Seven Seas THOUSAND AUTUMNS: QIAN QIU VOL. Five 喜 江

Seven Seas THOUSAND AUTUMNS: QIAN QIU VOL. Five 喜 江

Chapter One hundred eleven: Caught Off Guard

Y AN WUSHI HAD SEEN his fill of beauties in his time. All the same, when suddenly greeted with Shen Qiao dressed in women's attire, he was left with a feeling of indescribable amazement.

That was his first reaction.

The second was: My venerable self truly has a good eye.

The art of disguise was demanding and nuanced. Save for changing one's face directly the way Huo Xijing did, it was utterly impossible to suddenly change appearances completely. Therefore, even after dressing up as a woman, Shen Qiao's face remained roughly the same as before. However, the maid of the Huanyue Sect was clever, and she made some modifications in the details so that the contours of his face appeared gentler and more feminine. This made it difficult for even those who knew Shen Qiao to recognize him.

Shen Qiao had always been very good-looking, but now that he'd been powdered and painted, he naturally became only more outstanding. Even in maid's clothes, his head bare of any precious jewels or ornaments of gold and silver, others would find their attention drawn after only a glance.

Yan Wushi had also noticed this problem. "Make his face sallower."

After a moment, Shen Qiao's face and neck were darkened and made to appear wan, dulling his overwhelming beauty by one-third. The maid was meticulous-even the color of his hands had been changed, so that nothing would appear abnormal.

However, neither Bian Yanmei nor Shen Qiao knew any bone-shrinking techniques. Although donning women's attire, they were still tall and thus too eye-catching. Accordingly, Puliuru Jian found two maids from the manor who were on the taller side as well. Northern women tended to be tall, so it wasn't that difficult a task. Though they were still half a head shorter than Bian Yanmei, the height difference wasn't too obvious after raising their soles. Onlookers only thought these four maids entering the palace were taller than average and didn't pay any special attention to the two men in disguise.

Once the arrangements were finished, it was time to enter the palace. Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei took the gift meant for the empress from the Duke of Sui's residence, carrying it before them with both hands as they joined the other two maids. Together, they entered the palace.

In truth, Shen Qiao wasn't too worried about his own safety. With his level of martial prowess, as long as he didn't run head-on into Xueting, he would be able to escape from danger alone even if the imperial guards surrounded him. However, if he also had to bring the two young masters and an empress with him, things would get too difficult. If something went wrong, even if Puliuru Jian didn't blame him for it, Shen Qiao's own reputation would be scattered on the winds, and he wouldn't have the face to stay in the jianghu anymore.

His thoughts twisted and turned. It didn't show in his expression, but the moment he entered the palace gates he'd already begun calculating the shortest route out of the palace.

"Stop looking." Bian Yanmei seemed to know what he was thinking. Without moving his lips, he used Sound Transmission to tell Shen Qiao secretly: "Yuwen Yun has bestowed the title of empress to five women. Though the empress we are going to rescue is the Grand Empress of the Central Palace, she is the least favored. Therefore, her palace is in the northwest. There's a long distance to walk between here and there."

Shen Qiao also silently transmitted back: "Aren't there gates in the imperial palace? What if we leave from the northern gate?"

"The northern palace gate is never open," Bian Yanmei replied. "The palace wall is high too; we might be able to leap over it ourselves, but there'll be many problems if we need to bring two or three more people with us. The guards under Yuwen Yun are not pushovers. If we are surrounded and their archers shoot at us, there'll be no chance of escape even if we sprouted wings."

Shen Qiao frowned a little.

Long before leaving, they had already agreed on how to escape: Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei would meet the empress, then lure the imperial guards at the gate inside and defeat them. Then they'd leave with the empress and Puliuru Jian's two sons. If they could avoid the various patrol guards and martial experts along the way, there'd be people waiting outside the gates to receive them-at that point, they'd be safe.

Once the hostages were free from Yuwen Yun's hands, Puliuru Jian could directly launch a coup. Xueting was currently at Qingliang Temple, where Yan Wushi would go to impede him. Sang Jingxing and Yuan Xiuxiu weren't in the capital, leaving Hehuan Sect leaderless for the time being. This was an opportunity bestowed by the heavens. Puliuru Jian was already in secret communication with the troops defending the capital. If his plan succeeded, the rivers and mountains would see a new ruler, and the sun and moon would shine within a new sky.

But while plans could be perfect, reality was much more troublesome even the most meticulously laid plans would contain mistakes. Moreover, the matter itself had been a sudden one, leaving little time for precision, and there were many variables involved. Only heaven could know whether they'd succeed.

Of course, because it was inevitable that Yuwen Yun would be alerted, if Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei were unable to rescue the hostages, Puliuru Jian would launch the coup early anyway, but that would run contrary to their original purpose of entering the palace on a rescue operation.

At this point, however, worrying about the past or future was useless and would only make them overcautious and indecisive. Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei followed the two maids, passing through the numerous halls. Step by step, they drew closer to Qingning Hall, where the Lady Puliuru lived.

The eunuch led them to Qingning Hall's entrance. His aged face was neither warm nor cold as he said, "Her Highness the Empress is right inside. Before you enter, please open the items you brought. The guards need to inspect them."

Of course, they'd already had an inspection in front of the palace gates, otherwise they'd never have been able to enter the palace. However,

the emperor disliked Lady Puliuru, so everyone in the palace had followed suit in dropping rocks on the downtrodden. This was nothing new-for as long as humans walked the land, there would be people who flattered those above them while kicking the ones below.

The two maids had arrived at the palace with Lady Dugu earlier. When the demand came for the inspection, they took a step forward and placed a heavy embroidered bag into the eunuch's hands, saying, "Just a small token of our appreciation-tea money for this chamberlain. We ask him not to mind its inadequacy."

The eunuch felt the contents through the silk fabric. It wasn't silver- it was a jade pendant even more valuable than silver. His smile finally became genuine, and he didn't ask the guards to inspect further. "The empress must be anxious from all the waiting. You should go in quickly and leave as soon as you're done. Do not linger."

The maids gave their assent, thanked the eunuch, and led Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei inside.

The empress had heard the news that the emperor had given permission for her birth family to visit the palace, and she'd already brought her two younger brothers into the main hall to sit and wait.

Normally, the empress was head of the six palaces, so she shouldn't have needed to inform the emperor if she wished to grant her birth family entry. However, after the Jin Dynasty, the societal regulations had collapsed and fallen into disorder. And now that Yuwen Yun had the throne, he'd begun making his own rules, even establishing five empresses at the same time. Even if the Puliuru family held the highest position, who'd ever seen such a thing in all of history? Even Liu Cong had only elevated four empresses. Yuwen Yun's actions were truly unprecedented. Lady Puliuru was also from a rich and powerful family-although her face didn't reveal it, it was impossible she held no grievances at all.

After the continuous house arrest she'd suffered all this time, when she saw the people her birth family had sent, the rims of her eyes instantly reddened.

The maid bowed and said, "The Lord and Lady are very concerned about the empress and the two young masters. They have specially prepared them some clothes and food and have ordered us lowly maids to enter the palace and present them."

As she spoke, she made a gesture.

The empress immediately understood and took them to a side room within the inner hall.

"Someone is watching from outside," she said. "If we talk here, they won't be able to hear. It's secure enough. Father and Mother have asked you to relay a message, haven't they?"

The maid didn't answer but only turned sideways, letting the people behind her through.

When the empress had first seen them, their heads were lowered and their clothes had been identical to the other maids', so she hadn't paid them any special attention. But now, when she looked at them again, she realized something was off.

Surely, her birth family didn't have such tall maids? They seemed a head taller than everyone else in her palace.

"You are ...? "

Bian Yanmei had no interest in superfluous words. He gave a simple introduction for himself and Shen Qiao, then told the empress about their rescue plan.

"This is far too dangerous," the empress protested, expression troubled. "You may not know, but though Buddhist Master Xueting has left the palace, his disciples are still here to recite scriptures for the emperor. There are also members of Hehuan Sect here. You'll still need to take us with you, and I fear that the two of you alone won't be enough. If anything goes wrong, all your efforts will be in vain."

She wasn't from the jianghu, and it'd been many years since she'd married into the palace. Even if she knew about Huanyue Sect and Xuandu Mountain, there was no way for her to know just how formidable a martial artist Shen Qiao was.

Bian Yanmei didn't have the time to explain further either. "The Duke of Sui has entrusted us with this task. If we didn't have any confidence of success, we'd never have used such dangerous tactics."

Lady Puliuru was still full of doubts. "These maids have suffered through many hardships with me. The moment we leave, they'll inevitably bear the brunt of the emperor's rage ... "

"I heard that Your Highness is very close to Empress Zhu," said Bian Yanmei. "Once we leave, the maids you favor can take shelter with Empress Zhu. The emperor will be focused on us; he won't think of chasing a couple of maids."

The empress's two younger brothers recognized Bian Yanmei- they'd already stood up and walked over to him. Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei each picked up one of the boys. Seeing this, the empress dropped all further protests and quickly got up, following after them.

But right at that moment, a trusted maid of the empress who'd been outside the door rushed in. "Bad news, Your Highness!" she said urgently. "His Majesty has people with him, and they're coming here!"

The emperor's visits were so rare, they might as well have happened once every couple of thousand years. The empress was stunned frozen.

If Yuwen Yun was coming, there must be experts from Hehuan Sect or the Buddhist discipline accompanying him. If Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei wanted to bring everyone out now, things wouldn't be so easy.

The two of them looked at each other. They had no choice but to change their plans for now.

The empress only had the time to hurriedly tell her brothers not to reveal anything before Yuwen Yun and his men had already arrived.

Yuwen Yun's temperament was very peculiar-perhaps this was due to the highly strict previous emperor suppressing him for so long. When he'd been suddenly liberated, he must have rebounded to terrible extremes. There really was no other explanation. The empress Lady Puliuru, on the other hand, possessed a good temperament and handled matters fairly. She would lend a helping hand to the maids and concubines who were mistreated and punished by Yuwen Yun whenever she could. She got along well with everyone in the palace, and she silently bore Yuwen Yun's insults with equanimity. If even someone like her couldn't take Yuwen Yun's capriciousness, that just showed how terrible the emperor's temperament was. With Yuwen Xian and the others serving as lessons of the past, even if

Puliuru Jian had carried no thoughts of rebellion, Yuwen Yun's behavior would have forced those same thoughts to burst forth.

In order to indulge himself to the fullest without being admonished by his ministers, Yuwen Yun had abdicated the throne to his son Yuwen Chan, but he did not take the title of Emperor Emeritus. Instead, he proclaimed himself the Tianyuan Emperor. The ministers of the Zhou Dynasty had never seen this kind of bizarre development before. Although they didn't voice their complaints out loud, they couldn't resist silently denouncing it as absurd.

Usually, Yuwen Yun rarely visited the empress. Whenever he did, it'd be to yell and take his anger out on her. Yet today, his expression was strangely amiable-he even had a smile as refreshing as the spring breeze.

The empress walked out of the palace gates to receive him, but Yuwen Yun grabbed her hand and pulled her inside again. Then he asked her two younger brothers, "Are the little brothers-in-law growing used to life in the palace?"

Puliuru Jian's eldest was slow to answer, remaining quiet, but the younger son was cleverer. He tugged on his brother and dragged him into a bow. "Thank you very much for the concern, Your Majesty. We are both doing very well."

Yuwen Yun smiled. "What nice things did Duke of Sui send to you today?" he asked.

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Shen Qiao and the others.

"It's all food and clothing, nothing worth mentioning," said the empress.

"The palace doesn't lack such things," said Yuwen Yun. "Your father is far too meddlesome, even having someone deliver them from outside the palace. Can it be because he believes I've been mistreating you within it?"

"Your Majesty speaks too seriously," the empress hurriedly said. "It's just because my younger brothers are accompanying this concubine within the palace. They've never left home since childhood, so my father and mother can't help but spoil them. Please don't blame them, Your Majesty."

"Why are you so anxious? I didn't forbid anything. If I did, they wouldn't be able to enter the palace at all!" Yuwen Yun chuckled lightly, then said to Shen Qiao, "You, raise your head."

Of course, Shen Qiao couldn't pretend not to hear.

"I thought that you possessed a decent profile just now. Though your skin is a little dark, if you take good care of it, you might be able to bring your appearance to the next level!"

Shen Qiao really hadn't expected that Bian Yanmei's inauspicious remark would come true. The emperor really was flirting with him!

Though he thought so, he didn't say anything. He put on a look of panic and took a step back, then lowered his head once more.

The empress quickly stepped forward and smiled gently at the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty hasn't been here in a while. This concubine has been waiting day and night, and now I am finally able to see your exalted face; my heart is filled with joy. I wonder if Your Majesty is willing to stay for a meal?"

A mere instant before, a pleased expression had still graced Yuwen Yun's face, but now it suddenly turned dark. "Who do you think you are! To dare to ask me to accompany you for a meal? I'm disgusted just looking at you! Who knows if you'd poison my food?!"

Today, Shen Qiao was finally able to witness for himself the emperor's reputation for being temperamental and erratic. Though Yan Wushi was also mercurial, this was completely different.

When it came to Yan Wushi's personality, others could say, "He's an unparalleled martial artist, and his arrogance is peerless as well." But what could you say about Yuwen Yun? If not for his position, he'd have been hacked to death already.

The empress was so shocked by these words that her face turned pale, and she quickly knelt to ask for punishment.

At this moment, Bian Yanmei suddenly moved. He jumped up and rushed toward Yuwen Yun with lightning speed.

Naturally, Yuwen Yun was surrounded by martial experts-there were several monks representing the Buddhist discipline, as well as several men and women from Hehuan Sect. Yuwen Yun might have been well aware of how hated he was, seeing as he brought those experts with him at all hours of the day. If Buddhist Master Xueting hadn't gone to Qingliang Temple today to pray for the imperial family, he'd surely make him stay by his side at all times.

Bian Yanmei had calculated incredibly well. Though there were many martial experts around Yuwen Yun, there were no outstanding ones, let alone anyone of grandmaster status. Xueting, Sang Jingxing, and Yuan Xiuxiu were all absent. To catch some thieves, one must capture their leader first. If he could grab Yuwen Yun, then, with him in their hands, he could rescue the empress and her younger brothers in as grand a fashion as he pleased.

In a single moment, he had reached a tacit agreement with Shen Qiao. Bian Yanmei would be responsible for taking Yuwen Yun hostage while Shen Qiao was to deal with the people around the emperor, to stop them from interfering.

It only took an instant. Just as Bian Yanmei burst into action, someone else next to Yuwen Yun flashed forward as well, matching his speed. He immediately shielded Yuwen Yun behind him, and wind from his palm blew forth, accompanied by a surge of true qi. First weak then strong, it flowed boundlessly, completely beyond expectations.

Before, this man's face had been covered in whiskers, and the dense hairs concealed most of his face. However, when he made this move, his hair and beard flew up, and Shen Qiao recognized his actual countenance.

Buddhist Master Xueting.

He'd never gone to Qingliang Temple after all, but had stayed by Yuwen Yun's side the entire time!

Perhaps he'd anticipated that on the eighth of April, Puliuru Jian would take advantage of his departure from the palace, so he'd specially concocted a plan to lure the snake from its hole, all to make sure that Puliuru Jian would fall short.

At the same time, the other experts around Yuwen Yun also attacked Shen Qiao one after another.

Though Yuwen Yun was already prepared, he was so scared that he took a few steps back and called all the guards beyond the door to come in, shouting loudly, "Kill them, kill them all!"

Xueting was the only outstanding character defending Yuwen Yun. Shen Qiao had the empress and her siblings retreat into the inner hall, then guarded the passage there himself. He could hold his own against the crowd of enemies; fending them off alone was no hard task.

However, back across the hall, Bian Yanmei was far from Xueting's match. If Bian Yanmei lost, Shen Qiao would have to spare the time to deal with Xueting, leaving the empress and her siblings unattended.

Buddhist Master Xueting also believed the same thing.

But when he sent out his palm strike, his expression suddenly shifted as he realized he'd made an enormous mistake.

Chapter one hundred twelve: The Escaped Fish

Xueting wasn't a fool; he'd been expecting that Puliuru Jian would likely take advantage of his absence from the palace on the eighth of April to act. Therefore, he had someone disguise themselves as him and go to Qingliang Temple while he covered up parts of his appearance and stayed by Yuwen Yun's side.

He had the right idea-regardless of whether Puliuru Jian wanted to stage a coup or rescue his children, while he remained by Yuwen Yun's side, Xueting would be like a wall of steel, leaving most people unable to approach Yuwen Yun. And as long as Yuwen Yun was alive, the Zhou Dynasty would survive as well. There was no need to heed to anything else.

When Bian Yanmei had leapt to action, Xueting reacted at incredible speed. He had already noticed this person: as a maid, she was far too tall. When this tall maid had grabbed for Yuwen Yun, Xueting struck out as well. However, as soon as he did, he realized that he'd missed someone else nearby.

And it wasn't Shen Qiao.

There'd been four maids when they entered the palace, two of whom were the disguised Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei. One maid had been selected by Puliuru Jian: a real maid who possessed a silver tongue and the ability to handle key situations. But what about the other one?

The remaining woman had an utterly unremarkable appearance, and she hadn't said a word when they entered the palace, merely holding the gifts as Bian Yanmei spoke to the empress. She was practically half-invisible as a person-that she kept a supremely low profile went without saying.

Even the emperor's ears and eyes that he'd planted outside the Duke of Sui's residence had been deceived.

However, "she" was the one who attacked Xueting!

Xueting and this "woman" were also old enemies. The moment they came to blows, he knew who this newcomer was. He immediately struck at Bian Yanmei while hastily attacking that unremarkable maid, shouting, "Yan Wushi!"

But he hadn't expected how deeply Yan Wushi's reputation had ingrained itself in the hearts of others. When the people around him heard that name, fear immediately colored their faces, and even their attacks slowed by a few beats.

The maid laughed; it was indeed Yan Wushi's voice. "That's quite a refreshing getup, you bald old donkey. Have you been craning your neck waiting for my venerable self? With you this eager, how could my venerable self not grant your wish and come to meet you?"

As he spoke, there was a spate of clicking noises that numbed the ears, and the limbs of that "maid" suddenly lengthened in the moment "her" palm met Xueting's. The maid's attire "she" was wearing instantly grew tight.

It was clear at once that Yan Wushi's previous claim of not knowing any bone-shrinking techniques was pure nonsense. He not only knew, he'd polished them to brilliance. As arrogant as he was, he'd perfect even minor martial arts to a point that was far beyond what any normal person could achieve.

As for his face, he naturally hadn't used Bian Yanmei and Shen Qiao's method, where they'd just trimmed some eyebrows and applied some powder. Instead, he was outfitted with a genuine human skin mask. Yan Wushi originally found this mask after Shen Qiao had killed Huo Xijing. Following the principle of "only a dumb bastard wouldn't grab a golden opportunity," Yan Wushi had wanted to give it to Shen Qiao, but Shen Qiao absolutely refused, so he could only regretfully put it on his own face. Coupled with his bone-shrinking technique, he'd become another person entirely, unrecognizable to anyone else.

With Yan Wushi impeding Xueting, Bian Yanmei charged toward Yuwen Yun. However, the other people around Yuwen Yun weren't slow to react either. Xueting's two disciples, Liansheng and Lianmie, immediately rushed forward to clash with him. Some others had figured out that Shen Qiao and his party had entered the palace on a rescue mission, so they rushed toward the empress and her siblings, hoping to take this chance to capture them so they could threaten Shen Qiao and others into not taking any reckless actions.

As these people had taken Shen Qiao for a soft persimmon, thinking he would be easy pickings, Shen Qiao naturally had to teach them a lesson on etiquette. Even if he hadn't brought Shanhe Tongbei with him to the palace, it didn't hinder his attacks in the slightest. He took on five opponents by himself immediately, flawlessly defending the door to the inner hall. Even water couldn't have slipped through, let alone a person.

But these five experts included those from Hehuan Sect, as well as Xueting's disciples. Compared to the rest of the jianghu, their skills would have been considered first rate-they weren't easy to deal with. They'd learned many shady techniques in their time at the emperor's side and didn't shy away from using poison and concealed weapons in their fights, as shameful as those were. Though they still couldn't overcome Shen Qiao, it was enough to obstruct him a little-he couldn't defeat all five people in such a short time.

Xueting was truly a long-renowned martial arts grandmaster. Even if Yuan Zixiao had ranked him behind Yan Wushi, it didn't hinder his profound martial prowess. At their levels, their cultivation was already harmoniously complete. It was impossible for Yan Wushi to subdue him in one fell swoop. They each had to search for the other party's openings during the fight.

Meanwhile, Bian Yanmei's goal of capturing Yuwen Yun had been foiled by Liansheng and Lianmie, both of whom were disciples of a grandmaster and were also two people working in tandem. For the moment, Bian Yanmei was helpless against them.

Shen Qiao weighed the situation and made a decision.

No longer would he guard the entrance of the inner hall. Instead, he turned around and swept toward Yuwen Yun, who was preparing to sneak away.

At this point, the commotion had already attracted the guards outside the door. They rushed in with their weapons but were swept away by a palm blast from Bian Yanmei that sent quite a few of them tumbling right back outside again.

Despite his outlandish behavior, Yuwen Yun still cherished his own life dearly. Seeing the place descend into such chaos that even Xueting couldn't spare the time to protect him for the moment, he quickly stumbled toward the door-but he hadn't been expecting Shen Qiao to leap forward and pounce on him.

Now a dark shadow fell over his head. With Shen Qiao's level of skill, Yuwen Yun only managed half a scream before he was captured.

Shen Qiao only said one line to Yuwen Yun, in a cold tone: "Your Majesty, make them stop."

Yuwen Yun shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop! Everyone stop!"

The five people who had originally surrounded Shen Qiao had immediately split into two groups when they saw Shen Qiao abandon them to grab the emperor. Three of them leapt toward Shen Qiao, while the remaining two had rushed toward the inner hall to capture the empress and her brothers.

But the three people who went for Shen Qiao had been a step too slow. As swift as their footwork was, it wasn't anywhere near the level of Xuandu Mountain's "A Rainbow Stretches across the Heavens." They could only watch as the emperor was taken hostage.

Bian Yanmei, Liansheng, and Lianmie had no choice but to stop as well.

Yan Wushi and Xueting, meanwhile, were locked in a fierce battle, and they had already brought the fight from inside to outside the hall. Beneath the might of two grandmaster-level experts, the roof was already half destroyed-it was impossible for them to stop so easily.

In the beginning, Xueting had allied with four great martial arts masters to ambush Yan Wushi outside the Tuyuhun royal capital, cracking his head open and almost killing him. Yan Wushi was too vengeful a person to let that incident go so easily.

Already, he'd used the conflict between Dou Yanshan and Yun Fuyi to secretly stir up internal strife within the Liuhe Guild. In the end, Dou Yanshan was poisoned and killed, and Yun Fuyi succeeded him as guild leader. However, a mere half month after Yun Fuyi's succession, several hall masters under her received evidence of her collusion with the Göktürks. These hall masters then banded together to drive Yun Fuyi out of the leader's position, causing the Liuhe Guild to split into several factions, with its power and influence divided between several hall masters. Thus the Liuhe Guild splintered completely. It became another major event within the jianghu, in addition to the fiasco at the Sword Trial Conference.

Those hall masters wanted to leverage Huanyue Sect's influence within the northern business community to increase their own. Huanyue Sect also needed to borrow the Liuhe Guild's advantages in escort and water transport services to expand their own enterprises. For a while, they took to working together like a fish to water. Though Huanyue Sect's name never surfaced within this entire tale, Yan Wushi knew just how many benefits Huanyue Sect had gained from a divided Liuhe Guild.

Of the five people who'd ambushed Yan Wushi back then, Guang Lingsan had seen the way the winds were blowing and had the foresight to ingratiate himself to Yan Wushi. He also collaborated with him, sacrificing to him many benefits so that Yan Wushi would set aside his grudge for the time being. Duan Wenyang went without saying; he was fortunate enough to have a great shifu, so Yan Wushi had no intentions of touching him at the moment. As for Yu Ai, Yan Wushi was planning to leave him to Shen Qiao to deal with, and so he didn't do anything there either. That just left Dou

Yanshan and Xueting. One had lost his life due to Yan Wushi's torment, and now he'd finally met the other today. It was a small world, to meet an enemy on a narrow road like this.

Hindered by Yan Wushi, Xueting couldn't move to save the emperor. When he saw that Yuwen Yun had been caught by Shen Qiao, he silently sighed to himself and focused his entire attention on fighting Yan Wushi, ignoring everything else.

People like Duan Wenyang and Yu Ai might have been highly skilled martial artists, but they also had too many things on their minds. If they'd been met with a scene like this, they'd inevitably grow distracted, leading to their defeat. However, Xueting was one of the most eminent monks of his generation. He'd been able to leave Tiantai Sect and establish his own branch without relying on the influence of his former sect, and he'd been honored as state preceptor. He certainly was not an easy person to deal with -he saw that he couldn't save Yuwen Yun, so he simply ignored the matter completely. Even Yan Wushi couldn't help but appreciate that level of composure and willpower.

"Bald old donkey, Yuwen Yun is no ruler. My venerable self doesn't believe that you can't tell. In reality, your determination to stay at his side and assist him goes against heaven itself. Don't you Buddhists value karma and retribution? Aren't you afraid of facing retribution yourself by acting as an accessory to a tyrant's crimes?"

As they fought, Yan Wushi still did his best to provoke him with words. Yet Xueting paid no heed to him at all. They exchanged several blows, both parties suspended in midair, robes and sleeves flapping as their true qi roiled. Their battle was far more spectacular than any of the others. Even the guards, after seeing that the emperor had been taken hostage, couldn't help but keep glancing at Xueting and Yan Wushi.

But with the emperor under Shen Qiao's control, no one dared to act recklessly. Even the palace soldiers, who'd been so fierce and aggressive just a moment ago, were forced to stop in their tracks.

Shen Qiao brought the emperor out of the Qingning Hall and asked a maid to bring the empress and her brothers out as well.

As long as they'd safely extricated the people, they'd have fulfilled their purpose in coming here.

However, a few moments later, when the empress came out, she was pulling only one brother behind her.

Shen Qiao's heart sank.

Before he could ask, the empress hurriedly said, "Just now, someone broke the window and took Erlang away!"

If their goal was to take hostages to force Shen Qiao to release the emperor, there'd be no need to take the person away. It was clear that whatever this person's goal was, it wasn't to save the emperor.

The current situation didn't afford Shen Qiao the opportunity to think too much, though. He asked no further questions and had the empress and her brother come to his side.

Though Yuwen Yun had been forced into temporary compromise on account of his life, he glared at the empress, his eyes about ready to burst into flames. "You bitch! I knew you were good for nothing. If I'd known you were the kind of treacherous dog who'd bite the hand that fed you, I would've abolished your empress position first and let dozens of strong men fuck you ... "

The wave of vulgar words spewing from the emperor's mouth irritated Shen Qiao. He increased the force he was using and said, "Your Majesty's life is now in danger, and you still have the time to curse others? I suggest you restrain yourself."

The grip on his throat made Yuwen Yun's face turn red. "You ... Someone as strong as you, why would you help a traitor and usurper like Puliuru Jian? If you come to my side instead, I can make you a state preceptor. How about it? Seeing Shen Qiao's indifference, he increased the weight of his offer. "I will give you the position of marquis, peerless in wealth and honor!"

Shen Qiao said, "Your Majesty, do you want me to squeeze even harder?"

Yuwen Yun was strangled to the point his eyes rolled back into his head, and he spoke no further.

With the emperor in hand, their path was naturally smooth and free from obstructions. Outside the palace gate, Puliuru Jian's men were already waiting. When the empress and her brother saw their father, they grew so emotional they were practically beside themselves. The empress was especially moved; she burst into tears as she rushed into her father's arms and began to wail.

She'd come from a noble family. Yuwen Yong had picked this daughter as the wife for his son out of admiration for her gentleness and elegance, believing her worthy of great responsibilities. And Lady Puliuru indeed lived up to his expectations. Since becoming the crown prince's consort, she had been diligent and dutiful, striving to manage Yuwen Yun's harem. But perhaps she hadn't accumulated enough blessings in her previous life to have the misfortune of marrying such a husband. When he'd been the crown prince, Yuwen Yun was honest and well behaved, but after becoming emperor, he showed his true colors completely, turning horrendously outlandish. Not only were the state affairs in a complete mess, he even established four additional empresses within the harem while cursing out Lady Puliuru every couple of days. She'd suffered these grievances for so long, she was at her breaking point.

Puliuru Jian's troops, stationed outside the palace, had already been embroiled in battle with the palace guards for some time. As soon as Yuwen Yun appeared, though, neither side had any reason to fight-victory and defeat were already decided.

But Shen Qiao's face showed no sign of joy. "In a momentary oversight, your son was taken away," he said to Puliuru Jian. "Now I must find him and bring him back to the Duke of Sui's residence."

Puliuru Jian consoled him, saying, "Life and death are determined by fate. You've already done your best, Daoist Master. Even if something happens, that is simply my son's fate, and no one else is to blame. If not for Daoist Master Shen, Sect Leader Yan, and Bian-dafu's- utmost assistance, Jian wouldn't have been able to see his children today."

Elsewhere, Yan Wushi and Xueting were still engaged in fierce battle, completely immersed in their own world with no time to look around. Their true qi drew the glazed tiles of Qingning Hall's roof; from time to time they'd explode with a thunderous roar, their shards spraying every which way and orbiting around the two fighters in a swirling vortex. Though the palace was full of martial experts, faced with a battle between two of the current martial arts grandmasters, they could only watch from afar.

Accompanied by his troops, Puliuru Jian used the captured emperor to control the nobles, swiftly stabilizing the chaos within the palace. Meanwhile, Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei searched everywhere in the palace for Puliuru Jian's second son.

As the coup threw everyone in the palace into a state of panic, it was difficult to quickly find this person trying to profit from the chaos. Both of them searched starting from different areas in the palace, but despite their efforts, they remained empty-handed. It was truly quite strange.

Bian Yanmei frowned. "What does this person gain from kidnapping Puliuru Jian's second son?" he said.

Puliuru Jian wasn't the emperor yet, let alone one of his sons. Having the child in hand could never have the same effect as taking the emperor hostage. Moreover, whoever this person was, they'd snuck into Qingning Hall unnoticed. First, this meant they were quite skilled, and second, it meant they were familiar with the palace routes, so they had to have a certain amount of status. Third, they'd captured Puliuru Jian's son, so it was possible they wished to use this to negotiate with Puliuru Jian.

Shen Qiao wasn't the ignorant person he'd been in the past. He'd grown a great deal from his long experiences in the secular world, and his naivete had completely condensed, granting him the ability to see these worldly matters with much more clarity. A flash of insight came to him, and he said to Bian Yanmei, "We need not search for him. The other party will seek us out of their own volition."

Bian Yanmei had clearly also realized this. He nodded, and they returned to tell Puliuru Jian their conclusions.

The person arrived even quicker than they anticipated. Yan Wushi and Xueting had yet to reveal the victor of their battle when Murong Qin arrived.

He brought a message from Chen Gong, saying that Puliuru Jian's second son was in their hands. Moreover, he'd allow only Shen Qiao or Puliuru Jian to ransom him.

Puliuru Jian had just launched a palace coup, so he naturally had to remain in place to oversee matters. The soldiers who followed him also needed a calming force with them to stabilize their morale; it wasn't easy for him to leave. Though he was worried about the safety of his second son, he still chose to stay behind. "Whatever the other party wants, gold or silver, it doesn't matter," he said to Shen Qiao. "If it can save my son's life, any amount of money is worth it."

Shen Qiao naturally agreed.

Bian Yanmei also wanted to go with him, but Murong Qin said frostily, "If even someone of Daoist Master Shen's martial caliber can't escape unscathed, what's the point of you going? Don't force our hand into directly killing the hostage. You'll only end up in a situation where everyone loses. You can forget about taking advantage of anything then."

Bian Yanmei sneered. "Very well."

But he secretly sent Shen Qiao a meaningful glance.

Murong Qin led Shen Qiao out of the palace, and they took a long and twisted route through the capital, before finally entering an inconspicuous house.

Chen Gong sat in the main hall with Puliuru Jian's second son, calm and composed. He smiled a little at Shen Qiao and said, "It's been a while."

When Shen Qiao and Chen Gong had first met, they were both in terrible straits. One was blind, his martial arts destroyed, while the other was a child from a poor family, who never knew when his next meal would come. The two of them had traveled together and developed a camaraderie born from shared tribulations. But the world and men were unpredictable, and, unexpectedly, as they circled round and round, they found themselves meeting once again.

Within the haze, all things seemed to have been predestined.

Shen Qiao faintly thought that this meeting with Chen Gong was meant to be.