Chapter 6: Treacherous and Unpredictable
In the early morning, as the sun began its ascent, a gentle ray of light shone through the window, falling upon Fu Yunzhi, who was resting with his eyes closed, leaning against a table.
The sunlight seemed to rouse him. Fu Yunzhi slowly opened his eyes to find Qi Xiao staring at him. “You didn’t sleep?” he asked.
Qi Xiao didn’t answer, instead changing the subject. “The men I sent out returned after you fell asleep last night. They said they found the bodies of all of Shaoling’s guards in the forest north of the city, but they couldn’t find Shaoling himself. This morning, I received a letter. It’s from him.”
“Is Inspector Qi alright? What did he write?”
Qi Xiao handed the letter to Fu Yunzhi. “He said he was ambushed by the One-Eyed Dragon Gang last night but was rescued by a kind soul. He’s currently recuperating at an inn outside the city. He also told us not to worry and that he would be back as soon as possible.”
Fu Yunzhi had a servant bring a brush and paper. “In that case, I’ll write to Inspector Qi about what we discovered from the dart yesterday. I have other business today, so I won’t wait for him.”
“What business?”
“I need to go to the Ministry of Rites today to discuss lodging for the foreign envoys with Minister Ge.” The Langxuan Kingdom would soon be holding its state sacrifice, and envoys from all nations would be coming to pray together. The Prime Minister had put his most prized student, Fu Yunzhi, in charge of managing the ceremony, with the Ministry of Rites leading the assistance efforts.
“I have nothing to do today anyway, so let me accompany you,” Qi Xiao said immediately. “Someone will notify me when Shaoling returns.” Without waiting for Fu Yunzhi’s reply, he waved for a servant to prepare the carriage.
The Qi manor’s carriage took them to Chengli Pavilion within the palace grounds. As the carriage stopped by the side entrance, Fu Yunzhi lifted the curtain. Before his foot even touched the ground, the rotund Minister Ge rushed out of the pavilion, grabbed his hand, and exclaimed dramatically, “Master Fu! You’ve finally come to save this old minister! If you had been a moment later, this old minister would have had to hang himself!”
Although Minister Ge was over fifty, he was still full of energy. He walked with a gust of wind, the fat on his body jiggling with every step.
Fu Yunzhi mercilessly slapped his hand away. “Then you might as well go hang yourself. It would save the court some salary.”
He’s been trying to hang himself for fourteen years and still hasn’t succeeded. That’s not easy, Qi Xiao thought. He’s probably too fat for any silk rope or wooden beam to support him. And he’s always so handsy whenever he sees Yunzhi. I really don’t know what his intentions are.
Fu Yunzhi wiped his hand with an air of disgust before asking, “Is there a problem with the sacrificial ceremony procedures?”
“It’s more serious than that!” Minister Ge said. “The Shahan delegation is making a fuss, demanding to leave the inn we arranged for them and set up camp outside the city!”
“…”
Qi Xiao was reminded of the young wives in his storybooks who would throw a tantrum at their husbands and threaten to run back to their maiden homes.
“If I remember correctly, Shahan is a powerful border state. The inn we arranged for them should be the best one, right?” Fu Yunzhi asked.
“That’s true,” Minister Ge explained, “but the Shahan envoy claims the inn is haunted by unclean things. As for the other inns, they’re either already occupied by other delegations or don’t have enough empty rooms to accommodate the entire Shahan party. In their own country, the Shahan people all live in tents and are nomadic, so they say camping outside the city would actually be more comfortable. But setting aside the safety of our kingdom and the envoys, think of how rude it would look to the other nations!”
Qi Xiao frowned. “The people of Shahan are known for their fierce and hardy nature. The one leading the delegation this time is the King of Shahan’s own valiant uncle, Damu. A man who has fought on the battlefield would be afraid of such baseless nonsense?”
“Of course he’s not afraid,” Minister Ge continued. “They don’t even respect the authority of the Langxuan throne and act with such arrogance. Why would they be afraid?”
Fu Yunzhi interjected, “I’ve read about this in books. Although the Shahan people do not fear ghosts or gods, they have an unusual reverence for their goddess of travel, Tataliya. They are a nomadic people, after all. They believe that every journey is decided, guided, and blessed by Tataliya. Therefore, if they encounter these unclean things repeatedly upon arriving at a new location, they believe their destination was not approved by Tataliya. To stay longer would be to defy the will of their goddess.”
Minister Ge sighed. “Master Fu is truly learned. This old minister was unaware of this at first and had many conflicts with the Shahan delegation.”
After a few vigorous waves of his fan, Fu Yunzhi said, “This is a serious matter. I will speak with Commander Mo later. Tonight, I’ll take a few imperial guards to the inn where the Shahan delegation is staying to investigate.”
“But Commander Mo went hunting with the Emperor today and probably won’t be back so soon,” Minister Ge said. “This old minister does not approve of Master Fu investigating alone. What if there really is something…”
“I’ll go with Master Fu,” Qi Xiao said.
“Good, good, that’s for the best!” Minister Ge exclaimed. “General Qi’s martial arts are superb. He will surely be of great help to Master Fu!”
Seeing Minister Ge’s belly and cheeks tremble with his smile, Qi Xiao thought that he could, on occasion, be… rather cute.
That night, the stars dotted the sky, and the moon hung above the willow branches.
The Shahan delegation was staying at the Linxi Inn in the western part of the city. Due to the large number of people in the delegation, only one room could be spared for Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi.
Since they weren’t allowed to leave the city, the Shahan delegation was not in a welcoming mood. Damu’s deputy gave them a cold reception, recounting the signs of the “ghostly” disturbances from the past few days, pointing them to their room, and then leaving without a backward glance.
The room was neither large nor small, with two beds, a wardrobe, and a small tea table. The air was filled with the distinctive scent of wolf’s rest incense, unique to Shahan.
Fu Yunzhi, having just finished bathing, sat leaning against the headboard, waiting for Qi Xiao to return from his patrol so they could discuss their next move.
He picked up a book from the table to read, but felt something hard pressing against his rear. Turning over, he saw a small incense box and a jade dildo of an indescribable size lying by the headboard.
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
…The people of Shahan truly are fierce and hardy!
Fu Yunzhi opened the small box. A decadent, lustful fragrance assailed his nose, overpowering even the strong scent of wolf’s rest incense in the room. Inside was a milky-white cream, its purpose obvious at a glance.
Blushing, Fu Yunzhi snapped the box shut, intending to hide these eye-stabbing objects in the depths of the wardrobe, or better yet, just throw them away!
However, before he could even get off the bed, he heard a click. The door opened, and Qi Xiao strode in…
“…”
Qi Xiao felt as if he might have opened a fake door, entered a fake inn room, and was seeing a fake Fu Yunzhi…
Having just bathed, Fu Yunzhi looked even more languid than usual, his skin appearing even smoother. He wore a thin, white inner robe, his long, damp hair clinging to his neck and shoulders. His face was flushed, and in his left hand, he held a small incense box, while in his right, he held a jade dildo…
CRASH—
Fu Yunzhi looked towards the door in confusion and saw Qi Xiao kneeling awkwardly on the floor, having apparently tripped over the threshold. Although his right leg was caught, causing him to lurch forward, Qi Xiao had quickly extended his left leg and knelt on one knee to steady the wooden basin in his hands. Not a single drop of water spilled out.
Qi Xiao stood up, looking unnatural. “The threshold is quite high.”
“…”
“What are you… um… holding in your hand?” Qi Xiao continued.
Fu Yunzhi tossed the object aside. “I found it on the bed just now. Throw it away for me later.”
“Alright.” Qi Xiao placed the basin by the bed. “I mixed some medicinal powder into this foot-soaking water. A friend of mine from the Jianghu gave it to me. It’s good for your health, especially for someone like you who is sensitive to the cold. Soak a few more times, and maybe your hands and feet won’t be so icy in the winter.”
Fu Yunzhi placed his feet in the water. It was warm, and the heat seeped from the soles of his feet into his bloodstream, spreading throughout his body. He felt himself relax completely, even starting to feel drowsy.
“Should I give you a massage?” Qi Xiao asked.
Fu Yunzhi didn’t answer. Qi Xiao took his silence as assent. He submerged his hands in the water and began to knead the soles of Fu Yunzhi’s feet with a pressure that was neither too light nor too heavy. Qi Xiao’s hands, from years of practicing martial arts and swordsmanship, were covered in rough calluses. Fu Yunzhi found it a bit ticklish, but very comfortable.
Seeing Fu Yunzhi squint his eyes in comfort, Qi Xiao smiled. “If you’re sleepy, go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch. If anything unusual happens, I’ll wake you.”
Fu Yunzhi hummed. “You really didn’t need to come help.”
“I was idle anyway. I’m the General of the South, not an imperial guard. If there’s no war, there’s not much for me to do.”
From the time we were children, I’ve never seen you busy, Fu Yunzhi thought. Even when you went off to war, you always left a lieutenant behind to help me.
This man was really… Fu Yunzhi couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curl up.
The night was beautiful, the atmosphere serene, but a sudden, sharp scream shattered the tranquility.
Fu Yunzhi’s eyes snapped open. Qi Xiao also stood up, warily scanning their surroundings.
“That was the innkeeper’s daughter’s scream,” Qi Xiao whispered.
“Let’s go see,” Fu Yunzhi said.
Hiss—
In that instant, all the candles in the room were extinguished, plunging them into darkness. Qi Xiao immediately grabbed Fu Yunzhi’s arm. “Be careful.”
They stood in the darkness for a moment, but heard nothing more.
Qi Xiao led Fu Yunzhi out of the room. The corridor was also dark; it seemed the entire inn had lost its light, with only the faint moonlight filtering in.
On the deserted corridor, their footsteps were exceptionally loud.
Thump, thump—
Thump—
“Wait.” Qi Xiao suddenly stopped, pulling Fu Yunzhi to a halt. “Don’t move.”
Thump, thump—
Thump—
Fu Yunzhi turned to look at Qi Xiao in surprise. Why are there still footsteps?
Qi Xiao placed a finger to his lips, signaling for him to be quiet.
Well, with Qi Xiao here, there’s nothing to worry about, Fu Yunzhi thought.
Whether it was a person, or something else.
