Book 7 Chapter 3 - General Assembly in Bamboo Forest
Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong crouched on a pile of rocks by the beach, staring blankly at the salt boat tilted at 45 degree, wedged between the reefs; they wanted to cry, but no tears came out.
The sail mast was broken, a long, large gash opened up on the hull from the sharp reef scraping at the bottom of the boat.
Even if someone were able to take the salt boat off the reef, it would still be difficult to repair the vessel.
When they set off, they were filled with heroic spirit; who could have guessed that before they even reached Jiangdu, the boat was destroyed, their men went missing; the blow they experience was understandable.
The two boys lost their interest, they did not feel like hauling the salt down the boat.
Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, "Before we graduate our first disciples, our boat is already destroyed; this does not seem to be a good omen.”
Xu Ziling sighed and said, "After daybreak, we'll search along the river, to see if we can find their bodies and give them proper burial.”
Kou Zhong hatefully punched both fists into the air, with an angry humph he said, "That Poniang does not deserve to be Niang's Shimei, her character and broad-mindedness fall too short compared to Niang's, she refuses to understand that there are also good and bad among Han people, she only knows to call us Han dogs.”
Xu Ziling said, "Thinking about how much suffering the common people of Gaoli had to endure under Yang Guang troops' iron hoof, we can't really blame her for that. Ay!”
Kou Zhong coldly said, "Listening to the tone of your voice, when we meet her next time, even if we have the chance, you might treat her leniently. Don't you think Duan Yucheng and the others died an unjust death?”
Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, "Do you think killing her is that easy? Fighting one-on-one, we are still a level below her. This Poniang's qinggong is really formidable.”
Kou Zhong dejectedly said, "How's your internal injury?”
Xu Ziling replied, "Although our martial art skill is still not enough, our healing technique is actually incomparable under the heavens. A moment ago I was aching all over, but now I am completely all right.”
Kou Zhong roused himself; he laughed and said, "Xiao Ling is really exceptional; if it weren't for you bumping her back, I am afraid we were still unable to injure her. And if we weren't able to injure her, it would mean we were going to get injured or killed. Thinking about it, it was extremely risky and dangerous.”
Xu Ziling knitted his brows in deep thought, "But her Yijian technique is really quite profound. Sword battle is just like playing chess, the battlefield is the chessboard. How would we know if the next move is ‘double rook seize the warrior', or ‘abandon the rook to protect the commander'?” [not sure about this, must be some reference to Chinese chess.]
Kou Zhong laughed and said, "They must be referring to Gaoli chess, don't think too much about it!”
Xu Ziling seriously said, "Speaking about chess, the principle of chess is the same as the principle of mental cultivation. First of all we must see through the opponent's opening [in chess], only then can we decide how to attack or defend, to advance or retreat. Formerly we only know how to counter every move; ‘the troops arrive we resist' really can't be considered first-class martial art principle.”
Kou Zhong was about to reply when suddenly they heard unusual noise coming from downstream. Focusing their senses to listen carefully, unexpectedly it was Duan Yucheng and the others, four men's familiar footsteps.
The two boys were pleased beyond their expectation; they rushed forward to meet them. After the calamity, renewed life, there was only joy in their hearts.
Turned out Fu Junyu was being lenient to them; before tossing them into the Great River, she unsealed their acupoints first. Whether they wanted it or not, Kou and Xu's ill feelings toward her was greatly reduced.
Pulling themselves together, they moved the sacks of salt from the broken ship to the shore and hid them in the jungle. They also chopped the broken boat into pieces of boards and logs, and floated the pieces along the river.
By daybreak, the surface of the river was back to normal, as if this matter had never happened.
After being tossed from side to side all night, Duan Yucheng and the others, four men were exhausted. Thereupon Kou Zhong ordered them to rest in the jungle, while also guarding the salt. In the meantime, he and Xu Ziling went to the nearby town to see whether they could by a mule cart to transport the goods.
When the two boys reached the official road, Xu Ziling said, "You are proficient in astronomy and geography, tell me which way to go.”
Kou Zhong confidently said with a laugh, "I knew you wouldn't let me off. We have just left Changsu the day before yesterday, plus we hid for half a day, so we should not have reached Jiangyin yet. If mountain people's guess is correct, if we walk to the west for a couple of sichen, we should reach Jiangyin! Ha ha! Are you convinced?”
Xu Ziling sneered and said, "Are we there yet? Just use your feet, not your mouth!”
The two boys unfolded their shenfa, and sure enough, less than a sichen later the city of Jiangyin appeared in the distance.
Kou Zhong said triumphantly, "When you come with me, you won't make a pointless trip. I was just wondering Jiangyin city nowadays has fallen into whose hands?”
Xu Ziling looked up at a caravan of horses and mules going down the hill heading toward Jiangyin; he laughed and said, "Can't you go up and ask?”
Kou Zhong bumped into him and with hee hee ha ha he ran down the hill. Xu Ziling ran after him. But when they were about to reach the caravan, the people of the caravan shouted repeatedly, telling them to stop.
Five or six riders from the caravan reined their horses and turned back to block them. An old man who appeared to be their leader shouted, "Who's there!”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; why did they act nervous and tense as if they were facing an enemy?
The two boys had no choice but to stop. Kou Zhong cupped his fist and said, "Gentlemen, Lao Ge [old elder brothers] please do not misunderstand, we, two brothers, only wanted to inquire about the situation of Jiangyin, to see if it is safe to enter the city.”
A middle age man with thick eyebrows and big eyes next to the old man nodded and said, "You don't look like vicious disciples of Tieqi Hui [armored horses society]. What is it that you wanted to ask?”
Kou Zhong suddenly understood, "Turns out Lao Ge mistook us as Tieqi Hui men.” And then elbowing Xu Ziling, he went on, "Do you know who is the leader of the Tieqi Hui? Could it be that he took the name ‘Xiao' [little]?”
Those several men under the leadership of the old men laughed; they understood that Kou Zhong deliberately made fun of the name Ren Shaoming. Immediately the distance between the two sides diminished considerably.
[Translator's note: this is hard to carry over to English. Ren - to take/appoint/assume, Shao - few/less/junior, Ming - name/famous. Kou Zhong said ‘took the name xiao' - ren xiao ming.]
Tieqi Hui was one of eight-gang ten-society. In the recent years they emerged suddenly to become a big underworld gang in the Jiangnan [south of Yangtze river] area. Their Bangzhu [gang leader] ‘Green Dragon' Ren Shaoming was an expert in using the meteor hammer. Together with the Huizhu [society leader] of Poyang Hui, Lin Shihong, who recently called himself the Emperor of Chu, they were known as the Two Hegemons of Jiangnan, the two dominant figures [orig. whose foot's move sways the balance] of the Wulin world of Jiangnan. [Translator's note: here the ‘dragon' (蛟 jiao) is legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods, not the usual 龙/龍 (long).]
It was rumored that other than losing to the Song Clan's Heavenly Saber Song Que in a fight over territorial dispute, Ren Shaoming had never met a well-matched adversary. From this, it could be seen that he was indeed exceptional.
The old man laughed and said, "You, this kid, have a bit of courage and insight; so which Sect's disciples are you?”
Kou Zhong put on a respectful look as he said solemnly, "We, two brothers Fu Zhong and Fu Ling are the seventh generation disciples of Zhuhua Bang [bamboo flower gang]; Yan Kuan is our grandpa [or ‘master'].”
The old man was stunned, "The Yan Kuan who was martyred due to his loyalty in Yangzhou?” he asked.
This time it was Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's turn to look at each other in dismay.
First, they did not expect that the old man would know such an insignificant character like Yan Kuan; second, how did Yan Laoda become a martyr due to his loyalty?
The man with thick eyebrows who had spoken earlier suddenly made a secret signal, which only Zhuhua Bang's member could understand.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hastily returned the politeness with another Zhuhua Bang's secret signal.
All the six men opened their robe at the same time, exposing the Zhuhua Bang insignia on the lapel of their clothes. It was only then did Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong realize that they had come across ‘one of their own'.
However, even when they were still in Yangzhou Yan Laoda and the two boys were intermingling with various characters of the Zhuhua Bang, they had not reached enough seniority to have a bamboo tree, which was the formal low level insignia of Zhuhua Bang disciples, embroidered on the lapel of their clothes; let alone this moment.
Kou Zhong awkwardly said, "Three years ago, in order to hide from the authorities, we, two brothers, wandered around everywhere, hey!”
"We understand,” the big man said, "Yan Kuan was the first faithful martyr from our Gang who was killed by that muddleheaded ruler; if you did not flee, your lives would not be guaranteed.”
The old man showed a doubtful look, "Since you are Zhuhua Bang disciples, how come you did not recognize Laofu [old man, referring to self]?”
Noticing that the insignia embroidered on the old man's clothes was eight wind bamboo [not sure, this is literal translation], Kou Zhong knew that this man must be of Hall Master level. He had a brainwave and said, "Could it be Wind Bamboo Hall's Tangzhu [Hall Master] Shen Beichang, Shen Ye [master Shen]?” Pulling Xu Ziling along, they hastily performed the ritual of saluting a Hall Master.
The old man stroked the long beard under his chin; he laughed aloud, "You are indeed one of our own,” he said, "This time you came here, was it because you heard the news and came to participate in our Gang's ‘General Assembly in Bamboo Forest'?”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances again; could it be that they had come across another lucky coincidence?