FENG YU JIU TIAN VOLUME 14 CHAPTER 6.3

After receiving the address, Lie Er pointed at the untouched food and wine on the table, “I was waiting for a friend, but he still hasn’t arrived. I’m going to head down for a bit, just leave the food and wine there, there isno need to clean it up yet.”

Walking downstairs, he began to ponder, this matter isn’t something that the rascal Brother Xiong could come up with. Even if he has the brains to come up with this terrible idea, how can he know the image of Duke Ming and the way he dresses?

Even though the clay doll is small, it is carved with exquisite craftsmanship, very lifelike and with seductive beautiful curves. This kind of craftsmanship must have been done by a skillful master.

An item like this being sold for seven taels, wouldn’t that be loss of profit? Who would waste the cost to insult Duke Ming like this?

If this matter were to spread wide, then it would endanger Duke Ming’s reputation and Xi Lei King’s. It would be of great hindrance to His Majesty’s future.

The more Lie Er thought about it, the more he felt troubled. He was in a rush to meet up with Duke Ming in Tong Kingdom, but this matter cannot be left as it is. But to act rashly, if something were to happen to him in Fan Cheng, then there wouldn’t be anyone to help him.

Please don’t let anything happen.

As he walked, he thought long and hard. Following the address of what the waiter wrote down for him, and eventually found the house he was looking for. Just like what the waiter said, Brother Xiong’s house was large and made of bricks. Not sure whether or not Brother Xiong had offended many people and afraid of revenge by the enemies, therefore the house was deliberately built very high.

Lie Er went around and investigated the inside and outside of the house. He spied on Brother Xiong’s family members and saw nothing in particular. They were all normal people who didn’t know any martial arts or anything that gave Lie Er any reason to be suspicious.

After checking out the place for two rounds, Lie Er figured that in order to find out the source of the clay doll, he might as well interrogate Brother Xiong about it. He went back to the brothel where Brother Xiong and his men were still enjoying themselves with alcohol and entertainment.

Lie Er was not in a rush, knowing that they will eventually disperse and go home after having fun. Brother Xiong drank a lot today and enjoyed his time with the female entertainers, so naturally he would be less prepared and his reaction would be slow. These are favorable conditions for when Lie Er will interrogate him.

As he listened to the music and movement in the room next to him, Lie Er poured himself a cup of wine. The sky began darkening and finally a man’s drunken voice was heard, “Let’s go back home now…”

“What’s the point of going home? There’s wine and beautiful women here, it is a lot better than at home.”

“Are you afraid of getting hit by your wife when you come home late?”

The crowd bursted into laughter.

Lie Er heard Brother Xiong’s voice, “Enough, we have more than enough wine to drink and lots of fun with the beautiful women! You’ve helped me sell the clay dolls of Xi Lei Duke Ming and earned lots of money, as well as enjoying good food and wine, yet you still want me to continue treating you until the next morning? You all greedy bastards! Scram! Waiter, check please!”

The music and singing stopped, the courtesans were handed their gratuities and the men were pulling themselves together but still falling left and right due to all the alcohol they consumed.

Lie Er slowly put down the cup of wine, gave a sneer, a ruthless smile formed in his lips. He stood up and walked towards the main room, but with one heavy step, he became dizzy and almost fell down. Lie Er was shocked, he held his hands out towards the wall, propping himself in a way to help him move forward. Although his hands were touching the wall, his whole arm felt paralyzed, there was not even a bit of strength left. They felt like cotton propped against the wall. Unable to leverage his whole body, he fell to the side and hit the corner of the table, his whole mind became foggy and a loud sound was heard when he hit the ground.

Something has gone terribly wrong!

Lie Er lied on the ground, his arms and legs were paralyzed, he was both in shock and in doubt. Could it be that Brother Xiong is a hidden master of martial arts?

A small rogue man in Fan Cheng like him, why would he deliberately want to go against Duke Ming?

Lie Er tried hard to think while using all his strength to move his body. Right now, he is lying on his back and is unable to lift anything.

What kind of poison can be so terrifying like this?

The sound on the outside of the room gradually diminished. The men gave some tips to the waiter and left the room. Lie Er kept thinking that Brother Xiong will return later to interrogate him so he kept his ears open for sounds of movement. However, the men passed by as if unaware of his existence inside the room.

They were not the ones who poisoned me?

Even if it’s not them, the situation was not any better.

At this time, as Lie Er lay there unable to move at all, he remembered what Yong Yi had reminded him several times, “Don’t be stubborn, don’t stir up trouble, and most importantly, don’t get involved in other people’s business.” As a result, he has now become a puddle of mud inside the room of a brothel, he can’t stop smiling helplessly.

He also blamed himself for being so stupid.

Usually as a bodyguard for Duke Ming, going to strange places, before Duke Ming could touch anything, testing for poison is the first thing to do. Yet Lie Er ignored the fact that his food and drinks could be poisoned as well.

Lie Er’s heart sank, the feeling of uneasiness grew heavier.

No matter who the other party might be, for him to carefully take advantage of the situation and skillfully use other people’s flaws cannot be discounted for.

The curtains suddenly lifted, this slight movement made Lie Er’s anxiety rise to the highest point.

While lying in the ground, his area of viewing was very limited. Looking diagonally towards the noise, Lie Er saw clearly the person who lifted the curtain, he was the person who received the tips from the men – the waiter of the brothel.

The waiter walked into the room, he was not surprised upon seeing Lie Er on the ground. He turned around and lifted the curtains, using a respectful voice he said softly, “This is the person who was questioning about Brother Xiong. Unfortunately, it is not Xi Lei King who is here. However, since he questioned about the clay dolls of Xi Lei Duke Ming, then he should be someone who is related to Xi Lei King.”

As he carefully explained, a slender and elegant figure came from behind the door.

The person who came in wore a simple outfit, his shoulders were covered with a dark outer cloak in which people of Yong Yi still wear. The handsome face held traces of a faint smile.

He was leisurely walking into the room, seeing Lie Er on the ground, he was very surprised. But for a moment, the smile on his face deepened revealing a set of white teeth, “Even though he’s not Xi Lei King, he is someone who brings me much joy compared to Xi Lei King.” He made a gesture at the waiter, “You did very well.”

The waiter was initially uneasy, worried that he didn’t complete the task. He didn’t expect to be praised instead. Seeing his master walk slowly towards the prisoner as if perhaps to interrogate him, the waiter quickly approached wanting to pull Lie Er off the ground.

However his master prevented him from doing so.

“Don’t touch him, let me do it.” A pair of flawless hands reached out, gently pulling the motionless Lie Er from the ground into his arms. He said with a gentle voice, “I plotted this scheme in hope to see if Xi Lei King would come or not. I can’t believe the person who has fallen prey would be you, why did you come here? That’s right, you’re in a rush to meet up with everyone, therefore you needed to use the port of Fan Cheng to switch boats, am I right? Fu Qu?”

He spoke so softly and with a spoiled smile, no matter how anyone concludes it, the feeling felt like a touch of spring breeze.

Lie Er’s limbs were paralyzed within his arms and he nearly fainted with fright.

“Why aren’t you answering me?” The voice came from above, with little patience after a short moment, he nodded and softly continued, “I understand, you are no longer called Fu Qu, I need to call you Lie Er, is that right? Could it be…you’ve followed that Yong Yi and now have a change of heart towards me?”

While speaking, he held out his fingers and lifted Lie Er’s chin, instructing him to turn around and face him.

Lie Er never wanted to, but his helpless body had no strength left and he can’t control being moved around. His eyes was supposed to be closed tight, but they were wide open, staring at the handsome cruel face, he gritted his teeth and answered in a hoarse voice, “Yu Lang, if you got guts then just kill me!”

Yu Lang’s eyes was full of tenderness, he sighed, “How can I kill you?” His arms opened wide and then brought Lie Er into a tighter embrace.

Lie Er had no way to resist his embrace, staring at the ceiling that won’t stay still, he was both nervous and afraid, “You…where are you planning on taking me to?”

Yu Lang heard his voice, it was too weak as if like a whisper, but full of horror. He looked down at him, “Of course I am bringing you to where I live. Right now, with your condition, if I let you go, you wouldn’t even be able to walk.”

Lie Er was like a fish on a platter, he can’t live and he can’t die. If he had a little bit of strength left, he would have jumped out of this person’s embrace and killed himself.

Why was he so stupid?

The world is so huge and he still has fallen into the trap. A deadly trap that no one can see any flaws in it. With a gentle appearance on the outside and a terrible cruel person on the inside, who else would come up with a plan like this?

Fan Cheng is a gateway to Tong Kingdom, the main path to follow behind Duke Ming. He wanted to reunite with them and was just planning on staying here for one or two nights.

Yu Lang must have randomly chose a local ruffian and gave him clay dolls of Duke Ming to sell every day. The only term of conditions might also be to come to the brothel after finishing and enjoy the daily entertainment and wine.

Brother Xiong must not know the reason for selling the clay dolls, along with his family as well, becoming a prop in this perfect play.  Because they are not aware of the hidden dangers within, therefore, it is easy to fool others.

As long as the person is related to Duke Ming, then they would pursue the matter, but also trace the source. Therefore, they would investigate Brother Xiong, track him to the brothel, and what is more convenient than monitoring him in the next room?

No matter how careful the person tracking him is, they will put their focus on Brother Xiong. Who would have thought that the real danger was in the room he wasn’t paying attention to – his own room.

“Don’t be afraid, there is no need to be afraid of me.” Yu Lang’s voice lingered besides his ears, feeling pity, he said, “Take a look, just a short moment and your whole body is covered in cold sweat.”

Lie Er’s back and the rest of his body was covered in cold sweat, he closed his eyes and didn’t say a word.

The sound of horse hoofs from afar came closer and stopped in front of him.

He felt himself being carried gently into the horse carriage. The curtain rolled down, obscuring the moonlight and noisy streets outside. He felt the fingers of some God’s hand throwing him into utter hell.