Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 46

The sound of fluttering wings echoed as a black-feathered bird landed on the window sill of the herb hut, tilting its head back to chirp a few times. Qin Zhao turned to glance over his shoulder, setting down a tea cup in front of Du Yue before walking over to retrieve the sealed letter.

Du Yue set aside the prescription he was holding, stepping over the herbs laid out on the floor to lean in and ask, "What does it say?"

"The senior brother has instructed us to investigate the stance of those ministers remaining in the court regarding the alliance with the Xiongnu through the cession of lands," Qin Zhao replied, folding the letter and putting it away.

"Do we even need to ask?" Du Yue said decisively. "We can't possibly give in!"

Qin Zhao looked at him and nodded, "That's also what the senior brother believes."

Du Yue paused, then quickly pieced together the true meaning behind Chu Mingyun's words in the letter. Sheepishly, he averted his gaze, bending down to tidy the herbs back into the box. Qin Zhao silently continued to help, his hands, defined by the knots of their joints from years of wielding swords and knives, sorted the herbs with practiced ease.

Du Yue held back, but eventually couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Qin Zhao, what do you think... what kind of person is Chu Mingyun, really?"

Without pausing in his task, Qin Zhao thought for a moment before counter-asking, "What do you think?"

"I think... I..." Du Yue scratched his head, "I've known Chu for many years, and I thought I understood him. But now, I feel like I don't know anymore."

"How so?" Qin Zhao inquired.

"It's just..." Du Yue let out a heavy sigh, pulled a stool over to sit down, and gritted his teeth as he relayed to Qin Zhao the incident of Chu Mingyun discarding the jade pendant, "Not to mention anything else, but my cousin gave him that jade out of good will, and he just threw it away! Back then, on Cangwu Mountain, I only thought his personality was asking for trouble, but having not seen him for years, seeing how ruthless he has become now, I really don't understand what he's thinking."

"The senior brother hasn't changed, he's always been like this," Qin Zhao said.

"Are you sure?" Du Yue looked skeptical.

"Back on the mountain, aside from the two masters, it was just the three of us. The senior brother had no guard up against us, so of course, you wouldn't notice," Qin Zhao explained as he also took a seat, "Since coming down from the mountain, no matter who the gift is from, if its purpose is unclear, the senior brother wouldn't hesitate to destroy it. Indeed, this has helped us avoid many disasters."

"Is that so..." Du Yue responded in a low, muffled voice, silent for a long while before he frowned and softly said, "What... what is Chu Mingyun's background, really?"

Qin Zhao shook his head.

"No way?" Du Yue was astonished, "You don't know either?!"

"The senior brother has never mentioned it to anyone," Qin Zhao said, "Besides, weren't you the one who has been on Cangwu Mountain the longest?"

"Yes, back then, Master Baili explicitly said he wasn't taking any disciples. But when I returned from visiting my family, I found Chu Mingyun had joined us. I asked Master what was going on, and all he said was that Chu was the child of an old friend of Master Baili." Du Yue suddenly stood up, slamming his hand on the table, "Right, when I first met Chu, I asked him about it, but do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He said he was actually a restless ghost, lingering because of his unresolved grievances, and that he hadn't fully passed on. He claimed the spiritual energy on Cangwu Mountain was abundant, and once his cultivation was complete, he'd start devouring humans!" Du Yue was incensed.