Chapter Eighty-Five: A Pair of Living Treasures

Since ancient times, there has never been a first in letters, nor a second in arms. When Luo Shixin roared those words, it was as if he had slapped all the generals across the face. That resounding blow not only struck Duan Zhigan and Duan Zhixuan, but even the generals of the Crown Prince’s camp could not bear it.

Listening to Luo Shixin, Zhang Huaiwei could no longer hold himself back and was about to charge forward with his blade. Chen Ying hurriedly stepped in and caught him, giving a slight shake of the head to tell him to stay calm. In terms of skill, Zhang Huaiwei could barely be counted as nimble, but he was still far from being an elite master. If he went up to fight, Luo Shixin could teach him how to be a man in the blink of an eye.

Chen Ying frowned slightly and glanced at Li Xiuning, wondering whether she had noticed anything unusual.

Ordinary ruffians could never possess such formidable skill. Just then, Li Jiancheng let out a leisurely sigh. “If Xue Wanche were here, how could he allow this brute to run wild?”

Xue Wanche was the foremost warrior among the Crown Prince’s commanders. Chen Ying remembered it very clearly: in the records of the Battle of the Xuanwu Gate, Xue Wanche led the right guard of the Crown Prince’s camp in fierce fighting, charging straight at the Qin Prince’s generals. Only after Prince Qin Li Shimin obtained the severed head of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng did Xue Wanche flee Chang’an with a dozen riders.

In martial valor, Xue Wanche could stand beside Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong. Even if he could not defeat Luo Shixin, he would not be so easily routed.

At those words, Hou Junji, the military commander at Li Shimin’s side, could no longer sit still either and was about to go forth to meet Luo Shixin, only to be stopped by Li Shimin as well. By then, Li Shimin seemed to have already faintly guessed Luo Shixin’s origin, and he murmured to Hou Junji, “Wagang.”

Hou Junji was greatly astonished. The generals of Wagang had risen to fame early, and their names were widely known throughout the realm. Men like Shan Xiongxin, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and Wang Bodang were almost household names.

Luo Shixin stood there with a spear in hand as though all under heaven belonged to him. “Who else? Who else?”

“That’s enough. I don’t know which bastard tore his trousers and let out this mad dog.” As the crowd parted, a towering man with an equally imposing face strode in, carrying a long black cloth-wrapped bundle that looked like a shoulder pole.

Someone might ask: towering build is understandable, but how can a face be towering? The man’s features were simply too distinctive: huge eyes, a huge mouth, and a nose that was there as well, all set upon one face that made him look extraordinarily large.

Although Luo Shixin excelled at the spear, he was no stranger to the lance. With a flick of his hand he spun a spear flourish and leveled the lance at the towering man. “I, Luo, do not kill nameless nobodies.”

The man slowly unfastened the black cloth bundle, revealing within it a long blade. The so-called long blade was in fact the horse-cutting sword first developed in the Western Han. The difference between the long blade and the horse-cutting sword was that the latter was a three-pointed, two-edged sword; and since it was a sword, it was usually thick along the spine and thin at the edge, making it very easy to break in the midst of chopping and slashing. The long blade evolved from the horse-cutting sword, so in order to avoid breakage, its two edges were changed into a single edge.

When the towering man slowly revealed the long blade, everyone was stunned. One had to know that such weapons were not only difficult to forge, but also extremely hard to wield, especially in a duel. In actual combat, a weapon like the golden hammers used by Li Yuanba in The Tale of Sui and Tang would be very disadvantageous in a one-on-one fight.

“This is a master!” Li Xiuning said to Chen Ying, staring at him.

“Even a master may not necessarily be Luo Shixin’s match.”

“Luo Shixin?”

Li Xiuning then learned that the black-faced man who had seized the lance from Duan Zhixuan’s hands was actually Luo Shixin. Her brow furrowed slightly. “How did you end up offending the people of Wagang?”

Chen Ying could only laugh and cry at once. “How did I offend them? They were the ones who came to my door, all right?”

Li Xiuning looked at Chen Ying in confusion.

Chen Ying explained, “I was granted the title of Marquis of Xiuwu. At the time, I don’t know what possessed me, but I boasted that I would set out a three-day flowing banquet, open to anyone. They came to eat at the feast—how was I supposed to know they were people of Wagang?”

Just then, the towering man strode in with the long blade in one hand, his head held high. He slammed the weapon heavily to the ground, and a blue brick beneath it shattered at once.

The towering man shouted, “Kan Leng of Linji in Qizhou!”

“Luo Shixin of Licheng in Qizhou!”

Luo Shixin thrust his lance forward and attacked Kan Leng. Kan Leng was also a man who knew his craft; whether a man truly had skill could be seen the instant an expert made his move. From Luo Shixin’s lance technique, Kan Leng knew at once that Luo was a true master. His expression turned solemn, and gripping the long blade with both hands, he shouted, “Good!”

Both men favored a fierce and powerful style, all broad sweeps and heavy strikes. When the long blade and the lance collided, they sent out a shrill metallic ring that made everyone’s teeth ache.

Though Chen Ying had never met Kan Leng, he knew this man was Du Fuwei’s adopted son and one of the fierce generals of the early Tang. Kan Leng was skilled with the chopping blade known as the long blade, and was called the Long-Blade General.

At that moment, however, Chen Ying could not help worrying inwardly.

As for Luo Shixin facing Kan Leng, Chen Ying truly could not say who would win. But both were straightforward, real men, and both were fierce generals. As the saying goes, when two tigers contend, one must be wounded. Whoever got hurt, it would be bad.

Moreover, Wei Zheng had already agreed to let Luo Shixin follow him, which meant Luo Shixin was already one of his own attendants. If this attendant were crippled by someone, would that not be a terrible waste?

However, Chen Ying’s worry was in fact unnecessary.

Luo Shixin fought Kan Leng with his lance for well over a hundred exchanges. By then both men had spent a great deal of strength, and Luo Shixin in particular already had sweat on his brow.

Luo Shixin’s breathing grew heavier and heavier, but Kan Leng was no less strained.

At that moment, Li Shimin suddenly burst into hearty laughter. After a long while, he drew breath from his lower abdomen and said to the two men locked in combat, “You two heroes, I am Li Shimin. May I ask you to hear one word of advice?”

Luo Shixin and Kan Leng were both straightforward men, but they were not fools. After more than a hundred exchanges, neither could prevail over the other. At present, the two of them were simply testing their stamina. If their strength gave out and they suffered a crushing defeat, they would surely lose face. Most importantly, this was not the best moment for a duel. Once their strength was exhausted, neither would be able to withdraw.

Luo Shixin cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng had almost twisted his eyes out of alignment trying to signal him all along, but the suddenly excited Luo Shixin had not noticed him at all.

Wei Zheng had worked himself nearly to death for nothing, like a man winking at a blind mule.

Fortunately, Luo Shixin finally saw him. He laid the lance across his chest and retreated three steps, breaking off the fight. “I’m not fighting anymore. I’m hungry. We’ll fight again after we’ve eaten our fill!”

“I have the same thought. I haven’t had a drop of water since morning!” Kan Leng panted heavily, and at that moment he actually felt a kind of heroic sympathy toward Luo Shixin.

Luo Shixin said, “This is my brother Chen’s house. There’s good wine and good food here. Come eat together!”

“This...”

“Don’t be so formal!”

“In that case, I shall be impolite and accept.”

The two of them, utterly unconcerned with anyone else, treated Li Shimin’s gracious invitation like air. Li Shimin could not have been more vexed. Still, for Li Shimin, it was only a momentary discomfort.

His gaze on Luo Shixin and Kan Leng grew even hotter, as though the two men were stunning beauties standing naked before him.

Kan Leng put away the long blade and picked up the black cloth bundle he had thrown to the ground, slowly wrapping the blade up again.

“That’s more like it!” Luo Shixin handed the lance toward Duan Zhixuan. “This is a fine lance. Hold it tight from now on!”

At those words, Duan Zhixuan’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot.