Chapter Fourteen: No Invitation! Invitation!

  He stretched his waist comfortably and smiled at himself in the copper mirror, saying to himself: "Finally, I'm as elegant as ever. This half month is finally over, today no matter what I want to go out for a walk... First go to Hongxiu to find Xiaoding to chat, then go to the big camp to report, and then go to Yunque to have a hot pot, and finally take a hot bath!"

  "You're having an easy time."

  Mei Xiao Yao said with a somewhat dissatisfied tone, "You haven't gone out for fifteen days, and I haven't had a drink for fifteen days. Today you go out, first buy some pear blossom wine from Yun Ji and bring it back, then you can go wandering around."

  "Or... I'll have Guanjun send over a table of good dishes?"

  Fang Jie laughed and said: "Great difficulties do not die, meet the auspicious, say what to celebrate. Guest Victory's wine is not as good as Yun Ji's pear blossom wine, but it has not been mixed with water. Not to mention the wine, Guest Victory's braised lion head, squirrel fish, first-class tofu pot, and crystal elbow are all extremely colorful, just thinking about it makes me want to drool."

  "Alright, alright!"

  The big dog, Daigou Shangguo, wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and said: "For several days, I've been sneaking into the kitchen to steal leftover food. My mouth has become so bland that even birds wouldn't want to live in it. I reckon we'll be setting off for Chang'an soon, and if we don't eat a delicious meal at Keshengju first, we might not have another chance. Hurry up, don't make us wait anxiously."

  "I only drink pear blossom wine."

  Mo Xiao Yao said something softly, then turned her head and stopped talking. One of her slender white legs hung down from the beam, swaying gently, causing Fang Jie's gaze to follow it back and forth. To be honest, Fang Jie had never seen any woman's leg as beautiful as Mo Xiao Yao's, nor had he ever seen a woman's waist as slim as hers. Although he had already made his move on several beauties in Jin Yuan Fang, they couldn't compare to her absolute beauty.

  "I don't know if the Cloud Computing Dog Meat is still open."

  Fang Jie suddenly thought of Su Tuogou leaving Fan Gu that day, muttered a sentence and then thought of another thing.

  Su Tuogou walked at night, and by that time, Fan Gu had already closed the four gates. How did Su Tuogou get out of the city? Thinking of this, Fang Jie's heart moved. The city wall of Fan Gu City was more than two zhang high, and it would be impossible to get out unless one could fly. However, in this world where cultivation existed, no one had ever heard of someone actually flying. Su Xiaoyao's lightness skill was already impressive, and in Fang Jie's eyes, being able to jump onto the roof beam was enough to completely change his understanding from his past life.

  I don't know if I can see Su Tuzi again, but if I can... it's worth trying.

  He smiled to himself and sneered, "Fang Jie, you really think you can cultivate quickly and go crazy. Could it be that even a butcher like you can become a transcendent? If so, then there would be too many transcendents in this world. A worthless transcendent, is he still considered a transcendent? Not being able to cultivate has its own advantages, in the future if you can't get a job at the Martial Arts Institute, work hard and participate in the Imperial Examination, who knows, you might even pass. Life has different paths to take, why be so stubborn?"

  Having convinced himself, he stretched his body and stood up. In his heart, he asked himself again, is there a better way out besides cultivation? Yes! So do you still want to cultivate or not? Want! Extremely damn want!

  He was used to this boring idea, smiled and turned around to walk out the door. As he walked, he thought that at night, he should secretly take Li Gan, Qiu Xiaoshu, and Bai Bao from the military camp, and before leaving, they would have a big drink with their close comrades.

  Li Gan thought that although the guy was greedy, he always had the word "fate" on his lips. It's indeed fate that they could meet again in this life after two lifetimes. Worth getting drunk over.

  Just as he was thinking of going out, he suddenly felt his clothes tighten behind him, and his legs and feet floated up, not listening to orders. His body paused for a moment before flying back into the room. No mistake, it was flying, but it was the kind of flying that was thrown by someone grabbing him.

  "What's up?"

  Fang Jie looked at the waist that had thrown him back and asked, "Can't you stop treating me like a sandbag? Do you know how intimidating my current physique is? What if I crash into the wall and make a hole?"

  "We have to go now."

  Mei Xiao Yao glanced at Fang Jie Ye, her face unusually solemn: "Don't pack anything, just bring some silver notes that will suffice. You'd better disguise yourself, I've taught you before. Da Quan, determine which direction is the safest to head in, not a moment can be delayed... The city has entered high-level experts... four of them!"

  ……

  ……

  Military campsite

  Standing in front of Li Xiangzong were three law enforcement envoys from the Dalit Temple. Li Xiangzong could sense that these three people had extremely strong powers, and it was said that all three were high-ranking masters above the sixth rank. It seemed unlikely to be wrong. High-ranking masters of the fifth rank were already rare in the military, let alone suddenly seeing three who were above the sixth rank; Li Xiangzong's heart couldn't help but feel a bit unsteady.

  "General Li, we know your cultivation is not ordinary. It's said that you broke through the fifth rank of Mirror Shattering during your time at the Martial Arts Institute. These past few years, you've been entangled with worldly affairs, but it seems you've made considerable progress as well. These three individuals are law enforcement envoys from the Dali Temple, trusted subordinates under the command of Minister Houxun of the Ministry of War. Although they hold only sixth-rank official positions, their abilities... none of them can be said to be inferior to yours."

  Li Xiangzong knew what Wu Peisheng meant by this, and it was nothing more than forcing himself.

  "The list is already written, you can go and catch the people. I'm tired and will head back to rest first. Tonight at Guest Victory Hall, I'll host a welcoming dinner for several esteemed guests."

  "Then wait for General you to be defeated."

  "Wu Peisheng waved his hand and said, 'Mu Da, Mu Er, you two go capture that Fang Jie. Mu San... follow me to the A-team to make a round, starting with the leaders. Although their crimes have been established, we still need to interrogate them. Team leader, deputy team leader, squad leader, platoon leader, these people must be taken first, and every single one of them must sign and acknowledge.'"

  The three brothers of the Mu family nodded expressionlessly, with the eldest brother Mu Da and second brother Mu Er turning to leave without bringing a single follower. In this small city of Fan Gu, aside from General Li Xiangzong, it would be difficult to find another third-rank expert. The brothers were all sixth-rank in terms of actual strength, and sending two people was already an extraordinary favor for that person named Fang Jie.

  Muran followed Wu Peisheng closely, step by step.

  This person's gait looked quite strange, with a straight body like an unsheathed long sword, exuding a cold aura all over. Li Xiaozong subconsciously took a few more glances at this person, and couldn't help but remember his name in his heart. Although the name was likely just a pseudonym, and they might never meet again, this person's strength was enough to make him memorable.

  Sixth rank at the top, seems to have a subtle sign of breaking through to seventh rank.

  Reached seventh rank, already belongs to top-notch master.

  "Our family knows that among you three brothers, you're the youngest... but your skills are the highest. Can't you stop staring at the back of my neck? Even if you want to try out your sword on our family's neck, after all, I'm the chief eunuch of the imperial study, dare you take action?"

  Wu Peisheng, walking ahead, smiled somewhat complacently: "Even if your brother is a sixth-grade master, what's the big deal? It's still not as powerful as the name of 'Eunuch with a Pen'."

  His face changed color several times, but in the end he still didn't speak.

  "We know you three are not happy, if we weren't following you, you three would have been able to put more silver tickets in your own pockets on this trip. But since His Majesty has let us come, we can't bend the law... If you feel it's unfair, you can cut off that useless thing under your waist right now, and I'll go tell His Majesty, adding three sixth-rank officials in the palace is a good thing after all."

  "Useful!"

  Curtain three only coldly said two words, but made Wu Peisheng's face even whiter with anger.

  "If you find it useful, keep it!"

  He couldn't help but snort: "Does our family know how to be useful? Our family... has also had its time!"

  ……

  ……

  From noon onwards, the wind and snow grew stronger. The streets were empty of pedestrians, and it wasn't a market day, so even the red sleeve shops were closed. On such days, the girls in the building could finally get some rest. Close sisters gathered together, huddled around the stove playing cards, feeling quite at ease.

  Xiao Ding didn't like playing cards or drinking. Moreover, she looked down on those girls in the building, except for Xi Dajie and Xi Chuanxin. She thought that the women in this building were actually not decent. Although Hongxiu's place didn't receive guests or do flesh trade, just looking at those girls' flirtatious smiles made it clear that if Xi Dajie hadn't kept them under control, these people would spread their legs for money!

  So Xiao Ding was a bit bored and leaned against the window, staring blankly at the empty street.

  Just then, two dark shadows suddenly appeared at the end of the street, gradually becoming clearer. Xiaoding discovered that they were two strangers. Not grassland barbarians, but Han people. But these two people, Xiaoding had never seen them before. For some reason, looking at these two people made her feel even colder.

  She closed the window and shut out the wind and snow.

  When they walked to the entrance of Hong Zhou's house, Mu Da and Mu Er stopped at the same time, looked at the window where Xiao Ding was, Mu Da shook his head indicating that it wasn't worth making a fuss about, and the two people continued walking forward again.

  Behind the door of the house with the red sleeve, the old cripple leaning against the door panel drinking wine had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, muttering that he was still knowledgeable, and then continued to drink. It seemed that one more sip would make him drunk and unconscious, but he drank countless sips, still looking like he would fall over with just one touch.

  At the innermost part of the military school grounds, there was a row of wooden houses. That was where the commanders temporarily rested. Only during drills would officers above the rank of school lieutenant occasionally go in to lie down and take a break.

  In the wooden hut on the far left, a mournful howl suddenly came out. The sound was so mournful that even the thick dark clouds in the sky seemed to be startled.

  "Are you Li Dang?"

  Wu Peisheng smiled and looked at Li Gandang, then pointed to the person being punished in front of him and asked: "Tell me, what's this guy's name?"

  Kneeling on the ground and trembling with fear, Li Gan, who had already urinated in his pants, hastily replied: "Reporting to the Holy Envoy, his name is Qiu Xiaoshu, the captain of the Jiazi squad..."

  Wu Peisheng nodded and walked to Qiu Xiaoshu's side, saying warmly: "As long as you sign this confession, I guarantee that you won't die. How about it?"

  Qiu Xiaoshu's body trembled slightly, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes. But soon, this fear dissipated: "Jue Xiao is my brother... I cannot frame my brother..."

  "Well done! The Great Sui's border troops are all tough guys. Our family is truly happy for Your Majesty."

  Wu Peisheng clapped his hands and smiled, then coldly ordered: "Pull out ten of his fingernails. If he doesn't nod, pull out ten of his toenails. If he still doesn't comply... gouge out his eyes, cut off his ears and nose. If he still doesn't comply... then slice the flesh, piece by piece."

  The wailing sound rose again, and soon, Qiu Xiaoshu's hands and feet were all stripped of their nails. The executioner from the Temple of Justice had done this many times before, and he looked at the blood-soaked person without any expression. He held a short knife and walked in front of Qiu Xiaoshu, gesturing and turning back to ask: "Should I gouge out his left eye or right eye first?"

  Wu Peisheng sighed and walked to Qiu Xiaoshu's side, whispering: "Now, if you confess, your hands and feet can be saved. You just need to sign the confession, and nothing will happen. If you don't sign... your eyes will be gone, your ears and nose will also be gone... In the end, our family will have someone cut 3,600 knives on your body, guaranteeing that you won't die until the last knife is cut."

  Qiu Xiaoshu, who was breathing weakly, suddenly said something in a low voice, but Wu Peisheng didn't hear clearly and leaned in closer.

  "I'm not... a coward who's afraid of death... Fang Jie is... my brother, I won't betray him... He can, he can trust me with his back"

  "Kill him!"

  Wu Peisheng gave a cold command, and the executioner from the Dalisi Temple promptly and neatly cut off Qiu Xiaoshu's trachea with the short knife. His technique was pure and skilled, so he didn't hurt the artery, and not much blood spurted out.

  "Is Li Gan right?"

  Wu Peisheng squatted down beside Li Gan and asked: "Our family asks you, will you confess? Will you sign?"

  "I admit... I admit everything!"

  The team leader Li dared to knock his head with all his might, and in a short while, his forehead became bloody. Wu Peisheng stood up with a sinister smile, suddenly spat and scolded: "Bastard! You're so scared that you're trembling all over, are you worthy of being called a man?"