A head appeared above the tunnel, while below, falling into despair and the bottom of the abyss, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, met face to face with the head bending down to look inquiringly. Six eyes met, they were all stunned.
The man was dumbstruck, he struggled hard to speak, “Laotianye! How did you suddenly burrow out of a hole?”
Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan you looked at me I gazed at you, suddenly they bent down in laughter; one after another they sat down on the stone steps, they were choked with tears of joy of being lost and was found.
The one extending his head was precisely Cheng Yaojin, only to hear him shouting loudly, “Er lang men [boys, guys], go back to your posts, it’s none of your business here.”
And then turning to the two men, he said, “Do I need to grab you firmly and pull you, these two kids out before you are willing to speak? What’s so funny? Ha!” Just like that, he sat down at the tunnel entrance.
Ba Fenghan struggled hard to stop laughing, gasping for breath, he said, “I understand! In the past, Yang Su was wallowing in the mire with Yang Guang, intending to plot a rebellion, because Taizi [the crown prince] was Yang Yong and not Yang Guang, so Yang Guang lived in Yeting Palace. Making an exit in Yang Guang’s territory naturally was not difficult.”
Xu Ziling suppressed his laughter until his belly ache; raising his head, he asked Cheng Yaojin, “Wait until Qin Wang arrives, Xiaodi will explain, I guarantee that you, LaoGe will be satisfied, we still need to check the other exit, remember not to let any idle person to see this tunnel entrance.”
Ba Fenghan asked, “Which corner of Yeting Palace is this?”
Bewildered, Cheng Yaojin replied, “Corner? Oh Laotian! This is the big plaza in front of the main palace hall of the Tian Ce Gong [Heavenly Policy Palace]!”
No past, no future, no beginning, no end! Kou Zhong’s spirit was completely focused on the moment before his eyes, so much so that he forgot why he was sitting on the man, the saber, the heaven, and the earth combined into an infinitely small and unboundedly large at the same time – whole entity, where victory or defeat no longer existed in it.
The saber was no longer a saber, but an inseparable part of heaven, earth, and man. He sensed that from an angle that was beyond man and saber, he completely grasped, not one thread was overlooked – the changes of Fu Cailin’s Yi Jian. The sword circle was gradually expanding in an imperceptible manner, the sword qi was subtly increasing circle by circle.
The moment his Moon in the Well pierced the core of the sword circle, he clearly knew that the sword circle would change from large to small, the palm’s accumulated-to-the-peak sword qi would gather together at the flash-of-lightning, sparks-from-the-flint high speed, and the Moon in the Well would still be unable to touch the tip of the Yi Jian, what he hit would only be the astonishing sword qi that his own power would not be able to resist.
Since the fight started, this was the first time that he grasped Fu Cailin’s move.
Kou Zhong laughed aloud, life turned to death, the saber momentum, which originally once released would not go back, changed at the last moment, it was pulled back.
Suddenly, the sword light flared greatly, under the pull of qi intention, the green light in Fu Cailin’s hand rose dramatically, it crossed over the smoke from the incense burner filling the air, the Yi Jian emitted a string of rings of qi, one by one, from small to big, encasing the sword blade, following the Yi Jian pushing forward, like the pearls spat out of rings of qi, from small to big, toward him. As long as he was hit by any ring of qi, undoubtedly he, Kou Zhong would immediately die, no Bu Si Yin Fa would be of any use, even if Shi Zhixuan was sitting in his place, he would be unable to create another kind of situation.
This move was beyond Kou Zhong’s expectations, which made him know that he still had not been able to fully see-through Fu Cailin’s startling-the-heaven-shocking-the-earth Yijian method [note: yijian fa (method/law), instead of yijian shu (technique)], however, from passive, he had changed to active, because Fu Cailin was, true from any points of view, taken by his exceeding-all-expectations move, pulling the defense and transforming it to offense, so he had no choice but to attack.
Death turned into life. At the snap-of-the-fingers high speed, the Moon in the Well was pierced through full of true qi again. At the same time, Kou Zhong launched the skill of reversing true qi that he kept at the bottom of his chest. The Moon in the Well, as it was alive, like it was a spirited object, sprang up to the air, and then hacked down with all his strength.
Saber blade was everywhere, one by one the rings of qi shattered, turning into a violent blow that turned over and rolled out to both sides, the Moon in the Well’s blade swiftly took the tip of the Yi Jian.
When it looked like the tip of the sword was about to be hit, the Yi Jian suddenly extinguished the fire behind the incense burner, and then the incense burner expanded in front of him and directly knocked the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhong’s hand. Unexpectedly Fu Cailin pulled the sword back and picked up the incense burner, which weighed about fifty jin [catties], forcing Kou Zhong to leave his seat.
Kou Zhong maintained the downward slash momentum, but already changed the angle, the straight chop became an oblique slash. He hacked toward the empty air to the left of the table’s edge, about a cun away from touching the front of the table. The Moon in the Well swept across the table, while staying close to the tabletop, creating a formless saber qi, striking back at Fu Cailin from the bottom of the stove. If the opponent ignored him, the extended saber qi would swipe through the opponent’s chest, which was no different from being swept by the Moon in the Well itself. Even if Fu Cailin’s body was protected by his true qi, it would not be able to withstand it.
Although Kou Zhong was unable to see through the changes in Fu Cailin’s sword moves, Fu Cailin also began to fail to grasp his saber method. The reason was because Kou Zhong successfully entered the forgetting-saber realm Song Que was talking about.
The incense burner changed from knocking forward to rising upwards. Once this obstacle, which was both a buffer, as well as the key to victory or defeat, the space between the two men suddenly opened up, everything became clear and understandable.
The Yi Jian exploded into ten million dots of light, covering the tabletop. Kou Zhong’s attacking saber qi immediately disappeared without a trace. But Kou Zhong no longer had the disheartened feeling of helplessly had to give up halfway of his saber move being chased, because he had already forced Fu Cailin to change his move for the second time.
Kou Zhong closed his pair of eyes, he accurately calculated the final position of the incense burner as it flew up, and the time it took for the incense burner to fall back to the table before reaching the top of the pavilion. The saber followed the intention, the intention followed the saber, the heart and the intention blended together, no intention, no saber. The Moon in the Well created a perfect saber circle in the void above the table, the vortex of qi power accumulated to the limit was released through the saber, directly hitting Fu Cailin’s sword qi at its peak, like fishing a needle from the sea, seeking the sword qi that could really put him to death from within the empty and the real.
‘Bang!’
Kou Zhong’s entire body shook violently, he staggered back and almost fell to the back of his seat. Instead of alarmed, he was inwardly delighted, knowing that Fu Cailin, this person of foresight on the battlefield, was forced not to have any method not to take his body-intention’s wonder move, the result of him tempering himself under Song Que’s personal guidance – head on. Although saber and sword still had no substantial contact, there was not the slightest bit of difference from a real clash between the saber and the sword. The Moon in the Well’s saber qi already locked the Yi Jian tightly.
Revived and awakened by him, Kou Zhong, the Moon in the Well turned into an intelligent rare object, which was finally able to sense the changes of the Yi Jian.
Fu Cailin’s imposing body trembled slightly, he shouted in a low voice, “Good saber method!”
The bright dots of light filling the air disappeared, the intersecting sword, following the mother earth’s principle to the fullest, curved and struck from the tabletop and the right side, and the sword qi completely enveloped Kou Zhong.
At this time, the incense burner had just reached the limit of its rising momentum and was falling back to the table. From this, the rapid speed of the two men’s crossing swords could be easily imagined.
Fu Cailin’s move was simply unstoppable. The only way to neutralize it was not to brandish the saber to block, but the Moon in the Well had to shoot straight, to die in such a way that the other side also perished, forcing Fu Cailin to retract the sword to defend himself.
Kou Zhong was completely in the dark as to why the situation suddenly turned like this. He only knew that the Yijian Technique was indeed a consummate skill without any equal, inside the solid returned the empty, the empty thus transformed into solid, a swordsmanship that transcended the mortal world. If he blocked the attack head-on, he might be able to hold out for a while, but the initiative, which he snatched back after suffering untold hardships, would be grasped in the opponent’s hands again, and Fu Cailin would never hand over the initiative one more time. In less than three moves, he would definitely be defeated and dispersed.
Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong left his seat and rolled backward, he flipped over down the pavilion steps until reaching the lawn before he sprang up again.
The incense burner, without making any noise, landed in the middle of the table, the agarwood rising up in spirals.
The Yi Jian returned to its original state, lying flat on the table.
Fu Cailin stared at him without blinking.
Kou Zhong casually tossed the Moon in the Well aside, hanging his hands down and standing respectfully, he said, “Shigong only need to say the word, I, Kou Zhong, will immediately kill myself.”
Fu Cailin spoke flatly, “Why did you give up your only chance? Relying on your Long-Life Qi, plus your youth and strength, you may be injured but will not die.”
Kou Zhong spoke in deject, “How could I hurt the enshi [benevolent master] that Niang respected and admired the most? It’s finish! Shigong, please deal with the offender.”
Fu Cailin rose up to his full height, put his hands behind his back, strolled down the pavilion, walked towards Kou Zhong, passed by his side, continued behind and to Kou Zhong’s right side, stood still, looked up to the starry sky, let out a deep sigh, and said, “Junchuo really did not misjudge you. Kou Zhong, you even did not disappoint Ol’ Fu. Only a person of great benevolence and great courage can have this kind of disregarding-self behavior like you. I hope that the Central Earth can really be as you said, a friendly nation that lives in harmony forever with my Gaoli. You may leave!”
Kou Zhong turned around like a whirlwind, he spoke in great delight, “Thank you, Shigong!”
Fu Cailin turned around, his face was covered in tears, but his pair of eyes flashed with divine brilliance; he spoke softly, “All my life Shigong has been pursuing beautiful things, but can only admire and taste it with the attitude of a bystander. This is precisely the essence of Yi Jian, and now it has been passed down to you entirely on behalf of Junchuo. Go! Attend to your affairs well, whether life is beautiful or ugly, it will be decided entirely by your original heart.”
Kou Zhong thought of Fu Junchuo, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart, without saying a word he knelt down, heavily knocked his head on the ground three times, retrieved the Moon in the Well and its scabbard, and left silently.
Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, “Another secret passage unexpectedly links up the secret passage that runs through Yin Mansion and the Imperial Palace, separated only by a living door; this is really unexpected.”
Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Ma Chang, four men separately sat on comparatively lower stone steps, while Cheng Yaojin was in charge of strengthening the defense around this area.
Ma Chang said. “No wonder there are rumors that obtaining the treasure house is just like obtaining the world, for Yang Su and Yang Guang at that time, the treasure house could greatly increase their chances of a successful mutiny. Later, they did not need to do this because Yang Guang had another method to kill Yang Yong and Yang Jian, and ascended to the throne.”
Their voices echoed and reverberated inside the spacious room where the stone steps reached the ground, which made people feel the connection of time and space, reminiscent of the violent you die, I live struggle inside the Sui Palace in the past.
Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, “In that case, Yang Guang ought to know the Duke Yang’s Treasure-house secret. Based on his style of work, how could he not take out the gold, silver, wealth and white towels in the treasure-house to provide him the means to support his extravagant life?”
Li Shimin sat comfortably on the stone steps one level higher, he smiled and said, “Yang Su had deep plans and distant thoughts [idiom: to plan far ahead], how could he not guard against Yang Guang, who was repeatedly being unreliable? That muddleheaded ruler only knew about the underground passage connecting the Yeting Palace and the secret passage into the palace, he was totally oblivious of the other secret passage leading to the huge underground treasure house.”
Ba Fenghan said, “This is called Heaven never bars one’s way, it can also be viewed as Heaven helps me. How are we going to take advantage of it?”
Xu Ziling laughed and said, “In this regard, Shimin Xiong is more adept than us.”
Unwilling to pass on his responsibilities to others, Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, “Until this moment, this is the first time that I feel that everything is within my grasp. I have a preliminary idea; when Kou Zhong returns, I will discuss it with him in details.”
Xu Ziling said, “Due to Shimin Xiong’s familiarity with Chang’an, you are more qualified to draw up new plans than Kou Zhong. There is not much time now. Shimin Xiong, please immediately move an army and send a general according to plan.”
Li Shimin said, “Because the opponent’s strength is far above ours, the only way for us to win is to use concentrated to deal with the scattered, we are focused, the enemies divided, we will catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzi’s ‘The Art of War’]. Our original concept was your side attacking the Yin Mansion first, to gain control over the secret passage into the palace, launching a surprise attack on the imperial study room via the secret passage, obtain the tiger tally, and put the palace city under control, and then engage the Changlin Army in a head-on battle at the Xuanwu Gate to decide victory and defeat. But it appears that this plan is no longer necessary, plus we won’t need to take risks like this.”
After a short pause, he continued, “First of all, we have to know clearly the situation of the tunnel into the palace.”
Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, “The secret passage is the only shortcut to enter the palace, it is also what the alliance of the various factions of the demonic school is relying on to seize power. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, no one will enter the secret passage to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake, and create unexpected changes. Because even Yin Zuwen himself does not I know whether Lingzun, in such danger-lurks-on-every-side situation, would send his men to monitor or patrol the tunnel.”
Ba Fenghan said, “I wonder if Jiancheng and Yuanji know about the existence of the secret passage?”
Li Shimin said, “I tend to believe that they are as ignorant as I was, and Yin Zuwen would not happily tell them.”
Xu Ziling pondered, “For Lingzun, the Yin Mansion’s exit can only be opened from the inside, so he should not be worried or pay attention to it. On the demonic school’s side, other than Shi Zhixuan, I am afraid only Wanwan would have the ability to open the mechanism across the cover.”
Ma Chang spoke happily, “If we play a bit of trick to lock the opening mechanism, the enemy will not be able to enter the tunnel, they might even think that it is a special measure of the imperial palace during this unusual period. When we want to attack the Yin Mansion, we could remove that barrier.”
Li Shimin sized Ma Chang up and down, he praised, “Good plan!”
And then he spoke with serious expression, “Our plan consists of three steps. The first step is to control the Palace City, the second step is surprise attack on the Yin Mansion, and the third step is the decisive battle of Xuanwu Gate. In every operation, we must put together an all-out effort. Kou Zhong and I will personally participate; using with the most elite power, we strike and destroy the other side one by one.”
Ma Chang said, “What about the troops under my command? As I see it, the enemy will launch military offensive at us by daybreak.”
Li Shimin said, “Lin Shihong’s men ought to be stationed outside the city, so that we have one less misgiving. Besides, Yuanji will definitely not let Fuhuang know that he and Lin Shihong are colluding in secret, hence it is impossible for Lin Shihong’s men to sneak into Chang’an before the city gate opens.”
Hou Xibai said, “About dealing with our three-thousand-man army, do you think they will have Liu Hongji and Yin Kaishan to be in charge?”
Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, “Huanghe Bang is a local gang and society whose source is distant and the flow is long [idiom: with a long history], the troops stationed in Chang’an City are linked in countless ways to them, any unusual mobilization will surely arouse Huanghe Bang’s vigilance, therefore, Fuhuang may mobilize the imperial guards in the palace, hence this aspect is not difficult to deal with. We just need to suddenly break up the whole into pieces and disperse to various parts of the city. After receiving the order, we will openly attack the Yin Mansion. With internal and external cooperation, we will first rout the remnants of the demonic school, and thus only the battle of the Xuanwu Gate remains.”
Ma Chang nodded and said, “We accept the order!”
Li Shimin’s pair of eyes flashing brightly, he spoke in heavy voice, “If the first step is successful, we obtain the military order’s dragon tally and the tiger tally, I am confident that I can order the Imperial Guard, to recall the army that is dispatched to the imperial palace to deal with us. After Liu Hongji obtain the military tally, Yin Kaishan’s allotted share will only be bowing his head and obeying the order, and then we can mobilize our main forces to mount surprise attack on Lin Shihong’s hidden troops outside the city.”
Ba Fenghan sighed in praise and said, “No wonder in Luoyang we had to suffer a big loss from you, Qin Wang. Indeed Qin Wang’s thought is meticulous, you calculate and scheme without omission.”
Li Shimin spoke awkwardly, “I have committed many offenses in the past. Fenghan Xiong Daren, please be magnanimous, don’t take offense.”
Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “How could I have the time to blame you now? I really wish tomorrow would come early.”
Li Shimin said, “Why wait until tomorrow? When Kou Zhong returns, we will immediately enter the palace and go into hiding one step ahead, hence our strength is exquisite rather than relying on numbers. On our side, other than Shimin, there will be Jingde and Wuji, that should be enough. On your side, you have Shaoshuai, Ziling, Fenghan, and Xibai, the others will still be hiding in the tunnel, and only come out to suppress the overall situation when summoned.”
Stretching his limbs, Ba Fenghan said, “As long as Kou Zhong can come back alive, tomorrow’s victory will belong to us.”
Two young maids, carrying lanterns, stood on the head of the Xingmu [apricot wood] Bridge. Shang Xiufang, wearing pure white Gaoli women attire, stood on the bridge, leaning against the railing. Under the illumination of the starry night, she looked like a blooming flower.
Kou Zhong’s mind was completely attracted by her, but he was also a little surprised. After returning the salute to the pretty maids’ half bowing to offer him a blessing, the three steps became two steps, he came to Shang Xiufang’s tender body’s side, an emotion that was difficult to put into words emerged from the bottom of his heart, he called in low voice, “Xiufang!”
Shang Xiufang turned her tender body around, smiling sweetly, she said, “Xiufang already guessed that Shaoshuai and Fu Dashi would have a satisfactory ending. There is nothing that Shaoshuai cannot do.”
Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, “On the contrary, it’s all thanks to Shigong showing pity, Xiaodi barely passed the test.”
Shang Xiufang blissfully said, “In a word, if you can pass the test, then that’s good. Fu Dashi is a person of supreme wisdom; he ought to understand that you, Kou Zhong, are a good person!”
Kou Zhong was just about to speak, Shang Xiufang leaned toward his ear and spoke softly, “Tomorrow night, zi hour [11pm – 1am], renjia [I] will be waiting for you here, I hope the stars will still be as beautiful as tonight.”
A burst of tender laughter, carrying along fragrant wind, escaped away from his side.
Kou Zhong turned his head to look at her infinitely elegant and touching figure from behind, under the illumination of the lantern in the two maids’ hands, lightly and gracefully she disappeared around the corner of the corridor; he could not help feeling disappointed and frustrated as if he was lost.
Ay! What situation would it be like tomorrow night? Would he still have his life to come and see her?
It was quite a while later that he cleared up his mind and continued on his journey. He has not stepped out of the outer gate of Ling Yan Pavilion, a military general came out to meet him, and respectfully said, “Fu Tong [Vice Commander] Xiao Rang paying his respect to Shaoshuai.” While speaking, using his body as a cover, he took out a folded note from his bosom and handed it to him.
Without saying anything further, Kou Zhong took it, and using the fastest technique put it into his pocket to hide it well.
Xiao Rang spoke in low voice, “It was Chang He Tong [commander] who sent me to hand it over to Shaoshuai.” Then he raised his voice and said, “Mojiang received Huangshang’s sacred orders to respectfully take Shaoshuai back to Yeting Palace.”
Kou Zhong felt the secret letter in his bosom, his heart was calm, knowing that Chang He had made the decision to stand on his side; he was even more amazed that Chang He possessed great magical power in the palace. He laughed and said, “Huangshang is too courteous; Fu Tong, please!”
Xiao Rang bowed and said, “Shaoshuai, please move your great self.”
Kou Zhong no longer modestly declined. Striding forward with head high, he stepped out of the courtyard gate. Four elite Dark Armored warriors coming with him immediately lighted their lanterns to illuminate ahead and behind him to show the way.
Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, but did not see Li Xiaogong. The imperial guards at the gate saluted in chorus.
Noble aspirations bubbled up in his heart and mind, Kou Zhong secretly made the determination that tomorrow night he must come back alive to meet the appointment with the beautiful woman [the word here is jiaren – fine person], definitely he must not make her broken-hearted and lose hope.
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