A Step into the Past

Book 7 Chap 6 – Sisters in trouble

After returning, Teng Yi said quietly to him, “Yanran is waiting for you at the inner hall.” Xiang Shaolong was just about to look for her and quickened his steps on hearing that.

Teng Yi ran after him and asked, “Why did the King of Zhao summon you?” Xiang Shaolong was embarrassed and stopped to tell him briefly what happened and laughed, “We’re considered lucky, there should be no problem if we stay in Handan for 1 to 2 more months.” Teng Yi gave him a push and said, “Go in quickly! You’re really lucky in love.” Xiang Shaolong did not expect this burly man to suddenly utter such a phrase. Obviously Shanlan has changed him a lot. He replied with a smile and walked towards his bedroom.

He had just closed the door when the great beauty Ji Yanran ran into his arm with a gush of fragrance, her passion so fiery that he almost melted.

Women who have just started eating the forbidden fruit will be especially clingy and Learned Lady Ji is no exception. After the joining, they started talking, limbs entwined.

Before Xiang Shaolong had a chance to ask her about Li Yuan, this beauty admitted it first, “Xiang Lang, please don’t blame Yanran. I’ve agreed to go with Li Yuan tomorrow to Lake Feng at the south of the city to admire the red leaves. Hai! This lovelorn person is really sincere, to run after me all the way from Chu and kept on pleading with me. Yanran had no choice but to entertain him a little. I will then find a chance to clarify with him my stand and tell him to give up on me.”

Xiang Shaolong remained silent on hearing how Ji Yanran is still treating Li Yuan so nicely. Ji Yanran pouted a little, “Are you unhappy? It’s just a normal outing! If you’re still worried, I’ll ask Mister Zou to come along.”

Xiang Shaolong sighed and said, “From my observation and information obtained, this person’s interior is not as good as his exterior but if I say this at this point of time, it would seem that I lack graciousness.”

Ji Yanran disengaged herself from his arms and sat up on the bed, revealing her perfect upper body to his eyes as she said unhappily, “Do you think I am a person who would see you as someone carrying tales? I already belong to you while in Daliang, so why should you be afraid to speak your mind.”

Xiang Shaolong pulled her back into his arms, flipped her over and pressed down on her, telling her how he made use of Li Yanyan to take part in the evil scheme set up by Lord Chunshen, and also what happened at the feast tonight.

When Yanran heard how Li Yuan was pressurizing the King of Zhao to deal with her ‘Xiang Shaolong’, and how he publicly announced during the feast about his appointment with her, her expression changed and she said, “I did not expect him to be such a shallow and conniving person, Yanran must really be blind.”

Xiang Shaolong replied, “This person may have had a hard time suppressing himself in Chu so now that he’s in Zhao, he would reveal the real him when he’s not afraid that others will know.”

Ji Yanran breathed out a gush of cold air as she said, “Luckily Xiang Lang has reminded Yanran, so I won’t be taken in by him. Hai! When can Xiang Lang take me to Xianyang? It’s really torturous being so secretive. Mister Zou is also very envious of Qin and hopes that he can go there quickly.”

Xiang Shaolong sighed, “Who wouldn’t want to leave this godforsaken place, it’s just that now we still have to wait for the right time.”

Ji Yanran sat up unwillingly and said, “ I have to go. This time you don’t have to send me off, it’ll be difficult to argue if someone bumps into us.” Then added with a smile, “Why don’t we put on another show, the title of the act will be called ‘The Horse Fanatic gets Ji Yanran’. If we can infuriate that Li Yuan to death, won’t it be fun? Then we don’t have to be so secretive and scared all the time. I can even openly move in to stay with you.”

Xiang Shaolong sat up, hooking his arm around her pretty neck and tasted the lipstick on her pink lips again as he said, “It’s ‘The Horse Fanatic having sole possession of Beauty Ji’, or maybe ‘Fanatic Dong flirts with pretty Yanran’. This is a very tempting thought, but if it incurs the jealousy of Lord Longyang, then it’ll be really terrible.”

Ji Yanran replied with a smile, “This Lord Longyang likes to think that he’s smart. If we do it just right, seemingly having feelings at times, moving along in steadily, it will instead quell his doubts and it will even make him think that I have nothing to do with that Xiang Shaolong, otherwise why would I have fallen for another man. She added with a sweet smile, “The terms Xiang Lang uses are the best in the world.”

After being on cloud nine, Xiang Shaolong thought over it and found it reasonable and was greatly energized. If he can eliminate Lord Longyang’s suspicions of Ji Yanran, it’ll be easier for their mission in future. Otherwise if they let this man-woman find out about their affair, his identity may be revealed immediately. Because there’s no way for him to hide if they decide to look at his false face in detail.

To the Zhaos, it’s better to let him get Ji Yanran than to let Li Yuan have the advantage. The 2 of them were so excited they started their entanglements again before discussing the details.

Xiang Shaolong remembered Zhao Zhi, and it was only after much persuasion that Ji Yanran reluctantly left him quietly.

Xiang Shaolong took the opportunity to take a nap after Ji Yanran left and Teng Yi woke him up at midnight.

This guesthouse originally had a housekeeper and a group of servants but they have been transferred to work at the outer residence to stop them from being a hindrance.

While he was washing up, Teng Yi said from behind him, “A few suspicious looking men started hiding around the front of the street and back alley an hour ago. I wonder who they could be. Really feel like going out to teach them a lesson.”

Xiang Shaolong replied, “It’s easy to teach them a lesson. We just have to inform Zhao Mu tomorrow. That conniving thief will certainly have his ways to find out who they are.”

Teng Yi said, “Be careful when you go out. I think I’d better go with you, at least I can take care of you.”

Xiang Shaolong guffawed, “I’m just going for a rendezvous, why would I need to be taken care of.”

Teng Yi no longer insisted and changed the topic, “When do you intend to make contact with the 2 groups belonging to Pu Bu and Zhao Da?”

Xiang Shaolong wore his mask and said, “We can only decide on this at a later date, and we must not let them know that Dong Kuang is Xiang Shaolong. A person’s heart is unfathomable, who knows if any one of them would betray us?”

Teng Yi heaved a sigh of relief and said, “I’m relieved to know that you can think it this way.”

Xiang Shaolong gave him a strong hug around the shoulders and after he helped him with wearing his full gear, he climbed over the wall and left the residence, turning into the dark streets.

Although it’s late in the night, there are still carriages and people on the streets as well as patrolling guards. The cities of this era are huge and not as densely populated so general security is still good.

Keeping alert along the way, he reached his destination an hour later. He’s still worried about being followed so he deliberately hid on a tree, waiting until he was sure no one was following before jumping down and walking into the bamboo forest next to Zhao Zhi’s house.

It was an ordinary house, only slightly bigger than the average home. What’s special is that there’s a small river on the left while this bamboo forest is on the other side, separating this house from the nearby houses. This bamboo forest is also the path that one must go past in order to reach the house.

Xiang Shaolong cast aside his remorse towards Jing Jun, consoling himself by thinking that small details should not be haggled over if one wants to accomplish big things before walking out of the bamboo forest.

The deep barks of dogs were heard, then they were silent. Obviously Zhao Zhi had stopped them.

Zhao Zhi’s residence is split into the front, middle and back, with a small courtyard at the back planted with flowers and trees. The surroundings have a quiet elegance.

The rooms at the back were joined with the garden so he only have to climb the wall into the back courtyard and will easily reach Zhao Zhi’s bedroom.

Right at this time, the lamp in one of the rooms was lighted, and then extinguished again. It continued for 3 times before it remained lit.

Xiang Shaolong knows that this is Zhao Zhi’s signal, and excitement welled in his heart from having an illicit affair. Zhao Zhi wins in being matured enough, a unique character and style that can intoxicate a person. The deepest impression she gives is that although she is not past 20, she has an air of weariness as if she has been through a lot. It seems that she must have had a sad past.

Xiang Shaolong knows that there’s not much time left. A moment of night is worth a thousand taels of gold. He moved swiftly, climbing over the wall into the house and entering through the window.

It turned out to be a small study, simply and comfortably decorated. Zhao Zhi was wearing a pale maroon long dress, lounging on a rectangular bed, the table next to her filled with fine wine and snacks, looking at him climbing in through the window with a smile.

Xiang Shaolong was about to smile in return when an alarm suddenly went off in his heart but before he had the time to react, something is already pressing down on his waist from the back.

The reason why he did not have a proper feel is because it’s separated by the belt that was filled with flying needles tied around his waist.

A low but melodious female voice behind him said, “Don’t move, unless you can move faster that the specially made mechanical strong bow.”

Xiang Shaolong felt the voice sounded familiar but he could not remember who this person threatening him from the back could be.

Zhao Zhi jumped up excitedly and exclaimed with a dainty smile, “Everyone keeps saying how formidable Xiang Shaolong is, but he still fall into us sisters’ trap.”

Xiang Shaolong was secretly laughing dryly, this is the second time he got cheated by a woman. Maybe this is a man’s greatest weakness, always putting their guards down when faced with a pretty woman.

But he was feeling puzzled. If Zhao Zhi wants to deal with him, she just has to run out to the streets and start shouting and he’ll be done for, so why would she go through so much trouble to deal with him privately.

Or could it be she still has feelings for that dead Lian Jin? She won’t feel happy unless she kills him personally? He pretended to be surprised and said, “What is Miss Zhi talking about? Who is Xiang Shaolong?”

Zhao Zhi exclaimed angrily, “Still denying! Haven’t you already admitted while on the road to the Guo Residence?”

Xiang Shaolong deliberately antagonized her, “Who told you that I am Xiang Shaolong?”

Thinking back, Zhao Zhi realized that indeed he has not admitted to it but at that time his mannerisms and the way he talked is exactly like Xiang Shaolong. Now that he is denying it, it’s obvious he’s making a fool of her.

The lady behind him, who could either be Zhao Zhi’s younger or older sister, said in a low voice, “If you’re not Xiang Shaolong, than my only choice is to silence you immediately so that our secret will not be leaked.”

Xiang Shaolong’s heart shook, he finally recognized that this lady behind him is the female assassin who tried to assassinate Zhao Mu twice, the first time was a mistaken attack on the carriage and the other time happened the night before, which was thwarted by him.

What he couldn’t figure out earlier suddenly became clear. No wonder the female assassin could sneak into the Marquis Residence, all because of Zhao Zhi who helped with the spying.

He sighed and said, “Then I’m dead for sure, because I don’t even know who Xiang Shaolong is. I thought it’s because Miss Zhi had taken a special liking to me…”

The lady behind said fiercely, “If you say one more time that you’re not Xiang Shaolong, I’ll retaliate immediately!”

Xiang Shaolong was secretly sniggering and thinking it’ll be a miracle if she can shoot past those steel needles and said with a cold snort, “I, Horse Fanatic Dong Kuang, never likes to be threatened and neither am I afraid of death. If I am not Xiang Shaolong, I am not so why should I pretend to be. If you don’t believe me you can come and scrutinize my face to see if I have done anything to it?”

This is called making a calculated bet, betting that never in their dreams would they imagine that in this world, there will be such a leather mask made so delicately by Xiao Yuetan and this mask has a natural stickiness that will stick so perfectly onto skin that not a gap can be found such that even facial expressions can be shown. If one doesn’t know how, it won’t be easy to remove the mask at all.

Zhao Zhi was momentarily stunned and came forward, extending her hand to touch his face.

Zhao Zhi touched and grabbed for a while before her expression changed thoroughly as she exclaimed, “Heavens! You’re really not him!” Xiang Shaolong replied, “I may not be Xiang Shaolong, but please don’t shoot, otherwise it will be a lose-lose situation.” The 2 women were equally stunned and knew that something is not right.

Fast as lightning, Xiang Shaolong escaped from between the women and came to Zhao Zhi’s back, his hand pulling out the dagger at his waist smoothly and placed it across Zhao Zhi’s neck while his other hand was wrapped around her alluring waist, taking control of the situation.

That lady raised her strong bow, aiming at them but she dare not shoot.

Xiang Shaolong pulled Zhao Zhi along as he backed up to the wall before he steadied his nerves to weigh this female assassin whose swordsmanship and stratagems are both astounding.

She is a little shorter than Zhao Zhi, looks about 70-80% similar to her, but is more fair and delicate looking. Her eyes are sharp, with a hardness and viciousness that Zhao Zhi lacks. She is a little older, her body graceful and packed with power and now she looks like a female leopard that’s about to find someone to bite.

Xiang Shaolong asked with a smile, “How do I address this elder sister here?”

Zhao Zhi ignored the sharp knife pointed at her throat and cried out piteously, “Eldest Sister release the arrow quickly, otherwise not only won’t we be able to take revenge, living will become even worse than dying.”

Xiang Shaolong was relieved for he knows that Zhao Zhi really believe that he is that horse fanatic Dong Kuang so he hurriedly said, “We ca talk things over slowly. I can swear not to reveal your secret. I’m a man of my words and will never go back on my promises.”

The 2 of them can’t help but look at each other. Since this person is not Xiang Shaolong, there’s no reason for him to let them off. This is too illogical.

Xiang Shaolong did not give them a chance to speak. He first made a very deadly vow in Dong Kuang’s name before saying, “Elder sister, put down your bow and arrow and I’ll release your sister.”

The pretty female assassin replied resentfully, “Who is your Elder sister?” But her hands naturally loosened the hold on the strong bow, throwing the bow and arrow aside, so coolly that it seems a little irrational.

Xiang Shaolong was thinking that this beautiful tigress is quite straightforward so he kept the dagger that was placed on Zhao Zhi’s pretty neck.

Right at this time, he saw this woman give an eye signal to Zhao Zhi and knows that something is not right so he hurriedly move to the side and just happened to avoid Zhao Zhi’s elbow.

That lady let out a high pitched whistle and at the same time pulled out the long sword from her back and launched an attack towards him.

Xiang Shaolong was furious. He was kindhearted enough to make a deadly vow not to reveal their secret because he did not want to silence them but not only did they not appreciate it, they are trying to silence him in turn. Blood Wave came out of its sheath lightning fast.

There was a strange sound coming from the door and he turned his head around to take a glance and secretly cursed. It turned out to be a large yellow dog, running through the door in an alarming speed, revealing its white teeth, the nostrils flaring and a thunderous growl from deep within its throat, jumping towards him. He suddenly realized that her whistle earlier was to summon this ferocious dog to help her.

Luckily in the past, one of the modules he was trained in was how to deal with aggressive dogs and although he has never put it to the real test, he had trained and fought with the military dogs that were even more muscular than this yellow dog. He swept his sword across to block the coming stab from the other party, lowered his body and kicked sideways, aiming right at the lower jaw of the ferocious dog that was in midair jumping towards him.

The beast howled as it was kicked aside and tumbled to the ground, unable to get up for the time being.

Zhao Zhi managed to grab a sword from somewhere and coordinated her attack with her sister, one attacking from the left and the other from the front and for a moment swords were flashing everywhere.

Xiang Shaolong knows that this 2 ladies are formidable but he has long since familiarized himself with the 3 killer moves of the Mohist addendum so his swordplay is not as unskilled as in the past. Since the ferocious dog has not pounced again, he took the chance to dash to the side of the elder sister and using all his tactics, slashed his sword down from the top.

The elder sister was shocked. It turned out that Xiang Shaolong’s move was excellent and wondrous, for it can keep on changing in such a narrow space, making one totally clueless as to what is happening. She gritted her teeth and attacked the onslaught, not caring about the enemy’s sword at all as she aimed lightning fast towards Xiang Shaolong’s heart, absolutely having the intention of dying together.

Xiang Shaolong was secretly admiring her character and this is just what he wanted as well. He had crossed swords with her before and knows that the style of her swordplay is fast and ever changing and if someone unskilled fights with her, that person may be dead even before he gets to touch her sword. This is also a woman’s distinctive way of using the sword so that they need not match their strength against men who are stronger by nature.

He immediately changed his move and swept his sword across to block. ‘Clang!’ The sound reverberated sharply, the pretty assassin’s sword was blocked by Xiang Shaolong’s sword.

Since she wants to launch an attack against another attack, she will have to use all her might and there is no room for retreat and this instead gave Xiang Shaolong the chance to use all his strength to fight with her.

Besides Xiao Weimou and Teng Yi, Xiang Shaolong’s waist and arm strength can be considered unbeatable. Now matter how formidable she is, she is still a woman and restricted by her nature. As the swords struck at each other, the vibration caused her wrists to go numb and she retreated in astonishment.

Xiang Shaolong thought that he would be able to disarm her but who would have expected her to tolerate the effects, although barely. She gave a cold snort as she rolled towards the ground.

Zhao Zhi did not expect this horse fanatic to have such shocking swordsmanship and just as she was about to run up to help out, her retreating sister happened to knock into her and both of them tumbled back.

Right at this time that yellow dog came back again and was about to pounce on Xiang Shaolong. Zhao Zhi cried out in alarm, “Dahuang! No!”

By this time Xiang Shaolong is already holding the bow in his right hand and an arrow in his left hand, aiming towards the top agilely towards that Dahuang.

This dog is very smart and well trained by the 2 ladies. Once it saw the arrow pointing at itself, it gave a low moan and hid behind the 2 ladies.

Xiang Shaolong held the bow with his right hand and the sword with his left hand, pointing it at the 2 terrified ladies and asked with a smile, “What is elder sister’s name, so that I know how to address you.”

The 2 ladies were still feeling unsettled and cowered at the corner of the wall, not daring to move at all. In such a narrow space and short distance, it is ridiculous to think that one can fend off the light arrow shot by the strong bow.

The elder sister is very stubborn, her lips were drawn tight and she did not answer him. Instead it was Zhao Zhi who blurted out, “Her name is Tian Rou!”

Xiang Shaolong was surprised, “Shouldn’t her surname be Zhao?” Zhao Zhi realized that she has slipped up and her face turned pale.

Xiang Shaolong and that Tian Rou looked at each other. He thought that since her surname is Tian, maybe she is related to Tian Dan. Zhao Mu has all along been in cahoots with Tian Dan, otherwise he wouldn’t be in secret contact with Xiao Weimou. Once he though of this, he had a slight idea of what’s happening so he pretended to be furious as he stared widely and said, “I actually had the intention of letting both of you go, but a pity that your surname is Tian and I hate people with this surname. Now I can only abandon all thoughts of taking pity on beauties and send you back to where you came from before you were born. You should be grateful to me for giving you an easy death.”

Zhao Zhi looked at the bow and arrow he held in his hand and trembled, “Why do you hate those with the surname Tian so much.”

Tian Rou hissed angrily, “Zhizhi! Don’t talk to him, let him kill if he wants to!”

Xiang Shaolong was secretly feeling perplexed, could it be that there’s only these 2 sisters in this house. Otherwise with such a commotion going on, not a single person has appeared. And where has Zhao Zhi’s ‘father’ whom she live with hidden himself? Once he thought of this, he saw the ears of the yellow dog which Zhao Zhi was holding on to perk up as its eyes shot to attention. He secretly understood and shouted, “Don’t come in, otherwise I’ll shoot immediately.”

The 2 ladies were shocked. They did not expect that he’d actually detect their help who is stealthily nearing them soundlessly and suddenly a sense of weakness and helplessness welled up in them as they felt that there’s no way they can deal with this person.

Xiang Shaolong looked at Zhao Zhi and said, “Since you are already at death’s door, there’s no need for me to hide anything from you. The reason why I hate people with the surname Tian, is because one of them is called Tian Dan!”

The 2 ladies were momentarily stunned as they stared at him. Xiang Shaolong moved forward slowly, his arrow moving up and down so that the 2 ladies have no idea the targeted area he has chosen.

A very tempting thought occurred to him. He just have to shoot Tian Rou, then use his flying needles to deal with the person outside the door and Zhao Zhi. He is 100% sure that he can swiftly deal with all 3 of them and that will settle everything and there’ll be no need to trouble himself over them anymore.

A old sounding voice outside the door shouted, “Hero please have mercy, Tian Dan is also the enemy of my 2 Missies, we’re all on the same side.”

Tian Rou and Zhao Zhi cried out in unison, “Uncle Zheng!”

Xiang Shaolong said with a frosty laugh, “How do I know if this is true? I deliberately told you this so that I can force myself to harden my heart and silence you. Otherwise if you leak this out, and Zhao Mu, who is in cahoots with Tian Dan, finds out, I’ll be dead. Or maybe you still do not know that Tian Dan will be coming to Handan within these few days and this is the only chance for me to take revenge. I will not allow anyone to thwart me.”

The 2 ladies were visibly moved, obviously they do not know that Tan Dan is coming to Zhao. Tian Rou’s eyes opened widely as she stared at him, “Aren’t you with Zhao Mu?”

Xiang Shaolong shouted, “Shut up! Who would be this conniving thief’s partner! I’m just pretending and gaining his trust so that I can deal with Tian Dan. Hai! I’ve never killed women, I’ll have no choice but to start tonight.”

That Uncle Zheng who was outside the door cried out in alarm, “Hero do not be rash, the death of my 2 Missies’ family were caused by Tian Dan and Zhao Mu. This is absolutely true, if there’s any deceit in this, then may I die without a burial place with thousands of arrows piercing my heart.”

Xiang Shaolong pretended to be deep in thought and said, “There’s no doubt that both of you has a deep enmity with Zhao Mu, but one of them is in Qi while the other is in Zhao, so how did they become your enemies?”

Zhao Zhi cannot control her tears as she cried piteously, “My family was harmed by Tian Dan and forced to escape to Handan but who would have expected that the conniving thief Zhao Mu would actually capture all 183 people in my clan and ordered men to send us back to Tian Dan, where they were all tortured to death by him. Would you believe if I say this?”

Tian Rou said angrily, “Don’t beg him.” Xiang Shaolong said with a smile, “Although there’s a ‘Rou’* in your name, you’re not gentle at all.”

(Note: Rou, meaning gentle)

Tian Rou was so furious that she couldn’t speak. Xiang Shaolong added, “Why are the 3 of you left then?”

Uncle Zheng’s voice drifted in, “The 2 Missies and I were late by a few days, that’s why we escaped the calamity. For the past 7 years, we’ve been constantly thinking of revenge, Hero, please believe us.”

Xiang Shaolong was relieved, and feeling a little guilty that he wanted to kill them earlier. Living in this warring era where lives are cheap, it’s really easy to become influenced.

Xiang Shaolong released the trigger and the arrow shot between the 2 ladies faces with a whoosh, into the wall.

The 2 ladies were dumbfounded; they did not expect him to shoot at this moment. If the target is any one of them, they certainly won’t be able to avoid it.

Xiang Shaolong threw the strong bow aside and kept his sword in the sheath as he said with a smile, “I am not interested in interfering in your matters, but I ask that you do not come and spoil my plans. Your real enemy is Tian Dan and not Zhao Mu and now that Zhao Mu is on the alert, to strike again would only be giving yourselves up for capture. Think about it! Such pretty girls like the both of you, if you fall into the hands of the evil, you will face a humiliation even worse than death. This is my advice, farewell!”

Under the amazed stare of the both of them, Xiang Shaolong strode towards the door and came face to face with that Uncle Zheng before leaving leisurely.