Qiao Xian recalled that it was a rainy night when she met Cui Buqu.
During that time, she had just been expelled from her sect and was left with nowhere to go. All of a sudden, she saw a lantern radiating in the night.
The light belonged to a posthouse in the outskirts, prepared for the people who arrived too late and were forbidden to enter the city. Below the lantern was located a stall selling hot soup.
There weren't many people. Other than the stall's owner, there was only one more person.
That person looked like he was sick and not fond of moving around. He was sitting there quietly, thinking profoundly as he watched the bowl of hot soup on the table.
When the other raised his head, he conveniently met her wandering gaze.
Through the thick curtain of rain, Qiao Xian could hear the other's voice: "Want to have a bowl of hot soup?"
And so, she said yes.
There were many people in the Zuoyue Bureau who laughed at her for being overly dependent on Cui Buqu, and some of them even suspected that Qiao Xian's admiration for Commander Cui surpassed that of normal people.
Qiao Xian snickered at all these rumours, refusing to explain herself.
Cui Buqu pulled her up when she was at her most distressing moment, brought her to his side, and taught her how to do things, allowing her to become the Qiao Xian of the Zuoyue Bureau that she is today, and not the Qiao Xian who was condemned by everyone as a traitor.
If Feng Xiao was Pei Jingzhe's saviour, then Cui Buqu was Qiao Xian's. For the gratitude, for the debt she owed, as well as their relationship as teacher and student, Qiao Xian was willing to leap into a cauldron of boiling water and blazing fire for him.
But, she too had times when she was forced to act against her will.
She hadn't expected that four years ago, that act would turn scarier and scarier as the days passed. After that, the matter had reached a point where she could no longer control it. Like a wild horse that had lost its reins who galloped forward with an indomitable will, no longer able to be pulled back.
She thought that this path up the mountains, though uneven, would still lead to the top. But Qiao Xian realized that she had erred greatly. From the beginning, this path was heading towards a cliff, and she was walking along the edge, with all the paths behind her cut off. She could neither move forward nor backwards, leaving her uncertain of what to do.
The abyss parted its bloody mouth open wide, staring at her with a frozen gaze, preparing to swallow her at any moment.
"Maiden Qiao?"
"What did you say?" Qiao Xian pulled herself back and mumbled.
"I said, if you have something in your heart that you cannot tell me, why don't you tell Master Cui? He has a lot of ideas. Surely he can help you solve them." Perhaps with a superior like Feng Xiao, who was wild and unbridled, compared to him, Pei Jingzhe is a lot more gentle and patient.
Qiao Xian lowered her gaze. "What if, it's something even the Commander couldn't solve?"
Pei Jingzhe blinked. He began to understand why Cui Buqu wanted him to come in the first place.
"It's not too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been stolen."
...
Rong Qing didn't expect Cui Buqu's words to be fulfilled so quickly.
The posthouse's territory was like an invisible border. Outside, no one dared to reach in at the moment, but the enemy would make every attempt to kill the ones inside.
At noon of the same day, the blood-covered unopened edict was delivered back, the little courtyard of the posthouse welcomed a wave of four assassins in total.
The assassins weren't bad fighters. In the scenario that Rong Qing was alone, he would have already died a few times. But as Pei Jingzhe was leading two Jiejian members, into the attack, they managed to overpower three assassins while the remaining one escaped carrying heavy wounds, though he probably wouldn't live for long.
When night came, someone lit the back courtyard on fire. As everyone busied themselves with putting it off, someone tried to poison the food in the kitchen but he had been discovered by Cui Buqu and was seized.
Two incidents happening subsequently made them fall into a state of anxiety that Cui Buqu might as well dismiss every servant, maid, and guard in the posthouse, leaving behind only people from the Zuoyue and Jiejian Bureaus. For a while, everything was quiet.
Rong Qing was afraid, but Cui Buqu, superior to him in power and rank, was quiet as if all was peaceful. Rong Qing was affected by this, and hence slowly calmed down.
From morning until evening, Feng Xiao hadn't returned. Guan Shanhai, too, didn't show up. Slowly, Pei Jingzhe felt the pressure coming in from the outside.
He felta premonition that a horrendous wave of explosive rain would be coming.
As the night swallowed up the final wisp of cloud on the horizon, the world of mortals fell into moonless darkness.
When Pei Jingzhe walked into the living hall, Cui Buqu was sitting next to the fire for warmth.
He truly did have the mood to read, and the book wasn't just for show. Because Pei Jingzhe obviously saw him flip a page, and the corner of his lips curled slightly.
"Is there a reason Master Cui is smiling?"
Pei Jingzhe felt himself sweating as he walked close to the fire, and so couldn't help himself taking a few steps backwards, picking a place further away to sit down.
Although it was already autumn, in this weather, usually people would not need a brazier. Cui Buqu feared both the heat and the cold, so he found it best to remain next to the brazier.
"I am reading a short classic that tells of two brothers fighting for a wife." Cui Buqu replied to him.
Pei Jingzhe found it difficult to believe that Cui Buqu still had the mood to read fiction. He couldn't help asking: "Sir, my Lord has already left for half a day. When do you think he would return? Would he be in danger?"
Cui Buqu shook his head.
Pei Jingzhe relaxed, before hearing the other say: "Danger; it is inherent."
"Then why are you shaking your head?" Pei Jingzhe twitched his lips.
Cui Buqu: "Shaking my head meaning, I do not know when he will return. However, disasters live a thousand years1; you may find solace in this."
Pei Jingzhe: "…"
He wanted to protest that his Lord is a good person, but saying that would make him fall into the other's "Good people don't often live long" pit.
These two archenemies walk a narrow road side by side. When they're together, they'd feel itchy if they don't dig a pit for each other. Pei Jingzhe had long grown numb to that.
"Sir, there is something I don't understand. These few assassination attempts are just like wounds that neither hurt nor itch. This doesn't seem like the way the Thirteen Pavilion of Yunhai's style. They wouldn't have used underhanded methods like this, or have I overrated them?"
"You didn't overrate them." Cui Buqu finally placed the book down, "Because they are not people from the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai."
Pei Jingzhe immediately said: "What do you mean?"
Cui Buqu raised two fingers. "Yang Yun and the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai are two different groups of people."
Since they came to Guangqian Prefecture, the enemy has made a few moves.
Trying to form ties with Rong Qing at the banquet.
Take an initial move and murder Huang Lue, then try to place the blame on Rong Qing.
Wounding Guan Shanhai and the others heavily, stalling Feng Xao during the ambush at Qixia Villa. They have even changed Cui Buqu's array.
And now they're repeatedly facing attempted assassination.
These moves are sometimes incredibly cunning, yet sometimes plain and unoriginal. They're obviously not from the same person.
"Yang Yun and Xiao Lu are working together, but they have no dependence on one another. Yang Yun has his own plans, he would not listen to Xiao Lu's every order. As for Xiao Lu, he is bidding for time, so he is more patient than most. Once he attacks, he wouldn't hold back. So up till now, these few assassination attempts should, by right, come from Yang Yun."
"Now, although our side is the weaker one, Yang Yun is oblivious to this. He wouldn't know how many trump cards we have, so with each time he tests us, he is searching for our limits. Once he thinks that we no longer pose a threat, he will emerge from his nest and annihilate us, to ensure that we came here alive, but leave this place dead."
"Yet, if Yang Yun makes a move, it does not mean Xiao Lu has made a move. Now, Yang Yun is practically like an agitated dog trying to leap over the wall, yet Xiao Lu remained quiet. He, Xiao Lu, still remains our greatest enemy."
Pei Jingzhe has been enlightened.
He too felt that something was strange, but as to what was strange about the entire matter, he couldn't lay a finger on it. With just a few sentences, Cui Buqu could smother the concerns he could not put into words.
"That means now we need to wait for Xiao Lu to make his move?"
Yet Cui Buqu shook his head: "Xiao Lu is still observing because Yang Yun hasn't made his final move. This time he would most certainly give his all to annihilate us as we stand."
Pei Jingzhe gave a sullen expression. "My Lord hasn't returned, and Guan Shanhai isn't here. The two Zuoyue guards who came with you have already been sent out. Presently, there's only me, Qiao Xian, and two Jiejian members. We could deal with five or six assassins, but I fear Yang Yun has more people than that. If he sends a few dozens more, we will have difficulties."
Cui Buqu laughed. "A few dozens? You have underestimated Yang Yun. He has been operating in Guangqian Prefecture for three years. How many of his own private soldiers has he bred using the rations that the Imperial Court gave him, as well as those from distinguished families? Additionally, his alliance with Xiao Lu has surely given him quite a few benefits. Those assassins from before and that fire were all little theatres made to test us. Even if Yang Yun couldn't move one soldier or horse, a few hundred people surrounding this posthouse would be enough to swallow us whole!"
The more Pei Jingzhe listened, the paler he got. "Then, should I go find my Lord now and ask him to come back?"
Cui Buqu smiled vaguely. "I fear it's too late."
As he spoke those words, Pei Jingzhe heard a deep rumbling sound.
It came from afar, rolling forth, yet in the end, it didn't explode.
This situation carried on for a few breaths. Suddenly, he realized that it's not some rumbling sound of thunder. They were the sound soldiers riding here on horses!
Judging by the sound, even if there weren't thousands, they would be hundreds.
A few hundred people on the battlefield would naturally be swallowed up whole until nothing was left, but they were just a few people in a post house. This is like butchering a chicken with knives meant for cows, enough to spare and plenty more left.
Pei Jingzhe was aware that his martial arts were only above average. In the Jianghu, he would perhaps be a Second-grade grandmaster. But faced before such heavy ranks of soldiers, he might not even escape on his own, let alone taking Cui Buqu and Rong Qing out of harm's way.
A few plans to escape came to his mind, but they were very quickly discarded. Pei Jingzhe spoke quickly, "Mister Cui, from the way I see it, now we only have two choices: either Qiao Xian and I clear out a path while we defend you, or Imperial Censor Rong and you could go hide in the cellar while we deal with them here. Once the danger is over, you people can come out."
The sounds of horse hooves from the outside drew nearer, almost reaching their doors. His tone unconsciously brought a sliver of agitation.
Yet Cui Buqu said: "I refuse. It's too cowardly and lacks a striking image."
Pei Jingzhe practically pulled his hair out, in his heart he said: It's already come to this! It wouldn't be bad if we could keep our lives, what striking image do you want?!
"Then, do you have a better idea?"
Cui Buqu cocked his head to the side thoughtfully and surprisingly said: "How about begging them using my peerless elegance?"
Pei Jingzhe: "…"
His expression was blank, almost suspecting that his speaking adversary was Feng Xiao in disguise.
Thunder roared and shook the grounds in the silent and dark night.
Every door of every house was shut tight, no one dared to throw away their life because of curiosity.
Pei Jingzhe's mouth foamed. He was prepared to drop everything and just stuff Cui Buqu and Rong Qing into the cellar when he saw Cui Buqu rising to his feet and smothering the wrinkles of his robes.
"Just kidding. Those words are what that oleander fairy would say. Come."
"Where?" Pei Jingzhe asked on instinct.
"Open the doors wide and welcome the guests."
Rong Qing remained silent, following behind them.
His journey through the last few days was bumpy and uneven, experiencing everything he had never experienced before in the last twenty years all at once. He originally felt panic-stricken and disoriented, but now he's slowly growing numb to it.
However, his steadiness improved. This time he wouldn't be rash and hasty again. Xiao-Liu's death had made him learn how to take the winding road to ponder over how he should deal with his enemies.
Until this second, he was willing to let Cui Buqu make the decision, let Cui Buqu lay the orders—but of course, even if he screamed his throat raw now, no one would listen to him.
The thundering rumbles continued.
At any time now someone would burst through the doors.
Yang Yun was on horseback on a high pedestal. He raised a hand, and all the knocking and shouting stopped.
"Cui Buqu, I know you are inside. As long as you come out and cease to put up a fight, everyone inside will be spared."
There was no need for Yang Yun to shout. The night itself was silent to begin with, he refused to believe Cui Buqu couldn't hear him.
He refrained from bursting in now only because he didn't know whether there were traps Cui Buqu had deployed inside.
He had heard about this sly and dangerous Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau before, but since they hadn't bantered face-to-face at least once, he had only heard of most of the things, from sources like the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai no less.
As he thought about the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai, Yang Yun felt trouble rising up in his chest again.
As Cui Buqu had expected, he didn't share any dependence with the Thirteen Pavilion of Yunhai, and that both of them were just working together.
To put it in an unpleasant way, they were just using each other.
When the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai first came to him, it was because they valued his rebelling ambitions, and thus offered to him a vast scheme. But Yang Yun wasn't willing to continue being dragged by them, neither was he willing to obey them and turn himself into an informational puppet and so he discreetly categorized their relationship as mere teamwork. Thus, even if he used the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai to pave his own path, there was no need to be linked with them.
But the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai was no fool. They obviously felt Yang Yun's disobedience of going his own way, and so from the day before yesterday, they weren't willing to divulge any information. Yang Yun didn't know whether they would deal with Cui Buqu and Rong Qing, but in order to ensure nothing fails under any circumstances, he could only do it himself and keep them here forever.
Following behind Yang Yun was Wu Yi.
Li Yan didn't come, because he was a coward with a worrying heart. But Wu Yi had more guts, and ever since he sailed the same boat with Yang Yun, he knew he could never turn back. After Huang Lue's death, Wu Yi was enlightened that he was determined to live on and live better. So he prayed that Yang Yun's boat could ride through the winds and storms, and not strike a reef.
"Governor, why don't we shoot a few fire arrows in and take a look." Wu Yi suggested.
Yang Yun vaguely nodded his head.
Wu Yi gestured a hand to call for subordinates, wanting them to make the move, yet he saw the posthouse's gates opening slowly, the fires inside bright.
The mastermind they were searching for, Cui Buqu, was sitting in the centre of the room, a table in front of him, alone, and with a complete tea set in front of him. The steam from the cup was still fuming. Cui Buqu raised the cup against Yang Yun, greeting him from afar.
"There is neither wind nor rain, perhaps the flood will recede in a few days. Is Governor Yang interested in drinking tea with me? To celebrate that the old man in the sky has finally come to his senses?"
Wu Yi immediately urged in a hushed tone: "Governor, don't fall for it. He is trying to goat you into action!"
Yang Yun naturally wouldn't enter. He snorted coldly. "Cui Buqu, Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau, I have long heard of your name. It's a pity that tonight is the moment of your death! Even if you put up ten unfortified cities2, it would be to no avail."
He was completely uninterested in listening to Cui Buqu's nonsense. With a wave of his hand, the bowmen on his left and right climbed the surrounding walls.
In a twinkling, a few dozen arrows pointed at Cui Buqu in the centre of the courtyard in an orderly manner. As soon as Yang Yun's hand fell, the arrows would be released, turning Cui Buqu into a dead human sieve.
The doors shut tightly.
Rong Qing, Pei Jingzhe and the others, were sitting and waiting inside the room, facing one another.
They didn't go out. It was Cui Buqu's orders.
In this kind of situation, whether how many people were outside, or how many less, it would not make a difference. Unless a few of them had martial arts like Feng Xiao's, they wouldn't have to worry about the arrows raining from above or spears from forests. But in the end, there was only one Feng Xiao in this world.
Rong Qing heard the commotion outside, his heart leaping into his throat.
He was thinking: If he had been Cui Buqu, under his kind of situation, what should he do to escape such a dangerous situation?
But regardless of how much he slept on it, he could think of nothing.
The most Cui Buqu could do was to just say a few words. If he used them to say something that would make those bowmen's conscience wake up, abandon Yang Yun and surrender themselves, it was feared that he would be dead before he could finish speaking.
But if not this, then what more could he do?
Pei Jingzhe was also thinking.
Could it be that he was waiting for Feng Xiao and Guan Shanhai's return? To shoot them back?
Impossible. Even if Feng Xiao could come back in time, within the blink of an eye, he cannot rescue Cui Buqu from the rain of arrows.
What did Cui Buqu have that he would bet everything on, so that they could all remain inside and not come out?
He surely wouldn't have thought that by sacrificing himself, the others would be spared, right?
If Yang Yun could kill even the Zuoyue Commander, then the others were nothing more than just small fishes and shrimps.
Pei Jingzhe's forehead had begun to ooze sweat. His palms were slippery, his expression nervous and jumpy.
He opened his eyes to look at Qiao Xian and Rong Qing.
Both of them looked pale; Qiao Xian's teeth were gritted, looking like she'd rush out at any moment. However, as Pei Jingzhe had tapped her acupoints and Cui Buqu had given the order, she remained quiet.
The three of them looked more like sorry figures compared to Cui Buqu, but neither of them could find it in themselves to laugh at the other. They would have given anything to stare outside the window.
The weight of a thousand, hanging by a strand of hair.
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[1] 祸害遗千年 (lit. Disasters live behind a thousand years) from 好人不长命,祸害遗千年 means that good people usually don't live long, but disasters (bad people) usually have prolonged lives. In this context, Cui Buqu means that Feng Xiao would live a thousand years and there's no need for Pei Jingzhe to worry he'd die. If Pei Jingzhe protests against it and wants to say that Feng Xiao is a good person, then he's cursing his own Lord to have an early death.
[2] 空城计: (lit. Empty City Strategy) refers to a strategy to lure curious enemies into your own territories by behaving as if no one is watching.