Chapter 56

Zhao Yougong listened to what Dugu Qiubai was saying, of course, Dugu Qiubai could hear it, but he had no intention of arguing with Zhao Yougong. After a brief rest, he got up and stood up.

After standing up, Dugu Qiubai still had that sharp look, but he seemed a bit cool. The cool breeze blew, and the two strands of white hair by his temples gently fluttered, truly adding a bit of charm.

"Where is the Nine Yang Manual?"

"Huh?" Zhao Yougong almost choked on Dugu Qiubai's words. He swallowed and rolled his eyes, smiling bitterly, "Brother Dugu, I'm a person too. I haven't even read the *Nine Yang Manual* a few times, how could I possibly have learned it? Why don't you give it a try?"

"Too lazy to learn!"

Dugu Qiubai said coolly, tilting his head. If it were someone else, they might not believe it, but Zhao Yougong did. Dugu Qiubai was probably thinking about how to break the Nine Yang Divine Skill all the time. However, he didn't know that the Nine Yang Manual given by his master was just an internal martial art, with no specific techniques to break. But on that handwritten copy, there was his master's unique martial art, the *Flame Palm*, which Zhao Yougong hadn't had time to practice yet.

"Alright, Brother Dugu, let's talk about my matters!" Zhao Yougong didn't want to get into a discussion about martial arts with Dugu Qiubai. Discussing these things with a martial arts fanatic would probably go on until next year without an end.

Dugu Qiubai rolled his eyes, moved his body, and before Wang Yuyan could protest, he pointed at her sleep pressure point.

When Wang Yuyan woke up again, she was already back in Dugu Qiubai's courtyard. As for what Zhao Yougong and Dugu Qiubai talked about, she had no idea at all.

Before leaving, Zhao Yougong couldn't resist his curiosity and turned back to ask, "Brother Dugu, how did you make Wang Yuyan so obedient?"

"Murong Fu!"

Leaving these three words, Dugu Qiubai slowly walked away. Looking at his back, Zhao Yougong helplessly gave him a thumbs up. Dugu Qiubai was indeed a strange person, but he was also incredibly smart. Murong Fu was Wang Yuyan's weakness, of course. Moreover, there were probably few people in the world who could openly talk about killing Murong Fu, and Dugu Qiubai was one of them.

For several days, Zhao Yougong lived his life as a carefree playboy, going to the Xie Fang Building when he had nothing to do, cheating merchants in the West Market when he was tired, or finding some officials to quarrel with. He never felt bored.

On May 17th, in Suzhou's Tongle Garden, Zhu Mian was in high spirits, drinking a little wine. The gold pillars had already been melted into ingots. Once these treasures were transported to the capital, the emperor would be pleased, and it would be Zhu Mian's time to get promoted and become wealthy. This time, he not only planned to send treasures but also the beauties he had found with great difficulty. The emperor would surely like either the treasures or the beauties.

At around 9 AM, the deputy commander of Guangde Army, Qian Bin, arrived at Tongle Garden. As soon as he entered, Qian Bin respectfully saluted, "This is Qian Bin of Guangde Army, paying respects to Supervisor Zhu!"

"You're here, Commander Qian. I believe Commander Yang has already told you about the matter. These treasures must be safely delivered to the capital. If anything goes wrong, the emperor will be angry, and none of us will be spared!"

"Supervisor Zhu, rest assured. Commander Yang has already given me instructions. I will be extremely cautious on this trip to the capital, and nothing will go wrong!"

"Good, then. Let's set off after noon. Be careful on the way. Don't let anyone cause trouble; these women are for the emperor!"

"I understand!" Qian Bin also liked beauties, but he knew the consequences of competing with the emperor for women.

Just after noon, Qian Bin, with his dreams of promotion, set off for the capital. The convoy was heavy, and there were several women traveling with them, so the journey was extremely slow. After two days, the large group finally entered the territory of Jiangning Prefecture.

By this time, it was already evening. Qian Bin ordered the camp to be set up by the side of Chishan Lake. From the end of the hour of the rooster to the hour of the dog, everything was fine. After a day of travel, Qian Bin was tired and fell asleep in his tent, and the night patrol guards were also listless.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but Qian Bin felt a cool sensation on his face. Instinctively, he reached out to touch it, but as soon as he touched it, he screamed like a pig, "Ouch, my hand..." In pain, Qian Bin opened his eyes and saw his right hand covered in blood, looking terrifying. What was even more terrifying was that he saw two black-clothed figures standing in front of him.

"You... who are you? Help... help, there's an assassin..."

"Shut up, what are you yelling for?" A black-clothed figure slapped Qian Bin. From her voice, it was clear she was a woman.

"What do you want? Do you know who I am?"

"Deputy Commander Qian Bin of Guangde Army, right? I didn't get it wrong, did I?" The masked woman sneered, brandishing her sword, "Commander Qian, do you want to try and see if your mouth is stronger or my sword is stronger?"

"Don't... don't... Lady, let's talk. If you can, I will do it!"

Qian Bin wasn't stupid. After so long, no one had come to his aid, so the people outside must have already been dealt with. In this situation, not admitting defeat would make him a fool.

The woman hadn't spoken yet, but the black-clothed figure beside her was impatient and grunted, "Kill him!"

"No, he... he said to leave two lives, the emperor is still waiting!"

"Hurry up!"

The black-clothed figure rolled her eyes, seemingly unwilling to stay, and left the tent. The woman didn't pursue, flicked her sword, and Qian Bin screamed, clutching his face. The woman had actually cut off half of his face.

"Go back and tell the emperor that the treasures are ours. As for the women, leave them for the emperor to enjoy!"

With a cold laugh, the woman quickly left, and Qian Bin, groaning in pain, fainted from the pain.

On May 23rd, Emperor Zhezong was playing chess with Cai Jing when he suddenly heard that Yang Jian had brought an urgent report from Jiangning Prefecture. Upon hearing it was an urgent report, Zhezong's eyebrows twitched. Jiangning Prefecture was so close, and an urgent report was sent, it was probably not good news.

Indeed, he was right. A few days ago, Zhu Mian had dug up some gold pillars from the Xiao family's tomb and melted them into gold ingots. Unexpectedly, these gold ingots were robbed by bandits on their way to the capital. Not only that, but the soldiers escorting the Flower Stone Fleet were drugged, and when they woke up, they knew nothing. As for Qian Bin, who knew what had happened, he had lost half his life and was now recuperating in Jiangning Prefecture.

Losing the Flower Stone Fleet was not a big deal; Zhezong wasn't short of money. But the incident happened in Jiangning Prefecture. If Jiangning Prefecture had bandits, how could Kaifeng Prefecture be safe?

"Worthless, a bunch of worthless people! Nearly a hundred people, and they were drugged, not even knowing how the gold was lost? Hmph, if the bandits wanted their lives, it would have been as easy as turning over a hand!" Zhezong, usually a gentle and refined person, wouldn't have been so angry, but this time he was really furious.

Cai Jing clearly knew the importance of Jiangning Prefecture. After thinking for a moment, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, being angry won't help. The most important thing is to find out where the bandits came from! These bandits dared to act in Jiangning Prefecture, clearly with premeditation!"

"Right, Yang Jian, immediately send a message to Jiangning Prefecture to bring Qian Bin here. Also, order the Imperial Guard to thoroughly investigate this matter. I want to know where the gold went!"

Zhezong gave the order, and Yang Jian went to make the arrangements. For some reason, the palace received the news at the hour of the monkey, and by the hour of the dog, the news of the Flower Stone Fleet being robbed had spread throughout Bianliang.

When the Flower Stone Fleet was lost in Jiangning Prefecture, some people clapped and cheered, some asked questions, but few people cursed the bandits. The people of the Song Dynasty knew how the Flower Stone Fleet was obtained, especially the ones from Suzhou Prefecture, which were mostly taken by digging up graves and forcibly taking them. The bandits taking these goods could be seen as "upholding justice."

The next day, Qian Bin was sent to the capital. Facing Zhezong's questioning, Qian Bin was so scared that his legs trembled, and he almost fainted on the spot.

"Qian Bin, tell me, what kind of bandits could make you, a deputy commander, unable to resist, and how many were there?"

Qian Bin lowered his head, his eyes darting around. He couldn't tell the truth. If he told the emperor there were only two bandits, the emperor would immediately have him beheaded. Two bandits making a fool of two teams of soldiers, what was the point of having a deputy commander?

"Your Majesty, I don't know exactly, but I estimate there were about twenty. I fought with the bandits, but they were extremely skilled, and in just a few moves, they took my weapon!"

"Hmm? Did you recognize their origin?"

"This... it seemed to be the Demon Subduing Saber Technique..."

The Demon Subduing Saber Technique? Even though Zhezong didn't know martial arts, he was still furious. The Demon Subduing Saber Technique was a skill that all Shaolin lay disciples had to learn. In the area around Dengfeng, who didn't know a few moves of the Demon Subduing Saber? This Qian Bin was truly infuriating.

"Get out!"

"Thank Your Majesty, I will leave immediately!" Qian Bin didn't dare to stay, covering his half-face and fleeing in panic.

Cai Jing and Gao Qiu, who had been sitting on the side, didn't doubt Qian Bin's words. After all, twenty bandits seemed reasonable, while two would be suspicious. Cai Jing, stroking his beard, frowned deeper.

"Does Your Majesty find it strange? Twenty bandits are not a small number. Why didn't the escort soldiers notice anything along the way?"

"Hmm? What do you mean, Chancellor Cai?" Zhezong had some thoughts but wasn't sure, so he asked.

"Your Majesty, I believe these bandits were waiting near Chishan Lake!"

"This... do these bandits have the ability to predict the future?"

Zhezong found it hard to believe. To ambush at Chishan Lake in advance required a high level of planning. Such an arrangement was not something ordinary bandits could do.

The more worried he was, the more he wanted to investigate. Zhezong would not tolerate such a hidden threat.

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