NEEDLESS TO SAY, Feng Xiao would send no such response. Pei Jingzhe was incompetent, but he was still a member of the Jiejian Bureau—it wasn't for outsiders to execute him. Feng Xiao sent his cavalry to surround Lu Manor with orders to monitor the situation and allow no one out. Then he took Cui Buqu to the outskirts of Huyang Forest.
Cui Buqu was baffled. "Why are you taking me to save Pei Jingzhe?"
"They have a hostage. They'll be secure, while I'll be panicking with no idea what to do." Feng Xiao's tone was leisurely. "But if the resourceful Daoist Master Cui is with me, perhaps he can come up with a few ideas."
Cui Buqu took in his serene countenance. There was nothing there that could be described as panic. As expected, Feng Xiao's next sentence was, "If we meet with any danger, I'll feel so much more at ease with you there."
"So." Cui Buqu coolly exposed him: "You wish to use me as a meat shield."
"How clever you are," said Feng Xiao.
His steps were swift as the wind—such was his skill in qinggong that he flowed like drifting clouds or running water. So that Cui Buqu didn't slow him down, Feng Xiao had looped an arm securely around his waist as he sped forward, carrying him along. Cui Buqu's feet didn't even touch the ground; with no effort from him, they arrived at their destination.
The moon emerged from behind the dark clouds, bathing the world in light once more. Huyang Forest was cloaked in moonlight, its swaying branches limned in a hazy silver glow that gave it a tranquility not present during the day.
But any sense of peace was an illusion. Perhaps Cui Buqu hadn't noticed, but Feng Xiao immediately sensed something unusual about the place. He slowed his steps. "It was you who invited me here. Why hide?"
The grass on the ground was sparse, tussocks scattered across the sandy soil. Cui Buqu heard no movement—but when he looked, a figure had appeared beneath a nearby tree.
The Goguryeon expert, Go Nyeong.
Though Go Nyeong carried the Goguryeon royal surname and ranked as a first-class martial artist even in the Central Plains, his clothes were simple to the point of shabbiness. He'd traveled thousands of miles in the same gray robe, growing ever dustier and more travel-worn, yet he cared little for such things. From the moment he appeared, his eyes were fixed unswervingly on Feng Xiao. He didn't so much as glance at Cui Buqu beside him.
Obviously this wasn't because Feng Xiao's beauty had captivated him. He now regarded Feng Xiao as a sworn and lifelong enemy, and was determined to defeat him.
"Where is my subordinate?" asked Feng Xiao.
Go Nyeong's reply was succinct. "Not here."
His Chinese was halting and his tone was brusque, harsher than the cold night wind.
Feng Xiao chuckled. "I knew Pei Jingzhe wouldn't be so foolish. Even if you managed to take his token, he wouldn't allow himself to be captured. So tell me, who are your accomplices? Does the number one martial artist of Goguryeo make a habit of slinking around like a rat? It seems Goguryeons only know how to scurry about in the dark!"
Anger shone on Go Nyeong's face. His hand went to his sword, but before he could draw it a voice drifted over.
"He's trying to provoke you. Pay him no mind."
Another man stepped out from behind a stone. Until that moment, he'd kept his breathing so low and remained so still even Feng Xiao had failed to notice him. Someone that skilled, who also happened to be in Liugong City and wanted Feng Xiao dead? It could be no one else.
"If it's not the number one Göktürk martial artist! Did you lose something here? Shall I help you search?" Feng Xiao's eyes widened in mock surprise.
"You were distracted during our fight tonight. I seek a rematch," said Fo'er.
"This is the first time I've heard someone describe an ambush in such a novel and refined way," said Cui Buqu. "You're not from the Central Plains, so perhaps you don't know these more apt words: brash, brazen, underhanded, unscrupulous, debased, shameless, treacherous, and conniving. Does that about cover it?"
His tone was cool, yet he listed them all in a single breath, growing increasingly sarcastic. Judging from the way Fo'er and Go Nyeong's faces flashed alternately green and white, they certainly understood at least some of it.
"Never have I found you as adorable and amiable as I do now, Ququ," chirped Feng Xiao happily.
"I beg Feng-langjun not to read anything into it. Just stick to calling me Daoist Master Cui, or I'll break out in hives."
"These Central Plainsmen!" Go Nyeong snarled, interrupting them. "A quick tongue and nothing more!" He drew his sword, sweeping toward Feng Xiao.
The sword glare came cold and swift like a spear of light piercing the moon, faster than when he'd moved to take Pei Jingzhe hostage earlier. At the same time, Fo'er attacked from the other side, and the two closed in on Feng Xiao from the left and right. They were clearly determined to kill him tonight.
Yet Feng Xiao showed no sign of fear. He remained motionless until both men were within striking distance. Then, with a tap of his toes, he leapt from the ground to avoid their joint attack.
He gathered up his zither and tossed it forward; in the same moment, he reversed direction, diving toward the ground, his palm strike accompanied by the zither's notes as they bombarded his adversaries. Fo'er and Go Nyeong had him surrounded, yet he handled them with ease and lost not an inch of ground.
Though Cui Buqu was hardly on good terms with Feng Xiao, they were in the same boat. If Feng Xiao lost here, no good fate awaited Cui Buqu.
Fo'er and Go Nyeong were a formidable combination, but Feng Xiao was a force to be reckoned with as well. For a time, the three seemed evenly matched. If Feng Xiao seized the momentum, he might even win. After observing this, Cui Buqu relaxed and edged toward a nearby boulder, ready to sit and watch the fight.
Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as if someone had blown lightly on his nape.
There was no one there—it was an instinctive reaction to danger. Cui Buqu knew no martial arts, but over his many years of illness, his body had absorbed all sorts of drugs. As a result, his five senses were greatly sharpened. The instant he felt that coolness, he flung himself to the ground. At the same moment, he heard the faint sound of something whistling over his head. Several long needles appeared just in front of him, sticking neatly out from the dirt.
No doubt poisoned.
Cui Buqu realized he'd flung himself a bit too vigorously. His knees were sore, and he lacked the strength to get up and run. But his attackers were right behind him, so he was forced to roll to the side. His pose was wretched, but it might save his life.
As he tumbled in the dirt, he saw two black-clad men sweep toward him, one behind the other, cold swords glinting. He'd survived their first attempt, but avoiding the second would be impossible.
Truly, disaster followed that flamboyant oleander spirit!
For all his plots and calculations, Cui Buqu never imagined he'd die not at the hands of his foes, nor even from illness, but instead thanks to Feng Xiao dragging him into this business. Death was close at hand; he had no time to curse, but in his racing mind, he'd already paid his respects to dozens of generations of Feng Xiao's ancestors, right through the dynasties of Xia, Shang, Zhou, and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.15
On the outside, he simply closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
Perhaps Cui Buqu's frenzied cursing had some effect—those two swords never landed, and no unexpected agony tore through his body. He instead heard the sounds of fighting. He opened his eyes to find Feng Xiao had leapt over in time to block the killing blows of the assassins.
With this, the number of his enemies increased from two to four.
Feng Xiao didn't even spare a second to mock Cui Buqu. It was clear the fight was beginning to tax him.
The moment he was out of danger, Cui Buqu cried, "Those two are assassins from the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai. They carry poisoned needles!"
A representative of the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai had appeared earlier that night. Bing Xian, the woman in yellow, had exposed their identity; this, combined with a lack of opportunity, meant they'd simply turned and left. Neither Cui Buqu nor Feng Xiao had expected them to join forces with Fo'er and Go Nyeong.
"No one told me the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai now carries out robberies as well as assassinations!"
The two in black didn't answer. They attacked Feng Xiao without reserve, and without even looking at Cui Buqu, who'd barely managed to escape with his life. It was plain their target had been Feng Xiao from the start.
Here in the uplands late at night, the wind rose and sandstorms spun up out of nothing. The fight drifted from east to west, until the combatants found themselves at the edge of the plateau. It was no vast abyss below, but the cliff was steep and treacherous—any ordinary person who fell here would lose their life.
Sandy wind blew grit into Cui Buqu's mouth and nose. He yearned to cough but swallowed it down. There was no room for mistakes when masters exchanged blows. If Feng Xiao should lose due to a tiny distraction, Cui Buqu would also meet a dreadful fate.
He moved slowly, retreating into a blind spot behind the towering boulders where he might go unnoticed. Between the howling sandstorm and the combined assault on Feng Xiao, no one realized he'd disappeared.
From the moment the two members of the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai had joined the fight, the balance had begun to tip. In the face of four martial experts attacking at once, even if Feng Xiao were first in the world, he would find it difficult to escape unharmed. On top of that, two of the attackers were from outside the Central Plains, while two others were assassins. None were beholden to martial codes of morality and chivalry, and they had no scruples about fighting many-on-one or using underhanded tactics. They'd already launched several volleys of hidden weapons: Feng Xiao had been hit twice, once in the shoulder and once in the abdomen. His attacks began to slow.
Fo'er saw his opportunity and took it—he flung out a palm and knocked Feng Xiao off the cliff, while Go Nyeong kicked his zither in the opposite direction.
Feng Xiao fell from the edge and disappeared from sight. The assassins from the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai were determined to finish the job; they dove down after him. The sand swirled wildly, mixing with the rain and snow. Even the best of fighters would find it hard to withstand. Go Nyeong and Fo'er weren't acquainted; they'd only allied to take down Feng Xiao. Now their foe had fallen, and they were on guard once more. Unlike the assassins, they weren't desperate enough to press on in such terrible weather. They turned and left, one to the east and one to the west, their figures quickly vanishing into the wind and snow.
Cui Buqu waited a long interval, until he deemed both were sufficiently far away. Then he slowly inched toward the edge of the plateau and peered down.
No matter how keen his eyesight, there was a limit to what he could see in the dark of the night. Even if Feng Xiao had survived the fall, a single stab from those assassins would put him in his grave.
Cui Buqu clicked his tongue. He did feel it was rather a shame for such an unparalleled beauty to be reduced to bone. At the same time, he rejoiced: Feng Xiao's death meant the Jiejian Bureau's glory was certain to wane, and that would make room for the Zuoyue Bureau to shine brighter.
As he considered this, a faint voice reached his ears.
"Pull me up."
Cui Buqu looked around for the source of the sound, then reached over the edge and groped at the side of the cliff. After fumbling a moment, he touched a hand.
The hand clutched his fiercely, and Cui Buqu was almost dragged over the edge. He barely managed to stop his downward slide.
"Pull—me—up!"
Feng Xiao's voice was weak. Its softness sounded like more than fear of being overheard; he must have suffered serious injury.
"How lucky you are!" Cui Buqu couldn't help but sigh.
Feng Xiao snorted. "Someone like me, unmatched in both beauty and charm, is naturally afforded the protection of heaven. How could those thugs do me serious harm?"
"But now you need me to save you."
"Once we're back, I'll give you your freedom," said Feng Xiao. "You may come and go as you please."
Cui Buqu thought, If I wanted to go, there's already nothing you can do to stop me. "That's worthless. Promise me something and I'll pull you up."
"Anything," Feng Xiao said impatiently. "Just pull me up first!" He kept his voice low, lest the assassins from the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai overhear.
"Call me 'Daddy' three times and I'll do it," said Cui Buqu.
Feng Xiao was speechless.