Chapter 4
Absolving Suspicion
(1)
After the great fire was extinguished, the temperature of the air was still hot, along with an awful burning stench.
When the fire started, neighboring people didn’t give it a second look. That’s the way of the world.
Fortunately, there were no houses in the vicinity, so there was no threat of it spreading to others.
Early the next morning it poured down rain. It rained so hard you couldn’t even open your eyes in it, and even if you could, what would be the point?
Everywhere for five spans around was covered in a sheet of gray.
All activity in Zhengzhou came to a stop and it became like a ghost town, the city’s residents all huddled up in their homes having a good sleep.
The rain fell and washed the ash away. Where Sima Manor used to be was now just a pile of rubble, and a gaunt grief-stricken and angry young man’s face coming up out of it.
After a long while he slowly managed to crawl out of the rubble.
He stood up straight and his cheeks were instantly wet, couldn’t tell whether it was tears or the rain. In the blink of an eye he was soaked through.
By his tightly-closed mouth and raised brows he looked a lot like Sima Qianjun.
Through the gray sky one could not tell what time it was, but experience told him it was still daytime.
He was none other than Sima Qianjun’s only son, Sima Cheng.
Probably it was the ice-cold rain that cooled his head and gradually calmed him. He looked around, then took shelter behind a pile of rubble.
× × ×
At nightfall, a young man furtively climbed on top of Cui Yishan’s wall. As soon as he landed on the other side a low voice called out, “Who’s there?”
“I’m looking for Great Xia Cui!”
(2)
By the time word got around the jianghu that Ouyang Changshou, Ouyang Peng, and Chao Xiaoyan had been killed by the Sima father and son, Sima Qianjun’s estate was gone, the servants all disbanded. They had escaped through a tunnel leading outside, not even Zhengzhou residents knew.
Sima Qianjun had wanted to bear this calamity solely on his own shoulders. When Zhao Rongguo was shouting abuse at his door he told Sima Cheng to hide.
Though he would never cover for a wrongdoer, the Sima family had only one offspring, and he truly believed that his son was innocent. If he were to hand him over he would be sending his beloved son to his death.
Sima Cheng was not about to listen to his father. He insisted on going out to face Zhao Rongguo so that his father could escape. Even his mother getting on her knees and pleading with him didn’t faze him.
Sima Qianjun looked at his son with tenderness and love and couldn’t help but shed some hero’s tears.
Finally, there was no helping it, he could only seal Sima Cheng’s numbing acupoint to immobilize him, then had Han Xuexiang toss him into the tunnel.
The tunnel was behind a big pagoda tree in the garden. It was no exaggeration to call it a big pagoda tree, three big men wrapping their arms around its trunk would still lack an extra span to make it all the way around.
The trunk had been cut off two staves up from the ground and it was hollowed out enough for a person to fit through. Pagoda trees are hardy and this was not enough to kill it, rather it sprouting many new branches and kept on growing, filling out magnificently. For a distance it looked like an enormous dark green umbrella. If you didn’t look closely you would never notice that the upper part of its trunk had been sawed off.
Therefore, Wu Changle, Zhao Siniang, and the others never could find the entrance to the tunnel.
Below the tree trunk, sunk into the ground was an iron plate two fingerwidths thick. Han Xuexiang not only covered the iron plate, she locked it as well.
She didn’t want her son to come running out and speed to his death. The tunnel came out only five miles away from Sima Manor. Though Sima Cheng came to twelve double-hours later, by the time he got back it was already too late.
Twelve double-hours was a full day and night, and in that time this tremendous event was already “resolved”.
After a tremendous change, people will gradually calm down and make a turn for the better.
The matter sure enough went as the Sima husband and wife expected.
× × ×
The great fire had burned up everything, even fused shut the lock to the tunnel’s iron plate.
When Sima Cheng came to, the fire was already extinguished, but the air was still unusually hot, and the iron plate leading the way out was frighteningly red.
Sima Cheng saw the iron plate and knew everything. Two lines of hot tears started from his eyes.
He sat there silently, not hungry, not thirsty, and in no pain—he was already numb to the pain. Even the iron plate’s color gradually dulled to a dark red, and the air temperature suddenly dropped.
He found it a bit odd, the air cooled much too quickly. He reached out and touched the iron plate. It was cool to the touch and he strained and pushed it open. The first thing he saw was rain, then debris and ruins…
× × ×
Cui Yishan quietly listened to Sima Cheng’s account with a smile on his face. “Worthy Nephew, why did you leave that day without first bidding farewell?”
Sima Cheng smiled wryly. “Uncle Cui, first of all, that day, Father was laid up in bed, and secondly, seeing the one you love about to enter someone else’s bridal chamber was a hard thing to watch, so…”
He paused, then continued, “If my late father had not wanted me to go in his stead that I wouldn’t have gone at all! That Ouyang father and son think themselves a playboy, insufferably arrogant, I just couldn’t stand the sight of it!”
Cui Yishan sighed. “No wonder they suspected you as the murderer. Seems Worthy Nephew didn’t get along very well with Ouyang Peng.”
“It’s not that we didn’t get along, we just nodded and went the other way when we saw each other. I can’t stand seeing him with a girl on each arm, and always bringing along this big entourage of retainers, lording it over everyone. But, his death was not caused by me!”
Cui Yishan said, “This old rotter has known your father and mothers for decades. You could say that I watched you grow up. Others might suspect you, but how could Uncle not understand you, not believe you?”
Sima Cheng felt a little better, but Cui Yishan mentioning his mother made his eyes red, and in grief he said, “Too bad I’m unfilial, sent my dad and mom to a violent death, can’t even find their bones…”
Cui Yishan chuckled softly. “Worthy Nephew, don’t be sad, your father and your mother’s bodies Uncle already quietly buried. Once all this blows over, Worthy Nephew can perform the funeral rites to put your parents’ souls to rest.”
Sima Cheng got down on his knees and said, “Uncle’s great kindness and righteousness, this young nephew will not forget as long as he lives!”
Cui Yishan helped him up and said with a smile, “Right now just get something to eat. Wait here, Uncle will have them prepare something.”
Cui Yishan not only instructed his people to make some light refreshments for Sima Cheng, more importantly he gave a strict order not to let word get out that Sima Cheng was here.
Early the next morning, Cui Yishan went to the guestroom to find Sima Cheng.
“Worthy Nephew, what are your plans?”
Sima Cheng said, “The killing of one’s parents is an unforgivable offense, however this young nephew first wants to find out who the real murderer is, clear my name, then I can go to the Zhaos to call them to account!”
“How does Worthy Nephew plan to find out who the killer is?”
Sima Cheng sighed. “I have no idea. Uncle, what do you think?”
“Shen Ying, have you heard of this person?”
Sima Cheng said, “The chief constable of Jiangbei, ‘Divine-eyed Vulture’ Shen Ying?”1
Cui Yishan nodded. “Ole Shen Ying and I go way back. I was thinking of getting him to investigate this case for you.”
Sima Cheng said, “Elder Shen no doubt is infinitely resourceful, but his fee is astonishing, this young nephew doesn’t have so much as a single copper…”
“That, Worthy Nephew, you don’t need to worry about. Uncle will put in a word for you. Though when it comes to handling a case he doesn’t acknowledge relatives, only silver, but, on account of me I think he won’t charge too much! If it comes to it, this old rotter will sell his country estate!”
Sima Cheng said urgently, “No way, if Uncle did that, this young nephew would feel bad forever. Let me feel around about this matter myself.”
“Money is just a worldly object, clearing your name is most important. Worthy Nephew, don’t be so stuck on that.”
“Uncle has always acted with the righteousness of a xia and has given up a lot of your estate, even if you put it like that I won’t agree!” His bullish temper flared up, his staunch decisiveness was much like his father.
Cui Yishan sighed and thought silently.
After a long while, he finally said, “Okay, if Worthy Nephew is eliminated as a suspect, then that undoubtedly would mean that the Zhao and Ouyang families wrongly drove your father to his death. We can ask Ole Shen Ying to collect his fee from those two families!”
Sima Cheng said, “Let’s do that!”
But Shen Ying had gone with his team to handle a case in Jiangnan, so Cui Yishan was not able to get hold of him. Shen Ying didn’t even know what had happened in Jiangbei, hadn’t heard any news of it.
(3)
Zhao Rongguo led the army back to Ouyang Manor. His heart was still uneasy, only after Sima Qianjun and his wife were dead did his mind gradually calm down.
This calm, he realized, had a number of flaws and doubts.
The first point was that neither Sima Qianjun nor Sima Cheng had the ability to kill Ouyang Changshou, not even if the two of them teamed up. They wouldn’t even have been able to sneak into Ouyang Changshou’s study without alerting anyone.
The second point was that even though Sima Cheng could have killed Ouyang Peng and Chao Xiaoyan from the shadows, could he have been able to escape Ouyang Manor without anyone noticing at all?
On this point, Zhao Rongguo’s answer was possibly.
The third point was that if Sima Cheng wanted to kill them, why would he write his name carefully and neatly in the guestbook? And if he did kill them, why wouldn’t he just hang around for a bit so that he wouldn’t be suspected?
On this point, Zhao Rongguo had no answer. His mind was in tatters.
A few days later, he decided to go back home in Hebei. Before he left he had his daughter send someone to get Shen Ying to investigate Ouyang Changshou’s death and find out who the murderer was.
Zhao Siniang agree with Zhao Rongguo about his first doubt, but with no leads all she could do was get Zhan Tianhong to send someone to get Shen Ying.
The person Zhan Tianhong dispatched couldn’t find Shen Ying, because Shen Ying was in Jiangnan.
But, Zhao Rongguo’s eldest son-in-law ran into Shen Ying’s right-hand man, Gongsun Liang, on his way back to Wannan. He told Gongsun Liang that the Ouyangs wanted to hire Shen Ying to investigate the death of Ouyang Changshou.
This was a piece of fatty meat,2 Gongsun Liang sent someone at once to Jiangnan to inform Shen Ying.
The person Gongsun Liang dispatched ran into Shen Ying on the riverbank, who was just returning from Jiangnan after handling a case.
Shen Ying listened to the subordinate’s report and told Xiao Mu to go to Wanbei to assist Gongsun Liang in solving the case, while he went with Gu Sinan and Yun Feiyan to Luoyang.
× × ×
Cui Yishan didn’t yet know that Shen Ying was returning to Jiangbei, and Sima Cheng couldn’t wait around any longer. He disguised himself somewhat, left a note, and left the Cui residence.
The world was vast and Sima Cheng was at a loss, not knowing where to begin. His legs moved of their own accord and subconsciously took him to Luoyang.
He didn’t know how to go about investigating, but he felt that since the murder took place in Luoyang, he might discover something there.
On the way he bought some farmer’s clothes made of coarse cloth and changed into them, then realizing he had nothing much else in his bag, enough to last him at most eight or ten days. He walked slowly, intentionally getting sunburned under the scorching sun, so that by the time he reached Luoyang he’d become a “lump of charcoal”.
The next day he began looking for work in the city. Everyone thought he was a young man from the countryside come to the city to look for work.
Finally he found a position as a waiter at a restaurant. He was pleased with this because at least there would be a mix of customers and he might be able to find out some information.
The work was hard, but it didn’t bother Sima Cheng, and the manager praised him to to end, saying he was hardworking and well-mannered, and that he was strong and able-bodied, and a after several days he was sent to the second floor to wait on the VIPs.
The second floor room was not large, but everyone who came and went there was a big spender, so the manager assigned three people to be in charge of it.
His quick rise didn’t make the others envious because he had used his skills to get there. Ole Zhang, the senior waiter on the second floor, took a liking to him, and if not for the fact that they had just met he would have given him his daughter’s hand in marriage.
On this day seven or right men in fine clothes arrived, running the gamut from fat to thin, handsome to ugly, and mean to nice. They rented out the entire second floor and they spent money freely. Naturally, the manager had Sima Cheng and the others painstakingly wait on them.
However, the leader of the group, who said his surname was Yi, said, “We’ll call on you ourselves. Don’t send anyone up and less we call for you. Also, give a warning before bringing any food up!”
“Yes sir!” the manager replied.
A carved lacquerware screen sectioned off a little room on the second floor in which a square eight-immortals table was placed. Ole Zhang set the table, then went downstairs.
“These people are not to be messed with, they all look so mean,” Old Zhang said softly.
As soon as the eight people arrived Sima Cheng could tell they all knew kungfu, and the leader, Yi, had the most advanced internal energy. And their mysteriousness made him want to get close to them, so he took this task upon himself.
The manager trusted him deeply and wanted to let him try.
The first dished was brought up and one by the surname Huo said, “Waiter, that will be all, you can go back down!”
Sima Cheng assented and turned around and went downstairs.
The second and third dishes went the same way. The fourth dish was sharkfin soup. Sima Cheng ladled them each a bowl, then left.
When he go to the steps he suddenly darted behind a pillar and held his breath, listening.
He heard Yi say, “Number Five sent word out the day before yesterday, they’ve hired Ole Shen Ying. That old boy has magic powers, we have to be prepared, so Number One had me specially call you all together. Just be patient for the time being, don’t do anything rash.”
A hoarse voice said, “This whole thing is cloaked in secrecy, can Vulture Shen ferret it out?”
“If you’re careful you can steer a boat 10,000 years.”
“They’re dead, Luoyang is our turf now,” said a thin, sharp voice. “Chief is right, being a bit patient is the way to go!”
Sima Cheng was thunderstruck hearing this. He suspected that they were talking about the Ouyang Manor murders. He unconsciously stretched out and stuck his head out as much as he could toward the screen.
This move caused his sleeve to rustle and all talking immediately stopped.
Sima Cheng was fully alert and hopped up into the rafters at once and used the pillar and ceiling as cover and furtively made his way down the rear staircase.
He was just leaving when he heard Yi say, “Manager, hurry up and bring the next dish!”
The manager promptly responded, “Tucheng, hurry on to the kitchen and bring the next dish up!”
Sima Cheng was using a fake name. He took apart his real name Cheng (城) and made Tucheng (土成). This name felt somewhat rustic.3
The rear stairs led to the kitchen, and Sima Cheng brought a big pot of scallop & stewed-pigeon soup out and called out, “Coming!”
He did his best to act like nothing was amiss as he set the soup on the table and ladled it out for them.
The Yi-surnamed middle-aged man suddenly said, “Waiter, what’s your name?”
Sima Cheng started in alarm, but pretended to be extremely flattered. “My lowly name is Tucheng.”
“Why is there dust on your sleeve?” He pointed to Sima Cheng’s sleeve.
Sima Cheng was shook. “I brushed against the kitchen wall just now.”
“Is that so?” Yi was expressionless. “I heard this restaurant doesn’t just have the best food, it’s also the cleanest place in the entire city! So how could that happen?”
Sima Cheng was a bit flustered, but finally he said, “But the soup is clean!”
“Hold up, how can you be sure of not getting dust in the soup? Hold your sleeve up when you ladle!”
“Yes, yes, Master is right!” Sima Cheng held his sleeve up. He didn’t think anything of it, but Yi’s eyes suddenly took on a different gleam, his gaze fixed on Sima Cheng’s partly tanned, partly pale arm.
After that, Sima Cheng listen in on them anymore.
× × ×
Before leaving, Yi asked the manager, “That waiter who brought up the food earlier, is he new here?”
“Yes, yes, he’s country folk, Master pleaser forgive him for not serving you satisfactorily!”
“Country folk?” Yi’s eyes flashed. “Oh, he’s a hard worker. Give him this silver. Mm, don’t you go scraping some off for yourself, give him all of this, you hear me!” He glared, eyes bright and stark.
The manager’s heart shivered.
Sima Cheng took the ingot of silver, puzzled.
(4)
It was dusk when Shen Ying reached Luoyang. These few days he had not stopped for a moment, so he was a bit tired. He decided to rest for the night and go to Ouyang Manor in the morning.
Luoyang was a big place, so naturally Shen Ying had a “temporary palace” established here,4 and it was the biggest and best-furnished one in all of Jiangbei.
Even though he had not been in Luoyang in recent years, his home was swept as immaculately clean as always.
After supper he rested in a reclining chair. On the road he had already inquired about the Ouyang Manor murders. Now he saw smoking his pipe and going over the case in his mind from beginning to end.
Young people are more energetic. Gu Sinan had not been to Luoyang in a long time, and this was Yun Feiyan’s first time to the ancient city at all.
After supper, Gu Sinan saw Shen Ying reclining in his chair and sat beside him, staring ahead blankly.
Yun Feiyan stamped her little foot and tugged at his sleeve. “Lil Nan, why don’t you and I go out for a walk!”
Gu Sinan looked at Shen Ying, then at Yun Feiyan, and finally stood up.
× × ×
The restaurant had no night service, so at the 11th double-hour, the hour of the dog,5 the manager told Sima Cheng to close the doors.
The other workers were locals, so they tidied up and left one after the other, and the manager went upstairs to rest.
Sima Cheng closed up the front doors and went to go bolt the back door. He had just done this when there were to soft raps on the door.
“Who is it?” Sima Cheng asked.
“Is that Brother Tucheng? Open up, Great Xia Cui is looking for you!”
Sima Cheng started and said suspiciously, “Who are you?”
“I’m a waiter at Honored Guest Inn. Quickly, if I’m later, Boss will take it out of my pay!”
“Hold on, let me tell my manager, then I’ll be there.”
He told the manager that a relative had come to the city and he wanted to go out with him. The manager said to come back soon, then finally free, the manager got close to his lamp and read his stories.
The waiter walked fast, saying in a low voice, “Brother Tucheng, you’ve not been here long, I’ll show you a shortcut. Quickly now!”
Sima Cheng really was worried that the waiter’s boss would deduct his pay. “Brother is being put to a lot of trouble!”
“It’s alright, I’m doing this for myself as well! The tip will be substantial!”
Sima Cheng found that funny. He had been a waiter for several weeks and naturally knew the customs.
They went down a small alley and the waiter turned suddenly and said, “You know how much money I can get?”
Sima Cheng laughed. “Little Brother is new to the business, I’m not sure.
“Twenty taels of silver, maybe more!”
Sima Cheng was astounded. Cui Yishan’s finances were not that great, he couldn’t afford to spend so freely. Doubt had just formed in his mind when he saw four big men dressed in black standing in a line before him.
The waiter quickly leapt over the human wall, but the men in black blocked the way for Sima Cheng.
Sima Cheng was surprised and now knew he’d fallen into a trap. Anxiously he said, “Who are you all?”
A roundfaced man said, “Who we are doesn’t matter, what matters is we know you are Sima Cheng!”
“So what if I am?”
“Come to the manor with us to see Madame!”
“You’re from Ouyang Manor?”
“Wise up, boy, do you want to drink a toast or drink a forfeit?”
Sima Cheng thought of how he could escape as he said, “What does drinking a toast mean? What kind of forfeit?”
“Drinking a toast means we tie you up and take you back to the manor. As for drinking a forfeit…”
Sima Cheng waited till he was distracted from talking, then pushed off with his foot and pressed against the wall with his left hand and shot upward.
Unexpectedly, the man was even quicker than the waiter had been, seeming to expect this from Sima Cheng, leaping up a step sooner, steel sabre chopping down at Sima Cheng’s head!
Sima Cheng was angry, twisting around, left foot kicking off the wall in midair and he flipped away.
When he touched the ground he was still in the alley, and the big men wielded weapons and came at him, a sword, a sabre, two cudgels, and the waiter’s steel sabre made five.
Sima Cheng flew back in a quick retreat, at the same time sending a right fist out. His internal energy had not reached the apex yet, not like his father, whose fist forcewind could shoot out two staves, but his punch’s momentum and the force of it was still enough to forge ahead and stop up the big man’s oncoming force.
Sima Cheng took this opportunity to pull back again. The danger would decrease once he got out of this small alley. At least, in the alley there was not much space but a lot of people, and they all had weapons. If he got hemmed in from both sides, even if he had three heads and six arms he would still be a goner.
A stave or so away from the mouth of the alley, Sima Cheng was inwardly delighted, but unexpectedly a strong gust of wind blew over his head, the waiter leaping over his head.
He really hated that waiter and raised his right fist to punch him in the belly in rage, putting eight-tenths of his strength behind the punch, coming on like a meteor.
The waiter swung the steel sabre in his right hand and blocked his belly, Sima Cheng’s fist slamming into the spine of the sabre, a stream of unusually strong force penetrating the blade and into the waiter’s body, which flew back into the air!
But though the waiter was not very old, his strength was quite developed. In midair he bent over and dropped down forcefully, coming straight down and blocking off the mouth of the alley.
Anxious, Sima Cheng delivered another punch, this one clearly aimed at his opponent’s face, but just before it reached him the fist dropped down, aimed at his belly.
The waiter’s sabreplay was tight and steady. His wrist sank slightly, the tip of his sabre protecting his belly, and a white light appeared, the steel sabre dancing up and down, creating a net of blade in front of him.
He was only defending, not attacking, and Sima Cheng loosed five moves without breaking through the sabre net.
The sixth punch had just been delivered when behind him came a whoosh of a sabre blade chopping air behind him. He ducked and pulled back his punch at once, left fist shooting out behind him without looking.
Sima Cheng’s surprise attacker was the big roundfaced man. After his sabre chopped air, Sima Cheng’s left fist slammed into his thigh and he staggered back a step.
Sima Cheng rapidly stood up straight and the waiter’s steel sabre pricked at his chest. Sima Cheng leaned to the side and the tip of the blade passed by the crook of his arm. He swept his right foot out and forced back a big man wielding a sword.
At the same time, his left palm hit the wall and he leapt up, both feet flying at the waiter’s face. The waiter raised his hand and his blade swept up at his legs.
Unexpectedly, Sima Cheng’s move was a feint. The tip of his left foot stepped on the top of his right foot and he plummeted down, elbow coming down to slam into the belly of a big man wielding a cudgel, and the man went down at once.
Quicker than words can tell, the sword-wielder and a sabre-wielder came at him at once, one thrusting at his left shoulder, the other hacking at the back of his head.
The alley was narrow and the two men attacked shoulder-to-shoulder so there was no extra room for Sima Cheng to dodge. He could only double over and roll, the waiter’s steel sabre chopping down right at that moment. Sima Cheng raised his upper body and knocked the spine of the sabre away with his left palm, right fist punching. It was a dangerous move, but but superbly executed. The waiter was punched in the chest and staggered back, letting out a sharp cry.
The sound was sharp and piercing, breaking the night’s silence and traveling a long way.
The waiter was beaten back, but he still guarded the mouth of the alley, not giving Sima Cheng a chance to escape.
Sima Cheng had just stood up straight when the felled cudgel-wielder’s cudgel suddenly struck at Sima Cheng’s legs.
The strike was quick and heavy, bam and the pain went to his heart and spleen, nearly breaking his shinbone, making Sima Cheng’s eyes water.
The cudgel blow didn’t break his shinbone, but he couldn’t stand well. As he fell his right fist slammed into the cudgel-wielder’s face, shattering the bridge of the man’s nose. The man cried out savagely.
The waiter’s steel sabre once again chopped down, and the sword was thrust at him as well. Sima Cheng couldn’t move well and suddenly grabbed a man and pulled him in front of him as a shield. In a split second the steel sabre and the sword pierced the man’s body, who wailed and died.
Though Sima Cheng had himself a “protective talisman”, he still couldn’t escape this situation. Now he could only defend, not attack. Sitting on the ground, the dead body raised over him to shield himself, one can only defend for so long before losing. Soon, a chunk of his left shoulder was taken and sent flying by the waiter’s steel sabre and blood stained his teal shirt.
Another while later, the sword cut a deep bloody gash in his thigh and Sima Cheng felt the man’s body he was holding up getting heavier and heavier. He was gradually losing his ability to fend them off, and in a moment of negligence his right arm was hit with a cudgel so that he could hardly raise his arm.
The situation was getting more and more critical. Even Sima Cheng thought his strenuous effort was only prolonging the inevitable, delaying his death for a time.
× × ×
Lanterns were being extinguished on the main street and people were thinning out.
Gu Sinan at the end took Yun Feiyan around in the vicinity of Ouyang Manor to walk around. “Let’s go back, lest Chief need us and not be able to find us.”
Yun Feiyan said softly, “If you want, anyway it’s like walking around with a mute being with you, no fun at all.”
After a while Gu Sinan finally said, “I… I don’t know what you like to talk about!”
“Joke around, chat, sentimental stuff, that’s not okay?”
“Chief says that’s all silly stuff. Better not to do anything than do silly stuff. Mm, you want to hear something? Let me think…”
Yun Feiyan sighed. “You really are like a block of wood. Though a block of wood does have a lot of uses, it’s not as nice to look at as dark green leaves or pink flower blossoms!”
“Fei… Let me see, let me see… There was an old man who used to cut wood in the mountains all day. One day, a transcendent immortal pointed at his bald head with his immortal’s staff…6
Yun Feiyan chuckled and Gu Sinan was really happy. He was going to continue when Yun Feiyan stopped him. “Forget it, who wants to listen to your old bad jokes. Always this or that old man!” Then she laughed again.
Gu Sinan was put off and followed behind her awkwardly.
Yun Feiyan knew he’d be a good husband, but he would by no means be a good lover.
She didn’t know when she had started taking a liking to him, nor was she sure if it was better to look for a good husband or a good lover.
A good husband would care for you forever, but it would take all her effort and patience to endure it. Only when one of them died would one be “crowned with success”.
A good lover might not care for you forever, might even be abandoned, but the time spent together would be so sweet, happy, and carefree, heart and soul melded together. They would be sweet memories to think back on.
Like a streaming star in the sky, bright one moment, gone the next.
“So which is better?” Yun Feiyan thought to herself, at a loss.
Gu Sinan said softly, “Lil Fei, what are you thinking about?” He always called her Lil Fei because she was like a white dove, capable of flying away at any time.
Yun Feiyan suddenly felt bad. She was about to speak when the night silence was broken by a sharp cry.
The cry was full of pain and terror. Yun Feiyan and Gu Sinan tensed up and looked at each other. They were just thinking of which direction the sound had come from when another savage cry came just in time, this one louder and clearer than the first.
Gu Sinan and Yun Feiyan now could tell where the sound was coming from.
Gu Sinan shot into the darkness without thinking. He was slow when it came to dealing women, but he reacted fast with something like this.
Those cries he couldn’t just ignore. Who dared commit violence under his watch?
Ravengold sabre in hand, strong force was already spread through his whole body.7 Another savage cry sounded, sharp and short. When he heard it he knew this was the final death rattle before a person dies.
His heart sank and he picked up the pace. Yun Feiyan had gotten off to a slower start, but she was only no more than five spans behind him.
× × ×
In the narrow alley, Sima Cheng’s strength was just about exhausted. He had bitten his lower lip and and it was bleeding. He was soaked with blood all over and had lost a lot of blood, consuming his strength faster. The dead body he held liked to way a thousand catties.
The waiter and his three associates said not a word but took turns hacking at him. If the alley had not been so narrow so that the four of them could not attack all at once, three Sima Chengs would be dead already.
Strength vanishing bit by bit, Sima Cheng just felt his mouth was dry, and his head felt as heavy as a boulder. His hands were also beginning to tremble. He uttered sharply, “I didn’t kill Ouyang Peng!”
Just as he was about to use his last remaining strength to toss the dead body aside, he suddenly heard a heavy, composed voice shout, “Stop.”
Sima Cheng was jolted to his senses and he used the body to shield him in the front from a sword thrust, but the sword stabbed too deeply, the tip running through the body and stabbing him in the belly.
Followed closely came an explosive shout and the clash of weapons. A man in black raged, “Who dares meddle with Ouyang family business?”
“Chief Constable of Jiangbei, Shen Ying, dares!” Gu Sinan knocked a cudgel strike away and leaned to the side to allow Yun Feiyan’s sword to thrust from behind him. The tip of the sword severed the opponent’s wrist vein and the cudgel clattered to the ground.
“Chief Constable of Jiangbei Shen Ying, you finally arrived…” Sima Cheng muttered, his mind slacked, everything when dark before him, and he fainted.
Notes
- 禿鷹 is literally “bald hawk”. Sometimes you’ll see this incorrectly translated as bald eagle because 鷹 can sometimes mean eagle. But it is not a bald eagle. This “bald” 禿 literally means bald of hair, like on one’s head. But the “bald” of bald eagle actually means white. Of course bald eagles are not actually bald but have white heads. Cattle and horses with white faces are often called baldfaced as well. So 禿鷹 means vulture, that is a bird of prey with no feathers on its head.
- That is, a cash cow, a gold mine, a good bit of business.
- His name, Cheng, means city or city wall, and taken apart in this way meas soil whole.
- 行宮, a temporary residence set up for the majestic thearch when he is on an inspection tour or otherwise traveling. Here used to mean a temporary headquarters while Shen Ying and his team work.
- That is 7-9 pm.
- Sorry, I don’t really get this one either. I think he’s pointing to his bald head in reference to the bald ground, as in he’d cut down all the trees. But I’m not sure.
- I’m not sure exactly what Ximen Ding intends by using “black gold” 烏金, which is literally crow metal, or crow gold. It might be something like palladium or platinum treated to give it a darker sheen. There’s also “black gold” in English which is gold plated with rhodium. That might be too modern to be intended here though. It think we should picture a dark, dull-colored metal here, like the color of pewter or palladium or lead rather than an actually “black” metal. Chinese dictionaries also list 烏金 as another word for iron, so we may be dealing with something resembling cast iron. I translate 金 as gold here rather than its originally meaning, metal, to indicate its preciousness and because 烏金 also refers to coal, which incidentally is known colloquially in English as “black gold”. But I don’t think we should take this as a sabre made from solid gold as that would be impractical because of gold’s softness. I give it the literal name ravengold to distinguish this as a specific substance while also hinting at its color. It’s not uncommon to see this material in wuxia fiction.