The City of Six Crafts did not practice curfew. They only closed the
gates when night dawned upon the city, forbidding anyone from
going in and out as they pleased. However, a small country was not
the same as large cities such as Beijing. During the extreme cold
weather, other than the night patrol, the streets were deserted, let
alone anyone coming out for supper.
The three of them roamed the place for half a day, finally slipping
into a restaurant from the kitchen at the back. From behind, Pei
Jingzhe knocked out the kitchen maid that was guarding the kitchen
before searching for firewood to start a fire. From the cabinet, he
took out some noodles and eggs and made three bowls of egg
noodles — of course, this was not because Feng Xiao was suddenly
kind to Cui Buqu, but because he himself was also hungry.
Cui Buqu made himself home. The word 'shy' did not exist in his
vocabulary, let alone his behaviour towards someone who poisoned
him before. Seeing Pei Jingzhe approaching them with noodles, he
took the fullest bowl and buried his head into it and ate.
Feng Xiao clicked his tongue, "A-Cui, have you ever read the story of
'KongRong yielding the pear'?"
Cui Buqu did not raise his head, "Are you my elder brother?"
But his cockiness rapidly faded. He had chewed the noodles a few
times, but after swallowing it, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Why is it so bland? Did you not put salt? Why are the noodles so
tough? Did you scoop it back up after you just put it into the pot?"
Pei Jingzhe looked like he was wronged, "This is my first time in the
kitchen."
What he meant was it was good enough that that thing could not kill
you.
Feng Xiao only added fuel to fire, "Why do you think I chose the one
with the most soup and fewer noodles? The fact that he could make
sure the egg was thoroughly cooked is already commendable; just
tolerate it a little won't you?"
Minutes before, when Yu Xiu kidnapped Cui Buqu, although they
looked like they were travelling at a slow speed, the truth was that
they had already reached the other side of the Qiushan manor. Cui
Buqu could not wait to return to the manor to eat, so the three of
them had to walk around the place for half a day simply to find
something to fill their stomachs.
Pei Jingzhe was filled with questions so much so that he could not
even care about the egg; he asked, "My lord, did the jade truly
shatter?"
Feng Xiao, "It did. Did you not see it yourself?"
Pei Jingzhe, "What if, what if that jade was the real one?"
Feng Xiao put down the bowl and said slowly, "The people who stole
the jade might belong to two different groups."
Pei Jingzhe was taken aback, "How do you know?"
Cui Buqu said coldly, "Your brain is like your culinary skills: difficult to
describe. In order for the culprit to kill the Khotan ambassador, he had no other choice but to hide in the city. For him to do that, he
would need assistance from an insider."
After being mocked, not only did Feng Xiao refuse to help him, he
even agreed with Cui Buqu, "If there was someone in the city that
belonged to their group, it would be even more difficult for us to
search for the real jade. At first, I thought that the culprit had allied
with the Linlang Guild's Wen Liang, so I wanted to catch the culprit
red-handed in broad daylight; however, after Wen Liang's capture,
the jade was still put out for auction. So it would seem that whoever
was behind this wanted to use a bogus item to divert our attention,
sending the real one away. However, after the auction today, all the
spies of the Jiejian Bureau in the city did not manage to find any
traces of jade being delivered, so there is only one other possibility."
"What possibility?" Pei Jingzhe, following the trail of thoughts, asked.
Cui Buqu could not stand the noodles anymore. Even at the egg, he
made a disgusted face before swallowing it and thereafter continuing
Feng Xiao's words.
"The ones who murdered and committed the robbery of the jade
might be on bad terms with each other. The real jade was stolen by
one group, and the other group wanted to use the bogus jade to lure
the other group out, so they could snatch the real jade back."
Pei Jingzhe did not understand at all, "But how would the one who
took the real jade be lured out?"
Cui Buqu, "I heard that when other countries from the West brought
treasuries to the Central Plains, to avoid being robbed, they would
usually send another item that heavily resembled the real one and
send them along the road together."
Pei Jingzhe finally understood. Cui Buqu meant that this time, the
Khotan King had sent two jades: one real and one fake. Tributes were naturally tributes, but they were also of significance; otherwise,
it was impossible to be a resemblance of the genuine item. Only
Yuchi Jinwu knew which jade was the real one and which was fake.
So when he died, the culprits took the jade, one group each.
Naturally, both parties would be suspicious that the one they were
holding was the fake and the one the other group held was the real
one.
This theory was a bit complicated, but when Pei Jingzhe thought
more carefully, he felt that it could be plausible. After three to five
days when the Khotan's new ambassador came, they could finally
conclude whether the truth was the way Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu
had theorized.
But as of now, they still needed to find the jade.
Contemplating, Pei Jingzhe said, "Master Cui, you mean that, no
matter what, since the jade resurfaced in the Linlang Guild, the other
group would surely send men to see how the outcome is?"
Cui Buqu nodded his head and felt like the other man was not as
stupid as he thought.
"So of the people who came tonight, it is of certainty that one of them
has connections to the culprit. I could even say that one of them was
the culprit himself."
Pei Jingzhe began to recall, "If I remember correctly, there are six
people who came for the jade. As the Yunhai Thirteen Stories' man
left, he can be excluded. Other than the monk and the Göktürk top
martial artist Fo Er, the Goguryeo man Gao Ning, that woman in
yellow robes; there is one more…"
As for the last one, Cui Buqu's recollection of them was incredibly
blurry. He merely remembered that the other was wearing a black
suit. Whether they were male or female, Cui Buqu could not even tell; he vaguely remembered that when Fo Er moved, the other had
already left.
Feng Xiao took out three pairs of chopsticks and moved them to face
outside the door of where there were sitting.
"Fo Er's goal is to kill me and not the jade. Although we do not know
why he wants me dead, we can set him aside first."
"Gao Ning and Yu Xiu both came for the jade, but they do not hold
any meaning deeper than that, so it is not them either."
"As for the woman named Bing Xuan…"
Feng Xiao turned to look at Cui Buqu.
Cui Buqu, needless to say, knew who she was. "In Jianghu, there is
a sect called the Hehuan Sect that practices the shuangxiu
technique. Bing Xuan is a disciple of the current sect leader, and
according to hearsays, she is incredibly well-received, perhaps she
might even succeed as the future sect leader."
He noticed that when Feng Xiao heard of the Hehuan Sect's name,
his expression yielded a slight change. Although it was very mild, Cui
Buqu somehow managed to catch it.
"It would seem like Lord Feng Er knows something about the
Hehuan Sect?"
"To be frank with you, actually the aunt of my eldest uncle of my
cousin's aunt of the wife of my cousin brother is a disciple of the
Hehuan Sect. So I've heard of the name and felt it a little familiar."
Feng Xiao smiled as he said.
Cui Buqu did not yield any emotions, "So the aunt of your eldest
uncle of your cousin's aunt of the wife of your cousin brother harvests men as a technique to increase their abilities?"
Feng Xiao, "Well, after all, it is said that women of thirty are like a
wolf, and women of forty years are like a tiger. Since she joined the
Hehuan Sect, it is like releasing a fish back into its waters."
Pei Jingzhe twitched the corner of his lips, refusing to listen to them
talk any more nonsense and immediately diverted the topic to
something else.
"So according to what both of you said, Bing Xuan and the other
mysterious person are the most suspicious?"
Cui Buqu, "Although the jade is useful for people of Jianghu, and
Bing Xuan has sufficient motives, if she was one of the culprits and
came to investigate whether this is was the real or bogus jade; then
there was no need for her to present herself and declare her name.
She could have hidden in the shadows completely."
Pei Jingzhe thought this was quite plausible, so he watched Feng
Xiao turn the second chopstick to face the other way as well. Now,
only the last one remained. He knew that Feng Xiao completely
agreed with Cui Buqu's analysis.
The most suspicious one would be the mysterious person in black.
They did not even know if they were male or female.
Feng Xiao rose to his feet, "When that person left, I sent spies in
their pursuit. News awaits us once we return to the manor."
Pei Jingzhe just now knew that Feng Xiao had taken such measures.
Suddenly he remembered something important.
"But my Lord, the jade has already crumbled into dust. If that was the
real jade, then wouldn't we…" Wouldn't they have run around in circles for nothing?
Feng Xiao spared him a glance but said nothing.
Cui Buqu, "I reckon that you should bring a smarter one next time, to
avoid wasting so much saliva explaining."
Feng Xiao smiled, "With an intelligent person like me present, would
not another intelligent fellow just be another firefly in the dark?"
Cui Buqu, "Since you put it like this, Lord Feng, why do you still keep
me here? Why not let me go?"
Feng Xiao, "That cannot do. Although you are not like me, luminous
like the sun and the moon; but at my side, you are akin to a
glistening star. A-Cui, if only you would consider joining the Jiejian
Bureau, let alone as the Fourth Commander, even if you would ask
me to warm your bed, I would not decline it."
He even went so far to take Cui Buqu's hand while speaking
seductively.
Cui Buqu was utterly disgusted by him, little hairs standing on the
back of his hand. He immediately pulled his hand away, as if he was
tainted with specs of dirt.
"It does not matter whether that crumbled jade was the real or the
bogus one, if we pursue the other one now, then that is the real one!"
As he listened to this, Pei Jingzhe's gaze flashed and suddenly
understood.
He did not care whether he was a sly old fox or not. Whoever Feng
Xiao showed interest in, would definitely be someone with rare and
worthy capabilities. The three of them returned to the Qiushan manor. The spy who
pursued the mysterious person had indeed returned.
"My apologies, when pursuing them, midway, they discovered my
presence, so I could only retreat. However, I think they disappeared
near the Lu manor."
Within the city, more than a handful people carried the surname 'Lu',
but there was only one Lu family that owned a manor. According to
rumours, the Lu family was distantly related to the Fanyang Lu Clan.
Speaking of it, was it not a coincidence that just this morning, Feng
Xiao and Cui Buqu met the Lu cousins in the restaurant?
Both of them exchanged glances when they listened to the spy's
report.
Feng Xiao, "A-Cui what was the name of her cousin again?"
Cui Buqu, "Su Xing."
Feng Xiao, "From another perspective, it seems likely to be the Lu
family. Let us take a look."
It was cold in the middle of the night, but he immediately got up and
began heading towards the Lu manor to investigate.
Cui Buqu said coldly, "Lord Feng, I have just eaten the egg noodles
your subordinate made, I sense a stomach ache coming, and I feel
like vomiting blood. Could you not give a little way and pity me?"
An attempt to beg for mercy had to involve him, so Pei Jingzhe could
only remain silent as he got shot by the cold arrow one after the
other; he took a few steps back, refusing to participate in the war. Feng Xiao, "When have you become so delicate? You could even
endure the Naihexiang, but cannot stand just a meagre bowl of egg
noodles? Jingzhe, go to the kitchen and get a few dumplings for
Master Daoist Cui to warm his stomach, then we are heading to the
Lu manor."
Who knew that Cui Buqu really opened his mouth and vomited on
him.
Both of them stood incredibly close, so Feng Xiao was unable to
move away. He could smell the stench rushing towards him, but
what Cui Buqu vomited was not blood, it was the egg noodles that
he ate just now.
This was even worse than blood.
At that moment, the colour on his face drained completely.