The Crane Startles Kunlun, Chapter 13, Part 5

The Crane Startles Kunlun, Chapter 13, Part 5.
from Wang Dulu's He Jing Kunlun.

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Second Deng the Divine Hold rushed over with a dozen or so officers, and searched all over the place once more. Ge Zhiqiang had lost heart, however, and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "Never mind! Forget it! There's no way for use to capture him!" However, he wasn't able to stop these men who were feigning power. Ji Guangjie was held up by Zhao Zhilong and others. Because he had just watched Jiang Xiaohe dishonor his wife, he was furious. He didn't care what condition his thigh wound was in, dauntless in wanting to give chase and engage Jiang Xiaohe with all he had. But Zhao Zhilong and others, fearing that something bad might happen to him, took his sword from his hand. It was like they were fighting, as they twisted about in the courtyard and argued clamorously.

Aluan leapt back onto the roof alone with her sword in hand to chase after Jiang Xiaohe. She passed over seven or eight courtyards, her feet treading upon buildings of other people's shops. She looked all around, but saw only the night muddled and the dark clouds thick, as the rain slowly began to fall once more. Thunder rumbled in the horizon, and the crackle of lightning stabbed at her eyes. Tears were still streaming from her eyes, and in her urgent hatred, she cursed to herself, "So it turns out that Jiang Xiaohe is this sort of bad person. My granddad begged him for mercy in his letter, but he wasn't willing to let go even a little, insisting instead that he had to kill my granddad. He treated me so heartlessly, dishonoring me in the presence of everyone!"

Thus, she acted as if crazy. Though she didn't know where Jiang Xiaohe had fled to, she did not give up, wanting to continue her pursuit and deciding that she would not be finished until she could catch him and kill him herself. In this way, she stepped across several shops, their courtyards all dark below. No one became aware there was someone on the roof, though a few places had dogs, who seemed to see her and barked wildly without end. Once one dog barked, many other dogs all answered by starting up. Aluan jumped down from the roof.

It was a small lane here, pitch black without any bit of lamp light or people, probably quite far from the Lishun Security Office. Aluan stood here panting and crying. After a moment, just as she was about to take a step out of the lane, someone behind caught her by surprise and grabbed onto both her hands. Aluan cried out in alarm, "Who is it?" She twisted her head back as a bolt of lightning just happened to flash, allowing her to see the person behind her clearly. It was Jiang Xiaohe.

She did not immediately struggle, instead breathing urgently. She said, "Let go! Let me go!" But Jiang Xiaohe continued to hold her hands tightly from behind, saying with bitter sorrow, "I can't let you go. I want to make things clear between us. Let me tell you, the hardships I suffered in the last ten years, running about and learning martial arts, I did it in order to take vengeance, but I also did them for you. I hadn't thought that you would've lost all kindness!" Aluan said impetuously, "You aren't willing to spare my granddad, so how could I have any kindness?" She wept as she spoke. Jiang Xiaohe heard her, and couldn't help the pain striking his heart. He gave a long sigh and released his hold on Aluan's hands. He turned around, and with a whoosh, he leapt onto the roof of a house and left.

Aluan did not chase after Jiang Xiaohe. Weeping, she walked out of the small lane with her saber in hand. She discovered that it was the main south street outside of the lane, as the rain began to fall more heavily, the thunder cracked more urgently, and the lightning flashed more fiercely. By the time she returned to the Lishun Security Office, she was completely soaked from head to toe as tears continued to spill from her eyes.

The security office had gradually calmed down by this point, but none of the officers had left, and Ge Zhiqiang and Zhao Zhilong were sitting worried. It wasn't until they saw Aluan return unharmed that they could now be at ease. They asked in succession, "What's happened? You didn't catch up with Jiang Xiaohe, did you, Miss? Do you know which way he ran?" Aluan wiped her tears and shook her head. Ge Zhiqiang sighed and said, "We needn't set ourselves against him any longer. We were so strictly vigilant today, and there were also so many of us, yet we still let him come and go as he pleased. His skill is too great, and that leaves us with nothing we can do. Luckily, things with him were settled today. He won't be coming back here to make trouble, nor will he be able to hurt any of us anymore. It's just that, our master and our two brothers Long must be especially careful. If he finds them, he won't be as reasonable as he was here."

Chen Zhijun said, "I think we should send people to Ziyang tomorrow, and quickly tell Brother Long Zhiteng to find a place to hide. We needn't worry about Long Zhiqi, as he's likely outside of the province. Afterward, we ought to follow Miss Aluan to hurry to see the master and listen to what he says. If the elderly man is willing to fight it out, we will all put our lives on the line with him. If a man of the Kunlun School dies, then we all die. It is ludicrous that he wants only to kill the master and the Long Brothers. If the master doesn't want to fight, then we'll ask him to escape to Beijing with all of us protecting him on the way. The city of Beijing is the place before the feet of the Son of Heaven. How would Jiang Xiaohe dare to cause trouble there?"

Ge Zhiqiang thought deeply for a moment, and then waved his hand, saying, "We cannot do it that way. If we go visit our master, Jiang Xiaohe may follow us in secret and we'll have lead the way for him. We must consider this deliberately. The good thing is the place where the master is currently staying is very secluded. Even if we told Jiang Xiaohe the location, he would not be able to find it." He sighed, and then encouraged Aluan to go back to her room and rest.

Aluan returned to her room, holding her saber, and saw that Ji Guangjie's wound seemed to have gotten worse. He laid on the bed and groaned endlessly. The sound of his suffering burrowed into Aluan's ear, and it was as if her heart had been pricked by a knife. At first, she had not cared much about Ji Guangjie, but now, she couldn't help feeling that Ji Guangjie's wounds were her own, or that his pain was hers.

She set her saber down with frustration and lit a lamp. She was not crying anymore. There was only hatred in her as she gnashed her teeth with loathing for Jiang Xiaohe. She hated Jiang Xiaohe for shaming her this day, and she hated the words he'd spoken. He said that I lacked kindness, how truly hateful he is! The most hateful had been when he'd once taken advantage of me, using the situation of fetching my kite as coercion and tricking me into becoming his "wife"! That childhood incident has occupied my heart. In these ten years, I often felt a secret sorrow, a secret worry. What was it all for? Wasn't it all for his sake! It was all for the sake of that cruel, pigheaded man. After lighting the lamp, she sat down and fumed for a while and swallowed again a multitude of tears.