hear Madam Ma say the name of that ‘leading big brother’. After a long time, he heard her softly sigh and and say: ‘The Moon in the sky is so round, and so bright.’ Xiao Feng knew clearly that the sky was being shrouded in dark clouds and there was no Moon, but he still looked up, thinking: ‘Today is the 2nd day of the month, even if there was a Moon, in no way would it be round. What does she mean by saying those words?’ He heard A’Zhu say: ‘On the 15th day, the Moon will naturally be both round and bright. Alas, but too bad brother Ma won’t be able to see it again.’ Madam Ma said: ‘You like to eat salty moon cakes or sugary ones?’ Xiao Feng found this even stranger, thinking: ‘After the death of her husband, Madam Ma’s mind has become somewhat dim.’ A’Zhu said: ‘We’re beggars, how can we be picky in eating moon cakes? If we couldn’t find the real murderer and settle this big score for Brother Ma, not to mention moon cakes, even dainties of every kind wouldn’t taste any good.’

Madam Ma remained silent, after a long while, she coldly said: ‘Elder Bai wholeheartedly only wants to find the real murderer and avenge his brother Ma Dayuan. That makes this little woman feel very grateful.’ A’Zhu said: ‘It is what a person in my position should do. Who among the tens of thousands of the Beggar Society disciples doesn’t think of settling this score?’ Madam Ma said: ‘This leading big brother has a revered position and a great reputation, and he can mobilize tens of thousands of people with a word. What he likes the most is sheltering his friends. If you go ask him who the real murderer is, he’ll be unwilling to say regardless.’

Xiao Feng felt happy in his heart, thinking: ‘Come what may, it’s been a worthwhile trip to us. Even if Madam Ma doesn’t say the name of that person, basing on this ‘… has a revered position and a great reputation, and he can mobilize tens of thousands of people with a word’ sentence, I can always guess who he is. How many people are there in wulin having this kind of status?’

While he was pondering about who this man was, he heard A’Zhu say: ‘Previously, in wulin, the Beggar Society’s Chief could mobilize tens of thousands of people with a word. Oh, there’re Shaolin disciples all over the world so the Abbot of Shaolin School can mobilize tens of thousands of people with a word too…’ Madam Ma said: ‘You don’t need to guess carelessly. I’m gonna give you another clue. You must go southwest.’ A’Zhu muttered to herself: ‘Go southwest? Does the southwest have any VIP? It seems not.’

Madam Ma extended her finger and with a ‘pai’ sound she tore the window’s paper, the hole was just above the top of Xiao Feng’s head. He heard her follow that by saying: ‘This little woman doesn’t know martial arts. But Elder Bai, you must know who is the best at this skill under Heaven.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Oh, this is an acupuncture point blocking skill, isn’t it? The Diamond Finger of Shaolin School and the Soul Seizing Finger of the Zheng family in Cangzhou, Hebei are the most formidable ones.’

Xiao Feng cried in his mind: ‘Wrong, wrong! Among acupuncture point blocking skills, the Purely Yang Finger of the Duan Clan in Dali is the number 1 under Heaven. Besides, she said the southwest.’

Sure enough, he heard Madam Ma say: ‘Elder Bai is experienced and knowledgeable, how could you not guess correctly? Could it be that after your journey you’ve become so fatigued and woozy that you’ve forgotten even the famous Purely Yang Finger?’ He tone was rather derisive.

A’Zhu said: ‘Of course I know about the Purely Yang Finger of the Duan family, but the Duan Clan is the sovereign imperial clan in Dali, they haven’t had any contact with the wulin of the Central Plains for a long time. If you say that there’s a connection between the leading big brother and them, it must be a false rumor.’

Madam Ma said: ‘The Duan Clan has royal authority in Dali, but there’s not only 1 person in the clan. The people who are not the Emperor have often visited the Central Plains. This leading big brother is the younger full brother of the current emperor of Dali. His surname is Duan, and given name Zhengchun. He was conferred on with the title the South-Stabilizing Prince.’

Hearing Madam Ma say the 3 words ‘Duan Zhengchun’, Xiao Feng could not help shaking all over because finally he already knew the name which for the past several months he had rushed about thousands of li and tried his best to find out about.

He heard A’Zhu say: ‘This Prince Duan has a revered status and a lot of power, how could he take part in the fighting and killings in Jianghu?’ Madam Ma said: ‘Of course Prince Duan disdains to get involved in the common fighting and killings in Jianghu. But if it was an important matter that was related to the rise or fall, the existence or disappearance of Dali, do you think he would concern himself with it or not?’ A’Zhu replied: ‘Sure he would take part in it.’ Madam Ma said: ‘I heard Elder Xu said: Great Song is the northern wall of Dali, once the Khitan destroys Great Song, the 2nd step would be nothing but swallowing up Dali. Because Great Song and Dali are closely related and mutually dependent like the lips and teeth, Dali is definitely unwilling to let Great Song be ruined at the hands of the Liao Empire.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Yes, your words are correct.’

Madam Ma said: ‘Elder Xu said, that year, this Prince Duan was being a guest at the headquarters of the Beggar Society. While he and Chief Wang were drinking and discussing martial arts with each other, suddenly they heard that Khitan warriors were coming to Shaolin in great force to rob sutras. Because of his sense of honor, Prince Duan couldn’t refuse to lead everybody and rush to the outside of Yanmen Pass to intercept them. In name, this deed of his was for the sake of Great Song, but in fact it was for the sake of Dali. I heard that at that time this Prince Duan was still young but he excelled in martial arts and was very benevolent and righteous. In Dali, he is below only one person and above all the others; he uses money as if it is dirt; other people don’t need to open their mouths, he can conveniently give his friends hundreds or thousands of taels of silver. If he hadn’t led the martial arts users of the Central Plains then who, you think, would have? Someday in the future he’d become the Emperor of Dali. With such exalted status, and the others being ordinary people, how could they order him about?’

A’Zhu said: ‘So the leading big brother is the South-Stabilizing Prince of Dali, and everyone would rather die than say his name only to protect him.’ Madam Ma said: ‘Elder Bai, you must not tell this secret to the 2nd person. Prince Duan and our Society have a deep friendship, if this information leaks out, there’ll be a huge disaster. The Duan Clan wields great power in a region and is very formidable, but if Qiao Feng deliberately seeks revenge and waits in the dark for 8 or 10 years, it’ll be hard for Duan Zhengchun to deal with him.’

A’Zhu said: ‘Dimei, you’re right. I’ll keep my mouth shut like a bottle and in no way reveal it.’ Madam Ma said: ‘Elder Bai, it’d be best if you take an oath, so that I can be at ease.’ A’Zhu said: ‘All right. If Bai Shijing tells anyone else that Duan Zhengchun is the ‘leading big brother’, Bai Shijing shall suffer the disaster of ten thousand cuts and lose all reputation and become the laughing stock for the whole world.’ Her oath sounded very serious but in fact she was very crafty and pushed everything to ‘Bai Shijing’; the person who would suffer 10,000 cuts was Bai Shijing, the person who would lose all reputation was Bai Shijing, and it had nothing to do with A’Zhu herself.

Hearing that, Madam Ma seemed to be very pleased, saying: ‘This’s good.’

A’Zhu said: ‘Then I’ll go to Dali to pay a visit to the South-Stabilizing Prince then indirectly mention last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and ask about who were in his mansion at that time, then we’ll be able to find out who really murdered Brother Ma. But at the moment I still firmly believe that it’s Qiao Feng. Zhao Qiansun, Grandpa Tan and Granny Tan are 3 dimwits. Their words aren’t very dependable.’

Madam Ma said: ‘Elder Bai, I beg of you find out the truth about the murderer.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Brother Ma and I are just like full brothers. I’m certainly gonna do my utmost.’ Her tears dripping down, Madam Ma said: ‘Elder Bai is so serious about friendship. If my late husband could know about this in the Underworld, he would certainly be very grateful.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Dimei (younger sis-in-law), you take care of yourself. I take my leave.’ After bidding farewell, she immediately went out. Madam Ma said: ‘This little woman is a widow so it’s unsuitable for me to see you off far. Elder Bai, please forgive me.’ A’Zhu said: ‘That’s fine, that’s fine. Dimei doesn’t need to stand on ceremony.’

After getting to the outside, A’Zhu saw Xiao Feng standing in waiting in the distance. The 2 of them exchanged a look then, silent as the grave, went straight along the road.

The crescent new moon shone on the road leading back to Xinyang. The 2 of them went side by side. Only after going 10 li (0.5 km) or so did Xiao Feng let out a long breath and say: ‘A’Zhu, thank you very much.’

A’Zhu smiled indifferently and did not say anything. Even though her face was full of wrinkles, and she was in disguise as Bai Shijing, from the look in her eyes, Xiao Feng still sensed that her mind was being filled with worries. He asked: ‘Today we’re highly successful, why aren’t you happy?’

A’Zhu replied: ‘I’m thinking that the Duan Clan in Dali has many people and great power, if you go there to get revenge by yourself, it’d be extremely dangerous.’

Xiao Feng said: ‘Oh, so you’re worrying about me. Don’t worry. I’m in the dark and he’s in the light. If I can’t get revenge in 3 to 5 years, then just like what Madam Ma said, I’ll wait for 8 to 10 years. There’ll be 1 day when I’ll chop Duan Zhengchun into 17 or 18 pieces to feed dogs.’ Saying to here, he could not help but grind his teeth, showing all the enmity that filled his bosom.

A’Zhu said: ‘Big brother, you must be careful.’ Xiao Feng said: ‘Of course I will. It’s not important if I die, but if I can’t avenge the deaths of my parents, I won’t be able to die with my eyes closed.’ He slowly stretched out his hand and pulled her hand, saying: ‘If I die at the hands of Duan Zhengchun, who will pasture cattle and sheep with you outside Yanmen Pass?’

A’Zhu said: ‘Alas, I’m always very worried, and I feel that there’s something wrong in this matter. That Madam Ma, that… Madam Ma, she looks so pure and noble, but when I saw her, somehow I felt scared and disgusted by her.’

Xiao Feng laughed and said: ‘That woman is very smart and capable. You were afraid that she’d discover that you were in disguise so it was unavoidable that you felt scared.’

After the 2 of them had returned to the inn in Xinyang, Xiao Feng immediately ordered 10 Jin (600 g) of wine to carouse to his heart’s content. He continuously calculated in his mind how to get revenge. Thinking of the Duan Clan in Dali, he involuntarily recalled the new sworn brother Duan Yu and could not help shivering with fear. In a trance, he raised the wine bowl but did not drink, and the expression on his face greatly changed.

Thinking that he had detected something, A’Zhu looked around, but she did not see anything unusual so she asked in a low voice: ‘Big brother, what’s wrong?’ Startled, Xiao Feng said: ‘No… nothing.’ Then he raised the wine bowl and tossed it off. When the wine reached his throat, suddenly he chocked and coughed, and spewed wine onto the clothes that covered his chest. His drinking capacity was rare in the world and his internal energy was profound so chocking while drinking was something that had never happened. A’Zhu was secretly worried but it was unsuitable for her to ask much.

She did not know that while drinking Xiao Feng suddenly remembered the drinking contest between himself and Duan Yu in Wuxi city that day during which the opponent had used the high-level internal energy of the ‘6 Meridians Divine Sword’ to force the wine out through the fingers. Xiao Feng himself knew that he could not match this kind of extraordinary skill and internal energy. Duan Yu obviously did not understand martial arts yet his internal energy was already so unusual. As the leader of the Duan Clan in Dali, that big enemy Duan Zhengchun had to be 10 times as good as Duan Yu, and so how could Xiao Feng get revenge for the deaths of his parents? He did not know the adventures through which Duan Yu had coincidentally obtained his extraordinary skills and absorbed the internal energies of other people. In terms of internal energy alone, Duan Yu was already many times better than his father. As for the ‘6 Meridians Divine Sword’, at the present time, no one other than Duan Yu was capable of using them all. Both Xiao Feng and A’Zhu knew Duan Yu very well, but Duan was the national surname of Dali, just like the surname Zhao in Great Song, the national surname Li of Western Xia, and the national surname Yelu of Liao, hence there were tens of thousands of people with this surname, Duan Yu had never mentioned that he was a prince of Dali, and thus Xiao Feng and A’Zhu did not expect that he was a descendant of the Emperor.

Even though A’Zhu did not know what Xiao Feng was thinking in detail, she guessed that he was worrying about how to get revenge, so she said: ‘Big brother, getting revenge is an important matter and can’t be done in one day. We should plan before taking action. Even if the enemies are numerous and we are few, if we can’t win by force, don’t tell me that we can’t win by wits.’

Xiao Feng was happy, thinking that A’Zhu was sharp and crafty, really a great assistant, he immediately poured a bowl of wine, tossed it off and said: ‘I won’t live under the same sky with the enemy that killed my parents. To settle this score, there’s no need to care about any custom and morality in Jianghu, and any means is usable regardless of its viciousness. That’s right, if it’s impossible to win by force, we’ll beat him by strategy.’

A’Zhu continued: ‘Big brother, besides your parents, you must also avenge your foster parents Old Master Qiao and Old Madam Qiao, and your master Venerable (from now on I’m gonna translate dashi as Venerable) Xuan Ku.’

Xiao Feng held out his hand and gave the table a hit, saying loudly: ‘Yes, there’s not only 1 score, but many.’

A’Zhu said: ‘When you learned martial arts from Venerable Xuan Ku in the past, you must have been still young, so you haven’t learned all the profound internal energy techniques of Shaolin School. Otherwise, even if the Purely Yang Finger of the Duan Clan in Dali was more formidable, it wouldn’t necessarily be superior to the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ (Yijin Jing) by Damo the Old Ancestor of Shaolin School. I once heard Old Master Murong discuss martial arts in the world, and he said that the most fearsome skill of the Duan Clan in Dali was not the Purely Yang Finger but something called ‘6 Meridians Divine Sword’.’

Xiao Feng frowned, saying: ‘Yes, Master Murong is a wizard in wulin, his words are really insightful. What I was worried about just now was not the Purely Yang Finger, but this 6 Meridians Divine Sword.’

A’Zhu said: ‘That day, while Old Master Murong and Mister Murong were discussing martial arts in the world, I stood on one side to pour tea and heard several sentences. Old Master Murong said: ‘Each of the 72 elite skills of Shaolin School has its own excellence, but to defeat the enemy and win the battle, only 1 skill is already enough, there’s no need to use 72 skills.’’

Xiao Feng nodded, saying: ‘What Senior Murong discussed is very true.’ A’Zhu continued: ‘At that time, Mister Murong said: ‘Yes, jiumu (maternal uncle’s wife) Wang and biaomei (younger female cousin with different surname) like to boast that they know many martial arts in the world, but what’s the use of being a jack of all trades and master of none?’ Old Master Murong said: ‘Speaking of the word ‘master’, it’s easier said than done. In fact the only truly elite skill of Shaolin School is the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’. As long as this sutra is successfully practiced, any skill, no matter how ordinary it is, can become a marvel from rubbish in the hands of the user.’’

When a user had a good basis and a powerful internal energy, they would be able to unleash enormous power despite using only ordinary stances. Xiao Feng certainly understood this matter deeply. That day when he fought the heroes at Juxian Manor, using just the ‘Founder’s Long Fist’, a set of martial arts that was known to everyone, he was able to battle many heroes and brave fellows in the world and make all the first-class experts there helplessly admire him. Now, after hearing A’Zhu relate Master Murong’s words, he could not refrain from drinking 2 big bowls of wine continuously and saying: ‘He understood my heart, he understood my heart. It’s a pity Master Murong already passed away. Otherwise, I’d definitely go to his manor to meet this wizard of the world.’

A’Zhu smiled charmingly, saying: ‘When Old Master Murong was still alive, he never met any stranger, but you’d certainly be an exception.’ Xiao Feng raised his head and smiled, knowing that the words ‘you’d certainly be an exception’ meant to say: ‘You’re my intimate darling so Master Murong naturally would regard you with special respect.’ Seeing the look in his eyes, A’Zhu could not refrain from lowering her head. Her cheeks reddened, but in her young heart, she secretly felt happy.

Xiao Feng drank another bowl of wine and asked: ‘Old Master Murong wasn’t very old when he passed away, was he?’ A’Zhu replied: ‘Around 50 years old. He couldn’t be considered old.’ Xiao Feng said: ‘Oh, with his profound internal energy, the age of 50 was when his martial arts reached the peak of perfection. How could he suddenly pass away?’ A’Zhu shook her head, saying: ‘The Old Master died from some illness. All of us didn’t know anything. He died very fast. In the morning he suddenly fell ill, and in the evening, the Young Master wailed loudly and came out to tell everyone that the Old Master had died.’

Xiao Feng said: ‘Oh, I wonder what the violent illness he suffered is. What a pity, what a pity. What a pity Divine Docter Xue wasn’t around there at that time. Otherwise, you should’ve invited him at any rate, and he would’ve been able to save Master Murong’s life.’ He had never been acquainted with the father and son of the Murong Clan, but after hearing other people mention their words, deeds and natures, he could not help but rather admire them. A’Zhu’s connection with them made him feel closer to them and value them even more.

A’Zhu continued: ‘That day Old Master Murong discussed the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ with the Young Master. He said: ‘I’ve never seen the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ created by Damo the Old Ancestor, but judging from the way of martial arts, the great reputation that Shaolin School has enjoyed should come from this ‘Muscle Changing Sutra.’ It’s impossible to say that those 72 elite skills are not formidable, but it can’t be said that you can become the leader of the world in martial arts thanks to them.’ The Old Master specially warned the Young Master that he weren’t allowed to be overconfident about the martial arts that had been handed down by their ancestors and to make light of Shaolin disciples, because when there was already this sutra in the monastery, maybe the talented bright monks would be able to master it.’

Xiao Feng nodded in approval, thinking: ‘The Murong Clan of Gusu is famous in the whole world, yet they aren’t arrogant. This is hard to come by.’

A’Zhu said: ‘The Old Master also said that all his life he had looked at almost all martial arts under heaven but it was a pity he had never seen the sword manual of the 6 Meridians Divine Sword of the Duan Clan in Dali and the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ of Shaolin School, and that was unavoidably a great regret of his life. Big brother, Old Master Murong already mentioned these 2 martial arts in the same breath, guessing from this, if you want to deal with the 6 Meridians Divine Sword of the Duan Clan in Dali, it seems you must start with the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ of Shaolin School. If we can steal the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ from the Bodhi Institute of Shaolin Monastery and put effort in practicing it for several years, then I think we wouldn’t need to be worried about that 6 Meridians Divine Sword or 7 Meridians Demonic Saber.’ As she said to here, her expression resembled a smile yet she was not smiling.

Xiao Feng rose, laughing and saying: ‘Little imp… You… It turns out you…’

A’Zhu laughed and said: ‘Big brother, at first I stole this sutra to give the Young Master, after reading it he would incinerate it in front of the Old Master’s grave to fulfill his father’s desire. Now I give it to you.’ As she finished, she took out an oilcloth packet and put it in Xiao Feng’s hand.

That night, Xiao Feng saw with his own eyes that she disguised as monk Zhi Qing and stole the sutra from the copper mirror in the Bodhi Institute, but he could never have expected that it was the secret internal energy manual ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ of Shaolin School. When A’Zhu was captured by the extraordinary fellows at Juxian Manor, thinking that she was a female, they did not search her body; as for the high-level Shaolin monks such as Xuan Ji and Xuan Nan, even in their dreams, they could never have expected that the lost sutra of their monastery was on her body.

Xiao Feng shook his head and said: ‘You took a huge risk and narrowly escaped death to steal this sutra from Shaolin Monastery with the original intention of giving it to Mister Murong. How can I seize it for myself?’

A’Zhu said: ‘Big brother, you’re wrong about this.’ Xiao Feng asked in surprise: ‘How can I be wrong?’ A’Zhu said: ‘I stole this sutra all on my own and not because I received an order from Mister Murong. I can give it to anyone. Moreover, after you’ve read it, it still won’t be late for us to give it to Mister Murong. You bear an absolutely irreconcilable grudge against the murderer of your parents. To get revenge, one can do any sinister, cruel, despicable or dirty thing. Why are you still fussy about borrowing a sutra to have a look?’

Hearing these words, Xiao Feng was awestruck and startled. He made a deep bow to her, saying: ‘Xianmei (literally ‘virtuous younger sis’, affectionately calling a younger sis), you’re right in criticizing me. How can a person who’s dealing with important matters keep worrying about trivial things?’

A’Zhu puckered her lips and smiled, saying: ‘As a Shaolin disciple, it’s only reasonable for you to use Shaolin martial arts to avenge your enshi (kind master) Venerable Xuan Ku. What’s wrong about it?’

Xiao Feng continuously commended her. He felt both grateful to her and happy. Wasting no time, he opened the oilcloth packet, and saw a booklet whose paper had turned yellow. There were several sinuous bizarre characters written on the cover of the booklet. He cried inwardly: ‘No good!’ When he turned to the 1st page, he saw that it was filled with words, but these words were crooked. Some had the shape of a circle, some had the shape of a hook, and he did not know any of them.

‘A’yo,’ uttered A’Zhu, and said: ‘So it’s totally in Sanskrit. What bad luck. I originally wanted to burn the sutra as a sacrifice to the Old Master. As a maid, I shouldn’t read it before that, that’s why after the sutra came to my hands, I’ve never dared to open and take a look at it. Alas, no wonder those monks let me steal their secret martial arts manual without paying any attention. It turns out no one understands the sutra…’ As she finished, she let out a deep sigh, sounding exceedingly dispirited.

Xiao Feng consoled her: ‘There’s no need to worry too much about gain and loss.’ Then he put the ‘Muscle Changing Sutra’ back into the packet and returned it to A’Zhu.

A’Zhu said: ‘Isn’t it the same if you keep it? Don’t tell me that there’s still difference between us?’

Xiao Feng smiled and put the packet in his bosom. He poured another big bowl of wine. When he was about to drink again, suddenly he heard footsteps outside the door, then someone snarled loudly. Slightly surprised, Xiao Feng rushed out of the door. He saw a big fellow who was covered with blood from head to toe on the main street. The fellow was holding 2 broad axes and was brandishing them up and down chaotically.