Chapter Two, from original translation by Dragonsense
Many apologies to Grundle, and any other translators if this is stepping on any toes. I can't translate, but have a good hold on editing and proofreading. I spent a couple of hours editing Dragonsense's translation, per his public request, and came up with this. Hopefully, it won't be offensive to anyone's eyes, nor efforts.
--- here it is...
CHAPTER TWO
Having been opened at 5 am, the city gates of Yangzhou was busy with merchants and farmers, jostling each other getting in and out of the city. Ships, great and small, having arrived the day before, piled their wares and merchandise at the port, patiently awaiting their turns for transport into the city. Noises of horses and carriages could be heard, all over.
Zhangjiang river, on the eastern city of Yangzhou, flew directly into the sea, towards Japan and other nations in the south Pacific. The city, herself, Zhangjiang, thus became one of the most important port, becoming the trading hub of China, a city busier and more crowded than many others.
Besides being an ancient hub, Yangzhou is also a glittering city of night life famed all over China. One isn’t a real man, lest one has been to Yangzhou. Affluence and prosperity thrives within her. This day, however, was not to be a day like many others. Armed soldiers patrolling in and out of the city gates had created an ominous presence. Security inspections at the gate had been stricter than usual, causing very long lines and delays. Despite their worn patience, not a soul dared to complain.
Sharp-eyed locals, as well as those wise to the martial-world, could notice the hired muscle, clad in palace guard uniform, discreetly interspersed with real local soldiers. Lest they tire of living, all knew their mouths were to be kept shut, not an utterance of complaint to be made to the powerful capital guard troops.
Within the city, herself, lied five public markets. The most prosperous amongst them is one located at the southern gate, on the banks of the Zhangjiang river. Many shop owners, seeking to resupply, had just readied themselves to descend upon the merchandise barely offloaded from the ships that carried it.
Amongst the many stores of the Southern Gates market, the most famous had to be Lao Feng’s bao (steamed meat and vegetable buns) shop, which he operated together with his newly-acquired wife, Zhen Sao. The beautiful Zhen Sao had, very quickly, become a sort of a walking advertisement for the store, as she minds the storefront, serving customers with the bao her husband made. It isn’t unusual for customers to shove each other forward, vying for a smile or glance from the nubile beauty.
Suddenly, from amidst the crowd, popped the head of a boy.
“Good morning, Zhen Sao. How are you?” the boy asked. “I’d like eight of those, please!”
The boy was none other than Xu Ziling. Fearing being caught by Lao Feng, he had haunched his body, to appear shorter than most people crammed about him.
Despite the odd posture, the boy was fresh faced, with a pair of smiling eyes, a sharp nose, wide forehead and had an easygoing smile. Were it not for the dirt on his face, ragged clothing or the bruises upon him, courtesy of boss Yan, he could be considered quite fetching. As he was, however, none dared to look at him too closely.
Seeing him, Zhen Sao took a glance at her husband, at the back of the shop, whose attention had been briefly taken by his shrill first wife. Only when she noticed his attention drawn to her did Zhen Sao breathe easily.
Whilst serving other customers, she pretended to scold the boy, gently.
“No money, and you want baos?”
“Put it on my tab, will you? For the bao today, I will gladly pay you tomorrow,” said Xu Ziling, whilst grinning silly.
Swiftly as the wind, Zhen Sao took four buns, and after a short hesitation, added two more, before wrapping them neatly with paper. Just as swiftly, she shoved the package into Xu Ziling’s hands.
“This is the last time,” she mumbled quietly, “Ai! Why do you let people hit you like this?”
Xu Ziling squealed happily, and without answering, he backed out of the small crowd, before straightening his back and walking away, briskly. Though young, he was a tall boy, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, nearly a grown-up, though the irregular frequency with which he had his meals made him thinner than most his age.
After shuffling past the many fruit-selling shops, he found Kou Zhong bursting out from the crowd, and immediately reached out for a bao, which made a quick journey to stuff the latter's mouth, even as he attempted to speak.
“Is this for the last time? Again?” he asked, with his mouth full.
Despite being a year older, Kou Zhong is shorter by an inch, though they both had similar figures. Although not quite as handsome, Kou Zhong also had a squarer face, which combined with large ears, made him look more rugged and masculine. His cool, piercing eyes shoned sharply, making him no less attractive than Xu Ziling.
To those who laid eyes upon his face, Kou Zhong would leave an imposing, dignified impression. Currently, however, his clothes is as ragged and tattered as Xu Ziling’s, which is to say that they’re not any better than a beggar’s.
“Can you not talk about Zhen Sao that way?” Xu Ziling barked, whilst stuffing his own mouth. “If it weren’t for her father’s debts and greed, he wouldn’t have sold her to that old codger Lao Feng, to become a concubine. Ai! Maybe heaven really has no eyes.”
Kou Zhong, with his stomach newly filled with bao, placed his hand on Xu Ziling’s shoulder, looking around.
“There are lots of easy, fat marks waiting to be hit, today. Let’s find an older gentleman in rich clothing, walking alone. Better yet, let’s find one who’s in daydreams, so that even as we liberate his money from him, he won’t even notice.”
“You said the same thing last time. But then you felt sorry for the old geezer, you pretended to have stepped on his wallet, and gave it back to him. That’s why boss Yan beat me. Remember?” asked Xu Ziling, whilst chuckling bitterly.
“Ah, but don’t forget,” Kou Zhong smiled, whilst nodding, “I only wanted to give back half of his money. You were the one who wanted to make him happy, and forced me to give back the whole lump.”
“Hey, thieves we may be, but we seem to also have conscience. Isn’t that what a real man should be? Hey, hey, look!”
Xu Ziling followed his brother’s pointing finger, and saw a scholar of around fifty years old, walking in from the city gate. The scholar wore beautiful robes, though he did seem to be in a hurry and rather preoccupied, his head bowing low as he walked, barely paying attention to his surroundings. The scholar fit perfectly Kou Zhong’s image of the perfect mark.
Together they observed the scholar closely, observing a bulge on the back of his clothing. The scholar, apparently, kept his money purse on the rear of his waist.
“Whether or not we have good fortune today depends on whether this man is as rich as he appears,” Kou Zhong whispered to his brother’s ear.
“Remember. Before anything else, we'll have to pay the debt to Zhen Sao,” Xu Ziling said, hurriedly.
The two brothers started trailing the scholar, until a group of soldiers came out of nowhere, surprising them. Quickly, they turned away and snuck into a narrow alley, to wait for the soldiers to pass. Frustrated, they slumped to the ground, against a wall.
“Damn,” cursed Kou Zhong, noticing they'd lost their chance. But suddenly, a curious idea came to him. “What if we apply for the imperial exam? We’ve been eavesdropping on old master Bai’s teaching, all this time. It may not be much, but I bet we’d still know more than those rich bastards in his class. If we pass the exam, we’ll become imperial officials, and will never again worry about money, or having to join the revolutionary armies.”
“Last time, it was joining the revolutionary army. Now, you want to apply for imperial exam. You come up with these harebrained ideas as if you were just saying that you wanted to peek at the girls at the Cun Feng brothels when they bathe,” Xu Ziling said, angrily.
Suddenly, Kou Zhong elbowed his brother whilst winking and pointing at something. Xu Ziling followed the finger, and saw that the scholar from before, walking towards them. The scholar passed the two of them, still hurried and preoccupied, without noticing either of the brothers. Giddily, the two of them looked both ways before resuming their pursuit of the scholar. It was time for 'work!'
Busily walking, the scholar didn’t realize that the back of his clothing had been cut. He’d been preoccupied with thoughts of escaping from the Southern Gate, but turned around, surprised by the tight security at the gate. He knew it was not a good time to escape, but then again, he couldn't return home, either. It was just as risky.
The scholar had the intent of searching for his friend, but was afraid of being stopped by security. When he hesitated for a second, a large shadow flashed before him, blocking his way.
The shadow blocking his way was Yuwen Huaji and his men. The skillful warrior from Yuwen clan approached the scholar, smiling and acting as if he were pondering the scholar.
“Are you not master Dian Wen, the famed poet of Zhangjiang? I heard you and Shi Long are good friends. Just now, we went to visit master Dian, but tragically discovered master Shi’s dead body in the well. Now, we found master Dian traveling hastily. Does master Dian care to explain?”
Dian Wen’s countenance changed. Instantly, he was struck speechless. People on the street could feel the tension within the conversation, but seeing the high-ranking official dressage, they quickly walked away, wisely choosing to mind their own business
Two guards flanked Dian Wen, and quickly frisked him. However, they could not find ‘the Art of Longevity’ that was supposed to be carried by this person. Quickly, they discovered the rip on the rear of his robe, which was obviously made with a sharp weapon. Their faces dropped, as they shouted curses to the heavens. Someone else had beaten them to The Art of Longevity!
“Officer Chen!” Yuwen Huaji shouted loudly.
The officer Chen, a fierce and haughty man stepped forward promptly. One glance at Yuwen Huaji, and his knees buckled, dropping him to the ground in a kneeling position, as he replied with trembling voice.
“Your servant is here, tai-jin (superior).”
“Close the city gates immediately, and drag all the rotten thieves in this city to me!” Yuwen Huaji coldly hissed. “If you cannot bring me what the emperor desired, you will forfeit your life.”
~~~
Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, in the meanwhile, sat side by side at a desolate narrow alley at the western end of the city, staring at the bound volume that is The Art of Longevity.
“Next time, let’s not steal from anyone that looks like a scholar, anymore. This strange book with unusual drawings is more difficult to understand than a book written in heaven. Young master Zhong, you’ve often said that you’re well-learned. Please, do tell us, what is written here?” fretted Xu Ziling, with a clearly disappointed tone.
“Unlike you, I am not a man without knowledge or skills. This book must be be the emperor’s secret martial art manual from many generations ago. If we manage to practice it, we’ll be without equal under heaven. Even master Shi won’t be a match for us. Just look at the drawings! We can be certain that this is a secret method of channeling your chi. Hah! This time, we really found treasure. Look! Have you ever even seen this kind of paper?” asked Kou Zhong.
“Oh, stop it! I’m tired of listening to you. Just read the words, and we’ll see how great your ‘knowledge and skills’ are.”
Kou Zhong coughed arrogantly, as he answered gleefully.
“If there were people who could write it, then there must be people who can read it. Let’s find the most wisest and sagely of scholar, and have him explain this strange alphabet. Afterwards, we, the Twin Dragons of Yangzhou, will have to practice it. This is called ‘share the task and work together, everyone runs his own hole,’ don’t you know?”
“Oh? Do you fancy yourself the commander of Yangzhou? Who would be that kind as to help us? Right now, we are the Twin Snakes of Yangzhou. We don’t even know where our next meal is to come from. I think it’s better to spend our meager savings to buy two more baos to fill our stomachs. That would at least be more realistic,” said Xu Ziling, angrily.
Kou Zhong laughed and stood, stowing the book into his robe.
“For lunch, let me, the young master Zhong take the reins. Let’s return home and retrieve some lunch money. Then, let us go to the port outside of the city to do more ‘business not requiring capital’ so we can get out of the city. If not, we’ll be doomed. If boss Yan finds out we have this treasured book…”
Xu ziling still remembered the beating the day before, and promptly leapt up to silently follow his elder brother, towards the abandoned park where they hid their money.
~~~
Yuwen Huaji sat relaxed, sipping hot tea in the grand hall of a manor home. His company, the master of the manor, was none other than Weichi Sheng, also the commander of Yangzhou. Not only were the two acquainted with each other, but their close friendship ran deep and wide.
The learned will remember that before Yang Jian founded the Sui dynasty, he was a high-ranking official at the northern Zhou dynasty. When the king, Yuwen Yun, fell ill, he conspired with the palace physicians Zheng Bi and Liu Fang, to coerce the Zhou crown prince, Yuwen Chan, to issue a decree calling himself (Yang Jian) into the palace, to act as the head of state, under the reasoning that the crown prince was still too young and inexperienced.
A year later, Yang Jian forced the king of Zhou to resign, and proclaimed himself as the new emperor. Since then, the power of the Yuwen clan in the northern Zhou dynasty was suppressed by the Yang clan. But the Yuwen clan’s history ran deep, their influence and power even moreso. Despite Yang Jian’s rise to the throne, he still could not successfully uproot the former royal family, and the Yuwen clan continued to hold influence.
When Yang Jian's son Yang Guang became the next emperor, the Yuwen clan’s influence experienced a resurgence. From the outwards appearance, they appeared to be loyal to the Sui dynasty, but some grudges cut deeper than others, and this one was one such grudge.
Following Yang Jian’s coronation, three high-ranking officials continued to support the Yuwen clan’s position. They were Weichi Jiong, the commander of Xiangzhou, Sima Xiaonan, the commander of Yunzhou and Wang Qian, the commander of Yizhou.
These three, despite lacking blood relation with Yuwen clan, were loyal only to what they considered to be the legitimate royal family of the northern Zhou dynasty.
Weichi Jiong, one of the three high-ranking officials, was an uncle to Weichi Sheng, the man currently entertaining Yuwen Huaji. This would explain the friendship that ran deep and wide, and why their frank discussion held neither suspicions nor secrets.
“This Art of Longevity is detrimental to the plan,” Yuwen Huaji lamented. “I have prepared many elite scholars, who would ‘interpret’ the secrets of the book, when we get it, and then present it to the foolish emperor to practice. I guarantee that in three months he will experience fire deviation. Alas, without the book, the plan will not come to be.”
“With or without the book, the Yang clan will not hold throne much longer,” Weichi Sheng hissed coldly. “Heavens bless the Zhou dynasty, for since that idiot took the throne, he levied massive taxes and raised ridiculously large construction projects, not to mention the outrageous military excursions into Korea. Three times he despatched the troops, and three times they returned home with utter humiliation of defeat. If we can seize this chance, we can surely revive the glory of the Zhou dynasty.”
Yuwen Huaji’s eyes flashed coldly, as he replied, with a deep voice.
“Yang Guang’s remaining days can be counted with one’s fingers. What worries me are the three clans. Especially the Li clan. The leader, Li Yuan, is nephew to the old empress-mother. The Yang clan trusts the Lis more than they trust us, the Yuwens. Unless we first bring these the three clans under control, the revival of our Zhou dynasty will hit a substantial roadblock.”
After pausing for a moment, he continued on.
“Outside of the border, Mongolia represents the greatest threat. There’s chaos in our northern borders, what with the ongoing revolution. This will embolden the Mongols, who had been seeking to expand their territories. And looking past that, there's the threat of the four grandmasters of martial arts to consider. Just thinking about it, my heart grows heavy with worry.”
“I believe Huaji needn’t worry much about the Li clan. Although Li Yuan is Yang Guang’s own cousin, he is also known to be virtuous, and have great connections in both the martial-world and politics. This incites jealousy and suspicion in Yang Guang, who had been busily rallying his own base of power. If we can stoke the flame a bit, add arouse Yang Guang’s own natural suspicions of the Lis, we may be able to ‘borrow another's sabre to kill the tiger,’ all whilst sitting back and watching from the sidelines.”
Listening to this idea, Yuwen Huaji’s eyes flickered briefly of joy, and he nodded in agreement. At this moment, Zhang Shihe walked into the room.
“Reporting to commander, we have good news.”
Yuwen Huaji and Weichi Sheng were instantly brought to full attention.
“From the poet Dian Wen’s confession, we discovered that he had colluded with a pair of juvenile delinquents, aged around 15 or 16- years old. It appears that these two hooligans stole the book,” reported Zhang Shihe.
“I am certain Shihe has already checked out these delinquent’s backgrounds, before arriving to report this good news. Am I correct?” said Yuwen Huaji, praising his man.
“I did, commander,” laughed Zhang Shihe. “These delinquents are called Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and are known to be the most famous pickpockets in Yangzhou. Their boss’ name is Yan Kuan. We have managed to impress upon him the importance of this matter, and 'motivate' him to help us find the two delinquents.”
“Ha! This matter has just become easier for us. Lest they grow wings, they’ll not escape our grasp, for there is no corner in this city in which they can hide from us,” added Weichi Sheng, whilst laughing joyfully.
Yuwen Huaji exhaled in relief, and reclined on his seat, suddenly feeling confident that the book was within his grasp.
~~~
Before they had the chance to retrieve their life savings, amounting slightly more than ten taels, Xu Ziling, who had the task of being the lookout, saw boss Yan hobbling over towards the abandoned park, clearly under duress, led by a dozen soldiers.
Though very surprised, he immediately deduced what had happened, and went looking for Kou Zhong, quickly. Without making a sound, the two hid themselves in a rotten house filled with piles of debris, before crawling slowly into a hole in the ground they had previously dug, for just such an emergency, when avoiding boss Yan. They promptly covered the tunnel with lumber, topping it with rocks and dirt, leaving only a small gap as thin as thread, to allow air to enter.
Bam! Boom! Clang!
The sound of people tearing through the building was clearly audible from their hiding place. Shortly after, the sound of boss Yan’s screaming in agony could be heard. Clearly, he was being beaten and tortured. Though not quite admirers of boss Yan, hearing the man being beaten, his screams full of pain and sorrow, made them feel pity in their hearts. They remained still, uncertain of what’s actually going on, outside.
In Yangzhou, boss Yang isn't exactly without influence. He has more than twenty men at his command, and he’d recently secured alliance with the leader of the Bamboo Flower party. Before the officer beating him, though, he was no different than a dog.
“Search thoroughly!” the sound of people giving commands could be heard coming from the other direction.
Hearing those words, the Yangzhou Twin Dragons shrank to become the Twin Coiled Snake, shaking in fear and afraid to breathe, for fear their breathing be heard.
Shortly, boss Yan’s pleading voice rang out.
“My lord, please! Give me just a little more time. I can get the book back. I shall guarantee it with my own head… Oof!” If he weren’t being punched, it meant he was being kicked, again.
The sounds of footsteps could be heard above the hole, before shouting of soldiers echoed again.
“Still haven’t found them...”
“Please, give me one more chance. These two delinquents who deserved to die surely had gone to the Shi Long martial arts school to peek at their martial arts practice,” pleaded boss Yan, whilst groaning in pain.
“Shi Long martial arts school had been closed. By us,” the hoarse voice replied. “Whatever is there to be seen…”
The voice trailed, then paused briefly, before continuing.
“Four of you stay here and wait until they come home. And you, you miserable cur, will take us to all the places where they could possibly be hiding!”
Immediately, the sound of footsteps moving away could be heard.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, still hidden in the hole, turned to each other, their faces pale of fright. Simultaneously, their minds conjured the image of the underground sewer lines beneath the Eastern Gate, suddenly their only means to escape the city.