Song Yujing was a mediocre Catcher of Dragonflies, not young but already twenty-five years old, yet he had been lying dormant for twelve years on the grand net woven by Li Mibi, never making a mistake. Thus, he was entrusted with the surveillance of Xu Beizhi, who ranked high on the Zhuan List.
The Northern Desolate was vast, while the Catchers of Dragonflies and the Catchers of Butterflies numbered only in the hundreds. If each target required individual surveillance, resources would be stretched thin, revealing how important Xu Beizhi was in the mind of the shadow prime minister Li Mibi. Song Yujing had been watching this illegitimate son of the Xu family for six years, becoming perhaps the one most familiar with Xu Beizhi’s habits and routines. After coming of age, Xu Beizhi frequently traveled and roamed the mountains and rivers. This time, he set out with two horses and his page Wang Mengxi. Initially, Song Yujing did not find anything unusual. However, when the shocking news came from the Weakness Thatched cottage, code name six of Zhuan, Song Yujing was struck like by lightning—Xu Huaihe, the Northern Court Grand Duke, had been beheaded, his head severed from his body!
The whereabouts of the former Northern Desolate’s most powerful minister’s head remained unknown to this day!
Li Mibi, who had served alongside Xu Huaihe for many years, had personally gone to the source of the Weakness River and was now staying at the Thatched cottage. As a core figure controlling the secrets of the Northern Desolate dynasty, Song Yujing knew very well that Li Mibi and the once-rising and now-fading Northern Court Grand Duke had a good relationship, akin to the friendship between gentlemen. Thus, over the years, although seemingly monitoring the Thatched cottage closely, he had only dispatched Yi Jie Liu, the top killer of Zhuan, rather than someone skilled in uncovering clues. Yi Jie Liu was good at killing, naturally also adept at killing fellow assassins, effectively protecting Xu Huaihe from being taken advantage of by the royal family. That cavalry force was also commanded by Xu Huaihe’s former subordinates. One could say that after retirement, Xu Huaihe lived a relatively comfortable and leisurely life, with Li Mibi personally overseeing affairs, ensuring that no unfavorable rumors about the Northern Court Grand Duke reached the imperial court. Song Yujing had always believed that the only one capable of taking Xu Huaihe’s life was the female emperor herself. But Zhuan was the emperor’s usual hidden blade for eliminating rivals. If it wasn’t Zhuan, then who could it be? Song Yujing racked his brains but couldn’t figure it out and dared not delve deeper.
Along with the immense secret, several other pole-wielding men and women, whose evaluations were no worse than his, also appeared at Song Yujing’s side. Three men and two women. Song Yujing was temporarily granted authority to mobilize all the spider-web forces in the Bottle and Golden Toad provinces, plus the command of 1,200 cavalry. However, Song Yujing felt no excitement at holding such great power, only trepidation.
With Xu Huaihe’s death, it triggered a chain reaction. The collapse of this central pillar of the Northern Desolate would inevitably ripple through the court. The Xu family had always been supported by Xu Huaihe, and most of his descendants were not capable. Only Xu Beizhi, who had so far remained inconspicuous, was the only one with the potential to carry the family’s weight. Whether to capture or invite him, his master’s letter did not specify, leaving Song Yujing to gauge the appropriate measure. However, Song Yujing soon realized how tricky this mission was. Besides the page Wang Mengxi, Xu Beizhi and an unfamiliar scholar had vanished into thin air. Song Yujing immediately cast a wide net, dispatching most of the pole-wielders to the southern part of Golden Toad province to search or intercept. If the page hadn’t continued south instead of turning north, Song Yujing could have saved himself more trouble and effort, leaving only a female butterfly catcher to follow the page. The page, now a pawn, entered the border of Golden Toad province from Bottle province, then traveled hundreds of miles laterally, finally heading north, pausing briefly before continuing south again. It took a full ten days, making a baffling large detour. During this time, Song Yujing, following the page’s erratic movements, dared not be careless, constantly revising and overturning his own hypotheses, changing orders several times. Not only he himself but almost all the pole-wielders were exhausted. Occasionally meeting, their faces showed no complaints, but Song Yujing knew these ruthless individuals were likely grumbling internally. Some even suggested directly killing the page to simplify matters. Song Yujing inwardly scoffed at their armchair criticism and did not accept the suggestion. Before the truth surfaced, Song Yujing did not wish to antagonize Xu Beizhi. A hundred-legged insect remains formidable even in death. The Xu family’s mighty tree would not fall in a year or two, especially with Xu Huaihe’s sudden death and the female emperor’s ambiguous relationship with him, removing a thorn from her throat, perhaps even bestowing favors to console the Xu family’s parasites.
Song Yujing never imagined that Xu Beizhi had been following closely behind the page all along, roughly the same route, maintaining a day’s walking distance. Xu Beizhi donned the face of a bearded giant from Xu Fengnian, who also changed his disguise, no longer carrying a book chest but a bag carried by Xu Beizhi, now appearing as a servant. Today, they were dining in a quiet tavern in Golden Toad province. Initially, upon hearing that the page was to be used as bait, Xu Beizhi, though not refusing, had thought less of it. However, along the way, he observed several times in remote wilderness the page exchanging strange gestures with a red-robed demonic creature, prompting Xu Beizhi to completely reassess this future Northern Liang King daring enough to venture alone into the Northern Desolate.
The two sat by the window in the tavern, seemingly leisurely chatting about how to pass military secrets. Recently, Xu Beizhi had developed a fondness for drinking, seizing every opportunity for a few sips, regardless of whether it was fine wine or cheap liquor. However, every time Xu Fengnian saw him drinking, it was like watching someone struggle to defecate in a latrine, painful to behold. After drinking, Xu Beizhi felt a burning sensation in his stomach, couldn’t help but snort, and slowly said, “Guess how much silver was spent for the Thatched cottage to learn about your slaying of the demon Xie Ling?”
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Must have cost a hundred taels of gold?”
Xu Beizhi shook his head, “Not a penny was spent. The news was spoken in a pleasure house by a Yelü noble from the capital and quickly relayed to the Thatched cottage.”
Xu Beizhi asked again, “Guess how much it cost to confirm you once stayed in Dunhuang City for a while.”
Xu Fengnian thought, “I’ll still guess a few hundred taels of gold.”
Xu Beizhi smiled, “Too little, about nine hundred taels of gold.”
Xu Fengnian clicked his tongue, “Truly willing to invest heavily.”
Xu Beizhi, though not accustomed to drinking, had a bold manner when he did, finishing his cup in one go and gently tapping it on the greasy, half-wiped table. Looking out the window, his rough, bearded face, now appearing rugged, had eyes as gentle as a woman’s. Fortunately, only Xu Fengnian faced him, this scholar whose time to astonish the world was yet unknown, sighed with emotion: “Finding a spy skilled in disguise is like looking for a needle in the sea. I and my grandfather stayed up many nights calculating your route, during which he was full of vigor, joking that this game of hide-and-seek was like the southern sticky rice balls he ate in his youth, quite chewy. You may not know that Zhuang, modeled after the Liyang Zhao Gou, was not solely crafted by Li Mibi. My grandfather helped build the framework. Li Mibi becoming the female emperor’s top confidant, hailed as the shadow prime minister and the ninth Jie Ling, my grandfather deserves half the credit. Both of them were scholars who failed to find their place in the Central Plains’ Spring and Autumn period.”
Pausing, Xu Beizhi looked at Xu Fengnian, “The art of nurturing scholars, the Murong female emperor is undoubtedly the best in the world. The Zhao family emperor is not bad either, Northern Liang King.”
Xu Fengnian interrupted with a smile, “He’s a rough fellow. Besides, the Spring and Autumn War was a struggle between martial men on horseback and scholarly scribes. After toppling the aristocratic families, the scholars had nowhere to go, no tree to lean on, naturally resenting Xu Xiao, let alone joining this butcher.”
Xu Beizhi shook his head, “Nurturing scholars is divided into two kinds: nurturing the noble scholars and the humble scholars. You must know that the term ‘shi’ originally referred to wandering scholars, such as the Strategist who became famous through diplomacy and strategy, the eloquent debaters among the hundred schools of thought. Later, scholars gathered into aristocratic families, beginning to live in comfort. Now that the great house has collapsed, most must seek their livelihood. Moreover, the rise of humble scholars in the court is the trend of the times. There are many things the Northern Liang King cannot do, but you can. The scholars of the world were originally the thousands of koi in your Tingchao Pavilion. Now, as the Tingchao Pavilion connects with rivers, raising koi among wild carp, if you can select a few, you can succeed. Since ancient times, strategists seeking refuge with wise lords merely want to ride the dragon’s momentum and soar.”
Xu Fengnian laughed, “If you told these grand principles to Xu Xiao, he’d fall asleep in front of you.”
Xu Beizhi smiled and let it go.
At the Thatched cottage by the Weakness River, a gaunt old man dressed in luxurious Shu brocade, having rushed from the capital overnight, sat by the water, beside him the headless Xu Huaihe.
After personally inspecting the wounds and the surroundings of the Thatched cottage, the old man waved his subordinates away, leaving only a young maid holding a lantern without a wick, seemingly unwilling to have too many people disturb his conversation with his deceased old friend.
In the night, the old man extended his withered bamboo-like arm, fingers stroking his frost-white temples, murmuring, “When we were young, we came together to the chaotic Northern Desolate. You said you wanted to become a Since ancient timesfamous minister who could wear swords and shoes into the palace and not hasten in court. You laughed at me for having a narrow heart, not fit for great deeds, just scheming behind you, and still getting a good death. Look at you now, how are you? I can still walk in brocade at night, even the eight Jie Ling and twelve great generals, upon seeing me, dare only curse me behind my back, calling me a sonless wretch. As for you, not even one descendant dares to mourn you.”
“You favored Xu Beizhi, passing all your knowledge to him. Considering our old friendship, I’ve hesitated to strike. Old Xu, why don’t you send me a dream? I might spare him.”
“I thought I’d risk half my life to ensure you died after her, but you, you just left so easily, so humiliatingly. For what? To repay debts? To whom? Death is like a lamp going out; I won’t dig deeper, lest you curse me from below. This way, I’m relieved. Don’t worry, aside from Xu Beizhi, when the time comes, among the Xu family’s two hundred lives, I’ll leave one or two for you.”
The old man, muttering to himself, sighed, remained silent for a long time, then lifted his arm.
The blind, deaf, and mute maid holding the lantern immediately bent down, placing the lantern without fire before the powerful old man’s eyes, then handing him a delicate pair of scissors.
In the cage were dozens of butterflies.
The old man picked one, his hands trembling like an old woman sewing under lamplight, cutting the butterfly in half.
“After your death, among the butterflies in this cage, the largest one must be the Taiping Decree.”
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