When Fang Jie woke up, he was already at the Sanjin Marquis's residence, not the shop he had rented. The proprietress who had pulled him down from mid-air was nowhere to be seen. Sitting by his bed were Mu Xiaoyao and Shen Qingshan, with Da Quan standing to the side, his face full of concern. Surprisingly, Wu Yinyu, the little girl, was also in the room.
Seeing Fang Jie awake, Mu Xiaoyao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sorry."
Fang Jie smiled apologetically. "I've never fainted in the past fifteen years, but I've fainted three times since leaving Fan Gu. Could it be due to acclimatization?"
"You're still in the mood for jokes!"
Mu Xiaoyao glared at him. "Mr. Zhuo came to see you. After examining your pulse, he said you were fine. You were just too tired, and someone disturbed your meridians, which caused you to faint. Old Cripple also came, but he was away for a short time because Hong Xiuzhao had something to do."
Fang Jie chuckled foolishly. "Then this time it can't be considered a fainting spell, at most it's just a drowsy state."
Seeing that he was alright, Shen Qingshan didn't say anything. She got up and stretched, revealing her curves. Fang Jie had never been able to resist such alluring figures, so he stared intently at the small section of her slender, white waist that appeared when Shen Qingshan stretched. Shen Qingshan seemed oblivious to Fang Jie's greedy and shameless gaze, turning to go to sleep. Fang Jie's gaze shifted to her slender waist, staring intently at her rounded buttocks for a few moments.
"Shameless!"
The little girl, Wu Yinyu, blushed and cursed, catching up with Shen Qingshan and grabbing her arm, saying, "Sister Shen, let's go together. I don't want to stay in a scoundrel's house any longer."
Shen Qingshan smiled, pursing her lips, and whispered something in Wu Yinyu's ear. The little girl's face turned even redder, and she stomped her foot, saying, "Sister Shen isn't a good person either," before quickening her pace and running away. Shen Qingshan watched the little girl's swaying figure as she ran, then turned to Fang Jie and said, "See, you got the better of me again."
In the height of summer, the girls wore thin gauze skirts. The curves of their bodies were so beautiful that it was hard to look away. Of course, Fang Jie had once seriously said that this was an aspiration for beauty, without a trace of vulgarity. However, even he himself didn't necessarily believe that.
"She's been keeping watch for two days and two nights."
Mu Xiaoyao said softly.
Fang Jie's heart skipped a beat. He said to Shen Qingshan, who had already left, "Sleep well, but don't take off your clothes."
Shen Qingshan stopped and looked at Fang Jie with an extremely provocative gaze, asking, "Why?"
"This isn't our home. I'd be at a disadvantage if someone saw me."
"Pah!"
Shen Qingshan spat, her face unusually flushed slightly. "What would you be at a disadvantage if someone saw me? If you're really afraid of being seen, then you can go and keep watch in my room."
Mu Xiaoyao would never say such a thing. Only Shen Qingshan dared to flirt with Fang Jie so openly in public. After Shen Qingshan left, Fang Jie said to Mu Xiaoyao, "Sister Xiaoyao, you should go and rest for a while. I know you must have been awake for a day and two nights... Wait, you mean I've been unconscious for a day and two nights?!"
"Yes."
Mu Xiaoyao rubbed her slightly sore eyes and replied, "I've been brought back for a day and two nights."
"Then... the Martial Arts Academy exam?"
Fang Jie asked.
Mu Xiaoyao said, "Lord Sanjin said today is the day the results are released. Because Miss Wu also took the exam, Lord Sanjin sent someone to the Martial Arts Academy early this morning to check the results. Don't worry, Lord Sanjin said your results will definitely be good. After all, you have an excellent foundation in five humanities subjects, so getting into the Martial Arts Academy won't be a problem."
Fang Jie hummed in agreement, thinking to himself, how could I have been unconscious for so long? That old monk's palm strike didn't feel too powerful, and I didn't feel any pain when I was thrown back. How could I have slept for a day and two nights?
"Who brought me back?"
He asked. Mu Xiaoyao said, "Mr. Zhuo."
"Ah?"
Fang Jie rubbed his temples, paused for a moment, and asked, "Sister Xiaoyao, have you seen a woman wearing a very rustic blue floral dress? She looks about thirty years old, quite pretty. You seem to have seen her once in Fangu, she's the proprietress of the Yunji dog meat shop. After I got back, I kept praising her beauty, and you and Daquan secretly went to see her that night."
"No."
Mu Xiaoyao shook her head: "Mr. Zhuo just brought you here himself. What, did that proprietress also arrive in Chang'an? How did you see her?" "Her?"
"It's nothing... Sister Xiaoyao, did Mr. Zhuo say anything about the old monk who injured me later?"
"No."
Mu Xiaoyao said, "He handed you over to the people in the Sanjin Marquis's mansion and left without even entering. I heard from Sanjin Marquis's servants that he left in a hurry, as if he had something urgent to attend to. He didn't mention that the one who injured you was an old monk. Fang Jie... have some people from the Buddhist sect chased you to Chang'an again?"
Fang Jie slowly shook his head, trying hard to recall the old monk's appearance at the time. He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
...
...
"Your Majesty, I am guilty! I failed to capture the Buddhist sect member."
Changchun Garden, yurt.
Luo Weiran, Hou Wenji, Zhuo Buyi, and Li Nan bowed and said in unison, while the emperor, sitting opposite them on the earthen bed with his head down reading memorials, seemed to have already anticipated the outcome. He didn't look up, but simply waved his hand and said, "Buyi and Li Nan, you two have been tracking for two days and two nights, you must be tired. Go back and rest."
Zhuo Buyi and Li Nan exchanged a glance, then responded and slowly left the room.
After leaving the room, Li Nan glanced at Zhuo Buyi, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. Zhuo Buyi sighed softly and said, "I'm also curious, why does His Majesty seem so indifferent?"
Li Nan shook his head helplessly and said, "Perhaps he's extremely disappointed."
Both of them were in low spirits. After exchanging a few words, they bid farewell and left.
Inside the room, Luo Weiran and Hou Wenji kept their heads bowed. Although there was no anger in His Majesty's tone, they both knew his temper. How could such a strong-willed monarch tolerate the Buddhist sect members coming and going freely in the capital of the Sui Dynasty? "Hou Wenji, continue your investigation. See if any Buddhist sect members have infiltrated. The Sui Dynasty has been peaceful for eleven years; many have forgotten how this peace came about. I was initially angry that you weren't prepared for the Buddhist sect's provocation, but considering that even six experts couldn't stop them, what's there to be angry about? Go… After you leave, first send someone to fetch Mou Liangbi and Zong Lianghu, then send someone to the martial arts arena to invite Dean Zhou as well."
Hou Wenji acknowledged, bowed, and withdrew. As he left, he couldn't help but steal a glance at the Emperor, finding no unusual expression on the Emperor's face. But the calmer the Emperor appeared, the more uneasy he felt.
Only Luo Weiran remained in the room. The Emperor put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at him, and said, "What are your thoughts on the Buddhist sect's infiltration of Chang'an?"
"I have failed in my duty… From the beginning, I should have sought help from Dean Zhou or Master Xiao. If they had intervened, even a Celestial Venerable from the Buddhist sect wouldn't have escaped. If they had discovered the Buddhist sect's identity, it wouldn't have been too late to call in the military. It was my oversight; please punish me, Your Majesty."
"You can't persuade them."
The Emperor waved his hand and said, "I have already informed Master Xiao and Dean Zhou, as well as the military and the Imperial Guards. Unless the Buddhist sect dares to cause trouble at the palace, they cannot intervene."
"Ah?"
Luo Weiran was clearly surprised. The Emperor climbed down from the earthen bed, stretched, and said, "What I asked you was, why did the Buddhist sect suddenly come to the capital? Don't say they're here to provoke us; the Buddhist sect members aren't idiots."
"Could it be... that the Mongols have realized Your Majesty is about to launch a military campaign against the Northwest?"
Luo Weiran tentatively asked, mustering her courage.
The Emperor hummed in agreement, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Perhaps it is. I didn't expect that even the officials in the court could be kept in the dark, but the Mongols couldn't be kept in the dark. If it wasn't someone who knew about this leaking it, then something has happened in the west that has aroused the Mongols' suspicion. The former worries me, the latter intrigues me. What on earth has happened in the west that would prompt a Buddhist celestial being to come to the capital to investigate?"
"Your Majesty, I will immediately send people to investigate,"
Luo Weiran bowed and said. "I kept you here so you could investigate. You can make use of the people I planted among the Mongols. The pawns I planted at the beginning of my reign can finally be used. Eleven years—they've been hiding in the Mongols for eleven years; if we don't use them now, they'll rust."
Luo Weiran's expression changed. Thinking of the group of assassins His Majesty had sent to infiltrate the Mongols eleven years ago, a pang of sadness gripped his heart. Those men were among the most outstanding young talents of the Sui Dynasty, living in anonymity in enemy territory for eleven years for the sake of the Sui Dynasty's war in the northwest, a war that might never begin. In those eleven years, to ensure their safety, His Majesty hadn't even once used them.
And the one directly responsible for contacting these people was none other than Luo Weiran.
"The western expedition must be brought forward."
The Emperor paced back and forth in the room, looking at the massive map of the Sui Dynasty's territory on the wall. "Regardless of what happened in the west, it at least proves the Mongols are panicked. Otherwise, why would the highly respected Buddhist deity in the west personally come out? I've been waiting for an opportunity for eleven years, but it never came. So I decided to stop waiting and fight this war through preparation. Now it seems I'm ready, and the opportunity has arrived… It's Heaven's will; how can I let it slip by?"
Luo Weiran was startled by the fervor in the Emperor's eyes. He had never seen such burning light in the Emperor's gaze.
It was desire, it was greed.
"Luo Weiran, if I personally lead the expedition… of the three princes, which one do you think is capable of guarding Chang'an?"
The next question completely terrified Luo Weiran. "Your Majesty, you must not personally lead the expedition!"
He knelt down, kowtowing, and said, "Please reconsider, Your Majesty."
...
...
Twelve thousand two hundred li west of Fan Gu lay a vast, desolate grassland. The weather here was considerably warmer than in Fan Gu, and it had its own distinct four seasons. The knee-high grass was thick and lush, and wild horses could be seen galloping across the plains. Large, ferocious wolves could also be seen, lazily resting in their territories in packs. They wouldn't easily cross the border, nor would they allow other wolf packs to intrude into their domains.
The grassland wolf was at the top of the food chain on the grassland; even a fierce lion wouldn't easily provoke a wolf pack. The wild dogs of the Wolf Milk Mountains west of Fan Gu were already frightening, but compared to the grassland wolf, those wild dogs were like gentle kittens.
Even these fierce grassland wolves were wary of the two people walking on the grassland. They didn't even dare approach, watching them leave from a distance.
One of the men was clean, his faded robe almost wrinkle-free. He walked slowly, glancing occasionally at the majestic mountain whose outline was now clearly visible.
The other man's fur robe was badly tattered and stained with blood. He seemed to have a leg injury, walking with some difficulty. The scholar-like man in the lead glanced back at him, then vanished in a flash. When he returned, he was carrying a huge male steppe wolf. The wolf was the size of a nearly mature horse, and appeared to be the leader of a pack. But in the scholar-like man's hands, it could only whimper and beg for mercy.
"Ride it,"
the scholar-like man said casually. The man in the fur robe chuckled and climbed onto the wolf's back. "Back in Fangu, I did too much dog slaughtering. The first thing I thought of when I saw this wolf was skinning it."
The steppe wolf seemed to understand, trembling in fear.
"Dog slaughtering, how many have we killed?"
the scholar-like man asked. "Four hundred and eighty golden-bodied Buddhist monks, sixteen Arhats, four Venerables, and you even injured a Celestial Venerable yesterday… The Mongol Yuan court sent over sixty officials of the eighth rank and above, and thirteen of the ninth rank. As for those below the eighth rank… I'm too lazy to remember."
"Hmm… Slaughtering dogs, do you regret it?"
"What are you saying, sir? I'm very happy."
"If you go any further, you might die."
"Even death would be very happy."
"Alright, let's continue."
"Yes, let's continue!"