Chapter - 31 Words About Death And Disaster Hold Uncertain Meanings (3)

He felt very delighted, knowing the due to Du DaJin's fear for his relatives' safety, he would certainly give the money to the needy. As he continued riding, Zhang CuiShan repeated the variations of those twenty-four characters in his head. That night when he first saw this kung fu, he simply felt that it was mysterious and strange. Only when used in combat, did Zhang CuiShan realize its power. To him, learning a new, powerful kung fu felt ten times better than obtaining some priceless treasure. Finally, when he remembered Yu DaiYan's condition, Zhang CuiShan could not help but sigh in sadness.

He traveled for several days in the heavy rain. Even with his spotted horse's endurance, fatigue set in after a while. By the time he arrived in the Shan Xi province, his horse became a bit sick. Caring about the health of his horse, Zhang CuiShan traveled very slowly for quite some time. So it was already the thirtieth day of the fourth month when he arrived at the city of Lin An.

He booked a room at the local inn, and wondered, "I've traveled way too slowly. I wonder if Du DaJin and his people had returned to the agency. Where could my second and seventh brother be? Also, considering my altercation with Du DaJin and the others, I don't think I can go to their agency openly. I should instead go in secret tonight."

After dinner, upon asking an inn worker, he found out that the location of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency lies by the bank of the West Lake. At the marketplace, he bought a new robe and the incredibly renowned fan of Hang Zhou. Afterwards he took a bath, brushed his hair, and changed his clothing, Zhang CuiShan looked into the mirror, only to see himself looking nothing like a kung fu expert, but rather a scholar. Zhang CuiShan held up a brush, thought he should write a poem on it, and spontaneously wrote out the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber poem, each stroke naturally and elegantly. Looking at the fan again, he thought, "Wow! Even my writing skills have improved from learning this new kung fu. These words look excellent." He folded the fan, walked outside, towards the West Lake.

Even before the end of the Southern Sung Dynasty, Lin An had fell under the control of the Mongolians. Due to its location as the capital of the Southern Sung Dynasty, the Mongolians were especially weary of its citizens, afraid that they may be too deeply in love with the old regime. Therefore, they established harsh, strict policies unto the citizens. That's why most people have moved to other places. A hundred years ago, Lin An had been an incredibly prosperous place, but that was the old days.

As Zhang CuiShan walked down the road, he only saw broken-down houses, dusts in his eyes, as the former famous city of the Lower-Yangtze River region had turned into a almost a ghost town. Even though the sun had not yet set, all the residents had already closed their doors and windows, only to see Mongolian patrol soldiers marching on the street. Zhang CuiShan didn't want unnecessary trouble, so he immediately hid in the alley upon hearing the sounds of the troops.

In the past, lanterns would light up the river at night, but now, only darkness covered the city, with no pedestrians in sight. Zhang CuiShan followed the inn worker's directions to the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.

The agency's is made up of five buildings, one linked behind another, it's gate facing the West Lake, with a pair of stone lions decorating the entrance. Zhang CuiShan saw the large houses from afar, walked toward it slowly, only to see a boat docked at the lake outside. Two lanterns lit up the front of the boat, with a single person tasting wine under the candlelight. Zhang CuiShan thought, "This is person is in an artistic mood." Only to see the lanterns outside the agency unlit, the large front doors shut tightly, probably meant that everyone inside is already asleep.

Zhang CuiShan walked to the main gate and thought, "Du DaJin said that someone carried third brother here a month ago. I wonder who was that?" While pondering, he suddenly heard deep sigh from behind him.

This sigh sounded like a ghost in the dark, silent night. Zhang CuiShan quickly turned, scanned the area, but other than the single person on the boat, there is no one else around. Zhang CuiShan felt uneasy, examined the person on the boat, only to see him wearing a green robe, scholarly dressed, just like himself. With the dim lighting, Zhang CuiShan could not see his face clearly, but his cheeks looked very pale white, as the lanterns shined on it, looked like the green waves on the lake itself. Lone boat in the freezing water, cold and dark, seemingly out of this world. That person sat quietly on the boat, and for a long, long time, other than the sleeves flying with the wind, there was no movement.

Zhang CuiShan originally wanted to sneak into the building, but changed his mind upon seeing the man on the boat, thinking that it's really not the righteous thing to do. So he went up to the door and knocked three times. In the silence of the night, the sound from these three knocks could be heard from far away. Yet for a long time, no one came to the door. Zhang CuiShan knocked on the door three more times, a bit louder this time, almost hurting his ears. Again he could hear no movement from inside. Not sure what's going on, he reach out with his hand and pushed the door, only to see it open without a sound, for it was not locked. Zhang CuiShan entered the courtyard and yelled, "Is your Escort Leader Du here?" As he spoke, he walked into the main hall.

The main hall is completely dark, without any candlelight. Suddenly, the main gate closed quickly behind him.

Zhang CuiShan hesitated a moment, turned around towards the gate, only to see it shut tightly, the lock now in place, meaning there's someone here with him. Zhang CuiShan smiled coldly, thought, "What's this all about?" Given the circumstances, he might as well enter the main hall.

So he stepped into the room, only to hear sounds of wind coming from all directions, as four people surrounded him. Zhang Cuishan jumped out of the harm's way. In the darkness, white light glittered, only to see weapons in each person's hand. He quickly moved to the left, towards the west side, as his right fist swept across, hitting the Sun Point of one of the attackers, stunning him instantly, followed by his left hand sweeping from top-right down to bottom-left, hitting another person's waist. These are the first two strokes of 'no'. Zhang CuiShan's left hand then swooshed down, as his right fist shot out and wrote the 'point', completing the whole 'no' character through these four strokes, knocking down all four attackers.

He doesn't exactly know who his attackers are, so Zhang CuiShan did not use much power, only about thirty percent or so. When the fourth person fell down, breaking a chair along the way, he yelled, "I can't believe you're so venomous. If you're a true man, then you should leave your name." Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, "If I'm truly venomous, do you think you'd be alive right now? My name is Zhang CuiShan." That person gasped, as if quite surprised. He said, "You really are Wu Dang's Fifth Hero… 'Silver Hook Iron Brush' Zhang CuiShan? You're not just pretending?"

Zhang CuiShan smiled, reached into his robe and took out his weapons. His left hand held the Silver Tiger Hook, and his right hand held the Judge's Iron Brush, as the two weapons scratched across one another, a few sparks appeared.

During this brief moment of light, Zhang CuiShan saw the four people wearing yellow monk robes lying in front of him, for these are monks. Of course, those monks also saw his appearance at this time. Two of the monks stared intently at him, their eyes filled with hatred. Bewildered, Zhang CuiShan asked, "May I have your names?"