Chapter 245 Everything is clear!
Drifting in the night rain.
There were few travelers on the road.
Chen Yi silently followed Ge Muxiao and Lü Jiunan for five miles, channeling his true essence into his ears to listen to their conversation from afar.
The son of King Zuo?
Left King...
Chen Yi knew that there was only one person who held the title of "Left King"—the barbarian Left King Muhag.
That is, the one who led the barbarian army north to attack Mengshui Pass five years ago, causing the deaths of Xiao Fengchun, Fu Wanqing, and many other members of the Xiao family.
"Is the son of the Left King in Shu Prefecture?"
The image of the barbarian boy he had seen when he went to the East Market last time immediately came to Chen Yi's mind.
He did remember that the barbarian boy was subtly protected by other barbarian slaves, which made him seem like a barbarian of noble status.
"How could the son of King Muhag be captured by the people of Vaishsa and brought to Shu Prefecture, and then sold as a barbarian slave?"
"That's strange."
What puzzled Chen Yi even more was—
Lu Jiunan and his companion were also bandits from Vaishsa. If they wanted to rescue the son of the Left King, why didn't they directly approach the Vaishsa people who sold barbarian slaves in the East Market?
Instead, they chose to invite the demons of the Illusionary Sound Sect from Xizhou to rescue those barbarian slaves.
Unless, the bandits from Vaishsa who abducted the son of the Left King and Lü Jiunan were not the same group.
Thinking to himself, Chen Yi said, "After going through such a long and complicated process, it feels a bit redundant."
After thinking for a while, he still had no clue, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
As long as he keeps a close eye on Lü Jiunan and the others, he will eventually be able to find out the reason.
Just then, a golden light flashed before their eyes—
[Witness the hidden guard, the tigress Lou Yuxue, discussing important matters with the bandits of the Vaishsa Kingdom. Reward: Qin score "Autumn Rain", Luck +63.]
[Comment: Your arrival was noticed, your voice was heard, and the scene was impressive. You intimidated Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao of Vaishsa Kingdom without arousing the tigress's suspicion; your performance was commendable.]
Chen Yi glanced at them, secretly pursed his lips, and continued to follow Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao at a distance, taking advantage of the darkness.
These opportunities made his risky trip tonight worthwhile.
At this moment, all around was quiet and deserted, with only the noise of falling rain.
Especially the straw hat on Chen Yi's head, which made a constant clattering sound.
But as he concentrated, the sounds around him came into his ears one after another, clearer than the sound of raindrops.
In particular, the sounds of Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao talking and walking could be heard.
"Go to the Lin family tomorrow night and find out the details of Mingyue Tower. See if you can find out who wants to see the King."
"Yes, General."
"Um?"
"Brother... I forgot..."
"We are now in Shuzhou, so we must be careful with our words and actions."
General?
Chen Yi frowned inwardly; it seemed that Lü Jiunan's identity was not simple either.
It's just unclear whether this "general" title belongs to the Kingdom of Vashjsha or is a self-proclaimed title by bandits under King Nalanda.
About half an hour passed.
Chen Yi followed Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao from the south of the city to the west market, and then from the west market to the north of the city.
During that time, they even climbed over the city wall to go outside the city.
After going around in circles, Chen Yi noticed that Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao had stopped.
Chen Yi darted to the top of the courtyard wall and looked into the distance.
Lu Jiunan and Ge Muxiao had just landed on a painted boat on the Quchi Pond.
It was brightly lit.
Two other young men dressed in brocade robes stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Brother Lü, Brother Ge Mu."
Lu Jiunan nodded slightly. "Let's go inside and talk."
"please……"
Seeing the group enter the painted boat, Chen Yi used the Meteor Butterfly Step to silently approach Liangli and land on the roof of a three-story wooden building not far from the Quchi Pond.
He looked closely.
A flag was hanging on the painted boat—boldly bearing the character "Liu".
"Liu? The Liu of Liu Hong?"
"Is it the Liu of Liu Si, or another Liu family in Shu Prefecture?"
"And those two young men..."
Chen Yi thought for a moment, but couldn't recall anything, so he stopped thinking about it.
However, at this moment, no sound came from inside the painted boat, which made him realize that there was a quiet room on the boat.
He frowned slightly, then risked approaching Erli again.
Only when he reached the edge of the winding pond did he vaguely hear some sounds coming from inside the painted boat.
It wasn't very clear, but it was enough for him to hear the gist of what was going on.
A strange voice said, "...Did those barbarian serfs notice when the Jizhou Merchant Guild's granary was burned down?"
Lu Jiunan replied in a low voice, "Probably not."
“We have broken the rules of the bandit path by coming here to rescue them on behalf of Lord Liu. It is impossible for us to send them back to the barbarian territory by taking a roundabout route through the Tea Horse Road.”
"This matter requires your intervention..."
The young voice chuckled a few times, "Brother Lü, there's an old saying in the Wei Dynasty: 'Don't bother two masters with one matter.' Would you mind seeing him off to the very end?"
Lü Jiunan did not reply.
Ge Muxiao coldly replied, "My king has stated that the alliance between bandits is unbreakable."
"If those slave traders discover that it was us, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of the newly stabilized bandit alliance."
"How can your father, Liu Hong, compensate the King for such a loss?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. Liu Hong's son?
As far as I can remember, Liu Hong only had two sons.
The eldest is Liu Taoyao, and the second is Liu Taofang.
The former, though a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, did not achieve the highest rank of the top three, but has now entered officialdom.
He was a tax collector in the Shu Prefecture Provincial Administration Office, a minor official of the seventh rank.
The latter is an idle scholar who is not well-educated and is currently studying at Guiyun Academy.
Judging from the situation, the person on that painted boat should be Liu Taoyao.
"So, Lü Jiunan's rescue of those barbarian slaves was at Liu Hong's behest?"
Chen Yi frowned slightly, going over the events of that night in his mind once more.
First, after Man Nu'er burned down the East Market granary, he was rescued by Lü Jiunan.
However, because of the so-called Vajrasattva bandit alliance, Lü Jiunan did not take the people away from Shuzhou, so he planned to seek help from Mingyue Tower.
Of course, this might be what Liu Hong and others requested.
Secondly, Lin Huai'an and Liu Taofang conspired to manipulate the grain price in Shuzhou, which Liu Hong discovered, and he then plotted against Lin Huai'an.
wrong.
The order of events is incorrect.
Chen Yi shook his head to himself: "The timing is wrong."
"It must have been Liu Hong who knew about Liu Taofang's actions in advance, which is why he had those barbarian slaves burn down the granary before they fled."
"That makes sense."
Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed in Chen Yi's eyes as he looked at the pleasure boat.
Liu Hong's daring to have dealings with barbarians was beyond his expectations.
I originally thought that Liu Hong was so cunning and scheming that he must be a "powerful minister" who was pursuing power.
Looking back now, he was still a treacherous minister who betrayed his own people and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
At this moment, Liu Taoyao, inside the painted boat, said with a smile, "...In short, this matter is beneficial to Brother Lü."
"Your father promised your king that once the matter is accomplished, he will gift you and several other merchant families who frequently travel the Tea Horse Road with carriages and horses."
"This deal alone is enough to make you a fortune."
Lu Jiunan's tone remained as cold as ever, "My Peacock Flag does love money, but I don't take all kinds of money."
“If your father hadn’t written to the king, and if this matter hadn’t involved the barbarian Left King Muhag, no matter how much silver you offered, you wouldn’t have been able to break the rules of the bandit alliance.”
"That's natural."
"Therefore, my father ordered me to fully cooperate with you and Brother Ge Mu, and to put you first in everything."
Liu Taoyao then asked, "I wonder if Chunyu Tower would be willing to take on this deal?"
Before Lü Jiunan could speak, Ge Muxiao snorted, "Someone is causing trouble."
"Hmm? Who is so bold as to ruin your plans?"
"'Sword Madman' Liu Lang, an ignorant and clueless江湖人!"
"he?"
Liu Taoyao asked with a slightly doubtful tone, "If I remember correctly, isn't 'Knife Maniac' much stronger than the two of you?"
"His swordsmanship is already highly refined; my elder brother and I cannot defeat him in a short time."
"Hmph, if it weren't for that, he'd already be dead!"
"I, Liu, have faith in your abilities, but the most important thing right now is to send Asutai and the others back to the barbarian territory."
"You two must not act rashly."
"As for Liu Lang..."
Liu Taoyao paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "With Brother Lü's strength, you were able to subdue that runaway groom right under the Xiao family's nose, let alone some unknown swordsman?"
Lu Jiunan remained silent.
But Chen Yi's heart had grown even colder.
"So it's the Liu family!"
He was still unsure whether his predecessor's escape from marriage, controlled by Lü Jiunan's black magic, was related to the Liu family.
Now he was certain enough that it was the Liu family who did it!
No wonder.
Given Liu Hong's ambition, he certainly wouldn't want to see Xiao Jinghong continue to stay in the Xiao family.
If Liu Hong could get rid of this son-in-law, he could then devise other ways to get the Xiao family to drive away Xiao Jinghong, thereby further weakening the Xiao family's power.
At this moment, Liu Taoyao, seemingly seeing that Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao had no intention of speaking, continued to laugh:
"It's a pity that the son-in-law of the Xiao family escaped death by sheer luck, otherwise Father would have presented him with a generous gift last time."
"Speaking of this, I still have some questions. I wonder if Brother Lü could clear them up for me?"
"explain."
"That day, you told me you had succeeded, so why didn't that son-in-law of the Xiao family die? Could it be that someone in the Xiao family can bring the dead back to life?"
A moment of silence.
Lu Jiunan replied coldly, "It must have been Xiao Jinghong who did it."
"Oh? Could it be that besides martial arts, she's also skilled in medicine?"
"Xiao Jinghong arrived too quickly that day. I didn't control that good-for-nothing to commit suicide before I cut off everything. She must have used some kind of secret method to save him later."
"Or perhaps..."
"Agripa!"
Just as Chen Yi was about to continue listening, he heard Lü Jiunan speak a phrase in the Mandarin language.
It's very brief and its meaning is unclear.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of their conversation disappeared.
Two muffled whooshing sounds could be faintly heard.
Chen Yi frowned slightly, concealed himself, and looked over from a distance.
Lu Jiunan and Ge Muxiao had already left the painted boat and were hovering in mid-air, looking around as if searching for something.
"Huh? Did they find me?"
Before he could think further, Chen Yi heard a laugh in his ear.
The laughter was as innocent as a child's voice.
"Um?"
Chen Yi turned his head and saw a wooden figure about a foot tall rushing towards him from the bushes not far behind him.
The wooden figure was covered with bronze chains, each about the thickness of a finger, which rattled as it ran.
What's even more bizarre is that its eyes are blood-red, and coupled with its shrill, childish laughter, it seems extremely eerie in this dark, rainy night.
At that moment, Lü Jiunan's voice came from afar: "Die!"
Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, and his aura changed drastically.
A golden aura surged into the sky, its dazzling golden light illuminating the heavens.
In the blink of an eye, a spear beam flashed across the wooden figure, splitting it in two.
With a hiss, the shrill, piercing laughter and the clattering sound disappeared.
All that remained was the cacophony of rain and the slowly fading glow of gunfire.
This time, Chen Yi did not use the sword technique again, but directly broke Lü Jiunan's curse with the spear intent at the perfect level.
At the same time, he removed the black cloth from his face and expanded his body twice in size using his stance training, so as not to let Lü Jiunan and the others realize that he was "Liu Lang".
"Perfected Gun Dao?!"
Who are you?!
When Lü Jiunan saw the light piercing through the dark clouds and rain in the night sky, his expression changed drastically.
Ge Muxiao, standing to the side, was even more alarmed and had already drawn his long sword from his waist.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi pulled his straw hat behind his back, slowly stood by the winding pond, and looked at the painted boat. He asked impatiently:
"I'd like to ask you who you are?"
"I was just here to rest, why did you attack me without even asking what happened?"
A fierce glint flashed in Lü Jiunan's narrow eyes. "Take a break?"
"Then why are you just standing there without moving?"
"Damn it, is it bothering you guys that I'm sleeping here in the middle of the night?"
Chen Yi made no mention of the conversation he overheard inside the pleasure boat, and continued grumbling:
"What? You sorcerer from Vaishsa Kingdom really think Shuzhou is your own desert?"
"Instead of tucking your tail between your legs and behaving like a dog, you turn around and bully me?"
"you!?"
Just then, Liu Taoyao's voice came from inside the painted boat: "Brother Lü, please wait."
"In my opinion, this gentleman is not a bad person."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Furthermore, this is indeed my Shu Prefecture. If you two make a move here, it will inevitably disturb other people."
He didn't need to say it.
After seeing Chen Yi's perfect spear technique, Lü Jiunan had already decided to stop.
The reason is the same as what Liu Taoyao said—if he makes a move here, it will only attract attention.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that it was already late at night and the pleasure boats on the winding pond were filled with laughter and chatter, their earlier commotion would have already alerted many people.
Even so, Lü Jiunan could already hear footsteps approaching from afar, which should be the night watchman and his constables.
Thinking of this, Lü Jiunan gestured for Ge Muxiao to return to the pleasure boat, and then said coldly to Chen Yi:
"Please forgive me, I misunderstood you earlier."
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the pleasure boat. Seeing that Liu Taoyao hadn't appeared, he continued his relentless tirade:
"A misunderstanding really disappeared with just one sentence?"
"If I hadn't been strong enough, I would have fallen for your black magic."
"you……"
Before Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao could speak, Liu Taoyao interrupted, "I wonder how this brother can forgive my two brothers?"
"Brother? You are also from Vajrasattva?"
"no……"
"They're not from Vajrasattva, yet you call them elder brothers? Where's your shame?"
Chen Yi berated him, and seeing that Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao looked even more embarrassed and angry, he then changed the subject:
"Give me the money."
Perhaps his words took such a sudden turn that no one inside or outside the pleasure boat responded.
Three breaths later, Liu Taoyao smiled and said, "Of course."
"How about one thousand taels?"
"Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"
"Three thousand."
"Hehe, how could I, a renowned master in the martial arts world, be dismissed with a mere three thousand taels?"
Seeing Chen Yi say this, Liu Taoyao seemed to get a little angry and asked in a low voice, "Brother, name your price."
"Not much, five thousand taels of silver will suffice."
"good."
"Brother, you can come directly to the painted boat and take it yourself."
Chen Yi was slightly taken aback. He glanced at Lü Jiunan and Ge Muxiao, who were eyeing him menacingly on the pleasure boat, and then grinned.
"I doubt you'd dare to do anything underhanded, so go ahead!"
(End of this chapter)
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