Chapter 108: The Distant Traveler, Kunlun Slave

Entering Nanzhao from Sichuan and Shu, it was truly a thousand mountains and ten thousand rocks.

The dangerous peaks and strange crags were endless, and the sword-like mountain ridges made one cold.

Walking on land, one had to either climb mountains or take detours; no matter how good the steed or how steady the driver, they couldn't be fast.

But if one was good at using waterways, one could greatly save time on the journey.

The Green Jade River south of the Wang Cheng was called a creek in ancient times, and no one knew after which year's mountain flood and rainstorm it became such a large river.

Since the existence of Nanzhao, passenger ships, fishing boats, and cargo ships on the river had not rested throughout the four seasons.

Especially as the March Festival approached, fishermen and boatmen would decorate their boats, at least picking a few bundles of wild flowers and tying them to the boat canopy.

The luxurious and fastidious ones would use bright-colored cloth flowers to decorate their own boats.

The March Festival was a festival to commemorate Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Legend had it that during the Tang Gaozong period, Guanyin Bodhisattva manifested and subdued the demons that were causing chaos everywhere in this land of Nanzhao, making the weather favorable, with no floods or locust plagues.

The people of Nanzhao, within these few days from March 15th to 21st, would choose a day to find a small temple or earthen courtyard dedicated to Guanyin nearby to offer incense and pray for blessings.

At that time, passenger ships on the water would light lanterns one after another, and monks and nuns would sing scriptures praising Guanyin Bodhisattva, scattering flowers on the water.

Inside and outside the royal city, night markets were not prohibited, allowing the common people to play all night and enjoy the rare night joy.

But that kind of mass excitement was always in towns, or at least close to the city walls.

Other places did not make much preparation for the March Festival.

This year, however, it was different.

Recently, many people had taken boats to dock more than twenty miles south of the city.

They stepped onto the grass there, walked two or three miles, and could see Emerald Cliff Slope.

The surrounding mountain ridges mostly had trees, or were reclaimed as farmland.

And this hillside, because of the dense large stones and the stone quality being both hard and deep underground, could not be reclaimed into fields.

The slope was several miles in circumference, the soil was not thick, and large trees could not grow.

However, this slope was in the shade, and the area had much rain, so there was quite a bit of moss growing on the rocks, which earned it the title of "Emerald Cliff."

Looking around, the entire hillside was full of piled green stones, uneven, interspersed with a few small trees and sparse wild grass.

But it was such a place that became the location for the duel between the Great Tang internal guard commander and the Nanzhao Yi Prince!

A few nights ago, the sound of the duel invitation was too loud, and the news had long since spread, and no one knew how far it had already spread.

Many people who had come here recently were famous swordsmen and martial artists, and there were also people from the Nanzhao army.

There were still two days until March 15th, and neither side of the duel had appeared here, but some people had already been sleeping in the open and decided to stay in the surrounding area.

This stay, however, was cheap for the nearby fishermen and boatmen.

Except for those who were really poor and only relied on their own dry rations and wild water, others who saw the boatmen cooking river delicacies were always willing to buy some to taste.

There were also some who let the boatmen travel between this place and the city, both to bring news and to transport wine and dishes daily, with generous rewards.

The relatively desolate river section, therefore, showed a bit of prosperity.

"It's truly foul and chaotic; how do these people cook? It's so fishy and smelly."

The bearded old man in a jade crown and green robe stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the few boats nearby, his face showing disgust.

Stewed fish in an earthen pot, with the fish put directly into the water without good seasonings to suppress the taste, would inevitably have a fishy smell when it first started to boil.

After skimming off all the foam and boiling it for a while, the fishy smell would fade, presenting the fresh and fragrant taste of the fish.

The old man, however, was too lazy to think about this, and had already touched a few golden pellets the size of thumb tips from his hand.

"Qing-shu, come back."

A deep voice rang out from the boat canopy.

The old man heard this and turned back.

In the boat canopy was a flat and wide wooden box, and the middle-aged man with sword-like eyebrows and short beard was sitting cross-legged on this box, staring at the old man.

"I have said many times, our family's trade is easy to damage virtue; usually, to handle affairs, killing some people and harming some people is fine."

"Apart from that, one must still be kind to others."

That Qing-shu put away the pellets: "Family head, I see that the atmosphere in Nanzhao is fierce; smashing a few earthen pots can also be considered something normal swordsmen would do, and no one will suspect our identity."

That man was the head of the Yuwen family, Yuwen Chiming.

And this Yuwen Qing was one of the clan elders, who had not gone out to handle affairs for many years and was accustomed to living in comfort.

Presumably, this long journey had made him quite angry.

Yuwen Chiming shook his head and said: "The matter of Tongxin this time should not have had many difficulties, but it happened to die in Nanzhao; who knows if it wasn't because he was usually fierce and had too many grudges, causing side issues?"

Yuwen Qing's fist clenched, making a *ka-bang* sound.

"Wasn't Tongxin killed by Haidong Lai? Hateful internal guards!"

"When Tongxin died, Haidong Lai had not yet arrived, and there shouldn't be a batch of internal guards capable of killing him in Nanzhao Wang Cheng."

Yuwen Chiming said, "We don't necessarily have to face Haidong Lai ourselves in this matter, but people like Zheng Hui and others will definitely be targets that need to be solved when the time comes."

"We cannot let them have too much vigilance in advance, knowing what weapons we use."

Yuwen Qing nodded: "But really letting Zhong Jinqiu face Haidong Lai alone, how much chance of winning do you think he has?"

Yuwen Chiming was not troubled, answering lightly: "Fifty percent."

"Fifty percent?"

Yuwen Qing pondered, "Zhong Jinqiu's weapon back then was a ring, already considered a first-class figure; although he hasn't made a move outside these years, he has been practicing in Tubo, and I heard he has quite a few shocking deeds."

"Haidong Lai is very terrifying, but he should be injured, and we will also intervene in the plot when the time comes."

Yuwen Qing looked at the flat and wide wooden box, showing hidden fear, but also unable to stop his excitement.

"In these two years, you have already been able to skillfully use this treasure, just like the resurrection of the former master of this treasure; I think even if you face Haidong Lai alone, you have a fifty percent chance."

"Calculated this way, Zhong Jinqiu only has a fifty percent chance of winning?"

Yuwen Chiming didn't say much.

When he was young, he liked to set a goal for himself and divide it into multiple steps; being able to prepare one step meant having one more percent of certainty.

At that time, when elders asked him about things, he often said he had sixty, seventy, or even ninety percent certainty.

However, after he became an elder and a family head, he gradually became fond of another way of speaking.

Doing anything only has two results: either success or failure.

Therefore, asking if a thing can be done, saying fifty percent certainty is always correct.

"What Zhong Jinqiu's strength is now, outsiders cannot fathom, but Haidong Lai is a monster; if I were to fight him one-on-one, even with this treasure, I wouldn't have much confidence."

Yuwen Chiming touched the wooden box and smiled.

"Fortunately, besides Zhong Jinqiu and us, there will be more helpers."

Yuwen Qing was surprised: "Is Tubo still willing to continue sending experts?"

"The experts in their army all have to guard against the Tang army, and the royal city still needs people; this time they lost a High Priest outside, I'm afraid they can't send any decent people."

Yuwen Qing guessed, "Is it your mysterious ally in Chang'an?"

Several people in the Yuwen family knew that the family head had an ally in the Chang'an court.

The world was not just Chang'an and Huaixi; in the turmoil of the times, they often exchanged information and gave each other some credit and benefits.

People in the court could be promoted, and the Yuwen family's power could develop further, with many descendants occupying important civil and military positions in the feudal towns; why not do it?

However, that person's identity was mysterious, and except for the family head, no one knew his true face.

Moreover, in these few years, the Yuwen family had not received any more mysterious intelligence benefits; it seemed the other party had earned enough credit, and the contact between them had been broken.

"It is him."

Yuwen Chiming mentioned that person and sighed.

"I originally thought he was a great man who couldn't eat from five tripods while alive, and would be cooked in five tripods if he died, an ambitious person of the same path."

"But I only realized this year that that person's mind is probably different; his true plot is not about achievements, but just happened to become a help to our major event."

Yuwen Chiming smiled, "That's fine too; he is already paranoid, and for this matter, he will be even more desperate."

The green water rippled, and the small boat turned and left.

After Yuwen Chiming and Yuwen Qing went ashore, it didn't take long before they sneaked into the Yi Prince's Mansion.

The Yuwen family disciples they sent out separately had already arrived at the mansion to meet.

Zhong Jinqiu had specially left a garden for them to meet.

Sure enough, here, Yuwen Chiming also saw the ally's desperate efforts.

Those were dozens of men in tight clothing and bamboo hats, each standing there, their breathing surprisingly long.

With Yuwen Chiming's sharpness, he smelled a fishy smell like copper and iron ore from them.

Zhong Jinqiu was also examining these people.

"One of the three commanders of the internal guards, his identity on the surface this time is to follow the second batch of Great Tang envoys, responsible for investigating the incident of the first batch of envoys."

Zhong Jinqiu said, "So, he didn't come to my mansion, but the confidant he sent secretly led these people to my mansion just now."

"Brother Chiming, do your family's children want to try these people's skills?"

Yuwen Chiming just smiled: "This is the Yi Prince's Mansion; how dare we usurp the host's role? It's better to ask the Yi Prince to send someone to try."

Zhong Jinqiu's gaze shifted slightly.

Two Duan family guards received a signal, walked forward, their thick long sabers drawn, crossing in front of Zhong Jinqiu.

*Dang!! *

Zhong Jinqiu flicked his right middle finger, one saber hit the other, and both shattered simultaneously.

Rain-like steel fragments shot toward those bamboo-hatted men.

Thick cloth clothing was torn like illusory water vapor, bamboo hats were shattered, revealing human faces.

These people were all brown-black in skin color, with curly hair, thick and wide lips, and their bone structure was very different from the people of the various tribes in the Central Plains and Nanzhao.

It turned out to be a group of Kunlun slaves.

Some iron fragments shot toward a Kunlun slave's eyeball, and the Kunlun slave just closed his eyes.

*Ta! *

The iron fragment actually bounced off the eyelid, only leaving a dent for an instant, leaving a white dot.

That Kunlun slave seemed to be stimulated a little, suddenly turned his head, and saw a bird nest on a tree nearly two zhang high, four zhang away.

His body moved suddenly, his tattered clothes remaining in mid-air, and with two arrow-like steps, he reached out.

The Duan family guard's eyes blurred, and he saw him already standing under the tree, his right hand still grabbing a bird, biting off half of the bird's body in one bite.

"So fast!"

The Duan family guard who lost his saber felt his heart tighten, and couldn't help but look at the remaining Kunlun slaves, only to see that those people were all expressionless.

The steel saber fragments, as strong as small crossbows, did not leave any wounds on them.

Could it be that these Kunlun slaves all had such skills?

"I knew his ability to poison was first-class in the world, even better than his martial arts; I didn't expect him to be able to refine poison people."

Yuwen Chiming's eyes were bright, pointing out the origin of these Kunlun slaves.

It had long been heard that underground in Chang'an, there was almost another city.

That place was called the Ghost Market, Dark River, Gold and Silver Cave, where tens of thousands of people came and went, doing all the business that was not easy to do on the surface.

Even if it was an internal guard commander, wanting to refine poison people, I'm afraid he could only find opportunities in such a place.

Back then, the powerful official Yang Su of the Great Sui also loved to refine poison people, and once concluded that Kunlun slaves had a higher tolerance for poison, but the selling price was quite expensive.

I don't know how many people that internal guard commander consumed to refine such a batch of finished products.

Zhong Jinqiu looked at that Kunlun slave who drank blood and ate raw meat, but smiled: "Good!"

Yuwen Chiming also couldn't suppress his smile.

"We covet achievements, that person is already delusional, and the Yi Prince's anger is rising."

"Even Bodhisattvas cannot break greed, anger, and ignorance, and still have to rely on the Buddha to save them; this time we are fully united, in a mere place like Nanzhao, even with Haidong Lai, how can they block us?"

If someone asked him how much chance of winning there was now, he wouldn't say it, but in his heart, there was definitely only one thought.

Will we win? We will win!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 109 =====