A Step into the Past

Book 6 Chap 5 – Making a strange encounter

After the duel, King Zhuangxiang summoned Xiang Shaolong and Wang Jian into the Palace to offer his encouragement. He also praised Lu Buwei in public, impressed with his wonderful suggestion.

That night Lu Buwei held a private feast at his residence and the only people invited were Xiang Shaolong, Wu Yingyuan and Meng Ao. On his side, besides Lu Buwei himself, there was only his trusted aide Tu Xian and a few respected houseguests. Li Si is still not qualified enough to be part of such high class and intimate gatherings.

During the feast Lu Buwei was in high spirits and kept encouraging Xiang Shaolong to drink more.

Meng Ao witnessed Xiang Shaolong’s extraordinary swordsmanship and how he faced death heroically and was thoroughly impressed and changed his opinion of him.

Wu Yingyuan was even more ecstatic on seeing how his beloved son-in-law has made such a great contribution.

Wine was passed for several rounds as the singers and dancers have ended their entertainment.

Lu Buwei chortled and told Xiang Shaolong who was sitting opposite him, “Recently the Qis have sent me 3 song courtesans who are all rare beauties and well versed in music, chess and dance. A beauty is a match with a hero, I will in turn offer them as gifts to Shaolong, Mister Wu and General Meng, please do not decline.”

Wu Yingyuan and Meng Ao were secretly thinking that the beauties Lu Buwei is giving out must be good and expressed their thanks happily.

Xiang Shaolong thought to himself that he already cannot handle his beautiful wives and pretty maids at home and he’s also not used to the thinking of the people during the warring states period where they regard women as tools or decorations so he hurriedly rejected, “Shaolong is appreciative of Premier’s kind intentions but the journey to Handan is like an arrow already pulled on the bow and must be fired. Shaolong does not wish to be distracted by beauties for now and I hope Premier will forgive me.”

Lu Buwei saw that he is not greedy for beauties at all and a sense of respect welled up in his heart. On top of that he was not conceited about his feat, so Lu Buwei said with a smile, “Then I will ask Mister Wu to keep her for you and Shaolong can enjoy yourself after you’ve captured Zhao Mu.”

There was uproar as everyone made fun of Wu Yingyuan, saying that he might not be able to hold himself back and use the beauty for himself instead and the atmosphere became festive.

Xiang Shaolong saw that there’s no way he could object so he can only accept the gift with a wry smile.

Meng Ao asked, “When does Shaolong plan to leave for Zhao.”

Xiang Shaolong thought of Ji Yanran and wish that he could set off immediately. He took a glance at Lu Buwei’s houseguests and hesitated.

Lu Buwei knew what he was concerned about and said with a smile, “It’s all our own people in here, Shaolong can just speak your mind.”

Xiang Shaolong said in a low voice, “We’ll set off immediately as soon as Xiao Jun recovers.”

Lu Buwei nodded his head and said, “I will bring this matter up to his Majesty and when the time comes we’ll just find an excuse, maybe say that we want you to go somewhere on a mission, then Shaolong will be able to secretly go towards the Zhao border without anyone noticing.”

Right now he has full confidence in Xiang Shaolong and although he does not know how Xiang Shaolong intends to capture Zhao Mu alive, he truly believes that he will succeed.

Lu Buwei changed the subject and said, “Xiao Jun must be avenged, how does Shaolong plan to deal with that Qiu Risheng and Guo Xing?”

Wu Yingyuan seems a little worried about this as he asked, “If this matter gets out of hand, will his Majesty be displeased?”

Lu Buwei replied with a laugh, “Don’t worry! I have brought this matter up to his Majesty earlier and he is also very unhappy with Qiu Risheng’s despicable methods so Shaolong can go ahead and do whatever you want. I will bear responsibility if anything happens.”

Xiang Shaolong was extremely furious that Jing Jun was almost killed and his gaze turned icy as he said coldly, “Shaolong knows what to do now.” After staying in this era for such a long time, he is long familiar that a lot of matters have to be settled through brute force, otherwise sooner or later he will be the one who will be in danger. If not for the fact that Jing Jun managed to escape this time, otherwise they won’t even know who has killed him. So he can’t be too bothered by allowing himself to become Lu Buwei’s fighter for once.

If he does not teach the other party a hard lesson, the same thing can happen to Tao Fang or Wu Yingyuan and by then it’ll be too late for regrets.

The feast continued amidst such festive atmosphere until both the hosts and guests have drunk their fill before they all went home.

On the way back Wu Yingyuan was feeling tipsy as he said with a sigh, “To have such a fine son-in-law like Shaolong, not only is it Tingfang’s good fortune but also the Wu family’s good luck. If not for Shaolong, how can we possibly have such lavish lives in Qin.”

Xiang Shaolong has developed deep feelings of his astute father-in-law. Almost right from the start, Wu Yingyuan has supported this son-in-law of his without asking for anything in return and even married his beloved daughter to him, so how can he not feel grateful.

Hot tears flowed out of Wu Yingyuan as he continued, “Once Shaolong captures Zhao Mu, you must most importantly ask his Majesty to build a grand cenotaph in Xianyang for Father. Once I think how he has gone with no remains left behind, I… hai!”

Xiang Shaolong was worried that his health will be affected after all the drinks so he hurriedly consoled him.

He felt a mix of emotions, it seems that he should build cenotaphs for Zhao Ni, Shu’er and Su Nu as well so that at least there’s something to pay his respects to.

Naturally that night at Hidden Dragon Abode, he was engaged in loving copulation with the ladies.

The next morning, Teng Yi and Wu Zhuo had rushed back after hearing news of Jing Jun’s injury and they even took with them 15 highly skilled swordsmen from the elite troops.

Jing Jun was in better spirits now and can sit up and talk.

After taking a look at his injuries, Teng Yi nodded his head and said, “They are out for Xiao Hun’s life indeed.”

Jing Jun said worriedly, “You must include me on your trip to Handan.”

Wu Zhuo replied, “Then you’d better have a good sleep!” He made eye contact with the other two before leaving the room.

Xiang Shaolong and Teng Yi followed him out into the hall. Wu Zhuo said, “The only way is to repay violence with violence, otherwise the same thing will happen again sooner or later.”

Xiang Shaolong replied with a smile, “And we must do it openly, try our best to amplify the matter and let everyone know that us Wu family is not one to be bullied.”

Teng Yi said, “No more delays then, I have not exercised my muscles for a long time.”

Xiang Shaolong chortled, “Then why don’t we set off immediately. After teaching those idiots a lesson, we’ll still have enough time to enjoy a sumptuous lunch.”

The 3 of them stood up and leading those 15 excellent fighters, rode out of the Wu residence towards the Martial Arts School.

Along the way, the streets were filled with people, carriages and horses, making it extremely lively.

This is the first time Xiang Shaolong is riding through Xianyang on a horse and everything seemed interesting. Along the way he chatted and pointed at interesting things with the rest of the group, feeling very happy.

Teng Yi suddenly reined his horse to a stop and looked towards the direction of sounds where there was some commotion, only to see chaos on the pavement. There was a ‘bang!’ as a fruits and vegetables stall set up outside a provisions shop was knocked to the ground and everyone jumped out of the way.

Suddenly a woman with a long scarf covering her head and face scurried out of the crowd and dashed towards another passageway with five to six huge and ferocious looking men running after her.

Right at this time a mule cart rode over and that woman whose features cannot be seen clearly screamed in alarm. Just as she was about to be knocked down by the cart, she fortunately managed to step back in time but she tripped on something, lost her balance and fell.

The scarf covering her head fell and her long silky hair fell, touching the ground.

The few brutish men caught up with her and surrounded the woman.

The woman raised her pretty face and screamed, “Kill me! I will never go back.”

Xiang Shaolong and everyone else’s eyes brightened, they did not expect this woman to be so young and beautiful.

Teng Yi shouted as he jumped off his horse.

One of the men sniggered, “You dare to interfere in our matters, are you tired of living!”

Teng Yi stepped in between 2 of the men in one large stride.

The 2 men roared in anger as they raised their fists to punch.

Teng Yi lowered himself slightly as his iron fists extended out from his left and right. The 2 burly men immediately were thrown off upon impact with his fists, unable to get up again.

The other 4 men all pulled out their weapons.

Wu Zhuo gave a secret signal and the 15 warriors all leapt down their horses and stood in formation.

Teng Yi ignored those people and came to the young lady’s side, extending his hand as he said, “Miss, get up!”

The young lady looked up at Teng Yi deeply, her pretty face filled with anguish as she shook her head and said, “You cannot win them, leave! Otherwise all of you will be implicated.”

Xiang Shaolong who was still on his horse was secretly stunned. His men are all strong and one look others will know they are not easily bullied, then why does this pretty girl have no confidence in them at all? Where could the other party be from?

Teng Yi was touched that she can be so considerate of others even under such circumstances and he said with a smile, “I, Teng Yi, have never feared anyone. At the most I will lose my life!”

The young lady placed her hand in his huge palm and her delicate body trembled as Teng Yi pulled her up.

The burly men helped up the 2 men who fell on the ground as they eyed them hostilely. One of them suddenly saw Xiang Shaolong who was behind seated on a tall horse and exclaimed hoarsely, “Isn’t that Grand Tutor Xiang?”

Xiang Shaolong secretly commented to himself that he has not become such a prominent figure. His eyes swept across the crowd as he nudged his horse forward. The burly men’s attitude suddenly became very respectful as he asked, “What is this all about?”

The leader of the men said, “Your lowly one is called Zhang Lang, from Premier Lu’s residence. I was under Premier’s orders to send 2 Qi ladies to your residence but this lady slipped away along the way.”

Xiang Shaolong and Wu Zhuo exchanged a look and chortled, “So it’s just a misunderstanding. All right! Just take it that you have handed this Qi lady to me, all of you may return to report your mission accomplished.”

The man said, “There’s one more, in the horse carriage behind…”

Xiang Shaolong was secretly feeling hilarious as he said, “Then I’ll have to trouble you brothers to send her to my house.”

The men saw how polite he was and developed a liking to him as they bowed and left.

Xiang Shaolong moved his horse next to Teng Yi and that Qi lady and on seeing that beauty leaning on Teng Yi helplessly, he had an idea and said, “Shall we find a restaurant nearby to sit down and talk?”

Xiang Shaolong and his men split up into 4 tables and they ordered food and wine.

Naturally the Qi lady sat with Xiang Shaolong, Teng Yi and Wu Zhuo. After drinking a cup of hot tea, color started returning to her previously pale face and she looked even prettier. No wonder Lu Buwei praised their beauty.

Teng Yi remained silent but there was a strange expression in his eyes.

Xiang Shaolong asked gently, “How can I address Miss?”

The Qi lady took a peep at Teng Yi and seeing that he was looking straight ahead, felt a little disappointment as she lowered her head and answered quietly, “My name is Shanlan!”

Wu Zhuo asked, “Why do you still want to run away when you’ve already reached Xianyang? Martial law is very strict here, with 10 families forming a group and if any one family breaks the law, the other families will be punished as well and those who hide the truth and not make any reports will be executed. Who would dare to hide you?”

Shanlan’s eyes reddened, “I am prepared to die, so I don’t care that much.”

Teng Yi’s muscular body trembled as he lowered his head and stared at the steam rising up from his cup of hot tea.

Xiang Shaolong asked gently, “Now that Miss Shan knows that you are supposed to come to our residence, do you still want to run away?”

Shanlan was stunned for a moment before lowering her voice in reply, “I don’t know!”

Xiang Shaolong said with a smile, “Why not this! I will give you 2 choices, either we will send you back to Qi to be reunited with your family, or you will marry my brother Teng Yi.” And he tapped Teng Yi’s shoulder.

Teng Yi’s body shook as he looked at Xiang Shaolong, his expression both embarrassed but there is unhidden gratitude as well.

Love always comes so unexpectedly.

Shanlan’s sad situation and her pretty yet piteous face have greatly moved this strong man’s already dead heart.

Xiang Shaolong is adept at interpreting others expression so how can he not be aware of Teng Yi’s mind.

Shanlan stole another look at Teng Yi and her eyes reddened, and whispered her reply so softly, “I no longer have a home to return to.”

Wu Zhuo slapped the table happily, “Then I shall have to congratulate Brother Teng.”

Teng Yi furrowed his brows, “Shaolong! She’s supposed to be…”

Xiang Shaolong interrupted him, “If you say this then you’re not taking me as your Brother. Hai! I’m so happy I almost feel like crying now that Brother Teng has once again accepted a happy life!”

Wu Zhuo said with a laugh, “Guess today is not too suitable to seek trouble with Qiu Risheng!”

Xiang Shaolong replied happily, “We’ll go back first and talk!”

He can’t help but heave a sigh of relief. He has settled the problem of the Qi lady and Teng Yi with a happy ending, what else can be more ideal than this?