Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo gently land at a raised peak in the middle of the cliff. They can see the people below them, but the people below will not be able to see them.
The Wolong bandits’ lair is loated in a hidden valley between the cliffs, nothing too big. There are a couple of houses built there.
Below where they are standing is quaint and beautiful house, the place where the man in the black mask lives. There are around 100 people running around busily below.
They are busy taking out huge boxes from all of the houses. From their postures, they can tell that the boxes are really heavy.
They are carrying all those boxes to the house that their boss lives in. There are too many boxes for them to count, what are they planning to do by moving them to that house?
Yun Qian Yu turns to Gong Sang Mo, “There is a hidden passage in that house.”
“True.”
“They have only received the news?” Yun Qian Yu observes the panicking people.
“Someone must have purposely delayed the news from reaching them, that’s why they haven’t done anything these past few days,” Gong Sang Mo lightly frowns.
Yun Qian Yu nods, “The timing is really impeccable.”
At that moment, the leader of the bandits suddenly says, “Send 10 more people to guard the entrance!”
10 men then proceeds to use Qinggong and head to the direction of Xian Tian.
“Wait a little more?” Yun Qian Yu looks at those people who are still carrying boxes around.
“Sure. Let’s not waste resources if we don’t need to,” Gong Sang Mo agrees.
He picks up the corner of his pale blue robe before sitting on the ground.
Yun Qian Yu frowns before sitting next to him, “Aren’t you supposed to be a clean freak?”
It is a well-known fact amongst the common people that Xian Wang is a clean freak, but Yun Qian Yu never sees that whenever she is with him.
“En. Once we go back home, I will destroy this robe,” Gong Sang Mo nods.
“Yet you still sit down?” Yun Qian Yu helplessly asks.
He suddenly wraps his arm around her waist and brings her to his chest, “I like holding you like this.”
Yun Qian Yu wordlessly leans onto him. “I like it too.”
Gong Sang Mo smiles, kissing her on the forehead, “I know!”
Just like that, the two of them appreciates the view below them while in each other’s embrace.
After two hours, all the boxes have been moved to the leader’s house. The leader gathers all of his followers, “All of you must be tired, brothers. We shall rest for a moment and eat dinner. Once the sky is dark, we will begin our journey!”
The leader waves his arm off and his followers immediately return to their own houses to rest.
After his people left, the leader whispers something to the person next to him. That person is momentarily stunned before running over to the direction of the kitchen.
Gong Sang Mo’s eyes flash when he hears their conversation. That voice is familiar but he cannot put his fingers to it.
Yun Qian Yu takes a deep breath while shaking her head, “How heavy-handed.”
Gong Sang Mo turns to her, “Is your heart softening?”
“What softening? They are not good people to begin with. At least we don’t have much to do.”
“Seems like we will need to wait a little longer.” Gong Sang Mo smiles merrily as he grabs Yun Qian Yu’s face and place a gentle kiss on her lips.
“I will still need to meet some people after this.”
“Don’t worry, it will not get swollen,” Gong Sang Mo whispers while smiling.
Warm breeze floats over them, a stark contrast to the tragic scene that is happening below.
The enticing smell of cooked rice drifts by, making Yun Qian Yu feels hungry. She has never felt this hungry before.
Yun Qian Yu hugs her knees while staring at the scene below them.
There are lit torches on the settlement below them, lighting the place up
The man in the black mask stares at his comrades who had been with him for years. Letting them die with their bellies full can already be considered consideration on his part. Nobody knows if there is even a flicker of regret on his face beyond that mask.
“It is time!” Gong Sang Mo says.
Yun Qian Yu naturally knows that as well. If they wait any longer, the leader might already be gone by the time they act.
Sure enough, the leader waves his arm, “Go and summon our brothers. We will leave now.”
Around 30 men comes from the direction of Xian Tian, it is clear that they are men of talent, the leader’s personal people.
The leader takes off his outer robe. His assistant puts that robe on a dead follower who resembles the leader’s physique.
Now that everything is ready, the leader leads his remaining people to his house.
“What? Are you planning to bolt?” a pleasant-sounding voice can suddenly be heard.
The leader stops in his track, shocked. He stares at two people who are descending from above while holding hands. One is wearing a pale blue robe while another is wearing a watery blue dress.
The people below stare at them in a daze; are they celestials descending from the sky?
The leader receives a huge fright the moment he lay his eyes on Gong Sang Mo’s handsome face. He turns around and runs to his house.
Yun Qian Yu naturally does not give him the chance to run away. She whips her ice silk around and wraps it around the leader’s ankle. With a tug, the leader is thrown to her like a puppet.
Dust and dirt fills the air near where the leader’s shameful form lay. At the same time, Gong Sang Mo also acts. Every single person there are now lying on the ground, injured.
With that, Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo land gently on the ground.
Gong Sang Mo takes out a flare stick and lights it up, releasing a burst of light into the sky.
They wait as the troops outside Xian Tian comes rushing towards them. After they reach the bandits’ nest, the troops realize that they have come here for nothing. There are bodies littering everywhere.
The troops look at Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo in grievance. Must they personally do this themselves? They should at least leave the fighting to them. Now that everything has ended, does that means that they travelled here non-stop for 2 days only to collect corpses?
Gong Sang Mo instructs them to bury the dead and takes care of the injured. They will deal with them tomorrow.
The people from the Hu Wei Camp simply watch as the escorting guards take care of the bodies. Very soon, the ground is clear of bodies. They look at each other, seems like they don’t even have to collect the corpses.
Does that means that they have rushed here only to ‘look’ at corpses?
Yun Qian Yu stands in front of the masked man. He is the only bandit left.
”Wearing a mask means that you do not wish others to know your identity. I am really curious as to who you are…”
A soldier from Hu Wei Camp steps forward, “Princess, let me.”
Yun Qian Yu nods at him. The soldier appears pleased. Just as he is about to take off the mask, the bandit’s leader suddenly jumps up and thrust a hidden dagger towards him.
The guard did not expect that the bandit would act as such. Though taken aback, the soldier is well-trained when it comes to things like these, so, he jumps back and pulls out his sword that is hanging from it’s scabbard on his waist.
The sword and the dagger meets with a loud clink. The two of them start getting into a duel under the darkening sky.
Yun Qian Yu frowns.
The two people are now getting closer to Xian Tian. Gong Sang Mi smiles, how dare they plot right under his nose?
Sure enough, the two people immediately make a run for it the moment they reach Xian Tian.
The soldiers from Hu Wei Camp are stunned. There is a spy? There is actually a spy from the bandits inside their camp? They are angry now. If they simply let this spy fled, they will be humiliated to the core.
There are around 80 soldiers from Hu Wei Camp at the moment, well, 79, excluding the spy. The 79 people immediately gives chase.
One of them yells, “Kill the traitor!”
The furious soldiers suddenly stop in their steps. Instead of running away, the bandit’s leader and the traitor are now flying towards them, seemingly flung over by something.
They land on the ground, at the soldiers’ feet. San Qiu’s silhouette sudden appears on Xian Tian. Next to him is Man Er.
The soldiers are stunned as they crowd over the bandit’s leader and the traitor.
Yun Qian Yu suddenly says, “Leave the bandit’s leader.”
That means, the traitor is up for them to handle.
The bandit’s leader is dragged back towards Yun Qian Yu by the Hu Wei soldiers. They put him by her feet.
That traitor, on the other hand, has a really pitiful ending. By the time the 79 soldiers are done with him, he has become a human patty.
Yun Qian Yu shakes her head at the bandit’s leader in disdain.
“How dirty.”
Yun Qian Yu turns to look at Gong Sang Mo.
Gong Sang Mo flings his sleeves while saying, “I am a clean-freak.”
The corner of her lips twitches upon hearing that. She waves her arm and two Yun Guards appear.
“Take him in.” Then, she beckons Man Er over. Man Er runs over to her and follows her from behind as she enters the bandit’s leader’s house. Gong Sang Mo follows them from behind.
The house is not very big. There is a small living room and then a small room at the back of the house. The walls are comprises of the cliffs’ walls since the house is erected between the cliffs.
Yun Qian Yu turns to Man Er, “Go on and check.”
Man Er naturally knows what Yun Qian Yu is referring to. She enters the leader’s room to inspect everything.
On the floor is the bandit’s leader, his eyes flashing in panic.
Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo sits inside the living room. She signals the Yun Guards with her eyes. One of them proceeds to take off the leader’s mask.
The leader struggles for a moment. When the mask is taken off his face, he lowers his face and stares at the ground.
“You know him?” Yun Qian Yu glances at Gong Sang Mo. This person has been so adamant to not lose his mask, that means either one of them knows him. She hasn’t been in the capital for long, so it ought to be Gong Sang Mo.
“Should be.” Gong Sang Mo looks at the person, “What do you say, 5th young master?”
That man trembles a little before lifting his head up.
“Xian Wang truly have good eyesight.”
Turns out the bandit’s leader is a really young man. He looks quite familiar to Yun Qian Yu’s eyes. Hearing Gong Sang Mo calling him the 5th young master, she suddenly remembers who he reminds her of: Rui Qinwang!
“He is Murong Chen?” Yun Qian Yu asks.
“Yes. He is Rui Qinwang’s manor’s 5th young master, Murong Chen,” Gong Sang Mo good-naturedly says.
“Everyone thought that Rui Qinwang’s 5th son is traveling to study, who would have thought that he would end up doing such a thing? What will Rui Qinwang feel if he finds out?” Yun Qian Yu raises her eyebrows.
“Whatever I am doing has nothing to do with fuwang!” Murong Chen says.
“How can it has nothing to do with him? If we want to punish you, your punishment will be exterminating 9 generations of your family. If not 9 generations, your immediate family should suffice, namely Rui Qinwang’s household.”
Murong Chen momentarily freezes before forcing himself to calm down. He eyes Yun Qian Yu and then, Gong Sang Mo, “Princess Hu Guo, Xian Wang, let’s strike a deal.”
Gong Sang Mo eyes him from head to toe, “Based on your current predicament, you must be wanting to offer us the location of the secret chamber.”
“Correct,” Murong Chen grits his teeth.
Gong Sang Mo’s expression turns icy. He directs his eyes on Yun Qian Yu’s fingers. Yu Er’s fingers are so beautiful, they are slender and fair, like jades. It feels so soft against his hand.
“I will tell you the way to open the secret chamber. You will let me go and not implicate Rui Qinwang’s household.”
“It sounds fair. What do you think, Yu Er?”
Yun Qian Yu does not say anything, simply staring at Murong Chen icily.
Murong Chen quickly says, “That chamber contains 8 years worth of accumulated fortune. It can supply the kingdom’s treasury with enough resources for two years. I know that Yun Valley and Xian Wang’s manor does not lack money, but it is still unwise to let go of that much treasure. Besides, the expenses for Long Wei Camp is extraordinarily high.”
“The number is really impressive,” Gong Sang Mo nods.
Yun Qian Yu remains quiet. She glances at the room, she can hear the sound of Man Er moving about.
Murong Chen directly says, “Do not waste your effort. The room has been designed by an expert. After the construction of the secret room was completed, the architect was killed off. Other than me, nobody knows how to work around the room.”
“Not necessarily,” Yun Qian Yu finally opens her mouth.
“Princess Hu Guo seems very confident in your assistant,” something flashes in Murong Chen’s eyes.
“Not confidence, but trust,” Yun Qian Yu calmly says.
Gong Sang Mo is taken aback as well. Man Er has always been straightforward, he didn’t think she has any other abilities other than her matrix formation.
“Too much confidence is not good,” Murong Chen does not believe her.
“Then, we will just wait and see,” Yun Qian Yu glances at him.
The room becomes quiet after that. None of them bother interrogating Murong Chen, especially since they know that they will not get anything out of him.
At that moment, Yun Qian Yu suddenly realizes something and walks over to him, “Let me see your wrist.”
Murong Chen is stunned; what does she want?
Yun Qian Yu impatiently lifts his hand and checks his pulse. After a moment, she lets go of his wrist and solemnly makes her way back to her seat, deep in thoughts.
Gong Sang Mo unhappily takes out his brocade handkerchief and wipes her hand with it. Never mind Yun Qian Yu, even Murong Chen’s face darkens. Is he that dirty? But then again, he has been tossed about throughout the day, he ought to be dirty.
“If you clean it any more than that, there’ll be blisters,” Yun Qian Yu says with a dark face.
Only then, does Gong Sang Mo stops.
Yun Qian Yu looks at Murong Chen in pity, “You are not capable of having children, what are you working so hard for?”
Murong Chen looks at her, affronted, “What are you talking about, Princess Hu Guo? I am not even married!”
Yun Qian Yu shakes her head, “What does it have anything to do with your marital status? It is up to you if you want to believe me or not. Someone fed you with impotent tonic before you are even one month old.”
Murong Chen is stunned while Gong Sang Mo frowns.
“The ladies in imperial grandfather’s back palace were also fed with infertility tonic back then. Even Princess Ming Zhu was fed with that after she gave birth to Hua Man Xi. I didn’t know it happened to Rui Qinwang’s manor as well. If it happened to you, does that means that it happened to everyone else in your family as well?
Yun Qian Yu seems to have grasped onto something, but she isn’t entirely sure. She suddenly thinks of Hua Man Xi; has he been fed with that as well?
Murong Chen suddenly thinks of his older brother and sister. His older brother has been married for 2 years. He has a couple of wives as well, but none of them bears the good news yet. His older sister on the other hand, has been married for a year. She too, has not bear any children.
He suddenly ponders over what Princess Hu Guo just said.
“It is him! It is definitely him!” Murong Chen suddenly says out loud.
Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo look at him.
He freezes when he realizes that he has said that out loud. He immediately lowers his head and goes quiet.
Gong Sang Mo blinks, a light flashing in his eyes. “You must be talking about the man in the black mask who frequents Rui Qinwang’s study.”
Colors drain from Murong Chen’s face, “How did you know about him?”
Then, he realizes that he said too much again.
Gong Sang Mo laughs while exchanging a look with Yun Qian Yu. They reaped a lot of gains today.
“Mistress, I found it!” The sound of heavy stone being displaced can be heard.
Murong Chen simply stares at the room. Other than a little shock over the fact that Man Er managed to find his hidden chamber, he does not feel anything else. If he cannot even have descendants to protect, what is the point of accumulating all these wealth? All his hardwork are only for these people to enjoy.
Gong Sang Mo and Yun Qian Yu walks into the room. Murong Chen’s bed has been moved aside, revealing a small cave on the wall. Gong Sang Mo enters the little cave and comes back out after a while.
“There is a huge cave inside, filled with hundreds of boxes. There is an exit there, leading to a deep cliff. There is a rope, probably to move up and down.”
Yun Qian Yu frowns.
What should she do with all these money? Based on the current situation, if they are to put these money to the treasury, they will be dried out by corrupted officials.
Gong Sang Mo naturally knows Yun Qian Yu’s worry.
“Bring back 5 boxes to show to people. The rest will go to Yu Jian’s Weaponry Department.”
Yun Qian Yu’s eyes light up as she looks at Gong Sang Mo in gratitude. Gong Sang Mo’s ego is stroked to the brim, he is happy to receive that look from her.
“What about Murong Chen?” Yun Qian Yu without a doubt, hands his matter over to Gong Sang Mo.
“I will take him. As for the leader of the Wolong bandits, he is as good as dead to the people outside. His corpse is amongst the dead, is he not?” Gong Sang Mo says with twinkling eyes.
Yun Qian Yu asks the two Yun Guards to take out 5 boxes and then allows Man Er to close the entrance to the cave once again.
Then, she returns the mask to Murong Chen, “If you want you live, you will have to cooperate with us.”
As they step out of the house, Yun Qian Yu speaks to the soldiers from Hu Wei Camp, “This person is an impostor. The real leader is already dead. He is amongst the corpses collected earlier. Take out his dead body and separate him from the rest. Wait for further instruction.”
“Yes.”
“There are 5 boxes of treasures inside. Take them out.”
“Yes.”
After leaving those instructions, Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo leave.
After passing through Xian Tian, Murong Chen is taken away by San Qiu.
