Бессмертие, Бессмертие - Глава 25
Yang Zhen and Li Chenglou had a feud thirty years ago. Originally, Yang Zhen's sister-in-law was married to Li Chenglou, making them brothers-in-law. However, Li Chenglou was arrogant and unpredictable, and his wife fell ill from heartbreak over his affair with Xiao Ji. Yang's wife felt sorry for her sister, and from then on, the Yang and Li families were at odds. After a major argument with Li Chenglou, Yang Zhen never saw him again until rumors spread that he had been killed by a mysterious assassin, which greatly shocked Yang Zhen.
“Women all have a penchant for men with quirks,” Copper Monk interjected. “Back when Qinghe the Taoist was handsome, dashing, and a notorious womanizer, countless young women were driven mad by his desires. Later, Qinghe the Taoist reformed and became a respectable man, and all the women from back then accused him of being unfaithful and married other men. The old Taoist was heartbroken and that’s why he became a monk…”
"Master!" Qinghe Daoist was surprised that his old friend of many years would kick him when he was down. He was both amused and annoyed. "You're so angry because of the incense, but you don't need to take it out on your old friend. Amitabha Buddha, all the past events were left outside the door when I converted to Taoism."
"What does this 'fragrance' mean?" Yang Zhen wasn't familiar with Daoist Qinghe and the Copper Monk, so he didn't want to interrupt and changed the subject.
"The name of another man?" Bi Qiuhan guessed.
“It doesn’t seem like it.” Yang Zhen shook his head. “It seems inappropriate for a grown man to be named ‘Xiang’ (香, meaning fragrance).
"Why not? That wretched boy's name is Xiang, isn't it?" Copper Monk said, still unable to let it go. "Why can't a man be named Xiang, Yan, Hua, or Cao? Names are given by parents, who cares about all that?"
His name was given by his mother... Master Qinghe was slightly startled, staring into deep thought. He seemed to have thought of something, yet also seemed to have thought of nothing at all, muttering to himself, "Names are given by parents?"
Yang Zhen was suddenly startled. "Wait a minute, I remember Xiao Ji mentioning to Li Chenglou that there's a rare flower in the Western Regions that's incredibly poisonous, killing instantly upon contact, but its fragrance is unparalleled. She once placed the flower's seeds on her father. Her father died on the battlefield during the Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition against the Northern Han, and she searched tirelessly for him, finally finding that poisonous flower in full bloom on the battlefield. This flower holds great significance for Xiao Ji, as it seems to guide her in finding her father. If she has a daughter, she should name her 'Lingxiang'... Li Lingyan named his daughter 'Lingyan' in the same way, following the 'Ling' generation. This 'Xiang' must be the name she chose for her children."
"Name?" Master Qinghe murmured to himself, "We seem to have grasped some key points: name, Kaifeng, Xiaoji, more than twenty years, incense..." A strange light suddenly flashed in his eyes, "Nephew Bi, you once said that Shengxiang tore up the letter that Xiaoji wrote to Nan Bibi?"
Bi Qiuhan's face turned pale and solemn as she said stiffly, "That's right."
"Xiang...this is truly an extremely important clue!" Master Qinghe was so excited that his face flushed red for a moment, then turned deathly pale. "Master, do you remember when I first met Shengxiang, who was dressed as a woman, I said that he looked very kind?"
The bronze-clad monk was puzzled. "He does look familiar, and the monk himself thinks he looks familiar too."
"More than twenty years have passed, and you've actually forgotten who he looks like?" Master Qinghe said through gritted teeth, each word as if spitting blood. "He looks seven-tenths like Ji You, who seduced me with her beauty back then! Have you forgotten? The same eyebrows and eyes, the same love of smiling..."
Bi Qiuhan was struck as if by a heavy blow, his face turning deathly pale! "Saint Incense?" Upon hearing this, all sorts of strange behaviors and bizarre sayings about Saint Incense flooded his mind. "Impossible... Could it be that he's been lying to me all along—could it be that he's been lying to me all along..."
"He's by your side not for the sake of playing the martial arts world, nor to help you solve the mystery surrounding Xiao Ji," Master Qinghe said stiffly, enunciating each word clearly. "He's here to prevent you from uncovering his mother's past. Sheng Xiang... how could I not have thought of that?! If she were a daughter, she should be named Ling Xiang, because she was born on a tomb; if she were a son, she should be named Sheng Xiang, because her father died in the Holy War! She... she was indeed such a fiercely independent woman..." At this point, he could no longer hide his overwhelming sorrow, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“But how could Shengxiang, the son of the Prime Minister, possibly be… how could he possibly be Xiaoji’s son?” Bi Qiuhan couldn’t accept the fact that Shengxiang had been lying to him all along. He slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage. “Nonsense! If he is Prime Minister Zhao’s son, then wouldn’t Xiaoji be the Prime Minister’s wife? Why… why did she kill her former lover? Why did Shengxiang cover up his mother’s past? That’s not… not what…” His voice trailed off as he sat down dejectedly, supporting his forehead.
“It’s not like it’s anything shameful,” Yang Zhen said coldly. “How could a woman with such a complicated background and many lovers like Xiao Ji possibly marry into the official’s family? Prime Minister Zhao must have been attracted to Xiao Ji’s beauty, and Xiao Ji might be trying to get close to the official to avenge her father. Since they’ve hit it off so well, everyone who knows her background has to be killed. Otherwise, how can she feel at ease, and how can the Prime Minister feel at ease?” He added, “And if Sheng Xiang wants to continue being the Prime Minister’s son, how can he hold onto his position if you find out about his mother’s scandalous affairs? It’s already good enough that he didn’t kill you along the way.”
“Shengxiang is not that kind of person!” Bi Qiuhan said, his face ashen.
"Do you really know what kind of person he is?" Yang Zhen asked rhetorically.
Bi Qiuhan shut his mouth, speechless. He truly didn't understand what kind of person Sheng Xiang was; nor did he ever understand what Sheng Xiang was thinking.
"The mastermind behind the killing of the four top experts is most likely Prime Minister Zhao and Xiao Ji. And the one who did it must have been a top expert from the Prime Minister's residence or a palace guard who was at Prime Minister Zhao's beck and call. In that case, the whole truth is clear." Yang Zhen sneered. "I think this is quite easy. After investigating for so long, it turns out the real mastermind is right beside us. We should just kill Sheng Xiang with a single blow to appease Li Lingyan, let him avenge his father and give up his ambition, so he won't kill any more innocent people. Xiao Ji is already dead, and we can't afford to kill the Prime Minister. This is for the best."
With a loud bang, Bi Qiuhan slammed his hand on the table again, glaring angrily at Yang Zhen. He was usually very polite and rarely lost his temper. If it weren't for the matter of the sacred incense that had thrown his mind into chaos, he would never have acted like this. "Absolutely not!" His mind went blank, and he could only mutter to himself, "It's definitely not going to work. Li Lingyan is a bloodthirsty killer. Everyone knows that revenge is just an excuse."
"The Blood Sacrifice Society is gathering forces from Hibiscus Manor. How much gold and silver does Tang Tianshu have? How many people are tempted? Not to mention the young talents that Leng Zhuoyu has recruited—those are all talents valued by various sects. How many people do you think will stand on this side and fight them? First of all, their own sects are unwilling to reveal who in their sect is Li Lingyan's man in order to save face. How can you confront them head-on?" Yang Zhen said coldly.
“Even if we kill Shengxiang, it won’t make a difference; the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony will still exist.” Bi Qiuhan’s face was extremely grim.
“But at least it will dull a large part of Li Lingyan’s killing intent and murderous spirit,” Yang Zhen said. “Nephew Bi, you have also killed people, you should know how much weight killing intent and murderous spirit carry. To be frank, even if you are unwilling to sacrifice Shengxiang, you should still expel him. He has no good intentions at all!”
“Master Yang, you’ve met Shengxiang too few times. I think that kid, though despicable, isn’t a bad person at least.” It was Copper Monk who spoke up for Shengxiang. He said, “We’ve never been on guard against him. If he had no good intentions, no one would suspect him if he killed anyone. But he just likes to mess with people. Besides, he’s a friend of White-Haired Heavenly Eye. Even if you don’t trust Shengxiang, you shouldn’t distrust White-Haired Heavenly Eye.”
After calming down from his initial agitation, Master Qinghe said in a hoarse voice, "This matter should be considered carefully. To be honest, Shengxiang is not that despicable. I think Nephew Bi should first sound him out before seeking everyone's opinion."
"What you say is absolutely right, senior," Bi Qiuhan replied weakly, his face even more ashen than if a bucket of ink had been spilled on it.
The commotion of the night had not yet subsided when Shengxiang and Wanyu returned from their fun at the foot of the mountain. Bi Qiuhan stood in his room with his hands behind his back, his face as cold as frost.
Since Shengxiang reunited with Bi Qiuhan, she had never seen him so pale. He blinked, and with a "thud," the folding fan hidden in his sleeve fell into his hand. Shengxiang smiled as she looked at the taut, ashen-faced man under the lamplight. "Did you see a ghost?"
Bi Qiuhan did not answer, her eyes fixed on him, bloodshot.
Shengxiang stepped into the room and slowly closed the door behind her.
With a "creak," the door slammed shut behind Shengxiang. Bi Qiuhan seemed to shudder and stared coldly at Shengxiang.
"Did you take the wrong medicine?" Shengxiang still smiled.
With a "crack," Bi Qiuhan moved like a ghost, grabbing Shengxiang by the neck, staring into his eyes, and said calmly, word by word, "Your mother is Xiaoji, isn't she?"
Shengxiang stuck out her tongue, "I'm about to be strangled to death by you, how can I talk?"
Bi Qiuhan ignored him, "Prime Minister Zhao and Xiao Ji conspired to kill the four great masters of the martial arts world, didn't they?"
Saint Xiang stuck out his tongue, indicating that he couldn't speak.
"Who exactly dispatched government experts to secretly kill someone back then? Was it your father or Xiao Ji? And who were the government experts who carried out the murder?" Bi Qiuhan asked coldly.
"I wasn't even born back then, how would I know?" Shengxiang rolled her eyes at him, stuck out her tongue, and said unhappily, "Even if I knew, why would I tell you?"
Bi Qiuhan's hand tightened, and he said coldly, "This matter is of utmost importance. If you cannot clearly state who committed the murder, you will have to sacrifice yourself to Li Lingyan in place of the murderer! Human life is of paramount importance! Even the current emperor cannot treat human life lightly! Li Lingyan has indiscriminately killed innocent people for this matter. Even if he is inherently wicked, the murderer still bears some of the blame! You must tell me tonight!"
"If I don't tell you, you'll strangle me?" Shengxiang tapped Bi Qiuhan's wrist with her folding fan. "But if you strangle me, the dead can't talk. You should think carefully, or you'll regret it. This young master can't come back to life once he's dead."
"I have no regrets," Bi Qiuhan said coldly. "You deceived me so badly! Even if I strangle you tonight, I can still dump your body on Li Lingyan. He'll be grateful to me for avenging him!"
"Are you serious?" Shengxiang looked at him suspiciously.
Bi Qiuhan didn't even blink. "Really."
"Murder—Help—" Shengxiang screamed even before the words "really" had faded from his mouth, "Help—murder, murder—"
Bi Qiuhan froze. A commotion erupted outside the door, as if someone had been awakened by the cries for help from the incense and rushed over. But upon hearing "Amitabha Buddha," the person was stopped at the door by Daoist Qinghe.
Seeing this, Shengxiang grinned and continued shouting, "Help! Someone's been murdered!" He even kicked over a chair to make a noise, yelling, "Help! Someone's dead!"
Bi Qiuhan was furious and didn't know how to handle the situation. Hearing the commotion outside, he had no time to think and pressed his fingers down hard. He had been discussing important matters of the martial world with Shengxiang, but Shengxiang was talking nonsense and changing the subject. The matter of the Li Ling Banquet was of utmost importance; how could he be allowed to act so recklessly?