Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 72: The mysterious master

Jiumozhi looked a little embarrassed, and he explained, ”This poor monk saw that our side was outnumbered that day, so I had to escape to look for rescuers first, and I hope the two are not offended.”

Song Qingshu remained expressionless, and didnʼt care much about it. Anyway, the two were not his friends of life and death. He probably would have made the same choice if he was in Jiumozhi’s position, but he didnʼt know if Wei Xiaobao would have a bump in his heart.

Looking up, he saw that Wei Xiaobao was not only not angry, but he smiled, ”The situation was critical that day. Fortunately, the Great Monk notified the soldiers outside the city in time to make the group of assassins hesitate. I was worried that you would be harmed by that group of gangsters. Today, when I met Brother Song first, and met you, the Great Monk; I was so happy. Let us go to the best restaurant in the city, and we won’t rest tonight unless we are drunk .” He said as he hooked Song Qingshu with his left hand, and Jiumozhi with his right hand, then started walking.

Although Jiumozhi knew that what he said just now was just a kind of clever excuse, and he couldnʼt help but feel warm, but when he thought of the content of Wei Xiaobaoʼs words, his face became stiff, and he muttered, ”This poor monk canʼt drink alcohol…”

”Meat and wine only pass through the intestines, but Buddha sits in our hearts. You don’t have to hold back so much, Great Monk.” Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh.

”If the Buddha in heaven heard these words, Iʼm afraid he would slap this guy on the ear for sure.” Song Qingshu couldnʼt help but smile, and followed a group of people to the city.

*****

Wei Xiaobaoʼs mission to the southward alliance was full of twists and turns, and the time was delayed enough. Worried that Kangxi would be waiting, the group of people traveled day and night in a hurry, and soon returned to the city of Yanjing.

”Xiao Guizi, you old shi*t, why did you take so long to come back to report to us? Were you obsessed with the beauties of Jiangnan and felt reluctant to come back?” When Kangxi saw Wei Xiaobao, he was pleasantly surprised, and quickly ran off the dragon throne. (Goblin: Emperor’s usually refer to themselves as we, us, our.)

”Hey, Xiao Xuanzi, itʼs a long story. This time, this Xiao Guiziʼs life was almost over.” Wei Xiaobao raised his hand to wipe his sweat. (Goblin: Guizi roughly translates to “birdʼs egg”. It’s the same for “Xiao Xuanzi”. It shows the close friendship between the two. It sounds strange if I translate it, so I decided to keep it as it is.)

”Oh?” Kangxi was really interested, ”What the hell happened?”

Wei Xiaobao then added more effort to describe how he was nearly assassinated, and then he was rescued by Song Qingshu, and then went to Gusu to recruit the expert martial arts master Jiumozhi, on the way to the north, he fell into a trap in Yangzhou, and was captured by the Golden Serpent King and others…

Wei Xiaobao liked to hear book readings since he was a child, and he was very accurate about which plots should be emphasized and which should be omitted while narrating.

Sure enough, Kangxiʼs emotions were completely riled up by him. He was usually trapped deep in the inner palace. How could he have the opportunity to come into contact with so many exciting things? He was full of joy.

”Then how did you escape later?” Although now Wei Xiaobao was safe and sound, Kangxi couldnʼt help but worry about how he could get out after he was caught in the Tiger’s Lair.

Wei Xiaobao chuckled, then he told the story about the Blood Saber Elder and Yuan Chengzhi.

”Well, you little fox!” Kangxi stroked his palm and gave him a look of surprise. ”We originally thought that you were inexperienced, and didnʼt expect that you would do better than some people who are full of experience in critical moments.”

”Of course Xiao Guizi didnʼt learn or know anything before.” Wei Xiaobao lightly tapped Kangxi on his shoulder. ”But I am always with Xiao Xuanzi and have learned a few skills.”

”What ‘Skills’? I just praised you!” Kangxi gave him an angry look, ”By the way, after the Blood Saber Elder took you away, how did you escape?”

Wei Xiaobao originally wanted to lie to him that Song Qingshu had saved him, but then he thought about the fact that he had leaked one of the core secrets of the Qing Empire in order to survive. If Kangxi was not prepared, wouldnʼt he harm him?

After hesitating for a long time, Wei Xiaobao still said, ”Xuanzi, I dare not say…”

”Is there anything you dare not say?” Kangxi rolled his eyes and looked at him with amusement. ”Did you say bad things about us in front of the Blood Saber Elder? It doesnʼt matter, we forgive you, so do not feel guilty.”

”Uh… itʼs a bit more serious than that.” Wei Xiaobao timidly glanced at him.

”Have you said bad things about our father or the queen?” Kangxiʼs face couldnʼt help but sink.

”Thatʼs definitely not!” Wei Xiaobao shook his head like the tail of a rattlesnake. He couldn’t lie even if he wanted to, so he told Kangxi that he had to tell the Blood Saber Elder about the fragile relationship between Kangxi, Prince Bao, and Wu Sangui.

Kangxi frowned after hearing about the matter, and stood there for a long time without saying a word.

Wei Xiaobao quietly waited on the sidelines, he felt scared, and quickly continued explaining so that he could gain some sympathy, “Xiao Xuanzi, I was about to be brought back to Mongolia by the Blood Saber Elder at that time. I thought that the Mongolian prince would use me to threaten you, and cause you to fall into a dilemma. If you decided to save me it would harm the interests of the Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, if you let me die, it would be disregarding brotherhood and make you seem cruel and unrighteous; how can this Xiao Guizi bear to let you be an unrighteous person?”

”Bastard!” Looking at Wei Xiaobaoʼs deliberate pitiful appearance, Kangxi didnʼt know what he was going to do. This guy was really good at talking nonsense, so he couldnʼt help but laugh and curse, ”Forget it, itʼs not a big deal, we’ll just take advantage of this opportunity to apply our plan.”

Wei Xiaobaoʼs eyes lit up and he immediately looked at Kangxi with admiration, ”Xuanzi, you came up with a countermeasure in the blink of an eye! You really are more intelligent than Zhuge Liang.”

”Enough flattering.” Kangxiʼs eyes were deep and thoughtful, ”Our peace with the Wu Sangui and Prince Bao are just a stopgap measure. Although the alliance has the upper hand over Mongolia for now, no one knows what will happen in the long run. We have always wanted to resolve this matter. It’s just that our foreign enemies, the Mongols, are overwhelming. We couldn’t make up our minds all this time. Since you made a mistake and leaked the news, and if Mongolia really retreats, it will be the right time to settle it.”

”But Mongolia made it clear that they will watch the dog’s fight…” Wei Xiaobao swallowed his next words when he was glared at by Kangxi, and he quickly changed his tone, ”Our infighting, isnʼt that just what they want?”

”The snipe and clam compete, and the fisherman profits. Everyone in the world wants to be that fisherman, but very few people understand that to be a fisherman is not that easy a thing to do.” Kangxi smiled confidently and had a plan in his heart.

”By the way, where are the two masters you mentioned?” Kangxi woke up in shock and asked back.

”Xiao Xuanzi will be very happy. This time, the two I brought back are really top masters. One is the Tubo national teacher Jiumozhi, who is known as the number one martial artist in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. He can cleave invisible sword energy with his hands. The other is a young sword master. His wooden sword reaps the life of his enemies and can control it within ten feet with his palm.” Wei Xiaobao was extremely proud when speaking of the two masters he recruited. Duo Long was considered one of the best masters in the palace, but compared with them, the difference was between heaven and earth. ‘I think this time I will definitely get a reward from the Emperor.’

”Hand as a sword? Wooden sword?” Kangxi really became interested.

”About that Jiumozhi, I don’t have much to say, but Song Qingshu, who uses the wooden sword, is not only strong in martial arts, but also very loyal. He is willing to use his strength for his brothers.” Wei Xiaobao remembered Song Qingshuʼs efforts to save him from danger several times, and took this opportunity to advertise his previous deeds.

”Hurry up and tell them to come in!” Kangxi quickly turned around and sat down on the dragon throne. He wanted to maintain the Emperorʼs majesty in front of outsiders.

”As you wish!” Wei Xiaobao hurriedly ran out.

When Song Qingshu entered the imperial study room and looked at Kangxi on the dragon throne, he went in a daze, ”This young man wearing a dragon robe turned out to be that Emperor…The Imperial Study Room, I didn’t visit this place when I visited the Forbidden City back then. It was a mistake, but I am now fulfilling my regrets from that life.”

Kangxi looked at the two masters who were praised so much by Wei Xiaobao, and a deep smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, ”Speaking of masters, we also recruited a expert martial arts master some time ago, but we donʼt know if he is higher or lower level than these two.”

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