The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 477 7 Clever Ways to Break the Curse (Page 12)

Last time, we talked about Lin Fan's mission to Western Chu. The conditions proposed in the letter were definitely not agreed to by the Chu people. The redistribution of land would inevitably offend all the gentry and landlords of Chu. Li Yi did this to force Chu to go to war. So why did he ask the Chu people to send his three wives to Luoyang as hostages? Let's find out together.

Xiang Liang knew that once his daughter made up her mind, she would not change it. At present, he could only hope that the Qu family would reject the hostage issue. However, after discussing it, the four elders of the Qu family also agreed to the matter. Qu Zhi even went to persuade the Xiang family to consider the overall situation and to give the Chu state time to prepare for war.

Thus, Li Yi's three wives, who remained in Western Chu, embarked on their journey to Luoyang, the new capital of Northern Wei. They all considered themselves to be going as hostages, so Qu Xia and Jing Xin did not bring their children. The two of them sat in the carriage and followed behind the delegation, while Xiang Ying did not want to ride in the carriage, so she rode a horse outside the carriage.

Anyone in the convoy could see the three ladies were filled with worry, especially Xiang Ying, whose face practically screamed resentment. Apart from Lin Fan, no one in the delegation dared to speak to this female general of the Western Chu Transcendent Realm, for fear that she would vent her resentment on them.

Less than a hundred miles from Baidi City, the commander of the escorting delegation saw Xiang Ying's long face, spurred his horse to Lin Fan's carriage, and bowed, saying, "Lord Lin, Xiang Ying from Xichu has fallen to the very back of the caravan. Could she have run away on her own?"

Lin Fan stuck his head out of the car window and looked back, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, General Xiang is a man of his word. She just has something on her mind. Tell the guards not to worry about her, and even if she leaves halfway, they don't need to stop her."

"Yes! But even if we wanted to stop her, we couldn't. Hey, Lord Lin, look, she's really gone!"

As they were talking, Xiang Ying suddenly abandoned her horse and headed south, startling the guards who were at a loss for what to do.

"Tell them not to stop us; the delegation should rest where they are!"

Inside the carriage, Qu Xia watched Xiang Ying leave and said to Jing Xin, "It seems Xiang Ying went back to get her sword. Well, no one else in the world can wield that wooden sword except her, so it's useless in Baidi City. Do you think she'll dare to attack Li Yi again?"

"It would be strange if she didn't dare to take action, given her temper. I just hope she doesn't make too much of a scene and provoke the Northern Wei into starting a war, thus delaying the Chu Kingdom's grand plan."

"What grand plan is there? The Northern Wei is powerful, and surrender is only a matter of time. Our fathers just wanted to dampen the Wei people's spirit so that they could negotiate with the Northern Wei emperor in the future. This is something everyone knows but doesn't say."

How long do you think we can hold out?

"That depends on how lecherous Li Yi is. I'm prepared to use every trick in the book to entangle him. By the way, your Jing family agreed so readily, is it because they know you were infatuated with him in your younger days?"

Jing Xin rolled her eyes at Qu Xia and said coldly, "Hmph, I wonder who stayed up all night watching over their child. Granny Lan Die came all the way to pick up the child and kept giving instructions."

"Don't talk like you slept last night! Your dark circles are much worse than mine!"

"Last night I accompanied my brother Xuan to stargaze and asked him to help predict the fortune of this trip."

"Oh, what were the results of the calculation?"

"Brother Xuan only said the two words 'I should go'."

At this moment, Lin Fan came to their carriage, bowed, and asked, "Ladies, do you know where Madam Xiang has gone?"

Qu Xia lifted the carriage curtain and replied, "Reporting to Lord Lin, we have no idea where she went. However, it would be best if Lord Lin sent someone back to Baidi City to find Grandpa Xiang or her brother Xiang Ying. Right now, apart from these two, she won't listen to anyone else."

Lin Fan glanced in the direction of Baidi City, shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for the reminder, Madam, but I don't think it's necessary. I believe Madam Xiang will not go back on her word." He turned to the guard captain and said, "Rest here for an hour. If Madam Xiang does not return, leave one team here to wait for her, and the rest of you continue on your way."

Qu Xia pulled the carriage curtain closed and said to Jing Xin, "It seems this Lin Fan isn't so easy to fool."

"He is a fourth-rank scholar, so he is not easy to fool."

"This guy is actually a great Confucian scholar? It seems that the Northern Wei has produced quite a few talented people in recent years." Qu Xia pulled back the carriage curtain and watched Lin Fan leave, then casually said, "If you don't want to go to the Northern Wei, I can take you with me. No one in the delegation can stop me."

Jing Xin glanced at Qu Xia with disdain, then turned her head to the window and said, "If you can't bear to part with the child, you can run away by yourself. You don't need to take me, this burden, with you. You should know that if I hadn't met my husband, the person I would most want to see in this world is the Director of the Music Bureau of Northern Wei."

"Alas, we women are truly unfortunate! From birth, we are destined to be appendages of men. In such a vast Chu Kingdom, with so many men, in the end, we three women are the ones who have to buy them time. What a joke."

"First we launch a northern expedition, then a southern campaign. We've faced the scourge of witchcraft in the past and the chaos caused by the demon race in the future. Our Great Chu has never had a moment of peace in the last few years. We must do everything in our power to delay as long as we can."

"If you ask me, we're actually not as good as Xiang Ying in this matter. She's at the Transcendent Realm. Since Li Yi specifically asked her to go as well, someone has to keep an eye on her. Apart from him personally accompanying her, no one else can control her! So let Xiang Ying stall for time. If we can find a way to gather more military intelligence, we might be able to help more."

"Military intelligence? You're overthinking it. Even if Li Yi is now the head of the Suspended Mirror Bureau, he wouldn't leak military intelligence to us."

"That depends on our abilities. Otherwise, why would my family send me here? I will try to contact Chu's spies in Northern Wei. As for you, find out whatever you can. If you have any crucial intelligence, you can use the spies to send it back to Baidi City."

Jing Xin simply nodded without replying.

After arranging for the delegation members to rest, Lin Fan returned to the car and bowed, saying, "Would the two ladies like to get out of the car and rest for a while?"

Qu Xia pulled back the carriage curtain and responded with a classic fake smile, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Lin. However, as a married woman, it's not appropriate for me to show my face in public, especially since we are hostages."

"Madam, what are you saying? No one here is taking you two hostage. However, if you two are unwilling to get out of the carriage, this is a little toy that your teacher is giving you to keep you entertained on the journey. It's a puzzle box on the outside, but the key is inside."

Jingxin took the tangram box, which was engraved with many words. She glanced at Qu Xia's box, which was covered in messy patterns, but Qu Xia was happily fiddling with it. Because Qu Xia never showed her true feelings, Jingxin couldn't tell if she was faking it or genuinely liked it, so she just randomly flipped over her own box.

An hour passed quickly, and just as the delegation was preparing to set off again, Xiang Ying returned on her sword.

Upon seeing this, Lin Fan immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Madam Xiang, where have you been?"

Do I need to report to you what I do?

"My teacher instructed me to take good care of the three ladies. If you need anything, just let me know. Why bother coming all the way here in person?"

"I went back and got a sword, the kind I use to kill your teacher. Can you do that for me?" Xiang Ying said, drawing a wooden sword and holding it to Lin Fan's neck.

Lin Fan immediately shouted, "Don't move! Madam Xiang is a Transcendent Realm cultivator. If she really wanted to kill me, she wouldn't need to draw her sword! Besides, as a Transcendent Realm cultivator, you cannot kill mortals at will. Quickly put away your weapons!"

The mission's guards immediately sheathed their weapons.

Seeing this, Xiang Ying sheathed her wooden sword and laughed, "I didn't realize you had some courage. However, while those in the Transcendent Realm cannot kill mortals at will, this does not include enemies."

"Wei and Chu haven't gone to war yet, so we can't be considered enemies. Oh, by the way, this is a little gift that the teacher prepared for Madam Xiang, to help her pass the time on the journey." Lin Fan casually handed over a book with the title "Completely Destroy the Xiang Family's Overlord Halberd."

Upon seeing the book title, Xiang Ying instantly exploded. She snatched the book and cursed, "Li Yi is really arrogant. He even said he could break my Xiang family's Overlord Halberd. He's just..." However, Xiang Ying casually flipped to a page and immediately shut her mouth after seeing the moves and annotations drawn by Li Yi. She frowned and got into the carriage.

Lin Fan smiled, then shouted loudly, "Let's go!"

Xiang Ying boarded the carriage with the martial arts manual written by Li Yi. The two men inside didn't even look at her, busy fiddling with the seven-piece puzzle box in their hands. The three of them remained silent until they reached the post station.

Jingxin discovered that the words in the puzzle box could be pieced together to form poems, all of which were Wei Le's poems. It took her a lot of effort to piece together one poem, which was the first poem she had asked Wei Le to write, with autumn as its theme. Looking at the puzzle box, she wondered to herself: How did he know this poem?

After piecing together one side, Qu Xia discovered that the pattern depicted a golden silkworm and its transformation into a moth. Not only was the image lifelike, but even the details on the moth were meticulously crafted, suggesting that only someone with a deep understanding of the Heavenly Silkworm Sect could create something like this. Therefore, Qu Xia was quite surprised as to how Li Yi knew all this.

On the other side, Xiang Ying was on the verge of collapse as Li Yi marked out the methods of using his family's century-old halberd techniques, as well as how to counter them, and even included several formations and countermeasures for halberd soldiers.

It is important to know that the Chu army is strongest in halberdiers, and the halberdiers practice the simplified version of the Overlord Halberd technique. If all the moves of the Overlord Halberd are deciphered, the Chu army's proud halberdiers will suffer heavy losses once they go to the battlefield! Because of this, Xiang Ying even began to suspect that there might be a traitor in her own family, but after repeated consideration, she ruled out this possibility.

Xiang Ying found Jing Xin with the books in her hand. After entering the room, she saw Jing Xin fiddling with a wooden box and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

"Li Yi brought over some small toys to cheer me up."

"You've been fiddling with it the whole time, so it seems you really like it."

Jing Xin glanced at Xiang Ying, then said while turning the tangram box, "What's wrong with you today? You usually just say what you mean."

"I think there's something wrong with this Li Yi. He knows me, and not just me, but the entire Xiang family knows him very well!"

"You've noticed it too, this Li Yi knows a lot about not only you, but also me, Qu Xia, and our Chu Kingdom!" Jing Xin put down the Seven-Skill Box and looked at Xiang Ying, asking, "Why did you suddenly storm into the palace that day and volunteer to go to Luoyang as a hostage?"

“That day I was practicing my cultivation as usual…” Xiang Ying told Jing Xin about what happened that day.

Xiang Ying was cultivating when an arrow suddenly flew towards her. She caught it and realized it was Wei Le's Spirit Feather Arrow, with a note attached. She opened it and saw only five words: "Come to Luoyang to find me." After Xiang Ying finished reading, the note turned to ashes.

Just as she was wondering what was happening, the spirit arrow suddenly pierced the ground. Xiang Ying immediately swung her wooden sword and thrust it into the ground. Three zhang away, a vine broke through the soil and entangled the arrow that was trying to escape. Before Xiang Ying could even grasp the spirit arrow, her vine was burned off by the flames emanating from the arrow, and the spirit arrow quickly flew away.

Upon seeing this, Xiang Ying immediately gave chase, only to discover that the one controlling the Spirit Feather Arrow was a masked man. In her memory, no one but her husband could control the Spirit Feather Arrow, so she sped up again, grabbing the masked man with one hand and holding the Spirit Feather Arrow with the other.

"Who are you, and why can you control the Spirit Feather Arrow?"

The masked man sighed helplessly, "Master is right, the Transcendent Realm is indeed the Transcendent Realm, and Master's wife is me." The masked man removed his mask and smiled at Xiang Ying.

"Yu Jiu? Didn't you go back to Nanliang? You've grown so tall, you seem to have grown into a grown-up all of a sudden! Hey, why are you calling me Master's Wife now?"

"Young Master refused to teach me martial arts before, only making me his page and forbidding me from calling him Master. Now that I have mastered the Spirit Feather Arrow and the Hundred Beast Fist, it is only natural for me to call him Master. So isn't it normal for me to call you Master's Wife?"

Xiang Ying laughed and said, "That's right, you should call her Master's Wife. Wait, when my husband and the army split up, you didn't know these things. Where did you learn them from?" After saying that, she handed the Spirit Feather Arrow to Yu Jiu.