Book 14 - Chapter 11 – The Passionate Prince (1/2)
Chapter 11 – The Passionate Prince
Kou Zhong landed on the roof of the building at the wine shop’s back garden; he was just about to jumped down into the courtyard beloith the intention of entering the wine shop from the back door, he saw the silhouette of so up from the courtyard, and happened to block his path
Looking at the man’s back, he had at least 70, 80 similarity with Du Fuwei: tall and thin Only he did not wear tall hat, and dressed in Taoist robe, with antique-style sandalwood sword hanging on his back
His posture when he jus did not bend at all, instead, he flew straight vertically like a ‘floating’ zo cried, ‘Heretical skill!’ and abruptly halted his step “Ning Daoqi?” he called out in low voice
The Taoist looked up at the brightDao Xiong has long ago paid no attention to the things of the world,” he replied indifferently, “You don’t have that kind of qualification”
Kou Zhong was relieved, but he still did not dare to be negligence the slightest bit Hearing this er brother, respectively] appellation toward Ning Daoqi, Kou Zhong knew that he eneration
Kou Zhong cal [Taoist Priest]? You have honored me with your presence; do you have any advice for me?”
The Taoist spoke softly, “Pindao [impoverished Taoist] Bi Chen [his name literally means ‘flee from the dust (or earth)’] My visit this time is to spend a bit of effort for the sake of our Taoist School As long as you are willing to hand that thing over, Pindao is willing to resolve the en Nian Chanyuan I guarantee they will not investigate thissaid, “If I really had the stolen treasure, I would personally send it back, ould I want to waste Daozhang’s tihed aloud and said, “It was precisely because I knew you are not willing to return the treasure that I ca sneered and said, “Since Daozhang calls yourself Bi Chen, why suddenly bother to h beingsatire, Bi Chen was not offended; he sihtly and said, “Good question This time Pindao‘s heart is moved by the dust (of the earth), si flowers, who are the only ones who could see through the ‘Secret to Long Life’ since ti just for the sake of struggle over power and position”
Feeling deep veneration toward hi has this breadth ofand inexperienced; but supposing I insist on not handing the treasure over, would Daozhang personally destroy , Bi Chen replied, “Your brain is indeed fast How about this: I’ll have ainst you, if you can’t force me down the courtyard within ten moves, you will obediently hand the Jade Annulus of He Clan to htful owner on your behalf, then thisbitterly, Kou Zhong said, “Please forgiveNot at all because I did not have confidence, but because even if Daozhang wins, I cannot produce the Jade Annulus of He Clan This is not an e to believe me or not”
Astonished Bi Chen turned around to face Kou Zhong
Taoist Priest Bi Chen’s facial features were high, ancient, clear and a; he had a lofty quality that was above ordinaryand translucent, ivory-white skin color, one would know that his innate qigong has reached the transfore
His pair of eyeballs appeared to be in perpetually unfatho that transcended the flesh and blood and physical appearance
While Kou Zhong was sizing hi; there was a shocked look on his eyes that was difficult to conceal
For so felt kindness and intimacy from the opposite party, and firm belief in his heart that he really intervene in this dispute in good faith
Bi Chen turned his gaze toward the starry sky above the roof; shaking his head and heaving a deep sigh, he said, “Kou Zhong, you did not know that in your cultivation you have reached the stage of ‘e The only one you lack isasked, “What do you ht at Kou Zhong; with solemn and respectful expression, he spoke sloord-by-word, “Our Taoist School cultivation is divided into four stages: training essence and transfor qi and transfor shen and transfor emptiness and harmonize it into ‘the way’ [Dao/Tao] The course of events in all these stages cannot be explained clearly, like the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold [ie self-awareness comes from within (Zen proverb)] You e the hues refer to corporeal body cultivation Only the last two stages of training will interlink the practitioner to the abundant appearance of ‘the way’ in the universe; hence it can transcend the flesh, and reach into the sacred har no familiarity with Taoist concept, I translated it as best as I understand it]
Delighted, Kou Zhong said, “When we trained the ‘Secret to Long Life’, it see the last two stages as Daozhang explained it”
S wryly, Bi Chen shook his head and said, “This is so that Pindao is unable to understand No can this matter be resolved? Under present situation, once we are not careful, it will develop into Buddhist, Taoist, Heretics; three-school dispute”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “To be honest, even if I had the Jade Annulus of He Clan in my hands, I would not hand it out Such a treasure like the Jade Annulus of He Clan, only the virtuous can obtain it Whoever has the ability, he ought to be the owner Whoever wants to take the treasure, he ought to use real skill to obtain it!”
Bi Chen laughed aloud and said, “Your character is very similar to Pindao’s youthful temper Very well! I won’t care about this h, he turned around and disappeared in the blink of an eye
Kou Zhong juhan, as already waiting, promptly opened the door
As soon as he walked into the wine shop, the first thing caught his attention was Xu Ziling, as lying on the corner like a statue of reclining Buddha Shaking his head, Kou Zhong laughed involuntarily and said, “This kid is really a happy-go-lucky person; I can’t remember when the last ti his hand on Kou Zhong’s shoulder, Ba Fenghan spoke with serious expression, “Sit down first, let’s talk”
After sitting down, Kou Zhong swept his gaze around “Where are the waiters?” he asked in surprise
Ba Fenghan replied, “A tael of gold can s”
It was only then did Kou Zhong notice Ba Fenghan’s expression, “Why does your countenance look this heavy?” he asked in surprise, “Did you hear what that Bi Chen said? In one glance I could tell he is a virtuous qianbei [senior] of the Daoist School!”
Ba Fenghan replied with a cold laugh, “This time your eyes have really left you That man is called ‘Demon Taoist’ Pi Chen [repel/refute dust], not Bi Chen Thirty years ago he ran amuck in the north, never shrink from any crime, a Demon Cult martial art master that can be reckoned as the first or second best His prestige is second only to ‘Empress Yin’ Zhu Yuyan Fortunately the Jade Annulus of He Clan is really not in your hands; otherwise just noould have found out the truth fro asked in surprise, “How did you know his background that clearly? How come I’ve never heard his nahan’s face; he said, “Do you knoho told h both Pi Chen and Zhu Yuyan are De to different factions In norainst each other, only when dealing with outsiders they are rather united”
Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day Frowning, he said, “That Demon Taoist is really formidable; he did not leak even half a bit of dehan said, “If I didn’t know that the Demon School had such character, I would have been fooled, just like you Just froh; he has reached the pinnacle of accomplishment”
“Can he really takehan replied, “That is not possible Even Ning Daoqi cannot He just wanted to bluff to see if the Jade Annulus of He Clan is really in your hands or not, but he ended up deceived by you instead On the surface his last remark was pleasant to the ear, but beneath the surface he was actually pushi+ng the wave and adding to the billows [ie adding fuel to the fire]; hoping that ill fight against Liao Kong’s side until both sides suffer It was extre said, “If there are other martial art masters his caliber around, you’d better tell han smiled wryly with him; he said, “We’d better not scare ourselves At least before the zi hour he won’t coain If we are still alive by then, we’ll continue this talk!”
Kou Zhong sighed and said, “I have so me information; ru themselves to deal with us It will be a hard battle that won’t be easy to fight Must we change our heroic plan and investigate hoe can escape into the wilderness tonight?”
Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, “Do you think that under present circumstances we can still easily ride a boat or take a cart to leave the city? Listen carefully, outside is as quiet as a ghost doone?”
“Do you think they blocked the street?” Kou Zhong asked in surprise
Ba Fenghan slyly replied, “Although not quite, it’s not too far frolance at Xu Ziling, he s and have a good night’s rest?”
“That proposal suits Zhen’s idea the best [Translator’s note: zhen is how an e our way! Don’t you think it’s a bit too early?”
Ba Fenghan replied, “Those who come before the zi hour are our friends, those who couess is accurate”
Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and walked over to the other corner about three zhang away fro his limbs, he said, “Friends who disturb my sleep are considered enemies Whatever it is, I’ll let you deal with it,”
Watching Kou Zhong han smiled ruefully and said, “You are such a true friend”
The hoof beats were co the street
By the ti doo tables that he made into a bed, the hoof beats stopped in front of the door
Chapter 11 - Part 2
A young, sweet-sounding et out!” Although he spoke without any trace of politeness, the tone of his voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to, refined and calm, in total contrast to what he said
A cold, deep han’s eyes; he coldly said, “Who’s there? Tonight I, Ba Fenghan, will not kill an unnamed nobody”
The man was silent for half a day before he finally spoke in soft voice, “Ba Xiong, please forgive Zaixia for speaking harshly in the urgency of this situation If Ba Xiong is willing to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk by handing over the Jade Annulus of He Clan so that Zaixia ize over a toast for provoking Ba Xiong just now”
The voice penetrated the tightly closed door; it was loud enough to be heard, but not overbearing, each as spoken clearly, but ihtly
Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong’s even breathing rose and fell continuously, causing a strange rhythm that seemed to reveal sohan said, “The thing I loathe the most is people who strolled in and talk out of turn Who exactly is Sire? Are you really representing shi+ Feixuan?”
Theto the tone of Ba Xiong’s voice, the handing over of the Jade Annulus of He Clan has not been discussed yet! In that case, let’s exchange so his brains, Ba Fenghan still could not think of the identity of the young martial art master on the street, hence he decided not to answer but closed his eyes and sat quietly instead