[Wushuang] Chapter 91 – Cui Buqu, Are You Trying To Commit Treason?
The small incident was temporarily pacified.

Everyone, whether unintentionally or intentionally, looked at Cui Buqu, trying their best to raise the atmosphere again once more.

Those who originally wanted to walk towards Feng Xiao’s direction would stop because he was standing too near to Cui Buqu.

Feng Xiao did not raise his head. He was focused on arranging something on the table.

Under the invitation and urging of everyone, the Crown Prince smiled as he gave the first riddle.

“The character ‘Two’ forms its body, it has four strokes and eight heads.”

Men of letters were everywhere in the hall, so very quickly someone guessed the word ‘Well’. A young scholar was the first to answer, his face riddled with laughter.

Just now the host has said that a female will be rewarded with a jade hairpin, and a male would be rewarded with a sword. However, Cui Buqu’s words still lingered in her ear, so Princess Leping could not help feeling uncomfortable. She turned to the scholar and said, “There is another sword in my house once belonged to Sima Hui during the time of the Three Kingdoms. Since someone questioned the origin of the other sword, I will not drag you into this matter, so let us replace it with this sword. What says you?”

Since she explained it in this way, how would the scholar dare to decline? He could only bear silent dislike at Cui Buqu for being a busybody, so he quickly said, “Many thanks to the Princess for granting me this gift!”

Yuwen Xuanzhu ordered a few men to take out the sword from the vault, before she presented it to the scholar personally.

Other people were envious of him. Some of them were not as quick as others when it came to responses, so they could not rely on their abilities to grab the chances for the next few riddles. Thus, they decided to make use of someone else for them to show off themselves instead.

The best target, naturally, was the one who spoke to offend the princess and her daughter a while ago.

Someone spoke loudly, “I heard Marquis Cui was more intelligent than most men. So here I have a riddle which I have not been able to decrypt for many years. Perhaps Marquis Cui can lend a hand?”

There it is! Everyone thought, and their gazes fell upon Cui Buqu in unison, ten out of ten wanting to watch how the show would unfold.

Cui Buqu sat there, unmoving, and said in a drawling manner, “I seldom show myself in front of others. Where did you hear of my name?”

The one currently looking for trouble wasn’t just any scholar, but he was the disciple of a prestigious school in the capital. His surname was Yang, his name was Rende, and he was the nephew of the Grand Physician, he was always on good terms with Yuwen Xuanzhu.

Yang Rende smiled, “Marquis Cui set out for the Western Regions and became famed in the capital. Not only did you manage to take down Qiemo, but you even welcomed the Göktürk Khan back to the capital. How are you not more intelligent than others?”

He did not allow Cui Buqu to divert the topic, and before the other could speak, he quickly took out a jade ball from his bosom.

Under the light of a thousand lanterns, everyone could see clearly that this jade ball possessed numerous small holes on it, linking each other from one end of the ball to the opposite end. A red string was put through these small holes, then came out from the other direction, wrapping itself tightly around the entire ball.

Yan Rende introduced it to everyone, “There is only one red string here. A master strung it from beginning to end around this jade ball, so no one could determine where the string begins and where it ends. After I received this ball, I wished to separate both these things without ruining the jade ball or the red string. However, no matter how hard I try, I could not find the beginning of the string. Perhaps Marquis Cui could help solve this troublesome matter for me?”

He gave the jade ball to a servant, and allowed him to give it to Cui Buqu. As the servant brought it to Cui Buqu, the Crown Prince became curious, so he took the jade ball and looked at it for a while. Everyone else also took a look at it, and they could not find the beginning of the red string, so they could not help rumble quietly out of curiosity.

Feng Xiao was not interested in these sort of games, in fact he was disgusted at the jade ball for having been touched by so many people, so he did not take it for himself to take a look. From the beginning to the end, he never raised his head, as if he was completely addicted to playing with mandarins. On the table, there was even a bunch of mandarins that were peeled but not eaten.

When the light of those thousand lanterns fell upon the heads of people, it made their faces glow. However, when it came to Feng Xiao’s face, it was like another layer of gentle light was added to it. This strayed more than just a few young maidens’ hearts, for they could not help but steal a glance at him.

In the end, that jade ball reached Cui Buqu’s hands.

He took the jade ball, turned it one round and said, “This really is excellent craftsmanship, how extraordinary.”

Yan Rende smiled cheekily, “This time, all things will depend on Marquis Cui.”

Cui Buqu shook his head, “I also could not find the beginning of the string.”

Yang Rende was shocked, “You could even expose the Göktürk Khan when he was feigned by an imposter, don’t tell me that you are now trying to get the favour of the Crown Prince and the Princess, so you are being humble on purpose?”

Princess Leping laughed and said, “If even someone as intelligent as Marquis Cui could not solve the riddle, then I fear no one in this world could do it.”

When she was obviously praising Cui Buqu, in reality she was placing him onto a high pedestal on purpose, but even if Cui Buqu was laughed at by everyone present, it was not enough to soothe the hatred in her heart. Her jade fingers were caressing the fan in her hand, counting the minutes, before calling a maidservant and gave her a few orders. The maidservant nodded, then turned to leave, but she ran into a woman in white who was as beautiful as a goddess, only that her expression was icy-cold and cool, and as strict looking as the Judge of Hell.

The maidservant said in shock as she furrowed her brows, “Who are you? Couldn’t you quickly give way?”

Qiao Xian said coldly, “Tonight, nobody can think about leaving.”

She reached a hand out to the other, swinging it to her shoulders. The other then quickly fell down. She had passed out.

The maidservant was not far from the princess, so when she fell to the ground it was enough for the princess to turn her head to look. When she saw what happened, she shouted in shock, “Who are you?! Men!”

Everyone turned their heads to look, yet she saw Qiao Xian walking towards them and nodded her head at Cui Buqu.

Cui Buqu finally stood on his legs and smooth the wrinkles in his robes. He said in a proper, gentlemanly voice, “Surround the Princess’ manor inside out. Without my orders, no one is allowed to leave.”

Qiao Xian clasped her hands together and nodded.

With a wave of her hand, a great number of people came out from the dark and barricaded every single escape route possible.

These people were wearing black robes, their expressions were cool, and on their waist hung the badge of the Zuoyue Bureau, holding Zuoyue knives. These were uniforms of the Zuoyue Bureau.

Shocked, a deep rumbling grew surged through the crowd.

Everyone glared with widened eyes at Cui Buqu, unsure of how to respond to it.

The Crown Prince stood up in fury, “Cui Buqu! Are you trying to commit treason? Men!”

Princess Leping was so mad that her face practically turned blue. Originally, she wanted to give Cui Buqu a lesson, but who could have guessed that he even more dauntless, completely lost his mind, and dared to do something like this!

Bringing men to surround the princess’ manor, withholding Prince Jin and other royalties like this. Even if it wasn’t treason, it was not far from it.

Prince Jin also wanted to ask whether Cui Buqu had lost his mind, but when those words came to the tip of his tongue, he saw, from the corner of his eye, that among those men in black robes, other than the soldiers from the Zuoyue Bureau, there also seemed to be some Feathered Forest Guards among them, so he shut his mouth and watched how things would advance.

Cui Buqu ignored the loud rumbling and protests. He said coldly, “Today, there are culprits who planned to make use of the Thousand Lantern Banquet to execute a crime. Thankfully, information reached my hands prior, so I was able to show up on time to stop it. Fire oils are hidden in every corner of Qingli Garden, sealing up all escape routes. It’s easy to create a fire as there are many lanterns in the banquet here tonight. However, once it is lit, it can immediately burn down the entire garden. Qiao Xian, bring the item forward.”

Qiao Xian allowed some people to bring forth a pot of pomegranate flower. As everyone watched, she picked up the flowerpot and dropped it to the ground. In truth, the pomegranate plants roots had already been cut and half of the pot was actually filled with flammable fuel, then it was separated by a wooden board, covered with a layer of dirt, before placing the plant back onto it.

Doing this killed the plant, but it could still remain like this for one to two days. In order to prepare the banquet, the princess’ servant practically worked day and night, so it was not difficult to sneak these sort of things inside. Since, it was easy to say they were just to lighten the mood of the princess and her daughter. After all, the banquet was only for one night, so who would pay attention to these plants?

As for plants filled with flammable fuel, this was a whole different set of matter.

Cui Buqu, “Behind this observation deck, there was originally a small lotus pond, but now the water has been drawn, and only soil remains. If a fire does break out, you people could not even save yourselves by jumping into it.”

Yuwen Xuanzhu said, “I know about this. They all said that I loved carnations, so they wanted to refurnish the lotus lake into carnations. But because they could not refurnish it on time, it was just temporarily in construction.”

No one could hear her words, because they were all shocked by Cui Buqu’s.

Cui Buqu, “This place was situated higher than other places in the garden, so one can watch clearly from above here, how the fire lights flickered down below. It wasn’t not a bad sight. However, because of this, when one looked down at the other routes, they are all places that will be burned. When that time comes, even if you break all your hands and legs from jumping off this place, you still cannot escape, because below, there are assassins lying in wait. Tomorrow, everyone in the capital would receive news of Qingli Garden’s burning, along with the news that all the princes and princesses have died in the incident.”

His eyes scanned the crowd once, and added slowly, “Everyone present here, not one of you will survive.”

Everyone glared at Cui Buqu blankly, still submerged in the shock. For a few moments, they could not digest his words.

The Crown Prince was the first to speak, “Who! Who dare commit this horrendous deed?!”

Prince Jin said sullenly, “Of this matter…does his Majesty already know of this?”

Cui Buqu looked at him and nodded, “Just in case, I have already borrowed two hundred Feathered Forest Guards from his Majesty. The mission has already been accomplished and all the assassins have been captured, even the one behind all of them, they are twenty people in total!”

Prince Jin let out a long breath of relief, “Marquis Cui knew of the enemy’s moves in advance, and turned danger into merely fear. You have saved all of our lives. However, who is the one behind all of this? If he can scheme such a huge plan, certainly it is impossible for him to achieve it if there was no insider to assist him?”

Cui Buqu smiled, but his smile told everyone that it wasn’t as gentle as it looked, in fact, there was a sort of dangerous feel to it.

“Bring him here.”

Qiao Xian waved her hand, and not long later, two people brought forth a young man and pushed him into the centre.

The man was tied up, so he could not move. Qiao Xian removed the cotton that they had used to gag him and the man shouted, “Princess, save me! Princess, save me!”

Princess Leping’s face changed.

Yuwen Xuanzhu let out a small ‘aah’.

Cui Buqu, “Does your Highness recognize this man?”

Princess Leping’s face turned metallic green, but she remained silent.

Cui Buqu changed his target, “If the princess does not recognize him, surely Xuanzhu could recognize him?”

“Is he not the princess manor’s man, Ren Yue?” Yuwen Xuanzhu confessed weakly.

Cui Buqu, “That is right. Ren Yue hailed from the Ren family of the Jing Hong Sword Sect, and inherited the Ren family’s Jing Hong Sword technique. He was famed in the Jianghu province, no wonder Ren Yue is a well-learned man who was excellent in both academics and combat, young and strong and ambitious. Ever since last year, when he received Princess Leping’s promotion, he entered the princess’s manor as a subject and obtained the princess’s absolute trust.”

In the last few words, he purposely put emphasis on them, as if there was an underlying meaning to it.

And the colour of Princess Leping’s face only got uglier with every time he paused.

Everyone present was shocked and shaken by the news, all but Feng Xiao, who remained impassive and unaffected.

He finally relented and looked upon the table, sweeping his hands together satisfyingly, peeling off the leftover mandarin shred that clung to his fingers.

On the table, white shreds of mandarin oranges were arranged neatly into the picture of a fox.

That fox was sitting on top of its tail, trying its best to spread its ears, giving all it could to behave like a quail.

Feathered Forest Guards: The raw text are Yu Lin Jun Jin Wei (羽林军禁卫). They are considered a faction of armies are closely belonged to the Emperor. In different dynasties, they served different purposes. They are also called the ‘Yulin Wei’ – ‘Yu’ meaning ‘Feather’, ‘Lin’ meaning ‘Forest’, and ‘Wei’ meaning ‘Guards’. Their name came from a proverb: 为国羽翼，如林之盛 (To serve as wings of the country, like the prosperity of a forest’.

[Wushuang] Chapter 92 – I Am Giving You The Chance To Make Up For It
Cui Buqu placed his focus on enjoying the change of expression on Princess Leping’s face. There wasn’t time for him to pay attention to other things until Feng Xiao tugged at his sleeves, causing him to lower his head in question.

Then he saw that guilty-looking fox staring back at him.

Cui Buqu: “…”

Between ‘something is wrong with this person’s brain’ and ‘this is a man-child’, Cui Buqu chose the first. However, the moment Feng Xiao derailed his thoughts, he practically forgot what he wanted in the first place. Instead, he was pulled back to reality by Princess Leping, who had finally returned to her senses.

“Ren Yue plotted treason and even kept me oblivious. You knew of this, yet you chose not to tell me but instead to create a scene out of this banquet!” Princess Leping picked the opportunity to interrogate him, “Today, the Crown Prince, Prince Jin, and everyone else are present. If they had been wounded because of this, could you have borne the responsibility?!”

Cui Buqu reprimanded Feng Xiao under his breath for ruining his plans, before pulling back his thoughts with all he could and said coldly, “Pray tell, why is your Highness furious? First of all, before this matter is exposed, we cannot relay anything. We had to wait for the culprits to show their foxtails before we could take them down all at once!”

Once he mentioned foxes, his head very naturally lowered again.

The picture of a fox made by mandarin shreds was prowling, its eyes half-lidded as if it was keeping an eye on its prey, ready to pounce on it.

It could be seen that Feng Xiao’s artistic abilities were quite prominent.

Did the great Second Commander of the Jiejian Bureau really came here just for the banquet with no other goals in mind?

They say that Princess Lanling was in love with Feng Xiao, and the Emperor also had intentions to arrange a marriage between them. But Feng Xiao could not possibly come here on purpose simply for the princess, could he?

As that thought flashed across his mind, Cui Buqu spoke slowly, “Second of all, this man, Ren Yue, bears another name.”

He paused on purpose and observed the expression on Princes Leping’s face. Her face had already turned into a very ugly looking color, and right now, there’s not much difference about the way she looked.

“His former name was Yuwen Yi.”

Those who are able to attend the banquet today are either a prince or a princess, or people from noble houses. Everyone was members of high society, so when they heard the words ‘Yuwen’ they could immediately conjure of a string of ideas.

Prince Jin spoke first, “Remnants of the former dynasty?”

Cui Buqu, “Correct. His father was the tyrant from the former court, Yuwen Sheng. That year when he fled, the Ren family took him in, thus he changed his name to Ren Yue and told the rest of the world that he was a distant nephew of the Ren family. He hid his true identity for many years, using the name ‘Ren Yue’ to create a name for himself in the Jianghu province so that he could gain recognition from the princess. Regarding the banquet this time, he offered on his own accord to help organize it. Naturally, the princess gave him full responsibility and order over the banquet so he could arrange everything smoothly, ultimately designing this scheme today.”

Ren Yue shouted in protest, “I am not Yuwen Yi! You are speaking nonsense! You are just adding accusations to my name. Princess, save me please!”

The princess’s face became extremely pale, her lips quivered softly and she could not even speak a word.

She wanted to reprimand Cui Buqu, but she knew that, if Cui Buqu had the guts to speak these words, then it was a given that he had gathered a lot of evidence prior, so if she chose to challenge him, then she was only looking for her own shame.

“I know nothing about this. This time I am also in the garden, so if I die, I will die with everyone!” Princess Leping shot a glare at Ren Yue, disgusted as she questioned him, “Ren Yue, I was never unkind to you, why are you biting the hand that fed you!”

Ren Yue gave a look of shock and shouted back, “Princess please, I am not a traitor! I have no idea where those fuels in the flowerpots came from. I have been framed! Princess, do you not believe in me? You said you would love me for life!”

Before he could finish talking, Princess Leping had already silenced him with an even louder voice, “Men! Take him!”

All the people present held strange gazes, and many more behaved as if they heard nothing, feigning deafness.

For the princess to possess a manstress wasn’t anything unusual. Princess Leping had been widowed for many years, so it was completely normal that she could not stand the loneliness.

However, these are only one’s private manners. As long as it wasn’t brought to the surface, everyone would turn a blind eye to it and treat the princess as one would never marry again.

Everyone was silent except Cui Buqu, who laughed, then exposed her with a single sentence, “With Yuwen Yi’s looks resembling the Emperor from the former dynasty, it was difficult for your Highness to not give your heart to him.”

Princess Leping felt her knees going weak, it was fortunate that her maidservants helped her on both sides.

Cui Buqu waved his hand, allowing his men to take Ren Yue and every suspect present away.

With a white-colored cloak on the outside, concealing a robe that was green in color, he stood in the midst of the blowing wind, a sense of strictness and a killer’s aura lingering around him. After this change of events, no one dared to come near him.

And Yan Rende, who took out the jade ball to make it difficult for Cui Buqu just now was even more intimidated that he dared not speak. He was afraid that Cui Buqu would remember what happened and use that chance to take revenge.

Unexpectedly, Cui Buqu did not forget him. He raised his finger and pointed, “That man. Bring him away as well.”

Yan Rende was stunned and immediately protested, “Marquis Cui, just now I did not make it difficult for you on purpose. You cannot take revenge like that, making use of official matters for a personal grudge!”

Cui Buqu coughed twice, “Young Master Yang, you overestimated yourself. I ordered you to be taken away because, when Ren Yue came to the capital, you were the first one he befriended. The one who recommended him into the princess’s manor was also you. I wanted to ask, why would you recommend him to the princess, unless, you have long known that it was because he looked like her deceased husband?”

Yan Rende, “I did not! It’s not like this!”

Qiao Xian tapped his meridians and he immediately shut up.

“How can one separate both the string and the ball without destroying the other? I have no idea, but Young Master Yang, once you entered the prison, there would be plenty of time for you to think about it. Perhaps you can finally solve this riddle on your own.” Cui Buqu mocked him, before switching his tone completely, “Bring them away!”

Feng Xiao practically laughed out loud: When this person makes use of his mouth, it really is quite destructive.

After such a huge incident, who would still have the heart to continue? Both the guests and the host already lost their mood, unable to pull themselves back.

The Crown Prince and Prince Jin both left first, and following them, the rest of the guests left themselves.

The butler who was in charge of sending the guests had been incredibly busy, added with the remaining members of the Zuoyue Bureau who were still in the princess’s manor searching for evidence of other kinds. Everything was in chaos. The original Thousand Lantern Banquet had turned into a shadowy gloom.

Cui Buqu turned around and left along with the group of Zuoyue soldiers, flipping his robes to divulge the color of the night sky underneath it.

Behind him, almost no one noticed that the fox made of mandarin orange shreds have been made a mess of up by him on purpose, rendering the image no longer discernible.

The color on everyone’s face changed as he walked by, no one dared to block his path.

It can only be said that after today, Cui Buqu’s reputation in the capital would turn from a man of conquest to the challenger of the Judge of Hell.

After they left Qingli Garden, Cui Buqu allowed the Zuoyue Soldiers to split apart into two groups. One group would remain in the Qingli Garden to search for evidence, and the other group would bring Ren Yue and the rest back to the prison.

As for himself, he was accompanied by Qiao Xian to take a carriage as they left.

However, just as he stepped onto the carriage, a hand grabbed his robe.

At the speed of light, with a monstrous strength, even Qiao Xian was unable to come to her senses just yet, Cui Buqu himself was practically pulled to the ground by the hand.

He turned his head around abruptly only to be greeted with an innocent gaze from Feng Xiao.

“Master Taoist Cui, how crafty you are. After an entire night, you did not even mention the promise we made that day.”

After a moment of silence, Cui Buqu said, “After three days, we meet in Zhangle Yi outside Tonghua gate.”

Feng Xiao smiled, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you told me earlier? How can you always force me to be the one to chase after you, I’ll be shy about it.”

Cui Buqu, “…Are you going to let go?”

Qiao Xian lashed out at Feng Xiao, forcing him to release him, but Feng Xiao could foretell her actions, so he used his other hand to block her attack.

As both of them engaged in the offensive, it was difficult for Qiao Xian to not turn into a defensive stance, taking two steps back herself.

Feng Xiao shook his head, “Last time you were wounded so heavily. After returning for half a month, your wounds have not healed. If Ren Yue knew about it just now, I wager he would not give in so easily.”

Qiao Xian believed herself to be expressionless, but she couldn’t believe that he’d expose her. Her face changed immediately, “You!”

“Marquis Cui!”

Cui Buqu heard the voice of a female and felt impatience drill into him. If Feng Xiao had not stopped him just now, he would have already left.

But he still turned his head around.

“Xuanzhu, do you need something?”

Yuwen Xuanzhu, under the help of her maidservant, was guided to his door.

“Marquis Cui could have told my mother in private so that she would be prepared, there was no need for the scene just now. This incident tonight will definitely have make her lose all her dignity and pride. We should be merciful as people so that future days will be better. Marquis Cui, before you decided to execute such a cruel plan, did you ever think of the future?”

Cui Buqu replied plainly, “I have already reported everything to the Emperor. If Xuanzhu has more questions to ask, you can question the Emperor himself.”

At this time, even Princess Lanling had walked out.

Tears were brimming through Yuwen Xuanzhu’s eyes as she said pitifully, “May I know where has my mother offended Marquis Cui? That you would take revenge upon us today. If that is the case, I can kneel down and apologize to you on her behalf, would that be enough?”

As she finished speaking, Cui Buqu could react to it, she immediately knelt and bowed to the ground.

That time, there were many guests who have yet to leave. Many people gathered at the gate, and everyone who has seen this scene, could not help but feel that Cui Buqu had been too cruel, especially towards Princess Leping and her daughter. Both of them were obviously no threat to the Imperial Court, they were only a widower and a child, yet they needed to sustain such a bully.

Princess Lanling helped Yuwen Xuanzhu up. She has always been gentle, but she could not help telling Cui Buqu, “When one can let go, then one should let go. Why was there the need for this, Marquis Cui?”

Cui Buqu did not say anything in protest, only excused himself as he left, turned around and got onto the horse carriage, leaving the remaining three people behind.

However, once he entered the carriage and sat down, a look of confusion surfaced on him.

The wheels of the carriage carried on rolling slowly.

Cui Buqu raised one corner of the curtain.

Princess Lanling was consoling her niece as she helped her wipe her tears.

“Strange.” Cui Buqu released the curtain and mumbled to himself.

“What is so strange?”

When one was alone in a carriage mumbling to themselves, and their questions were answered, it was either that they’ve met a live ghost, or that someone has sneaked onto their carriage.

Cui Buqu turned his head around abruptly, and he saw, on the other side of the carriage, there was a head poking itself inside, and immediately after, his entire body slipped into the carriage so quickly that Cui Buqu could not stop him.

“I feel that, since you were busy cracking that case tonight, you have no time to chat leisurely with me, so you would have felt some sort of regret. Therefore, I’ve decided to come here myself so that you have the chance to make up for it.” The other laughed cheekily.

Before he could speak, Feng Xiao has already hurried close to him, immediately pressing himself on top of Cui Buqu in the carriage, pressing both his wrists on both his sides and the top half of his body practically leaning against his own. Even their noses were only millimeters apart, their breaths brushing against one another. Cui Buqu could even see himself in the other’s eyes.

Within the carriage, it was even warmer than the outside. So now he was sweating so furiously that it could be seen with the naked eye.

However, the reason Cui Buqu did not really shout, wasn’t because Feng Xiao has sealed his meridians, neither was it because he was stunned mute by his beauty.

But it was because the other man’s lips were pressed against his own, he spoke against his lips soundlessly word by word: Someone. Is. Underneath. This. Carriage.

Author’s Notes:

A small scenario completely unrelated to the main plot:

When the Jiejian Bureau was first established, Feng Xiao used to carry a peacock feather around, wanting everyone to put one on their heads to prove how extraordinary the Jiejian Bureau was. Everyone declined; and right now it still has not been decided, so that feather was now placed in a vase in his room. Every time Feng Xiao saw it, he would sigh and say: The world is so vast, but no one pitied the heroes!

Challenger of the Judge of Hell: In Chinese, it’s a different text which literally translates to ‘The Judge of Hell’s evil star’ but it just means that Cui Buqu and the Judge of Hell are mortal enemies, aka, he has the say in who’s to die and who’s not, which is the job of the Judge of Hell to begin with.

[Wushuang] Chapter 93 – Feng Xiao Feels Like He Would Turn Into A Ginseng Soon

There were no lights in the carriage. The only source of light was the moonlight itself, seeping into the carriage through the swaying curtains from time to time.

The other man’s warm lips pressed down, vaguely spoke a brief sentence to him, with a practically silent breath.

Cui Buqu was frozen in place by such an act.

Why couldn’t Feng Xiao just whisper them in his ear, and it had to be the lips? They were already so close to each other, even if he simply muttered silently with his lips, Cui Buqu would have been able to read it.

However, he suddenly thought of a very important question.

Whoever was hiding beneath the car would definitely be someone who is incredibly skilled in martial arts, otherwise, he would have been discovered a long time ago.

There were differences between one top martial artist and another, for example, the number one fighter of Turk, Fo Er, although he was already a top martial artist, when faced before Feng Xiao, he still fell behind. Once Feng Xiao gave his all, Fo Er was even killed.

Now, even Feng Xiao needed to sneak into his carriage and feigned intimacy with him, just to give him a warning. Did this mean that the other person’s martial arts surpassed even Fo Er? That even Feng Xiao himself was unable to attack?

In the darkness, the corner of Feng Xiao’s lips curled upwards.

Without waiting for him to analyse further, the kiss grew heated, soft lips brushed across one another, crashing down with the entire weight of his head.

Cui Buqu’s eyes widened.

He wanted to struggle, but his strength, compared to Feng Xiao’s, was just like a mantis trying to stop a carriage with its hands, so he was very quickly held down once more.

Feng Xiao’s breath brushed on the surface of his face. Cui Buqu firmly believed that he did not smell any scent of alcohol on the other man, and even if Feng Xiao drank, people like him would never lose their senses to alcohol.

Then why would Feng Xiao choose to do this? Was it really just to mislead the assassin beneath the carriage?

Watching Cui Buqu’s lips sealed with his eyebrows furrowed, and the imaginary sight of the wheels spinning in his head, Feng Xiao practically laughed out loud.

It was difficult to believe that there would be anyone in this world who could foretell the future and be prepared for what’s to come, but Cui Buqu was not considered to be among the mundane caste.

That time in Turk, in order to expose Yu Xiu’s true face, this fella did not even rethink the idea of using himself as bait and putting himself in danger. That time, Feng Xiao already wanted to know what would have happened if he came late, or came in the last moment, maybe he would be able to see the color of Cui Buqu’s face changing as if it was totally out of his expectations.

It was a pity that he had missed the chance. Because Yu Xiu’s martial arts were too great, Feng Xiao needed to give him his all and he was unable to watch the ruckus.

After that, regardless of what situation, this person refused to move, sitting rigidly even when the wind blew. Just like tonight, after creating such a huge scene before the Crown Prince and Prince Jin plus making it difficult for Princess Leping, so that she had no back route for to back back onto. Feng Xiao dared to bet that after this, Princess Leping would not be thankful towards Cui Buqu for unraveling a criminal for her but instead, her hatred for him would grow.

Yet, he did not see Cui Buqu showing any sort of fear or worry.

Feng Xiao was dying to know when could he only see the other yield a look of shock or fear. If he could beg for mercy tearfully, that would have been even better.

However, it was a little difficult to want him to cry and beg for mercy. At this moment, when he could feel the other struggling, see the look of surprise in the other’s expression, Feng Xiao knew that he did it right.

It was a pity that the light was a little dim, so he could not see him clearly. Feng Xiao felt a little regrettable and so, his mind spurred and all of sudden his tongue rolled into a mouth that filled with the fragrance of herbal medicine, breathing all the fragrance of mandarin he’d eaten that night into it.

“Mmf…”

It was a pity that Cui Buqu did not specifically enjoy the scent of mandarins, so he immediately aimed his knee at the spot between Feng Xiao’s legs, but before he could hit it, he was once again held and pressed down by Feng Xiao.

There was a faint scent of herbal medicine on Cui Buqu’s body, but that was only because he depended on medicine during most times of the year, so the more aggressively they fought, the stronger the scent of herbal medicine became, and even Feng Xiao felt that he himself was quickly turning into a ginseng.

Suddenly he has a strange thought. Since Master Taoist Cui has eaten so many expensive and luxurious medicine, if he ate the other up, then wouldn’t that make him immortal?

No one knew who left a pebble sitting on the road; the driver missed it, and the carriage rolled over, immediately rocking side to side. It was as if Feng Xiao did not manage to withstand the force, so his body slumped with an arm around Cui Buqu’s waist, he rolled them both to the side.

Cui Buqu used the chance to punch him in the stomach. And just as he was getting up himself to sit back up, he saw the edge of a sharp knife poking into the carriage. Shinning with coldness and chill, the glare of a sword was only centimeters away from where they stood!

The other party missed the chance, but not only did they refuse to retreat, they instead thrust their sword forward even more brutally, as if they could feel both of their presence behind the carriage’s walls.

Feng Xiao grabbed Cui Buqu’s waist and leaped onto the roof of the carriage.

Everything thundered, and the roof of the horse carriage was immediately ripped apart. The assassin pursued them mercilessly, and Feng Xiao also leaped into the air from the ground.

Midway, Feng Xiao tossed Cui Buqu to Qiao Xian before engaging in battle with the assassin in white. In midair, both of their palms and the glare of the sword flew everywhere, one was unable to tell whether they were quick or slow.

Normal assassins would wear something of dark color so that they could lend the darkness of the night to conceal themselves, but this person wore completely white, it could be seen that they were completely confident in themselves.

The other party was hiding his presence on purpose, so Qiao Xian realized their existence only just now, she could not help but feel shocked.

For someone who can fight a draw with Feng Xiao, rendering on-lookers unable to tell who was stronger and who was weaker, it was impossible for this top martial artist to not have a name for himself in the world of the Jianghu province.

Cui Buqu furrowed his brows.

He could not recognize the other person at all.

The sword technique of the mysterious assassin was extremely strange. Some of his sword techniques resembled the ones from the Southwest Jinchuan Fort, using swords like knives and knife techniques like sword techniques, moving like the currents of waters. And some of his sword techniques were like a family’s from Mount Xuandou, quick and acute with an increased force of killing, bringing with it the aura of the outskirts and killing all spiritual beings that roamed the earth.

Every sect had its own style and techniques. No one could have learned all the sword techniques that existed in the world. If he tried to make himself look as if he knew everything, then either it was to show-off, or that he was purposely concealing his own background.

The person before him now was definitely the latter.

His martial arts stood out from the norm, yet his expression was no different than the rest. Once someone looked at him once, they would never look at him again. It was extremely easy for others to forget him.

But Qiao Xian also noticed that something was wrong, “Commander, from the way he looks and the style of his martial arts, it seems like the Zuoyue Bureau has never documented such a person. Could he have changed his looks once?”

“Perhaps.” Cui Buqu neither agreed nor denied it.

Tonight, other than this assassin that came out of nowhere, everything else went according to plan, including arresting Ren Yue and gathering all the evidence that proved his treason. However, Cui Buqu could not help feeling that something was amiss, as if Ren Yue was not the true initiator of this scheme.

Could it be that once again, it was related to the Yunhai Thirteen Stories?

As he thought about it, Feng Xiao and the man in white fought even more aggressively. There was no need to say about the driver who stared blankly in shock at them, even Qiao Xian found it very difficult to interfere in their fight, so she could only wait for both these top martial artists to determine the victor and loser between themselves.

Only that, the more she watched, the more anxious she became.

Feng Xiao’s martial arts had already reached top-tier, but if the assassin could fight a draw with him, he was already considered just as equally powerful.

However, who could command such a person to assassinate Cui Buqu?

Just now, if Feng Xiao was not in the horse carriage, Cui Buqu would have long died by his hands.

If, after this time, this person came to attempt an assassination on Cui Buqu time and time again until he succeeded, then how could Cui Buqu have escaped from his fate?

As these thoughts ran through her head, Qiao Xian could not help feeling her worry had suddenly become heavier.

She always disliked Feng Xiao from the start, but now she couldn’t help wishing that Feng Xiao would just kill the fool with a single strike.

Even if Feng Xiao bounced out whenever in the future, Qiao Xian swore to herself that she would never give trouble to the Jiejian Bureau.

However, Qiao Xian has yet to know what happened in the horse carriage just now, otherwise if she knew, she would have hoped that Feng Xiao and the assassin would kill each other instead.

But it seems like the situation was not in their favor.

Sword glares whirled around them in circles, and the swords themselves have practically formed a whirlpool of their own, caging Feng Xiao within it.

The man in white was a man of many tricks up his sleeve and as shady as a ghost. Sometimes he appeared, then disappeared, it was obvious he was using the technique from the Higashi Ninjutsu, but usually, these techniques only make use of the flaws in the natural vision of humans, yet he managed to merge his illusion and sword style into one, creating an even greater potential of both techniques.

For a moment, Feng Xiao was trapped with no possibilities of escaping.

The man in white robes raised his sword, like the ray of light from the first dawn, before thrusting it at him!

[Wushuang] Chapter 94 – Do You…Really Hate Me That Much?

The assassin came for Cui Buqu because with Qiao Xian’s abilities alone, it would be impossible to stop him. So it would be suffice to say that originally, the chances of Cui Buqu escaping from this assassination was zero.

Who could have guessed that Feng Xiao’s sudden appearance not only thwarted the assassin from killing his target, he even seemed to have enough capabilities of fighting with him until morning. This was enough to enrage the proud white-robed assassin like he had never been before. Both of them fought for fifteen minutes before the assassin finally took a step back. His figure blurred as it leaped into the air, and midway, he turned around again, diving down headfirst with his sword prepared, carrying a strong killing intent as he spiralled at Feng Xiao!

As midnight drew near, the clouds thickened and concealed the moon; silence fell all around. Even if the citizens were alerted by the fight, they dare not come out to watch the commotion. They would give everything to dig both their eyes out and pretend to see nothing. The gengfu was patrolling the place too far away from them to notice.

Qiao Xian set out some smoke to raise an alarm to the people from the Zuoyue Bureau, but even if someone hurried over, it was very difficult for them to stop the man in white.

Other than Feng Xiao and the white-robed assassin, all that was left on the road was an empty horse carriage. From afar, the driver was hidden under the roof, shivering.

As the sword was about to slash the other’s throat in two, sending a wave of blood spluttering into the light, the white-robed assassin suddenly felt a silver of regret.

This man, Feng Xiao, ever since he succeeded in the command of the House of Blades, everything he did was bombastic. Many people have already begun to hate him in secret, so if he could kill him under the eyes of the public in broad daylight, he would receive even greater applause for his deed. When that time comes, the House of Blades would be like a bird that lost its wings, no longer able to fly. No one would be able to replace Feng Xiao, and the agency could only choose to disband.

As he thought about this, the white-robed man suddenly realized that his sword was blocked by something invisible and could not descend downwards. The sword glare disappeared, there was only one sword remaining, and that sword was in Feng Xiao’s hand!

Was his opponent so strong that he could forcibly just take the sword like that?

The white-robed assassin was shocked, but he didn’t stop for a moment to think before drawing his sword again, however, his sword seemed like it was thrust into the soil. It stuck fast to its sheath and not only did it refuse to be unsheathed, it even took control of its wielder. The white-robed man felt as if he was pulled under!

From afar, footsteps of people from the Zuoyue Bureau seemed to edge closer, and the one leading them was one of its Vice Commanders, Zhangsun Bodhi.

Although that person’s martial arts was not on par with Feng Xiao’s level, if both of them joined hands, it was possible for them to take down the man in white robes.

The white-robed man knew that he was destined to leave empty-handed, and to avoid more losses, he immediately withdrew, his figure floated into the air and retreated. After leaping a few zhangs onto the roof a distance away, he leaped even further and dissolved into the color of the night.

Feng Xiao leaped from the roof and landed down next to Cui Buqu.

Due to using his hand to parry the sword’s attack, blood was currently forming little streams down the length of his arm, dripping from his hand.

Feng Xiao used his other hand, the one that was unhurt, to raise the sword and examined it. Then he shook his head and tossed the blood-coated sword to the ground.

“There was no mark, there is no manner of telling where it came from. It might be just a normal sword.”

“How is your hand?” No matter what, Feng Xiao has saved his life, so even if Cui Buqu knew that the other man would try all he can to claim his conquest, he could not ignore it.

The dark clouds gradually parted, and once again, starlight shone upon their heads. Cui Buqu’s lips looked paler than they were before, but they also looked more swollen.

It was as if, almost, a glimmer of wetness could be seen on it.

Only because Qiao Xian would not examine his lips on purpose, she would not notice it.

Feng Xiao, however, was guilty at heart.

Of course, he would never admit that he was the ‘leecher’, but he couldn’t help allowing his gaze to fall upon the other man’s lips. Feng Xiao lowered his head, the color of his face suddenly changing.

“Not good. There’s poison on the sword!”

Cui Buqu’s heart sank, he immediately reached out to catch the other’s falling body.

In the next moment, he saw that the corner of Feng Xiao’s lips began to bleed.

“Qiao Xian, quick! Take a look at him!”

Qiao Xiao immediately placed her fingers on his wrist, furrowing her eyebrows, “His pulse is weak, it seems like he really got poisoned. I cannot think of a cure for the time being, Commander, we must quickly escort him back to the House of Blades to avoid any misunderstandings!”

Zhangsun Bodhi managed to arrive on time. Cui Buqu allowed him to remain and take care of matters, explain to the Zuoyue soldiers, and investigate the man in white robes’ identity, before taking Qiao Xian and Feng Xiao and left quickly for the House of Blades.

The place they were currently in was not far from the House of Blades; both places were similarly in the capital. They arrived within the time of half a burning incense, but as Feng Xiao laid in the horse carriage, his face grew paler and paler. The oleander who couldn’t stop shining on the usual days was like a wilting flower at that moment. However, it was as if he was stomaching all the pain down, forcing himself to bear it. He even held Cui Buqu’s wrist tightly, refusing to let go.

Cui Buqu said in a low voice, “Qiao Xian, is his life in danger?”

Qiao Xian responded guiltily, “I am only vaguely knowledgeable in the arts of medicine. I dare not judge, but I heard that the House of Blades does not lack skilled physicians, so perhaps they would have an idea. However, Commander Feng possesses a strong foundation in martial arts, after a while, it should not be a problem.”

Feng Xiao’s furrowed his eyebrows tightly, and said weakly, “Don’t speak. My heart hurts.”

Both of them really shut up at once.

Feng Xiao added, “It’s suffocating for me to lie down like this…”

He struggled to prop himself up, then placed his head on Cui Buqu’s thigh. Cui Buqu almost wanted to move away so his head would hit the board instead, but as he recalled what the other man did a few moments ago, he tolerated it.

Feng Xiao, “Cui Buqu…”

Cui Buqu replied, “Hm?”

Feng Xiao, “Do you…really hate me?”

Cui Buqu, “No.”

Feng Xiao, “Then why do you, keep your silence so much?”

Cui Buqu rolled his eyes, “Did you not say just now that you did not want us to speak?”

Feng Xiao, “I only feel…headache…when Qiao Xian…is talking.”

Qiao Xian vibrated, feeling her hands itch.

Feng Xiao, “Buqu, can you, tell me…”

Cui Buqu, “I cannot.”

Feng Xiao: “…”

He cast Cui Buqu a weak look, pressing on his chest as he began coughing.

Cui Buqu’s expressionless face finally loosened.

Feng Xiao, “I just want to ask you three questions.”

Cui Buqu, “One.”

Feng Xiao, “Two.”

Cui Buqu twitched the corner of his lips. Is he seriously bargaining in this kind of situation?

Feng Xiao, “What is the relationship between you and Empress Dugu, why did Prince Jin…”

“Why was Yuwen Xuanzhu being distant with me, why Princess Leping avoided me, and why Prince Jin held immense familiarity with me?” Cui Buqu finished his question.

The corner of Feng Xiao’s lips curled, “Correct.”

Cui Buqu, “I do not want to answer this question. Give another.”

Feng Xiao, “But I want to know. I want to know everything about you.”

His face turned green as he spoke, unable to breathe. The hand that held onto Cui Buqu’s wrist tightened and turned cold.

Cui Buqu’s heart moved and watching that handsome and beautiful face like that, his anger involuntarily decreased. The first thought that came to his head wasn’t the fact that the Zuoyue Bureau would lose a rival, but it was a sensation of pity.

And pity was all he felt. After all, taking Feng Xiao’s entire body into consideration, only his face was useful, he thought.

“Because during that year, when the former dynasty’s Emperor’s emotions seemed to be unstable, he was suspicious of the Yang family, but the Prime Minister was unable to make the decision to usurp the throne because his daughter was the Empress and the people around him could not make this decision for him. He was indecisive and it was I who spoke out, laying all the benefits and disadvantages it would bring, and aided them in toughening their heart to cast the ultimate decision.” Cui Buqu spoke slowly.

Feng Xiao felt very surprised.

He had countless theories before, even going so far to guess that Cui Buqu might be a bastard of the Emperor, or perhaps a secret lover of the Empress, but never would have thought about this.

So in reality, when the Emperor was still the Prime Minister, Cui Buqu was already working as a strategist for them. He even played the part of the role, for one sentence from him had created all there was today, overturning the colors of the Imperial Court.

Feng Xiao, “Then why…”

Cui Buqu, “After the Emperor received his coronation, originally, I was among the ones with the greatest contribution, but to receive one bestowal after the last, it was not a good thing to have. Compared to showing-off and acting as a chess piece that rushed to the frontlines in the game, what I loved more was to be its silent player.”

A sudden realization struck Feng Xiao, for all of a sudden, everything made sense.

Because of the fact that Cui Buqu carried the truth that he had done such a huge favor for the Emperor and Empress, yet refused to receive any entitlement for them, it made the royal couple feel guilty as days passed. Therefore, they allowed him to lead the Zuoyue Bureau at such a young age and Cui Buqu’s suggestions were also often taken seriously by the royal couple, especially Empress Dugu, who perceived Cui Buqu as her lead strategist. That was the reason why Prince Jin wanted to get on his good side, and towards Princess Leping and her daughter, Cui Buqu was the reason they had lost their identity as the Empress and Princess. Naturally, they both respected, hated, and avoided him, building a complicated relationship.

With the person Cui Buqu is, this layer of truth regarding himself was his bottom line, he would never tell someone this truth of himself so easily.

But tonight, he confessed everything to Feng Xiao.

Feng Xiao gave him a brief smile before he closed his eyes and passed out.

The horse carriage finally arrived before the doors of the House of Blades.

Members of the House of Blades had received the news, so they rushed out of their nest and saw Cui Buqu and Qiao Xian giving the two a very hostile look. Even if Qiao Xian tried her best to explain, it was very difficult for them to avoid misunderstanding.

“Since we delivered Feng Xiao, we should leave.” Cui Buqu said before turning around to leave, but his path was blocked by Pei Jingzhe.

“My Lord obviously went to attend the banquet, why did he come back so heavily injured? Until he wakes up, Master Cui, please remain.”

“Let him…go.” It was unknown since when Feng Xiao opened his eyes again, helped by his men on both his arms, he spoke weakly.

“My Lord!” Pei Jingzhe found it difficult to believe. Was this the unsurpassed, unparalleled, undefeatable Commander Feng-Er that he knew?

“Let them go.” Feng Xiao closed his eyes, refusing to say more.

Pei Jingzhe could only wave his hand, indicating that he’s allowing them to leave, watching unhappily as they traveled away in the horse carriage.

Because of Feng Xiao’s injuries, the entire House of Blades was shaken.

The physician was immediately woken up in the middle of the night by Ming Yue, he rubbed his eyes as he took his medicine bag and rushed over.

When Pei Jingzhe was greeted by the sight of Feng Xiao half-dead by the gate just now, he was so shocked stiffed that he lost all his spirits and senses. On the way back, his knees were like cotton, his mind kept repeating the words ‘what should we do if anything happened to my Lord?’

In the end, as he rushed to Feng Xiao’s room, he saw Feng Xiao sitting crossed-legged on the bed, reaching his hand out to allow the physician to bandage it.

Other than that, the color of his face was back, his eyes were bright. How did he look like someone who was going to die?

Pei Jingzhe: “???”

Author’s Notes:

Congratulations Feng-Er for prompting QuQu to shake off another layer on his own accord!

Feng-Er: Ridiculous! After taking advantage of him I cannot pretend to be innocent, I need to pretend to be submissive. Only in this way, I wouldn’t be pitted too hard…

[Wushuang] Chapter 95 – Do You Think Cui Buqu Is Really That Stupid?
Pei Jingzhe was standing at the door, contemplating life.

He remembered just now when he helped Feng Xiao into the room, that he had checked his pulse prior; it had been evidently weak and inconsistent. This was the sign of someone who was experiencing poisoning that had reached into his bones as well as sustaining heavy internal injuries.

Could it really be…terminal lucidity?

Pei Jingzhe’s nose twitched.

When Feng Xiao realized the other did not move, his expression bouncing between pale white and blue, soused deep in his own imagination, he asked strangely, “Are your meridians sealed?”

As his words dispersed, a man in azure-colored clothes rushed in and panted heavily as he shouted Feng Xiao’s courtesy name, “Yuntian, these are the JiuZhuan pellets from my martial sect, they can could prolong the process when one is heavily injured…”

Ming Yue, the Third Commander’s voice suddenly paused and his expression mirrored Pei Jingzhe’s, both of them staring dumbfounded at Feng Xiao, who was as lively as a tiger.

But Ming Yue’s reflexes were quicker than Pei Jingzhe’s, “You faked it?”

Feng Xiao replied cheekily, “By executing both the guixi and meridian sealing techniques, it could make one look like they are nearly dead. I fear that in this world, I might be the only one who can think of such a way to unite both techniques.”

However, the first technique was originally used to aid someone in faking death, and the latter was used to prolong the process of poisoning. Both of them were only used when the situation is extremely undesirable and when there are no other option left. Who would have toyed with them like this?

The corner of Ming Yue’s lips twitched, “So you mean that, your body at a glance, the only part of you wounded is your hand. Did you push yourself to try so hard just to ensure that the Zuoyue Bureau owes you a debt for saving them?”

Feng Xiao raised a brow, “At least this time, not only did I manage to cheat death once, I even got to know a considerably big secret. Do you think it’s worth it?”

Ming Yue did not understand, “You want the Zuoyue Bureau to owe you a favor?”

Feng Xiao smiled happily, “What is the Zuoyue Bureau worth? Without Cui Buqu, the Zuoyue Bureau is like a person without a heart.”

The more Ming Yue listened, the more confused he became.

Feng Xiao waved his hand, “There is no need for you to interfere in this matter. After three days, I will go on a trip to Anping in Boling with Cui Buqu. Lao-san, the Jiejian Bureau will remain in your care.”

Ming Yue. It was a very poetic name.

It was common for people to imagine the owner when hearing that name. Many of them would think of a woman as gentle and soft as water, but the truth was always cruel. It wasn’t only the fact that Ming Yue wasn’t a woman, he was even a simple and honest middle-aged man whose looks were not extraordinary in any way. He rose earlier than chickens and slept later than dogs. In the absence of their first commander and the wayward personality of their second, he abandoned countless meals and hours of sleep to fill himself in their place. Everyone heralded him as the Jiejian Bureau’s foundation and pillar.

So, Third Commander Ming listened to Feng Xiao’s orders and nodded his head, not feeling surprised at all, “That will be no problem. Please rest assured.”

Pei Jingzhe’s conscious wavered, “My Lord, could you take me along?”

Feng Xiao replied with a face full of disgust, “Last time your wage for this year was all deducted. I’m afraid this time, if you do something wrong again, even your wage for the next year will be gone!”

Pei Jingzhe’s face looked like it had been wronged, “I have already progressed!”

Feng Xiao raised two fingers, “I will give you two choices. One, you are allowed to come with me, but with every mistake you make, one month’s wage will be deducted, no limits. Or two, I want you to go to a place and do something for me. If this task is successful, then not only will all your previously deducted wages will be returned, they will also be returned be doubled.”

Without even thinking twice, Pei Jingzhe said, “I choose the second choice!”

Feng Xiao smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

Once he thought about how all his wages were going to be returned, Pei Jingzhe’s mood positively shifted. He happily excused himself and left.

Starring at the image of Pei Jingzhe’s back, who looked as if he grew a pair of wings, Ming Yue suddenly smiled, “You originally wanted him to choose the second choice, right?”

Feng Xiao, “He definitely cannot accomplish the task I gave him. At most, he could only accomplish half of it. When that time comes, all of his deducted wages will be returned to him, but there will be no need to add.”

Ming Yue was speechless, “Second Commander, I feel that your background might be inaccurate. Do you want someone to investigate it?”

Feng Xiao, “Investigate what?”

Ming Yue, “Investigate whether there is a family with the surname Tie in the Northern Dynasty, who lost a son by the name of ‘Gong Ji’.”

Tie Gong Ji. (Iron rooster, used to describe someone who is very stingy)

Who could have guessed that Feng Xiao was born thick-skinned; he wasn’t ashamed, in fact, he was proud of it and full of explanations.

“Pei Jingzhe, that rascal. On normal days he never gave thought to his duties, instead, sometimes he slacked off to gift flowers to the maiden in the neighboring house, other times he would help the maiden on the last street named ‘Song’ to sell baked pastries. Does he really think I wouldn’t know? A jade that is not carved cannot become something else. What do young people like him need such high wages for? It’s only fine as long as it is enough for him to use, otherwise, he would squander them all to wine and women!”

When it comes to the most handsome man in the Jiejian Bureau, the position naturally belonged to Feng Xiao. Even in the whole of the Sui Empire, there were only a handful of people who can level with his looks.

When a person has an extremely bombastic appearance, it creates a distance between themselves and others. People would avoid trying to get close to them. It was just like the ladies Feng Xiao spoke of. Even though at first they were seduced by his looks, in the end, they still deem that plain-looking sweet little Pei Jingzhe was more suited to common households. So, following the fact that Pei Jingzhe often showed up in this district, he became a favorite of the little ladies living there.

If Cui Buqu was here, he would have definitely said that Feng Xiao was jealous of Pei Jingzhe, but Ming Yue was an honest person, so once he heard Feng Xiao’s words, he only rubbed his nose, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“Right, I need you to investigate something for me.” Feng Xiao said.

Ming Yue listened intently.

Feng Xiao, “Go investigate Princess Leping herself, or the Linlang Guild that she had a share in, and whether or not they were related to the Yunhai Thirteen Stories.”

“That’s impossible. Are you suggesting that Princess Leping is the one behind the incident today? But her surname is Yang!” Ming Yue showed a look of shock. Since something huge happened in the Thousand Lanterns Banquet, even if he didn’t know the full situation, he must have heard of it.

Feng Xiao, “Do you think being the Empress Dowager is better, or a princess?”

Ming Yue was stunned.

Feng Xiao asked again, “Do you think that having the Emperor as your son is much better, or having the Emperor as your father would be much better?”

Ming Yue, “But the late Emperor was not the Princess’s own son, yet the present Emperor is the Princess’s own father. Between father and an adopted son, there would be a difference.”

Feng Xiao nodded his head, “Logically, it should be like this. But don’t forget that Princess Leping is a very stubborn person. When the new Dynasty was established, in her heart bore hatred and she had squabbled with her parents before the audience, using even death as a threat. In the end, as days passed it was slowly tamed, but from the way she behaved towards Cui Buqu, it can be seen that she did not put down this past of hers. However, she dared not point her hatred towards her parents, so she pointed it to Cui Buqu.”

Ming Yue, “But everything you say now are only theories. Do they have any other proof?”

Feng Xiao, “Just now, whoever hid under the carriage and fought with me was an incredibly skilled martial artist. I do not believe that the male lover of the Princess, Ren Yue, would be capable of such a thing of having a top martial artist working for him.”

Ming Yue, “So you mean that there might be someone behind Ren Yue, and that person is very possibly related to the Yunhai Thirteen Stories as well as the Princess?”

After a moment of thought, Feng Xiao said slowly, “Perhaps not. Princess Leping might be the one behind the Yunhai Thirteen Stories herself.”

Ming Yue opened his mouth in shock, his tongue tied into a knot. He felt that the other’s theories were too bold, but even if he was bold, it wasn’t considered as unrealistic. It was also because Feng Xiao had no proof, that it felt even more shocking.

“However, Princess Leping really does not seem like someone who would be so calculative and deep. Moreover, the former Dynasty was gone, even if she destroyed all her current brothers and father, she could not resurrect the Yuwen family. Wouldn’t that just be making herself the Empress?”

Feng Xiao touched the bottom of his jaw, “These bold theories are not bad. I do not believe that Cui Buqu has never thought of this possibility before. When tomorrow comes, you can arrange people to start investigating in secret, to keep an eye on Princess Leping. I believe that something would happen around her sooner or later.”

As he spoke, he felt a little proud, “This time, the Jiejian Bureau would definitely be a step ahead of the Zuoyue Bureau. Don’t let them take all the glory all the time. My favorite thing to see is Cui Buqu giving that, ‘I’m obviously pissed and unhappy but I can only suppress it all inside’ look!”

Ming Yue was speechless, “I wager Cui Buqu does not know your wounds were faked? If someone is about to die, they cannot suddenly jump all lively to Boling three days later, do you think Cui Buqu is really that stupid?”

Feng Xiao’s smile suddenly froze.

He ran a hand down the side of his face, his expression suddenly turned into respect, “You are right. Three days would be too brief. Tomorrow, send someone to tell him that my situation is bouncing between extremes, let him wait for me for five days.”

Ming Yue tried to give suggestions, “Should I say that your poisoned wound is incredibly severe and that it might never be healed so he could come to visit you?”

Feng Xiao, “No can do. You don’t understand this man named Cui. He is like a donkey from head to tail and you can only smooth the hairs in one way. He’s intelligent and suspicious, the more you want him to do something, the more he wouldn’t do it. In fact, if you said too much, he will definitely notice it. You only need to tell him what I said.”

Ming Yue twitched his lips, “Whatever, whatever. I’ll listen to you. Let me return to take a rest first!”

Feng Xiao lied down and covered himself, closing his eyes as he said, “Even if I’m going to pretend, I will do the full set. Starting from tomorrow, I am a severely wounded patient who cannot even raise his shoulder or his hand. Help me kill the candles.”

Ming Yue: “…”

He waited until Ming Yue closed the door, his footsteps traveling far away. Only then did Feng Xiao open his eyes again and looked outside the window.

The moonlight shone upon the window, its gentle light piercing through translucent paper, just like how it was before when he was on the horse carriage looking up at the stars.

A wobbling carriage, soft cotton-padded seats, and a pale-white face.

Eh, that face looked ordinary, it was not even ten or twenty percent comparable to himself. What advantage does it have?

However, the moan that poured from the other’s lips wasn’t completely unpleasant to hear.

Feng Xiao touched his own lips.

Originally, it had been partially elation, and partially to explore. Right now, instead of being less interested, it seemed that there was an answer for his means to explore.

“I feel like…… something’s wrong.” He mumbled to himself.

Then, if in near future, a brilliant opportunity to pit Cui Buqu was laid before him, would he have done it, or would he not?

Lao-san:literally translates to ‘Old Three’. It’s a very brotherly way of calling someone. Since Ming Yue was the third commander, he’s called ‘Old Three’/Lao-san, whereas Feng Xiao should be called Lao-er/Old Second, and their eldest should be Lao-da/Old Big.

Gong Ji: Rooster.

[Wushuang] Chapter 96 – This Was The Cui Buqu He Was Familiar With

Eight days went by; other than a trip made by the Zuoyue Bureau to deliver some medicine over, not a sound was heard.

If Feng Xiao hadn’t met Cui Buqu outside the TongHua gate as promised, he would have thought that the other had forgotten about it.

Cui Buqu was sitting in the horse carriage reading a book at that moment. After meeting Feng Xiao, he behaved differently than he did before; he was gentle and polite, going so far as to put his hands together to greet Feng Xiao and ask after him.

“I haven’t seen you for eight days, how does Commander Feng fare?”

For a split second, Feng Xiao almost thought that someone else was masquerading as Cui Buqu.

They stared each other in the eye.

Cui Buqu’s expression was incomprehensible.

Ah, this was the fitting expression he knew, Feng Xiao thought, only did he get onto the horse carriage in reassurance.

“It’s not going too well.” He sighed faintly, reaching out his palm, “Look, the scar has not completely healed. It still hurts vaguely during rainy days.”

“In the past eight days, the weather in the capital was undeniably sunny, there was not a single rainy day.” Cui Buqu reminded him.

Feng Xiao recalled that the other man has a photographic memory, but despite this fact, his expression remained unchanged. “That’s right. Even though there were no rainy days, after the wound closed, it still hurt every night and made it very difficult for me to sleep. When I think about that fight again, I recall that the opponent’s martial arts are indeed strong to the point of exceeding my expectations, and I never would have thought that he would dip his sword with poison.”

Cui Buqu stared at his opened palm, verifying that there really were a few light scars; they would definitely vanish in time, but with Feng Xiao’s degree of narcissism, how would he tolerate such flaws on himself?

“This favor of you saving my life, I will keep it in my heart and never forget it.” Cui Buqu said gently.

Feng Xiao blinked. He felt that Cui Buqu was not himself today, but after his speaking adversary said that sentence, he did not continue.

“What follows next?”

Cui Buqu, “What should follow next?”

Feng Xiao was dissatisfied, “In the past eight days, I never saw you coming to thank me yourself.”

Cui Buqu said innocently, “Because I’ve been investigating the whereabouts of the culprit who had wounded you.”

Feng Xiao, “Have you found him?”

Cui Buqu shook his head, “Since that night, the culprit has never shown himself. He has vanished completely. Thankfully, however, I have managed to discover something else, so at the very least I have done my part in your case, Commander Feng.”

Feng Xiao, “What did you discover?”

Cui Buqu smiled, “It would be impossible for the poison in your body to clear out in just eight days and leaving not a single trace. So, I have found a very skilled physician and from him, I learned a form of acupuncture. I guarantee this will help Commander Feng to neutralize your poison with no side effects whatsoever.”

As he finished speaking, he pulled out a pouch from his bosom and took out a needle.

Feng Xiao: “…”

It really was a needle.

However, that needle was as long as three inches and as thick as one’s little finger.

Once this needle pricked him, he feared that not only would it remove the poison, it would remove his life as well.

Feng Xiao twitched the corner of his lips, “I have never seen such a thick needle. I wager you have surely spent no little amount of manpower to have it manufactured within these few days?”

Cui Buqu replied to him kindly, “When one is gravely ill, the medicine used must also be equally strong. Commander Feng, don’t pretend to hide your condition from your doctor. Come, I only need to prick you a few times.”

Feng Xiao remained silent for a while, then, “How did you come to realize it?”

He claimed his own theatrics to be quite convincing. When they met, he was careful to distort his voice into a state of someone who was still weak from recovery, as well as ensuring his pale skin was still vaguely pale. If Cui Buqu wanted to check his pulse, he would even discover how weak it was. These were the preparations he had made prior. There was no need for Cui Buqu to be suspicious.

Who could have guessed that he was still exposed.

Cui Buqu casually threw the needle away and laughed coldly, “Has Commander Feng himself forgotten that the one who fought you that night abandoned his sword before fleeing the scene? If you were poisoned, then how can there be nothing on the sword?”

After Zhangsun Bodhi arrived at the venue, the sword was given to him. Although they haven’t managed to discover where the sword originated from, the poison on the blade would surely be questioned by a naturally meticulous Cui Buqu.

Feng Xiao touched his nose, blaming himself for being careless. When he faked his injuries that night in order to make Cui Buqu forget what happened in the horse carriage, he had forgotten about the existence of the sword.

“However, the fact that I was wounded for you and saved your life was surely not faked!”

Cui Buqu laughed coldly, “Had it not been for that, how would I still be sitting here and speaking nicely to you?”

Feng Xiao wasn’t quite satisfied, “Regardless, I’ve saved you once. Could you not be gentler with me?”

Cui Buqu really did smile more gently, with a voice slow and soft, “If not for me, wouldn’t Commander Feng also perish in the Qingli Garden that night? So many members of royalty and nobility were present. Even if you can escape on your own, you could not have evaded the questioning that would come afterward. For this matter, it’s a draw for both of us.”

Feng Xiao broke into a cold sweat, “Forget it! Let us just fall back into our previous relationship!”

Cui Buqu grinned faintly. He really was eager to stop pretending, “I have something I wish to ask of Commander Feng.”

This was the Cui Buqu he was familiar with.

Feng Xiao’s heart calmed down, he waved his fan, “Ask away, I don’t mind.”

Since he was already exposed, Feng Xiao no longer put on the frail act. His body slanted within the soft lush cushions on the horse carriage and returned to his usual lazy manner—the Commander Feng who always snubbed all the rules.

Cui Buqu glared at him, “On the horse carriage that night, why did you behave inappropriately towards me, Commander Feng?”

Feng Xiao played dumb, “That assassin pierced his sword through the bottom of the carriage. If I hadn’t carried you and rolled away, how would you have avoided it on your own?”

Cui Buqu squinted, “And the incident before avoiding the attack?”

Feng Xiao swallowed slowly, “Before avoiding the attack, I was listening to the movements of the assassin.”

Cui Buqu could no longer hold back, he shouted, “You were obviously taking advantage of me!”

Feng Xiao pretended to be surprised. “Right! I remember now. That was also for the purpose of deceiving the assassin, so I was left with no choice. Master Taoist Cui, surely you can understand my reasoning?”

He was full of excuses spoken with innocence. After he finished speaking, he even gave Cui Buqu a toothy grin, trying to prove that he had no ulterior motives.

As both of them glared at each other, Cui Buqu snorted coldly, no longer questioning further. Instead, he picked up his book and resumed reading it, minding his own business.

Feng Xiao watched Cui Buqu’s ear twitching and he suddenly smiled.

When he kissed him that night, as Cui Buqu’s struggles transitioned from surprise to fury, yet finding that he was unable to escape from Feng Xiao’s grasp, his ears had turned red the same way they had now—tingling slightly, with the corners of his eyes painted by little bit of red, and his lips quivering with moisture. It had been undeniably cute.

This also meant that even if Master Taoist Cui looked calm on the surface now, his heart was actually burning in fury as he tried to devise ways to torture and pit Feng Xiao.

Even if the book he was reading now was ‘Dao De Ching’, what was read in his head was the ‘Thirty-Six Strategems’.

Feng Xiao realized that he discovered a little secret from the other party, so he couldn’t help feeling happy for himself in secret.

Cui Buqu paid him no attention. Not even his eyelids were raised.

Both men squatted on different corners of the horse carriage, each enjoying their own peace and quiet, laying their schemes low for the time being.

……

Qiao Xian’s wounds had not fully recovered, so Cui Buqu did not allow her to come with him. This time, he brought two Zuoyue guards instead and Feng Xiao had been even more casual than himself, for he brought no one at all, coming all alone. Just like that, the four of them equipped themselves lightly as they traveled West from Daxing City. The horses traveled by day and stopped when night fell, so they arrived very quickly in Anping City outside the county of Boling.

During that period of time, the Northern and Southern Dynasties were divided. However, after the excellent governance of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou from the former dynasty, Yuwen Yong, added with the power of the Emperor of the current dynasty—the Sui Empire that ruled the Northern territories—everything has most likely settled down. If one were to take the official path there, they would find their journey to be smooth, with no robbers or bandits in sight.

The sky already darkened. The city’s gates were closed. If they wanted to enter the city, they would have to wait until tomorrow morning. It was fortunate that even suburbs would have posthouses for people who were unable to hurry back to stay the night. As days passed, teahouses were set up near it and a small number of families grew into a few dozens of families, gradually forming a new village. During nightfall, it would be extremely crowded.

Once they arrived outside the posthouse, the employees would come out with a welcoming aura to take their horses. The two Zuoyue Bureau guards entered to register themselves for the stay. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao sat at the teahouse outside, a cup of green tea each sitting in front of them, watching the sunset in the distant mountains and listening to the bustling noises within the city. This was certainly a special way for one to spend leisure time.

The teahouse wasn’t huge. With a seat each, it was difficult to avoid cramping together. Feng Xiao could very easily nudge Cui Buqu’s ribs.

Cui Buqu was drinking tea. He was jabbed by Feng Xiao on in itchy spot and practically spat his tea out.

Feng Xiao laughed at him, “So you are ticklish!”

Just as Cui Buqu wanted to pour the cup of tea in his hand all over Feng Xiao’s head and clap the cup on it, he heard a questioning voice next to him, “This place is very cramped. There is not much space. Could my Lords please move to the left?”

The voice was as clear as oriole fresh out of the valley, there was no need to look to know that this voice belonged to a young maiden.

Cui Buqu replied with an “En”, before he shifted himself towards Feng Xiao, only then did he raise his head to see the person that came.

The moment he looked, he was stunned.

Author’s Notes:

Happy Qixi dears, I promised a little treat:

[A small scene unrelated to the story]

After many years, on the seventh day of the seventh month.

On the day where Niu Lang and Zhi Nu meets, in the world of mortals, lovers also came together.

Feng Xiao prepared a gift for Cui Buqu—a paper fan.

On one side Feng Xiao painted a portrait of himself and on the other side, he painted Cui Buqu.

This way, whenever Cui Buqu was missing him and he wasn’t by his side, he could open the fan to see him.

Feng Xiao was confident that Cui Buqu would definitely love a gift like this.

From the day before yesterday, he was also waiting for Cui Buqu to give him a gift.

However, he would not ask about it on his own accord, because this would expose him for being too impatient and too initiative.

Yet, to avoid his royal highness forgetting due to how busy he was, he still sent Pei Jingzhe to take a detour and remind him of it.

With how intelligent Cui Buqu is, he would get the hint.

However, Cui Buqu has not divulged anything. When both of them ate out together, the other did not even hint anything, he couldn’t even remember that Qixi was only a few days away.

Feng Xiao really felt a little nervous now.

He ordered Pei Jingzhe to investigate Cui Buqu’s intentions.

On the morning of Qixi, Pei Jingzhe came to report that the Zuoyue Bureau ordered a carton of mandarin oranges.

Feng Xiao suspected, it couldn’t possibly be that Cui Buqu assumed he could eat an entire carton of mandarin oranges just because he had seen him eating them at Princess Leping’s Thousand Lanterns Banquet, surely?

Forget it. That bastard Cui would never be willing to waste his time on relationship matters. It was already hard enough to make him admit that he had feelings for himself. This sort of understanding, concern, and gentleness would require patience to be pried open. For now, he was willing to accept those mandarin oranges.

In the end, Pei Jingzhe reported that Cui Buqu has distributed all those mandarin oranges to the members of the Zuoyue Bureau.

Feng Xiao is gradually sinking into a very bad mood.

He finally couldn’t stop himself and immediately ran to the Zuoyue Bureau. When he met Cui Buqu face to face, he asked, “Where’s my gift?”

Cui Buqu did not feel surprised at all, “I’ve prepared it.”

Feng Xiao brightened, and told himself: this bastard Cui did have a heart after all.

However, he only saw Cui Buqu taking out a big bowl of mandarin oranges shreds.

“I realized you loved playing with these, so I purposely bought an entire carton of mandarin oranges and ordered their shreds to be peeled before they were eaten. Here, take them, they would be enough for you to create a few pictures.”

Feng Xiao: “…………………………..”

Which bastard was the one who invented Qixi?! I’m going dig a grave for him!

Dao De Ching: a Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the 6th-century BC sage Laozi.

Thirty-Six Strategems: a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction. Its focus on the use of cunning and deception both on the battlefield and in court has drawn comparisons to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

[Wushuang] Chapter 97 – Cui Buqu Was Contemplating Life
The person who came was around seventeen to eighteen years old. She was in the flourishing period of her life. Her braids reached down to her waist, her complexion was beautiful, and she was wearing a set of azure-colored robes like the rippling surface of lake water, bellowing like willow leaves. However, that was all she was. She wasn’t considered a dazzling beauty, let alone the face of one who would make flowers cower in shame.

There were three other people accompanying her: her maidservant, an elderly man with a white beard, and a child who was carrying a medicine box.

“Thank you, my Lord.” The young woman in azure-robes replied kindly as she seated herself. When her gaze fell upon Feng Xiao, she was unavoidably stunned for a moment.

Practically every young woman would induce this kind of reaction upon meeting Feng Xiao. After so many years, he had gotten used to it. Now, no matter how many gazes stared at him like that, it wouldn’t have been enough to affect him.

However, the young maiden came from a prestigious family; so, although she was curious, she did not rashly point it out.

“Your Lordship, your complexion suggests that you are unwell, mayhaps you are often ill and plagued by insistent coughs?” The elderly man, one of the maiden’s traveling companions, inquired Cui Buqu on his own accord.

Cui Buqu, “That’s right. This was the way I was born. It was fortunate that I have managed to retain my life, now I am but only cheating through my days.”

The elderly man said with a tranquil tone, “If the young master does not mind, please allow me to check your pulse.”

Cui Buqu replied with a faint smile, “I appreciate your good intentions. However, this illness has long been in my bones and cannot simply be saved by the skills of mortal men. Mister, you need not squander your efforts.”

Since he was unwilling to let him check his pulse, the elderly man merely sighed and did not push further. Instead, he took out a ceramic bottle from his bosom and gave it to him.

“These are Qingxin pellets I have manufactured myself using licorice, wolfberries and other common herbs. It could soothe the meridians of the lungs and clear the liver. Young master only needs to take two pellets a day; although it cannot cure any severe illnesses, it could refine your body. After some time has passed, the results will show themselves.”

This time Cui Buqu did not reject him. He accepted the bottle of medicine, “Many thanks, mister. May I ask how much do these pellets cost?”

The elderly man gave him a fleeting smile, “I’ve said just now that these are made from common herbs, so they do not cost much. After you finish them and deem the results satisfying, you can purchase more from the Baoning Hall in Anping city.”

Cui Buqu, “Then it would be disrespectful of me to decline.”

As both of them conversed, a horse carriage passed by. From the looks of it, the people inside also wanted to enter the city, but since they were a minute too late, another old man and a few children descended from the carriage. Their gazes suggested that they were in a good mood as they sat inside a teahouse further ahead.

“Doctor Sun!” The old man held his grandchild’s hand as he made his way here to greet them, and spoke in surprise, “It’s a surprise to see you here. Were you on your way back to the city?”

Sun Jimin ruffled the young child’s head before saying kindly, “Yes I was, but I came too late. It seems like we can only enter the city tomorrow morning. Where are the lot of you going?”

The old man, “I am bringing my grandchildren home. Da Lang, come, greet grandpa Sun!”

Sun Jimin chuckled, “There is no need. Quick, rise from your feet!”

The old man quickly added, “This is necessary. As people, we cannot forget the kind deeds of others, so he should definitely remember the favor you did us, Doctor Sun!”

People inside the teahouse wandered to and fro; some of them who were not locals found it interesting, so they sought to inquire from people around them. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao both conveniently listened to their conversation.

The old man’s surname was Cong, the only son of three generations of his family. A few years ago when his daughter-in-law had a case of dystocia, her life was on the line. Their family was so poor that they couldn’t even employ a midwife, so the entire family was practically cornered and could only watch as a pregnant woman’s life slowly ebb away. It was all thanks to Sun Jimin who happened to pass by and heard the crying; then he then brought his assistant with the medical box, rushed in and personally delivered the child. Thanks to him, both the mother and the child were safe. After that, Sun Jimin even issued a medical formula to allow the mother to refine her body, assisting her past the dangerous stage. Due to the family barely making ends meet, he never took a penny from them. Instead, he took responsibility for all the costs required for his assistant to acquire the necessary medicine and deliver it to them.

After that, elder Cong allowed his son to serve as an intern for a merchant group and learned to do business away from home. Eventually, because the son was a visionary, the family’s situation changed over the span of a single night. When his grandchild was five years old, they were already a considerably well-off household, and the Cong family never once forgot the favor granted to them, so they named the grandchild ‘Nianen’. Every festive season, they send poultry and fish over to Doctor Sun.

The azure-robed young woman noticed that both Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu were still listening, so she added for them, “In the past, Doctor Sun established his own medical house for his patients, but every time he encountered people who could not afford to pay, he pitied them and waived their fees. In time, his earnings couldn’t even cover his own expenses, so he was employed by our Baoning Hall instead. However, even after that, he still insisted on waiving medical fees for his first ten patients every day, so those who really cannot afford to pay for their medical fees would start queuing up in front of the clinic the night before.”

Cui Buqu, “How may I address this maiden? Are you the apprentice of Doctor Sun?”

The azure-robed woman smiled, “My surname is Cui. I am the ninth among my siblings. You people may call me Ninth Lady Cui. I wanted to pursue Doctor Sun in his studies, but Doctor Sun was not willing to accept me as his intern; for trivial things such as following him around, I was accepted only because the elders in my house begged for it.”

Sun Jimin was bantering with elder Cong and his grandchild, but once he heard Ninth Lady Cui’s words, he turned around and said to her: “The career path of a doctor is for life; carrying medical books, recognizing medical herbs, it’s not natural to remain in one place, one must travel the world and bear the heart of aiding it. Your family was one of the wealthy, there is no need for you to make ends meet; when you are of age, you will marry and raise your children with your spouse. Why would you go seeking trouble for yourself?”

Ninth Lady Cui replied to him in all seriousness, “Doctor Sun, in the past days before the sun even rose, I followed you out of the city and ventured into every corner of the village searching for herbs to manufacture medicine. Was this not enough to prove my sincerity in wanting to become your disciple?”

Sun Jimin sighed, “Ninth Lady, I watched you grow up since you were a little girl, and I’ve known your grandfather for many years. Even if he permitted you to follow me out of the city for a few days, he would have declined if he knew you were to pursue me in medical study.”

Ninth Lady Cui protested, “If he refused to allow it, then I would beg him until he did!”

Feng Xiao listened quietly for the most part of the argument, until suddenly he interfered, “Consider me slow, but is Ninth Lady Cui from the house of Boling Cui?”

Ninth Lady Cui blinked, “Yes, I am. I still do not know the names of both my Lords.”

Feng Xiao’s expression was unchanging, “Oh, my surname is Pei, and my name is Jingzhe. I travel the world in search of knowledge and somehow passed by Boling. I heard that during this month of every year, the Cui family organizes a Literary Festival. Even though my abilities are rusty and my knowledge shallow, I would like to join the crowd and see for myself the skills of great scholars.”

He pointed at Cui Buqu, “This is a friend I met on my journey. We found that we synchronize with each other, so we’ve decided to travel together, he’s called…”

Cui Buqu finished his sentence at the right moment, “My name is Feng Xiao. Feng from the word ‘Pheonix’, and Xiao from ‘Sky’.”

Feng Xiao: “…”

Ninth Lady Cui immediately said, “That’s a good name!”

Cui Buqu, “Hardly, perhaps a bit too garish. When I was little, I was plagued by many illnesses, so my mother named me ‘A-Gou’, so I felt that Feng A-Gou sounded more pleasant to the ears. Ninth Lady Cui can directly address me as Feng A-Gou (Feng Dog).”

Feng Xiao twitched the corner of his lips, he couldn’t help but reach out his hand and poked Cui Buqu’s sides mercilessly!

Cui Buqu squirmed drastically and literally jumped from his seat.

Ninth Lady Cui said in surprise, “Are you alright, Young Master Feng?”

Cui Buqu, “A smelly little rat followed me along the road. Its habit to bite me never ceased and just now it took the chance to bite me again.”

Ninth Lady Cui was scared and immediately looked around, “Where is the rat?!”

“Relax, it’s been chased away by me.” Feng Xiao said, “What is this Literary Festival all about? Please do tell us all about it, Ninth Lady Cui!”

When her name was spoken by him, she immediately forgot all about the mouse and said, “The Literary Festival was organized by my fourth uncle, Cui Pei. After that, due to more and more people attending each year, grandfather decided that on every fifth month of the year, by the end of spring and the first days of autumn, the festival will be held. This year, the theme should be ‘pomegranate flower’. I heard that the new city’s garrison would also come forth to attend this year. My grandfather has always been happy to help and he loved young talents. Both of you are scholars, so why don’t you follow me back to see my grandfather? If he likes you, he might even allow you to stay in the Cui manor, so there is no need for you to go looking for an inn and your money can be saved.”

Although she was speaking to both of them, her gaze would pause on Feng Xiao from time to time; her words seemed biased as if she deeply wished that Feng Xiao specifically would agree to stay.

However, what Feng Xiao noticed was that when Ninth Lady Cui mentioned her grandfather, a cold smile appeared on Cui Buqu’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

“This…would it not be too much of a trouble? After all, we have never met before…” Feng Xiao said reluctantly.

Ninth Lady Cui smiled, “Be at peace! My grandfather and fourth uncle would often invite passing scholars to stay the night. However, my fourth uncle is not present at this moment, I fear that both of you should first visit my grandfather. If both young masters really are brimming with talent, my grandfather would definitely treat both of you like honored guests.”

When she put it in this way, the ‘young and vigorous’ Feng Xiao agreed immediately.

“Naturally, we are not uneducated people!”

Ninth Lady Cui smiled sweetly, “That’s excellent. Tomorrow, both young masters can follow me into the city!”

At present, the teahouse has mostly been cleaned up, and judging by the color of the sky, nightfall drew near. The teahouse was prepared to turn in for the day, and everyone else has also concluded their discussions, retiring to their rooms to rest.

In these sorts of places, where people from outside the city often came here to stay, the mattresses couldn’t be changed every day; even once a month was considered to be frequent. Feng Xiao wanted the boss to change the mattress for him, but the other could not find one. However, Feng Xiao would never treat himself so badly.

So, after Cui Buqu took a bath, a Zuoyue guard came in to report that Feng Xiao had moved all the soft pillows and cotton-padded mattresses into the room.

There was no need for Cui Buqu to guess what the other was up to. He sent the guard away with a wave of his hand before walking to the house next door.

Once he entered, the fragrant scent of soap filled his nose. After his bath, Commander Feng had let loose his damp hair, allowing them to spread all over as he laid on the bed on his side, one hand propping his head up and one leg propped on top of his other leg. There was a piece of candied fruit in his mouth and next to him stood an employee from the inn who was reciting from a book—

“The sun was high in the sky this day, yet Maiden Song and her maidservant went to the Jade Buddha Temple to offer some incense. The moment they arrived outside the stone stairs, the weather took a turn of moods, strong wind and rain begun…”

Cui Buqu recognized him as the employee who guided them to the inn just now. He roughly knew how to read; he even knew how to recite the menu for them as if he was singing a song.

Feng Xiao really gave him a couple of prompt and useful talents.

The inn’s own mattress was now discarded on top of the table.

Feng Xiao squinted his eyes and waved a hand at Cui Buqu from the door, “A-Gou, come in, what are you doing standing there for?”

After a moment of silence, Cui Buqu asked seriously, “I want to know, do all top ten martial artists known to mankind also behave like this behind closed doors?”

Author’s Notes:

Fo Er: “??? Not me.”

Yu Xiu: “??? Neither do I. I am very graceful, alright?”

Who would make flowers cower in shame: This was a phrase used to describe Yang Guifei, one of the four great beauties of China.

Da Lang: ‘Lang’ is a form of address for a young boy.‘Da’ means big or eldest, ‘Er’ means second, and ‘San’ means third, ‘Si’ means forth. These terms will appear in future chapters, but I will leave footnotes.

Nianen: ‘Nian’ means ‘To ponder about’ and ‘En’ means ‘favor/deeds’.

A-Gou: ‘Gou’ means ‘Dog’.

Translator’s Notes: The next few chapters are on the longer side, so Chapter 99-102 will come a bit slower.

[Wushuang] Chapter 98 – Who Made You Cui Buqu?
Translator’s Notes: After this chapter, every subsequent chapter for this arc would come a little slower, as they’re all long chapters until the end of the arc. But for now, please enjoy the first glance of FengCui’s potentially domestic life =)

Feng Xiao couldn’t stop himself from bursting out in laughter when he heard his words.

“QuQu, you really do know how to joke. Of all the top ten martial artists under the Heavens, at a glance, have you seen any of them that was as graceful as a jade trees swaying in the wind like me?”

Cui Buqu replied expressionlessly, “I do not know whether they are jade trees or not, but of all the top ten martial artists under the Heavens—“

He pointed at the mattress that was now squashed now under Feng Xiao’s body, “When it comes to the thickness of one’s face, I fear no one can be on par with you.”

Feng Xiao snorted, “I haven’t even begun to be calculative about the fact that you’re using my name yet, at the very most I will just let you sleep on this very spot tonight.”

Cui Buqu as a person was not as fastidious as Feng Xiao, but it really had been too long since the mattress in this inn was exposed to the sun; there was even a rotten, decaying smell radiating from it. As for the blankets, other than tea stains, there were even some mucus and yellow spots of unknown origin. Even Cui Buqu found it difficult to pretend as if nothing was out of the ordinary and lie on it. Perhaps even the floor was cleaner.

As he contemplated between sleeping on the ground and sharing a bed with Feng Xiao, he chose the latter in the end.

After all, no one would make an enemy of themselves; the ground was hard and cold. Perhaps nothing would happen if other people slept on it, but Cui Buqu would definitely get a cold.

Feng Xiao waved his hand and tossed a few coins to the employee. The latter left holding the money in delight, not neglecting to close the door behind him.

Cui Buqu’s body was not in a prime condition and it was easy for him to tire out. If he did not have a good night’s sleep, then he would experience even more fatigue the next day. Therefore, he had no interest in bickering with Feng Xiao. As he put on his robes and lay down, very quickly everything fell into silence.

However, Feng Xiao was excited and wide awake, so he tossed and turned restlessly.

The bed of this inn was not very sturdy to begin with, so once he started turning around, sounds of squeaking could be heard. Moreover, Feng Xiao did not only turn once, he slept on his left for a while, then on his right, then on his back, then on his left yet again…

Cui Buqu could no longer tolerate it and sat up, “Do you want to sleep or not?!”

“I have a question on my mind, if I do not have the answer to it, I fear I would not be able to sleep.” Feng Xiao said innocently.

Cui Buqu spoke coldly, “I only agreed to bring you the zither Yu Yin. Tomorrow, Ninth Lady Cui will take us to see Cui Yong, the patriarch of the Cui family. This is your chance. After that, how you will get your hands on the zither would be up to you completely.”

He turned around and pulled the blankets up, no longer paying the other any attention.

Feng Xiao giggled and said, “QuQu ah, since you already spoke in such a heartless manner, you should have just sent someone to come with me, or simply point the direction to me, why would you come yourself and embark on such a long, winding journey? Could it be—“

Both of them were sleeping close to each other to begin with. He moved forward a little until he could practically smell the scent of shampoo on the other man’s hair.

Cui Buqu’s hair definitely smelled differently compared to his temper; it was soft and smooth, but because of the condition of his body, he had thinner hair compared to others.

“Could it be that, Master Taoist Cui, you came for a completely different reason?” Feng Xiao dragged his voice as he finished his sentence.

Cui Buqu’s back was faced to him as he slept on his side. He did not even move.

Feng Xiao laughed in a noncommittal way, “When we met Ninth Lady Cui just now, your face obviously changed. When I looked closely at her, I realized her eyes resembled yours a little. This proves that your relationship with the Cui family is not so simple. I suppose you might even be the older brother of Ninth Lady Cui. However, after so many years, they never knew of your existence and this again proves that you never wanted to share any relationship with them. So this time, you came for something else. Is it the Yunhai Thirteen Stories?”

“Last time, when you told me that the Jinhuan group leader, Ning Shewo, went north, I also told you that I received some news, do you remember? I was not pulling your leg at that time, the news I received could really be of use to you. If you really want to know, it’s not impossible for me to tell you.”

He rambled on non-stop for practically an entire night, only then did he realize that Cui Buqu still did not move.

Feng Xiao found it very hard to believe that the other man could still sleep in such a situation, so he couldn’t help but stretch out his neck to look, only to realize that Cui Buqu’s ears were stuffed with…

Lumps and lumps of fluffy white cotton.

Feng Xiao: “…”

Cui Buqu’s lips were curved into a smile. He was dreaming of pushing Feng Xiao into a very deep pit, watching the other jumping about in the pit as he screamed. As for himself, he stuck out his torso as he stood on the edge, brimming with satisfaction.

Ever since he stuffed cotton in his ears, he was finally at peace. After a pleasant dream, another good night’s sleep went by. All those disturbing noises of various people shouting were all abandoned outside until the next dawn, when his eyes opened naturally.

When he turned his body, he realized Feng Xiao was missing, and outside the door sounded a conversation between two people.

Ninth Lady Cui had just woken up to wash herself. She was standing in a strange posture in the residence, but once she saw Feng Xiao walking out, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Young Master Pei!”

Feng Xiao walked over, “Ninth Lady Cui, are you practicing the Five-Animal Exercise?”

Ninth Lady Cui responded shyly, “Yes, Doctor Sun was the one who taught me. I’ve just begun learning, so this must seem like a joke to you.”

Feng Xiao said, “There is no need to be humble. I have also once learned the Five-Animal Exercise. You’re considered quite a fast learner with this set of formation that you’re practicing. The Cui family was always known to have a famed and prestigious reputation. All these years many talented folks have emerged from your house. Since Ninth Lady Cui is one of the Cui family, it’s your right to be smart and intelligent by nature as well, able to grasp the full concept with only a bit of a hint.”

Ninth Lady Cui was praised until her face turned red all over, “Young Master Pei, you’ve overestimated me. Actually, if we were to speak of intelligence in the Cui family, the name itself should belong to my eldest cousin brother, Cui Fei. Wisdom came to him early, and by the time he was fifteen, he had already proven himself to be extraordinarily gifted. Right now he is compiling the county records with a few people. The former prefecture’s magistrate even wished to recommend him into the Imperial Court.”

There was no shortage of pride in her words. Feng Xiao smiled as he listened and picked the right moment to interfere, “What about the other brothers of yours? Surely they are all extraordinary as well?”

Ninth Lady Cui shook her head, “No. Other than my eldest cousin, some of my other brothers and cousins died early and some others already have families of their own. The only one who is more or less my age and is still in his studies would be my fifth brother.”

Ninth Lady Cui’s grandfather, Cui Yong, had four sons.

The eldest son was over fifty years old, he had enough gentleness to spare and wasn’t exceptionally talented, but if everything went well, then he would be the future successor of the Cui family’s business.

The second son passed away thirty years ago.

The third son, Cui Lin, was mediocre. He has a pair of son and daughter; the daughter was Ninth Lady Cui, and the son was the fifth brother she spoke of, Cui Bin.

The fourth son was Cui Pei. He was talented in literature writing and enjoyed traveling to gain worldly experiences. His friend circle was vast, and he was the most well-loved son of Cui Yong.

In the county of Boling, the Cui family had always been eminent. They were the most distinguished family so, even every new Garrison Commander was obligated to pay them a visit.

At present, aristocratic families was in quite a prestigious position, even the Emperor who was above all had to treat them with courtesy and respect. Even the Imperial Family of Yang came from an illustrious family of the Guanzhong plains themselves. and these members of powerful families were often closely related to each other, so the way they behaved in front of the Emperor was unlike how common citizens looked up to him. The difference was massive.

So it was quite easy to scout for information regarding the Cui family. Before he arrived here, Feng Xiao already knew most of them.

Even if there were shady secrets hidden within their façade, these were not things people like Ninth Lady Cui would have known anyway.

Cui Buqu pushed the door as he walked out and was greeted by the sight of Feng Xiao and Ninth Lady Cui conversing with familiarity and full of laughter.

When Ninth Lady Cui saw Cui Buqu, she smiled and waved at him, “Young Master Feng! You’ve woken up. There is breakfast in the front hall, so please help yourself. After that, we can enter the city to visit my grandfather.”

Cui Buqu replied in a dull tone, “Your grandfather must be a busy man. I fear he does not have the time to see people like us. Why don’t we just leave it? During the Literary Festival, we should still meet.”

Ninth Lady Cui perceived that as him being shy, so she quickly said, “My grandfather is usually very friendly and kind. He is easy to get along with. Please rest assured! He likes talking to young people and he definitely wouldn’t make it difficult for you.”

Cui Buqu gave an empty laugh, “I couldn’t have guessed that your grandfather is a perfect person in your eyes.”

Ninth Lady Cui couldn’t hear the other meaning between his words, but Feng Xiao could see it clear as day. When a tinge of mockery surfaced in Cui Buqu’s eyes, it never meant that he was giving honest praise, in fact, what he said usually had the opposite meaning of it.

“Ninth Lady, we will be enjoying breakfast first, then we will see you again later.”

Feng Xiao cast a smile at Ninth Lady Cui and made use of the chance while the other was still mesmerized by him; he tugged Cui Buqu’s sleeve before quickly leaving. They did not stop until they arrived in the front hall, only then did they slow down, “You’ve already held so much hatred for them, yet you still came because of me. A-Qu, I am really touched.”

Cui Buqu rolled his eyes, “Commander Feng’s narcissism really is something else; I would not be surprised if you are ranked number one under the Heavens!”

Feng Xiao replied angrily, “The Ninth Lady was well-loved, adored, and well-fed since she was born, while you ran away from home since you were little and had to endure the weight of the world, grinding away your life. Had it been me, I would have been angered to the bone. However, Ninth Lady Cui is not a fool. If you continue to mock with stoicism, she will notice it sooner or later. I was wondering if this time you came here, surely, wouldn’t it be just to tell her that you are her brother by birth?”

Cui Buqu’s footsteps slowed down.

Feng Xiao laughed, “Haha. Originally I wasn’t so sure myself, but when I see your reaction now, I know that I have guessed correctly.”

Cui Buqu, “Commander Feng, are you truly that bored?”

Feng Xiao, “Cui Buqu, there are countless mysteries on you. If I could undo the knots one by one, wouldn’t that be very interesting?”

Cui Buqu replied to him coldly, “You were wrong about two points. First, I did not suffer because I left the Cui family; it was because I’m riddled with illnesses and it left me with no option but to leave the Cui family. Secondly, hate is born out of love. I hold no hatred towards the Cui family because to me, they are simply strangers that came into my life and left. Even if you knew my background and my birth, they can never be valuable to you to use against me in order to get the zither Yu Yin, so you can kill that thought!”

As he finished, he left in quick steps, no longer paying Feng Xiao any attention and left him with only the sight of his forlorn shadow and suppressed noises of coughing.

Feng Xiao twitched his lips and leaped into the air, before very quickly landing on the ground with an innocent sparrow in his hand that just happened to pass by.

“How many times do you need me to repeat myself so you can understand that I have no interest in the zither Yu Yin! Do you really want to keep struggling, to close your eyes and ears, and allow yourself to be misguided by your own intelligence?!”

The little sparrow’s head was tapped a few times, so it chirped loudly and noisily, even pecking his finger a few times in fury.

He released his hand and allowed that fat little bird to escape from the devil’s grasp and fly back into the broad sky, afraid of being caught again.

Feng Xiao suddenly smiled.

Naturally, had it been Cui Buqu, he wouldn’t have run away so quickly like the sparrow.

He wasn’t a sparrow, neither was he a sickly eagle. He wasn’t like anything in this world that was ordinary and bland, he wasn’t born well-protected under the shade of a large tree, like treasured plant that grew up guided by the wooden poles.

He was Cui Buqu, the one and only Cui Buqu, the Cui Buqu who could still manage to chisel a path out even if he was cornered on the very edge of a cliff.

“It’s fine. After all, who made you Cui Buqu?”

Feng Xiao rubbed his hands together, flicking away the dust that clung to his sleeves before walking to the front hall.

It was no longer early in the morning, so not much breakfast was left. People who planned to enter the city had already left. Both of the Zuoyue guards had already finished their breakfast and were currently waiting outside.

Cui Buqu sat alone on a table, all prim and proper as he dined on a mantou.

In front of him, there was a bowl, and next to it was another bowl.

Both of those bowls were filled with congee.

Although the adjacent bowl did not have as much congee as Cui Buqu’s own bowl, it was still considered a bowl of congee, not at all an empty bowl.

Feng Xiao suddenly felt his mood lifting up once again for no reason.