Chapter - 20 (20) (1/2)

Madame Hong hooked the hilt of the dagger with her right foot, the dagger shot swiftly back toward her throat. ”Careful!” Wei Xiaobao cried out in fear. Madame Hong shrank her body down, the dagger shot passed the top of her head toward the Cult Leader's chest.

The beautiful woman's eyes swept from west to east, the smile did not vanish from her face. She slowly said, ”The Black Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi

[104], today the deadline has arrived, please hand over the sutra.” Her voice was sharp, clear, and flirtatious; it was extremely pleasant to the ears. She held out her left hand with palm facing up.

Looking from far away, Wei Xiaobao saw that the palm looked like it was carved from a piece of white jade. Suddenly a thought welled up from the bottom of his heart, ”It won't be too bad if this woman become my wife. If she is doing business at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, all Yangzhou's patrons will rush forth to squeeze through the Lovely Spring Courtyard's main gate.”

An old man on the left side took two steps forward, he bowed and said, ”Reporting to the Madame: News from Beijing says that we have located four sutras, and we are intensifying the effort to obtain them. Following Jiaozhu's treasured teaching, even if we have to lose our lives, we will get the books, to be presented to Jiaozhu and Madame.” His voice trembled slightly, obviously he was completely terrified.

”What a pity, what a pity,” Wei Xiaobao mused, ”Turns out this beautiful woman is the Jiaozhu's wife, a fresh flower inserted on a cow's dung, a bright moonlight illuminating a latrine!”

The woman smiled slightly and said, ”Jiaozhu has extended the deadline three times, Black Dragon Envoy, you have always pushed the deadline with all sorts of excuses three, four times. If you are unwilling to strive, aren't you being disloyal to Jiaozhu?”

The Black Dragon Envoy bowed even lower; he said, ”Subordinate has received Jiaozhu and Madame's great kindness, even with torn body and crushed bones it will be difficult for me to repay. The fact is, this matter is extremely thorny, subordinate has dispatched six people into the Palace, and had Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan, two people lost their lives for the Cult. I wish for Jiaozhu and Madame to graciously extend the deadline.”

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”Turns out that fat sow and the fake palace maid are your subordinates. I am afraid the old wh0re's rank is also lower than yours.”

The woman raised her left hand to beckon Wei Xiaobao. She laughed and said, ”Xiao Didi [little brother - term of endearment], come here.”

Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. ”Me?” he said in a low voice.

”That's right,” the woman replied, ”I am calling you.”

Wei Xiaobao took a quick glance toward Mr. Lu and Fat Toutuo on his side. Mr. Lu said, ”Madame is calling you, go forward and salute her respectfully.”

Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, ”What will happen if I do not salute her respectfully?” But he stepped forward anyway, and then respectfully bowed to salute her, saying, ”Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life will be the same as the heaven's.”

Madame Hong laughed and said, ”This child is clever. Who taught you to add the 'and Madame' three characters [he fu ren] after the word Jiaozhu?”

Wei Xiaobao did not know that the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult had always said 'Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven's'. After they entered the Cult, they would always automatically recite these words; nobody dared to add a character or subtract half a sentence. Seeing not only this Madame was very beautiful, she was extremely powerful as well, Wei Xiaobao thought that since to flatter he did not need any capital, he thoughtlessly added the 'and Madame' three characters. Listening to her question, he simply said, ”Jiaozhu and Madame are partners, only then will living a life as long as the heaven's be interesting. Otherwise, after a hundred or two hundred years, Madame returns to heaven, how could Jiaozhu not be extremely lonely?”

As soon as Madame Hong heard him, she laughed just like a flowering branch trembled randomly. Hong Jiaozhu could not restrain his smile either, with his hand twisting his long beard, he nodded his head and smiled.

When the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult, from top to bottom, saw their Cult Leader, no one did not trembling in fear, who would dare to unguardedly speak nonsense like that? When they heard Wei Xiaobao earlier, they all broke in cold sweats on his behalf, but seeing Jiaozhu and Madame's warm expressions, they all felt relieved.

Madame Hong laughed and said, ”Was it your own idea to add those three characters?”

”Exactly,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”It was not a fake. The curvy characters on the stone tablet also mention Madame.”

As soon as he said those words, Mr. Lu felt as if he had just fallen into an icehouse; he had spent countless suffering just to have Wei Xiaobao memorized the writings on the stone tablet, and now he suddenly had an unconventional idea to add Madame's name into it, how could he account for the unmatched number of characters? This urchin talked irresponsibly, inevitably he was messing up the inscribed text on the tablet. He realized that his work had already contained a lot of flaws, with this new development, wouldn't his plot fall through and stand exposed on the spot?

Hearing this, Madame Hong was also startled; she asked, ”Did you say my name is also engraved on the stone tablet?”

”That's right!” Wei Xiaobao said. As soon as he blurted out these two words 'that's right', he immediately groaned inwardly, ”It's bad! If she wants me to recite the inscription, it won't have any reference to the Madame.”

Luckily Madame Hong did not ask at all. ”You are surnamed Wei, and you came from Beijing, is that right?” she asked.

”That's right,” Wei Xiaobao said the same words again.

”I heard from Fat Toutuo,” Madame Hong said, ”That in Beijing you met a fat lady by the name of Liu Yan, and she even taught you some martial art?”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Everything I told Fat Toutuo, other than the sutra, he has reported to Jiaozhu and Madame, now I'd better stick to it to the end. In any event, that fat Liu Yan is dead, it is called 'the dead cannot testify'.” Thereupon he said, ”Exactly, this Auntie Liu is a good friend of my Shushu [younger paternal uncle]. Day or night, she often comes to my house.”

With a soft chuckle Madame Hong asked, ”What is she doing in your house?”

”To talk and joke with my Shushu, of course,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”Sometimes they embrace and kiss each other, they thought I did not see them, but I secretly watched them.” He knew that the more he was able to tell the story with living spirit and living image, mentioning various minute and complicated details, the more people would believe him.

Madame Hong laughed, ”You, this child, is so sly. People kissing, you are peeping,” she said. Turning to the Black Dragon Envoy she said, ”Did you hear? Do you think this child is lying?”

Wei Xiaobao followed her gaze and saw the Black Dragon Envoy's countenance changed greatly, showing his fear had reached its extreme point, his body trembled, his knees bent, he kneeled on the floor and repeatedly knocked his head, while saying, ”Subordinate ... subordinate oversees my people improperly, I deserve to die ten thousand deaths, I beg Jiaozhu and Madame to open ... open the net on one side [i.e. be lenient], to let subordinate set up some meritorious deed to atone for my crime.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he thought, ”I was just saying that that fat pig and my Shushu kissed, what does it have to do with this old fellow? Why does he have to be frightened like this?”

Madame Hong smiled and said, ”Set up some meritorious deed to atone for your crime? What meritorious deed do you have? I always thought that the people you sent were loyal and devoted as they handled matters on behalf of Jiaozhu. Who would have thought that in Beijing they are actually doing these loose and shady businesses?”

The Black Dragon Envoy kowtowed again and again, until his forehead was bleeding profusely. Wei Xiaobao could not bear to see him, he wanted to say something good on his behalf, but in that moment he could not find anything to say.

The Black Dragon Envoy crawled on his knees forward, he called out, ”Jiaozhu, I have followed you, the Senior, from the cradle to the grave; although I do not have any meritorious service, I have worked hard for you.”

With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, ”What's the use of bringing up former matters? You are already old, how many more years can you give in service to Jiaozhu? Wouldn't it be merrier if you just quit your Black Dragon Envoy position earlier?”

The Black Dragon Envoy raised his head to look at Hong Jiaozhu, with a sorrowful voice he said, ”Jiaozhu, you really don't have the least bit of old affection toward your old troop, your old Xiongdi?”

Hong Jiaozhu's face stayed wooden as he indifferently said, ”There are too many old rotten and muddled people in our Cult, we ought to tidy up well.” His voice was deep and low, and somewhat slurred. Ever since he saw him, this was the first time Wei Xiaobao had ever heard him speaking.

Suddenly several hundred teenage boys and girls shouted loudly, ”With Jiaozhu's treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!”

The Black Dragon Envoy sighed. Still trembling, he stood up and said, ”Breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh, we, the old men, deserve to die anyway.” Turning around, he said, ”Bring it here!” From the hall's door, four teenagers in black clothes went forward in quick steps, each one carried a wooden tray, on each tray there was a round brass lid. When they arrived in front of the Black Dragon Envoy, they set the wooden trays on the floor, and then quickly turned around and withdrew. As if by prior agreement, everybody in the hall drew back several steps.

The Black Dragon Envoy muttered, ”With Jiaozhu's treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable ... hey hey, there is one thing that is unachievable, that is the subordinate is not loyal and devoted at all.” Reaching out, he grabbed the knob on the top of the brass lid and lifted it up. The object on the tray suddenly flew up, followed by a flash of white light, a flying dagger flew in at an angle, cutting the object into two sections, which then fell back onto the tray, wiggling and squirming. It was a gorgeous-looking multi-colored small snake.

Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm. The people in the hall also cried out, ”Who was it?” ”Who's rebelling against our leader?” ”Catch him!” ”Who's the traitor who has the audacity to disobey Jiaozhu?”

Madame Hong suddenly stood up, made a circle with both hands, followed by waving down three times. A series of 'Shua, shua, shua!' was heard, the swords had left their scabbards, several hundred teenage boys and girls rushed forward to surround about fifty, sixty older members of the Cult. These several hundred teenagers, the ones wearing black were grouped together, the ones wearing white were grouped together, they did not mingled at all, everyone occupied his/her respective position, some were in group of six or seven, some were in group of eight or nine, each group surrounded one person in the middle. Their long swords were aimed at vital points, the several dozen older people were immediately put under their control. Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu were also facing seven, eight swords each.

A fifty-something old Taoist priest with black beard laughed aloud and said, ”Madame, you trained this formation, how many months have you spent? If you want to deal with old Xiongdi, actually you don't need to spend such energy.”

Those who surrounded him were eight teenage girls wearing red clothes. Two girls raised their swords toward the pit of his stomach. ”Don't be rude toward Jiaozhu and Madame,” they shouted.

The Taoist priest laughed and said, ”Madame, it was me, Priest Wugen [lit. without root], who killed that five-colored divine dragon. You want to punish, feel free to make your move, why implicate other people?”

Madame Hong sat back down on her chair; she smiled and said, ”You admit it yourself, nothing could be better than that. Daozhang [(Taoist) Priest], haven't Jiaozhu treated you well? He entrusted you the Scarlet Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi position, which is only one rank lower than the Jiaozhu himself, above ten thousand people in seniority; why do you want to rebel?”

Priest Wugen said, ”Subordinate is not rebelling. Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue has rendered great service to our Cult, just because there are some people among his subordinates who did not handle their affairs favorably, Madame wanted to take his life. Subordinate boldly asks Jiaozhu and Madame to show mercy.”

Madame Hong laughed and said, ”And if I do not comply?”

Priest Wugen said, ”Although Shen Long Jiao was founded by Jiaozhu, several tens of thousands xiongdi have gone through water and tread on fire together with him, everybody has his contribution. In those days, there were a total of one thousand twenty three old xiongdi, today some have lost their lives in the hands of the enemy, some were put to death by Jiaozhu, and those that remain are less than a hundred people. Subordinate asks Jiaozhu to show mercy by sparing the lives of ours, several dozen old xiongdi, simply kick us all out of the Cult. If Jiaozhu and Madame find us, these old people, repulsive, and want to promote new people, then just send us, the old people, out of here.”

With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, ”Since Shen Long Jiao was founded, I have never heard anybody leaving the Cult alive. By saying that, Priest Wugen is imagining the wildest thing.”

”In that case,” Priest Wugen said, ”Madame does not agree?”

”Excuse me,” Madame Hong said, ”But our Cult does not have such rule.”

Priest Wugen laughed aloud and said, ”Turns out Jiaozhu and Madame have determined to put us all to death.”

Madame Hong smiled, ”That's not necessarily so,” she said, ”Old people who are loyal to Jiaozhu, naturally Jiaozhu still considers them good xiongdi, absolutely no discrimination here. We do not distinguish juniors from seniors, all we ask is whether they are loyal and devoted to Jiaozhu or not. Whoever is loyal to Jiaozhu, raise your hand.”

Several hundred teenage boys and girls all raised their left hands, the senior members of the Cult who were being surrounded also raised their hands, even Priest Wugen also raised his left hand. Everybody chorused, ”To be loyal to Jiaozhu, absolutely no double-mind!”

Seeing everybody was raising his hand, Wei Xiaobao also raised his hand. Madame Hong nodded and said, ”That's very good, turns out everybody is loyal to Jiaozhu, including this newly arrived Xiao Didi, although he is not a member of our Cult, unexpectedly he is also loyal to Jiaozhu.”

In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, ”I am loyal to the turtle son of a b1tch.”

Madame Hong said, ”Everybody is loyal, then we do not have a single rebellious traitor in here. I'm afraid there is something fishy here, I'll have to investigate carefully. I must offend all old xiongdi for the time being. Tie them up.”

”Yes!” several hundred teenage boys and girls replied together.

”Hold on!” a tall and sturdy man called out.

Madame Hong said, ”White Dragon Envoy, what respected opinion do you have?”

”Respected opinion, that I do not have,” the man replied, ”Subordinate only feel it's not fair.”

”Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Madame Hong clicked her tongue, ”You are criticizing me as handling this matter unfairly.”

”Subordinate does not dare,” the man said, ”Subordinate has been following Jiaozhu for twenty years, and has marched forward courageously in everything. When I was risking my life for our Cult, these little babies have not even born yet. Why is it that they are loyal to Jiaozhu, but we, the old xiongdi, are not loyal?”

Madame Hong chuckled and said, ”By saying that, White Dragon Envoy is showing off your own merit. Aren't you saying that if there was no White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling, Shen Long Jiao will not exist today?”

The tall and sturdy man, Zhong Zhiling said, ”The founding of Shen Long Jiao is Jiaozhu, one man's merit, everybody else was simply following him, the Senior, striking the world, there is no merit worthy to be mentioned, but ...”

”But what?” Madame Hong asked.

Zhong Zhiling said, ”But we do not have any merit, these teenage babies do not have merit even more.”

”I am only twenty something years old,” Madame Hong said, ”So I do not have any merit either?”

Zhong Zhiling hesitated for half a day. ”That's right,” he finally said, ”Madame does not have any merit either. The great undertaking of founding our Cult is Jiaozhu, the Senior, one man's merit.”

Madame Hong slowly said, ”Since nobody has any merit, killing you will not be considered an injustice, will it?” While saying this, her eyes flickered with a murderous spirit, but her expression was still extremely charming.

Zhong Zhiling roared angrily, ”Naturally killing the one surnamed Zhong alone is not a big deal. I am just afraid that by murdering a loyal and good person, by putting to death a minister who has given outstanding service, the foundation of Shen Long Jiao will be destroyed in the hands of Madame, one person.”

”Very good, very good,” Madame Hong said, ”Ay, I am very tired.” These last few words were spoken languidly, who would have thought that it was unexpectedly a secret signal to kill? As soon as the seven teenagers wearing white clothes surrounding Zhong Zhiling heard it, they thrust their swords forward, simultaneously entered Zhong Zhiling's body.

When the seven swords were drawn, from Zhong Zhiling body spurted seven streams of blood, splashing the seven teenagers' white clothes that their clothes were soaked with blood. Zhong Zhiling called out, ”Jiaozhu, you ... have the heart to do this! You ... ” He fell down and died. The seven teenagers withdrew toward the corridor, their movement was very orderly.

All the older members of the Cult knew that the White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling's martial art skill was very high, but the seven swords moved together, unexpectedly he did not have the slightest bit of power to resist, showing that in order for these seven teenagers to be able to thrust their swords together in the hall today, they must have been under the Cult Leader's direction beforehand, also they must have practiced countless time, so that they were very familiar with the move and were able to execute it without a flaw. Nobody did not have a trembling heart.

After yawning, Madame Hong lightly pressed her left hand on her cherry-red lips; she appears so delicate and extremely calm. Hong Jiaozhu still maintained his wooden expression, as if he did not see the killing of Zhong Zhiling just now. Madame Hong softly said, ”Blue Dragon Envoy, Yellow Dragon Envoy, you two gentlemen, do you feel that the White Dragon Envoy was scheming a rebellion, was guilty and deserve to be punished?”

An old man with slit eyes and sharp face bowed and said, ”Zhong Zhiling rebelled against Jiaozhu and Madame, he had thought this through deliberately and methodically for quite a long time, subordinate utterly detest him, and have lodged an accusation several times to Madame, but Madame always said that looking at the old xiongdi's face, let him had the opportunity to repent. Jiaozhu and Madame are magnanimous, hoping for him to reform and start afresh, who would have thought that this man was incomparably malicious. His guilt was definitely unpardonable. By letting him to have a quick death like this, it was actually too easy for him. All the brethrens of the Cult, nobody is not grateful for Jiaozhu and Madame's benevolence.”

In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, ”He is flattering the big king.”

Madame Hong smiled slightly and said, ”Yellow Dragon Envoy understood the cardinal principle. Blue Dragon Envoy, what do you think?”

A tall and thin man in his fifties glowered at the eight teenagers wearing blue clothes around him. ”Get lost!” he growled, ”If Jiaozhu wants to kill me, do you think I cannot do it myself?”

Eight teenagers pushed their swords slightly forward, until the tip of the swords touched his clothes. The man let out several 'hey, hey' cold laugh, he slowly raised his hands to grab the chest of his own clothes; he said, ”Jiaozhu, Madame, in the past, when subordinate, along with Scarlet, White, Black and Yellow, four Gates' Zhangmenshi sworn brotherhood, we determined to work ourselves to death for Shen Long Jiao, we did not expect there would be a day like today. Madame wanted to put anybody to death, it's not strange at all. What's strange to me is that because the Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Dage is greedy for life, afraid of death, unexpectedly he uttered such a sordid and contemptible talk, slandering his own good xiongdi ...”

Suddenly there was a 'rip' noise as the man threw both hands outward, pulling his own long gown into two halves. With a shake of his arms, the two pieces of gowns coiled horizontally out, sweeping away the eight teenagers' swords. Blue light flashed, a pair of daggers about a chi and a half long appeared in his hands. With a series of 'Swish, swish!' sound, the pit of the eight teenagers' stomachs were hit by the dagger; they all fell to the ground, spurting blood from their wounds. Eight dead bodies fell around him, unexpectedly they form a very neat circle. His movement was very fast, just like a thunderbolt before it even reaches the ears. Madame Hong was startled; she clapped her hands repeatedly. More than twenty teenagers in blue clothes rushed toward the Blue Dragon Envoy, and once again he was surrounded.

The Blue Dragon Envoy laughed aloud, and then in a loud and clear voice he said, ”Madame, these babies that you trained are completely useless. If Jiaozhu wants to rely on these kids to establish great merits by subduing the enemy, won't it be too inconvenient?”

When the seven teenagers assassinate Zhong Zhiling, Hong Jiaozhu appeared to turn a blind eye, now that the Blue Dragon Envoy killed eight teenagers, he appeared as unconcerned; sitting quietly in his chair, all along he did not pay any attention. Madame Hong cast a quick glance toward her husband, as if she was somewhat ashamed. Smiling sweetly, she sat down and said with a laugh, ”Blue Dragon Envoy, your swordsmanship is very good, today ...”

Suddenly there was a series of 'crash, bang!' noise all around the hall as the swords in the several hundred teenage boys and girls all fell to the floor. As they were still in shock, they saw one by one the teenagers fell on their knees to the ground. Instantly everybody also felt dizzy and their eyes dimmed, and were unable to stand. Those with weaker inner power fell down first, and then the rest of them swayed and fell down one after another. In a short moment the hall was strewn with lying bodies.

Madame Hong cried out in alarm, ”What ... what happened?” Her body felt weak, she slipped down from the bamboo chair.

The Blue Dragon Envoy was actually standing upright and unafraid, with a malicious laugh he said, ”Jiaozhu, when you massacred our xiongdi, have you ever thought that a day like today will arrive?” He struck his pair of daggers against each other, creating a metallic clang. Stepping over the bodies lying on the ground, he walked toward Hong Jiaozhu.

”Humph!” Hong Jiaozhu snorted, ”Maybe not!” Reaching out to grab the armrest of the bamboo chair, 'Crack!' he broke the armrest.

The Blue Dragon Envoy's countenance changed immediately. Withdrawing two steps, he said, ”Jiaozhu, such a big cult like Shen Long Jiao is torn to pieces. Who planted the embryo of this calamity, you, Senior, ought to understand by now?”

”Mmm,” Hong Jiaozhu mumbled; suddenly he slipped down from the chair and sat on the floor. The Blue Dragon Envoy was greatly delighted, he rushed forward. Suddenly he cried out, an object, carrying a strong gust of wind, was flying toward his chest. The Blue Dragon Envoy forcefully raised the dagger in his right hand to chop, the object broke into two pieces. Turned out it was the armrest from Hong Jiaozhu's bamboo chair. The force behind this throw was not a small matter at all, as the bamboo piece was cut, the front section did not fall. 'Stab!' it penetrated the Blue Dragon Envoy's chest, breaking five or six of his ribs, and pierced his lung.

The Blue Dragon Envoy screamed, but suddenly he stopped; the chi in his lung could not flow up, instantly he was muted. He swayed twice, the pair of daggers in his hands fell down, separately landed on the bodies of two teenage boys. These two teenagers' bodies were numb, they could not move, but actually their minds were still clear, and they could still talk. As the daggers pierced their bodies, they cried out in pain.

Seeing their Jiaozhu displaying his divine prowess by knocking down the Blue Dragon Envoy, several hundred teenage boys and girls cheered together. They saw their Jiaozhu propped himself up with his right hand, struggling to stand up, but before he could straighten up his right leg, his knees turned soft that he fell down again and rolled away several times. Indeed he had fallen into an extremely difficult situation. This way, everybody knew that Jiaozhu was in the same boat as them, he was also being poisoned that his muscle went soft and his flesh paralyzed.

Normally, the Cult Leader was an extremely dignified person, even in front of the Cult members very seldom did he ever speak more than a sentence, or laugh more than once. This time unexpectedly he had fallen and suffered disgrace, losing the strength of his entire body.

Several hundred people in the hall were lying on the floor, but there was one person who was still standing. This person was actually very short, but standing among several hundred people lying on the floor, inevitably he looked like a crane in a flock of chicken. This person was none other than Wei Xiaobao. His nose smelled a burst of faint fragrance, but he felt very calm and relaxed, his entire body felt comfortably warm, a strange good feeling that he could not explain.

Seeing everybody had fallen to the ground without knowing the reason, he was completely baffled. After staring blankly for quite a while, he reached down to pull Fat Toutuo up and asked, ”Fat Revered Monk, what happened to everybody?”

Fat Toutuo was surprised, ”You ... you are not poisoned?” he asked.

”Poisoned?” Wei Xiaobao was equally surprised, ”I ... I don't know.” He struggled hard to help Fat Toutuo up, but Fat Toutuo did not have any strength left on his legs, he fell back sitting down on the floor.

Mr. Lu suddenly asked, ”Xu Dage, you ... what kind of poison did you use?”

The Blue Dragon Envoy's body swayed as if he was drunk; supporting himself on a pillar, he coughed incessantly and said, ”What a pity, what ... what a pity I failed within sight of success. I ... I am unfit for anything.”

”Is it 'seven-insect tendon softening powder'?” Mr. Lu asked, ”Is it 'thousand-li ecstasy fragrance'? Or is it 'Trans ... transforming blood ... decaying bone dust'?” Successively he mentioned the names of three most debilitating poison. When mentioning the name 'transforming blood decaying bone dust', his voice trembled, as if he was extremely terrified.

The Blue Dragon Envoy's right lung was heavily injured; his coughing was very severe, he was unable to answer. Mr. Lu asked, ”How come Wei Gongzi is not poisoned? Ah! I know!” He suddenly remembered something. These two words 'I know' were shouted really loud. He said, ”You have applied the 'hundred flowers snake belly's ointment' on your daggers. Brilliant scheme, brilliant scheme. Wei Gongzi, could you please sniff the Blue Dragon Envoy's pair of daggers? See if you smell flower's fragrance on the blades.”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”The blades are poisonous, I am not going to smell them.” He said, ”I can smell strong fragrance from here.”

Mr. Lu looked delighted; ”That's right!” he said, ”When this 'hundred flowers snake belly's ointment' came in contact with blood, it will produce a strong fragrance. Actually, it was a certain sect's secret method to refine spices, when ordinary people smell it, they will feel their spirits invigorated, but ... but we live on this Spirit Snake Island, everybody is used to take the 'realgar medicated wine' to dispel the poisonous snakes. As soon as this fragrance came in contact with the 'realgar medicated wine', it will make our muscles and bones weak for twelve shichen [24 hours]. Xu Dage, what a brilliant scheme. This 'hundred flowers snake belly's ointment' is actually forbidden on the island, turns out you have prepared this in secret for a long time. You must have stopped drinking the 'realgar medicated wine' three, four months ago.”

The Blue Dragon Envoy sat down, he happened to sat on two teenagers' bodies. Shaking his head, he said, ”Man proposes but God disposes, in the end I still fell under Hong Antong's evil scheme.”

Several teenage boys shouted, ”Audacious mad disciple, you dare to randomly call Jiaozhu's holy name.”

The Blue Dragon Envoy stood up slowly. Picking up a long sword, he walked over toward Hong Jiaozhu step by step. ”Why can't I say the name Hong Antong?” he said, ”Cough, cough ... after I kill this evil thief ... cough, cough ... does it matter if I call his name or not?”

Several hundred teenage boys and girls called out in alarm. After a while, the Yellow Dragon Envoy's old voice was heard, ”Xu Xiongdi, after you kill Hong Antong, everybody will support you as the new Shen Long Jiao's Jiaozhu. Everybody recite quickly: We will obey Xu Jiaozhu's command, absolutely no double-mind!”

The hall was silent for a moment, and then several dozen people recited, ”We will obey Xu Jiaozhu's command, absolutely no double-mind.” Some were confident, some appeared rather hesitant, it sounded rather irregular.

The Blue Dragon Envoy took two steps forward, coughed once, and swayed several times. His injury was very heavy, but struggled with everything he had, because no matter what, he must kill Hong Jiaozhu first.

Suddenly Madame Hong giggled and said, ”Blue Dragon Envoy, you don't have any strength left, your thighs does not have the least bit of strength, the blood bubbled up in the pit of your stomach, very soon you will lose everything. You are finished. Why don't you sit down? You are very tired. That's right, sit down and rest for a while. Put down your sword. In a moment you may sit by my side, let me cure your injury. That's right, sit down, put down your sword.” The more she spoke, her voice grew gentler and more flirtatious.

The Blue Dragon Envoy took several more steps, in the end he sat down slowly. 'Clang!' the sword in his hand fell down to the floor.

Seeing the Blue Dragon Envoy did not have any strength to stand up again, the Yellow Dragon Envoy shouted, ”Xu Xueting, you, this traitor, are indulging yourself in wishful thinking, damn it, you want to be the Jiaozhu, just scatter your own urine to yourself, this revolting behavior cannot be tolerated.”

The Scarlet Dragon Envoy Priest Wugen shouted, ”Yin Jin, you are such a despicable, shameless lowly person, you see the wind and set the helm, rocking to the east and sway to the west. As soon as the ol' Taoist can move my hands and feet, the first thing I'll do will be to slaughter you.”

The Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Jin said, ”Why are you vicious? I … I …” he wanted to talk back, but saw that swaying and rocking, the Blue Dragon Envoy struggled hard to stand up. Once again the battle's outcome was undecided[105], thereupon he shut his mouth.

In the meantime, the eyes of several hundred people in the hall were all fixed on Xu Xueting. In a soft voice Madame Hong said, ”Xu Dage, you are very tired, why don't you sit down? Just look at me, I'll sing a little song for you. Just take a good rest, later on I will sing a little song for you every day. Tell me if I look beautiful.”

”Oh, oh,” Xu Xueting repeatedly mumbled, he said, ”You … you are very beautiful, but I … I do not dare to look at you too much …” While saying that, he sat down again, and this time he could not stand back up; however, his mind was still as bright as snow, he realized that as long as he could not stand up, he would not be able to kill Jiaozhu. Among these several hundred people, the Cult Leader's skill was the most profound, surely he would be the first to have the poison in his system driven out, and then every one of the older brethrens would not be fortunate to escape his evil scheme. Thereupon he said, ”Mister … Mister Lu, I can't move, you must think … think … cough, cough … think of a way.”

”Wei Gongzi,” Mr. Lu said, ”This Jiaozhu is extremely vicious, when the poison in his body is neutralized, he will kill everybody, even you will not escape. Quickly kill Jiaozhu and Madame.”

Even if he did not say those words, Wei Xiaobao had already understood. Picking up a sword, he slowly walked toward the Cult Leader.

Mr. Lu added, ”This Madame Hong is a fox-spirit, she will completely deceive people, you must not look at her face, don't look at her eyes.”

”Yes!” Wei Xiaobao replied. With raised sword he took several steps forward.

In a soft voice Madame Hong said, ”Xiao Xiongdi, tell me, do you think I am beautiful?” Her voice was brimming with overwhelming emotion that can erode the bones. Wei Xiaobao's heart was moved; he turned his head to look at her.

Fat Toutuo shouted loudly, ”Wicked demon; don't look at her!” Wei Xiaobao shivered and closed his eyes tight.

With a tender laugh Madame Hong said, ”Xiao Xiongdi, look at me, turn your eyes on me, open your eyes, look, you can see your reflection in my eyes!”

As soon as Wei Xiaobao opened his eyes, he saw Madame Hong's graceful eyes and smiling expression; he could not stop his heart from being shaken. Immediately he raised the sword in front of his chest and walked toward Hong Jiaozhu, thinking, ”You are such a beautiful woman, I really cannot kill you, but I simply must kill your husband.”

Suddenly from his left came a sharp and clear voice calling out, ”Wei Dage! Don't kill him!”

The voice sounded very familiar. Wei Xiaobao's heart was shaken. He turned toward the voice and saw a young girl wearing red clothes lying on the ground, her eyebrows were elegant her eyes were gorgeous, she was none other than Xiao Junzhu Mu Jianping. Wei Xiaobao was flabbergasted; not in a million years would he expect to see her in this place. As for why she was wearing the Scarlet Dragon Gate's red uniform, he did not feel surprised at all. Busily he helped her up and asked, ”How can you be here?”

Mu Jianping did not answer his question, she only said, ”By all means, you must not kill Jiaozhu.”

”Have you joined Shen Long Jiao?” Wei Xiaobao asked in surprise, ”How … how come?”

Mu Jianping's entire body was so soft as if she did not have any bones; leaning against his shoulder, she put her small mouth close to his ear and said in a low voice, ”If you kill Jiaozhu and Madame, I will not live. Those old men hate us to the death, they will definitely kill us all the young people.”

”I am going to ask them not to harm you,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I think they will consent.”

”No, no!” Mu Jianping anxiously said, ”Jiaozhu has given us poison, other people cannot neutralize it.”

Meeting with her again after a long separation, Wei Xiaobao was actually very happy, much less she was leaning in his bosom, he could smell her soft fragrance, and hear her tender voice in his ear. He found it very difficult to resist her request, plus he thought that the Cult Leader had forced her to take the poison and nobody else could save her; therefore, if he killed the Cult Leader, he would be killing this beautiful young woman in his bosom, which he must never do. It was a very difficult decision to take. He said in a low voice, ”If I don't kill Jiaozhu, after the poison in Jiaozhu's body is neutralized, he will definitely kill me.” He was holding Mu Jianping in tight embrace, he said those words in her ear.

Mu Jianping said, ”If you saved Jiaozhu and Madame, how could they kill you?”

Wei Xiaobao thought that she was right, Madame Hong was such a thousand-beauty a hundred-charming woman, no matter what she must not be killed. Before his eyes was an opportunity to set up a great merit, it's just that inevitably Fat Toutuo, Mr. Lu, Priest Wugen and the others would be killed by the Cult Leader. Priest Wugen was an extremely heroic man, it would be a pity to have him killed. It would be best if he did not kill Jiaozhu and Madame, while saving Fat Toutuo and the others' lives at the same time. Thereupon he said, ”Exactly! Good wife, even if Jiaozhu wanted to kill me, I will definitely save your life.” While saying that, he landed a kiss on her left cheek.

Mu Jianping was extremely bashful, her face blushed, but her eyes revealed a happy expression as she said in a low voice, ”If you set up a great merit, plus you are a young child, how can Jiaozhu kill you?”

Wei Xiaobao lay Mu Jianping back on the floor; he turned his head and said, ”Mr. Lu, Jiaozhu must not be killed, and so is Madame. The inscription on the stone tablet says that Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, their long lives will be the same as the heaven's; how can I dare to harm their lives? The two Seniors' magical power is extensive, even if I want to harm them, I cannot harm them to their death.”

Mr. Lu was greatly anxious; ”The inscription is a fake,” he called out, ”How can you even take it into consideration? Don't indulge in flights of fancy, quickly kill those two people, otherwise, everybody will die without a burial site.”

Wei Xiaobao repeatedly shook his head. ”Mr. Lu,” he said, ”You must not say such a treason talk. Do you have the antidote? We must neutralize the poison in Jiaozhu and Madame's bodies.”

In a soft voice Madame Hong said, ”That's right, Xiao Xiongdi, you indeed have excellent knowledge and experience. The Heaven sent such a young hero like you to descend to the world, actually to assist Jiaozhu. For Shen Long Jiao to have such a young hero like you, it is indeed everyone's good fortune.”

She appeared to say those words from the bottom of her heart, it was brimming with amazement and high praise. When Wei Xiaobao heard it, he felt an unspeakable joy and comfort in his heart. He laughed and said, ”Madame, I don't belong to Shen Long Jiao.”

Madame Hong laughed. ”Nothing could be easier than that,” she said, ”You can join the Cult right now, I can be your sponsor [orig. person who receive and instruct]. Jiaozhu, this Xiao Xiongdi has set up such a great merit for our Cult, which official position should we assign to him?”

The Cult Leader said, ”The White Dragon Gate's Zhangmenshi Zhong Zhiling has been executed for apostasy, we can promote this young man as the White Dragon Envoy.”

”That's great!” Madame Hong said with a laugh, ”Xiao Xiongdi, our Cult is headed by Jiaozhu, under him are Blue, Yellow, Scarlet, White and Black, five dragon envoys. To have someone like you, who as soon as you join the Cult immediately becomes one of the five dragon envoys, it is indeed unprecedented, indicating that that Jiaozhu has a very high opinion of you. Xiao Xiongdi, you are surnamed Wei, that much we know. But what is your great name?”

”My name is Wei Xiaobao,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”In Jianghu, people call me the Little White Dragon.” He recalled Mao Shiba had fabricated a nickname for him with the thought that if he did not have any nickname, it would not be impressive enough. Who could have thought that the nickname agreed with what had happened today as if by prior consultation?

”You see, you see!” Madame Hong happily said, ”This is the Heaven's plan, otherwise, how can there be such coincidence? Jiaozhu's golden mouth has spoken, definitely he won't renege.”

Mr. Lu was greatly anxious, ”Wei Gongzi,” he said, ”Don't fall into their trick. Even if you become the White Dragon Envoy, if they don't like you and want to kill you, won't it be as easy as turning their hand over? The White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling was the example right in front of our eyes. Quickly kill Jiaozhu and Madame, everybody will support you as the new Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao.”

As soon as he said that, everybody was startled. Fat Toutuo, Xu Xueting, Priest Wugen and the others all felt that this idea was extremely unthinkable. But then they had a second thought: if they did not support him to be the new Cult Leader, currently there was no position in the Cult higher than the White Dragon Envoy position. The situation before their eyes was very urgent, the lives of everybody present were hanging on his hand. Only by doing this they would be able to tempt him to kill Jiaozhu and Madame. As soon as the crisis was over, even if they really promote him to become the Cult Leader, he would not escape from everybody's grasp. Thereupon everybody chorused, ”Right, right, we will support Wei Gongzi as the Shen Long Jiao's Jiaozhu; everybody will be loyal and devoted to you.”

Wei Xiaobao's heart was moved, he cast a sidelong glance toward Madame Hong. She was half sitting half lying on the bamboo chair, as if her entire body was devoid of any bones. Her chest was heaving up and down slightly, her cheeks blushed, her eyes glistened. He mused, ”There's nothing fun being the Jiaozhu, but this Madame Jiaozhu is extremely pretty. If I become the Jiaozhu, will you or won't you still become the Madame Jiaozhu?”

But this thought only flashed through in his mind, immediately he cleared his head, ”Each of these people has superior martial art skill, as soon as the poison in their bodies is neutralized, how can I deal with them? It will be 'pulling the plank after crossing the bridge'.” As for the matter of 'pulling the plank after crossing the bridge', he had had personal experience with the Tian Di Hui's Green Wood Hall. But Tian Di Hui brethrens were heroes and warrior, after crossing the bridge, they did not pull the plank in a hurry. These Shen Long Jiao fellows, on the other hand, how could they not pull the plank in a hurry? Worse yet, how could they not do it in great delight? Although Madame Jiaozhu was pretty, when all is said and done, his own life was prettier.

Thereupon he stuck out his tongue and said with a laugh, ”I don't want to be the Jiaozhu, by saying that, you are not bringing good fortune to me. Besides, it is treason and heresy. How about this: Jiaozhu, Madame, and everybody here better be reconciled. I want both sides to disregard what had happened today. Mr. Lu, Blue Dragon Envoy and the others have offended Jiaozhu, I am asking Jiaozhu to be magnanimous and disregard their crime. Mr. Lu, take the antidote out, after everybody is cured, won't it be good that we are all friendly toward each other?”

Without waiting for Mr. Lu to open his mouth, Hong Jiaozhu immediately said, ”Very well, let's do it. The White Dragon Envoy is urging us to work together, to let bygones be bygones; I accept the auspicious loyal advice. The matter of everybody rebelled against the authority today, I am willing to forgive and will no longer look into it.”

Wei Xiaobao happily said, ”Blue Dragon Envoy, Jiaozhu has agreed, don't you agree that this is wonderful?”

Realizing that Wei Xiaobao was unwilling to kill the Cult Leader no matter what, Mr. Lu heaved a deep sigh and said, ”If that's the case, Jiaozhu, Madame, would you two please make an oath.”

Madame Hong said, ”I, Su Quan, will not look into today's matter. If I go against this oath, let me fall into the Dragon Pool, and be devoured by ten thousand snakes.”

In a low and deep voice Hong Jiaozhu said, ”If in the future I, Shen Long Jiao Jiaozhu Hong Antong, ever settle the account with old xiongdi over what had happened today, let the Ol' Hong fall into the Dragon Pool and be devoured by ten thousand snakes, so that even my bones will not survive.”

'Fall into the Dragon Pool and be devoured by ten thousand snakes' was Shen Long Jiao's heaviest punishment. Jiaozhu and Madame swore this heavy oath, although they were under pressure, they simply could not retract what they had said.

”Blue Dragon Envoy, what do you think?” Mr. Lu asked.

Xu Xueting was at his last gasp, he said, ”I … I won't live anyway.”

”Priest Wugen, what do you think?” Mr. Lu asked again.

In a loud voice Priest Wugen said, ”Let it be so. Hong Jiaozhu was originally our old xiongdi, his literary and martial art skills are ten times better than everybody else. We all originally supported him without half-heartedness. Ever since he took this Madame as his wife, his character underwent huge changes; he only loved to promote young boys and girls and had us, the old xiongdi massacred one by one. The Blue Dragon Envoy was the first to rise in revolt, but he was only striving to survive, without any other motive. Since Jiaozhu and Madame have sworn an oath publicly not to look into today's matter, no longer recklessly murder old xiongdi, why would we want to rebel against him? Besides, Shen Long Jiao cannot exist without this Jiaozhu.”

A group of teenage boys and girls shouted loudly, ”Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven's.”

”Wei Gongzi,” Mr. Lu said, ”You have not taken 'realgar medicated wine', therefore, you were not poisoned by … and thus have set up the great merit of today. It was the mystery of the underworld, the Will of Heaven. To neutralize the poison, it is very easy. Go outside and scoop up some cold water, bring it here and have everybody here drink some.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Turns out this poison is very easy to neutralize.” He went out the hall, but could not find any cold water. Circling around the hall, he saw a row of twenty stone jars, seven of them were brimming with clear water. Actually, the water was to guard against the bamboo hall catching fire. Immediately he filled a bucket full with water and returned to the main hall. He scooped some water and had the Cult Leader drink it first. Next he gave Madame Hong some water. The third scoop was for Priest Wugen; he said, ”Daozhang [priest], you are a hero and a warrior.” The fourth, the fifth were for Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu. The sixth was for Mu Jianping.

After drinking the water, they all threw up, and then slowly regained the strength of their hands and feet. After Wei Xiaobao fed several more people, Mr. Lu was already able to stand up and walk, immediately he attended the Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting's injury, trying to stop his bleeding. Fat Toutuo and the others also took cold water to help the brethrens closest to them. Very soon Mu Jianping was able to help several teenage girls wearing red clothes.

The hall reeked with vomit, the stench was unbearable.

Madame Hong said, ”Everybody, go back and rest, we will assemble again tomorrow.”

Hong Jiaozhu said, ”I have decided to let bygones be bygones, all xiongdi are partners, you cannot, because of what happened today, strife against each other to carry out a vendetta against our brother. Those who disobey will be severely punished. The youngster of Five Dragon Gates must not be disrespectful against the Zhangmenshi. In the same way, the Zhangmenshi must not find any excuse to punish the young members of our Gates.”

Everyone received the order with one voice, but they were still suspicious and jealous, after all, it was very difficult to drive anxiety away.

”White Dragon Envoy,” Madame Hong said in a soft voice, ”Come with me.”

Wei Xiaobao still did not know that she was calling him, only after seeing her beckoning to him did he realize that he had become the Divine Dragon Cult's White Dragon Envoy; thereupon he followed her.

The Cult Leader and Madame walked side-by-side out of the main hall. Everybody who could move bowed to salute, while shouting with a loud voice, ”Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven's!”

Following a path laid with dark green flagstones the Cult Leader and Madame left the building and walk to the left. After passing through a sizeable bamboo groove, they arrived at an elevated level ground, where several large bamboo structures were built. A dozen or so teenage boys and girls wearing five different color clothes were on guard duty around the buildings with unsheathed swords in their hands. Seeing the Cult Leader, they all bowed to salute. Madame Hong led Wei Xiaobao into a bamboo building and said to a youngster wearing white clothes, ”This is Wei Gongzi, the newly-appointed Zhangmenshi of your White Dragon Gate. Take him to the eastern wing to rest, all of you must serve him well.” Finished speaking, she flashed a smile toward Wei Xiaobao and entered the inner hall.

Several teenagers in white clothes presented themselves to Wei Xiaobao and said, ”Young subordinates pay their respect to the Envoy.”

In the Palace, Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to be a chief of the court eunuchs; in Tian Di Hui, he was accustomed to be a Xiangzhu, he did not care in the least bit that people were treating him deferentially; he simply nodded. Several teenagers in white clothes took him to the eastern wing and offered to serve him tea. Although it was only a wing, the room was very spacious; the furnishings were elegant and pure, with gold and jade antiques spread all over the table. Several rolls of calligraphy and paintings were hung on the wall, the bedding on the bed was magnificent, unexpectedly it had a little bit of the Imperial Palace's style.

Those several teenagers in white clothes noticed that it was evident from Madame Hong's speech and expression that she held this Wei Xiaobao in such a high regard, moreover, there had never been any outsider who spent the night in the Cult Leader's 'Immortal Good Fortune Residence'. By enjoying special privilege like this, clearly the White Dragon Envoy's status was above the other four envoys. These youngsters had been on guard duty in here for a while, they did not know about the incident that had just happened in the main hall, but seeing Wei Xiaobao was in such an honored position and was in the Cult Leader's good grace, they all did everything they could to please him.

That same afternoon Wei Xiaobao asked those several teenagers in white clothes about all kinds of customs of the Five Dragon Gates. Turned out the Divine Dragon Cult was divided into five gates, each gate envoy commanded several dozen of old xiongdi, a hundred teenagers, and several hundred ordinary Cult members. Each Zhangmenshi was originally a veteran martial art expert who had established great service to the Cult. But recently the Cult Leader had thrown his full support to promote some rising stars, often people in their twenties, to hold important positions second only to the Zhangmenshi. Although Wei Xiaobao was very young, nobody showed the least bit of surprise.

The next morning, Hong Jiaozhu and Madame Hong called for another assembly in the main hall. There was anxiety and uneasy expression on everybody's face. Although the Cult Leader had sworn an oath not to pursue this matter, he was known as extremely shrewd, nobody could guess what kind of formidable method he would use to deal with them.

The Cult Leader and Madame sat on their thrones. Wei Xiaobao was fourth among the Five Dragon Envoys, he ranked above Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu. ”How is the Blue Dragon Envoy's injury?” the Cult Leader asked.

Mr. Lu bowed and said, ”Reporting to Jiaozhu: the Blue Dragon Envoy's injury is not light, whether his life can be saved or not, at the present it is still very difficult to say.”

The Cult Leader took a deep red small porcelain bottle from his bosom and said, ”Here are three 'King of Heaven's Life-saving Pills', give them to him.” While saying that, without anybody seeing him raising his hand, the porcelain bottle flew slowly toward Mr. Lu.

Hastily Mr. Lu reached out to receive it. Lying prostrate on the floor, he said, ”Thank you Jiaozhu for your great graciousness.” He knew these 'King of Heaven's Life-saving Pills' to be very rare. The Cult Leader had to dispatch his subordinates to gather countless rare drug ingredients and had to refine it before making the pills. Among the ingredients were three-hundred-year old Laoshan [lit. old mountain] ginseng, white bear's gall, snow lotus herb and other especially hard-to-come-by substances. The Cult Leader had spent considerable effort to manufacture the pills, but he managed to produce only around ten pills. With these three miracle cure pills, Xu Xueting's life would definitely be out of danger.

The rest of the old xiongdi also bowed to express their gratitude; they all thought, ”The Blue Dragon Envoy has offended Jiaozhu really bad yesterday by determining to take his life, yet today Jiaozhu bestowed the treasured medicine instead. He has let bygones be bygones indeed.” No one did not feel gratified. At first everybody in the hall was in high alert, but now their faces showed smiling expression. Quite a few of them let out a deep breath.

Madame Hong said with a laugh, ”White Dragon Envoy, I heard that on Mount Wutai you saw a stone tablet, on which some writings in tadpole script were engraved?”

Wei Xiaobao bowed and said, ”Yes!”

Fat Toutuo said, ”Reporting to Jiaozhu and Madame: subordinate has made a rubbing of the writings and I have it in here.” From his bosom he took out a roll of oil paper and opened it, showing a large sheet of rubbings from the tablet, which he then hung on the eastern wall. The sheet had a black background with white characters, the writings looked extremely strange, nobody recognize the characters.

Madame Hong said, ”White Dragon Envoy, if you know these characters, please read it for everybody here.”

”Yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied. With eyes fixed on the rubbing, he loudly recited the writings made by Mr. Lu: ”In the tenth month of the Zhen Guan's second year Jiazi of the Great Tang ...” Slowly he continued reciting from memory. Occasionally he would forget, so he said, ”Um, what character is that? It's difficult to recognize. Ah right, must be a 'mo' [devil] character.”

When reciting the part that said 'He will enjoy immortal happiness forever, universal evil spirit will venerate him. His long life will be the same as the Heaven's, a kind sage of both pen and sword', he changed it to 'He, together with Madame, will enjoy immortal happiness forever, universal evil spirit will venerate them. Their long life will be the same as the Heaven's, kind sages of both pen and sword.'

In all honesty, this four-character phrase 'together with Madame' [lian tong fu ren] was rather vulgar; if it was composed by Mr. Lu, he would definitely pick a more elegant wording. But Wei Xiaobao did not have any literary skill, how could he produce any elegant phrase? It was already remarkable that he did not change a four-character sentence into a five-character one.

When Madame Hong heard this phrase, 'her brows raised in delight, her eyes laughing' as she said, ”Jiaozhu, there is indeed a reference on me in the writings of the stone tablet, the White Dragon Envoy did not carelessly make it up.”

Hong Jiaozhu was also very happy; he nodded and said with a laugh, ”Good, good! We are fulfilling the Heaven's destiny; the founding of this Shen Long Jiao was actually foretold by the Heaven during the Zhen Guan year of the Great Tang.”

The cult members in the hall shouted together, ”Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven's.”

Priest Wugen and the other old xiongdi were also amazed, they thought, ”Jiaozhu and Madame are fulfilling the Heaven's destiny, we must not offend them.”