Chapter 014｜Lieutenant of Congyang County

The heavy rain stopped and the clouds fell away.

After Li Jing's narration, Wushan fisherwoman found a piece of silk from the Ancient Qin, on which was embroidered the score. She stared at the Ancient Qin score, as if she was lost in memories for a long time. The youth who drove the carriage whispered, "Master, Mr. Zhang ... Mr. Zhanghas passed away, we have to find the young heir."

The Wushan fisherwoman ignored him and asked Li Jing, "Before the owner of Ancient Qin pass away, did he ask A Yue to ook for her ... brother?"

Li Jing replied, "At that time, Mr. Zhang was as if he was gasping for last breath, and he only said to A Yue 'If you can meet your brother in the future, he will teach you.'"

The Wushan Fisherwoman let out a long sigh, " Whether this 'brother' is still alive in the world, it is hard to say." After sighing, she put away the Ancient Qin into the bag, then she suddenly got up and said to the young man, "We go to Congyang immediately. These two children, bring them along as well."

Li Jing picked up Alone Star, stepped over the pool of blood, and asked in a low voice, "... should we... bury them?"

The Wushan Fisherwoman lifted her Ancient Qin bag and didn't look back, "Burn this broken temple down, save all the troubles."

The young man settled his master, Li Jing and Alone Star into the cart, then set fire to the temple and let the army horses go. At once, smoke and fire rose in all directions. With a yell from the young man, the thin horse raised its hooves and galloped, and mud splashed up.

The ancient name of Congyang was "Zongziguo", and it was now the center of a county, with a lot of neat and tidy streets and relics, but it was not densely populated, and there were only four streets. The "Li Yun" restaurant was not difficult to find, located on the north side of the official road. When the young man parked his carriage outside the restaurant, there were already lights inside the inn.

Li Jing came to know that the young man driving the carriage was called Gu Musheng. He was born in the Three Gorges, residing on water year-round. His parents died early, left him and his younger brother Gu Shuisheng live together. The two brothers were bullied by the bandits, and were saved by Wushan fisherwoman, Musheng then became a valet; Shuisheng did not want to learn martial arts, so he remained to work for a living in the river business, and later became a boatman.

Along the way, the Wushan fisherwoman took great care of Li Jing, changing her icy face. In addition to telling the story of the Gu brothers' life, she also verbally tested Li Jing's kung fu. It turned out that the Wushan fisherwoman had been favoured by Sun Simiao, and after learning that the brothers would go to Sichuan for him, she promised to send them to the Wuxia Gorge. In Jianghu, a promise was worth a thousand gold. With such a top expert to protect them, Li Jing was much relaxed. Though he could not agree to her behavior of killing, it would not be proper for him to speak out

Li Yun restaurant's shopkeeper was a fat man, with round face and short beard, dressed in soap-coloured clothes. When he saw a carriage stopped, he ran out and said: "Dear guest, today our shop can not accept guests, please move 'Ronghua' restaurant at a mile south of the road."

The Wushan Fisherwoman lifted the curtain of the cart and said in a cold voice, "Shopkeeper, we are not staying at the shop, we are here to seek out Boat Owner Xie."

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment: "Dear Guest, we do not have a ship owner surnamed Xie, please find him somewhere else ..." The words did not fall, the Wushan fisherwoman stretched out half of the Ancient Qin bag from the car.

The shopkeeper was startled, and then saw the Li Jing brothers through the lifted curtain, and immediately bowed and said, "Please ... come inside."

The Wushan Fisherwoman led Li Jing and Gu Musheng into the shop. A fellow came over to take the horses. Li Jing carried Alone Star on his back and saw that this inn had green bricks and grey tiles and was cleaned up quite neatly. It was just that the courtyard in front of the shop was filled with coffins, which looked a bit eerie in the twilight.

The shopkeeper did not invite the guest to take a seat in the hall and walked straight to the back court. A young man dressed in green official clothes, wearing a hat and a belt sword, stood up. Seeing the shopkeeper bring in the Wushan fisherwoman and her party, he sidestepped and looked extremely polite.

The shopkeeper ordered his waiter to close the gate to the back court, reached out to introduce the crowd into a hut, and said to the Wushan fisherwoman, "Guests, please take a seat. This is Mr. Liu, head of Congyang county, my name is Wang, I don't know how to address your honored guest?"

Li Jing was secretly shocked when he heard this. The head was the assistant of the county governor, in charge of a county's criminal issues, so he must have come to dispose of the case.

The Wushan Fisherwoman said, "My name is not important, I am here only to see Boat Owner Xie."

Mr. Liu sighed: "you might have arrived too late, Xie shipowner has lost too much blood, unconscious for nearly four hours, now there's almost no breath left..."

The fat shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his head, glanced at Li Jing, and said, "This little brother, the last word of Boat Owner Xie when he woke up was that he wanted me to find you and say sorry ... "

Li Jing did not know what he meant. The Wushan Fisherwoman said, "The reason for this will be explained in detail later. Hurry up and let me see Boat Owner Xie, there may still be some chance."

The fat shopkeeper did not hesitate any longer, reached out and pressed on the wall. With some rolling sound, between the bricks opened a door. The shopkeeper led them through the dark corridor into a secret room. Through the candlelight, Li Jing fixed his eyes to see, in the secret room was a piece of board, a person lying flat on it with grey face, eyes closed tightly, it is Xie Kangtu. A Yue was kneeling in front of the board.

A Yue's eyes were already swollen from crying and seemed demented, unresponsive to the crowd that entered. Mr. Liu gently uncovered the white cloth covering Xie Kangtu's body, Li Jing could not help but trembled. Xie shipowner's lower limbs had been hacked off from his thighs, and at this time, although they been wrapped with a white cloth, but blood had shed out brownish-black.

Wushan fisherwoman stepped forward, first probed Xie Kangtu's nose, then felt his pulse, and then called Li Jing to come up and listen to his heartbeat. Li Jing pressed his ear to Xie Kangtu's left chest, with his extraordinary hearing, he could hear no sound, so he got up and shook his head.

Wushan fisherwoman ordered Gu Musheng to hold up Xie Kangtu. Her right index finger and thumb stuck Xie Kangtu two cheeks, slightly forced open his lips and teeth, used her left hand to put a black pill into his mouth. Li Jing had learnt first aid from his uncle and thought to himself that Xie Kangtu had no breath, so how could he swallow the pill? However, he saw the Wushan fisherwoman swiftly patting on his waist, back, neck and abdomen, and then pressed her palm on the top of his head. After a while, "hiccup" voice came out of Xie Kangtu's throat, and then a stream of medicinal gas flew, but his eyes were still tightly closed.

The Wushan fisherwoman instructed Gu Musheng, "Lay him down flat, push the blood to flow, maybe it could save his life." Saying this, she raised her hands and said to the fat shopkeeper, "Hurry up and get a basin of water." The shopkeeper answered and went out of the secret room, very soon he brought a basin of water in. Wushan fisherwoman cleaned her hands, while supervising Gu Musheng to push the blood and dredge the tendons, she asked the standing and motionless County Head Mr. Liu: ",How many people were killed by that general surnamed Yang?"

Mr. Liu was only in his early twenties, with sword eyebrow and starry eyes, but looks experienced and dignified. He bowed slightly: " Your honour, after checking, today at the end of the sixth hour at the Li Yun Restaurant, General Yang She led twenty soldiers, killed fifteen people, and lost five men of them, Xie shipowner was seriously injured and unconscious. I have arranged to coffin all those dead body."

Wushan fisherwoman saw that his words and behaviors were quite proper, and he was very courtesy to her, so she was slightly impressed : "You are a local official, how do you plan to deal with this matter?"

Liu said, "If it is a public matter, the case should be presented to the state government; if it is a private matter, the deceased should be buried as soon as possible and the their families should be informed."

The Wushan Fisherwoman said, "I'm an outsider, I shouldn't have been involved in these matters in the first place. But from what I lear, whether taken as justice or private cases, these people died in vain, right?"

 Liu said, "You've avenged the dead, so their deaths weren't in vain."

Li Jing was taken aback. Could this county head be a god, how did he know that the Wushan fisherwoman had killed Yang She and the others?

The Wushan Fisherwoman asked coldly, "Who are you? do you already know who I am?"

Liu cupped his hands and said, "My name is Liu Ji, with style name Sidao, I grew up in Jiangling since I was a child. It is rumoured that on the Goddess Peak above the Wushan Gorge, there is a chivalrous lady who is highly skilled in martial arts, with a black scarf and a mask, who is a fisherman and avoids using her name, so she is known in the jianghu world as the 'Wushan Fishing Woman'.

General Yang She looted Xie boat owner's ancient qin and left, but you brought the instrument back. It's clear you've personally taken care of Yang She and his group, Please accept my admiration!" With that said, hedeeply bowed.

Despite the eccentric nature of the Wushan Fisherwoman's, Liu Ji subtle praise still managed to bring her considerable delight. but she still said coldly: "I killed the Sui soldiers, will Mr. Liu also report to the state government to send troops to arrest me? Or will you capture me immediately and go to ask for a reward?"

Liu Ji said, 'I dare not deceive you; I am originally from Jiangling, my generations have received protection from the State of Liang, this position as the county head was merely recommended by someone who held me in high regard this spring. I can resign from it anytime. The owner of this shop is also a friend of Mr. Xie, if he can be saved, I wouldn't even mind if I died, and I would not dare to ask for reward."

Li Jing's heart moved. This Liu Ji clearly knew he couldn't defeat the Wushan Fisherwoman. If things turned hostile, he'd face the danger of death, yet he spoke with so much full of emotion yet righteous. Since he left his uncle Han Qinhu, Liu Ji was the most skilled man in dealing with others, he seemed you learnt a bit. If he were in Liu's place, naturally, he would not avoid the danger and deal the case in justice.

The Wushan Fisherwoman's tone eased a bit, "You are really smart! I'm a rural woman, I don't mind those trivial matters, and I'm not afraid of the government. General Yang She led his troops to indiscriminately slaughter the innocents! He deserved his death. If I don't get rid of him, heaven will not allow it!"

Liu Ji said "yes" and then asked, "Don't you think there's something strange about this murder?"

Wushan fisherwoman couldn't come up with an answer. Li Jing was also puzzled: Yang Su harnessed his army very strictly, even if Yang She was dispatch to the south for official business, it did not make sense that he killed so many men at the first sight in this small inn.

Previously in the shabby temple, Yang She said the reason was that Xie Kangtu and other merchants "did not comply with the laws of the Sui State", from the point of personality of temperament, Xie Kangtu was a shrewd businessman, certainly he would not collide with the officials and soldiers. Yang She killed fifteen people, but left Xie Kangtu half a life, there must be a special reason. But what exactly was the reason? Li Jing couldn't figure it out.

Liu Ji turned to look at the shopkeeper who had been silent, "Shopkeeper, please tell us what happened."

The fat shopkeeper mumbled, "Today ... today at about the hour of the day, Xie shipowner ... shipowner rode a horse and brought this (he glanced at A Yue, still kneeling on the ground like a fool) ... ...This girl arrived at here, and then fifteen boat brothers arrived as well. A strong man whispered a few words into his ear, and Xie's face changed greatly, and he told me to hide this girl in a secret room ..."

The Wushan Fisherwoman interjected, "Are you saying that Xie knows that there are officials and soldiers coming?"

The fat shopkeeper nodded as he spoke, his language became a bit more fluent." "I am often taken care of by Boat Owner Xie... by the Boat Owner Xie. This time, he came in a hurry, and asked me to prepare a carriage to pick up ... (he glanced at Li Jing and Alone Star) to pick up these two little brothers. However, with an urgent report, I ordered the boat brothers to wait here ... One hour later, the general surnamed Yang arrived with twenty soldiers. I listened to the words of Xie, constrained fellows not to come out ... A fierce battle broke outside the inn, five men of General Yang died, Xie was cut off of both legs, none of the brothers of the boat company were spared ... "With that said, tears flowed out.

Li Jing then understood that Xie Kangtu did not deliberately leave him behind, but first he came to Congyang to convene the brothers of the boat company, and then sent a carriage to come to pick up the two of them. 'Nobody knew who got the news that the officials and soldiers were coming after them, Xier first hid A Yue, and then summoned the brothers of the boat company to fight to the death to stop the soldiers ... He recalled that at the broken temple, in fact, when Yang She entered the temple he recognized Li Jing and the Alone Star, but he was in fear of the Wushan fisherman and her servant, so he didn't dare to do it. No one expected after a word of disagreement, sixteen people all died under the sword in the Gu Musheng.

Li Jing thought about this layer, his heart chilled. It seemed that he and Alone Star had been exposed, and Yang She's so-called "business trip to the east" was just an order to kill a three-year-old child.

However,the journey of Li Jing and Alone Star, only XieKangtu, Lai Gu'er, Zhang Ke, Mei Niang and Qing Ni knew. So soon there were government troops followed to kill them, it must be one of these five people tipped off. Xie, the shipowner, who made such a sacrifice to protect Li Jing's brothers, could not the one; Lai Gu'er had exceptional martial skills, he was trustworthy, and with the secret promise made to Li Jing, he wouldn't divulge it.

Then, it was very likely that the three of Zhang Ke leaked the whereabouts of ... Thinking of Mei Niang's smile like a flower, Li Jing's heart was mixed of feelings.

Liu Ji said: "Sui was just established, the south has Chen's strong army, the north has the Turk's threat, and the emperor is a strict military leader from the military, and will not allow Sui's troops to kill common people. As General Yang She rode here, he must be on a secret mission, encountered Xie's resistance before killing. However, what is the secret mission? Who gave the order?" Saying that, he looked sideways at Li Jing and Alone Star.

The Wushan Fisherwoman had already known the identities of Li Jing and Alone Star, and interrupted him, "It is not my responsibility to investigate the case. The most important thing at the moment is to save Xie's life before we can know the reason."

Liu Ji said, "There is one more thing that I also find strange: all individuals associated with Mr. Xie were killed by General Yang, but only he was spared with legs cut off, so it seems that he intended to leave a survivor. Why did Yang She do this?"

The Wushan fisherwoman was a bit annoyed: " Liu, I killed Yang She's gang, but I've never known Xie, and even these two children I just met on the road. If you want to arrest me, go ahead and do it, how would I know about the things you're asking?"

Liu Ji smiled and said, "Sorry to bother you. I am just curious."

Just at this moment, Gu Musheng softly exclaimed: "The shipowner is breathing ..." The crowd found that Xie Kangtu's face had some blood under candlelight, his eyes were still tightly closed. Demented kneeling little A Yue pounced on Xie and sobbed. 

The Wushan fisherwoman squatted down, some tenderness in her eyes, and said softly, "A Yue, did your ... your master tell you where is your brother?"

A Yue tilted her head and looked at the masked Wushan Fisherwoman, and was speechless for a moment. The Wushan Fisherwoman seemed to be a bit anxious and placed the ancient Ancient Qin in front of her, then asked, "Did your master tell you that when you find your brother in the future, he will teach you to play the Ancient Qin?"

A Yue still did not reply, but just stared at the ancient Ancient Qin. Li Jing knew that the Wushan fisherwoman wanted to find out the whereabouts of her "brother" from A Yue, but A Yue was unfamiliar with her, so it was difficult for her to accept it for a while. He also squatted down and asked in a low voice, "A Yue, this aunt is your master's family, you can tell her."

A Yue looked at Li Jing and finally said, "Master said that brother is far away."

The fire of hope in the eyes of the Wushan fisherwoman went out. The words that were spoken were the same as not being said.

At that moment, the fat shopkeeper called out in surprise, " Mr. Xie has woken up!"