大唐双龙传 [Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan] by Huang Yi

[paonakata]

It's a novel, and while it generally follows historical events, the timings, etc, have probably been mixed for story-telling purposes. In terms of history, we should be closer to Spring 619 for the translation.

To understand the overview, I'll just put a few key event dates and timings that have been mentioned prominently in the novel here:

Li Yuan raising his flag at Taiyuan - Late 617
Death of Zhai Rang - Winter 617
Xiao Xian declaring Liang - Winter 617
Yuwen Huaji killing Yang Guang - Spring 618
Battle of Yanshi - Autumn 618
Death of Xue Ju and Xue Rengao - Winter 618 (after the Battle of Qianshuiyuan)
Li Mi surrendering to Li Yuan - Winter 618 (currently not mentioned in the novel yet)

The next 2 important characters to die are Li Mi (by Li Yuan) and Yuwen Huaji (by Dou Jiande) in 619.

Thank you shirak, this is actually a very interesting point! So have there been any significant timing differences in the world events between Huang Yi and history?

I vaguely remember posting before how there was one part of Huang Yi's story that went differently from what Wikipedia said happened in history. Chalk it down to artistic/poetic license I guess? Kinda like how that big last battle at in the third Lord of the Rings movie differed from the third Lord of the Rings book, because ghost reinforcements seems to allow more impressive special effects on the big screen and to deliver an visual impact in a shorter time than farmer reinforcements (on the other hand, when reading book text without visuals, having the ghosts destroy pirates to free the farmers to come as reinforcements allows for an extra helping of story)

[paonakata]

Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, “Is Cao Dangjia a demonic school’s man?”

Smiling ruefully, Cao Yinglong replied, “If I was not a demonic school’s man, how could I have any relationship with Yang Xuyan?”

Seeing a peculiar look flashed through Xu Ziling’s face, he hastily said, “Although my body belongs to the demonic school, in my heart I hate my school to the bones. Simply because after I grew up, purely by accident I discovered that when my revered master received me as his disciple in the past, unexpectedly he mercilessly murdered my father and mother, brothers and sisters, in the name of ‘severing karma with the secular world’, so that my heart was brimming with hatred, yet I was clearly helpless to rebel, so I could only vent my hatred and desire for revenge someplace else. Only today I am awakened; the past is like a nightmare.”

So Cao Yinglong isn’t innately evil and is more a victim of child abuse just like Wanwan?

Cao Yinglong revealed dread, mixed with despicable, condescending expression on his face. ‘Pei!’ he spat, and said, “Shi Zhixuan’s innate character is evil. The fall of the Sui dynasty, and the world turned from being unified back to numerous and disorderly, he is the person who bore the greatest responsibility.”

Stunned, Xu Ziling said, “Unexpectedly there is such thing. What ability did Shi Zhixuan have that he managed to topple the Great Sui?”

Gnashing his teeth, Cao Yinglong said, “Shi Zhixuan’s other identity was Yang Guang’s most doted on and trusted minister Pei Ju, who was in charge of domestic and foreign commercial trade. Yang Guang sent out military expedition to Gaoli was precisely due to his instigation.”

Xu Ziling’s heart was severely shaken.

That day at Man Qing Yuan Xing Mofei mentioned this name to them [see Book 16 Chapter 5], saying that he wrote the ‘Maps and Notes on the Western Regions’ in three volumes, and an account on the profile of the forty-four states of the Western Region, which, at the end of the preface he wrote, from ‘Hun’ and so on will faint and be exterminated, which led to Yang Guang sending a large military expedition abroad. Fu Qian’s visit to the east this time was precisely to find him to settle the account. This man was an expert in espionage and conspiracy. In the Western Region he stirred the wind and stirred the rain, implicating the Tujue that they split up and attack each other, filling the plains with the dead and injured. It was also because Yang Guang sent out three military expeditions to Gaoli that led the rebellions springing up everywhere, which ended up in the demise of the empire.

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pei_Ju >>
Historically Pei Ju really did instigate the Gaoli disaster: “Pei then suggested to Emperor Yang that Goguryeo should be subjugated ”. But the rest of Pei Ju’s historical write-up seemed very favorable, so it seems that Shi Zhixuan must really have had a change of heart?

Cao Yinglong sighed and said, “The problem is that whether it was Emperor Wen or Emperor Yang, they all vigorously advocated Buddhism. Establishing Buddhist temples across the whole nation, transcribing Buddhist scriptures, proclaiming the Buddhist doctrine, and so on, are like preaching the entire nation’s power, which to the demonic school’s belief system, acted in a way that defeats its purpose. How could Shi Zhixuan tolerate them messing up with their demonic ways? In the final analysis, the battle between Ci Hang Jingzhai and the demonic schools is the battle over tradition.”

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sui_dynasty#Buddhism >>
“Emperor Wen and his empress had converted to Buddhism to legitimize imperial authority over China and the conquest of Chen. The emperor presented himself as a Cakravartin king, a Buddhist monarch who would use military force to defend the Buddhist faith. In the year 601 AD, Emperor Wen had relics of the Buddha distributed to temples throughout China, with edicts that expressed his goals, "all the people within the Four Seas may, without exception, develop enlightenment and together cultivate fortunate karma, bringing it to pass that present existences will lead to happy future lives, that the sustained creation of good causation will carry us one and all up to wondrous enlightenment". Ultimately, this act was an imitation of the ancient Mauryan Emperor Ashoka of India.”

Cao Yinglong dejectedly said, “Because I was adept in the demonic schools’ influence, I only felt as if everything was as it should be by rights. Since Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty banned many schools of thought, and revered Confucianism as sole orthodoxy, the battle over tradition began, and the world started to have distinction between the righteous and the heretic. By the time demonic teaching ‘Han Yi Hu Shu’ [lit. Han (ethnic group) interpretation of Hu (barbarians/non-Han people) books] came from the east, things got more complicated so fast. For you, the strife for the world is a political battle; for us, this is a battle over tradition. While the other flourishes and grows, we sink and cannot rise. Even though right now my feeling is not the same as yesterday, toward those so-called Buddhism from the outside, I still feel deep pain and loathing. Humph! Buddhism is nothing more than evolution of demonic book, a fallacy of the demonic law, a cheat on the teaching of the ignorance. All those past sins, future karma, doctrine of Dana [Buddhist practice of giving], while hoping for ten thousand times the reward, holding a day of fasting, while hoping for a hundred days of grains, and thus the confused and the fools will have presumptuous demands of achievements and virtue. If they really want to achieve emptiness in ten thousand ways, why are they using greed and deceit even until now?”

It was the first time that Xu Ziling heard someone repelled Buddhism. Apparently this argument was hanging on the demonic school people’s mouth quite often, hence Cao Yinglong was able to spit it out like surging tide, or like the flowing water of the Yangtze River.

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Wu_of_Han#Legacy >>
While historically Emperor Wu of Han advocated to the people: “He officially encouraged Confucianism”

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empero...f_Han#Religion >>
But historically he seems to have chosen the dark side for himself: “Emperor Wu worshiped the divinity Tai Yi (or, Dong Huang Tai Yi),[18] a deity to whom he was introduced by his shaman advisers, who were able to provide him with the experience of having this god (and other spiritual entities, such as the Master of Fate, Si Ming) summoned into his presence;[19] the emperor even went so far as to construct a "House of Life" (shou gong) chapel at his Ganquan palace complex (in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) specifically for this purpose, in 118 BC.[20] One of the religious rituals that Emperor Wu organized was the Suburban Sacrifice,[18] and the nineteen hymns entitled Hymns for Use in the Suburban Sacrifice were written in connection with these religious rites and published during Wu's reign.[21]

It was also during this time that Emperor Wu began to show a fascination with immortality. He began to associate with magicians who claimed to be able to, if they could find the proper ingredients, create divine pills that would confer immortality. However, he himself punished others' use of magic severely. In 130 BC, for example, when Empress Chen was found to have retained witches to curse Consort Wei and to try to regain Emperor Wu's affections, he had her deposed and the witches executed.”

[shirak]

I vaguely remember posting before how there was one part of Huang Yi's story that went differently from what Wikipedia said happened in history. Chalk it down to artistic/poetic license I guess? Kinda like how that big last battle at in the third Lord of the Rings movie differed from the third Lord of the Rings book, because ghost reinforcements seems to allow more impressive special effects on the big screen and to deliver an visual impact in a shorter time than farmer reinforcements (on the other hand, when reading book text without visuals, having the ghosts destroy pirates to free the farmers to come as reinforcements allows for an extra helping of story) :P

Creative adjustment for better flow is nothing new, be it in novels (including other wuxia novels by the big name authors) or movies. In the cinematic world, there are too many examples, not just LOTR. The Harry Potter movies had changes, the MCU changed Marvel canon so much that they had to retcon numerous things.

So don't look at things too much using the history lens when you read wuxia novels. If you want to be anal, I don't think there was ever a reference to Princess Pingyang as "Li Xiuning". Knowing history, we already know that Li Shimin will rule the world, which means that Kou Zhong will definitely give up and ask his followers to follow Li Shimin at some point in time (for Song Yuzhi?).

For Da Tang, I think the novel should effectively end after Xuanwu Gate, so we have another 7-8 years worth of historic events, with tons of people still to die, without all the Shi Zhixuan stuff, and the romances of the 2 boys.

[徐中銳]

Your extracurricular endeavours to comprehend more are truly inspiring !

I really enjoy that this story is fictional wuxia in a non-fiction historical setting and how the fiction and non-fiction interact/interplay

[spynet]

Thanks foxs!

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[paonakata]

Your extracurricular endeavours to comprehend more are truly inspiring !

Thank you for your kind words

[paonakata]

Knowing history, we already know that Li Shimin will rule the world, which means that Kou Zhong will definitely give up and ask his followers to follow Li Shimin at some point in time (for Song Yuzhi?).

But what if Kou Zhong marrying Song Yuzhi is exactly what will allow him to not lose to Li Shimin? As foxs has translated:

Chen Changlin said, “Lingnan is the Song Family’s territory. The Song Family operates beast of burden, jadeite, pearl and precious stones, rhinoceros and elephant, and other businesses involving local products. They started at Xiongqu and then grew into local political power. Because the mountain is high, the emperor is far, for the last five dynasties, no matter who the emperor is, he has to give the Song Family enough face. By the time the ‘Heavenly Saber’ Song Que took leadership, the Song Family reputation has already grown a hundredfold, and they enjoy majestic position in Jianghu. Within the Wulin world south of the Great River, no one dares to doubt his qualification as the number one saber expert in the world.”
...
Chen Changlin continued, “During the eighth year of Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui Army captured Jiankang [old name for Nanjing], but the Song Family was unwilling to realign their allegiance to the new Emperor. Yang Jian then sent his great general Wei Xian to lead the troops to the foot of the mountain range, but he did not dare to enter Lingnan even for half a step. Later on, Sing Que observed the situation and formed a judgment; realizing that resisting the Sui would bring more harm than good, he changed his mind and went out of the mountain range to meet him, and accepted the title ‘Qiao Guo Gong’ [lit. duke of the Qiao State] the Sui dynasty conferring to him. Yang Jian personally granted him the right to form his own government, to set up his own government officials of Zhangshi [chief official historian] level and below. He gave him his seal, a right to develop his own military forces, and so on, just short of proclaiming him a ‘king’. It could be considered a very generous treatment.”

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingnan >>
Lingnan (simplified Chinese: 岭南; traditional Chinese: 嶺南; pinyin: lǐng nán; Jyutping: ling5 naam4; literally: "South of the Nanling Mountains") is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan as well as modern northern Vietnam.[1]

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangxi#History >>
Under the Tang dynasty, the Zhuang moved to support Piluoge's Yi-ruled kingdom of Nanzhao in Yunnan, which successfully repulsed imperial armies in 751 and 754. Guangxi was then divided into an area of Zhuang ascendancy west of Nanning and an area of Han ascendancy east of Nanning.

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanzhao >>
Nanzhao, also spelled Nanchao or Nan Chao, was a polity that flourished in what is now southern China and Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China.

<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan#Nanzhao_period >>
By the 730s Nanzhao had succeeded in bringing the Erhai Lake–area under its authority. In 738, the western Yunnan was united by Piluoge, the fourth king of Nanzhao, who was confirmed by the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty as king of Yunnan. Ruling from Dali, the thirteen kings of Nanzhao ruled over more than two centuries and played a part in the dynamic relationship between China and Tibet.

By the 750s, Nanzhao had taken eastern Yunnan into its empire and had become a potential rival to Tang China. The following period inevitably saw conflicts between Tang China and Nanzhao. In 750, Nanzhao attacked and captured Yaozhou, the largest Tang settlement in Yunnan.In 751, Xianyu Zhongtong (鮮于仲通), the regional commander of Jiannan (Sichuan), led a Tang campaign against Nanzhao. Geluofeng regarded the previous incident as personal and wrote to Xianyu to seek peace. Howerver, Xianyu Zhongtong detained the Nanzhao envoys and turned down the appeal. Confronted with Tang armies, Nanzhao immediately turned its allegiance to Tubo. The Tubo and Nanzhao agreed to be "fraternal states"; Geluofeng was given the titles zanpuzhong ("younger brother").The Nanzhao-Tubo alliance finally made Xianyu's expedition became a disaster.

Tang China did not give up after one failure. In 753, another expedition was prepared, but thiswas also defeated by Nanzhao. In 754, the Tang organized an army of more than 100,000 troops that advanced to the Dali plain, resulting in only another slaughter. By the end of the eighth century, Tang was no longer a major threat to Nanzhao.

Nanzhao's expansion lasted for several decades. In 829, Nanzhao suddenly plundered Sichuan and entered Chengdu. When it retreated, hundreds of Sichuan people, including skilled artisans, were taken to Yunnan. In 832, the Nanzhao army captured the capital of the Pyu kingdom in modern upper Burma. Nanzhao also attacked the Khmer peoples of Zhenla. Generally speaking, Nanzhao was then the most powerful kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia, and played an extremely active role in multistate interactions.

In 859, Nanzhao captured Bozhou, and this event exacerbated the Nanzhao-Tang clashes. When the Tang governor of Annam took Bozhou back in the following year, Nanzhao, with the help of native peoples, occupied Hanoi as the Tang army moved to Bozhou. When the Tang forces returned, Nanzhao troops retreated from Hanoi but attacked and plundered Yongzhou. In the winter of 862, Nanzhao, allying with local groups, led an army of over 50,000 men to invade Annam again. It is reported that the Tang forces lost over 150,000 soldiers (either killed or captured by Nanzhao) in the two Annam battles.The autumn of 866 saw Tang victory in Hanoi and soon all of the Nanzhao forces were driven away. But Tang China had lost its ability to attack Nanzhao.

[徐中銳]

The last laugh perhaps ? 宋朝。

But what if Kou Zhong marrying Song Yuzhi is exactly what will allow him to not lose to Li Shimin?

[foxs]

Jaya, Ysabel (2x), Spy, HPC, you are welcome. Xiaohu, Shirak, hopefully there won’t be anymore of those. Liem, Paona, I can’t answer your question with certainty, since I am not familiar with Chinese history. But Du Fuwei, Shen Faxing, are real historical characters. So thank you Akolaw for confirming Li Fuwei. I don’t know about Chen Changlin and Shen Lun. But you guys are definitely history buffs. New Book ...

---

Book 24 Chapter 1 – The Nightmare Began

The distance between the two groups was very close. Xu Ziling had two options: one, running behind the dozen or so martial art masters of Yangtze River Alliance under Zheng Shuming’s leadership, or two, relying on his outstanding sense of hearing and perception, he could follow An Long quietly from the side. The former approach would guarantee that he would not lose them, but he would only follow the Yangtze River Alliance people. As one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, even if An Long was carrying two Cao Yinglong, he would definitely have a way to escape, otherwise his name would not be on the list.

Among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, Xu Ziling had fought Pi Chen, who was disguised as Rong Fengxiang, Zuo Youxian, and You Niaojuan, three persons, one after another. Except for You Niaojuan, the former two were only limited to one contact and before stopping, yet he already felt their deep and immeasurable demonic power. An Long was the Tian Lian Zongzhu [headmaster of Heavenly Lotus (School)], and he had mastered the Tian Xin Lian Huan [Lotus Ring in the Center of the Sky, see Book 22 Chapter 5] that Fu Gongyou was deeply afraid of. Despite his huge build, plus he was carrying a load, these people should not be able to follow him this close; he must have been playing trick.

Xu Ziling quickly raised a mouthful of true qi, and then as fast as a shooting star he ran along the narrow alley; listening to the noises to distinguish direction, he follow An Long’s trail from the ground. Fortunately An Long was running toward the area where there was no crowd, otherwise he might bump into people. But now, even if they came across people wandering around to have fun that night, as soon as they saw a blur in front of their eyes, he would already be far away.

By this time, Xu Ziling had gained deeper understanding of the Two Sects Six Ways of the demonic schools. Moreover, among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, he already knew ‘Empress Yin’ Zhu Yuyan, ‘Demonic King’ Shi Zhixuan, ‘Fat Merchant of Sichuan’ An Long, ‘Demonic Taoist’ Pi Chen, ‘Ziwu Sword’ Zuo Youxian [see Book 21 Chapter 1], and ‘Dao Xing Ni Shi’ [going against the tide, see Book 20 Chapter 5] You Niaojuan. There were still two persons that he did not know.

Just by looking how strong You Niaojuan, who ranked at the bottom of the list, was, it was not difficult to deduce that An Long was not to be provoked.

In Hefei the other day, even with Fu Gongyou, Zuo Youxian and Pi Chen joined hands, they still did not dare to force him into a trapped-beast kind of fight. This was another proof of his strength.

Therefore, in dealing with him, Xu Ziling could only try to outsmart him, and not trying to engage him in a desperate fight. Otherwise, not only he would not be able to rescue Cao Yinglong, perhaps he would even pay it with his own life.

Right this moment, there was a slight change in the wind generated by An Long’s flight, signaling that he had jumped from the roof and landed on the ground.

The wind was getting stronger again; it looked like he leaped at an angle toward another roof, and then rapidly ran far away. He heard the rustling sound of Yangtze River Alliance people’s sleeves as they chased after him in hot pursuit.

Xu Ziling suddenly stopped. ‘Lucky!’ he cried inwardly. Were it not for him completely relying on hearing ability to follow the trail, he would have fallen into An Long’s ‘grafting flowers onto a tree’ tactic.

Turned out from the subtle change in the sound of the wind, he was able to accurately verify that An Long and Cao Yinglong were being substituted by another pair of men, and that the person posing as Cao Yinglong did not have his acupoint sealed. Although his body was limp, he was still awake; naturally he was regulating his qi to make his body light to yield to his companion’s leading. But the weight difference immediately exposed the flaw that Xu Ziling was able to detect.

It could be imagined that as these two subordinates of An Long suddenly appeared and ran someplace else, the pursuing troops were at a loss to know what to do, hence they quickly lost their targets. After all, Chengdu was An Long’s territory; shaking off outsiders following their trail should not be hard.

After his two helpers and their pursuing troops had gone far, An Long, still carrying Cao Yinglong in his arm, walked out leisurely. He passed through the left and turned to the right into the side streets and narrow alleys, and soon afterwards he arrived at a residential area and entered a house.

Very carefully Xu Ziling followed behind him. If it were Kou Zhong or Ba Fenghan, even if their martial art skill was higher than his, perhaps they could not do what he did: following a trail mostly by his senses, so that even a superior martial art master like An Long did not realize that he was exposing his trails.

He was about to flash out of the side alley when the alarm went off in Xu Ziling’s heart; hence he promptly halted his steps. He saw a shadow, so blurry that it appeared real, yet appeared imaginary at the same time, appeared on top of the wall of the target house, rapidly scurrying along the wall, until finally it leaped onto the roof and swiftly went around the house several times, before disappearing altogether.

Even with his bravery, Xu Ziling still needed to suck in a mouthful of cold air, because he recognized the shadow, which was that of a man wearing black clothes and black cape – as the ‘Shadow Assassin’ Yang Xuyan.

If he had hastily leaped onto the wall, it would definitely be difficult to escape Yang Xuyan’s eyes and ears. And if he and An Long joint hands in pincer attack, it would be difficult for Xu Ziling to escape with his life intact.

After crying inwardly, ‘What a close call!’ Xu Ziling checked the surrounding area and waited for the fortunate timing. And then without the slightest hesitation, staying close to the wall, he flitted toward the rear courtyard of the house. Creeping closer to the house, he focused his power into his ears, and happened to catch An Long’s voice.

This high-ranking-martial-art-master-among-the-palace-hall-of-the-demonic-way spoke in heavy voice, “Obviously this traitor has dispersed most of his power voluntarily, hence after meeting with him face-to-face only twice, I was able to stretch a hand and grab it. Otherwise, I would have to waste my strength, and then if we fell into the Yangtze River Alliance’s hands, it would be far from good.”

Yang Xuyan seemed to be examining Cao Yinglong’s condition; he spoke softly, “Long Shu [uncle, Cao Yinglong] waited upon Shizun [revered master] since he was young, and has always been loyal and devoted, but now suddenly he is like becoming another person. We must understand what happened clearly. If you, Old Long [An Long – different ‘Long’], have no objection, Xuyan will wake him up.”

Just by listening to this exchange, it was clear that An Long and Yang Xuyan had a close relationship, and that Cao Yinglong was Shi Zhixuan’s attendant, and that in the past he was also loyal to Yang Xuyan.

“Hold on!” An Long said, “If Yinglong refuses to cooperate, should we treat him ruthlessly to force his confession?”

Yang Xuyan replied indifferently, “Since he has no heart, I won’t hold on to loyalty; he has no one to blame but himself.”

Hearing that, Xu Ziling’s heart turned cold. Using torture to force confession was extremely common; it was a daily occurrence, especially in time of war like this. But Yang Xuyan spoke about it without any emotion at all, especially when the target was a fellow disciple with whom he had had a long time relationship. From this, it can clearly be seen that this man had a heart of stone and no humanity at all. No wonder he could become the most outstanding assassin of the present age.

An Long laughed aloud and said, “You are worthy to be Shi Dage’s proud disciple. Come!”

And then there was a sound of slapping palm, followed by the sound of Cao Yinglong’s groan.

Xu Ziling also groaned inwardly; if these two big devil heads, one old the other young, were starting to torture Cao Yinglong, would he be able to stay eavesdropping on the side without doing anything?

Yang Xuyan’s voice rang out, “What had happened? How did Long Shu fall into such plight?”

Groaning, Cao Yinglong said, “I lost! Troops in defeat like a landslide, everything’s finished!”

An Long spoke with a cold laugh, “I hear Xu Ziling let you go. Because of this, he had a fall out with that Shang beauty of the Flying Horse Ranch; Yinglong really have such a big face.”

Cao Yinglong replied with a bitter laugh, “Long Ye [master, as in master/slave relationship] please be lenient to me! I snatched this little life of mine back using the treasure I plundered for many years and by crippling my own martial art skill; it has nothing to do whatsoever with whether I have a big or a small face.”

Yang Xuyan spoke heavily, “So much wealth, you simply offered it with both hands to someone else?”

Cao Yinglong replied, “Shaozhu [young master (‘master’ as in owner/superior)] had me drew the location of the six treasure storages in a roll of map. At that time I was carrying the map with me. If I was killed in battle, they could always get the map from my dead body anyway. This is as simple as a case of ‘greedy for life, afraid of death’, which is a human nature. Shaozhu should empathize with my wretched state and situation.”

An Long spoke indifferently, “Since you believe that you are ‘greedy for life, afraid of death’ disciple, we have nothing to blame you with. I just don’t understand why Xu Ziling would immediately rush to Sichuan? And just now when you see Ol’ An, you immediately resisted me; isn’t it because you have committed some shameful deed?”

Cao Yinglong replied, “I do have something that I need to apologize to Shaozhu, which is: I left a batch of money and valuables in Chengdu to be used when I retire. As for Xu Ziling entering Sichuan, Yinglong completely have no idea what he is doing.”

Beyond Xu Ziling’s expectation, Yang Xuyan laughed and said, “Turns out it is just a misunderstanding. Since that’s the case, we cannot bear to argue with Long Shu. You may go!”

Cao Yinglong was stunned for half a day. “My whereabouts is already out in the open,” he spoke in distressed, “If I go like this, ay! Shaozhu, please don’t fool around with me! Shaozhu must not let me fall into outsiders’ hand, you might as well do to Xiaoren as you pleased!”

‘Ah!’ A muffled groan, but it was quickly cut short. Obviously Cao Yinglong was knocked unconscious again. And then An Long said, “His story does not have any flaw that I can see; do you believe him?”

Yang Xuyan laughed coldly and said, “Based on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s style of conduct, how could they have a fallout with the Flying Horse Ranch for the sake of money and valuables? This traitor must have sold our secret in exchange for his life. This is very serious, fortunately as soon as I heard the rumor, I invited Qingxuan to Chengdu to talk. Even if Xu Ziling went to the secluded forest of the small valley, he would only be pouncing on an empty space.”

Listening from the outside, Xu Ziling’s heart shivered. Now he knew that Shi Qingxuan appearing in Chengdu was to meet her appointment with Yang Xuyan. Fortunately he overheard it quite by accident.

[chualot]

thanks foxs.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[wangxiaohu]

Foxs, thank you for the new book....

[foxs]

Chua, Ysabel, Jaya, Xiaohu, you are welcome.

---

The strange thing was that this place was An Long’s territory, how could he not know that Xu Ziling has arrived in Chengdu? But then he relaxed, because except for Yang Xuyan, An Long and his men did not know what Xu Ziling looked like.

But how did Yang and An, two men, know that Xu Ziling was going to Sichuan? They must have a spy among the Yangtze River Alliance’s men; hence also the reason they were able to promptly capture Cao Yinglong back.

Lowering his voice, An Long said, “How much confidence does Xuyan have that Shi Qingxuan would be fooled?”

Undisturbed, Yang Xuyan replied, “One-hundred-percent confidence. Because since she understood the ways of the world [dictionary also says that it is an euphemism for ‘sexuality’], she only saw Shizun’s face; that was when she was no more than ten years old.”

Xu Ziling’s heart was greatly shaken. He understood what kind of trick Yang Xuyan was going to play against Shi Qingxuan. Although she was exceptionally intelligent, she might still fall into Yang Xuyan’s evil scheme.

An Long sighed and said, “If at that time Shi Dage hardened his heart and struck his palm to finish her off, he would have reached the ‘untouched emotion’ realm, ‘Immortal Print’ method would then be mastered to perfection; who would have thought that one move could make such a difference? Ay!”

Yang Xuyan coldly said, “Shizhang [teacher] has something on his mind, the disciple will toil for him. But Shizun must never know about this matter. Therefore, we must find out from this traitor’s mouth first how much secret he revealed to Xu Ziling. If necessary, we have to change our plan, or perhaps kill Xu Ziling first; otherwise, you and I can forget about living.”

Xu Ziling’s whole body relaxed. Although, if the two of them acted separately to deal with Shi Qingxuan and Cao Yinglong, how would he separate himself? Anyway, presently Shi Qingxuan’s situation was not too urgent; if he managed to rescue Cao Yinglong, while the two already had some misgivings, maybe they would not dare to act blindly without thinking to do anything to Shi Qingxuan.

At the same time, he had a feeling that Yang Xuyan and An Long were afraid of Shi Zhixuan, thus he could surmise that Shi Zhixuan’s natural character was demonic and terrifying. However, Shi Zhixuan obviously could not obliterate the father-daughter sentiment toward Shi Qingxuan.

“Don’t worry!” An Long said nonchalantly, “Based on his current level, as long as I use the ‘li hun gong fa’ [lit. departing soul skill method], I guarantee that he won’t be able to hide even half a bit of secret. Let’s meet in half a sichen at my old shop at the southern market.”

“That’s settled then,” Yang Xuyan agreed, “Let Xiaozhi [little nephew] open up a path for Old Long.”

Hiding outside, Xu Ziling knew Yang Xuyan was about to go out, hence he hurriedly fled far away.

Kou Zhong woke up suddenly; he had a splitting headache, his throat was parched, his body was drenched in cold sweats.

He had just had a terrifying nightmare. In his dream, he came into a huge hall, where the light was unusually glorious, as bright as day, while a band of musicians were playing like demons staking their lives, yet there was not the slightest sound of music. They looked like males, yet not quite males, females, yet not quite females. But when he got a closer look, he found out that their faces were full of deep wrinkles, as if they already had one foot in the grave.

The hall looked like the palace hall where Emperor Yang of Sui was murdered, it could hold several hundred people, and it was full of guests gathered in clumps, chatting and laughing in loud clamor. When he looked closer, in his astonishment he saw Li Shimin, Tuli, Fu Qian, Wang Shichong, Li Mi, Xiao Xian, Xiang Yushan, and the others. He knew them all, yet they did not seem to see him; they just continued drinking and being merry.

Suddenly someone spoke with laugh by his ear, “You finally came!”

Kou Zhong turned his head around to look; unexpectedly it was Li Xiuning. He wanted to talk, but nothing came out. And then Li Xiuning suddenly morphed into Song Yuzhi, who was staring closely at him with resentment in her eyes.

He wanted to throw himself at her, but the scenery changed. The magnificent hall became a battlefield with thousands of men and tens of thousand horses, where everybody was fighting hand-to-hand in desperate battle. He and his comrade-in-arms were in disadvantageous position, and were trying to get away. The people around him seemed to be Xuan Yong, Chen Changlin, Xu Ziling, and the others. One by one their blood splashed and they fell from their horses.

He wanted to pull his Moon in the Well, but there was only half the Moon in the Well remained. And then he woke up with a start and was breathing hard.

The moon sprinkled its light onto the windowsill and the entire courtyard, the autumn cicada’s cry was flourishing and still in the ascendant; he also heard the faint gurgling noise of the creek in the middle of the forest not far outside the courtyard wall. His headache gradually diminished, Kou Zhong sat up on the bed, only to find out that he was still holding the unopened letter written by Li Xiuning, which she passed on to him via Shang Xiuxun. He could not help shaking his head while smiling ruefully, and put the letter back into the bundle of waterproof cloth in which he kept the stuff Lu Miaozi left behind for him, and hid it well inside his clothes.

He was about to get up when Luo Qifei hurriedly came over and said, “Just received the news: Du Fuwei’s light cavalry has just crossed the Yangtze River, and are advancing toward Shen Lun’s camp; we must set out immediately. Would Shao Shuai please make your decision?”

Recalling his nightmare, Kou Zhong pulled the treasured and heavy Moon in the Well from under his pillow. Nodding, he said, “We will set out immediately.”

After waiting for half a day, Xu Ziling knew that something was amiss, because contrary to his expectation, Yang Xuyan did not come out to look around.

Xu Ziling soared at an angle; with two jumps, up and down, he was back to the place where he was eavesdropping just now. As expected, inside the house, not a soul was in sight.

Xu Ziling leaped onto the roof, and looked around as far as his eyes could see.

If the opposite party left via some secret way, the exit ought to be in one of the dozen or so houses nearby; it could not be in a very distant place. And the house where the exit was must have a carriage and a horse prepared in it, in order to facilitate transporting Cao Yinglong away from ‘the danger zone’, so that An Long could fully use his demonic method on him in peace.

He has just had this thought, when a horse-drawn carriage was starting out of the gate of the courtyard house several hundred paces to the south. The horse was clip-clopping its way to the street, and then turned and continued to the east.

Xu Ziling crouched down hurriedly and focused his attention to watch.

Two figures leaped up from the courtyard at the same time; it was An Long and Yang Xuyan, two men, they were as fast as a ghost, and separately landed on the roof of the houses to the left and right, and then disappeared into the shadow. If someone were following the carriage, he would not have escaped their eyes and ears.

Xu Ziling laughed coldly inwardly. He memorized what the carriage looked like, and then he jumped back down to the ground. Taking a roundabout route, he chased after the carriage to intercept it.

Kou Zhong was standing on the stern; his clothes were fluttering in the river breeze, yet he himself was absolutely still like a stone statue. If Li Shimin was allowed to capture Bashu, his potential would become like another Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng [260-210 BC, first emperor of China], and the situation would be like the Great Qin reappearing before the Warring States period. With Guanzhong’s territory encompassing rugged terrain, the troops and horses of the northwest, Guanzhong’s riches and Bashu’s copper and iron, who in the world could strive against them? This would make the Duke Yang’s treasure become more important.

Kou Zhong was indeed too careless; unexpectedly he had not thought about the strategic significance of Bashu. Ay! But even if he had known earlier, what could he do?

His only hope was that the ‘Wulin PanGuan’ Xie Hui would be an ambitious man that he would not be willing to submit himself under the Li Clan, or perhaps the Song Family’s influence could persuade him to remain neutral, or at least to take a wait-and-see stance.

However, if Shi Feixuan personally made her move, the Li Clan’s chance of success was really extraordinarily big.

He began to understand a little bit why he was having such a terrifying nightmare just now.

The carriage was getting closer.

There was no other way to do it. Xu Ziling was ready to go all-out to break the carriage and rescue the person inside. He dared to be certain that An Long and Yang Xuyan were not coming. As long as these two, one old one young, were not here, he had full confidence that he would be able to snatch Cao Yinglong back.

The driver was a big man. Although the Taiyang acupoints on his temples were high and protruding, he could only be considered as an ordinary martial art master of Jianghu, if he could block three strikes from Xu Ziling’s hands, it would be greatly surprising indeed.

The risky thing was the person inside the carriage. No matter how he applied his power to listen, he could not hear any other unusual noise except for Cao Yinglong’s irregular breathing. But he was so sure that there was someone else inside, because the big man, the driver, repeatedly turned his head around to make reports toward the person inside the carriage.

Since An Long had enough confidence to have this person escorting the prisoner, this person definitely had enough capability to accomplish it.

He had not had much chance to think; if he did not take the opportunity to make his move while An Long was not here, he might not have any opportunity at all. At first he was a little curious as to why An Long did not simply do his trick where they were, but then he relaxed after thinking that people of the demonic way were always suspicious of each other, plus by doing it An Long might have to consume considerable power, hence he did not want Yang Xuyan to be by his side; moreover, he would definitely not want to fight with anybody before his strength was recovered. Hence it was necessary that he found some other secret place to do it.

The carriage was about three zhang away from the street it was heading to. On the roof, Xu Ziling was ready to make his move. Suddenly a shadow flashed. Someone suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked in front of the carriage.

Shocked, the driver promptly pulled the rein.

The person looked to be twenty-four, twenty-five years old, with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear [i.e. tough and stocky], extremely bold and powerful. Although he could not be considered handsome, his facial features were quite proportional, his slightly upturned lower lip showed his conceited and extremely strong personality. He stood with strong presence, leaving deep impressions on others.

The big man driving the carriage was about to rain curses on him, but as soon as he stopped to look, his face showed recognition. Immediately swallowing the foul language back into his belly, he called out in surprise, “Xie Shaoye [young master]!”

Inside the carriage, Cao Yinglong’s uneven breathing suddenly stopped, followed by someone pulling the carriage curtain open, and then she spoke tenderly and softly toward the man who was blocking the carriage, who, by this time, was walking toward the side of the carriage, “Qie is Ruhua [lit. like flower], young concubine of An Ye. Gentleman ought to be Xie Wenlong, Xie Shaoye. I wonder why did you stop Qie’s carriage?”

Xu Ziling’s scalp immediately went numb; he knew that he had been fooled.

[wangxiaohu]

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[Jayariyin]

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[SkyWalker]

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