Very quickly, the Mid-autumn festival arrived on a hot, dry day. When the moon hung round as a pancake, Shi Wuduan received reports from the battlefield — Gu Huaiyang had already led his troops across Dongyue once more and taken the last garrison in the central plain, the Xunan Encampment, and captured Song E alive.
And then General Song committed suicide.
Perhaps his name would live on in history books as a valiant man who stayed unwaveringly loyal to his emperor and country, and despite being born in the most corrupt, decayed of times, never compromised with the sects; as a man who’d accomplished such great feats on the battlefield, and when defeated, used his life to protect the last dignity of a soldier.
…. But only if no one knew that everything was just a massive con.
And right now, the con would continue.
Shi Wuduan had in his hands, the most mysterious people of these chaotic times. At first, it was just a small band of merchants set up with money obtained through questionable means. Later, his hands slowly reached towards farther places, collected even more power and footholds. As time went on, it became more and more secretive and complex.
Perhaps aside from the person who’d created it, Shi Wuduan, no one could comprehend the tangled web of connections or how it operated. To this day, even Gu Huaiyang only vaguely knew that Shi Wuduan had some merchants and soldiers who could very quickly transmit information.
But since they were still good brothers and Gu Huaiyang was a “don’t doubt those you use, don’t use those you doubt” kind of leader, he didn’t spend the effort to guard against Shi Wuduan.
The second piece of information that this special information network brought to Shi Wuduan was this: with no other choice, the emperor was once again using Yan Zhen.
As expected — Shi Wuduan mused as he sat in his chair and peeled a pear. Originally, it’d been Bai Li doing the peeling, but all the fruits that passed through Bai Li’s hands all got whittled down to the pit. Somehow, he’d even managed to get his sleeves wet.
Shi Wuduan had stood behind him and looked on in amazement for a while, wondering if Bai Li’s fingers were actually just decorations — they could hardly even pry a stitch. Thus, he sat in the courtyard on a wicker chair, took the paring knife from him and started peeling.
The young man who stood to the side, dressed like a waiter, didn’t even bat his eyes at the scene. He paused for a moment before continuing, “On the second day that Yan Zhen took up his old post, he sent people to the Amu Grasslands.”
“Ah.” Shi Wuduan chuckled, “And there’s the pillow, just as I was getting sleepy.”
The waiter continued placidly, “Yan Zhen’s had many ups and downs and the emperor’s only just thought of reinstating him. It’s probably too late already. If this were a game of Go, then the board is nearly full. It’s very easy to guess what he’s going to do next.”
“That’s not entirely the case.” Shi Wuduan handed the freshly peeled pear to Bai Li. At first, when others were around, Bai Li would hide. Later, after he got used to it, he’d stop hiding, though he would silently blend into the background. Then, Shi Wuduan started picking in the bowl of pears — as if there really was any difference. It took him a while to remember the subject of Yan Zhen, so he went on, “Even though the Yan family… counts as loyal, Yan Zhen and his father aren’t the same. Even though he’s older and more powerful now, it’s not hard to see that he must’ve been a rebellious youth back in the day. And you can still tell through some of his actions that he’s got a habit of using unconventional strategies. There’s a hint of deviousness in everything he does.”
The other two people listened quietly. Seeming to remember something, Shi Wuduan said, “Back then, the first time I met him on Jiulu Mountain, he’d actually offered to take me on as his disciple. Perhaps, even though the two of us are enemies, stench draws stench.”
Unmoved, the young man replied, “Lord Sixth, please issue instructions on how to proceed.”
“Just stick to the plan,” Shi Wuduan said. A moment later, he added, “Neither eldest brother nor Sect Leader Xia has any need to know about this, you know what to do.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Immediately, Shi Wuduan thought that… actually, Bai Li was very easy to provide for. All he needed to do was feed him regularly, and he wasn’t even a picky eater.
At that moment, Lanre walked in with a plate of mooncakes and said softly, “Lord Sixth, Si-niang sent these over for you. Apparently, they’re made according to the imperial palace’s recipe. Please, have a taste, Lord Sixth…. and Sir Bai.”
She glanced at Bai Li, then hastily looked away, almost in fear.
Originally, Bai Li had been sitting there as if no one else existed but looked up the moment Lanre entered. When his piercing gaze had once been full of killing intent, even the most courageous of soldiers would shiver when they met his eyes, much less a young girl.
Lanre startled and nearly dropped the plate; Shi Wuduan casually caught it. The mooncakes were extremely flakey. The skin had practically disintegrated at that slight jolt, revealing the colorful filling.
Lanre blanched, but before she could get a word out, Shi Wuduan waved it off and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
He looked curiously at the strangely flakey mooncakes, then pinched some off and tasted it. He sighed, “Back then when I first met Si-niang, the only thing she could make when she went to the kitchen was white rice. I never could’ve thought she’d learn so many tricks.”
Perhaps, for those unlucky enough to be born in times like these, chopping heads was a more important skill than cooking.
Before the words had fully left his mouth, a hand reached over, roughly looping his neck. Bai Li darted over and licked off the flakes of mooncake by his lips. Then, his gaze swept over Lanre, seemingly unintentionally. The poor girl staunchly kept her eyes lowered, too frightened to make a peep.
It took Shi Wuduan several minutes to react to what’d just happened. After the stupor passed, his face reddened ever so faintly and his gaze shied away. He said to Lanre, “You… you can take a rest now. Today’s a holiday, so take the rest of the day off. There’s nothing you need to do.”
Lanre embarrassedly mumbled a reply before drifting away in a daze.
Shi Wuduan looked askance at Bai Li and questioned quietly, “Why’d you do that in front of other people?”
Bai Li’s hostile glare stuck to Lanre as she left, “She’s the one attending to you? Why’d they get an unmarried woman to serve you? What do they mean by it?”
Shi Wuduan startled. He couldn’t help chuckling as he suddenly remembered how, when he’d first met Lanre, he’d been dazed for quite a while by her eyes, which were so similar to Bai Li’s.
Bai Li said annoyedly, “What’re you laughing…”
Shi Wuduan pried a mooncake in half and stuffed it in his mouth, “This’ll help with the vinegar taste.”
Bai Li caught his wrist and purposely clamped his fingers in his mouth. His palm was slightly sweaty; he stared intently into Shi Wuduan’s eyes — his eyes were just as clear as they were so many years ago, but because he smiled rarely and frowned often, there was a faint crease between his brows, giving his face a melancholy air.
In all these years, he’s never been happy before, Bai Li thought.
At that moment, Lanre, who’d already exited, woke up from her trance and remembered that she’d intended to tell Shi Wuduan something — Lord Third was back.
But it was already too late. It was only out of politeness that he told her to give advance notice. He didn’t even wait for an invitation before he walked through the door like he owned the place.
For the Redscarf Army, the situation at the front lines was rather stable. He’d returned to the main base in Huaizhou because of his little daughter’s marriage. Upon hearing that Shi Wuduan had returned already, he went to visit him.
But who knew that when he entered the courtyard, the first person he saw was Bai Li.
Meng Zhongyong wasn’t able to immediately recognize him, but Lu Yunzhou was. Back then, when Shi Wuduan and Bai Li had fallen out because of the Yin Corpse Fire, he’d hacked at him with his sword, prepared to fight to the death with that treacherous fiend. Now, even though third brother Lu’s daughter had already come of age and was about to wed, he was still a daring ruffian who’d draw his sword at the slightest provocation.
After unexpectedly seeing Bai Li, he lurched — then burst with rage, drew his sword and bellowed, “Demon, you dare come to Huaizhou?!”
Shi Wuduan was a slick talker, but because he was too used to being slow, his mouth was never as fast as Lu Yunzhou’s sword. Before he could even manage to get a word out, Lu Yunzhou’s sword was already stabbing towards Bai Li, who glided away nimbly as a falling leaf.
He dodged but didn’t fight back. He looked towards Shi Wuduan.
Shi Wuduan hurriedly yelled, “Third brother!”
Lu Yunzhou shouted, “Shut up!”
Shi Wuduan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, feeling that this scene was very familiar. He’d heard that when Lu Yunzhou found out that Lu Lu had fallen in love with one of Gu Huaiyang’s subordinates, he’d chased the poor boy through half the city as he tried his damndest to hack him to pieces.
He picked up the silver chopsticks lying on the table and pushed away the tip of Lu Yunzhou’s sword. He said languidly, “Third brother, just calm down first and listen to me….”
Lu Yunzhou never had the patience to wait for him to finish, even under ordinary circumstances, especially not when he was overcome by rage. Lu Yunzhou roared, and without even looking at him, used the side of his hand to chop Shi Wuduan’s wrist away, then leaped at Bai Li — he glared at Bai Li with so much hatred and despisal, almost like the way a young lady might glare at the evil man who’d kidnapped her away.
Shi Wuduan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but Bai Li wasn’t nearly so good-tempered. He’d already been irritated by his antics. With a brush of his sleeve, he slapped Lu Yunzhou’s sword off course and said coldly, “Who are you, and why don’t you mind your own business? Back then, I was in the wrong, so I won’t nitpick with the likes of you, but do you really think I can’t do anything to you?”
His words only added fuel to Lu Yunzhou’s fire. He was instantly so infuriated he wouldn’t even recognize his daughter and tried even harder to carve Bai Li into a shish-kebab. But, a shadow suddenly flickered past, and his sword couldn’t advance another inch — this time, Shi Wuduan caught his sword between the chopsticks.
Shi Wuduan said exasperatedly, “Third brother, I’m not Little Lu, you know.”
Lu Yunzhou was so enraged he laughed, “You’re even worse than Little Lu, at least she knows not to get involved with vile demons like these.”
Bai Li narrowed his eyes and jabbed, “You don’t get to have a say about what I am.”
Lu Yunzhou said, “I don’t need to say anything to kill you!”
Bai Li sneered, “You and what army?”
Lu Yunzhou yelled, “Me and the sword in my hands!”
Bai Li scoffed, “Ha!”
Shi Wuduan had finally had enough; he frowned and said, “Enough!”
As if he didn’t have a sense of pain, he grabbed Lu Yunzhou’s sword with his bare hand. The blade sliced his palm, but thankfully, he hadn’t used much force and the wound wasn’t too deep.
Shi Wuduan pointed the sword towards himself and said, “Third brother, if you’re angry, then stab here. Before, there were all sorts of known and unknown factors, too many to explain right now, but all in all… actually I was the one who was more wrong.”
Behind him, Bai Li jolted. His frosty aura slightly warmed.
Lu Yunzhou was at the end of his tether, “Shi Wuduan! You…. have you read too many storybooks?”
A smile tugged at the corner of Shi Wuduan’s lips. His carefree attitude enraged Lu Yunzhou even further. He scoffed, looked at him, looked at Bai Li, then grit his teeth, threw down his sword, and left without looking back — as if the sight of this bastard couple was driving needles into his eyes.
Shi Wuduan wiped the blood off his hand and didn’t forget to add, “Don’t worry, third brother, when Little Lu wears her wedding robes, I’ll be sure to send a gift.”
He was practically poking him right in the sore spot. The surly father-in-law who already saw his cheap son-in-law as a thorn in his side stopped and glared murderously at him. Then he sped up and left even faster.
That year, on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, Lord Third’s precious daughter put on her wedding gown. This little lady, who at three years old, had declared her grand ambition to marry sixth uncle when she grew up, had finally seen the light and gave up on that elusive sixth uncle, and married someone else.
On the tenth month of that same year, Gu Huaiyang’s armies continued their march northwards. In the capital city of Pingyang, all the civil and military officials were in a panic. Yan Zhen had gathered a hundred thousand yao troops from the Amu Grasslands and cut off the Redscarf Army’s advance at Tai’an Mountain. Battle broke out once more.
I’ll be glad to hear when war stops 😢😲
Thank you for your wonderful work 👏💐🙏❤️🧨
💙💙💙
Bai Li being demonstrative in front of Lanre 😂😂😂
This chapter had me giggling. I can totally understand where San Ge is coming from though, he witnessed indescribable horror years ago, he’s right not to forgive so easily.