Ziwong and Wanyan Kang, one calling the other answering, coming closer. Liang Ziwong was so angry he couldn’t control his voice as he called out.

Guo Jing thought anxiously, “If I wait here by the wall it’s only a matter of time before they find me. Consort Wang seems to have a kind nature, perhaps she will save me.”

Given the critical situation he didn’t have any time to think further so he quickly slipped inside the house. There he only found a lighted candle on the table in the middle of the room. Consort Wang must have been in another room. He quickly looked around the room and saw a wooden wardrobe in the east corner which he opened the door and slipped in before closing it leaving only a crack to see through. He then pulled out his golden knife and allowed himself to relax a little.

He heard footsteps and saw Consort Wang walk in slowly. She sat down by the table and looked at the candle as if in a daze. Before long Wanyan Kang entered and asked, “Mother, did some bad man come in and give you a fright?”

Consort Wang shook her head and so Wanyan Kang went outside again and continued searching elsewhere with Liang Ziwong.

Consort Wang then closed the door and looked as if she was going to bed. Guo Jing thought, “As soon as she blows out the candle I’ll slip out through the window and escape. No – I had better wait a while first, in case I run into the young prince and that white haired fellow again. That crazy guy tried to bite my throat. That sure is some weird kind of Gongfu! My Shifu’s never taught me anything like that before. I really must ask them about it next time I see them. Going around and biting people’s throats! What’s with that?” He then thought some more, “After fighting so much and being away for so long, Huang Rong must have gone by now. I had better get out as well other wise she might be wondering what’s been keeping me.”

Suddenly the window creaked open and someone leaped in. Both Guo Jing and Consort Wang had a shock. Consort Wang gave a gasp but Guo Jing noticed that the person who had just entered was none other than Mu Yi or now Yang Tiexin. Guo Jing couldn’t be more surprised. He had assumed that He and his daughter had fled the palace long ago.

When Consort Wang recognized him she quickly said, “Please hurry and leave, before they find you.”

Yang Tiexin replied, “Many thanks for Consort Wang’s king concern. If I didn’t come here to thank you in person I would regret it to my dying day.” His words contained an element of sarcasm as if fully of bitter rancor.

Consort Wang sighed and said, “Please forget it. It is my son who has wronged you and your daughter. Yang Tiexin looked around and saw that beside a table, lamp, bed and wardrobe there was not much else. Everything seemed to be old, worn and familiar. He suddenly felt a wave of sadness and he could not suppress a tear as it trickled down his cheek. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and walked over to the wall where the lone spear was hanging. He took it down and saw that it was covered with rust. He could still make out the four characters “Tie Xin Yang Clan” written on the spear blade/shaft (???).

He gently stroked the spear shaft and sighed, “This iron spear is rusty. It has not been used for a long while.”

Consort Wang spoke softly, “Please don’t touch the spear.”

“Why?” Asked Yang Tiexin.

“Because this is the most precious possession I have.” she murmured.

Yang Tiexin was suddenly angry. “Really?” he asked bitterly. He paused before going on, “This spear used to have a matching partner, however today only one remains.”

“What?” asked Consort Wang suprised but he didn’t reply. He hung the spear on the wall and gazed at the broken plough tip saying absentmindedly, “This plough tip is worn (lah). Tomorrow you should call on Zhang Mu-er in the east village to take a catty of iron and see if her can repair it.”

When Consort Wang heard this she felt as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. For a moment she was speechless as she stared at him. Finally she stammered, “Who…who are you?”

Yang Tiexin replied slowly but evenly, “I said the plough tip is worn. Tomorrow you should call on Zhang Mu-er in the east village to take a catty of iron and see if her can repair it.”

Consort Wang felt her knees going weak. She again stammered, “Who…who are you? How…how could you know what my late husband said…said the night he died?”

Consort Wang was none other than Yang Tiexin’s wife, Bao Xiruo. When Wanyan Honglie was wounded by an arrow that day near Ox village, Bao Xiruo had saved his life. When he saw such a beautiful woman save his life he couldn’t stop thinking about her after he escaped that night. So he bribed Duan TianDe to have his soldiers raid Ox village that night so that he could arrange to “save” Bao Xiruo and appear to be a hero. Once her husband and friends were dead then she would be alone in the world and would naturally look to her “rescuer” to protect her. If he took her north and was patient enough she would sooner or later give up hope of return and agree to remarry to him starting a new life together.

During the eighteen years at the palace, her face had not changed much at all. Yang Tiexin’s face though had undergone much change from the hardships he encountered on the road searching for her. Now when they met again she could not recognize her former husband at first. After all these years of mutual longing to be together again this night amongst so much danger was as if they were in a dream.

Yang Tiexin didn’t reply, he just walked over to the table and pulled open a drawer. Inside he saw a couple of sets of a man’s blue coats exactly the same as the ones he used to wear. He picked one up saying, “I have enough coats to wear. You are tired and should rest now that you are pregnant. No need to make more clothes for me.” These words were the same ones spoken by him to her eighteen years before when she was pregnant.

Bao Xiruo rushed over to his side and grabbed his sleeve. When she pulled it up she saw a (familiar) old scar. A mix of surprise and joy suddenly enveloped her. For the past 18 years she had thought her husband had been dead and now to recognize him now standing before her was like a ghost come back to life. She immediately hugged him with both arms, holding tightly and crying, “Quickly! Quickly take me with you. Let us leave here now. I will show you a secret gateway where we can slip away unseen. I am not afraid of ghosts. I would rather become a ghost and be together with you than part with you again.

Yang Tiexin held his wife as warm tears rolled down his cheeks. After a long while his asked gently, “Do you think that I am a ghost?”

“I don’t care if you are a man or a ghost, I wont let go of you again.” she sobbed. “How is it that you are still alive? After all these years I can’t believe that you are still alive. Where…what..”

Yang Tiexin was about to reply when suddenly Wanyan Kang’s voice called from just outside the window, “Mother, why are you sobbing? Who are you talking to?”

Bao Xiruo got a fright, “It’s nothing,” she called out, “I was just sleeping.”

Wanyan Kang had clearly heard the sound of a man’s voice talking inside the room. He immediately became suspicious and walked around to the door, knocking gently saying, “Mother, I would like to have a word with you.”

“Tomorrow,” She replied, “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’m very tired now and want to sleep”

When Wanyan Kang saw that his mother was not willing to open the door, his suspicions only increased. “I just want to have a few words, then I’ll go.”

Yang Tiexin knew that Wanyan Kang was intent on coming in, so he went over to the window with the intention of making a quick get away. He tried to push open the shutter, but to his surprise he found that it wouldn’t budge. Someone had locked it from the outside! Bao XiRuo was in a panic. She thought she would play for time and keep talking whilst Yang Tiexin found a place to hide. She hurriedly pointed to the wardrobe and motioned for her husband to hide inside. Imagine their surprise when they opened the door and found Guo Jing inside! Bao XiRuo couldn’t help but let out a little scream.

When Wanyan Kang heard this he became extremely worried. He thought someone was trying to harm his mother so he started trying to break open the door with his shoulder. There was no time to lose, Guo Jing grabbed Yang TieXin and pulled him into the wardrobe and closed the door just as the wooden bar on the bedroom door gave a loud crack and flew open.

In rushed Wanyan Kang. He saw his mother’s face was pale with fear and her cheeks were wet with tears but apart from her, there was no one else in the room.

“Mother, what’s wrong? What has been going on?” he asked anxiously.

Bao XiRuo made an effort to compose herself before saying, “Nothing. I just am not feeling well.”

Wanyan Kang rushed over to her and said, “Mother, I promise I wont doing anything stupid again. Please don’t be worried. I’ve been a bad son to make you so worried.”

“OK.” She said in a comforting way, “Now I’m feeling so tired. Please let me go to bed. I’m very tired and want to sleep.”

But Wanyan Kang heard a waver in her voice and asked, “Mother, are you sure that no one has been here recently?”

“Who?” she asked.

“Just recently a couple of bandits entered the palace.”

“Really?” She replied. “You really should be going off to bed. Don’t let these things concern you.”

Wanyan Kang said, “Yeah, I’m sure the guards, even though their a useless bunch, will be able to take care of them. You need not worry. Please go and have some rest.”

He was just on the point of leaving when he noticed a slip of a man’s robe sticking out from a crack in the wardrobe door. Now he knew that something strange was really going on. He didn’t say anything but instead sat down at the table and poured himself a cup of tea which he began to drink slowly whilst he mulled over what to do. “In the wardrobe a man is hiding, but I don’t know if my mother knows this or not.”

He took a few more sips of tea before standing up and slowly walking over to the wall where the spear was hanging. “Mother, what do you think of your son’s spear skill that your saw earlier today.”

“I have already told you that I don’t like you using your skills to bully other people.” Bao XiRuo said in a disapproving tone.

Wanyan Kang replied in a hurt tone, “Bully people? I was merely competing one to one in a fair competition with that stupid boy.” He then grabbed the spear off the wall and playfully try a few strokes. The red tassel on the spear danced about as he executed the ‘Rising Phoenix Soaring Dragon’ strike aiming straight at the wardrobe. If this stroke went through the wardrobe, Yang TieXin and Guo Jing, who were not able to see what was happening, would have no hope of fending off the attack. They would be dead for certain. Seeing this Bao XiRuo immediately fainted!

Wanyan Kang stopped short with his strike. Seeing his mother’s reaction he immediately knew that she knew about the man hiding in the wardrobe. Propping the spear down beside him, he lifted up his mother, but watched the wardrobe for any signs of movement all the time.

Slowly Bao XiRuo regained consciousness and when she saw the wardrobe still intact with no spear hole she immediately felt immense relief. Having been through so many extreme highs and lows of emotion over the past hour she felt very weak all over.

Wanyan Kang was very angry, “Mother, am I your son or not?” he demanded.

“Of course you are my son. Why do you ask?”

“Well then, why do you keep so many things secret from me?”

Bao XiRuo thought to herself, “I must tell him about today’s events and let him be reunited with his true father. After that I will take my life since I have lost my chastity and thus deeply wronged my husband. This life I can never be reunited with my husband TieXin…” At this thought she again burst into tears which now flowed freely.

When Wanyan Kang saw how his mother was acting so strangely today he didn’t know what to think. Finally Bao XiRuo said, “Please take a seat and listen to what I have to say very carefully.”

Wanyan Kang sat down as told but he stayed near the spear and continued to watch the wardrobe.

Bao XiRuo asked, “Do you see the four characters written on the spear?”

“When I was a small boy I asked you about those characters, but you refused to tell me what ‘Yang Tie Xin’ meant.”

“Well now I am going to tell you what they mean.”

Yang TieXin hiding in the wardrobe could clearly hear every word that was being said between mother and son. Having an impulsive nature he thought to himself, “She is a Prince’s Consort now. How could she possibly want to live with me again in a shabby hut in the wilds as a village wife? She is about to leak out my identity, could she actually be planning to have her son kill me?”

He heard her continue, “This spear is originally from a place call Ox Village in JiangNan near the Song city of LinAn(??) I sent men to journey far away to fetch this for me. That plough, this table, lamp, bed, wardrobe, everything in this room has been brought here from Ox Village.”

Wanyan Kang interrupted, “I really don’t understand why you insist on living in the old shabby shack. I can get you the most beautiful furnishings but you always refuse!”

“You say that this place is a shabby shack. But to me it is better than the most intricately decorated palace! Child, you are not fortunate. You have never lived with your true mother and father in such a shabby place.”

When Yang TieXin heard this he felt a sudden wave of emotion and could not keep himself from shedding tears.

Wanyan Kang laughed, “Mother, the more you talk the more strange you become. How can father possibly live in this place?”

Bao XiRuo sighed, “Such a pity he wandered all over the country for eighteen years, living amongst the rivers and lakes. If he could have just lived here for half a day that would be more than comfortable enough for him.” (??Not sure if I have the correct translation here??)

When Wanyan Kang heard this he opened his eyes wide and asked in a trembling voice, “Mother, what are you saying?”

Bao XiRuo asked in a sharp voice, “Who do you think your real father is?”

Wanyan Kang said mystified, “My father is the great Jin Prince Zhao. Mother, why are you asking me this?”

Bao XiRuo stood up and took the spear, cradling it in her arms, tears again flowing, “Child, you don’t know, but I can’t blame you. This…this is your real father’s spear that he used to use many years ago…” Pointing to the characters on the spear she continued, “This is your real father’s name!”

Wanyan Kang felt his body shake. “Mother,” he cried out, “You are talking rubbish. You must be going crazy. I’m going to call for the doctor.”

“Am I talking rubbish? You say that you are a Jin? You are Chinese! Your name is not really Wanyan Kang, it’s Yang, Yang Kang!”

Wanyan Kang was shocked and very angry. He turned to go shouting, “I’m going to ask father.”

Bao XiRuo cried out, “Your father is in there!” With this she took a bold step toward the wardrobe, pulled open the door and taking Yang TieXin’s hand led him out into the room.”