Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

Lu Ti was completely held hostage with his life hanging by a thread. His face was even more shaken with the look of surprise, fear, and disbelief.

"San Lang1, let go of your Uncle!" Madam Li cried.

"You animal! When did your Aunt and I ever treat you badly? Why did you kill our daughter?!" Lu Ti trembled all over that he paid no attention to the sword on his neck; blood trickled down, following the edge of the blade. Madam Li was unable to accept this truth, a wave of darkness washed over her eyes, and she suddenly fell to the ground.

Su Xing, "My apologies, even if you people treated me better, I have not forgotten the family I have in my own hometown, so I cannot become the real Su Xing!"

Not only Lu Ti, even Cui Buqu and his companions, could not help the look of shock that spread across their faces.

Pei Jingzhe, "If you are not Su Xing, then who are you?"

Su Xing remained silent.

Lu Ti was felt even more wounded, "Even if you are not Su Xing, you were in the Lu manor for a few years; I have no sons, I had viewed you as one of my own, and my daughter was faithful and devoted to you — her love never wavered. This time, the marriage to the Taiyuan royal family was by fault by the end of the day. It had nothing to do with my daughter. Even if you were furious, why did you not take vengeance on me, but killed her instead?! You! Do you not have any conscience!?"

Su Xing sighed a breath, "You are mistaken. It was not for that I chose to kill her. Her death was because of her own fault for being at the wrong place at the wrong time that got herself killed!"

Cui Buqu suddenly said, "Did she find out that you were a Goguryeon? Or did she find out that you were the murderer of the Khotan ambassador, the one who stole the Jade of Heaven's Lake?"

Su Xing squinted his eyes at him for a moment and suddenly said, "As expected of the Jiejian Bureau. I originally thought no one would find out, and I could leave quietly; who knew that murdering a wealthy lady would draw so much trouble?"

Cui Buqu laughed coldly, "Would the Jiejian Bureau have someone as crafty as myself? I am from the Zuoyue Bureau; remember that, the two characters that form the right half of the word 'Sui', don't recognize your enemy wrongly and become a clueless ghost when you arrive in hell!"

Pe Jingzhe: …

He could see that the 'Jiejian Bureau' was a name used to offend others and make enemies all around the world, and the 'Zuoyue Bureau' was a name used to establish his dominance upon his enemies and send fear down their spines.

But why did he have to make the Jiejian Bureau sound low and sleazy? And the Zuoyue Bureau sound high and mighty like they were a tier above others?

He felt this was unfair and despicable, but this was not the time to throw a fit, so he could only suppress his displeasure, swallow it down, and make a note in his mind to return to the Jiejian Bureau later to repeat everything back to Feng Xiao.

Since he was in this situation now, other than Pei Jingzhe himself, no one could discern all the words going around in his heart, because everyone was captivated by the conversation between Su Xing and Cui Buqu.

Lu Ti especially, was shaking all over, "You… You are a Goguryeon?! Where is the original Su Xing?!"

"He was dead a long time ago." Su Xing said, "Six years before, Su Xing and his family met with a plague, all five of them died from the incident. I happened to pass by, so I used his identity and pretended to flee for my life; hence, I came to the Lu manor."

Lu Ti inhaled sharply, "Why! Why the Lu family?! The Lu family has nothing to do with Goguryeo!"

Su Xing, "Whether as the Lu family's son-in-law or Su Xing, it is but an empty shell, an identity. Wherever they want me to be, I will be there; who they want me to be, that person I will be."

Pei Jingzhe quickly asked, "Who is they?"

Su Xing did not pay him any attention as he continued saying, "After I settled down in the Lu family, no one contacted me; at first, I also thought that if I could marry Lady Lu and become Su Xing for real, it would be quite blissful. But it was a pity; the Khotan ambassador came forth and wanted to see the Sui Emperor. News arrived here quickly, and they finally contacted me, so I am unable to stay away."

Pei Jingzhe, "Then what has it to do with you murdering the Little Maiden Lu Si? She is just a girl who is worth nothing to you!"

Lu Ti wailed, "I also want to know! Su Xing, I care not whether you are called Su Xing or not. These years, you were never badly treated in the Lu family; your Aunt even thought that people would look down on you, so she even ordered them to treat you like they would to Little Maiden Lu, and my daughter felt towards you is even more… why, why, why!"

Cui Buqu said coldly, "Does this need to be asked? Little Maiden Lu and the Khotan ambassador shared no connection. It must be that she had found out about it which forced Su Xing to exterminate the witness!"

Su Xing, "That is correct. That day Little Maiden Lu came from her father's place and immediately searched for me. Coincidentally, I was not in my room. She had always been very respectful, but at that time, before she got my permission, she rushed into my study."

Cui Buqu, "People like you always needed to be meticulous and careful; otherwise, it is impossible for you to be under guise for so many years and go undiscovered. After Little Maiden Lu Si entered your study, what did she see that she was not supposed to see?"

"I have a book, written full of codes; with these codes, I can read the encoded messages sent by my accomplices. That book was not very obvious; usually, no one would even look at it, but that day she happened to take it from so many other books from the shelf."

Su Xing blinked. He could have chosen not to say much and remain silent instead, and then Cui Buqu and his people might not have been able to find out what happened to Little Maiden Lu that got her killed. But as he spoke, it was apparent that Little Maiden Lu's love for him was not utterly one-sided.

But she was already dead, so he could only use this opportunity to vent, soothing that little regret in his heart.

"After I returned and saw her look of panic, I went to check on the book and realized it really had been flipped open before. With her cleverness, she might have already known what it was. I have yet to find the jade, so I cannot afford my identity to be discovered; therefore, Little Maiden Lu had to die." He inhaled a breath.

Lu Ti's face has long since become splotchy with tears, and these tears were that of extreme fury, it was the face of a father facing his beloved daughter's murderer, but also a face of someone completely helpless.

"My daughter loved you with her whole heart, that she could reject even a betrothal to the Yuantai royal family. Whatever happened, she would not have betrayed you, why couldn't you let her live!"

Su Xing insisted, "I cannot afford to take this risk. If my identity is exposed, my mission shall fail; my only relative in Goguryeo would die. This love that Little Maiden Lu entrusted to me is a debt I could only repay her in another life."

He turned towards Cui Buqu and the others, "By now, you should already know that the Jade of Heaven's Lake is not with me. If I use Lu Ti's life and important information as an exchange for my freedom, would you let me go?"

Pei Jingzhe snorted, "You mean information regarding your accomplice? She is heavily injured, and we are searching for her throughout the city. She will be caught in the blink of an eye."

Su Xing shook his head, "Only I know where she would hide; without me, even if you searched the city for three days and night, you would not find her. Do not forget, the jade is with her right now, with her intellect, she would have already discovered that the jade can enhance one's martial arts and even heal any injuries she had. Once her injuries are healed, she can blend in and leave the city. If you want to catch her, by then, it would only be more difficult."

As he spoke, his gaze never left Cui Buqu; it was obvious that he knew Cui Buqu was the one in charge.

Cui Buqu, "Deal. If your information is genuine, I can drop the case of Little Maiden Lu's murder; if you do not believe me, you can keep Lu Ti first, and release him at the end of the deal."

Lu Ti tore his throat coughing; "Impossible! Even if he drops the case, I will never let you go. I will definitely kill you!"

Su Xing did not put his words to heart, sealing Lu Ti's throat so he would shut up.

"I need something to secure this mutual agreement." Su Xing told Cui Buqu.

Cui Buqu turned towards Zhangsun Bodhi, "You go help Feng Xiao, no need to come back first; I will call for you when I need you."

Zhangsun nodded, did not ask further, turned around and left.

Su Xing watched the other leave with his own eyes and released a breath of relief.

He himself was a master of the martial arts; among everyone present, Zhangsun Bodhi was the only one that he was wary of. Once Zhangsun left, no one present was his match, so Su Xing had no need to fear.

Cui Buqu reached out to Pei Jingzhe, "Give it to me."

Pei Jingzhe, ???

Cui Buqu said impatiently, "Your Lord requested me to help you; surely he would have given you something as proof that you bring his word? Now is the time to use it; give it to me!"

Pei Jingzhe was displeased and unsatisfied, he couldn't help but ask, "But are you not the Zuo…"

As he was speaking, midway, Cui Buqu glared at him with a gaze so intently dark; Pei Jingzhe paused and said nothing more, his hand reaching into his pocket to fish out a small and exquisite seal, throwing it over to Cui Buqu.

Cui Buqu lowered his head to inspect the seal and then tossed it over to Su Xing.

"This is the seal of the Second Commander of the Jiejian Bureau. It is recognized by people across the city and the Sui Dynasty; you can gain entry no matter where you go. With such an item in your hand, it should suffice, should it not?"

Su Xing had a deep history, and had lived in the Lu manor for five to six years; he knew the seal was the real thing and fiddled with it as it sat in his hands, at the very least he knew that the other wasn't lying to him. Placing the seal into his pocket, he held Lu Ti and walked cautiously out of the room.

All the Lu manor's inhabitants shouted at him like he was a mortal enemy of theirs, but Su Xing put none of that to heart.

He had no idea why, but even though Cui Buqu did not know any martial arts and therefore could not fight, from this distance, he felt like the other's threat was even greater than Pei Jingzhe and Qiao Xian who were both capable fighters.

This was the instinct of one who practised the martial arts.

It was impossible to explain, and it could not be understood, but it was more accurate than anything could compare.

Once he and Lu Ti were far enough from Cui Buqu and from where he could leave on his own, he said, "Qin Miaoyu has three places she often goes to in the city: The Spring Moon, the Ronghe Zai, and another place is the Blue Bricks Manor, a phrase 'Green Willow Autumn Light' is pasted on the door, with red bricks that look new and fresh."

Qiao Xian did find Qin Miaoyu in the Spring Moon, so once she heard Su Xing's words, she knew that he wasn't lying.

Su Xing inhaled, and Lu Ti was unwillingly dropped on the roof.

"I have said what I promised to say, so I am leaving now." Su Xing laughed.

He was not extraordinarily handsome, but once he escaped danger, a charisma seems to fill his entire person. From this angle, the reason Little Maiden Lu fell for him was not completely unfathomable. It was a pity that fate would not have them together, and she had misplaced her trust.

Cui Buqu, "I still have a question."

Su Xing, "Master Daoist Cui, you are too greedy. I will not answer you."

Cui Buqu, "Since you are not called Su Xing, how should I address you?"

Su Xing remained silent for a moment, "Yin Zairong, from the phrase a man's value is in his efforts, not his looks."

"Perhaps it meant 'in morals not in looks'!" Qiao Xian laughed coldly, "Did you know? Last time when we fought her, and when caught, she would rather take the risk and escape instead of selling you out."

By 'she', she did not mean Little Maiden Lu, but Qin Miaoyu.

Su Xing looked taken aback.

At that moment, the wind blew against his back.

He wanted to capture Lu Ti again, but he did not have enough time to do so, so he could only push him aside and used that strength to leap aside.

But it was as if the man behind him knew his intentions as he also leapt to the other side.

Su Xing was afraid of being surrounded by Qiao Xian and the others, so he refused to attack and only focused on escaping.

Who could have guessed that his opponent was incredibly skilled, he rushed to his front and raised a palm, ready to strike; Su Xing was forced to draw his sword, and as he did, his head rose to see a handsome face smiling before him.

"Why are you in such a rush? Why don't you return my seal to me first?" Feng Xiao smiled.

========

[1] 三郎[san lang]: 'San' means 'three' and 'Lang' as spoken before, is used to address a male. So San Lang can mean that Su Xing is the third child among the siblings.