Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

Whether dignity or pride was more important, perhaps some people would rather live a punishing life to keep their dignity; but these were indeed not the ways of Feng Xiao, so he ultimately chose the latter.

Feng Xiao, "Dad…"

His voice was very soft with barely any resonance; it was brought by the light wind up to Cui Buqu's ears, like a groan.

Cui Buqu, "I cannot hear it properly."

Feng Xiao, "Pull me up first, I have no strength left."

Cui Buqu snorted coldly, "'I have no strength' are so many words strung together, yet you could not even say 'Dad'?"

Tang Li had massaged his shoulders for him a little while ago, so presently, Cui Buqu felt that both his shoulders had already regained their strength. Feng Xiao seemed like he was also stepping on a slope of stone down below, for if not, Cui Buqu might not have been able to pull him up.

Feng Xiao, "Dad~~Dad~~"

The first 'dad' has a raised tone, but the second one was hushed. This wasn't because Feng Xiao's voice was crooked by the miscellaneous sounds from their surroundings. It carried a tone that sounded as if he had been truly embarrassed.

If it had been a weak maiden screaming like that, one would have felt pity for her, but with how Feng Xiao pinched his nose and shouted in a high pitched voice, it only made Cui Buqu's skin stand on its ends; in fact, it practically made him startled enough that he would have dropped Feng Xiao.

As if he had expected this to happen, Feng Xiao held his hand and suddenly pulled him down with a tremendous amount of strength just as a gust of wind whipped past and blinded his eyes. He could not even grab onto the edge on time, and just like that, he was pulled down by Feng Xiao.

There were a lot of things that were difficult to predict in this world even with intelligence; for example, he could never have expected that Feng Xiao failed to hold on.

Feng Xiao knew martial arts, so he might not die if he fell, but that amount of height to a regular person like Cui Buqu would claim his life. The moment he was pulled down, Cui Buqu practically owned up to fate.

But soon he discovered that Feng Xiao was not falling; in fact, his foot swiftly reached the ground, pulling him into a cave.

Both of their breaths were ragged as they glared at each other in the dark. Outside, the storms and winds grew more powerful, covering any last traces of light.

Following the sound of the winds outside, Cui Buqu inhaled, "So you…"

Just as he said three words, his mouth was immediately silenced. Feng Xiao's body pressed close, squeezing him against the cave until he could not move.

The cave existed midway down the cliff. Judging from the way it looked, it was created from the whirling winds after some period of time. The cave was narrow on the inside, so when both of them were pressed together, it was even tighter.

However, Cui Buqu knew that Feng Xiao doing such pointless actions was not solely just to pull his leg, so he did not move and did not struggle against him.

As expected, after a while, a black shadow swept past outside.

Cui Buqu's eyes were sharp; he recognized them as one of the assassins that went down to look for Feng Xiao just now.

From Feng Xiao's current situation, he might not win in a fight of one against two. If they were still lingering above the cliffs like before, they would have been discovered by now.

The shadow suddenly stopped, both legs stepping on a stone that stuck out outside, looking around downwards.

The small cave was pitch black; it was impossible to see anything at all.

There was no need for Feng Xiao to point it out, Cui Buqu had long held his breathe, and the only thing he didn't hold was his beating heart.

The man furrowed his eyebrows for a while, contemplating whether or not to continue searching. Cui Buqu felt Feng Xiao's body move slightly. He only heard a hushed, soft sound of something brushing against the rock, and as something above their head seemingly exploded, before an immediately series of flapping followed.

The searching assassin was startled. He did not expect such a big group of bats to fly out of the cave. He reached out a palm to slap it, but it only drew more bats flying towards him, leaving little claw marks on his face. He lost his balance and fell.

Cui Buqu could not have guessed that bats were hibernating in the cave. Another wave of bats flew down from above their heads, and he felt that this was not any less threatening than facing death itself. Needless to say, considering mysophobic Feng Xiao who had just taken a shower not long ago, he estimated that when Feng Xiao returned home, he would certainly shred off one layer of skin. The thought made him happy. Even if he was in danger right now, he felt that it was not so bad.

Feng Xiao finally removed his hand from his face.

But before Cui Buqu could release a breath of air, he heard the other man say, "There is still one more."

Before he finished his words, a shadow flew in from the outside in a destructive force with sword gleaming in hand, aiming directly at Feng Xiao!

Feng Xiao's zither was long gone, he rose from his position and attacked with a palm towards the opponent, turning his body sideways slightly when the tip of the sword almost touched his shoulder, allowing the sword to slice open his clothes and the surface of his skin lightly as his palm hit the assassin's neck square.

As Cui Buqu listened, he heard the breaking of bones and that man being flung out of the cave.

"Let's go?" Cui Buqu said.

Naturally, now was the best time to escape. Fo Er and Gao Ning were long gone and the chances of them returning were slim. Of the two Yunhai Thirteen Stories assassins, one was killed by Feng Xiao, and the other fell down the cliff, probably half-dead by now. Even if he was not dead, he was probably unconscious.

"I can no longer move." Feng Xiao breathed quietly.

Cui Buqu, "This cave is not far from the surface. I can go up and bring help."

Feng Xiao answered with an 'Oh', "Then go."

Cui Buqu twitched his lips, "…then let me go."

But the other person still held tightly to his wrist.

Feng Xiao answered innocently, "I want to let go, but my hand refuses to listen to me, there is nothing I can do."

This man was, no doubt, worried that once Cui Buqu left, he would never return. Even if Pei Jingzhe found him, it would already be the next morning. The night was still long, and there were a lot of things that could happen.

Cui Buqu, "We can work together."

Feng Xiao, "Speak."

Cui Buqu, "I know something related to the case you are investigating now; it may help you gain a breakthrough. I can tell you what it is."

Feng Xiao, "Then why did you not say it earlier?"

Cui Buqu, "I too only just knew about it."

Feng Xiao, "I should have guessed you were plotting something and pulling strings behind my back."

Cui Buqu did not budge an inch, "Do you want to know or not?"

Feng Xiao knew they would remain here for a little while, so he relaxed, allowing himself to completely forget the situation he was in at the moment, leaning against the rocky walls. Only, he refused to let go of Cui Buqu's hand, "Why should I trust you?"

Cui Buqu, "Did you not guess my identity earlier?"

Feng Xiao raised his voice a little, "Oh? Finally admitting it now, are you?"

Cui Buqu, "That is correct. The Zuoyue Bureau and the Jiejian Bureau, although they do not have a good relationship, they are both subjects of the crown. Since we are now all in the City of the Six Crafts, we are on the same boat. Even if I have displeased you, we should defeat the enemy first, and then we can talk about other things."

Feng Xiao, "Why are you here? Was it for the jade?"

Cui Buqu remained silent for a while, "No. Two months ago, I was already in the City of Six Crafts; how would I know that the jade would be stolen? The Zuoyue Bureau had something we needed to do."

Feng Xiao sighed, "Until now, QuQu you refused to be honest with me; it will be very difficult to convince me that you are trustworthy!"

Cui Buqu rolled his eyes, "The Khan Ishbara is on the move and has set his eyes upon the Central Plains. However, although there are many Göktürk tribes, the Khan's powers are not enough to conceal all that he did. My mission is to aid the imperial court to foil the Göktürk's plans. This is a secret of the utmost confidentiality. All who are not involved are not permitted to ask, so I can only tell you until this point. With your intelligence, it is not difficult for you to guess the rest. I need not tell you more."

Feng Xiao remained silent. In the dark, Cui Buqu could not see his expression; he only felt that Feng Xiao was trying to determine how much of his words were true.

Who knew that the other would suddenly ask, "So if what you said is true, then Wen Liang is also a distraction you created?"

Cui Buqu said nothing.

His silence meant that he did not deny it. With such a lead, Feng Xiao could guess the rest of the story and everything he encountered in this case. Cui Buqu had been by his side all this while, even being drugged with the naihexiang until he looked weak and sickly, but Feng Xiao was unaware of being led by the nose and walking around in circles. He could not help feeling his fingers itch, and that he truly wanted to take the other's head, throw it down onto the ground and kick it around.

And then he reflected on himself, who thought that he was on the winning side, yet was fooled so easily by the other. It was not easy for him to hold himself in place and curb his temper.

Feng Xiao laughed, "Then can I trouble Master Daoist Cui to clarify yourself? Of the few people who accused Wen Liang, were they also people you had planted to mislead me?"