Flower Stealing Master

“Is that so?” Zhou Zhiruo looked at the two of them doubtfully.

Zhao Min, feeling somewhat guilty, averted her gaze. “Tha… thank you.” Her tone was strange, as if she were gritting her teeth.

Seeing that she didn’t expose him, Song Qingshu was secretly overjoyed. He winked at her, then said, “Since everything’s fine, I’ll go out now. You all get some rest and build up your energy. We’ll have to hurry on our way early tomorrow morning.”

Watching Song Qingshu’s retreating figure, Zhao Min bit her delicate teeth. She didn’t understand why she hadn’t exposed him publicly, but instead covered for him—making it seem like she was a secret lover caught in the act by the legitimate wife…

Suddenly thinking of this, Zhao Min shuddered and quickly shook her head to dispel such fanciful thoughts. But a clever mind never rests. Before long, she had thought of something else and became deeply melancholy.

Zhou Zhiruo had expected Zhao Min to retaliate for her earlier prank, but to her surprise, after Song Qingshu left, Zhao Min quietly curled up under the covers without saying a word. She looked nothing like the lofty Mongol Princess of ordinary days, but rather like a lovesick Jiangnan maiden.

Lan Fenghuang also stepped out of the bathtub, dried herself, and changed into her clothes. She, too, was feeling frustrated: *I’m also a victim here. Why is no one concerned about my feelings?*

Each of the three women had her own concerns, and soon they all fell asleep.

In the adjacent room, Song Qingshu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Several times he got up and prepared to go next door, but each time he lost his nerve. He couldn’t help sighing. *Sure enough, three monks have no water to drink.*

The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, the group mounted their horses and hurriedly left the inn, heading north toward the battlefield.

*****

Back at the front lines, in the main tent of the Golden Serpent Camp, Ah Jiu and Xia Qingqing wore expressions of deep worry.

“Qingqing, still no news of Song Lang?” Ah Jiu rubbed her temples, her voice weary.

Xia Qingqing shook her head. “We’ve sent many trusted people to the Jiangnan region. So far, there’s been no word of him.”

Ah Jiu took her hand, as if comforting both her and herself. “No news is the best news. Song Lang has formidable martial arts, keen intelligence, and has always been blessed by fortune. I’m sure he’ll turn misfortune into good fortune this time.”

Xia Qingqing sighed. “You’re so wise, Ah Jiu. I’m completely beside myself.”

Ah Jiu smiled bitterly. “Aren’t I the same? But if I were to lose Song Lang’s hard-won foundation and he returned safely, how could I face him?” Ah Jiu was, after all, a Ming dynasty princess. Her royal upbringing had endowed her with a vision and bearing far beyond ordinary people. Moreover, having lived through the death of her father, the Chongzhen Emperor, on Coal Hill… she had experienced both life as a pampered princess and the destruction of her country. Her heart had long since transformed from delicate to unyieldingly strong.

“You’re right,” Xia Qingqing said, wiping the corner of her eye and trying to rouse her spirits. But soon she worried, “Ah Jiu, how do you know he’s so fortunate?”

Ah Jiu couldn’t help reaching out and tapping her on the forehead. “If he weren’t so steadfast, how could he have made you so devoted?”

Xia Qingqing had been looking at her expectantly, but upon hearing this answer, her face turned crimson. “You wicked Ah Jiu! You used to be as pure as a little white flower. Now, under your man’s influence, you’ve become so naughty!”

Ah Jiu giggled. “Isn’t my man also your man?”

Xia Qingqing blushed. After playfully tussling with her for a while, she couldn’t help asking softly, “If something really had happened to Big Brother Song… what would you do?”

Ah Jiu’s face hardened. “I would avenge him. Kill Li Kexiu, Wan Qili, Wan Gui, and the others. Then I would go to the underworld to find him—hoping he hasn’t drunk Meng Po’s soup so quickly.”

Xia Qingqing grasped her hand and said firmly, “I’ll go with you.”

“Aren’t you worried about Big Brother Yuan’s reputation?” Ah Jiu, whose relationship with her was as close as sisters, knew all too well the knot in Xia Qingqing’s heart. She had preferred to be Song Qingshu’s secret lover rather than have their relationship made public, all to preserve Yuan Chengzhi’s reputation.

Xia Qingqing bit her red lips. “I’ve already endured the pain of losing a beloved once. I don’t want to experience it again. Nor do I have the courage to live on alone.”

Ah Jiu patted her hand comfortingly. But a thought crossed her mind: *If, on the road to the underworld, Yuan Chengzhi and Song Qingshu started fighting, which one would Qingqing help…*

After pouring out their hearts, the two women felt somewhat relieved. Only then did Xia Qingqing remember the serious matter at hand. “The morale in the Golden Serpent Camp is at rock bottom right now. Our chances of repelling Li Kexiu’s army are very low, let alone killing him to avenge Big Brother Song.”

“Yes,” Ah Jiu sighed softly.

It turned out that while Song Qingshu was traveling far and wide, Ah Jiu had been impersonating him in the Golden Serpent Camp. That had been manageable ordinarily. But this time, news of Song Qingshu being poisoned by the Golden Devil Flower had spread so widely that everyone in the camp was beginning to doubt Ah Jiu’s identity. Though the two women had managed to suppress the unrest, it had already caused widespread anxiety and rumors. In the face of Li Kexiu’s attacks, they had already lost several battles. Now their defensive line was on the verge of breaking.

“It’s about time. The commanders will be arriving soon. Let’s prepare,” Xia Qingqing reminded her. As if in confirmation, the various commanders of the Golden Serpent Camp soon filed in.

Those seated were essentially the core power-holders of the Golden Serpent Camp. The group began discussing their next strategy, but soon disagreements arose. Somehow, the conversation quickly turned to Ah Jiu.

“There are rumors all over the world that the Golden Serpent King was poisoned to death in Yangzhou. I wonder which of these Golden Serpent Kings is real and which is fake?” The crowd fixed their doubtful gazes on Ah Jiu.

“As I said last time, those are just rumors. What will it take for you to believe me? Do you want to have another sparring match with me to see if I’m real or not?” Ah Jiu was angry. She knew her martial arts were no match for Song Qingshu’s, but against these people, they were more than sufficient.

“Heh heh, our martial arts are too low. How could we test anything?” someone said. A large group immediately chimed in agreement.

Xia Qingqing slammed her hand heavily on the table. “You’ve questioned Big Brother Song’s identity time and again. What exactly are you plotting?”

“We mean no disrespect to the Golden Serpent King. We’re just afraid that he’s been harmed by some villain and has become someone else’s puppet.” The group seemed to have coordinated privately beforehand, their stance remarkably unified.

“Who is this ‘villain’ you speak of?” Xia Qingqing, already frustrated by the lack of news about Song Qingshu, snapped.

“I didn’t say it was you,” the man snickered. Xia Qingqing’s chest heaved with anger, but she had no outlet for it.

“What will it take for you to believe me?” Ah Jiu suddenly asked.

The group exchanged meaningful glances. Finally, one of them spoke: “It’s simple. Back then, the Golden Serpent King summoned the wind and rain and single-handedly wiped out the Qing army’s iron cavalry. If you can summon the wind and rain again, we’ll believe you.”

Ah Jiu’s brows furrowed deeply. Though she had heard Song Qingshu explain the principle behind summoning wind and rain, she had never understood it from beginning to end. Now, asked to replicate that miracle, how could she possibly do it?

Xia Qingqing naturally understood her predicament. She quickly intervened: “Summoning wind and rain requires the right timing and the right place—both indispensable. You can’t just do it on command. You’re deliberately making things difficult, aren’t you?”

“Young Master Song has always been a man who creates miracles. We believe in him.” The group clearly had no intention of backing down.

Xia Qingqing was frustrated. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Logically, she was still the former matriarch of this group. They had once treated her with great respect. But ever since Song Qingshu had single-handedly led everyone to annihilate the Qing army of 100,000, his prestige had soared to unprecedented heights. Now these people looked to Song Qingshu alone for guidance and no longer cared about her.

This was why the news of Song Qingshu’s alleged mishap had dealt such a devastating blow to the Golden Serpent Camp’s morale.

“Since summoning wind and rain has such stringent conditions, then please, Young Master Song, demonstrate the Return of the Myriad Swords from the Golden Serpent Assembly,” someone else proposed, immediately winning everyone’s approval. At the Golden Serpent Assembly, Song Qingshu’s Return of the Myriad Swords had stunned the entire audience, leaving an indelible impression on all present.

Ah Jiu bit her lip. For the first time, she felt a little resentful that Song Qingshu had so many heaven-defying abilities. She considered her own martial arts quite formidable by *wulin* standards, yet she couldn’t replicate even one of his skills.

Xia Qingqing, of course, knew that she didn’t know Return of the Myriad Swords. She again came to her rescue: “Return of the Myriad Swords is a killing technique. How can it be used for display? Besides, every time Young Master Song uses it, his internal energy is greatly depleted. With a great enemy before us, how can we waste his energy for no reason?”

“Madam Yuan, you’ve repeatedly interfered. What is your real motive?” The crowd, already suspicious of her, immediately turned their verbal attacks on her when she spoke again.

Seeing the crowd’s agitation and the situation slipping out of control, Ah Jiu slammed her palm on the table, shattering it into pieces. Channeling her internal energy, she shouted, “Enough! No more arguing! In tomorrow’s decisive battle, I will lead a $uicide squad to break through Li Kexiu’s central army and take the enemy commander’s head from amidst tens of thousands of troops. That will naturally resolve the Golden Serpent Camp’s crisis.”

The tent fell into a brief silence, followed by exaggerated exclamations. Such an act—taking an enemy commander’s head from amidst tens of thousands—had indeed occurred in history, but only two or three times in the two thousand years of recorded history. Each time, it had succeeded only through a perfect alignment of timing, terrain, and human effort. Otherwise, no matter how high your martial arts or how brave you were on the battlefield, it was absolutely impossible.

Yet the people of the Golden Serpent Camp did not doubt Ah Jiu’s words for a moment. In their hearts, the Golden Serpent King was a divine figure, a man who never stopped creating miracles. If anyone in this world could accomplish such a feat, it was him.

After the high-level meeting ended, the crowd finally left, satisfied. Once they returned to her tent, Xia Qingqing could no longer contain herself. She grabbed Ah Jiu and asked anxiously, “How could you boast like that? Taking an enemy commander’s head from amidst tens of thousands—that’s a death sentence ten times over.”

Ah Jiu said flatly, “In that situation, if I hadn’t said that, the army’s morale would have already collapsed.”

“But what are you going to do tomorrow? If you don’t charge, the army’s morale will collapse even faster,” Xia Qingqing said, her face full of worry.

“Of course I will charge,” Ah Jiu said calmly. To Xia Qingqing’s ears, it sounded like a thunderbolt.

“What!” Xia Qingqing shot to her feet. “You’re… you’re throwing your life away!”

Ah Jiu smiled faintly. “Charging yields only two outcomes. Either I succeed against all odds and avenge Song Lang. Or I fail and die… If I can’t avenge Song, there’s no point in living anyway. I might as well go down to be with him.”

Related← Previous ChapterChapter 1201: What If I Said I Didn’t Mean It?☰Table of ContentsNext Chapter →Chapter 1203: The Real and Fake Song Qingshu