“This reflection is incredibly strong; I’ve got to see what this precious little toy is.” Having stolen from government treasuries and rich gentry’s vaults all his life, he was quite an expert at discerning precious objects. He immediately pulled his horse around and saw that one of the kids had a dagger in his hand. The dagger reflected a blue light that flickered endlessly, obviously an extremely rare weapon. But how did it end up in the hands of a little kid? Looking over the kids again, he noticed that other than Guo Jing, all the other kids were wearing expensive shirts made of leopard skins. But Guo Jing made up for it by having a golden crown-looking ring on top of his head. Obviously the kids were all members of wealthy and influential Mongol families.
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“The kid probably stole his father's favorite knife to play with. Stealing from kings and aristocrats won't cause too much harm.” Once he made up his mind, he jumped off of his horse and smiled sweetly as he approached the kids.
“Come on everyone, stop fighting. Play nice.” As he was talking, he suddenly flashed into the circle of kids and grabbed the knife. Having devoted an incredible amount of training to capturing weapons with bare hands, only the best martial arts masters could hope to stop him from taking their weapons, never mind a small kid like Guo Jing.
As soon as the dagger was in his hand, Zhu Cong immediately scuttled out of the circle and hopped onto his horse. With a jerk of the reins, he laughingly galloped off and caught up to the rest of his group.
“Well, today wasn't a total loss; I ended up with this little gem.” He laughed quite heartily at his success.
“Second Brother, you won't ever get rid of that stealing habit of yours will you?” ‘Smiling Buddha’
Zhang Ahsheng joined in on the laughter.
“What little gem? Let me see it.” ‘Hidden Hero of the Bustling City’ Quan Jinfa, being a merchant by trade, was curious. With a flick of his arm, Zhu Cong tossed the dagger over. A streak of blue shot across the sky in the sunlight; the light from the dagger wavered, looking as if a small rainbow had just materialized, causing everyone present to shout in praise.
“Excellent!” Quan Jinfa involuntarily yelled as the dagger flew towards his face, sending a shiver down his spine. He reached out and caught the dagger by the handle. He "tch"ed endlessly in admiration as he examined the dagger. When his attention moved to the handle, he saw the characters ‘Yang Kang’ carved onto it. “This is a Han name! How did this dagger end up here in Mongolia?” A question shot through his mind. “Yang Kang, Yang Kang? I have never heard of a hero named Yang Kang. If he isn't a martial arts hero, why would he have such an exceptional weapon?”
“Big Brother! Do you know who Yang Kang is?” He called out.
“Yang Kang?” Ke Zhen’E searched through his memory for a while and shook his head. “I have never heard of him before.”
‘Yang Kang’ was the name that Qiu Chuji had given to the baby that was still inside of Bao Xiruo.
The two fathers had exchanged daggers and that was how Li Ping ended up with the dagger that had
‘Yang Kang’ carved on it. Of course, the Seven Freaks did not know of this matter. Of the seven, Ke Zhen’E was the oldest as well as the most knowledgeable. If he did not know, then there was no way that the other six did.
“Qiu Chuji is searching for Yang Tiexin's widow, could this Yang Kang have something to do with Yang Tiexin?” Quan Jinfa's attention to detail made him ask.
“Well, if we find Yang Tiexin's widow, we would still have one-upped that Bull Nose.” Zhu Cong joked. But having searched endlessly and fruitlessly for the past six years, this seemingly remote and completely unrelated lead was something that none of them were willing to let slip by.
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“Let's go back and ask that kid.” Han Xiaoying concluded.
Han Baoju's horse was the fastest, so he arrived back where the kids were first, only to discover that the kids were at it again. Tolui and Guo Jing were, once again, pinned down to the ground. Han Baoju ordered the kids to break it up, but none of them heeded his words. Getting impatient, he grabbed a couple of kids and threw them off to the side.
“You two dogs come back tomorrow and we'll fight again!” Dukhsh threatened Tolui, because he was too scared to carry on fighting.
“OK…tomorrow!” Tolui shouted back as Dukhsh led his gang away. He already had plans for what to do; he would go and ask his third brother Ogedai for help as soon as he got back. Of all his brothers, Ogedai was the nicest to him, and strong as well. He would surely help if asked.
“Give it back!” Despite having his face covered with blood from his nose, Guo Jing put his hand out to Zhu Cong.
“Sure, no problem,” Zhu Cong waved the dagger back and forth in front of Guo Jing's face. “But you have to tell me where you got this dagger.”
“My mom gave it to me.” Guo Jing answered, wiping blood away from his still bleeding nose with a sleeve.
“What's your dad's name?” Guo Jing never had a father and was caught speechless by the question.
All he could do was shake his head.
“Is your surname Yang?” Quan Jinfa asked. Once again, Guo Jing shook his head. Seeing that this kid was rather slow, the Seven Freaks were quite disappointed.
“Who's Yang Kang?” Zhu Cong probed further. Guo Jing still only shook his head. The Seven Freaks had always valued their integrity above all else, so they always kept their word, even to a kid. Zhu Cong handed the dagger back to Guo Jing.
“You can go home now.” Han Xiaoying took out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood from Guo Jing's face as she tenderly told him. “Don't fight anymore. You are still small, you can't beat them yet.”
Afterwards, the seven of them climbed back onto their horses and began to leave. Guo Jing just stood there, watching them ride off to the East.
“Guo Jing, let's go back.” Tolui suggested.
The Seven Freaks were already quite a distance away, but Ke Zhen’E's hearing was incredibly sensitive. When he heard the name ‘Guo Jing’, his entire body shook violently; he immediately jerked his horse around and rode back to the kids.
“Boy, your surname is Guo? You are Han Chinese and not Mongolian, right?” He anxiously asked.
Guo Jing grunted an assertion, sending Ke Zhen’E’s mind into the clouds with joy. “Who is your mother?” He hurriedly asked.
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“Mom is mom.” Guo Jing answered, making Ke Zhen’E scratch his head for a bit. “Can you take me to your mother?”
“My mom’s not here.”
“Sister, you ask him.” Ke Zhen’E suggested, realizing that there was some hostility in Guo Jing's responses. Han Xiaoying hopped off of her horse and walked up to Guo Jing.
“Where's your father?” She asked in a warm voice.
“My dad was killed by bad people; when I grow up, I'm going to kill them and avenge my father.”
“What was your father's name?” Han Xiaoying was so excited that her voice was trembling. But Guo Jing just shook his head.
“Who killed your father?” Ke Zhen’E asked.
“His... his name is Duan Tiande!” Guo Jing could barely contain his anger as he said that name.
Because Li Ping knew that in such a desolate and remote place as the Steppe, any moment could bring with it many dangers. She knew that her chances of ever returning to China were nearly non existent. If something should happen to her suddenly, her son would never know the name of his mortal enemy, and that would not do. She had long ago told her son, over and over again, the name and appearance of Duan Tiande. She was an illiterate farm girl and had always called her husband
‘Xiao-Ge’. She had heard other people call him ‘Brother Guo’ but had never cared about what her husband's real name was. This was why Guo Jing had only ever known his father to be his ‘dad’ and did not know that he had other names.
‘Duan Tiande’. That name did not come out of Guo Jing's mouth very loudly, but when the Seven Freaks heard it, the shock rendered them speechless. Even if three bolts of lightning suddenly struck beside them on this clear and sunny day it would not have shocked them as much. In the blink of an eye, it felt as if the earth beneath them shook, as if the wind and air around them became colored.
Only after a very prolonged silence did Han Xiaoying suddenly let out an ecstatic shout. At the same time, Zhang Ahsheng was beating his fists onto his chest like a mad man. Quan Jinfa had thrown his arm tightly around Nan Xiren's neck and Han Baoju was doing back flips on his horse’s saddle. Ke Zhen’E reared his head back and laughed crazily, while Zhu Cong was spinning like a top. Seeing them act like this, Tolui and Guo Jing could not decide whether they were funny or just plain crazy. Only after a long time did the Seven Freaks finally, slowly, calm down, but their faces were filled with joy.
“Merciful Bodhisattva, thank you, thank you!” Zhang Ahsheng knelt down and prayed.
“Little brother, let's sit down and talk.” Han Xiaoying said to Guo Jing. Anxious to get back and ask his brother Ogedai for help as well as having a bad feeling about these seven strangers with their strange accents and even stranger behavior, Tolui did not want to stay any longer. Even though these same strangers had just helped them in a fight, Tolui incessantly urged Guo Jing to start heading back.