Edited by !
[Chapter 29 - Gao Li King is arriving] It"s that Gao Li King who wants to marry his sister to you
There exists both eternity and boundless lands. In many books on the art of war, this array has a reputation of being mysterious and wonderful; and yet there has been no one who had really researched on the exquisiteness of this array. It was not that they didn"t want to, but after the baptism of many months and years, oral remnants of the array are few; the total number probably wouldn"t even fill a page.
"Ba Huang Zhen?" Mu Chi Lao Ren nodded freely, "I can try."
Duan Bai Yue was doubtful: "Does this elder really know?" He was a woodworker; even if he had exceptional skills, it didn"t seem to related to the art of war one bit. It couldn"t be that because he wanted to stay in the palace, he started making up wild statements.
"Ba Huang Zhen is a mechanism of trickery." Chu Yuan explained, "If there were anyone who would still know about it, I"m afraid that there would be only this old mister here."
"Your Majesty flatters, flatters." Mu Chi Lao Ren modestly rubbed his hands.
"If old mister can truly recreate Ba Huang, then we will reward you heavily." Chu Yuan was very respectful to him.
Thus, Mu Chi Lao Ren became even happier; initially he was thinking of running towards the capital to see if he could find a livelihood in the palace as a repairman, saving himself the worry that while staying outside, he would be kidnapped due to a moment of carelessness; yet he didn"t think that his luck would be so good; not only did he enter the palace, he even met the emperor.
Seeing that the two of them seemed to trust one another, Duan Bai Yue could only swallow down the rest of his misgivings.
"And one more thing, I wonder if I can seek this elder"s guidance?" Chu Yuan said, "We wish to know if the blueprint of Gui Mui Xia of Da Yan city was drawn by this mister."
"It"s me." Mu Chi Lao Ren first nodded his head, then shook his head continuously, "It can"t be said, can"t be said, that"s an evil thing; if anyone uses it, their family lineage will be destroyed."
"Then why did this senior still hand the blueprint to others?" Duan Bai Yue, to one side, frowned.
"Not drawing it isn"t a choice, the sword of magistrate Xu was on my neck." Mu Chi Lao Ren was very earnest; after all, the average person was afraid of death; I"m also afraid, extremely afraid.
Chu Yuan sighed inside, but didn"t criticize him harshly either.
"But there"s no harm." Mu Chi Lao Ren suddenly changed the topic, and laughed cheerfully, "With how sneaky Magistrate Xu was, I had already guessed that he didn"t have good intentions, and should be thinking of secretly selling it behind the backs of the imperial court. So although the blueprint that I gave him looked seamless, in reality, when using it, if some small trickery is used, then those Gui Mu Xia will became harmless to the enemy, and instead become a box that kills the user."
"Really?" Chu Yuan stood up abruptly upon hearing this.
"How could this old man dare to lie to Your Majesty." Mu Chi Lao Ren said, "Moreover, this matter of harming the officers and soldiers of Great Chu; I cannot do it."
Duan Bai Yue couldn"t help but laugh: "If this is true, then I"m afraid that that buyer won"t be able to cry even if he wants to; when the two armies face off, not only will they be not able to gain an advantage, they would even suffer a great loss."
"This old mister is truly the fortune of my Great Chu." Chu Yuan was elated, "With just this, don"t talk about staying in the palace, it"s completely not a problem if you want to construct a mansion in the capital."
"It"s quite good in the palace, quite good." Mu Chi Lao Ren quickly waved his hand, "Other than Ba Huang Zhen, if there"s any other livelihood for a woodworker, Your Majesty can just simply instruct me; I"m nimble and fast, half a house can be built in a day."
Chu Yuan said with a smile: "Then let"s stop here for today, I will get someone to bring this old sir to rest."
"Wait." Duan Bai Yue stopped him, "Can I ask another question?"
Chu Yuan nodded slightly.
Duan Bai Yue said: "What kind of trap is Qian Hui Huan, and how did this elder escape from the hands of Lan Ji that day?"
Mu Chi Lao Ren reminded him: "Those are two questions."
Duan Bai Yue: "......"
Chu Yuan held in his laughter.
"Alright, two questions then, two questions." Luckily, Mu Chi Lao Ren wasn"t picky, and continued, "Qian Hui Huan isn"t a trap, that woman from the demonic sect had never made it clear all along, and only knew how to catch people anyhow."
"If it"s not a trap; then what is it?" Chu Yuan asked.
"It"s also a maze." Mu Chi Lao Ren said, "Previously in the martial arts world, there was an evil man called Lan Yi Zhang. He was imprisoned in Yu Guan mountain after being killed; this Qian Hui Huan was constructed at the entrance. The average person shouldn"t even think of trespa.s.sing it; if they got even just a little close to it, they would be harmed by poisoned needles."
"Since he was already been killed, why was he imprisoned as well?" Chu Yuan didn"t understand.
"Your Majesty doesn"t know; that Lan Yi Zhen is extremely evil; he"s rumored to be able to come back from the dead." Mu Chi Lao Ren shook his head.
Duan Bai Yue rubbed his chin, thinking involuntarily of his own teacher.
To be able to run around after being buried in the grave for a few years; it was quite possible that they were sworn brothers.
"Could you elaborate on this?" Chu Yuan was rather interested.
Mu Chi Lao Ren nodded: "About fifty plus years ago, that Lan Yi Zhang turned Jiang Hu on its head; the people of the pugilistic world surrounded him many times, but was still unable to subdue him. In the end, it was Lan Yi Zhang"s old friend Qiu Ji who battled with him on Yu Guan mountain for three days and three nights, before taking his life with a strike of his sword. I was coincidentally nearby at that time; after Qiu Ji heard of it, he invited me up the mountain to lay out Qian Hui Huan in front of the mountain cave, and instructed me to destroy the door of the array, forever trapping him in Yu Guan mountain; even if he was alive, he absolutely would not be able to force his way out."
Duan Bai Yue shook his head: "If people were afraid that he would come back from the dead, why not burn him to ashes."
"I asked this before too." Mu Chi Lao Ren said, "But that Qiu Ji and Lan Yi Zhang were good friends previously after all, he couldn"t just leave him without a body."
"Do many people know of Qian Hui Huan in Jiang Hu?" Duan Bai Yue continued asking.
"It was originally just a few people, and after these fifty years, there are even fewer people left." Mu Chi Lao Ren said, "I have no idea how that woman from the demonic sect knew about this."
"Speaking of this." Duan Bai Yue said, "This elder hasn"t said how you escaped from under the eyelids of Tian Sha sect; and who set the wooden house on fire by the cliff?"
"You really know quite a lot." Mu Chi Lao Ren first was surprised, but thought about it and grumbled, "Since you knew, why didn"t you come to help earlier. I had to use a great deal of effort before those two attendants were knocked out."
"The fire was set by this elder?" Duan Bai Yue laughed.
"Of course, who else? Someone like me who has no son or daughters, no family or friends, and no one to rescue me, if I don"t think of some ways to protect myself, I would have died ten times over." Mu Chi Lao Ren picked his ear, "But burning the house is just burning the house, I didn"t burn those two evil woman, I threw them into the mountain valley and let them lie there."
"Since you are staying in the palace, this old mister doesn"t have to be homeless or miserable ever again." Chu Yuan said, "Whether it"s a demonic sect or whoever else, they won"t have the audacity to dash into the palace."
Mu Chi Lao Ren beamed with joy, brows raised in delight.
Chu Yuan called in Si Xi to bring him down to rest first, and instructed that that the imperial kitchen was to prepare a more sumptuous breakfast tomorrow.
Duan Bai Yue was unhappy: "Why do I only have vegetables and beancurd to eat."
"There"s abalone and sea cuc.u.mbers in the restaurants outside." Chu Yuan said, "If you want to eat then go eat; is there anyone who can even stop you."
"How meaningless is that." Duan Bai Yue placed his cheeks in his hands, "If I eat then might as well eat the food of the imperial kitchen, I can still brag about it to my servants when I return."
Chu Yuan yawned: "Greedy."
"It"s late." Duan Bai Yue stood up, "Let me send you back to your sleeping quarters?"
"Many thanks for everything this time." Chu Yuan looked at him seriously.
"Again." Duan Bai Yue shook his head, "Why say thanks between the both of us; moreover it was just a trivial matter."
"Do you still want a reward this time?" Chu Yuan asked while walking.
"Of course, or I would have lost and gained nothing." Duan Bai Yue placed his face closer: "Yes?"
In one move, Chu Yuan kicked him away,
Duan Bai Yue said bitterly: "I thought that there would be at least a slap."
Chu Yuan didn"t know whether to laugh or cry, and wasn"t like he could grab him and start beating him; so he walked forwards without a care, leaving Duan Bai Yue far behind.
Duan Bai Yue leaned against a tree, looking at his back view with a smile.
In the next few days, around the stage at Tai Ci road, the people surrounding Sai Pan An increased; there were chess players who wanted to win, people who were there to take in the lively scene, but most of all there were imperial troops in disguise, and men of Xi Nan manor.
Sai Pan An"s martial arts skills weren"t low; naturally he realized that something strange was happening, but he looked as if he wasn"t bothered by it at all; he was still sitting on the stage with his eyes slightly closed everyday; if there was a compet.i.tor then he started a match; his chess moves were calm and strong; it was as if his heart was entirely unbothered. There was only one day, where after hearing his servant boy whisper a sentence to him, then did his expression change slightly. That sentence was simply that Mu Chi Lao Ren had reportedly arrived in the capital, but they just don"t know where he was hiding.
Duan Yao felt that the inn was too stuffy, and went out frequently; today he bought a huge bag of colorful sweets; when pa.s.sing by Tao Ci street he saw many people and wanted to take a look, but was dragged back to the inn by Duan Bai Yue in the end.
"What are you doing again?" Duan Yao grumbled.
"That man is not simple, don"t go near him." Duan Bai Yue knocked his head a few times.
"He"s not simple then he"s not simple; there"s so many "not simple" people in Jiang Hu, why must I avoid him?" Duan Yao was unconcerned.
Duan Bai Yue said: "Because you took their Fen Xing." Although it wasn"t very clear, according to clues found at the investigation at Da Li temple over these few days, the person who could break Fen Xing Ju was the real owner of Fen Xing.
Duan Yao pointed at his own nose: "Me? And you still dare to say?"
"If not you, then it could be this king?" Duan Bai Yue"s face was stoic.
Duan Yao was enraged and bitter, once again remembering the cruel experience when he spent a great deal of effort breaking into Jiu Xuan Ji, but didn"t manage to see what Fen Xing looked like before it was directly confiscated.
He simply couldn"t bear to recall it.
"Alright, go take an afternoon nap." Duan Bai Yue poured a cup of tea for himself, "The weather is hot recently, people"s temper will flare up more easily, don"t go around causing trouble."
"Oh right." Duan Yao stood up and had walked to the door, when he remembered something, "Gao Li King is making an official visit the day after tomorrow, do you know about this?"
Duan Bai Yue"s hand froze.
He didn"tt know.
"And he brought his sister." Duan Yao added.
Duan Bai Yue: "........"
Duan Yao continued saying: "That"s right, she is sister that Emperor Chu wanted to wed to you."
Duan Bai Yue: "......."
"You really don"t know?" Duan Yao was very doubtful; you run to the palace everyday, and the person you fancy doesn"t even speak a word of it; it was quite an important event at the very least.
Duan Bai Yue felt his chest ache, that"s right, how could he not know?
Thus, an hour later, the Si Xi who was dozing off in front of the sleeping quarters, was shaken and waken by someone.
He was a plump man, and was unable to have an afternoon nap; how cruel was it.
"Oh, why did Xi Nan King come at this time." After seeing clearly who had come, eunuch Si Xi got a shock, and whispered, "It"s not dark yet, you know."
Duan Bai Yue choked; this dialogue could be heard quite often; in the stage plays when the scholar climbs over the wall to meet a young lady in secret, her servant will grumble like this.
"The emperor has just started to rest." Eunuch Si Xi continued, "Does this older servant....hey, hey hey Xi Nan King?" Don"t break in, how could he not wait for Si Xi to announce his arrival and run in just like that?
What should he do if Xi Nan King was beaten out of the room.