The Villain's Counterattack

Yang Kang showed extraordinary learning ability. Wanyan Honglie was very happy but had to cover up for him everywhere. Yang Kang's life experience and his mother's origin were always a big problem. It was unlikely that he would become the highest-level existence in the Jin Dynasty. He could only grow under his own wings. If others knew his extraordinary talent, it would easily arouse covetousness and thus die before he could really grow up.

Yang Kang brought seventeen or eighteen little boys with him, and practiced riding horses and shooting arrows in the martial arts field every day, as well as practicing swordsmanship. The many soldiers in the palace took good care of them. After all, the leader was their young master, and the rest were their own children, so how could they not take care of them?

Mei Chaofeng was blind, but her ears were very sensitive. In his free time, Yang Kang would read outside her hiding place, from Buddhist scriptures, Taoist classics to Confucian classics, and even military strategies and battle formations, all without concealing his presence, reading aloud to her not far away. While other things were easy to understand, it was the Taoist classics that caught Mei Chaofeng's attention. Whenever she heard them, she would concentrate on analyzing them, and she also gained a different understanding of the martial arts in the "Nine Yin Manual".

One day, nearly a year after they'd last seen each other, Qiu Chuji suddenly appeared and told Yang Kang a piece of news, "I'm afraid your father, Yang Tiexin, is not dead. I've traveled hundreds of miles around Niujia Village and finally found some traces of him. I've also asked around for someone who looks like him."

"What's the result? Where is he now?" Although Yang Kang knew that Yang Tiexin would appear in Zhongdu seven years later, he didn't want his two fathers to meet each other at all. It was too difficult for him to be caught in the middle.

Qiu Chuji shook his head and said, "Time is short, and I haven't been able to find him in person. I just know that he is now wandering around the world, performing arts with a little girl to make a living. If I had thought of him a few years ago, it would have been better. The village he used to live in was not far from Niujia Village, but he was forced to leave his hometown due to the plague."

Yang Kang pondered for a long time and suddenly asked, "Master, why didn't my father come to the Quanzhen Sect to ask you for help?"

Qiu Chuji was stunned for a moment, then slowly calmed down. He felt something was amiss with Yang Tiexin's behavior. "Is your father hiding from me? Or maybe he doesn't know that the incident back then was caused by me and doesn't want to trouble me. After all, your father and I only met once. Although we got to know each other through fighting, and he gave you two daggers and named you two children, I'm afraid there's not much affection between us. It's more of a friendship and a sense of responsibility."

"Your father is a bit pedantic. I'm afraid he wants to wander around looking for you and your son. The reason he doesn't want to look for me is probably because he guessed what your mother might have experienced and couldn't bear to give up his face." Qiu Chuji's words did seem to be a slap in the face. Think about it, how can a pregnant lady make a living after her family is broken up?

Yang Tiexin didn't think that his wife, who came from a scholarly family, could handle any mundane affairs. She would most likely be married off to a rich man to save her life.

The secular concepts of the Song Dynasty have great constraints on women. There is no doubt that Yang Tiexin is a traditional man. Qiu Chuji and Yang Kang, the older and the younger, looked at each other and thought of this possibility at the same time. Yang Tiexin should love his wife deeply, but just doesn't want to publicize such a thing. However, his behavior of covering his face and thinking that things will not happen or pretending not to see it makes the two people feel very funny.

"Kang'er, what do you think we should do?" Qiu Chuji felt as if he had really caused trouble for Yang Tiexin.

Yang Kang said quietly, "Let's look for him first. Find him first, then we can talk about other things. But we can't go looking for him in a big way. I'm afraid my father hasn't forgotten him. If he finds me first by accident, that would be a real problem. Master, is there any way to make someone look like they're dead, but then recover afterward, without actually hurting themselves?"

Qiu Chuji thought of the method he had mentioned earlier about faking his own death and escaping. He nodded and said, "I will keep a close eye on this matter. I will come find you when I find a way. You have made considerable progress this year. I saw those little fellows this morning. Were they all your companions? Have they also learned martial arts?"

"They will be my future team, I suppose. The Jin Kingdom is based on military exploits and is extremely aggressive. If I want to gain a foothold, I must have my own team. I can only befriend the Song Dynasty, not make enemies, so I have to look for other targets." Yang Kang spread his hands helplessly. Qiu Chuji nodded in approval. "I am very pleased that you have such ideas at such a young age. Do you have a goal in mind?"

Yang Kang shook his head and said, "Master, don't be fooled by the fact that the Great Jin is so overbearing and invincible. They are also surrounded by enemies. Not only is their territory too vast to manage, but they are also gradually becoming corrupt. They are arrogant and conceited, unable to see the dangers lurking around them. They are very similar to the Liao Kingdom back then."

When Qiu Chuji heard Yang Kang mention the Liao Dynasty, he thought of the Jingkang Incident. Wasn't that the result of the Song colluding with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, and then being exploited by the Jin people? His master was committed to resisting the Jin Dynasty, and he himself always regarded the Jin people as the greatest enemy. However, he overlooked that the Jin Dynasty seemed to have been greatly assimilated by the Han Dynasty and was indeed very similar to the Liao Dynasty. If the current Jin Dynasty was the Liao Dynasty, then who was the Jurchen Jin Dynasty?

"Master, for the past year, I've studied literature and martial arts. Knowing my Han identity, I've begun to think from a Han perspective. Then, I studied Han history, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors all the way to the present Song Dynasty. Master, the Han were at their strongest when warriors were valued, and their decline always began when scholars suppressed warriors. The Han people's greatest enemies have always been two: the corrupt scholars within their ranks, and the nomadic peoples. Their collusion always inflicts fatal damage to Han civilization."

Yang Kang lamented, "But these scholars, after being conquered by the nomadic people, turned around and corrupted the nomadic people, causing the barbarians, who had never seen good things and enjoyed fine clothes and delicious food, to quickly degenerate and become Han Chinese."

"This is probably another meaning of what the literati said about barbarians entering China becoming Chinese. Master, do you think the current Jin Kingdom is very different from the Han people?" Yang Kang's words left Qiu Chuji speechless.

"It is difficult to change one's nature. The Jin people were brutal, but the crimes they committed cannot be wiped out in one stroke." Qiu Chuji still could not forget the Jingkang Shame.

Yang Kang couldn't help but shake his head. "Master, what you're saying is, just like the Song Dynasty did back then, we'll lure out another vicious wolf to destroy the already tamed Jin people, and then repeat the Jingkang Incident? I just don't know where the Han people will be able to escape to after this time."

"Stop talking!" Qiu Chuji interrupted Yang Kang with a sharp shout. His face turned ashen as he said coldly, "As long as the Jin Kingdom doesn't give up its intention to move south, I, your master, will not change my stance. Kang'er, you must remember that the blood flowing in your body is that of the Han people. You are not a Jin person."

Yang Kang nodded solemnly and said, "Master, ever since I entered the Prince of Zhao's mansion and was raised by him, and since I learned my true identity, my life has been destined to be a tragedy. I cannot be ungrateful and must do my best to protect the Prince of Zhao. As a Han Chinese, I cannot forget my roots and must strive to consider the Han people and seek their welfare. Master, please tell me, how can I achieve both?"

"If you hesitate when you should make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. What good things are you thinking about? How can you have the best of both worlds?" Qiu Chuji couldn't help but laugh out loud, but a child like this is his disciple, isn't he?

"Master, I will not forget my roots, but I will not be ungrateful either. I will continue on the path I have chosen no matter how difficult it is, even if I will be torn to pieces in the end. Before I die, looking back on my life may be very painful, with scars all over my body, but I can die with my back straight and tell everyone that I have never owed anyone anything." Yang Kang's words fell to the ground with a loud sound, and Qiu Chuji could not help laughing.

"Good boy, you are more like a member of the Yang family than your father. I see that you are also studying the method of battle formation. Today I will teach you the Yang family spear technique. But the Yang family spear technique that I know is not authentic. Half of it comes from the martial arts world, and the other half is what I learned when I saw your father perform it. You just learn it, and when you meet your father in the future, ask for the full set of spear techniques." Qiu Chuji is knowledgeable and knows a lot of things. Spear technique is exactly the one that Yang Kang is not familiar with. He has some knowledge of swords, palms, fingers, sticks, hidden weapons, and even whips, but he really doesn't have much experience with spear technique.

"Master, please give me some advice!" On the battlefield, swords and spears do have more advantages than swords. Yang Kang would not suffer for the sake of face.