Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 4 Hope for Curing the Gu
In the dilapidated courtyard, after forcing herself to calm down, Lin Xuan's stomach started rumbling again.

There wasn't much food at home, and there wasn't enough time to cook, so Lin Xuan took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket, intending to go to the street to buy something to eat.

Even if the sky were to fall, we still have to fill our stomachs first.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Xuan froze, his heart pounding in his throat, and his right hand instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist.

Having experienced numerous crises in a short period of time, his body underwent a stress response.

The courtyard gate was pushed open forcefully, and a burly figure appeared in his eyes.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Lin Xuan's tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

"Brother Lin!"

Zhang Hu strode in carrying a bamboo basket, smiling as he said, "Have you eaten yet? My wife steamed some meat buns, I brought you a few..."

Even from a distance, the rich aroma of meat instantly fills your nostrils.

Lin Xuan was already starving, so he didn't bother with formalities, grabbed a steaming meat bun, and took a big bite.

The scalding hot meat juices, mixed with the aroma of noodles, burst in your mouth, bringing an almost savage sense of satisfaction.

What was clearly just an ordinary homemade steamed bun was, to Lin Xuan at that moment, the most delicious thing in the world.

Zhang Hu plopped down on the stone bench, muttering to himself, "Brother Lin, you don't know, on my way here I saw an absolutely stunning beauty. Her face, her breasts, her butt, her slender waist... tsk tsk, it's such a pity you and Chen Bao didn't see her!"

Lin Xuan had no interest in listening to what Zhang Hu was saying. He ate four steamed buns in one go before letting out a satisfied burp.

At this moment, Zhang Hu scratched his head again, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Brother Lin, do you think Hong Tian is really a traitor? I think that although he's a bad guy and has ruined a lot of young girls, even beheading him wouldn't be too much, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would betray his country and collude with the enemy..."

Lin Xuan wiped his mouth, then put his arm around Zhang Hu's shoulder and said earnestly, "Hey, Brother Hu, you're too naive. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Hong Tian has done so many bad things, it's not impossible for him to commit treason..."

Then, Lin Xuan changed the subject and said, "Besides, I've heard that some of Nanzhao's spies are skilled in Gu magic. Is it possible that they used Gu magic to control Hong Tian and force him to work for Nanzhao?"

"Gu magic?" Zhang Hu seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly slapped his thigh, saying, "Yes, yes, yes! That's possible. Those southern barbarians love to play these insidious tricks. I've heard that being poisoned by Gu magic can make life worse than death, and even the toughest men will beg for mercy..."

Lin Xuan subconsciously touched his chest; the feeling of being worse than dead was still vivid in his memory.

His face showed lingering fear and deep worry as he asked, "Brother Tiger, what do you think we should do if the people of Nanzhao plant a curse on us, forcing us to betray the Jingbian Division and serve Nanzhao? ...Does the Jingbian Division have a way to remove the curse?"

“Jingbian Division?” Zhang Hu waved his hand: “Forget about it. We Jingbian Division are good at wielding swords and spears and catching spies, but nobody knows how to cure poison. The only people who understand these evil arts besides Nanzhao themselves are the great shamans of the Jiuli tribe in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. But Nanzhao definitely won’t help us, and those great shamans of the Jiuli…”

He curled his lip and said, "The Jiuli tribe lives in seclusion in the Hundred Thousand Mountains and rarely has contact with outsiders. Even if you are lucky enough to run into one, why would they help you?"

Seeing that Lin Xuan's expression wasn't good, Zhang Hu patted Lin Xuan's shoulder forcefully with his large, fan-like hand, comforting him, "Hey, Brother Lin, don't scare yourself. Why are you worrying about this? Let me tell you, those Gu worms are all fed by Gu Masters with their own blood essence; they're very precious..."

"Even if someone were to use witchcraft, they would only target big fish like centurions or chiliarchs. Who would waste such a precious thing on a nobody like us? That would be a waste!"

Lin Xuan smiled bitterly to himself. He had encountered a crazy Nanzhao Gu Master who didn't seek help from the higher-ups of the Jingbian Division but instead chose to make things difficult for a lowly officer like him. Who could he turn to for reason?

The Jiuli tribe, the Great Shaman...

He silently memorized these things. No matter how difficult it was, he had to fight for a chance to save his own life.

To avoid saying too much and making a mistake, Lin Xuan did not ask Zhang Hu about the Heart-Eating Gu.

Even if someone in the Jingbian Division could remove the Heart-Eating Gu from his body, Lin Xuan would not seek their help.

Wouldn't that confirm that he was a spy for Nanzhao?
After all, the Gu masters of Nanzhao wouldn't be idle enough to cast a Gu spell on a mere flag officer of the Jingbian Division. The matter of removing the Gu spell would have to be discussed in detail later.

As for Hong Tian...

Although he didn't betray us, he was a man who deserved to die. Lin Xuan could only apologize to him in his heart...

……

Deep within the Jingbian Commandery, in a guardhouse.

Deputy Commander Wu picked up the rough porcelain teacup on the table, unconsciously rubbed his fingertips along the inside of the cup twice, and then brought it to his lips, taking a small sip.

The tea was lukewarm, with a slightly bitter taste.

Wu, the deputy centurion, raised his eyelids, his gaze passing over the rim of the cup and landing on Chen, the centurion opposite him, who was intently wiping his sword. He abruptly asked, "Lord Chen, do you really think Hong Tian is a spy for Nanzhao?"

Without pausing his hand to wipe the blade, Chen Baihu didn't look up, but instead asked, "Otherwise what?"

Wu, the deputy centurion, paused in mid-air, holding his teacup. He gazed at the tea leaves floating in the cup, remained silent for a moment, and then let out a deep sigh: "Yes... what else can we do?"

Those are one hundred Xuan Guang Armors, worth 100,000 taels of silver.

When something this big happens, someone always has to take the blame.

Lin Xuan and the other two passed the test of the Mirror of Inquiry, so the traitor is Hong Tian, ​​and it can only be Hong Tian.

We can't possibly suspect that the Mind Mirror is malfunctioning, can we?
Every year, the imperial court spends huge sums of money to purchase the Heart-Questioning Mirror from the Jiuli tribe. It is unknown how many people have handled it and how many important figures have profited from it.

Two centurions from the southwestern border region, mere sixth-rank martial artists, dared to question the function of the Mind-Asking Mirror and disrupt this deal. Their fate will be countless times worse than Hong Tian's.

Just thinking about the consequences sent chills down his spine.

Deputy Commander Wu fell silent, reached for the heavy bronze seal on the corner of the table, dipped it in bright red ink, and with a thud, pressed it firmly onto the end of the prepared official document. He sighed softly, "Hong Tian has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, causing the court to suffer heavy losses. His crime is unforgivable..."

……

The next morning, as Lin Xuan was clearing weeds from the yard, Zhang Hu and Chen Bao walked in from outside.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Zhang Hu couldn't help but say, "Brother Lin, have you heard? Last night, the commander interrogated Hong Tian all night, and this morning, he dragged him out and beheaded him..."

Chen Bao laughed and said, "This scourge should have died long ago. Relying on his uncle being the prefect of Sizhou, he always acted arrogantly, looking down on everyone. Even Commander Chen couldn't control him. Now look what's happened, he's guilty of treason. When it's time to be beheaded, his uncle, the prefect, didn't dare utter a single word..."

While helping Lin Xuan weed, Zhang Hu and Chen Bao chatted about Hong Tian's usual arrogance and domineering behavior.

It turns out that this guy was not only arrogant and disrespectful to everyone in the Jingbian Division, but also had a notorious reputation outside of the division.

Relying on his uncle, who was a prefect, he bullied the local people quite a bit. Just a few days ago, he even forcibly took a tea merchant's daughter, causing her to commit suicide. It's really too late to kill him.

Lin Xuan gathered the weeds he had cleared together, thinking to himself, "Hong Tian, ​​Hong Tian, ​​remember to be a good person in your next life..."

At the same time, he felt somewhat fortunate.

Chen Baihu was clearly closer to Hong Tian at the time, but he chose to go the long way around and used the last chance of the Heart-Questioning Mirror on himself.

If he had asked Hong Tian first, he would probably be the one beheaded this morning.

As Zhang Hu pulled weeds, he sighed, "Hong Tian was quite a man. He endured all the tortures of the Jingbian Division, yet he didn't reveal a single piece of information about Nanzhao until his death. He was truly loyal to Nanzhao..."

(End of this chapter)