Болезненный юноша, путешествующий во времена династии Сун

Глава 19

Murong Songtao's words made Mo Xibei's usually big heart sink a little for no reason. However, they didn't have time to say anything more. Someone outside the door knocked a few times with their fingers. Murong Songtao responded, and the steward Murong Xiu walked into the room. When he saw that Mo Xibei was also there, he seemed to hesitate slightly, then quickly lowered his head and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"What is it now? Tell me." Murong Songtao picked up the teacup beside him, opened the lid, blew away the foam, and slowly took a sip.

"Master, the leaders of all the sects are gathered over there now. They are saying that the Eastern Depot's large-scale mobilization to surround them here is likely to be detrimental to the major sects. They are discussing whether or not to break out." Murong Xiu then said, "I saw that they were getting more and more impulsive, so I came to report quickly. I'm afraid that if they really act impulsively, they will cause a great disaster."

“Although there have been minor frictions between the martial arts world and the imperial court over the years, they have generally maintained a peaceful coexistence. This time, once a direct conflict breaks out with the imperial court, it will be difficult to manage the situation.” Murong Songtao sighed and thought for a while before saying, “Bei’er, you should go back and rest. I need to go and take a look. The imperial court’s movements are still unclear. If they act rashly, it will only give the Eastern Depot’s secret police a reason to encircle and suppress us. If a battle is inevitable in the end, then now is not the best time.”

Mo Xibei didn't say much, just quietly walked back to her courtyard. She didn't understand why Murong Songtao was so pessimistic about the future that he said those words that sounded like entrusting his son to her. She also didn't understand why Murong Songtao blew on the bowl of tea that had been there when she came in, which was now cold. She also didn't understand what the flicker in Murong Xiu's eyes was when he talked about the gathering of the leaders of the major sects to discuss matters.

The courtyard was deserted, with no one around. They were probably all discussing their escape plan. Mo Xibei thought that he should probably make preparations as well, and find a suitable opportunity to slip away. He was probably the first person in history to get caught up in one Jianghu dispute after another for a plate of dried duck. Now that the trouble was getting bigger and bigger, it seemed that the best of the Thirty-Six Stratagems was indeed to run away.

Pushing open the door, Mo Xibei saw Chu Junfeng sitting in the room practicing his martial arts. He wasn't particularly surprised. Chu Junfeng was a smart man. Smart people can assess the situation and weigh the pros and cons. In the current situation, it was better to calm down and think about what had happened around him than to argue pointlessly.

Of course, many things cannot be understood simply by thinking about them. So, Mo Xibei slowly paced around the room twice, hoping to attract someone's attention. Unfortunately, from the moment she entered until now, Chu Junfeng hadn't even raised his eyelids, sitting there motionless with the expression of an old monk in deep meditation.

"Brother Chu?" Mo Xibei had no choice but to call him.

"..." Chu Junfeng seemed not to hear.

"Brother Chu?" Mo Xibei pressed on.

"..." Chu Junfeng remained motionless with his eyes closed.

"I suspect you're sleeping in while you're practicing martial arts. Hey, are you asleep?" Mo Xibei squatted opposite Chu Junfeng. Seeing that he still didn't react, he couldn't help but stick out a finger and carefully probe his nose.

No breathing, no breathing at all… Mo Xibei was so shocked she almost jumped up. She reflexively reached out to check Chu Junfeng's pulse, but before her hand could even touch Chu Junfeng's, it was tightly gripped. Before she could react, Chu Junfeng suddenly opened his eyes, a sly smile flashing in his clear gaze.

"Are you worried about me?" Chu Junfeng asked innocently.

"Yes, I was worried about why you didn't die." Mo Xibei angrily shook his hand, but couldn't break free from the other person's hand that was gripping his wrist.

"You're being hypocritical, but I'm magnanimous and won't hold it against you." Chu Junfeng smiled, and the moment Mo Xibei's other hand swept across, he released his hand and stepped back about ten feet. "Is there something you want to ask me? Go ahead and ask. I'm in a good mood right now, so maybe I can help you answer some questions."

"You said it, then let me ask you, why did you come to Henan Prefecture?" Mo Xibei missed his attack and stopped making moves. He simply used the momentum to jump onto the bed and sit cross-legged.

"To figure out one thing, and of course, to become the number one martial artist." Unexpectedly, Chu Junfeng did not try to dodge Mo Xibei's questions with random words as he had done before. Instead, he sat down and answered very frankly.

"Then why did the other martial arts figures come? Murong Songtao's invitation clearly didn't say why he invited everyone. I asked around, and they all said that Murong Songtao was choosing a son-in-law. Logically speaking, such an event shouldn't attract so many different kinds of martial arts figures. And then so many things happened. I think there must be some reason I don't know about. What is it?" Mo Xibei asked.

“You don’t travel around the martial arts world much, so it’s not surprising that you don’t know many of its secrets.” Chu Junfeng frowned for a moment. “Actually, I’m not sure what they came for, but the people from the Eastern Depot got involved today, so I think it’s very likely for the same thing.”

"Something that can interest both the martial arts world and the imperial court is intriguing. Could it be some kind of treasure left behind by our ancestors? Now that the treasure map has reappeared, it has attracted people from all directions to seize the opportunity?" Mo Xibei probed Chu Junfeng, half-jokingly.

"What, Brother Mo, you've heard of it too?" Chu Junfeng's face calmed down considerably, his eyes slightly amused, and he tapped the table with his fingers. "The more clichéd the rumors in the martial arts world, the more attractive they are. Indeed, someone has claimed that a huge treasure left over from the previous dynasty has reappeared in the world, and the key to unlocking the treasure is in the hands of the current leader of the martial arts alliance."

"That's pretty cliché. Is there some kind of martial arts manual in the treasure, the kind that can make you dominate the world?" Mo Xibei said casually.

"Alliance Leader Murong summoned you earlier, so he already told you all this." Chu Junfeng smiled and spread his hands, saying, "I originally wanted to pretend to be erudite, but someone beat me to it."

"There really is a martial arts manual?" This time, it was Mo Xibei who was quite surprised.

"Haven't you heard about it?" Chu Junfeng looked at Mo Xibei with a puzzled expression.

"Ha... I was just speculating, I didn't expect it to be true." Mo Xibei's mind flashed back to the knife-like object he was carrying when she entered Murong Songtao's study, and to a casual remark Lianyun made when they first met: "Because my father suddenly wants me to get married and is holding a martial arts tournament. I don't want to marry a brute who only knows how to wield swords and spears. But my father usually listens to me in everything, except for this. No matter how much I cry or beg, he won't agree. He just holds a broken knife all day, looking at it from left to right, muttering to himself." Could that knife be a key?

"Brother Mo, what have you thought of?" Chu Junfeng didn't miss a single expression on Mo Xibei's face, and at this moment, he asked the question without missing a beat.

"People die for wealth, birds die for food," Mo Xibei said, after a moment of distraction, he suddenly laughed and met Chu Junfeng's gaze. "I suddenly remembered this wise saying that I read in a book before. Looking at the situation today, the ancients were indeed not lying."

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

“The sage’s words were not deceiving, but just fooling people,” Chu Junfeng poured himself a glass of water, but did not drink it. Instead, he fiddled with it in his hands. “Birds will starve to death if they don’t eat. People will die in the end if they don’t have money. They will die from poverty, starvation, or disease. Since we are going to die no matter what, why not try our best to fight for it?”

"It's because of people like you with such biased thinking that so many people knowingly risk their lives to try. But is there really such a treasure? What kind of key is it? If in the end they don't even know if the treasure is real and just carelessly throw away their lives, wouldn't that be a waste?" Mo Xibei loves money; money is the only thing she loves in this world. However, eight or nine out of ten treasure legends are lies. Rather than believing such things, she'd rather go back and look at the map she'd drawn from memory, and see if there are any places with gold mines or other valuable rare metal mines that she could mine on a small scale.

"It should be true." Chu Junfeng answered softly, but with certainty.

"How do you know that?" Mo Xibei said dismissively.

"I know." Chu Junfeng was slightly lost in thought, but said very firmly, "This treasure trove does indeed exist."

"So what?" Mo Xibei rarely saw Chu Junfeng lost in thought, so he couldn't help but tease him, "So you're planning to get the key no matter what, and then find the treasure?"

“I just want the key,” Chu Junfeng said. “I’m not that interested in money, I just want the key.” Seeing that Mo Xibei was very puzzled, he refused to say anything more, but said, “We’ve gone off on a tangent. You’ve already asked me a question. To be fair, shouldn’t it be my turn to ask a question?”

"Oh, I think you have a real talent for business. Why don't you give up being a chivalrous knight-errant? Pretending to be righteous and noble is exhausting. Why don't you just become a shrewd businessman, like me, and do everything you can to swindle money out of other people's pockets, and make them willingly beg you to accept it?" Mo Xibei interrupted.

"I heard that when Huang Jin came to the banquet, he brought that Young Master Mu from earlier that day with him. Did you figure out what was going on?" Chu Junfeng ignored Mo Xibei's words and asked directly.

"Very cautious, silent, neither eating nor drinking, breathing very softly, rarely looking at others. I think his martial arts are the kind that don't give off a strong presence, probably similar to Japanese ninjutsu. But the feeling he gives off is exactly the opposite. Although he doesn't eat, move, or even look at people directly, no one can ignore his presence. In fact, he inspires instinctive fear in people." Mo Xibei unconsciously began to sketch out all the images left by that Young Master Mu in his mind, only to find that he could only use such vague language to describe such a person.

"The Eastern Depot has quite a reputation; they were even able to invite someone like that." Chu Junfeng seemed to suddenly realize something, sighed, and smiled at Mo Xibei, saying, "Brother Mo, you're absolutely right. This time, I'm very likely to leave empty-handed."

"You know the background of that guy surnamed Mu," Mo Xibei said with interest, leaning forward slightly and chuckling, "What, it seems you not only know his background, but also know that you are no match for him. You'll end up with neither the beauty nor the leader of the martial arts alliance. You regret it now, don't you?"

“I roughly know who he is. It would be very difficult to beat him, but it might not be easy for him to beat me either. So, whether he is a match or not, we’ll have to wait and see after the match,” Chu Junfeng laughed wildly, but when he said the next sentence, he stared into Mo Xibei’s eyes and said softly, “As for the beauty, perhaps I still have a good chance.”

Mo Xibei felt slightly embarrassed by Chu Junfeng's gaze, so he quickly took over the conversation, "The Eastern Depot has come out in full force this time. They represent the imperial court and they are actually interested in this kind of legend."

"On the surface, the Eastern Depot is controlled by Huang Jin, but who doesn't know that although the current emperor is young, he is shrewd and cunning, and firmly holds power? The Eastern Depot is just a pawn in his hands. He is rich and powerful, and may not be interested in the gold and silver in the legendary treasure. However, the Imperial Seal, which has been passed down from the Qin and Han dynasties and lost for hundreds of years since the Jingkang Incident, is something that no emperor would let go of," Chu Junfeng said. "This legendary treasure is the entire fortune of Chen Youliang, the Prince of Han, after the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed. Before he died in battle, he moved it to a safe and secret place for safekeeping. Among the treasures, the most precious one is the Imperial Seal of the State, which he retrieved from the Mongols."

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

"The Mongols couldn't secure their rule even with the Imperial Seal of the State, and Chen Youliang didn't become emperor even with it. So, whether we have it or not is pretty meaningless. If these imperial guards are surrounding us for something so insignificant, it's really quite pointless." Mo Xibei yawned and sprawled on the bed. Hearing Chu Junfeng go out, he didn't bother to open his eyes unless Chu Junfeng came close to him.

He slept soundly and without dreams until dawn.

Dawn, for this moment, only signifies the beginning of another battle.