Chapter 7: Miracle Day (3)

  Ah Chou stood still, not knowing how long he had been standing there, until the cold sweat on his body gradually dissipated and the warmth of the sun returned. Just then, the big man suddenly reappeared at the door, followed by a swarm of officials and soldiers, their swords and spears forming a dense forest of blades.

  Just as they were about to catch up with Da Han, there were still two or three zhang away. Those guards suddenly stopped again, forming a dense formation, looking like they were facing a great enemy.

  With one big stride, he stepped out of the doorway and turned his head to glare at them. Instantly, a chill ran down their spines and the officers and soldiers involuntarily retreated several steps.

  The big Han burst out laughing, suddenly flew up one foot and heavily kicked the half-covered gate in the war-torn area. Suddenly, a loud noise was heard, dust flying everywhere, the door hinge shattered, and the half-gate roared towards those soldiers.

  Han took a big step back, not looking back at the stage again, and walked down the steps. Just as he was about to leave, Ah Chou suddenly summoned up his courage, rushed in front of him, and opened his arms to block his way.

  Dahan saw Ah Chou and couldn't help but say: "Young man, why haven't you left yet?"

  "Because you haven't paid yet!"

  The Great Han was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing: "How interesting! How interesting! Grandfather's words were not wrong after all, the Central Plains indeed have many wonderful people!"

  At this time, the half-door panel flew out and killed or injured more than a dozen people. The remaining officers and soldiers were still brave and continued to kill their way out. Da Han heard the chaotic footsteps behind him, suddenly flew forward with a loud laugh, grabbed Ah Chou and said: "Good kid who wants money but not life! When we get to the dock, I'll pay you back what I owe!"

  Achu was held under the armpit of the Great Han, and all he could see were the scenes on both sides flashing by like flying. The Great Han spread his legs apart and ran so fast that it was as if he was flying. For a moment, Achu was tossed about and couldn't say a word, only feeling the wind rushing past his face, forcing him to close his mouth tightly and hold his breath. Even so, the smell of blood from the Great Han's bloody clothes still filled his nose and mouth.

  The big Han rushed to the dock, where those Kunlun merchants had already gathered on the ship, looking eagerly in this direction. As soon as they saw the big Han appear, they cheered and shouted with joy.

  Dahan put down Ah Chou, looked at him with a smile and said: "You clearly know that our family kills people, but you still dare to ask for money. Young man, your courage is not small!"

  "Ah, you've got some guts," said Ah Q, "killing someone for not being fair is heroic. But if you're killing to avoid paying a debt of ten big coins, then I was wrong about you."

  The big Han threw his whiskers and laughed loudly, reached into his bosom and said: "My family's business has not been done yet, where is the big money to give you? Here is a gold ingot, I'll just give it to you!"

  The Great Han pulled out a gold ingot from his bosom and handed it to Ah Chui, laughing loudly: "Young man, wealth shouldn't be shown off in the open, leave quickly! Leave quickly!" After saying that, he leaped up, like a giant green frog, and sprang into the air, flying over two zhang before landing on the bow of the boat with a thud.

  The people on the boat had been waiting for a long time, and as soon as Da Han stood still, the sailors raised the wind sail and pulled up the iron anchor. At this time, the people on the dock were still unaware of what had happened at the governor's mansion, and they were busy loading and unloading goods. Only some nearby merchants saw that Da Han was covered in blood, although they were surprised, but it hadn't caused too much commotion yet.

  He was about to chat with the big man for a few more sentences, get closer and then talk business, but he didn't expect this whiskered big man to be as fierce as a raging fire, his actions were also swift like a shooting star, not even giving him a chance to speak. Ah Chou hastily knelt down on the dock, held up the golden token high and loudly said: "Hero, I want to ask you to be my master and learn martial arts from you."

  The big Han stood at the bow of the boat and laughed loudly, shouting: "You little boy, don't have any wild ideas, leave quickly, lest you stir up more trouble!"

  "Warrior, take this young one!"

  A Gui hastily knocked his head down, but the big man simply ignored him. At this time, the boat slowly left the shore and was already four or five zhang away from the bank. A distant shout of killing came from afar.

  Dahan stood at the bow of the boat and took a look, only to see that in the distance, flags were fluttering, people were shouting, and horses were neighing, gathering into a long dragon-like trail of smoke and dust. He had no idea how many soldiers there were, so he raised his voice and shouted: "Young man, don't you leave yet! The officials here are greedy and corrupt, be careful or they'll make you a scapegoat!"

  Ah Gui hastened, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly: "Brave warriors want to go to the governor's mansion to seek revenge, why do you want me to lead the way? Many people in the city have seen brave warriors take me away and bring me back. If brave warriors leave now, the crime of murder will fall on my head! Brave warriors won't kill me, but I'll die because of brave warriors!"

  The big man at the bow of the boat frowned and muttered to himself: "What a rascal this young fellow is, really troublesome!"

  He looked up again, and the soldiers were rolling up a cloud of smoke and dust on the road, getting closer and closer. The big man muttered to himself: "I have always regarded my grandfather as a hero in my life. My grandfather has never harmed an innocent person in his life. Should I harm this child's life and tarnish the reputation of our family for generations?"

  Seeing the pursuing soldiers getting closer, the big Han didn't have time to think much, and with a loud whoop, his clothes fluttering behind him like an eagle, he leapt again towards the dock. The many merchants and sailors on the dock saw this majestic sight and cried out in surprise.

  Ah Chou saw the big man suddenly appear in front of him, and immediately felt a tightness around his waist. He was then lifted by the big man into the air. A strong gust of sea wind blew against his face, making it feel cold. Suddenly, there was a loud "thud" sound, and the bow of the ship slightly shook. Ah Chou found himself being carried by the big man to the bow of the ship.

  A'chu calmed down and composed himself, overjoyed and kowtowed, knocking his head on the ground: "Disciple has seen Master!"

  The big Han heavily hummed a sound: "Rascal, roll away!" He stood with his hands behind him and went to look at the official soldiers, not looking back at him. The official soldiers rushed to the dock, successively requisitioning merchant ships, trying to chase after them. Ah-Chou didn't see Big Han refuse, he was overjoyed, knocked three times and crawled up, seeing the official soldiers boarding the ship one after another, couldn't help but worry: "Master, the Road Governor has sent people to chase us."

  "Ha! You're talking about that corrupt official? I've already beheaded him! If he dares to come after me, I'll behead his soul as well! Hmph, these leaderless fools won't last long in the chase."

  A Qiu was shocked, he knew that the big Han could enter the governor's mansion like no one's land, but he had never thought that in a moment, he would enter the hall and behead the Guangzhou governor, and then return unscathed. The cheap master he recognized actually had such great skills, simply comparable to the legendary sword immortal, being able to recognize such a master...

  At this point, Ah Chou's heart was filled with joy and he hastily and respectfully asked: "Disciple has not yet had the honor of asking revered master's surname and full name, what school and sect his art belongs to."

  "Ha! You little scamp, have you been reading too many legendary novels? What's with all this 'which school' and 'whose family' business? Some Zhang family or other, single surname with a violent character, claiming this kung fu is a family heirloom."

  "Master must have astonishing martial arts skills, and our ancestors were certainly renowned heroes."

  If Ah Chou had said something else, Zhang Pao might not have taken it to heart, but in Zhang Pao's mind, he had always admired only his grandfather, and Ah Chou's words had struck a chord. Zhang Pao burst out laughing: "Haha! As for my father, you may not know, but if we talk about my ancestor, the phrase 'a great hero known throughout the land' is still fitting. His reputation must have reached even a little kid like you."

  "May I ask which world-renowned great hero is our ancestor?"

  Zhang Bao said with a proud smile: "In the late Sui dynasty, when the world was in chaos and heroes rose together, my ancestors also had the intention of competing for the throne. Later, they yielded to their sworn brother Li Shimin and went abroad to establish themselves as kings. At that time, people called them 'Qiu Ran Ke'!"

  A Qiu's heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily shouted: "Qun Liu Ke!"

  At this moment, Ah Chou was like Sun Wukong who had been struck by Bodhi Patriarch's three strokes of the warning stick on his palm, and all 36,000 pores on his body were filled with joy.

  ……

  The boat sails across the vast ocean, under the dark and mysterious night sky.

  Ah Qiu was on a boat for the first time, lying in the cabin with his thoughts swirling, unable to fall asleep for a long time. He missed Yaoyao and didn't know when he would be able to return, or whether Yaoyao could find him. If he returned to Guangzhou tomorrow, the road governor would already be dead, and he wouldn't know who to ask about the identity of the woman named Pei Dainiang who had taken Yaoyao away.

  He was overjoyed, able to worship at the gate of the majestic guest's eldest grandson, learn a set of extraordinary martial arts, and avenge his deceased father and mother, as well as his miserable sister. The deep-seated blood feud that had been suppressed in his heart and even dared not think about all emerged, he would never forget his sister's flying head, the heavy pain!

  With such thoughts, sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes sad and sometimes resentful, his mind was in turmoil, making it difficult for him to fall asleep. He got up quietly and left the cabin. The starry sky was shining brightly, the ship sailed through the vast night, the sound of waves crashing against his ears, rising and falling, just like the ups and downs of his heart.

  Ah Q walked to the bow of the boat against the evening wind, and saw a tall figure standing at the bow. The dark figure was like a boulder, steadily standing there, motionless.

  "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

  Zhang Bao didn't turn his head back, he just faintly asked a sentence.

  "Ah Qiu stood still, bowed his head and said: 'I couldn't sleep, I thought of going to the bow to clear my mind, but didn't want to disturb Master.'"

  He turned his head to gaze out at the dark sea, Zhang Pu didn't turn around but seemed to have seen his movement and said: "Don't worry, by nightfall, the pursuing soldiers will have returned and won't be chasing us anymore."

  "Ah Q let out a sigh of relief and hastily said: 'Yes!'"

  Zhang Pu stood steadily at the bow of the boat, still looking up at the sky with his head held high. Ah Chou couldn't help but ask: "Master, what are you looking at?"

  "Look at the stars! Tonight's celestial phenomenon is truly strange."

  Ah Chou raised his head and looked in the direction of Zhang Bao's gaze, towards the starry sky. Suddenly, he saw a very bright big star pointing to the east, as if it was a white core surrounded by a bright blue halo like a pearl. The big pearl lay across the vast sky, with a long blue tail behind it. The blue halo on the tail gradually faded away until it completely disappeared into the sky.

  "Wow, what a huge star!"

  Zhang burst out laughing and said, "It's just a broom star, what's the big deal?" After finishing speaking, he pinched his chin, grasped that tuft of whiskers, and muttered to himself, "However, such a large and bright broom star is indeed rare, it's really quite strange..."

  He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly turned his head and smiled: "I haven't asked you yet, what's your name?"

  "Disciple dare not deceive Master, disciple has no great name, only a milk name called Ugly. Disciple was originally from a good family, but now fallen to be a beggar, bearing deep blood feud, yet unable to avenge, disciple will be ashamed of ancestors' surname if one day does not avenge this feud, Master can call me Ah Chou."

  "Ah Chou, Ah Chou, since you've become my disciple, it's best to have a formal name. Tonight the stars are racing across the sky, a rare sight indeed. I'll take this star as inspiration and give you a name - Xing Chi, what do you think?"

  "Star Chaser... is a good name. But Master named me after the Sweeping Star, doesn't that make me a big broom?"

  Zhang Baohaha laughed loudly: "Certain head came to Datang for the first time, didn't make a deal, didn't finish the tour, and even killed someone. Such bad luck, aren't you just a big broom?"

  Ah Q thought of the more than 100 innocent lives lost in Taoyuan Village, and felt uneasy about this association, defending himself by saying: "Master wrongly accused his disciple, his disciple had already gotten into trouble when he met Master!"

  Zhang Bao laughed and said, "You say Xing Xu is no good, but he must have a name. Heh heh, as a disciple of a certain family, how can you always let people call you Ah Chou Ah Chou? Come up with a name for me to hear."

  Ah-Chou looked ahead at the giant waves rising and falling at the bow of the ship, the white foam faintly visible, then turned back to look at the dark night sky, and amidst the roar of the waves, he raised his head to gaze at the sail puffed up by the wind, plowing through the darkness of the sea, and exclaimed excitedly: "Disciple has thought of a name! Master, disciple will be called... Yang Fan!"

  It was night, in the eastern capital of Luoyang, a woman with the surname Wu also stood on the high palace walls, gazing out at the distant horizon, staring for a long time at the blue star that stretched two zhang across the sky, pointing straight east. She found it quite strange. This star suddenly appeared, stretching across the sky, and only disappeared after 49 days, shocking the entire world.

  The Wu surname woman who gazed at the stars on the Que considered it a great auspicious sign, and announced that the year number would be changed to Guangzhai, with a general amnesty for all under heaven. The Eastern Capital Luoyang was renamed Shendu, and the names of the three provinces and six ministries were also changed: the Ministry of Central Affairs was renamed Fengge, the Ministry of Personnel was renamed Lüntai, and the Ministry of War was renamed Wenchangtai. The "Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing, Gong" six ministries were renamed "Tian, Di, Chun, Xia, Qiu, Dong".

  It is the first year of Guangzhai, !