Book 48 Chapter 8 – Jade Woman’s Fragrant Heart

Chang’an has turned into a world where the rain filled the whole sky. Far and near, the streetscape seemed to appear, but seemed to be hidden as well, blurry, full with abundant-water-droplets-in-the-air feeling.

On such night, two excelling-the-common great martial art masters, one young, the other old, respectively representing their own generation, were strolling harmoniously along the Yong’An Canal under the night rain.

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “I wonder if Xie Wang is coming to kill me again?”

Shi Zhixuan’s countenance was tranquil and peaceful, the air of a martial art master of a great scholar respected for learning and integrity of a respectable Sect. He spoke indifferently, “I have made a mistake, how can I make another mistake? Last time fortunately I reined the horse at the edge of the precipice, ay! Ziling evidently know my every move. Everything must go through the intense struggle in my innermost being. But it is fortunately so, hence it did not cause a serious mistake.”

Hearing that, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold qi. If what he said turned out to be true, then last time he was able to preserve his little life was really not because Shi Zhixuan had not recovered from his injury, but because of Shi Qingxuan, his only flaw.

However, how could he know whether just now Shi Zhixuan was telling the truth or a lie? The one he was facing could be the Shi Zhixuan with a flaw, or it could be the Shi Zhixuan completely without any flaw.

Revealing a hint of smile, Shi Zhixuan said, “Ziling must have a very important business in Chang’an that you put Qingxuan out of your mind and reluctant to give up your task here to go to her.”

‘Help!’ Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Shi Zhixuan’s intelligence was higher than the sky; if he was able to see through their Zhu Xiang Daji [grand plan to punish the Xiang], the consequences would be utterly unimaginable.

Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, “There is something that all along I fail to understand, I’d like to ask Qianbei to give advice.”

Shi Zhixuan nodded and said, “Feel free to ask, we still have time anyway. Tonight is certainly not an ordinary evening, someone is going to shed blood.”

A burst of chill assaulted Xu Ziling. Shi Zhixuan spoke about other people shedding blood was like an ordinary, common topic like he was speaking about the daily life of a family, a clear sign of his cold-blooded natural instinct.

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “Does Xie Wang derive pleasure from killing people?”

Shi Zhixuan spoke in astonishment, “You are puzzled over this matter?”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “I am puzzled over other thing, which is why are you so sure that your honorable thousand-jin [lit. thousand pounds of gold, i.e. (honorific) daughter] Qingxuan Xiaojie and I are a couple of lovers who are going to talk about marriage and discuss a family? The fact is that Qingxuan Xiaojie and I are purely ordinary friends.”

Shi Zhixuan halted his steps. He stood with his hands behind his back by the Yong’an Canal, fixing his gaze on the dreary and fuzzy nightscape in the misty rain on the opposite bank. A profound emotion gushing out of his pair of eyes, he spoke slowly, “I, Shi Zhixuan, am a person with experience, how could I misinterpret what I see? You are just like me when I encountered Bi Xiuxin in the past, repeatedly deceiving myself. Only if you can harden your heart by not going to You Lin Xiao Gu for the rest of your life will I, Shi Zhixuan, have no choice but to admit that I have seen this matter wrong.”

Casting his gaze toward Xu Ziling, he spoke softly, “I have been watching her in secret; she is precisely the embodiment of her Niang. And when you saw Qingxuan, it was just like me seeing Xiuxin. Your feeling, how could I not understand? Tell me, Ziling, when you see Qingxuan for the first time, how do you feel? Can you be a bit honest and tell me about it?”

Not even in his dream would Xu Ziling ever think that Shi Zhixuan unexpectedly wanted to talk about the load in his mind with him, in such a rainy night. The clothes on their bodies would soon be drenched, the slightly cold raindrops fell on his cheeks, but it was quite comfortable.

His first encounter with Shi Qingxuan was a muddled account; after all, which could be considered the very first time that he saw her? Was it the first time that he had a sudden glimpse of her back? Or how about the Mid-Autumn night in Chengdu, when he caught a glimpse from across the street of her unmasking half of her face?

Shaken, Xu Ziling said, “It was at our last meeting that she was willing to let me see her real countenance, therefore, I am not sure if that can be considered the first time I saw her.”

Smiling wryly, Shi Zhixuan said, “Oh Qingxuan! You clearly know all men in the world are slow and stupid; who could understand your kindly feelings?”

Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, “What does Xie Wang mean?”

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong went back to Situ Mansion first to retrieve his Moon in the Well and changed into nightwalker outfit. It was still a quarter of an hour to the first watch of the night [7-9pm], he was glad that there was still some time before Hou Xibai was back to discuss the big plan to kill Shi Zhixuan with Xu Ziling, because with Hou Xibai nearby, it was inconvenient to talk.

Who would have thought that instead of Xu Ziling, who ought be back earlier than he did, it was Wanwan who arrived first. Kou Zhong took off his mask before entering the house to see her.

This barefooted, crafty, mysterious and hard-to-fathom beautiful woman was sitting by the window, her jade countenance contained springtime charming expression, those who did not know her must have been dazed by her; Kou Zhong, however, was breathing out fire.

Wanwan noticed his ill expression, she could not restraint her jet-black eyebrows from being knitted lightly, as she spoke faintly, “What did I do to offend you, Shaoshuai Ye?”

Kou Zhong sat down next to her, separated by a small table, he spoke heavily, “How did you know that it was Shang Xiuxun who came here this morning?”

Wanwan’s jade countenance turned cold as she spoke in displeasure, “Why did you say that I knew it was Shang Xiuxun?”

Kou Zhong angrily said, “You still want to argue? If you did not know Shang Xiuxun was coming, how could you deliberately leave behind your fragrance, implicating me and Ling Shao that we were in a mess.”

Wanwan’s countenance changed slightly, she revealed a thoughtful look, but quickly returned to her calm and cool manner; she spoke softly, “I won’t argue with you over such meaningless things. So you no longer want to cooperate with me?”

In his heart, Kou Zhong was still thinking about her thoughtful look just now, which had never appeared on Wanwan’s jade countenance before. What could possibly produce such a big shock to her? Was it related to her Tianmo Da Fa? Perhaps there was a problem with her cultivation that she left behind the scent? Could it be that they really blame her wrongly?

He spoke heavily, “Really sorry! There is no possibility that we can continue to cooperate. You and us have repeatedly worked together, not a single time it ended well. How can this time be the exception?”

Wanwan lightly said, “Shaoshuai, do you know something?”

Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, “Say it! What trick are you going to play?”

Wanwan turned her gaze to the rainy night outside the window, she spoke tenderly, “Wan’er is already at the end of my patience toward you, Kou Zhong. I decided to kill you.”

“What?” Kou Zhong blurted out.

※ ※ ※

“Come with me!” Shi Zhixuan said.

He flew along the canal and suddenly jumped down on a skiff moored at the shore. Helpless, Xu Ziling followed closely behind, he landed on the stern and sat down.

Shi Zhixuan seemed to have a particularly good impression on Yong’an Canal. This was the third time that Xu Ziling toured the Yong’an Canal with him, but intuitively he sensed that for the time being, the other party did not have any malice.

With this supposedly number one top martial art master of the demonic school gently rowing the boat, the skiff slowly glided in the direction of the Yue Ma Bridge and Wu Lou Si.

The drizzle was still falling like strings of silver thread, floating freely in the night sky. The river and canal appeared like flickering ashes, the trees along the bank became hazy shadows, the lights on both banks turned into circles of halo brimming with water droplets, which dissolved into the wind and the rain to become an integral whole.

In meaningful and heartfelt words, Shi Zhixuan said, “Because Qingxuan was afraid to stir up menfolk to indulge in flights of fancy, she did not want to reveal her true identity to anybody. Last time in Chengdu, not only she let you see her countenance, she even personally played a song by your side. Her affection to you is abundantly clear, tell me Ziling, aren’t you slow-witted?”

In his heart, Xu Ziling shivered greatly; he never thought that Shi Zhixuan was this clear about the affair between his daughter and Xu Ziling. On the other hand, in his heart, Xu Ziling did not take his words to heart. In his mind, Shi Qingxuan was only expressing her gratitude because of Xu Ziling’s help in upholding justice. On top of that, it was their last meeting, hence she was showing special favor to him. Perhaps there was a hint of favorable impression between a man and a woman involved, but it was not like Shi Zhixuan said, an action of ‘showing affection’.

Yet failing to live up to his expectations, his heart was jumping wildly, without him being able to control it, it already galloped toward the enchanting scene of that day, where he came in contact with Shi Qingxuan. Time seemed to fly in abnormal speed, it passed quickly, but her every graceful facial expression, he could still picture it clearly in his mind.

Shi Zhixuan’s sad voice entered his ears, saying, “I chose to train Xibai in Chengdu, it was so that I could get close to Qingxuan, so that I could secretly go to see her from time to time. Whenever there was evil thought in my heart, I would leave immediately. But when I miss her, I can’t help coming to Chengdu again. Ay! That kind of pain, it’s really no use to tell others.”

Xu Ziling looked at him blankly. It was only now that he understood why he turned Hou Xibai into the Passionate Prince, because every time he came to Chengdu, he was precisely the Shi Zhixuan who blamed himself in his deep love. He could not help speaking, “You have been through so much. Why is it that Qianbei is still unable to wake up from the nightmare of the struggle of hatred and killing? Qianbei said that you might have evil thought in your heart, that means Qianbei can still distinguish good and evil in your heart. Since that’s the case, why not renounce evil and turn to virtue?”

Laughing involuntarily, Shi Zhixuan said, “I, Shi Zhixuan, since my debut to this day, there has never been anybody like Ziling who lecture me on my face. The evil thought I was talking just now was targeted at Qingxuan. The struggle of hatred and killing has existed since the ancient times, it is never been interrupted, and it will continue to the future. This is human nature, you can’t consider it evil thoughts. This is the world where the weak are prey to the strong. You are advising me, but why don’t you advise Kou Zhong and Li Shimin? They have their own ideals, I, Shi Zhixuan also have my own ideals, as well as a mission, toward our holy school. Over the last several hundred years we constantly suffer the bullying and eliminating attempts by the so-called orthodox Wulin people, so we could only live our lives in all black, no daylight [idiom]. But now the opportunity is finally here; since I have the aspiration, how could I be willing to miss it in vain?”

And then he casually added, “I wonder if Ziling is interested to see me killing a few people?”

Stunned, Xu Ziling replied, “You ought to know my answer. Xie Wang is not afraid that I will stop you?”

Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, “You should be happy to see me kill these people, even more, you will not want to stop, because in your heart, they are all people who deserve to die, and likewise in my heart.”

“Who?” Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice.

Shi Zhixuan spoke slyly, “Da Ming Zun Jiao people. I have high interest toward their ‘Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing’ [lit. imperial utmost ten thousand methods origin (or root) wisdom scripture]. If I don’t kill them, do you think they would obediently offer it for me to look over?”

Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly; he had not expected that Da Ming Zun Jiao’s people had already reached Chang’an. Furthermore, he knew that his only choice was to come with him, because he was afraid that Duan Yucheng might be among the people he was going to kill.

※ ※ ※

Wanwan stood up and walked toward the rear section.

Kou Zhong sprang up behind her and spoke in surprise, “Didn’t you say you wanted to kill me? Why are you going to the bedroom to sleep?”

Wanwan stopped; with her back facing him, she sighed and said, “I am not going to sleep, I am leaving. Those words, I have said it in my heart too many times, and now that I finally say it out, I feel much more comfortable!”

Frowning, Kou Zhong said, “You finally confess that all those cooperation and stuffs are lies?”

Wanwan still had her flaky back toward him, she spoke indifferently, “That’s right! All are to deceive you. Ay! Kou Zhong, you should know that you have become our holy school’s biggest enemy. Once we let Song Que and your Shao Shuai Army merge, the result of our many years building up an enterprise through painstaking efforts will most probably go down the drain entirely. I want to kill you, Shi Zhixuan also wants to kill you. The difference between Shi Zhixuan and me is that I have a special feeling for you, hence I deliberately let you speak insulting words. When I am at the end of my patience, I will make my move to kill you.”

Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, “That last sentence, if it were uttered by Shi Zhixuan, it would be as it should be by rights, but you? You still lack a bit of qualifications.”

Wanwan let out a silver-bell like tender laughter, as if she was mocking his self-confidence, also as if she was laughing at his ignorance. She spoke calmly, “Without Kou Zhong, the world is not going to be interesting, but I have no other choice. In the future, I can only rely on my own strength to deal with Shi Zhixuan.”

‘Qiang!’

The same instant the Moon in the Well came out of its scabbard, Wanwan turned her tender body around like a whirlwind, one finger poked out.

Kou Zhong has not even had the opportunity to swing the Moon in the Well, unexpectedly he had a terrifying feeling as if he was about to collapse to the left, so that even with his cool-headedness and self-confidence in facing the enemy, he was still shocked, knowing that he barely fought and already he fell into the disadvantageous position.

Just like Xu Ziling said, Wanwan already mastered the highest level of Tianmo Da Fa. Even facing Zhu Yuyan in the past, he did not have this kind of without-the-freedom-to-act-independently terrifying situation.

Before she pushed out her finger, her Tianmo qi field has already shrouded him completely, so that before he really cross swords and strive for victory with the opponent, he already had his hands bound and his feet tied, having power but nowhere to use it.

Kou Zhong flew backward to evade, the Tianmo qi field suddenly turned into more than a dozen streams of qi power, like formless but real Tianmo Piaodai [floating ribbon], winding around him from four sides, eight directions.

Such demonic skill was terrifying to the extreme point.

Wanwan was like performing Tianmo Miao Wu [wonderful dance], matched by her impossible-to-fault flowery countenance and physique, she stretched out her fingers and strode her steps, none was not brimming with the touching feeling of a dance, and each movement was wonderful to the extreme, hiding within it killer moves, so that the beauty and the evil formed a cohesive whole.

Kou Zhong spun around. Relying on the true qi protecting his body, he ‘struggled to break free’ from the entanglement of the ribbon of qi, adopting the ‘No Attack’ style. The jabbing finger sealed all his attack routes completely, so that he could not attack at all and could only retreat and defend.

Wanwan smiled and said, “Whether the strength has enough qualifications for the optimal solution, our holy school’s top skills are extensive and profound, it’s not something that you, Kou Zhong, are capable to conceive.”

The fingers turned into a palm, the other hand stretched out from inside the sleeve, the palms of the two hands facing each other, and then flipped over to fly like a butterfly, twisting and chasing each other in a narrow space, from beginning to end was the hollow of the palm facing the hollow of the palm, the movements were wonderful and exquisite, more and more changes emerged, dazzling the onlookers.

But Kou Zhong took precautions with all his spirit. The Tianmo qi field continuously pressing in, enveloping him – was increasing in a frantic rate, yet he was still unable to see through her technique.

Wanwan was finally like the green that comes out of the blue, she surpassed the ‘Empress Yin’ Zhu Yuyan, becoming the other formidable opponent to them, apart from Shi Zhixuan.

Suddenly his whole body tightened. Turned out the ‘No Attack’ move, which appeared to be defending but was actually attacking, where attack and defense existed together, tragically turned from a living move to a dead move. Just like that, using the force field, Wanwan was able to break through his ‘No Attack’.

When Kou Zhong was crying ‘Bad!’ inwardly, that pair of delicate and beautiful, tender jade hands vanished without any trace, disappearing back inside the sleeves.

The sleeves suddenly swelled and ballooned to brush away toward Kou Zhong’s face; it appeared like a straight-line attack, but it also appeared like a curved strike; hard to fathom, hard to block.

At the same time, the Tianmo qi power all around suddenly shrank back into the hollow of the palm, pressing down on him that the true qi protecting his body felt like it was about to shatter, his eardrums were assaulted by the terrifyingly shrill noise of whistling qi power, as if he was in the middle of the fierce storm, he was no longer able to move unobstructed like usual.

Kou Zhong roared, the Moon in the Well swiftly struck forward.

※ ※ ※

Xu Ziling followed Shi Zhixuan coming across the houses and over the building; after leaving the boat and going ashore, they went to the front door of a large residence at Qinglong [Azure Dragon] Lane in the southeastern area of the city.

Shi Zhixuan carried a laid back attitude, he smiled and said, “Da Ming Zun Jiao people are extremely vile, they have the impertinence to take advantage of the time when I was seriously ill to invade the Central Plains, so much so that they drove a wedge between me and Xuyan. They deserve to die for their guilt; right?”

Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to ask, “Who is the Da Ming Zun Jiao’s Da Zun?”

Instead of answering, Shi Zhixuan asked him, “Who does Ziling think he is?”

“Is it Xu Kaishan?” Xu Ziling replied.

Shi Zhixuan laughed, but did not answer. He went straight to the main entrance, as if nothing had happened, he said, “After breaking the door, I will kill anybody in sight, not leaving even the chicken and the dogs alive. What does Ziling think?”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “Has Xie Wang ever thought that there are innocent people involved? For example, the maids that they hire in Chang’an, or perhaps some bandits running errands for them that are not worth Xie Wang making your move?”

Shaking his head, Shi Zhixuan said, “Hence the reason the one striving for the world is Kou Zhong and not you, Xu Ziling. Da Ming Zun Jiao definitely won’t allow any outsiders to mingle in their mix, and this time the ones coming to Chang’an ought to be the core figures of the Cult. Do you know why they came to Chang’an?”

It was beyond Xu Ziling’s capability to guess, so Xu Ziling simply shook his head to indicate that he did not know.

This moment, the first watch of the night had just passed, the drizzle was still swirling in the air, great streets and small alleys were devoid of people, in each and every household the lantern was dark, the fire black, most people were in some state where they were looking for good dreams.

Shi Zhixuan spoke softly, “Pusa once again holds the power in his palm, Da Ming Zun Jiao offended Tuli and Xieli in Bai Ziting affair, the area beyond the Great Wall no longer have any place from them to fit it, now their only hope is to establish a bit of foundation in our Central Earth. Pi Chen, that idiot, does not know self-respect, he wants to borrow Da Ming Zun Jiao to expand his power, he is letting Da Ming Zun Jiao to grow in the Central Earth; that is impossibly stupid. To clear away the weeds, we must pull the grass by the roots. If I start off leniently, ultimately the one suffering damage is not only our holy school, but the common people of the Central Earth as well.”

At this moment, Xu Ziling could not feel the sinister character of Shi Zhixuan, he was simply an ambitious person, all his actions were rational, after careful deliberations. He said, “Xie Wang has not told me the root cause they are coming to Chang’an.”

Shi Zhixuan spoke with a sneer, “Naturally it’s to preach their religion. Their purpose is to establish a Da Ming Si [Temple Of Great Light] in Chang’an, so that Shan Mu Sha Fang can have a footing and grow roots in here in a way that justifies the use of the term [idiom: perfectly legitimate], to expand their influence via religion.”

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, “How could Li Yuan let them running amok?”

Shi Zhixuan replied, “In the Central Earth, Da Ming Zun Jiao is not without manifestation of evil conducts, their doctrine is simple and not complicated, easy to absorb new blood. On top of that, with someone threading the needle, their chance of success is very high. Therefore, I must use thunderbolt method to destroy Da Ming Zun Jiao in one move. At that time, I, Shi Zhixuan, will be able to issue warning to every faction of the holy school: obeying me you will flourish, opposing me you will perish.”

“Who is going to thread the needle?” Xu Ziling asked.

Shi Zhixuan replied indifferently, “The one threading the needle is not just one person. I can tell you that it is Li Yuan’s current favorite, Dong Shuni, the mother who relies on noble child. Therefore, this is also a warning to Xuyan.”

Finished speaking, he pressed both hands onto the main gate, while silently amassing his mysterious power.

Xu Ziling said, “In that case, Xie Wang’s great undertaking to unify the holy school is not going smoothly at all.”

Shi Zhixuan calmly replied, “Exactly the opposite, things are going more and more smoothly. Our holy school people speak only of interests, and when they see clearly that acknowledging allegiance to me is in their best interest, the great undertaking of the unification of the holy school will be more than half accomplished.”

Appling his power, he pushed. ‘Snap!’ the gate lock broke off and fell onto the ground. Since it was in the dead of the night, it created two sharp and clear striking noises.

The door parted.

With his hands behind his back, Shi Zhixuan burst inside the door in large strides, just like the devil king arriving home to demand people’s life.

Xu Ziling remembered what he said earlier.

“Tonight, someone is going to shed blood.”

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