Shen Qiao ultimately did not go back to Qingchengshan, what Yan Wushi said was right, now there was already a day and night since shijiandahui, what was supposed to cease had already ceased, to rush over now would be pointless, many of the people from various sects had made their way down the mountain, Shen Qiao sought them out, and found that after Yan Wushi left with him, Hulugu also departed, Duan Wenyang had not, and stayed behind with Hehuan Sect to have a go against Chunyangguan.
But Chunyangguan also had teeth, Yi Bichen was injured, but with Li Qingyu Gu Hengbo Zhao Chiying, although not ranked within the world’s top ten, to say their wugong was leagues away from Duan Wenyang would be incorrect, the others who had come to attend shijiandaihui, seeing the biggest threat leave, could not disregard their face and run, so helped Chunyangguan: what followed was a scene of chaos.
Yuan Xiuxiu and Sang Jingxing weren’t aligned, her faction didn’t put forth too much effort, in the ensuing confusion only managed to hold Sang Jingxing back, in the end, Chunyangguan suffered some casualties, but Hehuan Sect also didn’t pick up much advantage, it could be considered as a loss on both sides.
In the chaos, there was no shortage of death, wandering the jianghu, a life was the most worthless, jianghu swords are all blood-stained, this saying was not exaggerated, if you’re not as skilled as the other, and die by their hands, who were you to blame, if some member of your family had better wugong and sought revenge, killed them to do so, no one would have anything to say either, these were the rules of the jianghu.
The closest relation to Shen Qiao was his shimei Gu Hengbo, but he had watched her grow up, her wugong was very good, and she wasn’t stupid, if she couldn’t beat them she could outrun them, Shen Qiao wasn’t worried, within the Bixia Sect, the people most in danger were Fan Yuanbai and Zhou Yexue, but Shen Qiao had heard from the people coming down from the mountain that among the dead there were no Bixia Sect disciples, and was reassured.
Besides this, there was another reason that he didn’t go back, and that was because Yan Wushi had received a letter from Chang’an.
It was an SOS letter.
And it was delivered on the instruction of Yan Wushi’s senior disciple Bian Yanmei.
Since Yuwen Yong’s death, Yuwen Yun ascending the throne, Huanyue Sect’s standing in Chang’an had turned overnight, wind and cranes crying, they were subject to external pressures, Bian Yanmei had received Yan Wushi’s instructions, adapting to the situation and withdrawing where necessary, its formal holdings were completely left to Hehuan and the Buddhist sects to fight over, he himself retreated into the shadows with his people, previously when Shen Qiao with Dou Yan and Yuwen Song had been able to fight his way out of the army blockade and have no pursuers leaving Chang’an, in this matter Bian Yanmei had also contributed.
But the one requesting assistance was not Bian Yanmei, but Puliuru Jian.
Puliuru Jian’s eldest daughter had married Yuwen Yun, after his ascension, she became the empress, Puliuru Jian became guozhang, logically his days should have shone, but the reality was not the case.
Back when Shen Qiao was in Chang’an, he had already heard an earful of Yuwen Yun’s depravities, now hearing Puliuru Jian’s request, still was surprised: “Yuwen Yun won’t even spare his father-in-law?”
Yan Wushi smiled: “Yuwen Yun dared act against his own father, never mind the father-in-law.”
He had nearly forgotten that ordeal, Shen Qiao furrowed his brows: “Yuwen Yun killing his father, that was because he didn’t want to wait to ascend the throne, what is Puliuru Jian to him?”
Yan Wushi: “If the emperor wants to kill someone, it must be because he feels that person must die, to talk about reason, it’s all an excuse. Puliuru Jian was born into a high-ranking family, his father Sui Zhoutai, his ancestors led the revolution, supported the then-emperor, within the military he also has potential, this potential in Puliuru Jian’s hands, he excels in management, within the court military, things have taken form, although not to the extent that he can threaten the emperor’s control, but what emperor can remain indifferent? Nevermind a broken-brain, insane emperor.”
Towards the absolute right of emperors he had no qualms, to Yuwen Yong he had used his full name, and now with Yuwen Yun, this was still the case.
Yan Wushi saying this, sighed: “A-Qiao ah, with your personality, lucky you weren’t born into a high-ranking official’s family, otherwise the political triangulations, how could you outmaneuver the others, you probably would have been long mauled by others until even your bones were gone!”
This roundabout way of saying he was a fool, Shen Qiao wasn’t upset, instead he smiled: “My personality, nevermind political triangulation and deceit in court, even as a zhangjiao in the jianghu, I fell to others’ schemes.”
Yan Wushi laughed: “Now you’re belittling yourself, your personality isn’t suited to outmanipulating others, but you still have strengths, you no longer have your position as Xuandushan zhangjiao, but there are still many who are willing to interact with you, what they value is you as a person, and not your position. But, even if you’re susceptible to schemes it doesn’t matter, aren’t I here, with this venerable one beside you to overlook things, you don’t have to be afraid of others tricking or cheating you!”
To be honest, this person just wants to boast about himself, right?
Shen Qiao was a little speechless, under his robes his hair stood on end, he hurried back to the original topic: “Then, what is Puliuru Jian’s request?”
Yan Wushi, casually: “His daughter is not trusted by Yuwen Yun, is being confined and held hostage, Sui-guogong manor, who enters and who exits, is under total surveillance, eradicating their entire family is within the emperor’s one impulse, Puliuru Jian has a guilty conscience, how can he be not afraid?”
Yuwen Yun indulged in pleasure, since his ascension all the different depravities don’t need further mention, first killing off Yunwen Xian, for the purpose of eliminating any branch of the royal family that might pose a threat to the throne, now that those direct risks were gone, and to not restrict himself in any way, he had passed the throne onto his son Yuwen Chan, himself manipulating politics from behind the scenes.
Having the material benefit of being emperor, but not having to bear any of its responsibilities, with officials seeking meetings with him left and right, vexing him to no end, Yuwen Yun had accomplished two feats with one action, with his little tactic he was extremely satisfied, but he was very suspicious, after killing off the threat of his relations, he began to suspect the officials that might have potential to revolt, Puliuru Jian, as the emperor’s father-in-law and a high ranking official, bore the brunt of this suspicion, was subject to “special attention” from Yuwen Yun, now during the day he couldn’t eat, at night he couldn’t sleep, above his head a knife was suspended at all times, his inner turmoil need not be described.
Shen Qiao had only met Puliuru Jian a couple of times, and had a good impression of his straightforward, open character, and he knew after the fact that his departure from Chang’an with Yuwen Song was indebted to Puliuru Jian’s efforts then, otherwise it would not have gone as smoothly. Experts considered cause and effect, the Daoist sects also considered them, especially when a debt was owed, you must find an opportunity to pay it back, otherwise it will hinder your cultivation.
To help was one matter, but many things need to be explained in full.
Shen Qiao was not dumb, many powerful relations he could come to understand, it was just that he wouldn’t use them to harm or scheme.
“That he would write an urgent letter, and Bian Yanmei would give this letter to you, indicates that Puliuru Jian and Huanyue Sect’s relationship is not bad. Before you said to me that Yuwen Xian could become a good soverign, but later Yuwen Xian died, I didn’t see you lament, you must have already had a backup plan, could it be that Puliuru Jian is your backup plan?”
Yan Wushi had rented a courtyard with rooms in Suizhou, Shen Qiao was recovering there, he was a quiet person, while he was recovering he rarely went out, most of the time when the weather was nice, he would sit in the courtyard with a book under the grapevine trellis, even without speaking it made a beautiful scene.
The sunlight refracted through the grape leaves, hitting Shen Qiao’s body in spots and splashes, the contours of his face and neck basked in its glow, refined and soft, look and your heart would itch, if only you could carry the beauty home and hide him, so that he could only be seen by one person henceforth.
What kind of person was Yan Wushi, having perused beauty all over and still be mesmerized by one, naturally this one could not be compared to commoners.
But he hid his sentiments very well, this secret and reckless desire like a rainstorm engulfed his heart, but his gaze on Shen Qiao merely paused momentarily, before he smiled lazily: “That’s correct, but backup plan isn’t quite right, even if there was no Puliuru Jian, Huanyue Sect wouldn’t fall, but without Huanyue Sect’s assistance, if Puliuru Jian wanted to accomplish things, it would be no small feat, so Huanyue Sect should be considered as his backup plan.”
Shen Qiao believed in Yan Wushi’s eye for politics, but this didn’t mean he thought everything the other did was right, before when he agreed to side with Yuwen Yong to end the chaos of their times, unify the country, that was because he had met Yuwen Yong, the other was definitely a sovereign of their generation, even if he was a severe ruler, in political and military affairs he was quite accomplished, the people of the north because of him saw the end of several years of war, could rest and live their lives, in his hands the north saw unity, if only he had more time, who’s to say that he couldn’t have been the one to end this century of conflict.
Unfortunately, the sky has unpredictable weather, Yuwen Yong was brilliant all his life, but got stuck with a disaster son, Yan Wushi’s ability to sense the direction of the winds and sail accordingly was faster than anyone, in a turn of the eye he had tossed Yuwen Xian and connected with Puliuru Jian, but how could he be sure that Puliuru Jian will be a good sovereign in the future? What if the other was adequately ambitious, but not enough to accomplish only fall short?
Shen Qiao didn’t really understand his logic here.
Seeing his uncertain expression, Yan Wushi said slowly: “A-Qiao is someone who has his own ideas, I can say it a thousand or ten thousand times, if you don’t see him yourself, you still wouldn’t believe it, he has Yuwen Xian’s ability, but none of his pliability, and moreover has the ambition that Yuwen Xian didn’t have, back then Yuwen Xian didn’t dare mobilize an uprising, which resulted in his entire family’s execution, Puliuru Jian is not someone who will sit and wait for death, just that his current position is precarious, if I can lend him some assistance at this time, it will only benefit Huanyue Sect down the line. More importantly…”
Shen Qiao saw him hesitate, thought there must be an important reason he hadn’t mentioned yet, so he put his book down, and listened earnestly.
Yan Wushi gradually spit out the latter part of his sentence: “More importantly, he’s easy on the eyes!”
Shen Qiao couldn’t help but glare at him.
Yan Wushi smiled: “I think that in the future you shouldn’t glare at people, if you must glare, then just glare at me only, otherwise other people will think you are flirting with them.”
When had it started, that everytime he spoke to Shen Qiao it had taken on this teasing tone? Shen Qiao thought back, when his eyes were injured, Yan Wushi had carried him in and out, purposefully misleading bystanders, his words at the time had also been overly familiar, almost counting on others to think that Xuandushan’s previous zhangjiao was Huanyue Sect zongzhu’s plaything, but now his words were even more familiar, in front of others however he made no drastic moves, only in private did he laugh and speak without holding back.
The remarkable shift, previously Shen Qiao hadn’t thought too much of it, but now, he could no longer pretend not to see it.
Shen Qiao massaged his temple, felt everything was a mess.
Yan Wushi stretched out a hand, his palm resting on his temple gently massaging it, with his other hand he held the back of his head, not letting Shen Qiao evade, as if he could read his thoughts: “Don’t the Daoist sects talk about going the way of fate, between you and me isn’t it a stretch of golden life fate, why does A-Qiao have such a worried expression?”
Shen Qiao: “…Going the way of fate is a Buddhist saying, we only talk about the natural progression of things, besides what we have between us can only be considered enough for disaster fate, please can Yan-zongzhu stop misusing terms!”
He wanted to pry away the other’s hands, in a moment the two of them had passed several moves, Yan Wushi didn’t feel at all he was taking advantage of the situation, in the end directly sealed the other’s meridian points, pulled the beauty into his embrace and groped him thoroughly, smiled and said: “Life fate or disaster fate, isn’t it all fate, for all the years you’ve spent cultivating how come you are so superficial, since Qi Fengge is already dead, it looks like I’ll have to take his place in teaching you the finer details.”
Saying this he lowered his head, and kissed the person until he couldn’t breathe, and against the fabric he vaguely explored the terrain of the beauty’s body, nevermind that when the other was asleep he had claimed how many benefits already, but Yan-zongzhu was proud, if there was a margin he gained he had to make sure the other understood it clearly, he was also intentional in not taking things too far, he caught the moment right before Shen Qiao would erupt and the boundary of what he could tolerate, the precision was infuriating.
Shen Qiao was flushed bright red, breathing audibly, the former was due to anger, the latter was because a lecher had bullied him.
Yan Wushi’s gaze swept past his moist and swollen lips, and was satisfied, only then did he say: “See, you clearly feel it too, why constrain yourself, and deny it again and again?”
Shen Qiao didn’t speak.
Not because he couldn’t speak, but because he was mad and didn’t want to speak.
Yan Wushi smiled again: “A-Qiao, when you were in peril, I rushed a thousand li back to save you, wasn’t it enough to demonstrate this venerable one’s true intentions for you?”
The words were spoken with sincere affection, but he didn’t unseal the meridian points.
Because he also knew, as soon as he unsealed Shen Qiao’s meridian points, the other would immediately leave, he wouldn’t possibly continue to listen to him spout nonsense.
Yan Wushi: “I know that because of what happened before, you still have grievances against me, but now towards you, I’ve long since had a change of heart, time reveals true intentions, didn’t you sense it as well?”
Shen Qiao steadied his breathing, said coldly: “I’ve never seen Yan-zongzhu’s heart, how would I know that you’ve changed it?”
Yan Wushi grabbed his hand and placed it on his own heart, said softly: “If you don’t believe it, you can dig it out yourself and see, from now on, all this is yours.”
The corners of Shen Qiao’s mouth spasmed, hit by his sappy words as if a cold front, personally he felt that the other’s face was thicker than the walls of the Great Wall, his entire life even if he tried he wouldn’t be able to catch up, when he tried to talk logic with the other, the other would speak illogically, Shen Qiao felt that even if he were to grow ten more mouths, he still wouldn’t be able to outspeak Yan Wushi.
“First release me.”
Yan Wushi laughed: “Can’t do that, as soon as I unseal your meridian points, you’ll run, I won’t rush you into things too fast, but you also shouldn’t count on something like forgetting and wandering the jianghu, the person I want, even if he hid in Qi Fengge’s grave, I will go dig him out from Qi Fengge’s gravesite!”
Shen Qiao turned his face away: “This poor one is a cultivator, in this life, will not wade into relationships or love, will not desire to receive someone in marriage.”
Yan Wushi: “We’re not talking love or relationships, you’re too superficial, we can be called companions in cultivation, I’m also not forcing you to receive me in marriage, if you like, I can receive you.”
It was like playing with a cat, seeing that the other was about to erupt, he made to soothe it, unsealed his meridian points: “Come on, I just made a joke, how come you’re mad? Back to the topic at hand, Puliuru Jian has encountered a huge inconvenience this time, whether or not he’ll be a good sovereign, whether or not you’ll support him, it won’t be too late to consider this later, I’m letting you come along, because there’s something to be gained.”
As soon as his meridian points were unsealed, Shen Qiao immediately stood up and put at least three chi between them: “Can Yan-zongzhu please explain?”
Yan Wushi fluttered his eyes at him: “Not right now, but don’t you want to return this person a favour, why not accompany me to Chang’an and appraise the situation?”
Gods, still acting cute!
Shen Qiao held his chest where his wound ached dully, not wanting to see he twisted his head, but he also couldn’t get the image of what just happened out from his head, he was angry and couldn’t do anything.
“I can accompany Yan-zongzhu, but we have to agree to basic rules, and treat each other respectfully, if Yan-zongzhu cannot abide, I would rather set out alone.”
Yan Wushi thought: if I wanted to follow, where can you go to be rid of me?
But he smiled and said magnanimously: “Fine.”
The author would like to say:
Got a bit high from writing, forgot the time —> __—>
Finally the window covering’s torn A-Qiao, what will you do next, whereas before you could pretend like you didn’t know ~