Chapter 106: The North

Chen Qing Xu stopped talking nonsense, turned around and left. She departed from the capital the next day.

____

      Overnight, the wind and clouds suddenly changed.

      Imperial Uncle Wang who was favored by two generations was imprisoned, many of the palace’s servants who had connections with him were dragged out one by one for investigation, within the nine layers of the palace, the people’s hearts were anxious, the investigation brought out loads of other matters like dragging a radish out of the dirt, the old case of the Black Iron Camp was inevitably overturned. When the tree falls, the monkeys will scatter. The entire court busily cleaned themselves of their relations with the Wang family, for fear of being implicated.

      The Barbarian envoy who maliciously created disturbances were secretly detained, being patrolled by the Northern Camp in shifts.

      But even Fang Qin did not anticipate the final result of the incident——

      Yan Wang, the nail in his eyes had resigned from his official position and Emperor Long An even gave his permission.

      Fang Qin lived to this age, for the first time, he knew what was called ‘unpredictable fate’. When he used hundreds of schemes wanting to deal with Yan Wang, the man was perfectly alright, while he himself almost fell into the mud. This time, he had no intention of interfering, anxious to get rid of the relationship with Wang Guo and did not hesitate to stand on the side of his political opponents… Turns out, as God would have it, it did not go as he hoped!

      No wonder the ancients said, “An Emperor’s mind, gods and demons could not predict”.

      There was a heavy snowfall that night. The plum blossoms in the Marquis’ Manor were covered with a layer of transparent frost. The colours were condensed in it, appearing very beautiful.

      The return carriage stopped at the door, on the open gate, the steam lamp continued to cast a small bright light faithfully even after being covered by the snow. After a long sigh, the iron puppet guarding the door turned around, the steam quietly drifted away, and the door of the manor opened wide.

      Gu Yun jumped out of the car and waved at Huo Dan. He lifted the curtain and said, “Give me your hand.”

      Chang Geng’s wound caused by the silver dagger, although appeared horrifying, in fact, it did not affect the muscles and bones. Even if Chen Qing Xu left him be, with Wu Er Gu’s body, it would scab quickly. He had soon stopped feeling shit.

      But in the face of Gu Yun, he would look for an excuse even if there was nothing.
1

      Chang Geng pretended to hold onto Gu Yun’s arm and got out of the carriage. He rushed up as if he had no bones, grabbed Gu Yun’s shoulder and arm with great strength that could not be shaken off. He did not know what kind of injury could make one so powerful so quickly.

      Gu Yun knew that he was pretending, he also knew that he truly was wronged and did not have the heart to criticize. He only put his hand on Chang Geng’s back and gave it a gentle pat. He drew over the cloak and wrapped it around him, walking inside the gate.

      Their entry brought along the cold wind inside and woke up the birds hanging by the window in a cage.

      The bird was deep in a dream, being blown awake by the cold wind, it cursed, “Damn it, cold as hell… Ga… Quack… good luck and happiness to you! Blooming flowers and a full moon! Profits pouring in from all sides! May all your wishes come true!”

Gu Yun: “…”

      He and the God Bird looked at each other for a long time. Finally, the bird raised one wing shamefully and covered its face. It seemed to know that the image of its current flattering figure was disgraceful and had no face to see anyone anymore.

      Chang Geng grinned, it seemed that General Gu was already astonished by his ability.
1

      “Your face is red with the cold,” Gu Yun touched Chang Geng’s chin. “Taking a knife plus losing your official position yet you can still be this happy? Change your clothes quickly.”

      “Feeling lighter without the position.” Chang Geng gave a meaningful laugh, turned around and changed to dry clothes. He sat by the window, grabbed the bird and stroked its hair in his hand. The bird was trembling in fear at his touch, “Hey, Zi Xi, if I truly was born by Hu Ge Er, then who was the father?”

      Gu Yun: “Don’t think nonsense.”

      Chang Geng laughed as if nothing had happened. “That man must not be a barbarian. Otherwise, he would have gone with her at that time, but he must have had a very close relationship with the Barbarian women. He probably participated in plotting the concubine’s escape as well, then took over the forces of the Barbarians in the capital and the Imperial Palace… It was not until the capital was besieged that he was revealed.”

      The man he referred to was Master Liao Chi, just like Shen Yi’s first speculation.

      The man he shot with his own hands.

      Gu Yun did not pay much attention and commented, “You’re referring to Dongying people? Dongying people can’t be as tall as you are, but if you really grow into the ugly appearance of the crow-mouthed old monk in the future, I will not want you anymore.”

      Chang Geng smiled in silence.

      Gu Yun: “I’m going to ask someone to boil some ginger soup. Don’t catch a cold.”

      Chang Geng leaped to his feet, stuffed the bird back into the cage, pulled back a large black cloth and covered it, then he said with bad intention, “Dispersing the cold doesn’t necessarily mean drinking that thing. Let me!”
3

(T/N: icymi, this is a sex scene)

2

      At this time, the Barbarian envoy who had just been questioned was imprisoned in the innermost layer of the Celestial Prison.

      The Barbarian envoy, who was pushed into the dark cell, turned his head once and looked at Shen Yi on his horse’s back, his gaze caused Shen Yi’s heart to tighten.

      The Barbarian envoy gave him a strange laugh and hummed in a tune of a folk song: “The cleanest spirit on the prairie, even the wind wanted to kiss her skirt…”
1

      They lived in the grassland for a long time, each of them possessed a clear and strong voice. The man’s voice was slightly low, echoing in the snow and wind, there was a kind of a wolf’s moving and tragic sorrow at the end of the road that lingered, the singing continued to resonate even as the man was gone.

      Shen Yi frowned and listened for a moment. He could sense the changes coming with the years.

      Ziliujin burned quietly in several Heavy Armor gold boxes patrolling near the dungeon. From the outside, a little purple halo could be seen. Steam floated in the ice and snow. In a twinkling of an eye, it dispersed. Grassland, horses, primitive swords, spears, and arrows all faded together, solidifying in the dark of the iron puppet in Heavy Armor.

Shen Yi suddenly had a feeling, it was as if an era had come to an end before his eyes.

      However, he was only emotional for a short time and soon came back to his senses — if Gu Yun’s speculation was correct, then there might have been separation within the Eighteen Tribes, such opportunity for battle must not be missed, and the North was likely to be engaged in a war immediately.

      Just as Shen Yi circled outside the prison and was about to leave, suddenly a white shadow flashed by from afar, making one feel somewhat dizzy. If it weren’t for Shen Yi’s keen intuition that he had honed over the years on the battlefield, he would hardly have noticed it.

      Shen Yi made a gesture towards the several unaware guards nearby and and took the lead in carrying his Wind Slasher into the prison. The more he walked, the more frightened he was. There was not even a footprint on the ground. The empty prison was quiet, while the two jail guards at the gates — one sitting, one standing — remained motionless. On closer examination, they had fainted silently.

      Suddenly, there was a breeze behind Shen Yi’s head. Instinctively, he reached out and pulled out the Wind Slasher from behind him and swung it back  — but it was empty.

      There was a tinkle in his ear, the Wind Slasher touched something very light. Shen Yi rushed forward without looking back. He leaped up into the corner, leveraged his feet on the wall, turned over and grabbed the clothing of the intruder. He pulled it down as he went. The veil on the person’s face was pulled down unexpectedly, it was Chen Qing Xu.

      Shen Yi: “…”

      He had no idea when he had landed. His mouth was agape and he almost sprained his foot.

      In the next moment, there was a rush of footsteps on one side. The guards of the Northern Camp had followed him in. Shen Yi came back to his senses and shook his head at Chen Qing Xu quickly, pushed her into the corner where there was no light, then gathered up the Wind Slasher as if nothing had happened and turned around.

      Guard: “General Shen, what’s wrong?”

      Shen Yi said lightly, “It’s nothing. I have only mistaken. The Barbarian was full of trickery, tell the brothers to be on the alert.”

      Without any doubt, the guards quickly formed into several groups and patrolled other places.

      Shen Yi stood calmly for a moment, breathed deeply, his heart was about to jump out.

      For a long time, he quietly wiped away the second patch of cold sweat in his hand and turned to Chen Qing Xu’s hiding place: “Why is Miss Chen here?”

      Chen Qing Xu came to see the Barbarian envoy. She did not want to let go of any clues about the Bone of Impurity no matter how small. She already informed Chang Geng before she came. Chang Geng wanted to ask for assistance in the army, but Chen Qing Xu thought for a moment that she didn’t intend to rob the prisoner, she only wanted to go into the prison at night to walk around, hence it was not a big problem. With the matter of the Bone of Impurity, the fewer people knew, the better.
3

      She did not expect to get caught, and by the hands of someone she knew at that. At the moment, she put her hands together and said in embarrassment. “Thank you for your mercy. I came to the prison to confirm a few things with the Barbarian envoy — General Shen can take a look at this.”

      As she said this, she took out a note by Chang Geng from her bosom with Gu Yun’s private seal on it. This was Chang Geng using Gu Yun’s power to open a back door for her. Chen Qing Xu did not intended to accept it at first. At this time, she secretly felt fortunate that she did, it was good there was such a thing, otherwise, she would not be able to clearly explain herself.Shen Yi suddenly had a feeling, it was as if an era had come to an end before his eyes.
However, he was only emotional for a short time and soon came back to his senses — if Gu Yun’s speculation was correct, then there might have been separation within the Eighteen Tribes, such opportunity for battle must not be missed, and the North was likely to be engaged in a war immediately.
Just as Shen Yi circled outside the prison and was about to leave, suddenly a white shadow flashed by from afar, making one feel somewhat dizzy. If it weren’t for Shen Yi’s keen intuition that he had honed over the years on the battlefield, he would hardly have noticed it.
Shen Yi made a gesture towards the several unaware guards nearby and and took the lead in carrying his Wind Slasher into the prison. The more he walked, the more frightened he was. There was not even a footprint on the ground. The empty prison was quiet, while the two jail guards at the gates — one sitting, one standing — remained motionless. On closer examination, they had fainted silently.
Suddenly, there was a breeze behind Shen Yi’s head. Instinctively, he reached out and pulled out the Wind Slasher from behind him and swung it back — but it was empty.
There was a tinkle in his ear, the Wind Slasher touched something very light. Shen Yi rushed forward without looking back. He leaped up into the corner, leveraged his feet on the wall, turned over and grabbed the clothing of the intruder. He pulled it down as he went. The veil on the person’s face was pulled down unexpectedly, it was Chen Qing Xu.
Shen Yi: “…”
He had no idea when he had landed. His mouth was agape and he almost sprained his foot.
In the next moment, there was a rush of footsteps on one side. The guards of the Northern Camp had followed him in. Shen Yi came back to his senses and shook his head at Chen Qing Xu quickly, pushed her into the corner where there was no light, then gathered up the Wind Slasher as if nothing had happened and turned around.
Guard: “General Shen, what’s wrong?”
Shen Yi said lightly, “It’s nothing. I have only mistaken. The Barbarian was full of trickery, tell the brothers to be on the alert.”
Without any doubt, the guards quickly formed into several groups and patrolled other places.
Shen Yi stood calmly for a moment, breathed deeply, his heart was about to jump out.
For a long time, he quietly wiped away the second patch of cold sweat in his hand and turned to Chen Qing Xu’s hiding place: “Why is Miss Chen here?”
Chen Qing Xu came to see the Barbarian envoy. She did not want to let go of any clues about the Bone of Impurity no matter how small. She already informed Chang Geng before she came. Chang Geng wanted to ask for assistance in the army, but Chen Qing Xu thought for a moment that she didn’t intend to rob the prisoner, she only wanted to go into the prison at night to walk around, hence it was not a big problem. With the matter of the Bone of Impurity, the fewer people knew, the better.
3
She did not expect to get caught, and by the hands of someone she knew at that. At the moment, she put her hands together and said in embarrassment. “Thank you for your mercy. I came to the prison to confirm a few things with the Barbarian envoy — General Shen can take a look at this.”
As she said this, she took out a note by Chang Geng from her bosom with Gu Yun’s private seal on it. This was Chang Geng using Gu Yun’s power to open a back door for her. Chen Qing Xu did not intended to accept it at first. At this time, she secretly felt fortunate that she did, it was good there was such a thing, otherwise, she would not be able to clearly explain herself.

The letter was kept in her bosom, it was still warm. When Shen Yi took it, his hands trembled as he read it dreamfully. Each word was like smoke passing by his eyes, every ink drop could enter his burnt brain.
2
Shen Yi stayed in the same narrow room with Chen Qing Xu, but did not dare to lift his head to look at the other.
When Chen Qing Xu saw that he had not spoken for a long time, she reminded him, “It has the private seal of Marquis Gu on it.”
Shen Yi woke up from his dream: “Ah… Oh, yes, then you should be careful, uh… Please come in. ”
Chen Qing Xu went in the prison with relief, after taking a few steps, seeing that Shen Yi did not follow after, she said: “If the general does not feel reassured, you can come together.”
Shen Yi nodded his head, saving his words like gold: “Mm, pardon me.”
After that, he followed Chen Qing Xu five steps apart in silence, even a breath was not let out, he was more quiet than the inanimate iron puppet. The prison was pitch dark, Chen Qing Xu could not see that Shen Yi was blushing into a monkey’s buttocks. She was still amazed. Didn’t they all say that things of the same kind gathered together? How could there be such a formal and old-school person beside the Marquis?
Relatively speechless, the two walked all the way to the Barbarian envoy’s single room. Shen Yi finally opened his mouth and said, “This man’s name is Chi Ku Yo, the trusted confidant of Jia Lai Ying Huo, the Wolf King.”
Chen Qing Xu was shocked by his sudden voice like a corpse that had come back to life, and, her fingertips flashed with silver, she almost took out the murder weapon. Of course, Shen Yi saw it, he shut up with regret and dared not say a word.
1
At this time, it was the enemy who rescued General Shen, who was about to drill down the wall of the prison. Chi Ku Yo in the single room heard his introduction and continue his words in a leisurely way: “Everyone else said that I was a traitor beside the Wolf King, but the general here has sharp eyes.”
When Shen Yi met him, his lips became more fluent: “A traitor? So the rumor that your tribe’s Second Prince usurped the throne is true?”
Chi Ku Yo shook his head. At this stage, there was no point in hiding it, he said frankly, “The Second Prince is only a child, not yet at the age of having ambition, but the Eighteen Tribes of the Wolf King only have three princes. The First Prince was already locked up by them, the Third Prince… haha, he was only an idiot who needs to be assisted in everything from eating to dressing and moving around, only the Second Prince can reluctantly be a puppet for them.”
Shen Yi keenly captured the word ‘them’. As long as his mind was not on Miss Chen, it was very sharp. He immediately realized — the Northern Barbarians, named ‘Eighteen Tribes Alliance’, were not one organization. If one wanted to be the king of wolves, besides keeping everyone warm and full, he also had to had sharp teeth to bite the others.
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes and tried to fish for information, “What’s the matter? Can the Wolf King tolerate this?”
Chi Ku Yo sneered: “A great hero will eventually grew old, otherwise, how can the wild dog come out?”
Shen Yi heard that Jia Lai Ying Huo was either injured or sick, it seemed that he had lost control of the Eighteen Tribes.
He lowered the Wind Slasher, the point of the blade through the sheath was at the right length to stand on the ground. The pupil of Chi Ku Yo shrank slightly. The Black Iron Camp would always remained a shadow over the heads of the Eighteen Tribes.

Shen Yi, holding his elegant tone of Hanlin, said, “Your Wolf King’s temperament is very extreme. In recent years, the people have not had a good life. Now, there are massive force of soldiers in the northwest, the warriors in the Wolf King’s hands may not have the heart to go out to war. Forgive me for being foolish, but why must you mix into the group of envoys at all cost to destroy the peace talk? Didn’t it also involve the Third Prince, an innocent child?”
Chi Ku Yo looked at him calmly. “The general is right. I’m afraid those in the Eighteen Tribes Alliance also think the same way, but it is not my king’s wish. I have sworn to Chang Sheng Tian that I will be loyal to my king, even if I bear the name of a traitor, I will fulfill my king’s wishes for him.”
Shen Yi: “Please elaborate.”
“Beasts must bear the appearance of beasts. If the Eighteen Tribes fall into the hands of those who wag their tails and beg for mercy and are trained by Great Liang to be a dog digging Ziliujin, it would be better for them to die on this path of battle for powerm” Chi Ku Yo looked at Shen Yi. “General of the black crow, I ask you, do you want to live a miserable life, or die in the fierce flame?”
This Chi Ku Yo talked like a bastard, Chen Qing Xu thought that Shen Yi would disdain it, but unexpectedly, as he heard the question, he actually gave a proper reply, “I would rather die in the flame myself, but I also know the truth that even an ant would strive to live. It’s natural for those who join the army to protect those who prefer to live even more, I am not the only one. I do not think that there is anything miserable about a quiet life of fishing and farming. If the people of your tribes really live miserably, it is also the fault of the person in charge for carrying a sharp weapon.”
After Shen Yi finished, feeling that he had obtained some information, he stepped back and politely made a gesture to Chen Qing Xu: “Yan Wang asked this lady to ask you a few questions, the two of us should talk less nonsense.”
When Chi Ku Yo heard the word ‘Yan Wang’, his expression changed for a moment, it seemed to be a mix of something strange and respect. Before Chen Qing Xu opened her mouth, he took the lead and said, “Are you coming because of the Bone of Impurity?”
When Chen Qing Xu came, Chang Geng asked her to give Chi Ku Yo a sentence, “Give up the secret of barbarian witchcraft, I will give you what you want.” Before, Chen Qing Xu did not understand what it meant. At this time, as she listened to the dialogue between Chi Ku Yo and General Shen, she had somewhat understood it and proceed to deliver this sentence to him.
After hearing this, Chi Ku Yo had a rare expression of pondering on his face, he then answered properly: “As for the Bone of Impurity, I only know how to evoke and control it. As for how to refine it, only the leader and goddesses know about it. It is a secret that will not be passed on to the others. Forgive me, but I will not be able to promise anything.”
Chen Qing Xu: “What about the cure?”
Chi Ku Yo listened said with amazement, “What did you say? A cure?”
He sighed and curled his lips. “Woman of the Central Plains, Bone of Impurity is not of the same kind of poison of you Central Plain people. Not dying even after eating, revived again after drinking the antidote. After the refinement, Wu Er Gu is Wu Er Gu. He has been reborn and is no longer human. If you want to beat him back to his original shape, it is like putting a dog that had been born back to his mother’s womb, to let it be born again as a rabbit, that is not possible.”
Chen Qing Xu was not so easily fooled: “The so-called ‘rebirth and transformation’ is only enough to deceive laymen. If the envoy want to be sincere, you’d better not trick me with such nonsense.”
Chi Ku Yo eyes turned slightly, he said with a sly smile: “Unfortunately, I am a ‘layman’ — the last goddess that was Hu Ge Er has been dead for nearly ten years. Before her death, she had passed on the forbidden art to my king. The Third Prince was the Bone of Impurity forged by his own hands… although limited by the host’s qualifications, this Bone of Impurity is not complete, but if you want the secret of the Bone of Impurity, you can go to him — as long as your black crow can kill the jailed Wolf King’s wild dogs.”
This Barbarian envoy was full of trickery and provocation, but for better or worse, it had confirmed one thing — if the Third Prince was truly a Bone of Impurity, then Jia Lai Ying Huo must possess the complete forbidden art of the goddess, this was a direction.
Chen Qing Xu stopped talking nonsense, turned around and left. She departed from the capital the next day.
Shen Yi was about to turn crazy. He wished he could grow wings and fly to the northern front line immediately. He troubled Gu Yun every day, Gu Yun was not able to stand his harassment, running to the palace three times in just two days.

Finally, on the third day of January, Li Feng followed his wish and ordered Gu Yun to go to the northern frontline secretly, act cautiously, explore the situation of the Eighteen tribes, and avoid rushing into action.
Yan Wang was not able to follow them to the front line. He sent them off all the way to the Northern Camp, a sense of unreasonable anxiety suddenly arose in his heart.
He turned his head and looked in the direction of the imperial palaces and whispered to the coachman, “Go to Wangnan Tower.”