Chapter 839: The Knight's Journey (Part 1)

Before reaching the new city outside the pass, a comical interlude occurred among the 800 light cavalry of the Phoenix Camp.

The formidable Captain Yuan Meng rode his horse swiftly to the carriage and reported to the young prince, who was acting as the coachman: "Your Highness, scouts report that about a mile to the northwest, over sixty martial artists carrying swords are fighting each other in two groups, and they are rushing this way. Shall I lead men to intercept them?"

Xu Fengnian paused, then asked with a smile, "Is it a vendetta between rival gangs, or are they after me?"

Yuan Meng grinned, revealing his wide, bloodthirsty mouth, and declared menacingly, "Who cares! My brothers are itching for a fight, so we'll just use them to sharpen our teeth and as a side dish!"

Xu Fengnian waved his hand. "Forget it. Let's just keep going. As long as they don't come too close, ignore them."

Noticing that the sturdy Captain, a seasoned border general, seemed reluctant, Xu Fengnian pointed his riding whip towards Yu Xinlang, who was not far ahead, and chuckled, "Are you itching for a fight? Is Wang Xianzhi's eldest disciple enough to make you break a sweat?"

Yuan Meng grumbled, "In that case, let's forget it. Peace brings prosperity, after all."

However, the turn of events greatly pleased the disgruntled Captain Yuan. The two groups of martial artists, as if courting death, crashed into the long, serpentine formation of the 800 White Horse Volunteers. Yuan Meng naturally saw that the leading individuals intentionally wanted to divert trouble and stir up chaos to escape. One blood-stained young swordsman was the first to vault over the heads of several White Horse Volunteers, landing on the right side of the slowly advancing cavalry. With him leading the way, a few others followed, tiptoeing low and lightly flipping over the human wall. If that were all, it might have been fine. But some with slightly inferior *qinggong* couldn't possibly circle around the light cavalry to escape. After a moment's hesitation, someone, not knowing who, brazenly shouted, "Excuse us, gentlemen of the army, just passing through!" Then, five or six desperate individuals actually tried to force their way through the cavalry ranks. The already short-tempered Yuan Meng had been seething when someone earlier provoked him, but he had forced himself to endure it upon seeing his prince remain unperturbed. Now, these rascals were taking an inch and wanting a mile, attempting to disrupt the military march. He immediately tilted his head, spat fiercely, cursed under his breath, and then bellowed, "Raise your crossbows! Anyone who dares come within ten paces will be killed without mercy!"

The cavalry did not stop their horses but continued to advance. Yet, almost instantly, all the light cavalry raised their crossbows.

The crossbow bolts glinted brightly in the sunlight, immediately sending shivers down the spines of all the martial artists.

The hot-headed martial artists who had been charging forward immediately froze, motionless and holding their breath. Except for the five on the right who had initially used their excellent *qinggong* to leap over the human wall of light cavalry, everyone else was blocked on the left side of the cavalry, clearly separated.

A middle-aged man in a green robe, carrying a sword, clearly had more experience in the martial world. He not only signaled to those around and behind him not to act rashly but also immediately twisted his arm behind his back, adopting a sword-carrying posture to show respect to the cavalry. He looked at Yuan Meng, who appeared most like a general, and said loudly, "General, I am Zhang Rongqian of the Taibai Sword Sect from Southern Zhao. I am currently pursuing twelve lawless villains with fellow martial artists. If we have offended your carriage, please forgive us!"

Being addressed as "General" in front of the Prince of Northern Liang immediately made the Phoenix Camp Captain's dark face flush crimson. This flattery had completely backfired. Yuan Meng angrily retorted, "General your mother! I'm just a Captain of the sixth rank! You're clearly a smooth-talker, and judging by your surname Zhang, you're no good bird!"

The middle-aged, refined swordsman, who had introduced himself as Zhang Rongqian of the Taibai Sword Sect, was somewhat mortified. In the martial world, reputation was everything. Over sixty martial artists were all listening intently, and he had just been called "no good bird" by an impudent cavalry captain. As a major figure in the Southern Zhao righteous martial arts world, ranking among the top ten, no matter how deep his self-cultivation, he no longer had the composure to tolerate such a slight. However, facing a nearly thousand-strong cavalry unit, clearly the elite and formidable border army of Northern Liang, Zhang Rongqian, as an outsider, dared not contend with the local power. Especially on Northern Liang territory, wrestling with the Northern Liang border army was out of the question; no matter how skilled Zhang Rongqian was, even with three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be enough for them to slice through like vegetables. Thus, Zhang Rongqian simply kept a cold expression and did not retort.

An old man in brocade robes, who had previously been held back by Zhang Rongqian and thus prevented from leaping over the light cavalry's human wall, was heavily wounded, with a profusely bleeding hole pierced in his waist. Yet, he still exuded a fierce aura. Turning his back to the Liang cavalry and facing his fifty-odd martial arts adversaries, he said sinisterly, "Zhang Rongqian! You hypocritical, deceptive number one fraud of Southern Zhao! How dare you call us villains?! Our young master merely exposed your old secret of killing your brother and seizing a secret manual to rise to power years ago. If you truly have the guts, then come and silence us!"

A graceful woman, dressed in robes as white as snow and holding a vibrant red pipa, said softly, "Evil cultists, no matter how eloquent you are, everyone has the right to eliminate you."

The old man, still clutching his waist wound with his hand, scoffed, "Oh, so Fairy Liu of Mount Piaomiao, Great Horizontal Peak, Huainan Dao, has spoken. Haha, it's just that time is unforgiving, otherwise, a 'fairy' like you, Liu Hongxia, when I was young, I'd have had at least thirty, if not fifty, women on my bed! As for your master, Fairy Fei Chan, that old hag who relies on her beauty-preserving techniques to show her face everywhere and gain recognition, I couldn't even stand to look at her back then! Didn't she just rely on flings with many old men to secure the last spot among the eighteen on Huishan's Great Snowfield? Does she really think she's someone great? Xuanyuan Qingfeng killed our Sect Master; we resent it, but ultimately, we respect it. She did it with true skill, able to kill six top masters, including the Sect Master, by herself! But what are you lot, you despicable bunch?"

Yuan Meng burst out laughing, suddenly no longer eager to have the Phoenix Camp drive the people away.

The white-clad fairy holding the pipa narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice, "Demon Lord Fu Hai, you seek death!"

The old man, with blood seeping between his fingers, shrugged his waist and wickedly chuckled, "Then, are you looking for this?"

Zhang Rongqian, who seemed to be observing the movements of the demonic leader, had been keenly watching the cavalry's progress out of the corner of his eye. This outer sect master of the Taibai Sword Sect suddenly saw the carriage stop. The young coachman looked towards them, but strangely, no one emerged from the carriage, nor was a curtain lifted. It was as if this unruly coachman simply wanted to watch a good show and had stopped the carriage on his own accord. Consequently, the entire cavalry unit, without any command, also abruptly came to a halt.

With the cavalry's sudden halt, an atmosphere of suffocating stillness immediately descended.

There was complete silence.

After waiting for a moment, and with no further verbal abuse or fighting, the young coachman seemed to mutter something to himself, then quickly resumed driving the carriage forward.

Yuan Meng pursed his lips, raised an arm, clenched his fist, and began to follow the carriage forward.

The 800 light cavalry simultaneously put away their crossbows.

Without a sound.

Both groups stared, dumbfounded, as the cavalry rode further and further away, for some reason momentarily forgetting their deadly conflict.

After Xu Beizhi bent down and exited the carriage, he leaned against its outer wall and asked with a smile, "You finally had a chance to show off your skills, why didn't you demonstrate a few moves?"

Xu Fengnian smiled faintly. "Do you think I'm a street performer who smashes rocks on his chest? Besides, they weren't offering money."

Xu Beizhi continued to taunt, "It seems your injuries in Tai'an City were quite severe this time. Otherwise, with your temperament, especially in front of those 'fairy' heroines, you would have already gotten involved."

Xu Fengnian shook his head. "You've really misunderstood me there. In the martial world, it is most taboo for a junior to act like a senior, and most skillful for a senior to act like a junior. I'm an old hand at this; let me tell you, those two groups of desperate martial artists, the heroes and the demon, why were they fighting so desperately? That young master of some demonic cult unconsciously touched his chest. I'm telling you, it's nine times out of ten a secret manual from the Tide-Listening Pavilion, acquired by chance after murder and plunder. As for the Taibai Sword Sect and Mount Piaomiao from Huainan Dao, they claim to be eliminating evil and defending justice, but in reality, they're all after that manual. As for how they'll divide the spoils afterward, there's no need to spell it out. The expert from Southern Zhao, surnamed Zhang, will certainly handle it flawlessly to everyone's satisfaction. For instance, the first volume goes to me, the second to you. After reading it, the two factions can lend them to each other. This way, two major sects, usually separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, will become staunch allies in the martial world, echoing each other. In Southern Zhao, you can say Fairy Fei Chan is a revered martial arts veteran, and on Mount Piaomiao, I can say your Taibai Sword Sect is in no way inferior to the East Yue Sword Pool. Everyone saves face. Perhaps a few elders will sit down, mediate, and then have two talented young individuals from their respective sects become an immortal couple. That would be another grand tale to be told for years."

Xu Beizhi gave a thumbs-up and clicked his tongue, "Your Highness, you're sharp, you know the ropes."

Xu Fengnian was silent for a moment, then chuckled, "Their martial world is just like that. You can't say it's good or bad, it's just too much like the martial world."

Xu Beizhi sighed, "According to you, in life, everywhere is the martial world."

Xu Fengnian, with his back to the tangerines, nodded, "Perhaps so."

As they neared the new city, more and more groups of martial artists appeared. Their backgrounds were somewhat similar to Zhang Rongqian's: they had initially followed Xuanyuan Qingfeng to the Western Regions to eliminate demonic figures. However, after that purple-clad woman had completed her killings, leaving no one else for others to fight, she then instigated righteous martial artists to impulsively rush to the Northern Liang border to join the army, only to vanish without a trace herself. Most of the older martial arts elites did not actually venture beyond the pass. Instead, they mostly stayed within Liangzhou or Lingzhou, traveling the land and honing their skills with peers of similar status, or they established connections with the Fish-Dragon Gang, one of the ten great gangs of the world. In the martial world, it was all about showing deference to influential figures. Whether one had a familiar face or not made a world of difference. Even Xu Fengnian, in his early years wandering among the martial world's lower echelons, had witnessed several street brawls where, simply because the summoned helpers knew each other, no fight broke out, but drinks were had instead. Swords didn't move, but chopsticks did – there was a great deal of unspoken understanding in such situations.

The travel permits issued by local governments throughout Liyang were insufficient for these martial artists to reach military strongholds like Hutou City or Huaiyang Pass. Most stopped near the new city. Only a very small number of individuals, guided by high-ranking members of the Fish-Dragon Gang, could approach the border beyond the pass. However, joining the army to fight the Northern Mang barbarians was out of the question. They merely considered it a trip to enjoy the scenery of the great desert beyond the frontier. If lucky, they might glimpse a dozen or so White Horse Rangers speeding past. If even luckier, they might catch distant sight of large cavalry forces moving north and south, raising dust and exuding a magnificent aura. Compared to the previous two unperceptive groups, these young heroes mingling around the new city, through constant exposure, knew more "inside information" about Northern Liang. Moreover, for 800 light cavalry to have 2,000 elite cavalry stationed there specifically clearing the way and leading them, couldn't there be a prominent figure among the light cavalry? It was obvious. Coupled with the uniform white armor and white horses of this light cavalry unit, only the blind or foolish wouldn't realize who the esteemed personage was, gracing this new city, which Northern Liang greatly valued, with their presence.

As the White Horse Volunteers rode past, a bald young man suddenly sprinted from the roadside towards the cavalry, shouting loudly, "Prince of Northern Liang, I am Liu An from Liaodong! I challenge you!"

Before the bald hero could even approach the carriage, Yuan Meng, the only one in the cavalry equipped with a long spear, grabbed his weapon. He rode slightly out of formation, flicked his wrist, and twirled the spear in his palm. With the butt of the spear, he gently bumped the tall young man's abdomen, instantly sending this audacious intruder flying. The force was perfectly controlled, neither injuring the man nor allowing him to brazenly charge the carriage.

Liu An, his body arcing like a bow in mid-air, landed hard on his backside. After finally regaining his senses, he shouted towards the carriage, "Prince of Northern Liang, don't leave! If you have the skill, give me, Liu An, a proper weapon..."

Unfortunately, the cavalry unit was already galloping towards the new city.

Liu An sat on the ground, sighing in regret. What a pity, the boastful declarations he had prepared for so long remained unspoken.

"I, Liu An, in my life, enjoy drinking the strongest wine, wielding the deadliest blade, and riding the fastest horse!"

"Liu An, left Liaodong at the age of manhood, taking pleasure in grievances and revenge, covering two thousand li in three years!"

What a true pity.

The young man touched his belly, then suddenly lowered his head and secretly smiled.

At least the name Liu An will now have a slight reputation in the Central Plains martial world, right?

While Liu An failed to shout out more words, many other heroes standing at a distance successfully seized the opportunity to make their own declarations.

These were merely pronouncements like someone vowing to challenge all heroes under heaven, or another declaring they would defeat all world masters with a single sword in this lifetime. Some even roared, "My fate is mine, not heaven's; if heaven wants to destroy me, I will destroy heaven!" The only one that could rival this was probably the line, "Everyone in the world is treacherous; I shall kill Buddhas if I meet Buddhas, and gods if I meet gods."

Inside the carriage, Xu Beizhi and Chen Xiliang exchanged glances. Were today's young martial artists really so ambitious?

The real pity, however, was that the young prince, one of the great martial arts grandmasters, was not actually there.

There was someone Xu Fengnian wanted to meet in person.