Chapter 948: Ziyue

In the deep night, the young prince, having just been kicked out of bed, settled into a bamboo chair under the eaves. He didn't entirely neglect his comfort, bringing out a pot of green ant wine and a small plate of peanuts. He left the wine untouched, but placed the dish on his robe, leisurely popping the peanuts into his mouth one by one. It was going to be a long night, and he might as well eat.

Xu Fengnian sighed, remembering the adage, "Haste makes waste." He had thought that helping her earn so much copper would put her in a good mood. Indeed, she had allowed him onto the bed. But the moment his hand touched a "finally not-so-peaceful" spot, before he could even savor the sensation, he was met with immediate misfortune.

Xu Fengnian glanced down at his crotch, lamenting, "A chivalrous young man like me, I let you enjoy the good times, and I bear the hardships! Isn't that loyal enough?"

After his murmur, Xu Fengnian leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head, and gazed up at the bright moon overhead.

Autumn had arrived, and the night air was as cool as water.

He had sensed all the commotion throughout the day: Gu Jiantang and the white-robed monk Chen Feng, and later Tantai Pingjing's actions on both the large and small Lotus Peaks. Xu Fengnian was even fully aware when Gu Jiantang and Tantai Pingjing eventually met at the foot of the mountain.

Some matters were beyond his attention or control; to dwell on them would only increase his worries.

Outside Liangzhou Pass, at the northernmost Tiger Head City, the Northern Mang's central army, the largest concentration of troops, advanced on three fronts, meticulously organized and impenetrable.

Fortunately, Cao Wei and Xie Xichui had joined forces, achieving an unexpected great victory at Miyun Pass in the Western Regions. However, Xie Xichui's two cavalry divisions, along with the bandits recruited by Han Wenbao and Chai Dongdi, were almost completely decimated. The Huaiyang Pass Protectorate had already issued an order for Xie Xichui's exceptional promotion to Deputy General of Liuzhou, placing him in temporary command of all forces from the Linyuan and Fengxiang divisions. Additionally, 20,000 monk soldiers from Lantuo Mountain were also assigned to Xie Xichui's command. As Xie Xichui's cavalry had sustained minimal losses, Qingliang Mountain and the Protectorate made a swift, provisional decision: Xie Xichui would lead his troops in a northern advance, forming a coordinated pincer movement with Yu Luandao's elite Youzhou cavalry, who were already nearing the Northern Mang's Junzi Hall area. Their objective was a direct assault on the Southern Dynasty's Western Capital!

Outside Hulu Pass in Youzhou, the situation remained relatively calm. Both the Liang and Mang forces understood that this battle would not be the decisive engagement determining the overall outcome, but rather a series of minor skirmishes. The group of over twenty swordsmen who had left the Wu Family Sword Tomb seized this opportunity to lead small cavalry units on patrols outside the pass. While their presence was a minor, non-critical addition, it was a positive development nonetheless.

North of Qingcang City in Liuzhou, Huang Man'er's and Kou Jianghuai's cavalry units stood poised for action.

An oral alliance was formed with Susu this afternoon. The 20,000 Shu Zhao infantry, while not a mere drop in the bucket, could only serve as a surprise force outside Liangzhou Pass. Their operational space was extremely limited, and needing to resort to such unorthodox tactics would be far from fortunate. Xu Fengnian desperately hoped those 20,000 would ultimately not be required on the battlefield. As for Wei Miao's subsequent message to Chen Zhibao, claiming he wouldn't impede Old Master Zhao Dingxiu's troops from passing through Shu into Liang, it was believable, but not entirely trustworthy. Currently, the northern and southern territories near Guangling River were a tangled mess. The three great vassal kings of Liyang—Prince Yanfu Zhao Bing, King of Shu Chen Zhibao, and Prince Jing'an Zhao Xun—were all rising. Perhaps loyalists of the Zhao imperial family in Liyang still felt the court held an advantage, considering Gu Jiantang a "stabilizing force." However, Xu Fengnian knew that Gu Jiantang's ties with the Zhao family in Tai'an City had run their course. While his son-in-law Yuan Tingshan's defection from the court at the Chunxue Tower celebration might have seemed like a problem for his father-in-law Gu Jiantang, the ambitious "mad dog's" actions were, in a sense, a tacit opportunism.

Beyond the imminent war outside the pass, Xu Fengnian was genuinely worried about the imperial court's earlier promise to deliver grain supplies to Liangzhou via canal. Given his "relationship" with Prince Jing'an Zhao Xun, and with Zhao Xun now on the verge of ascending the dragon throne, it would be truly surprising if the imperial grain could still be smoothly transported to Lingzhou.

Originally, these matters wouldn't have been a concern. Even if Zhao Xun genuinely ascended to the throne, he would remain a mere puppet, capable of speaking but certainly not of truly dictating the situation. Even if Prince Yanfu Zhao Bing harbored reservations about Beiliang, as long as Zhao Zhu was there, some degree of control could ultimately be maintained.

However, ever since encountering Lin Hongyuan, Xu Fengnian had to prepare for the worst: Beiliang would face its greatest challenge, truly being caught between two fronts.

Xu Fengnian slowly chewed a peanut, calmly stating, "Zhao Zhu, you are forcing me to contend with you. Even if I don't sit on that throne in the future..."

Xu Fengnian sighed, but refrained from uttering any harsh words.

This evening, a secret message arrived from the Wutong Courtyard on Qingliang Mountain, carried by the gyrfalcon. It contained only four characters.

"Already in Liangzhou!"

These four characters were in his second sister Xu Weixiong's own hand, and it was evident from the stroke weight that she had written them with immense gravity.

This was a long-planned secret, one in which even the Fushui Chamber and the Eagle-Raising Chamber had played no part.

From beginning to end, Xu Weixiong alone had orchestrated it.

A few years ago, during Xu Fengnian's second journey through the jianghu, he was accompanied by many people: the old man in sheepskin, Xu Ren, Lu Qiantang (who later perished in the reed marsh), and Shu Xiu, who was now very likely to be the Empress. Among them, the full-figured woman holding a white cat was quite unremarkable. She was eventually "borrowed" by Xu Weixiong from Xu Fengnian and taken to Shangyin Academy. At the time, Xu Weixiong made a peculiar remark, saying she intended to use Yu Youwei, whose original name was Yu Xuanji, as bait to lure out a thousand-year-old turtle from the muddy lakebed. In truth, Xu Fengnian hadn't given this much thought over the years and had almost forgotten it. It wasn't until this year, when Yu Youwei, as a Jixia Scholar from the academy, led a group of scholars to Beiliang for educational tours, beginning to teach and lecture across various academies there, that Xu Weixiong finally spoke to him about the past. It turned out that Yu Youwei's background was far more than just unusual; Li Chungang, a native of Great Chu, had once casually mentioned that throughout Great Chu's history, there had been a lineage of female sword attendants. They excelled with their magnificent sword dances, standing out from the crowd not for high cultivation, but for a deep underlying meaning—a truly perplexing phenomenon. Yu Youwei's mother was the last of these peculiar sword attendants of Great Chu, whose chess skills were renowned alongside those of Grand Tutor Li Mi. As for the reason behind such extraordinary abilities, it was a mysterious secret of the Great Chu Jiang clan that, with the conclusion of the Battle of Xileibi, vanished into the annals of history, naturally remaining unknown to the world.

During her years of study at Shangyin Academy, Xu Weixiong only addressed three individuals as "Master." Two were her esteemed teachers: Han Guzi, a literary grandmaster whose disciples were almost entirely assimilated into Beiliang, and Wang Jijiu, who was among the earliest to pledge allegiance to the Xu family of Beiliang and the one who spearheaded Chen Zi's journey to Liang.

The third individual, Xu Fengnian had only heard, was a blind old zither player who resided year-round in a thatched hut within the Moral Woods of Shangyin Academy.

The message "Already in Liangzhou" sent by Xu Weixiong referred to this very person.

A transcendent master, still among mortals.

An ordinary martial artist would consider this a truism.

Yet, ever since Xu Fengnian encountered the eunuch in Tai'an City, who was as old as the nation itself—or even earlier, when he met the true Celestial Gao Shulu—he began to grasp a certain truth.

Now there was another Tantai Pingjing in the world, whose profoundness could not be fathomed.

Far from being a truism, that statement was clearly a falsehood!

Among those who attained the status of Confucian Sages, from the Zhang Family Sage in the North to Cao Changqing of Western Chu, almost none met a good end.

Yet, among adherents of the other two of the Three Teachings, Buddhism and Taoism, almost every generation saw individuals achieve enlightenment, perfection, or even ascension.

Why was it that only Confucianism seemed unable to achieve a "good end"?

Tantai Pingjing, as a Qi practitioner, once explained this as an act of the Way of Heaven.

Xu Fengnian felt she made a valid point, but hadn't revealed the full truth.

Xu Fengnian, whose thoughts had drifted far away, suddenly recalled something. He set down the wine pot and plate, got up, and went to fetch water. It was late, and the Elephant Washing Pond should finally be quiet, so he decided to fill the water tank.

But just as Xu Fengnian pushed open the green bamboo fence, he couldn't help but stomp his foot and curse. In the dead of night, there were actually two groups of people heading towards the Elephant Washing Pond?!

Xu Fengnian hesitated for a moment, then decided to let it go. Let those jianghu ruffians do as they pleased. If they truly provoked him, he would make those scoundrels taste a refreshing cold bath in the crisp autumn air.

He continued on, carrying his pole.

Following the fragmented moonlight filtering through the bamboo grove, as he neared the Elephant Washing Pond, Xu Fengnian had already pieced together the situation. Two distinct groups of out-of-town jianghu figures had each had a member involved in a conflict during daytime incense burning. Due to Beiliang's strict laws and prior bloody lessons, they dared not engage in open brawls. So, both sides had secretly agreed to "spar" at the Elephant Washing Pond late at night, drawing up a death pact. No weapons were allowed, and each participant was fully responsible for their own life and death. Furthermore, they swore never to inform the Beiliang local government at the foot of Wudang Mountain afterward, and even if information somehow leaked, they were to grit their teeth and implicate no one else. As Xu Fengnian reached the edge of the bamboo grove, he stopped and looked. Both groups stood fiercely confronting each other by the pond. Seven or eight people faced over twenty, a stark numerical difference. Yet, the smaller group exuded a stronger presence, while the numerically superior one seemed oddly subdued, allowing the leader of the seven or eight to almost point and jab at them with his finger.

Xu Fengnian turned his head. On a large rock emerging from the pond, a graceful figure, who had been lying on her back, slowly sat up.

The woman's subtle movement, as she "bathed" in the moonlight late at night, was noticed by a few sharp-eyed and quick-eared jianghu figures, instantly creating an awkward atmosphere.

After sitting upright, she faced the two dumbfounded groups and spoke, "Please continue; don't mind me."

Everyone looked closer. The pond water shimmered, hazy with moonlight. She sat alone on the rock, a pair of boots neatly placed to her left, and a pot of wine to her right.

Her features were not remarkable, yet in this specific setting, she appeared ethereal and gained immense charm.

After she spoke, courage, already boosted by wine, was further inflamed by beauty. The burly man, who had been on the receiving end of a finger-pointing lecture, suddenly roared like thunder, pounding his chest with a clenched fist. "Wang Songfeng has roamed the jianghu for decades, relying on one thing: loyalty! I don't care who was right or wrong between you and Li Bangxian earlier today. Since he came to me, he considers my Hongming Hall a friend. Even if you've brought Master Tang and Great Hero Song to assist, today we'll rely on our own skills, following the rules of the road. Whoever falls first admits defeat!"

The shorter man opposite him rolled his eyes, then leaped up and delivered a resounding slap.

In the jianghu, if striking someone typically creates enmity, then slapping someone's face invariably creates a blood feud.

And so, because of the woman's interjection, both sides erupted into a fierce brawl. At first, some still maintained a semblance of propriety, but as the fight grew desperate, they resorted to every vulgar move imaginable: crotch kicks, black tiger gouging heart, monkey picking peach, and more. All were employed, and seemingly with great mastery. Undignified maneuvers like "donkey rolling" and "dog eating shit" were also ceaselessly deployed.

It was brutal!

Xu Fengnian, observing the fight with his water buckets slung over his shoulder, felt a sympathetic pang of pain for some of the heroes who were getting beaten.

To be slapped across the face, sent spinning several times in the air before hitting the ground—how could that not hurt?

Or to be kicked in the crotch, then fall to the ground, clutching one's groin and rolling around, yet gritting one's teeth to avoid crying out for mercy—could it be anything but heroic?

The inconspicuous Xu Fengnian seized this opportunity to approach the Elephant Washing Pond and fill two wooden buckets with water.

The woman had already put on her boots. Carrying her wine pot, she floated over to Xu Fengnian's side, her eyes holding a peculiar glint.

Xu Fengnian paused his work and asked with a smile, "Palace Master Tong, enjoying such leisure?"

The young female head of Jincuo Dao Manor replied earnestly, "Your Highness's parting words are deeply etched in Tong Shanqian's memory. I heard the Elephant Washing Pond has always been the sword practice ground of Wang Xin, the Wudang Sword Obsessive. He once used a bamboo sword to 'cut' a waterfall here, so I wanted to try it myself, but unfortunately, I gained nothing."

Xu Fengnian said softly, "Everyone has their own destined encounters; there's no need to force it. Especially when facing a bottleneck that's on the verge of breaking but hasn't, one must not rush."

Tong Shanqian, who wore the two renowned blades Wude and Tianbao at her waist, nodded. She clearly held no lingering disappointment about returning empty-handed tonight.

This matched Xu Fengnian's impression of her — she was magnanimous.

Xu Fengnian habitually adjusted his carrying pole, much like a village man fetching water. As they parted, he smiled at her and said, "If you don't mind, tomorrow I'll have someone send you a boxing manual from Wang Xianzhi and some of my own insights on saber techniques."

Tong Shanqian was taken aback, then directly asked, "Does Your Highness require something of me?"

Xu Fengnian nodded, "Of course!"

Tong Shanqian blinked.

Xu Fengnian continued, "In the future, practice your saber until you become a grandmaster of saber techniques even more powerful than Gu Jiantang. If, at that time, Master Tong could casually mention to people in the jianghu that you received guidance from someone in Beiliang, that would be even better."

Tong Shanqian smiled faintly and replied crisply, "Good!"

At that moment, someone stealthily approached them.

Xu Fengnian turned, glared, and bellowed, "My father was the supreme leader of Beiliang's underworld for twenty years! How dare you provoke me?!"

The fellow was so stunned by this blatant arrogance that he stood frozen. After weighing the pros and cons, perhaps deciding that caution was the better part of valor, he turned and slinked away.

Xu Fengnian turned back and joked, "I wasn't wrong, you know; my father really was the boss of both the underworld and the official circles in Beiliang."

Tong Shanqian was speechless.

Xu Fengnian left, carrying the water.

Tong Shanqian watched his retreating back, then slowly turned, lightly tapped her toes, and gracefully glided away.

By the Elephant Washing Pond, chaos reigned.

Upon reaching the thatched hut, Xu Fengnian poured the water into the tank.

As he turned, he saw Deng Tai'a.

Xu Fengnian didn't launch into an interrogation. His expression grave, he simply said, "I'll go get my saber."

Deng Tai'a nodded.

Xu Fengnian knocked, entered, retrieved the Liang saber from the table, and quietly departed.

Soon after, Xu Fengnian and Deng Tai'a stood shoulder to shoulder at the top of the stone steps on Great Lotus Peak.

Deng Tai'a calmly asked, "Do you know their identity?"

Xu Fengnian replied, "Unclear."

The Peach-Tiger God, with twin swords at his waist, fell silent, closing his eyes to rest.

"Unless absolutely necessary, you don't need to intervene," Xu Fengnian said.

Deng Tai'a remained silent.

At the foot of Wudang Mountain, an old man and a young boy passed through the archway, slowly ascending the mountain.

The young boy, named Gou Youfang, had once been among the lowest ranks of society in Wudi City by the East Sea.

Until one day, the boy encountered a strange middle-aged man entering the city with a bowl, closely followed by another ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

To this day, the boy remained unaware that the first man was Xie Guanying and the second was Deng Tai'a.

After leaving Wudi City, the boy embarked on four more journeys. He then encountered the hunched old man by his side, and they journeyed west together, eventually arriving in Beiliang.

The boy only knew his surname was Zhang, so he called the old man "Grandpa Zhang."

The old man was a humorless, old-fashioned traditionalist, resembling a strict schoolmaster. Fortunately, despite never having learned to read or write, the boy possessed a naturally simple and polite disposition, allowing the two—the old and the young—to get along reasonably well.

As the boy ascended the steps, he recited aloud, "'The Master said: The Way of Heaven and Earth is vast, deep, high, bright, enduring, and long-lasting.'"

Such phrases and sentences were taught to the boy by the old man whenever he felt like speaking along the way. The boy simply committed them to memory, setting aside any words he didn't understand.

After the boy mechanically recited the phrase, "'The Master said: To be so diligent as to forget food, so joyful as to forget sorrow, and unaware that old age is approaching.'"

The old man couldn't help but sigh softly.

Old age is approaching, and death is near.

Since the fall of the Great Qin Dynasty, for eight hundred years, generations of scholars across the world have recited the myriad "The Master said" phrases found within the sagely texts.

Now, with Liyang's thriving imperial examination system, the number of scholars had increased, and naturally, so had the recitation of "The Master said."

This "The Master said."

These were the words spoken by the Confucian Sage Zhang.

At this moment, the old man sighed with emotion, "So, I spoke so many words."

The boy asked, "Grandpa Zhang, what did you say?"

For the first time, the old man revealed a faint smile, stroking the boy's head. "Youfang, you are considered my secluded disciple. From now on, you can just call me 'Master.'"

The boy looked bewildered.

The old man took the boy's hand and continued the ascent, calmly stating, "You have many elder martial brothers. The youngest among them is named Huang Longshi."

The boy habitually called out, "Grandpa Zhang," then asked curiously, "Is that Huang Longshi the same Huang Longshi as Huang Sanjia, the great demon of the Spring and Autumn Period?"

The old man simply smiled.