In an instant, all of Gu Yun's temper disappeared.
He reached out to catch Changgeng and patted Changgeng's back in passing. His chin rubbed against the other's shoulder, and he felt that the other's arm was no longer a skeleton that only looked good.
Gu Yun also wanted to straightforwardly say, "I miss you too," but he had never said it in his entire life. The words rose and fell in his chest and stomach three times. In the end, he still got stage fright and fled back into his stomach.
He only smiled faintly and said, "How old are you? Still acting spoiled."
Changgeng closed his eyes. He knew in his heart that he couldn't go overboard. He couldn't control his emotions, but his limbs and body could.
He readily let go of Gu Yun and calmly stood to the side. He endured the unseen wildfire that was growing and spreading in his chest. He knew that he wanted too much, so much that it was unreasonable. Even the various kinds of resentment that arose from it were abominable. Thus, he didn't dare to show any signs of it.
Changgeng took a deep breath and asked, "Why did Godfather come to Jiangnan?"
Gu Yun glared at him and said unhappily, "You still have the face to ask. Isn't it all because of you?"
Changgeng didn't dare to look at him and lowered his head slightly.
Gu Yun only thought that he had spoken too harshly. A reprimand had already reached the tip of his tongue, but he hurriedly swallowed it back down. He put his thumb into the palm of his hand and massaged each joint two or three times. Only then did the exhaustion from running thousands of li surge up. He endured this sudden exhaustion and deliberated a few times. He tried to be as calm as possible as he said to Changgeng, "Sit. Tell me why you and that baldy … cough."
Gu Yun realized that it wasn't appropriate to call him "baldy" in front of Changgeng, but he definitely couldn't call him "Great Master." He paused for a moment.
Changgeng said, "Master Liao Ran wanted to travel to the South. It was I who insisted on following him. If Godfather went to find trouble with him because of this, I would feel very apologetic."
Gu Yun: "…"
Changgeng was too good at talking. Not only did he know how to exonerate the bald donkey, but he also knew how to exonerate himself without fanning the flames. With a single sentence, he made it clear that there was a difference between internal and external affairs, causing Gu Yun to almost feel 'apologetic' as well. For the second time, he was secretly shocked. It had only been a year. Where did the child who spoke like a wooden club learn this from?
"When Foster Father was my age, he had already gone to the south to quell the rebellion and suppress the bandits. However, I was still unaccomplished in literature and martial arts, so I wanted to leave the marquis's fu to see the outside world." Changgeng stole a glance at Gu Yun and discovered that his eyes were bloodshot. He immediately could not continue speaking and was filled with guilt that rose from his chest to his throat. He said softly, "… I was just willful and made Foster Father run around. I was wrong, please punish me."
Gu Yun was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "The first time I went to war with the army, it was actually Old General Du and The Old Marquis who forced the late Emperor to come along."
Changgeng abruptly raised his head.
Gu Yun was not a very modest person. Even when he drank too much, he would often talk nonsense. He had bragged about how he could defeat twenty iron puppets in half an incense's time with his eyes covered and ears plugged. However, thinking about it carefully, his glorious history of becoming famous at a young age, leading the expedition to the west, and reforming the Black Iron Battalion was clearly something that he could brag about for half a lifetime. However, Gu Yun had never mentioned it.
Gu Yun took out another cup and poured a cup of slightly sour wine for Changgeng. "This is Lou Lan's wine. You have grown up, so you can try a few mouthfuls."
Changgeng drank a mouthful and did not taste anything, so he put it aside. He and Gu Yun had not seen each other for a long time. Just seeing him once already caused his blood vessels to be disturbed, so there was no need for the wine to enhance it.
Gu Yun said, "At that time, I didn't know anything. I was purely adding to the chaos. I was young and frivolous, so I was unwilling to admit it. During the suppression of the bandits, I made a big mistake by rushing ahead on my own. In a small battle, I lost more than thirty heavy armors that were piled with gold and silver. I even caused Old General Du to be seriously injured … Have you heard of General Du Zhangde? "
Changgeng had heard from Liao Ran that the monk was very familiar with the civil and military officials of the previous and current dynasties. He was probably more familiar with them than the Buddhist scriptures.
More than ten years ago, the old Marquis of Stability and his wife successively died of illness. Gu Yun was still young, so it was Old General Du who dealt with the border and the imperial court. Unfortunately, his old injuries relapsed and he died on the way to the northwest. This allowed Gu Yun, who was only seventeen years old at that time, to lead the expedition to the west.
Gu Yun said, "If it wasn't for that incident, he could have been strong and healthy. He wouldn't have been affected by a cold that caused his old injuries to flare up. That year, when he returned to the imperial court after suppressing the bandits in the south, he wrote a report to the imperial court. He did not mention a single word about my mistakes. The entire report was about my achievements, so he forced me to stay in the army. "
Gu Yun paused when he said this.
He suddenly felt that it was a little inconceivable. Along the way, he was thinking about how to teach Changgeng a lesson after he captured him. He pondered about it from a literary battle to a martial battle. Who knew that it would inexplicably evolve into sitting down and explaining his embarrassing past.
He originally thought that he would keep those matters a secret, but now that he dug them out, he was suddenly able to face them calmly.
This was simply beyond his understanding of himself.
Perhaps Shen Yi was right. A young son and an old father were indeed heavy burdens that could make people lower their heads and see themselves clearly.
"The reason why I am in this position is not because I am more powerful than anyone else, but because my surname is Gu." Gu Yun looked at Changgeng and said, "Sometimes, your birth determines what you must do and what you must not do."
This was the first time that Gu Yun explained to Changgeng the reason why he could not bring him to the northwest, even though it was very vague.
Changgeng looked at him motionlessly.
Gu Yun deliberated for a moment and said, "But if you have really thought about what kind of path you want to take, you don't have to worry too much. As long as I am still alive, I will always have the strength to sweep away those obstacles that shouldn't exist for you."
Changgeng originally thought that he had trained his mouth to speak to anyone after following the monk Liao Ran. At this moment, he realized that this "anyone" still had to exclude Gu Yun. When he faced Gu Yun, he became abnormally clumsy.
He always thought that he was a burden that the late Emperor threw to Gu Yun. He was a greedy person who coveted a world that did not belong to him. But it turned out that he was not.
Changgeng thought that no one would treat him like Gu Yun.
At this moment, a figure suddenly flashed by outside the door, "Marshal."
Gu Yun came back to his senses and waved his hand at Changgeng, "Go and rest early. You won't be able to eat well or stay well with that monk. Oh, or do you want to stay here and sleep with me?"
Changgeng, "…"
His mind exploded with a "boom", and his face and ears immediately turned red.
Gu Yun smiled and said, "You even learned to be embarrassed. In the past, when you cried because of nightmares, didn't I always coax you to sleep?"
Changgeng really did not know how to face this kind of slander in front of his face. Most importantly, Gu Yun said it so frankly, as if it was really the case!
The youth who was about to speak eloquently was finally silenced. His footsteps were a little shaky as he ran out of Gu Yun's room.
After Changgeng left, Gu Yun beckoned to the door, "Come in."
A soldier dressed in Black Eagle armor immediately answered and entered.
Black Eagle said, "This subordinate was ordered to hunt down that monk …"
Liao Ran secretly abducted the little prince out of the capital. Although this matter was indeed outrageous, now that the person had been found, Gu Yun did not want to offend Huguo Temple too much. Moreover, Changgeng had just spoken on his behalf.
Gu Yun said, "Forget it. Tell Zhongze to remove the arrest warrant and say that it was a misunderstanding. I will invite that Master Liao Ran to a vegetarian meal another day."
"Zhongze" was the courtesy name of the Lord Yao, Yao Zhen. Although he said so, as long as Liao Ran was careful, he would not dare to attend the banquet. Gu Yun was confident that he would not even be able to drink a mouthful of saliva in front of his face.
Xuan Ying said in a low voice, "This subordinate is incompetent. We still haven't found any traces of that senior monk. This evening, we saw him board a ferry. When we followed the soldiers to search the ferry, we found this."
As he spoke, he took out a small cloth bag from his bosom. After opening it, he found a strip of cloth with a little golden powder on it.
Gu Yun took it and glanced at it. He frowned.
He was very familiar with this item. It was called "Heartbreak". It was a type of ore that accompanied Purple Gold. After it was ground into powder, it was added to Purple Gold according to a certain ratio. It could prevent Purple Gold from accidentally burning during long-distance transportation. When it was used, it could be filtered out using a special process. It was very convenient.
However, when the imperial court transported Purple Gold, they would either use giant kites to travel in the air or use the official roads. They would be escorted by troops from various garrisons. How could there be such an item on a ferry that even a monk could easily sneak onto?
Gu Yun asked, "You didn't say anything, right?"
Black Eagle replied, "Marshal, don't worry."
Gu Yun stood up and paced two steps on the spot, "How about this, don't withdraw the arrest warrant. Tell the public that I must catch that monk. Brothers, help me keep a close eye on that batch of ferries. Wherever they came from, that's where they go …"
At this point, Gu Yun's voice suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He was stunned to find that his vision had begun to slowly blur. Not far away, there was a faint shadow that was neither light nor heavy on the body of the mysterious eagle.
"Oh no," Gu Yun thought without batting an eyelid, "I left in a hurry and didn't bring any medicine."
No wonder he vaguely felt that he had forgotten something. Shen Yi, that good-for-nothing, didn't remind him.
Black Eagle asked, "Marshal?"
Gu Yun continued his words as if nothing had happened, "If possible, it's best to know who the owner of the ferry is. Pay special attention to who is in contact with them."
Black Eagle didn't doubt him, "Yes."
"Wait, there's more," Gu Yun called out to him, "If you find that monk, bring him to see me."
Black Eagle immediately obeyed the order and left.
After sending Black Eagle away, Gu Yun turned on the gas lamp on the table and sat down motionlessly.
Jiangnan didn't produce purple gold. If there was really a problem with those ferries, there were only two possibilities — — either there were officials in Jiangnan who sold them privately, or they came from overseas.
If it was the former, it would be fine. Jiangnan was a rich and populous place, and the sky was high and the Emperor was far away. Taking advantage of the fact that farming puppets were being promoted here, they could secretly take advantage of the situation and practice favoritism. This matter would be handled by the Inspector, and it wouldn't be his turn to interfere.
But if it was the latter, it would be complicated.
Daliang's seven major military branches were not weak, especially the "Jia" and "Eagle" branches, which were the most powerful. They were the accumulation of three generations of the Lingshu Temple's painstaking efforts. In terms of equipment alone, they were not inferior to the Westerners who were good at strange skills.
Only the "Jiao" was not good.
Although Daliang's "Jiao" was used for naval warfare, it was generally only used for coastal defense and rarely went out to sea. It could not be compared to the Westerners' huge ships that braved the wind and waves.
It had always been like this — — in the past, when the maritime trade routes connected the east, west, north, and south, almost all the ships docked at the coastal ports were foreign ships. At that time, the Emperor Wu was in power, and Daliang was rich and overbearing. They didn't care about the daily trade with the Western barbarians. It was the Westerners who rushed over to make money.
At that time, the so-called "trade" was when the Westerners delivered goods to the door. Only then would the Westerners condescend to open a dock and reluctantly leave behind the Westerners' bits and pieces and reward them with some pocket money.
Until the late Emperor and the present, although they saw the profits of maritime trade and were very enthusiastic, because the northwest front line had never been peaceful, the coastal defense of the "Giant Jiao Entering the Sea" had always been put on hold. It wasn't that they didn't have the money, it was that they didn't have the purple gold quota.
If there really were people on those ferries secretly reselling purple gold, then it was very likely that they would threaten the coastal defense of the East Sea.
There was also the monk Liao Ran who led them to the ferries. Was it unintentional, or was it premeditated for a long time?
In just a short while, Gu Yun's vision had become more and more blurry. He felt around his chest and found the colored glass mirror. He put it on his nose so that at least one of his eyes could see a little clearly.
Gu Yun laughed bitterly and thought, "What should I do now?"
Changgeng fled back to his room without touching the ground. His heartbeat hadn't calmed down yet when he pushed the door open, he saw a pale monk. The breath he hadn't swallowed rose again. He quickly closed the door and said in a low voice, "Master Liao Ran, why are you here?"
Liao Ran smiled and put his palms together — — Amitabha, this poor monk is everywhere.
This monk must have practiced to come and go without a trace, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. He could even enter and leave the Imperial Inspector's residence at any time. He was truly a divine person.
The monk gestured to Changgeng and said, "I'm afraid the Marquis of Stability will probably let me go this time. Your Highness need not worry."
Changgeng wasn't worried about him. His thoughts were clear. He thought for a moment and asked, "Did you deliberately use me to lure him here? What exactly is in Yingtian Prefecture? "
Liao Ran looked at him with appreciation. He slowly stretched out his hands and gestured, "The flood dragon of the East Sea wants to transform into a dragon. This monk specially attracted a major heavenly tribulation."
What was this hint? Was King Wei rebelling?
Or was there something else?
For a moment, several thoughts flashed through Changgeng's mind. He only knew that this monk had entered the secular world, but he didn't expect him to be so deeply involved. His eyes involuntarily carried some scrutiny and vigilance.
However, without waiting for him to ask more, Liao Ran gestured to him to follow and jumped out of the window with familiarity. Changgeng hesitated for a moment, then took out his sword and followed.
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