Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Xiao Fengchai slightly regretted making that reckless decision. Judging from what she had seen in the Royal Court and the fact that the Dragon King had easily borrowed more than 100,000 Norland cavalrymen, she had thought that Jade City would soon free itself from Golden Roc Castle’s control. However, the events in Heaven’s Pass had made her less confident in her previous judgment.
All the provisions of the Dragon King were being delayed as they arrived in Heaven’s Pass, and all of the soldiers and refugees were talking about the deeds of Prince Duodun. By comparison, people rarely talked about the Dragon King. Anyone who stood outside in any of the streets would be affected by the rumors running around and within an hour, would completely believe that the prince would become the Khan in the future.
A trace of regret surfaced in Xiao Fengchai, but it was not enough to change her mind. She believed in the Dragon King. Ever since that man had coldly refused her seductive moves, she had always believed that he was an ambitious man.
Just like with business, nobody could accurately predict the rise and fall of market prices. Sometimes, businessmen would stockpile a certain kind of commodity just because many people believed that it would appreciate in value. But in the end, too many people would hoard this commodity and the price would drop drastically instead of rising, causing a disaster.
The Dragon King was in such a phase. Many people believed in him, and yet even more didn’t. Xiao Fengchai believed that this was the perfect time to take the Dragon Army’s side – it would be too risky to do so at an earlier time, and any later might result in receiving a lower status.
Originally she was not a gambler, but she had gotten tired of the coming and going of customers in Pleasure Alley, and she was also tired of Meng Mingshu’s impulsiveness and stupidity. The Meng family was about to be destroyed – either by Golden Roc Castle or by Dragon King. However, her “Second Brother” was still recklessly indulging himself in his petty love for women, completely unaware of his family’s imminent fate.
To be on the safe side, she decided to first test the waters of the Dragon King’s influence.
After receiving the invitation, Xu Xiaoyi returned to Xiao Fengchai’s place immediately. He knew that this woman was not young any more. Back when he was a petty thief in these stinky streets and alleys, she had already established a widespread reputation and frequently appeared in many men’s dreams.
Xu Xiaoyi was no exception as a man. The last time he met her, he hadn’t dared express his true feelings because of the Dragon King’s presence. But now, he finally had the chance to express his excitement at fulfilling his dream. “Madam Xiao, you might not remember it, but we were actually neighbors back in Pleasure Alley. There was even a time when I lived next to your house. I never expected that… I don’t mean to be rude, but… I just want to say that it’s an honor to work with you.”
This kind of man was very commonplace in Xiao Fengchai’s eyes, and she naturally put on a delighted and perfunctory smile, “I remember now. You’re Xu Yanwei’s younger brother. Pleasure Alley provides no lasting pleasure; now that you’ve left, you should never go back.”
“Yes, yes. My sister and I share your opinion. But, Madam Xiao…”
“I invited you here because I could use a favor.”
“The Dragon King said that, ‘From now on, Madam Xiao will fully be in charge of the Dragon Army’s finances. Xu Xiaoyi will work as the deputy and assist Madam Xiao in any and all matters.’ So, you don’t have to use the word ‘favor,’ Madam Xiao. Just give me your orders.”
Xiao Fengchai accepted his flattery in an unperturbed manner, which was more than common for her. And even her reaction was spontaneous — she slightly widened her eyes and paused on Xu Xiaoyi for an extra moment to show a moderate amount of trust, surprise, and superiority.
“Two officers paid me a visit last night, and they said that they had come because they were secret admirers of mine. I rejected them, and they were not very happy when they left.”
“I heard about that.” Xu Xiaoyi had assigned some men to protect Xiao Fengchai, so he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know about this event. He looked very indignant as he said, “Those blind jerks. They’re just two centurions, and yet they dare flatter themselves and try to be friends with you?”
“It’s not about the rank. I’ve already retired from my former profession and I’ll never serve a customer ever again. Even if Prince Duodun came last night, I should decline as well, right?”
“Right. Of course. Rest assured, Madam Xiao. I’ll send more guards here right away. I can guarantee you that no such thing will happen again.”
Xiao Fengchai shook her head, a smile on her face as she remarked, “That’s not necessary. People might think that I’m being overly dramatic.”
“Er, so, what Madam Xiao wants is…”
“The Dragon King and the Norland are allies and any disputes between them are unnecessary. I just want you to send a message to the one in charge in the city and tell him to make sure that the two officers bear no grudges, so that nobody will lose face.”
“No problem.” Xu Xiaoyi patted his chest and promised, “The two officers will definitely come here in person and apologize.”
Xiao Fengchai shook her head again as she said, “You misunderstand my words. They came here to see me with good intentions, so apologies won’t be necessary. A quiet life is all I want.”
Xu Xiaoyi was surprised and his mouth was even hanging wide open. He was shocked by the thought that Xiao Fengchai wanted “a quiet life” while all prostitutes in the southern Jade City feared those words the most. ‘She was indeed a famous prostitute ,’ he thought. But he knew that he couldn’t say those words out aloud, so he bowed to her and smiled. “I understand. A tacit agreement and mutual understanding is enough.”
“Exactly. And the Dragon King probably wouldn’t appreciate it if I have too many visitors at my place either.”
Xu Xiaoyi departed with those words, though he could feel someone staring at him from behind all the while even when he was at the gate of the courtyard, which disturbed him so much he was unable to even walk naturally. To calm himself, he mumbled, “What a tough bitch. My elder sister would never have been as good as she was. Alas, it seems that I’ll never be a match for her either.”
Gu Shenwei was resting in his room, pondering over the possibility of the Unique King still being in Heaven’s Pass and a way to approach him if he were. After hearing Xu Xiaoyi’s report, he asked, “Do you understand her true intentions?”
Xu Xiaoyi had thought about it many times, but was still lost. Upon hearing the Dragon King’s question, he suddenly had a realization. “That bitch doesn’t trust the Dragon King, so she wants to test just how well you get along with the Norland people.”
Before the Dragon King, Xu Xiaoyi had seemed to be very contemptuous of Xiao Fengchai and he even called her a bitch several times. Gu Shenwei had to remind him by saying, “Xiao Fengchai has retired from Pleasure Alley, so don’t call her ‘bitch’ again.”
“Yes, yes. It’s just a slip of the tongue,” Xu Xiaoyi hurriedly promised, wondering whether the Dragon King had slept with this bitch. But he soon realized that this speculation was highly disrespectful towards the Dragon King, so he stopped and starting thinking about how his elder sister had once failed to seduce the Dragon King. Thus, Xiao Fengchai probably hadn’t succeeded either.
Gu Shenwei pondered Xu XIaoyi’s words for a while before asking, “Do many people want to do the same thing that Xiao Fengchai did today?”
Xu Xiaoyi let two short laughs. His duty was to collect intelligence, so he shouldn’t only report good news. “It’s hard to blame them, though. The Dragon King borrowed more than 100,000 cavalrymen from the Norland, but you only brought back 10,000 of them. Nominally, Duodun is your ally, but he is maintaining his ties to Golden Roc Castle. But that doesn’t matter — all of them will change their attitude the moment you launchan attack.”
“Hmm. What are you going to do about Xiao Fengchai’s request?”
“I’ll pay a visit to the General of the Right, Shang Liao, and ask him to remind the generals of the Norland army to restrain their subordinates. I think that that’ll be enough. There’s no need to get Duodun involved in this.”
“And what are you going to say in regards to Xiao Fengchai’s identity?”
“A former prostitute. They can’t force her to become a prostitute again, right? Before the Meng family’s money arrives, we can’t let anybody find out that she’s in charge of the Dragon King’s finances.”
“But why would the Dragon Army want to help a former prostitute?”
“Er, well…” Xu Xiaoyi regarded the Dragon King’s question as a test and started racking his brains intensely. “Because Xiao Fengchai has quit her former job and is with me now?” Then he shook his head. “I don’t think anybody would believe that.”
“Go find Instructor Shangguan and then tell her that the Land of Fragrance’s has just received an extra female soldier.”
Xu Xiaoyi was startled by the proposed plan and soon burst into laughter. “Good idea. It’s just that I don’t know whether Xiao Fengchai will agree to or not.”
“She will. And don’t go to Shang Liao. Visit Mo Chu instead, and ask him to handle this matter. I’ll go with you.”
Xu Xiaoyi had already seen through to the Dragon King’s intentions, but he was still very worried about the whole affair. “What if the Unique King is actually hiding in Mo Chu’s place… Dragon King, it’s not that I have no faith in your kung fu, but it’s just that the Unique King has a lot of kung fu experts around him, and you’re just one man…”
“Rest assured. There won’t be any fights.”
Gu Shenwei kept his word.
First, Xu Xiaoyi paid a visit to Shangguan Ru. Then in the afternoon, he went downtown to visit Mo Chu. Four subordinates, one of whom was the Dragon King in disguise, came along with him.
Gu Shenwei didn’t even bring his saber because he didn’t want to alert his enemy.
Heaven’s Pass was not a large city. Around it, 70,000 troops were stationed in batches of four or five camps both in and outside of the city. Mo Chu was the commander-in-chief of the army, but he didn’t live in any of the camps. Rather, he resided in a mansion located in the northern corner of Jade City. Unlike Duodun who liked living in a tent, Mo Chu preferred to live in a house made of stone and wood like the people of the West Regions.
His mansion was divided into a front yard and a backyard, and it was almost the largest house in the city. There were not many guards, and the security check was not very strict either. After a guard reported Xu Xiaoyi’s arrival, he successfully received permission to meet the host, but his four subordinates had to remain in the front yard.
The other three men were all trusted men under Xu Xiaoyi’s payroll, and they never asked their strange companion any questions. They focused all of their attention on chatting with the guards, seizing every opportunity to gather intelligence.
From the responses of the guards, Gu Shenwei could tell that Mo Chu hadn’t had many guests recently, and that even his former subordinates were visiting him less and less. Prince Duodun was not only receiving the allegiance of young officers and common troops, but he also being recognized by the experienced generals.
Were there any strangers in the mansion? All of the guards shook their heads at that question. From the host to the servants, the total number of people who lived in this house was merely twenty or so. If there were really any strangers, then somebody would definitely have seen them around.
After about an hour, Xu Xiaoyi came out. The moment they left the city, he said to the Dragon King, “What a wily old fox. He said that he didn’t want to get involved in this kind of petty affair, and that there’s no need to be dramatic about it either since those two officers didn’t really cross any lines. It was not until I reminded him that he owes his current freedom to Instructor Shangguan that he reluctantly agreed to issue the command, and he also told me he couldn’t promise that the command would have any effect.”
After their task with Mo Chu was done, Xu Xiaoyi asked in a muted voice, “Did you find anything? Is he really there?”
Gu Shenwei nodded. Those guards hadn’t lied and they indeed knew nothing. However, several dwellings around Mo Chu’s mansion had been cleared out. Mo Chu claimed that it was for reducing noise, but in Gu Shenwei’s eyes, those now-empty rooms were the perfect spot for secret security guards to stay in.
At that night’s second watch, Gu Shenwei departed. Even after patrolling outside Mo Chu’s mansion for an hour, he hadn’t found any signs of hidden sentries. After midnight, he decided to risk it.
The guards were all weary by that point and Gu Shenwei easily slipped past them. However, he maintained his vigilance and took every step with great caution, always carefully keeping several escape routes in mind.
There was nothing unusual in the front yard, and most of the people in the backyard were asleep. There was only one room in the mansion which still had a lit lamp, but Gu Shenwei could see a moving figure through the window.
Holding his breath, Gu Shenwei quietly eavesdropped outside the window awhile and identified the man in the room as Mo Chu. He was pointlessly mumbling as he paced around, and there seemed to be nobody else in the room.
Then the lamp went out.
After evaluating his options for a while, Gu Shenwei slinked into the room next door. It was dead quiet inside, but Gu Shenwei had a feeling that this was the exact place where the Unique King was residing.
He took a step backwards and looked through the thin window paper, hesitating about whether he should keep searching or just leave.
An arm broke through the window without making any sounds as if the window paper had instantly melted away.
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to engage and receive this palm attack head-on.
