LIUGONG CITY DIDN'T ENFORCE a curfew; the city merely shut its gates at night, preventing people from coming and going as they pleased. But small border counties weren't like the unsleeping capital, where lamps were lit at all hours. This late, on nights this cold, only watchmen roamed the streets. Few respectable citizens skulked about in the small hours, and even fewer came looking for a meal.
The trio wandered for some time before finally fumbling their way into the rear kitchen of a restaurant. They slipped in from the back, and Pei Jingzhe went forward to tap the acupoints of the kitchen maid and servant on night watch, knocking them out. He found some firewood for the stove and rummaged through the shelves until he discovered some eggs and noodles, then boiled three portions.
This wasn't because Feng Xiao's treatment of Cui Buqu had suddenly improved, but because Feng Xiao himself was hungry.
Cui Buqu didn't stand on courtesy either—the word courtesy didn't exist in his personal dictionary, and that went doubly toward a man who'd poisoned him. When Pei Jingzhe brought the noodles, he grabbed the largest bowl and ducked his head to eat.
Feng Xiao clicked his tongue. "A-Cui, have you never heard the story of how Kong Rong gave up the pears to his brothers?"12
Cui Buqu didn't raise his head. "Are you my brother?"
But he quickly discovered he had no reason to gloat. He chewed the mouthful of noodles for several long moments before finally choking them down. His brow was pinched. "Why is this so tasteless? Didn't you add salt? Why are the noodles so tough? Did you only boil them for a second?"
Pei Jingzhe was indignant. "I've never cooked anything before." What he meant was, they were lucky the noodles were remotely edible.
Feng Xiao snickered. "Why else did you think I chose the bowl with the most soup and least noodles? It's impressive he managed to serve anything! Just take it and eat."
The monk Yuxiu's pace had seemed leisurely when he fled with Cui Buqu, but they'd still ended up in the far northwest corner of the city. Qiushan Manor was nearly opposite, in the southeast. Cui Buqu would have keeled over from hunger if they tried to return to the manor first, so the three had wandered half the night searching for a meal.
Pei Jingzhe was so full of questions he couldn't focus on his noodles. He blurted, "Sir, did the jade truly shatter?"
"It did. Didn't you see with your own eyes?"
"But what if that was the real jade?"
Feng Xiao set down his bowl. "There are at least two parties involved in the theft of the jade," he drawled.
Pei Jingzhe was stunned. "How do you figure?"
"Your brain is as inadequate as your cooking skills," Cui Buqu said icily. "The Khotanese envoy was killed, and the murderer has been lying low inside the city with the stolen jade. They must have had help from an insider to achieve this."
Cui Buqu was now mocking him outright—yet not only did Feng Xiao fail to defend him, he agreed. "If they have help from someone in the city, it will be even harder for us to find the real jade. Previously, I suspected the killer was colluding with Wen Liang of Linlang Pavilion and trying to misdirect us and lead us astray. But Wen Liang was apprehended, and the supposed Jade of Heaven Lake was still auctioned off. Then it looked like they might offer a fake to draw our attention and use that opportunity to transport the real stone out of the city. But after today's auction, the eagle riders the Jiejian Bureau left on watch in various quarters of the city found no trace of anyone leaving with the jade. There is only one other possibility."
"What?" Pei Jingzhe couldn't help but ask.
Cui Buqu couldn't stomach another bite of the noodles. He grimaced in disgust and picked up where Feng Xiao left off: "There's a good chance the two parties who killed the envoy and stole the jade have fallen out. Perhaps one took the stone for themselves, so the other used the fake jade as bait to lure them out and steal back the real stone."
Pei Jingzhe was puzzled. "If they already had the real stone, why would they come out for a fake?"
"I've heard that during the Han dynasty," said Cui Buqu, "no few of the Western Regions' smaller nations sent treasures to the Central Plains as tribute. To prevent the real treasure from being stolen, they sometimes prepared a decoy and sent it on the road as well."
Understanding dawned on Pei Jingzhe. Cui Buqu thought the king of Khotan might have sent two jades on the trip, one real and one fake. Though a counterfeit was a counterfeit, it must still be a priceless jade, or no one would mistake it for the real one. Perhaps only Yuchi Jinwu had known which jade was which. After killing him, the murderers had taken both jades, one for each party. But both would naturally come to suspect the one they held was fake, and that the real jade was in the hands of the other.
This hypothesis was convoluted, but after Pei Jingzhe thought it carefully through, he felt there was no way to refute it. In a few days, when the new envoy dispatched by the king of Khotan arrived, they'd confirm whether Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu were correct.
But first, they had to find the jade.
"So Daoist Master Cui is saying that since the suspected Jade of Heaven Lake appeared in Linlang Pavilion's auction, the other party would definitely send someone to check the outcome."
Cui Buqu nodded. Maybe Pei Jingzhe wasn't quite so stupid after all.
"Of those present tonight, at least one must be connected to the murderer. They might even be the murderer themselves." Pei Jingzhe thought back. "Six people came for the jade tonight. The assassin from the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai left at the start, so we can ignore him. Other than the monk, there was also the Göktürk expert Fo'er, and the Goguryeon Go Nyeong. Then the woman in yellow, and one more…"
Cui Buqu had only had a vague impression of the last person. All he recalled was that they'd been dressed in black. Half their body had been shrouded in shadow, so even their gender was unclear. By the time Fo'er attacked, that person had already vanished.
Feng Xiao took the six chopsticks they'd used and heaped them in a pile. Then he began to move them out of the group, one at a time. "Fo'er wanted to kill me. He didn't come for the jade. Though we don't yet know why he wanted to kill me, we can set him aside for now. Go Nyeong and Yuxiu both came for the jade, but they made no attempt to test it. So it's probably not them either. As for the woman, Bing Xian…"
Feng Xiao gazed at Cui Buqu.
Sure enough, Cui Buqu knew her background. "There's a sect in the jianghu called the Hehuan Sect, known for utilizing pair and parasitic cultivation13 to improve their martial arts. Bing Xian is a disciple of the current sect leader, who's said to value her greatly. The leader's mantle may one day pass to her."
A subtle change came over Feng Xiao's expression on hearing the words Hehuan Sect. Slight as it was, it didn't escape Cui Buqu's notice. "Is there some connection between Deputy Chief Feng and the Hehuan Sect?"
"I'll tell you the truth. My younger cousin's daughter-in-law's aunt's uncle's aunt is also a disciple of the Hehuan Sect. So when I hear the name, my heart warms a little," Feng Xiao said with a smile.
Cui Buqu's face was blank. "So your younger cousin's daughter-in-law's aunt's uncle's aunt enjoys draining men to strengthen her martial arts?"
"Perhaps. They say women are wolves at thirty and tigers at forty. She may have taken to the Hehuan Sect like a fish to water."
Pei Jingzhe's mouth twitched, and he steered them back on topic. "So, Bing Xian and the other mysterious person are the likeliest suspects?"
"It's true the jade is useful to those from the jianghu. Bing Xian has sufficient motive. But if she really were one of the murderers, she wouldn't need to reveal her presence and give her name just to check its authenticity. She could have simply hidden in the dark, then slipped away unnoticed."
After considering this, Pei Jingzhe thought it made sense. When he saw Feng Xiao pluck away the penultimate chopstick and leave only one, he knew Feng Xiao, too, agreed with Cui Buqu's analysis.
The likeliest suspect was the person in black, whose gender they'd been unable to discern.
Feng Xiao stood and said, "Before that person left, I secretly ordered a rider to tail them. When we get back to the manor, we can expect an update."
This card Feng Xiao had hidden up his sleeve was news to Pei Jingzhe as well. But he suddenly remembered a more important point. "Sir, the jade was shattered. If it was real, wouldn't that…wouldn't that mean the whole thing has been a wild goose chase and we don't have anything to present the emperor?"
Feng Xiao glanced at him but didn't speak.
Cui Buqu did. "Next time, I suggest you bring someone a little smarter, so you waste less of your breath."
Smiling, Feng Xiao said, "With someone as brilliant as me around, no matter how smart my subordinate, they'd be as a firefly's glow to the moon."
"If that's the case, what use does Feng-langjun have for me? You should let me go."
"No can do," said Feng Xiao. "Perhaps you're not as dazzling as the sun or the moon like I am, but when you stand beside me and bask in my light you're still a radiant star. A-Cui, if you're willing to join the Jiejian Bureau, the title of fourth chief is nothing. Even if you fell for me and asked me to warm your bed, my venerable self would not decline." He spoke tenderly, taking Cui Buqu's hand.
Cui Buqu was so repulsed the hairs on the back of his hand stood on end. He shook Feng Xiao's hand off as if it was something filthy and answered Pei Jingzhe: "Whether the broken jade was real or fake, the jade you recover must be the real one!"
Realization hit Pei Jingzhe. He couldn't help muttering to himself that a sly old fox would always be a sly old fox. Anyone who caught Feng Xiao's eye must of course have an aptitude far beyond that of the common man.
The three of them at last made their way back to Qiushan Manor. As expected, the eagle rider who'd tailed the person in black was waiting for them as they approached.
"My apologies, sir," he said. "Halfway through, the other party noticed me, and I was forced to give up the chase. But I saw where they were heading when they disappeared—it was the backyard of Lu Manor."
The surname Lu was a popular one in the city, but there was only one clan famous enough to own something that could be called a manor. It was of course the wealthy Lu household, the same rumored to be distantly related to the Lu family of Fanyang.
A stunning coincidence. That morning, Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu had met the daughter of this very Lu family and her cousin at the restaurant. Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu glanced at each other.
"A-Cui, her cousin," said Feng Xiao. "What was his name again?"
"Su Xing."
"Judging by their figure, the person in black looked more like Lady Lu. Let's go take a look."
It was still the middle of the night and freezing out, yet Feng Xiao moved to stand. He was really about to go search Lu Manor this instant.
"Feng-langjun," Cui Buqu said icily, "I just ate the half-cooked egg noodles your subordinate made. Now I have such a stomachache I'm about to vomit blood again. Could you please show me a bit of sympathy?"
His plea for mercy was spoken as if brandishing a thousand swords and halberds. Pei Jingzhe could practically see a whizzing arrow shooting straight at him. He took an involuntary step back, not wanting to be drawn onto the battlefield.
But Feng Xiao didn't take Cui Buqu seriously in the least. "As if you're that delicate. You withstood incense of helplessness. What are a few egg noodles? Jingzhe, go take a look in the kitchen. Fetch some snacks; Daoist Master Cui can pad his stomach with those. Then we'll head to the Lu residence."
Still cold, Cui Buqu said, "I'm quite serious."
But Feng Xiao didn't believe a word. "Go ahead and vomit then; let's see."
To his great surprise, Cui Buqu really did open his mouth and retch.
They were standing close together; Feng Xiao couldn't avoid it. But as the reek assaulted him, he realized Cui Buqu hadn't vomited blood—he'd brought up the bowl of egg noodles he'd eaten earlier.
To the fastidious Deputy Chief Feng, this was far more intolerable than any blood. His face immediately drained of color.