嫩草影院地址一二三

Chapter 417: 417. I will find the opportunity to take action myself

“You go first, we still have some matters to arrange, and will catch up later,” Su Liang said.

Yan Shijiu was taken aback, “Are both Divine Doctor Su and Marquis going?” Though Gu Ling was now the Regent King, many people still referred to him as the Marquis out of habit, as his regency was hardly noticeable.

Su Liang sighed softly, “The child is still young, neither of us wants to be separated from her, so let’s go together. We had also planned to return to Su Family Village this year, so this will just speed up the trip.”

Yan Shijiu’s expression was one of gratitude, “Thank you, Divine Doctor Su!”

“That being said, you should return first and tell Yan Shiba to hang on. We will be arriving shortly,” Su Liang said.

“Alright,” Yan Shijiu nodded, “Then I will take my leave now!”

“I forgot to write replies for Little Tiger and Zhuzi.” Su Liang frowned, “Never mind, time is of the essence, we’re going over anyway.”

And so, Yan Shijiu left the Su Mansion first.

When Su Liang told him that she and Gu Ling would take Gu Xiaonuan to Su Family Village together, she didn’t really mean it. It was true that neither of them wanted to leave their child, but Gu Ling also didn’t want to bring the child along on their journey – it would be too much of a hassle. Since there was business to attend to, it was pragmatic to get it sorted out as quickly as possible and return.

Gu Ling would go, leaving Su Liang behind. First, their daughter needed her mother more. Second, Gu Ling was skilled in martial arts. Third, he had essentially mastered the medical skills that Su Liang possessed, so saving people would not be a problem.

But letting Gu Ling go alone made Su Liang uneasy. She wanted at least one more person to accompany him. Among those in the mansion, only Qiao Cong and his grandson, Qiao Jing, had high martial arts skills and wouldn’t be a hindrance.

Considering Qiao Cong was elderly and had just managed to return home, Su Liang called for Qiao Jing, asking him to accompany Gu Ling on the trip.

Qiao Jing agreed without even asking what the matter was. Ji Yuebai had been crowned king, but Qiao Jing had not. Because he had already severed ties with the Situ Family of Liang Country, he was essentially a military commander of Qian Country. However, in times of peace, military commanders were not as busy, and he was on leave.

Upon learning that the matter related to Yan Shiba, Qiao Jing wasn’t surprised. He had known for a long time that Yan Shiba and Su Liang were closely connected. When Qiao Cong and Qiao Jing were in Xuanbei City, they had heard Su Liang give several instructions to inquire from Little Monk Cheng Yun at Ping’an Temple whether he had seen Yan Shiba.

“Although it seems safe for now, we must always be vigilant,” Qiao Jing stated, advocating caution. Yan Shijiu’s severed arm served as evidence of the previous calamity he mentioned, but it was not clear if it was caused by a different reason or was part of some intricate plot.

Yan Shijiu claimed that Yan Shiqi had colluded with a group of top-notch masters to plan another attack on Yan Shiba. According to the timeline described by Yan Shijiu, it was possible that these people were from Xingluo Island.

“If only I knew medical skills, then I could go alone and you wouldn’t have to split up,” Qiao Jing blurted out, and then realized how awkward his statement sounded, as if indeed stating the obvious.

Qiao Cong had no objections to Qiao Jing leaving with Gu Ling on a mission. He had complete faith in Gu Ling’s abilities. He knew that Qiao Jing would be safe with him, and besides, their mission was a secret. It was unlike before when everyone knew where Qiao Jing was, making him an easy target for assassins.

“You both should go and return quickly. There’s no need to worry about home, I will manage it well,” Qiao Cong said.

Gu Ling had already said goodbye to Su Liang, had given his daughter a hug and a kiss. Gu Xiaonuan, oblivious to the fact that Gu Ling was leaving on a long trip, kept smiling gleefully. Meanwhile, Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu, the two little ones, clung to him reluctantly.

“Master, have a safe journey. Go quickly and return quickly,” Zhengzheng said with a serious expression on his little face.

Ji Xiaoshu held onto Gu Ling’s leg, “Master, you must miss me!”

“I won’t,” Gu Ling assured.

Ji Xiaoshu huffed, “If Master comes back late, baby sister will call me brother first! Ha, ha!”

Gu Ling’s face darkened slightly, indeed this was a valid threat. He almost forgot that his daughter would soon start talking, and he wouldn’t be home then. Thinking about it, he was very tempted to either stay or take Gu Xiaonuan with him.

“Junior brother, stop making nonsense! Our sister will definitely first call ‘mom’, then ‘dad’, and then ‘brother’!” Zhengzheng is a thoughtful and obedient child.

Ji Xiaoshu blinked, “But master is not at home, who is our sister going to call ‘dad’?”

Su Liang knocked on Ji Xiaoshu’s forehead, “Your master already feels bad about going out, don’t make it worse.”

Ji Xiaoshu immediately behaved, “Master, I’m sorry, I was joking. Brother and I will definitely protect our sister, and before master returns, we will only let her learn to call ‘mom’! We won’t even let her call ‘brother’!”

Zhengzheng nodded hurriedly, “Right!”

Gu Ling simply didn’t want to be separated from Su Liang and the children. But when problems arise, they need to be resolved as soon as possible.

After Gu Ling left, Qiao Cong stayed in Yuanming Pavilion with two little disciples, responsible for teaching them martial arts. However, many times, Qiao Cong wanted to be strict but was always disrupted by naughty Ji Xiaoshu.

Su Liang rarely went out anymore, apart from looking after the children, she mostly stayed at home reading, messing with herbs, and tending to the orchard.

Since she and Gu Ling got married, went through separation and reunion, they have never been apart. From the time she transported to this side, Gu Ling was omnipresent in her life. When Gu Ling was gone, Su Liang felt a little out of place, and during the initial two nights, she didn’t sleep well, always worrying about not hearing the baby’s cry, as Gu Ling used to take care of everything at night including comforting the children and changing diapers. Even for night feeds, Su Liang didn’t need to get up.

Gu Xiaonuan didn’t notice anything wrong during the day, but obviously started looking for Gu Ling at night, sometimes Su Liang couldn’t calm her down when she cried. After several days, it slowly got a little better.

However, this made Su Liang worry if Gu Xiaonuan would forget about Gu Ling, and by then Gu Ling would surely be heartbroken upon his return.

Therefore, Su Liang carefully drew a portrait of Gu Ling and hung it over Gu Xiaonuan’s cradle for her to see every day.

Regarding this, Ji Xiaoshu expressed his sigh: We are really breaking our hearts for our master!

Upon learning about Gu Ling’s departure, Duanmu Chen asked Su Liang about the cause, didn’t say much, only reminded her to be careful in daily life, in case Yan Shijiu and Xingluo Island were in collusion, this would be a strategy to lure the enemy away.

Su Liang knew, Gu Ling also knew, but some things had to be done.

Gu Ling and Qiao Jing are cousins, but their relationship has never been very close. Initially, Qiao Jing was friends with Su Liang, due to some reasons, he was once very jealous of Gu Ling, not only because of Su Liang. But looking back now, he finds his past jealousy childish and ridiculous.

Neither of them are talkative like Lian Shun, so they didn’t make small talk on the way, which resulted in hardly any conversation except for necessary brief exchanges.

Qiao Jing knew that Gu Ling must be feeling bad about leaving Su Liang and the kids, and his only thoughts were to get the task done as fast as possible, he was wholly accommodating to Gu Ling’s pace of travel, when to rest, including meals and water breaks, he completely followed Gu Ling’s arrangements.

As such, the two of them traveled day and night, with only a brief rest each day, they arrived at Bei’an County in the shortest possible time, five days after leaving the capital city.

By the time they reached Feiyan Town, it was already dark, there were very few pedestrians on the road, and many shops had closed. Qiao Jing hadn’t eaten all day, he was famished, he thought that Gu Ling would head straight to Su’s village without stopping, but to his surprise Gu Ling stopped at Luoyan Restaurant and went inside.

Qiao Jing followed him, there were still some customers in the restaurant, they glanced at them and quickly shifted their gaze away.

Gu Ling ordered some of the restaurant’s signature dishes and a pot of wine.

The manager was still the same. Hearing how familiar Gu Ling was with ordering, he asked with a smile if he had been here before.

Gu Ling nodded, “Does the manager know whether Hu Er is in town?”

At the mention of Hu Er, the manager’s face changed. Nowadays, Hu Er was a famous businessman in Bei’an County, his business was considerable, and he had completely shed his former bully image, often performing acts of charity, earning the reputation of being a benevolent figure within tens of miles.

Hu Er was a regular patron at the Luoyan Restaurant, having entertained many business friends there. The manager, observing Gu Ling’s demeanor, speculated that he had been invited by Hu Er to dine there and was definitely no ordinary person. So he called a waiter and asked him to find out if Hu Er was in town.

The waiter returned in a quarter of an hour, reporting that Hu Er was indeed in town. Hu Er was returning from out of town, just in time for the banquet his grandfather, the head of the Hu family, was about to host in their old house.

Gu Ling rewarded the waiter with a piece of broken silver, saying nothing further. After finishing his meal with Qiao Jing, he settled the bill and left.

“Is Hu Er a friend of yours?” Qiao Jing asked.

Gu Ling nodded. Su Liang had once asked Hu Er to take care of the people in Su’s village. Gu Ling was inquiring about his whereabouts to confirm his recent presence in town. If he just returned from out of town, he probably didn’t know that Yan Shiba moved into the Su’s village, so there was no need to find him.

“I have a suggestion.” Qiao Jing pulled Gu Ling into a quiet alley.

Gu Ling frowned, “Go ahead.”

“Our physiques are similar,” Qiao Jing took a look at Gu Ling. Originally, he was more robust than Gu Ling, but after two years of constant activities that had made him lose quite a bit of weight. He proposed, “I’d like to suggest a deception. I could pretend to be you in public while you work in the shadows. This could provide greater security.”

Seeing that Gu Ling was silent, Qiao Jing explained, “If I get into trouble, I trust you will find a way to save me. But if you encounter trouble, I might not be able to save you.” He now clearly realized — in every aspect other than martial arts, he paled compared to Gu Ling. Even in martial arts, he was not as good as Gu Ling, but this was the only area in which they could compare.

This idea came to Qiao Jing midway. He felt he should discuss it — his explanation was factual, but also a manipulation, fearing that Gu Ling might not agree.

To be honest, Qiao Jing felt Su Liang and Gu Xiaonuan needed Gu Ling and he couldn’t get into trouble. As for himself, he didn’t have much to worry about, his grandfather and sister were both doing well, and he was also still unmarried. Regardless, based on past events, he felt he owed something to Gu Ling and Su Liang.

Gu Ling spoke, “You don’t have medical skills.”

Qiao Jing had already considered this, “I can fake some phrases, then say that I need to prepare something, which then allows you to act secretly.”

After thinking for a while, Gu Ling nodded, “Sounds good.” This was the more rational method.

Thus, when the two of them departed for Su’s Village once more, they had already exchanged clothes, with Qiao Jing disguised as Gu Ling and Gu Ling disguised as him.

Late into the night, the small village was quiet and peaceful. Compared to Gu Ling’s last departure, there were a few newly built bridges over the small river, and the houses of many people were somewhat larger than before.

The first house that Su Liang and Gu Ling had stayed in was located by the river, it remained unchanged.

Qiao Jing had been here before. He crossed the bridge alone, and as soon as he passed the courtyard wall, a shadow appeared from a short distance, “Who is it?”

“Me.” Qiao Jing mimicked Gu Ling’s voice. It wasn’t too difficult because Gu Ling seldom spoke, so he also tried to keep it brief.

“Marquis Gu?” Yan Shijiu came over and looked behind Qiao Jing, “Did Divine Doctor Su not come?”

“It’s inconvenient with the child.” Qiao Jing replied calmly, “Where is Yan Shiba?”

“Over here.” Yan Shijiu lead Qiao Jing towards a room quickly. It wasn’t the original dwelling of Gu Ling and Su Liang, but the small corner room where Yan Shiba used to live, originally it was the firewood room.

Yan Shijiu opened the door, a light was turned on in the room, the bed curtain was drawn, and it was very quiet.

Qiao Jing was cautious; he quietly scanned the surroundings but found no lurking figures.

Yan Shijiu lifted the bed curtain, revealing a woman with a pale face lying there with her eyes closed.

“I arrived last night, and she has been unconscious.” Yan Shijiu sighed deeply, “Marquis Gu, please examine her quickly.”

“Em.” Qiao Jing nodded and approached, “You go find some food.”

Yan Shijiu hesitated for a moment, “Alright, I’ll be right back!” After saying that, he turned and left, even closing the door behind him.

Qiao Jing looked at the woman on the bed, pondering whether they were overthinking things. So far, he hadn’t detected anything unusual.

Qiao Jing, not knowing any medical skills, only checked Yan Shiba’s breathing to confirm she was alive. He took a thorough look around the room, it was very clean but with not much furniture.

Gu Ling didn’t show up, and Qiao Jing didn’t look for him, guessing that he was probably keeping an eye on Yan Shijiu.

Yan Shijiu returned soon, bringing two steamed buns, “This was made by Neighbor Bai. Marquis, please make do as you see fit.”

Qiao Jing accepted it. It was cold, but he didn’t mind, he ate one and then told Yan Shijiu, “I’ve checked her condition, I need to prepare some medicine; I’ll go to the county town in a while for the ingredients.”

Yan Shijiu looked grateful, “Thank you, Marquis Gu, I appreciate your efforts!”

Qiao Jing finished both steamed buns, drank a glass of water and then left. After leaving the village and making sure no one was following, he waited in the forest they had agreed upon for a while before Gu Ling appeared.

“How is it?” Qiao Jing asked.

Gu Ling shook his head, “I didn’t see anyone else.” He had confirmed that other than Yan Shiba and Yan Shijiu, there were no other people hiding. Also, he had checked after Qiao Jing left. It was indeed Yan Shiba who was seriously ill but still alive.

“I ate the buns Yan Shijiu gave me.” Qiao Jing suddenly frowned, “What if he poisoned them… I was really not careful enough.”

Gu Ling looked at Qiao Jing with cold eyes.

Qiao Jing lightly coughed, “What should we do next? Do you need to find some herbs?”

“Mm.” With that, Gu Ling disappeared. Since it was really Yan Shiba, he would have to save her.

Qiao Jing found a place to rest in the forest, waiting for Gu Ling to return.

At Su Liang’s house.

Yan Shijiu stood by the backyard wall, knocking his fingers against it rhythmically. After a moment, someone responded.

“Master, Gu Ling has arrived, alone.” Yan Shijiu lowered his voice.

A low but youthful male voice came from beyond the wall, “Su Liang has to take care of the child; it’s not convenient for him to come. Gu Ling’s medical skills are not inferior to Su Liang’s.”

“What should we do next?” Yan Shijiu asked.

“You don’t have to do anything, and don’t communicate with me either, so as not to arouse Gu Ling’s suspicion.” The man’s voice was light, “I will find an opportunity to act.”