Hua Hua You Long - Volume 2 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Everybody was actually living happily at Mount Lu Cang. Leisurely and carefree, unrestrained and unrestricted. Because of he willfully wanted them to come with him to Dong An, he had caused them to forfeit their freedom. In his heart, he knew, to be this despicable man subject was….

“Bastard!”

Overwhelmed by hatred made Lu Cang unable to ponder further over the consequences. :

“A tooth for a tooth, blood for blood! Today, I, Lu Cang, will let that Zhang know that my brothers are not someone he can mess with. Before, I let him off was only because I took him as a well educated dog… Hmph! But since this dog had bitten people, don’t blame me if I screw and twist this dog’s head!”

Once he made up his mind, he also was no longer hesitating :

“Brothers, you all quickly get things ready. Everybody head to south first, find a place to hide yourselves. I will go settle things with this deserve to die dog before I join up with all of you. This son of bitch noble title, I quit!” (t/n : Lu Cang called himself  老子 ( Lao Zi ) literally means : father. Lu Cang used this to indicate that he is the leader (a father figure) of the gang.)

To emphasis his determination, he ripped off his official apparel which had an exquisite embroidery of flowers and plants pattern on it from his body and threw it to the ground. From his waist, he pulled out a seven feet long green sword. His eyes had resumed its wildness radiant just like the former days.

“Big Brother! Good! Since long ago, I couldn’t stand to see you being pushed around by that damned emperor. Looking at you bending down and compromising, it makes me unable to recognize you.

Today, I finally understand. Big Brother is still Big Brother. Still our excellent leader. Big Brother is going to sacrifice himself, how come we brothers let you go alone. We naturally will go together with Big Brother to find that little dog Zhang and settle our accounts with him. After that, we can go south together. Who cares about the emperor! Who cares about the nobility! Wherever our Big Brother go, we will follow forth. If he wants to go wild, then just go wild. If he wants to flattened people, just beat them to pulp, right?!”

Cao Xin laughed out loud. He also ripped off his upper layer of official robe and held it in his hand. The brothers followed his example and one after another they busily ripped off their official robes.
Immediately, this entire backyard as if had become the Mount Lu Cang’s brethren stronghold and that unfortunate Zhang Zi Dong was their target to be the prey.

Soon all of the brothers gathered up their possessions. Ones who held sabre would draw out their sabre, they who used sword would raise their sword. Emitting the menace aura, they were following behind Lu Cang, headed to that Zhang Zi Dong’s mansion with fierce looks.

For generations, the Zhang family had served Datong’s Empire as high official. Even though for now Zhang Zi Dong position wasn’t that high at all, but his mansion was resided in the inner city, among the high officials mansion. Not far from Lu Cang’s Marquis’ residence.  

“Little dog Zhang! You bastard! Come out!” Lu Cang charged in to the guest hall (t/n : guest room – they had a hall like large room for receiving the guests). One of his feet was stepped on the old fashioned wooden chair. He swung his sword and swept down most of the arranged ornament on the display in the guest hall. Howled in rage, demanding Zhang Zi Dong to come out.

“In this high midday, which pig is making this noise here?!”

Zhang Zi Dong wasn’t someone who was easy to deal at all. His family had a powerful influence in Datong for generations. Jing also didn’t desolate him at all, despite he didn’t get along well with Lu Cang. There was no way he would let this insignificant male pet of the emperor to look down on him.

“So it’s  Lord Lu! Make such a noise like this. I thought it was our backyard pigs in heat.”

Zhang Zi Dong put on an act like he was affected by waving his fan. He leisurely strolled out from the back yard.

He obviously had read five cartloads of books, - very well educated indeed, and also came from the number one scholar family. But upon hearing Lu Cang’s way of speaking, he reduced himself to the same level as the downtown civilian who quarreled with the vulgar words. (He was not different with the  downtown people who used rude words to quarrel.)

“Zhang Zi Dong, you bastard! Who do you think you are!? You dare to beat my brother, you won’t live for long!” Upon seeing the splitting image of concubine Zhang on him, Lu Cang let the disgusted feeling surged up from the depth of his heart. He pointed his sword at Zhang Zi Dong’s nose and shouted out his curses.

“Who do you bastard think you are?! Don’t you just sell your ass to be fucked by the emperor? Now you are putting on airs and get cocky. Get out now before His Majesty find out! Or do you think His Majesty will casually shield you? Dream on! His Majesty is the supreme ruler. It is impossible for him, just because of you, a mere male pet, to put the blame on us, the influential officials of the Zhang’s family…..”

“Also, your glorious days won’t be that long anymore, His Majesty male pet never last for a year. I advise you to quickly go back to your marquis residence, learn properly how to pleasure His Majesty on bed, at the least, you will be granted a bit silver for that!” (t/n: silver is the currency they used at that time.)

Zhang Zi Dong went all out to harass Lu Cang using his mean speech. Due to his provocation, the handsome face in front of him flushed bright red and distorted.

Since he chose to stay by Jing’s side, Lu Cang already had the awareness that he would have to face them and swallowed their sarcastic comments. However to be humiliated in front of his brothers, Lu Cang couldn’t stomach this ruffled feeling of being insulted by that filthy mouth after all.

With his air kung-fu, he flew to Zhang Zi Dong. Wield his sword to cut the still unstopping swearing mouth of him.

Zhang Zi Dong dodged to avoid it. The sword barely past the crown of his head, making his official hat fell down.

“Pei!! (spitting  sound) To kill you will be too easy on you. Brothers, come here!” Lu Cang trampled on that hat and smashed it to rag while waving his hand, signaling the brothers to come all together to beat up this person.

All the brothers from long ago had been piling up their resentment towards Zhang Zi Dong. They all charged at him and strove to be the number one to beat him. Having him surrounded, they all launched their sudden and violent attack.

Zhang Zi Dong was just a single scholar man. He wouldn’t have the strength to withstand the brutal assault of these barbaric men joint attack. He screamed and shrieked just like a slaughtered pig.

The whole Zhang’s family’s men who immediately came out to persuade them when they heard the noise were also being cornered and got the beating together. They all wailed like ghost, howled like wolves, turning the whole mansion into a completely horrible noisy place.

“Hit me!! Quick, give me a hard beating!!”

Looking at the high and mighty face of Zhang Zi Dong, covered by tears and snivel from his running nose, reduced to a pitiful and begged for mercy state, Lu Cang felt as if he had found a place to vent off his innumerable suffer of humiliation since he came to Dong An. --- He excitedly let the brothers to carry on the beating. He also cuffed and kicked the nearby victims who tried to get away.

Everyone was happily beating up Zhang Zi Dong when suddenly, from the entrance, an army of heavily armed imperial guards were rushing in.

“Put down all of your weapons!” The leader of the army was the commander of the imperial guards, Ding Peng. In the past, when Lu Cang was still the inner palace imperial bodyguards, Lu Cang was his subordinate.

Although they were outlaws from the mountain (mountain bandits) , but these days they spent to serve as the government official, more or less must have unconsciously affected the brothers behavior.

Upon hearing Ding Peng’s order, everybody actually stopped their action at once, holding their weapons and dumbfoundedly looking at the imperial guards who unsheathing their swords.

“ What is happening here!” The thing (matter) that Lu Cang’s most afraid of, finally happen – on their way, the imperial guards were guarding Jing who fully dressed in his court dress (formal attire). Jing must have received the report that made him hurriedly came from the palace.

“Your Majesty, please help! Please help!” Zhang Zi Dong, the object of their beating, once aware of Jing’s arrival, immediately cry out and crawled to Jing’s foot with his badly battered face. He wept and sobbed sorrowfully.

“Hmph!! Shameless!!” Looking down at Zhang Zi Dong whose appearances resembles a dog, Lu Cang forgot that he was afraid of Jing. He folded his arms and spat at Zhang Zi Dong.

“Your Majesty, Please help your humble subject! Your Majesty, Your humble subject have served the palace (court) for 5 generations, but never had been insulted to this kind of humiliations. Your Majesty, You must help and bring justice to your humble subject!”

The man who was kneeling and crawling towards Jing was Zhang Zi Dong’s father. He was formerly the ( court imperial academy’s chief.)  {t/n : not sure how to translate his job – LOL. } Even though he was already retired now, He was still considered as one of the court highly respected figures.

Following the father and son vented of grievances, the whole Zhang’s family weeping altogether. In addition of having the black and blue faces suffered from the badly beaten up, they wept and cried miserably, seemed like a hell on earth had appeared.
Jing obviously couldn’t stand this kind of noise, his brow was tightly knitted in a frown, glaring at Lu Cang :

“Lord (Marquis) Lu, can you explain what is going on here?”

Even though Lu Cang was a little bit nervous upon seeing Jing’s bad facial expression, he couldn’t let himself  softened his own resolution and showed any weaknesses in the present of his enemy.

“This person called Zhang is bullying my brothers, so I must teach him some lessons!”

Jing happened to have a clear look at Lu Cang’s appearances. – He had disposed his official’s robe. His upper body only covered with a piece of thin under robe layer. His outer robe was pulled open from the tussle just now. His clothes also torn in several places, exposing more than half of his upper body.- This kind of sight sank in his eyes. Jing frowned, utterly annoyed.

“Lord Lu, Where is your official robe? With an incomplete clothes you run all over the place, What a scandal!” Jing completely had forgotten that under his feet, the weeping and sobbing father and son was still mourning sorrowfully. Instead, he noticed and took care of Lu Cang’s clothing first.

“Your Majesty….” Zhang Zi Dong and his father called out in unison.

“Khe…” Jing busily made a coughing sound to cover up his mistake, and then : “Lord Lu, do you realize that beating up and violating an official officer under this broad day light is considered as serious crime?”

“Bullshit!” Lu Cang was agitated and he had long forgotten that he had to respect Jing. He rushed over to Cao Xin and lift up Cao Xin’s trousers.
"It was him first who tormented my brothers! Beat him to death is still too easy for him!”

The crisscross wound appeared to be a shock even to Jing, he slightly frowned at the sight.

“Report, Your Majesty. That was because Cao Xin did not respectfully fulfill his duty as a guard so that your subject punished him!” Zhang Zi Dong quickly announced his innocent with a loud voice.

“Cao Xin is Minister Zhang’s subordinate, Minister Zhang did have the rights to punish him.” Even in his mind, Jing clearly understood that Zhang Zi Dong was abusing his authority in order to avenge his personal matter with Lu Cang, but because of his status, Jing could only speak of accordingly to Da Tong laws and decrees.

“Rubbish rights! What kind of rubbish rights! Didn’t you let this bastard little dog Zhang to manage my brothers? You.. You.. You.. You intentionally did that! Xuan Yuan Jing, you bastard are not a human being!”
Lu Cang was furious, he didn’t even give a damn to Jing’s position. He unexpectedly charged verbally at Jing in public.

“Shut up! You lowlife, such great nerve you have! To have the impertinence to boldly call out the emperor’s forbidden name… You.. Have you not the manner!”

Zhang’s father clearly astonished by Lu Cang’s extreme rudeness, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, this Lu Cang had offended Your Majesty. It’s such a grave sin. Your Majesty mustn’t be tolerant and let him off easily. According to our Da Tong rules and decrees, he must be punished.”
Jing, who was overwhelmed by Lu Cang’s guts, started to lose his facial color. In private, he didn’t mind Lu Cang called his real name. Nevertheless, in the present of the crowd, to receive Lu Cang’s such curses, made him difficult to step down. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger raising up.

That so called Lu Cang still hadn’t sensible enough, he forgot the place and loudly made an uproar : “Xuan Yuan Jing, it’s good that you are here! You won’t speak, will you? I just know that you did this intentionally! At any rate… you don’t…”

Even though flustered by his own emotion, Lu Cang was still being considered, he promptly halted the ‘You don’t love me’ sentence.

However, to be subjected to such inconvenience and recalled all the suffering from the past, made him suddenly be on the verge of tears.

Actually, it was exactly like what Lu Cang had guessed.

Jing promoted Zhang Zi Dong as the  Capital Governor and had him manage Lu Cang’s brothers as his subordinates was indeed served the meaning to control them, this was also his drastic measure to make sure Lu Cang was under his control and stayed in the capital.

He wouldn’t have thought that Zhang Zi dong was actually dare to be this bold. He was clearly abusing his power and bullying his subordinates. He also let Lu Cang seized him, resulting to this kind of conflict. Jing had failed to predict this kind of outcome.

Seeing Jing went silent, Lu Cang knew that what he had said was true.

He was very angry, to the point he couldn’t speak and almost vomiting blood. His rushing blood made him practically unable to breathe.

After struggle for a while, he resolutely pointed his finger at Jing. His voices couldn’t help but trembling and shaking greatly: “Xuan Yuan Jing! You are very great! Today, I, Lu Cang can finally understand your true self! The way you treated my brother now, there is no guarantee that you won’t treat me the same way someday! I can totally understand…”

“Xuan Yuan Jing, you just take care of your grace, the lowly me has no rights to complaint! From now on, you walk your open road, I’ll cross my wooden bridge. One no need to be in the way of each other!” {t/n : basically Lu Cang refers to the separation.}

Lu Cang grabbed the vase which beside him and tossed it in front of Jing. He waved his hand at his brothers, asking them to move. He was about bringing them to leave this Zhang’s residence.

There was no way Jing would let him go just like that. He took a deep breath then immediately drew his sword from his waist. Facing his imperial guards with killing aura : “Are you all dead?! Still not quickly capture all those involved?!”

He himself carefully move back, using his very self to block the entrance door. The imperial guards were joining up together blocking him and the entrance in front of him, not letting Lu Cang’s group to pass through.

“You… “ Even with Jing’s skill alone, it was almost impossible to get through with Lu Cang and his brothers combined powers. And now, surrounded by Jing’s highly skilled guards, the way out was completely blocked.

At the moment, Lu Cang was busily cursing this damned man in his heart. He had numerous curses for him. But there wasn’t any suitable cursing word to speak out loud in this kind of situation.

He left with one and only option, to glare angrily at Jing. He was dying to mouthfully snap at the willful and unreasonable Jing.
The imperial guards, without waiting for what Lu Cang had to say, had begun to act. – With only a little effort, they already cornered Lu Cang and his brothers. They all surrounded in the middle. Can Xin and the other, with their bad temper, drew their weapons and charged vigorously to make way. Soon, the both party engaged in a chaotic fight.

Initially came to make this damned Zhang Zi Dong learnt his lesson, but the outcome was his and Jing’s great fight.

While holding down the imperial guards assault, Lu Cang was annoyed to the extreme.

They were outnumbered, not to mention these imperial guards, who were Jing’s personal bodyguards, were the capital best of the best fighters. Obviously, this was a one sided fight for them from the start and they couldn’t hold out for long.

In only a short while, Lu Cang’s brothers were successfully seized. They all were strongly bound up on the spot.

Lu Cang was the only one remained. Deep in his heart, he clearly understood that Ding Peng was considering his relationship with the emperor so that Ding Peng deliberately didn’t want to hurt and kill him.

Jing evidently had lost his patience.

He strode to the tied up Cao Xin and pressed him on the floor, putting his sword on Cao Xin’s neck, facing towards the still struggling with Ding Peng’s Lu Cang, then shouted :

“Lu Cang! How long do you intend to prolong this commotion?! Quick put down your sword, otherwise, I will cut down his head!”

Knowing Jing was a wicked and ruthless person, if he didn’t obediently heed to his words, he would regret it for all his life for it was hard to say that Jing wouldn’t actually kill Cao Xin.

In his heart, he cursed Jing with all the foul words he had ever known. He stopped all his action at once.

The imperial guards were rushing to him and bound him tightly.

---- end of chapter 14 ----