Chapter 6

Translator: wuxiasociety

Lu Liding said, “So according to what you have said, the person who dug up brother and sister-in-law’s grave was your husband.”

Madam Wu replied in shame, “After hearing what the two misses have said, it is indeed my husband.”

Lu shaking his head said, “Your husband’s actions are not trivial. There wasn’t a feud in the first place. Even if there was, now that my brother and sister are dead, things should be bygones. But now he’s stolen the corpses, is that the action of a hero?”

When it comes to status, the Wu couple is higher than that of Lu’s. But now that his heart is full of fury, his words did not carry the proper tone of respect.

Madam Wu sighed, “Master Lu is right to blame my husband. He is confused and has stopped talking; he doesn’t deserve any pity. I’ve brought my two children along here, to try and stop the wrong doings of my husband. Right now, I’m the only person who he takes any notice of.” She looked at her two children and said, “Go and kowtow (kneel down) in front of Master and Mistress Lu to apologize for your father.” The boys did as they were told.

Mistress Lu gave a hand to help the boys up and asked what their names were. The one who threw himself down and cut his forehead was called Wu Dunru, the older brother; the younger was called Wu Xiuwen. The difference in age was one year, one of them twelve, the other eleven. The two had been taught martial arts and were relatively learned. Madam Wu and her husband were getting old, and hoped that they could reach a good level of kung fu and schooling, so they could withhold the Wu name in Wuxia, and not just rely on it.

Madam Wu did not divulge the darker reason for her husband’s behavior. She sighed and thought, “Those lies are only good for now. I mustn’t tell anyone about the truth.” In reality, when Yuanjun had grown to eighteen or nineteen she had become a beautiful woman. The feelings that Wu Santong had for her did not limit itself to the father daughter relationship. He was considered a hero in the Jianghu world so he could do nothing and he was relatively content. But when he saw that she had fallen in love with a Jiangnan youngster, he was angry that it wasn’t him. That’s why he said Jiangnan people are untrustworthy and unreliable, to get rid of his love rival. The reason he said this was that he had suffered the craftiness of Huang Rong. She tricked him into replacing Guo Jing in pushing down an ox and large stone, and couldn’t escape afterward. Although this matter was cleared up later, the words “Jiangnan people are untrustworthy” were etched into his head.

Madam Wu then said, “To think that before my husband had arrived, Li Mochou is already here seeking revenge.”

As she said this, a voice was heard from the roof.

“Ru’er, Wen’er, come with me!”

The words were unexpected, as no footsteps had been heard on the rooftop, yet someone was up there calling. The Lu couple gulped as they realized it was Wu Santong. Cheng Ying and Wushuang also recognized it was the weird lotus eating man. They saw a blur, as Wu Santong flew down and grabbed his sons, one in each hand before returning to the roof. Madam Wu shouted, “Hey, why don’t you come and see master and mistress Lu, and return the corpses that you took from them? Hurry.” Wu Santong did not reply as he had already long gone.

He ran wildly for a while, and hurriedly entered a forest. He put down Xiu Wen but still held on to Dun Ru, as his trace disappeared and his son was left alone in the forest. As Xiu Wen saw that his father had gone over hundred feet away, he shouted, “Father, father!” He heard a voice far away.

“Wait there. I’ll come back for you.”

Wu Xiuwen knew his father was always acting strange, and doesn’t plan anything. Although he was frightened alone in the black forest, he thought his father won’t be long and sat down on a log. After a long while, his father still hadn’t come. He said to himself, “I’ll go and find mother!” as he headed back to the Lu home.

Jiangnan is a place where roads lead in all directions, where paths are twisty and windy; it is hard to travel by day so what about traveling at night? As he ran, the paths got narrower, and on numerous times he stepped into the middle of muddy fields. Eventually he came across a forest, and realized he had gone in circles. He wanted to cry, and shouted, “Father, father! Mother… mother!” Who would hear him in the middle of the night? He heard a few noises, and recognized it was the call of a falcon. He once heard that falcons love to count the brows on people and if they counted clearly, it would be an ominous sign for the person. Immediately he spat out some saliva to wet his fingers, and then moistened his brow, so that it would be difficult for the falcon to count. But the falcon did not stop calling, He hid behind the trunk of a tree, keeping his brows covered with his finger, his heart jumping, not daring to move. After a while he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

In the morning, in a sleepy haze, he heard few clear screeches. He opened his eyes and looked above, and saw two extremely big white eagles hovering, wings spread out, looking magnificent. He had never seen this type of eagle before, his interest was raised and shouted, “Brother, come look at the big eagle,” not realizing he was alone, as he was always by his brother’s side.

Suddenly he heard two whistles behind him; the sound was gentle and soft, coming from the mouth of a little girl. The two eagles circled twice before descending. Wu Xiuwen turned around and saw a young girl, who was raising her arm to the sky. The eagles came down by her side. The girl gave one look to Wu Xiuwen and then stroked her two eagles saying, “Good eagle…clever eagle.” Wu Xiuwen thought, “So the two eagles are her eagles. He looked at the eagles, which were exuding an air of superiority, standing taller than the girl. He walked up to the girl and asked, “Are those eagles yours?”

The girl pouted, and her face changed color. “I don’t recognize you. I’m not going to play with you.”

Wu Xiuwen touched the backs of the eagles without any intentions. The girl whistled, and the eagles raised their left wing. There was a high force behind the wings, and Xiu Wen didn’t guard against it; he ended up on the ground. He rolled around on the ground, eyes fixed on the eagles, and said admiringly, “Those eagles are great and they really listen to you. I’ll get father to catch me one so I can train it.”

“Huh, you think your father can catch one?”

Wu Xiuwen was just curious, but each time she caused embarrassment. He looked at her closely; she was wearing an elegant green dress, a pearl necklace hung around her neck, her face was white, almost like butter, her eyes moving and face delicate. Wu Xiuwen thought she was extremely beautiful, and wanted to approach her but saw she was cold, and stayed back in fear. The girl stroked the eagles back with her right hand, and examined Wu Xiuwen. “What’s your name? Why are you alone?”

“My name is Wu Xiuwen. I’m waiting here for my father. What about you, what’s your name?”

“I don’t play with naughty boys,” said the girl as she turned her back and walked away.