Slapping the General, the Prelude Ends; Entering Quiet Contemplation Gate, Raising the Bow Against the Enemy

Li Xian returned to the bedroom. Seeing that Zhao Yingqiong had fainted from rage, he slapped her tiger's rump twice and thought, Such a firm, springy tiger's rump-I may never get to slap it again. This tigress might well tear me apart later. Why not take the chance to bully her a little more? A playful impulse seized him. He slapped her twice more, loud and clear. Zhao Yingqiong, who had fainted from anger, woke again from the pain, trembling all over, her hair nearly standing on end. Li Xian gave her another two slaps to vent his frustration, then lightly chopped the back of her neck with the edge of his hand.

Zhao Yingqiong fainted again in a fury. Li Xian also knocked Ding Longxiang unconscious, then laid the two women flat on the bed, their heads pointing in opposite directions, and left them to sleep. He fetched an incense burner and lit some incense to soothe their spirits and nourish their minds. Li Xian mused, "Plans never keep pace with change. Heroine Ding, you came along with me, yet I never gave you a chance to show your skills. I never imagined my undercover identity would be exposed."

He had planted hair strands throughout the room and outside it. Certain he had left no gaps, Li Xian gathered mist and shaped his intent, using the Divine Mist Intent-Transformation Technique to create an illusion. The divine mist could deceive all five senses, produce strange sounds, and conjure light and color. It sent out bursts of snoring and projected a scene of disorder onto the window. The spies in the woods had been watching him for a long time without noticing anything unusual, and their vigilance had slackened. They had long since stopped paying much attention to his daily affairs.