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The two aging shop attendants did not even step out to greet them, as if they did not see them at all, as the two men proceeded deep into the shop, pulling the bead hanging curtain separating the front and rear sections, passing through the small warehouse filled with bolts of cloth, and stepping out into a courtyard. Turned out there were two other layers of building at the back.

Four men and one woman were congregating at the courtyard, talking. Seeing Liu Heita, they all showed respect as they greeted, “Liu Dage!”

Liu Heita nodded. He led Xu Ziling into the building at the left side of the courtyard.

It was a simple, unadorned, small hall; other than a table, few chairs, and some essentials, there was no other furnishing, not even a cabinet, much less any decorative furnishings.

When the two was seated, Liu Heita laughed aloud and said, “Very good! Unexpectedly I came across you. I don’t know how many times I heard evil tidings about you, who would have thought that you are still like a lively dragon and animated tiger. Where did Kou Zhong go?”

“I lost touch with him,” Xu Ziling replied, “But we agreed to meet here.” Finished speaking, he sighed inwardly. Although Liu Heita was a good man, all along he was Dou Jiande’s man, so he should not disclose too much to him.

Knitting his brows, Liu Heita said, “I hear Li Mi sent his men to intercept you. Shall I send out my men to look for Kou Zhong?”

Xu Ziling could feel his sincere concern, which gave birth to unbearable guilty conscience in his heart; shaking his head, he said, “He should not have any problem defending himself; in fact, we separated on purpose, with me luring away the pursuing troops, while he is in charge of something else.”

Liu Heita understood.

This moment, the girl that was just chatting with the four men outside came in to serve fragrant tea.

It was only now that Xu Ziling noticed that this girl’s profile was rather beautiful, and she exuded a delicate and pretty personality.

Liu Heita laughed and said, “She is Tongtong; her flying blade skill is indeed not bad!” But he did not introduced Xu Ziling to Tongtong.

Tongtong smiled as she shot a couple of curious glances toward Xu Ziling before withdrawing from the room.

Liu Heita was deep in thought for half a day before he finally sighed and said, “Assassinating Ren Shaoming not only propelled your names to the sky, it has also changed the entire situation of the South. Lao Ge [old elder brother] is really proud of you.”

Xu Ziling was afraid Liu Heita would repeat his invitation for them to join his organization, he busily changed the subject, “This time Liu Dage came to Luoyang, I wonder if there is something big going on here?”

After gazing deeply into Xu Ziling’s eyes, Liu Heita spoke heavily, “This matter can be big or small. The fact is this is actually a trivial matter, only it is possible that this matter relates to the question of who can really unify the land under the heavens.”

Xu Ziling was confused, “What matter can have that kind of impact?” he wondered.

Liu Heita did not answer; he asked back instead, “This time you came to Luoyang, is it in preparation to go west to enter Guanzhong?”

Xu Ziling understood that Liu Heita was a man with a very good moral standing, but he was definitely not a fool. On the contrary, he was astute and formidable, so it was absolutely not easy to deceive him.

By asking that question, it was tantamount to indirectly asking if he was going to dig out the ‘Duke Yang’s Treasure’. If Xu Ziling responded evasively, it would be difficult to get Liu Heita to bare his soul to him later.

During the time where the warlords were setting up independent regimes, even between father and son, brothers and friends, there must be matters that have to be kept secret to some degree for the sake of their respective master.

Just like Li Jing a moment ago, who wanted to tell him something but hesitated; obviously he also had to have some reservations.

Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, “The fact is that we only know that the treasure is somewhere near Guannei [lit. inside the pass; I think this is a place’s name, but it could point to the general area inside the Great Wall]; other than that, we know nothing at all. Therefore, this time we are simply going to take our chances.”

Liu Heita’s honest and considerate, guileless dark-skinned face revealed a trace of sincere smile; he nodded and said, “What Ziling told me, how could I not believe it? It’s just that rumor has it that within the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’, other than rare treasure that Yang Su had plundered for many years, there are also tens of thousands of weapons and other items. To haul away these things out of the Li Clan’s territory, one must have considerable manpower and physical resources. If you think that I, Liu Heita, am trustworthy, I can give you full support, on the condition that each takes what he needs; you can go your way to become rich and powerful, and I go my way to vie for the world. We get the best of both worlds to everyone’s delight and satisfaction.”

After a short pause, he went on, “According to the information I have, the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’ has seven layers altogether. Other than the first layer, which has no mechanism or booby-traps, every layer is more dangerous than the previous one. If you know that the man who designed the room to store this treasure was the Number One Master Craftsman in the world, Lu Miaozi, you’d know that to acquire the treasure is not an easy matter at all. As far as I know, that Luocha woman only entered the first layer and promptly sounded out the difficulties and retreated to avoid defeat. Huh? Why do you look so weird?”

Hearing the name ‘Lu Miaozi’, naturally Xu Ziling was severely shaken. He began to understand a little bit why when he showed the secret book on mechanism, it strongly reminded him that he would have to rely on this to enter the ‘Duke Yang Treasure-trove’.

But why did Lu Miaozi not teach them directly how to enter the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’, which he personally designed?

This is really puzzling.

Liu Heita continued, “Yang Su and Lu Miaozi were close friends; the drawbridge Xing Jin Fu Qiao [xing – star, jin – river crossing (abbreviation for Tianjin), fu qiao – floating/pontoon bridge] was his design. This man’s talent in this area is extremely high; I don’t think there is any second person to him at the present age.”

Noticing Xu Ziling was frowning hard, he reached out to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder and said, “You don’t have to answer me quickly; you may talk to Kou Zhong first. Even if you decided not to cooperate, I, Liu Heita, can’t possibly blame you. By the way, Zhuge Dewei is quite knowledgeable at mechanism and building constructions; certainly that would be very helpful in entering the treasure trove.”

Xu Ziling had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Liu Heita stretched out and spoke in a relaxed manner, “To be honest, I really did not want to say those things, because it made me look like those greedy people who covet the treasure. But taking the present conditions into account, I did not have any choice.”

“I understand,” Xu Ziling said, “Liu Dage need not be concerned about it.”

Liu Heita gladly said, “I have mentioned the two gentlemen to King of Xia, King of Xia is also highly appreciative toward the two of you, and he sincerely hopes to see you face to face.”

The King of Xia was Dou Jiande.

Xu Ziling calmly replied, “If there is any opportunity, we would also love to pay our respect. But still, just now Liu Dage mentioned that you have a business here that can be big but can be small as well; what is that all about?”

Liu Heita replied in heavy voice, “It has something to do with the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan’, which is equally famous with the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’!”

Chapter 1 - Part 2

They had barely entered Imperial City, the more than a dozen men gathered inside the door went out to meet them. Other than three men wearing high-ranking military uniform complete with armors, the rest wore casual Confucian scholar attire. One of them, which Kou Zhong was surprised to see, was Ouyang Xiyi.

Ouyang Xiyi was a martial art master who had made his name for several decades; in Jianghu, his seniority was extremely high. Together with great scholar Wang Tong, they forged a very deep friendship, but for the last several years he had already disregarded the affairs of the life. Unexpectedly he could be here to help Wang Shichong in vying over the world. [See Book 4 Chapter 3]

At Pengcheng a few years back, using Chen Sha Jian [Sinking Sand Sword], he waged war against Ba Fenghan. Although at that time victory and defeat had not been decided, he had left an indelible impression in Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s hearts.

Apart from Ouyang Xiyi, there were two men and one woman that especially caught Kou Zhong’s attention.

The woman was like a red dot amidst a cluster of then thousand greens; extremely noticeable.

She was a very pretty young woman, petite and nimble, carrying a sword on her back, but her expression was unusually somber, a no-nonsense attitude, yet there was also a cool and elegant, mature sex appeal. She exuded a proud and aloof aura that made people felt that she was cold and must not be offended, but also made people secretly felt that if they could break open that layer of protective screen, it would be a man’s greatest accomplishment.

But the reason Kou Zhong paid particular attention to her was not her good looks at all, rather, it was her pair of radiant and glittering azure eyes, which made him realize that not only she was a Wulin master, but that she was not of Central Earth origin.

The others who caught his attention were two men: one old, one young. The old one was short and stocky, wearing Taoist robe, holding a whisk in his hand. His eyes, ears, nose and mouth were squeezed together at the middle of his fat face. A look at him was supposed to provoke laughter, but his half-closed narrow eyes were gleaming with sharp and luminous flicker, which faintly conveyed some kind of fierce and ruthless feeling, without the least bit of comical taste.

The young one was a sturdy looking man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with imposing built. Although he could not be compared to outstandingly handsome men like Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, or the like, his face was simple and adorned, his dark complexion looked solid, giving out a tyrannical, dauntless, overbearing impression. His weapon was a pair of pecks hanging on his back.

It seemed like other than Ouyang Xiyi, from among the crowd, these three had the highest martial art skill; they could be listed among the front ranking martial art masters.

Ouyang Xiyi’s gaze fell on Kou Zhong first; an astonished look flitted across his sharp eyes, but he did not say anything.

This moment Wang Shichong had already run up to meet them and said with a chuckle, “With ladies and gentlemen rushing over like this, I, Wang Shichong, have nothing else to fear.”

Kou Zhong slightly shivered in his heart, realizing only then that without making either motion or noise Wang Shichong has already mobilized people with most power under his command to deal with the immediate crisis.

Ouyang Xiyi and the others returned the propriety by declining modestly.

One of the generals said, “Mengqiu has made all the arrangements according to Shangshu’s instructions.”

It was only this moment that Kou Zhong realized this man was the great general Song Mengqiu, the other trusted aide of Wang Shichong, Lang Feng’s counterpart. Hastily he gave him a quick look.

This man was ugly, but his face radiated with bravery, mixed with excessively exaggerated loyalty, giving people the impression that he was wearing a mask. In just a glance Kou Zhong already developed a dislike toward him.

By this time Wang Shichong had already introduced Kou Zhong and the crowds to each other. Surprisingly, the woman’s name sounded like the person; she was called Linglong Jiao [together, it means exquisite and delicate].

The fat Taoist was Ke Feng Daozhang [Taoist priest]. The sturdy-looking man was Chen Zhanglin; the rest were martial art masters from various famous schools and sects.

Apparently Ouyang Xiyi occupied highest position among the group; he smiled and said, “The ‘Secret to Long Life’ is worthy to be one of the Four Great Amazing Books, otherwise it cannot bring up a talent like Kou Xiongdi.”

Kou Zhong promptly declined modestly.

After another round of polite greeting with everybody, Wang Shichong curbed his smile and said, “This matter should not be delayed, we must immediately enter the Palace to see that little muddleheaded ruler; let’s see what kind of trick Dugu Feng [summit] is playing.”

※ ※ ※

Noticing that even after hearing the word ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ Xu Ziling was able to maintain his indifferent demeanor, Liu Heita smiled and said, “If Ziling knew more about the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’, perhaps you would be a bit more interested.”

Xu Ziling was thinking about Kou Zhong; sighing inwardly, he forced himself to rouse his spirit and asked, “The ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ is, of course, not only the seal of state, it was also the Emperor’s personal symbol of authority. But other than that, what else does it worth?”

Liu Heita replied, “Frankly speaking, I am not too clear about this matter as well. But just from the fact that Ning Daoqi made an agreement with Ci Hang Jingzhai that he would loan the jade annulus for three years, evidently the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ is not simply a piece of precious gem. Otherwise, how could it move the heart of such an out-of-the-world, free-from-vulgarity, outstanding holy man like Ning Daoqi?”

Xu Ziling was stunned, “In that case,” he said, “Are you saying that the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ has been hidden in Ci Hang Jingzhai all along? But how did Liu Dage know?”

Liu Heita smiled mysteriously. Lowering his voice, he said, “On this, please forgive me, your Liu Dage, for keeping the climax from you; simply because I have made my promise not to divulge it to anybody else. Suffice it to say that you must know that this information is absolutely true.”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “If that is really the case, the rumor widely spread all over Jianghu that Ning Daoqi may come to Luoyang to hand the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ back to Shi Feixuan is not a fabrication relying on nothing at all. Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan are making an ostentatious display like this, did they think that the world is not chaotic enough as it is now?”

Liu Heita’s dark face revealed a hint of smile as he spoke indifferently, “As it turns out, the opposite is true. This is the condition that Ci Hang Jingzhai imposed on Ning Daoqi before they agreed to loan the jade annulus to him: he must help set things right in the world to the benefit of thousands of people.”

His heart moved, Xu Ziling said, “In that case, Ning Daoqi is helping Ci Hang Jingzhai to promote the future ruler.”

Liu Heita was surprised. “Listening to your conjecture, it seems to me that even if you did not know the truth, yet you are not too far from it. According to Duke Dou and my own speculation, the purpose of Shi Feixuan’s extraordinary visit to this mortal life this time is not only to deal with Yin Gui Pai, but it’s also for an even more important mission, which is to find the true master for the sake of all the people. Just think: under today’s circumstances, whoever can win Shi Feixuan’s favor and is given the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’, what can that person be in the future?”

Xu Ziling immediately felt a big headache.

Chapter 1 - Part 3

It dawned on him that the problem lay with Kou Zhong.

Under current circumstances, no matter how Shi Feixuan would make her choice, she would never pick Kou Zhong.

Just like Liu Heita said, the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ itself is only a trivial matter, but Shi Feixuan selecting the Emperor was the big matter involving the land under the heavens.

Shi Feixuan being the representative of Ci Hang Jingzhai, combined with Ning Daoqi’s power and prestige, as soon as they announced to the world that they have given the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ to certain person, how would the outstanding heroes all over the world react?

Therefore, Kou Zhong must not allow this matter to happen.

Previously Kou Zhong used to say that he wanted to snatch the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ away for himself. Perhaps half of it was spoken in jest.

But now it was a totally different story.

If Kou Zhong entered the fight over the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’, could he, Xu Ziling, stay out of it?

If not, wouldn’t it evolve into enmity between them and Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi?

※ ※ ※

Wang Shichong, in company with Kou Zhong, the high-ranking military officers, and the various martial art masters moved quickly to mount their horses, and then under the escort of nearly a thousand personal guards, they galloped through Imperial City to the north toward Palace City.

Along the sides of the road they saw soldiers in full armor, obviously the control over Imperial City has completely fallen into Wang Shichong’s army.

The surrounding city wall was about nine li long, with palace gates all four sides. The Heavenly Gate was in the middle of the south wall. To the south it faced the Duan Gate, to the north it faced Xuanwu Gate, and the palace halls in between had their main gates all connected by a central axis.

Under the thundering hoof beats, the entire Imperial City seemed to be shaking.

Kou Zhong was riding on Wang Shichong’s left side, while Ouyang Xiyi was riding on the other side. Ahead of them Lang Feng, leading thirty riders, was clearing the way. It was such a vast and mighty momentum.

Very soon the Heavenly Gate was in sight. It was actually a double-gate, the depth was twenty-something steps, with imperial city watchtower to its left and right, which were connected by an eighteen-step wide city wall. There was a twelve-zhang open area outside the city gate. This moment the atmosphere was solemn, which was quite intimidating to the onlookers.

The middle gate of the Heavenly Gate was wide open, yet not even half a shadow of guard was to be seen. A baffling situation that was clearly contrary to common sense.

Wang Shichong looked calm. As they were speeding along, he turned to Kou Zhong and said, “Inside the Heavenly Gate, there is Yongtai Gate, and after that is precisely the lord’s palace, Qianyang Hall, where general assembly and ceremony are being held, which double as the hall to receive foreign envoys. That fellow Yang Dong usually never goes there.”

“How come I don’t see a single palace guard at the Palace City?” Kou Zhong wondered.

Someone behind him replied, “Looks like we scared them off.” But no one considered this as a joke.

Wang Shichong said in heavy voice, “The Imperial Bodyguards under Dugu Feng’s control are divided into Yi [assist], Ji [cavalry], Wu [martial/military], Tun [stationed troops], Yu [chariot driver], Hou [nobility/high official], and so on, twelve guard units. Each unit is approximately five hundred men, so that the entire military strength is more than five thousand men; a number that cannot be scorned at. With the solid city walls that they defend, and in line with Dugu Feng’s character, they can’t possibly retreat without any fight, so we must be a bit more careful.”

Everyone acknowledged with loud noise, their voices shook the Imperial City.

In the blink of an eye, the vanguard had reached the Heavenly Gate. But as they were about to charge inside, a man, with his hands behind his back, stepped out the gate, laughed aloud, and spoke slyly, “Shangshu Daren is bringing your troops pressing on toward the Imperial City like this, I wonder what business do you have?”

※ ※ ※

Liu Heita heaved a deep sigh. He said, “The world is already in chaos; if Shi Feixuan was more involved, the situation would be even more complicated.”

And that was the exact reason why Xu Ziling had headache.

Both Shi Feixuan and Wanwan were the representatives of two major sects, upright and heretical; and both were outstanding martial art masters, which were hard to come by. And now that Wanwan had become their archenemy, if Shi Feixuan was involved, it would not be something fun for the two boys.

Xu Ziling could not help asking, “Where is Shi Feixuan now?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Liu Heita replied, “I heard ten days ago she made an appearance in the vicinity of Luoyang, but afterwards she disappeared without any trace; no matter what, nobody could find the slightest bit of clue on her whereabouts. Just from this fact, we can tell the degree of her brilliance.”

Remembering Wanwan, Xu Ziling could already infer how formidable Shi Feixuan must be. And then thinking that she might become enemy with he and Kou Zhong, momentarily he did not know what to say.

Even if he did not promise Kou Zhong that they would part ways after obtaining the ‘Duke Yang’s Treasure’, he could not possibly leave Kou Zhong under current circumstances.

Liu Heita went on, “This is precisely the reason I came to Luoyang this time. If we could acquire the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan’ from Shi Feixuan’s hands, it would be the same as half of the world already belonged to King of Xia. Therefore, what’s happening in Luoyang this moment can be called a magnificent and unprecedented event. To obtain the world, who would not want to take a chance?”

Xu Ziling also remembered Li Jing. Perhaps he came to Luoyang this time was for the exact same reason, i.e. he was trying to win over the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan’ for Li Shimin. “In Liu Dage’s opinion, who would have the chance to win over the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan’?” he asked.

Liu Heita laughed involuntarily, “Ziling’s use of these words ‘win over’ may not be too appropriate,” he said, “Let’s not talk about Ning Daoqi watching on the side, merely Shi Feixuan herself, whose swordsmanship has reach the great heights, is enough to prevent anybody from having a wild fantasy. Therefore, using the word ‘beseech’ instead of ‘win over’ might be more appropriate.”

Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, because he was thinking on behalf of Kou Zhong, hence unexpectedly he unconsciously used the word ‘win over’. A bit embarrassed, he asked, “Who’s most likely to beseech and receive the treasured jade annulus?”

Smiling wryly, Liu Heita replied, “I would love to tell you that it ought to be Duke Dou. But the fact is that is not necessarily true. There are at least three men who have equal chance with us, who are also the three most qualified men to unify the world.”

He paused, and then went on, “If I were Shi Feixuan, I would evaluate each person in terms of military accomplishment, administration, reputation and so on to consider whether he is fit to be the future Son of Heaven receiving the heaven’s command. Therefore, the first person to have the best chance will be, no doubt, Li Mi. Coincidentally he had just scored a victory over Yuwen Huaji, he also opened the storehouses to provide relief for the people several times in the past, his reputation is stellar; who could match him?”

Xu Ziling’s heart sank even deeper. If Li Mi obtained the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan’, how could Kou Zhong and he still have any chance of contending against him?

Liu Heita continued in heavy voice, “The second candidate would be Wang Shichong. Just look at the stability of Luoyang. It is a clear proof that he is able to govern well. Plus his base of operation is at the heart of the Central Plains, his prestige is acknowledged at the four winds, so it’s hard for others to lightly overlook him.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “These two are definitely men who can contend against the King of Xia. Is the last one Li Yuan?”

“Li Yuan can indeed be considered one,” Liu Heita replied, “It’s just that he himself is a lecher, plus he attached himself to the Tujue. Although he has power, his chance of being selected by Shi Feixuan does not seem to be too great.”

Recalling his Ol’ Dad, Xu Ziling said, “Do you think Du Fuwei has no chance of being chosen?”

Liu Heita replied, “Du Fuwei’s reputation has never been good, plus recently he has been colluding with the Tiele people. If he wants to obtain the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan’, I am afraid the only way would be to rob it from someone else!”

Xu Ziling shivered slightly in his heart, because he was fully aware that Yin Gui Pai would also be involved. Besides, Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, Qu Ao and Du Fuwei were all eligible candidates to challenge Shi Feixuan. Therefore, even though the latter had Ning Daoqi’s support, but because the opponent was simply too strong, her situation was not without any danger.

The situation was indeed too complicated.

Liu Heita’s excitement was aroused; he laughed aloud and said, “Although the world is falling apart, those who can gain acceptance, those who are qualified to be the king are but a few. Right now south of the Great River we have nothing more than Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, Shen Faxing, and the Song Clan, four major powers. After you killed Ren Shaoming, currently Xiao Xian is the most powerful, too bad Baling Bang still has the tainted reputation of human traffickers, so that it would be difficult for them to win Shi Feixuan’s favor.”

After a short pause, he continued, “Among the various powers north of the Yellow River, other than the three I just mentioned, the rest, Xue Ju father and son, for example, had just been defeated by Li Shimin, so that whether they are able to defend themselves remains to be seen, hence they are not worth mentioning. As for Liang Shidou, Liu Wuzhou, two men, they only rely on barbarians’ support to have a bit of fame and power, so there is no glory in that; I doubt that Shi Feixuan would even give them a glance. And then there are Gao Kaidao, Li Zitong, Xu Yuanlang and the like, separately they have been pushed into the corner by us, Li Mi and Du Fuwei; it would be hard for them to advance even for a cun, and would be difficult for them to gain acceptance. If we push this matter further, there is still Li Gui of Wuwei [prefecture, Gansu]. Too bad he is leaning toward the western frontier, in everything he depends on the barbarians; how could he have any bargaining chip to win the people’s favor?”

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “Listening to Liu Dage’s tone, are you saying that who will become the Emperor will be entirely within Shi Feixuan’s power to decide?”

Liu Heita smiled and said, “Whether that is the case or not, it still depends on future developments before it can be decided. But judging from the various powers sending their people to see Shi Feixuan, it is obvious that they attach most importance to this issue; otherwise, how could I have free time to sit here and talk to you?”

And then, averting Xu Ziling’s burning gaze, a bit shy, he asked, “Is your virtuous sister well?”

Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart. “Su Jie is married!” he dejectedly replied.

Liu Heita’s imposing figure shook. After staring blankly for a long time, he coughed dryly and said, “Hey! I was going to … ay …”

Xu Ziling suddenly did not feel like facing Liu Heita anymore; he only wished to go away the farther the better, and would never have to talk about Susu, ever.

If Xiang Yushan was indeed just a despicable human trafficker, what should he do?

Seeing Xu Ziling suddenly stood up, Liu Heita was stunned, “Ziling is leaving?” he asked.

Grieved, Xu Ziling replied, “I just want to drink a cup or two alone. I’ll come back to find Liu Dage a bit later!”