Book 2: Chapter 14: I Advised Bai Feng To Kill You
After conducting another round of critique and instruction to Little Huang, I checked out the pleasure boat by the river bank before returning to my housing.
I was surprised to see that there wasn’t anybody at all near the pleasure boat. It was desolate and deserted by the river bank. With the exception of a few couples flirting on the grass by the river bank, it was basically empty. Bored to death, I strolled around the river bank. After a round of strolling, I very quickly found a familiar figure——
It was yesterday’s singer, sitting on the lawn and gazing at the river water.
I didn’t know whether or not it was because he didn’t sing today, but he didn’t have a smile on his face. As I was walking over to him, I discovered that there was another man sitting by his side.
The man seemed about 20 years-old with a snow-white cape draped over his shoulders, looking a bit like a navy admiral. Unlike the singer, he wore an amiable and cultured smiling expression. From how they were just sitting there together, it seemed that their conversation had already ended. I considered not going over and disturbing them upon seeing that the atmosphere between them appeared a little strange.
I didn’t expect that just as I was preparing to turn around, the man sitting by the singer’s side looked up and looked into my eyes. He looked distracted for a second, then waved at me with a smile.
I frowned and thought for a bit, but nobody like him was in my memories.
But out of courtesy, I still walked over and greeted him.
The man chuckled and wrapped the coat around his shoulders a bit tighter as he said to me:
“You came for Moon?”
“Moon?”
I repeated the name once. Seeing the singer look up at me, I replied:
“Aah. Yes.”
The man grinned:
“Then I won’t disturb you two. Moon, I’ll be going.”
The singer looked over at him, saying:
“I won’t be sending you off.”
The man nodded towards me, then turned to leave without looking back.
I glanced at him weirdly, then sat by Moon’s side.
Moon said with a smile:
“Weren’t you the one who gave me gold coins last time? Many thanks.”
I shook my head:
“It’s nothing, this is something you should thank me for.”
Moon froze in place for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.
I grinned:
“10,000 gold coins. How much have you saved up?”
“Only 100.”
“How long did it take?”
“Three years.”
I calculated how long it would take in my mind and found out that it wouldn’t take too long; it would only take 300 years.
No……people normally don’t live to 300 years-old.
I straightforwardly asked:
“I heard you used to do reform before?”
Moon forced a smile:
“Let’s not talk about it.”
He looked towards the river water with melancholic eyes, his hands within his long sleeves, his thin body curled up, his arms wrapped around his knees, the wind softly blowing on his waist-long black hair. Moon creased his lovely eyebrows, then softly said:
“Tian Cheng……won’t last more than 3 years.”
I inquired:
“You still wish to return?”
He answered:
“I just miss it.”
I questioned:
“Have you heard of West-Resisting City?”
He raised an eyebrow and shot back:
“You’re someone from West-Resisting City?”
I nodded.
Then, I asked:
“Regarding the state of West-Resisting City, do you have any suggestions?”
Moon pondered for a bit, then turned his head to look at me as he replied with a somber tone:
“First take over 10 cities from Zhao Chen, then swallow Yunyang. Before everyone starts pointing fingers at West-Resisting City, it is necessary to seize Yunyang so as not to be too passive. West-Resisting City is too remote. A savage wildlands, it’s not something that will be changed even if it was cultivated for 100 years. The northern nomads live and grow on the grasslands, so it is impossible for them to ever develop any advanced agricultural culture. Similarly, if West-Resisting City is alone, its upper limit is far from enough.”
He picked up a branch and started drawing on the soil in front of himself.
“Zhao Chen and West-Resisting City’s border is that little noble son Fang Lita’s territory. This person is strong in appearance but weak in reality and has an extremely suspicious and jealous heart. However, the one assisting him is Zhao Chen’s thirteenth daughter. That woman is known as the most genius strategist in the entire southwest in recent years, with her command of soldiers reaching perfection. If West-Resisting City is able to drive a wedge between these two people, then it will be very easy to swallow 10 cities from Zhao Chen. Soon after swallowing the cities, the war should turn eastwards with the troops split into two groups as they enter Yunyang and seize Lingyun City. At that point, the battle will be considered initially finished.”
I nodded and commented:
“Not bad. I was also thinking along these lines.”
Actually, I simply hadn’t thought at all.
But I felt that his words seemed to make sense.
Moon shook his head:
“But it’s too late.”
He turned to me with a complex look in his eyes:
“You’re Li De?”
I nodded.
He let out a sigh:
“The one who was just with me is Yun Hai’s Bai Feng.”
I raised an eyebrow:
“Oh?”
He probed:
“Are you not curious as to what advice I gave to Bai Feng?”
I implored:
“What was it?”
He looked me straight in the eyes and enunciated word for word:
“To. Kill. You!”
He shook his head again as he explained with a lowered voice:
“Yun Hai’s environment is filled with danger. But the biggest danger of them all is you. You are bound to become one of the people that he, Bai Feng, will have to fight against in the battle for ownership of Eternal Heaven State! ……Therefore, when he and I were discussing the current state of affairs of the land, I advised him to kill you; only if you died in Yun Hai would Bai Feng be able to truly vie for supremacy after inheriting Yun Hai. If not, West-Resisting City would forever be a thorn in his side.”
“Ah, so it was like this.”
I crossed my arms and imitated Little Huang’s manner of sitting cross-legged, then started swaying my head side to side. After pondering for a while, I asked:
“I say, Moon, are you interested in coming to West-Resisting City?” 1
- Technically, this line can also mean “I say, Moon, are you interested in managing West-Resisting City?”