Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Chapter 16 (Part 4)

Wu Du glances at the gold bars. Each bar weighs two taels, and with thirty-six bars in the platter it totals seventy-two taels of gold. There are two pieces of lapis lazuli, each half as big as a palm; lapis is an extremely valuable item the central plain doesn’t produce, and must be imported via the Silk Road. Small chunks of lapis ground to powder makes for a precious pigment, and a hunk as big as that can be pawned for nearly a hundred taels of silvers each.

Duan Ling steps up and covers the gold and everything else with a cloth, saying guiltily, “All of this will have to be returned.”

Wu Du has gone beyond angry into smiling. Another thought crosses Duan Ling’s mind. “I’ve suddenly got an idea.”

Wu Du waits.

“While you go get your work done tonight, I’ll go meet with him. This way, Helan Jie would never dare … try to grab me in front of the Tangut, right?”

“The fuck you will!” Wu Du snarls, and raises a hand at Duan Ling as if about to hit him. Duan Ling squeezes his eyes shut, subconsciously cowering, but seconds go by and that hand doesn’t come down.

Duan Ling plucks up his courage and whispers, “I’ll just go once and return all these things while I’m there, then sit him down and have a talk with him seriously. You’ll have to get this done sooner or later, and once the Tangut goes back to Xiliang we’ll have let this chance go by. It will only be harder for you to make your move then.”

Wu Du hesitates for a moment, and as though something has just occurred to him, a vicious smile appears at the corner of his mouth. “Sure you can. Go ahead.”

Duan Ling stares at him incredulously.

“Go. I give you my word. When?”

Duan Ling says, “Let’s just forget it.”

“It’s alright. If you want to go, of course I’m not going to stop you.”

Duan Ling suspects Wu Du is being sarcastic, but Wu Du is adding impatiently, “Your Master Wu never goes back on his word — what would I lie to you for?! Is there candy to be had?”

So agreeable? That actually makes Duan Ling wonder. He explains to Wu Du, “I’ll have to go fish him for information eventually. Didn’t Master Fei say the same to me? When you’re off to steal the stuff, you can kill Helan Jie and Bian Lingbai while you’re at it …”

“Go,” Wu Du says, his words sounding perfectly heartfelt, “I’m really not going to stop you.”

Duan Ling has this persistent feeling that Wu Du has got to be trying to trick him somehow. Why else would he seem like he’s turned into another person, and so he says, “Then I’m going.”

Wu Du waves at him as though he’s trying to drive him away. Duan Ling says, “But not yet. I’ll wait until it’s dark and you go do your work, and then I’ll go see him.”

Wu Du doesn’t say anything else then, and nods his assent at Duan Ling. The atmosphere between the two of them grows awkward again, and they sit in awkward silence for a while. Bian Lingbai has also heard that Duan Ling isn’t feeling well, and he sends a servant over to call on him and to ask of his well being.

At night, Wu Du pulls out a set of rogue’s blacks from a hidden drawer in his luggage and puts them on.

Wide-shouldered, trim at the waist and long-limbed, Wu Du cuts a striking figure; when he’s dressed in the tight-fitting black suit of an assassin, the cut and colour set off his handsome, lean face, giving him a dashing appeal.

Duan Ling helps him tighten the black boot laces that go around his ankles. “I can’t believe you brought this along.”

“How else was I supposed to find out anything otherwise?” Wu Du takes out a set of knuckle daggers2 made of pure steel and slides them over his fingers, pushing them down to the knuckles. He flexes his hand and pushes a mechanism that pops out a small compartment filled with ground up poison.

It’s the first time Duan Ling has ever seen this weapon. Wu Du picks out a black cloth, and as he readies himself for the mission he turns his head to let Duan Ling tie it for him.

A few moments later.

There is an extended period of silence.

“Did you cover my eyes so I can go play hide and seek?”

Having tied it in the wrong spot, Duan Ling pulls the mask down a smidgen to reveal Wu Du’s eyes. Wu Du sticks four darts onto his belt.

“Are you taking your sword?”

Wu Du waves off the idea and glances at the mirror. “Can you tell it’s me?”

Duan Ling thinks, with a figure like yours you stand out everywhere you go, so how can I ever not be able to tell it’s you …

“You see me all the time so of course you can tell it’s me,” Wu Du says to him, since all of Duan Ling’s thoughts are written on his face anyway.

Duan Ling thinks to himself, then what’d you ask me for?

Again, he has a feeling that Wu Du’s probably not angry anymore, and he doesn’t sound like he’s being at all sarcastic either.

“Move it then,” Wu Du says.

Duan Ling is about to tell him, be careful, but come to think of it, there’s nothing for him to be careful about — not a single person in the compound is a match for his skills. As soon as they go outside, Wu Du’s shadow flickers and then he’s gone.

“Did he leave just like that?” Duan Ling mumbles to himself.

He stands in the courtyard, peering in every direction, and finally lets out a breath of relief. As soon as Wu Du leaves his side, he gets this odd feeling.

“What are you standing around spacing out for?” He can suddenly hear Wu Du’s voice. “Go already!”

Duan Ling frowns in startled silence for a beat before looking up, and he finds Wu squatting languorously on the eaves like a great big cat, his arms hanging in front of him.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Duan Ling says.

“It’s just a few steps.” Wu Du sounds annoyed. “What if that cripple’s lying in wait for you along the way? Hurry it up!”

Duan Ling can but head through the corridor to Helian Bo’s lodgings, and he suddenly feels inclined to go steal intelligence with Wu Du instead — stealing intelligence, after all, is clearly more fun than meeting an “ex-lover”. Yet their main objective is more important … Duan Ling’s mind goes to all sorts of places while there’s nothing behind him but silence, occasionally interrupted by the light sigh of the wind, but he can feel Wu Du following him the whole way on top of the corridor and on the roofs, sometimes on his left, and sometimes on his right.

“What are you looking all around like that for?” Wu Du tosses over a small stone that falls into Duan Ling’s collar. Duan Ling shakes it out right away and walks the rest of the gallery without looking anywhere but ahead of him.

“Helan Jie wasn’t waiting for me on the way,” Duan Ling says.

“He can count his lucky stars.” Wu Du leaps off the roof and says, “The night is dark and sinister and I really wanted to toss a dart at him.”

Duan Ling arrives at the guest house and knocks at the door. A Tangut man opens the door and hurriedly brings him in. Duan Ling can nearly feel Wu Du’s hidden figure in the night, concealed in the shadows. It’s not until a guard opens the door for Duan Ling and he goes into an inner room that Wu Du dashes away.

Helian Bo is talking excitedly with Shang Leguan, still stammering and unable to get his thoughts across. Once Duan Ling verifies that no one else is around, he smiles and says, “Helian.”

This time Helian Bo doesn’t even say anything before he walks up to Duan Ling and wraps his arms tightly around him. Duan Ling starts to laugh, and with a leap he gets on Helian Bo’s back; just like the way they used to when they were children, they run all over the room, one carrying the other. The two guffaw for ages before Helian Bo topples over onto the daybed and drops Duan Ling off, where they continue to laugh until they’re both wheezing.

Shang Leguan tactfully withdraws, closing the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?!” Duan Ling gives Helian Bo a little kick, then he searches through the platter of snacks on the daybed table. There’s quite a bit of raisins in it. He immediately grabs a handful and stuffs them into his mouth.

“Wife!” Helian Bo groans.

Duan Ling and Helian Bo have always been able to understand each other with very little said, and he says with astonishment, “Yao Jing is going to be your wife?”

Helian Bo gives him a nod, and tries to convey his indescribable suffering while stammering and gesturing at the same time. Duan Ling laughs and points at him, attempting to toss raisins into Helian Bo’s mouth. One lands in his nostril and Helian Bo quickly covers up the other side so he can blow it back out. Then they laugh so hard they collapse on the daybed again.

Helian Bo’s family used to send him raisins, and he would fool around with Duan Ling and Batu at the Illustrious Hall just like this. Reminded of their time as children, Duan Ling is overcome with all sorts of feelings and can’t help the grief welling up inside of him. Helian Bo pats Duan Ling, telling him to listen seriously and stop messing around.

It turns out that the day Helian Bo and his mother escaped from Shangjing, he wanted to take Duan Ling with him, but Duan Ling insisted on staying in the city. At the time, Xiliang bordered Liao to its north and Chen’s Xichuan to its south, so the quickest way was through Jingxing in the Taihang Mountains.3 Alas, Helian Da had secretly reached an agreement with the Southern Administration’s Han family, thus they rejected Yelü Zongzhen’s offer of reinforcements, in order to ensure both Yelü Dashi and Li Jianhong’s lives ended in Shangjing.

“Dashi?” Helian Bo asks.

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

“He’s dead. When he escorted you and your mother out of the city, he was hit by an arrow. Didn’t manage to pull through.”

The look on Helian Bo’s face is exceedingly complicated. He sits there lost in thought, his eyes revealing anguish.

“What is it?” Duan Ling touches him with an elbow. Helian Bo turns to Duan Ling and shakes his head.

Duan Ling didn’t really understand it when he was still at the Illustrious Hall, but by the time he was studying at Biyong College, he figured out some of the details. There had to have been some illicit relationship between Yelü Dashi and Helian Bo’s mother — and Duan Ling only realised this because every time she came to pick up her son, Helian Bo seemed to display an aversion towards her. Duan Ling and Batu had both been guests at Helian’s home before; his mother was quite cordial towards her son’s fellow students, but Helian Bo never wanted to talk to his mother unless it was absolutely necessary.

“It’s all in the past,” Duan Ling says to Helian Bo.

Helian Bo nods. “Zongzhen … look for you. Batu … look for you. I … look for you.”

Duan Ling feels a tingle in his nose, and trying hard to keep his tears from welling over, he nods hard at Helian Bo.

Yelü Zongzhen had sent an army to Shangjing before the city fell, trying to find some way to rescue Duan Ling, but alas, it was already too late; an ancient city that had stood prosperous for a century had been reduced to a ruin. On top of that, the Liao and Chen armies were dead set on fighting to the last; looking for one Duan Ling out of a great battle such as that was like trying to fish a single needle from the ocean.

Duan Ling recalls how Yelü Zongzhen was nearly killed in Shangjing by an assassin dispatched by Han Weiyong, and he was the one who ended up saving Yelü Zongzhen’s life. Even though they only knew each other for a few days, Yelü Zongzhen had remained a true and loyal friend. As for Batu … Duan Ling’s father’s death, the fall of Shangjing — all of it was started by the Mongolians. Duan Ling cannot help but feel rather complicated about him.

Since the day of their schoolhouse parting, they now live in separate corners of the earth. It is as true as that line of poetry: reunions in life are far and few; we move like stars, each to its sphere.4

“Zongzhen.” Helian Bo makes another sign with his hands, putting his cup aside. “Batu. Had falling out.”

Of course they would. Duan Ling knows that Yelü Zongzhen and Batu each belong to people who bear generations of hatred against the other, so all they can do is communicate through Helian Bo as they try to find any news of Duan Ling lost wandering the south. Helian Bo also adds that they’ve both posted large rewards in trying to look for Duan Ling; he produces a portrait — a half painted Duan Ling.

Duan Ling smiles at it. Even when they were still in school Helian Bo had been good at painting, and now he’s gotten even better. Something suddenly occurs to him — Zongzhen doesn’t know his identity, but Batu does.

But how was Batu supposed to “look” on his own?!

Doesn’t that mean that he’s already seen that fake crown prince?! Duan Ling grows tense all at once.

“What did Batu tell you?” Duan Ling asks.

“You maybe … dead. Batu says, he wrote a letter to your home. Say you, not sure alive or dead. In danger. Must find you … if alive he wants to see you … if dead he wants to see body. Otherwise, he levels Southern Chen.”

Duan Ling stares in shocked silence.

“Gone mad.” Helian Bo cannot understand Batu’s behaviour at all. “What does it have to do with Southern Chen? His own people … wanted to invade Shangjing. Good thing … you’re alive. Good thing!”

With reddened eyes, Helian Bo gives Duan Ling a hard pat on the shoulder.

Duan Ling only finds out now that Batu actually wrote his “home”, as in the imperial court! But when he tries to press for more details, all Helian Bo does is shake his head — that’s all he knows. From this, Duan Ling guesses that Batu must have hid his true identity from Helian Bo.

All Helian Bo knows is that Batu kept the means to communicate with Duan Ling, and he wrote a letter but did not receive the reply he expected. From this limited information Duan Ling manages to piece together many fragments — after the fall of Shangjing, Batu heard that the crown prince of Southern Chen had ascended to his rightful place, and sent a messenger with either a secret missive or a letter representing his father offering his congratulations.

But Batu and Duan Ling know each other so well that they can’t possibly know each other any better!

Even if the reply is copied by an official before it’s sent, what’s between the lines can’t match Duan Ling’s writing style at all!

All Batu has to do is question the messenger who saw the crown prince in any detail and he’ll grow suspicious.

Batu is too smart!

But what’s the use of that? Is he supposed to get Batu to vouch for him?

Duan Ling paces back and forth with a deep furrow between his brows, but when he accidentally glances at Helian Bo, he has come to realise that Helian Bo doesn’t seem all that like the young man who used to wrestle with him everyday any more.

Helian Bo has bold features and a heroic air to his person, one shoulder bare and sitting upright, he carries a ruler’s demeanour — but he’s also very affable.

“You. Lost weight.” Helian Bo says, “Has it been hard?”

Their eyes meet, and a long silence stretches between them until Duan Ling breaks it with a faint smile.

“It’s been very hard.” Duan Ling smiles. “But since I survived, it makes it all worth it.”

I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎

Knuckle daggers in modern speak would be brass knuckles. ↩︎

井陘關. There are 8 passes through Taihang, and Jingxingguan is the first one. “Guan” means gate, or pass. Historically it’s the site of the Battle of Jingxing. ↩︎

This is a line from a long poem by Du Fu. And the stars are “Shen” and “Shang”, each of the 28 mansions, and since one appears at dawn and one at dusk, they each belong to its sphere and were doomed to never meet. ↩︎