Chapter 31 - Troubling Times
Zhao Feihu felt like everything was going wrong lately.
A few days ago, when he saw Master Wu personally appear to resolve the issue between that brat Ye Beizhi and the City Guardian, he knew his plans had failed yet again. Fuming, he came to Evergreen Pavilion to get his mind off of his worries.
The Evergreen Pavilion was a well-known brothel in Jiading Prefecture and he had been staying there for the last three days.
Zhao Feihu came here because he was the biggest patron of the top courtesan, Xiao Tao. He had promised Xiao Tao that, after he married Chi Nanwei, he would come to redeem her from the brothel so she could be his concubine.
Zhao Feihu suspected that he had fallen in love with Xiao Tao.
In a room at Evergreen Pavilion, Zhao Feihu woke up early from his sleep. He sat up with one hand supporting the bed, rubbed his forehead with the other, and the thick quilt slipped down to his waist, revealing his muscular upper body.
"Mm… Master Hu?" A slender arm stretched out from the quilt and wrapped around Zhao Feihu's waist. "What woke you up so early?" the woman purred lazily, like a cat that had just woken up.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about someone." Zhao Feihu reached into the quilt and stroked the woman's smooth back. "If you don't want to get up yet, keep sleeping."
The woman stretched lazily in the warm quilt and sat up in bed. Her upper body was barely covered by a tiny dudou, as leaned against Zhao Feihu's arm.
"Which girl could make Master Hu think about her at this time?" The woman hugged Zhao Feihu’s arm and said coquettishly, "Is she prettier than me?"
"Are you feeling jealous, little lady?"
Zhao Feihu tightened his embrace around Xiao Tao's willowy waist, pulling her closer. Hearing Xiaotao gasp softly, he said, "It’s someone annoying." Zhao Feihu thought for a moment and added, "It’s not a woman."
Xiaotao looked at Zhao Feihu oddly. "What did they do to make Master Hu so upset?"
Zhao Feihu snorted, his expression turned grim as he spat, "Everything he does makes me upset!"
Seeing that Zhao Feihu was genuinely angry, Xiao Tao didn’t dare ask more and squirmed against his chest silently.
"Screw it, I won't think about it anymore. Xiao Tao, help me get dressed." Zhao Feihu lifted the covers and scooted to the edge of the bed. After a long hesitation, he said, "I haven’t returned to the escort agency these last few days. It's time for me to go back."
Zhao Feihu felt conflicted. He wasn’t sure if his reluctance to return to the escort agency was because he didn’t want to see the detestable Ye Beizhi or because the way Master Wu looked at him that day. That look that had no doubt, only a clear understanding of everything, and seemed to carry a hint of disappointment.
Zhao Feihu wasn’t someone who doubted himself after making up his mind. Since he finally decided to return to the escort agency, he wasted no more time.
As he stepped out of Evergreen Pavilion, Zhao Feihu instinctively shielded his eyes from the intense glare. From under his hand, he saw that the snowstorm had abated.
Street cleaners had cleared the majority of the snow, but parts of the city were still under thick snowy covers.
Very few pedestrians could be seen on the streets. Although most of the snow had been cleared, the cold weather kept most sensible people indoors.
Turning a corner, Zhao Feihu saw that a crowd had gathered a short distance ahead. It was quite conspicuous on the sparsely populated street.
Curious about the commotion, Zhao Feihu walked over to the back of the crowd, peering to see what was posted on the notice board. Unfortunately, between the hats and heads, he couldn’t make out the details from such a distance.
Zhao Feihu pushed through the people blocking his view, leveraging his height and build to squeeze to the front of the crowd.
"Hey, hey, stop pushing!"
"Who the hell is pushing me!"
Zhao Feihu paid no attention to the scolding from behind. Standing in front of the notice board, he looked up and stood there, transfixed.
"Wanted Dead or Alive? Imperial Fugitive… Ye Beizhi…" Zhao Feihu muttered to himself.
Ye Beizhi… Ye Beizhi… Ye Beizhi… Ye Beizhi—Could it be?
The corner of Zhao Feihu’s mouth involuntarily curled up. His mind went blank as the name Ye Beizhi echoed endlessly in his head.
"Hah… I… I was right after all!" Zhao Feihu cackled, staggering as he stepped back. Seeing his strange behavior, the crowd quickly made way for him.
"Hah… Haha… I was right! I… I was right!" Zhao Feihu shouted loudly, intending to run, but in his deranged state he stumbled and fell to the icy ground.
Ignoring the pain, he crawled out of the crowd on his hands and knees. Cackling, he frenziedly whooped, "I was right, I was right! He was never a good person! I knew it! I knew it all along!"
Zhao Feihu stumbled to his feet and dashed to the escort agency like his life depended on it.
Zhao Feihu sprinted all the way to the escort agency. The guard at the entrance greeted him with a smile, "Brother Hu, you're back? What’s the hurry—"
"Out of my way!" Zhao Feihu roared. His eyes were bloodshot as he pushed the guard aside and stormed into the escort agency.
He rushed to Master Wu’s quarters and searched around without finding anyone, so he grabbed a passing maid. Face flushed from agitation, Zhao Feihu looked the maid dead in the eyes, almost pressing his face against hers, and demanded, " Tell me now! Where is Master Wu?!"
The maid was frightened by his distorted appearance and stammered, "Master… Master Wu is at the training ground… guiding the new escort guards to—"
Without waiting for the maid to finish, Zhao Feihu shoved her aside and rushed off again.
Arriving at the training ground, Zhao Feihu saw from a distance that several escort guards were sparring in pairs, with Master Wu standing to the side, occasionally nodding.
Master Wu saw Zhao Feihu from a distance, smiled, and waved at him, signaling Zhao Feihu to come over.
Zhao Feihu had run quite a way, so he slowed down a little. He gulped, took a deep breath, and walked over briskly.
As Zhao Feihu approached Master Wu, he blurted out, "Master, do you know that Ye Beizhi is—"
Master Wu waved his hand, interrupting him. "Feihu, there’s a convoy going to Songpan in a few days. The journey is not short and the cargo is important. I would feel more at ease if you went. How about it? Will you make the trip?"
"Now is not the time to talk about an escort mission!" Zhao Feihu shouted loudly, the muscles in his neck stiffening as he shouted, "Master Wu! Don’t be deceived by Ye Beizhi! He is an imperial fugitive—"
"This escort mission is worth its weight in gold." Master Wu interrupted again. His expression didn’t change. He looked calm and indifferent as he continued saying, "You must be careful along the way, but I trust you. You know what to pay attention to—"
"Master Wu!" Zhao Feihu exclaimed, his ears reddening with anxiety, as he grabbed Master Wu’s arm. " Master Wu! Ye Beizhi is an imperial—"
"Shut up!"
BANG!
Master Wu punched Zhao Feihu squarely in the stomach, sending him flying.
Zhao Feihu tumbled through the air and rolled over a few times in the training ground dirt. His stomach hurt terribly, but his mind was in greater disarray.
Why? Why? Why, why, why, why is this happening?
The escort guards on the training ground paused their drills to see what had happened.
Master Wu’s face was stony as he waved his hand and shouted, "Go back to your own training!"
The guards quickly turned their heads back and resumed training.
Master Wu walked over to the fallen Zhao Feihu, lifted him up. Zhao Feihu held his stomach and glared at Master Wu.
"Come with me," Master Wu said in a low voice.
The two of them arrived at Master Wu’s quarters and Master Wu dismissed the servants. Once the door was closed, he admitted, "I originally had high expectations for you." Master Wu paused, then shook his head. "I thought you were just young and impulsive, but I didn’t expect you to be narrow-minded to such an extent!"
"Although Young Master Ye has only been at the escort agency for a short time and does not talk much, his character can be seen from the way the people in the agency treat him—”
Wide-eyed, Zhao Feihu protested, "But he's that—"
Master Wu suddenly turned his head to face Zhao Feihu, cutting him off. "The ambushes for the Transcendence Stone… you were the one who leaked the information, weren't you?".
"Ah?" Zhao Feihu recoiled. He was unable to meet Master Wu's searching eyes. "I… I don't know…"
Master Wu sighed, turning away too. "And that night I was attacked…"
Zhao Feihu sat to the side, his hands nervously gripping his pants as he shifted about uneasily.
"A few days ago, when the refugees rioted, Young Master Ye ended up being framed…"
Master Wu took a deep breath.
"Can you honestly say to my face… that none of these incidents had anything to do with you, Zhao Feihu?!"
Zhao Feihu was startled by Master Wu’s abrupt tone and stood up from his seat. "Master… Master Wu… I, no… Ye Beizhi is not a good person!"
Zhao Feihu suddenly knelt at Master Wu’s feet and pleaded, "Master Wu, you must believe me! Ye Beizhi is a fugitive wanted by the court! He… he is up to something!"
Master Wu lowered his gaze and waved his hand. "I have long known Young Master Ye’s identity."
"You have to believe me, Ye Beizhi is an imperial…" Mid-sentence, Zhao Feihu processed what Master Wu had said. "You… you knew? Then why don't you—"
"I don’t need you to teach me how to do things. Take care of yourself, I will handle things myself."
"Master Wu!" Zhao Feihu was frantic.
"Enough! Return to your quarters." Master Wu declared with an air of finality. He frowned and said, "Anyway, the poster’s sketch doesn’t look accurate, and many people share the same name. You are not to speak of Young Master Ye’s identity. "
Zhao Feihu gritted his teeth, gave a resentful look at Master Wu, and left with large strides, slamming the door behind him.
Master Wu waited for Zhao Feihu to leave, then opened his eyes. He tapped his fingers aimlessly on the table. After a long while, he breathed out heavily.
"These are troubling times indeed."
Comments
Top