16 Chapter 016 | The Secret Envoy of the Sui Dynasty

Li Jing followed his uncle to migrate with the army, relatively he met less women, but too many men. The military men, were mostly with heroic and martial spirit; official men, were mostly with a strong scholarly demeanor. Especially big brother Li Duan, he had an obvious masculine style, with excellent riding and shooting skills, just like his uncle Han Qinhu., He had always been someone admired by Li Jing. In front of his elder brother, he was always a little timid, often not daring to meet his eyes. However, in front of this gentleman, there was an indescribable depth in the eyes, like abyss, like sea, mysterious and unpredictable; at first glance his face seemed pale, but then by his clear eyebrows, straight nose, back bow-like lips, the innate born proud was carved on the face.

Compared to his elder brother, Li Jing felt that this male was more of a true patriot, but Li Jing would not like him in any case.

Despite his weakness, Gao Sheng Dao briefly told what happened to him. The son of the prime minister was now a zhuzuolang (Official responsible for editing the nation's history). At that time, the official rank of the minister was the fifth rank.

Han Qinhu had once explained to Li Jing about the official system of the current dynasty, though the position of Zhuzuolang was seemingly powerless, he was in fact of a very high rank and could not be appointed unless he was the son of a powerful nobleman, and that many men from such position had risen through the ranks or had been sent out to the counties and states to become a principal official. At that time, Yang Jian had not yet established the imperial examination system, and the selection of officials was still mainly made by the nobles or high-ranking officials, so it was an easy chance to rise high. Gao Shengdao was the eldest son of Gao Jiong, the left prime minister, so it was not unusual for him to be ranked in the fifth rank at such a young age.

Gao Shengdao recounted to himself that he had been secretly ordered by the emperor to travel south as an envoy with the intention of making diplomatic relation with the state of Chen. He first arrived at the Wushan Gorge and went up the mountain to pay his respects to the Wushan fisherwoman, but only saw the servant girl, and had to leave a gift of thanks from his father. It turned out that just two years ago, Gao Jiong led his troops to fight with the famous general Yuchi Jiong in Yecheng (in present-day Linzhang County, Hebei Province), and was attacked by the enemy during the night. Gao Jiong returned to the camp and defeated the enemy. Gao Jiong was regarded as the Founding Meritorious Officials by Yang Jian. Therefore, it was reasonable for Gao Jiong to take the opportunity of his eldest son's trip to Chen to thank the Wushan fisherwoman on the way.

Gao Sheng Dao did not meet the Wushan fisherwoman, so he took a boat to the east and arrived at the Jiangzhou area. Unexpectedly on the Yangtze River he encounter water bandits, they killed his entourage, hijacked him to Jiangzhou boat company. "After I was robbed, my eyes couldn't see, my mouth couldn't speak, and even my earholes were plugged, so I became blind, deaf, and mute."

Speaking here, he could not stop shaking his head, "I am ashamed to say, my father had asked martial arts teacher to teach me, however, as I have been frail and sickly, dedicated to the study of history and scripture, and thought that the martial arts people rude, the country need more civil officials to serve ... Nowadays, it seems that, if I could practice a few martial arts moves, how could I possibly let these bandits bully me? "

Wushan Fisherwoman said, "Prince Gao, martial arts skills are just trivial matters, so there is no need to get hung up on it. What did you go through after you were hijacked?"

Gao Sheng Dao sighed: "After I was robbed, five of my attendants were killed, and then I was tied up here. I am not afraid of being joked, I can not even manage my shits and pees... Li Jing only then found that under the luxury clothing of him, stench smell vaguely passed through.

Wushan Fisherwoman said, "Mu Sheng, help Mr. Gao to go inside and change his clothes."

Gu Musheng led the order and helped Gao Shengdao into the backyard.

Wushan Fisherwoman glanced at Xie Kangtu and whispered, "What does Boat Owner Xie think?"

Xie Kangtou said: ''I think this Gao Gongzi is not an impostor, moreover, the case that your honorable rescued the prime minister, very few would ever know . However, ... Gao travelled to Chen with only five attendants, travelling without pomp, perhaps he has a secret mission, unwilling to make a big fanfare. However, with this kind of mission, how would ordinary bandits know? And why did they specially rob him to come to this boat company? Although this is not a top-secret place, but the way to open the iron Eight-trigrams is passed from generation to generation, how would the murderer know? Even more strange is that, the murderer intentionally left him into the secret room, it seems that they predicted the time we return to here, what is their intention?"

The Wushan fisherwoman couldn't figure it out either.

At this moment, little A Yue suddenly cried. Probably she hadn't eaten for too long and was hungry. Li Jing quickly found a piece of cake from the small baggage, handed her. But A Yue did not take it, crying: "Grandr ... Grand is about to pass away ..." When Li Jing fixed eyes to see, he fould Xie Kangtu only focused on talking, and he did not even notice that blood flew out his nostrils.

Wushan fisherwoman swiftly pointed the acupuncture points to stop the bleeding, and softly said to A yue, "A Yue is good, A Yue doesn't cry. Grand won't die, he is just injured, he will be fine soon." Li Jing saw her warmth flowing from the cold eyes, his heart was shocked: both she and Xiao Meiniang had extremely beautiful eyes, Wushan fisherwoman only show tenderness occasionally when seeing children, while in Xiao Meiniang's eyes, there was piercing chill hidden from her soft waves of rippling depths ...

At this time, Gao Sheng Dao had already returned to the hall with Gu Musheng. He has already changed out of the dirty clothes, sable fur was still used as outer clothes, and he looked much more energetic. He bowed to the Wushan fisherwoman, "If there is no issues here, I still have to rush to Chien-k'ang. Imperial decree is upon me, I can't be delayed, please forgive me."

The Wushan Fisherwoman got up and said, "Farewell, Mr Gao. If it were not for the accident here, I would have sent MuSheng to escort you to Chien-k'ang. You had encountered bandits, and although you were not injured, your noble identity should not be risked again and make your father worried."

Gao Sheng Dao lift his clothes and bowed down, "Thank you for your kindness. You have saved my father's life, you have done the Gao family a great favour. If there is any command in the future, Sheng Dao will do my best to help. I will go to the Jiangzhou government office to submit the official certificate, the Jiangzhou governor will send someone to escort me, so please don't worry about me." Saying so, he got up and went out the door.

When he was out of the courtyard door, the Wushan fisherwoman instructed Gu Musheng to go back into the secret room, take the gold coins, and organise the aftermath for the deceased. Buddhism was prevalent in China at that time, and there were three temples in Jiangzhou alone: Hong'an, Guanghua, and Puhui. Guanghua Temple was the closest, at the head of the Xunyang River.

according to Xie Kangtu instructions, Gu Musheng went to Guanghua Temple to request monks to perform rituals for the souls of those who died in the boat company, and then hire people nearby to help buy coffins, buy a tomb and perform the funerals as fer local customs .

After Gu Musheng left, the hall fell into silence. The Wushan fisherwoman had been in the jianghu for a long time, but she was a wandering knight-errant with no fixed whereabouts, and she seldom came into contact with the heroes of the jianghu. Saving Gao Jiong was purely a coincidence. She was not concerned about the murder in the boat company, but the sudden appearance of Gao Sheng Dao just left her completely puzzled.

Having fed A Yue and Alone Star, Li Jing saw Xie Kangtu resting on the couch with closed eyes and said to the Fisherwoman of Wushan:" I reckon Mr Gao won't go far."

The Wushan Fisherwoman was stunned, "Little brother, please speak quickly."

Li Jing said: "When Mr Gao left, he looked left and right, seemingly hoping that you two would ask him to stay. He claimed to have been kidnapped by bandits, except for some dirt in his underwear, he looked extremely calm. If he had really been kidnapped by bandits, he would have been more or less in a state of disarray. Furthermore, he claimed that he had not eaten for a long time, but his gait is as steady as usual, which is against common sense. Therefore, in my humble opinion, Gao is most likely lying."

Wushan fisherwoman laughed: "I can't imagine that little brother has such wisdom to detect the slightest thing." Li Jing saw her laugh for the first time, and her cold face was irradiated by the warmth of the sun, which immediately shone brightly, with infinite warmth.

Xie Kangtu opened his eyes and smiled at Li Jing, "Little brother, in fact, the lady has already seen it through." Seeing Li Jing's bewildered face, he continued, "It is still unclear as to what is Gao purpose. However, we cannot just listen to his words. It may be true that he is the son of the left prime minister, and it may be true that he went to Wushan Mountain to pay a visit his respects, but it is hard to say whether he was on a royal mission to the State of Chen, whether the five people in his entourage were killed, or whether he was kidnapped. Speaking of this kidnapping alone, it is usual in jianghu, but the kidnappers would intend to blackmail other's friends and relatives, or demand money, or negotiate conditions. Gao was tied up in the secret room, no one asked for money, no one talks about conditions, and even in the secret room, not a penny was taken away. Even if the bandits knew that he was the son of the left prime minister to take advantage of the blackmail, how could they have put it here?"

Although Li Jing often listened to his uncle to teach him about true and fake tricks in the art of war, but after all, at the age of twelve, he had no experience in the world. Along the way, he encountered a variety of strange things, in his mind produced a huge confusion: people's words and deeds are extremely difficult to be consistent, why?

The Wushan Fisherwoman said, "Little brother, the human heart is treacherous, and you must be careful in everything. Compared to killing people with martial arts, plotting and scheming is even more terrifying." She glanced at Alone Star who had been sitting obediently, "Your eyesight has long exceeded that of your peers, but there is one thing that you may not have been able to see through: this little brother of yours has been sitting here motionless, while Gao didn't even look at him at all, but glanced at A Yue for a few times, don't you think it's strange?"

Li Jing wondered, "What's so unusual about a son of a family heritage and a fifth-ranking official of the current dynasty not looking at a little child?"

The Wushan Fisherwoman said: ''It is the least rare things that are the rarest. A Yue is still a little girl, not a beautiful girl, he has looked at her for a few times, why didn't he look at your little brother at all? This not looking is already watching. It show his strongest desire to watch, but he is afraid of us to identify, only deliberately not look."

Li Jing still didn't understand. Xie Kangtu sighed: "Little brother, you have first entered the world, I really should not tell you these tricks, so as not to pollute the clear flow of your heart. However, life is just as the water in river, after the glacier melts and drops beads, fine streams convergence, how crystal clear it is? However, after thousands of miles of running, mud and sand all join in, the river becomes muddy and mixed, ultimately it returns to the sea. All are not in their own control.

Wushan Fisherwoman has sharp eyes, she can look through the heart of the man - mouth can lie, but eyes are difficult to deceive others. Gao knows the little master's life, he deliberately refuse to see him, he is well aware of the lady 's outstanding martial arts, So he dare not move , but once if there is any chance he will take Along Star, so as to take the credit and ask for a reward. My broken body plus the boat company's thirty-three lives, may be all made by this person!"

Li Jing's heart chilled. Gao Sheng Dao was well-mannered, as the son of the Prime Minister and a key member of the imperial court, how could he have done such a nasty thing? However, his sudden appearance in the secret room with body tied up did make people suspicious. The Wushan fisherwoman said: "The robbery of Gao was probably a self-play.

When MuSheng untied him, I could already see that the binding method was not done by bandits, but by the hands of an expert. Mr. Xie said that thirty-three people lost their lives in his hands, but I think that at least eighteen people's deaths were related to him."

Li Jing was horrified, "Then ... why did you let him go?"

"If we don't let them go, how can we solve the case?" Wushan fisherwoman laughed coldly, "This place is under the jurisdiction of the State of Chen, and Gao dared to commit murder in a foreign country, so I'm afraid that he had a plan long ago, and there must be a more important figure behind him. Otherwise, did they go through all the trouble just to kill someone?"

Li Jing seemed to have figured something out, "So you were playing cat and mouse."

Xie Kangtu nodded slightly, "Little brother you finally understands."

However, the whole afternoon rushed by, Gao Sheng Dao did not come back.

Gu Musheng had hired fifteen monks and another six labourers to help him. He set up a temporary hut in the front yard next to the pavilion, set up a spiritual hall, placed an incense burner, and hung up paper streamers to transcend the deceased souls. The kitchen was in the left, with three short-term workers in charge of food and drink. Although Xie Kangtu's body was inconvenient, he was mindful of his company, and he put on hemp for the funeral and recited the rituals in a low voice. All this was done with the help of Gu Musheng, and after that, he was extremely tired and was carried back to the right bedchamber in the back hall to rest.

Wushan fisherwoman was not concerned about the funeral, and brought along A Yue and Alone Star to meditate in the left bedroom of the backyard. Li Jing instructed Alone Star not to leave the Wushan fisherwoman's side, while he himself was busy running around, assisting Gu Musheng in organising the funeral.

When Gu Musheng was spared he carried Xie Kangtu check in and out. Besides accounts, vouchers, etc. discarded out of the iron cabinet all over the ground in the hall, nothing was lost outside the hall and in the inner courtyard.

The night was long, the wind was cold, and the sounds of chanting and hitting wooden fish from the front yard passed through the hall into the back yard. Li Jing reclined on a short couch, beside him was Alone Star, who had quietly fallen asleep. After running for days, he was extremely tired, the more he wanted to sleep, the more he could not sleep. Perhaps it was the bouts of pain from his leg injuries, or perhaps it was the worry about Alone Star's safety, not knowing how to move forward next, feelings of guilt towards Xie Kangtu was like a stone weighing on his heart.

Not knowing how much time passed, he felt that his body was empty, as if he was falling from a ten thousand foot cliff straight into the abyss ... Suddenly, his body was supported by a pair of soft hands, stopping the downward trend, and rising ... As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Mei Niang. Mei Niang's face was like the moon, like the star eyes, shining on him. He felt as light as a flying feather. He did not want to go back to the cliff, whether floating or falling, as long as he was in the arms of Mei Niang ... However, his ears suddenly drilled into a kind of scream that made his heart palpitate, and it was the sound of an eagle. An eagle, flying from the sky, turned to the nearness, feathers sheltering sky, with sharp eagle claws and fierce gaze ... Li Jing winced.

He woke up.

Wrapped in cold sweat, Li Jing was sure it was a dream. A cold wind blew outside the house, and the monk's low chanting countered the growing silence of the autumn night. Next door, there were voices coming out. Because Li Jing was close to the wall, he could hear someone talking through the cracks in the wall. It turned out to be Xie Kangtu and the Wushan Fisherwoman. Li Jing was shocked to realise that it was already the middle of the night. For the past few days, at mid-night, the Wushan Fisherwoman was treating Xie Kangtu's injuries.

Xie Kangtu's weak voice came: "... Owing to your efforts and care, I am left with half a life,. After this disaster, the name of the Jiangzhou boat company is dead. My life and death is not important, the only thing I can't let go is A Yue ..."

Wushan fisherwoman said, "A yue's master is my uncle of master, I should take care of her,

 please don't worry. Since you are a friend with the master uncle for a long time, do you know ... that he has a son?"

Li Jing thought to himself, this Wushan fisherwoman was really calm, until this time she spoke out the most concerned thing.

Xie Kangtu said, ''I know a little about it. Mr Zhang Xian only travelled to Jiangnan to look for his missing son, but after failing to find him, he was accidentally involved in the Chen State's battle for the throne. what exactly was the reason that Junior Zhang even left home?"

For a long time, no response was heard from the Wushan Fisherwoman. This singular woman with outstanding martial arts skills and meticulous thinking seemed to have wounds as well. Junior Zhang was her wound. Although this wound was old, it still hurt when touched.