Chapter Fourteen: The Chill Wind Blows from All Directions
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The middle-aged official furrowed his brows deeply. “I want to know why.”
Xie Wan turned to look at the colossal mountain stretching into the distant sky and said slowly, “The Li clan of Zhao Commandery, the Wang clan of Taiyuan, the Zheng clan of Xingyang, the Lu clan of Fanyang, the Cui clan of Qinghe, and the Cui clan of Boling all have Grand Swordmasters. Our Xie clan of Chen Commandery ought to have one as well.”
The anger in the middle-aged official’s eyes began to fade. He fell silent, pondering.
“A sword can kill, and so can a saber. On the battlefield, far more men die beneath crossbow bolts than beneath blades, yet the nobles of Chang’an do not see it that way.” Xie Wan’s tone held a faintly mocking edge. “They believe swords are elegant. Whether or not they know how to wield one, they all affect refinement and wear a long sword at their waists whenever they go out. Bows and arrows are forbidden to be carried openly through the streets of Chang’an, but swords are permitted. Even scholars too weak to slaughter a chicken will wear one to display their courage. Any sword school that produces a Grand Swordmaster is certain to become the object of young people’s admiration. A Grand Swordmaster is something you may not need to use, but you must possess one. The Du clan of Jingzhao, the Liu and Pei clans of Hedong, and the Xue clan of Hedong—these illustrious families have labored for years and exhausted every means, yet none has managed to produce a single Grand Swordmaster. If our Xie clan of Chen Commandery had one, I would have many more choices.”
“You want that Grand Swordmaster to serve you?”
“Of course not.” Xie Wan shook his head. “Those butchers from the north would never be able to use him, so naturally he could not serve me.”
The middle-aged official guessed what he had in mind, and his expression eased somewhat. “The only person who can defeat a Grand Swordmaster in a sword duel is another Grand Swordmaster. You want your man to defeat him?”
Xie Wan laughed proudly. “Five years ago, a swordmaster surnamed Di died beneath the Frost Sword at the Half-Mountain Sword Arena in Chang’an. He had little fame in the city at the time, but many swordmasters in Chang’an knew very well that he had no equal at the Half-Mountain Sword Arena. Before coming here, I specifically examined the records concerning the Frost Sword. Since then, the Frost Sword has rarely killed anyone face-to-face; his victims were usually shot in the back. I believe he deliberately sought to conceal the fact that he was a Grand Swordmaster. Unfortunately, last autumn the commanders of the northern frontier army were reassigned, and more than half of the high-ranking generals returned to Chang’an. Every one of them praised the Frost Sword as a man rarely seen under heaven. The little scheme of the Yinshan Swarm was utterly ruined.”
“No one would question the judgment of those men.” The middle-aged official nodded. “But if your Xie clan truly has someone capable of defeating this legendary Frost Sword, who is it that gives you such confidence?”
“There is no need for anyone to be stronger than him.” Xie Wan spoke with disdain. “Everyone in Chang’an will soon know that the Frost Sword is a formidable Grand Swordmaster, but they will not know what injuries he sustained before the duel. The purpose of the Frost Sword’s existence is to die at the proper moment—and the person who kills him will be our Xie clan’s Grand Swordmaster. Afterward, he will never again need to fight another Grand Swordmaster to the death. In Chang’an and Luoyang, no one will wish to kill our Xie clan’s Grand Swordmaster. Nor will we allow such a thing to happen.”
The middle-aged official glanced at him. “I can accept such an arrangement. Yet I still feel that those generals from the north will not let you off.”
Xie Wan smiled. “Compared with killing the three thousand Turks advancing northward, these losses mean nothing. Once their greatest worry has been dealt with, they will not resent me. They will only thank me.”
The middle-aged official remained silent for a moment, then rose to his feet.
“I’m leaving.”
He inclined his head toward Xie Wan in farewell, spoke those two words with unusual decisiveness, and walked straight out of the residence.
Three carriages were waiting for him on the road outside the post station.
“Teacher.” A young man dressed like a scholar bowed to him, then asked softly with concern, “What do you think of him?”
The middle-aged official turned and glanced toward the depths of the post station. When he turned back, his face was already covered by a cold sneer.
“From now on, do not become too entangled with him. He is much as you described: sufficiently intelligent, but excessively conceited. He has never suffered any real setbacks, and always assumes that everything will proceed exactly as he wishes. His schemes are ingenious and ruthless, but he gives almost no thought to how he will end matters should they fail.”
The scholar-like young man replied respectfully in a low voice, “Yes. I have always believed your judgment to be precise, Teacher. His elder brother, Xie Xuanyun, is vastly superior to him. I believe he has another serious flaw as well: in his eyes, human lives are not lives at all, merely tools he can use at will.”
The middle-aged official gave a soft hum, evidently pleased. Before entering the carriage, he solemnly admonished him once more. “No matter what position you occupy in the future, you must always remember that there are countless people in this world more capable than you. If they do not appear before you, do not assume they do not exist.”
The young man bowed again with earnest respect. “This student shall never forget.”
…
“What a damn mess!”
As he followed Gu Liubai downhill, Chen Tu continued cursing inwardly.
He had never imagined that he might one day place his life in another man’s hands.
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At first, he had pinned his hopes on the two Turks putting up fierce opposition, but he had never expected them to fall under the same spell and obey Gu Liubai’s arrangements as well.
He Fenglin, who had already embraced the certainty of death, was equally stunned.
All at once, the four people who had been standing before Springwind Tower came down.
That was not all. A hunched old woman also appeared above them and began slowly descending.
She seemed so ancient that a single fall might kill her, yet the weapon strapped to her back was unmistakably a massive bow.
Was she the archer?
Why had she come down?
Gu Liubai walked at the very front. From a great distance, he waved toward Yin Shiniang and He Fenglin, signaling them not to act rashly.
Yin Shiniang had never been fond of speaking. She said nothing and simply let Gu Liubai pass by her side.
“I apologize.”
Gu Liubai did not speak until he had reached the front of the camp where He Fenglin and the others were stationed. Then he bowed slightly to He Fenglin.
He Fenglin’s brows drew tightly together. He had already been calculating the most reasonable way to respond, and the sudden appearance of this young man with such words only left him more bewildered.
“I did not think everything through at first.” Before he could speak, Gu Liubai continued, “You do not have to die.”
“We are not afraid of death,” He Fenglin replied without hesitation.
“No, you have misunderstood me.” Gu Liubai spoke sincerely. “I mean that you can tell me what you wish to know.”
The death of Wei Chunfeng had already left He Fenglin somewhat unhinged. His voice turned cold. “That is military intelligence. Why would I tell you?”
Gu Liubai looked at him in surprise, then gestured toward Shuerhan and Liu Muyou behind him. “You want to deal with those two because you wish to learn something from them, do you not? If you do not tell them what you want to know, how can they answer you?”
A thunderclap seemed to explode inside He Fenglin’s mind.
His speech became halting. “You… you can… make them tell me?”
Gu Liubai glanced at him and said calmly, “You must first let them know what you wish to learn.”
After a pause, he looked at He Fenglin, whose mind was clearly blank with shock, and said softly, “If I am not mistaken, you may ask now.”
He Fenglin found it difficult even to breathe. He looked at Gu Liubai. “I know you are one of the corpse-buriers from Dark Cypress Slope, but why should I believe you?”
“Mad Dog Whitebrow’s son was killed by us, and they chose to believe me,” Gu Liubai said as though it were self-evident. “What makes you think you have the right not to?”
He Fenglin remained frozen in place.
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Gu Liubai’s brows lifted slightly. “I simply do not want you to become sacrifices in the scheme of some great figure.”
He Fenglin slowly raised his head. “I simply do not believe in sesame cakes falling from the sky.”
Gu Liubai looked at the bodies of Wei Chunfeng and Qiu Baiyu on the ground, his voice turning cold. “Now you may believe it once. You may be willing to throw your life away, but you cannot deny them the chance to live.”
He Fenglin wavered.
At the very least, Gu Liubai had shown sufficient sincerity.
Even though he did not believe in such heaven-sent luck, He Fenglin still gave a few instructions to an attendant beside him before walking alone to stand before Gu Liubai.
“Not too many people can know.”
He Fenglin spoke to Gu Liubai.
“There is no way around it. Counting you, there are four parties involved.” Gu Liubai gestured toward Shuerhan and Liu Muyou. “Those two are the people you want, so they must be present. And I must be there to offer them conditions enticing enough to make this happen. I must be present as well.”
“As for them…” Gu Liubai gestured toward Chen Tu. “If we exclude them and discuss this matter privately, they certainly will not agree. Nor could we possibly defeat them. So they must be present too.”
He Fenglin nodded with difficulty.
By that reckoning, the only thing he had to worry about was the presence of the Yinshan Swarm. Yet given the circumstances, it indeed seemed impossible to exclude them.
“Do not worry too much about this matter. So long as you complete your military orders, I doubt anyone can punish you.” Gu Liubai continued, “We will not inquire into anything else.”
Liu Muyou, who had been the first to trust Gu Liubai, nodded in agreement and then asked directly in a soft voice, “What do you want?”
He Fenglin’s eyes flickered violently. His voice was faintly cold. “We want evidence that Han Yanqing has colluded with you.”
“Who is Han Yanqing?” Chen Tu looked at Gu Liubai in confusion.
Without changing expression, Gu Liubai replied, “The Western Regions Commissioner of Finance.”
Chen Tu gave an awkward laugh. “We do not understand that official title.”
“In charge of the frontier army’s money and provisions in this region,” Gu Liubai said indifferently. “A god of wealth with considerable authority.”
“A man like that is actually colluding with the Turks?” Chen Tu’s smile instantly turned sinister. “The people below are fighting the Turks until their brains are spilling out, while the men above are busy lining their pockets together with them?”
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