Chapter 1: Duan Tou Dao
Duan Tou Dao
The whole city was covered in peach blossoms in April.
Kaifeng residence in the capital of Northern Song dynasty held a small civil service examination, with papers to be handed over to the Longtu Pavillion. This time the examination was not to select gifted scholars or government officials, but to select those who were well versed in ancient and contemporary literature, had the patience and care for details, and those with the talent to organise and repair unordered antique books.
The ones marking those examination papers were two old officials, those two had been busy recently.
Talking about Kaifeng city, it housed the royal family and the commoners, they all knew about the two completely incompatible officials, one was the infamous corrupt official Taishi* Pang Ji and the other one was the well-known honest and upright official, Bao Zheng.
Taishi: royal tutor
Bao Zheng and Pang Ji had been government officials for the same imperial court for twenty-odd years, they were both similar in age and had a similar government rankings, but their personalities contradicted each other, they were ill-matched.
By chance, one was the Emperor's father-in-law while the other one was an important figure in the imperial court, none of them would give way to another.
Speaking of which, their bad relationship also had something to do with the Emperor Renzong to some extent.
Emperor Renzong: also called Zhao Zhen
Zhao Zhen, that seemingly honest and kind young emperor, in fact also had a peculiar interest. For example, if the court meeting was harmonious, he would tease those two old officials for fun. Apparently, recently the borders have been peaceful, there was not much going on in the imperial court, there were no disasters or cases of injustice, therefore Renzong suddenly had an odd thought, why not reorganise Longtu Pavillion’s unsolved case files from the last three years, for research purposes.
As the result, Bao Zheng as a senior member of the Longtu Pavillion broke in cold sweat, he stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, there are numerous files at the Longtu Pavillion, why not pick a few students from the Imperial College of Supreme Learning to tidy it up?”
“Aih!” Pang Taishi said as he dragged the last syllable, he also stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, how can the students distinguish which cases were unresolved, Minister Bao should do it personally!”
Bao Zheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Pang Taishi and thought to himself “How dare you fatty take the opportunity to make a fuss!”
Pang Taishi looked at his narrowed eyes, his face tensed, he also became a little nervous, but seeing Bao Zheng fall down a well and if he did not throw stones then he was not Pang Ji.
Zhao Zhen touched his chin pensively, “Taishi’s words are logical, it would be better if Minister Bao personally organised it himself.”
Pang Taishi’s lips curled as he opened his mouth to laugh, but before he could form a complete laugh, he heard Bao Zheng speak, “Your Majesty, I’m afraid your humble servant by himself won’t be enough, I would like to request Pang Taishi to share the responsibility.”
Taishi’s mouth froze after he heard Zhao Zhen swiftly reply “Approved”, he instantly collapsed.
A young eunuch announced, “Court, dismissed”.
Numerous officials watched from behind as Bao Zheng and Pang Ji pinched each other’s arms as they left the palace.
“Heizi*, why are you pulling me into the water?”
Heizi: Pang Ji's nickname for Bao Zheng
“Thanks to your blessing, how can I not share it with you?”
They were cooped up in Longtu Pavilion for three days and three nights and were bitten by bookworms here and there. The two officials decided to stop their pinch war and actively looked for ways to save themselves, and that was how the civil service examination came about.
In the end, those who passed the exam were students from the Imperial College of Supreme Learning, after half a month, ten students only managed to organise a full shelf of unresolved cases, there were still more to organise.
That day, Zhao Zhen walked in a circle around the Longtu Pavilion with his hands folded behind his back, he reached out with one hand and took out a scroll, he read and asked Bao Zheng, “Minister Bao, is guard Zhan free?”
Bao Zheng raised his head and thought for a while...
Zhan Zhao who was eating wonton at Taibaiju sneezed suddenly.
“He’s free.” Pang Taishi came and interrupted, “I say, old Bao, you really are competent, where did you find such a capable Zhan Zhao, as soon as he came to Kaifeng, all the old cases and unresolved cases were solved, especially the case concerning people of Jianghu*, previously, a case concerning a sect would worry you like there’s no tomorrow, it’s so much better now…”
Jianghu: the community of martial artists
Pang Taishi did not see Lord Bao’s winks and glances, unfortunately, Lord Bao’s facial expressions were hidden under a shadow and old Pang had blurred vision and could not see clearly.
“Are Minister Bao and Taishi both free recently?” after this question from Zhao Zhen, Pang Taishi finally behaved, in exchange, Lord Bao gave him an eye roll - what an eye roll that was...
“This cabinet of unresolved cases…” Zhao Zhen pointed from top to bottom. He reached out his hand and patted both Bao Zheng and Pang Ji, “How about the both of you go on an inspection tour?”
Bao Zheng and Pang Ji were agape.
Lord Bao said in a hurry, “Your Majesty, there are plenty of affairs at the Kaifeng residence that needs this subject to handle…”
“I thought you are free these days, if you’re needed, I will send someone for you.” Zhao Zhen left Lord Bao dumbstruck and unable to reply, then glanced at Pang Taishi.
Taishi could only swallow his saliva - he, of course, had no excuse, because he really was free and unoccupied.
“Then start with this scroll.” Zhao Zhen shoved the scroll he had just picked out into Bao Zheng’s hands. He then turned around and left the palace, feeling satisfied.
Lord Bao and Pang Taishi stared at each other, one had a dark face and the other had a pale face, both sighed.
……
After returning to his residence，guard Zhan saw the bailiff of Yamen* packing their belongings, there was a long line of troops outside the residence ready for the inspection tour, holding ‘fair and honest’ flags high up in style.
Yamen: the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat
Facing him, he saw Bao Zheng and Pang Ji come out side by side.
Pang Taishi saw the red-clad figure standing in front of them.
Zhan Zhao only recently came to Kaifeng, it was unknown how Bao Zheng had managed to persuade this well-known young Jianghu hero to assist with the investigations.
Pang Ji's impression of this handsome young man was both excellent and terrible.
Excellent, because he gave off a good impression. It was difficult to find someone that would dislike this type of person, ‘to please others’ was the first impression he gave to others.
Terrible, because Pang Ji had lived for a long time and had plenty of experiences, he understood that a gentle talent was a lot more difficult to deal with than an apathetic talent.
Usually, those who appeared the humblest tended to be the most arrogant; those who smiled often would be the scariest when angered.
Zhan Zhao who managed to become well-known in Jianghu at such a young age was definitely not a kind man....besides, that young man seemed to be able to fulfil the requirements of both justice and injustice, it was uncertain if he was a potted plant inside a greenhouse or a vine plant on the mountain, and of course, the worst was - he was on Bao Zheng’s side.
“Guard Zhan.” Pang Ji greeted Zhan Zhao courteously.
Zhan Zhao slightly curled the corners of his mouth, his large eyes turned into crescent shapes, and he gave Taishi a smile he often used to greet others.
Taishi held onto his chest, no one had smiled at him so genuinely for a long time, at the very least he thought it was genuine.
“My Lord, you’re leaving?” Zhan Zhao asked Bao Zheng, his eyes looked at the scroll in Bao Zheng’s hand.
“That’s
right, Guard Zhan, you should do some preparations, we are leaving at night to
investigate an unresolved case.”
Zhao Zhan heard “unresolved case” and appeared to be interested, he raised his hand to receive the scroll, with a gentle rise…
The scroll spread open with a ‘shua la’ sound, the other end of the scroll fell into his other hand. Two hands gave it a shake and the scroll opened!
With Zhan Zhao’s one movement, Bao Zheng heard a commotion coming from behind, he turned his head and saw a group of maids of all ages crowding together, just by reading their lips he could tell they were saying one word: handsome.
Bao Zheng coughed, turned around, and saw Pang Taishi with his mouth open.
Bao Zheng gave him a push - Stop it you! Stop staring at my innocent boy!
Pang Taishi waved his hand, it was not because he had the same thoughts as a maiden, thinking Zhan Zhao opening a scroll was handsome, rather, he was astounded by his change of expression.
Zhan Zhao was serious, he read the scroll in silence then raised his head, “Duan Tou* case? Duan Dao* sect was wiped out, it seemed like it was a Jianghu revenge case…”
Duan Tou: decapitation
Duan Dao: the sect name, meaning broken Dao
There's a bit of wordplay with Duan, so I've kept their names in Pinyin
“Guard Zhan has leads?” Pang Ji approached closer, “This case is quite bloody.”
“Decapitating necks with a blade, this is a battle method in Jianghu, all those who were killed were from the Duan Dao sect, even the sect leader was cut down, the killer is definitely a Dao expert.” Zhan Zhao rolled up the scroll and lightly tapped his chin, “There are a lot of Dao wielders in Jianghu, but there aren't many who can wield it so skillfully, it can be counted with just one hand, moreover, most are famous heroes, they won't do such a thing.”
“Who are they?” Bao Zheng had very little understanding of Jianghu.
“If it is a Dao, then the most skilled would be Tian Zun, but he is a saint in the martial arts community and has withdrawn from Jianghu for many years, it shouldn't be him. As for the others, one of them can be removed from the list of suspects as well.”
“Who?” Bao Zheng and Pang Ji asked in unison.
“The ninth prince, Zhao Pu.” Zhan Zhao made a slit throat gesture, “He has done such thing plenty of times on the battlefield, but Zhao Pu’s technique had a certain characteristic, his bewitched blade ‘Xin Ting Hou’ has a large build, so it is impossible to have this level of finesse, to manipulate a blade multiple times at close range…” he said as he demonstrated with his sword Ju Que, before Taishi could understand what was going on, the sword flashed before him… the brim of a stone lamp fell off behind him with a "ka-cha".
The corner of Pang Taishi’s lips twitched.
Zhan Zhao nodded as he spoke to himself, “The blade used ought to be approximately the same size as a sword.”
“That slim?” Pang Taishi was astonished, he thought the blade would be that of a large ringed machete, the Qing Long Yan Yue sword or something like Zhao Pu’s Xin Ting Hou that was large enough to kill a bear with one swat.
“There are two types of swords that are slim but still possess enormous strength.” Zhan Zhao rubbed his nose, “One of them is the Fusang sword*.”
Fusang sword: a Japanese sword
“So, the culprit is a Fusang* man?” Taishi remembered seeing Fusang warriors use similar swords, they were extremely fierce.
Fusang: it is an island in ancient literature often interpreted as Japan
“It is unlikely.” Zhan Zhao, however, shook his head, raised his hand, and swung Ju Que again...
Pang Taishi still did not see what had happened, he only saw something shiny flash by, and the poor stone lamp was split in half, the top half slipped down.
On the other side, Zhan Zhao still held the scroll and tapped his chin, “Usually, Fusang swords are used to cut from top to bottom, the technique is to be fast and it’s reckless, the decapitation here shows that the skill is refined and swift. There are numerous horizontal sword techniques… It is important to know that the most difficult sword technique is Heng Dao*, you can’t borrow strength from up and down, and it’s not easy to handle, it has to be swift therefore, the user must have tremendously trained Nei-li*.”
Heng Dao: a style of swords (for cutting horizontally) [ref]
Nei-li: refers to mediation and spiritual practice disciplines in Chinese martial arts, think of chakra from Naruto
“Guard Zhan.” Seeing how Zhan Zhao's assessment of the killer changed into a skilled expert, Bao Zheng asked, “Do you have any suspects in mind?”
Zhan Zhao thought for a while and eventually shook his head, “It’s unlikely to be him.”
“Let us say he isn’t a suspect. If one has excellent skills, perhaps he knows who the killer is?” Pang Taishi probed.
“That could be a possibility, I’m not too familiar with blade wielders.” Zhan Zhao nodded, and said slowly: “The second kind of slim yet strong blade is the nemesis of Fusang sword, the Miao sabre*.”
“Miao sabre?” Bao Zheng froze, “Could the killer be of Miao ethnicity?”
Miao: one of China’s many ethnicities; also means sprouts
"Tsk tsk" Zhan Zhao stretched and waved his thin finger, dashingly turned around, Bao Zheng heard another ruckus behind him. He held onto his forehead helplessly, ever since Zhan Zhao came to Kaifeng, the girls all behaved as if they ate divine pills and became energetic and fierce like wolves and tigresses.
Pang Taishi suddenly remembered when Zhan Zhao went to the royal palace, his good looks managed to shock a large number of the guards, and along the way, he also managed to capture the heart of all the ladies, from the Empress Dowager to the maids… could it be the real reason they were dispatched to investigate cases?
Thinking about it, Pang Ji and Bao Zheng silently exchanged glances - they felt so wronged!
“Miao sabres are the most ruthless of all Daos. They are forged in the fields and are named after the shape of sprouts. A Miao sabre has a three-feet eight-inch long blade, the handle is one foot two inches, with a total length of five feet. It can cut through iron as if it is cutting through mud. It can be used with one hand, two hands, and hands-free; its techniques have countless forms and can be used for either offence or defence.” Zhan Zhao looked at the wound conditions described on the case scroll, he nodded his head at Bao Zheng, “Extremely similar to those caused by Miao sabre.”
“After talking for so long…” Pang Ji couldn’t help but ask, “Guard Zhan, who do you think is the suspect?”
“Aih, not a suspect, we cannot afford to offend this person.” Zhan Zhao repeatedly waved his hand, his head shook like a rattler-drum, “This person is famous in Jianghu, ghosts worry when they meet him, the evil hides from him, monsters turn around and run away at the sight of him, if it’s not necessary then you must avoid provoking him at all cost!”
Bao Zheng looked at Zhan Zhao with suspicion, Zhan Zhao normally had a strong Jianghu aura, none of them had ever seen him fear anyone in particular, why does he look troubled mentioning that person?
“Guard Zhan, let's have a listen, maybe it is not him.” Pang Taishi became more curious as he listened.
Zhan Zhao thought for a second and said, “Because Miao sabres are extremely difficult to control, Dao wielders can easily injure or even kill themselves, so the number of Miao sabre wielders became less and less. Miao sabres also break easily, because of their blade length they are difficult to forge. After a few well-known blacksmiths died, there were barely any decent Miao sabres being forged...The surviving, the best and the strongest Miao sabre is in that person's hand - the Yun Zhong* sabre.”
“Yun Zhong sabre?” Pang Taishi rubbed his chin, he liked to collect antiques, how come he had never heard about this particular sabre?
“The Yun Zhong sabre has a substantial background.” Zhan Zhao said, “According to legend, it was forged by the genius blacksmith Master Yezhi using thousands of Guitou-Daos with a thousand-year-old black iron and dragon blood, it’s tough and evil like no other, it’s an ominous item, it’s killing intent is no less than that of Zhao Pu’s Xin Ting Hou, but compared to the birth of Xin Ting Hou, it is much sinister.”
“What is a Guitou-Dao?” Pang Ji and Bao Zheng asked.
Zhan Zhao looked at them both and shook his head, “It’s the large Dao used by executioners, those that are thrown away when they are no longer sharp, those are Guitou-Daos.”
Pang Taishi's neck went cold, even Bao Zheng could not help but touch his own neck.
Having said that, Zhan Zhao once again opened the scroll, “This happened a month ago. The entire Duan Dao sect was almost wiped out. The Duan Dao sect is a branch of the Dao Alliance, for them to be wiped out like this, the Chief of the Alliance Dao Xingfeng will not let this go lightly. I reckon he’s going to cause havoc.” After he finished speaking, Zhan Zhao ran to his room to pack his belongings, getting ready to be entertained.
Bao Zheng and Pang Ji looked at each other, after all that, Zhan Zhao still did not reveal the owner of the Yun Zhong sabre.
At night, as the group set out on their journey, Zhan Zhao carried a bundle on his back and held Ju Que in his hand as he sat on a beautiful maroon horse in the night wind. The evening breeze in April accompanied by a crescent moon in the sky outlined the black-haired man wearing red garments on a maroon horse, he who had stars in his eyes and killed without shedding a drop of blood...
Bao Zheng turned around as he climbed into the carriage, he could not help but hold bitter tears for the girls in the mansion who bit on their handkerchiefs as they said their farewells and waved goodbye to Zhan Zhao.
The long-lined group of patrol cleared the way with five hundred men, walking out of Kaifeng town full of valour. To not disturb the citizens, Bao Zheng especially chose to leave soundlessly in the middle of the night.
In the dark night, Zhan Zhao rode his horse behind the troops, not too fast and not too close, he looked as if he was deep in thought.
At this moment, Pang Taishi’s carriage lowered their speed, until Zhan Zhao almost caught up, he lifted the curtain and poked his head out of the carriage.
Zhan Zhao looked at him and smiled.
Under the moon, Pang Taishi unexpected found that Zhan Zhao’s smile was similar to the one from before, he was not making it up, he was sure of it, that smile was full of sincerity, consequently, he asked curiously, “Guard Zhan usually smiles at whom, and won’t smile at whom, is there a boundary?”
Zhan Zhao blinked a few times, without thinking, he said: “To those who won’t harm me or others.”
Pang Taishi laughed and nodded. Was that Zhan Zhao’s lowest limit? Seeing him yawn as if he was ready to nap on the horse, Pang Taishi took the opportunity to ask one last question, “Previously you mentioned the expert of Yun Zhong sabre, what exactly is his name?”
Zhan Zhao curled the corner of his mouth, “His name is very pleasant to hear.”
Taishi waited.
“Yun Zhong Dao ke Yun Zhong Dao*, peerless Bai Yutang.” Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows at Taishi, “Remember to take a detour when you hear this name, he specialises in killing corrupt officials...”
Taishi withdrew his neck, grabbed, and shook Bao Zheng who was about to fall asleep on the bench, “Heizi, you must let Guard Zhan look after me!”
Lord Bao yawned, explaining what it meant to be happy, he turned his body around and shooed Pang Ji away as if he was a fly, “How did you teach me to avoid mosquitos a few days ago?”
Pang Ji froze and scratched his head, “The mosquitos won’t see you at night if you don’t wear clothes and shut your mouth.”
Bao Zheng looked at him with slight resentment, “Therefore, if you change your ways and stop being a corrupt official then everything will be peaceful and safe, you can pretend to be me by rubbing ink on yourself… come!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he passed a block of ink stick to him.
……
From the outside, Zhan Zhao could hear those two in the carriage have started their pinch war again, he helplessly rubbed his nose, ever since he was young, his nose would start to itch before something big was about to happen.
He
shook his head and rode the horse with greater speed. He was getting anxious,
one was Chief of Dao Alliance, the current most well-known sword wielder, Dao
Xingfeng. The other one was the most famous and controversial from the younger
generation, praised by Tai Zun himself as the number one, Bai Yutang. There will be an entertaining show to watch.
T/N:
Terminology
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