I Have a Friend

Seeing that Jin Jiuling did not believe him in the slightest, Huo Xiu felt a wave of helplessness. He knew Jin Jiuling had always hated evil as a mortal foe and was uncompromisingly upright; falling into his hands would certainly spell disaster. Fighting and retreating, he fell back outside the perimeter wall of Qingfeng Temple. Suddenly flipping over the wall, he leaped into the temple and escaped through a secret passage. Jin Jiuling gave chase into the temple, but Huo Xiu's figure vanished at once. After searching for a while without finding him, Jin Jiuling couldn't help letting out a silent sigh. Turning to Qin Zheng and the others who had followed, he said, "He got away. Why didn't you all join in earlier to take him down?" With an air of righteous rectitude, Qin Zheng said, "As the foremost divine constable of the Six Doors, how could I ever gang up on someone to bully him with numbers!" Yan Tieshan said with a conflicted grimace, "Huo Xiu is an old friend of many years after all. I... I just couldn't bring myself to lay a hand on him." Shangguan Xue'er straightened her little face and put on an air of profound mastery: "My martial arts are too formidable. I was afraid that if I slipped up, I might accidentally beat him to death." "Huh?" Jin Jiuling looked at Shangguan Xue'er in total bafflement, then turned his head to ask Qin Zheng, "Who is she? Isn't she your maidservant?" Shangguan Xue'er said with utter solemnity, "I am the princess of the Golden Roc Dynasty, and Huo Xiu's master. I never imagined he would stoop to thievery. Rest assured, this princess will never shield him." "Princess!" Yan Tieshan looked at Shangguan Xue'er with intense excitement. Immediately realizing his loss of composure, he cleared his throat and coughed. "This is the first time I have laid eyes upon the princess. If the princess does not mind, would you do me the honor of conversing at my residence, allowing me to fulfill my duty as a host?" Shangguan Xue'er gave an approving nod. "Even though you're poor enough to not even have your undergarments left, seeing how sincere you are, this princess shall condescend just this once." With that, she followed Yan Tieshan toward the Pavilion of Pearls and Jewels. Watching their receding backs, Jin Jiuling immediately felt things were about to go south. Where had a master of Huo Xiu suddenly sprung from? It seemed that pocketing Huo Xiu's fortune for himself was going to be tricky now; he had to prepare quickly! At the thought, he cupped his hands to Qin Zheng. "I'll go to the authorities at once to issue an empire-wide arrest warrant for Huo Xiu. Farewell!" Having said that, he immediately executed lightness skill and sped down the mountain. Lu Xiaofeng looked at Qin Zheng, frowning. "Where on earth did you dig up a princess of the Golden Roc Dynasty?" With an earnest look, Qin Zheng replied, "If I told you I picked her up on the side of the road, you'd believe me, wouldn't you?" Lu Xiaofeng was at a loss for words. Believe you my foot! A short while later, the group arrived at the Pavilion of Pearls and Jewels, only to find that Yan Tieshan had already ordered a feast set out. The table was laden with numerous delicacies, and the room was adorned with crystals and gems. Even the banquet table was crafted from precious wood and carved with dragons and phoenixes—a display of sheer opulence and splendor. Lu Xiaofeng marveled in amazement, "A starved camel is truly bigger than a horse. The cost of this single meal alone would be enough for me to spend a whole month with the top courtesan of Yiqing Courtyard." Hua Manlou smiled and shook his head. "If you stayed with any woman for more than seven days, you'd be the first to run away, wouldn't you?" "..." Lu Xiaofeng was rendered speechless. Gloomily, he took a seat before a low table and began to drink. Meanwhile, Shangguan Xue'er—a little girl who could lie without batting an eye—had already compared tokens and details of the Golden Roc Dynasty with Yan Tieshan, baffling and duping him until he was completely dazed. "I am the granddaughter of Shangguan Jin, and as of now, I am the sole remaining heir of the Golden Roc Dynasty's royal line. "I've come looking for you today to accomplish only three things: reclaim the kingdom, reclaim the kingdom, and reclaim the kingdom! "I have already drafted a comprehensive plan. Quickly gather the old retainers, and we will set out for the Western Regions at once. First follow me to recapture our ancestral lands, then dominate the Western Regions!" Yan Tieshan's eyes welled with tears. As the chief palace steward who had entered the imperial court in his youth, his feelings for the Golden Roc Dynasty ran deeper than anyone's. Hearing Shangguan Xue'er's lofty ambitions, he was immediately beside himself with excitement. "The princess possesses magnificent vision—heaven truly blesses our Golden Roc kingdom!" As he spoke, he suddenly hitched and froze, his face collapsing into despair. "Princess, why didn't you arrive a few days earlier? All our military funds have been stolen by Huo Xiu! Without money or provisions, how can we raise an army...?" Shangguan Xue'er's eyes were the picture of calm. Mimicking Qin Zheng's dignified demeanor, she waved a hand dismissively. "No matter. I know where the share of treasure Huo Xiu inherited is hidden. As long as you assemble the manpower, we can fight our way back to the Western Regions at once to restore the kingdom!" Yan Tieshan nodded repeatedly. "Good! I'll contact Ping Duhe right away and have him join us! "Though he was poor at business and squandered most of his share of the treasure, his martial arts are formidable, and he has legions of disciples. He will definitely be our greatest asset in restoring the kingdom!" "No need. I have already been here for some time, and I heard everything you said earlier!" As the words fell, Emei Sect Leader Dugu Yihe walked inside. Dugu Yihe was a very stern man. His back was rod-straight, and his beard and hair, bristling like steel needles, were still jet-black. With prominent cheekbones and a pair of triangular eyes radiating intimidating authority, one could tell at a glance that he was a man accustomed to holding high command. Seeing him arrive, Yan Tieshan was overjoyed. "You couldn't have arrived at a better time! The princess is leading us back to restore the kingdom—hurry and get ready!" Dugu Yihe glanced at Shangguan Xue'er and attempted a smile. But he seemed not to have smiled in a very long time, and the resulting expression on his face looked exceptionally bizarre. Bowing in greeting, he said, "Great General Ping Duhe of the Golden Roc Kingdom pays respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess!" Shangguan Xue'er nodded slightly. "Rise. From now on, do not call me Princess anymore. Call me Your Majesty the Queen!" Dugu Yihe was taken aback for an instant, but quickly grew stern once more. He spoke: "Your Majesty, I received an anonymous report claiming that Yan Tieshan is the master of Qingyi Tower, which is why I came in person to investigate. "If he truly is the ruthless master of Qingyi Tower, we must be on our guard!" Shangguan Xue'er looked toward Qin Zheng, at a bit of a loss as to how to keep spinning her tale. With a solemn expression, Qin Zheng spoke up: "On this point, you can rest assured. I am Qin Zheng, foremost divine constable of the Six Doors. In the name of the Ming imperial court, I guarantee that Yan Tieshan is definitely not the master of Qingyi Tower!" Dugu Yihe glanced at Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng beside him. Though he did not know Qin Zheng, he had great faith in the character of those two. Frowning, he said, "If that is so, then the person who sent me that letter harbored sinister motives, intending to provoke a fight between Yan Tieshan and me!" Qin Zheng explained, "This is certainly Huo Xiu's doing. He is the Embroidery Bandit, and not long ago he stole Yan Tieshan's share of the treasure. His sending you that letter was likely to borrow your hand to eliminate Yan Tieshan." "The Embroidery Bandit?" "Correct. Due to his advanced age, Huo Xiu suffers from dementia and amnesia. He loves dressing in women's clothes and thieving everywhere, and he enjoys embroidering flowers while committing his crimes, which is why people in the jianghu call him the Embroidery Bandit. "However, every time he finishes a heist, he forgets all about it. In the future, you needn't pay him any mind." Dugu Yihe's face was filled with suspicion, quite doubtful in his heart. Yan Tieshan chimed in at just the right moment: "It's true! In his room, we found the signature mark of the Embroidery Bandit—an entire stack of them! Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Jin Jiuling can all bear witness!" Dugu Yihe stood frozen in silence for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. "Alas. A perfectly fine man—how could he suddenly succumb to such an illness?" Looking at the figures before him, Lu Xiaofeng felt only a thick shroud of fog covering his mind, leaving him utterly unable to see the whole picture. Shangguan Feiyan, Shangguan Danfeng, and now another Shangguan Xue'er had popped up—not to mention the involvement of the Embroidery Bandit, Qingyi Tower, and even Chu Liuxiang! How could this case of the Golden Roc Dynasty be so convoluted...? Within a few days, the arrest warrant issued by Jin Jiuling had spread across the realm. Word that Huo Xiu suffered from amnesia and had gone around playing the Embroidery Bandit circulated throughout the jianghu as well. Meanwhile, Huo Xiu had fled to one of Qingyi Tower's strongholds. Locking himself in a secret room, he sank into profound self-doubt. With his martial arts, absolutely no one in the world could have hidden those red handkerchiefs inside his building right under his nose. Furthermore, Jin Jiuling was rigidly upright, Lu Xiaofeng was warmly benevolent, and Qin Zheng was clad in sheer righteousness—there was no way they would falsely accuse him... Could he truly have developed amnesia? After hesitating for a long time, he let out a long, sorrowful sigh. Calling over a subordinate, he instructed, "Go find a few renowned physicians skilled in treating amnesia. I have a friend who needs their care."