Chapter 4

Along the waters of the Jialing, he seeks a famed master on horseback.

Amid the sounds of pipa, he expels a lecher with a lone saber.

Jiang Xiaohe took this opportunity to jump up and say, while swinging his saber, “Who is your brother?” The man took a step back in surprise and then thrust his saber forward. The two blades clashed in the deep, dark night, but after ten or so exchanges, Jiang Xiaohe felt a bit unable to keep up. He ran behind the wounded horse and asked, “What’s your name, friend?” His opponent didn’t respond, concerning himself only with rushing at him and swinging his saber. Jiang Xiaohe ran back and forth around the unmoving horse as the man chased him. After three or four times around the horse, the man grew angry and leapt over the horse with a whoosh, hollering, “Are you still trying to run, bandit?”

Jiang Xiaohe turned around and sprinted off. After running a stretch of the road, he heard the sound of galloping coming from in front of him. It was the horse that the man was riding, which had been frightened off by the skirmish, now making its way back. Jiang Xiaohe suddenly came up with an idea. He dashed forward and stopped the horse, and then flipped onto the horse’s back. By this time, the man had already caught up with saber swinging. Jiang Xiaohe raised one of his hands and said, “Dart attack!” The man behind him thought a hidden weapon was headed his way and threw himself onto the ground. Jiang Xiaohe thus used this opportunity to turn the horse and soar away. The horse carried Jiang Xiaohe gradually further and further until there was no way the man behind them could catch up. The sky was filled with thousands of silver stars and a crescent moon. Though it was but a sliver, it was still enough to shine a dim light on the horse as it walked in no particular direction.

After going about twenty-some miles, Jiang Xiaohe stopped the horse by pulling strongly on its reins. He got off the horse and caught his breath. After noticing that a small bundle was tied to the back of the saddle, he reached out and gave it a feel. It was soft on the outside and very hard on the inside. He thought, There must be quite a few silvers in there. Well, I guess I’ve made my fortune. A horse, a saber and silvers, I’ve got them all! First I’ve got to find a place to spend the night, and then tomorrow I’ll pick up my search for the Xia of Langzhong again. Thus, he attached to the horse the taels of silver and steel saber he’d been carrying with him, got back up on the horse, and made his way along the main road. After traveling for more than thirty miles, he reached a small town. It was about the second watch and many shops had yet to open. Jiang Xiaohe led the horse only a few steps, when he encountered a man carrying a lantern. The man greeted him, saying, “Come be a guest at our place, the old Zhang family inn. We have clean rooms.”

Jiang Xiaohe said, “All right, get me a single. I don’t care if it costs a little more.” And so he followed the inn attendant and entered the old Zhang family inn. Immediately through the gates was a tying post for horses. Jiang Xiaohe removed his things from the horse and told an attendant to feed his horse. He followed the attendant who had greeted him into his room. The attendant lit the oil lamp hanging on the wall and then before leaving to fetch water for washing, tea and bedding, he asked Xiaohe what he wanted to eat. Xiaohe said, “I’ll eat whatever you have, but you’ve got to get me some wine. I’ll need at least four ounces.” The inn attendant consented and exited the room.

Jiang Xiaohe opened the bundle and looked inside. The cloth wrap wasn’t very thick, and the inside was filled more than halfway with silvers, along with three letters. They were all sealed tightly, and since Jiang Xiaohe was unable to read, he didn’t open them. He set aside these silvers with those he had gotten on the mountain, leaving a few broken bits and pieces on his person. He then wrapped the bundle up again with the intention of using it as a pillow. After he washed his face and hands, he abruptly felt the pain in his foot. It turned out he was only wearing one shoe at the moment; the other had been lost. He took off the one shoe and sat on the bed. After a little bit, the attendant brought both the wine and the food, and having eaten, Jiang Xiaohe closed the door tightly and got into bed. He rested his head on the bundle and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, sunshine had filled his window before he got up. After breakfast, he asked an attendant where he was and how far they were from Langzhong. The attendant said, “This is the town of Taiping, under the administration of Dazhu county. If you want to get to Langzhong, you have to cross the Qu River and go 200 miles along the dried up riverside road before you can.” He thereafter told him in great detail the direction and the route to take. Jiang Xiaohe listened and thought, I can’t travel along the water. I can’t swim and it’d be all over if I ran into river bandits. Since I have this horse, I’d best go on drier land. Thus, he showed his feet to the inn attendant and told him to buy shoes for him after giving him some silvers. A short while later, the attendant returned with a pair and Jiang Xiaohe put them on, finding that they fit quite well. He then settled his bill for the room, readied his horse and left. He bought a horsewhip when he got to the street and then left this town of Taiping, spurring his horse on toward the northwest. He reached the southern bank of the Qu River by midday, and after finding a crossing, he rode a boat across the river.

On the other side of the river was Qu County, a very prosperous county in Jialing Circuit. Jiang Xiaohe had plenty of silvers on hand, so he ate and drank his fill in the city and then found a garment shop. He bought himself a silk outfit, a satin hat and satin shoes, all of which he put on in the shop. He then rode his horse out of Qu County and made his way northwest. At this time, he was wearing a blue silk shirt and pants with a purple satin belt and blue leg ties, and on his head was a small satin hat. His feet were inside a pair of blue thin-soled satin boots, which matched the fine pomegranate red horse he was sitting on, and behind the saddle was the bundle and a saber. He looked quite dignified. His heart was filled with joy as he waved the slender whip about, traveling forth neither quickly nor slowly. It was just springtime and the ground was decorated with green wheat fields, turquoise wild grass, beautiful peach blossoms, and a clearly-flowing brook. Appealingly slender clouds floated across the sky and the east wind blew gently, giving people who felt it a feeling of comfort.

Jiang Xiaohe thought, It was better here, outside of the province. But then he thought again, I’ve got everything now. If I went back to Zhenba County like this, no one would dare look down on me. It’s just my martial skill; the bit I’ve learned from Ma Zhixian is far from enough. Never mind revenge. It’s not even passable for traveling upon Jianghu. Because of this, worry crept again into his mind. I wish I could just get to Langzhong already and ask the Xia of Langzhong to be my master. He was now riding on a big road. To his right, there was a wide river, a tributary to the Qu River. To his left, there were fields, rice paddies where there was water, and wheat planted where there wasn’t. At the moment, farmers were busy in the fields and children were playing in the brook. When they saw Jiang Xiaohe riding his horse at the bank, they were all taken aback with envy. Some of them even called out to him from far away. On the road, there were many people riding carts and horses, and many who walked along, carrying their belongings on their backs. All of them also paid attention to Jiang Xiaohe, unable to guess what kind of person this well-dressed boy who ably rode a horse was.

Jiang Xiaohe whistled a tune as he delightfully urged his horse on. After going twenty or thirty miles of road, three horses galloped up from behind him. The young riders of the horses were all wearing short shirts and pants. One of them called out, “Hey! Youngster, what are you up to?” Jiang Xiaohe turned his head and gave the rider a quick look-over, and deciding his attitude disrespectful, ignored him. He continued to whistle as he rode forward. The three behind him relaxed the reins on their horses and charged up in front of Xiaohe, kicking up a lot of dust off the ground and into Xiaohe’s face. Jiang Xiaohe was extremely annoyed, but he noticed the three all had sabers under their saddles and guessed to himself, They must be men of Jianghu. Are they planning to harass me, since they see that I’m young and dressed well? Thus, in order to prevent the appearance of blades, he reined his horse in and rode along slowly with the purpose of directly letting the three horses go further away.

That day, he rode until dusk before finding an inn in which to rest, and the next day, he continued on at the break of dawn. By the time he had gone a few dozen miles, the sun was at high noon and a city was situated ahead. Jiang Xiaohe thought, I suppose I’ll eat lunch here. Thus, he entered the city and found a restaurant. As he ate and drank, he asked the waiter where he was and how far it was from Langzhong. The waiter replied, “This here is Yingshan County, which is about a hundred or so miles from Langzhong. With a fast horse, you can reach there by today.” Thrilled at hearing this, Jiang Xiaohe quickly finished his meal and settled his bill. He left the restaurant and rode his horse out of the northern gate, galloping northward along the main road. After ten or so miles, it struck him that the road was getting gradually narrower. In addition, the path was winding and a big river lay further ahead. He saw not a single boat on the river’s surface. On the road, there was not one cart nor one horse, only a few farmers here and there.

Jiang Xiaohe thought to himself, Damn it! I’ve gone down the wrong road. I only thought about hurrying my horse along and now I’ve lost my way. Thus, he turned his horse around and asked a farmer, “Hey there! Excuse me, but if I wanted to get to Langzhong, could I take this path?” The farmer said, “You can, but when you get to the river, you’ll have to go east to find a crossing!” Jiang Xiaohe said, “Well, that’s fine!” He turned his horse around again and continued forward. Having gone not even twenty miles with the river still far away, he heard someone shouting loudly from behind, “Friend! Stop, friend! We have some things to say to you!” Jiang Xiaohe reined in his horse and looking back, he saw three horses racing toward him. Jiang Xiaohe recognized them as the three men of Jianghu he had encountered the day before. Though he was a little fearful, he thought, It would be a disgrace if I hightailed it, and also their swift horses would be able to catch up to me for sure. It would be better to exchange names with them; perhaps I can scare them away.

He turned his horse toward them and went to meet them. When they got closer, the three stopped their horses and together sized Xiaohe up. The slightly thicker one smiled and asked, “Friend, from where do you ride? And where are you headed now to make your fortune?” Hearing this, Jiang Xiaohe hesitated before saying, “I ride from Zhenba and plan to make my fortune in Langzhong.” The three all looked surprised upon hearing this. The same man asked again, “Please give us the favor of telling us your name. And through what master’s teachings do you come?” Jiang Xiaohe straightened his posture and proudly said, “I am Jiang Xiaohe. People call me the Three-headed Tiger. I have no master. My martial arts came to me through an immortal.” The three men hooted loudly with laughter, and then whispered bad things between each other. Jiang Xiaohe didn’t like the looks of them, so he decided to move first in order to control the situation. With a tightened face he said, “Hey, my friends, you’ve finished asking me questions, so now it’s my turn, isn’t it!?” The thicker one said, “You needn’t ask them. I am Qi Yong the Hooked Blade. Ask around in Northern Sichuan and you’ll find that even three-foot-tall children know my name. We’ve followed you here with no secret motives, nor do we want any of your things. We just ask that you throw your saber down and leave the horse. You can keep your money; we don’t want a single tael. We’re not bandits. We just can’t let a little brat like you pretend you’re some great man, riding along the road like you own it!”

He spoke only up until here, for Jiang Xiaohe yelled, “You bastard! What does young master Jiang’s traveling on the road got anything to do with you? Who are you to prevent me from carrying a blade and riding a horse? Do you think you’re better than me? If you’re a real man, you’ll get off that horse of yours and show me what you’ve got, one on one. Hell, even if all three of you come at me. I’m not afraid of you, but that wouldn’t be becoming of a hero!” Saying this, he hopped off his horse and whipped his steel saber out of his bedroll. In the flash of an eye, he stood in a stance. He carried the blade in one hand and pointed two fingers forward. His left leg was slightly bent and his right leg was planted behind him. He glared and said, “Come down! I don’t care which one; all you have to do is win against my saber and I’ll leave all of my things. However, you guys ought to be more careful with your lives. Don’t be like the Long brothers of Ziyang, begging for mercy under my blade!”

Upon seeing such a display from Jiang Xiaohe, the three men were scared into silence, because, with experienced eyes, they could tell by Jiang Xiaohe’s saber that he seemed to have martial skills with a solid foundation. As a result, one of the others with a longer body dismounted his horse and cupped his fist, saying, “Friend, let’s forget about it. We can see now! It’s easy to travel thousands of miles upon Jianghu without making any friends, so why must we fight? This is not the place to compare our skills, friend. Please put that away and get back on your horse. Let’s find a place to drink some wine.”

Seeing that he had actually stunned them, Jiang Xiaohe became even haughtier. He put his saber away with a sneer and then shook his head, saying, “I haven’t the time to accompany you. I have to hurry to Langzhong. Perhaps we’ll run into each other another time!” As he said this, he pulled himself onto the saddle and cupped his fist. He turned his horse and set off to the north. The three horses behind him caught up with him again, and that Qi Yong the Hooked Blade said, “Brother Jiang, don’t go yet. We still have some things to ask of you.” Jiang Xiaohe reined in his horse and turned his head with a smile, saying, “What’s that? Go ahead and tell me!”

Qi Yong the Hooked Blade cupped his hands and said, “We’re not sure what sort of business you have in Langzhong.” Jiang Xiaohe replied calmly, “It’s nothing important. Just that in Zhenba I’ve been hearing about the famous Xia of Langzhong for a long time, and now I’d like to meet him.” Qi Yong said, “What a coincidence! We’re headed to Langzhong as well. We are acquaintances of Sir Xu the Xia of Langzhong. Brother Jiang, how about we go together?”

Jiang Xiaohe sat on his horse and thought. He looked over the three men carefully and saw that not only did they seem not to have bad intentions, but they also appeared to be very respectful toward him. I’m a bit lost right now, and with them traveling alongside me, if I encounter more people on the road who want to give me trouble, they could help me out. Also, I’ve only heard about Xu Lin the Xia of Langzhong’s great martial skill, but nothing about what kind of person he is. If he were a bad guy, or if he was vicious like that Bao Kunlun, I wouldn’t need to go meet him; I’d have to go find another famous master. Thus, he nodded and said, “I guess that’s fine. Let’s go the river and try to find a crossing.”

And so, with his horse in front and the other three behind, they set off northward together. As the horses clopped along, the four sat upon them and conversed leisurely. Jiang Xiaohe found out that they were all escorts for the Fuli Security Firm in Langzhong, and were on their way back from Hezhou where they had offered birthday wishes to their master, Han Jing the Drunk God of Pestilence. Qi Yong the Hooked Blade was the eldest of them. The other two were both his younger disciple-brothers; one was named Yang Xiantai the Short Blade, and the other was named Lü Xiong the Flower Blade.

The four horses arrived at the river and after turning east, they traveled another five or six miles before reaching a crossing where there were a number of ferries. Yang Xiantai was the first to dismount his horse, so he stood at the bank and called for a ferry. There were immediately two ferries speeding toward them. The men on the boats were even smiling and laughing, as they were well acquainted with them. The four horses boarded the two boats, and Jiang Xiaohe ended up on the same boat as Qi Yong the Hooked Blade.

By this time, Qi Yong was calling Jiang Xiaohe, “Brother Jiang.” He said, “When we arrive in Langzhong, I think perhaps it’s better if you didn’t go to see Xu Lin the Xia of Langzhong. He might not be home. Also, even though his martial arts are very strong, he doesn’t understand friendship. He has somewhat of an empty reputation in Sichuan and not much in the way of friends. After you get to Langzhong, there’s no harm in you staying at our security firm. Our captain is named Jiao Dechun the Golden-armored God, and though he’s not as famous as the Xia of Langzhong, his martial arts are no weaker. Plus, that captain of ours is generous and friendly, and especially respects those who are young and skilled. If you go, he’ll be happy for sure, and I’m certain he will ask for your service. If you become an escort under him, the entire Jianghu of Northern Sichuan will open up to you. No matter where you go, you’ll have friends and people to look after you.”

Jiang Xiaohe nodded and said, “All right, when we get to Langzhong, I’ll rely on you to introduce me to some friends and build a bit of a reputation. Then, I can go find Xu Lin the Xia of Langzhong.” Qi Yong asked, “What exactly do you want from him? Are you thinking of seeing how you measure up against him?” Jiang Xiaohe replied, “I just want to meet him, and if his martial skill really is better than mine, then I may even want to ask him to be my master!” Qi Yong smiled and said, “You can stop dreaming about that. The Xia of Langzhong has never taken any disciples in his entire life. He’ll only pass his martial arts onto his sons, but his sons are all too young. They might not even be as old as you, brother!” They crossed this branch of the Qu River as they talked.

The four rode northwest, and when they got to Yilong County, they stopped to drink wine and eat dinner. Afterward, they hurried along the road as they had before, with nary a word exchanged between them. Yang Xiantai and his horse rode alone in the front while Jiang Xiaohe and the others rode behind. They tramped along the courier road, and as they rode, the sunlight grew dimmer, the clouds grew darker, and the travelers, carts and horses on the road became fewer. The evening wind began to blow, and the ducks of sundown flew noisily across the sky in flocks, headed for faraway forests. They kept riding until the sky was black, the stars appeared, and nobody could be seen anywhere around them.

The four horses continued galloping forward another twenty or thirty miles. Jiang Xiaohe sat exhausted on the horse, his two legs rubbed raw, and it was then that he saw some lights blinking in the distance. They rode towards them, and after a little while, they came upon a street. Yang Xiantai stopped his horse in front of them, and Qi Yong the Hooked Blade turned his head and said to Xiaohe, “We’re here. Let’s get off our horses!” Thus, the four all dismounted, and Jiang Xiaohe got a second wind. He led his horse himself and swaggered down the street with Qi Yong and the others. After walking west for a little bit, he saw a big, halfway-opened fence to the north of the road. Qi Yong pointed to it and said, “This is the Fuli Security Firm.”

Yang Xiantai had already led his horse in through the gate and called out two young attendants to receive the horses of Jiang Xiaohe and the others. Jiang Xiaohe was worried about the valuables on his horse, so he unattached the bundle and held onto it. Qi Yong very courteously showed Xiaohe into the shop. There were many people inside, and all of them were gathered around a dice bowl, entranced. Some of them had won money, and they were all smiles, while others had already lost their money, and they were sighing or complaining to themselves. Jiang Xiaohe wasn’t exactly short, but compared to the ten or so big men in this room, he looked much, much smaller. However, he put on the airs of a greater man, throwing his bundle onto a bed and then lifting his head and taking a look around at people. Because those people were concentrating on gambling, when the four of them entered the room, very few paid any attention. Only one particular man, who was about forty years old and wearing a big, blue coat, came over to Qi Yong and the others and talked with them, asking about things that Jiang Xiaohe didn’t quite understand.

Qi Yong then introduced the man to Jiang Xiaohe, and he found out that he was named Mi Ziliang and that he was an escort here. Jiang Xiaohe cupped his fist and smiled, saying a few polite words, just as if he were an adult. Mi Ziliang seemed quite surprised and couldn’t help but look Jiang Xiaohe over. He pulled Qi Yong aside and the two whispered to each other at length. Jiang Xiaohe looked over at them and thought, This Mi fellow’s probably looking down on me because I’m young. I’d better demonstrate some of my moves to them. It’s likely none of these escorts are especially skilled. I’ll show off a few of the punches and kicks I learned from Ma Zhixian, and that should stun them.

At that point, Yang Xiantai poured a bowl of tea for Jiang Xiaohe and brought it over. He smiled and said, “Brother, have some tea. Our captain Jiao went home. He might be back here to take a look around, but otherwise he won’t be able to come back until early tomorrow morning. Take a rest wherever. No one’s a stranger. If you’re feeling restless, you can come and put some money down. If you’re lucky, you’ll win some money, brother, and tomorrow, I might even have to ask you to treat us!” Jiang Xiaohe smiled and nodded as he thought, Since I’m in Langzhong now, I should make a bit of a name for myself. Otherwise, even if I do go meet the Xia of Langzhong and kowtow to him as my master, he might not be willing to take me. Thus, he went over there and stood on tiptoe to look into the gambling circle. He saw that they were playing “Chasing the Monkey,” wherein three dice were used and the winner was the one who threw the highest value. A green dice bowl was placed on the table, and a man with a mustache like two short brushstrokes wearing a blue silk jacket served as the dealer. A large pile of coins and pieces of silver sat in front of him. Someone would wager some coins and the dealer would roll the dice. If the bettor could beat that number with his own roll, the dealer would pay out according to the stakes. Otherwise, he would take the money.

Jiang Xiaohe watched for a while and saw that while some of the bettors won and some of them lost, they all gambled with copper coins and pieces of silver. Not one of them took out an entire silver to make a big bet. Jiang Xiaohe became immediately happy and returned to his bed. He opened up his bundle, took out half of his silvers and poured them into his hand. He then took one that was about ten or so taels in weight, walked to the table and slammed it down, saying loudly, “Over here!” The people beside him shrunk away with their heads lowered and looked at him with awe. The dealer didn’t care who he was; upon seeing the taels of silver, he smiled and said, “All right! Now this is more like it. It’s a bet!” As he spoke, he grabbed the dice out of the bowl and raised his hands high. He threw the three dice forcefully into the bowl and they rattled noisily. After a moment or two, the roll came out to be two twos and a five. Everyone around looked at Jiang Xiaohe, one of which said, “Five monkeys aren’t easy to chase!” But Jiang Xiaohe paid no mind. He dusted off his blue silk sleeves and went to roll the dice, resulting in twos and threes. He lost his ten taels all at once and the people around him laughed.

Jiang Xiaohe became angry and put down the rest of his forty-some taels. At this, the dealer rolled a three, while Xiaohe rolled “Good Tidings,” three fives resting beautifully in the bowl like three plum blossoms. The dealer was taken aback. The color of his face changed and he said, “All right, I’ll pay up. Get me the scale.” Upon seeing that Jiang Xiaohe had won money, Yang Xiantai the Short Blade, happy as well, went to go fetch the scale.

After the dealer weighed Jiang Xiaohe’s silvers, he took out a banknote to settle the winnings. Jiang Xiaohe said, “I don’t want some note!” Beside him, Yang Xiantai said, “You won’t make a mistake in taking it. Sir Seventh Chen’s banknotes all carry the great mark of Litong. You can use them no matter where you go.” The dealer Sir Seventh Chen looked at Jiang Xiaohe and smiled, saying, “Brother, perhaps you just don’t know me yet. Forget about these silvers. Even if you hauled Shen Wansan’s treasure pot here, I’d still dare to gamble with you. Let’s talk of friendship later. For now, let’s go another round! The higher the stakes, the better!” Jiang Xiaohe in his gambling spirit bet the banknote and all his silvers. He rolled the dice and won again.

Sir Seventh Chen immediately marked out another banknote and became even angrier, knocking repeatedly at the table saying, “Come, come! Let’s raise the stakes a little higher! It looks to me, brother, that you’re a rich man!” Jiang Xiaohe’s enthusiasm roiled and he put down a large bet. The people around him stared at him and then fixed their eyes on the dice in his hands. Yang Xiantai quietly urged Jiang Xiaohe, “Don’t put down so large a bet. You’ve got to keep a little money for yourself. Otherwise, he’ll snatch it up in a moment’s time!” Jiang Xiaohe had been thinking the same thing. After all, he had plenty of silvers in his possession. Thus, he laid down twenty taels every time. He played like this for thirty or forty rounds straight and ended up winning more times than not.

The stack of banknotes in Sir Seventh Chen’s possession and the pieces of silver in front of him were all completely gone. He yawned and wiped off his sweat, saying, “Be back tomorrow! I’ve got to go back to my counter.” He rounded the table and patted Jiang Xiaohe on the shoulder, saying, “This brother over here sure has good luck. Where’s this young master from?” With his head down, Jiang Xiaohe was focused on counting his money and didn’t reply. Qi Yong the Hooked Blade recounted Jiang Xiaohe’s story.

Upon hearing that Jiang Xiaohe was a young hero who could perform martial arts, traversing Jianghu by himself, the men present were all even more surprised and started gawking at him, especially when they heard that he had come here to challenge the Xia of Langzhong. Though he was young, he was also handsome and his manner poised, not to mention that the clothes he was wearing were very showy. All this subdued the others, not daring to look down on him even a bit.

Xiaohe weighed his silvers at his own pace and counted his banknotes. In all, he had won more than 360 taels this time. He considered how, in addition to the silvers he’d had before, it totaled a little more than 400, and it made him extremely happy. He tucked the banknotes near his chest and was going to put the taels of silver away into his travel roll when he saw a tall, yellow-faced man approaching the foot of the bed. The man snatched up Jiang Xiaohe’s belongings and tossed them onto the floor, yelling irately, “Whose fucking crap-ass stuff is this, throwing it onto my bed!?” Jiang Xiaohe became furious immediately and glowered at him, saying, “Mine! On what basis have you tossed my things onto the floor? Pick it up!” The man glared back and made a fist, saying, “Pick it up? Who the hell do you think you are, pretending to be some kind of hotshot, some kind of hero!? You little piece of rabbit shit!” Hearing these insults spewing forth from his mouth, Jiang Xiaohe slammed the silver taels onto the table and rushed at him with fists drawn, asking, “Who do you think you’re yelling at!?” The bystanders scattered aside, leaving no one to step up and urge them to stop.

Jiang Xiaohe swung his fist at the man’s face, but the man quickly defended himself, hurriedly blocking it with his arm and reaching for Xiaohe with both his hands. Xiaohe grabbed his opponent’s right wrist with his left hand and came at him fiercely with a right fist. A smack! The man grimaced and struggling with the pain, advanced upon Xiaohe to hit him, yelling loudly, “How dare you hit me? You little bitch!” Jiang Xiaohe hastily dodged him while at the same time sending a kick to his left hip. Then as Xiaohe blocked with his hand, he threw his left hand out and struck the man again in his left shoulder. As the man swayed, Xiaohe kicked him again in the left thigh, sending him flat onto the ground with a yelp. But the man was not so easily dealt with. Though he was lying on the ground, he rolled over and got back up. He leapt to the eastern wall and took up a saber. Xiaohe had also pulled his steel saber out of his roll with a whoosh.