On his bed inside the bedroom in the west wing where he slept, Kou Zhong was awakened by the approaching sound of footsteps; struggling to open his eyes, he noticed the sky was bright the sun was white, but after several nights without any sleep, he still felt that he did not get enough sleep.
Shuwen’s voice called from outside the door, “Kou Ye! Shaoshuai!”
Wrapping himself inside the quilt, Kou Zhong sat up and said with a frown, “What is it?”
Shuwen pushed the door and stepped in; looking a little nervous, he said, “Ke Dazhi of Tujue is waiting to see Kou Ye in the south hall.”
Imdiately Kou Zhong’s spirit was aroused, musing that this kid was so belligerent, coming this early in the morning to fight with him? “Where’s Ling Shao?” he asked.
Shuwen replied, “Xu Ye just went out; he said that when Shaoshuai wakes up to wait for him a mont, he will co back to have breakfast with you.”
Kou Zhong laughed and cursed, “Good kid! He pays more attention to a lover than friends, early in the morning he already abandoned , this good brother of his.”
Promptly he got up and freshened up, grabbed the Moon in the Well and went out to see Ke Dazhi.
Ke Dazhi, with the Sandstorm Saber hanging on his waist, was standing proudly facing the window, enjoying the scenery of the round woods in the middle of the courtyard with blank expression on his face, but Kou Zhong dared to say that he had a heavy load on his mind, since he was looking but not seeing.
Coming behind him, Kou Zhong followed the propriety by greeting him, “Ke Xiong, how are you?”
Ke Dazhi slowly turned around. His gaze fell on the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhong’s hand. His pair of eyes emitted sharp expression, he said, “Shaoshuai’s Moon in the Well, not only you nad it well, it is also a treasured saber rarely found in the world. I wonder if you’d let Xiaodi admiring it?”
Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong handed the Moon in the Well forward. Ke Dazhi reached out to grab the saber hilt and pulled the blade out of its scabbard. Slashing it three tis horizontally, he spoke in astonishnt, “Really strange! How co this saber only emit faint yellow light in Shaoshuai’s hand?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong replied, “I’m afraid you’d have to ask Laotianye for that.”
The two looked at each other, and then burst into laughter at the sa ti.
Ke Dazhi gladly put the Moon in the Well back into its sheath and watched as Kou Zhong put the treasured saber on a small table by his side. “Ziling Xiong has not woken up yet?” he asked.
Kou Zhong grumbled, “I don’t know where that kid got lost early in the morning? I am striking the gongs and beating the drums looking for him as well [orig. to order the arrest of sobody as criminal].”
His remark made Ke Dazhi laugh; he said in sincerity, “Not only Shaoshuai is an enemy worthy of my respect, you are also an interesting friend. Until now, I still cherish the mont in Chang’an where Shaoshuai and I raised our wine cup and had a heart-to-heart chat.”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “I’m okay with not receiving your, LaoGe’s kind of respect; who’d be more active than you to get rid of ?”
Stunned, Ke Dazhi blurted out laughing and said, “Shaoshuai is really forthcoming. But I am coming to you today as an interesting friend, completely without any intention to move the weapons of war.”
Astonished, Kou Zhong replied, “I was wondering about that, because right now you don’t respect too much, you don’t regard as an enemy. Ha!”
The murderous intent in Ke Dazhi’s pair of eyes flared greatly, it flickered brightly, as he spoke heavily, “I want to cooperate with you to do sothing interesting, which is to slaughter that kid, Liexia.”
After staring blankly for a mont, Kou Zhong looked him up and down in surprise, and asked, “In this kind of thing, based on the Sandstorm Saber in your, LaoGe’s hand, why do you still need to ask for soone else’s help?”
Ke Dazhi dejectedly replied, “The problem is that we must not let Xiufang Dajia know about this. Otherwise, I would have to pack my food and leave before finish eating.”
The fierce light in Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes burst forth, he asked, “What happened last night?”
Ke Dazhi sighed and said, “Although it’s not like what Shaoshuai is thinking, but it’s not far from that! Xiufang Dajia spent the entire night with that kid, who is covered in demonic qi from head to foot – studying the musical score; he did not leave until morning. Humph! Liexia has the impertinence not to consider , Ke Dazhi in his eyes, I am definitely going to have him nurse a grievance.”
Shaken, Kou Zhong asked, “They haven’t done anything, have they?”
Ke Dazhi assured him, “I can guarantee that they were only researching the musical score. If he dared to touch half a finger of Xiufang Dajia, I would have disregarded everything to charge inside and chop his stinky head.”
And then he asked, “How did you know him? Liexia is a rising figure in the prairie in recent years, he loves to pick the flowers and trample the grass [idiom: to womanize] all over the place, he doesn’t care about anybody, but he really has a skill or two.”
“I ca across him in Hualin,” Kou Zhong explained, “He entangled us to have a al with him. Does Ke Xiong know that he is one of the Five Bright Sons of the Da Ming Zun Jiao? Not that I am elevating his resolve, but killing him will not be easy at all. One thing goes wrong and we fail to kill him, he would lodge accusation to Shang Xiufang, then we will be in trouble!”
Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, “I am having a headache for this. Whatever the case, we must never let Xiufang Dajia be broken-hearted. Do you, Laoxiong have any idea how to do it neatly and cleanly?”
Turning over an old account, Kou Zhong said, “You ought to understand by now my angry mood that day when I advised you not to touch Sha Zhijing?”
Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, “The fact was that when you, Laoxiong warned , inwardly I already decided not to touch Sha Zhijing anymore. Not because I was afraid of your revenge, but because I respect you, I see you as a qualified opponent.”
Kou Zhong’s animosity toward Ke Dazhi was greatly reduced. He laughed aloud and said, “That’s more like it. His granny’s bear, how are we going to get rid of Liexia without the gods knowing, the ghosts perceiving, and afterwards Shang Xiufang will not suspect us, at best she will only suspect Old Ba and Ling Shao doing it? Ha! By doing it this way, we seem to be lacking elegance, giving up the affairs of the heart [qing chang] and take the battlefield [zhan chang] to score a victory.”
Ke Dazhi coldly said, “This is called one is called a king if successful, but will be called a bandit if defeated [idiom: losers are always in the wrong]. That kid has quite a skill toward won. I am most afraid that he would use so despicable trick to obtain Xiufang Dajia’s body and mind. When that happens, it would be too late to talk about elegance!”
Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Ke Xiong is very persuasive. I wonder if you’d dare to have a free hand – once we do it, we won’t rest, we might as well pull Da Ming Zun Jiao by the roots.”
Ke Dazhi’s pair of sharp eyes lit up, he said, “If Shaoshuai has a good proposal, Ol’ Ke will definitely keep you company.”
Kou Zhong said, “For the ti being, I can only think of three ways to deal with that kid.”
Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, “Unexpectedly there are as many as three. Shaoshuai really makes Xiaodi pleased beyond my expectations.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “Before we go further, Xiaodi has two things I’d like to understand thoroughly.”
Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, “What two things?”
Kou Zhong raised a finger and said, “The first thing is how do you know I am hiding in here? Xiaodi was extrely careful in coming and going.”
Ke Dazhi replied, “What’s the use of being careful? How big is Longquan? It was Zong Xianghua who told .”
Scratching his head, Kou Zhong repeated, “Zong Xianghua?”
Ke Dazhi explained patiently, “Zong Xianghua is the captain of the female sword warriors under Bai Ziting’s command, which was the pretty Mohe woman by Xiufang Dajia’s side last night.”
As if he had just found a treasure, Kou Zhong blurted out, “Turns out her na is Zong Xianghua; she is indeed a very outstanding beauty.”
Ke Dazhi nodded and said, “Very few won have such long legs; even in Tujue, they are rarely seen.”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “I wonder if we can be considered kindred spirit, or is it partners in notoriety? When it cos to won, I no longer feel like you are my enemy.”
Ke Dazhi laughed in spite of himself; he said, “Either one is all right. But I heard that Bai Ziting and Zong Xianghua are having an affair in the dark, hence the reason Zong Xianghua never give any ti to other n. What is the second thing you want to know?”
Kou Zhong leaned over and deliberately lowered his voice, “I wonder if you, this kid, cannot help but fall in love with Shang Xiufang?”
Xu Ziling t with Yin Xianhe in a restaurant near the south gate. The restaurant was noisy, it was crowded to bursting point with diners. In this kind of environnt, the proud and aloof above the crowd Yin Xianhe appeared even more out of place.
The two talked in a corner. Yin Xianhe said, “Beyond my expectation, after leaving Du Xing’s horse and mule shop at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard alone, Xu Kaishan went straight to a magnificent residence on the west side of the city to spend the night. The entire night he did not leave the residence half a step. Before I ca here, he was still there.”
Xu Ziling was at a loss. If he were really a Da Ming Zun Jiao man, there was no reason not to look for Sha Fang and the others to discuss the situation. Unless there was a secret passage in the residence, from which he could sneak out anywhere.
Yin Xianhe said, “Is Xu Xiong thinking that there is a secret passage in the residence leading soplace else? That possibility is not high at all. Not to conceal anything from Xu Xiong, in shadowing and tracking, I have quite an insight. Last night, not even movents underground can escape my eyes and ears. If he left via the tunnel, he shouldn’t be able to hide it from . Moreover, I found out that the magnificent residence belongs to Longquan’s famous courtesan Hui Shen; it should not have anything to do with Da Ming Zun Jiao.”
Xu Ziling felt quite lost; montarily he was unable to figure out what kind of person Xu Kaishan really was.
“I have a proposal,” Yin Xianhe said.
Xu Ziling cheerfully said, “Die Gongzi [young master butterfly], please bestow your instruction.”
Yin Xianhe said, “I understand that Xu Xiong is afraid to accuse Xu Kaishan wrongly, but toward the real murderer, you are free and unfettered to lay out your net, am I right?”
Xu Ziling nodded in agreent.
Yin Xianhe said, “As long as we can find the wolf-bandits, then it is possible to find out whether the mastermind behind them is Xu Kaishan. It would be better for us to temporarily let Xu Kaishan and Du Xing off, and concentrate our power to investigate and arrest the wolf-bandits; it will be prescribing the right dicine for an illness [idiom: to take appropriate steps].”
Being reminded by him, Xu Ziling was happy, “Good idea,” he said, “I now have 90% confidence that the wolf-bandits are Bai Ziting’s n, but the problem is that no one has ever seen Cui Wang’s true face; how are we going to find him out?”
Laughing coldly, Yin Xianhe said, “Supposing Cui Wang is really Bai Ziting’s man, this mont that the founding of the kingdom is at hand, even if Cui Wang is not in Longquan, he ought to be nearby. This matter is indeed inexplicable; Cui Wang and everybody who was killed in Yin Ma Yi are all Huihe people, Cui Wang himself is surely also a Huihe. How could a Huihe be willing to throw his life in for a Mohe?”
Xu Ziling’s heart was moved. He explained the location of the big mansion hidden deep in the valley outside the city, and then said, “That place is quite demonic, perhaps the wolf-bandits are hiding in there; otherwise, a large number of Huihe people appearing in Longquan will provoke other people’s suspicion.”
“That is a clue,” Yin Xianhe said, “I don’t believe that Cui Wang can hide forever.”
Xu Ziling said, “If you find anything, you must never act alone. You ought to consider us as your brothers.”
Yin Xianhe revealed a hint of rarely-appeared smile on his face, “Brothers?” he said, “That word is extrely novel to . Don’t worry! If I make any discovery, I will inform Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong first.”
After discussing all the details pertaining to their operation, the two went their separate ways.
Xu Ziling took the opportunity to go to the south gate. He scanned the city walls with his eyes, and finally found so secret mark that Duan Yucheng left on the trunk of a big tree, which was made using a sharp blade, indicating the ti and place to et.
Xu Ziling erased the secret mark and left in a hurry.
Ke Dazhi was pacing back and forth in the hall, before he finally sat down dejectedly on the chair. Motioning Kou Zhong to sit next to him, he shook his head and said with a wry smile, “Your question is even more difficult to block than your Moon in the Well. That day, when I received the order to escort Xiufang Dajia to Longquan, I made the decision in my heart that even if I had to pay with my life, I would definitely not allow Xiufang Dajia to receive any harm, because that would be my lifelong regret. You believe , then it’s good; you don’t believe , I don’t care, but I never had improper thought toward Xiufang Dajia, although toward her art and talent I prostrate myself in admiration. Ay! Xiaodi is not a man who keeps himself pure at all; in fact, I am quite loose. However, when I saw her, my heart only has esteem, admiration, and respect. Therefore, I cannot stand soone from the outside like Liexia get close to her, because he simply is not fit at all.”
Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, “I believe you. Because you are that kind of a person who is haughty and see anybody else as nothing, and you disdain to tell an untruth.”
Ke Dazhi stared blankly at him for half a day. Finally he spoke slowly, “Thanks a lot! I did not expect you to understand so well.”
And then he said, “I haven’t figured out why Shaoshuai ca to Longquan.”
Kou Zhong explained the wolf-bandits and the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin affair, and then he said with a laugh, “Your Great Khan is dying to eat my flesh and drink my blood, yet you, LaoGe ca to cooperate with . Aren’t you afraid Great Khan might not be happy?”
Ke Dazhi calmly said, “When the general is on the outside, the monarch’s order may not be received. My mission is to protect Xiufang Dajia well, who’d dare to bla ? In the future, if I et Shaoshuai on the battlefield, I will definitely not show any rcy.”
“Likewise!” Kou Zhong responded.
The two looked at each other and burst into loud laughter together.
Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, “All my three thods may not be too surefire, Ke Xiong must not laugh at . The first useless thod is when the two of us are accompanying Xiufang Dajia, we have Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling make their move to kill Liexia, then you and I can push the bla away, neat and clean.”
Frowning, Ke Dazhi said, “Don’t get wrong or think that I am making fun of you, but when Xiufang Dajia find out that it was Ba Xiong and Xu Xiong who made their move, how could you get away from responsibility?”
“Hence the reason I said this is not too surefire,” Kou Zhong said, “But it’s not without any rit either. As long as no one knew it was Old Ba and Ling Shao, then it would work. The biggest problem is that Liexia, this kid appears and disappears unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, it’s not easy find him within a given ti, while letting people know what ti he was to be slaughtered.”
Ke Dazhi said, “If I cannot take that kid’s dog life with my own hands, it would be a great pity.”
Kou Zhong said, “Then we won’t choose this thod. Ay! I am afraid you won’t even want to hear the second thod, I might as well jump to the third thod.”
“Why not just tell ?” Ke Dazhi cut him off.
Kou Zhong said, “The second thod is precisely , Laozi put him in order, while you are not involved at all, you even pretend that you and Xiaodi cannot exist together, then Xiufang Dajia will never doubt that you, Ke Dazhi have anything to do with it at all.”
Finished speaking, he sighed inwardly; if he did that, then it would be akin to make a clean break [orig. two segnts with a single cut] with Shang Xiufang, and henceforth he could only face a falling out with her.
Ke Dazhi shook his head and said, “How can this work? How about the third thod?”
Kou Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He said, “The third thod is we are doing it in a big way. We attack Da Ming Zun Jiao people until they suffer a crushing defeat, forcing Liexia to undertake the task to strike back at us. We pretend we are under pressure and have no choice but to kill him. Xiufang Dajia shouldn’t be able to bla us.”
Ke Dazhi was muttering to himself irresolutely for a mont, and then he nodded and said, “This can be considered a viable solution. But if we kill Da Ming Zun Jiao people indiscriminately, plus until now Da Ming Zun Jiao has never committed any noticeable evil conducts, it will appear that our action is inexcusable. What brilliant sche does Shaoshuai have?”
“Leave this matter to ,” Kou Zhong said, “You will be in charge of monitoring Liexia well, don’t give him any opportunity to be alone with Xiufang Dajia. Tonight we’ll et again for another discussion.”
Ke Dazhi smiled and said, “Now my mood is a lot better! In Longquan, I also have a bit of influence. If there’s sothing need to be done, Shaoshuai please don’t hesitate to tell . I, Ke Dazhi can use my Sandstorm Saber as a guarantee that I will definitely not ss up Shaoshuai’s affairs.”
Kou Zhong got up to walk him off the door, he spoke cheerfully, “If there’s sothing that I need you, LaoGe to make your move, I will definitely not be polite.”
Ke Dazhi had just gotten on the horse and left, Song Shidao’s good-self arrived and said, “That thing that you entrusted with, I made a bit of progress.”
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