Chapter Sixteen: Unyielding and Unassailable

What’s the point of blocking people? Chen Tu suddenly slapped his thigh.

Gu Liubai must suspect that there are other people arranged by that nobleman still hidden in Mingbai Slope!

At that moment, Gu Liubai stopped thinking and turned to Chen Tu. “Do you know what the quickest and cleanest solution is right now?”

“Don’t ask me. All I know is killing people,” Chen Tu said, feeling a bit suffocated.

Gu Liubai smiled. “Right, it’s killing.”

“How come it’s right again?” Chen Tu couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

Gu Liubai sneered, “The most straightforward way is to go straight to Lucao Post and kill that nobleman.”

“That could work! After all, Lucao Post isn’t far from here,” Chen Tu’s eyes lit up, but he quickly realized something was wrong. “Isn’t that the same as killing Ashina? We just settled things with the Turks, and now if we kill a scion of the Tang aristocracy, won’t we be hunted to death next?”

“That’s great,” Gu Liubai said seriously. “At last, you’re not thinking about solving everything by killing people. You might just live a few more days.”

“Now you’re messing with my head?” Chen Tu squinted, sneering coldly. “If you don’t have any other plan, we’ll just do it.”

“Since they’re counting you and me in the plan, it won’t be so easy to kill him. There might be a group of Xuan Armor soldiers waiting to hand us over as bait,” Gu Liubai said calmly. “When killing alone can’t solve the problem, it’s best to handle it like a businessman.”

Chen Tu didn’t even bother to smile at him.

In the Yin Mountains, they were used to killing people for bounty.

Indeed, all they could think about was killing.

But Gu Liubai’s mind was full of benefits.

This cunning man planned everything with meticulous calculation.

There weren’t many trustworthy people in this line of work, but those Turkic Black Armor riders under Mad Dog White Eyebrows were reliable.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt they were the ones getting the short end of the stick.

Since midnight yesterday, they had done all the dirty and exhausting work, while Gu Liubai slept soundly like a pig the whole night. After everything, it was he who earned the gratitude of He Fenglin’s group and the Turks.

He had neatly taken all the benefits.

Damn it!

The caravans driven south by He Fenglin still didn’t dare to make a move. Before the Turks and He Fenglin’s people left, they didn’t want to get involved in trouble. But the permanent residents of Mingbai Slope seemed unaffected; they carried on as usual.

Chen Tu saw none of these people as good.

Even looking at the corpses, they treated them like dry firewood, showing no sign of fear.

But the most twisted of all was naturally Gu Liubai.

He had eaten a board full of mutton last night and showed no disgust at the corpses. He even sent the old man from Chunfeng Restaurant to cook noodles with mutton broth and was now gesturing and discussing with Dragon Granny, asking if she wanted to eat something.

This young man seemed quite generous to the Yin Mountains crowd, but Chen Tu always felt it was they who were being completely drained.

Suddenly, Chen Tu frowned again.

He saw three people emerge.

Last night, accompanied by Gu Liubai, he had already circled Mingbai Slope, memorizing the faces of those in the camps, warehouses, and stilt houses. He had closely observed the three groups who arrived late at night.

Yet these three faces were unfamiliar, most likely because they had deliberately avoided him during his inspection with Gu Liubai.

Feigning authority… The Turkic Black Armor riders, the tigers, hadn’t arrived yet, but Gu Liubai, the fox, was already putting his plan into effect?

The three people had distinctive appearances, hard to forget after seeing them.

First, none were barbarians; their complexions were quite fair.

Among the merchants on the frontier road outside the pass, fair-skinned Tang people were rare — either scholars traveling with caravans to see the frontier scenery or shopkeepers dealing in big business.

Second, even among Tang people, their looks and clothing were unique.

The one in the middle wore a black, round-collar, wide-sleeved brocade robe with subtle patterns and a thick cape made of long animal fur that looked glossy and warm — unlike the common brown hemp straw raincoats.

Chen Tu had never seen such a cape before, and it was certainly not something an ordinary family could afford.

This man’s face was as distinctive as his cape: small, palm-sized, with an unusually youthful baby face covered in a beard, giving an odd impression.

His height matched most men, but his hands were very short. At first, Chen Tu thought his arms had been cut off at the elbows, but seeing his childlike palms, he realized that wasn’t the case.

Naturally, Chen Tu wondered if he was a dwarf hiding another person inside his robe or standing on stilts, but after careful observation, he found no flaws.

The other two looked normal, like friendly shopkeepers, plump and fair-skinned, but their eye sockets were so dark it looked like they hadn’t slept properly for half a month.

Their expressions were somewhat awkward.

Chen Tu glanced at Gu Liubai.

What he had said earlier wasn’t a joke. Let Gu Liubai handle these brain-twisting schemes; otherwise, his pride would be hurt.

Yet these three clearly weren’t interested in him. They hesitated, only deciding to come out after seeing Gu Liubai leave Chunfeng Restaurant.

However, after hearing Gu Liubai’s next words, they quickly changed their minds.

Gu Liubai said to Chen Tu, “I’ll talk with them alone. None of you come closer than twenty paces.”

“That’s not acceptable. I must be present,” Chen Tu said firmly. “These three look dangerous; they might be deceitful.”

Gu Liubai smiled, “Fine, come then. Don’t blame me if you regret it.”

Chen Tu said nothing but followed Gu Liubai with an insincere smile.

“Gentlemen, shall we find a quiet place to talk?” Gu Liubai pointed to a spot several dozen paces away.

The three looked where he indicated and saw a cave filled with goods.

The two with dark eye circles glanced at the short-handed dwarf, who nodded without hesitation. “That’s fine.”

The cave wasn’t large; most of it was piled with goods, leaving only an area about the size of two wagon compartments empty.

Chen Tu found it strange Gu Liubai chose this small space when there were larger warehouses nearby.

The cramped space would make it hard to dodge if a fight broke out.

Fortunately, the goods inside seemed valuable, each parcel wrapped in sun-dried golden straw. Aside from a slightly pungent, spicy smell, the cave was unusually clean, with none of the typical urine stench found in such places.

This kind of cave was usually a fixed warehouse for a prominent caravan, guarded day and night. Even in blizzards, no one lived inside.

The three entered first. When Gu Liubai followed, the short-handed dwarf bowed slightly and said, “I am Cui Yunshen. Do you know where Liang Fengning is?”

“Spare me the useless nonsense,” Gu Liubai’s expression darkened. “You arrived before yesterday’s blizzard. You couldn’t have missed the news that Liang Fengning is already dead. Why don’t you tell me who you work for and what you want?”

Chen Tu was surprised. Gu Liubai seemed polite with everyone, but when he got serious, he looked fiercely ruthless toward his interlocutor.

Cui Yunshen, with his dwarf face, seemed quite old and spoke with an air of seniority. Seeing Gu Liubai’s displeased expression, he remained calm and said, “Then the news we got is true: Liang Fengning is dead. Yet you’ve been receiving his military pay from the frontier army.”

Seeing Gu Liubai’s growing impatience, Cui Yunshen suddenly changed tone. “But that also means Liang Fengning’s merits should belong to you. If my master put in some effort, you could legitimately claim those military honors and even have them upgraded. Then you could be transferred to a wealthy region and hold a cushy post. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Gu Liubai’s eyes lit up. “I don’t care about being an official, but I wonder if I could get a noble title.”

Chen Tu almost snorted. This guy with his big green eyes wanting a Tang dynasty noble title — what a joke!

But in the next moment, he realized Gu Liubai was just joking.

Cui Yunshen was no fool either.

“You don’t want to be an official?” Cui frowned, not angry but thoughtful. “Then it’s about money?”

“I’m young and impatient,” Gu Liubai smiled mockingly. “You can investigate me all you want, but my final deadline is when the Turkic Black Riders arrive. If you don’t honestly tell me your intentions before then, I’ll have them drag you out and kill you.”

Cui Yunshen lowered his head slightly, his palm-sized face hidden in shadow, looking grim.

“I really don’t understand,” he said softly, voice cold. “Among everyone involved in this matter, you are the easiest to extricate yourself. Why do you persist in getting deeper? With your abilities, you must understand the kind of nobleman you’re dealing with. Don’t you want to live well?”

“If you don’t understand, then let me tell you why,” Gu Liubai replied calmly, recalling a past memory. “My mother taught me when I was young never to be anyone’s pawn.”