Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were sitting side-by-side in a secluded alley by the East Gate, staring blankly at the book in front of them. Deeply disappointed, Xu Ziling said, "Next time we want to steal, we must never target those that look like a school teacher. This weird book with undecipherable handwriting is more difficult to understand than the Heavenly Book [mythical book of heavens]. Aren't you the Zhong Shaoye [young master] who often brags about your great erudition and scholarship? Tell me, what is this written on the top?"
Kou Zhong proudly said, "How can I be like you, a mere kid without learning or skills? This book must be a secret martial art manual from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era [the earliest system of Chinese historiography]. We can train it, we will be unequalled under the heavens that even Shi Shifu will have to step down gracefully. Just look at these diagrams of human body, this is the secret to circulate qi along the channels. Ha! This time we come across a treasure. Look! Did you notice the marvelous quality of the paper?"
Xu Ziling could not stop laughing. "Don't blow your horn too loud. Just read a couple of characters let me hear it. I want to see how good your education is."
Kou Zhong has always been proud of his age and experience; his eyes were gleaming as he said, "If somebody could write it, then there must be somebody else who could understand it. Let us find an old scholar with the most learning, we'll ask him to interpret these strange characters for us. Besides, we, the two dragons of Yangzhou, have specific responsibility to train martial art. This is called dividing up the work in collaboration, each on in his proper place. Do you understand?"
With disappointment in his voice Xu Ziling said, "Do you think you are the Zongguan [see chapter 1] of Yangzhou? Who would listen to us and do our bidding? Right now we, the two snakes of Yangzhou, have a more pressing problem at hand: food. Looks like we will have to take the money we save for traveling expense and exchange it for a couple of steamed buns to feed our tummy. I'll say it is a bit more practical."
Kou Zhong laughed aloud. He stood up, hid the book in his clothes again, stretched, and said, "Let me, Zhong Shaoye, take care of lunch. Come! Let's go home first to get some money, and then we go to the docks outside the city to do some damn business that requires no capital. Afterwards we run away as far as we can; otherwise, if that stinky Laoda discovered that we have some treasured book in our bosom, we will be in very big trouble.”
Recalling the fierce beating he received the previous day, Xu Ziling broke out in sweats. He sprang up and sneakily followed Kou Zhong back to the abandoned courtyard, their ‘home'.
Yuwen Huaji was sitting in the main hall of the Zongguan Mansion, drinking tea; serving him was Yangzhou Zongguan, Yuchi Sheng. Not only these two men were well-acquainted with each other, the relationship between them was more than casual. Before Yang Jian established the Great Sui Dynasty, he was a high-ranking minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty [557-581]. Later on, after Emperor Xuan of Zhou [? not sure about this one], Yuwen Yun, died of illness, Yang Jian colluded with Internal Historian Physician Zheng Yi and Imperial Justice Physician Liu Fang. Arguing that the successor of the throne, Yuwen Shan, was still underage, they acted in the pretense of following imperial order by calling Yang Jian back to the imperial court to take over the government.
One year later, Yang Jian forced Emperor Jing to abdicate, and proclaimed himself as the new Emperor. Henceforth, the Yuwen Clan's Northern Zhou' world now belonged to the Yang Clan. Yet because Yuwen Clan's influence was deep-rooted, although becoming the Emperor, Yang Jian was unable to completely uproot the Yuwen Clan. By the time his son Yang Guang became the Emperor, Yuwen Clan rose up in power again. Strictly speaking, although on the surface the Yuwen Clan was loyal toward the Sui Dynasty, there was a hatred buried deep in the deepest of their hearts.
After Yang Jian usurped the throne, there were three separate attempts by different high-ranking officials who supported the Yuwen Clan's Northern Zhou to rise up in rebellion, namely Xiangzhou's Zongguan Yuchi Zhou, Zhengzhou's Zongguan Sima Xiaonan, and Yizhou's Zongguan Wang Qian. These people did not have any family relationship with the Yuwen Clan, they were simply loyal to the royal family of the Northern Zhou. One of them, Yuchi Sheng, was precisely Yuchi Sheng's paternal uncle; hence the reason these two people had close relationship. Therefore, even when talking about secret matters, they did not have the slightest bit of worry.
Yuwen Huaji sighed and said, "This book is really very important. I have prepared some experts. As soon as we obtain the treasured book, we will pretend that we manage to break the secret, and let that incapable ruler train it. I guarantee that within three months, he will die of the training. Who would have thought that there are many twists and turns in getting that thing that ought to be in our hands right now? We can't even make a fake copy.”
With a cold snort Yuchi Sheng said, "Even if the treasured book did not exist, I am afraid it would be difficult for the Yang Clan to protect their throne. The Heaven blesses the Great Zhou. Ever since that incapable ruler usurped the throne, internally he screws taxes out of the people by force, he carries out large scale constructions; externally he engage in wars of aggression at will, engaging the Korean Goryeo in the military expedition to the east. Three battles and three defeats. And now rebel armies are everywhere. As long as we can seize this opportunity, we can restore the Great Zhou's glory of the past.”
Yuwen Huaji's eyes were gleaming with cold rays; he said in deep voice, "Yang Guang's days are numbered. What I worry about is the other three powerful clans, especially the Li Clan that must not be taken lightly. Their Clan Leader Li Yuan is the nephew of Empress Dowager Dugu's maternal aunt; that's why they enjoy the Yang Clan's trust much more than our Yuwen Clan. The longer we fail to wipe out the three powerful clans, our Great Zhou's restoration will undoubtedly come across considerable resistance.”
After a short pause, he continued, "In regards to foreign power, Turkic ethnic group is the biggest threat. Right now the rebel armies are allying themselves with Turkic people to borrow their influence, and thus increasing the Turkic's power. Moreover, Turkic's four masters' martial art skill has reached perfection. Thinking about it indeed makes one anxious.”
Yuchi Sheng said, "I am under the impression that you don't have to worry about the Li Clan. Although Li Yuan is Yang Guang's maternal cousin, just based on the fact that this man is giving favor to a lot of people far and wide, and thus he made friends with heroes everywhere, Yang Guang is very jealous of him. Right now Li Yuan is too busy to defend himself. As long as we can plan our move, deepening Yang Guang's suspicions toward Li Yuan, we might be able to kill him with borrowed knife; hence we will reap the fisherman's benefit.”
A smile appeared in Yuwen Huaji's eyes. As he was nodding his praise, Zhang Shihe came in to report, "We have a bit of progess!” Yuwen Huaji and Yuchi Sheng were greatly delighted.
Zhang Shihe said, "According to Tian Wen's confession, before he was arrested, he came across two ruffians, about fifteen, sixteen years old. It seems like these two boys were the ones who stole the book.”
Yuwen Huaji happily said, "And Shihe must have had investigated these two ruffians clearly; that's why you came to report.”
Zhang Shihe laughed, "That is correct. These two boys, one is called Kou Zhong, the other Xu Ziling. They are Yangzhou's most famous pickpockets. Their boss is called Yan Kuan, right now he is in our custody to help us finding those two fellows.”
Yuchi Sheng laughed aloud and said, "That's an easy thing to do. Unless they can grow wings, as long as they are still in the city, they won't escape our grasp.”
Yuwen Huaji breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in his chair, as if the treasured book has already been in his hands.
The two boys had not had any chance to get the dozen or so five-zhu [1/24th of a tael] coins stringed together, when Xu Ziling, who was on the lookout, saw the dejected Yan Laoda being dragged by a dozen or so big men toward the abandoned garden. Xu Ziling was very sharp; although he was greatly shocked, he knew he had to hasten quietly to the rendezvous point with Kou Zhong, and then together they slipped into another broken down room that only have three remaining rotten walls. They hid inside a hole in the ground, which they made especially whenever they wanted to avoid Yan Laoda. It was covered with a fake floor, made of wooden planks, strewn with fallen leaves, sand and stones, leaving only a small crack for ventilation purpose.
‘Crash, bang, thud, crack!' Noise of overturned wooden chest and falling object unceasingly entered their small nest. Soon after they heard Yan Laoda's bawling, apparently he was being severely beaten up by those men.
Although they really wished someone would beat Yan Laoda to death, but listening to his situation right now, they still could not bear it.
They were greatly puzzled as well. What had happened? After all, in Yangzhou Yan Laoda had a bit of reputation and power, he had more than twenty brothers as his underlings. More recently, he took the Hall Master of the Bamboo Flower Clan, Chang Ci, as his father-in-law. But in front of these men, he seemed to be even lowlier than a pig or a dog.
A grim and sad-sounding voice was heard from further down the path, "Go search!”
Hearing this, the two dragons of Yangzhou immediately turned into two coiling snakes as they tried to curl up as small as possible, did not even dare to take half a breath.
Yan Laoda's trembling voice was heard, "Gentlemen [orig. ‘daye' - big master], please give me a bit more time, we will definitely get the book back, I can guarantee with my head … aaahhh!” Evidently if he was not punched, then he must have been kicked.
Footsteps were heard very close to the hole, followed by someone calling out, "Still can't find them?”
Yan Laoda's voice was hoarse with pain as he was begging for mercy, "Please give me another chance, these two wretched kids must have gone to Shi Long's martial art training field to peek at people training martial art there. Aahhh!”
The grim and sad-sounding voice spoke, "We closed Shi Long's martial art training field this morning; there is not much to look at over there.”
A short pause, and then, "I want four of you to stay here, wait for their return. And you, this scum, take us to all the places those kids might stroll to one by one. Quick, drag him up!”
The footsteps died away.
Inside the hole, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they both see the other's face was as white as a ghost. Almost at the same time both of them recalled the dark culvert heading out of the city by the East Gate.
Right now that was their only hope.
[2] Turkic people are collection of ethnic group that live in northern, eastern, central, and western Asia, northwestern China, and parts of eastern Europe, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_peoples