Chapter 197: Startling Developments in the Meadow
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xiao En knew he was finished. After hitting the ground, he relied on his decades of experience; he covered himself with rotten tree leaves, hiding his scent and quietly escaping the forest.
Since Fan Xian and the seven other Tiger Guards had followed him through the reeds along the lakeside into the forest, he had definitely left them some kind of trace. Xiao En covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his coughing. 20 years of life in prison had damaged his circulatory system. Falling that high from a tree, he realized with some sorrow that his brain reacted more slowly than his body.
If this were 20 years ago, he believed he could have calmly killed Fan Xian in the process of falling. Even if there were seven expert swordsmen under the tree, as long as he retained his familiarity with the mists of the Northern Sea, Xiao En still strongly believed he could easily escape.
But... old age comes to all of us eventually.
He had no way to stop up the bleeding wounds on his shoulder. Fan Xian's strange dagger had left two strange puncture marks, and the blood flowed from them incessantly. Xiao En could feel his body weaken, and a smile seemed to flash in his eyes as if he had seen through something. He tore off a strip of clothing and wrapped it around his hand, pressing it onto the bloody wounds.
His kneecap had shattered to pieces, and the pain stimulated his mind, allowing the ageing spymaster to continue making his way through the thick mists.
After he had fallen from the tree, Gao Da, leader of the Tiger Guards, had slashed at his belly with a blade as white as snow. Although he had quickly evaded it, he still could not stop the sliced flesh from opening up, and his black robes were being soaked with blood.
Although Xiao En had suffered many wounds to his body, the one that had made him feel powerless to resist was still the needle in his neck. He did not dare to pull it out, unsure of what the consequence would be. He could feel the blood slowly congealing in his body, and his pace slowed as he tried to move forward.
His aged and withered hands could still firmly pull mushrooms up from under the tree. He chewed them and swallowed. These were hongshan mushrooms, which could enrich the blood and counteract poison. This was Aishan Forest, a place he had been familiar with decades ago, so he had chosen this place to make his escape. To his surprise, he was still not out of the grasp of that young man's tricks.
Dawn slowly arrived, and the thick mists had still not dispersed. Bright rays of light saturated the fog, bringing about a feeling of holy purity.
The blood finally began to drip from the old man's body, spilling to the muddy ground. Though the sound was subtle, he knew clearly that that young man was stalking him like a hidden tiger, and could emerge at any moment. He just didn't understand why he hadn't already made his move.
But Xiao En knew... he was finished.
It was unclear what strength had stubbornly supported this old man, tormented for 20 years and now ridden with wounds, as he made his way through the mists of Aishan Forest, climbing to the summit of a hill. Walking across the broad and slightly wet meadow, he finally saw Northern Qi territory.
The village of Wuduhe shined under the sunlight in the distance. Xiao En sighed. Rather disappointed and powerless, he sat down, using his hands to move his right leg with its shattered kneecap to the left-hand side. He coughed.
The shine came from the reflection off the village's colored glass tiles. Although this was the countryside, where glass was of little use, many years ago Xiao En had learned that there had once been a glassmaker's workshop not far from the village. After it had been destroyed, the people of the village took the glass fragments and arranged them upon the roofs of their houses.
No matter when or where they were, in a dark world, people always wanted to create a little light for themselves.
Xiao En was the same. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the shining glass tiles, thinking back to over 20 years ago. The small village seemed to have hardly changed.
In the fields outside the village, a battle had long since ended. The troops who had come to rescue Xiao En had been completely massacred. Around 200 Black Knights, like a lifeless black wall, stood on one side of the field. A handful of them had charged into the bloody fray, seen their still-living enemy, and drawn their blades. The endless spluttering sound had echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Those young men in the bloodbath in the meadow were Shang Shanhu's men, were they not?"
Xiao En narrowed his eyes and looked at the scenery. He felt a sudden tiredness, and coughed again. He already completely understood Fan Xian's plans. Although the handsome young man lacked experience, he had the boldness and courage to make a move. He had chased him all the way to Wuduhe. Naturally, he wanted him dead along with the pitiful Northern Qi solders in the meadow below.
A slender dagger quietly came forth. Its surface was cold enough to make the old man's neck break out in goose pimples.
"You aren't as strong as I thought." Fan Xian's calm voice came from behind him.
Xiao En pursed his withered lips and laughed bitterly. "I'm not as strong as I thought either."
"With all your experience, it shouldn't have been hard to tell this was a trap. Why did you still try to escape?" All the while that he had been chasing him throughout the night, this was something that Fan Xian could not understand.
Xiao En didn't respond, remaining silent. He didn't tell the young man that because of Wang Qinian's careless words, he had thought of a young woman and of a temple.
"Why don't you make your move?" Xiao En was strangely cold. He looked at the unusually quiet village in front of him. "You and I are both in this line of work. You should know that the longer things are drawn out, the more variables may arise."
"I just got the sudden feeling that I seem to have made a mistake." Fan Xian drew his dagger tighter, a slight frustration appearing in his eyes, framed by black cloth. "I presumed that the Eldest Princess would have dispatched someone to receive you. I didn't expect it would only be men from Northern Qi."
"I don't know who this 'Eldest Princess' is." Xiao En seemed to have long since lost any regard for his life or death. He took a deep breath of the fresh meadow air. He hadn't smelled such a natural aroma in many years. In the Overwatch Council's prison, all he could smell was iron and straw. After so many years, he hated the smell. Loathed it. Tired of it.
Fan Xian suddenly felt that something was strange. His eyes fixed like knives onto the back of the old man's white head.
"I remind you again that since you wish to kill me, and have chosen to do so at the border, then it is best to do it quickly, and leave me with the bodies of those soldiers who wished to free me," said Xiao En coldly. "Otherwise the Northern Qi welcoming party will arrive, and if you wish to kill me, you will have to consider the life of that colleague of yours."
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. This plan to kill Xiao En on the border was risky. To be exact, it risked Yan Bingyun's life. Since the Northern Qi general Shang Shanhu had dispatched people to receive the escaped Xiao En, in the chaos of battle, Xiao En had died – this was reasoning that the young Emperor of Northern Qi could, and had to, accept. The important part was the fact that the diplomatic mission had relied on the military might of the Kingdom of Qing the entire time. But what made Fan Xian unusually disappointed was that Yan Xiaoyi's army had not appeared on the battlefield as he had expected. If he could not secretly kill the Eldest Princess, then what sense was there in killing Xiao En?
Unsure what he was thinking, Fan Xian gripped his dagger tighter, until his knuckles went white.
"Why do you always presume that I am still a tiger?" Xiao En did not turn his head, nor did he lower it to look down at the blade. He smiled as he talked to himself. "I am but a frail, toothless tiger. I just know some things that others do not, so I am still able to struggle on whilst at death's door to this day. In the Kingdom of Qing, I was a prisoner. In fact, having returned to the north, I will still be a prisoner in Northern Qi. Naturally I want to fight. When you live to my age, you fear nothing... but I fear not having freedom."
"Perhaps I understand now why Director Chen wanted to send you back, and then have me kill you." Fan Xian seemed not to have paid any attention to Xiao En's warning, and still appeared to be talking at length. "This is a test. Mr. Xiao, you said that my talents were great and my strength was formidable, but that I had never faced real strength alone. You may be the first truly strong person who I have fought by myself in my entire life."
Xiao En shook his head. He still sat cross-legged facing the village. "No. I am not strong anymore. All I have done on our journey is scare people. As for Chen Pingping..." He smiled, his face filled with both bitter resentment and deep joy. "In truth... he knows nothing. He only knows that he cannot kill me, so he has no choice but to imprison me. And yet he does not know why he cannot kill me, nor what he can learn from me. He boasts of his plots stretching throughout the entire land, but in truth, he is a pitiful, confused fool!"
The old man's speech was agitated. He coughed. His wound had opened again, and fresh blood spilled out, falling on the meadow.
The grass trembled slightly in the breeze.
"Just what are your secrets?" Fan Xian's face did not change, but he quietly changed his bearing. "What do you know?"
"I was imprisoned for 20 years, and I said nothing. Even Chen Pingping lost all patience and sent me to be your prey in your test of maturity," jeered Xiao En. "And you think I'll tell a naïve child like you?"
"If you don't even fear death, then why are you afraid to tell me your secrets?"
"There are things in this world much more terrifying than death."
Fan Xian sighed. He could tell that the seven swordsmen behind him had already retreated to a safe place nearby. He smiled, and turned his head to the right to look at the orderly line of Black Knights in the distance. Everything seemed to have worked out.
Suddenly, without warning, he placed a foot on the meadow, and his body slid leftward. A poison needle left his hand and flew into the underbrush!
He was already in midair, like he was dancing through it. The slender dagger in his hand was like a pitch-black viper, and he stuck it out, perfectly straight. It made a humming sound in the air. It had been imbued with all of the powerful zhenqi in his body!
The seven Tiger Guards had already secretly taken up positions on the favorable terrain. Fan Xian suddenly mounted a sneak attack. The seven swordsmen, acting together in silent understanding, attacked the underbrush, stirring up great drifts of snow, dazzling the eyes!
Such power and such a sudden movement. No matter whom the ambusher was - even if it was the enigmatic Eunuch Hong of the Qing Palace, perhaps battered and exhausted; they would have to pay with their flesh!