The Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect

Li Qingge brought them back to the Daoist temple where he lived. Once Li Miaomiao, a Buddhist nun, entered the temple, she shut herself away. Seeing her shake like chaff in a sieve from fright, anyone would have grown suspicious.

Wang Chong was helpless too. He said to Li Qingge, "Divine Constable Li, do you know where Miss Lu, Wu Hook Frost Snow, is staying? I very much want to clear my name."

Li Qingge pursed his lips in a smile. "I hear she is staying with Miss Su Luoyan, Chess Sword Linglong. The two already knew each other and are good friends. I fear you will have to go back, young master."

Wang Chong kept feeling that his luck was rather muddled. No sooner had he parted with Chu Qiuzi and the others than Fang Jingru and his companions had blocked his path. After going round in circles, he had met Chu Qiuzi again. He had only just said goodbye to Chu Qiuzi and Su Luoyan when Li Qingge stopped him, and now, because of Li Miaomiao, he had no choice but to return yet again. He was beginning to feel trapped in an ancient martial-arts version of Groundhog Day.

Wang Chong sighed. "My emotions are somewhat unsettled. Please allow me a day to calm my mind. Let us set out the day after tomorrow."

He did not want merely to take a breather. He wanted to use this free day to sharpen his spear before battle and improve his martial arts by another notch or two.

If it came out in the end that he really was White Chrysanthemum, at least he would have a chance to fight his way out of the encirclement.

Though, surrounded by so many experts, his chances of escape would not be great.

Li Qingge smiled. "I also need to send a visiting card ahead before calling, lest I seem presumptuous."

Wang Chong took Yuzao back to his lodgings and went into seclusion.

He did not continue practicing the Innate Pure Yang Formula. Instead, he took out the Fundamental Sutra for Cultivating the Divine Transformations of the Thirty-Two Aspects, which he had found on Sun Yanqi, hoping to try his luck.

Wang Chong had spent plenty of time leafing through the Fundamental Sutra for Cultivating the Divine Transformations of the Thirty-Two Aspects and the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks.

Since time immemorial, only a scant few had been able to comprehend the Correct Explanation of the Four Marks. Perhaps the only person who had truly mastered it was Moon-Hidden Auspicious Wisdom, the Buddha Lord of the Mind-Consciousness School. Wang Chong would not waste his effort on that. This time, he wanted to try his luck and see whether he could master one of the divine transformation practices.

Although Wang Chong had long since memorized both scriptures, his study habits held that repeated review brought fresh understanding, so he still read them carefully.

When he reached the section on the Demon Sign, the Sutra of Mahasthamaprapta Buddha Enlightening the Sea Dragon King to Transcend the Flying Heavens and Attain the True Fruition of a Heavenly Dragon, taught to him by Kong Chan, suddenly surfaced in his mind. Endless passages flowed slowly through his sea of consciousness. Sanskrit chants thundered between heaven and earth. His mind grew dazed, as though he had fallen into a vast ocean, where terrifying waves might swallow him at any moment, turbid billows struck the sky, and immense forces lurked beneath.

An indescribable understanding, mysterious beyond mystery, drew his spiritual consciousness out of his flesh, as though he sat high above in the remote ninth heaven, watching himself struggle amid raging winds and violent waves.

If I were human, I would drown in the sea! If I were a dragon, I would churn the waves and toy with the billows, roaming freely wherever I pleased.

If I were human, I would serve as an ox or horse! If I were a demon, I would rampage across a thousand mountains, race ten thousand miles, laugh proudly over rivers and seas, and topple the celestial court.

I will not be human. I will not be an ox or horse. I will be a great demon. I am the Nine-Headed Dragon King!

Within the vast ocean, the tiny mortal was gone. A colossal nine-headed dragon burst from the sea. The wind and waves over the ocean grew fiercer still, yet they answered the great demon's breathing, all under its control!

Wang Chong abruptly broke free of the illusion. With a thunderous boom in his meridians, dozens of surges of Qi rushed forth together, like a rising tide, like bursting thunder. They poured out through his body and swirled around him, like a mighty river surging without end, like the sun and moon crossing the heavens in vast, majestic procession. He was like a little boat amid the ocean's towering waves, possessing no strength of his own, yet able to command the raging billows across ten thousand expanses of sea.

With his first success in the divine art of the Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect, his internal power circled through his whole body as though it had a spirit of its own. Without deliberate effort, True Qi flowed through every meridian in an unending cycle. Even several feet outside his body, he could command it freely, bending it at will, sending it out and drawing it back as he pleased. It was also extraordinarily sensitive. Wherever his True Qi brushed past, he perceived every change at every angle within several feet, as though he had been born with a hundred eyes.

Wang Chong suddenly sprang up and unleashed twelve punches in succession. Bang after bang rang out without pause. By the time he came to his senses, the beams of his lodgings had snapped, the bricks and tiles had shattered, and the doors, windows, and furnishings had been pulverized inch by inch.

Yuzao and Wang Dong stood amid the ruins, their faces filled with horror.

Yuzao was a little better off, merely covered in dust, having evidently dodged most of it. Wang Dong, however, looked like a starving refugee fleeing calamity, his hair disheveled and his face filthy, like a beggar boy.

Deeply embarrassed, Wang Chong said sheepishly, "I got carried away and failed to hold back."

Li Qingge's voice drifted over. "Young Master Wang Chong, you have destroyed one of my houses. Surely that counts as owing me a favor."

Wang Chong cupped his hands toward the voice. "Put it all on my account."

Li Qingge did not appear. Before long, a young Daoist nun came and led Wang Chong and his two servants to another small courtyard.

Wang Chong asked the young Daoist nun a few questions and learned that there was a clear stream nearby. He said to Yuzao and Wang Dong, "I am going to wash. Would you two like to come along?"

Yuzao's pretty face flushed with embarrassment, forcing Wang Chong to add, "While you wash, I will stand guard and keep anyone else from looking." Yuzao said softly, "I would not mind you looking either, Master." Wang Dong suddenly felt that he should not be hearing any of this and hurried off to prepare their bathing things.

Wang Chong took his maid and page to the nearby stream. Paying little heed to such things, he stripped off his clothes and shoes and washed himself clean. When he came ashore, he found that Yuzao had already prepared a brand-new outfit for him: black robes and sturdy boots, neat and trim. He asked casually, "Was this a gift from Divine Constable Li?"

Yuzao replied, "It is to make it easier for you to impersonate Ma You, the head constable of Pine City."

Wang Chong laughed and dressed himself neatly. Seeing a steel saber as well, he casually fastened it at his waist, then told Wang Dong to go first while he chatted with Yuzao.

Yuzao had received an elite education in the Su Family from childhood. Beyond martial arts, she had studied composition and classical allusions, needlework and embroidery, and even arithmetic and bookkeeping under dedicated tutors. There was nothing she had not learned. Any one of Su Luoyan's eight maids could have been sent out to take charge on her own, and Yuzao was outstanding even among the eight. Whether managing the family's shops, handling clerical work for an official, or overseeing the affairs of a large gang, she could take it up at any time.

After questioning her for a while, Wang Chong clicked his tongue in wonder and thought, The maid Sister Su gave me truly is talented. I wonder when I will manage to muddle my way into a household fortune like hers, with dozens of beautiful, capable maids like this around me.

Hmm, things with Sister Chu Qiuzi are still progressing too slowly...

Wang Dong washed very quickly. In no more than an incense stick's time, he had changed into the old clothes he had brought. This old outfit was one he had worn while studying martial arts at Qingcheng. He normally kept it washed spotlessly clean but could not bear to wear it. Wang Chong sent him back to the Daoist temple first, then had Yuzao wash off the dust as well. Yuzao took much longer. Only after more than two hours did she return with graceful steps. Her jade-like face did indeed outshine spring, resembling a lotus blossom. Her long hair, still slightly damp, hung loose over her shoulders, and her foxlike eyes looked all the more alluring.

Wang Chong was just about to call her to head back together when a voice spoke leisurely. "Young Master Wang truly is a sincere gentleman, upright even in a darkened room where no one can see. More than nine out of ten men in Chang'an would be unable to restrain themselves with such a beautiful maid at their side." Li Qingge emerged with light, drifting steps, and the little maid Yuzao's pretty face instantly turned scarlet.

...Wang Chong: I am a proper man...

...Li Miaomiao: Y-you, you stay away from me...