Болезненный юноша, путешествующий во времена династии Сун

Глава 16

"My father-in-law later brought many people over. Everyone saw me and Brother Chu drinking in the outer room, while that girl named Chen was playing the zither in the inner room. Good Lianyun, you know my background. Tell me, how many brothels in the world can compare to my pleasure boat? How many beauties in the brothels can compare to the girls on my pleasure boat? To say something that might make you angry, your future husband has seen a bit of the world. Do you think I would abandon everything for a girl named Chen, even disregarding your and my father-in-law's reputation?" Mo Xibei sighed inwardly. Coaxing people is such a hassle. Fortunately, she was a woman herself and knew how to effectively coax a woman when she was angry.

“You’ve already said everything you need to say. Why didn’t you tell me before you went to a place like that? Do you know how worried I was when I heard there was trouble at night and you weren’t there? Then I heard that Father found you there. Do you know how embarrassed I was? You—” As she spoke, a wave of grievance washed over her, and Murong Lianyun’s tears welled up again. Mo Xibei could only pat her shoulder and say, “If you cry any more, your eyes will swell up, and you won’t look pretty. See, if I had known you would be like this, I wouldn’t have said anything. There’s nothing wrong, but because you’re crying, it’s like something’s happened to me. Tell me, after you marry me, I’m afraid I won’t even dare to touch the pleasure boat business anymore. Then we’ll lose a lot of money-making opportunities. What will we do if we can’t support you then?”

"You're such a smooth talker." Murong Lianyun was already overjoyed when she heard Mo Xibei coaxing her and talking about their married life. Naturally, she could no longer cry. Thinking of her behavior just now, which was just like a jealous wife throwing a tantrum, she became coy.

"Alright, stop crying. I'm exhausted after all this night. Lianyun, I'm going to sleep for a while. If you're free, stay here with me." Mo Xibei rolled onto the bed, buried his head in the pillow, and patted the empty half of the bed next to him, beckoning to Murong Lianyun.

"Dream on!" Murong Lianyun blushed and jumped away from the bedside. Mo Xibei was confused and only realized why Murong Lianyun jumped away after a moment of stunned silence. He found it funny to think that he was now disguised as a man and the pretense had become real.

"You're still laughing? I'm leaving." Murong Lianyun naturally didn't know why Mo Xibei was laughing. She thought he was teasing her, and felt both embarrassed and slightly annoyed. She was about to turn around and go back to her room when she opened the door and saw the steward Murong Xiu hurriedly enter the courtyard.

"Uncle Xiu, what brings you here?" Murong Lianyun asked casually.

"Miss is here. It's Master. He wants to see the young master over, saying he has something to discuss." Murong Xiu stopped when he saw the young lady. "Is the young master here?"

"He's here. He's tired and just fell asleep. What is it that Father needs him to discuss?" Murong Lianyun turned his head slightly, looked around the room, and lowered his voice.

“It’s still about Young Master Liu from Shaolin. Master is at a loss and very troubled. Those people from Shaolin are still unwilling to give up and are not leaving the hall. Master said that the young master is quick-witted and eloquent, so he wants to see if he can persuade them. This matter is complicated and cannot be resolved in a short time. Let’s rest for a while and investigate further.” Murong Xiu sighed and peeked into the room. “Miss, let’s ask the young master to rest later.”

Murong Lianyun looked back at the person on the bed, whose breathing was even and who was obviously asleep. Although he was very reluctant, he still turned back gently and nudged Mo Xibei, saying, "Brother, Father is calling you."

Mo Xibei hadn't actually fallen asleep. Although she was so tired that she could fall asleep standing up, the thought of Murong Lianyun's unwavering devotion to her made even someone as carefree as her feel extremely distressed. At this moment, being so exhausted, her mind was working incredibly fast. When she heard Murong Lianyun calling her, she couldn't refuse and quickly sat up.

Murong Songtao was still standing in the hall. When he saw Mo Xibei coming from afar, he gently waved to her, signaling her to come over and talk.

"Father-in-law, why did you call me here..." After bowing to him, Mo Xibei asked softly.

“It’s nothing, Bei’er. These past few days, I’ve seen you speak and act with remarkable insight despite your young age. Today, the friends from the Shaolin Sect are all heartbroken because of what happened to Young Master Liu. Please try to comfort them for me.” Murong Songtao pressed his forehead with his finger, showing a slight weariness.

“Father-in-law, I was drunk last night and didn’t know the whole story…” Mo Xibei sighed. She had been thinking about it all the way, but she still didn’t know why Liu Yizhou would appear in Beiman Mountain in the middle of the night. She had no idea how many grudges and conflicts in the martial arts world were involved. How could she persuade him?

"This...this is not difficult." Murong Songtao raised his hand to stop Mo Xibei from making further excuses, and then turned to the abbot of Shaolin and said, "Master, what exactly happened last night? Could you and the other masters recall it together? Young Master Liu died mysteriously. Are there any key details that we have not thought of or have overlooked?"

“Last night…” the abbot pondered for a while before saying, “Last night was no different from usual, because Yizhou was originally planning to go to the arena to compete today. After dinner, he and his fellow disciples finished their evening prayers and went back to their rooms to prepare.”

“Brother Liu was perfectly normal before going to bed last night. I brought him tea to his room once, around 9 PM. He had just practiced his internal energy in his room, and everything seemed normal,” said a simple-minded young novice monk. The abbot explained that the group’s meals and lodging had been taken care of by several young novice monks, and the one who had just spoken was the one who was taking care of Liu Yizhou and the other lay disciples.

"Then may I ask, who was the first to discover that Young Master Liu had left the room?" This was Mo Xibei's biggest concern. Last night, she kept thinking about it. The person who killed Liu Yizhou should have been nearby. She didn't dare claim to be a master of martial arts, but when she and Chu Junfeng rushed into the woods from opposite directions, there were probably very few people in the world who could slip away unnoticed between them in such a short time. At the same time, Mo Xibei was also wondering whether Liu Yizhou's death in the woods and Chu Junfeng's invitation to meet her at the foot of Mangshan were coincidences or carefully arranged by someone. And it seemed that the only clues that could possibly answer these questions were found in Liu Yizhou himself.

“I discovered it.” As soon as Mo Xibei finished speaking, a Shaolin lay disciple stepped forward. “I discovered it. Last night before bed, I drank too much water because it was cold. My senior brother Yiming and I both got up in the middle of the night. Then we found that senior brother Liu’s door was open. At first, we thought he was also getting up in the middle of the night, but when we got to the outhouse, we didn’t see him. When we went back, his door was still open. We couldn’t help but go in to check, but we found that there was no sign of anyone sleeping on the bed. Senior brother Liu must have been gone for a long time.”

"What time was it?" Mo Xibei pressed.

"The night watchman's drum had just sounded, it should be midnight," recalled another disciple named Yiming, who was mentioned. "Junior Brother Yilan and I felt something was amiss. Although we are lay disciples, our sect is very strict. At night, disciples are strictly forbidden from wandering around. Senior Brother Liu joined the sect earlier than us and has always been the most self-disciplined. He would never do anything to violate the sect's rules at this time. After waiting for another half hour, we saw that Senior Brother had not returned. We felt we could not hide it, so we quickly reported to the sect leader."

"What kind of person is Young Master Liu? Does he have any grudges against anyone?" Mo Xibei tried hard to recall the TV dramas he had watched about trial cases. Now was the time to question the witnesses and find out if the victim had any personal grudges before his death.

"Yizhou is a very honest man, kind to his fellow disciples, and even more so to his elders." The abbot of Shaolin clasped his hands together, lowered his eyes, and looked regretful.

“Senior brother doesn’t travel much in the martial world. We Buddhist disciples, even if we see injustice on the road, we won’t be too ruthless when we take action. So, there shouldn’t be any serious grudges in the martial world,” Chen Yiming said.

"Then, when and where was Young Master Liu's body found?" Mo Xibei had a headache. After asking around for so long, he hadn't found a single clue. That's not how it's portrayed in TV dramas. It's really a deceptive thing that comes from life but is also exaggerated.

"We couldn't find him anywhere in the city, so we split into four groups and went out of the city to look for him. We ended up finding him in the woods at the foot of Mangshan Mountain," Chen Yiming replied readily.

"So, this must be a flawless and meticulously planned murder. Given that the murderer's motive is unknown and there is currently no evidence, the trial will be postponed." Mo Xibei felt a surge of anger and slammed her hand on the coffee table beside her. The loud bang startled everyone in the hall. After hearing her words, the Shaolin disciples were speechless, and even Murong Songtao's face showed a twitching expression.

"I'm sorry," Mo Xibei also felt that she was too irritable. She didn't sleep when she should have, she wasn't allowed to catch up on sleep when she should have, and everything was perfectly reasonable when she should have asked some questions. It would be against her personality not to get angry. However, when the time, place, people, and events all seemed off, she could still be patient. So she quickly said, "Seniors, young heroes, and masters, the untimely death of Young Hero Liu is a deeply saddening event. However, I believe the most important thing right now is not for us to continue sitting here discussing this. Since he hadn't made any enemies before his death, it's very likely that the murderer thought Young Hero Liu's high level of martial arts might hinder his bid for the position of martial arts leader. To be honest, on my way to Luoyang, I was ambushed by unidentified assassins, and my boat was even destroyed. Although this wasn't publicized, I believe you've all heard about it. Perhaps the one who killed Young Hero Liu was their accomplice. Therefore, I think we should first elect a new martial arts leader and strengthen our defenses. The murderer might strike again in the next few days."

“What Mr. Mo said makes sense.” After a long while, the abbot of Shaolin finally put his hands together, lowered his eyes and nodded. “The martial arts tournament is the most important thing right now, as it concerns the well-being of all people and the future of the martial arts world. Yizhou’s death still needs to be investigated, but it won’t be resolved in a short time. Fortunately, this place is not far from our sect. I will send a disciple to send Yizhou back now. We’ll talk about everything after the martial arts tournament ends.”

"Abbot, rest assured, I will do my best to assist your sect in finding the real culprit." Murong Songtao breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he knew that as long as the topic of selecting a new martial arts alliance leader was brought up, the Shaolin sect, which was interested in this, would put aside even the most important matters. However, since the incident happened on his territory, he could not say this directly. Fortunately, Mo Xibei was clever enough to change the subject.

After seeing the Shaolin disciples off, Mo Xibei was thinking about going back to sleep, but was stopped by Murong Songtao.

"Father-in-law, is there anything else you need?" she asked, barely opening her eyes.

"You must be tired. It's nothing serious. By the way, you went out drinking and listening to music all night yesterday. What pieces did Li Qingchen play?" Murong Songtao asked casually.

"That girl was very arrogant. She played 'High Mountains and Flowing Water' all night. I used to like the piece, but after listening to it so many times, I felt a bit nauseous today," Mo Xibei replied casually.

"Oh! Go and rest." Murong Songtao didn't say anything more, paused slightly in place, and then turned and left.

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Transitional chapter. An important new character will appear tonight. Hehe, Xiao Chu's situation hasn't been good lately. A new person is about to appear...

Volume One: Ten Years of Wandering the Jianghu, Chapter Thirty-Three

Li Qingchen, a famous courtesan in Henan Prefecture, plays only one tune for each guest she meets, and this rule remains unchanged even if you are favored by her every day for a month and gain entry to her private quarters. However, few people know about this habit of hers, because there are not many who can win her favor, and even fewer who can make her willingly play a tune for them. Naturally, so far, no one has been known to linger in her Broken Jade Pavilion for more than a month.

Mo Xibei didn't know why Murong Songtao suddenly asked her this question. In fact, she was too lazy to think about it. Since leaving Jiangnan, she had met many extraordinary people along the way, each with their own twisted and complex thoughts. She comforted herself, telling herself to carefully consider what others said. She was sure she would have a full head of white hair before she turned thirty. She should enjoy life while she could, and deal with whatever came her way.

Because of Liu Yizhou's unexpected death, everyone from all the factions was busy half the night, and the martial arts competition was ultimately postponed for a day. Mo Xibei was happy to stay in his room and sleep, unaware that at noon, the Shaolin faction had suggested that all the heroes who came to participate in the competition stay at the Murong residence. Although it would be crowded, it would be easier for them to take care of each other, and the implication was that they should supervise each other, in order to prevent any further mishaps.

So, Mo Xibei was awakened from his sleep by a series of noisy footsteps outside the window. Honglu was checking the accounts of the past month delivered by express from the fourth floor at the table by the window when she heard someone knocking on the door. When she opened the door, it was Chu Junfeng and Tian Xin who came in.

"Why are you here?" Mo Xibei was sleeping, so Honglu naturally blocked the door to prevent them from coming in, even though Chu Junfeng's smile was very attractive to her.

“Oh, Alliance Leader Murong said that there might be more misfortunes in the next few days. To prevent any unforeseen events, all the martial arts friends have moved into the Murong residence. There aren’t enough rooms, so it’s only two people per room. I guess Brother Mo might not be willing to share a room with a stranger, but there are only so many rooms available, so you’ll have to make do with him for a few days.” Chu Junfeng spoke earnestly, a gentle smile on his lips. Hong Lü had seen such a gentle smile before, but she still felt a wave of dizziness. However, she quickly regained her senses because Mo Xibei had already sat up abruptly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

“If it’s a two-person room, then I’ll share with the young master, and you and Tianxin can stay in my previous room.” Honglu didn’t understand and decided to firmly refuse to let them open the door.

"Sister Honglu, my young lady asked me to invite you to stay with us for a few days. She said that there are only men here, and it would be inconvenient for a young lady like you. Please take your things and come with me." During the stalemate, Murong Lianyun's maid Mengmeng walked into the courtyard and, without saying a word, pulled Honglu away.

Seeing Tian Xin put down a package and leave the room to find her own, Mo Xibei felt a headache coming on and seriously felt like she had been tricked. "I'm not afraid of encountering any mishaps, so I've decided to move to an inn." This was the only solution she could think of. However, before she could even reach the door, an arm blocked her way.

"What are you trying to do?" Mo Xibei took a step back and looked at him coldly.