Volule Horns (1/2)

Volule Horns¹

<blockquote class="Quote">In the secondXiu obeyed General Lu Can’s orders to oversee Huainan and lie in wait for an opportunity to take Huaibei

— Records Volume Four

</blockquote>

The Zhou brothers bade farewell to Gu Yuanyong and headed downstairs However, the atreatly All non-eguard in pairs on either side of the leftmost bamboo screen They were as still as deep waters and towered likeand Zhou Hui only felt their icy gazes brush across their body and were already sweating through their overrobes The four men were formidable and were definitely not norht sight of Du Lingfeng standing outside the screen, his expression respectful, cautious, and slightly wary So they knew the dark-robed ray-haired, hoary-te had mentioned They just didn’t expect it would be this kind of person The two brothers were too afraid to peek in and hurried downstairs For so eyes of the dark-robed servant But strangely, he couldn’t remember the servant’s appearance

I stood at theand gazed doard, watching the Zhou brothers call out to the elders on the street and ask thepu’s funeral I couldn’t help but point at them and say, “I interfered a bit too much In reality, Southern Chu has countless heroes Once the country is ruined and the people are starving, as soon as one hero falls, another rises There’s no need for me to take the trouble to warn the E Southern Chu Southern Chu people are like water They look weak and gullible, but if one actually enrages theot the upper hand, but we have not yet approached the bottom line of the Chu citizens If we can’t break the Chu populace’s confidence in the Southern Chu royal family, even if heavy cavalry traain ruins where only buckwheat grows”

“Young master’s intention is also to leave behind soe the aura of the Heavens and the Earth,” Xiaoshunzi responded “With a heart full of compassion, the Heavens will take pity How could they blahed softly, thinking of how I lived like a shut-in in the shi+p cabin for days After arriving at Guangling, taking a boat to make landfall, I ate on the road and slept outdoors It was extre army of Southern Chu couldn’t be underestimated either If we didn’t have the Secret Cah territory they were faroup would never have silently arrived at Chuzhou by crossing through the arh the path we took was arduous, the secret agents of the two countries also traveled it We encountered quite a few secret agents passing by during our journey We relied entirely on Xiaoshunzi’s indications to avoid the eyes and ears of the spies

To enter the city of Chuzhou, we used the Stalwart Tiger Guard tokens of coht with them The toil I suffered on the journey made Huyan Shou seek out Pei Yun, while I found a roadside restaurant I planned to rest at for a bit I didn’t expect to see such scenes, however When Zhuang Qingpu ascended to the upper floor, I saw his life was already hanging by a thread Even withUnable to bear it, I offered a pill Although it could not stitch his life back together, it would allow hipu stuck to what he thought was right and actually refused to take it It may have been just the difference of a half dozen hours of life, but didn’t everyone fear death and want to live? But I greatly admired his refusal in the face of death It was unfortunate the Heavens were jealous of heroic genius and that he was too far gone

Then, from beyond the screen, came Pei Yun’s sonorous voice “Military Commissioner of Huainan, Commander-in-Chief of the Xuzhou Barracks Pei Yun requests an audience”

I s, “Come in, all of you There’s no need for such courtesy”

Pei Yun had gotten rid of the s the reply, he straightened his clothes He didn’t dare act irreverent towards a personage even his own respectedof the favor theZhe’s instruction, he led both Gu Yuanyong and Du Lingfeng past the screen

Inside the partition, Pei Yun got down on one knee and said, “This general has come to pay his respects to the ies for not welcoive the discourtesy, Your Lordshi+p”

I went over and helped Pei Yun up by the arnified military commissioner now,” I said with a smile “Why should you be so polite? I traveled here of my own accord The Emperor ht to himself, No matter how you cahtly dis fro assassinated, I could have relieved Luo Jing from office with you here When I learned you arrived, er troubleso Zhe

I vaguely suraze to Gu Yuanyong, I saas terrified He had probably figured outwhy I was in Chuzhou when I was supposed to be in Dinghai

I saluted him and said, “I presume this is Gu daren This rateful for daren’s consideration and thanks you on his behalf”

Gu Yuanyong blanked and didn’t knohat to do Huaibei in Jiangnan was cut off fro didn’t reach the area

Seeing hiave Xiaoshunzi a look Xiaoshunzi walked up and evenly said, “The Jing fa qing, is young master’s elder cousin He used to serve as the Chief Clerk of Chuzhou He adraces On young, and Gu Yuanyong all felt like their heads were pounding They didn’t know if Xiaoshunzi’s words were true or false There had always been a rift between Jing Changqing and Jiang Zhe On the journey through Jiaxing, the twowas the first to regain his senses He wasn’t like Pei Yun and Du Lingfeng, worried they had already offended Jiang Zhe, and could look on with a cool eye Seeing a s Zhe’s eyes and no blame to be had, and since the man had an illustrious reputation, he had to be an underew resentful because of this, how could he have spoken so bluntly and assuredly? Today, Gu Yuanyong had received Pei Yun’s order to be the acting Governor of Chuzhou For better or for worse, his family and life were mostly tied to Pei Yun As a result, he didn’t want to see hi is honest and supremely loyal This one has always respected that Even General Pei, though ireatly values him as well”

Pei Yun had finally returned to his senses and rejoiced at the fact he hadn’t killed the stubborn chief clerk at the ti how Jing Changqing disappeared in an odd way, he couldn’t help but sent they let the man be stolen out of prison Now that I think about it, even if they hadn’t slept a wink, they likely couldn’t have found a way to keep an eye on the criminal”

These words contained implicit flattery, but they didn’t reveal any clues Even I thought they sounded pleasant I had planned to scare Pei Yun a bit, lest he regularly borrowof it I pointed at the jug of green pluet it This wine really is not bad I leave Chuzhou tos up How does you anda little sound?”

Pei Yun was relieved He knew the affair hadn’t displeased Jiang Zhe His eyes shi+ning, he saw Du Lingfeng’s uneasy expression and said, “The eneral refuse? Lingfeng, fetch two jugs of green plu was ecstatic He hurriedly saluted and withdreing in his head that he would never take another step closer to the Marquis of Chu before Jiang Zhe left the next day His fear of Jiang Zhe didn’t ste men like him, no amount of authority could deter the martial arts at the Shaolin Teht his last disciple, Jiang Shen, back to the te the BuddhistShen was handed off to the younger generation of disciples to take turns watching over At the ti Shen was no more than four years old, but he washeadache

One day, it was Du Lingfeng’s turn to take care of Jiang Shen Jiang Shen was particularly i took his eyes off him for less than a second, he didn’t even knohere the child had gone Du Lingfeng was rather quick-te Shen a hard spanking After that, Jiang Shen behaved for a long ti woke up froive him back to Martial Great-Uncle, Great Master True Co, then they covered their hed in secret

Realization dawned upon Du Lingfeng, and when he looked in a mirror, he discovered his eyebrows had been shaved off For the next half a year, he was too shy to leave his roo Shen, he kept a wide berth In his opinion, like father, like son, so with Jiang Shen such a little devil, his dad was not to be trifled with He just offended Jiang Zhe, so the farther away he stayed, the better

A reen plu saw that Pei Yun and Jiang Zhe seemed to want to talk privately, so he tactfully retired as well

After three rounds of drinks, Pei Yun began to get to the point He asked, “Didn’t Your Lordshi+p follow the navy to Dinghai? The spy report that came the day before yesterday still said thetheRiver and burned over a hundred Southern Chu naval vessels”

“That’s an exaggeration,” I responded with a s Prefecture² is blocked by silt Vessels over a thousand piculs³ can’t enter Lu Can at most left sohai and pass on intelligence If Lu Can allowed the Eastern Sea Navy a chance to gain a eneral” Then I turned ’er still isn’t prudent enough He even has to appear for such a trivial matter This doesn’t suit my personality at all I’m afraid that, with one or two more times of these actions, Lu Can will know there’s an ihai even if I don’t leave a trace”

Xiaoshunzi briefly said, “Even if he knows, he’ll have to convince the others”