An Episode

Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying sat in the room, quietly watching Prince Chun perform opera. Prince Chun cross-dressed as a dan role, performing a scene from The Execution of Chen Shimei. His pacing and mastery were beyond reproach; Prince Chun portrayed Qin Xianglian with such vivid depth that tears welled in Lu Chunying's eyes as she watched. Tears were welling in Xiao Yeci's eyes as well, though hers came from sheer terror. Yet no matter how frightened she was, they had to sit through the entire performance. Lu Chunying had offended Prince Chun, and his only condition had been that she watch a show. The price was hardly steep, but Xiao Yeci was truly scared out of her wits. Seeing her mother trembling nonstop, Lu Chunying carefully whispered a reminder, "Mom, if you can't hold it in, tell me right away and I'll take you to the outhouse. This prince is a neat freak—we can't afford to cause any more trouble." Inside the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng sat quietly watching his wife and Hong Ying. *Chhhh—* His wife spoke first. "Oh, Husband, did Prince Chun tell you everything? That old rogue is extraordinarily cunning. You can't go believing every word he says." Hong Ying gave a soft sigh. "Among the civil officials and military generals of the imperial court, which of them wasn't cunning? Compared to them, Prince Chun is practically a decent soul." The gramophone sneered. "In your heart, Prince Chun is far more than a 'decent soul'—he's a peerless gentleman without equal in all the world." Hong Ying fell silent for a long while before saying, "I barely knew Prince Chun, nor did I have any affection for him. The Emperor issued an imperial decree, and I had no choice but to marry him. That has nothing to do with the grudge between you and me." Li Banfeng had been meaning to ask about this. "Why exactly did you two turn against each other?" The gramophone sneered coldly. "You'll have to ask that wretched woman. I certainly can't make sense of it." Hong Ying grew somewhat agitated. "If you can't make sense of it, then think back carefully! I went through life and death alongside you on the battlefield. Facing thousands of troops and ten thousand horses, when did I ever waver in the slightest? I killed you because you deserved to die, because I had no choice but to kill you! I did nothing wrong!" The two fell silent once more. Li Banfeng lay back on the bed, gently stroking the gramophone, and asked, "Wife, you were fighting the Motu people all that time. Where exactly is the Demonic Land?" *Chhhh—* "This humble servant cannot recall. Ever since I was brought low by that wench, this servant has forgotten many things. Whenever I strain to remember, I only feel my soul threatening to scatter." Hong Ying retorted angrily, "Vicious woman, stop pinning everything on me! I can't remember anything about the Demonic Land either. If we're keeping score that way, wasn't I brought to ruin by you as well?" Forgotten. Both claimed to have forgotten. Prince Chun hadn't been able to explain where the Demonic Land was either. He couldn't even say where the Great Huan dynasty had been located. Whether it was his wife, Hong Ying, or Prince Chun, every one of them had died once before. After crossing the threshold of life and death, losing the bulk of their memories was only natural. Li Banfeng drew the gramophone into his embrace. "Never mind, never mind. Let's not dwell on it. After fighting all night in the pouring rain, I'm freezing all over." The gramophone vented a puff of steam, wrapping Li Banfeng in tight warmth. "This servant is truly blessed to have Husband's love and care—unlike that wretched woman, who deserves to suffer for a lifetime." *** Once The Execution of Chen Shimei ended, Prince Chun was already pondering what opera to stage next. Xiao Yeci said tremulously, "Your Highness, didn't you say that once we finished listening to this opera, you would let us go? We really need to get moving, you see." Prince Chun's face darkened. "I let you listen to my opera for free, and you dare feel aggrieved? Let me tell you, as long as this heavy rain doesn't stop, you won't be able to travel fast. And if you don't travel fast enough, don't even dream of making it out of the oldland alive." They waited a full day before the downpour finally ceased. Li Banfeng gathered everyone and departed Prince Chun's Manor. Standing in the main room of the central courtyard, Prince Chun set the record upon the turntable and quietly listened to Zhao Xiaowan sing an aria from Changban Slope. When the song ended, Prince Chun carefully put the record away. Standing in the doorway, he gazed silently into the distance. Opera scripts were just opera scripts. One could neither disbelieve them entirely nor take them wholly as truth. How much was false and how much was true depended on whether an observant eye was there to see. It depended on whether you were that discerning soul. *** Li Banfeng led the group for over half a day before they finally walked out of the oldland. Consulting the map Prince Chun had given him, Li Banfeng mapped out routes for the others. "Xiao Niu, take these folks back to Haichiling. "Xiao Fang, take the rest to Yaowanggou. "You all know the way, right?" The route Li Banfeng drew was straightforward and easy to understand. Niu Guangda understood it, but he had no desire to leave. "Benefactor, I don't want to go back to Haichiling." "Why?" "When my dad sent me here, he slapped me across the face twice and said I couldn't endure hardship, that I'd never amount to anything. If I go back now, he'll slap me again and send me right back here. No matter what I say, he won't believe me." Li Banfeng said, "Go back and talk to him properly. If he won't listen to reason, slap him right back. Just tell him a man with a big beard told you to slap him." Niu Guangda shook his head vigorously. "That's my dad! How could I dare?" Li Banfeng considered for a moment. "Come with me to Lüshuiwan, then. Some other day, I'll take you back to slap him." Delight surged through Niu Guangda. "From now on, I'm following you, Benefactor! My life belongs to you!" With Niu Guangda staying with Li Banfeng, the others chose to follow along as well. Following the map from Prince Chun, Li Banfeng led everyone toward Lüshuiwan. The route matched the recollections of Xiao Yeci and her daughter. In under three days, the group walked out of Wuyouping and arrived at Guangming Town. Guangming Town was a settlement in the northern reaches of Lüshuiwan. Though far from Lüshui City, it was reasonably bustling. Traveling merchants routinely stopped here to rest, so inns, restaurants, and shops were plentiful; there was even a cinema. Li Banfeng first arranged lodging for everyone, then purchased two sets of men's clothing and handed them to Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying. The others were easy to deal with, but the mother and daughter were a special case—the Lu family was actively hunting for them. Dressed in men's clothes, ordinary people wouldn't recognize them, but the Lu family had plenty of extraordinary people. This was ultimately not a permanent solution. Li Banfeng asked, "Do you two intend to return to the Lu family or not?" Lu Chunying shook her head. "No. The Lu family has no room for us." Xiao Yeci shook her head as well. "Not us—they have no room for me. You still ought to go back. Following someone like me, you're destined to amount to nothing." Li Banfeng didn't quite understand, so Lu Chunying explained the whole story of what had happened when they reached the Lu family. After hearing the full account, several questions were laid out before Li Banfeng. The first question: Lu Xiaolan had been released by Monkey Qiu, and Monkey Qiu had been brought in by Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying. Li Banfeng knew this much. Yet Lu Xiaolan hadn't known Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying were coming, and she firmly denied ever writing them a letter. Whenever this matter came up, Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying grew furious, convinced Lu Xiaolan was worthless scum who turned her back on her benefactors the moment she was free. Li Banfeng, however, believed Lu Xiaolan wasn't lying. She had been trapped in the Lu family ancestral residence at the time, and aside from the hook on Li Banfeng's phone, she had no way to contact anyone else. She couldn't possibly have written to Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying. Even if she could have written a letter, she would have sent it to her own mother to come save her. If Lu Xiaolan wasn't lying, then who wrote the letter Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci received? Lu Xiaolan had been trapped in the He family mansion—besides Lu Xiaolan and me, who else knew about that? The second issue. Xiao Yeci said she witnessed the entire attack on Lu Dongliang. He Yuxiu was the first to strike, followed by Zhuo Yuling, and then Lu Dongjun. Then Lu Dongliang gave He Yuxiu a shove, and both of them went flying. Lu Dongliang was a ninth-tier journey cultivator. Was this a journey cultivator's technique? Lu Dongliang had ultimately landed right in Li Banfeng's hands—had Lu Dongliang arranged that in advance? The third matter was something Lu Chunying had overheard on the way to the Lu family mansion. "Lu Xiaolan told Monkey Qiu that on the train, she had tried to kill someone named Qing-something, but that Qing-something gave her a shove, and she went flying all the way into the He family ancestral residence. Monkey Qiu didn't believe her, nor did anyone from the Lu family. At first, I thought she was talking nonsense too, but then I saw my dad shove He Yuxiu, and they flew away as well. Maybe she was telling the truth..." Li Banfeng's cheek twitched for a moment. The corners of his mouth curled slightly upward, forming a stiff smile. Back in college, anyone who knew Li Banfeng understood that this stiff smile was the prelude to an episode; at times like this, it was best to stay as far away from Li Banfeng as possible. Li Banfeng kept his voice under tight control and asked, "That person with 'Qing' in his name you mentioned... was it He Jiaqing?" Lu Chunying thought for a moment and nodded. "That seems to be the name." Li Banfeng asked again, "Was it He Jiaqing?" Lu Chunying said, "It should be him." Li Banfeng asked once more, "Was it He Jiaqing?" Lu Chunying felt a flicker of fear. At her side, Xiao Yeci said, "Benefactor, she might not remember clearly. Give me a moment to think." "Was it He Jiaqing?" Li Banfeng kept repeating the exact same sentence. Xiao Yeci grew frightened as well. "Benefactor, what's wrong?" "Was it He Jiaqing?" Li Banfeng turned and left the room, stepping into the corridor. He didn't want to hurt the mother and daughter. "Was it He Jiaqing?" Repeating the exact same phrase over and over, he entered his own room. "Was it He Jia—" Li Banfeng clamped a hand over his mouth. His illness was flaring up; he couldn't stop repeating that one sentence, completely unable to control himself. Using one hand to retrieve his key, he entered the Portable Abode. Seeing Li Banfeng clamping his mouth with one hand, his face flushed red from holding his breath, the gramophone asked with concern, "Master, what is wrong?" "Mmh-mmh-mmh, mmh-mmh-mmh!" Through his nose, Li Banfeng was still humming the rhythm of that exact same phrase. He still couldn't stop. Even with his mouth clamped shut, he couldn't stop! He clamped his nose shut as well. Tightly covering both his mouth and nose, his face turning purplish-blue, he was on the verge of suffocating himself. "Husband!" The gramophone lunged forward, pulling Li Banfeng's hands away and wrapping him tight in a burst of warm steam. "Was it He Jiaqing?!" Li Banfeng rasped in a scream. Far away in Room Six, Red Lotus heard Li Banfeng's shout, and beads of dew formed over its body layer after layer. *** PS: To find the mastermind behind Ling Miaoying, to dig up the root, Li Banfeng had followed Zhou Changhong onto the train. On the train, through a string of accidents, he ended up at Jianrengang. At Jianrengang, he met Xiao Yeci and her daughter. And through Xiao Yeci and her daughter, that root had finally been unearthed. Who could have imagined that this root would be dug up just like this?