MEETING AN OLD FRIEND in a time of crisis ought to have been a relief.
The music of a zither came from all sides, transforming into sharp blades upon reaching his ears. Fortunately, his acquaintance was using his internal energy to shield him from further injury. That ought to have been a relief as well.
But when the person standing behind him said "Guess who," Cui Buqu couldn't bring himself to be relieved in the slightest.
The zither paused. For a moment, his ears were at peace.
Apparently the person behind him thought he hadn't heard clearly, because he removed his hands from Cui Buqu's ears and covered his eyes instead. "Guess who."
How could this man be in the mood to joke at a time like this? Cui Buqu struck at the acupoint on his savior's elbow. The move didn't require any skill in martial arts—anyone struck there would find themselves with a sore arm. The man chuckled and smoothly removed his hands.
Cui Buqu turned and saw the man he'd expected: Li Shisi.
Or rather, Feng Xiao.
After moving from his hometown to the city, Li Shisi had quickly earned his cousin's favor. The young man was frivolous and impudent, happy to take both male and female comers. Despite his vices, he was also clever, astute, and knew how to read people. Yet he'd latched onto Cui Buqu at the banquet, disrespected an imperial censor, harassed them, and caused all sorts of trouble. None of this made any sense.
Afterward, this Li Shisi had likely used all sorts of excuses to dodge the Li family's questions, but to Cui Buqu, he'd already exposed his true identity.
"I seem to remember you invited me to Qixia Villa," Cui Buqu said slowly.
"So I did. But someone held me up on the way," Feng Xiao said with a smile. He'd switched back to his real voice.
"Someone who could hold you up so long you missed our appointment? They can't be an ordinary person."
"You're right. He was a formidable martial artist, the kind I rarely see. I fought him for most of the night, but neither of us could defeat the other. I only just managed to extricate myself."
"Before you obtained the two sarira, how did you compare to him?"
Feng Xiao pretended to consider this. "Before the sarira, perhaps I was a bit below him in terms of raw power—but I have a demeanor that's graceful, elegant, awe-inspiring, serene, and transcendent. He couldn't catch up to me in a million years. Even if I'd run into him before the sarira, he'd be helpless against me."
"Deputy Chief Feng," said Cui Buqu icily. "The first part was enough. The remaining nonsense can be left unsaid. Who do you think he was?"
Feng Xiao smiled. "If I had to guess…it was Xiao Lü."
Cui Buqu raised his eyes to look at him.
"You guessed it too, didn't you?" Feng Xiao asked.
He had indeed guessed it.
Fan Yun had worked with Xiao Lü for a long time. Even if his teacher had his own ulterior motives, upon meeting a young man as talented as Xiao Lü, he would undoubtedly have become excited and tried to teach him some of his martial arts and arrays. He'd often lamented that Cui Buqu was unable to learn martial arts, but this was no obstacle for Xiao Lü. Even if Fan Yun had reservations, Xiao Lü might still have learned much.
Cui Buqu had met Xiao Lü once before, beyond the Great Wall in Duan Qihu's secret underground chamber. Xiao Lü had played the part of a handsome young man and left a favorable impression on Cui Buqu. In hindsight, Xiao Lü had likely revealed himself solely to meet him. He'd pretended to be searching for his kin, but the identity of the woman he'd rescued wasn't clear.
Ultimately, Cui Buqu thought, he'd been careless. He'd failed to look more deeply into Xiao Lü and the woman after that incident. Although even if he had, Xiao Lü was intelligent enough not to leave any clues.
During the years he'd spent establishing the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai, Xiao Lü must have had many opportunities to learn all sorts of unique and rare martial skills—more than most people learned in a lifetime. He'd started from nothing and built a powerful organization that extended across both the north and south. Compared to that, acquiring a few high-level techniques was child's play—prodigies were rare, but they did exist.
Cui Buqu was one himself. If not for his superior intellect, he'd have died a thousand times living with the Cui family. He would never have survived to adulthood. And Feng Xiao was one too. He'd achieved incredible things in his study of martial arts while extremely young, his accomplishments far outstripping other rising stars among his peers. He was a martial arts prodigy.
But Xiao Lü's most terrifying quality wasn't his resourcefulness, nor his martial arts. It was his incredible patience. Despite possessing powerful martial arts and founding an organization like the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai, he'd remained in the dark for years, right up until the incident in which the Jade of Heaven Lake had found its way to the Central Plains. Only then—at the moment its rise was imminent—had the tip of the iceberg known as the Thirteen Floors been revealed.
Since Liugong City, Cui Buqu had repeatedly encountered the forces of the Thirteen Floors of Yunhai. Of course this wasn't because he and Xiao Lü were destined to cross paths, but because Cui Buqu had been methodically hunting for traces of their organization. Xiao Lü had realized that if he didn't eliminate Cui Buqu, many of the Thirteen Floors' plans would suffer.
No matter how small a fly was, it was irritating if it kept buzzing around. And the Zuoyue Bureau, which had considerable authority and power within the Sui dynasty, was much worse than a fly. Ever since they'd begun collaborating with the Jiejian Bureau, Cui Buqu had become Xiao Lü's first priority for elimination.
Thoughts racing, Cui Buqu suddenly saw the web Xiao Lü was spinning here. As soon as they'd begun investigating Yang Yun, Cui Buqu had guessed the Thirteen Floors were lurking behind the scenes. But he hadn't anticipated confronting Xiao Lü himself so soon.
"Just now," he said aloud, "I was thinking how strange it was. Guan Shanhai and Qiao Xian's hiding place is well-concealed, and I left an array to protect them. Even if Xiao Lü pursued them here, he couldn't have found them so quickly and changed my array. So it was because of you."
Feng Xiao entering the fray had alerted the enemy to Guan Shanhai, Qiao Xian, and the array's existence, giving Xiao Lü the chance to change the array. If not for Feng Xiao, Cui Buqu might have found Guan Shanhai and Qiao Xian by now.
Despite accidentally luring the mastermind here, Feng Xiao didn't look the slightest bit sorry. Instead he smiled. "Isn't that convenient? Fan Yun taught you both array techniques, so this is a happy reunion between martial siblings. What better way to celebrate the occasion than a battle of wits?"
Happy reunion my ass, Cui Buqu thought expressionlessly. He suppressed the urge to rip Feng Xiao's head off his shoulders and kick it around like a ball. They couldn't afford to fight among themselves right now—finding Guan Shanhai and Qiao Xian was the first priority.
Even if Xiao Lü had changed the array, it would still take him time to pinpoint Guan Shanhai and Qiao Xian's exact location. If Cui Buqu was fast, he might find them first. Rong Qing and Xiao-Liu were missing as well, but they weren't Xiao Lü's targets.
No matter how talented the creator was, no array was all-powerful. The person Xiao Lü most wished to kill was Feng Xiao, followed closely by Cui Buqu. Rong Qing and Xiao-Liu meant nothing to him, so they were safe. At most they'd get a bit lost.
Cui Buqu sighed. "Does Xiao Lü also know zither techniques? Did he steal them from the Fajing Sect?"
Feng Xiao sighed too. "He's not using the Song of the Heavenly Demon. It has only the form, not the spirit. Besides, couldn't you tell what he was playing?"
Cui Buqu stilled for a moment. Then he remembered. It was "High Mountains and Flowing Water."
The legendary qin player Bo Ya had called his friend Zhong Ziqi the only one who knew the music of his soul. He had composed "High Mountains and Flowing Water" in his honor. After Ziqi's death, Bo Ya had smashed his zither and snapped its strings, believing there would never again be someone who understood him so deeply.
"He played this song just for you, yet you're not moved at all?" Feng Xiao asked evenly.
Xiao Lü was arrogant, but he was strangely fond of Cui Buqu. Perhaps he'd revealed himself to Cui Buqu in the first place because Cui Buqu held some special significance for him. Both had learned from Fan Yun. And both suffered from physical impairments: Cui Buqu was born sickly and weak, while Xiao Lü was born with an unsightly disability. They had walked similar paths in life, and they had wills as strong as steel. They accepted no compromises from fate and would never rest until they achieved their goals.
It made sense that to Xiao Lü, Cui Buqu's existence was unique. Whether as longstanding friends who knew each other's hearts or as enemies who saw themselves reflected in one another, they would always share an indefinable connection.
But then—why did Feng Xiao's tone sound a bit off?
Cui Buqu frowned. "Enough nonsense. Let's see what changes he made to the array."
So saying, he took a few steps forward. The fog grew denser, and women's laughter rang out again. He took a few steps back, and the women's voices disappeared, replaced by the bustling sounds of a city, with vendors hawking their wares and pedestrians hurrying along. They seemed to come alive through the sound: Cui Buqu could almost see them. But as the cacophony grew around him, the fog thickened again. Cui Buqu had found the exit earlier, but now a strong wind blew past, and the path changed. The trees before him became huge boulders, blocking his way.
Someone grabbed his wrist.
Feng Xiao had been at his side the entire time.
"The sounds are interfering with my ability to break through the array," Cui Buqu said in a low voice. "He played for us earlier—think you can return the favor?"
Feng Xiao's lips parted, seemingly without sound. In fact, the words passed directly to Cui Buqu's ears so that only he could hear them. "I can, but I don't have a zither."
There was the zither Yuyin that he'd extorted from Cui Yong, but Feng Xiao had thought it too conspicuous to carry around. He'd removed only the strings to use as weapons; the body was supposedly back in the capital. But now Feng Xiao didn't have it when they needed it. How could anyone play a zither without the body?
"Give me your hand," Cui Buqu heard him say.
Cui Buqu stilled. He'd already realized what Feng Xiao planned to do. After a pause, he obeyed.
Feng Xiao wrapped one end of the zither's five strings around Cui Buqu's forearm, then held the other set in his hand.
To use one's body as the zither, one's heart as the song.
Feng Xiao lifted a hand and plucked the strings.
Zing!
The zither's notes were gentle and clear. Its music came in bursts, transforming into sharp arrows of sound as they shot forward.
Cui Buqu felt a stinging pain in his arm. He lowered his head to see that the strings had cut through his sleeve and into his skin, which was blooming with red marks. But Feng Xiao's playing didn't stop. Each note was followed by another, and another. The sound of the zither surged outward, infused with qi, like an army of soldiers charging through all obstructions, as imperious as the player himself. Where the sound waves passed, the fog dissipated, scattering like smoke.
The corner of Cui Buqu's mouth twitched. He suddenly realized Feng Xiao wasn't playing random notes, but a song he knew—"The Male Phoenix Seeks His Mate."
An utterly demented, chaotic, and frenzied rendition of "The Male Phoenix Seeks His Mate." Any female phoenix would lose their feathers in terror on hearing this version of the song.
Cui Buqu gasped in surprise. The swirling, foggy maze ahead of him disappeared, and the disturbing voices vanished. It was as if they had been transported back to the beginning of time, where only the purest of melodies abided.
The array had been destroyed completely.
Though Feng Xiao had launched a counterattack with his music, it was only to stop Xiao Lü's assault. He'd done nothing to the array itself. Yet the eye of the array was gone, and without it, the maze lost all potency, vanishing into thin air.
This certainly wasn't Xiao Lü's doing.
Feng Xiao stilled his movements. "He's gone."
Xiao Lü knew he stood little chance of victory if he confronted Feng Xiao head-on, so he'd simply walked away. They were equally matched enemies, and the future stretched before them.
As long as Xiao Lü remained in the dark, Cui Buqu would never know peace. Xiao Lü would see every move Cui Buqu made, and Cui Buqu would lose any chance of taking the initiative. But right now, Cui Buqu wasn't seeking a direct confrontation with Xiao Lü. He breathed a small sigh of relief.
Feng Xiao pulled away the strings, now stained with Cui Buqu's blood. Then he grabbed Cui Buqu's sleeve and used it to wipe the strings clean.
Cui Buqu was speechless. But before he could react, Feng Xiao caught his wrist. He pushed up Cui Buqu's wide sleeve, revealing the five bloody marks on Cui Buqu's forearm where the zither's strings had lain.
In the next moment, Cui Buqu went stiff.
Feng Xiao had lowered his head, and, bit by bit, was licking the blood away.
The prickling sensation of Feng Xiao's tongue grazing his wounds made Cui Buqu reflexively yank his hand back. But Feng Xiao's grip was tight; Cui Buqu's wrist didn't budge an inch.
Cui Buqu raised his foot and aimed a kick at Feng Xiao's groin. But Feng Xiao seemed to have anticipated this too, and lightly tapped an acupoint on Cui Buqu's thigh with his free hand. Numbness swept up Cui Buqu's leg, and his knees buckled. Feng Xiao took the chance to loop an arm around his waist, and a faint flush spread over Cui Buqu's pale cheeks.
Feng Xiao felt Cui Buqu was quite striking this way—he looked almost bashful. Only Cui Buqu knew if this was truly the case; Feng Xiao certainly wasn't going to ask him.
"Cui-xiansheng!" Rong Qing shouted from a little distance away.
Before Cui Buqu could lose his temper, Feng Xiao laughed and released his wrist. Rong Qing was rushing over with Xiao-Liu in tow.
"Cui-xiansheng, are you all right?" He could see Cui Buqu's complexion was even worse than usual.
"It's nothing." Cui Buqu had already pulled down his sleeve. "How did you find me?"
"I walked around in the array for a long time, until I met Xiao-Liu. We couldn't find you anywhere. Xiao-Liu got so angry he ripped out a flower and kicked some pebbles around. Right after that, the fog vanished somehow, and we found you!"
Cui Buqu was stunned. "You just happened to destroy the eye of the array."
He didn't know what to call this. Fool's luck? A blind cat running into a dead mouse?
"What a coincidence!" Rong Qing said in surprise, while Xiao-Liu laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
Cui Buqu didn't dally. He quickly found Guan Shanhai and Qiao Xian hiding in the small cave. It truly was small—there was barely enough room for two people to sit inside it hunched over. But the dense forest outside the cave had provided good cover, concealing their location.
Guan Shanhai was meditating with his eyes closed, while Qiao Xian was alert. When she saw Cui Buqu appear, her eyes lit up. "Lord Chief!"
Cui Buqu turned back to Rong Qing and Xiao-Liu. "Take one each. We'll carry them back."
Rong Qing pointed to himself. "Carry them? Me?"
"Who else?" said Cui Buqu. "Me?"
Rong Qing glanced at Feng Xiao, dressed in a spotless white robe and waving his fan as if he was out for a pleasant stroll through the woods.
"Censor Rong, allow me to introduce myself. I'm sure you've heard of Feng Xiao, the deputy chief of the Jiejian Bureau. And if you haven't, well, now you have," Feng Xiao said with a smile.
Rong Qing's face twisted, as if he'd just learned he'd eaten day-old pork and couldn't spit it out. He cupped his hands toward Feng Xiao. "The lowly official Rong Qing greets Deputy Chief Feng."
Wonderful. Everyone present held a higher rank than he did, excepting his attendant Xiao-Liu. Rong Qing stepped up to Guan Shanhai, resigned, and pulled him onto his back.
Yet Cui Buqu's next words drove away all his fatigue, leaving him fully alert once again.
"Now only two and a half days remain."