LU TI HAD BEEN TAKEN HOSTAGE, and his life now hung by a thread. Yet he showed no fear. Rather, upon his face was written disbelief, shock, and rage.
"Sanlang, let go of your uncle!" Madam Li sobbed.
"You bastard! When have your aunt or I ever wronged you? How could you kill Daniang?!" Lu Ti was trembling all over, paying no heed to the whip sword slowly tightening around his neck. Blood dripped down the blade and over his skin. Madam Li's terror overwhelmed her: her vision went dark, and she crumpled limply to the floor.
"I'm sorry. You did treat me well, but I haven't forgotten my hometown and family. I can't become the real Su Xing!"
Everyone was shocked, including the group with Cui Buqu.
"If you're not Su Xing, then who are you?!" asked Pei Jingzhe.
Su Xing was silent.
Lu Ti was filled with anguish and sorrow. "Even if you aren't Su Xing, you've been part of the Lu family for many years. I have no sons and have always treated you as my own child. Daniang was devoted to you; she never wavered. The proposed marriage with the Wang family of Taiyuan was my own fixation. It had nothing to do with Daniang. If you were dissatisfied, why not kill me instead?! Why kill Daniang?! Have…have you no conscience?"
Su Xing sighed. "You misunderstand. I didn't kill Daniang because of the marriage. If you wish to blame someone for Daniang's death, blame her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's why she had to die!"
"Did she discover you were a Goguryeon?" Cui Buqu cut in. "Or did she discover you killed the Khotanese envoy and stole the Jade of Heaven Lake?"
Su Xing narrowed his eyes and looked at Cui Buqu. "The Jiejian Bureau deserves its reputation. I thought this was well concealed and I could escape without issue. I never imagined simply killing Lu Youniang would cause so much trouble!"
Cui Buqu smirked. "You think the Jiejian Bureau has anyone as talented and resourceful as me? I'm from the Zuoyue Bureau, remember that! The characters Zuo, Er, Yue together make Sui. Don't mistake one enemy for another, lest you find yourself dead without knowing who killed you!"
Pei Jingzhe stared.
Now he finally understood. Cui Buqu used the Jiejian Bureau's name when he was offending his enemies, and the Zuoyue Bureau's name when he was intimidating them and burnishing his reputation.
Must you debase our Jiejian Bureau? What right do you have to make the Zuoyue Bureau sound superior? A crowd of complaints stampeded through Pei Jingzhe's heart, but now wasn't the time to speak them aloud. All he could do was wait till this was all over so he could run and tattle to Feng Xiao. Of everyone present, only Pei Jingzhe had attention to spare for these complex, agitated thoughts swirling in his heart. The rest of the hall's focus was drawn to the conversation between Su Xing and Cui Buqu.
Lu Ti was aghast. He shook like a leaf. "You… You're Goguryeon? Then what happened to the real Su Xing?!"
"He died long ago," Su Xing said coolly. "Six years ago, there was a plague in Su Xing's hometown; all five members of his family died. I happened to be passing through and took on his identity. I pretended I'd had a narrow escape and came to the Lu family for shelter."
Lu Ti was panting. "Why…why choose the Lu family?! The Lu clan has no connection to Goguryeo!"
"Whether it's the son-in-law of the Lu family or Su Xing, to me it's just a shell. Wherever they need me, that's where I go. Whoever they need me to be, that's who I become."
"Who's 'they'?" asked Pei Jingzhe.
Su Xing ignored him and continued. "After I settled down with the Lu family, they made no attempt to contact me. I originally planned to marry Youniang and become Su Xing in truth. That would have been rather nice. Unfortunately, when news came that Khotan wished to meet with the emperor of Sui, they claimed me again. So you see, I was unable to stay out of the matter."
"But what does that have to do with your murder of Lu Youniang?" Pei Jingzhe asked. "She was a girl who lived in ladies' chambers; she had nothing to do with your schemes and plotting!"
"I also wish to know!" Lu Ti wailed. "Su Xing, whether or not that's really your name, you've never suffered any injustice at the hands of the Lu family. Your aunt was afraid the servants in the family would look down on you, so she specifically instructed them to treat you as they would treat Youniang. And the way Youniang regarded you was even more… Why, why?!"
"Does this need to be asked?" Cui Buqu said coldly. "Lu Youniang has nothing to do with the Khotanese envoy, but she must have seen something she shouldn't. Su Xing was forced to silence the witness!"
"That's right," said Su Xing. "That day, when Youniang left her father's, she rushed right over to find me, but I happened to be out. Normally she's very well-mannered; this was the first time she entered my study without permission."
"People like you are meticulous and careful, otherwise you wouldn't be able to conceal yourself for so many years. Even if Lu Youniang did enter the study, what could she possibly have seen that she shouldn't have?"
"I have a book filled with codes. I use those codes to decipher messages sent by my accomplices. The book itself is unremarkable; normally, no one would bother flipping through it. Unfortunately, of all the books on the bookshelf, that was the one she took out to read."
Su Xing closed his eyes. He didn't have to tell them all this; he could simply remain silent. Perhaps Cui Buqu's group would never have found out what Lu Youniang discovered that ended her life. And yet he'd spilled the entire story. It was clear the lovely, ill-fated Lu Youniang wasn't nothing to him.
The dead could never return. Only in this way could he soothe the tiny sliver of guilt pricking his heart.
"When I returned, I noted my cousin's flustered expression and the way she stumbled over her words. I went to find the book and saw signs it'd been read. My cousin was sharp—I knew she'd connected the dots. But I hadn't obtained the jade; I couldn't afford to be exposed. Youniang had to die." He heaved a weary sigh.
Lu Ti's face streamed with tears—but they were tears of rage, the tears of a father powerless before the villain who'd killed his beloved daughter. "Youniang loved you with all her heart. She refused a marriage into the Wang family of Taiyuang. Even if she discovered something, she would never betray you. Why couldn't you let her live?!"
"I couldn't take the risk. If my identity was exposed and the mission failed, death awaits my family in Goguryeo. I can only repay Youniang's love for me in the next life." Su Xing looked at Cui Buqu. "You must also know by now that the real Jade of Heaven Lake isn't on me. I can offer you Lu Ti's life and some valuable information—would you be willing to let me go in exchange?"
Pei Jingzhe sniffed contemptuously. "You mean to give up your accomplice? She's been seriously injured, and we're combing the city for her as we speak. She'll be caught any minute."
Su Xing shook his head. "Only I know where she'll be hiding. You won't find her even if you search for three days and three nights. And don't forget, the jade is in her hands. She's capable; she likely already discovered the jade's secret—that it can be used to enhance martial arts. Even healing internal injuries might be possible with the help of the jade. Once she recuperates and sneaks out of the city, good luck catching her."
As he spoke, his gaze never left Cui Buqu. He clearly knew who was in charge here.
"Very well," said Cui Buqu. "If your information is accurate, I will drop the charges against you for the murder of Lu Youniang. You needn't release Lu Ti now if you don't trust me. You can release him once we've caught your accomplice."
Lu Ti hissed and spit. "Absolutely not! Even if he drops the charges, I won't let you go. I'll kill you!"
Su Xing paid him no heed. He tapped the acupoint that would render Lu Ti mute, and Lu Ti fell silent.
"I need a guarantee. Something strong enough to reassure me," Su Xing said to Cui Buqu.
Cui Buqu addressed Zhangsun Bodhi. "Head to Feng Xiao's place to help out. No need to come back for now. I'll find you if I need you."
Zhangsun nodded. He asked no questions but turned and left.
Su Xing watched Zhangsun disappear and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The one person on the scene he feared was Zhangsun Bodhi. Su Xing was an elite martial artist himself; with Zhangsun gone, he considered no one else here his match. He was no longer afraid.
Cui Buqu thrust a hand out toward Pei Jingzhe. "Give it here."
Pei Jingzhe looked back at him, flummoxed.
Impatiently, Cui Buqu said, "Your deputy chief asked me to help, so he must have given you some kind of certificate or seal. I need it now, so give it here."
Pei Jingzhe couldn't help saying, "But your lordship is from the Zuo—" His voice died out as Cui Buqu nailed him with a sinister glare. With great reluctance, he reached into his lapels and produced a small seal, then tossed it to Cui Buqu.
Cui Buqu looked down at the seal, then threw it in turn to Su Xing. "This is the seal of the Jiejian Bureau's deputy chief. Any gate within Great Sui's borders will open to you with this seal. Though leaving this place means leaving the country, with this certification in hand you'll feel some measure of reassurance, no?"
Su Xing's true background was a tightly kept secret, but his six-year stay with the Lu family had influenced him. He'd seen no few treasures, and the moment he weighed the seal in his hand he knew Cui Buqu was telling the truth. He tucked it into his lapels, then pulled Lu Ti toward the door, step by step.
Every member of the Lu family looked upon him as their mortal enemy as they followed tightly after him, but Su Xing paid them no attention. Though Cui Buqu had no martial arts to speak of, to Su Xing's mind, the man was somehow a more present threat than either Qiao Xian or Pei Jingzhe. It was the prick of his martial artist's intuition—inexplicable, but unfailingly accurate.
When Su Xing and Lu Ti were at a distance Su Xing thought sufficient for his escape, he spoke: "Qin Miaoyu can most often be found in three places in this city. The first two are Chunxiang House and Ronghe Building. The third is the small Qingzhuan house in the east of the city. Upon its doors hang banners with couplets that say, 'Green willows flourish beneath the light; the red walls glow, refreshed and bright.'"
Qiao Xian and Zhangsun had previously located Qin Miaoyu in the vicinity of Chunxiang House, so the moment they heard this, they knew Su Xing wasn't lying.
Su Xing took a deep breath, then leapt up onto the roof taking Lu Ti with him. "I've said all I promised, so I'll be leaving now." He smiled.
He wasn't particularly handsome, but the instant he was out of danger, he assumed a calm, steady aura. Seeing him like this, it made sense Lady Lu had fallen for him. It was her ill luck to have trusted the wrong person and lost her life.
"I have one more question," said Cui Buqu.
"Daoist Master Cui, now you're being greedy. I won't answer."
"Since your name isn't Su Xing, how should I address you?"
Su Xing was silent a spell. "Yin Zairong, as in 'a gentleman is made through his achievements, not his looks.'"
"Better it should be 'a gentleman is made through his virtue, not looks'!" Qiao Xian sneered. "You know, when she fought with us, she chose to risk escape rather than reveal your whereabouts!"
She wasn't referring to Lady Lu, but to Qin Miaoyu.
Su Xing was taken aback. The moment his focus slipped, a strong wind blew up from behind him. He made to dodge, but he was holding Lu Ti; there was no time. He had no choice but to shove Lu Ti away, pushing off him to veer to the side. But the person behind him seemed to anticipate his move; they swept to the side after him.
Su Xing was afraid Qiao Xian and the others would fall upon him at once. Unwilling to fight, he fled. To his surprise, the opponent's qinggong was superb—he shot past Su Xing to block his escape. A blast from his opponent's palm whipped toward him; Su Xing brought up his sword to block. Their eyes met, and Su Xing saw a terribly handsome face.
"Leaving in such a hurry? Perhaps you'll return my seal to me first," Feng Xiao said with a smile.