Chapter 923: The Late Bloomer, The Martial World Remains the Same

Activate MembershipGo to page Confirm

0 Competing for PowerAuthor: [Author Name] Update Time: 2016-03-10 20:50:26 Word Count: 7989

After the Liyang Imperial Seal Bureau's convoy passed through Tongguan and entered Liangzhou territory, the horses' hooves finally quickened, trampling the post road like a torrential autumn rain. With several thousand cavalry from the imperial capital region, their momentum was considerable, drawing the attention of many Beiliang citizens. Most of the Beiliang cavalry were stationed outside Liangzhou Pass. Within Beiliang Province, cavalry, apart from those in crucial strategic locations like Tongguan, were more commonly elite escorts like the White Horse Guards. Unless it was an emergency deployment, the rapid advance of over two thousand cavalry was rare.

As nominal envoys of the Son of Heaven, this contingent traveled west, truly experiencing the barrenness and harshness of Beiliang. Yet, amidst the poverty, the autumn crops along the way exuded a unique vitality, lush and vibrant, particularly striking. Occasionally, rural villagers, husband and wife, busy with the autumn harvest, would pause their labor, wipe their sweat, and gaze calmly at the vast, unfamiliar cavalry. If there were children playing in the fields, they would even point and gesticulate. This was a starkly different scene from Jizhou and Hezhou, perhaps the unique spirit Beiliang had cultivated after twenty years of fierce struggle with Beiman. Of all the countless cavalry forces in the world, only Beiliang's could claim to be the best.

The convoy lodged at Qingma Post Station, located just over eighty li from Liangzhou City. The three eunuchs of the Imperial Seal Bureau, adorned in python robes, after enduring countless hardships, were finally close to seeing the princely estate. Perhaps their mood was unusually lightened. After dinner, they agreed to go for a stroll along the banks of the Longju River, accompanied by two agile young eunuchs and six imperial bodyguards carrying royal-issued swords. The chief eunuch squinted at the riverbed. After autumn, the water level had significantly dropped compared to the summer flood season, revealing the riverbed. Near the banks, dark, slab-like rocks, resembling the backs of fish, were exposed, clustered together, giving an incredibly stark impression. Compared to the water towns of Jiangnan, even the capital and its surrounding region would never see such a landscape. The three senior eunuchs of the Imperial Seal Bureau had enjoyed a life of ease for many years. Although accustomed to the autumn cold and winter freeze in Tai'an City, they hadn't experienced much discomfort upon arriving in the Northwest. However, after strolling along the riverbank for more than half an hour, even the two younger eunuchs felt some quiet complaint, and the eunuchs holding the second and third highest positions in the Imperial Seal Bureau were panting. But as long as the chief eunuch didn't stop, neither the eunuchs nor the imperial bodyguards, accustomed to strict rules, dared to suggest turning back. Otherwise, they would likely have to grope their way back to the post station in the dark, lighting torches.

The chief eunuch of the Imperial Seal Bureau was named Liu. His given name was rarely known among the younger eunuchs. Like many elderly eunuchs, he was a survivor of a fallen kingdom. When Liyang forces conquered a state, a large number of eunuchs would accompany the dethroned ruler and his officials to Tai'an City. While the Great Northern Flight of Hongjia was destined for historical renown, the tribulations of these eunuchs would hardly capture the attention of scholars; it was unlikely anyone would record a single line about them in history. Moreover, these eunuchs were always known for their honesty and integrity in Liyang's court. Interfering in politics was unthinkable; three generations of Liyang emperors had been enlightened rulers, and the court shone with the brilliance of both civil and military officials. The older eunuchs all considered it a great fortune to live out their lives peacefully in the palace. Thus, from Han Shengxuan to Song Tanglu, two generations of leading eunuchs were meticulous and cautious in their conduct.

The group walked for another half an hour before finally seeing a large, imposing cliff standing majestically on the right bank of the river. Eunuch Liu was the first to ascend the cliff, his emotions a mixture of many feelings.

The slightly plump supervising eunuch, unable to bear the soreness in his legs, was about to plop down onto the ground. The young eunuch, who considered him his master, quickly knelt like an ox or horse. The older eunuch smiled contentedly and casually sat on the younger eunuch's back. Another junior eunuch, mimicking the action, also tried to curry favor with Chief Eunuch Liu in the same way. However, just as he bent down to offer himself as a seat, Eunuch Liu waved his hand, so he had to reluctantly withdraw.

Eunuch Liu raised his arm and pointed upstream, then turned to the two elderly eunuchs in python robes, one standing and one sitting, and chuckled, "Eunuch Song, Eunuch Ma, you should know that I was once from Northern Han. My ancestors... well, as some young people in Tai'an City would say, we once had our heyday."

The two senior Imperial Seal Bureau eunuchs nodded, smiling.

With his back to the others, Eunuch Liu continued, "Before my family got into trouble and was exiled, our fortunes had actually declined by my grandfather's generation. We could barely be considered scholars, though before my coming-of-age ceremony, I did travel for studies. At that time, such study tours were also divided into different tiers. The highest tier was studying at the Shangyin Academy in Western Chu. Next were the three great academies of the realm, and then the private libraries of the four prominent Jiangnan families. I couldn't afford to travel that far, nor did I have the necessary family connections. At that time, there were only two paths: either east, which is today's Tai'an City, or west, which is today's Beiliang. Since Yao Dajia's scholarship was already renowned throughout the Central Plains then, I chose to travel west, and then, I passed through here. I don't actually remember this river being called Longju River; I only remember this cliff and a small ferry crossing ahead of it."

The young eunuch who hadn't managed to serve Chief Eunuch Liu as a humble servant immediately beamed with a smile, "No wonder your calligraphy has such exceptional character, Eunuch. Even the late Emperor praised it many times. So, you truly come from a scholar's background!"

Eunuch Liu should have long been accustomed to such innocuous flattery, but at this moment, he was particularly pleased. He rubbed his beardless chin, gazed into the distance, and his sharp voice softened slightly, "The reason I remember this nameless cliff so clearly..."

Just as everyone listened intently for him to continue, the influential chief eunuch gradually suppressed his voice, making it as faint as a mosquito's fluttering wings, so much so that it was hard to tell if the old man was muttering to himself.

Of course, the old man was speaking. Some words had festered within him for most of his life, demanding to be released. Yet, as these words slowly reached his lips, he became like a stingy old drunkard, bringing out a jar of aged wine he had treasured for decades, wishing to drink it alone. It was best if others could see but not drink, only watching him partake.

The old man was actually speaking of an insignificant matter. He didn't know why, after experiencing so many ups and downs in life—first his family's decline, then the nation's fall and fragmentation, followed by the scheming within the largest residence under heaven, seeing countless high-spirited generals, ministers, and nobles, and many stirring heroes and warlords, respectable and pitiable figures, encountering many sweat-inducing conspiracies that one would remember later—the things that truly lingered in his mind in his twilight years were trifles he had laughed off in his youth. The old man's hazy vision reached a small ferry crossing that was perhaps an obscure, unnamed spot even in Liangzhou's local gazetteers. But it was there, in early autumn, that the then-young scholar from Northern Han, surnamed Liu, found the crossing without boats. To get across the river, he had to rely on the villagers by the river to carry him. There were robust, dark-skinned young men, as well as elderly men and women. Most of them were bare-chested, and even middle-aged women were no exception, their upper bodies exposed, their chests heavy as if weighed down by the two fullest grains of rice in the world. So much so that when they first saw this scene, almost all the touring scholars from Northern Han blushed. Yet, the villagers who made a living from the ferry were delighted, regardless of gender or age. And among them, his eyes immediately fell upon a maiden like a yellow flower. Unlike the others, she wore a thin, heavily patched garment. Perhaps she wasn't strikingly beautiful, but among the crude villagers, she stood out remarkably. In the long years of palace life that followed, the old man only twice experienced such a strong sense of abruptness. Once was when the current Empress Dowager Zhao Zhi, while still Empress of Liyang, sternly rebuked His Majesty the Emperor, who was widely regarded as wise and martial. The other time was when he distantly watched Xu Xiao, the Butcher, a princely king of a different surname who bore the title of Grand Pillar of the State, scatter the assembled officials like carp in a pond after a court session in the capital, while he alone seemed to walk by himself.

The old man withdrew his thoughts, his gaze peaceful, looking far away.

He remembered choosing that yellow-flower-like maiden to carry him across the river back then, feeling shy. His two fellow scholars traveling with him tacitly chose two middle-aged women. When they reached the middle of the Longju River, he even saw with his own eyes the one who was usually the most rigorous and rigid in his studies secretly pinching the woman's full, slightly dark breasts. The look of satisfaction on his classmate's face was like that of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. And while another classmate was usually audacious, he was timid then. However, the woman carrying him laughed heartily, freed a hand to grab his palm, and slapped it onto her chest, then said in a thick Northwest accent, "Touching once is free, but if you want to touch enough, it's just five copper coins."

He alone remained proper, constrained by the etiquette of a scholar of sages, and also feeling a bit of compassion. He clung to her slender waist and back, afraid that if he startled her, she might lose her footing, and they would truly become a pair of ill-fated lovers, turning into water ghosts.

After being carried across the river, he also wanted to give a few extra coins like his classmates, but she refused, her eyes downcast, lightly fiddling with the corner of her clothes, shy and timid.

That encounter and parting brought no reunion.

Perhaps his enduring memory of her wasn't truly about how much he liked her, but rather a nostalgia for the scholar he once was.

But perhaps, the young scholar named Liu did, in fact, always like her, an affection that couldn't be described as shallow or quantified, and didn't need to be pondered over how much it was.

The old man suddenly felt an inexplicable urge. He looked up at the sky, then turned and chuckled deeply, "I'm going to take a look at the ferry crossing over there. Eunuch Song, Eunuch Ma, you two don't need to follow. I'll be back quickly, trying my best not to return to the post station in the dark."

The python-robed eunuch sitting on the young eunuch's back immediately stood up and said considerately, "Since we've come this far, it's just a matter of a final push. What does it matter if we return in the dark? It won't delay important matters anyway."

The other, tallest eunuch Ma also laughed and chimed in, "The chance to revisit old places with Chief Eunuch Liu might only come once in this lifetime. This short distance is no hardship. We three have traveled thousands of li for the imperial family on this trip."

Eunuch Liu nodded, smiling, his expression growing more benevolent. Although the Imperial Seal Bureau was not considered a particularly prominent office among the Liyang Imperial Palace's twelve bureaus, four departments, and eight offices, and certainly couldn't be compared to the Directorate of Ceremonial headed by Song Tanglu, it was not to be underestimated. After all, it was responsible for safeguarding the iron warrants, imperial edicts, and seals for the emperor. Back in Tai'an City, the Imperial Seal Bureau was never as harmonious as it was now. This mission to the Northwest must have put immense pressure on the three senior eunuchs of the Imperial Seal Bureau, truly making them a single entity for better or worse, naturally setting aside their previous petty rivalries for the time being.

The old saying, "Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," was indeed true. When Eunuch Liu pointed to the dimly visible small ferry crossing, the Imperial Seal Bureau group was still exhausted, and even Eunuch Liu had to apologize to his two sweaty, python-robed colleagues.

The ferry crossing was still there, but compared to the scene decades ago with over twenty people waiting to carry people across for money, now there were only a sparse four or five individuals. Eunuch Liu looked around, somewhat disappointed. The villagers were all rough, old men; there were no young men or women. Travelers going to the opposite bank were also few and far between. Eunuch Liu had intended to return then, but felt a bit unwilling, so he walked towards the few old men chatting in a cluster. Those men clearly noticed the group, especially the three eunuchs of the Imperial Seal Bureau with their python robes and jade belts, which were strikingly novel. Even a frog at the bottom of a well who had barely seen the county magistrate in his life would know, if not blind, that these were powerful figures not to be provoked, and also that they were definitely not here to cross the river. Although the Longju River was the most prominent river in Liangzhou, after the government built two bridges a decade or so ago, one for the garrison and one for the common people, there was almost no business even during the summer and autumn seasons. Who would not use a bridge and insist on wading through the river, unless they were simply too idle? Only merchants and travelers from further north, who were in a hurry and didn't want to travel an extra twenty li out of their way to the southern bridge, would wade across the river. However, it was said that major merchants with good government connections could actually use the northern post bridge, but since the young princely king ascended, regulations had become stricter. Local garrisons and government offices no longer dared to turn a blind eye and facilitate people as they used to.

Just as Eunuch Liu was preparing to return, someone suddenly skimmed across the river from the opposite bank. Dressed in white, with a long sword at his waist, he touched the water several times lightly like a dragonfly before crossing the river.

After landing gracefully on the bank, the white-robed swordsman ignored the astonished stares of the villagers and turned to look at his group of jianghu friends on the opposite bank.

They were betting on who could cross the river with the fewest water touches, competing to see whose sect's lightness skill was superior.

However, although this young hero from a renowned martial arts sect put on an arrogant facade, as if keeping everyone at a thousand li's distance, he was also extremely wary of the eunuchs in python robes and jade belts behind him.

When did eunuchs start appearing in Beiliang? Everyone knew that the Beiliang Prince's Manor was different from other princely residences in the Liyang Dynasty; it had never employed eunuchs.

And after the old Butcher Xu, surnamed Xu, led his iron cavalry to sweep through the jianghu, the martial arts world of Liyang had always either kept a respectful distance from the imperial court and officials, or desperately tried to curry favor and establish connections. No one had ever heard of any sect or gang being able to contend with imperial officials. This dashing young hero standing by the river was no stranger to official regulations, but he wasn't familiar with the high-ranking figures of Tai'an City. He wasn't sure what rank of eunuch was qualified to wear such a striking crimson python robe, but he knew they wouldn't be mere small fry; otherwise, they couldn't openly leave the palace to handle official business. Their identities and statuses were worlds apart, so he simply pretended he saw nothing.

The young eunuch who served like an ox or horse was skilled at observing expressions. Noticing that all three eunuchs had frowned, he immediately explained in a low voice, "Previously, Xuanyuan Qingfeng, the female martial alliance leader from Huishan, rallied martial artists to Beiliang to suppress several demonic figures, fighting all the way to the Western Regions before stopping. Afterward, many martial artists weren't in a hurry to leave Beiliang Province. These individuals must be young people from the Central Plains martial arts world."

Eunuch Liu snorted coldly, "Wielding martial arts to violate prohibitions! Even Cao Changqing, that Western Chu rebel, despite being a Confucian sage, has repeatedly shown off his prowess in Tai'an City!"

The plump, Buddha-like Eunuch Song chuckled softly, "It's not just people from the jianghu who rely on force to violate prohibitions."

Eunuch Liu and Eunuch Ma remained silent.

Afterward, two more young martial artists of similar age successively skimmed across the Longju River.

Eunuch Liu suddenly turned to an imperial bodyguard commander and asked with a smile, "Commander Qian, what is the cultivation level of these young people? How do they compare to the Grandmaster realm rumored in the jianghu?"

The burly bodyguard, whose expression was somewhat wooden, replied plainly, "Eunuch Liu, let alone the four realms of the first rank, even a minor grandmaster of the second rank is not a height these mere 'embroidered pillows' can reach. With their aptitude and natural endowments, unless they encounter great fortune, it will take them twenty to thirty years to enter the second rank."

Eunuch Liu nodded, then lost all interest in further inquiry.

The jianghu was distant, the court high.

What martial grandmasters? As long as they weren't those few listed on the martial arts rankings, they were merely caged birds and pond fish, casually kept by the emperor.

Just as Eunuch Liu was about to turn and leave, he suddenly squinted, straining to look at the river's current.

A young man crossing the river, who probably only excelled in external martial arts, possessed lightness skills so poor that even Eunuch Liu of the Imperial Seal Bureau found them unbearable. Not only did he step on the water many times, but the splashes he created were also astonishingly loud. If others were 'grass skimmers,' this fellow was truly 'rolling in the grass.'

But this was not what caught Eunuch Liu's attention. The old man saw a young man slowly crossing the river, carrying a passenger who vaguely resembled an old woman.

As a result, he was splashed with water all over his head by the poor lightness skills of the young jianghu hero.

In the Longju River, the old woman helped the young man wipe the river water from his forehead, looking kind and a little distressed, and said helplessly, "Did you suffer? I told you earlier that Granny could cross the river by herself, but you insisted on carrying me. Granny here has been carrying people across the river for decades. Even if I were blind, I could cross the river during a flood. Where do I need you to carry me?"

The young man chuckled, "During that heavy rain back then, the stack of silver notes in my travel bag almost turned into mush. I didn't have any silver coins on hand at the time, and you wouldn't accept my jade pendant. I've owed you this favor for so many years. Now that I've finally met you, Granny, I should definitely carry you across at least once."

The old woman said gently, "Forget a jade pendant, Granny wouldn't even dare to accept broken silver. One trip across the river is just three copper coins; even the smallest piece of broken silver is too much."

Some poor people live hard lives, and if they feel uneasy even in their hardship, then it truly becomes painful.

The old woman suddenly asked with a smile, "Young master, what about Old Huang, who crossed the river with you back then? The one with the missing front teeth when he smiled? Granny remembers very clearly, he was right behind us, and he was short, the river water was almost up to his neck."

The young man whispered, "Old Huang... he's gone. He passed away in a place very far from Beiliang. I couldn't see him."

The old woman sighed, unsure how to comfort this young man who had remembered a five-copper-coin debt for so many years.

Perhaps in her village, she could remember for half a lifetime who owed her a copper coin or whom she owed. But this young man carrying her, he didn't look like a child from a poor family.

Who would give away a jade pendant for carrying him across the river just once, simply because they didn't have copper coins on hand? Even a worthless jade pendant was still a jade pendant!

The old woman asked with a smile, "Young master, are you married yet? Do you have children?"

The young man replied with a hint of embarrassment, "I'm getting married soon."

As they neared the riverbank crossing, the old woman asked, "Are you tired?"

The young man chuckled, "Granny, you're so light, how could I be tired?"

Then the young man teased, "Granny, you must have been very beautiful when you were young. I'm sure many people came to propose marriage."

The old woman, poor but cleanly dressed, smiled knowingly. She neither nodded nor denied it.

Upon reaching the bank, the young man gently set the old woman down. She asked, "Young master, you left that horse on the other side of the river. Is that really alright?"

The young man smiled, "It's fine, it won't get lost."

The old woman helped the young man, who had rolled up his sleeves to carry her, gently lower them, and said, "Once you start a family, you can't think of everything that way."

The young man nodded with a grin, "I understand, I'll be more careful with money."

After the old woman came ashore, she waved at the young man standing in the shallow water near the bank, "Hurry back and see if anything is missing from the horse's back."

The young man, who had lowered his sleeves but still had his trouser legs rolled up, responded with a smile.

The old woman slowly walked towards the ferry crossing.

Then she saw an old man dressed in peculiar attire. She saw him at once, even though he was flanked by two other old men similarly dressed in "red robes."

The chief eunuch of the Liyang Imperial Seal Bureau, Eunuch Liu, also noticed her.

He hesitated, wanting to speak.

But she simply smiled softly, turned her head slightly, and with a withered finger, tidied her wisps of hair at her temples.

He watched her, was about to take a step forward, but finally gave a self-deprecating smile, withdrew his foot, turned, and walked away with large strides.

And she, still like many, many years ago, looked at the young scholar's retreating back, and still like that yellow-flower-like maiden of yesteryear, gently waved.

The sky turned dusky yellow. The python-robed eunuchs and imperial bodyguards departed first. The villagers at the ferry crossing, who felt business was unlikely, also left the riverbank, just like the old woman.

But the disheveled young man, wading towards the opposite bank, suddenly turned around and sprinted back ashore. Although his appearance was excellent, ultimately, people rely on clothes and Buddha relies on gold statues for presentation. Who would truly look at a poor boy who made money by carrying people across a river? Amidst the disdainful glances of seven or eight jianghu young heroes and heroines, he approached them, brightened with a smile, and inexplicably said, "When I was dog-paddling through the jianghu with my brothers back then, I always wanted to do one thing to you experts who skim across the river."

Whether it was the handsome swordsman in white robes or the dazzling young heroines, they were all given a kick in the backside by this fellow who seemed to have had his brain squeezed by a door panel, sending them tumbling into the Longju River. The scene was like a pot of dumplings being poured out.

The young man, his boots still on the opposite bank, stood barefoot at the ferry crossing, looking at those drenched chickens who were now cursing him, and said earnestly, "It's a skilled job!"

If those young jianghu heroes and heroines had known the identity of this madman, they probably wouldn't have been enraged out of shame, but rather deeply grateful.

To be kicked by one of the four grandmasters of martial arts, according to jianghu rules, was equivalent to exchanging blows. This might be a privilege that even the founding ancestors of their respective sects would envy.

Such a stroke of luck could be boasted about for thirty years.

That martial grandmaster stood on the bank with his hands on his hips, laughing heartily, "I am a hero who does not change his name or surname when I act, the number one figure in the Northwest, known in the jianghu as the Divine Fist Unrivaled, Peerless Legwork, Foremost Blade Under Heaven, Sword Arts Divine, Jade-faced Young Master—Xu Fengnian, that is!"

There was, of course, no ethereal immortal charm, grand hero demeanor, or master's aura about him.

So the young hero who had just splashed water all over him shouted in exasperation, "Xu, you bastard!"

Everyone heard that scoundrel, with a smug look on his face, chuckle and ask, "Don't like it? Come hit me then! Green mountains remain, green waters flow long; we'll meet again!"

This time, even the heroines and fairies who had tried to maintain their composure while falling into the water could no longer tolerate it.

But just as they were about to demand an explanation, they suddenly felt their bodies drop. The next moment, everyone looked at each other, stunned and speechless.

They were all sitting at the bottom of the river. The riverbed was still damp, but there was no river water. Looking up, at the edge of their vision, no water flowed from upstream, and no water flowed downstream.

Someone, perhaps the first to look up, realized the truth and stared blankly.

The river water was still flowing; it was just flowing above their heads.

Like a green dragon, it swept across the sky.

When everyone, scared out of their wits, scrambled onto the bank, wet and disoriented,

the long dragon of river water, suspended in the air, happened to crash heavily back into the riverbed, sending huge splashes onto both banks. But at this moment, no one cared that they had once again become drenched chickens.

Far away, a lone figure led a horse, slowly walking towards Qingma Post Station.

The jianghu remained.

But the horse was no longer the inferior one from back then, nor was he still young.

He was now without Old Huang with the missing teeth, and without the wooden-sword wandering hero.