The King's Son

Han Qinhu put down the corpse and stood up straight. Rare stars sprinkled shimmering light, and the man turned around slowly, his hands behind his back, and the cold light that shot out from his eyes made Li Jing's back go cold.

"So it's Brother Dugu." Han Qinhu arched his hand for courtesy.

"Chief General,, you're a wise man." The man's voice was icy cold, without a trace of emotion, "I'm afraid it's not your place to get involved in the royal family's affairs! Hand the child over to me, you and I will still be friendship."

Han Qinhu said, "Brother Dugu, this matter has nothing to do with me, so let's talk about it. How about having a glass of wine when you come to my house?"

"Wine can be saved ..." the word "save" was still in his mouth when a sudden cold light flashed, the person spit out the soft sword in his hand like a snake and stabbed towards the child standing beside Li Jing.. This was too sudden, Li Jing did not have time to think, but pushed the kid to aside, but he could not dodge the sword himself, the sharp edge stabbed into his right leg.

Before Li Jing could react, he heard a muffled sound and the tall, thin figure fell down.

Han Qinhu pulled out a piece of cloth from his waist and wiped the two blood-dripping short swords, then retrieved them to his boots and said in a deep voice into the air, "Han Zhong, wrap up. Get some men over here to clean up."

A person stood up on the short wall outside the hall door, and with a light shout, the sound of soldiers running resounded. Under the darkness of the moon, the footsteps were neat and tidy even on the low wall. Not long after, a neatly armor dressed lieutenant led four guards down the low wall, silently crried the two corpses and walked towards the depths of the camp fence.

Han Qinhu pulled out the soft sword on Li Jing's leg and swung the sword up to the eaves of the house and nailed it into the purlin. Li Jing's right leg was in severe pain, and blood flowed onto his foot. Han didn't care about him, but picked up the boy and went back to the house, dragged out a copper basin under the table, and threw out filth. Li Jing struggled to re-light the candle, and saw thick blood in the basin of about two bowls, in dark red.

Han Qinhu let out a gasp, took out a pill to take, and asked, "Jing, how is injury of your leg?"

"Uncle, it's alright." Li Jing pressed down on the wound, cold sweat rolling down his head.

"Apply some healing salve and bandage it yourself." After saying that, he looked sideways at the kid who had been scared silly, and his gaze became gentle, "What is your name?"

The kid opened his mouth and did not speak. Han Qinhu also did not mind, but reached out to grab the soybean on the desk table, put in his mouth and chewed, the sound was much lighter than before, like a stone mill grinding grain.

Li Jing finished bandaging his wounds on his own and asked, "Uncle, this villain is really powerful! But uncle is even better, only one blow you took his life, Jing really admired you ..."

Han Qinhu swallowed the fried beans, and said: "If we are talking about single combat, Dugu Hun can't kill me, and I can't win in a single blow either. You have practiced martial arts for years, tell me, what did you find in the fight just now?"

Li Jing said: "This person took advantage of your conversation with him, launched a sudden strike, aiming to kill the little brother, at the same time, his left palm attacked uncle's right chest, all in full strength. He expected that you would save me and this little brother, but he did not expect that you would let him hit your chest, and did not care about his soft sword, but you directly pulled out the short swords and stabbed him from both front and back into the heart at the same time, and killed him at once."

Han Qinhu's eyes lit up and said appreciatively, "Your eyesight is beyond the reach of ordinary men! But your ear power still needs to be practised diligently."

Li Jing hung his head and said, "Please teach me, uncle."

Han Qinhu said in a deep voice, "My military residence is like hell, how can we allow others to come and go as they please? Your elder brother Han Zhong has inherited my proud disciple. His watch is so alert that he would notice even if a single mosquito flies in. He let Ouyang Gong and Dugu Hun into the mansion only because he was uncertain of their true intentions. However, he has already set up a formidable crossbow formation on the wall tops. Should I miss striking him, even the Magnificent Elephant Karmapa would find it difficult to escape unharmed!"

Li Jing asked, "Who is the Magnificent Elephant Karmapa?"

A look of respect appeared in Han Qinhu's eyes: ''He is the greatest monk in the Western Region, no one knows what level of martial arts he has reached. In the first year of Jiande in the Northern Zhou, he travelled north and defeated thirty-eight top warriors in the Turkic Khanate, shaking all in the northern desert. It is rumoured that His weapon is a golden staff, but in his hands, flowers, trees, grass and leaves can also be turned into a murderous weapon."

Li Jing asked, "Uncle, , isn't your martial arts the best in the world?"

"Best?" Han Qinhu sighed, "Who dares to speak of being number one in the world? Let's not talk about others, general Shi Wansui of our kingdom for example, I could barely win him. Among the locals in Lingnan, there is a woman named Xian Ahying, who has never been defeated. The Turkic Dato Khan can kill a lion or tiger with a single slap. The general of Chen State, Xiao Mohe, is unstoppable against ten thousand people and has repeatedly defeated the strong armies of Northern Qi. Of course, those in seclusion are even more unfathomable. In the central areas, there is a genius swordsman Xiao Xuanji, who left no trace at all, at the age of forty he had no competent opponent, but I do not know why he suddenly disappeared, it is rumoured that he traveled out to India and did not come back. In Wushan, a Yue Sword Sect descended from ancient Yue State dwells, there was a lady named Wushan fisherwoman, who can kill by flying swords. Previously, I had told you about Zen Master Hui Ke and his disciple Master Seng Can, of course, the monk has no interest of worldly fame, but his martial arts have reached perfection. When I travelled west, I heard that in Kongdong Mountain there was a Daoist Zixiao, who could walk on walls as if on a flat surface, and invulnerable to knife and gun , I do not know whether he is still alive. Each of these masters of martial arts has their own origin and encounter, it is difficult to say who is the best. Although I like practicing martial arts, butI took advantage of my natural strength. If I am really the first, how could I be seriously injured in internal organs by Dugu Hun?"

Li Jing listened with infinite fascination. He asked, "Among the masters that you spoke of, why is there not this Dugu Hun?"

Han Qinhu snorted coldly, "Dugu clan is also considered a martial arts family, but this person is too vicious. As the nephew of our queen, he was so evil of killing numerous men covertly! If we discuss only about force, he can be ranked in the top ten, but he is not a great martial arts expert. Tonight, his death can also comfort the loyal souls."

Li Jing said, "I have heard that the great general Yang Su, is talented in literature and martial arts, how does uncle think of his in martial arts?"

Han Qinhu lightly stroked his short beard and laughed, ''Qinghe County Duke Yang Su is a marshal, how can he be judged by his martial arts? I just talked about my military deployment in the military camp, but you have digressed. For military arrangement in our state, I only admire Yang Su, although we are not close friend, but he is quite tactical. However, when it comes to the subtleties of the art of war, I also have unique insights. Jing, you've been in the military camp for a year now, are you clear of my military plan?"

Li Jing was fed up with art of war. But he dared not disabey his uncle's best intentions, so he had to say: "Outside Luzhou military governor's residence, two hundred armored soldiers are on shifted duty, within it one hundred are in patrol, one hundred men are guarding the military camp, the martial hall is kept by fifty crossbowmen led by brother Han Zhong . Although the incident happened suddenly tonight, you predicted that there must be some quite skilled visitor and deliberately lured out Dugu Hun. Dugu Hun deemed that you did not dare to offend the queen's dispatcher, so he suddenly launched attack, but was killed unexpectedly instead."

Han Qinhu nodded his head to show his approval, "Jing, you've made a general statement, but you don't know the subtleties. The so-called art of war is not just about arranging troops according to Sun-Wu's method, it is about changing with your heart. Don't I know that Dugu Hun is vicious? This villain chased me for thousands of miles to fulfil the Queen's mission and assassinate this child. But he knows I am not a yielding person, so he attacked me where I must save, with a soft sword in his right hand and an hard palm of his left hand. As a top assassin, no one has ever survived under this hard palm. He expected that I would be distracted by saving the kid and self-preservation, so that he could take advantage of the opportunity to win. But he never thought that I would not save you or the kid, nor would I dodge the hard palm, so my two swords struck each other straight through his abdomen and back. That is exactly anticipating the enemy beforehand and killing him with a single blow!"

When Li Jing heard this, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. He thought that if he hadn't come to help, the child sitting on the ground would have died immediately. In order to win the battle, his uncle had disregarded his nephew's safety, even by admitting the pain of internal injuries, which really puzzled him.

Han Qinhu saw his thoughts, and said in a deep voice: "Jing, martial arts and military affairs, are both fatal and dangerous. In many cases, a flash of thought can determine victory or defeat, there must not be the slightest hesitation! Although you are young, but your kung fu is already skilled enough to push away the target of attack, which was beyond Dugu Hun's knowledge. You are kind and brave enough to rescue, so I presumed that you would hand out to help. This is 'knowing your enemy and knowing yourself' in the art of war. Jing, perhaps you resented me that I didn't save you nor caried about your safety, but life or death of fighters is often in the blink. Dugu Hun must be eliminated, otherwise Han and Li families will be in great trouble!"

Li Jing had never seen his uncle so grave, and expected that this kid must have a great deal of background. But since his uncle didn't mention of that, he didn't dare to ask.

Han Qinhu then said, "You may think that Han Zhong had crossbowmen ambushed , so Dugu Hun could not escape. However, he was never a common person, instead he was always indifferent to his life, aiming to complete his mission. This time, he was determined to murder this kid, so I must sacrifice myself to kill him, in order not to fail the trust placed in me by Lord Ouyang 

Li Jing accompanied his uncle for so long, but he had never heard him say "sacrifice his life". He did not care about how to kill Dugu Hun, but was more concerned about the fate of his uncle and himself. From his twelve-year-old perspective, he was unable to understand the mystery - why would the queen, who lived in the palace, dispatched a killer to murder a three or four year old child?

Han Qinhu took out the roll of silk that he hadn't yet had a chance to unleash , read it in the candlelight, and handed it to Li Jing.

Li Jing took a look and his scalp tingled. It turned out that the dull little boy beside him was actually the illegitimate son of the current emperor!

It was written on the silk: Queen Dugu was jealous by nature, and when she married Yang Jian at the age of 14, the couple swore to be faithful to each other and not to have any kid with others. However, after Yang Jian gained power, he had an affair with Ouyang Ji, the harem of the Northern Zhou State, and gave birth to a son in the first year of Dacheng. Knowing that Queen Dugu would never leave such a survivor, Ouyang Ji secretly sent the child to her uncle Ouyang Xinde at Zhongnan Mountain. However, she was killed the next day. Ouyang Xinde, who was a close warring friend with Han Qinhu and had saved his life on the battlefield, was an governor of Xiangzhou during in Northern Zhou State, but later resigned and went back to Taibai Mountain to study herbal medicine and martial arts. After adopting his niece's baby, Ouyang Xinde secretly raised him in Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain, Henan Province, and gave the child the name of Ouyang Alone Star. Unexpectedly, three years later, Dugu Hun detected this and informed the Queen, so the bloodshed resumed. Ouyang Xinde did not want to stain the pure land of Buddhism, so he had to go south to meet Han Qinhu, and killed many assassins along the way.

The silk were written in blood by Ouyang Xinde, the handwriting was scribbled, obviously written in haste while fleeing for his life, and many parts of the text were not clear. However, the part of the illegitimate son of the current king was shocking enough. Queen Dugu even sent killers after Ouyang Alone Star, which shower her determination to eliminate the roots at all costs. Now the child was in the Luzhou military mansion, unless Han Qinhu revolt, otherwise it was quite difficult to keep him alive. 

"Jing, what do you think?" Han Qinhu thought of many ways in his head while Li Jing was reading the silk, but in the end, he couldn't make up his mind.

"If uncle submit a report to the king to explain it, will he be able to save our lives?" Li Jing looked at the child who was sitting frozen and had no idea for a moment.

"This can be a solution." Han Qinhu coughed, obviously suffering from extremely heavy internal injuries, "But my life may be saved, the child's life may not."

"But, after all, he is the royal bloodline ... of the king," Li Jing argued, it is against human ethics if a father kills his son.

"What a child's opinion!" Han Qinhu's eyes glared, "The king and Queen Dugu had five sons, Crown Prince Yang Yong, Prince Yang Guang, lord of Jin, Prince Yang Jun, lord of Qin, Prince Yang Xiu, lord of Shu, and Prince Yang Lang, lord of Han, how could they allow the king's bastard from a concubine of the previous state survive? Jing, please remember: in a royal family, there is no father, no son, no brother, only profit! Taking a step back, should His Majesty really recognize this child with great mercy, the other Princes will have one more rival, and with Empress Dugu's methods, she will never let it go!"

Li Jing didn't quite understand at such a young age, but hearing this, he still got goosebumps.

"But ... if uncle does not report, the military mansion may not be able to ensure that secrets are not leaked." Li Jing's handsome little face turned bitter, "Once information is leaked, I'm afraid uncle will get into trouble ..."

"It's not trouble, instead, it may cost the lives of nine generations." Han Qinhu sighed softly, "Dugu Hun is indeed the most powerful of these killers, and has always been vigilant, I'm afraid that there are reinforcements as well, and no matter how bad it is, they will also leave clues. Therefore, this little lord cannot spend the night here."

"Do you mean that, let Brother Han Zhong send him out?" Li Jing reacted quite quickly.

"Han Zhong is a military lieutenant at duty, last year when he took you south it was also out of mission to the capital, now if he suddenly disappear, it will attract suspicion." Han Qinhu frowned and said, "Besides, where to send him? There is no place in the world that is not the king's land. Even if you send him to the Chen State in Jiangnan, it will soon be pacified, and the purpose our king place me south here is precisely to prepare for this battle."

When Li Jing heard this, he knew that his uncle, who usually had endless brilliant ideas, was really in trouble this time. Suddenly, a thought came into his mind, "Uncle, I have a plan, I wonder if it may work?"

"Speak up!"

"Send it to Mr. Sun." Li Jing raised his eyebrows, "Mr. Sun travels among folks without definite destination, besides, he has high martial arts skills and knows everything about astronomy, geography, and medicine, so it would be most appropriate for him to raise and teach this little brother."

Han Qinhu stayed for a moment and suddenly bowed to the air, ''Brother Ouyang, you know well that I can't take in the young lord. But you came to me knowing my inseparable bond with Si Miao. Rest assured, a task entrusted to me will be faithfully fulfilled. However, following Sun, the young lord might forever lose his chance at a grand destiny... Alas, it all comes down to fate!"

After saying that, he picked up Ouyang Alone Star and said softly: ''Little lord, you are the king's son but fate has made things difficult for you! I don't care if you can understand or not - Han Qinhu is loyal to the Sui State, and even more loyal to my promise! When you grow up in the future, you must remember the two words of loyalty and righteousness!"

Ouyang Alone Star, who had been as dumb as a chicken, suddenly opened his mouth, and a childish voice sounded, "Loyalty and righteousness ..."

Han Qinhu handed him over to Li Jing and said solemnly, "Jing, even though you have a leg injury, there is no time to lose, you must leave the military mansion tonight and head to Mount Qingcheng in Shu to look for Mr. Sun. You must know that, along all your way, in addition to the injuries, there are more chasing killers, and it is highly likely that you will lose your life. If you do not want to do this, I will not blame you."

Li Jing knelt down and kowtowed, "I do. Uncle, please take care."

So the uncle and nephew acted quickly. Li Jing carried Ouyang Alone Star on his back , Han Qinhu opened the secret passage in the martial arts hall, and walked forward with a candle.

Finally they reached the exit. The moonlight was dim, withered grass stretched to the sky, and the autumn dews were shivering cold , it's already the midnight. Han Qinhu hung a bag containing Wuzhu coins and clothes on his shoulder, and instructed: "Jing, you should take the small road, go straight to the ferry at countryside, take a boat to cross Nanchao, go to the port of Ruxu, then take a big boat to Jiangling, and enter Shu from Wu Gorge. When you arrive in Chengdu, stay in Qingcheng Inn, and look for a man named Du Ji, who will lead you to Mr. Sun."

"I understand." Li Jing's tears were about to fall as he thought about parting with his uncle, but he held them back. After walking a few steps, Han Qinhu chased after him, removed the short sword from his boot, along with the leather sheath, lifted Li Jing's trousers, and tied it to his calf.

In the dark night, Li Jing never looked back again and went straight ahead. Suddenly, he felt rain beating down on his neck. He raised his head, there was no rain in the sky, it must be the tears of Alone Star.

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Han Qinhu returned to the martial arts hall, where Han Zhong was already waiting.

"All done?" Han Qinhu asked.

"Yes." Han Zhong bowed and replied.

"Anyone who sees Dugu Hun tonight will be rewarded with ten gold each." Han Qinhu said in a deep voice, "Tell them that anyone who leak any message, all their parents, wives, or children will be executed!"

"Yes!" 

It was at this time that a guard outside the door shouted, "Report! Imperial Left General Huang Fu Ren has arrived."

Han Qinhu was shocked. This Huangfu Ren was the brother of Huangfu Jiong, the king's favored one. He kicked the copper basin under into the table, exchanged a few words beside Han Zhong's ear, straightened his clothes, and opened the door.