Xiao Rong returned to his quarters alone. Ah Shu was sitting in the room, polishing his large sword.

When Xiao Rong pushed open the door and entered, he immediately coughed explosively.

 

Ah Shu was so startled that he dropped the sword and rushed over, anxiously asking, “Young Master, what happened?!”

 

He supported Xiao Rong, who had turned red from coughing. After a long while, Xiao Rong finally recovered and began to jump up and down in distress. “My sword!”

 

Ah Shu: “…”

 

…

 

After Xiao Rong picked up the sword and brushed off the dust with his sleeve, he found it undamaged and let out a sigh of relief. He slowly sat down. “It’s nothing. I’m not sick. I just shouted too loudly, and now my throat is uncomfortable.”

 

Ah Shu was puzzled. “Why did Young Master shout so loudly?”

 

Xiao Rong stared silently at the edge of the table, each word he spoke lowering in tone, “Because Qu Yunmei is a big fool.”

 

Ah Shu: “…”

 

He paused, then whispered, “Young Master, it’s fine to think that in your mind, but please don’t say it out loud.”

 

Xiao Rong instantly returned to his carefree self, waved a hand at Ah Shu, and picked up his teacup. “What’s there to fear? I won’t say it in front of him.”

 

Ah Shu thought to himself, that’s not necessarily true.

 

The young master was usually very calm, but when he was really angry, he dared to say anything and do anything. Although Xiao Rong called Qu Yunmei a big fool, Ah Shu could see that, despite his words, he was actually quite calm and even somewhat relaxed at this moment.

 

Ah Shu wanted to say more but saw that after finishing his tea, Xiao Rong set down the cup and swallowed the tea. He said, “I won’t go looking for him again in the next few days. The matter of the Buddha’s son is too important. I must make my stance clear.”

 

The main reason was that Qu Yunmei had given him a chance. If Qu Yunmei had been adamant, even threatening to kill him over it, Xiao Rong wouldn’t have been foolish enough to insist on opposing him.

 

Since he hadn’t, it meant there was room for negotiation, and Xiao Rong naturally needed to fight for it.

 

Ah Shu had heard Xiao Rong talk about the Buddha’s son. He nodded vaguely and then saw Xiao Rong lift his face and smile ingratiatingly at him. “However, I was in such a hurry earlier that I forgot to tell Qu Yunmei something. Ah Shu, could you go for me?”

 

Ah Shu: “…”

 

…

 

For an entire afternoon and evening, there was no movement from Xiao Rong’s side. He closed his door and didn’t come out, leaving others unaware of his condition.

 

Qu Yunmei stood in the training field, holding a long knife and fiercely chopping at the wooden stake in front of him. This thought crossed his mind, and he didn’t see any problem with it.

 

He was puzzled by Xiao Rong’s condition. How had he managed to live until now? A few days ago, Xiao Rong had coughed up blood, but the next day he was energetic. Yet, on the third day, he fell ill again. He couldn’t even walk a few steps without needing to rest.

 

Yet…

 

It was the same Xiao Rong who, upon learning that Li Xiuheng had appeared, had walked to Yanmen Pass, drenched in sweat and stopping every few steps, just to see him and talk.

 

During his morning exercises, Qu Yunmei was usually focused, but today his mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of Xiao Rong—annoying, hateful, and sometimes overly naive thoughts.

He struck the wooden stake again, creating a huge notch but not breaking it, and the blade got stuck in. Qu Yunmei, already frustrated, heard a commotion nearby.

 

He was so angry that he wanted to kill someone to calm down.

 

Ignoring his strength, Qu Yunmei pulled hard, wrenching the blade free and breaking the wooden stake with his natural strength.

 

Turning around, he could hear the voices more clearly.

 

The guard asked “Your Majesty isn’t receiving guests at this time. Also, who are you? Could you be someone who sneaked in?”

 

The guard asked as if it was obvious, unaware that only the King of the North palace could be sneaked into in the entire Central Plains.

 

…

 

Ah Shu was about to explain when Qu Yunmei squinted at him for a moment. Suddenly, his expression relaxed, and even the gloomy, rain-threatening sky seemed a bit more pleasant.

Qu Yunmei gave a barely noticeable smile and then, with a cold face, nodded at the guard.

The guard received the signal, paused for a moment, and hurried to inform his colleagues.

 

The guard who had been questioning Ah Shu was also somewhat stunned but still let Ah Shu through.

 

…

 

Though tall, Ah Shu was thin, with no more than a bit of flesh on him. As a servant, he wasn’t very confident, and among the burly soldiers in the training field, he didn’t even know where to put his hands.

 

Finally, he stood in front of the King of the North, looking up at the imposing and sharp Qu Yunmei. Ah Shu nervously swallowed and fought the urge to run.

 

Despite his impulse to flee, he saluted the King of the North. “I’ve come to see His Majesty on behalf of my Master.”

 

Qu Yunmei, indifferent, replied with a simple “Hmm” and then asked, “Did your master send you?”

 

Ah Shu quickly nodded. “Yes, my master sent me to deliver a message to Your Majesty.”

 

Qu Yunmei traced the patterns on the hilt of his sword, thinking that scholars were indeed troublesome. Instead of coming to apologize in person, they sent a servant. However, compared to truly pretentious scholars, Xiao Rong was relatively straightforward, so Qu Yunmei didn’t need to make things difficult for him.

 

With that in mind, he nodded. “Go ahead.”

 

Ah Shu glanced at him, completely puzzled as to why Qu Yunmei seemed somewhat pleasant. Hadn’t they just had a big argument?

 

Never mind. He had to complete his Master’s task first.

 

“Your Majesty, my Master said that he doesn’t understand divination and asked you not to tell anyone else. If the Buddha’s son doesn’t come, then someone will have to take his place for now. Although Your Majesty has threatened to kill the newcomers, you also said that there should be a visionary in the Northern army. When the Buddha’s son arrives, he will request to step down and hand over the position to the Buddha’s son. Your Majesty wouldn’t go back on this, would you?”

 

Qu Yunmei: “…”

 

He took a sudden step forward, looking as if he were about to eat a child. “Are these your Master’s exact words?!”

 

Ah Shu was startled. He widened his eyes and put his hands on his chest, looking like a frightened hamster. Seeing this, Qu Yunmei’s face was full of frustration. After a moment of silence, he shouted, “Get out!”

 

Ah Shu immediately sighed in relief and quickly left.

 

……

 

After Ah Shu had gone far, Qu Yunmei paced back and forth angrily, each step filled with rage. Eventually, he vented his frustration by stabbing his long knife forcefully into the ground of the training field, shoving away the guards who tried to follow him, and then he didn’t know where to go.

 

Xiao Rong was determined to invite the Buddha’s son, and Qu Yunmei was equally determined to oppose him.

 

To be honest, Xiao Rong’s questions had already shaken Qu Yunmei a bit, but discovering that Xiao Rong was so determined to have the Buddha’s son—even using himself as a threat—had enraged him.

 

How laughable!

 

Who was Xiao Rong? Just a man with some skill. Could he really threaten him?!

 

At this moment, the Buddha’s son had become irrelevant to Qu Yunmei. What mattered was that Xiao Rong actually tried to threaten him.

 

No, the Buddha’s son still mattered. That was because Xiao Rong was threatening him specifically for this bald monk!

 

Without even seeing the Buddha’s son’s face or knowing how many heads or eyes he had, Qu Yunmei already considered him to be a detestable person.

 

……

 

Xiao Rong was ignoring Qu Yunmei, and Qu Yunmei was also ignoring Xiao Rong. No one knew what Xiao Rong was going to do next. In any case, Qu Yunmei nearly turned Yanmen County upside down. He was determined to find the traitors in the army and kill them himself to vent his anger.

 

The frantic search proved effective, quickly revealing two junior officers. One of them, after being tortured, admitted that it was he who had spread the rumors.

 

However, Qu Yunmei felt there was still something wrong with their confessions.

 

Qu Yunmei knew how to fight and deploy troops at an exceptional level, but his skills in administration were lacking. However, he had a talent that others didn’t: a highly sensitive intuition. During military operations, a commander’s sharpness could significantly reduce casualties. His intuition had previously led him to return from an ambush when something felt off.

 

Now his intuition told him that these two were just small ants and that there were still traitors in his army who hadn’t yet shown their true colors.

 

Moreover, Xiao Rong had initially said that the traitors must be high-ranking officials in the army.

 

Why did he keep thinking of him?

 

Intuition was useful but only served as a reminder. How to execute and search effectively still depended on Qu Yunmei himself.

 

Then he got stuck at this point.

 

…

 

Due to the search for traitors, the atmosphere in the army was tense and uneasy, while the real traitors, though nervous, maintained their original appearances.

 

Still, they knew that this careless search method would eventually lead to them being discovered. So, they sent a letter to Li Xiuheng, asking him to find them a way out.

 

Little did they know, Li Xiuheng was also in dire straits.

 

He had contacted the Tuzu, made promises to the Xianbei, and even the Qingfeng Cult, though they only had two low-ranking protectors, with the sect leader himself not even showing his face.

 

The Xianbei decided to take action because he was once the main general of the Northern Town’s army and knew its details, which made them think there was profit to be gained.

 

In reality, when he fled, the Northern Town’s army had already been greatly reduced, and the current strength was entirely built by Qu Yunmei.

 

The only thing he could rely on was his old face, hoping to persuade those who were already inclined to defect.

 

Those loyal to Li Xiuheng were all dead, and those truly loyal to Qu Yunmei couldn’t be swayed by him.

 

This led to a problem: those who defected did so for their own benefit, and similarly, they were willing to do anything for their own sake.

 

Li Xiuheng wasn’t afraid of the small fry, but he was worried about being sold out by someone, so he tried his best to reassure them that the sect leader wouldn’t mistreat them. If things got really bad, they could defect to Huang Yanjing.

 

After Huang Yanqin died, Huang Yanjing developed his own power in Jianning. He held a grudge against Qu Yunmei, and if they defected, Huang Yanjing would certainly be willing to take them in.

Receiving the letter, the person wasn’t very convinced by these words, but for now, they had to believe it. They burned the letter and then blew out the lamp to sleep.

 

Meanwhile, Xiao Rong, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly groaned in discomfort.

 

Ah Shu who was half asleep outside, heard him and, feeling concerned, uncovered the blanket and touched Xiao Rong’s arm. Realizing something was wrong, Ah Shu took a closer look and suddenly screamed, “Young Master, you have a high fever!”

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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