DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 2 of 5 (Shrouding Screen In Suzhou) by Jin Yong

Sadness Remained At Yanmen, With No Words Left Part 5

When Qiao Feng had begun to understand things at the age of 2 or 3, he had already seen this blue wolf head tattoo on his chest. Because he had known it since childhood, he had not in the least thought that it had been unusual. Later, when he had grown up, he had asked his parents about it. Qiao Sanhuai and his wife both had said that the picture had been beautiful and praised it for a while, but they had said nothing about its origin. During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was very common to have a tattoo on the body; some people even had their whole bodies covered with tattoos from the neck to the feet. Great Song received the country from the Chai clan of the Later Zhou Dynasty. The founder of the Later Zhou Dynasty Guo Wei had a sparrow tattoo on his neck, and for this reason he was called 'Guo Sparrow.' At that time, having tattoos had become a prevailing fashion and 8 or 9/10th of the Beggar Society brothers had tattoos on their bodies, hence Qiao Feng had never had the least bit of suspicion. But at this moment, when he saw that the blue wolf tattoo on the chest of the dead old Khitan man and his own tattoo were unexpectedly exactly alike, he was extremely shocked.

The 4 Khitan people surrounded him and talked in a language he did not understand. They continuously pointed at the wolf head on his chest. Because Qiao Feng did not understand what they were saying, he had no idea how to reply. Suddenly 1 old man unfastened his clothes and showed his chest, which unexpectedly also had this wolf head tattoo. The other 3 youngsters also unfastened their clothes, and their chests all had the wolf head tattoo as well.

In an instant, Qiao Feng finally knew absolutely that he himself was a Khitan. The wolf head on the chest had to be the symbol of their tribe, perhaps each of them had been tattooed with it since childhood. He had always detested Khitan people, thinking that they were brutal, despicable, faithless and unrighteous, and thinking that they were accustomed to killing Han people and did not stop at any crime. But at this moment he had no choice but to admit that he himself was a Khitan man who was just like an animal, hence he felt extremely distressed.

He stood in a trance for a long time then suddenly he let out a shout and ran like crazy towards the forest.

A'Zhu called out: 'Great master Qiao, great master Qiao!' and went after him.

Only after chasing him for more than 10 li (0.5 km) did A'Zhu see him sitting under a big tree and hugging his head. His face was very pale, a thick blue vein stuck out on his forehead. A'Zhu went to his side and sat down next to him.

Qiao Feng shrank his body and said: 'I'm a Khitan barbarian who is lower than pigs and dogs. From now on, you don't need to see me again.'

Like all other Han people, A'Zhu of course also detested Khitan people to the marrow, but in her heart, Qiao Feng was like a heavenly god. Needless to say, he was just a Khitan. Even if he was a demon or a ferocious beast, she would not be willing to leave him. She thought: 'He's unhappy now. I must nicely advise and console him.' She then softly said: 'There're good ones and bad ones among Han people, so naturally there're also good ones and bad ones among Khitan people. Great master Qiao, please don't pay attention to this kind of thing. A'Zhu's life was saved by you. If you're Han, that's fine by me. If you're Khitan, that's also fine. Han or Khitan, it makes no difference to me.'

Qiao Feng coldly said: 'I don't need you to take pity on me. In your mind, you look down on me. You don't need to hypocritically say any nice word. I saved your life not because of my true feelings. It's just that I temporarily wanted to show off my skills and defeat other people. This matter has been written off in 1 stroke. Please go away quickly.'

A'Zhu was anxious and flustered and thought: 'He already knows that he himself is a Khitan barbarian. Perhaps he'll return to the northern deserts and from now on never put his foot on the Central Plains again.' For the moment, not being able to control her feelings, she stood up and said: 'Great master Qiao, if you cast me aside and leave, I'll jump into this valley. A'Zhu will definitely do what she has promised. You're a Khitan hero so you look down on this lowly slave girl. I'd better finish myself.'

Hearing she say very sincerely, Qiao Feng felt touched. He had only thought that if he was a barbarian, all the Han people under heaven would avoid him like avoiding snakes and scorpions. Never could he have expected that A'Zhu still treated him the same as before, hence he could not help holding out his hand to pull her hand and said gently: 'A'Zhu, you're Mr Murong's maid, and not my maid. I... How can I look down on you?'

A'Zhu said: 'I don't need you to take pity on me. In your mind, you look down on me. You don't need to hypocritically say any nice word.' She imitated these few sentences of Qiao Feng and there was no dissimilarity between her voice and tone to those of his, but her eyes were filled with a mischievous look.

Qiao Feng ha-ha laughed out loud. He was on the edge of despair and disappointment, therefore when he was joked with and consoled by this smart young girl he could not help feeling that his worries had largely disappeared.

A'Zhu suddenly adopted a stern expression and said: 'Great master Qiao, I serve Mr Murong but I do not sell myself to him. It was only because I have been without parents since childhood and was wandering about outside, one day I was bullied and humiliated by other people, seeing that, Old Master Murong saved me and took me to his home. I was alone and homeless so I became a maid in his home. Actually Mr Murong doesn't regard me as his maid at all. He even bought a few maids to serve me. A'Bi meizi (younger sister) is also like me. It's just that her father sent her to Old Master Murong's home in Yanzi hamlet (Yanzi = Swallow - bird) to take refuge. In those days, Old Master Murong and Madam Murong once said that the day I and A'Bi wanted to leave Yanzi hamlet, his Murong family would happily see us off...' Saying to here, she slightly blushed. It turned out during that time Madam Murong had said: 'The days that the 2 little girls A'Zhu and A'Bi have homes to return to, the whole Murong family will see them off with dowries, decorated sedan chairs and musical performances. There'll be no difference to when our daughter gets married.' She paused for a short while then continued talking to Qiao Feng: 'From now on, I'm gonna serve you and become your maid. Mr Murong definitely won't take offense.'