Chapter 8: East Kui

The wealthy fops and dandies of Lingzhou City were genuinely impressed by the Prince’s unmatched audacity. After three years of dormancy, he had only returned to Lingzhou a few days ago, and already he had defiled courtesan Yu.

Xu Fengnian carried the clumsy assassin, whose true name was Yu Xuanji, back to the Prince’s residence. Li Hanlin, his clothes disheveled, followed behind. Yan Chiji disliked frequenting courtesans and had merely been sitting upright, discussing pleasantries with an elegantly spoken courtesan upstairs. Upon seeing Feng Ge’er drag courtesan Yu out after only a brief stay in the Banana Courtyard, he secretly applauded his brazenness.

Once inside the residence, Li Hanlin astutely pulled Yan Chiji away to visit the White Dragon Study.

Xu Fengnian threw Yu Youwei onto the large bed in the inner chamber, took a handful of silk, and bound her hands and feet. Still not satisfied, he bound her again with another layer.

He rummaged through boxes and cabinets, finding Li Hanlin's notorious "Jade Mud Powder," which never failed him in his romantic escapades. This was more potent than the typical knockout drops or muscle relaxants used by common rakes roaming the martial world. After a woman consumed it, her mind would remain clear, but her body would become pliable and soft, like warm jade. It would be difficult for her to bite her tongue to commit suicide, yet it wouldn't prevent her from uttering soft moans.

After dissolving it in a wine cup, he pried open Yu Youwei's mouth and poured it in. Once these tasks were done, Xu Fengnian slapped her once. A bright red five-finger mark appeared on her delicate cheek. She didn't wake up, so Xu Fengnian then delivered two more slaps, finally waking courtesan Yu.

Yu Xuanji opened her eyes. She neither struggled nor resisted. She closed her eyes again and softly, languidly, uttered words that nearly sent Xu Fengnian into a rage: “Prince, be quick about it. I’ll just pretend I was bitten by an animal.”

Xu Fengnian leaned down and caressed her reddened, aloof face, asking with the tenderness of a fond lover, “Does it hurt?”

Yu Xuanji remained motionless. Xu Fengnian dropped the pretense. He picked up a ready-prepared erotic scroll from the bed. It was painted on silk, accompanied by lewd verses and suggestive phrases. The illustrations were remarkably lifelike. He unrolled a section which depicted how to fondle delicate feet. Xu Fengnian removed Yu Xuanji’s socks, his hands kept moving as he spoke:

“Perfectly slender yet well-proportioned, of ideal length, utterly unique and without rival—that is truly divine. Youwei, your jade feet feel truly comfortable to the touch. Winter is approaching; in the future, they can help warm my bed. These feet, the erotic scroll says, possess the qualities of finely arched brows, slender fingertips, plump twin peaks, rosy lips, and the hidden allure of private parts. Tell me, should I toy with them for half an hour, or a full hour?”

Yu Xuanji possessed a pair of truly divine feet. In her five years in the profession, she hadn't needed to toil, bathing daily in fragrant baths and meticulously caring for every inch of her body. Due to the instinctive tension caused by Xu Fengnian's defilement, the arches of her feet curved like a crescent moon.

Xu Fengnian was true to his word. He said he would defile her for an hour, and he did so for the full hour, especially when he extended a finger to rub between courtesan Yu's two pearl-like toes, distinctly feeling her suppressed trembling.

Next, he moved upwards, caressing Yu Xuanji’s legs through her last layer of intimate velvet trousers. They were long, slender, and fair. She wielded her sword with such elegant grace. Her beautiful legs, as expected, were full of elasticity. He tormented her for another half an hour, but instead of tearing off her undergarment and “getting straight to the point,” he removed his own clothes, lay on his side beside Yu Xuanji, and took her earlobe into his mouth.

The beauty was already drenched in perfumed sweat, her eyes blurred with tears, her lips bitten tight until threads of blood appeared.

Xu Fengnian whispered in her ear: “‘Watching the City Walls,’ sword dance, Shangyin Academy. Following these threads, I don’t believe, with the power of the Beiliang Prince’s residence, that I can’t uncover the secret of your background. When that time comes, everything you care about, I will destroy. The living, I will kill. The dead, I will exhume. Once I slowly grow tired of toying with you, I will sink your body to the bottom of the lake and hire the old Daoist priests from Mount Wudang to perform a ritual, ensuring you become a vengeful ghost, unable to reincarnate. Oppose me, and this will be your fate.”

Yu Xuanji’s cheeks were streaked with tears.

Xu Fengnian suddenly splayed his fingers and gripped her breast. All his previous gentleness vanished. Yu Xuanji felt an agonizing pain as Xu Fengnian smiled sinisterly:

“My heart is kind; I’ll give you a chance for regret. As long as you agree to serve me until the day you fade and wither, I promise you’ll remain Yu Youwei. I won’t care if you’re the orphan of a former Western Chu official, or a commoner from the martial world crushed by Beiliang’s iron cavalry; I won’t investigate any of it. Everything will be peaceful and good. You can be my canary. Is there a more luxurious cage in this world than the Beiliang Prince’s residence?”

Yu Xuanji sobbed, choking.

Suddenly, Xu Fengnian added, delivering another cruel blow: “I remember now, there’s also that Wu Meiniang, such a charming little thing. How pitiful and tragic, soon to become food for wild dogs. I’ll get up now, go to the Banana Courtyard, pick it up, chop it into pieces right in front of you, and then throw it to the hungry wild dogs.”

Yu Xuanji fainted.

Xu Fengnian was speechless. She fainted from just that? He still had more brutal tricks up his sleeve and felt unsatisfied.

He squeezed her rosy, jade-like breasts twice, finding it gratifying, but courtesan Yu was stiff and lifeless, like a corpse. After a few touches, Xu Fengnian lost interest. If it were merely a beautiful body, Xu Fengnian could summon and dismiss as many as he wished.

He sat up and dressed. He looked down at Yu Youwei, who lay unconscious, her face tear-streaked like pear blossoms in the rain. The resentment in Xu Fengnian’s chest and the cold malice in his eyes diminished slightly. Just a foolish girl, nothing remarkable. Didn’t he already have a “Princess Taiping” in his residence?

Xu Fengnian covered her with a cotton quilt, her head resting on a large red pillow with a pattern of golden snakes. The Prince had a scale in his heart for the beauty and demeanor of women in the world. One hundred wen, equivalent to one tael of silver, was the ultimate perfection; sixty wen indicated an average appearance. Only those above eighty wen could truly catch Xu Fengnian's eye.

In his opinion, if White Fox Face were a woman, she would score ninety-five wen. He had originally wanted to rate her a full one tael of silver, but felt it improper, needing to leave some room for aspiration. Jiang Ni scored ninety wen, but she could become even more beautiful in the future.

Yu Youwei, before him, scored eighty-six wen, similar to his eldest sister. There weren't many alluring maids in the residence who scored over seventy wen, but there weren't few either. However, indulging in such easily available “home turf” pleasures was, in the Prince’s terms, “not much of a skill.” Xu Fengnian, not practicing martial arts, dared not overindulge. He was highly selective, preferring quality over quantity, deeming his tastes "elegant."

After two hours of activity, Xu Fengnian ate some warm pastries from a delicate food box, regaining his strength. He sat on the edge of the bed and slapped courtesan Yu awake again, saying coldly, “Do you want to eat buns made from Wu Meiniang’s meat?”

Yu Xuanji finally began to sob hoarsely.

Xu Fengnian rolled his eyes and said, “I was lying. Let me tell you the truth: I want to vent my anger, but at most I’ll make trouble for you and your family background. Once I throw you into the lake, I’ll take care of Wu Meiniang for you. She’ll be plump and healthy, I promise.”

She stared blankly at Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian sneered, “When have I ever lied to you when not in bed?”

She said, feeling wronged, “But you’re sitting on the bed right now.”

Xu Fengnian, humiliated and enraged, suddenly stood up and said, “Damn it! You women only remember the beatings, not the good deeds! I’ll go chop Wu Meiniang into mincemeat right now!”

Just as he stood up, he heard Yu Youwei softly say, “I will be your servant. From today onwards, I am only Yu Youwei.”

Xu Fengnian turned and stared at courtesan Yu, whose expression was utterly lifeless, asking, “Can I trust you?”

She closed her eyes and said sorrowfully, “Then kill me first, and then kill Wu Meiniang.”

Xu Fengnian hesitated for a moment. He untied her hands and feet, and then moved far away. “You sleep here tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll arrange a courtyard for you, to be my warming-room concubine. Don’t expect any formal title, and without permission, you are not to wander around.”

She said calmly, “I miss Wu Meiniang.”

That night, the Prince sent someone to the Purple Gold Tower to buy Yu Youwei’s freedom. Nothing from the Banana Courtyard was brought back to the Beiliang Prince’s residence, except for a white cat.

Under the sparse stars and bright moon, the two slowly ascended the platform of the Tide-Listening Pavilion—a strange pairing. This was White Fox Face, whom Grand Marshal Xu Xiao and Xu Fengnian had drawn in.

Because the deceased princess consort had been a devout Buddhist her entire life, below the majestic platform stood a square pagoda. Its Sumeru pedestal was carved with eight-petaled plum blossoms, and the pagoda body was inverted-bowl shaped, with a boat-shaped niche in the center. Inside which was carved a Buddha sitting cross-legged on a lotus throne, with a solemn demeanor, and its base featured stone carvings of eight Vajra guardians supporting the structure.

This structure was undoubtedly Lingzhou City’s most auspicious geomantic spot (feng shui). Lingzhou lacked water, so the Prince of Beiliang, Xu Xiao, had expanded the lake into a “sea” by human effort, symbolizing a “water pen.” The Tide-Listening Pavilion stood tall and majestic, built by the water, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon.

Under the eaves of the main pavilion’s first floor were three horizontal plaques. The one facing east was an imperial gift from the Emperor, a “Nine Dragon Plaque” inscribed with “Magnificent and Unrivaled.”

Before entering the pavilion, the Grand Marshal chuckled, “Exchanging Fengnian’s life for Mr. Nangong’s entry into the pavilion, it seems I’ve profited greatly, no matter how you look at it.”

White Fox Face’s expression remained unchanged, offering no reply.

Pushing open the grand doors, a massive white jade bas-relief of “Flying Apsaras of Dunhuang” in the hall immediately caught their eye. The floating apsaras depicted, with their fluttering robes, were all life-sized. Even the well-traveled White Fox Face paused, momentarily lost in wonder.

The slightly hunched Prince of Beiliang, Xu Xiao, chuckled and introduced:

“This first floor, in the west hall, houses thirty thousand volumes of introductory martial arts from all over the world. They aren’t particularly valuable; I merely collected them to fill space and add a touch of scholarly grandeur to my collection of ten thousand books.

The second floor is a hidden level. Besides four thousand rare copies of Yin-Yang and Political Strategy texts, it also holds forty-nine rare and formidable weapons from across the land. It’s my second daughter’s favorite place to be.

The third floor contains twenty thousand volumes of profound martial arts manuals and secret techniques. The hidden level on the fourth floor stores a collection of rare stones and antiques, which Fengnian always complains reek of money.

The fifth and sixth floors hold the very items that martial world experts, daring to sneak into the residence, seek. Beyond that, I believe ordinary masters wouldn’t even be able to comprehend what’s there.

As for the top floor, it’s completely empty. Mr. Nangong, if you wish to climb high and gaze into the distance, you may go to the White Crane Tower on the mountaintop to admire the scenery.”

White Fox Face understood the Grand Marshal’s implied meaning and nodded.

Xu Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled, “Shall we go straight to the fifth floor, then?”

White Fox Face shook his head and finally spoke, “Once we go up there, I might lose all interest in seeing the sixty thousand volumes on the lower floors.”

Xu Xiao was not surprised; he laughed heartily, then ascended the stairs alone and disappeared into the shadows.

White Fox Face, with his two sabers, Embroidered Winter and Spring Thunder, hanging at his waist, stood before the jade screen, looking exceptionally spirited.

The Grand Marshal reached the eighth floor. Bamboo slips and ancient texts were scattered everywhere. On a long zitan wood table, a dim, flickering candle lamp was placed. At one corner of the table rested a green gourd filled with wine. A red string tied the gourd’s mouth to a person’s withered arm.

That person sat on the floor with disheveled hair, a face as pale as snow, and a faint red mark on his forehead. Upon closer inspection, it resembled an inverted phoenix eye. He wore a hemp robe, sat cross-legged with bare feet, and wrote with incredible speed.

Grand Marshal Xu Xiao picked up a dozen bamboo slips and neatly put them aside, only then finding a place to sit down, apologizing, “I came in a hurry and forgot to bring wine. I’ll have Fengnian bring some later.”

Xu Xiao was clearly accustomed to the eccentric man’s silence, and continued on his own:

“Without a true transcendent first-rank grandmaster guarding the Prince’s residence, I can never truly rest easy. I hope this Nangong Pushe doesn’t disappoint me. It’s strange, my spies have been investigating for half a year and still haven’t uncovered his origins. It seems he can only be from Northern Han. Yishan, what rank of strength do you think he currently possesses?”

The man, as withered as a ghost, spoke, his voice like the clang of metal and stone, “Sub-First Rank. Ten years of cultivation within the pavilion. Below him, all beings; above him, no one.”

The Grand Marshal tsk-tsked in admiration, “Fengnian has truly found a treasure.”

The sickly, emaciated man picked up the gourd, tilted it, and found no more wine. Immediately, he lost all interest. He stopped writing, his eyes vacant.

Xu Xiao stood up, looking up at a “Terrestrial Immortal Painting” on the south wall. He clasped his hands behind his back and said with a frown, “Yishan, Fengnian will soon reach adulthood and undergo his coming-of-age ceremony. Why don’t you bestow upon him a courtesy name?”

The man pondered for a moment. “Xu Fengnian, courtesy name Tianlang (Heavenly Wolf).”

Grand Marshal Xu Xiao suddenly burst into boisterous laughter, clearly very proud.