THE NIGHT MIST CLUNG to the man's silhouette, but Feng Xiao could visualize it without needing to look. A slender figure clad in wide-sleeved robes that whispered in the autumn breeze. If the wind picked up or a particularly frosty gust hit, it might easily fell this invalid and leave him bedridden for weeks. Perhaps it would put him in his grave, and the world would be rid of one more scourge.
The man's lips were very thin; right now, they'd be pressed tight against the cold. The mouth they belonged to mirrored the nature of its owner: harsh and merciless, faster and sharper than any sword, capable of making someone choke to death on their own rage. The hands gripping the reins would be pale: not from exertion, but from the biting chill. This cool autumn weather was merely an inconvenience for others, but for Cui Buqu, it was a significant obstacle.
The matter of Yang Yun must have been resolved by now. While others might have viewed the encounter as a deadly trial, Cui Buqu was accustomed to even greater twists and turns. He meticulously calculated the motives of those around him, and his presence here now was a clear indication that Yang Yun had posed no challenge at all.
Cui Buqu should have been sitting in the governor's residence, holding a hand stove to warm himself as he gave orders and awaited reports of success. Not galloping here in the middle of the night to attend a far more dangerous appointment.
The corners of Feng Xiao's mouth curled slightly, but his words cut like blades of frost. "You'd what? Fall for my charms? Cui Buqu, you think too highly of yourself. You consider yourself clever, but in my eyes, you're no more than a withered branch on the verge of death. If not for the name of the Zuoyue Bureau, I'd never have bothered with you. Take a good look in the mirror. Is there anything about you worth my attention?"
There was no sound in the dark night; Feng Xiao's disdain echoed over the empty street. "I'm afraid I'll lose my appetite if I keep looking at your face. Get the hell out of here before I get rid of you myself. Do you hear me? Go!"
Cui Buqu remained still, not dismounting, not even responding. Perhaps Feng Xiao's words had pricked him, for he lingered there in silence.
Confused, Ming Yue looked at Feng Xiao. He opened his mouth to speak but could think of nothing to say. Qin Miaoyu sighed quietly. Who said women were the capricious ones? When men lied about their desires, they were the equal of any woman.
"Cui-xiong, you heard Deputy Chief Feng." Xiao Lü's tone was gentle, without a hint of anger. "I believe I left a letter asking to meet you at Zhao's Teahouse."
"It's precisely because you invited me to Zhao's Teahouse that I knew you would come looking for Feng Xiao here," Cui Buqu said calmly. No one could tell whether Feng Xiao's words had affected him.
Xiao Lü sighed. "I didn't want to kill you, which is why I tried to mislead you. If you knew that, why walk willingly into danger?"
"Yang Yun may be captured, but he won't tell us where the grain is hidden. Thus I have no choice but to ask you, Pavilion Leader Xiao."
"It's gone." Xiao Lü said bluntly.
"All of it?"
Xiao Lü smiled. "I gave you Yang Yun and took the grain. Isn't that fair? The man responsible is in custody, and you have an explanation for the emperor. I'll consider the grain my reward."
Cui Buqu nodded. "It is indeed fair."
"Cui-xiong," Xiao Lü said good-naturedly, "though Fan Yun betrayed me, I've always admired you. We're two of a kind—so I know you're too proud to join my side without thinking it through. I'll deal with Feng Xiao first. With the Jiejian Bureau out of the way, you'll have one less opponent. You'll have the best of both worlds. Isn't that wonderful?"
Of everyone present, only Feng Xiao posed a genuine challenge to Xiao Lü. He could have dispatched Cui Buqu in an instant, yet he took time to patiently explain his intentions. Feng Xiao sneered in deep displeasure.
Cui Buqu looked toward Xiao Lü's right hand, obscured by his wide sleeve. He wasn't concealing it intentionally; both his sleeves were of equal length. But his withered right arm was shorter than his left, leaving his right hand tucked out of view. If not for this disability and the scorn it provoked, Xiao Lü would likely occupy a high position in the Chen imperial court. Even with this disadvantage, had he been willing to set aside his pride, to flatter and submit to his superiors, in time, his capabilities would have secured him a role as a general or minister.
But Xiao Lü was too proud. He was indeed very much like Cui Buqu, who had preferred to venture into the wilderness and perish rather than remain in the Cui residence and accept the food they disdainfully offered.
In tumultuous times, anyone could become a voice of rebellion and question whether kings were born or made. Anyone could become a leader capable of heralding change. Xiao Lü's pride forbade him from bowing his head—it compelled him to choose the hardest path.
The most chaotic periods of the Central Plains' history had passed. Although the world remained divided between the Northern and Southern dynasties, it was a far cry from the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms two centuries prior. Xiao Lü had been born at an inopportune time. The heavens had endowed him with the potential to be a man of great change, yet the emerging Sui dynasty loomed before him, and his intellectual equal Cui Buqu stood in his way.
Xiao Lü waited patiently for Cui Buqu's response, fully aware he might simply be stalling for time. After the incident at Qixia Villa, Yang Yun had feared Cui Buqu and his companions might uncover the grain and had agreed to meet Xiao Lü's demands. While Cui Buqu and his allies were dealing with the commandery governor, Xiao Lü had been directing his men to transport the grain out of the county in batches.
Feng Xiao's demise was merely a trophy to collect along the way. In this round of their game, Xiao Lü knew he had already claimed victory and regained his lost ground.
"There's something I neglected to mention," Cui Buqu said suddenly. "Did you never wonder why I brought only a few people to Guangqian County? I didn't even post any Zuoyue guards nearby, leaving us at a marked disadvantage against Yang Yun. It's because, before setting out, I deployed them elsewhere to complete a more crucial task.
"Fan Yun knew quite a bit about the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai. With his help—and with a common enemy in you, Pavilion Leader Xiao—we successfully dismantled a villa called Lingbo. I believe the name must ring a bell for you."
Cui Buqu continued placidly, "I heard Lingbo Villa housed most of the forces you've been relying on for years while operating in the Southern dynasty. While the leaders of the Thirty-Three Rooms may not compare to those of the Thirteen Floors, they are undoubtedly elite members of your organization, including several skilled in astronomy, geography, divination, mathematics, and various other disciplines. I've just received word that eighty to ninety percent of those individuals have been eliminated, while the remaining were injured and fled amid the chaos. I fear they won't be much help moving forward.
"Pavilion Leader Xiao must have invested considerable effort in recruiting those individuals. How unfortunate that while you were attending to us here, your own backyard was ablaze. Tell me, do you think the grain you got here was worth the annihilation of one of your lairs?"
Xiao Lü's eyes narrowed, and the smile gradually faded from his lips. The corners of his mouth flattened to reveal a hint of coldness. "Cui Buqu, you always bring me such joyous surprises. If I'd discovered you sooner and brought you into the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai then, the Sui dynasty would be the one in ruins now. After Fan Yun betrayed me, I shifted all my resources in the Southern dynasty elsewhere. I never imagined he would still find them."
"Pavilion Leader Xiao, don't forget that Fan Yun has ties to the emperor of Chen," Cui Buqu replied. "While he may oppose the growth of the Sui dynasty, he certainly won't let the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai become a threat to the south. As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—what's wrong with cooperating with him just this once?"
"If your intention was to provoke me, you've succeeded." Xiao Lü stepped toward him, as leisurely as before—but in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Cui Buqu. He snatched him off the horse, gripping his shoulder so tightly he couldn't move an inch. By the time Guan Shanhai reacted, it was too late; with a wave of his sleeve, Xiao Lü sent the guard crashing to the ground several yards away. The dull thud of his body hitting the stone made everyone wince.
"I am your greatest foe, not Feng Xiao," Cui Buqu said. "I'm the empress's trusted aide, and my Zuoyue Bureau handles the most sensitive cases. Don't you want to capture me, torture me, and extract intel about the Northern dynasty?"
Cui Buqu's shoulder blade was being crushed under Xiao Lü's hand, and the agony made it nearly impossible for him to speak. Yet conversely, the pain sharpened his mind. He knew Xiao Lü wouldn't kill him; otherwise it would be Cui Buqu's throat under his fingers rather than his shoulder. "Whether Feng Xiao dies today or tomorrow makes no difference. Isn't a living Cui Buqu much more valuable than a dead Feng Xiao?"
"You refuse to join the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai," said Xiao Lü softly. "Why would I want a Cui Buqu who'd rather die than submit?"
Cui Buqu closed his eyes, attempting to steady his breathing amid the pain. "I'll join. I ask Pavilion Leader Xiao to accept me."
Xiao Lü chuckled. "And then what? You'll become the next Fan Yun and betray me?"
"Within three years, I'll topple the Southern dynasty for you." Cui Buqu coughed a few times. He was as pale as a ghost. "On the condition that you do not harm anyone here tonight."
Xiao Lü sighed quietly. "Is it worth it, for a single Feng Xiao?"
Cui Buqu's lips parted. Though he made no sound, Xiao Lü saw him mouth the words: Worth it.
Feng Xiao moved.
He shouldn't have. After the injuries he'd sustained, he'd need to regulate his breathing for half a day at least before he had the strength to fight again. Yet he attacked with lightning speed, as swift and fluid as a wisp of smoke or cloud as he swept toward Xiao Lü.
Regardless of how confident Xiao Lü was of his victory, when faced with a martial artist of Feng Xiao's caliber, even he couldn't fight while holding Cui Buqu. He released him and met Feng Xiao's attack. Within seconds, they were embroiled in a fierce battle.
Cui Buqu crumpled. His shoulder blade was shattered, leaving one side of his body immobilized. It was all he could do to simply lie there.
Qin Miaoyu rushed over and helped him up. She gingerly examined his wound, gasping when she felt warm blood on her hand.
"I have medicine for internal and external injuries in my lapels," Cui Buqu said. The Zuoyue Bureau chief's chronic illnesses had practically turned him into a doctor himself. Since he was often injured, he always carried medicine with him. "Give them to Ming Yue and Guan Shanhai too."
Qin Miaoyu wasted no time. She quickly retrieved the medicine bottle and shook out a large pill. "Should this humble lady go to the tavern and find some water for you?"
"No need."
Upon witnessing someone with Feng Xiao's face call themselves a humble lady, Cui Buqu's shoulder ached even more fiercely. He quickly sent her off to administer medicine to the others.
Before them, the battle between Feng Xiao and Xiao Lü had just begun.
In the eyes of onlookers, the two figures resembled flickering shadows. At times they clashed midair, at others, they appeared to materialize atop the tavern's roof. Speed against speed, force against force.
The roof tiles shattered and split under their feet, and the roof collapsed with a resounding crash. Walls cracked, dust flew, and the battered tavern was reduced to rubble.
Both were oblivious to the fact that their battleground had shifted from the tavern roof back to the street. The tiles splintered and flew, held aloft by the force of their qi as if they were mere toys designed to test their strength. The debris formed a barrier that isolated Cui Buqu and the others from the conflict.
Feng Xiao and Xiao Lü's movements suddenly slowed.
Like sprays of ink ebbing away over white paper, the whirling tiles gradually fell aside, leaving the adversaries standing like a pair of jutting rocks teetering precariously at the edge of a cliff. Facing each other at a distance of an arm's length, the two men seemed as fragile as stacked eggs; one misstep would send them plummeting into the abyss below.
Feng Xiao's martial arts had reached an extraordinary peak. After utilizing the two sarira, his skills had ascended to even greater heights, easily placing him among the ranks of grandmasters. But Xiao Lü was not one to be outdone. And not only was he strong, as he himself had implied, he had strength to spare.
Ming Yue and Guan Shanhai were both competent martial artists, but even they couldn't gauge Xiao Lü's true strength. How absurd that rather than pursue greater achievements in martial arts, such a talented person had instead fixated on his desire to usurp the throne. And yet how many of the jianghu's countless experts had met their own downfall in their quest for martial supremacy? Perhaps no one could say Xiao Lü had made the wrong choice.
Everyone had their own ambitions.
Qin Miaoyu watched him intently as he fought. "He… Xiao Lü used the Jade of Heaven Lake!" she cried in dismay.
Ming Yue's face fell.
To demonstrate his sincerity in joining the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai, Feng Xiao had taken the Jade of Heaven Lake from the palace and presented it to Fan Yun. During the later chaos, while Fan Yun was preoccupied battling others, the jade had vanished; until now, its whereabouts had been a mystery. Apparently Xiao Lü had put it to good use.
In Liugong City, Qin Miaoyu had briefly possessed the Jade of Heaven Lake and secretly used it to enhance her training, gaining some insight into its wonders. If she hadn't, she would never have been a strong enough martial artist to deceive the enemy into thinking she was Feng Xiao, even for a moment. Despite her limited knowledge, the Jade of Heaven Lake had significantly enhanced Qin Miaoyu's internal strength. Such a tool would be even more effective in Xiao Lü's hands. Perhaps he'd already absorbed the entire stone—no wonder he exuded such confidence. With his vast internal strength, he might have no equal in the jianghu. Although Feng Xiao possessed the enhancement of the sarira, could he truly compare?
Qin Miaoyu dared not say any more for fear of distracting Feng Xiao. When confronting such a formidable opponent, even the slightest misstep could determine the outcome of the battle. Her thoughts raced.
Feng Xiao and Xiao Lü swept toward each other. The shattered tiles surrounding them seemed to respond even faster than the two combatants, as if held in a massive, invisible hand that tightened its grip.
The fragments exploded with an earthshaking boom, scattering shards in all directions.