The night rain rustled on the window panes. The chanting in the front yard had ceased. The Wushan Fisherwoman was silent for a long time before letting out a long sigh, ''Mr Xie is a close friend of my Uncle of Master, how can I hide this to you? I will tell you the reason for this,and you have acquaintances all over the world, maybe you can help me find him ...."
Said here, she seemed to remember that she should explain the causes, so she paused and continued: "We are from Wushan Yue Sword Sect, descending from the ancient Yue State and later moved to the Wuxia, with thirty-four generations. We abided by the ancestral law, and we never get involved in any fight in Jianghu or politics. Besides, our rules to the admit apprentices were extremely strict, only female can be accepted. At the generation of my grand master, she picked up an orphan while travelling in the north, and that was my uncle master Zhang Xian. However, in the past decades, my grand master did not include him in her discipleship, but only passed on the music and rhythm to him. It was until my grand master passed away when she passed on some self-defence kung fu to him.
Xie Kangtu said, "No wonder Mr Zhang Xian never mentioned his mentor. However, he was proficient in music and he was one of the rarest geniuses in the world."
The Wushan Fisherwoman said: ''Mr Xie did not know that when our sect was founded, it was indeed rooted from music. Our founder was well versed in music theory, realised the breath of nature, and created the unique technique of using qi to control the sword and using sound to deter people, but the root was still music. Although uncle master was not accepted by the grand master as a disciple, but they were like mother and son; my master was also very kind and generous to him without any concealing. uncle master at least learnt some skills. However, he was in nature of desirelessness, and obsessed with Qin instrument, his martial techniques were idled... later when his son was born, grew up, he also hated martial arts, was obsessed with music, whenever he heard of rare ancient music, although it would cost him painstaking he must go to seek it. However, because of his physical weakness, he didn't know any martial arts at all.so he was repeatedly bullied, bruises.
When my master and uncle master were alive, they had confined my elder brother for five years, but he was still obsessed with the ancient genealogy and studied it day and night. Later, my master died, he left Wushan all alone without even saying farewell to anyone and was never heard from ..."
When Li Jing heard this, he couldn't help but feel strange: the Wushan fisherwoman called Zhang Xian's son "elder brother", naturally he was older than her, at least thirty years old or above in age. However, from Wushan fisherwoman's story, it seemed that this person was still a child. However, Li Jing still couldn't figure out why the Wushan fisherwoman, who had outstanding martial arts skills, had an indescribable affection for her him, and even mentioned his name with an unnatural look.
Xie Kangtu sighed: "Don't worry, although I am crippled, but I have been in business for more than twenty years, and I have some old friends in the north and south. After this big disaster, I will return to the north, please tell me the name and appearance of Mr Zhang, so that I can ask someone to help you find him."
The Wushan fisherwoman said: ''Thank you, Mr Xie. The elder brother name is Zhang Yu, with style name Wuyin, meaning five sound, thirty-two years old, six feet tall (Note: In early Sui time, one foot is about 29.6cm), he has white beardless face, usually wearing white clothes. Compared with others, the most obvious thing is that his fingers are nearly an inch longer than normal people. Before speaking, his tail of the eyebrow will move first, his voice is not loud but sounds like clear dews dropping on bamboos."
Xie Kangtu said, "You have made it very clear, and I have kept it in mind."
Wushan fisherwoman was silent for a long time, her voice lowered, "In fact, there ... is also the fact that his right foot has been limping, and his walking is extremely strenuous ..."
Xie Kangtu let out an "oh" and did not say anything else.
When Li Jing heard this, he was even more surprised: when Wushan fisherwoman described her brother's appearance, and his limp should be extremely obvious, so why did she whispered to added that after describing all others? Could it be that the limp was related to her?
The Wushan Fisherwoman changed the subject, "Does Mr Xie already have a family?"
Xie Kangtu sighed: "I have been wandering around for half a lifetime, and I am a lowly merchant, who would be willing to marry their daughter to me? Therefore, I am still not married in my middle age. Now that I'm a wreck, I'm afraid I'll be alone for the rest of my life."
Li Jing was quite sad to hear this. He had heard from his uncle that merchants were the last class in the world and were looked down upon, so all the wealthy families were unwilling to marry their daughters to merchants, not to mention the prestigious families and official families.
The Wushan Fisherwoman said, "Our Yue Sword Sect, has never been involved in the earthly matters, nor do we have any sectarian views. I have a disciple named Yue Xiu, who is twenty years old , and she is now the guardian of the mountain gate. If Mr Xie doesn't mind, I'll have her attend to you, what do you think?"
Xie Kangtu hastily refused, 'Absolutely not! Let alone my crippled body, your sect's disciples are all extraordinary experts... Absolutely not possible!'"
Wushan fisherwoman said in a cold voice: "Please do not misunderstand me, I do not mean to marry Yue Xiu to you. You are a wandering merchant, you need able persons to escort and take care of you.
Yue Xiu was saved by me from the mouth of a wolf when she was five years old, and with the tacit approval of my master, she has been practising diligently with me for the past fifteen years, and her kung fu is still better than that of Mu Sheng. you are wandering merchant, and now that your body is not agile, so you need someone like Yue Xiu who knows how to take care of your life and who can protect you. Although I live in the Wushan solitarily, your name is so famous all along the traffic of riverways. It's a good thing that Yue Xiu can be together with you."
Li Jing was shocked and delighted. He was surprised that Wushan fisherwoman did not ask for the agreement of Yue Xiu before she made decision to betroth her to a disabled person, acting extremely capricious; however he was delighted that as Gu Musheng's kung fu had already taken his breath away, Yue Xiu was still on top of Musheng, if Mr. Xie had her escort, it can also be considered as a great fortune among the misfortunes.
Xie Kangtu said: "I am grateful for your deep kindness for a lifetime. However, as the girl from your esteemed sect is in her prime, accompanying me in my disabled state would undoubtedly be a burden to her. I've been in trading business for over twenty years, and I have gained some reputation along the Yangtze river. If this is the case, I am afraid that I will not be able to establish a foothold in the business, please take back what you just said."
Wushan fisherwoman angrily said: "You can not tell good from bad! You talk about establishing a foothold, do you even have feet?"
Xie Kangtu couldn't answer. After a long time, he sighed: "What the lady said is right, I no longer have feet, therefore it is impossible to re-establish. Previously with my full body I had great difficulties to manage the business, now with half of the body, it would be even more difficult to move, so I have decided to leave the business, and go back to the hometown to spend the latter half of my life as a cripple... please don't worry, though my hometown is located in the border, there are still over a hundred acres of field, there are family members to take care of me, and I will not be unable to live on."
The Wushan fisherwoman probably felt that her earlier words had hurt Xie Kangtu, so she eased her voice, "Even if your family has spare fields and someone to take care of you, it's still an inconvenience after all.I have asked Yue Xiu to take care of you, but it is not without selfishness. It is inconvenient for me to go north, and if Yue Xiu can travel with you, it will also be beneficial to the search for my senior brother ..."
Xie Kangtu pondered for a long time, and said: "Thanks to your esteemed trust and kindness. I have to tell you the truth. I'm a member of the Jiangnan Xie Clan, my ancestor was the famous general Xie Xuan in the Jin Dynasty, and my ancestors were unwilling to yield to the new dynasty during the Liu Song Dynasty, so they moved to Ma Yi, and they have been doing business in the north for many generations. In my generation, I decided to expand my business to the south, so I travelled south to do business along the river. Ten years ago, Mr. Wang Duo, the old owner of the Jiangzhou boat company, entrusted the company to me on his deathbed, and I was unable to refuse such kindness, so I had to reluctantly take it over, and managed the company ever since."
Li Jing was familiar with military strategists from various dynasties and periods, this Xie Xuan was the key military figure in the battle of fei-shui in the Eastern Jin Dynasty with great military arts. They were honorable Jiangnan clan family, no ordinary family can be matched.
Wushan fisherwoman said, "Mr Wang Duo? I have heard from my master that this old Mr Wang Duo is proficient in shipbuilding and shipping, and is really a successful man on the waterway, and all along the river respected him for his character."
Xie Kangtu said: "Mr Wang's ancestor was the famous general Wang Jun of the Western Jin Dynasty. It was he who led the invincible navy eastward, forcing Sun Hao, the lord of Wu, to surrender and realise the great cause of unification...." Before his words were finished, the door was pushed open with a bang, and the Wushan fisherwoman flew out, and then there was a cry of misery in the distance.
Li Jing was startled. At this time he realised that there was someone listening outside the window. With his listening, he could not even notice that the backyard has been infiltrated, even the Wushan fisherwoman did not find earlier, which showed that this person's kung fu is excellent.
Soon the Wushan fisherwoman returned, she pushed open the door of Li Jing's room straight away, and found Li Jing and Alone Star safe and sound. She then sighed with relief, and closed the door and returned to Xie Kangtu's room, saying , "Indeed, there are master-hands!"
Xie Kangtu asked, "Could it be Gao Shengdao?"
The Wushan Fisherwoman said coldly, " He didn't know martial arts. Even if he does, his kung fu is not so deep that even I can't hear his voice. However, this person has been shot by my flying stones, although not to death, but enough for him to suffer!"
The next dawn, according to Xie Kangtu "simple" instructions, Gu Musheng went to the street to hire a few people to carry the coffins to the suburbs of the cemetery burial, busy until late afternoon. The monks in the cemetery finished the superlative and then returned to the courtyard, continuing to chant in front of the spirit hall, the ceremony was nearly over.
Xie Kangtu seemed to be in much better state and was carried by Gu Musheng to the front yard. The monks were doing their rituals with great devotion, but last night they had little break, and today they were tired after a long day's labour.
In the incense smoke, as Xie Kangtu could not kneel, so he let little A Yue kneel down on behalf of him in the funeral hall, according to the traditions it would take an hour. Li Jing cared for A Yue and asked for a substitute. Xie Kangtu agreed and returned to the back room to rest.
Li Jing kneeled down in front of the spirit, thinking that these dead people were killed for no reason and their deaths are all related to oneself,so his heart was filled with sorrow, unable to hold back the tears.
After a while, he felt that there is someone beside him, and found Alone Star when he turned his face. He didn't know from when, Alone Star actually learnt from him, and kneeled beside him in a regular manner, although not in tears, but with a solemn look.
Li Jing's heart ached. Alone Star is the son of the emperor, but suffered tribulations since childhood, was this destiny? The Buddhists cared about the world's living beings, Alone Star was just a child, what sins had he committed? If there really were a God or Buddha, why did not He protect Alone Star? In Li Jing ear came the melodious sound of chanting, but his mind was full of thoughts.
Gu Musheng settled down Mr. XIe and came out to act as a guest of honour. In fact, for such disaster, how can guest come to mourn? In Jiangzhou boat company of eighteen people, most of them came from north to follow Xie Kangtu in Jiangzhou for a living.
The fellows from the south were also far away from their homes, and their friends and relatives could reach them in ten days. Xie Kangtu had already decided in his discussion with the Wushan fisherwoman that he would take out all of his property and distribute it to the surviving families of the victims of the boat trip, including the fifteen people from Congyang. Therefore, as the funeral was simple, Gu Musheng's role of guest-receiver was just for the funeral organiser to run the hall.
After kneeling for an hour, Li Jing's legs were sore and numb before he was called up by the leading old monk. At this time, outside the courtyard walked into a person. He was more than forty years old in green hat, with thin body, narrow forehead, round eyes, dent nose bridge, protrude mouth, coin-like ear. He was growing a goatee, his arms were longer than normal people for half a foot, at first glance he seemed like an ape. His left armpit clamped a black umbrella, his right hand carried a bag, step by step he walked in. Gu Musheng greeted him and asked, "may I ask who are you ? what are you here for ?"
The man's ape eyes rolled over and asked in return, "Is this the Jiangzhou boat company?" The voice was sharp and sad, like the cries of an ape in a deep gorge.
Gu Musheng nodded his head. The man said, "Quickly ask Boat Owner Xie to come out and meet me."
Gu Musheng said politely, "Please also tell me your name, so that I can inform the boat owner."
The man said, "My name is Wang Cheng, Cheng means Integrity, from Xiangyang. Just tell Boat Owner Xie that I am a descendant of Wang Duo."
Gu Musheng entered the back hall. Soon he came out, pulling Li Jing with one hand and leading Alone Star with the other, he said to Wang Cheng, "Boat Owner Xie has invited Mr Wang to the hall to catch up."
The hall has been cleaned up, and the couch and seats have almost been restored to their previous state. Xie Kangtu covered his broken leg with a blanket and sat on the soft couch; the Wushan fisherwoman, masked in a black scarf, sat next to A yue. Gu Musheng was holding the hands of Li Jing and Alone Star, standing side by side.
Wang Cheng took a few steps forward and performed the bowing hand salute, "I am Wang Cheng from Xiangyang, I pay my respects to Mr Xie."
Xie Kangtu returned the salute, "You came from a very distant place, you must have suffered your journey. Please take a seat."
Wang Cheng sat on top of the guest couch opposite to Xie Kangtu, and unhurriedly took out an oil-paper bag from within his travelling bag, from the bag he took out a book, and stood up to present it to Xie Kangtu: "Please have a look at it, Mr Xie."
Xie Kangtu took it with both hands, but he saw that the book was yellowish in colour, and coarse and thick pages were made from mulberry skin, which was already quite old. "Sir this ... what is the meaning of this?"
Wang Cheng returned to his seat and slowly said, "This is the family tree book of my Wang family. My family originated from the Hongnong Wang family clan. During the Western Jin Dynasty, my ancestor Wang Jun pacified Eastern Wu with his invincible navy, and his son Wang Ru inherited the title of Xiangyang County Marquis and settled in Xiangyang, which has desended for nine generations till now. The eighth generation had two sons, eldest son's name is Wang Duo and the second son's name is Wang Zheng. I am Wang Cheng, son of Wang Zheng, and Wang Duo is my uncle."
Xie Kangtu flipped through the genealogy. The records of the Wang family genealogy were rigorous and orderly, and there were no discrepancies. He handed the genealogy to Gu Musheng and returned it to Wang Cheng, arching his hand for courtesy and said, "I wonder what Mr Wang is here for?"
Wang Cheng said: "My uncle passed away in a hurry, as his nephew I should have come to take care of the aftermath, but at that time I did not receive the message. Besides, my father was in serious illness for several years, and I had to take care of him. In August this year, before my father passed away, he asked me to come to Jiangzhou and bring the ancestral heirlooms back to Xiangyang."
Xie Kangtu said, "I wonder what the object is?"
Wang Cheng said, "It's a shipbuilding drawing."
Xie Kangtu was stunned, "I am very close to Mr Wang Duo, but I have never heard him say that there are any shipbuilding drawings."
Wang Cheng's face changed and he said coldly, ''Mr. Xie, this drawing, same as this genealogy, is the heirloom of my Wang family clan, it has always been kept by the eldest son's family.
Uncle has no heir, but the Wang family has a successor! As you have already obtained the Jiangzhou boat company, do you still want to covet the Wang family's ancestral personal belongings?"
Xie Kangtu said with a straight face, "During Mr Wang Duo's lifetime, he indeed never mentioned that there was any shipbuilding drawing. You insist that there is such thing, where's the evidence ?"
Wang Cheng angrily shouted: "You said that there is no drawing, but Jiangzhou boat company built big ships, is it from nowhere? Along the Yangtze river, Jiangzhou boat company has the best sailing ships, but you say there is no shipbuilding drawings, who can believe that!"
When Li Jing heard this, he almost understood it: all cabinets had been rummaged through, Gao Shengdao sneaked into the secret room, all the remaining things were not missing, all were for this shipbuilding drawingWushan Fisherwoman, who hadn't said a word, sneered, "Even if there was such shipbuilding drawing, it was passed on from Mr. Wang Duo to the ship's successor, Mr. Xie, so why should it be given to you?"
Xie Kangtu froze. However, since the Wushan Fisherwoman had interjected, he immediately shut up. Wang Cheng moved his ape eyes towards her, "Who are you? This is the Wang Family's internal fairs with Boat Owner Xie, for outsiders please do not interrupt."
Wushan Fisherwoman did not reply. Li Jing only felt a blur before his eyes. Immediately after, he saw the Wushan Fisherwoman holding the Wang Clan genealogy in her hand. her speed was unbelievably fast , as if the genealogy had flown into her hands out of thin air.
"You ..." Wang Cheng was too shocked to speak.