Chapter 85: A Stroke of Fortune

By dusk, Su Bai finally stirred awake. Seeing that night had already fallen, he picked up the dark robe beside him and draped it over his shoulders.

Then he plunged into the darkness, as though dissolving into the night itself. This robe had also been taken from a slain barbarian officer, and since Su Bai happened to be lacking a garment for night travel, it would serve for now.

Looking up at the black sky, an unease rose in Su Bai’s heart for reasons even he could not explain. He thought, I wonder where Fan Shuang has gotten to. Knowing her nature, she will surely come looking for me. I need to find a way to break out of Bing Province quickly and find her.

He did not know that at this very moment, Gu Fan Shuang was driving a carriage toward the frontier pass of Bing Province, gazing at the same dark sky and harboring the same worry. I wonder how Su Bai is doing now. When I looked at the map, I only knew the final destination lay somewhere deep within Bing Province, but after so much time he surely won’t still be in one place. How am I supposed to find him?

Without a map, finding a single person across a vast land of a thousand miles was easier said than done.

What Jiang Xixuan had in hand was merely a route map of Qing Province; the terrain of Bing Province was far more perilous and complex, not something Qing Province could compare with.

At that moment, Jiang Xixuan came out of the carriage and saw the troubled look on Gu Fan Shuang’s face. Guessing a few things, she said, “There’s no need to worry too much. Good people are blessed by heaven. No matter how much you worry, it won’t help.”

“Mm.” Gu Fan Shuang nodded slightly.

How could she not understand such reasoning? It was only that she could not persuade herself not to worry. These past years of constant companionship had long made Gu Fan Shuang accustomed to facing every problem together with him.

Seeing a faint flicker of fire ahead, Gu Fan Shuang raised her hand and pointed there. “We’re still two hundred li from Bing Province’s border. Let’s find an inn and rest first. I can see lights ahead; it looks like a roadside station. Shall we stay there?”

“All right. Let’s do that.”

The carriage abruptly quickened toward the station.

Meanwhile, Su Bai, already within Bing Province, was also pressing relentlessly southward.

“To be safe, I’d better put this mask on first. If they suddenly appear and I have to change it then, it’ll be too late.”

With that, Su Bai took the mask from his chest. He first removed the one he usually wore, then carefully put on the new mask he had only finished making the night before.

Remembering how, the first time he had worn such a thing, he had spent ages failing to align it properly, Su Bai smiled and thought, At least after all these years of wearing it so often, I can put it on right even without a mirror. Otherwise, it really would be a headache.

Just then, Su Bai suddenly heard shouting from afar in the barbarian tongue. He was about to go investigate when his mind abruptly went blank. An intense sense of danger swept through his entire body.

He had barely begun to leap forward and roll away when a hand clamped around his throat.

An aged voice sounded in his ear. “Tell them to leave at once, or I’ll kill you!”

The voice sent Su Bai plunging into an icy abyss, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. The owner of that voice was none other than Xi Menghe, whom he had only encountered days earlier.

This truly could not be blamed on Su Bai for being careless. He had assumed the man would be ahead of him, yet for some unknown reason he had doubled back and happened to collide with him.

Over the past two days, Xi Menghe had been following the official road south toward the frontier pass, but he had not run into Su Bai at all.

So he concluded that Su Bai had not been moving along the normal route and must now be behind him. That was why he had turned back to search. He had never expected that the one in his grasp would be Su Bai himself.

The instant Su Bai heard Xi Menghe’s words, his whole body went rigid, and he nearly cried out. But in the next moment he caught the hidden meaning behind them.

He wants me to order these barbarians to stand down? So he never saw me remove the mask. Good. Good.

At that thought, the weight on Su Bai’s heart finally eased.

The trembling of his body, however, made his fear look entirely convincing. He said shakily, “What... what do you want?”

He did not use the official language of the Golden Horde, but pretended to speak the common tongue of the Great Ming in a halting, broken manner.

Fortunately, his voice had changed considerably over the years, making it difficult to identify him by sound alone. Moreover, Xi Menghe would never have imagined that Su Bai had actually made a false barbarian face to deceive him.

Seeing that the “barbarian” in his grasp could speak the language of Great Ming only deepened Xi Menghe’s other suspicions.

Su Bai’s build had inherited some of Su Qing’s frame, though he did not have his father’s towering height of over six feet and a half. Even so, at six feet and nearly one inch, Xi Menghe, the old man, had to rise onto his toes just to speak to him at a normal height.

At that moment, another small detachment also appeared, numbering some thirty to fifty men, among them seventeen or eighteen mounted riders.

When these men saw Su Bai held hostage by Xi Menghe, they were initially hesitant about whether to strike first and kill Xi Menghe outright, regardless of Su Bai’s life or death.

But one of them noticed the beast-tooth insignia on Su Bai’s clothing and immediately raised his hand, stopping the soldiers who had already drawn bows and were ready to turn the two men before them into porcupines.

The rider beside him, seeing the officer’s gesture to halt, asked in some confusion, “This man’s martial skill is profound, and he has already killed many of our soldiers. Is the officer going to give up the chance to slay a martial warrior of the Great Ming just for the sake of an ordinary man?”

“This man bears the beast mark on his chest. He is a fourth-rank loyal and valiant cavalry captain.”

“I misjudged him and nearly caused a disaster!”

One must know that the man who had stopped them from firing was only a seventh-rank deputy protector officer. The man being held hostage was actually a fourth-rank officer.

Seeing that the people before him did not dare act rashly and were even discussing something among themselves, Xi Menghe became more and more interested in the “barbarian” in his hand.

Could it be that I’ve struck it lucky and caught a big fish? If so, taking him to look for Ming Li will be even more convenient.

Xi Menghe gradually loosened the grip on Su Bai’s throat and said, “Hurry and tell these people to leave. Also, leave one horse behind.”

“Why should I help you? I’m only a soldier, I can’t command them.” Su Bai looked righteous and unwavering, and he played the part of the stubborn defier with startling precision.

“Heh, still pretending?” Xi Menghe gave a contemptuous laugh, having already seen through Su Bai’s little trick. “Do you think this old man can’t tell?”

One should never volunteer a fact to a clever person; better to let him guess. Su Bai naturally understood this principle, which was why he had acted this way, in order to magnify his own value in Xi Menghe’s eyes as much as possible. Only then could he ensure the man would not strike at him.

Seeing his “lie” exposed, Su Bai wore a face of anger and humiliation, and every trace of it fell into Xi Menghe’s eyes, confirming his suspicion even more firmly.

Then Xi Menghe drew a dagger and pressed it against Su Bai’s back, threatening, “What are you waiting for? If you don’t make these people get lost, I’ll send you to meet the King of Hell!”

“Even if I die, I’ll take you with me,” Su Bai growled through gritted teeth.

“Heh. You really won’t shed tears until you see your coffin.” As he spoke, Xi Menghe drove the dagger forward with force. The sharp tip instantly tore through Su Bai’s clothing and pierced his skin, and the fabric on his back was soaked with blood.

Looking at Su Bai’s utterly fearless face, Xi Menghe sneered in disdain. “Let’s see how long you can hold out.”

“Wait!” Su Bai’s face was filled with panic, as though he had not expected Xi Menghe to truly lay hands on him.

Xi Menghe said mockingly, “Wasn’t that speech just now full of backbone?”

He could not be bothered wasting words with Su Bai. Who knew if more people might come along later?

So he had to break free of this predicament as soon as possible. He urged, “If you’re afraid of dying, then hurry up and say it to them exactly as I told you. If you dare trick me, you’re dead!”

Su Bai had also been doing his best to appear convincing in front of him just now, so that the other man would believe his identity to the greatest extent possible.

Now that the timing was just about right, and Xi Menghe had essentially confirmed his identity, Su Bai immediately spoke in the language of the Mongol nation to the group, saying, “He has struck my meridian points, so I cannot circulate my inner force for the moment. Hurry and leave. Leave one horse!”

In truth, Su Bai was also afraid that delay would be bad for him, after all his identity was fake as well. If too many people remained, his footing would surely be exposed. By then, even Xi Menghe would find it hard to escape, let alone Su Bai, this half-crippled man.

After that, Su Bai gave the group a few more instructions, but Xi Menghe did not understand the language and could only feel vaguely suspicious without being able to question him.

Still, he wondered to himself: Did I really ask for that many things? Could this brat be secretly talking behind my back about some way to deal with me?

As he thought this, he slowly drew out the dagger, and Su Bai winced in pain, baring his teeth.

“Don’t try any tricks on me!” Xi Menghe warned.

Once Su Bai had finished speaking, he turned to Xi Menghe and said, “Since I’ve already ordered them as you said, can you let me go now?”

Xi Menghe gave a cold laugh and increased the pressure in his hand by a couple of degrees. “Hmph. You’re not qualified to bargain with me yet. Once they have fully done as required, I’ll consider your request.”

Meanwhile, on the other side:

“Officer, should we do as the captain said?” one of the deputy officer’s subordinates asked for instructions.

“If he can be made a loyal and valiant cavalry captain, then he must have some real strength. If we push too hard now, that old man may well strike at the captain. Once we leave, it will let him relax his guard, and the officer will be able to seize the right moment to strike.” The deputy officer immediately began to imagine the subsequent counterattack that “Lord Su Bai” would launch.

“Right, sir, that makes sense. Then we...”

“Do as the captain said. Leave one horse behind. We withdraw!” With that, the deputy officer turned his horse and rode off.

“Withdraw!”

Before long, the figures of the group could no longer be seen.

Only then did Xi Menghe seal Su Bai’s acupoint, rendering him unable to move, before stepping forward to inspect the situation. Seeing that the group had truly withdrawn and even left behind a horse, Xi Menghe was overjoyed.

“In that case, that little rat Su Bai has no wings to fly with!” Xi Menghe laughed, looking at Su Bai behind him. “With you in my hands, I can run rampant through Bing Province without restraint, and never again be hounded by these barbarians.”

Glancing at Su Bai’s black robe, Xi Menghe stepped forward and stripped it off, then tossed it over himself. He then bound Su Bai’s hands with rope, tying one end of the rope to his own left hand.

After unsealing Su Bai’s acupoint, he swung up onto the horse and rode off into the distance.

Half an hour later, Su Bai, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, lay collapsed on the ground. Although Xi Menghe had intentionally slowed the horse’s pace, Su Bai’s inner force had been completely sealed, so he could only rely purely on the strength of his body to keep pace with the horse.

Looking at Su Bai, who had fallen from exhaustion, Xi Menghe considered it and decided to find a place to rest for the night. After all, finding Su Bai was only a matter of time, but if this officer died just like that, the road ahead might not be so easy for him.

After half a stick of incense, the two found an abandoned peasant house. Xi Menghe sat down cross-legged to meditate, while Su Bai simply lay down nearby.

Since his hands were bound with rope, and the other end of the rope was still in Xi Menghe’s hand, any movement would be immediately noticed by that old fellow. Su Bai naturally would not attempt any such petty trick; in the end, it would only dig his own grave.

Yet having slept so long during the day, even though he was exhausted to the point of collapse, he could not fall asleep for the time being. So he simply copied Xi Menghe and sat cross-legged to meditate.

Xi Menghe narrowed his eyes and glanced sidelong at Su Bai, sneering inwardly. This barbarian must have something wrong with him; he doesn’t have even a trace of inner force. And yet how did he obtain an official post in the Mongol nation? Could he have been badly wounded while being pursued by enemies? That is indeed possible. Otherwise, why would he have appeared alone for me to run into?

It seems I really have found a bargain.

Xi Menghe withdrew his gaze and continued meditating to rest.

The night passed in silence.

At dawn, at a roadside inn in Qing Province, a pair of jade-like hands slowly pushed open the door. Two women stepped out from the room, both wearing bamboo hats and plain, light garments. They were none other than Gu Fan Shuang and Jiang Xixuan, who were on their way to Bing Province.

“What’s wrong with you? Your eye circles are dark as a panda’s. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I had painted two black rings around your eyes.” Gu Fan Shuang laughed as she looked at Jiang Xixuan’s drowsy appearance.

Jiang Xixuan sighed and rubbed her sleepy eyes. “I don’t know either. I suddenly felt uneasy last night and tossed and turned without being able to sleep.”

Hearing this, Gu Fan Shuang teased, “Now that you mention it, I remember. I was wondering why I dreamed of a pig rooting around beside me last night. Hahaha!”

“Go to hell!” Jiang Xixuan lightly swatted at Gu Fan Shuang, who dodged with a flashy sidestep and even turned back to make a face at her.

A cup of tea later, the two boarded the carriage. Gu Fan Shuang turned back and saw that Jiang Xixuan had already fallen asleep sideways inside the carriage.

Shaking her head, Gu Fan Shuang sighed softly, then slowed the carriage and continued toward the frontier. As dusk approached, she finally saw the several-zhang-high city wall in the distance.

After another half cup of tea’s time, Gu Fan Shuang finally reached the foot of the wall. Looking at the blockade ahead, her delicate brows furrowed. In such circumstances, getting out of the city would be rather difficult.

Just then, Jiang Xixuan’s voice came from behind her. “Let me try.”

“You’re sure?” Gu Fan Shuang was a little doubtful, but seeing Jiang Xixuan’s resolute expression, she said, “All right, then go and give it a try. Mind your words. If you can’t get through, I’ll think of another way.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Jiang Xixuan gave her a reassuring look, then supported herself on the carriage and slowly climbed down, walking toward the guards at the city gate.