大唐双龙传 [Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan] by Huang Yi

[foxs]

Jaya, Anh, Ysabel, HPC, Xanius, you are welcome. George, thanks. Sky, what Shirak and Drax said ... Apu, poor Susu because the plot thickens? Chapter 7 is rather long, I'll try to post the rest Friday.

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The two boys suddenly understood; righteous indignation immediately filled their breasts!

Kou Zhong stood up suddenly, he cursed, “I’ll go staking my life against that b1tch.”

Horrified, Susu pulled him back and cried out in grief, “It has nothing to do with Miss!”

With eyes shooting flames Xu Ziling said, “Then who did it?”

Susu forced Kou Zhong back into his chair first before speaking with a sob, “That time Miss has not returned yet, Laoye was entertaining his subordinates in the mansion, Duke Mi also came. That night I came out to serve, someone asked for me from Laoye. Laoye agreed …”

Speaking to this point, her sob turned into silent tears.

The two boys were seething in anger, but when they asked that man’s name and surname, Susu was unwilling to tell them.

Quite a while later, the three people’s emotion cooled down a little bit.

“Must be Li Mi, that son of a b1tch,” Kou Zhong angrily said, “Let us go and stake our lives against him.”

Susu’s countenance changed, “It wasn’t him!” she said.

Xu Ziling probed her, “If you don’t tell us, we’ll just assume it was him. Old fellow Zhai is not a good man either.”

Susu anxiously said, “Laoye had no choice either; since the great victory over Xingyang, everybody said the greatest meritorious service belonged to Duke Mi, the fame of Duke of Pushan soared even higher. Ay, I am not supposed to tell you.”

Gnashing his teeth in anger Kou Zhong said, “If we had known, Susu Jie shouldn’t come back here.”

Susu wiped the tears using the corner of her sleeve, she forced a faint pained smile as she said in low voice, “Now you know why Jiejie didn’t want to see Li Dage again. Besides, he regarded me as his little sister. After that matter happened, Jiejie did not wish to live anymore, but I always felt that you are always lucky and under Heaven’s care, so I bore humiliation, hoping that there would come a day when I see you again. And now my wish is fulfilled.”

Xu Ziling seriously said, “Susu Jie must never have any thought of suicide. We are leaving tonight. As long as we can find some kind of hook and rope, we can bring Jiejie out. Afterwards we sister and brothers will not part anymore.”

Susu simply shook her head.

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Why is Jiejie still reluctant to leave? Is it … hey …”

“Don’t make random guess,” Susu firmly said, “I really wish to tear that traitor into ten thousand pieces, but I am thinking of Miss’ kindness. Ay, how about this? After Laoye is back, and everything is made clear, Jiejie will entirely listen to your thought.”

Xu Ziling did not have any mood to stay; he resolutely said, “As soon as Zhai Rang hear it, he will immediately know whether this matter is true or bogus, there is no point in us staying here. If Jiejie is determined to follow us, tomorrow we will slip out of the mansion to procure the tools to escape. We’ll leave in the dark.”

“The most critical thing is that we must avoid Shen woman’s eyes and ears,” Kou Zhong added.

Under the two boys’ expectant eyes, finally Susu nodded her head.

Zhai family’s maids, servants, odd-job workers, guards, etc. numbered as much as around three hundred. Zhai Rang only had one daughter. His first wife died about two years ago. In Zhai Rang’s absence, Zhai Jiao was in charge.

Zhai Rang had three concubines, but none of them dared to provoke Zhai Jiao, this female overlord; thereupon Zhai Jiao, one person, ended up monopolizing the affairs within the Mansion.

In Zhai Mansion, because Susu was Zhai Jiao’s personal maid, although she did not like to stick her head in the mansion’s affairs, but most people were more or less looking at her face and thus treated Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling well.

As a matter of fact, by this time the two boys were even taller, robust and magnificent compared to those mansion guards. Their eyes lively and showed their quick-witted, no servants in the mansion dared to provoke them.

But because Zhai Jiao was deliberately tormenting them, the two boys’ job was heavy work of cleaning and other low-grade work in the kitchen. Naturally nobody dared to change this arrangement.

Since before dawn the two boys had been called to work and continued on until the kitchen finished preparing and serving breakfast. After being busy for two sichen [i.e. 4 hours] the two boys finally found the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen.

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “While washing the dishes, I did my best to practice. I never knew it could be so relaxing.”

Xu Ziling was also very pleased of himself; he said, “These past few days whenever I circulated the true qi within my body, more and more I was able to hear random things. Try it, send your true qi to the acupoint on your eardrums, we can even hear very clearly people far away gossiping about us in low voices.”

Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, “I will definitely try as soon as we go back, right now shopping is more important, this Da Longwan Fu [big dragon stupid mansion] is lifeless, it’s not suitable for us to stay for a long time.”

Xu Ziling wrapped his arm around Kou Zhong’s shoulder as they strode toward the front courtyard. He sighed and said, “When I think about our Big Miss, everything came to a halt, I just want to leave quickly.”

The two boys were wearing servant attire in which they worked, not only their clothes were stained with grease and patches of splashing water, their heads, hairs, hands and faces were not spared either. In fact, they did not look any better than when they were still in Yangzhou.

Kou Zhong proudly said, “That so-called ‘uncle manager’ or ‘big kitchen manager’ or what have you, I saw his technique in cooking dishes and seasoning; coming and going, he only uses several tricks, so I knew that the dishes he is preparing will all taste the same. If we brothers are in charge of his mother’s cooking, I guarantee that those Madame and Miss’ saliva will run over.”

By the time he finished talking, they have not crossed the wall surrounding the mansion yet, suddenly a cold snort coming from the front. At this point they were still walking along the corridor by the mansion, heading toward the large square in front of the mansion. Three mansion guards appeared from nowhere and blocked their way. The leader was one named Zhang Li, Susu has introduced them to him, hence they recognized him. This time he was confronting them arrogantly.

The two boys halted their steps and asked in surprise, “What’s the matter?”

Zhang Li stood with his hands akimbo; casting a sidelong glance toward the two boys, he said, “Didn’t anybody tell you? Inner mansion’s servants are not allowed to go to the front mansion. Not abiding by the rules so soon, are we?”

Kou Zhong tried his luck; he laughed and said, “We are not going to the front mansion at all, we are going to the street.”

The other mansion guard said, “Who sent you to go outside?”

Kou Zhong’s finger rubbed his own nose; he said, “Me.”

Zhang Li snapped, “Go back quickly. Without her order, you are not allowed to leave the mansion’s door even for half a step.”

Xu Ziling laughed aloud and said, “This is the greatest joke. We are not prisoners, at most we only skip work. We insist on leaving.”

Zhang Li and the others, three men, immediately appeared angry. One of them thundered, “How dare you? Are you tired of living?”

Kou Zhong giggled and said, “This brother of mine is bad-tempered, three Dashu [great uncles] Daren [title of respect toward superiors] are Daliang [magnanimous], please forgive us this time.”

Pulling Xu Ziling along he turned around and left. He spoke in low voice, “Hero will not suffer loss frontally. If the entire Zhai mansion guards surround us, we, the two newly emerged martial art masters, will immediately fall from glory.”

And then he added, “Just now I tried the skill you told me about, focusing my energy on the ears, instantly I was able to hear soft even breathing, as if it was not there, from inside the main hall. This person is a lot more formidable than Zhang Li and those abysmal characters. Evidently he is the real martial art master in the mansion.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “Ol’ Zhai is afraid his beloved daughter will be abducted again, naturally he dispatched martial art experts to protect her. Are we going back to our room to sleep now?”

With an air of complacency Kou Zhong said, “If the front door is impassable, we’ll take the back door, and we’ll leave immediately. People like Zhang Li and those lowly figures, it would be strange indeed if they don’t sow discord by telling that female overlord. Therefore, after we buy our stuffs, we must hide it well inside the mansion, so that that evil woman will not snatch it to become her own ‘mother monkey climbing the tree’ training tool. Ha!”

The two boys walked over the gravel path connecting the front and rear courtyards. A pack of five, six good-looking maids were walking directly toward them. Seeing the two boys, their eyes lit up. The bold ones even raised their eyebrows and made eyes with them, with a hint of smile at the corner of their mouth.

Although these maids were only slightly good-looking, they have given a big boost to the two boys’ confidence of their own sex appeal, making the two boys felt like they were walking on air.

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Too bad we are going to slip away tonight. Otherwise we may not need to go to the pleasure house to shed this ‘litter-of-the-nest, green-head’ status.”

Xu Ziling admonished him, “Those are daughters of decent families, if we spoil them, we may not be able to feed them far and wide, and then we will be bored to death.”

Kou Zhong was shaken. “I have not thought about that aspect,” he said, “Looks like going to the pleasure house is more direct and efficient. Ay, but after this there will be Susu Jie watching on the side. On a lot of things we must be a bit more careful.”

In the meantime they have reached the big flower garden at the back of the mansion. Water was flowing in the little creek, the landscape was in good taste. Two good-looking maids were pruning the flowers and plants. Seeing the two boys coming, they whispered to each other and their pretty eyes stole a glance at them, a glance heavy with desire. However, the two boys could only avert their eyes as they walked straight pass them.

When the back door was in sight, they saw a middle age man wearing grey clothes was sitting quietly on a stone bench in the little pavilion on their left. The man was smoking pipe leisurely, swallowing clouds and blowing out fog, seemingly oblivious of these two boys.

The two boys did not give him any thought either; but as they were about to push the door and go out, the man in grey suddenly called out, “Two Xiao Xiongdi, please come here and speak a few words with me.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a glance; they knew something was not right, yet they did not have any idea how to deal with it, hence they could only brace themselves and walk over to the pavilion.

[Laoren]

Thanks Fox, poor Susu....

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[LuDongBin]

Not bad for one who is busy settling in ... thks for the update, foxs.

[BocahTuaNakal]

i smell a battle will come ...

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs.

[Drak17]

Thanks foxs!

[r_aribawono]

Thanks Fox..

[Komeng]

Thanks Foxs.

[criticalmind]

Thanks foxs

[foxs]

Laoren, actually, you and Apu are right, poor Susu … HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Sky, Drax, Ari, Komeng, Critical, you are welcome. DongBin, LOL. One, I still have my lunch break, two, I still have to take my kids to swim class, three, it is not as hectic as the last couple of weeks. Funny as it is, I have more time translating during the week than in the weekends. Bocah, not yet …

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The man in grey looked ordinary, but his bones and joints looked thick and solid, his complexion carried a strange red-purple aura, his eyes looked lively but also looked dull at the same time. He was indeed a profound mystery.

The two boys remembered seeing him in the mansion from a distance, and the other people were very respectful toward him, but they did not know his status.

With his pipe he pointed to the two stone blocks across the stone table from where he sat, and said, “Please have a seat.”

The two boys had no choice but to sit facing him.

The man in grey smiled and said, “I am Tu Shufang, the Longtou Mansion’s zongguan [chief manager]; my specific responsibility is the security of the mansion. I wonder where are two Xiao Xiongdi going?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, “Just want to slip away to the street to roam around! Ever since we arrived at Xingyang, we haven’t had a chance to look around, it’s too bad.”

Tu Shufang nodded, “That is only natural,” he said, “But Miss commanded that if two Xiao Xiongdi did not have any urgent matter to attend to, it would be best if you don’t leave Longtou Mansion, everything can be discussed when Longtou Laoda is back.”

Xu Ziling’s temper flared, “Won’t that mean we are prisoners here?”

Tu Shufang sighed, “We don’t have any choice in this matter either,” he said, and then continued, “May I ask what animosity two gentlemen have against Shen Luoyan?”

The two boys were shaken; they inwardly blamed themselves for being muddleheaded and have not given any thought that Shen Luoyan would surely keep her tiger-eyes on them, and that Longtou Mansion was actually the only safe place for them.

Kou Zhong did not answer, but asked a question instead, “Did Miss ever tell Zongguan why we came here?”

Tu Shufang’s eyes were gleaming with lively ray, showing his consummate profound internal energy. He fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong for half a day before speaking in heavy tone, “When Miss told the Ol’ Tu to inquire two Xiao Xiongdi’s affair, she only said I must protect you with all my strength. Naturally Ol’ Tu must follow the order.”

Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, “How long has Zongguan been with Da Longtou?”

Tu Shufang also replied in low voice, “Two gentlemen please feel free to speak up, since whenever Da Longtou has something in his mind, he won’t conceal it from me either.”

Kou Zhong was not convinced yet. He asked, “What had happened to Miss recently, is Zongguan clear about that?”

Tu Shufang’s countenance showed a trace of fear. It was quite a while later that he finally said, “Naturally I am clear, but I wonder which matter the two gentlemen were referring to?”

Xu Ziling said, “Naturally it is concerning Miss traveling outside. Miss told us not to tell anyone, will Zongguan have the guts to hear it?”

Tu Shufang threw his head back and let out a long laughter, his bearing looked heroic and imposing; he said nonchalantly, “You have guts to speak up, I will have the guts to listen.”

Seeing he did not have the slave mentality, the two boys’ impression on him improved by leaps and bounds, so why would they take Zhai Jiao’s warning to heart? Thereupon they told him first about their encounter with Susu, and then they narrated in detail what had happened in the abandoned village.

When they finished, Tu Shufang’s countenance turned extremely unsightly.

It was quite a while before Tu Shufang’s countenance returned to normal. He asked in amazement, “In that case, two Xiao Xiongdi must have possessed divine skill; otherwise, how could you hide on the beam, and could evade those people’s eyes and ears? On the surface, although two gentlemen have lofty physiques, your waist and steps steady, and you are calm and composed, your eyes do not reveal inner gleam; could it be that you have reached the ‘unpolished gem returns to the truth’ boundary instead?”

Kou Zhong knew that although he spoke politely, the bottom line was that he doubted the authenticity of their tale. He calmly replied, “That is because our internal energy departs from the usual path, it differs greatly from martial art skill in general. If you don’t believe me there is no harm in testing us.”

Tu Shufang held out his hand and said with a smile, “In that case let’s just shake hands!”

Kou Zhong gulped. Although he agreed to also reach out and shake his hand, he still said, “You must not apply a heavy hand!”

Tu Shufang smiled mischievously and said, “Of course!” while applying his strength at the same time.

At first Kou Zhong felt that the opponent’s hand suddenly turned into an iron hoop, which was continuously tightening up; when his finger bones were about to crack, the true qi inside his body automatically flowed through his wrist. Although he still felt severe pain, he was able to endure it.

Tu Shufang was shocked. “Xiao Xiongdi’s internal strength is indeed unusually strange; it seems to exist but not there either. It is deep and unmeasurable.”

For the first time the two boys received an assessment from a martial art master; they were greatly delighted.

Tu Shufang consecutively sent his strength to break the opponent’s true qi, but each time it was neutralized by Kou Zhong. Finally he let go and said, “Ol’ Tu believes.”

But then he frowned and asked, “Based on your skill, why are you willing to stay in the kitchen and receive such maltreatment?”

Xu Ziling said with a bitter laugh, “What can we do? It’s Miss’ order.”

Tu Shufang pondered for half a day, and then he shook his head and said, “But Da Longtou did not look the least bit like he suffered internal injury. What actually happened here?”

Kou Zhong said, “Did Miss really get abducted and taken away, later on Zu Junyan pretended to rescue her and bring her back?”

“That is correct,” Tu Shufang replied, “But in the Mansion, other than the Ol’ Tu, nobody else knew about it. This is no small matter, presently I can only be regarded as not knowing. Everything has to wait for Da Longtou’s return and then let him decide.”

Seeing him this sensible, Xu Ziling let out a breath of relief, “So we can go out and roam around?” he asked.

Tu Shufang shook his head, “You can’t go out even more,” he said, “Right now Shen Luoyan stationed her men outside; the Mansion is under close surveillance. I dare not report this matter to Miss, afraid that she might create a disturbance; that’s why I hope Da Longtou would come back soon.”

Recalling Shen Luoyan’s ruthlessness, how could the two boys still dare to swagger out to buy the tools they were going to use to flee?

“Where is Da Longtou?” Kou Zhong casually asked.

Seeing that the two boys bared their soul to him, plus they were still naïve, candid and lovely, Tu Shufang felt some indescribable feeling welling up in his heart. He replied, “Da Longtou and Duke Mi are going on an all-out effort to attack Xingluo Storehouse. If we win this battle, the muddleheaded ruler’s days are numbered.”

Kou Zhong scratched his head and asked, “What kind of storehouse is Xingluo Storehouse anyway? Why is it so important?”

Tu Shufang patiently explained, “Xingluo Storehouse is located east of Luoyang, at the mouth of River Luo west of Xingyang, which is the confluence of the Canal and the Yellow River. The storehouse city wall encompasses twenty-something li, incorporating three thousand big cellars, each cellar contains eight thousand dan [dry measure of grain, approx. 100 liters/28 bushels]. If we can obtain such storehouse, our Wagang Army need not worry that we won’t have enough army provisions for the next ten years.”

Xu Ziling was puzzled. “Is the Sui Dynasty that stupid?” he asked, “Why would they set up such a clear target for others to attack?”

Tu Shufang let out a hollow laugh; he said, “When they set up the storehouse, how could they know that such a day would come? In those days, the primary objective of setting up such storehouse was to collect rice grain taxation to supply the imperial court. You should know that when Emperor Wen established Chang’an [modern day Xi’an], oftentimes the Guanzhong Plain [Shaanxi, valley of River Wei] did not produce enough crops to supply the demand of the Capital. Transporting the grains from the east one must take the dangerous and difficult path of Sanmenxia [lit. three-gate gorge], plus it was time-consuming and effort-heavy. After this big granary was built, the Capital was able to maintain the stability of grain supply.”

Kou Zhong was distressed. “In that case,” he said, “Nobody knows when Da Longtou will be coming back; won’t that mean that we will still have to continue chopping firewood, fetching water, washing the dishes and mopping the floor every day?”

Tu Shufang laughed. “That’s easy,” he said, “Let me talk it over with Miss.”

For lack of better option, the two boys helplessly agreed. Besides, on further thought they still had Susu to accompany them, plus they could take this opportunity to secretly train their martial art. After all, this Big Boss Mansion could still be considered as a cozy refuge.

Thinking to this point, they were even more relieved.

‘Beating the snake following the stick’ [see Book 3, Chapter 3], Kou Zhong said, “Apart from our internal energy, which appears a bit decent, our punching and kicking skill is only so-so. I wonder if Zongguan would mind giving us a bit of pointers.”

Tu Shufang gladly said, “Because of your honest humility, you can consider this time you found the right person. Considering I have heard the news that you upheld justice in faraway places, also you have saved Susu, I cannot be stingy. Let me pass on to you the skill that I am most proud of, the ‘Twelve-hand Qinna [grab and capture, grappling technique] Meridian-severing Technique’. Let’s see if it will be useful for you.”

In great delight the two boys immediately bowed with cupped fist to express their gratitude.

This moment, even if someone chased them away with a stick, they would definitely refuse to leave.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[LuDongBin]

Looks like these kids are leveling up again .... more power to them! And to you too, foxs.

[Laoren]

thanks Fox, lol, now they can learn some real techniques, previously they are only picking up a bit here and there..

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs. Your life is so busy!

Yeah! The boys finally found someone to train them! Can't wait to see them in action.

[Komeng]

Thanks foxs for the new update
.

[foxs]

Jaya, HPC, Komeng, you are welcome. DongBin, more power to me? sorry, you lost me. But probably you are just joking. Laoren, what about Li Jing? He taught them technique. Sky, what I meant to say was: because I have to wait for my kids, I have time to translate … Anyway, new chapter, and your favorite beauty is back.

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Book 4 Chapter 8 – Bird Inside The Cage

Indeed other than Zhai Jiao, Tu Shufang was the most influential person in the Longtou Mansion. That very same day they were excused from the drudgery of the kitchen work, and their accommodation was also upgraded to the guards’ living quarters at the inner courtyard, where each person had a spacious bed to sleep on.

For the past many years, the two boys have been sitting and lying down together like form and shadow; momentarily they felt unaccustomed to it, but they also felt it was a novel experience.

Whenever Susu had spare time, she would visit them, she also sewed new clothes for them. The sister-brother feeling grew even deeper as they lived happily together.

Tu Shufang grew fond of the boys as well; he unreservedly passed on his most exquisite skill of ‘Twelve-hand Qinna Meridian-severing Technique’, he even gave them pointers in their other martial arts.

Tu Shufang was able to become the Longtou Mansion’s Zongguan, certainly it was not by luck at all. In Jianghu, he was an all-powerful figure [orig. ‘rebuke the Heaven and Earth’]. Within the Wagang Army, in term of martial art skill he ranked under Zhai Rang, Li Mi and Wang Bo. Receiving this kind of martial art master’s direction, naturally the two boys’ skill advanced by leaps and bounds.

When this great Tu Shufang taught them acupoint sealing technique, he said, “Everybody’s arteries, veins and qi are like the lines on our palms, no two are alike. Also, following the time of the day, the weather, different air circulation, the timing must be flexible, the response adaptable, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve the desired effect.”

“That’s easy,” Kou Zhong cheerfully said, “As long as we send a stream of true qi first, and the mind following the qi, we can sense what is true and what is false.”

Tu Shufang was shaken, “Mind following qi?” he said, “Are you saying that after the true qi enters someone else’s body you can still interact with the condition of that stream of true qi?”

Xu Ziling nodded, “Exactly,” he said, “We always do it that way, it’s really fun!”

With an incredulous expression on his face Tu Shufang said, “That kind of realm, I am afraid even Da Longtou is not able to achieve. Could it be that ‘Secret to Long Life’ is really that formidable?”

After spending time together for several days, Kou and Xu already told him what happened in the past, hence he was clear about the origin of the two boys’ martial art.

Kou Zhong said excitedly, “Even that chicken freak Yuwen Wudi was beaten by us that he covered his head and sneaked away like a rat. Turns out our internal energy is so unusual.”

Tu Shufang said in shock, “You mean Yuwen Wudi of the Yuwen Clan?” This part they have yet to tell Tu Shufang, hence they told him what happened.

Tu Shufang shook his head and sighed, “Over time, perhaps the two of you will be added to Ning Daoqi’s rank. When I learned ‘Twelve-hand Qinna Meridian-severing Technique’ from Enshi [benevolent master], I had to train hard for three years before making a small progress. You only learned it for three days and already have clear and logical understanding; the only thing lacking is maturity. If I am telling it to others, nobody would believe me.”

Kou Zhong was about to speak, one of the underlings came to report that Shen Luoyan wanted to see them.

Tu Shufang was already aware of their conflict with Shen Luoyan; he said, “Even if she had gargantuan guts, she would not dare to behave atrociously in here. Let me come with you, I want to see what kind of trick she is going to play against you.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had their own difficulty, because they had not told Tu Shufang the matter concerning Duke Yang Treasure; naturally they were afraid Shen Luoyang might bring it up. Thereupon Kou Zhong said, “We are not afraid of her. Let us deal with her alone.”

Tu Shufang thought that he was showing off, hence he did not insist.

The two boys went to the main hall and saw Shen Luoyan was enjoying a pot of indoor plant.

It was the first time that the two boys set foot on this main hall, which Wagang Army considered ‘Main Conference Hall’. The lobby of this leader’s mansion was magnificent and extravagant. The layout was set according to ‘seat on the north facing south, three pillars seven beams, resting-on-the-mountain style’, which was heavy with meaning and symbolism.

The hall was furnished with primarily red wood furniture, the four walls were filled with famous paintings. Six octagonal palace lanterns were hanging from the beam; rich, beautiful, and elegant. Most impressive of all, beyond the rectangular window that all four sides were highly decorated, one could see the hundred years old tree and the dancing and swaying bamboo grove outside, along with the autumn sun, which shone its light into the hall, resembling the nature itself.

It was in this mesmerizing scenery that this beautiful Shen Luoyan, wearing her charming face barely hidden behind a fashionable veiled hat, appeared before the two boys. From their angle of view, the veil at back of the hat hung down to her waist, the skirt of the hat drooped down over her arms and was open, trailing over her shoulders, greatly amplifying the elegance silhouette of her back and shoulders. Watching all of these, the two boys momentarily could only stare blankly.

Shen Luoyan slowly turned around, with sweet, enthralling smile she said, “I came to make peace with you!”

Hearing this, the two boys looked at each other. If this b1tch was really willing to make peace, that means the sun could also rise from the west.

Kou Zhong smirked and said, “And the condition?”

Shen Luoyan lightly took jade steps, lithely and with flair went over to the two boys. It was only then did they find out that her clothes was rather revealing. It was an embroidered butterfly gown with round neck and narrow, straight sleeve, reaching down toward her feet. The line and pattern were delicate, the color simple yet elegant; but the neckline was low, almost reaching to her cleavage, exposing her fully rounded, milky white breasts.

Noticing the two boys’ stare was dead centered her silky bosom, she was greatly displeased, “How can you be this rude, staring on certain place on my body?”

‘Glug!’ Kou Zhong swallowed his saliva; having difficulty breathing, he said, “Clearly it was you who came here to seduce us; just consider us surrendering to you. All right, I’ll take you as my wife for the night.”

Shen Luoyan cast him a sidelong glance and said, “A woman cannot have two husbands, which one of you should I marry?”

Xu Ziling was more clear-headed; he cautiously said, “Are you thinking of driving a wedge between us, brothers?”

Shen Luoyan forced a smiled and said, “Is the brotherly feeling between you that weak? Ay! I am not here to blather with you; back to the topic: may I ask, do you want these two antidotes?” Spreading her jade palm, she showed two light green pills, which, in the two boys’ eyes, looked dazzling.

Kou Zhong recalled that they had already fallen into her trap once, he was on alert inwardly. He smiled and said, “How do we know this is not ‘piercing intestine poison’? And then when we get to the Yellow Springs, you would jeer at us.”

Shen Luoyan returned the pills into her bosom. Nonchalantly she said, “If you don’t want it, then let’s forget about it. Just don’t say that I, Shen Luoyan, did not remember you. Those who took ‘strength-scattering’ drug and did not take the antidote within ten days will become useless people who cannot train internal energy forever. At that time, don’t you regret it!”

Seeing her coy smile and flirtatious manner, Xu Ziling knew clearly that her words were incomparably sinister; anger arose in his heart, “Even if we die, we won’t need people like you to feel sorry for us.”

Shen Luoyan pretended to be surprised, “Why do you treat me like you have ten grievances and nine animosities against me? Whatever Luoyan did, I do it all for the sake of Wagang Army. Since you sincerely want to rely on Da Longtou’s help, we are on the same side; we ought to make peace now!”

Kou Zhong sneered and said, “You just did it all for your Pushan whatever Duke Mi. Ha! You still want us to have a good impression on you? Just like last time, not only we helped you breaking Qin Shubao’s heavy siege, we helped you turned defeat into victory. Those many different kinds of favor, you repeatedly harmed us in return. Now I have thought it through, I don’t want you, this b1tch, to accompany me even for one night!”

Shen Luoyan did not seem to take any offence at all, she only said crossly, “Even though you repeatedly insulted me, I have yet made any move against you, two little demons; are you still saying I don’t remember past friendships? All right! En garde!”

The two boys were startled; they have forgotten all about any ‘moon in the water’ mental cultivation, and retreated hastily and in fear.

Actually, Shen Luoyan did not have any intention to make any move; laughing merrily like quivering flower stems she said, “Turns out somebody already neutralized the poison in your body. No wonder you don’t want to be seduced. But your experience is really shallow; with only an empty threat others can see through you clearly.”

The two boys lost too much face; without any choice they had to curse their own uselessness. At the same time they realized that if they were not confused and disoriented by the seduction of her alluring beauty, how could they fail to see whether her move was fake or real? A real martial art master would never be confused by the charm of a woman.

Shen Luoyan turned around and walked over toward a redwood table and chairs set on the corner. She sat down, placed her elbows on the table, struck a very charming posture with her hands supporting her chin, and said tenderly, “My two Xiao Didi [little younger brother] who want to marry me, sit down! The time to talk has come.”

Displeased, Xu Ziling said, “What makes you think that you can boss us around?”

Shen Luoyan calmly replied, “Does the word ‘someone’s treasure’ carry enough weight?”

Immediately the two boys’ countenance changed.

Just based on this one sentence, they knew that Shen Luoyan had planted a spy in the Big Boss Mansion. Moreover, the spy’s status could not be low, so that she knew that the two boys have concealed the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’ matter from the people in the Big Boss Mansion.

If this matter leaked out, it would be greatly disadvantageous to the two boys. Worse yet, nobody knew what kind of method Zhai Rang was going to take to deal with them.

Helplessly they had to sit across from her.

Shen Luoyan rolled her beautiful eyes on the two boys’ faces for a moment before smiling sweetly and said, “If I could pick, I will choose Xiao Ling as my husband, and Xiao Zhong as my lover. Then the two little demons could share nujia’s cup of soup.” [reminder: nujia – female slave, a humble way a woman referring to self.]

Kou Zhong dejectedly said, “Beautiful must not toy with us, just be direct!”

In all honesty, even Shen Luoyan herself did not understand why she loved to tease them. All along she had always been showing her proud and arrogant side to men, and that was not a fake display. But when dealing with these two boys, unwittingly she had the urge to tease and make fun of them in regards of men-women relationship.