Feng Yu Jiu Tian - Volume 10 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

In the morning of the same day, the troops were ready.

Feng Ming knew that he had to travel through mountains and cliffs so he deliberately picked out a short coat on the outside, sky blue satin pants, a belt was tied tightly, revealing his beautiful slender waist. He wore a pair of sheepskin boots high up to his knees, making him appear even more slender in figure.

Rong Tian couldn’t divert his eyes away from Feng Ming.

They originally wanted all the female maids to stay behind on the ship and travel with Luo Deng since it would be safer that way for them. However, Chiu Xing and Chiu Yue were complaining and begging Feng Ming to take them with him.

As for Chiu Lan, she was also complaining that being a newlywed, Feng Ming and Rong Tian shouldn’t separate Rong Hu from her. If she were to be left behind on the ship then Rong Hu had to stay with her as well – causing Rong Hu to break into a cold sweat from behind her and he told Duke Ming not to listen to her.

CL: You told Duke Ming to not listen to who?

Chiu Lan turned around and stared fiercely at Rong Hu. Her stare caused Rong Hu to be even more fearful. The words he wanted to say suddenly had to be held back in, he obediently closed his mouth. (Well, we know who wears the pants in this relationship).

They all continued to cry in front of Feng Ming so he decided to transfer the decision making to Rong Tian, but he pushed back the responsibility to Feng Ming. Feng Ming decided that Chiu Lan will stay behind and he’ll leave Rong Hu with her. As for Chiu Xing and Chiu Yue – who were grinning – they will also stay behind to accompany Chiu Lan.

Just when this decision was made and the maids were drowning out Feng Ming with their tears, Zi Yan came to tell them that Lie Zhong Liu made a condition to them if he were to travel with them.

“What are the conditions?”

ZY: He said that he is used to enjoyment. Having to climb through mountains is very exhausting, if there are no beautiful women to come along, he will not come with us.

Zi Yan secretly glanced over at the maids who were crying their eyes out until they were red and swollen.

ZY: He wants Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing to come along with us.

Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing were surprised after hearing that.

FM: Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing absolutely hate him, they won’t agree...

CX: We Agree! We Agree! How can we not be willing? We admired Lie Zhong Liu the most! CY: As long as we’re not left behind that’s good enough.

Chiu Lan was frantic and begged Feng Ming for her to come along as well, convincing Duke Ming that she was his first maid who served him and that he shouldn’t leave her behind just because she got married and didn’t want her to serve him anymore.

As result, Feng Ming couldn’t win against the three maids and they all eventually went along on the trip.

True to what Lie Er said, after they left the ship, there were mountains and trees along the way.

With the eleven countries constantly fighting, it seems that almost every one of them recruited soldiers to protect their country; therefore, many villages only had elderly, women, and children.

Many of the fields and lands didn’t have enough manpower. The barren hills along the river banks of Aman River didn’t have anyone to look after anymore.

While walking through the mountains for two to three days, they would occasionally encounter other people hunting. Since the area was less populated, there were many rare wild animals in the forest. Rong Hu even personally hunted a leopard late at night. He peeled off the leopard’s skin and gifted it to Rong Tian, but Rong Tian awarded it to Chiu Lan instead.

Feng Ming had never experienced the wild with Rong Tian so he is extremely interested in everything he sees. Rong Tian was worried that Feng Ming might be scared of snakes, the muddy swamp or the cold forest dew, but Feng Ming was very open-minded stating that he always liked camping but never had an opportunity to do so.

After entering through the mountains, Lie Zhong Liu followed along with Zi Yan. Zi Yan’s responsibility was to clear the way and inquire about the situation in front of them. This work inadvertently became Lie Zhong Liu’s responsibility as well.

Zi Yan understood that Lie Zhong Liu is familiar with the terrain around the area so he often listened to his opinion. However, Lie Zhong Liu hasn’t officially declared his loyalty to Rong Tian, so Zi Yan was still a little worried. He would find time to discuss with Rong Hu, Lie Er, and they would quietly asked for Rong Tian’s opinion.

LE: This Lie Zhong Liu is very mysterious. If it weren’t for Your Majesty’s intellect in figuring out his identity, maybe we would just think that he was a freelancer mediocre painter. I’m just worried that if this person was sent here by our enemy, what will we do? If he isn’t then it’s fine, but right now we are in the middle of nowhere, deep within the forest, if he were to lead us to a dead end or a place of an enemy ambush, then that would be bad. Your Majesty, are we really going to follow his directions and go wherever he directs us to?

RT: Feng Ming had once said, if you don’t trust the person, then don’t use him. If you use the person, then trust him. I really want to see where he is planning on leading us.

Lie Er had no choice but to relay Rong Tian’s words to Zi Yan.

Lie Zhong Liu never noticed this little action of Lie Er and continued to lead the way with Zi Yan. He was very knowledgeable of the whole area, where there is river, where there is a shortcut, and even where there is dangerous slippery mud – all of them were pointed out without mistakes.

That night they rested around the campfire. During the lively conversation, Lie Zhong Liu jumped without warning and started laughing.

LZL: After a long hard day, it would be nice to eat some wild game.

He squeezed in the between Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing to sit down, prompting them to whine out, unfortunately they couldn’t kick him away.

Feng Ming knew he was the one who lead the way for them, glancing over at the grumpy twin sisters, he smiled and gave Lie Zhong Lie a toast.

Lie Zhong Liu looked at Feng Ming for quite awhile before smiling and shaking his head.

LZL: Duke Ming should never be too good to me, a beautiful person like you smiling like that can cause anyone to be seduced.

Everyone who saw him teasing Duke Ming all looked at each other. Did this guy have a death wish? Was Rong Tian invisible to him?

Rong Tian noticed that the crowd was uneasy, and so he took the cup from Feng Ming’s hand and drank it. He then looked at Lie Zhong Liu and kindly asked, “Can I ask you a question?”

LZL: Please go ahead.

Lie Zhong Liu, without noticing the tension in the air, was still absent-mindedly entertaining himself with the sisters on both his sides.

RT: I’d like to ask, who is the person you most admire in the world? “Absolutely not Xi Lei King,” Lie Zhong Liu replied casually.

Rong Tian was very accommodating to him, but he was not appreciative and bluntly showed disrespect in front of Rong Tian’s face. Everyone was very surprised.

However, Rong Tian was smiling as usual, he picked up a jug and poured a cup for himself. Playing with the jade cup filled with wine, he suddenly said, “Since it’s a long night, why don’t we play a game and guess who is the person Mister Lie admires most, shall we?”

ZY: Good! I’ll guess first. Um, the person that can stand on par against our Great King is only Rou Yan from Li Kingdom. Since the person you admire the most is not our Great King, then it must be Ruo Yan, right?

LZL: Wrong. (shook his head in disdain) Ruo Yan is a cruel ruler. He loves to use poison and he’s narrow-minded. What is there to admire about him?

CX: (grimaced at him) You’re so arrogant, perhaps the person you admire most is yourself.

LZL: Of course I admire myself, but I’m not the person I admire most. Hehe, Little Beauty, since you guessed wrong, give me a kiss and I’ll tell you the answer, okay?

CX: In your dreams!

Chiu Lan, who was sitting next to Rong Hu, thought for a bit.

CL: The person you admire the most is our Duke Ming. Duke Ming is kind, clever, everyone knows how amazing he is.

LZL: (laughing) Everyone knows how amazing Duke Ming is? He was imprisoned in Bo Jian, then was kidnapped by Ruo Yan, was lured to Dong Fan, causing Xi Lei King to hastily give chase back and forth. He can’t care for himself or be ambitious enough to seize the world, of course he’s really amazing.

Lie Er, who was constantly suspicious of him, could not bear it any longer after hearing his insolent laughter. He jumped up, “Outrageous! You bastard, you dare...”

“Lie Er!” Feng Ming suddenly opened his mouth and used his eyes to stop Lie Er from speaking further.

FM: It’s my turn to guess, right?

Lie Zhong Liu probably knew that what he said was a little too much. Seeing that Feng Ming’s demeanor remained unchanged and he was still pleasant, he felt troubled. He clapped his hand and said, “I’m listening carefully.”

Feng Ming’s face became serious.

Although he wasn’t sure to what point Lie Zhong Liu’s skill are, but he had much faith in Rong Tian’s ability of recognizing talented people. Only a promising monarch can distinguish a talent and put them to good use. Rong Tian’s patience with Lie Zhong Liu was very rare thing to see. Feng Ming really hoped that he can be of help for Rong Tian. But how can he help him?

FM: Judging from your looks, it seems that Mister Lie has traveled to many places. LZL: That’s right.

FM: Have you been to all eleven countries?

LZL: I have.

Feng Ming never looked at Lie Zhong Liu during the conversation, he only stared at the bonfire burning in front of him. His face revealed an expression of loneliness as he reminisced about the past. He whispered, “I’m not smart enough, so I can’t guess who is the person that Mister Lie admires most. However, do you want to know who is the person I admire the most?”

LZL: Then I’d like to ask Duke Ming, who is the person you admire the most? Feng Ming was silent, his face showed a deep despair.

“It’s Lu Dan.” Feng Ming sighed.

Rong Tian pulled his hand out and gently held on Feng Ming’s soft hands. Feng Ming also held onto Rong Tian’s hand in return.

“Lu Dan....” Lie Zhong Liu whispered as he sighed.

This man was slovenly, an unruly romantic, with only one sigh he exuded a sadness that made everyone very shocked.

LZL: Which Lu Dan is Duke Ming talking about?

FM: Is there...another Lu Dan?

It seemed as if this was the first time Lie Zhong Liu saw Feng Ming, his facial expression was very serious, examining Feng Ming carefully. Quite awhile later, a trace of bitterness escaped from his lips .

LZL: Lu Dan, Lu Dan, did you hear that? Besides myself, Lie Zhong Liu, there is also someone who remembers you. Everyone in the world sees you as a traitor who betrayed Dong Fan. You’re an idiot, you are an idiot!

In a maniacal laughter, tears rolled down his cheeks. He continued to laugh and cry hysterically as if all the suppressed pain he held inside can finally be vented and emptied out.

From the first moment, everyone only knew him to be a comical, greedy, pervert. They did not think that he also had painful emotions inside him...(that was quite shocking).

After a long laugh, he took his sleeve and wiped away his tears, he also poured himself a cup of wine.

LZL: Does Duke Ming still want to know who I admire the most?

Feng Ming nodded.

At this moment, everyone gave their attention to listen to Lie Zhong Liu’s answer.

LZL: (with a sly smile) The person I admire the most is you, Duke Ming.

Everyone thought he was joking around so they were frozen in place, even Feng Ming thought he was joking.

Didn’t he just tease Feng Ming for being a mouse – getting kidnapped by different people around him?

Lie Zhong Liu knew what everyone was thinking as he said, “A moment ago, I just said that Duke Ming usually gets kidnapped, but I didn’t say that I didn’t admire him.” He chuckled twice before abruptly continuing with a stern face, “Being kidnapped by different enemies many times and yet still return home unharmed. Within the eleven kingdoms, how many people can do that? In this world, besides Duke Ming, who can escape from the hands of Lu Dan? Before his death, who can make Lu Dan relay the responsibility of assisting Dong Fan King and Dong Fan’s future to him?”

He looked at Feng Ming, his bright black pupils, unfathomable. Feng Ming was shocked by his gaze that he was temporarily unable to move.

 
After voicing his opinion, Lie Zhong Liu left without saying a word and disappeared into the forest.

Everyone held their breaths until a moment later when Lie Er disrupted the silent atmosphere, “So who exactly is this Lie Zhong Liu?”

“Now I’m a bit worried.” Rong Hu’s face became serious. “If he is a friend of Lu Dan or even a relative, then he could easily harm us to get revenge for Lu Dan.”

RT: He will not.

Everyone’s puzzled eyes fell onto their Great King.

Rong Tian looked intensely at the direction where Lie Zhong Liu disappeared to and said, “Before Lu Dan died, he had used the rest of his years to exchange for Feng Ming’s health. This person will never let Feng Ming be harmed in any way.” He turned his head towards Feng Ming, “This person is here because of you.”

Rong Hu was still worried so he discreetly asked, “So we still need him to lead the way. Has Your Majesty truly decided to place complete trust in him?”

RT: Even though on the surface, this person is comical and greedy, he is not treacherous. If he wants to harm us, he will never use such despicable means. Continue to let him lead the way.

“Understood.”

The maids left to set up the sleeping area and Zi Yan and the rest continued patrolling the area, leaving Rong Tian and Feng Ming by the bonfire.

Rong Tian told Feng Ming to come closer and lean against him since the night will be cold. As Feng Ming obediently rested in Rong Tian’s arms, Rong Tian asked him why he suddenly brought up Lu Dan?

Feng Ming said he didn’t know why, but the presence of Lie Zhong Liu reminded him of Lu Dan. Rong Tian then asked why he admired Lu Dan.

FM: Because I think Lu Dan is amazing. He has the ability to assist Dong Fan King and is also the King’s best lover.

Rong Tian slowly stroked his hair.

Rong Tian’s slender fingers passed over his black hair and touched the soft skin on Feng Ming’s neck.

RT: Feng Ming, Lu Dan is not someone you should admire. He is not the King’s best lover. Feng Ming was curled up in Rong Tian’s embrace and did not make a sound.

Rong Tian gently stroked his back. FM: Then who should I admire instead? Feng Ming probed his head out to look at Rong Tian.

RT: You should admire yourself.

FM: Why?

RT: Because you are Xi Lei King’s best lover.

Feng Ming shook his head.

RT: Am I wrong?

FM: I should admire you...because you are Xi Lei Duke Ming’s best lover. He held out his hand to give Rong Tian a big hug.

FM: Why isn’t Lu Dan a good lover?

RT: Because even at the time of his death, he still didn’t know what Dong Fan King really wanted.

FM: I know what you want.

RT: You do?

FM: Yes.

RT: Then let me make sure if you really do know.

FM: That tickles, stop it, Rong Tian! Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing will come here once they place the mat...

RT: So what if they get to see a bit? They will eventually do this sooner or later with their lover. FM: Hey...oh...you...

RT: What?

FM: ...pervert.