Jinting Han people

Chapter 62: Appointment (4k)

The banquet at the Shiping Prince's Mansion lasted until the afternoon. Liu Xian rode his horse back to the Anle Mansion. Unexpectedly, when he reached the alley in front of the mansion, he saw Afule waiting at the door. His face was full of excitement and complacency. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he must have encountered something good, and he believed that there would be better things to come.

"Wow!" Liu Xian dismounted and stood in front of Afule, laughing. "I thought your trip would take at least ten days. How come you gathered a hundred men in just one day?"

"Of course not." Afule straightened his back and said logically, "But it's very close."

"What do you mean by 'very close'? 'Ninety people already?'"

"No," Afule answered, "I met someone today, and he's about to agree!"

Alone? Liu Xian was somewhat amused and confused. Sometimes he really didn't understand where this Jiehu boy's confidence came from. If courage could be sold by the pound, Afule could probably build a Golden Valley Garden. Liu Xian admired this quality, but on the surface he kept a stern face and said:

"You're about to agree, but you haven't agreed yet? You haven't found anyone yet, and you dare to come to me?"

And Afule was still smiling: "The most difficult thing in the world is to go from zero to one. If you have one, how far can one hundred be?"

"It sounds to me like if you build one floor, you can definitely build a hundred floors, but I've never seen a hundred-story building."

"That's because you haven't seen me—" Afule stretched out his tone and changed the subject, "Let's have dinner first. After dinner, we can talk in detail. Some things are not suitable to be discussed here."

It was the first time that Afule showed such a serious expression. When he was serious, his eyebrows were slightly raised, like a tiger crouching on a hill, containing the brutality that could tear a person apart. This shocked Liu Xian's heart, so he stopped joking and nodded slightly, then walked into the mansion in silence.

After dinner, it was already dark. Liu Xian asked Ah Luo, Xi, Zhang, and the others to retire early. He then found a secluded room, lit a lamp, and asked Ah Fule to come in. It was midsummer, and even with the door closed, the room felt extremely stuffy. The cicadas and sparrows outside chirped non-stop, making it easy to get irritated.

But the two people in the room seemed unmoved, their expressions solemn and serious, their hearts as pure as ice and snow. This was because they understood that eliminating external distractions was the first priority in achieving great things.

Under the flickering candlelight, Liu Xian stared at the shadow behind Afule. After a long silence, he asked, "What did you gain from your trip today?"

Afule answered quickly: "I found someone."

"one person?"

"I'm not kidding you. I did find someone." Afule stared at the burning wick and said slowly, "But he's a very important person. As long as he agrees to join us, we can easily find another 100, 200, or 300 people."

"Oh?" Liu Xian was surprised. He had originally thought Shi Le would resort to some deceptive tactics. With his ability and eloquence, abducting a hundred people would be difficult, but not impossible. Unexpectedly, it sounded like he had taken a different path and found a noble person.

This wasn't a good idea. The nobles were in cahoots with each other, so it wasn't difficult to mobilize a hundred people. But if the wrong people were found, and the news leaked to Shi Chong, it would be a huge problem! Liu Xian's heart was filled with agitation, but he didn't explode. Instead, he secretly pondered the matter and asked, "Who did you find? Is he reliable? How much did you tell him?"

Afule seemed to see through his concerns and whispered, "Don't worry, the person I'm looking for is absolutely trustworthy. Even if he doesn't agree to join, he will definitely keep our secret."

"why?"

"Because he is not from Luoyang. Although he is extremely powerful, he is my fellow countryman and my clan."

There were such Hu people in Luoyang? How come I had never heard of them? Liu Xian was very confused. He thought about it for a long time, and finally had to admit that there might be a blind spot in his understanding. So he let go of his pride and asked directly, "Who is it?"

"That depends on whether you're willing to meet him." Afule didn't directly mention the name. Instead, he showed a very cautious attitude. He stood up from the table, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Liu Xian, I'm very grateful to you. You're the first kind person I've met since I came to Beijing. Logically speaking, this matter has nothing to do with you, and I shouldn't drag you into this. But the moment I saw you, I knew you were a restless person. Now I need your help to rob the Golden Valley Garden. Do you agree?"

"If you don't agree, I'll stop here and leave tomorrow morning, as if I had never been here. If you agree, we'll have to make a plan."

Having said this, Afule stopped and looked down at Liu Xian, his eyes blazing with an alluring aura, like a raging fire ready to consume everything. But Liu Xian returned his gaze calmly, like the moon outside the window, still quietly radiating light no matter how fiercely the flames burned.

"Interesting." Liu Xian smiled. If he originally had admiration for Afule and a mixture of disgust for Shi Chong's Jingu Garden, then now, his heart was filled with a competitive spirit.

From childhood to adulthood, Liu Xian had met many good elders and teachers, but among his peers, no one had ever been able to arouse his desire to win. But now, facing this illiterate Jiehu boy, he found that his chest was experiencing a strange fluctuation that he had never experienced before:
It wasn't for anything else, but to compete with this peer and prove who was stronger! Even if the victory or defeat might not mean anything.

Driven by this emotion, Liu Xian almost didn't hesitate and agreed very smoothly, "Alright! Robbing Jingu Garden, how can I be left out of such a fun thing? But you also have to promise me that you must meet my demands and never act arbitrarily. If you can't meet them, I will withdraw midway, even if I have to sell you out, and you can't blame me!"

"Hahaha, great! That's great!" Afule stretched out his fist and said to Liu Xian, "Then it's a deal!"

"A word is settled!"

Just like that, the two fists bumped together and made a pact.

The first thing to do after the agreement was to meet the Hu man who could gather hundreds of people in Luoyang.

The next morning, Liu Xian got up very early. He didn't reveal anything to A Luoduo, just said that he had something to do, and then hurriedly left the mansion with A Fule.

While walking on the road, Liu Xian suddenly felt a little incredible because he was doing a very risky thing.

After all, Liu Xian had only met Afule three times and didn't know him well. Now, he was going to meet another stranger with him to discuss how to rob the world's richest man. Regardless of whether they could succeed, if his father, Liu Xun, found out, he'd probably think he was being kidnapped. But some great experiences often begin with absurdity.

As Liu Xian walked, he noticed something was wrong. The direction he was heading was different from what he expected. He was not heading north towards the West Market, nor was he on the road to the Gold Market. Instead, he was heading south. When he saw the Pingchang Gate on the south wall of Luoyang, he couldn't help but ask, "Are we heading towards the South Market?"

Afule said, "Yes."

"The person we are looking for is in South City?"

A Fule nodded and said, "It's in the South City, or more precisely, in the Imperial College!"

Imperial College? Liu Xian's premonition came true, and he immediately felt an incredible sense of absurdity: He clearly remembered that Afule was looking for a Hu person! There were Hu people in the Imperial College? How could Liu Xian not know?
But he thought for a while, then laughed: To be honest, after March, he spent most of his time in the Shiping Prince's Palace and did not stay in the Imperial Academy for long. He also avoided the Imperial Academy on weekdays. When it comes to his understanding of the Imperial Academy, he is probably not much better than Afule.

However, it is not difficult to understand. Although the status and position of those who can enter the Imperial Academy are not as good as those of the nobles in the capital area who attend the Imperial College, most of them are elites from local poor families, and there is no shortage of wealthy businessmen. In the current situation where the Hu people are rampant, the appearance of several sons of Hu generals in the Imperial Academy is strange, but not unreasonable.

However, the secret meeting definitely could not be held in the Imperial College. Afule found a restaurant called "Huiganfang" two streets away, opened a partitioned room on the second floor, and then asked Liu Xian to stay there for a while while he went to the Imperial College alone to look for someone.

The sky was clear and the sun had just risen. There were few pedestrians on the street. Liu Xian sat by the wooden window, feeling somewhat bored. He ordered a bowl of tea and sipped it slowly, gazing down at the mulberry and cypress trees lining the streets of Luoyang. On the surface, Liu Xian was admiring the scenery outside the window, but in reality, he was still examining the situation in his heart, constantly planning the various possible developments.
He had to make a careful plan that would ensure success while keeping himself out of trouble.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of Shi Chao, his childhood friend.

Although he now understood that he was a very absurd person, his friendship towards him was genuine. It was morally deficient for him to team up with a few strangers and suddenly plot against his family.

But when he thought of the bloody banquet that day, the tragic death of Ah Qing, Xiaomei's crying face, and the numbness of the tenant farmers sweating in the fields, Liu Xian's confusion immediately dissipated.

He simply couldn't tolerate what he saw and heard that day. The knife that pierced his chest represented the countless innocent people who had died tragically within the Golden Valley Gardens. Thinking back to what Afule had said about the hundreds of graves within the Golden Valley Gardens' forest, he felt he had to do something, or else he would have let down all the years of education he had received from so many teachers and his mother.

As for Shi Chao, he steeled his heart and thought: Sometimes, some people are destined to part ways. Their meeting was merely a misunderstanding, like two strings accidentally plucked together. They thought their entanglement was normal, but in reality, if they didn't separate soon, it would be the precursor to a broken string. Breaking up early would save them from further hurt if they met again.

But he still hadn't had a proper farewell, and thinking of this, Liu Xian still felt a little sad. For the first time, he experienced firsthand that many things cannot be achieved at the same time, and he had to make a choice between two incompatible things and abandon one of them...

While lost in thought, Liu Xian heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairwell, which brought him back to his senses. He realized that it was Afule who was leading his men. Liu Xian quickly gathered his emotions. He had already made a decision, so there was no need to regret it. He had lost old friends, but he would also meet new ones.

Afule walked in with a smile on his face, and behind him followed two young men. These two young men looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, one thin and the other tall, and they immediately left a deep impression on Liu Xian.

The thin young man in front was dressed in simple and elegant Confucian clothes. He was well-mannered, had fair skin, and was beardless. His beautiful eyes were full of affection, and he was waving a feather fan in his hand. At first glance, he was an amorous playboy, and his appearance was as handsome as Jia Mi.

But unlike Jia Mi, he lacked that feminine aura. To be more specific, while both resembled innocent children, Jia Mi was naively cruel, while this young man was naively restless.

When he entered, he was still chatting and laughing with Afule, but his eyes had already glanced over, sizing Liu Xian up and down. When he stopped, his upper body swayed slightly, his hands fanning constantly, and his eyes quietly retreated, constantly moving around the room.

The expressions on his face changed constantly. He was smiling the second before, but before the arc of the smile was completed, sad tears were brewing in the corners of his eyes. Before the tears accumulated into beads, his brows relaxed into a kind of teasing pride.

This man's intelligence is not only reflected in his face, Liu Xian thought, every pore of his body exudes mockery of stupidity.

The tall young man at the back had a completely different aura. He was dressed in military uniform, with a sword at his belt. His eight-foot-tall stature, combined with his broad, powerful chest and back, gave him an extremely majestic and imposing demeanor, instantly reminding Liu Xian of the phrase "strength enough to lift a tripod."

The young man's face was angular and his expression was as resolute as a rock. Although he didn't say a word, he vaguely revealed an invincible temperament while standing there, and the blazing flames of ambition in his eyes were no less than Afule's.

Yet, this man's demeanor was remarkably gentle and modest. His status was clearly inferior to the young man before him, yet he showed no complaint. He maintained a two-step distance between them as they walked, and he bowed appropriately to Liu Xian, his manners and demeanor impeccable. Although he remained silent throughout, Liu Xian was already convinced that this man's Confucian attainments had reached a high level.

What was going on? It had only been half a year since he entered the Yuanfu era, and he had already encountered so many geniuses?

Liu Xian remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he was extremely surprised. Regardless of whether these two people were willing to help, being able to meet the heroes and geniuses of the world was worth it.

With this in mind, Liu Xian stood up and saluted them, then introduced himself: "My surname is Liu Xian, my courtesy name is Huai Chong. Nice to meet you two."

The thin young man in the lead smiled slightly upon hearing this, fanning himself in return and said:
"What a coincidence! Although I am a Xiongnu, my last name is Liu. My name is Liu Cong, and my courtesy name is Xuanming. You can just call me Xuanming."

He pointed to the tall young man behind him and introduced:
"This is my cousin, Liu Yao, courtesy name Yongming."

This was the first meeting between Liu Xian and Shi Le, Liu Cong and Liu Yao.

Many years later, Liu Xian often couldn't help laughing when he recalled this experience.

Fate's arrangements for the fate of characters are so unpredictable. He had come into such close contact with some of his greatest rivals in life. And looking back at the life of these two parties who were constantly fighting, the easiest opportunity to kill the other party was actually at this moment. Unfortunately, at this time, the young men were still ignorant and unaware.

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(End of this chapter)