Book 1 Chapter 19 – To Be One Step Ahead Of The Opponent
Su Rongrong giggled and said, “It was just a box of rouge that I bought for Tian’er when I was passing through Jinan.”
Chu Liuxiang clapped his hands and laughed aloud, “No matter how cunning, I am afraid that anybody who meet our Miss Su will turn into a fool!”
His laughter suddenly stopped, he spoke in heavy voice, “But no one knew you were here waiting for me, whom did these people meet? How did they know you were waiting for me? Could it be Hei Zhenzhu? He can’t be that kind of person …”
Su Rongrong spoke softly, “You can think about that later.”
“That’s right!” Chu Liuxiang said, “What I should be asking you now is what did you get this time? Did you find out if under normal circumstances any man could enter Divine Water Palace?”
Su Rongrong laughed and said, “When I asked that same question to my xiao biaogu [younger father’s female cousin via female line], can you guess what she said to me?”
“What did she say?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Su Rongrong replied, “She said, ‘Forget about men, even male housefly could forget about entering the Divine Water Palace’, ever.”
Chu Liuxiang could not help laughing; but then he frowned and said, “If no man can go in and out of the Divine Water Palace, how did the girl become pregnant? What was she like? Did she leave anything behind?”
Su Rongrong replied, “The girl was called Situ Jing. She was just like her namesake, usually she was always gentle and quiet [Jing means still/calm/quiet], and did not talk much. Other than occasionally plucking the qin [zither], she did not have any other hobby. No one had ever thought that this could happen to her.”
Smiling bitterly, Chu Liuxiang said, “The quieter she was, the more the girl did not talk, the stronger her emotion would be; when she fell in love with a man, she would really be dead set on having him. Therefore, she would rather die herself than be willing to divulge the man’s secret.”
Su Rongrong grimly said, “Do you have such clear understanding on all kinds of women?”
Chu Liuxiang rubbed his nose and hurriedly changed the subject, “She did not even leave a single thing?” he asked.
Su Rongrong sighed, “She did not,” she replied, “I simply wasted the trip; I did not find anything.”
Chu Liuxiang’s eyes were flashing, he said, “But those people are afraid that you might find something, hence they wholeheartedly wanted to kill you to silence you. From this, it can be seen that the man must have left some kind of clues at the Divine Water Palace; it’s just that up until now, nobody has noticed it yet … But how could these clued not attract any attention the slightest bit?”
Su Rongrong was silent for half a day. Finally she asked, “What about you? What did you get?”
Chu Liuxiang narrated systemically and in full detail everything that has happened in the past few days.
Listening to the ruthlessness and how eccentric the Central Plains’ One Red Dot was, Su Rongrong could not help shaking her head. Hearing about the secret of the portrait and the letter, she could not help staring with her eyes opened wide. Hearing that unexpectedly Qiu Lingsu was the Beggar Clan’s former Gang Leader’s wife, plus that Chu Liuxiang had seen her, finally Su Rongrong could not refrain from letting out a soft cry.
For fear that Su Rongrong might be worried for him, Chu Liuxiang he did not tell her about his thrilling duel on the stone beam; he simply glossed it over in just a couple of sentences.
But Su Rongrong has been nervously clenching her fist, and her voice was trembling as she said, “Not only that man has outstanding martial art skill, he is also vicious and merciless, deceitful in many ways. You met such an enemy, you really have to be very careful!”
Chu Liuxiang pried her fingers open, one by one, while laughing softly and said, “Do you know that all others say that Chu Liuxiang is the most terrifying person in the world? Although that man can be considered terrifying, he can’t compare with Chu Liuxiang!”
Su Rongrong sighed and said, “Although Chu Liuxiang is strong, but his heart is too soft. Others have the heart to kill him, he does not have the heart to kill others. Tell me, how can I not be anxious?”
Patting her hand, Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Don’t worry, to kill Chu Liuxiang is really not easy.”
Su Rongrong’s face broke into laughter, but then she frowned and said, “Do you think the person impersonating Tianfeng Shisi Lang is the same person who killed the ‘Heavenly Powerful Star’ Song Gang and jumped into the Daming Lake?”
“He is,” Chu Liuxiang replied, “If I am guessing it correctly, the one killing Zha Muge, Lingjiu Zi, Zuo Youzheng, Ximen Qian, must also be him. The one stealing the ‘Heavenly One Divine Water’ from the Divine Water Palace was also him!”
Su Rongrong laughed and said, “He wholeheartedly wanted to kill you, he wholeheartedly wanted to stop you from seeing that Madame Ren – Qiu Lingsu, yet unexpectedly Qiu Lingsu did not want to say anything; don’t you think he has done more than is required?”
Chu Liuxiang suddenly laughed and said, “But Qiu Lingsu did say something that is importantly relevant.”
“What did she say?” Su Rongrong asked.
Chu Liuxiang slowly said, “Listen carefully; she said, ‘You need not regret it. My late husband was bedridden for many years and he died suddenly, those who could see his face for the last time were not many …’”
Su Rongrong thought for a moment, and said, “I can’t figure out the crucial importance of these words.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Think carefully, I am sure you will understand it.”
Su Rongrong thought from the beginning; after a long time, she finally had a sudden understanding, “I get it,” she said, “Since the Lao Bangzhu had been ‘bedridden for many years’, how could he ‘die suddenly’? Their Gang disciples naturally knew that Bangzhu was critically ill, it is only proper that they should have waited by his sickbed all the time, how can it be that ‘those who could his face for the last time were not many’?”
Chu Liuxiang clapped his hands and said, “Precisely. Although at first glance these sentences were so ordinary, but after careful thought, there are so many contradictions in it. That Madame Ren is exceptionally intelligent. Why do you think she made such contradictory statements?”
Su Rongrong rolled her fluid glance around, while muttering to herself irresolutely, “Could it be that she was giving you a hint?”
“Precisely,” Chu Liuxiang said.
Su Rongrong said, “But if she wanted to say those words, why didn’t she simply say it to your face? Could it be that she did not want NanGong Ling to hear it? Could it be that NanGong Ling is unexpectedly …”
Chu Liuxiang spoke heavily, “Although there are many doubts surrounding this matter, we must not make any conclusion too soon. It’s just that the implication is simply too great, it is definitely not as simple as we originally thought.”
Fixing her gaze at him, Su Rongrong said, “In that case, are you going to look for Madame Ren again?”
Chu Liuxiang resolutely replied, “I must go!”
Gripping his hands, Su Rongrong softly said, “But you must consider this: you go this time, the danger will be greater. Since they knew the crucial secret is in Madame Ren’s hands, how could they let you talk to her alone?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “I think, for the time being, they would not expect that I might go to look for Madame Ren again, so the sooner I go the better; the longer I wait, the greater the danger will be.”
Su Rongrong sighed and said, “Right now, they are just plotting against you, trying to stop you. But by the time you are really about to uncover their secret, they would desperately come to deal with you.”
Chu Liuxiang smiled slightly and said, “If you want to catch big fish, naturally you must use big bait.”
Su Rongrong said, “Could it be … you are going to use yourself as the bait?”
Chu Liuxiang only felt that her hands grasping his have become icy-cold and were trembling, so he wrapped his pair of strong and warm hands over hers. Laughing, he said, “This bait is actually too big, even a bigger fish would not be able to swallow. You may set your heart at ease. And now, listen obediently: go home quickly, put my bottle of wine into the sea to chill it, and tell Tian’er to prepare some chicken dishes for me. In less than five days I will definitely come back to finish them up.”
Su Rongrong stared at him; her eyes were gentler and softer than the starlight.
Finally, she smiled sweetly and said, “Of course you will come back. On earth, who could possibly stop you?”
On earth, there was nothing more inspiring than a beautiful girl’s encouragement and confidence. By the time Chu Liuxiang was back on the shore, he felt that his energy level has never been as high as it was right now.
Su Rongrong was indeed an obedient girl; a beautiful and smart girl, yet incredibly she was obedient as well. This was a man’s greatest happiness.
Chu Liuxiang sighed in contentment; he muttered to himself, “Indeed the world did not treat me unfairly …”
He heard someone laughing, and then said, “When did you ever treat the world unfairly?”
Amidst the voice, Wuhua have floated over. That out-of-the-dust graceful bearing, that elegant smile, under the starlight he looked even more like a heavenly-being that was banished from the Heaven.
Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “I thought I was the only night owl around here, who would have thought there is one other.”
Wuhua laughed and said, “Actually, there are two others.”
Chu Liuxiang looked beyond him, and saw someone standing woodenly in the Fengyu Pavilion. Under the starlight, his black attire seemed to be glowing; it was none other than Hei Zhenzhu.
For some unknown reason, this peculiar youngster was standing there as if he was losing his mind.
Wuhua said, “Moonlit night on Daming Lake, standing alone in Fengyu Pavilion, pinseng thought he was Chu Xiong. I was going to come over to talk, unexpectedly Chu Xiong appeared right here.”
Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “So late at night, you actually still roam the lake with a refined and elegant attitude of mind.”
Wuhua said, “Appointment to play chess and drink wine, pinseng will never forget. This time I came precisely to honor an agreement with Chu Xiong.”
Naturally Chu Liuxiang did not have time to play chess and drink wine at this time. But he rolled his eyes and said with a laugh, “To play chess, you and I have had enough. To drink wine, only if we have NanGong Ling along will it be interesting.”
Wuhua laughed and said, “Since that’s the case, why don’t you and I become the evil guests who come knocking on someone’s door very late at night this time?”
Chu Liuxiang roared in laughter and said, “The monk knocks on the door under the moon, it is already picturesque. Since it is extremely sophisticated, how could it be considered evil guest … Why don’t you wait here for a bit, let me go and get rid of that friend over there, who looks to be asleep already, and then I’ll come with you?”
Without waiting for Wuhua to respond, he already flew toward the Fengyu Pavilion, where Hei Zhenzhu was staring blankly toward the middle of the lake. Unexpectedly there seemed to be an unspeakable gloom visible on his forehead between the eyebrows.
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Only a horse would sleep standing up; why does Hei Xiong imitate a horse?”
Hei Zhenzhu turned his head back to take a glance; the moment he saw Chu Liuxiang, there seemed to be countless changes flitting across his eyes, but in the end he only spoke coldly, “If Sire wants to play a joke, it would be best if you look for that old fisherman.”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Your eyesight is not bad.”
Hei Zhenzhu looked up to the sky and no longer paid attention to him.
Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “Tonight I have another appointment with him, so I can’t accompany you to drink. Let’s talk again in two, three days!”
Listening to him suddenly speaking those words, Hei Zhenzhu was unable to make head or tail of it. While he was about to show signs of anger, Chu Liuxiang quickly continued in low voice; he spoke hurriedly, “Take your horse, wait for me outside the southern gate. This is a matter of grave importance, whether we can uncover this secret or not, it will entirely depend on this.”
While Hei Zhenzhu was stunned again, Chu Liuxiang already turned away with a big laugh.