Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1027: The White Lotus’s Footprint

“Yes, sir!” The Qing soldiers, assigned to him, were all eager to show off. Hearing his command, they rushed forward.

Clarrrrng!

A sound like a dragon’s roar rang out. The soldiers saw a flash of cold light, followed by a sharp pain in their wrists. They could no longer hold their weapons, which clattered to the ground.

The burly, bearded man then leisurely sheathed his sword.

Song Qingshu’s eyes lit up. With his current cultivation level, how could he not see that the other man had held back when he drew his sword? Although it had pierced the soldiers’ wrists, it hadn’t damaged their tendons, so he didn’t intervene.

‘The Nine Swords of Dugu!’ Such miraculous swordsmanship, once witnessed, would be unforgettable. How could he mistake it? So this man was Linghu Chong in disguise. No wonder he looked so familiar.

Song Qingshu sized up the bearded man’s attire, his suspicions growing: ‘Could this fellow be disguised as Wu Tiande, the Quanzhou military commander, like in the original story?’

Seeing the man’s superior martial arts skills, Song Qingshu’s personal guards instantly surrounded him, protecting him tightly and confronting the Southern Song delegation. 

Just as the situation seemed tense and about to erupt, a loud shout rang out from afar: “Stop!”

Turning around, he saw a troop of Green Standard Army soldiers running in neat formation, then a rider on a tall horse galloping towards them.

Song Qingshu’s eyes narrowed. He had saved Li Kexiu and his daughter when they went south to take up their posts years ago; how could he not recognize this man? 

Considering that he, as the most powerful person in the Jin Dynasty court, had come to Yangzhou on a diplomatic mission, yet Li Kexiu had refused to see him, and now, with the Southern Song delegation in trouble, Li Kexiu had arrived almost immediately, Song Qingshu’s mood grew heavy. It seemed Li Kexiu’s allegiance had clearly shifted.

After dismounting, Li Kexiu secretly gave a reassuring look to the man with the goatee before approaching Song Qingshu and bowing, saying, “Li Kexiu, Admiral of the Jiangzhe Waterways, greets Your Excellency, Marshal.”

“So it’s Lord Li,” Song Qingshu scoffed dismissively. “Lord Li certainly has quite the airs. I’ve been in Yangzhou for so long and haven’t had a chance to see you. What, Lord Li suddenly has time today?”

Song Qingshu was now assuming the role of the most powerful person in the Jin Dynasty, so he naturally had the right to display his official authority. Moreover, given his recent experiences, it would be abnormal if he didn’t take this opportunity to vent his emotions.

Having navigated the officialdom for many years, Li Kexiu had developed a thick skin, as thick as a city wall. He answered fluently, “A while ago, some river bandits caused trouble near Yangzhou. Rumor has it they were colluding with J@panese pirates. I dared not take it lightly and rushed to investigate, thus neglecting Your Excellency the Marshal. Please forgive me.”

Song Qingshu snorted, “Since Lord Li has returned to Yangzhou, it seems the river bandits have been wiped out?”

Li Kexiu replied calmly, “The river bandits are extremely cunning, very difficult to track down. I’ve only returned to rest and regroup; I’ll soon be back in the Green Standard Army to take charge.”

Song Qingshu cursed him inwardly, thinking, ‘Old fox! It seems he intends to remain hidden in the shadows.’ 

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Kexiu smiled and said, “Marshal, it’s all a misunderstanding. Abbot Ma of Yuqing Temple is my tutor’s senior brother. We’ve known each other for many years, and I admire Abbot Ma’s character and martial arts skills. With him in charge of Yuqing Temple, no thieves will infiltrate. You can rest assured, Marshal.”

Song Qingshu suddenly realized why the name Ma Zhen sounded familiar—it was him!

Because of his friendship with Li Yuanzhi, Song Qingshu was also familiar with Li Kexiu’s family situation. The tutor he mentioned must be Li Yuanzhi’s master, Lu Feiqing, nicknamed “Needle in Cotton.” 

Lu Feiqing was a member of the Wudang Sect, and since Ma Zhen was his senior brother, he was naturally also from the Wudang Sect.

Although the Wudang Sect’s main headquarters was on Mount Wudang, it also had several branch temples throughout the world, collectively known as the Five Wudang Temples: Purple Heaven Palace, Zhenwu Temple, Baiyun Temple, Shangqing Temple, and Yuqing Temple.

Zixiao Palace is naturally the Wudang stronghold. Zhang Sanfeng, having retired from worldly affairs, previously entrusted its management to Song Yuanqiao. Later, due to Song Qingshu’s accidental killing of Mo Shenggu, Song Yuanqiao resigned, and Yu Lianzhou took over.

The abbot of Zhenwu Temple is Daoist Chongxu, the inseparable best friend of Master Fangzheng in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

The abbot of Baiyun Temple is  Daoist Yucha. It is said that he was invited by the people of Isle of Heroes, leading to the decline of Baiyun Temple in recent years.

The abbot of Shangqing Temple is Daoist Tianxu, where the Black and White Swordsmen, Shi Qing and Min Rou, also learned their skills.

The abbot of Yuqing Temple is the plump Daoist Ma Zhen before them. He has two junior brothers: Lu Feiqing, Li Yuanzhi’s master, and Zhang Zhaozhong, the Fire-Handed Judge.

Since they were all from the Wudang lineage, Song Qingshu didn’t want to make things difficult. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Since Lord Li is vouching for us, I won’t pursue the responsibility of Yuqing Temple. However, these people are acting suspiciously. I suspect they are spies and plan to take them back for thorough interrogation.”

At this moment, Ma Zhen hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Sir, you misunderstand. They are genuine merchants. They’ve always stopped at our temple whenever they come to Yangzhou on business. I know them very well; they are definitely not spies.”

Li Kexiu also seized the opportunity to say, “That’s right. I also remember them. I’ve encountered them several times when I came to Yuqing Temple before, and I even checked their travel permits. There were no problems. They are definitely not spies.”

Song Qingshu sneered inwardly. A mere merchant caravan actually received a guarantee from a governor like himself; it would be a miracle if there were no problems.

However, the current situation had become one where accusing this group of spies meant that Yuqing Temple and Li Kexiu were accomplices. Song Qingshu didn’t want to affect the Wudang Sect, nor did he want to openly break ties with Li Kexiu.

Fortunately, the purpose of this trip had been largely achieved: finding the true envoy of the Southern Song Dynasty and confirming which faction Li Kexiu favored.

Song Qingshu remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, “Since Lord Li has vouched for them, then let’s leave it at that!” He then gestured to his soldiers to leave directly.

“This humble official will see the Marshal off,” Li Kexiu said with a smile, following after him.

Seeing the two groups of men depart, Lu You hurriedly said to the middle-aged man with the goatee, “Lord Han, this place has been exposed. We must find another location as soon as possible.”

“No!” Lord Han shook his head. “We’ll stay here. We’re not going anywhere.”

“But…”

Lu You was about to say something when Lord Han raised his hand to stop him: “Today, the Jin general’s army returned empty-handed. There’s no safer place in Yangzhou than here. If we change locations, wouldn’t that just prove our insecurity and give the Jin general an excuse to cause trouble again? Besides, if we keep staying here, Li Kexiu…he has to keep protecting us. That way, everyone will see him as one of us, and it won’t be so easy for him to sit on the fence anymore.”

Lu You’s eyes lit up, and he sincerely praised, “Lord Han’s thinking is indeed far-sighted! I admire you!”

Li Kexiu escorted Song Qingshu back to the Imperial Envoy’s residence at the Daotai Yamen, then took his leave, saying, “Marshal, please rest well. Leave the case of the Yangzhou Prefect’s abduction to me.”

Song Qingshu had talked to him the whole way, clearly quite a bit, but from beginning to end, he hadn’t gotten any useful information. He couldn’t help but curse the old fox inwardly for being so cunning.

Seeing him take his leave, Song Qingshu didn’t try to stop him, offering a few casual words before letting him go.

After Li Kexiu left, Song Qingshu changed into plain clothes and quietly followed him out. Sure enough, after leaving the Daotai Yamen, Li Kexiu wandered around for a while, eventually ending up at the Yuqing Temple.

Although Li Kexiu was careful enough to avoid being followed, how could he possibly spot Song Qingshu?

“Perfect timing! I was just about to hear how far your conversation had progressed,” Song Qingshu said, finding a secluded corner and silently slipping into the Yuqing Temple.

After the recent commotion, the Yuqing Temple was noticeably more heavily guarded. Even with Song Qingshu’s martial arts skills, he had to be extremely careful to avoid being discovered.

Following his memory, Song Qingshu found the courtyard he had just entered. He flew lightly to the roof of the central room, lifted the tiles, and saw that the two sides were indeed meeting there.

Behind Li Kexiu stood Lu Feiqing and Ma Zhen, while behind the man who called himself Han Jiefu stood Linghu Chong and Lu You.

‘Lu Feiqing, Lu You…’

A thought flashed through Song Qingshu’s mind. Lu Feiqing must also be from the Lu clan of Shanyin. It seemed that the Southern Song had successfully seduced Li Kexiu through Lu Feiqing’s connections.

But who exactly is this Han Jiefu? Judging from his appearance, he clearly holds a high position, but which high-ranking official in the Southern Song Dynasty has the surname Han?

Song Qingshu was puzzled, then suddenly remembered Dai Qisi mentioning that her husband, Han Qianye, had been sent by his family to infiltrate the Jin Dynasty. Suddenly, it dawned on him: ‘So it was him!’

Throughout the Song Dynasty, both the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties combined, there were countless illustrious families, but there was little disagreement that the most prominent family in later generations was the Han family of Zhen Ding! Representative figures were Han Qi of the Northern Song and Han Dingxiao of the Southern Song, both of whom became powerful ministers second only to the emperor.

Considering the timeline, this person couldn’t possibly be Han Qi; it could only be Han Dingxiao, the current Vice Chancellor of the Southern Song Dynasty. Song Qingshu had clearly studied the power structures of various states, which was why he could guess his true identity so quickly.

“Thank you for your help, Lord Li.” Han Dingxiao replied.

“Prime Minister Han, you’re too kind. Even if I hadn’t come, Tang Kuo Bian probably wouldn’t have been able to harm you. I heard that this guard beside you wounded over a dozen Qing soldiers with a single sword strike.” Li Kexiu looked at Linghu Chong standing to the side in amazement. Even Ma Zhen and Lu Feiqing behind him turned their heads in surprise. Although they considered themselves swordsmen, they knew they couldn’t possibly wound over a dozen brave soldiers with a single sword strike.

“I only encountered this army by chance on my journey. I was being assassinated by a group of mysterious people. If it weren’t for General Wu’s intervention, I probably would have died a gruesome death in the wilderness.”

Li Kexiu was shocked: “Who had the audacity to assassinate Prime Minister Han?”

Han Dingxiao scoffed: “It was those remnants of the rebellious White Lotus Sect!”