Simply Trading

Qin Feng sighed inwardly as soon as he heard that. To think that the weapon was more remarkable than he had originally believed. And he just had to show it off to Lady Xie, who was now certain to start questioning him about it.

Did that mean that he had no choice but to bring up those two young women from the Snow Swallow Palace? And the details of his little sparring session with them?

But that was unlikely, since they had made it rather clear that they were there in secret, and were avoiding the Marquis" troops. So he was not deterred at all by her questioning, and simply gritted his teeth, and tried to brazen it out!

"This was ... something that this one picked up, in his recent travels in the region. I believe that it is ... famous enough that it should catch the eye of the Duke of the Westlands? Perhaps as a birthday present?"

Lady Xie sniffed, and sat herself down once again. But she held onto the saber, and seemed to be studying it carefully. Her eyes did not leave the same, and when she spoke again, she did not turn to face Qin Feng, as she had done before.

"You are reluctant to say where you got this? Well, I do not blame you. It is a weapon with a story, and was last seen in the hands of one of ... the Northern Duke"s agents. Which makes me wonder how it had come all the way here. From what I have learnt of you, you have not left this particular region since your arrival close to three years ago. Isn"t that correct?"

Qin Feng smiled and dipped into yet another bow. "What Lady Xie says is, of course, true. I have not left this region in all that time.

"But if you are wondering how I managed to get my hands on that particular weapon ... I can only say that it came into my hands very recently, and that ... the one wielding it had been dealt with. By whom, I am constrained not to say."

Lady Xie snorted this time, making that rude noise as she placed the weapon on the table next to where she was seated. But her voice was not in the least hostile, when she spoke to Qin Feng once again:

"The only ones who were in the vicinity, that I know of, were those two girls from the Snow Swallow Palace. Doubtless, they were the ones who dealt with Old Mu Yang, that impudent fellow. Well, it is just as well that he is dead. It saves me the trouble to dealing with him myself."

She flashed a smile at Qin Feng then, who merely sighed and did not say a word. Lady Xie didn"t press him, and only laughed. "You hold to your word, I see. Both in this case, and in that fight against the Barbarians. I suppose I should not fault you for that. After all, you had saved my grandson"s life.

"But you should be more cautious, when dealing with the disciples of the Snow Swallow Palace. They are beautiful, and their martial arts are spectacular. But ... their schemes tend to cost a great many lives. You will need to be careful, so that you do not end up one of the lost souls, left without a proper burial, because of those pretty girls."

Qin Feng sighed again, and shook his head at the older woman. His face wore a sad expression, when he finally spoke:

"Regardless of their intentions, I have promised not to speak further of the events that took place ... in the forest. But I believe that Lady Xie can guess the fate of the old man who was wielding this particular weapon. I am allowed to divulge the fact that it was this same old man who appeared to be instigating the Barbarians to attack. There were also several Barbarian warriors who were at his side when he ... ambushed me.

"I believe that Lady Xie has a better idea of what was involved than I do."

Xie Nianxue laughed, as soon as he finished. And nodded at him in apparent approval. "Ah! They have made you swear not to speak about their involvement no doubt. And how they had killed Mu Yang. That"s the old pervert who had been wielding the Green Shadow Saber for the last twenty years or so.

"He is ... No. He was in the service of the Duke of the North, which puts him in opposition to my son-in-law. No doubt, that scoundrel was behind this little scheme, to send the Barbarians against us, earlier than they were expected. The surprise attack was no doubt meant to destroy some of our defenses here in the South. And perhaps, to lay siege to Changqing City.

"That would please the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d Duke!"

Qin Feng held his tongue, although he could not prevent his lips from twitching, the moment that he heard that. It seemed somewhat confusing, to hear the woman say something like that. But it was clear that she was referring to the Northern Duke, rather than her son-in-law.

After all, she wasn"t likely to be calling her grandson"s father names, was she?

But Lady Xie said nothing further about the schemes of the Northern Duke, and turned back to point a finger at his hands, which were still cradling the Green Shadow Sabre.

"You were saying that you would sell that sabre to our Sanlang? Well, I would agree that it would make a fitting present to his father. Not to mention the fact that it would also hint at the dangers that he would be facing in the future, if he knew that it came from the hands of those from the Snow Swallow Palace.

"Of course, we will keep your involvement in the ... in how you obtained that weapon quiet. I would appreciate it if you were to accompany Sanlang to the festivities at Yanyun City, the stronghold of my son-in-law, the Westlands Duke. So that you can offer a hint or two, with regards to who was last using the saber?"

Qin Feng gave a slight smile as he bowed again. "I have no complaint regarding your arrangements, Lady Xie. And I believe that I am not constrained in any way when it comes to speaking about this Mu Yang fellow. My promise only involved not speaking of the parties involved in his death."

"Then let us pretend that I was the one who killed him. Given the conflict between my husband"s faction and that of the old scoundrel in the North, that should not surprise anyone. Are we agreed? To make up some story about a fight in the woods, and how Mu Yang perished under my hand?"

Qn Feng naturally agreed at once. It was a far better story than anything that he could come up with, on his own, after all.

"In that case, this one would be more than pleased to share that tale, and to accompany the Second Ducal Prince to his father"s birthday celebrations in Yanyun City, Lady Xie."

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