Feng Xiao practically thought that his spirit had left his body and fled into a carriage where the contents of the chamber pots were emptied into.
Especially when the strong stench came from both his left and right sides, materializing into something and enveloping his entire person into it. He practically ascended and would have given anything to just disperse into dust from this place on earth.
He was a germaphobe from the moment he was born; when his seniors made him do handstands against the wall when he was little to train his martial arts, in order to not let his hand come into contact with the surface of the ground, he took out the silk clothes from the bottom of boxes to place them under his palms, practically driving his seniors into a fury so strong that steam rose from their heads.
What would someone like Lord Feng think upon abruptly finding himself in such a state?
One word: Vomit.
Two words: Absolutely disgusting.
Three words: Feeling absolutely murderous.
Four words: Rather die than live.
Feng Xiao would choose to let Tuan Qinghe, Xiao Lu, and Yu Xiu attack him at the same time over remaining here for just one second longer and let his nose suffer.
The two guards on the other side of the wall are putting all their efforts into placing chamber pots on the ground.
They vomited from suffocation; even two layers of clothes wrapped around their faces could not stop the stench from entering their noses.
Thankfully, the weather in the world is still cold. Had it been the Canicular days, then it would have been a living hell.
Both of them looked at each other in the eye and said nothing. They quietly turned around and ran for their lives.
Both of the guards ran wildly along the way. It was not easy to arrive at a place near the exit before they exhaled all the breath in them.
"I'll say, with that person's identity, aren't you afraid he'll seek you for vengeance after he's let out?" The first guard took off the napkin on his face and breathed frantically.
"It's alright. It's alright. When that time comes, you and I will no longer be in this ghastly place!" The second guard laughed.
After he finished speaking, a dark and sinister voice came from the darkness behind him.
"What better places are both of you heading to? No harm in sharing a detail or two."
The second guard shivered as he slowly turned around.
An incredibly handsome face greeted his sight.
If he saw someone like that on the streets during usual days, the second guard would have stopped to take a few more looks.
But at this moment, his face turned pale as he forcibly squeezed out an ugly smile.
"Feng… Commander Feng!"
All the prison cells in the Ministry of Justice had three locks, all of them made by locksmiths used in the royal palace, so they were all fine locks. Even if notorious sea pirates were locked inside, they could have done nothing about it.
But Feng Xiao had freed himself so easily even with such a lock.
The second guard had an incredibly quick response. He immediately knelt to the ground.
"I beg Commander Feng's forgiveness. As of late, there are too many chamber pots in the prison that have nowhere to go. The two prison cells next to you were empty, and so we've made use of them temporarily. This humble one saw that you were meditating, so he dared not disturb. This humble one will be changing them now, immediately!"
Feng Xiao snickered. "How smart you are for not exposing Cui Buqu. If I had beaten you up, you could still beg for pity in front of him!"
The second was speechless.
Feng Xiao suddenly laughed. "This old man cannot stay in this place any longer. Since you people want to chase me out, then I shall grant you your wish."
He truly wanted to walk away; both of those guards were scared stiff, they dared not even move or stop him, and could only beg.
"This humble one has a family to take care of, I beg Commander Feng to spare us. This humble one will go clean those chamber pots now and buy a few fresh flowers to make this place smell nice. But you must return to where you are! Commander Feng, you can't leave!"
Both of those guards practically cried hugging Feng Xiao's thighs.
"Do you want to escape the penalty after this incident?" Feng Xiao asked.
The guards nodded their heads.
"Let me teach you a way." Feng Xiao beckoned them with a finger.
Both of them immediately leaned in close, stricken their ears, but weren't prepared for the numbing sensation that spread over their bodies. All of a sudden, they couldn't move, neither could they cry, they could only watch as Feng Xiao grabbed the back of their collar and pulled them towards a deep spot in the great prison.
Feng Xiao tossed them both into those two prison cells filled with chamber pots each, allowing them to lie in the prison with their meridians tapped and remain quietly in there for at least two shichen.
Only, once they come back to their senses, their sense of smell would have already lost its touch.
Feng Xiao snorted and turned out to leave, walking out of the great prison of the Ministry of Justice as if he was sauntering.
As he approached the gate, he took out his outer robes and simply grabbed the uniform of the prison guards from the walls. He twitched his lips, appearing to be disgusted since he had to change into them.
That bastard surnamed Cui obviously knew where his weak spots were, and now Feng Xiao could feel, from all over his body to his hair, that it smelled. He could no longer be concerned whether it was day or night, or whether the Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai were brewing a plan.
There was only one thing important to him now.
And that was to find a place to shower.
...
Kuhezhen reached out with his left wrist.
The colour of his skin was fairer than normal Göktürks.
After coming to the Central Plains, Kuhezhen realized that he was fairer than most of the people from the Central Plains as well.
The people in the Central Plains perceive fairness to be beautiful, but the Göktürks were different. So, ever since he was little, Kuhezhen was ashamed at the colour of his skin.
He was a prince of Göktürk, yet his position was very inconsequential.
Kuhezhen was holding a short dagger with his right hand as he burned its blade on a fire.
After a while, he used this knife to draw a line on his left hand.
Red seeped out of his fair skin, blood rushed to ooze out as it gathered into a stream and flowed downwards.
He steadily looked at it, the corner of his lips curving up, looking extremely like a sadist.
But in reality, that blood fell droplet by droplet onto an earthen jar on the table.
The container was pitch-black; blood made soundless as it dripped into it.
If this earthen jar, which was as big as a palm, was placed under the sun, one would realize that there are worms crawling inside of it.
These worms are thin and long and soft with a layer of mucus around them, radiating golden light in the brightness every once in a while.
Pei Jingzhe or those people from the Yandang Estate who died could surely tell the origins of those worms.
Those are the gu that have drilled into their bodies before.
As more blood dripped, the worms in the container wriggled more happily. They wriggled around freely, enjoying their rich meal of fresh blood.
The colour of Kuhezhen's face turned paler and paler, but the smile at the corner of his lips deepened.
Until someone held his hand up and tapped his meridians to stop the bleeding.
Kuhezhen's expression changed ever so slightly, wanting to withdraw his hand but was unable to. The other held on tightly to his hand and refused to let go. He instead took that earthen jar away before releasing Kuhezhen's hand.
"Tuan, you and I have never meddled with each other's matters. So don't ruin mine!" He suddenly exploded.
"I too don't wish to meddle in your affairs," Tuan Qinghe coldly said, "But look at yourself; you don't look human, nor do you look like a ghost, I fear that by the time Yang Jian dies, you would have already died from blood loss."
Kuhezhen was originally kneeling on the ground. As he heard this, he instinctively wanted to retort but felt dizziness surging over him and couldn't help but support himself with an elbow.
"Tomorrow," He pursed his lip, "As soon as tomorrow is through, the deed will be done. Don't stop me. Cui Buqu and the others aren't easy to deal with. Xiao Lu might also change sides at any time. Nobody is reliable. I can only make this bet. I will leave Feng Xiao for you; you can challenge him once and for all in a battle."
Tuan Qinghe, "What happens then? Will you die? Didn't you say you were discriminated against since you were young and are trying to make use of this opportunity to prove yourself? Even if these gu could achieve your goal, what use is there if you die?"
Kuhezhen laughed and said: "I will not die. Tuan, people like you who are born strong would never understand people like me. Even if I was tossed into the desert with only a trickle of breath left, as long as there is a little bit of water, I would continue struggling to live. Even if I become a cripple, it is fine, my consciousness is still intact and my brain is still conscious, it is enough to support Göktürk."
Tuan Qinghe, "Is there a meaning to this?"
Kuhezhen asked instead, "Then is there a meaning for you to leave the mountain looking for top martial artists? So what if you won? And so what if you lost?"
Tuan Qinghe, "The path of martial arts is boundless, but the greed for power would only lead one into self-destruction."
Kuhezhen chuckled, "Then what about your Master? Wasn't Hulugu lost due to pursuing the endless path of a martial artist? Humans will only want more and more, but everyone had something different they wanted."
Tuan Qinghe remained silent and speechless, but there was an obvious squeeze at his clear-cut jaw, indicating that its owner was not happy yet unwilling to spill his thoughts.
Kuhezhen lightened his voice, "Tuan, you and I knew each other since we were young. Although we have not spent many days together, in my heart, you and I are like friends of old. I know you care for me, and after this matter, after my wish is achieved, I will find you many top-tier martial artists and let you test your skills, so you may swiftly advance to the highest level of martial arts."
Tuan Qinghe, "You; what have you done?"
Word by word Kuhezhen spoke, "I want Yang Jian dead."
Tuan Qinghe, "…He still has many sons."
Kuhezhen shook his head, "All his sons are still young, unable to prove a threat. Without a heroic, alluring figure like him, long before the Yuwen Royal Family was replaced, Princess Qianjian had been urging Khan Father to march South. Once Yang Jian is dead, the Southern Dynasty will sing in dances and drums. She will take advantage of the opportunity and when that time comes, the Northern Dynasty will descend into chaos, and my country Göktürk will conquer the South and gain a huge share of land, reuniting the Western and Southern Göktürk."
Tuan Qinghe, "When that time comes, you will only have half a life left."
Kuhezhen, "Khan Father promised me that as long as I succeed in this, he will bestow upon me the position of Yabghu1."
Tuan Qinghe did not speak, but on his face, it was written: "how could a guarded and suspicious person like you trust his words".
Kuhezhen laughed out loud, his face turned pale and his lips quiver. As the sun rays seeped in, there was a charming look about him.
But Tuan Qinghe knew that this was not how Kuhezhen originally was. This was someone who had overexerted himself after his strength had been expended by the gu poison.
The more powerful the toxic, the more strong its countercharge was; it had always been this way.
"Naturally, I would not place my faith in anyone. However, I have also planted a gu on Khan Father's body."
Kuhezhen smiled and said, "I would naturally have one hundred ways to let him keep his word."
Tuan Qinghe, "Once you become the Yabghu, will you covet the place of Khan?"
Kuhezhen shook his head, "I have not thought so far. My experiences and dignity are not enough to convince those people and gain their loyalty. It's impossible to plant a gu in all of them. Compared to the imposing dignity of the Khan of Göktürk, perhaps scheming from a place behind him is the position that suited me the most."
"The last time," Tuan Qinghe said, "This is the last time I will be helping you."
Kuhezhen sighed, "Thank you."
...
Sixteenth of the first month, dusk.
Cui Buqu leaned against the table in front of him, taking a short rest.
He hadn't slept for almost a day and a night.
Normal people might not be able to stand it, and yet he had managed to push through it via determination alone.
Until now only could he finally relax a little. Originally, he wanted to reanalyze his thoughts but had unconsciously fallen asleep.
Red painted the sky, from yellow to purple, absolutely dazzling.
The sunlight gradually dimmed down bit by bit.
Cui Buqu's eye furrowed.
Naturally, he wasn't able to sleep well in this posture.
He was just dreaming of Feng Xiao sealing his meridians so that he could not even blink, wanting to admire his elegance and grace and then recite a poem; only then would he let him go.
Cui Buqu was absolutely capable of pitting others.
But he had never learned how to compose a poem.
Steam emitted from his head as he called Feng Xiao a fucker; Feng Xiao laughed, then launched a palm at him.
Cui Buqu's body slumped and he woke up.
Someone was sitting opposite of him.
Cui Buqu looked at him, it was Zhangsun Bodhi.
"I didn't light the candles, afraid of waking you up," Zhangsun said.
"Something the matter?" Cui Buqu rubbed his nose.
Zhangsun nodded, then shook his head, "Nothing too important. You can continue to rest for a while, there is only one little matter."
Cui Buqu, "Speak."
Zhangsun, "Feng Xiao escaped prison."
Cui Buqu: "…"
====
[1] 叶护: a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to the viceroy. They are second in command next to the Khan.