Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 256: Should I leave?

”Sister Fang, Iʼm so glad to see that youʼre okay!” Shuangʼer ran forward to hold Fang Yiʼs arms in surprise.

”Miss Fang, how did you escape from the prison in Grand Secretary’s Mansion?” Song Qingshu also breathed a sigh of relief, ”I wanted to save you before, but you were gone before I could act.”

”Really?” Fang Yi replied lightly, ”It was the people from Prince Mu’s Residence who rescued me.”

Shuangʼer was overjoyed when she heard the words, ”Have all the heroes of Prince Mu’s Residence come here?”

”There has been a lot of wind in the capital recently, so the Prince Mu’s Residence took advantage of the chaos to leave the city after saving me.” Fang Yi replied a little unnaturally. But Shuangʼer and Song Qingshu were so happy to see that she was safe and sound, that they didnʼt pay attention to that detail.

After Song Qingshu escorted them to the Wei Mansion to settle down, he said goodbye and left. After all, the affair between him and Shuangʼer was not something that could see the light of day. Back at the Pole Arms, he called Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian over and said, ”I have something to ask you two.”

Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian patted their chests, and said in unison, ”Us brothers havenʼt done anything since we arrived at the Pole Arms, and we were starting to feel a bit uneasy. Lord Song, just give orders.”

”You two don’t have to act so polite. We all started as guards, and we have gone through many life and death matters…” Song Qingshu and the two chatted for a while, and then said, ”Brothers, I would like to ask you two to investigate the whereabouts of a person from the Wulin.”

Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian looked at each other, and felt happy in their hearts, they were not very good at martial arts, but it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to find a person. So they confidently said, ”Lord Song, donʼt worry, as long as this person is still active in the Wulin, we will definitely find them. ”

Song Qingshu nodded, and said with satisfaction, ”This person is quite well-known in the world, so it shouldnʼt be difficult for you to find out where she is.”

”I dare to ask, my lord, what is this personʼs name?” Zhao Qixian asked, secretly thinking in his heart, ‘Could this person be Song Qingshuʼs enemy?’

”This personʼs name is Li Mochou, and she also has a nickname ‘Red Fairyʼ.” Song Qingshu replied.

Zhang Kangnian gave a slight nod, he seemed to have heard this name before in his memory, and quickly asked, ”May I know if she is Lord Songʼs friend or…”

”Does it matter?” Song Qingshu was puzzled.

”If she is the Lordʼs friend, we will naturally treat her with courtesy. If she is your enemy, hehe, we wonʼt care so much. We will directly catch her and bring her to you.” Zhang Kangnian laughed.

Song Qingshu frowned, thinking that this Manchu officials would not let go of any chance to flatter him, so he shook his head and said, ”I am just asking you to find her whereabouts, and I will personally contact her when the time comes. This personʼs martial arts is very high, and she kills without blinking an eye. If you act recklessly, both of you will lose your life, so donʼt even think of acting rashly after finding her.”

There was an urgent shortage of manpower everywhere in the Pole Arms, but because the Manchu Dynasty destroyed the Ming Dynasty, its reputation in the Wulin was not very good. People who were willing to take refuge in the imperial court were often not very capable, so Song Qingshu naturally looked down on them. However, there were some demons in the Wulin who were notorious due to various reasons and as they had a lot of enemies, Song Qingshu had a slight possibility of recruiting them. The Pole Arms was in still in its infancy, so it was still quite lacking in the quality of manpower. But, it was as they say— as long as a cat can catch mice, it’s a good cat.

Song Qingshu had the plan to invite these types of people, so he sent two people, Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian, to secretly investigate their whereabouts. Besides Li Mochou, Song Qingshu also asked them to pay attention to Ding Busan, Ding Busi and others.

”One kills no more than three times a day, and the other kills no more than four times a day?” Zhao Qixian wondered, ”These people are really ruthless.”

But Zhang Kangnian thought more comprehensively, hesitated for a while, looked at Song Qingshu and said, ”Lord Song, do you want us to pay attention to this group of demons in the Wulin in order to recruit them? But the reason why the Emperorʼs established the Pole Arms is to find information. It would be more appropriate for these people to be recruited by the Blood Drops.”

”The Emperor also didnʼt clearly say that we canʼt recruit these people from the Wulin. Besides, recruiting them will help us control the intelligence network of the Wulin.” Song Qingshu stood up with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile, ”You two should have heard of the former Ming Dynastyʼs Jinyi Guards ( Embroidered Uniform Guards) and Eastern Bureau. The Jinyi Guards might have been more brilliant in the past, but it was completely suppressed by the Eastern Bureau later. They were obviously institutions of the same level, but when the people of Jinyi Guards met the people from Eastern Bureau, they had to be respectful.”

“Status is something we have to earn for ourselves. The two of you probably also donʼt want to act respectful towards the Blood Drops in the future, right?”

Zhang Kangnian gave a thumbs up, with a flattering smile on his face, ”Lord Song is so far-sighted, it really makes this subordinate feel ashamed.”

Zhao Qixian also followed suit, then suddenly remembered something, and asked, ”Lord Song, the Emperor sent someone to pass the message to the Pole Arms, asking when the Lord is going to leave to do what he was ordered before?”

Song Qingshu was startled, thinking that Kangxi was already urging him to go to Mystic Dragon Island, he nodded quickly and said, ”Brother Zhao, please reply to the Emperor, I will set off in two days.”

Looking at the backs of the two as they were leaving, Song Qingshu narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, ‘Although Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian are smart and sensible, they are, in the end, Manchus. So when they think about problems, they will subconsciously consider the wellbeing of the court. It will definitely be inconvenient to use them in the future… But now that I have no one I can trust at the Pole Arms, I have to use them, even if I don’t like it.”

In fact, Song Qingshu still had a doubt in his heart. It was foreseeable that the Pole Arm and the Blood Drop would become two terrifying institutions in the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the future. Naturally, there was no need to doubt Duo Longʼs loyalty to Kangxi. But Kangxi handed over the Pole Arms to him, a Han Chinese, so it was impossible for Kangxi to not keep some rats around him. Coincidentally, Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian were very willing to join him, could they be Kangxiʼs spies?

Although aware of this possibility, Song Qingshu was not nervous. As long as he used them well, Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian could be used to appease Kangxiʼs suspicion. Song Qingshu didnʼt intend to hide the matter of recruiting those demons from the Wulin. Instead, he wanted to let Kangxi know about his small selfish actions, which didnʼt touch the bottom line so much. Those famous generals in history who led troops, such as Wang Jian, or officials who held great power, such as Xiao He, used various clever methods like this to make the Emperor feel at ease with them.

After all, a Song Qingshu who was so perfect that one couldnʼt see the slightest flaw would seem much more fearful to Kangxi than a Song Qingshu who had some small flaws. Song Qingshu just wanted to use Zhang Kangnian and Zhao Qixian’s mouth to let Kangxi know that his purpose was to fight for power with the Blood Drops.

Of course, the personal power that Song Qingshu really wanted to cultivate will never be known to the two of them, such as Sang Feihongʼs Five Lake’s Sect, The Poison King Manor, and the friendship he had with the Wangwu Sect.

”In the future, the people in the Pole Arms will be a mixture of good and evil, good and bad. So some of them will need to be controlled. The best way to control them in the world is the Life and Death Talisman of Tianshan Tonglao. Unfortunately, I donʼt have the ability to defeat that old witch yet.”

”The Three Corpse Brain Holy Pill of the Sun and Moon Holy Cult is also a good option, but itʼs a pity that its reputation is too bad, and itʼs in the hands of Dongfang Muxue and Ren Woxing. Although I and Dongfang Muxue can be regarded as friends now, I canʼt say what will happen in the future.”

”The Mystic Dragon Cultʼs Leopard Embryo Tendon Severing Pills sounds much better than the Three Corpse Brain Holy Pill in terms of reputation. Besides, I have to go to the Mystic Dragon Cult anyways, so itʼs not like I donʼt have a chance to get it…”

Song Qingshu thought about the Pole Arms for a long time, and finally sorted out the messy thoughts in his mind. Watching the night fall, he showed a smile, got up and walked towards Shuangʼerʼs residence.

”If Wu Yazi really married Tianshan Tonglao back then…” Song Qingshuʼs expression suddenly became a little more excited, ”He could play with that legal l*oli all day… speaking of which, Tianshan Tonglao is really a heavenʼs gift, but itʼs a pity that she is really too old, so that is a bit off-putting.”

While thinking some wild thoughts, Song Qingshu arrived outside the Wei Mansion. However, he naturally didnʼt dare to enter through the main entrance, but instead found a secluded corner, used his movement technique, and sneaked inside.

Soon he came near Shuangʼerʼs room, where there were candles burning, and Shuangʼer was chatting with her two maids, Tao Hong and Liu Lu.

”These two stinky girls are really getting in the way.” Song Qingshu cursed in his heart, and suddenly thought of a plan. He used his internal strength to his voice, and carefully transmitted it to Shuan’er’s ears.

”Whatʼs there to talk about with these two maids? If you want to chat, Iʼll accompany you.”

Hearing Song Qingshuʼs voice, Shuangʼer trembled all over, and a layer of blush appeared on her flawless face. She gave a gentle cough and said, ”Tao Hong and Liu Lu, Iʼm a little tired, so I want to sleep. You two go get some rest too.” After finishing speaking, she showed a yawn.

”Mistress, you are so bad, you havenʼt said what happened between you and Master Song that day.” Tao Hong pouted with a dissatisfied expression, and turned her head to look out the window, ”Itʼs still so early.”

”Didnʼt I say it many times, nothing happened.” Knowing that Song Qingshu was eavesdropping outside, Shuangʼer wanted to sew this girls mouth shut, ”I have been quite tense these few days, so now that I relax, I canʼt keep my eyes open anymore.”

Liu Lu poked Tao Hong at the side, and said, ”Thatʼs right, the Mistress was really worried these few days, letʼs not disturb the Mistressʼs rest.” After speaking, she pulled Tao Hong to leave.

As soon as the two of them left, Song Qingshu flew in from the window, and under Shuangʼerʼs astonished gaze, he quickly got into her bed.

Casually embracing his lover, he felt that there was still a bit of moisture on the beautiful womanʼs delicate body, and smelled a faint fragrance of petals on the tip of his nose. Song Qingshu kissed her, and said with a smile, ”It smells delicious, you knew that I would come?”

Shuangʼer blushed, grabbed his vigorous waist, and helplessly lamented, ”Why are you so courageous! What if someone finds out about this?”

”After we did it the last time, I tossed and turned every night and couldnʼt sleep. I really couldnʼt restrain the pain of lovesickness in my heart, so I came to see you…” Before Song Qingshu finished speaking, a hand pressed his lips.

”Donʼt mention it!” Thinking of what happened that day, Shuangʼer felt a little weak all over, and spoke as if she was a little annoyed, ”You keep talking about that time…that time, I was just soft-hearted and agreed to you… to occasionally… but… but I didnʼt tell you to come all the time!” There was gradually a hint of crying in her voice.

”Itʼs all my fault.” Song Qingshu quickly coaxed her with his arms around her, ”Since you donʼt like it, then Iʼll leave immediately.”

”Donʼt!” Shuangʼer grabbed him immediately, and quickly explained when she saw Song Qingshuʼs narrowed eyes, ”Donʼt get me wrong, Iʼm just worried that your coming in and out like this will alarm the servants… wait till they are deep asleep, then it will be safe.”

Goblin: Sorry for the late release. Cold is still in full effect.

On another note, just saw that Donnie Yenʼs new movie ”Sakra” will have the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms in action. Letʼs see how it looks in live action.

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