Chapter 239: Burning Paper Is Not Easy, Dying Is Easy

The Crown Prince, with only seven acupoints remaining to be opened, diligently removed the complex and impure qi that Huang Baozhuang had implanted in his body. After this, he newly opened the Dicang acupoint. Combined with the "Sword Qi Rolling Dragon Wall" that had been developing within him, he unexpectedly exhaled sword qi that destroyed a lotus flower. The lotus pond's water was unusually shallow. Later that day, after bathing and changing, he inquired about it with two maids and learned that these were rare "Dry Hibiscus" lotuses. Unlike common lotuses, they could not grow in fluctuating water, disliked humidity, and would wither if their roots were too deeply submerged. The pond's water level required meticulous care. If cultivated properly, they would bloom several months earlier than ordinary lotuses and have a longer flowering period. Each plant was highly valuable, earning them the nickname "Ten-Gold Lotus" and the humorous "Shrew Lotus." Most wealthy households could only manage to grow one or two in pots, making a pond with a hundred or so plants an unimaginable expense and maintenance burden. This clearly showed the immense wealth of the Wei manor.

After exhaling sword qi and severing the green lotus, Xu Fengnian felt a complete sense of ease, his qi flowing freely without any hint of stagnation. The wonders of the Great Yellow Court were boundless; the most immediate benefit was his exceptionally sharp hearing and vision. Though Xu Fengnian appeared to have closed his eyes and concentrated according to the cultivation mantra, he was actually listening intently to the slow, deliberate unfurling of a lotus bud. During this process, the "Sword Qi Rolling Dragon Wall" surged through his meridians, a striking contrast to the timid expansion of the flower bud in the pond. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince could only maintain this state for an hour before the immense qi within him erupted. He mused that once all six acupoints were opened, he might be able to endure an entire night to witness a lotus flower's complete bloom. Xu Fengnian stretched, self-deprecatingly remarking, "A true man should have endurance!"

Xu Fengnian sat back at the table, assessing his current assets. The flying swords, once mastered, would be priceless, but for now, they were destined to be useless scrap metal—impressive to look at but impractical. Although the "blood drinking to form a fetus" process was arduous, without the rigorous tempering from the old man in the sheepskin coat, relying on this clumsy method to nurture the swords was another form of refinement. It was rare to find a good situation in this world where one could gain proportional benefits for proportional suffering. Once the sword nurturing was complete, reaching the "Finger Profound" realm would no longer seem so distant. The five masks crafted by Shu Xiu were clever, unorthodox tools that were quite practical. As for the silk brocade armor worn close to his body, claims of it being impervious to water, fire, blades, and spears were nonsense; it wouldn't hold up against a first-rank master. However, it offered some benefit against ordinary knife or sword attacks. Six pages of the saber manual had been torn out, and the most useful was undoubtedly the latest page, which detailed the "Sword Qi Rolling Dragon Wall." It not only unintentionally helped him break through an acupoint, but his diligent and complex qi circulation over this period also made him realize how difficult and stagnant the initial phase was. Once he got used to it, it truly proved the old saying "bitter first, then sweet"—ancient wisdom indeed did not deceive. The essence of the twelve stances, including "Stabbing Whale, Stacking Thunder, Covering Armor," extracted from hundreds of secret manuals, needed to be repeatedly verified in his mind with spiritual intent every day, awaiting the day they would erupt from accumulated strength.

When Xu Fengnian decided to infiltrate the Fish-Dragon Gang and travel to Northern Mang, he chose Liuxia City as a strategic foothold. One reason was the relative lack of warfare north of Youzhou, offering more freedom for Jianghu activities. Another was that Tao Qianzhi, the Prefect of Liuxia City, was a condemned man. Tao Qianzhi was not only well-versed in military strategy but also possessed exceptional martial prowess, with a particularly deep understanding of Northern Liang's military and political affairs. He had originally served as a Chongshen General in Gucai State in southern Northern Mang. However, during a military review by an extremely unlucky imperial kinsman, Chen Zhibao led a surprise force deep into their lines, killing the kinsman with a single strike. Tao Qianzhi was implicated and demoted to Prefect of Liuxia City. This was, in fact, a demotion in name but a promotion in substance; his official rank seemingly dropped by one grade, yet he gained full control over military and political power in the border city of Liuxia. It was a blessing in disguise, freeing him from the military's strict confines. With even minor achievements, he would undoubtedly be noticed by the Dragon Waist State Governor or even the Empress of Northern Mang, offering a far greater opportunity than arduously climbing the ranks in the highly hierarchical Northern Mang army.

According to information gathered by Northern Liang, Tao Qianzhi had unique insights into military maneuvers and formations, excelled in unconventional tactics, and possessed a violent temper. What was most talked about in Northern Mang's court and among its populace was that he had to kill a Northern Liang armored soldier every day to sleep soundly. When he arrived in Liuxia City from Gucai State, he brought no family, no money, and no treasures. He only brought six prison carts holding over forty Northern Liang soldiers captured on the battlefield. A month later, all of them had been executed. However, Prefect Tao maintained very close relationships with many generals in the Northern Mang border army, ensuring a constant supply of new captives transported to Liuxia City for him to personally behead daily. It could be said that Tao Qianzhi was a promising young official favored by various factions within the Northern Mang court. With both the ability to manage the army and popular support among the people, he was destined to "leap over the dragon gate" and become an indispensable cornerstone of the Northern Mang royal court.

According to Northern Mang law, a prefect could command sixty armored personal guards, and Tao Qianzhi himself was estimated to possess second-rank strength. Xu Fengnian weighed the strengths of both sides and smiled sinisterly. Mutual assassinations on the border between the two dynasties were frequent, though most were carried out by suicidal agents with low success rates. Northern Mang had once invested heavily in creating an assassin team, demanding two to three masters from each of the dynasty's top sects, complemented by over a hundred elite soldiers from military backgrounds. A total of about 130 individuals, divided into three groups, infiltrated Northern Liang. They avoided strong points and exploited weaknesses, targeting mid-level figures in Northern Liang's military and political spheres. Unexpectedly, Northern Liang laid a trap: Chen Zhibao, Yuan Zuozong, and Chu Lushan, the three adopted sons, confidently divided their forces into three routes. With three thousand iron cavalry, interspersed with nearly a hundred hawks and hounds raised by the Northern Liang King's manor, they eliminated all the assassins. This caused a shock throughout Northern Mang's court and public, and the Empress initiated a large-scale, brutal purge. Many heads rolled, but in reality, only a few Northern Liang spies who had been lurking in the Northern Mang court for years were exposed. What was comical was that the investigation eventually led to Northern Mang's Right Prime Minister. It was then discovered that one of the spies cultivated by the Prime Minister's residence was a double agent. This double agent accepted business from both Northern Mang and Northern Liang, extensively reselling military secrets, relying on the Right Prime Minister's enormous reputation. This led to the Right Prime Minister, who had once held immense power in the court, resigning in disgrace and remaining in seclusion in the mountains as a commoner to this day.

The entangled grievances between Northern Liang and Northern Mang truly could not be explained in just a few words. It was like a chopping block: today smeared with your blood, tomorrow adding another layer of mine. Layer upon layer, it had long solidified into a repulsive monument of blood.

A soft, gentle knock sounded at the door. Xu Fengnian knew it was one of the maids, Qiu Shui or Nong, and said, "Come in."

It was Nong, the smaller and more delicate of the two. She had fair skin and a slightly rounded, subtle melon-seed face. Such a petite girl, one would almost worry about harming her with a little too much force in bed. She truly was a lovely little thing worth fifty taels of gold. Unfortunately, as long as Xu Fengnian had not fully mastered the Great Yellow Court, he had to live like a vegetarian monk. With so many enchanting beauties in Wutong Garden, all worth eighty wen or more, the Crown Prince's composure alone—never mind his other accomplishments—was truly commendable, almost transcendent!

The young maid entered the room carrying a food box. Her slender calves subtly appeared from beneath her skirt as she playfully hooked the door shut. Seeing Young Master Xu looking at her, she blushed and smiled. She placed the food box on the table, then stood to the side, lowering her head timidly and saying, "Sister Qiu Shui said I should come warm your bed tonight. May I ask when Young Master will retire?" She was too shy to utter the words "serve you," gazing at her toes, her earlobes completely red. In fact, during cold weather, it was a common duty for maids in large families to warm beds. In scorching summer, maids attending at night were not allowed to doze off, no matter how sore their arms got from fanning. Both she and Qiu Shui were meticulously trained young women, highly skilled in serving their master. However, they had few opportunities to appear in the Wei manor, and encountering this handsome young master, whom the master greatly esteemed, it was less about romantic feelings and more about a woman's natural shyness and timidity. Xu Fengnian opened the food box wide and picked up a piece of jujube cake that melted in his mouth. He looked up at the maid; her face and figure were only worth about seventy wen, but she had a beautiful pair of eyes and alluring eyebrows, subtly hinting at charm even at her young age. Little did he know that when Nong first came out, the experienced horse master (who also evaluated women) had commented that her alluring eyebrows alone were worth thirty gold. The Crown Prince, having long been accustomed to the vibrant beauty of many women, naturally had good discernment.

Xu Fengnian reached out, picked up a piece of pastry, and offered it to the girl, smiling, "No rush, sit down and let's chat first."

The young girl softly murmured, "Oh," and slightly turned to sit opposite Xu Fengnian. Taking the pastry, she still kept her head down, her small mouth opening and closing delicately as she ate slowly and meticulously.

Xu Fengnian then said something quite out of place: "You in Liuxia City must also observe Qingming Festival to honor ancestors, right? Where can I buy yellow paper? Qingming is in two days, and I want to burn paper at the street corner to pay respects to the south."

The pretty maid looked up, about to speak, when she realized she still had pastry in her mouth. Fearing she might mumble disrespectfully to Young Master Xu, she quickly swallowed. She extended a finger, intending to wipe away a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth, her eyes naturally full of allure. She softly smiled and said, "Young Master, just give the order, and Nong will have it ready for you tomorrow."

Xu Fengnian nodded with a smile, reached out to wipe away crumbs that weren't actually there, and playfully squinted, "Right here."

The young maid cast a coy glance, then lowered her head, too shy to meet his gaze.

Qiu Shui knocked and entered. Seeing this scene, her own face flushed. She was carrying over a dozen famous paintings and calligraphies; the master had said he wanted Young Master Xu to examine them and discern their authenticity. Most of the scrolls had bronze or black sandalwood rollers, none of them light. Xu Fengnian stood up to help move them to the table. Qiu Shui saw Nong still in a daze, secretly poked her forehead, and gently chided, "The lamp is dim, and you didn't even think to add oil for Young Master?"

Nong pouted indignantly, but seeing Sister Qiu Shui's slight glare, she quickly giggled and went to add oil to a delicate white jade Guanyin holding a vase-shaped oil lamp. Xu Fengnian paid no mind to these playful antics, rubbing his hands on his sleeves. After Qiu Shui moved the food box, he slowly unrolled a scroll on the table. He smiled; it was Chen Chun's "Summer Flowers" from the previous dynasty. Coincidentally, the original was in the Northern Liang King's manor. Not rushing to reveal the truth, he re-rolled it and placed it in the corner of the table. He opened the second scroll, which was Lu Ji's "Cassia Chrysanthemum Mountain Birds," vivid in color, with every brushstroke perfectly rendered. The blank spaces were covered densely with the seals of collectors over three hundred years, enough to prove the rarity of this piece. Xu Fengnian's expertise in connoisseurship, influenced by years of learning from the national scholar Li Yishan, was considerable. Even without those numerous seals, he knew it was undoubtedly authentic. He re-rolled it again. He opened the third piece, which was the Former Southern Tang Emperor's "Playing Guqin Under Plum Blossoms." It was a fake, but interestingly, putting aside authenticity, purely in terms of brushwork, the latter was clearly superior.

After examining all of them, Xu Fengnian softly said, "Qiu Shui, Nong, bring paper and brushes."

Qiu Shui held up her sleeve with two fingers and ground the ink. Nong dared not slack off, helping to place a paperweight on the sized Xuan paper. Xu Fengnian's brushstrokes were slow, possessing an inherent leisurely calm and ease. Qiu Shui and Nong exchanged glances, both seeing admiration in the other's eyes. They clearly hadn't expected Young Master Xu to write such beautiful calligraphy, almost reaching the level of concealing his true skill. They admitted that even with ten more years of hard work, they couldn't achieve it. Out of eleven pieces, Xu Fengnian deliberately "failed" to discern the authenticity of three, feigning caution and hesitation. He misidentified two obscure pieces, while the remaining six were accurately identified. For the latter eight pieces, he provided detailed reasons for why they were authentic or fake, along with relative valuations. The valuations themselves were a mix of correct and incorrect. Since Wei Feng, the old fox, intended to test him, the Crown Prince's response couldn't be too straightforward. As for the hundred-plus characters of small regular script he wrote, he naturally concealed his true ability, making sure no flaws would show. Once the ink was slightly dry, Qiu Shui, enamored with the small script in her hand, carefully tucked it into her bosom. She then bent down to pick up the heavy scrolls, ready to return to the master's study to report.

Xu Fengnian smiled at Nong, "Go give Qiu Shui a hand. You won't need to warm the bed tonight."

Nong felt half relieved and half disappointed. She widened her eyes, a look of confusion on her face.

Xu Fengnian gently patted her cheek and said, "We'll talk after Qingming."

Qiu Shui and Nong both carried the scrolls out of the room. In the corridor, there was another maid of similar age who had come holding an umbrella for Qiu Shui. She was surprised to see Nong, and her initial jealousy subtly faded, replaced by a much more sincere smile in her eyes. From the master's study to here, there was no real need for an umbrella to block rain; it was simply that the scrolls she carried were of unknown value, and out of solemnity, she had carried an extra oil-paper umbrella. The three maids walked back together, naturally engaging in some playful teasing among themselves. Qiu Shui and Nong came from the same "horse master," and their affection was like that of true sisters. There was a subtle estrangement with the other maid, who came from a different background. However, clever women, when interacting, naturally wore a "thick, heavily made-up mask."

Xu Fengnian closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. This was the second time he had traveled with Li Chungang, the "little mud man." As long as there was a bed, he mostly adopted this self-imposed, arduous posture. Moreover, he didn't take off his soft armor, and his room was always adjacent to or facing that of the old Sword God Li. One could imagine the extent of the Crown Prince's fear of death.

In the Liuxia City Prefect's residence, the burly Tao Qianzhi, though dressed in a civil official's robe, could hardly conceal the martial aura of a general who had climbed out of piles of corpses. His study was humble; many antiques and treasures intentionally left by the previous Liuxia City Prefect were all pawned on the very first day. The gold and silver obtained were entirely distributed to the military guards of Liuxia City, while civil officials and scribes received not a single copper coin. During this time, an official, leveraging his position, secretly embezzled two hundred taels of silver. After being reported, thirty elite guards from the Prefect's manor broke in, and the official's bloody head was hung on the flagpole of the drill ground. The official had a minor background, and his clansmen complained to the Deputy Governor of Dragon Waist State, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. No one in Liuxia City dared to bully General Tao, presuming he was new to the territory.

Tao Qianzhi had not brought his family, but this Prefect, once a fourth-rank Chongshen General, was not a rigid man. Every so often, he would spend money to invite popular courtesans from the city's brothels to his residence for intimacy. He would never skimp on the exact amount of silver that should be spent. At first, some brothels dared not accept the money, but it was forced upon them. After a period of trepidation, seeing no signs of the Prefect settling accounts later, they felt relieved. Furthermore, the heroic deeds of this Chongshen General continuously spread throughout Liuxia City, and public perception of Tao Qianzhi gradually turned into widespread praise. Many brothels voluntarily sent their top courtesans to the Prefect's manor; those who usually commanded dozens of gold per night now only asked for dozens of silver. Tao Qianzhi did not overly concern himself with such minor details, further enhancing his image as a magnanimous general. This greatly reassured the people of Liuxia City, who had originally feared that "thieves are like a comb, officials are like a razor."

The drizzle was incessant. Tao Qianzhi sat in his sparse, humble study, reading a military treatise by lamplight.

A trusted colonel, brought from Gucai State, stood respectfully at the door and announced, "Princess Hongyan of Yuchan State is visiting in the rain."

Tao Qianzhi frowned and calmly said, "If she enters the residence alone, I will not see her."

A plump woman with a sable-covered forehead appeared beside the colonel, followed by an old man in brocade robes with his hands tucked into his sleeves. She stepped over the threshold, her hands resting on the jade belt bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor, and said sweetly, "Oh, General Tao puts on quite an air, or are you afraid of gossip?"

The exceptionally valiant Prefect frowned and put down his book. Showing no fear toward this imperial kinswoman with a Xianbei-style belt buckle, he sneered, "Princess, your beauty is renowned far and wide, and you are fond of keeping male companions. A humble prefect of Liuxia City would not dare to enter your esteemed sight."

The old man in brocade robes snorted heavily.

Tao Qianzhi's lips curved upward, his eyes full of disdain. Princess Hongyan, with her sable-covered forehead and holding a satin-covered umbrella, laughed unrestrainedly, a picture of flamboyance. She waved her hand, signaling the old attendant from the Prince's manor not to mind. Staring at the rude and unreasonable middle-aged prefect, she spoke with seductive eyes, "General Tao, originally, I didn't want to enter this residence. Killing someone every day makes the yin energy too heavy. My yang energy is not as vigorous as General Tao's. I'm just afraid of being haunted by vengeful spirits, and Qingming Festival is approaching..."

Tao Qianzhi coldly said, "If the Princess has no serious business, I will not escort you out."

This plump beauty, who was of the highest wealth and status in Yuchan State, remained unangered despite being affronted several times. She smiled and said, "Very well, I won't beat around the bush with General Tao. Someone asked me to relay a message to General Tao, eight characters: 'Qingming day, do not go out.'"

Feeling provoked, Tao Qianzhi's anger flared, and murderous intent permeated the study.

The old man in brocade robes had his sleeves billow like surging waves.

The Princess gently patted her cheek and apologized, "Oh dear, what foolish things my clumsy mouth says! I misspoke. It is indeed eight characters: 'At Qingming, it is not advisable to go out.' General Tao, please don't disbelieve me. The person who spoke these eight characters is someone I dare not disobey in any way."

Tao Qianzhi turned his back, his voice completely flat, and coldly said, "I won't see you out!"

Princess Hongyan shook her satin-covered floral umbrella, which was covered in raindrops, and said with a smile, "I will remember Prefect Tao's hospitality today."

Under the eaves in the courtyard, the old man in brocade robes, whose martial power was definitely superior to Tao Qianzhi's, took the umbrella, opened it, and tilted it towards his mistress. He then indignantly asked, "Princess, why didn't you let this old servant teach this ignorant petty fifth-rank prefect a lesson?"

The woman with the sable-covered forehead, not hurrying into the rain, extended her palm to catch the raindrops. Without answering the question, she simply said with a dreamy gaze, "Why is the old man in the sky crying?"

Two mornings later, the rain grew heavier, and the roads were covered in mud. Prefect Tao Qianzhi led thirty personal guards out of the city to visit the grave of a fallen comrade whose ancestral home was in Liuxia City.

Heavy rain on Qingming. Burning paper is difficult; dying is easy.