Chapter - 416 Long Flute, Short Lute, And Tan Clothing (3)

Yang Xiao had explained the markings and signs used by the Ming Cult to communicate to each other to him in detail. He noticed that although this blazing fire sign had only several strokes the lines were bold; not many people within the Ming Cult were able to produce this kind of drawing other than people of Xie Xun's caliber who was well-versed in both sword and pen [orig. wen2 wu3 quan2 cai2].

His doubts were gone. Hurriedly he took the small lane, straight to the relay station of Shahe [city in Hebei]. It was already dawn; he stopped by any restaurant along the way to buy some steamed buns and flatbreads to satisfy his hunger and then hurriedly continued his journey westward until he arrived at the small town of Bangzi. He saw another blazing fire symbol on the lower part of a wall on the corner of the street, pointing toward an abandoned ancestral hall. He was very happy thinking that his Yifu might be hiding in that hall.

As he got near the gate, he heard a clamoring noise of people talking and shouting as rowdy characters and people of obscure background who gathered around the main hall, gambling. It turned out that this place was some kind of a gambling establishment.

The manager saw Zhang Wuji and noticed his fancy and expensive-looking attire, he knew a rich customer had arrived; busily he smiled and mumbling some welcoming words, "Gongziye [young master], come and roll the dice; your luck must be good, beat these three villagers.” Turning his head he called out the crowd of gamblers, "Make room for Gongziye. Everybody, put your bet down, let Gongziye have his hands on the money!"

Zhang Wuji frowned, he knew these gamblers were not Jianghu characters. Raising his voice he called out, "Yifu, Yifu! Are you Senior in here?" He waited for a while, but nobody answered. He called out again several times.

Seeing he did not come to gamble, but shouting and creating disturbance instead, a ruffian called out, "Good child, your Senior is here, hurry up and roll the dice!" The main hall resounded with the sound of the ruffians' laughter.

Zhang Wuji asked the manager, "Did you see an elderly gentleman, big and tall, yellow hair, and blind eyes?"

As the manager realized this person did not come to gamble, but to look for someone, he was disappointed. He said with a laugh, "What a joke! You are saying that there is a blind man who came here to roll the dice? This blind man must be crazy!"

Zhang Wuji was not in a good mood as he failed to find his Yifu. Listening to the manager and that ruffian being rude and make fun of his Yifu, he took two steps forward, grabbed the manager and the ruffian, and casually flung them to the roof. Although these two men were not injured, they were scared out of their wits and screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Zhang Wuji pushed the crowd over and took two silver ingots from the gambling table. He said, "Gongziye is having his hands on the money." He put the silver into his pocket, and left the ancestral hall in big strides. The ruffians froze in fear; who would dare to chase him?

Zhang Wuji continued his journey westward. Not too long afterwards he saw another blazing fire sign. It was already evening, and he had arrived at Fengrun, another big city on the northern part of Hebei. Following the sign, he found a whitewashed wall with a black gate. The copper-ring door knockers were shiny, inside the wall plum blossoms were half-blooming; it was a quiet, elegant and clean house.

He picked the doorknockers and knocked three times. A short moment later he heard footsteps approaching. With a creaking noise the black door opened. A strong fragrance immediately attacked his nostrils. The one who answered the door was a girl wearing a pink leather jacket with a small knot on top of her head. She pursed her lips, laughed, and said, "Gongziye, long time no see. Jiejie [older sister] misses you very much. Come in and drink some tea." Her words were followed by another laugh, and then she threw a coquettish look at him.

Zhang Wuji was flabbergasted. "How did you know me? Who is your Jiejie?" he asked.

The girl laughed and said, "You still ask? Hurry up, don't let my Jiejie die of loneliness [orig. qian1 du3 gua4 chang2 – pulling the tripe, hanging the intestines]." Reaching out, she grabbed Zhang Wuji's right hand and pulled him in.

Zhang Wuji was greatly astonished, "Why does she act like she has known me for a long time?" he wondered. But then he remembered, "Ah, right, Zhiruo must be staying in here; she knew I was following the sign all day looking for them, so she told this girl to wait for me. Ay, we haven't seen each other for many days now, Zhiruo must be dying of loneliness because she misses me very much." He felt tenderness in his heart and without hesitation, followed the girl inside.

They walked through a small pathway of cobblestones, passed a courtyard, and entered a side room. He saw a parrot perched beneath the eaves, which said in throaty voice, "Qing Gege [big brother Qing, or lit. 'passionate brother'. I am not sure whether the character 'Qing' here is someone's name, or it refers to 'beloved brother'] is here. Jiejie, Qing Gege is here."

Zhang Wuji blushed profusely, "Even a parrot knew," he thought.

He saw the chairs in that room were padded with embroidered cushions; the charcoal fire was raging, warming the room so that it felt like spring. There was a small incense burner on the table. The girl turned around and left, but a short moment later returned with a tray of six different fruits and a pot of green tea. She slowly poured the tea and handed it over to Zhang Wuji; and she actually pinched his wrist gently.

Zhang Wuji frowned; "How could the girl be this frivolous?" he thought. If Zhou Zhiruo saw them, wouldn't she be offended? Thereupon he asked, "Where is Xie Laoye [old master Xie]? Where is Miss Zhou?"

The girl laughed, "Why are you looking for Xie Laoye? Are you jealous? What if my Jiejie came in and saw your expression? Look at you, you don't have any conscience; you come to our place, yet in your heart you keep thinking about some Miss Zhou and Miss Wang."

Zhang Wuji was startled, ""What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" he asked. That girl only pursed her lips, smiled and left the room.

A moment later, he heard the tinkling noise of bracelets. The curtain was lifted open, the girl returned, holding the hand of a woman around twenty one or twenty two of age. Her skin was snowy white, her face was quite beautiful with arched eyebrows and a grain of mole on the right corner of her mouth. She glanced at him gracefully, and smiled before she said anything. Her figure was elegant, and she welcomed him in a charming manner. Zhang Wuji felt a rich fragrance assailing his nostrils; he was really uncomfortable.

That woman said, "Xiang Gong [honorable master], what is your precious surname? Today you have come to pay me a visit, Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly girl, referring to herself] feels very honored." As she was speaking, her left hand landed on Zhang Wuji's shoulder.

Zhang Wuji blushed profusely and tried to evade. "My humble surname is Zhang," he said, "Is there a gentleman by the surname of Xie and a lady by the surname of Zhou in here?"

The woman smiled and said, "This is the 'li xiang yuan' [fragrance peach courtyard]; if you are looking for Zhou Xianxian, she lives at 'bi tao ju' [jade-green peach residence]. Are you so infatuated by that girl that you lost your mind and looking for Zhou Xianxian at the 'li xiang yuan'? Hee hee …!"