SS CH56

“I once heard that the ancestor of the Qin family was a painter skilled in meticulous brushwork, particularly renowned for landscapes, flowers, and birds. Because of this, generations of Qin men were named after flying birds and running beasts, while the women took their names from plants, flowers, and trees.”

On the desolate mountain path, the falling rain wept. Ye Fusheng had snapped a wild taro leaf from somewhere and held it over his head, looking as if he were holding a jade-green umbrella. He spoke eloquently to the back of Chu Xiwei ahead of him: “Just like Qin Jingwu, who died in battle on the northern frontier years ago, and his son Qin Hebai. There was also Qin Liyong, the younger sister of the Northern Hero, who was once hailed as the number one beauty in the martial arts world.”

Thirty-four years ago, Qin Hebai was executed along with his entire clan on charges of conspiracy to commit treason. One hundred and thirty-six heads rolled to the ground, and to this day they remained buried in an anonymous, barren mountain outside the Capital, likely having rotted into decaying earth long ago.

Time brings great changes. Perhaps over tea and after-dinner chatter, some people might speak of this desolate, past grievance, yet no one knew… when the execution took place back then, were those one hundred and thirty-six people truly all members of the Qin family?

Chu Xiwei’s footsteps paused slightly. Ye Fusheng quickened his pace by two steps, drawing level with him, only to see the face beneath the hood turn slightly as Chu Xiwei spoke in a flat tone: “What do you mean?”

“A-Yao, though you do not like it, I did serve as a scout for ten years after all. While I may not know as much about affairs in the martial arts world as I do about the imperial court, I have nonetheless heard a thing or two about them,” Ye Fusheng said with a smile. “The previous sect leader of the Hundred Ghosts Sect took a disfigured woman as his wife; this matter is not considered much of a secret.”

According to intelligence records, the old leader of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, Shen Wuduan, was romantic by nature, fond of beautiful women and fine wine. More than thirty years ago, he was still a dissolute wanderer who indulged his passions freely; countless daughters of prominent families and heroic martial arts women throughout the martial arts world secretly harbored affections for him. Yet, an old hand in the field of love like him, who had passed through thousands of flowers without a single leaf clinging to his clothes, ultimately chose a hideous woman whose appearance was entirely ruined.

The woman was surnamed Qin. Several scars mottled her face, twisting like centipedes crawling across her features, ugly and frightening; furthermore, she was a mute who could not speak at all. When Shen Wuduan married such a woman, many people back then both pitied him and could not help but make fun of him, yet he alone was overjoyed, as if he had obtained an immense bargain and his life was already complete.

The imperial court was occupied with a myriad of daily state affairs, so the Shadow Guards naturally would not waste their thoughts on gossiping about the martial arts world. However, to Ye Fusheng, this matter was anything but ordinary.

People in the martial arts world only knew that the woman was surnamed Qin, but very few knew that her name was Qin Liyong.

Qin Liyong, the younger sister of the Northern Hero, had inherited seven-tenths of her father and brother’s true teachings in spear techniques. It could be said that she was a heroine who did not yield to men. In her youth, she had traveled the martial arts world alone with a single spear, her Suolong Spear technique never tarnishing her family’s name, and her flower-like beauty had astounded the three mountains and five sacred peaks, earning her the title of “the number one beauty in the martial arts world.”

Yet she was a woman after all, and a natural mute to boot. Unable to enter the battlefield or the imperial court, she had no choice but to return home after traveling the martial arts world for a year. From then on, she remained confined to a corner within the courtyard walls, but unfortunately, disaster still struck from the heavens.

In the Qin Case of those years, the entire Qin family was thrown into the death cells, and she was naturally no exception.

However, in the brief seven days before the execution, someone privately and quietly smuggled Qin Liyong out of the Capital. They found a female death-row prisoner, forced a muting medicine down her throat to substitute for her, and allowed her to spray her blood across the long street along with the rest of the Qin family on the day of execution.

To perform such a deceptive feat of switching people right under the Emperor’s nose was beyond the capability of ordinary men. Looking across the imperial court and the martial arts world, the number of people who could manage it did not exceed the fingers on one hand—and the cryptically-acting Hundred Ghosts Sect… just happened to be one of them.

Chu Xiwei’s voice carried a touch of coldness: “What? Is the Grand Commander going to convict my Hundred Ghosts Sect of the crime of harboring a wanted criminal?”

“A-Yao, don’t be so quick to get angry, I am terribly wronged,” Ye Fusheng spread his hands innocently, moving the taro leaf slightly over toward him. “First of all, I am no longer a Shadow Guard; secondly, there is more to this matter, so listen to me finish first.”

It had only been ten years since Chu Xiwei entered the Hundred Ghosts Sect. Although he understood these past events of yesteryear, his understanding was not thorough after all. It was just that his character was fiercely protective of his own; Shen Wuduan had given him ten years of kindness and righteousness, and Chu Xiwei had taken him as his adoptive father without harboring any duplicity. Therefore, even after he learned the identity of that adoptive mother, he merely used his methods to help his adoptive father conceal it, allowing that ill-fated woman to live out her years in peace and safety. It was only a pity that her health had already been ruined to the core in the great prison back then; on the Double Ninth Festival last year, having reached the age of fifty, she closed her eyes and passed away.

He had suffered a great upheaval in his youth, and after entering the Hundred Ghosts Sect, he was all the more anxious and unsettled. Had it not been for this fierce-looking but kind-hearted sect leader’s wife taking extra care of him, Shen Wuduan might not have looked upon him with special favor. Each and every one of these kindnesses was engraved in Chu Xiwei’s heart, though he lamented having no way to repay them.

At this thought, Chu Xiwei’s voice sank a little: “Speak then.”

“The foot of the Emperor’s throne is originally where the Imperial Guards are stationed, not to mention the death cells which are of grave importance. I once personally went to test it out—while I won’t say not even a fly could escape, it is by no means easy for a living person to get out, and rescuing someone is harder still,” Ye Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “The foundation of the Hundred Ghosts Sect lies in the Dongming Valley of the Central Capital. To bypass the checkpoints along the way, travel far up to the Capital, and then pull off a deceptive switch in the death cells to rescue someone—how many chances of success do you think there were? Furthermore, back then, Sect Leader Shen had no friendship with the Qin family to speak of. Why would he take such a risk?”

Hearing this, Chu Xiwei narrowed his eyes. He had thought about these matters as well, but too much time had passed and clues were long since hard to find, and neither Shen Wuduan nor Madam Qin would speak of it, so he had naturally set it aside. Hearing this suddenly now, it instead aroused his past doubts once more. With a turn of his thoughts, he said: “Although Madam Qin spent the rest of her life in peace within the Hundred Ghosts Sect, the one who rescued her from the Capital back then was someone else.”

Ye Fusheng held up two fingers: “There were two people who dared to deceive the Emperor. One of them was my grand-master whom I have never met, Gu Zheng.”

Chu Xiwei’s brow furrowed, then slowly relaxed.

Thirty-four years ago, the Qin Case caused a great sensation at the time. To prevent anyone from breaking into the prison, the late Emperor ordered the death cells to be arranged into an inescapable dragnet, and the ones primarily responsible for guarding it were the Shadow Guards, who had not yet been abolished at that time.

If it was Gu Zheng, who was the Commander of the Shadow Guards at that time, who wanted to rescue someone, though it would be difficult, his chances of success would be significantly higher than an outsider’s.

“When I heard you speak of Gu Zheng’s death before, I felt suspicious,” Chu Xiwei’s expression turned grim. “A dignified Shadow Guard Commander, no matter how much he was disliked by the late Emperor, would not go so far as to be executed by lingchi simply for offending his majesty while pleading for leniency.”

“Indeed, my grand-master’s courage was much greater than mine,” the corner of Ye Fusheng’s mouth quirked up, though no smile could be seen; a pair of peach-blossom eyes reflected the rainy mist, appearing all the more clear. “After his plea for leniency failed, he simply disobeyed the imperial decree and defied the Emperor. Originally, he intended to release Qin Hebai, but unfortunately, the Northern Hero’s mind was as stubborn as a rock—he preferred to die rather than leave, and only begged him to release his younger sister… So my grand-master agreed. He made a deceptive switch to get her out of the death cells, and then dispatched trusted subordinates to escort her out of the Capital. It’s just that no one knows what happened later that caused your old sect leader to take her home.”

It was precisely because of this that the late Emperor flew into a terrible rage. He had long been dissatisfied with the Shadow Guards, and now he could tolerate it no longer. He furiously denounced Gu Zheng as a rebel and traitor, abolished the Shadow Guards, and had Gu Zheng executed by lingchi to appease the anger in his heart.

Chu Xiwei finally understood.

The mist that had been weighing on his heart since their time at Jinshui Town finally turned to rain and fell at this moment. He and Ye Fusheng were now entangled in grievances, yet his bloodline and clan owed the Jinghong lineage an unknowable amount; no matter how one reckoned it, it was a messy account.

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Chu Xiwei paused and asked: “The Emperor would not set foot in the death cells, much less attach importance to a mere woman. Given Gu Zheng’s meticulous mind, how could he have been found out?”

“This brings us to the second person who deceived the Emperor. But before speaking of him, let us first mention another person related to this matter,” Ye Fusheng said slowly. “The previous generation’s Southern Confucian, Ruan Qingxing.”

Back then, the greatest reliance Ruan Feiyu had in pulling Qin Hebai down from his position was this master of his, who held absolute power in the court and enjoyed great fame in the martial arts world.

Ruan Qingxing arose during the previous dynasty and was appreciated by the High Emperor; he was then heavily relied upon by the late Emperor. The ups and downs of his life were by no means comparable to Ruan Feiyu’s. Furthermore, back then, the latter was merely a young man, while Ruan Qingxing was already nearly sixty years old—a shrewd veteran who had seen through the ways of the world.

“Ruan Qingxing was on good terms with Qin Jingwu. After Qin Jingwu died in battle, he once regarded Qin Hebai as his own child. That the latter could reach the peak of a minister’s career was not without his mediation within the court… A-Yao, tell me, why did two people who were once so close not only grow distant later, but even turn against each other?”

Chu Xiwei gave a cold laugh: “Growing distant was precisely because they were too close; turning against each other was nothing more than a matter of interests.”

Since ancient times, though there has been the beautiful tale of “harmony between the general and the minister,” to a monarch who was suspicious by nature and lacked capability, the closer the relationship between civil officials and military generals, the easier it was for his supreme power to fall into the hands of others.

It was fine when Qin Hebai was of low standing and little influence, but by the time he held a high position and great power, Ruan Qingxing had to distance himself from him, otherwise there would be suspicion of forming factions for private ends.

Perhaps it was to avoid suspicion at first, but as time went on, it easily gave rise to estrangement, turning into a genuine, gradual drifting apart. Especially by the time Qin Hebai returned in triumph and became the head of the military generals, the civil and military factions began to clash, and he and Ruan Qingxing also became adversaries through countless conflicts, both large and small.

Since ancient times, the officialdom has been like a battlefield. Once the philosophies and stances of the two sides opposed each other, a victor and a loser had to be decided.

“At that time, Ruan Qingxing was already old and infirm, and the arrogance of the civil officials was dwindling day by day, while Qin Hebai was in his prime, his reputation at its zenith, seemingly holding every advantage,” Ye Fusheng twirled the stem of the leaf, and the raindrops on the leaf’s surface flew out. Chu Xiwei was caught off guard and sprayed all over, staring at him with knitted brows.

Having been splashed with water, his expression was naturally very sour, and his words were even colder: “However, in this way, the one the late Emperor feared changed from the two of them to him alone.”

Showing weakness to others, diverting the disaster eastward. Ruan Qingxing grasped the monarch’s thoughts perfectly and took a step back during that time when the undercurrents were surging rapidly. It just so happened that Qin Hebai did not know how to hide his talents, so he naturally stood at the teeth of the storm.

“Qin Hebai held military power in his hands, and his reputation was extremely high both in the martial arts world and the imperial court. Especially in the Eastern Sea and the Northern Frontier, the common people actually only knew of Lord Qin and not the Emperor… A-Yao, you should understand the meaning within this better than I do.”

The corners of Chu Xiwei’s lips hooked up: “High merit shocks the master; life hangs by a thread.”

“I have always believed that there is no truth in the world that cannot be investigated, unless that person simply does not wish to know the truth.”

More than thirty years ago, the Qin Case involved a vast number of people, and regardless of how much truth or how much grievance lay within it, its consequences shocked the world. It practically cleansed the imperial court of that time; the factions relying on the Qin family were uprooted, and the power of the military generals was completely overturned, failing to recover its vigor even to this day, allowing the civil officials to press upon their heads and dictate terms.

Never mind the Ruan Feiyu who was just starting out back then; even Ruan Qingxing did not possess such a grand method.

Chu Xiwei’s brow twitched: “Are you saying that the instigator of the Qin Case was not the two generations of Southern Confucians, but rather…”

Ye Fusheng smiled without speaking, pointing a finger up toward the heavens, his eyes filled with helplessness and a sigh.