Volume 1 | North Bird Does Not Return
Lin Yuan (临 渊) means ‘coming abyss’ or ‘approaching abyss’
“The Gu family has no place to return. If such a day really arrives, this Gu must use himself as fuel to sacrifice for the sake of his ancestral homeland.”
That is a map of various small islands in the East Sea. But the picture is very unclear, looks like droplets of ink scattered on the page.
Gu Yun held the layout of the entire Great Liang in his heart, but he did not remember such a place. There were no decent steam lights on the merchant ship, the oil lamps in the room glowed dimly, even though he was wearing Liuli’s glass, it was still very difficult to see. He furrowed his brows and tried to brighten the oil lamp.
Ge Pangxiao, “This is the map Teacher Liao Ran gave me. I see that there is no such place on the map of the War Department. These are generally small islands that cannot be explored. The surroundings are nothing except rock mountains. – jagged rocks and turbulent flow. There are also lots of ghost and spooky legends that come that place, even the locals don’t know that there is an island here. “
This place is very far from the mainland, can only be reached by air travel if not by boat.
But ‘Kite’ is flying slowly and relies heavily on the compass. If there is too much turbulence near the island, they won’t be able to get closer 一 especially the place in the east is basically the area of the Dong Ying people, so if the ‘Kite’ and ‘Dragon’ of Great Liang continue to circle this area without any reason, it seems like it will quite provocative.
‘Eagle’ maintenance is also very demanding for mechanical divisions, it is not easy to enforce in a long time. The East Sea is generally used for peace and is not equipped with this type of military power.
Chang Geng couldn’t help asking, “If even the War Department’s map doesn’t have this area, then where can Teacher Liao Ran find it?”
Ge Pangxiao seriously replied, “He said that a rotten emperor from the previous dynasty liked pearls in the East Sea, because the fishermen became helpless with annual tribute demands, they formed a team of divers who were willing to risk their lives looking for pearls in the East Sea. On their way, they accidentally arrived at this place, and made a map of the place. “
Chang Geng, “………”
The story by a monk can only fool silly children.
Ge Pangxiao turned to Gu Yun and said, “Mr. Marquis, what should we do now?”
Gu Yun did not have time to answer when the entire hull suddenly shook violently, Gu Yun quickly grabbed the oil lamp that was about to fall. He looked at Ge Pangxiao, signaling him to get rid of all the objects on the table.
Ge Pangxiao immediately took a deep breath and sucked in his stomach, quickly hiding all the items inside.
Chang Geng grabbed the sword on the table, “I’ll go see it.”
Ge Pangxiao, “Wait, I want to go too!”
After the two came out, Gu Yun removed his glass and set it aside, rubbing his tired eyes.
The location of the small island is not very easy to interpret. It was almost across the island of Dong Ying but it was not connected with Great Liang either.
It’s just that even though Great Liang’s naval power was weaker, it was still not something that made Dong Ying’s people falter. To this day, the East Sea has not been able to find the Ziliujin mine.
Great Liang is very strict with Ziliujin’s export policy. In this case, they resemble an iron-skinned rooster, not allowing a single feather to be pulled out. If Dong Ying people want to get Ziliujin in large quantities, they must buy it from the West at a high price or try to get it from the Great Liang black market.
If they chose to do business with Westerners, they certainly would not cross into the Great Liang region.
And about the black market …
If the culprit does not cooperate with officials, the business will not last long.
Three generations of Great Liang emperors hated Ziliujin’s black market which resembled a centipede with hundreds of feet, dead but not destroyed. As soon as the situation calmed down, they would once again be brought back to life.
Even if someone used their toes to think, they would know that the black market certainly did not consist of traders from ordinary people who were willing to risk their lives, the people hidden behind them were shadows of all forces from four sides.
There is no need to mention other people, Gu Yun’s own hands are not completely clean, on the contrary, if it only depends on Ziliujin which is distributed by the court to him every year, let alone Black Eagles, Black Armors or Black Calvary, even dogs and birds cannot survive .
Such a large-scale smuggling of Ziliujin, the people standing behind him were certainly not ordinary people.
•••••
At this moment, the cabin wood door suddenly pushed open, Liao Ran quickly entered, put his hands together to greet Gu Yun as if they had known each other for a long time, then turned to close the door.
He had to take the Liuli glass he had just released to greet his guest.
Gu Yun can’t understand it, for what reason did Liao Ran remain convinced that he would not be beaten to a pulp? Does he think it’s because his face is pleasant to look at?
After bathing in Gu Yun’s cold gaze, Liao Ran still remained unaffected, he looked for a chair to sit, “This ship will arrive at Hao Li soon tonight. When that time arrives, this monk will follow every command of Marshal.”
Gu Yun, “Sorry for my honesty 一 what exactly can you do? I don’t lack anything that can be used as lighting.”
Liao Ran, “……..”
Gu Yun sat slightly upright, even when his eyes could not see clearly, the sharp knife that threatened inside was still there,
“I really didn’t expect it before, ‘Lin Yuan”s hand has even reached as far as the Hu Guo Temple. Master, we both have to make it very clear 一 you dipped your own hand into this problem, in the end, what exactly is the motive do you have? “
The special smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by a monk’s sad complaint towards ordinary civilians, “The Lin Yuan Pavilion has no ill will.”
Gu Yun smiled, “If not, how do you think you can stay alive?”
According to legend, in one of the previous dynasties, the tax cost was very heavy, the king was incompetent, the government weakened. Talented individuals from everywhere begin to rise.
The reason why Emperor Tai Zu stood out among them all was because he was chosen by the mysterious Lin Yuan Pavilion that year.
The Lin Yuan Pavilion gathered all talented people, from officials and aristocrats, to petty merchants and servants, countless extraordinary individuals scattered throughout the country.
At the beginning of the Great Liang’s establishment, Emperor Tai Zu, given their enormous support, wanted to make the decision to give Lin Yuan Pavilion status. But their leader at that time had completely rejected it. They hide. Since then, this giant organization has once again been silenced to this day.
Gu Yun, “The Lin Yuan Pavilion vanished in peace and prosperity, aroused in chaos and turbulence 一 people say that the Black Iron Camp is a black crow, but I see that you are the real crow here.”
Suddenly, Liao Ran lowered her eyes, looking like a beautiful and loving Buddha, “Marquis knows about my origin, but you have not prevented me from approaching His Majesty.”
Gu Yun looked at him in silence.
Liao Ran, “This monk dares to guess, all the worries in Marshal’s heart, by chance are similar to our worries.”
The ship sailed smoothly, oil lamps on a glowing table. Gu Yun withdrew his animosity, sitting at the table with his long hair falling down. There was a frown between his eyebrows, it seemed like he had taken all the seriousness he usually stepped on with the soles of his feet and put them all on his face for once.
Both of them were relatively silent, they communicated with each other only with swift movements, but even so, they did not seem to be hindered at all.
Liao Ran, “Ziliujin is burning too strong, this fire is unbeatable, nothing can stop it. Has Marshal ever thought of a way to retreat?”
Then, he did not wait for an answer but continued to say, “People … all of them said that the Marquis of Order was a martial man 一 who only knew how to fight, was just a weapon in the emperor’s hands. But I didn’t see it that way. If not, why isn’t Marshal married? Is it only because of my brother’s curse? “
Gu Yun seemed to smile, put the glass away, and closed his eyes again with a cloth blindfold, indicating that he did not want to communicate with Liao Ran anymore.
After all that was finished, he wrote, “The Gu family has no place to return. If such a day really arrives, this Gu must use himself as fuel to sacrifice for the sake of his ancestral homeland.”
“Ah 一 right, next time you meet a doctor who has healed my eyes, say hello to him on my behalf.”
From the start, when the first bowl of Ziliujin was dug out of the ground, it was destined that this world could never be peaceful again.
One day, diligent farmers will eventually lose to dolls who run tirelessly in the fields. Even top-class fighters will not be able to fight the Heavy Armor that can destroy the army with one sweep. Everyone will face unprecedented turmoil. To regain their position, they must change to become very rich or very poor.
And those who are defeated in this battle circle will have no way to turn things around again. From big countries to all types of civilians, everyone and everything are the same when it comes to this problem.
When everyone starts to realize this, the inevitable chaos will come, the only question left is whether it will come sooner or later. This is the flow of the times, invincible heroes or authoritative rulers, nothing can stop it.
After Gu Yun finished the last sentence, he returned to his usual calm attitude. He no longer paid attention to the monk, walked out of the cabin with his hands behind his back, intending to see what was really happening out there to the point that it could cause the monk to run into his room to express his loyalty.
As soon as he stood on the deck of the ship, he could detect the strange scent that came along with the sea breeze. It seems like something is burning. Gu Yun stood at the door and carefully distinguished the scent from the wind. He finally realized that it was a strange aroma when the impure Ziliujin burned.
•••••
The ‘merchant ship’ slowly passes through shallow water next to a small island. On both sides, there are two rows of ‘Giant Dragons’, these warships as bright as snow lined up in one line, complete with ammunition. The merchant ships carrying the smuggled Ziliujin moved forward one after another, resembling a supply wagon that ran among thousands of soldiers, by no means attracting attention.
Although Gu Yun could not see, he could already guess what had happened from the tension that suddenly appeared in the air.
With this scale crew, even if the Jiangnan Navy was here, they would not necessarily be able to deal with them, let alone some incomplete Eagle units that he had brought with him.
At this moment, the person he knew leaned towards him and quietly reached out to touch him.
Except for Chang Geng, no one else will do this. Either they help, or they don’t. Nobody has gone through many steps like this.
Gu Yun felt that Chang Geng always looked strangely tense every time he was in front of him. He must always make his presence known to Gu Yun first in the smallest way possible, Gu Yun would then reach out his hands so that Chang Geng helped him, otherwise Chang Geng would not make any other contact.
‘Ridiculous,’ Gu Yun held Chang Geng’s arm, unhappily thinking to himself, ‘What makes you have to be so brave to be with me? Is there a better father in me in this world? ‘
Chang Geng quickly wrote in his hand, “At least there are hundreds of warships here, I’m not sure if they are Giant Dragons …”
“They are Giant Dragons,” Gu Yun answered, “I can smell Ziliujin.”
Chang Geng, “………”
Didn’t Liao Ran say that humans cannot detect Ziliujin, that only inspection dogs can do it?
Yifu’s ability … actually, is not needed.
Gu Yun quietly sighed while complaining inside, ‘This is all thanks to your brother, the house destroyer and that little hearted. Must drive me to the far northwest so he can feel safe. Now look at this, the old turtle inside the garden lotus pond turns into a devil and will create a storm! He deserves it! ‘
•••••
At night, the monk changes into his ‘night clothes’ and goes to look for Gu Yun. Gu Yun must wear Liuli’s glass, his ears can only hear loud movements within two feet, one eye can only see who is currently in the room with him. The ‘warriors’ around him included a mute monk, a fat boy, a girl, and a son who had a special talent for acting spoiled.
Outside there are many warship crews full of cannons and more than enough ammunition is ready to wait. Plus countless eastern army and private soldiers.
But no one was nervous, because Gu Yun was here 一 he alone could represent a thousand troops.
“Don’t play shy,” Gu Yun said, “This ‘Hao Li’ place must belong to your people, or else why do you have to go through so much trouble for this? Just say, we are now grasshoppers with the same rope . “
Liao Ran quietly recited a line from the Buddhist scriptures, then handed over the beads of ‘sandalwood’ which had lost its outer paint. When Gu Yun reached out to receive it, he suddenly could not stop himself from wrinkling his nose. His very sensitive nose caught the smell of something disturbing.
Gu Yun fell behind, he had never been a person who cared about his manners when it came to a monk, he bluntly said, “Dear God, Teacher, how long have you not been showering? The smell is getting fermented.”
The three boys immediately took three steps back at the same time.
Chang Geng really can’t remember the monk’s impression when they first met at the palace. At that moment, knowing that he would enter the palace to meet their lord, the monk wholeheartedly washed himself into a small white lotus.
Gu Yun’s face was ice cold. He is blind and deaf, while the monk is a mute 一 He has a strong sense of smell, while the monk does not like to bathe. Of course, in this whole world, there isn’t a single bald donkey that doesn’t contradict it.
One hundred and eight beads, releasing the middle of every two beads, there will be stamps in it, a total of thirty-six stamps, each representing a member of the Lin Yuan Pavilion.
Gu Yun was silent for a moment, “Will the Lin Yuan Pavilion come out of the nest?”
Liao Ran smiled and didn’t say anything
Chang Geng frowned and asked, “What is the Lin Yuan Pavilion?”
When he suddenly spoke, Gu Yun was momentarily unable to understand what he was saying. Until he saw Liao Ran making sign language for Chang Geng, he could guess the dialogue between them and immediately interrupted, “They are a bunch of crow’s mouth 一 Alright, no need to explain anymore, how do we contact these people?
Liao Ran, “I’m not sure about the others, but I know that one of them is a musician for their leader. We can try to contact him first.”
Gu Yun thought, ‘We northwest soldiers from the imperial army don’t even have a single cricket that can sing, but does this private force even have a musician? Is that justice? ‘
Chang Geng, “Be careful, Dong Ying people already have suspicions towards us. I can feel the presence of their people near us several times.”
With Chang Geng in charge, Ge Pangxiao also began to speak, “Mr. Marquis, when will our people arrive?”
Gu Yun sat quietly in one place, with the unreadable facial expression of a subject from the Great Liang 一 actually, he couldn’t hear it at all. He tries to guess based on lip movements, but without sign language, just reading the lips is a bit challenging.
Liao Ran quickly covered it up, he wrote “Be patient, if the Jiangnan Navy moves too fast, it can affect the larger scheme …”
Through him, Gu Yun immediately learned that Ge Pangxiao asked about reinforcements, “The Eagle Unit that I brought with me could only be counted with one hand. No one knew whether that useless person named Yao Zhen could be used or not, maybe he could only come sweep after the battle. “
While thinking this, he once again interrupted the teacher’s words and said, “This scale Navy force is impossible to build in just one or two days. I suspect that there is someone in the imperial court who conspired to rebel. In short, a pile of metal this is not our target, it is best to catch that person. “
The benevolent monk who came to rescue him was interrupted twice.
Cao Niangzi suddenly coughed, he didn’t say a word all this time. Ever since he saw Gu Yun in the impression of this disheveled hair, he had suffocated every time he stood in front of that person, incidentally being a comfort for deaf men.
Cao Niangzi cautiously said, “I can also help with a number of tasks.”
Gu Yun knew that this kid only cared about handsome men day and night and was very lacking in his training, he immediately refused, “No, keep playing the role of a little girl.”
Cao Niangzi cautiously said, “I can dress up like a Dong Ying man.”
Gu Yun raises his eyebrows.
Cao Niangzi quickly explained, “I can do it! I’ve even disguised myself as a man before!”
Gu Yun, “…….”
He leaned forward slightly and sincerely asked, “Young man, do you know that you are a man?”
Cao Niangzi’s face immediately turned red. His soul was swinging back and forth on the boat’s towing ropes, he could not even hear what Gu Yun had said.
Gu Yun’s shoulders were suddenly pulled back by force. Chang Geng isn’t afraid to touch it this time. He stood behind Gu Yun with a serious expression, as calm as water, resembling an old scholar Shen Yi.
Gu Yun coughed and followed his hand to lean back, seriously saying, “That won’t work, you can’t speak Dong Ying.”
When Cao Niangzi spoke, besides Gu Yun who couldn’t hear him now, the others were very surprised 一 he had just said a very complicated sentence, mixed with some Dong Ying words that no one knew what it meant, the rest were stiff and accented Mandarin Chinese. The Dong Ying people who worked on merchant ships traveled in the Great Liang region all year round, all of them could speak Mandarin, only their pronunciation was somewhat eccentric, often mixed with words of their own native language. But Cao Niangzi was truly able to replicate it perfectly.
When Cao Niangzi finished, seeing that everyone was staring at him, he looked down and covered his face with both hands nervously.
Chang Geng asked, “Where did you learn it?”
Cao Niangzi answered in a small voice, “Listen to the two Dong Ying people who bring us food every day.”
With Chang Geng’s understanding of him, there was no need to ask further; one of the delivery guys is definitely handsome.
•••••
So, that night, a slender ‘Dong Ying Boy’ entered a small island without anyone knowing.
There are too many Dong Ying people here, because it’s late at night, no one is paying attention. He shivered when he saw a line of warships, then quickly ran.
At the same time, an uninvited guest came to look for Gu Yun.
Chang Geng slightly opened the door. Di Song was standing outside, saying with a smile, “Our General heard that a Fragrant Master had graced our merchant ship in his presence, he specifically asked me to invite you to dinner.”
↩↪
Fragrant Incense 8 