The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Chapter 2104 Is this an attempt to lure the enemy into a trap?
Traveling by day and resting by night, with the rumble of carriages and the neighing of horses, Feng Jiuxiao and his companions finally arrived at Qing Tang City.

Several Tibetan soldiers were guarding the city gate.

The Venerable White Lotus immediately got out of the car and wanted to go to the city gate to negotiate with the guards. He had already shown the Buddhist amulet of the Mahayana Maitreya sect in his hand!
Unexpectedly, Pang Shiwu had already taken the initiative and displayed the military insignia of the Jishi Army City cavalry Dongben on the carriage. He waved the insignia in his hand at the city guards and said seriously, "Do you recognize it?"

The gatekeeper's eyes widened immediately!
Isn't this the military tally of Dongben, the cavalry commander? Judging from the inscription, it should be the military tally of Dongben, the commander of Jishi Army City.

"I know him!" But when he saw that the other person had a Central Plains appearance, he couldn't help but become suspicious again!
"How did you come to possess the military tally of the eastern part of Jishi Army City?"

Pang Shiwu frowned and said, "Are you questioning me?" His voice was icy cold!
The soldier saw that the black-clad youth's hand had quietly rested on the hilt of his sword, his gaze deep and cold, and it seemed as if a fierce tiger was roaming in his pupils. He didn't know why he had this illusion!

Suddenly, the tiger in the young man's pupils glared at him, its eyes flashing with ferocity and murderous intent! The soldier was startled, his heart pounding in his chest, death looming ever closer! He immediately changed color and said, "Please come in!"

Pang Shiwu immediately whipped his horse, shouted "Giddy up!" and took the lead, swaggering into the city.

The convoy followed closely behind, entering in single file!

The Tibetan soldiers watched the departing convoy and couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.

The soldier next to him frowned and said, "You seem very afraid of that boy in black. He's just carrying the East Military Seal, is he that scary?"

"Of course! You only saw the military tally in the black-clad youth's hand, but you didn't see that the white-robed monk was holding a Buddhist amulet from the Mahayana Maitreya sect! Seeing the amulet is like seeing the Holy One himself!"

"That's not right either. I feel like you're not afraid of the white-robed monk, but rather the black-robed boy!"

"Then you must have seen it wrong."

"Oh?" The soldiers exchanged glances and fell silent. If they didn't want to talk, they must have their reasons! They were all brothers; why pry?

Qingtang City, situated on the ridge of the Huangshui River, was the capital of the Tubo Kingdom of Qusiluo, a place where Buddhist light and bloodshed intertwined.

The Later Zhou dynasty writer Li Yuan, in his book "Qing Tang Lu", exclaimed: "The city rests on the Red Ridge, and ten thousand tiles float like gold!"
In the minds of the Tibetan warriors, Qingtang City presented a different picture—"Ben Buddha with a double-headed eagle, and the Gu clan with a golden prison."

"The double-headed eagle of Benfo, the golden prison of the Gushi" is actually a bloody metaphor for the Tibetan people's rule over Qingtang City (the capital of Gusiluo), which hides the cruel collusion between theocracy and monarchy.

The Benfo double-headed eagle refers to the theocratic and divisive rule.

The Bon religion's leader, the Eagle Head, controls the army through blood sacrifices.
Buddhist eagle-headed people use Buddhist teachings to tame the masses.

The Bon eagle's head is on the left, its claws grasp a drumstick made of human skin, and its eyes are inlaid with blood jade, symbolizing the great shaman Chizudezan.

Their methods of controlling the army were: first, battlefield blood sacrifice (disembowelment for divination); second, the creation of evil ghost soldiers (iron inlays in their spines).

The Buddhist eagle's head is on the right, holding a prayer wheel in its beak, and topped with a golden Buddha, symbolizing the Venerable Lobsang Yeshe, the National Preceptor. Lobsang Yeshe was the Venerable's Tibetan name. As for his Chinese name, no one remembers it anymore.

Methods of controlling the people: First, promote "reincarnation to atone for sins" (rationalizing enslavement); second, use Buddhist temples as hostage prisons (noble sons become monks).

The "Golden Prison of the Gu Clan" refers to the deadly cage of royal power.

Gold is merely an appearance, nothing more than an outer decoration for the prison.

It is said that the three thousand taels of gold used to cast the Golden Tile Palace were all plundered from other tribes!

Among Tibetan nobles, a custom of tsampa feasts filled with gold powder was prevalent, with people flaunting their wealth by swallowing gold. However, they were unaware that swallowing gold was actually a form of slow suicide. This resulted in the wealthier the noble, the earlier they died!
The city plaque was gilded with gold leaf, and the two characters "Qing Tang" glowed eerily in the night. In reality, it was just phosphorus powder mixed with gold leaf.

All that glitters is not gold; beneath the glittering exterior of Qing Tang City lies a giant prison! Everyone is bound by chains!
For example, "Blood Tax Cane", Sanding draws a ghost soldier!
For example, the "scripture chain" – debtors had Buddhist scriptures pinned to their tongues to pay off their debts!
For example, the "ice grave yoke" required nobles to offer frozen corpses to preserve their titles!

Whether you are a commoner or a nobleman, everyone is bound by chains! The Golden Prison of the Gu family is not just an empty name.
Qingtang City has a triple city wall.

The outer city, built by Han craftsmen, stretched for twenty li in all directions with its earthen walls, and its shops were densely packed like a spider web. In the tea-horse market, Song merchants traded Shu brocade for bloodstained Tibetan knives; in the human market, Tangut prisoners of war wore ox-horn yokes and had the character "唃" branded on their foreheads…

The central city is composed of a cluster of Tibetan fortresses, with stone buildings interconnected like a honeycomb, and yak-shaped battle flags fluttering in the wind! Inside the city is a forest of blood oath steles, inscribed with the vows of three thousand vassal tribes, those who violate them will be exterminated; there is also an eagle cage prison, specifically for imprisoning traitors and feeding them to starving eagles, where at least ten prisoners die every day! There are also ice cellar graves specifically for storing the corpses of nobles to await their spring burial!
The innermost city is naturally the royal city, which is the Golden Tile Royal City of Gusiluo.

The platform, nine zhang high, is covered with golden tiles, and prayer flags flutter and obscure the clouds!
Bai Lian said, "The Zanpu of Qingtang should know that we have entered the city."

Feng Jiuxiao said, "You know it, you know it. With such a big commotion, we can't keep a low profile even if we want to."

"Indeed! There aren't many Han Chinese who can come to Qing Tang City to begin with, especially with so many extraordinary martial arts masters from the Central Plains arriving all at once. Naturally, the Qing Tang Zanpu (Tibetan King) wouldn't be unprepared!"

"Yes! Legend has it that martial arts masters from the Central Plains could take the head of an enemy general amidst thousands of troops, which is indeed terrifying!"

Bai Lian said, "Especially since the news that the third and fourth princes of Qingtang Tubo have died tragically should have reached the Qingtang capital! The Zanpu (king) will most likely know that the third prince died by the sword of a young man in black, and that young man in black is none other than Young Master Pang! Therefore... we must be prepared to fight Qingtang Tubo to the death when we enter the city this time!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "So what? Let's fight to the death!"

A large group of people in several carriages traveled in a grand procession along the main street of Qing Tang City!

Such a spectacle was extremely rare even in Qingtang City, drawing the attention of countless Tibetan citizens on the streets. Many shop owners also stopped their work to watch the long, winding convoy!
Many people were shocked. Usually, owning a carriage was already a symbol of status for wealthy families, but this convoy had seven or eight carriages, clearly belonging to a group of people—it was simply too ostentatious!

Even when the Zanpu (King) travels, he only has a maximum of three carriages! Although the escorting cavalry may number in the dozens or even hundreds, the number of carriages will never exceed three!

After all, the king preferred to ride in the same carriage with the queen, and even when traveling with his mother or other concubines, he would never travel with more than two carriages! Since only one person was needed for the night's service, there was no need to bring too many people with him. Furthermore, the king actually only had two carriages, one for use and one as a backup. Of course, his carriages were inlaid with jewels and gold, their luxury beyond question.

The wheels rolled on the bluestone bricks, making a clattering sound that mingled with the sizzling of fried yak meat, the chopping of cleavers on chopping boards in the steamed bun shop, and the buzzing of the wheel in the hand of the Tibetan elder, creating a scene full of everyday life.

All the Tibetan people were immersed in the usual tranquility, repeating the same mundane and busy routine as yesterday.

The convoy moved slowly forward, and the long street was calm and peaceful.

But at this moment, inside the golden-tiled royal city of Qinghai Province, torches soaked in yak fat crackled on their bone-inlaid bronze bases.

The firelight flickered, and the veins on the back of the Zanpu Qusiluo's hand, which was gripping the secret report, bulged, and his knuckles were so tight that the golden thumb ring was deeply embedded in his flesh!

“Pang Shiwu… So this scoundrel is called Pang Shiwu!” A beastly growl rumbled from his throat as he smashed a gilded wine goblet at the kneeling scout. “Damn Han Chinese! You killed my son Gyatso and still dare to set foot in my Qingtang City!”

The Bon religion's high shaman, Chizu Dezan, picked up the secret report. The human skin scroll, glistening with oil, was rolled up in his palm. Several lines of small characters were written on it: "The murderer entered the city with the two swords, Ning Shuang and Piao Xiang. His entourage included a blond man from the Western Regions, a Han Chinese woman in a blue fur coat from the Central Plains, and others. All of them were top martial arts masters from the Central Plains."

"Top experts?" The Zanpu kicked over the bronze brazier, the embers igniting the tiger-skin carpet. "Gather ten thousand cavalry like Bengonbu! Tonight, we'll crush them into mincemeat!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Dongben Duoji, who was standing beside him, hurriedly knelt down and pleaded, "The Han people have already entered the city, and the city's alleys are densely populated. If our army charges, we risk injuring many."

Suddenly, Chizudezan slit his wrist, and the blood dripped into the skull bowl, emitting wisps of purple smoke. "Your Majesty, I have used the Blood Shadow Manifestation Technique to pinpoint the enemy's location. Please grant me thirty 'Blood-Braided Executioners,' three hundred 'Ice Ravine Archers,' and also summon the 'Ghost Feeders' of Jishi Military City and his three thousand evil ghost soldiers to assist me."

The tent was deathly silent.

The archers of the Ice Ravine must cut off their fingers to forge arrows, the Blood-Branched Punishment Monk uses human hair soaked in corpse oil as weapons, and the Ghost Feeder must dissect a hundred people alive to refine corpses—this is the power that has already emptied the royal city's secret treasures.

“The Han swords are fast,” the Zanpu said, staring at the outline of the inn appearing in the blood mist in the bowl. “Twice the amount!”

“Your Majesty is wise.” Chizudezan pressed his bone flute to his lips. “The ghost-feeding monks control the corpses to clear the way, the blood-braided monks lock the swords, and the ice arrows block the retreat. When they are exhausted,” he slid a bronze drum inlaid with an infant’s skull from his sleeve, “Benbo will personally play the ‘Soul-Shattering Tune’.”

Gusiluo drew his star-inlaid iron dagger and plunged it into the map: "Tell Gongbu to shoot specifically at the woman in the blue robe when he fires his arrows." The tip of the dagger pierced through the lotus pond depicted beside the Ghost Market. "I heard that Pang Shiwu braved the Blood Sacrifice Tower for her! Let that woman in the blue robe die before his very eyes!"

"Your Majesty, the demon-feeding master of Jishi Military City is gone. We must summon another demon-feeding master!"

Gusiluo cursed, "Damn it! Then let's switch to the ghost-feeding masters of Qingtang!" The ghost-feeding masters of Qingtang City were quickly summoned to the Golden Top Palace.

Gusiluo stared into the demon tamer's eyes, "If you fail to complete the mission, you'll have to bring me your head!"

The ghost-feeding master knelt down with a thud, "Yes!" Cold sweat was already pouring down his forehead!
Pang Shiwu glanced ahead and saw a sign with both Tibetan and Chinese characters, the Chinese characters reading "Guests from all directions!"
The shop owner was indeed a Han Chinese who had married into the family. His wife wasn't particularly beautiful, and was even somewhat fierce. But she was very hospitable; after all, "guests from all directions are welcome," and guests mean money, so who would turn down money? Whether you were from the Song Dynasty, the Western Xia, or the Tangut people, as long as you came and spent money, you were a guest. As for who the Tibetan army was fighting, that was the royal court's business, what did it have to do with me?

The thirty-year-old proprietress was incredibly enthusiastic and spoke fluent Mandarin: "Young man, looking for a room?"

Pang Shiwu said, "Your Chinese is really fluent, with a bit of a Central Plains accent."

The proprietress patted the owner's shoulder beside her, "This is my...husband. He's from the Central Plains, to be precise, from the Zhumadian area."

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "I was wondering why your accent sounded so familiar."

The proprietress smiled and said, "You're from Zhumadian too?"

Pang Shiwu said, "No, I have a friend in Zhumadian."

The landlady smiled and asked, "How many rooms would you like to use this time?"

Pang Shiwu asked, "What kinds of rooms do you have here?"

"There are deluxe single rooms, regular double rooms, triple rooms, quadruple rooms, and large dormitory rooms, with two large dormitory rooms on the north and south sides, each capable of accommodating twenty people."

Pang Shiwu did a quick calculation: he and his elder brother would share one room, Big Wolf and Zeng Yong would share one room, Chang Zijin and Erni would share one room, and his sister-in-law and Chili would share one room—that would make four double rooms. He turned to Wang Sheng and asked, "Brother Wang, how many rooms do you want to book?"

Xiong Mengyan spoke first: "The three of us need a triple room."

Wang Sheng said, "Then let's have one triple room and one double room."

Pang Shiwu said, "Alright, that makes six rooms. Venerable White Lotus, what about you?"

Bai Lian said, "We, the three of us, also need a triple room."

Before Pang Shiwu could ask any questions, Ouyang Zhong immediately said, "Can I have a single room? I'm not used to sharing a room with other people!"

Pang Shiwu said, "Of course you can. Anyway, you pay for your own accommodation and we can't tell you what kind of room you want."

Ouyang Zhong said, "Then let's have a single room!" Although Feng Jiuxiao was also sharing a room with someone else, Pang Shiwu and he were as close as brothers! Who would he share a room with? Helian Rongguang? That guy was very cunning. What if he said something he shouldn't have in his sleep, wouldn't that reveal a secret of the court?

That Zhang Deyi is an old fox; if you share a room with him, you might get some secrets out of him!
So I'd rather upset Feng Jiuxiao than squeeze in with them!
Helian Rongguang said, "I also want a single room!" He thought to himself: You're complaining about me? I'm complaining about you! Your snoring is so loud I could hear you two miles away. Sharing a room with you? Dream on!

Zhang Deyi said, "This old man will stay in a three-person room!" He had two servants, so the three of them could squeeze into one room. He also wanted a single room, but none of Feng Jiuxiao and the others wanted one, so he couldn't bring himself to ask. Xiong Mengyan, on the other hand, was also sharing a room with three people. For the young lady of the Demon Island to lower herself to share a room with her maid while he wanted a single room would not only make him seem like a hedonist but also give the impression that he was cold-blooded and indifferent to his servants!

The landlady listened with shining eyes. Today was truly a day of good fortune. In the past, merchants and travelers would always choose the large dormitory rooms first, and only when there was no room would they try to squeeze into the four-person rooms! It was common for five or six people to arrive, but they would all be crammed into the four-person rooms! There would always be one or two sleeping on the floor!
The reason for this is naturally due to cost considerations. When traveling, it's best to save money wherever possible.

But this young man in black was clearly wealthy! They were crammed into a room in pairs so that they would have someone to chat with at night and not be lonely. Otherwise, each of them would have at least one single room!

Pang Shiwu took out a gold ingot. "Is it enough for these people to stay one night?"

The proprietress's eyes widened as she looked at the gold ingots. "Enough! Of course, enough!"

The gold ingots came from Panlong Temple, and there was at least a box of them on the cart. The silver notes he carried were only valid in a few Tibetan towns near Han territory; the further into Tibetan territory he went, the less effective they became. The local Tibetans lacked respect for such thin pieces of paper, not believing they could be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver! Secondly, the Tibetan population was mostly poor, and there were fewer merchants than in Song territory, resulting in smaller transaction volumes that couldn't absorb such high-denomination silver notes! Merchants who accepted silver notes were extremely rare, so Pang Shiwu simply carried several gold ingots with him each time, crushing them into smaller pieces by hand for emergencies. Fortunately, gold was universally accepted!

The landlady instinctively bit the gold ingot with her teeth, leaving a clear tooth mark. She immediately smiled, "Not only is the lodging enough, but the food is also enough!"

That gold ingot should be twenty taels, which is at least two hundred taels of silver, or twenty thousand copper coins from the Central Plains! At present, the prices in Tibet can be roughly converted according to Song Dynasty copper coins. One string of copper coins can buy 125 catties of raw yak meat. One string of copper coins is about seven hundred and seventy copper coins. Because of the "provincial system", this twenty taels of gold is about twenty strings of copper coins, or fifteen thousand four hundred copper coins, which can buy two thousand five hundred catties of raw beef!
This is definitely a huge sum of money!

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Boss lady, let me remind you, we guys all have huge appetites, so don't get too excited! You need to recalculate the costs based on twenty times the expected amount, otherwise you'll easily lose money!"

The proprietress was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Twenty times? Young master, you're such a kind person. Thank you for reminding me. Now tell me what you're planning to eat tonight, and I'll see if that's enough!"

She thought to herself: "Staying overnight won't cost me much, but food is the biggest expense, considering there are over twenty people. Even if the cost of my beef, from raw to cooked, doubles, plus a quarter of the extra profit, that 2,500 jin of beef translates to about 900 jin. Dividing that among everyone, that's a saving of about 46 jin. That way, I can earn 35,000 copper coins!"

In other words, she breaks even if each person eats an average of 46 jin (23 catties) of beef. But who can eat 46 jin? Each person can only eat a maximum of 3 jin (1.5 kg)! That means she can only make money off each person for 46 jin (23 catties) of raw beef!

Each person weighs forty-six jin, and there are twenty people in total, which is nine hundred and twenty jin, or about seven or eight guan! Seven or eight taels of silver! Earning seven taels a day, isn't that enough?

Just as she was beaming with joy, the blond man suddenly said, "Fifty pounds of beef is enough for me!"

The proprietress and the proprietress were both stunned!

The shopkeeper said, "You said you wanted fifty catties of beef. Are you sure this is just for one person?"

Bigwolf said, "Of course I'm sure! It's just for me. I'll prepare fifty pounds of beef first! If it tastes good, I might add more!"

The proprietress covered her mouth, looking incredulous. "My goodness! You ate fifty pounds of beef all by yourself! If each of you ordered fifty pounds of beef, I would definitely lose money this time!" She suddenly looked dejected.
More than twenty people, each 50 jin of beef, that's over a thousand jin of beef! We'll only break even when we have over 900 jin! What are we going to do?
Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Don't be afraid! He's the only one who can eat! The rest of you can only eat three or four pounds at most!"

Upon hearing this, the proprietress immediately smiled again. By that calculation, earning at least five taels of silver would be quite good!

Pang Shiwu said, "Let's settle down first."

The proprietress smiled and said, "Alright!"

A staff member came to help park the carriage, and everyone was settled in quickly.

Seeing Feng Jiuxiao standing outside the shop, gazing at the end of the long street as if deep in thought, Pang Shiwu came out and stood behind Feng Jiuxiao. "Big brother, what's wrong?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Just now, there were several groups of suspicious people spying on the street, changing groups every now and then. It seems they are continuously sending messages to the Zanpu."

Pang Shiwu said, "In other words, our every move is under the control of the Zanpu at all times!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "That's right!"

Pang Shiwu said, "Is he planning to make a move?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "That's right!"

Pang Shiwu placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said proudly, "I'm looking forward to it!"

As night fell and everyone was just about to eat, the sound of bone flutes suddenly drifted from afar!

Occasionally, the sound of the flute would be mixed with strange howls that pierced the night sky!

Pang Shiwu frowned. "Evil Ghost Soldiers?" Only evil ghost soldiers could make such a strange howl!

“Thirty-seven top-tier experts and five hundred archers,” the Buddhist beads on Venerable White Lotus’s wrist hummed, “Gushaluo has actually used all his trump cards!”

Pang Shiwu lightly pressed the hilt of his sword, and the Blood Rain Fragrance Sword suddenly emerged three inches from its sheath, instantly spreading a bloody sword aura over a radius of several feet!
"They're here, which saves me the trouble of looking for them!"

In the distance, atop the golden roof of the royal city, Chizudezan's Soul-Shattering Drum suddenly cracked with spiderweb patterns. He stared at the blood droplets emanating from his palm, his face paling in horror: "Could it be that he already knew... this was... a trap to lure me into a snare?"