Chapter - 22 (22) (1/2)

The old cassock of the mountain altering revealed secret, the out-of-this-world beautiful woman altering the adornment.

By the time Wei Xiaobao set out on the journey, it was already late afternoon, but the imperial decree required him to leave the Capital that very same day, so no matter what they had to exit the city wall. Going out the Yong Ding Gate, they only travelled for twenty li when they had to pitch camp for the night.

The Valiant Cavalry was the Emperor's personal guards, its members were all the children of Manchurian royal family, close relatives or trusted subordinates of the Emperor. Its provision was ten times better than regular soldiers. They have been staying in the Capital for quite a long time, hence going out of Beijing, without exception everybody was in high spirit, much less they were not going out to fight any battle. This assignment to go to Henan was like going on a scenic tour funded by the imperial court; it was completely different from their regular duties.

After dinner, it was too early for Wei Xiaobao to go to bed, thereupon he summoned Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian, and the other Imperial Bodyguards, along with the officers of the Valiant Cavalry, to assemble in the command tent. They all thought, ”I wonder what important matter His Majesty wants Vice Commander Wei to handle; he is summoning us all, it must be because he wants to brief us on the special imperial decree.”

After everybody had paid his respect, Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”We, boys, do not have anything to do. His granny, let us gamble, Laozi will be the banker.”

The officers stared at him blankly; they thought he was joking. But then they saw him took out four dice from his pocket and tossed them to the small table in front of him, the dice rolled around, and only then did the people cheered thunderously. Generally, the soldiers were not prohibited from gambling, except when they were marching into battle, then gambling was strictly prohibited, to avoid the troops from having unstable minds and thus damaging the important matter. But how could Wei Xiaobao understand this rule? Although the officers of the Valiant Cavalry knew this martial law, they thought that this time they were not marching to battle, why would they want to obstruct the Vice Commander's esthetic pleasure?

Wei Xiaobao fished a pack of banknotes from his pocket and placed it on the small table, it worth at least five or six thousand taels silver. He said, ”Who has the ability to win?” The officers scattered back to their tents to get their money.

Although there were a lot of low ranking officers in the Valiant Cavalry, their families were rich. Hearing that Vice Commander Wei was opening a gambling table, they quietly sneaked into the tent.

Wei Xiaobao called out, ”There is no young and old on the gambling table, only money and banknotes! Heroes and warriors, the more they lose, they happier they are. Turtles and lambs, they win and immediately run away!” He blew on the four dice before tossing them onto the table.

When he was in Yangzhou, he envied the power and prestige of the bankers of the casino. Being the Deputy Chief, the Vice Commander, was nothing to him. Today he had a couple of thousands crowd and he was being the banker, now that was the thing he was most proud of in his entire life.

One after another the officers placed their bets, some won, some lost. After a while, their spirit aroused, the stake was growing higher and higher, the lower ranking officers at the back were starting to lay their bets. The Imperial Bodyguard Zhao Qixian and a Manchu officer stood by Wei Xiaobao, helping him collect the winning and pay the winners. The large army tent was filled with the shouts of people winning and the cry of those losing, just like the sound of a big gambling establishment. More than two hours later, there were more than twenty thousand taels of silver piling up on the gambling table. Some people lost all, they went back to their tents to borrow more capital from their companions who were not gambling.

Wei Xiaobao threw the dice, all four dice showed red spots, which means sweep the decks. Everybody was dejected, some cursed, some sighed. Zhao Qixian reached out to take all the money. ”Wait!” Wei Xiaobao called out, ”This is the first day that Laozi leads the troops and be the banker. This time I am giving away everything to the friends here, I won't take the money!”

The troops cheered happily, they shouted, ”Vice Commander Wei is a true hero!”

”Anybody wants to increase his bet may do so!” Wei Xiaobao called out.

Having been through a narrow escape, they all felt that their luck was really good. One after another they put more money that it piled high on the table. Suddenly a loud and clear voice said, ”I bet on the Gate of Heaven!” and he threw a watermelon-shaped object on the Gate of Heaven.

As soon as they saw it, everybody was shocked. The object on the gambling table was a badly mangled human head. The severed head was still wearing an officer hat, unexpectedly he was an Imperial Bodyguard. ”Getong!” Zhao Qixian cried out in fear. Turned out it was the Imperial Bodyguard Getong's head. He was on duty, patrolling outside the tent tonight, and had his head chopped by the intruders.

The crowd raised their heads in alarm, and saw at the entrance of the army tent stood a dozen or so people wearing blue clothes, each one held a long sword. The officers' attention was focused on the gambling table, nobody knew when did these people come in? The crowd of military officers in the tent did not bring any weapons, momentarily they were at a loss of what to do.

A young man, about twenty five or twenty six, stepped toward the gambling table, both hands were empty, he said, ”Gambling Officer, do you accept the bet?”

”Seize him!” Zhao Qixian called out, immediately four Imperial Bodyguards pounced on the young man.

The man spread his arms and grabbed two men on the pit of their stomachs. 'Bang!' he banged the two heads against each other, the two men immediately fainted. Immediately afterwards white ray flashed, two swords were thrust forward, the swords pierced the other two Imperial Bodyguards' backs and went straight through to their chests. The two Imperial Bodyguards cried miserably as they fell to the ground, dead. The blue-clothed men who thrust their swords were a middle-aged man and a Taoist priest. They pulled their swords and waved their hands, the two swords flew up and 'pop, pop!' the swords stuck onto the gambling table.

The middle-aged man shouted, ”I bet on the Upper Gate!” The Taoist priest shouted, ”I bet on the Lower Gate!” The two swords, not surprisingly, landed on the Upper and Lower Gates, respectively.

The young man waved his left hand, four people in blue rushed forward, four swords were pointed at the vital points all around Wei Xiaobao's body.

With a trembling voice Zhao Qixian shouted, ”Who are you? What … what a nerve! You killed officers, broke into an army camp, aren't you … aren't you afraid of … of being beheaded?”

Suddenly from among the four people pointing their swords at Wei Xiaobao came a scoff as someone laughed and said, ”We are not afraid; are you afraid?” It was a tender and delicate voice of a woman.

Wei Xiaobao stole a glance sideways, and saw a young woman, about fourteen or fifteen years old, her face was rather round, her appearance very sweet, her pair of large eyes were pitch-black and bright, there was a smiling expression at the corner of her mouth. He was actually scared out of his wits, but as soon as he saw this good-looking girl, his courage involuntarily grew. He laughed and said, ”With Miss one person pointing your sword at me, I am already scared.”

The girl raised her sword a little, the tip of the sword was pressed against his shoulder; she said, ”Since you are scared, why are you laughing?”

Immediately Wei Xiaobao's face turned serious, he said, ”I am most obedient to women, Miss says for me not to laugh, I am not laughing.” Sure enough, there was no trace of smiling expression left on his face. Seeing him putting on an act, the girl could not help but stifling her laughter.

The young man who acted as their leader frowned slightly and said with a cold laugh, ”Manchurian Tatars will soon meet their end, they send this little baby whose smell of mother's milk has not yet dried to lead the troops. Hey, two swords and one head are already placed on the table, why haven't you rolled the dice?”

With a good-looking young woman by his side, also hearing the man said to throw the dice, Wei Xiaobao's panic diminished somewhat; he asked, ”If I lose, what must I pay?”

”Do you need to ask?” the young man said, ”You lost to a sword you pay a sword, you lost to a head you pay a head!” He thought this juvenile general would definitely beg for mercy.

Who would have thought that when Wei Xiaobao was having martial art match, when he lost he would simply surrender, but on the gambling table, whatever happened he would never be a coward, and admit himself to be useless, much less there was a pretty young lady by his side; while he was still alive, how could he lose face in front of a good-looking girl? He also thought, ”Your four swords are pointed to me already, if you want to kill me, it won't matter if I win or lose, you will kill me anyway, why would I want to give you the satisfaction of winning the argument?” Immediately he picked up the dice and said, ”Alright, I accept! If I lose to a sword, I'll pay a sword, I lose a head I pay a head, I lose a pair of pants I'll take my clothes off! You throw first!”

The young man did not expect this young general to have such courage and insight; he was stumped for words instead. The middle-aged man said in a low voice, ”Large army outside, if we delayed, there will be a big change of the plan!” He wanted him not to waste time senselessly, if those two thousand Manchurian troops burst in, contrary to what he might expect, they would not be easy to deal with.

The young man cast a glance to Wei Xiaobao, he noticed there was not a scared look on his face. ”If I don't bet with you this time, you won't submit to me even in your death,” he said. Taking the dice, he threw a six. The Taoist priest and the middle-aged man also threw the dice and both got eight.

Wei Xiaobao picked up the dice and held them in front of the young woman. ”Miss,” he said, ”Please blow on the dice!”

The young woman smiled and asked, ”What for?” But she still blew on the dice.

”That will do!” Wei Xiaobao said, ”When a beautiful woman blew on the dice, I would only make a kill and would not lose!”

He shook the dice several times in his hands and was about to throw when Zhao Qixian suddenly said, ”Hold on! Vice Commander Wei, ask … ask them what they really want.” He was afraid that when Wei Xiaobao threw the dice this time, he would get less than six dots, inevitably there would be someone's life to be concerned about. Moreover, he was afraid that instead of compensating the loss with his own head, Wei Xiaobao would want to pay with his, Zhao Qixian's, head; who told him to stand on the side to be the banker's assistant?

The young man laughed coldly and said, ”If you are scared, just kneel down and beg for mercy.”

”Only turtle bastards are afraid!” Wei Xiaobao said. His hands had not stopped moving, his only fear was that his technique was not too good. Tossing the four dice, they rolled around on the table. When the dice stopped, it did not show a couple of Heavens, but showed six dots. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, ”Six beats six!” he called out, ”I killed the Heavenly Gate, and lost to the Upper and Lower.” He picked Getong's head and placed it in front of him. ”Zhao Dage,” he said, ”Get a couple of swords to pay for the Upper and Lower Gates.”

”Yes!” Zhao Qixian replied. He walked toward the tent's entrance, but a man in blue stuck out his sword on Zhao Qixian's chest and shouted, ”Stop!”

”You won't let him get the swords?” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Very well, not a problem. One sword can be considered a thousand taels of silver.” From the pile of money in front of him, he took two thousand taels, and divided it equally and placed the money by the swords.

This group of heroic visitors rushed into the army tent and took control of the commander in chief, the military officers were at a loss. Not only the enemy had high martial art level, they killed people without the slightest scruple. Although their side had more men, they were all outside the tent, and had not been alerted. When a tangled battle ensued, the people in the tent were unarmed and defenseless, perhaps everybody would lose their lives. While they were trembling in fear, they saw Wei Xiaobao and the enemy were tossing the dice, gambling, talking and laughing as though nothing had happened. They could not help but admiring his courage, but some people thought, ”Little child does not know the immensity of heaven and earth; do you think this bunch of bandits are here to have fun with you?”

The young man laughed coldly and said, ”With our two treasured swords we only win your two thousand taels? Take all the money on the gambling table!” Six, seven men in blue stepped forward and took all the money and banknotes on the table. The young man took a sword and pointed it toward Wei Xiaobao's throat and shouted, ”Little slave, are you a Manchu or a Han? What's your name?”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Even if Laozi surrenders, you have already barged in, if I surrender now, it would be 'starting without able to finish', 'completely discarding previous achievement'; a real man want to fight, he will fight to the end.” Thereupon he laughed aloud and said, ”Laozi is the Plain Yellow Banner's Deputy Commander, my name is Huacha Huacha Xiaobao. You want to kill then just kill, you want to gamble then let's gamble! Hey, hey, the big bullying the small, not a hero's conduct.” By saying the last eight words [the big bullying the small, not a hero's conduct] he was in reality begging for mercy, but in the way he said it there was a little bit of heroic spirit.

The young man smiled and said, ”The big bullying the small, not a hero's conduct. You are right. Xiao Shimei [little younger martial sister], you are more or less of the same age as him, you can fight him.”

The young girl laughed and said, ”Alright!” Raising her sword, she stepped forward and said with a laugh, ”Hey, General Huacha Huacha Xiaobao, I am asking some advice of your masterstroke.”

The other three people pointing their swords to Wei Xiaobao pushed the swords slightly, nudging his clothes, they said, ”Go out and fight!”

The young man waved his hand, the sword in his hand flew and landed on the table in front of Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao mused, ”I don't know anything about swordsmanship, I won't have any guarantee I can beat this little miss.” He said, ”The big bullying the small, not a hero's conduct. I am bigger than this Little Miss, how can I bully her?”

The young man grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up. He shouted, ”You don't dare to have a sword duel, then kowtow to my Xiao Shimei and beg for mercy.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Alright, you want me to kowtow, I will kowtow. Men have gold on their knees, it's best that we kneel in front of women every day!” Bending his knees, he kneeled in front of the young girl. The group of people in blue clothes roared in laughter.

Suddenly Wei Xiaobao leaned sideways, and turned toward the young man's back, the dagger in his hand was pointing to his back. He laughed and said, ”Are you going to surrender or not?”

This changed happened so suddenly and amazingly that although the young man's martial art skill was high, unexpectedly he was caught off guard and the vital point on his back was threatened by Wei Xiaobao.

What happened was that realizing that the six moves to save his life he learned on the Divine Dragon Island had not been trained to perfection, Wei Xiaobao was forced to act happy and keep giggling, to jest and assume the role of a clown, so that the enemy would laugh while looking at him making a fool of himself. When he kneeled down, he reached out to grab the handle of his dagger, and suddenly used the move 'the flying swallow circle around overhead', and unexpectedly succeeded in turning the tide. If he were a grownup, the opponent would guard against him, and if he had not mastered the move, the half-baked move would definitely be in vain. But first of all, the move was indeed very ingenious, although it was not used properly, it still had quite a formidable power; secondly, how could the young man think that this clown-like teenager unexpectedly was able to come up with such a smart trick? Consequently Wei Xiaobao succeeded.

The people in blue clothes were shocked, seven or eight swords were immediately pointed toward Wei Xiaobao's body. They shouted together, ”Let him go!” But seeing that Wei Xiaobao's dagger was aimed at the young man's back, although there was no doubt that each one of these seven, eight swords could stab him to death, but he only needed to push the dagger lightly, and then the young man would undoubtedly lose his life. Thereupon as the points of the swords were about a chi away from Wei Xiaobao's body, nobody dared to advance anymore.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”You want me to let him go, then I'll let him go; what's so strange about that?” Brandishing his dagger, he cut around in a circle, 'clang, clang!' and cut the tip of the seven or eight swords down, and then he put the dagger back on the young man's back. The people in blue clothes were shocked, they all take a step back.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Put the money back, I'll spare your leader's life.” The people in blue who were holding the money did not hesitate at all, they put all the money and the banknotes back on the table.

They heard several hundreds of people yelling outside the tent, ”Don't let the bandits escape!” ”Quickly surrender!” Turned out in the chaos just now, two officers in the tent managed to escape and gathered the troops; they had surrounded the army tent.

The Taoist priest shouted, ”Kill the little Tatar first!” He pulled the sword from the gambling table; a white ray flashed, 'stab' he thrust the sword into Wei Xiaobao's right chest. This sword strike was accurately calculated; it cut down in an oblique angle, stabbing from the front of Wei Xiaobao's body into his back, he knew for sure that when Wei Xiaobao was hit by the sword, his body would be pushed backward, then the tip of the dagger would definitely move away from the young man's back. To his surprise, however, the sword bent, and 'crack!' it snapped off instantly.

Wei Xiaobao called out, ”Aiyo! The stab did not kill me!” Seeing that unexpectedly blade and spear could not enter his body, the people in blue clothes were startled that they were staring blankly at him.

The Taoist priest felt that the tip of his sword had bumped into a soft flesh, not a hard steel armor; momentarily he did not understand what was going on. How could he know that Wei Xiaobao was wearing the treasured vest to protect his body that he could not be injured by sharp blade?

By this time, several hundred officers had burst into the tent, the people in blue were densely covered by spears and broadswords all around, the Imperial Bodyguards and the officers had also obtained weapons from their subordinates' hands. Even if those people in blue had higher martial art skill, it would be difficult to break through the tight encirclement; much less several people had their swords broken, and their leader was under the enemy's control. Their upper hand had instantly reversed, and they were now completely beaten and in a hopeless position.

The young man shouted loudly, ”Don't mind me, everybody kill the enemy and rush out!” But the Imperial Bodyguards and the officers rushed forward, each group of seven, eight people surrounded one person in blue. As soon as one person moved ever so slightly, he would face the calamity of blades raining on his body that he would turn into a minced corpse; they had no choice but throwing down their weapons, with hands tied and waiting to be captured.

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”These several people have superb martial art skill, and are opposing the imperial court, perhaps they have some association with Tian Di Hui, how to release them and let them go?” Thereupon he laughed and said, ”Laoxiong [old chap], just now you could have killed me but you didn't. If at this time I killed you, and not giving you any chance to recover your capital, unavoidably you would think I am not a hero and a warrior; this is called 'turtles and lambs, they win and immediately run away'. How about this: let us bet over our heads again.” At this time there were seven, eight different weapons were pointing toward the young man. Wei Xiaobao drew back his dagger and with a chuckle he sat down.

The young man angrily said, ”You want to kill me just kill, no need to toy with Laozi.”

Wei Xiaobao picked up the four dice; he laughed and said, ”I be the banker, we bet on your heads. Each one of you throws the dice, whoever wins, then you can walk out immediately, plus take a hundred taels as your travel expenses; whoever loses, Zhao Dage, you get ready with a sharp blade on the side, chop down and cut their heads away to avenge our Getong Dage.”

He counted the opponents, altogether there were nineteen people. Immediately he set aside some money, altogether he made nineteen piles, each pile a hundred taels of silver.

Those people in blue killed government official and thus they were starting a rebellion; since they were captured, naturally they would be beheaded without the slightest hope of lucky escape. Unexpectedly this young general wanted to be a real man and opened up a path to life. If they lose, they were doomed to die anyway. The Taoist priest called out, ”Very well, a real man gave his words …”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Dead horses cannot chase it! When I, Huacha Huacha Xiaobao, do my business, I never take advantage of other people. This Xiao Jiejie, or perhaps Xiao Meimei [little older sister, little younger sister, respectively], just now helped me by blowing on my dice and thus helped me preserving my head; you don't have to throw dice. Just consider it I have won your little head, and am giving it back to you as a bonus. Take these hundred taels and walk out the tent first. Pass on this order: the guards outside must not give her any difficulty.”

An aide announced the order in loud voice, ”Deputy Commander's order: those who are released out of the command tent are to be allowed to leave on his own, they are not to be stopped or given any difficulty.” The guards outside the tent complied in loud voices.

Wei Xiaobao took two yuanbao worth fifty taels each and pushed them in front of the young woman. The young woman's countenance alternated between white and red as she shook her head slowly and said in a low voice, ”I don't want to. We … nineteen of us of the same school, we … we will live and die together.”

”Very well,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”You do have yi qi. Since you will live and die together, then there is no need for each one of you to throw the dice. Little Miss, you and I are going to gamble. If you win, all nineteen of you will walk away with the money; if you lose, all nineteen heads will roll. Don't you think it's straightforward and quick?”

The girl looked at the young man, waiting for his decision. The young man had a difficult time making one; if the nineteen people bet separately with this young general, some would be bound to lose while some would win. If the general was as good as his word, then about half of the nineteen people would live, and someday they might try to get revenge. But if he let the Xiao Shimei to toss the dice, if she won all of them would withdraw, if she lost, it would be a complete wipe-out; unavoidably it would be too dangerous. His gaze slowly swept his companions.

A big man in blue said loudly, ”Xiao Shimei is right, we live and die together. Xiao Shimei please throw the dice. Otherwise, even if I won, I can't live alone.” Seven or eight people echoed his sentiment.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Very well! Little Miss, you may throw first!” He pushed the dice bowl in front of the young woman.

The girl looked at the young man, she wanted to see how he would handle this matter. The young man nodded and said, ”Xiao Shimei, life and death is a fate. Be courageous and throw the dice. We live and die together anyway!”

The girl reached out into the bowl and grabbed the four dice, her long eyelashes drooped down, suddenly she looked up and cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao; her hand holding the dice trembled slightly, she let the dice dropped into the bowl, creating a sharp and clear tinkling noise. The girl closed her eyes, she did not dare to look. She only heard all around her people were shouting, ”Three! Three! Three! Three dots!” The shouts mixed with the sound of Imperial Bodyguards and army officers laughing and cursing. Although the girl did not understand dice and gambling rule, hearing the enemy was shouting and laughing happily, she knew that her throw must be extremely lacking. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw all of her companions' faces were deathly pale.

The largest value four dice could be thrown was a pair of six and three, followed by the Heaven pair, Earth pair, Man pair, Harmony pair, Plum Blossom, Long Three, Wooden Bench, Ox Head, and other pairs. Even if it was not in pair, there were nine dots down to four dots, which were greater than three dots. When these three dots were thrown, nine out of ten it would lose. Even if Wei Xiaobao also threw three dots, as the banker his three would beat the opponent's three; he could still chop the nineteen people's heads.

A man in blue clothes suddenly shouted, ”My own head, I want to gamble it myself. Other people's throw does not count.”

The Taoist priest angrily said, ”How can a real man so greedy for life, afraid of death like this? You are damaging our Wangwu Pai's prestige.”

Wei Xiaobao nodded. ”So all of you are from Wangwu Pai?”

The Taoist priest said, ”Everybody is going to die anyway, so it's not a big deal to let you know.”

The man in blue loudly said, ”It was my father, my mother who gave birth to me, other than my father, my mother, nobody has any right to decide my life or death.”

The Taoist priest angrily said, ”Before your Xiao Shimei threw the dice, you did not say anything, after she threw three dots, you speak out. In our Wangwu Pai there should not be any unreasonable character like you.”

The man wanted to preserve his life, he loudly said, ”Wu Fu Shishu [fifth martial uncle surnamed Fu], there is nothing serious with me not being a disciple of Wangwu Pai.”

Another man in blue coldly said, ”You only want to save your life and won't care about anything else, do you not?”

The man said, ”This young general plainly said that each of us should bet against him. Xiao Shimei throwing the dice, it was you who agreed to it, have I even said that I agree?”

The young man in blue grimly said, ”Alright, Yuan Shixiong, from this moment on, you are not a Wangwu Pai disciple. You may gamble with him yourself.”

The man surnamed Yuan replied, ”The sooner I am out the better.”

”You, surnamed Yuan,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”What's your name?”

The man surnamed Yuan hesitated a little bit, seeing that his companions had become his enemy, if he told him a false name, someone would uncover his lie, thereupon he said, ”Zaixia Yuan Yifang.”

”Humph,” the young man snorted and said, ”There is no harm in Sire changing your name to Yuan Fang.”

”Why does he have to change his name?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Hmm, Yuan Fang, Yuan Fang, short one character 'Yi' [justice/righteous], he is scolding you as having no 'yi qi' [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice]. Hey, friends of Wangwu Pai, anybody else want to bet with me?” His gaze was fixed on those people in blue; he saw two people with their lips moving slightly, as if they wanted to gamble themselves, but after hesitating for a moment, they did not say anything.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Very good, everybody under Wangwu Pai is a hero and a warrior, you really have yi qi. This Yuan Xiong does not belong to Wangwu Pai anyway, so it does not matter if he has yi qi or not.”

The young man showed a faint smile and said, ”Thank you very much.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Pour some wine! I want to drink a cup with these eighteen friends. Either they lose or win, we will part for ever. These eighteen friends have heavy yi qi, I cannot not make friends with them.”

The sergeant under his command poured nineteen cups of wine, he placed one cup in front of Wei Xiaobao, and handed over one cup to each of the eighteen people in blue clothes. As the people in blue saw the young man their leader took the cup, they also accepted the cups.

In a loud and clear voice the young man said, ”We will never make friends with Manchu Tatars. It's just that your conduct is straightforward, plus you hold our Wangwu Pai in high regard, drinking a cup of wine with you is not a big deal.”

”Good,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Cheers!” He tossed down the wine. The eighteen people also downed their drinks, and then one after another they tossed the cup to the ground. Yuan Yifang's face was ashen, he turned his head around, not wanting to look.

Wei Xiaobao shouted, ”Prepare eighteen sharp blades, if I throw three dots or more this time, these eighteen good friends' heads will be chopped down.” The officers complied with loud voice; eighteen officers raised their sabers or swords and stood behind the eighteen people.

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”My set of dice is loaded, it won't be difficult to throw one or two dots. But I rarely practice lately, my hand skill is out of practice; just now I wanted to throw a pair of Heaven, but it turned out to be six dots. If I made the slightest mistake, inevitably I would harm these eighteen people's lives. I don't care if these stinky men are dead, but if this flower-like little girl is also dead, isn't it a pity?”

He picked up the four dice and shook them inside his hand, blew on them himself, his finger turned lightly, and he tossed the dice. Immediately his left palm covered the mouth of the bowl. He heard the dice were rolling several times, and when they stopped, he did not immediately take his palm away, but only opened a crack from which he took a peek. He saw out of four dice, two showed two dots, one showed one dot, and one showed five dots, so the total was only ten. 'Departing Ten' was equal to zero, there was nothing smaller than that. Originally he had concocted a plan, if his technique was ineffective, that is, he threw three dots or more, he would say either one or two dots, and then shook the bowl to disturb the dice, and hence the dead cannot testify, the opposite party would be overjoyed at unexpected good news, at most his own troops would be suspicious, but no one would dare to openly confront him. Now that he succeeded in cheating, he was ecstatic, but cursed himself, ”Damn it, Laozi's hand deserves to be chopped!” With his left hand he slapped his own right hand several time.

As everybody saw the dice, they all shouted, ”Departing Ten! It's Departing Ten!”

Having been in mortal danger and escaped alive, the people in blue clothes could not help but cheering loudly. The young man, the leader of the people in blue, looked at Wei Xiaobao and thought, ”Manchu Tatars do not speak in good faith, I wonder if he will keep his words?”

Wei Xiaobao pushed the money on the gambling table forward and said, ”You have won the money, take them. Could it be that you still want to gamble with me?”

”We don't dare to accept the money,” the young man said, ”Sire is as good as your word, you are a real hero. I'm sure we'll meet again someday.” Cupping his fists, he turned around to leave.

”Hey,” Wei Xiaobao called, ”You won but don't want to take the money, aren't you looking down on Zaixia, Huacha Huacha Xiaobao?”

The young man thought, ”We are in a dangerous spot, must not delay too much.” He said, ”Thank you very much then.” The eighteen of them took the money, turned around and went out of the tent.

Wei Xiaobao kept staring at the girl's face. After taking the money, she could not help but casting a glance toward Wei Xiaobao. Four eyes met, the girl blushed; she smiled and said in a low voice, ”Thank you.” After taking two steps, she turned her head around and said, ”Little General, do you mind giving me the four dice?”

Wei Xiaobao laughed. ”Of course I don't, why should I?” he said, ”Are you going to bet against your Shixiong?”

The girl smiled and said, ”I am not. I want to keep it well. I was so frightened a moment ago that I lost half of my life.” Wei Xiaobao grabbed the four dice and put them in her hand; he took this opportunity to gently pinch her wrist. He always wanted to take this kind of small advantage. The girl said again, ”Thank you,” and left the tent in quick steps.

Seeing his companion walked out the tent, Yuan Yifang was about to follow. ”Hey,” Wei Xiaobao called, ”I have not bet against you.”

Yuan Yifang's face immediately paled; he thought, ”This is so wrong, if I knew he would throw a Departing Ten, why should I become a vile character?” He said, ”General does not have the dice anymore, I … I thought you don't want to bet.”

”Why not?” Wei Xiaobao said, ”We can bet on anything, we can play finger-guessing game, or rolling copper coin.” Casually he grabbed a pack of banknotes and said, ”You can guess altogether how many taels of silver in here.”

Yuan Yifang said, ”How can I guess it?”

Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and shouted, ”This bandit is being rude to the General, seize him and off with his head!” The crowd of officers complied in chorus.

Yuan Yifang was so scared that his face turned ash-grey, his knees turned soft, he kneeled down on the ground and said, ”Xiao … Xiaoren does not dare, Great General … Great General please spare my life.”

Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he thought, ”This fellow is calling me Great General

[5].” He shouted, ”I am going to ask you questions, answer everything truthfully, if there is the slightest bit of covering the truth, your head will be chopped down.”

”Yes, yes!” Yuan Yifang repeatedly said.

Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to get foot fetters and handcuffs, and had him shackled. Then he ordered to have the money returned to those who lost and told them to withdraw. Only Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian, two Imperial Bodyguards, and the Valiant Cavalry Can Ling [Regimental Commander] Fu Chun, remained in the tent. Zhang Kangnian commenced the interrogation immediately. He asked one sentence, Yuan Yifang answered one sentence; as expected, he did not conceal anything.

Turned out the Zhangmen [Sect Leader] of Wangwu Pai was Situ Bolei, a deputy general during the Ming Dynasty, an affiliate and subordinate of the Shanhai Pass Commander Wu Sangui, who, at that time, was fighting against Manchurian's invasion. He was a brave and very able fighter, and had rendered quite a bit of meritorious deeds. Afterwards Li Zicheng broke into Beijing and Wu Sangui led the Qing army entering the Pass, Situ Bolei led his troops to fight Li Zicheng, killed the enemy using extreme force of will, attacked them back into Beijing. At that time he only knew that the Qing troops entered the Pass in order to avenge Emperor Chongzhen; to his surprise, however, the Qing troops seized that opportunity to occupy the Han people's rivers and mountains, and Wu Sangui became the great traitor to China.

In his rage, Situ Bolei immediately relinquished his official position and went to Wangwu Mountain to live in seclusion. A considerable number of his former subordinates were not willing to surrender to the Manchurian Qing, they came to Wangwu Mountain to live with him. Situ Bolei's martial art skill was actually very high, having no other engagement, he taught his former subordinates martial art, and after a long time, they automatically became the Wangwu Pai. They were master and disciples first before becoming a sect or a martial art school, so it was not quite the same as other schools. Mentioning Situ Bolei's name, Zhang Kangnian and the others had also heard about him.

Yuan Yifang said that the young man who led them was Situ Bolei's son, Situ He; the rest of their group was his martial brothers, and several of his seniors, equivalent to his martial uncles. The young girl was called Zeng Rou; her father was Situ Bolei's subordinate, who passed away several years earlier. Toward the end of his life, he ordered his daughter to do obeisance and enter his former superior's school.

Recently they obtained information that Wu Sangui's son, Wu Yingxiong had come to Beijing. Situ Zhangmen then sent them to meet with him. Passing this place, they saw the Qing troops' camp. Situ He was young and like to meddle, sneaking into the camp, they saw everybody was gambling, so he had the urge to rob them. His real intention was not for the money, he wanted to kill some Manchu soldiers to vent his anger.

”What do you want to see Wu Sangui's son for?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

”Shifu's order,” Yuan Yifang replied, ”Is for us to think of a way to kidnap him and bring him back to Wangwu Mountain, thereupon threatening Wu Sangui, coercing him … coercing him …”

”What?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Coercing him to revolt?”

”It was what Shifu had said,” Yuan Yifang said, ”It has nothing to do with Xiaoren. Xiaoren is loyal to the Great Qing, I will never dare to revolt. Today Xiaoren has made a clean break [orig. one knife two segments] with Wangwu Pai, it was exactly because I am unwilling to be attached to the rebels, I want to throw away the dark and invest in the light, to be in the front of the troops against the insurrection.”

Wei Xiaobao kicked him and said with a laugh, ”Damn it, you are a big loyalist.”

Yuan Yifang did not dodge at all, he received the kick and said, ”Yes, yes! I rely entirely on Great General's training. Hereafter Xiaoren will be Great General's servant, Great General's slave; I will be loyal and devoted, will go through water and tread on fire, under no circumstances will I decline to obey your command.”

Wei Xiaobao thought that this time the opponent had killed three Imperial Bodyguards, yet I have let Situ He, Zeng Rou and the others go, I am afraid Zhang Kangnian and the other Imperial Bodyguards would not accept, or at least blame Laozi's luck in throwing the dice was too disappointing. Seeing the case in front of him, he thought that he must give everybody some benefit, so that he could save his own face as the banker that day. After pondering for half a day, he came up with an idea. Stretching out his hand, he heavily slapped the table and shouted, ”What a brazen traitor, clearly you are in collusion with Wu Sangui, planning a rebellion, yet you still say you wanted to kidnap his son. How much have you received from Wu Sangui that you are willing to cover up the truth for him? Damn it, son of a b1tch, get someone here, beat this guy severely for me!”

From outside the tent entered seven or eight sergeants, who spread Yuan Yifang on the ground and beat him with the army stick until his flesh was bruised and lacerated.

”Are you going to confess now?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”You said you are going to kidnap Wu Sangui's son, why did you come to our army camp and kill our Imperial Bodyguards? The Imperial Bodyguard and the Valiant Cavalry are the Emperor's most trusted subordinates; by offending the Imperial Bodyguard and the Valiant Cavalry, you are not giving the Emperor any face.” Hearing this, Zhang Kangnian, Fu Chun and the others were very pleased, they spoke out together to threaten him.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”This fellow utters graceful words, flowery speech, he is fabricating lies to deceive us. This kind of rebellious traitor, how can he tell the truth unless he is beaten? Beat him again!”

The crowd of sergeants shouted and randomly struck their army sticks down. Yuan Yifang screamed, ”Don't hit, don't hit! Xiaoren is willing confess!”

Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Altogether, how many of you live on Mount Wangwu?”

”Altogether we have more than 400 people,” Yuan Yifang replied.

”Including your families?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

”Approximately two thousand people,” Yuan Yifang replied.

Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and cursed, ”F*ck your granny! How can there be so little? Beat him again!”

”Don't hit, don't hit!” Yuan Yifang screamed, ”There are more than four thousand … five thousand people.”

Wei Xiaobao cursed again, ”F*ck your granny's eighteen-generation ancestors, why don't you just speak straightforward; nine thousand is nine thousand, why do you have to divide it into four thousand and five thousand?”

”Yes, yes!” Yuan Yifang said, ”There are more than nine thousand.”

”You are a rebellious traitor,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”How can you tell the truth? If you say nine thousand, there must be at least nineteen thousand of you.” 'Bang!' he slapped the table again and shouted, ”The rebels gathering on Mount Wangwu, how many are there?”

Listening to his tone, Yuan Yifang realized that the higher the number he mentioned, the happier the young general was; thereupon he said, ”I heard … I heard there are thirty thousand people altogether.”

”That's right,” Wei Xiaobao happily said, ”That's more like it.” Turning toward the Regimental Commander Fu Chun he said, ”This miserable wretch will not confess unless he is beaten.”

”Exactly,” Fu Chun replied, ”But he must be beaten ferociously.”

”No need to hit,” Yuan Yifang shouted, ”Whatever Great General ask, Xiaoren will confess.” He had already decided that he would simply follow this young general's tone of speech so that his skin and flesh would not suffer.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”With more than thirty thousand of you, each one is trained in martial art, is that right? The young miss just now, she is only fourteen or fifteen, but she is trained in martial art. You are all Wu Sangui's former subordinates, but some of you are young, you must be the offspring of his former high-ranking military officer, are you not?”

”Yes, yes!” Yuan Yifang said, ”Everybody knows … knows martial art, all of us are Wu Sangui's former subordinates.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Your leader Situ Bolei, he was Wu Sangui's favorite general, when he fought a battle, he was very formidable, was he not? He said he wanted to completely wipe us, the Manchu people, out?”

”That was his talk of treason and heresy,” Yuan Yifang said, ”It was … it was extremely wrong of him.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”He sent you to Beijing to see Wu Sangui's son, to discuss how you are going to revolt. Why didn't you go to Yunnan and discuss it with Wu Sangui face to face?”

Yuan Yifang said, ”This … this … perhaps … perhaps there is another reason.” In reality, they only wanted to kidnap Wu Yingxiong, so it was really not easy to answer Wei Xiaobao's question.

”Scoundrel!” Wei Xiaobao angrily said, ”What other reason? Your Situ Bolei has already gone to Yunnan and has reached an agreement with Wu Sangui, hasn't he?”

”Probably … probably he has,” Yuan Yifang replied.

Wei Xiaobao cursed, ”What do you mean probably or probably not? Damn it, if yes say yes, if no say no.”

”Yes … yes,” Yuan Yifang said, ”He has.”

Zhang Kangnian, Zhao Qixian and Fu Chun, three people heard how Wei Xiaobao was guiding the confession, gradually pushing the blame of major crime of scheming a rebellion to Ping Xi Wang Wu Sangui's head. They could not help but look at each other in blank dismay, while worrying inwardly, not knowing Wei Xiaobao's real intention.

Wei Xiaobao asked further, ”Situ Bolei was Wu Sangui's favorite general, he raised these more than thirty thousand elite troops, why didn't he set up his garrison in Yunnan? Your granny, where in the world is Wangwu Mountain?” He thought, ”If Wangwu Mountain is in Yunnan, my question is a wrong question.” Fortunately Yuan Yifang replied, ”It's in Jiyuan County, Henan province.” But Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest idea what kind of place Jiyuan County, Henan province was. He asked, ”That's close to Beijing, is it?”

”It's not too far,” Yuan Yifang replied.

”F*ck your granny,” Wei Xiaobao cursed, ”Close to Beijing is close to Beijing, what do you mean not too far?”

”Yes, yes,” Yuan Yifang said, ”It's very close, it's very close.”

”Alright,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”So it is very close to Beijing! You, rebellious thieves indeed have a malicious intention, on a mountain very close to Beijing you dare to raise elite troops. When Wu Sangui in Yunnan raises a rebellion, you will immediately go down the mountain to attack straight to Beijing, and will have each and every one of the Imperial Bodyguards and Valiant Cavalry killed like chopping melon or slicing vegetables, you will make a killing until the blood flow like a river, the corpses pile up like a mountain. You will attack like a billowing sandstorm and leave us to piss in our pants in terror, right?”

Yuan Yifang kowtowed and said, ”This is Wu Sangui and Situ Bolei, two rebellious thieves' conspiracy on treason and heresy, it has nothing … nothing to do with Xiaoren.”

Wei Xiaobao showed a faint smile; he mused, ”This fellow is very clever.” He said, ”In your Wangwu Pai, how many people have worked as military officers under Wu Sangui? I want you to give me names, one by one.”

”There are too many of them,” Yuan Yifang said. Immediately he started mentioning names, but this time he did not fabricate the names.

”Very good!” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Write down these people's names, I also want the names of those who were previously holding official positions under Wu Sangui.”

Yuan Yifang said, ”Some … some names Xiaoren is not too clear.”

”You are not clear?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Drag him down and beat him thirty more times. I am sure he will be clear.”

Yuan Yifang busily said, ”No … don't hit, Xiaoren will … will write down everything.” A sergeant brought pen and paper, Yuan Yifang wrote a list of names.

Seeing he had not finished after writing for half a day, Wei Xiaobao was getting impatient; he turned to Zhang Kangnian and said, ”Get Mr. Secretary to record his oral confession.” He shouted to Yuan Yifang, ”I want you to repeat the oral confession you gave just now, if you are being unclear for even half a sentence, your head will roll. Take him away.” Two officers took him away.

Wei Xiaobao chuckled and said to his three companions, ”Laoxiong, this time we are really lucky, to be able to uncover this gargantuan rebellion conspiracy; all four of us will definitely enjoy big promotion.”

Zhang Kangnian and the others, three people, were surprised and happy at the same time. Zhao Qixian said, ”This is Commander's clear eye and brave decision, what merit do subordinates have?”

”Everybody has a share in seeing this matter,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Everyone has meritorious service.”

Zhang Kangnian said, ”About Ping Xi Wang staging a rebellion, I wonder if we have enough evidence?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”This bunch of rebellious thieves of Mount Wangwu is planning to revolt, isn't that the truth? They are going to Beijing to see Wu Sangui's son, what good thing can possibly come out of that meeting?”

Zhang Kangnian said, ”This man surnamed Yuan said that they wanted to kidnap Ping Xi Wang's Heir Apparent, to compel Ping Xi Wang into revolting, I am afraid Ping Xi Wang did not necessarily have prior contact with them.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Zhang Dage has had some dealings with Ping Xi Wang Mansion's people, therefore, you know quite a bit of inside information, don't you? If their rebellion succeeded, Ping Xi Wang will become the Emperor, hey, hey.”

Hearing the ill-intention in the tone of his voice, Zhang Kangnian was shocked; he hastily said, ”I don't know even one of the Ping Xi Wang Mansion's people. Com … Commander is … is right, that servant Wu Sangui is … is planning treason and heresy, we must … must immediately report this to His Majesty.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Would the three gentlemen discuss it with Mr. Secretary on how we are going to present this memorial to the throne.”

After Zhang Kangnian, three people and the armed force secretary finished writing the memorial to the throne, they read it out for Wei Xiaobao. The content was just like Yuan Yifang's oral confession, with the list of names of Wu Sangui's former subordinates on Wangwu Mountain attached to the letter. The memorial was replenished with sauce and spice, recounting how Wei Xiaobao had seen the rebellious traitors during the day, and pretended to be unprepared when they set up camp in the night, to lure the bandits to attack. The rebellious traitors were exceptionally fierce; Wei Xiaobao led the troops to fight bravely, he provided the leadership and captured the chief of the traitors, whose name was Yuan Yifang, alive, and learned about the rebellion plan. The Imperial Bodyguard Getong and two others gallantly died for their country, asking the Emperor to bestow grace by generously rewarding comfort and aid to the three persons' bereaved families.

After listening to this, Wei Xiaobao said, ”Please also add several sentences on the meritorious service of the Regimental Commander Fu and Zhang and Zhao, two captains of the Imperial Bodyguards.” Fu Chun and the others, three people, were greatly delighted and immediately expressed their gratitude.

Wei Xiaobao added, ”Also, add several sentences about we captured nineteen rebellious thieves, but no matter what, those rebellious traitors were unwilling to reveal the rebellion plan, therefore, according to His Majesty's prior instruction, I intentionally release eighteen rebellious traitors, so that we can investigate clearly the entire rebellion plan.”

The three people asked together, ”So releasing the eighteen rebellious traitors was part of His Majesty's plan?”

”Naturally,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”I am so young, how can I be that smart? If not for His Majesty's foresight, how can I uncover this major rebellion plan?”

Previously, Kangxi had ordered Wei Xiaobao to release Wu Lishen, Ao Biao, Liu Yizhou, three people, in order to find the fact about the rebels entering the Palace. Zhang Kangnian and the others thought that the Emperor had already known that Wangwu Pai people would come to attack. In that case, the framing of Wu Sangui was also part of the Emperor's plan. Seeing that for no rhyme or reason great riches and honor was being delivered into their hands, they were all overjoyed and did not stop expressing their thousand thanks and ten thousands gratitude.

According to Manchurian Qing custom, when a general went into battle, he could not return without an imperial edict. Although Wei Xiaobao was only about twenty li from Beijing, he could not personally return to Beijing to submit the memorial to the throne. Thereupon he sent two Company Commanders and ten Imperial Bodyguards to lead one company [orig. 'niru'] of three hundred ordinary soldiers that very same night, with Yuan Yifang in custody, to present the memorial to the throne to Kangxi.

[Author's note: in the Eight Banners Army, three hundred men formed one 'niru'. The idea behind 'niru' was 'big arrow', the leader held a big arrow as the symbol of his authority. Five 'niru' formed one 'jalan', five 'jalan' formed one 'gusa'.] Wei Xiaobao was very proud of himself; he thought, ”This time I am giving Wu Sangui enough trouble. Mu Palace is having a competition against us, Tian Di hui, to see who will topple Wu Sangui first. Today Laozi has rendered great service to both Shifu. Shifu Chen of Tian Di Hui will be happy, Emperor Shifu will also be happy.”

The next day he led his troops to continue their journey slowly southwards. By noon, two Imperial Bodyguards from Beijing, riding fast horses, caught up with them. They said, ”His Majesty has a secret imperial edict.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, immediately he gathered all the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry officers in his tent to receive the imperial decree. The Imperial Bodyguard bearing the imperial decree stood in the middle and read in loud and clear voice: ”The Deputy Commander of Valiant Cavalry of Plain Yellow Banner, who simultaneously hold the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards position, Wei Xiaobao, listen to this: Zhen told you to go to Shaolin Temple on a mission, who told you to meddle in other people's business along the way? You have listened to lowly characters speaking nonsense, bringing a false charge against a minister who has given outstanding service, foolishly pursuing this kind of business; how could you not bitterly disappoint your lord? Henceforth you are forbidden to mention that kind of rubbish talk, if even a word or a sentence leak out, all of you will return to Beijing to see Zhen with your heads hanging by your sides. By the Emperor himself.”

As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard it, he was so scared that his back was wet with cold sweat. He had no choice but to kowtow and thank the Emperor's favor. The faces of everybody else in the tent went pale, they were very ashamed. Fu Chun, Zhang Kangnian and the others did not dare to talk too much, they thought that this little child was fooling around deliberately, His Majesty did not blame him for the crime, it could be considered that the Emperor treated him very well. Realizing that right now Wei Xiaobao's mood must be very bad, they did not want to look for a nail to bump, thereupon they took their leave and walked out the tent.

The Imperial Bodyguard bearing the imperial decree walked toward Wei Xiaobao and said in a low voice, ”His Majesty's order: you must be very careful in everything.”

”Yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”His Majesty's grace, servant Wei Xiaobao is extremely grateful.” Taking out four hundred taels of silver, he gave the money to the two Imperial Bodyguards.

After the two Imperial Bodyguards left, Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, ”Could it be that the Emperor knows that I am slandering Wu Sangui? Or after he arrived in Beijing that servant Yuan Yifang retracted his statement and reported that he had confessed under torture? The Emperor seems to be very fond of Wu Sangui, toppling him is actually not going to be easy.”

That evening, the Imperial Bodyguards and the Valiant Cavalry soldiers who were sent to escort Yuan Yifang caught up with them. After Wei Xiaobao bumped into this big nail, everybody did not have any interest to gamble anymore. Without speaking too much, one day the group arrived at the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song.

Having received the report of the arrival of the imperial decree, the Abbot led a group of monks going down the mountain to welcome the party, and then they took Wei Xiaobao and his entourage into the Temple.

Wei Xiaobao took out the imperial decree, opened the sealed envelope, and handed it over to Zhang Kangnian to be read. He heard quite a bit of lengthy and flowery sentences, something like 'The Masters

[6] have profound understanding of mysterious principles of Buddhism, have the foreknowledge of wonderful reason, able to establish auspicious scheme, supporting the Emperor on both sides', or 'In the Palace of Nirvana hang the sun and the moon in their splendor, changing the color of the mist and cloud in the garden of Buddha', or 'The cloud circles peaks of Mount Song, the luan

[7] return to Shaoshi

[8], the grass bend down of the immortal dew, peaceful forest under Buddha's sun, the manifest of Buddhist people, the clear wisdom of our generation'. Following those sentences, the Head Monk of Shaolin Temple, Abbot Hui Cong was bestowed the title of 'The Zen Master [orig. chan shi] Protector of the Country, Blessing to the Sages', also, the eighteen Shaolin monks who had rendered great service on Mount Wutai were duly rewarded. Finally Zhang Kangnian read, ”Hereby I am sending the Deputy Commander of Valiant Cavalry of Plain Yellow Banner, who simultaneously hold the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Bodyguards position, the wearer of Yellow Magua bestowed personally by the Emperor, Wei Xiaobao, to act on Zhen's behalf, to become a Buddhist monk in Shaolin Temple, granted by the Emperor to spend time to learn Buddhist law, namely, to take the tonsure. By the Emperor himself.”

Listening to the bookish part in the front, Wei Xiaobao had no idea where the Emperor was driving at, but toward the end, he actually understood; he could not restrain his countenance from changing greatly. Kangxi wanted him to go to Mount Wutai and be a Buddhist monk there, and he had agreed. But never in his wildest dream would he expect that he was being sent to Shaolin Temple to have his head shaved here. He had the imperial decree continuously in his possession, but before arriving at the destination, how could he dare to open it? Besides, even if he took a peek, he would not know what was written on it anyway.

Hui Cong Chanshi

[9] led the monks to thank the Emperor's favor. The officers took out the gift and distribute it. Wei Xiaobao stood on the side, watching. His heart was in chaos.

Hui Cong Chanshi said, ”Wei Daren is going to be a monk in place of His Majesty, this is our Temple's rare honor.” He took out a razor on the spot, and said, ”Wei Daren is His Majesty's proxy, this is not a small matter, even Lao Na [lit. old cassock] does not dare to be your Shifu. Let Lao Na's late master receive you as his disciple, you are Lao Na's Shidi [younger martial brother], your Buddhist name will be Hui Ming. In all Shaolin Temple, other than you and Lao Na, two people, nobody else has this 'Hui' generation-character in his name.”

Facing this situation, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but kneeling down with tears in his eyes to have his head shaved. Using the razor, Hui Cong Chanshi shaved his head three times first, and then the tonsure monk continued shaving his sparse hair, whatever was left of his burnt pigtail, until nothing was left. With authority Hui Cong Chanshi said, ”Do not consider Shaolin's unadorned wall as an obstruction. Do not consider becoming a monk on the Emperor's behalf as grandeur. The glory and splendor of the dust was unlucky ['Hui'] in the past, but now it is bright ['Ming']. No coming, no going, no decrease, no increase!” Taking out the document conferred by the Emperor, he filled in the name 'Hui Ming' onto the document and had Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to worship the Tathagata

[10]. The crowd of monks chorused in calling the name of Buddha.

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, ”You, bald-headed thief, do not have eighteen generations ancestors who accumulate merits, but come here and shave Laozi's head. You recite Amitabha Buddha, Laozi recite hot piece Mama in my heart.” Suddenly he was overwhelmed with grief and bawled. The officers filling the hall were startled and stared at him. The monks continued their recitation; nobody paid him any attention.

After crying for a while, Wei Xiaobao had no choice but to stop. Hui Cong Chanshi said, ”Shidi, among the monks in our Temple, currently we have eight characters of seniority, namely 'Da Jiao Guan Hui, Cheng Jing Hua Yan'. Our master Guan Zheng Chanshi has passed away twenty-eight years ago, all the Cheng generation monks in our Temple are your Shizhi [martial nephew].”

Immediately the monks, in the order of seniority, stepped forward to pay their respect; among them were Cheng Xin, Cheng Guang, Cheng Tong, and the others, who had had friendship with him before. The Cheng generation old monks with their white, silvery beards were all calling him as Shishu [martial (younger) uncle]. Among the Jing generation monks, there were quite a few of old men, yet they were all calling him Shishuzu [martial granduncle]. The most interesting thing was the Hua generation monks; some of them were thirty, forty years old, but they paid their respect to him by calling him Tai Shishuzu [martial great-granduncle]. Wei Xiaobao was amused and could not help but bursting into loud laughter. Seeing the tears on his face had not been wiped, yet he was laughing happily, everybody smiled.

Turned out the reason Kangxi dispatched the Imperial Bodyguards and his personal troops the Valiant Cavalry to Shaolin Temple was no more than escorting Wei Xiaobao to take the tonsure and become a Buddhist monk; however, as the Emperor's proxy, how could he be compared to ordinary person? If not for the fanfare, how could the Shaolin monks see the grandeur of this matter?

The Regimental Commander Fu Chun of the Valiant Cavalry, the Imperial Bodyguards Zhao Qixian, Zhang Kangnian, and the others bade their farewell to Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao took out three hundred taels of silver and asked Zhang Kangnian to rent a private house at the foot of the mountain where Shuang'er could stay. Shaolin Temple has never accepted female benefactors inside their temple. Although Shuang'er was wearing a man's clothing, the eighteen Luohan of Damo Hall had all known her as Wei Xiaobao's servant girl; therefore, she was waiting at the foot of the mountain. She only knew that Wei Xiaobao was going to pass on the imperial decree, and hand over the rewards to the monks; afterwards, Wei Xiaobao would come down the mountain and return to Beijing. Who would have thought that he was supposed to be a monk in the Temple?

Not only Wei Xiaobao was the Emperor's proxy, he had the 'Hui' character in his name, denoting him a senior monk; therefore, everybody in the Temple revered him. The Abbot reserved a large meditation room for him. Abbot Hui Cong said, ”Shidi, you are free to do anything in the Temple, you may do morning and night chores as you wish. Other than abstaining against taking life, stealing, being lascivious, lying, drinking wine, five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, you can choose whether to observe or not to observe the minor discipline.” And then he explained in details what those five major Buddhist monastic disciplines mean.

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Lying is included in these five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, to Laozi, I don't want to guard against whatever I say.” He asked, ”Is gambling also to be abstained?”

Abbot Hui Cong was taken aback. ”What gambling?” he asked.

”Gambling for money?” Wei Xiaobao said.

Hui Cong smiled and said, ”Within the five major Buddhist monastic disciplines, gambling is not mentioned. Other people may want to abstain against it, but Shidi may do as you wish.”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Damn it, if I am the only one who does not abstain against it, what's the use? Could I be betting against myself?”

After living in the Temple for several days, he was already bored to death; he pondered, ”Xiao Xuanzi wanted me to serve the Old Emperor, but he sent me to Shaolin Temple to be a monk. I wonder when is he going to let me go to Mount Wutai?”

One particular day he wandered aimlessly to the outside of the Luohan Hall. He saw Cheng Tong was overseeing six disciples in martial art training. As soon as those monks saw his arrival, they bowed together to salute. Wei Xiaobao waved his hand and said, ”Don't be too polite, you may continue your training.”

He saw the six 'Jing' generation monks boxing technique was precise and rigorous, their movements were very nimble, the changes in their stances were very dynamic; compared to this 'martial granduncle' of theirs, they were actually much more superior. He heard Cheng Tong giving them directions, how firm and how fast should this punch be, how to be powerful but flexible, how to position this kick, how not to kick too high, and so on. Wei Xiaobao did not understand anything, so he was just watching without any interest. After a while he turned around and walked away, thinking, ”I always hear people say that Shaolin Temple's martial art skill is number one under the heavens. Now that I am a monk in the Temple, won't it be a pity if I don't learn the skill?” Suddenly it dawned on him, ”Aiyo! I got it! The dog fart Shaolin martial art that the old turtle Hai Dafu taught me was fake, it is totally useless. Xiao Xuanzi is sending me to Shaolin Temple to be a monk here, he wants me to learn the real skill of Shaolin Pai before I can protect the Old Emperor. But my Shifu died twenty eight years ago, who will teach me martial art?”

After pondering for half a day, he finally understood one thing: ”Old Monk Abbot makes me his Shidi, it's precisely so that I don't have any Shifu; this old bald thief is very crafty. Hmm, that's right, he knew I am the Emperor's trusted aide, who is a high-ranking Manchu official; there is no way he would be willing to pass on excellent martial art skill to this little Tatar. Humph, you don't want to teach me, do you think I cannot learn by looking?”

In Wulin world, when people were teaching martial art, it was a big taboo for any school or sect to have other people watching on the side. However, this Hui Ming Chanshi was their own Temple's 'Senior Monk of Older Generation'. When their Sect's disciples and grand-disciples were practicing martial art and he wanted to watch on the side, nobody could raise any objection.

Wei Xiaobao looked to the east and gazed to the west in all courtyards and halls around the Temple. Whenever there were people training martial art, he would stand and watch for a while. Unfortunately, this 'senior monk's' foundation was indeed too superficial. What Hai Dafu taught him was not a real martial art, while what Chen Jinnan taught him, the internal energy cultivation technique, he only practiced for several days. Shaolin Pai's martial art was wide-ranging and profound, by casually watching like this, how could he reap any benefit? Much less he did not have any patience to watch for an extended period of time.

Therefore, after wandering around Shaolin Temple for more than a month, he did not learn even one bit of martial art skill. However, he had an easy-going personality, he loved to mingle around and make friends. Since in term of seniority his position in the Temple was second only to the Abbot, and he was willing to make friends with other people, all monks were very warm toward him.

One day, the spring breeze was gentle and pleasant, Wei Xiaobao felt his entire body was comfortably warm. Living in a monastery with monks as his only companions was really not the most fun thing to do, thereupon he went out the Temple's gate and strolled down the mountain. He thought that he had not seen Shuang'er for quite a while, he wanted to know how this girl was doing, so he wanted to see her. Moreover, day in and day out he ate vegetarian dishes in the Temple, he had already cursed the green vegetables and tofu's ancestor several thousand, several tens of thousand times. He wanted Shuang'er to buy some chicken, fish and meat, and let the great monk eat to his heart's desire.

Walking near the Welcoming Guest Pavilion [Ying Ke Ting] outside the Temple, he suddenly heard the sound of people quarreling; he was delighted, ”Wonderful, wonderful! A fight.” Quickening his steps, he heard the voices of men, intersperse with the sharp and clear voice of several women.

When he came near, he saw two young women in the Pavilion squabbling with four of their Temple's monks. When the four monks saw Wei Xiaobao, they said together, ”Shishuzu is here, let's have the Senior be the judge over this matter.” Welcoming him to the Pavilion, they put their palms together and bowed. These four monks were of the 'Jing' generation. Wei Xiaobao knew that they were in charge of receiving guests and benefactors outside the Temple. Usually they were very well-disposed and very affable, yet somehow they were engaged in a squabble with these two young women. Looking at the two women, one was approximately twenty years old, wearing blue garment, the other was younger, perhaps around sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing light green garment.

As soon as Wei Xiaobao looked at this young woman, he could not stop his heart from jumping, he felt as if the pit of his stomach was beaten by an invisible iron hammer, in an instant his lips were parched, his tongue dried, he was dumbstruck and could only thought, ”I am dead, I must be dead! Where did this beautiful woman come from? If this beautiful woman is given to me as my wife, even if the young emperor wanted to switch places with me, I don't want it. Dead or alive, the heaven above the earth below, forest of spears or rain of arrows, mountain of blade or a deep fryer, no matter what Wei Xiaobao must take this miss as a wife.”

Seeing how these four monks were calling the young monk 'martial granduncle', and were treating him with great respect, the two women were very surprised. And then they noticed his eyes were staring blankly at the girl in green clothes. Even a common man ought not to be so impolite, much less this was someone who had left home to become a monk. The girl in green blushed, she turned her head away. An angry look started to appear on the woman in blue's face.

Wei Xiaobao was oblivious; he mused, ”Why did she turn her head away? When she is blushing slightly like that, even if a hundred girls of Lovely Spring Courtyard stand together, they do not look as good as one strand of her eyebrow. If I have to give her ten thousand taels each time she laugh, it is still worth it.” He also thought, ”Miss Fang, Xiao Junzhu, Madame Hong, Princess Jianning, that girl Shuang'er, plus that Miss Zheng who threw the dice, put together are not as beautiful as this fairy. I, Wei Xiaobao, do not want to be the Emperor, I don't want to be the Shen Long Jiao's Jiaozhu, I don't want to be Tian Di Hui's Zongduozhu. Some Yellow Magua or three peacock feathers, one-pin or two-pin rank officer, I don't care about all those things, I ... I only want to be this Miss' husband.”

In that instant, myriads of thoughts filled his mind, he was determined to go through water and tread on fire, to risk his life and limbs, to realize his dream; consequently, his expression looked very strange. To the four monks and two women who were looking at him, he looked just like an idiot: suddenly beaming with joy, and then suddenly clenching his jaw.

”Shishuzu,” Jing Ji and Jing Qing called several times, but Wei Xiaobao was totally oblivious to them. Only after a long time, did he finally wake up as if from a dream, and blew out a breath.

At first the woman in blue thought that Wei Xiaobao was a horny philanderer; afterwards, seeing his blank look, she thought this little monk must be a lunatic, and found it amusing. She asked, ”So this little monk is your Shishuzu?”

Jing Ji hastily said, ”Miss, please be a bit more respectful. This senior monk's Buddhist name is Hui on the top and Ming on the bottom. In our Temple, he is one of the only two Senior Monks with 'Hui' generation-character; he is our head monk, the Abbot's Shidi.”

The two women were slightly startled, but then they thought they were joking; they shook their heads in disbelief. The woman in green laughed and said, ”Shijie, he is swindling us, don't be fooled. This little ... little master, how can he be a senior monk?”

Her voice was melodious, sweet and charming, tender and alluring. Hearing her, Wei Xiaobao's soul flew and scattered away, he could not help but repeating, ”This little ... little master, how can he be a senior monk?” But the way he said it sounded frivolous, with no effort to conceal his uncouthness. The two women's faces immediately sank, the four Jing generation monks also felt that this young martial granduncle kind of forgetting his manners too much, hence they were very ashamed.

”Humph,” the woman in blue snorted and asked, ”Are you a Shaolin Temple's senior monk?”

”A monk is a monk,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Nothing senior about it. You can see that I am short, I am nothing more than a short monk

[11].”

The eyebrows of the woman in blue shot up; in loud and clear voice she said, ”I heard people say that Shaolin Temple's martial art is the leader of the world, their seventy-two unsurpassed skills are immeasurably deep. We, the two sisters, envied it in our hearts, and have come here specifically to admire it. Unexpectedly, your martial art is so-so, worse yet, the monks of the Temple do not observe propriety, oily-mouthed and smooth talking, just like the hoodlums of the marketplace, making other people sorely disappointed. Shimei, let us go!” Finished speaking, she turned around to exit the Pavilion.

Jing Qing blocked in front of her, ”Nu Shizhu [female benefactor] has come to Shaolin Temple, committed violence and hit people, even if you want to go, you must at least leave your revered master's name.”

Hearing the words 'committed violence and hit people', Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Turns out they have already assaulted people, no wonder Jing Qing and the others quarreled with them.” He saw red palm marks on the left cheeks of Jing Qing and Jing Ji, evidently they both have suffered a palm strike each.

Wei Xiaobao had chatted with everybody in the Temple, so he already knew the level of martial art skill of these four monks who were in charge of receiving the guests; in the Temple, they could be classified as less-developed. Because they had low martial art skill yet they were eloquent and fluent speakers, the Abbot assigned them the duty of receiving the benefactors who were going to perform their charitable deeds.

In the Wulin world, Shaolin Temple's fame spanned more than a thousand years. The number of people who came to the temple each month to experience their martial art was too numerous to mention. The monks in charge of receiving the guests had low martial art skill, it was precisely because they were not supposed to fight. Otherwise, the Shaolin Dhyana Temple would turn into an arena where people fought for martial art supremacy. Not only it would disrupt their peace in meditation, it would also be a great disobedience to the Buddhist's teaching about mercy, hence fighting was an unacceptable behavior.

Obviously the woman in blue did not understand this reason, she only thought that since with one strike she had succeeded in beating two Shaolin monks, she had a reason to be very proud of herself. She said, ”Based on your mediocre martial art, you want your Miss to leave behind Shifu's name, humph, do you think you deserve it?”

Jing Ji has just suffered defeat; he knew that with the five of them combined, they could not stop the women. If these two young women went down the mountain and proclaimed that they had beaten two Shaolin monks and then shook their sleeves and left, while even their origins were unknown, where would they put Shaolin Temple's reputation at? Thereupon he said, ”The four of us have the duty to receive benefactors, our martial art skill is extremely low, and those who have left home hold friendship as our foundation, how can we meaninglessly fight with others? Since the two of you have come to get advice about our humble Temple's martial art, please wait for a moment, pinseng [impoverished monk] will invite several Shibo and Shishu [martial (older) uncle and martial (younger) uncle] to come, we will introduce them to you.” Finished speaking, he turned around to rush toward the Temple.

Suddenly a blue shadow flashed. Jing Ji angrily shouted, ”You …” 'Slap' he was thrown tumbling down on the ground. It was the woman in blue who ran after him and stretched out her leg to hook his feet. Jing Ji sprang up and angrily said, ”Nu Shizhu, why are you …”

The woman in blue laughed aloud and sent a right punch. Jing Ji hastily raised his right arm to block. The woman in blue grabbed with her left hand, 'Crack!' unexpectedly she dislocated his right arm joint. There was a series of 'Crack!', 'Aiyo!', 'Clack, clack!' as in an instant she also broke either the other three monks' wrist bones or their arm joints. The four monks withdrew to the side, completely unable to resist. Jing Ji turned around and rushed back to the Temple to report.

Wei Xiaobao was so scared that he was at a loss of what to do, and was completely helpless. Suddenly the back of his neck tightened, someone grabbed him, while at the same time sealed the acupoint on the back of his neck. Immediately his whole body went limp and painful, he could not exert his strength. He saw the woman in blue was standing in front of him, in that case, the one grabbing his back was obviously the girl in green. His heart was wild with joy. ”Wonderful! Wonderful!” he shouted loudly.

Having his back grabbed by the girl, Wei Xiaobao felt he had not walked in this world in vain. It would be best if she added several kicks to his behind, or landed several punches on the top of his head. Even if he were killed immediately, he would enjoy infinite pleasure and would think that his good fortune in love department was great. This moment his nostrils caught a whiff of light, delicate fragrance, hence he called out, ”Smells good, smells good!”

The woman in blue angrily said, ”This little bald thief is so rotten. Meizi, cut his nose!”

”Alright!” Wei Xiaobao heard a charming voice from behind him, ”But let me dig his pair of thief eyeballs first.” And then he felt the fingers of a warm, soft and smooth hand pressed against his left eyelid.

”Please dig it slowly, don't do it too quickly,” Wei Xiaobao shouted.

The girl was surprised, ”Why?” she asked.

”It would be best if you grab me like this,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”Grab me for a lifetime, never let me go, forever.”

The girl angrily said, ”Little monk, you are at the death's door, and still speaking nonsense to me?”

Wei Xiaobao suddenly felt a sharp pain on his right eye; the girl was really going to dig his eyeball out. Greatly shocked, he bent his waist and lowered his head, all reasons and logic were thrown away beyond the ninth level of clouds, both hands reached backward, he only hoped he could pry open the hand holding the back of his neck. The girl punched him on the back. Wei Xiaobao screamed, ”Aiyo! Mama!” His hands frantically clawed backward, unconsciously he had launched the move 'Di Qing subduing the dragon' that Hong Jiaozhu had taught him. Suddenly he felt both of hands touched something soft; unexpectedly he had grabbed the girl's breasts.

This style was originally intended to force the enemy behind his back to withdraw, then he would somersault backward and ride on the enemy's neck. Who would have thought that the girl did not have much experience dealing with the enemy and did not guard against Wei Xiaobao's grabbing her chest? Since the result was entirely different than what was expected, naturally the second half of the move 'Di Qing subduing the dragon' could not be executed.