Wu Shaoyi nodded and summoned the guide Lu Yao had sent over. "Do you know the way to Shaozi Crag?"
Catching the words "Shaozi Crag" completely off guard, the guide froze, his mouth falling open.
He recovered quickly. "I do. It's quite far. Do you intend to go there now, General?"
Yet his surprise and hesitation had not escaped Wu Shaoyi's notice. The general's expression instantly darkened. "Tie him up."
The men on either side swarmed forward and bound the guide hand and foot.
"What's going on at Shaozi Crag that shocked you so much?"
The guide hurried to deny it, but Wu Shaoyi could not be bothered to listen. He patted the travel pack on his horse's back.
The pack wriggled a few times, and a sable poked its head out.
It looked as if it had just woken, its small eyes drowsy, and it even washed its face with its front paws.
Wu Shaoyi asked it, "If I recall, were you born in these mountain woods?"
The sable nodded.
"Do you know Shaozi Crag?"
The little creature nodded again.
Wu's advisor hastily chimed in, "Since you're sending the sable, why not have it scout Xianling Village as well?"
Wu Shaoyi had the same thought, so he took out two small strips of dried meat as a reward and handed them over.
The sable took them, chewed and swallowed them down, then hopped off the horse's back and vanished into the brush like a wisp of smoke.
Its speed was astonishing. The men saw only the rustling of grass blades, moving from near to far, until it vanished entirely into the darkness.
The advisor offered another suggestion: "While we wait, why not bring up some of the brothers from the foot of the mountain? It will make planning our next move easier."
Wu Shaoyi nodded. "Then bring them all up."
His force was somewhat smaller than Lu Yao's, numbering only eleven hundred men. He had led a little over two hundred up the mountain, leaving eight-odd hundred below. It was better to summon them all up just in case.
In the dead silence of the night, Wu Shaoyi could not help recalling his old grudges with Lu Yao.
The two had long become bitter enemies. If not for Pei Xinyong's repeated persuasion, he had originally intended to take his troops back to his hometown.
Ruling his own mountain stronghold, recruiting troops, and buying horses there would be a fine, merry life.
The Grand Marshal had raised a rebellion in the north, and the Yuan court was overwhelmed just dealing with him. In the short term, how could they have the energy to mind the south? Thus, Wu Shaoyi would have had plenty of leisurely days ahead.
Whether coming here was right or wrong, Wu Shaoyi had little certainty.
***
"It's been nearly an hour since the letter was sent, hasn't it?"
Receiving an affirmative answer, He Chunhua straightened his robes and cap, heading toward the village entrance flanked by seven or eight men.
Maotao stood behind the boundary line drawn between the two factions and shouted toward the west end of the village, "General Lu, come out for a meeting!"
He shouted three times in succession, his voice echoing across the entire village.
Rebels soon emerged to challenge him. "What do you want?"
Maotao yelled back, "Your general invited us to eat fish, so our lord is inviting him to drink wine—a twenty-year vintage brewed from a northwestern spirit spring!"
A rebel sneered, "Who knows if your wine is poisoned?"
"If the fish isn't poisoned, the wine naturally isn't either."
The rebel naturally could not make the decision and went to report. Other comrades edged closer, glaring menacingly.
Along the dividing line, the two sides stood in confrontation once more.
The campfires by the lake had never gone out. He Chunhua personally opened a wine jar and had his guards pour it into serving vessels, setting them in hot water to warm slowly.
Before long, a rich wine aroma wafted forth.
Conveniently, the breeze blew from the lake toward the village, carrying the fragrance right into it.
After half an incense stick of time, Lu Yao sauntered over, rubbing his eyes. "Lord He, in such fine spirits?"
He Chunhua knew Lu Yao had delayed intentionally to leave him waiting, so he was not angry. He pointed to the table his men had brought over. "Courtesy demands reciprocity. This fine wine was made using an ancestral recipe I brought from the capital, brewed with water from Qiansong Commandery's Xiyao Spirit Spring. In my second year after arriving in Qiansong Commandery, I personally sealed the first jar. Every year thereafter, I brewed one more, twenty-three jars in all up to now. Aside from what was used for annual ancestral sacrifices and entertaining guests, only five jars remain, all of which I meant to bring to the capital."
"Back when my family still resided in the capital, we presented our home brew to the imperial palace every year." He Chunhua looked at Lu Yao with a smile. "Wouldn't General Lu care to taste such fine wine?"
He knew wine, women, and wealth were Lu Yao's three great passions, and the man never refused any of them, even boasting of it as living true to his nature.
Sure enough, Lu Yao swallowed hard several times as he listened. After a moment's thought, he said, "Fine! Since Lord He has such refined taste, Lu will keep you company! But let's get one thing straight: I once had a fortuitous encounter and have long been immune to all poisons. Even if you serve arsenic, I'll swallow it like sweet fermented rice wine."
He Chunhua feigned offense. "What words are those, General Lu? Would I ruin my own fine wine like that?"
And so, a long table was placed straddling the dividing line. He Chunhua and Lu Yao sat at opposite ends, and the former slid a wine jar across.
Lu Yao caught it and broke the clay seal. Sure enough, a mellow fragrance assailed his nostrils, making him take a deep breath. "Good wine!" he praised.
He waved his hand, and two rebels took the jar, pouring him a brimming bowl first while taking the rest to warm up.
Just then, servants from the He family's entourage wheeled over the magnificent king of fish on a handcart. The giant fish had already been cleared of mud, descaled, washed, and completely cleaned bare.
It was the largest handcart in the village, usually used to haul hay and grain, yet it could not fit the entire fish; half the tail still dragged on the ground.
Clearly, they intended to prepare and cook it on the spot.
Two men stepped forward and cut a small slit behind the fish's gills, unexpectedly pulling out an off-white tendon thicker than a chopstick.
He Chunhua explained, "A lake fish must have its odor vein drawn out first, or the earthy stench will linger in the meat."
Lu Yao took a sip of wine. "Refined. As expected of someone who's been an official for twenty years."
He Chunhua glanced at him sidelong. Lu Yao chuckled. "What, can't I know a thing or two about Lord He?"
"Just a bit surprised." After all, he was merely a minor border official. He Chunhua pointed at the giant fish. "When my men dressed this fish, they found it had not a single wound on its body. May I ask General Lu, how did you knock it unconscious?"
When Lu Yao had surfaced alongside the king of fish earlier, the sight had been truly staggering. Although water provided great buoyancy, Lu Yao's ability to hoist it to the surface was a feat of astonishing strength in itself.
What intrigued He Chunhua most, however, was how he had knocked the fish unconscious.
Judging by its size and scales, it was at least nearly two hundred years old. No matter how powerful Lu Yao was, he was still human; he had entered the water without any long weapon and had dragged it out practically barehanded.
That was downright uncanny.
What was more, not long after the men carried the fish ashore, the monster had revived and thrashed with tremendous vigor, loud enough for half the village to hear.
From start to finish, the whole business reeked of bizarre mystery.
"I picked it up," Lu Yao said under his gaze, spreading his hands. "Aside from hauling it up, I didn't do a damn thing. A windfall that big—could you resist picking it up?"
"..." He Chunhua was struck speechless for a moment. "In the pitch darkness, how could you possibly see a giant fish lying unconscious on the lakebed?"
"Ah, that's what you don't understand." Lu Yao beamed smugly. "I was born with a pair of divine eyes that see what others cannot. Never mind lake water—even if a treasure were buried three feet underground, it couldn't escape my discerning gaze."
He Chunhua smiled, knowing Lu Yao had no intention of revealing the truth, and pressed the matter no further.
Chapter 114