The Beacon of Kyushu

Wan Jianfeng pointed at Ying Rufeng in the prisoner's car and said, "Your Highness, do you see this guy? He is the one who stole your precious treasure. The emperor and the King of Chu originally intended to cut him into pieces to vent your anger, but I was afraid that you would not be happy, so I begged for mercy and handed this daring thief over to you, Your Highness, to deal with him. What do you think? Am I kind enough?"

Zhao Defang glared at Ying Rufeng with hatred, his silver teeth chattering. If he hadn't been escorted by a large group of imperial guards, he would have wanted to rush over and kill him with a mace. Seeing his expression, Wan Jianfeng said slowly, "Your Highness, killing such a thief is a small matter, but your uncle's disapproval is a big deal."

"Uncle?" Zhao Defang was startled and said, "One of my uncles died in the battle at Hulukou, and the other fell off a cliff at Lianxia Mountain. Both happened more than 20 years ago. What does this have to do with what happened today?"

Wan Jianfeng laughed and said, "Haha, to be honest with you, this guy was the only disciple of your uncle Youfan during his lifetime. People often say 'closed disciples, old grandchildren', but they are all the apple of the old man's eye. If you get impulsive and smash his head, your uncle's ghost will definitely come to settle with you. Imagine that one day you fall asleep and your uncle's ghost knocks on your window and asks you to pay for his disciple's life. Or one day you are strolling by the river and your uncle's ghost climbs out of the water and asks you to go over there to accompany him. This scene is really exciting for me to think about. If you are brave and stubborn and don't believe in superstition, you can try it. I will never stop you!"

Zhao Defang said half-doubtfully, "Master Wan, I have never heard that my uncle accepted any disciples in Japan. Are you lying to me?"

Wan Jianfeng said: "You don't believe it? Then go and ask him in person."

Zhao Defang nodded slightly, urged his horse to come closer to the prisoner's cart, and said to Rufeng, "Little thief, tell me the truth, who is your master?"

Ying Rufeng glanced at Zhao Defang and said unhappily, "Humph, who my master is has nothing to do with you! Looking at the current world, none of the officials are good people. I don't want to waste my time talking to you!"

Zhao Defang frowned and said, "Little thief, is your master really You Fanyi?"

Ying Rufeng said: "So what? If you have to open your knife to kill someone, and open your mouth to eat meat, and frown, you are not a hero!"

Zhao Defang said: "Since you admit it, can you answer a few questions for me? If you answer them all correctly, I will spare you. If you answer one word wrong, haha, I'm sorry, I will let you die under the golden mace!"

Ying Rufeng turned his head away, unwilling to look at Zhao Defang any longer, and said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you have to fart, fart quickly."

Zhao Defang tightly grasped the golden mace and suppressed his anger. "First of all, who is You Fanyi?"

Ying Rufeng said without hesitation: "Luzhou."

Zhao Defang asked again: "What does he look like?"

Ying Rufeng said: "He has a handsome face and a good temperament. He often wears luxurious black clothes, but he doesn't care about his appearance. He is very free and easy."

Zhao Defang asked, "What weapon did he use? What kind of martial arts did he master?"

Ying Rufeng said: "The weapon he used was an ordinary iron sword, but he was proficient in the unique skills of all the famous and upright sects. Although his martial arts skills were not unrivaled in the martial arts world, they were enough to shock the whole of Jiangnan."

Zhao Defang shook his head and said, "The weapon he used was clearly the sword used by the successive patriarchs of Yuyuan Manor - Qingying, and the martial arts he was most proficient in was Yuyuan Manor's unique skill, Youxuan Sword Technique. But you described his weapon as an ordinary iron sword. It seems that you are deliberately concealing your master and confusing the public!" Ying Rufeng said indignantly, "Everyone in the martial arts world knows that my master used the Qingying sword, but he had long stopped teaching me martial arts. Since you want to confirm whether I am his disciple, you should base it on the situation at the time. How can you wrongly accuse a good person?"

Zhao Defang thought and said, "Well, you are right. Then I will ask you one last question. Whether you live or die today depends on your thoughts."

Ying Rufeng became more and more impatient. "Ask quickly, ask quickly, you keep talking endlessly, it's really annoying!"

Zhao Defang asked, "Do you know who You Fanyi's sister You Ruoyu married, and whether she is pregnant with a child?"

Ying Rufeng sighed and said, "Ah, I heard that my uncle was captured by the Song Dynasty and later married Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, and had a son named Defang."

Zhao Defang said angrily: "Since you know that I am your junior fellow apprentice, why did you steal my golden mace?"

Ying Rufeng was stunned and said in disbelief: "You...you are the son of my uncle, Zhao Defang?"

Zhao Defang looked at Ying Rufeng in surprise for a long time, and then burst out laughing in anger. Wan Jianfeng heard this from a distance, and was so happy that he almost fell off his horse. "Haha, let alone in the territory of the Song Dynasty, even in the Liao Dynasty, Dali, and Tubo, there are probably very few people who don't know that Zhao Defang is the eighth prince. I didn't expect that you, a great thief, didn't even know this. You are too ignorant and don't care about worldly affairs."

Ying Rufeng said disapprovingly: "All my life I have been doing is stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. As long as I know where there is money to steal and where there are poor people in need of help, I don't care who the owner's name is!"

Zhao Defang clapped his hands and said, "Well said, you really have the demeanor of respecting teachers! It is worth it for me to know a hero like you who is brave, knowledgeable, and chivalrous, even if I lose my golden mace!" After that, he said to Gao Chujun, "Cousin, please open the prisoner car and release this brother. If the emperor asks about it, just tell him that this brother Ying is my senior brother."

Gao Chujun hesitated with his gun in hand and said, "Your Highness, the government only gave you the power to execute people, but not the power to release them. If you really let the person go here, it will be difficult to explain."

Zhao Defang raised his golden mace and was about to forcefully order the release of the man, but Wan Jianfeng leaned close to Zhao Defang's ear and said, "My Lord, you and General Gao are cousins, and you are related for generations. There is no need to make a big fuss over Ying Rufeng. If you really want to release Ying Rufeng, it's very simple. Leave it to me to take care of it and make sure it's foolproof, so that both of us can save face."

"Are you serious?" Zhao Defang looked at Wan Jianfeng, half-believing and half-doubting.

Wan Jianfeng patted his chest and said with great assurance, "Seriously, seriously, if I can't do it, you can just chop off my head and use it as a chamber pot. I will never piss in your face."

Zhao Defang smiled and said, "I have used gold chamber pots, silver chamber pots, pearl agate and jade chamber pots, but I have never used human heads as chamber pots. I will trust you for once. If you dare to break your promise, I don't mind taking your head for a taste."

Gao Chujun saw the two men whispering for a long time, but he couldn't hear a word clearly, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. He was about to ask, but Zhao Defang said to him: "Cousin, I thought about it, and I think we can't do anything. I'd better do it according to the emperor's wishes. But along the way, I hope you can take good care of my brother and don't punish him recklessly, otherwise I won't agree!"

"Don't worry, my Lord. It's getting late. We should set off." Gao Chujun waved his spear as a military order, and the team continued to march slowly. Zhao Defang stared at Ying Rufeng's slowly receding figure, waving goodbye, thinking about something. What exactly he was thinking at this moment, I'm afraid no one will ever know... (End of this chapter)