Chapter 81: Old Guest from Japan
After finishing the remaining half of his pipe, Old Master Turtle threw it on the ground. He coughed, pounding his elbow joints, his lungs sounding like a worn-out bellows.
Then he raised an arm and tapped it on the windowsill. The window was wide open, and people outside could see his withered elbow, the wrinkles on his skin scattered here and there. This was inevitable; he wasn't a very respectable person, not even a true江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world). No one respected him, and no one thought he was capable.
However, he could have distinguished himself; he could have done it.
Xie Huailing was not him, and Xie Huailing had no intention of digging into his past. Everyone had their own story, and she wouldn't force it. She looked at Shaman, who had already pushed open the door before her, moved lightly back to the spot where she had left, stood in front of Master Guisun, picked up his pipe, and placed it on the table to the side.
Shaman asked, "Is it okay now? Do you remember?"
Master Gui nodded, lowering his head even further, just as he had always done for many years, hunching over regardless of whether others needed his help.
Shaman wasn't a robber, and he said gently to him, "We won't treat you unfairly. We'll give you some money later, and then you can leave. No one will bother you."
Master Gui Sun did not respond; his silence seemed to urge Shaman to hurry up and ask, or simply give him a quick answer.
Without further ambiguity, after Xie Huailing followed her into the house, Shaman went straight to the point and asked, "Regarding the background of Young Master Nangong, what else do you know? Did Dazhi Datong tell you anything different? Tell me."
His lips moved as if he were about to speak, and after a while, Master Guisun began to speak: "More than ten years ago, there was a swordsman from Japan who claimed to be a samurai. He came to the Song Dynasty with two children, saying that he was looking for his wife."
"What is the relationship between this Japanese samurai and Young Master Nangong? Could Young Master Nangong be one of the two children?" Shaman was genuinely surprised that the story would begin this way.
Master Guisun didn't respond to Shaman's words. He took another deep breath, and like a blind man feeling an elephant, he painstakingly pieced together his thoughts, speaking his own words: "This samurai is called Tenfu Shisoro. He is skilled in Japanese swordsmanship. He said his wife was from the Song Dynasty. After mastering martial arts in Japan, she abandoned her husband and children and never returned. He longed for his wife, so he took his two children and embarked on a journey to find her. Besides, there are many martial arts masters in the Song Dynasty, and he also wants to spar with them."
"Tianfeng Shisilang could not find his wife. No matter what he did, he could not find her. In the end, he was disheartened and went to find someone to spar with. He chose two opponents: Master Tianfeng of Shaolin and Ren Ci, the leader of the Beggars' Sect."
"He first went to find Master Tianfeng and agreed to take three blows from him. However, when it came to the last blow, he neither dodged nor avoided it, and collapsed after taking the blow, coughing up blood. He left with his injuries, entrusting his eldest son to Master Tianfeng, and then went to find Chief Ren. Chief Ren was unaware that Tianfeng Shisilang had suffered internal injuries, and in a moment of carelessness, the man died at his hands. Before dying, Tianfeng Shisilang entrusted his son to him."
Shaman suddenly realized, as if a light had suddenly appeared in a narrow room, and pounded her palm with her hand, saying, "This child is Nangong Ling."
The old man stopped there, neither admitting anything nor speaking again.
When Nangong Ling's secret about her background was revealed, Shaman's first reaction was to check Xie Huailing's reaction. However, Xie Huailing, seemingly lost in thought, turned to speak to the maid outside. The maid then retrieved something wrapped in cloth. Shaman took the bundle and finally approached Master Guisun.
Xie Huailing said to Shaman, "Go outside and wait for me."
Without hesitation, Shaman left the house immediately after hearing what she said, closing the door behind her.
The shadows obscured Xie Huailing, while the old scoundrel, standing in the light, felt inexplicably uneasy. He avoided looking at Xie Huailing's face; even a rogue like him understood that sometimes being spineless was better. If it were a decade or two ago, he might have cracked a few witty remarks and rascally uttered some jokes, but today was different. The world of martial arts was unforgiving; things were no longer the same. Now, he was nothing more than a complete and utterly shameless scoundrel.
Xie Huailing placed the cloth bag in front of Master Guisun. It was light and flimsy, and inside were more than a dozen silver notes, each worth fifty taels.
Upon seeing that familiar amount, Master Gui Sun trembled. He understood the source of his unease; he realized he had been seen through.
A sudden wave of suffocation gripped him, and he couldn't utter a word. But Xie Huailing didn't break the final barrier; she simply asked, "Fifty taels of silver for one question, I didn't give you the wrong amount, did I?"
Master Guisun remained silent, so Xie Huailing continued, "You've answered one, there are two more. My second question is, what kind of woman is Tianfeng Shisilang's wife?"
A deathly silence, thick and viscous, impossible to stir. Xie Huailing waited with utmost patience, but in the endless torment, it seemed even the old man could no longer endure it. His lips trembled as he uttered a single sentence, a name.
"I will only answer three questions. Li Qi, her name is Li Qi, an extremely ruthless woman."
Xie Huailing did not resist his evasion and asked again: "Then the last question, why did Tianfeng Shisilang insist on entrusting his son to Ren Ci and Master Tianfeng with his death? If he wanted his son to have a smoother life, there were other places to go."
Master Gui Sun uttered his last words: "Because he has no fulfilling wishes or ambitions."
After saying that, he fell silent, as if his vocal cords had been cut off. The old man counted out one hundred and fifty taels of silver, stuffed it into his sleeve, and then it turned into a stone by the roadside. Xie Huailing left the house, saying, "Someone will take you out and send you to a safe place. Don't come to Jinan again."
When Shaman, who was waiting outside, saw her come out, Xie Huailing gave the maid a look before she could speak. The maid nodded knowingly and went into the house to settle the old man. Xie Huailing looked at Shaman again, and Shaman, having received the look, fell silent and followed Xie Huailing.
.
There's no need to dwell on why Nangong Ling would collude with the Nanwang Mansion behind Ren Ci's back.
After Master Guisun answered the three questions, most of Xie Huailing's doubts about Nangong Ling had been erased. She had been wondering why Nangong Ling would betray Ren Ci, given their close relationship like father and son. However, this wasn't surprising considering that Nangong Ling's biological father, Tianfeng Shisi Lang, had died at Ren Ci's hands.
From her perspective, Tianfeng Shisilang was mostly trying to take advantage of Ren Ci and Master Tianfeng, but from Nangong Ling's perspective, it might not be so. Shaman also said that Nangong Ling was a restless young man with a less than upright character. Under such circumstances, once he learned about his background, he would look at Ren Ci as if he were an enemy.
Then a new question arises—Ren Ci had kept Nangong Ling's background a secret for over a decade, never revealing it before, not even to other elders of the Beggars' Sect. How then did Nangong Ling know? Who could possibly know this, and who told him?
Besides, who is the eldest son entrusted to Master Tianfeng by Tianfeng Shisilang? Nangong Ling knew about his background, so it's impossible that he didn't know. There's no reason for the person who told Nangong Ling not to tell him. What is this person trying to do by bringing up old stories?
Xie Huailing had a guess.
There's no evidence left for events from over a decade ago. Tianfeng Shisilang arrived quickly and died just as fast. Given this background, if someone else suddenly tells Nangong Ling about his past, she might not believe it. Instead, she might think they have ulterior motives towards the Beggars' Sect at this critical juncture. But there's one exception.
"Li Qi," this woman. As long as she can prove she is his mother, given Nangong Ling's personality, he would probably believe whatever she says, and it's not surprising that an extremely ruthless woman would do anything.
Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Prince of Nan's mansion has its own methods, so Xie Huailing's plan is to investigate both aspects simultaneously.
In addition, there is one last question. Xie Huailing had already considered this when he heard that Tianfeng Shisilang insisted on entrusting his son to Ren Ci and Master Tianfeng. Rather than doing it for his son's good, it seemed that he was paving the way for his son with his own death. Master Tianfeng had no disciples, and Ren Ci had no son. The two of them were famous for their outstanding appearances. To put it bluntly, it was not much different from taking advantage of someone who had no descendants.
Thinking back to what Master Guisun said, Tianfeng Shisilang had unfulfilled ambitions, and Xie Huailing's stereotypes and prejudices about the entire country of Japan, the first thing that popped into her mind was conspiracy theory.
We need to investigate this. We absolutely must investigate. Who knows, maybe Tianfeng Shisilang made other arrangements before he died, such as a will for his son... We also need to investigate Master Guisun. Is there any possibility that what he said is false? Xie Huailing won't blindly believe him. However, this matter can be taken into account while investigating Li Qi, so there's no need to go to great lengths.
A series of events flashed through her mind, each one analyzed clearly. As soon as she returned to her room, Xie Huailing gave Shaman specific instructions.
"Investigate Li Qi. I need to know where she is now and what she has done. Also, I need to know which disciple of Master Tianfeng he is now and where he is."
"Just these two?" Shaman raised an eyebrow, thinking she would be even busier. "Don't you need to check anything else?"
Xie Huailing shook her head. Everyone has their own expertise, and it would be better for her to do the rest herself, or to delegate it to Gong Jiu.
After giving her instructions, she turned to look at a pen on the table, then gazed at the deepening twilight. Despite her reluctance, today was the day she had to write something to Su Mengzhen. Such a significant turn of events had occurred, and she needed to inform Su Mengzhen.
I wonder how much Su Mengzhen is willing to pay for her overtime work.
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