Transmigration: Of Mysteries and Songs

Chapter 156 Green Vines: Lu Buping

Lu Buping liked to tease people. However, Situ was like a piece of ice and remained expressionless throughout the whole journey. There was no fun in teasing him. Hence, he changed his target and started teasing Feng Luodi who seemed more lively. However, before he could say more than two sentences, he felt a sharp gaze on him and Lu Buping looked at Situ helplessly. He couldn’t even tease the person who could be teased.

Lu Buping decided to leave the moment he proved his innocence. However, after arriving at the yamen, he realised that he should not be doing this. He was a person who loved his freedom. How could he run to the yamen obediently just because Situ told him that he was a suspect? If his leader knew about this, he would be dead.

Situ returned to the yamen in a bad mood. The moment he entered, he was informed by Governor Tian that the First Prince had gone to the nearest city to get more information and to appease the civilians. He left Situ in-charge of finding the murderer. Feng Luodi stopped herself from smiling. She did not expect for the mature First Prince to be an impatient person, immediately doing things that he thought of.

Situ nodded at Governor Tian and noticed Two nodding at him from the corner of the room. He knew that there were Covert Guards protecting the First Prince and felt at ease.

Governor Tian finished his conversation with Situ and shifted his gaze towards Lu Buping. Lu Buping was holding a knife and looking about the room. Governor Tian smiled politely and asked, “Your Highness, who is this?”

Lu Buping looked at the cunning-looking governor and wanted to introduce himself. Feng Luodi stopped him.

“Governor Tian, he is someone from the jianghu and came to find Situ out of respect for him. Can we use your antechamber to discuss some things with him?”

The moment he heard that this was related to Situ, the smile on the governor’s face got brightened and he nodded his head fervently, “Of course, let me guide you there.

Lu Buping drooped his eyes and looked at Feng Luodi angrily. He whispered, “You gotta be joking; who respects that ‘Ice Mountain’?”

Situ followed Governor Tian, unfazed. Feng Luodi begged Lu Buping using her hand signals and then mouthed the word ‘plan’ with her mouth. Lu Buping finally relented and walked forward. When he was walking, he realised that Situ glanced at him. His hairs stood on ends after the look and promised himself that he would leave the yamen as soon as he could.

When they reached the antechamber, Feng Luodi followed the plan and sat beside Situ. She looked at Lu Buping. Governor Tian sat puzzled, throwing side glances at Lu Buping.

Feng Luodi pretended to ask casually, “Governor, since you think that Lu Buping from the Demonic Sect is suspicious, have you seen him before?

Governor Tian never thought that a lady would have the rights to talk about a case. However, Situ gave a look of approval. He thought about the fact that Situ’s rank was higher than him and his expression became humble.

“Although Lu Buping’s is very suspicious, I have not seen him before.”

This was a different attitude from before. The last time, he swore to the First Prince that Lu Buping was the prime suspect. Feng Luodi took a peek at Situ and felt relieved. She continued asking Governor Tian, “If that is the case, you would not know what sword he uses, right?”

Lu Buping raised his eyebrows at the sentence. There was delight in his eyes. Governor Tian replied without hesitation, “The ‘Frigid Moon Blade’ that Lu Buping uses is a knife. The wounds on the corpse were all caused by knives.”

Governor Tian had an awkward expression when he said this.

Feng Luodi pretended to ignore his expression and continued questioning “You seem to be contradicting yourself. You didn’t meet Lu Buping before but you know that he uses and weapon and is certain that the weapon was a knife. Isn’t that why you’d suspected him as the assassin?. If that is the case, I can just suspect anyone from the jianghu as long as he uses a knife?”

Governor Tian waved his hands anxiously. “The county magistrates were killed very quickly and accurately. The person that killed him must be very powerful.”

Feng Luodi nodded her head indifferently. “Oh, then we can add one more point. A person from the jianghu who is powerful and uses a knife.

“For example, someone like me.” Lu Buping took out his Frigid Moon Blade smoothly. Anywhere the blade touched, there would be a coldness, just like the moonlight, deadly but beautiful.”

Governor Tian’s face turned pale. However, he recovered his smile quickly. “What do you mean?”

Lu Buping knew what Feng Luodi was trying to do and gave the governor an evil smile. “I am sorry. I am Lu Buping.”

In that instant, the expression on Governor Tian’s face was exciting to watch. After a long while, he looked at Situ and the humbleness on his face was gone.

“Duke of Anping, what is the meaning of this?” There was a coldness in his voice.

Situ took a cup of tea and blew gently to cool it down. His actions looked as though they came out of a painting but his aura was cold and vicious. In the bright antechamber, it was contradictory.

“Since the First Prince passed the investigation to me, you must do your best to cooperate.” Situ looked at Governor Tian with his dark eyes and slowly spoke his words. “Please tell me truthfully why you suspected him.”

Feng Luodi immediately continued. She clapped her hands and said, “Situ, have the people that you send to Ding Tao city returned?”

Situ raised his cup to cover his smile. “We made an appointment to meet tonight.”

Lu Buping’s smile deepened. He shook his head slightly. These two worked well with each other. As an outsider, he should not disturb them.

Governor Tian’s expression changed again. His thoughts were in a mess and finally, he said in a hoarse voice, “I got to know of these things from some of my friends from the Righteous Clans. I was troubled by the events and trusted my friends so if there is anything that I misunderstood about you, please accept my apologies.”

He had already put aside his pride but Lu Buping merely sneered, “Seems like your righteous friends wanted to slander the Demonic Sect. All acting as though they are men of honour. They are indeed suitable to be your friends.”

Feng Luodi looked at Lu Buping in surprise. She did not expect him to say such sarcastic words. Could it be that the Righteous Clans and the Demonic Sect hated each other? Feng Luodi had never been in contact with the men of the jianghu before and thought that all of these were just stories fabricated by storytellers.

Governor Tian’s eyes were stained with anger and unhappiness started showing on his face. His looked at Lu Buping angrily and his tone was stubborn again. Lu Buping smiled at him mysteriously. Although he had a baby face, the vicious aura of a person from the jianghu could be felt when he smiled and stared with cold eyes. This aura could not be masked, despite his expensive clothes.

Tension built up in the antechamber. Feng Luodi pulled Situ’s sleeve, stopping him from drinking his cup of tea. Situ put down the cup and gave a soft laugh. He immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Governor Tian was a 2nd Rank officer. He was a dignified man but when he looked at Situ, the oppressive aura was real.

However, Situ used one sentence to destroy his pride. “Governor Tian, amongst your friends, there is a ‘Sect Leader Xiao’ of the Qingcheng Clan right? I have heard about the other people and they are not half as important as him.”

Governor Tian’s expression froze.

Lu Buping was shocked. Situ seemed to be helping him but he also hinted to him that people from the jianghu should not be too arrogant. He should not underestimate the General of the North.

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At night, when the lonely moon hung on the tree branches, the First Prince returned to the yamen. Situ reported the events of  the day to him and he touched his chin with his hand and went into deep thought.

“If Lu Buping is indeed staying in the yamen, he should not be the assassin. This is not how a culprit would act.”

Feng Luodi opened her mouth and was just about to say something when the First Prince gave a mysterious smile.

“But, according to Situ, this is just his side of the story. You cannot judge a book by its cover. If we announce that he is not guilty just like that, someone will use this opportunity and cause much trouble for us. We need to have enough evidence. Trust is not useful at all now.”

Feng Luodi finally said something, “You are right. Situ and I think that we should let Sect Leader Xiao from the Green City Clan meet Lu Buping. There must be some grudges between them and we will be able to get more information when they meet.”

“That is a good idea indeed!” The First Prince clapped his hands and smiled. He slowly picked up his cup of tea. “Miss Feng is indeed clever. Situ is a lucky man.”

Feng Luodi cupped her mouth and half closed her eyes. She looked embarrassed but was actually analyzing the sentence that the First Prince said. It didn’t matter much to her since she was going to leave soon, but she was determined to ensure that Situ will not be in any form of danger.

Situ did not know what was going on in Feng Luodi’s mind and he simply looked at the First Prince casually.

“Was your journey smooth this time, your Highness?” SItu knew that it was impossible to placate the fury of the civilians from 15 different countries within half a day.

The First Prince smile faded a little and his gaze deepened.

“I only managed to settle two of the counties. I will continue with the rest tomorrow. We have one month’s time; we will not miss the deadline.”

Situ raised his cup and did not speak again.

As the night deepened, the yamen descended into silence. It was already winter and hence, it was nigh impossible to hear any sounds of birds or insects. Also, at Dingtao, there were people patrolling quietly and protecting the peace of the city.

Feng Luodi laid in bed with a roll of bamboo slat in her hands. Even though she had no thoughts of sleeping, she was unable to read the words on the slat. Her woman’s instinct told her that this trip out of Chang’an was not a simple trip and when they returned to Chang’an, things would get even more complicated. Other than the people around her, she’d started to take notice of the First Prince more and more. This person was a mystery. However, she trusted Situ and this conflict troubled her greatly.

As she was thinking about all these, someone knocked the door.

“Are you asleep?”

It was Situ’s voice.

“No,” Feng Luodi put down the roll of bamboo slate and put on her cloak. She opened the door. The tall Situ was standing at the door, enshrouded in the moonlight and looking more handsome than ever.

“Why are you still awake?” Feng Luodi stared at him angrily.

“I can’t sleep because of a certain someone.” Situ replied calmly.

Feng Luodi facepalmed. “What on earth did you learn from Gan Qingjia...”

Situ smiled. “You have wronged him this time. If you can’t sleep, will you mind accompanying me up the roof to look at the stars?”

“Stars?” Feng Luodi poked her head out and looked outside. All she could see was the moon. Where are the stars?

Situ smiled gently.“The stars are always there. If you want to see them, you will see them. If you don’t want to see them, you will not.”

“What weird logic.” Feng Luodi turned around to enter her room, “I think it’s better for me to go and sleep.”

“It’s too late for that.,” Situ pulled Feng Luodi into his arms the minute he finished his sentence and jumped onto the roof.