Chapter 115: Friend or foe, that face was left only to his deceased wife...
She, Qing Guiyu, may not be considered a chivalrous woman, but she is a doctor. Doctors deal with human lives.
But these dozens of carts of food soaked in poison, once scattered to the Southern Dynasty, there would be starving people everywhere and war would break out again. Even if she had three heads and six arms, how many people could she save?
Qing Guiyu picked up a handful of poisoned corn, staggered a few steps, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
Who to go to?
The first thing that flashed through her mind was the evil she had just painstakingly "cured." When it came to handling such inner conspiracies, Shen Juansheng was undoubtedly the best choice.
The thought only lasted a moment before she extinguished it herself.
no.
She had just freed herself from the web of love and lies. To run back into it now would be like walking into a trap. Moreover, with the needle removed, who knew what the mastermind would look like once he regained his "clear mind."
Whether Chen Jiansheng is friend or foe, sane or insane, has become an unpredictable variable. I'd rather believe he's regained his composure, and from now on, we'll be nothing to each other.
You can only rely on yourself.
That left the Cao Gang. Huo Erniang was straightforward and chivalrous, and since she was directly involved in this matter, it was neither reasonable nor logical for her to remain out of it.
She hastily treated her wound and walked down the mountain. When she reached a stream, she finally gave up and sat down against a rock. The clear stream reflected a plain, slightly sallow face, a disguise of a herbalist, using the "Thousand Faces" technique.
She quickly wiped off her disguise, took out some clay from her bosom, and facing the water shadow, raised her cheekbones a little higher, applied thinner makeup on her lips, slightly lowered her eyebrows, darkened her skin tone, and added a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
The girl in green with bright eyes and a charming look disappeared. She looked at the unfamiliar face in the water - a young doctor with a gaunt face and a look of weathered age between his eyebrows, and she felt frightened.
I tried to pull the corners of my mouth together, trying to produce my usual gentle smile, but the man reflected in the water smiled like a weasel about to collect a consultation fee. Yes, that fits the description of a traveling doctor.
Then he changed out of the blood-stained blue clothes and put on an ordinary set of shorts taken from the dead soldier. He also tied up his long hair high and fixed it with a wooden hairpin.
Finally, after hesitating for a while, he wrapped the purple bamboo flute and the needle bag tightly around the inside of his calf with cloth strips.
The flute is a good flute and can also be used as a handy weapon. It would be a pity to throw it away.
She curled her lips at her reflection in the water and practiced the man's hoarse voice several times before erasing all traces, identifying the direction, and heading towards Yuzhou City.
*
After that, he took advantage of the situation and disguised himself as a traveling doctor, giving himself a pseudonym, "Yu Gui".
Along the way, she slept in the open air, chose remote paths, and traveled day and night. Her internal injuries were severe, and every step she took affected her internal organs, but when she thought of the dozen or so carts of poisoned food, she dared not rest for a moment.
After walking for about seven or eight days, the wound on her abdomen gradually healed, and she dared to go to crowded places.
He did not dare to take the official road, but chose the waterway where merchants and travelers traveled, and boarded a cargo ship heading south. The ship was full of people with all kinds of gossip, and it was the best place to get information.
After a few days of sailing, heading east, several escorts and independent traders sat together, enjoying the river breeze and drinking cheap wine. Qing Guiyu found a corner not too far away and sat down, pretending to doze, but actually listening carefully.
"Have you heard? That Young Master Jin Sheng might have really gone crazy!"
A large man from Guanxi took a sip of wine, lowered his voice, and said with great joy, "It is said that the little witch who was poisoned by the love poison practiced some kind of reverse cultivation method and died!"
"That's right!" a thin man nearby continued, "My seventh uncle runs a business at the Baidi City ferry and saw it with his own eyes! When the ship docked that day, Master Jin Sheng was carried off the ship, covered in blood. It's said that he saw his beloved die before his eyes, and the shock was so unbearable that he vomited blood on the spot."
Qing Guiyu tightened his clenched fingers slightly.
Half true, half false, yet the most deceptive thing. Her death was a lie, but the fact that Shen Jiansheng was upset was probably true.
"What happened next?" a curious guest asked.
"Later," another escort chimed in, "we've heard that since that day, Young Master Jin Sheng has never tied his hair up again, letting it hang loose. He's been searching along the river with only a few trusted aides, claiming he wants to recover her remains and build the most magnificent cenotaph in the world."
Several people sighed. "Is the love poison really that powerful?"
"It's really amazing! My untalented cousin was selling goods on the river and saw the Tianji Pavilion's ship with his own eyes. There was a young man in black clothes standing on the bow. Who else could it be but their Pavilion Master? I heard that he asked everyone he met, but he also saw a girl in green clothes. He killed everyone he saw, saying that they had killed his wife..."
Qing Guiyu opened his mouth and almost leaned over.
"Tsk!" the questioner said angrily, "Is there no one in charge of their Tianji Pavilion?"
"Who dares to intervene?" the large man from Guanxi also raised his voice. "He stood at the bow for three days and three nights, refusing to eat or drink. No one could persuade him. In the end, guess what happened?"
Everyone leaned forward, wanting to listen more carefully. Qing Guiyu followed suit. Seeing that he had kept everyone in suspense, he finally said, "He drew his sword in front of everyone and slashed his own face!"
"Hiss——" There were sounds of people gasping for breath nearby.
Hiss—Qing Guiyu also took a breath and subconsciously touched his face under the mask, which seemed to suddenly feel cold.
"Absolutely true!" the man said triumphantly, gesturing on his face with his hands. "From here! To here! You can see the bones! A once godlike figure, disfigured like this!" He waved his hand. "From now on, that face will only be seen by his late wife!"
Qing Guiyu lowered his head.
...It's fake, definitely fake. This rumor is too outrageous, too... like a storyteller's joke. Shen Juansheng never wields a sword, and he cares most about his face, cherishing it like nothing. How could it be possible...
But she couldn't help feeling uneasy.
I thought of Chen Yan, the old man who collapsed instantly while watching over his deceased wife's rotting corpse.
Qing Guiyu didn't dare to think about it anymore. He just felt his scalp tingling and a little sad in his heart. He was overwhelmed by this half-true and half-false rumor.
Unable to bear listening any longer, she stood up and walked to the side of the boat. The river breeze blew her hair into the air.
The closer we got to Yuzhou, the more desolate the scenery became. Fields that should have been busy with summer planting lay barren, and refugees appeared in many villages and towns, their faces pale and their expressions panic-stricken.
There were notices from the Southern Dynasty on the road, saying that the sinking of the grain ship of the Cao Gang was an accident, to appease the people. However, the price of grain continued to rise day by day, making people feel suffocated.
Rumors, like an invisible net, tightened around her ears, every word tinged with blood. Some said Young Master Jin Sheng never recovered from his fate, spending his days guarding an empty tomb and drinking. Others said his temperament had changed drastically, his methods a hundred times more brutal than before, leaving everyone in the Tianji Pavilion feeling insecure.
Some even said that he, the entire Tianji Pavilion, had come out in force, not for power or hegemony, but solely to seek out the extraordinary individuals who could bring the dead back to life. Even the terminally ill Empress Dowager of the Northern Dynasty accepted his invitation, offering to stake the Tianji Pavilion's Southern Dynasty foundation in exchange for a method of "resurrection."
Isn't this the opposite of Tian Gang? Qing Guiyu thought to himself, sometimes nervous, sometimes a little calm, but coming and going, it was always this person.
We walked all the way during the day and slept at night, choosing secluded roads. After seven days, Yuzhou City was in sight.
When she revisited the old place, the city walls were still there, but the atmosphere in the city was much more tense than when she left, and there were more wanderers.
Qing Guiyu lowered her bamboo hat and followed the crowd into the city. She didn't return to the clinic. Doctor Meng was just an ordinary man, and she couldn't bring him into this. She simply walked through a few narrow alleys as she knew her way around, and headed straight to the dock in the south of the city.
This is the most bustling and well-informed place in Yuzhou City. It is a hodgepodge of people from all walks of life, and it is also the core of the Cao Gang's power.
She found an inconspicuous corner, set up a stall, hung up a tattered cloth banner with the words "treating injuries and miscellaneous diseases" written on it, and started her business as a traveling doctor.
Porters at the docks often suffered from daily lifting and bruises. But her low prices and skillful technique made her a household name within two days.
That afternoon, a man from the Cao Gang was carried in. He said that he had been in a fight with someone and was injured in the calf with an iron hook, and the bleeding would not stop.
Qing Guiyu pushed the crowd aside and saw three deep wounds on the man's legs that were visible to the bone, with skin and flesh rolled up. These were the injuries caused by the Iron Claw Meteor Hook of the Northern Frontier Guard.
He was startled in his heart, but remained calm. He cut open the trouser leg, cleaned the wound, applied medicine and bandaged it, all in one go.
At the end of tying the man's rope, she recalled a moment and tied a knot. Common water gangs, when tying ropes for boats, often had different knotting methods for different gangs. This knot was a very unique shape, something she had seen on Huo Erniang's flags at Xiaoluo Ferry.
After doing all this, she collected the consultation fee as usual and continued to see other patients.
Sure enough, within half an hour, the injured man came back, followed by two vigorous-looking Cao Gang disciples.
"Sir," the man stepped forward and bowed, his eyes scrutinizing, "our hall master invites you."
Qing Guiyu closed the stall and followed them through several noisy streets and alleys, finally arriving at a teahouse by the river.
The teahouse had been cleared out long ago. Huo Erniang, wearing iron wrist guards and a tight-fitting outfit, was sitting alone in a private room on the second floor. There was a flag and a dagger on the table. When she saw her come in, she glanced at her.
"sit."
Qing Guiyu sat down opposite her without saying a word.
"Sir, who are you?" Huo Erniang said straight to the point. "My Cao Gang's Scale-Flipping Button is a skill I've seen on the fingers of my hands. Where did you learn this from?"
Fortunately, I was well prepared, so I said slowly with a hoarse voice, "I met Master Huo at Xiaoluo Ferry."
Huo Erniang frowned and picked up the flag. "Xiao Luodu...are you from the Tianji Pavilion?"
She shook her head. Ordinary words would never convince the female hall master.
So he took a deep breath and said slowly in that unfamiliar hoarse voice:
"Master Huo, that night at Tongchifang, you told Shen Juansheng that a traitor within the Cao Gang was colluding with the Northern Dynasty and had big plans. Shen Juansheng cleared the slate for you, and you said the Cao Gang owed him a favor. Now, I'm afraid the traitor hasn't been completely cleared out. And those seventeen grain ships didn't sink in the river."
Huo Erniang suddenly stood up, and a murderous aura rushed towards her.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Qing Guiyu raised his hand, took off his hat, and met her gaze.
"I am Qing Guiyu."
Afraid that she wouldn't believe him, he raised his hand, wiped the mud off his face, and added another sentence.
"...I came to teach my sister how to cast a love spell."
Huo Erniang was startled. "What did you say?"
Seeing her like this, Qing Guiyu knew that this was too horrifying. She sighed and, in front of Huo Erniang, reapplied the ointment. With a gentle press of her fingertips behind her ears and along her jaw, the ointment once again fitted seamlessly with the gaunt young doctor's face.
She raised her head and repeated in that unfamiliar hoarse voice:
"I said, I accepted the previous appointment and came to teach my sister how to cast a love spell."
Huo Erniang stared at her intently, watching her face change from familiar to unfamiliar before her eyes. The murderous aura in her heart finally faded away slowly, and she let go of the knife handle.
"What a great escape!" She paced back and forth for a few steps, but couldn't help cursing a few times.
After she calmed down a little, Qing Guiyu told her everything.
"I want the Hall Master to mobilize all the manpower of the Cao Gang to track down the whereabouts of this poisoned grain along the river. We must intercept it if we can, and destroy it if we can. At the very least, we must prevent it from easily entering the market." She spoke as earnestly as possible. "This matter is of great importance. Every day of delay will increase the danger."
Upon hearing this, Huo Erniang shook her head.
"Although our Cao Gang is known as the largest gang in the world, our spies are ultimately only on the waterways. Since you said that the old master of Tianji Pavilion and Beichao were plotting this, the distribution of these poisonous grains must have been well-planned long ago, and it definitely wasn't just by water."
She looked at Qing Guiyu, her expression becoming complicated. "This is no longer a vendetta within the martial arts world, but a struggle within the imperial court. To break this situation, the swords of my Cao Gang alone are not fast enough. We also need an eye... that can see through the world."
I felt a little confused. I knew exactly who Huo Erniang was talking about.
When he stands up, the world is in turmoil; when he stays at home, the world is at peace.
In the world, the only one who can span the north and south and see clearly this intricate chess game involving two countries is the Lord of Heaven's Strategy.
"But now he is..." Qing Guiyu hesitated, "I..."
Those rumors about Master Jin Sheng being hurt by love and having a drastic change in his personality have long been spread everywhere.
"I don't care what happens to you. But he can resolve this situation." Huo Erniang stared at her and said, "Miss Qing, you and him are deeply entangled. I'm afraid he can't be circumvented in this matter. Since you can make him die once, I think you can also make him live again for you."
She looked at Qing Guiyu,
"Besides," she pondered for a moment, "you don't have to go far to find him."
"What do you mean?" Qing Guiyu was so scared that he almost stuttered.
Huo Erniang looked at her with some confusion.
"Since your death, he has come to Yuzhou."
Finally, I sighed.
"I mean, Master Jin Sheng is also in Yuzhou City right now."
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