Legend of Great Tang’s Twin Dragons

Translator: Foxs' Wuxia

Xu Ziling raised his hand and was about to knock on the door, when a gentle female voice sounded in his eardrums, “The door is not bolted, honored guest, please come in.”

Xu Ziling jumped in fright, he was completely unable to sense that unexpectedly there was someone at the outer courtyard of Yu He An, and this voice definitely did not belong to the zhuchi [manager] Chang Shan Ni [Buddhist Nun]; who could it be? Naturally it was not some idle person.

He came to Yu He An [lit. jade crane nunnery], his greatest wish was to see Shi Feixuan immediately. Even if the possibility was extremely slim, he could still inquire about Shi Feixuan’s whereabouts. If he could find her, he could tell her that he was doing everything in his power to help her achieving her cherished desire.

He raised his hand to push the door and step into the Yu He An, the snow covering the courtyard has been swept into seven, eight piles. The snow weighed down the branches of the trees in the courtyard, making them looked like they were wearing silver frost; simple yet elegant, and tranquil.

Standing next to one of the piles of snow that looked like a small hill was a female Buddhist nun [don’t blame me, whenever there are multiple words to describe anything, the author will not use only one] with delicate features, who, at first glance, did not seem to have anything special on her, wearing grey cotton gown, holding a snow shovel in her hands, silently looking at him with serene expression.

When Xu Ziling’s eyes met with hers, a hard-to-describe fantastic feeling welled up in his heart, as if he came in contact with a vast, boundless, divine and unmeasurable spiritual heaven and earth.

She appeared to be in her thirties, but her plain and indifferent jade countenance, in the eyes of other people, was completely devoid of secularity, there was nothing, as well as impossible, to have any vicissitudes and senses that would move her heart.

Her bald head, where the fine black hair had completely gone, especially emphasized clearly - as distinct as the undulating spirited and beautiful mountain and river - the lucid and elegant outline of her face, which made people hazy and forget the commonplace, appearing to be like if he was thinking of the worldly things outside the courtyard, it would be some kind of greatly disrespectful behavior in front of her.

Xu Ziling’s heart was moved, he respectfully saluted and said, “How should I address Shifu?”

The female nun gently put down the snow shovel, put her palms together to return the salute and said, “If pinni [impoverished nun] did not guess incorrectly, this gentleman must be Xu Ziling shizhu [benefactor, a term used by Buddhist monk/nun to address a layperson], coming here to look for the little disciple Feixuan.”

Shaken, Xu Ziling said, “It is indeed Fan Zhaizhu.”

Fan Qinghui called on one of the many names of Buddha in a low voice, and then said, “Ziling, please come with pinni!”

Wuming entered through the window and landed on Kou Zhong’s shoulders. Following her was Xiao He’er, who was still dressed in men’s clothing, rushing in like a whirlwind.

Unceremoniously, acting like a spoiled kid, she said, “Xiao He’er wants to come with Dage to wander the Jianghu.”

Kou Zhong paused his chore of reviewing imperial edict and other official documents, he sighed and said, “Do you think I am going on a scenic tour?”

Without any trace of politeness, Xiao He’er sat down across the table from him, and spoke wittily, “Dage is precisely going on a scenic tour, and this is not the first day I am going to the battlefield, my performance the last time can be considered not bad! At least I did not get in your way, plus I took the responsibility of taking care of your darling Wuming for you.”

Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said with a laugh, “All right, if you want to go, then you can go. Go get something to eat first.”

Xiao He’er jumped up with joy, she shouted, “Success, the battle is won. I’m going to tell Xuanshu Gongzi.”

Just before she disappeared, Kou Zhong called her and said with a laugh, “Why do you call yourself Xiao He’er [little crane]?”

Xiao He’er’s tender body trembled, she spoke softly, “Dage does not like the name?”

Kou Zhong said, “Xiao Meizi’s legs look longer than the boys’, you indeed look like a crane standing proudly amidst a flock of chickens. Not only do I like calling you little crane, but I am also proud of this younger sister.”

All along Xiao He’er did not turn around, she spoke in low voice, “Dage is the person with the best heart [orig. heart and intestine] in the world.”

Finished speaking, she ran out. A feeling that Kou Zhong himself could not explain welled up in his heart, he seemed to have caught something, but he could not define it specifically.

In a flash, he was inundated by the piling-up-like-a-mountain of work on the table so that he had no time to ponder further.

Fan Qinghui looked at Xu Ziling taking a sip of hot tea, she spoke indifferently, “I am as the Shifu do not know where the disciple is going. Other than Yu He An, the most likely place to find her is Liao Kong Shixiong’s Chanyuan near Luoyang.”

Xu Ziling sat on one of the chairs in a row against the south wall on her left, he noticed that on all four sides, the wall of the visitor hall was lined up with chairs and small tables. Because he did not dare to disrespect this supreme leader of the xuan men [mysterious school], he intentionally sat farther. Looking from his angle, Fan Qinghui’s light, plain and pure jade countenance blended into the snow-scape outside the window, untainted by a single speck of dust.

Fan Qinghui showed a hint of undetectable emotional expression, her voice became deep and low, as she said, “Are you blaming us, these people who had left home [to become Buddhist monk/nun] for having a heart that is not completely free of the dust? We really have other difficulties. Since our founder Di Ni [lit. earthly nun] created the Zhai, we have the statute that those who set up to train the Sword Canon must enter the world [to involve oneself in human affairs] in cultivation for three years, and thus we are drawn into the evil waves and crafty clouds of the human affairs of this mortal life, difficult to extricate ourselves. Some people think that we intend to control the rise and fall of the country, but this is just a misunderstanding. If you have any grievance, do not hesitate to speak out, don’t avoid it as taboo just because I am Feixuan’s Shifu, we can be considered one family, can’t we?”

Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Previously, even if he thought until his head split, he would never have thought that Fan Qinghui was such an easy-going and amiable senior, not flaunting her status as Zhaizhu at all.

He could not help smiling bitterly and said, “I wonder if just like Feixuan, Zhaizhu also considers me as a Shanmen Hufa [mountain gate protector/guardian of the law]?”

Her jade countenance like still water without any ripple, Fan Qinghui said, “Does Ziling knows who our last Shanmen Hufa was?”

Xu Ziling shook his head with blank expression.

Fan Qinghui spoke gently, “It was the Zhen Yan Dashi who taught you the Zhen Yan Yin Fa [incantation image method, see Book 25, Chapters 3 and 4].”

Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at her.

Fan Qinghui cast her gaze toward the plain-white garden of the inner courtyard outside the west window opposite her, she spoke serenely, “Shanmen Hufa does not need to be a person who is proficient in martial arts, Zhen Yan Dashi’s Dharma was exquisite, his Dhyana level transcended the depth, before entering solitary meditation, he passed on to you the secret of Zhen Yan Yin Jue [incantation image secret (of the art)], there must be a deep meaning behind it, we, the younger generations are really unable to guess the mysterious karma and predestined affinity. And we have an unwritten rule that the next generation of Shanmen Hufa is selected by the current Hufa. Before Zhen Yan Dashi entered solitary meditation, Feixuan obtained the information from him about he taught you the Zhen Yan Yin Fa, hence we are certain that you are the Shanmen Hufa successor. However, even if Ziling does not acknowledge this status, we will not mind at all. If in the future Ziling does not choose a successor for yourself, we’ll just let this Shanmen Hufa tradition disappear like a smoke, it doesn’t matter!”

Xu Ziling understood. A hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart, Zhen Yan Dashi taught him the method in the past, it looked as if it was a random and casual act, but it actually contained Buddhism subtleties that was beyond anyone’s understanding.

Fan Qinghui revealed an unfathomably profound pained expression again, but it was flashing and then disappeared quickly; she spoke softly, “Listening to what Feixuan said, Ziling does not understand at all why she supports Li Shimin with all her strength instead of Kou Zhong.”

“That was in the past,” Xu Ziling said, “Today, I understand the situation clearly.”

Fan Qinghui cast her gaze towards him, she spoke softly, “Both Ying Zheng and Yang Jian are the emperors who put the all-split-up-and-in-pieces country’s territory back into unified state, not alone but in pairs [idiom, usually derogatory, not a unique occurrence], yet both only underwent two generations and then finished. It can clearly be seen that although they had the ‘aspiration [or ambition] of the world’ to unify the Central Earth, but they lacked the ‘aptitude of the world’, or the ‘efficacy of the world’.”

Xu Ziling asked modestly, “May I venture to ask Zhaizhu to impart your wisdom?”

The bright light of wisdom lit up in Fan Qinghui’s pair of eyes, she said, “The aspiration of the world refers to the aspiration and strength to unify and govern the world. The aptitude of the world is the ability to govern the world, and the efficacy of the world is the efficacy to greatly govern the world. Qin Huang [Emperor] had the aspiration of the world, but unfortunately, after unifying the six states, he did not know how to act in benevolence and seek peace, but used repressive methods to deal with the people, to such an extent as to produce the opposite of the desired result. After Yang Jian ascended the throne, he discarded the old and introduced the new, opening up the golden age of the rule of the emperor, and gradually pacified the south, his mighty aptitude in great display. At that time, in all the world, the man who could fight against him, Song Que was the only one, yet with Song Que’s arrogance, he still had to hide in Lingnan, and was subjected to his policy of receiving a title. Yang Sui originally was with great prospects for the future, it’s a pity that he was defeated by Yang Guang’s hands and was helpless against him.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “Feixuan chooses Shimin Xiong, precisely because not only he has the aspiration of the world and the aptitude of the world, moreover, most likely he also has efficacy of the world.”

Fan Qinghui sighed lightly and said, “How could we have the qualifications to choose the future wise ruler? We only hope to make a little contribution to the suffering people, using our meager strength to give support and encouragement. Now the opportunity to unify the world is no longer in the hands of Qin Wang, but has fallen into Ziling and Shaoshuai’s hands. You must think of how to resolve this.”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “To be quite honest with Zhaixhu, if it were me of the past, I would definitely be unwilling to hear it, but in the currently critical situation of internal strife and foreign aggression, I begin to understand Zhaizhu’s standing tall and seeing far. Just now I met with Qin Wang, I stated clearly that as long as he is willing to put the world first and his family and clan second, I will do my best to persuade Kou Zhong to help him ascend to the emperor’s throne with all his might.”

Fan Qinghui did not show the slightest look of surprise, only a hint of unadorned joy that evolved from her heart appearing on her plain, clean jade countenance for the first time. She nodded and said, “My good disciple did not misjudge Ziling.”

Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, “But my awakening seems to have come too late. Now the battle between the Shao Shuai Army and the Great Tang is like an arrow on the bow, it cannot but to be released, I do not have any confidence to turn the tide at all.”

Fan Qinghui said sadly, “I wonder if Ziling is talking about Song Que?”

Xu Ziling nodded.

In a flash, Fan Qinghui returned to her calm self, she spoke indifferently, “I have just received a letter that Feixuan sent via flying pigeon from the Jingnian Chanyuan; the battle between Dao Xiong and Song Que ended up in both sides suffer injuries.”

Severely shaken, Xu Ziling cried out involuntarily, “What?”

Shi Zhixuan’s insight was very accurate, when Song Que intervened in the battle to strive for the world, Ci Hang Jing Zhai definitely would not sit back and let the world all split up and in pieces. Only even Shi Zhixuan was unable to guess that Fan Qinghui would have such a move, asking Ning Daoqi to challenge Song Que.

He finally understood why Fan Qinghui could not help revealing a sad look, because she still had feelings for Song Que. This move was really not what she wanted, it was a dangerous chess piece compelled by circumstances, both sides suffer was the best result. If both sides lost and perished, or perhaps one side was defeated and dispersed, Fan Qinghui would never be able to climb up to pry into the way of heaven.

Fan Qinghui cast her eyes on the snow-scape outside the window again, she spoke in distress, “Song Que made a nine-saber-strike agreement with Dao Xiong; If he cannot do anything to Dao Xiong, he will withdraw from the dispute between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin. But he did not use the ninth saber strike at all, yet he still withdrew according to the agreement. Ay! Under such circumstances, Song Que, you still give thought to Qinghui, how could I not engrave it in my heart?”

If Kou Zhong were here, he would know that even though Fan Qinghui was not at the scene and witnessed it, she had a telepathic sensitivity, able to fully grasp Song Que’s mind. In fact, because Ning Daoqi missed the opportunity to die with the enemy and thus fell into the disadvantageous position, the situation within it was extremely delicate.

However, Xu Ziling only knew one and understood half [idiom: a smattering of knowledge], plus he was shocked because his feeling was hurt, he did not dare to interrupt to inquire further. This kind of real feeling involving the affairs between men and women, appearing on this very able person who had withdrawn from worldly affairs, it was indeed immensely inspirational.

Fan Qinghui looked at him, she put her palms together and said, “Sin! Sin! Every object truly appears, every head is never hurt; originally real, originally empty, nothing more than a wonderful body.”

Xu Ziling still returned only a blank stare, he did not know what to say.

Fan Qinghui recovered her peaceful, at ease manner, she smiled and said, “I wonder if Ziling is going to Chanyuan to look for Feixuan?”

A bit too embarrassed to mention it, Xu Ziling said, “I know that Zhaizhu is not willing to be drawn into the worries of the mortal life, but I have something that I cannot but asking Zhaizhu for help.”

Tranquil and calm, Fan Qinghui said, “Ziling need not worry about me, do you want me to persuade Song Que?”

Staring blankly, Xu Ziling said “Zhaizhu‘s discerning eye is not bad.”

Tranquil and calm, Fan Qinghui said, “Not to see, not to meet, you still must see. There is a cause, then there must be a result. The day Ziling accomplished this great merit of persuading Kou Zhong will be the fortunate timing for me to go to Lingnan to see an old friend. Ziling, go! The happiness and peace of the common people under the heavens is in your hands.”

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