TWWDS - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chao Qingxiu shook her head and continued. "Academy Head Ying's private storehouse was completed only three months ago, so there is no need to examine the situation at the earlier Qiongtai Banquets. We need only look at the Top Five lists for March, April, and May. Gao Huaishu ranked first on the March list, and he made the Top Five all three times. If he were the one, he should have realized in April that something had changed in the storehouse. But the Northern Xi delegation did not arrive unexpectedly until May, so it was not him. Shi Sixuan knew that the plans were in the wooden monkey's left eye. She knew too much about the inside situation and could be ruled out at once. Like Gao Huaishu, Lu Yuanshan had made the Top Five in all three months. Du Zhiming had attended the first and second Qiongtai Banquets; if she were involved, she too could have realized in April that something was amiss... Only someone who attended the April and May Qiongtai Banquets, and none of the earlier ones, met the conditions. I sifted through the lists and found that Dai Lantai alone qualified."

"A stone stele cannot burn. From what happened at the April Qiongtai Banquet, Dai Lantai could deduce that whatever was stored here was flammable. If that reasoning was correct, then a close examination of the combustible items brought into the academy's main storehouse in April and May would reveal the Defense Map's whereabouts. Therefore, whoever stole the Defense Map that night knew there was something wrong with the wooden carving but did not know that the map was inside its left eye."

"Of course, I am only suspicious at this point. However, Dai Lantai appeared here again today, and a mount had been readied long ago. For a covert agent worried that his identity might be exposed and wanting to go straight, it would make sense to leave with whoever had sent him. Unfortunately, we got in the way, so he could not do that. Still, if Dai Lantai really were involved, he would not have come without making some preparations, even if he intended to escape with the delegation. If he had hidden a large amount of cash on his person or in his saddle, that would nearly confirm his identity."

At this, Chao Qingxiu saluted the person before her. "So I have one more thing to trouble you with, Brother Li. Afterward, would you find a chance to verify this person's identity for me?"

Li Guixian did not answer, but asked in return, "Besides Xu Feiqu, who came here today, do you not suspect her as well?"

Chao Qingxiu smiled. "If she were a covert agent too, why leave a letter? Why go back and cut the mooring line? Was she putting on an act for Chief Constable Wu?" She paused, then added, "Even without those things, I still believe she is not one."

This time, it was Yan Kaixian who asked, "Why?"

Chao Qingxiu gave a slight smile. "This is like when we first met. Academy Head Ying entrusted me with an important task, and without knowing the inside story, Brother Li was still willing to travel with me at my pace. The reasons behind it are more or less the same."

Strangers who meet by chance may yet become lifelong friends, as if they had known each other for years.

Li Guixian asked, "Why did you not search him directly while he was still there?"

Chao Qingxiu replied, "I thought of that too, but we had better wait until Master Xu returns to the academy before saying anything. She is no outlaw from the martial world, and too much is at stake. There may yet be retaliation later."

She herself was not afraid of being targeted or facing danger. Most people, however, would prefer a peaceful life.

Li Guixian shook his head when he heard this. "It is already too late."

Chao Qingxiu looked at Li Guixian. Something suddenly occurred to her, and she raised her head to look back along the path they had come.

Through the downpour, the faint sound of hoofbeats came toward them.

Chao Qingxiu watched for a long time before she could make out the approaching figure. Xu Feiqu was riding toward them. She usually dressed in a light robe with broad sleeves, but at that moment, no one would have taken her for an ordinary student-scholar. A severed head hung from her saddle, still dripping blood.

It was Dai Lantai's head.

Wind and rain swept the world, while Xu Feiqu sat proudly erect on her horse, her chest heaving. After a moment, she said hoarsely, "I heard that anyone who joins a gang in the martial world must submit a pledge of loyalty." She cast a glance at the head on the ground. "That is my pledge of loyalty."

This was why Chao Qingxiu had given Xu Feiqu the soft armor, subtly warning her to take care on the road.

No one who made the Top Five at the academy was a fool, and Xu Feiqu understood things even more quickly. Yet what she had considered was not how to remain watchful and guarded so that she could return safely to the academy, but how to use the opportunity to uncover the truth. After saying goodbye, the two of them had walked only a short distance when Xu Feiqu abruptly questioned Dai Lantai, catching her classmate off guard. Her words cut like a knife. Before Dai Lantai could conceal a reaction, a fellow student noticed something amiss. Dai Lantai instinctively tried to kill Xu Feiqu to keep her from speaking, but failed. With her defenses sufficiently strengthened, Xu Feiqu turned the tables and killed Dai Lantai instead.

Xu Feiqu had not given that account herself. Li Guixian had related the whole sequence.

Xu Feiqu asked, "How did you know...?"

Li Guixian said, "I heard."

"..."

Most academy students were not martial artists, and they lacked an adequate understanding of how acute a master's senses could be.

Xu Feiqu's earlier words about a pledge of loyalty had not been spoken idly. After a few more words, she swung down from her horse, bowed to Chao Qingxiu, and said, "Gang Leader."

Chao Qingxiu hurriedly returned the salute, then personally helped Xu Feiqu to her feet. She had wanted to ask how Xu's studies would fare, but when the question reached her lips, she decided there was no need to ask.

Xu Feiqu was not the sort to get carried away by passion and act without restraint; if anything, she was rather indifferent about many things. Now that she had made up her mind, Chao could only accept her generous offer.

The downpour would not let up for some time, but they had already discussed everything they needed to discuss. With no questions remaining between them, they set off through the rain.

The academy stood on the mountain, so traveling along the mountain road in the rain was clearly a poor choice. Instead, the group selected an inn on the outskirts of the city that bore the same Buer House emblem and checked in to rest for the time being.

Yan Kaixian asked the shop steward to purchase several sets of clean clothes, then handed their soiled garments to the inn's servants to be laundered. Once everyone had washed and changed, they gathered together again.

Chao Qingxiu cupped a hot cup of tea in both hands and felt that perhaps she might one day make the transition to life in an armchair.

Although the Defense Map had been recovered, the Northern Xi delegation had suffered an unfortunate accident, and an academy student had fallen from a horse in the rain and suffered fatal head injuries. Their troubles were far from over. Ying Lusheng had already been taken away by the Yongning prefect, and Chao Qingxiu had spent the journey back considering how to get her released.

Chao Qingxiu said, "The loss of the Defense Map is naturally a serious crime, but the case is still under investigation. Later, we will say that Academy Head Ying had merely spread word to mislead others deliberately, and that the original Defense Map is still in the academy."

Xu Feiqu knitted her brows. At last, she said, "Very well. I only hope Prefect Yang will be willing to listen."

Chao Qingxiu then asked Li Guixian, "Does Brother Li know anyone well enough who might be able to help?"

Xu Feiqu said, "Brother Li belongs to the Wenbei Sect and has a wide circle of contacts. But that Prefect Yang..." She hesitated, then still spoke frankly. "Prefect Yang has never much liked associating with people from the martial world, and that is especially true now. In my view, we should visit Assistant Prefect Wei's residence instead. Now that the Defense Map has been recovered, the Academy Head may come through unscathed. It is a good opportunity for Assistant Prefect Wei to earn the Academy Head's gratitude. As for Chief Constable Wu Shidao, even if he will not help, he will most likely turn a blind eye when he sees others trying to rescue the Academy Head."

After all, Wu Shidao had the disposition of a fence-sitter and would not stubbornly make an enemy of desperate men from the martial world.

After they had discussed the matter, the group decided to proceed this way for the time being. Chao Qingxiu called over the shop's waiter. "Please prepare a dose of medicine for me."

Xu Feiqu asked in surprise, "You are injured?"

Chao Qingxiu glanced at her. "It is for you. You ran a long way through the rain. If you do not take precautions, you will certainly fall ill later."

Yan Kaixian, reminded by Chao Qingxiu, also said, "Quite right. Since that is the case, the Gang Leader should prepare a dose for herself as well, just in case."

"..."

Chao Qingxiu was silent for a moment, then said, "Then prepare four doses." She smiled and added, "Since we have all done this deed together, we will naturally share the bitter with the sweet. When it comes to drinking medicine, everyone gets a share." As she spoke, she glanced at Li Guixian with a smile.

She supposed that ever since he had completed his training, he had not been forced to drink any bitter medicine to ward off a chill.

Li Guixian stiffened, then lowered his head. "Thank you."

The Defense Map was still on Chao Qingxiu, and Xu Feiqu was a scholar with no martial arts, so the three women slept in the same room that night. Li Guixian stayed in the room next door, ready to rush over at the slightest disturbance and help surround and beat whoever it might be.

Chao Qingxiu had originally intended to have Li Guixian carry the map, since he had the greatest martial strength, but he refused.

Li Guixian said, "Miss Chao is meticulous. It would be better for you to carry it."

Chao Qingxiu replied, "If we encounter a master, I fear I may have the will but not the strength."

Li Guixian considered for a moment, then said, "There is nothing we can do for the moment, but I... when I return, I will copy out the essentials of Brother Cen's saber technique and bring it to you, Miss Chao. Perhaps it will be of some use."

Chao Qingxiu felt Li Guixian was thinking well ahead. It was as if he had seen through her plain facade as an ordinary escort guard to the aspiring ace detective beneath, who seemed to attract trouble wherever she went, and wanted to raise her combat stats.

Yan Kaixian said, "Afterward, you can disguise yourself and stay out of sight at the academy for a while."

Xu Feiqu said, "With your abilities, you will sooner or later make a name for yourself throughout the realm. Even if it is not for the sake of protecting something that belongs to someone else, you will still attract calamity by virtue of what you possess."

Six Doors, for example, may already have begun considering poaching her.

Chao Qingxiu smiled. "That is not necessarily so."

Xu Feiqu asked, "Then, if someone discovers how perceptive you are and takes you captive to serve as an adviser, what will you do?"

Chao Qingxiu replied, "Naturally, I will mix truth with falsehood and parry with empty words."

Xu Feiqu remained worried. "If the enemy realizes that you are deliberately deceiving them, or that you have held something back..."

Chao Qingxiu's gaze shifted slightly. Looking at the companions around her, she gave a half-smile. "I believe the enemy should be unable to discover it."

"..."

Xu Feiqu looked at her, for a moment unable to tell whether there was a hidden meaning in her words.

Yan Kaixian's mood, however, did not change. She was a member of the Zizhuo Gang and followed only the Gang Leader's orders. Even if the Gang Leader meant to deceive someone, Yan Kaixian was not worth the deception.

The group formed a sound plan. Xu Feiqu contacted the academy's authorities, while Li Guixian found people in the Wenbei Sect and asked them to get in touch with their friends in the martial world. Prefect Yang, however, remained tight-lipped no matter what they did. The more vigorously others worked to pull strings on Academy Head Ying's behalf, the more suspicious he became. He even concluded that Ying had meant to sell the Defense Map to another party, but that he had discovered the arrangement and sent men to retrieve the plans.

When the news reached her, Chao Qingxiu thought that the other man's logic was remarkably airtight.

Xu Feiqu rose. "Since submitting my pledge of loyalty, I have yet to render the slightest service. Let me handle this matter."

Chao Qingxiu nodded, then said, "Things will work out if we take our time. If we cannot get her out soon, we should stall for as long as possible and make sure Academy Head Ying stays alive."

Li Guixian became interested. "Is Gang Leader Chao planning to find a chance to break into the prison afterward?"

Chao Qingxiu blinked. "I was thinking that once the accident involving the Northern Xi delegation comes to light, Prefect Yang will probably be demoted. Then everything will be easier to arrange."

Xu Feiqu smiled. "I see."

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