Childhood happy past第二章.docx

Childhood happy past第二章.docx

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Childhoodhappypast第二章

Chapter3

Middaycameandwent,buttherewasnosignofanyoneontheroadinfront.Luwassurprisedandwonderedifhecouldhaveguessedwrongly.Finally,insteadofridersapproachingfrominfront,theygraduallybecameawareofthesoundofcamelbellsfrombehind,andsawadustcloudrisingasalargedesertcaravanhurriedtowardsthem.

　　Thecaravanconsistedofdozensofcamelswith20or30horsessqueezedinbetweenthem,allriddenbyMuslimswithhighnosesandsunkeneyes.Theyhadthickbeardsontheirfacesandwhiteclothstiedaroundtheirheads.Scimitarshungfromtheirwaists.

　　MuslimtraderswereacommonsightontheroadtothecentralareasandLudidnotconsideritunusual.

　　Amidstthegroup,henoticedagracefulyounggirl,dazzlinglybeautiful,dressedinyellowrobesandridingablackhorse.

　　Luwasimpressed,butdidnomorethanglanceather.

　　Yuanzhi,however,staredinopen-mouthedwonder.

　　Growingupinthenorthwestborderareas,shehadseenfewwell-groomedgirls,letalonegirlsasbeautifulasthisone.ShewasaboutthesameageasYuanzhi,18or19,withadaggeratherwaistandlongbraidshangingdownoverhershoulders.Sheworeafull-lengthyellowgown,leatherbootsandasmallhatembroideredwithgoldsilk,onthesideofwhichwasfastenedaturquoisefeather.Shewasanenchantingsight.

　　Asthegirltrottedby,Yuanzhispurredonherhorseandfollowed,gazingfixedlyather.ThegirlwasannoyedatbeingstaredatdisrespectfullybyaChineseboy,andshewhirledherwhipaboveherheadandwrappeditroundthemaneofYuanzhi'shorse.

　　Givingitasharptug,shepulledoutalargeclumpofhair,andthehorserearedinpain,almostthrowingYuanzhitotheground.TheMuslimgirlcrackedthewhipintheairandhorsehairflewinalldirections.

　　Inafitofpique,Yuanzhipulledoutasteeldartandthrewitatthegirl'sback.But,notwishingtoharmher,shealsocalledout:

"Watchoutforthedart!

"Thegirlleanttooneside,andthedartshotpastherrightshoulder.Shewaiteduntilitwasabouttenfeetbeyondher,thenflickedherwhip,caughtthedartbyitstipandsmoothlysentitflyingbacktowardsYuanzhi,callingout:

"Hey,littleboy!

Here'syourdart!

"Yuanzhicaughtitneatly.

　　TheMuslimsinthecaravanapplaudedloudlyatthesuperbskillwithwhichtheyellow-robedgirlhandledherwhip.Atall,thick-setmanwithaheavyblackbeardwentoverandsaidafewwordstoher,towhichshereplied:

"Oh,father!

"ButshetooknofurthernoticeofYuanzhi.Thedozensofcamelsandhorsesmovedonandgraduallydisappeared.

　　"Thatgirlwasimpressive,wasn'tshe?

"saidLu.

　　"TheseMuslimsridedayandnight.Theyoughttobegoodwiththeirwhips.Butitdoesn'tmeansheknowsanyrealkungfu,"Yuanzhireplied.

　　Lulaughed."Really?

"heasked.

　　TowardseveningtheyarrivedinthetownofBulongji.

　　Therewasonlyonelargeinninthetown,outsideofwhichwasplantedtheflagoftheZhenYuanBodyguardAgency.Withtwolargegroupstolookafter,theinn'sservantswereverybusy.

　　Luhadawash,andthenstrolledintothecourtyardoftheinnwithacupofteainhishand.Inthedininghall,hesawtwotablesfullofagencymendrinkingandtalkingloudly.TheleadescortwiththeFiveElementWheelshadputtheweaponsdownbutkepttheredknapsackonhisback.

　　Takingasipoftea,Lugazedupatthesky.

　　Oneoftheleadescortslaughed."BrotherYan,onceyou'vedeliveredthistoytoBeijing,GeneralZhaowillrewardyouwithatleastathousand,won'the?

　　Youcangoandhaveagoodtimewiththatgirlfriendofyours,Xibao."SoitreallyisoneoftheYanbrothers,Luthought,andpaidevencloserattentiontowhatwassaid.

　　"Areward?

"saidYan."Ha!

Well,everyonewillgetsomething.""YourXibaohasprobablygoneoffwithsomeothermanwillingtomakeanhonestwomanofher,"addedaneffeminatevoice.Lulookedoveroutofthecornerofhiseye,andsawamanwithaslyfaceandaslightfigure,alsodressedasaleadescort.

　　Yangrunted,obviouslynotpleased.

　　"Youbastard,Tong,"addedthefirstleadescort."Youneverhaveanythinggoodtosay."Tonglaughed."Allright,"hesaid."ButBrotherYan,funisfunandseriousisserious.Don'tthinkaboutXibaotoomuchoryoumightfindsomeonehasstolenthatredknapsackoffyourback.It'snotimportantifloseyourheadornot,buttheagency'sreputationhastobemaintained.""Don'tworry,"Yanrepliedangrily."IfthoseMuslimstrystealingitback,I'llsoonputanendtotheirnonsense.IamoneoftheSixGuandongDevilsandIgotwhereIamwithrealkungfu,notlikesomeoftheweaklingsinthebodyguardagenciesthesedayswhocandonothingbuteatandfart!

"LulookedattheredknapsackonYan'sback:

itwasn'tbig,andfromthelookofit,whateverwasinsidewasverylight.

　　"It'struethattheSixDevilsofGuandongarefamous,"Tongsaid."It'sapitythatBrotherJiaowasdonein.Wedon'tevenknowwhothemurdererwas."Yanbangedthetable."Whosayswedon'tknow?

IthastobetheRedFlowerSociety!

"That'sstrange,Luthought,IkilledJiao.WhatisthisRedFlowerSociety?

Hewalkedslowlyaroundthecourtyardinspectingtheflowers,movingclosertothegroupofleadescorts.

　　Tongwouldnotletthematterdrop."It'sapity,"hesaid."IfIwasn'tsuchaweakling,IwouldhavesettledthingswiththeRedFlowerSocietylongago."Yanshookwithanger.Oneoftheotherleadescortsbrokeintomediate:

"Anyway,theRedFlowerSociety'sleaderdiedlastmonth,"hesaid."They'velosttheirmanincommand,sowhoistheretosettlewith?

Andanotherthing,whereistheproofthatJiaowasmurderedbytheRedFlowerSociety?

Whenyoufindthemandtheydenythecharge,whatareyougoingtodo?

""Yes,"saidTongchanginghistack."Wedaren'tprovokethem,butsurelywe'vegotenoughgutstobullyafewMuslims.Thislittletoywe'vesnatchedisasprecioustothemaslifeitself.Inthefuture,ifGeneralZhaoeverwantsmoneyfromthem,orcattleandsheep,doyouthinkthey'ddaretorefuse?

ItellyouYan,stopthinkingaboutthatlittleXibaoofyours.

　　WhenwegetbacktoBeijing,youshouldaskGeneralZhaotogiveyoualittleMuslimgirltobeyourmistress.Thenyoucanreally..."Beforehecouldfinish,apieceofmudbrickflewoutofnowhereandlodgeditselfinhismouth.TwooftheotherleadescortssnatcheduptheirweaponsandrushedoutsidewhileYanpickeduphisFiveElementWheelsandlookedwarilyaround.Hisyoungerbrothercamerunningin,andbothstoodtogether,notdaringtomoveforfearoffallingintosometrap.Tongspatoutthepieceofmudandbeganswearing.

　　Thetwootherleadescorts,TaiandQian,rushedinthroughthedoor."Thelittlebastard'sgone,"oneofthemsaid."There'snosignofhim."LuhadobservedthewholeincidentandlaughedinwardlyatthehelplessexpressiononTong'sface.

　　Thenhesawashadowdartingacrosstheraftersinacornerofthedininghall,andwentslowlyoutside.Itwasalreadygrowingdark,buthespottedafigureleapoffthecorneroftheroof,landnoiselessly,andspeedoffeastwards.

　　LuwantedtoknowwhohadtreatedTongtoamouthfulofmudand,makinguseofLightnessKungFu*（*atypeofkungfuthatmakesextra-fastrunningandsuper-humanleapspossible.）,hefollowed,theteacupstillinhishand.Thepacewasfast,butthepersonhewasfollowingwasnotawareofhispresence.

　　Lu'squarryhadaslimfigureandmoveddaintily,almostlikeagirl.Theycrossedahillandanink-blackforestloomedahead.ThepersonaheadslippedintothetreeswithLuclosebehind.

　　Underneath,thegroundwascoveredwithdeadleavesandtwigswhichcrackledashesteppedonthem.Afraidofgivinghimselfaway,hesloweddown.Justthen,themoonbrokethroughthecloudsandashaftofclearlightshonedownthroughthebranches,coveringtheearthwithjumbledghostlyshadows.Inthedistancehesawtheflashofayellowgown,andhisquarrymovedoutoftheforest.

　　Hefollowedtotheedgeofthetrees.Beyondwasalargeexpanseofgrassonwhichwerepitchedeightorninetents.Hiscuriositygotthebetterofhim,andhedecidedtogoandhavealook.Hewaiteduntiltwoguardshadturnedaway,thenjumpedacrosswitha'SwallowGlidingOverWater'leapandlandedamongthetents.Crouchinglow,herantothebackofthelargesttent,pitchedinthecentre.Inside,hecouldhearpeopletalkingagitatedlyintheMuslimlanguage.

　　Hehadlivedintheborderareasformanyyears,andunderstoodsomeofwhatwassaid.Carefully,heliftedupthecornerofthecanvasandlookedinside.

　　Thetentwaslitbytwooillampsunderwhichalargenumberofpeoplewereseatedoncarpets.HerecognisedthemastheMuslimcaravanthathadpassedthemthatday.Theyellow-robedgirlstoodupanddrewadaggerfromherwaist.Shecuttheindexfingerofherlefthandwiththetipofthebladeandletseveraldropsofbloodfallintoacupofhorse'smilkwine.Thenone-by-one,everyMusliminthetentdidlikewise.ThetallMuslimthatthegirlhadcalledfatherraisedthewinecupandmadeashortspeechofwhichLucouldonlyunderstandsomethingabout'TheKoran'and'OurHomeland'.Theyellow-robedgirlspokeafterhim,hervoicecrispandclear,andconcludedbysaying:

　　"IfthesacredKoranisnotrecovered,Iswearnevertoreturntoourhomeland."TheMuslimslustilyrepeatedtheoath.Inthedimlight,Lucouldseedeterminationandangeroneveryface.

　　ThegroupbelongedtooneoftherichestandmostpowerfulofthenomadicMuslimtribesoftheTianshanMountains,numberingnearly200,000people.ThetallmanwasMuzhuolun,theleaderofthetribe;astrongfighter,fairandjust,hewasgreatlylovedbyhispeople.Theyellow-robedgirlwashisdaughter,HuoQingtong.

　　Thetribelivedbynomadicherdingandcontentedlytravelledthegreat