GU MANG'S ARCH SMILE and relentless stare filled Mo Xi with an awkwardness he hadn't felt in a long time. He bit his lip and turned away.
Of course Murong Chuyi wouldn't plead with Mo Xi and Jiang Yexue on Gu Mang's behalf, but since he had shown where he stood on the matter, it seemed worth considering. Gu Mang casually clasped one shoulder, his back against the stone wall as he spun the dagger in his free hand. "How does that sound? Do we have a deal?"
Helping a criminal conceal important information would amount to the great crime of deceiving one's emperor. However, Gu Mang's assessment wasn't wrong; they were truly all in the same boat.
Jiang Yexue glanced at Murong Chuyi. "If Xiaojiu is willing to do this…then I won't say anything either. As long as you don't make things difficult for us in the future, I'll help you keep this secret."
Gu Mang smiled as he cupped his hands at Jiang Yexue. "Sensible. Thanks."
He then turned to look at Mo Xi, that slight smile dimming. "Xihejun, what about you?"
Mo Xi was silent for a beat. "I won't hand you over to the emperor."
"Perfect." Gu Mang smiled again lazily. "Everyone is a gentleman here—a man's word cannot be taken back. I'll help you with this, you'll help me keep my secret, and we're even."
"Do you plan to go trap a demon now?" Murong Chuyi asked.
Gu Mang sat down. "No rush. I used up too much spiritual energy escaping Wuyan's clutches. Let Gege have a bite first." With that, he turned the two skewers hung over the fire.
Only then did Mo Xi notice that there was a plump goose suspended over the firepit. Mo Xi was a proud person, but he'd just witnessed Gu Mang's past suffering. His heart ached bitterly; he still wanted to make amends. So he quietly asked, "Where'd you get the goose?"
Gu Mang ignored him.
Mo Xi shut his mouth.
Jiang Yexue noticed the awkwardness and warmly replied, "It was stored on my walnut ship."
He brought out the tiny ship he had used to ferry them to the island. Putting the thumb-sized ship on the ground, he tapped it with a fingertip. The vessel immediately grew a dozen times larger, to the size of a wooden basin.
Jiang Yexue called out in a gentle voice: "Boatwoman, could you please bring us some more tea and refreshments?"
"Coming!" From the inside of the basin-sized ship came a crisp and pleasant voice with a soft Wu-dialect accent, giggling, "There's fresh fruit and desserts, and we've got miaoyu tea from Lingshan and dancong tea from Wudong. Which would you like, my lord?"
"Some of each."
The tinkling voice laughed. "All right, coming right up."
The bamboo cabin curtain on the walnut ship swished, and a lifelike clay maiden emerged. On the ship, she was only half the height of a palm, but she transformed into a clay servant the size of a child as soon as she touched the ground. She carried a wooden tray laden with fruit and desserts, as well as two pots of hot tea.
Mo Xi watched the clay boatmaiden cheerfully settle the tray next to the firepit. "Why didn't we see this puppet on the ship?" he asked.
"She's cleverer than the other puppets; I spent a lot of time on her. When we were on the walnut ship, she was busy with the steering, so you didn't see her."
The clay boatmaiden looked up, revealing willowy brows and slender phoenix eyes. Jiang Yexue 's careful work was evident; she was merely a clay person, but her face was as detailed as a real human's. All her paints and lacquers had been attentively applied, and she moved more smoothly than her clay brethren.
The boatmaiden performed an obeisance and said in a charming voice, "If there's nothing else, I'll wait on the ship."
Gu Mang was watching with rapt interest and stopped her. "Hey hey, miss, don't be in such a rush to leave." He asked with a smile, "Do you have any lychee wood on your ship?"
"The mast is made of lychee wood, but unfortunately I can't give it to you."
"You know why I want lychee wood?" Gu Mang asked curiously.
The maiden chuckled and pointed to the crackling bonfire. "Meat roasted over lychee wood has an extraordinary flavor. Gongzi must have a craving."
Astonished, Gu Mang turned to Jiang Yexue. "How does she know that?"
Jiang Yexue lowered his gaze and laughed. "When I was refining her, I merged a copy of Recipes of the Nine Provinces into her head."
"Damn." Gu Mang clapped. "I've been away just a few years and Jiang-xiong's artificing skills have improved considerably. These constructs are not only lifelike but also clever."
Jiang Yexue glanced at Murong Chuyi. "I'm still not as good as Xiaojiu."
Murong Chuyi pretended to be deaf. He leaned silently against the stone wall with his arms crossed.
Despite Murong Chuyi's attitude, Jiang Yexue smiled faintly. He allowed the boatmaiden to return to the cabin and shrank the boat back to the size of a walnut. After he'd stowed the ship back in his qiankun pouch, he continued to warmly compliment Murong Chuyi: "My Xiaojiu is the greatest grandmaster artificer of all; he can transform a flower into a ship, a raindrop into a tower."
Jiang Yexue spoke with the intent to cajole, but it didn't work on Murong Chuyi. He closed his phoenix eyes as if repulsed.
Mo Xi and Gu Mang both stared. What kind of power, Mo Xi wondered, did this Ignorant Immortal have for both his nephews to praise him so? While Yue Chenqing praised him with fiery enthusiasm, gushing about his uncle to anyone he met, Jiang Yexue wouldn't necessarily mention him unprompted. But oddly, whenever the two of them were compared, Jiang Yexue would say without hesitation that Murong Chuyi was his better, despite being one of the best artificer elders at the academy himself.
Jiang Yexue's self-deprecating praise was different from Yue Chenqing's loud boasting. Murong Chuyi's indifference to Yue Chenqing only made Yue Chenqing look foolish. When Jiang Yexue praised Murong Chuyi so sincerely at his own expense and was still ignored, he seemed rather pathetic.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Gu Mang spoke up. "Murongxiansheng is of the older generation; it's natural that Jiang-xiong cannot compare. Come—the goose is almost ready, let's have something to eat. You haven't had my crispy roast goose before, right? Give it a try."
Although Gu Mang was an enemy of Chonghua, Jiang Yexue couldn't bring himself to hate him, while Murong Chuyi had no sense of patriotism to begin with. Besides, they all shared a goal at the moment, so they put aside any petty bickering.
The roast goose was ready, dripping grease that hissed when it fell into the flames. Gu Mang took it off of the spit, picked the plumpest part of the goose breast, and sliced it thinly, the skin crackling beneath his little knife. The savory fragrance of meat and char assaulted the senses, crisp golden-brown skin clinging to the firm, piping-hot meat. Gu Mang placed each slice on a banana leaf and sprinkled coarse salt over top, carving just enough for two servings before passing them to Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue.
As Jiang Yexue tried a bite, Gu Mang smiled. "How is it?"
"I didn't know you could cook."
Gu Mang laughed out loud. "If only we had some lychee wood and stuffed the goose with berries while it roasted. I guarantee the flavor would leave you speechless."
"When did you learn to make this?" Jiang Yexue asked.
"I taught myself; I'm a genius." As Gu Mang spoke, he carved some more goose meat. "Doesn't it hit the spot?"
"Why didn't you make this back then?" Jiang Yexue remarked.
Mo Xi, staring into that warm bonfire, murmured, "He did."
Jiang Yexue was startled, but still managed to smile warmly. "That's right, you two were close in those days. I remember Gu Mang really did take good care of you…"
But it seemed Gu Mang didn't wish to be associated with Mo Xi. He hastily waved a hand. "It was nothing. I wouldn't quite call it care." He turned to Mo Xi with a shallow smile. "It's been so long, but you still remember that goose. As I recall, it wasn't my best effort; it tasted like wax. Xihe-jun, however much you hate me, I'll ask you not to bring up my shortcomings right now." He rubbed his nose, unwittingly leaving a smear of soot. "I do have my pride, you know."
Across the fire, Mo Xi watched Gu Mang's smiling, callous face. There were torrents of words stuck in his throat, but it would be futile even if he could express them. He couldn't figure out how to talk to Gu Mang; he felt that he might do something extremely reckless at the tiniest impulse. Should he open his mouth and vent his feelings, he'd never be able to take it back.
And so, he stayed silent. Whether Gu Mang was purposefully distancing himself from Mo Xi or whether he genuinely viewed him as an enemy, Mo Xi chose to endure it without complaint for as long as he could.
Gu Mang spread the crisp and fragrant goose over another banana leaf. He retracted the knife and sat back down with his own leaf in hand.
Jiang Yexue was an observant man. He paused in the middle of his meal as he noticed something was amiss. Gu Mang had served him and Murong Chuyi, but not Mo Xi. This was already quite awkward. On top of that, Mo Xi was a pampered scion who never dirtied his hands with such tasks; there was no way he'd know how to carve roast goose. The atmosphere grew even more uncomfortable.
Just as Jiang Yexue was about to speak up to smooth things over, Gu Mang looked up. "Oh right. I forgot about yours, Xihe-jun."
Mo Xi was silent.
He continued: "Do you want me to help you cut some?"
But before Mo Xi could respond, Gu Mang went back to eating from his banana leaf with a smile. "Aiya, never mind," he said without a hint of sincerity. "Think how much blood I have on my hands; how could the noble and honorable Xihe-jun be willing to eat anything I've touched? You'd better do it yourself."
"There's no need," Mo Xi replied. "I'm not hungry."
Jiang Yexue knew Mo Xi was incredibly stubborn. He couldn't help saying, "Xihe-jun, you've only just recovered, you should really eat something—"
"It's fine." Mo Xi stood. "You guys go ahead. I'll worry about myself."
"But…"
"If he says he's fine, believe him." Gu Mang pulled Jiang Yexue back and smiled. "Xihe-jun isn't some fifteen-year-old brat who's just joined the army anymore—give him some credit. Jiang-xiong, do you want another drumstick?"
Jiang Yexue fell silent.
When they'd finished the goose and had some tea and refreshments, it was time for Gu Mang to go. He summoned the demonic weapon Yongye and prepared to set off. "You guys should sit in the cave and meditate, recover some spiritual energy. Wait a shichen for me; if I haven't found a suitable demon by then, I'll use the old way to tell you. Understood?"
This "old way" was via messenger butterfly. When they had been out on the battlefield in the past, their scouts had used them to pass intel from the front lines to their comrades.
"Yes, don't worry." Jiang Yexue said.
Gu Mang hid the dagger in his sleeve. "I'm off, then."
His silhouette vanished as he leapt swiftly into the darkness.
Mo Xi stood at the cave mouth. As Gu Mang had left, they'd brushed shoulders, but neither had looked at the other. Now that Gu Mang was out of sight, Mo Xi stared out toward where he had melted into the gloom.
Jiang Yexue came to Mo Xi's side. "What happened to you?"
Mo Xi's velvet lashes lowered. He said nothing.
"You've been acting strange ever since you came out of the Time Mirror. I asked Gu Mang about it a bit ago. He said the Mirror shocked his brain and repaired most of his memories, but he didn't say much more. I knew I wouldn't get anything else out of him, so I let it go." Jiang Yexue paused. "Now that he's gone, can you tell me what you saw in the Mirror?"
"We returned to eight years ago," Mo Xi replied.
Jiang Yexue's eyes widened. "Right after Gu Mang defected?"
"No. Before," said Mo Xi. "The days before he defected."
Seeing the way Mo Xi's face went ashen, Jiang Yexue hesitantly asked, "In the Mirror, did you try to persuade Gu Mang to change his mind?"
"Mn. I tried. But it was no use," Mo Xi said wearily. "That's not the most important part though. The most important is…I saw some things we didn't know about before."
The hand Jiang Yexue had laid on the arm of his wheelchair curled slightly. "What did you see?" he asked with concern.
Mo Xi paused for a moment. "I can't say yet. I'm missing a lot of context, and what I know is only the tip of the iceberg. I want to wait until we return to the capital. I need to investigate some events that happened eight years ago."
Jiang Yexue had opened his mouth to reply when they suddenly heard Yue Chenqing's faint, teary voice from the depths of the cave. He sobbed, "Fourth Uncle…"