Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

On the wooden sides of the table, formerly on the spot where Cui Buqu sat, two words were carved by fingernails: Plum Blossom.

"Judging by the strength the Commander asserted, to write those words, it seems as though he is much weaker than last time. I am afraid that he is carrying some sort of wound on him."

The man never liked talking much; however, he could not help but feel the necessity to remind her. "Qiao Xian; the Commander knows his boundaries."

Qiao Xian was not as tame as him, "You have served the Commander for so long, how can you still not know him? He knows boundaries when it comes to matters, but he never knew his own when it came to himself!"

Zhangsun Bodhi said nothing but looked at her with a 'But what can you do about it?' look.

Qiao Xian was feeling distressed, but there was genuinely nothing that she could have done.

Cui Buqu had always been someone who refused to stop until he achieved his goals. Right now,unless they ran off to Feng Xiao and told him Cui Buqu's identity and bring him back home, their only other option was to obey his orders. However, if she messed up his plans, she knew Cui Buqu would dismiss her from the Zuoyue Bureau.

Qiao Xian only let out a sigh.

"It is late. Let us go to the perfume shop." Zhangsun Bodhi reminded her.

"Let's go." Qiao Xian brushed the surface of the table, and those words disappeared. The side of the table was clean as if nothing had ever happened there.

There was no shortage of perfume stalls in the City of Six Crafts.

Because it was a city that travellers from the west and east often met, there were a lot of things in the perfume shop that could only be found in the west. The variety of products were even more numerous than those in the capital. Zhangsun Bodhi and Qiao Xian previously had thought that investigating the plum blossom scent would be a piece of cake; but after they ran around for a whole afternoon, practically asking every stall that existed in the city, they could only manage to find three formulas that were related to the plum blossom.

"It is a coincidence now that I think about it. Before you, there was also a young lord who came here asking about plum blossoms. He was thin and tall, seemingly young and handsome." The perfume shop owner made a gesture.

Qiao Xian and Zhangsun Bodhi exchanged glances and could guess who the perfume shop owner was talking about: it was Feng Xiao's subordinate, Pei Jingzhe.

Since the Jiejian Bureau had already traced this clue, it could be said that there was nothing more they needed to do. Why did the Commander go out of his way to give this order?

Cui Buqu would never do such a meaningless thing. Both of them felt that there might be something that they had not thought of yet.

"I would not dare comment on other aspects, but within the City of Six Crafts, the formulas in my stalls are assuredly the most organized. If you want formulas related to plum blossoms, there are three types. One of them was gifted by a young lady from the west, whom I saved; she gave it to me."

The perfume shop owner spoke; taking out three scented strips.

The sense of smell of martial artists was incredibly sensitive. To leave perfume on oneself would give them away effortlessly if they were found out. Qiao Xian held a distinctive identity, so she would never carry any sort of scent on her. For people like her who interacted as less as possible with perfumes, she was even more sensitive to the odour of perfumes. Almost at once, she could tell how many different scents there were altogether.

These are plum blossoms and apricot flowers?" She smelled the scented strips and asked, before passing them to Zhangsun Bodhi.

The perfume shop owner nods. "You are right. This is called the Three Moons Spring Snow; it is the most popular perfume in the capital. The young maidens all love it, especially those from wealthier households. Come spring, they like to put on fresh-coloured clothing; then putting these perfumes on, they say it makes you look like a goddess. It is guaranteed that a group of suitors would want to stomp your doorstep!"

He was a smooth talker. Even when questioned by his customers, he was still trying to persuade them to purchase from him.

"This type is called 'The Quiet Waters Runs Deep'; it has the smell of sandalwood and plum blossom. It is excellent for giving you peace of mind and suppressing any foul smell of the body." He said as he took up another scented strip.

Zhangsun Bodhi smelled it and shook his head.

Qiao Xian said, "This is not the plum blossom scent that we want."

The perfume shop owner took the third scented strip and gave it to them, "This is the only one with a pure plum blossom smell."

Zhangsun Bodhi held it in his hand and felt that the plum blossom fragrance was too strong, filling in his nostril; however, it lacked the real cold, icy smell of a plum blossom. Instead, it smelt like peonies.

Qiao Xian, watching Zhangsun shake his head, took the scented strip.

"Sir, you are knowledgeable and have seen many things. This mixture of plum blossom scent, is it indeed that difficult to get?"

The owner of the perfume shop answered, "Usually, the thicker the essence of the smell, the better. But because this is slightly different: at first the smell should be a bland, cold, icy smell; only after an hour would the fragrance of plum blossom slowly emerge, yet you can still smell its faint, icy cold scent. It is neither strong, and it does not dissipate quickly, lasting up to a few days."

Qiao Xian thought about the fact that after the murder took place, Feng Xiao and his company were able to go to the venue and obtain the clue. The owner's answer fits in with this fact perfectly, so she nodded and agreed.

"This means that surely whoever uses this perfume is no ordinary person?"

The owner, "There are also different types of 'cold perfume'. For example, the lotus blossom, the bamboo, but because plum blossoms only bloom during the cold winter, it brings with it the icy-cold essence of winter. This type of 'cold' is different and very rare. A few years ago, I obtained a particular type of lotus blossom perfume, and I was reluctant to sell it, desiring to leave it as a wedding gift to my daughter, but this plum blossom is even rarer. Whoever could make this type of perfume would indeed treasure it so, and would not have given it away easily. Otherwise, everyone on the streets would know how to manufacture it, and if that is the case, then how is it still special?"

Qiao Xian, "Then do you know anyone who knew how to manufacture this perfume?"

The owner of the perfume shop laughed bitterly, "If I knew such a person, I would have hired them with gold pieces. Would I still be standing here saying so much to you? Strange wonders can be encountered unexpectedly but cannot be requested. I have spent half my life in the perfume business, so if you find someone who knows how to manufacture that sort of perfume, please be a generous person and introduce them to me."

He stopped for a moment to pat his head, "Right, last month, Lady Yunyun from the Spring Moon astounded half of the city with her dance. I have heard that she uses a different perfume every day, yet she has never sent anyone here to purchase from me. Perhaps she might have someone teaching her how to make her perfume. Nevertheless, you can head over there and inquire about it!"

Qiao Xian and Zhangsun Bodhi's eyes sparkled.

"Have you spoken about this to the one that came before us?" Qiao Xian asked.

The perfume shop owner shook his head, "At that time, it did not cross my mind. Naturally, I had forgotten about it."

Qiao Xian, "That Spring Moon place, is it a place of entertainment?"

The perfume shop owner gave a dubious smile that all men knew.

Qiao Xian immediately understood and felt that the question she had asked was quite ridiculous.

Broadly speaking, spices used to make perfumes were also a type of medicine. Since Cui Buqu was familiar with the arts of healing, he was naturally accustomed to spices, and he knew that the plum blossom perfume was very rare. From this piece of information, he was able to spread out, further finding clues. Qiao Xian and Zhangsun Bodhi knew their Commander very well. Others may underestimate him, seeing how he was often sick and that he lacked physical strength. However, if a person like that could summon winds and storms, making a place for himself in the world, then he would certainly have something that ordinary people would not be able to guess. In the Zuoyue Bureau, even if Cui Buqu spent eight out of ten days lying in bed, no one would dare underestimate him.

"Would the members of the Jiejian Bureau vomit blood if they knew that the 'Five Tastes' restaurant is our stronghold?" Qiao Xian felt better after obtaining a possible lead for the case. Although her face was still expressionless and cold, her voice sounded less tense.

Zhangsun Bodhi did not respond but asked her a question back, "The Spring Moon, should you or I go?"

Qiao Xian, "Of course it should be me. With a face like yours, people would think you are there to collect debts, certainly not one looking for entertainment."

Zhangsun Bodhi held the prayer beads in his hand and did not say a word.

Because, towards Qiao Xian's words, there was nothing he could refute.

...

Linlang Guild's Hall.

Today was the final day of the auction, compared to the last few days, there were even more people. However, the threshold was also higher than before. Other than an invitation, customers also needed to give some amount of deposit before entering. If they managed to purchase something they like, then the deposit would be added to the amount they had auctioned for. If nothing caught their eyes, then their deposit would be returned.

Therefore, it filtered out a lot of people who had other intentions; or those who did not really want to make a purchase, simply wanting to come for the crowd.

Feng Xiao brought Cui Buqu and Pei Jingzhe and entered, just as someone immediately exclaimed from behind, "Is this not Feng-er?"

That person immediately ran up to them, both surprised and happy to see Feng Xiao. "Feng-er, long time no see. To think I would see you here!"

The other man looked around twenty-five to twenty-six, wearing a tall headpiece and red robes. He looked like an elegant gentleman, but Cui Buqu's sharp eyes were able to tell that the way he behaved around Feng Xiao was different from the norm.

Meeting old friends was a common thing, but this manner of attentiveness and welcoming was a little off.

To think of him as someone who wanted to bribe Feng Xiao was not exactly accurate either.

Just as Cui Buquwas was contemplating; Feng Xiao had already raised his brows and smiled "Young Master Lin, it has been some time."

When these words left his mouth and judging by the other's age; his background and history were slowly emerging in Cui Buqu's mind.

The Yandang Estate. Among the Jianghu province, their main profile was doing business. Both rich and wealthy, their family also possessed the Yandang thirteen sword styles. The head, Lin Leng, only obtained a son, Lin Wei, in his late years; therefore it was natural that he spoiled this child rotten. Even towards his son's bewildered and queer habits, Lin Leng simply remained silent but never obstructed him. The reason that the Yandang Estate was so famous was not because of their wealth, and not because of their sword style, but because of Lin Wei.

Seeing that Lin Wei was all giddy and happy, practically lunging himself forward to hold Feng Xiao's hand, the latter naturally stepped a few inches away from him, his hand reaching up to place it on Cui Buqu's shoulder instead. Before Cui Buqu realized it, he was already pulled towards Feng Xiao's body, their shoulders clashing against one another.

Feng Xiao, "Come, let me introduce you. This is a very 'intimate friend' of mine. His surname is Cui, named Buqu. QuQu, this is Young Master Lin of Yandang Estate, Lin Wei."

He purposely put more emphasis on the words 'intimate friend', his lips curling into a strange and unusual smile. It was incredibly suggestive, and clear; that anyone could have seen it.

Cui Buqu:???