Chapter 104: One Among Us Is a Traitor

Lu Xiaofeng was washing his hands; he had already washed them ten times, but he wanted to wash them ten more.

Gu Qing leaned half-reclined on a lounge chair, savoring a sip of wine; he was not a man who loved alcohol, but sometimes, when he saw something amusing, he would drink a few sips—like now, watching Lu Xiaofeng’s miserable expression, or recalling the two hundred plus good deeds he had earned from the Embroidered Bandit case.

“Strengthen the heart…”

Between sips of wine, Gu Qing applied his good deeds to strengthening his heart.

Gu Qing’s Virtue System could enhance anything about him, and now he was searching for connections between meridians; aside from martial arts scriptures, he had memorized many medical texts using good deeds, and felt that before exploring meridian links, he should first fully strengthen his body—make it durable.

The heart is the main organ of the circulatory system; strengthening it would allow Gu Qing better control over his body and increase its resistance, improving temperature regulation in extreme cold and heat. Gu Qing’s enhancement wasn’t highly advanced, but his skin, eyes, and hair would gradually become paler, clearer, and blacker and glossier.

“Bodhi has no tree, the bright mirror is no stand; originally there is not a single thing—where then can dust settle?”

Hua Manlou listened to the rushing water and advised Lu Xiaofeng: “Why make your mind and body so uncomfortable?”

The problem was that Lu Xiaofeng couldn’t let it go.

In the small house, besides Gu Qing drinking and Hua Manlou, Xue Bing and Shi Xiuxue were also there, and they too offered Lu Xiaofeng a few words of counsel.

Lu Xiaofeng finally turned his face, visibly displeased; in the Embroidered Bandit case, he had not gained any glory, but had instead been tricked by Gu Qing to the point of wanting to spit blood.

“Have I offended you?”

Lu Xiaofeng’s face darkened, staring fixedly at Gu Qing.

In the matter of being kidnapped by Jin Jiuling, Lu Xiaofeng had felt pure malice.

“Exactly!”

Gu Qing openly admitted it.

This startled Lu Xiaofeng; he stared at Gu Qing and asked: “When?”

During the Jin Peng Dynasty affair, Lu Xiaofeng had known Gu Qing held grudges and had deliberately avoided conflict with him.

“The day of Master Kugua’s vegetarian banquet.”

Gu Qing said calmly: “You listened to Xue’er’s words and thought I would harm a child—that was when you offended me.”

Lu Xiaofeng suddenly recalled that day; he had spoken sharply because of Shangguan Xue’er’s words and because Gu Qing had humiliated Gu Song, but afterward, he had expressed concern.

“You don’t think a half-hearted apology makes this whole thing disappear, do you?”

Gu Qing spread his hands.

Lu Xiaofeng took a deep breath; he never imagined Gu Qing could be this petty. He pointed at Gu Qing twice, wanting to say something but swallowing it—feeling that someone like Gu Qing having no friends was entirely understandable.

“Xue Bing, let’s go!”

Lu Xiaofeng slammed the table, preparing to take Xue Bing home.

But at that moment, Xue Bing did not rise immediately; instead, she hesitated, making Lu Xiaofeng’s heart sink again.

“If you want to go, go.”

Gu Qing smiled: “We have a wonderful gathering coming up—can you guess who wasn’t invited?”

Lu Xiaofeng wanted to flip the table… he already knew what gathering it was, and indeed, he had not been invited—because in the Embroidered Bandit case, he could be classified as a victim, while Gu Qing was the great hero who cleared the Red Shoes’ name.

Gu Qing drank calmly, then suddenly perked his ears, stood up, grabbed Xue Bing beside him, and said: “We must leave first.”

Hua Manlou raised his cup, drank calmly, and said: “The Pingnan Prince inviting you as an honored guest should be a good thing—why treat it like a tiger or wolf?”

After resolving the Embroidered Bandit case, Gu Qing’s abilities had caught the Pingnan Prince’s attention, and he was invited to become an honored guest.

“Where in this world is there a Yangzhou crane?”

Gu Qing laughed long and pulled Xue Bing away, floating off gracefully.

Guests came together, each speaking their aspirations: one wished to become Prefect of Yangzhou, another to amass wealth and become a rich man, another to ride a crane to heaven and become an immortal; then someone said, “I wish to be rich with ten thousand strings of cash, ride a crane to Yangzhou”—to gain rank, wealth, and immortality all at once.

It was also called the Yangzhou crane. But in this world, where is there such a thing as having everything?

Hua Manlou raised his cup in a full toast.

Seeing Gu Qing so carefree, Lu Xiaofeng grew annoyed and countered: “Isn’t Ye Gucheng in the Pingnan Prince’s mansion already a Yangzhou crane?”

Having it all.

Hua Manlou paused slightly with his cup and said: “Perhaps.”

Instantly, the Pingnan Prince’s fine horses arrived; more than ten carriages stood outside, each filled with jewels. The lead man came forward to invite Gu Qing, but saw only Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Shi Xiuxue—Gu Qing had vanished.

All those lavish gifts remained ungiven.

Night. Deep night.

A waning moon hung slanting in the sky, making the abandoned mountain house seem cold and mysterious.

In the hall of the house stood a long table with nine chairs; besides Gu Qing, all the others were women of the Red Shoes.

!

Gong Sun Lan, the First Lady Gong Sun, sat at the head; on either side sat the Second Lady Gong Sun and the Third Lady Gong Sun; then came the famous courtesan Ouyang Qing, Jiang Qingxia, who had met Lu Xiaofeng at Qixia Nunnery, the Sixth, a nun with no hair, and the Seventh, a girl in red.

Xue Bing was the Eighth here.

“This is the hero Gu Qing, who captured the Embroidered Bandit Jin Jiuling.”

Gong Sun Lan pointed at Gu Qing and introduced him.

Upon hearing his name, the Red Shoes sisters were startled, all scrutinizing Gu Qing.

The girl in red asked: “Is this the Gu Qing who publicly declared he would fight both Xi Men Chuixue and Ye Gucheng alone?”

Gu Qing nodded.

Ouyang Qing studied Gu Qing with great interest and said: “I heard Xi Men Chuixue and Ye Gucheng have set a time to duel on August 15th on Mount Zijin.”

Mount Zijin lies in Nanjing, a famous mountain since ancient times, where countless notable figures left their traces; a duel there would become a legendary tale.

But the final battleground would not be Mount Zijin—it would be the Forbidden City.

Because the most important goal of this Forbidden Peak duel was to draw the Imperial Guards’ attention, then let Ye Gucheng assassinate the Emperor, allowing the Pingnan Prince’s heir—who looked exactly like him—to take his place, thus usurping the throne without anyone knowing.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Gu Qing said: “Let them set their own terms—I’ll show up for the fight.”

Gu Qing had always thought Ye Gucheng’s death was a pity; if he fought instead, perhaps he could prevent the inevitable death of either Xi Men Chuixue or Ye Gucheng.

“Can you beat them?”

The girl in red asked.

“I don’t know.”

Gu Qing shook his head: “Some things you only learn by experiencing them myself—if I knew for certain I could defeat Xi Men Chuixue and Ye Gucheng, I wouldn’t need to fight them.”

After chatting and getting to know each other, Gong Sun Lan finally returned to the topic.

“I brought him here today as a witness.”

Gong Sun Lan’s gaze swept over her sisters, speaking with iron certainty: “One of us is a traitor!”

The embroidered silk and the Red Shoes’ secrets had been sold to Jin Jiuling.

Gu Qing propped his chin, watching silently; the traitor was Gong Sun Erniang, who had conspired with Jin Jiuling and given him money—should Gong Sun Lan fall, Gong Sun Erniang could take over the Red Shoes…

Gu Qing knew all this, but said nothing, watching quietly as Gong Sun Lan unraveled the case step by step; he didn’t care who the traitor turned out to be—he was waiting for the result so he could expose Gong Sun Lan.

(End of Chapter)