In order to preserve his own life, Chi Teng had revealed almost everything he knew about the Baifu Sect during this period, and finally had two stable meals. But now he heard that Mu Zhe had tricked and kidnapped Ku You, and complained incessantly for some time.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell, but he truly didn’t know Mu Zhe’s hiding place. The other party was extremely cunning and had lairs everywhere in the southwest. It was hard to find him at normal times, but wasn’t he hiding without a trace now?

“In order not to reveal his whereabouts, Mu Zhe rarely sends people to the jade quarries. He mostly uses green harriers to send messages,” Chi Teng said. “He personally tamed a flock of harriers, which are smarter than ordinary homing pigeons. They have green feathers and red eyes, they are extremely ferocious, and they fly as fast as lightning.”

Liang Shu looked at him: “How much are you worth to Mu Zhe?”

“……Me?” Beads of sweat broke out on Chi Teng’s forehead. He knew that he was useless to Mu Zhe, and was far from enough to exchange for Ku You. What’s more, the Baifu Sect’s methods of dealing with traitors had always been cruel. Thinking of this, he was terrified and said, “Mu Zhe has always regarded everyone as ants. He has devoted his life to creating gods, so he regards himself as a god.”

Believers frantically pursued the Baifu Buddha Mother, and Mu Zhe also developed a supreme mentality of looking down on all living beings.

It was hard to say whether Dayan’s emperor was an ant in Mu Zhe’s eyes at this time, but at least one thing was certain: he thought he was more qualified to sit in a high position and govern all things.

Cheng Suyue gave a covert “pei.” What an arrogant lunatic, hiding in the gutter.

“Your Highness!” There was the sudden sound of hoofbeats outside. “A strange-looking green harrier flew outside the camp with a letter tied to its leg!”

The totem of the Baifu Sect was stamped with wax. After taking it apart, it turned out to be Mu Zhe’s request for an exchange.

Gao Lin leaned his head over to take a look, and his eyes almost popped out of his skull: “Mu Zhe is actually insane. He didn’t mention any actual conditions for exchanging people. The listed gold and silver alone could stretch nearly a hundred carriages, not to mention the mountains of gems and pearls. Does he have any misunderstanding about Ku You’s worth?”

Although the commander of the southwest garrison was valuable, he was not valuable enough to empty half of the national treasury. He said: “Demanding an exorbitant price like this, isn’t he still waiting for us to haggle?”

Chi Teng plucked up the courage to interject: “Perhaps…..perhaps he wants the prince to retrieve his lost property for him.”

Gao Lin raised his eyes and asked in surprise: “Lost property. Are you telling me that the treasures hidden in the dense forest are really that large in quantity?”

“I don’t know the specific amount, but based on Mu Zhe’s reaction at that time, he should have lost more than half his property,” Chi Teng said. “He knows I’m here, and he knows I’m able to understand the purpose behind the ransom note. Maybe there really is that much.”

Liu Xianche thought to himself, first they used the Ghost Boys to force them once, and then they used Commander Ku to force them a second time. It seemed that the theft of his property was truly a thorn in Mu Zhe’s heart. Looking at Liang Shu, he saw that the other’s brow was slightly furrowed, as if he was pondering Chi Teng’s words, so he said: “Your Highness, do you intend to agree to Mu Zhe’s request?”

Liang Shu said: “This would not be harmful to us.”

By agreeing, they could firstly buy some time temporarily for Ku You, and secondly, the huge amount of wealth in the forest was the common people’s wealth that the evil cult had plundered for many years. There was no reason for it to be returned to Mu Zhe, and also no reason for it to be given to some fantastical jungle tribe. After all, there was a need for money everywhere in Dayan.

Previously, he had just thought it was a few dozen boxes of gold and silver, so he didn’t pay much attention to it. But looking at the request issued by Mu Zhe, no matter how he calculated it, it seemed that he must pay attention now.

Gao Lin and Cheng Suyue were not surprised by this, and knew that the prince would definitely want to steal the money.

But a new question arose: how would they steal the money? Mu Zhe, an old zombie who had been wandering around the forest miasma all day long, couldn’t compete with that mysterious tribe. It could only be more troublesome for ordinary people. They couldn’t really send in the army to burn the mountain and clear the forests indiscriminately, could they?

Everyone was unsure as to what decision Liang Shu would make in the end.

“All things have spirits,” Liu Xian’an said during lunch. “It is not an easy thing to kill them all.”

Liang Shu pulled his thoughts back and knocked on the other’s head: “What are you thinking about? How could I really go and burn the mountain?”

Liu Xian’an said “En,” and asked: “Then what are your plans?”

“I was thinking about the batch of wind wings you made when we attacked Huang Wangxiang’s rebels.” Liang Shu said: “If they can be made larger, a little easier to control, and fly a hundred or a thousand li in the wind, we could find the specific location of the jungle tribe at high altitude.”

It was a good idea. Liu Xian’an said: “But the wind wings can’t fly hundreds or thousands of li. Perhaps people in the future will be able to fly such a distance, but we certainly can’t right now.”

“It’s just something I thought about.” Liang Shu picked up his chopsticks for him. “Okay, eat your meal first.”

“But we can improve the wind wings to make them fly higher,” Liu Xian’an said. “As long as you fly high enough, you can see farther.”

“What if it gets blown away by the wind?”

“Can it be fixed in place with a rope?”

Liu Xian’an didn’t waste any time, and didn’t even eat well. He just wiped his mouth and ran to the study to draw diagrams. Liu Xianche was also in the study. Because his patient had been kidnapped, he was in a very gloomy mood and seemed to be enveloped in thunder and lightning. From time to time, there would be a ripping sound. He asked his little brother: “Why are you running?”

“I want to recreate a kind of wind wing.” Liu Xian’an gestured, “Like a kite. Two people can sit on it.”

Liu Xianche already knew that he had used wind wings to assist Liang Shu in attacking a city, so he didn’t rebuke this idea that sounded like a daydream, but took the initiative to clear half the table and watch his brother draw diagrams. The sun outside the window gradually disappeared. A-Ning went into the room and lit a lamp. Liu Xian’an rubbed his sore eyes, took a refreshing pill into his mouth, and continued to draw.

A-Ning said: “Young Master, please rest for a while.”

“I must hurry,” Liu Xian’an said. “Before the fourth day of the fourth month.”

“What is the significance of the fourth day of the fourth month?”

“That’s what is written on the stone wall,” Liu Xian’an said. “The ‘immortals’ who founded the Valley of Ten Faces descended to earth on the fourth day of the fourth month. According to the records, every year on this day, the forest will be glorious and the white fog will dissipate. It sounds like the sun will shine brightly and the miasma will be reduced, so our vision will be the clearest.”

“But there are only a few days left until the fourth day of the fourth month.”

“That is why I must hurry.”

It was then that First Young Master Liu discovered that when his lazy brother became diligent, he was no different from every other disciple in Baihe Mountain Village. With a cloth apron hanging on his chest, he sometimes lay at the table writing and drawing, and sometimes ran to the courtyard to guide the craftsmen. He forgot to sleep and eat, and often when he returned to his room in the middle of the night, his entire body was shaking.

Liu Xianche could only advise: “Don’t get too tired.”

Liu Xian’an raised his head and looked at the prototype of the wind wing in mid-air. The words he spoke were casual and perfunctory, and his appearance was exactly the same as when he would lay in the waterside pavilion.

“Get up and move.”

“En, en.”

“Go back to sleep.”

“En, en.”

It could be seen that he suffered the ruler less.

The thirty-six wind wings were finally completed on time, and were arranged neatly along the edge of the dense, maze-like forest.

On the fourth day of the fourth month, Liu Xianche also boarded a wind wing. He held a telescope in his hand and was accompanied by an Imperial guard. His boy servant eyed the huge wooden frame and felt very unsure, whispering to his young master that he should wait below. Liu Xianche didn’t listen. He tightened the belt around his waist and carefully studied the telescope’s use. Another boy pulled his companion aside and criticized: “The Second Young Master made this with his own hands. How could the First Young Master not sit on it? You really don’t get it.”

In addition to Liu Xianche, Gao Lin, Cheng Suyue, Chang Xiaoqiu, and others also rode on the wind wings. Liang Shu adjusted the telescope and handed it to Liu Xian’an: “Just sit still.”

Second Young Master Liu was not afraid. After all, he was a person who could fly up to 90,000 li without any problem, and this wind wing was still far away from that. As the mountain wind grew stronger and stronger, the wind wings gradually swelled and finally staggered off the ground!

“Cough, cough!” Chang Xiaoqiu was choked by the wind and coughed. Under the dazzling sunshine and strong wind, he could hardly open his eyes. It took him a long time to adapt, and then he could barely open them a crack.

The steel cable was stretched to its longest position, and the wind wing stopped at its highest point. He glanced down, and his legs and feet suddenly became weak, his heart beating like a drum.

The soldier to the side had no time to pay attention to him, and concentrated on observing carefully with the telescope. Chang Xiaoqiu also closed his eyes and calmed down, imitating him by looking into the distance.

The forest was lush and green.

There was nothing unusual at first, just large tracts of undulating forest land with no trace of human life. But as the miasma of white fog was gradually blown away, the sun became stronger and stronger. At noon, a golden color suddenly appeared deep in the dense forest. It reflected back in a dazzling manner, as if gold and gems were scattered all over the ground.

Gao Lin was stunned, wondering if he had also been infected with Ku You’s eye disease.

On another wind wing, Cheng Suyue was also shocked. She had thought that the ghost story carved on the stone wall was just a poor scholar’s fantasy. Was there really so much luxury? Even if Mu Zhe’s wealth was really stolen, they wouldn’t just spread it carelessly on the ground.

Liu Xian’an looked at it carefully with the telescope and said: “That’s a lot of money.”

Among the group of people, the only one who didn’t react was Liu Xianche. Due to the angle, the mountain of gold couldn’t be seen in this direction, but he could hear a sharp signal flare. It was agreed upon in advance that if there was a discovery, they would proceed to the second step of the plan.

The Imperial guard beside Liu Xianche said happily: “It seems that the prince and the others have found traces of the jungle tribe!”

The signal flare trailed a long tail of sound behind it and disappeared into the clouds. The people on the other wind wings also became busy at once. They took out their suonas from their waists and, facing the thousands of li of sky, they sucked in their breaths and began to blow. From “A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix” to “Carrying the Sedan Chair,” they played as loudly as they wanted. This was the most professional gong and drum troupe in the village. Gao Lin had specially picked them up from Old Lady Zhou…..or Zhang. In short, he specially picked them up from someone else’s birthday party.

Along with the sound of the sonorous music, several huge ventilated curtains were also opened one after another. On them were big characters written by Second Young Master Liu himself. Joined together, they formed the condition set by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang – come out and talk within three days.

It was difficult to say how the jungle tribe felt after this combination of punches, but the soldiers in the military camp and the villagers in the Valley of Ten Faces were truly shocked by this combat strategy — it should be called a combat strategy, but it was so unique. It had a comprehensive effect that was fantastical, majestic, earthly, divine, and amusing. In any case, no one had ever thought that a battle could be fought like this.

Liu Xian’an also thought it was quite fun, and said: “Only the prince could come up with such a method.”

Liang Shu put an arm around his shoulders: “Aren’t I amazing?”

“Possibly.”

“How in the world is it still ‘possibly?’”

“It is unknown whether the people in the forest will come out.”

“They will definitely come out.”

Now that their location had been exposed, it would be much easier for the garrison to enter the forest rather than searching blindly before. Even if there was miasma, it may not be impossible to reach into the depths. After all, the difference in difficulty between cutting down one tree and cutting down ten thousand acres of forest was obvious.

“A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix” played all afternoon. It wasn’t until sunset when the white fog gathered again that the people below pulled the wind wings back.

As soon as Liu Xianche landed, he rode a horse to another wind wing and asked what was going on in the forest.

“There really is a mountain of gold in the forest.” Gao Lin described, “The entire land was shining. I looked at it all afternoon, and now my eyes are full of money.”

Liu Xianche asked: “You’re saying they used gold to pave the ground?”

“Yes, ah.” Gao Lin said, “When we flew high, we could see a huge area.”

Now that the message had been given, the next step was to wait and see if there was a reply within three days. And Liang Shu did not squander these three days. Each day, he ordered people to hold up big characters and shout, no matter whether it could be seen clearly through the white fog. In any case, writing them didn’t cost much, and the suona team was of high quality and low price.

At the same time, he also drew a route on the map. If there was no movement in the forest, the garrison would begin to attack in the early morning of the fourth day. Logging carts and gunpowder were continuously transported, and the entire camp was filled with the pungent scent of sulfur.

Liu Xian’an sneezed a series of times, covered his nose with a cloth, and continued to lie on the table and study the map. After studying it for a while, he looked up at the person standing by the window: “Da-ge, you’ve been standing there a long time. Are you worried about Commander Ku?”

“I’m thinking about something else.” Liu Xianche considered for a moment and decided to tell his little brother. “Five years ago, I went to the Chuqiu City free clinic, where I met a group of young men and women. They were personable and good-looking, and came to me with a child in their arms.”

The child cried without stopping. It was covered in rashes all over its body, had a high fever, and vomited yellow liquid. The symptoms looked frightening. Other doctors didn’t dare to take them in, for fear of contracting the plague, and some even went to the government office to drive these outsiders away. In the end, Liu Xianche personally came forward and insisted on keeping them in the hospital.

“I later cured the child, and his relatives sent a whole box of treasures worth more than ten thousand gold.”

Liu Xianche naturally refused to accept it, and only took two round jade pieces as payment for his treatment. But the other party was adamant, and even grabbed a handful of pearls from the little baby and threw them into the arms of the miracle doctor, saying: “We have a lot of these things in our home. They are all spread on the forest floor. Take them!”

The adults quickly took the little baby away, and Liu Xianche didn’t take these words to heart. He still had many things to do, so he only left his medicine boy to deal with the other party. In the end, he was left with a dozen silver ingots that he donated to the Chuqiu City free clinic.

Liu Xianche asked: “Could it be them?”

Liu Xian’an held his elder brother’s hand: “It’s possible. If it’s really them, then they will be very grateful to Da-ge.”

“That’s not necessarily the case,” Liu Xianche said. “After I cured the child, they wanted me to marry.”

Liu Xian’an’s eyelid twitched, but he felt that this was normal. Even though his elder brother always beat him, he didn’t beat others. He was good-looking, had good medical skills, came from a good family, and had a good education. Naturally, he was more popular than even the lieutenant general.

Of course Liu Xianche didn’t agree. He was annoyed, and felt that this group of people was simply incomprehensible, so he took a carriage and left that night.

Liu Xian’an put forth a bold hypothesis based on the large pile of idle books he had read. It is possible that when they put forward negotiation conditions at this time, they will exchange Da-ge for the mountain of gold and take him away to be married.

As a result, he successfully earned three rulers for himself. It hurt for a long time, and he was very depressed.

A-Ning commented: “The beating you received this time was not unfair at all.”

Liu Xian’an ignored him, wrapping himself in a quilt and turning his back toward him. Alas, everyone in the world is too dense. They can’t talk to me or listen to me.

A-Ning grabbed the quilt with both hands and shook it: “Young Master, you’re going to sleep now? His Highness is still waiting for you to go over for dinner.”

Liu Xian’an said: “I’ll lie down for a while.”

“Your hand won’t be less red if you lie down.”

“It’s already not red anymore.”

“……”

“Hu.”

A-Ning had a severe headache and had to send someone to report the news to the prince.

After a while, Liang Shu came to the door in person. He bent down and took the person out, holding him as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Tell me, why did you get beaten this time?”

Liu Xian’an was indeed not asleep. He held Liang Shu’s neck with one arm and roughly recounted the conversation he had earlier with his elder brother.

“There is such a strange thing?” Liang Shu was surprised to hear this. “Are they really the same group of people?”

“It’s hard to say, but there are not many in the world who use gold bricks to pave the ground.”

“Then this is interesting.” Liang Shu said, “Between the grace of saving a life and the hatred of refusing a marriage, the former should be heavier, right?”

“What if the other party holds a grudge instead of being grateful?”

“As long as they are willing to come.” Liang Shu patted the person in his arms. “All right, let’s stop talking about this and go eat first.”

“My hand hurts a little.”

“Let’s see. Hiss, how could it be beaten so red?”

“It’s fine, this wasn’t the hand that was beaten.”

“…….”

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T/N: Sometimes when I’m translating, the Mandarin and English get jumbled in my head and I start typing some unholy amalgamation that reads like I’m having a stroke.

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Chapter Ninety-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred One