Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

There were stars and there were moons, there was tea and there was wine.

Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu sat facing each other. The scenery outside the pavilion was clear, and fresh grass had just sprouted from the soil.

Avoiding the fact that the building next door had just collapsed not long ago, and the fact that Fo Er had rescued his disciple and escaped, this would have been indeed a perfect night.

Feng Xiao looked at Cui Buqu who sat not far off from him.

The other did not drink any tea, nor did he drink any wine, but in his hands sat a bowl of medicine and he looked really hesitant, then with a disgusted look as he closed his eyes, he drank the bowl of medicine in one gulp. On-lookers would have thought that he was drinking poison to commit suicide.

Even if he had drunk many bitter medicines before, Cui Buqu could not help but felt as if this physician wanted to take revenge on him, because that kind of bitterness that remained on his tongue was enough to make him unable to speak.

As he pulled himself back from reality, he saw Feng Xiao looked at him interestingly.

"How did it go with Qin Miaoyu?" Cui Buqu asked.

"The jade has been returned." Feng Xiao answered simply. What he didn't say was that Qin Miaoyu had absorbed some of the jade's powers so the jade is now only half of its original size, the jade also looked paler than before, but these sort of matters were irrelevant to Cui Buqu, the case of the jade had always been Feng Xiao's duty, so these troublesome matters, and how to explain them to the higher-ups, Feng Xiao would take care of them himself.

At the present, the Khotan ambassador's case is considered solved, but there was something that was still unclear. Su Xing and Qin Miaoyu were caught, and the jade was retrieved, according to their agreement, when Feng Xiao writes his report for the case of the jade and the Khotan ambassador's murder, he needed to include the contribution given by the Zuoyue Bureau.

Cui Buqu asked curiously, "So, Qin Miaoyu is still alive? I am curious, what secret does she have that she could convince you to let her go?"

Feng Xiao, "Am I really just a killer in your eyes? Because of your words, my heart is shattered into pieces, even if it was fixed, it would be difficult to heal fully."

Cui Buqu, "Speak human language."

Feng Xiao immediately answered in one smooth motion, "A woman like her, as a spy of Goguryeo, the fact that she could remain hidden undercover for so long proves that her sort of patience is quite admirable."

As his words flowed, the moment Cui Buqu heard one sentence, he would guess what Feng Xiao meant completely.

The Khotan King had no children, and Yuchi Jinwu is the nephew that he most looked down proudly upon, if he hadn't died, he might have been the future Khotan King. With consideration to Qin Miaoyu's capabilities and Yuchi Jinwu's love for her, if she wanted to become the most beloved concubine of Yuchi Jinwu, it would not be difficult at all, she could have become one the person who held power over the governance of Khotan.

For Gorguyeo to place a chess piece in a place so far away from themselves, of course, what they wanted isn't simply just for Qin Miaoyu to become the concubine of a small country, they wanted her to be their vassal to influence the governance in the West, so when the Sui Empire and Kingdom of Göktürk battles, Goguryeo would be sitting afar and gaining from it. From this perspective, the one who created such a scheme had indeed given this a thorough thought. Even though Goguryeo is a small country, they might not be short of talented people.

Only it was a pity that the King of Goguryeo had a strange illness. The birth of the Jade of Heaven's Lake made the Goguryeons unable to sit there, so they had to make use of Qin Miaoyu and Su Xing earlier, otherwise, both of them may never have been discovered.

As he thought until this point, Cui Buqu asked, "Who is the one who sent Qin Miaoyu and Su Xing to the Central Plains? Other than them, who else is there?"

When an intelligent person spoke to another intelligent person, not much needs to be said for the other to understand, Feng Xiao looked at him admiringly.

Although Cui Buqu's existence gave the Jiejian Bureau many troubles, there is only one life for each person, and it was difficult to meet such a rival. If one can live through their lives with complete peace, then their life would have been dull.

Feng Xiao once estimated that with Cui Buqu's capabilities, even if he had no knowledge of martial arts, he was enough to shake the hearts of men. Someone like Cui Buqu who knew his goals, knew his targets clearly, and who is passionate about creating his own world and carve a place for himself, if he was given a high ranking position, the other would have been persuaded, but who knew that Feng Xiao himself had tried to recruit talents until he found the very Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau.

Cui Buqu, of course, would not give up the position of Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau to come to his place and become the Forth Commander of the Jiejian Bureau. Not only would he refuse it, he might have even come to the conclusion that Feng Xiao wanted to hook talented people up from his agency for himself, and make another mark for Feng Xiao in his book.

But Feng Xiao did not care how many marks he had earned in Cui Buqu's book, he was fine with owing a huge debt.

"The one who sent them here is the master of Gao Ning, Gao Yun. This man is the brother of the Goguryeon King, Gao Tang. According to leads, he is also the only top-tier martial artist of Goguryeo." Feng Xiao said.

According to the news he received, although Gao Yun held no court position, he is quite influential towards Gao Tang, he even established his own sect: The Fuyu Sect. The purpose of this sect is similar to the Jiejian Bureau, to plant spies into other countries and gain inside information through sending encoded messages, so that those information may be of use to their own country.

Without a doubt, Su Xing and Qin Miaoyu were also definitely from the Fuyu Sect.

"Qin Miaoyu's position in the Fuyu Sect is not high. Gao Yun has never thought of females as equals, they only wanted to make use of her beauty to do lowly tasks such as sending messages. Only Su Xing can contact the Fuyu Sect, but what he knew isn't much, they only know that the one who sent them here that year was called Master One."

Women like Qin Miaoyu, young and with little life experiences, were easy to frighten, so that she would dare not act without thought. But these years after she was married to Yuchi Jinwu, on one hand she needed to be lovey dovey with him to stabilize her place by his side, on the other hand she needed to scout for information and contact Su Xing, bringing more benefits to Goguryeo, so she had learned much over those years, how could she remain someone who can be restrained by the Fuyu Sect? The fact that her heart had betrayed them was nothing strange at all.

"One?" Cui Buqu was not concerned with how Feng Xiao took care of Qin Miaoyu, but he was very interested in the 'Master One' mentioned by Feng Xiao just now.

Feng Xiao used his finger, dipped into the tea, and drew a line on the table.

It is 'One'.

One as in the beginning of all things, the starting point of any number, yet it could also be very powerful.

As the old saying goes, Less is More.

All under the sky begins with 'one', to create worlds, and morph into a thousand things.

For one who knew how to use words like that is definitely not any normal person.

This Master One is not only the same person that contacted Su Xing in the Central Plains, in fact he might be someone incredibly high ranking in the Fuyu Sect.

If there was someone like that, hiding in the Central Plains for many years, even someone like Qin Miaoyu almost became the concubine of the Khotan King, then how high ranking would Master One be aiming for?

The little one hides in the wilderness in a small forgettable city, the big one hides in the bustling town such as the capital.

They have solved one case, yet they've found a hidden string leading to something even deeper.

If they took the string and followed it, what would be waiting for them at the end?

He believed that Feng Xiao would have achieved the same conclusion, and similarly felt interested, he even suspects that Feng Xiao wanted to pull him down with him, which is why he had told him so much.

But Cui Buqu was never someone who followed the rules. The more complicated the matter, the harder it is to solve, the more he feels like it has meaning.

Feng Xiao, "I've told you so much, are you not supposed to return the favour?"

Cui Buqu smiled and said, "Of course, so did I not just invite Lord Feng to accompany me on the voyage to the Kingdom of Göktürk and meet with Khan Apa?"

Feng Xiao couldn't help raising his eyebrows, "This is what you call returning the favour? Isn't this just giving me something to do when I have time on my hands?"

Cui Buqu smiled, "How can you think in such a way? Allow me to ask you, before this you promised me to give me Fo Er's head, did you not?"

Feng Xiao, "I promised to kill Fo Er for you, but I did not say when. If I killed him today or tomorrow or next year, wouldn't it be the same?"

Cui Buqu smiled, "Of what I've told Jin Lian tonight, you've heard it too, although she is the Khan's Kedun, in reality she has very little power on decision-making, her task was only to bring the Khan's written letter to me. If we want to negotiate more, and achieve more benefits for the Sui Empire, then I need to make this trip to Göktürk. Fo Er escaped from your hands, he would definitely ambush me and Jin Lian on the way. If we are dead, what can you get from it?"

Feng Xiao, "So what you are saying is that I definitely couldn't avoid not going?"

Cui Buqu, "Is there such things as getting something for free without working for it in this world? Lord Feng if you want to be part of the contribution, you must accompany me on this voyage."

Feng Xiao snorted and smiled, "Aren't you afraid that I would kill you on the returning journey, and take all the contribution to myself?"

Cui Buqu also smiled, "If that is the case, then I can only curse myself for having an unfortunate fate. But if I die, Lord Feng you might miss a lot of valuable information."

Feng Xiao, "Such as?"

Cui Buqu, "Such as the identity of the two Yunhai Thirteen Stories' assassins that wanted to kill you, and who they're sent by. I also know that Yu Xiu, as Prince Jin's number one strategist, came to the City of Six Crafts by himself not solely because of the jade, but there are other motives. After all, while the Zuoyue Bureau's members are not as many as the Jiejian Bureau, we still have our own secret ways to achieve information, otherwise how could we live?"

Feng Xiao suddenly became incredibly welcoming to him and said, "Oh QuQu, I only just asked one question, why did you suspect that I was unwilling to accompany you to Göktürk? Everyday, I only need to see your face, I have the appetite for one additional bowl of rice!"

Cui Buqu, "In that case, I'll take it that Lord Feng has agreed to come. On behalf of Jin Lian Kedun, I thank you."

Two of them glared at each other, smiling but not smiling at the same time.

As to what they scolded each other in their hearts, it was something only they themselves would know.

Feng Xiao, "Why call me Lord Feng? Didn't I say before, you can call me Feng-er, if you're willing, you can also call me Er Lang, that would be even better."

Cui Buqu coughed twice and omitted that sentence completely, "On the journey to Khan Apa's encampment, we need to pass by Qiemo, Kucha, the wind is strong and the road is long, please rest early."

As he spoke, he rose to his feet and swept his cloak, leaving under Qiao Xian's company.

As he watched their figures disappear behind the door, and the sound of footsteps gradually disappearing, Feng Xiao retreated his gaze and kept his smile, and spoke to himself, uttering: "Whoever wants to kill me, why don't you just do it yourselves instead of sending the Yunhai Thirteen Stories to do it? Surely you just don't know how to fight, but you're jealous of my peerless beauty and graceful looks, sigh, it's not like it's my fault that I was born handsome, what can I do about it?"

Outside the door, originally Qian Xian had returned to eavesdrop just to see what Feng Xiao was scheming, but as she heard what he said she almost vomited the meal she had eaten last night.

How can anyone be so thick-skinned in this world? She can never understand it.

Cui Buqu still overestimated his own body, after what happened that night, he returned and fell ill and had to sleep on the bed for a few days, until the third day only his situation took a better turn. Even Jin Lian who was injured on that night recovered faster than him.

As she saw Cui Buqu's situation, Jin Lian couldn't help worrying that before they even arrived in the Kingdom of Göktürk, Cui Buqu's spirit had already left his body.

"Kedun, you needn't worry." Cui Buqu was wrapped in blankets as he sat on top of the bed. Because he had just drank a bowl of medicine, the colour on his face didn't look very good. "Although I am often ill, I am still able to travel to the Kingdom of Göktürk, needless to mention, Qiao Xian would be accompanying me. She is skilled in the medical arts, so there is no need to worry during the journey."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, allowing Qiao Xian to bring him a scroll and open it before Jin Lian.

"This is…..an atlas?" Jin Lian looked at the little markings on top of it, suddenly she felt familiar, but was unable to tell what it was.

Cui Buqu, "This is the atlas of Western Göktürk, from the South all the way to Qiemo, from the North to the Sanmi Mountains, from the West to Shule, from the East to Gao Chang, although this is not completed yet, this atlas can be offered to Khan Apa, it is more valuable than gold and treasure, and innumerable livestock. Kedun, for you to come here, is not completely a waste."

Jin Lian first received a shock, then she found it unbelievable, "This map, you want to give me, for me to, offer a flower to the Buddha?"

Even as a Göktürk woman, her Chinese was fluent, that she even knew how to use Chinese proverbs.

Cui Buqu arched the corner of his lips, "I know Kedun, you strongly support the alliance of the Sui Empire and your country, otherwise you would not have taken this journey and put yourself in danger, coming from a thousand miles. But the Khan may have people by his side that does not wish to see this alliance established, so they would do anything in their power to prevent it. With this, wouldn't you, Kedun, do things much easier by the Khan's side in future?"

Jin Lian found it difficult to hide her glee.

She isn't a women who is short-sighted, she knew the ways of military and its secret, so being able to have something like this in possession, of course it was much more valuable than jewels, gold and pearls.

Feng Xiao watched this coldly from the side, he saw something much deeper. Cui Buqu was earning Jin Lian's trust and favour, but he was also using this chance to warn the Göktürks that held nefarious intentions: The Sui Empire is long aware of your maps, we can ally with you, but we can also defeat you.

This way of killing two birds with one stone was an incredibly intelligent move.

Once again he sighed to himself: Such a talented man like this, why couldn't he belong to the Jiejian Bureau?

Author's Note:

A small scene unrelated to the plot

Feng Xiao: Call me, Er Lang (Second Gentleman).

Cui Buqu: Er Lang (Hungry Wolf).

Feng Xiao: ??? Where are you from?

(Second Gentleman and Hungry Wolf shared the same pronunciations, but they are different words with different meanings.)

Feng-er: As mentioned before, it translates into 'Second Feng', as Feng Xiao mentioned he was the second child of his house.

Er Lang: Er means 'Two', and 'Lang' means male. Feng Xiao asking Cui Buqu to call him Er Lang meant that he implies wanting them to sound like they're close, since usually only someone incredibly close to that person can call them in such a way.

Flower to the Buddha: A Chinese proverb that meant, borrowing something from someone, in order to win a favour from another person. In this case, Jin Lian is using the atlas from Cui Buqu, to win Khan Apa's heart, to show that she didn't return empty-handed with no achievements.