Here, there were bed and cabinets made of wood, and other furniture were made of either cloth or ceramic. After a wild fire, nearly nothing was left. Even the ceramic items were burnt into something pitch black, its smell refusing to leave and spread everywhere.
The Shaman's corpse was long moved to somewhere else to be taken care of, and no clues would be left in this place. As Jin Lian brought Feng Xiao into the hut and turned one round, her heart was also burning like fire, her anxiety gradually rising.
"What can you find?" She could not help but asked.
Feng Xiao knelt on the ground, looking over it for practically half a day, before rising to his feet and clapped his hands free of dust. "Ask someone to bring a pail of water."
Jin Lian's heartbeat quickened, "Why? Did you find something?"
Feng Xiao, "No. I just want to wash my hands."
Jin Lian: "..."
She really wanted to pick up the ceramic container on the ground and clasp it on top of Feng Xiao's head.
But she dared not.
Jin Lian inhaled deeply before exhaling, but she could not exhale out all the burnt smell.
"Lord Feng, this is a matter of life and death. The Khan has been angered for real. If we do not find the murderer in time, then he really might cast the death penalty upon Master Cui."
Feng Xiao casually nodded his head, "En. With me here, even if luck is not on our side, I will just simply grab the man and bring him away."
Jin Lian had always been afraid of people like him, just because his martial arts are par excellence, he would not put anything or anyone in his eyes. All they would do was sweep their butts and leave. But the problem lied in the fact that she cannot leave and pretend nothing happened, since this time such a big matter has been provoked. Chances of an alliance are silm, and Jin Lian could only pray that Khan Apa would not cast a penalty upon her, yet can that be achieved easily?
Since she cannot force it, she can only reason her way through it.
Jin Lian laughed bitterly, "Young Master Feng, your martial arts are enough to pierce the skies, a rarity beneath the Heavens, naturally you hold no fear. But you should also think about Master Cui. This time he came here on orders of the Imperial Court, if he cannot finish what he came here for, how can he explain the matter once he returned? I fear that removing him from his post would only be the lightest sentence?"
Feng Xiao gave her a strange glance, "Why should I think for him? He already owed me a deed for saving his life. As for the Emperor, I would trade anything for him to suspend the Zuoyue Bureau. Wouldn't the Jiejian Bureau lose one rival from it?"
Jin Lian almost wanted to pull her hair out. She has never met someone as difficult as Feng Xiao. Cui Buqu was also one of them, but Feng Xiao was even more stubborn and difficult. Right now, Cui Buqu was under house arrest, even if he was the smartest man on the continent, it would be difficult for him to do anything. That would make Feng Xiao's role unavoidably more important, but he refused to obey the usual protocols and did not even show any traces of being anxious.
Why don't she try begging the big Kedun and the First Prince? Their impression of the Sui Empire's ambassadors aren't bad, and the First Prince seemed to be quite friendly with Cui Buqu, perhaps they would agree to beg for mercy on their behalf.
As Jin Lian thought of this, she turned away.
Feng Xiao saw through her intention and said, "Even if you go looking for the First Prince, it would not be much use. Although they support the alliance with the Sui Empire, but now, if the First Prince begged for mercy on behalf of the Sui Empire's ambassadors, then the suspicion of the Second Prince's murder and scheming with the Sui Empire would fall upon him. His mother would never allow that to happen."
Jin Lian's footsteps stopped. It wasn't because she did not understand, but because she was desperate, yet left with no options.
"Master Cui gave himself up, in exchange for Young Master Feng's freedom. I fear, he would never thought that Young Master Feng you would look back, isn't it?"
Towards her sarcasm, Feng Xiao replied in a calm tone, "I was just waiting."
Jin Lian asked suspiciously, "What are you waiting for?"
Feng Xiao, "Waiting for Cui Buqu. When he chose to remain behind, he had said and told me nothing. I suppose there are things he have not figured out yet, so once he figures it out, naturally he will send word to me."
Once his words dissipated, from outside, word really did came.
Feng Xiao and Jin Lian both exited the stone hut to see Qiao Xian's figure bouncing up and down as she very quickly made her way to them from afar.
Dressed in white robes like elegant silk flowing in the wind, it made her befitting of the meaning of her name that meant 'fairy'.
However, Qiao Xian's expression was not as elegant as her qinggong.
"The Commander ordered me to bring word to you," Qiao Xian said in a rush, "He said: tell him to go as far as possible, never to come for me, tell him to not even think of taking revenge on Khan Apa. There are countless martial artists by his side, with just the two of you, it is impossible to win against them."
"Did Master Cui really said that?" Jin Lian became anxious once she heard of it, and thought to herself that, Feng Xiao originally didn't even want to rescue him, now that he said this, isn't it just giving Feng Xiao even more reason to leave?
Qiao Xian sighed, "Yes! Commander said if I wanted to rescue him, then I must bring these words to Commander Feng."
She has been pondering over this before she came here, but she could not find what was so special about these words, so she could only place all her hope on Feng Xiao.
Feng Xiao sighed, "Look at yourself. He told you to tell me this, yet he did not allow you to ponder over this, because he knew you cannot figure out what these words meant. In the end, your hopes still depend on me."
Qiao Xian could no longer hold back, "So, what is the meaning of these words?"
Feng Xiao snorted out a laugh, "Do you feel that, with the personality your Commander holds, that he would be the type to sacrifice himself for others?"
Qiao Xian said impatiently, "I do not understand! Can you please be more frank, and explain it more straightforwardly?"
Feng Xiao spoke with a deep and profound voice, "Of course he is not. He is the type of person who digs the type of pit that other people would fall into at least three times. Even if he jumps into it himself, that sly fox would drag others down with him. You have been his subordinate for so long, how can you not understand anything about him?"
A popping vein appeared on Qiao Xian's head, as if she was going to explode any moment.
Feng Xiao, "So the true message of these words, is in the opposite meaning of them."
Jin Lian immediately asked, "How?"
Feng Xiao, "To ask us to go as far as possible, never to come for him, meant that he wants us to go to him; to ask us to not seek Khan Apa for revenge, meant that the solution is most likely the Khan himself."
The more Jin Lian listened to it, the more she was confused, "He mean to beg for mercy on his behalf from the Khan?"
Feng Xiao, "No. It is very likely that he has already figured it out. The Khan himself is the problem. I will look for the Khan, you guys look for Cui Buqu, remember to stay by his side at all times and never leave him alone."
As he spoke, his expression switched, and he bent down to pick up a stone before turning his body sideways to toss it into the distance.
Jin Lian and Qiao Xian watched a person appeared from the forest behind the stone hut at the speed of lightning, before charging himself towards Feng Xiao.
Feng Xiao expected this, so his stance did not change. He has already took a few steps back and avoided the other's attack that struck down like a clap of thunder. Instead, he returned the attack, not allowing the other party the chance to respond to it.
Qiao Xian and Jin Lian watched as both of them fought in a ferocious battle, their strikes and moves like shooting stars and lightining. Never mind going forward to support him, they could not even find a way to join the battle themselves. Both of them were confused, because Fo Er is dead, so who else is there whose martial arts were as powerful as Fo Er?
Not only did the other party showed up in time, but even his martial arts technique were incredibly strange. There was no need for swords and knives, once his hand was raised, it reached into his sleeve to take out something that reflected the light. When one inspected closely, it was a chain that looked it was made by neither gold nor silver, and it was as if the chain had a life of its own, avoding Feng Xiao's attacks and curled itself around his arm.
Feng Xiao only smiled as he flipped his hands slightly and the chain released him. However, the latter did not falter, it resumed to attack all the vital meridians on Feng Xiao on its master's behalf.
People who used these sort of weapons are aplenty, but they are not huge in numbers. If Cui Buqu was here, he would have known the other's identity.
It was a pity that Cui Buqu wasn't here, so Feng Xiao could only depend on himself.
The other party was deadly and precise, his techniques are malicious. With every move and step he took, he left no mercy or escape for the other. It was as if he was already determined to kill Feng Xiao on the spot.
Although Feng Xiao's martial arts were par excellence, but because of the injuries he sustained when he fought with the mysterious man in the stone hut and when he fought with Fo Er, it would only worsen his wounds, not heal them. Had it been the number one fighter of the world, even they would not have been able to keep fighting one battle after the last.
Even if now, his performance are not bad, the man who fought with him believed that Feng Xiao was already near his limit and would die here today.
The other laughed, long hating him in his heart, and his attacks became even more merciless and fatal.
On the other hand, Qiao Xian and Jin Lian could not even escape themselves and depart the venue. A few people in black came from afar and barricaded their path.
Thse people in black seemed as if they appeared out of thin air. They have never seen them before, and they all looked as if they came from the same sect, or that they were taught and raised by the same person. However, why would such a group of people appear in Western Göktürk?
Could it be that they were the ones who murdered the HeiYue Shaman and the Second Prince?
Jin Lian received a sword to her waist, and stomached her pain as she thought about this.
...
"Commander Feng would never make it in time. Let me warn you to not invest your hopes on that." Yu Xiu smiled lightly before repeated his words once more.
When he saw Cui Buqu's coughing became worse, it was as if he felt a little pity for him, so he reached out to smooth the other's back a few times.
Cui Buqu did not care enough to avoid him, neither did he have the strength to. The spot between his eyebrows curled, yet he mustered all his strength to keep his eyes open, refusing to close them.
"To you, I have always had a question. No matter how much I think about it, I can never figure it out." Once the coughing ceased, Cui Buqu said slowly.
Yu Xiu smiled faintly, "Do you wish to ask that, why, as a strategist of Prince Jin who received his utmost respect and trust would want to go against you both? Even if it wasn't comparable to the authorities both of you possess, but my future is still bright, especially when I come from a prestigious sect, even if I chose to roam Jianghu, I could have still built quite a name for myself, yet I chose to be both of your enemy?"
Cui Buqu's brow knitted, "That is right. Do you have enmity with Prince Jin, so you chose to remain by his side, using your position to scheme for him, but in truth you were simply using all kinds of ways to lead the Sui Empire to annihilation, then pull Prince Jin down with you?"
Yu Xiu shook his head, "Prince Jin and I, have neither enmity in the past, nor the present."
Cui Buqu, "Then, was it because Prince Jin is ambitious, so he created the Yunhai Thirteen Stories in secret, and ordered you to gather all the talented people to overthrow the Crown Prince and change the era of the Sui Empire?"
Yu Xiu laughed, "You really are... I would hate to kill you since the beginning. Had it not been you going against me all the time, how would you succumb to such a situation?"
Cui Buqu closed his eyes and talked to himself, "The Yunhai Thirteen Stories had Thirteen Lord at their lead. Each of them bear a name. Fong Xiaolian ranked the last, Duan Qigu filled number Twelve, Yu Heng filled number Eleven, with your abilities, you would not be just around this range. Could you be the Master One they spoke of?"
Yu Xiu shook his head, "I am not."
Once he saw Cui Buqu's expression, he laughed, "I know you do not believe me, but I really am not."
At the present, Yu Xiu's expressions and actions were all relaxed and laid back, because he was positively confident that everything was in his hands, and he did not fear that Cui Buqu would unleash any sort of tricks—only if Feng Xiao remained delayed, even with Cui Buqu's intelligence, he would not be able to try anything.
However, his smile froze on his face.
Yu Xiu rose to his feet, and the entire atmosphere sank into a deep state. Lastly, he found an incense burner hidden in a dark corner behind the cabinet.
He took the incense burner and smelled it, before his face changed quickly. He tossed the incense burner onto the ground cruelly and pulled a cloth to cover his face. Then he walked up front and used a hand to squeeze Cui Buqu's throat, pressing him against the ground and watched the other's face turned green. He said angrily, "What did you mix into the incense?!"
Cui Buqu forced those words out of his mouth, soundlessly, one by one, "Nai, he, xiang."
With these three words, Yu Xiu's killing intent peaked, as if they materialized, and with his other hand on Cui Buqu's throat, they became his catalyst to the afterlife.
Fresh blood leaked from the corner of Cui Buqu's mouth.