“Master Zhu, Amber County is just ahead. We’ll rest there for the night and continue our journey tomorrow morning. In two more days, we’ll reach the Tang capital.”
A robust man with a full beard, strong in stature but with an honest and simple face, called loudly to someone sitting in a carriage covered with blue floral cloth.
Then, a pair of delicate yet not weak-looking hands with a certain aristocratic air reached out, lifting the curtain to reveal a handsome and elegant face. The man wore a plain blue robe that wasn’t luxurious but rather stylish. His phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, his expression calm, his bearing distinguished—clearly from a noble family. Even when smiling, his smile carried an air of nobility that kept others at a distance. He called to the man on horseback, “Thank you, Brother.”
The large man smiled openly, revealing a set of white teeth, and replied in a deep voice, “How is your wife doing?”
Hearing this, the man’s face broke into a genuine smile. He nodded and said, “Thanks to your effective medicine, she’s much better now.”
“Hehe,” the large man became cheerful and laughed, “That’s good. I could tell at first glance that you’re from a wealthy family and haven’t experienced such hardships before.”
The man nodded slightly, seemingly unwilling to say more, and only smiled lightly, “Brother has good eyes.”
The large man waved his hand cheerfully but didn’t respond further. Watching the curtain drop, concealing the man’s faint smile, he actually let out a long sigh of relief.
This person, even when smiling at others, had an icy expression. The smile never truly reached his eyes, which gave people the chills. Except for his beautiful young wife, he seemed to wear the same expression for everyone. Though his wife’s attitude toward him wasn’t particularly warm either.
The large man shook his head in puzzlement. A woman so ill yet never uttering a sound of complaint—truly the first such woman he had encountered in his lifetime.
“Hya! Brothers, let’s hurry up! Push harder! We’ll all have a good rest when we reach the Tang capital!”
A chorus of responses immediately erupted from the convoy, with the men’s rough voices piercing through the high clouds, startling the birds peacefully flying overhead into a panic.
As soon as the curtain was lowered, the smile instantly vanished from the man’s face. Inside the carriage sat a young woman dressed in a lake-green gown. Her clothes were quite luxurious, though the hem was somewhat damaged, clearly having endured a series of arduous long journeys.
These two people were none other than Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue. Even with Chu Qiao’s resilience, she could hardly sustain herself under such severe injuries. Had it not been for Zhuge Yue’s protection along the way, she might have perished in the wilderness long ago.
That woman named Xi Jiu was right; though it wasn’t a deadly poison, it was no simple toxin either.
Although movies and television often portray ancient poisons as miraculous, people living in the twenty-first century generally scoff at such portrayals. Most believe that with ancient technological capabilities, it would be difficult to refine toxins of any significant potency. Apart from a few rare snake venoms, there were no lethal substances.
But Chu Qiao, as a commander of Military Intelligence Section 11, knew that many things were not as simple as they appeared. In the twenty-first century, poison development had reached miraculous levels. A single small NH6099 poison gas bomb could destroy a medium-sized city of one million people in just thirty seconds. The latest VX3 toxin developed by Country M required just one drop to contaminate twenty nautical miles of seawater. Not to mention Country R, well-versed in this field, which had already led the world in lethal pharmaceutical research during World War II and now was even further ahead.
This was research completely devoid of humanitarian spirit. Compared to atomic bombs, poison gas bombs had greater power, lower cost, caused more cruel deaths, and had more profound lasting effects. Chu Qiao knew that more than two thousand years ago, China’s poison research was already incredibly advanced. One shouldn’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. When truly standing before them, one would realize how insignificant they were.
Just like now, with her completely paralyzed body, she had no means or ability to reverse this situation.
After leaving the swamp that day, they did not go to Xiangma Pass to intercept Zhu Shun. In their current state, going there would have been suicidal. So Zhuge Yue decisively chose to head south toward the Tang capital. After traveling for a day, Zhuge Yue saw that Chu Qiao’s face was pale blue and her lips ashen gray. Knowing her stubborn character—exhausted yet refusing to speak up—he decided to stop. By chance, they encountered a convoy of escorts transporting goods to the capital, so they hitched a ride. They enacted one of the most clichéd movie scenarios, pretending to be a down-on-his-luck scholar traveling to the capital with his seriously ill wife to seek refuge with relatives.
“How are you feeling?” Seeing Chu Qiao slowly open her eyes, Zhuge Yue asked in a deep voice.
Chu Qiao’s complexion was still poor, her body extremely weak, and her eyes revealed undisguisable signs of fatigue. She drew a deep breath and slowly shook her head. Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently, seemingly having run over something hard. Without any shock absorption, the carriage instantly began to shake. Chu Qiao lost her balance and collapsed softly toward Zhuge Yue. With quick reflexes, he steadied her with one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder, preventing her from hitting her head. It was only after a good while that the carriage gradually settled down.
Chu Qiao, who had fallen against Zhuge Yue’s chest, hurriedly used both hands to sit up straight, tucking her loose hair behind her ears, looking somewhat embarrassed. Zhuge Yue, however, remained composed, releasing his hold and leaning back against the carriage in silence.
Chu Qiao glanced at him sideways and suddenly felt how strange life truly was. If someone had told her a year ago that she would one day sit in the same carriage with Zhuge Yue without them trying to kill each other by any means necessary, she would never have believed it. Now, even she couldn’t quite figure out the awkward relationship between them. She wanted to stubbornly declare that they were still enemies with numerous new and old grudges, irreconcilable class opposites, but such words seemed forced even to herself. So she stopped thinking about it. Anyway, after reaching the Tang capital, Zhuge Yue attended Li Ce’s wedding, while she headed towards the Southern Border. From then on, they would be worlds apart, never to meet again. Some things were better left unexamined too deeply.
She slowly closed her eyes to rest quietly. Suddenly, she heard the escort leader shouting.
“Steady now! Master Zhu’s wife is ill!”
These words, rather than helping, only made the silence between them more awkward. Fortunately, they soon heard the bustling noise of a crowd. Chu Qiao lifted the curtain to look outside. The official road was filled with crowds of people bustling about. Commoners in cloth garments carried shoulder poles and baskets, young and old, men and women, walking together toward their destination. Everyone talked and laughed loudly, creating a scene of peace and prosperity.
There were significant differences between Da Xia and Bian Tang, and these differences became more apparent the closer one got to the Bian Tang capital.
Outside, riding a tall horse alongside the other escorts, Leader Yu looked at Chu Qiao and laughed heartily, saying loudly, “Mrs. Zhu, we’ve reached Amber County. We’ll find a good doctor to look at you later. Once we enter the city, we’ll go to an inn to rest!”
Chu Qiao smiled in response. The crowd was dense, people coming and going, merchants of all kinds hurrying forward. Looking into the distance, Chu Qiao could see the dense fog gradually dispersing. The evening sunlight filtered through tree branches and slowly cast upon the convoy of carriages. She raised her head slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Ahead, one of Bian Tang’s important cities—Amber County—was now in sight.
Suddenly, a shout interrupted Chu Qiao’s contemplation. Before she could react, a thick, hairy, disgusting hand abruptly lifted the carriage curtain.
It was a soldier wearing the uniform of the city gate guards. Escort Leader Yu, standing nearby, carefully explained, “It’s just a scholar going to the capital with his sick wife to seek refuge with relatives. Sir, you’ve already checked, please let us pass.”
The soldier originally had no intention of making trouble, but was merely looking to collect a few copper coins for wine, as was customary when seeing such a large convoy. However, when he lifted the curtain and suddenly saw the cold-faced yet beautiful Chu Qiao inside, his eyes became fixed, unable to blink.
Seeing the soldier’s gaze, Zhuge Yue’s eyes turned cold, his eyebrows slightly raised, about to react. Suddenly, he saw Chu Qiao taking out a few copper coins—currency used throughout the entire Ximeng Continent—and handing them to the soldier, saying softly, “Sir, please be accommodating. My husband and I are new here and unfamiliar with the area. If we’ve caused any offense, please forgive us.”
The soldier was immediately flattered and dumbfounded, obediently letting them pass. Everyone quickly cracked their whips, striking the horses’ flanks, and transported the large shipment of goods majestically into the city.
As the curtain slowly lowered, Zhuge Yue looked at Chu Qiao with a strange expression. Chu Qiao glanced at him sideways, not meeting his eyes directly, only coldly pursing her lips and muttering, “Incapable of accomplishing anything…”
However, surprisingly, Zhuge Yue, whom Chu Qiao repeatedly accused of being narrow-minded, did not counter or ridicule her as he usually would. The man didn’t even grunt in response, but unusually turned his head away, looking at the bustling street outside with great interest.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Chu Qiao felt somewhat disappointed. She lifted the curtain on her side and also looked outside, ignoring him again.
At this moment, the expression of the Zhuge family’s fourth young master suddenly softened. In his mind, he slowly recalled the words from just now: “My husband and I…”
Amber County was situated eastward. Although it didn’t border Da Xia and was far from the border city of Huai Song, as an important territory of the Bian Tang Empire, even without the threat of powerful neighboring countries, it was a military stronghold with over ten thousand troops because just east of the city lay the continent’s largest wilderness—Ping Gui Wilderness—and the garrison was meant to prevent fierce bandits from the wilderness from invading. Although Bian Tang traditionally lacked a martial spirit, this border stronghold had a somewhat stronger martial atmosphere, and those skilled in martial arts often received high regard and respect. For this reason, Amber County was filled with martial arts schools and fighting arenas. Along the way, they had seen three groups gathered for martial arts competitions, which left Chu Qiao in awe.
Besides its strong martial atmosphere, Amber County was also an important commercial county in eastern Bian Tang. Bordering the Ping Gui Wilderness, despite occasional conflicts with several powerful bandit groups in the wilderness, it also frequently engaged in commercial exchanges and trade with them. The import of cattle, sheep, and horses accounted for nearly half of the country’s total. Additionally, Bian Tang bordered Huai Song, which possessed the longest coastline of any country on the continent, so Amber County’s salt trade was also highly developed, bearing almost the entire salt industry of Bian Tang. For instance, Escort Leader Yu and his group were commissioned by the Xian Yang Merchant House of the Liu family to transport sea salt to the Tang capital.
Furthermore, since Amber County was close to Huai Song, many islanders from Huai Song’s coastal islands did business in Amber County, exchanging their local products for necessities of life in Amber County. These included silk, tea, bronze swords, pottery, medicinal herbs, and so on.
On the wide street that could accommodate eight West Black Blood Dragon Horses side by side, pedestrians flowed endlessly, carriages wound around and suddenly stopped. Leader Yu’s voice calling everyone to dismount rang out. Zhuge Yue lifted the curtain and looked up to see an inn with its wine flag fluttering outside. Though it wasn’t dark yet, two large red lanterns were already hung, the storefront elegant and clean, people coming and going, clearly doing brisk business. Two large ink-splash characters were written on the signboard. Li, the escort who had been driving the carriage in front, seeing Zhuge Yue emerge, quickly approached and asked with a smile, “Master Zhu, you’re educated. Can you tell me what characters are written up there? I can’t come out once without knowing where I’m staying, and if I ask others, they’ll surely laugh at me.”
In this group, there were two deputy escort leaders, one chief escort leader, fifteen escorts, and over forty guards driving horses and pushing carts. Everyone was honest and straightforward, and the escort leaders were generous, and always very polite to Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue. Although Zhuge Yue was reluctant to speak much, he still politely answered, “The inn is called ‘Returning Geese.’ When you go back home, just say you stayed at the Returning Geese Inn.”
Escort Li, upon hearing this, silently repeated it twice, then became very happy. He jumped down from his horse and went toward Deputy Leader Liang, who was supervising the guards unloading goods. Although they were far away, with Zhuge Yue’s keen hearing, he could hear clearly. Li slapped Liang on the back and laughed loudly, “Old Liang, can you read? Do you know what this inn is called?”
Zhuge Yue smiled faintly. He had rarely interacted with such common people in his life, but after this contact, he felt quite a bit of goodwill toward them.
At this moment, an alert waiter ran out, shouting, “Esteemed guests, are you staying or dining? Our inn is comfortable and quiet. Once you’re here, it’s like being home. Our food is delicious, with plenty of meat and fish, and seventy-year-old aged flower carving wine, guaranteeing you’ll feel at home.”
Seeing this, Leader Yu laughed loudly, “What a clever mouth this lad has! It’s a waste for you to be just a waiter. Why not follow me? I’ll find you a beautiful wife someday.”
The waiter, with a smiling face greeting guests, had long developed an unbreakable iron mouth. He smiled and said, “Sir is joking. My son is already two years old. Thank you for your kindness. But my tigress at home is too fierce; I dare not have other thoughts!”
The escorts, seeing how amusing the waiter was, all burst into loud laughter. Leader Yu smiled and said, “You rascal, stop talking nonsense. Find us three superior rooms, and put two people in each of the rest. Also, quickly bring up good wine and meat. We’ve been traveling through mountains and wilderness for over ten days; my mouth feels like it’s going to grow feathers from the blandness.”
Seeing them talking happily, Zhuge Yue lifted the curtain and helped Chu Qiao down from the carriage. Chu Qiao had been jostled all the way, weak, constantly plagued by the poison. Had it not been for her strong will, she would have been bedridden long ago. The fact that she could still barely support herself was rare indeed. Seeing her pale face, blue lips, and inability to stand steadily, Zhuge Yue felt anxious. But her poison was too virulent; ordinary doctors could only prescribe common remedies for injuries. They could only slowly make their way to the capital like this and then seek detoxification methods.
Without saying much, he lifted her in his arms and said to the waiter, “Give me two quiet superior rooms, and then send the food to the room.”
Leader Yu frowned and said loudly, “You’re husband and wife, why get two superior rooms? Your wife is so ill, you should be watching over her.” Then he said to the waiter, “Listen to me, one room, bring the wine and food quickly. Put it on my account, and also invite a doctor to come.”
The waiter agreed, calling out, “Alright! Four superior rooms. Gentlemen, please follow me.”
Zhuge Yue didn’t say more. He lowered his head to look at Chu Qiao, seeing her quietly resting in his arms, breathing evenly, looking as if she had fallen asleep, though her face was slightly flushed.
The room was very quiet. Opening the window, it directly faced a peach blossom forest, with fragrance all around, gently drifting in, making one feel carefree and happy.
The sunset on the horizon was as red as blood, warm red light shining on Zhuge Yue’s face, his temples framed by ink-black hair gently floating, his blue robe dignified, his figure straight and tall, surprisingly showing a rare scholarly air.
At this moment, he no longer looked like that powerful figure of the Zhuge family who could turn clouds with a flip of his hand and rain with the back of his hand. In his light robe, with his graceful bearing, he had a uniquely handsome and otherworldly quality.
“Zhuge Yue,” Chu Qiao lay on the bed, calling softly.
Zhuge Yue knew she wasn’t asleep. He quietly turned around and said, “Are you hungry? I’ll call the waiter to bring food.”
“No need,” Chu Qiao took a deep breath and slowly said, “Sit down. I have something to tell you.”
Zhuge Yue stood in place and didn’t sit down. After thinking for a while, he finally said in a deep voice, “I know what you want to say. You don’t need to say it, nor do you need to ask, because I don’t know why either. I just know that I can’t abandon you now. After all, you were injured while saving me. Let’s wait until you’ve recovered before discussing further.”
Chu Qiao looked at Zhuge Yue, and the words she had thought about for a long time suddenly couldn’t be spoken. Between the two of them, it might truly be a confused account. They had betrayed each other, tried to kill each other, rescued each other, and shown mercy to each other countless times. Now, it was truly difficult to define their relationship with a simple word like ‘hatred.’
“Zhuge Yue, I owe you another life.”
Zhuge Yue frowned as he looked at Chu Qiao, not understanding, and said in a deep voice, “Why do you never calculate how much others owe you?”
Chu Qiao shook her head, not directly answering his question: “I will repay you in the future.”
Zhuge Yue smiled coldly and didn’t reply further, knowing she wanted to distance herself from him. He sat in a chair and poured a cup of tea.
Just then, someone suddenly knocked on the door. After Zhuge Yue opened it, he saw Leader Yu standing there, looking somewhat troubled, saying, “Master Zhu, I may not be able to continue with you.”
“Oh?” Zhuge Yue asked, “Has something happened?”
“Our young master has arrived,” Leader Yu immediately became excited and said, “Young Master has come from Xian Yang and is heading to Bian Tang. Our escort team will join Young Master’s convoy, and then we will rest in Amber County and return to Wu Peng three days later. However, I’ve already told the master that you will continue to the capital with the master’s convoy.”
Zhuge Yue thanked him, saying, “Thank you, Leader Yu, but we won’t trouble you. We’ll buy a carriage and horses later and set off on our own.”
“How can that be?” Leader Yu exclaimed, “You’ve already paid, how can we let you spend more money? Besides, the road isn’t very safe, with many bandit groups. It’s safer with more people. This time, the master has over four to five hundred guards. Rest assured, there will be no problems on the road.”
It was hard to refuse such sincere hospitality, and they really shouldn’t cause more trouble. Zhuge Yue nodded and thanked him, “Thank you, Leader Yu.”
“Don’t mention it. At home, one relies on parents; away from home, one relies on friends.”
“By the way, Leader Yu, may I ask where your young master is from and what his name is?”
Leader Yu proudly said, “Our old master is the grain merchant Mr. Liu from Xian Yang. The old gentleman has no son, so he adopted his nephew. The one leading the team this time is the young master, named Liu Xi. Has Master Zhu heard of him?”
Zhuge Yue was stunned, frowning as he said in a deep voice, “Liu Xi?”