Chapter 3: Su Fengyu
Su Jin's body passed many residences and finally slowed down until it came to one. King An's residence.
This time, the body didn't rush to any side room but leisurely made its way to one of the rooms. Su Jin unfortunately had no idea what was all this about and feeling stuck, he started complaining to his supposed lover in his imagination again.
A young man, with a slightly weak physique than the seventh prince, wearing light blue robes and his black hair crowned was exuding a weak gentlemanly aura, smiled and stood up when he saw the man enter. The moment he bowed his head slightly, however, the aura changed. "Master." It was that of sword in a sheath, ready to be taken out and kill the enemies in path.
"Good." The man, now the master, praised. "Qingxin, did anyone from Jianghu came to you?"
So this person was Qingxin... Su Jin finally knew who Qingxin was.
"No, master... except the Young Miss of North Marquis residence. She seems to be connected to Jianghu." Qingxin's aura changed as if that of the swaying leaves in the wind. He sat back down pretending to be a weak gentleman.
Su Jin wished to know what the other consciousness was thinking, but he could only wait to collect some clues. Perhaps, the other consciousness doesn't even know of him. He even wondered if he would be trapped in this body eternally. And there's no doubt that people except actors deserve an Oscar too. Take that lunatic prince, this young man and the old guys of the board for example... All superb real-life actors and face-changers.
"What's her name?" The master gave a slightly warm smile as he patted Qingxin's arms slightly after he stepped forward.
"...Lady Anni..." Qingxin whispered.
"Real name?" The master frowned a little.
"Wan Yu." Qingxin's eyes wandered towards the door.
Su Jin felt his body's one eyebrow jumped for a second.
"She is your junior martial sister, the only disciple of your martial uncle." The master went and laid sideways on a couch. His long black hair were touching the ground.
Looking at the young man who had his fists clenched, the master whispered. "She won't betray you unless she's a white-eyed wolf." His eyes seemed a little damp but it disappeared in a flash.
"Master, is there a problem in the pavilion?" The young man asked cautiously seeing that his master had closed his eyes. His hands were loosened now.
"The south has some traitors. Your master almost lost his life... Avoid them, you know?"
"Yes, master." Looking at the master that was about to sleep, Qingxin couldn't help but open his mouth. "Master... let me take you to your room. I had one arranged for you after I was given this residence."
Su Jin realised that this young man was King An himself. That lunatic prince and this King An seem to be closely-aged although nephew and uncle.
The master opened his eyes lazily and nodded. Then slowly stood up and extended his pale left hand with his eyes half-closed.
The young King An sighed and held his master's hand and led him. It was an old habit after all.
The servants who were far away couldn't help but feel fright and awe. Who was this tall man in dark blue robes that deserved to be led by their cold and weak King An?
Su Jin felt disturbed. This was his habit. Since he was 16, he suddenly had this habit. Being led by others when feeling sleepy. It was said to be a sequela of an incident he had before by the family doctor.
Skin, voice, knowledge may get altered but habits are difficult to be changed. Was this him in his previous life or is it a coincidence?
King An took his master into a spacious room. A bed enough for one to sleep with net around it, a cabinet, and shelves filled with books. It felt a little empty yet elegant too.
When the master laid on bed, King An let a maid remove the boots and the daggers. The boots were made specially for fast travel and protection in Jianghu while the daggers' blades were hooked from one side and extremely sharpened from the other. Putting them away, the maid adjusted the net to reduce the incoming light.
The maid although looked calm had her wits scared out. Especially seeing the daggers and the care King An had for this person. She quickly retired from the room getting King An's consent.
King An sighed, glanced at the sleepy master and then left the room.
Master was always in a hurry. Going in-between Jianghu and his residence and also not appearing in front of anyone else except him and his mother concubine.
He's pretty sure that there would be news in the capital by tomorrow that a tall masked man was welcomed by King An specially. Whether good or bad.
Master seems to have acquiesced to let his whereabouts be known. Must be due to those traitors or something. After all, master never told him much about the internal affairs of Jianghu.
Arriving in his study, he once again fully performed the weak gentleman. Coughing and coughing until a servant hurriedly delivered him water and the pill to reduce coughing, which was candy in fact.
The servant went out the study once he had drank the water and eaten the pill.
Qingxin's eyes narrowed slightly. The servant, eunuch Mu, was a spy sent by his dear Emperor Brother. It's better to have one right beside you than worrying about a new spy after getting old one killed.
Strangely, except his health and daily routines, there wasn't any other news sent by this one. It might just be a decoy or his dear Emperor Brother is waiting for him to die naturally.
Tomorrow his personal attendant Xiao Li would be back. It would be easier to attend important affairs then.
-
The sunset painted the sky in a red hue.
In the seventh prince's residence, as usual there was quietness. Yi Yunqi, the seventh prince Chiyan, was in his study. A dark guard suddenly appeared near him, handed a slip and disappeared.
'Azalea Pavilion Lord has a room near King An's. King An led him by hand.' Yi Yunqi's eyebrows jumped and he threw the slip into the brazier. As he watched it burn, his hand grasped the white jade on his belt tightly.
That person was too undefended! And why did Imperial Uncle had to lead him? That's his master. Where's the etiquette? And Imperial Uncle still gave a room near his own to him. Ain't that too close?!
Yi Yunqi who had thought to trap the pavilion lord in a honey trap last night had changed his mind by the daytime cause of the dream he had. And when he saw the pavilion lord in day time, he confirmed that his little lord likes to read anecdotes...
In that dream... he was with the pavilion lord.
In a different place.... where there were metal boxes for transportation that can be used without getting assist of any horses or such, he and the pavilion lord, whose appearance was similar but not same as the present one, were reading together when children and...….. got married when they became adults! The little pavilion lord was too soft and cute and the adult one was charming too. And his little lord liked him to lead him to bed to sleep. So cute...
He was sure that the soul was same. He had this intuition.
And he was sure that his memory wasn't adjusted or changed about that dream. That dream was true. Yet he remembered that there didn't exist a Azalea Pavilion Lord who had the name Su Fengyu in his life until 10 days ago.
This memory was changed... there was indeed a master of King An that helped him a little as repayment but surely not this pavilion lord. That master had left him a wooden plain token with 'Ying Shan Hong' written on it. Unfortunately, he was unable to use it and thus that master assisted him a little in the end.
This pavilion lord indeed did the same as before... and gave him a token but of a higher value and quality meaning he could ask back for more valuable assist.
And since the pavilion lord isn't the real master of Imperial Uncle... why follow him? They have a past together! Shouldn't the pavilion lord follow him? He shouldn't have told about the King An's residence but then he would appear as rude.
Yi Yunqi's whole face was darkened and scrunched as if the darkness could be squeezed out as black water.
He has decided to go to the the pavilion tomorrow and get his little lord back.
Rubbing the white jade a few more times, Yi Yunqi sat back and went through the documents. He still had to prepare a lot more for the future, especially that poisonous witch.
Just when the hidden dark guard was about to retire, Yi Yunqi stood up and called him. Then, the dark guard was handed the jade.
Yi Yunqi motioned the guard to come closer and then whispered a few words into his ear.
The dark guard nodded and then quickly disappeared. He dare not stay. Lord looked as if he had killed his lover or something.
Yi Yunqi then resumed his work.
-
In evening, Su Jin regained his consciousness and felt a little dazed. He received all the memories of the body that happened till now but he still couldn't control the body nor could he communicate with the consciousness.
The body or the other consciousness was Fengyu having the same surname as him. He was, in fact, Emperor Taizu's youngest brother, who was only 4 years old just before the emperor had ascended the throne, and later had his name removed from the clan. His mother, a woman of humble origins yet good connections, led him to abdicate his right to the throne and then had him sent to one of her friends in Jianghu. She told him to never seek the throne. The young Yi Fengyu was later then adopted by one of the famous martial artists in Jianghu and had his surname changed to Su.
Su Fengyu, although young, was ambitious. He wasn't expected to contend for the imperial throne in future so, he later became a pavilion lord himself. He was exceptional in martial arts and also customized some of the moves to better match his own self. He opened a small school just at the age when he was a fresh, cute teenager and taught basic martial arts to toddlers sent by martial artists' households. He also started developing his own forces after undertaking some orphans who were good in martial arts. He set up the Azalea Pavilion that gathers news, information and also medicinal as well as poisonous plants. The pavilion then became a good spot to gather, receive or send news and information as well as a herbs' storehouse that received orders from well-known doctors or toxicologists.
Later, he met a physician, that was adept both at saving and killing, whom he had saved once. That physician though older than him was received as a martial brother and together made the pavilion even more prosperous. They had a very good friendship. Surprisingly... that physician was the younger brother of Concubine Hong, a concubine of his emperor brother, and told him that he's going to see his nephew, Yi Qingxin, and wishes to teach him martial arts.
Yi Qingxin was a sickly child who then later was being healed slowly by his uncle secretly. But before he could be healed completely, Hong Lin, the uncle physician, died. So, Su Fengyu in order to complete his friend's wish, replaced Hong Lin and started making the sickly prince practice.
Just 3 days ago, Su Fengyu had visited the south branch of the pavilion but was heavily ambushed. He also lost a lot of trusted subordinates. He suspected his own pavilion's core and the south branch. He even considered if those traitors would stretch their paws towards Yi Qingxin without his knowledge and so hurried back. In the meantime, the surely loyal subordinates or those controlled by the pill that were still alive were arranged by him to counterattack.
Su Jin wished to stretch his hands but couldn't. Su Fengyu was wiping his daggers with silk cloth as if a peerless treasure. Suddenly from the room's open window, a crow came, with a letter tied. The paper was dark as well to blend in.
Su Fengyu put the silk cloth and his daggers aside and untied the letter after taking the crow in.
'Lord, seventh prince Chiyan wishes to have you protect him. His subordinate brought the white jade.' The white words shone very well on the dark background and would never go unnoticed.
Su Fengyu calmly sat and started writing his reply on the same slip. He brought a quill, then pressed on the sheet and white ink came from underneath. 'I will go back to see the jade personally.'
The crow was sent back the same way as it came.
Meanwhile, Su Jin felt that death might be near. It's the same as being the bodyguard of lunatic!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
zelene_aleah
zelene_aleah 'Jinglai' in previous chapter has been changed to 'Qingxin' and 'An Wang' to 'King An'.
Ying Shan Hong=Azalea
Emperor Taizu=Founding Emperor
And.. writing needs lots of research, especially when you don't know much of ancient chinese culture and history. @_@
I recommend ChinaFetching site for such research, especially if you want to write historical chinese fiction. I went there all the day these days and ended up reading about the entire Tang Dynasty. -_-"
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