Book 11 Chapter 9 – The Bloody Battle of Xiangyang

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

When the three of them left the Dahong Mountain, they all had a feeling that they had become a completely new person. Although Ba Fenghan was extremely daring, he had become cautious and timid as he used all kinds of trick to look carefully at the enemy’s track, so that they would not fall into an ambush.

After hastening toward Xiangyang for one day, they looked for a hilltop to stay for the night, and filled their stomachs with Huangjing [King Solomon’s Seal (genus polygonatum)] berries.

Under the starry sky, Ba Fenghan suggested, “Even with female demon Wan’s outstanding intelligence, she could not have guessed our temperament that we were willing to hide for ten days. She must have guessed that we are already heading north to Luoyang; hence we should not be in any apparent danger along the way.”

Kou Zhong, who was sitting against a rock, nodded lazily and said, “Let us take the quickest route to Luoyang. I am afraid Yucheng and the others are unbearably anxious waiting for us. Ay! Perhaps they had fallen into female demon Wan’s hands.”

“Don’t worry!” Ba Fenghan said, “Those four brothers of yours have been with you for a long time, and they knew the danger they are facing, so they should have hidden their track. To tell you the truth, the reason I have such a high regard on you was when Junyu and I started to pursue you and failed, which was practically an impossibility. At that time our qinggong surpassed yours, yet after pursuing you for a long time we still could not catch up with you. I still don’t understand why.”

Xu Ziling replied nonchalantly, “Supposing that time you caught up with us, would Ba Xiong really get rid of us?”

Ba Fenghan freely and carelessly smiled and said, “Mortal beings will die eventually; whether they die sooner or later, it is still the same death. If you have lived the life I was living at the great desert, among the horse thieves, you would also have an apathetic view of life and death; do you understand what I mean? On this earth only the strong can rule the world, others are just a fake.”

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “If strength is really a virtue, wouldn’t that be better than using force to subdue people?”

Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, “Strength is strength, everything else is nothing more than a means to achieve a certain goal and strategy. Just look at the emperors and hegemons who succeeded throughout history, which one was not a vicious and merciless person? Compared to Bi Xuan who kills people like scything flax, the Ol’ Ba is still far inferior!”

Xu Ziling cast Kou Zhong a glance, but seeing him looking up at the sky without saying anything, he could not help feeling bitterly disappointed.

Ba Fenghan said calmly, “Everybody has his own conviction and style of doing things. Don’t think that because I am dauntless and combative I would not distinguish between red-green or black-white, and kill people indiscriminately. All right! Go back to the topic at hand. After reaching Xiangyang, I don’t care whether we will have to buy, to rob openly or steal sneakily, we must obtain a boat and go up north along the River Wei; this will save us a lot of leg muscles. What do you think?”

Kou Zhong cast him a sidelong glance, “Doesn’t Ba Xiong’s purse have enough gold in it? Robbing and stealing are not a hero’s conduct.”

Ba Fenghan laughed in spite of himself, “If you have misgivings about this, just let me take care of it,” he said, “Ol’ Ba can’t possibly treat anybody who is willing to sell his boat to me with meager hospitality.”

A cool night breeze blew; the three of them felt comfortably safe and free.

Kou Zhong said, “Listening to Ba Xiong, seems like you packed a plenty, it won’t be exhausted in this lifetime; you made Xiaodi extremely envious. I wonder if I could ask Ba Xiong for some way to make money?”

Ba Fenghan laughed aloud and said, “We will still be together for a few days; just watch carefully!”

And then a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he said in a heavy voice, “As long as I can capture a Yin Gui Pai people, I have a way of forcing him to reveal where Yin Gui Pai lair is. At that time, we can flip the situation: they will be in the light while we are going to be in the dark. We will use the assassination method of seeing-one-killing-one, so that Zhu Yuyan will know the consequences of offending me, Ba Fenghan.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged some glances; they both shivered in fear inwardly.

Ba Fenghan might not be a bad person, but if he was offended and the offense turned into enmity, he would definitely become a dreadful enemy.

※ ※ ※

At noon the following day, the three men arrived at Xiangyang.

Xiangyang’s city gate has been reopened, business was back to normal. They paid the tax and entered the city, and looked for an inn to stay the night.

After freshening up, the confident Ba Fenghan went out to take care of the boat for them to go up north. Since the two boys had nothing to do, they went to a nearby store to buy two or three sets of new clothes, and afterwards they looked for a restaurant to sit down. Each one of them ordered a bowl of meat soup noodle, and gobbled it up heartily.

Because it was already past lunch hour, the restaurant was quite empty. Other than the two of them, only two other tables were occupied.

Kou Zhong spoke in a low voice, “I have never had any thought like the present that contending for hegemony over the world is such an out-of-reach goal. But more than ten days ago, when I stood on Jingling’s city wall, I felt like the world was acknowledging allegiance under my feet, and that I would never be struck down. Ay!”

Xu Ziling said, “That’s because you are the kind of person who is unwilling to be left out. These more than ten days, you withdrew to a secluded place and lived a life of cultivation; you must be depressed.”

Kou Zhong mused, “I don’t think that is the case. These more than ten days, I was as absorbed as you were; I enjoyed the excitement of the clashing of the blades, and I reveled in the tranquility of quiet meditation even more. Sometimes I even forgot about Li Xiuning, Song Yushi, and the others completely, I was as relaxed as the swimming fish and the flying bird, so carefree and without worries. Sometimes my inner energy even felt like it could control the speed of spiraling qi. It made me felt I am rather like Ning Daoqi, that I have become the number one martial art master in the world.”

Xu Ziling slapped the table and said with a sigh, “Supposing we can control the speed of the vortex; slow first and then accelerating, for instance, or fast first and then slowing down, perhaps the Ol’ Ba would not be able to hold on too long. But to reach that level, I am afraid we still have a long way to go.”

Kou Zhong was surprised, “Turns out you are also thinking about this wonderful possibility; I thought it was just my imagination?”

Xu Ziling happily said, “This time we spent many days and nights with the Ol’ Ba, whether it was our fortune or our bad luck, I cannot say. All I can say is that there is a great benefit in front of us. At least it let you experienced the happiness and relaxed state of mind where there was no burden at all, which somewhat lowered your ambition of hegemony over the world; otherwise, how did you come out with the idea that contending for hegemony over the world is such an out-of-reach goal?”

Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, “Brother, you are making fun of me again. But it has also led to another heaven-sent wonderful idea in my mind. If I could succeed in contending for hegemony over the world, while at the same time maintain the ‘forgetting worry, no-anxiety, considering life and death, honor and disgrace, outside my sphere of consideration’ state of mind, who could be my adversary then? His mother’s! I can use the Yijian Technique in the battlefield; it will become Kouzi’s Art of War [play on words: Sunzi’s (Sun Tzu’s) Art of War]. At that time the world will become mine.”

While speaking the last sentence, his pair of eyes shone with spirited light; it was really intimidating.

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “It’s easy for you to say, but the fact is, it’s difficult to put into practice. For example, when we were standing on Jingling’s city wall that day, facing Jianghuai Army’s thousands troops tens of thousands horses besieging the city, can you really relax?”

“I couldn’t,” Kou Zhong admitted, “Because I was overwhelmed with the scene of death and destruction all around me; my mind was in great turmoil. But if I consider the whole battlefield as a big chessboard, all the soldiers and generals are chess pieces, and I am relaxed and comfortably playing the game, won’t that be superb?”

And then he smiled and said, “The first stratagem of the Kou Tzu’s Art of War: the first and foremost xinfa is deploying troops with chatting and laughing.”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “The only thing lacking right now is that you don’t have any troops to deploy. Otherwise I would be really worried for your enemies.”

Kou Zhong was about to respond when a long laughter came from the entrance, followed by weird-sounding male voice speaking, “Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, how are you? Tuoba Yu is here to pay his respect.”

The two boys jumped in fright. Turning their heads toward the door, they indeed saw Tuoba Yu, the disciple sent by Bi Xuan to settle their score with Ba Fenghan; immediately they groaned inwardly.

Tuoba Yu was still carrying his ‘calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos’ attitude, he was still dressed like a prince or a pampered son of a wealthy family: in brocade clothes and magnificent adornment. On his waist hung his unique weapon, the ‘eagle claw flying hammer’. The most amazing thing was that both ends of his eagle claw were made in such a way that they fit perfectly into each other, to form an unusual belt.

With face full of smile, he walked over to their table and exclaimed, “Huh? Why does two Xiongtai’s countenance look so strange? Could it be that you are embarrassed because you missed the appointment we made six months ago to meet at Luoyang?”

Listening to his mocking tone, the two boys knew something was amiss. Tuoba Yu himself was a first class martial art master. The last time they met, he faced the two boys, plus Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei [see Book 5 Chapter 9], alone, and he was still able to gain the upper hand. Although his martial art skill might not necessarily match Ba Fenghan’s, but the difference was not much, to say nothing of his martial sister Chunyu Wei, whose skill was not below his, and the ‘Eighteen White-horse Riders of the Northern Desert’, who were personally trained by Bi Xuan in group fight. If a fight broke, although the two boys had made tremendous progress lately, they still did not dare to be too optimistic.

Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, “Tuoba Xiong, please calm down. This past year, what Xiongdi went through is really hard to explain in a few words. Would Tuoba Xiong please sit down first? Have a bowl of broth noodles or something to cool down your temper first, and then we all can slowly discuss everything!”

Tuoba Yu laughed aloud again before sitting down. He said slyly, “The waiter is gone, how could we order something to eat?”

The two boys were startled; they looked around and saw that not only the two waiters have disappeared to who knows where, even the diners at the two other tables have slipped away quietly as well. Such a big restaurant, but only the three of them remained.

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “We are ready to go up north to Luoyang to see Tuoba Xiong. Tuoba Xiong must not misunderstand.”

Tuoba Yu laughed and said, “Two gentlemen must not have any guilty conscience. This time Xiaodi come here because there is an important matter I need to discuss. The ‘Secret to Long Life’ can be temporarily set aside. When this matter is resolved, we can talk about it again. What do gentlemen think?”

Displeased, Kou Zhong said, “You think we have guilty conscience in this matter?”

Tuoba Yu revealed a faint dubious smile on his face. “Nothing could be better than that,” he said, “Xiaodi has a question that I hope two Xiongtai would be able to provide the answer.”

“Tuoba Xiong, please speak up!” Xu Ziling said.

Remaining tranquil and calm, Tuoba Yu said, “This time we came to Xiangyang with the main purpose of hunting down that traitor Ba Fenghan; coming across two gentlemen was purely coincidental, we did not even think that you were traveling together with that Ba thief. Frankly speaking, Xiaodi and my humble Shimei have favorable impression toward Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong, because you are willing to lend the ‘Secret to Long Life’ on good faith. Therefore, I came with a specific purpose in mind to ask two gentlemen to not get involved, please do not get drawn into our fight with that Ba thief. I want to have your word on this.”

The two boys exchanged glances; now they really felt awkward.

Presently they were about to take the same boat and travel through the wind and the rain together with Ba Fenghan, on their way to launch a fight against Yin Gui Pai. If this matter had not yet begun, they could watch Ba Fenghan facing calamity with folded arms and forget everything they have discussed, let alone talking about collaborating with each other.

Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, “It’s not that we want to put ourselves in opposition to Tuoba Xiong, because we also treasure the friendship between us. However, Tuoba Xiong’s request is putting us in a rather awkward position. If Tuoba Xiong and Ba Xiong are having a fair duel, then we won’t interfere.”

Tuoba Yu was silent for a moment. After his sharp eyes swept the two boys’ faces back and forth a few times, he sighed and said, “I wonder if Kou and Xu, two brothers knew why everybody in this restaurant suddenly slipped away?”

The two boys shivered in their hearts; focusing their power in their ears, they were immediately aware that there was something unusual going on outside the restaurant.

Tuoba Yu spoke softly, “Ever since Li Mi issued the ‘Duke of Pushan Decree’ against you, countless number of Jianghu people want to take that credit. Among them are the ‘Gold and Silver Spear’ Ling Feng, and ‘Fat Demon’ Jin Bo, who formed the ‘Supporting Li Alliance’, whose momentum is the strongest. They assembled more than a hundred Wulin characters, among which there is no lack of martial art masters, and are going all-out to hunt and kill two gentlemen. So your situation is extremely dangerous. Just consider me, Tuoba Yu, giving you warning based on our friendship!”

Kou Zhong calmly asked, “And right now they are already outside?”

Tuoba Yu replied, “They are merely a bunch of people from their group. Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong, please be careful!”

Chapter 9 - Part 2

Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height, and then strolled out languidly.

Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling. The latter nodded. The two boys immediately sprang up from their chairs, leaped up to the air and broke through the roof; in the midst of broken roof tiles filling the sky, they landed on the back of the restaurant’s roof.

As soon as they swept their gaze around, they were dumbstruck.

The roofs of the buildings far and near were full with people. At first glance, there were at least over a hundred people.

The ‘Fat Demon’ Jin Bo and ‘Gold and Silver Spear’ Ling Feng were standing on the roof of the store across the street, putting an air of ‘catching a turtle in the earthen jar’.

A long laughter came from the roof of a neighboring building to their left.

The two boys turned their gaze toward the laughter and saw a middle-aged man with lanky stature and outstandingly handsome face, and a free and easy manner, but his countenance was suffused with a harsh and sinister expression, so that his smile looked callous and cruel. He held a broadsword in each hand; his look was quite intimidating.

Next to him were about a dozen people; tall, short, in all kinds of size and shape, but each one had high and protruded taiyang acupoint, they looked quite impressive, hence it was clear that these were not people that would be easy to deal with.

The man stopped laughing and spoke in deep voice, “I am Qian Duguan, the Chengzhu [city master] of the City of Xiangyang. I have come specifically to pay a visit to Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong, to inquire the gentlemen’s current situation.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances. For the first time that day they felt the seriousness of the situation.

If it were only Ling Feng, Jin Bo, that kind of Wulin characters, if they were unable to defeat them, they could always run away. But if Qian Duguan was personally involved, it was as if they were fighting against the entire city. Whether they would be able to escape was a big question mark.

Jin Bo let out a cold snort to attract the two boys’ attention, and then with a sinister smile he said, “If gentlemen are willing to lay down your weapon, have your hands tied and waiting to be captured, I, Jin Bo, guarantee that before delivering you to Duke Mi, gentlemen will be treated well.”

Shaking his head, Kou Zhong laughed involuntarily; turning toward Qian Duguan, he said, “Old Qian, since when did you become Li Mi’s claws and teeth? Doesn’t the rumor in Jianghu say that Qian Duguan has always maintained his neutrality and nobody has been able to buy your allegiance?”

Following his lead, Xu Ziling said, “Zhong Shao, you are somewhat ignorant; this is called the time has changed. Right now Old Du has taken Jingling, within the next few days he is going to go north, Old Qian is naturally looking for a master to take care of him! I am surprised that you can still ask such a stupid question.”

Listening to the two boys’ banter, which was full of taunting tone, murderous intent immediately appeared on the faces of Qian Duguan’s subordinates standing by his side, everybody was eager to move. On the contrary, Qian Duguan himself remained unmoved. Shaking the double sabers in his hands, he calmly said, “If two gentlemen agree to tell me the real secret of the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’, I, Qian Duguan, will immediately withdraw from this dispute. Gentlemen, what do you say?”

Kou Zhong burst out laughing and said, “How can it be that easy? If Qian Xiong can guarantee that we will be able to leave safely, telling you where the treasure is buried is not a problem. Qian Xiong, please make your decision first.”

The men on Ling Feng’s side immediately showed tensed expression on their faces, they all wanted to know Qian Duguan’s answer.

Qian Duguan smiled and said, “If Kou Xiong is thinking of driving a wedge in our friendship with Jin Bo Xiong, you are wasting your time. Enough idle chat; either the two gentlemen will have your hands tied and wait to be captured, or be killed on the spot. There is no room for compromise. Are you clear?”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling laughed aloud. And then they disappeared through the hole on the roof, back into the restaurant below.

※ ※ ※

‘Boom!’

Before the enemy split up to enter the restaurant from the front and the rear, Kou Zhong was one step ahead by crashing through the wall and escaped to the shop next door.

It was a grocery store. The people inside had already heard the commotion outside and closed his door. The proprietor and his two workers were huddling behind a slightly open small window by the bolted door, peeking at the movements in the street outside. Suddenly disaster arrived; the fully stocked shelves, along with the sand and the stones, splashed down, so that the store looked like the disaster area after an earthquake.

While the three people were stunned, fast as lightning Kou Zhong flashed toward the boss and stuffed an ingot of gold into the inside of his lapel. Not forgetting to smile, he said, “This is for everything that fell on the floor!” And then he suddenly disappeared toward the back door, to rendezvous with Xu Ziling who had already out, and then in a blink of an eye they both vanished.

‘Bang!’

Xu Ziling kicked the wooden door leading to the alley behind the grocery store; like an arrow he shot toward the end of the alley. With the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong followed closely behind him.

Ever since these two boys were little, not a single moment they did not pass either fighting or escaping. Naturally they were very much ‘at home’ in this regard.

A gust of wind arrived.

Xu Ziling shouted at Kou Zhong and changed direction. Leaping over the alley wall, they saw the four sides eight directions were pursuing enemies. Hastily they dropped back into the rear garden at a residential home.

With wild barks, three vicious-looking dogs were pouncing at the two boys.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both animal lovers. Leaping up, they landed on the horizontal branch of a big oak tree, and then borrowing the rebounding force they soared again across two buildings and landed on the roof of yet another building.

‘Swish! Swish!’ It was not clear who released the arrows, but the two boys were forced to jump down from the roof and back to the main street below.

With unceasing shouts the enemies also scattered down from the roof and spread out to surround and intercept the two boys.

Since it was afternoon, the streets were bustling with passer-byes; carts and horses were lining the street like a dragon. With this sudden change, the street turned chaotic, everybody scrambled and fell over each other to run for their lives, the carts and the horses were crashing against each other as the drivers and passengers were racing out of the carts in panic.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took advantage of the situation; they mingled among the scattering crowd, flashing to the left and darting to the right and into a fresh fruit store. While crying out ‘I’m sorry!’ in their hearts, they knocked down two baskets of watermelon, scattering the fruits all over the floor.

Two enemies had just rushed into the store. Stepping onto the watermelon, they slipped and rolled on the floor like a pair of gourds, while the two boys already disappeared via the back door.

Running away at full speed, the two boys entered another big street, where they ran along the city wall closest to the southern gate. By this time they had escaped the siege, the enemy seemed to be falling behind.

The two groups of men and horses in hot pursuit of the two boys provoked panic and confusion everywhere; the sound of shouting and screaming shook the heavens.

Half a day later the two boys entered the main street connecting the so