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With serene expression Xu Ziling steered the boat using the oar that he took from the other boat. His scimitar-shaped eyebrows were deeply knitted.

Sitting on the bow, wearing bamboo hat and woven rush raincoat, Ba Fenghan swept his gaze across the residential buildings lining up the stream on both sides, and then he said, “What’s on your mind? Are you wondering why Shen Luoyan wanted to kill Dugu Ba?”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “Shen Luoyan has always regarded Li Mi’s business more important than her own; therefore, she should not have harmed Dugu Clan’s man when Li Mi’s just about to join hands with the Dugu Clan. But this is just one among other things that I don’t understand.”

Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ba Fenghan said, “If we could figure out clearly how Shen Luoyan followed Dugu Ba to this place, or perhaps how she gathered intelligence beforehand that she lay an ambush here, so that her revenge happened easily, then we can make a rough guess of what’s going on.”

Without even thinking, Xu Ziling replied, “Without a doubt she must be lying in ambush earlier; otherwise, how did she know that Qu Ao is not inside?”

Ba Fenghan said, “Shen Luoyan must have monitored that house for some time; it’s possible that she saw Qu Ao leaving, and perhaps she even followed him to the address she gave us, moreover, she even knew for certain that that is Yin Gui Pai’s secret nest, hence she was able to offer us this information. But how could she have such a bad intention that she wanted to borrow our hands to deal with Qu Ao?”

After a short pause, he went on, “She took advantage of the situation to kill Dugu Ba, probably it was for two reasons: business and private. Just for the fact that Dugu Ba was secretly coming to meet with the Tieles, it is obvious that the Dugu Clan has a deep apprehension toward Li Mi, so their cooperation with Li Mi to deal with Wang Shichong is just temporary expedient. Ideally, they ought to kill Wang Shichong and his cronies, then they could take over the power over the military. Otherwise, if they let Li Mi acquire the Eastern Capital, their Dugu Clan won’t have good days to pass.”

Xu Ziling asked, “Since Qu Ao was out, whom did Dugu Ba want to see?”

Ba Fenghan replied, “Maybe he did not know Qu Ao was out. Or perhaps Chang Shumou or other important figures are inside, waiting for him. But my guess is that currently the house is empty, at most there are only people with low-level martial art skill staying behind to take care of things. Even the last two people with superior martial art skill, Hua Lingzi and Genggehu’er had just left. Otherwise the sound of our fighting would have alerted the martial art masters inside the house.”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “Things are really complicated, making people unable to figure out why Shen Luoyan was following Qu Ao and why he did not detect it. Ah! I understand now; it must be the Two Malevolent of Changbai brothers. Their martial art skill is high, and they are experts in tracking.”

The two men’s four eyes met each other.

“What do you think?” Ba Fenghan said, “Qu Ao is having a secret meeting with Zhu Yuyan. We have two choices: one is waiting for Qu Ao to leave and we have a fierce battle with him, the other choice is quietly ascertain the strength and foundation of Yin Gui Pai’s secret nest, and then think of a way to find out news about your Yu Yi.”

Xu Ziling suddenly asked, “What kind of relationship is there between you and Shen Luoyan?”

Slightly startled, Ba Fenghan said, “What does it have to do with our current situation?”

Nonchalantly, Xu Ziling said, “I am just considering whether this is another trap Shen Luoyan is laying before us.”

Fully alert, Ba Fenghan looked carefully at the medium sized cargo boat sailing ahead of them; he replied, “One time she invited me to join Li Mi, to become secret assassin for them, naturally with generous rewards. But I flatly refused. Afterwards we still spent a whole day traveling together. I can’t deny that she is indeed a quite attractive woman.”

Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, “But her loyalty to Li Mi certainly prevails over other things, which is why I do not trust her at all. Li Mi’s Duke of Pushan Decree to hunt and kill Zhong Shao and me is definitely not a joke. Now we have become a thorn by Li Mi’s side.”

“What you said is not without a reason,” Ba Fenghan said, “Therefore, we have to split up; you go to rendezvous with Kou Zhong, I will step onto the plate to see if it really is a trap.”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “Aren’t you taking too much risk? Provoking Zhu Yuyan and perhaps Wanwan, plus Tiele people, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi would find it hard to escape.”

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “I am going to adopt the ‘watching-the-fires-burning-across-the-river’ style to watch from a distance; I won’t foolishly charge in to throw away my life. As long as Shen Luoyan is not deceiving us, I am sure I will find clues [orig. spider’s thread and horse track].”

And then, laughing, he said, “Let’s go ashore!”

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong rushed toward the Luo River dike opposite the Tianjian Bridge. By the time he arrived, Xu Ziling had been waiting for about half a sichen.

As soon as he jumped onto the boat, Xu Ziling immediately pulled the oar.

Looking around, Kou Zhong said, “I’ve done everything to throw off anybody who wanted to follow me. Uh! Where did you steal this boat from?”

Xu Ziling laughed and said, “Originally it was stolen, but later on it will turn into an ingot of gold business profit. With our title of Double Dragons, and this boat as our means of transportation, anybody could forget about following us.”

Receiving the bamboo rain hat and woven rush raincoat Xu Ziling handed him, Kou Zhong spoke happily, “You are well prepared! Where did Old Ba go? Ay! Dong Shuni, that poniang [reminder: b!tch, derogatory term for woman], is really lying to me.”

He was about to explain, someone flew from the riverbank toward their boat.

The two boys jumped in fright; who’d dare to be this reckless, using only two fists to deal with the two boys’ four?

Even Zhu Yuyan, she would think again and again before attacking them on such a wide river and on a small boat like this.

Upon closer look, they saw that the incoming was unexpectedly Song Shidao, who, according to Song Yuzhi, has returned to the south. Only because he was wearing bamboo rain hat that they did not immediately recognize him.

Carrying the wind and the rain with him, this passionate young master landed in the middle of the boat, and said happily, “It’s so difficult to find you, plus I was afraid somebody might see me making contact with you, so I followed Xiao Zhong from the Imperial City all the way here, and only then did I dare to meet with you.”

Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, “Your tracking skill is indeed not bad.”

Astounded, Xu Ziling asked, “Didn’t Er Gongzi return to the south?”

Song Shidao replied indifferently, “Junchuo’s Shimei is in trouble, how could I keep my hands inside my sleeve and do nothing?”

Swinging the oar, Xu Ziling turned the boat to the left and sped up along the road.

Song Shidao went on, “About Junyu, I have a bit of clue.”

The two boys were amazed; they conducted open inquiries and secret search, yet still failed to find the least bit of information. Song Shidao only found out about this matter last night, how could he succeed so quickly?

Song Shidao was an astute man; seeing the two boys’ incredulous expression, he explained, “Our Song Clan has already had close relationship with several comparably smaller gangs and societies around here. One of them has a fire-and-water relationship with Luoyang Bang; hence they watch closely Shangguan Long’s activities all the time. It was precisely because they followed Shangguan Long’s trail that I was able to gain this precious information.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s spirit was greatly aroused.

Song Shidao exhaled slowly, as if he was sorting out the information in his brain. After half a day, he slowly said, “Five days ago, Shangguan Long rode out of town, unaccompanied. It was already dark when he was spotted going back into the city. Behind him was a dust-strewn carriage with its curtain down. Among the four riders accompanying the carriage, two were women, both with gauzed cloth covering their faces; looks like they were traveling furtively. The carriage finally stopped inside a courtyard at Yong Tong Lane by the Yi River in the southeast corner of the city. Shangguan Long stayed there overnight and only left the following morning.”

Moving the oar to steer the boat, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, “We must find Ba Fenghan immediately. I am so sure that inside the house that Shen Luoyan pointed out, the one waiting is not Qu Ao, but that fellow Nanhai Xian Weng [immortal elderly man of the South Sea, first mention was Book 12 Chapter 10] Huang Gongcuo.”

It was the first time that Kou Zhong heard about this. He was confused, but he understood that Song Shidao has indirectly uncovered another plot of Shen Luoyan’s.

※ ※ ※

Stepping out of an alley into the main street, Ba Fenghan pulled his hat lower and walked swiftly with his head hung low.

Although there was no lack of pedestrians on the street, due to the increasing intensity of the rain, everybody was hurrying along; rarely would anybody pay any attention to another passer-by.

The address Shen Luoyan gave them was Cheng Fu Lane, north of Xinzhong Bridge, but he deliberately made a long detour to see if anybody was trailing him.

Trailing other people in this kind of weather was not easy at all, but the difficulty in detecting whether some people were trailing him also increased significantly.

Although his innate character was proud and conceited, he actually held Xu Ziling’s ability and wisdom in very high regard.

If Xu Ziling said that Shen Luoyan was having a bad intention, he must have a very strong reason.

Although Ba Fenghan knew that it might be a trap, he did not have the slightest fear in his heart.

After the group of horse thieves with whom he trained to maturity was wiped out, he became a lone wolf, with foes all over the place; hence he was used to deal with all sorts of ‘crafty plots and machinations’.

Right this moment, he suddenly stopped.

The pitter-patter of the rain falling continuously on his bamboo hat was crisp, resounding, and rhythmic.

Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing, in men’s clothing, stepped down from a carriage, and, holding an umbrella in her hand, she coldly looked at him from about twenty paces ahead.

Ba Fenghan nearly turned around and walked away, but after a moment’s hesitation, he walked toward this beauty.

Very soon he was standing face-to-face with her. The familiar scent emanated from her body brought forth myriads of memories in him.

Shan Wanjing sighed gently, her frosty jade-countenance thawed, replaced by extremely bitter expression, as she spoke softly, “Would you accompany Wanjing walking for a couple of steps?”

Ba Fenghan nodded slightly; he took the lead by stepping out first, and said, “Did you come across me here by chance? Or did you hear the news and come here?”

“Who has the ability to follow you and does not get detected by you?” Shan Wanjing replied, “It’s just a coincidence! I was going to no longer care about your affair, but Laotianye [Heaven/God] loves to play jokes on people, and had me here to come across you.”

Ba Fenghan cast a sideways glance toward Shan Wanjing, who was walking on his right, and then quickly turned his eyes forward. Raindrops were sliding down her umbrella, dripping onto his bamboo rain hat and his already-drenched broad shoulder, making him feel that there was some kind of strange but subtle relationship between the two of them.

Shan Wanjing spoke in low voice, “I’ve just seen Shimin. He wanted to have a nice talk with you, looking at the possibility of peaceful settlement of the problem between you and him.” [Translator’s note: so far, the ‘you’ Shan Wanjing was referring to was plural.]

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “I, Ba Fenghan, have never conducted myself by looking at somebody else’s face. If he wants to talk, we will have to see whether Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are interested to talk!”

Shan Wanjing sighed and said, “I don’t want to argue with you; once is enough. But I want to remind you one thing: Shimin has martial art masters under his command like a cloud, it’s just he always maintains a low-profile, he can’t possibly let others find out his real strength for no reason!”

Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, “I have just met Li Shentong; can he be considered one of those masters?”

Shan Wanjing said, “What do you think about Zhangsun Wuji[1] and Yuchi Jingde? You should have heard their names?”

Ba Fenghan shivered slightly in his heart; these two were of the new generation of martial art masters, they had outstanding reputation in the north. Although they could not be compared to him, who was the focus of ten-thousand people’s attention, yet they could be considered powerful young martial art masters. Unexpectedly they realigned their allegiance to Li Shimin.

Shan Wanjing went on, “And then there is a man named Pang Yu; perhaps you have never heard of him. But this man, whether in terms of ability and wisdom or martial art skill, can’s be inferior to you guys.”

Ba Fenghan knew that she had just seen this man, that’s why the impression was especially profound.

With Shan Wanjing’s insight, she could not possibly misjudge this person. Judging from her character, she was not someone who would intimidate others with empty words.

Laughing involuntarily, he said, “Looks like it’s getting more and more interesting. Have you met Li Jing, then?”

Shan Wanjing was astonished, “Who’s Li Jing?” she asked.

Now it was Ba Fenghan who was shocked; Shan Wanjing apparently did not know the full extent of Li Shimin’s forces that he brought along to Luoyang, yet she was already worried for them.

Changing the subject, Ba Fenghan asked, “Do you have any news about Yin Gui Pai?”

Shan Wanjing replied, “According to the information I received, Yin Gui Pai already considers the three of you their biggest enemy after Shi Feixuan; as soon as they finish the business at hand, their next move will be to crush you. Ay! Fenghan, don’t you think you’d better leave the Central Plains? Why would you wade through the muddy water with those two kids who do not know the immensity of heaven and earth? You make enemies on all sides, and now even Niang and I feel it is difficult either to intervene or to mediate on your behalf.”

Ba Fenghan happily said, “With what Wanjing has just said, it is enough! There is one thing I want you to be clear: Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are my, Ba Fenghan’s true friends [orig. liver and gall bladder]; I have gone through fire and water for many days with them, and I will never forget that. After Junyu’s affair is completely resolved, without anybody pushing me, I will return to the prairie. That is the place where I was born, and that will be the place where I die.”

Her tender body slightly trembled, Shan Wanjing leaned a bit closer, so that their shoulders nearly touched. She spoke softly, “Yin Gui Pai still has several more senior martial art masters; they will respond to the call for reinforcement. Not only Zhu Yuyan wanted to destroy Shi Feixuan, she would also kill anybody who stands the way. The reason she was willing to offend Fu Cailin by dealing with Fu Junyu is because she believe she also knew the secret of ‘Duke Yang Treasure’.”

Ba Fenghan was listening in silence. He was able to sense the deep concern in the beauty by his side’s voice.

Quite possibly their walk in the rain this time would be their last meeting.

“When are you going to return to Ryukyu?” he asked in heavy voice.

Shan Wanjing was silent for quite a while before answering, “Should be today. Afterwards, we will try to minimize our visit to the Central Plains.”

Ba Fenghan suddenly stopped. Shan Wanjing continued walking three more steps before she also stopped and turned around. She held the plain yellow umbrella in her hand with the pole resting against her shoulder, and thus exposing her lake-water-green rain cloak; her jade bones and icy flesh stood erect, in a beautiful posture that was kind of endearing and moving, which made it impossible to think that she has always been stubborn and strong-willed.

Composing himself, Ba Fenghan scrutinized her rarely seen posture and facial expression. After exhaling a mouthful of air, he said, “Have a pleasant journey!”

Hardening his heart, he turned around and walked away.

He had only been walking for five steps when Shan Wanjing called tenderly from behind, “Fenghan.”

Ba Fenghan did neither stop nor turn back; only raising his hand, he said, “Please don’t!” And he continued walking away.

※ ※ ※

It was with great difficulty that Ba Fenghan was finally able to find the entrance to Cheng Fu Lane. A horse-drawn carriage was coming directly at him, the driver was a man who looked unfamiliar, yet he called out to him, “Ba Ye, please come aboard!”

While Ba Fenghan was greatly surprised, Kou Zhong’s big head appeared from the carriage’s window and winked at him, “Ba kid, where do you think you are going? Still not getting in?”

Ba Fenghan immediately cast the sadness of parting away from his heart; laughing aloud, he got into the carriage, and only then did he find out that aside from Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, there was also Song Shidao. No wonder they had the carriage, the driver, and everything else readily available.

After briefly explaining the whole sequence of events, Kou Zhong said, “And now we are on our way there to make a kill, but we must study clearly the layout of the courtyard first, and then using the before-the-thunderbolt-reaches-the-ear method we burst through the door and break the window to get inside. As long as Wanwan or perhaps Zhu Yuyan is not there, and Yu Yi is hidden there, we will have a much greater chance of success.”

Song Shidao quickly added, “But we must make sure that this is going to be foolproof. Therefore, we must move only after a well-laid plan; once the opportunity lost, we’ll never get it back.”

Ba Fenghan snorted coldly and said, “Shen Luoyan is too crafty; she had the impertinence to harm me. Were it not for I do not like to kill women, I would have her try my sword and have her as a sacrificial offering.”

Kou Zhong said, “In the struggle against Li Mi, we can’t simply sit from dawn to dusk; slight delay would mean she will gain the upper hand.”

By this time Song Shidao was already clear on the whole story; he suggested, “Why not broadcasting Dugu Ba’s assassination by Shen Luoyan? This way we’ll destroy the relationship between Dugu Feng and Li Mi. At least we’ll make Shen Luoyan spend quite a bit of lips and tongue to explain herself.”

Kou Zhong said with a laugh, “We must never do that! Otherwise my magic trick won’t work. Right now my move is called ‘to exploit the other man’s ambition to the fullest, while reducing our own power and prestige’. Even toward that Huang Gongcuo, we must carefully respect him, the Senior, and not to disturb even half a strand of his hair.”

Knowing his tricks and crafty schemes, Ba Fenghan did not want to waste his time to mind him; turning his attention to Song Shidao, he asked, “Er Gongzi, is there a way to find out whether Qu Ao is hiding in there?”

Nodding his head, Song Shidao said, “That’s easy. Our driver is a local Qing She Bang [green snake gang] man. I have shown favor and a bit of kindness toward their Bangzhu [gang leader] in the past. As soon as I say the words, they would do everything in their power to accomplish it, and would not shirk without dishonor. Everything that is happening in Luoyang will not easily escape these local snakes’ attention.”

Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, “They are Luoyang Bang’s arch-rival; by toppling Shangguan Long, we have put Luoyang Bang in the whole-bunch-of-uglies-without-the-head situation, so that they are falling apart. And thus we have indirectly done them a huge favor. I don’t know how grateful they are toward us.”

Xu Ziling took a glance out of the window. “The rain stops!” he said.

The driver called out, “Four Daye, we have arrived!”

[1] Zhangsun Wuji (c. 594-659), politician and historian of early Tang.