Wang Chong certainly wouldn't refuse. He happily accepted the "gift," then went to bid farewell to the others. He suddenly realized that nearly everyone had grown warmer toward him, though for a moment he couldn't fathom why. He didn't know that Qian Luo Yi, bringing two courtesans, had cut a bloody swath through the gathering, extinguishing countless people's bravado, and that he himself—having fought Qian Luo Yi without losing—had suddenly become a rare commodity, everyone wanting to get close to him. No one knew who started it, but upon hearing that Wang Chong was leaving for Chang'an, they eagerly presented gifts and pressed invitations to future banquets in Chang'an. For a time it was lively and harmonious. Wang Chong, a temporary stranger who had just joined them, seemed like an old friend of years to these young talents of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance.
Wang Chong bid farewell to them all. When he left Pengshan County, he had gained not only a carriage and two fine horses, but also a good deal of wealth, all gifts from his dear friends.
Yu Zao was a young woman; despite being a maid, it was not proper for her to be seen in public. She sat smiling in the carriage, guarding her young master's belongings.
She hadn't stopped smiling, especially when she thought of yielding the opportunity to Liu Xian, which made her even more pleased. She couldn't help but secretly mock: "What a paragon of literary and martial talent my young master is! Going to Chang'an, he will surely enter the sea like a dragon, break through the clouds and soar into the sky. She comes from a humble family and couldn't see the young master's extraordinary nature, actually disdaining him as a poor third. If not for the fact that my young master hasn't yet risen to prominence, how could it be her turn to enter the Wang household? To be the young master's personal maid? It was clearly a golden opportunity to reverse their positions, yet she let it slip away."
"She even thought that once I left, she could join the young lady's eight maids—what a delusion."
"All eight of us were painstakingly selected by the Su household from childhood, vetted for family background and origin to ensure our innocence, carefully trained, and taught coordinated-strike martial arts before being allowed to attend the young lady. If not for a lucky chance, the young lady would never have let me go. After I leave, naturally a family-trained maid who has learned coordinated-strike formation tactics will take my place. She is merely a latecomer, a low-ranking maid, trained only in ordinary martial arts and lacking any talent; she could never fill the ranks."
Thinking this, Yu Zao lifted the carriage curtain, turned her head, and watched Wang Chong's back for a good while. Suddenly her heart gave a little jump, her cheeks flushed, and she thought to herself: "Even if the young master remains poor all his life, it wouldn't be unpleasant to follow at his side."
Wang Chong had no idea that Yu Zao was letting her imagination run wild, chatting intermittently with his page boy, and asked: "What Qingcheng Sect martial arts have you learned?"
Wang Dong replied: "I've learned a set of Qing-Character Fist, a set of Shu Road Fist, and a set of Dragon-Tiger Swordplay!"
During this period, Wang Chong had spent plenty of time with Chu Qiuzi, so he knew that these two fist styles and Dragon-Tiger Swordplay were all entry-level martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect, widely circulated in the jianghu.
The former was also known as the Qingcheng Eighteen Strikes, a fist style that strikes acupoints all over the body, emphasizing subduing the enemy without injuring him. After all, it was entry-level martial arts, and the elders of the Qingcheng Sect through the ages had all worried that someone of poor character might learn martial arts and cause trouble, so they deliberately reduced the killing power of this fist style. Yet it could still lay a solid foundation, and if one truly had talent, the Qingcheng Sect was not without more powerful advanced martial arts.
In Qingcheng, Shu Road Fist had a name: "Entry Fist," meaning that once you mastered it, you could leap from a lay disciple to an entry-level disciple. Wang Dong's attainment in this fist style was evidently not very deep; otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent down the mountain after merely learning Shu Road Fist, but would have been taught more profound martial arts.
As for Dragon-Tiger Swordplay, it was a sword style usable with both long and short weapons, and could also be performed with a long spear or staff—much like Wang Chong's Wind-Cloud Hundred Styles, which combined palm techniques and folding-fan techniques. Once mastered, this Dragon-Tiger Swordplay was extremely practical for traveling the jianghu, escorting caravans, joining the army, or charging into battle. Lay disciples of the Qingcheng Sect all learned it a little, to make a living later on.
After asking for a while, Wang Chong suddenly thought to himself: "My page boy and maid shouldn't have mediocre martial arts either. Should I give them some pointers?"
"But this wasn't urgent for now. Once he had a place to settle down, he would slowly observe Wang Dong's and Yu Zao's dispositions and whether they could apply themselves to learning martial arts."
Just as he was about to ask Yu Zao whether she was tired, he heard the sound of horse hooves. A tall horse, pure white, without a single patch of another color, came galloping up from behind. On its back was a woman in green robes, like a proud phoenix, a startlingly beautiful shadow, as if riding the wind and clouds.
Seeing that the woman was in a great hurry, Wang Chong was about to pull over to the side of the road when he heard her cry out loudly: "Chang'an's Li Qingge! Please stay, Young Master Wang Chong."
Wang Chong was startled. He had heard the name of Li Qingge, one of the Three Great Constables, the Heaven-Shaking Hand, countless times. Even Qin Han, a Left Martial Guard commandant of the fifth rank, was somewhat cautious when mentioning this person. He didn't know why she had come chasing after him.
He thought to himself: "So Li Qingge is also a woman."
Wang Chong was currently striving to normalize and legitimize his status, so of course he would not openly defy a court official, especially a powerful bureaucrat like Li Qingge. He immediately gathered his breath and replied: "I don't know what business Constable Li has with me?"
Li Qingge pressed a hand against the horse's back, her whole body rising like a green cloud, turning half a circle in midair, and landing before Wang Chong's horse. She called out: "It concerns the White Chrysanthemum case."
Wang Chong's heart was guilty, thumping wildly. He thought: "Has the matter finally come to light?"
He forced himself to calm down and asked: "Please speak, Constable Li."
Li Qingge was no longer young. Though she appeared slender-waisted and graceful, tall and elegant, with icy skin and jade-like features, a lovely face like a blooming hibiscus, still beautiful, she was indeed no longer young.
Chu Qiuzi was already at an age to be anxious about marriage, only twenty-six or twenty-seven, while Li Qingge was over thirty. She and Wu-Hook Frost-Snow Lu Yaoniang, Chess-Sword Linglong Su Luo Yan were listed among the Ten Great Female Experts of the Jianghu, but those two were still young women, while she was already well past her prime.
Li Qingge had an all-business expression. "Although all the evidence points to Sun Yanqi being White Chrysanthemum, it is not beyond doubt. I am handling this case by order, and I cannot allow a single misstep, nor let this lecher escape the net of justice. That is why I have come to inquire, and I hope Young Master Wang will answer truthfully."
Wang Chong let out half a sigh of relief, but he also knew this female constable might very well be setting a trap for him. He feigned honesty and said: "I, Wang, will hide nothing and tell all I know."
Li Qingge's face showed no expression at all. She said indifferently: "Was Sun Yanqi killed by Young Master Wang?"
Wang Chong laughed. "Of course not! Although, like the brothers of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance, I would love to personally execute this lecher, this scoundrel was indeed not killed by me."
Li Qingge suddenly asked again: "Young Master Wang, are you highly skilled in swordplay?"
Wang Chong hesitated slightly, not lying, and said: "I wouldn't call myself highly skilled, but as a disciple of Wudang, I have naturally learned some swordsmanship."
Li Qingge's eyes were like cold frost as she glared at Wang Chong. "May I ask Young Master Wang Chong to demonstrate a few moves for me to see?"
Yu Zao poked her head out from inside the carriage, holding high the long sword gifted by Su Luo Yan, and said: "Young Master, do you need this servant?"
…Li Qingge: The White Chrysanthemum case is full of doubts; it cannot be hastily concluded…
…Qin Han: No matter how you put it, I am the one who killed that person…
…Yu Zao: That unmarried female constable…
Chapter 29