Chapter 53: Dusk
The warm wind blew up dust and passed over the charred ruins of the guesthouse.
Upon hearing the voice, King Changshan paused, slowly stood up, looked sideways, a flash of surprise crossed his face, and then he snorted coldly: "It's been many years since we last met. Brother, you've become the General of Cavalry, but you're still as nosy as ever." He raised the corner of his lips slightly, and spoke with sarcasm.
The man laughed out loud upon hearing this, casually waving his whip: "This is Shouchun, and I am the King of Huainan." He pointed with his whip not far behind him, "Look over there," he paused, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes, "That's the Governor of Yangzhou. And what about you, my brother? It's Changsha... Ah, that's not right." He pretended to be confused, shaking his head and laughing, "A few years ago, I made a fool of myself and was stripped of my fiefdom of Changsha. Now I can only be the King of Changshan!"
Upon hearing this, the King of Changshan's ears instantly turned red, and the veins in his neck bulged. "Hmph!" He swung the iron whip in his hand violently, throwing it hard on the ground, stirring up a cloud of burnt ash. He gritted his teeth and said, "After all these years, my brother's mouth is still very infuriating!"
Seeing this, the King of Huainan laughed heartily and strode forward two steps, saying, "Well, Shidu! I haven't seen you in such a long time, I must satisfy my curiosity, right?" He took a few steps closer, looked him up and down, the playfulness in his eyes gradually faded, and his tone softened a little, "Let me see you, brother—tsk, you've really changed." He raised his hand and patted his brother's shoulder armor, sighing softly, "You've suffered a lot these past few years."
King Changshan suddenly raised his hand, and his gilded wristband clanged against the jade belt hook on the man's chest, pushing him back three steps.
"Stop your hypocrisy. This matter concerns me deeply, and I will take care of it today!"
"Okay!" The King of Huainan suddenly stopped smiling, his wide sleeves of his python robe fluttering in the evening breeze. He said solemnly, "I must take care of it! Of course I must! Not only here—" The subject suddenly changed, "Those reckless men brought back from Bagong Mountain, each holding a bloodstained weapon, being used as a knife without even realizing it..." The gilded wrist guard snapped onto his brother's shoulder armor, "Now that you've spoken, my dear brother, you must help me discipline these reckless men."
"Bagong Mountain?" King Changshan was startled, his voice suddenly dropping. "Brother, are you interfering in the martial arts conference?"
The Huainan King's dark cloak billowed in the evening breeze. "If this were merely an ordinary birthday banquet..." He tapped the charred remains of a corpse on the floor, the tip of his boot gently nudging the floor. "I would have prepared the celebrations and watched from the sidelines." His voice trailed off. "But when the swords and spears of the martial arts are stained with blood, and fellow martial artists are slaughtering each other, this birthday banquet has become a funeral. Since I govern Huainan and am also in Shouchun, how can I sit idly by and watch the bloodshed in the martial arts world?"
"Killing each other?" King Changshan frowned suddenly and looked at Feng Yanyuan again.
Feng Yanyuan said, "I just received the news this morning and haven't had time to report it to Your Highness yet."
"Who is this?" The King of Huainan rippled his dark python robe and took a half-step forward, sizing up Feng Yanyuan with a sharp gaze. The King of Changshan was about to speak when he suddenly raised his hand to stop him, saying with a smile, "Is this the Third Young Master Feng of Xiaofeng Hall?"
Feng Yanyuan's sleeves dropped three inches as he performed a standard scholar's bow: "I, Feng Yanyuan, pay my respects to His Majesty the Prince of Huainan."
"What a virtuous brother!" The King of Huainan suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, "How many noble families have wanted to recruit the Third Young Master Feng? And now you've got him already?"
"Zi Shang and I have been friends since childhood. We are brothers." The King of Changshan frowned, and his voice deepened three degrees: "Brother Wang, please don't talk nonsense."
The King of Huainan smiled slightly, then widened it: "Hello, brother! Hello, brother!" He suddenly turned to Feng Yanyuan and lightly tapped the King of Changshan's heart with his whip: "To him, you are more like a brother than a blood relative like me."
Feng Yanyuan's shoulders tensed slightly, but a perfectly balanced embarrassment appeared on his face. "Your Highness, you're joking."
"Brother Wang," the King of Changshan suddenly took a half-step forward to block Feng Yanyuan, "You've been teasing me since I was a child. Zishang is a man of integrity, so don't joke around. Let's get down to business at Bagong Mountain."
The King of Huainan looked around at the scorched earth, a solemn expression on his face. "It's a long story. Let's start with this place—how could this remote guesthouse suddenly explode? The vibrations were so strong that even the walls of Shouchun trembled."
The tip of the Changshan King's boot rolled over the sulfur dust on the ground. He said in a deep voice, "This must be the thieves' hidden camp. We just arrested someone and questioned him, but who would have thought they had a trick up their sleeve—" Before he could finish his words, a cracking sound came from the distance. Everyone looked back to see half a charred beam crash down, sending up a cloud of dust. The Changshan King added, "Before we could even search, it was blown to pieces by the sulfur and saltpeter."
"Sulfur and saltpeter?" The dark cloak suddenly fluttered without a breeze. The King of Huainan crouched down, his jade belt hook scraping across the black ash on the ground, his fingertips picking up a pinch of yellow powder. "No wonder..." His words trailed off as a soft sound of falling rubble echoed in the distance.
Prince Changshan pointed at Yun Yuan, who was bowing her head not far away, and said, "If that girl hadn't been so quick-witted and noticed the clues in time, you would have come here now, and I'm afraid you would have seen a few more charred corpses."
Prince Huainan stood up and stared at Yun Yuan for a long moment: "Who is this?"
"She is Zi Shang's maid."
Yun Yuan lowered her head and suddenly saw a figure in golden python-patterned boots stepping through the light and shadow in front of her - it was clearly a man only four or five years older than King Changshan, but the pressure from his body was like the unsheathed Zhenyue Sword, which made people tremble with fear.
She had heard that this prince was the one who was nominated by the court officials as the Crown Prince. He stood in plain clothes on the throne room, and with just a few words, he could make the entire court silent. Now she had experienced it firsthand, and finally understood what it meant to be "awesome without anger."
Her breathing stagnated slightly, her knees felt inexplicably weak, and she couldn't help but clench her ten fingers tightly in her sleeves.
Prince Huainan said, "She looks like a clever girl." His voice was gentle, but it made the temperature around him drop sharply. "Tell me, what gives you that ability to predict the future?"
Yun Yuan lowered her head and stared at the tall figure on the ground. "Your Highness, I just passed by the inner and outer walls and smelled something unusual from the cracks in the bricks."
"Be more specific."
"It's the stench of rotting eggs, mixed with a throat-burning acridity." Before she finished her words, she felt her throat tighten, and she quickly held her breath to steady her voice. "At the base of the wall... there's also the bitter smell of burnt pine resin."
King Huainan thought for a moment, "Continue."
The oppressive feeling became increasingly suffocating. Yun Yuan's nails unconsciously pinched her palms again. "The southern land is humid. Sulfur, when damp, emits the odor of rotting eggs, while saltpeter has a pungent, spicy smell. Both burn immediately when exposed to fire... If mixed with pine resin... the explosion produces poisonous smoke. Therefore, I believe this must be... a setup for the hidden stake to self-destruct."
The King of Huainan's eyes narrowed slightly. The foot of the mountain in the twilight was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard. Suddenly, he chuckled softly, "Zishang, your maid is no ordinary maid! She actually has such abilities!"
There was clearly a hidden meaning in these words. Feng Yanyuan bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness. Since you will be traveling with me, the maidservant is merely a suitable identity. She is a pharmacist and a top-ranking guard carefully selected by the Feng family."
"She's actually a pharmacist? And a Feng family guard?" Changshan King laughed and said, "No wonder. This girl is an exceptional martial artist, and she's incredibly clever. Yesterday's substitution, and today's carrier pigeon guide, were all thanks to her."
"Pharmacist..." King Huainan nodded slightly, "That's perfect."
He raised his fingertips slightly, and the guard beside him immediately bent forward and pulled out a brocade package from his wide black sleeves. Layers of brocade unfolded like petals, revealing a thumb-sized white jade bottle that shone brightly within.
"Since you are a pharmacist, then the contents of this bottle should not be difficult for you."
Prince Changshan glanced at the silent Feng Yanyuan and frowned, "A little girl, what are you doing, brother?"
"Hey," King Huainan smiled slightly and looked at Feng Yanyuan and said, "It's rare to meet such a wonderful person. I'm just doing you a favor. Does Zishang mind?"
The veins on the back of Feng Yanyuan's hands were slightly visible beneath his wide sleeves, but he bowed deeply and respectfully: "It is her blessing that Your Highness favors her."
There was a smile on the corner of King Huainan's lips, but there was a coldness in his eyes.
"please?"
The word "please" was gentle enough, yet the light, airy inquiry sent chills down Yun Yuan's spine. She forced herself to steady her breath and took a half step forward, her nostrils twitching slightly.
"White wine, eggplant, musk, arisaema, and aconite. The wine flavor is the strongest, followed by eggplant, and the rest are lighter. This ratio..." Yun Yuan was silent for a moment, and suddenly realized that she had seen this kind of medicine before, and her brows tightened.
"How?" King Huainan's eyes turned slightly cold.
Yun Yuan calmed down and said, "It shouldn't be noticeable. I just thought it was the alcohol. After drinking for about half an hour, I'll feel weak and powerless. If I use force, I'll lose consciousness in a short while."
The Prince of Huainan had been carefully observing her expression, then suddenly smiled and said, "Xiaofeng Hall truly is home to hidden talents! She identified the formula with just one sniff, and it's surprisingly identical to what Song Hezi described." He turned to look at Feng Yanyuan, "Since he's a personal bodyguard, I'm guessing he was with Zishang the entire day yesterday?"
Yun Yuan's heart tightened. This question seemed casual, but it was actually a test.
Feng Yanyuan responded without hesitation: "Not even a step away."
This wasn't a response; it was clearly a cold, stern attitude. The King of Huainan paused, then burst into laughter. "How can this be called a guard? Look at him!" He couldn't help but look at the King of Changshan. "This girl must be Zishang's favorite!"
The King of Changshan frowned and said, "Since you are Zishang's man, my brother, please stop being so sarcastic. Where did this white jade bottle come from?"
King Huainan looked at the setting sun and sighed deeply.
Dusk fell, completely devouring the last ray of blood-red sunlight. The guards' torches lit up one after another, dancing like red snakes in the gathering darkness.
The King of Huainan said calmly, "This white jade bottle was found in Senior Yue's tent. It's inextricably linked to last night's bloody battle." He no longer paid attention to Yun Yuan, scanning the charred debris on the ground. His voice suddenly deepened, "If this is indeed a hidden stake, we must dig deep—perhaps we can find some clues to this farce at the Shouchun Banquet."
After a brief pause, he added casually, "After all, during the melee last night, the leaders of each sect were no longer on the mountain."
The words were spoken in a calm voice, yet their echoes seemed to resonate among the scorched earth and ruins. The three men froze, and even the wind around them seemed to freeze.
The King of Changshan spoke in a hoarse voice: "Brother, you mean..." The second half of the sentence was cut off in the tense air.
The King of Huainan nodded, his tone indifferent, as if this were just a trivial matter. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the thin sliver of moonlight in the sky, and said in a deep voice, "The ten great sect leaders are all missing."
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