Chapter 4 – Dangerously Close to Revealing the Flaw
Looking at her from a close distance, Xu Ziling noticed that Madame Hong had bright eyes and white teeth. Not only she was without the slightest bit of broken flower, withered willow [idiom: fallen woman] impression, her youthful glow had a strong attractive force. Even until now, Xu Ziling still could not figure out, what did she see in him?
But he dared say with 80% confidence that probably it was not be far removed from his gambling technique.
He politely nodded his head and smiled. Confident, at ease, and natural, he lightly shrugged his shoulders, indicated that he did not mind.
The chips were covered again. But due to Madame Hong’s distraction, he could not hear the number of chips in this round. Yet he was still totally unconcerned to put all four hundred taels worth of chips, including his capital, on the three gate.
Madame Hong cast him a surprised look, but she did not follow him placing her bet.
For the first time Xu Ziling felt that Madame Hong was not simple at all. Just now she was clearly distracting his attention on purpose, so that he could not concentrate to listen. Yet he was still placing heavy bet, precisely so that she could not see what is true and what is false with him.
He suddenly felt another pair of eyes from among the crowd on his left was casting its burning gaze on him. He casually turned to look; surprisingly he came across a pair of familiar looking eyes.
“Open up!”
Everybody in the hall, none did not show listening-attentively expression; they quietly waited for the two great masters in the medical field to pit themselves against each other.
Although on the surface Li Yuanji and Mei Xun were showing relaxed expression, both were actually concentrating their attention completely, ready to deal with any sudden change.
Many times in the past they had experienced Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s going-through-the-heavens [idiom: expert] methods; therefore, although they only had little suspicion about Kou Zhong disguising himself as a divine doctor, they still did not dare to lightly overlook this possibility, and simply had to verify his authenticity.
Among the outsiders that came to Chang’an nowadays, the three most notable were the ‘Overbearing Saber’ Yue Shan, Mo Wei, and the Divine Doctor Mo Yixin.
No one doubted that Yue Shan could not be impersonated. Mo Wei has been going through Li Shimin’s thorough investigation that he was indeed new rising star among the Bashu Wulin; only this Divine Doctor has not yet had anybody really ascertaining his foundation, and since Li Yuanji had just returned to Chang’an, he wanted to be very clear about this matter, so that he could decide what his next step be in dealing with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling.
This time Li Yuanji returned without any achievement, he suffered a great loss of face; therefore, he was unwilling to miss any opportunity.
If Kou Zhong were not someone who obtained Li Yuan’s special favor and gratitude, based on Li Yuanji’s oppressive style, he would have grabbed Kou Zhong early on to see whether he was in disguise. But presently he could only take an indirect approach by examining whether he was a real divine doctor or not.
While inwardly Kou Zhong was fifteen, sixteen [I have no idea, but I am sure Akolaw will explain shortly ], Wei Zhengxing calmly said, “Looking at Xiansheng’s method in treating patient, you rely mainly on using needles, with medication as a supplement. For example, Sha Ershao’s venerable father and Madame Qing were purely treated using needles, only in diagnosing and treating Zhang Niangniang did you involve medicine. Therefore, Ol’ Wei wanted to ask Xiansheng for guidance in tips and tricks concerning needles’ usage.”
Kou Zhong secretly thought, you, old kid wants to investigate clearly, go ahead, give me all you got! He laughed and said, “Xiaoren is listening respectfully with washed ears.”
Wei Zhengxing said, “The ancient books have written: the use of needles, from yin extending to yang, from yang pulling the yin, using right to govern the left, using left to control the right, using self to know the other, using exterior surface to know the interior, using observation and falling short of the inner essence, seeing the profound to obtain, one won’t be in danger. I wonder how to apply this principle in the usage of the needles?”
Although on the surface Kou Zhong appeared to be smiling, the fact was that he did not even have any idea about the real meaning of those words; he only knew that Wei Zhengxing was asking something about yin and yang, left and right, outside and inside, and so on, some kind of vague and generic principles of medical sciences. Listening to it, not only he was completely muddled, even those present only knew one and understand half [idiom: smattering of knowledge] of such profound and highly specialized terms in medical science, so much so that they did not even know what he was driving at.
Fortunately, tooting his horn could be considered one of Kou Zhong’s expertise. His brows knitted, the words came into his mind, he spoke with assurance and composure, “Not only principles of medical science must be alive, most importantly, it must be applied creatively and flexibly. The so-called left and right, outside and inside, what is true and what is false, in the end it is still no more than distinguishing yin from yang, while yin and yang are actually one integral whole. Separated, lone yin will not grow, independent yang will not live. In our medical school’s usage of the needle, the top fetches the bottom, the bottom gets the top, also perhaps using left to control the right, using right to govern the left, which is nothing more than the principle of focusing on the yin and yang’s opposing nature to complement and multiply each other. I wonder if Xiaoren’s humble opinion can dissolve Xiansheng’s misgivings?”
Wei Zhengxing was stunned. He was looking for a standard answer, like the most crucial pursuit and the method of using the needle; if Kou Zhong answered it that way, he could pursue relentlessly and strike by asking in details the method and principle of using the needle, to see whether Kou Zhong was a real talent with solid stuff. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong was using martial art study into the medical skill, speaking out some principles that would be difficult for others to distinguish true from fake, and adding some familiar knowledge of the needle technique from the Internal Canon, so that momentarily he lacked the word to ask difficult question.
Upon seeing this, Yuanji and the others thought that Kou Zhong’s medical knowledge was superior to Wei Zhengxing’s. Instantly their suspicions diminished greatly, so they relaxed.
Chang He was already resentful that Yuanji was calling on Wei Zhengxing to challenge Kou Zhong. Raising his cup, he said, “Mo Shen Yi’s remark is truly brilliant; let’s respect him with a cup. Let’s end tonight’s discussion of medical science here, let’s continue talking about the wind and the moon [idiom: romance or petty talk].”
Chang He was Li Yuan’s trusted lieutenant; Li Jiancheng also doted on him very much, Yuanji had no choice but to give him some face, thereupon he also raised his cup to go along with him.
Seeing Kou Zhong was able to reply quickly and fluently, Sha Chenggong felt he gained a lot of face, so he became the third person to raise his cup.
Everybody had no choice but to follow suit. Naturally Qingqing also stood by Kou Zhong’s side. While putting down her empty cup, she leaned closer to Yuanji and spoke with charming voice, “In order to express my gratitude to Mo Xiansheng for saving me, tonight Qingqing will make an exception by singing a song to liven things up.”
When the crowd roared in cheers and applause, Mei Xun smiled and said, “Hold on! We have an injured man here who would like to ask Mo Shen Yi to examine and treat his illness first, and then we can enjoy Madame Qing’s enchanting singing voice.”
Chang He’s countenance sank; he wanted to lash out, but Mei Xun’s younger sister was taken by Li Jiancheng as his imperial concubine, so he was quite apprehensive.
Li Yuanji also revealed a slightly startled look; obviously he did not understand what ‘famine muscle’ [no idea, 馑肌] behind Mei Xun’s prominent sudden strike.
Wei Zhengxing swept his gaze around; he wanted to be one step ahead of Kou Zhong in identifying the injured person that Mei Xin was referring to.
But Kou Zhong’s heart was as calm as the moon the in the well, although inwardly he also cried, ‘Formidable!’
This was some kind of strategy that Mei Xun was using too attack his mind: on the surface it looked like everybody countenance looked normal, but unknowingly one person was injured.
Supposing Mo Yixin was either Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling in disguise, because they knew that Diao Ang received serious injury from Kou Zhong, it was reasonable and fair to expect that his internal injury had not recovered until now. Therefore, if he made his guess based on this fact and said that the injured person was Diao Ang, then he would have fallen into Mei Xun’s trap.
His mind churning at the speed of light, Kou Zhong determined that Diao Ang has completely recovered based on three reasons: first, he drank wine as usual. People who suffered internal injury would avoid wine at all cost because alcohol would aggravate the injury. Second, even Wei Zhengxing could not see that he was injured. As a real physician, his ‘insight’ ought to be a lot more reliable than Kou Zhong, this fake divine doctor. Third, the most important aspect was that supposing Diao Ang has not recovered from his internal injury, Mei Xun would not be able to use this as evidence that Kou Zhong was simply ‘guessing’.
Just from the fact that in the blink of an eye like this Mei Xun was able to come up with such a brilliant scheme to test Kou Zhong, he knew that this man did not carry his name as having wisdom and scheming mind in vain.
With this man helping Li Yuanji, in the future Kou Zhong must be careful in dealing with them.
The eyes of the crowd were focused on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong’s eyes scanned everybody’s face back and forth several times. He smiled and said, “Please forgive Xiaoren’s eyes from being dull, but I cannot see anybody who has any injury.”
Li Yuanji applauded and said, “Mo Xiansheng’s sight is indeed like a torch. Now we ask Qingqing to sing us a song.”
While Qingqing cheerfully left her seat, Kou Zhong made a signal with his eyes toward Chang He, hinting that when the song ended, it should be time for them to leave.
“Three gate hits!”
Xu Ziling himself was greatly surprised; he had never thought that he won this round by relying purely on luck. With three to one compensation ratio, he won over a thousand taels of gaming chips.
Madame Hong standing beside him could only stare blankly at the gambling chips he put down on the three gate; she was completely at a loss on how he decided to put down his bet.
Watching this, Hu Xiaoxian, the ‘Great Immortal’ Hu Fo’s pretty daughter, who was mingling among the gamblers to Xu Ziling’s left – was gobsmacked; she could not figure out Xu Ziling’s depth.
Now that he had won a thousand taels, the amount that Lei Jiuzhi told him to, after receiving the payment, Xu Ziling took the big pile of gambling chips and left the table, while also flashing a smile toward Madame Hong, as if saying that she missed the opportunity to win a large amount of money.
Madame Hong ran after him, and called with a low voice, “Guanren, please stay.”
Xu Ziling calmly stopped. Turning his head around, he smiled and said, “Xiaojie, what advice do you have for me?”
Carrying a whiff of fragrance, Madame Hong came to his side, breathing out orchid-scented air and said, “May I ask this Guanren’s honorable surname and great given name?”
After Xu Ziling reported his name and surname, Madame Hong spoke with serious countenance, “I wonder if Yong Xiong knew that you are too exposed, and have put yourself in danger?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, “Are you saying that Ming Tang Wo cannot even afford to lose a thousand or so taels of silver, and would presumptuously disregard Jianghu rules and plot and kill someone for his property?”
Sketching it in light shades, Madame Hong said, “Under normal circumstances, of course this kind of matter will not happen; but currently Chang’an is in an unusual time, each major power is contending against each other. Anybody who does not have powerful backer or strong background, once they are drawn into this intense vortex of power struggle would definitely meet with terrible tragedy.”
Beating the snake following the stick, Xu Ziling said, “Could Furen [Madame] please elaborate some more?”
Madame Hong cheerfully said, “How about we sit on the side and talk?”
Xu Ziling thought that since Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi were not here yet, he might as well let her help him pass the time, while along the way try to find out why she looked upon him. If he could find out more about Yang WenGan’s plot, it would even be more worthwhile.
Chang He and Kou Zhong left the East Courtyard.
Their excuse was that the next day, early in the morning, they had to go to the Palace to treat Zhang Jieyu’s illness. Once this imperial-sword-giving-the-bearer-arbitrary-powers [from the dictionary: Chinese version of 007’s license to kill (in fiction)] was out, even though Li Yuanji possessed overbearing and tyrannical prowess, he did not dare to stop them, and had no choice but to immediately let them go.
Indignant, Chang He said, “They went too far! If this matter is known by Huangshang or Taizi Dianxia, they would thoroughly lay the blame on Qi Wang.”
Kou Zhong was glad that he had passed this barrier, he tried to pacify Chang He instead, “Chang Daren, please do not put this matter in your mind. Jiashu said that only ordinary talent will not provoke other people’s jealousy. Now that Xiaoren has provoked other people’s jealousy, I ought to be happy.”
“Mo Xiong is indeed open-minded,” Chang He praised.
This moment the two of them reached the plaza in front of the main gate. Immediately someone brought their horses along and waited upon them mounting their horses.
As they galloped out of the gate, Kou Zhong caught a glimpse of Lei Jiuzhi’s disguise, Wen Kuan. He hastily said, “If Chang Daren won’t mind, I want to return to the Mansion alone, so that I could quietly think about Niangniang’s treatment tomorrow morning.”
By this time Chang He was already accustomed to his ‘quirk’; he had no choice but to agree.
Madame Hong took Xu Ziling to a corner to sit. She accepted the hot tea offered by a maid, her pretty eyes scanned the area first, before speaking in low voice, “Does Yong Xiong know that you have drawn Hu Xiaoxian’s attention? This lass is the Ming Tang Wo’s big boss, the ‘Great Immortal’ Hu Fo’s daughter. Not only on the gambling table she gambles ferociously, even in day-to-day life she is also vicious and merciless. When Yong Xiong comes across her, you must be very careful.”
Xu Ziling deliberately revealed a lecherous look; he said, “Was that the pretty woman who watched me laying my bet?”
Madame Hong did not miss anything; she smiled and said, “Yong Xiong this time came to Chang’an, is it only to gamble?”
Xu Ziling said, “My ability to spend money is more brilliant than my skill to gamble. Hearing that Chang’an’s casinos follow Jianghu rules the most, I came to take advantage of it. But listening to Madame just now, looks like this is not the case. It seems to me that I’d better leave quickly.”
Madame Hong said, “If Yong Xiong is only looking for wealth, it is going to be a lot simpler. As long as Yong Xiong has someone supporting you from behind, you could gamble as much as you like. In Yong Xiong’s mind, how much win do you think you want before you feel that the trip has not been made in vain?”
From Lei Jiuzhi’s mouth Xu Ziling learned earlier that Dulin [reminder: gambling forest, counterpart of Wulin – martial art world] masters also have their own rules; they did not dare to win excessively, otherwise they might suffer the casino’s reprisals. Therefore, once they won certain amount of money, they had to stop.
Hearing the question, he glibly replied, “Originally I was thinking that as soon as I win a thousand taels of gold, Ol’ Yong will immediately leave Chang’an.”
Madame Hong cheerfully said, “Yong Xiong clearly know that if nujia said that I do not have any relation with you, I guarantee that Yong Xiong will not be able to leave safely.”
Xu Ziling mused that this was clearly intimidation by using gain as a lure; he smiled and said, “If Furen has some instruction, do not hesitate to speak out, let’s see if Ol’ Yong will be able to get it done.”
Lowering her voice, Madame Hong said, “What nujia needs, Yong Xiong definitely have more than enough qualifications. During the Lunar New Year festivities, nujia will make arrangement to have Yong Xiong playing against some gamblers. Although Yong Xiong will determine win or loss according to nujia’s instructions, but if you lose, nujia will provide the money, if you win, Yong Xiong may take everything. Yong Xiong, what do you think? As for other things, Yong Xiong need not ask, and you need not know either.”
Xu Ziling deliberately showed a greedy look. He said, “Such a convenient thing, how could Ol’ Yong refuse?”
Flashing him an enchanting smile, Madame Hong said, “As long as Yong Xiong carry through this matter according to nujia’s instructions, Yong Xiong definitely will be able to leave safely.”
Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “Please forgive Ol’ Yong for being blunt; but since we all are people who mingle in Jianghu, how could Furen make such a guarantee?”
Madame Hong calmly and indifferently replied, “Yong Xiong may casually ask anybody who Hong Furen is, then you will know that nujia is not speaking empty words.”
This moment Lei Jiuzhi appeared in the distance and signaled him with his hand.
Madame Hong nonchalantly said, “Your friend Wen Kuan is back!”
Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, knowing that Madame Hong has already figured out his ‘fake foundation’.
Kou Zhong stepped into Ming Tang Wo’s main hall. Before he even had time to thoroughly understand the surroundings, someone ran after him from behind and called out, “Mo Xiansheng! Mo Xiansheng!”
Stunned, Kou Zhong looked back; surprisingly it was the First Young Master of the Sha Family, Sha Chengjiu. Greatly surprised, he asked, “How come I run into Da Shaoye in here?”
In high spirits, Sha Chengjiu replied, “I should ask Mo Xiansheng the same question.”
Slightly embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, “I am the kind of person that cannot have money on me; when I do, my hands itch. I happened to pass by and noticed the grand scale of this casino, hence I dropped-by to roam around.”
Sha Chengjiu pulled him to the side to sit down; he said, “Didn’t you go with Chenggong to attend Qi Wang’s banquet tonight?”
Kou Zhong said, “That cannot be called a banquet; rather, it was an investigative meeting to test my medical knowledge. Even Da Jiuye [first son-in-law] could not stand it; he and I left earlier.”
Sha Chengjiu said, “Qi Wang’s reputation in Chang’an has always been disparaged more than being praised. But we have Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia looking after our Sha Family and Mo Xiansheng; we don’t need to stoop down in front of him.”
Kou Zhong could not help asking, “Is Da Shao here to play a hand or two?”
Sha Chengjiu laughed and said, “Don’t look at me like that. Although I, Sha Chengjiu, am a good gambler, but I always gamble responsibly, plus my gambling technique is quite exquisite. Back in Luoyang, I was already a celebrity in the gambling circle.”
Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, “Turns out Da Shaoye is a Dulin master; my utmost admiration! My utmost admiration!”
Sha Chengjiu proudly said, “Speaking about gambling technique in Luoyang, Rong Fengxiang is at the top, and I am his direct disciple in gambling; therefore, Mo Xiansheng does not have to worry about me. It is crowded here; how about we go to the inner hall to try our luck?”
Actually, Kou Zhong had an appointment to meet with Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi at the main gate, it’s just that since the other two took their time to come out, he went in to circle around just to pass the time; therefore, how could he dare to leave this road that he had to follow?
He tried to decline, “I was just coming on to play two or three rounds to satisfy my cravings, because tomorrow morning I still need to enter the Palace to treat Niangniang’s illness. Da Shaoye, please do as you please; no need to mind me.”
Who would have thought that Sha Chengjiu would show incomparable enthusiasm? Forcefully pulling him up, he said, “To gain first-hand experience, you must go to the inner hall. Let’s play a couple of rounds with me! If we win, it will be all yours; if we lose, put it into my account.”
Even though he thought hard until his brains split, Kou Zhong could not find a good excuse to decline; thinking that Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi must be in the inner hall, he could always signal them with his eyes to wait for a moment. Thereupon he followed Sha Chengjiu into the inner hall.
When Kou Zhong was entering the Tian Huang Hall, Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were just leaving Di Huang Hall and going to the main hall – and thus missed the other party’s path – with the sole intention to go to the main gate to meet up with Kou Zhong.
Finished listening about Xu Ziling’s business deal with Madame Hong, Lei Jiuzhi laughed and said, “This kind of trick, I, your LaoGe, can show off as well. Your advantage, other than superior gambling technique, is your identity as an outsider. After this is finished, the corpse will be destroyed, the traces will be wiped out, Hong Furen can push all the responsibility completely away.”
Xu Ziling sighed and said, “Yang WenGan must be behind this. I never thought that the big boss of the magnificent Jingzhao Lian could do such a shady business of using fairy to cheat people.”
Lei Jiuzhi shook his head and said, “This matter cannot be as simple as it appears. Hong Furen’s target must be another master in the gambling world; otherwise, she would not need to turn to you, a super master, to deploy her troops. Really strange! How come the people from Six-Happiness Casino still have not noticed your existence. Tomorrow afternoon we will start earlier to let you revealing your hands at the Six-Happiness Casino.”
This moment the two were already outside the main gate. Sweeping their gaze around, naturally they did not see Kou Zhong’s shadow.
Grabbing his head, Lei Jiuzhi said, “I specifically told him to wait for us here. Where in the world that kid run into?”
Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, “They are here!”
Alerted, Lei Jiuzhi looked to the right. He saw among the people coming and going on the main street, there were four men, who were clearly Tujue men in warrior outfit – were coming toward them with ominous glint in their eyes.