CH 27

In the inner island, there was a city of extreme happiness1 and it was in this city that the Meeting of the Heroes going to be held.

There was a saying that circulated in Jianghu: The masters are all in the palace, the heroes are all in the martial arts circle; the gold and silver are all in Bai Xiao, and the beauties are all in Jile.

In Jile City, there was no shortage of brothels and beauties. It was a true tender land and was praised as a “Paradise” for men.

Wen Chan and his party arrived at Jile City on the evening of the second day. There was a boiling cauldron of voices in the city, and the sad sound of the huqin2 and pipa3 came from afar, causing Wen Chan, who was sitting in the carriage, to stretch out his head in curiosity.

The lair of the Shengui Clan was located in the east of Wuyue island. When they came to Wuyue island in the previous life, they took the east road in order to save time and never came to Jile City at all.

The carriage was stopped by the guards when it entered the city. So Wen Chan got out of the carriage and kept staring at the scenery in the city as he was filled with astonishment.

Lanterns of different colors were hung in the ten-li4-long street inside the city gate. And a large gauze curtain was also hung on the top of the head. Therefore, the sunshine couldn’t shine in directly. There were people of all colors and kinds coming and going in the streets. Many women were dressed in light gauze dresses, revealing large areas of their white and tender skin. They were either dancing gracefully or playing music. And the sound of happy laughter filled the entire city of Jile.

Dan Ke walked up to him and wasn’t surprised by this, “The people of Jile City have been celebrating the gods for the past two months. So it is not unusual to see people being stationed on the streets to sing songs and dance.”

Wen Chan was really seeing such a sight for the first time. So he asked curiously, “Which god are they celebrating?”

“Wuyue Bridge gets flooded by the Shenxian River every May. So the people here think that it is the arrival of the gods that caused the river to flood. So it is not until July, when the river recedes, that their celebration of the gods ends.”

On one side was the natural environment and on the other side was the customs. After Wen Chan’s initial surprise, he got used to it.

As soon as he stepped into the city, the air became filled with a faint fragrance of cosmetics. Although it was a little sweet and unctuous, it did not rush into his nose and Wen Chan did not reject it. The guards who followed behind couldn’t help but glance at the exposed waists of those women. But as Dan Ke was blocking their way in the front, they didn’t dare do anything that overstepped the bounds of what was proper.

Among the group, only Situ Zhoulan and Qiao Yanci were girls and they felt uncomfortable on seeing the women on the street dancing in accordance with the songs and sending coquettish glances. Situ Zhoulan merely locked her sight on the road with an ugly complexion. But Qiao Yanci was in a bad mood and secretly cursed them for being shameless.

After rushing for a day and a night, everyone except Wen Chan was exhausted. So Dan Ke found an inn, arranged a room for everyone, and distributed silver currencies to get their meals, letting everyone take a rest.

The inn was quite magnificent. It had three floors and the higher you go, the more expensive it got. Fortunately, Dan Ke was rich, so he simply didn’t care about this at all. He generously wanted to book a room for everyone, but there weren’t enough rooms.

Therefore, the two girls, Situ Zhoulan and Qiao Yanci shared a room. Liang Yanbei and Dan Ke shared a room. And as usual, Wen Chan shared a room with Shu Hua while Qin Qi shared a room with Ah Fu5. Then Xie Zhaoxue shared a room with Zhong Wenjin, and the remaining guards also shared a room with two people in one room.

The distribution was proper, and everyone else was fine. But Wen Chan always felt that things could go wrong when the two people, Xie Zhaoxue and Zhong Wenjin, were put together. After all, the eight characters of the two people did not match and they had to quarrel whenever they met. And Zhong Wenjin had no respect for the little uncle who was a few months older than him. Won’t there be a mishap if you let the two of them sleep in the same room?

Facts proved that Wen Chan’s thought was correct.

Liang Yanbei was so tired that he didn’t eat anything and went straight to the room to sleep with a stuffy head. Wen Chan originally wanted to find him to say thank you, but after learning that he had already gone to sleep, he put the matter aside for then and went to eat instead.

The inn had its own restaurant. Wen Chan ate as he liked, and the sky turned dark outside.

The colorful lanterns hanging on both sides of the long street lit up grandly at this time and it set off a garish display against the road. The veil covering the top was also pulled away, revealing the bright moon in the vast night sky. There were sounds of the guqin’s strings everywhere in the colorful and prosperous street. The bustle of this scene was far higher than that of the capital.

Wen Chan originally wanted to go out and join in the excitement. But if he went out, the three including Ah Fu would definitely follow him. After rushing on such a long journey, what they needed now was rest. In order not to keep the few people busy because of him, Wen Chan stood in front of the window and looked out, witnessing the night view of Jile City.

It was during the night in the Jile City that the merriments began.

However, the extremely tired group of people had already isolated those touching musical compositions and the delicate and soft laughter from their dreams; and fell into a deep sleep.

By the latter half of the night, the liveliness had only increased, and the streets were crowded6 with people.

Wen Chan felt bored. So he closed the window, and the noise subsided a lot. He turned around and glanced at Shu Hua who was sleeping on the ground before going downstairs to ask the shopkeeper for hot water, intending to take a bath and sleep too.

There were quite a few people sitting in the lobby downstairs, and a few of them immediately caught Wen Chan’s eyes.

All those people were wearing black gowns with yellow borders on the collars and sleeves, and they sat together at one table. And among them was a pretty young woman with thin eyebrows and round eyes. Threads of gold were stitched to the sleeves of her black dress, which looked not only luxurious but also very familiar.

Wen Chan suddenly recalled that the black-clothed man who was lying on the back of that old black ox was dressed nearly like a carbon copy of the girl in front of him. With one look you could see that they are a gang! Finally, he ran into him again!

Rolling up his sleeves, Wen Chan wanted to go up and greet those people. But even after looking around in the lobby a few times, he still couldn’t find any trace of that handsome man. It was evident that he wasn’t here. Just after taking two steps forward, Wen Chan stopped again and he looked at the few tall men sitting next to that girl. He thought that since that person is not here, I will just let them go this time.

The main reason was that all his people were sleeping. If a real fight were to occur, wouldn’t he suffer losses with one against three?

Wen Chan silently pulled down his rolled-up sleeves. He passed by those people to go up to the shopkeeper and asked for hot water. The shopkeeper asked for the name of his room before asking him to go up and wait; as he would ask someone to deliver it after the water was heated.

The shopkeeper was very fast. Before Wen Chan could wait a long time after returning to his room, the hot water was delivered. He simply wiped his face and hands; and washed his feet before taking off his outer clothing and going to bed, ready to sleep. But at this time, there was a loud knock on the door.

He was taken aback and immediately afterward, Shu Hua who was still sleeping, sat up abruptly. He first glanced at the bed. After seeing Wen Chan, he got up and opened the door. Even though he was awakened by the sound, there was no look of impatience on his face.

Just as the door opened, Zhong Wenjin, who was holding a rice pillow7, came in furiously and said to Shu Hua, “I wanna change rooms with you!”

Shu Hua was stumped for words and he turned around to look at Wen Chan.

“What are you up to at midnight instead of sleeping?” Xie Zhaoxue soon followed, and Wen Chan noticed that both of them came out barefoot.

“Anyways, you think that I’m noisy, and I don’t want to sleep in the same room with you too. Isn’t it just right to change rooms?” Zhong Wenjin snorted in anger and headed for the room, but Xie Zhaoxue grabbed him by the collar, “Don’t disturb Young Master Wen’s rest.”

Zhong Wenjin struggled, and on seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Wen Chan hurriedly intervened to mediate, “Okay, okay. Just change the rooms. I slept a lot in the carriage during the day, and I am not sleepy now. I am just idle and bored.” He said to Shu Hua, “Shu Hua, you go and sleep in the room with Young Master Xie.”

Shu Hua accepted the order. After seeing the pillow in Zhong Wenjin’s arm, he turned around and went to the bed spread on the floor to take his pillow and went to Xie Zhaoxue’s room.

When Xie Zhaoxue saw Wen Chan stand up to speak, he no longer objected. He glanced at Zhong Wenjin and let go of his hand, saying, “As you wish.”

After both of them left, Wen Chan closed the door and as soon as he turned around, Zhong Wenjin had already put the pillow on the bed spread on the floor to lie down.

As Zhong Wenjin had taken the two red pills given by Liang Yanbei, he was still very energetic at this time and he did not feel sleepy at all. So he closed his eyes to refresh his mind.

After a moment of silence in the room, Wen Chan suddenly said, “Zhong Wenjin, can you go back to the capital?”

Zhong Wenjin was surprised by Wen Chan’s sudden words and opened his eyes. He looked at him in astonishment, “Why do you suddenly want me to go back to the capital?”

“Fishes and dragons are mixed together8 in Wuyue island and it is too dangerous. In the capital, you have the Zhong family to protect you.” Wen Chan knew that he died in the hands of the leader of the Shengui Clan in his previous life. Although it didn’t happen at this age, the unknown was always dangerous. Wen Chan felt that his rebirth had changed a lot of things, and some things could not be risked.

“Then what about you? What are you doing on Wuyue island?” Zhong Wenjin asked him instead.

This question made Wen Chan dumbstruck and unable to reply. He himself as a prince still stayed on Wuyue island. So what position did he have to persuade Zhong Wenjin to leave? Do you want me to tell him the truth that if you don’t leave, you will die here?

“You have to believe me.” Wen Chan could only say this, “The capital is the safest for you.”

As long as it was within the Zhong family’s sphere of influence, no one could hurt Zhong Wenjin.

“Don’t persuade me anymore. I won’t listen.” Zhong Wenjin expressed his stubbornness.

Wen Chan expressed that he would not give up, “You are here alone. How worried your parents must be. Maybe the capital is overturned right now.”

On hearing this, Zhong Wenjin got up without saying a word and walked outside the door while holding the rice pillow he had in his hands when he came, “Your Ninth Highness, we can’t talk. I’ll leave first.”

“Hey —” Wen Chan didn’t expect that he would take his pillow and walk away on having a disagreement. So he hurriedly got out of bed to chase after him, “Wait! I won’t persuade you anymore. Don’t go bothering others in the middle of the night.”

What if he knocked on Liang Yanbei’s door and disturbed his rest?

Zhong Wenjin seemed to be just pretending. So when he heard Wen Chan urging him to stay, he immediately turned around and laid back to sleep. Wen Chan had no choice but to think about persuading him next time.

The room fell silent for a while.

After a long time, just when Wen Chan thought that he was asleep, Zhong Wenjin whispered without any prior notice, “the reason behind me coming to Wuyue island this time, is half to escape and half to find Xie Zhaoxue.”

“Escape?” Wen Chan instantly collected his thoughts and asked in shock, “Someone in the capital wants to kill you? Who is so bold?”

“My eldest brother and my father.” His voice was calm and no emotions could be heard as if he was just stating a very normal matter.

“How can this be possible?!” Wen Chan sat up in shock. Doesn’t the Zhong family love Zhong Wenjin who was the son of the first wife, the most? How could they set about killing him?

Zhong Wenjin’s face was brimming with indifference and those elegant eyebrows faintly showed a bit sad. He sat up and spread open his innerwear with both hands, exposing his white jade-like chest. His chest was still tied with gauze at the solar plexus9 and it was obvious that he had been injured.

During these days, ever since he saw Zhong Wenjin in the cage of the mountain bandits, he hadn’t seen him getting injured at all. He snatched the steamed bun like a lively dragon and animated tiger10; and even fought with mountain bandits with a broadsword in his hand. He simply didn’t differ in any way from a normal person.

However, after Zhong Wenjin removed the gauze, there was really a not-so-big black scab wound at his solar plexus. Under his fair complexion, it exhibited a hideous appearance and it could be seen from a glance that it was a wound made by a sword. Obviously, it was about to heal.

Without waiting for Wen Chan to ask, he said, “This was stabbed by my older brother. If I hadn’t escaped quickly, I would have become a corpse by now.”

“Why does your older brother wanna kill you?” Wen Chan couldn’t figure it out. Even if Zhong Wenjin didn’t get along with his brothers, they could not have dared to strike at Zhong Wenjin at this time. At least they had to wait until after the Zhong family rebelled.……

“I don’t know the reason. But while he was slashing at me, he called me an unfilial traitor. And all the guards around me let him annihilate me. Later, I fled home to find my father, but I was then locked up by him too. In the end, my mother secretly released me…….”

Zhong Wenjin slowly wrapped around the gauze, put on his innerwear again, and said with his head hung down, “No matter how I questioned my father, he just kept saying that I am a wretch. If my mother hadn’t let me out, I would have either died in the hands of my older brother or in the hands of my father. The capital is no longer my home…….”

Traitor?

Wen Chan felt a chill run down his spine. All the shock was covered up and his mind gradually became clear.

Perhaps, Zhong Guoyi and his eldest son were also reborn with memories like Wen Chan. So they wanted to kill Zhong Wenjin after seeing him.

In the previous life, a single person, Zhong Wenjin opposed the entire Zhong family, and all three sons of Zhong Guoyi died in his hands. For the Zhong family, it was not wrong to say that he was a traitor.

Zhong Guoyi, who knew what happened later, wanted to strike first and kill the son he originally loved the most before rebelling.

Just after thinking that some people in the Zhong family had been reborn as well, Wen Chan suddenly felt terrified.

Originally, he thought he was playing the same game of chess that he had played in his previous life. And because he knew what his opponent’s next move would be, he had been confident. Yet at this moment he realized that the person he was playing against also knew the ending of that game of chess in his previous life.

So would the Zhong family still go to the known ending?

In his last life, Wen Chan was the ultimate winner of the bloody battle and that was because he had Liang Yanbei by his side who wanted to help him. But now Wen Chan was all alone. So could he still win?

Thinking of this, his heart sank.

Just as he was thinking about it, a sound of breathing pulled his consciousness back. When Wen Chan turned to look at Zhong Wenjin, he happened to see a teardrop falling from his lowered face, and his heart was disturbed.

The current Zhong Wenjin had no idea why his father, who used to love him dearly in the past, would want to kill him. Everyone else thought that he was acting willfully and ran away to have fun outside. But they didn’t know that he was forced to flee for his life helplessly.

It was hard to imagine how much grievances and pain Zhong Wenjin carried in his heart.

Zhong Wenjin was a man who was able to support both heaven and earth11. In his previous life, he never waded in mud and water12 when he led the army and fought the battle. Even if he was surrounded by the enemy and beaten black and blue, as long as he still had a breath, he could live resolutely, and there was never a time when he was weak.

But at this moment, Zhong Wenjin was still a young man, and he was already able to cover up the pain that was given to him by his close relatives in his heart without revealing even a bit and this really made Wen Chan admire him.

Zhong Wenjin wiped away the tears in his eyes. He looked up with red eyes and slightly begged Wen Chan, “Your Ninth Highness, you must help me. Xie Zhaoxue has been asking me to go back to the capital for the past two days and said that if I don’t return, I will be knocked out and sent back. Only you can speak up to help me stay……”

“Why don’t you just tell him the truth?”

“What can he do even if he gets to know about the Zhong family? When I escaped from the capital, my mother went back to the Xie family. So there should not be any danger for the time being. So as long as I don’t return to the capital, nothing will happen.” Zhong Wenjin paused briefly and added, “Moreover, Zhong Wenting came to Wuyue island. I’m afraid he’ll do something to Xie Zhaoxue……”

Wen Chan thought for a moment before realizing that Zhong Wenting was Zhong Wenjin’s older brother. He raised his eyebrows slightly, “He also came to Wuyue island?”

“En —” He said, “The emperor sent Liang Yanbei and Xie Zhaoxue to Wuyue Island to track down some clan. Among them, there was also Liang…… Was the tang ge13 of Liang Yanbei who came along with them. But his tang ge was delayed for two days because of something. So Liang Yanbei and the others left first.”

“Later, I found out that Zhong Wenting had found his tang ge, and the two of them got on the carriage out of the capital together. I met Young Lady Qiao while I was tracking them, so we came here together.”

The tang ge of Liang Yanbei that Zhong Wenjin spoke about what should be Liang Shuhong. Originally, he was still wondering how Liang Yanbei and Xie Zhaoxue appeared on Wuyue island. But now it may be assumed that they were actually sent here by his honorable Emperor Father.

It seemed that this Shengui Clan had also attracted the attention of the above.

“But I lost track of the two after I got to the island.” Zhong Wenjin said in frustration.

“Forget it. Don’t think too much about it. I’ll talk to Xie Zhaoxue tomorrow and let you stay.” Wen Chan let out a low sigh, sympathizing with Zhong Wenjin’s bitter experience, “As for that big brother of yours, you don’t need to worry about it either.”

Wen Chan’s hanging heart was finally put down a little.

Yeah, that’s right. Now that we are here, don’t think about going back. Ignore the rest and find a way to kill Zhong Wenting and break Zhong Guoyi’s arm first.

After listening to Wen Chan’s words, Zhong Wenjin felt a lot better in his heart. After taking a deep breath, he lay down, and just as he was about to close his eyes to sleep, a loud noise suddenly came from outside the door.

Some screamed while some cursed loudly. And it didn’t sound like a joyful buzz.

The two people in the room looked at each other. Anxious to see the excitement, they opened the door and walked out without wearing shoes and barefoot.