CHQY Chapter 18: Spies Are Everywhere

Jinjiang Inn was very quiet. With a clean room, hot water and soft bedding, her day’s weariness had all disappeared. Lei Lei lay in bed as she looked at the flickering shadows. She was in a good mood. Jianghu was vast and she had experienced it for the past few days. She was hopeful about deepening her relationship with “Xiao Bai” and beauty gege wasn’t there to force her to steal things, life was comfortable indeed!

Just as she was thinking this, the young attendant with a very good service attitude came knocking on her door again: “Guniang, I’ve bought the thing you instructed me to.”

Lei Lei was baffled: “The thing I instructed?”

The attendant said with a smile: “Guniang doesn’t remember? I searched through more than half the marketplace to find it. Look, the sky is already dark.”

Lei Lei started to feel that something wasn’t right. With the thought that the gongzi and Qin Liu Feng were just next door, she got up and opened the door to check it out, only to see the attendant standing outside her door with someone in tow.

Lei Lei’s soul left her body when she saw this person. Paying no heed to the facts of the matter, she quickly pulled him into the room.

Shang Guan Qiu Yue turned around: “You may leave.”

“I’m glad that guniang is satisfied. Please feel free to let me know if you have any other instructions.” The attendant bowed respectfully before withdrawing.

Luckily, nights came early during winters and the gongzi and the others had already gone to rest. Plus the inn’s sound proofing was pretty good so Lei Lei was slightly relieved and closed the door, grumbling softly: “Why are you here!”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue frowned: “Why? You don’t want to see gege?”

Lei Lei immediately put on a fake smile: “Of course not, I do miss you. I just didn’t think that you’d follow me here.”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue revealed a smile: “Missed me?”

Lei Lei pulled him to sit and poured him a cup of tea: “That’s right. It’s already so late, why are you here?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue pulled her into his arms and said familiarly: “Gege also missed you, so here I am.”

Bro, only you can say mushy words so matter of factly. Lei Lei felt ill at ease as she sat on his legs. Under the candlelight, his handsome face looked so perfect that it didn’t seem like it was of this world. The two were very close and that familiar fragrance entered her nostrils, making her feel restless. She groaned inwardly, an awkward smile on her face: “Ge, how old am I?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue’s gaze flickered: “Nineteen.”

Just one year younger than her actual age, not too big of a difference. Lei Lei questioned again: “What about you?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue was puzzled: “Twenty six.”

Lei Lei looked at the position they were in: “Then……it isn’t good for us to be like that right?” Was there any nineteen year old younger sister who would still sit on her twenty six year old brother’s lap?

Shang Guan Qiu Yue finally understood what she was trying to say and he laughed, his tone showing that he paid her no heed: “I’m your gege, what’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t it great that I’m letting you qingbo me?”

What an expert at using his identity to his advantage, laoniang seems to have used this trick before. Lei Lei didn’t dare to disobey this person so she went with the flow and lay in his arms. She sighed internally, Xiao Chun Hua, I’ll borrow your identity to take advantage of your brother, please excuse me. What is going on between you and this villain gege? An illicit affair? It didn’t seem like it had gone to that extent. Spiritual love?

.

“That attendant is one of your men?”

“He’s one of our men.” he corrected.

Right, this pair of siblings are the big and little devil. Lei Lei felt helpless and slightly frightened. It seems like Qian Yue Cave’s xingpu[1] are everywhere: “These inns and relay stations had all been arranged by them in advance, shouldn’t they all be their men?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue had a strange smile on his face: “Of course, the innkeeper is still their man.”

“Then the rest……”

“Killed.”

This one word scared Lei Lei so much that she almost rolled off his body: “A-All of them were killed?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue held onto her and said dotingly: “I had only wanted to confirm whether you were going this way but the innkeeper refused to say anything so I killed one of his guys as an example but he still refused so I killed another. He ended up speaking only after everyone had been killed.” After this explanation, he felt quite regretful: “He would have to say it sooner or later but he didn’t understand this rationale and lost a few guys for nothing. Isn’t he stupid?”

He was the one who killed people but he put the blame on others. Beauty gege’s perverseness wasn’t something that she could even begin to compare to, Lei Lei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was only now that she understood the fact that human life was just like ants to this person.

All the attendants in the inn were now Qian Yue Cave’s men! She trembled with fear: “You want to make your move?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue replied with another question: “You’re worried that I’ll make a move on them?”

Lei Lei was alarmed and quickly shook her head: “No.”

“If it’s that easy, would I have waited till now?” Shang Guan Qiu Yue laughed, “Only that attendant is my man, the rest are replacements that had been found at the last minute. If I replaced them all with my xingpu, don’t you think that Qin Liu Feng and the others would realise something?”

Lei Lei heaved a sigh of relief.

Shang Guan Qiu Yue lifted her chin gently: “Tell gege the truth, are you really heading for Ye Tan City?”

What end would she meet with if she lied to a cold-blooded devil? Lei Lei broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to take any more risks just because she had her identity to rely on. So she hugged him and acted spoiled as she deliberately sounded him out: “Where we’re heading for, don’t you already know?”

Sure enough, Shang Guan Qiu Yue let go of her and sighed: “I thought that you only cared about helping them and didn’t want gege anymore.”

“How could that be,” Lei Lei forced a smile on her face. It seems like this person already knew about Xiao Tai Ping’s plans and there’d be many Qian Yue Cave spies on this journey. Since he already knew everything, there was no need for her to hide anything from him, “the Longevity Fruit will be auctioned at Bi Shui City on New Year’s Day so they……will be making a move then. When the time comes, it’s best if you don’t enter Bi Shui City.”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue nodded: “I won’t go to Bi Shui City.”

Xiao Tai Ping will mobilise men from the three major factions and Bi Shui City will be cordoned off. If beauty gege were to come into conflict with them, she really wouldn’t know who to help! Lei Lei heaved a sigh of relief: “That’s good, it doesn’t matter if we get the Longevity Fruit or not……”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue interrupted her: “Of course I’m getting the Longevity Fruit.” His cold fingers caressed her face as he said in a soft voice: “How can I give up on the thing I had promised to get for you, only gege will treat you with sincerity, do you understand?”

Look, he’s being mushy again! Lei Lei was more or less thankful for this sentiment of his. She tried to persuade him: “It still isn’t clear whether the Longevity Fruit that that person has is real or fake. When the time comes, Chief He will mobilise all the men and cordon off Bi Shui City, you don’t have to take this risk.”

“If it’s real, I’ll take it. If it’s fake, I’ll just watch the mayhem.” Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled: “Who said that I’m going to Bi Shui City?”

Lei Lei was dumbfounded.

Shang Guan Qiu Yue pushed her away and stood up: “He Tai Ping has a plan, but can’t others have one too? There can always be changes, remember this.”

Lei Lei was puzzled.

Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked her up and down.

Lei Lei was even more confused: “What are you looking at?”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue said: “Other than gege, you often qingbo others too?”

Lei Lei thought about it earnestly: “It’s such a waste not to qingbo when given the chance to.”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled wordlessly.

.

Long eyebrows that seem like they’d been painted with ink, upturned outer corner of the eyes that displayed a seductive manner and a high nose bridge that revealed elegance. Only those thin yet shapely lips that were often pursed showed any indication of courage and resolve, resulting in an awe-inspiring appearance that attracted people when he didn’t smile. Only then could it be seen that this was an aloof and remote person that was in control of the life and death of many people, an extremely conceited devil.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

Lei Lei snapped out of her thoughts: “Who is it?”

“Are……you alright?” it was the gongzi’s voice.

Thinking that the two of them had spoken too loudly just now, Lei Lei was overcome with regret. Seeing that Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked like he was going to say something, she was terrified and quickly reached out to cover his mouth. She then called out towards the door: “It’s nothing, why have you gotten up?”

The gongzi hesitated: “You seem to be talking to someone?”

Lei Lei anxiously replied: “I’m not, the attendant came by just now.”

The gongzi hadn’t heard anything clearly so he believed her: “Call us if there’s anything.”

Lei Lei gave him repeated acknowledgements and only sighed in relief when the footsteps by her door disappeared.

Shang Guan Qiu Yue removed her hand from his mouth: “Are you trying to smother gege to death?”

Lei Lei panicked: “Leave quickly, don’t let them find you!”

Shang Guan Qiu Yue crooked his head and looked at her: “It’s so late, where do you want gege to go? Why don’t I just stay here?”

Chun Hua is your younger sister but laoniang isn’t! If I have to eat and sleep with you in such a pure manner, it’s better for you to just kill me! Lei Lei shot him a glare as she pushed him: “No way! Leave, hurry!”

.

Thinking about the shop assistants that had died, Lei Lei was unable to have a peaceful sleep that night. She kept dreaming about being chased by the bloodied dead as they shouted “A brother’s debt should be repaid by his sister. Little devil, return my life to me”. This nightmare came and went throughout the night, only stopping when daylight came around. Because of this, she was lifeless when they continued their journey the next day and she just leaned on the gongzi as she slept.

Seeing that she was really tired, the gongzi urged her a few times before he stopped saying anything. Worried that she would fall sick due to the cold weather and recalling that this girl had no concept of the difference between men and women, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

Probably because the gongzi gave off such a righteous air, it calmed Lei Lei and she slept soundly without any more nightmares. She was overjoyed when she awoke, to think that “Xiao Bai” could also be used to ward off evil.

“Brother Xiao!” The carriage’s screen was lifted and Qin Liu Feng bent his waist as he entered. His eyebrows immediately went up when he saw this situation.

The gongzi was slightly ill at ease but he quickly regained his composure: “Lei Lei Guniang was feeling tired……”

Qin Liu Feng glanced at Lei Lei with a small smile: “I think you also prefer sleeping here.”

Lei Lei had actually woken up a while ago but had continued to nap in the gongzi’s arms. She shot him an angry glare when she heard this.

Qin Liu Feng sat down and said: “We’re reaching Xin Jin relay station.”

According to their plan, they’d use their ruse of slipping away like a cicada sloughing its skin once they arrived at Xin Jin relay station. Steward Zhao, Wang Cong and Zhang Qian would continue on to Ye Tan City to calm the people so as to deceive the general public. Meanwhile, Qin Liu Feng, the gongzi and the others would secretly head for Jia Kong City to meet up with He Tai Ping before heading to Bi Shui City to meet with the mysterious person that put the Longevity Fruit on auction, catching a turtle in a jar[2].

Seeing that Lei Lei had already woken up, the gongzi pushed her away and said: “This is Wu Dang faction’s territory. Head for the relay station to prepare first and I’ll look for Wu Dang faction’s Leader Liu. How many men should we mobilise?”

Qin Liu Feng gave it a thought: “About two hundred should be enough.”

As they discussed this, their horse carriages reached Xin Jin relay station.

.

The station manager personally led some men out to welcome them. Qin Liu Feng greeted him before the two entered a room to discuss things. Everyone else got off their horse carriages and went about their individual plans.

The gongzi didn’t rest and was going to ride a horse to Wu Dang faction with his Feng Ming Sword.

Lei Lei clung to him: “Will they lend you their men if you simply head over like this?”

The gongzi didn’t reply.

Beside her, Steward Zhao gave a grunt: “With the Feng Ming Sword, would those daoists dare to defy orders? Not to mention borrowing a few men, even if all the three major factions Dong, Xi and Nan were here, Old Yan[3] and the rest can only follow orders obediently.”

No wonder Bai Sheng Manor was known as the Bei Dou of the martial arts world. Besides their amazing swordsmanship, they also have the Feng Ming Sword that could be used to mobilise troops. If the Feng Ming Sword’s xinfa was really destroyed……looking at the gongzi’s figure in the distance, Lei Lei was so anxious that she felt like she had knots in her belly. She couldn’t calm down when she recalled what Shang Guan Qiu Yue had said the night before —— their current operation wasn’t directed against Shang Guan Qiu Yue but that Mr Shi was going to auction the Longevity Fruit at Bi Shui City, what did Shang Guan Qiu Yue mean by saying that he wouldn’t be going there?

Could there have been changes in the situation?

Lei Lei felt increasingly uneasy but it became unlikely the more she thought about it. It’s plausible for Shang Guan Qiu Yue not to be fooled by their current operation but not everyone had an information network as impressive as Qian Yue Cave’s and this should be more than enough to fool others. Besides, the current news in Jianghu puts He Tai Ping at Ba Xian Residence, investigating the matter regarding Old Sir Bu. How could that Mr Shi possibly know that he had actually arrived at Jia Kong City?

She’ll take each step at a time. She stopped pondering this issue and went to speak with Wen Xiang and the others.

The gongzi soon returned with more than two hundred Wu Dang disciples who were to escort Steward Zhao and the others to Ye Tan City to calm the people. At noon, the group left in force but no one noticed that the important figures hadn’t gotten onto the carriage. About two hours later, three inconspicuous horse carriages heading for Jinjiang City left Xin Jin relay station but those were three subordinates Qin Liu Feng had brought with him. They had just left when everyone swiftly boarded another three horse carriages and rushed towards Jia Kong City.

Qin Liu Feng was thorough indeed, Lei Lei couldn’t help but to admire him. Like this, they would be able to lose any additional people that were tailing them.

.

Making haste while travelling in secret wasn’t as comfortable as before and everyone practically had to travel throughout the day and night. Other than the slight rest they got at the relay station whenever they changed horses, they rarely rested at inns. Wen Xiang had practiced martial arts since she was young so it wasn’t too bad for her. Leng Zui was a bit of a tomboy and was used to travelling places so she didn’t feel too unwell. Only Lei Lei was suffering, feeling like all the bones in her body had broken, and constantly being on the receiving end of Qin Liu Feng’s teasing. She was in no mood to care or to bicker with him and this continued even after they reached Jia Kong City and met up with He Tai Ping.

Jia Kong City’s Jinjiang Inn.

After asking about the situation, He Tai Ping said: “I’ve spoken with Sir Bu Er and he’ll tell others that I’m still at Ba Xian Residence. There’s still half a month before the new year and it isn’t too early or too late. Yesterday, I’ve issued orders to secretly mobilise the experts from two factions, Dong Shan and Nan Hai. They’ll rush to Bi Shui City on time.”

After he said this, he shot Wen Xiang a meaningful gaze: “It’s rare that Wen Guniang prioritises the bigger picture. Perhaps you can understand my stand.”

Wen Ting had received news of the Longevity Fruit auction at Bi Shui City but didn’t report it. This serves to show that he has selfish motives and now that He Tai Ping is secretly mobilising troops but has excluded Xi Sha faction, it also shows that he has his guard up against Wen Ting. Lei Lei knew what this meant but was concerned for Wen Xiang because Wen Ting was too big of a suspect in Leng Ying’s murder.

Wen Xiang looked down and said in a soft voice: “Even though my father isn’t blameless, to say that he was the one who murdered Uncle Leng, that is impossible. I hope that Chief He will investigate this.”

He Tai Ping gave her a small smile: “Please be rest assured.”

Qin Liu Feng said: “There seems to have been people tailing us on the way here. I’m afraid they’re either from Qian Yue Cave or Chuan Qi Valley and they’re probably also after the Longevity Fruit.”

It clicked in Lei Lei’s mind that it must’ve been Shang Guan Qiu Yue’s men.

He Tai Ping frowned.

Qin Liu Feng said with a smile: “I got them off our tails.”

He Tai Ping then nodded: “They’re all after the Longevity Fruit and now that it has appeared, they wouldn’t want to alert that person but they’ll definitely take action when the time comes and we have to be prepared.”

Lei Lei chimed in: “That Mr Shi was the one who released the information about the Longevity Fruit auction but no one knows whether he really has the Longevity Fruit or even if it’s real or fake. What if he’s just a scammer trying to earn money from selling the information and was only deceiving everyone into going to Bi Shui City? Wouldn’t we turn up empty handed?”

He Tai Ping shook his head: “To be able to put out so much information while hiding his whereabouts, this person must be very careful in his handling of matters and isn’t a mediocre person.” He sighed: “I’m only worried that this is the evil faction’s ruse, to use the Longevity Fruit to lure everyone to Bi Shui City and take the chance to stir up trouble. It’s hard to say but for all we know, that Mr Shi might have been sent by them.”

If someone really got their hands on the Longevity Fruit, how could they be willing to auction it off?

The gongzi said: “That’s correct. Right now, it doesn’t matter whether the Longevity Fruit is real or fake, it’s better to take preventive measures. It’ll be fine if this person doesn’t have any evil intentions but if he has sinister motives, we cannot be caught unaware. Furthermore, if this person really has the Longevity Fruit, it’s very likely that he’s the real perpetrator behind Old Sir Bu’s murder and had stolen the Longevity Fruit before shifting the blame onto Leader Leng. Perhaps he’s also related to Leader Leng’s murder.”

Wen Xiang’s eyes lit up: “That’s right, regardless of whether it’s real or fake, we should first find this person and ask him about it.”

Lei Lei also thought that this was reasonable.

After some discussion, everyone decided to head for Bi Shui City the next day. Although it was still early, they didn’t need to rush and could rest and recharge their energy.

But no one expected that another piece of news would await them at Bi Shui City.

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<sup>1. 星仆 (xingpu) ☆ – This is just a title for Qian Yue Cave’s servants.
It’s my guess that ‘月仆 yuepu’ are female servants while ‘xingpu’ are male servants.
仆 (pu) means ‘servant’↩
2. to go after an easy prey↩
3. Referring to Yan Wen Dao, Dong Shan faction’s leader↩</sup>

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