Dear Brother, Your Chest Wrap Has Fallen Off - Chapter 15

Smoke curled upwards from inside the tent.

Each worshipper who offered incense money would receive a talisman from the monk.

She presented the bag of wool that Gulan had given her as offering for incense money, and conveyed the words she had prepared in advance to the monk after kowtowing a hundred times. Fortunately, the monk did not make things difficult for her, after reciting a Buddhist chant, he handed her the talisman.

Although this paper was respectfully known as a “talisman,” it had no magical aura whatsoever. The two palm-sized pieces of yellow paper had cinnabar lines that meander around, and it’s unknown whether it would actually help Old Ah Ji’s illness.

She took out a handkerchief, carefully wrapped the talisman in it, and tucked it into her clothes.

She drank the refreshing soup offered by the monks; when she turned around, Xue Lang was in a side room separated by a felt curtain. Although she couldn’t see anyone else, she could hear him discussing in a low voice with another person inside, occasionally uttering words like “Buddhist medicine” and “monk doctor.”

He seemed to have been watching her the whole time. As soon as she tiptoed past the felt cloth, he stopped talking, lifted the cloth, and glanced at her sideways, “Don’t think about running away. Come with me; just you.”

Jiarou could only have Third Young Master Bai wait aside and followed Xue Lang out of the felt tent, circling around to a secluded grassy slope. There were no other people there, only a few scattered soldiers stationed nearby.

The sun was high in the sky, and her slender figure seemed to disappear against his tall stature. A gentle breeze blew past him, carrying with it the chilling aura of raw iron from his black armor, forcing her to lower her head, her gaze falling on his left hand hanging by his side.

Her eyes fell on the area between his thumb and forefinger, where there were some faint, old scars along the edge, making the circle of teeth marks, which have already lost their scabs, appeared quite pink.

She was secretly pleased with herself.

She’s probably the only one in the entire world who had flirted with and even bitten the King of the Southwest, yet was still alive and well.

His cold, stern voice rang out above her head, containing only one word, “Speak.”

She turned her gaze away, took a step back, and instead of answering, asked, “Let me ask you first, have those three teachers left Qiuci?”

He didn’t want to get entangled with her any longer, and only said, “For now, no one is competing with you for the position of tutor. How long you can hold it depends on your own abilities.”

Upon hearing this, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Without waiting for him to ask again, she took the initiative to say, “Sister Cui has gone to the south. If you want to find her, go to the south to look for her.”

“South? Where in the south? Why is she going south?”

“She said, ‘In ancient times, Xu Fu carried a young boy and a young girl out to sea in search of immortal mountains. Now, there’s Fifth Miss Cui who chartered a ship at great expense to venture out to sea. She is going to find the elixir of immortality mentioned by Xu Fu in the ancient books. If she succeeds, she will remain as beautiful as a flower for a hundred years and her beauty will remain unchanged for a thousand years, making you mortals green with envy!'”

Xue Lang’s usually placid face cracked at this moment.

The elixir of immortality.

When was the last time I heard these words?

It was probably eight hundred years ago.

Nowadays, even Taoist priests in blue robes dared not indulge in such daydreams; they only seek to improve their health and strength through alchemy.

The eldest daughter of the late General Cui, the Grand Protector, was of marriageable age and went to sea to search for the elixir of immortality.

Xue Lang was stationed in the southwest year-round, and the total time he spent in Chang’an over the past few years was only a little over a month. His most direct understanding of Fifth Miss Cui was only from the time he presented the captives two years ago.

Nonetheless, he still felt that such an absurd thing as going to sea to find medicine was something Fifth Miss Cui would do.

“Whom did she travel with? Why didn’t you go with her?”

“She said that it is highly likely there’s only one elixir of immortality, and it’s inconvenient to share it with others, so it would be better for her to go alone. Later, we parted ways at the Mingde Gate in Chang’an. She went south and I went west, and I never heard from her again.”

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Xue Lang.

He fell silent, seemingly still deeply immersed in this absurdity and unable to come back to his senses.

She said seriously, “I’ve told you everything, big and small. Don’t bother me anymore in the future, annoying!”

She flicked her sleeve and was about to leave when he called after her, “I’ll ask you again. There’s something on her body near a certain spot. Tell me, what is it and where is it?”

“There’s a head near the neck,” she turned to look at him with a mocking expression, “What, you don’t have one?” Then she vanished in a flash.

A short while later, as the hour of Wei (1-3 PM) approached, the continuous sound of drums resounded across the grassland, signaling the start of the horse racing festival.

Hundreds and thousands of Qiuci people surrounded the arena, waiting for the most exciting moment to arrive.

There were now two more people at one end of the field.

One of them was in his fifties, with curly hair and a luxurious beard, his hair tied in a thick braid. The crown on his hair was inlaid with various jewels, and the belt around his robust waist was also made of gold and jade. Although he wore a smile, the arrogance of someone in a position of power was unmistakable.

This was the King of Qiuci.

The other person was tall and slender, with a composed expression. He was dressed only in a solemn black armor, with no other adornment except for the dark jade thumb ring on his thumb.

This was Xue Lang, the newly appointed Grand Protector of Anxi, who was twenty-three years old.

After five years, the King of Qiuci and the representative of Great Sheng’s power and prestige, the Grand Protector of Anxi, once again stood at the Qiuci horse racing festival to start this grand event together.

At this moment, a trestle of targets was erected a dozen or so feet away, and several Qiuci soldiers were already carrying a weapon rack full of bows, so that the two could choose the bows and arrows that suited them.

The surrounding area began to buzz with discussion.

“This General Xue is only in his early twenties, which is far too young. For Da Sheng to send such a young man is to seriously underestimate Qiuci.”

“After all, he was once revered as the King of the Southwest by the common people, so he must have some ability, right?”

“That’s not necessarily true. I’ve heard that General Xue often has ambiguous relationships with men and is highly favored by that person in the Chang’an Palace…”

The latter stopped speaking at this point, raising an eyebrow meaningfully, the unspoken message clear. Those around nodded in understanding, realizing the subtle power dynamics between the emperor and his ministers.

In a few words, the King of Qiuci took a few steps forward, drew his fifty-stone bow to its full draw, and released it. With a sharp whooshing sound through the air, the arrow struck the very center of the target in a single shot.

The Qiuci soldiers on the sidelines waved their flags wildly, and the cheers from the crowd were deafening and lasted for a long time.

The next arrow was to be shot by the Grand Protector of Anxi.

The person was not far away, so Third Young Master Bai had to lower his voice and ask Jiarou, “Master, who do you think will win?”

With the King of Qiuci already setting a high bar, if Xue Lang missed the mark, it would certainly damage the prestige of Great Sheng. But if he also hit the bullseye, it would also not be a good thing for a young man to be tied with a fifty-year-old man.

No matter how this move was executed, it could not be considered brilliant.

The King of Qiuci was truly cunning; by shooting the first arrow, he intended to give Xue Lang a display of strength and dampen his spirits.

At this moment, Xue Lang casually selected a thin, small bow and nocked an arrow onto the soft, slack bowstring.

The bright sunlight shone down from above, his profile was perfectly calm, only the dark jade thumb ring on his thumb, used for nocking arrows, gleamed with a cold light.

Jiarou couldn’t help clenching her fists. At this point, she naturally had to stand by her country and declared loudly, “Of course, Great Sheng will win!”

Xue Lang turned his head, his gaze piercing through the wall of people, lingering for a moment on her sun-blushed face, before instantly withdrawing it.

Drew the bow, nocked the arrow, and tightened the bowstring.

Suddenly, a cry of an eagle rang out overhead, startling the sky and stopping the clouds in its tracks. Then, a black dot, like lightning, swooped down and pounced straight at the horse on the ground.

“Look! That’s the king’s eagle!” Third Young Master exclaimed.

As soon as he shouted, Xue Lang released the arrow, which soared into the sky and suddenly struck the eagle.

The eagle fell like a rainstorm, arrowhead first, falling with great speed, striking the target in front of them with a “thud,” and remained there motionless.

Third Young Master Bai exclaimed, “Oh no! Missed the target and even killed the king’s most beloved eagle! Oh dear, oh dear…..”

An uproar erupted in the arena.

Xue Lang had already returned the bow, one hand behind his back, his expression gentle yet distant, as if he were completely unaware that this represented a covert contest between Great Sheng and Qiuci.

Jia Rou couldn’t help pressing her lips together.

With General Cui having died in battle here, it is highly unlikely that the monarch would send a mere figurehead to guard Qiuci. Moreover, the legendary King of the Southwest was a man of great military achievements and had never suffered a defeat.

But what exactly was Xue Lang doing at this moment?