Legend of Great Tang’s Twin Dragons

Xu Xingzhi pulled him into an empty side room and calmly said, “Kou Ye must not leave right now, otherwise you won’t have any hope to strive for the world.”

Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, “How could I be the man who shrink back as the time for battle approaches? It’s just that I am fully aware that if I do something that must not be done, I will only deliver our three little lives in vain.”

Xu Xingzhi pondered for a moment; he spoke heavily, “Right now the situation is indeed very strange, on the surface it appears that we are holding the upper hand. But looking at the enemy’s movement, they seem to be calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, as if they have a card up their sleeve. What do Dugu Feng and Yang Dong have that they still appear secure, as if they have a strong backing, in facing our superior military power?”

Kou Zhong was shaken. “You are right,” he said, “If what they are thinking is assassination, success or failure is still unknown; could it be that Li Mi’s main force has already arrived and are lying down in ambush, in preparation to launch coordinated attack into the city from inside and outside?”

Xu Xingzhi laughed and said, “If that’s the case, Yang Dong and Dugu Feng are big idiots; while driving tiger at the front door, they allow the wolf to enter from the back door.”

Kou Zhong thought hard, “So what kind of game are they playing?” he mused.

Xu Xingzhi’s eyes were gleaming with intelligent light; he spoke in low voice, “This is called ‘pushing self to reach others’. The reason we have fear in our heart is all because we cannot see through the enemy’s unusual situation. On the other hand, the reason the enemy appears as if they have something to rely on, it ought to be because they are holding the pearl of wisdom concerning our real situation; they know us like the back of their hand, hence they are not afraid of us.”

Kou Zhong’s countenance changed, “Are you suggesting that there is a spy amongst us? Have you warned Wang Shichong?”

Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, “This is purely speculation. Considering I am a new comer, and that there are many people who are jealous of me, how could I recklessly speak it out without strong evidence?”

Slightly out of his depth, Kou Zhong asked, “So what do we do now?”

Xu Xingzhi did not answer, but asked him instead, “Huang Gongcuo has arrived for many days; how come there is no sound of activity at all?”

Frowning, Kou Zhong replied, “He must be waiting for fortunate timing.”

Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, “Cannot seize the initiative, how could wise person like Shen Luoyan exist? This has confirmed my suspicions, which is the enemy is clearly aware of our plan to lure them into the trap tomorrow night, hence they are prepared to beat us at our game, and seize the opportunity to attack and kill Wang Shichong, and then we will be finished for real.”

Kou Zhong sucked a deep breath and said, “I get it! Supposing by tomorrow night we still cannot identify the spy, we must cancel Wang Shichong’s attending the party. And then we are going full strength to attack the Imperial Palace, and recover the previous standoff against Li Mi; only then will be leave the city. What will happen later, let Wang Shichong rely on his good luck.”

And then he shook and said, “Oh, no! Wouldn’t that mean the spy is aware about Zhai Jiao?”

“Kou Ye, don’t worry,” Xu Xingzhi calmly said, “Shen Luoyan will not beat the grass to scare the snake before the successful assassination of Wang Shichong. Therefore, as long as Kou Ye makes proper arrangement by tomorrow night, I guarantee nothing bad will happen.”

Kou Zhong spoke with determination, “I am going to look for some help from the Qingshe Bang [green snake gang], and notify Zhai Jiao. You go back inside, or else people might be suspicious.”

“Kou Ye, please be careful,” Xu Xingzhi whispered.

Finished speaking he rushed back into the hall, while Kou Zhong urged his horse to gallop out of town.

※ ※ ※

Xu Xingzhi turned into the Heavenly Street. Looking for Kou Zhong in the midst the vast crowd, he had a slightly depressed feeling.

The matter between Susu and Xiang Yushan was a terrible mistake, they even had a child together; no how formidable he and Kou Zhong were, they did not have the strength to reverse the rotation of the sky.

He has never had good impression toward Yun Yuzhen, and now he detested her even more, and was feeling very low.

A fickle woman will always be fickle, she will never change.

Kou Zhong and he had never wronged her, but time and again, using the most despicable means, she plotted against them, and even implicated the innocent Susu.

At the bottom of it all, it all started from Li Jing having a change of heart.

Without realizing it, he had reached the top of the Tianjin Bridge.

Leaning against the railings, Xu Ziling peered down into the Luo River, in total disregard of the bustling atmosphere behind him, with vehicle, horses and pedestrians moving in steady stream.

He was debating whether he should go back to Baling immediately to check on Susu, but deep in his heart he was rather scared of going back. With contradicting thoughts in his mind, he really wanted to look up to the sky and cry his heart out, to wash away the depression and grief.

Why are there so many people in the world who bite the one that feeds them? Whether it was Xiang Yushan or Yun Yuzhen, they have both received favor from them without any enmity.

This is called ‘I don’t offend people, but people offend me’. Actually, Kou Zhong’s desire to take the initiative to strike first to contend over the world was not entirely unfounded. Presently it was clear that power was everything; there was practically no room for virtue and reason.

At this time, suddenly someone appeared next to him, and together they looked down into the Luo River. This person spoke in gentle voice, “Why does Xu Xiong worry about things that are hard to solve, so that your countenance is filled with grief and indignation?”

Just from the fragrant scent emanating from her immortal body, Xu Ziling knew that she was the simple and elegant as an immortal Shi Feixuan. This peerless beauty was still dressed in men’s clothing; no words can be used to describe her scholarly elegance.

Without turning his head and look at her, Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, “I now understand why people leave their home [to become Buddhist monk/nun]. Because all living things suffer, once we are drawn into this world, it is impossible to unravel, the only way out is death. Only by cutting off the worldly affairs would we see that the four elements are vanity [idiom: this world is an illusion]. But currently Xiaodi’s feet are deep in the mire; I wanted to stop, but I can’t.”

Shi Feixuan’s jade countenance did not show the slightest bit of emotion; she spoke indifferently, “Would Xu Xiong be willing to listen to Feixuan’s story?”

Xu Ziling remained silent.

Shi Feixuan smoothly said, “Cold mountain because of white cloud, silence by no means because of dust of the earth. There was a house on a grassy mountain, a lone lantern bright as the full moon. Stone bed overlooking green jade pond, deer and tiger live side by side. Envious of serene and happy residence, forever become a person outside of this world.”

Her voice gentle and beautiful like the sound of nature, her intonation melodious like the sound of music, softly recited in this busy downtown, the poem carried an incomparable inspiration.

Poetry and literature constantly stirred up Xu Ziling’s mental association, for instance cold mountain and white cloud, lone lantern and bright moon; just because they came from her fragrant lips, they seemed to carry new meanings, some kind of imagery that came out of this secular world and into a realm that transcended the secular world. It was such a breathtakingly beautiful perception.

Although the two people’s gaze have not met, but because they were both focused on the endlessly flowing river underneath, there was a subtle connection between them.

Meanwhile the sun was sinking down, bathing the empty sky west of the city red with its twilight.

Xu Ziling muttered, “That does not sound like a story!”

A faint smile escaped from the corner of Shi Feixuan’s lips; she spoke indifferently, “It was only the prelude of the story, meant to set Xu Xiong’s state of mind to listen to the story. Otherwise, it would be like playing the lute to a cow, wasting my words.”

Xu Ziling suddenly changed the subject, “Is there really such thing as afterlife retribution?”

Shi Feixuan replied, “Since Xu Xiong is not someone who cares about material things, why do you care about such matter like secular people?”

Xu Ziling was jolted and turned his gaze to her. “You seem to know me very well!” he spoke in amazement.

Shi Feixuan did not respond, neither did she meet his gaze; she kept her beautiful eyes on the flowing water down below.

The outline of her face viewed from the side was breathtakingly beautiful, ethereal like the essence of the heaven and the earth coming true, and everything came together in the perfect line of the profile of her face.

Although there were hundred knots of worry in Xu Ziling’s intestines, he could not help feeling deeply attracted to her, as if in the midst of miserable world where the fire of war filled the whole sky, he was trying to find the Peach Blossom Spring, a hidden land of peace and prosperity to escape this mortal world.

Shi Feixuan did not seem to be bothered by his admiring stare less than two chi away; her jade countenance was as calm as still water. She spoke softly, “Someone was asking a monk, ‘Heshang [Buddhist monk] cultivate the way, is it hard?’ The monk replied, ‘It’s hard.’ The man asked again, ‘In what way?’ The monk replied, ‘Hunger came, eat, weary came, sleep.’ Thereupon the asking man was surprised, ‘Since that is the case, then it is the same as not hard?’ he asked. The monk replied, ‘Of course not the same. When it’s time to eat, they are unwilling to eat, but think of a hundred thoughts, plot a thousand schemes. Therefore, it is not the same.’”

And then her limpid, bright and deep eyes looked up to meet his gaze. “Is this story interesting?” she asked softly.

Xu Ziling looked deep into her eyes. Sensing her untainted-by-even-a-speck-of-dust tranquil frame of mind, he nodded and said, “Miss’ story contains a very deep meaning, but the primary condition is that one must extricate oneself completely from the miserable world of other people; only then will one attain this kind of no-desire, no-demand realm, and will be able to probe the question of human existence. This will be the extreme state of liberation and freedom, similar to Zhuang Zhou [same as Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), Daoist author] and Laozi’s [Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism] natural Daoist doctrine of inaction, the original pursuit of nothingness. But unless one can sever worldly affair like Miss, how can one reach the no-emotion state?”

A look of astonishment flashed across Shi Feixuan’s pretty eyes, but she quickly reverted to her serenity, as she spoke gently, “Xu Xiong is indeed a man with great wisdom and knowledge, no wonder you are able to grasp the Secret to Long Life’s key principle, and penetrate the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s secret, which had been buried throughout all ages. Xu Xiong’s question just now not only recognized the true knowledge of reality, it is also enough to reach ‘the way’. Would Xu Xiong like to hear another story?”

Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, “Right now I am practically not in the mood to listen to any story, but Miss’ story is too pleasant to listen to, so it’s hard for me to extricate myself, hence my body have no choice but to follow its master to listen with respectful attention.”

Shi Feixuan turned her gaze away, back toward the flowing water below. She looked at a small boat carrying a family of men, women, young and old, gradually sailing away under the red clouds glowing in the setting sun.

Xu Ziling followed her gaze. His fluctuating mood gradually calmed down.

The high-volume traffic behind them was slowly thinning down, the noise was also diminishing somewhat.

The Tianjin Bridge was a must-see attraction for visitors to Luoyang City, so two people standing side by side leaning on the railings were commonly seen; it would not attract attention at all.

It was only this moment that Xu Ziling remembered that Shi Feixuan saw him today, and suddenly made her immortal track known, there must be a reason that he himself did not understand yet.

Shi Feixuan’s voice entered his ears, “There is an immortal elder from the Taoist family starting up a furnace to perfect his dan [red/pellet/powder/cinnabar; no idea what it is]. Everything was prepared; the only thing missing was a Daotong [Taoist servant boy] to keep watch the furnace.”

Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, “I thought Miss is going to tell another Buddhist story.”

Shi Feixuan smiled and said, “Buddhism, Taoism, what’s the difference? Just like you and I, we are both human beings!”

Xu Ziling was puzzled, “Everybody is different, or else why would you be Shi Feixuan and I am called Xu Ziling?”

Shi Feixuan calmly replied, “Since mind is Buddha, then without mind there is no Buddha. Since if it is not mind then it is not Buddha, then it is also a non-entity. Human is human, self is merely the screen that hinders, so that eating does not feel like eating!” [Sorry, it’s beyond me.]

It was only today that Xu Ziling came in contact with a Dhyana [Zen] Master. Both Liao Kong and Shi Feixuan, on the surface their words were simple and easy to understand, but hidden deep inside was always profound mystery that was difficult to understand. Without any choice he said humbly, “I will have to think about it. Miss, please continue your story, I won’t interrupt anymore!”

※ ※ ※

After entrusting his horse to the care of the House of Dong Restaurant’s stable, Kou Zhong continued his journey on foot toward the Qingshe Bang’s headquarter located at the pier.

Because he was afraid of being followed and thus his relationship with Ren En was discovered, he left the main street and unleashed his footwork by suddenly dashed toward a side ally, and suddenly darted through houses and passed the buildings, and employed all kinds of anti-tracking method to make sure that nobody was tailing him, before finally flying toward the destination at full speed.

Under the dimming light of the setting sun, the continuous interaction of the buildings and the trees and greeneries, as well as the ubiquitous towering roof of the temples and pagodas, painted a wonderful silhouette against the sky. Too bad Kou Zhong was turning a blind eye to everything; in his mind right now was how to have Zhai Jiao and the others to evade a fatal disaster.

Kou Zhong avoided the main gate and opted to somersault down from the roof. He had not touched the ground when his countenance underwent a great change.

※ ※ ※

Neither fast nor slow, Shi Feixuan spoke evenly, “Finally someone came to apply for the job as the Daotong who would keep watch of the furnace. The Daozhang [Taoist priest] said, ‘If you can try not to speak from now on, then you can be may Daotong. Are you willing to try?’ The man resolutely nodded. And then the sky spun, the earth went around, he fell into countless lifetimes and reincarnated over and over again. But whether in riches and honor, or poor and lowly, being a king, marquis, general minister, or being a peddler and carrier, he was able to persevere not to talk. Each time from the time he was born till the time he died, he became a mute who did not speak a single word.”

Listening to her, there was a deep frown on Xu Ziling’s eyebrows. This story had an immortal way, mysterious, strange, even weird, flavor; but he was unclear whether it had something to do with the topic of their discussion just now.

Shi Feixuan went on, “Finally, in a certain lifetime he became a woman, got married and bore a child. Who would have thought that after her child was born, before he was even a month old, a thief came?”

Xu Ziling’s curiosity was piqued, “What did she do?” he asked in astonishment.

Shi Feixuan said, “The thief killed her husband before her eyes, and humiliated her, but she still persevered not to make any noise, until finally the thief was going to throw the infant to the ground, she at last forgot her recurring distant purpose, and cried out wildly to stop the thief.”

Xu Ziling’s tiger-body shook severely. He understood.

Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, “Thereupon he woke up from the recurring distant past, and found out that he was still standing in the Dan room; nothing has changed, except for the hot tears on his face. The immortal elder sighed and said, ‘Forget it! You still cannot sever the love between mother and child.’”

And then she spoke softly, “Kou Zhong is here! Feixuan takes my leave.”

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat on the slope of River Luo’s dike, approximately on the same spot they sat this morning, but their mood was totally different. Kou Zhong was surprisingly calm and collected; he spoke in low voice, “I am positive the perpetrator is only one person, but within the Qingshe Bang headquarter, twenty-five people, not a single one escaped. It is clear that the movement was fast, ruthless, and accurate; at least Wanwan’s caliber. But certainly not committed by Yin Gui Pai people.”

Xu Ziling’s heart was swelling with blazing thought of revenge for Qingshe Bang’s Gang Leader Ren En and his men, but his voice was very calm and even as he spoke indifferently, “How could you be so sure?”

Kou Zhong hatefully said, “Because from the bodies and the condition of their injury, it does not look like it was caused by Tianmo Gong. On the surface, Ren En and the others did not have the slightest bit of scar or bruises, but their five viscera [i.e. heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys] were crushed. Evidently it was some kind of softness within the hardness; an extremely overbearing splitting-the-air fist or palm.”

Sucking a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, “Although Ren En and the others’ martial art skill could not be considered superior, but if I wanted to kill all of them without letting anyone escaping out of the headquarter building, I am afraid it’s not possible. Hence this person’s martial art skill must be above ours. In Jianghu, this kind martial art masters can be counted on one’s fingers. Who could it be?”

At this time, the curtain of night was just beginning to descend on them; the lights and lanterns were starting to be lit. Compared with their grey, dark and dull frame of mind, this kind of prosperity and flourishing atmosphere seemed to carry a thick, callous mocking.

Kou Zhong dejectedly said, “Honestly, at that time I really wanted to cry loudly, to wash away the grief and pain in my heart. But I knew I absolutely couldn’t do that; instead, I must even more determine to strike back. Right now all I can think of is the tragic scene of their bodies scattered around the headquarters; can you analyze it for me?”

Naturally Xu Ziling’s mood could not be better than his; quite probably it was even worse. After taking a deep breath, he said, “First of all, how did the other party know our relationship with Qingshe Bang? What benefit would it give him by destroying the Qingshe Bang? Why must this person acted alone? If we can figure out one of these points, we could make speculation as which party did this.”

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “The highest in our suspect list ought to be Yin Gui Pai, but always felt it was not their handiwork.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “I agree, it shouldn’t be Yin Gui Pai. If the perpetrator is connected to one of the local gangs or societies in Luoyang, it should be very easy to discover that these last couple of days Qingshe Bang was running around on our behalf. Yet after losing Luoyang Bang, Yin Gui Pai is like losing their intelligence network. Therefore, the highest in our list should be the Dugu Clan. But come to think about it, something is not quite right.”

And then he narrated how Shen Luoyan was implicating them on the death of Dugu Ba.

Although Kou Zhong was full of hatred that his teeth itched, he shook his head emphatically and said, “Dugu Clan has already had a card up their sleeve, they can’t possibly risk great scheme for not able to tolerate small matter. Because after tomorrow night, they will be able to do whatever they want; could it be that they cannot wait for a day and a half?”

So he told Xu Ziling about their suspicion that there was a mole within Wang Shichong’s party.

Xu Ziling also told him the intelligence supplied by Tongtong, but for the time being he concealed the fact that YunYuzhen betrayed Susu, because he did not want to over-complicate Kou Zhong; he also did not mention that Shi Feixuan was coming to speak to him.

The two boys racked their brains for half a day, but everything was still hazy without the least bit of clue. Distressed, Kou Zhong said, “What should we do? I was originally thinking of asking Ren En to send a letter to Zhai Jiao, telling her to watch for Li Mi. But now, who could help me?”

Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, “I just thought about someone who might do this evil scheme.”

Dumbstruck, Kou Zhong said, “What does it have to do with sending a letter to Zhai Jiao?”

Xu Ziling’s eyes were flashing with intense murderous aura; he spoke in heavy voice, “Tell me, besides you, who would know where Zhai Jiao is?”

Kou Zhong replied, “Such an important matter, how could I easily tell anybody?”

“All right!” Xu Ziling said, “Tell me then, supposing you did not know about the mole, when you see Ren En and more than twenty of his men were tragically massacred, what would be your reaction now?”

Kou Zhong started to understand; gnashing his teeth in hatred he said, “This plot is indeed too vicious. I would definitely remind everybody who helped me, overtly or covertly, to raise their vigilance. If this person really know the secret relationship between us and Ren En like the back of his hand, then I am afraid Zhai Jiao would not escape disaster either.”

Xu Ziling slapped his thigh and said, “That is indeed the crucial point of this matter, plus it is logical. You have probably asked Wang Shichong to get in touch with Zhai Jiao for you, and that would leak out her hiding place. Tell me, who would plot actively to kill Zhai Jiao like this?”

Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day; finally he cursed and said, “Shen Luoyan, that poniang, is really worse than a dog or a pig; otherwise, how could she just happened to come here to warn you, while there were dead people on that side? The executioner must be Huang Gongcuo, that kind of thousand-blade dead old demon. After getting rid of Zhai Jiao, this calamity within his bosom, her boss would hereafter be able to sleep peacefully.”

And then he frowned and said, “But your speculation is at most only 90% accurate. If I simply go down to inform Zhai Jiao wouldn’t Shen Luoyan only be beating the grass to scare the snake?”

Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, “Don’t deceive yourself! We care about Zhai Jiao’s safety too much, so we would try everything to warn her. Shen Luoyan understands us really well.”

And then he coldly added, “If we can beat someone at his own game, we could definitely lure the main culprit out of his hiding place.”

Kou Zhong shook his head and said, “Wang Shichong is the real number one target of Shen Luoyan. But I can make a diversion so that she would completely miss Zhai Jiao’s real hiding place.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “You can employ the ‘repair the plank road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River at Chenchang’ stratagem [refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang in 206 BC against Xiang Yu of Chu]. Overtly you go through Wang Shichong, covertly we’ll ask Bu Tianzhi to prepare everything.”

“I completely forgot my appointment with Bu Tianzhi,” Kou Zhong blurted out, “Hey! How come you suddenly mentioned his name and not Yun Yuzhen? From the beginning I did not trust this woman.”

Xu Ziling pulled him up and said, “We’ll talk as we walk! Right now you go back to Wang Shichong, ask him to make funeral arrangement for Ren Bangzhu and his men; I will contact Bu Tianzhi. Now without you persuading me, I am going to make every effort to deal with Li Mi.”

Kou Zhong said in low voice, “If we cannot fine the mole, even if you are willing to help me, we will lose this battle for sure.”

Xu Ziling was quiet for half a day. Finally he said, “In that case you and I go together to see Bu Tianzhi, and then go see Wang Shichong later!”