Chapter 101: Opportunity (III)

Chapter 101: Opportunity (III)

Amid the painted bridge and the lantern fair, flames churned and figures jostled in the chaos, so he couldn't be sure at first glance.

...Was it Xiaoliu? Or Xiaoqi?

Le Wuya, worried he might be seeing things, stepped forward two paces to get a closer look.

To see better, he squinted out of habit.

The surroundings were bright as day, and that silhouette seemed to dissolve into the blinding light, hard to make out.

To him, those two had always been as distinct as night and day—even from behind, he could never have mixed them up.

Le Wuya wasn't used to feeling this unsure.

Suddenly, his mind felt as if pierced by a sharp spike.

Along with the sting came a faint call at his ear: "Master, wake up. A distinguished guest has come to visit you."

When he was on the verge of death, his mind fogged by sickness, he thought someone had come to see him.

Le Wuya remembered a soft, warm hand pressed to his forehead.

He'd said a lot to that person back then.

But what he'd said, he'd forgotten every last word.

What Le Wuya remembered most vividly was his final rally before death, when his mind was clear enough to plot against the old emperor.

Le Wuya was the type who couldn't let a puzzle go—he had to solve it.

As he fought through the growing headache and the broken images in his head, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

Crude and rough, but it worked instantly.

The images in his head scattered, gone in a flash.

He found himself staring at a broad chest.

Le Wuya looked up to see an iron mask shaped like a leopard or tiger.

It matched his green, glowing eyes perfectly.

"...You?"

Le Wuya couldn't believe this guy would show up here, so he reached out to lift the mask. Just as he got it to the nose, the man pressed it back down with a firm push and smacked his hand away.

Helian Che said flatly, "It's me."

Le Wuya rubbed his reddened hand and asked, sure of himself, "Skipped the banquet?"

Helian Che looked at him, all soft and pampered, and felt nothing but contempt.

In the Jing tribe, where toughness was everything, a man who whined over one little slap would be a laughingstock.

Helian Che, thinking to himself how pathetic that was, replied, "Mm, skipped it."

Le Wuya turned to look, but the figure that might've been Xiaoliu or Xiaoqi had already vanished into the crowd.

He wanted to look again, but a big hand grabbed his chin and turned his head back. "Look at who you're talking to. Don't the Dayu teach any manners?"

Le Wuya shot back, "I wasn't talking."

For some reason, Helian Che wanted to flick him right between the eyes when he talked back like that.

Le Wuya had always been good at reading people, ever since he was a kid. Noticing the look on his face, he quickly asked, serious now, "...So why did you skip it?"

Helian Che didn't answer, instead asking with a faint, unreadable smile, "Why aren't you calling me Brother Da anymore, Magistrate Wenren?"

"General Pei already spilled the beans about you," Le Wuya replied, quick on his feet, spinning a lie in a heartbeat. "But I still enjoy calling you Brother Da, if that's alright with you?"

The corner of Helian Che's mouth twitched under the mask. "Suit yourself."

At that point, Le Wuya looked around again.

Helian Che saw right through him at once, frowned, and said coldly, "It's clear. No one's following."

The festival crowd was packed—not exactly easy to tail someone in that mess.

Le Wuya really wanted to know how Helian Che had gotten past all the palace guards and spies to show up here.

He didn't think a little look around would make the guy so grumpy...

Le Wuya figured, for a guy that big, he sure was touchy.

In his last life, Le Wuya hadn't crossed paths with him much.

All Le Wuya knew was that this man existed, shared his blood, and must have hated him to the bone—so much so that Le Wuya had trusted him to do the killing.

But his skill had been lacking, and Le Wuya had been blessed with fortune.

When they met on the battlefield, Le Wuya had only lost half his life.

As for the other half, lost in the prison of Huan, that too was somewhat connected to Helian Che.

Back then, the wave of opposition against Le Wuya, stirred up spectacularly by Jie Jitong, had grown ever fiercer. Le Wuya was in a state of panic and isolation, when a deadly rumor spread: that his bloodline was impure, that his mother had been a Jing tribe spy, and that since growing up, he had favored his maternal clan, constantly passing military intelligence to the Jing tribe—which was why Dayu had failed to conquer Jing for so long and had been forced to make peace. He then used his official position to maneuver between Yu and Jing, colluding with foreign powers, transmitting intelligence, and profiting from it.

This was likely the old emperor's doing, adding fuel to the fire to thoroughly disgust Le Wuya.

However, it was merely baseless rumor with no evidence.

But then, the Jing tribe actually responded.

Helian Che openly declared that Le Wuya was not of impure blood, but a true Jing person by birth, and his beloved younger brother.

Years ago, the Dayu people had unjustly abducted him; now, since Dayu could no longer tolerate him, he begged the Dayu emperor to show great mercy and return his brother, to fulfill their fraternal bond.

A single stone stirred a thousand waves!

The emperor had intended to use the Jing tribe to add a charge against Le Wuya, never expecting the Jing tribe to voluntarily claim him.

As public opinion boiled over, the charge of "colluding with foreign powers" against Le Wuya was thoroughly cemented, and the entire Le family suffered as a result.

—The emperor, of course, could not be wrong, so it had to be the Le family's fault.

By then, Le Wuya had already been stripped of his property and imprisoned, in a state of being beyond caring about debts or lice.

But when this news reached him, Le Wuya's heart was still pierced deeply.

"Helian Che's move was ruthless and precise, killing three birds with one stone.

The first arrow was aimed at the Old Emperor's pride.

If he had been unaware of Le Wuya's background and still entrusted him with such importance, he'd look like a fool being played by a foreigner; if he knew Le Wuya's origins, then he was a fool fooling himself, letting a pure-blooded foreigner hold high office and wreak havoc on the court.

The second arrow hit the Le family.

It was the Le family that had raised Le Wuya for so long, and in Helian Che's eyes, they were in cahoots with the Old Emperor—the ringleaders—and he'd never let them off easy.

The third arrow was aimed straight at Le Wuya's Achilles' heel.

Le Wuya had speculated that whoever could use such a slow, torturous method to grind him down to dust had to be someone with a mind as deep as the ocean.

However, the few brief meetings in this life made Le Wuya think Helian Che was nothing like the violent, venomous man he'd pictured.

Helian Che wasn't used to Le Wuya staring at him like that, lost in thought, so he shoved his shoulder to force him to walk side by side.

That shove sent the tiny bells on him jingling.

Helian Che figured out where the sound came from and felt oddly pleased, and ordered, "Magistrate Wenren, walk with me."

Le Wuya let out a sigh. "Can I say no?"

"Refuse, and that counts as sabotaging relations between our two nations."

"...Fine."

The two walked side by side through the lively foreign streets.

Le Wuya loved a lively scene, walking obediently while his eyes darted everywhere, sneaking peeks at the performer juggling plates and breathing fire.

Helian Che was used to solitude, couldn't care less about his surroundings, and just found it all noisy: "You like the commotion?"

Le Wuya nodded.

"Lively enough for you?"

Le Wuya nodded again.

Helian Che adjusted his sleeve: "And yet I still haven't heard Magistrate Wenren say thank you."

Le Wuya finally tore his gaze away from the cheering crowd, his purple eyes narrowing behind the mask, spreading his arms and jumping up just enough to wrap him in a hug: "Thank you, Brother Da!"

Helian Che: "..."

Having someone hug him out in the open like that, his face went stiff, his fingers clenching into fists at his sides before slowly unclenching.

He barked, "Get down!"

Le Wuya obediently let go and hopped down, looking pleased with himself.

He'd been right.

The guy wasn't a solid block of ice.

After that hug, Le Wuya unexpectedly opened the floodgates of chatter.

Maybe to deflect the awkwardness, he started explaining on his own why he was there: "The Emperor can't hold his liquor and left early, foisting me onto his fifth son, telling him to escort the envoy out of the palace to watch the lanterns from the city wall. I swapped identities with someone while changing."

After his mysterious appearance at the inn last time, Le Wuya had guessed he probably had a double who looked and was built like him.

But hearing him pull this switcheroo firsthand still made Le Wuya marvel: "Brother Da, you've got some nerve."

Helian Che clasped his hands behind his back: "He's my equal in rank; no one else is worthy to sit or walk beside me. He sent his son to brush me off, so I sent my guard to brush him off."

Le Wuya thought, so that was his nasty little trick.

Since the main business was done, if the guard was sharp and didn't get recognized, fine; even if others noticed this Helian Che wasn't the real deal, given his whereabouts were unknown, exposing the imposter would immediately throw the city into chaos and jeopardize the newly forged alliance—that wouldn't be good.

Given the diplomatic stakes, those old foxes would never blurt it out; they'd have to swallow it and call a horse a deer.

Even if they reported it to the Emperor afterward, he'd just have to choke down the bitter pill.

After all, Yu and Jing had always been at each other's throats, and the current peace was just a facade.

No matter how much the Emperor hated the Jing tribe's arrogance, he couldn't crack that hard nut anytime soon.

Even if he fumed, he could only pretend not to know.

Le Wuya loved a clever prank more than anything, his eyes lighting up a little as he looked at him.

Helian Che felt his face warm under that gaze, and seeing no resentment in Le Wuya's eyes—even a hint of approval—he was quietly amazed: "I thought you Dayu officials all held the royal family in deep reverence."

Le Wuya could spin lies on the spot: "Brother Da, watch your words. My reverence for the Emperor rivals the heavens above and the seas below."

Helian Che: "..."

Laying it on that thick just made it sound fake.

Helian Che ignored him, turning his face away.

Le Wuya, now snubbed, found his own amusement.

He spotted a string of shell wind chimes, delicate and cute, and got interested, eagerly stepping up to check them out.

Helian Che followed.

Seeing Le Wuya's interest, the stall owner quickly said, "Look, these shells are lovely—under the light, they're colorful; hung at home, they're bright and fun!"

Le Wuya knew shells were fragile, prone to chips and bumps, unsuitable for bringing back to Nanting, so he just came to feast his eyes, casually brushing it off: "I've no money."

The stall owner, eager to make a sale, turned his gaze to the tall, imposing Helian Che beside him.

Both wore beast masks, obscuring their features, but judging by their facial contours and heterochromatic eyes, the stall owner, who fancied himself a good judge of people, figured it out: "Sir, your young friend here likes it so much—why not buy him one?"

Le Wuya was taken aback, glanced at Helian Che, and gave a slight shake of his head:

He was just looking; he didn't want it.

Helian Che understood, scowling as he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck: "Mother said you're not allowed to buy such odds and ends to bring home, or Father will beat you."

He dragged Le Wuya away from the stall, harboring a secret thought, and quickly left.

After walking dozens of steps, Helian Che silently released him.

Le Wuya, having been hauled along, almost felt his feet leave the ground.

He let out a breath, gave him a thumbs up, and was about to praise his acting when he heard a cold snort from him."

There was something sinister about that laugh, one that made your skin crawl.

Helian Che murmured to himself, "Little brother? ...Ha."

Le Wuya didn't say anything, just glanced away, then looked back. "Brother Da, what's wrong?"

Helian Che looked at him. "I have a younger brother. You know Magistrate Wenren?"

Le Wuya paused, then gave a small nod.

Wenren Yue was only four years younger than him, and though he hadn't been an official for long, since bad news travels fast, he should've heard about Le Wuya's "illustrious exploits."

If he pretended not to know, it would be too transparent.

Helian Che said calmly, "I killed him."

Le Wuya was stunned for a long moment, opened his mouth, and managed a weak "Ah."

Helian Che: "He refused to come home with me, and I hated him. In the end, the Dayu Emperor killed him—it served him right."

Le Wuya, upon hearing this sharp criticism and curse, should have held a grudge, but he was rather curious to hear more, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

On the other hand, Helian Che himself didn't get why he was suddenly spilling his darkest thoughts to someone who looked so much like Le Wuya.

He had always buried these words deep within, but facing this person, he couldn't stop himself from talking.

What Helian Che described was exactly how he'd pushed Le Wuya to the edge.

Le Wuya tilted his head, amidst the surrounding laughter and the fireworks filling the sky, listening intently to what he'd done.

He pursed his lips and let out a deliberately breezy sigh. "You really wished him dead, didn't you?"

"Yes," Helian Che admitted without hesitation. "Eight or nine times out of ten, I wished him dead."

Having anticipated this answer, Le Wuya felt no sadness, only finding the way he put it kind of interesting. "And the other one or two times out of ten?"

Helian Che paused, knowing full well he was saying too much to someone he barely knew—he shouldn't be.

...But he was asking him so earnestly.

Somehow, Helian Che felt he had to answer every question this person asked.

He said, "One or two times out of ten, I wished he could actually come back."

Le Wuya stopped dead in his tracks.

Helian Che, with his long legs, had already gotten ahead of him.

Seeing him stop, Helian Che stopped and turned around, looking at him puzzled.

Le Wuya's voice came out rough. "...He was that heartless, so why would you still want him?"

Helian Che sneered. "He's my brother. Once he's done throwing his tantrums, lost everything, and nobody wants him, he should come home, right?"

After saying that, Helian Che let out another cold laugh. "Scary, right?"

Sometimes, when he looked back at his own thoughts, he found them both terrifying and absurd.

After Le Wuya's death, Pei Mingqi came to him, asking for Yaya's exact birth date and time, and he gave it.

He guessed that Pei Mingqi might be planning some kind of dark ritual to keep his soul in the mortal world.

...Good. Keep him here.

Helian Che: "I hoped he'd die full of resentment, turn into a vengeful ghost, and come for me. But I waited and waited, and he never came—which just goes to show how much he hated me."

For brothers to end up like that—never seeing each other in life or death—was unheard of.

Le Wuya blurted, "Maybe he never hated you."

Helian Che's heart clenched, and he snapped, "What do you know?!"

Le Wuya: "If I were him, I wouldn't hate you."

Helian Che was completely furious.

He refused to accept that idea at all. "I was never good to him—I ruined his name, ruined his body. Why wouldn't he hate me?!"

Le Wuya looked up at him, sincere. "Because you're his brother."

...

After entering the city, Pei Mingqi wandered aimlessly, until he broke into a light sweat.

Eventually, he couldn't help laughing at himself.

...The small red sandalwood burner did love a crowd, but the capital was too vast, with too much going on.

Searching like this was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Pei Mingqi thought wryly, as that crow had told him, he had never been clever, always rash.

Besides, even if he did find him, what would he even say?

Hadn't he already decided to move on?

Feeling more at ease, Pei Mingqi slowed his pace.

He wandered without purpose, strolling along the river.

Colorful river lanterns drifted along, their lotus-shaped flames blooming like scattered stars, each one carrying a wish.

A vendor selling river lanterns spotted the troubled Pei Mingqi right away and approached enthusiastically. "Sir, want to set a lantern on the river? Make a wish, and all your worries will float away."

Pei Mingqi thought for a moment, then waved his hand with a flourish. "Fine, give me the biggest and most expensive one."

He ended up with a little river boat that could hold eighty-one lit candles.

The vendor, having casually roped in such a big spender, was overjoyed, bustling about to light the candles one by one.

Pei Mingqi stood idly by, wondering what wish to make.

He hoped that kid Pei Shaoji would grow up fast.

The Pei family's military glory needed someone to carry it on.

Lately, though, the kid seemed to have caught on to something, and hesitantly asked why he was teaching him so much—was it leftover feelings, or was he planning to shave his head and become a monk for Le Wuya?

Pei Mingqi had given him a good beating to shut down that ridiculous idea for now.

He had no intention of becoming a monk.

The Pei family had served the imperial house of Xiang for three generations; he couldn't leave abruptly, and could only wait for a natural death to uphold the Pei family's reputation for loyalty and valor.

Pei Mingqi chewed on a blade of dog's-tail grass, gazing blankly at the river.

But soon, from the shimmering reflections on the water, he caught sight of a familiar face.

Thinking he must be mistaken, Pei Mingqi looked up in surprise and met the gaze of someone silently watching him from the small bridge.

Pei Mingqi shot to his feet: "...Taoist Master Lu?"

He bounded up the bridge in a few quick strides, his face lit up with excitement, and grabbed the man's hand: "It really is you!"

The next moment, Pei Mingqi felt a searing pain on the back of his hand, like he'd been burned.

He immediately let go, but didn't think much of it, figuring he'd just pulled a tendon from gripping too hard.

Taoist Master Lu shot an annoyed glare at the empty air next to him.

Pei Mingqi figured the man didn't recognize him and thought he was being too pushy, so he endured the pain, took off his bird mask to show his face, then quickly put it back on and gave a deep bow, saying cheerfully: "Thank you, my wish came true. I should have come in person to report and offer incense in gratitude, but I'm tied up with military duties and can't leave my post without orders. I never expected to see you here now that I'm in the capital!"

Taoist Master Lu looked awkwardly toward the horizon.

The two youngsters had gone off to play; being introverted by nature, he wasn't fond of joining the bustle, so he had stayed by the bridge to watch the lanterns.

Just now, seeing this man spend lavishly and buy such a beautiful boat, he had leaned here admiring it with his daoist partner, only to find the buyer's back increasingly familiar.

Ah, well.

Might as well get it over with—time to come clean.

He struggled to organize his words, forcing an apologetic smile: "General Pei, please hold on a moment. Back then, I concealed something from you..."