Nightwatcher

# 363. I've taken a liking to him

After finishing lunch, the princess consort knelt by the stream, tilting her head as she carefully combed her hair.

Her figure appeared blurred in the water, yet this haziness lent her an ethereal allure—a beauty uniquely hers.

Her eyes, brimming with clarity, glanced toward Xu Qi’an, who was meditating cross-legged under the shade of a tree on the opposite bank. A strange feeling welled up in her heart, as though they were old acquaintances of many years.

And yet, she distinctly remembered hating him at first. He had taken her sachet and purse without returning them and even dropped something heavy on her foot...

After pouring her heart out earlier, the princess consort felt much lighter. As for what fate awaited her in the future, she hadn’t given it much thought. After all, she had resigned herself to destiny years ago.

What else could she do? She was a timid woman who screamed at the sight of insects and would hide under the covers if her bed curtain swayed. How could she possibly contend with an emperor and a king?

Even now, she had no idea what lay ahead, but oddly enough, she felt safer here than she ever had in King Huai Manor.

“Sigh, I truly am a femme fatale,” the princess consort remarked with a wry smile.

Beautiful women were naturally proud, let alone the most stunning woman in the entire Great Feng.

Beneath the tree’s shade, Xu Qi’an meditated, using visualisation to establish a connection with Monk Shenshu. After absorbing the essence blood of four fourth-rank masters, the monk's “Wi-Fi” had become much more stable. A few calls, and they were connected.

“Master, you must already know of the Zhenbei King’s scheme,” Xu Qi’an began bluntly, skipping any small talk.

“... I do not always pay attention to the external world. In fact, I rarely do,” Monk Shenshu replied after a moment of silence.

*What? That response is entirely unbefitting of a master...* Xu Qi’an thought. He proceeded to inform Shenshu about the “Blood Runs Three Thousand Miles” case and tested the waters by asking:

“Master, would you be interested in the essence blood the Zhenbei King is gathering to perfect his body? Also, I have a question. Does the need for the princess consort’s soul, combined with the massacre of countless innocents, mean Zhenbei King requires both her spirit essence and their life force to ascend?”

Xu Qi’an was willing to bet that Monk Shenshu would be intrigued. After all, letting such a great supplement slip by seemed unlikely. This assumption gave him the confidence to contemplate punishing—or even killing—Zhenbei King.

Silence followed his question...

“Master? Master?”

Only after Xu Qi’an repeated the call several times did Monk Shenshu respond, “I was just reflecting on some matters.”

*For a moment there, I thought your signal dropped again...* Xu Qi’an thought wryly and asked, “What were you pondering?”

Instead of answering, Shenshu began to lecture, “Do you know why the Martial Path is so challenging? Unlike other systems, it is inherently selfish.

“It takes everything it can to strengthen the body and soul, focusing entirely on self-perfection. Zhenbei King’s slaughter to extract life essence isn’t surprising. However...”

*This aligns with how Monk Shenshu absorbs essence blood...* Xu Qi’an mused, pressing further. “However what?”

After a brief pause, Monk Shenshu replied solemnly, “It takes at least several hundred thousand lives.”

Xu Qi’an sat as still as a statue before his breathing became heavy, his facial muscles twitching slightly, and veins bulged along his temple.

Exhaling deeply to calm himself, he asked in a low voice, “Why not simply wage war instead of slaughtering civilians?”

Shenshu replied gently, “It isn’t that simple. A third-rank warrior is no longer a mere mortal. To extract life essence to perfect oneself, the essence must first undergo a transformation.

“Time is required to refine and purify the essence to meet the necessary criteria.”

*In other words, the transformation is a process of accumulation leading to a qualitative change, which is why it requires such a vast number of lives...* Xu Qi’an pondered before asking, “So war cannot meet the conditions because the enemy would not allow time for refining the essence. And such an act must, of course, be done in secret?”

This explained why Zhenbei King avoided war and instead massacred civilians to refine the essence blood. Yet somehow, a group of mysterious arcanists had uncovered the scheme and betrayed him to the northern tribes, triggering the current surge of espionage.

Monk Shenshu added, “I can try to intervene, but killing the Zhenbei King may be beyond me.”

Xu Qi’an frowned. “Not even you can defeat him?”

Shenshu chuckled. “If he’s confident enough to attempt ascending to second rank, then he’s no ordinary third-rank warrior. He’s likely on the cusp of perfection. At most, I could fight him to a standstill, but defeating him would be difficult, let alone killing him. Third-rank martial artists are notoriously hard to kill.”

“But you once defeated a second-rank pinnacle ancient corpse in the tomb.”

“That was merely a residual shell. Besides, Daoism’s strength lies in its spells, which the corpse lacked.”

*So both of you were like tigers brought low—one missing its eyes and the other its tail. It all came down to who was more crippled...* Xu Qi’an nearly buried his face in his hands.

After ending the conversation, Xu Qi’an contemplated his next steps.

Realising that even Shenshu had no certainty of victory, Xu Qi’an decided to adjust his strategy. Rather than aiming to kill Zhenbei King, he would focus on sabotaging the ascension.

First: locate the scene of the crime. It was likely the site where the Zhenbei King was refining the essence. Disrupting him there would ruin his plans.

Second: conceal his identity. The Zhenbei King must not discover that the audacious infiltrator from last night was none other than Silver Gong Xu of the Great Feng.

Third: determine how to handle the princess consort.

The first step required heading to Xikou County to investigate, and quickly—there was no telling when the Zhenbei King’s grand plan would come to fruition. This meant he would still have to carry the princess consort along. *She can take more than I’d expected. Second Uncle was indeed right.*

As for the second step, hiding his identity would be tricky. Using his golden body was out of the question. Although it was a Buddhist technique and many warrior monks might know it, it wasn’t sufficiently safe.

Silver Gong Xu also knew the golden body, and Silver Gong Xu had just entered the northern territories, outside of the King’s supervision.

Even the slightest suspicion could lead the Zhenbei King to investigate. Underestimating an opponent’s intelligence or hoping for luck was never wise.

*Fortunately, Shenshu still has a trick up his sleeve: the Undying Body. This is something I’ve never revealed to anyone, so no one would suspect me. Well, except the Jianzheng knows; the yao clan that entrusted Shenshu to me knows; and the mysterious arcanist faction knows.*

*But they all have plans for me. As long as my fruit isn’t ripe for the picking, they won’t act rashly. Well, maybe the arcanists will. They’d probably love to pick me clean, but they’d have to deal with Shenshu first. Hmm, I’m still safe for now.*

*On the other hand, I can’t use my current face anymore. This isn’t a burden my younger cousin can shoulder. A human skin mask won’t cut it—it falls off with a single blow. My ‘Deceiving Heavens’ disguise technique is far from perfected, so I can only imitate the people I know best, like Erlang, Second Uncle, Auntie, Lingyue, Wei Yuan, or Xu Lingyin.*

*Maybe I should disguise myself as Little Pea and show the Zhenbei King what a Golden Barbie can do. Hahaha…*

Xu Qi’an laughed to himself to ease the smouldering frustration in his chest. After a while, his expression turned calm, and he muttered to himself, “Actually, there’s one person I know best.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As for the third issue—what to do with the consort?

He definitely couldn’t return her to the Zhenbei King. The only option was to secretly bring her back to the capital and keep her hidden. She couldn’t stay in his family’s house; she’d need her own secluded courtyard.

Originally, Xu Qi’an’s plan had been to turn her over after his northern journey. But after learning about the Zhenbei King’s atrocities and the consort’s past, he decided to secretly hide her away.

*But if I do that, her maids will become a problem. Sigh, I’ll deal with it later. Maybe Li Miaozhen has a way to erase their memories. The Daoists are experts in such things.*

…

Chuzhou.

The High Court deputy justice and the two censors returned to the station from the government office in a carriage.

The three officials crossed the main hall, entered the inner courtyard, and headed straight to Yang Yan’s room. Before they could knock, his voice came from inside:

“Come in.”

When they entered, they found Yang Yan and Constable Chen sitting at a table, staring pensively at a map of Chuzhou’s eight thousand li territory.

The deputy justice poured himself a cup of cold tea, downed it in one gulp, and sighed in relief. “This heat is unbearable. After traveling all day, my throat is parched. The coachman was under the blazing sun all the way and didn’t even break a sweat. Truly, the local land nurtures its people.”

Censor Liu quipped, “Perhaps you’re the one who’s frail, sir.”

The deputy justice, known for his love of women, flushed with embarrassment and retorted, “Passion reveals true nature, unlike lofty scholars like Censor Liu, who hide behind false virtue.”

He was subtly accusing the so-called upright censors of secretly indulging in vices while feigning righteousness.

Yang Yan waited patiently for them to finish bickering before asking, “What’s the status of Chuzhou’s correspondence?”

The deputy justice’s expression grew serious. “Nothing unusual. Judging by the regularity of official communications, everything seems normal, aside from dealing with barbarian incursions. To confirm further, we’d have to conduct field inspections, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”

With Chuzhou spanning eight thousand miles, such a journey was impractical. Besides, as a seasoned bureaucrat, the deputy justice could discern the authenticity of documents at a glance.

Constable Chen nodded. “And the station is surrounded by spies. If we venture out, we’ll be tailed.”

Yang Yan turned back to the map and drew a circle in the northern part of Chuzhou. “Given the scale of the barbarian raids, the ‘Blood Runs Three Thousand Miles’ incident wouldn’t happen here.”

As long as the cities held, even massacres in villages wouldn’t be enough to warrant such a notorious title. Yang Yan then circled Xikou County and Yunsheng Prefecture, located in the west and east, respectively. “And the correspondence from these two regions?”

The deputy justice nodded. “No issues.”

Yang Yan was silent for a moment before saying, “Constable Chen, spend the next few days gathering intel around Chuzhou. Censor Liu, accompany me to the Military Command to meet National Protector Que Yongxiu.”

Censor Liu gave a slow nod.

…

In a mountain range in Chuzhou.

On a cliff face as sheer as a blade, a centuries-old pine tree jutted out, its twisted branches forming a natural canopy.

Beneath the tree, perched on a rock, was a woman in a flowing white dress. Her hair and hem danced in the wind, accentuating her ethereal silhouette. Her presence was ever-changing—sometimes as pure and enchanting as a mountain sprite, other times as languid and seductive as a peerless temptress.

In her arms rested a six-tailed white fox, which let out a soft, high-pitched cry and lay docilely.

A voice chuckled nearby. “Your Highness, it’s been twenty-one years since we parted at Shanhai Pass. You’re still as radiant as ever, no less so than your mother.”

The woman in white laughed melodiously. “You’ve never even seen my mother. How can you say I rival her?”

Behind her, a figure in white appeared, his face shrouded in mist, obscuring his features.

“The Nine-Tailed Fox lineage gathers the essence of heaven and earth and the wisdom of the ages. Each of you is unmatched in beauty. Among mortals, only that princess consort could compare in both appearance and spirit. But unlike you, Your Highness, her essence can be taken.”

The woman smiled faintly and stroked the fox’s head. “What brings you to me?”

The man sighed. “During the Sangpo case, Your Highness intercepted my plans, almost undoing twenty years of effort. This time, I hope you’ll show mercy.”

The woman in the white dress giggled. “Every player makes their move. Skill determines the winner. If you want mercy, I have a phrase I quite like: ‘equivalent exchange.’

“Tell me what the Jianzheng is plotting?”

The man shook his head. “If I so much as utter half a word, the Jianzheng will appear in Chuzhou. None in this land can stand against him.”

“You’ve stolen half of the Great Feng’s fortune. The Jianzheng isn’t what he once was. I’m not afraid,” she said, smiling. Her gaze shifted to the distant mountains. “That young man is just a vessel to you. Once, I wouldn’t have cared for his fate. But now? I’ve taken a liking to him’.”

“A liking him?”

The man in white seemed taken aback by her words.

She didn’t answer but gazed at the breathtaking scenery. “To you, it doesn’t matter who gets the essence, as long as the Zhenbei King’s ascension to second rank is stopped.”

“No!” the white-cloaked man said firmly. “I want the barbarians to produce a second-rank.”