Qiao Xian has prepared some dishes for Cui Buqu when he woke up to eat.
It has been many years since she took care of Cui Buqu, so her culinary skills only got better the more she practices. If they leave the capital for quests or missions, she would not entrust Cui Buqu to another person and insists on cooking for him herself.
Once the fracolin stew pours down his throat, immediately, Cui Buqu could recognize the dish was cooked by Qiao Xian herself.
"Before listening to the good news and the bad news, I first need to ask Commander Feng one question." Cui Buqu finishes the stew and places the bowl down.
Feng Xiao rises to his feet, "It is too late. Just now when I wanted to speak, you forbade me, now you want me to speak, I refuse. Goodbye."
Cui Buqu, "I wanted to ask why, when I woke up, I feel my body aching all over, especially my right shoulder, as if I've just fallen down."
Feng Xiao says innocently, "If you ask me, who should I ask? You have been crawling in the underground vault for so long, how can you not get injured?"
Cui Buqu props his chin onto his palm, his expression unchanging, "Why is there a bump on my head?"
Feng Xiao coughs twice, "After you fainted, a big bad person ran out and wanted to kidnap you. I have wasted a lot of energy to chase her away, after that I even used a lot of strength to carry you back. Before that, you were searching Duan Qigu's corpse and got blood all over yourself, and I did not even mind. Not only did you not thank me, but you want to interrogate me instead?"
Cui Buqu asks curiously, "What big bad person?"
Both Duan Qigu and Xing Mao were practically annihilated by them during that time.
Feng Xiao, "Bing Xuan."
Cui Buqu: "…."
Feng Xiao smirks, "Why? Could it be that Master Daoist Cui is finally seduced by her?"
Cui Buqu says coldly, "That's right. Can I request Commander Feng to chase her back for me?"
Feng Xiao fans himself with his fan, "That is indeed difficult. Yan Xuexing's martial arts are unsurpassed, he himself is not too bad a man. You are no match for him. Why don't you lower your standards a little? I might be able to introduce you to that plump little maidservant who serves Gao Yi."
"Stop talking nonsense. What is the result of the interrogation of Yu Heng?" Cui Buqu rubs the bump on his head gently, and in his heart, he tells himself that this would need at least two to three days for the swell to heal, and whether or not Feng Xiao is the cause of this incident, this debt is definitely on him. Cui Buqu knows this is definitely the right choice to make no matter what.
Feng Xiao raises a finger.
"The bad news first: Yu Heng is dead."
Cui Buqu: ...
It felt like a thunder is cast down to strike him the moment he wakes up.
The corner of his eyes twitch as he forces himself to suppress his flaring temper, "Is this the first time Commander Feng is working on a case? It is not easy for us to arrest someone like this, they might have even been our breakthrough to the Yunhai Thirteen Stories, because he can provide us with information regarding the organization. Don't you know how to keep an eye on him?!"
Feng Xiao spreads his hands apart on the table, "I too know his value and his importance in our case, but don't forget that this is the county of Qiemo, not the Jiejian Bureau, and definitely not your Zuoyue Bureau. We are only four people, other than keeping him in the dungeons, would it be possible for me to remain by his side twenty four hours a day and not leaving him for a single second?"
Cui Buqu knows that what the other man said is the truth. Even in the Zuoyue Bureau, there were rules to know long they can hold a person in custody. Although they could not, similar the Minister of Justice, hold criminals under custody as long as they pleased, but a few days would be enough for them to get every information they need regarding the case. There were even more than a few ways they could make them disappear from the surface of the earth, to let them die in secrecy without the outside world ever knowing of it.
After a moment of silence, he says, "Since he did not commit suicide when he was arrested, then he would not have committed suicide at all, therefore, his motives for suicide is impossible."
Feng Xiao, "That is correct. But once he is in the dungeon, there would be a lot of opportunities for people to slip in and commit the murder. We can prevent it the first few times, but it is impossible to prevent them forever. This is Qiemo, a place where dragons and snakes all roam in one central point. From the beginning, it is not heavily guarded in the first place. Although Gao Yi has doubled the patrols, but there was one person who claims himself to be Yu Heng's friend and wanted to visit him. After the jailers receive heavy compensation, they really let them in. In the end, after that person left, we discovered that Yu Heng is already dead."
Cui Buqu, "I wager that it would be impossible to find out anything about that visitor."
Feng Xiao, "Yes, he is long gone. Gao Yi was afraid that I would be angry, so he has already ordered people to draw an illustration of his face and paste it all over the city. But to be frank, I do not think it would work."
Cui Buqu feels a headache coming in, so he rubs his temples, "I just woke up, can you not bring me some good news?"
Feng Xiao laughs, "Haha, didn't I told you just that now I still have a good news in hand?"
Cui Buqu responded, "Oh." But keeps his mouth shut and refuses to ask further.
Feng Xiao, "Ah, why have you stopped asking?"
Cui Buqu, "If I ask for it at this moment, I feel that Commander Feng would not tell me so quickly, you might even ask for another information in return."
Because the case of Qiemo has come to an end, and although the Yunhai Thirteen Stories backing Yu Heng seems to be incredibly ambitious, they are not directly related to this case. If they wanted to pursue them, it would be a wholly different matter. So once Yu Heng is dead, according to Feng Xiao's usual ways, he would not tell Cui Buqu the good news for nothing.
Feng Xiao smiles, "Haha. Master Daoist Cui, you are indeed smart. Have you thought of what to give me in exchange then?"
Cui Buqu did not hesitate and tells him, "I heard that Commander Feng has been looking for a good zither for a long time. I can tell that every zither you have used thus far is not to your liking, otherwise, you would have brought it on this trip to Qiemo."
There are very few fighters in the Jianghu province who uses a zither for a weapon. Feng Xiao is one of them, but the zither he wants isn't only just for playing music, but at the right time, he might also want to use it to bang someone. In their last encounter, when Cui Buqu saw him using his zither to bang his enemies, the energy he infuses has been too much that it immediately cracked.
Normal zithers would not be able to withstand such manner of treatment, for only zithers that are that made by special materials can be used as a weapon.
Feng Xiao suddenly says, "Even without a zither, I can still make my enemies bend the knee."
Cui Buqu, "I know the whereabouts of Rao Liang."
Feng Xiao, "Are you speaking about Rao Liang from the Spring and Autumn period?"
Cui Buqu, "That is correct."
Rao Liang a zither from the legends. According to stories from the Spring and Autumn period, someone once gifted it to the King Zhuang of Chu. The King was then mesmerized by the song played by it and did not show up in court for a subsequent seven days. After the Queen's persuasion, only did he used a Tie Ruyi to smash it into pieces.
From then on, Rao Liang is lost to the world. When future generations speak of Rao Liang, they can only but imagine its beautiful melody in their minds.
Feng Xiao, "In the aftermath of Rao Liang, there is no longer Rao Liang in this world."
Cui Buqu, "There is. The zither has a twin, one by the name of Yu Yin, one by the name of Rao Liang. After Hua Yuan presented Rao Liang as a gift before the King Zhuang of Chu, Rao Liang is lost to the world, but Yu Yin remains, and is kept as a treasure until this day. I know where it is. If Rao Liang is able to seduce King Zhuang with its melody, it is definitely outstanding among its peers, if a practitioner of the martial arts could get his hands on it, his abilities will definitely be amplified. From what I know, Rao Liang and Yu Yin are casted by celestial stones from another heaven. Even if you want to use it to bang someone, there is no need to worry it would shatter."
Feng Xiao, "Where is it?"
Cui Buqu, "Let's work together."
Feng Xiao twitches his lips, "Done."
Cui Buqu makes a flourish with his hand, meaning that Feng Xiao should speak first.
Feng Xiao, "Before Yu Heng died, he has already told us everything he knows. It is quite similar to what we have heard from Duan Qigu, there isn't many differences. He only know the Pavilion Lord before and after himself and did not know who the rest are. Fong Xiaolian is number thirteen, Duan Qigu is number twelve, Yu Heng is number eleven, and the one before Yu Heng, is empty.
Cui Buqu furrows his eyebrow, "No one?"
Feng Xiao nods his head, "According to Yu Heng, the Yunhai Thirteen Stories are secretly gathering all young talents beneath the Heavens, to garner them all in one organization, and arrange them according to the strength of their abilities. Duan Qigu was dissatisfied that he is only Master Twelve, but once he got to know who is ranked number six, he immediately ditched his idea of trying to climb to higher pedestals."
Cui Buqu, "Who?"
Feng Xiao, "Far away in the Kingdom of Goguryeo, the sect leader of the Fuyu Sect, Gao Yun."
It is this Gao Yun, the one who sent Su Xing and Qin Miaoyu to the Central Plains and serve as spies for decades to come, passing encoded messages and investigating inside information, causing unrest in the Central Plains whenever possible. In fact, Su Xing once said that the one who contact them in the Central Plains, is a man called Master One.
These leads all add up together now.
Cui Buqu, "Even Gao Yun can only be ranked number six, so those before him can only be even more unbeatable."
Feng Xiao bites his lip and nods his head.
Cui Buqu asks again, "Since the Yunhai Thirteen Stories are such a secretive organization, how do they communicate and contact each other?"
Feng Xiao, "They have messengers between themselves, but Yu Heng knows not of the other's identity. Every time a messenger visits, their genders, faces, and voices are all different than the last."
Cui Buqu furrows his brows, "That can't be right. The Yunhai Thirteen Stories only craves for dragons and phoenixes among people. Although Yu Heng's martial arts are not bad, but he could not have pose a threat, and he is not enough calculative nor is he cunning. How can he rank before Duan Qigu?"
Feng Xiao, "Because he says, that he is originally just a little rogue from Jian Kang city. Someone grew interested in him, so they taught him the ways of martial arts and reorganized his mannerisms. They even sent him to the Southern Chen Dynasty's Rong Hua Temple to become a monk. Step by step he became the lord then and the fact that he was recruited into the Yunhai Thirteen Stories, was also the intentions of this man."
Cui Buqu's attention is immediately drawn as one person comes to mind, "Yu Xiu?"
Feng Xiao shakes his head, "I could not get the answer to that, but if it really is Yu Xiu, then this man is indeed meticulous and wary, Yu Heng would not discover who he is."
This man, Yu Xiu, comes from a mysterious background and origin, yet he had the deep trust of Prince Jin. If he really is someone from the Yunhai Thirteen Stories, then it can be imagined how many storms and waves he will cause in the future.
Cui Buqu remains silent, his brows knitting a knot above his eyes.
On the other hand, Feng Xiao looks absolutely relaxed and carefree, as he leans back into folded arms behind his back and shakes his leg.
"A-Cui ah, I have a question."
Cui Buqu did not raise his head, he is deep in thought, "Speak."
Feng Xiao, "Your body is not good, yet every day you breach limits and think so much. Every day, when you comb your hair, did you realize that your hairline is gradually going backwards?"
Cui Buqu's train of thoughts are immediately disrupted by this. He feels impatience fills his chest and couldn't help saying, "No, I did not realize it. After all, I am not the self-centered and narcissistic Commander Feng. I fear that if you discovered that a strand of hair fell from your head, you would spend half a day crying your eyes out over it, then go about searching for a tree to bury that poor strand of hair underneath the soil, wouldn't you?"
Feng Xiao holds his stomach and laughs loudly, "You're so cute even when you're so mean!"
Cui Buqu stares at him coldly.
After Feng Xiao is done laughing, he says, "Then now you can tell me where is the zither Yu Yin?"
Cui Buqu, "An Ping, Cui's manor."
An Ping used to be called Bo Lin, so there is no need to figure out who could have possessed a legendary zither such as Yu Yin.
Once he hears the name, Feng Xiao's eyebrows raise in question, "Bolin Cui Sect?"
Cui Buqu, "That is correct."
Feng Xiao is intelligent to begin with, so he immediately whips out his fan, stringing the rest of the information together, "You are also a Cui. Could you be someone that belonged to the Bolin Cui Sect?"
Cui Buqu smiles plainly, "I have neither mother nor sire, title nor alias, and I definitely do not have brothers and sisters from such a prominent sect. Do I look like I have any?"
Feng Xiao nods his head and agrees, "That makes sense."
Before Cui Buqu can say anything, he immediately changes the course of the conversation, "From my perspective, people like those of Bolin Cui would not have the ability to raise someone as talented and gifted as you."
Spring and Autumn period: The Eastern Zhou (东周) was the second half of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It is divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States.
Tie Ruyi:
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