Chapter - 16 (16) (2/2)

”I think …” Wu Lishen started, but suddenly remembered that it was Wei Xiaobao who should make the decision; thereupon he said, ”I am asking for Wei Xiangzhu's instruction, what should we do?”

Wei Xiaobao was afraid of ghosts, it's just that he was unable to say it. He said, ”Why don't Wu Dashu [big uncle] decide? I don't have any idea.”

”Evil spirit is nothing,” Wu Lishen said, ”It's all country folks talking nonsense. Even if there is indeed a ghost, we can stake everything to fight him.”

”Some ghosts are invisible,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”By the time we can see them, it's already too late.” The implication was clear: he was afraid of ghosts.

Liu Yizhou loudly said, ”Why should we fear demons and ghosts? If we are drenched in this rain for one more hour, everybody will be sick.”

Wei Xiaobao saw Mu Jianping was shivering continuously, obviously it was hard for her to endure. He also did not want to show any weakness in front of Fang Yi, and thus lost to Liu Yizhou, thereupon he said, ”Alright, let us go together! If we see evil spirit, we must be careful!”

Following Zhao Laosan's direction, the seven of them went northwest and entered the valley. It was dark and they could not see the road, but through the white curtain of falling rain, they saw cascading water in the forest. Wei Xiaobao said, ”We can't see the road, this is called 'Ghost Wall', the evil spirit is bewitching us.”

Xu Tianchuan said, ”That cascading water is the road, water from the mountain is flowing down along the mountain path.”

”Exactly!” Wu Lishen said, while stepping on the waterfall going upward. The rest of them followed behind him going up the hill.

To the left of them they heard the neigh of the horses, so they knew those dozen or so riders must be on that side. Xu Tianchuan mused, ”I wonder what those men's background is.” But he thought that with he and Wu Lishen joined hands, even a dozen or so ordinary martial art masters should not give them any trouble, thereupon he stepped on the water, climbing up and going down into the forest.

It was even darker inside the forest, they heard the 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' of a door being knocked straight ahead, so they knew there was indeed a building out there. Wei Xiaobao was scared but delighted, suddenly he felt someone stretching out a hand to pull his hand, the palm of the hand was soft, and then someone whispered gently on his ear, ”Don't be afraid!” It was none other than Fang Yi.

They heard the knocking continued, but nobody opened the door. The seven of them came near, and saw a wide expanse of a building in the pitch-black night. The riders shouted at the top of their lungs, ”Open the door, open the door! We are seeking shelter from the rain!” But even after shouting for a long while, there was not the least bit of response from inside the house. A man said, ”Nobody lives here!” Another man said, ”Zhao Laosan said it is a haunted house; who dare to live here? Just jump over the wall!” White light flickered, two men unsheathed their weapons and jumped over the wall, and then they opened the gate from the inside. Everybody rushed in.

Xu Tianchuan thought, ”Obviously these men are Wulin people, but apparently their martial art skill is not too high.” The seven of them followed in.

Inside the gate, there was a very big courtyard, further in, there was the main hall. Someone took oilcloth bundle from his pocket, he untied it and took out a fire knife and a flint to light a fire. Seeing a candle on the table in the hall, he lighted it. Suddenly seeing a bright light appeared before their eyes, everybody felt a peal of delight and comfort. They also noticed that the tables, chairs and small side tables in the hall were made of red sandalwood, unexpectedly it was the style of a rich family's home. Xu Tianchuan mused, ”There's no dust on the furniture, the ground is swept this clean, but how can there be no one in the house?”

He heard one of the men said, ”This hall is very clean, someone must have lived here.” Another man raised his voice to call out, ”Hello! Hello! Is anybody home? Is anybody home?” The hall was large and the ceiling high, as he shouted, there was a faint echo. When the echo stopped, other than the sound of the rain, all around them there was no other noise. Everybody looked at each other in dismay, they all felt rather strange.

A white-haired elderly man asked Xu Tianchuan, ”Are you all Jianghu friends?”

”Zaixia surnamed Xu,” Xu Tianchuan replied, ”These several people are my family and relatives. We are going to Shanxi to visit a family; unexpectedly we came across this heavy rain. Daguanye [high-ranking official master], what is your honorable surname?”

The elderly man nodded; seeing there was an old man, a boy and a couple of women among these seven people, he did not feel suspicious at all, but he did not answer the question either. He said, ”This house is a little bit strange.”

One of the men shouted, ”Is there anybody here? Are you all dead?” He waited for a moment, but still nobody replied.

The elderly man sat on a chair and pointed to six men and said, ”The six of you go to the rear and take a look!” The six men pulled out their weapons and went toward the back of the house. Bending down their waists slightly, they walked very slowly inside, their expressions were rather fearful. The people in the hall heard doors being kicked and unceasing shouts of questions, but nothing unusual happened. The noise went farther and farther, obviously the house was enormous, so that for a moment they had not reached the end of it.

The elderly man pointed to four more men and said, ”Go find some firewood and make torches, then follow them inside.” The four men complied and left.

Wei Xiaobao and the others, seven people, were sitting on the ledge of a long window in the hall, nobody said anything. Xu Tianchuan noticed that as ten of the men went inside, there were eight people left in the hall, they all wore cloth gowns, their appearance looked like gang members of some underground gang, or some escorts from an escort agency, except they were not carrying anything to be escorted. For the time being he was unclear of these men's background.

Wei Xiaobao could not bear not to ask, ”Jiejie, do you think there's ghost in this house?”

Before Fang Yi could answer, Liu Yizhou preceded her by saying, ”Of course there is a ghost! What place never has anybody die there? When there are dead people, there will be ghosts.” Wei Xiaobao shivered, he shrank his body smaller. Liu Yizhou continued, ”All malicious ghosts in the world bully the virtuous and fear the wicked, especially confused child. Adults' yang chi [yang (positive, male) life-force or energy flow] is abundant; hangman ghosts, big-head ghosts, all do not dare to provoke adults.”

Fang Yi stretched out her hand from her sleeve to grab Wei Xiaobao's left hand; she said, ”People are afraid of ghosts, but ghosts are even more afraid of people. As soon as there is light, the ghost will run away.”

They heard footsteps, the six people who went inside first had returned to the hall with very strange expression on their faces; all of them talked at once, ”Not a single soul in here, but everywhere is swept clean.” ”There were beddings on the beds, and shoes under the beds, all women's.” ”All the clothes in the wardrobes are also women's, there is not a single men's clothing!”

In a loud voice Liu Yizhou shouted, ”Female ghosts! All ghosts in this house are female ghosts!” They all turned their heads to look at him; for a moment, nobody made any noise.

Suddenly they heard strange shouts of the four men who went in later, the elderly man sprang up from his chair. He was just about to rush inside to their rescue when those four men rushed back into the main hall, the torches in their hands were extinguished; they shouted, ”Dead men, a lot of dead men!” Their faces had frightened look.

Staying calm and collected, the elderly man said, ”Much fuss about nothing. I thought you met with the enemy. Dead men; what's there to be afraid of?”

”We are not afraid,” one man replied, ”It's just … it's just bizarre.”

”What's so bizarre?” the elderly man asked.

Another man replied, ”In the east wing, all the rooms are … are mourning hall for dead people; I don't know how many are there.”

The elderly man hesitated and then asked, ”Are there any dead bodies and coffins?”

Two of the men looked at each other, they answered together, ”We did not … did not see clearly, perhaps not.”

The elderly man said, ”Light more torches, we will go take a look together. Perhaps this is an ancestral hall, which is very common.” Although he tried to play it down, the tone of his voice sounded very apprehensive, apparently he was fully aware that ordinary ancestral hall would not be like this. The men, his subordinates, tore down tables and chairs in the main hall and lighted them as torches, and then they all rushed toward the rear courtyard.

Xu Tianchuan said, ”I'll go to take a look, everybody, please wait here.” And he followed behind the men.

”Shifu,” Ao Biao asked, ”Which group [lit. 'way'] do these people belong to?”

Wu Lishen shook his head, ”I can't see it,” he said, ”From their accents, it appears that they are people from Lu Dong, east of Shanhai Pass region, they don't look like eagle claws of the six-leafed gate. Could they be smugglers? But I did not see them carrying any goods.”

Liu Yizhou said, ”Nothing serious about that group of men. On the contrary, the large number of female ghosts in this house maybe very difficult to deal with!” Finished speaking, he stuck his tongue out in the direction of Wei Xiaobao.

Wei Xiaobao shivered, he tightly grip Fang Yi's hand, his palm was wet with cold sweat. With a trembling voice Mu Jianping said, ”Liu … Liu Shige, can you stop scaring other people?”

”Xiao Junzhu,” Liu Yizhou said, ”You do not need to be afraid, you are a golden branch, jade leaf [nobility], any evil spirit sees you, it will go far away, it won't dare to disturb you. The ones evil spirits detest the most are neither men nor women, court eunuchs.” Fang Yi raised her willow-shaped eyebrows, her face carried an angry expression, she was about to speak, but in the end she restrained herself.

After a long time, they heard footsteps as everybody returned to the main hall. Wei Xiaobao let out a relieved breath. Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, ”Seven or eight rooms, a total of more than thirty mourning halls. Each mourning hall has five or six sacrificial offerings, seven or eight memorial tablets. It looks like each mourning hall is dedicated to dead people of one family.”

”Hey, hey,” Liu Yizhou said, ”Won't that mean this house has several hundred evil spirits?”

Xu Tianchuan shook his head; he was an experienced and knowledgeable man, but he had never heard of such a strange thing. A moment later, he slowly said, ”The strangest thing is that in front of each mourning hall there was a lighted candle.” Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, three people cried out in fear together.

One of the men said, ”When we went in before, the candles were clearly not lighted.”

”Are you sure?” the elderly man asked. The four men looked at each other, they all shook their heads.

The elderly man said, ”It's not ghost. We are encountering a person of high skill. In an instant he was able to light more than thirty candles on the mourning halls; his movement must be very fast. Xu Laoyezi, don't you think so?” The last sentence was addressed to Xu Tianchuan.

Xu Tianchuan feigned ignorance; he said, ”Perhaps we have offended the master of this house. There is no harm … no harm in us going to the mourning hall and … and kowtow several times.”

Amidst the noise of the rain, from the east wing suddenly came the sound of several women wailing, the voice was very mournful; although the sound of the heavy rain was very loud, these wailings could be heard very clearly. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his mouth was wide open and he was speechless, his countenance changed greatly. Everybody else looked at each other in shock, they were all absolutely horrified. A moment later, from the west wing came the sound of a woman weeping in grief. Liu Yizhou, Ao Biao, as well as two of the men cried out together, ”Weeping Ghost!”

”Humph!” the elderly man snorted; suddenly he said in a loud voice, ”We are passing by your residence and stop by to take shelter from the rain, and thus trespass your precious residence. I hereby apologize. Would worthy host be willing to grant this request?” His voice was backed by abundant chi, it could travel very far.

After a long time, there was not the slightest response from the back. The elderly man shook his head, and then in a loud voice said, ”Since the host is not willing to receive uncouth guests, we have no choice but to disturb without permission. We are taking shelter from the rain in this hall. As soon as it is dawn and the rain stops, everybody will hasten on our journey.” Finished speaking, he made a hand signal telling everybody not to make any noise, while he inclined his head sideways to listen.

A long time passed, they no longer heard the sound of wailing or weeping. A man said in low voice, ”Zhang Sanye [third master], I don't care if he is a human or a ghost, come daybreak, we'll set fire and burn this damn house to the ground.”

The elderly man shook his hand and said, ”We have not accomplished our important mission, we must not add another problem. Sit down and rest!”

Everybody's clothes was wet, thereupon they built fire in the main hall. Someone took out a wine gourd, pulled the plug and handed it over to the elderly man to drink.

The elderly man drank several mouthful of wine, then he cast a sidelong glance to Xu Tianchuan for half a day before saying, ”Xu Laoyezi, you are all from one family, how come your accents are not the same? You are from the Capital, but these several people are from Yunnan?”

Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, ”Laoyezi has very good hearing, obviously you are a Jianghu veteran. My oldest Meizi [younger sister] got married in Yunnan. This is my Meifu [younger sister's husband].” He pointed to Wu Lishen, and then continued, ”My Meifu and their children are Yunnan people. My second Meizi got married in Shanxi. Southern sky, northern earth [meaning: far apart], for several decades we rarely see each other even for once. This time we are going to Shanxi to visit my second Meizi.” When he called Wu Lishen his Meifu, he was actually honoring him. At that time, according to custom of the people of northern China, calling people 'older maternal uncle' or 'younger maternal uncle' was considered cursing him.

The elderly man nodded. He drank another mouthful of wine. Squinting his eyes, he said, ”Are you all from Beijing?”

”Exactly,” Xu Tianchuan replied.

The elderly man said, ”Along the way, did you see a thirteen, fourteen years old little eunuch?”

As soon as he said that, Xu Tianchuan and the others' heart skipped a beat; fortunately the elderly man had his gaze only toward Xu Tianchuan. But Xu Tianchuan's face did not reveal anything. Ao Biao and Mu Jianping's countenances changed, but nobody paid them any attention. Xu Tianchuan said, ”Did you say eunuch? In Beijing, old eunuchs, little eunuchs, there are so many of them. As soon as I left home, I would come across several eunuchs.”

The elderly man said, ”I asked you if you saw one along the way, not in Beijing.”

Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, ”Laoyezi, that is out of question. According to the Great Qing's rule, when an eunuch leaves the Capital, he is committing a major crime. Court eunuchs are not like during the Ming Dynasty, with full power and prestige; nowadays, which eunuch dares to leave the Capital for even one step?”

”Oh,” the elderly man said, ”Perhaps he is in disguise?”

Xu Tianchuan repeatedly shook his head, ”I don't think he has that kind of guts!” he said. After a short pause, he asked, ”Laoyezi, which little eunuch are you looking for? When I return to Beijing after visiting my relatives in Shanxi, I can help you make the inquiry.”

”Humph, humph,” the elderly man said, ”Thank you very much, but I am not sure if I will live that long.” Finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer speak.

Xu Tianchuan thought, ”He is inquiring about a thirteen, fourteen year's old little eunuch; isn't that Wei Xiangzhu? These men are not from Tian Di Hui or Mu Palace, eight or nine out of ten, they do not have any good intention, I must investigate clearly. He does not ask further, we must ask him further.” Thereupon he said, ”Laoyezi, among the little eunuchs in Beijing, only one is very famous. His great name has spread all over the world, I believe you have also heard about him, he is the one who killed that treacherous minister Oboi, the one who set up great merit.”

The elderly man opened his eyes and said, ”Mm, are you talking about Xiao Guizi, Gui Gong-gong?”

”Who else but him?” Xu Tianchuan said, ”This man has guts and is very brave, exceptionally skillful in martial arts, he is really amazing!”

”What does he look like?” the elderly man asked, ”Have you seen him?”

”Ha,” Xu Tianchuan said, ”This Gui Gong-gong strolls around Beijing streets every day. Among Beijing people, I am afraid only a few have never seen him. This Gui Gong-gong is dark and fat, he is quite a plump fellow, he is at least seventeen, eighteen years old; nobody would take him for a fourteen-year-old.”

Fang Yi's hand, which was holding Wei Xiaobao's hand tightened; Mu Jianping gently nudged his back with her elbow, they were laughing in their hearts. At first Wei Xiaobao was afraid of the ghosts, but as he heard the elderly man inquiring about himself, he was so busy scheming in his heart that he forgot his fear of the ghosts.

”Is that right?” the elderly man said, ”What I heard is quite different. I heard this Gui Gong-gong is only thirteen, fourteen-year-old little boy, very crafty and smart; perhaps he looks 30% like your nephew [orig. wai sheng - sister's son or wife's sibling's son]. Ha ha, ha ha!” While saying that, he looked at Wei Xiaobao.

Liu Yizhou suddenly said, ”I heard that Xiao Guizi is despicable and shameless; all he can do is using the knockout drugs. He was able to kill Oboi, because he had used the drug first, otherwise, this little thief is a coward and afraid of ghosts, how could he succeed in killing Oboi?” Turning to Wei Xiaobao, he chuckled and said, ”Cousin [orig. biaodi - younger maternal cousin], don't you agree?”

Wu Lishen was angry; he sent a backhand palm toward Liu Yizhou's face. Liu Yizhou lowered his head to evade, his left foot sprang, his body rose up. Wu Lishen's backhand palm strike was the move 'jade fowl spreading its wings', Liu Yizhou's dodging and springing up was the move 'golden horse neighing into the wind'; both styles belonged to the Mu Family Fist Technique. One struck rapidly, the other dodged quickly, unwittingly they both used their school's unique skills.

The elderly man surnamed Zhang suddenly sprang up and said with a laugh, ”Good! You all disguise yourselves really well!” As soon as he stood up, the dozen or so of his men also sprang up. The elderly man barked his order, ”Take them all! Don't let even a single one escape!”

Wu Lishen pulled out a short saber from his bosom, his big head shook to the left, he hacked down a man, he shook to the right, the saber cut another man's throat, sending him down to the ground.

The elderly man drew a pair of judge-pens from his waist; brandishing them together, the pens made swishing noise. The left-hand pen pointing toward Wu Lishen's throat, the right-hand pen moved toward the pit of Xu Tianchuan's stomach. With one move attacking two people, his movement was very fast.

Xu Tianchuan dashed to the right, his left hand clawed a man's eyes. As the man tossed his head back to evade, the saber in his hand was snatched away, suddenly he felt sharp pain on his waist as his own saber had penetrated his own belly. On the other side, Ao Biao was fighting with a man. After hesitating slightly, Liu Yizhou untied his flexible whip and charged forward to join the battle.

Although the other side had more people, the elderly man was the only one who could face Wu Lishen in an evenly matched battle, the rest of them only had mediocre martial art skill. Wei Xiaobao could see this small advantage clearly; he thought, ”As long as I don't come across that old tortoise, I might be able to handle the rest of them.” Holding the dagger in his hand, he wanted to charge forward.

Fang Yi pulled his back and said, ”Our victory is decided, you don't have to help.”

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”I know our victory is decided, which was why I went forward. If we would definitely be lost, why would I wait here and not run away quickly?”

Suddenly they heard several swishing noise in succession, the elderly man had jumped to the side, the pair of judge-pens in his hands were rubbing against each other, the men under his command quickly squeezed behind him, very soon they had formed a square. With only several steps these men were able to move into position; more than a dozen men moved together without pushing each other, or colliding with each other, an indication that they had been trained very well and had spent a lot of time in this formation.

Xu Tianchuan and Wu Lishen were startled, they withdrew several steps back. Ao Biao charged forward courageously. Suddenly from the square formation four sabers went out together, two hacked toward his shoulder, two hacked toward his leg; the coordination was really ingenious. Simultaneously, two spears coming out of the formation to meet Ao Biao's saber. ”Ah!” Ao Biao cried out, his shoulder was hit by a saber.

”Biao'er, step back!” Wu Lishen called out anxiously. Ao Biao leaped backward to evade. In the blink of an eye, victory or defeat was suddenly reversed.

Xu Tianchuan stood in front of Wei Xiaobao and the two ladies to protect them; he was watching carefully how their opponents were using this formation. He saw the elderly man raised the judge-pen in his right hand and loudly called out, ”Hong Jiaozhu won't be old for ten thousand years, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune! His long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!”

The dozen or so of his men raised their weapons together and cried out, ”Hong Jiaozhu's long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!” Their voices shook the roof-tiles; they appeared as if they were possessed.

Xu Tianchuan was aghast; he was wondering what kind of trick they were playing. As Wei Xiaobao heard the three words 'Hong Jiaozhu', he suddenly remembered Tao Hongying's terrified expression when she was mentioning those words. He blurted out, ”Shen Long Jiao! They are from Shen Long Jiao!”

The elderly man's countenance changed. ”You also know Shen Long Jiao's reputation!” he said. Lifting high his right hand, he shouted, ”Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive. Our Cult triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold we cannot overcome, no opponent we cannot broken down. The enemy flees at mere distant sight, they will escape without a trace.”

As Xu Tianchuan and the others heard each sentence, their heart trembled. They thought that these people's action was totally weird, they had never seen anything like this before; facing the enemy, unexpectedly they recited some sentences in loud voice.

Wei Xiaobao called out, ”These men chanting incantations, don't fall into their trick! Everybody charge forward to kill!”

They heard the elderly man and his men were chanting quicker and quicker; it was no longer the elderly man chanted one verse and his men followed one verse, but those more than a dozen men were chanting together, ”Hong Jiaozhu's magical power protects and blesses, his disciples' courage increases a hundredfold, one can fight a hundred, a hundred can fight ten thousand. Hong Jiaozhu's divine eyes are like lightning, illuminating four directions. Our disciple who kills the enemy and protects the Cult, Hong Jiaozhu considers him to be his kin, promotes him into the priesthood. Our disciple who dies in protecting the Cult will rise into the paradise!” Suddenly, with a loud shout they charged forward.

Wu Lishen, Xu Tianchuan and the others raised their weapons to meet the attack, but unexpectedly this time these men's martial art had advanced greatly; each hack of the saber, each thrust of the spear, was several times stronger than before. Like fools or mad people, they brandished their weapons randomly. Not too long afterward, Ao Biao and Liu Yizhou were cut down. One by one Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were also thrown down. Fang Yi suffered a leg injury, while Mu Jianping was wounded on her arm. Wei Xiaobao's back was also stabbed by a spear, luckily he was protected by his treasured vest, so that the spear did not enter his body; however, the incoming force was too heavy that he was unable to withstand and tumbled down to the ground. Before long, one after another Wu Lishen and Xu Tianchuan were also wounded. The elderly man stretched out his finger and successively sealed the vital acupoints on their bodies.

The men shouted together, ”Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!” Finished shouting, they suddenly sat down together. Sweats gushed out of each man's forehead like spring, their breathing was heavy, as if they were utterly exhausted. In this battle, victory or defeat was decided in less than the time needed to drink a cup of tea, but it was as if these men had fought a hard battle for several hours.

Wei Xiaobao groaned silently; he thought, ”Turns out these people know witchcraft, no wonder when mentioning Shen Long Jiao, Tao Gugu was so frightened like that. Indeed their magical power is extensive.”

The elderly man sat on a chair and closed his eyes to regain his composure. It was quite a while later that he finally stood up. After wiping the perspiration on his forehead, he then paced back and forth in the main hall. Quite a while later, his men started to stand up one by one.

The elderly man turned toward Xu Tianchuan and the others and said, ”All of you recite after me together! Listen up, I recite a sentence, you follow a sentence. Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!”

Xu Tianchuan cursed, ”Demonical crooked people, dress up as God, play the devil; you want laozi to follow you playing tricks? In your mother's clear autumn night's dream!” The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike Xu Tianchuan's forehead. 'Bang!' blood gushing out from the wound. Xu Tianchuan cursed, ”Dog thief, sorcerer!”

The elderly man asked Wu Lishen, ”Are you going to recite or not?” Wu Lishen shook his head before answering. The elderly man raised his judge-pen again to strike his forehead.

When he asked Ao Biao, Ao Biao cursed, ”Your granny's long-life is the same as the dog's!”

The elderly man was furious, his judge-pen struck down powerfully, Ao Biao immediately fainted. Wu Lishen shouted, ”Biao'er is a real man! You who only know how to use witchcraft, damn it, if you have guts, just kill us all.”

The elderly man raised his judge-pen and asked Liu Yizhou, ”Are you going to recite or not?”

”I ... I ... I ...” Liu Yizhou stammered.

”Say it,” the elderly man said, ”Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!”

Liu Yizhou said, ”Hong Jiaozhu's ... Hong Jiaozhu's ...”

The elderly man lightly poked Liu Yizhou's forehead with the tip of his judge-pen; he shouted, ”Quickly recite it!”

”Yes, yes,” Liu Yizhou said, ”Hong Jiaozhu's ... Hong Jiaozhu's long-life is the same as the Heaven's!”

The elderly man laughed aloud and said, ”Finally, someone who knows how to take advantage of this matter. You, this kid, may receive less pain.” Walking toward Wei Xiaobao, he shouted, ”Little demon, recite after me.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”I don't need you to recite.”

”What?” the elderly man angrily said. He raised his judge-pen.

In loud voice Wei Xiaobao recited, ”Wei Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune. Wei Jiaozhu triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold Wei Jiaozhu cannot overcome, no opponent Wei Jiaozhu cannot broken down. Wei Jiaozhu elevates everybody, everybody will ascend to paradise ...”

When saying 'Wei Jiaozhu', the word 'Wei' was spoken vaguely, it was no more than a grunt from his nostril actually; but the elderly man did not realize he was playing a trick, he thought Wei Xiaobao was saying 'Hong Jiaozhu'. Hearing Wei Xiaobao recited several lines in succession, he laughed aloud and praised him, ”This child is exceptionally smart.” He walked over to Fang Yi and put his hand on her chin, saying, ”Hmm, this little girl's appearance is not bad. Now repeat after me nicely.”

Fang Yi turned her head around. ”I won't recite!” she said.

The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike, but when he saw her beautiful face under the candle light, he could not bear to do it, so he aimed the tip of the pen to her cheek and loudly said, ”Are you going to recite or not? If you say 'I won't recite' one more time, I am going to draw three lines on your cheek.”

Fang Yi stubbornly refused to recite, but she did not dare to say those words 'I won't recite' out loud. ”Are you going to recite or not?” the elderly man asked again.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Let me recite it for her. I guarantee it will be more pleasant to hear than if she is reciting it herself.”

”Who ask you to recite for her?” the elderly man said. Raising his judge-pen, he struck Fang Yi's forehead.

”Ah!” Fang Yi cried out in pain.

Suddenly someone laughed and said, ”Zhang Sanye, if this little girl does not want to recite, we can strip her clothes.” The rest of the men cried out together, ”Wonderful, wonderful! That's a great idea.”

Liu Yizhou suddenly said, ”Why would you want to bully this girl? You want to find the little eunuch, I know where he is.”

”Do you?” the elderly man hastily asked, ”Where is he? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly!”

Liu Yizhou said, ”You must promise not to bother this miss, I will tell you. Otherwise, even if you kill me, I won't say anything.”

”Shige,” Fang Yi sharply said, ”I don't need you to care about me.”

The elderly man laughed. ”Alright,” he said, ”I promise you I won't bother this miss.”

”You have to keep your words,” Liu Yizhou said.

The elderly man said, ”What I say, naturally the man surnamed Zhang will keep it. That little eunuch is the one who killed Oboi, the one most favored and trusted by the Emperor, Xiao Guizi. Do you really know where he is?”

Liu Yizhou said, ”Far in the horizon, but close in front of your eyes!”

The elderly man jumped up; pointing to Wei Xiaobao he said, ”Is ... is ... is it him?” His face showed a mixture of surprise and delight.

Fang Yi said, ”He is such a child, how can he kill Oboi? Don't listen to his nonsense.”

Liu Yizhou said, ”That's right, if he did not use knockout drug, how could he kill the number one warrior of Manchuria, Oboi?”

The elderly man was half believing, half doubting; he asked Wei Xiaobao, ”Did you or did you not kill Oboi?”

”What if I did?” Wei Xiaobao said, ”And what if I did not?”

”Your granny,” the elderly man cursed, ”When I looked at you, I knew this little demon is rather demonical. Search him first, we'll talk later.”

Two of his men immediately stepped forward and untied the bundle Wei Xiaobao carried on his back; they set each article on the table. The elderly man saw pearls, gold and jade, and all kinds of valuables. ”This is definitely the goods from the Imperial Palace,” he said, ”Uh … what is this?” He picked a thick wad of banknotes, and saw that each note worth either five hundred taels or one thousand taels; altogether there were no less than several hundred thousand taels. He could not help but was stupefied; he said, ”Definitely not wrong, you … you are Xiao Guizi. Take him to the room that side of the building to be interrogated.”

Fang Yi anxiously said, ”Don't … don't make things difficult for him.” 'Wah!' Mu Jianping broke out and cried.

A man grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao neck, two men picked the valuables from the table, another man took the candlestick and led them all toward the eastern wing of the rear courtyard. The elderly man waved his hand and said, ”All of you get out!” The four men left the room and closed the door behind them.

Beaming with joy, the elderly man did not stop rubbing his hands together while he paced back and forth along the room. He said with a laugh, ”Seeking around until the iron shoes are worn out but fail to find, without spending any effort the result is obtained. Xiao Guizi Gong-gong, to be able to meet you here today, it is indeed the good fortune of three lifetimes.”

Wei Xiaobao also said with a laugh, ”Zaixia can meet Laoyezi here today, it is indeed the good fortune of six lifetimes, nine lifetimes.” He thought that since they had already searched through his belongings, denying would be useless; he had to act according to the situation and see if he could get by using deceit.

The elderly man was startled; he asked, ”What good fortune of six lifetimes, nine lifetimes? Gui Gong-gong, is your honorable self on your way to the Qing Liang Temple on Mount Wutai?”

Wei Xiaobao could not help but was shocked. ”This old turtle knew everything,” he thought, ”He won't be easy to cope with.” Thereupon he chuckled and said, ”Not only Sire's martial art skill excels, your skill in casting spells also surpasses Maoshan Daoshi[65]. Your Shen Long Jiao's reputation is spread all over the world, indeed there is a reason behind it. Zaixia has already heard about it a long time ago, today I can see it with my own eyes, it is worthy of my utmost admiration.” He spoke whatever came into his mind to change the subject, ignoring the original question altogether.

The elderly man asked, ”Where did you hear about Shen Long Jiao's reputation?”

”Uh, how did you know?” the elderly man asked in amazement.

Wei Xiaobao was spouting nonsense, as long as he thought it had some connection with Shen Long Jiao, he would mention it. But his mind was racing fast, he said, ”This Liu Dajie's friendship with me is really not bad. Once she offended the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager wanted to kill her, luckily I put an effort to save her, I hid her under my bed. The Empress Dowager was looking for her everywhere in the Palace, but could not find her. This fat Dajie was very grateful for my kindness in saving her that she persuaded me to join Shen Long Jiao. She said that Hong Jiaozhu is very fond of children like me, he would surely give me great benefits in the future.”

”Um,” the elderly man was more convinced, he asked, ”Why would the Empress Dowager want to kill Liu Yan? Aren't they … aren't in a very good term with each other?”

”Yes, they are,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”They are actually Shijie, Shimei. Why would the Empress Dowager want to kill Liu Dajie then? Liu Dajie said that it was a very top secret; she did tell me, but I have promised her I will never reveal the secret, therefore, I cannot tell you about it. Anyway, just recently, to the Empress Dowager's Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful came a man disguised as a woman, a fake palace maid. This man's head is bald …”

”Deng Bingchun?” the elderly man blurted, ”You also know when Deng Dage entered the Palace?”

Actually, Wei Xiaobao had no idea that the fake palace maid was called Deng Bingchun, but his face showed an all-knowing expression; with a smile he said, ”Zhang Sanye, this is top secret, you must never reveal it in front of anybody else. Otherwise, all hell will break loose. It's alright for you and me to talk about it, but if there were a third person in here, even if he was your most trusted aide, you absolutely cannot breathe a single word. If this matter is exposed and Hong Jiaozhu is angry, I am afraid even you yourself will have to face an enormous trouble.”

He had lived in the Palace long enough to know that in the imperial court and in the Palace, divulging a secret was a major crime; the heaviest punishment would be beheading and confiscation of the family's property, the lightest punishment would be forever losing the opportunity to advance in his career. For this reason, everybody was very secretive, sneaky, appeared to be shrouded in profound mystery, on the surface they pretended to know everything, it's just that it was inconvenient to tell you. When he used this trick on that old man surnamed Zhang, as expected, it was like 'setting up a pole and see the shadow' [instant effect], he got the desired effect on the spot. Within the clan, society, cult and sect of the Jianghu, the way the superiors control the subordinates was actually no different than the imperial court, the different was just in the degree of finesse with which that control was executed.

As soon as the elderly man heard those words, he was secretly alarmed and afraid, thinking, ”How can I be this careless, that I tell this kind of matter to a kid? I must not spare this kid, when this important matter is done, I must kill him to shut his mouth.” He could not help but looked embarrassed. Forcing a laughed, he asked, ”What did you talk about with our Deng Shixiong?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”What I talked about with Deng Shixiong is exactly what he wanted me to report to Hong Jiaozhu. When I see Jiaozhu in the future, naturally I will make a detail report to him.”

”Yes, yes,” the elderly man said. He was frightened by Wei Xiaobao putting on airs like that, yet he was not sure about this child's origin, thereupon he put on an amiable manner and said, ”Xiao Xiongdi, you are going to Mount Wutai, naturally to meet Deputy Chief Rui Dong, is that right?”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”He knew I am going to Mount Wutai, he also knew the Rui Dong affair; he definitely got this information from the old wh0re. The old wh0re called that bald fake palace maid as Shixiong, that bald man was an important personage of Shen Long Jiao, turns out the old wh0re is ganging up with the Shen Long Jiao. Laozi has fallen into their hands, indeed I've gone through nine deaths and still alive, went through eighteen death and half alive [narrow escape].” He faked an amazed expression, ”Uh,” he said, ”Zhang Sanye, your news is actually very quick, you even know about Deputy Chief Rui.”

The elderly man smiled and said, ”I also know about someone whose background is ten thousand times more important than Deputy Chief Rui.”

Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly, ”Bad, it's bad! The old wh0re told him everything. Other than Emperor Shunzhi, whose background is ten thousand times more important than Rui Dong?”

The elderly man said, ”Xiao Xiongdi, you don't need to conceal anything from me. You are going up Mount Wutai, are you acting under someone else's order, or are you going on your own initiative?”

”I am an eunuch in the Palace,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”If I am not acting under someone else's order, how can I dare to leave the Capital? Do you think I dislike having a long life?”

”If that's the case,” the elderly man said, ”Was it His Majesty who sent you?”

Wei Xiaobao pretended he was surprised greatly. ”His Majesty?” he said, ”Did you say His Majesty? Haha, this time your source of information is inaccurate. How would His Majesty know about Mount Wutai?”

”If not His Majesty, then who sent you?” the elderly man asked.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Go ahead, guess.”

The elderly man said, ”Could it be the Empress Dowager?”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Sure enough Zhang Sanye is good, one guess and you got it. In the Palace, those who know about Mount Wutai are only two people and a ghost.”

”Two people and a ghost?” the elderly man repeated.

”Precisely,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Two people: one is the Empress Dowager, the other is Zaixia. The ghost is Hai Dafu, Hai Laogong. He was killed by the Empress Dowager using the 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm'.”

The muscles on the elderly man's face twitched; he said, ”Transforming Bones Soft Palm, Transforming Bones Soft Palm. Turns out it was the Empress Dowager who sent you. But what does the Empress Dowager want you to do?”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”The Empress Dowager and you are on the same side, there is no harm in you asking her, the Senior.”

If these words were said as soon as they entered the room, the elderly man would most likely slap Wei Xiaobao on the ear; but after hearing Wei Xiaobao's explanation earlier, his mind was confused and undecided. He muttered to himself, ”Hm, the Empress Dowager sent you to Mount Wutai.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”The Empress Dowager said that she has already sent someone to report to Hong Jiaozhu about this matter, and Hong Jiaozhu has given his complete endorsement. The Empress Dowager instructed me to do this mission well, and then she will reward me handsomely, Hong Jiaozhu might also reward me with great benefit.” He repeatedly mentioned 'Hong Jiaozhu', three characters, since he knew the old man in front of him was extremely afraid of Hong Jiaozhu; he only needed to allude that Hong Jiaozhu held a very high regard of himself, then the old man would not dare to harm him.

With such a bluff, although the elderly man was skeptical, he would still rather believe than disbelieve; he asked, ”Those six people outside, are they your subordinates, your attendants?”

”All of them are from the Palace,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”The two ladies are palace maids, the Empress Dowager's personal attendants. The four men are Imperial Bodyguards, the Empress Dowager sent them out to help me on this mission. They don't know anything about Shen Long Jiao. This kind of secret information, naturally the Empress Dowager would not tell them …” Speaking to this point, he noticed that the elderly man's face showed a sneer; he knew something was not right. ”What is it?” he asked, ”You don't believe me?”

With a cold laugh the elderly man said, ”Yunnan's Mu Family people are loyal to the previous Ming Dynasty, how can they enter the Palace and be Imperial Bodyguards? When you tell a lie, you should have consistency.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed aloud. The elderly man asked in consternation, ”What are you laughing about?” He had never imagined that when his lie was exposed, when it was hard for him to justify himself, oftentimes Wei Xiaobao would laugh, so that the other side would feel that surely it was they who were completely mistaken, that they were being naïve and ridiculous. Now that their hearts had been emptied, when Wei Xiaobao continued to cover up a lie, the other party would not dare to press excessively.

Wei Xiaobao laughed several times and then said, ”The one people of Mu Palace hate the most is neither Empress Dowager nor His Majesty. But I am afraid you don't know anything about it.”

”How can I not know?” the elderly man said, ”The one people of Mu Palace hate the most is naturally Wu Sangui.”

Wei Xiaobao feigned astonishment. ”Amazing,” he said, ”Zhang Sanye, I won't conceal anything from you: the Mu Palace people are willing to work for the Empress Dowager for the purpose of having Wu Sangui executed along with his entire family unto the third generation, that even chicken and dogs of the Ping Xi Wang Mansion will not be spared. Let's not mention there are Mu Palace people in the Imperial Palace, do you think they do not have people planted in the Ping Xi Wang Mansion? It's just that this matter is a top secret; you and I are on the same side, so it's alright for me to tell you, but you must never leak this secret out.”

The elderly man nodded. ”So that's how it is,” he said. But in his heart he only believed 30% after all; he pondered, ”I'd better ask the people outside, see if their confession matches with his. Asking that little girl is the best, it's easier to get the truth from little kids.” Immediately he turned around, pushed the door and walked out.

Wei Xiaobao was greatly alarmed. ”Hey, hey,” he called out, ”Where are you going? This is a haunted house, how … how can you leave me alone in here?”

”I will be back shortly,” the elderly man replied. Closing the door behind him, he went to the main hall in quick steps.

Wei Xiaobao's palms were clammy. The candlelight flickered, making the shadows on the white wall trembled continuously, as if each shadow was a specter. All around him not a sound was heard.

Suddenly, from the outside came a man was shouting loudly, ”Where are you all going?” It was precisely the elderly man's voice. Wei Xiaobao was originally very frightened, after hearing the elderly man's voice was filled with terror, he was so scared that he almost pass out. ”Have they … have they all disappeared?” he called out.

He heard the elderly man loudly calling out again, ”Where are you? Where have you gone?” As soon as these two sentenced were finished, silence fell.

After a while, Wei Xiaobao heard someone rushing toward him; he heard the noise of doors being kicked open one by one, and then that elderly man crashed into the room. Wei Xiaobao screamed. He saw the elderly man's man face was devoid of any color, his eyes were bulging out, as he breathlessly said, ”They … they are … are gone.”

”They … they must be captured by the malicious ghosts,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Let us … let us run away quickly!”

”This is not happening,” the elderly man said; his left hand held on to the table for support, the table was creaking, obviously in his heart he was quite frightened. He turned around and walked back to the door, opened the door wide and shouted, ”Where are you? Where are you?” And then he stopped and cocked his head to listen, but in the quiet night all they could hear was the sound of several women weeping. He was at a loss of what to do, he stood at the threshold for a moment, and then took several steps backward, closed the door, picked up the door bolt and bolted the door from the inside. He saw Wei Xiaobao's round little eyes revealed dread, as he could not take his gaze off the elderly man. He saw he was clenching his teeth, his face alternated between blue and white.

The heavy rain had stopped for a moment. Suddenly, there was an intermittent downpour sprinkled the roof, making a 'shua, shua' noise. ”Ah,” the elderly man exclaimed, and sprang up. It was a moment later that he finally said, ”It's … raining … raining again.”

Suddenly from the main hall came a soft woman's voice, ”Zhang Laosan [ol' Zhang the third], come out!” Although the voice did not sound old, it was not tender and lovely either; definitely it did not belong to either Fang Yi or Mu Jianping. The voice still carried three parts of sadness and shrill.

”Female ghost!” Wei Xiaobao whispered.

The elderly man loudly said, ”Who's calling me?”

No answer from the outside. Other than the pitter patter of the rain, there was no other noise. The elderly man and Wei Xiaobao looked at each other in dismay. The hair on both men's bodies stood up.

After quite a while later, the same woman's voice called out again, ”Zhang Laosan, come out!”

The elderly man mustered his courage. He kicked with his left foot, 'bang!' the door flew outward, the door bolt was still hanging on the door frame. He hacked down with his right palm, 'crack!' the bolt broke in the middle; and then he walked out. ”Don't go out!” Wei Xiaobao anxiously said, but the elderly man had already rushed toward the main hall.

As soon as the elderly man left, silence fell once again; there was no sound of cursing or fighting, not even the sound of footsteps was heard. A burst of cold breeze blew from outside, carrying quite a bit of rain with it, most of it fell on Wei Xiaobao's body. He shuddered from cold. He wanted to open his mouth and shout, but did not have enough courage to do so. 'Bang!' suddenly the door was blown by the wind, it hit the door frame and immediately swung back out.

Wei Xiaobao was the only one left in this haunted house, naturally there were also quite a number of malicious ghosts, who could come into the room to strangle him death anytime. Fortunately, after waiting for a long, long time, no evil spirit had ever entered the room. Wei Xiaobao comforted himself, ”Oh, that's right! Evil spirits only harm grownups, they won't harm children. Perhaps they have eaten many people and are full already. If it's daylight, it would be better!”

Suddenly another burst of cold wind blew in, the candle flickered and died. Wei Xiaobao screamed. He could feel that there was a ghost in the room. He knew the ghost was standing right in front of him; although it was pitch-black and he could not see a thing, he was very sure that the ghost was standing right there.

The ghost coldly said, ”You don't need to be afraid, I won't harm you.” It was a female ghost's voice.

Hearing these ten words, Wei Xiaobao's spirit was aroused; he said, ”You said you won't harm me, you can't possibly harm me. A real man's word is like a mountain, if you harm me, then you are in the wrong.”

The ghost coldly said, ”I am not a ghost, neither am I a real man. I am asking you: that arrogant official of the imperial court, Oboi, was it really you who killed him?”

”You are really not a ghost?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Are you Oboi's enemy, or his friend?”

After he asked that question, the other side did not say anything. Temporarily Wei Xiaobao could not decide how he was going to answer her question. If the other side was Oboi's enemy, the 'enemy ghost', being straightforward and admit it would be best; but if she was Oboi's close relative, the 'family ghost', would it be really bad if he admit it? In that instant, his gambler instinct flared up; he thought, ”Whether it will be 'big' or 'small', I will have to bet a treasure. If I bet correctly, she will regard me as Da Laoye [big master]. If I bet wrong, I will lose everything, including my life!” Thereupon with a loud voice he said, ”Damn it, Oboi was indeed killed by laozi; what do you want? Laozi stabbed him with a dagger on his back, he immediately went to see Yan Wang. If you want revenge, just make your move. If laozi ever knit my brows, I am not a hero or a warrior.”

The woman coldly asked, ”Why did you kill Oboi?”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”If you are Oboi's friend, it would still be useless if I shift the blame to the Emperor, you won't spare me anyway. Since I have already placed my bet, if I lose, laozi will lose everything, but if I win, I will gain everything.” With a loud voice he said, ”Oboi killed innumerable good people under the heavens, although laozi is young, my heart is filled with anger. It so happened that he offended the Emperor; I seized the opportunity to kill him. A real man is fully responsible of his action. Let me tell you this: even if that dog thief Oboi did not offend the Emperor, I would still look for an opportunity to surreptitiously make my move to take revenge and wipe out a grudge on the behalf of common people under the heavens who suffer hardship and calamity under his hands.”

He learned these words from Tian Di Hui's Green Wood Hall people. Actually, the reason he killed Oboi was simply following Kangxi's order; 'taking revenge and wiping out a grudge on the behalf of common people under the heavens who suffer hardship and calamity under his hands' and so on did not even register in his mind.

After he spoke those words, the woman in front of him fell silent without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao's heart was thumping madly; he was wondering if he was betting correctly or not. After waiting for a long time, he thought he heard a light breeze. The woman, whom he was still unsure whether she was a ghost or not, had already floated out of the room.

Wei Xiaobao tried to rock his body several times, but his acupoint was sealed, he was unable to move at all. ”Damn it,” he mused, ”The dice have been rolled, but the lid has not been lifted. Won't it make me hung in suspense?”

Just now he was following his impulse and thought that in this high-stake gambling, he would not care about winning or losing; but now that he had calmed down, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that the woman talking to him a moment ago was a ghost and not a human. She was a female ghost, Oboi was a male ghost; most likely those two ghosts had something dubious between them. Those two were most probably 'fellow ghosts' [zi ji gui, see my note above], who were 'opponent ghosts' to Wei Xiaobao; something was really wrong here.

The double-door was blown by the wind and banging against each other, the clothes on his body had not yet dried, the cold wind blew intermittently, he could not help but shivered.