Qu Zhuo emerged from his dwelling holding a stack of documents, shaking his dizzy head. As he approached Yun Ye’s residence, Xiao Miao walked out from the darkness, took the documents from Qu Zhuo’s hands, turned around, and entered the house.
Liu Jinbao walked out from another direction and said to the dazed Qu Zhuo, “In the future, don’t approach the Commander’s tent at night—it’s very dangerous. Fortunately, both Xiao Miao and I were here tonight. If it had been those beasts from the Xuanjia Army, you’d be dead for sure.”
“You still don’t understand military rules. You need to be careful from now on. You absolutely mustn’t act without proper respect. At the estate, it’s fine—even if you and the Marquis get into a fight, it doesn’t matter. Here, trespassing into the central command is a beheading offense.”
Hearing these words, Qu Zhuo wiped away a cold sweat. Having run wild these years, he’d forgotten about these rules. He couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. Liu Jinbao took out his silver flask and passed it to Qu Zhuo, gesturing for him to drink a mouthful to calm his nerves.
Xiao Miao entered the house. Her footsteps were very light, like a cat walking. She placed the documents on the desk, then walked into the inner room. She carefully peeked at the gauze canopy—the Marquis was sleeping soundly. That Rimu Yiniang seemed very afraid of the heat—her snow-white bosom was exposed outside. Those two crimson points stood proudly on the snowy mounds, making Xiao Miao blush with embarrassment.
After leaving the house, her heart still pounded thunderously. Seeing Liu Jinbao and Qu Zhuo talking outside the door, she didn’t go over. With a crouch, she leapt onto the roof. The houses were all built from mud bricks, and the roofs were also smoothed with wheat straw mixed with mud paste—very flat.
The wind blowing through the stone fortress made strange moaning sounds, making Xiao Miao’s face even hotter. She simply lay flat on the roof, staring at the large moon in the sky, thinking of nothing—just trying hard to keep her eyes wide open.
Her gaze unconsciously fell on her own chest. Xiao Miao sighed regretfully, then unwilling to give up, pulled open her collar to look inside. The more she looked, the sadder she became. She was already eighteen—how could that area still be so small?
That Rimu Yiniang was truly beautiful. This afternoon while bathing in the hot springs, she had seen Rimu Yiniang’s body. How could she be so white? Her chest was also so large, and her buttocks…
Just as Xiao Miao was lost in wild thoughts, a white light burst out from her master’s room, and she could hear his startled cry. Xiao Miao’s arms pushed against the roof and she flew toward the room blazing with white light. While in mid-air, a clod of earth she’d just broken off the roof struck the pillar beside Liu Jinbao. Liu Jinbao jolted, drew his horizontal blade, and with one stride stood before the Commander’s door. Qu Zhuo, accustomed to danger, rolled and dove under the feed trough, startling Wang Cai, who lowered his head and kept looking at him.
Xiao Miao had just crossed over the wall into her master’s courtyard when she saw the white light in the house suddenly disappear. Just as she was about to enter, her master’s face, calm as an ancient well, appeared at the doorway.
“Master, what just happened?” Xiao Miao hurriedly asked.
“Nothing happened. Go, guard Marquis Yun well. Your master doesn’t need worry here.” After speaking, he closed the door again. Inside the house it was pitch black—Xiao Miao hadn’t seen anything earlier.
Xiao Miao returned to Yun Ye’s courtyard, looking back with every three steps. She waved at Liu Jinbao, and only then did Liu Jinbao relax. He walked to the feed trough and pulled out the soaking wet Qu Zhuo. Wang Cai was still spraying water from his mouth—this fellow had just tried to steal his fodder and needed to be taught a lesson.
“Remember from now on—you can’t approach Wang Cai’s feed trough. Except for the Marquis, whoever approaches has bad luck. Spraying you with water this time is already giving face to an acquaintance. Last time Miss Xiao Wu approached the feed trough, Wang Cai tore off her skirt. Fortunately, it was at home—if it had been outside, the young miss wouldn’t have had face to see people. As for the stable hand, you only need to look at his gap-toothed mouth to know what Wang Cai is like when he loses his temper.”
Qu Zhuo wiped the water from his face and said with lingering fear, “I thought it was horse urine.” This remark made Liu Jinbao laugh heartily. There weren’t many rules at home—as long as you didn’t provoke Miss Xiao Ya and Wang Cai, you could basically pass safely. However, now Miss Yun Mu had also become a big trouble—during the days the Marquis was away, her temper was extremely volatile.
Just after the hour of Zi, six white-bearded old men wearing armor walked over from the adjacent courtyard. They glanced at Xiao Miao crouching on the roof, then one old man nimbly climbed onto the rooftop, sat cross-legged holding a crossbow without saying a word.
Xiao Miao descended from the roof and slipped into a small room beside Yun Ye’s chamber. She was still very puzzled—her master had never hidden anything from her. His room had clearly been blazing with white light, so why did he say nothing had happened? Xiao Miao was certain that white light absolutely couldn’t have been produced by candlelight.
Liu Jinbao kept nodding and apologizing. He’d explained three times why Qu Zhuo appeared in this place. Finally, one big-bearded old man said softly, “Don’t bring the estate’s rules into the military. The estate is where we rest, so naturally we can relax. The Western Regions are a wolf’s den—we cannot be careless.”
“Yes, Old Lei, I’ve remembered. Next time if any unrelated person comes in, first I’ll cut them down before asking questions.” Liu Jinbao spoke softly again. He couldn’t beat Old Lei, and if he dared talk back again, he’d get another thorough beating.
Yun Ye didn’t know what had happened during the night. He got up at cockcrow. While eating, Wu She walked in and said out of nowhere, “There’s movement.” Then he sat opposite and took a steamed bun to begin eating. He seemed very hungry today—he ate a whole plate of steamed buns and drank two large bowls of millet porridge before stopping.
“Congratulations. Then continue researching. When you get results, just tell me. Don’t torture yourself too harshly either—after all, you’re getting old. I dare guarantee you that even if you figure it out, it won’t have any life-extending effects. Preserving your current vitality is what’s real. Just treat that thing as a toy—play with it and that’s enough. It’s not worth investing too much energy.”
Wu She was stunned by Yun Ye’s nonchalance. No matter what secrets those four jade pendants held, they should be earth-shattering secrets. How could Yun Ye act so indifferent?
If anyone else displayed this attitude, Wu She would immediately consider it an act, something to pacify people’s hearts. He’d known Yun Ye for over ten years—what should be seen through had long been seen through. When he said he didn’t care, he truly didn’t care.
“Last night, I somehow fiddled with it, and one jade pendant blazed with light. The room was bright as day. The light shining through the window even startled Xiao Miao. Have you also seen this kind of scene?” Wu She probed with a question.
“Blazing with light?” The first thing that came to Yun Ye’s mind was incandescent lights. Had he not seen strong light? He’d watched scenes of atomic bomb explosions on television countless times. If Wu She had seen such things, he wouldn’t be talking about any strong light.
“When you research this thing in the future, stay far away from me. Some light can kill people. Right now I bear responsibility for the lives of tens of thousands of people and can’t have problems. If you’re careless and something happens, don’t blame me.”
Wu She only heard that sentence about how some light could kill people. As for the rest, he considered it Yun Ye singing. He hurriedly asked, “You’ve seen this kind of light? Think carefully—it’s white light.”
“I’ve seen it, many times, so many I can’t even count. If you like playing with it, take it far away to play. Today I still have a military meeting to discuss matters concerning Bolu Kingdom. Don’t bother me with these trivial matters.”
Wu She was enraged by Yun Ye’s attitude. Flinging his sleeves, he left. Yun Ye watched the direction Wu She departed and shook his head helplessly. What could the ancients leave him? Treasure? Did he lack such things? If he wanted treasure, the Yun family would have long been as wealthy as a nation. Even his current wealth, Yun Ye found excessive.
Technology? During the Warring States period, writing two characters required carving bamboo slips with knives. Weapons made of bronze were treated as treasures. The Gongshu family inventing an extendable ladder was already the highest military secret. What was there that he needed to covet?
Eternal life? Immortals? Go to hell! First, find someone who truly lived eight hundred years and show them to me. Thinking of immortals and eternal life made Yun Ye feel disgusted. Although his own origins were strange, he never believed this world had any immortals. He originally thought he might live forever, but discovered he was still slowly aging. Nearly thirty years old, he was very clear about his body’s changes. What caused his body to return to youth must have been nature playing tricks. If a white-bearded old man really appeared saying he was their mistake, Yun Ye would have murderous thoughts.
Yun Ye finished the steamed bun in his hands in two or three bites—he was about to start work. His reason for remaining in Loulan and not advancing further was discovering that the Western Regions were somewhat different from the Western Regions he’d previously understood. Everywhere revealed strangeness. He must clarify all matters before he would set out for Tingzhou. There was still a complete set of civil officials left behind by Su Dingfang there. Many were students who had graduated from the Academy. These people must all be brought out. Bandits in Beiting were now surprisingly numerous. Tingzhou, garrisoned by only a thousand men, could be said to be in imminent danger. If attacked there, it would absolutely cause a very great disaster.
“Right now I only want to know—Tubo was originally at war with Bolu Kingdom. Why have they ceased hostilities these past two years? Though both sides have had victories and defeats, mainly the Tubo people had the greater advantage. Although the Eastern Women’s Kingdom dragged down Tubo’s rear, given the Tubo people’s warlike nature, I don’t believe they would abandon this fat piece of meat that is Bolu Kingdom and not devour it. Find the reason.”
After Yun Ye finished speaking, he fixed his gaze on Fan Hongyi. In the entire army, only he had authority to contact people from the Directorate of Waterways. Previously, they were all secret agents of Bai Qi Si—now they should all belong to the Directorate of Waterways.
Fan Hongyi thumped his own head and said to Yun Ye, “This humble officer examined all documents. Before departing from Chang’an, I went through the Directorate of Waterways’ archives and found nothing abnormal. That Tubo stopped invading Bolu Kingdom—this humble officer believes it’s very likely they were unable to continue, or perhaps it’s related to our Great Tang stationing troops in Beiting?”
“What I want is evidence, not guesses. Beiting is now full of bandits everywhere. Heaven knows whether these bandits are actually armies dispatched by those people. I need solid evidence to determine our army’s next move.”