AS USUAL, Feng Xiao arrived in style.
He didn't crawl out of the tunnel, filthy and disheveled, as Cui Buqu and Xiao Lü had done. He appeared out of thin air, sleeves spread like a crane alighting on the ground, and flashed an enchanting smile. He looked for all the world like an immortal, as pure and untouchable as a snow-cloaked tree in winter.
Qiao Xian's mastery of disguise was fully displayed in the way she'd changed Feng Xiao's face while preserving his extraordinary charm. Acquaintances would have had difficulty recognizing him, yet much of his original elegance remained—one that had nothing to do with gender.
Even Cui Buqu, who was by now used to seeing him, was a bit dazzled, to say nothing of Xiao Lü, who was meeting him for the first time.
"Is this lady from what the jianghu calls a garden of divine maidens?"
"No," said Cui Buqu. "A maiden like that might possess an even gentler beauty, but she'd never have such an imperious aura."
Before Feng Xiao could reply, Xiao Lü shook his head. He studied Feng Xiao a moment, then said, "You. You're a man in the guise of a woman, aren't you?"
Feng Xiao neither confirmed nor denied it. "My surname is Feng, as in phoenix. Call me Feng-er. Daoist Master Cui is someone with lofty standards; he pays no heed to ordinary men. For the two of you to have made friends so quickly, you must also be a dragon or phoenix among men."
Listening to Feng Xiao openly praise him while slyly mocking his supposed arrogance, Cui Buqu replied coldly, "Xiao-xiong saved my life. It's natural that I show him courtesy. If not for him, your Daoist Master Cui would be a lost ghost by now."
Feng Xiao smiled. "A-Cui, are you complaining that I'm late to the rescue? I sincerely apologize. You can hit me a few times when we get back if you need to vent."
Cui Buqu had been soaked to the skin in the secret hideout, and his clothes were sopping wet. The instant a breeze blew past, he let loose a flurry of sneezes. Eyeing the spotless Feng Xiao, he felt increasingly displeased. "This is Xiao-xiong, also known as Songxue-xiansheng, Xiao Lü, who uses calligraphy in his swordplay. He's a peerless martial artist, with skills not inferior to your own. The world is vast, yet you two were able to meet—why not treasure such an opportunity and spar?"
Cui Buqu's provocations were unnecessary; Feng Xiao had also recognized Xiao Lü as an excellent martial artist. Without warning, he threw out a palm strike. "Then I must ask Xiao-xiong for his guidance!"
Their palms met, the surge of internal strength breaking in waves around them. Cui Buqu was forced back several steps. With a loud bang, they flew apart midair, falling back to alight on the branches of the courtyard's trees.
Xiao Lü smiled. "Feng-xiong's skills are extraordinary. I fear I'm not your match—simply amazing!" He turned to Cui Buqu, "Mei-niang's parents are waiting for news of her back at home, and her sect has dispatched disciples to look for her; I can't afford to delay my return. I'll trouble Cui-xiandi to report the rest of those unfortunate women to the proper officials."
Cui Buqu nodded and cupped his hands. "You've a long journey ahead of you. Take care, Xiao-xiong."
Hoisting Mei-niang onto his back, Xiao Lü said, "If you find yourself in Chendu someday, I'll treat you to some good plum wine of my own vinting."
Cui Buqu stood beside Feng Xiao and watched Xiao Lü disappear into the distance. Only then did he realize someone else had yet to emerge. "Where's Bing Xian?"
Feng Xiao sighed. "I've just chased one off and now there's another. Daoist Master Cui, a girl named Bing Xian was willing to exchange Duan Qihu's wealth for your safety. Not an hour later, Xiao Lü sweeps in to rescue you. Thank heavens you're not a woman, or wouldn't you have to marry them all?"
"Thank heavens you're not a woman, or you'd be abandoned after every marriage. I'm afraid no one would keep you past the wedding." Cui Buqu held out a hand and said bluntly. "Hand it over."
"What?"
"Your coat."
"Why should I? You're asking me to strip out here in the open, yet you claim you don't lust after my beauty?"
"If I catch a cold, I'll need to spend time recovering." Cui Buqu looked back at him steadily. "At this pace, what year will it be when we reach Suyab? But if you don't mind, I don't either."
Feng Xiao pressed his lips shut. He reluctantly removed his coat and tossed it toward Cui Buqu, who wrapped himself in it immediately.
With the coat shielding him from the cold wind, Cui Buqu felt much better. He coughed a few times. "How did it go with Yuheng and the rest?"
Feng Xiao prodded Duan Qihu's corpse with a toe. "They're dealt with. Qiao Xian and Gao Yi are mopping up the mess. Did you get anything out of him?"
"By the time I came out, Yan Xuexing had already carved him into a human stick." Recounting it, Cui Buqu grew angry again. "I couldn't get anything out of him. Now we can only rely on Yuheng."
"That does make things difficult," murmured Feng Xiao.
Cui Buqu frowned. "Don't tell me Yuheng's dead too?"
"He's not, but the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai are secretive. They must have measures in place to prevent any director from exposing too much about the others. We didn't get any more from Duan Qihu. And if it's as I suspect, Yuheng will only know one more person, the director in front of him: Shi-xiansheng, tenth of the thirteenth floors."
"Actually, it's not a complete loss." Cui Buqu pulled out the letter. "I found this on Duan Qihu."
The moment Feng Xiao saw the blood, he refused to take a step closer. "Tell me what's written inside."
"I climbed Mount Jieshi in the east to behold the boundless turquoise sea."6
"Cao Cao's poem," said Feng Xiao.
"To your side I will return if safe; if dead, my love will never fade."
Feng Xiao's brows knit in puzzlement. "The two lines don't connect at all. Is it a riddle?"
Cui Buqu ignored him. "The third line: 'Before we could enjoy the wonders of spring, we glimpsed the approach of summer.' The fourth line: 'The river of stars runs clear and shallow."
What kind of nonsense is this? thought Feng Xiao.
"I have a few ideas, but I'll ponder it later," said Cui Buqu. "Right now I'll have to trouble you with something else."
"Whenever you speak to me this politely, it's bad news. I refuse."
Cui Buqu sneezed. "I'm going to faint."
That was all the warning he gave before slumping toward Feng Xiao. Feng Xiao instinctively reached out to catch him, but when his eyes landed on Cui Buqu's bloodstained clothes, he yanked his hand back.
Cui Buqu fell flat on the ground with a thud.
Feng Xiao coughed and looked around, as if waiting for some sucker to appear and help him carry Cui Buqu.
A woman's voice rang out with perfect timing: "Daoist Master Cui?"
Feng Xiao dragged Cui Buqu behind him without a second thought, lest he be eaten by this newly appeared demoness.
In the next moment, the "demoness" Feng Xiao feared revealed herself, dainty and graceful. It was Bing Xian, half-soaked from her stint underground. Her wet robes clung to the delicate curves of her figure, but her face was relaxed and carefree, without any hint of embarrassment.
Bing Xian took in Cui Buqu, lying prone on the ground. "Is Daoist Master Cui quite all right?" she asked in surprise, moving forward to help him up.
"He caught a chill and fainted. He'll be fine with a little medicine." Feng Xiao's former hesitation seemed to vanish as he lifted Cui Buqu onto his back. If Cui Buqu were spirited away by this demoness in yellow, the alliance with Apa Khagan would go up in smoke.
Jinlian Khatun's presence guaranteed they would reach the Western Khaganate. But persuading Apa Khagan to change his allegiance and throw in with the Sui dynasty wasn't something that could be accomplished solely with martial force or verbal intimidation. Feng Xiao was certain Cui Buqu had some hitherto unrevealed trump card or key intelligence up his sleeve.
He sighed and hoisted Cui Buqu up a little higher.
"I have some small skill in medicine myself," said Bing Xian. "Perhaps I should take a look?"
"No need," said Feng Xiao. "He has someone to attend to him."
Bing Xian showed no embarrassment at being so bluntly rejected; instead, she smiled. "It's getting late; I should leave as well. Did you see where Yan-gongzi went?"
Feng Xiao pointed in a random direction. "That way."
"Thank you very much. Please give my regards to Daoist Master Cui and tell him I went after Yan-gongzi. If I meet him in the future, I'll ask after him then." Bing Xian drifted away.
"Go, go," said Feng Xiao.
Now that the last of the meddlers had gone, Feng Xiao adjusted Cui Buqu on his back up and made for the inn, muttering to himself as he walked. "Cui Buqu, Cui Buqu. Look, I've snatched you out of the hands of that man-eating demoness, then carried you back reeking of blood. It's fine if you don't know about this favor yet; once you wake up, I'll remind you every day. You'll repay me if it's the last thing you do."
***
While Cui Buqu was lolling about unconscious, Qiemo underwent a series of earth-shattering changes.
The power balance between the three factions had been completely overturned. Not even Gao Yi, in all his wildest dreams, had ever imagined that the weakest point in the triad would suddenly emerge the clear winner.
The Duan family's influence collapsed with his death, and its members fled like rats from a sinking ship. Meanwhile, Xing Mao had been captured alive. Unlike Duan Qihu, the Xing clan had been operating in Qiemo for generations. They were deeply rooted; it was impossible to simply kill them and be done with it. They needed to be slowly interrogated, their influence addressed and depleted.
In the end, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao had managed to bring an entire city into the fold of the Sui dynasty. It was a meritorious deed of expanding the empire's territory, a grand achievement. Even Feng Xiao himself was surprised at the outcome. When he'd first heard Cui Buqu's bold plan, his initial thought had been that the man had lost his mind.
Yet reality had proved Cui Buqu quite sane. Perhaps he knew no martial arts; perhaps he couldn't shoot enemies from horseback or weave his strategies behind the heavy curtains of the imperial court. Yet without a single soldier, he'd incited the Duan and Xing families to destroy each other while he sat to the side and reaped the benefits.
Still, it had to be said that coincidence had played a large part in his success. Yan Xuexing had sought vengeance, while the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai wished to kill Duan Qihu and silence him. Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao had merely fanned the flames in the right direction, exploiting the greed and suspicion that lurked in human hearts.
Though they'd dispatched a messenger to the capital at full speed, word would take some time to arrive. Any reaction from the court, including the doling out of rewards and punishments, would be slow. Over the course of one night, Gao Yi's fortunes had taken a complete turn; he was equal parts joyous and bewildered. He sought Feng Xiao's advice before giving any order, paying him multiple visits a day until Feng Xiao grew irritated at the sight of him.
When Cui Buqu finally woke, he found Feng Xiao sitting leisurely by the window, waving a fan and studying a document in his hand.
It had been impossible to conceal their identities after the uproar they'd caused. By now, half the city knew who they were. So many people had darkened their door that if Fo'er had been anywhere near Qiemo, he would have caught wind of the news long ago. Feng Xiao thus couldn't be bothered to maintain his disguise and had returned to his original appearance.
With his natural good looks, he'd have been a sight for sore eyes even if he'd been squatting down stuffing his face, never mind languidly fanning himself. One could almost ignore that there was still a portable stove smoking away in the corner and winter plums abloom outside the window.
Regardless of time or place, this man would never miss an opportunity to flaunt himself. He really was just like an oleander: even hidden in deep green foliage, he spared no effort to produce the most spectacular blossoms.
"My good Daoist Master Cui, you're finally awake." Feng Xiao raised two fingers. "There's good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
Cui Buqu said coldly, "First, I wish to eat and drink."