Hidden Shadow – CH 247

Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty-Seven: Keeping the Appointment

“But the problem is, will your enticement not put me in danger?” Mo Sigui said, hands clasped.

Chu Dingjiang raised an eyebrow. “Do you not think that person will come to kill you if we do not use this method? Do you not know how big a mess you’ve made?”

Seeing Mo Sigui about to retort, Chu Dingjiang interrupted him. “Do not use our Xiao Jiu as an excuse. With your ruthless nature, only caring about medicine, you only care about your own interest, not who the patient is! I do not need to cover for you this time.”

Having said that, how could Mo Sigui not understand? He hated owing favors, so he frowned.

“What do you want? You’d better make it clear first. I can owe money and my life, but I do not owe favors! If anyone owes anyone anything, it is someone else owing me.”

“Help me heal the scars on my face,” Chu Dingjiang said.

“Just that simple?” Mo Sigui did not believe it.

“Everyone is selfish. Someone else’s life might not be worth a hair on your head, let alone your face.” Chu Dingjiang had long understood Mo Sigui’s character. If he tried to coax him now, Mo Sigui would become suspicious. Instead, he would say something truthful and unpleasant to gain Mo Sigui’s trust.

Mo Sigui did not deny it. “Fine, since that’s what you think, I will gladly accept it.”

“How is Ah Jiu’s condition?” Chu Dingjiang asked.

“What kind of illness?” Mo Sigui raised his peach blossom eyes slightly and smiled. “She has more than one or two ailments.”

Chu Dingjiang said, “All of them.”

“Why should I tell you?” Mo Sigui had finally found Chu Dingjiang’s weakness and was not about to give up easily.

Chu Dingjiang smiled, quite nonchalantly, “I do not necessarily need to know right now.”

But Mo Sigui understood the subtext: he could not resort to force now because of their cooperative relationship, but things might change after this.

His face darkened slightly. He snorted and turned to leave, just as he saw Lou Xiaowu and An Jiu rushing over. Lou Xiaowu held a piece of paper in her hand. “Brother Mo, someone sent a message through an arrow.”

Mo Sigui stepped forward, took the paper, glanced at it, and then turned to hand it to Chu Dingjiang.

The letter demanded that Mo Sigui go alone to the appointed place, or else the medicine boy would be killed.

“Hmph! Do you think I am that easy to threaten?” Mo Sigui said angrily, his tone veiled. “I will take a whole group with me and see if he will even blink after killing someone!”

Chu Dingjiang used his inner force to shatter the letter, the paper scraps flying like snowflakes in the wind.

“Why are you not saying anything?” Mo Sigui asked him.

“My deal with you does not include the lives of others,” Chu Dingjiang said.

Mo Sigui remained silent.

The group returned to their respective tents. An Jiu, very enthusiastic about making firearms, went with Lou Xiaowu.

Chu Dingjiang initially planned to go too, but then remembered that Ling Ziyue might need to see him, so he returned to his main tent.

A short while later, Ling Ziyue indeed arrived.

“How is the brave warrior’s injury?” he asked.

Chu Dingjiang replied, “It’s nothing serious.”

After a few casual pleasantries, Ling Ziyue revealed his purpose: “Recently, someone secretly infiltrated the camp and abducted the Divine Physician’s apprentice and medicine chest. Does this mean this person can freely enter and leave the camp?”

“More or less.” Chu Dingjiang knew that the person might not truly be able to come and go as they pleased, but it was already a significant threat to the Song army; no wonder Ling Ziyue was anxious.

“For him, there are no secrets here anymore.” Ling Ziyue’s expression was grave. “The Liao army will likely soon find out that the Song army lacks blue-fire crossbows.”

Once the Liao army confirmed this, they would soon launch an even more ferocious attack.

This was something Chu Dingjiang had anticipated. “General, you should prepare accordingly.”

“What worries me is that the Liao army still has more than a dozen blue-fire crossbows.” Ling Ziyue clasped his hands in a deep salute. “Could I humbly request that you, for the sake of the people of the Song Dynasty, lend me a hand?”

Chu Dingjiang quietly accepted his salute but did not definitively say anything. “I will do my best.”

“Thank you very much!” Ling Ziyue cupped his hands, paused for a moment, and awkwardly coughed a few times. “I wonder… when will you be able to set off?”

He was referring to taking Lou Xiaowu into the enemy camp to dismantle the crossbows.

“If there are no unforeseen circumstances, we can take men to deal with the crossbows tomorrow evening,” Chu Dingjiang said.

The kidnappers’ letter stipulated a time of midnight tonight. Chu Dingjiang was used to giving himself some time to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Besides, he did not need to explain his whereabouts to anyone. His willingness to tell Ling Ziyue was a sign of respect for his heroic character.

“Your Excellency is very righteous,” Ling Ziyue stood up. “Then I will not disturb you any longer.”

Chu Dingjiang said, “General, please return to your main tent tonight. This is a military camp; it is already inappropriate for me to have taken over.”

Without waiting for Ling Ziyue’s reply, he vanished from the tent in a flash.

Ling Ziyue stood with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed in thought.

After a while, he strode to the desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a memorial, suggesting that a portion of the Konghe Army be incorporated into the military camp. Ling Ziyue knew very well that once this memorial was presented to the Emperor, the fragile trust between him and the Emperor would shatter instantly. However, he could not care less. He had experienced countless battles, large and small, and had stood on the brink of death countless times. Just surviving this long was a blessing. Since he had long since become indifferent to life and death, why bother hiding anything? The Emperor would not appreciate this sentiment; it was better to risk everything and do something concrete for his country and its people.

He completed the entire memorial in one go, reading it over and over again. After sealing it, he called for someone to deliver it to Bianjing.

Having done all this, Ling Ziyue picked up his brush and wrote a letter: My Lady…

After writing these two words, the brush paused in mid-air, ink dripping and spreading across the paper.

The Ling family had three generations of renowned generals. Ling Ziyue’s grandfather had been a valiant general under the Taizu Emperor, leading troops against the Liao Kingdom even in his late sixties. His father had been wounded by an arrow in a major battle against the Liao, and after returning, the wound festered, and he died.

Ling Ziyue joined the army at a young age and married at twenty. His wife was the daughter of a traveling merchant from the border region, without a distinguished family background. They enjoyed several years of loving companionship after their marriage.

Later, when Ling’s mother fell critically ill, Ling Ziyue took his wife and children back to Bianjing for her funeral. At the time, the court was short of military officers for the border defense. Therefore, after Ling’s mother’s death, the Emperor posthumously conferred the title of Founding General on Ling Ziyue’s deceased grandfather and the title of Guardian General on his deceased father. Ling Ziyue was appointed General and sent to lead troops to the border, while his wife and children were detained in Bianjing to observe mourning for the Founding General, Guardian General, and their wives.

This mourning lasted for many years.

Ling Ziyue felt deeply sorry for his wife and children, owing them too much and wanting to say too much. How could a mere piece of paper contain it all?

“My Lady, I am well now…”

He still wrote a letter home as usual, only this time it was longer. He thought that even if his own life was hanging by a thread, he had to do his best to ensure the safety of his wife and children. If he could not, he could only repay all his debts in the next life. There was no need to exaggerate and make them anxious now.

The moon was high in the sky.

Torchlights were lit in the camp.

Mo Sigui and the others left the camp together, heading towards the location agreed upon in the letter.

As they sped along, An Jiu, filled with doubt, glanced at Chu Dingjiang, only to see a smile in his eyes.

“Did Mo Sigui not say he did not care about the life or death of the medicine boy?” An Jiu asked in a low voice.

“Saying one thing and meaning another,” Chu Dingjiang did not deliberately avoid the subject. “You can tell from his feelings for Lou Mingyue. His apparent indifference is actually a sign of deep affection. In the end, he’s the only one suffering. Lou Mingyue is determined to go down this path to the bitter end, unlike him, who is in such a difficult position.”

These words struck Mo Sigui like a thunderbolt, a wake-up call.

The most agonizing thing in life was the agonizing decision-making process at a crossroads. Having chosen one path, you always wonder which one would have been better.

To be able to stick to one path to the end requires not only courage but also talent.

Mo Sigui was far inferior to Lou Mingyue in this regard.

“Ah Jiu, I will go with Mo Sigui. You hide in the shadows and wait for my signal to attack,” Chu Dingjiang instructed. “If I draw my sword, you can seize the opportunity to fire your arrow.”

An Jiu thought he was shrewd and naturally had no objection to his arrangement.

When they were almost at their destination, An Jiu and the others parted ways, finding a high point nearby for cover.

There was a gentle slope here, which could block part of the view and provided many escape routes.

The wind rustled through the waist-high grass, making the wilderness seem even more silent.

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, something seemed to move across the grass. Chu Dingjiang and Mo Sigui could only see the grass shaking violently, as if a wild beast was among them.

An Jiu, who was lying in ambush on high ground, could clearly see that it was a person.