od.

Because Ruan Xingzhu could not bear to see this brutal sight, she covered up her eyes with both hands. However, she still heard the continuous ‘pai-pai’ sounds, so she called out: ‘Don’t beat anymore, don’t beat anymore!’

A’Zi squealed: ‘Hey, don’t dirty the words my father wrote, or I’ll ask you for compensation.’

She jumped onto the table, stretched out her hands and took the scroll that was hanging on the wall. It turned out she and her mother returned only to fetch this calligraphic scroll.

Startled, Xiao Feng stopped beating and asked: ‘Is this ‘Duan the Second of Dali’ really Duan Zhengchun?’ Ruan Xingzhu countered: ‘Other than him, whom else?’ When she mentioned Duan Zhengchun’s name, she could not help showing a feeling of passionate pride on her face.

These several words cleared up a doubt in Xiao Feng’s mind: This scroll was really written by Duan Zhengchun. That letter to Chief Wang was not written by him. And so the leading big brother probably is not Duan Zhengchun.

A thought immediately emerged in his mind: ‘There must be very important secret facts in Madam Ma’s setting up Duan Zhengchun. I should untie this knot first, and everything will come to light.’ As he thought so, his intention of committing suicide disappeared at once. The beating he had given himself just now had left his face covered with fresh blood, but thanks to it, he had been able to vent the remorse and sorrow in his heart. Thereupon, he rose, carrying A’Zhu’s body in his arms.

A’Zi, having seen the 2 bamboo tablets he had written on the table, said laughingly: ‘Ha-ha, no wonder I saw 2 holes outside. I’ve been puzzled. So you want to die and be buried together with my sister? Well, well, well, you’re really too passionate!’

Xiao Feng replied: ‘I accidentally fell into the cruel trap of a villain and harmed A’Zhu to death. Now I must find that villain and avenge her first. Then I’ll follow her to the Underworld.’ A’Zi asked: ‘Who’s that villain?’ Xiao Feng replied: ‘At the moment I have no clue. I’ll go investigate this.’ As he finished, he went out with large strides, carrying A’Zhu. A’Zi laughed and said: ‘Are you going to find the villain while carrying my sister like this?’

Xiao Feng was slightly nonplussed. Temporarily, he had no idea. He thought if he carried A’Zhu’s body to go on a thousand-li long journey, it would eventually be improper, but it was difficult for him to let go of her because he was really attached to her. He looked at A’Zhu’s face in a daze. Tears rolled straight down his gory damaged face. Mixed with fresh blood, the tears became reddish drops and fell onto A’Zhu’s pale face. Truly, this was dripping with tears of blood.

When Ruan Xingzhu saw his heartrending situation, all her abhorrence of him vanished in an instant. She said: ‘Chief Qiao, this blunder was already done. It’s already impossible to redeem. You… you…’ Originally she wanted to advise him to restrain his grief, but she herself could not refrain from bursting into tears. She said tearfully: ‘It’s all because I’m no good. It’s all because I’m no good… Why did I give my nice daughter to other people?’

Suddenly, the young girl who had been rendered motionless by Xiao Feng interrupted: ‘Of course it’s all because you’re no good! Other people were being happy husband and wife, why did you come and break up their family?’

Ruan Xingzhu raised her head and asked the young girl: ‘Why do you say that, Miss? Who are you?’

The young girl replied: ‘You’re a fox spirit (~ a wanton woman). You’ve made my mother so miserable. You harmed me… harmed me…’

A’Zi stretched out her hand to slap her in the face. Unable to move, that young girl saw the incoming blow of the palm, but she could not dodge it.

Ruan Xingzhu hurriedly held out her hand and pulled A’Zi’s arm, saying: ‘A’Zi, you can’t act rudely.’ Then she turned to the middle-aged woman and surveyed her. Seeing that the woman was holding a steel saber in her right hand and there was broken saber on the floor, she suddenly understood, so she said: ‘That’s right. You use 2 sabers. You… You’re Sura Saber Qin… Qin Hongmian… elder sister Qin.’

This middle-aged woman was none other than another lover of Duan Zhengchun’s–Sura Saber Qin Hongmian, and the young girl wearing black clothes was her daughter Mu Wanqing. Qin Hongmian did not blame Duan Zhengchun for having love affairs everywhere, but she loathed the other women for being prurient and seductive and snatching her beau. Therefore, after receiving a message from her shimei (younger female fellow disciple) Gan Baobao, she and her daughter Mu Wanqing had at once gone to assassinate Duan Zhengchun’s wife Dao Baifeng and another lover of his, with the result that they had failed to kill either. When she learned that Duan Zhengchun had another mistress called Ruan Xingzhu, who was living in seclusion beside the Little Mirror Lake, she immediately took her daughter along to go to kill this woman.

Qin Hongmian, seeing that Ruan Xingzhu had recognized herself, shouted: ‘Right, I’m Qin Hongmian, who needs a harlot like you to call me elder sister?’

Temporarily, Ruan Xingzhu was unable to guess why Qin Hongmian had come here. She was also afraid that if this love rival and Duan Zhengchun met each other, they would rekindle their old feelings, so she laughed and said: ‘That’s right. I said incorrectly. You’re much younger than me, and you have such a great beauty too. No wonder Duan lang (~ dear Duan) is so fascinated by you. You’re my younger sister, not elder sister. Younger sister Qin, Duan lang misses you every day. You’re engraved upon his mind. I really envy you your good fortune.’

When Qin Hongmian heard Ruan Xingzhu praise her for being young and beautiful, the anger in her heart disappeared three-tenths. And when she heard Ruan Xingzhu say that Duan Zhengchun missed her every day, her anger disappeared another three-tenths. She said: ‘Who wants you to sweet talk like this? You’re sure used to flattering other people.’

Ruan Xingzhu said: ‘This young lady is your precious daughter, right? Well, well, well, younger sister Qin, it’s a hard job to give birth to such a beauty…’

Noticing that the 2 women were harping on about romantic matters, Xiao Feng became impatient and did not want to hear more. As a straightforward and resolute fellow, after the heartbreaking sorrow was gone, he at once pondered how to handle important businesses in the future.

Carrying A’Zhu’s body, he walked to the side of a hole and set her down in it. He grabbed the soil with his pair of big hands and slowly scattered it on her body. But all along he did not scatter soil on her face.

He looked at A’Zhu without blinking. With just several more handfuls of soil scattered on her, he would never be able to see her again. His ears seemed to vaguely hear her voice promising to go outside Yanmen Pass to ride on horseback, go hunting, pasture cattle and sheep, and be with him for life. Less than 1 day before, she had still been saying these words which sometimes were affectionate, sometimes were witty, sometimes were serious, and sometimes were mischievous. But from today on, he would never hear them again. From now on, the vow to pasture cattle and sheep at the frontier had come to naught.

Xiao Feng knelt beside the grave for a very long time. But still, he was unwilling to scatter soil on A’Zhu’s face.

Suddenly he rose. With a long howl, he stopped looking at A’Zhu and pushed out his 2 hands at the same time, shoving all the soil beside the grave onto her body and face. Then he turned around and walked into the room in the wing.

He saw Ruan Xingzhu and Qin Hongmian were still talking unceasingly. Even though Ruan Xingzhu was being grieved, she was still artfully persuasive in speech and made Qin Hongmian totally pleased. The enmity between the 2 women had already been removed. Ruan Xingzhu said: ‘Chief Qiao, this younger sister of mine offended you, but it was unintentional. I beg you to unblock their acupuncture points.’

Ruan Xingzhu was A’Zhu’s mother so Xiao Feng certainly listened to her to a reasonable extent, let alone the fact that he already wanted to release these 2 people. At once, he came near, stretched out his hands and gave Qin Hongmian and Mu Wanqing a tap each on their shoulders. The 2 of them only felt a stream of internal energy run from their shoulders to their blocked acupuncture points. In an instant, they were already able to move their limbs freely as usual. The mother and the daughter exchanged a look. In their hearts, they exceedingly admired Xiao Feng for the depth of his internal energy.

Xiao Feng turned to A’Zi and said: ‘Younger sister A’Zi, could you please let me have a look at your father’s calligraphic scroll?’

A’Zi said: ‘I don’t want you to call me younger sister this, younger sister that.’ Despite saying so, she dared not disobey him and still handed the scroll over to him.

Xiao Feng unfolded the scroll and studied the words Duan Zhengchun had written several times again. Ruan Xingzhu’s face turned a deep red all over. She said bashfully: ‘What’s so interesting about these things?’ Xiao Feng asked: ‘Where’s Prince Duan, now?’ Ruan Xingzhu’s face changed color greatly. She retreated several steps and said in a tremulous voice: ‘Don’t… don’t… don’t go find him again.’ Xiao Feng said: ‘I won’t find to make things difficult for him. I only want to ask him some things.’ Ruan Xingzhu of course was unwilling to believe him. So she said: ‘You already accidentally killed A’Zhu. You shouldn’t find him again.’

Xiao Feng knew that by no means would she be willing to say, so he did not ask her anymore. He rolled up the scroll, returned it to A’Zi and said: ‘With her last words, A’Zhu told me to take care of her younger sister. Madam Duan, later on, if A’Zi encounters any difficulty, as long as Xiao Feng can offer any help, just tell me, I definitely won’t decline.’

Ruan Xingzhu was very glad, thinking: ‘If A’Zi has a supporter of great abilities like him, in her life, misfortune will turn into luckiness and accidents will turn into good things.’ So she said: ‘I thank you very much, then. A’Zi, quickly thank big brother Qiao.’ She changed ‘Chief Qiao’ to ‘big brother Qiao’ to make A’Zi and him become closer.

A’Zi immediately pouted her lips and said with a scornful expression: ‘What difficulty will I have to ask him to help? I have a master who is without equal under Heaven and many shixiongs (older male fellow disciples), why should I be afraid of being bullied by someone? He’s like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, unable to protect himself. He can’t handle his own matters and only makes mistakes, how can he still want to help me with my problems? Humph, the more he’ll help, the more problems he’ll create, won’t he?’ She let out a torrent of words with her clear and carefree voice. Several times Ruan Xingzhu gave her hints with the eyes to stop her, but A’Zi pretended that she did not see them.

Ruan Xingzhu stamped her feet and said: ‘Alas, this child makes insolent irresponsible remarks. Chief Qiao, please show some consideration for A’Zhu and don’t take offence at them.’ Xiao Feng said: ‘My surname is Xiao, not Qiao.’ A’Zi said: ‘Mom, this fellow doesn’t even know his own surname. He’s a big idiot…’ Ruan Xingzhu shouted: ‘A’Zi!’

Xiao Feng took a bow with his hands folded, saying: ‘I must now bid you farewell.’ Then he turned to Mu Wanqing and said: ‘Miss Duan, don’t use these poisonous missiles of yours anymore. They are useless. On the contrary, if you meet an enemy of better skills, you’ll unavoidably be harmed by them.’

Before Mu Wanqing had replied, A’Zi said: ‘Elder sister, don’t listen to his nonsense. At worst these missiles will miss the enemy, what harms can they have?’

Paying no attention to her, Xiao Feng turned around and walked out. When his left foot passed through the door, he took a swing with his right sleeve, causing a gust of wind with a buzzing sound. All the 7 short arrows that Mu Wanqing had shot at him earlier and had been knocked down by him got off the floor at the same time and flew fiercely towards A’Zi like lightning. ‘Aiyo,’ A’Zi only uttered an exclamation. How could she dodge in time? The 7 short arrows skimmed across the top of her head, the sides of her neck and the sides of her body before, with a ‘pai’ sound, sticking deep up to the feathers in the wall behind her simultaneously.

Ruan Xingzhu hastily rushed forwards, embraced A’Zi and cried in fear: ‘Younger sis Qin, quickly take out the antidote.’ Qin Hongmian said: ‘Where’s she wounded? Where’s she wounded?’ Mu Wanqing hastily took the antidote out from her bosom and went examine the condition of A’Zi’s injuries.

After a short while, A’Zi somewhat regained her composure. Only then did she say: ‘They… they didn’t hit me.’ Then the 4 women looked at the 7 short arrows on the wall at the same time, and all of them gasped with astonishment and their faces changed color.

It turned out Xiao Feng remembered A’Zhu’s last words, which asked him to take care of A’Zi, but he heard her say ‘I have a master who is without equal under Heaven and many shixiongs, why should I be afraid of being bullied by someone?’ For this reason, he swept away the arrows with the wind of his sleeve and gave her a scare, lest the little girl, who was ignorant of the immensity of the world and impertinent due to her strong backing insomuch that she looked down on the heroes and bold men under Heaven, unavoidably suffered in the future.

He walked out of the bamboo forest, went to the side of the Little Mirror Lake, found a big tree with luxuriant branches and foliage, and jumped onto it. He wanted to find Duan Zhengchun to ask clearly why Madam Ma deliberately cast the blame on him, but Ruan Xingzhu simply was unwilling to reveal his whereabouts, so he himself had no choice but to follow in secret.

Before long, he saw the 4 women come out. Qin Hongmian and daughter went ahead of Ruan Xingzhu and her daughter. It looked like Ruan Xingzhu was seeing the guests out.

The 4 women walked to the side of the lake. Qin Hongmian said: ‘Elder sister Ruan, you and I feel like old friends at the 1st meeting. Because the former ill will between us has been dispelled, a matter of hatred in my mind has been eliminated. Now I want to go find that lowly slave surnamed Kang. Do you know where she is?’ Startled, Ruan Xingzhu asked: ‘Younger sister, why do you want to find her?’ Qin Hongmian said resentfully: ‘Originally I and Duan lang were living happy days. It was all because of the tricks of this lowly slavish fox spirit…’ Ruan Xingzhu thought for a little while and said: ‘That Kang… this harlot Kang Min, hum, I don’t know where she is. When you’ve found her, please give her several more stabs of the saber on my behalf.’ Qin Hongmian said: ‘That goes without saying. I’m just afraid it won’t be easy to find her. Alright, see you later! Humph, if you meet Duan lang…’ Ruan Xingzhu slightly shivered and said: ‘What should I do?’ Qin Hongmian said: ‘You give him 2 heavy slaps in the face for me, 1 slap to settle my account, and 1 slap to settle my daughter’s account.’

Ruan Xingzhu laughed gently and said: ‘How can I meet this heartless damnable fellow? Younger sister, when you see him, give him 2 slaps in the face for me as well, 1 for me, and 1 for A’Zi. No, slapping won’t be enough. Next you give him 2 kicks for me. He fathered his daughters but didn’t take care of them, making me and my daughter so wretched and lonely…’ As she finished, she shed tears. Qin Hongmian consoled: ‘Sister, don’t be sad. After we’ve killed that harlot Kang, we’ll return to be your companions.’

Xiao Feng, hiding on the tree, heard very clearly the conversation between the 2 women. He thought that Duan Zhengchun was not bad at martial arts and rather benevolent and loyal to his friends, but he had abandoned himself to his love of feminine beauty, so he did not count as a hero. He saw Qin Hongmian pull Mu Wanqing, salute Ruan Xingzhu and her daughter and leave at once, then Ruan Xingzhu hold A’Zi hand and go back into the bamboo forest.

Xiao Feng considered: ‘Ruan Xingzhu sure will go find Duan Zhengchun, but she’s unwilling to go together with Qin Hongmian, that’s all. She said that she came to take this scroll so Duan Zhengchun is definitely waiting not far up ahead. I’m just going to observe from here.’

Suddenly there were soft sounds in a thicket, and 2 people in black clothes quietly walked out, but they were Qin Hongmian and her daughter returning. He heard Qin Hongmian say in a low voice: ‘Wan’er, how could you be so careless and easily tricked by them? There’s a pair of male shoes under the couch in elder sister Ruan’s bedroom. The toe caps are embroidered with 2 words, the left shoe has the word ‘Mountain’, and the right shoe has the word ‘River.’ Of course they’re your father’s shoes. The shoes are very new, and the mud on their sole isn’t dry yet. Obviously your father is near here.’ Mu Wanqing said: ‘Ah! So this woman surnamed Ruan fooled us.’ Qin Hongmian said: ‘Yes, how can she be willing to let that unfaithful fellow meet us?’ Mu Wanqing said: ‘Father has no conscience. Mom, you need not meet him.’

After keeping silent for quite a while, Qin Hongmian said: ‘I want to see him, but I don’t want to meet him. We’ve been separate for so many days, he’s already old, and your mother’s already old too.’ These few sentences were very simple, but the words contained deep emotions.

Mu Wanqing said: ‘Alright!’ Her voice sounded very sorrowful. Ever since she and Duan Yu had parted company, her memory of him had grown day by day, but knowing clearly this was a love that would go nowhere, she dared not show the load on her mind before her mother.

Qin Hongmian said: ‘We only need to keep watch from here. I think your father will arrive soon.’ As she finished, she pushed the long grass apart and hid herself in it. After that, Mu Wanqing hid behind a tree.

In the dull starlight, Xiao Feng saw that Qin Hongmian’s pale face was slightly red. Obviously she was deeply stirred. He thought: ‘Love wears people out to such an extent.’ But he also immediately thought of A’Zhu, and could not help feeling a burst of pain in his chest.

Not long after, quick footsteps were heard on the path. Xiao Feng thought: ‘This person isn’t Duan Zhengchun. Probably his subordinate.’ Sure enough, when that person rushed near him, he recognized that it was Zhu Danchen, the fellow who had drawn in reverse on the bridge.

Ruan Xingzhu had already heard the footsteps, but she was unable to know who this person was. She only thought that it was Duan Zhengchun, so she called: ‘Duan lang, Duan lang!’ and quickly came out to meet him. A’Zi came out with her.

Zhu Danchen bowed down to the ground, saying: ‘My Lord has ordered this subordinate to report that he has an urgent matter so he is unable to return today.’

Startled, Ruan Xingzhu asked: ‘What’s the matter? When will he return?’ Zhu Danchen replied: ‘This matter is related to the Murong Family of Gusu. It seems the whereabouts of Mister Murong has been discovered. My Lord has gone north on a ten-thousand-li journey to find this man. My Lord said that: After handling his important matter, he would return to the side of the Little Mirror Lake at once for a reunion. Madam needs not worry.’ Tears welling up in her eyes, Ruan Xingzhu said in a voice choked with emotions: ‘He’s always said he’d return at once, but everytime he wouldn’t see me for 3 years or 5 years. I had a really hard time waiting for him to come here, yet…’

Zhu Danchen was exceedingly upset and indignant about how A’Zi had angered Chu Wanli to death. Duan Zhengchun’s words had been passed on, so he was unwilling to remain here any longer. He bow slightly, turned around and left. From start to finish, he did not cast a look at A’Zi.

Ruan Xingzhu, waiting until he had gone, said to A’Zi in a low voice: ‘Your lightness skill is much better than mine. Quickly follow him, and leave identification marks on the way for me. I’ll follow soon after.’ A’Zi pouted her lips, laughed and said: ‘You ask me to trail father, so what’s the reward?’ Ruan Xingzhu said: ‘Everything Mom has is already yours. What reward do you still want?’ A’Zi said: ‘Alright, I’ll write a ‘Duan’ character on the corners of the walls then draw an arrow so that you’d know.’ Ruan Xingzhu hugged her daughter’s shoulders and said with gladness: ‘Good daughter!’ A’Zi laughed and said: ‘Infatuated mommy!’ Then she raised herself up and chased after Zhu Danchen.

Ruan Xingzhu stood beside the Little Mirror Lake for a long time. The she went along the small path. As soon as she had gone, Qin Hongmian and her daughter successively appeared. The 2 of them made gestures with their hands and followed behind her.

Xiao Feng thought: ‘A’Zi already leaves signs on the way. It’ll be very easy to find Duan Zhengchun.’ When he had taken several steps, suddenly, in the moonlight, he saw his own reflection in the lake. He felt sad, disappointed, and very lonely, and his heart ached. He wanted to return to the bamboo forest to sit in front of A’Zhu’s grave again for a while. However, in an instant, his heroic spirit surged up, and he sent out a blow of the palm. The energy wind of his attack hit the lake and splashed water all around. The reflection in the lake also turned into a mass of fragments. With a long howl, he left with big strides.

During the several days later, he set out at daybreak and slept at night, drinking very much, but eating little. Every time he arrived in a town, he saw a ‘Duan’ character and an arrow showing the direction left by A’Zi at the foot of a wall. Sometimes Ruan Xingzhu, after seeing them, scraped them off, but the vestige of the signs could still be recognized.

On the way to the north, it gradually got cold. That day, not long after he had gone outside, it started to snow heavily. Snowflakes floated to and fro, up and down in the air. Xiao Feng kept going until noon. Then he went into a small wine shop and consumed 12 or 13 bowls of spirit. When his addiction to wine had not yet been slaked, the shop was already out of wine. Very disappointed, he ran for a while with big strides and came towards a big city. As he drew near, he was slightly shocked. It turned out he had arrived in Xinyang.

On the way he had only searched for the signs left by A’Zi, and thought of his own worries, so he had paid no attention to his surroundings, insomuch that he had unexpectedly returned to Xinyang. If he really wanted to find Duan Zhengchun, it would be as easy as rasing his hand. Only rushing faster in 1 day or half a day and he would definitely catch up with Duan Zhengchun. But ever since the death of A’Zhu, his mind had always been empty. He did not know how he should pass the time. In his mind, he had always thought: ‘What should I do after catching up with Duan Zhengchun? When I’ve found the prime villain and got revenge, what should I do? When I’ve returned to the outside of Yanmen Pass alone to go hunting and pasture sheep in the great desert of wind and sand, what should I do?’ As a result, he had not been in hot pursuit all along.

After entering the city of Xinyang, he saw a ‘Duan’ character written in charcoal at the foot of the city wall. Beside the character was an arrow pointing westward. He felt a burst of distress in his mind as he recalled that day he and A’Zhu, side by side, had gone to Madam Ma’s house in the west of the city of Xinyang to tactfully sound her out. Today, thinking back, he felt that every step at that time had pushed A’Zhu closer to the Underworld by 1 step.

After he had gone 5 or 6 li (0.5 km), the north wind became fierce, and the snow fell more heavily.

Following the signs left by A’Zi, he went westward. These signs were new and had been left not long before. Some of the signs were left by scraping away the bark of trees and writing on them. On the boles, the resin at the places scraped by the knife had not yet congealed. The direction of the signs was none other than Ma Dayuan’s house. Xiao Feng was secretly mystified, thinking: ‘Could it be that Duan Zhengchun knows Madam Ma framed him, so he finds her to settle the score? That’s right, when A’Zhu talked to me in her dying moment at the bluestone bridge, she mentioned Madam Ma. A’Zi heard it, and she must’ve told her father. But we only said Madam Ma, how can he know that she is this Madam Ma?’

On the way, he had been depressed and rather dazed. But this moment, as he met a very unusual matter, his spirit rose at once, and the vigilance that he had had when engaging in battles with strong enemies in former days were restored. Seeing an abandoned shrine by the roadside, he immediately entered it, closed the door, lay down and slept for 6 hours. Only at the 2nd watch (10 p.m to 12 p.m) did he come out and go towards the house of Ma Dayuan.

When approaching the house, he hid behind a tree and looked carefully at the surroundings. After he had observed for a while, a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth because he saw 2 people hiding on the northeast side of the house of the Ma Family. Judging from appearance, they were Ruan Xingzhu and A’Zi. After that, he saw Qin Hongmian and her daughter hiding in the southeast corner of the house. In this moment, the heavy snow had not yet ceased so the 4 women all were piled on with a layer of white snow. A dull yellow light came out through the window of the room in the east wing, and there was only silence. Xiao Feng broke a branch off and threw it to the east. A soft ‘pai’ sound was heard as it fell on the ground. Ruan Xingzhu and the other 3 women all looked in the direction of the sound. With a gentle leap, he already arrived at the underside of the window of the room in the east wing.

The weather was cold and the ground was frozen. All the windows of the Ma Family house had wooden boards. Xiao Feng waited for a while. He heard a gust of north wind coming whistling. Waiting until this gust of wind was about to reach the window, he lightly sent out a blow of the palm. His palm force and that gust of wind hit the wooden board of the window at the same time. With a ‘ka-la’ sound, the wooden board was broken. Even the window paper inside was also left with a crack. Even though the people such as Qin Hongmian and Ruan Xingzhu were in the area around the house, they were not aware of this because the palm wind and the north wind totally coincided with each other. If there was someone in the room, they would not be able to detect this either. Xiao Feng put his eye next to the crack and looked inside. At first sight, he was dumbfounded, as if he did not believe his own eyes.

He saw Duan Zhengchun, wearing a short jacket and a small hat, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the earthen bed, holding a wine cup in his hand, grinning and looking at a woman who was sitting by the side of the small bed table.

That woman was wearing white mourning attire and had a light make-up on. The tips of her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes were brimming with passion. Her pair of watery glistening eyes looked as if they were about to shed water. Like smiling without smiling, like being angry without being angry, she looked sideways at Duan Zhengchun. She was none other than the widow of Ma Dayuan–Madam Ma.