Chapter 166: Bookworm and Cutting Board

Xu Fengnian was only momentarily stunned, but fortunately, having seen the stunning "White Fox Face" beauty earlier, he quickly regained his composure. Still, he found it incredible. While women of average beauty (valued around 70 *wen*) were neither rare nor common, this person before him was easily worth 90 *wen*—and *he* was a man? This was a travesty! His Royal Highness was not like Li Hanlin, who had homosexual tendencies and enjoyed both men and women.

Xu Fengnian had no interest in child prostitutes, much less the horrifying catamites. Such individuals were not uncommon among the prominent figures in Jiangnan. In the Guangling region, there were even masters specializing in training both. These children were purchased cheaply for a few or a dozen *liang* of silver in their youth, only to be sold for exorbitant prices—from ten to a hundred *jin* of gold—at the age of twelve or thirteen, for the amusement of scholar-officials and high-ranking nobles. This practice became a prevailing custom among the Jiangnan literati, regarded as a sophisticated and elegant pursuit. Literary men had grown weary of competing through poetry, songs, and ancient artifacts. Having finally entered an era of peace and prosperity, they began to vie for status through the singing girls and beautiful maids in their households. Xu Fengnian carefully examined this "girl," confirming that his chest was indeed flat, unlike a woman's. Murong Tonghuang was clearly accustomed to such scrutiny, a cold sneer forming on his lips. "Is this a case of driving out a wolf only to invite a tiger by mistake?" he thought. "Crows are black everywhere; this person isn't a good sort either!"

Xu Fengnian, well-versed in romantic encounters and adept at reading people, smiled and admitted, "Yes, I'm certainly not a good person."

With his thoughts laid bare, Murong Tonghuang's expression grew even colder and more rigid. His body instinctively flinched backward. Xu Fengnian, unfazed, asked with curiosity, "It seems you're not with those cavalrymen. What's happening? Is some local gentry forcibly abducting common girls?"

Murong Tonghuang bit his lip, choosing to ignore the man with the foreign accent. Xu Fengnian turned to watch the light cavalry pursuing their targets on the path. Given the horsemanship of the Phoenix Cavalry and the stamina of their mounts, with ninety men against twenty, the numerical disparity was so vast that there was no concern about the outcome. If Yuan Meng couldn't handle it, he might as well bring back his own head. As for the decisive young blade-wielder, Yang Qingfeng was an expert tracker, Shu Xiu possessed diverse martial arts, and with the addition of Ning Emei, the Great Halberd, and ten White Horse Riders, even Grandfather Wei had decided to stretch his muscles and join the pursuit. No matter how formidable that blade-wielder was, he faced a near-certain death. Xu Fengnian wasn't worried about this being a diversionary tactic. After the Battle of Reed Marsh, the azure-white *luan* bird overhead would cry out a warning at the slightest disturbance within a ten-mile radius. Furthermore, Xu Fengnian had meticulously chosen five agile and swift soldiers from the Phoenix Cavalry to serve as roving scouts, ensuring they could seize the tactical initiative immediately.

Xu Fengnian calmly asked, "Who was captured? I didn't get a clear look then. If you continue to give me the silent treatment, once my men bring them back later, I won't concern myself with their fate."

As if a critical weakness had been exposed, Murong Tonghuang hesitated, then replied, "My sister."

Xu Fengnian pressed, "And who were those who seized you?"

Murong Tonghuang gritted his teeth, a nervous, sinister smile on his face, and said chillingly, "Have you heard of Jiangxi Longhu and Jiangdong Xuanyuan?"

Xu Fengnian feigned ignorance, asking, "Those old Daoist priests from Longhu Mountain want to take you up their mountain? To become Dao companions and practice bedroom arts?"

Murong Tonghuang abruptly turned his head away, too exasperated to waste words on this seemingly brain-damaged man.

Xu Fengnian smiled, "Jiangdong Xuanyuan, what a coincidence! Do you know if there's a woman in that family named Xuanyuan Qingfeng?"

Murong Tonghuang's mind raced. He replied in a flat tone, "Xuanyuan Qingfeng. In Jianzhou, she's more formidable than any princess. What, did her reputation precede her?"

Xu Fengnian, who had been holding up the carriage curtain with his saber sheath, burst into booming laughter, clutching his stomach. "Admiring her reputation? Yes, absolutely! I'm practically lovesick over this woman! That's a great way to put it. Wen Hua would certainly roll on the ground if he heard that. You see, when that woman was chasing him back then, Wen Hua even teased her about her unshaved armpits."

Murong Tonghuang stared blankly at him. Was this man truly deranged? Xu Fengnian retrieved his saber, Xiudong, and slowly lowered the curtain, a cascade of mischievous thoughts beginning to stir within him.

It turned out to be the Xuanyuan family's private army—this was like being offered a pillow just when you wanted to sleep! If the crime of wantonly killing dozens from an escort agency were exposed, the two provincial governors wouldn't dare turn a blind eye. At this very moment, the administrative system was shifting from prefectures and counties to circuits and routes. The more than thirty provincial governors in the imperial court were all fiercely vying for further advancement. During this period, the threshold of Grand Chancellor Zhang's mansion must have been worn out, with visiting cards being submitted by the basketful. This was because both the *Jinglueshi* (Military Commissioner) and *Jiedushi* (Military Governor) were truly powerful regional magnates, whose territorial jurisdiction was almost equivalent to that of a monarch during the Spring and Autumn Period. Although the governors of Hezhou and Jianzhou were currently suppressed by Prince Zhao Yi, making the *Jiedushi* position unattainable, the *Jinglueshi* position was still within reach. At this critical juncture, Xu Fengnian stirring up this hornet's nest would surely force the two governors to back down. Xu Xiao's true power lay not in being able to get these two high officials promoted to *Jinglueshi*, but in his absolute ability to *prevent* them from ever attaining the position! Xu Fengnian noticed Qingniao holding the Momentary Spear and felt it was somehow out of place. He asked resignedly, "Are you tired?"

Qingniao shook her head very seriously.

The ninety light cavalrymen of the Phoenix Cavalry pursued swiftly, their hooves thundering across the ground, powerful crossbows firing in volleys. If anyone fell from their horse, a rider would lean down to deliver a finishing saber blow, or a crossbowman behind them would fire another precise arrow, pinning the victim to the ground.

Fortunately, this was not a main road; otherwise, ordinary folk witnessing such a bloody spectacle would have been terrified out of their wits.

Against cavalry skilled in both archery and horsemanship, a collapse quickly turns into a merciless slaughter. The White Horse Riders were already chosen from the elite, battle-hardened troops of the Beiliang Iron Cavalry; their horsemanship rivaled that of the nomadic cavalry on the Northern Plains. Although the Beiliang Army couldn't claim to have swept across the desert in recent years, the border towns and major garrisons between the two nations were intricately intertwined, leading to fierce clashes of small to medium scale every year. Especially under the deliberate arrangements of Grand Marshal Xu Xiao and the tacit cooperation from the Northern Mang side, scouts from both sides habitually formed units of one hundred to one hundred twenty men, engaging in direct combat. Once engaged, these encounters invariably became brutal battles of hunting and counter-hunting. It was through such brutal tempering that the exceptional horsemanship of the Beiliang cavalry was forged. The armored soldiers of the two great vassal kings, Yan Che and Guangling, were once considered fierce and valiant warriors. So why, over the past decade, have they become increasingly incapable of contending with Beiliang for the title of the empire's mightiest force?

It was precisely because Beiliang had Northern Mang as its whetstone. On this whetstone, the blood of both sides flowed, and before it could dry, fresh blood would invariably splatter upon it again.

The twenty riders were quickly dispatched, soon leaving only the lone cavalryman carrying a woman on his horse.

Yuan Meng rode abreast with the man, his Beiliang saber still sheathed. He grinned, "Brother, if you turn around and obediently present this beauty to our young master, we'll spare your life. Keep running, and we'll turn you into a hedgehog with arrows."

The knight from the Xuanyuan family dared not believe him. He wished his mount had four more legs, frantically whipping the horse, desperate to outrun them.

Yuan Meng sneered, "In such a rush to reincarnate, are we?"

With a flash of saber light, the knight's head flew off. His headless body swayed, then ultimately toppled onto the road. Yuan Meng leaped from his own horse onto the now riderless one, pulled on the reins, and the warhorse, rearing its hooves, finally came to a stop. Yuan Meng laughed heartily, "Done!"

Passing the enemy cavalry's scattered corpses on the road, Yuan Meng snarled, "Shoot them with another arrow, and remember to aim for the head! Any son of a bitch who misses had better get off his horse and pick up that arrow himself!"

A roar of laughter erupted from the terrifyingly valorous light cavalry. It turned out one of the White Horse Riders, attempting to show off, had tried to shoot a corpse's eyeball but merely grazed its face, the arrow falling to the ground. Yuan Meng turned, laughing as he cursed, "Wang Donglin, get down there and pick them up one by one! If you miss even one, I'll make your backside bloom!"

Wang Donglin, the robust light cavalryman, grumbled as he dismounted. He used his Beiliang saber to hack the corpse that had shamed him into a bloody pulp. Then, he dutifully went from body to body, pulling out the arrows, not forgetting to yell, "Whoever dares tell His Royal Highness about this, I'll have his hide!"

Yuan Meng's laughter drifted from afar. "You barely-fledged chick, still blustering 'I, I'!" he called out. "His Royal Highness said that once we reach Jianzhou, he'll find two courtesans for each of you brothers to break your fast with!"

Wang Donglin, pulling arrows from a corpse, instinctively wiped his mouth, only to smear his face with blood.

With nothing else to do, Xu Fengnian personally drove the carriage carrying Murong Tonghuang. The three carriages proceeded slowly. The three "drivers" were now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Qingniao (daughter of the Spear Immortal Wang Xiu), and the Old Sword God Li Chungang. This convoy was truly astonishing!

After meeting Yuan Meng, the general carefully handed Murong Wuzhu over to His Royal Highness. He scratched his head and grinned, "They're all dead; no one was left alive."

Murong Wuzhu had originally fainted upon witnessing Yuan Tingshan's method of beheading, which was perhaps a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, she was picked up by a Xuanyuan family knight, and the violent jolting on horseback jolted her awake. Her slender, willow-like waist felt as if it might snap, and her face was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. After being gently placed back into the carriage by the warm hands of the unfamiliar young master, she remained dazed and uncertain of her future, not daring to lift her head.

Murong Tonghuang did not look at his sister. Instead, he deliberately pulled back the curtain, gazed at the broad back of the man, and asked coldly, "Are we going to Jianzhou?"

Without turning around, Xu Fengnian nodded and replied, "To Longhu Mountain, and on the way, we'll pay a visit to Jiangdong Xuanyuan."

Murong Tonghuang asked, "Who exactly are you? You clearly knew these knights were pawns of the Xuanyuan family, yet you dared to kill them?"

Xu Fengnian smiled, "Me? My surname is Fu, as in *fuzi* (teacher/master), and my given name is Jun, as in *junzi* (gentleman)."

Murong Tonghuang chuckled coldly and released the curtain, evidently preferring "out of sight, out of mind."

Murong Wuzhu, hiding inside the carriage, endured her pain and timidly said, "Thank you, young master, for saving my life."

Fortunately, Xu Fengnian had keen hearing. He smiled and said, "According to *jianghu* tradition, young lady, you ought to repay this with your hand in marriage."

Murong Wuzhu was startled, then her cheeks flushed crimson.

Murong Tonghuang witnessed this, his brows furrowing deeply. His sister, seeing his expression, immediately fell silent, her face turning ashen.

Xu Fengnian, never one to shy away from a delicate subject, pressed on, "Why did the Xuanyuan family capture you? You two siblings are unarmed; surely you didn't provoke a feud with one of the top three martial arts families, did you? Or did some Xuanyuan young master desire your beauty, resorting to force when persuasion failed?"

Murong Tonghuang remained silent, his lips tightly pressed, his demeanor grim and resolute—a stark contrast to his delicate and frail sister.

Even with His Royal Highness's boundless imagination, he could not have conceived that the Xuanyuan family's old ancestor had taken a liking to this pair of "jade bi" (a metaphor for the siblings). Murong Wuzhu was old enough to be the old man's great-granddaughter; this was an extreme case of "an old bull grazing on young grass." Xu Fengnian waved his hand and instructed Yuan Meng, "Take fifty cavalrymen to the Hezhou governor's mansion and explain the situation here. If that old geezer tries to feign ignorance, just bring up Chu Lushan. If that still doesn't work, damn it, I'll have to go myself."

Yuan Meng took the order and departed.

Murong Tonghuang's face finally turned as pale as his sister's. He asked tremblingly, "Are you a subordinate of Chu Lushan of Beiliang?"

Xu Fengnian was almost jealous of how widely this fat man's reputation had spread across the land. He retorted irritably, "Don't worry, Chu Lushan won't touch you."

Indeed, given "Lu Qiuer's" (Chu Lushan's nickname) temperament, that fat man would revere even His Royal Highness's dog as if it were his own parents.

But could Murong Tonghuang, unaware of the full story, truly be at ease? Falling into Chu Lushan's hands or into the hands of that old Xuanyuan pervert—wouldn't either fate be equally bleak and tragic? He handed a dagger to his sister and said coldly, "Without a dagger, I know you lack the courage to bite your tongue and kill yourself. This is the last one; hide it well!"

Murong Wuzhu tremblingly accepted the dagger, lowering her head, unable to meet Murong Tonghuang's gaze.

The convoy entered Zhizhang City on the border of Hezhou. In truth, His Royal Highness possessed all the necessary travel permits and official documents, but whether to present them was entirely up to his mood. Xu Fengnian gazed up at the city walls. This city had unfortunately suffered a massacre by Xu Xiao during the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period, leaving barely one household out of ten—only slightly better than Xiangfan. Xu Fengnian rode impassively through the city gate. Although he was escorted by only a little over thirty light cavalry, the city guards no longer dared to be difficult. They could contend with anyone else, but certainly not with hardened military veterans. It would have been strange if they hadn't been thoroughly fleeced when dealing with soldiers who had powerful backing. The primary reason Xu Fengnian remembered Zhizhang City so vividly was not the horrific massacre itself, but rather that it was the home of a scholar whom Xu Xiao admired most in his youth.

His name was Xun Ping—a simple name, not even recorded in any official histories. No poems or prose were passed down from him, nor any romantic anecdotes to entertain tea-time gossip.

Yet Xu Fengnian knew that this young scholar, who had debated the Grand Chancellor until his lips turned blue, was the most far-sighted intellectual in Tai'an City. There, Xu Xiao, on his first visit to the capital and not yet the Imperial Tutor Yang Taisui, met Xun Ping, a scholar from the Imperial Academy exceptionally proficient in Confucianism, Legalism, and rhetoric. Xun Ping, though not yet of age, had successively submitted no fewer than twenty-one memorials to the former emperor, including "Memorial on Military Affairs," "Memorial on Talent Selection," and "Memorial on Divination Arts." Unfortunately, all his petitions fell on deaf ears. The current emperor, who was then the least distinguished prince, visited the Imperial Academy three times, taking Xun Ping as his strategist. Ultimately, Xun Ping was denounced by the puritanical faction and retreated to his hometown of Zhizhang City. During the chaotic Spring and Autumn Period, Xun Ping bore an immense burden of blame on behalf of the current emperor. He was then cut in half at the city's bustling market square. At that time, the city's residents, under the rule of Western Chu, even divided Xun Ping's flesh and blood to take home and cook.

That year, he was only twenty-four years old.

His "Twenty-One Memorials" from that time have now all become fundamental principles of governance for the nation.

Xu Xiao often recounted a saying from this physically frail scholar: "Scholars can only add to existing splendor, but only warriors can truly bring comfort to the common people in dire times. The Nine Kingdoms of the Spring and Autumn Period are merely a vast chopping block. Xu Xiao, just see yourself as a butcher; do nothing else. Just chop, chop, and chop again. Chop your way through, and you will carve out an era of peace and prosperity."

Xu Xiao did precisely that, and consequently became the dynasty's sole non-imperial vassal king.

Yet Xun Ping never had the chance to "add to existing splendor."