He wrote another letter, proposing four-point condition of the meeting: One, they were to meet in the middle between Nerchinsk and Shilka River. Two, on the day of the meeting, the imperial envoys of both countries may bring forty attendants each. Three, both countries may dispatch five hundred troops each, Russian army would be stationed outside the city wall, Qing army would be stationed on the riverbank. Four, the number of personal guards both countries'' diplomatic envoys may bring was limited to two hundred and sixty men each; other than saber and sword, they must not bring any firearms. He set up these four conditions because the Qing army had superior number, Russian army was small; if both sides did not limit the number of people, the Russian army would be put in a disadvantageous position. But Luocha troops'' firearms were formidable, if both sides had equal number of troops, Russian soldiers would occupy a dominant position, he expected the other side would not agree; hence he proposed in advance that the bodyguards could only bring saber and sword. The letter also proposed that the meeting to be held the following day.


    After discussing it with the other ministers, Wei Xiaobao deemed the proposal feasible and immediately accepted it. That same evening he sent the troops to build a tent as the meeting place.


    Early morning the next day, Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu, Tong Guogang and the other imperial envoys led the attendants, along with two-hundred sixty rattan-shield troops, to the meeting place. They saw Nerchinsk''s city gate opened, more than two hundred Cossacks on horseback with long sabers in their hands, rode around a group of Luocha officers out of the city. This company of cavalry was imposing, the men were tall the horses big. The Qing army''s rattan-shield troops were infantry, they looked small in comparison, their prestige was considerably less.


    "His granny," Tong Guogang cursed, "Luocha demons are very crafty; the first step and we already cannot match them. They only say about two hundred sixty bodyguards; he just forgot to mention cavalry or infantry. And now they are already two hundred sixty horses superior to us."


    Songgotu said, "This matter reminds us that when we are dealing with the Luocha demons, we have to be twelve times extremely alert; if we have only half a part of carelessness, we will put in a disadvantageous situation."


    While they were still talking, the Luocha troops arrived. Tong Guogang said, "We are following His Majesty''s instruction, in everything we must give careful consideration to China being a superior nation in observing etiquette; let us dismount."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "Let us dismount." Everybody dismounted from their horses and cupped their fist in greeting while standing tall.


    When the Luocha imperial envoy Feodor saw this situation, he shouted his order, all the officers also dismounted from their horses and bowed to salute. Both sides walked over toward each other.


    Feodor said, "Russian Imperial Envoy Feodor, under the order of the Tsar, humbly offers the Great Qing Emperor the wish of safety and well-being."


    Copying his words, Wei Xiaobao also said, "The Great Qing Imperial Envoy Wei Xiaobao, under the Great Emperor''s order, humbly offers the Luocha Tsar the wish of safety and well-being." But he added another sentence, "We also wish the Queen Regent Her Highness the Princess Sophia beauty and happiness."


    Feodor showed a faint smile; he thought, "The Great Qing Emperor wishes our Princess beauty and happiness; this wish is rather weird. But if the Princess hears it, surely she will be delighted."


    Wei Xiaobao noticed that the Luocha officers were standing tall and listening respectfully; they were quite polite and attentive. However, the two hundred sixty Cossack cavalry stayed upright and unafraid on the horsebacks, their hands were still on their long sabers as the horses stood in formation, carrying the expression that ''they were living high and looking down'' on the other side; there was even a hint of threatening look on their faces. The more Wei Xiaobao looked at them, the more he was angry. He said, "Your bodyguards are too rude; seeing Chinese high-ranking officials, why didn''t they dismount?" His Luocha language was grammatically upside-down, his words and sentences jumbled together; but in his anger, without waiting for the interpreter he simply blurted out in Russian.


    Feodor said, "According to our humble nation''s law, when the cavalry is on duty, even seeing His Majesty the Tsar, they do not need to dismount."


    "This is Chinese territory," Wei Xiaobao said, "When you are in China, you must follow China''s rule."


    Feodor shook his head, "I''m sorry," he said, "Sire is mistaken. This is Russian Tsar''s territory, not Chinese territory."


    "This is clearly Chinese territory," Wei Xiaobao insisted, "You are occupying it by force."


    "I''m sorry," Feodor said, "Your Excellency Chinese Imperial Envoy Minister misunderstood. This is Russian Tsar''s territory. Nerchinsk was built by Russians."


    The reason the two countries were having a meeting this time was originally to draw border and strife for land, whether certain ground belong to China or Russia was the key point. The two imperial envoys had just met, they had not even entered the tent yet, the dispute had already started.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You Luocha people built a city on our Chinese land, and you want to consider it yours? Where''s the logic in that?"


    "This is Russian land," Feodor said, "Russian people built fortification in here, Chinese people did not build fortification in here; this is the proof that this is Russian land. Your Excellency Chinese Imperial Envoy Minister said this is Chinese land, I wonder based on what proof?"


    The Nerchinsk region had always been no-man''s land; China-Russia, the two countries'' border had not been defined, when all is said and done, whether the land belonged to China or Russia, nobody had any proof yet.


    Hearing Feodor asked such question, Wei Xiaobao could not help feeling at a loss. He wanted to win the debate; too bad his Luocha language was insufficient to express his ideas. If regular answer already difficult to contest the question, how could he come up with a clever answer? His heart was enraged, he said, "This is Chinese land, the proofs are many." And then he cursed using Yangzhou dialect, "Hot piece mama, f*ck your demon''s seventeen, eighteen generations ancestor." As soon as he started, vulgar Yangzhou cussing words immediately flowed from his mouth like running water. He cursed Feodor''s great-great-grandmother, paternal great-grandmother, down to paternal grandmother, mother, older and younger sisters, maternal grandmother, maternal aunt, paternal aunt; he poured dog''s blood on everybody [i.e. curse], not one of all the female members of the Feodor family in Luocha was lucky enough to escape.


    When both sides, the Chinese and Russian officials, saw the Chinese Imperial Envoy Minister was angry, nobody was not stunned. It''s just that his speech was like a string of firecrackers; forget Feodor who was unable to make head or tail of it, even Chinese officials and the interpreters of both sides were also at a loss and could not understand what he was talking about. Wei Xiaobao''s curses were entirely Yangzhou''s marketplace vulgar and low-class people''s language. Even Yangzhou''s gentlemen and ladies could not necessarily understand twenty, thirty-percent of it, much less Songgotu, Tong Guogang and the other Manchurian banner men, who had perhaps lived as military official in the north for a long time.


    After raining curses for a while, Wei Xiaobao felt better; he could not help bursting in laughter. Although Feodor did not understand what he was saying, looking at his expression, he knew Wei Xiaobao was angry; but then suddenly he roared in laughter. Feodor was even more confused; he asked, "Excuse me, may I ask just now honorable envoy spoke a lengthy talk, what instruction were you giving? Honorable envoy''s words were profound, the humble one''s scholarly knowledge is shallow and crude, it was difficult for me to comprehend. Would you repeat it slowly so that I could receive the advice?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now I said, you were speaking unreasonably. I want to have your paternal grandmother as my sweetheart, as my wife."


    Feodor smiled and said, "My paternal grandmother was indeed a well-known beauty in the city of Moscow, she was Count Peter Marek Jankulovski''s daughter. Turns out Your Excellency Chinese High-ranking official has also heard my paternal grandmother''s fame; the humble one is extremely honored. Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother has passed away thirty-eight years ago."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case, I want your mother to be my sweetheart, my wife."


    Feodor had an amused look on his face, he was even more delighted. He said, "My Mama is an offspring of a famous family, her skin is white and tender, she knows how to compose French poems. In Moscow, not a few princes, dukes and generals adore her very much. In Russia we have a poet, he wrote several dozen poems in praise of my Mama. Although this year she turned sixty-three, her appearance is still comparable to that of a woman in her thirties. When Your Excellency Chinese High-ranking official visit Moscow in the future, the humble one will surely introduce you to my Mama. However, I am afraid you cannot marry her. As for becoming her lover, as long as my Mama agrees, that is still possible."


    According to western social custom, when people praise one''s mother or wife as beautiful, not only one would not think it as inappropriate, one would be deeply honored instead; he would be more happy than if he himself was being praised. However, Wei Xiaobao erroneously thought that Feodor was afraid of him, unexpectedly he agreed to offer his own mother and was willing to take Wei Xiaobao as a stepfather. The hot anger filling his heart immediately vanished. He laughed and said, "Very good, very good. If I go to Moscow, I will definitely visit your mansion." Pulling Feodor''s hand, he took him into the tent.


    The assistants and attendants of both parties followed into the tent. Wei Xiaobao and his party sat on the east side, Feodor and his party sat on the west side. Feodor said, "Our humble country''s Queen Regent Her Highness the Princess instructed us that this time we are drawing the boundary and discuss peace, we have great faith that both sides will be fair, neither will take advantage of the other side. For this reason our humble country proposes that we decide Heilongjiang as the border between the two countries. South of the River belong to China, north of the river belong to Russia. After the border is defined, Russian troops can no longer cross the river to the south, Chinese troops also cannot cross to the north."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Is Yakesa south of the river, or is it north?"


    "It''s north of the river," Feodor replied, "The city was built by us, the Russian; hence it can be clearly seen that the land north of Heilongjiang belong to the Russian."


    When Wei Xiaobao heard that, his anger flared again. He asked, "There is a small hill inside the city of Yakesa; do you know the name of that hill?"


    Feodor turned to ask his assistant; he replied, "It is called ''Gaozhulue'' Mountain."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that in Luocha language, ''gaozhulue'' means ''deer''. He said, "In Chinese we call it Mount Luding. Do you know my nobility title?"


    "Your Excellency is Duke of Luding," Feodor replied, "In our Luocha language that would be Duke of Gaozhulue."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "You are deliberately making my life difficult. You clearly know that I am the Duke of Luding [deer and cauldron], yet you want to occupy my Mount Luding; won''t that mean you want me not to be Duke anymore?"


    "No, no," Feodor hastily said, "Definitely no such intention."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What is your nobility title?"


    Feodor replied, "Humble one is the Marquis of Luomonuoshafa."


    "Very well," Wei Xiaobao said, "In that case Luomonuoshafa can be considered Chinese territory."


    Feodor was taken aback; but then he smiled and said, "The Luomonuoshafa granted by the Emperor to the humble one is located west of Moscow; how can it be Chinese territory?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You said the territory granted to you is called Laomaolashifa [''old cat defecating method''] ��"


    "Luomonuoshafa," Feodor said.


    Wei Xiaobao ignored him; he continued, "How far is it from our capital Beijing to Laomaolashifa? How many days of travel?"


    Feodor said, "From Luomonuoshafa to Moscow there are five hundred li altogether, five days of travel. From Moscow to Beijing, it will take at least three months."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "From Beijing to Laomaolashifa will require three months and five days of travel. It''s very far."


    "Very far, very far!" Feodor said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Such a distance, naturally Laomaolashifa cannot be considered Chinese territory."


    Feodor smiled and said, "Nothing is more reasonable than what the Duke has just said."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his wine cup and said, "Please drink."


    Luocha people loved wine as their lives, the wine cup was placed in front of Feodor for quite a while, the aroma of wine had already assaulted his nostrils for quite some time. But since the host did not offer a toast, he did not dare to drink. This moment as Wei Xiaobao offered him a drink, he was greatly delighted; quickly he picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp.


    The Qing attendants quickly refilled his cup. They also took out vegetable and meat dishes from the food box. All dishes were the culinary arts of famous Beijing chefs. At this time Luocha country had just entered civilization not too long ago. When the Emperor Peter the Great grew up, to prevent his older sister Princess Sophia from seizing power, he had Sophia imprisoned in a convent. Later on he aggressively imported Western Europe culture. By the time Wei Xiaobao arrived in Moscow, the entire system of civilization, culture, and arts was far removed from China. As for culinary arts, even until today Russia was still 108,000 li away from China.


    That day outside Nerchinsk Feodor has had a taste of Chinese gourmet, he was dumbstruck, he even nearly swallowed his own tongue into his belly. Wei Xiaobao accompanied him sampling every dish, and explained to him that that was shark fin, this was swallow''s nest. He also explained how to prepare duck feet into treasure dish, how to turn chicken liver into precious gourmet. Feodor was sighing in admiration; his delight knew no bound.


    Wei Xiaobao casually asked, "I wonder which day did Honorable Envoy leave Moscow this time?"


    Feodor replied, "Humble one received Her Highness the Princess'' imperial order on the twelfth of the fourth month, and immediately set off from Moscow."


    "Very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "Come, let''s have another cup. Our Tong Gongye [duke] here, his wine capacity is very good. The two of you must toast each other." Immediately Tong Guogang offered Feodor a toast. They drank three cups in succession.


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "Did Honorable Envoy arrive in Nerchinsk this month?"


    Feodor replied, "Humble one arrived on the fifteenth of last month."


    "Wow," Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "From the twelfth of the fourth month to the fifteenth of the seventh month; you have travelled more than three months."


    "Yes," Feodor replied, "I have travelled more than three months. Fortunately the weather was warm, it was not a hard journey at all."


    Wei Xiaobao raised his thumb and praised, "Very good! Honorable Envoy is telling the truth; finally you admitted that Nerchinsk does not belong to Luocha country."


    After drinking more than a dozen cups of wine, Feodor was slightly drunk. "I �� when did I ever admit that?" he asked in shock.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "From Beijing to Laomaolashifa, it will take more than three months, a very great distance, and this Laomaolashifa is not Chinese territory. From Moscow to Nerchinsk, you also travelled for more than three months, the distance is not near either. Naturally Nerchinsk is not Russian territory."


    Feodor opened his eyes wide, momentarily he was at a loss of what to say. After staring blankly for half a day, he finally said, "Our Russia is so big; it''s not the same at all."


    "Our Great Qing is not small either," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    With a forced laugh Feodor said, "Honorable Envoy loves to joke. These �� these two matters cannot �� cannot be lumped together."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "You insist that Nerchinsk is Luocha country''s territory, in that case let''s swap. I am going to Moscow and ask the Princess to confer you the title Count of Nerchinsk, and confer me the title Duke of Laomaolashifa. Then this Laomaolashifa can be considered Chinese territory."


    Feodor''s face bulged red; he said anxiously, "This �� how can this be?" He could not help feeling anxious because the Princess was Wei Xiaobao''s lover; if he poured a large quantity of Chinese ''confusing soup'' by the pillow, she might agree to swap, then it would be more than awful. He also thought, "My Luomonuoshafa is a territory granted by the Emperor and has been in my family for generations, a rich land. If the Princess swapped it with Nerchinsk, this place is cold, the population is scarce, it will drive me to my death. Much less right now I am a marquis, if I become the Count of Nerchinsk, won''t that mean I am being demoted?"


    Seeing Feodor''s deeply worried and sick at heart expression, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You wanted to take my Yakesa as your territory, making me cannot be the Duke of Luding; what can I do? Without any better option I must become Duke of Laomaolashifa. Although your land''s name is so unpleasant to the ears, what ''old cat defecating'' or ''little dog defecating'', I have no choice but to accept it."


    Feodor considered, "You, China, want to take over my Luomonuoshafa; that would never happen. But you, Wei Xiaobao, have already received nobility title from my Russian Empire; if you want to overtake my land, it would be troublesome for me. We do not really want to keep Yakesa anyway, you have already attacked and taken it, if I want you to retreat, naturally you are unwilling." Thereupon with a smiling face he said, "Since Yakesa is Honorable Envoy''s territory granted by the Emperor, we are willing to withdraw one step. The two countries still have Heilongjiang as our border, but Yakesa and the area within ten li of the city belong to China. This arrangement is completely for Honorable Envoy''s sake, the maximum concession we have ever made."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "You have been defeated in battle, yet still put on such an air. If this battle was won by you, Luocha people, I am afraid you will even want to have Beijing as your territory." He said, "We have fought a battle. I wonder if it was you who won, or was it us?"


    Feodor knitted his brows and said, "It was a tiny battle, we can''t say who won who lost. Her Highness the Princess has already issued a strict order, in order to give careful consideration to the reconciliation with your respected country, we must not open hostilities; as a result when your respected country''s troops attacked, our humble country''s officers and soldiers did not fight back. Otherwise, the situation would be greatly different."


    When Wei Xiaobao heard this, he was enraged. "So Luocha troops firearms cannot be considered fighting back?" he asked.


    Feodor said, "They are merely defending our country''s land, it cannot be considered fighting back. If Luocha people really fight a battle, they would not stay still and did not attack. If the two countries are really at war, Luocha gunmen and Cossack cavalry would attack the city of Beijing."


    Wei Xiaobao was extremely furious; he thought, "Your granny, you yellow-haired demons talk big to scare people. If I am frightened by you, I will take your surname, I will become your son, my name is not Wei Xiaobao, but Xiaobao Feodor." He had been to Moscow, so he knew that Luocha people''s custom was to have given name first and family name last, but Feodor was his given name, not family name; this fact he did not know. He said, "That''s very good! That''s great! Hojue [marquis] Daren, do you know what is the one thing that my heart desires the most?"


    "I do not know," Feodor replied, "Please advise."


    "Currently I am a duke," Wei Xiaobao said, "But in my heart I hope for promotion to the nobility, to become a Junwang, a Qinwang


    [34]."


    Feodor thought, "Promotion to the nobility, who does not want it?" He smiled and said, "Gongjue [duke] Daren is able and efficient, plus your respected country''s Emperor dotes on and trusts you; you only need to render several more merits, you will be conferred the title Junwang or Qinwang. I have no doubt about it. The humble one earnestly and sincerely wishes you will succeed earlier."


    Wei Xiaobao lowered his voice, "This matter can only succeed if you help me, otherwise I am afraid I would fail."


    Feodor was surprised. "Humble one will definitely help," he said, "But I wonder how can I help?"


    Wei Xiaobao leaned over to put his mouth near Feodor''s ear and whispered, "According to our Great Qing rule, only after achieving great victory in battle and rendering military service will one be conferred the title Wang [king]. Right now our country is peaceful, there is no disturbance, all rebellions are already suppressed. In the next twenty, thirty years, I am afraid there won''t be any battle to fight. My desire to be a Wang would be very difficult to achieve. This time we are drawing boundary and negotiating peace, you do not want to yield at all; it would be best if you send your troops to challenge us, to kill one or two of our high-ranking ministers in here. Our two countries will fight a war, you send your gunmen and Cossack cavalry to attack Beijing. We make an alliance with Sweden, have them send their troops to attack Moscow. We kill until the sand surging on, until the blood flow becomes a river; at that time I can be a Wang. Please, please, by all means, help me in this big effort. But don''t talk too loud, don''t let others hear it."


    The more Feodor listened to him, the more he was surprised; he thought that this youngster was too brazen, in order to be conferred the title ''King'', he did not hesitate to provoke both countries to war, he even wanted to form an alliance with Sweden. If this war really broke, although in the future who won who lost were still unknown, but right this moment the other side was numerous while my side was few, there was a wide gap between the two sides'' military power, right away his defeat was guaranteed. In his heart he quite regretted that he had made the threat earlier by saying those things about gunmen and Cossack cavalry attacking the city of Beijing. This youngster thought it was real, not only he was no afraid, he was delighted instead. This time Feodor felt like he had outsmarted himself. However, if he exposed any hint that he was intimidated, he knew Wei Xiaobao would look down on him. Momentarily he was at a loss of what to say.


    Wei Xiaobao continued, "Moscow is too far from here, if the Qing troops is going to attack, in all honesty I do not have any confidence we would win; perhaps we will be defeated and then His Majesty will blame me instead ��"


    Hearing this, Feodor saw an opportunity to take a turn for the better; his face lit up as he busily said, "Yes, yes. If I may offer a bit of advice, Your Excellency had better not take the risks."


    "I only want to render some merit so that I could be conferred the title ''King'', it''s not that I want to wipe out Luocha country," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your respected country is so big, I don''t have the capability to wipe it out." Feodor repeatedly agreed.


    Lowering his voice again Wei Xiaobao said, "How about this: you send your troops to attack Beijing, I will send my troops to attack Nerchinsk. The two of us brothers attack our respective target; conquering Beijing will be your merit, conquering Nerchinsk would be mine. Don''t you think this strategy is wonderful?"


    Feodor groaned inwardly; in his hands he only had a little more than two thousand cavalry, even to attack Yakesa he was powerless, much less to attack Beijing. He thought that if he did not admit he was wrong, perhaps this youngster would turn pretense into reality. Without any choice he forced a laugh and said, "Gongjue Daren, please do not take offense. Just now I said gunmen and Cossack cavalry would attack the city of Beijing, you must not think it was the truth. I made a mistake, and I want to take it back completely."


    "Something that you have said, how could you take it back?" Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise.


    Feodor said, "Humble one was only provoking Gongjue Daren, please forget that I ever said those words."


    "In that case," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Luocha troops will not attack Beijing?"


    "We won''t," Feodor said, "Definitely we won''t."


    "And you won''t take over my Yakesa either?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Feodor shook his head, "We won''t, we won''t," he said.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "How about Nerchinsk? You decided you won''t dare to covet it anymore?"


    Feodor was startled. He said, "This Nerchinsk is our Tsar''s territory, Gongjue Daren please forgive me."


    Wei Xiaobao thought, "Suzhou people say ''the whole sky demand for value, the whole earth still has to pay''. I asked him for Nerchinsk, he does not want to hand it over. I want to see what he would say if I ask for the land west of Nerchinsk." He said, "This time we negotiate peace, we have to have fair dealing, cheating neither old nor young, neither side can suffer any loss; is that right?"


    Feodor nodded. "That''s right," he said, "Both countries are defining the boundary, establishing lasting peace."


    "That''s very good," Wei Xiaobao said, "If we draw the border too close to Moscow, you Luocha people will suffer loss. If we draw the border too close to Beijing, we Chinese will suffer loss. The best method is to draw it right in the middle; one half equal to zero point five."


    "What does ''one half equal to zero point five'' mean?" Feodor asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "From Moscow to Beijing is approximately three months; is that right?"


    "Right," Feodor replied.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Three months divided by two, is what?"


    Feodor did not understand his intention, he simply replied, "Is one and a half month."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "We don''t need to talk too much. Everybody go back to our own capital. And then from Moscow you set off to the east, from Beijing I set off to the west. We all travel for one and a half month, naturally we will come across each other, right?"


    "Yes," Feodor replied, "But I still don''t know Daren''s intention."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This is the most impartial way of defining the border. The place where we meet is the border between the two countries. That place is one and a half month away from Moscow, it is also one and a half month from Beijing. You do not take any advantage, and we do not suffer any loss. However, our recent victory would be considered void. In the end you are still having the advantage, are you not?"


    Feodor''s entire face flushed red. "This �� this �� this ��" he said, while standing up.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You also think that this way is extremely fair, don''t you?"


    Feodor shook his hand at once. "No, no!" he said, "Absolutely not. If we draw the border this way, won''t that mean half of the Russian Empire will fall into your hands?"


    "Can''t be half," Wei Xiaobao said, "West of your Moscow, there are a lot of land. Those areas need not be divided evenly with China; why be so polite?"


    Feodor was so angry that his beard was sticking out. After quite a while, he finally said, "Gongjue Daren, if you sincerely want to negotiate peace, you ought to offer fair and reasonable proposition. This �� this kind of method, in which you want half of our country, you are �� you are bullying us too much." Panting with rage, he sat back down on his chair. ''Bang!'' he landed so hard that the chair was creaking incessantly.


    In a low voice Wei Xiaobao said, "Actually, negotiating peace and drawing boundaries is not so much fun, I like the idea of us fighting a war first. What do you say?"


    Feodor panting for breath continuously; he could not refrain from slapping the table and standing up. "If you want to fight then let''s fight!" he shouted on top of his lungs. But then he thought that if the war continued, the aftermath was indeed too grave; his side was completely without hope that they would win. He had no choice but struggling hard to restraint himself and keep silent.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly reached out and slapped the table. "I got it, I got it!" he said with a laugh, "I know another fair way." Putting his hand into his pocket, he took out two dice, blew it, and tossed the dice onto the table. "You don''t want to fight a war, you don''t want to go fifty-fifty either. Let us throw the dice; let''s just say that there is a ten thousand li of road from Beijing to Moscow, we divide it into ten equal parts, each part is one thousand li. You and I will throw the dice for ten rounds, for each round, the stake is one thousand li of land. If your luck is good and you won all ten rounds, then all the land up to Beijing''s city wall will belong to Luocha country."


    "Humph," Feodor said, "And if I lose all ten rounds?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Why don''t you tell me?"


    Feodor said, "Could it be that east of Moscow, ten thousand li of rivers and mountains, will belong to China?"


    "I am guessing that your luck will not be that bad," Wei Xiaobao said, "I can''t imagine that in ten rounds you won''t win at least one round. For each round you win, you preserve a thousand li of land, two rounds two thousand li; if you win six rounds, you already gain advantage."


    "What advantage?" Feodor angrily said, "East of Moscow, six thousand li is originally Russian territory. Seven thousand li, eight thousand li, are also Russian territory."


    Although on their faces Tong Guogang, Songgotu and the other ministers were very respectful and courteous toward Wei Xiaobao, in the bottom of their hearts they actually looked down on him; they all felt that he was no more than a clown, a court jester whom the Emperor doted on. His day-to-day speech and action was oftentimes shameful; he was clever, but clearly had no sense of shame, one who think highly of himself. This time he was appointed envoy minister to stop the enemy at the banquet table, they thought it would be difficult for their country to avoid humiliation in front of a foreign nation, to cause their country to lose face. Who would have imagined that the Emperor actually had the capacity to judge character and utilize people to their ability? If he did not send this mischievous character on this particular mission, among the civil and military ministers in the Manchurian Qing''s court, there was really no other man who would be able to accomplish it. The more the crowd of ministers listened, the more they admired him; they felt that the Emperor was extremely wise and farsighted; far from the reach of anybody among the high-ranking ministers.


    Listening to this point, Songgotu suddenly interjected, "Moscow is actually our China''s territory."


    Songgotu said, "According to Honorable Envoy''s argument, as long as Luocha people temporarily occupy an area, that land will be considered Luocha country''s territory; is that right?"


    "Isn''t that so?" Feodor said, "Honorable Envoy said that Moscow is Chinese territory, hey hey, that �� that is a joke, a ridiculous argument."


    Songgotu said, "Luocha country''s people consist of Great Russia, Minor Russia, White Russia, also Cossacks, Tatars, and the other. Those are all Luocha people."


    "Absolutely right," Feodor said, "Our country''s territory is vast, the people are numerous."


    Songgotu said, "The ethnicities of our country''s common people are also numerous. We have Manchu people, Mongolian, Han, Miao, Hui, Tibetan, and so on."


    "Exactly," Feodor said, "Russia is a great country, China is also a great country. Our two countries are the biggest countries of the present age."


    Songgotu said, "The bodyguards that Honorable Envoy brings this time seem to be Cossack cavalry."


    Feodor smiled and said, "Cossack cavalry''s bravery is unequalled, they are the most formidable warriors in the world."


    Songgotu said, "Is Cossack cavalry a lot more formidable than Russians?"


    "We can''t say that," Feodor replied, "The Cossacks are Luocha''s common people, Russians are also Luocha''s common people; there is not the least bit difference between the two. Just like Manchu people are Chinese, Mongolians, Hans, are also Chinese; there is not the least bit difference."


    Songgotu nodded. "That is so," he said, "Consequently, Moscow is our Chinese territory."


    Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao still did not understand Songgotu''s intention; he was fully aware that Moscow was tens of thousand li away, definitely it was not Chinese territory. But he saw that Songgotu seemed to be pressing the issue, and that Feodor''s veins were bulging on his forehead, his countenance alternated between ashen and deep red, he appeared to be very angry that he had turned mad. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao interrupted, "Moscow is Chinese territory, that is absolutely true. Chinese Emperor is magnanimous, he let you did like Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou, but after borrowing it he never returned it back."


    Naturally Feodor did not know anything about Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou, he just felt that these Chinese barbarians did not speak with reasons, they talked not as civilized people. He said with a cold laugh, "I previously heard that China was long-established, that Chinese people were very well-learned; who would have thought �� hey, hey, you are experts in talking drivel without any proof."


    Songgotu said, "Honorable Envoy is a high-ranking minister of Luocha country, even if you did not have much learning, but you would know Luocha country''s history, I presume?"


    Feodor said, "Our country''s history is well-written as a proof, everything is written down clearly, not at all like other people speak thoughtlessly and casually."


    "That''s very good," Songgotu said, "In the past China had an emperor, called Genghis Khan ��"


    As soon as Feodor heard the name ''Genghis Khan'', four characters [cheng ji si han], he could not help blurting out ''Aiyo'', while in his heart he groaned, "Bad, bad! Why was I so muddleheaded that I completely forgot about this big matter?"


    Songgotu continued, "This Genghis Khan, in China we call him Yuan Taizu [lit. grand ancestor], because he was the Great Ancestor who founded our China''s Yuan Dynasty. He was a Mongol; Honorable Envoy has just said that Manchus, Mongols, Hans, are all Chinese, there is not the least bit difference. At that time Mongolian cavalry launched military expedition to the west, and have had quite a few major battles with the Luocha troops. Your respected country''s history books have the proof, everything is written down clearly, it''s not something that other people speak thoughtlessly and casually. These several battles, I wonder if they were won by us, the Chinese, or were they won by your respected country, Luocha people?"


    Feodor was speechless. After quite a while, he finally replied, "The Mongols won."


    "And Mongols are Chinese!" Songgotu said.


    Feodor stared blankly for half a day, finally he slowly nodded his head.


    Wei Xiaobao did not know that there was such thing in the past; when he heard that, immediately his spirit received a big boost. "Chinese and Luocha people fought a war, undoubtedly Luocha people would lose. Your ability is a bit inferior, next time we fight another war, we only need to use one hand. Otherwise, the difference between the two sides is too far, the war would not have been fun to fight."


    Feodor glowered at him; he mused, "If not for Her Highness the Princess has issued a strict order that this time we could only use peaceful method and not use force, just based on this word of yours that you are insulting us, Luocha people, I would have challenged you for a duel."


    With a giggle Wei Xiaobao asked Songgotu, "Suo Dage, how did Genghis Khan defeat Luocha troops?"


    Songgotu said, "In those days Genghis Khan deployed two ten-thousand men companies on the military expedition to the west, altogether there were only twenty thousand men and horses. They attacked and inflicted heavy damage to more than a hundred thousand men Luocha coalition army. Genghis Khan''s grandson, Batu was also a great hero, his army defeated the Luocha troops utterly, and he occupied Moscow, striking all the way to Poland, Hungary, and crossed the Danube. For the next several hundred years, Luocha''s princes, dukes, and the nobles had to obey us, the Chinese. At that time our Chinese Mongolian heroes lived in gold-inlaid tents. Moscow''s princes and dukes oftentimes had to come and kowtow to Chinese people. When the Chinese said they wanted to spank these people'' bottom, they would simply spank their bottoms. When they said they wanted to slap, they simply slapped, the Luocha people would still giggle and cry out that the beating was good, the beating was too few. Otherwise, he could not be a duke anymore."


    (Book note: In 1238AD Mongolian Great General Batu took over Moscow and Kiev. From 1240 to 1480AD, for 240 years the Mongolians ruled Russian vast territory, they established the ''Golden Horde'' [lit. golden tent Khanate]. The ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' has the following entry on the subject of Russia: ''The Princes and Dukes of Moscow must go to Sarai city at the mouth of Volga River to have an audience with the Mongolian Khan in his golden tent before they could receive the nobility title. They had to endure many different kinds of humiliation. After paying their respect and returning to Moscow they then could collect taxes from the Tatars and could push around the neighboring smaller states'' feudal vassals.'')


    [35]Hearing this, Wei Xiaobao was radiant with delight; he struck the table and exclaimed happily, "Dear dragon of the east! Turns out Moscow indeed belongs to China."


    Feodor''s face alternated between green and white. Songgotu was stating a historical fact, it was not a false statement at all, it''s just that Luocha people previously did not admit Mongolians as Chinese. This time, however, Mongolia indeed belonged to China, hence the inference that Moscow also belonged to China was not completely baseless.


    "Your Excellency Marquis," Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll say this discussion about defining border need not be continued. Please go back and ask the Princess when she is going to return Moscow to China. I will also go back to Beijing, to procure leather and gold to manufacture golden tent, and then tear down Kremlin Palace and erect the golden tent on its place, and ask Princess Sophia to sleep in it. Ha ha, ha ha ��!"


    Hearing to this point, Feodor could no longer show restraint; he sprang up and rushed out of the tent. They heard his angry voice like thunder, shouting order and issuing his instruction, followed by the sound of hoof beats. More than two hundred horses rushed over. Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "Aiyo!" he cried out, "These hairy people are going to attack, we''d better run for our lives."


    Tong Guogang had been through many battles, he was completely calm. "Wei Gongjue don''t panic," he shouted, "If he wants to fight then let''s fight; who is afraid of him?"


    They heard outside the tent the Cossack cavalry shouted together. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his entire body trembled. He ducked down and hid underneath the table. Tong Guogang and Songgotu looked at each other in dismay; in their hearts they could not help but panicking as well.


    The tent curtain was opened, a general strode in, it was none other than the commander of the rattan shield troops, Lin Xingzhu. He said in a loud and clear voice, "Reporting to Grand Marshal ��" but he did not see the Grand Marshal.


    From underneath the table Wei Xiaobao said, "I �� I �� I am here. Everybody quickly �� quickly run for your lives."


    Lin Xingzhu squatted down to speak to the Grand Marshal Wei underneath the table, "Reporting to Grand Marshal: Luocha troops'' prestige is impressive, but we must not show weakness; if we have to fight then let''s damn fight."


    Hearing he spoke with confidence, Wei Xiaobao''s spirit calmed down; immediately he crawled out of the table. Just now he hastily took refuge under the table, but actually he was not being a coward blindly. Patting his chest he said, "Right, if we want to fight then let''s fight their grannies. Laozi being a soldier, bravely go �� bravely go not �� not in the front. No, that''s not right! Bravely go to show my worth." (He wanted to say, ''Bravely go to show one''s worth, not bravely go is of little value''.)


    Pulling Lin Xingzhu''s hand he strode out the tent. As soon as he was outside, he saw two hundred sixty Cossack cavalry raising high their long sabers, riding on their fine horses, surrounding the tent to show off their military strength, speeding along in circles around the tent. Feodor shouted his command, the cavalry rushed away from the tent. They stopped approximately two hundred zhang away and arranged themselves in formation; two hundred sixty riders in ten neat and tidy rows. Suddenly they shouted together and rushed toward Wei Xiaobao.


    "Mother!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, and turned around, ready to dash into the tent. But then he thought, "If the Luocha demons want to kill me, even if I hide inside the tent, they will still grab me. I must not lose this face." His body was trembling, his face was the color of the earth, but unexpectedly he stood upright and did not move.


    Lin Xingzhu thundered, "Rattan shield troops, protect the Grand Marshal! Come over!"


    The two hundred sixty rattan shield troops responded in chorus, "Yes." Quickly they moved and stood in front of Wei Xiaobao and the other high-ranking ministers.


    From his boot Wei Xiaobao pulled his dagger, thinking, "If Luocha demons really want to resort to violence, everybody will fight desperately together, yi qi cannot be disregarded." He rushed over in front of Songgotu and called out, "Suo Dage, don''t be afraid, I will protect you."


    Songgotu was a civil officer, he was already scared that his body and soul separated. He said, "I completely �� completely rely on Xiongdi."


    They saw ten rows of Cossack cavalry charged swiftly toward them. When they were about five zhang away from the Qing troops, the captain in the front waved his long saber in the air and shouted his order. The cavalry straightened their backs and pulled the reins, two hundred sixty horses immediately stopped. The captain shouted his order again, the cavalry divided into two groups, a hundred and thirty riders split to the north, the other hundred and thirty riders went to the south. After speeding along for several dozen zhang, they made a big circle and returned to their original position, about two hundred zhang away from the tent and stopped. The formation was strictly maintained, they were not in disorder at all. These two hundred sixty men and horses were like one man one horse, indeed they were a highly trained group of elite troops.


    Feodor laughed aloud and cried in a loud voice, "Gongjue Daren, what do you think of our Luocha troops?"


    It was only then did Wei Xiaobao know that he was merely showing off their military prowess. In his heart he was furious. "That is no more than circus monkey stuff," he cried, "In a real battle, it will be completely useless."


    Feodor angrily said, "We''ll do it again!" In his heart he said, "This time let them charge right in front of you, I want to see if you are going to run away or not." He called out, "Knock the Chinese troops'' hat off their heads."


    The Cossack cavalry captain shouted his order, two hundred sixty cavalry charged forward again.


    "Chop the horses'' legs!" Wei Xiaobao called out.


    "Receive the order!" Lin Xingzhu responded. "Chop the horses'' legs! Don''t hurt the people!"


    They heard the thundering hoof beats, two hundred sixty horses were getting closer and closer, Cossack cavalry''s long sabers flickered under the sunlight, soon they were only about thirty zhang away, then twenty zhang, ten zhang �� and still they did not stop. When they were about four, five zhang away, Lin Xingzhu shouted, "Roll down, move, move, move!" Two hundred and sixty rattan shield troops leaped forward and rolled on the ground.


    These two hundred and sixty men were under Lin Xingzhu''s personal training, they were expert in Di Tang Saber Technique; their movement and saber playing had been trained to perfection. As they rolled forward, the rattan shield protected their bodies, but did not reveal the least bit of saber''s glitter.


    The Cossack cavalry suddenly saw the Qing troops rolled on the ground, they were all stunned. The troops defending Yakesa had suffered defeat under the rattan shield troops'' hands, but those defenders were either dead or taken captive; they were completely wiped out. The Cossack cavalry was fresh from Moscow, escorting Feodor to the east; they had never seen the rattan shield troops'' movement, they all thought that by rolling around on the ground, you look really silly, so don''t blame us if you are trampled to your death by the horses.


    In an instant the first row of cavalry clashed with the rattan shield troops. Suddenly the horses neighed and fell down one after another. The rattan shield troops brandished their sharp blades, one saber sweep chopped one or two horse''s legs. With the rattan shield protecting their bodies, they continuously rolled around and chopped more horses. Amidst the cry of Luocha troops and the neigh of their horses, the rattan shield troops already swept pass all ten rows, chopping a hundred seventy or a hundred eighty horses'' legs. And then they all stood in formation behind the Cossack cavalry. Under Lin Xingzhu''s leadership the rattan shield troops then ran quickly back and lined up in front of Wei Xiaobao. From the two hundred sixty men, only about a dozen or so suffered bruises from the horses'' kicks, but their injuries were light, the injured bore their pain silently as they stood in formation.


    More than half of the two hundred and sixty Cossack cavalry were thrown down from their horses, some were crushed by their own mounts, they were lying on the ground, groaning and crying out in distress. Only several dozen men still stayed on their horses as they ran far away. Most of them stood on the ground, at a loss of what to do. All their lives these cavalry troops spent their time on the horseback; only by riding their mounts would these men be swift, fierce and brave. With their feet on the ground, they were like fish out of the water, without their mounts they had nothing to rely on.


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "Divide the troops, surround the high-ranking Luocha officials."


    Lin Xingzhu shouted his order, immediately a hundred rattan shield troops surrounded Feodor and the others, a dozen or so Luocha ministers, a hundred broadswords formed a large blade ring, the blades were facing inward; just with one order these hundred broadswords would press in, Feodor and the others would definitely turn into Luocha meatloaf.


    Seeing this situation, the deputy captain of the Cossack cavalry dashed forward and shouted, "Must not harm people, must not harm people!"


    Wei Xiaobao turned his head around and spoke to Shuang''er, who was wearing personal guard uniform, "Go seal their acupoints."


    "Alright!" Shuang''er replied, and leaped out behind the Cossack cavalry captain; stretching out her finger she sealed the acupoint on his lower back, and then she also sealed the deputy captain''s acupoint.


    A junior captain put his hand into his pocket and pulled a short gun. "Don''t move!" he shouted.


    Shuang''er grabbed a Luocha soldier by her side and held him in front of her body. With the soldier as a shield, she pressed several steps forward. The junior captain did not dare to open fire. "Don''t move!" he shouted again.


    Shuang''er threw the Luocha soldier toward him. The junior captain was startled; he dodged sideways. Shuang''er leaped forward, and sealed the acupoints on his chest and waist, and then she grabbed the gun in his hand, pointed it to the sky, and then ''bang!'' it went off.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted loudly, "Well, well, both sides have agreed not to carry firearms; you Luocha demons cannot be trusted at all." Taking several steps forward, he said to Feodor, "Hey, tell your men to throw their weapons down, get down from their horses, and stand in line. Those who carry firearms must hand it over."


    Feodor knew he could not defy, hence he issued the order; the Cossack cavalry had no choice but to throw down their sabers and swords, dismounted from their horses and stood in formation. Wei Xiaobao ordered the two hundred and sixty rattan shield troops to surround and searched the Luocha troops. From two hundred and sixty men, they found more than two hundred and eighty short guns; some men carried two.


    The Luocha troops standing guard at Nerchinsk city wall saw the turn of events, they advanced slowly. The Qing troops on the east also slowly moving forward. When the distance between them was about several hundred steps, both armies arranged themselves in formation, facing each other. Seeing their commander-in-chief was surrounded, the Luocha troops could only groan inwardly, they did not dare to move further.


    Wei Xiaobao asked Feodor, "Hojue Daren, what did you bring that many firearms for?"


    Feodor hung his head and said, "I am so sorry, my bodyguards did not obey the order, they secretly carried firearms. When we get back I will severely punish them."


    Wei Xiaobao called out, "Rattan shield troops, open your clothes, let them see if you are carrying firearms or not?"


    Two hundred and sixty rattan shield troops tossed their shields aside, with their left hands they undid their clothes, with their right hands they held the broadsword high to guard against the enemy making a move. Everybody opened their clothes, exposing their chests, and hopped several times. Sure enough, nobody carried any firearm. Feodor was very ashamed, he hung his head low and did not say anything.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted in Luocha language, "Luocha people have no sense of shame, strip their clothes and pants, see if they still conceal firearms or not?"


    Feodor was greatly alarmed; he hastily said, "Gongjue Daren, please show mercy. If you �� you strip my pants, I �� I will have no choice but to commit suicide."


    "This stripping of pants must be done," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Feodor said, "Please forgive us just this one time, in other matters we will obey whatever you tell us to do."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Just now your cavalry rushed over and scared me that I hid under the table; the Gongjue Daren has lost a lot of face. What do you do about that?"


    Feodor thought, "You are the one who is a coward, what can I do about it?" But since the Qing troops'' blade flickered around him, he had no choice but to say, "The humble one is ready to pay for the damage."


    "Receive the order!" the rattan shield troops shouted. They lifted their blades, insert it into Luocha men''s waist with the sharp of the blade facing outward, and pulled. The belts were immediately cut. From Feodor down, all Luocha men were scared out of their wits. With both hands they held their pants tight, for fear they would fall.


    Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter. He issued another order, "Escort the Luocha people back to our camp in triumph!"


    By this time all Luocha officers and men were worried that their pants would drop down, nobody dared to resist; they followed the Qing troops marching to the east.


    Tong Guogang said with a laugh, "Grand Marshal Wei''s brilliant scheme is indeed admirable. Cutting their belts is the same as instantly tying the hands of two hundred and sixty Luocha officers and men behind their back."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Luocha men are very afraid to take off their pants, on the contrary, Luocha women are not afraid at all; isn''t that very strange?" Tong Guogang and the others laughed at this sexual innuendo.


    The party met with the main army. The Qing troops pushed out more than four hundred cannon and took off the cannon covering, the cannon''s muzzles were trained at the Luocha troops. Although Luocha country''s firearms were sharp, in their mission to the east this time, their preparation was not as good as Kangxi, who had half the number of cannon available in the entire country sent to Nerchinsk. Therefore, in term of firepower, the Qing army was several times more superior. When the Luocha troops suddenly saw these many cannon, they all looked at each other with fear on their faces. Their commander hastily issued an order to return to the city and close the city gate tightly. The Qing army did not continue besieging the city either.


    In the meantime the Cossack cavalry captain, deputy captain, and the junior captain''s acupoints were still sealed by Shuang''er, they were unable to move a single step. The three men were standing on the open space like clay figurine or wooden statue. When the Luocha troops returned and entered Nerchinsk, they were in such a hurry that they did not pay attention. By the time they climbed the city wall and looked, they were astonished, but nobody dared to get out of the city to help. After about an hour, they saw the three men were still unmoving, so then a company of Cossack cavalry went out of the city to rescue them. But they only walked a dozen of zhang or so, the Qing army''s cannon were fired several times. The general defending the city hastily ordered the trumpeter to sound the bugle to order the cavalry to return to the city; he was afraid the Qing army would attack so that the rescuing team would also fall into their trap.


    On top of the city wall, under the city wall, the two armies watched from a distance the three men were still standing motionless in a rather weird posture. The Qing troops roared in laughter. The Luocha troops were overwhelmed with shock. Wei Xiaobao invited Feodor and his delegation to enter the command tent and have everybody sat separately as the hosts and guests. Wei Xiaobao only chuckled without saying anything.


    "Gongjue Daren," Feodor angrily said, "You don''t need to play tricks with me. If you want to kill me then just kill me."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "You and I are friends, why would I want to kill you? Let us continue the talk about defining the border." He thought that since the ministers, the opposite party''s delegation to discuss the border had fallen into their hands, no matter what condition he raised, it would be hard for the opposite party to refuse.


    Who would have thought that Feodor was born from a military family, he was extremely unyielding. Boldly he said, "I am your prisoner, not a diplomatic envoy of equal standing to discuss the border. I am under your threats, any talk cannot continue. Even if the talk continued and the treaty signed, it cannot take effect."


    "Why can''t it take effect?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Feodor said, "Because all clause are decided by you, what is there to talk about? You cannot force me to negotiate with you."


    "Why can''t I force you to negotiate with me?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "I will never surrender," Feodor replied, "Brandish your blade and kill me, shoot me with your gun, feel free to make your move."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "What if I have people strip your pants?"


    Feodor was enraged; he suddenly stood up and shouted, "You ��" He only said one word, ''you'', his pants suddenly slipped down; hastily he reached down and grabbed them. His belt was cut off, when he sat down, he did not need to hold his pants, but in rage he stood up and forgot about it. Fortunately he managed to grab his pants promptly that he did not make a fool of himself. All the ministers and attendants on Qing''s side in the tent roared in laughter.


    Feodor was so angry that his face turned snow white, his hands held on to his pants, his expression looked extremely awkward. He wanted to make a vehement speech, too bad he could not brandish his hands to add emphasis; no matter how passionate he spoke, it would be bound to be limited. "Pei!" he spat angrily and sat down. "I am His Majesty the Tsar of Luocha country''s ambassador, you cannot humiliate me," he said.


    "You may rest assured that I will not humiliate you," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Let us discuss the national boundary nicely."


    Feodor took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped it around his own mouth, and tied it behind his back; the meaning was that he was resolved not to talk. Wei Xiaobao ordered his personal guards to get some fine wine and delicious food and set it up on the table. He poured a cup of wine and said with a laugh, "Please, please, don''t be polite."


    Smelling the aroma of the food and wine, Feodor was unable to resist; he untied the handkerchief, picked up the cup and drank. Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Marquis, you are using your mouth?"


    Feodor continued drinking wine and eating the food, but did not answer, stating that his mouth was only used to eat and drink, and not for anything else. Wei Xiaobao repeatedly urged him to drink more wine, thinking that if he could get him drunk, perhaps he could get him to surrender. Who would have thought that even after drinking a dozen or more cups of wine, eating several chunks of beef, he used the handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and tied it again over his mouth? Seeing that, Wei Xiaobao was quite amused. He ordered his personal guards to take Feodor to a tent in the back to let him rest, and to guard him well; while he discussed how to deal with this matter with Songgotu, Tong Guogang and the others.


    Tong Guogang said, "This man is so stubborn, he resolutely refuse to talk peace in our army camp. But I am not willing to let him go back to his camp."


    Songgotu said, "We can detain him for ten days, eight days, every day we slaughter one Luocha demon in his presence, I want to see if he will still be that stubborn."


    Tong Guogang said, "If we hound him to death, inevitably this matter will be brought to deadlock. We use military force to capture the opposite side''s minister to negotiate peace, perhaps His Majesty would put the blame on us."


    "Tong Gongye [duke] is right," Songgotu said, "Blindly using force on him is not the way to deal with him."


    After long deliberation, the high-ranking ministers still could not come up with a wise policy. Today they were able to capture Feodor; although it was a victory, it was not the original idea of the Emperor in seeking peace. It could be said that they had violated the imperial court''s project of paramount importance, that they had handled this matter poorly; it was possible that the table would turn and they would be charged with the serious crime of disobeying the imperial edict.


    At the end of the deliberation, all the ministers advised Wei Xiaobao to release Feodor. "Very well!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Let''s detain him for one night, early morning tomorrow we will let him go."


    Returning to his tent, he paced back and forth while considering this matter. Suddenly he recalled something, "Earlier I copied Zhuge Liang burning down the Coiling Snake Valley, and achieved great victory by taking down Yakesa. Laozi can also copy Zhou Yu''s trick in the play ''Meeting of Heroes''." After thinking about it for a while, he came up with an idea.


    Feodor was sleeping in a tent on the back. Different thoughts surging in his mind; there was fright, and then there was remorse, how could he sleep? He tossed and turned until midnight, and then he heard snores like thunder coming from the entrance to the tent, unexpectedly the three personal guards who were on guard duty had fallen asleep.


    Feodor thought, "If I don''t agree to the Chinese barbarians'' terms, it would be difficult for me to escape. If tomorrow I provoke that little demon and he gets angry and kills me, won''t I die in injustice? Heaven helps me that these three guards are asleep, why not take chances and escape now?" Quietly he got up from the bed, untied the leather strap across his back and wrapped it around his waist to prevent his pants from falling down, and then he tiptoed to the tent entrance. He saw the three personal guards were leaning against the tent posts and were sleeping soundly.


    He reached out toward a personal guard''s waist with the intention to pull the saber hanging on the guard''s waist. The guard suddenly sneezed. Feodor jumped in fright and hastily pulled his hand back. After a while and he still did not see any movement, he went for another guard''s saber. The personal guard suddenly stretched out and mumbled some indistinct words. Feodor did not dare to tarry anymore, he quietly went out of the tent, fortunately the three personal guards neither saw nor sensed that he was gone.


    Once Feodor was outside, he hid in the shadows; he saw the night guards on patrol with lanterns in one hand and saber in the other. There were patrolling soldiers to his north, east and south, only the west side was pitch-black, obviously there was no one on that side. Thereupon step by step he crept to the west, each time he saw a patrolling guard, he shrank behind a tent. Luckily all the way to the west the terrain was flat with nothing obstructing him.


    He had just reached a large tent when suddenly he saw from the west a group of patrolling soldiers approaching. Feodor hastily crouched behind the tent. He heard someone inside was speaking; surprisingly the man was speaking in Luocha language. He heard the man said, "Gongjue Daren is determined to attack Moscow, it is not impossible, it''s just that it''s too far, it is really dangerous."


    Feodor was greatly alarmed. At once he crouched even lower to open a corner of the tent and looked inside. Once he got a good look, his heart was thumping madly. Inside, the tent was as bright as daytime. Wei Xiaobao was wearing full military attire, he was sitting in the middle, on either side of him stood a dozen or so high-ranking military officers, and further down there were several dozens of personal guards with broadsword in their hands. Standing by the table in front of Wei Xiaobao was the Dutch missionary, who acted as their interpreter earlier, talking to him.


    He heard Wei Xiaobao spoke in Luocha language, "We drink wine and chat with Feodor in here, everything is fake, not real. We can talk with him for a month, two months, speaking back and forth, everything is fake, while our main force stealthily advancing to the west. Let Luocha princess receive that fool, Feodor''s report, constantly, letting her know that we are still talking, then she won''t be afraid, let her dance and go to bed with her sweetheart every day. Chinese main forces will suddenly arrived outside Moscow, with a sudden attack, the two Tsars and Princess Sophia will be captured. Luocha people will weep, kneel, surrender!"


    The Dutch missionary said, "I don''t know anything about marching to war and fighting a battle, but holding a peace talk while sending troops for a sneak attack on their capital, won''t that mean we are breaching their trust too much? God gave us commandments, we must not cheat, we must not lie."


    "Ha ha," Wei Xiaobao laughed, "It was Luocha people who cheated first, we have had an agreement, the guards of both sides carry firearms, not allowed. But on their bodies they hid firearms, short ones. They cheated, we cheat back. He bit me, once, I want to bite him, twice; bite him hard!"


    "Hey," the missionary exclaimed. After a while, he said, "I still advise Gongjue Daren not to go to war. The two countries go to war, the dead are all God''s people ��"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand, "No need to say too much. We only believe Buddha, we don''t believe God. If that Feodor is willing to have a fair negotiation, letting China has a bit more land, we can have a peaceful talk. But he is unwilling to yield even one li of land. After we attack and take over Moscow, Luocha men will go to heaven; the women, become Chinese people''s wives."


    The more Feodor heard, the more scared he was. "Oh my God," he mused, "Chinese barbarians really disregard the law and natural morality, they are indeed daredevils."


    He heard Wei Xiaobao continued, "Today I sent a personal guard, on the three Cossack cavalry captains'' body, use finger to jab several times. These three captains, cannot move. Did you see that?"


    "I did," the missionary replied, "What kind of magic was that? It was very strange."


    "Chinese magic," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Genghis Khan, handed down. Genghis Khan used this method, attacked Luocha people, they kneeled and surrendered. We use the same method to attack them, Luocha country, will die!"


    Feodor thought, "In those days Mongolia only had twenty thousand cavalry, they attacked all the way to Poland and Hungary; nobody in the world was able to stop them, apparently they were using magic. Eastern people are very strange, they are coming and will use magic; this �� what should we do about it?"


    He heard the missionary said, "If Luocha people open fire from the distance, your magic will be useless."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "That''s right. Consequently, we must pretend to have the negotiation in here, while the main forces are attacking Moscow. Just like little thieves, we sneak into the city. I have been to Moscow, there are a lot of Tatars in the city. Our troops will masquerade as Tatar shepherds, and sneak into the city. I guarantee the Luocha guards will not find out."


    Cold sweats started to run down Feodor''s back; he thought, "This Chinese little demon''s devilish plan is indeed formidable. Chinese soldiers traveling in disguise as Tatar shepherds, infiltrating our capital, unleashing their magical skill, how can we resist?"


    He did not know that Shuang''er''s acupoint sealing technique was a high-level martial art skill, it required internal energy cultivation to reach high level stage before the practitioner could use it. From among the tens of thousands officers and men of the Qing army, she was the only one who could use the acupoint sealing technique. But Feodor thought that the magic only need to be taught, then anybody could use it. With just one touch of a finger, the opponents would be unable to move a single step. If tens of thousands Chinese soldiers used this technique in sneak attack against Moscow, perhaps Luocha country would be destroyed, its people annihilated.


    He heard the missionary said, "If Gongjue Daren wants to send twenty thousand Chinese troops to sneak into Moscow, using the magic passed down by Genghis Khan to control the Luocha troops, then your plan to capture the two Tsars and the Princess may indeed be successful. However �� however, this matter must be kept top secret. A big army traveling to the west, Luocha people must not find out about it. Gongjue Daren, Luocha country today is very strong, it is substantially different from when Genghis Khan fought the Luocha people in the past."


    "I have been to Moscow," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I know the Luocha country''s situation very clearly. Early morning tomorrow we will release Feodor, let him go back. Afterwards we can continue negotiating with him; of course everything is fake. He is unwilling to agree, we negotiate in here for one day, Chinese main force is one day closer to Moscow."


    "Yes, yes," the missionary said, "Daren must be careful in everything. This matter is really very dangerous."


    "I know," Wei Xiaobao said, "You must not say anything. Don''t raise Feodor''s suspicion." The missionary complied and withdrew.


    Wei Xiaobao shouted, "Summon ''tortoise b@stard dead chicken'' and ''pig tribe coward''!"


    His personal guard went out the tent, and returned with Poyarkov and Stepanov in tow. Wei Xiaobao said to the two men, "Tomorrow, I send two teams to Moscow, with many, many gifts, for Princess Sophia. On the road, robbers are many, send more troops to protect."


    Poyarkov said, "From here to Moscow there are only some small groups of Tatar bandits, plus they are not too ferocious. Gongjue Daren may set your heart at ease."


    "You don''t know," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Tatar robbers, eight or nine thousand men per group, some even twenty thousand, thirty thousand men." Poyarkov and Stepanov looked at each other, their expressions showed their disbelief.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "The two teams I send, will take two separate routes to Moscow, north and south. Wangbasiji will lead the one taking northern route, Zhuluonuofu will lead the southern route. These two routes, how are they?"


    Poyarkov said, "Taking the northern route, from here going west to Chita, pass through Wusiwude [Ulan-Ude?], around the southern end of Great Lake Baikal, westward pass through Tomsk, Omsk, and the other cities, to Moscow."


    Stepanov said, "Taking the southern route, at first we will take the same road, after Lake Baikal the roads separate, heading southwest pass through the place where the Kazakhs live, continue westward through Osk, Uralsk, and so on, to Moscow."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "That''s right, those are the routes. My gifts, letter, and the Chinese envoy to deliver it to the Princess, the two of you lead the way. Lead well, rewards, lots of reward. Lead not well, Chinese generals will lead the troops, chop your heads. Dismiss!"


    After the two Luocha captains withdrew, Wei Xiaobao picked up the golden arrow banner of command and issued his order. One by one the Chinese great generals bowed to receive the order. Feodor did not understand what they were speaking, but he saw that all Chinese great generals who receive the order had vehement expression on their faces; they struck their own chest with their fist and raised their hand to the sky as if making an oath. Apparently they pledged to their Grand Marshal that whatever happened they would achieve great success. Some even ran their palm across their own neck, some pulled their dagger and made a motion of stabbing it to their own chest, while with their mouth they did not stop chanting, "Moscow, Moscow." Presumably they were saying that if they fail to take down Moscow, they would commit suicide.


    Wei Xiaobao rambled on for a while. Four personal guards picked up a large map from the table, the map happened to face Feodor. He saw Wei Xiaobao traced his finger on the map, from Nerchinsk all the way to the west, following a thick red line, stopping at a red circle. Although Feodor could not read any Chinese character on the map, by looking at the bearing, he knew that the red circle represented Moscow. Wei Xiaobao rambled on again, his finger traced another line to Moscow. Feodor thought, "These Chinese barbarians are really vile; turns out they have thought through deliberately and methodically, they have long been prepared to attack Moscow.


    Wei Xiaobao went on to say something, he repeatedly mentioned the name ''Feodor''. When the generals heard him, they all roared in laughter. Feodor said in his heart, "You must be laughing at me, calling me an idiot; you are fooling me to negotiate the boundary, stalling me here for days, while surreptitiously you send troops to attack Moscow. Humph, I will not fall into your trick anymore."


    Slowly he stood up, thinking, "God bless me, He lets me discover Chinese barbarians'' big crafty scheme. It is clear that God shows concern for my Russian Empire, the fate of our nation will definitely be prosperous and grand. In any case, he is going to release me tomorrow, there is no need for me to take risks by running away tonight."


    He saw on the west side the patrolling soldiers come and go unendingly, but the east side was pitch-black and no one was in sight. Quietly he returned to his tent. Luckily the Qing troops did not see him at all. When he reached his tent, he saw that the three guards were still asleep; thereupon he entered his tent and went to sleep.


    The next morning Feodor ate a sumptuous breakfast before following a personal guard back to the command tent. Wei Xiaobao laughed and asked, "Did Hojue Daren sleep well last night?"


    "Humph," Feodor said, "Your guards guarding me thoughtfully, naturally I slept very well."


    "Today you are not angry anymore?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Are we going to talk about the terms in defining the boundary?"


    Feodor did not reply. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his mouth. Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he shouted, "You are so stubborn. I will kill you immediately."


    Feodor was not afraid at all; he thought, "You already decided to release me today, why putting on airs? Who''s afraid of you?"


    Wei Xiaobao threw a tantrum, but seeing Feodor did not budge, he was helpless. He had no choice but to say, "Very well! You are so brave, I admire you. I will let you go. Go back and rest well. After ten days, we will select another place to negotiate the boundary."


    Feodor thought, "You desperately want to delay, I am afraid by this time the troops to sneak attack Moscow have already left. I must not fall into your trick." He said, "You let me go, then I thank you very much. To express our good faith, I propose we continue the negotiation in the afternoon today, no need to wait ten days."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "There is no rush, we all can rest first and slowly reconvene later."


    Feodor said, "Both countries'' sovereigns are hoping that the negotiation will succeed sooner rather than later. We can sign the treaty on the border definition first, taking a rest later will not be too late."


    "Our Emperor is not in a hurry," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Let''s continue the talk in five days."


    Feodor shook his head and said, "No need to delay, let''s do it today."


    "How about three days?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "No, today!" Feodor replied.


    "Tomorrow?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    "Today!" Feodor replied.


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "You are so resolute, I have no choice but to give up. But I must warn you, when talking about drawing the borders, I will definitely not budge casually. We will haggle one foot by one foot, one inch by one inch."


    Feodor thought, "Drawing the national boundary you want to haggle every foot every inch, by the time this matter is settled, you already breach Moscow''s city wall. You still think I am such a silly big melon?" Immediately he stood up and said, "In that case the humble one will take my leave, thank you for Gongjue Daren''s food and drink."


    Wei Xiaobao walked him out the tent. He dispatched a team of rattan shield troops to escort Feodor back to Nerchinsk, but he did not release the two hundred sixty Cossack cavalry.


    When Feodor was outside the tent, he saw the place where the army camp was standing yesterday was absolutely empty, the main forces of the Qing army have already struck the camp and left. He was secretly fearful, "Chinese barbarians say something and immediately do it, indeed they are very formidable."


    When the group reached the tent where they had the talk the previous day, they saw the three Cossack captains were still standing at the same place, even their posture was still exactly the same as yesterday, they did not move at all. A thin and small officer leaped out from among the Qing troops. The officer went to the three captains while chanting loudly, "Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan!" and then patted and kneaded several places on the three men''s body. The three captains were then able to move slowly. It''s just that after standing half a day and one full night, they were extremely exhausted, their legs were numb, they dropped sitting down on the ground.


    Six rattan shield troops stepped forward to help them up. After walking a dozen zhang or so, the three captains were able to walk by themselves. Feodor was even more astonished, "The magic passed down by Genghis Khan is incomparably formidable, no wonder he was able to move unhindered throughout the world and nobody was able to stop him. Fortunately right now the firearm is already invented so that we can keep the enemy from getting too close. Otherwise, the Chinese pagans would rule the world again, we who believe in God, the Christians, would become their slaves."


    The rattan shield troops escorted Feodor to Nerchinsk''s eastern city gate before returning to their camp. Feodor asked the three Cossack captains on how they were hit by magic. The three captains all said that at that time they only felt the middle of their back and their waist went numb, and then their whole body stiffened and could not move.


    Feodor asked, "Are you wearing crucifix on your body?" The three captains untied their jacket, exposing the crucifix hanging on their necks, one even had the image of Jesus on it.


    Feodor knitted his brows; he mused, "Genghis Khan''s magic is really formidable, even Jesus Christ'' crucifix cannot dispel the demonic influence." Immediately he wrote three memorials to the throne and sent fifteen cavalry to take three different routes toward Moscow to report an emergency: Chinese army already left to launch sneak attack, they disguised themselves as Tatar shepherds to sneak into the Capital, must increase vigilant to guard against the attack.


    By noon, one after another the three teams of messengers returned to the city, saying that all the roads to the west have been blocked by Chinese troops; as soon as they saw Luocha cavalry, they shot arrows from a distance; it was really difficult to go through them. Feodor was even more worried, "I must reach an agreement with the Chinese barbarians on the border treaty, so that they would withdraw the troops and horses immediately."


    By the wei hour [between 1-3pm], Feodor took a dozen or so attendants and went to the tent where the meeting was being held. This time he did not bring any Cossack cavalry at all, in order to show his good intention. Besides, even if he brought bodyguards, they could not withstand Chinese troops'' ''Genghis Khan Magic'' anyway, hence they would be useless. Feodor had profound scholarly knowledge, he was a capable and experienced minister; he was actually not a person who was prone to be deceived by others, but the fear of Genghis Khan in Luocha people''s heart was deep-rooted, Shuang''er''s acupoint sealing skill was utterly exquisite, he had seen it with his own eyes, hence he cannot not believe.


    He arrived at the tent first. Not too long afterwards Wei Xiaobao, Songgotu, Tong Guogang and the other, the high-ranking Qing delegation also arrived. Seeing the opposite party did not bring any guards, Wei Xiaobao also ordered the escorting rattan shield troops to withdraw. Both parties spoke some polite greetings, nobody mentioned anything about what happened yesterday, they went straight into negotiating the boundary.


    Feodor aimed for speedy negotiation, he conceded to everything, his manner was completely different from the previous day. Wei Xiaobao laughed in his heart, knowing that the Zhou Yu''s trick in the play ''Meeting of Heroes'' last night was highly successful. He did not understand anything about defining boundaries, hence he handed this matter over to Songgotu with the assistance of the Dutch missionary as the interpreter, to discuss the terms of the treaty with the opposite side.


    He saw the two men, Songgotu and Feodor spread out a large map on the table. Songgotu''s finger constantly moving to the north, Feodor knitted his brows, cun by cun his finger retreated to the north. For each cun the finger yielded on the map, a hundred or so li of land fell under the jurisdiction of China.


    After listening for a while, Wei Xiaobao could not endure anymore; he sat on another table and ordered the attendant to fetch the food case. Sitting cross-legged, he slowly chewed the pastries and delicacies, while softly humming the song ''eighteen touches''.


    Wei Xiaobao had Songgotu and Tong Guogang explained everything to him, he knew the substance of the treaty was very favorable to China, the land that was taken back into China''s territory was extremely vast, far more than Kangxi had intended in his imperial order. The treaty was made into four copies, one in Chinese, one in Luocha language, and two in Latin, explicitly provided for both sides so that when the text in both sides'' languages had a substantial difference, the Latin copy would serve as the reference.


    In all his life he seldom blushed, but right now unexpectedly a cinnabar color appeared on his face. It was not from anger, he was not drunk of wine either, but because he was somewhat ashamed. Knowing Wei Xiaobao very well, Songgotu said, "This kind of official document only need to be signed in some symbol used in place of a signature. Wei Daren may randomly write the character ''Xiao'', it can already be considered your signature."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, "Writing the character ''Xiao'', I am an expert." Immediately he picked up the brush and started by drawing a circle on the left, another circle on the right, and one thick vertical bar straight down in the middle. Songgotu smiled and said, "That will do; you wrote it well."


    Wei Xiaobao cocked his head sideways to admire his ''Xiao'' character. Suddenly he threw his head back and laughed aloud. "Grand Marshal Wei, what''s so funny?" Songgotu asked.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Look at this character, one small bird and two eggs, doesn''t that look like that thing?"


    The high-ranking ministers of the Qing side could not help bursting in laughter; even the attendants and personal guards were also laughing. Feodor just stared at them; he did not understand why everybody was laughing.


    Right away Wei Xiaobao put his signature on the four copies of the treaty. On the Luocha copy, he made the straight vertical line extra thick. And then Feodor, Songgotu, and the Russian lieutenant envoy also signed the treaty. Thereupon the first treaty between China and Russia was completed and signed.


    It was actually the first treaty China has ever signed with any foreign country. Due to Kangxi''s meticulous planning and preparation, and his all-out effort plus the very capable personnel he dispatched to handle this matter, the Treaty of Nerchinsk defining the boundaries between the two countries was highly advantageous to China. The treaty defined the northern Xing''an mountain range as the boundary; the whole modern day Soviet Union''s Amur province and the provinces bordering the sea belonged to China, as well as east and southeast regions all the way to the sea.


    During the negotiation to define the boundaries, both sides did not take the previous owner of any localities into consideration. None of Chinese land fell into Luocha territory, but the forts and colonies that Luocha already built were forced to retreat after the signing; indeed it was a Chinese military and diplomatic victory. According to the treaty, the land incorporated into China covering a total of two million square kilometers, about twice the area of northeastern Chinese provinces of today. After the treaty took effect, China''s northeast frontier enjoyed more than a hundred and fifty years of peace, while Luocha''s endeavor of eastern invasion was blocked, and their ambition to encroach other country was somewhat restrained. Since Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and other imperial rulers after them, Manchurian Qing has taken part in signing treaties with other countries, China has never lost either land or authority. Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao greatly raised national prestige into an awe-inspiring level that year, no one in later generations has ever seen nor repeated.


    (Book note: Wei Xiaobao''s odd signature on the treaty was unrecognizable. Later generation''s historians only knew Songgotu and Feodor''s names. Even archeologists of Guo Moruo


    [36] caliber, who understood oracle script, did not know that there was a ''Xiao'' character signature on the Treaty of Nerchinsk; so Wei Xiaobao''s great name passed into oblivion. The historical records of later generations stated that the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed by Songgotu and Feodor. Throughout the ages, those who know that the character Wei Xiaobao once existed on the earth are only the readers of ''The Deer and The Cauldron''. With the exception of supplementary account involving Wei Xiaobao, which the history books omitted, our book''s narrative on the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk, as well as its content, are all based on historical records.)


    According to the custom of those days, both parties released salvo simultaneously, made an oath to the Heaven, promised to be unswervingly faithful. Qing side''s four hundred cannon were all fired together on Nerchinsk''s east, south, west and north sides, the explosion shook the earth. Russian side''s cannon were only about twenty, the sound was weak, the difference in intensity and momentum could not be measured by li. Feodor inwardly admitted that they were lucky; if the peace negotiation failed, and war broke, Russia would definitely suffer a crushing defeat.


    Right away the envoys of both countries exchanged gifts. Feodor presented Wei Xiaobao and the others with watch, telescope, silverware, mink fur, saber and sword, and other gifts. Wei Xiaobao presented the opposite party''s diplomatic envoys with horse, saddle and reins, golden cups, silk garments, silk fabrics, and so on. In addition, the two hundred sixty Cossack cavalry received twenty taels of fine silver each to compensate their belts being cutoff by the Qing troops.


    That evening there was a big feast to celebrate the completed treaty. Feodor was still worried, he did not know whether the troops sent to attack Moscow had been recalled or not. He continuously tried to sound out Wei Xiaobao, but Wei Xiaobao pretended not knowing anything.


    Two days later Feodor received a report that a large group of Qing troops arrived from the west. He climbed to the top of the city wall and looked using the telescope. Sure enough, he saw a large group of Qing troops were approaching from the west, marched pass Nerchinsk, and pitched camp to the east. Feodor was greatly delighted; he knew that the Qing troops to attack the west had been recalled. He did not realize that this large group of Qing troops set up camp only about two hundred li west of Nerchinsk, waiting for orders. As soon as they heard the cannon, they struck camp and slowly pulling back to the east.


    Several days later, stone carvers already completed the boundary markers. The upright stone tablets had inscriptions in five languages, Manchu, Han, Mongolian, Latin and Luocha. The border markers were erected on the eastern bank of Gorbitsa River, southern bank or Argun River, as well as other places throughout the northeast via the Great Mountain Yike''alin, and other places.


    The inscription on the tablet stated clearly that Gorbitsa River was the boundary between the two countries: "Following this river going upstream to the barren land, to the great Xing''an down to the sea, where the river flows from the region south of the mountain into Heilongjiang, everything belongs to China; the river north of the mountain belongs to Russia." It also stated clearly, "The Argun River flowing into Heilongjiang is the border, the southern bank of the river belongs to China, the northern bank of the river belongs to Russia. Therefore, all the Russian settlements on the southern bank toward Meile''erke estuary must be moved to the northern bank." It also stated clearly, "The buildings of Russian people in Yakesa, as well as various belongings, must all be removed toward Chahanhan." It also stated clearly, "Ordinary citizen, livestock, and so on must not cross the border. If the people meet while holding hunting weapons in their hands, those who kill and loot will be promptly arrested and persecuted by law. Small affair must not be allowed to spoil big affair. China and Russia, two countries are reconciled, this fact is not to be disputed."


    The imperial envoys of both countries sent their subordinates to survey the land, after it was verified that there was no mistake, the boundary markers were erected. These border marks ought to define the unchanging border between China and Russia, two countries, for ten thousand years. However, a hundred and some dozen of years later, Russia took advantage when China was in decline, unexpectedly they nibbled away China''s territory step by step, disregarding the border markers that were installed in the past, annexing China''s wide expanse of rich and fertile land into their territory. When the later generations read the history of this affair, they could only sigh and comment, "The land Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao secured, as well as their effort in chasing away the ambition of wild wolves of Luocha people, how could we restore it to our homeland?"


    The establishment of boundary markers finished, the imperial envoys of both countries saluted each other and bade farewell, separately returning to their capital to give report on the completion of this mission.


    Wei Xiaobao summoned Poyarkov and Stepanov, instructing them to present his gifts to Princess Sophia, included among these were brocade quilt, embroidered pillow. The northern country was a desolate and rural land, these items could not be purchased anywhere in that area, so these items actually belonged to Shuang''er. Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "If the Princess really miss me, she can cuddle the silk blanket and pillow."


    Poyarkov said, "Her Highness the Princess'' affection to Your Excellency Daren is enduring while the world lasts, blanket and pillow are easily worn out, it would be better if Daren assign several bridge-building experts to Moscow to build a stone bridge. A stone bridge will not wear out forever."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "I have given this matter a lot of thought, you need not be long-winded." He ordered his personal guards to lift up a large wooden chest, about eight chi long, four chi wide, all in all, it looked a lot like a coffin. Eight personal guards carried it using large shoulder poles; it appeared to be very heavy. The outside of the chest was wrapped with heavy iron strips, sealed with hot-lacquer seal. Wei Xiaobao said, "This gift is extremely important, you must protect it well, do not damage it. When the Princess sees it, she will definitely be happy. This enduring-while-the-world-lasts affection will be completely as secure as a Chinese stone bridge." The two Luocha captains did not dare to ask too much, they received the wooden chest and left.


    This large wooden chest weighed more than a thousand catties, it was transported tens of thousands of li from the remote Nechinsk all the way to Moscow; it was indeed a hard work. After Princess Sophia received and opened it, to her surprise it was a naked stone statue of Wei Xiaobao, beaming from ear to ear, vivid and lifelike. Turned out Wei Xiaobao had the stone carvers who prepared the boundary markers to carve his image; he also had the Dutch missionary write ''I will always love you'' in Luocha character, and carve the words on the stone statue''s chest.


    When Sophia saw it, she did not know whether to laugh or to cry; she recalled that this Chinese little child was an eccentric elf, but no Luocha men could match him. She could not help remembering him with fondness, her spirit seemed to gallop ten thousand li. This stone statue was kept inside Kremlin Palace. Later on Peter the Great launched a coup, he expelled Princess Sophia out of the Palace; since the stone statue was related to her, it was smashed to pieces. Only a piece of the stone statue was smuggled out by an ordinary soldier. Ignorant Luocha women who prayed for a child would gently caress and stroke the stone statue''s lower body, allegedly it was very effective.


    (Book Note: ''Duhu'' was the army and government governor-general of Han Dynasty who ruled various states in the western region. ''Yumen Pass'' was the major road going through the western region during the Han era. ''Cannot establish Yumen Pass'' means the territory was so large, the original gate of the Pass could not become a strategic focal of frontier defense. ''Attach utmost importance to copper pillar as boundary marker'' refers to after the Eastern Han''s Ma Yuan conquering the former southernmost province of the Chinese Empire (Annan), he opened up new territory and set up copper pillars to demarcate the boundary, thinking that it would be beneficial to China''s border.)

 Chapter - 50 (50)

    Good government official adorned the carriage by strengthening it with fur coat, lone visitor suspected the heart of an old friend.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the capital in triumph. When the main force arrived outside the city of Beijing, the high-ranking ministers of the imperial court greeted them at the city gate. Wei Xiaobao led Tong Guogang, Songgotu, Ma La, A''erni, Ma Qi, Peng Chun, Sabusu, Lang Tan, Ba Hai, Lin Xingzhu, and the others to have an audience with Kangxi. The Emperor spoke to them warmly, he encouraged and exhorted everybody. He issued an edict, promoting Wei Xiaobao to be the First-class Duke of Luding [deer and cauldron]; Tong Guogang, Songgotu and the other high-ranking officials, as well as military officers and common soldiers, all received promotion and reward.


    In the next several days, Kangxi repeatedly summoned Wei Xiaobao, asking him the details about the capture of Yakesa, about the talk to define the boundary, and so on. Wei Xiaobao reported everything according to the fact, surprisingly he did not exaggerate or blow his horn. Kangxi was extremely delighted; he praised Wei Xiaobao by saying that he had made a lot of progress. Kangxi also bestowed rewards to his seven wives and two sons.


    One day Kangxi held a banquet in honor of the Great General Fuyuan, the Duke of Deer and Cauldron Wei Xiaobao and various ministers who had rendered great merit. During the banquet Kangxi discussed two poems, all the members of the Hanlin Imperial Academy who attended the banquet respectfully joined the discussion, celebrating the heroic deed and magnificent triumph.


    After the feast, carrying the precious things bestowed by the Emperor, immensely proud of himself, Wei Xiaobao went out of the Palace. With an officer shouting in front of him and his personal guards thronged behind him, he went home in a ceremonial procession. Suddenly by the main street someone shouted, "Wei Xiaobao, you are a dog thief who forget favors and violate justice!"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked, especially since he thought the voice sounded familiar. Turning his head sideways, he saw a big man ran from under the eaves to the middle of the street, pointed his finger to him and cursed, "Wei Xiaobao, I want to hack you, this little thief, to pieces. You are a Han, yet you surrendered to the Manchurian Qing, becoming Tatar''s hunting dog and slave. You murdered your own Shifu, you killed your own good Xiongdi, today the Tatar Emperor bestowed you the title Duke and Marquis, you have glory, splendor, wealth and rank, you are showing off your air. Your granny, laozi will stab a white blade into you, and it will be red on exit, I will stab your little thief''s body using your Ma''s blade seventeen or twenty eight times. I want to see if you can still be a Tortoise Duke, a Turtle Duke?" The big man was naked from the waist up, his chest was covered in long, shaggy black hair, his eyebrows were thick, his eyes big, his expression looked fierce and malicious; he was none other than Mao Shiba, who had taken Wei Xiaobao to Beijing in the past.


    While Wei Xiaobao was stunned, a dozen or so personal guards already surrounded Mao Shiba. From his leg wrappings Mao Shiba pulled a short blade to fight back. The personal guards moved together, some placed their blades on Mao Shiba''s neck, some snatched away the short blade in his hand, some pounced on him and dragged him down to the ground and tied him up.


    Mao Shiba was still cursing incessantly, "Wei Xiaobao, you little thief, son of a wh0re, that year laozi took you to Beijing, it was my biggest mistake. I have wronged Chen Jinnan, Chen Zongduozhu, I have wronged the heroes and warriors of Tian Di Hui. Today laozi no longer wish to live, I want to let everybody in the world know that you, Wei Xiaobao has betrayed your friends to seek glory, a dog thief who forget favors and violate justice; in your desire to be promoted and gain wealth, you have become the Tatar Emperor''s hunting dog ��"


    The personal guards struck his mouth, Mao Shiba was still cursing incessantly. Wei Xiaobao hastily shouted his personal guards to stop, he told them not to use violence. A personal guard took out a handkerchief and stuffed it into Mao Shiba''s mouth. Mao Shiba was still grunting endlessly, presumably he was still cursing.


    Wei Xiaobao ordered his personal guard, "Bring this man inside, guard him well, don''t give him trouble, give him wine and food, in a moment I will interrogate him personally."


    When he was back at his mansion, Wei Xiaobao arranged a feast in his study room, and invited Mao Shiba to accompany him. Afraid that he might resort to violence, he asked Su Quan and Shuang''er, two women to accompany him, dressed as personal guards. His personal guards dragged Mao Shiba inside. Wei Xiaobao ordered them to remove the shackles on Mao Shiba''s hands and feet, and then he ordered the personal guards to withdraw.


    With a smile on his face Wei Xiaobao said, "Mao Dage, long time no see, how are you?" [reminder: in Chinese, ''how are you?'' is ''ni hao?'' �C ''are you good?'']"What''s so good or not good about me?" Mao Shiba angrily replied, "Originally I was perfectly all right, but ever since I met you, I became not good."


    Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, "Mao Dage, please sit back and relax, let Xiongdi toast you three cups of wine to cool your temper first. How did Xiongdi offend Mao Dage, you may curse me after drinking; it won''t be too late by then."


    Mao Shiba took a large stride forward and shouted, "I will beat you, this little thief to death first before I drink the wine." Swinging his rice-bowl size fist, ''whoosh!'' he punched Wei Xiaobao''s face.


    Su Quan darted forward and stretched out her left hand to grab Mao Shiba''s wrist. She lightly twisted it, and then using her right hand she tapped his shoulder twice. Instantly half of Mao Shiba''s body went numb; he could not help but fell sitting down into a chair. He was shocked and angered at the same time; struggling hard he leaped up and cursed, "Little thief ��"


    Su Quan stood behind him, with both hands she seized the ''jian zhen'' [shoulder chaste] acupoints on his shoulder, and then she lightly pressed downward. Mao Shiba was unable to withstand, he fell back into the chair again. He was a big and tall man, he was at least twice as big as Su Quan, but with her profound martial art she was able to control him; it was as if with hands and feet tied he was forced to sit down. He was even more enraged as with a loud voice he said, "Today laozi cursed you, this little traitor (to Han), in the middle of the street, I have already given up any hope of staying alive. I just want the people throughout the world to know that you are a despicable and shameless man who betrayed your master and your friends ��"


    "Mao Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "I was away on a mission for His Majesty, it was to attack the Luocha demons, not to kill any Han people; you can''t call me a traitor to Han."


    Mao Shiba said, "Then �� then why did you kill your Shifu Chen Jinnan?"


    "How could I kill my Shifu?" Wei Xiaobao anxiously asked, "My Shifu was clearly murdered by that fellow Zheng Keshuang."


    "You still deny it?" Mao Shiba angrily rebuked him, "The Tatar Emperor''s damn imperial edict cannot state it more clearly than that."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled, "His Majesty''s imperial edict?" he said, "How �� how can it say that I killed my Shifu?" Totally confused, he turned his eyes toward Su Quan.


    Su Quan said, "A few days ago His Majesty promoted you to be a first-class duke, he issued a statement listing your meritorious service as the basis of granting you the title. I don''t know who wrote the statement, but it says that you ''recommending able generals, sweeping away and pacifying the rebel Wu, recovering Taiwan as our territory, leading the army into battle, capturing cities, propagating the national prestige in foreign country'', which are true. However, there are a few words like, ''Capturing and beheading Tian Di Hui rebel leaders Chen Jinnan, Feng Jizhong, and the others, successfully crumbling the pillar, creating setback leading to total collapse, putting the bandits into confusion, leading them to renew their faces and wash their hearts''. Those words are incorrect."


    Wei Xiaobao frowned. "What exactly is renewing the faces and wash the hearts?" he asked.


    Su Quan said, "The statement says you captured Chen Jinnan, Feng Jizhong, and the others, and killed them, scarring Tian Di Hui people so that they do not dare to rebel anymore."


    Wei Xiaobao jumped and cried out, "How �� how can there be such thing? Isn''t this wrongly accusing me?"


    Su Quan slowly shook her head. "Feng Jizhong was a spy, we did kill him, the imperial edict was not wrong," she said, "However, it has three extra characters: ''Chen Jinnan''."


    Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "Chen Jinnan was my benevolent master, I �� how could I harm him, the Senior? His Majesty �� His Majesty''s imperial edict �� ay �� when you saw the imperial edict, why didn''t you tell me?"


    Su Quan said, "We discussed this matter over, the imperial edict has three extra characters ''Chen Jinnan'', if you knew about it, you would be greatly unhappy."


    Wei Xiaobao understood that ''we discussed this matter over'' means his seven wives talked it over together; turning his head, he looked at Shuang''er. Shuang''er nodded. Wei Xiaobao said, "Mao Dage, my Shifu was definitely not harmed by me. Feng Jizhong was Tian Du Hui''s traitor, he secretly disclosed information to the Emperor ��"


    With a cold laugh Mao Shiba said, "So you are actually the good guy?"


    Wei Xiaobao dejectedly sat down and said, "I will explain to His Majesty, I will ask him to change ... to change ... to change ..." He said the words ''to change'' three times, but knew for sure that just because there were three extra characters ''Chen Jinnan'' in the imperial edict, Kangxi would not issue another imperial edict to amend it. He thought, "I wonder which dog thief blabbed too much and told His Majesty that I killed Shifu. In His Majesty''s eyes, it was the evidence of my loyalty, but �� but �� how can I, Wei Xiaobao, still be considered a human being?" His heart was anxious, "Wah!" he suddenly cried. "Mao Dage, Quan Jiejie, Good �� Good Shuang''er," he called out, "I did not kill my Shifu!"


    Seeing him suddenly broke into crying, the three people were stunned. Su Quan hastily came over and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, she said tenderly, "That Zheng Keshuang killed your Shifu at Tong Chi Island, all of us have seen it with our own eyes." She took out a handkerchief and helped him wiping his tears. It was only now that Mao Shiba saw that this ''personal guard'' with strong martial art skill was actually a woman; he could not help feeling greatly amazed.


    Wei Xiaobao suddenly remembered something. "Mao Dage," he said, "That fellow Zheng Keshuang is also in Beijing; let us confront him directly. I''ll say he will not dare to deny. Right, right! Let us go now ��"


    Right this moment, suddenly they heard outside the door the personal guard loudly said, "Imperial edict is here. Imperial Bodyguard Duo Zongguan has arrived to announce the Imperial Decree."


    Wei Xiaobao stood up and went to the door to welcome the guest; he saw Dolong walked in with a smile on his face. Wei Xiaobao kowtowed to the north, while respectfully wishing the Holy Sage well. Dolong waited until Wei Xiaobao finished the ceremony before saying, "His Majesty''s instruction: he wants to personally interrogate the rebel thief who cursed you on the street."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart turned cold; he said, "That �� that man? Xiongdi has already arrested him and questioned him in details; turns out he is a mad man. This man babbled about Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun [Taoist deity], that kind of nonsense. Xiongdi could not make any sense of it. After I had him flogged for a while, I let him go. How did His Majesty find out about this matter? Actually it''s not a big deal ��"


    Listening to this point, Mao Shiba could not bear anymore; he slapped the table so hard that the bowls and cups jumped up and crashed onto the floor, ''bing bing bang bang!'' "Damn Wei Xiaobao," he cursed loudly, "Who is the mad man? The man who cursed the Tatar Emperor on the street today was Laozi! Laozi is not afraid to be hacked to pieces, do you think Laozi is afraid to see the damn Tatar Emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly; he was hoping he could fool Kangxi and Dolong, and then he would let Mao Shiba go. Who would have thought that this man was completely oblivious of his intention to protect him; he insulted the Emperor in public, even if Mao Shiba had eighteen heads, he would not be able to protect even one. [Reminder: the ''shiba'' in Mao Shiba''s name means ''eighteen''.]Dolong sighed and said, "Xiongdi, you have exceptional yi qi toward Jianghu friends, for that I am full of admiration. In this matter you have done your best, it can be considered extreme benevolence, utmost duty already. Let''s go."


    Mao Shiba walked to the door in large strides; suddenly he turned back and shot a mouthful of saliva toward Wei Xiaobao''s face. Wei Xiaobao''s mind was tumultuous, it was too late for him to dodge, ''slap!'' the saliva hit right between his eyes. Several personal guards immediately pulled their weapons and rushed toward Mao Shiba. Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and sadly said, "Forget it, don''t give him any trouble." Dolong''s men took out a pair of handcuffs and shackled Mao Shiba.


    Wei Xiaobao pondered, "His Majesty personally interrogates Mao Dage, I guarantee before he even asks three questions, he would have him pushed out and beheaded. I must go to see His Majesty immediately. No matter what I have to think of a way to save him." He said to Dolong, "I want to go asking His Majesty, to explain everything clearly; don''t let this crude man come across His Majesty."


    The party arrived at the Palace. Wei Xiaobao heard that the Emperor was in the Upper Study Room, immediately he went over asking for an audience. Kangxi summoned him in. Wei Xiaobao kowtowed several times before standing up.


    Kangxi said, "The man who cursed you and cursed me on the street today, he is your good friend, isn''t he?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your Majesty can see clearly for ten thousand li, there is nothing that you need to guess twice."


    "Does he belong to Tian Di Hui?" Kangxi asked.


    "He has not officially joined the Society," Wei Xiaobao replied, "But he knew quite a number of people in the Society. He admires my Shifu very much. Your Majesty''s imperial edict says that I killed Shifu, as soon as he heard that he was very angry, hence he reprimanded me severely. As for toward Your Majesty, he did not dare to be disrespectful even for half a word."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You have made a clean break with Tian Di Hui, from now on you won''t have any dealings with them, is that right?"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied, "This time I went to fight the Luocha demons, your servant did not bring any Tian Di Hui people."


    Kangxi asked, "If later on your old Tian Di Hui friends come to find you, what are you going to do?"


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "Your servant simply will not see them, so that everybody will not feel uncomfortable."


    Kangxi nodded and said, "For that reason in that statement I personally added Chen Jinnan and Feng Jizhong, two names, to spare you a lot of trouble in the future. Xiao Guizi, one man cannot always have his feet on two boats. If you are loyal to me, single-mindedly work for the imperial court, you must not tread the muddy water of Tian Di Hui anymore. If you are determined to become Tian Di Hui''s Xiangzhu, then you must single-mindedly rebel against me."


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright; he kowtowed and said, "Your servant definitely will not rebel. When your servant was little, I was muddleheaded, I did not understand reason; but now I have a high notion of my duty, I have ''washed my face and renewed my heart'', I am completely different now."


    Kangxi nodded and said with a laugh, "That''s very good. The lunatic who cursed you on the street today, I want you to personally supervise his execution tomorrow. Just kill him."


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty please understand, your servant came to Beijing and was able to see Your Majesty''s golden face, it was entirely due to this man. Your servant has not repaid his kindness, I boldly beg Your Majesty to spare this man. Your servant would rather �� would rather my contribution of defeating the Luocha demons, Your Majesty take back everything. Your servant is willing to go back to become Marquis of Luding."


    With a wooden countenance Kangxi said, "The nobility granted by the imperial court, you treat it as a trivial matter? You are conferred the title First-class Duke of Luding, it was by my grace, yet you use the rank and benefit of nobility to bargain with me, to haggle over the price; what a nerve!"


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly kowtowed; he said, "Your servant is reaching out to the sky asking for grace, Your Majesty may reach down and grant me my request. If Marquis of Luding does not work, how about move me back to Count of Tong Chi or Viscount of Tong Chi?"


    Kangxi wanted to scare him, he wanted to let him know some imperial court rules and regulations; who would have thought that this man was a lowly person of the marketplace? Although he achieved the titles First-class Duke, Great General, his hoodlum character did not change the least bit. Kangxi could not help feeling angry, but was amused at the same time. "Damn it!" he shouted, "Stand up!" Wei Xiaobao kowtowed and stood up.


    Still maintaining a wooden expression Kangxi said, "Your granny, Laozi reaches down to you, you ask me to spare this rebel, so I want to have your head in exchange of his head."


    Frowning and worried, Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty''s counter offer is too aggressive, please rise it some."


    "Alright," Kangxi said, "I will yield one step. You cut your own egg, and enter the Palace as a real eunuch."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Please Your Majesty rise your offer more."


    Kangxi said, "That''s my final offer. If you don''t kill him, that means you are not loyal to me. When one is loyal, he is loyal to the end; if he is not loyal, then he is not. How can there be any bargaining?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant is loyal to His Majesty, holding righteousness to my friends, filial to my mother, loving to my wives ��"


    Kangxi laughed aloud; he said, "Unexpectedly you, this fellow are everything: loyal, filial, and holding to moral integrity and righteousness. Alright, my utmost admiration. By this time tomorrow, get a head to show me. If it is not that rebel''s head, then it must be your own head."


    Wei Xiaobao had no choice; he kowtowed and withdrew. When he reached the door, Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, are you thinking of escaping?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This time I do not dare. Your servant is going home, put a pillow under my head, lie down and think it over carefully. It would be best if I could make Your Majesty happy while upholding yi qi toward a friend, and keeping your servant''s head firmly attached to my body at the same time."


    Kangxi smiled, "Very good," he said, "I have not seen Princess Jianning for a long time, I miss her very much. I have already had her brought into the Palace." After a short pause, he continued, "Your other six wives, three children, will also accompany the Princess to the Palace to have an audience with the Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager said that your contribution is not small, she wants to reward your wives and children well."


    "Thank you very much for the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty''s grace," Wei Xiaobao said, "Even if my body turns to dust your servant finds it difficult to repay." Retreating two steps, he could not bear not to say, "Your Majesty, your servant once said to you, you are the Tathagata Buddha, I am Sun Wukong. No matter what your servant cannot jump out of your palm."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You possess great magical power, there is no need to stand on ceremonies."


    Wei Xiaobao went out the study room; he could not help but moaning and groaning in his heart, "His Majesty detains all my seven wives and three kids, even if I have the guts to run away, I cannot bear to part with them."


    When he reached the long corridor, Dolong came over to meet him with a laugh, "Wei Xiongdi, Empress Dowager summoned your wives, young masters, young miss; the reward must not be a few. Congratulations to you."


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist and said, "Thanks to your lucky influence, thank you."


    Dolong smiled and said, "This time before Xiongdi led the troops into battle, you instructed me to demand payment for you. To date, we have had seventy, eighty percent. Two million six hundred and some taels of banknotes, I will have it delivered to your mansion."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Dage''s ability is not small, unexpectedly you managed to extract that much." Immediately he said hatefully, "That fellow Zheng Keshuang murdered my Shifu, until today, he is still giving me a lot of headache. His granny, that mad man who cursed me on the street, I bet you it was Zheng Keshuang who planted the root of trouble." The more he thought, the more hateful he became. "Dage," he said, "Please get more men, let us go to demand payment."


    Dolong heard that they were going to the Zheng mansion to demand payment, it was the number one pleasure of his heart. Today they had the Great General Fuyuan, the First-class Duke of Luding Wei Gongye leading the troops, the way they handle this matter would be even more unrestrained. At once he repeatedly agreed and ordered the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards to take over his duty in the Palace, while he took a hundred Imperial Bodyguards to escort Wei Xiaobao to the Zheng mansion.


    Although Zheng Keshuang was also conferred the title duke, compared to Wei Xiaobao''s dukedom it was like heaven and earth apart. One was a surrendering rebel of border defense king, the other was a high-ranking minister who has given outstanding service, the Emperor''s personal favorite. Both had duke mansions, but the size, as well as the style, were substantially different. The four characters ''Hai Cheng Gong Fu'' [Mansion of the duke who settled the ocean] written on the horizontal inscribed board above the main gate were in black, not as good as Wei Xiaobao''s gold lettering of ''Lu Ding Gong Fu''. When Wei Xiaobao saw it, he was somewhat happy; he said, "The signboard on this fellow''s door is not as good as my gold lettering signboard."


    The Imperial Bodyguards were accustomed with visiting the ''Hai Cheng Gong Fu'' every two, three days to demand payment. Without waiting for the doorkeeper to announce their arrival, they simply burst into the mansion. Wei Xiaobao sat on a chair in the middle of the main hall, Dolong sat next to him. When Zheng Keshuang heard about the Great General Fuyuan''s arrival, which was his number one nemesis, he could not help but panicked, but he did not dare not to meet him. Without any choice he changed into his duke attire; trembling with fear he came out to meet them. Taking a step forward he cupped his fist and greeted, "Wei Daren!"


    Wei Xiaobao did not stand up; he sat unmoving, with head held high he snorted and said to Dolong, "Duo Dage, this Zheng Keshuang is very rude. We have been here for half a day, he neither pay attention nor care about us; isn''t he looking down upon people?"


    "That''s right!" Dolong said, "Killing people one must pay with his own life, owing money one must pay back. Always shrinking his head like a turtle, in the end he still won''t be able to hide."


    Zheng Keshuang was furious; it''s just that ''under other people''s eaves, one must lower his head''. One of his guests was the great general holding power over the military, the other was the Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards, while Zheng Keshuang was not only without power without authority, he was always under suspicion. Although he had the honor and glory of nobility, actually his plight was even worse than common people; without any choice he struggled hard to contain his anger. He coughed lightly and said, "Wei Daren, Duo Zongguan, how are you two gentlemen?"


    Wei Xiaobao slowly lowered his head. He saw standing before him was an old man with bent waist and crooked back, his hair grizzled, his countenance unbearably haggard. After looking at the man carefully, Wei Xiaobao realized that this man was not too old, it''s just that he was frowning and worried, the corner of his eyes were wrinkled, the short beard under his chin was also grizzled. Upon more concentrated look, Wei Xiaobao recognized the man; who else but Zheng Keshuang? They had not seen each other for several years, unexpectedly he had aged twenty, thirty years. At first Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, but then he understood. For the last several years Zheng Keshuang lived in torment, no wonder he suddenly aged. Wei Xiaobao could not help feeling pity, but then he recalled how in the past with his own hand Zheng Keshuang viciously killed Chen Jinnan at Tong Chi Island. Wei Xiaobao''s anger immediately bubbled up. With a cold laugh he said, "Who are you?"


    "Zaixia Zheng Keshuang," Zheng Keshuang said, "How can Wei Daren not recognize me?"


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "Zheng Keshuang? Isn''t Zheng Keshuang the Yanping Jun Wang of Taiwan? How can he be in Beijing? You must be a fake."


    "Zaixia surrendered to the Great Qing," Zheng Keshuang replied, "I received His Majesty''s grace and was conferred the rank and emolument of nobility."


    "Oh, so that''s how it is," Wei Xiaobao said, "In the past you blew your horn in Taiwan, saying that you wanted to attack Beijing and seize the throne, saying that you wanted to do this and that; do those words still count?"


    Zheng Keshuang''s back was wet with cold sweats; he thought, "He wants to put criminal charge on me, fabricating some words indiscriminately. His Majesty always listens to him, he can''t possibly listen to me."


    Ever since Dolong led the Imperial Bodyguards and Valiant Cavalry Brigade''s sergeants came to cause trouble unceasingly, for Zheng Keshuang, a day dragged on like a year. The large sum of money, his family property that he brought from Taiwan, eight or nine parts out of ten had been extorted by these men. In order to raise some two million taels, which was a huge amount of money, he had already sold off his pearls, jewels, everything, until practically nothing left. In his heart he already repented several hundreds or thousands times: he should not have surrendered. When Shi Lang came to attack, if he did everything he could to lead the troops and fight to the death, they might not necessarily be defeated. Besides, even if they failed and he died in battle, he would not have let his (paternal) grandfather and his father''s spirits in heaven down. Not in such a way that after he surrendered, he would suffer this endless distressing humiliation. This time as he heard Wei Xiaobao, he felt even more dejected and really wanted to die.


    "Duo Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "In the past, this Zheng Wangye''s prestige was very impressive. Recently Xiongdi heard people say that some people want Zheng Wangye back to Taiwan and establish his kingdom there. Zheng Wangye, I wonder what did those people who want to join you say? Xiongdi wants to investigate this matter clearly, so that I can report it to His Majesty."


    With a trembling voice Zheng Keshuang said, "Wei Daren, please be magnanimous. Those things that you are talking about, those are completely �� completely non-existent ��"


    "Huh? That''s odd," Wei Xiaobao said, "Duo Dage, didn''t we arrest a rebel yesterday? He cursed His Majesty, he also scolded Xiongdi. This man said that he was Zheng Wangye''s old subordinate, he said that in Beijing Zheng Wangye is being bullied, so he wanted to avenge him, he wanted to wipe out Manchurian Qing Tatars or something like that."


    Listening to this point, Zheng Keshuang could not bear any longer; he bent his knees and dropped to the ground, and said in a trembling voice, "Wei Daren please have mercy! In the past Xiaoren has offended you, Senior; I deserve to die ten thousand deaths. You, Senior, is magnanimous, please leave me a path of life, I pray Laotianye will bless you and grant your ten thousand generations to be duke and marquis."


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "When you murdered my Shifu that day, did you ever imagine that a day like today will come?"


    Suddenly from the rear hall a man walked in in big strides; his stature was slim, his expression swift and fierce. He was none other than the ''One Sword Without Blood'' Feng Xifan. He rushed to stand by Zheng Keshuang''s side, and stretched out his hand to pull him back. Turning his head toward Wei Xiaobao he said, "The murder of Chen Jinnan that day was entirely my idea, it has nothing to do with Zheng Gongzi. If you want to avenge your Shifu, please feel free to come to me."


    Wei Xiaobao had always been very afraid of Feng Xifan; seeing his fierce and intimidating expression, he could not help shrinking back into his chair. "You �� you want to hit people?" he said in a trembling voice.


    Dolong sprang up and called, "Guards!" Immediately more than ten Imperial Bodyguards rushed over and surround him.


    Seeing his side had many men and great force, Wei Xiaobao was relieved; he said in a loud voice, "This man dared to commit violent crime in the Capital, arrest him." Four Imperial Bodyguards immediately reached out to grab Feng Xifan''s arms.


    Feng Xifan did not resist; he said in a loud and clear voice, "We surrendered to the Imperial Court, His Majesty conferred Zheng Gongye the title of ''Duke of Hai Cheng'', he conferred me the title of ''Earl of Zhongcheng'' [lit. devoted, loyal]. His Majesty''s golden mouth has said it, this matter has been sealed with one stroke of a pen, it is not something that can be disputed. Wei Daren, you want to use official authority for private interest, wrongly accuse good people, we have no choice but to appeal before His Majesty to explain everything clearly."


    With a cold laugh Wei Xiaobao said, "You are a good person, hey, hey, turns out ''One Sword Without Blood'' Feng Daren is a very good person. This is the first day that I have ever heard about it!"


    Feng Xifan said, "Ever since we arrived in Beijing, we have never seen outsiders, we do not dare to violate half a law even more. These Imperial Bodyguards Daren unceasingly came to demand payment, we dealt with it by losing our family fortune, it was nothing. Wei Daren, you want to put criminal charge on us, His Majesty can see clearly for ten thousand of li, I am afraid he will be beyond your control."


    This man had guts and knowledge, he was far superior compared to Zheng Keshuang, he spoke with confidence and matter-of-factly, it was difficult for Wei Xiaobao to refute. He thought that although these two men were surrendering people of Taiwan, they were conferred nobility titles by the imperial court; while it was true that it was not difficult to bully them, if he really wanted to drag them down, the Emperor only needed to ask a few questions, hs true colors would be exposed immediately. The Emperor had already anticipated that Wei Xiaobao would want to avenge his Shifu; he would definitely put the blame on Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao''s heart had softened, but in his mouth he was still extremely unyielding. He said, "Yesterday we arrested a rebel, he personally confessed that he wanted Zheng Wangye back to Taiwan; could it be that he was lying?"


    Feng Xifan said, "This kind of people casually make presumptous claim, how can we consider that their words count? Daren please bring this man over, we will have direct confrontation in front of the Ministry of Justice."


    "You want direct confrontation?" Wei Xiaobao said, "That''s great, wonderful, very nice, very exciting." Turning his head he asked Zheng Keshuang, "Zheng Wangye, the money you owe me, when are you going to pay back?"


    Feng Xifan noticed that left and right Wei Xiaobao was trying to evade him subtly, and his countenance had changed; he guessed that Wei Xiaobao was afraid the Emperor would find out. He thought that since he had gained this piece of farmland, he might as well enlarge his courage and raise a ruckuss in front of the Emperor. He thought that although the Emperor was young, he was very brilliant, definitely he would be able to differentiate right from wrong. If Feng Xifan did not seize this opportunity, this matter would drag on endlessly. He really thought that he should not yield to this fellow surnamed Wei anymore, a cornered dog will jump the wall, a cornered man will hang from the beam. If you force me to hang myself, I would fight back desperately. Having made up his mind, he said, "Wei Daren, Duo Zongguan, let us appeal to the imperial court."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled; he thought that if this matter was reported to the Emperor, he himself would have to bear endless responsibility, but he simply could not back off. "Very good!" he said, "Take this surnamed Zheng along! Take both of them into the jail first and keep them in confinement, let them live enjoy a happy and prosperous life for a year or a half, and then we will slowly present the memorial to explain everything to His Majesty."


    Dolong was hesitant, Zheng Keshuang was a duke by the Emperor''s appointment, there was no harm in demanding payment from him; but arresting him would definitely require an imperial edict. He said in a low voice, "Wei Daren, we must go present the memorial to His Majesty first, and then come back to take them away."


    Zheng Keshuang was relieved; he hastily said, "That''s right, I have no crime, how can you arrest me?"


    To see the wind and setting his sails was actually Wei Xiaobao''s expertise. He immediately said, "Whether you have crime or not, it is not yet known. The money you owe me has not been paid in full, what are you going to do about it? You pay me back, or you want to come with me?"


    Hearing that he might be saved from arrest, he repeatedly exclaimed, "I will pay, I will pay!" Hastily he went inside and returned with a stack of banknotes, followed by two servants holding trays filled with gold, silver and jewelry.


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Wei Daren, lowly officer has turned over the chest and flipped the sack upside down, I managed to find thirty or forty thousand taels, I really cannot come up with anything anymore."


    "You can''t come up with anything anymore?" Wei Xiaobao said, "I don''t believe you. Let Xiongdi accompany you inside to look."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "This �� this �� this is not too convenient."


    Feng Xifan said in a loud voice, "We did not violate any law, Wei Daren wants to search our home, do you have an imperial edict, or do you have any official document from the Ministry of Justice''s main hall?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is not a search. Zheng Wangye said he can''t come up with anything anymore, I say he still have a lot to present. Perhaps among his gold, silver, pearls and jewels there are still a large quantities of sabers, spears and firearms, perhaps there are dragon chair and dragon robe hidden in the secret rooms in the basement. Since he could not find anything, everybody will help him look."


    Zheng Keshuang busily said, "What sabers, spears and firearms, dragon chair and dragon robe? I �� How can I dare to hide those things secretly? Besides, lowly officer is just �� is just a duke. This ''Wangye'' appellation, I really dare not accept it."


    Wei Xiaobao said to Dolong, "Duo Dage, please count for me, how much money in total?"


    Dolong and two Imperial Bodyguards counted the banknotes; they said, "The banknotes are thirty four thousand and three hundred taels, and then there are some jewelry of little value, I don''t know how to value them."


    Wei Xiaobao reached out to rummage through the jewelry, he picked up a golden phoenix hairpin and pretended to be shocked. "Aiyo," he said, "Duo Dage, this is a forbidden object, His Majesty is the dragon, the Empress is the phoenix; how �� how can Zheng Wangye''s Wangfei [king''s wife] also wear golden phoenix hairpin?"


    Feng Xifan was even more enraged. "Wei Daren," he loudly said, "You want to pick a bone from an egg, the one surnamed Fan will stake everything against you today. Among the gold, silver and jewelry stores throughout the world, which one does not have golden phoenix hairpin? All the women of the official families in Beijing, which one does not wear golden phoenix hairpin?"


    "Turns out Feng Daren have looked at the women of the official families around Beijing," Wei Xiaobao said, "Mm, what do you think, which family''s Taitai, Xiaojie [madame, miss, respectively] is the most good-looking? Tsk, tsk, tsk, awesome, awesome; you have looked at a lot of womenfolk from different families, such a treat for your eyes, you are lucky. Prince Kang''s Wangfei, Ministry of War Shangshu Daren''s young lady, have you seen them?"


    Feng Xifan was so angry that he could not say anything; in his heart he was rather afraid, knowing that this young man had a good relationship with each and every one of the influential officials of the imperial court. If he added some oil and paste and spoke these words openly, Feng Xifan would definitely be in a lot of trouble.


    Zheng Keshuang repeatedly bowed with cupped fist and said, "Wei Daren, please be lenient, lowly officer beseech you."


    Wei Xiaobao knew that his words had scared Feng Xifan that he did not dare to make any noise. Feeling that he has had enough tail wind, he laughed aloud and said, "Duo Dage, Xiongdi''s face is actually not as good as yours. Duo Dage came to demand payment, you managed to get more than two million taels, Xiongdi personally came, I only got such a meager amount."


    Zheng Keshuang said, "Lowly officer really does not have anything left in my house, it''s not that �� it''s not that I dare to renege on my debt."


    "Off we go then!" Wei Xiaobao said, "I''ll wait ten days, half a month, after Zheng Wangye get more gold and silver from Taiwan, I will be back to settle the account." While saying that, he stood up and walked out of the hall.


    When Feng Xifan heard that, he knew that Wei Xiaobao was framing Zheng Keshuang up, saying that he conspired against the law by still maintaining contact with his former subordinates in Taiwan; which was a capital offense punishable by extermination of the entire family. If they did not explain clearly, for the rest of their lives they would live under forced submission, it would be difficult for them to conduct themselves. Thereupon he said in a loud and clear voice, "We are law-abiding citizens, we do not dare to take even half a step on the path of fault. Today what Wei Daren, Duo Zongguan have spoken in here, we must present in a memorial to His Majesty systematically and in full details [orig. ''count by fives and tens'']. Otherwise, although the Heaven and the Earth is big, we will not have a place to set out feet on."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You want a place to set your foot? There is, there is. If Zheng Wangye and General Feng return to Taiwan, won''t you have a lot of land to set your feet on? If the two of you want to discuss about establishing your foothold, we are not going to bother you." Pulling Dolong''s hand along, he walked out the door with his head held high.


    When Wei Xiaobao was back in his mansion, immediately he prepared a feast; he invited the Imperial Bodyguards to drink wine. Dolong had his subordinates, the Imperial Bodyguards to fetch four big chests and opened them; all were full of gold, silver, pearls and jewels, as well as stacks of banknotes. He laughed and said, "After several months of collecting the debt, most of this fellow Zheng Keshuang''s family property is in here. Wei Xiongdi, you double check it."


    Wei Xiaobao took a stack of banknotes, worth about more than a hundred thousand taels; he said, "This dog thief murdered my Shifu, yet His Majesty conferred nobility title to him, my enmity cannot be avenged. Thank you very much Dage and all Xiongdi for making his life miserable, and vent this anger on Xiongdi''s behalf. My Shifu did not have either wife or children, Xiongdi wants to take some of this money and have people go to Taiwan to build a grand memorial hall to enshrine and worship my Shifu. As for the rest of the money, I''d like Dage and all Xiongdi to divide it among yourselves."


    Dolong repeatedly shook his hand, "No, can''t do; no, can''t do!" he repeatedly said, "This is the money Zheng Keshuang owed Xiongdi. You only need to send out several Qing troops, every day pay a visit to demand payment, I am not afraid he won''t pay up. We are only doing you a tiny favor, we all are family, how can we covet your money?"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "To tell you the truth, Xiongdi''s family property is already too much that I cannot use it up my entire life. A good friend is well-off, everybody can use it together, why bother about mine or yours?"


    But Dolong was adamant, he simply refused to receive it. The two of them strived to best each other until their faces were flushed with excitement. Finally it was decided that the Imperial Bodyguards would receive one million taels as the ''debt collection fee''. The other three hundred thousand taels were given to the Valiant Cavalry Brigade brethren to be divided among themselves. Dolong took the rest and personally brought it to Wei mansion''s inner hall.


    All the Imperial Bodyguards, even those who were on duty in the Palace, received their share, about several thousand taels per person. Everybody was happy and excited, they ate and drank to their hearts'' content, and then they opened up Pai Jiu and dice tables in the Duke mansion''s reception hall. Since he was playing against the brethren, Wei Xiaobao did not practice any cheating.


    They gambled until the second watch of the night [between 9-11pm]. Wei Xiaobao said to Dolong, "Duo Dage, Xiongdi has another favor to ask you."


    Dolong''s gambling luck was flourishing, he was in a very good mood. "Alright," he said with a laugh, "No matter what, you only need to instruct me." But he immediately recalled something; he said, "Only one matter I cannot do! That lunatic who cursed you on the street, His Majesty commanded me to have strict custody over him; early in the morning tomorrow you and I will supervise his execution. If for personal gain I let him go, His Majesty will definitely have my head chopped."


    The favor Wei Xiaobao was going to ask was precisely this matter; who would have thought that before he even mentioned it, Dolong had already shot him down. He thought, "His Majesty indeed has supernatural foresight, he has anticipated everything. Even one million taels of silver cannot buy Mao Dage''s life." He was angry and his heart was full of grievances, thereupon he wanted to come back to Zheng Keshuang''s house to demand payment. But then he recalled Zheng Keshuang''s dejected appearance, he felt that to bully such a pitiful creature was not the conduct of a hero. He thought better of it and said, "It was His Majesty himself who give us the order concerning that lunatic, even if I had gargantuan guts I would not dare to let him go. Today we went to demand payment, that fellow Zheng Keshuang is alright, but his subordinate, that Feng Xifan was really annoying, he took unfair advantage of us. When Xiongdi remembers this, I really cannot swallow."


    Several Imperial Bodyguards nearby heard him, they all parroted his words, "When we saw that today, everybody was angry. Wei Daren need not be worried, let us all pay him a visit. He is a surrendering soldier of defeated army, unexpectedly he has the audacity to flaunt his prestige inside the city of Beijing. This kind of disregard of the law and natural morality, do we still need to tolerate?" The more they talked about it, the angrier they got; the Imperial Bodyguards all said that they would leave immediately to tear down Feng Xifan''s earl mansion.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "If we are going to deal with this son of a turtle, we must not come publicly and let the imperial censor finds out and submits a memorial to the Emperor. It won''t be too good for the Imperial Bodyguards'' reputation."


    "Yes, yes," Dolong hastily said, "Xiongdi''s apprehension is very true."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Duo Dage do not need to act personally, let''s just have Zhang Dage and Zhao Dage take several men to do it." Turning to Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian he said, "Disguise yourselves as Vanguard Battalion''s Tai Dutong''s [commander] subordinates. Pretend that you have an urgent official business, ask Feng Xifan that son of a turtle for a discussion. Even if he has suspicions in his heart, he won''t dare not to come out. Somewhere along the way, put his hands and feet on shackles, cover his eyes with black cloth, stuff his mouth with rags, take him in circle to the east of the city and the west of the city, finally bring him here. We all then beat him severely, strip off his clothes, and send him to Tai Dutong''s concubine''s bed." All the Imperial Bodyguards roared in laughter; they repeatedly praised it as a brilliant scheme.


    Imperial Bodyguards and Vanguard Battalion had always been at odds with each other; when they came across each other, oftentimes they would fight. The Vanguard Battalion''s commander was originally Ajichi; that day Wei Xiaobao schemed against him and put him in prison, although later on he was released, Kangxi blamed him as useless, did not do his job properly, thereupon he was deposed from his position. Nowadays the Dutong was a man surnamed Tai. Dolong and Chief Tai were ''struggling in the light and fighting in the dark''; the animosity had been going on for a long time, but neither one could overcome the other.


    Dolong was even more elated; he said, "That fellow Ol'' Tai is afraid of his wife, he took maids and concubines, but did not dare to take them home. His newest concubine, the number eight concubine, lives at the Tian Shui Jing [Sweet Water Well] Alley, Ol'' Tai does not stay overnight there. We strip Feng Xifan stark naked and then put him in the new concubine''s bed, Ol'' Tai will definitely be half-dead angry. Even if he suspects it was us who play him trick, as long as all of us keep our mouths shut, he won''t be able to do anything."


    Immediately the Imperial Bodyguards took off their uniforms and insignias before going out the door, giggling and laughing. Wei Xiaobao and Dolong waited in the hall, drinking.


    Wei Xiaobao''s subordinates, his personal guards constantly made discreet inquiry and came back to report the progress of the operation: the Imperial Bodyguards had arrived at the door of ''Zhongcheng Earl Mansion'' and identified themselves as Vanguard Battalion, they knocked the door asking for an audience. Feng Xifan came out to greet them and invited everybody in for some tea. Zhang Kangnian said that they received Tai Dutong''s order, there was an urgent military intelligence from Taiwan, asking for his presence for immediate consultation. Feng Xifan climbed into a sedan chair, the Imperial Bodyguards escorted him to the western city. The Imperial Bodyguards put Feng Xifan in shackles, they even arrested the people who came with him. The group then went to the northern city; the Tidu [local commander] of Jiu Men [Nine Gate] on night duty shouted questions, Zhao Qixian loudly replied that they were Vanguard Battalion, inside the sedan chair Feng Xifan definitely could hear the exchange clearly. The crowd was heading back here to this mansion ��


    After the time needed to burn an incense stick, the Imperial Bodyguards with Feng Xifan in custody came in. Zhang Kangnian said in loud voice, "Reporting to Tai Dutong: the rebellious officer Feng Xifan is here."


    Wei Xiaobao''s right hand clenched into a fist, he made a gesture to beat him. The Imperial Bodyguards called out, "Rebellious officer Feng Xifan colludes with the rebels, he conspires against the law. Tai Dutong''s order: beat him severely." Punches and kicks flew toward him at once.


    Feng Xifan''s martial art skill was extremely high, he was also very perceptive; when the Imperial Bodyguards, posing as the Vanguard Battalion, came to get him, he immediately saw something was amiss. If he wanted to escape, although the Imperial Bodyguards were superior in number, they would never be able to capture him. However, since he surrendered and was conferred the title Earl, he thought that although the opponents intentionally wanted to frame him, the Emperor was wise, he was always able to distinguish right from wrong. If Feng Xifan ran away, inevitably he would be charged with the offense of escaping arrest, henceforth his honor and glory, his rank and emolument of nobility, would go down the drain. Therefore, all along he did not resist. Just because he coveted riches and honor, this martial art master of the present age had unexpectedly fallen into the hands of these Imperial Bodyguards and was beaten until he was hovering between life and death.


    Seeing his bleeding nose, and knowing that his internal injury was quite heavy, Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed; at last the enmity of the murder of his Shifu was avenged to some degree. If the beating continued, he was afraid Feng Xifan would die; thereupon he shook his hand to stop them. He then ordered his personal guards to strip Feng Xifan naked, and wrap him inside a felt blanket. By this time Feng Xifan was at his last gasp, he had already lost consciousness.


    Dolong laughed and said, "Take him to the Ol'' Tai''s eighth concubine''s house."


    Zhao Qixian said with a laugh, "It would be best if we also strip the Ol'' Tai''s eighth concubine naked and tie the two of them together."


    The Imperial Bodyguards were greatly delighted; they all roared in cheers. Dolong wanted to see the Ol'' Tai''s eighth concubine being stripped; he laughed and said, "This time I am going to lead the troops."


    His party carried Feng Xifan and was about to leave when suddenly two personal guards came in in quick steps and reported to Wei Xiaobao, "Reporting to Daren: there is a fight going on outside Tai Dutong''s residence in Tian Shui Jing Alley right now, the sky and the earth are turning upside down."


    Everyone was shocked, thinking, "How did the secret leak out? Tai Dutong already guards against it, this matter could turn bad."


    "What kind of people are fighting?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    A personal guard said, "Eight of us, Xiaoren received Daren''s order to scout out the Tian Shui Jing Alley, suddenly we saw a group of armed women, about thirty or forty of them ��"


    Wei Xiaobao frowned, "What armed women?" he wondered aloud.


    The personal guard said, "Reporting to Daren: this large group of people consists of women with big feet, some carry bread rollers, some carry laundry sticks, and then there are some carry door bolts and shoulder poles; they all stormed into Tai Dutong''s residence. ''Bing, bing, bang, bang!'' they ransacked the place and dragged a young woman who did not have time to escape and lashed her fiercely with a whip."


    "That''s strange!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "Go and find out more." Two personal guards received the order and left.


    The second team of scouts arrived and reported, "Reporting to Daren: riding on fast horse Tai Dutong arrived at the Tian Shui Jing Alley, his clothes was in a mess, his left foot was wearing a boot, his right foot was bare. Turns out the leader of the armed women attacking Tian Shui Jing Alley was Madame Tai Dutong."


    As soon as they heard it, the whole room roared with laughter. It was only then did they realize that Madame Tai Dutong drank vinegar [i.e. jealous] and went to attack his ''outside'' residence.


    When the personal guard spoke to this point, he also could not help laughing before continuing, "That Madame grabbed Tai Dutong and ''slap, slap!'' she slapped him on the face, followed by a kick; she was really formidable. Tai Dutong bowed respectfully and repeatedly said, ''Madame, calm down!''"


    Dolong waved his hands in excitement; he said, "This time Ol'' Tai received what he deserved."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Dage, quickly lead the troops to urge them to stop fighting. This time you can grab the Ol'' Tai''s pigtail, I guarantee that from now on the Vanguard Battalion will never dare to go against us, the Imperial Bodyguards."


    Reminded by Wei Xiaobao, Dolong was greatly delighted. He slapped his own forehead and said with a laugh, "I am such a muddle head! Such a good opportunity and I almost miss it. Brothers, let us all go to watch the excitement." Leading the Imperial Bodyguards, he rushed toward Tian Shui Jing Alley.


    Wei Xiaobao looked at Feng Xifan who was still lying on the floor; he pondered, "How am I going to handle this fellow? If I release him, he would definitely report to His Majesty. Even if he did not mention my name, His Majesty would definitely guess that I have something to do with it." With his hands behind his back he paced back and forth in the hall. He thought further, "Come dawn, Mao Dage will be executed. How can I save his life? A big name mansion attacking the execution ground, that won''t do. Execution ground, execution ground ��" Suddenly he remembered the opera ''exchanging a child on the execution ground''. "That''s it! Xue Gang ran into misfortune, he was executed along with his whole family unto the third generation. There was a white-bearded old man, Xu somebody, who took his own child to the execution ground and exchanged the child with the baby Xue somebody and took him out ��"


    The number of opera he watched was indeed not a few, he might not be able to metion the names of the character in the play, but he remembered the stories very well. As soon as he recalled the ''exchanging a child on the execution ground'', another opera came into his mind, "The ''Searching alone saving alone''! This story is also not bad, there was this black-bearded man called Cheng Ying, who exchanged his own son with his master''s son, he let his own son be beheaded in order to save his master''s son''s life. It''s desperately serious. Fortunately Mao Dage''s age is not the same as my son''s. Otherwise, I would have to deliver Hutou, Tongchui to the execution ground to be beheaded in exchange for Mao Dage''s life. Although yi qi to a friend is most important, I can''t ever do this kind of matter. Very good, very good!" He kicked Feng Xifan, who was still lying on the floor, heavily and said, "Your luck is not bad, Wei Daren hereby accept you as my adopted son. Wei Daren''s real son I can''t bear to exchange, adopted son I can exchange as I wish."


    Immediately he summoned the captain of his personal guards and gave him secret orders, he gave him one thousand taels, and another thousand taels to be divided among the other personal guards who were going to handle this matter. The captain bowed to express his thanks; he said, "Daren set your heart at ease, everything will be handled properly, there will be no mistake."


    Finished making arrangement, Wei Xiaobao entered the inner hall. His seven wives and sons and daughter were summoned into the Palace by the Empress Dowager, the house was cold and cheerless. Still fully clothed he lay down in his bed for a while, soon dawn would arrive.


    By the chenpai hour [5


    th


    Wei Xiaobao received the imperial decree. Outside his mansion''s gate he selected several personal guards to accompany him. He saw Dolong, leading several dozen Imperial Bodyguards with Mao Shiba in custody, arrived. Mao Shiba''s eyes were blue, his nose swollen, his face was full of blood. It was obvious that he had received quite a beating. As soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao, he cursed and scolded, "Wei Xiaobao, you are a shameless traitor (to China). Today you become the supervising officer of Laozi''s execution, Laozi will die without any regret. Who told me that day to be so blind, that from a wh0re nest in Yangzhou I took you, this little traitor all the way to Beijing?"


    The personal guards shouted at him, but Mao Shiba''s cursing was growing more vicious. Wei Xiaobao did not pay him any attention, he asked Dolong, "How was Ol'' Tai?"


    Dolong laughed and said, "Last night I rushed over there, Ol'' Tai has already been grabbed by his Madame, his face was full of blood traces. As soon as he saw me, his face looked very awkward. I persuaded using all possible arguments, urging his Madame. I also took his eighth concubine into my home, and let my two concubines accompany her. Ol'' Tai showered me with a thousand thanks and ten thousand gratitudes, his appreciation was boundless."


    "What does the eighth concubine look like?" Wei Xiaobao asked with a laugh.


    Dolong raised his thumb and said, "Hey, hey, amazing!"


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You must not ''seing a beauty conceive a scheme'', taking advantage of someone else''s misfortune!"


    Dolong laughed aloud and said, "Xiongdi, set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease, how can your Dage be like that? Although Ol'' Tai is my longstanding opponent, this kind of shady business your Dage will definitely never do."


    Presently the two of them brought Mao Shiba to the execution ground at the mouth of the food market. Dolong rode a horse, Wei Xiaobao rode a large carriage. Mao Shiba sat on an open top ox cart, his hands were tied behind his back, a piece of wooden signboard was on his neck; it said, "Offender to the throne: Mao Shiba."


    The ox cart travelled along the main street from the horse and mule market westward, common people crowded by the street to watch. Along the way Mao Shiba was shouting and yelling, "After eighteen years, Laozi is still a hero, that''s why I am called Mao Shiba. I already knew that I was going to be beheaded."


    The common people by the street cheered; they praised him, "He has guts, a really tough man."


    They reached the execution ground at the mouth of the food market, at the intersection between the horse and mule market and the Xuan Wu Gate main street. That same night Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards had erected raised canopy. In front and at the rear of the canopy the security was very tight. Dolong received Kangxi''s instruction that there was a possibility Tian Di Hui would attack the execution ground, thereupon he had the Jiu Men Tidu deployed two thousand officers and men to guard all around the execution ground.


    Mao Shiba stood boldly at the center of the execution ground; he shouted, "We all are the people of the Great Han, our beautiful rivers and mountains are occupied by the Tatars. There will come a day that the Tatars will be wiped out completely!"


    Wei Xiaobao got down from his carriage and entered the canopy. The carriage was parked right next to the canopy. Wei Xiaobao took his seat, and then he invited Dolong to sit right next to him. Dolong knitted his brows and said, "This criminal is shouting treason and heresy, he is inciting the people in here. We must chop his head as quickly as possible."


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. He shouted, "Bring the prisoner!"


    Four personal guards pushed Mao Shiba into the canopy and pushed him down to kneel, but Mao Shiba refused to kneel no matter what.


    "No need to kneel," Wei Xiaobao said. Turning to Dolong he said, "Dage, please identify the prisoner, is he the one?"


    "He is!" Dolong said.


    "He is identified," Wei Xiaobao said, "Offender to the throne: Mao Shiba."


    Picking up a vermillion brush he drew a large circle on the wooden signboard, and threw it out. A personal guard picked up the signboard and dragged Mao Shiba out.


    "Duo Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "I want to show you something interesting." While saying that, he took out a fold of handkerchiefs from his sleeve pocket and showed it over in front of Dolong''s face.


    The handkerchief was embroidered with erotic picture. The man and woman featured in the picture looked beautiful and handsome, their posture was vivid. As soon as Dolong saw it, his eyes were glued to it. He flipped the handkerchief over, underneath was another embroidered handkerchief with different erotic picture, the posture was very strange. Dolong laughed and said, "This style looks very weird."


    Flipping the handkerchiefs over, he found more embroidered erotic pictures, the posture in each picture was weirder than the previous ones; there was one man with two women, two men and three women, and so on. Dolong just looked on and his blood was boiling. "Xiongdi," he said with a laugh, "Where did you get this treasure? Please buy another set for your Gege."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "This is Xiongdi''s gift to show filial respect to Dage."


    It was as if Dolong had just acquired the most precious treasure, smiling broadly he repeatedly said thanks, while folding the handkerchiefs and carefully put it into his pocket.


    Right this moment, they heard ''bang, bang, bang!'' the cannon fired three salvos. The captain of Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards came to report, "The time has come. Daren please supervise the execution."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao replied. He stood up and pulled Dolong''s hand to walk out of the canopy together.


    They saw Mao Shiba kneeling in the execution ground with his head hung dejectedly, as if he had lost his consciousness. The drummer began to beat the drum. When the drum stopped, the executioner, draped with red hood over his head, raised his arm, and swung the ghost-headed saber down. Immediately the convict''s head rolled. The executioner''s left foot flew, he kicked the head away. The convict''s body slumped forward with blood gushing out of his neck.


    "It''s done," Dolong said, "Let us part now. I am going to see His Majesty to report the completion of the imperial decree."


    Wei Xiaobao choked with sobs. "Duo Dage," he said, "This man had deep friendship with me. It''s just that His Majesty''s order was very strict that I was not able to save him. Ay!" While saying that, he used his sleeve to wipe the tears; sobbing and sniffling, he cried loudly.


    Dolong sighed and said, "Xiongdi indeed has enough yi qi. You may prepare his body for burial well; give him proper burial, this way you are not letting the dead down." Wei Xiaobao complied, then he continued crying.


    When Wei Xiaobao used his sleeve to wipe the tears, he actually had fresh ginger in his sleeve, with which he rubbed his eyes. The pungent ginger made his eyes red and made him shedding tears continuously, but in his heart he was laughing, delighted that his scheme was successful. Dolong comforted him some more and walked him to his carriage before he himself mounted his horse and left. Surrounded by his personal guards he rode the carriage back to his duke mansion. Several personal guards rolled the convict''s body in a straw mat and placed the body in a coffin that was prepared earlier on the side, and then they nailed the coffin''s lid solid.


    The common people who were witnessing the execution expressed their opinions. They all said that at the death''s door Mao Shiba still dared to swear and curse, he was a real hero. Yet some who were afraid of getting involved reprimanded the others, saying that the offender to the throne spoke treason and heresy, hence they should not praise him to avoid any disaster befalling them.


    When Wei Xiaobao reached his mansion, he got off the carriage; but the carriage quietly continued southward, out of Beijing, all the way to the south, heading toward Yangzhou. Wei Xiaobao then went to the Palace to report the completion of the imperial decree. Kangxi immediately granted him an audience.


    Kangxi had received Dolong''s report, and knew that when supervising the execution of Mao Shiba, Wei Xiaobao did not stop crying. This time, seeing Wei Xiaobao''s red eyes, Kangxi felt sorry and rather uneasy; he thought that Wei Xiaobao attached most importance to loyalty, it was a rare trait. After consoling him warmly for a bit, Kangxi said, "Xiao Guizi, those Luocha troops you captured, the majority asked me to set them free to return to their country. I have already released them, but there are about two hundred who wish to remain in China."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Beijing is livelier and more fun compared to Moscow. Following His Majesty and working for you will be a lot better-off than working for those two unfit for anything Luocha young Tsars."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "I organized these Luocha troops into two ''Russian Companies'', and put these two companies under your command. You must control them well, don''t let them create any trouble in the Capital."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he kneeled down to express his gratitude. Outside the Palace, the two Luocha companies had already been waiting outside the Gate of Supreme Harmony by the Jinshui [golden water] Bridge. The Luocha troops were wearing new Qing troop uniform, bright, neat and well-fitting; they looked really impressive. Wei Xiaobao issued his order: each man received twenty taels and was granted three days furlough. The Luocha troops cried out, "Wula!" incessantly.


    Until the end of Kangxi''s reign, these Luocha troops were serving in the Qing army, they were loyal and were not double-minded. When foreign nation''s ambassador came to Beijing, they saw Chinese Emperor employed Luocha officers and men, no one was not impressed. It was not until these Luocha troops gradually died of old age that the ''Russian Company'' organizations began to dissolve.


    (Book note: Concerning the details of the captured Luocha troops serving in the Qing army, please see Yu Zhengxie''s ''Guizi [thirtieth year of the 60 year cycle] Class Manuscript'' volume IX, ''Examining the Russian Company''. In Xiao Yishan''s [1902-1978] ''General History of the Qing Dynasty'', it was written that ''the prisoners were offered to stay in the Capital, to receive the Emperor''s pardon and were organized into companies, comprised solely of Russian ethnicity. Their offspring still exist today.'' These Russian men intermarried with Chinese women and produced children.)


    Back to his mansion, Wei Xiaobao saw that the Princess, along with his six other wives and three sons and daughter, had returned from the Palace. Every one received not a few rewards from the Empress Dowager, but the Princess did not look happy. Wei Xiaobao asked, and learned that the Empress Dowager treated everyone equally favorably, although the Princess was her own daughter, she did not utter half a word of affection to her. Naturally Wei Xiaobao understood the reason behind it; he thought, "Empress Dowager did not particularly treat you badly, it was because she was looking at your husband''s face." He said, "Empress Dowager is very thoughtful, she was afraid that if she is particularly good to you, the six Meimei would be jealous."


    The Princess angrily said, "She is my own mother, if she is a bit good to me, how can they be jealous?"


    Wei Xiaobao embraced her and said with a laugh, "I am particularly good to you, let''s see if they are going to be jealous or not?" The women chattered continuously, they all laughed together. The Princess was a frank person, as soon as everybody broke into chatting and laughing, she felt better already.


    Hereafter in the next ten days or so, one after another the princes, dukes and high-ranking ministers invited Wei Xiaobao for a banquet to congratulate him on his meritorious service. He went to the opera, he gambled; not a single evening he was idle.


    One day Dolong paid him a visit, telling him that Feng Xifan had been missing for more than ten days. His family had already reported to Shun Tian Fu


    [37]. Dolong asked in a low voice, "Xiongdi, what happened after we beat him up that night?"


    "Afterwards I sent him home," Wei Xiaobao replied, "I wonder where has that fellow gone?"


    "You didn''t kill him, did you?" Dolong asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "If I sent people to kill him, you would be standing at the side, watching. Duo Dage, did you see me doing that?"


    "No, no," Dolong said, "We only beat him up severely; when did we kill him?"


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "Ever since Xiongdi received the imperial order to lead the troops, although I have given up the Fu Zongguan [deputy chief] position, but as long as it is related to the Imperial Bodyguards, no matter what kind of responsibility, Xiongdi will definitely face it together with Dage."


    Dolong smiled and said, "Nothing''s wrong. The Feng family insists that that night it was the Vanguard Battalion''s Ol'' Tai who sent his men to pick him up, but he never returned. Shun Tian Fu personally paid a visit to Ol'' Tai, asking him about that night. Ol'' Tai was very embarrassed, he hummed and hawed but was unwilling to tell the truth. Later on Ol'' Tai became angry and lost his temper, Shun Tian Fu did not dare to investigate further." While saying that, he stood up and patted Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder. "Xiongdi," he said with a laugh, "You are a good-luck general. Who would have thought that in this matter you can be so lucky? Madame Ol'' Tai did not come earlier or later, but right that night she was prompted by a sudden impulse to lead the armed women going to attack Tian Shui Jing Alley. This way, everything will fall into Ol'' Tai''s responsibility."


    He was certain that Feng Xifan must have been killed in secret by Wei Xiaobao. Although in this matter he shared some responsibility, putting the blame on the Vanguard Battalion''s Tai Dutong fit very well with his own intention. Naturally he did not know that the fact that Madame Tai Dutong did not come earlier or later and sent out her troops right that moment was actually not a coincidence at all. Wei Xiaobao had calculated the precise moment and sent people to tip her off. Naturally Dolong would never know that when Wei Xiaobao dispatched the Qing troops to supervise the execution, he had the canopy constructed with double wall, and hid Feng Xifan inside. Once Mao Shiba was identified, when he was dragged away from the canopy, Wei Xiaobao took out the handkerchiefs with erotic pictures to divert Dolong''s attention, while Wei Xiaobao''s personal guards immediately swapped Mao Shiba and Feng Xifan. By this time Feng Xifan was still unconscious, his face was full of blood, the guards put the exact same clothes as Mao Shiba''s on him; he was made to kneel down on the execution ground with head hanging low, and was immediately beheaded. Although Feng and Mao, two men''s appearances and statures were not the same, nobody detected the difference. The head the executioner chopped actually belonged to Feng Xifan.


    In the meantime, the personal guards locked Mao Shiba inside Wei Daren''s carriage, which was parked next to the canopy; they gagged his mouth, and then carried him nonstop to Yangzhou. It was after they crossed the Yellow River that they explained everything to him clearly; they also gave him three thousand taels. In mortal danger Mao Shiba escaped alive, his acute spirit was dampened; he also realized that Wei Xiaobao staked his own life to save him, that Wei Xiaobao was not a person who violated yi qi. Henceforth he went into hiding and did not appear in public anymore.


    Day after day Wei Xiaobao exchanged toasts, he was somewhat tired; he was also concerned about Tian Di Hui brethren. The Emperor was more and more formidable, while Wei Xiaobao lived comfortably in his mansion, he knew that he must not let the Emperor catch the Green Wood Hall brethren in one net; therefore, he must discuss a plan to guard against this. As a result, he disguised himself as a young master of a rich family, with Shuang''er disguised as his personal attendant.


    The two of them went to the Heavenly Bridge, and mingled with the crowd there for an hour before they saw Xu Tianchuan, carrying a medicine box on his back, sitting in a small teahouse, drinking tea. Wei Xiaobao entered the teahouse at once and sat down in front of Xu Tianchuan. "Xu Dage!" he greeted in a low voice.


    Xu Tianchuan stood up suddenly, and strode out with an angry look on his face. Wei Xiaobao was startled; he followed out, and saw Xu Tianchuan was heading toward a secluded spot. Immediately he and Shuang''er followed from a distant.


    Xu Tianchuan passed through three lanes, two small streets, and came to an alley; at the end of the alley there were two big ginkgo trees. He entered the alley, and knocked on the gate of the fifth house several times. The wooden door opened, Fan Gang came out to greet him. As soon as Fan Gang saw Wei Xiaobao, he was startled, but immediately anger filled his face.


    Wei Xiaobao stepped forward and said with a laugh, "Fan Dage, how are you?"


    "Humph!" Fan Gang snorted, but he did not reply.


    With a wooden face Xu Tianchuan asked, "Wei Daren, do you bring troops to catch us all?"


    Wei Xiaobao hastily said, "Xu San Ge, how can �� how can you joke like that?"


    Fan Gang quickly walked to the mouth of the alley and looked. Back to the house, he quickly closed the door. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er followed the two of them across the courtyard and into the main hall. They saw Li Lishi, Qi Biaoqing, Priest Xuanzhen, Gao Yanchao, Qian Laoben and the others were congregating in the hall. As soon as they saw Wei Xiaobao, everybody let out an ''Ah!'', and sprang up.


    Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist and said, "Gentlemen, Gege, how are you all doing?"


    Priest Xuanzhen angrily said, "We haven''t been killed by you, I consider our situation not too bad!" ''Shua!'' he pulled the saber hanging on his waist.


    Wei Xiaobao took a step back and said in a trembling voice, "Why are you �� you like this to �� to me? I did not do �� do anything to wrong you."


    Priest Xuanzhen loudly shouted in anger, "Zongduozhu was killed by you, Feng Er Ge was also killed by you, just a few days ago you killed Mao Shiba! I �� we really wish we could rip your tendon and peel your skin."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious. "There''s no �� no such thing," he hastily said, "Those are all lies."


    Xuanzhen rushed one step forward; with his left hand he grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s lapel, and said sternly, "We couldn''t figure out how we are going to kill you, today you �� you this little traitor drop in to deliver your own life. Indeed Zongduozhu''s spirit in heaven has blessed us."


    Seeing the situation turned from bad to worse, Wei Xiaobao turned his head around; he wanted to unleash his ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine walk hundred changes] skill to escape, but he saw Xu Tianchuan and Fan Gang, both with weapons in their hands, were standing right behind him. He had no choice but to say, "We are all brothers, why be �� why be this impatient?"


    "Who wants to be brothers with you, little traitor?" Xuanzhen said, "Your, this little demon, graceful words, flowery speech, we don''t want to hear it. I want to cut open your heart of wolf and lungs of dog to be offered as sacrifice to Zongduozhu and Feng Er Ge first, and then we''ll talk later." Withdrawing his left arm, he pulled Wei Xiaobao closer.


    "Injustice, injustice!" Wei Xiaobao cried out.


    Seeing the situation was critical, Shuang''er took the Luocha short gun from her pocket and fired it toward the roof. ''Bang!'' the room immediately filled with smoke. She grabbed Wei Xiaobao''s back and tore him off Priest Xuanzhen''s grab. In the past Xuanzhen had suffered greatly under western firearms; his father and brothers had died from guns. As soon as he heard the gunshot, his heart was shaken, and Wei Xiaobao was snatched away by Shuang''er.


    Shuang''er leaped to the corner of the room and stood in front of Wei Xiaobao. Pointing the muzzle of the gun to the crowd she shouted, "Are you going to listen to reason or not?"


    Xuanzhen''s eyes turned red; he cried, "Everyone, charge! We''ll fight them to the death!"


    Raising his sword, he wanted to charge forward. Qian Laoben reached out to pull him back; he said, "Daozhang [priest], hold it!" Turning to Shuang''er he said, "What reason you want to talk, speak up, let us hear it."


    "Alright!" Shuang''er said. Thereupon she narrated in details how Wei Xiaobao went into exile because he tried to save Chen Jinnan and the heroes in his house; how he was captured by Divine Dragon Cult and ended up on Tong Chi Island; how Chen Jinnan was killed by Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan, two people; how Feng Jizhong''s plot fell through and his treachery was exposed, and how he was killed by Shuang''er''s gunshot; how Kangxi repeatedly ordered Wei Xiaobao to destroy Tian Di Hui, but he simply refused to follow orders; and finally how recently he saved Mao Shiba''s life by swapping him with someone else. She was not an articulate person, her story was not particularly pleasant to hear, but this group of warriors had known her for a long time, they all knew that she was honest and never committed fraud; plus she was speaking casually, without the slightest hint of hesitation. They knew she did not have the ability to fabricate all these things in intricate details. Besides, in order to save them all Wei Xiaobao had lost his official position, his earl mansion was blasted flat, these people had experienced it firsthand. Now that they thought about Feng Jizhong''s conduct, everything fit together; they could not help but to believe.


    Xuanzhen said, "Since that''s the case, in Tatar Emperor''s imp �� imp �� damn it, imperial edict, why did he say that Wei Xiangzhu killed Zongduozhu?" By changing the way he addressed Wei Xiaobao as Wei ''Xiangzhu'', it goes to show that in his heart he had 90% believed.


    Shuang''er shook her head and said, "This, I don''t understand either."


    Qi Biaoqing said, "It must be the Tatar Emperor''s plot. He wanted Wei Xiangzhu to make a clean break with our Society; hereafter his mind would be firmly made up, with no possibility to change, to become Tatar high-ranking official."


    "Qi Xiongdi is right," Xu Tianchuan said. Returning the saber into its sheath, he bent his knees in front of Wei Xiaobao and said, "We are a bunch of muddleheaded maggots and were hot-headed to the extreme, we have offended Wei Xiangzhu, a crime deserving ten thousand deaths; we are willing to receive punishment."


    The rest of the warriors also kneeled down together. Xuanzhen repeatedly slapped his own face and cursed, "Deserve to die, deserve to die!"


    Wei Xiaobao and Shuang''er hastily kneeled down to return the propriety. Now that Wei Xiaobao was not in panic, he said, "All Gege, please rise. There is a common saying, ''One who does not know is not guilty.'' It was just temporary misunderstanding, what''s the big deal?"


    The group of warriors stood up and repeatedly apologized. By this time Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself, with his hands danced his feet tripped, he recounted the past events. Naturally his narrative was very lively and in full color, everything was a hundred times more exciting; but in the warriors'' ears, it was far less credible than Shuang''er''s.


    The group of warriors huddled together and talked in low voices for a while. Li Lishi said, "Wei Xiangzhu, Zongduozhu was unfortunate and died under the crafty scoundrel''s hands. Tian Di Hui is like a dragon without a head, the brothers of the ten Halls have been in deliberation to elect a new Zongduozhu. We, the brothers of the Green Wood Hall, want to nominate you as the Zongduozhu. It''s just that we are afraid the other nine Halls'' brothers would not accept, or perhaps they would be suspicious. We all agree to ask you to set up a great merit."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand repeatedly. "I definitely don''t want to be Zongduozhu," he said. But his curiosity was piqued; he asked, "I wonder what great merit you want me to accomplish?"


    Li Lishi said, "The three feudatories rebellion have been crushed, Taiwan has fallen into the Tatars'' hands, in the north, Luocha people have been repelled by Wei Xiangzhu. Our great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming has been increasingly more difficult."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "That''s right." But in his heart he mused, "Since it is very difficult, let''s everybody just sit back, relax, and not doing fighting the Qing restoring the Ming."


    Li Lishi said, "Although the Tatar Emperor is young, he is very able and efficient, plus he is able to win the people''s hearts. The common people throughout the world gradually forget about the previous dynasty. If this situation drags on for several more years, I am afraid Tatars'' rivers and mountains will be more stable."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed again and said, "That''s right." In his heart he said, "Xiao Xuanzi stabilizing the rivers and mountains, there is nothing bad about it."


    Li Lishi continued, "The Emperor dotes on and trusts Wei Xiangzhu very much, we all want to ask you to think of a plan, to bring the brothers into the Palace to assassinate the Emperor."


    Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed. "This �� this is impossible," he said in a trembling voice.


    Fan Gang said, "May I ask Wei Xiangzhu, what''s the difficulty?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There are too many Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace, and then there is Valiant Cavalry Brigade, Vanguard Battalion, Hu Jun [Protecting-Army] Battalion, Firearm Brigade, Jian Tui [Strong and Acute] Battalion, Tiger Spear Battalion, and so on, to protect the Emperor; it''s desperately serious. Just the Imperial Bodyguards alone, there are Yu Qian Shiwei [lit. Bodyguards in front of the Imperial], Gan Qing Men Shiwei [lit. Imperial Bodyguards in charge of Qing Gate], San Qi Shiwei [lit. Imperial Bodyguards of the Three Banners]. That day heroes like Shen Quan Wu Di [divine fist without equal] Gui Xinshu Laoyezi and the others still failed and met violent death, much less me? To assassinate His Majesty is difficult above difficult."


    Hearing he flatly refused, the crowd of warriors was displeased; plus the way he mentioned ''His Majesty'', which showed that he had enough slave mentality, put an angry look on everybody''s face.


    Fan Gang cast a glance toward the brethren and then said to Wei Xiaobao, "Wei Xiangzhu, assassinating the Tatar Emperor is without a doubt very difficult; however, we have you to take charge of the operation, so it''s not like we do not have any hope of success. We, brothers, who are going into the Palace, not a single one of us is hoping to come out alive, but whatever happens we will protect Wei Xiangzhu and keep you safe and sound. You have rendered not a few of great merits for our Society, among the tens of thousands brothers in our Society, in all honesty not a single one is as good as you. Tian Di Hui and the Tatars cannot live under the same sky. Hereafter the great undertaking of fighting the Qing restoring the Ming will rely solely on Wei Xiangzhu''s inspiration."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, "This matter I definitely don''t want to so. His Majesty wanted me to wipe out Tian Di Hui, I was unwilling, because I am holding up yi qi. Now all of you want me to assassinate the Emperor, I am also unwilling, because I am holding up yi qi still."


    Xuanzhen angrily said, "You are a Han, yet you are holding up yi qi for the Tatar Emperor; won''t that make you �� make you a Han ��" He was about to curse him the ''Hanjian'' [traitor to China], two characters; but in the end he forced himself to hold back.


    Fan Gang said, "This matter is extremely important. It''s hard for Wei Xiangzhu to agree immediately, that is very reasonable. Please give it a careful consideration and then give us your instruction."


    "Very well, very well," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "I will think about it carefully, I will think about it carefully."


    Seeing that he was not being sincere at all, Xu Tianchuan said, "I hope Wei Xiangzhu will not forget the late Zongduozhu''s aspiration, you must not forget the terrible tragedy of our vanquished nation. We are Han people, we must never be Tatars'' slaves."


    "Right, right," Wei Xiaobao said, "We must not forget that."


    The crowd of warriors knew that he was speaking without meaning it; they all fell silent.


    Wei Xiaobao looked this way, and then he looked that way; finally he laughed and said, "Why are all Gege not talking?" The group of warriors stayed silent.


    Wei Xiaobao felt extremely awkward; it was as if there were thorns and brambles on his back. He said, "In that case, let us part for the time being. I will go back and think about it carefully, and then I will discuss it with all Dage." While saying that he stood up.


    The crowd of warriors walked him off to the mouth of the alley, respectfully saluted him, and then took their leave.

 Chapter - 51 (51)

    Fish hawk soared high in the clouds gallantly, eastern bean goose flew to the outer sky mysteriously.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to his mansion, he sat in the side room feeling depressed. By the afternoon, an imperial edict arrived, the Emperor was summoning him to the Palace. Wei Xiaobao went to the Upper Study Room and kowtowed. Kangxi asked, "Feng Xifan is suddenly missing, what is going on here?"


    Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he thought, "Why ask me?" He said, "Reporting to His Majesty: the night Feng Xifan went missing, all along your servant was having fun with Duo Zongguan and the Imperial Bodyguards. Later on I heard Vanguard Battalion''s Tai Dutong was looking for Feng Xifan. I don''t know for a fact, but this Feng Xifan was then gone without a trace. These surrendering people from Taiwan are sneaky, their behavior is very strange, we don''t want them to conspire against the law in secret, let your servant investigate carefully."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "Very well, I give you the task of investigating this Feng Xifan''s whereabouts clearly, come back here in a few days to report. I promised the surrendering people of Taiwan that I will protect them thoroughly. This man suddenly disappeared mysteriously, if I cannot give a clear account, it would mean that I break my promise to the world."


    Cold sweats suddenly appeared on Wei Xiaobao''s forehead; he thought, "His Majesty is this serious, could it be that he knew I killed Feng Xifan?" Without any choice he responded, "Yes, yes."


    Kangxi asked further, "Earlier today you went to Yinxing [Ginkgo] Alley, was it fun?"


    Wei Xiaobao was taken aback, "Yinxing Alley?" he asked. Immediately he recalled that at the mouth of the alley where Tian Di Hui warriors had their temporary lodging there were two big ginkgo trees; apparently that alley is called ''Ginkgo Alley''. The Emperor even knew the name of the alley, what else could he conceal from him? This time the cold sweat appeared on Wei Xiaobao''s entire body, his legs went weak, he kneeled down at once, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty can see clearly for ten thousand li. All in all, your servant is loyal to you."


    Kangxi sighed and said, "Those rebel thieves forced you to harm me, but you refused to comply no matter what. You are holding yi qi toward me very much; however �� however, Xiao Guizi, in your whole life, will you always have your feet on two boats like this?"


    Wei Xiaobao repeatedly kowtowed; he said, "Your Majesty please understand, becoming the Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu, your servant will never do. Your Majesty may set your hundred and twenty hearts at peace."


    In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "This, I do not know." He said, "Your servant heard Fengyang [county, Chuzhou, Anhui] flower-drum


    [38] people sang about ''ever since Zhu Emperor came out, there was scarcity nine out of ten years. Rich families sold their land, poor families sold their children.'' Right now the wind changes, the rain''s favorable, the country prospers, the people at peace, Your Majesty is raw bird fish soup [see ''yao shun yu tang'' above], Zhu emperors were 108,000 li apart from you, even patting the horse''s bottom they would not be able to chase after you."


    Kangxi smiled slightly and said, "Stand up." He also stood up and paced back and forth in the Upper Study Room. He said, "Fu Huang [father emperor] is a Manchu, but my birth mother Empress Xiao Kang was a Han army banner person, so I am half Han. I treat common people under the heavens equally, I have never treated Han people unfairly the slightest bit, why do they hate me that much, and determine to kill me?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "These rebels commit treason and heresy, they are totally muddleheaded, Your Majesty must not take them to heart."


    Kangxi shook his head, suddenly there was a depressed and lonely expression on his face. After quite a long time, he said, "There are good and bad Manchu people, there are also good and bad Han people. Bad people in the world are too many, we can''t kill them all, but to guide them back to the path of righteousness, I do not have that kind of ability. Ay, becoming an emperor is very difficult." He stared at Wei Xiaobao for half a day before finally he said, "You may go!"


    Wei Xiaobao kowtowed and took his leave. He felt his entire body was cold. Turned out just now he was so scared that his undergarment and underpants were soaked with cold sweats. It was not until he was out of the Palace that he took a deep breath. "There is a spy infiltrating Tian Di Hui," he pondered, "We killed one Feng Jizhong, another one appeared in his place. Otherwise, how could he know that they wanted me to assassinate the Emperor? But I wonder who is this spy?"


    Returning to his mansion, he sat down and pondered carefully, but he could not find any clue. He thought further, "His Majesty gave me the task of investigating Feng Xifan''s whereabouts, looking at His Majesty''s expression, he suspects that this is my doing, it''s just that he does not have any incriminating evidence. How am I going to fob him off in this matter? Just now at the Yinxing Alley Shuang''er mentioned how I swapped people at the execution ground to save Mao Dage''s life; fortunately I have not told her that I swapped him with Feng Xifan. Otherwise, this na?ve girl would certainly blurt it out, and then the spy would report it to His Majesty. If my First-class Duke of Luding did not repeatedly demoted seventeen or twenty eight levels, my surname is surely not Wei."


    Thinking to the east, pondering to the west, he was deeply troubled. Prior to entering the service in the Palace, he and Kangxi could chat and laugh, the two of them were very happy. Now they all grew up, the Emperor was very imposing; Wei Xiaobao talked a lot of nonsense, he got so scared that he was not able to talk anymore. All these high-ranking positions, Great General Fuyuan, First-class Duke of Luding, are not fun to do anymore, not as interesting as when as a kid he became a little servant at Lovely Spring Courtyard; so free, unfettered and happy.


    He thought, "Tian Di Hui brothers are forcing me to assassinate the Emperor, the Emperor is forcing me to wipe out Tian Di Hui. His Majesty said, ''Xiao Guizi, in your whole life, will you always have your feet on two boats like this?'' His granny, Laozi won''t do it anymore! I won''t have anything to do with everything anymore!" As soon as these five characters ''Laozi won''t do it anymore'' emerged in his heart, he felt unspeakably relax and at ease.


    Taking dice from his pocket, he threw the dice on the table and shouted, "If I have to quit, let me throw a ''hall full of red'' [i.e. success across the board]!" Four dice rolled around, three dice landed with red dots facing up, but the fourth die landed on six dots; nothing can be blacker than that. Actually, when he threw the dice, he already cheated, but still he was unsuccessful.


    "Damn it!" he cursed. Picking up the dice, he threw several more times; it was not until the eighth throw that he managed to get all dice landed on red. He cheerfully said, "Turns out Laotianye [God] wants me to do seven things for His Majesty before I quit." He mused, "I have accomplished seven things early on. Killing Oboi was the first, saving the Old Emperor was the second, blocking in front of His Majesty''s holy self on Mount Wutai was the third, rescuing the Empress Dowager was the fourth, contacting Mongolia and Tibet was the fifth, destroying Shen Long Jiao was the sixth, capturing Wu Yingxiong was the seventh, recommending Zhang Yong, Zhao Liangdong, and the others for service that they defeated Wu Sangui was the eighth, capturing Yakesa was the ninth �� too many, too many. If I don''t count the small things, the big things must be exactly seven. No more, no less." But this time he did not feel like thinking of which seven things could be considered big things. In short, "Laozi won''t do it anymore!"


    "One, I won''t be government official; two, I won''t rebel. So what is Laozi going to do?" Thinking back and forth, he still thought that he was happiest back in Yangzhou. As soon as he thought about returning to Yangzhou, he could not help bursting with joy. "Guards!" he called loudly.


    He ordered his personal guards to fetch food and wine. He drank alone while figuring out what he ought to do so that there would not be any future danger, that Kangxi could not send anybody to capture him, Tian Di Hui also could not pressure him to rebel. He thought that if he asked the Princess to come with him to Yangzhou, to spend her life in drinking and pleasure, she would definitely refuse. But if he wanted to open a brothel in Yangzhou, very likely Su Quan, Ah Ke, Fang Yi, Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou would not agree. "Alright," he thought, "We''ll take it one step at a time. Laozi has several million taels of family property, not opening a brothel will not starve me to death; it''s just that I won''t have anything fun to do."


    During the family dinner at the mansion that night, the seven wives saw him smiling in high spirit, he talked cheerfully and wittily, totally different from his frowning and always on the edge these past several days; they all asked, "Why are you so cheerful?"


    Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Mysteries of heaven must not be revealed."


    The Princess asked, "Did Huangdi Gege [emperor older brother] promote you again?"


    Zeng Rou asked, "Did you win big in gambling?"


    Shuang''er asked, "Tian Di Hui matter did not trouble you anymore?"


    "Pei," Ah Ke spat, "Most likely this fellow fancies some young lady and wants to take her as the eighth wife."


    Wei Xiaobao simply shook his head.


    After all his wives had stopped asking questions, Wei Xiaobao said, "Originally I did not want to tell you, but you all insist on knowing; I have no choice but to tell you."


    The seven madames stopped whatever they were doing and listened attentively. With a serious expression Wei Xiaobao said, "I have become a high-ranking officer, become a Duke, but am unable to distinguish good from bad, it is indeed too inappropriate. Starting tomorrow, I am going to study literature, take the exam to be a zhuangyuan [top scorer in imperial exam] and enter the Hanlin Academy."


    The seven wives looked at each other, followed by all of them roared in laughter. Everybody knew that this husband of theirs could kill and burn, steal, rob and swindle; he could do anything in the world but one thing: he definitely could not study and learn to read.


    Frowning, Wei Xiaobao asked, "Your Shun Tian Fu yamen has captured criminals and obtained information a lot, what clue did you find these past few days?"


    The prefectural magistrate replied, "Reporting to Gongye [duke]: Feng Bojue [Earl] went missing, the circumstances are very peculiar. Day after day lowly officer supervised, direct and led the operation, opened enquiries and secret search, but failed to obtain the slightest clue; indeed we are extremely anxious. Today we found out His Majesty issued special decree appointing Wei Gongye to be in charge, lowly officer is happier than obtaining promotion three levels in a row. Wei Gongye is our Dynasty''s number one brilliant and competent high-ranking minister, on the horseback you manage the army, down the horseback you manage the people; regardless how thorny the big problem that fell into Gongye''s hands, the bamboo will split upon contact with the knife''s edge [i.e. solved immediately]. To be able to work for Gongye in a case like this, truly my ancestors had accumulated a lot of merit. In lowly officer''s yamen, everybody is overjoyed, saying that this time we are very fortunate to take a shelter under the big tree''s shade. When Wei Gongye went into action, even Luocha demons were defeated and driven away in confusion, would we be afraid of not finding Feng Bojue''s whereabouts?"


    Wei Xiaobao was aware that although the prefectural magistrate''s flattering words surged like the tide, everything he said was very pleasant to hear, in actuality he was pushing the responsibility on Wei Xiaobao''s shoulder. He thought, "I don''t know where that Feng Xifan''s body was hidden, tonight I must use the ''Corpse Transforming Powder'' on it, don''t let it fall into other people''s hands. As long as there is no evidence, nobody can point fingers at me. I should have transformed the corpse early on, these past few days I have been too busy and did not expect this matter. But how am I going to explain it in His Majesty''s presence? His Majesty assigned me to do it. I, Xiao Guizi, am not bragging, but there is not a single mission I failed to accomplish."


    The prefectural magistrate continued, "Every day Madame Earl of Zhongcheng sends people to lowly officer''s yamen, and will not leave until they get an answer. Lowly officer really have a hard time dealing with them. Yesterday the Feng Mansion people came to report another case to the authorities, saying that one of Bojue''s concubines by the name of Lan Xiang [orchid fragrance] ran away with some stable boy; they stole quite a few of gold, silver and jewelry. If the Earl of Zhongcheng did not reappear, perhaps one by one all the concubines, maidservants and menservants in the house would leave and none would remain."


    "Humph," Wei Xiaobao snorted, "I don''t know where this Feng Xifan is hiding, having fun with women. Send more people to search low-grade brothels everywhere. Perhaps he is dining, wining, whoring and gambling and forget to go home. His mistress eloped with another man, he deserves it."


    "Yes, yes," the prefectural magistrate replied, "It is reasonable to say that if Feng Bojue is enjoying himself in the red-light district at Willow Lane, it has been many days, he ought to be home by now."


    "It''s hard to say," Wei Xiaobao said, "That fellow Feng Xifan is an old pervert, he is not like Laoxiong here, who is an upright gentleman; if you stroll into a low-grade brothel, you will only visit for a day or half a night."


    With a forced laugh the prefectural magistrate hastily said, "Lowly officer does not dare, lowly officer does not dare."


    Just then Earl of Zhongcheng''s Madame Feng sent her brother to deliver eight kinds of gifts, saying they wanted to kowtow to Duke Wei, thanking Duke Wei for striving to investigate this case. Wei Xiaobao instructed his guards to stop the visitor, he did not wish to see them, and he did not wish to receive the gifts either.


    The personal guard reported back, "Reporting to Daren: the man from Feng family is very rude, ever since he arrived he did not stop sneering, saying something like grievance will be recompensed, enmity will be avenged; saying that His Majesty is already aware of this matter, in the end it will be ''as the water recedes, the rocks appear'', that other people must not think his hand will cover the heaven, concealing everything from the Enlightened Sage, the Son of Heaven. Reporting to Daren: this man has the audacity to come to our door and display shockingly bad behavior, Xiaode [lowly one] really wants to give him several slaps on the ear." This personal guard also took part in swapping people at the execution ground the other day, hearing the Feng mansion people''s fierce speech, as if he already guessed the inside story, the guard could not help feeling nervous.


    Wei Xiaobao also felt guilty as a thief; he could not stop his countenance from changing. He thought, "If they continued making noise like this, I am afraid the hanky-panky would be exposed. Your granny, Feng Xifan himself was killed by Laozi, could it be that Laozi is afraid of your, dead demon''s wife?"


    Suddenly he thought of an idea, immediately his face was all smiles. He said to the prefectural magistrate, "There''s no hurry in your honor leaving now, please wait here for a moment." Returning to the inner shall, he summoned the captain of his personal guards and gave him detailed instructions. The captain received the order and left.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the main hall and said, "His Majesty sends me to handle this matter, we as his servants must spare no effort to repay our holy lord. Let us go right now to the Feng house to have an on-site survey."


    The prefectural magistrate was startled; he thought, "Earl of Zhongcheng went missing, what is there to survey in his house?" Yet his mouth repeatedly agreed.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This case is very difficult, we need to interrogate Feng family people, from big to small, one by one, carefully. Perhaps we can find some prospect of solution."


    "Yes," the prefectural magistrate replied, "Gongye''s opinion is very true. Lowly officer is stupid to the extreme, from beginning to end did not think of doing it."


    Actually, since he was a lowly prefectural magistrate, how could he dare to go to the Earl of Zhongcheng''s mansion and conduct comprehensive cross-examination? While at the same time, the people of Shun Tian Fu yamen, from top to bottom, knew that Feng Xifan was the Great General Fuyuan Duke Wei''s arch-enemy. This man disappeared, nine out of ten it was Duke Wei who sent people to kill him. Duke Wei was the most favorite person of the reigning sovereign, he held the seal of authority over the military, who would have the gall to grow hair on his side, have the guts to swat the fly on the tiger''s head? Therefore, in investigating this case, nobody was taking it seriously; they all hoped to stretch this case as long as possible until finally they could settle this matter by leaving it unsettled.


    This moment the prefectural magistrate thought, "Wei Gongye murdered Feng Bojue, and still want to make things difficult for his family. That Madame Feng is really not being too tactful, she is sending people here to talk rubbish; no wonder Wei Gongye is angry."


    Accompanied by Shun Tian Fu prefectural magistrate and his people, Wei Xiaobao arrived at the Earl of Zhongcheng mansion in an eight-man big sedan chair. He saw the mansion was already surrounded by several hundred personal guards all around. Upon entering the mansion, the captain of the personal guards stepped forward to report, "Reporting to Daren: There are altogether 79 people in the Feng family, men and women; they are all waiting in the western hall to be questioned by Daren." Wei Xiaobao nodded. The Captain added, "Reporting to Daren: the court of law is being held in the eastern hall."


    Wei Xiaobao went to the eastern hall, and saw the courtroom was duly prepared, with a judge''s desk arranged in the middle. Thereupon he took his seat, and ordered the prefectural magistrate to sit in the right-hand seat to accompany him.


    The personal guards took a young woman in, approximately twenty-three or twenty-four years old, her appearance and demeanor was really not bad; delicately and gracefully she kneeled down before the Court. "Who are you?" Wei Xiaobao started the cross-examination.


    The woman replied, "Humble woman is Bojue Daren''s fifth young concubine."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Please sit down, please sit down; I do not dare to accept you kneeling down in front of me."


    The woman did not dare to stand up. Wei Xiaobao stood up and said with a laugh, "You won''t stand up, I will have to kneel down in front of you." The women smiled sweetly and stood up. Wei Xiaobao sat back down.


    The prefectural magistrate thought, "Wei Gongye does not treat the Feng family viciously, it''s just that his lecherousness is not too dignified."


    Wei Xiaobao asked, "What''s your name?"


    The woman replied, "I am called Ju Fang [lit. chrysanthemum fragrance]."


    Wei Xiaobao sniffed around a few times and said with a laugh, "Good name! No wonder as soon as you came in, there''s a whiff of chrysanthemum flower''s fragrance in here."


    Ju Fang also laughed and said in a tender voice, "Gongye is making fun of me."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his head while staring at her intently for half a day before asking, "I heard that a concubine has run away from your precious home?"


    "That''s right," Ju Fang replied, "She is called Lan Xiang. Humph, that s1ut has no sense of shame."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Husband suddenly disappeared, she followed the second man. Um, that is quite understandable, not altogether �� not altogether ��" Turning to the prefectural magistrate he asked, "Not altogether what is it?"


    The prefectural magistrate replied, "Reporting to Gongye: not altogether inexcusable."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud; he said, "That''s it, not altogether inexcusable. Ju Fang Jiejie, why didn''t you run away?"


    Hearing this, the prefectural magistrate frowned immediately; he mused, "This is more and more inappropriate; how could he use this appellation ''Jiejie'' [older sister]?"


    Ju Fang lowered her head. But she cast Wei Xiaobao a coquettish glance. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he felt as if he was visiting a low-grade brothel. He laughed and asked, "Can you sing ''eight ��''" the word was right at the tip of his tongue, but in the end he swallowed it back. Turning to his personal guards he ordered, "Reward this Miss Ju Fang twenty taels."


    Several personal guards responded in chorus; they called out, "Daren gives reward, thank him for the reward!"


    Ju Fang was pleasantly surprise for the good fortune; she charmingly said, "Thank you very much Daye [big master]!" Turned out originally she was a prostitute in a brothel; as soon as someone gave her tip, out of habit she called him ''Daye'' instead of ''Gongye''.


    Wei Xiaobao summoned the Feng family people one by one to be cross-examined, all females. The young and good-looking ones he questioned and cajoled a bit; the old and ugly ones he reprimanded a bit, saying that they did not serve the Earl well, to such an extent as to drive him out to find merriment outside and unwilling to go home.


    When the questioning had been going on for almost an hour, the captain of his personal guards entered the hall and stood behind Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao continued giving two more people cursory questioning before he stood up and said, "We shall examine all places." He took the prefectural magistrate, Shun Tian Fu (legal) clerk, special force chief [lit. ''capture quick''], and his personal guards to examine each pavilion, hall, and room.


    When they entered the third western side room, as usual the personal guards opened the trunks and turned the storage baskets upside down to be searched. A personal guard suddenly cried out, "Ah!" and picked up a saber from underneath the trunk. The blade was stained with quite a bit of dried blood. Bending one knee in half-kneel posture he raised he saber with both hands and said, "Reporting to Daren: we found the murder weapon."


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao said, "Continue the investigation." Turning to the prefectural magistrate he said, "Laoxiong, please look at this. Is this stain really blood?"


    The prefectural magistrate received the saber, brought it to his nose and sniffed a bit. Sure enough, it was still reeking of blood albeit faintly. "Reporting to Gongye," he said, "It seems to be blood."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There''s a hole on the head of this saber, what kind of saber is this?"


    The Shun Tian Fu clerk examined the saber carefully and then said, "Reporting to Gongye: this is a lever-style guillotine to chop fodder, it is used mainly in stables."


    Wei Xiaobao nodded. "I see," he said.


    The captain of personal guards ordered his subordinates to get a bucket of water and sloshed it on the ground. "What are you doing?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    The captain replied, "Reporting to Daren: if there is any place that was dug, the soil is not solid, the water will seep quickly in." Before he finished talking, they saw that under the bed the water quickly seeped into the soil. The personal guards cheered in chorus. They lifted up the bed, took pickaxe, hoe and shovel and dug the earth. Shortly afterwards, a body was dug out.


    The corpse''s body was intact, but the head was missing. It was already rotten, obviously it had died many days. The body was wearing earl attire. As soon as the prefectural magistrate saw it, he exclaimed, "This �� this is Feng Jueye!"


    "Is it Feng Xifan?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "How do you know?"


    "Yes, yes," the prefectural magistrate said, "We must find the head, and then we can reach a verdict." Turning his head he asked the special force captain by his side, "Whose room is this?"


    The captain said, "Xiaoren will find out immediately." He went to the western hall and called a Feng family member to be questioned. Turned out that room used to be the run away Lan Xiang''s room.


    The captain returned and said, "Reporting to Gongye, reporting to Futai [inspector general] Daren: the murder weapon is the machete used to slice fodder in the barn, the one who took Lan Xiang along with a bundle of valuables and ran away was this mansion''s stable hand Xing Si [lit. ''Xing the fourth'']. Let Xiaoren go to the stable and investigate."


    Everybody went to the stable to search. As expected, from underneath the trough they dug out a head. They asked Madame Feng to identify the corpse; there was no doubt that it was Feng Xifan. Immediately the coroner tested and determined: Feng Xifan was wounded with the saber, his body and head were separated and he died.


    By this time the Feng mansion people had been released from the western hall, the cries of grief in the mansion shook the heavens, everybody cursed Xing Si and Lan Xiang as heartless for killing their master. The news spread out; in less than half a day, the city of Beijing was bubbling and gurgling, everybody was talking about this matter.


    The prefectural magistrate was both ashamed and grateful, thinking that were it not for Duke Wei rapidly solving the case, perhaps his own future prospect would be greatly hindered. He profusely expressed his gratitude, while issuing the order to capture the ''fugitive who killed his master'', Xing Si and Lan Xiang, and composing the report to his superior.


    Only the special force captain was suspicious; he noticed that the cut wound on the neck was neat, apparently it was cut by a sharp blade, it did not look like it was cut by a fodder machete. He also noticed that in both places, the soil in which the body and the head were buried was relatively fresh, obviously the holes were dug not too long ago; the holes did not look like they were dug more than ten days ago. But Duke Wei had helped him solve this major case, the reward he received was generous, the Feng mansion also rewarded him with quite a lot of money, asking him to wrap up the case as quickly as possible, so that close relatives of the Feng mansion would not make a fool of themselves in yamen. Even if he had gargantuan suspicion, how could he dare to expose even half a sentence? He could only pondered in his heart, "During the investigation in the Feng mansion, Wei Gongye''s personal guards were everywhere, nobody was allowed to move around, if they wanted to move corpse and plant evidence, it would be very easy. Forget about burying one corpse, even if they wanted to bury a hundred or eighty corpses, it''s not difficult at all."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "It was all due to Your Majesty''s flood of good fortune, your servant just happen to uncover a criminal plot."


    "Humph," Kangxi snorted. He stared at Wei Xiaobao and coldly said, "Grafting flowers onto a tree has nothing to do with my flood of good fortune."


    Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright; he thought, "How did His Majesty know?" But he immediately understood, "Of course, it is only natural that His Majesty has a secret agent within my personal guards."


    He was still thinking of how to respond when Kangxi sighed and said, "The case is closed this way, it''s also very good, so that there won''t be any criticism from the people outside. It''s just that you have brazenly taken rash action, I really don''t know what to do with you." Wei Xiaobao was relieved; he knew the Emperor spared his life this time. Immediately he kneeled down and kowtowed repeatedly.


    Kangxi said, "Presently all four oceans are peaceful, there is no need of troop movement, your title of Great General Fuyuan may be removed."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said. He knew that the Emperor was punishing him for acting willfully and making a scene; he added, "Your servant''s First-class Duke of Luding may also be degraded."


    "Alright," Kangxi said, "I demote you to be a second-class duke."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant made a lot of trouble, my heart is uneasy, would Your Majesty please degrade me to be a third-class duke."


    Kangxi burst into loud laughter. "Damn it," he said, "I am surprised that your heart can be uneasy; the sun must be rising from the west."


    When Wei Xiaobao heard the three-character ''tamade'', he knew the Emperor''s anger had subsided; he stood up and said, "Although your servant does not have too much conscience, I always have a little."


    Kangxi nodded and said, "Precisely it was because I saw that you still have a bit of conscience; otherwise, I would have chopped your head early on and bury it under your wives Ah Ke, Shuang''er''s bed."


    Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, "This must never happen."


    Kangxi asked, "What must never happen?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Ah Ke and Shuang''er will never run away with the stable hand."


    Kangxi laughed and said, "They won''t run away with a stable hand, they might run away with ��" Speaking to this point, he stopped talking; thinking that if this talk continued, inevitably it would turn frivolous and senseless. Besides, although Wei Xiaobao had disregard of the law and natural morality, after all is said and done, he was very loyal to him. A ruler and his minister may chat and laugh with each other, but must not bring dishonor upon himself. Momentarily at a loss of what to say, Kangxi decided to ignore him. Lowering his head, he flipped through the memorial on his desk.


    Wei Xiaobao stood on the side with hands hung down. He saw Kangxi''s brows were slightly knitted, he looked to be in deep concern. Wei Xiaobao thought, "Oftentimes His Majesty is not happy. Although being the Emperor one has an awesome prestige, it is not necessarily a fun thing to do."


    Kangxi thumbed through the memorial for a while; he lifted up his head and sighed. Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Majesty, whatever it is, please send your servant to deal with it. Let your servant atone for his crimes by meritorious acts, repaying my master''s dragon kindness."


    "In this matter," Kangxi said, "I cannot send you. Shi Lang presented the memorial, saying that Taiwan has been hit by a hurricane, on the plain the water is four chi deep, common people''s houses are damaged, families went bankrupt and the people died, the disaster is very serious."


    Wei Xiaobao saw that while talking, Kangxi''s eyes were glistening with tears; he thought, "We are good friends since childhood, I cannot not helping him." He said, "Your servant has a way."


    "What way?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "To be honest with Your Majesty, when your servant served as an officer in Taiwan, I made a small fortune. More recently, I recovered a number of old debts from a Taiwan moneybags. By Your Majesty''s grace your servant was able to hold with both hands the golden rice bowl that was damaged and was restored. For a lifetime I will not die of starvation. Too much money is useless, I would rather present it as an offering, asking Your Majesty to comfort and give relief to the victims of disaster in Taiwan."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "The number of people affected by the disaster is a lot, your small fortune, no matter what, cannot be used. I will issue an edict at once, the Palace will cut down on palace maids and eunuchs, reduce the clothes, reduce the meals, let the Palace Internal Affairs make a plan to save four, five hundred thousand taels to be used as emergency relief for the victims."


    "Your servant deserves to die," Wei Xiaobao said, "Indeed it is desperately serious."


    "What is it?" Kangxi asked.


    Wei Xiaobao replied, "As a government official, your servant has committed corruption, in Taiwan I got one million taels, recently the debt I collected, which was from Zheng Keshuang actually, amounted to another million taels ��"


    Kangxi was shocked. "That much?" he asked.


    Wei Xiaobao lightly slapped his own mouth and cursed, "Xiao Guizi deserves to die!"


    Yet Kangxi laughed and said, "Your ability in debt collection is really superior; I had no idea at all."


    Wei Xiaobao cursed again, "Xiao Guizi deserves to die!" But his face showed that he was pleased with himself. He mused, "When a government official reaches out to take money, how can he let you as the Emperor, know? You planted a spy among my subordinates, you can only investigate whether I dare to revolt or not. Your Meifu [younger sister''s husband] collect money with his right hand, put money in the bag with his left hand, even your Da Meizi [oldest younger sister] does not know, you, this Da Jiuzi [wife''s older brother], absolutely cannot know." In his mouth he called himself ''your servant'', in his heart he considered himself ''meifu''.


    Kangxi pondered for half a day. He said, "You have a heart that is loyal to your lord and loving to the people, it is indeed hard to come by. Let''s do it this way: you contribute one million five hundred taels, I will add five hundred taels. We, the ruler and his minister, collect two million taels. Taiwan victims number about ten thousand or so households, each family will receive more than a hundred taels, that will be plenty."


    Impulsively Wei Xiaobao was feeling generous and wanted to donate, but just as quickly his heart ached and he already regretted it; when he heard that Kangxi would save five hundred taels for him, immediately he was overjoyed and hastily said, "Yes, yes. Your Majesty love common people as your own children, Laotianye bless and protect Your Majesty with favorable weather, the country prospers, the people at peace."


    Because of serious disaster in Taiwan, this past half day Kangxi''s heart was heavy; now that without rhyme and reason he suddenly obtained a lot of money, he was truly happy. He smiled and said, "Also bless and protect you to be promoted and gain wealth, lots of good fortune and long life."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Thank you very much for Wanshui Ye''s [Lord of Ten Thousand Years] golden mouth. Your servant will be promoted and gain wealth, lots of good fortune and long life, it is entirely due to Your Majesty''s grace. Besides, your servant''s small fortune originally belonged to Taiwan people, now that we return it to the common people of Taiwan, it is no more than returning the jade annulus to �� to Tai."


    Kangxi roared in laughter and said, "It''s the saying ''returning the jade annulus to Zhao'' [i.e. return something intact to its rightful owner]. Damn it, you change it to ''returning the jade annulus to Tai(wan).''"


    "Yes," Wei Xiaobao said, "It was ''returning the jade annulus to Zhao''. Just now I could not recall this character ''Zhao''. Zhao Qian Sun Li, Zhou Wu Chen Wang. The ''Hundred Family Names'' lists ''Zhao'' as the number one, no wonder they are flourishing so much, turns out the jade annulus and what have you are all returned to their Zhao family."


    Kangxi was even more amused; he thought that this man was ''without learning or knowledge'', and he could not be taught too much either. Kangxi laughed and said, "Very true, very true. There is another saying, ''Wei bian san jue'' [lit. the leather binding of the bamboo scrolls has broken three times; fig. to study diligently.]. It speaks about your Wei family being industrious in studying. Their learning is very good. You, surnamed Wei, are also very remarkable."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant''s learning is very lacking, I am letting my old Wei ancestors down."


    (Book note: In the saying ''the leather binding of the bamboo scrolls has broken three times'', the character ''Wei'' [which is Wei Xiaobao''s surname, ''wei'' itself means ''soft leather''] points to the leather strap boring through and joining the bamboo writing slips in ancient China. Kangxi deliberately distorted it to make fun of Wei Xiaobao.)


    Kangxi said, "This time going to Taiwan for disaster relief effort ��" Originally, according to reason, he should have sent Wei Xiaobao to handle this matter; but then he had a second thought, "This man contributes this large amount of money, only because he holds yi qi toward me, not necessarily because he really has love toward common people. I am afraid that as soon as he is out of the Palace''s gate, he would immediately regret it. If he went to Taiwan to distribute two million taels disaster relief, most probably he would want to recover his capital to avoid suffering loss. Perhaps he would even add one percent or two as the interest." He knew Wei Xiaobao as well as he knew himself, immediately he changed his statement, "�� is a very easy mission; there is no need for you to handle it personally. Xiao Guizi, your First-class Duke of Luding need not be degraded. Let my sister''s son light the lantern, business as usual."


    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to express his gratitude. After kowtowing, he stood up and said, "Your servant donate a little bit of money, it is only returning the jade annulus to �� to Zhao Qian Sun Li, but Your Majesty consider it as meritorious service. Your Majesty reduces the clothes, reduce the meals, that is real saving, and that is really not easy to do."


    Kangxi shook his head and said, "Wrong. Everything in the Palace, each tael of silver comes from common people under the heaven. Common people supply my brocade garments, jade meals. I lord over all the people, I should spare no effort in working for the common people. You eat official salary from your ruler, you should be loyal to your master. I eat official salary from the people, I should be loyal to the people. The ancient book says, ''four oceans exhausted, possession of the empire will be used up''. If common people are destitute, that means the Emperor is no good, the Heaven will be furious, then I can''t be the Emperor anymore."


    "That must not happen," Wei Xiaobao said, "Absolutely must never happen."


    Kangxi said, "You became a high-ranking minister, it was due to my grace. I became the Emperor, it was due to the Heaven''s grace. If you are not being loyal, I will chop your head. If I don''t become a good Emperor, the Heaven may replace me with someone else. The ''Book of History'' says, ''Heaven and Earth will correct their primary son''. Primary son [yuan zi] here means the Emperor. If the Emperor is not good, the Heaven might oust him."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao said. But in his heart he thought, "In round dumpling [Բ�� - yuanzi] soup, all the dumplings look the same." In any case, he did not know the character ''yuan'' [Ԫ] from ''xuan'' [��], so why bother explaining it to him?


    From his desk Kangxi picked up a book and said, "The inspector-general of Zhejiang presented a book to me, called ''Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu'' [investigative record of Ming-barbarians dealing][39], written by Zhejiang man Huang Lizhou just recently. Zhejiang''s inspector-general reported that the book contains a lot of treason and heresy, and is asking for stricter investigation. I was just looking at the book, but I think this book makes a lot of sense. I have already written my comment on the report to Zhejiang''s inspector-general, telling him not to be meddlesome."


    While saying that, he opened the book and said, "In his book he said that as a ruler, ''one man receives order from the world'', and not ''the world receives order from one man''; this idea is well said. He also said, ''The Son of Heaven is not necessarily right, the Son of Heaven is not necessarily wrong.'' This is also very true. Which man is not? The Son of Heaven is also a man, how could as soon as he became the Emperor, ''everything is right, he is never wrong''?"


    After speaking for a while, Kangxi noticed that although Wei Xiaobao repeatedly voiced his agreement, his face showed that he was at a loss; he could not help feeling amused inwardly. Kangxi thought, "I am talking about big principles with this little ruffian, how can he understand? If I continued on, I am afraid he would yawn repeatedly." Thereupon he waved his left hand and said, "You may go." But his right hand was still holding the book, his mouth was still reading aloud, "To think that the authority over the land under the heavens, good or bad, is in my hand, I must not use the world''s goodness entirely for myself, and use the world''s badness entirely for the people. I must not dare being selfish in employing the people under the heavens, must not dare to use it for my own benefit. If I use my private life to be fair to the world, only then will the shame gone, and long-term peace come, regarding the world as the most important estate, to be passed on to my offspring, for endless enjoyment."


    To Wei Xiaobao, all these were unfathomable mystery; but the Emperor was reading a book, so he had no choice but to repeatedly praised him, how could he not sing Kangxi''s praise from the side? Seeing Kangxi putting down the book, he asked, "Your Majesty, what is the book talking about? What is so good about it?"


    Kangxi replied, "He said that the person who became the Emperor was calling the people under the heavens not to be selfish, must not seek their own benefit, only he, the Emperor, may have no regard for others, as well as have everything for self and selfish profit; he could go as far as saying that he was the great ruler of the world. At first the person who became the emperor did not feel right, he felt rather ashamed instead, but later on the habit became nature, unexpectedly he thought he was absolutely right, other people were wrong."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This man must be talking about bad emperor. Applied to a raw bird fish soup emperor like Your Majesty, what he said is wrong."


    "Hey, hey!" Kangxi said, "Everybody who became the emperor thought that he was a raw bird fish soup; who has ever resigned himself to be called a cruel, tyrannical ruler? To say nothing of by each muddleheaded ruler''s side, there must be a lot of shameless high-ranking ministers to sing him praises, elevating the muddleheaded ruler to be a raw bird fish soup."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Fortunately Your Majesty is genuine goods at fair prices, an unalterable raw bird fish soup. Otherwise, your servant would become one of those shameless high-ranking ministers."


    Kangxi''s left foot stomped the ground and he said with a laugh, "You have a lot of shame; get your egg out of here!"


    "Your Majesty," Wei Xiaobao said, "Your servant wants to ask for your grace, would Your Majesty grant your servant a leave, so that I can go to Yangzhou to see my mother."


    Kangxi smiled and said, "You have this filial piety; that is how it should be. Besides, ''riches and honor do not return to the homeland, it is like wearing brocade clothes on a night walk''. You ought to go back in grandiose. The sooner you leave, the sooner you will return. Bring your mother back to Beijing. I will have an imperial decree to confer your mother the title of one-pin rank grand madame. Your deceased old man''s name, submit a report to the Ministry of Appointments, let him be conferred an official position posthumously. We should have had this matter dealt with the last time you went to Yangzhou, it''s just that Wu Sangui happened to rebel at the same time that it is delayed until now."


    He thought that most likely Wei Xiaobao did not know how to write his father''s name, and thus he did not inquire. Although Kangxi was brilliant, in this matter he only ''knew one but did not know two''. While it was true that Wei Xiaobao did not know how to write his father''s name, the actual fact was: he did not even know who his father was.


    Wei Xiaobao thanked Kangxi for his grace, and left the Palace. He returned to his mansion to fetch the million and a half taels banknotes, and handed it over to the Ministry of Revenue''s ''silver warehouse''. And then he went to the Ministry of War to return the official seal of authority of the ''Great General Fuyuan''. Lastly, he asked Su Quan to pick a name of his father on his behalf, as well as names of his ancestors up to the third generation, along with their wives and concubines. He had everything copied clearly, and then he submitted it to the Ministry of Appointments to be conferred posthumous, inherited, government-appointed hereditary official title of ''Yan Feng Si'' [lit. officer in charge of examining titles bestowed by the imperial court].


    Everything was settled, travel preparation was completed. Wei Xiaobao was quite popular in the imperial court, plus he was a grand relative of the holy family; princes, dukes and high-ranking ministers held a send-off banquet for him, it was very lively. At the point of departure Wei Xiaobao remembered the million and a half taels he donated, and his heart ached; thereupon he sent his personal guards to extort more than ten thousand taels from Zheng Keshuang as the ''old debt''. Only then did they leave the Capital.


    From Han Lu [Han Street] they reached Tongzhou [district, east of Beijing], where they boarded boats, and sailed along the canal southward, passing Tianjin, Linqing, crossing the Yellow River, passing Ji Ning, and one day arrived at Huaiyin [district, Jiangsu]. The official boat anchored at Siyangji [county, Jiangsu] to spend the night there.


    Wei Xiaobao and his seven wives sat on the boat, chatting while having dinner. Su Quan said, "Xiaobao, tomorrow we will arrive at Huaiyin. In the old days, there was one man whose nobility title was Marquis of Huaiyin ��"


    "Um," Wei Xiaobao said, "His rank was not as high as mine."


    Su Quan smiled and said, "That is not so. His original title was King, he was conferred the nobility title King. Afterwards the Emperor was afraid he might revolt, he removed his King title and changed it into Marquis of Huaiyin. This man was surnamed Han, given name Xin


    [40]. He was very famous."


    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and said, "I know him. ''Chasing after Han Xin under the dreary moon'', ''Ambush from ten sides'', ''Overlord need not worry about concubine''. All those plays have Han Xin in them."


    "Exactly," Su Quan said, "This man was very capable, his meritorious service was very big, even a hero like the Overlord of Chu was defeated under his hands. It''s a pity that his end was not good, he was killed by the Emperor and the Empress."


    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "What a pity, what a pity! Why did the Emperor kill him? Did he want to rebel?"


    Su Quan shook her head and said, "No, he did not. The Emperor was jealous of his ability, he was afraid he might rebel."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Fortunately my ability is very low, in everything His Majesty is better than I am, and thus he can''t possibly be jealous of me. I have only one thing better than His Majesty, apart from this, in everything else I absolutely fall short of him."


    Ah Ke asked, "In which aspect you are better than the Emperor?"


    Wei Xiaobao said, "I have seven wives as flower as jade, in all the world, you won''t find the eighth of such beautiful women. His Majesty''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, I, Wei Xiaobao has romantic good fortune that fills the heaven. We, the ruler and his minister, two people each has his own strength, hence we are somewhat even." He had thick skin and loved to toot his horn; the seven wives roared in laughter.


    Fang Yi said with a laugh, "The Emperor''s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, you are the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven


    [41]."


    "Right," Wei Xiaobao said, "I am the Beautiful Monkey King of Shuilian [water curtain] Cave, leading a bunch of female monkeys and little monkeys, passing the days freely and leisurely."


    While they were chatting and laughing, outside the cabin a servant said in a loud and clear voice, "Reporting to Gongye: there are guests requesting an audience."


    The maid entered to present four visiting cards. Su Quan received the cards and said in low voice, "The visitors are Gu Yanwu, Zha Jizuo, Huang Lizhou, and Lu Liuliang, four gentlemen."


    "It''s Mr. Gu and his friends," Wei Xiaobao said, "I must see them." After instructing his servant to receive the guests in the large boat''s cabin and serve them tea, he immediately changed his clothes and came out to meet them.


    In the past, Gu, Zha and Huang, three men were arrested by Wu Zhirong in Yangzhou and nearly lost their lives; fortunately Wei Xiaobao saved them. As for Lu Liuliang, it was the very first time that they met. Behind him there were two young men in their twenties; they were Lu Liuliang''s sons, Lu Baozhong and Lu Yizhong. After greeting each other, they sat down as host and guests. Lu Baozhong and Lu Yizhong stood behind their father.


    Gu Yanwu spoke in low voice, "Wei Xiangzhu, this time we came to pay you a visit, there is one very important thing we''d like to discuss with you. There are numerous eyes and ears in Siyangji, it''s inconvenient for us to talk. Is it possible to ask you to instruct the boat to sail out several li and anchor in some secluded, uninhabited place where we can talk?"


    In the Turtle-slaying Assembly in Hejianfu that year, Gu Yanwu was elected the Chief Military Counselor by the heroes of various paths; in Jianghu, his reputation was very resounding, Wei Xiaobao had always been admiring him. He immediately went back to tell Su Quan and the others about their plan. Su Quan said, "We can''t be overly cautious. Our boat will follow. Anything happen, we can provide good support."


    Thinking about he was going with Gu Yanwu and the others to ''some secluded, uninhabited place'', in his heart Wei Xiaobao was actually rather scared. With the seven wives escorting him, he felt he had something to depend on; thereupon he repeatedly agreed and ordered the boatmen to sail southward, telling them that they wanted to drink wine and admire the full moon amidst the elegant scenery along the canal. When Duke Wei was in a refined and elegant frame of mind, he might come up with some good poems. The remaining boats stayed in Siyangji, waiting for their return.


    Wei Xiaobao returned to the big boat to accompany the guests. The two boats sailed south for about seven, eight li; they saw flat and empty land on both sides of the river, illuminated by the bright moon in the sky, no other human beings everywhere they looked. Wei Xiaobao ordered the boatmen to drop the anchor and told the boatmen and the attendants to go to the stern, so that they would not spoil Duke Wei and the six gifted scholars'' mood in creating poetry.


    When there were no other people around, Gu Yanwu and the others expressed their gratitude once again for Wei Xiaobao''s great kindness in saving their lives in the past. Wei Xiaobao modestly responded, and then he told them about how Wu Liuqi and Chen Jinnan met their ends one after another. Everybody sighed endlessly. Gu Yanwu said, "The rumors floating around in Jianghu all said that Wei Xiangzhu coveted riches and honor and murdered your master to gain glory. But Huang Xiong, Zha Xiong and Xiongdi knew that it was not true. The three of us were total strangers to Wei Xiangzhu, yet unexpectedly Wei Xiangzhu was willing to brave great danger by killing that servant Wu Zhirong and saved our lives. How can someone whose righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky murder his benevolent master?"


    Zha Jizuo said, "When we heard Jianghu friends mentioning this matter, we always do our best to defend Wei Xiangzhu against the accusation. But they said that Tatar Emperor''s imperial edict said so, how could it be false? Yet we know that Wei Xiangzhu live in Cao camp but have your heart in Han camp, you cannot always explain everything to the outsiders. From the beginning all heroes and warriors must undertake a task despite criticism. In order for Duke of Zhou to be a great sage great virtuous person, he still had to manage Cai spreading rumors, much less other people? For this reason, Wei Xiangzhu need not take it to heart." Wei Xiaobao did not understand what he was talking about, the Duke of Zhou managing Cai and so on; he could only say ''yes, yes''.


    Lu Liuliang said, "Wei Xiangzhu made painstaking effort in planning great undertaking, actually you do not need to seek the people of the whole world''s understanding. As long as in the end you come out with a world-shaking achievement, everybody will understand that previously they have accused you wrongly."


    Wei Xiaobao mused, "What kind of world-shaking achievement I can possibly do? Aiyo, not good, they want to persuade me to assassinate the Emperor. How can I ''refuse three obstruct four'' [i.e. use all sorts of excuses], refuse five obstruct six toward them? My way out is already bolted." He said, "Xiongdi does not have any ability, literary knowledge is even less, whatever I attempted to do, I always did not get the desired outcome on both sides. Xiongdi is very discouraged, this time I am ''announcing old age and returning home'' [i.e. to retire from public life]; later on I won''t do anything."


    "Pft," Lu Yizhong saw that Wei Xiaobao was a few years younger than himself, yet unexpectedly he spoke about ''announcing old age and returning home'', he stifled a laughter, but in the end could not help bursting in laughter. Gu Yanwu and the others were also amused; they looked at each other with smile on their faces.


    Huang Lizhou smiled and said, "Wei Xiangzhu is a young hero, your future prospect is immeasureable. Ignorant people''s temporary misunderstanding needs not be bothered about."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "This one comparatively has to be regarded as important. Mr. Huang, you wrote a good book, called �� called �� Ming �� Ming something something Huahualulu?"


    Huang Lizhou was greatly surprised, "This man''s eyes cannot recognize the letter ''T'', how did he know about my book?" He said, "It''s ''Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu''."


    "That''s right, that''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "In your book there are a lot of words reprimanding the Emperor, is that right?"


    Huang Lizhou and the others where shocked; they all thought, "Even this man knew about it. I''m afraid there will be another big literary inquisition."


    Gu Yanwu said, "It''s not reprimanding the Emperor. In his book Huang Xiong wrote his clear and penetrating opinion, he explained which road the ruler ought to take."


    "That''s right," Wei Xiaobao said, "These days His Majesty read Mr. Huang''s book every day, he did not stop praising you for writing the book so well, maybe he is going to invite you to become a Zhuangyuan, become the prime minister."


    "Wei Xiangzhu is making fun of me," Huang Lizhou said, "How can there be such thing?"


    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao explained how Kangxi greatly praised the ''investigative record of Ming-barbarians dealing''; only then did everybody feel relieved. Huang Lizhou said, "Turns out the Tatar Emperor is able to distinguish right from wrong."


    Wei Xiaobao seized the opportunity by saying, "That''s right. The Young Emperor said, although he is not a raw bird fish soup, compared to those Ming Dynasty Emperors, he is not necessarily inferior; perhaps he is even a bit better. With him being the Emperor, common people throughout the world pass their days better than during the Ming Dynasty. Xiongdi is unlearned, I have no knowledge and experience, I don''t know if what he was saying is right."


    Gu, Zha, Huang, and Lu, four people ''you look at me, I look at you'', recalling each emperor of the Ming Dynasty; from the founder of the Dynasty, Ming Taizu all the way to the last emperor of the dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen. If not a cruel tyrant, then it must be a muddleheaded emperor; which one was as good as Kangxi? These four people were the great scholars of the present age, they were well acquainted with history. Unwilling to rule out conscience, they could not help but nodding their head silently.


    "Therefore," Wei Xiaobao continued, "The Emperor is good, Tian Di Hui is also good. The Emperor wanted me to exterminate Tian Di Hui, I determined not to do it. Tian Di Hui brothers wanted me to assassinate the Emperor, I also made up my mind not to do it. The outcome is that both sides are blaming me. Xiongdi has thought it through from different angles, hence I want to ''announce old age and return home''."


    "Wei Xiangzhu," Gu Yanwu said, "We came this time, not to ask you to assassinate the Emperor."


    "That''s very good," Wei Xiaobao happily said, "As long as it is not assassinating the Emperor, Xiongdi will not shirk without dishonor in everything else. I wonder what four senior gentlemen, two young gentlemen want me to do?"


    Gu Yanwu pushed the cabin''s window open, looked out, and saw that all around them was peace and quiet. He looked back and said, "We came to persuade Wei Xiangzhu to be the Emperor!"


    ''Bing, bang!'' the teacup in Wei Xiaobao''s hand fell down to the floor and shattered. He was shocked. "This �� this is not a joke?" he asked.


    "Definitely not a joke," Zha Jizuo replied, "A few of us have been deliberating over this matter for several months, we all feel that the Great Ming''s fortune is gone, common people throughout the world will not go back to the previous Ming. In all honesty all the emperors of the former Ming had caused too much suffering to the common people, everybody remembers them with hate. But the Tatars are occupying our Han family''s rivers and mountains, they want Han people all over the world to have our heads shaved and tie a braid, changing our clothes to barbarians'' attire; this is always hard to swallow. Wei Xiangzhu holds the power over the military, plus you are the Tatar Emperor''s trusted aide. As long as you are willing to raise the righteous banner and stand on your own feet as the Emperor, the people throughout the world will certainly look at you for direction."


    Wei Xiaobao was still in panic mode; he repeatedly shook his hand and said, "I �� I don''t have that kind of good fortune, I cannot be the emperor."


    Gu Yanwu said, "Wei Xiangzhu always uphold justice, your good fortune is even more profound. Look around the world, if not you becoming the emperor, among the Han people there is nobody that has this kind of good fortune."


    Lu Liuliang said, "We, Han people, are a hundred times more numerous than the Manchus. One hundred people against their one person, how can we not achieve victory? That day Wu Sangui rose in rebellion, it was only because he forfeited the Great Ming''s rivers and mountains and became a big traitor that the Han people all over the world gnashed our teeth in bitter hatred and thus he could not succeed. Wei Xiangzhu has the heaven and the people on your side, recently you pacified Luocha, setting up an amazing merit to China, your prestige is rising, like the sun in the middle of the day. As soon as Wei Xiangzhu nod your head, we will immediately contact the heroes and warriors of Jianghu, together we draw a plan for this great undertaking."


    Wei Xiaobao''s heart was thumping madly, not even in his wildest dream would he expect that anybody would exhort him to be the Emperor. After staring blankly for half a day, he finally said, "I came from a small hoodlum background, my expertise is in cursing people and gambling. I became a general and a high-ranking officer, already other people are not happy about it; how can I be the Emperor? The Son of Heaven is ordained by the Heaven, he has to have gargantuan good fortune. My birthdate characters


    [42] [used in fortune-telling] are not right, the fortune-teller has already calculated that if I became the Emperor, I will not live pass three days."


    Hearing him talking nonsense, Lu Yizhong stifled another laughter. Zha Jizuo said, "What are Wei Xiangzhu''s birthdate characters? Let us find a brilliant fortune-teller and have him make calculation." He knew that Wei Xiaobao did not have any profound knowledge, hence reasoning with him, they could only speak about little righteousness, not big righteousness. Describing virtuous cause to him, he would only understand little potential, and would not understand big potential. But if they bribed a fortune-teller to say that he was indeed the Son of Heaven ordained by the Heaven, that he received the mandate of Heaven to sit on the Dragon Throne, he might believe instead.


    Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao said, "The time of my birth and my birth characters are known only to my mother. When we get to Yangzhou, I am going to ask her."


    Everybody knew he did not mean it; he was merely making excuses. Lu Liuliang said, "Among the heroes and warriors, most do not confine themselves to particulars. Han Gaozu [first Han emperor Liu Bang] was open-minded and generous; compared to Wei Xiangzhu he was a lot more easygoing." In his heart he said, "You came from a small hoodlum background, it is nothing. Han Gaozu came from big hoodlum background; he cursed people and gambled, compared to you he was a lot more troublesome, yet in the end he became the King who founded the Han Dynasty."


    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand and said, "We all are good friends, let me tell you the truth." While saying that, he stroked his own head. "This guy here has a mouth," he continued, "This mouth still want to eat damned several dozen of years of rice. This guy also has a pair of eyes, they like to watch a play and look at beautiful women. On it grew a pair of ears, they want to listen to stories, listen to songs. If I became the Emperor, this guy most likely cannot be protected, once it is chopped down, everything will collapse silly. Besides, becoming an emperor is not much fun. Taiwan suffers a hurricane, he was anxious; someone in Yunnan rose up in rebellion, he had to mind him. The job as an emperor is exhausting but not fun. I absolutely don''t want to do it."


    Gu Yanwu and the others looked at each other in dismay; they felt what he said made a lot of sense. Since Wei Xiaobao did not have any ambition in his heart, and he was unwilling to step forward bravely for the sake of the country and the people, to move his heart was indeed a very difficult matter.


    After half a day, Gu Yanwu said, "This is a big matter, it is not easy to make decision in such a short time ��" Speaking to this point, suddenly they heard faint hoof beats, several dozen of riders approached from the north along the western bank; in the dead of the night, the sound was twice as clear.


    Huang Lizhou said, "Very late at night, how can there be a large group of riders?"


    Lu Liuliang said, "Could it be the night patrol?"


    Zha Jizuo shook his head and said, "Can''t be. Night patrol will ride their horses very slow, not galloping like this. Could it be Jianghu visitor?"


    While they were still talking, they heard several dozen more riders on the eastern bank. The canal was not too wide, when there were horses galloping on both sides of the river, the people on the boat could hear it clearly. The boatmen of the boat on the rear received order to use the punting pole to get two boats close to each other. Su Quan and Shuang''er leaped onto the bow.


    "Xianggong," Su Quan said, "I am afraid the incoming people harbor malicious intentions, let''s gather everybody together."


    "Alright!" Wei Xiaobao said, "Mr. Gu and the others are old gentlemen, they don''t look like lechers. Everybody come in, even if they see them it won''t be a big deal."


    In their hearts Gu Yanwu and the others said, "Rubbish!" They felt it was inappropriate for them to meet the females in Wei Xiaobao''s family; therefore, they moved to the stern. The Princess, Ah Ke and the others, seven women, carried their children into the bow cabin.


    They heard over the dike of the eastern and western banks the whistling sound of bamboo whistle calling and answering each other. Wei Xiaobao happily said, "It''s Tian Di Hui whistle."


    Several dozen of riders on both sides galloped toward the official boats. From the western bank someone called out, "Wei Xiaobao, come out!"


    "Damn it," Wei Xiaobao cursed in low voice, "No respect for seniors at all, they don''t even call ''Wei Xiangzhu'' once."


    He was about to walk toward the bow, Su Quan pulled him back and said, "Let me question them clearly." Walking toward the door of the cabin she asked, "Which heroes are here to see Wei Xianggong?" Looking toward both banks, she saw all riders were wearing dark green cloth headband, while holding weapons in their hands.


    The leader of the people on the western bank said, "We are from Tian Di Hui."


    Su Quan lowered her voice, "What is the secret code when you meet Tian Di Hui people?"


    The man on the horse replied, "That is Tian Di Hui''s old secret code. Ever since Wei Xiaobao betrayed the Society and surrendered to the enemy, murdered his master to seek honor, all the secret code of the Society have been changed."


    Wei Xiaobao was startled. "Who are you?" he asked, "How can you say such thing?"


    The man said, "Are you Wei Xiaobao?"


    Wei Xiaobao thought there was no use in denying; he said, "I am Wei Xiaobao."


    The man said, "Then I can tell you this: I am from Great Transformation Hall of Tian Di Hui, my surname is Shu."


    "Turns out it''s Shu Dage," Wei Xiaobao said, "There is a lot of misunderstanding here. Is your honorable Hall''s Li Xiangzhu around?"


    The man surnamed Shu hatefully said, "Your evil crimes fill the heavens. Li Xiangzhu died of anger because of you."


    The people on the western bank shouted loudly, "Wei Xiaobao betrayed the Society and surrendered to the enemy, murdered his master to seek honor; Shu Dage does not need to talk to him too much. Today we are going to chop his body into ten thousand pieces, to avenge Chen Zongduozhu and Li Xiangzhu."


    When the people on the eastern bank heard this, they also shouted in loud voices. Suddenly ''whoosh!'' someone threw a piece of flying locust rock. Wei Xiaobao hastily withdrew into the cabin, while groaning inwardly, "Turns out Great Transformation Hall''s Li Xiangzhu has passed away; without distinguishing red-blue or black-white these brothers are acting recklessly, what should I do?"


    He heard a series of ''pi pi pai pai'' on the sail of their boat, secret projectiles from both sides continuously arrived. Finally the official boat stopped in the middle of the canal, the distance from either side was equally far, some secret projectiles fell into the water, even if they reached the sail, the momentum was very weak. Wei Xiaobao said, "This is ''straw boat to borrow arrows'', I �� I am Lu Su, I can only trembling with fear. Which one of you is Zhuge �� Zhuge Liang? Quickly �� quickly think of a plan."


    Seeing the secret projectiles were shot one after another, Gu Yanwu and the others, along with the boatmen, were hiding in the hold of the boat. Suddenly a flame flickered, several flaming arrows were shot toward the sail. Immediately the sail caught fire. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out, "It''s desperately serious, Wei Xiaobao is on fire!"


    Su Quan shouted loudly, "Mr. Gu Yanwu is in here, you must not be rude." She thought that Gu Yanwu''s prestige in Jianghu was quite resounding, presumably Tian Di Hui people would not dare to offend him. But amid the noise over the river, her voice was drowned.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "Wives, let us shout together, ''Mr. Gu Yanwu is here!'' One, two, three!"


    Seven madams followed after Wei Xiaobao, "Mr. Gu Yanwu is here!"


    After they had shouted three times, the noise of the people ashore gradually died down, the secret projectiles attack also stopped at once. The man surnamed Shu asked in loud voice, "Is Mr. Gu Yanwu on the boat?"


    Gu Yanwu stood on the bow, cupped his fist and said, "Xiongdi Gu Yanwu is here."


    "Aiyo!" the man surnamed Shu cried out, and hastily issued his order, "Brothers with water skill, quickly jump into the river and tow the boat to the shore."


    They heard continuous splashing noise as dozens of Society members jumped into the canal and pushed and pulled the official boat toward the western bank. By this time the fire on the boat was burning high. Shuang''er pulled Wei Xiaobao and took him jumping to the shore, the remaining people also went ashore one after another. With unsheathed weapons in their hands, Tian Di Hui people surrounded them all around.


    The man surnamed Shu cupped his fist and bowed to Gu Yanwu; he said, "Zaixia Tian Di Hui Great Transformation Hall''s Shu Hualong paying his respect to Mr. Gu Yanwu."


    Gu Yanwu cupped his fist to return the salute. An old man from Tian Di Hui bowed and said, "That year in the Turtle-Slaying Assembly of Hejianfu, the heroes all over the world elected Mr. Gu as Zong Junshi [Chief Military Counselor], Zaixia has seen Mr. Gu''s face once. We brothers are being reckless, please pardon our offense."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are indeed too reckless."


    The old man said in stern voice, "I am talking to Mr. Gu; who spoke to you, this little traitor?" Stretching out his hand, he wanted to grab Wei Xiaobao''s chest. Su Quan blocked with her left hand, followed by a hand-flip, she caught and twisted the man''s wrist; borrowing the momentum, she pushed forward. The old man was unable to hold his stand; he was thrown down outward. Two Tian Di Hui members hastily rushed forward to hold him up.


    Gu Yanwu called out, "If you have something to talk, let''s talk. Don''t use force, don''t use force!"


    By this time the inside of the cabin had already caught fire. Under the blazing fire the faces of the people on the shore could be seen clearly. Su Quan felt that she and Shuang''er had superior martial art skill, to protect their husband and break the siege was not a difficult matter. Tian Di Hui people only wanted to deal with Wei Xiaobao, one person; all they need to do was to ensure he could escape, these Jianghu warriors would certainly not give trouble to women and children. Thereupon she and Shuang''er stood on Wei Xiaobao''s left and right. They already had their eyes on three horses, as soon as the talk reached a deadlock, they would immediately make their move to snatch the horses.


    Gu Yanwu pulled Shu Hualong''s hand and said, "Shu Dage, please step aside to talk." The two of them walked off several zhang. Shu Hualong listened to Gu Yanwu''s explanation, and then with a loud voice he called six or seven names to come forward. Looking at their appearance, these men were the leaders of this group. The old man who was thrown down by Su Quan was one of them, the remaining forty or so men were still surrounding Wei Xiaobao all around.


    Wei Xiaobao said, "My valuables in the boat are indeed not a few, you burned it down. Hey, hey, if the Great Transformation Hall wants to compensate for my loss, it will break your money coffer big time." Some of the people raised their sabers to threaten; some opened their mouths in cursing. Wei Xiaobao did not pay them any attention; he expected Gu Yanwu would explain the truth to Shu Hualong.


    As expected, when Shu Hualong and the other Great Transformation Hall leaders heard Gu Yanwu''s explanation, they found out that there were many twists and turns in this story, Wei Xiaobao worked as a high-ranking officer in the imperial court, although they did not understand everything, but the murder of Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan was not done by him, hence the bitter hatred in their hearts disappeared.


    They came together to him. Shu Hualong cupped his fist and said, "Wei Xiangzhu, just now we misunderstood you. If not for Mr. Gu''s enlightenment, we all nearly committed an offense."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "To really offend me is not that easy." While saying that, he leaned sideways, unleashing the ''Shen Xing Bai Bian'' [divine line hundred changes] he charged to the left, passed through to the right, went up and down twice or three times, and already he was about five, six zhang away from the Great Transformation Hall''s encirclement, and then with one leap he landed on a horseback.


    Shu Hualong and the others were shocked; nobody expected that his lightness skill was surprisingly marvelous beyond measure. This man had such an outstanding martial art, no wonder although he was young, he had become Tian Di Hui Green Wood Hall''s Xiangzhu. Admittedly famous master would produce brilliant student, Zongduozhu''s direct disciple indeed was not a small matter. That old man from Great Transformation Hall''s martial art was also very strong, the brothers had always admired him, but with one twist and one push by Su Quan, he had no room to parry, and was narrowly thrown down to the ground. It appeared that each and every one of the other six ladies was also martial art expert. If they really had to fight, although their sides had more people, perhaps they would be beaten and had their heads and faces filthy with grime.


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "Excuse me, I must leave now!" Raising the reins, he galloped the horse away. But after rushing to the west about a dozen zhang, he swiftly leaped down from the horse and charged northwest; slipping to the left ducking to the right, somehow he returned to the encirclement and stood at his original spot with a grin on his face. Nobody could see clearly when did he come in.


    Tian Di Hui members looked at each other, overwhelmed with amazement. Shu Hualong cupped his fist and said, "Wei Xiangzhu''s martial art is superb. My utmost admiration, my utmost admiration."


    Wei Xiaobao also cupped his fist and said with a laugh, "It was just a shameful display."


    Shu Hualong said, "Mr. Gu has explained to us that Wei Xiangzhu live in Cao camp but have your heart in Han camp, and is about to attempt a world-shaking great undertaking, to raise aspiration of the Han people throughout the world. When Wei Xiangzhu is ready to stage an uprising, although we, the Great Transformation Hall''s brothers, do not have much skill, as long as Wei Xiangzhu has anything for us to do, we will go through water and tread on fire, under no circumstances will we decline to do it."


    "Yes, yes," Wei Xiaobao replied.


    Shu Hualong noticed Wei Xiaobao''s unenthusiastic expression. Suddenly he raised his right index finger, ''pop!'' he poked his own left eye. Immediately blood flowed out. Everybody screamed in fright. Wei Xiaobao, Gu Yanwu, and the others asked in alarm, "Shu Dage, what �� what are you doing?"


    Upright and unafraid Shu Hualong replied, "Xiongdi has offended Wei Xiangzhu, violating our Society''s commandment against disrespecting superior. I should have poked both of my eyeballs as a reprimand that I have eyes but failed to see. But Xiongdi wants to leave the other eye, I want to see how will Wei Xiangzhu accomplish the world-shaking great undertaking in the end."


    The old man said awe-inspiringly, "Supposing Mr. Gu and the others were deceived, Wei Xiangzhu only talked without actually doing it, all along he covets riches and honor, and only wanted to be a high-ranking officer; then what?"


    Shu Hualong said, "Then Wei Xiangzhu also has to dig his own eyeball to compensate for mine." Finished speaking he turned to Gu Yanwu and Wei Xiaobao, bowed and saluted, and said, "We are waiting for good news from Wei Xiangzhu." Waving his left hand, everybody withdrew, mounted their horses and galloped away.


    The old man turned his head around and called out, "Wei Xiangzhu, when you are home, ask your Niang [mother], is your Laozi [old man] a Han, or a Manchu? As a human being you must not forget your own ancestor."


    The bamboo whistle was blown, the crowd of warriors on the eastern bank also galloped away southward. In a short period of time, the riders on both banks had completely gone. The boat on the water was still burning.


    Gu Yanwu sighed and said, "These brothers are still suspicious toward Wei Xiongdi. They are warriors of the wilderness, inevitably their speech is boorish, but they have loyal and righteous hearts, other people cannot help but feeling respect. Wei Xiangzhu, we have not finished what we wanted to talk to you about. We only hope that you will not forget the Great Han''s descendants. We are taking our leave now, I am sure we''ll meet again some day." Finished speaking he cupped his fist, and then with Huang, Zha and the Lu''s they bade farewell.


    Wei Xiaobao stood dejectedly at the riverbank, the autumn wind was bringing slight chill, the fire on the official boat gradually died down, occasionally the burning boat emitted some crackling noise, the flame roared for a moment, and then slowly getting smaller and smaller. He mumbled to himself, "What should I do? What should I do?"


    Su Quan said, "Luckily we have the other boat. Let us go back to Siyangji, we''ll think about it and make decision later."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "That old man told me to go home and ask my Niang, my Laozi is a Han or a Manchu. Hey, hey, it''s not a bad idea."


    "Xiaobao," Su Quan consoled him, "This kind of uncouth people''s random talk, why do you take it seriously? Let us get on the boat."


    Wei Xiaobao stood motionless, his heart was in turmoil. Looking down, he saw drops of blood on the ground, blood from Shu Hualong''s self-inflicted wound on his left eye. Suddenly he cried out, "Laozi don''t want to do it, Laozi don''t want to do it!"


    The seven madams were startled. Wei Shuangshuang was already fast asleep in her mother''s arms, because of his loud shout, she woke up with a start and cried.


    Wei Xiaobao said in a loud voice, "The Emperor forces me to strike Tian Di Hui, Tian Di Hui forces me to strike the Emperor. Laozi''s feet are treading on two boats, both sides do not give me any fruitful outcome to reward my labor. One side wants to chop my head, the other side wants to dig my eyeball. How many heads and how many eyeballs can one person have? You come to chop, I come to dig, what else will Laozi have left? I quit. No matter what Laozi don''t want to do it anymore!"


    Seeing his abnormal expression, Su Quan advised him in tender voice, "Becoming an imperial court official, your days are spent in fear and always on edge, there is nothing fun about it. Becoming a Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu is also not fun to do. You decide to quit, nothing can''t be better than that."


    Wei Xiaobao happily said, "So all of you advise me to quit?"


    Su Quan, Fang Yi, Ah Ke, Zeng Rou, Mu Jianping, and Shuang''er, six women nodded their heads. Only Princess Jianning said, "You have only achieved dukedom, how can you think of quitting your government position? You must be conferred the title King, becoming chief assistant great learning scholar [not sure, �׸���ѧʿ], have both civil and military authorities, and then it would be a good time to announce your retirement. Besides, if you resign your post right now, I am sure Huangdi Gege won''t allow it."


    Wei Xiaobao angrily said, "I don''t want to be government official, I don''t need the Emperor to care about it. He is no more than my Dajiuzi [wife''s older brother]. Damn it, why bother and talk too much? I don''t even want this Dajiuzi anymore." Not wanting the Emperor as Dajiuzi means he did not want the Princess to be his wife. The Princess was scared; how could she dare to talk too much?


    Seeing his seven wives did not have anything else to say, immediately Wei Xiaobao was happy and excited. He said, "The Great Transformation Hall burned my boat, they really burned it well, burn it swell, burn it all the way to hell. We can quietly hide, the local officials will report to the imperial court, they will say that I am burned to death by the bandits. From now on my Dajiuzi can''t find me anymore."


    Su Quan and the others clapped together, only the Princess was silent. Immediately the eight of them discussed a plan. Wei Xiaobao, the Princess, and Shuang''er, three people would change their clothes, go to Huaiyinan inn and wait there. Su Quan would lead Fang Yi, Ah Ke, Mu Jianping and Zeng Rou, four women, to go back to Siyangji to collect the gold, silver and valuables, as well as other things they wanted to take from the remaining boats, and then spread rumor that Duke Wei''s official boat was attacked by a gang of bandits in the night, the boat was burned, the people perished. However, those several boatmen saw that Wei Xiaobao did not die; they would create danger later. In Su Quan''s opinion, they should be killed to shut their mouths, and have their bodies abandoned at the riverbank; then it would be even more believable. Mu Jianping could not bear to do it, she insisted on not murdering the innocent.


    "Very well," Su Quan said, "Jianping Meizi has good conscience, Laotianye will bless you with many healthy sons. Xiaobao, I''ll lift my sword to kill you, you run into the woods, scream loudly, pretend that I am killing you."


    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "You are a brutish woman, you want to murder your own husband?" Raising his voice he cried out, "Murder, murder!" And started to run. After running in circle several times, he fled to the woods. With a sword in her hand, Su Quan ran after him into the woods. They heard Wei Xiaobao screamed, "Help, help! He ��" the last ''help'' was abruptly cut-off and then suddenly he went silent.


    Mu Jianping was fully aware that they were pretending, but hearing Wei Xiaobao''s mournful cry, she could not refrain her heart from thumping madly. "Shuang''er Meizi," she asked in a low voice, "It''s �� it''s not real, is it?"


    Shuang''er said, "Don''t be afraid. Nat �� naturally it''s not real." But she could not help feeling afraid herself.


    They saw Su Quan walked out of the woods with the sword still in her hand; she called out, "Kill all the boatmen!"


    All along the boatmen were squatting on the shore. Seeing Tian Di Hui people set the boat on fire, and Su Quan killing Wei Jueye, they were already trembling with fear. Seeing Su Quan came with sword in her hand to kill them, they scattered in all directions to protect their lives; instantly they all disappeared without a trace.


    Shuang''er was worried over Wei Xiaobao, she rushed toward the woods, and saw him lying on the ground, motionless. Shuang''er was so scared that her body and soul separated, thinking how could she kill him for real? Throwing herself on him she called out, "Xianggong, Xianggong!"


    Seeing Wei Xiaobao''s body was stiff, she panicked even more. Hastily she reached out to lift him up. Suddenly Wei Xiaobao opened up his arms and embraced her tightly, while calling out, "Great success, you deserve a kiss!"


    Husband and wives, eight people proceeded according to plan; they fetched their belongings, and continued on to Yangzhou in disguise. After picking up Wei Xiaobao''s mother, the whole family went to Yunnan. Henceforth they lived incognito, spending their free and leisure days in Dali city.


    In his free time, Wei Xiaobao often felt bored, and remembered the huge amount of treasures hidden in Mount Luding under the city of Yakesa that had not been dug yet. He thought that if he could be the richest man in the world, he would be perfectly satisfied. However, remembering his friendship with Kangxi, he could not bear to sever his dragon''s vein.


    Kangxi was well aware of Wei Xiaobao''s character and ability; he knew he would not be easily harmed by the bandits, let alone even though they searched, they could not find his body. Hereafter Kangxi unceasingly sent people on open enquiries and secret search, yet there were no result.


    Later generation historians wrote an account on Kangxi went down to Jiangnan six times, with the purpose of inspecting the work on Yellow River. But he had never been to Jiangnan before; why was it that as soon as Wei Xiaobao went missing, that very same year he went to Jiangnan? If he was inspecting the river work, why did he go as far as Hangzhou? Why did each time he stop over in Yangzhou for so long? And why did each time he send out a large number of Imperial Bodyguards to every brothel, casino, teahouse and wine shop to inquire about Wei Xiaobao? When the inquiry failed to get any result, why was he depressed?


    Based on later generation research, the ''Hong Lou Meng'' [Dream of Red Mansions] author Cao Xueqin''s paternal grandfather Cao Yin was originally an Imperial Bodyguard, who was once serving under Wei Xiaobao''s command. Later on Kangxi sent him to Suzhou''s weaving industry, and also appointed him to be in charge of Jiangning''s weaving industry, ordering him to set his headquarters in a bustling city in Jiangnan, to enable him to search for news of Wei Xiaobao in the neighboring areas.


    That day when Wei Xiaobao finally reached Yangzhou, he brought his wives, sons and daughter to Lovely Spring Courtyard to see his mother. Mother and child met in person, their joy was unbearable. Wei Chunfang saw her seven daughter-in-laws were all as beautiful as flower and as jade; she thought, "Xiaobao, this little thief''s eyesight in selecting women is not bad. If he opened up a courtyard, he would certainly make a lot of money."


    Wei Xiaobao pulled his mother into her room and asked, "Ma, actually, who is my laozi(father)?"


    With eyes opened wide Wei Chunfang said, "How do I know?"


    Knitting his brows, Wei Xiaobao said, "Before you got me in your belly, what kind of visitors did you receive?"


    "At that time your Niang(mother) was a very pretty woman," Wei Chunfang replied, "Every day I received several visitors. How could I remember that many people?"


    "Were all those visitors Han people?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wei Chunfang replied, "Naturally there were some Han, but there were some Manchu officers, and some Mongolian military officers too."


    "Were there any foreign demons?" Wei Xiaobao asked.


    Wei Chunfang was angry. "You think your Niang is a rotten wh0re that I would receive foreign demons? " she said, "Hot piece mama, if Luocha demons, red-haired demons came to Lovely Spring Courtyard, Laoniang would swat them out with a big broom."


    Wei Xiaobao was relieved. "That''s very good!"


    Wei Chunfang looked up, recalling past events. She said, "At that time there was a Hui kid, he often came here looking for me; his appearance was very handsome. I often said in my heart, my Xiaobao has a good nose, it looks a bit like him."


    Wei Xiaobao said, "There were Han, Manchu, Mongol and Hui men; was there any Tibetan?"


    "Why not?" Wei Chunfang proudly said, "That Tibetan Lama, before he went to bed, he always chanted Buddhist scripture. While chanting, his eyeballs ran all over me. Your eyes are wily and too happy, just like that Lama''s!"


    THE END.

 Chapter - 52 (52)

    Appendix


    Kangxi Imperial Court''s Secret Memorials


    In the story ''The Deer and the Cauldron'', Kangxi was said to have secret agents among Wei Xiaobao''s subordinates, so that he knew a lot of Wei Xiaobao''s covert activities. The tale in the novel is a bit exaggerated. At the beginning of Qing, the government structure was equivalent to Qing-Ming. The Ming Dynasty''s Eastern Faction, Western Faction, Internal Faction, Brocade-clothed Guard, and other special assignment military units were disbanded; the Emperor did not have personal special agents. All the way until the demise of Qing, there was no special intelligence unit. Legend has it that Yongzheng established the ''Flying Guillotine'', but it was only in the novel, there was no historical evidence.


    However, it was a fact that Kangxi paid particular attention to the activity of his ministers and the condition of the local people; for this, the ruler must have had informants. From the beginning, ever since before Kangxi ascended the throne, the Qing court established ''secret memorial (to the emperor)'' system. In the original system, the imperial court had a so-called ''General Secretarial Institution''. Memorials submitted by ordinary officials in the Capital, reports from local officials, everything must be submitted to the General Secretary first, after he reviewed it, then it would be transferred to the Emperor. Kangxi thought that this system could lead to constriction and leakage of classified information; therefore, he had a minister whom he extremely trusted to review the memorials. Reports no longer went through the General Secretary, but were submitted directly to the Emperor. On the cover of secret reports, the name and surname of the people who submitted it was not written clearly, it was only stamped with ''Solemnly Submitted to the South Study Room


    [43]''. And thus the memorial was personally delivered to the Imperial Study Room and handed over to the court eunuch. After the Emperor gave the official reply, it would be hand-delivered back to the Imperial Study Room.


    Later on, the scope of this system of memorials was extended; it was not limited to trusted minister who could submit secret memorial to the emperor, ordinary local governor generals, high officials in the Capital, could now submit memorials directly to the emperor. By Yongzheng''s years, the provision was extended further to ''class officers'' (middle level officials), every day one person would take turns to submit the memorial to the emperor. Big matter, small matter, everything must be reported, even if there was nothing to report, they still had to explain why there was nothing to report. With this system, the Emperor''s power was greatly expanded, while at the same time government officials of all levels did not dare to conceal anything.


    Looking at the memorial submitted during Kangxi''s reign, in most part the contents of the memorial were grain prices in all parts of the country, the rain water, the harvest, public opinion, and whether the government officials were just and honest or corrupt. It can clearly be seen that Kangxi was most concerned about the common people''s economy and life quality, as well as whether the officials governing the people were corrupt or not. Naturally he also paid particular attention to rebellion or insurgency in any place.


    On the memorials, Kangxi would write comments using vermillion ink. Most of the time he only wrote "Noted", three characters [zhi dao le �C lit. "I know."], but sometimes he would write detailed directives. From these directives, it is clear that Kangxi was brilliant and very prudent, while at the same time his treatment toward his ministers and the common people was very lenient and considerate.


    Wang Hongxu''s memorials


    Wang Hongxu was nine years older than Kangxi, a native of Huating [county], Jiangsu province. He graduated as a Jinshi in Kangxi''s twelfth year, and became compiler and editor of Hanlin Academy, the Minister of Department of Transport & Irrigation, Minister of Revenue, and several other high-ranking official positions; he was a minister whom Kangxi trusted very much. On the memorial that he submitted to Kangxi, he only wrote ''Confidential Report. Subject Wang Hongxu solemnly presents.'' He did not write his official rank, it was completely without any polite set of phrases usually used by government officials. He took an official post in the Capital, the secret reports he submitted were mostly about the state of affairs of Beijing''s government officials.


    Kangxi dispatched his trusted aides to gather information, at first he only sent high-ranking ministers, but the number was extremely limited, furthermore, he repeatedly warned these people to keep it top secret. On the memorial submitted by Wang Hongxu, he personally wrote, "The matter that can be heard in the Capital, Qing [term used by the emperor for his subjects] submitted in confidential report, with the wish for good health in the memorial, must not be known by other people. If it flows out swiftly (leak out), the repercussion will be substantial. Careful, careful."


    "In the years before the tour to the south, there were many unworthy people deceiving Suzhou women. Even at home, Zhen [I, imperial use] knows. This year I am afraid such thing will happen again, thou shall carefully investigate, if there is indeed such thing, personally write a memorial secretly. This matter must not be known by other people. If someone finds out, thou will be inconvenienced." (Suzhou women were well known for their beauty; probably some people were taking the opportunity of Kangxi''s tour to the south to hold a beauty contest and offer it as a tribute, or perhaps borrowing their names to cheat Suzhou women''s families.)


    "If there is any problem later on, submit the memorial using the southern tour as precedent. There are numerous ears and eyes in the Palace, inevitably people will know, in which case, do not submit any memorials."


    "If you hear any information, treat it in accordance with the previous memorial."


    Having received the Emperor''s commission, Wang Hongxu absolutely did not dare to leak anything. In the memorial he said, "By being selected from among the scholars, Chen [minister/subject, term of address used when speaking to a ruler] experiences and receives the sage''s grace, there is no way I can render service to repay kindness, no matter what; for which I am really ashamed. Now entering the palace courtyard on the thirteenth day of the month, miao ke [4


    th


    earthly branch, 5-7am] hour, respectfully received imperial confirmation along with the sealed secret order, by this time Cai and Zha, two ministers have not arrived. Acting with reverence Chen opened it and read it silently, I cannot bear to be extremely grateful and frightened at the same time. I have to admit that Chen was ignorant, and have been ignorant several times, and thus it is my responsibility to look up to the Heaven''s kindness, for breaking the rule in appointing the confidential, only by exhausting myself by being a dog or a horse I vow my strength in loyalty, looking up to repay the holy sage''s ten-thousand and one kindness. To find favor and untiring instruction from above, to think over how Chen somehow exposed some rumor, the responsibility is indeed too great, all the more Chen feels like weeping, forever strictly abide by this moment, three times sealing my mouth, even toward my own flesh and blood like father, son or brothers, I will also never tell, I will make doubly sure to look up to the monarch''s will in understanding your idea. From now on, any affair that I hear in the Capital, at any time Chen will respectfully request the holy sage to transcribe tiny suitable memorial, a confidential report to be reviewed. As for confidential matter related to the imperial decree, it will be reported in accompanying memorial. I have been instructed." (Kangxi noted: ''Yes''.)


    For the most part, the memorials submitted by Wang Hongxu pertaining to land tax, transportation, money minting, salt trade, and other public financial matters. He was especially interested in finance and economics affairs; therefore, for a long time afterwards, he served as the Minister of Department of Transport & Irrigation and the Minister of Revenue. Originally, these finance and economics affairs may be reported via formal memorial to the throne, but since secret memorials were mostly dealing with corrupt practices, violations in matters that those government officials had vested interest in, confidential reports seemed to be more appropriate.


    Apart from corrupt practices in finance and economics, the nature of Wang Hongxu''s secret memorials was extremely extensive. There were several secret memorials related to ''The Chen Rubi Case''. This legal case started when Chen Rubi took three thousand taels bribe, and later on it developed into a big case, ''The minister political affair, the Nine Ministers'' zhan shi [lit. excellent matters] Ke Dao, and the others visited the Ministry of Justice yamen for a joint hearing.''


    Wang Hongxu participated in the joint hearing, and wrote the proceedings in detail in a secret memorial to Kangxi. Among other things he spoke about the dispute between Manchurian and Han officials: "�� in Chen Rubi''s case, the decision was to have him beheaded, all Manchurian Daren already agreed. Li Zhenyu and Chen said: convicting without oral confession, all Daren ought to deliberate, what words Chen Rubi wrote in his letter yesterday. Chen also said: not to conceal anything. Manchurian Daren should have the officer in charge of this case to come over and let all Daren listen to him �� Manchurian Daren said, it has nothing to do, there is no need to get oral confession. Han Daren said, these four characters ''pretending to be dead'' [jia zhuang shen si] ought to go, the former muddle-headedness and confusion of yesterday must also go. For this reason these four characters are deleted. Tu Cuizhong said: concealing records and the crime of obtaining stolen goods are not enough to warrant beheading. The political affair minister said: Change it. Thereupon Shu Lu changed it to ''Execution by hanging''. Ke Dao said: Still, we must execute under the San Fa Si''s [three judicial chief ministries in imperial China] supervision. Before the group of Manchurian Daren responded, a messenger from Chen Rubi''s household arrived to deliver the oral confession he personally wrote, but Manchurian Daren did not accept it. Li Luyu said: Previously the San Fa Si failed to obtain Chen Rubi''s personal confession, today his own family came to deliver it, yet we do not want to accept it. How are we going to deal with it? �� This confession actually contains very few words compared to what Shu Lu actually wrote �� For the interrogating officer to change confession or make up confession, it has always been a crime deserving disciplinary action, the regulation about this is very serious �� All Manchurian Daren are afraid to attract blame, they were unwilling to speak up. The political affair minister has no choice but to listen to Shu Lu''s ruling ��"


    Kangxi remarked, "This memorial is very good, it profoundly adheres to high-ranking minister''s style. Zhen understood."


    The principal content of the memorial was to say that ''Manchurian Daren'' accused wrongly the defendant''s circumstances, while the ''Han Daren'' did everything in their power to exonerate him. How this case was subsequently closed is unclear, it is believed that Kangxi was being comparatively lenient in his ruling. It''s worth noting that although Manchu officials traditionally held more power in the imperial court, yet Kangxi did not side with Manchu officers at all. At the same time it is worth seeing that deciding on death penalty at that time was a very serious business, that it could not be decided based on one high-ranking minister''s words.


    Occasionally there are some trivial matters in Wang Hongxu''s secret memorials; reading it today, it is quite fascinating: There is a lengthy report about the transportation [orig. ''horse''] affair, the last paragraph says, "�� Li Xiu, Yin Debu, two people, I don''t know who told them this, but they said that on the outside Your Majesty says that they are big gangsters; Li Xiu and Yin Debu panicked and said other things. Afterwards Chen explain in a secret memorial, and beg Your Majesty to keep it in sealed envelope, and put imperial seal on it, to guard against people take a peek and disclose it to create harm ��" (Kangxi remarked: Noted.)


    And then there is a lengthy confidential report about whether the Chief Examiner, the Deputy Chief Examiner have committed fraud. The last paragraph says, "A certain Song Yunxi, young son of Song Luo, a successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination, went to capital to take the metropolitan examination on the twenty-first day of the eleventh month. He told people: all these years his father has dizziness that usually flare-out only once in a long while, but this year he had a dizzy spell in the military once, and then when he went to Yangzhou he got another one, which were a bit more tense compared to the previous ones; fortunately after it passes, he is still able to work. This report asks for new grace, in the future when he requires approval he would come to the Capital to explain other things ��" (Kangxi remarked: Noted.)


    Song Luo was originally the inspector-general of Jiangning (district, Nanjing, Jiangsu), the new appointment was the Shangshu [department head] of the Ministry of Appointments. He was very capable. Kangxi cared about his health.


    There was a secret memorial reporting a government official who was guilty and was banished to an army post as a punishment, the guards who escorted him extorted money from him, ten taels of silver per person. The government official did not want to give, but raining insult on them instead. One night the official was suddenly tied up, all money in his possession was taken away. This is an insignificant matter, yet Wang Hongxu reported it just the same.


    Li Xu''s memorials


    Li Xu was Kangxi''s trusted aide, he held the official post as the supervisor of weaving industry in Suzhou for thirty years. Li Xu''s brother-in-law [lit. younger sister''s husband] Cao Yin was the supervisor of weaving industry in Jiangning for more than twenty years. Cao Yin was the paternal grandfather of Cao Xueqin, the author of ''A Dream of Red Mansions''. Li Xu, Cao Yin, as well as the supervisor of weaving industry in Hangzhou Sun Wencheng, three people constantly presented secret memorials to Kangxi, reporting about the situation in Jiangnan. For the large part, the reports pertaining to rain water, harvest, the price of rice, epidemic, the situation of the people, the reputation of the government officials, et cetera. At that time there was no newspaper, Kangxi''s main source of information about the actual situation in all parts of the country was these memorials to the throne.


    In the summer of Kangxi''s thirty-second year there was drought at Huai and Xu rivers in Jiangnan, with rainfall in the sixth month, Li Xu reported the harvest and the price of rice. Kangxi noted: "I heard the sun rose erroneously south of Huai and Xu rivers in the fifth month, the summer failed to arrived at the appointed time, the people are flustered and in panic, especially in the two Zhejiang. Morning and night Zhen anxiously consider this matter, my lying down and eating are disturbed, yet in the visit to the south, must ask for details, hearing thy memorials, the night and evening''s toil is lessened. After the harvest, write more memorials."


    Forty-seventh year, nineteenth day of the first month, Li Xu sent a memorial like this: "Respectfully wish the Ten-thousand Year ten thousand of peace. Early twelfth month, on the seventh day, last year, humble official got wind of the robbery case in Taicang [county, Suzhou, Jiangsu], while dispatching people to investigate, I promptly write a report, together with non-jointed bamboo strips, and send Wang Kecheng of my household to present it to superior. Today is the seventeenth day of the first month, Wang Kecheng returned and stated, ''All the non-jointed bamboo strip memorials have been submitted, folded report [usually in accordion form] have not been issued.'' Hearing this, Chen Li Xu panicked. Thinking that all the folded reports have been imperially distributed, that is, if they haven''t received comments from superior, the original report must have been issued. learning that they have not been issued today, Chen''s heart is extremely bewildered. Repeatedly extracting information rigorously, only learned about this: ''The folded report was hidden inside the pouch, in the hastening on the journey all night, the fastening was not tight, the pouch was lost along the way to Dezhou, nowhere to be found. Because the bamboo strips are critical, did not dare to delay, Xiaode [the lowly one] went to the Capital, hazily delivered the bamboo strips, muddle headedly said there is no folded report. This is the truth.'' And other similar confessions. Accordingly Chen Li Xu had Wang Kecheng severely locked up and flogged, while waiting for the imperial decree on how to deal with him. Yet Chen is unable to employ people appropriately, to such an extent as to commit mistakes. Alarmed, frightened, scared; this guilt is really cannot be dismissed, asking the Ten-thousand Year to promptly bestow punishment. Hereby the original report is re-transcribed and submitted, begging the Holy Sage to review. Waiting for the blame Chen Li Xu cannot bear to tremble extremely."


    Kangxi remarked in vermillion ink: "Thy memorial was no more than secret report that cannot be associated with the local officials. Be lenient with thy household person. If outsiders hear about it, it would not be too good."


    It is worth noting that it was not so much as Kangxi''s clemency; rather, it was his fundamental attitude: the Emperor sent people out to make secret inquiry and received secret memorial was a dishonorable matter, a disreputable matter, not an upright and frank work, not a just and honorable way to handle matters, that no matter what no outsiders were to find out. In replying officially to the secret memorials sent by his subordinates, Kangxi has never used other people''s hand. There was one time when his right hand was hurt and he could not write, with difficulty he replied officially with his left hand. In today''s world, the ruler of every country dispatches spies and inquires secret reports for private reasons, yet the public accepts it as the way it should be, although it could be said that it is politically a great fall. This kind of system of values toward the ''special task operatives'' was perhaps a clear dividing line between the Qing and Ming political corruptness. Wu Zetian [624-705, Tang empress, reigned 690-705] used special agents excessively, Qin Hui [1090-1155, Song Dynasty official who betrayed Yue Fei] used a lot of special agents, during the late Ming, special agents went on the rampage; later generations mostly believe that it led to downward spiral of the Ming Dynasty''s political system. In order to increase the antipathy toward Emperor Yongzheng, later generation people fabricated a legend that he had used the ''flying guillotine'', a special assassin team to kill people.


    Kangxi''s forty-eighth year, sixth day of the seventh month, in his report to wish good health, Li Xu also included the news of Jiangnan''s Tidu [local commander] Zhang Yunyi''s death due to sickness. To wish good health to the Emperor means ''to wish the Lord of Ten-thousand Years good luck and success, ten thousand good fortunes and peace like gold'', wishing great luck, great profit is a proper thing to do, the news of death must be reported in separate memorial, certainly these two cannot be mixed together, otherwise, it would implicitly cursing the Emperor to die. Li Xu''s memorial has violated the fundamental taboo, it was an extremely muddleheaded report.


    In the memorial he said, "Respectfully wishing the Ten-thousand Years ten-thousand of peace. The Tidu over the military affairs of the whole province of Jiangnan, subject Zhang Yunyi, fell ill on Kangxi''s forty-eighth year, eighteenth day of the sixth month, with carbuncle on his lower back. He did not recover and died on the ''si'' hour [9-11am] of third day of the seventh month, at the age of fifty-eight; it is included here for your information. The weather in Suzhou during the sixth month is also included in the report, begging the Holy Sage to review."


    Seeing this greatly ominous memorial, naturally Kangxi was greatly displeased, but his reprimand to him still carried a humorous tone. He wrote in vermillion ink, "Report of wishing good health must not be mixed together with this kind of matter, it is extremely irreverent. Thou knew several foul words, I wonder which one I should use?"


    Seeing the imperial remark, naturally Li Xu was scared that his soul flew away and scattered; hastily he wrote another memorial to apologize for the offense, while thoroughly confessed his guilt. Kangxi remarked, "Noted."


    Kangxi''s fifty-first year, seventh month, weaving supervisor of Jiangning, Cao Yin (Cao Xueqin''s grandfather) received order to go to Yangzhou to manage the engraving of the ''Pei Wen Yun Fu'' [lit. government mansion of ''respectful cultural charm''] when he caught malaria and his condition was very serious. Li Xu promptly went to visit him, Cao Yin asked him to write a memorial, asking for some medicine from Kangxi.


    As soon as Kangxi received the memorial, he replied in vermillion ink, "Thy memorial has been received well. I hereby bestow the medicine to treat malaria. Afraid that it would be delayed, I bestow post horse to rush overnight. Yet if the malaria does not turn into diarrhea, it won''t be bad. If the illness changes, this medicine must not be used. The charlatans of the south often use a dose of this medicine, the number of people they harm cannot be counted, you must be careful. If Cao Yin originally ate ginseng, he may caught present illness from the ginseng. Jinjina (that is ''quinine'', the original text used Manchurian script) is used specifically for the treatment of malaria. Use two qian [1 qian = 1/10 of a tael], that''s it. And then take a dose of wine. If the illness is getting somewhat lighter, take another dose; it should control the sickness. After it is under control, take perhaps one qian or eight fen. Take two doses in succession, may even take the roots. If it is not malaria, this medicine must not be taken; you must take this seriously. Urgent, urgent, urgent, urgent!"


    Kangxi wrote four ''urgent'' words in succession, he also dispatched post horses to expressly deliver the medicine to Yangzhou, so that it arrived in nine days; it can clearly be seen that he cherished and extremely concerned about Cao Yin. Quinine was the correct medicine to be prescribed to cure malaria; however, it is possible that Cao Yin had other complications that in the end he succumbed to the illness and died. Kangxi deeply lamented his passing, he ordered Li Xu to properly take care for the family Cao Yin left behind.


    In his memorials, Li Xu also talked a lot about the experiments in new kind of rice. Kangxi attached great importance to the quality of rice. After growing crops on a trial basis in many other ways, they managed to breed a good variety, and then they sent the seeds to various regions for the government officials and members of the gentry to do the test planting. Li Xu then presented the memorials reporting the progress of the test planting, official so-and-so planted how many mu [unit area, approx. 1/15 of a hectare], each mu produced how many dan [unit volume, approx. 100 liters] how many dou [1/10 of a dan]; merchant so-and-so grew how many mu, each mu yielded how many dan, how many dou, and so on. Take the memorial submitted on Kangxi''s fifty-eighth year, the twenty-forth day of the sixth month for example: "Your humble servant has planted imperial paddy one hundred mu, and gathered in the crops on the fifteenth of the sixth month. Each mu obtains approximately four dan two dou three sheng [1/10 of a dou], respectfully milled one dou of the new rice to be presented. The original field was put in order without delay, by the twenty-third day of the sixth month the second seedling has been planted. As for the imperial paddy planted by Suzhou''s squires, all have also been harvested. The breakdown of the harvest in place of the original, the breakdown of the new crops, is respectfully submitted for imperial review." It can clearly be seen that Li Xu was still responsible for the task of ''planting imperial paddy on experimental fields''.


    Kangxi assigned this ''imperial paddy'' test-planting task to government officials, members of the gentry, and business people in various regions of the country, each person planted at least two, three mu of field. Li Xu planted a hundred mu, he had the largest experimental farm. At that time the crop was called ''imperial park''s rouge rice'', the color was red and it was sweet smelling; made into rice porridge it looked pleasing to the eye. In the ''Dream of Red Mansions'', the gift presented by the village head Wu to the Jia Mansion was precisely this kind of rice.


    During his tour to the south, Kangxi saw that the people loaded the boats full of pig''s hair and chicken feather. Upon asking about the purpose of those things, he found out that people used it as fertilizer in paddy fields. Later on he issued an imperial decree to perform experiments; the result was very good. Compared to later generation who did not pay attention to fertilizer, who did not go through experiments and large scale testing in satellite fields but submitted fraudulent report to conceal the truth, Kangxi''s practice in developing paddy was much more scientific.


    Li Lincheng''s memorials


    Kangxi had considerable sense of humor; even in giving criticism in serious documents, he often used humor.


    This man did not understand Kangxi''s character, his memorial contained a great amount of polite phrases to sing Kangxi''s praises; concerning local issues and situation of rainwater, he only reported the good news and not the bad news. Most probably this man was a military officer of the Han army banner, and he had employed a secretary, who did not understand the customs; he also put an official seal on the cover of his memorial.


    Kangxi''s remarked in vermillion ink: "Noted. Next time in your report use Qing character, no need to use seal." ''Qing character'' was Manchu scribe, Kangxi''s meaning was: this kind of memorial was a secret report, not a formal document at all; he wanted Li Lincheng to write it himself, if he did not know Han characters, then he should have used Manchu characters.


    Upon receiving the imperial criticism, Li Lincheng submitted another memorial: "�� Looking up only toward my Emperor who is continuing on to the utmost heaven, having divine martial art skill and brave literary knowledge; although during the day the Emperor''s holy body has ten thousand crucial points, it is as if there is not a time when you do not remember the people''s welfare. In former times because Hedong [lit. river east; not sure, perhaps his alias?] apologize for ages, since in Holy Sage''s bosom above there are abundant compassion and special favor, in reply leniency has been issued, sincere merit lofty ten-thousand ages, virtuous steps a hundred rulers, encompassing inside and outside of the ocean, not uncommon to the Yao [see above] in heaven �� In responding to the imperial decree, it is only proper that Chen use Qing character in writing the memorial; however, although Chen knew a little bit Qing character, over the years my eyes have become weak and I am muddle-headed, I cannot write, plus Qing words'' construction make no sense, if I have other people transcribing it, Chen is not well-versed in its profound meaning, honestly I am afraid the words and sentences will be improper. I further ask in earnest for the imperial kindness, to let Chen from now on when presenting matters in memorials, to be allowed to still use the Han characters, to avoid the crime of contradicting the multitude of common people."


    Kangxi''s comment: "Noted. These Han characters thou may not necessarily able to use either." He was fully aware that this military employee had limited ink in his belly, the memorial must have been written by other people, thereupon he mocked him a little bit. Afterwards he also did not expect to receive memorials or local secret report written personally by him.

 Chapter - 53 (53)

    Afterword


    The Deer and The Cauldron was first published as a serial in Ming Pao newspaper (Hong Kong) on October 24, 1969, and ended on September 23, 1972; altogether it was serialized for two years eleven months. My usual practice in writing this serial was to write a segment a day, and publish it the next day, so this novel was also written continuously in two years eleven months. If there is nothing extraordinary happens (in life, there will always be extraordinary things happen), this will be my last wuxia novel.


    However, ''The Deer and The Cauldron'' already does not look too much like a wuxia novel, rather, it is a historical novel. When this novel was published in the newspaper, the readers unceasingly wrote to ask: "Is ''The Deer and The Cauldron'' written by someone else?" Because they found that this novel is greatly different than my former work. The fact is that this novel was written completely by myself. I am very grateful for the readers who doted on me and pampered me; when they don''t like certain book or certain passage that I write, they concluded: "It is written by others." They would reserve positive review for myself, and push the unfavorable review to some ''ghost writer''.


    ''The Deer and The Cauldron'' is completely different from my previous wuxia novels; it was intentional. An author should not always repeat his style and form, he should try to create something new as far as possible.


    Some readers were not happy with ''The Deer and The Cauldron'', because of the main protagonist Wei Xiaobao''s moral character, and because of excessive violation of system of values. Readers of wuxia novels are accustomed to substitute themselves into the hero of the book, yet Wei Xiaobao cannot be substituted. In this regard, some readers were deprived of some fun, for which I apologize.


    However, it is not necessary that the protagonist of a novel is a ''good guy''. One of the primary missions of a novel is to create characters: good guys, bad guys, good guys with shortcomings, bad guys with good merits, and so on, anything can be written. In China during Kangxi''s era, a character like Wei Xiaobao is not out of question. When an author writes about a character, the intention is not to make this character necessarily typical. Hamlet''s indecision, Luo Ting who can speak but cannot do, the priest in ''Scarlet Letter'' who took part in adultery, Anna Karenina who betrayed her husband; the authors are simply portraying characters like them, not at all encouraging the readers to imitate their behavior. It would be best if the readers do not act like Li Kui of ''The Water Margin'', who lost in gambling and stole money, or like Song Jiang, who chopped the mistress who unceasingly blackmailed him to death. Lin Daiyu [from ''The Dream of Red Mansions''] is clearly not a role model for the modern female readers. The sexual relations Wei Xiaobao had with women were not as many as Jia Baoyu at all, to say the least, Wei Xiaobao was not as gay as Jia Baoyu, who already had Qin Zhong, but also had Jiang Yuhan. Lu Xun [1881-1936, one of the earliest and best known modern Chinese writers] wrote ''The True Story of Ah Q'' [1921], it was not to agitate the vitality of victory at all.


    If the characters in the novels are perfect, unavoidably it is not realistic. Novels reflect the society; in real-life society there is no such thing as absolutely perfect person. Novels are not textbooks in morality at all. It''s just that a lot of the readers of my novels are teenage girls, hence I ought to remind these na?ve young friends this one thing: Wei Xiaobao attached most importance to yi qi, indeed this is a good moral character; as for his other actions, absolutely must never be copied.


    Altogether I wrote twelve long wuxia novels, two novelettes, and one short story. The fourteen characters of the first character of the titles make a rhyming couplet:


    ��ѩ�������¹


    Ц�������б�ԧ


    The last insignificant short story ''The Sword of Yue Maiden'' was not included.


    During encounters with early readers, the most often asked question was: "Which of your own novels do you like best?" This question is very difficult to answer, therefore, I often did not reply. Speaking about ''personal preference'', I prefer several books with comparatively intense emotion: ''Divine Eagle Gallant Knights'', ''Heavenly Sword and Dragon-slaying Saber'', ''The Other Tales of The Flying Fox'', ''Smiling Proud Wanderer'', ''Demi Gods and Semi Devils''. People often asked, "Which of your own novel you think is the best?" This is a question about technique and value. I believe that over the course of my writing career I have made some progress: the long novels are slightly better than the novelettes and the short story, the later works are somewhat better than the early ones. But many readers did not agree. And I really like it that they do not agree.


    1981-6-22


    My fifteen wuxia novels are finally revised by the beginning of the 21


    st


    century, the project is completed in July of 2006, mainly it was revision of writing style, there are no major changes on the plot. I seriously considered major change on ''The Deer and The Cauldron'', but in the end I decided not to, because this novel tells the story of the golden age of the Qing Dynasty during Kangxi''s reign, the main focus was the era itself rather than the people. In that era, this kind of story is plausible. I definitely do not encourage present-age young people to imitate Wei Xiaobao: not opposing mother becoming a prostitute, not knowing Han script, bribing and being corrupt, exchanging people at the execution ground, contempt of the law, after killing someone using drug to dispose the body, even taking seven wives. Just as ''The Dream of Red Mansions'' and ''The Water Margin'' are good novels, but in modern society, Jia Baoyu and Li Kui''s actions cannot be imitated.


    2006-7-15


    [1] Chuan is abbreviation for Sichuan province. I am not sure about the ''Hu'' (lake), since Hunan/Hubei are not adjacent to Sichuan.


    [2]Zhuang house, ''zhuang jia'' can also mean ''banker'' (in gambling); ''leg vise'' (�й�), I don''t know what it is, I am assuming it has something to do with gambling; ''three directions'', usually there are four positions in a gambling table, denoted by east, south, west, and north, respectively.


    [3][4] Wang Xizhi (303-361), famous calligrapher of Eastern Jin, known as the sage of calligraphy.


    [5] Chu Suiliang (597�C658), a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Taizong''s son Emperor Gaozong. He became increasingly trusted by Emperor Taizong toward the end of his reign and was charged with the responsibilities of serving as the imperial historian and providing honest advice.


    [6] In Cantonese, ''Xuan'' of Xiao Xuanzi''s name is a homophone for circle. (Courtesy of Pannonian)


    [7] Qian Qing Men: ''qian'' �C one of eight trigrams (bagua), symbolizing heaven, male principle, ''qing'' �C clear/quiet, ''men'' �C gate. Gate of Heavenly Purity. Qian Qing Gong �C Palace of Heavenly Purity.


    [8] Kun Ning Gong: ''kun'' �C one of eight trigrams, symbolizing earth, female principle, ''ning'' �C peaceful, ''gong'' �C palace. Palace of Earthly Tranquility. (Most of the English names are courtesy of Ace High.)


    [9][10] Zhengde, 11


    th


    Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao (1491-1521, reigned 1505-1521).


    [11]Duke who Receives Grace and Guards the Nation (��������; feng en zhen guo gong), simplified as ''Duke who Guards the Nation'' (�����; zhen guo gong) is the first subgrade of National Dukes (����; gu�� g��ng), a title granted only to members of the imperial clan. The rank of National Duke (����; gu�� g��ng) was higher than ''Commoner'' Duke (��; m��n g��ng)'' which often simplified as ''Duke'', but lower than a king (��; w��ng). (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [12] Dong Zhuo (-192), top general of late Han, usurped power in 189, murdered empress dowager and child emperor, killed in 192 by L�� Bu. Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher, later warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi, the main villain of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms.


    [13] ''your heart must be put to death'' (���Ŀ���) is a chengyu which essentially means that a person is worthy of punishment due to having prepared a premeditated plan/intention, even if that plan wasn''t carried out. Basically, it means that the premeditated intent, in and of itself, is sufficient to condemn someone as guilty. In this specific instance, Kangxi is saying that Wei Xiaobao''s preparation of an escape route for himself, in and of itself, was sufficient to condemn him as being guilty, even if it was never used (which he now was). (Courtesy of Ren Wo Xing)


    [14] Imperial Consort, ''gui fei'', I believe it refers to Yang Guifei; she and Xi Shi were two of the four legendary beauties of ancient China.


    [15] From the dictionary: ''Five Tiger Generals'' was an allusion to the Romance of the Three Kingdom''s five great generals under Liu Bei''s command, i.e. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao and Huang Zhong.


    [16] Yue Fei (1103-1142), Song dynasty patriot and general. Qin Hui (1090-1155), Song dynasty official who betrayed Yue Fei.


    [17] Jinmen �C Kinmen or Quemoy Islands off Fujian coast; Xiamen or Amoy, sub provincial city in Fujian.


    [18] Green standard army �C standing infantry during Qing Dynasty; originally formed from Ming and other Chinese army units.


    [19] Yan Zi Ling (ca. 40 BC to ca. 40 AD) is one of the most famous examples of a scholar who declined public life in favour of honourable reclusion. Around the year 14 AD, Yan studied at the state academy in Changan. He was then about 40, having spent a number of years in retirement, together with other honorable men, in the Shaoxing area, due to the turmoil that took place while the usurper Wang Mang was in power (6-23). At the academy Yan met Liu Xiu, who later ruled as the Han dynasty Guang Wu emperor. Although Liu Xiu was then about 20 years younger than Yan, they became very close friends, and several stories attest to their strong personal relationship. When Liu Xiu became emperor he was able to persuade Yan Zi Ling to visit him in the capital, but he could not persuade him to take office. Instead Yan went into retirement again, this time in a secluded spot up the Fu Chun River about 100 km. southwest of Hangzhou, spending his time enjoying nature. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [20] Commandant of Fleet-as-Clouds Cavalry was the eighth in order of precedence out of nine grades of the peerage awarded for valor, achievement and distinction. It was not divided into subclasses unlike the top seven. It was equivalent to a fifth rank position in the nine ranks system. It was also a rough equivalent of Companion or Commander of a chivalric order. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [21] Mount Ding Jun �C referring to Battle of Mount Ding Jun �C Romance of the Three Kingdoms.


    [22] Li Kui is a fictional character in the Outlaws of the Marsh. He ranks 22nd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed Black Whirlwind. Li Kui is one of the most memorable characters in Outlaws of the Marsh, often ridiculed and used for comedic effect. He represents both a light and dark side of the outlaws. His exploits with Taoist Luo and his journeys with Yan Qing represent the most humorous side of the novel. He is perhaps the most controversial character in the story. Often depicted as reckless, violent and cannibalistic, he kills indiscriminately whenever his blood lust is aroused. Men from even his own combat unit were sometimes afraid to go near him during battle. At the behest of Song Jiang and Wu Yong, he once killed a four-year-old child to force Zhu Tong to become an outlaw. Taoist Luo nonetheless describes Li Kui as a Heavenly Spirit sent to Earth to destroy the wicked. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [23] Niu Gao was a very capable general under Yue Fei. He is sent to relieve Ou Yang Pass which is besieged by a powerful Jurchen army. After he routs the besiegers, the garrison commander offers him his sister-in-law as wife. The woman is also an expert in martial skills, so on their wedding night the husband and wife engage in a friendly duel in their bedchamber. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [24] Daji (c. 11th century BC), mythical fox spirit and concubine of the last Shang Dynasty Emperor Zhou Xin.


    [25] L�� Shang, ancestral name Jiang (��), clan name L�� (��), given name Shang (��), and style name Ziya (����). Also known by various titles including Jiang Tai Gong (Grand Duke Jiang), Tai Gong Wang, and Shang Fu (Father Shang). The last ruler of the Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang (16th - 11th century BC) was a tyrannical and debauched slave owner who spent his days carousing with his favorite concubine Daji and mercilessly executing or punishing upright officials and all others who objected to his ways. After faithfully serving the Shang court for approximately twenty years, Jiang came to find King Zhou insufferable, and feigned madness in order to escape court life and the ruler''s power. Jiang was an expert in military affairs and hoped that someday someone would call on him to help overthrow the king. Jiang disappeared, only to resurface in the Zhou countryside at the apocryphal age of seventy-two, when he was recruited by King Wen of Zhou and became instrumental in Zhou affairs. It is said that, while in exile, he continued to wait placidly, fishing in a tributary of the Wei River (near today''s Xi''an) using a barbless hook or even no hook at all, on the theory that the fish would come to him of their own volition when they were ready. (Wikipedia)


    [26] Chief Commandant of Light Chariots was the sixth in order of precedence out of nine grades of the peerage awarded for valour, achievement and distinction. It was divided into three subclasses. It was equivalent to a third rank position in the nine ranks system. It was also the rough equivalent to a Knight Grand Cross of a chivalric order. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [27] pu luo min zhe cheng [�������ڳ�] is currently called ''chi kan lou'' [����¥ �C Chihkan Tower], a tourist attraction. It was built by the Dutch and known as Provintia then. It was used as gunpowder storage at the time of Koxinga. (Courtesy of Chowbeng)


    [28] Ci Xing �C bestowed surname (emperor conferring favor on ethnic group). Guoxing Ye itself means ''Lord of the Imperial Surname''.


    [29] Xi Shi was a famous beauty given by King Gou Jian of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu. The character ''Xi'' of Xi Shi means ''west''. Subsequently, ''Dong'', ''Nan'', ''Bei'' and ''Zhong'' are ''east'', ''south'', ''north'' and ''middle'', respectively.


    [30] Hanlin''s Zhuangyuan refers to the top scorer in the examination administered by Hanlin Imperial Academy.


    ׬�ö�ͯ���濴,��ӧО�����޶�.


    ��������������,�����˸�����.


    ة�����㹤ӵ��,����ԾԾٲ��̳.


    ��ū����������,������������� (Courtesy of Ren Wo Xing)


    [32] Shashlyk (literally ''skewing meat'') is a form of Shish kebab popular throughout the former Soviet Union, parts of Eastern Europe, Mongolia, Iran and Israel. Shashlyk is originally lamb (in some extent pork or beef) depending on local preferences and religious observances. These skewers of meat are either all meat, all fat, or alternating pieces of meat, fat, and vegetables such as bell pepper, onion and tomato. Meat for shashlyk (as opposed to other forms of shish kebab) is usually marinated overnight in a high-acidity marinade like vinegar, dry wine or sour fruit/vegetable juice with the addition of herbs and spices. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [33] Latin �C ''la ding''; pulling able-bodied men (capable of fighting in a war) �C ''la zhuang ding''. ''La ding'' itself can mean ''kidnaping and forcing people into service''.


    [34] Both are prince: Qinwang - Prince of the Blood or Prince of the First Rank. Granted solely to direct male-line descendants of an emperor, with the only known exception was Wu San Gui. Junwang - Prince a Commandery or Prince of the Second Rank. Wu San Gui (previously), Geng Jing Zhong, Shang Ke Xi and Zheng Jing were of this rank. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [35]The original expedition to the west during Genghis''s reign indeed consisted of 2 tumen (a tumen is a division of 10,000 men). The tumen were commanded by Jebe (Guo Jing''s teacher) and Subedei. Jebe was dead by the time Ogedei decided on a full-scale invasion of the west, but Subedei was still alive, and he was the chief subordinate commander under Batu (Jochi''s son). After a couple of crushing victories over European armies, the campaign was cut short by news of Ogedei''s death, which necessitated the return of Batu and other members of Genghis''s family to elect a new leader. After the election of Guyuk, Ogedei''s son, much of Batu''s forces were stripped from him, and he was obliged to reorganize his conquests rather than further them. What is now western Russia was organized into vassal states under Batu''s Golden Khanate. (Courtesy of Pannonian)


    [36] From the dictionary: Guo Moruo (1892-1978), writer, communist party intellectual and cultural apparatchik.


    [38] Fengyang flower-drum: folk art involving singing and dancing.


    [39]Waiting for the Dawn (���Ĵ��L�; Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu) was a summary of ideas about political reform that had been advanced by various scholars since the reign of Wan Li (1573�C1619). The political tract begins with a condemnation of selfish autocratic rule, and declares that the world should belong to the people.


    The third and fifth section of the work, "On Laws" and "Schools", respectively, are particularly famous. In the former, Huang declares that all laws and regulatory bodies should be an outgrowth of local needs, not imposed by leaders with a political agenda. In the latter, he advocates using the education system as a semiofficial forum for educated opinion on public affairs.


    In the sixth and seventh sections of the work, entitled "Selecting Good Men", Huang also lays out his ideas for reform of the Imperial examination system. In later sections, he discusses equitable distribution of landholdings, the division between men of civil and military background, fiscal reform, and the problem of eunuch power during the Ming dynasty. (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [40] Han Xin (-196BC), famous general of first Han emperor Liu Bang.


    [41] Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was the self-proclaimed title of the Monkey King Sun Wukong (Journey to the West).


    [42] Eight Characters of Birth Time or the Four Pillars of Destiny is conceptual term that describes the four components creating a person''s destiny or fate. The four components within the moment of birth are year, month, day, and hour. It is called B��Z�� (����), Eight Characters, because each of the four pillars (representing the year, month, day, and hour of one''s birth respectively) is represented by two characters; one character for a Heavenly Stem and one character for an Earthly Branch. There are 10 Heavenly Stems (���; Ti��nG��n) and 12 Earthly Branches (��֧; D��Zh��). (Courtesy of Ace High)


    [43] The Southern Study (Chinese: N��nsh��f��ng, �ϕ���) was an institution that held the highest policy-making power after its establishment in 1677. It was abolished in 1898. The Southern Study was built by Kang Xi in the south-western corner of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Members of the Hanlin Academy, selected on the basis of literary merit, were posted to the Study so that the Emperor had easy access to them when he sought counsel or discussion. When posted to the Study, officials were known as ''[having] access to the Southern Study'' (�ϕ�������). Because of their proximity to the Emperor, official posted to the Study became highly influential to the Emperor. After the establishment of the Grand Council, the Southern Study remained an important institution but lost its policy advisory role. Officials regarded secondment to the Southern Study as an honorable recognition of their literary achievements. In Chinese, the term ''access to the Southern Study'' in modern usage indicates a person who, through channels other than formal government office, has significant influence over leaders of the government. (Courtesy of Ace High)