CH 2.3

Hu Tiehua was startled. He turned around suddenly, and sure enough, he saw someone had been following them; he could also see that this person must have extraordinary background. Translated by foxs

This was the road leading to the river bank, it was very far from the city.

The roadside was overgrown with weeds, everywhere in the vast wilderness, there was no sign of human—except for only one person.

This man was wearing a very elegant soft satin robe, his hand was carrying a black leather suitcase. The clothes were brand new, but the leather suitcase was very shabby.

His person was tall, his legs were even longer, and his skin was pale yellow, very strange yellow, as if he did not see sunshine all year round, or as if he was ill all the time.

But his pair of eyes was very bright, which appeared completely incongruous with his face, as if Laotian [God, lit. Old Heaven] had specially borrowed someone else’s pair of eyes and embedded them onto his face. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Hu Tiehua laughed. If someone else trailed them from behind, his temper would have flared early on, but toward this person he originally did not have any malice. This moment, with a smile on his face, he greeted from a distance, “Riding the same boat crossing together, it is already brought together by fate, we could take a bath in the same pool, it is fate even more; why not come over so we all can have a chat?”

The man laughed as well.

Originally the distance between him and Hu Tiehua and the other was still very far, and he did not seem to be walking too fast, but in the blink of an eye, he had already walked three or four zhang, and in another blink of an eye, he was already in front of them.

Chu Liuxiang blurted out in praise, “Good qinggong!”

The man chuckled, he said, “Even if my qinggong is better, how could it compare to Chu Xiang Shuai?”

With a smile on his face, Chu Liuxiang said, “Gexia [your distinguish self/sire] recognizes me, but I don’t recognize Gexia, wouldn’t it be a bit unfair?”

The man smiled slightly and said, “When I say my name, two gentlemen definitely will not know.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Gexia is too modest.”

Hu Tiehua’s face already sank, he said, “It’s not too modest, it’s just that you are not willing to make friends with us, that’s all.”

The man hurriedly said, “I’m definitely not deliberately being modest, let alone not willing making friends with two gentlemen, it’s just that …”

He chuckled, and then said, “My surname is Gou [lit. hook], given name Zichang [lit. long]. Have two gentlemen heard it?” Translated by foxs

Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua were both stunned.

‘Gou Zichang’

This name was indeed very strange. No matter who, anybody who has heard it once, it would be very rare if he would forget it. Not only have they never heard of this name, even the surname, it was very rarely heard.

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “Two gentlemen should know by now that I did not deliberately make random statement.”

He went on to say, “Actually, I, this person, have never known these two characters ‘qian xu’ [modesty]. With my martial art skill, I should have been very famous in Jianghu, however, I have never moved about in Jianghu at all, naturally two gentlemen could not possibly hear my name.”

This man was indeed not humble at all, moreover, he was very straightforward.

Hu Tiehua liked this kind of person the most, he laughed aloud and said, “Very well, I am called Hu Tiehua. Since you know Chu Liuxiang, presumably you also know my name?” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

“I don’t know,” Gou Zichang said.

Hu Tiehua could not laugh anymore.

He suddenly felt that people who were too straightforward were also a bit not good.

Fortunately, Gou Zichang already continued, “But I can also see that with Hu Xiong’s, your martial art skill’s reputation in Jianghu, your name can’t possibly be under Chu Xiang Shuai …”

Hu Tiehua could not help laughing, he said, “You don’t need to console me, I, this person, can’t be considered too petty.”

He glowered at Chu Liuxiang, pulled his face and said, “But you don’t have to be too proud of yourself either, even if I’m not as famous as you, it’s just because I drink more wine than you, I am drunk more times than you are, therefore, you steal the limelight from me.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Yes, yes, yes, you drink more wine than me. Every time we drink, I drink one cup, you at least drink seventy, eighty cups.”

Hu Tiehua said, “Although not as many as seventy or eighty cups, there are at least seven or eight cups. Every time I see you raise the cup, I think you are about to drink, who would have thought after you say a few words, you put it down again?”

He pointed to Chu Liuxiang’s nose and said, “Your fault is that you talk too much and drink too little.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Yes, yes, yes, there is no one in the world who can drink more than you do. You drink eight cups, I drink one, yet the one getting drunk first must be me.” Translated by foxs

Hu Tiehua said, “That statement is not false the slightest bit.”

Gou Zichang could not help laughing.

He felt that these two were bickering like big kids, but he did not know that they had noticed a figure flashing in the wild grass by the roadside, so they deliberately bickered with each other.

The figure hid behind a tree, unexpectedly Gou Zichang was completely oblivious.

Hu Tiehua and Chu Liuxiang exchanged a glance, they both knew that although this Gou Zichang had high martial arts skills, he had too little experience in Jianghu. He said, ‘I have never moved about in Jianghu at all’, this statement was evidently not false.

But since he had never moved about in Jianghu, how could he recognize Chu Liuxiang?

By this time, the figure has flashed away and disappeared, his qinggong seemed to be extremely high. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Hu Tiehua signed Chu Liuxiang with his eyes, he said, “Do you think he has heard anything important?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Should not hear anything.”

Gou Zichang coughed twice and hurriedly said, “Not only have I never heard of Hu Xiong’s great name, but even the Zhangmen [headmaster] of the seven major sects in the world today, I don’t know their names.”

Hu Tiehua blurted out laughing, he said, “In that case, I feel much more comfortable.”

Gou Zichang said, “Of the heroes under the heavens today, I only know one person, and that is Chu Xiang Shuai.”

Hu Tiehua asked, “Is he really that famous?”

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “Only because I have a friend who often mentions Chu Xiang Shuai before me, even says that even if I practice for another thirty years, my qinggong will still not be half as good as Chu Xiang Shuai.”

Hu Tiehua smiled and said, “That is nothing more than your friend is tooting horn on his behalf.”

Gou Zichang said, “That friend of mine often said that Chu Xiang Shuai’s kindness to him is as heavy as the mountain, this time when I came out, he exhorted me repeatedly that when I see Chu Xiang Shuai, I must, by all means, send best regards on his behalf. He was even afraid that I would not recognize Chu Xiang Shuai, hence when I left, he especially described Chu Xiang Shuai‘s svelte in abundance.”

He chuckled, and then continued, “But when I saw Chu Xiang Shuai, I still could not recognize him immediately, just because …” Translated by foxs

Hu Tiehua laughed and continued for him, “Just because at that time he was stark naked, just like a newborn baby. Naturally that friend of yours can’t be a girl, how would he know what he looks like when he was naked?”

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “But as soon as I saw Chu Xiang Shuai‘s actions, I immediately remembered; however … until now, I still can’t figure out how that pearl got into the jade belt.”

Hu Tiehua said, “That is no more than diversionary tactic of magic tricks, it’s not strange at all. He must have learned it from the ‘Four Hands’ who lived by Tian Qiao [Heavenly Bridge] doing magic tricks. That’s why he is also nicknamed ‘Three Hands’ [pickpocket]. Could it be that you have never heard about it?”

Gou Zichang said, “This … I have never heard my friend talked about it.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “This man has never grown ivory in his mouth. It’s better for you to listen to him a bit less.” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Hu Tiehua said, “Could it be that you have ivory growing in your mouth? Ivory is very valuable these days. No wonder some little girls [xiao bengniang] treat you as a living treasure.”

Paying no attention to him, Chu Liuxiang asked, “I wonder what is your honorable friend’s respected surname and great given name? How did he know me?”

Gou Zichang said, “His name is Wang Erdai.” [both er and dai could mean stupid/a fool]

Knitting his brows, Chu Liuxiang repeated, “Wang Erdai?”

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “I also know that that must be a fake name, but a friend is a friend. As long as he is sincere with me, why should I care if he uses his real name or a fake surname?”

Chu Liuxiang nodded, he did not ask any further.

Others unwilling to say, he definitely would not ask too much.

They were talking and walking at the same time, very soon they arrived at the riverbank.

Burst after burst of fresh aroma of grilled fish wafted in the breeze.

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “Zhang San, this kid finally understands good and bad, he already grilled the fish and is waiting to show appreciation to us.” Translated by foxs

The ‘Fast Net’ Zhang San’s boat was not big, and it was already very shabby.

But both Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua knew that Zhang San has spent countless heart’s blood to build it. Every piece of wood and every nail on the boat has been through careful selection. Although it seemed to be shabby, it is actually incomparably strong. As long as he was sitting on this boat, no matter how big the wind and the waves they encountered, Chu Liuxiang definitely would not worry.

He believed in Zhang San’s ability, because his own boat was also built by Zhang San.

There was a small red clay stove on the bow of the boat, next to the stove, there were more than a dozen jars of all kinds of shapes and sizes, big and small. Inside the jars were all kinds of different seasoning.

The fire was not roaring at all, and Zhang San was grilling a fish on the fire with a small iron fork. While grilling, he used a small brush to braise the fish with different ingredients.

He seemed to have put all his essence and spirit into the fish in his hand. Other people simply could not imagine that the ‘Fast Net’ Zhang San could focus and concentrate his attention like this.

Chu Liuxiang and the others came, but Zhang San did not greet them.

When he was grilling the fish, even if the sky fell, he would not care. No matter what happened, he simply had to wait until the fish was done. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

He often said, “Everyone can grill fish, but I grill better than others, just because I am more focus than others. These two characters ‘zhuan xin’ [focus] is my biggest secret in grilling fish.”

Chu Liuxiang believed that no matter what people do, they should learn this secret from him.

The aroma was getting stronger.

Hu Tiehua could not help saying, “I think your fish is probably already done.”

Zhang San did not pay him any attention.

Hu Tiehua said, “If you grill it some more, won’t it be burnt?”

Zhang San sighed and said, “Being interrupted and distracted by you, the taste of this fish must be wrong. It is ready, you can eat it!”

He delivered the fish, along with the iron fork – over, and muttered, “Impatient people, how could they eat good food?”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “But impatient people will at least have something to eat, better than standing on the side and drooling.”

He was not being polite at all, sitting down cross-legged, he took a big bite.

Only then did Zhang San stand up to greet the guest. He laughed and said, “Just now this friend was almost knocked over by me in the public bath. I should have grilled the fish first to honor him … Why didn’t you guys introduce me to him?”

Gou Zichang said, “My name is Gou Zichang, I don’t eat fish; whenever I see fish, I feel full already.” Translated by foxs

Zhang San was stunned, and then he roared in laughter and said, “All right, all right, this friend speaks really direct and to the point. But people who don’t eat fish don’t need to be punished by standing … Come, please sit down, sit down. Although my boat is worn out, it has been washed very clean, there is absolutely no fishy smell.”

His boat never had any chair, no matter who, anybody coming to his boat had to sit on the deck.

Gou Zichang put down the black leather suitcase first, and then sat on the suitcase.

Zhang San’s eyes grew big, he stared at his leather suitcase –– when the suitcase was put down, the entire boat seemed to rock, obviously it was astonishingly heavy.

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “Not that I dislike dirty, it’s just that my legs are too long, sitting cross-legged is uncomfortable.”

Zhang San did not seem to hear a word of what he said.

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “You must be guessing what’s inside my suitcase, but you will never guess.” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Zhang San also felt a little embarrassed, he laughed and said, “I know that at least what’s in the suitcase can’t be fish.”

Gou Zichang’s eyes flashing, he said with a smile, “I can let you guess three times. If you can guess it, I will give the suitcase to you.”

Zhang San laughed and said, “I’m not an immortal, how can I guess?”

Although his mouth said that, he still could not help guessing, “The heaviest object seems to be gold.”

Gou Zichang shook his head, he said, “No.”

He suddenly chuckled again, and then went on, “Even if all the gold on earth is piled up before me, I definitely will not give this suitcase to him.”

Zhang San’s eyes lit up, he said, “This suitcase unexpectedly is so precious?”

Gou Zichang said, “In other people’s eyes, it may be worthless, but in my eyes, it is more precious than life.”

Zhang San heaved a sigh, he said, “I admit that I can’t guess.”

He stared at Gou Zichang, and then sounded him out, “Such a precious object, presumably you won’t easily show it to other people?”

Gou Zichang said, “But sooner or later you will see it, so don’t worry.” Translated by foxs

He chuckled and then added, “Impatient people, how could they see good things?”

Although the fish was grilling slowly, it was grilled nonstop. Hu Tiehua already gobbled three, but his eyes were still wide open, as he stared at the one being roasted on the fire.

Gou Zichang laughed and said, “Tonight at San He Lou, there is still a table of good dishes waiting, why don’t Hu Xiong save some space in your stomach?”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “You don’t understand. How can there be anything on earth that can match the tastiness of Zhang San’s grilled fish?”

He closed his eyes, shook his head and said, “I like to eat bear paw, I also like to eat fish. But if the fish is grilled by Zhang San, I would choose the fish over the bear paw.”

Zhang San laughed in spite of himself, he said, “I did not expect this person to have some knowledge.”

Hu Tiehua spoke leisurely, “Other knowledge, I don’t have, but knowledge about eating, I have plenty. Even if Zhang San’s grilled fish is not superior at all, I will eat it first and talk later. Being able to spit the fish bones from the mouth is better than flying ducks.” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Suddenly his eyes grew big again, he said, “Do you think the dishes on the table tonight are delicious? If there is no poison in the dishes, then it would be strange indeed.”

Chu Liuxiang suddenly said, “Why is there an ant in this jar of vinegar? Could it be that you want to poison me too?”

How could there be any centipede in the vinegar?

Hu Tiehua was the first one unable to refrain from talking, but Chu Liuxiang waved his hand to tell him to shut up, and then he picked up the jar of vinegar and walked to the side of the boat.

No one could guess what he was doing, only to see he poured the entire jar of vinegar down.

“What is wrong with this man?”

Hu Tiehua had not said these words, he discovered that on the calm water of the river suddenly a burst of waves bubbled up, as if there was a big fish trashing around in the water.

And then, a circular cylinder, just over three chi long, about the size of a small bowl in diameter, floated up from the water.

The cylinder was made of silver, but it was so thin that it floated in the water.

Hu Tiehua immediately understood, he said, “Someone was hiding in the water and using this cylinder to eavesdrop?” Translated by foxs

Chu Liuxiang nodded, he laughed and said, “Now I am afraid he won’t be able to hear any sound for a long time.”

Underwater, one could not hear the sound above the water. Only by putting this special silver tube on the ear and extend it out of the surface of the water would the sound above the water be transmitted down via the silver tube.

But he would never imagine that a bottle of vinegar would be poured down from above.

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “Vinegar poured into the ear, although the feeling is not pleasant, but you still let that kid off too lightly. If it were me, I would definitely pour this can of chili oil down.”

Zhang San heaved a sigh, he muttered, “Without chili oil, it’s still not a problem, but without vinegar, it is impossible to grill at all.”

Gou Zichang was already emotionally moved, he could not help saying, “Since Xiang Shuai already discovered someone eavesdropping underwater, why not catch him and ask who sent him?” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Chu Liuxiang chuckled indifferently and said, “Asking him, it’s absolutely impossible to learn anything, but even though I don’t ask, I already know who sent him.”

Gou Zichang asked, “Who?”

Before Chu Liuxiang could speak, suddenly they saw two fast horses galloping speedily along the river bank.

The men on the horseback’s equestrianism was exquisite, the horses were also choice horses, one out of a thousand, only this moment there was already foam forming at the corners of their mouth, obviously they have already galloped over a long distance.

When passing by the boat, the men on the horseback seemed to speak a couple sentences.

But the horses galloped too fast that in the blink of an eye they already rushed several dozen zhang. No one had such sharp hearing.

Except for one person.

Naturally Hu Tiehua knew who this person was, he asked, “Old stinky bug, what did they say?”

Chu Liuxiang replied, “The man with the beard asked, ‘Bangzhu [gang leader] is really on that boat?’ The man without the beard said, ‘I just hope …’”

“I just hope what?” Hu Tiehua asked.

Chu Liuxiang said, “I’m very sorry, I can’t hear the following words clearly.”

Hu Tiehua shook his head and said, “Turns out that your ears are not necessarily too divine.”

But Gou Zichang was already stunned. Translated by foxs

He simply could not figure out how Chu Liuxiang could hear the two people talking. Not only was he able hear them talking, he was even able to tell which one had beard and which one did not, even able to tell which one said what.

Gou Zichang was simply in awe that he prostrated himself in admiration [idiom].

Chu Liuxiang suddenly said again, “Can you see where these two people came from?”

Hu Tiehua and Zhang San scrambled to answer at the same time, “Naturally from the ‘Shi’er Lianhuan Wu’ [Twelve Linked Docks].”

The two men looked at each other and laughed. Hu Tiehua continued, “The strange thing is, how could Wu Laoda [eldest child/boss/leader of a group] come to the River?”

Gou Zichang was stunned again, he could not help asking, “What kind of place is the Shi’er Lianhuan Wu?” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Hu Tiehua replied, said, “The Twelve-Linked Docks is the headquarter of the ‘Fengwei Bang’ [Phoenix Tail Gang].”

“Fengwei Bang?” Gou Zichang asked,

Hu Tiehua explained, “Fengwei Bang is the largest gang in Jianghuai. It has a long history, nearly the same as Gai Bang [the Beggar Gang], moreover, their conduct is also similar to that of Gai Bang; they are very upright.”

“And who is Wu Laoda?” Gou Zichang asked.

Hu Tiehua said, “Wu Laoda is Wu Weiyang, he is the Zongpiao Bazi [lit. chief ladle handle, basically ‘boss’, head honcho] of Fengwei Bang.”

Zhang San added, “Not only this man has extremely high martial art skill, but his conduct is also very honest, he could be regarded as a very good man with resounding reputation. If I see him, I will definitely invite him to eat grilled fish.”

Hu Tiehua said, “You should know that to eat Zhang San’s grilled fish is not easy at all. Shenlong Bang’s [divine dragon gang] Yun Conglong has wanted it for many years, but he simply could not eat it.”

Gou Zichang asked, “Is that the Shenlong Bang of the Yangtze River?”

“That’s right,” Zhang San replied, “Shenlong Bang is located prominently on the Yangtze River for many years, no one dares to snatch their territory. It was due to his agreement with Shenlong Bang in the past that Wu Weiyang vowed never to come to the Yangtze River.” Translated by foxs

Hu Tiehua said, “But he came today, that’s why we feel strange.”

Gou Zichang said, “But … how do you know that the two riders must have come from the ‘Twelve Linked Docks’?”

Hu Tiehua asked, “Can you see what kind of clothes they are wearing?”

Gou Zichang said, “It seems to be blackish green clothes, but people who wear blackish green clothes are many!”

Hu Tiehua said, “His belt is made of seven silk strips of different colors, which is the unique symbol of the ‘Feng Wei Bang’.”

Gou Zichang was stunned for half a day, he heaved a deep, deep sigh, and said with a bitter smile, “Your eyes are so fast …”

Zhang San spoke indifferently, “To mingle in Jianghu, not only eyes must be fast, ears must be long too. Relying solely on strong martial art skill is definitely not enough …”

Suddenly they heard the sound of hoofbeats, two horses came running from upstream along the riverbank. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

There was no one on the horseback.

These two horses, one was spotted and one was white, even Gou Zichang could see that they just passed through here, yet now they were back along the same path, but how could the riders be gone? Gou Zichang suddenly leaped from the bow, swept across the air, and landed gently on the white horse’s saddle, unexpectedly his hand was still carrying the black leather suitcase.

Only to head someone praised by his ear, “Good qinggong!”

Turning his head around, he saw Hu Tiehua already sat on the spotted horse’s saddle, looking at him with a grin on his face.

The two looked at each other and laughed; they reined the horses at the same time.

At this time, Chu Liuxiang slowly walked over, and said with laugh, “The two gentlemen’s qinggong are both very high, but Gou Xiong is a notch better.”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “Not wrong the slightest bit. He is carrying a suitcase weighing several dozen jin in his hand. Naturally he is at a disadvantage a lot more than me.”

Surprisingly, Gou Zichang did not show any signs that he was very proud of himself. Flipping over to dismount, he said, “Xiang Shuai is deeply hidden and did not reveal anything, your martial art skill must be even more deep and unmeasurable. It would be great if you could let me broaden my horizons.” Translated by foxs

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “You think he is really deeply hidden and did not reveal anything? Let me tell you, he is just natural lazybones. If he could lie down, he would never sit; if he could walk, he would never run.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “If I could keep my mouth shut, I would never talk randomly.”

Gou Zichang eyes flashing, he suddenly said, “Does Xiang Shuai know why these two horses left and then came back? Where did the riders go?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Gou Xiong must have already seen that perhaps they have encountered other people’s poisonous hands [deadly blow/vicious attacks/treacherous assault]!”

Emotionally moved, Hu Tiehua said, “What did you guys see? How do you know they encountered other people’s poisonous hands?”

Gou Zichang pointed to the white horse’s saddle and said, “Look, the blood stains here are not dry yet, presumably the rider has met with some mishaps.”

The saddle was indeed full of bloodstain, just like a dark red area.

Hu Tiehua heaved a sigh, he said, “You’re not slow to learn, simply already like a Jianghu veteran.”

Gou Zichang said with a wry smile, “I just happened to be standing here that I found out about it, who would have thought that while talking and laughing, Xiang Shuai has already seen it.” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Chu Liuxiang spoke heavily, “Wu Weiyang is like general who has no weak soldiers under him. These two men are both skilled in horsemanship, presumably their martial art skill is not weak either. The two horses came and went like this, it was just but a moment, they had already met poisonous hands …”

Hu Tiehua hurriedly said, “Let’s see if their bodies can still be found …”

Before he finished speaking, he already slapped the horse to go far away.