Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 811 – How Deep Is the Affection of the People in the Courtyard?

Within the quiet and secluded courtyard, man and woman embraced, the depths of their affection for each other unknown.

Across from them was an ancient scholar tree that still had a few leaves, even in the winter. Underneath the tree stood a blue-clothed person.

This person wore a copper mask on their face that made them look like a ghost.

Mu Jiushi rested her head on Bie Tianxin’s shoulder and calmly looked at this blue-clothed person.

This was a very bizarre scene.

Bie Tianxin was completely unaware.

The blue-clothed figure shook his head, and the shadows cast by the leaves of the scholar tree on his mask slightly moved.

Mu Jiushi slightly creased her brow and then closed her eyes, no longer looking at that person.

Bie Tianxin noticed this and he suddenly felt a little hot. He wanted to stretch out his hand, but he didn’t dare.

After some time, the cold wind blew against the scholar tree, causing it to rustle. With a reluctant heart, Bie Tianxin left the courtyard.

Mu Jiushi walked under the ancient scholar tree and stared into the eyes peeking out from behind the blue-clothed person’s mask. She asked, “Why didn’t you let me kill him?”

The blue-clothed person’s voice was rather gravelly. “You should understand very well that killing him is just a method, not our goal.”

Mu Jiushi’s voice turned sharp, brimming with anger. “It was no easy feat to make Chen Changsheng meet with that trash. How can we miss this chance!”

The blue-clothed person replied, “Even if you kill Bie Tianxin, we can’t place the crime on Chen Changsheng.”

Mu Jiushi sneered, “Is the breath of the Black Frost Dragon not enough proof? After all, in the entire continent, only he has one at his side.”

The blue-clothed person replied, “The problem is that Zhusha is not at Chen Changsheng’s side today.”

Mu Jiushi was startled, then asked, “Then who is that girl with him right now?”

The person replied, “I don’t know. Someone is currently investigating the matter.”

Mu Jiushi thought of that scene from just a few moments ago, her beautiful face revealing an expression of absolute loathing. “Then how long will I have to endure?”

After a pause, the blue-clothed person answered, “Nobody knows when the best moment will come. We must continue to wait.”

Mu Jiushi sneered, “So then we just have to watch Chen Changsheng enter Wenshui City?”

The blue-clothed figure affectionately rubbed her head and said, “Even if he enters Wenshui City, he can’t affect the situation within the city or the general situation beyond it in the slightest. The vast majority of people living in that city have the surname of Tang. Not even Tianhai or Yin were able to deal with it, so what can he do? Of course, to avoid any surprises, quite a few people, including me, will attempt to keep him outside.”

……

……

In the flourishing and warm south, a bushy and messy beard might incite a few fearful and repelling gazes, but in the north, on the border that had been irrigated by blood and fire for so many years, it would actually offer many advantages. For instance, one could curse and snatch someone else’s bowl of alcohol from the tavernkeeper’s hand, but nobody would dare say anything about it.

It was just that it was rather inconvenient when drinking.

Whether one was just taking a sip or heroically gulping it down, it was very easy for alcohol to wet the beard.

At the time, this might feel like a very unrestrained and meaningless matter, but after waking up from one’s drunken stupor, one would always feel rather unhappy at the stickiness, requiring the beard to be washed quite a few times.

After growing his beard for three years, Luo Bu watched the alcohol drip from his beard onto the floor and for the first time began to consider the question of whether he should shave.

And then he started, thinking to himself, when did I begin caring about such trivial concerns?

Eating meat and drinking wine together with a mouthful of beard was something he had already experienced countless times. Why was it that he didn’t care while with the roaming cavalry of Seven Li Xi or at Sloping Cliff Horse Farm, but cared about it now?

Perhaps it was because he had gotten to know a guy in the past few days that loved cleanliness? When that guy woke up from his coma, he couldn’t move his fingers, so he urgently used his eyes to ask for someone to help him wash his face. While recovering from his injuries, he also didn’t forget to change into a clean set of clothes every day, just like a young girl.

Luo Bu fell silent with a sudden thought: could this be the sort of person that Junior Sister likes?

At this moment, he sensed something and raised his head to look outside the tavern, just in time to see Bie Tianxin walk out of that alley.

This morning, outside that perfume store, he saw Bie Tianxin and followed him, discovering the secluded courtyard within the alley. However, he did not enter, as he vaguely sensed that there was someone in the courtyard, someone very strong.

Luo Bu took out a charcoal pencil and began to draw on the prepared sheet of white paper.

He drew Bie Tianxin and his surrounding environment, like the alley and that barely visible ancient scholar tree.

It was plain to see that he was very skilled in this pursuit. With a few casual smears from the charcoal pencil, the silhouettes of the alley and the scholar tree quickly materialized. As for Bie Tianxin’s portrait, it seemed to move with the pencil, growing clearer and clearer until it almost seemed about to come to life, his two eyebrows seemingly about to fly up as if they were real.

If that painter at Wang Zhice’s side saw this sight, he would definitely think of a way to seize Luo Bu, drag him back to Sangharama Temple, and make him his disciple.

Yes, his drawing was so good that it felt like he was in another realm.

After finishing his drawing, he did not leave, but continued to sit in the tavern and wait. Finally, after quite some time, he saw the person he wanted to see.

Mu Jiushi and a masked stranger dressed in blue departed on a carriage. By coincidence, a breeze blew by at this moment, lifting up the curtain.

It was just a momentary glimpse, not even enough for the eyes to see anything clearly, but Luo Bu’s brush could.

In a short time, a drawing was completed.

This drawing was rich with detail and had a certain charm about it. Anyone who knew Mu Jiushi or the blue-clothed stranger would never fail to recognize them in this drawing.

Examining the pair on the drawing, Luo Bu arched his brows and commented, “The Great Western Continent truly does have ambitions, but just who will they fall on?”

……

……

Chen Changsheng did not believe that his meeting with Bie Tianxin in Hanqiu City was an accident, because the probability was too small.

This meeting was highly likely to have been arranged, which also meant that his movements were no longer a secret.

In truth, his encounter with that monster in the Willow Lodge was already proof of this point.

There were still more than a thousand li between Hanqiu City and Wenshui. He would still encounter many other things on this journey.

If he were following his own ideas, he would naturally be unwilling to fall into this sort of situation. After leaving Sloping Cliff Horse Farm, he would not have informed anyone in the Orthodoxy, but prioritized rushing over to Wenshui City before saying anything. However, that letter had stated very clearly that if he wanted to safely return to the capital, he first had to find that person.

That person who had revealed his tracks—just who were they?

Back when he was learning the sword from Su Li in the wilderness, he had also learned the art of war. But because of his personality, he was still unable to understand the complexity of the world and the human mind. Fortunately, the writer of the letter understood these matters very well, so he now essentially knew the answer to this question.

It was very simple, as only three people knew of his route.

Chen Changsheng gazed in silence at the white stones lining the path for a very long time.