Chapter 51: Famine Part 4

Xiao Kun had no choice but to get up again and shift over a little, making room for Xiang Xian on the couch. The Deputy Emissary sat on the couch, and Xiang Xian rubbed his belly, saying, “Old Wu! Isn’t the food ready yet?”

Xiao Kun suddenly mimicked the Stone Lions’ tone: “Kang Wang is here! Kang Wang is here!”

That startled Xiang Xian badly. He thought a real guest had arrived, but once he came back to his senses and realized Xiao Kun was teasing him, he immediately kicked him. The two burst into laughter together.

Wu Yingzong returned, carrying large and small packages of food with Hulü Guang. For today, they had prepared Kaifeng’s thin pancakes, a Qingming specialty, along with various small dishes like white jade shrimp, roasted lamb kidneys, egg shreds, scalded shepherd’s purse that was bright green, braised tofu puffs, and pork skin jelly. Everything was neatly cut into strips, then piled onto trays. When eating, they wrapped it all into paper-thin, freshly baked one-foot-square pancakes, with sauces added to taste.

“Too delicious!” Chaosheng said. “This is what I call a wrap!”

Whenever Chaosheng came to Kaifeng, he threw the matters of the White Jade Palace to the back of his mind, feeling no guilt whatsoever about leaving Pi Changge up on Kunlun Mountain to choke down those rock-hard biscuits.

“This is a Kaifeng custom,” Xiang Xian explained. “Back in my Jiangdong region, we eat qingtuan for Qingming.”

“What’s qingtuan?” Chaosheng asked. “I want to try it too. Qingshan, can you give me the meat from your plate if you don’t want it?”

Mu Qingshan handed him the plate.

“Lord Guo is here! Lord Guo is here!” The two Stone Lions called out together.

Xiang Xian and Xiao Kun both showed helpless expressions at the same time.

“Hey!” Guo Jing entered, his eyes widening in astonishment. “So many people here?”

Though Hulü Guang didn’t know who the newcomer was, he could tell from his appearance that he was a superior and was about to stand and bow, but Xiao Kun said, “Sit and eat your meal.”

“Want some, Lord Guo?” Xiang Xian observed Guo Jing’s condition. The last time, he had been beaten up by the two of them and then possessed by Mr. Qin, but now he looked fully recovered.

“I’ve already eaten.” Guo Jing let out a satisfied belch, then glanced at Hulü Guang and Mu Qingshan. Clearly, he was wondering who they were as he said, “What did you gain from this trip outside?”

“We found the Heart Lamp,” Xiao Kun answered.

“Oh?” Guo Jing was quite surprised. “Let me see it? The Official Family was asking about it just a few days ago.”

“Can’t take it out,” Xiang Xian replied. “If you want to see it, come over yourself.”

Xiao Kun had only just returned to the Exorcism Division and wanted to rest for a few days. He had no desire to entertain Guo Jing, but considering they had been away for three months, who knew what had happened in Kaifeng City? It wouldn’t hurt to listen.

Xiang Xian wolfed down his food and finished first. He signaled Hulü Guang to serve tea and asked, “What’s the movement in the capital? Lord Guo, your news is fast—you already knew we were back.”

The next moment, however, Guo Jing’s answer was: “I didn’t know you’d returned to the capital. I came today just to check on that bell in the hall. It hasn’t rung for quite some time.”

Xiang Xian was stunned. “Did the Demon Shaking Bell ring?”

Guo Jing: “Yeah, it rang in bursts. For days recently, it rang nonstop every night, like it was urging death itself. The whole alley could hear it. Did one of you set up some mechanism?”

At these words, Xiang Xian and Xiao Kun immediately felt as if they were seeing the lantern show of their life flashing before their eyes at death’s door.

“A Huang!” Xiang Xian said at once. “What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know,” A Huang replied while pecking at bamboo rice. “The falcon doesn’t know either—it’s gone missing. I was planning to go look for it after eating.”

“Was it white?” Guo Jing asked, as if recalling something.

Xiao Kun had been choking for a while now. He grabbed Hulü Guang and reached for tea. Hulü Guang hurriedly gave him tea and patted his back.

Xiang Xian’s vision went black in waves before his eyes.

Guo Jing: “Grand Commander Gao shot down two White Falcons in the alley outside with a slingshot last month. They wouldn’t happen to be the ones you two raised, would they?”

Xiao Kun: “What about the falcons?”

Guo Jing: “Of course he kept them to play with himself. He wouldn’t eat them. Want me to take you two to his residence to ask?”

“Master, Master!” Wu Yingzong said hurriedly. “Chaosheng, come quick—Master is choking!”

Chaos erupted in the Exorcism Division.

It took Xiang Xian a good while to recover. He said to Guo Jing, “Trouble Lord Guo to go report to the Official Family: everyone should pack up and migrate south at their earliest convenience. And don’t bother going to Jiangnan—go further south. There’s a place called Yashan. Line up nicely and jump into the sea. Done.”

Guo Jing: “???”