Book 9 Chapter 8 - Meeting Face-to-face On A Narrow Path
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood respectfully by the table, unable to take their eyes off beautiful Ranch Master Shang Xiuxun, whose beauty shared the limelight with Wanwan, who, at this moment, was picking up a piece of smoked fish with her fingers, and sent it to her fragrant lips, using her unique school's eating technique, slightly revealing a perfect row of her snow white teeth, and took a small bite with a charm that was beyond human understanding. Her pretty eyebrows were slightly knitted as she slowly chewed the fish.
Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan, who were standing on the other side of the table, were also nervous. They were afraid she would be dissatisfied and kick the two boys out of their Ranch.
Shang Xiuxun cast a sidelong glance toward the two boys. Suddenly, with a somewhat childish embarrassment she gobbled up the rest of the fish, and chewed happily. Her table manners and her expression were indescribably moving.
Pretending to be modest, Kou Zhong asked, "Is it acceptable?”
Shang Xiuxun rolled her pretty eyes, but was still unwilling to meet his eyes. "Well,” she said, "Your level of achievement this time is better than those strange cake. Ah! No! It is simply incomparable. After this, I don't want you to become Pastry Chefs anymore!”
Xu Ziling respectfully said, "How about Changzhu try the sweet and crispy first before making decision?”
Shang Xiuxun cast him a quick glance, making Xu Ziling, a man with very high mental power also felt the unusual force from her pair of vast and deep, limpid-autumn-water eyes that hooked his soul and summoned his spirit. A bit reluctant to put down the smoked fish, she grabbed a piece of sweet and crispy, and quickly put it in her mouth.
Emotionally moved, she asked, "Did you really make these?”
Very pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, "Hey! Yesterday we were still getting used to the kitchenware and the ingredients in this place, hence we somewhat failed to meet your standard. This time Changzhu is finally able to taste our real skill!”
Like having a full wind behind his sail, Xu Ziling caught on, "Culinary art is just like calligraphy or painting, only by having ideas one would be able to move the brush. We also have to immerse ourselves to study meticulously. If Changzhu can give us more free time to study, our products will be a lot better.”
Regaining her composure, Shang Xiuxun's beautiful eyes flitted across the two boys. Slowly putting down the crispy cake, she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. "Do you know how to paint?” she asked.
Just now Xu Ziling was merely parroting Lu Miaozi, but at that time he did not teach him how to answer this kind of question; without any choice he simply said, "Xiao Ren [little/lowly one] does not know. It was our Shifu who told us when he taught us this skill.”
Shang Xiuxun opened her eyes, nodded and said, "Your Shifu must be an extraordinary person.”
And then she went on, "Looking your as-healthy-as-a-horse physique and your robust body, have you ever learned martial art?”
Xiao Juan hastily signaled them with her eyes, imploring the two boys to be careful in responding to this question.
Sticking out his chest, Kou Zhong said, "A dozen or so ordinary low-class thieves are not our match.”
This was precisely Kou Zhong's brilliance. It should be noted that although the two boys were able to suppress the natural true qi within their body, and were able to diffuse the gleam in their eyes, but martial art masters are martial art masters; inevitably, there would be enough of spirited vigor showing through. At least due to their qi cultivation, their skin would glow, their muscles firm, which would be hard to conceal from anybody with discerning eyes.
Kou Zhong straightforwardly admitted that he knew martial art, and he did it with such exaggeration that others would be suspicious instead.
Shang Xiuxun spoke indifferently, "So you use a saber?”
Feigning amazement, Kou Zhong asked, "How did Changzhu know?”
Big Sister Fu was obviously Shang Xiuxun's pet; she interjected, "When your arrived, every body in the Ranch saw a rusty saber hanging on your back. Hee! Did you pick it up on the road?”
Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, "Dajie guessed correctly!”
Shang Xiuxun spoke tactfully, "Tomorrow morning, get the saber and show it to me.”
Turning to Xu Ziling, she said, "How about you? What kind of martial art did you learn? Who taught you?”
Xu Ziling replied, "I trained punching and kicking skill; just like Xiao Ning, we have trained under more than a dozen different Shifu, none of them belonged to certain school or sect.”
This moment the Housekeeper, Shang Zhen came in from the main hall to report, "The guests will be here shortly.”
Shang Xiuxun stood up gracefully and said to Big Sister Fu, "Teach these two kids the Mansion's rules, do not be lacking in manners toward outsiders.”
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat in a cloister built around a building behind the Ranch Master's residence, enjoying the preferential treatment Big Sister Fu was giving them.
Sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, Kou Zhong stretched out and said, "Can you guess who's coming?”
Xu Ziling was sitting on the lowest wooden step in the middle of the porch leading toward the courtyard, with his feet stepping on the grass. He was listening attentively to the voices intertwined with the sound of cups and plates in the main hall. Hearing the question, he said, "There are a lot of elites in the north, how can I guess which one is it?”
"Being a servant does not seem to be too bad,” Kou Zhong said, "But the worst thing is that we have no freedom; the Ranch is this much big and this much fun, but we are trapped in here.”
"You just want to learn how to raise horses, right?” Xu Ziling asked, "If you are not happy, we can leave anytime.”
"Don't go yet,” Kou Zhong excitedly said, "If we go, we can't walk the Heaven's way.”
Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, "What do these two things have to do with each other?”
Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong told him about the Four Big Bandits forming an alliance.
Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, "We can't just ignore this matter, but what can we do?”
Hearing that, Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, but he was interrupted by Xiao Juan's footsteps.
Seeing the two boys disregarding the filth, like a dead snake or rotten trash sitting on the floor, the little girl angrily scolded them a moment. She said, "Crawl up quick! Changzhu wants you in the main hall to serve the guests, to explain how you made the smoked fish.
Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped into the main hall. From behind the carved-flower screen they peeked into the packed hall, where the banquet was taking place; immediately their countenance changed. With their heads hung low, they turned around to scurry back inside.
Seeing this, Big Sister Fu was startled; quickly spreading out her arms, she blocked the two boys' escape route and hissed, "What are you doing? Don't you know Changzhu and the guests are waiting for you?”
Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and spoke in the lowest voice he could muster, "Just now the two of us ate the wrong things, so now we need to go to the latrine to poo. Advancing together retreating together. Fu Dajie, please be kind and make things easy for us.”
Big Sister Fu was angry, amused, and anxious, all at once. Stomping her feet, she said, "Don't act willfully and make a scene, whatever it is, you just have to bear it for a moment. Humph! Only ghost will believe your nonsense [orig. ghost talk]. Quickly get in! Otherwise, house rules await.”
Xu Ziling also lost his heroic spirit; he pleaded for leniency, "Xiao Ning indeed talked nonsense [again, ‘ghost talk']; the fact of the matter is that we are not accustomed to grand occasion like this, right now we are so nervous that we feel like going pooping. Would Fu Dajie please tell Changzhu, so that we would not make her lose face?”
Before Big Sister Fu had any chance to reprimand the two boys sternly, Shang Xiuxun's silver-bell-like voice already called from the inside, "Xiao Ning, Xiao Jing, what are you doing over there? Come here quickly to greet the noble guest. Princess Xiuning enjoys your smoked fish very much; she wants to compliment the Chefs!”
This time, even Kou Zhong regretted that from thousands and tens of thousands names in the world, why would he called himself Xiao Ning? But now it was too late. Just like riding a tiger and cannot get off, plus Big Sister Fu's push with all her strength, the two boys braced themselves to step away from behind the screen.
Under everybody's gaze, they felt like they were marching into the marketplace without a single thread of clothes on; totally embarrassing and unbearable.
"Ah!”
Li Xiuning's sweet and tender voice entered their ears; knowing that they had been recognized by her, the two boys did not have any courage to even raise their heads.
This evening, the Flying Horse Ranch's six most important people were all present, because the VIP guest was none other than the Tang King Li Yuan's daughter, Li Shimin's younger sister, and Kou Zhong's first love, Li Xiuning.