Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

As Zhong Haomiao had said, Yan Xuexing did not return to the Qiyue Temple. As to where he has gone to, he also did not know himself. Unless they are hiding in the recluse of the mountains, otherwise, once they graduated from their training, they would be allowed to wander the world to gain experience. Yan Xuexing might return to the Southern Chen, but he might also have gone to other places, there is a good chance that he is no longer within Qiemo.

Zhong Haomiao also aggressively tried to express that as a disciple of a renowned sect, and as someone who has once saved his Master, it was impossible that he would kill an innocent, that there must be something missing about this, or perhaps that the one who attended the party was not even Yan Xuexing himself.

But whatever he said was not important. Right now, the most important thing was to find Yan Xuexing, and once he is found, most of the loose ends will be tied.

A perfect party ruined, and he had even got involved in such a troublesome matter, Xing Mao couldn't help feeling his head burning. He sighed and turned towards Duan Qigu and Gao Yi, putting his hands together and said, "My people have disgraced themselves, I apologize to both. Today Brother Duan has received a shock, I am extremely apologetic, a while later once the matter is resolved, I will go to you myself and conduct a formal apology, I beg for the forgiveness of both!"

He then turned towards the first in charge, "Open the vault and bring two items from the treasury."

Xing Mao's ancestor is the king of an entire kingdom, although his glory was unlike before, but his wealth still surpassed those of a country. With only those items from Xing Mao's vault, they were treasures that Duan Qigu wouldn't be able to get even in three generations.

But Duan Qigu snorted, "There is no need for the trouble. I bid you farewell, and hope for a follow-up soon!"

He turned around, flipped his sleeves, and left, unwilling to stay here a moment more.

Although Duan Qigu believed that Xing Mao initially had no intention to kill him, otherwise he wouldn't have come to the party, but after the maidservant was exposed, and that moment when Duan Qigu recognized the look on Xing Mao—had it been Duan Qigu himself, he would have made the same decision—had Feng Xiao not interrupted, right now Duan Qigu would have been a dead man.

As his thoughts stopped here, Duan Qigu turned towards Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu and smiled to thank them, but he was still suspicious of their identity, because a royalty from the Kingdom of Kucha would not have known how to examine a corpse.

But to speak too much now would not yield any benefit, but after the matter Duan Qigu would definitely investigate this thoroughly.

As he wants to step over the door, someone called after him.

"Brother Duan, wait."

Cui Buqu said from behind him.

Duan Qigu did not turn back, he continued to proceed and get onto his carriage.

Then once again he got to experience the degree of level of Feng Xiao's skills.

The other came like a gust of wind, and before Duan Qigu's bodyguards could respond to it, Feng Xiao had already caught Duan Qigu on his shoulder.

Duan Qigu knew the Jingangzhi Technique, and all these years he has defeated many adversaries. He himself was a top martial artist, these years he lived a wealthy and comfortable life, but he knew how many people wanted him dead, so he had never abandoned his martial arts. At this moment he reached out and blocked, but he felt his arms go numb and his shoulder was already caught. His body refusing to listened to him and turned, facing towards Cui Buqu.

Cui Buqu ignored Feng Xiao who was wriggling his eyebrows, hinting 'I really gave you face this time, didn't I?' and immediately asked Duan Qigu straightforwardly, "Do you know Yu Xiu wanted to kill you?"

"Who is Yu Xiu?" Duan Qigu furrowed his eyebrows, other than looking unpleasant, he also looked confused.

Cui Buqu's original intention was to catch him off guard, since when a person is unprepared, no matter how much they schemed, there are bound to be a clue on their face.

But there was nothing on Duan Qigu.

He really had no idea who Yu Xiu was.

This is certainly strange.

Cui Buqu changes the way of his speech, "Is there enmity between Brother Duan and Yan Xuexing?"

Duan Qigu, "I have been wandering the outskirts for the last decade, if you say I have enmity with the Tianshan Sect, it is normal, but I do not know anyone from the Linchuan Palace Academy. Old brother, thank you for your help today, but the matter happened in the Xing manor, so please bring your questions to Xing Mao!"

His expression was cold as he finished speaking, turned around and got onto his carriage. This time Feng Xiao did not bar his path, instead he watched the carriage leave with Cui Buqu.

"If you did not know Yu Xiu, and didn't know Yan Xuexing either, why did his expression changed?" Feng Xiao said a little excitedly, "Could it be he knew who wanted to kill him?"

It was impossible for Xing Mao to put his guests on house arrest, so after Duan Qigu left, Gao Yi, Cui Buqu, Feng Xiao, and the other guests all left as well.

A rowdy, crowded birthday party such as this had ended so quietly.

Xing Mao was extremely troubled.

Originally he wanted to coax his mother and make her happy, at the same time establish his dominance and glory, who knew that he never achieved his goal, instead he had shamed himself.

Not more than half a day later, the third in charge's death would be spread all over the city and everyone would know that something was going on with his subordinates, or exaggerated, thought that he wanted to annihilate Duan Qigu and Gao Yi, and become the number one man in power of Qiemo.

If Xing Mao really wanted to do this, then it was fine, but the problem lies in the fact that he never had this intention, yet now he could never explain himself.

Duan Qigu would definitely be suspicious because of this, he might even be plotting a way to settle the score now.

"Master, someone is visiting." The first in charge reported and gave him a name card.

His arm was broken by Feng Xiao, and since he was busy sending the guests away, he only hastily wrapped up his wound.

"Send him away!" Xing Mao said impatiently and waved his hand, refusing to even look at the name card.

The first in charge replied, "He said, once you have seen this name card, you will definitely see him."

Xing Mao took the name card from his hand and opened it, immediately his expression turned to shock.

The first in charge, "Master?"

Xing Mao quickly closed up the name card, "Invite him inside."

The guest was quickly brought into the hall.

The other had was tall and elegant, after entering the hall, in order to show his respect towards the host, he immediately took down the hat and cloth that hid his face.

Xing Mao was not interested in seeing how he looked like, but after he saw the other's face, he asked, "You are not from Göktürk."

The other spoke gently in a pleasant tone, "My looks indeed do not look like a Göktürk. However, this is unimportant, Master Xing's mood is not good, I originally should not disturb..."

Xing Mao cut him off impatiently, "Save your nonsense!"

The other smiled and did not mind his rudeness even a little bit, he continued to be gentle and pleasant and said, "What I wanted to say is, just now Master Xing missed a very excellent chance. Now that Duan Qigu had grown suspicious of you. He is no longer afraid of you to act, but he needs to act faster than you."

Xing Mao said coldly, "Do you think a few sentences can move me? You are but a greenhorn. I won't ally with a Göktürk, and I do not need the Göktürks to do anything for me!"

The other smiled, "Master Xing you have lived for so many years, have you not thought of reinstalling the glory of your ancestors? Does Master Xing think that the Sui Emperor would allow Qiemo to continue being like this? Once he won against the Göktürks, his next step is to reclaim Qiemo, I'm afraid when that time comes, Master Xing would need to walk the same path as your ancestor and become a wandering dog who lost his family!"

Xing Mao shouted angrily, "Get lost!"

After Xing Mao's words sounded, the guards of the Xing manor came to drag the guest out, but before they could touch the other's hand, a wave of strong wind swept them out.

The first in charge was shocked, with the hand that wasn't injured, he reached out to catch that man. It was incredibly quick, not visible to the human eye.

But not only did the guest saw what his intentions were, he even gripped the first in charge's wrist steadily and accurately, using only his thumb and index finger.

At that moment, both hands of the first in charge could no longer be used.

Xing Mao shut up and did not shout for the guest to leave, because he knew that the other's skills in martial arts were almost comparable to Feng Xiao's. Even if all the people in the Xing manor grouped together, they might not pose as his opponent.

When he's seen that Xing Mao was more willing to listen to him speak, he returned with a light hearted sigh, and gave an expression that said "If you knew this was coming, then why would you act the way you did before?"

"Master Xing do you know who was the couple that called themselves the Kucha King's nephew?"

Xing Mao furrowed his eyebrows, "I knew their identities were suspicious! Why, are they men of Duan Qigu?"

The guest shook his head, "After Yang Jian took the throne and reinstalled peace, to gather information, he established the Jiejian Bureau, the Empress Dugu established the Zuoyue Bureau. Although these two places are different, but their purpose is the same. Not only do they have extreme power, they are allowed to make decisions before they obtain permission, and their movements are always in the dark with layers and layers of schemes."

"Just now, one of those two people is the Second Commander of the Jiejian Bureau, the one who held the true power of commanding the agency, and the other one is the Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau. For both of them to appear in your manor, do you think they just wanted to feast at your banquet?" He saw the look of shock on Xing Mao as he said slowly.

Xing Mao did not yield a single sound.

He needed time to process this conversation.

"Do you mean they are sent by the Sui Emperor?"

The guest smiled faintly, "Take the advantage of the first move, then establish your dominance. Master Xing, now can we now sit down properly and have a chat?"

…..

Just as Xing Mao and the mysterious guest were speaking, Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu were also sitting in the inn chatting.

The party would originally go on until the night, and ultimately end with music and dance, but now it was interrupted and ended abruptly. By the time they came back, it was only the afternoon. The sun was pleasant, and on the window sill there was a light yellow-coloured nameless flower, fluttering as it blew in the wind.

In front of them was a very confusing piece of puzzle. Both of them have no mood to admire the flower.

Cui Buqu wrote a list of names on a piece of paper.

His hand was quite pretty so the words he wrote were also excellent calligraphy.

Although Feng Xiao thought that the other wasn't as good-looking as himself, he could still admire a different scenery, so he carried a smile as he looked at the other with keen interest and focus.

From the beginning, Chen Cheng and Xing Mao's subordinate being burned to death, to the time they saw Yu Xiu and third in charge on the street, and then Duan Qigu's failed assassination to the third in charge's death.

Cui Buqu wrote everyone's names and circled Yu Xiu's.

"If there is enmity with Yu Xiu and Duan Qigu, and that he wanted to use the third in charge to kill him and frame Xing Mao, there was no need for him to murder Chen Cheng and Li Fei."

Feng Xiao agreed, "Although I have only fought with Yu Xiu, but I can see that he is a person with a very high sense of pride. People like Chen Cheng and Li Fei who had no name or fame were only small fries to him and would not be within his interests. Even if he killed the third in charge, he would simply just kill him like that, there was no need for him to hang him after he died and create a smoke screen. And also writing what words on his palm, those are so extra!"

Cui Buqu, "Duan Qigu said he did not know Yu Xiu, it should not be a lie. But when he heard Yan Xuexing's name, why would he be shocked?"

Feng Xiao, "QuQu, do you know that smart people have the same illness?"

Cui Buqu, "I am listening."

Feng Xiao, "They think too much and take detours."

Cui Buqu, "You are speaking of two illnesses."

Feng Xiao pretended that he hadn't heard it and continued saying, "So did you try to think from another perspective, that this could be two different things entirely? Yu Xiu and third in charge's alliance to kill Duan Qigu is one thing; Chen Cheng, Li Fei, and the death of the third in charge is another thing?"

Cui Buqu, "That makes sense. But if you can see through it, does it mean that you admitted that you are not an intelligent person?"

Feng Xiao gave him a smile prettier than that pot of flower, "That only means that I am even smarter than intelligent people."

Cui Buqu had met many people who didn't want their face, but Cui Buqu has never seen someone who didn't want their face and could even praise himself constantly in front of him for a whole entire day.

He turned his gaze away to avoid feeling his hands itching and do something that would be considered unwise.

"Now because of the third in charge's death, Duan Qigu would definitely be more distant with Xing Mao. Their relationship have achieved an awkward stage, now what they need is a match to ignite a fire."

Feng Xiao, "After heard these words from you, I feel that you want to start trouble again."

Cui Buqu, "Then do you want to or not?"

Feng Xiao, "What is in it for me?"

Cui Buqu finished it cleanly, without hesitation, without even blinking, "Dad."

Ever since last time Feng Xiao called Cui Buqu three times 'Dad', it was as if sparked an obsession in Feng Xiao, occasionally he really wanted Cui Buqu to call him 'Dad' from time to time.

Feng Xiao, "...You dad is dead, I don't want to be your dad now."

Cui Buqu was curious and tipped his head to the side, "Do you want to be my mom then?"

Feng Xiao's twitched his lips, "I have no interest in becoming your mom. Say, what do you want to do first?"

Cui Buqu felt the corner of his lips raised, "Either we do nothing, or we do it big. How do you feel about uniting Qiemo and re-establish the governance of the Imperial Court?"