Chapter 110:
A Grand Gift

 

THESE WORDS WERE FULL of Yan Wushi’s characteristic callous ruthlessness. Throughout the ages, he was saying, those with great accomplishments could abandon even their parents and disregard their siblings, never mind their children. In any case, those two weren’t Puliuru Jian’s only sons—he had another three. Moreover, Puliuru Jian was in his prime, so having more sons and daughters wouldn’t be difficult. There was no need to have his hands tied just because two of his sons were in Yuwen Yun’s hands—he should still do what he had to do.

Though Shen Qiao did not agree with these words, he didn’t find them strange or unexpected. He knew this was the kind of person Yan Wushi was. On the contrary, the various special treatments he’d been getting from Yan Wushi lately were far more disturbing and bizarre.

Other than Shen Qiao, Zheng Yi and Bian Yanmei were also present. Bian Yanmei was Yan Wushi’s disciple and a demonic practitioner; his methods were also unconventional and unpredictable, so he wouldn’t see anything inappropriate in what Yan Wushi said. As Zheng Ying was considered a trusted confidant by Puliuru Jian, he couldn’t have been too gentle a person either. So, though he said nothing, he also agreed with Yan Wushi’s words.

Puliuru Jian smiled bitterly. “Though those with great achievements do not concern themselves with trivial details, how can I forsake my own flesh and blood so easily? Emperor Gaozu of Han asked Xiang Yu to share the meat soup made from his father’s flesh. I can’t do that. If I can abandon even my own kin, I trust that Sect Leader Yan would also look down on me, would he not?”

It was indeed a canny statement. Though he was clearly asking for Yan Wushi’s help in rescuing his children, he managed to give off an impression that was both devoted and righteous. An emperor as kind and soft as Yuwen Xian would naturally be able to achieve very little, but one like Gou Jian, who disposed of subjects the moment their purpose was fulfilled, would instead be too horrifying. Puliuru Jian was offering reassurance to his followers, implying that he would never forget their kindness in the future either.

Shen Qiao vaguely understood why Yan Wushi had changed to supporting Puliuru Jian.

Yan Wushi smiled for a moment, but he didn’t continue the topic of whether to rescue them or not. Instead, he said, “Are you sure that they’re still alive, inside the palace?”

Puliuru Jian understood that this was Yan Wushi tacitly promising to save them, so he quickly collected his spirits and said, “I am sure. The empress risked her life to secretly send someone to us with a letter, saying that His Majesty had detained my sons in the empress’s palace, and the empress herself is under house arrest and cannot leave. It’s already been more than ten days. I think that His Majesty wants to use them as hostages to prevent me from acting rashly.”

Carrying out a rebellion wasn’t like eating food or drinking water. Though Puliuru Jian had already made many preparations, he hadn’t completely made up his mind before this development. If anything, the emperor’s coercion had forced out his determination. The moment his children were saved, he’d launch a coup without a second thought.

“To rescue your children, you need to be prepared to turn against Yuwen Yun,” said Yan Wushi. “There are people from the Buddhist sects overseeing the palace, and Hehuan Sect has members there as well. Even if they can’t defeat me, there’s little to stop them from killing your children out of spite.”

Puliuru Jian sighed. “Yes, this has been weighing on my mind as well. I’m feeling quite anxious. Does Sect Leader Yan have any good ideas?”

Yan Wushi pondered for a moment. “Yuwen Yun refused to let anyone go, but in the end, he hasn’t turned on you in public,” he said. “You can send gifts to your children as a pretext for entering the palace, then wait for an opportunity to save them. This is the only way.”

Bian Yanmei quickly understood. “This disciple is willing to accept this task. I can disguise myself and sneak into the palace, then wait for the opportunity to rescue someone.”

Surprisingly, Yan Wushi rejected him. “Your martial arts are still lacking. If you end up facing Xueting, only death awaits you.”

Bian Yanmei rubbed his nose but went silent.

“Meanwhile, my stature is too eye-catching,” said Yan Wushi, “and I’ve never practiced the Bone Shrinking Technique. If I disguise myself, maybe others won’t notice anything unusual, but that bald old donkey Xueting would see right through it. It would only backfire. If we wish to save those boys, we must find an exceptional martial artist who is able to adapt to the situation accordingly. When the time comes, I’ll coordinate with them from outside the palace.”

To Puliuru Jian, Bian Yanmei was already a powerful martial artist, but Yan Wushi had deemed him insufficient, saying they needed better. If they had to prepare for the possibility of fighting Xueting, then they needed a grandmaster-level martial expert. However, grandmasters didn’t grow from the ground like cabbages, and Puliuru Jian wasn’t the emperor yet either. Even if he were, he’d still have to treat this hypothetical martial artist with extra courtesy and respect. Where could he find one on such short notice?

When several pairs of eyes fell on him, Shen Qiao gave a sigh. “This humble Daoist lacks talent,” he said gently, “but saving someone’s life is worth a thousand merits. I would be willing to try, but I’m not familiar with the palace’s layout. Once I’m inside, I’ll be as good as blind. I fear that I might lose my way before I could rescue anyone.”

Puliuru Jian had just been considering Shen Qiao, but this was different from asking for help from Yan Wushi. He shared no deep friendship with Shen Qiao, so if he didn’t offer, Puliuru Jian couldn’t be so shameless as to ask. Now that Shen Qiao had volunteered, he was naturally overjoyed.

“Daoist Master Shen taking the field is more than Jian could ask for,” he said. “But infiltrating the palace will be terribly treacherous. Though I am worried about my loved ones, I dare not rashly put Daoist Master Shen in danger. I’ve heard that on Buddha’s Birthday, the eighth of April, Xueting will head to the city’s Qingliang Temple to pray for blessings. With him gone, the remaining forces should be much easier to deal with. At that time, I will send more people to accompany Daoist Master Shen—first to lead the way, and second as backup in case something goes wrong. They can also serve as your helpers.”

“Quality over quantity,” said Bian Yanmei. “Let me accompany Daoist Master Shen into the palace, as I’m also familiar with its layout. Then sending just two more maids will be enough. Yuwen Yun isn’t a fool—if there are too many people, he will also grow suspicious.”

Shen Qiao nodded and said nothing more.

After further discussion of the time and location, both parties agreed that Puliuru Jian should first submit a letter requesting to visit. If Yuwen Yun refused, they would enter the palace to deliver gifts under the name of the empress’s mother, Lady Dugu. Shen Qiao and the others arranged to meet on the seventh of April at the Duke of Sui’s residence, where they would disguise themselves as servants from the Duke of Sui’s residence who were visiting the empress. Inside, they’d wait for the opportunity to stage the rescue.

By now, the news had doubtless already been reported that Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao had entered the Junior Preceptor’s Mansion, thus ignoring the ban and trespassing. They couldn’t remain here for too long. After the matter was decided, everyone dispersed. Puliuru Jian followed a secret passage out of the Junior Preceptor’s residence and returned to the Duke of Sui’s residence while Bian Yanmei brought Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao to another residence in the city.

The residence was not the one Shen Qiao had lived in but another one that he’d never set foot in before. “The wily rabbit has three burrows.” The demonic practitioners, especially Huanyue Sect, exemplified this saying. Shen Qiao suspected that Bian Yanmei had secretly bought as many as ten residences as contingencies, and when one was discovered, he’d abandon that one and relocate to the next. In any case, Huanyue Sect had made a lot of money back when Yuwen Yong had supported them, and even now, they still ran numerous businesses. While they didn’t operate on as large a scale as the Liuhe Guild, Yan Wushi certainly wasn’t lacking in wealth.

Bian Yanmei introduced the building to them. “This is a private residence under the surname of Li. To the outside world, it is a merchant’s residence, so Hehuan Sect won’t be able to find this place for the time being. Shizun and Daoist Master Shen can rest assured.”

He didn’t know what kind of relationship Shen Qiao had with his shifu now. Close friends? They didn’t look like it. And with his master’s temperament, forget about Shen Qiao—even if the world’s number one martial artist wanted to be his friend, Yan Wushi might still consider it pointless. Bian Yanmei still remembered that his master had always brought Shen Qiao along with him, but only to amuse himself—there’d been no sense of friendship between them.

Bian Yanmei’s powers of observation were much sharper than those of his shidi Yu Shengyan. He was naturally able to see that Yan Wushi’s treatment of Shen Qiao was highly unusual, and very different from before. But he couldn’t say exactly what the difference was—even if he racked his brains, he couldn’t imagine his own shifu having such thoughts. Though Shen Qiao was gentle and handsome, it was impossible to imagine him as a kept man being showered in favors. Besides, Liuli Palace had just released the rankings of the martial artists throughout the land, and Daoist Master Shen ranked in the top ten. Who in the world dared to harbor impure intentions toward martial grandmasters?

Yan Wushi dared.

But Bian Yanmei didn’t expect his master to dare.

In any case, since Yan Wushi was showing Shen Qiao special regard, someone as artful as Bian Yanmei could never snub Shen Qiao. And though he took after his shifu in his own lack of scruples, he held genuine admiration for Shen Qiao’s character within his heart. There were many scoundrels and hypocrites in this world, and no shortage of people who appeared to be morally upright gentlemen but in truth were unable to control themselves in the face of temptation. Bian Yanmei was from the jianghu, but he’d also served in the imperial court of the Northern Zhou for many years, and he’d met all types of people. One such as Shen Qiao could truly be called a person who practiced what he preached—his actions and conscience were one.

As they spoke, the Duke of Sui’s residence had secretly sent someone over to deliver something, and it was addressed to Shen Qiao.

Huanyue Sect was allied with the Duke of Sui, so they naturally knew about this location as well, allowing for convenient communication at any time.

Shen Qiao didn’t know what it was, so when he opened the bamboo tube, removed the contents, and opened it up to take a look, he let out a quiet gasp of surprise.

Yan Wushi glanced at him and smiled. “Puliuru Jian is truly a clever, incisive man.”

This object was one of the Zhuyang Strategy’s five scrolls: the one originally concealed within the inner palace of Northern Zhou.

Yan Wushi had read this Zhuyang Strategy scroll in the past, but at the time, he’d already realized that its contents were mostly incompatible with the Fenglin Scriptures, so he hadn’t committed it to memory. Later, after his feelings for Shen Qiao had grown, he’d roughly told him about everything he remembered. However, that couldn’t compare to having the complete original delivered to him. Now, with the exception of the scroll in Tiantai Sect, Shen Qiao had obtained full knowledge of the Zhuyang Strategy’s contents.

Although the Zhuyang Strategy scrolls were precious, Yuwen Yun wasn’t a martial artist. After he’d poisoned and killed his father, the court had experienced a great flood of changes. Yuwen Yun hadn’t had the time to pay attention to this kind of thing, nor had he cared to. Puliuru Jian had taken advantage of his status to have his daughter smuggle the scroll out of the palace during the chaos. He had stored that scroll away until now, when he’d given it to Shen Qiao.

Having received such a valuable gift, Shen Qiao naturally had to acknowledge his favor because Puliuru Jian conducted himself brilliantly. He hadn’t waited until the task was completed to present this gift—instead, he’d delivered it in advance, expressing his own faith in Shen Qiao’s character and his confidence that Shen Qiao wouldn’t break his promises.

Now, no matter how dangerous the palace would be, Shen Qiao would have to go, and he’d do so willingly, without a shred of reluctance.

So that was why Yan Wushi had said Puliuru Jian was judicious, with an excellent grasp on how to conduct himself socially.

Shen Qiao suddenly realized something. “Before, you said that meeting with Puliuru Jian would bring great benefits,” he said. “Is this what you meant? Did you expect Puliuru Jian to give me the Zhuyang Strategy scroll?”

Yan Wushi smiled. “I’m not a god or an immortal. How could I possibly predict the future? But the scroll was with Puliuru Jian, and I knew that if he wanted your help, he’d at least have to show you his sincerity. The full recovery of your martial arts appears imminent, but since the entire Zhuyang Strategy shares the same source, as long as any part is missing, it’ll ultimately remain flawed. Perhaps you might have missed some key point, which isn’t conductive to cultivation. Even if this incident hadn’t occurred, I’d have gotten the scroll from him anyway and given it to you.”

Shen Qiao couldn’t help but send him a glance.

If Yan Wushi wanted to be good to someone, he wouldn’t just be “good,” he’d be exceptional. He would offer them the entire world’s treasures and openly tell them, “I’m willing to do this for you.”

Noticing Shen Qiao’s gaze, Yan Wushi smiled slightly and said, “A-Qiao, there’s no need to be so moved. I’ve already told you about this volume’s contents. Puliuru Jian’s gesture now is just an extra touch, like adding flowers to brocade. Next time, I’ll give you something even better, and you can save being moved until then!”

Shen Qiao truly wanted to collapse with laughter at this man’s shamelessness. He quickly withdrew his gaze, afraid that Yan Wushi would come up with something even more horrifying to say.

On the seventh of April, as agreed upon, Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao, and Bian Yanmei arrived at the Duke of Sui’s residence.

Puliuru Jian had already submitted a request to allow Lady Dugu to visit their daughter in the palace, and it was indeed rejected by the emperor. Puliuru Jian then wrote another memorial stating that though Lady Dugu was unable to visit the empress in the palace, the love between mother and child was strong, so she hoped to gift the empress some food and letters from home as a token of a mother’s longing for her children.

Perhaps the emperor did not wish to make his disagreement with the Duke of Sui public, for this time, he agreed.

Puliuru Jian picked two intelligent and capable maids, then made preparations for them to accompany Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei into the palace.

When Shen Qiao saw the attire he was to wear to enter the palace, his expression darkened. Turning to Yan Wushi, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted me to dress up as a woman?”

Yan Wushi looked surprised and asked him his own question in return. “How could an outsider casually enter the palace, let alone the imperial harem? I thought that you already knew!”

Shen Qiao was at a loss for words.

He felt that Yan Wushi was probably still holding a grudge for the time Shen Qiao had dressed him up as a woman, but Yan Wushi’s reasoning sounded so insincerely dignified that he couldn’t refute him.

“It’s all right,” Bian Yanmei consoled him. “I will also be wearing women’s clothes.”

They were already at this point. Since Shen Qiao had agreed to help, he naturally couldn’t renege. He could only accept his fate and let the maids change his clothes, then start daubing makeup on his face.

The maid who put on his makeup was not an ordinary maid but a disciple of Huanyue Sect brought here by Bian Yanmei. She had some insights into disguising oneself and changing one’s appearance.

Previously, Shen Qiao had thought that disguise techniques were all like the kind Huo Xijing used, where one would directly cover their face with a human-skin mask, then use some secret technique after, but Bian Yanmei told him that this was not the case.

“Huo Xijing’s face-changing technique requires the use of countless medicinal herbs to first process the human skin, then more secret techniques to refine it further,” he explained. “It would take over half a year to complete. First, we don’t have the time, and second, I don’t know what kind of secret technique it is. Third, the mask must fit the wearer well—the contours have to match. There are many requirements. If there is even a slight discrepancy, others will easily notice the flaws, and it won’t look convincing at all. So, it’s better to use other methods.”

The maid smiled as she painted Shen Qiao’s face. “This Daoist master is already so handsome and beautiful. With just some slight embellishments, he will make a beauty capable of toppling nations!”

Shen Qiao was baffled. “Unlike women, men have a protrusion in their throats, which can’t be concealed no matter how high the collar is. Anyone paying attention would see through it at once. How will you hide it?”

The maid smiled brightly. “Just leave things to us, Daoist Master!”

Beside him, Bian Yanmei gave them a reminder. “Don’t make Daoist Master Shen too beautiful. It’ll be terrible if the emperor takes a liking to him.”

Shen Qiao was speechless.

The maid sputtered a laugh. “There’s nothing we can do about that,” she said. “No matter how hard we try, we can’t cover up the Daoist Master’s bearing itself. At best, we can only make his face look a bit more ordinary!”

After finishing up their faces and necks, they brought two sets of maids’ attire from the Duke of Sui’s residence for Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei to change into.

The preparations were all finished, but there was an uneasiness to Shen Qiao’s expression. Bian Yanmei, on the other hand, was confident and unperturbed. He even playfully imitated the way maids covered their mouths, thumb and middle finger touching in an orchid gesture as he giggled. “Shen-jiejie, look, aren’t I pretty?”

The corner of Shen Qiao’s mouth twitched.