Wang Chong did indeed know, by this point, where Tie Mingzhu lived.
He had meant to slip Nan Xinlan back home with no one the wiser, sparing her reputation as well. But when they returned to Pengshan County, to the house Lu Yaoniang had rented for the women, they found the whole place lit up bright, a dozen or more men coming and going—all of them from the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance. Wang Chong sighed and said, "Miss Nan, if you're clever, you'll say that White Chrysanthemum carried you off and killed Zhou Shaliang when he tried to stop him. If you're not clever, then..."
He could not be bothered to finish. In any case, neither he nor Sun Mingke had given away who they were on this trip, so neither would be dragged into it. As for making public the matter of Zhou Shaliang—what a joke that would be!
Wang Chong took Sun Mingke by the arm and turned to go. He had done all a man could; the rest was up to heaven.
On the way, Wang Chong did not forget to "borrow" a few garments from each of three ready-made clothing shops in Pengshan County, leaving silver in a corner. Back at the garden Su Luo Yan had borrowed, he urged Sun Mingke to change and destroy his old clothes.
Sun Mingke had not said a word the whole way, but now he laughed and said, "Brother Wang Chong, when I came down the mountain, my Fifth Senior Sister bought me several outfits in Chang'an. If I changed into these, it would only look contrived."
Wang Chong, quite resigned, parted from him and carried the clothes back to his room—where Yu Zao had already returned. Seeing him with an armload of garments, she looked rather ashamed and said hurriedly, "Your little maid has already sewn you clothes, young master; you needn't have gone out to buy any. Things from outside are always a shade inferior."
Wang Chong privately agreed that clothes bought on the quiet would give the show away, so he had Yu Zao fetch the garments she had sewn, changed into a new set, and destroyed all his old clothes along with everything he had carried back. Seeing this, Yu Zao knew her young master must have secrets, and asked nothing. She simply gathered up what Wang Chong had ruined with internal force, took it to the kitchen in the garden, and burned it clean under the stove, bit by careful bit.
Next morning, before Wang Chong had even risen, he heard an uproar in the garden. He washed and got up in haste, put on the new clothes Yu Zao had sewn with her own hands, and the moment he stepped out he saw Sun Mingke in new clothes as well. The two exchanged a smile, with all the easy accord of men who had "been thieves together."
Sun Mingke said, "First thing this morning, a dozen or more Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance men came over. They say that last night White Chrysanthemum committed another crime, carrying off the Lotus Immortal Nan Xinlan yet again, intending to violate her a second time—but Young Master Zhou Shaliang barred his way. After a bitter fight he saved the Lotus Immortal, yet was unfortunately killed by White Chrysanthemum: a sword through the throat, no other wound on him. So they have come especially to consult Divine Constable Li."
Wang Chong sighed. "The White Chrysanthemums of today—there aren't just three or four of them, and maybe not even five or six. I fear there are seven or eight."
Sun Mingke could not hold back and nearly burst out laughing; he clapped a hand over his mouth and said, "Let's go practice our swords in the back courtyard and not go out for a while."
Wang Chong shook his head. "You can stay out of it if you like, but I'm one of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance!"
Sun Mingke said quickly, "Then I'll come along too."
Wang Chong led him to the front and, sure enough, found the ten-odd alliance brothers there. Before any of them could ask, he said with a wry smile, "Divine Constable Li took me for rather a suspect, so she stopped me and brought me back—thus, brothers, our bond unbroken, here we meet again." He pointed. "This is Sun Mingke, closed-door disciple of Guanlong Immortal Master. Brothers, look after him well in the days ahead."
These men had been a little puzzled to see Wang Chong at first, but once they heard his explanation—still "grieving," of course—several could not help smiling. Hearing him ask them to look after Sun Mingke, they all thought to themselves: "When would the little disciple of a pinnacle master of this age ever need our care? It's we who ought to be currying his favor."
Qin Han reacted fastest. With a mock-heroic flourish of his hand he declared, "Out of respect for Brother Wang Chong's face, from this day little brother Sun is the sixty-third brother of our Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance. From now on we brothers live and die together and share every hardship."
Sun Mingke hastily covered his mouth, afraid of laughing on the spot, while Wang Chong cried out in feigned "astonishment" on his behalf: "My thanks to you brothers for doing me this honor!"
Sun Mingke curled his lip inwardly, but as he looked at Wang Chong, and then at these brothers of the alliance, it suddenly struck him that this Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance really was rather amusing. So he made no objection and let it stand.
At his side Fang Jingru said mournfully, "What sixty-three brothers? Brother Zhou is dead, dead at White Chrysanthemum's hand. We are sixty-two brothers still. It was I who brought Brother Zhou out, and now I have failed to bring him home—how am I to face the Zhou family?" As he spoke, Fang Jingru's face was all tears. Wang Chong hurriedly offered a few words of comfort, thinking: "Funny—I never saw you think much of Zhou Shaliang." Fang Jingru had come out of the Way of the Celestial Masters and could be counted upright in his conduct; with a lecherous creature like Zhou Shaliang he had never had any true friendship and rarely acted alongside him. Yet now he grieved as though his dearest companion had been murdered by villains. Even Wang Chong's opinion of him rose a rare notch—not for his character, but for his acting.
Su Luo Yan, Lu Yaoniang, and Li Qingge had been driven half-mad by the racket, but the moment Wang Chong arrived, the alliance men began orbiting him as if it were the most natural thing in the world, every topic swept away in his direction; he was plainly the backbone of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance. All three women secretly admired him. Su Luo Yan thought: "Young Master Wang Chong can be refined or common as the company demands. With us, his talk is extraordinary—poems and songs at his fingertips, ancient books and histories recounted like family treasures. With the alliance men, he is like a breath of spring, agreeable on every side." Lu Yaoniang, thinking of her junior brother, said to herself: "My little junior brother has never come down the mountain; his nature is simple and honest. But in this Young Master Wang Chong's company he ought to learn a great deal."
Li Qingge thought: "When we return to Chang'an, I must put in some real effort on Young Master Wang Chong's behalf and secure him a substantive post in the Ministry of Justice—as my deputy."
"Such a talent—I cannot let him slip away!"
She also noticed that Wang Chong and Sun Mingke had both changed into new clothes and looked far the more spirited for it.
When Zhou Shaliang's death came up, Wang Chong sighed along with the alliance brothers, then thumped his chest and vowed: "We will surely slay White Chrysanthemum and make this lecher pay with his head!"
As for Qin Han's and Fang Jingru's proposal to go call on Nan Xinlan, Wang Chong begged off. He was not afraid of seeing Nan Xinlan—he was truly afraid of meeting Tie Mingzhu, especially with the Five-Flower Blade Xie Sanniang there. Who knew whether that woman would recognize him? There was no need—why take the risk!
His refusal only won him a fresh measure of respect from Su Luo Yan, Lu Yaoniang, and Li Qingge. Wang Chong had always carried himself like a gentleman, mild as polished jade, and this made it clearer than ever that he would do no wrong even behind closed doors. A girl who had suffered such disgrace was at just the point of not wanting to see anyone, and such tact plainly set him a cut above the rest of the alliance's scoundrels.
Only after Qin Han and the others had left did Wang Chong bow with cupped fists to Li Qingge and say, "Divine Constable Li, I mean to practice sword with little brother Sun in the back courtyard and hone my martial arts—lest I meet some villain someday and my skills hold me back from cutting down a great brigand."
...Tie Mingzhu: The lecher White Chrysanthemum already knows where we live...
Chapter 40